JP2005067865A - Direction changing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a direction changing device 11 that increases processing power of an article 13 and can accurately perform direction change of the article 13. <P>SOLUTION: Two conveyor trains 18a and 18b across which the article 13 is loaded are disposed in parallel. Each of the conveyor trains 18a and 18b has a plurality of driving rollers 24 that are independently rotated and driven and independently controlled. When the driving rollers 24 for supporting the article 13 of the conveyor trains 18a and 18b is changed in speed and controlled, the article 13 is turned by the speed difference and conveyed. When the driving rollers 24 for supporting the article 13 of the conveyor trains 18a and 18b is controlled with a constant speed, the article 13 is conveyed at a constant attitude. The driving rollers 24 for supporting the article 13 are independently controlled, thereby reducing conveyance interval of the article 13 and increasing the processing power of the article 13. The desired processing power is obtained and then the conveyance speed of the article 13 is kept, and the article 13 is accurately turned. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a direction changing device that changes the direction of an article and conveys the article.

  For example, in a palletizer in which articles such as cardboard boxes are stacked on a pallet, the articles are arranged in accordance with a stacking pattern for one stage stacked on the pallet at the inlet of the palletizer, and the stacking pattern 1 Articles are stacked one by one on the pallet. A direction changing device is provided at the inlet of the palletizer to change the direction of the article 90 degrees to the left or right according to the stacking pattern, or to carry the article straight without conveying it. It is used.

  A conventional direction changing device includes a transfer conveyor in which two rows of conveyors on which articles are straddled are provided in parallel. When transferring an item that does not change direction, the two rows of conveyors are controlled at a constant speed to keep the items constant. When transporting the article in the direction and changing the direction, the conveying speed of the two conveyor rows is changed, and the direction of the article is changed by the speed difference. In the direction change of the article, the direction of the article is changed 90 degrees to the left or right in a certain distance section from the start end that is the direction change start position of the transport conveyor to the end that is the direction change completion position. That is, the conveyance speed and the speed difference of each conveyor row are set so that the direction change of the articles is completed in accordance with the end position of the conveyance conveyor.

In each conveyor row, a plurality of rollers are arranged in parallel in the transport direction, and the articles are turned by rotating each of the drive zones each including three rollers aligned in the transport direction (for example, patents). Reference 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-322059 (page 6-7, FIG. 1)

  However, in the conventional direction changing device, since the articles are turned by rotating and driving each of the driving zones each including three rollers arranged in the conveying direction as a set, the articles are positioned before and after the conveying direction. In order to ensure that the article is not placed on the drive zone, the article to be conveyed needs to be separated by at least one drive zone, that is, three rollers or more. There is a problem with low ability. Further, in order to increase the throughput of the article, it is necessary to increase the rotation speed of the roller. However, due to the effect of slippage between the article and the roller, variation in the direction change of the article tends to occur.

  This invention is made in view of such a point, and it aims at providing the direction change apparatus which can raise the processing capability of articles | goods and can change the direction of articles | goods correctly.

  The direction changing device according to claim 1, wherein two conveyor rows on which articles are placed are provided in parallel, and a plurality of drive rollers for conveying the articles by individually rotating and conveying the respective conveyor rows are arranged in parallel. When the conveyor and the driving roller on which the articles on the two conveyor rows are placed are controlled at different speeds, the article is conveyed while changing the direction due to the difference in speed, and the driving rollers on which the articles on the two conveyor rows are placed at a constant speed. And control means for conveying the article in a constant posture when controlled.

  In this configuration, a plurality of drive rollers that are individually rotated and driven are arranged in parallel on the two conveyor rows, and the articles are transported at different intervals because the drive rollers on which the articles are placed are individually controlled to change the direction of the articles. The processing capacity of the article is reduced, and the article transport speed is not required to be increased in order to increase the processing capacity, and the direction of the article can be accurately changed.

  The direction changing device according to claim 2, wherein two conveyor rows on which articles are placed are provided in parallel, and a plurality of driving rollers for individually rotating and transporting the articles are conveyed in parallel to the respective conveyor rows, When the articles are transported while changing the direction due to the speed difference when the driving rollers on which the articles on the two conveyor rows are placed are controlled at different speeds, and the driving rollers on which the articles on the two conveyor rows are placed are controlled at a constant speed A conveyance conveyor that conveys an article in a fixed posture, a detection unit that detects a position in the conveyance direction of the article conveyed by the conveyance conveyor, and a direction change completion position on the conveyance conveyor that completes the direction change of the article are set. When transporting the setting means and the article whose direction is changed, the drive roller on which the articles of the two conveyor rows are placed is controlled at different speeds, and the detection means detects In which and a control means for controlling at a constant speed drive roller article rests conveyor two rows After the article has reached Hazuki the set turning completion position by the setting means.

  In this configuration, a plurality of drive rollers that are individually rotated and driven are arranged in parallel on the two conveyor rows, and the articles are transported at different intervals because the drive rollers on which the articles are placed are individually controlled to change the direction of the articles. The processing capacity of the article is reduced, and the article transport speed is not required to be increased in order to increase the processing capacity, and the direction of the article can be accurately changed. In addition, when conveying an article to change direction, the drive roller on which the articles in the two conveyor rows are placed is controlled at different speeds to convey the article while changing the direction, and the position of the article in the conveyance direction is detected by the detection means. When the article reaches the direction change completion position preset by the setting means, the drive roller on which the articles in the two conveyor rows are placed is controlled at a constant speed to convey the article in the direction after the direction change. By finding the conversion completion position, the direction of the article is accurately changed, and it is possible to easily deal with various kinds of articles.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the direction changing device according to the second aspect, the detection means includes a plurality of sensors that detect the article corresponding to the position of each drive roller in the transport direction.

  In this configuration, since the position of the article is detected by each sensor corresponding to the position of each drive roller in the transport direction, accurate individual control of the drive roller according to the position of the article is possible.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the direction changing device according to the second aspect, the detecting means includes a sensor for detecting an article corresponding to the position of each of the plurality of driving rollers in the conveying direction. And the position of the article is detected from the elapsed time after the detection.

  And in this structure, in order to detect the position of the article from the detection of the article by the sensor corresponding to the position of each of the plurality of drive rollers in the transport direction and the elapsed time after the detection of this sensor, it corresponds to the position of the article. Accurate individual control of the drive roller is possible.

  According to the direction changing apparatus according to claim 1, in order to change the direction of the article by arranging a plurality of driving rollers that are individually rotated and driven in parallel on the two conveyor rows and individually controlling the driving rollers on which the article is placed. The article conveyance interval can be reduced, the article processing capacity can be increased, and the article conveyance speed need not be increased in order to increase the processing ability, and the direction of the article can be accurately changed.

  According to the direction changing device according to claim 2, in order to change the direction of the article by arranging a plurality of driving rollers that are individually driven to rotate on the two conveyor rows, and individually controlling the driving rollers on which the article is placed. The article conveyance interval can be reduced, the article processing capacity can be increased, and the article conveyance speed need not be increased in order to increase the processing ability, and the direction of the article can be accurately changed. In addition, when conveying an article to change direction, the drive roller on which the articles in the two conveyor rows are placed is controlled at different speeds to convey the article while changing the direction, and the position of the article in the conveyance direction is detected by the detection means. When the article reaches the direction change completion position preset by the setting means, the drive roller on which the articles in the two conveyor rows are placed is controlled at a constant speed to convey the article in the direction after the direction change. By finding the conversion completion position, it is possible to accurately change the direction of the article, and it is possible to easily deal with various kinds of articles.

  According to the direction changing apparatus according to claim 3, in the direction changing apparatus according to claim 2, the position of the article is detected by each sensor corresponding to the position of each drive roller in the transport direction. Accurate individual control of the drive roller is possible.

  According to the direction changing device according to claim 4, in the direction changing device according to claim 2, the detection of the article by the sensor corresponding to the position of each of the plurality of drive rollers in the transport direction, and the progress after the detection of this sensor Since the position of the article is detected from time, the individual control of the drive roller according to the position of the article can be performed accurately.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, 11 is a direction changing device, and this direction changing device 11 is installed between a transport device 12 on the upstream side in the transport direction F and an inlet portion of a palletizer (not shown) on the downstream side. The inlet of the palletizer is rotated by 90 ° to the left or right, depending on the stacking pattern arranged at the inlet of the palletizer, or straightly without rotating, depending on the stacking pattern arranged at the inlet of the palletizer. To the part.

  The direction changing device 11 has a base 16 installed on the floor surface or the like, and a transport conveyor 17 for placing the article 13 on the base 16 and transporting it in the transport direction F is disposed. This conveyor 17 has two conveyor rows 18a and 18b arranged in parallel in the direction intersecting the conveying direction F, and an article 13 is straddled on these two conveyor rows 18a and 18b. The articles 13 are redirected and conveyed by the conveyor rows 18a and 18b.

  Each conveyor row 18a, 18b has a mounting frame 20 supported by a plurality of mounting bases 19 installed on a base 16, and outer sides arranged outside the conveying conveyor 17 at both ends of the mounting frame 20. A frame 21 and an inner frame 22 arranged on the inner side which is the center side of the conveyor 17 are respectively attached, and the outer frame 21 and the inner frame 22 are integrally connected by a plurality of transverse members 23.

  A plurality of drive rollers 24 are arranged in parallel along the transport direction F between the outer frame 21 and the inner frame 22 of each conveyor row 18a, 18b. Each drive roller 24 is a motor roller incorporating motors M1 to M15 (see FIG. 4). A roller shaft 25 whose both ends are fixed to the outer frame 21 and the inner frame 22 in a non-rotating state, The roller unit 26 is rotatably mounted, and the roller unit 26 is rotationally driven with respect to the roller shaft 25 by a built-in motor. Then, the drive roller 24 performs two-speed control, for example, to a first conveyance speed that is low and a second conveyance speed that is higher than the first conveyance speed. When one of the two conveyor rows 18a, 18b is controlled to the first transport speed and the other to the second transport speed, the article 13 is transported while changing the direction due to the speed difference, Further, when the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are controlled at a constant speed by either the first conveyance speed or the second conveyance speed, the articles 13 are conveyed in a constant posture without changing the direction.

  The drive rollers 24 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are inclined inward so that the height of the inner end side of the two adjacent drive rollers 24a and 18b of the conveyor rows 18a and 18b is lower than the outer end side. Thus, it is inclined at a predetermined angle α with respect to the horizontal plane.

  One conveyor row 18a is supported by a slide guide 30 disposed on the base 16 so as to be movable toward and away from the other conveyor row 18b. At the time of use, one conveyor row 18a is used in a state of approaching the other conveyor row 18b, and at the time of maintenance, etc., one conveyor row 18a is separated from the other conveyor row 18b, and each conveyor The motor rollers 24a arranged in the rows 18a and 18b are configured to be easily maintained.

  Further, the conveying device 12 has a belt conveyor 41 that carries the article 13 and conveys it, and a plurality of rollers 42 that deliver the article 13 from the belt conveyor 41 to the direction changing device 11, and a belt is provided at the side of the conveying device 12. A motor 43 for driving the conveyor 41 is attached.

  Further, sensors P1 to P16 for detecting the article 13 are arranged corresponding to one position of each driving roller 24 of the direction changing device 11. Each of these sensors P1 to P16 is, for example, a photoelectric sensor, which projects sensor light from one side of the direction changing device 11 to the other side and reflects it with a reflector 46 disposed on the other side of the direction changing device 11 It is configured to receive light and detects the absence of an article when the sensor light reflected by the reflector 46 is received, and the article 13 indicates that there is an article when the sensor light is blocked and the sensor light is not received. Detect.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a control board 51 having a motor driver for controlling the drive is connected to the motors M1 to M15 of each drive roller 24 of the direction changing apparatus 11, and these control boards 51 are connected to the direction changing apparatus. 11 and a control panel 52 that controls the entire palletizer including the transfer device 12. The control panel 52 includes a control unit 56 having a CPU 53, a memory 54, a counter 55, and the like. The control unit 56 includes an input device 57 for inputting the type of the article 13, and a sensor group 58 including sensors P1 to P16. Each is connected.

  The CPU 53 of the control unit 56 changes the direction of the article 13 on the conveyor 17 according to the function of the detection means 59 for detecting the position in the conveyance direction F of the article 13 conveyed by the conveyor 17, and the type and size of the article 13. The function of the setting means 60 for automatically generating and setting the direction change completion position for completing the direction, and when the article 13 to be changed is conveyed, the driving roller 24 on which the article 13 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b is placed is controlled at different speeds. At the same time, when the article 13 reaches the direction change completion position set by the setting means 60 based on the detection of the detection means 59, the control means for controlling the drive roller 24 on which the articles 13 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are placed at a constant speed. Has 61 functions. The detection means 59 detects the position of the article 13 in the transport direction F from the detection states of the sensors P1 to P16.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

  By inputting the product type such as the size and mass of the article 13 to be processed by the input device 57, the setting means 60 automatically generates a direction change completion position at which the direction change of the article 13 is completed on the transport conveyor 17, and the memory 54 To remember. For example, in the case of the article 13 shown in FIG. 1, a position where the article 13 is detected by the sensor P14 is set.

  The direction changing device 11 rotates the motors M1 to M15 at a low first conveying speed in the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b in a standby state in which the article 13 is received.

  A direction change article 13 conveyed by the conveyance device 12 is detected by a sensor P1 at an upstream position of the first drive roller 24 located at the uppermost stream in the conveyance direction F at the entrance of the direction change device 11. Thus, the direction change of the article 13 is started. When the article 13 is detected by the sensor P1, the motor M1 of the first drive roller 24 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b is controlled at different speeds. For example, the drive roller 24 of the one conveyor row 18a The drive roller 24 of the other conveyor row 18b is switched to the high-speed second conveyance speed while maintaining the conveyance speed of 1. When the article 13 is detected by the second sensor P2, the second drive roller 24 is similarly controlled at a different speed, and when the article 13 is detected by the third sensor P3, the third drive roller 24 is similarly changed. When the article 13 is sequentially detected by the sensors P1 to P15 and so on as in the case of speed control, the motors M1 to M15 and the like of the corresponding drive rollers 24 are sequentially controlled at different speeds. Accordingly, the article 13 placed on the driving roller 24 from the conveying device 12 is conveyed in the conveying direction F while being turned counterclockwise in FIG. 1 by the speed difference between the driving rollers 24 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b.

  If the article 13 no longer detects the position of the sensor P2 downstream of the first drive roller 24, that is, if the article 13 passes over the first drive roller 24, two conveyor rows 18a, The first drive roller 24 of 18b is switched to constant speed control. That is, the drive roller 24 of the other conveyor row 18b is switched to the low first transport speed, and the drive rollers 24 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are switched to the constant speed control of the first transport speed. Similarly, when the articles 13 pass through the positions of the sensors P2 to P10 of the drive rollers 24 and are no longer detected, the drive rollers 24 through which the articles 13 have passed are sequentially switched to constant speed control.

  While the article 13 is being conveyed, the position in the conveyance direction F is monitored by detection by the detection means 59, and the article 13 reaches the position where the setting means 60 detects the article 13 in the direction change completion position preset by the setting means 60, for example, P14. When this is detected, all the drive rollers 24 on which the article 13 is placed are switched to constant speed control. That is, the drive roller 24 of the other conveyor row 18b is switched to the low first transport speed, and the drive rollers 24 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are switched to the constant speed control of the first transport speed.

  When the article 13 reaches the direction change completion position, the direction of the article 13 has been changed by 90 °, and the drive roller 24 in which the articles 13 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are positioned is switched to constant speed control. Thus, the article 13 whose direction has been changed by 90 ° is conveyed in the conveying direction F in that direction.

  By switching the driving roller 24 of the one conveyor row 18a to the high speed second conveying speed while the driving roller 24 of the other side conveyor row 18b is kept at the low first conveying speed, the article 13 is changed to the figure. The direction can be changed by one clockwise direction.

  When the article 13 being conveyed by the conveying device 12 is an article 13 whose direction is not changed, the drive roller 24 on which the articles 13 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are positioned is controlled at a constant speed and the direction is not changed. Continue straight ahead with a constant posture.

  In the case of the article 13 shown in FIG. 1, the direction change is completed at a position where the article P is detected by the sensor P14. However, in the case of the article 13 which is smaller and lighter than the article 13 shown in FIG. The direction change is completed at the position where the articles P are detected by the sensors P1 to P13 on the upstream side in the conveying direction F from the sensor P14.

  In this way, in order to change the direction of the article 13 by individually controlling the drive roller 24 on which the article 13 is placed by arranging a plurality of driving rollers 24 that are individually rotated and driven on the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b. The conveyance interval of the article 13 can be reduced, and the processing capacity of the article 13 can be increased. Moreover, it is not necessary to increase the conveying speed of the article 13 in order to increase the processing capacity, that is, the conveying speed of the article 13 can be reduced after obtaining the desired processing capacity. It is possible to prevent the variation in the direction change of the article 13 due to the influence of slippage of the article and to accurately change the direction of the article 13.

  Further, when conveying the article 13 whose direction is changed, the drive roller 24 on which one article 13 of the two conveyor lines 18a and 18b of the conveyor 17 is placed at the first conveying speed is set to the two conveyor lines 18a. , 18b, the drive roller 24 on which the other article 13 is placed is controlled while changing the speed to the second conveyance speed while changing the direction, and the detection means 59 is set while detecting the position of the article 13 in the conveyance direction F. When the article 13 reaches the direction change completion position set in advance by the means 60, the drive roller 24 on which the articles 13 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are placed is controlled at a constant speed to convey the article 13 in the direction after the direction change. Therefore, it is possible to easily change the direction by the two-speed control of the first conveyance speed and the second conveyance speed, and to change the direction of the article 13 accurately by finding the position change completion position. Can be easily accommodated.

  In addition, since the position of the article 13 is detected by the sensors P1 to P16 corresponding to the position of each drive roller 24 in the transport direction F, the individual control of the drive roller 24 according to the position of the article 13 can be performed.

  In the above embodiment, the direction changing device 11 shows an example of changing the direction of the article A by 90 °. However, the direction changing device 11 is not limited to 90 °, and can change the direction of any angle. For example, when the side surface of the article A facing the outer periphery of the pallet to be aligned is set to a specified direction, the direction can be changed by 180 ° and conveyed.

  Also, during normal times (when the article 13 is not located or when the article 13 is moved straight without changing the direction by constant speed control), the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are set to the first conveyance speed at a low speed, and the direction is changed. At times, one of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b was switched to the high-speed second conveyance speed, but in normal times the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b were set to the high-speed second conveyance speed, One of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b may be switched to a low first conveyance speed, and the processing capacity of the article 13 can be improved.

  Further, the sensors P1 to P16 are provided corresponding to the positions of the respective driving rollers 24. However, one sensor is provided for each of the plurality of driving rollers 24 in the transport direction F, and each of the sensors 13 In addition to directly detecting the position, the position of the article 13 can also be detected from the count value of the counter 55 after detection by each sensor. In this case, the counter 55 functions as timer means for obtaining the elapsed time after detection by the sensor. And by comprising in this way, the number of sensors can be reduced.

It is a top view of the direction change apparatus which shows one embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of a direction change apparatus same as the above. It is an end view of a direction change apparatus same as the above. It is a block diagram of a direction change apparatus same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

11 Direction change device
13 Goods
17 Conveyor
18a, 18b conveyor train
24 Drive roller
59 Detection means
60 Setting method
61 Control means
P1 to P16 sensor

Claims (4)

Conveying conveyors in which two rows of conveyors on which articles are placed are provided in parallel, and a plurality of driving rollers for individually rotating and conveying the articles are conveyed in parallel to these conveyor rows,
When the drive rollers on which the articles on the two conveyor rows are placed are controlled at different speeds, the articles are conveyed while changing the direction due to the speed difference, and the drive rollers on which the articles on the two rows of conveyor rows are placed are controlled at a constant speed And a control means for transporting the article in a constant posture. Two conveyor rows on which articles are placed are provided in parallel, and a plurality of drive rollers that individually rotate and convey the articles are provided in parallel to each of the conveyor rows, and articles in the two conveyor rows are placed thereon. Conveyor that conveys the article while maintaining the constant posture when conveying the article while changing the direction due to the speed difference when the driving roller is controlled at different speeds and controlling the driving roller on which the article in the two conveyor lines is placed at a constant speed When,
Detection means for detecting the position in the transport direction of the articles transported by the transport conveyor;
Setting means for setting a direction change completion position where the direction change of the article is completed on the transport conveyor;
When conveying the article to change direction, the drive roller on which the articles in the two conveyor rows are placed is controlled at different speeds, and the article reaches the direction change completion position set by the setting means based on the detection by the detection means. And a control means for controlling the drive roller on which the articles of the two conveyor rows are placed at a constant speed. The direction changing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the detecting unit includes a plurality of sensors that detect the article corresponding to the position of each driving roller in the transport direction. The detection means has a sensor for detecting the article corresponding to the position of each of the plurality of drive rollers in the transport direction, and detects the position of the article from the detection of this sensor and the elapsed time after the detection. The direction changing apparatus according to claim 2.

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