JP2001097548A - Sorting driving device for sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sorting driving device for sorter to be used in common in plural kinds of sorting conveyors having various width. SOLUTION: A sorter 11 for sorting articles carried by a sorting conveyor 12 is provided with a first and a second equipment bodies 13a, 13b arranged with a space from each other, a connecting part 14 for connecting both the first and the second equipment bodies 13a, 13b to each other and for changing a space between the first and the second equipment bodies 13a, 13b in the cross direction crossing the carrying direction of the sorting conveyor, arms 4a, 4b provided in the first and the second equipment bodies 13a, 13b so as to sort the article, and driving parts 10a, 10b for driving the arms 4a, 4b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sorting drive for a sorting device for sorting articles into, for example, a plurality of different weight ranges or a plurality of different sizes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional sorting device is shown in FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The sorting device 1 is provided in a weight sorter (not shown). The weight sorter weighs the articles by a weighing device while the articles pass on the weighing conveyor 2 and sends out the articles to a sorting conveyor 3 connected to an outlet of the weighing conveyor 2. Then, the selection unit selects whether the weighed value belongs to an appropriate amount, an excess amount, or a light weight range which is set in advance. Swing one arm 4 to the swing position shown by the two-dot chain line,
Alternatively, it can be stopped at the standby position indicated by the solid line, and the measured articles passing through the sorting conveyor 3 can be sorted to corresponding positions among an appropriate amount, an excess amount, and a light weight.

[0003] The sorting device 1 includes a sorting conveyor 3.
A pair of arms 4, 4, a pair of driving units 10, 10 for independently driving each arm 4, and a substantially rectangular parallelepiped storage box 5 for accommodating the pair of driving units 10, 10. And The pair of driving units 10 and 10 are provided on one base 6 of the storage box 5. The distribution device 1, as shown in FIG. 5, the width of the conveyor belt 7 of the weighing conveyor 2 is to W _A1, width W _A1 of the conveyor belt 8 of the sorting conveyor 3 according to the width W _A1 of the belt 7
It is formed in. The distance between the axes of the swing shafts 9, 9 to which the pair of arms 4, 4 is attached is set to an appropriate distance W _A2 slightly longer than the belt width W _A1 . The length of the storage box 5 in the transport direction 22 is L _C1 , and the length of the sorting conveyor 3 is L _A2 which is slightly longer than L _C1 . Each of the driving units 10 and 10 is a pneumatic actuator, and swings and drives each of the arms 4 using pressurized air as a driving force.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional sorting device 1, when the width W _A1 of the belt 7 of the weighing conveyor 2 is determined, the belt 8 of the sorting conveyor 3 is correspondingly determined.
In addition to forming the width of the weighing conveyor 2 into an appropriate W _A1, it is necessary to form the inter-axis distance W _{A2 of} the swing shafts 9 and 9 and the width W _A3 of the storage box 5 into appropriate dimensions. Belt width W
_{When A1} is changed, a new shape of the storage box 5 must be manufactured each time, and there is a problem in that the design and manufacture of the storage box 5 are troublesome. When the sorting device 1 is already installed and the width W _A1 of the belt 7 of the weighing conveyor 2 at the preceding stage is changed, the sorting conveyor 3 according to the changed belt width W _A1 may be arranged. In some cases, it is necessary to remodel or modify the storage box 5 so that it can be performed, which is troublesome and expensive.

[0005] In the conventional sorting device 1, a pair of driving units 10 and 10 are accommodated inside one storage box 5, so that when the sorting conveyor 3 having a wide width is to be mounted, a pair of driving units 10 and 10 are installed. It is necessary to make the space between the arrangement of the 10, 10 and the width W _A3 of the accommodation box 5 accommodating the drive units 10, 10 corresponding thereto. As a result, the area (width W _A3 × length L _C1 ) of the rectangular upper surface of the storage box 5 is increased, the shape of each component forming the storage box 5 is increased, and the material cost and the processing cost are increased. In addition, there is also a problem that dust and dust easily accumulate on the upper surface of the relatively large storage box 5, and cleaning is troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a distribution driving device for a distribution device which can be shared by a plurality of types of distribution conveyors having different widths.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sorting device for sorting articles being conveyed by a conveying means, comprising: a pair of support portions arranged at an interval from each other; And a connecting portion for changing the interval between the supporting portions in the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying means, and for distributing articles provided on both or one of the pair of supporting portions. And a drive unit provided on the support unit provided with the distribution unit for driving the distribution unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the distribution driving device of the distribution device according to the first aspect, each of the pair of support portions is formed in a separate casing, and the drive section is provided in the casing. It is characterized by having.

According to the first aspect, the interval in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the transport means between the support portions can be changed by adjusting the connecting portion so as to be a desired interval. As described above, since the interval between the support portions can be changed, the distribution driving device can be shared by a plurality of types of transport units having different widths.

[0010] According to the second aspect of the present invention, since each of the pair of support portions is formed as a separate housing, a space can be formed between the housings. The volume occupied by the support can be reduced as compared with the conventional storage box.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of a sorting device to which a sorting driving device according to the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. The sorting device 11 can be used by being provided in, for example, a weight sorter (not shown) as in the related art. This weight sorter has a sorting conveyor 1
2 can be distributed to the corresponding positions among the appropriate amount, the excessive amount, and the light weight while passing through 2. Since the device other than the distribution device 11 is the same as that described in the conventional example, the detailed description is omitted. Omitted. The sorting device 11
A distributing conveyor 12, a pair of first and second arms (distributing units) 4a and 4b, and a pair of first and second driving units 10a and 10b for independently driving the arms 4a and 4b, respectively; A pair of substantially rectangular parallelepiped first and second housings (supporting portions) 13a and 13b separately housed for each of the driving units 10a and 10b;
13b for connecting the members 13b to each other.

The sorting conveyor 12 is a belt conveyor in which a conveyor belt 17 is hung on a driving pulley 15 and a driven pulley 16, and one end of each of the driving pulley 15 and the driven pulley 16 on the same side. The other end of the same side is rotatably held by the second holding portion 18b. The first and second holding units 1
8a and 18b are provided on the upper surfaces of the first and second housings 13a and 13b corresponding to the respective housings. A conveyor drive unit (motor) 19 is provided on the front of the first housing 13a. The conveyor drive unit 19 has a rotating shaft connected to the drive pulley 15 via a chain 20, and drives the drive pulley 15 in a predetermined direction to rotate the conveyor pulley 15.
7 can be driven in a predetermined direction.

[0013] The pair of arms 4a, 4b comprises a first arm 4a and a second arm 4b. The first and second arms 4a and 4b are respectively provided with first and second swing shafts 21a rotatably provided on the upper surfaces of the corresponding first and second housings 13a and 13b. 21b. The first swing shaft 21a is connected to the first housing 13a.
The second swing shaft 21b is connected to a second drive unit 10b provided in the second housing 13b. . First,
The second drive units 10a and 10b are not driven and turned off.
In this state, the first and second arms 4a and 4b can be held at a standby position parallel to the transport direction 22 as shown by the solid line in FIG. The arms 4a and 4b are driven to a swing position where the arms 4a and 4b are swung approximately 45 degrees counterclockwise or clockwise from the standby position, as indicated by a two-dot chain line. First and second arms 4a,
4b is swung to the swinging position, the sorting conveyor 1
The first or second arm 4
Guided by a and 4b, the sheet can be discharged to the left or right outside when viewed from the transport direction 22 of the sorting conveyor 12.

When the sorting section determines that the weight of the articles sent from the weighing conveyor 2 is appropriate, the first
And the second arms 4a and 4b are made to wait at the standby position,
The articles are discharged from the outlet by the sorting conveyor 12. When the sorting unit determines that the weight of the article is excessive, the first arm 4a is swung to the swinging position, and the second arm 4b is caused to stand by at the standby position to sort the article. It is distributed to the outside of the left side of the conveyor 12 and discharged. When the sorting unit determines that the article is light in weight, the sorting unit sorts the article by swinging the second arm 4b to the swing position and setting the first arm 4a to stand by at the standby position. It is distributed to the right outside of the conveyor 12 and discharged. The driving units 10a and 10b are pneumatic actuators, and each of the arms 4a and 10b uses pressurized air as a driving force.
a and 4b are driven to swing. Of course, other than this, for example, an electric motor or an electromagnet may be used as the driving unit.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connecting portion 14 includes a connecting member 23 and grips 24, 24.
The connecting member 23 is a cylindrical rod having a predetermined length.
Each grip portion 24 is equivalent and is a flange-like body having an inner hole. Each grip portion 24 is provided in a pair on each side surface of the first and second housings 13a and 13b facing each other, and each end of the connecting member 23 is slidable in the length direction in each inner hole. It is inserted. A fixing bolt (not shown) is screwed to each grip 24 in a direction perpendicular to the connecting member 23. The tip of each fixing bolt is in contact with the surface of the connecting member 23, and the connecting member 23 is
This is for fixing the lens 4 so as not to move in its length direction. The connecting portion 14 thus configured is
Two sets are provided on the opposing side surfaces of the first case 13a and the second case 13b.

On the bottom surface of each of the pair of housings 13a and 13b,
Two short cylindrical legs 25 are provided. A nut is provided at the lower end of each of the four legs 25 in total.
A height adjusting bolt 26 for adjusting the height of the sorting device 11 is screwed into the nut. 2 shown in FIG.
Reference numerals 7 and 28 are reinforcing members. The reinforcing members 27 and 28
The legs 25 of the book are connected. 29 is an interval adjusting member. The interval adjusting member 29 is stretchable and can be fixed at a desired length. The interval adjusting member 29 is brought into contact with the frame of the weighing conveyor 2 provided at the preceding stage to maintain a predetermined gap so that the inlet of the sorting conveyor 12 and the outlet of the weighing conveyor 2 do not come into contact with each other. Things.

The first and second arms 4a, 4b, the first and second drive units 10a, 10b,
The first and second housings 13a and 13b and the two sets of connecting portions 14 constitute the distribution driving device 30. According to the distribution driving device 30, the interval between the first housing 13a and the second housing 13b can be changed by adjusting the connecting portion 14 so as to be a desired interval. First and second housings 1
When changing the interval between 3a and 13b, the grip portions 24, 2
4 by loosening one or both of the fixing bolts and sliding the connecting member 23 along the inner hole of the grip portion 24, so that the first and second housings 13a and 13b have a desired interval. You only have to tighten the fixing bolt. As described above, by adjusting the connecting portion 14, the first and second housings 13a and 13a, 1
3b can be changed to a desired interval, so that a plurality of types of sorting conveyors 1 having different widths can be used.
One type of distribution driving device 30 can be shared for two or the like.

For example, as shown in FIG.
If the width of the conveyor belt 31 is assumed to have been determined in W _A1, the width of the conveyor belt 17 of the sorting conveyor 12 to fit the width W _A1 of the belt 31 although a W _A1,
At this time, the distance between the axes of the swing shafts 21a and 21b to which the pair of arms 4a and 4b are attached is set to the width W of the belt 17.
There needs to be a little longer suitable distance W _A2 than _A1. Therefore, by adjusting the connecting portion 14, the first and second
The distance between the axes of the swing shafts 21a and 21b can be adjusted to _WA2 and fixed. The first and second housings 13
The length of the a and 13b in the transport direction 22 is L _A1 , and the length of the sorting conveyor 12 is L _A2 longer than L _A1 .

Next, for example, when the sorting device 11 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is already installed, a case where the sorting device 32 is changed to the sorting device 32 shown in FIG. 3 will be described. First, the width W of the conveyor belt 34 of the changed weighing conveyor 33 is changed.
_A sorting conveyor 36 having a conveyor belt 35 having a width of W _B1 is prepared in accordance with _B1 . Then, the sorting conveyor 12 before the change is transferred to the first and second casings 13a and 13b.
Remove from Next, the sorting conveyor 36 after this change
(Conveyor belt 35) Distance W between shafts according to width W _B1
The connection distance between the first and second swing shafts 21a and 21b is changed by adjusting the connecting portion 14 so as to become _B2 . In this case, the width W _B1 and the center distance W _B2 of the belt 35 after the change are:
Since the width W _A1 and the inter-axis distance W _A2 of the belt 17 before the change are shorter, the first and second housings 13a and 13b are moved and fixed in a direction to approach each other. After a while
The sorting conveyor 36 after the change is transferred to the first and second casings 13.
a, 13b. Accordingly, the sorting device 32 to which the changed sorting conveyor 36 is attached can be manufactured without remodeling or modifying the first and second casings 13a and 13b. Note that FIG.
Shows an example in which the length was fitted with a sorting conveyor 12 of the L _B2, the length L _B2 is shorter than the pre-change length L _A2. The sorting device 11 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is different from the sorting device 32 shown in FIG. 3 in that the sorting conveyor 12 is replaced by a sorting conveyor 36 and the first and second arms 4a and 4b are connected to the first and second arms 4a and 4b. And the second arms 37a and 37b have been replaced, and the rest is the same.

Further, according to the distribution driving device 30,
The first housing 13a provided with the first arm 4a and the first drive unit 10a is made into one unit, and the second arm 4b provided with the second drive unit 10b is provided. By manufacturing the housing 13b as another unit, these units can be formed, for example, as shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 4, the sorting conveyor 12 may be arranged on both sides or one end, or as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of sorting conveyors 12 may be arranged along the transport direction 22 of the sorting conveyor 12 to be used in combination. This makes it possible to easily manufacture a sorting device that satisfies the requirements of the weight rank number and sorting direction of the articles to be sorted. However, the articles conveyed by the sorting conveyor 12 are moved in the conveying direction 2
In the case where the first and second arms 4a, 4a,
The arm of b that is not used for distribution and the drive unit for driving the arm are omitted.

According to the distribution driving device 30, the distance between the first housing 13a and the second housing 13b can be changed by adjusting the connecting portion 14. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, regardless of the widths W _A1 and W _B1 of the conveyor belts 17 and 35 of the sorting conveyors 12 and 36, the first and second housings 1 are not limited.
It is not necessary to change the size and shape of the first and second housings 3a and 13b, and the first and second housings 13a and 13 are relatively small and have the same shape.
b can be used, so that each housing 13a, 1
Material cost and processing cost of each part forming 3b can be relatively low. Further, even when the sorting conveyor 12 having a large width is attached, the first and second casings 13a and 13b having relatively small shapes can be used, so that dust and dirt are not formed on the upper surfaces of the casings 13a and 13b. It is difficult to collect and easy to clean.

In the above-described embodiment, the sorting drive device 30 is applied to the weight sorter. However, in addition, the sorting drive device of the sorting device that sorts articles into a plurality of sizes different from each other, for example, is used. Can be applied to

[0023]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the interval in the width direction of the transport unit, which is orthogonal to the transport direction of the transport unit, is determined, the interval in the same direction between the support units can be changed by adjusting the connecting unit. Accordingly, it is possible to adjust the distance between the pair of distributing units and the pair of driving units to a size corresponding to the width of the transporting unit. Therefore, one type of distribution driving device can be shared by a plurality of types of transporting means having different widths, and there is an effect that it is not necessary to design and manufacture the distribution driving device.

Further, when changing the width of the conveying means of the existing sorting device, the distance between the pair of supporting parts can be adjusted according to the changed width of the conveying means. Or, there is no need for modification, and there is an effect that labor and cost for the modification are not required.

Further, by manufacturing one support portion provided with one distributing portion and one drive portion as one unit, this unit can be arranged, for example, on one side or both sides of the transport means, or can be transported. A plurality of units can be used in combination by arranging a plurality of units along the transport direction of the means. This makes it possible to easily and relatively inexpensively manufacture a sorting device that satisfies the requirements of the class number (for example, the number of weight ranks or the size ranks) of the articles to be sorted and the sorting direction.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since each of the pair of support portions is formed as a separate casing, when attaching the transporting means, the connecting portion is adjusted to reduce the distance between the pair of support portions. What is necessary is just to expand to the width according to the horizontal width of a conveyance means. In other words, it is not necessary to change the size of each housing constituting each supporting portion regardless of the width of the transport means, and a relatively small housing having the same shape can be shared. Material costs and processing costs of each part forming the body are relatively low. In addition, even when a wide transporting means is attached, a pair of relatively small-sized housings can be used, so that dust and debris hardly accumulate on the upper surface of each housing, so that cleaning is not troublesome. There is also.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sorting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a sorting device according to the embodiment;
(A) is a front view, (b) is a right side view.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of the sorting device according to the embodiment, wherein (a) is a plan view and (b) is a right side view.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which a plurality of sorting devices shown in FIG. 1 are arranged in one row.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a conventional sorting device.

6 is a diagram showing the conventional sorting device shown in FIG. 5,
(A) is a front view, (b) is a right side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4a 1st arm 4b 2nd arm 10a 1st drive part 10b 2nd drive part 11 sorting device 12 sorting conveyor 13a 1st case 13b 2nd case 14 connecting part 21a 1st swing axis 21b Second swing shaft 30 Sorting drive

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A sorting device for sorting articles conveyed by a conveying means, comprising: a pair of supporting portions arranged at an interval from each other; and connecting the pair of supporting portions to each other. A connecting portion for changing an interval in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying means, a distributing portion for distributing articles provided on both or one of the pair of supporting portions, and the distributing portion are provided. And a driving unit provided on the support unit for driving the distribution unit. 2. The distribution driving device of the distribution device according to claim 1, wherein each of the pair of support portions is formed in a separate casing, and the driving section is provided in the casing.