JPH11104575A - Automatic article supply apparatus having assorter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To exactly and continuously assort various kinds of tableware varying in heights by providing passage regulating members having the spacings through which articles can pass in order of the heights from the upstream side of a conveyor and assorting the articles which vary in the heights, are placed on an endless transporting body and are transported in order of the height by the passage regulating members. SOLUTION: A first guide plate 19 and a second guide plate 19a as the passage regulating members form the prescribed spacings with respect to the front surface of the conveyor belt 12. Plural dried tea cups 14 and soy sauce dishes are transferred by the conveyor belt 12. The tea cups 14 assorted by the first guide plate 19 are sent by one piece each to a tea cup ejection position. On the other hand, the less tall soy sauce dishes assorted by the first guide plate 19 are transferred by the conveyor belt 12 and are pressed to the second guide plate 19a disposed in extreme proximity to the front surface of the conveyor belt 12. The many soy sauce dishes are guided by the second guide plate 19a by this pressing and are sent by one piece each to a soy sauce dish ejection position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic article supply apparatus provided with a sorting device, and more particularly to an article provided with a sorting device for sorting tableware such as cups in order of height as articles of different heights conveyed in a certain direction. It relates to an automatic feeding device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Food and beverage counters are provided with a conveyor path such as a crescent-type endless chain conveyor along a counter or table, and a tea supply facility at the counter. And transported on a conveyor transport path. Food and beverage customers sitting at the counter can take out and eat food such as sushi carried by the conveyor while sitting at the seat, and take out the tea drinking bowl from the tea drinking bowl storage place of the tea supply facility, You can drink it. On the other hand, the cook can prepare food and drink such as sushi at a cooking place in the counter, place the prepared food and drink such as sushi on a plate or the like, place it on a conveyor, and supply it to food and beverage customers. .

[0003] Therefore, at the eating and drinking counter,
Neither the food nor the cook sitting at the counter need to move when eating or drinking, so the eating and drinking counter has helped to reduce labor in the restaurant by helping to reduce the labor in the restaurant. It is widely used, for example, in the case of sushi and other dishes that can be made, and in the case of yakiniku, etc., which are eaten and consumed by food and drinks.

[0004]

A dish on which sushi or the like is placed, a soy sauce dish, and a teacup for tea supply are stored in a teacup provided on the counter. It is a problem that a lot of manpower is required to replenish the amount used by food and drink.

Therefore, in order to reduce the portion that requires human labor, crescent-type endless chain conveyors are provided in upper and lower tiers, and the upper tier is used for transporting food and drink for transporting sushi placed on a plate, and the lower tier is used for transporting hot and cold tea bowls. There has been proposed a food and beverage counter in which a hot water bowl and a soy sauce dish are conveyed by a crescent chain conveyor. However, also in this case, a plate for sushi on a crescent-type endless chain conveyor,
It is still manual to sort and place the hot water bowl and soy sauce dish separately, so that the necessary dishes such as hot water bowl etc. are not supplied due to forgetting to supply various dishes and hot water bowls. It has to be monitored and is a problem that requires human labor. This is because the work of sorting the collected various used sushi dishes, hot water bowls and soy sauce dishes, and storing them as a set in the hot water bowl storage cabinet is time-consuming and definitely sorted. However, there is a limit in maintaining a worker's attention over a long period of time, and there is a problem that the accuracy of the sorting operation and the supply efficiency are reduced.

According to the present invention, various kinds of tableware having different heights can be accurately and continuously sorted, and the supply efficiency can be increased by automatically supplying the tableware to the outside at a predetermined ratio for each article. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic article supply apparatus provided with a sorting device capable of performing the above.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic article supply apparatus equipped with a sorting apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
An automatic article supply apparatus for placing articles of different heights and transporting the articles in a fixed direction, the article automatic supply apparatus comprising: a conveyor for placing articles on an endless transport body and transporting the articles; and an upper surface of the transport body. And a passage regulating member disposed so as to have a gap through which articles can pass in order of height from the upstream side of the conveyor in accordance with the height of each of the articles, and placed on the endless transport body. Articles of different heights to be placed and conveyed are sorted in order of height by the passage restricting member. According to the feature of the present invention, it is possible to automatically sort by the transporting force of the endless transporter simply by mixing articles having different heights and placing them on the endless transporter of the conveyor, which is accurate and efficient. Good sorting can be performed.

In the automatic article supply apparatus provided with the sorting device of the present invention, the passage restricting member may be configured such that a contact surface with the article is inclined with respect to a transport direction on a plane parallel to an upper surface of an endless transport body of the conveyor. It is preferable to arrange them. By doing so, the articles placed on the endless conveyor of the conveyor move to one side of the conveyor due to the conveying force of the endless conveyor, so that the flow can be smoothly and efficiently sorted without hindrance. The article is guided in a certain direction.

In the automatic article feeder provided with the sorting device of the present invention, the passage restricting member is formed by a curve having a predetermined curvature on a plane parallel to the upper surface of the endless conveyor of the conveyor. It is preferable if it consists of. By doing so, the article conveyed by the endless conveyance body is moved while being in contact with the curve having the predetermined curvature, so that the article is smoothly moved without clogging during the movement and can be efficiently sorted. .

In the automatic article supply apparatus provided with the sorting apparatus according to the present invention, the automatic article supply apparatus guides each of the articles sorted by the passage restricting member to one side in the conveying direction of the conveyor and waits for each article. And a plurality of supply means for individually supplying each of the articles waiting at each of the waiting positions to the outside. In this way, the sorted articles are guided to the standby position on one side of the conveyor in the conveying direction, and are put on standby, and these are individually supplied to the outside by the respective supply means at a predetermined rate for each article. it can.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited by the following description and examples.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a hot water bowl supply device as an embodiment of an automatic article supply device provided with a sorting device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a hot water bowl supply device as an automatic article supply device. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which a hot-water drinking bowl extruding member is located at a standby position, FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which a hot-water drinking bowl extruding member and a soy sauce dish extruding member are located at an extruding position, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the hot water drinking bowl pushing member and the soy sauce dish pushing member are waiting at the standby position, and FIG. 5 shows a state where the hot water drinking bowl pushing member is at the standby position and the soy sauce tray pushing member is at the pushing position. FIG. 1 to 5, corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 1, a supply device 1 as an automatic article supply device includes, for example, a large number of teacups 14 on a mesh-shaped conveyor belt 12 as an endless transport body having a predetermined minute gap through which a fluid can pass. A conveyor 71 on which a soy sauce dish 14a or the like is placed and transported, and a teacup 14 placed on the conveyor belt 12 on the upstream side of the conveyor 71;
And a regulating frame 75a for restricting the movement of the soy sauce tray 14a which is shorter than that, a hot water cup 14 and a soy sauce tray 14a on the conveyor belt 12 regulated by the regulating frame 75a.
And a box 74 provided up and down with respect to the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12 so as to hermetically enclose and bend the cleaning device 7.
Tea bowl 14 and soy sauce dish 14a washed by 2
After the drying by the drying device 73 during the conveying process of the conveyor 71, only the cups 14 sorted by the first guide plate 19 as the conveying force and the passage restricting member of the conveyor 71 are squeezed to form the cup guide path 36. Is to lead to.

Here, the first guide plate 19 has a predetermined gap formed with respect to the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12, and only a short soy sauce dish 14 a placed on the conveyor belt 12 passes through this gap. It is formed as a possible gap.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the supply device 1 includes a machine base 2 and both side walls 3 of the machine base 2.
Is a conveyor frame, and cross members 4 and 5 are attached to both ends of the conveyor frame 3, and the cross members 4 and 5 support the conveyor frame 3 in parallel with each other. Inside the conveyor frame 3, inner supporting frame members 6 and 7 are provided with one end in contact with the cross members 4 and 5.

Further, the conveyor frame 3 is provided with a bearing member 8 for supporting the drive shaft member 9 and a bearing member 11 for supporting the driven shaft member 10, and a conveyor belt 12 is stretched between the shaft members 9 and 10. The conveyor belt 12 is made of a water-permeable or air-permeable material such as a mesh or a porous material. The conveyor belt 12 has a large number of holes as shown in the figure.

Further, the lower return side of the conveyor belt 12 is largely separated from the upper conveyor belt 12, and a space for accommodating a washing unit and a drying unit which will be described later is formed. Thus, cleaning and drying are performed directly from the lower surface side of the conveyor belt. Further, a substrate member 13 is attached to the lower surface of the cross member 2 on the drive shaft member 9 side of the conveyor belt 12 and the lower surface of the end of the inner support frame member 5. And the upper conveyor belt 1
The tea bowl 14 and the soy sauce tray 14 a (see FIGS. 2 and 3) placed on the conveyor belt 2 move in the traveling direction 15 of the conveyor belt 12 by driving the conveyor belt 12.

In this embodiment, the inner supporting frame members 4 and 5
On the inner surface of the conveyor belt 12 and on both inner surfaces of the cross member 3 on the side of the driven shaft member 10, guide plates 16 and 18 for guiding a hot water bowl 14 and a soy sauce dish 14a are attached. In order to guide the soy sauce tray 14a, it is inclined from the end of the inner supporting frame member 5 at an acute angle with respect to the traveling direction 15 of the conveyor belt 12, and is formed as a passage restricting member that obliquely crosses the traveling direction 15. One guide plate 19 is provided. First guide plate 1
9 is attached to a portion of the substrate member 13 that is bent upward.

The guide plate 19 causes the teacup 14 to move in the traveling direction 15 of the conveyor belt 12.
It is forcibly moved to the conveyor frame 6 side obliquely along the guide plate 19. In this example, the conveyor frame 6 is provided with an opening 20 for supplying a hot water bowl.

In this embodiment, a hot water bowl ejector 21 is fixed on the floor member 13 so that only the soy sauce tray 14a can pass through the upper surface of the conveyor belt. In order to push the teacup 14 into the teacup supply opening 20, the teacup support member 22 supporting the teacup 14 and the teacup support member 22 to push the teacup support member 22 are pushed out. , A sliding member 24 that slidably and movably supports the hot and cold bowl pushing member 23, a motor member 25 of a driving source for driving the hot and cold bowl pushing member 23, and a hot and cold bowl When the support member 22 protrudes outside from the hot water drinking bowl supply opening 20, a stopper member 26 for preventing the subsequent hot water drinking bowl from entering the hot water drinking bowl pushing position is opposed to the upper surface of the conveyor. Only each sauce pan 14a is mounted with a predetermined gap passable, the hot water drinking bowls supply opening 20, are provided hot beverage bowl supply passage 28.

The teacup pushing member 23 has a rack (not shown) on one side, and has a slide member 24.
The rack is slidably and movably supported by the rack.
The pinion 27 is engaged with the motor 25 via a gear box 25 ′, and the pinion 27 is operated by the drive of the motor 25, so that the hot and cold drink bowl pushing member 23 reciprocates. I have.

In this embodiment, a driving motor 29 for driving the conveyor belt 12 is provided on one of the conveyor frames 3 of the machine base 2.
Mounting table 30 is provided. Conveyor belt 12
The pulley 31 of the drive motor 29 is connected to the drive pulley 32 of the drive shaft member 9 by a timing belt 33 as shown in FIG.
Is suspended, and the intermittent drive of the motor 29 causes
The pulley 32 of the drive shaft member 8 is driven, and the conveyor belt 12 is driven intermittently in the traveling direction 15.

On the base plate 13 at the end of the guide plate 19 provided in a direction crossing the traveling direction of the conveyor belt 12, a teacup guide member 34 is mounted. The distal end 35 of the teacup guide member 34 is formed on the guide plate 16 of the conveyor frame 6 so that a guide passage 36 having a width through which one teacup 14 can pass is formed between the guideplate 16 and the guide plate 16. In particular, the distal end portion 35 of the tea drinking bowl guide member 34 has
A rubber guide wheel 37 is provided to be rotatable by a rotating shaft 37 'so as not to block the hot water bowl 14 at the entrance of the hot water bowl guide passage 36. In the present example, a hot water bowl pushing position 38 is set between the hot water bowl support member 22 and the hot water bowl supply opening 20.

Next, the regulating frame 75a will be described. The regulating frame 75a is formed in a rectangular frame shape as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is separated from the box 74, and has one end fixed to the upper surface of the frame at the rear end of the conveyor 71.
5b, which is swingably supported and can be inserted into the inside of the box 74 at the time of descending, and when the box 74 retreats upward, the hot water cup 14 and the soy sauce tray 14a on the conveyor belt 12 are moved.
The movement inhibition of the is released.

Next, the cleaning device 72 will be described. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning device 72 includes a first cleaning member 72a fixed to the lower surface of the conveyor belt 12.
And the conveyor belt 1 directly above the first cleaning member 72a.
And a second cleaning member 72b which is disposed to be able to ascend and descend with the second cleaning member 72 interposed therebetween. The second cleaning member 72b is mounted in a box 74 having an open bottom surface, and a conveyor belt of the box 74. 12 A cup of hot water that is lowered and sealed on the upper surface 14
The first and second cleaning members 72a and 72b allow the conveyor belt 12 to permeate and clean.

The cleaning device 72 has a detachable scraper 76 which can slide on the upper and lower surfaces of the conveyor belt 12 at least downstream of the edge of the opening of the box 74 in the traveling direction of the conveyor belt 12.

Since the scraper 76 is in sliding contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the conveyor belt 12, the surface on which the teacup 14 is placed is always washed while the conveyor belt 12 is running, and is replaced when it becomes dirty. Can be used hygienically.

Next, the drying device 73 will be described. The drying device 73 is disposed downstream of the above-described cleaning device 72, and has a blowing port 77 on the upper and lower surfaces of the conveyor belt 12.
a and 77b are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other, and are opposed to each other within the entire width of the conveyor belt 12 for blowing hot air toward the hot water bowl 14 or the soy sauce tray 14a to be transferred. A blower connected to a heating device (not shown) is connected to the air outlets 77a and 77b.

Next, the second guide plate 19a as a passage restricting member will be described. Since the second guide plate 19a has substantially the same configuration as the first guide plate 19 described above, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the difference between the second guide plate 19a and the first guide plate 19 is that a gap formed between the second guide plate 19a and the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12 is different. It is very little formed.

That is, the second guide plate 19a
The soy sauce is installed on the downstream side of the first guide plate 19 so as to cross the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12 obliquely with respect to the traveling direction, and furthermore, the gap formed between the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12 and the teacup 14 is shorter. The plate 14a is set at a height position at which the plate 14a cannot pass.

The second guide plate 19a
The soy sauce tray 14a, which has been sorted by passing through the first guide plate 19 in the same manner as the first guide plate 19, is placed in the traveling direction 15 of the conveyor belt 12.
Diagonally across the guide plate 19
It is configured to forcibly move to the conveyor frame 6 side. In this example, the conveyor frame 6 is provided with an opening 20a for supplying a soy sauce dish.

Next, the operation of the supply device 1 of this embodiment will be described. First, the motor members 25 and 29 are driven. By driving the motor member 29, the conveyor belt 12 is driven, and a plurality of hot water bowls 14 and soy sauce dishes 14a are mixedly placed at the cleaning position on the conveyor belt 12. That is, when placing the hot water bowl 14 and the soy sauce dish 14a, the box 74 of the second cleaning member 72b largely moves upward from the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12 and retreats.

A plurality of hot water cups 14 and soy sauce dishes 14a, which are mixedly placed in the regulating frame 75a on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12, are secured in the washing position with the movement restricted. .

As described above, the regulating frame 75a is disposed on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12 so as to cross the traveling direction 15, and is disposed on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12 so as to cross the traveling direction 15. Therefore, even if a plurality of hot water bowls 14 and soy sauce dishes 14 a are randomly placed in the regulating frame 75 a on the upstream side of the transporting conveyor belt 12 during traveling, the regulating frame by the conveying force of the conveyor belt 12. 7
The transfer can be prevented by abutting on 5a.

When the box 74 of the second cleaning member 72b is lowered and lands on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12, the plurality of teacups 14 and the soy sauce dishes 14a are moved together with the regulating frame 75a into the box 74. It is sealed and stored.

Next, the first and second cleaning members 72a, 72b
To discharge a high-pressure cleaning liquid adjusted in advance by the plurality of nozzles 72c on the upper and lower surfaces of the conveyor belt 12 toward the plurality of hot water bowls 14 and the soy sauce dishes 14a. 14 and the soy sauce dish 14a are washed. The cleaning time for jetting the cleaning liquid is set in advance by a timer or the like.

In this manner, the cups 14 in the hermetically sealed box 74 are opposed to each other with the first and second cleaning members 72a, 72 disposed opposite to each other with the conveyor belt 12 interposed therebetween.
b, the conveyer belt 12 is washed in a state of being transmitted therethrough.
Can be reliably and efficiently washed.

During the cleaning, the conveyor belt 12 on the transport side is used.
Is running, the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12 is cleaned by the scraper 76 attached to the opening edge of the lower end of the box 74.

As described above, since the scraper 76 is in sliding contact with the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12,
While the vehicle is traveling, the surface on which the hot-drinking bowl 14 and the soy sauce dish 14a are placed is always cleaned, and when the scraper 76 becomes dirty, it can be replaced and used hygienically.

When the cleaning liquid is jetted for a predetermined time, the box 74
Is greatly moved up again from the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12 and retracted, and at the same time, the regulating frame 75a swings upward. Thereby, the plurality of hot water drinking bowls 14 and the soy sauce dishes 14a after the cleaning can be transferred in an aligned state when the movement inhibition is released. That is, the plurality of hot water drinking bowls 14 and soy sauce dishes 14a whose movement inhibition has been released and the washing is completed are started by the conveying force of the conveyor belt 12, and these hot water drinking bowls 14 and soy sauce 14a are moved. When the plate 14a reaches the drying position, a detecting device (not shown) operates and the drying device 73 operates.

By the operation of the drying device 73, the air outlets 77a and 77b arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the conveyor belt 12, respectively.
The hot air is blown toward the hot water bowl 14 and the soy sauce dish 14a transferred from the hot water drinking bowl 14 and the soy sauce dish 14a, and can be dried in the process of moving the hot water bowl and the soy sauce dish 14a.

Next, the plurality of dried hot water bowls 14 and the soy sauce dishes 14a are transported by the conveyor belt 12, and the first hot water bowls 14 sorted by the first guide plate 19 are sent to the first guide plate. From 19, the water is sent to a hot water bowl pushing position 38 through a hot water bowl guide passage 36. When the teacup 14 has been sent to the teacup pushing position 38, the motor member 25 is driven to draw out the teacup pushing member 23 forward, and the teacup pushing position 3
The hot water bowl 14 located at 8 is supported by the hot water bowl support member 22 and sent out from the hot water bowl supply opening 20 to the hot water bowl supply passage 28.

At this time, together with the teacup supporting member 22,
Since the stopper member 26 is also extruded, a new teacup 14 enters the teacup pushing position 38 during that time,
The hot water drinking bowl support member 22 and the hot water drinking bowl pushing-out member 23 do not hinder the return, and the operation of the hot water drinking bowl pushing-out device 21 is performed smoothly.

On the other hand, the short soy sauce dish 14a sorted by the first guide plate 19 is
And comes into contact with the second guide plate 19a installed very close to the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12.

By this contact, a large number of soy sauce dishes 14a
Guided by the second guide plate 19a, one soy sauce tray 14a is sent to the soy sauce tray pushing position 38a through the soy sauce tray guide passage 36a. Soy sauce dish 14a is pushed out of soy sauce dish position 3
8a, the motor member 25 is driven to pull out the soy sauce tray pushing member 23a forward, and the soy sauce tray 14a located at the soy sauce tray pushing position 38a is supported by the soy sauce tray support member 22a. It is sent out from the supply opening 20a to the soy sauce dish supply passage 28a.

At this time, together with the soy sauce dish support member 22a,
Since the stopper member 26a is also extruded, a new soy sauce dish 14a enters the soy sauce dish pushing position 38a during that time, and the soy sauce dish support member 22a and the soy sauce dish pushing member 23a
Soy sauce tray extrusion device 21
Is smoothly performed.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 is an example of a food and drink counter provided with the supply device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 to FIG. 5 particularly show a portion of the food and drink counter located in the kitchen. Is shown.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the food counter 39 is provided with an endless crescent chain conveyor 40 for transporting food such as sushi at the upper stage, and a hot water bowl and soy sauce at the lower stage. An endless crescent chain conveyor 41 for transporting dishes and the like is provided. Endless crescent chain conveyor 4 for transporting teacups etc.
1, an automatic article supply device 1 of the present invention is provided. Supporting rails 42 and 43 are provided on both outer and inner sides of the endless crescent chain conveyor 41 for transportation such as the hot water bowl 14 and the like. Outer guide rails 44 and inner guide rails 45 are provided on the upper surfaces of both the outer support rails 42 and the inner support rails 43 near the outlet of the hot-drink bowl supply path in order to keep the operation position of the top plate 46 constant. Is provided.

In this embodiment, the crescent chain conveyor 41 for transporting a hot water bowl is capable of transporting, for example, a tea pack container, in addition to the hot water bowl, and a support rail 42 outside the outer guide rail 44 has A sliding door-type opening / closing door 47 is provided so that articles to be conveyed other than the hot water bowl can be supplied or checked, and a wall member 48 is provided upright inside the inner guide rail 45. The wall member 48 is provided with an opening / closing door (not shown) of a sliding door type or the like which can be opened and closed appropriately at an appropriate location. The structure of the crescent chain conveyor 41 for transporting hot and cold drinks shown in this example is not limited to the kitchen room only, but in the portion outside the kitchen room, the wall member and the opening / closing door member can be appropriately changed. is there.

In the present embodiment, the supply device 1 is provided at a location where the crescent chain conveyor for hot water drinking bowls passes through the kitchen room, but is formed inside the enclosed crescent chain conveyor for hot water drinking bowls. Cooking section.

In this example, a mounting table 49 is provided on the top plate 46 of the crescent chain conveyor 41 for transporting the hot and cold drink bowl, and the inside of the hot water drinking bowl supply path 28 on the upper side in the traveling direction of the conveyor path 41. Guide rail 45
Are provided with proximity sensors 50 and 50a. The first proximity sensors 50 and 50a are sensors that read the type of an article to be mounted on the mounting table 49. In this example, the mounting table 49 for transporting a hot water bowl is provided with the first proximity sensor for the first proximity sensor. The sensor plate 51 and the mounting table 49 are provided with a first sensor plate 51 for a first proximity sensor. However, in the present example, the first sensor plate 51 for the first proximity sensor is not mounted on the mounting table 49 for uses other than the one for transporting the hot water bowl. Therefore, in the present example, the presence / absence of the sensor plate 51 can be detected by the first proximity sensor 50 to control the operation of the supply device 1.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each sensor and each device are connected mainly to a control means (not shown), and the traveling of the conveyor path 41 with respect to the first proximity sensor 50. A light-transmitting sensor 52 for detecting whether or not an article is placed on the placing table 49 is provided on the upper side in the direction with the hot and cold bowl transporting conveyor path 41 interposed therebetween.

One of the light-transmitting sensors 52 is a light source device and the other is a light-receiving device. When a conveyed object is detected on the mounting table 49 by the light-transmitting sensor 52, The operation of the driving motor member 29 is stopped.

In this embodiment, a light reflection type sensor 54 for detecting whether or not the hot water bowl 14 exists in front of the hot water bowl support member 22 is provided on the mounting member 53 of the motor member 25. Is provided. When an article such as a hot water bowl is detected in front of the hot water bowl support member by the light reflection sensor 54, the light reflection sensor 54 activates the operation motor 29 of the conveyor path 12 of the supply device 1. It stops, and stops the conveyance of the hot water bowl 14 on the conveyor path 12.

In this embodiment, the hot water drinking bowl pushing member 2
The second sensor plate 55 is mounted on the side of the rack 3 and the second sensor plate 5 on the side of the rack.
On the side facing 5, three proximity sensors, that is, a second proximity sensor 56, a third proximity sensor 57, and a fourth proximity sensor 58 are provided.

Similarly, a second sensor plate 55a is mounted on the side of the rack of the soy sauce tray pushing member 23a, and the second sensor plate 55a on the side of the rack.
Three proximity sensors, that is, the second proximity sensor 5
6a, third proximity sensor 57a and fourth proximity sensor 58a
Is provided.

The second proximity sensor 56, which is located at the end of the direction in which the teacup supporting member 22 protrudes, detects the sensor plate 55 of the teacup pushing-out member 23, and moves the motor in the direction of returning the teacup pushing-out member 23. The driving of the member 29 is started. The third proximity sensor 57 located in the middle of the protruding direction of the teacup supporting member 22 detects that the second sensor plate 55 of the teacup pushing member 23 is still protruding for a predetermined time or more, Notify when trouble has occurred. This is the same for the soy sauce dish pushing member 23a, and therefore, detailed description is omitted.

On the guide rail 45 inside the hot water drinking bowl supply position 59 on which the hot water bowl 14 is mounted on the mounting table 49 conveyed by the crescent chain conveyor 41, the hot water drinking bowl supply position 59 is pushed out. The tea bowl that was made falls down,
Alternatively, a hot water cup stop member 60 is provided so as not to go too far. It is obvious that each sensor is not limited to the light detection sensor but can be replaced with each sensor such as magnetism, pulse, and contact.

Since the present example is configured as described above,
The crescent chain conveyor 41 for transporting the hot water bowl and the soy sauce dish 14a moves with the mounting table 49 for the hot water bowl and the soy sauce dish on its top plate 46. While the mounting table 49 passes between the light transmitting sensors 52, the mounting table 4
9 to detect whether a tea bowl 14 is placed on it,
When a teacup is detected, the light transmitting sensor 52
Stops the operation of the motor 29 and causes the conveyor belt 12
Is stopped, and the light transmission type sensor 52a
Is stopped, and the drive of the conveyor belt 12 is stopped. When the frictional force on the belt is small, the operation of the motor 29 may not be stopped.

The mounting table 49 on which no teacup is placed is a proximity sensor 50 located on the lower side of the light transmission type sensor 52.
When passing in front of the mounting table 49,
Is detected whether or not the first sensor plate 51 is provided, and when it is detected that the first sensor plate 51 is provided, the motor member 25 is operated, and the hot water supported by the hot and cold drinking bowl support member 22 is operated. The drinking bowl 14 is pushed out to the hot-water drinking bowl supply position 59 and placed on the mounting table 49.

On the other hand, when the mounting table 49 on which the teacup 14 is not mounted passes in front of the proximity sensor 50a located on the lower side of the light transmission type sensor 52a, the proximity sensor 50a
Is detected whether or not the empty mounting table 49 has the first sensor plate 51a, and the first sensor plate 51a
When it is detected that there is no soy sauce, the motor member 25 is operated to push the soy sauce tray 14a supported by the soy sauce tray support member 22a to the soy sauce tray supply position 59a and place it on the empty mounting table 49.

The second proximity sensor 56 detects the second sensor plate 55, rotates the motor member 25 in the reverse direction, and pulls back the hot water drinking bowl pushing member 23. Hot water bowl extrusion member 2
3 is pulled back and the second sensor plate 55 is detected by the fourth proximity sensor 58, the fourth proximity sensor 58
Starts the operation of the motor 29 for supplying a hot water bowl so as to drive the conveyor belt 12 for supplying a hot water bowl.

When the tea bowl 14 and the soy sauce dish 14a are supplied in combination on the mounting table 49 of the crescent chain conveyor 41 in a desired ratio, first, the mounting table 49 is supplied.
The teacup 14 including the teacup 14 placed on it
Is set in advance, and the set number is counted by the detection device.

Next, the desired number of empty mounting tables 49 is transferred to the standby position of the soy sauce dish 14a without supplying the hot and cold drinking bowls 14 to the mounting table 49 subsequent to the counted hot and cold drinking bowls 14, and the soy sauce dish By supplying 14a, the hot water bowl 14 and the soy sauce dish 14a can be combined and transferred in a desired number ratio. The ratio between the hot water bowl 14 and the soy sauce dish 14a can be changed by appropriately controlling the count number by a control means (computer or the like).

When the motor 29 for supplying a hot water drinking bowl starts operating and the conveyor belt 12 starts to drive, a plurality of hot water drinking bowls 14 placed on the conveyor belt 12 for supplying hot water drinking bowls are heated. It is moved by the driving of the conveyor belt 12 for drinking tea bowls, and is sent to the next one to the hot water drinking bowl pushing position 38 through the hot drinking bowl guide passage 36.

When the teacup 14 is sent to the teacup pushing position 38, the motor member 25 is driven to draw out the teacup pushing member 23 forward, and the teacup located at the teapot pushing position 38 is driven. The bowl 14 is a hot water cup supporting member 2
2, via the hot water drinking bowl supply opening 20, via the hot water drinking bowl supply passage 28, and the hot water drinking bowl conveying conveyor path 41.
To the hot water drinking bowl supply position 59.

At this time, together with the teacup supporting member 22,
Since the stopper member 26 is also extruded, a new teacup 14 enters the teacup pushing position 38 during that time,
The hot water drinking bowl pushing device 21 can be smoothly operated without preventing the hot water drinking bowl support member 22 and the hot water drinking bowl pushing member 23 from returning.

On the other hand, when the soy sauce dish 14a is sent to the soy sauce dish pushing position 38a in the same manner as described above, the motor member 25 is driven to draw out the soy sauce dish pushing member 23a forward, and the soy sauce dish pushing position 38a is moved to the soy sauce dish pushing position 38a. Soy sauce dish 14a
Is supported by the soy sauce dish support member 22a, and is pushed out from the soy sauce dish supply opening 20a through the soy sauce dish supply passage 28a to the soy sauce dish supply position 59a of the soy sauce dish transport conveyor path 41a.

At this time, together with the soy sauce dish support member 22a,
Since the stopper member 26a is also extruded, a new soy sauce dish 14a enters the soy sauce dish pushing position 38a during that time, and the soy sauce dish support member 22a and the soy sauce dish pushing member 23a
Soy sauce tray extrusion device 21a
Operation can be performed smoothly.

As described above, the sorted articles having different heights stand by at the standby position on one side of the conveyor belt in the conveying direction, and can be individually supplied to the outside by the respective supply means. Each set of articles can be combined as a set.

Further, by simply mixing articles having different heights and placing them on the conveyor belt, the articles can be automatically sorted by the conveying force of the conveyor belt, and the sorting can be performed accurately and efficiently. it can.

Further, since the articles placed on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12 move to one side of the conveyor due to the conveying force of the conveyor belt 12, the articles are sorted efficiently without obstructing the flow. Guided in a certain direction.

Next, another embodiment of the automatic article supply apparatus of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing an automatic article supply device provided with the sorting device of the present invention, showing a state in which a hot water bowl ejecting member and a soy sauce dish pushing member are respectively located at standby positions. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same members described above, and detailed description is omitted.

Automatic article supply device 80 shown in this embodiment
Has the same configuration as that of the automatic article described above, and thus the same reference numerals are given and the detailed description is omitted.

The configuration different from that of the above-described embodiment is that the guide surface of the guide plate serving as an auxiliary guide member and a guide member for guiding various articles (such as hot water bowls and soy sauce dishes) placed on the conveyor belt has a predetermined curvature. This is a point that is configured to be curved.

That is, reference numeral 81 denotes an auxiliary guide member. The auxiliary guide member 81 is formed by a curved line curved at a predetermined curvature so that a concave portion is formed in the traveling direction 15. A small gap is formed, and as described above, the cleaning device 7 on the upstream side of the conveyor is used.
The tea bowl 14 and the soy sauce dish 14a washed by
In the process of being placed on the conveyor belt 12 and being conveyed, it is configured to move to the side opposite to the inner support frame member 6.

Further, the inner support frame 7 on the downstream side in the transport direction of the conveyor belt 12 is formed by a curved curve concaved at a predetermined curvature so as to cross the traveling direction 15 of the conveyor belt 12, and is a first guide member as a guide member. A guide plate 82 is provided. The guide plate 82 is provided such that a predetermined gap is formed on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12 so that only the soy sauce dish 14a can pass through.

Further, on the downstream side of the first guide plate 82 in the traveling direction 15 of the conveyor belt 12, the inner support frame member 7 is provided.
On the side, a second guide plate 82a as a guide member, which is constituted by a curved curve concaved at a predetermined curvature so as to cross the traveling direction 15 of the conveyor belt 12, is provided.

The second guide plate 82 a has an extremely small gap formed on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 12, and has a short height soy sauce which is separated from the teacup 14 through the gap of the first guide plate 82. The plate 14a is configured to contact the curved surface and be guided toward the inner support frame member 6 side.

Next, the sorting operation by the passage restricting member will be described. First, the motor 29 for supplying a hot water bowl starts operating, and the conveyor belt 12 starts driving. In this state, when the plurality of hot water bowls 14 and the soy sauce dishes 14a which are washed in a mixed state on the conveyor belt are moved by driving the conveyor belt 12, the hot water bowls and the soy sauce dishes and the like after the cleaning are moved. Are conveyed by the conveying force of the conveyor belt 12.

The hot-drinking bowl 14 and the soy sauce tray 14a, which are in contact with the auxiliary guide member 81 due to the conveying force, are guided by the curved surface of the auxiliary guide member 81 and are moved from one inner support frame member 6 side to the other inner support member. The sheet is conveyed in the traveling direction 15 while simultaneously moving sideways toward the frame member 7.

Next, the tea bowl 14 and the soy sauce dish 14
a and the like are dried by the drying device 73 in the course of conveyance, and come into contact with the curved surface of the first guide plate 82 disposed on the downstream side in the traveling direction of the conveyor belt 12.

Here, the tall bowl 14 is guided by the curved surface of the first guide plate 82 and is laterally moved to one of the inner support frame members 6 to guide the next bowl. The water is sent to the hot water bowl pushing position 38 through the passage 36, and the subsequent operation is the same as that of the above-described embodiment.

Next, the short soy sauce dish 14a that has passed through the gap formed between the first guide plate 82 and the conveyor belt 12 is sorted from the hot water bowl 14 and conveyed downstream.

The soy sauce tray 14a abuts against the curved surface of the second guide plate 82a and is laterally moved toward the one inner support frame member 6 in the same manner as the hot water bowl 14 described above by the conveying force of the conveyor belt 12. .

Thus, the short soy sauce dish 14a
Is guided by the curved surface of the second guide plate 82a and laterally moved toward one of the inner support frame members 6 so that the next one
Hot water bowl pushing position 3 through hot water bowl guide passage 36a
8a, and the subsequent operations are performed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment.

As described above, the articles conveyed by the conveyor belt are moved while being in contact with the curve having the predetermined curvature, so that the articles can be smoothly moved without clogging during the movement, and can be sorted efficiently.

[0089]

The present invention has the following effects.

(A) According to the first aspect of the present invention, by simply mixing articles having different heights and placing them on the endless conveyor of the conveyor, the articles are automatically sorted by the conveying force of the endless conveyor. Thus, accurate and efficient sorting can be performed.

(B) According to the second aspect of the present invention, the article placed on the endless conveyor of the conveyor moves to one side of the conveyor by the conveying force of the endless conveyor, so that the flow can be smoothly performed without any trouble. Efficient sorting is performed, and the sorted articles are guided in a certain direction.

(C) According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the article conveyed by the endless conveyance body is moved while contacting a curve having a predetermined curvature, the article is smoothly moved without being clogged during the movement, and the efficiency is improved. You can sort well.

(D) According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the sorted articles are guided to a standby position on one side of the conveyor in the conveying direction and waited for standby. Can be supplied individually.

[0094]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a supply device as one embodiment of an automatic article supply device provided with a sorting device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which a hot water bowl ejecting member of the hot water bowl supplying apparatus as an automatic article supplying apparatus is located at a standby position.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state where a hot water drinking bowl pushing member and a soy sauce tray pushing member are located at a pushing position.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which a hot water drinking bowl pushing member and a soy sauce tray pushing member are waiting at a waiting position.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the hot water drinking bowl pushing member is at a standby position and the soy sauce tray pushing member is at a pushing position.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a supply device as another embodiment of the automatic article supply device provided with the sorting device of the present invention, showing a state in which a hot-water-drinking-bowl pushing-out member and a soy sauce tray pushing-out member are waiting at a standby position. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 supply device 2 machine base 3 conveyor frame 4, 5 horizontal member 6, 7 inner support frame member 8, 11 support bearing member 9 drive shaft member 10 driven shaft member 12 conveyor belt 13 substrate member 14 hot water bowl (article) 15 Traveling direction of the conveyor belt 12 16, 18 Guide plate (guide wall) 17 Auxiliary guide member 19 First guide plate (passage regulating member) crossing traveling direction 15 19a Second guide plate (passage regulating member) crossing traveling direction 15 20 Opening for supplying a hot water bowl 20a Opening for supplying a soy sauce dish 21 Hot water drinking bowl extruder 21a Soy sauce dish extruding apparatus 22 Hot water drinking bowl support member that supports a hot water bowl 22a Soy sauce dish supporting member that supports a soy sauce dish 23 Hot water drinking bowl push-out member 23a Soy sauce dish push-out member 24, 24a slide member 25 Motor for driving source 25 'gear box 26, 26a stopper member 27 pinion 28 hot water drinking bowl supply passage 28a soy sauce dish supply passage 29 motor for driving conveyor belt 12 30 mounting base 31 pulley 32 pulley for drive shaft member 9 timing belt 34 hot water bowl guide member 34a soy sauce dish guide member 35 tip of hot water bowl guide member 34 36 hot water bowl guide passage (outlet) 36a soy sauce dish guide passage (outlet) 37, 37a rubber guide wheel (guide) Guide roller as a part of member) 37 'Rotating shaft of guide wheel 37 38, 38a Hot water drinking bowl pushing position (standby space) 39 Food counter 40 Endless crescent chain conveyor for transporting food such as sushi 41 Hot water drinking bowl Endless crescent chain conveyor for transport (circulating transport conveyor) 42, 43 Support rail 44 Outer guide rail 45 Inner guide rail 46 Top plate 47 Sliding door type open / close door 48 Wall member 49 Mounting table 50, 50a First proximity sensor 51 First sensor plate for first proximity sensor 52, 52a Light transmission type sensor (Detecting Means) 53 Mounting Base Member for Motor Member 25 54 Light Reflection Sensor 55 Second Sensor Plate 56 Second Proximity Sensor 57 Third Proximity Sensor 58 Fourth Proximity Sensor 59 Supply position 60 Hot water cup stop member 71 Conveyor 72, 78 Cleaning device 72a First cleaning member 72b Second cleaning member 72c Nozzle 73 Drying device 74 Box 75a Regulatory frame 75b Supporting member 76 Scraper 77a Blow port 77b Blow port 80 Conveyor 81 auxiliary guide member 82 The guide plate a second guide plate crosses the (passage regulating member) 82a traveling direction 15 (passage adjustment member)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An automatic article supply apparatus for placing articles having different heights and transporting the articles in a fixed direction, comprising: a conveyor for placing articles on an endless transport body and transporting the articles; A passage restricting member arranged on the upper surface of the carrier so as to have a gap through which articles can pass in order of height from the upstream side of the conveyor corresponding to the height of each of the articles; An article automatic supply device equipped with a sorting device, wherein articles of different heights placed and conveyed on a conveyance body are sorted in order of height by the passage restricting member. 2. The sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the passage restricting member is arranged such that a contact surface with the article is inclined on a plane parallel to an upper surface of an endless transport body of the conveyor with respect to a transport direction. Automatic article supply device equipped with a device. 3. The sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the passage restricting member has a contact surface with the article formed by a curve having a predetermined curvature on a plane parallel to an upper surface of an endless conveyor of the conveyor. Automatic goods supply device. 4. An automatic article supply apparatus comprising: a plurality of standby positions for guiding each of the articles sorted by the passage restricting member to one side in a conveying direction of the conveyor and waiting for each of the articles; 2. An automatic article supply apparatus comprising the sorting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of supply means for individually supplying each of the articles to the outside.