CH719753A1 - Transport device for transporting and spacing piece goods. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a transport device (1) for transporting piece goods (S), comprising a fixed feed section (3) and a fixed discharge section (4) arranged downstream along a conveying direction (x), and a discharge device (5) comprising a first ( 51) and a second (52) discharge unit, which are arranged along the conveying direction (x) between the fixed feed section (3) and the fixed discharge section (4). The first discharge unit (51) has a fixed or movable end (511) arranged adjacent to the fixed feed section (3) and a movable end (512) arranged downstream thereof, and the second discharge unit (52) has one of the first discharge units (51). downstream adjacent movable end (522) and a fixed or movable end (521) arranged downstream of the fixed discharge section (4), the first (51) and the second (52) discharge unit each having a drive unit (513) for independent Driving the respective ejection unit (51, 52) and by moving apart the movable end (512) of the first ejection unit (51) and the movable end (522) of the second ejection unit (52), so that a gap (6) is generated which piece goods (S) to be discharged are discharged from the transport device (1).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is in the field of conveyor technology and relates to a transport device for transporting and spacing piece goods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The automated conveyance of piece goods plays an important role in the post-processing, picking and packaging of piece goods. Conveyor systems, in particular roller or belt conveyors, are characterized, among other things, by the fact that they enable space-saving sorting and time-efficient transport of piece goods. Depending on the downstream process step, in addition to the efficient transport of piece goods, another important requirement for transport devices is to enable the spacing or removal of piece goods.

[0003] Rejection devices are already known for removing piece goods from a stream of piece goods. For example, for the further distribution of the discharged objects, discharge devices are known in which a switch is provided within an arc. These typically have an adjustable guide element in the form of a switch tongue, which is pivotally mounted, with its front end directed obliquely against the flow. When pivoting, the switch tongue releases one of the two exits and blocks the other exit with its respective side flank, which is designed as a guide surface. Such a device can be seen, for example, from DE20004434U1.

[0004] The document DE20004434U1 discloses a curved track ejector in which a switch with a pivotable switch tongue is formed in an arch of a conveyor track, which has lateral guide surfaces and which selectively guides the incoming transport path to an exit that is radially inner or outer with respect to the arch.

As an alternative to curved track discharge devices, roller discharge devices are known, with piece goods being discharged by means of a number of rollers, which are usually arranged in at least two groups. Each of the groups has a common orientation along a main axis of rotation relative to a main conveying direction. Typically, one group may be oriented 45° to the left of the main conveying direction, while the second group may be oriented 45° to the right. Material can be conveyed through this ejector straight, 45° left or right and 90° left or right. Such a device emerges from DE102010044239A1.

The document DE102010044239A1 discloses a conveyor ejector which comprises a number of rollers which are arranged in at least two groups, each group having a common orientation of a main axis of rotation relative to a main conveying direction and the main axis of rotation of at least two groups being at an angle to one another and both groups can be driven and controlled separately.

PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

When transporting piece goods in a transport device, the piece goods for downstream processes often have to be delivered with exact timing or position. However, the piece goods from an upstream process are often not delivered or supplied at exactly the right time. It must therefore be achieved within the transport device that discontinuously supplied piece goods are brought into a continuous piece stream, in which the piece goods are transferred at the end of the transport device at a precise cycle with a predetermined target distance from one another. Therefore, simply removing piece goods is often not sufficient, as it is also necessary to space the piece goods from one another to a target distance.

For example, a tray conveyor can be arranged at the downstream end of the transport device, which is operated at a constant speed and whose conveyor trays set the cycle for the supply of the individual piece goods, so that each of the piece goods can be fed to one of the conveyor trays. For this purpose, a uniform target distance is necessary to ensure that one piece of goods is fed into each conveyor bowl. If the distance between individual piece goods is too close to one another, it may therefore be necessary to specifically reject individual piece goods in order to avoid simultaneous transfer of two or more piece goods to the subsequent process. At the same time, there should not be any large gaps between the piece goods to ensure that no trays remain unused. In order to avoid unintentionally falling out of the transport device, the piece goods must also be handed over in a precise position at a transfer point so that the respective piece goods can be transferred precisely into a conveyor tray.

An object of the invention can therefore be seen in enabling a precise transfer of piece goods to a downstream process and in achieving a minimum distance between the individual piece goods.

A preferred variant of the transport device for transporting piece goods comprises a fixed or movable feed section and a fixed or movable discharge section arranged downstream along a conveying direction. In this context, fixed means that the respective supply or discharge section is fixed as a whole and is therefore arranged statically. However, individual elements, in particular elements for transporting and conveying piece goods, are arranged to be movable. For example, the fixed or movable feed and discharge section can be designed as a roller or belt conveyor, with the rollers or the belt being arranged to be movable. The direction of conveyance is understood to mean the effective direction of the flow of piece goods. Typically, funding is only ever carried out in one direction. In order to be able to empty the transport device if problems arise in the downstream process, the conveying direction can be reversed in both the feed and discharge sections.

In order to specifically remove individual or multiple piece goods from the transport device, the transport device comprises a removal device. The discharge device comprises a first and a second discharge unit, which are arranged along the conveying direction between the fixed or movable feed section and the fixed or movable discharge section. The first and second discharge units are preferably arranged in such a way that they adjoin the fixed or movable discharge section or the discharge section.

However, the first and a second discharge unit are usually not directly physically coupled, but there is a distance between the fixed or movable feed and discharge section and the discharge device arranged between them.

Optionally, further modules, for example further transport or sorting modules or switches, can also be arranged between the feed and discharge section and the discharge device. If problems arise, the conveying direction of the discharge device can be reversed. The piece goods that are already on the discharge section can be returned to the discharge device and discharged by means of this.

In order to be able to discharge piece goods along the conveying direction, the first discharge unit has a fixed or movable end arranged adjacent to the fixed or movable feed section and a movable end arranged downstream thereof. The movable end makes it possible to shorten the discharge unit along the conveying direction, whereby a gap can be generated along the conveying direction. Analogous to the first discharge unit, the second discharge unit has a movable end arranged downstream adjacent to the first discharge unit and a fixed or movable end arranged downstream thereof adjacent to the fixed or movable discharge section.

The closed state is defined as the state in which the respective movable ends are arranged essentially adjacent to one another. Typically, in the closed state, there remains a distance between the movable end of the first rejection unit and the movable end of the second rejection unit of 5 mm - 50 mm, preferably 5 mm - 20 mm. On the other hand, the open state is defined as the state in which the two movable ends have moved in the direction of the respective fixed or movable end and are furthest apart with respect to each other. Alternatively or additionally, a further discharge device can be arranged instead of the fixed or movable feed section and/or the fixed or movable discharge section arranged downstream along the conveying direction. Thus, several discharge devices can be arranged in a row adjacent to one another along the conveying direction in order to be able to discharge several piece goods one after the other.

Typically, the feed and discharge section is designed as a belt conveyor with a bandwidth of 500 mm - 1000 mm. The piece goods to be transported preferably have a weight of 0.5 kg - 25 kg, in particular 1 kg - 10 kg. A typical field of application for the transport device is the delivery of piece goods to a downstream belt conveyor. In a preferred variant, the belt conveyor can have conveyor shells with a shell length of essentially 500 mm - 1,200 mm, preferably 600 mm - 800 mm.

[0017] For this application it must be ensured that the respective actual length on the discharge section essentially corresponds to the shell length. The actual length corresponds to the effective length of the respective piece goods and the actual distance between the piece goods and the piece goods following downstream. If the actual length is less than the target length, typically the length of a tray of a tray conveyor, two pieces of goods can unintentionally end up in one tray, completely or partially. If the actual length exceeds the target length, trays may be left empty, which has a negative effect on the efficiency of the transport device.

The piece goods are typically supplied in a discontinuous piece stream. The piece goods supplied usually have different dimensions, i.e. widths and lengths. An effective length of the respective piece goods does not necessarily correspond to the dimensions, i.e. length or width, of the piece goods, but rather, depending on the position on the feed section, to the actually measured length along the conveying direction. The effective length is the length of the piece goods measured along the conveying direction. During operation, it can happen that two or more piece goods touch each other or even lie partially on top of each other when being fed. In these cases, at least one of the two piece goods should typically be rejected.

[0019] In contrast to known generic devices for rejecting piece goods, which work with sliders or switches, for example, the discharge device according to the invention makes it possible to reject desired piece goods even if there is no distance between the piece goods conveyed. For example, thanks to the two separately driven and movable rejection units, it is possible to reject the middle of three piece goods lying directly next to each other.

In order to be able to transport piece goods and to space the piece goods from one another, the first discharge unit comprises a conveyor belt and the second discharge unit comprises a conveyor belt, each of which can be driven by means of a drive motor. The movable end of the first rejection unit and the movable end of the second rejection unit can each be moved by means of a linear unit.

Since the rotating conveyor belt of the first and second rejection units cannot usually be shortened, in order to shorten the first and second rejection units, a deflection roller can be arranged on the respective rejection unit, over which the respective conveyor belt rotates. In order to shorten the transport surface of the respective discharge unit along the conveying direction, the respective deflection roller is moved with the respective conveyor belt rotating around it in the direction of the respective fixed or movable end.

In order to avoid any sagging of the conveyor belt when shortening, each of the two discharge units preferably includes at least one counter roller, which is also moved. Preferably, the respective deflection roller and the counter roller are arranged on a common carriage, which carriage is arranged on the respective discharge unit so that it can be moved along the conveying direction. This arrangement ensures that when the carriage is moved, the deflection roller and the counter roller move in the same way, which enables uniform tension of the conveyor belt in closed, open and all intermediate states.

In order to achieve the highest possible degree of freedom for the control unit, the first and second rejection units each have a drive unit for independently driving the respective rejection unit. By moving apart the movable end of the first discharge unit and the movable end of the second discharge unit, a gap can be generated through which the piece goods to be discharged are discharged from the transport device. The piece goods preferably fall downwards out of the transport device.

The fixed or movable end arranged adjacent to the fixed feed section and the movable end of the first discharge unit arranged downstream thereof and the movable end arranged downstream adjacent to the first discharge unit and the fixed or movable end of the second arranged downstream thereof adjacent to the fixed discharge section Discharge units are preferably arranged to be movable along the conveying direction. The movable ends of the respective discharge unit can preferably be moved parallel to the conveying direction. To calibrate the ejection device, the band of the first and/or the second ejection unit can comprise a marking which can be detected by means of a calibration sensor. Alternatively or additionally, the drive motor of the first and/or the second rejection unit can comprise a rotary encoder. Using the marking and/or the rotary encoder, a zero position of the discharge device can be approached.

In order to transport and space piece goods using the transport device, the piece goods are fed by means of the fixed or movable feed section. To control the discharge device, the effective length and the respective actual distance of the piece goods on the fixed or movable feed section are determined along the conveying direction.

The removal of at least one piece of cargo is carried out by means of the removal device, with the movable end of the first removal unit being moved in the direction of the fixed or movable feed section, and the movable end of the second removal unit being moved in the direction of the fixed or movable removal section, with the material to be removed Piece goods are discharged from the transport device through a gap created between the first and the second discharge unit. The remaining piece goods are removed using the fixed or movable removal section.

In order to avoid that, in addition to the piece goods to be discharged, the piece goods following along the conveying direction, which are to remain in the transport device, are also discharged, the conveyor belt of the first rejection unit can be braked in order to allow the piece goods supplied by the fixed or movable feed section to be discharged slow down while the movable end of the first discharge unit is moved back towards the fixed or movable feed section. At the same time, the conveyor belt of the second discharge unit can be accelerated in order to remove the remaining stucco goods to the fixed or movable discharge section while the movable end of the second discharge unit is moved back in the direction of the fixed or movable discharge section.

[0028] If the gap between the leading and the following piece goods resulting from the discharge of a piece of goods becomes too large, the rejection device can be used to accelerate the piece of goods following the piece of goods that has been discharged in order to reduce the distance to the piece of goods preceding the piece of goods that have been discharged. The conveyor belt of the first discharge unit can be accelerated while the piece goods are being discharged. It only needs to be ensured that the movable ends of the ejection unit can be moved apart quickly enough to allow ejection.

When moving the movable ends together after the discharge, the belt speed can - if necessary - be further increased in order to reduce the distance between the two remaining piece goods to the desired level. The same applies to the belt of the second rejection unit, which can also be accelerated further if necessary to reduce the distance after taking over the subsequent piece goods.

If the actual distance between two piece goods is less than the desired dimension, but the actual distances between the pieces preceding and following the two piece goods are large enough to enable a correction to the desired actual distance between the two piece goods, this can be done Correction without rejection can only be done by specifically accelerating the leading piece of cargo and slowing down the trailing piece of cargo.

If the actual distance between two piece goods is too large, it can also be reduced in the opposite way using the ejection device according to the invention.

In order to be able to control the two discharge units accurately in time based on the timing of arrival of the respective piece goods on the feed section, the transport device can comprise at least one sensor and a control unit communicatively connected to the sensor, the control unit being configured to accelerate and/or or braking and controlling the separation of the first and second rejection units. The sensor is preferably arranged on the fixed or movable feed section and is configured to detect the respective effective length of the piece goods along the conveying direction and the actual distance between a preceding piece of goods and a piece of goods following downstream along the conveying direction.

Based on the respective actual distance between the piece goods, the control unit can be used to calculate whether one or more of the supplied piece goods should be discharged. For this purpose, the sensor is configured to detect the dimensions of the piece goods and the respective position of the piece goods relative to one another on the fixed or movable feed section. Typically the sensor is a light barrier, a light grid, a laser grid or a camera.

In order to accurately control the time at which the first and second rejection units move apart, the at least one sensor is configured to send data to the control unit that is communicatively connected to the at least one sensor.

The at least one sensor is typically set up to detect the effective length of a piece of goods on the feed section. Individual piece goods will usually be rejected if the actual distance between the piece goods is too small.

[0036] In a variant, the sensor can also detect piece goods arranged adjacent to one another or arranged one on top of the other.

[0037] In a variant, at least one control sensor can be arranged in the area of the movable end of the first and/or the second rejection unit, which is configured to monitor the rejection by, for example, detecting piece goods that are jammed between the first and the second rejection unit or are blocking this area for another reason.

[0038] According to further embodiments, the control sensor can be an optical sensor which, in addition to monitoring the discharge, can also detect the number of piece goods being rejected and more preferably a barcode or a QR code on the piece goods to be rejected. In the simplest case, by determining the number of piece goods discharged, the number of remaining piece goods can be corrected by the control unit.

If the piece goods are individually marked with a barcode, a QR code or another optically readable code, the appropriately designed control sensor can also detect and identify the discharged piece goods and pass this information on to the control unit.

If the piece goods are provided with an RFID label or another electronically readable label, this can also be used to identify the piece goods being rejected using an additional control sensor.

The control unit is configured to control the respective drive motor based on the data in order to accelerate and/or brake the respective conveyor belt. In addition to controlling the respective drive motor to control the speed, the control unit can also control the respective movable ends. Based on the effective length of the piece goods, the control unit can control the linear units based on the respective effective length in such a way that a gap can be generated between the movable end of the first ejection unit and the movable end of the second ejection unit, which is wide enough to eject the piece goods to be ejected.

The advantage of a gap tailored to the effective length of the piece goods is that the movable ends of the respective discharge unit are only moved apart to such an extent that the piece goods to be discharged can be discharged. This makes it possible for the movable ends to be moved together more quickly than if the movable ends were moved up to the open position for each piece of cargo. The end position is understood to mean the position of the two movable ends in which they have moved up to the respective fixed end.

[0043] Due to the different acceleration of the respective conveyor belt of the first and the second rejection unit, when the piece goods are transferred from the second rejection unit to the fixed or movable discharge section, the piece goods have a greater actual distance than the actual distance compared to the piece goods that follow upstream when transferring from the fixed or movable feed section to the first discharge unit. Based on the respective position of the piece goods on the fixed or movable feed section detected by the sensor and by means of the data transmitted by the sensor, the control unit can control the drive motor of the first rejection unit. The control unit can control the drive motor in such a way that the first discharge unit is braked in order to discharge the piece goods to be discharged. Alternatively or additionally, the control unit can use the data transmitted by the sensor to control the respective linear unit in such a way that the first and second discharge units are moved so quickly for discharge that the piece of goods to be discharged falls out through the resulting gap due to its mass, driven by gravity.

In addition to the controllable discharge elements of the discharge device, the flow of piece goods can also be influenced via the fixed or movable feed and/or discharge section. A further spacing or shortening of the distance can thus be achieved via a speed difference between the discharge section and the feed section. For this purpose, the fixed or movable feed section and/or the fixed or movable discharge section are preferably designed as a belt conveyor with a defined conveying speed.

In order to achieve a simple and cost-effective construction of the transport device, the fixed or movable feed section and/or the fixed or movable discharge section can also be designed as or include a roller conveyor or slide.

In order to enable sorting of the discharged piece goods in addition to pure discharge, a sorting system for transporting and sorting piece goods is provided. The sorting system comprises at least one transport device, which, depending on the design, has a fixed feed section and a fixed discharge section arranged downstream along a conveying direction. Alternatively, instead of a fixed feed and discharge section, a further transport device can also be arranged upstream and/or downstream. In one variant, the sorting system comprises a plurality of transport devices arranged in a row adjacent to one another in the conveying direction.

The transport device comprises a discharge device, which comprises a first and a second discharge unit. The first and second rejection units each define a transport surface, the first rejection unit having a fixed or movable end (first end) and a movable end (second end) arranged downstream thereof, and the second rejection unit having a movable end arranged downstream adjacent to the first rejection unit (first end) and a fixed or movable end (second end) arranged downstream thereof.

The first and second rejection units each have a drive unit for independently driving the respective rejection unit. By moving a movable end of the first discharge unit and a movable end of the second discharge unit, a gap can be generated through which piece goods to be discharged are discharged from the transport device. When being discharged, the piece goods preferably fall downwards out of the transport device in relation to the transport surfaces. The discharged piece goods come to rest on the sorting device and/or are sorted into at least one collecting container by the sorting device.

In order to sort the discharged piece goods, the sorting system further comprises a sorting device for sorting the discharged piece goods. The sorting device comprises at least one movable sorting element and at least one collecting container. In order to achieve a structure that is as compact as possible, the at least one collecting container can be arranged under the transport device. In contrast to the sorting systems known from the prior art, the at least one collecting container is not arranged next to the conveyor belts of the first and second discharge units, but can be arranged underneath.

The transport device can be used either for purely spacing and removing piece goods and/or for use in a sorting system. When used for transporting and spacing general cargo, the method typically includes the following steps. After feeding the piece goods by means of the fixed feed section or an upstream transport device, an effective length and/or the actual distance of the piece goods on the fixed feed section or the upstream transport device can be determined. The removal of at least one piece of cargo by means of the removal device can take place if the actual length deviates too much from a target length. For this purpose, the movable end of the first discharge unit can be moved in the direction of the fixed feed section or the upstream transport device, and the movable end of the second discharge unit can be moved in the direction of the fixed discharge section or a downstream transport device. The piece goods to be discharged can be discharged from the transport device through a gap (6) created between the first and second rejection units and the remaining piece goods can be removed by means of the fixed discharge section.

[0051] Preferably, the conveyor belt of the first discharge unit is braked in order to slow down the piece goods supplied by the fixed feed section for discharge and the movable end of the first discharge unit is moved back in the direction of the fixed feed section or the upstream transport device. At the same time, the conveyor belt of the second discharge unit can be accelerated in order to remove the remaining stucco goods to the fixed discharge section and the movable end of the second discharge unit can be moved back in the direction of the fixed discharge section or the downstream transport device.

The transport device can be arranged individually between a fixed feed and discharge section or several transport devices arranged in a row adjacent to one another in order to space and sort out piece goods or form a sorting system in combination with a sorting device. Several sorting systems, which are arranged in a row adjacent to one another along the conveying direction, can be controlled and opened independently of one another. The sorting device arranged in the sorting system can be designed in multiple stages. Several movable sorting elements can be arranged next to one another and/or one above the other with respect to the conveying direction in order to enable multi-stage sorting.

In order to sort the discharged piece goods into at least one collecting container below the transport surfaces, the at least one movable sorting element has an edge. The edge of the at least one movable sorting element can be brought from a first position to a second position on a rectilinear or arcuate path with respect to a vertex arranged below the transport surfaces in order to sort the piece goods into at least one collecting container with respect to the conveying direction on one of the sides. The edge preferably extends essentially parallel to the conveying direction and is also arranged below the transport surfaces.

The sorting device according to the invention can also be used separately from the sorting system and from the transport device.

[0055] In a variant, at least two streams of goods can be transported parallel to one another along the conveying direction by means of the transport device. The piece goods of the at least two streams of goods are preferably transported offset from one another with respect to the conveying direction. By staggering the transport of two streams of goods to each other, between 40% and 60% more piece goods can be transported, discharged and sorted per unit of time than with just a single stream of goods.

In a variant, the movable sorting element can be designed as a sorting belt, which is stretched triangularly in the direction of the conveying direction. Since the sorting belt typically runs over rollers or rollers, it is not, in the strictest sense, a geometrically correct triangle. However, since it essentially corresponds to a triangular shape, for the sake of simplicity we will refer to it as a triangle in the following. The legs of the triangle preferably form sliding surfaces for the piece goods to be sorted. The term viewing direction is understood to mean a direction along the conveying direction.

[0057] When a mental section is taken through the sorting system, perpendicular to the conveying direction, a cutting plane is created.

In one variant, the sorting belt cut through the cutting plane forms a triangle in the cutting plane. The sorting belt preferably runs around at least three rollers or rollers, with at least one of the rollers or rollers being movable from a first position to a second position on the straight or curved path.

Preferably, the rollers are moved from one position to the other (from the first to the second or vice versa) by means of a lever, with the respective ends of the roller or roller being guided in a guide or link.

In order to equalize the length of the sorting belt, at least one of the rollers or rollers can be moved on an arcuate path from the first position to the second position. Alternatively, the belt can also be designed to be stretchable in such a way that the at least one roller or roller can be moved on a straight path from the first position to the second position and the length compensation is achieved by stretching the sorting belt.

[0061] By moving one of the edges with respect to the apex from the first position to the second position or vice versa, from the second position to the first position, it can be adjustable to which side the piece goods are sorted over one of the sliding surfaces. The sorting belt itself can be driven, alternatively it just runs around the rollers or rollers but is not driven. If the sorting belt is not driven, the discharged piece goods slide down the sorting belt and fall into at least one collecting container.

Typically at least one collecting container is required, into which sorting can preferably be carried out spatially separately. At least one collecting container can be divided by means of a partition. Alternatively, at least two collecting containers can be arranged next to each other.

[0063] If the sorting belt is drivable, the discharged piece goods are actively transported into the at least one collecting container by means of the sorting belt. In order to determine into which section of the at least one collecting container or alternatively into which of the at least two collecting containers the discharged piece goods are sorted, can be done by moving one of the rollers or rollers with respect to the apex from the first position to the second position, depending on the design a straight or arcuate path or alternatively essentially parallel to the base side of the triangle, the side to which the piece goods are sorted can be controlled.

By moving at least one of the rollers or rollers with respect to the apex, the angles of the legs can be changed and the inclination of the sliding surfaces can thereby be controlled. The triangle is preferably arranged in the direction of the conveying direction in such a way that the base side is arranged below and preferably essentially parallel to the transport surfaces and the roller or roller, which forms the tip of the triangle, is arranged above the base side, but also below the transport surfaces . In order to achieve a particularly space-saving structure, the at least two collecting containers can be arranged adjacent to one another without leaving a gap between the collecting containers.

[0065] Alternatively, the movable sorting element can be designed as a pivotable prism in the direction of view of the conveying direction. The prism can be pivotable with respect to the apex for sorting the piece goods in order to sort the piece goods into a section of the at least one collecting container or alternatively into one of the at least two collecting containers. In one variant, the prism is designed as a triangle, preferably as an equilateral triangle. The side surfaces of the triangle represent sliding surfaces. In order to achieve a particularly time-saving and precise sorting process, the prism can be pivoted at the same time as the removal process. Here, the piece goods falling downwards out of the discharge device are captured by the pivoting prism, slide down over the respective sliding surface and are additionally accelerated by the pivoting movement and thrown into one of the at least two collecting containers. In one variant, the leg surface only forms a sliding surface, the piece goods to be sorted slide down under gravity and fall into the at least one collecting container.

[0066] In a variant, the pivotable prism for sorting the piece goods is arranged to be rotatable about a pivot point. The prism can be pivoted back and forth between the first position and the second position. Alternatively, the prism can also be rotated around the pivot point, with the edges of the prism running around a circular path and at least one of the edges passing through the apex during each ejection process.

Alternatively, the movable sorting element can be designed as a rocker, which can be pivoted with respect to the apex when the piece goods are discharged in order to sort the piece goods into one of the at least two collecting containers. The rocker can be pivoted with respect to a pivot point, which is preferably arranged below the apex.

In order to achieve a particularly time-saving and precise sorting process, the rocker can be pivoted at the same time as the discharge process. Here, the piece goods falling downwards out of the discharge device are captured by the rocker that can be pivoted between the first position and the second position, slide down over one of the sliding surfaces of the rocker and can additionally be accelerated by the pivoting movement of the rocker and thrown into one of the at least two collecting containers .

The rocker can preferably be pivoted about the pivot point from the first position to the second position, with a first edge of the rocker crossing the apex when pivoting from the first position to the second position or vice versa from the second position to the first position .

The various variants of the movable sorting element can all be designed in such a way that the at least one edge of the movable sorting element passes through the apex on the way from the first position to the second position or from the second position to the first position.

In the method for transporting and sorting piece goods, the piece goods are fed to the sorting system preferably by means of the fixed feed section or an upstream transport device.

[0072] Optionally, the respective effective length and/or the actual distance of the piece goods can be determined and at least one piece goods can be discharged using the discharge device. A movable end of the first discharge unit can be moved along the conveying direction, preferably in the direction of the fixed feed section or an upstream transport device. A movable end of the second discharge unit can be moved along the conveying direction, preferably in the direction of the fixed discharge section or a downstream transport device. The piece goods to be discharged are discharged from the transport device, preferably downwards, through a gap created between the first and second discharge units.

[0073] To sort the discharged piece goods, an edge of the at least one movable sorting element is brought from a first position to a second position with respect to a vertex arranged below the transport surfaces on a rectilinear or arcuate path in order to move the piece goods to one of the sides with respect to the conveying direction into one of at least two collection containers. The piece goods remaining on the transport device and not removed are removed.

When being discharged, the piece goods preferably fall downwards out of the sorting system in relation to the transport surfaces. In one variant, the movable sorting element is designed as a sorting belt, which spans a triangle in the direction of the conveying direction, the legs of which form sliding surfaces. In this variant, the roller or roller of the triangle can be moved with respect to the apex from the first position to the second position, preferably substantially parallel to the base side of the triangle, in order to adjust which side the piece goods are sorted to. The roller or roller can be moved laterally with respect to the apex in order to adjust the respective angle of the legs and thereby the inclination of the sliding surfaces. After being discharged, the piece goods can be sorted by sliding down one of the sliding surfaces into one of at least two collecting containers.

[0075] In a variant, the movable sorting element can be designed as a pivotable prism in the direction of the conveying direction, which is pivoted with respect to the apex for sorting the piece goods in order to sort the piece goods into one of the at least two collecting containers.

In an alternative variant, the movable sorting element can be designed as a rocker, which is pivoted with respect to the apex when the piece goods are discharged in order to sort the piece goods into one of the at least two collecting containers.

The described embodiments and variants of the sorting system, or the transport device and the discharge device, can be used to carry out the method according to the invention. The previously described embodiments and variants of the method also reveal correspondingly designed versions and variants of the system and devices for carrying out the method and vice versa.

LIST OF FIGURES

Aspects of the invention are explained in more detail using the exemplary embodiments shown in the following figures and the associated description. Shown are: FIG. 1 A side view of a first variant of the transport device in a closed state; 2 A side view of the variant of the transport device according to FIG. 1 in a state when the movable end of the first ejection unit and the movable end of the second ejection unit are being moved apart; Fig. 3 A side view of the variant of the transport device according to Figure 1 in an open state; 4 A side view of the variant of the transport device according to FIG. 1 in a state when the movable end of the first ejection unit and the movable end of the second ejection unit are moving together; Fig. 5 A top view of a variant of the fixed feed section with supplied piece goods lying on it; Fig. 6 A side view of the variant of the fixed feed section according to Figure 5 with supplied piece goods lying on it. Fig. 7 A side view of a first variant of a sorting system with a transport device and a sorting device; Fig. 8 is a side view of the sorting system according to Fig. 7 with a plurality of transport devices and sorting devices; 9 A top view of the sorting system according to FIG. 7 with a plurality of transport devices and sorting devices; 10 A sectional view of the sorting system along the conveying direction according to FIG. 7; 11 A sectional view of a second variant of a sorting system along the conveying direction with a transport device and a sorting device; 12 A sectional view of a third variant of a sorting system along the conveying direction with a transport device and a sorting device; Fig. 13 is a sectional view of a fourth variant of a sorting system along the conveying direction with a transport device and a sorting device; 14 A sectional view of a fifth variant of a sorting system along the conveying direction with a transport device and a sorting device; 15 A sectional view of a sixth variant of a sorting system along the conveying direction with a transport device and a sorting device; Fig. 16 A sectional view of a seventh variant of a sorting system along the conveying direction with a transport device and a sorting device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VERSIONS

[0079] As can be seen from Figures 1 to 4, the transport device 1 for transporting piece goods S comprises a fixed feed section 3 and a fixed discharge section 4 arranged downstream along a conveying direction x, and a discharge device 5 comprising a first 51 and a second 52 discharge unit. The discharge device 5 is arranged along the conveying direction x between the fixed feed section 3 and the fixed discharge section 4.

The first discharge unit 51 has a fixed or movable end 511 arranged adjacent to the fixed feed section 3 and a movable end 51 2 arranged downstream thereof. The second discharge unit 52 has a movable end 522 arranged downstream adjacent to the first discharge unit 51 and a fixed or movable end 521 arranged downstream thereof adjacent to the fixed discharge section 4.

The first 51 and the second 52 rejection unit each have a drive unit 513, 523 for independently driving the respective rejection unit 51, 52. By moving apart the movable end 51 2 of the first discharge unit 51 and the movable end 522 of the second discharge unit 52, a gap 6 can be generated through which the piece goods S to be discharged fall out of the transport device 1.

The transport device 1 shown is suitable for a method for transporting and spacing piece goods S. As can be seen in all figures, the piece goods S are fed by means of the fixed feed section 3. On the feed section 3, the positions and dimensions of the piece goods S are detected by means of a sensor 7 on the fixed feed section 3.

[0083] As can be seen from Figures 1 to 4, the first rejection unit 51 comprises a conveyor belt 514 and the second rejection unit 52 also includes a conveyor belt 524, which can each be driven by means of the respective drive motor 513, 523. The movable end 512 of the first rejection unit 51 and the movable end 522 of the second rejection unit 52 are each arranged to be movable by means of a linear unit 515, 525.

[0084] Since the respective conveyor belt 514, 524 of the first 51 and the second 52 discharge unit is revolving and usually cannot be shortened, in order to shorten the first 51 and the second 52 discharge unit, in the embodiment variant shown there is a deflection roller 5161, 5261 on the respective discharge unit 51, 52 arranged. The respective conveyor belt 514, 524 runs around the deflection roller 5161, 5261.

In order to shorten the respective discharge unit 51, 52, the respective deflection roller 5161, 5261 is moved with the respective conveyor belt 514, 524 rotating around it. In order to avoid any sagging of the respective conveyor belt 514, 524, each of the two discharge units 51, 52 preferably also comprises at least one counter roller 5162, 5262, which is also arranged to be movable. Preferably, the respective deflection roller 5161, 5261 and the respective counter roller 5162, 5262 are each arranged on a common carriage 516, 526. The carriages 516, 526 are preferably arranged on the respective discharge unit 51, 52 so that they can be moved along the conveying direction.

To detect the position and dimensions of the piece goods S, as well as their position on the feed section 3, the variant of the transport device 1 shown comprises at least one sensor 7 and a control unit 900 which is communicatively connected to the sensor 7. The sensor 7 is configured to measure the dimensions of the piece goods S and the respective position of the piece goods S relative to one another on the fixed. Preferably, the sensor 7 is a light barrier, a light grid, a laser grid or a camera.

The control unit 900 is configured to control the acceleration and/or braking and the moving apart of the first 51 and the second 52 discharge units. A good flow of piece goods can be achieved if the fixed feed section 3 and/or the fixed discharge section 4 is designed as a belt conveyor 31, 41 with an adjustable conveying speed. In addition to the removal by means of the removal device 5, the actual distance between the piece goods S can also be influenced by the feed 3 and removal sections 4.

[0088] As can best be seen from FIG. 2, in order to discharge at least one piece of goods S, the movable end 51 2 of the first discharge unit 51 is moved in the direction of the fixed feed section 3 and the movable end 522 of the second discharge unit 52 is moved in the direction of the fixed discharge section 4. Good results can be achieved if the conveyor belt 514 of the first rejection unit 51 is braked in order to slow down the piece goods S supplied from the fixed feed section 3 for discharge while the movable end 512 of the first rejection unit 51 is moved back in the direction of the fixed feed section 3. At the same time, the conveyor belt 524 of the second discharge unit 52 is accelerated in order to remove the remaining stucco goods 2 to the fixed discharge section 4 while the movable end 522 of the second discharge unit 52 is moved back in the direction of the fixed discharge section 4.

[0089] As can best be seen from FIG. 3, the piece goods S to be discharged fall downwards out of the transport device 1 through a gap 6 created between the first 51 and the second 52 discharge unit. When the movable end 512 of the first discharge unit 51 and the movable end 522 of the second discharge unit 52 are closed, as shown in FIG. 4, the remaining piece goods S are removed by means of the fixed discharge section 4.

[0090] The at least one sensor 7, which is communicatively connected to the control unit 900, sends data to this, the control unit 900 being configured to control the respective drive motor 513, 523 based on the data in order to accelerate the respective conveyor belt 514, 524 and/or to slow down. The sensor 7 shown is typically configured to detect the respective effective length of the piece goods S as well as the respective position of the piece goods S on the fixed feed section 3 in the conveying direction and the control unit 900 to control the linear units 515, 525 based on the respective effective length in such a way that that a gap 6 can be generated between the movable end 512 of the first discharge unit 51 and the movable end 522 of the second discharge unit 52, which size allows the piece goods S to be discharged. Furthermore, the sensor 7 can be configured to detect the respective position of the piece goods S on the fixed feed section 3 and the control unit 900 can use the data transmitted by the sensor to accelerate the drive motor 523 of the second rejection unit 52 in such a way that the piece goods S are spaced apart and at the transfer from the second discharge unit 52 to the fixed discharge section 4 has a larger actual distance compared to the piece goods S following upstream than the actual distance during the transfer from the fixed feed section 3 to the first discharge unit 51.

[0091] Good results can be achieved if the sensor 7 is configured to detect the respective position of the piece goods S on the fixed feed section 3 and the control unit 900 controls the drive motor 513 of the first rejection unit 51 using the data transmitted by the sensor 7 that the first discharge unit 51 is braked to discharge the piece goods S to be discharged. Furthermore, the control unit 900 can use the data transmitted by the sensor 7 to control the respective linear unit 51 5, 525 in such a way that the first 51 and the second 52 discharge unit for discharge are moved so quickly that the piece of goods S to be discharged is driven by gravity due to its mass Gap 6 falls out downwards.

[0092] In the embodiment according to FIG. 1, a control sensor 18 is arranged in the area of the movable end 522 of the second discharge unit 52, which is no longer shown in the further figures. The control sensor 18 is configured to monitor the discharge by, for example, detecting piece goods that are jammed between the movable ends 512, 522 of the first and second discharge units 51, 52 or block this area for another reason. This could be the case, for example, if the piece goods that have already been removed have not been transported away and are stacked below the movable ends.

[0093] As can be seen from Figures 5 and 6, the piece goods S are typically supplied in a discontinuous piece stream. The piece goods supplied usually have different dimensions, such as width and length dimensions.

5, the effective length 91 of the respective piece goods S does not correspond to the actual dimensions, such as length or width, but rather, depending on the position on the feed section 3, to the actually measured length along the conveying direction x. The effective length 91 is to be understood as the length of the piece goods measured along the conveying direction x. As can also be seen from Figure 5, two or more piece goods can also be fed adjacent to one another or lying one on top of the other. In a preferred variant of the transport device, the sensor 7 is configured in such a way that two piece goods that are fed adjacent to one another are recognized in order to initiate a discharge.

[0095] As can be seen from Figure 6, in the variant of the transport device 1 shown, an actual length 9 can be detected by the sensor 7, which corresponds to the effective length 91 of the respective piece goods S and the actual distance 92 between the piece goods S and the one downstream General cargo S corresponds. If, for example, a tray conveyor is downstream of the transport device, the actual length 9 should essentially correspond to the length of a conveyor tray and the distance between two successive conveyor trays.

[0096] As can be seen from Figures 7 and 8, the embodiment of the sorting system 10 shown for transporting and sorting piece goods S has at least one transport device 1 and a sorting device 8 in order to enable sorting of the piece goods S being removed in addition to pure discharge.

Instead of a fixed feed section and discharge section, the sorting system 10 shown also has a further transport device 1 upstream and/or downstream. In the variant shown, the sorting system 10 has a plurality of transport devices 1 arranged in a row adjacent to one another in the conveying direction x.

The transport device 1 shown comprises a discharge device 5, which comprises a first 51 and a second 52 discharge unit. The first 51 and the second 52 discharge unit each define a transport surface 515, 525, the first 51 discharge unit in the variant shown having a first movable end 511 and a second movable end 512 arranged downstream thereof.

[0099] As can be seen in particular from FIG. 7, the first 511 and the second 512 movable ends are arranged to be movable along the conveying direction x by means of a linear unit. The respective empty strand of the conveyor belts 514, 524 that arises when the movable ends 512, 522 are moved apart can be tensioned below the transport surfaces 515, 525 by means of tension rollers 516, 526 by moving the tension rollers 516, 526 vertically with respect to the respective transport surface 515, 525. The tension rollers 516, 526 can be moved by means of drive motors, which can be controlled via a control unit 900. In the variant shown, the first 51 and the second 52 rejection unit each have a drive unit 513, 523 for independently driving the respective rejection unit 51, 52. As can be seen in the figures, by moving apart the movable end 512 of the first discharge unit 51 and the movable end 522 of the second discharge unit 52, a gap 6 is generated, through which piece goods S to be discharged are discharged downwards out of the transport device 1 in the variant shown. When being discharged, the piece goods S preferably fall downwards out of the transport device 1 in relation to the transport surfaces 515, 525 and land on the movable sorting element 81 of the sorting device 8 arranged below the transport surfaces 515, 525 and are placed into at least one collecting container by means of the movable sorting element 81 82, 83 sorted...

The sorting system 10 shown also has a sorting device 8 for sorting the discharged piece goods S. The sorting device 8 shown comprises a movable sorting element 81 and at least two collecting containers 82, 83. In order to achieve the most compact structure possible, the at least two collecting containers 82, 83 can be arranged under the transport device 1. The two collecting containers 82, 83 shown are not arranged next to the first 51 and the second 52 discharge unit, but are arranged underneath.

[0101] Figure 9 shows a top view of the sorting system 10 with a plurality of transport devices 1 and sorting devices. As can be seen from Figure 9, at least two streams of goods can be transported parallel to one another. The flows of goods, consisting of a plurality of piece goods, are preferably transported offset from one another along the conveying direction x, as in the variant shown. By staggering transport to one another, between 40% and up to 60% more piece goods can be transported, discharged and sorted at the same conveying speed.

[0102] As can be seen from Figures 10 to 16, the at least one movable sorting element 81 of the sorting device 8 has an edge 811 in order to sort the discharged piece goods S between the at least two collecting containers 82, 83 below the transport surfaces 515, 525. The edge 811 of the at least one movable sorting element 81 can be brought on an arcuate path from a first position P1 to a second position P2 with respect to a vertex SP arranged below the transport surfaces 515, 525 in order to move the piece goods S to one of the sides with respect to the conveying direction x to be sorted into one of the at least two collecting containers 82, 83. The edge 811 preferably extends essentially parallel to the conveying direction x and is also arranged below the transport surfaces 515, 525.

[0103] Figure 10 shows a variant of the sorting system 10 in which the movable sorting element 81 of the sorting device 8 is designed as a sorting belt 812, which spans a triangle D in the direction of the conveying direction x, the legs S1, S2 of which form sliding surfaces. In the variant shown, the sorting belt 812 runs around at least three rollers 813, 814, 815, one of the rollers 813 being arranged to be movable on the arcuate path B from the first position P1 to the second position P2. The sorting belt 812 itself cannot be driven in the variant shown. The discharged piece goods S slides down over the sorting belt 812 and falls into one of the two collecting containers 82, 83. In order to determine into which of the two collecting containers 82, 83 the discharged piece goods S is sorted, the topmost roller or roller 813 of the triangle D moves from the first position P1 to the second position P2 or vice versa with respect to the vertex SP.

[0104] Figure 11 shows a second variant of the sorting system 10 in which the movable sorting element 81 of the sorting device 8 is designed as a sorting belt 81 2. The sorting belt 812 in the conveying direction x also spans a triangle D, the legs S1, S2 of which form slip surfaces.

In the variant shown, the sorting belt 812 also runs around three rollers 813, 814, 815, although only one of the rollers 813 is arranged to be movable on the arcuate path B from the first position P1 to the second position P2.

The remaining rollers 814, 815 are arranged in a fixed manner. The sorting belt 812 is also firmly clamped at two ends 8121, 81 22 and therefore fixed. In the variant shown, the change in length of the sorting belt 812 when moving the top roller or roller 813 along the arcuate path B is only realized via an elastic and therefore reversible stretching of the sorting belt 812. Since the sorting belt 812 cannot be driven in the variant shown, the discharged piece goods S slides down over the sorting belt 812 and falls into one of the two collecting containers 82, 83.

[0107] In order to determine into which of the two collecting containers 82, 83 the discharged piece goods S will be sorted, here too the top roller or roller 813 of the triangle D is moved from the first position P1 to the second position P2 with respect to the apex SP.

12 shows a third variant of the sorting system 10 in which the movable sorting element 81 of the sorting device 8 is designed as a sorting belt 812. The sorting belt 812 spans a triangle D in the direction of the conveying direction x, the legs S1, S2 of which form sliding surfaces. In the variant shown, the sorting belt 812 runs around at least three rollers 813, 814, 815, one of the rollers 813 being arranged to be movable on the arcuate path B from the first position P1 to the second position P2. The sorting belt 812 itself cannot be driven in the variant shown, but is tensioned by means of at least one additional tension roller 816. Here, the slack strand 8123 is tensioned by moving the at least one tension roller 816 vertically.

[0109] The discharged piece goods S slides down over the sorting belt 812 and falls into one of the two collecting containers 82, 83. In order to determine into which of the two collecting containers 82, 83 the discharged piece goods S is sorted, the top roller or roller 813 of the triangle D moves from the first position P1 to the second position P2 with respect to the vertex SP. The top roller or roller 813 is also moved on the arcuate path B essentially parallel to the base side GD of the triangle D. Moving the top roller or roller 813 in one of the two positions P1, P2 controls which side the piece goods S is sorted to.

13 shows a fourth variant of the sorting system 10 in which the movable sorting element 81 of the sorting device 8 is designed as a pivotable prism P in the direction of the conveying direction x. The prism P shown is pivoted for sorting the piece goods S with respect to the apex SP in order to sort the piece goods S into one of the at least two collecting containers 82, 83.

In the variant shown, the prism P is designed as a triangle, preferably as an equilateral triangle. The side surfaces S1, S2 of the triangle D represent sliding surfaces. In order to achieve a particularly time-saving and precise sorting process, the prism P can be pivoted at the same time as the ejection process. Here, the piece of goods S falling out of the discharge device 5 is captured by the pivoting prism P, slides down over the respective sliding surface and can additionally be accelerated by the pivoting movement and thrown into one of the at least two collecting containers 82, 83.

14 shows a fifth variant of the sorting system 10 in which the movable sorting element 81 of the sorting device 8 is designed as a rocker W. The rocker W shown is pivoted with respect to the apex SP when the piece goods S are discharged in order to sort the piece goods S into one of the at least two collecting containers 82, 83. The rocker W is pivoted with respect to a pivot point DP, which is preferably arranged below the apex SP. In order to achieve a particularly time-saving and precise sorting process, the rocker W can be pivoted at the same time as the discharge process. Here, the piece goods S falling downwards out of the discharge device 5 are captured by the rocker W pivoting between the first position P1 and the second position P2, slide down over the sliding surface of the rocker W and are additionally accelerated by the pivoting movement of the rocker W and into one the at least two collecting containers 82, 83 are thrown.

The rocker W can preferably be pivoted about the pivot point DP from the first position P1 to the second position P2, with a first edge 811 of the rocker W crossing the apex SP when pivoting from the first position P1 to the second position P2.

15 shows a sixth variant of the sorting system 10 in which the movable sorting element 81 of the sorting device 8 is designed as a pivotable prism P in the direction of the conveying direction x, similar to the fourth embodiment. The prism P shown is pivoted for sorting the piece goods S with respect to the apex SP in order to sort the piece goods S into one of the at least two collecting containers 82, 83.

In the variant shown, the prism is designed as an equilateral triangle.

In contrast to the fourth variant, the at least two collecting containers 82, 83 are arranged adjacent to one another and below the transport device 1 in order to achieve a very space-saving structure. In order to achieve a precisely targeted sorting process, the prism P is pivoted at the same time as the discharge process, but it is not additionally accelerated by the pivoting movement in order not to throw the piece of goods S beyond one of the at least two collecting containers 82, 83.

16 shows a seventh variant of the sorting system 10 in which the movable sorting element 81 of the sorting device 8 is designed as a rocker W. The rocker W shown is pivoted with respect to the apex SP when the piece goods S are discharged in order to sort the piece goods S into one of the at least two collecting containers 82, 83, 84, 85. The sorting device shown comprises a total of four collecting containers 82, 83, 84, 85.

[0118] The piece goods S falling downwards out of the discharge device 5 are captured by the rocker W which pivots between the first position P1 and the second position P2, but not only slides down over the sliding surface of the rocker W but is also affected by the pivoting movement of the rocker W accelerates and is thrown precisely into one of the four collecting containers 82, 83, 84, 85.

[0119] The rocker W can be pivoted about the pivot point DP from the first position P1 to the second position P2, with a first edge 811 of the rocker W crossing the apex SP when pivoting from the first position P1 to the second position P2.

Claims (21)

1. Transport device (1) for transporting piece goods (S), comprising a. a fixed feed section (3) and a fixed discharge section (4) arranged downstream along a conveying direction (x), and b. a discharge device (5) comprising a first (51) and a second (52) discharge unit, which are arranged along the conveying direction (x) between the fixed feed section (3) and the fixed discharge section (4), wherein i. the first discharge unit (51) has a fixed or movable end (511) arranged adjacent to the fixed feed section (3) and a movable end (512) arranged downstream thereof, and ii. the second discharge unit (52) has a movable end (522) arranged downstream adjacent to the first discharge unit (51) and a fixed or movable end (521) arranged downstream thereof adjacent to the fixed discharge section (4), wherein c. the first (51) and the second (52) rejection unit each have a drive unit (513, 523) for independently driving the respective rejection unit (51, 52) and by extending the movable end (512) of the first rejection unit (51) and the movable end (522) of the second discharge unit (52), so that a gap (6) can be generated through which piece goods (S) to be discharged are discharged from the transport device (1). 2. Transport device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first discharge unit (51) and the second discharge unit (52) each comprise a conveyor belt (514, 524) which can be driven by means of its own drive motor (513, 523), each of which has one Define transport area (515, 525). 3. Transport device (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that when moving a movable end (511, 512, 521, 522) a respective empty strand (5141, 5142, 5241, 5242) of the conveyor belts (514, 524) by means of a tensioning element (516, 517, 526, 527) can be clamped below the transport surfaces (515, 525) by the clamping element (516, 517, 526, 527) with respect to the respective transport surface (515, 525) at an angle of 30 ° to 90 °, preferably vertically, can be moved. 4. Transport device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transport device (1) comprises at least one sensor (7) and a control unit (900) communicatively connected to the sensor (7), the control unit (900) also is configured to control the acceleration and/or braking and the moving apart of the first (51) and the second (52) discharge unit. 5. Transport device (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the sensor (7) is configured to detect the dimensions of the piece goods (S) and the respective position of the piece goods (S) relative to one another on the fixed feed section (3), whereby the sensor (7) preferably comprises a light barrier, a light grid, a laser grid or a camera. 6. Sorting system (10) for transporting and sorting piece goods (S), comprising, a. at least one transport device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, and b. a sorting device (8) for sorting the discharged piece goods (S), comprising i. at least one movable sorting element (81) and at least one collecting container (82, 83, 84, 85), the at least one movable sorting element (81) and the at least one collecting container (82, 83, 84, 85) being below the transport surfaces (51 5 , 525) are arranged and where ii. at least one edge (811) of the at least one movable sorting element (81) with respect to a vertex (SP) arranged below the transport surfaces (515, 525) on a rectilinear or arcuate path (B), from a first position (P1) to a second position (P2) can be brought in order to sort the piece goods (S) with respect to the conveying direction (x) to one of the sides into the at least one collecting container (82, 83, 84, 85). 7. Sorting system (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that the movable sorting element (81) comprises a sorting belt (812), which spans a triangle (D) in the direction of the conveying direction (x), the legs (S1, S2) of which have sliding surfaces for a discharged piece of goods (S). 8. Sorting system (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that by positioning the edge (811) with respect to the apex (SP) in the first position (P1) or in the second position (P2) it is adjustable to which side the piece goods (S) is sorted over one of the sliding surfaces. 9. Sorting system (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that by moving the edge (811) laterally with respect to the apex (SP), the respective angle (α, β) of the legs (S1, S2) and thereby the inclination of the sliding surfaces is adjustable. 10. Sorting system (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that the movable sorting element (81) is designed as a pivotable prism (P) in the direction of view of the conveying direction (x), one of the edges (811) being pivotable with respect to the apex (SP). is to sort the piece goods (S) into the at least one collecting container (82, 83). 11. Sorting system (10) according to claim 10, characterized in that the pivotable prism (P) for sorting the piece goods (S) is arranged rotatably about a pivot point (DP). 12. Sorting system (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that the movable sorting element (81) is designed as a rocker (W), one of the edges (811) being pivotable with respect to the apex (SP) for removing the piece goods (S). in order to sort the piece goods (S) into the at least one collecting container (82, 83, 84, 85). 13. Sorting system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that during discharge the at least one edge (811) on the way from the first position (P1) to the second position (P2) or from the second position (P2) passes through the vertex (SP) in the first position (P1). 14. Method for transporting and sorting general cargo (S) comprising the steps a. Feeding the piece goods (S); b. Discharging at least one piece of goods (S) by means of the discharging device (5), whereby i. the movable end (512) of the first rejection unit (51) is moved along the conveying direction (x), and ii. the movable end (522) of the second rejection unit (52) is moved along the conveying direction (x), and iii. the piece goods (S) to be discharged are discharged from the transport device (1) through a gap (6) created between the first (51) and the second (52) discharge unit; c. Sorting the discharged piece goods (S) by moving an edge (811) of the at least one movable sorting element (81) from a first position with respect to a vertex (SP) arranged below the transport surfaces (515, 525) on a straight or arcuate path (B). (P1) is brought into a second position (P2) in order to sort the piece goods (S) with respect to the conveying direction (x) to one of the sides into the at least one collecting container (82, 83, 84, 85). d. Removing the piece goods (S) remaining on the transport device (1). 15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the piece goods (S) fall out of the sorting device (10) downwards in relation to the transport surfaces (515, 525) when being discharged. 16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the movable sorting element (81) is designed as a sorting belt (812), which spans a triangle (D) in the direction of the conveying direction (x), the legs (S1, S2) of which have sliding surfaces form, an edge (811) being controlled with respect to the apex (SP) from the first position (P1) to the second position (P2), to which side the piece goods (S) are sorted over one of the sliding surfaces. 17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that by moving the edge (811) laterally with respect to the apex (SP), the respective angle (α, β) of the legs (S1, S2) and thereby the inclination of the sliding surfaces is controlled. 18. The method according to one of claims 16 or 17, characterized in that the piece goods (S) are sorted after being discharged by sliding down one of the sliding surfaces into the at least one collecting container (82, 83, 84, 85). 19. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the movable sorting element (81) is designed as a pivotable prism (P) in the viewing direction of the conveying direction (x), one of the edges (811) being pivoted with respect to the apex (SP). To sort general cargo (S) into the at least one collecting container (82, 83, 84, 85). 20. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the movable sorting element (S) is designed as a rocker (W), one of the edges (811) being pivoted with respect to the apex (SP) to discharge the piece goods (S) around the piece goods (S) to be sorted into the at least one collecting container (82, 83). 21. The method according to one of claims 14 to 20, characterized in that the movable sorting element (S) is accelerated for sorting in order to throw the piece goods (S) into the at least one collecting container (82, 83, 84, 85).