JPH11157508A - Automatic stacker for cup-like articles - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an automatic stacker for cup-like articles wherein an unnecessary space is not generated at the time of casing, to save a box material as a result, and further to improve space efficiency at the time of storage and transportation for obtaining economic effects. SOLUTION: The automatic stacker for cup-like articles comprises a reversely rotating arm 7 for locking with an upper part of a tip of a cup-like article (a) in alternative arrays (b), (d) of a transferred lateral array of cup-like articles (a) and reversely standing the cup-like article (a) in the alternative arrays (b), (d) above a conveyer 1 for transferring the cup-like articles (a) in a standing state to an appropriate number of arrays (b), (c), (d), respective array stoppers 10, 11, which can be individually controlled, for transferring forward the standing and falling cup-like articles (a) at the tip of the respective arrays (a), (b), (c) which have been sequentially transferred timely and intermittently, air ejection nozzles 14, 15, 16, 17 for sorting the standing and falling cup-like articles (a) which have been transferred timely and intermittently by control of the respective array stoppers 10, 11 into predetermined respective arrays, a plurality of array stoppers 18, 19 for transferring forward intermittently the cup-like articles (a) of a lateral array which have been transferred with a part of them fallen into an appropriate number of lateral arrays, and a stacking device 22 for gathering the appropriate number of lateral arrays of the cup-like articles (a) which have been transferred for lifting/lowering.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cup-shaped or bowl-shaped product (for example, a product in which dried noodles or the like are incorporated in a cup-shaped or bowl-shaped container and can be eaten just by pouring hot water. Etc., which is referred to as a “cup-shaped product” below).
As a result, the present invention is characterized in that box materials are saved, space efficiency during storage and transportation is enhanced, and economical effects are obtained.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, cup-shaped products such as those described above have a substantially conical shape without stability, and thus a tray made of a thin plastic has been generally used for packing. That is, a tray having a recess into which the lower half of the cup-shaped product is inserted is prepared in advance, and the lower half of the cup-shaped product is inserted into the recess to stabilize the tray. They were stacked in several tiers and packed in boxes.

[0003]

As described above, the tray
When the cup-shaped product is packed in a box by using, the accumulation area, that is, the required size of the box is a total sum of at least the area of the large-diameter portion of the cup-shaped product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is not necessary to raise all of the cup-shaped products as in the related art, but to arrange the cup-shaped products which are alternately turned upside down between them, and uselessly. Automated stacking device that saves space, reduces the stacking area, reduces the size of the packaging box, stores the package in accordance with the miniaturization, improves space efficiency during transportation, and achieves the economic effect of eliminating the need for a spacer. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a method for forming a row of cup-shaped articles in a horizontal row above a conveyor for transferring the cup-shaped articles in an upright state into an appropriate number of rows. A reversing arm which is engaged with the upper end of the cup-shaped product to invert the cup-shaped products in the alternate row and inverts the cup-shaped products in the successive rows, and the inverted cup-shaped product is timely and intermittently moved. Independently controllable row stoppers for transferring forward, air-injection nozzles for distributing upright and inverted cup-shaped products transferred in a timely and intermittent manner by control of each row stopper to predetermined rows, and a part of the nozzles A plurality of row stoppers for intermittently transferring the cup-shaped products in a horizontal row into a suitable number of rows and intermittently moving forward, and a stacking device for collectively lifting and lowering the transferred cup-shaped products in the appropriate number of horizontal rows in a timely manner are provided. Configuration One in which the.

[0006]

According to the apparatus of the present invention, an inverted cup-shaped product can be automatically stacked next to a standing cup-shaped product. That is, the small-diameter portion is positioned adjacent to the large-diameter portion of the cup-shaped product, and can be stacked, so that no wasteful space is generated and stacking is possible.

[0007] Therefore, as compared with the conventional case where the large-diameter portions of the cup-shaped product are adjacent to each other, the accumulation area becomes smaller, and the packaging box at the time of packing is small. -Space efficiency has been improved, and rattling in the box has been suppressed.
Economic effects can be obtained, for example, the need for a filter is eliminated.

In the present invention, the cup-shaped products a which have been transported in the upright state are transported forward in an appropriate number of rows by the function of the air-injection nozzles 6a and 6b, and the reversing rollers provided in the alternate rows. The cup-shaped product a in the alternate row is turned upside down by means of the -mem 7.

Next, individually controllable row stoppers 10 and 11 for sequentially and sequentially transferring the upright and inverted cup-shaped product a at the tip end of each row to the front in an intermittent manner.
Under the control of the air-injection nozzles 14, 15, 16, and 17, they are sorted into predetermined rows so that the horizontal one row direction, the transfer row direction, and the stacking direction are alternate rows.

Next, as described above, the cup-shaped products a for one horizontal row, which are sorted so as to be arranged alternately in the stacking direction, are sequentially transferred to the front, and the transferred cup-shaped products a are stoppered in a plurality of rows. According to -18 and 19, the sheets are transferred to the stacking device 22 in a state suitable for batch packing, that is, in an appropriate number of rows and intermittently.

The stacking device 22 has a structure in which the suction cups 22a are adsorbed on the transported cup-shaped products a in a suitable number of rows and are simultaneously moved up and down in a timely manner. The cup-shaped product a is temporarily lifted by the suction cup 22a, and is lowered onto the cup-shaped product a sent below the cup-shaped product a so as to be stacked in an appropriate number of stages.

Then, the cup-shaped products a stacked as described above are sent to a transfer path 24 to a box packing device (not shown) by a pusher 23, and are packed in a box by an automatic packing device.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, cup-shaped products a are automatically accumulated in a state shown in FIG. That is, when viewed two-dimensionally, adjacent cup-shaped products a are alternately raised and inverted alternately, and the same surface is abutted upon stacking.

First, a conveyor 1 for transferring the cup-shaped products a in an appropriate number of rows is configured. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the conveyor 1 is a belt conveyor 1a, a belt conveyor 1
b, a belt conveyer 1c and a roller conveyer 1d, and is configured to transfer the cup-shaped products a in three rows.

Each of the belt conveyors 1a to 1c
Outer guides 2 are provided on both sides of the roller conveyer 1d except for a stacking part, which will be described later, and a belt conveyor 1a, a substantially middle part of the belt conveyer 1c and a plurality of row stoppers 18, which will be described later, of the roller conveyer 1d. An inter-row guide 3 for guiding the cup-shaped product a to be transferred is provided except for 19 parts, and further above the cup-shaped product a except for a reversing arm 7 described later and a stacked portion of the roller conveyor 1d. Is provided with an upper guide 4 at a small interval from the cup-shaped product a.

Incidentally, the cup-shaped product a on the conveyor 1
As an example of the three-row feeding, the cup-shaped products a sent out in a line in an upright state from the delivery transfer path 5 in the manufacturing process of the cup-shaped product a, as shown in FIG. Air-injection nozzles 6a, 6 provided on both sides
b, the compressed air is alternately sprayed from b to the left and right transfer paths b and d. When the cup-shaped product a is supplied to the center transfer path c, the air-injection nozzles 6a and 6b on both sides are used.
This is done by stopping the injection of compressed air from

Furthermore, in the present invention, the upper row of the cup-shaped product a is locked above the conveyor 1, specifically, the upper side of the belt conveyor 1b, and is interleaved (in the embodiment shown in FIG. A reversing arm 7 for reversing the cup-shaped product a on the roads b and d) is provided. That is, the support rods 8 are provided in the direction intersecting with the belt conveyor 1b, and the respective support rods 8 rotatably support the substantially intermediate portions of the respective reversing arms 7.

The reversing arm 7 has a front end bent at an appropriate angle downward to form a locking portion 7a for locking the upper end of the cup-shaped product a transferred as necessary, and a rear end at the rear end. The pressing piece 7b is configured, and the locking portion 7a is configured to be heavy.

Further, a pressing rod 9a of an actuator such as an air cylinder 9 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the pressing piece 7b. And usually, the actuator such as the air cylinder 9
The pressing piece 9b is pressed down by the pressing rod 9a and lowered, so that the locking portion 7a at the tip is controlled so as not to be locked to the transferred cup-shaped product a. .

Then, the transferred cup-shaped merchandise a in the alternate row
When the inverting arm is turned upside down, when the pressing rod 9a of the actuator of the air cylinder or the like 9 is returned upward by a predetermined stroke, the locking portion 7a of the inverting arm 7 is moved by its own weight. It can be lowered to a position where it locks to the upper end of the tip, and can escape upward.

Therefore, when the upper end of the cup-shaped product a transferred to the locking portion 7a is locked while the locking portion 7a of the reversing arm 7 is lowered, the front of the belt conveyor 1b is locked. The front portion of the cup-shaped product a is lifted by the transfer force, and at the same time, the locking portion 7a of the reversing arm 7 is also moved upward, so that the cup-shaped product a is finally moved to the outer guide 2.
And between the inter-row guides 3.

It is desirable that the belt conveyor 1b of the reversing arm 7 has a high friction coefficient. That is, the cup-shaped product "a" is
This is because if the cup-shaped product a slips on the belt conveyor 1b after being locked by the locking portion 7a, the inverted inversion may not be performed smoothly.

Next, as described above, the cup-shaped product a in an inverted state is placed in the transfer paths b and d on both sides of the upper surface of the belt conveyor 1c, and the cup-shaped product a in the upright state is placed in the central transfer path c. Be transported.

In the present invention, the upright and inverted cup-shaped products a at the leading end of each row transferred on the belt conveyor 1c as described above can be individually and intermittently transferred forwardly and intermittently. Each row stoppers 10 and 11 are provided in each row.

That is, the row stoppers 10 and 11 are provided in the transfer paths b, c and d with a front and rear width of about one cup-shaped product a, respectively.
The actuator is moved up and down in a timely manner by an actuator such as 2, 13 or the like.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the row stoppers 10 and 11 do not interfere with the outer guide 2, the inter-row guide 3 and the upper guide 4, and are lowered. The cup-shaped product a is constituted by two rods which are locked on both sides of the front end of the cup-shaped product a so as not to be crushed.

In the above arrangement, if each row stopper 11 is raised while each row stopper 10 is kept in a lowered state, the cup-shaped product a locked on each row stopper 11 is transferred forward. When each row stopper 11 is lowered and each row stopper 10 is raised after the transfer, the next cup-shaped product a is locked to each row stopper 11. Then, when the row stoppers 10 are lowered, the cup-shaped products a are locked between the row stoppers 10 and 11, and the cup-shaped products a in each row are sequentially and timely and intermittently operated in the same manner as described above. Can be transported forward.

In this transfer process, since the cup-shaped product a stopped by the row stoppers 10 and 11 is slipping on the upper surface of the belt conveyor 1c, the belt conveyor 1c has an appropriate coefficient of friction. Lower is better. That is, when the cup-shaped product a is relatively light, there is not much problem. However, when the cup-shaped product a is heavy, the slip may be impossible. Therefore, it is necessary to select the material of the belt conveyor 1a according to the cup-shaped product a. is there.

Next, the upright and inverted cup-shaped products a which are conveyed in a timely and intermittent manner by the control of the row stoppers 10 and 11 are arranged adjacent to the row stoppers 10 and 11 respectively. Air-injection nozzle 14,
15, 16, 17 are provided.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the air-injection nozzle 14 is ejected only when the inverted cup-shaped product a in the transfer path b is distributed to the transfer path c. Can be stopped.

This also applies to the air-injection nozzle 17, which is ejected when the inverted cup-shaped product a in the transfer path d is distributed to the transfer path c. In the case of going straight, the injection is stopped.

The air-injection nozzle 15 is connected to the transfer path c.
When the upright cup-shaped product a is distributed to the transfer path d, the injection is stopped, and when the transfer path c is moved straight, the injection is stopped.

This is the same for the air-injection nozzle 16, which is ejected when the upright cup-shaped product a in the transfer path c is distributed to the transfer path b. In the case of going straight, the injection is stopped.

The distribution of the cup-shaped product a is performed by the row stoppers 10 and 11 and the air-injection nozzles 14 and 1.
The microcomputers 5, 16, and 17 are controlled by a microcomputer to control the supply and distribution of the upright and inverted cup-shaped products a so that the cup-shaped products a are alternately arranged, that is, finally in the state of FIG.

Here, the term “alternate row” means that the direction includes not only the horizontal row and the transfer row direction (front-back direction) but also the stacking direction.

Further, as described above, the cup-shaped products a for one horizontal row, which are arranged alternately, are transferred to the front, and are in a state suitable for batch packing, that is, an appropriate number of horizontal rows, in the illustrated embodiment, two horizontal rows ( (Total of 6 pieces), and intermittently transferred forward. For this purpose, a plurality of row stoppers 18 and 19 are provided above the roller conveyor 1d. .

The plurality of row stoppers 18 and 19 are provided in the same way as the row stoppers 10 and 11 described above.
Although they are provided in c and d and move up and down in a similar manner, the cup-shaped products a of the respective transfer paths b, c and d are arranged in two horizontal rows and are collectively transferred to the front in a timely and intermittent manner. That is, the vertical movement is not individually controlled in each of the transfer paths b, c, and d, but those in the transfer paths b, c, and d are simultaneously controlled by actuators such as the air cylinders 20, 21. It is something that can be done.

In the drawing, reference numeral 26 denotes the plural-row stopper-18,
This is a multi-row stopper of the same configuration that ensures the supply of the cup-shaped product a to the space 19, and is vertically controlled by an actuator such as an air cylinder 29.

Next, at the front of the roller conveyor 1d,
A stacking device 22 is provided which lifts and lowers the cup-shaped products a transported in an appropriate number of rows, in the illustrated embodiment, two rows at a time by an actuator such as an air cylinder 27.

The roller conveyor 1d not only reduces the friction at the bottom of the cup-shaped products a, which are kept on standby by a plurality of rows of stoppers 18 and 19, but also slides on a boxing device (not shown) provided in the lateral direction after stacking. This is effective for transporting the stack without breaking it.

The stacking device 22 is constituted by suction pads 22a which can be moved up and down by the number of cup-shaped products a sent in two horizontal rows. Two rows (6 in total) supplied on the La conveyor 1d
), And is lifted temporarily to lift all of them, and then lowered to release the suction.

That is, when the plural rows of stoppers 19 are lifted to supply two horizontal rows (six in total) of cup-shaped products a onto the roller conveyor 1d, this is detected and the stacking device 2 is detected.
2, the suction pad 22a is sucked on the upper surface of all the supplied cup-shaped products a, and is lifted to lift all of them.

In the meantime, the multi-row stoppers 19 are lowered and the multi-row stoppers 18 are raised.
19, the following two rows (total of six rows) are locked.
Then, the multi-row stopper 18 is lowered to hold down the subsequent transfer of the cup-shaped product a, and the multi-row stopper 19 is moved.
Is raised, the next two rows (six in total) of cup-shaped products a are fed onto the roller conveyor 1d.

When this feeding is detected, the stacking device 22
Is lowered, the suction of the suction pad 22a is released, and the cup-shaped products a are stacked in two stages. Thereafter, the cup-shaped products a stacked in two stages are collectively transferred by a pusher 23 pushed out by an actuator such as an air cylinder 28 to a boxing device (not shown).
And packed in a box by an automatic packaging device (not shown).

In the figure, reference numeral 25 denotes an automatic accumulator of the same configuration provided in parallel with the automatic accumulator of the cup-shaped product a.
The transfer path 24 to the box packing device is shared, and is provided as necessary when the automatic accumulation of the cup-shaped products a and the efficiency of the box packing process are aimed at.

[0046]

According to the present invention, the cup-shaped products can be stacked not only in the horizontal row direction and the transfer row direction (front-back direction) but also in the stacking direction, so that useless space is omitted.
The integration area can be reduced. Accordingly, the packing box can be reduced in size, space efficiency during storage and transportation accompanying the downsizing can be improved, and economic effects such as no need for a spacer because rattling is suppressed can be obtained. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an integrated device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the integrated device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a reversing arm and row stoppers.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a multi-row stopper portion and a stacking device portion.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an accumulation state of cup-shaped products.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyor 7 Reversing arm 10, 11 Each row stopper 14, 15, 16, 17 Air injection nozzle 18, 19 Multiple row stopper 22 Stacking device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An upper row of cup-shaped commodities in a row of transferred horizontal rows of cup-shaped commodities is locked above a conveyor for transporting the cup-shaped commodities in an upright state into an appropriate number of rows. A reversing arm for reversing a cup-shaped product, an upright end of each sequentially transferred row, and individually controllable row stoppers for transferring the inverted cup-shaped product forward timely and intermittently; An air-injection nozzle for distributing the upright and inverted cup-shaped products transferred in a timely and intermittent manner to each predetermined row by the control of each row stopper, and a horizontal row of cup-shaped products that are partially inverted and transferred. A cup-shaped product provided with a plurality of row stoppers for intermittently moving forward in an appropriate number of rows and a stacking device for raising and lowering the transferred horizontally-properly numbered cup-shaped products in a batch at an appropriate time. Automatic integration equipment Place. 2. The automatic stacking apparatus for cup-shaped products according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor of the plurality of rows of stopper portions and the stacking device portion is a roller conveyor.