CN114887904A

CN114887904A - Sorting system

Info

Publication number: CN114887904A
Application number: CN202210462033.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 白红星; 朱蒋杰; 何顺林; 谷春光
Original assignee: Zhejiang Galaxis Technology Group Co Ltd
Current assignee: Zhejiang Galaxis Technology Group Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-04-28
Filing date: 2022-04-28
Publication date: 2022-08-12
Also published as: WO2023207501A1; KR20240038072A

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of warehouse logistics equipment, and provides a sorting system. The sorting system includes at least a sorting machine and a plurality of seed planting mechanisms. Through set up a plurality of sowing mechanisms in the cooperation of the sorting machine outside, avoided producing the situation that blocks up because of using a plurality of unmanned vehicles, and then improved the operating efficiency.

Description

Sorting system

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of warehouse logistics equipment, in particular to a sorting system.

Background

In the related art, an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) is generally used to sort materials. When a large amount of materials need sort, it is more to sort the mouth, needs a plurality of unmanned vehicles to carry out work simultaneously. As a result, a situation such as a jam of the plurality of automated guided vehicles is likely to occur on the sorting route, and the work efficiency is reduced.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, it is necessary to provide a sorting system to improve the operation efficiency.

The embodiment of the application provides a sorting system, includes:

a sorter for transferring material along a transport path; and

a plurality of sowing mechanisms arranged beside the sorting machine along a conveying path of the sorting machine;

the seeding mechanism is used for bearing the materials output by the sorting machine and seeding the materials.

In one embodiment, the sowing mechanism comprises:

the seeding assembly comprises a transfer device for conveying materials; and

the driving device is used for driving the sowing assembly to move between the transferring position and the sowing position;

wherein the sowing assembly is in the transfer position and the transfer device is capable of carrying material output from the sorter;

the seeding subassembly is in the seeding position, the transfer apparatus can shift out and sow the material.

In one embodiment, the planting mechanism further comprises a first rail and a second rail;

the second guide rail is connected to the first guide rail in a sliding mode along a third direction, the transfer equipment is a conveyor belt, and the conveyor belt is connected to the second guide rail in a sliding mode along a fourth direction;

the driving device is used for driving the conveyor belt to move on the second guide rail along the fourth direction, and is used for driving the second guide rail to move on the first guide rail along the third direction.

In one embodiment, the sorting system further comprises a plurality of seeding walls for storing the materials;

each seeding mechanism is connected between the sorting machine and at least one seeding wall so as to seed the materials output by the sorting machine to the seeding wall.

In one embodiment, each seeding mechanism corresponds to two seeding walls;

the two seeding walls are arranged opposite to each other, and the seeding mechanism is positioned between the two seeding walls.

In one embodiment, the sowing wall comprises at least one layer of brackets;

each layer of the bracket is used for placing at least one material carrying body for placing materials.

In one embodiment, the sorting system further comprises a connection mechanism, the connection mechanism is connected between the sorting machine and the sowing mechanism, and the connection mechanism is used for bearing the materials output by the sorting machine and conveying the materials to the corresponding sowing mechanism.

In one embodiment, the connection mechanism is multiple, and each connection mechanism corresponds to one sowing mechanism;

the connection mechanism comprises a conveying unit; or the connection mechanism comprises a plurality of conveying units which are sequentially connected, and the plurality of conveying units are used for sequentially conveying the materials output by the sorting machine to the corresponding sowing mechanisms.

In one embodiment, the docking mechanism comprises a first conveying unit and a second conveying unit which are adjacently arranged along a first direction;

the first conveying unit is used for conveying the materials output by the sorting machine along the first direction; the second conveying unit is used for bearing the materials output by the first conveying unit and outputting the materials to the corresponding sowing mechanism along a second direction.

In one embodiment, the material output by the sizer to the first conveyor unit has a velocity component in the first direction.

Among the above-mentioned letter sorting system, letter sorting system includes sorting machine and a plurality of sowing mechanism at least. Through set up a plurality of sowing mechanisms in the cooperation of the sorting machine outside, avoided producing the situation that blocks up because of using a plurality of unmanned vehicles, and then improved the operating efficiency.

Additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of the present application will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of embodiments of the present application.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a sorting system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a sorting system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of a seeding mechanism and a docking mechanism in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a seeding mechanism and a docking mechanism in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of a sowing mechanism in a first state according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of a sowing mechanism in a first state in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a sowing mechanism in one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a seeding assembly according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional structural view of a seeding assembly in one embodiment of an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a transfer apparatus used in conjunction with a first blocking member in an implementation manner of an embodiment of the present application.

Simple description of the reference symbols:

a sorter 100;

a sowing mechanism 200, a sowing assembly 210, a transfer device 211, a first stop 212, a second stop 213, a roller 214, a drive 215, a first guide rail 220, a second guide rail 230, a first drive element 241, a second drive element 242;

a docking mechanism 300, a first transfer unit 310, a second transfer unit 320;

a seeding wall 400;

a first direction F1, a second direction F2, a third direction F3, a fourth direction F4, a fifth direction F5, a width direction W;

an information code reading device 500;

the velocity component v 1;

a loading station a and an abnormal station b.

Detailed Description

In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present application more comprehensible, specific embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. The embodiments of this application can be implemented in many different ways than those described herein and similar modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore the embodiments of this application are not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

It is to be understood that the terms "first," "second," and the like as used herein may be used herein to describe various terms of art, and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicit ly indicating a number of technical features being indicated. However, these terms are not intended to be limiting unless specifically stated. These terms are only used to distinguish one term from another. For example, the first and second transfer units are different transfer units and the first and second guide rails are different guide rails without departing from the scope of the present application. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, "a plurality" or "a plurality" means at least two, e.g., two, three, etc., unless specifically defined otherwise.

In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise explicitly stated or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," "fixed," and the like are to be construed broadly and may, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be directly connected or indirectly connected through intervening media, or they may be connected internally or in any other suitable relationship, unless expressly stated otherwise. The specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present application can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to specific situations.

In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, a first feature "on" or "under" a second feature may be directly contacting the first and second features or indirectly contacting the first and second features through an intermediate. Also, a first feature "on," "above," and "over" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or that only the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature being "under," "below," and "beneath" a second feature may be directly under or obliquely below the second feature, or may simply mean that the first feature is at a lesser level than the second feature.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used in the description of the present application in the present application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application.

In the related art, an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) is generally used to sort materials.

The inventor of the application notices that when a large amount of materials need to be sorted, the sorting port is more, and a plurality of unmanned vehicles are required to work simultaneously. Therefore, the situations that a plurality of unmanned transport vehicles are jammed easily occur on the sorting path, the sorting efficiency is reduced, and the operation efficiency is influenced.

Based on this, this application embodiment is through improving the arrangement mode and the letter sorting mode of letter sorting system, and its arrangement mode can avoid producing the interference between each device in the letter sorting system, assists its letter sorting mode simultaneously, further improves letter sorting efficiency, and then improves the operating efficiency.

The following describes a sorting system provided in the embodiments of the present application with reference to the related descriptions of some embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic top view of a sorting system in one implementation of an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a sorting system in one embodiment of the present application; for ease of illustration, only portions relevant to the embodiments of the present application are shown.

Referring to fig. 1, the present embodiment provides a sorting system including a sorting machine 100, a plurality of sowing mechanisms 200, and a docking mechanism 300. The sorter 100 is used to move material along a transport path. A plurality of sowing mechanisms 200 are arranged alongside the sorter 100 along the conveying path of the sorter 100. In some embodiments, there are a plurality of the docking mechanisms 300, each docking mechanism 300 is connected between the sorting machine 100 and a corresponding one of the sowing mechanisms 200, the docking mechanism 300 is used for carrying the material output from the sorting machine 100 and transferring to the corresponding sowing mechanism 200, and the sowing mechanism 200 is used for sowing the material transferred by the docking mechanism 300.

The transport path may be closed or not. By closed loop transport path is meant that the transport path is end-to-end and the transport path may be rectangular, circular, elliptical or a combination of curved and straight lines. The non-closed loop conveying path means that the ends of the conveying path are not connected, and the conveying path may have other shapes such as a straight line shape and a curved line shape. The setting can be performed according to the requirement, and this is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application.

As an embodiment, the conveying path of the sorter 100 may be provided in a closed loop shape, so that the sorter 100 may sequentially transfer the materials on the conveying path of its closed loop shape. For example, fig. 1 illustrates a case where the conveying path is formed of two segments of arcs and two straight lines, and the docking mechanisms 300 are arranged at intervals along the length direction of the straight line path in the conveying path. The side of the sorter 100 is bounded by the outside of the closed loop conveying path. The sorter 100 is moving material along its closed loop conveying path. That is, after the material enters the sorting machine 100, the material moves along the closed loop conveying path, the output action of the sorting machine 100 can move the material to the corresponding connection mechanism 300, and the connection mechanism 300 carries the material through the connection action. The transferring motion of the connection mechanism 300 can move the material to the corresponding sowing mechanism 200. The sowing mechanism 200 performs a sowing operation on the material according to the storage position of the material. Thus, the closed-loop conveying path can more effectively utilize the space and further improve the working efficiency.

Therefore, since the plurality of sowing mechanisms 200 are cooperatively arranged outside the sorting machine 100, sowing operations are independently performed among the sowing mechanisms 200, and congestion caused by the use of a plurality of automated guided vehicles is avoided. Meanwhile, due to the arrangement of the connection mechanism 300 for buffering, the device can be adapted to different output speeds of the sorting machine 100, and can also temporarily store materials. In addition, the connection mechanism 300 carries the materials through receiving action, so that the action processes are further reduced. From this, through changing arrangement form and letter sorting mode, improved letter sorting system's letter sorting efficiency, and then improved the operating efficiency.

It should be noted that the above illustrates a case where the docking mechanism 300 is provided between the sorting machine 100 and the plurality of sowing mechanisms 200. Of course, it is also possible to use a plurality of sowing mechanisms 200 arranged directly beside the sorting machine 100 without using the docking mechanism 300. It will be appreciated that when the docking mechanism 300 is not applicable, the sowing mechanism 200 receives the material output by the sorter 100 directly and seeds the material. Whether the docking mechanism 300 is provided or not may be selected according to actual situations, and this is not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic top view of a seeding mechanism 200 and a docking mechanism 300 in an embodiment of the present application; for convenience of explanation, only portions related to the embodiments of the present application are shown.

The inventor of the present application has found that, in order to improve the operation efficiency on the basis of better adapting to the output speeds of different sorting machines 100, in some embodiments, referring to fig. 3 in combination with fig. 1, the connecting mechanism 300 includes a plurality of sequentially connected conveying units, and the plurality of conveying units are used for sequentially conveying the materials output by the sorting machines 100 to the sowing mechanisms 200 corresponding to the connecting mechanism 300. Of course, in other embodiments, the docking mechanism 300 may also include a transfer unit. That is, the setting of the number of conveying units may be performed according to the output speed of the sorting machine 100 and the sowing speed of the sowing mechanism 200. In this way, the transfer function and the buffer function of the docking mechanism 300 can be realized by a plurality of transfer units.

In order to achieve the aforesaid transferring function and buffering function and reduce the overall floor area of the sorting system, in some embodiments, referring to fig. 3, the docking mechanism 300 includes a first conveying unit 310 and a second conveying unit 320 adjacently disposed along the first direction F1. The first transfer unit 310 is used for conveying the material output by the sorter 100 in the first direction F1. The second conveying unit 320 is used for carrying the material output by the first conveying unit 310 and outputting the material to the sowing mechanism 200 corresponding to the docking mechanism 300 along the second direction F2. The first direction F1 and the second direction F2 are perpendicular to each other. That is, by providing two conveying units (i.e., the first conveying unit 310 and the second conveying unit 320) and vertically arranging the conveying directions of the two conveying units, the floor space can be reduced while the buffer function is realized to ensure the sorting process. In other words, the sorting system in some embodiments provided herein can utilize its compact arrangement to achieve a more efficient mode of action with the same footprint for different sorting systems. Meanwhile, since the first conveying unit 310 and the second conveying unit 320 both carry the materials through receiving actions, action processes can be further reduced, and sorting efficiency is improved. Of course, in other embodiments, the transmission direction of the first transmission unit 310 and the transmission direction of the second transmission unit 320 may also be set at other included angles, which may be selected according to actual situations, and this is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

To further utilize the conveying action of the first conveying unit 310, in some embodiments, with continued reference to fig. 1 in combination with fig. 3, the material output by the sorter 100 to the first conveying unit 310 has a velocity component v1 in the first direction F1. Since the material transferred by the sorter 100 is transferred along the conveying path of the sorter 100, an acting force in the transfer direction is generated on the material, and when the material is output from the sorter 100, the material has not only the original speed in the transfer direction but also the speed in the direction in which the sorter 100 outputs the material to the first conveying unit 310 under the action of inertia. When the original speed in the transfer direction is the same as the first direction F1, the first transfer unit 310 can receive the material more easily, and the transfer operation of the first transfer unit 310 can be utilized better.

The plurality of transfer units may be the same device or different devices. The transfer speeds at which the plurality of transfer units are arranged may be the same, may be different, or may not be completely the same. For example, in some embodiments, the conveying unit may be a conveyor belt. The greater the conveying speed, the greater the distance over which the material can be thrown. Thus, the conveyor belt can be configured to different conveying speeds based on different materials to achieve output of the materials to different positions. For another example, with respect to the first conveying unit 310 and the second conveying unit 320 illustrated in fig. 3, the conveying speeds of the first conveying unit 310 and the second conveying unit 320 may be the same or different, and may be configured according to a specific sorted material and a sorting process, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The inventor of the application further discovers that in the related art, after the bearing device of the sowing mechanism bears the material, when the bearing device moves to the sowing position, the bearing device needs to be rotated to unload the material to complete the sowing, and when the bearing device of the sowing mechanism bears the next material, the bearing device needs to be rotated again to reset. In the process, more processes are generated, so that the seeding efficiency is low, and the operation efficiency of the sorting system is influenced.

To further enhance the working efficiency, please continue to refer to fig. 2 in combination with fig. 1 and 3, in some embodiments, the sowing mechanism 200 includes a sowing assembly 210 and a driving device. The planting assembly 210 includes a transfer device 211 for transporting material. The driving means are used to drive the transfer device 211 means to move between the transfer position and the sowing position. Wherein the sowing assembly 210 is in the transfer position, and the transfer device 211 can receive the material output from the docking mechanism 300; the planting assembly 210 is in a planting position and the transfer device 211 is capable of removing and planting material. In this process, after the transfer device 211 receives the material at the transfer position, the sowing assembly 210 is driven to the sowing position by the driving device, and the material is sown by the acting force generated between the transfer device 211 and the material. The seeding assembly 210 is driven to the transfer position by the driving device, and the seeding assembly 210 can still continuously receive the materials. Because the transfer device 211 in the sowing assembly 210 bears the material through the receiving action and seeds the material through the acting force generated between the transfer device 211 and the material, the action processes can be reduced. Therefore, by utilizing the motion characteristic of the sowing assembly 210, a plurality of processes are avoided, the sowing efficiency is improved, and the operation efficiency is further improved. It should be noted that the speed configuration of the transfer device 211 may be determined according to the material, and the transfer device 211 may be configured to reciprocate in one direction, and may also be configured to move in one direction, which may be selected according to actual situations, and this is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the application.

In some embodiments, the planting assembly 210 is in a transfer position, and the transfer device 211 is operated at a first speed; the planting assembly 210 is in a planting position and the transfer device 211 is operated at a second speed to remove material from the transfer device 211 for planting. For example, the first speed may be set to be lower than the second speed, the first speed may be set to be equal to the second speed, and the like. Therefore, according to the required seeding process, the first speed and the second speed can be selectively configured to realize the seeding process of the materials.

The first speed and the second speed are set according to the characteristics (for example, size, weight, and the like) of the material. At the transfer location this first speed is needed to ensure that the material is located on the transfer device 211 and at the sowing location this second speed is needed to ensure that the material can be removed from the transfer device 211 for sowing. The running speed of the transfer device 211 may be varied gradually or directly from the transfer position to the sowing position. For example, when the operation speed of the transfer device 211 is changed from the first speed to the second speed, the first speed may be set before the transfer device 211 reaches the sowing position, and the second speed may be set after the transfer device 211 reaches the sowing position, or the first speed may be increased before the transfer device 211 reaches the sowing position, and the second speed may be increased when the transfer device 211 reaches the sowing position. The running speed of the transfer device 211 may be varied gradually or directly from the sowing position to the transfer position. Reference may be made specifically to the process from the transfer position to the sowing position, in contrast to which the operation speed of the transfer device 211 needs to be reduced, which is not described herein again. In some embodiments, the first speed is zero, i.e., the transfer device 211 may be configured to be inoperative when the transfer device 211 reaches the transfer location, and the transfer device 211 remains inoperative only during the process of receiving material from the transfer location to the planting location, so that the material does not fall off the transfer device 211. Of course, in other embodiments, the first speed may be configured to be the same as the second speed, and after the material is received by the transferring device 211, the transferring device 211 may be decelerated, and after the seeding position, the material is moved out by being accelerated to the second speed. Therefore, as long as the progress of the seeding process can be satisfied, this embodiment of the present application is not particularly limited thereto.

Fig. 4 is a schematic side view of the sowing mechanism 200 and the docking mechanism 300 in one embodiment of the present application; FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of a sowing mechanism 200 in a first state according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of a sowing mechanism 200 in a first state in one embodiment of the present application; FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a sowing mechanism 200 in one embodiment of the present application; for ease of illustration, only portions relevant to the embodiments of the present application are shown.

Specifically, referring to fig. 4-7 in some embodiments, and referring to fig. 1 and 3 in combination, the sowing mechanism 200 further includes a first rail 220 and a second rail 230. The second rail 230 is slidably connected to the first rail 220 along a third direction F3, and the transferring device 211 apparatus is slidably connected to the second rail 230 along a fourth direction F4. Wherein the third direction F3 and the fourth direction F4 are perpendicular to each other. The driving device is used for driving the transfer device 211 to move on the second guide rail 230 in the fourth direction F4, and for driving the second guide rail 230 to move on the first guide rail 220 in the third direction F3. For example, fig. 3 illustrates two action positions of the sowing assembly 210 in the third direction F3, namely a transfer position and a sowing position. It will be appreciated that for ease of illustration, two seeding assemblies 210 are illustrated in fig. 3 to illustrate two positions of action, with fig. 3 illustrating two states of the seeding assembly 110. In this manner, the position of the planting assembly 210 can be defined by movement in two directions to effect movement of the planting assembly 210 between the transfer position and the planting position. Alternatively, the conveying direction of the transfer device 211 in the sowing assembly 210 can be configured to be perpendicular to the fifth direction F5, the fifth direction F5, the third direction F3 and the fourth direction F4 two by two, so as to establish a three-dimensional action structure for the sowing mechanism 200, resulting in the sowing mechanism 200 with a more compact structure and more convenient control of the action track.

The first direction F1, the second direction F2, the third direction F3, the fourth direction F4 and the fifth direction F5 may be set according to actual use requirements. For example, in some embodiments, by taking fig. 1, fig. 3 and fig. 7 as an example, and referring to fig. 4 to fig. 6 in combination, a situation is illustrated where the first direction F1 and the second direction F2 are perpendicular to each other, the third direction F3, the fourth direction F4 and the fifth direction F5 are perpendicular to each other, the second direction F2 and the third direction F3 are parallel to each other, and the first direction F1 and the fifth direction F5 are parallel to each other. In this way, a tangential arrangement of the plurality of sowing mechanisms 200 perpendicular to the closed loop conveying path of the sorting machine 100 and a compact arrangement between the docking mechanisms 300 can be obtained, which can reduce the occupied area while improving the working efficiency. Of course, in other embodiments, the sowing mechanism 200 may be disposed at an acute angle to the sorting machine 100, and correspondingly, the docking mechanism 300 may be disposed at an acute angle to the sorting machine 100. While in still other embodiments, a plurality of seed mechanisms 200 may be provided on at least one side of the sorter 100, respectively, when a plurality of seed mechanisms 200 are provided on at least two sides of the sorter 100, respectively, the number of seed mechanisms 200 on each side may be the same or different. For example, fig. 1 illustrates a case where eight sowing mechanisms 200 are respectively provided on opposite sides of the sorter 100. The sowing mechanism 200 can be arranged according to actual use requirements, which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that the driving device may be an integrated driving device or a split driving device. For example, fig. 7 illustrates a case where the first guide rail 220 is provided with a first driving element 241, and the second guide rail 230 is provided with a second driving element 242, in this case, the first guide rail 220 and the first driving element 241 may be integrated into a linear module, and the second guide rail 230 and the second driving element 242 may also be integrated into a linear module. The first driving element 241 and the second driving element 242 may be motors or other driving structures, and the motors may be stepper motors or servo motors. Of course, other structural forms such as a structural form of a slider and a guide rail, a structural form of a ball screw, and the like may also be adopted to implement the linear reciprocating motion, and this is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application. Continuing with fig. 7 as an example, fig. 7 illustrates a case where the first rail 220 is disposed on the upper side of the second rail 230, but of course, the first rail 220 may be disposed on the lower side of the second rail 230, which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of a seeding assembly 210 in one embodiment of an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 9 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a seeding assembly 210 in one embodiment of an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a transfer device 211 used in conjunction with a first barrier 212 in one implementation of an embodiment of the present application; for convenience of explanation, only portions related to the embodiments of the present application are shown.

To further achieve accurate control of the sowing action of the sowing mechanism 200, in some embodiments, referring to fig. 8 to 10, the transfer device 211 can be a conveyor belt, and the sowing assembly 210 further includes two first stoppers 212, wherein the two first stoppers 212 are spaced apart from each other on the transfer device 211 along the conveying direction (i.e., the fifth direction F5) of the transfer device 211. The sowing assembly 210 is in the transfer position with the two first barriers 212 on the same side of the conveying plane of the transfer device 211, blocking material running onto the transfer device 211 to prevent material from being removed from the transfer device 211. Sowing assembly 210 is in a sowing position, with first barrier 212 located upstream and first barrier 212 located downstream on different sides of the conveying plane of transfer device 211, respectively, in the conveying direction of transfer device 211, to enable material to be removed from transfer device 211. In particular, in some embodiments, two first barriers 212 are bonded to transfer device 211. Of course, the first blocking element 212 may be fixed to the transferring device 211 by other means, such as plugging, and this is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that, taking fig. 10 as an example, a case where two first stoppers 212 are located on the upper side of the conveying plane of transfer device 211, that is, a case where "two first stoppers 212 are located on the same side of the conveying plane of transfer device 211" is included schematically. Continuing with the example of fig. 10, first barrier 212 located upstream is first barrier 212 on the left side in the figure, and first barrier 212 located downstream is first barrier 212 on the right side in the figure, and when first barrier 212 located on the left side is located on the upper side (i.e., on the upper side of the conveyance plane) of transfer device 211 and first barrier 212 located on the right side is located on the right side or on the lower side (i.e., on the lower side of the conveyance plane) of transfer device 211, this is one of the cases encompassed by "first barrier 212 located upstream and first barrier 212 located downstream are respectively located on different sides of the conveyance plane of transfer device 211". Of course, the distance between two first blocking members 212 may be set according to the actual situation of the material to meet the use requirement, and this is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Thus, as the transfer device 211 operates, the upstream first blocking element 212 and the downstream first blocking element 212 are respectively located on different sides of the conveying plane of the transfer device 211, the upstream first blocking element 212 can block slipping material, and the downstream first blocking element 212 can avoid the slipping material. So, can prevent to produce the skew because of the transportation equipment 211 operation, produce the influence to material movement track, and then realize the more accurate control to the seeding action, guaranteed the orderly of seeding action and gone on. Namely, the sowing efficiency is ensured in the aspect of orderliness.

In some embodiments, with continued reference to fig. 8, the seeding assembly 210 further includes two second barriers 213. Two second stoppers 213 are oppositely disposed on both sides of the belt in the width direction W of the transfer device 211. Wherein the width direction W of the transfer device 211 is perpendicular to the transport direction of the transfer device 211. So, can further realize the control to the material gesture, prevent that the material from producing the skew on transfer apparatus 211 to also can realize acting more accurate control to the seeding.

In some embodiments, with continued reference to fig. 8 and 9, the planting assembly 210 further includes two oppositely disposed and rotatable rollers 214 and a drive member 215. The transfer device 211 is sleeved on the two rollers 214. The drive 215 is drivingly connected to one of the rollers 214 to enable the transfer device 211 to be moved by means of the two rollers 214. Alternatively, the drive 215 may be provided as a motor. In this manner, the transfer device 211 can be operated by the driving structure of the driving member 215 and the roller 214.

To further improve the efficiency of the operation, in some embodiments, with continued reference to fig. 1 and 2, the sorting system further includes a plurality of seeding walls 400, wherein the seeding walls 400 are used for storing the materials. Each sowing mechanism 200 is engaged between the corresponding connection mechanism 300 and at least one sowing wall 400, so as to sow the materials transferred by the connection mechanism 300 to the sowing wall 400. Optionally, the sowing wall 400 comprises at least one layer of carriages, each layer of carriages being used for placing at least one material carrier for placing material. In some embodiments, the material bearing bodies are turnover boxes which are open, so that materials can be placed in the turnover boxes conveniently. Specifically, in some embodiments, there are two planting walls 400 for each planting mechanism 200. The two sowing walls 400 are disposed opposite to each other, and the sowing mechanism 200 is located between the two sowing walls 400. So, can obtain more seeding mouths, the continuity of operation of being convenient for improves letter sorting system's operating efficiency. As an example of the case where the sowing mechanism 200 includes the first rail 220 and the second rail 230 illustrated in some of the foregoing embodiments, the sowing walls 400 may be provided on both sides of the first rail 220 in the third direction F3. Since the transfer device 211 in the sowing assembly 210 can be configured to move in both directions, i.e., the transfer device 211 can move in the fifth direction F5 and in the opposite direction to the fifth direction F5, in this way, material can be thrown by the transfer device 211 of the sowing assembly 210 from one end into the turnaround box of the sowing wall 400 on either side of the first guide rail 220. Thereby, more seeding openings are further obtained, the operation efficiency of the seeding mechanism 200 is improved, and the occupied area of the seeding mechanism 200 is reduced. In some embodiments, each planting mechanism 200 may also correspond to one or more planting walls 400, and the planting walls 400 themselves may be fixed or movable.

In some embodiments, sorter 100 comprises one of a cross-belt sorter, a tumble sorter, a slide sorter, a baffle sorter, a tape-float sorter, a roller-float sorter, and a slat-inclined sorter. Taking fig. 1 as an example, a situation that the sorting machine 100 is a slat inclined sorting machine is shown, materials are placed in each sorting trolley in the slat inclined sorting machine and conveyed, and when the corresponding docking mechanism 300 is to be operated, the turning door of the sorting trolley can be opened, so that the materials on the sorting trolley automatically slide down to the docking mechanism 300. The sorting machine 100 used in practice is not limited to the above sorting machines, and may be set according to actual requirements as long as the sorting machine has a function of conveying sorted materials, and this is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In some embodiments, with continued reference to fig. 1, along the conveying path of the sorting machine 100, a loading station a for placing the material on the sorting machine 100 and an abnormal station b for outputting the abnormal material are further provided on the outer side of the sorting machine 100. The sorting machine 100 is provided with an information code reading device 500, and correspondingly, the materials are provided with information labels. The information tag contains basic information of the material. Thus, people or related equipment (not shown in the figure) can be arranged on the feeding station a for feeding, the receiving equipment (not shown in the figure) is arranged on the abnormal station b, and the sorting machine 100 can output abnormal materials (such as materials with wrong feeding or damaged materials) to the receiving equipment according to signals fed back by the information code reading equipment 500 for identifying the materials, so that the smooth operation of the whole action of the sorting system is ensured. Fig. 1 illustrates a case where two loading stations a and two abnormal stations b are provided. Of course, other numbers of loading stations a and abnormal stations b can be set according to the use requirement, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. Alternatively, the industrial control system of the sorting system may be controlled using a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) to achieve cooperation between components in the sorting system. Of course, the action of the sorting system can also be controlled by combining the upper computer and the lower computer.

In the following, with reference to the related contents in some embodiments described above, and taking fig. 1 as an example, the operation flow steps of the sorting system provided in the embodiment of the present application are exemplarily described.

S110, feeding materials to be sorted to the sorting machine 100 at a feeding station a;

s120, the sorting machine 100 transfers the materials to the position of the information code reading equipment 500, and after the information code reading equipment 500 reads the information labels of the materials, the basic information of the materials is obtained;

s130, if the information code reading equipment 500 judges that the basic information of the material is correct, an upper computer (not shown in the figure) feeds back a control signal distributed to the position where the corresponding connection mechanism 300 is arranged to the sorting machine 100 according to the basic information of the material and in combination with the content of an order, if the information code reading equipment 500 judges that the basic information of the material is wrong, the sorting machine 100 transfers the material to an abnormal station b for rejection according to the fed-back signal, the rejected material is judged manually, and the material is fed again after being processed;

s140, when the sorting machine 100 moves the materials to the position where the connection mechanism 300 is correspondingly arranged, the sowing mechanism 200 moves to a transfer position, the sorting machine 100 outputs the materials to the connection mechanism 300, and the connection mechanism 300 transfers the materials to the sowing mechanism 200;

s150, the seeding mechanism 200 seeds the received materials to corresponding positions on the seeding wall 400 according to the task instruction of the upper computer;

and S160, when the seeding wall 400 is full of seeds, the upper computer sends prompt information, the seeding wall 400 is pulled out manually, and the materials are packaged and delivered.

In summary, the sorting system provided in the embodiment of the present application includes at least a sorting machine 100, a plurality of sowing mechanisms 200, a plurality of docking mechanisms 300, and a plurality of sowing walls 400. The sorter 100 moves along a conveying path of a closed loop shape, and the docking mechanism 300 is engaged between the sorter 100 and the sowing mechanism 200. By setting the conveying path of the sorting machine 100 in a closed loop shape and cooperatively setting a plurality of sowing mechanisms 200 outside the sorting machine 100, each sowing mechanism 200 is arranged between two adjacent sowing walls 400, working in order, the situation of congestion due to the use of a plurality of automated guided vehicles is avoided. Due to the provision of the docking mechanism 300 for buffering, it is possible to adapt to different output speeds of the sorting machine 100. As the sowing assembly 210 in the sowing mechanism 200 comprises the transfer device 211 and the transfer unit in the connection mechanism 300 can also be set to be in the structural form of the conveyor belt, a plurality of processes are avoided by utilizing the movement characteristic of the conveyor belt, and the control of the material sowing process is realized by arranging the blocking piece in the sowing assembly 210. And because a seeding mechanism 200 corresponds two seeding walls 400, utilize transfer device 211 can two-way transmission characteristic, further make full use of seeding mechanism 200, expanded the position of storing the letter sorting material. Therefore, the sorting system improves the operation efficiency through the mutual matching of the components.

The technical features of the above embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described, but should be considered as the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present application, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, which falls within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A sorting system, comprising:

a sorter for transferring material along a transport path; and

2. The sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the sowing mechanism comprises:

the seeding assembly comprises a transfer device for conveying materials; and

3. The sortation system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said seed mechanism further comprises a first rail and a second rail;

4. The sortation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sortation system further comprises a plurality of seeding walls, said seeding walls to store material;

5. The sortation system as claimed in claim 4, wherein each said sowing mechanism corresponds to two of said sowing walls;

6. The sortation system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said planting wall includes at least one deck of trays;

7. The sortation system as claimed in any of claims 1-6, wherein said sortation system further comprises a docking mechanism;

the connection mechanism is connected between the sorting machine and the sowing mechanism and is used for bearing the materials output by the sorting machine and transferring the materials to the corresponding sowing mechanism.

8. The sorting system according to claim 7, wherein the docking mechanism is plural, each docking mechanism corresponding to a sowing mechanism;

9. The sortation system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said docking mechanism includes a first conveyor unit and a second conveyor unit disposed adjacent in a first direction;

10. A sorting system according to claim 9 wherein the material output by the sorter to the first conveyor unit has a velocity component in the first direction.