JP2007119093A - Article conveyance/sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article conveyance/sorting device with smooth sorting action. <P>SOLUTION: The article conveyance/sorting device is provided with slide shoes slidingly movably engaged with a plurality of slats constituting an endless slat conveyor, and guide means 23-24 for guiding the slide shoes. The guide means have a linear advancement guide member 23 for guiding the movement shoe in a conveying direction, and a branch guide member 24 for moving the slide shoe toward a branch conveyor at a branching position of the linear advancement guide member. At the branch position, a rotation type switching member 26 for switching a guide direction between the linear advancement guide member and the branch guide member is provided. The switching member 26 slides relative to the linear advancement guide member according to turning action and on at least a slide area of the switching member and the linear advancement guide member, a curvature is approximately equal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In the present invention, by sliding a plurality of slide shoes with respect to the slats, articles supplied to the endless sorter conveyor are provided on the side of the endless sorter conveyor and extend obliquely in the horizontal direction with respect to the conveying direction. The present invention relates to an article conveying and sorting apparatus to be sent to a branch conveyor.

  In distribution centers, distribution centers, and the like, a slide shoe type sorting device that sorts items such as cardboard cases and packages transported on a transport conveyor by delivery destination or storage destination is employed.

  As a sorter of this type, it has a swingable longitudinal guide member, and a pair of stopper devices provided on the guide member and projecting in one direction and the other direction of the guide member in the longitudinal orthogonal direction. By swinging the guide member, the guide member is brought into contact with one of the stopper devices to change the guide direction (see Patent Document 1), or a switch rail is provided at the branch point between the straight rail and the branch rail. There are disclosed ones that are provided so as to be able to swing and slide a slide shoe in a lateral direction by bringing a guide pin into contact with the switch rail (see Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3).

  Further, in Patent Document 4, a guide rail extending in the transport direction, a branch guide rail extending obliquely in the horizontal direction with respect to the transport direction from the middle of the guide rail, and a guide installed at a branch point of the guide rail and the branch guide rail A switching device having a switching member in which a groove is formed, and a slide shoe that is guided by a guide rail and a branching guide rail and engaged with the slat in a slidable state is disclosed.

The slide shoe is provided with a guide pin that can be engaged with the guide rail and the branch guide rail, and the guide pin enters the guide groove portion of the switching member while the switching member is swung to the branch guide rail side. Then, the slide shoe slides in the lateral direction on the slat while being guided by the branch guide rail.
JP-A-6-336333 JP 7-315538 A JP 2002-2949 A JP-A-6-115680

  However, in Patent Documents 1 to 3, since the guide direction of the guide pin is switched by bringing the guide pin into contact with the switching member, the guide pin collides with the switching member at the time of switching, and the switching member and the slide shoe are large. There is a risk of load.

  Further, in Patent Document 4, since there is a space between the switching member and the guide rail, when the guide pin enters the switching member, some external force acts on the slide shoe and receives a force in the conveyance orthogonal direction. There is a risk that the space will drop, the switching operation will be hindered, and a large load will be applied to the switching member and slide shoe.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an article conveying and sorting apparatus according to the present invention includes an endless slat conveyor configured to convey an article by arranging a large number of slats in the conveying direction, and an appropriate interval among the slats or the slats. A plurality of slide shoes that are slidably engaged with each other in the longitudinal direction of each of the plurality of slats, and a guide means for guiding the slide shoes, and the plurality of slides using the guide means. The shoe is slid from either one of the conveyance orthogonal directions toward the other and brought into contact with the article, thereby sending the article to a branch conveyor provided on the other side of the endless slat conveyor. An article conveying and sorting apparatus capable of carrying out the above process, wherein the guide means is provided on the one side, A linear guide member for guiding in the conveying direction; and a branch guide member for moving the slide shoe toward the branch conveyor at a branch position of the linear guide member. And a switching member that is pivotable between a first position connected to the linear guide member and a second position connected to the branch guide member, wherein The switching member slides with respect to the rectilinear guide member according to the rotation operation, and at least the upstream side of the switching member in the transport direction and the sliding area of the rectilinear guide member have an arc shape with substantially the same curvature. It is formed.

  Here, the switching member may be provided with a cylinder device and a conversion member that converts the linear motion of the cylinder device into the rotational motion of the switching member, and the switching member is rotated.

  Further, the linear guide member and the switching member are each formed with a linear guide groove portion and a switching guide groove portion for guiding the movable shoe, and the switching member is rotated between the first and second positions. In the rotation range, the entrance of the switching member may be formed in a region that covers the exit of the rectilinear guide groove.

  The switching member may be formed in a circular shape in plan view. At the switching position, a ridge-shaped partition member serving as a partition wall for the linear guide member and the branch guide member is provided on the downstream side of the switching member, and the partition member sinks downward by receiving a pressing force. A buffer mechanism for biasing the partition member upward may be provided.

  The buffer mechanism includes an arm member that is disposed downstream of the partition wall member and is rotatable about a rotation axis that extends in a conveyance orthogonal horizontal direction, a connecting member that connects the arm member and the partition wall member, and the rotation shaft. It is good to comprise from the elastic means which provides the rotational force of the opposite direction with respect to the arm member which rotates below centering | focusing.

  Control means for controlling the switching operation of the switching member, first detection means for detecting a detection piece provided on the slide shoe, and upstream of the first detection means, the endless conveyance Second detection means for detecting an article supplied to the conveyor, and the first detection means starts a detection operation when an article is detected by the second detection means, and the control The means may cause the switching member to start a switching operation when the first detection means detects a predetermined number of detection pieces.

  According to the present invention, the switching member slides relative to the first guide member in accordance with the rotation operation, and at least the sliding region of the switching member and the first guide member has a curvature. Since they are formed in substantially the same arc shape, even if a horizontal external force is applied to the moving shoe during the switching operation, the moving shoe is surely sent to the first guide member or the branch guide member via the switching member. Therefore, the switching operation can be performed smoothly.

  The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

  An embodiment of the article transport sorting apparatus of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an article sorting system provided with the article transport sorting apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a top view of a slat constituting an endless sorting conveyor. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 5 is a top view of the switching member.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the article sorting system includes an endless transport conveyor 1, an endless sorter conveyor 2 connected to a terminal portion of the endless transport conveyor 1, and extending in the same direction as the endless transport conveyor 1. The sorting conveyor 2 has a plurality of branch conveyors 3 that branch from the right side in the transport direction and extend obliquely in the horizontal direction with respect to the transport direction.

  The endless sorting conveyor 2 is provided with a plurality of slats 21 for rotating an endlessly rotated article supplied from the endless transfer conveyor 1 in the direction of arrow X.

  A plurality of slide shoes 22 slidable along the longitudinal direction of the slat 21 are engaged with the slat 21. In addition, guide means for guiding each slide shoe 22 is provided below the slat 21, and the guide means are provided on the left and right sides of the slat 21, respectively, just below the end, respectively. And a branch crossing guide rail 24 (branch guide member) that is installed obliquely with respect to the conveying direction and connects the first and third guide rails 23 and 25. ing.

  At the sorting position S of the first guide rails 23 (straight guide members), a rotary switching member 26 for switching the guide direction of the slide shoe 22 from the first guide rail 23 to the branch crossing guide rail 24 is provided. The slide shoe 22 can be guided to the branch guide crossing rail 24 by rotating the switching member 26.

  The slide shoe 22 that has entered the branch crossing guide rail 24 via the switching member 26 slides from the left end to the right end of the slat 21 in accordance with the endless rotation operation of the slat 21. As a result, the slide shoe 22 located on the left side in the conveyance direction of the articles supplied to the endless sorting conveyor 2 abuts on the articles, and the articles are pushed toward the branch conveyor 3 while being conveyed downstream in the conveyance direction.

  Next, the configuration of the present article sorting system will be described in detail.

The endless transport conveyor 1 includes a first endless transport conveyor 1a, a second endless transport conveyor 1b, a third endless transport conveyor 1c, and a fourth endless transport conveyor 1d in order from the upstream side in the transport direction. cage, first to fourth conveying speed of the endless conveyor 1 is set to _V 1 ~V ₄ respectively _{(V 4> V 3> V} 2> V 1). A bar code reader 41 is arranged on the right side of the second endless transport conveyor 1b, and light emitted from the bar code reader 41 travels downstream on the second endless transport conveyor 1b in the transport direction. The barcode label displayed on the side surface of the article to be conveyed is irradiated. That is, by reading the barcode label displayed on the side surface of the article with the barcode reader 41, the type of article can be read, and a discharge destination predetermined by a discharge control device (not shown) is determined. It will be.

Articles that have entered the endless transport conveyor 1 are stepwise accelerated in the order of the first endless transport conveyor 1a → the second endless transport conveyor 1b → the third endless transport conveyor 1c → the fourth endless transport conveyor 1d. while being conveyed, enters the endless sorting conveyor 2 at a speed V ₄ after accelerating. Thus, by increasing the speed of the endless transport conveyor 1 stepwise, it is possible to open an appropriate interval when the articles are transported to the endless transport conveyor 1 in a state where the distance between the articles is narrow.

  Next, the configuration of the endless sorting conveyor 2 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 4, the endless sorting conveyor 2 has a pair of left and right conveyor frames 51 extending in the transport direction in which the upper end and the lower end are bent toward the center side of the endless sorting conveyor 2. A pair of chain guide portions 52 for guiding the conveyor chain 53 is provided on the upper surface of the frame 51.

  The conveyor chain 53 receives a driving force from a driving motor (not shown) and rotates endlessly in the direction of arrow X in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, on the upstream side of the endless sorting conveyor 2, a pair of optical box detection sensors 61 (second detection means) are disposed to face each other with the conveyor interposed therebetween. An optical detection piece detection sensor 62 (first detection means) is provided on the downstream side.

  The detection piece detection sensor 62 is disposed at each sorting position, and has a pair of light emitting elements and light receiving elements that face each other in the vertical direction, and detects a slide shoe 22 described later between the light emitting elements and the light receiving elements. It is turned on when the piece 22d enters, and turned off when the detection piece 22d retracts from there.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the conveyor chain 53 connects an inner link 53 b that connects two parallel rollers 53 a adjacent in the transport direction, and two parallel inner links 53 b that are adjacent in the transport direction. A plurality of outer links 53c are provided, and a slat support portion 531c bent toward the inside of the endless sorting conveyor 2 is formed at the upper end of the outer link 53c. The slat 21 is fixed so as to bridge the pair of left and right slat supports 531c.

  According to the above-described configuration, by driving a drive motor (not shown), the plurality of slats 21 fixed to the conveyor chain 53 and the slat support portion 531c of the conveyor chain 53 are rotated endlessly in the direction of the arrow X in FIG. Can be made.

  As shown in FIG. 2, slide shoes 22 are engaged with these slats 21 every other, and each slide shoe 22 is engaged so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction of each slat 21. .

  Each slide shoe 22 is provided with an abutting portion 22a that abuts the article that has entered the endless sorting conveyor 2 from the left side in the conveyance direction and pushes the article in the direction in which the branch conveyor 3 is located, extending upstream in the conveyance direction. It has been.

  In addition, a pin 22b is provided below the slide shoe 22 so as to protrude downward, and a radial bearing 22c is attached to the pin 22b. A detection piece 22d whose upper end is bent leftward in the conveyance direction is provided on the side surface of the slide shoe 22 on the left side in the conveyance direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the dimension S1 of the detection piece 22d in the carrying direction is substantially the same as the distance S2 between the detection piece 22d and the detection piece 22d disposed adjacent to the upstream side of the detection piece 22d in the carrying direction. Is set to

  A stay 54 fixed to the conveyor frame 51 is provided below the endless sorting conveyor 2, and guide rails 23 to 25 for guiding the slide shoe 22 are fixed to the stay 54. .

  The first guide rail 23 is provided directly below the left end of the slat 21 in the transport direction, and the third guide rail 25 is provided approximately directly below the right end of the slat 21 in the transport direction. The branch crossing guide rail 24 is provided so as to connect the first and third guide rails 23 and 25 in the extending direction of the branch rail 3 in plan view.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a rotary switching member 26 having a circular shape in plan view is provided at a branch point between the first guide rail 23 and the branch crossing guide rail 24. By turning, the path of the pin 22 b provided on the slide shoe 22 can be switched between the first guide rail 23 and the branch crossing guide rail 24.

  A bearing guide groove 23a is formed in the first guide rail 23 so as to extend in the transport direction, and the lateral dimension of the bearing guide groove 23a is set slightly larger than the outer diameter of the bearing 22c. The bearing 22c moves in the bearing guide groove 23a toward the downstream in the transport direction in accordance with the endless rotation operation of the slat 21.

  The first guide rail 23 is provided with an introduction guide rail 231 for allowing the slide shoe 22 to smoothly enter the switching member 26. The introduction guide rail 231 is provided with a pin 22b of the slide shoe 22. A pin guide groove 231a for guiding is formed.

  The starting end side of the pin guide groove portion 231a is formed in a tapered shape in which the lateral dimension is gradually shortened toward the downstream in the transport direction, and has a constant lateral dimension slightly larger than the outer diameter of the pin 22b from the end of the tapered portion. The pin guide groove portion 231a having extends downstream in the transport direction.

  An arc-shaped sliding portion 231b that is recessed upstream in the conveying direction is formed at the end portion of the introduction guide rail 231. This sliding portion 231b has substantially the same curvature as the switching member 26 that is circular in plan view. Have. Further, sliding portions having the same curvature may be provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the switching member 26 and the first and branch crossing guide rails 23 and 24.

  A rotating shaft 26a is provided at the center of the switching member 26 so as to extend in the vertical direction, and an arm 71 (conversion member) extending in the horizontal direction is fixed to the rotating shaft 26a. The arm 71 is attached with a piston rod 72a of a cylinder 72 fixedly disposed on the stay 54. By moving the piston rod 72a forward and backward with respect to the cylinder housing 72b, the switching member 26 is moved around the rotation shaft 26a. Can be rotated.

  A switching groove portion 261 is formed in the switching member 26, and a first switching groove portion 261 a whose lateral dimension gradually shortens toward the downstream side in the transport direction, and a first switching groove portion 261 at the start end side of the switching groove portion 261. The second switching groove 261b has a constant lateral dimension slightly larger than the outer diameter of the pin 22b from the end of the groove 261a.

  The inlet of the first switching groove 261a switches the switching member 26 so that when the second switching groove 261b is connected to the first guide rail 23 or the branch crossing guide rail 24, the inlet of the pin guide groove 231a The dimension is set such that the first switching groove 261a is always connected.

  When the piston rod 72a is driven in the shortening direction, the terminal end of the switching groove 261 is connected to the first guide rail 23. On the other hand, when the piston rod 72a is driven in the extending direction, the terminal end of the switching groove 261 is branched and crossed. Connected to the rail 24. Note that, by changing the arrangement of the cylinder 72, the connection state corresponding to the shortening operation and the extending operation of the piston rod 72a may be opposite to that of the present embodiment.

  Thus, by rotating the switching member 26, the guide direction of the slide shoe 22 can be switched between the first guide rail 23 and the branch crossing guide rail 24.

  According to the above-described configuration, since the sliding portion 231b having substantially the same curvature as the switching member 26 is disposed in contact with the switching member 26, the switching member 26 and the introduction guide rail 231 are switched during the switching operation. It is possible to substantially eliminate the horizontal gap generated therebetween. As a result, even when a horizontal external force is applied when the switching operation by the switching member 26 is performed, the pin 22b of the slide shoe 22 can enter the switching groove 261 from the pin guide groove 231a without play. The switching operation can be performed smoothly.

  Furthermore, the entrance of the first switching groove 261a switches the switching member 26 so that when the second switching groove 261b is connected to the first guide rail 23 or the branch crossing guide rail 24, the pin guide groove 231a Since the dimension is set such that the inlet and the first switching groove portion 261a are always connected, the pin 22b of the slide shoe 22 can be surely entered from the introduction guide rail 231 into the switching member 26. Thereby, smooth switching operation can be obtained reliably.

  Moreover, since the piston rod 72a can be moved back and forth between the bottom dead center in the shortening direction and the bottom dead center in the extending direction, the switching operation of the first guide rail 23 and the branch crossing guide rail 24 can be performed. Positioning control for switching the switching member 26 becomes unnecessary, and the cost can be reduced.

  At the sorting position S, a buffer mechanism 28 is disposed on the downstream side of the switching member 26. The buffer mechanism 28 has a ridge-shaped partition member 28 a that serves as a partition wall for the first guide rail 23 and the branch crossing guide rail 24, and the partition member 28 a is a stay 54 provided below the slat 21. And is supported by a support member 28b extending downward.

  An arm 28c extending to the downstream side in the transport direction is fixed to the lower portion of the support member 28b. The arm 28c is connected to an arm rotation shaft 28d provided at an end portion on the downstream side and extending in the transport orthogonal horizontal direction. On the other hand, it is rotatably supported.

  A buffer spring 28e (elastic means) fixed to the stay 54 is attached to the upper surface of the arm 28c. Further, a reaction absorbing mechanism 28f is attached to the stay 54 for absorbing the reaction that occurs when the arm 28c rotates downward and returns to the original position by the buffer spring 28e.

  According to the buffer mechanism 28 described above, for example, when one slide shoe 22 enters the buffer mechanism 28 due to a malfunction such as a switching error of the switching member 26, the erroneously entered slide shoe 22 is branched to the branch crossing guide rail 24. Alternatively, it can be returned to the first guide rail 23.

  That is, the pin 22b of the slide shoe 22 does not enter either the first guide rail 23 or the branch crossing guide rail 24 due to a malfunction due to a switching error of the switching member 26 or the like, and abuts against the partition member 28a of the shock absorber 28. In this case, the pin 22b of the slide shoe 22 moves downstream in the conveying direction while pushing down the partition wall member 28a against the spring force of the buffer spring 28e of the buffer device 28.

  Since the partition member 28a is formed in a ridge shape, the pin 22b of the slide shoe 22 enters either the first guide rail 23 or the branch crossing guide rail 24 while descending the ridge. Thereby, even if the switching member 26 malfunctions, the slide shoe 22 is not damaged, the apparatus is stopped, and the efficiency of the sorting work is not reduced.

  The slide shoe 22 that has entered the branch crossing guide rail 24 slides from the end on the left side in the transport direction of the slat 21 toward the right end in the transport direction in response to the endless rotation of the slat 21 downstream in the transport direction. , And enters the third guide rail 25 when the right end is reached.

  As described above, when the slide shoe 22 guided by the first guide rail 23 sequentially enters the branch crossing guide rail 24 via the switching member 26, the article on the slat 21 is as shown in FIG. The plurality of slide shoes 22 arranged on the left side in the conveyance direction of the articles are pushed in the direction in which the branch conveyor 3 is positioned, and are sent out from the endless sorting conveyor 2 to the branch conveyor 3.

  In this embodiment, when the switching member 26 is connected to the branch crossing guide rail 24, the plurality of slide shoes 22 are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction (arrow Y direction) with respect to the transport direction (FIG. 1). Reference), the shape of the branch crossing guide rail 24 may be formed in a curved shape in plan view, and a plurality of slide shoes 22 may be arranged in a curved shape.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the switching member 26 is configured to have a circular shape in plan view. However, an arc shape in which the region of the switching member 26 that slides with respect to the sliding portion 231b has substantially the same curvature as the sliding portion. It suffices to be configured.

  Further, the slide shoes 22 are engaged with every other slat 21 every other, but may be engaged with all the slats 21 or every other plurality of slats 21.

  Next, a control procedure for controlling the timing of the switching operation by the switching member 26 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure for controlling the timing of the switching operation of the switching member. The following flowchart is executed by a discharge control device (not shown).

  When the article supplied on the endless transport conveyor 1 passes by the bar code reader 61 disposed on the side of the second endless transport conveyor 1b, the bar code displayed on the side of the box is read (step). S101). Then, from the read barcode information, the type of the box is specified by a discharge control device (not shown), and the discharge destination corresponding to the box is determined (the relationship between the discharge destination and the article is determined in advance). . At this time, the number of counts by the discharge destination detection piece detection sensor 62 is also calculated according to the determined interval between the detection piece detection sensor 62 and the box detection sensor 61 (step S102).

  When the box is transferred from the endless conveyor 1 to the endless sorting conveyor 2 and reaches the side of the box detection sensor 61, the sensor output of the box detection sensor 61 is turned on (step S103). When the sensor output of the box detection sensor 61 is turned on, the discharge control device starts detection (counting) of the detection piece 22d by the detection piece detection sensor 62 as the target detection destination (step S104). Detection (counting) of the detection piece 22d is 1 count when the detection piece detection sensor 62 is turned off from on. That is, the count is performed by the detection piece 22d passing through the detection piece detection sensor 62.

  When the box is further conveyed and the article passes by the box detection sensor 61 and the sensor output is turned off (step S105), the discharge control device determines the length of the box based on the output signal of the detection piece detection sensor 62. The number of slide shoes 22 corresponding to the calculation is determined (step S106).

The detection piece detection sensor 62 at the discharge destination outputs a signal indicating that the detection piece 22d has passed to the discharge control device.
The discharge control device operates the switching member 26 after the corresponding number of detection pieces 22d (determined in step S102) have passed (step S107), and starts the sorting operation (step S108).

  The detection piece detection sensor 62 at the discharge destination outputs a signal indicating that the detection piece 22d has passed to the discharge control device.

  After the corresponding number of detection pieces 22d (determined in step S106) have passed (step S109), the discharge control device operates the switching member 26 to complete the sorting operation (step S110).

  In the present embodiment, the switching operation by the switching member 26 is performed by detecting the detection piece 22d by the detection piece detection sensor 62. Therefore, when the conveyor chain 53 of the endless sorting conveyor 2 extends due to a change over time, the detection timing 22d of the slide shoe 22 to be sorted can be detected to prevent the sorting timing from being shifted. Similarly, even when the conveyor chain 53 does not move smoothly, it is possible to prevent the sorting timing from being shifted.

  Furthermore, by setting the interval between the detection sensor 62 and the switching member 26 in accordance with the pitch of the detection pieces 22d, it is possible to prevent the slide shoe 22 from rotating in the state where the slide shoe 22 enters the switching member 26. . In addition, by setting the length of the detection piece to be approximately equal to the interval between the front and rear detection pieces, the ON / OFF interval of the signal output from the detection piece detection sensor 62 is always substantially constant and executed. Control stability can be increased.

Sectional view of the article transport system Top view of slats BB sectional view of FIG. CC sectional view of FIG. Top view of switching member The flowchart which showed the control procedure which controls the timing of the switching operation by a switching member

Explanation of symbols

1 Endless conveyor
2 Endless sorting conveyor
3 Branch conveyor
22 Slide shoe
23 First guide rail
24 branch crossing guide rail
25 Second guide rail
26 Switching member
28 Buffer mechanism
31 slats
51 Conveyor frame
52 Chain guide
53 Conveyor chain
61 Box detection sensor
62 Detection piece detection sensor

Claims (7)

An endless slat conveyor that conveys articles by arranging a large number of slats in the conveying direction, and slides in the longitudinal direction of each slat or a plurality of slats arranged at appropriate intervals among the slats A slide shoe that is movably engaged; and a guide means that guides the slide shoes, and the guide means is used to move the plurality of slide shoes from one of the conveyance orthogonal directions to the other. An article conveying and sorting device capable of sending the article to a branch conveyor provided on the other side of the endless slat conveyor by sliding and contacting the article,
The guide means is provided on the one side and is used to move the slide shoe toward the branch conveyor at a branch position of the straight guide member for guiding the slide shoe in the transport direction. A branch guide member of
The branch position is a switch that can rotate between a first position connected to the linear guide member and a second position connected to the branch guide member, with a shaft extending in the vertical direction as a rotation axis. Members are provided,
The switching member slides with respect to the rectilinear guide member according to the rotation operation, and at least the upstream side of the switching member in the transport direction and the sliding region of the rectilinear guide member have an arc shape with substantially the same curvature. An article conveying and sorting apparatus, wherein the article conveying and sorting apparatus is formed.   The article transfer sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the switching member includes a cylinder device and a conversion member that converts a rectilinear motion of the cylinder device into a rotational motion of the switching member. Each of the linear guide member and the switching member is formed with a linear guide groove portion and a switching guide groove portion for guiding the moving shoe,
The outlet of the rectilinear guide groove is formed in the sliding area of the rectilinear guide member,
In the rotation range of the switching member that rotates between the first and second positions, the inlet of the switching guide groove is formed in a region that covers the outlet of the rectilinear guide groove. The article transport sorting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   The article transfer sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the switching member is formed in a circular shape in a plan view.   At the switching position, a ridge-shaped partition member serving as a partition wall for the linear guide member and the branch guide member is provided on the downstream side of the switching member. 5. The article conveying and sorting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a buffer mechanism that urges the partition member that sinks into the upper part.   The buffer mechanism includes an arm member that is disposed downstream of the partition wall member and is rotatable about a rotation axis that extends in a conveyance orthogonal horizontal direction, a connecting member that connects the arm member and the partition wall member, and the rotation shaft. 6. The article conveying and sorting apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising elastic means for applying a rotational force in the opposite direction to an arm member that rotates downward about the arm. Control means for controlling the switching operation of the switching member;
First detection means for detecting a detection piece provided on the slide shoe;
Second detection means for detecting an article disposed on the upstream side of the first detection means and supplied to the endless conveyor,
The first detection means starts a detection operation when an article is detected by the second detection means,
7. The article transport sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit starts a switching operation of the switching member when the first detection unit detects a predetermined number of detection pieces.

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