JPH0753048A - Case transfer method and its device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the case of a container and the like to be efficiently transferred so as to be aligned with its constitution simplified. CONSTITUTION:The device is provided with a product packing means 6 for housing a product 2 in a specified case 3, a stacking means 7 stacking up the case 3 in order in which the product 2 is housed, and with a carrying means 4 which delivers the multi-stage stacked cases 3 stacked up in specified stages by the stacking means 7 in order, and aligns a plurality of their groups into one line. The device is also equipped with the transferring device 10 where the multi-stage stacked cases 3 which are carried by the carrying means 4, and are aligned, are moved to a resting member 11 positioned in the direction perpendicularly intersection with its lined-up direction, so as to be lined up, so that the multi-stage stacked cases are formed into a plurality of lines on the resting member 11 with this process repeated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a case transfer method and apparatus for sequentially stacking cases such as packaging boxes and cases containing predetermined products and aligning them at predetermined positions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, as a device for packing packed tofu in a case at a tofu factory and automatically stacking and carrying out the case, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-152.
There is an automatic packing and conveying device for a package disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 605. This device is a case conveyor that sequentially conveys empty cases stacked in multiple stages, a destacking device that takes out the empty cases stacked in multiple stages from the case transport conveyor one by one, and sends them to the next process. An automatic packing device for aligning and packing tofu packs in an empty case that has been sent and a stacking device for sequentially stacking the cases sent from this automatic packing device in multiple stages are provided. The cases stacked by the automatic stuffing and conveying device are carried by a transfer device on a predetermined pallet, placed in one row, and carried into a refrigerator by a forklift or the like. This transfer device holds the lowermost case of the cases stacked in multiple stages, moves only in one direction, and carries the multi-stage stacked cases on the pallet. Further, as another conventional technique of this transfer device, there is one in which the case at the bottom is held by an articulated robot and placed on a predetermined pallet. When transferring by this robot, it is also possible to arrange in a plurality of rows on a large pallet by a predetermined program.

[0003]

In the former case of the above-mentioned prior art, the stacked cases are only sent out in one direction by the transfer device, and the multi-step stacked cases can only be arranged in a line on the pallet. Since it is not possible to increase the number of rows of cases on the pallet, the efficiency of carrying to a refrigerator or the like was poor. Further, it is possible to manually align them on the pallet, but it requires a great deal of labor and is inefficient. On the other hand, in the latter of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, the device transferred by the robot has a large range in which the robot operates, the space efficiency of the factory is deteriorated, the robot device itself is expensive, and an operator dedicated to the robot is required. It was a cause of cost increase.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and provides a case transfer method and apparatus for transferring and aligning a case such as a case with a simple structure. To aim.

[0005]

According to the present invention, products are stored in a predetermined case, the cases containing the products are sequentially stacked, and a plurality of multi-stage stacking cases stacked in a predetermined number of stages are arranged in a row. This is a case transfer method in which one row of multi-tiered case is moved in a direction orthogonal to the alignment direction to align it at a predetermined position, and in the same manner, a plurality of rows of this multi-tiered case is formed.

Further, the present invention provides a product packing device for storing products in a predetermined case, a stacking device for sequentially stacking the products in the case, and a multi-stage stacking device stacked in a predetermined number by the stacking device. A transport device for sequentially carrying out a plurality of sets and arranging them in a row, and moving and aligning the multi-stage stacking case carried by the transport device and aligned in a line on a mounting member positioned in a direction orthogonal to the alignment direction, And a transfer device for forming a plurality of rows of the multi-stage stacking case on the mounting member.

[0007]

In the case transfer method and apparatus of the present invention, the case in which the products are packed is sequentially stacked, and the multistage stacking cases are sequentially sent out, and a plurality of rows of the sent out multistage stacking cases are formed to form the multistage stacking case. For example, the stacking case row group can be conveyed together with a predetermined mounting member at one time.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The case transfer device 1 of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a conveyor 4 that conveys a case 3 for storing products 2 such as tofu packs, and an empty case 3 provided above the conveyor 4 in a multi-tiered state It has a destacking device 5 for supplying to the packing position. Furthermore, on this conveyor 4, a stage disassembling device 5
Adjacent to the above, a product stuffing device 6 for arranging the products 2 in an empty state on the conveyor 4 in an aligned state, and a stacking device 7 for sequentially stacking the cases 3 stuffed with the products 2 are provided. . Further, the transfer device 1 for feeding the multi-stage stacking cases 3 stacked in a predetermined number of stages by the stacking device 7 from the conveyor 4 and aligning and holding them in a line.
It has 0 and. The transfer device 10 moves the multi-stage stacking cases 3 arranged in a line onto a pallet 11 which is a placing member positioned in a direction orthogonal to the aligning direction, and aligns the pallets 11, and repeats this process. In this case, a plurality of multi-tiered case rows are formed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conveyor 4 is composed of, for example, a roller conveyor, and from the empty case stock section 12 in which empty cases 3 are stocked to the product 2
It is provided up to a position where the case 3 after being packed in is transferred to the transfer device 10. Then, each conveyor roller 41
Is driven by a drive motor 42 and a drive chain 43 for conveying the case 3. In addition, the conveyor 4 has a standby position for the case 3, a disassembled position,
Positioning stoppers 44, 45, 46, 47, 4 are provided at each of the product packing position, stacking position, and unloading position.
8 is between the protruding position and the retracted position from the upper surface of the conveyor 4,
It is provided so as to be able to move back and forth by an actuator (not shown).
Therefore, when the case 3 is conveyed by the rotation of the conveyor roller 41, and the case 3 comes into contact with the stopper 44 or the like, the conveyor roller 41 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the case 3 and idles, and the case 3 moves to the position of the stopper 44 or the like. It can be stopped at.

The destacking device 5 allows the empty cases 3 which are stacked and stopped in the empty case stock section 12 of the empty case 3 to be conveyed one by one on the conveyor 4. . The stage disassembling device 5 includes a frame 51 provided so as to straddle the conveyor 4, a pair of arms 54 provided on both sides of the frame 51, and a pair of clamps attached to the arms 54 and holding the case 3. It has a section 52 and a lifting device 53 for lifting the arm 54. As a result, the multi-tiered empty case 3
The case 3 in the second stage from the lowermost part is held by the clamp part 52 and lifted to retract the stopper 45, so that only the empty case 3 at the lowermost part is conveyed to the product packing device 6 by the conveyor 4.

A conveyor 61 for loading the products 2 is attached to the product packing device 6, and the products are packed vertically and horizontally in the case 3 by an automatic alignment packing device (not shown).

The stacking device 7 stacks the cases 3 in which the products 2 are packed by the product packing device 6 on the conveyor 4 in multiple stages. The stacking device 7 has the same structure as the destacking device 5 and straddles the conveyor 4. Frame 7 provided on
1, a pair of arms 74 provided on both sides of the lower end of the frame 71, a pair of clamp portions 72 attached to the arm 74 for holding the case 3, and an elevating device 73 for elevating the arm 74. .

At the end of the conveyor 4 on the unloading side, a feeding cylinder 13 for feeding out two sets of the multi-stage stacking cases 3 on the conveyor 4 and a lowermost part of the second set of multi-stage stacking cases 3 which is operated by the feed-in cylinder 13. A feeding member 14 is provided that is in contact with and retractable from the feeding device 14 and feeds it to the transfer device 10. Then, adjacent to the carry-out side end of the conveyor 4,
A transfer device 10 is provided for sequentially arranging and holding the multi-stage stacking cases 3 sent out from the conveyor 4 in a line.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the transfer device 10 has a support plate 101 made of stainless steel or the like for holding and holding two sets of multi-stage stacking cases 3 aligned in a row, and on the support plate 101. And a pressing member 102 that presses and holds the upper end of each of the two sets of multi-stage stacking cases 3. The number of cases 3 mounted on the support plate 101 is appropriately set depending on the size thereof, and can be changed depending on the size of the support plate 101. The support plate 101 is a rail 10 provided on the bottom surface of a box-shaped movable support frame 110.
5 is suspended and held movably via a travel guide 106. The rail 105 is horizontal and is the case 3
The rail 1 is provided on a side edge portion of the support plate 101 which is provided in a direction orthogonal to the carrying-in direction and is parallel to the carrying-in direction of the case 3.
The operating portion of the air cylinder 103, which is a support plate pulling device that moves the support plate 101 in the horizontal direction along the line 05, is connected. Further, the pressing member 102 is the pressing member 10
The operating portion of the air cylinder 104 that drives the unit 2 in the vertical direction is connected, and is attached so as to be movable in the vertical direction by a guide member 107 provided in the vertical direction. And
Holding member 102, air cylinder 103, air cylinder 1
04 is also attached to the movable holding frame 110.

The movable holding frame 110 is movably suspended from a rail 113 attached to a beam 112 of a holding frame 111 of the transfer device 10 via a traveling guide 114. The movable holding frame 1 is attached to the beam 112.
An air cylinder 115, which is a drive device for moving the 10 along the rail 113 in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the carrying-in direction of the case 3, is attached. In addition, a stopper bar 116 that is horizontally extended is attached to the end surface of the frame 111 on the opening side of the movable holding frame 110 so that the multi-tiered pallets 3 do not fall outward.

The movable support frame 110 and the support plate 101 are located in front of the support plate 101 in the moving direction.
A pallet 11 located below 01 is installed.
In this embodiment, the pallet 11 is of a size that allows two sets of the multi-stage stacking cases 3 each having one row to be placed in two rows.
As shown in FIG. 9, a positioning device 122 that determines the position of the pallet 11 is provided on the side of the pallet 11. The positioning device 122 is swingably provided around the swing shaft 121 and is provided on the side surface of the pallet 11 with an engaging portion 123.
L-shaped holding piece 124 that engages with and holds the pallet 11
And a connecting piece 125 that swings integrally with the holding piece 124,
And an air cylinder 126 connected to the connecting piece 125 and swinging the holding piece 124.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the movable holding frame 11
A guide plate 130 is provided along the edge of the support plate 101 on the side opposite to the front plate 110a of No. 0 so as to be movable back and forth between a position protruding above this edge and a position retracted downward. Has been. The guide plate 130 is a multi-tiered case 3
Of the movable holding frame 110 when the sheet is carried onto the support plate 101.
The multi-tier stacking case 3 is prevented from coming off at the open end opposite to the front plate 110a. The guide plate 130 is swingably provided about a swing shaft 131, and an air cylinder 133 is connected to the guide plate 130 via an interlocking member 132.

Next, the operation of the case transfer device of this embodiment will be described. First, empty cases 3 are stacked in a predetermined number of stages, and empty case stock units 1 on the conveyor 4 are stacked.
2 is sent to the stage disassembling device 5, and the stage disassembling device 5 sequentially places the lower case 3 on the conveyor 4 below the stage disassembling device 5. At this time, the empty multistage stacking case 3 in front of the stacking device 5 is made to stand by by the stopper 44, and when the stacking is completed, the next stacking case 3 is sent to the stacking device 5. In the disassembling device 5, the multi-stage stacking case 3 is stopped by the stopper 45, and the clamp part 52 of the disassembling device 5 holds and lifts the case 3 in the second stage from the bottom. Then, the stopper 45
When is lowered, the lowermost case 3 is sent to the product stuffing device 6 by the conveyor 4 and abutted on the stopper 46 to be stopped. Here, in the stage disassembling device 5, the multistage stacking case 3 that has been lifted is lowered onto the conveyor 4,
The stopper 45 projects, and the multi-stage stacking case 3 is stopped at the position of the disassembling device 5. Then, the case 3 sent to the product stuffing device 6 by the conveyor 4 is stopped by contacting the stopper 46, and the product stuffing device 6 automatically stores the product 2 in the case 3.
The case 3 accommodating the products 2 is sent to the stacking device 7 by the conveyor 4, abuts against the stopper 47, stops, and is stacked by the stacking device 7. In this stacking, first, the lowermost case 3 of the case 3 that is in contact with the stopper 47 is held and lifted by the clamp portion 72 of the stacking device 7, and then the case 3 sent by the conveyor 4 is moved to the stopper 47. When abutting and stopping, the multi-stage stacking case 3 that has been lifted is lowered onto the case 3 that is stopped on the conveyor 4, and this is repeated to stack in a predetermined number of stages.

In the case 3 stacked in a predetermined number of stages by the stacking device 7, the feeding member 14 is actuated by the feeding cylinder 13 at the end on the unloading side of the conveyor 4, and every two sets from the unloading side end. It is carried onto the support plate 101 of the transfer device 10. At this time, the stopper 48 provided at the sending-out end of the conveyor 4 repeats projecting and retracting so as to send out the multi-stage stacking cases 3 every two sets. In addition, the guide plate 130 on the side edge of the support plate 101 is moved by the air cylinder 133.
It is set to a protruding position from 1, and guides the case 3 so as not to come off the support plate 101. Then, when the two sets of multi-stage stacking cases 3 are placed on the support plate 101, the air cylinders 104 of the movable holding frame 110 are actuated, and the pressing member 102 causes the upper end portion of the multi-stage stacking case 3 to move to the support plate 101.
It is pressed down to the side and held.

In this state, the movable support frame 1 of the transfer device 10
The air cylinder 115 first moves by a full stroke along the rail 113, and is carried above the pallet 11 and far in the moving direction. After that, the air cylinder 103 operates while the two sets of multi-stage stacking cases 3 are held by the air cylinder 104 and the pressing member 102,
The support plate 101 is movable along the rail 105.
Retreat to the bottom of. Then, two sets of multi-tiered cases 3
The support plate 101 is pulled out while being in contact with the front plate 110a of the movable holding frame 110, and is placed on the pallet 11 as it is. Where pallet 1
The distance between 1 and the support plate 101 is small, and the multi-stacked case 3 does not fall down. After this, the movable support frame 110
And then the next multi-stage stacking case 3 is continuously placed on the support plate 101 in the same manner, and the same operation is performed.

Here, the first set of multi-tiered cases 3 is
The air cylinder 115 operates for the full stroke as described above, and places the movable support frame 110 at a position distant in the transfer direction. Then, when transferring the next set of multi-stage stacking cases 3, the air cylinder 115 operates only for a half stroke, the movable support frame 110 is positioned above the front side in the moving direction of the pallet 11, and similarly the multi-stage stacking cases 3 are moved. Place at the front position.

After that, the positioning device 12 for the pallet 11 is used.
The second holding piece 123 is retracted, the pallet 11 is released from the clamp, and the upper case 3 is transported to a predetermined storage place by a forklift or the like (not shown).

According to the case transfer method and apparatus of this embodiment, four sets of multi-stage stacking cases 3 can be placed and transferred on one pallet, and the transfer efficiency is greatly improved. In addition, the upper part of the multi-tiered pallet is pressed down by the pressing member 10.
Since it is held and transferred by means of 2, the multi-tiered pallet 3 will not fall down.

The case transfer method and apparatus of the present invention are
It suffices that the cases stacked in multiple stages can be arranged in a plurality of rows in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the positions and types of the stacking device and the transfer device do not matter. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the conveyor 4 may be formed in a U shape and each device may be arranged. As a result, even if there is no elongated space in the factory, it can be arranged and space efficiency can be improved. Further, the empty case stock portion 12 or the delivery device 10 may be arranged in a bent L-shape at any position.

Further, the case can be arbitrarily selected such as a container for containing the product or a cardboard, and the placing member may be a predetermined larger case or other members other than the pallet. Further, the drive device and the support plate extraction device of the present invention may be a drive device such as a motor, a hydraulic cylinder or the like, in addition to the air cylinder.

[0026]

According to the case transfer method and apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of multi-stage stacking cases stacked in a predetermined number of stages are aligned in a single row, and the single row of multi-stage stacking cases is moved in a direction orthogonal to the alignment direction. Are arranged in a predetermined position to form a predetermined plurality of multi-tiered case rows, and a plurality of multi-tiered case rows can be formed with a simple configuration, which can greatly improve the product transfer efficiency. It is a thing.
Moreover, the working space is minimal and the factory space efficiency is good.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a case transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view from a case stock section to a case sending section of the case transfer device of this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view from the case stock portion to the case delivery portion of the case transfer device of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a transfer device of the case transfer device of this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a transfer device of the case transfer device of this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a right side view of the transfer device of the case transfer device of this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a left side view of the transfer device of the case transfer device of this embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway vertical sectional view showing a mounting portion of the guide plate of the transfer device of the case transfer device of this embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway vertical sectional view of a pallet clamp device of the transfer device of the case transfer device of this embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of a case transfer device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case transfer device 2 Product 3 Case 4 Conveyor (conveying device) 5 Stacking device 6 Product packing device 7 Stacking device 10 Transfer device 11 Pallet (mounting member) 101 Support plate 102 Holding member 103 Air cylinder (Pulling support plate) Device) 104 Air Cylinder (Biasing Device) 110 Movable Holding Frame 115 Air Cylinder (Drive Device)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A product is housed in a predetermined case, the case containing the product is sequentially stacked, a plurality of multi-stage stacking cases stacked in a predetermined number of stages are aligned in a row, and the one-row multi-stage stacking case is aligned. A case transfer method characterized by moving in a direction orthogonal to the direction and aligning at a predetermined position, and similarly forming a plurality of predetermined rows of the multistage stacking case. 2. A product stuffing device for storing products in a predetermined case, a stacking device for sequentially stacking products-containing cases, and a multi-stage stacking device for sequentially stacking a predetermined number of stages by the stacking device. A plurality of sets of carrying devices arranged in one row, and the above-mentioned multi-stage stacking case carried by the carrying device and arranged in one row are moved and aligned on a mounting member positioned in a direction orthogonal to the alignment direction, and this is repeated. A case transfer device, comprising: a transfer device for forming a plurality of the above-mentioned stacked case lines on the mounting member. 3. The transfer device includes a support plate for mounting a plurality of multi-stage stacking cases in a row, a drive device for moving the multi-stage stacking cases together with the support plates onto a predetermined mounting member, and a predetermined position. 3. The case transfer device according to claim 2, further comprising: a support plate pulling device that pulls out the support plates that support the multi-stack case. 4. The holding device for pressing the upper end portion of the multi-stage stacking case to hold the multi-stage stacking case between the supporting plate and the supporting plate, and the holding member on the side of the support plate. The case transfer device according to claim 3, further comprising an urging device for urging.