JP2013023380A - Conveyance apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveyance apparatus which can smoothly take over articles from a previous step and can immediately perform restoration when a failure occurs.SOLUTION: The conveyance apparatus 10 has a conveyance face 21 for carrying a processed cheese XA1, and in an upstream area 21b on the conveyance face 21 to which the processed cheese XA1 is supplied from the previous step, a slit 21a through which a lower side of the conveyance face 21 can be viewed is formed, and a gangplank 19 that blocks the slit 21a is provided to be able to be attached to and removed from the conveyance face 21 by a magnet 20.

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport device that transports articles on a transport surface.

  In a packaging line for packaging processed cheese, processed cheese that is internally packaged with aluminum foil is placed on a mount and externally packaged with a plastic bag (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Placement of process cheese on a mount is performed while being transported toward the packaging machine by a transport device including a transport surface for process cheese and a transport surface for mount (for example, see Patent Document 2).

  As such a transport apparatus, for example, the transport apparatus 100 shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C is put into practical use. FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the transfer device 100 as viewed from the side. FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the transport device 100 as viewed from the upstream side to the downstream side (from the right side to the left side in FIG. 5A). FIG. 5C is a top view of the transfer device 100. In each drawing, illustration of some components is omitted as appropriate, and the drawings are simplified.

  The transport device 100 includes a mount YA1 alone or a finger conveyor 101 that transports the process cheese XA1 placed on the mount YA1, and an overhead conveyor 102 that transports the process cheese XA1.

  The finger conveyor 101 includes a pair of transport surface forming members 103 and a plurality of fingers 104. The pair of transport surface forming members 103 are arranged apart from each other in the width direction, and form a transport surface 105 for the process cheese XA1 and a transport surface 106 for the mount YA1. A slit 105a is formed on the transport surface 105 along the transport direction. Similar to the conveyance surface 105, a slit 106 a is formed on the conveyance surface 106 along the conveyance direction.

  The transport surface 105 for the process cheese XA1 is located above the transport surface 106 for the mount YA1. The transport surface 105 is set to have a shorter length in the transport direction than the transport surface 106, and further forms a slope 105b in which a downstream region is inclined downward. The slope 105b guides the processed cheese XA1 transported by the overhead conveyor 102 to the transport surface 106.

  The processed cheese XA1 guided to the transport surface 106 is placed on the mount YA1. The plurality of fingers 104 protrude above the conveying surface 106 through the slit 106a and travel along the slit 106a. The plurality of fingers 104 push the mount YA1 on the transport surface 106 or the process cheese XA1 placed on the mount YA1.

  The overhead conveyor 102 includes a plurality of push plates 107. The plurality of push plates 107 protrude toward the conveyance surface 105 and travel on the conveyance surface 105 in synchronization with the plurality of fingers 104 of the finger conveyor 101. The plurality of push plates 107 push the process cheese XA1 on the transport surface 105.

  According to the above transport apparatus 100, the mount YA1 is pushed on the transport surface 106 by the fingers 104 of the finger conveyor 101. Process cheese XA1 is pushed on the conveyance surface 105 by the push plate 107 of the overhead conveyor 102. Then, the processed cheese XA1 is guided to the transport surface 106 by the slope 105b and placed on the mount YA1. The processed cheese XA1 placed on the mount YA1 is pushed on the transport surface 106 by the fingers 104 of the finger conveyor 101 and transported toward the packaging machine (not shown).

JP 2009-173303 A (see FIG. 1) Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 49-012680 (see FIGS. 1 to 6)

  Depending on the layout of the packaging line, the processed cheese XA1 is supplied from the side with respect to the transport surface 105. In this case, the process cheese XA1 may be caught in the slit 105a. That is, the process cheese XA1 may not be taken over smoothly from the previous step.

  Therefore, it is conceivable that the slit 105a is closed or the slit 105a is not formed in the first place. However, when the slit 105a is closed or the slit 105a is not formed, the lower side of the conveyance surface 105 cannot be confirmed.

  For this reason, when trouble occurs below the conveyance surface 105, such as when the mount YA1 is clogged, it cannot be recovered quickly, and the conveyance device 100 needs to be stopped for a long time. Such a problem is not limited to the conveying device 100 that conveys the processed cheese XA1, and is common to conveying devices that convey various articles such as other foods and daily necessities.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is a transport device in which an opening is formed on a transport surface to which an article is supplied from the previous process, and can smoothly take over the article from the previous process, and has a problem. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport device that can be quickly restored even when the problem occurs.

  (1) The present invention has a conveyance surface on which an article is conveyed, and an opening is formed on the conveyance surface where the article is supplied from a previous process so that the lower part of the conveyance surface is visible. The transfer device is characterized in that a bridge plate that closes the opening is detachably attached to the transfer surface by a magnet.

  According to the present invention, since the opening can be closed by the crossing plate, it is possible to prevent the article fed from the previous process from being held by the opening. That is, the article can be taken over smoothly from the previous process.

  And since the transition board is detachably provided by the magnet, it is possible to easily confirm the state below the transport surface, and it is possible to quickly recover when a problem occurs below the transport surface. In addition, since the magnet is used, it is possible to securely fix the transition plate with a simple configuration.

  (2) The present invention is also the transport device according to (1) above, wherein the transport surface has a recess into which the jumper plate is fitted.

  According to the said invention, the position which arrange | positions a transition board is specified by the hollow. Thereby, even if it is a case where a transition board is removed from a conveyance surface, the reproducibility of the transition board is ensured.

  (3) The present invention is also the transport apparatus according to (2) above, wherein the thickness of the jumper plate is larger than the depth of the recess.

  According to the above invention, the upper end of the jumper plate fitted in the recess can be positioned above the transport surface. Thereby, the articles sent to the jumper can be smoothly conveyed without being caught in the recesses.

  (4) In the present invention, any one of the above (1) to (3), wherein the transport surface is provided with a hole for embedding the magnet deeper than a thickness of the magnet. It is a conveyance apparatus as described in.

  According to the said invention, the upper end of a magnet can be located below a conveyance surface by making the depth of a hole deep compared with the thickness of a magnet. Thereby, a crossing board is stuck with a space | interval with respect to a magnet. As a result, it is possible to easily peel off the fixed crossing plate by hand.

  (5) In the present invention, the transport surface may be a first transport surface, and the opening may be formed along the transport direction at a center in the width direction of the first transport surface. A second transport surface is provided below the first transport surface so that the transport direction coincides with the first transport surface and is longer than the first transport surface, and a first feed member that pushes the article on the second transport surface is disposed. (1) to (4) above, wherein the first pushing member is arranged so that the upper part projects from the opening on the downstream side of the transition plate on the first conveying surface. It is a conveyance apparatus in any one of.

  According to the said invention, the articles | goods conveyed by a 1st conveyance surface can be reliably mounted, conveying on the articles | goods conveyed by a 2nd conveyance surface.

  (6) The present invention also includes a second feeding member that pushes the article while moving above the first conveying surface and delivers the article to the first feeding member protruding from the opening. The transfer device according to (5) above.

  According to the above invention, the article supplied to the first transport surface can be smoothly transferred to the pushing member.

  According to the conveyance apparatus as described in said (1)-(6) of this invention, while being able to hand over articles | goods smoothly from a previous process, even if it is a case where a malfunction generate | occur | produces, it can recover rapidly.

(A) is sectional drawing which looked at the conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention from the side, (B) is sectional drawing which looked at the conveying apparatus shown to (A) from the upstream to the downstream, (C) It is a top view of the conveying apparatus shown to (A). It is an external appearance perspective view of a conveyance surface formation unit. It is the expanded sectional view which looked at the principal part of the conveyance surface formation unit from the side. It is a figure explaining the effect | action of the conveying apparatus by the process cheese sent from a front process, (A) shows the state before process cheese is sent to a 1st conveyance surface, (B) is on a 1st conveyance surface. The state in the middle of process cheese being sent is shown, (C) shows the state after process cheese was sent to the 1st conveyance surface. (A) is sectional drawing which looked at the conventional conveying apparatus from the side, (B) is sectional drawing which looked at the conveying apparatus shown to (A) from the upstream to the downstream, (C) is (A It is a top view of the conveying apparatus shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, the conveyance apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, the structure of the conveying apparatus 10 is demonstrated using FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of the transfer device 10 as viewed from the side. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the transport device 10 as viewed from the upstream side to the downstream side (from the right side to the left side in FIG. 1A). FIG. 1C is a top view of the transfer device 10. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the transport surface forming unit 13. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the transport surface forming unit 13 as viewed from the side. In each drawing, illustration of some components is omitted as appropriate, and the drawings are simplified.

  The conveying device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is installed in a line (not shown) that collects a plurality of process cheeses XA1 that are internally packaged with aluminum foil and collectively packs them together with a mount YA1 in a plastic bag (not shown). The Four process cheeses XA1 are sequentially fed into the transport device 10 from the previous step.

  Then, the transport device 10 joins the four process cheeses XA1 fed from the previous process with the mount YA1 while sequentially transporting the processed cheeses XA1 toward the packaging machine (not shown), and places them on the mount YA1. The mount YA1 has such a size that four process cheeses XA1 arranged in a line can be placed.

  In addition, although this embodiment demonstrates to the case where the process cheese XA1 is conveyed as an example, the conveyance apparatus of this invention can be used when conveying various articles | goods, such as another foodstuff and daily necessities. In the present embodiment, the case where the sheet is placed on the mount YA1 will be described as an example. It can be used when placing on various articles.

  The transport device 10 includes a mount YA1 alone or a finger conveyor 11 that transports the processed cheese XA1 placed on the mount YA1, and an overhead conveyor 12 that transports the process cheese XA1.

  The finger conveyor 11 includes a conveyance surface forming unit 13, a pair of sprockets 14, 15, an annular chain 16 that runs by being hooked on the pair of sprockets 14, 15, and an equidistant pitch on the chain 16. A plurality of attached fingers 17 and a motor (not shown) as a power source are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the transport surface forming unit 13 includes a pair of transport surface forming members 18 disposed so as to form the slits 21 a and 22 a apart from each other in the width direction, and a bridge plate 19 spanning the slit 21 a. And four magnets 20 for fixing the bridge plate 19.

  The pair of transport surface forming members 18 forms a first transport surface 21 on which the process cheese XA1 is transported and a second transport surface 22 on which the mount YA1 is transported. In the first transport surface 21, a slit 21a serving as an opening along the transport direction is formed at the center in the width direction. Similar to the first transport surface 21, the second transport surface 22 is formed with a slit 22 a serving as an opening along the transport direction at the center in the width direction. Each slit 21a and 22a penetrates in the up-and-down direction, and the lower part becomes visible.

  The 1st conveyance surface 21 for process cheese XA1 is located so that a conveyance direction may be made to correspond along the upper direction of the 2nd conveyance surface 22 for mount YA1. The first transport surface 21 is set shorter than the second transport surface 22. Specifically, the first transport surface 21 includes an upstream region 21b on the upstream side, a slope 21c inclined continuously downward to the upstream region 21b, a downstream region 21d downstream to the slope 21c, It has.

  The upstream area 21b shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 functions as an area into which the processed cheese XA1 is fed from the previous step. The upstream area 21b includes a recess 21e formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and four holes 21f formed in the four corners of the recess 21e.

  The recess 21 e has a size that is slightly larger than the transition plate 19, and has a depth D (<H) that is smaller than the thickness H of the transition plate 19. The jumper plate 19 is fitted into the recess 21e.

  Each of the four holes 21f has a larger size than the magnet 20 and a depth d (> h) larger than the thickness h of the magnet 20. In each of these four holes 21f, one magnet 20 is embedded and fixed with screws (not shown).

  The crossover plate 19 is a plate formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and has a size slightly smaller than that of the recess 21e. The bridge plate 19 is made of a magnetic material such as SUS430, that is, a material that sticks to the magnet 20. That is, the crossover plate 19 is detachably fixed to the recess 21 e of the first transport surface 21 by the magnet 20.

  Thereby, the transition board 19 is spanned over a part of slit 21a. That is, the slit 21a can be divided into a transfer area (reference numeral omitted) on which the bridge plate 19 is bridged and another area (reference numeral omitted). As will be described later, most of the areas other than the transfer area function as protruding areas that allow the fingers 17 to protrude upward from below the first conveying surface 21.

  The slope 21c guides the processed cheese XA1 conveyed by the overhead conveyor 11 to the second conveying surface 22 via the downstream area 21d. The downstream area 21d guides the process cheese XA1 inclined downward on the slope 21c to the second transport surface 22 after leveling.

  Returning to FIG. The mount YA1 is sent from the upstream to the second transport surface 22 for the mount YA1. In addition, the process cheese XA1 is fed into the second transport surface 22 in units of four from the first transport surface 21 downstream.

  One sprocket 14 rotates in a steady manner by driving a motor. The other sprocket 15 rotates in conjunction with the sprocket 14 by the steady running of the chain 16. The chain 16 travels steadily so as to circulate by the steady rotation of the sprocket 14.

  The plurality of fingers 17 protrude upward from below the second transport surface 22 via the slits 22a. The plurality of fingers 17 normally travel on the second transport surface 22 by the steady travel of the chain 16. As a result, the plurality of fingers 17 function as the first pushing member and push the process cheese XA1 alone on the first carrying surface 21 in the upstream region, and at the same time on the second carrying surface 22. The mount YA1 alone is pushed. Alternatively, the plurality of fingers 17 push the process cheese XA1 placed on the mount YA1 together with the mount YA1 in the downstream area.

  Further, the plurality of fingers 17 protrude upward from below the first transport surface 21 through the slit 21a from the middle of the slope 21c to the downstream area 21d. That is, the plurality of fingers 17 travel on the first conveyance surface 21 in a steady manner from the middle of the slope 21c to the downstream area 21d. Thereby, the some finger 17 pushes the process cheese XA1 on the 1st conveyance surface 21 toward the packaging machine (illustration omitted) from the middle of the slope 21c to the downstream area 21d.

  The overhead conveyor 12 is disposed obliquely above the finger conveyor 11. That is, the overhead conveyor 12 is disposed along the transport direction diagonally above the area from the upstream area 21b to the middle of the slope 21c in the finger conveyor 11.

  Specifically, the overhead conveyor 12 is attached to the pair of pulleys 23 and 24, the annular belt 25 that is hooked on the pair of pulleys 23 and 24, and the belt 25 at equal intervals. A plurality of fingers 26 and a motor (not shown) serving as a power source are provided.

  One pulley 23 is steadily rotated by the power of the motor. The other pulley 24 steadily rotates in conjunction with the pulley 23 as the belt 25 travels. The belt 25 travels in a steady manner so as to circulate by the steady rotation of the pulley 23. The traveling speed of the belt 25 is set to be the same as the traveling speed of the chain 16 in the finger conveyor 11.

  The plurality of fingers 26 protrude toward the first transport surface 21. The plurality of fingers 26 steadily travel on an area from the upstream region 21 b to the middle of the slope 21 c on the first transport surface 21 by the steady traveling of the belt 25. Thereby, the several finger 26 functions as a 2nd pushing member, and pushes the process cheese XA1 on the 1st conveyance surface 21 in the area | region from the upstream area 21b to the middle of the slope 21c, The said process cheese XA1 is transferred to the finger 17 of the finger conveyor 11.

  Next, the basic operation of the transport apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The mount YA1 sent from the upstream is pushed on the second transport surface 22 by the fingers 17 of the finger conveyor 11. The processed cheese XA1 fed from the previous step is pushed on the first transport surface 21 by the fingers 26 of the overhead conveyor 12. That is, the processed cheese XA1 is sent from the previous step to the upstream region 21b and is pushed by the finger 26 from the upstream region 21b to the slope 21c. Process cheese XA1 pushed to the slope 21c is taken over by the finger 17 of the finger conveyor 11, and is pushed from the slope 21c to the downstream area 21d. Thereafter, the processed cheese XA1 is guided to the second transport surface 22 and placed on the mount YA1. The processed cheese XA1 placed on the mount YA1 is pushed together with the mount YA1 by the fingers 17 of the finger conveyor 11, and is conveyed toward a packaging machine (not shown).

  Next, the effect | action of the conveying apparatus 10 by the process cheese XA1 sent from a front process is demonstrated based on FIG. 4 (A)-FIG.4 (C). FIG. 4A shows a state before the process cheese XA1 is sent to the first transport surface 21. FIG. FIG. 4B shows a state where the process cheese XA1 is being fed into the first transport surface 21. FIG. FIG. 4C shows a state after the process cheese XA1 is fed into the first transport surface 21.

  As shown to FIG. 4 (A), process cheese XA1 is sent in from the side of the upstream area 21b. And as shown in FIG.4 (B), process cheese XA1 is induced | guided | derived to the transition board 19 currently fixed to the upstream area 21b. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4C, the process cheese XA1 is placed on the transition board 19 and the feeding is completed.

  As described above, according to the transport device 10, the slit 21 a is closed by the crossover plate 19. Thereby, it is prevented that the process cheese XA1 fed from the previous step is caught in the slit 21a. That is, the process cheese XA1 can be taken over smoothly from the previous step.

  And since the transition board 19 is provided so that attachment or detachment is possible by the magnet 20, when a malfunction generate | occur | produces under the 1st conveyance surface 21, such as the mount YA1 being clogged, it can recover quickly. In addition, since the magnet 20 is used, the bridge plate 19 can be reliably fixed with a simple configuration.

  Furthermore, since the 1st conveyance surface 21 has the hollow 21e into which the crossing board 19 is inserted, the position which bridges the crossing board 19 is specified by the hollow 21e. Thereby, even if it is a case where the transition board 19 is removed from the 1st conveyance surface 21, the reproducibility of the transition board 19 is ensured.

  Next, since the thickness H of the transition plate 19 is thicker than the depth D of the recess 21e (H> D), the upper end of the transition plate 19 fitted in the recess 21e is positioned above the first transport surface 21. It is done. Thereby, the process cheese XA1 sent to the transition board 19 can be smoothly conveyed, without making the hollow 21e catch.

  And since the depth d of the hole 21f which embeds the magnet 20 is deep compared with the thickness h of the magnet 20 (d> h), the upper end of the magnet 20 is located below the bottom face of the hollow 21e. As a result, the crossover plate 19 is attached to the magnet 20 with a space therebetween. As a result, the connecting plate 19 that is securely fixed can be easily peeled off manually.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and technical idea thereof.

  That is, in the above embodiment, the case where four processed cheeses XA1 are sent as a unit has been described as an example. However, the number is not limited to this, and one to three, or five or more are fed as a unit. It may be.

  Alternatively, in the above-described embodiment, the conveyance device 10 that is placed on the mount YA1 while conveying the process cheese XA1 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and conveyance such as a finger conveyor that simply conveys various articles is performed. It may be a device.

10 Conveying device 17 Finger (first pushing member)
19 Transition plate 20 Magnet 21 Transport surface (first transport surface)
21a Slit (opening)
21b Upstream area 21e Dimple 22 Transport surface (second transport surface)
26 fingers (second feeding member)
XA1 Process cheese (article)
H thickness D depth

Claims (6)

There is a conveyance surface on which the article is conveyed, and an opening is formed at a position on the conveyance surface where the article is supplied from the previous process so that the lower part of the conveyance surface can be visually recognized. A jumper plate is provided so as to be detachable by a magnet with respect to the transport surface,
Conveying device. The transport surface has a recess for fitting the transition plate,
The transport apparatus according to claim 1. The thickness of the transition board is larger than the depth of the depression,
The transport apparatus according to claim 2. The transport surface is characterized in that a hole for embedding the magnet is provided deeper than the thickness of the magnet.
The conveyance apparatus in any one of Claims 1-3. The transport surface is a first transport surface, the opening is formed along the transport direction at a central portion in the width direction of the first transport surface, and a second transport surface is provided below the first transport surface. Are provided so as to coincide with the transport direction and longer than the first transport surface in the transport direction, and a first feed member for pushing the article on the second transport surface is provided, and the first push feed The member is arranged so that the upper part protrudes from the opening on the downstream side of the transition plate on the first conveying surface.
The conveyance apparatus in any one of Claims 1-4. A second pushing member that pushes the article while moving above the first conveying surface and delivers the article to the first pushing member that protrudes from the opening,
The transport apparatus according to claim 5.

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