JP2005082351A - Conveyance facility - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveyance facility capable of always facing branched conveyed matter in a specified direction. <P>SOLUTION: A branched conveyance route 16 is formed by branching from a main conveyance route 8 at an acute branch angle θ, and a branch means 50 capable of branching the conveyed matter W in the main conveyance route 8 to the branched conveyance route 16 is installed in the branch part A of the main conveyance route 8. A guide means 31 capable of receiving the conveyed matter W from the side is installed at the start end one lateral side part of the branched conveyance route 16, and at least a part of the portion thereof corresponding to the guide means 31 is formed in a width adjusting conveyor part 13 to the guide means 31 side. Since the conveyed matter branched to the branched conveyance route side is moved (width adjustment) to the guide means side during the conveyance by the width adjusting conveyor part and one side face thereof is received by the guide means, its direction can be corrected, and conveyed in the branched conveyance route without turning over. The orientation of the branched conveyed matter is corrected and always faced in a specified direction, and the bar code of the conveyed matter can always be accurately and securely read by a bar code reader while the conveyed matter is carried after branched. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention, for example, branches a transported object on the main transport path according to a destination instruction, branches (sorts) according to a destination instruction from the upstream, or branches (sorts) to left and right branch transport path groups. The present invention relates to a transport facility used to do this.

  Conventionally, as this type of configuration, a spherical sorting roller group is arranged at the sorting position on the article transport path via a roller support frame, and the orientation of the roller support frame is changed all at once in the sorting direction, so that it is transported to the sorting position. Some articles are sent out from the article conveyance path to the side for sorting (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, as another conventional configuration, there is one in which the flow of an article is regulated by a guide means including a roller and a belt when the article is joined to the main conveyor from the joining conveyor (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-240819 (first page, FIGS. 1 and 6) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-255739 (first page, FIGS. 1, 4)

  However, among the above-described conventional configurations, in the type employing the former spherical sorting roller group, the articles sorted by sending out to the side are the overall shape (shape and size), bottom shape, load, etc. Due to the non-uniformity, the directions are not uniform, and therefore the barcode of the article may not be read by the barcode reader (no lead) while being conveyed after sorting (branching), for example. Further, in the latter type in which the guide means is used for merging, the articles are merged from the merging conveyor without staying with respect to the main conveyor. In this case as well, the direction of the merged articles is similarly determined. It was uneven.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a transport facility that can always make the direction of a branched transported object constant.
The invention according to claim 7 provides a transport facility that can simplify the structure of the branching means and that can smoothly transmit the driving force and that can easily handle a small object by providing a plurality of rollers on the rotating body. It is for the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, in the transport facility according to claim 1 of the present invention, the branch transport path is branched at an acute branch angle with respect to the main transport path, and the branch portion in the main transport path includes: A branching means capable of branching a transported object on the main transport path onto the branch transport path is provided, and a transported object is branched into the at least one side in the path width direction at the start end of the branch transport path. Is provided with a guide means capable of receiving from the side, and at least a part of a portion corresponding to the guide means of the branch conveyance path is configured as a width-adjusting conveyor section toward the guide means side. .

  Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the object to be conveyed on the main conveying path can be branched to the branch conveying path side while changing the direction by the branching means. ) When the transported object rotates and tilts with respect to the direction of the branch transport path due to unevenness of the bottom surface shape, load, etc., the transported object is moved to the guide means side during transport in the width-shifting conveyor section. The direction can be corrected by causing the guide means to receive the one side surface (width adjustment), and the sheet can be conveyed on the branch conveyance path in this state.

  In addition, in the transport facility according to claim 2 of the present invention, in the configuration according to claim 1 described above, guide means is provided on the side of the start end of the branch transport path that is away from the main transport path. It is characterized by.

  Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the object to be transported branched and carried into the branch transport path side while changing the direction by the branching means rotates greatly, the one end corner of the front part is received by the guide means. , Can prevent further rotation.

  And the conveyance equipment of Claim 3 of this invention is comprised by the side conveyor apparatus which receives a to-be-conveyed object from the side and provides conveyance force in the structure of Claim 1 mentioned above. It is characterized by that.

  Therefore, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the object to be conveyed is moved (width-adjusted) to the side conveyor device side during conveyance by the width-conveying conveyor unit, and one side surface thereof is received by the side conveyor device. The direction can be corrected, and in this state, it can be conveyed on the branch conveyance path by the conveyance force between the width-shifting conveyor unit and the side conveyor device.

  Further, according to claim 4 of the present invention, in the configuration according to claim 1 described above, the guide means is constituted by a side conveyor device that receives the object to be conveyed from the side and applies a conveying force. The side conveyor device is composed of an upper conveyor positioned on the branching means side and a lower conveyor provided in a state of being connected to the upper conveyor, and the portion corresponding to the lower conveyor on the branch conveyance path is on the lower conveyor side. It is characterized in that it is configured as a width-shifting conveyor section.

  Therefore, according to the invention of claim 4, when the object to be conveyed branched from the main conveyance path to the branch conveyance path side is greatly rotated, the one end corner of the front part abuts on the upper conveyor, and more than that While being able to prevent rotation, it is possible to apply a rotational force in the reverse direction to the object being conveyed on the branch conveyance path by this good conveyor, and as a result, one side of the object to be conveyed is received by the good conveyor In the state where the direction is corrected as described above, it can be conveyed at the start end portion of the branch conveyance path with the conveyance force of the upper conveyor applied. Then, the object to be conveyed whose direction has been corrected is conveyed to the width-conveying conveyor unit, and moved (width-aligned) to the lower conveyor side during conveyance by this width-aligning conveyor unit, and one side surface thereof is received by the lower-level conveyor. In this way, the sheet can be conveyed on the branch conveyance path by the conveyance force of the width-conveying conveyor unit and the lower conveyor.

  In addition, when the object to be transported is rotating slightly, the object to be transported can be transported to the width-adjusting conveyor section without acting on the upper conveyor, and moves to the lower-conveyor side during transport by this width-aligning conveyor section. It can be conveyed on the branch conveyance path by the conveying force of the width-adjusting conveyor unit and the lower conveyor in a state where the direction is corrected while the width is being adjusted so that one side surface can be received by the lower conveyor.

  In addition, the transport facility according to claim 5 of the present invention is the above-described configuration according to claim 1, wherein the guide means is configured by a side conveyor device that receives the object to be transported from the side and applies a transport force. The side conveyor device is composed of an upper conveyor positioned on the branching means side and a lower conveyor provided in a state of being connected to the upper conveyor. The conveyed product receiving position is located outside in the path width direction of the branch conveyance path.

Therefore, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, delivery of the object to be conveyed from the upper conveyor to the lower conveyor can be performed without greatly changing the direction.
Further, according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the transport facility according to the first aspect, the guide means includes a side conveyor device that receives the object to be transported from the side and applies a transport force. The side conveyor device is composed of an upper conveyor positioned on the branching means side and a lower conveyor provided in a state continuous with the upper conveyor. At least one of the upper conveyor and the lower conveyor is an endless rotating body. It is characterized by being configured to be able to receive the object to be conveyed.

Therefore, according to the invention of claim 6, after the object to be transported is received by the endless rotating body, it can be transported on the branch transport path using the driving rotational force of the endless rotating body.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the transport facility according to the first aspect, the branching means includes a rotating body provided in the main transport path, and a direction changing device linked to the rotating body. And a group of rollers disposed on the rotating body to form a conveying surface, and a rotational driving device interlocked with the rollers. The rotational driving device has a driving shaft disposed on the machine frame side. In addition, one endless rotating body is wound around the driving wheel body and the roller group on the driving shaft side.

  Therefore, according to the invention of claim 7, the branching unit normally positions the rotating body so that the roller axis is orthogonal to the main transport path, and drives the roller group before the transported object arrives. It is rotating. This drive rotation can be performed by rotating the drive shaft of the rotary drive device and rotating the endless rotating body via the driving wheel body. When the transported object transported on the main transport path does not need to be branched, the branching unit maintains the normal state, and therefore the transported object is branched by the driving transport force of the roller group. It can be passed in the part.

  Further, when the transported object is to be branched, the branching means is changed in direction. That is, by rotating the disc body by the orientation changing device, the roller group is inclined with respect to the direction of the main transport path as being directed to the branch side. Therefore, the object to be conveyed that has reached the branching unit can be conveyed and branched while changing the direction by the driving conveyance force of the roller group. The roller group is displaced with respect to the driving wheel body by the rotation of the rotating body. This displacement can be easily absorbed by the twist of the endless rotating body between the driving wheel body and the roller group side.

  According to claim 1 of the present invention described above, the object to be transported on the main transport path can be branched to the branch transport path side while changing the direction by the branching means, and in that case, the overall shape (shape and size), When the transported object rotates and tilts with respect to the direction of the branch transport path due to unevenness of the bottom surface shape, load, etc., the transported object is moved to the guide means side during transport in the width-shifting conveyor section (width) The direction can be corrected by allowing the guide means to receive one side surface thereof, and in this state, the object to be transported can be transported on the branch transport path without causing overturning. As a result, the direction of the branched transported object can be corrected so that it is always constant, and it is always accurate and reliable to read the barcode of the transported object with a barcode reader while transporting after sorting (branching). Can be done.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention described above, when the transported object branched and carried into the branch transport path side while changing the direction by the branching means is greatly rotated, the one end corner of the front part is guided by the guide means. It can be received and reliably prevented from further rotation.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the object to be conveyed is moved (width-adjusted) to the side conveyor device while being conveyed by the width-adjusting conveyor portion, and one side surface is received by the side conveyor device. By doing so, the direction can be corrected, and in this state, it can be stably and smoothly transported on the branch transport path by the transport force of the width-shifting conveyor unit and the side conveyor device.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention described above, when the object to be transported branched from the main transport path to the branch transport path side is greatly rotated, the upper conveyor can prevent further rotation and With the conveyor, a reverse rotational force can be applied to the object being conveyed on the branch conveyance path, and as a result, the object to be conveyed has its direction corrected so that one side of the object can be received by the upper conveyor, It can be transported at the start end of the branch transport path with the transport force of the upper conveyor applied. Then, the object to be transported was transported to the width-conveying conveyor section, moved to the lower conveyor side (width-aligned) while being transported by the width-conveying conveyor section, and one side surface thereof was aligned so that it could be received by the lower conveyor. In the state, it can be transported on the branch transport path by the transport force of the width-shifting conveyor unit and the lower conveyor.

  In addition, when the object to be transported is rotating slightly, the object to be transported can be transported to the width-adjusting conveyor unit without being acted on the upper conveyor, and moved to the lower conveyor side during transporting by this width-aligning conveyor unit ( And can be conveyed on the branch conveyance path by the conveyance force of the width-conveying conveyor section and the lower conveyor in a state where the direction is corrected so that the one side can be received by the lower conveyor.

  Moreover, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention described above, the transfer of the object to be conveyed from the upper conveyor to the lower conveyor can be performed smoothly without changing the direction of the object.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention described above, after the object to be transported is received by the endless rotating body, it can be suitably transported on the branch transport path using the driving rotational force of the endless rotating body.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention described above, when the object to be transported that has been transported on the main transport path does not need to be branched, the branching means has the roller axis orthogonal to the main transport path. Therefore, the object to be conveyed can be passed through the branching means by the driving conveyance force of the roller group.

  Further, when the object to be transported is branched, by rotating the disk body by the direction changing device, the roller group is inclined with respect to the direction of the main transport path as being directed to the branch side, The object to be conveyed that has reached the branching unit can be conveyed and branched by changing the direction by the driving conveyance force of the roller group. At this time, since the rotating body is provided with a plurality of rollers, even if it is a small object to be conveyed, it can be easily branched (handled), and the diameter of the roller group can be reduced, and the endless rotating body has a long service life. Can be made possible. The roller group is displaced with respect to the driving wheel body by the rotation of the rotating body, and this displacement can be easily absorbed by the twist of the endless rotating body between the driving wheel body and the roller group side, and thus branched. Although the means has a simple structure, the driving force can be transmitted smoothly and reliably.

[Embodiment 1]
Below, Embodiment 1 of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS. 1-12 as the state employ | adopted for branching the to-be-conveyed object on a main conveyance path | route, for example according to a destination instruction | indication.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main transport unit 1 forms a main transport path 8 for the article W to be transported, and branches to one or more locations on one side of the main transport path 8. A branch conveyance path 16 is formed by the conveyance means 11. At that time, the main transport means 1 that forms the main transport path 8 is divided into a plurality of parts, and the object W on the main transport path 8 is branched into the branch transport path with the divided start and end as a branching part A. A branching means (details will be described later) 50 capable of branching on 16 is provided. The branch conveyance path 16 is branched at an acute branch angle θ with respect to the main conveyance path 8 with the branch portion A as a base point.

  The main conveying means 1 is, for example, in the form of a belt conveyor. The driving roller 3 and the driven roller 4 are supported on the conveyor frame 2, the belt 5 is hung between the rollers 3 and 4, and the driving roller 3 rotates. The drive device 6 is linked and connected. At that time, the belt 5 hung between the rollers 3 and 4 is supported from below by a large number of free-rolling rollers and support plates in the upper transporting action section so that it is moved in a constant state. It is configured. The main transport means 1 is driven in a synchronous manner, whereby a continuous main transport path 8 is formed. In addition, the main conveyance means 1 may be comprised by the roller conveyor format etc. An example of the main conveying means 1 is constituted by the above 2-6 and the like.

  Further, the branch conveying means 11 is of a roller conveyor type, and is formed in the receiving conveyor section 12, the width adjusting conveyor section 13, and the direct feeding conveyor section 14 in order from the main conveying path 8 side. These conveyor sections 12, 13, and 14 are configured by disposing a plurality of rollers 12B, 13B, and 14B on conveyor frames 12A, 13A, and 14A, respectively, and the rollers 12B, 13B, and 14B are rotated and driven (see FIG. (Not shown). At that time, the rollers 13B of the width-conveying conveyor unit 13 are arranged so as to be inclined so that the end on the side away from the main conveyance path 8 is located on the upstream side, and thus convey the article W to be conveyed. However, the main conveyance path 8 is configured so as to be closer to the side away from the main conveyance path 8. An example of the branch conveyance unit 11 is configured by the above 12 to 14 and the like.

  A sub-transport path 26 is formed by the sub-transport means 21 so as to be continuous with the branch transport path 16. The sub-conveying means 21 is a roller conveyor type, and is formed in a curve conveyor section 22, a width-conveying conveyor section 23, and a direct-feed conveyor section 24 in order from the branch conveying means 11 side. The conveyor units 22, 23, and 24 are configured by disposing a plurality of rollers 22B, 23B, and 24B on conveyor frames 22A, 23A, and 24A, respectively, and the rollers 22B, 23B, and 24B are rotated and driven (see FIG. (Not shown). At that time, the rollers 23B of the width-conveying conveyor section 23 are arranged so as to be inclined so that the end portion on the side away from the main conveyance path 8 is located on the upstream side, and thus convey the article to be conveyed W. However, the main conveyance path 8 is configured so as to be closer to the side away from the main conveyance path 8. An example of the sub-transport means 21 is configured by the above 22-24 and the like.

  On the side of at least one side in the path width direction at the start end of the branch transport path 16, that is, on the side remote from the main transport path 8, it is possible to receive the object W to be transported in the branch from the side. Guide means are provided. That is, the guide means is constituted by a side conveyor device 31 that receives the object to be conveyed W from the side and applies a conveying force, and the side conveyor device 31 includes an upper conveyor 32 positioned on the branching means 50 side, The lower conveyor 42 is provided so as to be continuous with the upper conveyor 32.

  The upper conveyor 32 is positioned near the branching means 50 and outward of the receiving conveyor section 12, and is positioned downstream of the receiving conveyor section 12 and within the receiving conveyor section 12. Lower freewheeling wheel 34, driving wheel 35 positioned outside the receiving conveyor unit 12, a pair of guide wheels 36 positioned near the driving wheel 35, and these wheels 33, 34 , 35, 36, a flat belt-like belt (an example of an endless rotating body) 37, a rotational drive device 38 linked to the driving wheel body 35, and an upper freewheeling body 33. An arcuate guide plate 39 that guides the belt portion to the roller body 34 from the outside of the receiving conveyor unit 12 into the receiving conveyor unit 12 is formed. And the upper conveyor 32 is comprised so that the to-be-conveyed object W can be received from the side by the belt 37. FIG.

  The lower conveyor 42 includes an upper free rotating wheel 43 positioned upstream of the width adjusting conveyor 13 and outside the width adjusting conveyor 13, and a downstream portion of the width adjusting conveyor 13 and the width adjusting conveyor. 13, the lower freewheeling wheel body 44 located outside the drive wheel body 45, and the pair of guide wheel bodies located near the drive wheel body 45. 46, a flat belt-like belt (an example of an endless rotating body) 47 wound between the ring bodies 43, 44, 45, and 46, a rotary drive device 48 linked to the drive wheel body 45, and the like. It is configured. And the lower conveyor 42 is comprised so that the to-be-conveyed object W can be received from the side with the belt 47. FIG.

  With the above configuration, at least a part of the part corresponding to the side conveyor device (guide means) 31 of the branch conveyance path 16, that is, the part corresponding to the lower conveyor 42 is configured in the width-shifting conveyor part 13 toward the lower conveyor 42 side. Will be. At that time, the received object receiving position 42a of the lower conveyor 42 is positioned outside the transferred object receiving position 32a of the upper conveyor 32 with a certain distance L in the path width direction of the branch conveying path 16. Thus, the upper conveyor 32 and the lower conveyor 42 are arrange | positioned. An example of the side conveyor device 31 is configured by the above 32 to 48 and the like.

A conveyor 42 </ b> A having the same configuration as the lower conveyor 42 is disposed corresponding to the width-carrying conveyor portion 23 of the sub-transport means 21.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 to 10, the branching unit 50 provided in the main transport path 2 has a machine box 51 as a main body having a long flat box frame shape, and the main transport unit Between the divided start and end points, the length direction is provided orthogonal to the direction of the main transport path 8.

  In the upper plate portion of the machine frame 51, through holes 52 are formed at three positions (a plurality of positions) in the length direction, and linked to a common orientation changing device 70 at each of the positions above the through holes 52. A disc-shaped rotating body 53 is positioned. A rotation support device 54 is provided between the lower surface side of the peripheral portion of the rotating body 53 and the lower surface side of the peripheral portion of the through hole 52 in the machine frame 51, so that the rotating body 53 rotates around the vertical axis 55. It is configured to be freely rotatable.

  Each rotating body 53 is provided with a roller group. That is, a through-hole 56 is formed in the rotating body 53, and two (one or more) long rollers 60 and two (one or more) short rollers 61 are formed in the through-hole 56. The long rollers 60 are arranged in parallel and at equal pitches with the long roller 60 as an intermediate position. These rollers 60 and 61 are composed of roller bodies 60A and 61A and rubber lining layers 60B and 61B laminated on the outer periphery of the roller bodies 60A and 61A, and are configured to be freely rotatable around roller shafts 62 and 63. ing. The roller shafts 62 and 63 are supported by a support frame 57 connected to the lower surface of the rotating body 53.

  Thereby, the conveyance surface 64 is formed by the rollers 60 and 61, and the conveyance surface 64 is at a level slightly higher than the upper surface of the rotating body 53 and at the same level as the upper surface of the main conveyance path 8. Has been. The rollers 60 and 61 are formed with annular recesses 65 and 66 at the central portion in the roller axial direction. The annular recesses 65 and 66 are formed by removing the rubber lining layers 60B and 61B and the roller bodies 60A and 61A. It is formed by denting.

  At the lower level position of the rollers 60 and 61 group, three (plural) roller-shaped guide ring bodies 67 are provided in parallel with the rollers 60 and 61 group and at an equal pitch. That is, the support bracket 58 is connected to the lower surface side of the support frame body 57, and the guide wheel body shaft 68 is supported by the support bracket 58. At this time, the guide ring body 67 is disposed so as to be positioned below the rollers 60 and 61.

  The direction changing device 70 has a rotation drive unit 71 composed of a servo motor, a speed reducer, etc., and this rotation drive unit 71 is located on one side of the main conveyance path 8 (branch conveyance path 16 side), An output shaft 72 is attached downward to a bracket 59 from the machine casing 51. The output shaft 72 is provided with an eccentric pin 74 through a disc body 73. Further, in the lower part on the rotating body 53 side, connecting pins 75 are suspended from two places eccentric from the vertical axis 55 and displaced by 180 degrees.

  The eccentric pin 74 and one connecting pin 75 of the adjacent rotating body 53 are connected via a push-pull rod 76, and the remaining connecting pins 75 and one of the central rotating body 53 are connected. The connecting pin 75 is similarly connected via the push / pull rod 76, and the remaining connecting pin 75 and one connecting pin 75 of the most distant rotary body 53 are similarly pushed / pulled rod 76. It is connected through.

  Therefore, by rotating the eccentric pin 74 around the axis of the output shaft 72 by driving the rotation driving unit 71, the push-pull rods 76 are pushed and pulled in the same direction or in the opposite direction, and thus the rotating bodies 53 groups. Can be rotated forward and backward around the longitudinal axis 55 simultaneously and in the same direction. An example of the direction changing device 70 is configured by the above 71 to 76 and the like.

  A rotary drive device 80 is provided which is linked to the rollers 60 and 61. That is, the rotary drive device 80 has a drive shaft 81 disposed below the group of rotary bodies 53 in the same direction as the arrangement direction of the rotary bodies 53, and is rotatable to the machine frame 51 side via the bearings 82. It is supported. On the other outer side of the machine casing 51, a rotation drive unit 83 including a servo motor, a speed reducer, and the like is provided, and the drive shaft 81 is linked to the rotation drive unit 83.

  The drive shaft 81 is provided with drive wheel bodies 84 at positions facing the respective rotary bodies 52, and one drive wheel 84 and a group of rollers 60 and 61 of each rotary body 53 are provided. A flat belt (an example of an endless rotating body) 85 is wound. At that time, the flat belt 85 is positioned over the front and rear ones in the rotational direction of the rollers 60 and 61 and the guide ring body 67 group, and the annular recesses 65 and 66 of the rollers 60 and 61 are arranged. It is wound using.

  That is, the flat belt 85 is wound from the driving wheel body 84 to the upper guide wheel body 67, wound from the upper short roller 61 to the long roller 60, and then to the intermediate guide wheel body 67. After being wound and then wound from the long roller 60 on the lower side to the short roller 61, it is wound on the guide wheel body 67 on the lower side and returned to the drive wheel body 84. An example of the rotary drive device 80 is configured by the above 81-85 and the like.

  An example of the branching unit 50 is configured by the above-described 51 to 85 and the like. A pull-in roller 88 is provided between the branch side portion of the main transport unit 1 and the start end of the branch transport unit 11.

Hereinafter, the operation in the first embodiment will be described.
The article W to be transported that has been transported on the main transport path 8 by the main transport unit 1 is allowed to pass through the branching unit 50 or branched to the branching transport unit 11 side according to the destination instruction. That is, normally, the branching unit 50 positions the rotating body 53 so that the roller axis is orthogonal to the main transport path 8 as shown in FIGS. And before the to-be-conveyed object W arrives, the rollers 60 and 61 group are driven and rotated. This drive rotation is performed by rotating the drive shaft 81 by the rotation drive unit 83 and rotating each flat belt 85 via the drive wheel body 84 group.

  At that time, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 10, the flat belt 85 is wound in a state where the flat belt 85 is positioned across one of the front and rear in the rotational direction of the rollers 60 and 61 and the group of guide wheels 67. Thus, the winding range (winding angle) of the flat belt 85 around each of the rollers 60 and 61 can be sufficiently secured, and the friction transmission surface can be sufficiently secured by winding the flat surface, so that the structure is simple. The driving force can be transmitted smoothly and reliably.

  When the transported object W transported on the main transport path 8 does not need to be branched, the branching unit 50 maintains the state shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 according to the destination instruction. Therefore, the conveyed object W is passed through the branching unit 50, that is, the branching part A by the driving and conveying force of the rollers 60 and 61.

  Further, when the article to be transported W that has been transported on the main transport path 8 is branched, the direction of the branching means 50 is changed according to the destination instruction. That is, the rotation driving unit 71 of the direction changing device 70 is driven, the disk body 73 is rotated via the output shaft 72, and the eccentric pin 74 is rotated around the axis of the output shaft 72. As a result, the push-pull rod 76 group can be pushed and pulled in the same direction or in the opposite direction to rotate the rotating body 53 group around the longitudinal axis 55 simultaneously and in the same direction, as shown in FIG. The rollers 60 and 61 are tilted with respect to the direction of the main transport path 8 in a state where the rollers 60 and 61 are directed toward the branch transport unit 11.

  Therefore, when the conveyed object W conveyed on the main conveying path 8 reaches the branching unit 50, the conveyed object W is branched while changing the direction by the driving conveying force of the rollers 60 and 61 group. It is conveyed to the conveyance means 11 side, and is branched to the branch conveyance means 11 side. At this time, by providing the rotating body 53 with the plurality of rollers 60 and 61, even if the object to be conveyed W is small, it can be easily branched (handled).

  The rollers 60 and 61 are displaced with respect to the driving wheel body 84 by the rotation of the rotating body 53, and this displacement is easily caused by the twist of the flat belt 85 between the driving wheel body 84 and the guide wheel body 67. Can be absorbed. Further, since the flat belt 85 is wound using the annular recesses 65 and 66 formed in the rollers 60 and 61, the flat belt 85 is unexpectedly moved with respect to the rollers 60 and 61 by the twist described above. Therefore, it is possible to reliably transmit the driving force and to sufficiently cope with the high-speed sorting.

  At this time, the conveyor units 12, 13, and 14 of the branch conveying unit 11, the conveyor units 22, 23, and 24 of the sub conveying unit 21, the conveyors 32 and 42 of the side conveyor unit 31, and the like are driven. That is, both the conveyors 32 and 42 are driven by rotating the driving wheel bodies 35 and 45 by the rotation driving devices 38 and 48 and rotating the belts 37 and 47 through the group of wheel bodies 33 to 36 and 43 to 46. Done. At that time, the belt 37 of the upper conveyor 32 is guided by the guide plate 39 on the upstream side and moved in an arc shape.

  As described above, the object to be transported W can be branched to the branch transport means 11 side while changing the direction by the branch means 50. At that time, the overall shape (shape and size), bottom surface shape, load Due to such non-uniformity, the direction (rotation) of the conveyed object W becomes uneven. Therefore, when the material is carried into the receiving conveyor unit 12 through the pulling roller 88, for example, as shown by the solid line in FIG. For example, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 12, the article W to be conveyed rotates slightly and is inclined with respect to the direction of the branch conveyance path 16. .

  In such a case, that is, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 11, when the one end corner of the front portion of the conveyed object W is brought into contact with the belt 37 of the upper conveyor 32, further rotation is prevented. Since the belt 37 is driven and rotated, a rotational force in the reverse direction is applied to the article W being conveyed by the receiving conveyor unit 12. As a result, the transported object W is transported between the receiving conveyor unit 12 and the upper conveyor 32 in a state in which the direction is corrected so that one side surface of the transported object W is received by the belt 37, as indicated by an imaginary line A in FIG. It is conveyed at the starting end portion of the branch conveyance path 16 by force.

  In this way, the direction of the object to be conveyed W can be corrected at the portion of the receiving conveyor section 12. At that time, the belt 37 is moved in an arc shape by the guide plate 39 at the starting end portion of the upper conveyor 32. As a result, even if the article to be transported W is rapidly and greatly rotated, it is possible to stably and reliably receive (abut) one end corner of the front part.

  The transported object W whose direction is corrected as described above is transported from the receiving conveyor unit 12 to the width-adjusting conveyor unit 13. The conveyed object W is moved (width-adjusted) to the lower conveyor 42 side while being conveyed by the width-adjusting conveyor unit 13, and one side surface thereof is received by the belt 47 as shown by an imaginary line B in FIG. 11. In this state, the sheet is conveyed on the branch conveyance path 16 by the conveyance force of the width adjustment conveyor unit 13 and the lower conveyor 42. Then, as shown by the phantom line C in FIG. 11, the width-adjusted article W is moved from the width-conveying conveyor unit 13 to the direct-feeding conveyor unit 14 and is transported on the direct-feeding conveyor unit 14.

  In this way, the direction of the transported object W is corrected while utilizing the transporting force of the upper conveyor 32 and the lower conveyor 42. At that time, the transported object W receiving position 32a of the upper conveyor 32 is corrected. Since the object receiving position 42a of the lower conveyor 42 is positioned outside at a certain distance L in the path width direction of the branch conveyance path 16, the object to be conveyed from the upper conveyor 32 to the lower conveyor 42 is obtained. The delivery of W can always be performed smoothly without greatly changing its direction.

  Further, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 12, when the transported object W rotates slightly and is branched to the receiving conveyor unit 12 while being inclined with respect to the direction of the branch transport path 16, the transported object W Is conveyed from the receiving conveyor unit 12 to the width-carrying conveyor unit 13 without being acted on the upper conveyor 32. Then, the object W to be conveyed is moved (width-adjusted) to the lower conveyor 42 side while being conveyed by the width-adjusting conveyor unit 13, and as shown by an imaginary line D in FIG. In a state where the belt 42 is received by the belt 47 of the conveyor 42, it is conveyed on the branch conveyance path 16 by the conveying force of the width-adjusting conveyor unit 13 and the lower conveyor 42. Then, as shown by the phantom line E in FIG. 12, the width-adjusted article W is moved from the width-conveying conveyor unit 13 to the direct-feeding conveyor unit 14 and is transported on the direct-feeding conveyor unit 14. In this manner, the direction of the article to be conveyed W is corrected while utilizing the conveying force with the lower conveyor 42.

  As shown in the phantom line C of FIG. 11 and the phantom line E of FIG. 12, the object W to be transported on the direct conveyor 14 with the orientation corrected is sub-transport means as shown in FIG. 1. 21 is transferred from the curve conveyor section 22 to the width-shifting conveyor section 23 and is shifted by the conveying force between the width-shifting conveyor section 23 and the conveyor 42A and the disordered direction is corrected in the curve conveyor section 22, or After the correction when the width-shifting conveyor unit 13 in the branching and conveying means 11 is not sufficiently widened, the correction is performed from the width-shifting conveyor unit 23 to the direct-feeding conveyor unit 24, and on the direct-feeding conveyor unit 24 Be transported.

Therefore, after sorting (branching), the bar code of the article W to be transported is transferred while being transported on the direct transport conveyor unit 24, while being transported downstream of the direct transport conveyor unit 24, or while being transported on the direct transport conveyor unit 14. Reading with a code reader (not shown) can always be performed accurately and reliably by correcting the direction of the conveyed object W so as to be always constant.
[Embodiment 2]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the second embodiment, the lower conveyor 42 is disposed on the other side of the branch conveyance path 16, that is, on the opposite side to the configuration of the first embodiment. The rollers 13B of the width-conveying conveyor unit 13 are arranged so as to be inclined so that the end portion on the main transport path 8 side is located on the upstream side, and thus the transported object W is transported to the main transport path 8 while being transported. It is comprised so that it may width-close to the approaching side.

  According to the second embodiment, for example, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 13, the object W to be conveyed rotates slightly and is branched to the receiving conveyor unit 12 in a state inclined with respect to the direction of the branch conveyance path 16. When this occurs, the article W to be conveyed is conveyed from the receiving conveyor unit 12 to the width-adjusting conveyor unit 13 without being acted on the upper conveyor 32. Then, the conveyed object W is moved (width-adjusted) to the lower conveyor 42 side while being conveyed by the width-adjusting conveyor portion 13, and the other end corner portion of the front portion thereof is shown in the phantom line of FIG. In a state where the belt 47 is received by the belt 47 of the lower conveyor 42, the lower conveyor 42 is conveyed on the branch conveyance path 16 by the conveying force of the width conveying conveyor unit 13 and the lower conveyor 42. As shown by the phantom line in FIG. 13, the width-adjusted article W is moved from the width-conveying conveyor unit 13 to the direct-feeding conveyor unit 14 and is transported on the direct-feeding conveyor unit 14. Become.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, a form in which the side conveyor device 31 is employed as the guide means is shown. Depending on the shape of the conveyed object W, this may be a plate-like or rail-like slide as the guide means. The form etc. which employ | adopted the guide body may be sufficient.

  In the above-described first embodiment, a form in which the side conveyor device 31 composed of the upper conveyor 32 and the lower conveyor 42 is employed as the guide means is shown. However, this is only a continuous side conveyor device. The adopted format may be used.

  In the first embodiment described above, a form in which the width-adjusting conveyor unit 13 is associated with only the lower conveyor 42 is shown. This is because the width-adjusting conveyor unit 13 is provided for both the upper conveyor 32 and the lower conveyor 42. A corresponding format may be used.

  In the first embodiment described above, a form is shown in which the object receiving position 42a of the lower conveyor 42 is positioned outside the object receiving position 32a of the upper conveyor 32 in the path width direction of the branch transfer path. However, this may be a form in which both receiving positions 32a and 42a are linearly positioned.

  In the first embodiment described above, flat belt-like belts 37 and 47 are shown as endless rotating bodies of the upper conveyor 32 and the lower conveyor 42. However, at least one of the endless rotating bodies is a round belt. It may be in the form of a chain or wire.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the form in which the three rotating bodies 53 are provided as the branching unit 50 is shown, but this is the form in which the one rotating body 53 is provided, and the two rotating bodies. The format provided with 53, the format provided with four or more rotating bodies 53, etc. may be sufficient. Further, as the branching unit, a shoe provided on the main transporting unit side is moved in the width direction of the main transporting path 8 so that an object to be transported on the main transporting unit is branched into the branching transporting path 16. For example, it may be of a form that branches to the branching conveyance path 16 by causing the paying-out body to abut and paying off the object being conveyed above.

  In the first embodiment described above, a form in which a plurality of guide ring bodies 67 are provided at the lower level position of the rollers 60 and 61 group is shown. May be omitted.

  In the first embodiment described above, the rollers 60 and 61 are shown in which the annular recesses 65 and 66 are formed in the central portion in the roller axial direction, and this is the annular recesses 65 and 66 in the end portion in the roller axial direction. May be the rollers 60 and 61 in which the annular recesses 65 and 66 are not formed.

In the above-described first embodiment, the flat belt 85 is shown as the endless rotating body, but this may be a round belt or a chain.
In the above-described first embodiment, the transport facility for branching the article W to be transported on the main transport path 8 according to the destination instruction is shown, but this may be classified according to the destination instruction from the upstream, It may be a transfer facility that distributes the transfer route group.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of the transport facility according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the periphery of the branch part in the conveyance equipment. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a branching means in the transport facility in a non-branched state. It is a branch means in the same conveyance equipment, Comprising: It is a top view of a branch state. It is a vertical side view of the branch means in the conveyance equipment. It is a partially cutaway front view of the branch means in the same conveyance equipment. It is a partially cutaway front view of the principal part of the branch means in the same conveyance equipment. It is a top view of the principal part of the branch means in the conveyance facility. It is a partially notched top view of the principal part of the branch means in the conveyance equipment. It is a partial exploded perspective view of the principal part of the branching means in the conveyance equipment. It is a top view of the principal part explaining the branch action in the conveyance equipment. It is a top view of the principal part explaining another branch action in the conveyance equipment. It is Embodiment 2 of this invention, and is a top view of the periphery of the branch part in a conveyance installation.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main conveyance means 8 Main conveyance path 11 Branch conveyance means 12 Receiving conveyor part 13 Width-conveying conveyor part 14 Direct conveyance conveyor part 16 Branch conveyance path 21 Sub conveyance means 22 Curve conveyor part 23 Width-conveying part 24 Direct conveyance conveyor part 26 Sub conveyance path 31 Side conveyor (guide means)
32 Upper Conveyor 32a Conveyed Object Receiving Position 37 of the Upper Conveyor 32 Belt (Endless Rotating Body)
38 Rotation Drive Device 39 Guide Plate 42 Lower Conveyor 42A Conveyor 42a Conveyed Object Receiving Position 47 of Lower Conveyor 42 Belt (Endless Rotating Body)
48 Rotation drive unit 50 Branch means 51 Machine frame 53 Rotating body 54 Rotation support unit 55 Vertical axis 60 Long roller 61 Short roller 64 Conveying surface 70 Direction change device 71 Rotation drive unit 80 Rotation drive unit 81 Drive shaft 85 Flat belt ( Endless rotating body)
88 Pull-in roller W Conveyed object A Branching portion θ Acute branching angle L A certain distance

Claims (7)

The branch conveyance path is branched at an acute branch angle with respect to the main conveyance path, and a branching unit capable of branching the object to be conveyed on the main conveyance path to the branch conveyance path is provided at the branching portion in the main conveyance path. In addition, a guide means is provided at the start end of the branch conveyance path, on at least one side in the width direction of the path. At least a part of the portion to be configured is configured as a width-conveying conveyor section toward the guide means side. 2. The transport equipment according to claim 1, wherein guide means is provided on a side portion of the start end portion of the branch transport route that is away from the main transport route. 2. The conveying equipment according to claim 1, wherein the guide means is constituted by a side conveyor device that receives the object to be conveyed from the side and applies a conveying force. The guide means is composed of a side conveyor device that receives the object to be conveyed from the side and applies a conveying force. The side conveyor device is connected to the upper conveyor located on the branching means side and the upper conveyor. 2. The conveying facility according to claim 1, wherein the lower conveyor provided in a state where the lower conveyor corresponds to the branch conveyor path is configured as a width-conveying section toward the lower conveyor. . The guide means is composed of a side conveyor device that receives the object to be conveyed from the side and applies a conveying force. The side conveyor device is connected to the upper conveyor located on the branching means side and the upper conveyor. The lower conveyor conveys the object receiving position of the lower conveyor with respect to the object receiving position of the upper conveyor. The transfer facility according to claim 1. The guide means is composed of a side conveyor device that receives the object to be conveyed from the side and applies a conveying force. The side conveyor device is connected to the upper conveyor located on the branching means side and the upper conveyor. 2. The transfer equipment according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the upper conveyor and the lower conveyor is configured to receive an object to be transferred by an endless rotating body. . The branching means includes a rotator provided in the main transport path, an orientation changing device linked to the rotator, a roller group disposed on the rotator to form a transport surface, and interlocked with the rollers. A rotary drive device coupled to the rotary drive device, wherein the drive shaft is disposed on the machine frame side, and one endless rotating body is provided across the drive wheel and the roller group on the drive shaft side. The conveyance facility according to claim 1, wherein the transfer facility is wound.

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