JPH0423731A - Aligning device for light article group - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To discharge articles smoothly by providing pressure air chambers outside of an article aligning chamber, and feeding air flow reversely to the normal flow direction of articles in the aligning chamber to spread out the articles and form an air layer, and providing an exhaust hole for exhausting a part of the air flow. CONSTITUTION:Empty cans 4a fed from a receiving port 3 are thrown into an aligning chamber X blocked by a pair of side walls 3, a guide surface 6, and a terminal surface 10. Pressure air chambers Y are provided outside of side walls 5, and air flow is blown from openings 9 and blow-out ports 12, 13 into the aligning chamber X through the pressure air chambers Y. Air flow 8 is blown out from the openings 9 reversely to the exhaust direction 18, and the empty cans 4a at this part are pressed to form an air layer 7 having a certain wideness. The residual air after formation of the air layer is exhausted by adjusting a door 17 of an exhaust hole 16 of the side wall 5. Consequently, the empty cans 4a can be aligned in a line longitudinally just before an exhaust port 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an apparatus for aligning groups of lightweight objects, and more particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for aligning a group of lightweight objects, and more particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for aligning a group of lightweight objects, and more specifically, for aligning a plurality of lightweight objects (a group of lightweight objects) such as aluminum wash cans supplied to the apparatus. This invention relates to an arrangement device for a group of lightweight objects, for arranging and discharging a group of lightweight objects in this device.

[Conventional technology]

As shown in FIG. 4, the conventional light object group alignment device (51) has an object storage chamber (X') for temporarily storing a plurality of supplied light objects (52) before aligning them.
, a layout chamber (Y') for arranging the objects (52) in a single line and sending them out from the discharge port (53), a layout chamber (Y') for supplying compressed air to the object storage chamber (Xo) and the layout chamber (Y'). It was divided into different sections of the pressurized air chamber (Z゛).

In the layout chamber (Y''), the lowest object layer (52a) of the guide surface (54) sent from the object storage chamber (X'') is transported by an air stream (52a) ejected from this side wall (55) in the transfer direction. 56) to the outlet (53), and the object group (5
2b) is blown back into the storage chamber (Xo) by the airflow (58) blown out from the airflow supply opening (57).

In addition, in the object storage chamber (Xo), an air flow ( 58), the large number of objects (52) supplied from the conveyer (60) etc. in the previous process are spread out toward the surroundings (mainly upward), and the number of objects (52) is larger than the processing capacity of this device (51). ) from entering the layout room (Y') from the entrance part (59).

Then, objects (52) that are adjacent to each other as much as possible within the device (51) are
), and to align the objects in a line, the number of objects (52) supplied, the pressure at which each airflow (56) (58) is blown out, etc. were controlled.

Such a conventional device (51) has an air flow (56) (5B
) is useful in that it is possible to arrange the lightweight object group (52) in the - column up to a certain level of processing speed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, as the number of objects processed by the apparatus (51) increases, the following problems arise.

That is, when the number of objects to be processed increases, the number of objects (52b) that roll down and enter the layout room (Y) from the storage room (Xo) increases in proportion to the rate of increase, and in this way, the number of objects (52b) that roll down and enter the layout room (Y) increases. Air i! enters Y゛) and blows out from the opening (57) at the top of the discharge port (53) toward the storage room (Xo)! ! The number of objects (52C) that are about to be blown back into the storage room (Xo) by (58) and the number of objects (52b) that are newly entering the layout room (Y゛) cannot be balanced, and both (52b) (52c) flows into the storage room (
They collided with each other at the entrance (59) of the object (52), and the throughput of the object (52) could not be improved as expected. Furthermore, there has been a tendency for objects (52) to collide with each other and cause damage to the objects (52) frequently.

When this happens, it is no longer possible to deal with the situation by simply controlling the number of objects (52) to be supplied, the pressure at which each air flow (56) (5B) is blown out, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a device for arranging a group of lightweight objects that can smoothly process objects without damaging them even if the number of objects processed by the device per unit time, that is, the object processing speed is increased. That is.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for aligning a group of lightweight objects, which allows the device to be compact and integrated.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following technical means. In other words, in a lightweight object group aligning device that arranges a group of lightweight objects arbitrarily supplied to an object receiving port in a line within the device and continuously discharges them from a discharge port, An object alignment chamber is provided between a pair of side walls arranged at a slightly larger interval, and has a guide surface above the side walls for guiding a group of objects downstream when viewed from the normal flow direction of objects. A pressurized air chamber is provided on the outside of the chamber, and an air flow is sent into the object alignment chamber in the opposite direction to the normal flow direction of objects in the object alignment chamber, and the object group supplied to the object alignment chamber is An opening leading from the pressurized air chamber to the object alignment chamber is located at the end of the object alignment chamber so as to spread the object alignment chamber upward and form an air layer between the object group, both side walls, and the end surface having the discharge port. The side wall is provided with an exhaust hole for exhausting a part of the air flow for forming the air layer, and the lowermost object layer of the object alignment chamber is oriented in the normal flow direction of objects. The pressurized air chamber has a drive means for driving it downstream when viewed from above, and the compressed air chamber has a connection means to a compressed air source.

The opening may be provided both above the discharge port and above the discharge port and on the upstream side when viewed from the normal flow direction of the object.

Further, the driving means is a plurality of object driving holes provided near the exhaust port leading from the pressurized air chamber to the object alignment chamber,
The holes may be arranged in the vicinity of the lowest object layer, substantially parallel to the lower edge of the side wall, and inclined in the direction of normal flow of the object.

The plurality of object driving holes may extend from near the exhaust port toward the object receiving port along the lower edge of the side wall.

It is also possible to provide means for blocking a portion of the exhaust hole in the side wall and controlling the amount of air exhausted from the exhaust hole.

Further, a slope facing diagonally upward is formed from the upper part of the opening on the terminal surface of the object alignment chamber, and a hole is provided in this slope leading from the pressure air chamber and blowing out an air flow for pushing back the object diagonally downward. You can also use it as

A roll may be provided in front of the discharge port, with a part of the object in contact with the object, and rotating in the discharge direction.

An upper plate may be provided above the object alignment chamber to prevent objects from jumping out of the object alignment chamber.

[Function] Since the present invention has the above-described configuration, during operation of the apparatus, a group of objects is generated between the pair of side walls by the air flow blown out from the opening for blowing out the air flow for forming an air layer located at the end surface of the object alignment chamber. is pushed out and an air layer is formed.

The space formed by this air layer has both the functions of a layout room for a conventional device and an object storage room.

In other words, the air layer causes an object layer to be formed around it to temporarily store a large number of lightweight objects that are supplied upward.
In addition, the object group at the interface between the object layer and the air layer is pushed toward the surroundings so that it does not fall onto the top of the object group that is being sent in a line on the guide surface leading to the discharge port. It acts to spread.

Assuming that the openings are provided both above the discharge port and above the discharge port and on the upstream side when viewed from the normal flow direction of the object, it is possible to press the object so that it does not move toward the discharge port due to the air flow. Objects in the upper layer of the lowermost object layer are pushed back by the airflow blowing out from the opening on the lower side, and act so as not to reach the discharge port.

The driving means is a plurality of object driving holes provided in the vicinity of the discharge port leading from the pressurized air chamber to the object alignment chamber, the holes being substantially parallel to the lower edge of the side wall in the vicinity of the lowermost object layer. If the holes are arranged side by side and inclined in the direction of the normal flow of objects, the air flow blown out from these holes will cause the objects near the outlet to
It acts to drive the bottom object layer towards the discharge port.

Assuming that the plurality of object driving holes extend from the vicinity of the discharge port along the lower edge of the side wall in the direction of the object receiving port, the discharge port extends from the vicinity of the discharge port to the lowest object layer. An air flow acts that drives the air in the direction of.

If a part of the exhaust hole in the side wall is blocked and a means is provided to control the amount of air exhausted from the exhaust hole, the amount of air supplied and the amount of exhaust air are balanced according to the amount of supply of the object. I can do it.

A slope is formed diagonally upward from the top of the opening on the end surface of the object alignment chamber, and a hole is provided in this slope leading from the pressure air chamber and blowing out an air flow diagonally downward for pushing back objects. Objects that reach the outer edge of the object alignment chamber are pushed back to the center by this airflow.

If a roll is provided at the front of the discharge port that makes contact with the object and a part of it and rotates in the discharge direction, the roll will work to ensure that the object that reaches the front of the discharge port is discharged. .

If a cover is provided above the object alignment chamber to prevent objects from jumping out of the object alignment chamber, even if a change in airflow occurs, the object will not fly out of the object alignment chamber.

[Example〕 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 show the case where the apparatus for aligning a group of lightweight objects according to the present invention is implemented for aluminum wash cans. The figure shows an aluminum wash can, but
Any device that can be transferred by applying an air flow is applicable without being limited to this example.

In Fig. 1, the light object group alignment device (1) is supplied from a previous process such as a jet conveyor (2),
The aluminum wash can (4a) fed into the device (1) from the object receiving port (3) is passed through a pair of side walls (5), a guide surface (6), and an air flow (8) for forming an air layer (7). The objects are aligned in a line within the object alignment chamber (X) defined by the end surface (10) having the blowout opening (9), and the outlet (11)
). The opening (9) and holes (12) and (13) are connected to a compressed air source (15) (
(see FIG. 2), it is possible to supply an air flow (8).

The pair of side walls (5) allow the aluminum wash can (4) to move within this gap with a certain degree of freedom without the long and short axes of the can (4) being interchanged, and the can (4)
They are arranged at intervals slightly larger than the axial dimension of the can (4) to the extent that leakage of air flow from the gap between the side wall (5) and the side wall (5) is as small as possible (in the figure, the inside of the device (1) is In order to clarify the structure, the front side wall (5) is shown separated).

In addition, the airflow (8) blowout opening (
9) are provided with a plurality of exhaust holes (16) for exhausting the supplied air flow (8).

The exhaust hole (16) is provided with means (17) for controlling its exhaust amount. This control means (17) uses a slidable plate-like body that can cool a part or most of the name plate of the exhaust hole (16).

Further, on the side wall (5) facing the can (4b) being transferred on the guide surface (6) immediately before the discharge port (11), an air flow ( A plurality of holes (12) from which air 18) is blown out are bored on both the left and right sides.

A guide surface (6) is fixed between the pair of side walls (5),
It is provided convexly downward near the receiving port (3) of the can (4a), and horizontally provided in front of the discharge port (11).

However, as long as there are no extreme discontinuities on the guide surface (6) that would make it impossible for the can (4) to move, it is sufficient that the guide surface (6) has an appropriate shape, such as the discharge port (11).
The can (4b) may be discharged upward by tilting the front portion diagonally upward.

The point is that the lowermost can (4) in contact with the guide surface (6) should be sent toward the discharge port (11).

An opening (9) for supplying the air flow (8) is bored in a hollow box-shaped casing (20) formed by diagonally forming an earthen wall (19), and this casing (20) is located above the discharge port (11). It is provided for.

This casing (20) has both sides thereof so that air can flow in from pressure air chambers (Y) installed on the outside of both side walls (5) through air flow connection openings (21). 5)
It is installed in the object alignment chamber (X) of the casing (20).
) The air flow (8) for forming the air layer (7) is blown out from the blowing opening (9) provided on the end face facing the can (4b) in a direction substantially opposite to the discharge direction of the can (4b).

Furthermore, the upper wall (19) of the casing (20) extending obliquely upward from the top of this opening (9) has a large number of holes that blow out airflow (22) that pushes back the can (4C) diagonally downward. (13) is drilled.

However, this hole (13) that blows out diagonally downward,
This is to supply an air flow (22) to push back the objects (4c) that have reached the outer edge of the object alignment chamber (X) inward, so it is not necessary to carry out this invention, but it is possible. It is preferable to provide a If not provided, the shape of the second casing (20) may be such that the upper wall (19) is not diagonal as described above but horizontal.

A compressor, a blower, etc. can be used as the compressed air source (15) connected to the compressed air chamber (Y).

Immediately in front of the discharge port (11), there is installed an object discharge roll (24) that is rotated toward the discharge port (11) by a driving means such as a motor (23). The periphery of this roll (24) is covered with shock-absorbing rubber to prevent damage to the can (4).

Apparatus ① Production Director Next, the operating state of the apparatus (1) for aligning a group of lightweight objects according to the present invention will be explained.

During operation of this device (1), a suitable compressed air source (15) (see Figure 2) is connected to the compressed air chamber (Y),
Send an air flow into the object alignment chamber (X). As a result, during operation, the opening (9) and numerous air outlets (12) (
An air flow is blown out from 13) toward the inside of the object alignment chamber (X).

The aluminum wash can (4a) supplied from the receiving port (3) of this device (1) is placed on the guide surface (6) between the pair of side walls (5) so that the sides overlap each other vertically. I will be sent.

When a large number of cans (4d) are supplied and accumulated on the guide surface (6), these cans (4d) also appear near the opening (9) of the end surface (10) of the object alignment chamber (X). It's coming.

However, since the air flow (8) is blowing out from the opening (9) in the opposite direction to the discharge direction, the can (4e) in this area
is pressed by the action of the air flow (8) to form a space with a certain extent, that is, an air layer (7).

The air layer (7) forms a storage section with a buffering effect for temporarily storing the group of objects (4a) supplied above it, so a special object storage chamber is installed in the device (1). do not have to.

The air flow (8) for forming the air layer (7) flows through the side wall (
A part of the exhaust hole (16) provided in 5) is connected to the device (1).
It is exhausted outside.

Can (4) Supply can (4a) to control processing speed
In order to balance the quantity of air and the airflow (8) blown out from the opening (9), the amount of air exhausted from the exhaust hole (16) is set to an appropriate amount by the control means (17).

The air layer (7) also serves to align the cans (4b) to be discharged in a negative row. That is, since the opening (9) for forming the air layer (7) is installed at the end face of the object alignment chamber (X), the air flow (8) blown out from this opening (9)
tries to push back the can (4f) in the upper layer of the can (4b) that is being transferred toward the discharge port (11) on the guide surface (6) in the opposite direction to the discharge direction. Therefore, the cans (4) do not overlap on the guide surface (6) immediately before the discharge port (11), but are arranged in a negative column.

The can (4b) that has moved to the guide surface (6) immediately before the discharge port (11) is then moved to the hole (1) in the opposite side wall (5).
The air flow (18H) blown out from 2) is transported toward the exhaust port (11).

In this embodiment, these cans (4b) in the front part are connected to the side wall [5].
Although the air flow (18) from the hole (12) in the hole (12) is used to transfer the material, this portion of the transfer is not limited to air flow, and may be carried out by other transfer methods. For example, the guide surface (6) in this part may be a belt conveyor driven by a motor etc.
In short, any means that can move it toward the discharge port (11) is sufficient.

In this way, the can (4b) that has reached the discharge port (11) is lightly assisted by the discharge roll (24) provided just before the can (4b) and is discharged to be sent to the next process.

1 Bicuspid Application FIGS. 2 and 3 show another embodiment of the apparatus for aligning a group of lightweight objects according to the present invention.

Differences from the first embodiment will be mainly explained.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, two openings (9a) and (9b) are provided above the discharge port (11). One opening (9a) is directly above the discharge port (11), and the other opening (9b) is on the upstream side when viewed from the flow direction of the object (4) and above the opening (9a) when viewed from the vertical direction. These two openings are arranged in two steps in the shape of a staircase.

The direction in which the air flows (8a) (8b) are blown out from the openings (9a) (9b) is opposite to the direction in which the object (4b) flows toward the discharge direction, as in the first embodiment.

The casing (20) in which these openings (9a) and (9b) are provided has a step-like bottom surface, and both sides are
As in the first embodiment, the pressure air chamber (Y
) and the air flow is movably connected to the compressed air source (15).
This allows airflow supplied from the

At the top of the device (1), there is an upper plate (
25) is provided. This upper plate (25) is the device (1)
This is a device that prevents the can (4) from flying out from the can, and is not necessarily essential to carrying out this invention.
It would be better if there were.

Another difference from the first embodiment is the installation area of a large number of holes (12a) (12b) that open from the pressurized air chamber (Y) provided along the guide surface (6) to the object alignment chamber (X). It is.

In the first embodiment, the hole (
12a), but in this example, the guide surface (6
) and further extends in the direction of the receiving opening (3).

Since the basic operating condition of the device is the same as that of the first embodiment, the differences will be mainly explained.

In Figures 2 and 3, the lowest object (4g) of the group of objects (4) guided on the guide surface (6) further moves along the guide surface (6) to the receiving port (3). The airflow (18b) blown out from the many holes (12b) opening from the pressurized air chamber (Y) to the object alignment chamber (X) extends in is driven towards the exit (11). That is, the can (4g) starts to be driven toward the discharge port (11) at an earlier point in time than in the first embodiment.

Next, of the two openings (9a) (9b), the upper opening (
An air layer (7) is formed as in the first embodiment by the air flow (8b) blown out from 9b).

The upper layer of cans (4f) of the cans (4b) that are being transported toward the discharge port (11) on the guide surface (6) by the air flow (8a) blown out from the lower opening (9a) are It is held down so that it does not fall onto the top of the can (4b).

Therefore, even if the pressure of the air flows (9a) (9b) fluctuates for some reason and the upper layer can (4f) collapses on top of the transferred can (4b), the discharge port (11 ) is pushed back more reliably by the air flow (8a) from this opening (9a) than in the first embodiment.

〔Effect of the invention〕

This invention has the above-mentioned configuration, and the air layer is such that a group of objects at the interface between the object layer and the air layer are sent in a line on the guide surface leading to the discharge port. The object group is pushed out toward the surrounding area to prevent it from falling onto the top of the group of objects, so objects do not fly around in the alignment chamber, so collisions between objects can be avoided even when the object processing speed is increased.
These damages can be prevented and smooth processing can be achieved.

Furthermore, since it is not necessary to separately configure the layout chamber and the object alignment chamber, the apparatus itself can be integrated into a compact device.

If the openings are provided both above the discharge port and above the discharge port and on the upstream side when viewed from the normal flow direction of the object, the opening may be pressed so that it does not come toward the discharge port due to the air flow. Objects in the upper layer of the lowest object layer are pushed back by the air flow blown out from the opening at the top of the outlet, and do not reach the outlet, thereby further improving the processing speed.

The driving means is a plurality of object driving holes provided in the vicinity of the discharge port leading from the pressurized air chamber to the object alignment chamber, the holes being substantially parallel to the lower edge of the side wall in the vicinity of the lowermost object layer. If the holes are arranged side by side and are inclined in the direction of the normal flow of objects, the air flow blown out from these holes will cause the airflow in the vicinity of the outlet and out of the group of objects.
Since the lowest object layer can be driven in the direction of the discharge port, it can be transferred without using a special drive system such as a belt conveyor.

Assuming that the plurality of object driving holes extend from the vicinity of the discharge port along the lower edge of the side wall in the direction of the object receiving port, the discharge port extends from the vicinity of the discharge port to the lowest object layer. Since the air flow acts in the direction of , it is possible to further improve the processing speed.

If a part of the exhaust hole in the side wall is blocked and a means is provided to control the amount of air exhausted from the exhaust hole, the amount of air supplied and the amount of exhaust air are balanced according to the amount of supply of the object. Therefore, when the supply amount of the object increases, this control means can set an appropriate displacement amount according to the increase.

A slope facing diagonally upward is formed from the upper part of the opening on the terminal surface of the object alignment chamber, and an object push-back hole is provided in this slope, which communicates with the pressurized air chamber and blows out an air flow diagonally downward. In this case, objects that have reached the outer edge of the object alignment chamber are pushed back to the center by this airflow and are reliably sent toward the discharge port, contributing to an improvement in processing speed.

If a roll is provided at the front of the discharge port so that the object and a portion thereof come into contact with each other and rotate in the discharge direction, the object that has reached the front of the discharge port can be reliably discharged. The discharge port is not clogged with objects, and processing can be facilitated.

If a cover is installed above the object sorting chamber to prevent objects from flying out of the object sorting chamber, even if there is a change in air flow, objects will not fly out of this sorting chamber and processing will be smooth. It is possible to contribute to the

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing the configuration and operating state of an embodiment of a lightweight object group aligning device according to the present invention. 2 and 3 show another embodiment of the lightweight object aligning device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view showing its configuration, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the same embodiment. The whole perspective view showing an operating state. FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view showing an example of the configuration and operating state of a conventional light object group alignment device. (1)...Device (3)...Object receiving port (4)
...Object (5)...Side wall (6)...Guide surface (7
)...Air layer (8)...Air flow (9) (9a) (9
b)...Opening (10)...Terminal surface (11)...Discharge port (12)
...Object driving hole (13)...Hole (15)...
Compressed air source (16)...Exhaust hole (17)...Control means (19)...Slope (22)...Air flow (2
4) Roll (25) Upper plate (X) Object alignment chamber (Y) Pressure air chamber

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a light object group aligning device that aligns a group of lightweight objects arbitrarily supplied to an object receiving port in a line within the device and continuously discharges them from a discharge port, in the axial direction of the objects. Between a pair of side walls arranged at a distance slightly larger than the dimensions of In addition, a pressurized air chamber is provided outside the object alignment chamber, and air flow is sent into the object alignment chamber in the opposite direction to the normal flow direction of objects in the object alignment chamber, thereby causing air flow to flow into the object alignment chamber. An opening leading from the pressurized air chamber to the object alignment chamber so as to push the supplied object group upward into the object alignment chamber and form an air layer between the object group, both side walls, and the end surface having the outlet. is provided on the end face of the object alignment chamber, an exhaust hole is provided on the side wall to exhaust a part of the air flow for forming the air layer, and the lowermost object layer of the object alignment chamber is Alignment of a group of lightweight objects, characterized in that the apparatus has drive means for driving the objects downstream in the normal flow direction of the objects, and the pressurized air chamber has means for connecting to a source of compressed air. Device. 2. The apparatus for aligning a group of lightweight objects according to claim 1, wherein the opening is provided both above the discharge port and above the discharge port and on the upstream side when viewed from the normal flow direction of objects. . 3. The driving means is a plurality of object driving holes provided in the vicinity of the exhaust port leading from the pressurized air chamber to the object alignment chamber, and these holes are arranged near the lowermost object layer and against the lower edge of the side wall. Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that they are arranged substantially parallel to each other and are inclined in the direction of the normal flow of objects.
The apparatus for aligning a group of light objects as described. 4. The apparatus for aligning a group of lightweight objects according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of object driving holes extend from the vicinity of the exhaust port along the lower edge of the side wall toward the object receiving port. 5. The apparatus for aligning a group of lightweight objects according to claim 1, further comprising means for blocking a part of the exhaust hole in the side wall and controlling the amount of air exhausted from the exhaust hole. 6. A slope facing diagonally upward is formed from the upper part of the opening on the end surface of the object alignment chamber, and a hole is provided in this slope that communicates with the pressure air chamber and blows out an air flow for pushing back objects diagonally downward. A device for aligning a group of lightweight objects according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. The apparatus for aligning a group of lightweight objects according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a roll is provided at the front of the discharge port, the roll being in contact with the object and a portion thereof and rotating in the discharge direction. 8. Claims 1 to 7 characterized in that an upper plate is provided above the object alignment chamber to prevent objects from jumping out from the object alignment chamber.
The apparatus for aligning a group of light objects as described.