JP5443957B2 - Reversing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a reversing device that flips a conveyed product carried into the device upside down and carries it out.

  When transporting a transported object such as a cardboard box, the transported object may be turned upside down in the transport path due to various situations and reasons.

  For example, in the field of irradiation sterilization, γ rays were often used as a radiation source. However, due to the necessity of careful management and correction of irradiation time, the irradiation target Depending on the object, an electron beam having a high sterilization rate has been used. Although the electron beam is inferior to the γ-ray in terms of permeability, it has the properties of excellent irradiation controllability, easy handling, and a high sterilization rate as described above. Therefore, after irradiating an electron beam from one surface (front surface) of a cardboard box in which a medical instrument or the like is stored, it is turned 180 degrees upside down and further irradiated with an electron beam from the other surface (back surface). A method has been adopted in which the shortage is compensated, the range of the irradiation object is expanded, the irradiation process is performed in a large amount at a high speed, and the cost is reduced. In such a method, a reversing device that reliably and efficiently flips the conveyed product is desired.

  By the way, as a conventional reversing device, for example, as described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-171828), there is a transporting device that grips a transported object using an electric motor. This conventional reversing device includes a rotating body and a gripping device attached to the rotating body and rotated within a range of 180 degrees. The gripping device has a pair of upper and lower arm-shaped grip bodies provided so as to be close to and away from each other along a guide rail provided on one side of the rotating body. It is configured to be cantilevered. The pair of arm-shaped gripping bodies are driven up and down by a gripping motor. The reversing device has a side support device on the other side of the rotating body. The side support device supports a side surface to which gravity is added when the side support device is cantilevered and rotated by the gripping device. The reversing device having the gripping device and the side support device can reverse the conveyed product.

  However, in such a reversing device, there is a problem that it is difficult to provide a side support device adapted to a conveyed product having various heights, and the configuration of the side support device becomes complicated. Further, such a reversing device has a configuration in which the gripping body is driven and cantilevered by an electric motor, so that it is difficult to grip the conveyed object with an appropriate gripping force. That is, if the gripping force is too weak, the support of the side support device alone is insufficient, and the conveyed product may be displaced. Further, if the gripping force is too strong, the conveyed product may be damaged. Therefore, a reversing device is desired that appropriately grips the conveyed product and enables stable upside down without providing a side support device or the like.

JP 2001-171828 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a reversing device that enables stable upside down by appropriately gripping and reversing a conveyed product.

In order to achieve this object, the reversing device according to the present invention includes a rotating body provided to be rotatable around a direction parallel to a transport direction of a tray on which a transported article is placed, and a transporting apparatus provided in the rotating body. A reversing unit for reversing the object, and the reversing unit is attached to the rotating body so as to face each other. First and second conveyor bodies, clamp portions for fixing the trays on the first and second conveyor bodies on the first and second conveyor bodies, and the first and second conveyor bodies. A conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit that drives the conveyor body in the direction of approaching / separating to bring the trays fixed to the first and second conveyor bodies closer to and away from each other, and a method of approaching / separating by the conveyor lifting / lowering driving unit And a guide portion that guides the first and second conveyor bodies that are driven in a direction so as to move toward and away from each other with the first and second conveyor bodies facing each other. An electric cylinder as an elevating unit that raises and lowers the conveyor body of the two conveyor bodies, and when the first and second conveyor bodies sandwich the conveyed object between the trays, A pneumatic brake cylinder as a gripping force adjusting unit that adjusts the gripping force to a state in which the weights of the first and second conveyor bodies and the tray are excluded, and the conveyor lifting drive unit includes the first and second conveyor driving units. When the two conveyor bodies are brought close to each other and the conveyed product is held between the trays, the height direction center of the conveyed product is made to coincide with the height direction position of the rotational center of the rotating body.

  The present invention uses a combination of an electric cylinder and a pneumatic brake cylinder as a mechanism for moving up and down a pair of conveyor bodies, and a guide section that holds a state of facing a pair during the lifting and lowering operations of the pair of conveyor bodies It is possible to grip the conveyed object with an appropriate gripping force, and to achieve stable upside down by matching the height direction center of the conveyed object with the height direction position of the rotation center. To do.

It is a front view which shows the inversion apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a plane sectional view showing an AA section of a reversing device to which the present invention is applied. It is sectional drawing which shows the BB cross section of the inversion apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a figure for demonstrating the clamp mechanism of an inversion apparatus, and is a figure which shows typically the relationship between a tray and a clamp part. It is a figure for demonstrating the raising / lowering operation | movement of the inversion apparatus to which this invention is applied, and is a front view which shows the state which driven the 1st and 2nd conveyor body to the direction which adjoined with respect to the state shown in FIG. is there. It is a figure for demonstrating the conveyor raising / lowering drive part which comprises an inversion apparatus, (a) is a front view which expands and shows the conveyor raising / lowering drive part which drives the conveyor body located in an upper side, (b) These are front views which expand and show the conveyor raising / lowering drive part which drives the conveyor body located in the lower part side. It is a figure for demonstrating the pneumatic brake cylinder which comprises an inversion apparatus, (a) is a figure which shows the valve | bulb, piping, etc. which comprise the pneumatic brake cylinder located in an upper side, (b) It is a figure which shows the valve | bulb, piping, etc. which comprise the pneumatic brake cylinder located in the lower part side. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the cylinder brake part of the pneumatic brake cylinder which comprises the inversion apparatus.

  Hereinafter, a reversing device 1 to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the reversing device 1 to which the present invention is applied is a transported material reversing device that reverses the transported material 2 such as cardboard that has been carried into the reversing device 1. Reversing apparatus 1 includes gripping a rotating body 4 rotatably mounted around a direction parallel to the conveying direction D ₁ of the tray 3 is conveyed 2 is placed, the provided on the rotating body 4 conveyed 2 And a reversing unit 10 that is turned upside down. Here, the reversing unit 10 will be described reversing device 1 of the example is provided side by side two in the transport direction D ₁ of the conveyed object 2. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be a reversing device having one reversing unit, or may constitute a reversing device in which three or more reversing units are arranged in the transport direction. . Advantages of having a plurality of reversing units in one reversing device will be described later.

Further, the reversing device 1 includes a plurality of rotating body receiving rollers 5 that support the rotating body 4 so that the rotating body 4 can rotate about the axis O in the drawing. Incidentally, the rotation center axis shown in the figure O is parallel to the conveying direction D ₁ of the tray 3 as described above. Further, stability is improved by setting the direction of the rotation center axis and the conveying direction to one horizontal direction. Further, the reversing device 1 includes a rotating body driving motor 6 that drives the rotating body 4 supported by the rotating body receiving roller 5. The rotator driving motor 6 can rotate the rotator 4 in one direction and in the opposite direction via the transmission unit 7, and in the range of a rotation angle of 180 degrees, forward rotation in one direction and reverse rotation in the opposite direction. Enable operation. As will be described later, the transported object 2 can be reversed by rotating the rotating body 4 forward or backward while holding the transported object 2 by each reversing unit 10.

  Next, two reversing units 10 provided side by side in the transport direction in the rotating body 4 will be described. In addition, since each inversion unit 10 is a common structure, it attaches | subjects and demonstrates the same code | symbol to each component. The reversing unit provided on the transport direction outlet side will be described as a reversing unit 10A, and the reversing unit provided on the transport direction inlet side will be described as a reversing unit 10B only when it is particularly necessary for convenience of explanation of the operation described later.

  The reversing unit 10 includes first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 as a pair of conveyor bodies, and a clamp portion 13 that fixes the tray 3 on the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12. The reversing unit 10 includes a conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 that drives the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 to move up and down, and a plurality of guide sections 15 that guide the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12. Prepare. Further, the reversing unit 10 includes a stopper 16 that positions the tray 3 in the transport direction. Further, the reversing unit 10 includes a lifting stopper 17 for placing the lower conveyor body of the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 on the rotating body 4.

  The 1st and 2nd conveyor bodies 11 and 12 are attached to the rotary body 4, and are provided facing each other. Moreover, the 1st and 2nd conveyor bodies 11 and 12 interchange the upper and lower sides when the rotary body 4 rotates. In other words, the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 are parallel to each other, and the other is positioned so that the other is positioned at a position rotated approximately 180 degrees with respect to the rotation center of the rotating body 4. . Moreover, when the 1st and 2nd conveyor bodies 11 and 12 are located in the lower side, they convey the tray 3 in a conveyance direction.

Specifically, the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 include a roller conveyor base 21 attached to the rotating body 4, a roller conveyor 22 attached to the roller conveyor base 21, and a roller for driving the roller conveyor 22, respectively. And a conveyor drive motor 23. Further, the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 are provided with a drive chain 24 as a drive transmission unit that transmits the driving force of the roller conveyor drive motor 23 to the roller conveyor 22. Each roller of the roller conveyor 22 is rotated by the roller conveyor drive motor 23, to convey the conveyed object 2 of cardboard or the like which is placed on the tray 3 and the tray 3 on the roller conveyor 22 in a predetermined conveying direction D ₁ Can do. The first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 are not limited to those composed of roller conveyors or the like as described here, but may be any one that can transport the tray 3 in a predetermined transport direction. However, since the function of gripping the conveyed product 2 via the tray 3 is exhibited as described later, a structure without bending such as a roller conveyor is more advantageous.

  The clamp unit 13 fixes the tray 3 on the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 onto the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the clamp portion 13 is provided on each of the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 and is orthogonal to the transport direction of the tray 3. The reference side clamp part 31 attached to one side part 3a among the side parts facing each other, and the pressing side clamp part 32 attached to the other side part 3b are provided. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, two reference side clamp portions 31 and two pressing side clamp portions 32 are provided in each reversing unit 10 in the front and rear directions in the transport direction.

The reference side clamp part 31 is driven in the main body part 31c with a reference side clamp pin 31a that engages with an engagement hole 3c provided in one side surface part 3a of the tray 3, and thereby a reference side clamp. And a reference cylinder portion 31b for driving the pin 31a in the direction of approaching and separating from the one side surface portion 3a. The reference side clamp part 31 positions the reference side clamp pin 31a at the stroke end in the direction in which the reference side clamp pin 31a approaches the one side part 3a, and the reference side clamp pin 31a positions the one side part 3a of the tray 3. That is, the reference-side clamp 31, the positioning of the direction D ₂ perpendicular clamp pins 31a at the stroke end of the cylinder portion 31b is engaged with the engaging hole 3c of the tray 3 in the transport direction D ₁ of the tray 3.

  The pressing side clamp portion 32 is driven in the pressing side clamp pin 32a that engages with the engagement hole 3d provided in the other side surface portion 3b of the tray 3 and the main body portion 32c, whereby the pressing side clamp And a pressing side cylinder portion 32b for driving the pin 32a in the direction of approaching and separating from the other side surface portion 3b.

The cylinder portion 31b on the reference side has a larger cylinder diameter and a stronger pressing force than the cylinder portion 32b on the pressing side. That is, the bore D ₃₁ of the cylinder part 31b is larger than the bore D ₃₂ of the cylinder part 32b (D ₃₁ > D ₃₂ ), so that the cylinder area is increased and the pressing force is also increased. That is, in FIG. 4 _{P 31} represents the pressing force by the reference side clamp unit 31, in FIG. 4 _{P 32} represents the pressing force by the pressing side clamp portion _32, indicating that the P _{31> P 32.}

When the reference-side cylinder portion 31b and the pressing-side cylinder portion 32b drive the reference-side clamp pin 31a and the pressing-side clamp pin 32a in the direction approaching the side surface portions 3a and 3b of the tray 3, The clamp pin 31a engages with the engagement hole 3c of the tray 3 at the stroke end, and the clamp pin 32a on the pressing side engages with the engagement hole 3d of the tray 3 in a state before the stroke end. In the figure, E ₃₁ indicates the stroke end of the reference-side cylinder portion 31b, and E ₃₂ indicates the stroke end of the pressing-side cylinder portion 32b. In the drawings, an arrow S ₃₁ indicates the stroke amount of the piston portion the tip of the reference side of the cylinder portion 31b, S ₃₂ indicates the stroke amount of the piston portion the tip of the cylinder portion 32b of the pressing side. As described above, the reference side is driven to the stroke end, and the pressing side is in front of the stroke end, that is, the cylinder has a margin. In this state, the reference side and pressing side clamp portions 31 and 32 engage with the tray 3 to fix the tray 3 because the diameters of the cylinder portions 31b and 32b have the above-described relationship. Further, the center in the width direction of the tray 3 is set to coincide with the center of rotation in a state where the reference side clamp pin 31a is engaged with the tray 3 at the stroke end. Here, the center in the width direction, is intended to mean the center in a direction D ₂ perpendicular to the conveying direction D _1. By fixing the tray 3 by the clamp portion 13 including the reference side clamp portion 31 and the pressing side clamp portion 32 as described above, the center in the width direction of the tray 3 is always coincident with the lateral position of the rotation center O. With this configuration, the transported object 2 placed on the tray 3 can also be brought close to the rotation center, whereby the transported object 2 can be appropriately gripped, in other words, the transported object 2 can be stably reversed. .

Here, the operation of the clamp mechanism by the clamp unit 13 will be described together with the operation until the clamp mechanism by the reversing device 1 is driven. Reversing apparatus 1 has two reversing units 10A, since having 10B, the tray 3 is conveyed 2 is placed from the conveying direction D ₁ shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are carried into the two side by side reversing apparatus 1 The That is, the leading tray 3 is stopped by the stopper 16 of the reversing unit 10A disposed on the outlet side, and the trailing tray 3 is stopped by the stopper 16 of the reversing unit 10B disposed on the inlet side. State. The stopper 16 is provided with a detection sensor for detecting the movement of the tray 3. Further, the stopper 16 is controlled by a control unit or the like according to the detection state of the detection sensor, so that the stopper 16 is positioned in contact with the tray 3 to be transported and the tray 3 is positioned below the restriction position. It is moved over a passing position where it can pass. For example, the stopper 16 of the reversing unit 10B on the entrance side rises after the leading tray 3 passes and is positioned at the restriction position to position the trailing tray 3.

In the reversing device 1, when positioning of the tray 3 in the conveying direction is completed by the stoppers 16, the clamp unit 13 next moves on the conveyor body located on the lower side of the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12. A clamping operation for fixing the tray 3 is performed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4A, from the state where it is not clamped by the clamp part 13, a total of four reference side clamp parts 31 are shown in FIG. operate to clamp the pin 31a which is attached to the cylinder portion 31b is inserted into the engaging hole 3c which is opening of the tray 3 is pushed toward the center of the direction D ₂ is the width direction of the tray 3.

On the other hand, a total of four pressing side clamp portions 32 are operated with two units per tray,
Clamp pins 32a attached to the cylinder portion 32b is inserted into the engagement hole 3d is a hole in the tray 3 is pushed toward the center of the direction D ₂ is the width direction of the tray 3.

At this time, as described above, the cylinder diameter of the reference side clamp portion 31 is increased and the pressing force is set stronger than the pressing side clamp portion 32, so that the tray 3 is driven to the stroke end. always accurate positioning of the direction D ₂ is the width direction is performed. That is, the reversing device 1 can match the center of the tray 3 in the width direction with the position of the rotation center O in the width direction, and the transported object 2 itself can be brought close to the rotation center. Realize.

  By the way, in the reversing device 1, the tray 3 is already fixed to the upper one of the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12. This tray 3 is a so-called empty tray, and is the tray 3 located on the lower side in the previous reversing operation. In this manner, the loaded tray 3 is positioned on the upper side by the reversing operation and becomes a standby tray, and is further unloaded by the next reversing operation. The tray 3 used here has, for example, a tray base part 3e that has a reinforcing function and is formed in a frame shape for transmitting a force in the conveying direction of the roller conveyor, and a rising part 3f over the entire circumference. And a plate-shaped thin plate portion 3g. The tray used in the reversing device 1 has the following advantages in that the rising portion 3f is formed over the entire circumference as shown in FIG. In other words, the tray 3 can be held by the rising portion 3f even when the conveyed product 2 slips from between the trays when the conveyed item is held between the trays and reversed, so that the conveyed item can be prevented from falling.

  As described above, the clamp unit 13 enables the loaded tray 3 to be securely fixed to the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 at appropriate positions, and the conveyor lifting and lowering drive unit 14 described below. Along with the guide portion 15, the workpiece 2 can be reliably gripped for stable reversal.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 drives the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 in the direction of approaching and separating to move the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 to the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12. The fixed trays 3 are moved close to and away from each other. The conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 and the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 described above function as a gripping body that grips the conveyed product 2 via the tray 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of guide portions 15 include a guide shaft 36 attached to the rotating body 4 and a guide bearing portion 37 attached to the roller conveyor base 21. The guide portion 15 guides the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 so as to be movable toward and away from each other with the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 facing each other. That is, the guide unit 15 guides the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 that move up and down movably while maintaining the positions in parallel and parallel planes to each other. The conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 and the guide unit 15 can grip the conveyed product 2 with the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 always facing each other. Thereby, the inversion apparatus 1 enables stable upside down as described later.

As shown in FIG. 6, the conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 includes an electric cylinder 41 that drives the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 to move from a position where they are separated to an adjacent position, It comprises a pneumatic brake cylinder 42 that drives the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 moved to the positions closer to each other by the cylinder 41 in a further closer direction. The pneumatic brake cylinder 42 is a pressure adjusting cylinder having a function for correcting the weight of the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 that are gripping bodies and adjusting the pressing force of a conveyed object such as cardboard. Functions as a gripping cylinder that grips and lowers the pneumatic brake cylinder 42 as a pressure adjusting cylinder. A roller conveyor base 21 is attached to the shaft end of the pneumatic brake cylinder 42. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, one conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 is provided at each end in the D2 direction of each conveyor body located above and below, _two for each conveyor body, and for each reversing unit 10. There are four each.

  The conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 has an appropriate gripping force for the conveyed product 2 between the trays 3 fixed to the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 by the electric cylinder 41 and the pneumatic brake cylinder 42. Can be held by. In addition, the conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 is configured such that the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 are brought close to each other and sandwich the conveyed product 2 between the trays 3. At this time, the center in the height direction of the conveyed product 2 is made to coincide with the position in the height direction of the rotation center O of the rotating body 4. The reversing device 1 is characterized in that it has an electric cylinder 41 and a pneumatic brake cylinder 42. With this configuration, the reversing device 1 can stably flip up and down by gripping the conveyed product with an optimal gripping force.

  The electric cylinder 41 functions as an elevating unit that raises and lowers the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12. Moreover, the electric cylinder 41 moves the conveyed product on the tray 3 to the center position in the height direction by raising and lowering the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12. The electric cylinder 41 is fixed to the attachment portion 8 of the rotating body 4.

  The pneumatic brake cylinder 42 adjusts the gripping force of each tray 3 that grips the conveyed product 2 when the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 hold the conveyed product 2 between the trays 3. Functions as a force adjustment unit.

As shown in FIG. 6, the electric cylinder 41 includes a main body 43 that is fixed to the mounting portion 8, and an output shaft 44 that is driven in a direction D _E1 that protrudes from the main body 43 and a direction D _E2 that is retracted. . The main body 43 is provided with, for example, a feed screw shaft, a holding body for holding a nut fitted to the feed screw shaft, and a motor for rotating the feed screw shaft. When the motor is driven, the holding body is raised or lowered with respect to the feed screw shaft, and thereby the output shaft 44 is raised and lowered with respect to the main body portion 43.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the pneumatic brake cylinder 42 is fixed to an attachment portion 45 that is fixed to the distal end portion of the output shaft 44 of the electric cylinder 41. The pneumatic brake cylinder 42 includes a cylinder drive unit 46 that is a main body fixed to the attachment unit 45, and a cylinder shaft 47 that is driven by the cylinder drive unit 46. The cylinder shaft 47 is fixed to the mounting portion 21a of the roller conveyor base 21 at the front end side, and is driven by the cylinder driving unit 46 so that the roller conveyor 22 and the tray 3 can be moved from the upper side or the lower side via the roller conveyor base 21. It drives toward the direction which grips and presses the conveyed product 2 from the side. The pneumatic brake cylinder 42 operates a state in which the movement of the cylinder shaft 47 in the axial direction is fixed and the movement in the axial direction is restricted, and a state in which the cylinder shaft 47 is opened and the movement in the axial direction is possible. A cylinder brake unit 48 is provided.

  The cylinder brake unit 48 is a state in which the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 are pressed and urged by the cylinder driving unit 46 so as to approach and separate from each other, that is, the distance between the trays 3 is deformed. With the cylinder 2 deformed between the upper and lower trays 3, the cylinder shaft 47 is fixed and the movement in the axial direction is restricted, whereby the conveying object 2 such as cardboard between the upper and lower trays 3 is restored to the deformation. It is possible to be gripped with only. The pneumatic brake cylinder 42 having the cylinder brake portion 48 can avoid the weight of the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 whose top and bottom positions are switched on the conveyed product 2.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the pneumatic brake cylinder 42 has a limit lead that detects a limit state (hereinafter also referred to as “limit”) in which the cylinder shaft 47 protrudes from the cylinder drive unit 46 to the maximum extent. A switch 50, a return limit reed switch 51 for detecting a limit state (hereinafter also referred to as "return limit") when the cylinder shaft 47 is pulled back to the cylinder drive unit 46 to the maximum extent, and a protrusion limit (extension limit) and return And a gripping center reed switch 52 that detects a state that is the center of a limit (return limit).

The pneumatic brake cylinder 42 includes a pressure air inlet 53 for introducing air for pressing into the cylinder driving unit 46, a balance air inlet 54 for introducing air for adjusting the pressing force into the cylinder driving unit 46, and a cylinder. A manual brake release shaft 55 for manually releasing the brake of the brake part 48 and a brake release air inlet 56 for releasing the brake of the cylinder brake part 48 are provided. When pressurized air is supplied to the compressed air inlet 53, the cylinder shaft 47 is driven in the pushing direction _DA1 . When the balance air inlet 54 is supplied with air, the cylinder shaft 47 is driven in the pull-back direction D _A2 . When pressurized air is supplied to the brake opening air inlet 56, the cylinder shaft 47 is released from a state in which the operation is locked in the cylinder brake portion 48, and can be operated in the above-described directions D _A1 and D _A2 . It is said. The manual brake release shaft 55 is used for adjusting the cylinder shaft 47 by releasing the lock by the cylinder brake portion 48 without supplying pressurized air.

  Further, the pneumatic brake cylinder 42 appropriately presses the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 and properly grips the conveyed product 2 between the trays 3 fixed to the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12. As shown in FIG. 7, as various valves and pressure gauges for carrying out, as shown in FIG. 7, a gripping body push-up electromagnetic valve 57, a conveyed product pressing electromagnetic valve 58, a pressing pressure reducing valve 59, a pressing pressure gauge 60, a switching electromagnetic valve 61, a gripping body balance An electromagnetic valve 62, a balance pressure reducing valve 63, a balance pressure pressure gauge 64, and a brake opening electromagnetic valve 65 are provided. These gripping body push-up electromagnetic valve 57, conveyed product pressing solenoid valve 58, pressing pressure reducing valve 59, switching solenoid valve 61, gripping body balance solenoid valve 62, balance pressure reducing valve 63, and brake release solenoid valve 65 are the various leads described above. It is controlled by a control unit provided in the reversing device 1 based on the switches 50 to 52 and various pressure gauges 60 and 64.

  The brake release electromagnetic valve 65 locks the cylinder shaft 47 to the cylinder brake portion 48 when demagnetized, and causes the cylinder brake portion 48 to open the cylinder shaft 47 when excited. That is, the cylinder brake portion 48 can operate the brake release electromagnetic valve 65 to lock the cylinder shaft 47 and exert a brake function, and can release the brake operation and operate the cylinder shaft 47 freely. To.

  Here, an example of the configuration of the cylinder brake portion 48 will be described with reference to FIG. The cylinder brake part 48 includes, for example, a brake part main body 70, a brake piston 71 driven in the axial direction within the brake part main body 70, and an air supply part 72 for supplying air for driving the brake piston 71. And a spring 73 that biases the brake piston 71 in one direction. The cylinder brake portion 48 includes a retainer 74, a rigid ball 75, a ring 76, a brake shoe 77, a retainer 78, a spacer 79, and the like.

In the cylinder brake portion 48 having such a configuration, the brake piston 71 is urged in the direction of arrow _{DB1 in} FIG. 8 by the spring 73 when the brake release electromagnetic valve 65 is demagnetized and no air is supplied from the air supply portion 72. ing. At this time, the rigid ball 75 in the retainer 74 presses the brake shoe 77 on the inner side of the ring 76 by the tapered portion 71a of the brake piston 71 to fix the cylinder shaft 47 and restrict the movement in the axial direction.

When the brake release solenoid valve 65 is excited and air is supplied from the air supply unit 72, the cylinder brake unit 48 moves the brake piston 71 in the direction _DB2 opposite to the arrow _DB1 direction, and the brake piston 71 tapers. The pressing of the rigid sphere 75 by the portion 71a is released, the brake shoe 77 in the ring 76 is loosened, the cylinder shaft 47 is released, and the movement in the axial direction is not restricted. The retainers 74 and 78 do not move because they are surrounded by the spacer 79 and the brake body 70. As described above, the cylinder brake unit 48 can exhibit the brake function in a state where the brake release electromagnetic valve 65 is demagnetized, and can release the brake in a state where the brake release electromagnetic valve 65 is excited.

  The reversing device 1 having the conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 composed of the electric cylinder 41 and the pneumatic brake cylinder 42 described above eliminates the weights of the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 and the container of the transported object that are transport conveyor bodies. Thus, it is possible to adjust only the pressing force of the conveyed product. Further, the reversing device 1 can grip the conveyed product so that the conveyed product container is always positioned at the center of rotation regardless of the form of the conveyed product. In addition, the reversing device 1 can adjust the gripping force according to the strength of the transported object 2 such as a cardboard box and the weight of the contents, and can always reverse at the center of rotation, thereby enabling stable operation. .

  Here, the operation of the conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 as described above will be described together with the reversing operation by the reversing device 1. That is, here, an example of the operation when the conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 matches the center of the conveyed product 2 in the height direction with the position of the rotation center O in the height direction will be described.

  First, of the operations for raising and lowering the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12, the lower conveyor body will be described. In the operation of raising the lower conveyor body, the conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 needs to raise and press the conveyed product 2 in addition to the weight of the conveyor body itself. In a state before the ascending operation is performed, the contact portion 17a attached to the lower conveyor body is in contact with the stopper portion 17b provided on the rotating body 4, as shown in FIG. ing. That is, in the reversing device 1, the level is adjusted in a state where the load of the first or second conveyor body 11, 12 as the gripping body including the roller conveyor base 21 is applied to the elevation stopper 17.

  In this state, the brake release electromagnetic valve 65 of the pneumatic brake cylinder 42 as the lower pressure adjusting cylinder shown in FIG. 7B is released by being excited. The switching electromagnetic valve 61 is operated so as to switch to the gripping body push-up electromagnetic valve 57 side. The gripping body push-up electromagnetic valve 57 gradually pushes up the entire lower conveyor body as a gripping body including the conveyed product 2 by being excited. The lower pneumatic brake cylinder 42 shown in FIG. 6B demagnetizes the brake release electromagnetic valve 65 and locks the conveyor body, which is the lower grip body, when the grip center reed switch 52 is operated. In this way, the lower pneumatic brake cylinder 42 is adjusted so that the cylinder shaft 47 is in the gripping center state. Further, the adjustment of the conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 is performed, for example, by simultaneously performing two lower units for the reversing unit 10A on the outlet side, and then adjusting the two lower units for the reversing unit 10B on the inlet side in the same manner. Note that these four units may be performed simultaneously.

  Next, the upper conveyor body among the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 will be described. In the operation of lowering the upper conveyor body, it is necessary to lift the weight of the conveyor body itself, and after lifting these, it is necessary to press the conveyed product 2 from the upper side to the lower side. Also on the upper side, the brake function of the pneumatic brake cylinder 42 works while the roller conveyor base 21 is in contact with the lifting stopper 17.

  In this state, the brake release electromagnetic valve 65 of the pneumatic brake cylinder 42 as the upper pressing adjustment cylinder shown in FIG. 7A is excited to release the brake. Further, the gripping body push-up electromagnetic valve 57 and the conveyed product pressing electromagnetic valve 58 are demagnetized, and the gripping body balance electromagnetic valve 62 is excited. Further, the balance pressure reducing valve 63 is raised and lowered to raise and lower the upper conveyor body, which is the gripping body, and based on the balance pressure pressure gauge 64, the pressure is set to balance with the weight of the conveyor body, which is the gripping body. To do. Next, a pressing force for pressing the conveyed product 2 downward is set on the upper conveyor body using the pressure reducing valve 59. As described above, the upper conveyor body is provided with the two pneumatic brake cylinders 42 on both sides in the width direction. Since the force corresponding to two cylinders multiplied by is applied to the cardboard, the pressure set in consideration of the strength and internal weight of the target cardboard box and the like is set. For example, the pressure by the balance pressure pressure gauge 64 and the pressure pressure gauge 60 corresponds to the weight of the gripping body based on the weight of the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 when the reversing device 1 is adjusted or shipped. The pressure and the pressure corresponding to the strength and weight of the object to be transported are set and stored in the control unit and the storage unit, and each of the above-described values is performed by the control unit based on the set pressure and the pressure detected by each pressure gauge. Operation is performed. Thus, after setting the pressure by adjusting the pressure reducing valve 59, the conveyed product pressing electromagnetic valve 58 is excited, and the switching electromagnetic valve 61 is switched so that the conveyed product pressing electromagnetic valve 58 side is selected. Actuated. In this state, the cylinder shaft 47 to which the conveyor body is attached at the tip has a pressure corresponding to the pressure pressure remaining on the lower side in a state where the weight of the conveyor body is subtracted. At descent to stop and stop. At this time, the conveyed product pressing force and the gripping body balance pressure are set to be the same for the lower cylinder.

  In the state where the upper and lower pneumatic brake cylinders 42 are operated as described above, the moving speeds of the upper electric cylinder 41 and the lower electric cylinder 41 are set to the same value. In this respect, the inversion unit 10B on the entrance side and the inversion unit 10A on the exit side are the same. Then, the upper electric cylinder 41 and the lower electric cylinder 41 are simultaneously activated, and the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 are driven in the directions approaching each air brake cylinder 42. As a result, the lower pneumatic brake cylinder 42 rises in a locked state at the grip center position where the grip center reed switch 52 in FIG. 6B is detected, and the upper pneumatic brake cylinder 42 The cylinder shaft 47 is lowered at the limit position by a force corresponding to the pressing force of the box. Then, after the cardboard box as the conveyed product 2 reaches the upper tray 3, it further rises against the pressing force of the cardboard box.

  Then, in the upper pneumatic brake cylinder 42, the speed of the upper and lower electric cylinders 41 is reduced to the same value at the moment when the output limit reed switch 50 in FIG. When the grip center reed switch 52 of the upper pneumatic brake cylinder 42 is turned on, the upper and lower electric cylinders 41 are stopped. Then, the brake release solenoid valve 65 of the upper pneumatic brake cylinder in FIG. 7A is demagnetized to lock the cylinder shaft 47, and the conveyor body, which is the upper grip body, is fixed.

  In this case, when the speed of the gripping electric cylinder 41 is set with a simple inverter or the like, the push-up side operates as an electric motor and the suspension side operates as a generator. It is necessary to repeat the gripping operation by lowering it and adjust the frequency while setting the frequency so that the stop position of the grip center reed switch 52 becomes the same movement distance up and down and becomes the center of rotation.

  By the operation of the conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 as described above, the conveyed product 2 such as a cardboard box is pressed with an arbitrary set pressure excluding the weight of the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 which are gripping bodies. It becomes possible. At the same time, the upper and lower electric cylinders 41 are simultaneously driven at the same speed, and the upper and lower pneumatic brake cylinders 42 are finally in a state in which the grip center reed switch 52 is turned on, that is, the cylinder shaft 47 is in the grip center state. Therefore, the tray 3 fixed to the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 is gripped in the state where the center in the height direction coincides with the position in the height direction of the rotation center.

  As described above, the rotating body 4 is inverted 180 degrees in a state where the gripping operation is performed by the conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14. After the reversal, the electric cylinder 41, which is a gripping cylinder, is driven on the open side, that is, in the direction in which the first and second conveyor bodies 11, 12 are separated. A return limit switch is also attached to the electric cylinder 41, and the electric cylinder 41 is stopped when this limit switch is operated.

  Next, the pneumatic brake cylinder 42 on the lower side excites the brake release electromagnetic valve 65 of FIG. 7B to release the lock of the cylinder shaft 47, and the gripping body balance electromagnetic valve 62 and the conveyed product pressing electromagnetic valve. 58 is demagnetized, and the conveyor body, which is a grip body inverted from the upper part to the lower part, is seated on the lifting stopper 17. The first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 are configured such that the level of the roller conveyor 22 matches the level of the carry-in and carry-out conveyors in a state where the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 are in contact with the elevating stopper 17. When the conveyor body inverted to the inner and lower sides of the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12 is seated on the elevating stopper 17, the stoppers 16 on the outlet side and the inlet side are lowered, and the roller conveyors 22 on the outlet side and the inlet side are driven. Then, the leading tray 3 and the trailing tray 3 are carried out.

  In the reversing device 1, the air pressure is set in advance, an appropriate gripping force is set by the conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14, and the device is reversed at the center of rotation and automatically operated. The trays can be reversed simultaneously and stably. Furthermore, it is also possible to configure so that the reversed tray is carried out and the new tray is carried in at the same time. The reversing device 1 having such a configuration can greatly shorten the reversing time per tray.

  The reversing device 1 to which the present invention is applied includes the rotating body 4 and the reversing unit 10 as described above. The reversing unit 10 includes the first and second conveyor bodies 11 and 12, the clamp portion 13, and the conveyor lifting / lowering. It is characterized in that it has a drive unit 14 and a guide unit 15. The conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 14 includes an electric cylinder 41 and a pneumatic brake cylinder 42. The reversing device 1 having such a characteristic configuration enables stable upside down by gripping the conveyed product with an optimum gripping force. Further, the reversing device 1 as described above can bring the conveyed product closer to the center of rotation by aligning at least the upper and lower centers of the conveyed product 2 with the rotation center, thereby enabling stable upside down.

  Further, the reversing device 1 to which the present invention is applied is such that when the gripping device is configured using an electric motor as described as a conventional problem, the cardboard is damaged by gripping the conveyed product 2 with a strong force. The problem that the gripping force is too weak and the conveyed product 2 is misaligned, and the problem that the transport is not smooth due to this misalignment can be solved. Further, the reversing device 1 to which the present invention is applied is a conventional problem, and when the gripping device of the reversing device is configured to be switched up and down when the gripping device is configured only by the pneumatic cylinder, the arm of this gripping device is switched. The problem of the possibility of damaging the transported object due to the weight of the shaped gripper on the transported object can also be solved. Such a reversing device 1 solves such a problem, and enables the reversal of the conveyed product 2 to be reversed to be stably reversed.

The reversing device 1 to which the present invention is applied is characterized in that the clamp portion 13 includes a reference-side clamp portion 31 and a pressing-side clamp portion 32, and the diameter of the cylinder of the reference-side clamp portion 31 is increased. Reversing apparatus 1 having such a configuration, it is possible to position the direction D ₂ perpendicular to the conveying direction D _1. That is, the reversing device 1 enables stable upside down by reliably positioning the tray 3 in the width direction.

  Further, as described above, the reversing device 1 can position the tray 3 at the center in the horizontal direction and the transported object at the center of rotation in the height direction. It is possible to allow positional displacement due to high-speed conveyance of the cardboard to be placed, and to realize overall and efficient processing including the reversal process such as each process in the irradiation field, for example.

Furthermore, reversing apparatus 1 according to the present invention, the reversing unit 10 to the rotor 3 are provided two side by side in the conveying direction D _1, the reversing unit 10A, 10B is rotated integrally with the rotary member 4 Characterized by points. Here, the proximity separation amount of the 1st and 2nd conveyor bodies 11 and 12 by the conveyor raising / lowering drive part 14 in each inversion unit 10A, 10B is driven independently. The reversing device 1 having such a configuration enables the reversing unit 10A, 10B to grip a conveyed product having a different height with an appropriate gripping force so as to be turned upside down. Accordingly, a group of conveyed objects having different heights can be simultaneously reversed by one conveyed object reversing device, and the reversal processing speed can be improved. As described above, the inverting device 1 may be configured to further include three or more inverting units, and in that case, the speed of the inverting process can be further improved.

  Further, the reversing device 1 can also planarly place a plurality of transported objects 2 having the same height in the tray 3. Accordingly, the reversing device 1 is a group of cardboard boxes having two types of heights, even if the cardboard boxes have different heights for each tray, as long as the heights of a plurality of transported objects placed on one tray are the same. Can be reversed by one rotation of the rotating body 4. In this way, the reversing device 1 can reduce the restriction on the product to be processed and realizes shortening of the reversing time.

  The above-described reversing device makes it possible to perform irradiation processing at high speed and in large quantities when, for example, in the above-described field of irradiation sterilization, an electron beam is irradiated onto the front and back surfaces of the corrugated cardboard that is the conveyed product 2. The reversing device is not limited to the field of irradiation sterilization, and can be used to reverse various conveyed items.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reversing device, 2 Conveyance thing, 3 tray, 4 Rotating body, 5 Rotating body receiving roller, 6 Rotating body drive motor, 10 Reversing unit, 11 1st conveyor body, 12 2nd conveyor body, 13 Clamp part , 14 Conveyor elevating drive unit, 15 Guide unit, 16 Stopper, 17 Elevating stopper, 21 Roller conveyor mount, 22 Roller conveyor, 23 Roller conveyor drive motor, 31 Reference side clamp unit, 32 Push side clamp unit, 41 Electric cylinder, 42 Pneumatic brake cylinder, 46 Cylinder drive part, 47 Cylinder shaft, 48 Cylinder brake part, 50 Extension limit reed switch, 51 Return limit reed switch, 52 Gripping center reed switch, 53 Pressing air inlet, 54 Balance air inlet, 55 Manual brake Release shaft, 56 brake release air inlet, 7 Grasping body push-up solenoid valve, 58 Carrying object pushing solenoid valve, 59 Pressing pressure reducing valve, 60 Pressing pressure gauge, 61 Switching solenoid valve, 62 Holding body balance solenoid valve, 63 Balance pressure reducing valve, 64 Balance pressure pressure gauge, 65 Brake Open solenoid valve, 71 Brake piston

Claims (4)

A rotating body provided to be rotatable around a direction parallel to the conveying direction of the tray on which the conveyed object is placed;
A reversing unit provided inside the rotating body for reversing the conveyed product,
The reversing unit is attached to the rotating body and is opposed to each other, and the rotating body is rotated so that the upper and lower sides are switched, and the first and second conveyors convey the tray in the conveying direction when positioned on the lower side. Body,
A clamp for fixing the trays on the first and second conveyor bodies on the first and second conveyor bodies;
A conveyor lifting and lowering drive unit configured to drive the first and second conveyor bodies in the direction of approaching and separating, and to move the trays fixed to the first and second conveyor bodies close to and away from each other;
A guide unit that guides the first and second conveyor bodies driven in the direction of approaching and separating by the conveyor lifting and lowering driving unit so as to move in the direction of approaching and separating in a state of facing each other.
The conveyor lifting and lowering drive unit is an electric cylinder as a lifting and lowering unit that raises and lowers the first and second conveyor bodies,
When the first and second conveyor bodies hold the conveyed product between the trays, the gripping force of each tray for gripping the conveyed product is eliminated from the weight of the first and second conveyor bodies and the tray. A pneumatic brake cylinder as a gripping force adjustment unit that adjusts to the state of only the pressing force of the conveyed product ,
The conveyor lifting and lowering drive unit is configured such that when the first and second conveyor bodies are close to each other and the conveyed product is held between the trays, the height of the conveyed product is set to the height of the rotational center of the rotating body. A reversing device that matches the position in the vertical direction. In the rotating body, a plurality of the reversing units are provided side by side in the transport direction, and each reversing unit is rotated integrally with the rotating body,
The reversing device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second conveyor bodies are driven independently of each other by the conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit in each reversing unit. The clamp part is provided on each of the first and second conveyor bodies, and a reference side clamp part attached to one of the side parts facing the direction orthogonal to the tray transport direction, and the other A pressing side clamp portion attached to the side surface portion of
The reference-side clamp part and the pressing-side clamp part are respectively driven in a direction in which the clamp pin engages with an engagement hole provided in the side surface part of the tray, and the clamp pin approaches and separates from the side surface part of the tray. And a cylinder portion to
The cylinder part of the reference side clamp part has a larger cylinder diameter than the cylinder part of the pressing side clamp part,
The reversing device according to claim 1, wherein the reference-side clamp portion performs positioning in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction by engaging the clamp pin with an engagement hole of the tray at a stroke end of the cylinder portion. .   The reversing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tray has a rising portion formed over the entire circumference.

Images