JP6259249B2 - Transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveying device, and more specifically, relates to a conveying device that intermittently feeds by a pushing member such as a finger.

  As one of conveying apparatuses used for a packaging machine or the like, there is an apparatus that intermittently feeds an article with a pushing member such as a finger. For example, the conveying device is configured such that a push finger is connected to, for example, an endless chain, and the upper end portion of the push finger protrudes upward from a conveyance path formed of a metal plate or the like. A product such as a PTP sheet is placed on the conveyance path between the front and rear push fingers. In this state, when the endless chain is rotationally driven and the push finger moves forward, the push finger contacts the rear end surface of the product and urges forward. Thereafter, the product is conveyed with its rear end face in contact with the pushing finger. Further, when the pushing finger is temporarily stopped, the product stops receiving on the forward biasing force from the pushing finger, and thus stops on the conveyance path. Therefore, the product repeatedly moves and stops following the movement of the pushing finger that moves intermittently. The product is also positioned by contacting the push finger.

  Specific applications for packaging systems include the following. For example, in a packaging system that manufactures PTP (Press Through Package) sheets, stacks a predetermined number of manufactured PTP sheets, and packages a group of stacked PTP sheets, articles are processed between processing apparatuses that perform various processes. A carrying device for carrying is mounted. For example, when the processing device upstream or downstream of the transport device operates intermittently, the transport device also intermittently transports in accordance with the operation timing of the processing device. Such a conveying apparatus for intermittent conveyance is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

  In addition, the PTP sheet which is a product to be transported in the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a packaging form in which the contents are pushed out from the container (pocket portion) side to break the upper lid and the contents are taken out. Often used for packaging tablets and capsules. Then, the PTP sheet is formed with a concave pocket portion at a predetermined position of the container film, and after supplying a package such as a tablet into the pocket portion, a cover film is placed on the container film, and both films are heat sealed. Then, it is sealed and manufactured by cutting a predetermined position.

  Further, normally, the PTP sheet is conveyed with the pocket portion facing up, the PTP sheet is divided into two upper and lower conveyance paths in the middle of conveyance, and the PTP sheet moving on the upper conveyance path is inverted 180 degrees up and down. Thus, the PTP sheets that move in the upper and lower transport paths are faced to each other, and then tie each other by overlapping both PTP sheets. Further, after a predetermined set (one or a plurality) is added, a packaging process such as pillow packaging or boxing is performed.

JP 2013-159371 A

  The conventional intermittently conveying apparatus is applied to a packaging system having a production capacity of 200 pieces or less per minute, for example, depending on the size and shape of the product. If the conveyance speed is increased to measure the production capacity beyond this, the forward inertial force applied to the product is increased when it is temporarily stopped. As a result, when intermittent feeding is performed at a high speed, the posture of the product may be lost due to inertial force when the fingers are stopped.

  In particular, in a state in which a product has a plurality of stacked PTP sheets, it is more likely to collapse due to an increase in bulk. Furthermore, for example, when the pocket portions are not faced to each other but are stacked in a posture facing the same direction, there is a problem that the pocket portions are more easily collapsed.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the transport device according to the present invention is (1) a transport device that intermittently transports the product by intermittently moving a pushing member that pushes the product on the transport path, in front of the stop position pusher member, e Bei the suppressing means for suppressing sandwich the product in the vertical direction, the suppressing means, said provided the transport path, and the push-up member for urging said product upwards, the push A guide member is provided above the member, and the product is sandwiched between the push-up member and the guide member . A product that is intermittently conveyed receives an inertial force forward when it is temporarily stopped. If the inertial force is large, the product tends to move away from the pushing member or lose its posture, but in the present invention, since the temporarily stopped product is suppressed by the suppressing means, such a situation does not occur and a stable posture is not generated. It can be held and transported.

Before Kiosae means, wherein provided in the conveying path, the push-up member for urging said product upwards, comprises a guide member located above the push-up member, said product between said push-up member and the guide member Since the product is sandwiched, products that are temporarily stopped with a simple configuration can be suppressed.

(2) The push-up member is urged upward by an elastic body, and the upper surface of the push-up member may protrude above the transport surface of the transport path when the product is not in contact. In the embodiment, the elastic body is realized by a leaf spring. The leaf spring is preferable because of its simple structure, but various elastic bodies such as a coil spring and other various springs and rubber can be used. By using the elastic restoring force of the elastic body, the suppression means can be realized with a simpler configuration.

(3) The upper surface of the push-up member has a curved surface shape, and the push-up member in a non-contact state of the product is such that at least the outer peripheral edge on the upstream side of the upper surface of the push-up member is equal to or lower than the transport surface. It is good to. If it does in this way, the product conveyed on a conveyance path can move to a raising member smoothly.

(4) The product may be a PTP sheet having a pocket portion on one side, and the push-up member may be in contact with a surface on the non-formed side of the pocket portion. This is preferable because the pocket portion does not collide with the push-up member and lose its shape.

(5) The product may be a laminate of a plurality of articles. In the case of stacking a plurality of articles, in the conventional configuration in which the suppression means of the present invention is not provided, there is a high possibility that the article on the top will collapse due to the inertial force associated with the temporary stop, and the effect is increased as the number of stacked sheets increases. Appears prominently. On the other hand, in the present invention, the articles stacked on the top and bottom can be restrained by the restraining means, and therefore, the article on the top is not collapsed, which is preferable.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the product posture from being deformed by an inertial force and perform stable conveyance.

It is a front view which shows one Embodiment of the conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the principal part enlarged front view. (A) is the front view which expanded the principal part further, (b) is the top view.

  FIG. 1 shows an overall view of a preferred embodiment of a transport apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are partially enlarged views. The conveyance device 10 of this embodiment is incorporated in a part of the PTP packaging system, and includes a first conveyance device 11, a second conveyance device 12, and a reversing device 13 arranged along the flow direction of the PTP sheet 1. Is provided. The first conveying device 11 intermittently conveys the PTP sheets 1 supplied in two rows from the upstream side in a state where the PTP sheets 1 are arranged one after the other in each row. Further, the PTP sheet 1 conveyed on the first conveying device 11 has a horizontally long posture with the pocket portion 2 facing upward.

  A stacking device 14 is disposed between the first transport device 11 and the second transport device 12. The stacking device 14 distributes the PTP sheets before and after being transported on the first transport device 11 up and down, and supplies them to the second transport device 12 in a stacked state. In the present embodiment, the PTP sheets 1 stacked in two sheets are in the same posture with the pocket portion 2 facing upward. That is, the stacking device 14 performs a process of superimposing the top and bottom of one (subsequent) PTP sheet 1 on the PTP sheet 1 that precedes and pauses without being inverted.

  The second conveying device 12 is a finger conveyor device that pushes the stacked PTP sheets 1 from behind by the pushing fingers 29, and a PTP sheet group in which two upper and lower PTP sheets supplied from the stacking device 14 are stacked is a conveyance target. Product. Then, the products are conveyed in a state where they are arranged in two rows.

  This 2nd conveying apparatus 12 is one suitable embodiment of the conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention, and is specifically comprised as follows. A conveyance path 16 extending substantially the entire length in the front-rear direction is provided. As shown in FIG. 3B, the conveyance path 16 includes a central bottom plate 17 and side bottom plates 18 arranged at predetermined intervals on both sides of the central bottom plate 17. The upper surface of the center bottom plate 17 and the upper surface of the side bottom plate 18 are located on the same plane and constitute a transport surface. The PTP sheet 1 is supported on the upper surfaces of the three plate members (the central bottom plate 17 and the side bottom plate 18) and is positioned on the conveyance path 16. A predetermined space is secured between the center bottom plate 17 and the side bottom plate 18, and a pushing finger 29 and the like to be described later pass through the space. Note that FIG. 3B shows the conveyance path 16 on one side of the two rows, and the PTP sheet group (two PTP sheets overlap each other) by arranging the conveyance paths of the same configuration side by side. ) Are transported in two horizontal rows.

  Further, a side guide wall 19 that rises upward is disposed at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the side bottom plate 18. The distance between the pair of side guide walls 19 arranged on the left and right is equal to the length of the PTP sheet 1 in the longitudinal direction. Thereby, it is suppressed that the PTP sheet 1 rotates within a conveyance surface or is displaced in the lateral direction.

  Further, an upper guide plate 20 is disposed above the transport path 16 with a predetermined interval. This predetermined interval is a distance with a slight margin with respect to the height of the product (the height at which the two PTP sheets 1 are overlapped). By arranging the upper guide plate 20 in this manner, the PTP sheet 1 located on the conveyance path 16 is prevented from being lifted, and the PTP sheet 1 is conveyed in a stable posture in which two sheets overlap each other.

  On the other hand, it is the push finger device 22 that gives the conveyance force to the PTP sheet 1 on the conveyance path 16. That is, the pushing finger device 22 is a space below the transport path 16 and is provided with a stepped pulley 27 installed at other appropriate positions in the vicinity of both front and rear ends of the transport path 16, and a step set so as to span the stepped pulley 27. A belt 28 and a push finger 29 provided at a predetermined interval on the surface side of the step belt 28 are provided. The pushing finger 29 has a front-rear interval that is sufficiently longer than the width of the PTP sheet 1 in the short direction (front-rear length along the conveying direction) so that it can handle the conveyance of products having different dimensions and shapes.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the front positioning finger apparatus 21 is arrange | positioned in the fixed area of the carrying-in side of the 2nd conveying apparatus 12. FIG. The front positioning finger device 21 is provided in a space below the transport path 16 and installed on a stepped pulley 24 installed at an appropriate position near the carry-in end / center of the transport path 16 and the stepped pulley 24. The set stepped belt 25 and the front positioning fingers 26 provided at predetermined intervals on the surface side of the stepped belt 25 are provided.

  The phase of the push finger device 22 and the front positioning finger device 21 is changed, and the relative positional relationship between the front positioning finger 26 and the push finger 29, that is, the interval between both fingers can be changed. And the space | interval of both fingers is made equal to the width | variety (front-back length along a conveyance direction) of the transversal direction of the PTP sheet 1. FIG. Thereby, the feeding finger 29 comes into contact with the rear end edge of the PTP sheet 1, the front positioning finger 26 comes into contact with the front end edge of the PTP sheet 1, and the PTP sheet 1 is sandwiched by both fingers from the front and back, and is positioned. Carry in.

  The pushing finger device 22 and the front positioning finger device 21 are intermittently driven in synchronization. Therefore, if the push finger device 22 and the front positioning finger device 21 move at a high speed and temporarily stop, a large inertial force is applied to the PTP sheet 1 and tries to move forward, but the front edge of the PTP sheet 1 is Since it is in contact with the front positioning finger device 21, the PTP sheet 1 is held without breaking its posture at the temporarily stopped position.

  In this embodiment, the PTP sheet 1 carried out from the second transport device 12 is supplied to the reversing device 13. In order to smoothly supply the reversing device 13, the conveyance section by the front positioning finger device 21 is set to the middle of the second conveyance device 12, and the front positioning finger 26 is separated during the conveyance. Thereby, in the second half of the conveyance section of the second conveyance device 12, the front positioning finger 26 does not exist and the PTP sheet 1 is conveyed only by the pushing finger 29.

  Here, in the present invention, the product restraining means is provided just before the position where the pushing finger 29 is temporarily stopped in the section in which the PTP sheet 1 is conveyed only by the pushing finger 29. The product restraining means lifts the temporarily stopped PTP sheet 1 from below and biases it to the upper guide plate 20 so as to be sandwiched and held. Specifically, a through hole 17a penetrating vertically is provided in the central bottom plate 17, and the push-up member 30 is disposed in the through hole 17a so as to be movable up and down. The push-up member 30 has a leaf spring 31 attached to the bottom surface thereof, and one end of the leaf spring 31 is connected to the bottom surface of the central bottom plate 17 by a connecting portion 32. The center bottom plate 17 is attached to and supported by the machine frame via a support member 35 from an attachment plate 33 fixed to the lower surface.

  As a result, the push-up member 30 is biased upward by the elastic force (spring force) of the leaf spring 31. Then, by appropriately setting the spring force of the leaf spring 31 and the weight of the push-up member 30, the push-up member 30 maintains a horizontal state in a state where the PTP sheet 1 does not exist on the push-up member 30. In this horizontal state, the upper surface 30 a of the push-up member 30 protrudes upward from the upper surface of the central bottom plate 17. Further, the upper surface 30 a of the push-up member 30 is formed in an arc shape, and the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface 30 a is substantially coincident with the upper surface of the central bottom plate 17. Further, the distance between the upper surface 30a of the push-up member 30 in the horizontal state and the upper guide plate 20 is made smaller than the height of the stacked PTP sheets 1.

  As a result, when the PTP sheet 1 pushed by the pushing finger 29 reaches the push-up member 30, the push-up member 30 is pushed down against the elastic force of the leaf spring 31. When the PTP sheet 1 is temporarily stopped on the upper surface of the push-up member 30, the push-up member 30 urges the PTP sheet 1 upward by the spring force (elastic restoring force) of the leaf spring 31. Then, the PTP sheet 1 is sandwiched between the push-up member 30 and the upper guide plate 20 with a predetermined pressure. Therefore, even if there is an inertial force forward of the PTP sheet 1 due to the temporary stop, the PTP sheet 1 is held by the upward biasing force of the push-up member 30 and is temporarily stopped and then moved without breaking the posture. Accordingly, the PTP sheet 1 is unloaded from the second transport device 12 toward the next-stage reversing device 13 without intermittently changing the posture.

  The reversing device 13 has a clamping claw member 45 attached around the rotation shaft 40 and rotates intermittently. Here, a total of eight clamping claws 45 are attached, and the horizontal clamping claws 45 face the carry-out end of the second conveying device 12 and receive and hold the PTP sheet 1 carried out. . And if the rotating shaft 40 rotates 180 degree | times in the hold | gripped state, the upper and lower sides of the PTP sheet 1 will be reversed. And it is carried out to the downstream apparatus in the reverse state.

  In the above-described embodiment, a stepped belt attached with a push finger is used. However, instead of a stepped belt, an endless chain or the like may be attached to the push finger. In addition, it is not limited to attaching a finger to such an endless object and revolving the finger, and various types may be used as long as the push member contacts the product and the product is intermittently sent. Applicable to

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the push-up member is arranged on the conveyance path side and the product is urged upward. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the push-down member is arranged above the conveyance path. The product may be urged downward. Moreover, you may arrange | position both a raising member and a pushing-down member.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a spring member such as a leaf spring or an elastic body is used as a member for urging the push-up member / push-down member. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It can also be used. In this case, the cylinder or the like may be operated at the timing of temporary stop, but for example, an air cylinder may be used as an air cushion. When such a configuration is adopted, the product can be urged under optimum conditions by changing the air pressure of the air cylinder for each product, for example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 PTP sheet 2 Pocket part 10 Conveyance apparatus 11 1st conveyance apparatus 12 2nd conveyance apparatus 13 Inversion apparatus 14 Accumulation apparatus 16 Conveyance path 17 Center bottom plate 17a Through-hole 20 Upper guide plate 21 Front positioning finger apparatus 22 Pushing finger apparatus 26 Forward positioning Finger 29 Pushing finger 30 Push-up member 30a Upper surface 31 Leaf spring

Claims (5)

In the transport device that intermittently transports the product by intermittently moving the feeding member that pushes the product on the transport path,
In front of the stop position of the pusher member of said conveying path, e Bei the suppressing means for suppressing sandwich the product in the vertical direction,
The restraining means is
A push-up member provided in the conveyance path for urging the product upward;
A guide member positioned above the push-up member;
A conveying apparatus characterized in that the product is sandwiched between the push-up member and the guide member.   The push-up member is urged upward by an elastic body, and an upper surface of the push-up member protrudes upward from a transport surface of the transport path when the product is in a non-contact state. 2. The transfer device according to 1. The upper surface of the push-up member has a curved surface shape,
3. The transport according to claim 2, wherein the push-up member in a non-contact state of the product is configured such that at least an outer peripheral edge on the upstream side of the upper surface of the push-up member is equal to or lower than the transport surface. apparatus. The product is a PTP sheet having a pocket on one side,
The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the push-up member is in contact with a surface on the non-formed side of the pocket portion.   The conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the product is a laminate of a plurality of articles.

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