CN114771954A - Device for supplying bulk storage bags to other devices - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for supplying bulk storage bags to other devices, comprising: a bag storage mechanism that stores a large number of standing bags as a bag group; a bag take-out mechanism that takes out the bag from the bag storage mechanism; a bag mouth direction detecting device which detects the direction of the bag mouth of the bag taken out by the bag taking-out mechanism; a bag rotating mechanism which rotates the bag in a predetermined direction on a bag rotating table based on the direction of the bag opening detected by the bag opening direction detecting device, so as to orient the bag opening in a predetermined direction; and a bag carrying mechanism for carrying the bag rotated in the predetermined direction by the bag rotating mechanism to the delivery position. The bag conveying mechanism is provided with a linear actuator. The linear actuator is provided with a gripping device that moves back and forth between the bag turning mechanism and the delivery location of the bag. The clamping device is provided with a clamping piece for clamping the two sides of the front end of the bag.

Description

Device for supplying bulk-stored bags to other devices

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a bag supply apparatus that can store a large number of stacked bags for packaging, such as a stand-up bag, a gusset bag, another general flat bag, or a zippered bag (store bags in an amount different from that of the conventional apparatus by an order of magnitude) and accurately deliver each bag to a packaging machine as another apparatus.

Background

JP2014-131926a discloses a supply device for storing a large number of bags at a time in a space-saving and stable state by a bag storage mechanism of a vertical type which stores a large number of bags in an upright state, and supplying the stored bags to a packaging machine as other device by using the bag storage mechanism.

In the supply device of JP2014-131926a, the mouth of the bunched bags is arranged in the bag storage mechanism with each of the plurality of bags turned upside down. Therefore, even if a bag bundle having a large number of bags is stored, the left and right thicknesses can be averaged. Therefore, the bag storing mechanism can eliminate suction errors when the last bag of the stored bag group is sucked by a suction cup or the like and taken out, and can store a large number of bags without problems.

Since this supply device can store a large number of bags without any problem, the packaging machine as another device can be continuously operated for a long time as compared with the conventional bag supply device, and therefore, the burden on the worker who performs the packaging operation can be reduced.

However, the bag supply device of JP2014-131926a uses a conveyor provided with a string-shaped belt in a bag conveying mechanism for conveying bags stored in a bag storage mechanism one by one to a packaging machine side. Therefore, the bags easily slip on the conveyor, and stable conveyance may be difficult. Further, although the stopper is provided at the end of the belt conveyor in order to stop the bag conveyed by the belt conveyor, when the bag is stopped by being abutted against the stopper, the position of the front end of the bag may be deviated due to springback of the bag or the like. Further, the bag opening of the bag stopped by the stopper must be sucked and lifted by the suction cup of the bag opening lifting mechanism, and the lifted bag opening must be clamped by the clamp of the bag delivery mechanism and delivered to the packaging machine side.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for supplying a large number of bags stored to another apparatus, which suppresses variation in the bags and improves accuracy of bag positions when the bags are delivered to a packaging machine or the like.

The present invention provides an apparatus for supplying a large number of bags stored in bulk to another apparatus, comprising:

a bag storage mechanism that stores a large number of standing bags as a bag group and guides the stored bag group to the downstream side;

a bag take-out mechanism that takes out the bag from the bag storage mechanism;

a bag mouth direction detecting device which detects the direction of the bag mouth of the bag taken out by the bag taking-out mechanism;

a bag turning mechanism for turning the bag in a predetermined direction on a bag turning table based on the direction of the bag opening detected by the bag opening direction detecting device to orient the bag opening in a predetermined direction; and

a bag carrying mechanism for carrying the bag rotated in the predetermined direction by the bag rotating mechanism to a delivery position,

the bag carrying mechanism is provided with a linear actuator,

the linear actuator is provided with a gripping device that is reciprocally movable between the bag turning mechanism and the delivery position of the bag,

the holding device is provided with a holding member for holding both sides of the front end of the bag.

The method for controlling a device for supplying a large number of bags stored in bulk to another device according to the present invention is characterized in that the device for supplying a large number of bags stored in bulk to another device includes:

a bag storage mechanism that stores a large number of standing bags as a bag group and guides the stored bag group to the downstream side;

a bag take-out mechanism that takes out the bag from the bag storage mechanism;

a bag mouth direction detecting device which detects the direction of the bag mouth of the bag taken out by the bag taking-out mechanism;

a bag rotating mechanism which rotates the bag in a predetermined direction on a bag rotating table based on the direction of the bag opening detected by the bag opening direction detecting device, so as to orient the bag opening in a predetermined direction; and

a bag carrying mechanism for carrying the bag rotated in the predetermined direction by the bag rotating mechanism to a delivery position,

in controlling the above-described means for supplying bulk storage bags to other devices,

the position of the front edge of the bag after the bag is rotated in a predetermined direction on a bag rotating table is measured,

calculating a deviation in the longitudinal direction of the bag from the original moving distance of the bag conveying mechanism based on the measurement result of the position of the front edge of the bag to calculate the actually required moving distance of the bag conveying mechanism,

based on the calculation result of the movement distance, the original movement distance of the bag conveying mechanism is corrected.

With the above configuration, the bag supply device of the present invention can suppress the deviation of the bags when the bags are delivered from the supply device to the packaging machine side, and therefore the accuracy of the bag positions is improved.

The method of controlling the bag supply device according to the present invention can simplify the mechanism for suppressing the deviation of the bag position, because the deviation of the bag is corrected by measuring the position of the leading edge of the bag.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an overall front view of the bulk storage bag supply of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an overall plan view of the bag supply apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a right side view of the bag supplying apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a partially enlarged view of fig. 1.

Fig. 5A is a front view showing an operation state of a bag storage mechanism constituting the bag supplying device of the present invention.

Fig. 5B is a plan view showing an operation state of the bag storing mechanism constituting the bag supplying device of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the bag turning table in the bag supply device of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a rear view of a turning device in the bag supplying device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view of the bag centering mechanism in the bag supply of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged front view of the bag centering mechanism in the bag supply device of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a bag handling mechanism in the bag supply device of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a side view of a bag handling mechanism in the bag supply apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 12A is a front view showing an operation state of the bag conveying mechanism in the bag supplying device of the present invention.

Fig. 12B is a plan view showing an operation state of the bag handling mechanism in the bag supply device of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a front view, fig. 2 is a plan view, and fig. 3 is a right side view of an apparatus for supplying bulk storage bags according to an embodiment of the present invention. The supply device 1 for supplying a large number of bags stored in bulk to another device according to this embodiment includes: a bag storage mechanism 2 for storing a large number of standing bags W and having a mechanism for guiding the stored bag group to the front end side; a bag take-out mechanism 3 that takes out the bag W from the bag storage mechanism 2; a bag mouth direction detecting device 4 that detects the direction of the mouth of the bag W taken out by the bag take-out mechanism 3; a bag turning mechanism 5 that turns the bag W in a predetermined direction based on the direction of the bag W detected by the bag mouth direction detecting device 4; and a bag conveying mechanism 7 for conveying the bag W rotated in the predetermined direction by the bag rotating mechanism 5 to the side of the packing machine 6 as another device. The packaging machine 6 described above as another device is provided on the front end side of the device 1 for supplying a large number of bags stored to another device, receives a bag W from the bag supply device 1 by the bag delivery mechanism 8, and delivers the received bag W to the packaging machine 6 side. The packing machine 6 uses a rotary packing machine, but may be a linear packing machine or an elliptical packing machine. The packing machine 6 is well known, and thus a detailed structure thereof is not shown in fig. 1, and a detailed description thereof is omitted.

The above-described devices and mechanisms will be described in detail below. Here, the side to which the bag W moves may be referred to as "upstream" and the side to which the bag W moves may be referred to as "downstream" in the conveying direction of the bag W. Note that the conveying direction of the bag W may be referred to as the "longitudinal direction", the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction may be referred to as the "width direction", the front side in the conveying direction may be referred to as the "front end", and the rear side in the conveying direction may be referred to as the "rear end". In the following embodiment, the configuration of the apparatus of the present invention is described in detail, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment.

(bag storage means)

A bag storage mechanism 2 is provided in a portion from the upstream to the midstream portion of the bag supply apparatus 1 in fig. 1 and 2. In the bag stocking mechanism 2, a passage 22 for the stocked bag W is provided in the longitudinal direction on a base 21 formed by combining steel materials into a rectangular shape, and a bag group having a bag opening in the lateral direction is stocked in the passage 22 in a standing state. The bag supply device 1 may be a flat bag, but is preferably a self-supporting bag, a gusset bag, a zipper bag, or the like. That is, in the case where the thickness of the bag W is different between the bag opening side and the bag bottom side as described above, the difference between the thicknesses of the bag opening side and the bag bottom side becomes larger as the bags W are stacked in a plurality with the bag openings in the same direction. Therefore, the bag group is in a curved state, and there is a possibility that a removal error occurs in the bag removing mechanism 3. Therefore, each bag bundle, which is made up of a certain number of bags, such as 10 or 20 bags, is stored with the bag mouth side and the bag bottom side reversed from side to side, the difference in thickness between the bag mouth side and the bag bottom side is averaged, and the bag group is aligned and stored in the passage 22 in a state of no distortion as a whole.

The passage 22 is configured by arranging a pair of side plates 22a along the longitudinal direction on both sides in the width direction of the base 21. The pair of side plates 22a are supported by 2 guide rods 22b mounted on the base 21 in the width direction and are slidable in the width direction of the passage 22. The 1 screw 22c is provided between the pair of side plates 22a, and the distance between the pair of side plates 22a can be adjusted according to the size of the bag W by rotating a handle 22d provided at the end of the screw 22 c.

A bag pressing belt 23 in the longitudinal direction is laid at the center in the width direction of the bottom of the passage 22, a bag pressing member 23a is disposed on the bag pressing belt 23, and the bag pressing member 23a is detachable in the vertical direction. A bag pressing belt motor 23b is provided on the downstream side of the passage 22. When the sensor determines that the bag W on the downstream side of the passage 22 is empty, the bag pushing belt motor 23b rotates and the bag pushing belt 23 travels at a low speed. At the same time, the bag pressing member 23a disposed in the bag pressing belt 23 is gradually moved forward, and presses the bag group stored in the passage 22 from the upstream side to the downstream side.

A pair of corresponding upright plates 24 are provided upright on the downstream end portions of the pair of side plates 22a, and locking pieces 24a (see the partially enlarged view of fig. 5B) project inward from these upright plates 24. A shutter plate 24b is mounted between the pair of vertical plates 24. The locking piece 24a and the shutter plate 24b hold the bag W so that the bag W at the front end of the bag group pressed forward of the passage 22 by the bag pressing member 23a does not fly out.

As shown in fig. 5B and a partially enlarged view thereof, a pair of columnar aligning rods 25 are vertically erected on both inner sides of the vertical plate 24. Since the bag W may tend to bend, if the bag W is stored in the passage 22 as it is, it will be in a state of undulation. When the bag group is pressed by the bag pressing member 23a in this state, the bag W at the front end of the bag group that has undulated may be bent. Therefore, the suction cup 31 of the bag taking-out mechanism 3 does not completely come into close contact with the bag W, and a suction error occurs. Accordingly, as shown in fig. 5B, the aligning bars 25 regulate the movement of both side portions of the bag group stored in the passage 22, and bend the central portion thereof so as to slightly protrude toward the downstream side, thereby enabling the suction pad 31 to be reliably brought into close contact with the surface of the bag W.

As shown in the enlarged view of fig. 5B, the upper end of the aligning rod 25 is attached to a slide piece 25A, and as shown in fig. 5A, the slide piece 25A is configured to be slidable toward the upstream side and the downstream side through a horizontal slit 24c formed in the vertical plate 24. The position of the aligning rod 25 can be adjusted by moving the slide piece 25a, and the position of the bending of the bag group can be adjusted according to the size or type of the bag W.

An air cylinder 24d for a vibrating plate is attached to the outer center of the pair of vertical plates 24 via a fitting. A trapezoidal vibration plate 24e is attached to the vibration plate air cylinder 24d, and the vibration plate 24e is fitted into a trapezoidal cutout portion of the vertical plate 24 (see fig. 1 and 5A). The oscillating plate 24e oscillates in the width direction of the passage 22 by the oscillating plate air cylinder 24d, and the bag groups in an irregular state upstream of the alignment rod 25 are aligned.

(bag take-out mechanism)

The bag retrieving mechanism 3 retrieves the bag W at the front end of the bag storing mechanism 2 by the suction cup 31 and delivers it to the bag turning mechanism 5. As shown in fig. 4, the bag take-out mechanism 3 is configured using a pair of four-link levers 32 provided at a distance in the width direction. Each four-link 32 has a lower drive link 32a, an intermediate link 32b, and a driven link 32 c. A driven shaft 32C is mounted on the machine frame 9 in the width direction of the upper portion thereof, and one end of each slave link 32C is fixed to each end of the driven shaft 32C.

A drive shaft 32A is mounted on the lower portion of the machine frame 9 in the width direction, and one end of each drive link 32A is fixed to each end of the drive shaft 32A. As shown in fig. 3, one end of the drive shaft 32A extends toward the link drive device 32E including the drive motor 32E and the bevel gear 32f, and the rotational force of the drive motor 32E is transmitted to the drive shaft 32A via the bevel gear 32 f.

As shown in fig. 3, a mounting shaft 32h for mounting the suction cup 31 is mounted between a pair of joints 32g for coupling the respective driving links 32a and the intermediate link 32 b. The mounting shaft 32h is mounted with 3 suction cups 31. A suction tube 32i is provided in the width direction of the upper part of the suction cup 31, and the suction tube 32i and the suction cup 31 are connected by a tube 32 j. In the present invention, the bag taking-out mechanism 3 is not limited to the one shown in the drawings, and may be, for example, a bag taking-out mechanism as described in JP2014-131926 a.

When the drive motor 32E of the link drive device 32E is driven, the drive shaft 32A rotates, and the four-link 32 of the bag take-out mechanism 3 is bent into an S-shape toward the upstream side as shown by the broken line in fig. 4, and takes out the bag W at the front end from the bag storage mechanism 2. When the four-bar link 32 is in a posture in which the bag W at the tip end is taken out, the suction pad 31 sucks the bag W at the tip end. Further, when the drive motor 32e rotates, the four-link 32 extends downstream, and the bag W is placed on the bag table 51 of the bag rotating mechanism 5 shown in fig. 2. When the four-link 32 is moved in this way, as shown in fig. 1, 4, or 5, the suction cup 31 is in a vertical posture on the bag rotating table 51 while drawing a downward arc from a horizontal posture in which the bag W at the tip end is taken out. The bag W taken out from the bag storage mechanism 2 by the bag taking-out mechanism 3 is detected by the bag mouth direction detecting device 4 in the period until the bag W is placed on the bag turn table 51, that is, in the direction of the bag mouth.

(pocket mouth direction detecting device)

The bag mouth direction detecting device 4 detects which direction the mouth of the bag W is directed to the left or right while the bag W is moved from the bag taking-out mechanism 3 to the bag turning mechanism 5. As described above, in the passage 22 of the bag stocking mechanism 2, the bag mouth side and the bag bottom side are sequentially stocked with the bag bundles each having a certain number of bundles being gathered up. Therefore, when the leading bag W is taken out from the bag storage mechanism 2 by the bag taking mechanism 3, it is necessary to detect whether the bag opening is facing left or right.

In the present embodiment, the bag mouth direction detecting device 4 determines the direction of the bag W, that is, the direction of the bag mouth, using an imaging device such as a CCD camera. For example, the orientation is determined by characters, patterns, shapes, and the like printed on the bag W. The bag mouth direction detection device 4 may measure the unevenness or thickness of the surface of the bag W with a laser beam to determine the direction thereof, and the type of sensor is not limited. The position of the sensor provided in the bag mouth direction detecting means 4 is not particularly limited as long as it is between the bag taking-out mechanism 3 and the bag turning mechanism 5.

(bag rotating mechanism)

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing an example of the bag turning mechanism 5 shown in fig. 2. The bag rotating mechanism 5 is disposed adjacent to the downstream side of the bag accumulating mechanism 2, and rotates the bag W placed on the bag table 51 by the bag retrieving mechanism 3 in the forward or reverse direction. The bag turning mechanism 5 functions as a mechanism for turning the bag W placed in any one of the left and right directions in the width direction by 90 degrees as shown in the figure and delivering the bag W to the bag conveying mechanism 7 so that the clamp of the packaging machine can grip the bag mouth side. The bag W is conveyed by the bag conveying mechanism 7 in a horizontal posture in which the bag opening faces the downstream side by being rotated by the bag rotating mechanism 5, received from the bag conveying mechanism 7 by the bag delivery mechanism 8, and then delivered to the clamp of the packing machine 6.

As shown in fig. 6 and 4, the bag turning mechanism 5 includes: the bag turning table 51 on which the bag W taken out from the bag storage mechanism 2 is placed; a turning device 52 for turning the loaded bag W in a predetermined direction as described above; and a bag Centering (Centering) mechanism 53 that centers the bag W rotated by the rotating device 52 when delivered to the bag conveying mechanism 7.

As shown in fig. 6, the turntable 51 is configured to include: a table main body 51a erected in the width direction of the machine frame 9; and a rectangular support member 51b that horizontally protrudes from the center portion of the table main body 51a in the width direction toward the downstream side. In the table main body 51a, 4 rows of slits 51c are formed in the long side direction so that the projection 53E of the alignment plate 53E of the bag centering mechanism 53 does not interfere with the projection 53E even when the projection 53E rotates as will be described later, and the slits 51c face each other across the center portion in the width direction. These slits 51c are formed long, and thus can be handled even if the bags W are changed to different sizes.

The support member 51b functions to support the bag W when the bag W whose rotation has been completed by the bag rotating mechanism 5 is conveyed by the bag conveying mechanism 7. The width of the support member 51b is smaller than the width of the bag W, and both side portions of the front end of the bag W protruding from the front end edge of the table main body 51a are floated. By floating both front end sides of the bag W, both front end sides of the bag W can be gripped by the gripper 72I (fig. 3) of the bag conveying mechanism 7. An oblong hole 51d is formed from the rear end portion of the support member 51b to the center portion of the table main body 51 a. The oblong holes 51d allow the position of the rotary suction cup 52a (fig. 6) of the rotating device 52 to be moved in the longitudinal direction according to the size of the bag. Further, another oblong hole 51e is formed on the downstream side of the oblong hole 51 d. The laser light of the light projection receiver 73a (fig. 10 to 12) of the laser sensor mounted on the bag conveying mechanism 7 passes through the oblong hole 51 e.

Fig. 7 is a rear view of the bag turning mechanism 5, and as shown in fig. 7 and 6, the turning device 52 is provided in the longitudinal direction of the center of the lower portion of the bag turning table 51. The rotary suction cup 52a of the rotating device 52 is located below the oblong hole 51d, and is disposed so as to face the suction cup 31 of the bag pickup mechanism 3 in the vertical direction as shown in fig. 7. Therefore, as shown in fig. 4 and 5A, the bag picking mechanism 3 sucks the bag W at the front end of the bag stocking mechanism 2 by the suction cup 31, and places the bag W on the turning device 52 so that the center portion of the bag W reaches the turning suction cup 52a of the turning device 52 as shown in fig. 7. The turning device 52 turns the bag W placed on the bag turning table 51 by 90 degrees in a predetermined direction.

As shown in fig. 7, the bag turning mechanism 5 includes a turning suction cup 52a at the upper end of an elbow 52b, and a suction hose, not shown, is connected to the lower end of the elbow 52 b. The elbow 52b is coupled to the rotation shaft of the swivel actuator 52d via the bracket 52c, and is rotated by 90 degrees in the forward and reverse directions by the swivel actuator 52 d. The swing actuator 52d is suspended from the piston rod of the lift actuator 52e and floats. The upper end of the rotary suction cup 52a is moved up and down by the elevation actuator 52e between a standby position below the bag rotary table 51 and a suction position above the bag rotary table 51 for sucking the bag W.

As shown in fig. 6, the lift actuator 52e is attached to an attachment plate 52f fixed along the longitudinal direction of the machine frame 9. The front end of the screw 52g for position adjustment is supported by the mounting plate 52 f. A guide 52h having a female screw formed therein is fitted into the screw 52g, and a lift actuator 52e shown in fig. 7 is mounted to the guide 52h via a mounting table 52i shown in fig. 6. A handle shaft 52k is coupled to the rear end of the screw 52g in the right-angled direction via a bevel gear 52j, and by rotating the handle 52l, the turning device (the elevation actuator 52e, the turning actuator 52d, the turning suction cup 52a, etc.) 52 can be moved along the screw 52 g. Even in the case where the size of the bag W is changed, the swing suction cup 52a can be arranged to reach the center of the bag W by rotating the handle 52 l.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged side view of the bag centering mechanism 53, and fig. 9 is an enlarged front view thereof. The bag centering mechanism 53 centers the bag W rotated by the rotating device 52 in a direction in which the bag W can be conveyed downstream, so that the bag W can be delivered to the bag conveying mechanism 7. In the bag centering mechanism 53, a screw 53b is provided in a width direction of the machine frame 9. A pair of rod nuts 53c are fitted to the screw 53b, and a support plate 53d is attached to each rod nut 53 c. A centering device 53A is provided on each support plate 53 d. By rotating the handle 53g fitted to the end of the screw 53b, as shown in fig. 8, the pair of centering devices 53A on the pair of support plates 53d are moved in opposite directions to each other. Thereby, the spacing of the pair of centering devices 53A from each other can be arranged from a wide width shown by a solid line to a narrow width shown by a broken line according to the width of the bag W.

As shown in fig. 9, in the centering device 53A, a rotary shaft 53i is supported by a pair of bearings 53h provided at both ends of a support plate 53d, a crank 53j is attached to an end of the rotary shaft 53i, an air cylinder 53k is connected to the crank 53j, and the rotary shaft 53i is rotated in the forward direction and the reverse direction by operating the air cylinder 53 k. An alignment plate 53E in the vertical direction is attached to the rotation shaft 53 i. A projection 53E projects from the upper edge of the alignment plate 53E, and 5 projections 53E are provided side by side in the horizontal direction.

By driving the air cylinder 53k, the rotation shaft 53i is rotated in the forward direction and the reverse direction, and as shown in fig. 8, the alignment plate 53E reciprocates from a state of being inclined at 45 ° to a state of being vertical with respect to the vertical axis. In a state where the alignment plate 53E is at 45 °, the projection 53E is positioned below the table main body 51a shown in fig. 6, and therefore, the bag W can be placed on the table main body 51 a. Conversely, when the alignment plate 53E is brought into a vertical state, the projection 53E centers the pocket W. At a position inside each other of the alignment plates 53E, the stopper plate 53L is fixed to the support plate 53d by a screw. The stopper plate 53L is immovable, which prevents the alignment plate 53E from rotating no further from the vertical position. 53L is a buffer member fitted to the side surface of the stopper plate 53L and capable of being contacted by the alignment plate 53E.

(bag carrying mechanism)

As shown in fig. 4 and the like, the bag transfer mechanism 7 uses a long linear actuator 71 of a ball screw type. As shown in fig. 10, the linear actuator 71 is fixed to the machine frame 9 in the longitudinal direction of the machine frame 9 at the center in the width direction of the machine frame 9 having a shelf structure. The specific configuration of the linear actuator 71 is arbitrary, and is not limited to the above ball screw type. A slider 71a for fitting a gripping device 72 is provided on the upper surface of the linear actuator 71. The slider 71a reciprocates the clamp device 72 in the longitudinal direction, and causes the clamp device 72 to perform an operation for conveying the bag W on the bag turntable 51 toward the bag delivering mechanism 8.

A fitting plate 72a having a trapezoidal shape in a plan view for fitting the holding device 72 is fixed to the slider 71 a. Two support columns 72b are provided upright on both ends of the mounting plate 72a in the width direction, and a support base 72c is mounted on each of the two support columns 72 b. Further, on each support table 72c, an opening and closing member 72d of the gripping device 72 is mounted, respectively.

The opening/closing member 72d has 2 slide shafts 72f inserted in the vertical direction of a bearing 72e, and the lower ends of the slide shafts 72f are connected to each other by a lever (seeslow) plate 72 g. An air cylinder 72h is attached to the bottom of the support base 72c, and the lower end of a slide shaft 72f is connected to the air cylinder 72 h. By driving the air cylinder 72h, one sliding shaft 72f moves up and down, with the result that the other sliding shaft 72f moves up and down in opposite directions via the lever plate 72g, and 2 sliding shafts 72f alternately move up and down.

The upper ends of the 2 slide shafts 72f are provided with clamps 72I. The clamp 72I is constituted by a pair of fingers 72I fitted to the upper ends of the 2 slide shafts 72f, respectively. The pair of fingers 72I are moved up and down in different directions by 2 slide shafts 72f, and thereby the gripper 72I is opened and closed. As shown in fig. 11, the grippers 72I are positioned on both sides of the support member 51b of the table main body 51a shown in fig. 6, and both sides of the front end of the bag W protruding in the lateral direction from both sides of the support member 51b are vertically gripped by the grippers 72I. The linear actuator 71 is driven in a state where the bag W is clamped by the clamp 72I in this manner, and the bag W is conveyed to the downstream side. The fingers 72i are plate-shaped and, as shown in fig. 10, F-shaped in plan view, and a slip-preventing member is attached to the opposing surfaces of the pair of fingers 72 i.

As shown in fig. 11, in an inner upper portion of one bearing 72e in the holding device 72, a light projection receiver 73a of the above-described laser sensor is fitted. A shutter 73c is erected between the bearings 72e on both sides, and a reflection plate 73b of the laser beam from the light projection receiver 73a is attached to the shutter 73 c. The light projection receiver 73a and the reflection plate 73b constitute a bag front end measuring device 73 (fig. 10) that measures the position of the front end edge of the centered bag W. That is, the bag front end measuring device 73 accurately measures the position of the front end edge of the bag mouth of the bag W centered by the bag centering mechanism 53. By accurately measuring the position of the front edge of the bag opening, as will be described later, a control device (not shown) calculates an actual accurate distance for conveying the bag W by the bag conveying mechanism 7. This enables the bag conveying mechanism 7 to accurately deliver the bag W conveyed by the bag conveying mechanism 7 to the grippers 8a of the bag delivery mechanism 8. The measuring device 73 at the bag front end does not need to be constituted by the light projection receiver 73a and the reflection plate 73b as described above, and may be a CCD camera, a fixed sensor, or the like as long as it can measure the front end position of the bag W centered on the bag turntable 51.

Next, the operation of the apparatus for supplying the bulk-stored bags to another apparatus will be described.

As shown in fig. 5A and 5B, the passage 22 of the bag stocking mechanism 2 stores a large number of the bunches of bags in a standing state. That is, the bag bundle is arranged with the bag mouth and the bag bottom right-and-left reversed in the passage 22. Thereby, the preparation of the bag storage mechanism 2 is completed.

When the start button of the supply device 1 is pressed, the bag pressing belt motor 23b of the bag storing mechanism 2 shown in fig. 2 and the drive motor 32e of the bag retrieving mechanism 3 shown in fig. 3 are driven, and the linear actuator 71 of the bag conveying mechanism 7 shown in fig. 10 and the like is in a standby state. By driving the drive motor 32e, as shown in fig. 4, the four-link 32 is operated, and the suction cup 31 sucks and takes out the bag W at the tip of the bag storage mechanism 2 shown in fig. 1, and places the bag W on the bag turn table 51 shown in fig. 2, 4, and the like. As described above, since the bag bundle is stored in the bag storage mechanism 2 with the bag mouth and the bag bottom reversed from left to right, it is unclear whether the bag mouth is directed to the left or the right. Therefore, while the bag W is placed on the bag turn table 51 from the bag storage mechanism 2, the bag opening direction detecting device 4 shown in fig. 4 detects which direction the bag W is directed, and the control device outside the figure determines the direction. As shown in fig. 7, the bag W on the bag rotating table 51 is placed so that the center thereof reaches the upper side of the rotary suction cup 52 a.

As shown in fig. 6, when the sensor outside the figure confirms that the bag W is placed on the table main body 51a of the bag rotating table 51, the elevation actuator 52e of the rotating device 52 shown in fig. 7 is driven, and the rotating suction cup 52a is thereby raised to suck the bottom center of the bag W. The turning actuator 52d operates to turn the bag W sucked by the turning suction pad 52a in a predetermined direction by determining which direction the bag W is turned in the left or right direction based on the bag mouth direction detected by the bag mouth direction detecting device 4, that is, the direction of the bag mouth, so that the bag W faces the downstream side.

When the air cylinder 53k of the bag centering mechanism 53 shown in fig. 8 and 9 is driven to rotate the rotary shaft 53i after the bag W is rotated in a predetermined direction, the alignment plate 53E is vertically raised as shown in fig. 8, and the protrusions 53E of the pair of alignment plates 53E press the bag W from the left and right to center the bag W on the bag turntable 51. The bag centering mechanism 53 can correct the variation in the width direction of the bag W, but cannot correct the variation in the longitudinal direction, and therefore, the bag conveying mechanism 7 corrects the variation in the longitudinal direction as described below.

As shown in fig. 6, when the bag W is rotated by the rotating suction cup 52a, both side portions of the front end of the bag W are protruded from the support member 51b of the bag rotating table 51 and float. As shown by an arrow (1) in fig. 12A, the linear actuator 71 which is originally in a standby state is driven to slide the gripping device 72 shown in fig. 10 and 11 rearward, i.e., upstream, as shown in fig. 12A and 12B. As shown in fig. 12A, the linear actuator 71 is provided with a front end side limit sensor 71b and a rear end side limit sensor 71c, and an origin sensor 71d is provided at a position inside the rear end side limit sensor 71 c.

The clamp device 72 shown in fig. 10 and 11 is moved backward, i.e., upstream, so that the clamp 72I clamps both sides of the front end of the bag W floating from the support member 51b in a state where the clamp 72I is opened. At this time, the position of the leading edge of the bag W can be accurately measured at the time when the laser light projected from the light projection receiver 73a of the measuring device 73 at the bag leading edge is blocked by the leading edge of the bag mouth of the bag W after centering.

After both sides of the front end of the bag W are clamped by the clamp 72I, the bag W clamped by the clamp apparatus 72 is moved downstream by the linear actuator 71 as shown by an arrow (2) in fig. 12A. Since the accurate position of the leading edge of the bag W can be measured as described above, by calculating the deviation in the longitudinal direction of the bag W from the original movement distance of the gripper 72 of the bag conveying mechanism 7 shown in fig. 10 and correcting the movement distance of the gripper 72 by the linear actuator 71, the gripper 72 of the bag conveying mechanism 7 can be accurately moved to the position where the bag W is delivered to the gripper 8a of the bag delivery mechanism 8 shown in fig. 1 and 2, and the bag W can be accurately delivered to the gripper 8 a. As a result, the bag W can also be accurately delivered to the clamp of the packaging machine 6.

As shown by the broken line in fig. 12A and fig. 12B, the leading end portion of the bag W held and conveyed to the downstream side by the pair of grippers 72I of the gripper 72 is kept in a floating state. Since the leading end of the bag W is in a floating state, the gripper 8a of the bag delivery mechanism 8 shown in fig. 1 and 2 can rotate to the upstream side to directly grip the leading end of the bag W. Therefore, the gripper 8a can rotate towards the downstream side to deliver the bag W to the gripper of the packaging machine 6.

In the present invention, since the bag W is transported while both sides of the front end thereof are held by the holding members 72I of the holding device 72, unlike JP2014-131926a, the bag W is not displaced during the transportation and can be accurately transferred. Further, in the present invention, it is not necessary to provide a bag mouth lifting mechanism for lifting the bag mouth at the downstream portion of the bag conveying mechanism as in JP2014-131926a, and therefore, the apparatus can be simplified and the number of adjustment parts can be reduced. Further, as in JP2014-131926a, since the position of the bag does not vary when the bag is turned up by the bag opening lifting mechanism, the bag W can be accurately delivered at the time of delivery. Further, since the bag W is not conveyed to the downstream side by the string and is stopped by the stopper as in JP2014-131926a, there is no springback of the bag W at the time of stopping, and the bag W can be delivered accurately.

When the type of the bag W is changed, the distance between the pair of side plates 22a is adjusted by rotating the handle 22d of the bag storage mechanism 2 shown in fig. 1 and 2. The position of the swing suction cup 52a can be adjusted by rotating the handle 52l of the handle shaft 52k of the swing device 52 shown in fig. 6. Also, the handle 53g of the bag centering mechanism 53 shown in fig. 8 is rotated, so that the position of the centering device 53A is adjusted.

Industrial applicability of the invention

The present invention is useful in the field of packaging using bags having different thicknesses, such as a stand-up bag and a zipper bag.

Claims (10)

1. An apparatus for supplying a bulk storage bag to another apparatus, comprising:

a bag storage mechanism that stores a large number of standing bags as a bag group and guides the stored bag group to the downstream side;

a bag take-out mechanism that takes out the bag from the bag storage mechanism;

a bag mouth direction detecting device which detects the direction of the bag mouth of the bag taken out by the bag taking-out mechanism;

a bag turning mechanism that turns the bag in a predetermined direction on a bag turning table based on the direction of the bag opening detected by the bag opening direction detecting device, so that the bag opening faces in the predetermined direction; and

a bag carrying mechanism for carrying the bag rotated in the predetermined direction by the bag rotating mechanism to a delivery position,

the bag carrying mechanism is provided with a linear actuator,

the linear actuator is provided with a gripping device that is reciprocally movable between the bag turning mechanism and the delivery position of the bag,

the holding device is provided with a holding member for holding both sides of the front end of the bag.

2. Device for supplying bulk storage bags to other devices according to claim 1,

the holding means is provided with a bag front end measuring device for measuring the position of the front end edge of the bag after the holding means is rotated in a predetermined direction on the bag rotating table while the holding means is moving toward the bag rotating mechanism.

3. Device for supplying bulk storage bags to other devices according to claim 2,

the measuring device at the front end of the bag is provided with a laser sensor or a photoelectric sensor, the laser sensor or the photoelectric sensor is provided with one element and another element, the one element and the another element are both arranged on the clamping device, the one element is arranged above the bag, and the other element is arranged below the bag.

4. Device for supplying bulk storage bags to other devices according to claim 1,

the bag rotary table carries the bag taken out from the bag storage mechanism,

the bag turning mechanism is provided with: a rotating device which rotates the bag placed on the bag rotating table in a predetermined direction; and a bag centering mechanism that centers the bag rotated by the rotating device.

5. Device for supplying bulk storage bags to other devices according to claim 1 or claim 4,

the bag rotating table comprises: a table main body erected in the width direction of the machine frame; and a support member for supporting the bag at the center of the downstream side of the table main body so as to be narrower than the width of the bag,

the table main body is formed with a widthwise slit for preventing interference of the table main body with the projection of the alignment plate of the bag centering mechanism.

6. Device for supplying bulk storage bags to other devices according to claim 5,

the bag centering mechanism is provided with a rotating shaft on a pair of alignment plates with a plurality of projections, the rotating shafts of the two rotating shafts rotate in opposite directions, and the projections of the alignment plates project upwards from the slits of the table main body, so that the bag on the bag rotary table is centered.

7. Device for supplying bulk storage bags to other devices according to claim 1,

the bag storage mechanism is provided with:

a passageway storing a plurality of bags;

vibration plates provided on both side portions of the passage, for applying vibration to the bags to align the bags; and

and an alignment rod which is a vertical structure, limits the movement of both ends of the bag, and pushes the central part of the bag to bend the bag forwards.

8. Device for supplying bulk storage bags to other devices according to claim 1,

the bag taking-out mechanism is composed of a four-section connecting rod with a driving connecting rod, a subordinate connecting rod and a middle connecting rod for connecting the driving connecting rod and the subordinate connecting rod,

a driving shaft is arranged at the lower part of the four-section connecting rod, one end of the driving connecting rod is assembled on the driving shaft,

a driven shaft is arranged at the upper part of the four-section connecting rod, one end of the driven connecting rod is assembled on the driven shaft,

the joint part of the driving connecting rod and the intermediate connecting rod is provided with an assembling shaft,

a suction cup for taking out the bag is provided on the mounting shaft.

9. A method of controlling a device for supplying a bulk storage of bags to another device, the device for supplying a bulk storage of bags to another device comprising:

a bag storage mechanism that stores a large number of standing bags as a bag group and guides the stored bag group to the downstream side;

a bag take-out mechanism that takes out the bag from the bag storage mechanism;

a bag mouth direction detecting device which detects the direction of the bag mouth of the bag taken out by the bag taking-out mechanism;

a bag turning mechanism for turning the bag in a predetermined direction on a bag turning table based on the direction of the bag opening detected by the bag opening direction detecting device to orient the bag opening in a predetermined direction; and

a bag carrying mechanism for carrying the bag rotated in the predetermined direction by the bag rotating mechanism to the delivery position, wherein the control method is characterized in that,

the position of the front edge of the bag after the bag is rotated in a predetermined direction on a bag rotating table is measured,

calculating a deviation in the longitudinal direction of the bag from an original moving distance of the bag conveying mechanism based on the measurement result of the position of the front edge of the bag to calculate an actually required moving distance of the bag conveying mechanism,

based on the calculation result of the movement distance, the original movement distance of the bag conveying mechanism is corrected.

10. Method for controlling a device for supplying bulk storage bags to other devices according to claim 9,

measuring the position of the front end edge of the bag by using a measuring device at the front end of the bag, the measuring device having a laser sensor provided in the bag conveying mechanism and including a light projection receiver and a reflection plate disposed above and below the bag,

in the measurement, the position of the leading edge of the bag is measured at a timing when the laser light projected from the light projection receiver is blocked by the leading edge of the bag while the bag conveying mechanism moves toward the bag turning mechanism.

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