JP2019172438A - Sorting system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a sorting system securing high sorting performance and conveying efficiency.SOLUTION: The sorting system includes: truck-side communication parts 82, 84 which are provided while corresponding to at least two conveyors 36, 37 for cross sorter, on the side of a conveying truck 12 and along a traveling direction; ground-side communication parts 86, 87 which are provided to a conveying route in the same number as the truck-side communication parts arranged on one conveying truck and are capable of simultaneously facing each of the truck-side communication parts; a ground-side management device 95 which is connected to the ground-side communication part to manage information transmitted/received from/by the ground-side communication part; a truck-side management device 93 which is provided at least at one of the plurality of conveying trucks to manage operation states of the plurality of conveying trucks on the basis of the information transmitted/received from/by the truck-side communication part; and an optical transmission device 88 which is provided to the conveying route to transmit light toward the truck-side communication part provided to the traveling conveying truck. Corresponding to the speed of the conveying truck measured from a reception interval of the light transmitted from the optical transmission device, driving of the conveyor for cross sorter is controlled.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention conveys a conveyed product by receiving a conveyed product transferred by an input conveyor while traveling a plurality of conveying carts included in a sorting conveyor along a conveying route, and a payout chute disposed at a target position. The present invention relates to a sorting system for sending a conveyed product to a dispensing conveyor.

  A sorting conveyor in which a transported article (hereinafter referred to as a transported article) is placed, and a plurality of transport carts having a conveyor for transporting the transported article placed at a predetermined position in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the transport carriage is connected. 2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a sorting system is known in which driving is performed using an appropriate driving device and each transport carriage is driven at a constant speed along a loop-shaped transport route at the time of driving.

  In such a sorting system, as a method of delivering a conveyed product from a supply conveyor (corresponding to an input conveyor) to an empty conveyance cart, the amount of deviation from the center in the width direction of the load and the width of the supply conveyor to the center of gravity of the load is set. Based on this, it has been proposed to control the driving of the carrier belt of the transport carriage so as to place the load at a predetermined position of the transport carriage (see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, as a method for sending the conveyed product from the transport cart to the sorting chute in the sorting system, for example, a tray for placing the transported product is provided on the transport cart traveling on the transport route, and the ground station provided on the ground side is passed through the onboard station. It has been proposed that the tray is tilted based on the control information transmitted to the transport carriage and the transported material is paid out to the target sorting chute (see Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent No. 3051879 JP 2010-265077 A

  For example, in Patent Document 1, the sorting conveyor is operation-controlled by a control device installed on the ground side. Only the controller, which is the drive motor for the carrier cart carrier belt, is on the traveling side, and all the sensors used for control and the control device that performs the signal calculation output from the sensor to the controller are on the ground side. In addition, in order to simply receive the calculated output signal, a signal delivery device for forward / reverse rotation and timing of the operation device is required for each transfer carriage at the input section and the payout section. Therefore, the control related to the sorting conveyor is concentrated on the control device installed on the ground side, and the load related to the control is large. Further, in Patent Document 2, a tray tilting device mounted on a transport carriage is operated using a rotary solenoid. For example, when a rotary solenoid drive power is supplied from a ground station or a control signal for tray tilting is received. Operate. Therefore, in Patent Document 2, in addition to the control device on the ground side, a control device is provided on the transport carriage side. However, since the control signal for tilting the tray is an immediate operation signal, Patent Document 2 In this sort conveyor, an advanced controller for executing storage and calculation is not mounted on the transport carriage side.

  By the way, the sorting system described above often causes the sorting conveyor to travel at a constant speed based on an assumed sorting amount of the conveyed product. Therefore, when the actual sorting amount of the parcel is smaller than the assumed sorting amount, a lot of transport carts travel in an empty state where no parcel is placed. On the other hand, if the actual sorting amount of the luggage to be sorted is more than the expected sorting quantity, it will run with the luggage placed on each transport cart, but it was paid out to the sorting chute A large number of packages are stored in a sorting chute without catching up with processing such as moving packages. In this case, the load placed on the transport cart cannot be paid out to the sorting chute, and the transport cart travels with the load placed. Therefore, when the traveling speed of each transport carriage in the sorting conveyor is set to a constant speed, more power than necessary is wasted.

  As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to adjust the traveling speed of the transport cart based on the actual sorting amount of the luggage to be sorted, but if the travel speed of the transport cart can be adjusted, each transport cart in loading and unloading can be adjusted. It is necessary to adjust the driving speed of the carrier belt, the start timing associated with the change in the driving speed of the carrier belt, and further the traveling speed of the supply conveyor, etc., and the control burden on the control device installed on the ground side, especially the bogie traveling The number of sensors for dealing with the speed change and the calculation processing thereof further increase.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sorting conveyor that can secure a transport capability according to a transport state of a transported object without wasting unnecessary power.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the sorting system of the present invention uses a sorting conveyor in which a plurality of conveying carts in which at least two cross sorter conveyors having a conveying direction in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction are juxtaposed in the traveling direction are connected. In the sorting system for transporting a transported object along a transport route, a cart-side communication unit provided corresponding to each of the at least two cross sorter conveyors laterally of the transport cart and along the traveling direction. And the same number of the trolley side communication units arranged in one of the trolley trucks, facing the trolley side communication units provided on the side of the transport trolley at the same time as each of the trolley side communication units. A ground-side communication unit capable of managing information transmitted and received by the ground-side communication unit connected to the ground-side communication unit; A cart-side management device that is provided in at least one of the transport carts, and that manages the operation status of the plurality of transport carts based on information transmitted and received by the cart-side communication units that each of the transport carts has. An optical transmitter that transmits the light toward the carriage-side communication unit that is provided in the conveyance route and is provided in the traveling carriage that travels, and the carriage-side management device is the traveling carriage that travels The speed of the transport carriage from the storage unit storing a plurality of control data of the at least two cross sorter conveyors corresponding to the speed of the light and the light reception interval transmitted from the light transmission device received by the carriage side communication unit A control unit that measures the speed of the transport carriage measured by the measurement unit, and reads the control data from the storage unit, and uses the read control data to A control unit for driving and controlling the Kutomo two Kurosusota conveyor, and having a.

  In addition, the ground side communication unit and the cart side communication unit have a plurality of transmission units and a plurality of reception units capable of transmitting and receiving 8-bit data, and the measurement unit is the plurality of the plurality of units included in the cart side communication unit. The speed of the transport carriage is measured based on the interval at which the light from the optical transmitter is received by any one of the receivers.

  In this case, the optical transmission device transmits the light as 2-bit data, and the cart side communication unit shows a driving method of the cross sorter conveyor when the transported object is inserted among the plurality of reception units. The light is preferably received by two receiving units that receive information as 2-bit data.

  Further, the control unit stops driving control of the at least two cross sorter conveyors when the speed of the transport carriage measured by the measurement unit changes.

  The control unit may start driving control of the at least two cross sorter conveyors when a predetermined time has elapsed after the speed of the transport carriage measured by the measurement unit has stabilized.

  In addition, it is preferable that the said trolley | bogie side management apparatus is arrange | positioned at one of the conveyance trolleys contained in each group which grouped the said some conveyance trolley which drive | works the said conveyance route | route for every predetermined number.

  According to the present invention, in a sorting system that transports a transported object along a transport route using a sorting conveyor in which a plurality of transport carts are connected in an endless manner, the travel speed varies along the transport route. Changing the servo motor operation pattern of the cross sorter conveyor drive according to the traveling speed of the transport carriage, that is, the drive speed of the cross sorter conveyor, by installing a cart side management device that manages the operation status of multiple transport carts mounted on the transport cart The start timing can be changed for the first time without complicating the ground side control.

  According to the present invention, with the above configuration, it is possible to ensure a high conveyance efficiency of a conveyed product as well as a high sorting ability of the conveyed product.

It is a top view of the sorting conveyor of the present invention. It is a top view which shows one Embodiment of a structure of a conveyance trolley. It is a side view of the conveyance trolley shown in FIG. It is a figure when the conveyance trolley shown in FIG. 2 is visually recognized from the front. It is a top view which shows an example of the positional relationship of the input conveyor installed in a conveyance route, and a 1st ground side communication unit and a 2nd ground side communication unit. It is a functional block diagram showing an example of a sorting system. (A) is a schematic diagram showing an example of communication between the first cart side communication unit and the first ground side communication unit, and (b) is an example of communication between the first cart side communication unit and the second ground side communication unit. It is a schematic diagram shown. (A) is a schematic diagram which shows an example of communication with a 2nd trolley side communication unit and a 1st ground side communication unit, (b) is an example of communication with a 2nd trolley side communication unit and a 2nd ground side communication unit. It is a schematic diagram shown. (A) is a schematic diagram showing an example of communication between the first cart side communication unit and the second ground side communication unit, and a communication between the second cart side communication unit and the first ground side communication unit, and (b) is a second diagram. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of communication with a trolley | bogie side communication unit and a 2nd ground side communication unit. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the trolley | bogie side PLC when the speed of the conveyance trolley | bogie to drive is changed. (A) is a schematic diagram which shows an example of communication with a 1st trolley | bogie side communication unit and an optical transmission unit, (b) is a schematic diagram which shows an example of communication with a 2nd trolley | bogie side communication unit and an optical transmission unit. It is a timing chart which put together the reception in the communication unit of each conveyance trolley, and the change of the speed of a conveyance trolley.

  Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a top view showing an example of the sorting conveyor 10. The sorting conveyor 10 according to the present embodiment travels along a loop-shaped transport route by connecting a plurality of transport carts 12 connected in a loop shape (endless shape) by connecting beam-shaped links forming frames of adjacent transport carts 12. It is something to be made. A pair of travel rails are installed on the loop-shaped transport route, and when the sorting conveyor 10 is driven, the plurality of connected transport carts 12 travel while their travel directions are restricted by the pair of travel rails. In the sorting conveyor 10 according to the present embodiment, the speed of each transport cart that travels along the travel route is any of a plurality of preset speeds (for example, 80, 120, 180, 200, 240 m / min, etc.). In addition, the speed of the traveling carriage 12 can be switched to another set speed for traveling.

  The sorting conveyor 10 is driven by driving devices 15a and 15b installed at predetermined positions on the transport route and between a pair of travel rails. Examples of the driving devices 15a and 15b include a friction drive type driving device. Although not shown in detail, the friction drive type driving device conveys a pair of friction belts pressed against both side surfaces of the beam-shaped link 21 (see FIG. 2) of the conveyance carriage 12 and the forward side of the pair of friction belts. This is a drive device having a number of friction rollers that are pressed in a direction to be pressed against the side surface of the beam-shaped link forming the frame of the carriage 12 and a pair of motors with reduction gears provided for each of the pair of friction belts.

  The sorting conveyor 10 causes a plurality of transport carts 12 to travel clockwise in FIG. 1 (A direction in FIG. 1) when driven. In the process in which each transport cart 12 moves in the direction A in FIG. 1, the transported material transported by one of the input conveyors 16a and 16b installed at the input position of the transport route is delivered to the transport cart 12 and transported. A transported article is placed on a cross sorter conveyor unit of the carriage 12. The transport carriage 12 moves in the direction A in FIG. 1 even after the transported article is placed on the cross sorter conveyor unit of the transport carriage 12. When the transport carriage 12 moves to a predetermined payout position, the cross sorter conveyor unit is driven to transfer the transported goods from the transport carriage 12 to any of the payout conveyors 17a, 17b, 17c (or payout chutes 17a, 17b, 17c). Pay out crab. Although FIG. 1 shows the case where three payout conveyors 17a, 17b, and 17c are arranged at the payout position, the number of payout conveyors is set as appropriate.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the transport carriage 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. Hereinafter, of the pair of traveling rails provided on the conveyance route, the traveling rail disposed on the left side in FIG. 2 is denoted by reference numeral 18, and the traveling rail disposed on the right side in FIG. 2 is denoted by reference numeral 19.

  The transport carriage 12 is juxtaposed with a beam-shaped link 21 whose longitudinal direction is the traveling direction (x direction in FIG. 2) of the transport carriage 12 and at a predetermined interval perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the beam-shaped link 21 3. The supporting cross members 22, 23, and 24 of the book are included as a chassis portion forming a skeleton.

  The beam-shaped link 21 is a member made of a hollow metal material having a substantially square cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The beam-shaped link 21 is positioned as a frame of a chain of a large conveyance loop while forming a skeleton in the traveling direction of the conveyance carriage 12 on the conveyance route of the conveyance carriage 12. The beam-shaped link 21 is a member that receives, on the side surface, the forward side portions of the pair of friction belts included in the above-described friction drive type driving devices 15a and 15b.

  The three support cross members 22, 23, and 24 are members made of a hollow metal material whose cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction has a substantially rectangular shape with the vertical direction as a long side. Of the three support cross members 22, 23, 24, the support cross member 22 holds the side frame 30, the support cross member 23 holds the central frame 31, and the support cross member 24 holds the side frame 32 on the upper surface. To do. Support members 34 and 35 are arranged between the side frame 30 and the center frame 31 with a predetermined interval. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, a supporting member is similarly arrange | positioned at predetermined intervals between the center frame 31 and the side part frame 32. FIG.

  The conveyance carriage 12 has two belt conveyor units juxtaposed in the extending direction of the beam-shaped link 21 (traveling direction of the conveyance carriage 12) as a cross sorter conveyor unit.

 Hereinafter, the belt conveyor unit provided on the front end side in the traveling direction of the transport carriage 12 is referred to as a first belt conveyor unit 36, and the belt conveyor unit provided on the rear end side in the traveling direction of the transport carriage 12 is referred to as the second belt conveyor unit 37. Called. The 1st belt conveyor unit 36 is arrange | positioned by making the side frame 30 and the center frame 31 into its own frame in the space | gap part formed between the side frame 30 and the center frame 31. As shown in FIG. In addition, the second belt conveyor unit 37 is arranged with the central frame 31 and the side frame 32 as its own frame in a gap formed between the central frame 31 and the side frame 32. Hereinafter, since the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 have the same configuration, only the first belt conveyor unit 36 will be described, and the configuration of the second belt conveyor unit 37 will be omitted. .

  The first belt conveyor unit 36 includes a drive pulley 41, a driven pulley 42, a plurality of rollers 43, an endless belt 44, a transmission mechanism 45, and a servo motor 46 in addition to the side frame 30 and the center frame 31. Here, the driving pulley 41, the driven pulley 42, and the plurality of rollers 43 are arranged so that the vertices of the pulleys and the roller portions are located on the same horizontal plane. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which a plurality of rollers 43 are provided between the drive pulley 41 and the driven pulley 42 as members that support the upper portion of the endless belt 44 (portion on which the conveyed product is placed) from below. However, instead of providing the plurality of rollers 43, a support plate may be provided between the driving pulley 41 and the driven pulley 42.

  The drive pulley 41 is disposed at the right end in the y direction in FIG. 2 in the gap between the side frame 30 and the center frame 31. One end portion 41 a of the rotation shaft of the drive pulley 41 protrudes from the side frame 30. A toothed pulley 48 that constitutes the transmission mechanism 45 is fixed to one end portion 41 a of the rotating shaft that protrudes from the side frame 30. The drive pulley 41 has V grooves 41b and 41c at both ends of a roller portion around which the endless belt 44 is wound.

  The driven pulley 42 is disposed at the left end in the y direction in FIG. 2 in the gap between the side frame 30 and the center frame 31. Similar to the drive pulley 41, the driven pulley 42 has V grooves 42a and 42b at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the roller portion around which the endless belt 44 is wound.

  The plurality of rollers 43 are disposed between the drive pulley 41 and the driven pulley 42. Further, the plurality of rollers 43 have V grooves 43a and 43b at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the roller portion where the inner surface of the endless belt 44 is slidably contacted.

  The endless belt 44 is provided with protrusions (not shown) at both ends in the width direction of the endless belt 44 and over the entire circumference of the inner surface of the endless belt 44. When these endless belts 44 are wound around the drive pulley 41 and the driven pulley 42, these protrusions enter the V-grooves provided in each pulley or each roller. Thereby, the meandering of the endless belt 44 when the endless belt 44 travels is prevented.

  The transmission mechanism 45 includes two toothed pulleys 48 and 49 and a drive timing belt 50. Of the two toothed pulleys 48, 49, the toothed pulley 48 is fixed to one end 41 a of the rotating shaft of the drive pulley 41 protruding from the side frame 30, and the toothed pulley 49 is a rotating shaft 46 a of the servo motor 46. Fixed to. The drive timing belt 50 is wound around two toothed pulleys 48 and 49. Therefore, the toothed pulley 49 fixed to the rotating shaft 46a of the servo motor 46 is the main driving pulley, and the toothed pulley 48 fixed to the one end 41a of the rotating shaft of the driving pulley 41 protruding from the side frame 30 is the driven pulley. Become.

  The servo motor 46 is fixed to the side frame 30 via the bracket 51. The servo motor 46 is electrically connected to the servo amplifier 52 held between the central frame 31 and the side frame 32 and on the upper surface of the beam-shaped link 21, for example.

  The transport carriage 12 described above has guide wheel units 55 and 56 at both ends of the support cross member 24 in the width direction of the transport carriage 12. Of the pair of travel rails provided on the conveyance route, the guide wheel unit 55 is a travel wheel 61 that rotates while sliding in the vicinity of the apex at the straight part of the travel rail 18 or the vicinity of the apex at the curve part. A guide wheel 62 that rotates while being slidably contacted in the vicinity of the bottom point, and a guide wheel 63 that is rotated while being slidably contacted from the side of the traveling rail 18 are provided at the bottom point or the curve portion. The traveling wheel 61 is fixed to the rotating shaft 65 a of the generator 65 fixed to the bracket 64. The travel wheel 61 supports the weight of the transport carriage 12 and transmits most of the weight of the transport carriage 12 to the travel rail 18 while sliding on or near the top of the travel rail 18. In addition, the guide wheel 62 is spaced a little wider than the outer diameter of the traveling rail 18 from the traveling wheel 61, and the rotating shaft is the rotating shaft of the traveling wheel 61 (specifically, the rotation of the generator 65). It is pivotally supported on the bracket 64 so as to be parallel to the shaft 65a). The guide wheel 63 is pivotally supported by the bracket 64 so that the rotation axis thereof is orthogonal to the rotation axes of the traveling wheel 61 and the guide wheel 62. The bracket 64 described above is pivotally supported by a bracket 66 provided on the support cross member 24. Reference numeral 67 in FIG. 2 is a rotation shaft of the guide wheel unit 55.

  The generator 65 generates electricity in response to the traveling wheel 61 rotating while sliding in contact with or near the top of the traveling rail 18. Electric power obtained by the power generation by the generator 65 is supplied to the servo motors 46 of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 via the servo amplifier 52.

  In the guide wheel unit 55 of the present embodiment, the guide wheel that rotates while being slidably contacted from the side of the traveling rail 18 is used as one guide wheel. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two guide wheels are used. It is also possible.

  In the guide wheel unit 55 of the present embodiment, the traveling wheel 61 is fixed to the rotating shaft 65 a of the generator 65, and electric power is generated in the generator 65 by the rotation of the traveling wheel 61. However, instead of the generator 65, a non-contact power supply mechanism may be used. Although not shown in the drawings, the non-contact power supply mechanism includes, for example, a loop coil provided obliquely above and outward of the traveling rail 18 and a pickup coil provided in the guide wheel unit of the transport carriage, through which the loop coil is inserted. And a coil portion formed. In this non-contact power supply mechanism, the loop coil functions as a primary coil, and the pickup coil included in the coil section functions as a secondary coil. Therefore, when a high frequency current is passed through the loop coil, an electromagnetic induction action occurs between the loop coil and the pickup coil included in the coil portion, and the high frequency current flowing through the loop coil is applied to the pickup coil included in the coil portion. Communicated. The high-frequency current transmitted to the pickup coil included in the coil unit is supplied to the servo amplifier via an A / D converter, a converter, etc. (not shown).

The guide wheel unit 56 is a sliding wheel that rotates while sliding at the top of the traveling rail 19 or in the vicinity of the top of the pair of traveling rails provided on the conveyance route. The guide wheel 72 that rotates while being guided, and the guide wheel 73 that rotates while sliding from the side of the traveling rail 19 are provided. The traveling wheel 71 is pivotally supported by the bracket 75. The traveling wheel 71 supports the weight of the transport carriage 12 and transmits most of the weight of the carriage to the traveling rail 19 while being in sliding contact with or near the top of the traveling rail 19. In addition, the guide wheel 72 is spaced from the traveling wheel 71 by a distance slightly wider than the outer diameter of the traveling rail 19, and the rotation axis is parallel to the rotation axis of the traveling wheel 71. Is pivotally supported. The guide wheel 73 is pivotally supported on the bracket 74 so that the rotation axis thereof is orthogonal to the rotation axis of the traveling wheel 71 and the rotation axis of the guide wheel 72. The bracket 74 described above is pivotally supported by a bracket 75 provided on the side frame 32. Reference numeral 76 in FIG. 2 is a rotation shaft of the guide wheel unit 56.

  In the guide wheel unit 56 of the present embodiment, the guide wheel that rotates while being slidably contacted from the side of the traveling rail 19 is used as one guide wheel. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two guide wheels are used. It is also possible.

  The guide wheel unit 55 travels when the traveling wheel 61 is slidably contacted at or near the top of the traveling rail 18 and the guide wheel 62 is slidably contacted at or near the bottom of the traveling rail 18. The position of the transport carriage 12 with respect to the rail 18 in the vertical direction is restricted. Further, the guide wheel 63 is slidably contacted from the side of the travel rail 18 to restrict the transport carriage 12 from moving toward the travel rail 19. The guide wheel unit 56 travels when the traveling wheel 71 is slidably contacted at or near the top of the traveling rail 19 and the guide wheel 72 is slidably contacted at or near the bottom of the traveling rail 19. The position of the transport carriage 12 with respect to the rail 19 in the vertical direction is restricted. Further, the guide wheel 73 is brought into sliding contact from the side of the traveling rail 19, thereby restricting the transport carriage 12 from moving toward the traveling rail 18. Therefore, in the process in which the transport carriage 12 travels, the transport carriage 12 moves in the extending direction of the pair of travel rails 18 and 19 installed along the transport route by the guide wheel units 55 and 56. In addition, when the transport carriage 12 travels, the transport carriage 12 is prevented from falling off the pair of travel rails 18 and 19.

  As for many conveyance trolleys 12 constituting the sorting conveyor 10 of the present embodiment, two adjacent conveyance trolleys 12 are connected via a connection mechanism 80. Although not described in detail, the coupling mechanism 80 has a mechanism that rotates in three axial directions, ie, the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis directions. Therefore, when two adjacent transport carts 12 are connected using the connection mechanism 80, one of the two transport carts 12 has the x axis, the y axis, and the other transport cart 12 with respect to the other transport cart 12. It becomes possible to rotate around at least one of the z-axis. Further, when two adjacent transport carts 12 are connected using the connecting mechanism 80, the rotation center E around the z axis is the guide wheel of the leading transport cart 12 of the two transport carts 12. It is located on a straight line G connecting the center 67a of the rotation shaft 67 of the unit 55 and the center 76a of the rotation shaft 76 of the guide wheel unit 56. Accordingly, when the guide wheel units 55 and 56 of the leading transport carriage 12 of the two transport carriages 12 move from the straight line of the transport route to the curve, or when the guide wheel units 55 and 56 of the transport route move from the curve of the transport route to the straight line. It is possible to prevent the connection portion between the two transport carts 12 from dropping.

  A first cart side communication unit 82 is provided on the side frame 30 of the transport cart 12 via a bracket 81. Further, a second cart side communication unit 84 is provided on the central frame 31 of the transport cart 12 via a bracket 83. The first cart side communication unit 82 is provided corresponding to the first belt conveyor unit 36, and the second cart side communication unit 84 is provided corresponding to the second belt conveyor unit 37. The first cart side communication unit 82 and the second cart side communication unit 84 may be attached from the beam-shaped link 21 via the bracket 81 or the bracket 83 instead of the side frame 30 and the center frame 31. The first cart side communication unit 82 and the second cart side communication unit 84 are between the first ground side communication unit 86 and the second ground side communication unit 87 (see FIG. 5) provided on the side of the transport route. Send and receive information.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the first ground side communication unit 86 is, for example, from the transport carriage 12 at the position where the transported object is placed by the input conveyor 16 a among the input conveyors 16 a and 16 b provided on the left and right of the transport route. It is installed at a position facing the second cart side communication unit 84 provided on the transport cart 12 located on the rear side (upstream side in the transport direction) of the three vehicles. In addition, the second ground side communication unit 87 includes, for example, three rear sides (from the transport carriage 12 at the position where the transported object is loaded by the input conveyor 16a among the input conveyors 16a and 16b provided on the left and right of the transfer route ( It is installed at a position facing the first cart side communication unit 82 provided on the transport cart 12 located on the upstream side in the transport direction. That is, the first ground side communication unit 86 and the second ground side communication unit 87 transmit and receive information between the first ground side communication unit 86 and the second cart side communication unit 84, and the second ground side communication unit. It is provided in a conveyance route so that transmission / reception of information between 87 and the 1st cart side communication unit 82 can be performed simultaneously.

  In addition, an optical transmission unit 88 is provided on the transport route. The optical transmission unit 88 is provided in order to measure the speed of the traveling carriage 12 by the carriage-side PLC 93 described later. As shown in FIG. 5, as an example, the optical transmission unit 88 includes two transport carriages 12 located on the rear side (upstream side in the transport direction) from the transport carriage 12 at the position where the transported object is loaded by the input conveyor 16 a. Is provided at a position facing the first bogie-side communication unit 82 provided at. In addition, the position where the optical transmission unit 88 is installed is not limited to the position shown in FIG. Further, the number of the optical transmission units 88 need not be limited to one. When the transport route is long, the number of the optical transmission units 88 is the same as the total length of the plurality of transport carts 12 that are in the same group in the transport route. It is also possible to arrange a plurality at intervals.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the first cart side communication unit 82 includes two transmission units (light projecting units) OUT1 and OUT2, and six reception units (light receiving units) IN3, IN4, IN5, IN6, IN7, It has IN8. The second cart side communication unit 84 includes two transmission units (light emitting units) OUT1 and OUT2, and six receiving units (light receiving units) IN3, IN4, IN5, IN6, IN7, and IN8. Yes.

  The first ground side communication unit 86 includes two receiving units (light receiving units) IN1 and IN2, and six transmitting units (light projecting units) OUT3, OUT4, OUT5, OUT6, OUT7, and OUT8. The second ground side communication unit 87 includes two receiving units (light receiving units) IN1 and IN2, and six transmitting units (light projecting units) OUT3, OUT4, OUT5, OUT6, OUT7, and OUT8. Yes. Each transmitter included in the first ground side communication unit 86 and the second ground side communication unit 87 includes a photodiode, and each receiver includes an optical sensor.

  The optical transmission unit 88 includes two transmission units (light projecting units) OUT1 and OUT2. Note that the transmission unit OUT1 and the transmission unit OUT2 include photodiodes.

  The sorting conveyor 10 includes a plurality of transport carts 12 provided on the transport route as one group for each predetermined number, and a first belt conveyor unit 36 provided in each of the predetermined number of transport carts 12 included in one group, and The second belt conveyor unit 37 is driven and controlled by a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) provided in one of the predetermined number of transport carts 12 included in one group. Hereinafter, the conveyance carriage provided with the PLC will be referred to as a management conveyance carriage, and will be described with reference numeral 12A. Further, the PLC provided in the management transport cart 12A is referred to as a cart side PLC, and the PLC provided on the ground is referred to as a ground side PLC. In addition, although the case where PLC is provided in the ground side is demonstrated, you may build a circuit with a relay as a control panel even if it is not especially PLC.

  The management carriage 12A includes a first belt conveyor unit 36, a second belt conveyor unit 37, a servo amplifier 52, a first carriage side communication unit 82, a second carriage side communication unit 84, and a carriage side PLC 93. Of the predetermined number of transport carts 12 in the same group, the transport cart 12 excluding the management transport cart 12A includes the first belt conveyor unit 36, the second belt conveyor unit 37, the servo amplifier 52, and the first cart. Side communication unit 82 and second cart side communication unit 84.

  The cart side PLC 93 is a first cart provided in each of the other carts 12 in the same group in addition to the first cart side communication unit 82 and the second cart side communication unit 84 provided in the management transport cart 12A. The side communication unit 82 and the second cart side communication unit 84 are connected. Further, the cart side PLC 93 is connected to a servo amplifier 52 provided in the management transport cart 12A. The servo amplifier 52 provided in the management transport carriage 12A and the servo amplifier 52 provided in each of the other transport carriages 12 are separately connected. Therefore, in each transport carriage 12 in the same group, the forward / reverse rotational power supply of the servo motor 46 is executed via the corresponding servo amplifier 52.

  The carriage side PLC 93 is configured to manage the presence / absence of loading in the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 included in each of the conveyance carriages 12 included in the same group, manage the normality / abnormality of the servo amplifier 52, Management of forward / reverse rotation of a servo motor 46 that is driven when a conveyed product is placed on each of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 that the conveyance carriage 12 has, and the first belt that each conveyance carriage 12 has. The delivery position of the conveyed product placed on the conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 is managed. In addition to this, the carriage-side PLC 93 measures the speed of the conveyance carriage 12 while receiving the light from the optical transmission unit 88, and based on the measured speed, the carriage carriage 12 included in the same group. Drive control of the 1st belt conveyor unit 36 and the 2nd belt conveyor unit 37 which each has.

  The cart side PLC 93 has a storage unit 93a. The memory | storage part 93a memorize | stores the information mentioned above, and manages each information by memorize | storing the operator and calculation result at the time of the predetermined calculation in the ground side PLD95. Further, the storage unit 93a stores a plurality of control patterns of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 according to the speed of the transporting carriage 12 that travels.

  For example, a conveyed product is thrown into the traveling carriage at a predetermined speed from one of the loading conveyors 16a and 16b. The first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 are configured so that the conveyed product can be fed from either the input conveyor 16a or 16b from a predetermined time before delivery of the conveyed product from either the input conveyor 16a or 16b is started. It is driven for a predetermined drive time (referred to as a first drive time) until a predetermined time elapses after the delivery. In addition, when the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 deliver the placed conveyed product to any one of the target delivery conveyors, the first conveyor belt unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 transfer the conveyed product to any one of the intended delivery conveyors. The transported object is driven for a predetermined drive time (referred to as a second drive time) from a predetermined time before the delivery is started until a predetermined time elapses after the delivery to the target delivery conveyor.

  In the sorting conveyor 10 of the present embodiment, the speed of the transport carriage 12 is one of a plurality of preset speeds. When the speed of the transport carriage 12 is set to one of a plurality of speeds (including the case where the speed is changed), the first drive time and the second drive time described above are set to the speed of the traveling transport carriage. In addition, the conveyance speed of the conveyed product (or the rotation speed of the servo motor) when the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 are driven is also different. Therefore, the storage unit 93a previously stores a plurality of control patterns in which the transport speed of the transported object (or the rotation speed of the servo motor) is summarized for each speed in addition to the first drive time and the second drive time described above. ing. Accordingly, the carriage side PLC 93 reads a control pattern based on the measured speed of the transport carriage 12 from the storage unit 93a, and drives the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 based on the read control pattern. Let

  The ground-side PLC 95 reads specific information such as a bar code attached to each conveyance object (not shown), and from the identification information for each conveyance object, the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 of each conveyance carriage 12. In addition to managing the bit division information of the position information of the sorting destination of the transported material to be input to the vehicle and driving control of the driving devices 15a and 15b for driving the sorting conveyor 10, the input conveyor 16a for inputting the transported material to the transport cart 12; Operation management of the delivery conveyors 17a, 17b, and 17c that receive the transported material sent from 16b and the transport cart is performed.

  As described above, transmission / reception of information between the cart side PLC 93 and the ground side PLC 95 is performed by the first cart side communication unit 82, the second cart side communication unit 84 provided in each transport cart 12, and the first ground side communication. This is performed using optical communication for each transmission / reception unit between the unit 86 and the second ground side communication unit 87. Optical communication uses a lot of inverters, etc. to generate a large amount of miscellaneous radio waves, and because the PLC is installed on the cart side, the minimum on-machine exchange with the ground can be done with a light ON / OFF bit. This is because reliable transmission can be performed without using radio waves with many malfunctions. Hereinafter, the rotation of the servo motor 46 that is driven when loading the conveyed product from the loading conveyor 16a to the conveying cart 12 is rotated forward, and the rotation of the servo motor 46 that is driven when loading the conveyed material from the loading conveyor 16b to the conveying cart 12 is rotated. Is the reverse rotation.

  The transmission unit OUT1 of the first cart side communication unit 82, the transmission unit OUT1 of the second cart side communication unit 84, the reception unit IN1 of the first ground side communication unit 86, and the reception unit IN1 of the second ground side communication unit 87 correspond. It is used to transmit / receive information on the presence / absence of a load in the belt conveyor unit.

  The transmission unit OUT2 of the first cart side communication unit 82, the transmission unit OUT2 of the second cart side communication unit 84, the reception unit IN2 of the first ground side communication unit 86, and the reception unit IN2 of the second ground side communication unit 87 correspond. It is used for transmitting and receiving information on whether or not the servo amplifier 52 that drives the belt conveyor unit is normal.

  The receiving unit IN3 of the first cart side communication unit 82, the receiving unit IN3 of the second cart side communication unit 84, the transmitting unit OUT3 of the first ground side communication unit 86, and the transmitting unit OUT3 of the second ground side communication unit 87 are transported. It is used to transmit / receive information indicating that an object is input from the input conveyor 16a (or information indicating that the rotation of the servo motor 46 is positive when the object is input to the transfer carriage 12).

  The receiving unit IN4 of the first cart side communication unit 82, the receiving unit IN4 of the second cart side communication unit 84, the transmitting unit OUT4 of the first ground side communication unit 86 and the transmitting unit OUT4 of the second ground side communication unit 87 are transported. It is used to transmit / receive information indicating that an object is input from the input conveyor 16b (or information indicating that the rotation of the servo motor 46 is reverse when the object is input to the transfer carriage 12).

  The receiving units IN5, IN6, IN7, IN8 of the first cart side communication unit 82, the receiving units IN5, IN6, IN7, IN8 of the second cart side communication unit 84, the sending units OUT5, OUT6 of the first ground side communication unit 86. OUT7, OUT8 and the transmission units OUT5, OUT6, OUT7, OUT8 of the second ground side communication unit 87 are used for transmitting and receiving information on the position (sorting destination position) at which the loaded article is dispensed.

  The receiving units IN3 and IN4 of the first cart side communication unit 82, the receiving units IN3 and IN4 of the second cart side communication unit 84, and the sending units OUT1 and OUT2 of the optical transmission unit 88 described above are the speed of the traveling carriage 12 that travels. Is provided for measuring by the truck side PLC 93. Specifically, the receiving unit IN3 of the first cart side communication unit 82 and the receiving unit IN3 of the second cart side communication unit 84 receive the light from the transmitting unit OUT1 of the optical transmission unit 88 and receive the first cart side communication. The receiving unit IN4 of the unit 82 and the receiving unit IN4 of the second cart side communication unit 84 receive light from the transmitting unit OUT2 of the optical transmission unit 88. The timing at which the receiving unit IN3 of the first cart side communication unit 82 receives the light from the transmitting unit OUT1 of the optical transmission unit 88, and the receiving unit IN4 of the first cart side communication unit 82 from the transmitting unit OUT2 of the optical transmitting unit 88 The timing for receiving the light is the same timing. Similarly, the receiving unit IN3 of the second cart side communication unit 84 receives the light from the transmitting unit OUT1 of the optical transmission unit 88, and the receiving unit IN4 of the second cart side communication unit 84 is connected to the optical transmitting unit 88. The timing for receiving the light from the transmission unit OUT2 is the same timing. That is, both the receiving units IN3 and IN4 of the first cart side communication unit 82 and the receiving units IN3 and IN4 of the second cart side communication unit 84 receive the forward rotation and the reverse rotation simultaneously as the carrier belt drive on the transport cart side. It is possible to use it for another signal input by simultaneously transmitting the transmission units OUT1 and OUT2 from the optical transmission unit 88.

  FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the first cart side communication unit 82, the first ground side communication unit 86, and the second ground side communication unit 87 when the conveyed product is thrown into the first belt conveyor unit 36 of the transport cart 12. It is a schematic diagram which shows transmission of a signal.

  As shown in FIG. 7 (a), when the transport carriage 12 travels in the T direction in FIG. 7 (a) and the first carriage-side communication unit 82 and the first ground-side communication unit 86 face each other, the first carriage Information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT1 and the transmission unit OUT2 of the side communication unit 82 to the reception unit IN1 and the reception unit IN2 of the first ground side communication unit 86. Thereby, in the ground side PLC95, the state of the 1st belt conveyor unit 36 is grasped | ascertained. Further, the transmission unit OUT3 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to the reception unit IN3 of the first cart side communication unit 82, or the transmission unit OUT4 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to the reception unit of the first cart side communication unit 82. Information is transmitted to IN4. At the same time, information is transmitted from each of the transmission unit OUT5 to the transmission unit OUT8 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to each of the reception unit IN8 from the reception unit IN5 of the first cart side communication unit 82. Thereby, the rotation direction of the servomotor 46 which the 1st belt conveyor unit 36 has, and the lower 4 bits data of the sorting destination of the conveyed product to be thrown in are acquired.

  As shown in FIG. 7 (b), when the transport carriage 12 continues to travel in the T direction in FIG. 7 (b) and the first carriage side communication unit 82 and the second ground side communication unit 87 face each other, Information is transmitted from each of the transmission units OUT5 to OUT8 of the ground side communication unit 87 to each of the reception units IN8 from the reception unit IN5 of the first cart side communication unit 82. As a result, the upper 4 bit data of the sorting destination of the conveyed product to be input is acquired.

  Thereafter, the carriage side PLC 93 stores the obtained 8-bit data, which is a combination of the upper 4 bits data and the lower 4 bits data, in the storage unit 93a as sorting position information. As a result, only the first belt conveyor unit 36 travels in a predetermined direction, and the conveyed product transferred from the input conveyor 16a or the input conveyor 16b is placed on the first belt conveyor unit 36.

  The conveyed product placed on the first belt conveyor unit 36 is delivered to a predetermined sorting conveyor (not shown) based on the sorting position information stored in the cart side PLC 93.

  Summarizing this configuration, using a sorting conveyor in which a plurality of conveying carts in which at least two cross sorter conveyors having a conveying direction in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction are juxtaposed in the traveling direction are connected, a conveyed product is conveyed along the conveying route. In the sorting system for transporting, a cart-side communication unit provided on the side of the transport cart and corresponding to each of at least two cross sorter conveyors along the traveling direction, and located on the side of the transport route The same number of the cart side communication units and transmission / reception units are provided on the ground side in the vicinity of the input conveyor, and the ground side communication unit capable of facing simultaneously with each of the cart side communication units provided on the side of the transport cart; A ground side management device that is connected to the ground side communication unit and manages information transmitted and received by the ground side communication unit, and the cart side communication unit is Among the two cross sorter conveyors corresponding to a part of the transmission / reception unit of the ground side communication unit located on the upstream side among the ground side communication units provided in the conveyance route during the traveling of the conveyance carriage Information indicating the operation status of the side cross sorter conveyor is allocated and transmitted, and the downstream cross sorter conveyor of the two cross sorter conveyors corresponding to a part of the transmission / reception unit of the ground side communication unit located downstream is operated. Information indicating the situation is allocated and transmitted, and the ground side communication unit has a predetermined number of bits of position information indicating the sorting destination of the conveyed product to be input to the upstream cross sorter conveyor of the two corresponding cross sorter conveyors. The upstream division position information divided in increments from the ground side communication unit located on the upstream side to the ground side communication unit located on the downstream side in order To the trolley side communication unit located at each timing, and the ground side communication unit indicates a sorting destination of the transported material to be input to the downstream cross sorter conveyor of the two corresponding cross sorter conveyors Downstream side divided position information obtained by dividing the position information by a predetermined number of bits, the cart side communication unit located on the downstream side in order from the ground side communication unit located on the upstream side to the ground side communication unit located on the downstream side. This is a sorting system characterized by being transmitted at each meeting timing.

  FIG. 8 shows the relationship between the second cart side communication unit 84, the first ground side communication unit 86, and the second ground side communication unit 87 when the conveyed product is thrown into the second belt conveyor unit 37 of the transport cart 12. It is a schematic diagram which shows transmission of information.

  As shown in FIG. 8 (a), when the transport carriage 12 travels in the T direction in FIG. 8 (a) and the second carriage side communication unit 84 and the first ground side communication unit 86 face each other, the second carriage. Information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT1 and the transmission unit OUT2 of the communication unit 84 to the reception unit IN1 and the reception unit IN2 of the first ground communication unit 86. Thereby, in the ground side PLC95, the state of the 2nd belt conveyor unit 37 is grasped | ascertained. Further, the transmission unit OUT3 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to the reception unit IN3 of the second cart side communication unit 84, or the transmission unit OUT4 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to the reception unit of the second cart side communication unit 84. Information is transmitted to IN4. At the same time, information is transmitted from each of the transmission unit OUT5 to the transmission unit OUT8 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to each of the reception unit IN8 from the reception unit IN5 of the second cart side communication unit 84. Thereby, the rotation direction of the servomotor 46 which the 2nd belt conveyor unit 37 has, and the low-order 4 bit data of the sorting destination of the conveyed product to be thrown in are acquired.

  As shown in FIG. 8 (b), when the transport carriage 12 continues to travel in the T direction in FIG. 8 (b) and the second carriage side communication unit 84 and the second ground side communication unit 87 face each other, Information is transmitted from each of the transmission units OUT5 to OUT8 of the ground side communication unit 87 to each of the reception units IN8 from the reception unit IN5 of the second cart side communication unit 84. As a result, the upper 4 bit data of the sorting destination of the conveyed product to be input is acquired. Also in this case, the cart side PLC 93 stores the obtained 8-bit data, which is a combination of the upper 4 bit data and the lower 4 bit data, as the sorting position information in the storage unit 93a.

  Thereby, only the 2nd belt conveyor unit 37 drive | works the predetermined | prescribed direction, and the conveyed product transferred from the input conveyor 16a or the input conveyor 16b is mounted on the 2nd belt conveyor unit 37. .

  The conveyed product placed on the second belt conveyor unit 37 is paid out to a predetermined sorting conveyor (not shown) based on the sorting position information stored in the cart side PLC 93.

  FIG. 9 shows information on the first cart-side communication unit 82 and the ground-side communication unit when a conveyed product is thrown over each of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 of the cart 12. It is a schematic diagram which shows transmission.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, when the transport carriage 12 travels in the T direction in FIG. 9A, the first carriage-side communication unit 82 faces the second ground-side communication unit 87, and the second carriage The side communication unit 84 faces the first ground side communication unit 86. At this time, information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT1 and the transmission unit OUT2 of the first cart side communication unit 82 to the reception unit IN1 and the reception unit IN2 of the second ground side communication unit 87. Thereby, in the ground side PLC95, the state of the 1st belt conveyor unit 36 is grasped | ascertained.

  At the same time, information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT1 and the transmission unit OUT2 of the second cart side communication unit 84 to the reception unit IN1 and the reception unit IN2 of the first ground side communication unit 86. Thereby, in the ground side PLC95, the state of the 2nd belt conveyor unit 37 is grasped | ascertained.

  Further, the transmission unit OUT3 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to the reception unit IN3 of the second cart side communication unit 84, or the transmission unit OUT4 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to the reception unit of the second cart side communication unit 84. Information is transmitted to IN4. From the transmission unit OUT3 of the second ground side communication unit 87 to the reception unit IN3 of the first cart side communication unit 82, or from the transmission unit OUT4 of the second ground side communication unit 87 to the reception unit IN4 of the first cart side communication unit 82 Information is sent. As a result, the rotation direction of the servo motor 46 included in the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the rotation direction of the servo motor 46 included in the second belt conveyor unit 37 are acquired.

  At the same time, information is transmitted from each of the transmission unit OUT5 to the transmission unit OUT8 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to each of the reception unit IN8 from the reception unit IN5 of the second cart side communication unit 84. Thereby, the lower 4 bits data of the sorting destination of the transported object to be input is acquired.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, when the transport carriage travels in the T direction in FIG. 9B and the second carriage side communication unit 84 and the second ground side communication unit 87 face each other, the second ground side Information is transmitted from each of the transmission units OUT5 to OUT8 of the communication unit 87 to each of the reception units IN8 from the reception unit IN5 of the second carriage side communication unit 84. As a result, the upper 4 bit data of the sorting destination of the conveyed product to be input is acquired.

  As a result, the carriage side PLC 93 is driven by the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 at the same time, and the transported material transferred from the input conveyor 16a or the input conveyor 16b is transferred to the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37. It is thrown over each of the two belt conveyor units 37.

  In addition, the conveyed product thrown over each of the 1st belt conveyor unit 36 and the 2nd belt conveyor unit 37 is based on the information of the sorting position memorize | stored in the trolley | bogie side PLC93, and a predetermined sorting conveyor (not shown). ).

  In this way, communication between the cart side PLC 93 and the ground side PLC 95 is performed to determine whether or not to load the transported object, and the sorting destination of the transported object loaded by the cart side PLC 93 is stored and managed. Thus, it is possible to improve the sorting ability of the conveyed product and at the same time improve the conveyance efficiency of the conveyed item. In addition, by managing the sorting destination of the transported objects input to the transport cart 12 by the cart-side PLC 93, the configuration of the control device provided on the ground side and the detection means for detecting the transport cart can be omitted. .

  Summarizing this configuration, using a sorting conveyor in which a plurality of conveying carts in which at least two cross sorter conveyors having a conveying direction in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction are juxtaposed in the traveling direction are connected, a conveyed product is conveyed along the conveying route. In the sorting system for transporting, positioned on the side of the transport cart and on the side of the transport route, along with the travel direction, a cart-side communication unit provided corresponding to each of the at least two cross sorter conveyors The same number of communication units and transmission / reception units are provided on the ground side in the vicinity of the input conveyor, and the ground can be simultaneously faced with the transmission / reception units of the communication unit provided on the side of the transport carriage. A side communication unit, and a ground side management device that is connected to the ground side communication unit and manages information transmitted and received by the ground side communication unit. When the transporter placed across a plurality of cross sorter conveyors is moved simultaneously by moving the conveyor for the loss sorter and put out, the cart side communication unit is provided with the transport route when the transport cart is running. Of the ground side communication unit, information indicating the operation status of the upstream cross sorter conveyor of the two corresponding cross sorter conveyors is transmitted to a part of the transmission / reception unit of the ground side communication unit located on the upstream side. The ground side communication unit transmits information indicating the operation status of the downstream cross sorter conveyor of two corresponding cross sorter conveyors to a part of the transmission / reception unit of the ground side communication unit located on the downstream side. Is a position indicating the sorting destination of the conveyed product to be put into the downstream cross sorter conveyor of the two corresponding cross sorter conveyors. The downstream division position information obtained by dividing the information by a predetermined number of bits is transferred from the ground communication unit located upstream to the ground communication unit located downstream to the cart side communication unit located downstream. It is a sorting system characterized by transmitting at every meeting timing.

  In the sorting system having such a configuration, the flow of processing when the control in the cart side PLC is changed based on the speed of each transport cart 12 of the sorting conveyor will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The ground-side PLC 95 controls the driving devices 15a and 15b to drive the transport carts 12 of the sorting conveyor 10 at a predetermined speed. Simultaneously with this control, the ground side PLC 95 turns on the transmission unit OUT1 and the transmission unit OUT2 of the optical transmission unit 88. On the other hand, the sorting conveyor 10 is driven by the driving devices 15a and 15b, and each transport carriage 12 starts to travel along the transport route. Therefore, the flowchart of FIG. 10 is started in response to the fact that each transport carriage 12 of the sorting conveyor 10 travels along the transport route.

  Step S101 is processing for measuring the speed of the transport carriage. As described above, the ground side PLC 95 emits light from the transmission unit OUT1 and the transmission unit OUT2 of the optical transmission unit 88. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11A, when the sorting conveyor 10 is driven, the receiving unit IN3 of the first cart side communication unit 82 of each transport cart 12 receives the light from the transmitting unit OUT1 of the light transmitting unit 88. The receiving unit IN4 of the first cart side communication unit 82 simultaneously receives the light from the transmitting unit OUT2 of the optical transmission unit 88. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 11 (b), when the transport carriage 12 travels, the reception unit IN3 of the second carriage side communication unit 84 transmits the light from the transmission unit OUT1 of the optical transmission unit 88 to the second carriage. The reception unit IN4 of the side communication unit 84 simultaneously receives light from the transmission unit OUT2 of the optical transmission unit 88. When light is received by each communication unit, the receiving unit IN3 and the receiving unit IN4 of each communication unit respectively convert the received light into a signal and output the converted signal to the cart side PLC 93.

  The trolley side PLC 93 indicates that the converted two signals are the first trolley side communication unit 82 of the nth (N = 1, 2, 3,...) Th trolley 12 and the first number of the nth trolley. The order of the second carriage side communication unit 84, the first carriage side communication unit 82 of the (n + 1) th delivery carriage, the second carriage side communication unit 84 of the (n + 1) th delivery carriage (or the nth delivery carriage). The second cart side communication unit 84, the first cart side communication unit 82 of the (n + 1) th transport cart, the second cart side communication unit 84 of the (n + 1) th transport cart, and the like. Therefore, the cart side PLC 93 obtains an interval (reception interval) at which two signals are input. Note that the storage unit 93a of the cart side PLC 93 includes a distance between the first cart side communication unit 82 and the second cart side communication unit 84 arranged on the same transport cart, and the second between the two transport carts 12 adjacent to each other. Two distance data, that is, the distance between the one-cart side communication unit 82 and the second cart-side communication unit 84 are stored. Therefore, the cart side PLC 93 measures the speed of the transport cart 12 from these distance data and the light reception interval from the light transmission unit 88 in the first cart side communication unit 82 and the second cart side communication unit 84.

  Step S102 is a process of determining whether or not the speed of the transport carriage measured this time is the same as the speed of the transport truck measured last time. If the transport speed measured this time is the same as the transport speed measured last time, the carriage side PLC sets the result of the determination process in step S102 to Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S103. On the other hand, when the transport speed measured this time is different from the transport speed measured last time, the cart side PLC sets the result of the determination process in step S102 to No. In this case, the process proceeds to step S106. Note that the result of this determination processing is stored in the storage unit 93a.

  Note that the transport speeds of the transport carriages fluctuate within a predetermined error range even though the transport carts that run by driving the driving devices 15a and 15b are set so that the transport speed is transported at a constant speed. Accordingly, in step S102, the cart side PLC 93 sets an error range for the transport speed measured last time, and whether or not the transport speed measured this time is included in the error range of the transport speed measured last time is determined. You may determine whether the measured conveyance speed is the same as the conveyance speed measured last time.

  Step S103 is a process of determining whether or not a state in which the speed of the transport carriage measured this time is the same as the speed of the transport truck measured last time is continued for a predetermined time. The carriage-side PLC 93 uses the determination result in step S102 stored in the storage unit 93a and the light reception interval from the optical transmission unit 88, and the speed of the conveyance carriage 12 measured this time is that of the conveyance carriage 12 measured last time. It is determined whether or not the same state as the speed has continued for a certain period of time. When the state in which the speed of the transport carriage 12 measured this time is the same as the speed of the transport truck 12 measured last time is continued for a certain period of time, the carriage side PLC 93 sets the determination result in step S103 to Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S104. On the other hand, if the state in which the speed of the transport carriage 12 measured this time is the same as the speed of the transport truck 12 measured last time has not been continued for a certain period of time, the truck-side PLC 93 sets the determination result in step S103 to Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S106.

  Step S104 is a process of setting a servo motor control pattern according to the speed. The trolley side PLC 93 stores the control pattern of the servo motor 46 when the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 included in each conveyance trolley 12 travel using the measured speed of the conveyance trolley 12. Read from the unit 93a. When the read control pattern is received from each of the transport carts 12 from the input conveyor 16a or the input conveyor 16b, the transported product placed on each of the transport carts 12 is any of the delivery conveyors 17a, 17b, and 17c. It is set as a control pattern of the servo motor 46 that is driven when the feed is sent out toward the. Therefore, the control pattern of the servo motor 46 that drives each of the first belt conveyor unit 36 or the second belt conveyor unit 37 that is a cross sorter conveyor, that is, the belt driving speed, the transient speed time, the belt driving start timing, and the like are changed and set. Then, the control corresponding to that is calculated.

  Step S105 is processing for permitting receipt and delivery of the conveyed product. Through the determination processing in step S103, the carriage side PLC 93 has continued for a certain period of time in which the speed of the transport carriage 12 measured this time is the same as the speed of the transport carriage 12 measured last time, in other words, the speed of each transport carriage 12. Is judged to be stable. Accordingly, the carriage-side PLC 93 considers that each conveyance carriage 12 is traveling at a constant speed, and permits receipt and delivery of the conveyed product that has driven the first belt conveyor unit or the second belt conveyor unit.

  When the result of the determination process of either step S102 or step S103 described above is No, the process proceeds to step S106.

  Step S <b> 106 is processing for stopping receipt and delivery of the conveyed product. In this case, the cart side PLC 93 determines that the transport speed of each transport cart 12 is not stable. Therefore, in such a case, the cart side PLC 93 does not permit the receipt and delivery of the conveyed product that has driven the first belt conveyor unit or the second belt conveyor unit.

  Hereinafter, the transport speed of each transport cart of the sorting conveyor is set to any one of 80, 120, 180, 200, and 240 m / min, and the transport speed is switched from the set speed to another speed. Can do. In addition, the conveyance speed set is not limited to 5 types, 6 or more may be sufficient and 4 or less may be sufficient. However, it is necessary to store and hold the control pattern of the servo motor 46 for each of a plurality of different transport speeds in the storage unit 93a.

  As shown in FIG. 12, for example, a case where the speed of the traveling carriage 12 is increased from 120 m / min to 200 m / min will be described. For example, at time T1, the ground PLC 95 transmits an instruction to increase the speed of the transport carriage 12 from 120 m / min to 200 m / min to the driving devices 15a and 15b. In response to this, the driving devices 15 a and 15 b accelerate the transport carriage 12.

  At time T1, the receiving unit IN3 of the second cart side communication unit 84 of the first transport cart 12 receives the light from the transmitting unit OUT1 of the optical transmitting unit 88, and the receiving unit IN4 is the transmitting unit of the optical transmitting unit 88. The light from OUT2 is received. At time T2, the receiving unit IN3 of the first carriage-side communication unit 82 of the second transport carriage 12 receives the light from the transmitting unit OUT1 of the optical transmission unit, and the receiving unit IN4 transmits the light from the optical transmission unit 88. The light from the unit OUT2 is received. Further, at time T3, the receiving unit IN3 of the first carriage-side communication unit 82 of the second transport carriage 12 receives the light from the transmitting unit OUT1 of the optical transmission unit 88, and the receiving unit IN4 is of the optical transmission unit 88. Light from the transmission unit OUT2 is received.

  In this manner, each of the optical transmission units 88 is received by the receiving unit IN3 and the receiving unit IN4 of the first cart side communication unit 82 of each transport cart 12 and the receiving unit IN3 and the receiving unit IN4 of the second cart side communication unit 84. Light emitted from the transmitter is received.

  The speed of the transport carriage 12 at time T1 is 120 m / min. For example, when the speed of the transport carriage 12 reaches 200 m / min at time T3, the speed of the transport carriage 12 changes during the period from time T1 to time T3. Therefore, from time T1 to time T3, receipt of the conveyed product and delivery of the conveyed product in the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 of each conveyance carriage 12 are stopped.

  After time T3, the speed of the transport carriage 12 is 200 m / min. In FIG. 12, the speed of the transport carriage 12 measured at time T4 when the light from the optical transmission unit 88 is received by the first carriage-side communication unit 82 of the third transport carriage 12 is measured at time T3. Therefore, the speed of the transporting carriage 12 matches.

  After that, when the time Tm (m = 1, 2,...) When the light from the light transmission unit 88 is received by the first carriage-side communication unit 82 of the n-th transport carriage 12 has elapsed, The first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 included in each conveyance carriage 12 are permitted to receive the conveyed product and to discharge the conveyed product. In addition, as for the control pattern of the servo motor 46 in the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 of each conveyance carriage 12, the carriage side PLC reads a control pattern in accordance with the measured speed of 200 m / min. It is. The same applies to the case where the speed of the transport carriage 12 is reduced, and after the predetermined time (symbol ΔT in FIG. 12) elapses after the speed of the transport carriage is stabilized (becomes a constant speed), the first belt. The conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 are allowed to receive the conveyed product and discharge the conveyed product.

  The same applies to the case where the speed of the transport carriage 12 is increased from 120 m / min to any one of 180 m / min and 240 m / min, and when the speed is decreased to 80 m / min, the measured speed is stable. In response, receipt of the conveyed product and delivery of the conveyed product in the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 are permitted. Note that the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 10 is executed in each of the carriage side PLCs 93 mounted on the management carriage 12A of each group in which a plurality of carriages 12 constituting the sorting conveyor 10 are grouped.

  In this way, the speed of the transport carriage 12 traveling by the driving devices 15a and 15b is measured by receiving the light from the light transmission unit 88 provided on the transport route, and each transport carriage 12 is based on the measured speed. The control pattern of the servo motor 46 in the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 is set. Therefore, since the speed of each transport carriage 12 of the sorting conveyor 10 can be set according to the transport amount of the transported object, waste of electric power consumed in driving the sorting conveyor 10 can be prevented.

  Further, the light from the transmission unit OUT1 and the transmission unit OUT2 of the optical transmission unit 88 is converted into the reception unit IN3 and the reception unit IN4 of the first cart side communication unit 82, or the reception unit IN3 and the reception unit of the second cart side communication unit 84. Since it is received at IN4 and the speed of the transport carriage 12 is measured based on the reception interval, it is not necessary to transmit speed information from the ground side PLC 95 to the carriage side PLC 93, and the carriage side PLC 93 is sorted. It becomes possible to collectively control the operation of the plurality of transport carts 12 included in the conveyor 10.

  In addition, the receiving unit IN3 and the receiving unit IN4 of the first cart side communication unit 82 and the second cart side communication unit 84 of each transport cart 12 simultaneously receive the light from the light transmitting unit 88, so that the first cart side In addition to the reception unit IN3 and the reception unit IN4 of the communication unit 82 and the second carriage side communication unit 84 function as a reception unit that receives information indicating that the conveyed product is input from the input conveyor 16a or the input conveyor 16b, Since it functions as a receiving unit for measuring the speed of the transport carriage 12, it is not necessary to newly provide a receiving section for speed measurement in each transport carriage 12.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Sorting conveyor, 12 ... Conveying cart, 16a, 16b ... Input conveyor, 17a, 17b, 17c ... Discharge conveyor, 36 ... First belt conveyor unit, 37 ... Second belt conveyor unit, 46 ... Servo motor, 52 ... Servo Amplifier, 82 ... 1st cart side communication unit, 84 ... 2nd cart side communication unit, 86 ... 1st ground side communication unit, 87 ... 2nd ground side communication unit, 88 ... Light transmission unit, 93 ... Cart side PLC, 95 ... Ground side PLC

Claims (6)

In a sorting system for transporting a transported object along a transport route using a sorting conveyor in which a plurality of transport carts arranged in parallel in the travel direction with at least two conveyors for cross sorters having a direction orthogonal to the travel direction as a transport direction,
A cart side communication unit provided on the side of the transport cart and along the travel direction, corresponding to each of the at least two cross sorter conveyors,
The same number of the cart side communication units arranged in one of the transport carts can be provided at the same time as each of the cart side communication units provided in the transport route and on the side of the transport cart. The ground side communications department,
A ground side management device that is connected to the ground side communication unit and manages information transmitted and received by the ground side communication unit;
A cart-side management device that is provided in at least one of the plurality of transport carts and manages the operation status of the plurality of transport carts based on information transmitted and received by the cart-side communication unit included in each of the transport carts When,
An optical transmission device that transmits light toward the carriage-side communication unit provided in the conveyance carriage that is provided in the conveyance route; and
Have
The cart side management device is:
A storage unit that stores a plurality of control data of the at least two cross sorter conveyors corresponding to the speed of the transport carriage that travels;
A measurement unit that measures the speed of the transport carriage from the reception interval of light transmitted from the optical transmission device received by the carriage-side communication unit;
A control unit that reads out control data corresponding to the speed of the transport carriage measured by the measurement unit from the storage unit, and drives and controls the at least two cross sorter conveyors using the read control data;
A sorting system characterized by comprising: The sorting system according to claim 1,
The ground side communication unit and the cart side communication unit have a plurality of transmission units and a plurality of reception units capable of transmitting and receiving 8-bit data,
The measurement unit measures the speed of the transport carriage based on an interval at which light from the optical transmission device is received by any one of the plurality of reception units included in the carriage side communication unit. A characteristic sorting system. The sorting system according to claim 2,
The optical transmitter transmits the light as 2-bit data,
The cart-side communication unit receives the light by two receiving units that receive, as 2-bit data, information indicating a driving method of the cross sorter conveyor when the transported object is loaded among the plurality of receiving units. A sorting system characterized by that. In the sorting system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The said control part stops drive control of the said at least 2 cross sorter conveyor, when the speed of the said conveyance trolley measured by the said measurement part changes. The sorting system characterized by the above-mentioned. The sorting system according to claim 4,
The said control part starts drive control of the said at least 2 cross sorter conveyor when predetermined time passes, after the speed of the said conveyance trolley measured by the said measurement part became stable. The sorting system characterized by the above-mentioned. In the sorting system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The sorting system is arranged in one of transport carts included in each group in which a plurality of the transport carts traveling on the transport route are grouped by a predetermined number.

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