JP2000177840A - Branching device for article to be carried - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device breaching a carrying line for articles into multiple lines, and in particular to handles articles to be carried even at a high speed before the branch. SOLUTION: A start wheel 12 rotating horizontally and a screw shaft provided in the tangential direction on the input side of the start wheel 12 are structured to catch an article. Large number of catching parts are provided on the periphery of the star wheel 12 to form gear shape, and a suction part is provided at every other catching part. An article held by the catching part with the suction part is made to flow into a carrying out passage 6 at a releasing part 10 on the following stage, and an article held by the catching part without the suction part is made to flow into a carrying out passage 5 at a releasing part 9 at the previous stage. This structure separates articles to be carried at a high speed into two directions at once and carries them.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for branching a conveyed article which allows a conveyed row of articles to be branched in a plurality of directions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A production line for packing drinking water and the like in bottles, cans, plastic bottles and the like for shipment will be described as an example. As a final stage, a product before shipment (hereinafter referred to as "article") is described. Inspection by visual inspection or the like while transporting the paper is usually included. In such a process relying on human eyes, there is naturally a limit in increasing the article conveying speed, and specifically, approximately 200 to 300 minutes per minute.
This is the limit.

[0003] On the other hand, the article transport speed up to the above-mentioned inspection process has been increased as much as possible due to the mechanization of most processes (for example, 600 pieces per minute). Or more).

[0004]

There is a remarkable difference in the article conveying speed between the above-mentioned inspection step and the upstream step. A step of branching the conveying row of articles in two directions. That is, the branching speed can reduce the conveying speed of the articles by half (for example, 600 pieces per minute can be reduced to 300 pieces per minute).

[0005] However, there has not been a device that can surely branch a conveying row of articles conveyed at a high speed of 600 pieces per minute in two directions at once.
Therefore, in such a case, it is necessary to perform a procedure of branching the article conveyance line again after the deceleration process is first performed. However, to do so, prior to this deceleration step, a pool of goods must be provided,
This led to the need for a large space.

[0006] If such a pool location cannot be secured, the article transport speed in the inspection process is used as a reference.
In some cases, it was necessary to limit the article conveying speed in the upstream process. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has been made in such a manner that a conveying row of articles can be branched in a plurality of directions, and is particularly applicable to a case where an article conveying speed before branching is high. It is an object of the present invention to provide a branching device for conveyed articles that can be performed.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the following technical measures have been taken in order to achieve the above object. That is, in the conveyed article branching device according to the present invention, a roll transporter having one article input section and at least two article discharge sections on the outer peripheral portion, and a roll transport apparatus provided at the article input section of the roll transport apparatus. And an alignment transfer machine.

The above-mentioned revolving conveyor has a star wheel provided with a plurality of engaging recesses for articles on the outer periphery at equal intervals, and a wheel drive unit for rotating the star wheel horizontally. Further, the above-mentioned aligning and conveying machine has a screw shaft having a spiral groove which enables to pinch an article by a combination with an engaging concave portion of a star wheel in a revolving conveyor, and a screw drive for rotating the screw shaft around a horizontal axis. Part.

[0009] A feed path for loading articles in a single row along a tangential direction on the entry side with respect to the rotation direction of the star wheel is connected to the article input section of the reversing transport machine. Each of the article discharge sections is connected to a carry-out path for carrying out articles in a single row along a tangential direction on the exit side with respect to the rotation direction of the star wheel. With such a configuration, the article conveyed at a high speed can be directly carried into the reversing carrier, and the article being conveyed by the reversing carrier can be easily taken out from each article discharging unit by an appropriate method. As a result, it is possible to reduce the conveying speed of the articles at the individual exit paths connected to each article discharge section to half at a stroke compared to the import path connected upstream from the article input section. become.

In a star wheel of a revolving conveyor, a method of engaging and holding an article in an engagement recess of an outer peripheral portion includes a suction method in which a suction section is provided corresponding to the engagement recess, and an article is provided below the engagement recess. A supporting method in which a receiving bottom plate is provided, a lateral pressing method in which a side guide is provided so as to surround the outer periphery of the star wheel, and a combined method thereof are conceivable. Of these, when using the suction method, Star Wheel uses
What is necessary is just to make the engagement recessed part provided with a suction part and the engagement recessed part not provided with a suction part arrange | positioned by an appropriate number by turns.

[0011] In this case, at the center of rotation of the star wheel, there is provided a spindle portion which has a vertical cylindrical shape and supports the rotation of the star wheel. A circumferential groove is provided over an angular range exceeding the article discharge portion, and air can be suctioned into this circumferential groove.In the star wheel, the inner surface of the shaft hole into which the support shaft portion is inserted matches the circumferential groove. It is assumed that an intake hole is provided, which is capable of extending toward the engaging concave portion radially outward and communicating with the suction portion.

Therefore, when the star wheel rotates, the suction action is transmitted only to the suction hole that matches the circumferential groove, and only the suction portion that communicates through the suction hole causes the suction state of the article. In addition, the suction state of the article is determined when the intake hole does not match the circumferential groove due to the rotation of the star wheel (that is, the non-matching portion corresponds to a position downstream of the first article discharge portion). And the article is automatically released from the engagement recess.

In the case of employing such a spindle portion, it is assumed that a ring member is fitted to a portion of the spindle portion where the above-mentioned peripheral groove is formed. That is, the peripheral groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the ring member. In addition, the ring member is divided in the circumferential direction into a divided body having a circumferential groove and a divided body without the circumferential groove, and the divided body having the circumferential groove is directed radially outward. It is assumed that the spring is biased.

With this configuration, the divided body having the circumferential groove maintains an appropriate circumferential contact state with the inner surface of the shaft hole of the star wheel. Excessive pressure welding to the inner surface of the shaft hole of the foil (seizure)
Can be prevented. In the turning transport machine,
When the suction method and the side pressing method described above are used in combination, as the side guide, the article input section holds a gap larger than the article diameter between the engaging recess of the star wheel and the downstream side thereof. By gradually narrowing the above-mentioned distance toward the, the article fitted in the engagement concave portion can be pressed gradually and surely against the suction portion in the engagement concave portion, and the suction of the article can be surely performed. There are advantages. In addition, there is an advantage that the article itself can be stably inserted into the engagement recess.

In the reversing transport machine, if a slope portion for lowering the transport level of the article by one step is provided in a transfer portion from the article input section to the downstream unloading path, the star wheel does not have a suction section. The article fitted into the mating recess will fall down along this slope. However, since the articles fitted into the engaging recesses provided with the suction portions do not fall, it is possible to cause a clear difference in the transport level of these articles.

[0016] Therefore, in each of the article discharging sections, by providing the carry-out path according to the difference in the transport level, it is easy to branch the articles.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conveyed article branching device 1 according to the present invention includes a revolving conveyer 2 and an aligning conveyer 3, and is conveyed in one line by one conveyer path 4. The article W to be branched, and
Thus, each of them can be carried out in a line (that is, in two directions).

The article W is a round bottle filled with drinking water and the like. The turning transporting machine 2 has one article input section 8 and two article discharge sections 9 and 10 on the outer peripheral portion. Further, the article input section 8 and the article discharge section 9,
A star wheel 12 is provided at the center of the unit 10 so as to be freely rotatable horizontally, and a wheel drive unit 13 for continuously rotating the star wheel 12 horizontally.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the star wheel 12 has a pair of upper and lower wheel plates 15, which are externally fitted to a support shaft portion 14 provided in a vertical cylindrical shape at the center of rotation. And a branch plate 18 provided on the lower surface of the lower wheel plate 16 via a spacer ring 17.
And The support shaft portion 14 is fixed to the device frame 19 so as to be non-rotatable, and a rotary drive shaft 20 for transmitting a rotational drive force to the star wheel 12 in the wheel drive portion 13 is rotatable inside the hollow portion. Has been inserted.

The upper and lower wheel plates 15 and 16 are provided with a plurality of notches 21a and 21b at regular intervals along their outer peripheral portions, the cutouts 21a and 21b conform to the outer shape of about half the circumference of the article W. These notches 21a and 21b are located between the upper and lower foil plates 15 and 16 so as to be completely aligned, and the upper and lower combinations of the notches 21a and 21b form an engaging recess 22 for the article W. I have.

The lower wheel plate 16 is provided with a boss 23 which is fitted to the support shaft portion 14 in an airtight manner, and the upper wheel plate 15 is provided with a lower wheel plate 16.
A boss portion 24 that can be fitted airtightly to the boss portion 23 is provided. Boss 23 of lower wheel plate 16
Is rotatably held with respect to the support shaft 14,
The boss portion 24 of the upper foil plate 15 is provided with an appropriate detent mechanism such as a key (not shown) between the boss portion 23 of the lower foil plate 16 and the upper and lower foil plates 15 and 16. Do not rotate relative to each other.

The boss 23 of the lower wheel plate 16 has a vertical cylindrical shape at its center and a top lid 25a at the center.
A tubular core portion 25 closed by
The tubular core portion 25 is put on the upper end portion of the rotation drive shaft 20 described above, and is fixed so as not to rotate relatively. That is, the wheel driving unit 1 is formed by the tubular core 25.
3 is transmitted to the star wheel 12.

The canopy 25a of the tubular core 25
, A height adjusting bolt 26 protruding upward from the center thereof is rotatably held. On the contrary,
The upper foil plate 15 has a canopy 27
The height adjusting bolt 26 passes through the center of the canopy 27. Therefore, by adjusting the degree of screwing of the height adjusting bolt 26 with respect to the canopy 27, the height of the upper foil plate 15 with respect to the lower foil plate 16 can be adjusted. The vertical distance between the upper and lower parts 21a and 21b, that is, the vertical dimension as the engaging concave part 22 is adjusted so that the height of the article W can be changed.

In the star wheel 12, a suction portion 30 is provided in the engagement recess 22 in a predetermined arrangement. In this embodiment, since the suction portions 30 are provided in every other engagement recesses 22, the engagement recesses 22 having the suction portions 30 and the engagement recesses 22 having no suction portions 30 are alternately arranged. It will be arranged in. Each suction unit 30
A manifold plate 31 formed in a donut shape surrounding the boss portion 23 of the lower wheel plate 16 and fixed to the lower surface of the upper wheel plate 15, and a plurality of radially connected outer peripheral portions of the manifold plate 31. An extension tube 32, a suction cup 33 supported on the distal end side of the extension tube 32 with the open end directed radially outward of the star wheel 12,
Intake path 3 formed through the inside of the peripheral wall of support shaft portion 14 and the like
4 and a suction device 35 (see FIG. 2) connected to the intake path 34.

Needless to say, the manifold plate 31
A plurality of air intake holes 37 extending in the radial direction are formed in the peripheral wall of the boss portion 23 in the inner and lower tier wheel plates 16 so as to correspond to the arrangement of the suction portions 30. Therefore, by the operation of the suction device 35, each suction cup 31 is brought into a suction state through the suction pipe 34, the inside of the manifold plate 31 (the suction hole 37), and each extension pipe 32, and the article W can be suctioned by each suction cup 31. It is something that has become.

A vertical groove 37 a extending upward from the intake hole 37 is provided on the peripheral wall of the boss 24 in the manifold plate 31 and the upper-stage wheel plate 15. The vertical groove 37a is configured to maintain the communication state as the intake hole 37 even when the height of the upper wheel plate 15 is adjusted. A ring member 38 is fitted into the upper end of the support shaft portion 14. Inside the ring member 38, the support shaft portion 14
Is formed so as to be bent toward the outer peripheral side after rising inside the peripheral wall.

A peripheral groove 39 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the ring member 38 as shown in FIG. 5, and air can be taken into the peripheral groove 39 (39a is a peripheral wall of the shaft 14). It is a vertical hole connected to the inside). This circumferential groove 3
9 is formed over an angle range from the article input section 8 to the first article discharge section 9. On the other hand, a plurality of intake holes extending in the radial direction as described above are provided on the inner surface of the shaft hole 12a of the star wheel 12 into which the support shaft portion 14 is inserted (corresponding to the inner surface of the boss portion 23 of the lower wheel plate 16). 37 are provided, and when the star wheel 12 rotates, these intake holes 37 may or may not match the circumferential groove 39.

Therefore, only the suction holes 37 that match the circumferential groove 39 are in the suction state, and the suction holes 37 that do not match are set in the suction state.
In this case, the suction state is not taken into account, so that the presence or absence of the suction of the suction unit 30 is switched. In addition, since this switching is performed between the article input section 8 and the area beyond the first article discharge section 9, the suction state is set, and the other areas are set to the non-suction state. The suction of the article W and the release of the article W at a position past the article discharge section 9 are automatically switched.

This means that neither the suction section 30 nor the suction device 35 requires any valve mechanism.
In addition, it has a structural feature that it is possible to switch the presence or absence of suction of each suction unit 30 while the suction device 35 is continuously operated. In the outer peripheral surface portion of the ring member 38, the recesses 40 and 41 penetrating in the thickness direction (up and down direction) of the ring member 38 in a region that does not reach the peripheral groove 39.
Is provided. These recesses 40 and 41 are for exerting the effect of releasing to the atmosphere, so that the suction hole 37 which has completed the matching state with the circumferential groove 39 can surely cancel the suction operation (vacuum state).

The ring member 38 is provided with a radially penetrating dividing line 42 at two locations in the circumferential direction, whereby a divided body 45 having a peripheral groove 39 and a peripheral body 39 are provided.
And a divided body 46 that does not include
The divided body 45 having the circumferential groove 39 includes:
A spring 47 abutting on the rotation drive shaft 20 is mounted on the inner peripheral surface side, and the spring 47 biases the spring radially outward.

Therefore, even if a suction action occurs in the circumferential groove 39, the ring member 38 and the shaft hole 12 of the star wheel 12 are formed.
This prevents eccentric and local excessive press-contact with a, and enables light rotation of the star wheel 12 and also prevents excessive wear.
As shown in FIG. 4, the branch plate 18 provided on the lower surface of the lower-stage wheel plate 16 has
Notch portions 18a are provided that match every other engagement recess 22. That is, when viewed as a whole of the star wheel 12, the engaging recesses 22 are vertically penetrated (the cutouts 21 a, 21 b, 18 a coincide) and non-penetrated by the branch plate 18. Are arranged alternately.

As described above, in the branch plate 18, the portion that makes the engaging recess 22 non-penetrating due to its existence is
An article receiving bottom plate 48 for supporting the article W to be engaged with the engaging recess 22 is formed (see FIG. 3). The engagement recess 22 having the article receiving bottom plate 48 is
The engagement recess 22 having the suction portion 30 and not having the article receiving bottom plate 48 has a positional relationship such that the engagement recess 22 does not have the suction portion 30.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4,
The aligning and transporting machine 3 is provided so that an axis thereof is parallel to the carrying-in path 4 in the article loading section 8 of the revolving and transporting machine 2. The aligning and conveying machine 3 includes a screw shaft 51 having a spiral groove 50 which enables the article W to be clamped by a combination with the engaging concave portion 22 of the star wheel 12 in the revolving conveyor 2, and a screw shaft 51 having a horizontal axis. And a screw drive unit 52 for rotating the screw drive unit 52 around the screw drive unit.

The spiral groove 50 of the screw shaft 51 extends from the upstream side to the downstream side of the loading path 4 (ie, the star wheel 1).
The lead W is formed so that it is loosened, and the article W can be supplied at the downstream end in accordance with the circumferential pitch at which the engaging recesses 22 are provided in the star wheel 12. The speed of the screw driving section 52 of the aligning and conveying machine 3 is set so as to convey the article W at a speed slightly higher than the rotation speed (peripheral speed) of the star wheel 12.

The screw shaft 51 is provided with a star wheel 1
It is preferable that the position of the object W can be adjusted in the contact / separation direction so that it can cope with a change to an object W having a different outer diameter. By the way, as shown in FIG.
Is provided along the tangential direction of the entry side with respect to the rotation direction of the star wheel 12 with respect to the article input section 8 of
The article W is carried into the star wheel 12.

A top chain conveyor, a belt conveyor, or the like is used for the carry-in path 4.
2 (branch plate 18) and a pair of left and right feed surfaces 4a, 4b having different erection lengths so as to be as close as possible to this star wheel 12 while avoiding interference with the star wheel 12.
Is provided. The unloading paths 5, 6 are provided for the respective article discharge sections 9, 10 of the revolving transfer machine 2 so as to extend along a tangential direction on the output side with respect to the rotation direction of the star wheel 12. Out of the article W from.

For each of the carry-out paths 5, 6, a top chain conveyor, a belt conveyor or the like is used. However, the carry-out path 5 provided corresponding to the first article discharge section 9 is provided with a transport level one step lower than the primary side (that is, the carry-in path 4) of the article input section 8 (see FIG. 6). For this reason, the star wheel 12 can be approached without any interference with the star wheel 12, so that it has one wide feeding surface 5a.

On the other hand, the transport path 6 provided corresponding to the next article discharge section 10 is provided at the same transport level as the carry-in path 4. Therefore, in order to make it as close as possible to the star wheel 12 while avoiding interference with the star wheel 12 (branch plate 18), similarly to the loading path 4, a pair of left and right erected lengths is different. Feed surfaces 6a, 6
b.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in connection with the fact that the carrying level of the carry-out path 5 is lower than that of the carry-in path 4, the transfer from the article input section 8 to the secondary carry-out path 5 is performed. A slope portion 55 is provided at the transfer portion. for that reason,
Of the articles W fitted from the article input section 8 to the engaging recesses 22 of the star wheel 12, the suction section 30 and the article receiving bottom plate 4
W fitted into the engaging recess 22 having no
Will fall downward along the slope portion 55. However, the article W fitted into the engaging recess 22 provided with the suction section 30 and the article receiving bottom plate 48 does not fall because it is attracted by the suction section 30 and supported by the article receiving bottom plate 48. , This slope part 55
Irrespective of the above, the vehicle floats on the carry-out path 5 and passes while maintaining the carrying level of the carry-in path 4.

Therefore, every other article W passing on the carry-out path 5 has a different transport level, and only the articles W which have fallen down along the slope portion 55 are the only ones that fall down along the carry-out path 5. And is discharged from the article discharge section 9. The revolving conveyor 2 has a star wheel 12 extending from the article input section 8 to the first article discharge section 9.
A guide 56 (see FIG. 1) is provided to guide the article W around the outer circumference of the star wheel 12. The side guide 56 allows the article W falling along the slope 55 to engage with the engaging recess 22 of the star wheel 12. It is supposed to guide you so as not to get out of the way.

As shown in FIG. 6, the side guide 56 can be formed, for example, by holding a plurality of plate-like guide plates 57 one above the other with a vertical interval. The side guide 56 is, as shown in FIG.
In such a case, a gap M wider than the article diameter is maintained between the engagement recess 22 of the star wheel 12 and the gap m gradually narrower toward the downstream side (M> m). Positional adjustments have been made.

Therefore, when the article W moves along the side guide 56, the engaging recess 22 of the star wheel 12
Among them, in the apparatus provided with the suction unit 30, the article W is sufficiently pressed against the suction cup 33, so that reliable suction is performed. In addition, as shown in FIG.
A second side guide 58 for guiding the article W toward the carry-out path 6 is also provided on the downstream side, that is, between the article discharge sections 9 and 10. That is, as described above, in the star wheel 12, the suction of the articles W by the suction sections 30 is released around the point where the first article discharge section 9 is exceeded. That is, the article W that is no longer removed is prevented from coming off the engagement recess 22.

Next, the operation of the branching device 1 having such a configuration will be described. When the articles W are continuously carried in a single row from the upstream side by the carry-in path 4, in the article input section 8, the conveying pitch of the articles W is adjusted by the screw shaft 51, and the engaging recesses of the star wheel 12 are adjusted. The articles W are fitted into the order 22 in an orderly manner.

In the star wheel 12, in the engaging recess 22 provided with the suction portion 30 and the article receiving bottom plate 48, the article W is supported by the article receiving bottom plate 48 while being suctioned by the suction cup 33, Further, in the engagement recess 22 in which the suction portion 30 also does not include the article receiving bottom plate 48, the article W is simply engaged with the engagement recess 22. Then, among the articles W that move along the side guides 56 with the rotation of the star wheel 12, only the articles W fitted into the engagement recesses 22 without the article receiving bottom plate 48 are the slope sections 55. (See FIG. 6). The article W dropped in the slope section 55 in this manner is carried out of the first article discharge section 9 by the carry-out path 5 as it is.

On the other hand, the article W fitted into the engaging recess 22 provided with the suction section 30 and the article receiving bottom plate 48 passes through the slope section 55 and the conveying path 5 while floating, and the second side section. After being guided to the guide 58 and being released by the suction unit 30 near the first article ejection section 9, the sheet is guided by the side guide 58 and reaches the next article ejection section 10. Then, the article W is the article discharging section 1
At 0, it is released to the carry-out path 6 and is carried out by the carry-out path 6.

In this way, the articles W sent in by the carry-in path 4 are alternately sorted to the carry-out path 5 and the carry-out path 6 every other one. In the path 6, the article conveying speed can be reduced by half with respect to the carry-in path 4. Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, the branching device 1 is not limited to use when the article W is being conveyed at a high speed. In the star wheel 12, the arrangement of the engagement recesses 22 provided with the suction unit 30 and the article receiving bottom plate 48 and the engagement recesses 22 not provided is not limited to every other one, but may be plural. Or different numbers of distribution ratios (for example, 1: 2).

In the star wheel 12, each suction unit 30
The switching of the presence / absence of suction may be performed by valve control provided in each suction unit 30. In addition,
If the suction section 30 can generate a strong suction action, the article receiving bottom plate 48 (branch plate 18)
Is unnecessary. The positioning of the article discharge units 9 and 10 is not limited at all. Therefore, for example, the first article release unit 9
A form that is directly connected to the article input unit 8 (loading path 4
(An arrangement such that the carry-out path 5 follows the straight line).

The shape, size, type, etc. of the article W are not limited at all.

[0050]

As is apparent from the above description, in the apparatus for branching a conveyed article according to the present invention, a combination of a rotating conveyer (mainly a star wheel) and an aligning conveyer (mainly a screw shaft) is used. Since the article is caught by the article input section and the article is appropriately ejected by two or more article ejection sections, the conveying row of articles conveyed at high speed can be branched in two or more directions at a stretch, It is also possible to reduce the transport speed so as to halve it at a stretch.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing one embodiment of a branching device for conveyed articles according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a part of the view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view showing a star wheel partially broken.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a part of the BB line shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a partial view taken along the line DD of FIG. 1 (eg, a screw shaft);
It is the enlarged view which omitted and showed.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an arrangement of a carry-in path and a carry-out path in a state where a star wheel and the like are omitted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 branching device 2 reversing transporter 3 alignment transporter 4 carry-in path 5 carry-out path 6 carry-out path 8 article input section 9 article discharge section 10 article discharge section 12 star wheel 12a shaft hole 13 wheel drive section 14 support shaft section 18 branch plate 22 Engagement recess 30 Suction part 37 Intake hole 38 Ring member 39 Peripheral groove 45 Divided body 46 Divided body 47 Spring 48 Article receiving bottom plate 50 Spiral groove 51 Screw shaft 52 Screw driving part 55 Slope part 56 Side guide W Article

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3F070 AA07 AA27 BD01 EA24 EA30 EC02 EC08 EC14 FD01 FD04 3F072 AA07 AA27 GC04 GC07 KA01 KA30 KC01 KC07 KC09 KE11

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A revolving conveyor (2) having an article input section (8) and at least two article discharging sections (9, 10) on an outer peripheral portion, and the revolving conveyor (2). And an aligning / transporting machine (3) provided in the article input section (8) of the present invention. Star foil (1
2) and a wheel drive unit (13) for rotating the star wheel (12) horizontally. The aligning and transporting machine (3) is related to the star wheel (12) in the revolving transporting machine (2). Spiral groove (50) that enables pinching of article (W) by combination with mating recess (22)
And a screw drive (52) for rotating the screw shaft (51) around a horizontal axis. The article loading section (8) of the revolving transfer machine (2) has a screw shaft (51). A carry-in path (4) for carrying the articles (W) in a single row is connected along a tangential direction on the entry side with respect to the rotation direction of the star wheel (12), and each article of the revolving conveyor (2) is connected. The discharge sections (9, 10) are connected to discharge paths (5, 6) for discharging the articles (W) in a single row along a tangential direction on the output side with respect to the rotation direction of the star wheel (12). A branching device for conveyed articles, characterized in that: 2. The star wheel (12) of the revolving transfer machine (2) is provided with a suction portion (30) corresponding to the entire or predetermined engagement recess (22), and the suction portion (30) is provided. 3
2. The branching device for conveyed articles according to claim 1, wherein switching between suction and release of the articles (W) is enabled by the presence or absence of suction in (0). 3. An engaging recess (2) having a suction portion (30) in a star wheel (12) of the revolving conveyor (2).
2) and the engaging recesses (22) having no suction portion (30) are arranged alternately at an appropriate number, and the center of rotation of the star wheel (12) has a vertical cylindrical shape and the star wheel (12). A shaft (14) for supporting the rotation of the shaft (14) is provided, and a circumferential groove (14) is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft (14) over an angular range from the article input section (8) to the first article discharge section (9). 39)
The star groove (39) is provided with a suction hole, and the star wheel (12) is provided with an inner surface of a shaft hole (12a) into which a support shaft (14) is inserted. An intake hole (37) is provided, which can be matched with (39) and extends toward the engaging recess (22) radially outward and communicates with the suction portion (30). A branching device for conveying articles according to the above. 4. A ring member (38) is fitted into a portion of the support shaft (14) where the peripheral groove (39) is formed, and the peripheral groove is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the ring member (38). (39) is formed, and the ring member (38) has a divided body (45) having a circumferential groove (39) and a divided body (45) having no circumferential groove (39) in the circumferential direction. 46) and the circumferential groove (3)
4. The branching device for conveyed articles according to claim 3, wherein the divided body (45) provided with (9) is spring-biased radially outward. 5. An article (W) is guided to the revolving conveyor (2) by surrounding an outer periphery of a star wheel (12) extending from an article input section (8) to at least a first article discharge section (9). A side guide (56) is provided, and the side guide (56) is spaced from the engaging recess (22) of the star wheel (12) in the article input section (8) by a distance larger than the article diameter. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance is gradually reduced toward the downstream side. 6. 6. A slope section for lowering the transport level of an article (W) by one step in a transfer section from the article input section (8) to a carry-out path (5) downstream of the article transport section (2). The branching device for conveyed articles according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein (55) is provided. 7. An engaging recess (22) having an article receiving bottom plate (48) and an engaging recess (22) not having an article receiving bottom plate (48) in the star wheel (12) of the revolving conveyor (2). 7. The branching device for a conveyed article according to claim 1, wherein an arbitrary number of and are arranged alternately.