JP4248260B2 - Feeder and system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a feeding device and a feeding system for intermittently feeding an article group.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Patent Document 1 below discloses a counting device that counts a predetermined number of sanitary products and sequentially conveys them between a number of claws of one tact conveyor.
Patent Document 2 below discloses a transfer device that collects n articles such as sanitary napkins and then transports the n article groups with nails.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-87929 (first page, FIG. 1, FIG. 2)
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-20918 (1st page, FIG. 4)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the pawl is always pitch-fed by the thickness of the article, it is difficult to deliver the article from the tact conveyor to the downstream receiving device. Therefore, there is a problem that it is necessary to provide a transfer machine for taking out the group of articles from above.
[0005]
On the other hand, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, one claw reciprocates and conveys the group of articles, which causes a decrease in conveyance processing capacity per unit time.
[0006]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an article group intermittent feeding device and an article group intermittent feeding system that have a high processing capacity and that a downstream receiving apparatus can easily receive the article group.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus according to the present invention includes first and second claws for conveying an article group supported by a support portion, and these two claws intermittently separate the article group from each other. To the downstream and transport.
The system according to the present invention further includes first and second transfer units that transfer an article group, and the two transfer units operate separately from each other, and the article group is alternately and intermittently moved by the two transfer units. Transport downstream.
The first and second claws (transfer section) alternately push the article to convey it, thereby increasing the carrying ability.
[0008]
Another apparatus of the present invention is configured to downstream a group of articles composed of n articles in a state where a predetermined number of articles supplied one or more at a predetermined receiving position overlap each other in a conveying direction. And a support unit that supports a bottom surface and / or both side surfaces of the article, and a movement path that is substantially parallel to each other along the conveyance direction of the article group, A first claw and a second claw for conveying the group of articles supported by the support unit; and a driving device for driving the first and second claw, wherein the first claw and the second claw May be an intermittent feed device for an article group that alternately conveys the article group downstream.
[0009]
When n articles overlap in the conveying direction, the first claw pushes the rear end surface of the first article group and conveys the first article group. After that, when n articles are overlapped again, the second claw pushes the rear end face of the second article group and conveys the second article group. Thus, since the first and second claws alternately convey the article group, the processing capacity of the conveyance is high, and the article group is not sandwiched from the front and back, but the article is conveyed by pushing the rear end surface of the article. The downstream receiving device can easily receive the group of articles.
[0010]
In the present invention, articles may be supplied one by one to the feeding device, or a plurality of articles may be supplied.
The “article” includes disposable wearing articles such as sanitary napkins, paper diapers, and pants, and these may be conveyed in a folded state.
[0011]
In the present invention, as the driving device, a motor such as a pulse motor or a servo motor may be provided for each of the first and second claws, or the cam mechanism is driven by driving one motor, and the cam mechanism By driving this, the first and second claws may be interlocked to move both the claws.
[0012]
  In the present invention, each nail is in contact with the rear end face of the preceding article group consisting of n articles and in contact with the front end face of the leading article that is the next article group of the preceding article group. Then, after moving forward by a distance corresponding to the thickness of the article and aligning two or more of the articles to be generated next, the articles of the preceding article group away from the front end surface are aligned. Push the rear end face to transport the preceding group of itemsTo do.
  Each nail is in contact with the rear end surface of the preceding group of articles and is in contact with the front end surface of the article until two or more articles are aligned in the next generated article group. Since the article is supported in contact with the front end surface of the article of the next article group until the article that becomes the article group is hardly collapsed, the next article group can be prevented from falling forward.
  When two or more articles are gathered, the articles are less likely to fall down, so that the nail in contact with the rear end surface of the group of articles may be separated from the front end surface of the next group of articles to be generated. When two or more items in a group are fed to the feeder, the claw transports the preceding group of items to the downstream receiving device..
[0013]
In the present invention, a pair of first support portions that are in contact with both side surfaces of the article being conveyed and sandwich the article from both side surfaces are provided on both sides of the conveyance path of the article. You may comprise at least one part of the said support part.
Since the pair of first support portions sandwich the article from both side surfaces, it is possible to transport the article group while keeping the article from falling forward.
[0014]
The present invention includes an endless first belt to which the first claw is attached, and an endless second belt to which the second claw is attached, and the first and second belts are mutually connected. A second support part that is disposed substantially in parallel and that supports the lower surface of the article is provided at a position above the first and second belts, and the upper surface of the second support part is at least one of the support parts. You may comprise a part.
[0015]
As described above, by providing the second support portion that supports the lower surface of the article separately from the belt for moving the claw, the article can be conveyed in a more stable state.
On the other hand, the lower surface of the article may be supported by the belt surface, but the conveyance of the article becomes even smoother by configuring the second support portion with a material having a smaller coefficient of friction with the article than the belt.
[0016]
In addition, although a nail | claw may be attached to a belt, you may fix to a pulling material which can pull a nail | claw like a chain or a wire. The belt may be provided above or on the side of the article. Further, the claw may reciprocate, and in this case, the article group may be pushed on the outward path and fall on the return path.
[0017]
In another system of the present invention, a supply device and a receiving device are provided upstream and downstream of the above-described article group feeder, respectively, and the supply device has one article at a first position in the feeder. After sequentially placing each of the articles, the article at the first position is pushed out to the second position downstream, and the first end is placed on the rear end surface of the article group formed by pushing out the n articles to the second position. And the first claw may further advance to convey the group of articles toward the receiving device.
[0018]
In the present invention, the receiving device includes a pair of endless conveying belts sandwiching both side surfaces of the article group, and the claws alternately enter the space between the pair of conveying belts, The claws may be transferred to the receiving position by the respective claws.
[0019]
As a receiving device, you may provide the guide member which guides the both sides | surfaces of an article | item, and the slat conveyor which supports the lower surface of an article | item.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 5 show a first embodiment. FIG. 1A is a schematic side view of the article group feeding system 1 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a view of the feeding device 20 and the receiving device 30 as viewed from above.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the article group feeding system 1 according to the first embodiment includes a feeding device (first transport unit) 10 and a feeding device (intermittent article group feeding device) 20 from upstream to downstream. , A receiving device (second transport unit) 30 and a control unit 28 are provided.
In the feeding system 1, the articles M supplied to the feeder 20 by the supply apparatus 10 are collected into a group of articles Ci composed of n pieces in a state where predetermined n pieces are overlapped in the transport direction X, and received. After being conveyed to the device 30, it is conveyed downstream by the receiving device 30.
[0021]
Supply device 10:
FIG. 2A is a schematic perspective view illustrating an example of the supply device 10 and the receiving device 30. As shown in FIG. 2A, the supply device 10 includes a pair of turntables 11 that rotate continuously or intermittently about a rotation axis O. The rotary disk 11 is formed with notched holding portions 12 into which articles M are inserted at a plurality of positions at equal pitch intervals. Further, between the holding portions 12 of the turntable 11, an extruding portion 13 protruding outward from the turntable 11 is formed.
[0022]
In the supply device 10, the two turntables 11 receive the article M supplied from the conveyor 15 to the holding unit 12 while rotating integrally, and, as will be described later, the article M is sent to the bottom (second support portion) of the feeder 20. ) After being placed at the first position (receiving position) P1 on 23, it is pushed out by the pusher 13 to the second position P2. Accordingly, the article M is intermittently supplied onto the bottom 23 by the rotation of the turntable 11.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 1A, the first position P1 refers to the vicinity of the bottom 23 at a predetermined distance R1 from the rotation center O of the rotating disk 11, and the second position P2 refers to the position of the rotating disk 11. This refers to the vicinity of the bottom 23 at a predetermined distance R2 from the rotation center O. Here, the distance R1 corresponds to the radius from the rotation center O of the turntable 11 to the recessed portion of the holding portion 12, and the distance R2 is the radius from the rotation center O of the turntable 11 to the distal end portion of the pushing portion 13. Corresponding to R1 <R2.
The supply device 10 is not limited to the pair of turntables 11 as long as it is an object having the holding unit 12 and the extrusion unit 13.
[0024]
Feeder 20:
As shown in FIG. 2A, the feeding device 20 includes a pair of endless first and second belts 21 and 22, and driving devices D1 and D2. The first and second belts 21 and 22 can be independently driven by first and second motors (driving devices) D1 and D2 (FIG. 3) made of, for example, a pulse motor or a servo motor.
The first and second motors D1 and D2 are controlled by a control unit 28 (FIG. 1) described later. Further, the control unit 28 receives rotation information related to rotation from the first and second motors D1 and D2. In FIG. 1 (a), since the signal flow is schematically shown, the signal lines and the like are shown as single lines, but in reality, there are a plurality of single lines shown in FIG. 1 (a). There may be.
[0025]
A first claw (first transfer portion) N1 is attached to the first belt 21 of FIG. 2, and a second claw (second transfer portion) N2 is attached to the second belt 22. . Both the claws N1 and N2 are moved by the first and second motors D1 and D2 (FIG. 2) together with the belts 21 and 22 along the transport direction X of the article group C along the movement direction (transfer path). Move each one. The claws N <b> 1 and N <b> 2 move along the movement path, and push the lower part of the rear end of the article M to carry the article group C. The movement speed of the claws N1, N2 may be unequal.
[0026]
As shown in FIG.2 (b), in order to push the rear part of the article | item M efficiently, it is preferable that conveyance piece T1, T2 is attached to nail | claw N1, N2. A part of the transport piece T1 attached to the first claw N1 may be positioned on the second belt 22. Similarly, a part of the conveying piece T2 attached to the second claw N2 may be positioned on the first belt 21. For this reason, the shape of the transport pieces T1 and T2 is such that one claw N1 (N2) can pass the other claw N2 (N1) with the transport pieces T1 and T2 attached to the claws N1 and N2. It is preferable that This is to prevent the conveying pieces T1 and T2 from coming into contact with each other and being damaged. An example of such transport pieces T1, T2 is shown in FIG. In addition, about the other figure, in order to simplify description, it has shown in the state in which the conveyance pieces T1 and T2 are not attached to nail | claws N1 and N2. However, it goes without saying that in other embodiments shown in the present specification, the conveying pieces T1, T2 may be attached to the claws N1, N2.
[0027]
On the other hand, a support portion 23 that supports the lower surface of the article M is provided at a position slightly above the belts 21 and 22. This is to prevent the article group C from touching the belts 21 and 22 directly. For example, the support portion may be formed by providing the bottom portion 23 made of, for example, a columnar material or a plate material at a position (level) slightly above the belts 21 and 22. The bottom of the article group C is supported by the bottom 23, and the claws N1 and N2 push the rear part of the article group C, and slide the article group C along the bottom 23 to convey the article group C. Do. In FIG. 1A and FIGS. 4 to 7, the belts 21 and 22 and the upper surface of the bottom 23 are shown at the same level for convenience.
[0028]
It is also possible to form support portions on both sides of the conveyance path of the article group C. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, the support portions are formed by providing side plates (first support portions) 25 and 26 that are in contact with both sides of the article M being conveyed and sandwich the article M from both sides. May be.
The apparatus forms a group of articles C by stacking a predetermined number n of articles M and conveys the group of articles C downstream. A method for forming the group of articles C will be described in the operation described later.
[0029]
In the feeding device 20 described above, belts 21 and 22 are arranged on the opposite side of the article group C with the bottom 23 interposed therebetween. However, the configuration of the feeding device 20 is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the belts 21 and 22 may be disposed on the side portion of the article group C, and the belts 21 and 22 may be disposed on the upper part of the article group C.
[0030]
Moreover, as shown to Fig.8 (a), the said nail | claw N1 (N2) may push the upper part of the rear-end part of the articles | goods group C, and may convey it. Also, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, the claws N1 (N2) are reciprocated so that the claws N1 (N2) in FIG. After carrying out the conveyance by pushing C, the claw N1 (N2) may fall down as shown in FIG. 8C, and the return path X2 may be returned in the direction opposite to the forward path X1. When such a return path X2 moves, the claw N1 (N2) may be tilted as indicated by a two-dot chain line.
[0031]
Receiving device 30:
The receiving device 30 of FIG. 3 includes a pair of conveying belts 31 and 32 that are driven by a third motor (driving device) D3 made of, for example, a servomotor, and a third support 39. The third support part 39 supports the lower part of each article in the article group C, and may be provided continuously to the bottom part 23 as shown in FIG. The claws N1 and N2 alternately enter the space 35 between the upstream portions of both the conveyor belts 31 and 32 in FIG. 3, and the claws N1 and N2 deliver the article group C to the receiving device 30. The conveyance belt 31 may convey the article M downstream while sandwiching both side surfaces of the article group C.
[0032]
Sensors S1-S3:
As shown in FIG. 1, the present system may include first to third sensors S1 to S3. Each of the sensors S1 to S3 may be an optical sensor that detects the article M, for example. Each of the sensors S1 to S3 may be connected to a control unit 28 that controls each device based on the detection signal of the article M from the sensors S1 to S3. The control unit 28 may be constituted by a microcomputer, for example.
[0033]
When detecting the article M at the first position P1, the first sensor S1 transmits a detection signal to the control unit 28. When the control unit 28 receives the detection signal from the first sensor S <b> 1, the control unit 28 increments the counter and integrates the number of articles M supplied to the feeding device 20.
[0034]
The second sensor S2 transmits a detection signal to the control unit 28 when the article group C reaches the conveyance start position P20. The control unit 28 receives the detection signal from the second sensor S2. Based on the rotation information of the first and second motors D1 and D2, the control unit 28 moves one of the claws N1 and N2 in the transport direction X to transport the article group C to the receiving device 30.
[0035]
The third sensor S3 transmits a detection signal to the control unit 28 when the article group C reaches the discharge completion position P30. When the control unit 28 receives the detection signal, the control unit 28 stops the rotation of the belt 21 (22) that has transported the article group C and drives both the transport belts 31 and 32 of the receiving device 30 to move the article group C downstream. To transport.
[0036]
Transfer operation of this system:
Next, the system may generate and transport a group of articles as in an example of an operation for transporting the article M described below.
In this system, after the first nail N1 conveys one article group C, the second nail N2 conveys another article group C, and then the first nail N1 further separates another article group C. However, in the following description, the conveyance by the first nail N1 will be described as an example.
[0037]
1st count;
As shown in FIG. 4A, a predetermined number (n) of articles M are conveyed onto the bottom 23 of the feeding device 20, and a preceding article group (hereinafter referred to as “first article group”) C₁The description starts from the state in which is formed. The first claw N1 indicated by a broken line is a first article group C via a conveying piece T1 (FIG. 2B).₁It touches Mb after. On the other hand, the first article M held by the holding unit 12 by the rotation of the turntable 11 of the supply device 10.₁Of the first article M is in contact with the top of the bottom 23.₁Is placed at the first position P1, and the first sensor S1 is connected to the first article M.₁Is detected. Upon receiving the detection signal from the first sensor S1, the control unit 28 increments the counter.
[0038]
As shown in FIG. 4B, the turntable 11 continues to rotate, and the first article M₁Is moved away from the holding unit 12 and pushed out in the conveying direction X while being in contact with the extrusion unit 13. By such extrusion, the first article M₁The front end face Mf of the first nail N1 or the article group C₂The next article group (hereinafter referred to as “second article group”) C by contacting the rear portion and the nail N1 or the like₂Article M to be a part of₁However, it is prevented from falling forward.
[0039]
2nd to 3rd count;
The next holding part 12 is the next second article M.₂Are conveyed toward the first position P1, and the first sensor S1 is moved to the second article M.₂Is detected, and a detection signal is transmitted to the control unit 28. Upon receiving the detection signal from the first sensor S1, the control unit 28 increments the counter. Here, the second article M held by the holding unit 12₂Is the first article M₁As well as on the bottom 23.
[0040]
As shown in FIG. 4C, the first nail N <b> 1 is attached to the first article M along with the extrusion by the extrusion unit 13.₁Is conveyed to the first position P1, and then the second article M, which is the next article.₂The nail N1 is moved forward at a low speed by the thickness of the article until the nail N1 is conveyed to the first position P1, whereby the nail N1 is moved to the first article M.₁The article M in the state of being close to or in contact with the front end face Mf of₁Will move forward.
[0041]
As shown in FIG. 5A, the next third article M held by the holding unit 12._ThreeIs placed at the first position P1 on the bottom 23 and the second article M is₂Is pushed out. The first sensor S1 is the third article M at the first position P1._ThreeIs detected, the control unit 28 increments the counter.
[0042]
Here, the first nail N1 is moved along the second article M by a pitch corresponding to the thickness of the article M as the article is moved by the extruding unit 13.₂The third article M, which is the next article after the_ThreeUntil it is conveyed to the first position P1, it continuously advances at a low speed. That is, the nail N1 is the first article group C.₁2nd article group C which touches back Mb and is behind₂Leading first article M₁In a state where it is in contact with the front end face Mf of the article M, it moves forward by a pitch corresponding to the thickness of the article M. Since each article M is sandwiched between the side plates 25 and 26 (FIG. 1), the second article group C₂The articles M to be arranged are sandwiched between the extruding part 13 and the first claw N1, and are aligned so as to be in contact with each other. First article group C₁Reaches the conveyance start position P20, the first claw N1 moves in the conveyance direction X at a higher speed than the low speed, and the first article group C₁Is conveyed toward the receiving device 30.
[0043]
4-5th count;
Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the third and fourth articles M held by the holding portion 12._Three, M_FourAre sequentially placed on the bottom 23 and the article M_Three, M_FourAre sequentially detected by the first sensor S1, and the counter of the control unit 28 is incremented based on the detection signal. Thereafter, the next article M extruded by the extrusion unit 13_iIs the article group C conveyed so far₂Article M before_i-1Are aligned so that they touch each other.
[0044]
On the other hand, the second article group C held by the holding portion 12 by the rotation of the turntable 11 shown in FIG.₂The last article M_nIs placed on the bottom 23, the second nail N2 is moved to the last article M._nIt touches Mb after.
[0045]
The transport operation of the system 1 is not limited to the above-described one. For example, the first nail N1 is the first article group C.₁Is detected at the position detected by the second sensor S2.₁After that, the first claw N1 may be stopped until a predetermined number of articles M are stored. 1st article group C₁This is because the article M is packed between the extrusion section 13 and the extrusion section 13 and the article M is kept standing. 1st article group C₁The predetermined number of articles M supplied between the extrusion unit 13 and the extrusion unit 13 may be counted when the first sensor S1 detects the articles M.
[0046]
Start driving of receiving device 30;
Next, the operation of the receiving device 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5 (b), the second nail N2 is connected to the second article group C.₂1st article M₁Away from the front end face Mf of the first article group C₁After pressing Mb, the first article group C₁Begins to be conveyed in the conveyance direction X at a high speed. 1st article group C₁Are conveyed by the side portions 25 and 26 while keeping each article from falling forward.
While being conveyed, the holding part 12 is in the second article group C.₂Article Mi can be supplied.
[0047]
In the stop position Ps shown in FIG.5 (c), it is preferable that the 1st nail | claw N1 stops once. However, the first nail N1 or the conveying piece T1 is the second article group C.₂There is no need to stop if the shape is not changed.
1st article group C₁Reaches the discharge completion position P30, the first article group C₁Is detected by the third sensor S3 and a detection signal is transmitted to the control unit. When the control unit 28 receives the detection signal, the control unit 28 temporarily stops the first belt 21 and the first claw N1 and starts driving the conveyor belts 31 and 32. 1st article group C₁Is sandwiched between the two conveyor belts 31 and 32 and conveyed downstream in an aligned state.
First article group C₁When the third sensor S3 detects the rear end, the first claw N1 and the first belt 21 are driven again at a high speed and may return to the position of the first claw N1 in FIG. .
[0048]
On the other hand, the second article group C₂For the above, the above-mentioned supply and counting of the article are repeated.
[0049]
Second embodiment:
Next, a second embodiment will be described.
6 and 7 show a second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of the article group feeding system 2 according to the second embodiment. The feed system 2 shown in FIG. 6 includes a supply device 10, a feed device 20, a receiving device 30 and a control unit 48. The configurations of the feeding device 10, the feeding device 20, and the receiving device 30 of the feeding system 2 are basically the same as those of the first embodiment described above, and the same parts or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed. Description is omitted.
[0050]
The control unit 48 is connected to the fourth to eighth sensors S4 to S8. The fourth sensor S <b> 4 detects whether or not the article M has been supplied to the supply device 10 and sends the detection signal to the control unit 48. The fourth sensor S4 may be an optical sensor. The fifth and sixth sensors S5 and S6 detect the rotation information of the belts 31 and 32 and send the rotation information to the control unit 48 as a detection signal. The seventh sensor S7 detects rotation information of the turntable 11, and sends the rotation information to the control unit 48 as a detection signal. The controller 48 knows the speed at which the article M is transferred by the rotation information detection signal from the seventh sensor S7, while the article M is conveyed by the detection signal of the article M from the fourth sensor S4. Knowing the coming time (timing), the two claws N1 and N2 are moved at a predetermined time (timing) based on these two pieces of information.
[0051]
The eighth sensor S8 detects rotation information of the receiving device 30 and sends the rotation information to the control unit 48 as a detection signal. For example, the fifth to eighth sensors S5 to S8 may be potentiometers, or may be link type sensors attached to the motor, and detection signals may be generated according to the rotation of the motor. Further, instead of the fifth to eighth sensors S5 to S8, rotation information is generated by signals necessary for synchronously rotating the motor that rotates the rotating disk 11 and the motor that drives the belts 31 and 32. Also good.
[0052]
The controller 48 causes the first claw N1 to stand by at a standby position Q2 upstream from the receiving position P1. The first nail N1 may stop and wait. The control unit 48 counts the number of articles M based on the detection signal from the fourth sensor S4, and the number is a predetermined number K.₁(K₁Is 2 or more), the first claw N1 is moved from the standby position Q2 to the intermediate stop position Q3 of FIG. The intermediate stop position Q3 is on the moving path, and a predetermined number K is provided between the first claw N1 and the turntable 11.₁A predetermined number K less than the number of₂The gap for opening the article M is opened. The controller 48 can obtain the intermediate stop position Q3 based on the rotation information of the motor.
A predetermined number K in the gap₂When the article M is supplied by the supply device 10, the control unit 28 uses the first nail N1 to supply the first article group C.₁Is moved to the discharge stop position Q4 and stopped. The control unit 48 determines a predetermined number K based on the detection signal from the fourth sensor S4.₂Can be counted. The discharge stop position Q4 means that the receiving device 30 has the article group C₁It is a position where you can receive.
[0053]
When the first claw N1 stops at the discharge stop position Q4, the control unit 48 sends the article group C to the receiving device 30.₁Is controlled so as to be conveyed by a certain distance. The control unit 48 uses the detection signal from the eighth sensor S8 to detect the article group C.₁Can be transported by a certain distance.
When the first claw N1 moves beyond the discharge stop position Q4, the first claw N1 changes the moving direction in order to return to the standby position Q2. The main reason that the first claw N1 stops at the discharge stop position Q4 is that the article group C when the first claw N1 changes the moving direction.₁This is because there is an influence on the standing state. If such an influence does not occur, the first claw N1 does not need to stop at the discharge stop position Q4.
The second claw N2 performs the same operation as the first claw N1. The first and second claws N1 and N2 are preferably controlled so as not to pass each other.
[0054]
As described above, the preferred embodiments have been described with reference to the drawings. However, those skilled in the art will readily understand various changes and modifications within the obvious scope by looking at the present specification.
For example, a plurality of claws may be provided on one belt. Also, there may be three or more nails and belts. The article may be detected by a sensor other than the photoelectric switch.
Further, the bottom 23 or the side plates 25 and 26 in FIG. 2 may not be provided. For example, the bottom 23 may be provided only in the part that receives the article M.
Further, a bar-like or rail-like support part may be provided instead of the bottom part or the side part.
Accordingly, such changes and modifications are to be construed as within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.
[0055]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the first and second claws (transfer units) alternately convey the article group, the carrying capacity is high, and the article group is not sandwiched from the front and rear. However, since the article is conveyed by pushing the rear end surface of the article, the downstream receiving device (second conveyance unit) can easily receive the article group.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view and a schematic plan view showing an example of an article group feeding system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a supply device and a feeding device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a feeding device and a receiving device according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a method for intermittently feeding articles.
FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing a method for intermittently feeding articles.
FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing an example of an article group feeding system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a method of intermittently feeding articles according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing a modification.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 2: Feed system
10: Supply device (first transport unit)
20: Feeder
21: First belt
22: Second belt
23: Bottom (second support part)
25, 26: Side plate (first support part)
28, 48: Control unit
30: Receiving device (second transport unit)
31, 32: Conveying belt
C: Group of goods
C₁: First article group (preceding article group)
C₂: Second article group (next article group)
D1, D2: Motor (drive device)
M: Goods
Mf: front end face
Mb: rear end face
N1: First claw (first transfer part)
N2: 2nd nail (2nd transfer part)
X: Transport direction

Claims (4)

A feeding device that conveys n articles in a state of being overlapped conveyed at a predetermined interval downstream,
A support for supporting the bottom and / or both sides of the article;
First and second claws that convey the article group supported by the support unit along the conveyance direction of the article group;
A driving device for driving the first and second claws,
The first claw and the second claw separately convey the article group intermittently downstream ;
Each nail is in contact with the rear end face of the preceding article group consisting of n articles and in contact with the front end face of the leading article that is the next article group of the preceding article group. After advancing by a distance corresponding to the thickness and aligning two or more of the articles to be generated next, the rear end face of the preceding article group is pushed away from the front end face, An article group feeding apparatus for conveying a preceding article group . A feeding system comprising: a first conveying unit that conveys an article at a predetermined interval; and a feeding device that moves the article conveyed from the first conveying unit into a predetermined n number of overlapping article groups and moves the conveying path. Because
The feeding device has first and second transfer parts including claws for transferring the group of articles through the transfer path;
The claw of the first transfer unit can move differently from the claw of the second transfer unit,
A control unit for controlling the first and second transfer units based on information including a speed and a timing at which the article is transported from the first transport unit to the feeder ;
Each nail is in contact with the rear end face of the preceding article group consisting of n articles and in contact with the front end face of the leading article that is the next article group of the preceding article group. After advancing by a distance corresponding to the thickness and aligning two or more of the articles to be generated next, the rear end face of the preceding article group is pushed away from the front end face, A feeding system for conveying a preceding group of articles . Oite to claim 2,
A second transport unit capable of receiving the group of articles transported by the transport unit of the feeding device and transporting the article group at a predetermined interval;
The feed system in which the control unit of the feed device controls the second transport unit based on the movement of the first or second transfer unit. In claim 3 ,
A feeding system in which, when the second transport unit receives the article group, the first or second transport unit that has transported the article group temporarily stops.

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