JP5243768B2 - Transfer device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transfer device for transferring a stack body in which a plurality of cap seals having a substantially cylindrical shape and flexibility are stacked.

  The cap seal is a substantially cylindrical member with a top plate made of a flexible material such as a heat-shrinkable film, and is a member that is attached to a mouth portion of a beer barrel or a milk bottle in a shrink manner. The cap seal is automatically mounted on the container mouth using a known cap seal mounting device (for example, Patent Document 1 below).

  By the way, usually, a cap seal manufacturing place (a place where a cap seal manufacturing apparatus is installed) is often separated from a cap seal attaching place (a place where a cap seal attaching apparatus is installed). Therefore, the cap seal manufactured at an arbitrary manufacturing location is accommodated in a storage box such as a cardboard box and is transported (transported) to the mounting location. At this time, for the purpose of improving the accommodation efficiency, the cap seal is housed in the storage box as a stack in which a plurality of layers are stacked. The worker at the mounting location takes out the stack body from the storage box according to the progress of the mounting process by the cap seal mounting apparatus, and sets the stack body on the cap seal mounting apparatus. The cap seal mounting device pulls out cap seals one by one from the stack body and mounts them on the mouth of the container.

Japanese Patent No. 3559103

  Here, as described above, conventionally, the stack body is taken out from the storage box by the manual operation of the operator. This take-out operation needs to be performed according to the progress of processing in the cap seal mounting device, and the operator must monitor the state of the cap seal mounting device throughout the mounting process. In other words, in the conventional technique, the operator is restrained for a long time because of the work of taking out the stack body. This was a heavy burden on the workers. In addition, at least one operator is required for the take-out operation, resulting in an increase in cost.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a transfer device that can automate the transfer of the stack body from the storage box to the cap seal mounting device.

The transfer device of the present invention is a transfer device for transferring a stack body in which a plurality of cap seals having a substantially cylindrical shape and flexibility are stacked, and a plurality of suction nozzles provided at the front end separate the stack bodies. The cap seals are disposed in the stacking direction at a preventable interval, and are provided for each suction nozzle and the suction head for sucking and holding the stack body by the suction nozzle, according to the internal pressure of the corresponding suction nozzle. ON / OFF switching pressure switch, moving mechanism for moving the stack body by moving the suction head from the storage box in which the stack body is accommodated to the cap seal mounting device, and the inside of the storage box Position detecting means for detecting the position of the stack body accommodated in the control means, and control means for controlling the driving of the suction head and the moving mechanism, the position detecting means The suction head is moved to a position where the suction nozzle comes into contact with the surface of the stack body and does not crush the stack body when the suction head starts sucking and holding by the suction head And a control means for controlling whether or not the stack body is sucked and held by the suction head based on the ON / OFF state of the pressure switch .

In this case, before Symbol control means, said only when the plurality of suction nozzles all pressure on the basis of the result of the pressure switch could be determined that the internal pressure capable of sucking of said stack body, the stack by the suction head Determine that the body has been successfully aspirated.

  In another preferred aspect, the position detection means is a non-contact position sensor that is provided in the suction head and detects a position of an object surface located within a predetermined detection range in a non-contact manner, and the control means includes: Based on the preset stack body and the type of storage box, calculate the approximate position of each of the plurality of stack bodies accommodated in the storage box, and at the start of the suction holding, the suction head based on the approximate position After moving to the vicinity of the stack body in the storage box, the position detecting means detects the position of the stack body, and moves the suction head to a position where the suction nozzle contacts the stack body based on the detection result.

  In this case, the position detection means also detects the shape of the object surface located within a predetermined detection range, and the control means, when starting the suction holding, based on the detection result of the position detection means, It is desirable to move the suction head to a position where the nozzle contacts the highest point on the surface of the stack body.

  In another preferred aspect, the storage box has a plurality of stack bodies stacked in a staggered pattern in which the stack bodies are alternately shifted by a substantial radius for each step when viewed in the longitudinal direction, and the control means is When transferring the second-stage stack body from the bottom of the stack bodies accommodated in the storage box, the stack body contacting the side wall of the storage box is finally transferred from the second-stage stack body from the bottom. Therefore, the moving mechanism is controlled.

  According to the present invention, since the position of the stack body is detected by the position detection means and the suction head is moved based on the detection result, the stack body can be reliably sucked and held. As a result, the transfer of the stack body from the storage box to the cap seal mounting device can be automated.

  Hereinafter, a transfer mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the stack body 100 to be transferred in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the stack body 100. The stack body 100 is configured by stacking a plurality of cap seals 102 and a single seal keeper 104. The cap seal 102 is a member that is shrink-mounted on a mouth of a container such as a via barrel by a known cap seal mounting device, and is made of a heat-shrinkable film. The cap seal 102 before shrink mounting is preformed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and its top surface is closed with a top plate having a thickness of about 100 to 300 μm. Further, a taper or a step (taper in the illustrated example) is provided on the side surface of the cap seal 102, and the lower end diameter is larger than the upper end diameter. When the cap seals 102 are stacked, the other cap seals 102 are sequentially fitted on the rear side of each cap seal 102 using the diameter difference between the upper end and the lower end.

  The seal keeper 104 is a member that is fitted into the rearmost end of the stack body 100 for the purpose of preventing the cap seal 102 from being deformed. The seal keeper 104 is made of a material having a certain degree of shape retention, such as plastic having a thickness of about 500 μm to 1 mm, and is formed into a substantially cylindrical shape with the top surface closed. A taper or a step is also formed on the side surface of the seal keeper 104, and the lower end diameter is larger than the upper end diameter. The diameter difference between the upper end and the lower end allows the seal keeper 104 to be inserted into the cap seal.

  A stack 100 in which a plurality of cap seals 102 and seal keepers 104 are stacked is accommodated in a storage box 110 such as a cardboard box and transported. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the stack body 100 is stacked in a plurality of stages and accommodated in the storage box 110 such that the major axis directions thereof are parallel to each other. Further, each stack body 100 is arranged so that the stack bodies 100 are arranged in a staggered pattern when viewed in the long axis direction, in other words, an N-th stack body (N = 1, 2,..., N) The N + 1-th stacks are stacked so as to deviate from each other by an approximate radius in the adjacent direction.

  When the stack body 100 is taken out from the storage box 110, the stack body 100 is set in the cap seal mounting device while maintaining the stacked state (the state of the stack body 100). The cap seal mounting device extracts the cap seals 102 one by one from the stack body 100 and attaches the extracted cap seals 102 to the container mouth. And it heat-shrinks with the cap seal 102 attached to the container mouth, thereby bringing the cap seal 102 into close contact with the container mouth (shrink mounting).

  By the way, conventionally, the removal of the stack body 100 from the storage box 110 and the setting of the stack body 100 to the cap seal mounting device are all performed manually by an operator. The stack body 100 needs to be taken out and set in accordance with the progress of the mounting process in the cap seal mounting apparatus. Therefore, conventionally, an operator has to wait for a long time in the vicinity of the cap seal mounting device and monitor the progress of the processing. Such long-time monitoring is not only a burden on the operator, but also increases human costs. Further, the plurality of cap seals 102 and the like constituting the stack body 100 are merely connected by a frictional force generated at the time of fitting, and the connection is released if the balance of the force applied at the time of taking out and setting is not appropriate. , Will be separated. Therefore, there is also a problem that a certain amount of experience is required to handle the stack body 100 quickly and appropriately.

  The transfer apparatus of this embodiment is an apparatus for solving such a problem. That is, the transfer device of this embodiment automatically takes out the stack body 100 from the storage box 110, transfers it to the cap seal mounting device, and sets it. Hereinafter, this transfer device will be described in detail.

  3 and 4 are a front view and a side view of the transfer device 10 of the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view around the suction head 14.

  The transfer device 10 includes a conveyor mechanism 12 that conveys the storage box 110, a suction head 14 that sucks and holds the stack body 100, a moving mechanism 16 that moves the suction head 14, a control unit (not shown) that controls these, and And an operation panel (not shown) for receiving an operation instruction from the operator.

  The conveyor mechanism 12 is roughly divided into a horizontal conveyor 18 installed horizontally and an inclined conveyor 20 installed inclined. The horizontal conveyor 18 has a conveyance path that passes almost directly below the suction head 14, and a plurality of drive rollers 22 are disposed on the conveyance path. The plurality of drive rollers 22 are driven to rotate in accordance with the driving of the roller motor 23, thereby conveying the storage box 110 placed on the conveyance path from the upstream side to the downstream side (from the left side to the right side in FIG. 3). . At this time, the storage box 110 is placed on the transport path in such a direction that the long axis of the stack body 100 accommodated therein is parallel to the arrangement direction of the suction nozzle 30 described later.

  The position just below the suction head in the conveyance path is a stop position Q where the storage box 110 is temporarily stopped. At this stop position Q, an optical sensor 24 for detecting the arrival of the storage box 110 is provided. The optical sensor 24 is composed of a light projector 24a and a light receiver 24b that are opposed to each other across the conveyance path. The light projector 24a emits detection light toward the light receiver 24b, and the light receiver 24b detects the arrival of the storage box depending on whether or not the detection light can be received. When it is detected that the storage box 110 has reached the stop position Q, the control unit stops driving the roller motor 23 and temporarily stops the storage box 110 at the stop position Q. The suction head 14 sequentially takes out the stack body 100 from the temporarily stopped storage box 110 and transfers it to the supply tray 120 provided in the cap seal mounting device. When all the stack bodies 100 in the storage box have been taken out, the control unit drives the roller motor 23 again and restarts the transport of the storage box 110. As a result, a new storage box 110 is conveyed to the stop position Q, and an empty storage box (empty box 110a) is sent to the inclined conveyor 20.

  The inclined conveyor 20 is provided with an inclined conveyance path that extends from the vicinity of the downstream end of the horizontal conveyor 18 and becomes lower as it approaches the downstream side. A plurality of rotatable rollers 26 are arranged on the conveyance path so that sliding of the empty box 110a is promoted. In addition, a stopper 28 is erected at the downstream end of the conveyance path to prevent the empty box 110a from falling from the inclined conveyor 20. The empty box 110a sent to the inclined conveyor 20 slides down along the inclined conveyance path. The empty box 110a that has slid down stops when it abuts against the stopper 28 or the preceding empty box 110a, and is stored in the inclined conveyor 20. The worker collects the empty boxes 110a when a certain number (three in the illustrated example) of empty boxes 110a are stored in the inclined conveyor 20.

  The suction head 14 is provided on the upper side of the horizontal conveyor 18, and moves the stack body 100 by moving it while sucking and holding the stack body 100 by negative pressure. As shown in FIG. 5, the suction head 14 is provided with a plurality (eight in this embodiment) of suction nozzles 30. The plurality of suction nozzles 30 are held by an L-shaped frame 38 that is bent in a substantially L-shaped cross section, and are arranged in a line in the major axis direction of the stack body 100.

  An elastic pad made of an elastic material such as rubber is provided at the tip of each suction nozzle 30. The elastic pad can be deformed following the surface shape of the stack body 100, and prevents the negative pressure from leaking by being in close contact with the surface of the stack body 100 when the stack body 100 is sucked and held. A connecting tube 34 is connected to the rear end of each suction nozzle 30. Each suction nozzle 30 is connected to a corresponding suction mechanism 36 (see FIG. 3) via the connection tube 34. When sucking and holding the stack body 100, the suction mechanism 36 supplies a negative pressure to the corresponding suction nozzle 30. With this negative pressure, the stack body 100 is sucked and held by the suction nozzle 30.

  Here, the plurality of suction nozzles 30 are provided in order to prevent separation of the stack body 100 during transfer. That is, the stack body 100 is a stacked body in which each cap seal 102 is fitted and stacked on another cap seal 102. From another viewpoint, the plurality of cap seals 102 constituting the stack body 100 are connected only by a frictional force generated by fitting. Therefore, the connection between the cap seals 102 can be released with a relatively small force.

  Of course, it is possible to increase the frictional force, and hence the coupling force between the cap seals 102, by fitting each cap seal 102 deeply into the other cap seals 102. However, if the coupling force between the cap seals 102 is excessively large, the cap seal mounting device cannot pull out the cap seals 102 one by one from the stack body 100. As a result, the efficiency of the cap seal 102 mounting process is reduced. It will decrease. That is, in order to normally perform the mounting process of the cap seal 102, the connecting force between the cap seals 102 constituting the stack body 100 cannot be excessively increased.

  Consider a case in which such a stack body is lifted while being sucked and held by only one suction nozzle 30 as shown in FIG. In this case, the stack body 100 bends around the suction location due to its own weight. Then, due to this bending, the cap seal 102f located at a position away from the suction location has a large inclination angle, cannot be maintained in the connected state, and falls. That is, it can be said that it is difficult to transfer the stack body 100 with only one suction nozzle 30 while maintaining the stacked state.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, a plurality of suction nozzles 30 are provided, and the stack body 100 is sucked and held at a plurality of locations. Therefore, the stack body 100 is prevented from being bent when it is lifted, and the cap seal 102 is prevented from being detached, and thus the stack body 100 is not separated. As a result, the stack body 100 can be transferred while maintaining the stacked state. Even if there are a plurality of suction nozzles 30, if the arrangement interval is excessively large, the stack body 100 is bent and the cap seal 102 is dropped as in the case of a single nozzle. Therefore, it is necessary that the arrangement interval of the suction nozzles 30 be equal to or less than an interval at which separation of the stack body 100 can be prevented during suction holding in consideration of a friction force generated between adjacent cap seals. Here, the interval at which the stack body can be prevented from being separated is determined based on the shape and material of each cap seal, the amount of fitting, and the like.

  Each suction nozzle 30 is provided with a pressure switch (not shown) that detects a pressure change in the suction nozzle 30. The pressure switch is turned on when the pressure in the suction nozzle is equal to or lower than a predetermined reference value, and turned off when the pressure exceeds a predetermined reference value. The predetermined reference value that is the ON / OFF threshold value is set to a pressure value at which the stack body 100 can be sucked and held. Based on the detection result of the pressure switch, the control unit determines whether the stack body is sucked by the suction nozzle. Specifically, when the control unit has instructed the suction holding of the stack body 100 and the pressure switch is OFF, negative pressure is leaking from the suction nozzle 30. In other words, the suction nozzle 30 Is not in close contact with the stack 100 and it is determined that a suction failure has occurred.

  One pressure sensor is provided for each suction nozzle 30, and the suction quality can be detected independently for each suction nozzle 30. This is to more reliably prevent the stack body 100 from being bent and eventually the cap seal 102 from falling. That is, if a suction failure occurs even with only one of the plurality of suction nozzles 30, the interval between the suction locations substantially increases. The increase in the space between the suction points causes the stack body 100 to bend as described above, and consequently the cap seal 102 to drop. Accordingly, in the present embodiment, one pressure sensor is provided for each suction nozzle 30 so that the quality of suction can be detected independently for each suction nozzle 30. Further, with such a configuration, even if a part of the cap seal 102 falls during the transfer of the stack body 100, it can be immediately detected. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the separated incomplete stack body 100 from being supplied to the cap seal mounting device.

  Each suction nozzle 30 is connected to a suction mechanism 36 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) via a connecting tube 34. The suction mechanism 36 is a mechanism that supplies negative pressure to the suction nozzle 30 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit. One suction mechanism 36 is provided for each suction nozzle 30, and a negative pressure can be independently supplied to each suction nozzle 30.

  A laser sensor 40 is provided near the tip of the suction head 14, more specifically, between the fourth suction nozzle 30 and the fifth suction nozzle 30 (see FIG. 5). The laser sensor 40 has a plurality of detection points (a plurality of detection lasers) on the surface of an object located in the laser light irradiation direction based on the state of reflected light obtained when a plurality of detection laser beams are irradiated. This is a sensor that detects the position (distance) of the spot (the place where the light hits) and further calculates the surface shape of the object by interpolating the plurality of detection points.

  In the present embodiment, the laser sensor 40 is installed so that the laser light irradiation direction is downward, and is used for detecting the position and shape of the stack body 100. The control unit finely adjusts the moving position of the suction head 14 based on the detection result of the laser sensor 40 or detects the fall of the stack body 100 from the suction head 14, which will be described in detail later. To do.

  The moving mechanism 16 moves the suction head 14 including the above-described suction nozzle 30, the laser sensor 40, and the like in two directions, a vertical direction and a direction perpendicular to the conveyance path of the horizontal conveyor 18 (the vertical direction in FIG. 3). Mechanism. The moving mechanism 16 can employ various known configurations. For example, the moving mechanism 16 is a motor that is a driving source, a transmission mechanism such as a lead screw or a cam that transmits a driving force output from the motor to the suction head, a guide rail that guides the moving direction of the suction head 14, or the like. Composed. The driving of the moving mechanism 16 is controlled by the control unit.

  The operation panel is a part that receives an operation instruction from an operator. The operator, through this operation panel, in addition to a transfer start / stop instruction, information necessary for transfer such as the total number of stack bodies 100 or cap seals 102 to be transferred, the types of stack bodies 100 and storage boxes 110, and the like. Enter also. The control unit calculates and temporarily stores the approximate positions of the plurality of stack bodies 100 in the storage box 110 based on information input via the operation panel.

  The control unit controls driving of the conveyor mechanism 12, the suction head 14, the moving mechanism 16, and the like described above. In addition, the control unit can send and receive information to and from the cap seal mounting device, and can grasp the progress of processing in the cap seal mounting device. Then, based on the obtained progress status of the mounting process, detection results of various sensors, and the like, the drive of the above-described moving mechanism 16 and the like is controlled.

  Next, the flow of processing in the transfer device 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In driving the transfer device 10, the operator first operates the operation panel to input various information necessary for transferring the stack body 100 (S 10). The information input here includes the types of the stack body 100 and the storage box 110, the total number of the stack body 100 or the cap seal 102 to be transferred, and the like. Based on the input information, the control unit calculates the approximate position of each stack body 100 in the storage box when the storage box 110 stops at the stop position Q, and temporarily stores it (S12).

  Subsequently, the control unit detects the position of the supply tray 120 provided in the cap seal mounting device using the laser sensor 40 provided in the suction head 14 (S14). This is because the height of the supply tray 120 is appropriately changed according to the height of the container to which the cap seal 102 is attached. In order to detect the height of the supply tray 120, the control unit first drives the moving mechanism 16 to move the suction head 14 to the upper part of the supply tray 120. Then, the position of the supply tray 120 is detected by the laser sensor 40 provided in the suction head 14. The control unit temporarily stores the detected height of the supply tray 120.

  If the height of the supply tray 120 can be detected, the control unit then drives the horizontal conveyor 18 to place the storage box 110 placed on the horizontal conveyor 18 at a position almost directly below the suction head 14, that is, a stop position. Transport to Q (S16). And a control part judges the necessity of transfer of the stack body 100 based on the communication result with a cap seal mounting apparatus (S18). More specifically, in the cap seal mounting device, it is confirmed whether or not there is an empty space in the supply tray 120 that receives the set of the stack body 100 that can additionally supply the stack body 100. As a result of the confirmation, if there is an empty space in the supply tray, the control unit drives the suction head 14 and the moving mechanism 16 to start the transfer of the stack body 100 (S22). A detailed flow of the transfer process of the stack body 100 is shown in FIG.

  When the stack body 100 is transferred, the control unit first drives the moving mechanism 16 based on the approximate position of each stack body 100 stored temporarily to move the tip of the suction nozzle 30 to the stack body 100 to be transferred. (S24).

  Subsequently, the laser sensor 40 provided in the suction head 14 detects the exact position and shape of the stack body 100 to be transferred (S26). That is, the laser sensor 40 irradiates a plurality of detection laser beams downward. The detection laser light hits the stack body 100 located below the suction head 14 and is reflected. The laser sensor 40 detects the accurate position and shape of the stack body 100 based on the state of the reflected light obtained at this time.

  Here, the exact position and shape of the stack body 100 are detected using the laser sensor 40 for the following reason. As described above, in this embodiment, the stack body 100 is sucked and held by the suction nozzle 30. For this purpose, first, the suction nozzle 30 is in a position in contact with the surface of the stack body 100 and is stacked. It is necessary to move the body 100 to a position where it will not be crushed.

  That is, if the stack body 100 and the suction nozzle 30 are separated from each other, the negative pressure supplied to the suction nozzle 30 does not act on the stack body 100, and therefore the stack body 100 cannot be sucked. Conversely, if the suction nozzle 30 gets too close to the stack body 100 and the suction nozzle 30 crushes the stack body 100, the cap seal 102 constituting the stack body 100 will lose its shape, and then Cap seal attachment processing cannot be performed properly. Therefore, in order to suck and hold the stack body 100 with the suction nozzle 30, it is necessary to reliably move the suction nozzle 30 to a position in contact with the stack body 100.

  However, as is clear from the above description, the stack body 100 has a circular shape in cross section and an unstable shape that is easy to roll. Therefore, it is easy to roll in the storage box 110, and the position cannot be obtained accurately only by information such as the type of the stack body 100 and the storage box 110 input in advance, and as a result, the nozzle 30 contacts the stack body 100. It cannot be moved to the position where

  Therefore, in this embodiment, after calculating the approximate position of each stack body 100 from the type of the stack body 100 and the storage box 110 input in advance, the laser sensor 40 (suction head 14) is moved to the vicinity of the stack body 100. The detailed position (and shape) of the stack body 100 is detected by the laser sensor 40.

  If the position and shape of the stack body 100 to be transferred can be detected, the control unit drives the moving mechanism 16 based on the detection result, and the suction nozzle 30 is in a position where it contacts the surface of the stack body 100. The suction head 14 is moved to a position where the body 100 is not crushed (S28). That is, the control unit calculates the position of the highest point (point P in FIG. 5B) of the stack body 100 based on the detection result of the laser sensor 40. Then, the moving mechanism 16 is driven to move the suction head 14 so that the tip of the suction nozzle 30 is at the highest point position.

  If the suction nozzle 30 can move to a position where it comes into contact with the stack body 100, then the control unit instructs the suction mechanism 36 to supply negative pressure and starts sucking the stack body 100 (S30). Receiving this instruction, each suction mechanism 36 supplies negative pressure to the corresponding suction nozzle 30 via the connecting tube 34. The stack body 100 is sucked and held by the suction nozzle 30 by this negative pressure.

  The controller determines whether or not the suction is held based on the ON / OFF state of the pressure switch provided in each suction nozzle 30 (S32). That is, when all of the plurality of pressure switches are in the ON state, the control unit determines that the stack body 100 is appropriately sucked and held. In this case, the process proceeds to step S34. On the other hand, when at least one of the plurality of pressure switches is in the OFF state, the control unit does not have the suction nozzle 30 in close contact with the stack body 100, and the suction holding of the stack body 100 by the suction nozzle 30 has failed. Judge. In this case, the process returns to step S24, and steps S24 to S32 are executed again.

  If the total pressure switch is in an ON state, in other words, if the stack body 100 is appropriately sucked and held by the suction nozzle 30, the control unit drives the moving mechanism 16 to move the suction nozzle 30 to the true position of the supply tray 120. Move to the upper position (S34). During this movement, the controller monitors whether the stack body 100 has fallen from the suction nozzle 30 based on the ON / OFF state of the pressure switch and the detection result of the laser sensor 40. That is, when a sudden change in the position of the stack body 100 that should be sucked and held by the suction nozzle 30 is detected by the laser sensor 40, or when a transition from the ON state to the OFF state of the pressure switch is detected, the control is performed. The unit determines that the stack body 100 has dropped. In this case, the control unit stops driving the moving mechanism 16 and outputs an alarm.

  If the suction nozzle 30 can move to a position directly above the supply tray 120 without dropping the stack body 100, the control unit stops the negative pressure supply by the suction mechanism 36 and sucks the stack body 100 by the suction nozzle 30. Stop (S36). When the suction is stopped, the stack body 100 is detached from the suction nozzle 30 and dropped onto the supply tray 120 and placed.

  If the stack body 100 is placed on the supply tray 120, the process proceeds to step S40 (see FIG. 7). That is, the control unit determines whether or not the number of stacks 100 transferred so far has reached the target total number to be transferred set and input in advance (S40). If the target total number has been reached, all processing is terminated. On the other hand, if the target total number has not been reached, it is further checked whether or not the stack body 100 remains in the storage box 110 (S42). If the stack body 100 remains, the process returns to step S18, and if it does not remain, the process returns to step S16, and the same processing is repeated again.

  Here, during this repetition, depending on the order of taking out the stack body 100, the stack body 100 remaining in the storage box 110 may roll. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  As described above, in the storage box 110, the plurality of stack bodies 100 are stacked in a staggered manner. Among the stack bodies 100, when the second stack body 100 from the bottom is taken out from the storage box 110, the stack body 100a that contacts the side wall of the storage box 110 is first placed as shown in FIG. 9B. Suppose that after that, the stack body 100b that does not contact the side wall located next to the stack body 100b is taken out. In this case, the first-stage stack body 100c may roll due to an impact generated when the suction nozzle 30 contacts the non-contacting stack body 100b. When the stack body 100 rolls, the approximate position of the stack body 100 calculated in step S12 and the actual position of the stack body 100 will be greatly shifted. As a result, in step S28, the suction nozzle 30 cannot be moved to the vicinity of the stack body 100, and there is a problem that accurate position detection by the laser sensor 40 and suction holding by the suction nozzle 30 cannot be performed.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when taking out the second-stage stack body 100, as shown in FIG. 9A, the stack body 100a in contact with the side wall is finally taken out from the second-stage stack body 100. I am doing so. In this case, since the first stack body 100c is sandwiched between the contacting stack body 100a and the side wall of the storage box 110, it does not roll. As a result, the stack body 100 can be prevented from rolling until the last single stack body 100 is taken out, and the stack body 100 can be sucked and held appropriately.

  Note that the storage box 110 may have a special form in order to prevent the first-stage stack body 100c from rolling. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10A, the folding order of the flaps 110 b and 110 s may be different from normal so that the inner bottom surface of the storage box 110 is a flat surface. That is, the bottom surface of the storage box 110 such as a cardboard box is formed by bending a pair of large flaps 110b covering the entire bottom surface and a pair of small flaps 110s covering a part of the bottom surface. Generally, the two types of flaps 110b and 110s are bent in such an order that the small flap 110s is on the inside and the large flap 110b is on the outside. However, in this case, a step formed by the end of the small flap 110s exists on the inner bottom surface of the storage box. Such a level difference causes the first level stack body 100c to roll. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10A, the flaps may be bent in such an order that the small flap 110s is on the outside and the large flap 110b is on the inside.

  In addition, a member that can prevent the first-stage stack body 100c from rolling may be provided on the inner bottom surface of the storage box 110. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 10B, a corrugated plate 112 in which grooves having a circular arc cross section corresponding to the size of the stack body 100 are continuously formed is installed on the inner bottom surface of the storage box 110. May be. Thereby, the stack body 100 is more reliably prevented from rolling.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the present embodiment, the manual operation of the operator can be made unnecessary in the process of taking out and setting the stack body 100. Further, since the accurate position of the stack body 100 is detected by the laser sensor 40 prior to the suction and holding, the stack body 100 can be reliably sucked and held. Furthermore, since the stack body 100 is sucked and held by the plurality of suction nozzles 30, separation of the stack body 100 can be prevented, and the stack body 100 can be transported more reliably.

It is a schematic perspective view of the stack body which is a transfer object. It is a figure which shows the mode of the stack body accommodated in the preservation | save box. It is a front view of the transfer device which is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of a transfer apparatus. It is an enlarged view around the front-end | tip of a suction head. It is a figure which shows a mode that a stack body is suction-held with one suction nozzle. It is a figure which shows the flow of the process in a transfer apparatus. It is a figure which shows the detailed flow of step S22. It is a figure explaining the taking-out order of a stack body. It is a figure which shows an example of another storage box.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Transfer device, 12 Conveyor mechanism, 14 Suction head, 16 Moving mechanism, 18 Horizontal conveyor, 20 Inclined conveyor, 24 Optical sensor, 28 Stopper, 30 Suction nozzle, 34 Connection tube, 36 Suction mechanism, 40 Laser sensor (position detection means) ), 100 stack body, 102 cap seal, 110 storage box, 120 supply tray (cap seal mounting device).

Claims (5)

A transfer device for transferring a stack body in which a plurality of cap seals having a substantially cylindrical shape and flexibility are stacked,
A plurality of suction nozzles provided at the tip are arranged in the stacking direction of the cap seal at intervals that can prevent separation of the stack body, and a suction head that sucks and holds the stack body by the suction nozzle;
A pressure switch that is provided for each suction nozzle and that is switched ON / OFF according to the internal pressure of the corresponding suction nozzle;
A moving mechanism for transferring the stack body by moving the suction head from a storage box containing the stack body to a cap seal mounting device;
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the stack body accommodated in the storage box;
Control means for controlling the driving of the suction head and the moving mechanism, and when the suction holding of the stack body is started by the suction head based on the detection result of the position detection means, the suction nozzle is moved to the surface of the stack body. The stack body is controlled by the suction head based on the ON / OFF state of the pressure switch, and the moving mechanism is controlled to move the suction head to a position that does not crush the stack body. Control means for judging whether the holding is good or bad ;
A transfer device comprising: The transfer device according to claim 1,
The control means can suck the stack body by the suction head only when it can be determined that the internal pressures of all of the plurality of suction nozzles are the internal pressure at which the stack body can be sucked based on the result of the pressure switch. A transfer device characterized in that it is determined to be successful. The transfer device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The position detection means is a non-contact position sensor that is provided in the suction head and detects a position of an object surface located within a predetermined detection range in a non-contact manner.
The control means includes
Based on the preset stack body and the type of storage box, calculate the approximate position of each of the stack bodies accommodated in the storage box,
At the time of the suction holding start, the suction head is moved to the vicinity of the stack body in the storage box based on the approximate position, and then the position of the stack body is detected by the position detection means, and the suction is performed based on the detection result. A transfer device, wherein the suction head is moved to a position where the nozzle contacts the stack body. The transfer device according to claim 3 ,
The position detection means also detects the shape of the object surface located within a predetermined detection range,
The control means moves the suction head to a position where the suction nozzle contacts the highest point on the surface of the stack body based on the detection result of the position detection means when starting the suction holding. Transfer device. The transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
In the storage box, a plurality of stack bodies are stacked in a zigzag pattern in which each stack body is shifted by a substantial radius alternately for each stage in the long axis direction view.
When transferring the second-stage stack body from the bottom among the stack bodies accommodated in the storage box, the control means contacts the side wall of the storage box among the second-stage stack bodies from the bottom A transfer device characterized by controlling a moving mechanism so as to transfer the last.

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