JPH0556621B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically supplying metal outer cans for batteries.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as a method for automatically supplying metal outer cans for batteries, a method has been adopted in which a plurality of outer cans are stored in a line in a popper and fed using an agitator, or a method using a turntable. Ta.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the agitator method, when the metal can for batteries is fed at high speed, bridging occurs in the hopper in a short period of time, and the metal can becomes vertical on the chute. There were problems such as chute clogging. In addition, the turntable method had the problem of frequent overturning of metal cans and scratches on the surface.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is capable of automatically feeding batteries without causing bridging of the metal outer can for batteries, falling over, or causing damage to the metal outer can during high-speed feeding. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic feeding device for metal outer cans.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention includes a belt conveyor that moves a desired number of metal exterior cans for batteries in a row, and a belt conveyor that is placed in the middle of this conveyor and that adjusts the width of the row of exterior cans that have been moved in stages. an agitator disposed at the final constriction part of the aperture guide for supplying the outer cans one by one; a return conveyor that rotates in the opposite direction;
a box conveyor disposed on the rear end side of the belt conveyor substantially perpendicular to the conveyor;
The cans are moved on this transport conveyor, and a plurality of rows of outer cans are housed in multiple stages via partition plates. A loading conveyance mechanism that reciprocates between the rear end of the belt conveyor, and a bottom portion that is conveyed onto a passable box that is moved to the rear end of the belt conveyor by this conveyance mechanism, and has a hook handle attached to its top surface. an outer can pushing up mechanism having a transport container having an open shape, and a plurality of pushing up rods arranged near the rear end of the belt conveyor and inserted into rod insertion holes of the shipping box moved near the rear end; , a push-out mechanism for moving the transport container after the uppermost row of outer cans in the shipping box has been stored to the rear end of the belt conveyor by the push-up mechanism; and the belt conveyor near the agitator and the return. and an unloading conveyance mechanism that reciprocates between the return conveyors and moves the conveyance container, which has been moved to the belt conveyor near the agitator, in an empty state onto the return conveyor. This is an automatic feeding device for metal outer cans for batteries.

[Function] According to the present invention, after the transporting box is set on the transporting conveyor, the loading transport mechanism, the outer can pushing up mechanism, and the extrusion mechanism move the plurality of upper rows of metal outer cans in the transporting box. are automatically stored in the transport container and moved onto the belt conveyor, and the row of outer cans can be transported on the belt conveyor while stored in the transport container, so even if the belt conveyor moves at high speed, each outer can can prevent falls and injuries. Further, in the middle of the belt conveyor,
The transport container is removed by the unloading transport mechanism, and each outer can is moved by a belt conveyor to a place where a squeezing guide and an agitator are installed, where the row of outer cans is narrowed and fed one by one by the agitator. Therefore, bridging of the outer can can be prevented.

[Embodiments of the Invention] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

1 in the figure is a belt conveyor that moves in the direction of the arrow. Conveyor guides 2a and 2b are arranged on both sides of this conveyor 1. A squeeze guide 3 is disposed midway on the belt conveyor 1 for gradually narrowing a row of metal exterior cans from which conveyance containers have been removed, which will be described later.
An agitator 4 for feeding the outer cans one by one is disposed at the final stage. This agitator 4
is a pair of hexagonal plates 5 arranged opposite to each other.
a, 5b, and a rotating shaft 7a attached to these hexagonal plates 5a, 5b and rotated by motors 6a, 6b.
7b. A return conveyor 8 that rotates in the opposite direction to the belt conveyor 1 is arranged in parallel with the belt conveyor 1 .

On the rear end side of the belt conveyor 1, a roller conveyor 10 for conveying the pass-through boxes 9 is disposed so as to be perpendicular to the conveyor 1. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, this transit box 9 stores therein, for example, a four-tiered row of outer cans 12 in which a plurality of metal outer cans 11 are arranged two-dimensionally through an inner paper 13. There is. Further, near the corners of the bottom surface of the carrying box 9, for example, four holes 14 are opened into which rods of a mechanism for pushing up an outer can, which will be described later, are inserted.

Reference numeral 15 in the figure denotes a pair of hook handles 17a on the upper surface of the transport container 16 that reciprocates between the vicinity of the tip of the return conveyor 8 and the rear end of the belt conveyor 1, and is returned onto the return conveyor 8. ,1
This is a loading conveyance mechanism for holding the conveyor belt 7b and conveying it onto the pass box 9 which has been moved near the rear end of the belt conveyor 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this loading conveyance mechanism 15 includes an egress/egress cylinder 18.
near the tip of the return conveyor 8 and the belt conveyor 1 along a frame (not shown).
The upper support plate 19 is reciprocated between the rear ends.
a, a lower support plate 19b which is arranged below this support plate 19a and is supported by a vertical cylinder 20 and moves up and down; A pair of chucks 2 that can be opened and closed to hold the
1a and 21b. Note that the transport container 16 has an open bottom.

An exterior can lifting mechanism 22 is arranged near the rear end of the belt conveyor 1. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the push-up mechanism 22 includes a fixed plate 23, a ball screw 24 supported by the plate 23 via a bearing (not shown), and a ball screw 24 disposed below the plate. , the ball screw 2
4 is screwed into the movable plate 25; It is composed of four push-up rods 26 that are inserted and push up the row of outer cans in the transit box 9 by one step. That is, by rotating the ball screw 24 constituting the push-up mechanism 22 by a motor (not shown), the movable plate 25 screwed onto the ball screw 24 moves up and down. 4 push rods 2
6 moves up and down together.

In addition, 27 in the figure is the external can lifting mechanism 2.
2, the row of outer cans located at the top of the transport box 9 is stored in the transport container 16 on the transport box 9, and then the transport container 16 is passed through the gang plate 28 disposed at the rear end of the belt conveyor 1. This is an extrusion mechanism for conveying onto the belt conveyor 1. This extrusion mechanism 2
7 is a plate 2 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.
9, an egress/egress cylinder 32 disposed on this plate 29 and having a cylinder rod 31 fixed to a fixed plate 30 of the frame, and the plate 29
A pusher 34 is fixed perpendicularly to the plate 29 by vertical movement adjusting jigs 33a and 33b on the tip side thereof, and is configured to push the transport container 16 on the carrying box 9 onto the belt conveyor 1. There is.
Further, a plate 29 constituting the extrusion mechanism 27
A support plate 36 is attached below near the rear end to which a vacuum pad 35 for adsorbing the inner paper 13 of the carrying box 9 is attached. It is moved up and down by the cylinder 37. Note that the extrusion mechanism 2
The cylinder 32 for moving in and out 7 is operated by receiving a signal from an optical sensor (not shown) arranged at a position slightly shorter than one transport container 16 from the rear end of the belt conveyor 1. be done. That is, when the conveyance container 16 near the rear end moves by one space due to the conveyance of the belt conveyor 1, the optical sensor detects that no conveyance container exists in the area, and the sensor outputs a signal. The conveyance container 16 on the pass-through box 9 can be conveyed onto the belt conveyor 1 by feedback operation to the withdrawal cylinder 32.

Furthermore, 38 in the figure reciprocates between the belt conveyor 1 near the agitator 4 and the rear end of the return conveyor 8.
This is an unloading conveyance mechanism for conveying the empty conveyance container 16 located on the front end side onto the rear end of the return conveyor 8. As shown in FIG. 1, this unloading conveyance mechanism 38 connects the belt conveyor 1 in the vicinity of the agitator 4 and the rear end of the return conveyor 8 along another frame (not shown) by means of an egress/return cylinder 39. An upper support plate 40a that is reciprocated between the two; a lower support plate 40b that is disposed below this support plate 40a and that is supported by a vertical cylinder 41 and that moves up and down; Hook handles 17a, 1 of the transport container 16 transported by the conveyor 1
A pair of L-shaped claws 42a, 42 that engage with 7b
It is composed of b.

Next, the operation of the automatic feeding device of the present invention will be explained.

() First, before operating belt conveyor 1,
For example, two transport containers 16 each containing a row of metal cans are placed by hand on the conveyor 1 located a desired distance from the unloading transport mechanism 38 on the rear end side, and the transport container 16 located on the front end side and the aperture are placed in advance. A plurality of exterior cans 11 are arranged by hand on a belt conveyor 1 between guides 3. Next, by driving the belt conveyor 1 and the agitator 4,
Exterior cans 1 arranged in advance on the belt conveyor 1
1 moves, the outer cans 11 are lined up one by one by the aperture guide 3 and the pair of hexagonal plates 5a, 5b of the agitator 4 and supplied to the tip side.

() At the same time as or before driving the belt conveyor 1, the rows of outer cans 12 were stored in four stages with inner paper 13 interposed between them as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 on the roller conveyor 10 for transporting boxes. After placing a plurality of boxes 9 and opening the top lid of the boxes 9, the roller conveyor 10 is moved intermittently to remove the boxes 9.
When the belt conveyor 1 moves to the rear end side of the belt conveyor 1, the roller conveyor 10 is stopped. When the pass-through box 9 is moved to the rear end side of the belt conveyor 1, the pair of chucks 21a, 2 of the loading conveyance mechanism 15
1b is a pair of hook handles 17a, 1 of the transport container 16 that has been moved to the tip side of the return conveyor 8.
7b, the transport container 16 is raised together with the lower support plate 19b by the vertical movement cylinder 20 of the transport mechanism 15, and is moved to the vicinity of the rear end of the belt conveyor 1 by the egress/exit cylinder 18, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the transport container 16 is set on the passing box 9. Thereafter, it is returned to its original position by the cylinder 18 for egress and egress. When the transport container 16 is set onto the shipping box 9 in this way, the ball screw 24 of the outer can lifting mechanism 22
is rotated by a motor (not shown), the movable plate 25 rises, and along with this, the plate 2
The four rods 26 attached to 5 rise,
The tip passes through each hole 14 of the shipping box 9 and pushes up the inner paper 13 on the bottom of the shipping box 9 to a height corresponding to one stage of the row of outer cans 12. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the uppermost row of outer cans 13 in the transit box 8 is stored in the transport container 16 placed on the transit box 8. Next, by operating the cylinder 32 for egress and retraction on the plate 29 of the extrusion mechanism 27, the pusher 34 fixed perpendicularly to the surface of the plate 29 is moved toward the rear end side of the belt conveyor 1. Along with this, the transport container 16 on the transit box 9 is moved with the row of outer cans 12 stored therein through the gang plate 28 to near the rear end of the belt conveyor 1, and is moved by the conveyor 1 toward its starting end. transported. When the pusher 34 of the extrusion mechanism 27 moves to near the rear end of the belt conveyor 1, the plate 29 of the extrusion mechanism 27
The vacuum pad 35, which moves up and down by the vertical movement cylinder 37 provided at Remove from 9.

() Next, the above operation () is repeated several times to move the second and third rows of outer cans 12 in the transit box 9 onto the belt conveyor 1 together with the transport container 16, so that the rear ends arranged in advance are moved. The transport container 16 is located between the transport container 16 located on the side and the rear end of the conveyor 1.
Arrange.

() In the process of moving the transport containers 16 onto the belt conveyor 1, the outer cans 11 arranged in advance on the belt conveyor 1 are moved one by one by the squeezing guide 3 and the agitator 4 to the tip side of the conveyor 1. When the transport container 16 on the tip side is moved under the unloading transport container 38, the hook handle 17 of the transport container 16
a, 17b are lower support plates 40 of the transport mechanism 38;
The container 16 is engaged with the claws 42a and 42b provided in the container 16b, and the transport container 16 is moved onto the return conveyor 8 in an empty state. That is, the handles 17a and 17b of the transport container 16 and the unloading transport mechanism 3
When the claws 42a and 42b of 8 are engaged with each other, the vertical movement cylinder 41 is actuated by a signal from a sensor (not shown) to raise the lower support plate 40b, and the upper support plate 40b is further moved by the movement of the egress/retraction cylinder 39. Plate 40a moves forward, lower support plate 40b
The engaged transport container 16 is placed on the return conveyor 8 arranged parallel to the belt conveyor 1, and is moved to the leading end side together with the conveyor 8. After this, the unloading transport mechanism 38 returns to its original position.

() Next, as the belt conveyor 1 moves and the outer cans 11 are supplied, a space corresponding to one transport container 16 is created near the rear end of the conveyor 1. It is detected by a sensor placed nearby, and the signal is output to the push-out mechanism 27 in a standby state, and the pusher 42 pushes the transport container 16 in which the row of outer cans 12 on the carrying box 9 is stored, and the transport container 16 is moved into the same space. move.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the plurality of outer can rows 12
By installing the pass-through box 9 in which multiple stages are stored via the inner paper 13 on the roller conveyor 10, the conveyor 10 moves the pass-through box 9, and the loading conveyance mechanism 15 transports the transport container 16. 9, the uppermost row of outer cans 12 in the transit box 9 is stored in the transport container 16 by the outer can push-up mechanism 22, and the belt of the transport container 16 in which the row of outer cans 12 is stored is moved by the extrusion mechanism 27. Since the outer cans 11 are moved onto the conveyor 1 and the outer cans 11 are fed one by one by the squeezing guide 3 and the agitator 4 in the middle of the belt conveyor 1, the outer cans can be automatically supplied.

Moreover, since most of the outer cans 11 on the belt conveyor 1 are stored in the transport container 16, even if the belt conveyor 1 is moved at high speed, the outer cans 11 can be moved continuously without falling over. Good exterior cans 11 without scratches can be supplied one by one from the agitator 4.

Further, by feeding the outer cans 11 one by one using the agitator 4, the occurrence of bridging of the outer cans 11 can be prevented.

In the above embodiment, the rotating plate of the agitator has a hexagonal shape, but of course it may have another shape such as an octagonal shape.

In the above embodiment, a belt-like conveyor was used as the return conveyor, and a roller conveyor was used as the conveyor for passing through the boxes. However, two endless belt-like belts were used between the two rotating rolls near both ends. A pivoted structure may also be used.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically feed batteries without causing bridging of the metal outer can for batteries, overturning of the outer can, or causing damage during high-speed feeding. It is possible to provide an automatic feeding device for metal outer cans.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic supply device for metal outer cans for batteries showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views of essential parts of the same supply device, and FIG. 4 is a device according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a shipping box used for this purpose, and FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the shipping box. 1...Belt conveyor, 3...Aperture guide, 4
...Agitator, 8...Return conveyor, 9
... Passing box, 10... Roller conveyor for transporting boxes, 11... Metal exterior can, 12... Exterior can row, 1
3...Inner paper, 14...Hole, 15...Load transport mechanism, 16...Transport container, 17a, 17b...Hook handle, 21a, 21b...Chuck, 22...
External can lifting mechanism, 24...Ball screw, 26
...Pushing rod, 27...Extrusion mechanism, 34...
...Putsiya, 35...Bakyumpatud, 38...
...Unloading transport mechanism, 42a, 42b...claw portion.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A belt conveyor that moves the metal exterior cans for batteries in a desired number of rows, a squeeze guide placed in the middle of this conveyor to gradually narrow the width of the row of moved exterior cans, and a squeeze guide that an agitator disposed in the final narrowing section for supplying the outer cans one by one; a return conveyor disposed parallel to the belt conveyor and rotated in the opposite direction to the conveyor; A conveyor for transporting boxes is arranged at the rear end of the belt conveyor so as to be substantially perpendicular to the conveyor. A carry box that is stored in multiple stages and has multiple rod insertion holes at the bottom;
a loading conveyance mechanism that reciprocates between the return conveyor and the vicinity of the rear end of the belt conveyor, and a loading conveyance mechanism that transports the load onto the carrying box that is moved to the vicinity of the rear end of the belt conveyor and is hooked on the top surface. a transport container having a bottom opening shape with a handle attached; and a transport container disposed near the rear end of the belt conveyor,
An exterior can pushing up mechanism has a plurality of push-up rods that are inserted into the rod device holes of the transit box that has been moved to the vicinity of the rear end, and after the uppermost row of exterior cans in the transit box is stored by this pushing up mechanism. a push-out mechanism for moving the transport container to the rear end of the belt conveyor, and a reciprocating operation between the belt conveyor near the agitator and the return conveyor, and the container is moved to the belt conveyor near the agitator. 1. An automatic supply device for metal exterior cans for batteries, comprising an unloading conveyance mechanism for moving an empty conveyance container onto the return conveyor.