JPS6231367Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Purpose of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) This invention relates to a box distribution device that descends and distributes boxes such as cardboard boxes.

(Prior art) In a sorting device that sorts fruits, potatoes, etc.
This type of box distribution device, which can be used in a fruit sorting device that transfers and supplies empty boxes to each boxing section for packing the fruits to be sorted, is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 49-1346 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1973-1989.
There is a container transfer device and a method of inserting it into an article protection container as shown in Japanese Patent No. 15093. However, both of these conventional examples are simply container moving devices that do not have a guide member for holding and opening the box because they are both urged inwardly to hold the box and are located inside the chute opening. In the case where the empty boxes are lowered by their own weight into the chute, the empty boxes are directly dropped to be transferred to the chute opening by a conveyor, air cylinder, etc., so the empty boxes are not tilted inside the chute or are pulled toward the chute opening. This could easily result in an uncertain descent transfer, such as not being able to be lowered.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) Therefore, in this invention, the device is held by the left and right guide members and guided over the chute opening, and after being guided over the chute opening, the guide members are opened to the left and right to release the clamping guidance. Therefore, when the box is pushed along both guide members, it is held elastically, so the box does not tilt during movement.
Since the entire bottom of the box is located within the chute opening of the box descent path, the grip on the box is released, so the box falls down the box descent path in an approximately horizontal position. It is something.

[Structure of the idea]

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, in this invention, the box body 3 is placed on the chute opening 15 of the box body lower passage 5 for dropping the box body 3 downwardly. Guide members 17, 17, which are mutually biased inwardly, are arranged in parallel along the moving direction of the box body 3 in order to freely extend and contract the box body 3 to be transferred from both left and right sides to the center side. However, because the entire bottom surface of the box body 3 held between the guide members 17, 17 was moved and positioned within the chute opening 15 of the box body descent path 5, the guide members 17, 17 were moved. Open the box body 3 to the left and right
It is characterized by being designed to release the grip of the fruit, which prevents the empty boxes from being tilted in the chute and prevents empty boxes from being tilted in the chute in order to box the fruits to be sorted. It descends without getting caught.

(Operation) In this device, the end of the box-distribution conveyor 1 carrying the bottom of an empty box 3 is sandwiched between the left and right guide members 17, 17 on both the left and right sides of the box 3 and sends it out onto the chute opening 15 of the box descending path 5,
On the left and right sides of the chute opening 15, the guide members 1
7, 17 simultaneously open to the left and right sides, releasing the clamping of the box 3 and allowing it to fall. The box 3 dropped down the box descent path 5 from the chute opening 15 has its bottom received by the box supply conveyor below and is transported and processed.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of this invention will be described in detail using the drawings.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 exemplifies a case where the apparatus is attached to a fruit sorting device for sorting fruits such as apples according to their sizes.

In Fig. 1, 1 is a box conveyor that transports boxes 3, such as cardboard cases, assembled into a box shape by a box-making machine (not shown), and is placed, for example, on the 2nd floor of the workshop. are doing. Reference numeral 5 denotes a box descent path formed inside a rectangular tube-shaped descent tube, the upper end of which looks into the stock platform 7 connected to one side of the box distribution conveyor 1, and the lower end of which is connected to a plurality of boxes. It is visible above the starting end of a box feeding conveyor 9 that continuously transports boxes 3 and supplies them to a weighing machine (to be described later) at the terminal end. It is supplied onto the box conveyor 9. Reference numeral 11 denotes a pushing device, which pushes the boxes 3 on the box distribution conveyor 1 onto the stock stand 7.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a guide device provided above the chute opening 15 of the box descending path 5, which guides both sides of the box 3 sent above the chute opening 15 by the pushing device 11, and also holds the box. This controls the posture of No. 3.

The guide device 13 is configured as follows. That is, in FIGS. 1 and 2, 17,
Reference numeral 17 denotes a pair of guide members arranged side by side along the moving direction of the box 3, and the entrance side of the box 3 is opened in a figure-eight shape. The guide members 17, 17 have a pair of links 19, 19 arranged at symmetrical positions, respectively.
and link 21. Each link 19 has one end pivotally connected to a shaft 23 projecting above the stock base 7, and the other end pivotally connected to a pin 25 provided on the guide member 17. Each link 19 urges the guide members 17, 17 inwardly with a torque spring 27 attached to the shaft 23. This biasing force may be sufficient to prevent the box 3 from falling under its own weight. each link 2
1 is arranged such that one end can engage with a rotating member 29 such as a roller provided at the terminal end of the guide member 17, and the other end is pivotally connected to the tip of a piston rod 33 of a fluid pressure device 31 such as a hydraulic cylinder. Furthermore, the intermediate portion is pivotally connected to a shaft 35 which projects above the stock base 7. Reference numeral 37 denotes a stopper for each link 19, which is fixed on the stock stand 7.
When each link 19 is locked by the stopper 37, the distance a between the guide members 17, 17 is configured to be smaller than the width b of the box body 3 by an appropriate width. 39 is a detector such as a limit switch, and the box body 3 is the guide member 1.
The piston rod 33 moves while being held between the guide members 17 and 17, and is pressed due to being positioned above the chute opening 15, and a command is given to the hydraulic cylinder 31 to extend the piston rod 33.
open at the same time.

Reference numeral 41 denotes a fruit sorting device that sorts selected fruits such as fruits according to their sizes, and includes a fruit sorting section 43 for sorting the selected fruits, and a sorting section 43 for sorting the selected fruits, and a fruit sorting device 41 for sorting selected fruits such as fruits according to their sizes. A storage conveyance unit 47 for storing selected fruits in each sorting category and conveying them to a supply device 45 to be described later.
It is composed of.

The supply device 45 is composed of a wide large quantity conveyor 49 and a narrow small quantity conveyor 51 which are arranged in parallel.
Inclined guide plates 53, 55 for guiding selected fruits discharged from 51, and supply regulating plates 57, 59 connected to the inclined guide plates 53, 55 are provided. The supply regulating plates 57, 59 are controlled by a fluid pressure device (not shown) provided in the machine frame 61 into an upright state about the shafts 63, 65 and a posture along the inclination direction of the inclined guide plates 53, 55. It is configured to be able to rotate to stop the selected fruits flowing down or to supply them to the supply funnel 67.

The box conveyor 9 is constituted by a pair of left and right chains 75, 75 suspended between drive sprockets 71, 71 installed between the side frames 69, 69, and driven sprockets 73, 73. A plurality of boxes 3 mounted on chains 75, 75 are continuously transferred in the direction of arrow A.

Reference numeral 77 denotes a weighing machine disposed on the terminal end side of the box feeding conveyor 9. The weighing machine 77 supports a pedestal 79 on which the box body 3 is mounted via links 81, 81, and stores the box body 3 inside the box body 3. When a weight slightly smaller than the predetermined weight to be stored in the box 3 of the weighing machine 77 is weighed, the rotation of the mass transfer conveyor 49 is stopped and the supply regulating plate is 57 to stand up and rotate to restrict the flow of selected fruits, and when weighing a predetermined weight to be stored in the cardboard case 3 of the weighing machine 77, the rotation of the small quantity transfer conveyor 51 is stopped. , the supply regulating plate 59 is erected and rotated to stop the flow of selected fruits.

Reference numeral 83 denotes an extrusion device for feeding the cardboard cases 3 on the box conveyor 9 onto the pedestal 79. The extrusion device 83 is disposed below the terminal end of the box conveyor 9, and The extrusion rod 87 is configured to be able to protrude and retract onto the conveyance path and swing as described above. By operating in conjunction with stoppers (not shown) provided on the conveyance path before and after the extrusion rod 87, the boxes 3 can be reliably fed one by one onto the pedestal 79.

Reference numeral 89 denotes a conveyor for conveying the cardboard case 3 in which selected fruits are weighed and boxed to the drawer conveyor 91.

In the above configuration, the boxes 3 assembled into a box shape by a box making machine (not shown) and transported by the box distribution conveyor 1 are pushed onto the stock stand 7 by the pushing device 11. When the box body 3 is fed in, the box body 3 that was previously fed onto the stock table is pushed into the guide device 13.

Under normal conditions, the guide device 13 is biased by each link 19 so that the distance a between the parallel guide members 17, 17 is smaller than the width b of the box body 3 by an appropriate width. ing. When the box body 3 having the width dimension b is forcibly inserted between the guide members 17 and 17 held at this interval a, each link 19 rotates outward with the shaft 23 as a fulcrum. As each link 19 rotates, the guide members 17, 17 move, and the distance between the two guide members 17, 17 is widened to the width b of the box body 3, and the box body becomes as shown in FIG. As shown, it is held in the correct posture by both guide members 17, 17. When the cardboard case 3 held between the guide members 17 and 17 is located approximately at the center of the chute opening 15 of the box descent path 5, the detector 39
detects this and issues a signal, actuating the hydraulic device 31 and causing the piston rod 33 to extend. When the piston rod 33 extends, the link 21 rotates outward about the shaft 35, and the rotation of the link 21 causes the guide members 17, 17 to further move in parallel, as shown in FIG. , the distance between the guide members 17, 17 is widened, and the box 3 falls from the chute opening 15 into the box descending path 5 in a correct posture and is fed to the box conveyor 9.

When the box 3 falls, the piston rod 33 of the fluid pressure device 31 is shortened, and the urging force of each link 19 by the torque spring 27 causes both guide members 17, 17 to return to their original states.

[Effect of idea]

Since the present invention has the structure described in the claims of the utility model registration, it is held by the left and right guide members and guided over the chute opening, and after being guided over the chute opening, the guide members are opened left and right to guide the gripping. In order to release the box 3, the two guide members 17, 17
Since the box 3 is elastically clamped when being pushed along the box, the box 3 does not tilt during movement, and the entire bottom surface of the box 3 is inside the chute opening 15 of the box descent path 5. Since the box 3 is released from the grip due to the position, the box 3 can fall in the box descending path 5 in a correct posture in a substantially horizontal state. Therefore, the box body will not become clogged at the chute opening. Also, the corners of the box will not collide with the conveyor and be crushed. Furthermore, the box does not turn upside down and fall, allowing for extremely smooth automatic operation.

It should be noted that this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be implemented in modes other than the above-mentioned embodiments.

Furthermore, although reference numerals are written in the claims section of the utility model registration for convenience of comparison with the drawings, the reference numerals do not limit the technical scope of this invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of this invention, in which Fig. 1 is a layout explanatory diagram of a fruit sorting device equipped with a box distribution device, Fig. 2 is a plan explanatory diagram of the main parts, and Fig. 3
5 to 5 are explanatory plan views showing the operating state of the main parts. Explanation of the symbols representing the main parts of the drawing, 3...
Box body, 5...Box descent path, 15...Chute opening,
17... Guide member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The box 3 to be transferred onto the chute 15 is held on the chute opening 15 of the box lower path 5 where the box 3 is lowered and delivered, and is freely expanded and contracted from both left and right directions to the center. Guide members 17, 17, which are urged inwardly toward each other, are arranged side by side along the moving direction of the box 3, so that the entire bottom surface of the box 3 held between the guide members 17, 17 is moved. Due to the position in the chute opening 15 of the box descending path 5, the guide members 17, 17 are opened to the left and right to release the box 3 from being clamped. Box device.