JP2005060083A - Conveyance device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveyance device capable of storing a plurality of articles with a high space efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: This conveyance device 1 is provided with a plurality of zones Z arranged along the direction of conveyance of the article W in parallel. Each zone Z has at least a motor roller 11 and a photoelectric switch 15. One driver base 21 for controlling the motor roller 11 in self zone Z is arranged per zone Z. The driver base 21 drives the motor roller 11 in self zone Z when any one of the photoelectric switches 15 in a plurality of downstream side zones Z does not output an article presence detection signal and stops the motor roller 11 in self zone Z when all the photoelectric switches 15 output the article presence detection signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport apparatus capable of storing a plurality of articles efficiently in a space.

Conventionally, for example, a plurality of zones each having a motor roller (driving roller), a free roller, an endless body spanned between both rollers and an article presence / absence detection unit arranged in parallel along the article conveyance direction, and for each zone A plurality of control means for controlling the motor rollers in the own zone, and each control means only has an article presence / absence situation (stock situation) in the next downstream zone when it is determined that there is an article in the own zone. A conveyance device (accumulator conveyor) that controls the motor roller in the self-zone after confirming the above is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-338035 A

  However, in the configuration in which each control means checks only the article presence / absence status of the next downstream zone and controls the self zone as in the above-described conventional conveyance device, the adjacent articles are separated, etc. There is a possibility that a plurality of articles cannot be stored efficiently.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a point, and it aims at providing the conveying apparatus which can store several articles | goods efficiently in space.

  The conveyance device according to claim 1 is arranged in parallel along the conveyance direction of the article, each of which includes at least a plurality of zones each having a drive roller and an article presence / absence detection unit, and a drive roller for the self-zone. And each control means detects presence of an article in any one of a plurality of preset article presence / absence detectors located downstream of the own zone. When there is no article, the driving roller of the own zone is driven, and when all of the article presence / absence detecting units detect the presence of articles, the driving roller of the own zone is stopped.

  And since each control means is the structure which confirms the article presence condition of the some downstream zone set beforehand, and controls a self zone, it becomes possible to store several articles | goods efficiently.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the conveying device according to the first aspect, the control means corresponding to the plurality of designated zones designated in advance is a pre-packing command when the movement of the article is restricted by the stopper means. The self-zone driving roller is driven based on the signal.

  Then, when the movement of the article is restricted by the stopper means, it is possible to appropriately perform a plurality of articles that are positioned in the designated zone.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the conveyance device according to the first or second aspect, the control means corresponding to the plurality of designated zones designated in advance is a simultaneous dispensing when the movement of the article is not restricted by the stopper means. Based on the command signal, the self-zone driving roller is driven.

  Then, when the movement of the articles is not restricted by the stopper means, it is possible to appropriately perform the simultaneous dispensing of a plurality of articles located in the designated zone.

  According to the conveying apparatus of claim 1, since each control means is configured to check the presence / absence of articles in a plurality of downstream zones set in advance and control the self zone, a plurality of articles can be efficiently stored. Can do.

  According to the transfer device of the second aspect, when the movement of the article is restricted by the stopper unit, the plurality of articles positioned in the designated zone can be appropriately packed.

  According to the transfer device of the third aspect, when the movement of the articles is not restricted by the stopper means, it is possible to appropriately perform the simultaneous dispensing of the plurality of articles located in the designated zone.

  An embodiment of a transfer device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a roller-type accumulator that is a conveying device. The accumulator 1 conveys articles W in the conveying direction (X direction in the figure) or temporarily stores articles W. Is.

  An upstream belt conveyor 2, which is an upstream device, is continuously provided at the conveyance start end of the accumulation conveyor 1. A photoelectric switch 3 for detecting the presence / absence of an article is disposed in the vicinity of the conveyance end portion of the upstream belt conveyor 2.

  Further, a downstream belt conveyor 4 which is a downstream device is continuously provided at the conveyance end portion of the accumulation conveyor 1. A stopper means 5 for restricting the movement of the article W in the conveyance direction is disposed between the conveyance end portion of the accumulation conveyor 1 and the conveyance start end portion of the downstream belt conveyor 4. The stopper means 5 is constituted by a stopper portion (the most advanced stopper) 6 that moves up and down between the restriction position and the allowable position, and a drive portion (not shown) that moves the stopper portion 6 up and down.

  The accumulation conveyor 1 is of a dispersion control type and includes a plurality of, for example, six zones (divided conveyance units) Z arranged in parallel along the conveyance direction of the article W.

  Each zone Z arranged in the transport direction was stretched over one motor roller (DC brushless motor built-in roller) 11, two free rollers 12, and both rollers 11, 12. And an endless body 13 for power transmission.

  Each zone Z has a reflective photoelectric switch 15 that is one article presence / absence detection unit that detects the presence / absence of the article W on the self-zone Z. The photoelectric switch 15 is turned on when the light is blocked and outputs an article presence detection signal, and is turned off and does not output the article presence detection signal when the light passes. The photoelectric switch 15 is disposed in the vicinity of the conveyance end portion of each zone Z.

  The accumulator conveyor 1 is arranged for each zone Z, and is connected to a photoelectric switch 15 and a motor roller 11 in the self-zone Z, respectively, and controls a motor roller 11 in the self-zone Z. It has.

  Each driver board 21 is composed of a CPU or the like. Adjacent driver boards 21 and 21 have predetermined signals (payout request on signal / payout request off signal to the downstream side, accepting to the upstream side. Output on signal / acceptable output off signal).

  Each driver board 21 is connected to a master board 23 which is one overall control means for controlling all the driver boards 21. The master board 23 sends a predetermined signal (two or more) to each driver board 21. An article presence detection signal, a front-packing command signal, a simultaneous dispensing command signal, etc., which are stock status signals of the previous zone, are transmitted.

  The master substrate 23 is composed of a dip switch and a CPU, and is connected to the upstream belt conveyor 2, the downstream belt conveyor 4 and the stopper means 5 in addition to the driver substrates 21.

  Then, the master substrate 23, for example, a zone number setting unit that sets how many downstream zones Z the presence / absence status (stock status) of the downstream zone Z is checked during the carry-in process (during normal accumulation), It includes a front-filling designation unit that designates a designated zone Z in which the motor roller 11 is driven, a simultaneous dispensing designation unit that designates the designated zone Z in which the motor roller 11 is driven during the simultaneous dispensing process, and the like. If there is no set number (for example, three) of zones Z downstream from the self zone Z, the number of zones up to the most downstream is set.

  When each of the predetermined driver boards 21 of the accumulation conveyor 1 determines that there is an article in the own zone Z based on an article presence detection signal from the photoelectric switch 15 in the own zone Z, the driver board 21 is located downstream of the own zone Z. An article presence detection signal is detected in any one of a plurality of preset photoelectric switches 15 located in advance, for example, three downstream zones Z (that is, one downstream zone + two downstream zones + three downstream zones). Is not output (when the presence of an article is not detected), the motor roller 11 of the self-zone Z is driven, and when all three photoelectric switches 15 output an article presence detection signal (article When the presence is detected), the motor roller 11 in the self-zone Z is stopped.

  In other words, the accumulator 1 is used as a control condition up to the load status of a plurality of zones ahead of the own zone Z in the transport direction. For example, the accumulation conveyor 1 The driver board 21 is configured to drive the motor roller 11 in the self zone Z if any of the three zone Z photoelectric switches 15 is confirmed to be in a light-transmitting state.

  Further, a plurality of driver boards 21 corresponding to a plurality of designated zones Z designated in advance, for example, all zones Z, are provided by the stopper portion 6 of the stopper means 5 in order to prepare the articles W on the zone Z. When the movement is restricted, the motor rollers 11 in the self-zone Z are driven all at once at a specific timing (for example, at regular intervals) based on the front-packing command signal from the master substrate 23.

  Further, a plurality of driver boards 21 corresponding to a plurality of designated zones Z designated in advance, for example, all the zones Z, are placed on the stopper portion 6 of the stopper means 5 for simultaneous delivery downstream of the articles W on the zone Z. When the movement of the article W is not regulated, that is, after the stopper portion 6 of the stopper means 5 is lowered, the motor rollers 11 in the self-zone Z are driven all at once based on the simultaneous dispensing command signal from the master substrate 23.

  Next, the operation of the accumulator 1 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (e), adjacent article groups (articles 1 to 5 having different sizes) with an interval smaller than the distance between the photoelectric switches 15 in the adjacent zones Z are separated from the upstream belt conveyor 2. Even if it is carried onto the zone Z of the accumulator conveyor 1, the group of articles is temporarily stored on the zone Z of the accumulator conveyor 1 without being separated from the adjacent articles W unlike the conventional case.

  For example, in FIG. 3C, the second driver board 21 from the most upstream side drives (turns on) the motor roller 11 in the self-zone Z and delivers the article W to the downstream zone Z. This is because the photoelectric switch 15 in the first downstream zone Z outputs an article presence detection signal in a light-shielded state, but the photoelectric switch 15 in the second and third downstream zones Z is in a light-transmitting state. This is because the article presence detection signal is not output.

  Note that the driver board 21 receives the article W from the upstream zone Z, so that the upstream zone Z one after the own zone Z when the photoelectric switch 15 in the own zone Z does not output the article presence detection signal. In order to drive the motor roller 11 in the self-zone Z when the photoelectric switch 15 outputs an article presence detection signal, for example, the fourth driver board 21 from the uppermost stream in FIG. 11 is driven (ON).

  When the distance between the articles W is larger than the distance between the photoelectric switches 15 as in the articles 6 and 7, the distance between the articles W is as shown in FIGS. 3 (d) and 3 (e). The distance between the photoelectric switches 15 decreases.

  In FIG. 3E, the third driver board 21 from the uppermost stream stops (turns off) the motor roller 11 in the self-zone Z, which is the three downstream positions located downstream from the self-zone Z. This is because all the photoelectric switches 15 in the zone Z are in a light-shielded state and output an article presence detection signal.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), when the stopper portion 6 of the stopper means 5 is raised to the restricting position, when a predetermined timing is reached, a designated zone Z, for example, all zones Z All driver boards 21 drive the motor rollers 11 in the self-zone Z at the same time for a certain period of time based on the front-packet instruction signals.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the plurality of articles W positioned on the zone Z of the accumulation conveyor 1 are pre-packed and are in a close contact state (block state) in which adjacent articles W are in contact with each other.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), when there is a simultaneous dispensing instruction, after the stopper portion 6 of the stopper means 5 is lowered to the allowable position, the driver substrate 21 in the designated zone Z, for example, all zones Z, is moved from the master substrate 23. A simultaneous payout command signal is transmitted to all the driver boards 21 and the motor rollers 11 in the self-zone Z are simultaneously driven based on the simultaneous payout command signal.

  Then, as shown in FIG.5 (b), the some goods W of the contact | adherence state located on the zone Z of the accumulation conveyor 1 are discharged | paid out simultaneously from the conveyance termination | terminus part of the accumulation conveyor 1 with the contact state. .

  Although not shown, when all the photoelectric switches 15 are in a light-transmitting state and a predetermined timer expires, the stopper portion 6 of the stopper means 5 is raised to the restriction position, and all the driver boards 21 are in the self-zone Z. Stop the motor rollers 11 all at once.

  As described above, according to the above-described accumulator 1, the predetermined driver substrate 21 is configured to control the self-zone Z by confirming the loading status of the plurality of downstream zones Z set in advance by the master substrate 23. When temporarily storing W, a plurality of articles W can be stored on the zone Z in a space-efficient manner. In particular, even when various articles W of different sizes are mixed, a plurality of articles W can be efficiently stored.

  In addition, a plurality of articles W positioned on the designated zone Z designated in advance on the master substrate 23 can be pre-packed and properly brought into close contact with each other, and the plurality of articles W in close contact can be simultaneously discharged downstream. Can do.

  In addition, the stopper means 5 may not be provided between the conveyance end portion of the accumulation conveyor 1 and the conveyance start end portion of the downstream belt conveyor 4, and the conveyance belt of the downstream belt conveyor 4 may have the function of the stopper means.

  Further, the number of downstream zones Z for confirming the stock status during normal accumulating is not limited to three, and may be two, for example, or four or more.

  Furthermore, the designated zone Z at the time of the pre-packing process or the simultaneous payout process is not limited to the entire zone Z, and may be, for example, a partial zone Z on the downstream side.

It is a partial side view which shows one Embodiment of the conveying apparatus of this invention. It is a side view of a conveyance apparatus same as the above. (A)-(e) is operation | movement explanatory drawing at the time of carrying in of a conveyance apparatus same as the above. (A)-(b) is operation | movement explanatory drawing at the time of the front-packing of a conveyance apparatus same as the above. (A)-(b) is operation | movement explanatory drawing at the time of simultaneous delivery of a conveying apparatus same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

1 Accumulator Conveyor 5 Stopper
11 Motor roller as drive roller
15 Photoelectric switch as an article presence / absence detector
21 Driver board as control means W Article Z Zone

Claims (3)

A plurality of zones arranged in parallel along the conveyance direction of the articles, each having at least a drive roller and an article presence / absence detection unit;
A plurality of control means arranged for each zone and controlling the driving roller of the self-zone;
Each control means drives the driving roller of the self zone when any one of a plurality of preset downstream zone article presence / absence detection units located downstream of the self zone is not detected. A conveying device characterized in that when all of the article presence / absence detection units detect the presence of an article, the driving roller in the self zone is stopped. The control means corresponding to a plurality of designated zones designated in advance drives the driving roller of the own zone based on the front-packing command signal when the movement of the article is restricted by the stopper means. Item 2. The conveying device according to Item 1. The control means corresponding to a plurality of designated zones designated in advance drives the driving roller of the own zone based on the simultaneous dispensing command signal when the movement of the article is not restricted by the stopper means. 3. The transfer apparatus according to 1 or 2.

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