JPH0970828A - Preform cooling and transporting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the efficiency of cooling work by a method in which the installation space of inline equipment is minimized, in the event of a temporary stop due to trouble with downstream equipment, upstream equipment is not affected and can continue operation. SOLUTION: Tray conveyers 41a-41e for transporting trays 36 in which a large number of preforms are inserted and tray conveyers 42a, 42b for transporting the empty trays 36 are installed as inline equipment with a vertical two stage type structure between a preform molding means and a blow molding means, and preform accumulators by tray piling and cooling means 35 are installed on the upper stage tray conveyers 41-41.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a preform cooling / conveying device for transferring a preform molded by an injection molding machine to a blow molding machine in a subsequent process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 10 shows an example of a conventional continuous production line for container blow molding and filling. As shown in FIG. 10, first, raw material pellets of plastic, which is the material of the container, are put into the injection molding machine 1, the preform 10 is molded in the injection molding machine 1, and the preform 10 is taken out from the mold by the unloading machine 2. It is separated from the gate associated with the injection and made into individual units, which are put into the preform box 12 by the chute 15. The boxes 12 filled with the preforms 10 are stacked in the preform stock area. This preform 10 is cooled in stock.

The box 12 containing the preform 10 is carried from the preform stock area to the unscrambler 3 by the carrier 16 in accordance with the required production amount in the subsequent process. They are aligned in rows and fed by the preform conveyor 17 into the heating machine 4 of the blow molding machine 5. Preform 10 here
Is heated to a temperature at which it is easily deformed above the glass transition point,
It is mounted in the mold of the blow molding machine 5 and blow molded into a product container. The blow molding machine 5 has a large number of open and close molds arranged horizontally at equal pitches on the circumference, and while horizontally rotating, the preform 10 is sequentially taken in, the mold is closed, the container is formed by clean air blow, and the holding and cooling are performed. A commercially available blow molding machine that performs the steps of mold opening and container removal. The preform 10 is a test tube-shaped bottomed container also referred to as a parison shown in part A of FIG. 10, and becomes a container 11 by blow molding as shown in part B of FIG. 10.

The container 11 is carried into the filling chamber by the container conveyor 18, and is moved to the rotary filling machine 6 while the delivery timing is adjusted by a star wheel or the like, and the rotary filling machine 6 is rotated in the arrow direction to fill the container 11 with liquid. To fill. The filled container 11 is moved to the capping machine 7 in the next step by the container conveyor 19, where the cap 11 is covered and sealed, and the discharge conveyor 20 sends it to the packaging step. In this equipment, when the liquid to be filled is a beverage, a single row preform conveyor 17 or
It is necessary to provide a device for cleaning the preform or the container in the middle of the container conveyor 18. When the filling liquid requires cooling and filling of a beverage containing carbon dioxide gas, a sterilizing device is further required in the preceding conveyor.

[0005]

In the production line in which the preform molding process and the blow molding process are separated as described above, there is an advantage that the preform can be dealt with as a purchase product from the outside. When the preforms are stocked, they are transported and stored in the container, so that the preforms may be deformed or damaged, and dust in the air may be accumulated inside the preforms. In addition, a storage place and a carrier for stocking are also required, which requires a lot of manpower and cost. Especially when the filling liquid is a beverage, it is necessary to wash and sterilize the container before the filling process. Therefore, in order to save the stock space of the preforms, reduce the work steps, and save the labor of the workers, the preforms 10 molded and taken out by the injection molding machine 1 are immediately aligned in a single row. By transferring to the reform supply conveyor 17, the box 12 is eliminated as described in FIG. 10 above, the unscrambler 3 is omitted, and the preform 10 is cooled while being sent on the preform conveyor 17 to obtain the preform. An in-line blow molding machine in which blow molding is performed directly from the conveyor 17 and liquid is filled by the filling machine 6 can be considered.

However, in such an in-line blow molding filling equipment, when the downstream equipment is temporarily stopped for some reason in the process downstream from the blow molding (in a normal manufacturing equipment, the container collapses, the container bites). Due to the clogging of the container due to jamming, etc., the problem of stopping the flow of the container occurs several times a day), and the injection molding machine must be stopped. When the injection molding machine stops for a few minutes, the molten resin is thermally deteriorated due to stagnation, so the resin in the injection cylinder must be discharged by air shot when restarting the next operation, so the line is stopped for several times the stop time, A loss of resin material and a large loss of working time occur.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has the following advantages:
A tray conveyor that conveys trays with a large number of preforms and a tray conveyor that conveys empty trays are installed as in-line equipment with a two-tier structure, and the upper conveyor tray conveyor is divided into multiple zones, each driven independently. An intermittent drive system with a source is provided, tray stacking means is provided in the first zone, and trays holding the preforms conveyed from the upstream by the stacking means are stacked in a plurality of stages, and the second to the last front zone Cools and conveys preforms that are inserted in multiple trays on the tray conveyor,
A multi-stage transport structure is provided in which a tray stage disassembling means is provided in the final zone and the trays in the upper stage are sequentially sent onto the conveyor in the process by the stage disassembling means.

By covering the periphery of the tray conveyor with a booth and making the inside of the booth a clean room which also serves as a cooling chamber by aseptic air injection, the preform is cooled to a constant temperature during transportation and is not exposed to the outside air. Maintains the sterility and enables transfer to the subsequent process.
In addition, the multi-stage transport structure makes it possible to reduce the installation space and provide a large number of preform accumulators (second to final front zones), and the upstream equipment will not be affected by the temporary stoppage due to a failure in the downstream equipment. The operation can be continued without receiving it, eliminating the loss of resin material in the injection molding machine. Further, the accumulator can be used as a stocker for empty trays, and it is a means for solving the problem by reducing the tray storage place and the work process and saving labor.

[Operation] A preform injection-molded by the injection molding machine is inserted into one tray for a few shots by a take-out machine installed in the injection molding machine, and is placed in the first zone of the tray transfer conveyor. It is sent in and stopped. The fed tray is lifted up by the lowering / raising operation of the stacking means provided in the first zone and stopped at a certain height position, and waits until the next tray is fed. When the next tray is fed and the tray conveyor in the first zone stops, the stacking means descends,
The upper tray is stacked on the lower tray.

Next, the two stacked trays are lifted up again by the lifting operation of the stacking means and stopped at a constant height position. By repeating this operation multiple times, when it is confirmed that the trays are stacked in a predetermined number of stages,
By the descending operation of the stacking means, the trays are stacked on the tray conveyor in the first zone in a state of being stacked in a plurality of stages, and by starting the tray conveyors in the first and second zones,
It is sent onto the tray conveyor in the second zone and cooled by jetting sterile air (low temperature). When it is confirmed that the stacked trays do not exist in the downstream zone, the tray conveyors are activated to sequentially feed the second zone to the final zone.

[0011] In the final zone, the destacking means performs the intermittent rising operation while separating the stacked trays of a plurality of trays, and sends the uppermost tray onto the conveyor of the next process by the sending mechanism, and the uppermost tray is sent out. When completed, the destacking means again raises / stops, sending out the next tray, and repeating this operation, the trays of a plurality of stages sent to the final zone are completed the downstream delivery by the destacking means. .

In the first zone, the next tray stacking operation is repeated during the above cooling / conveying process. Moreover, the injection preform molding operation is repeated even while the downstream equipment is stopped, and the trays holding the preforms successively fed onto the tray conveyor in the first zone are stacked and stacked in the second zone. Accumulator (second to final front zone) transported on conveyor
Holds a constant temperature while being stacked on the conveyor, and stays without being contaminated by touching the outside air.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective view showing a preform cooling / conveying device of this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a tray conveyor of this embodiment, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing stacking means of this embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the step-out means of this embodiment, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the cooling chamber of this example, FIG. 6 is a front view showing the step-up means of this example, and FIG. 7 is a step-out of this example. 8 is a front view showing the means, FIG. 8 is a side view showing the feeding mechanism of this embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the tray of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the preform cooling / conveying apparatus 31 according to the present embodiment is configured so that the preform 10 inserted in the tray 36 is placed between the upstream preform molding step and the downstream blow molding step. The tray conveyor 32, the stacking means 33, the stacking means 34, and the cooling chamber 35 are used for cooling and carrying while maintaining the aseptic state by in-line.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tray conveyor 32 has an upper and lower two-stage structure. That is, the upper stage is a tray conveyor (hereinafter, referred to as upper stage conveyor) 41 that conveys the tray 36 holding the preform 10, and the lower stage is a tray conveyor (hereinafter, referred to as lower stage conveyor) 42 that conveys the empty tray 36. It was done. The upper conveyor 41 is divided into a plurality of zones (5 zones in the present embodiment), the first conveyor 41a in the first zone, the second conveyor 41b in the second zone, the third conveyor 41c in the third zone,
The fourth conveyor 41d in the fourth zone and the final conveyor 41e in the final zone have the same structure and are incorporated in the conveyor frame 43.

A motor 47 that can be independently driven and a stopper 44 that can be moved up and down are provided for each conveyor in each zone, and a roller 45 is rotated and a tray 36 is conveyed through a chain 48 connected to a sprocket of the motor 47. It The tray 36 is positioned and stopped by the rise of the stopper 44 on the downstream side. Further, the tray guide 46a is provided at the entrance of the first zone, and the tray guides 46b are provided on the left and right of the second to fourth zones, and the lateral deviation of the tray 36 to be conveyed is regulated within a certain range.

The lower conveyor 42 is a conveyor for returning the empty tray 36 from which the preform 10 has been taken out on the downstream side to the upstream side, and is divided into a conveying conveyor 42a and a feeding conveyor 42b. The conveyer 42a and the feed 42b have the same structure and are incorporated in the conveyor frame 49, and the roller 51 rotates via the chain 50 connected to the sprockets of the motors 47a and 47b. However, the transport conveyor 42a is slow and the infeed conveyor 42a
b is fast. Further, a stopper 52 is provided between them. Therefore, due to the speed difference between the transport conveyor 42a and the infeed conveyor 42b, the leading tray 3 to be transported is transported.
6 and the succeeding tray 36 are spaced from each other, and the succeeding tray 36 is temporarily stopped by the stopper 52 which can be moved up and down.
The conveyor frames 43 and 49 are supported by the main body frame 53. The start / stop of the motor and the lifting / lowering operation of the stopper are based on signals from a sensor (not shown).

The stacking means 33 is provided in the first zone of the upper conveyor 41 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6. That is, the guide rail 61 is fixed to a main body frame (not shown), and a guide unit 62 that slides up and down is engaged with the guide rail 61, and the guide unit 62 is L-shaped.
The mold beam 63 is fixed. In the L-shaped beam 63,
Finger unit 64 for holding trays 36 to be stacked
Is fixed and the nut 65 is fixed to the central portion. The finger unit 64 includes a finger 64a, a bracket 64b, and a side guide 64c,
As shown in FIG. 6, the finger 64a is a bracket 64b.
It is rotatably mounted on the shaft via a shaft 64d, and is held in a horizontal state by the upper surface of the bracket 64b and the lower surface of the finger 64a.

The servomotor 67 is fixed to a body frame (not shown), and the ball screw 68 is screwed onto the nut 65 and is connected to the servomotor 67 via a joint 74. A shaft 69 is connected to the lower end of the finger unit 64 via a joint 73 having an adjustable length, and the height levels of the left and right finger units 64 are adjusted. The timing pulley 7 is attached to the shaft 69.
0 is mounted, the left and right timing pulleys 70 are communicated by tensioning the timing belt 71, and the timing pulley 70 with the tension shaft 72 inserted causes
The tension of the timing belt 71 is adjusted to synchronize the rotation of the left and right ball screws 68. The ball screw 68 and the shaft 6
9. The tension shaft 72 is supported by bearings (not shown).

The stage separating means 34 is provided in the final zone of the upper stage conveyor 41, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7.
That is, the servo motor 80 is connected to the speed reducer 81, and the left and right output shafts are connected to the gear box 82. A sprocket 83 is fixed to the gear box 82, and a sprocket 83 is fixed to a drive shaft 85 via a chain 84.
It is tightly attached. A sprocket 86 is mounted on the drive shaft 85 at regular intervals in the front and rear, and a sprocket 86 is also mounted on the driven shaft 87 at regular intervals in the front and rear.

The drive shaft 85 and the driven shaft 87 are attached to the sprocket 8
A chain 88 is tensioned via 6 and attachments 89 are attached to the chain 88 at equal intervals. A holding beam 91 for holding the tray 36 attached to the attachment 89 via a spacer 90 Chain 88
Move up synchronously. The ascending movement side of the chain 88 is guided by a guide (not shown), and the holding beam 91 does not incline and securely holds the tray 36 and ascends.

As shown in FIG. 7, the mounting pitch M of the holding beams 91 is set to be larger than the stacking pitch P of the trays 36, and the plurality of trays 36 (PN stages) are conveyed into the stage disassembling means 34. Is a plurality of holding beams 91
Without interference at any position of (MN dimension),
It has a structure that can be carried in. Also, the top tray 3
6 is stopped at the upper position S, and the air cylinder 93 of the feeding mechanism 92 for feeding onto the conveyor B in the subsequent process is fixed to the main body frame.
A wedge-shaped receiving fitting 94 shown in (A) is attached. Further, as shown in FIG. 8A, a roller 95 is rotatably attached to the delivery side main body frame at a position higher by a height K than the lower surface of the uppermost tray 36.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cooling chamber 35 has a structure in which the stacking means 33 and the disassembling means 34 arranged on the tray conveyor 32 are surrounded by a booth 100 and double as a clean room. . On the inlet side and the outlet side of the cooling chamber 35, 100 openings of the conveyor passage are provided.
d and 100e are provided, and a door 100 that can be opened and closed is provided on the right side surface.
a, 100b, 100c are arranged, and the pipe 101 for cooling the preform is arranged in the left side surface in the second to fourth zones,
Preforms 10 inserted into stacked trays 36
Nozzles 102 for cooling are attached to a plurality of pipes 101.

The pipe 101 is connected to the main pipe 103 and is connected to an air compressor or blower (not shown) installed outside the room, and the presence or absence of the stacking tray 36 on the conveyor is confirmed by a sensor (not shown). The injection of aseptic air is controlled by opening and closing the automatic valve provided in the section to cool the preform 10 on the tray 36 to be transported. Further, an exhaust pipe is attached below the left side surface and is connected to a blower 104 installed outside the room to exhaust the air in the cooling room.

As shown in FIG. 9, the tray 36 has columns 106 projecting from four corners on the plate 105. A protrusion 106a for fitting is provided at the upper end of the column 106, and a recess 106b for fitting is provided at the lower end thereof.
The trays 36 are stacked by fitting a and 106b. A large number of pins 107 for inserting the preform 10 are arranged on the plate 105, and the preform 10 is inserted and conveyed.

The operation of the preform cooling / conveying device of the present embodiment having the above structure will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, in the injection molding machine (not shown) in the previous step, a take-out machine provided with the preform 10 inserts several shots into the pins 107 of the tray 36 shown in FIG. When it is confirmed that the tray does not exist on the first conveyor 41a, the first conveyor 41a is activated together with the conveyor A, the tray 36 is fed onto the first conveyor 41a, positioned by the first stopper 44a, and stopped. To do.

When the presence of the tray 36 is confirmed on the first conveyor 41a, the stacking means 33 shown in FIG. 3 rotates the ball screw 68 together with the servomotor 67, and the nut 67 screwed onto the ball screw 68 is moved. Through the L-shaped beam 63
At the same time, the finger unit 64 descends. In the process of its operation, the tray 36 on the first conveyor 41a is moved to the position shown in FIG.
Positioned by the side guide 64c as shown in
The fingers 64a rotate upward by coming into contact with the side surface of the tray 36, and immediately before reaching the descending position L, the fingers 64a return to the horizontal state where they can be lifted by the weight of the tip portion.

Next, the ball screw 68 reversely rotates together with the servo motor 67, and the L-shaped beam 6 is passed through the nut 65.
The fingers 64a of the plurality of finger units 64, which move up together with 3, hold both sides of the tray 36 and stop at the elevated position H. Again, the first conveyor 41a
When it is confirmed that there is no tray above, the first conveyor 41a is activated together with the conveyor A, the next tray is fed onto the first conveyor, positioned by the first stopper 44a, and stopped.

When it is confirmed that the tray 36 is present on the first conveyor 41a, the stacking means 33 descends by the same operation as the descending operation described above, side-positions the tray 36 on the conveyor, and descends the tray. 36 are piled up,
As shown in FIG. 9, the convex portion 1 of the column 106 of the lower tray 36
The recess 106b of the column 106 of the upper tray is engaged with 06a, the finger unit 64 stops at the lowered position L, and the finger unit 64 is lifted by the reverse rotation of the servo motor 67, and is stacked (two stacks). Tray 36
Is lifted and stopped at the elevated position H. When a predetermined number of stages are stacked by repeating this operation, the finger unit 64 stops at the lowered position L.

When it is confirmed that the tray 36 is not present on the second conveyor 41b, the stopper 44a of the first conveyor 41a is lowered, the first conveyor 41a and the second conveyor 41b are activated, and the trays stacked are stacked. 36 is conveyed from the first conveyor 41a onto the second conveyor 41b, and the tray 3 is conveyed onto the second conveyor 41b by a sensor (not shown).
When the presence of 6 is confirmed, the automatic valve provided in the pipe 101 is opened, and cooling is started by injecting sterile air (low temperature).

When it is confirmed that the tray 36 does not exist on the downstream conveyor, the upstream tray 36 is cooled and sent onto the downstream conveyor by the lowering of the stopper 44 of the upstream conveyor and the activation of both conveyors. By this repeated operation, the tray 36 is sent onto the final conveyor 41e while being cooled. During normal operation, the second conveyor 41b is cooled and conveyed without staying from the second conveyor 41e to the final conveyor 41e, and even if the downstream equipment is stopped for some reason, the preform molding of the upstream equipment is continued and is fed in the meantime. The trays 36 are stacked on the first conveyor 41a and stay upstream from the fourth conveyor 41d that also serves as an accumulator.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the final conveyor 4
Holding beam 91 of the step-out means 34 installed at 1e
And the stacking tray 36 fed without interference
When the servo motor 80 shown in FIG. 4 is activated, the left and right drive shafts are rotated via the speed reducer 81, the gear box 82 and the chain 84, and the holding beam 91 fixed to the chain 88 is moved upward via the sprocket 86. By doing so, the stacking trays 36 are sequentially separated, and ascend, as shown in FIG. 7B, and stop at the upper position S.

When the uppermost tray 36 stops at the upper position S, as shown in FIG. 8 (A), the wedge-shaped receiving metal fitting 94 fixed to the air cylinder 93 is expanded by the expansion operation of the air cylinder 93 of the feeding mechanism. When the tray 36 is moved forward while being lifted, the tray 36 rides on the rollers 95,
Without sliding on the holding surface of the holding beam 91, FIG.
The gap K shown in (B) is maintained, and it is sent out onto the conveyor B of the blow molding means in the subsequent process.

Depending on the equipment on the downstream side, the preform 10
The taken-out empty tray 36 is sent onto the conveyor 42a activated by the motor 47a in the lower part of FIG. 2 and conveyed to the position of the stopper 52. By the acceptable signal on the upstream side, the motor 47b of the feeding conveyor 42b is activated and the stopper 52 is released to feed the empty tray 36 at the leading end to the upstream side, and the operation of the stopper 52 stops the subsequent empty tray 36, This operation is repeated in response to the acceptance possible signal, and the empty tray 36 is conveyed from the downstream side to the upstream side, that is, returned.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, means for inserting a large number of preforms on a tray and transporting them while cooling is provided between the upstream side preform molding means and the downstream side blow molding means. By installing it as an in-line facility covered with a booth, the preforms are separated and inserted on the tray by the conveyor in the cooling room that also serves as a clean room, and they do not come into contact with each other or directly touch the outside air. It can be transported without deformation, damage and dust accumulation on the reform, and it keeps the sterilized condition at the time of preform molding and cools by spraying sterile air (low temperature), so there is no need to wash or sterilize further. Blow molding the preform to improve work efficiency and reduce costs.

Further, by stacking and transporting trays, it is possible to minimize the installation space of in-line equipment and to install a large number of preform accumulators to be transported. The upstream equipment can continue to operate without being affected, and the preforms molded during that time are inserted in the trays and stacked, allowing the preforms to stay while being cooled on the conveyor. In order to eliminate the loss of molten resin material inside the molding machine, empty trays after preform and blow molding can be stacked and stored in the accumulator, reducing the tray storage space and work process, and saving labor. Cost reduction by improving product quality and reducing resin material costs, equipment costs, and personnel costs. Increase the excellent effect as.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a preform cooling / conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a tray conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing stacking means according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a step-out device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a cooling chamber according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a stacking unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a step-out device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a feeding mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a tray according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a layout diagram of a prior art preform molding and filling device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Preform 31 Cooling / Conveying Device 32 Tray Conveyor 33 Stacking Means 34 Unstacking Means 35 Cooling Chamber 36 Tray 41 Upper Conveyor 42 Lower Conveyor

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Isao Yamamoto No. 1 Takamichi, Iwazuka-cho, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Nagoya Machinery Works (72) Toshio Miyajima Iwatsuka-cho, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Kyutansho 60-1 Kashibishi Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A preform molded by an injection molding machine is put on a tray every several shots by a take-out means in the next step, cooled while being conveyed, taken out from the tray and reheated, In a container blow molding / filling facility in which a large number of blow molds are sequentially transferred to a blow molding machine that is arranged in a horizontal annular shape and molded into a container, and a liquid is filled into the container, between the preform molding means and the blow molding means. In addition, a tray conveyor that conveys trays with a large number of preforms and a tray conveyor that conveys empty trays are installed as in-line equipment in a two-tier structure with upper and lower trays. A preform cooling / conveying device, which is provided with an accumulator and a cooling means. 2. A preform which is conveyed from upstream by tray stacking means in the first zone by dividing the upper tray conveyor into a plurality of zones and adopting an intermittent drive system having independent drive sources respectively. The trays holding the trays are stacked in a plurality of stages, the preforms inserted in the trays in a plurality of stages are cooled and conveyed in the second to final front zones, and the tray disassembling means in the final zone causes the trays to be separated from the upper trays. A preform cooling / conveying device characterized by having a multi-stage conveying structure for sequentially sending to the next process so that it can be used as a stocker for empty trays by providing a lot of accumulators for trays holding preforms with less installation space. 3. The preform cooling / conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the tray conveyor is covered with a booth to form a clean room which also serves as a preform cooling chamber for aseptic air injection. 4. The structure according to claim 2, wherein the tray stacking means provided in the first zone is a finger lifting mechanism having a tray alignment mechanism, and has a structure capable of horizontal synchronization of vertical movement and horizontal level adjustment. Preform cooling and conveying device. 5. The tray disassembling means provided in the final zone according to claim 2, which enables reception in a tray stacking state, is lifted and stopped while being sequentially stacked and separated from the upper tray by a holding beam, and is sent out. The preform cooling / conveying device is provided with a mechanism capable of feeding the tray without contacting the lower surface of the tray with the upper surface of the holding beam.