JPS62201721A - Article aligner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To aim at preventing an article from being bent or slipped down, by feeding the aligned article up to a spot just under a tip of a rocking table after retracting a conveyor, while making the table tip go down, delivering the article before alignment and simultaneously advancing the conveyor forward and making both these articles so as to be superposed on each. CONSTITUTION:When a tube blank 2 reaches the specified position on a belt conveyor 6, a sensor detects it and a movable block 9 is moved to the rear, whereby a crossfeed plate 18 transfers the blank 2 onto a mounting plate 28 of a rocking table 24. And, when one side end of the blank 2 comes into contact with a transfer plate 39, the movable block 9 stops, and the blank 2 is pinched from both sides by these plates 39 and 18, thus deformation, slippage or the like are remedied. Next, the plate 18 is turned round from a position A to B and, after avoiding any interference with the blank 2 on the conveyor 6, the plate 18 returns up to the position A after the movable block 9 returns up to the initial position by a motor's reversion. Next, a blank 2a is conveyed up to a spot just under a tip of the table 24, while a head of another blank 2b becomes small by rocking motion ranging from a position C to D of the table 24, whereby the blank 2b is slipped down on the blank 2a and piled up.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an apparatus for aligning articles in a partially overlapping manner.

In general, items are aligned by partially overlapping each other in order to improve storage efficiency and loading/unloading efficiency. Tube fabrics with talcum powder adhered to them are temporarily stored on a storage shelf partially overlapped.

The applicant has already filed the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 80-294843 (
(filed December 27, 1985) proposed a device for use in such cases. This device includes a fixed lower conveyor on which the aligned tube fabrics are placed, and a fixed upper conveyor placed above the lower conveyor in parallel with the lower conveyor and on which the pre-aligned tube fabrics are placed, The lower conveyor is moved backward until the aligned tube fabrics reach just below the downstream end of the upper conveyor, and the upper and lower conveyors are moved forward together to cause the unaligned tube fabrics to fall onto the aligned tube fabrics, resulting in partial alignment. The process of aligning them is repeated to align the tube fabrics.

! However, such devices cannot be used to align extremely soft tube fabrics made of ultra-thin rubber, or to batch multiple tube fabrics whose longitudinal ends are stacked one above the other. When arranging the tubed fabrics by using the upper conveyor, there is a large drop from the upper conveyor to the lower conveyor, so when the tubed fabrics before alignment fall from the downstream end of the upper conveyor, bends, meandering, etc. may occur, and the upper tubed fabrics may slip. There is a risk.

. - These 15 states include a conveyor that can run in the front-back direction and has items that have been lined up, and a conveyor that is installed on one side of the conveyor and has items that have not been lined up, and that moves up and down centering on the rear end. a swinging table capable of swinging toward the swing table; and a transfer means for transporting the articles to be aligned toward the tip of the swinging table; After swinging the swinging table downward to bring its tip close to the sorted articles, the conveyor sends out the articles to be sorted, and at the same time advances the conveyor so that the articles to be sorted partially overlap with the sorted articles. This can be solved by

1'' The conveyor is moved backwards and the aligned articles placed on the conveyor are conveyed to just below the tip of the swinging table, and the swinging table is swung downward to bring the tip closer to the aligned articles. and reduce the head difference between them as much as possible. Next, the objects to be aligned are sent out toward the tip of the swing table by the transfer means and dropped from the tip. At this time, the conveyor is advanced so that the articles to be sorted partially overlap the articles that have been sorted, and the articles are aligned.

Here, as mentioned above, the articles to be sorted fall from the tip of the swinging table where there is almost no drop, so even if the articles to be sorted are extremely soft or have multiple pieces stacked on top of each other, , bending, meandering, etc. will not occur, and the item on the upper side will not slide off.

1 presentation 1 Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

In ml, 2IN, l is a horizontal conveyor,
This conveyor l is driven in the front and back direction by a drive means (not shown). Arranged articles 1 such as tube fabrics 2 are stored on this conveyor 1, and the widthwise ends of these tube fabrics 2 partially overlap each other. 5 is a first frame, and this first frame 5 is provided with a belt conveyor 8 extending perpendicularly to the paper surface of FIG.
is attached, and the tube fabric 2 before alignment is conveyed by this belt conveyor 6. A rail 7 extending in the front-rear direction is fixed to the upper part of the first frame 5.
A movable table 9 is movably supported via a plurality of rollers 8. 10 is a motor fixed to the first frame 5, and a tin rocket 1 is attached to the output shaft of this motor 10.
1 is attached. 12.13 is the rail 7
It is a sprocket that is supported at the rear end and rotates integrally, and a chain 14 is passed between the sprocket 11 and the sprocket 12.
A chain 16 partially connected to the movable base 9 is passed between the sprocket 3 and the sprocket 7) 15 supported at the tip of the rail 7. As a result, when the motor 10 operates, the movable base 8 moves in the front and back direction along the rail 7. A motor 17 is attached to the movable base 9, and this motor 1
A transverse feed plate 18 that can be engaged with the tube fabric 2 on the belt conveyor 6 is fixed to the output shaft 7. The transverse feed plate 18 can swing between a vertical position HA shown in solid lines in FIG. 1 and a horizontal position B shown in phantom lines. The aforementioned movable platform 8. Motor 10. Chain 14.16, motor 17. The cross-feeding plate 1 as a whole constitutes a cross-feeding means 19 that cross-feeds the tube fabric 2 on the belt conveyor B. A second frame 21 is installed behind the first frame 5, and a rotation shaft 23 is rotatably supported by a bearing 22 attached to the upper part of the second frame 21. 24 is a rotation shaft 23 at the rear end.
A swing table 24 is connected to the conveyor 1 and can swing up and down about the rotation shaft 23 as a swing center.

The swing table 24 includes a horizontal support beam 25 perpendicular to the conveyor 1, rails 2B attached to both ends of the support beam 25 and parallel to the conveyor 1, and support beams 25. It has a flat placement plate 28 attached to the rail 26 via a support beam 27, and on the placement plate 2, the tube fabrics 2 before alignment are fed horizontally from the belt conveyor 6 and placed. be placed. Piston rod 3 of cylinder 32 whose head side is attached to frame 31
3 is connected to the tip of the rail 26, and as a result, when the cylinder 32 is actuated, the swing table 24 is moved to the horizontal position C shown in solid line in FIG.
It swings up and down between the inclined position shown by the imaginary line. 36
is a transfer table movably supported by the rail 26 via a plurality of rollers 37, and a connecting beam 38 fixed to the transfer table 36 is provided with a connecting beam 38 that moves back and forth on the mounting plate 28 and supports the support beam 25. A transfer plate 39 parallel to is attached. 41 is a motor attached to the upper end of the support beam 25, and a chain is connected between a sprocket 42 fixed to the output shaft of the motor 41 and a sprocket 43 supported at the rear end of the rail 26. 44
The stake was passed.

Further, a chain 48 is passed between the sprocket 43 and the sprocket 45 supported at the tip of the rail 2B. A portion of the chain 4θ is fixed to the transfer table 36, and as a result, when the motor 41 is activated, the transfer table 38 moves in the front and back direction while being guided by the rails 28. The transfer table 3e, the transfer plate 39, the motor 41, and the chains 44 and 46 described above are collectively included in the a-position plate 2.
A transfer means 47 is configured to transfer the tube fabrics 2 placed on B toward the tip of the swing table 24 before alignment. J1! A transfer plate 39 is provided at the tip of the connecting beam 38.
A plurality of cylinders 52 are attached with a vertical plate (parallel to the vertical plate) 51, and the head side is connected to this vertical plate
A rotating plate 54 whose rear end is rotatably connected to the lower end of the vertical plate 51 is connected to the tip of the piston rod 53 . Further, a transfer plate 3 is provided at the tip of the rotating plate 54.
A gripper 55 is attached that cooperates with the gripper 9 to grip the widthwise side edges of the tube fabric 2. 5B is provided between the mounting plate 2 at the horizontal position C and the belt conveyor 6, and is located between the belt conveyor 6 and l! Placement plate This is a guide plate for supporting the tube fabric 2 from below and facilitating the transfer when the tube fabric 2 is transferred.

Next, the operation of one embodiment of the present invention will be explained.

At present, tube fabrics 2 with talc powder adhered to their periphery and cut into predetermined lengths are being conveyed one after another by a belt conveyor 8. When any of the tube fabrics 2 reaches a predetermined position on the belt conveyor θ, a sensor (not shown) detects this and the motor 10 is activated. For this reason,
The chain 14.1B runs and the movable base 9 moves rearward while being guided by the rails 7. At this time, since the cross-feeding plate 18 is located at the vertical position ff1A, the cross-feeding plate 18 transfers the tube fabric 2 on the belt conveyor B to the a position plate of the swing table 24 located at the horizontal position C. 28 and transfer it. Then, when the widthwise side end of the tube fabric 2 comes into contact with the transfer plate 39, the movement of the movable table 9 is stopped. At this time, the tube fabric 2 is held between the transfer plate 39 and the cross-feeding plate 18 from both sides in the width direction, so that deformations, deviations, etc. that occur during conveyance by the belt conveyor 8 or during cross-feeding are forcibly corrected. This prevents the valve from coming into contact with the rubber part of the tube fabric 2 and causing damage when performing overlapping alignment, which will be described later. play) 1
After B rotates from the vertical position A to the horizontal position ff1B and avoids interference with the tube fabric 2 on the belt conveyor 6,
The motor 10 rotates in the opposite direction to that described above, and the movable base 9 returns to its initial position. Next, the lateral feed plate 18 returns to the vertical position ff.
After returning to 1A, the piston rod 53 of the cylinder 52 protrudes and the first rotation plate 54 rotates downward. As a result, the first gripper 55 and the transfer plate 39 grip one side end of the tube fabric 2. At this time, the first tube fabrics 2a already lined up on the conveyor 1 are conveyed to just below the tip of the swing table 24 as the conveyor 1 retreats. Next, the piston rod 33 of the cylinder 32 protrudes, and the swing table 24 swings downward about the rotation shaft 23 from the horizontal position C to the inclined position. As a result,! ! The tip of the mounting plate 28 approaches the starting tube fabric 2a, and the tube fabric 2b on the mounting plate 28
At the 0th order, where the drop when falling is extremely small, the motor 41 is activated to run the chains 44 and 46 to move the transfer plate 39 toward the tip of the swing table 24. As a result.

The tube fabric 2b is sent out toward the tube fabric 2a while sliding on the storage plate 28. At this time, the tube fabric 2b is held at one end by the gripper 55 and the transfer plate 3B, so it does not slip down due to its own weight, and the other end in the width direction of the tube fabric 2b is held between the tube fabric 2b and the transfer plate 3B. When the conveyor 1 contacts the top surface of the central portion remote from the valve 2a, the conveyor 1 is advanced at the same speed as the extrusion speed of the transfer plate 39. As a result, the tube fabric 2a and the tube fabric 2b move forward in the same direction and at the same speed, and while the tube fabric 2b falls from the tip of the storage plate 28, its other side end is placed on top of the one side edge of the tube fabric 2a. partially overlap. When most of the tube fabric 2b is transferred from the mounting plate 28 to the conveyor 1, the piston rod 53 of the cylinder 52 is retracted, the gripping body 55 is released from the tube fabric 2b, and the tube fabric 2b is no longer clamped. be done.

Next, when the tube fabric 2b is completely transferred from the storage plate 28 to the conveyor 1, the transfer table 36 stops moving, but the stopping position of the transfer table 3B is controlled according to the width dimension of the tube fabric 2. Ru. Next, the piston rod 33 of the cylinder 32 is retracted and the swing table 24 returns from the inclined position to the horizontal position C, and the motor 41 rotates in the opposite direction as described above, and the transfer table 36 returns to the initial position. Then, the conveyor l runs rearward, and the last tube fabric 2 is moved backward until it reaches a predetermined position directly below the tip of the swing table 24. Then, such operations are repeated one after another, and a large number of tube fabrics 2 are arranged on the conveyor 1 so as to be partially overlapped.

In the above-described embodiment, the conveyor 1 was moved backward to convey the first tube fabric 2a to just below the tip of the swing table 24, and then the swing table 24 was swung downward. After swinging the swinging chiffle 24 downward, the conveyor 1 may be moved backward to convey the tube fabric 2a to just below the tip of the swinging table 24. In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the tube fabric 2 was transversely fed by 1 (1! I) and then sent out and stacked, but in this invention, Multiple pieces of tube fabric stacked one above the other 2
It is also possible to transversely feed the material all at once, then send it out from the swinging table 24 and stack it on the tube material 2.

As explained above, according to the present invention, even if the article is extremely soft, or even if a plurality of articles are stacked one above the other, bending or meandering may occur, or the upper side may Items will not slide off.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line II in FIG. 1.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A conveyor that can run in the front-rear direction and on which the aligned articles are placed; a swinging table installed above the conveyor on which the articles to be sorted are placed; and a swinging table that can swing up and down about its rear end; a conveyor for transporting the preceding article toward the tip of the swinging table, the conveyor is moved backward to convey the aligned articles to just below the tip of the swinging table, and the swinging table is swung downward. After the tip approaches the aligned articles, the conveyor sends out the unaligned articles by the transfer means and advances the conveyor so that the unaligned articles partially overlap the aligned articles, thereby aligning the articles. Article alignment device.