JP2000177924A - Sorting method, sorting device and photographic processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the occupied area of the whole device without complicating the structure of a sorter mechanism by circulating receiving members in a conveyance cycle with a combination of moves in the direction parallel to the receiving direction and the vertical direction while sorted objects are kept in the received attitude. SOLUTION: The main body A of a photographic processing device sends the photographic paper having been printed and developed to a sorter section 5 having multiple receiving trays 4. The receiving tray 4 having received the photographic paper for one order is shifted downward then laterally. When the feed of the photographic paper proceeds in the upstream, the receiving tray 4 is shifted upward then laterally and is returned to the original position. The receiving tray 4 is repeatedly rotated and shifted on the front side of the device main body A invariably without being hidden inside the device main body A, thus the photographic paper holding capability of the receiving tray 4 is increased, a structure forming the sorter section 5 can be made compact, and its occupied space can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sorter method and a sorter apparatus, and more particularly, to a sorter method and a sorter apparatus capable of reducing the size of a sorter mechanism for photosensitive material or the like and enhancing the sorter function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an automatic photographic processing apparatus, processed photosensitive material, for example, photographic paper which has been printed, developed, fixed and dried, is ordered (one film unit) by a sorter mechanism as shown in FIG. It is designed to be discharged separately for each case. That is, the photographic paper having undergone the printing and developing processes is dried by the drying unit 1, cut into a predetermined size, and conveyed from the photographic processing apparatus main body A ₀ to the discharge unit 2. The discharged photographic paper is transported by the transport conveyor 3 to a sorter unit 100 having a plurality of receiving trays 4 for receiving the photographic paper. The tray 4 receiving the photographic paper for one order is transported downward, and is successively transported downward each time the photographic paper that has been subjected to the drying process is transported one after another. And
An operator sequentially packs the photographic paper, which is located below, with the developed film and hands it to the customer.

[0003] In this case, the pan 4 processing apparatus main body A ₀ outside, as shown in FIG. 4, the longitudinal direction is an array of one row are adapted to be moved downward, pan 4 is lower end Is reached, it is turned around the root of the tray 4 as an axis and inverted and sent into the sorter frame 101. In the sorter frame 101, the receiving tray 4 is located at the far end inside the sorter frame 101, contrary to the posture shown in FIG. It is reversed around the part and returns to the position shown in FIG.

An operator picks up the photographic paper from the tray 4 at the position shown in FIG. 4 as needed, and shifts to a bag filling operation while confirming the correspondence with the film.

[0005]

Since the moving cycle of the tray 4 of the prior art described above circulates inside and outside the sorter frame 101, the sorter frame 101 has to be made to have a large shape. In addition, the area occupied by the entire processing apparatus is increased, which is inconvenient.

On the other hand, as a method for reducing the size of the sorter mechanism, a mechanism has been developed in which the tray 4 is bendable and is folded into two when moving into the sorter frame 101 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-194579). Inevitably, the mechanism becomes complicated, the number of parts increases, and the manufacturing cost increases.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is not to make the structure of the sorter mechanism particularly complicated and therefore to increase the manufacturing cost, in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a sorter method, a sorter apparatus, and a photographic processing apparatus that can reduce the occupied area of the entire apparatus and can improve the sorter performance.

[0008]

The above object is achieved by the invention described in each claim. That is, the characteristic configuration of the sorter method according to the present invention is that the sorted material conveyed outside the apparatus is received by a receiving member, the next sorted material is received by a next receiving member, and the preceding receiving member is received. Is moved to the next position, and these receiving members are circulated by forming a transport cycle by a combination of movement in the vertical direction and the parallel direction to the receiving direction of the sorted material while maintaining the receiving posture of the sorted material. Thus, the sorted material can be taken out at any time.

According to this configuration, the receiving member for receiving the sorted material is transported by a combination of movement in the vertical direction and the direction parallel to the receiving direction of the sorted material while maintaining the receiving position of the sorted material. Forming and circulating, there is no need to adopt a special structure,
Therefore, in addition to the fact that the manufacturing cost does not rise, the receiving member is not sent into the device unlike the prior art, so that no space is required to turn the receiving member upside down,
Therefore, the area occupied by the entire apparatus is not unnecessarily increased. In addition, since the receiving members always maintain the sorting material receiving posture, all the receiving members can be used for the sorter function, and the sorter ability is greatly improved. It goes without saying that a worker who is present at the apparatus can easily perform a desired work on the sorted items placed on any of the receiving members, and the work efficiency of the worker is improved.

[0010] As a result, the structure of the sorter mechanism is not particularly complicated, and therefore, the production cost is not increased.
It was possible to provide a sorter method capable of reducing the area occupied by the entire apparatus and improving the sorter performance.

[0011] In a sorter method according to the present invention, the transfer cycle of the receiving member may include:
The receiving member is moved downward, moves laterally after the receiving member reaches the lowermost position, moves further upward, and when it reaches the uppermost end, moves laterally to return to the original position. It may be.

According to this structure, the receiving member is arranged adjacent to the device for sending out the sorted materials, and the whole can be made compact, and the circulation cycle can be arranged below the device.
The work of the worker is further improved.

The sorter apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that a receiving member capable of receiving the sorted material, a receiving direction of the sorted material while supporting the receiving member and maintaining the sorted material receiving posture. A support member for forming and moving a transport cycle based on a combination of movements in a parallel direction and a vertical direction, and a drive transmission unit for driving the support member.

According to this configuration, the receiving member for receiving the sorted material forms a transport cycle by a combination of movement in the vertical direction and the direction parallel to the receiving direction of the sorted material while maintaining the receiving position of the sorted material. In addition to the fact that the receiving member is not fed into the apparatus as in the prior art, it is not necessary to adopt a special structure, and thus the production cost is not increased. No space is required for inversion, and therefore the area occupied by the entire device is not unnecessarily increased.
In addition, since the receiving members always maintain the sorting material receiving posture, all the receiving members can be used for the sorter function, and the sorter ability is greatly improved.
It goes without saying that a worker who is present at the apparatus can easily perform a desired work on the sorted items placed on any of the receiving members, and the work efficiency of the worker is improved.

As a result, the structure of the sorter mechanism is not particularly complicated, and therefore, the production cost is not increased.
A sorter device capable of reducing the occupied area of the entire device and improving the sorter capability can be provided.

The support member of the sorter device according to the present invention is joined at one end to the receiving member, and runs on a rail member provided on the front side of the device, so that the receiving member is moved. It is preferable to carry out the circulating movement while maintaining the sorting material in the receiving posture. According to this configuration, the receiving member supported by the supporting member can reliably circulate along a predetermined path while having a simple structure, which is convenient.

Preferably, the drive transmitting means of the sorter apparatus according to the present invention includes a motor and a transmitting means for transmitting the power of the motor, and the transmitting means engages with the support member to circulate the receiving member. . According to this configuration, it is possible to easily control the moving speed in consideration of the moving direction of the receiving member supported by the supporting member, while having a simple structure, which is convenient.

Further, a characteristic configuration of the photographic processing apparatus according to the present invention is that the photographic processing apparatus includes the sorter apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5. According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a photographic processing apparatus capable of reducing the occupied area of the entire apparatus without increasing the structure of the sorter mechanism, and thus without increasing the manufacturing cost, and improving the sorter capability. Was completed. The photographic processing apparatus may be a large-sized photographic processing apparatus having a printing mechanism, a developing processing mechanism, a drying mechanism, and the like, and having a high processing capacity capable of processing a large amount of films, or a small processing apparatus capable of processing each order. There may be.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an external configuration of a main body A (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as an apparatus main body) of a photographic processing apparatus provided with a sorter apparatus according to the present embodiment. The same components as in the prior art are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the prior art. The apparatus main body A dries photographic paper (not shown), which has been subjected to baking and development processing, which is one type of sorted material, by the drying unit 1 and conveys it to the discharge unit 2. The discharged photographic paper is sent to a sorter unit 5 having a plurality of trays 4 as receiving members made of a transparent resin, which receives the photographic paper by the conveyor 3. The tray 4 receiving the photographic paper for one order is transported downward, and is successively transported downward each time the photographic paper that has been subjected to the drying process is transported one after another. Then, the operator sequentially packs the bag with the developed film and hands it to the customer from the photographic paper located below. It is to be noted that a pressing roller for holding the discharged photographic paper may be provided on the conveyor 3.

The tray 4 transported downward is transported laterally differently from the prior art by a mechanism described below.
That is, the front side of the apparatus main body A is moved, so that the operator can easily take out the photographic paper from any receiving tray at any time. Further, as the feeding of photographic paper proceeds on the upstream side, the tray 4 is transported upward, and then transported laterally to return to the original position.
As described above, since the receiving tray 4 is constantly rotated and transferred on the front side of the apparatus main body A without being hidden inside the apparatus main body A, the photographic paper holding capacity of the receiving tray 4 is increased, and the work of the operator is performed. Is to make it even easier. Accordingly, only the mechanism for driving the tray 4 is disposed in the sorter frame 6 behind the tray 4, and it is not necessary to provide a function as a transport path of the tray 4 unlike the related art. Can be made compact,
The occupied space can be reduced, which is convenient.

Next, the transport mechanism of the tray 4 of the sorter unit 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 mainly shows a main part of the drive mechanism in order to avoid complication (the tray 4 is shown by a two-dot chain line). Each of the trays 4 is connected to one of the support members 8 traveling in a counterclockwise direction, up, down, left and right on a rectangular rail member 7, and the support member 8 moves on the rail member 7. Accordingly, the tray 4 also moves on the rail member 7. The movement of these support members 8 is performed by a vertical feed motor 9 and a horizontal feed motor 10.

That is, the longitudinal feed pulley 11 supported on the shaft (not shown) by the longitudinal feed motor 9 and the horizontal feed motor 10 respectively.
Vertical feed belt 1 wound around the horizontal feed pulley 12
3. Each support member 8 is moved via the lateral feed belt 14, and accordingly, the tray 4 is also moved. Vertical feed pulley 11
Further comprises a driving pulley 11a and a driven pulley 11b. Similarly, the driving pulley 12
a and the driven pulley 12b. The vertical feed pulley 11, the horizontal feed pulley 12, the vertical feed belt 13, and the horizontal feed belt 14 constitute transmission means.
Together with the traverse motor 10, a drive transmission means is constituted.

In this case, the movement of the support member 8 is synchronized with one step of the horizontal movement of the support member 8 during the [1 / (number of vertical support members)] step of the vertical movement of the support member 8. ing. That is, in FIG. 2, the twelve trays 4 are supported by the twelve support members 8, respectively.
12] Since the horizontal movement of one step corresponds to the vertical movement of the step, the arrangement of the trays 4 always maintains the state shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the supporting member 8 has a flange-like end 8a joined to the tray 4, and a flange-like other end 8b for running on the rail member 7 stably.
And a substantially cubic central portion 8c sandwiched between both ends. Each surface (four surfaces) of the central portion 8c engages with the projections 15 formed on the vertical and horizontal belts 13 and 14, and the support member 8 moves as the vertical and horizontal belts 13 and 14 move. Holes 8d are formed respectively. That is, the protrusions 15 formed on the vertical belt 13
And the hole 8d of the support member 8 are engaged with each other to guide the vertical movement of the support member 8, and by the next feed after the support member 8 reaches the lowermost stage, the protrusion 15 formed on the horizontal belt 14 is Hole 8
d is engaged to guide the lateral movement of the support member 8.

[Other Embodiments] (1) In the above embodiment, photographic paper was taken as the sorting material, but the sorting material is not limited to this, and a sorting mechanism is provided in addition to the photographic processing device. Paper, cloth, and other sheet-like materials used in various devices are also applicable to the present invention.

(2) In the above embodiment, a mechanism is described in which the photographic paper, which is one type of sorted material, is received by the receiving member and is transported downward, but may be transported upward. In this case, it is convenient to rotate the support member clockwise in a clockwise direction. In particular, it is used when the discharge of the sorting is performed from a lower part of the apparatus. In short, it is only necessary that the worker can work easily adjacent to the apparatus.

(3) In the above embodiment, an example is described in which a hole is formed in the support member and a protrusion is provided on the vertical and horizontal belt sides.
A configuration in which a protrusion is provided on the support member and a concave portion is provided on the belt side may be adopted. Further, if the engagement between the support member and the transmission member can be easily engaged and disengaged, other engagement means, for example, a combination of a magnetic body and a magnet may be provided in any one of them, or the engagement of the Velcro fastener may be provided. In this case, the combination of the engaged members may be provided in any one of them. It should be noted that other transmission means, such as a chain, may be employed instead of the belt.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the receiving members are arranged in two rows of 12 in one row. However, the number of receiving members in one row is not limited to this. Is also good.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a photographic processing apparatus main body provided with a sorter apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of the sorter unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a tray conveying unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a photographic processing apparatus provided with a conventional sorter apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Receiving Member 8 Supporting Member 9,10 Motor 11,12 Transmission Means 13,14 Transmission Means

Claims (6)

[Claims] A receiving member for receiving the sorted material conveyed out of the apparatus, receiving the next sorted material by a next receiving member, and moving the preceding receiving member to a next position; These receiving members can be taken out at any time by forming and circulating a transport cycle based on a combination of movement in the vertical direction and the parallel direction to the receiving direction of the sorted items while maintaining the receiving members in the receiving posture of the sorted items. How to sort. 2. The transfer cycle of the receiving member moves the receiving member downward each time the sorted material is received,
2. The sorter according to claim 1, wherein the receiving member moves laterally after reaching the lowermost position, and further moves upward, and when reaching the uppermost end, moves laterally to return to the original position. Method. 3. A receiving member capable of receiving a sorted material,
A support member that supports the receiving member and forms and moves a transport cycle based on a combination of movement in a direction parallel to and vertical to the receiving direction of the sorted material while maintaining the sorted material receiving posture; A sorter device comprising: a drive transmission unit that drives the device. 4. The support member is joined to the receiving member at one end and travels on a rail member provided on the front side of the apparatus, so that the receiving member is brought into a posture for receiving the sorted items. The sorter device according to claim 3, wherein the sorter device is circulated and moved while being maintained. 5. The sorter device according to claim 3, wherein the drive transmitting means includes a motor and a transmitting means for transmitting the power of the motor, and the transmitting means engages with the support member to circulate the receiving member. . 6. A photographic processing apparatus provided with the sorter apparatus according to claim 3.