JP2009292601A - Sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sorting device capable of improving driving efficiency and sorting efficiency by driving only sorting conveyers of a necessary number for carrying out according to the size of work when sorting work of different sizes. <P>SOLUTION: The sorting device 8 is composed of a belt conveyer 9 with a ball configured by a belt rotatably provided with a large number of free balls 12 while partially projecting out its upper ends and lower ends, and the sorting conveyers 18a, 18b, 18c provided so as to be orthogonal to the belt conveyer 9 in a sorting zone 7. A work arrival detecting sensor 6 is provided before the sorting zone 7, and when the work arrival detecting sensor 6 detects work W, the sorting conveyers 18a, 18b, 18c of the number corresponding to the size of the work measured by a work size detecting means 3 in advance are driven to rotate the free balls 12 of the belt conveyer 9 and carry out the work to a side part of the belt conveyer 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sorting apparatus suitable for sorting articles (workpieces) having a flat bottom surface such as a box shape, a plate shape, and a cylindrical shape, and more specifically, a belt conveyor in a sorting zone and a plurality of sorting devices orthogonal to the belt conveyor. Sorting device equipped with a conveyor, which sorts workpieces by driving the number of sorting conveyors corresponding to the size of the workpiece and rotating the belt conveyor or the free balls provided on the sorting conveyor, and transports them to the side of the belt conveyor About.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a conveyor device that has a large number of free balls but carries a work on a belt conveyor made of a belt is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The above-mentioned conventional conveyor device is also used as a sorting device. This conveyor device includes a conveyor belt composed of a belt in which a large number of free balls partially protrude from the upper surface and the lower surface and are rotatably provided. The belt comprises a plurality of direction change conveyors provided at right angles to the transport belt below the transport path of the belt. When this conveyor device is used as a sorting device, as described in paragraph No. 0027 of Patent Document 1, the workpiece W is transported in a state where the workpiece W is disposed on the conveyor belt having free balls above the direction changing conveyor. The belt is stopped, travels on the direction change conveyor, rotates the free ball, moves the workpiece in the direction opposite to the direction of travel of the direction change conveyor, and carries it out from the side of the transport belt.
Japanese Patent No. 3828108

  The conventional conveyor apparatus has a problem that when the work is sorted and carried out from the side of the conveyor belt, the direction change conveyor is run regardless of the size of the work, so that the driving efficiency and sorting efficiency are poor.

  Therefore, the present invention solves the problem of the prior art, and when sorting workpieces of different sizes, such as small size workpieces or large size workpieces, when detecting that the workpiece has moved to the sorting zone, It is an object of the present invention to provide a sorting apparatus that can drive the number of sorting conveyors necessary for unloading according to the size and can improve the driving efficiency and sorting efficiency accordingly.

  The present invention according to claim 1 includes a ball with a belt formed by a belt in which a large number of free balls are provided so as to be rotatable in a part of the sorting zone disposed downstream of the work conveyor. A belt conveyor is provided, and a plurality of sorting conveyors are provided adjacent to each other perpendicular to the belt conveyor, and the sorting conveyor travels in contact with the upper traveling belt of the belt conveyor from the lower surface side, thereby freeing the belt conveyor. In the sorting apparatus for carrying out the work placed on the upper traveling belt to the side of the belt conveyor by rotating a ball, a work arrival detection sensor is provided in front of the sorting zone, and the work arrival detection sensor When a workpiece is detected at the upstream, the number of units corresponding to the size of the workpiece measured in advance by the workpiece size detection means is upstream. Sorting device for driving the sorting conveyor is obtained by solving the above problems by the configuration of.

  In the present invention according to claim 2, a belt conveyor is provided in a sorting zone arranged downstream of the workpiece transfer conveyor, and a number of free balls partially protrude from the upper and lower ends of the belt conveyor perpendicular to the belt conveyor. A plurality of sorting conveyors with balls composed of belts that are rotatably provided are provided adjacent to each other, and the sorting conveyor travels in contact with the upper traveling belt of the belt conveyor from the upper surface side, thereby freeing the sorting conveyor. In the sorting device for carrying out the work placed on the sorting conveyor to the side of the belt conveyor by rotating the ball, a workpiece arrival detection sensor is provided in front of the sorting zone, and the workpiece arrival detection sensor When a workpiece is detected, the number of the workpieces corresponding to the workpiece size measured in advance by the workpiece size detection means on the upstream side. Sorting device for driving the conveyor is obtained by solving the above problems by the configuration of.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the sorting apparatus according to the first or second aspect of the invention, the work size detecting means is a work provided on a work loading conveyor provided on the upstream side of the work conveying conveyor. An output signal when an arrival detection sensor and an encoder connected to a drive motor of the workpiece loading conveyor are detected, and the front edge and the rear edge of a moving workpiece are detected by the workpiece arrival detection sensor, and the encoder The output signal is input to the controller, and the problem is solved by a configuration in which the controller calculates and calculates the work size.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the sorting apparatus according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the sorting conveyor has a unit width that corresponds to a minimum size workpiece, and the sorting zone includes: The problem is solved by a configuration in which a plurality of sorting conveyors are provided with a multi-unit width corresponding to a workpiece of the maximum size.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the sorting apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, a chute is provided on a side of the belt conveyor, and a work carried out on the chute is provided. A workpiece drop detection sensor to be detected is provided, and when the workpiece is detected by the workpiece drop detection sensor, the sorting conveyor is stopped to solve the problem.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a ball composed of a belt in which a number of free balls are rotatably provided in a sorting zone disposed downstream of a work conveyor, with a part of the upper and lower ends protruding. A plurality of sorting conveyors are provided adjacent to each other at right angles to the belt conveyor, and the sorting conveyor travels in contact with the upper traveling belt of the belt conveyor from the lower surface side. In the sorting apparatus for unloading the workpiece placed on the upper traveling belt to the side of the belt conveyor by rotating the free ball, a workpiece arrival detection sensor is provided in front of the sorting zone, and the workpiece arrival sensor When a workpiece is detected by the detection sensor, a table corresponding to the workpiece size measured in advance by the workpiece size detection means on the upstream side. The sorting conveyor is driven, so that it is possible to drive as many sorting conveyors as necessary for unloading according to workpieces of different sizes, such as small size workpieces or large size workpieces. Efficiency and sorting efficiency can be improved. Further, since a plurality of sorting conveyors are provided, the sorting operation efficiency can be improved as compared with the case where one wide sorting conveyor corresponding to the plurality of sorting conveyors is provided.

  According to the sorting apparatus of the present invention according to claim 2, the belt conveyor is provided in the sorting zone disposed downstream of the workpiece transfer conveyor, and a number of free balls are arranged at the upper and lower ends perpendicular to the belt conveyor. A plurality of sorting conveyors with balls composed of belts that are partly protruding and rotatably provided, and the sorting conveyors run in contact with the upper running belt of the belt conveyor from the upper surface side, In the sorting apparatus for carrying out the work placed on the sorting conveyor to the side of the belt conveyor by rotating the free balls of the sorting conveyor, a workpiece arrival detection sensor is provided in front of the sorting zone, When a workpiece is detected by the workpiece arrival detection sensor, it corresponds to the workpiece size measured in advance by the workpiece size detection means on the upstream side. Because the number of sorting conveyors is driven, it is possible to drive the number of sorting conveyors necessary for unloading according to workpieces of different sizes such as small size workpieces or large size workpieces. Drive efficiency and sorting efficiency can be improved. Further, since a plurality of sorting conveyors are provided, the sorting operation efficiency can be improved as compared with the case where one wide sorting conveyor corresponding to the plurality of sorting conveyors is provided.

  According to the sorting apparatus of the present invention according to claim 3, the workpiece size detecting means includes a workpiece arrival detection sensor provided on a workpiece loading conveyor provided on the upstream side of the workpiece conveying conveyor, and the workpiece loading conveyor. An encoder connected to the drive motor, and an output signal when the front and rear edges of the moving workpiece are detected by the workpiece arrival detection sensor and an output signal of the encoder are input to the controller, Since the work size is calculated and calculated by the controller, the work size can be measured in advance before the work is carried into the sorting zone.

  According to the sorting apparatus of the present invention according to claim 4, the sorting conveyor has a width corresponding to the minimum size workpiece as one unit width, and the sorting conveyor corresponds to the maximum size workpiece in the sorting zone. Since multiple units are provided with a multi-unit width, one or two sorting conveyors may be driven for small-size workpieces, and according to the size of workpieces for large-size workpieces. Since it is only necessary to drive a plurality of sorting conveyors, the driving efficiency and sorting efficiency of the sorting apparatus can be further improved.

  According to the sorting apparatus of the present invention according to claim 5, a chute is provided on the side of the belt conveyor, and a work drop detection sensor for detecting the work carried out is provided on the chute. When the workpiece is detected by the detection sensor, the sorting conveyor is stopped, so that subsequent workpieces can be transferred to the sorting zone and sorted without stopping the workpiece conveyor, belt conveyor, etc. Further, the sorting efficiency can be further improved.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a schematic plan view of the entire transport and sorting facility, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the entire transport and sorting facility, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the main portion of the sorting device, FIG. 4 is a side view of the main portion of the sorting device, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the ball unit, FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram when detecting a small-sized workpiece conveyed by the workpiece conveyor, and FIG. 8 carries the workpiece above the sorting conveyor. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram when the workpiece exits the sorting conveyor, FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram when the workpiece is carried out from the belt conveyor to the chute, and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the workpiece carried out to the chute. FIG. 12 is an operation explanatory diagram when a large-size workpiece is carried into the sorting zone, and FIG. 13 is an explanation when the workpiece is carried out from the belt conveyor to the chute. FIG, 14 is an explanatory view when sorting the workpiece on one wide sorting conveyor.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the transfer sorting facility 1 includes a loading conveyor 2, an intermittent carry-out conveyor 4 that feeds the workpiece W at an appropriate timing, and a workpiece transfer that transfers the workpiece W. A conveyor 5, a sorting device 8 in the sorting zone 7, a sorting device 8 in the sorting zone 7 that is appropriately provided subsequently, and a discharge chute 21 at the end are provided. Further, a workpiece arrival detection sensor 3a of the workpiece size detecting means 3 is provided on the downstream side of the loading conveyor 2, and the workpiece W that has been conveyed is placed downstream of the workpiece conveying conveyor 5, that is, in front of the sorting zone 7. A workpiece arrival detection sensor 6 for detection is provided. 1 and 2, M1 is a motor for driving the loading conveyor 2, M2 is a motor for driving the intermittent carry-out conveyor 4, M3 is a motor for driving the workpiece transfer conveyor 5, M4 is a motor for driving the belt conveyor 9, E1 and E3 are encoders connected to the motors M1 and M3.

  As will be described in detail below, the sorting device 8 rotates the free balls 12 of the belt conveyor 9 by rotating the workpieces W placed on the belt conveyor 9 with balls by the appropriate sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c. Carry out to the side of the conveyor 9. In addition, although Example 1 demonstrates the case where the sorting apparatus 8 is comprised with the divided | segmented sorting conveyor 18a, 18b, 18c of 3 units | sets, you may comprise by 3 or more units | sets. Further, the sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c are made of belts that do not have free balls, and the higher the friction coefficient with the free balls 12 of the belt conveyor 9, the less slipping occurs when sorting the workpieces, so that rubber belts are used. It is preferable.

  The belt conveyor 9 is composed of a belt (so-called hinge belt) 10 in which a plurality of belt members (chain links) 11 are adjacently connected by hinge pins 16 so as to be bent, and a free ball 12 is rotatably provided on the belt 10. It is. As shown in FIG. 5, the belt 10 includes a belt member (chain link) 11 having hinge portions 11 a and 11 b on both side edges and a gap portion 11 c between the hinge portions 11 b, and is formed in the gap portion 11 c of the belt member 11. Is mounted with a ball unit 13 holding a free ball 12 rotatably. As shown in FIG. 6, the ball unit 13 has a free ball 12 rotatably held by an upper holding frame 14 and a lower holding frame 15, and the free ball 12 provided on the belt 10 has an upper end and a lower end on both sides of the belt 10. It protrudes partly from.

  In addition to the above, the belt 10 constituting the belt conveyor 9 has a ball receiving recess (not shown) formed in the gap 11c between the hinges 11b and 11b of the belt member 11 so that the free ball 12 can be rotated directly. Inserted and held so as not to be removed by the hinge portion 11a of the adjacent belt member 11 (not shown), the free ball 12 is rotatably held by the holding member and directly into the through hole of the belt member 11. It is good also as what was equipped (not shown) or combined these. In short, any number of free balls 12 may be provided on the belt 10 so as to be rotatable with the upper and lower ends partially protruding from both sides of the belt.

  The sorting device 8 is provided in a sorting zone 7 disposed downstream of the workpiece transfer conveyor 5. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sorting device 8 includes a belt conveyor 9 and a plurality of sorting conveyors 18 a, 18 b, and 18 c that are provided orthogonal to the belt conveyor 9 and adjacent to the sorting zone 7. Composed.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the belt conveyor 9 circulates with a belt 10 wound around a belt wheel 17 opposed to each other, and an upper traveling belt 9 a on which a work W is placed travels on the upper side, The return side belt 9b runs on the side. The sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c are individually driven by a motor (not shown), and are circulated inside the belt conveyor 9 so as to contact the lower surface side of the upper running belt 9a from the inside. The free balls 12 are frictionally rotated by traveling 18a, 18b, 18c, and the work W placed on the upper traveling belt 9a is moved in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, 18c. It carries out to the chute | shoots 19a and 19b installed in the side. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the belt conveyor 9 has a workpiece W transfer portion 9 c downstream of the sorting zone 7, and this transfer portion 9 c is a separate transfer conveyor having no free balls 12. You may form by. In this case, the transfer part 9c becomes the same mode as the transport conveyor 31 in the second embodiment.

  The sorting zone 7 is provided with a plurality of sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c as described above. Depending on the size of the workpiece W, the sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c required for carrying out can be driven. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c has a belt width corresponding to the smallest size workpiece (the length of the longest part of the workpiece) as 1 unit width D1. In the sorting zone 7, a plurality of sorting conveyors 18a, 18b and 18c are provided with a multi-unit width D2 over a range corresponding to the maximum size workpiece (the length of the longest part of the workpiece). In the above description, the length of the longest part of the work is, for example, in the case of a rectangular parallelepiped, the diagonal line is the longest part of the work.

  The sizes of the workpieces W to be sorted vary widely, and the size of the workpieces W is measured in advance by the workpiece size detection means 3 before being transferred to the sorting device 8. The workpiece size detecting means 3 is composed of a workpiece arrival detection sensor 3a (light emitting element, light receiving element) provided on the upstreammost workpiece loading conveyor 2 and an encoder E1 connected to the driving motor M1 of the workpiece loading conveyor 2. Is done. The output signal (on / off) when the front end edge and the rear end edge of the moving workpiece W are detected by the workpiece arrival detection sensor 3a and the output signal of the encoder E1 collectively control the entire transport sorting equipment 1. The work size is calculated and calculated based on the output signal (ON / OFF) and the output signal of the encoder E1 by the controller (not shown) for overall control. The overall control controller (hereinafter, simply referred to as “controller”) is a controller that controls driving and stopping of the sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c.

  A work arrival detection sensor 6 (light emitting element 6a, light receiving element 6b) for detecting a work is provided on the downstream side of the work conveyor 5, that is, in front of the sorting zone 7 (upstream side). A detection signal when the workpiece W (front end edge) is detected is output to the controller, and the number of sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, 18c corresponding to the size of the workpiece W is driven by the output signal from the controller. W is appropriately sorted and carried to the chutes 19a and 19b.

  Chute 19a, 19b is installed on both sides of belt conveyor 9, and work drop detection sensor 20 (light emitting element 20a, light receiving element 20b) for detecting work W carried out is provided on chute 19a, 19b. When the fall detection sensor 20 detects the fall of the workpiece W, the sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c driven by the output signal of the controller are stopped. At this time, the workpiece conveying conveyor 5, the belt conveyor 9 and the like are continuously driven while the sorting conveyors 18a, 18b and 18c are driven and stopped.

  The operation of the sorting apparatus 8 having the above configuration will be described. The workpiece W mounted on the loading conveyor 2 is measured in size by the size detection means 3, transferred to the intermittent carry-out conveyor 4, and separated from the preceding workpiece W at a suitable timing by the workpiece transfer conveyor 5. Transferred to and transported. The workpiece W conveyed by the workpiece conveying conveyor 5 is carried into the sorting zone 7 and transferred to the belt conveyor 9 of the sorting device 8. At this time, the workpiece W sensor 6 detects the workpiece W before the sorting zone 7. Then, the number of sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, 18c necessary for unloading is driven according to the size of the workpiece measured in advance upstream by the output signal of the controller to rotate the free balls 12 of the belt conveyor 9. Thus, the workpiece W is carried out from the belt conveyor 9 to the lateral chutes 19a and 19b. In this case, when the sorting is not performed in the front sorting zone 7, the workpiece is transferred to the succeeding sorting zone 7 by the transfer unit 9c, and is sorted appropriately and carried to the chutes 19c and 19d.

  Here, with reference to FIGS. 7-11, the operation | movement in the case of sorting the small-sized workpiece | work W1 continuously is demonstrated. When the front edge of the workpiece W1 conveyed by the workpiece conveyor 5 is detected by the workpiece arrival detection sensor 6, an ON signal is input to the controller, and when the rear edge is detected, an OFF signal is input to the controller. When input, the upstream sorting conveyor 18a is driven by the output signal from the controller to run in the direction of arrow A (see FIG. 7). When the workpiece W1 is transferred to the upper traveling belt 9a above the sorting conveyor 18a, the adjacent sorting conveyor 18b is driven to reliably carry out the workpiece W1 (see FIG. 8). When the workpiece W1 passes through the sorting conveyor 18a, the sorting conveyor 18a is stopped (see FIG. 9). Detection of whether the sorting conveyor 18b is driven or whether the workpiece W1 has been removed is calculated from the output signal of the workpiece arrival sensor 6 and the length of the workpiece measured in advance. When the sorting conveyor 18b travels, the workpiece W1 is unloaded from the belt conveyor 9 to the chute 18a, and when the subsequent workpiece W1 is detected by the workpiece arrival detection sensor 6, the sorting conveyor 18a is driven (see FIG. 10). When the workpiece drop detection sensor 20 detects the fall of the workpiece W1 carried out to the chute 19a, the sorting conveyor 18b is stopped (see FIG. 11). The stop of the sorting conveyor 18b may be performed when it is determined by the calculation by the controller that the workpiece W1 has moved to the sorting conveyor 18c. The sorting operation for the small-sized workpiece W1 has been described above. However, when sorting and unloading the intermediate-sized workpiece, for example, the sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c are appropriately driven according to the size of the workpiece measured in advance. You can do it.

  Next, referring to FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, the sorting in the case of successively sorting and unloading the workpiece W <b> 1 having a smaller size next to the workpiece W <b> 2 having a larger size (for example, a size slightly less than three times the minimum size workpiece W <b> 1) The operation will be described. When the workpiece W2 conveyed by the workpiece conveyor 5 is detected by the workpiece arrival detection sensor 6, the three sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c are moved to the arrows corresponding to the sizes measured in advance inputted to the controller. The vehicle travels in the A direction and is carried out to the chute 19a. Next, when the small-sized workpiece W1 is conveyed, the sorting operation is performed in the same manner as described in the sorting operation of the small-size workpiece W1.

  The effects of the sorting apparatus 8 having the above-described configuration are as follows. The sorting device 8 includes a ball 10 constituted by a belt 10 in which a number of free balls 12 are rotatably provided in a sorting zone 7 provided downstream of the workpiece conveyor 5 so as to protrude partially at the upper and lower ends. A belt conveyor 9 is provided, and a plurality of sorting conveyors 18 a, 18 b, 18 c are provided adjacent to the belt conveyor 9, and a workpiece arrival detection sensor 6 is provided in front of the sorting zone 7. When the workpiece W is detected by the detection sensor 6, the number of sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, 18c corresponding to the size of the workpiece measured in advance by the workpiece size detecting means 3 is driven on the upstream side. The number of sorting conveyors 18 required for unloading according to a wide variety of workpieces W of different sizes, such as large workpieces. , 18b, it is possible to drive the 18c, As a result, it is possible to drive efficiency of sorting device 8, to improve the sorting efficiency.

  In addition, since three sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, 18c divided into a plurality of units are provided adjacent to the sorting zone 7, for example, when sorting a small-sized work W1, as shown in FIG. The workpiece W1 is placed on the workpiece conveyor 5 at a distance L1 slightly longer than the width of one unit width D1 of 18a (see FIG. 3), and is loaded into the sorting zone 7, and as described above, the sorting conveyors 18a and 18b. Can be appropriately driven to carry the workpiece W1 to the chute 19a, and the subsequent workpiece W1 can be immediately carried to the sorting zone 7.

  As described above, the sorting device 8 is divided into three like the sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c. However, when the sorting conveyor is not divided, the sizes of the workpieces to be sorted are large and small. As shown in FIG. 14, it is necessary to make one sorting conveyor 22 wide corresponding to the multi-unit width D2 (see FIG. 3) corresponding to three sorting conveyors so as to cope with the workpiece (W2) of the maximum size. is there.

  In the case of a single wide sorting conveyor 22, for example, when the preceding workpiece W is carried out to the chute 19a and then the subsequent workpiece W is to be carried out to the chute 19b, the subsequent operation is continued until the workpiece W is carried out to the chute 19a. Since the workpiece W cannot be carried into the sorting zone 7, it is necessary to increase the interval between the preceding workpiece W and the succeeding workpiece W. This interval becomes an interval L2 (L1 × 1.5) that is about 1.5 times the interval L1 (see FIG. 3) when the sorting conveyor is divided into three units, and the work W is carried into the sorting zone 7. The interval becomes longer and sorting operation efficiency is poor.

  On the other hand, if it is divided into three sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c as in the first embodiment, the sorting conveyor 18a is moved while the preceding work W is being carried out to the chute 19a by the sorting conveyor 18b. It becomes possible to drive, and the interval L1 between the preceding workpiece W and the succeeding workpiece W can be made smaller than the interval L2. As a result, the time interval for loading the workpiece W into the sorting zone is shortened, and the sorting operation is performed when the three sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c are divided and provided with one wider sorting conveyor 22. Efficiency can be improved.

  Further, chutes 19a and 19b are installed on both sides of the belt conveyor 9, and the chutes 19a and 19b are provided with workpiece drop detection sensors 20 (light emitting element 20a and light receiving element 20b) for detecting the work W carried out. Therefore, when the workpiece fall detection sensor 20 detects the fall of the workpiece W, the driven sorting conveyors 18a, 18b, and 18c can be stopped. In this case, since the workpiece W is transferred to the workpiece transfer conveyor 5 with a gap in the upstream intermittent transfer conveyor 4, the workpiece transfer conveyor 5, the belt conveyor 9 and the like are continuously stopped during the sorting operation. Can be driven.

  A sorting apparatus 25 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 15 is a plan view of the main part of the sorting apparatus, and FIG. 16 is a side view of the main part of the sorting apparatus. The sorting apparatus 25 of the second embodiment is provided in the transport sorting facility in the same manner as the sorting apparatus 8 of the first embodiment. Since the conveying and sorting equipment is common, the illustration of the overall view is omitted, the same reference numerals are given to the common members, and the sorting device 25 will be described below.

  As in the first embodiment, the transfer sorting equipment is arranged from the upstream to the downstream, the loading conveyor 2, the intermittent carry-out conveyor 4, the workpiece transfer conveyor 5, the sorting device 25 in the sorting zone 7, and then a plurality of appropriately. A sorting device 25 in the sorting zone 7 provided, a discharge chute 21 at the end of the sorting zone 7 and the like are provided. On the downstream side of the loading conveyor 2, the workpiece arrival detection sensor 3 a of the workpiece size detecting means 3, the downstream side of the workpiece conveying conveyor 5, A workpiece arrival detection sensor 6 for detecting a workpiece is provided in front of the sorting zone 7.

  As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the sorting device 25 is provided adjacent to a plurality of belt conveyors 26 provided in the sorting zone 7 disposed downstream of the work transfer conveyor 5 and orthogonal to the belt conveyor 26. And a sorting conveyor 27a, 27b, 27c with balls. The belt conveyor 26 is not provided with free balls.

  The sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c with balls are of the same mode as the belt conveyor 9 of the first embodiment, and a number of free balls 29 can be freely rotated on a belt (so-called hinge belt) 28 made of a belt member. The upper end and the lower end are provided so as to partially protrude. In addition, as a belt, you may hold | maintain the free ball | bowl 29 rotatably with a holding member, and may be directly attached to the through-hole of the belt. In short, any number of free balls 29 may be provided on the belt 28 so that the upper and lower ends of the free ball 29 partially protrude from the front and back surfaces of the belt so as to be rotatable.

  The belt conveyor 26 is wound around a belt wheel 30 opposed to each other and circulates with the upper side running belt 26a on the upper side and the return side belt 26b on the lower side. The sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c are individually driven by a motor (not shown), are circulated on the outside of the belt conveyor 26, and are provided so as to contact the upper surface side of the upper running belt 26a from the outside. A free ball 29 is frictionally rotated by running 27a, 27b, 27c to move the workpiece W in the same direction as the running direction of the sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, 27c (double speed movement), and a chute installed on the side of the belt conveyor 26 To be taken out. In addition, the code | symbol 31 in FIG. 15, FIG. 16 is a conveyance conveyor.

  The sorting zone 7 is provided with a plurality of sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c as described above. Depending on the size of the workpiece W, the sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c required for carrying out can be driven. As shown in FIG. 15, each of the sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c has a belt width corresponding to a minimum size workpiece of 1 unit width D1, and the sorting zone 7 has a maximum size. A plurality of sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c are provided with a multi-unit width D2 over a range corresponding to a workpiece.

  The effects of the sorting apparatus 25 having the above-described configuration are as follows. In the sorting device 25, a belt conveyor 26 is provided in the sorting zone 7 arranged downstream of the workpiece transfer conveyor 5, and a number of free balls 29 partially protrude from the upper end and the lower end thereof in a direction orthogonal to the belt conveyor 26. Since a plurality of sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, 27c and the like with a ball constituted by a belt 28 provided rotatably are provided adjacent to each other, the sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, 27c are connected to the upper traveling belt of the belt conveyor 26. The workpieces placed on the sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c are carried out to the side of the belt conveyor 26 by rotating the free balls 29 of the sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c in contact with the upper surface 26a. Can do. In this case, when sorting is not performed in the front sorting zone 7, the work is transferred to the subsequent sorting zone 7 by the transport conveyor 31 and sorted.

  Further, a workpiece arrival detection sensor 6 is provided in front of the sorting zone 7, and when the workpiece W is detected by the workpiece arrival detection sensor 6, it corresponds to the workpiece size measured in advance by the workpiece size detection means 3 on the upstream side. Since the number of sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c are driven, the number of sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c required for unloading are driven according to workpieces W of different sizes, such as small-sized workpieces or large-sized workpieces. As a result, the driving efficiency and sorting efficiency of the sorting device 25 can be improved.

  As in the first embodiment, in the sorting zone 7, a plurality of sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c having a belt width D1 (see FIG. 3) corresponding to the minimum size workpiece correspond to the maximum size workpiece. Compared to the case where a single sorting conveyor 22 having a width corresponding to the multi-unit width D2 for three sorting conveyors is provided, since it is provided with a multi-unit width D2 (see FIG. 3). Thus, the time interval for loading the workpiece into the sorting zone is shortened. As a result, it is possible to improve the sorting operation efficiency when the three sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c are divided and provided with one wider sorting conveyor 22.

  Further, on both sides of the belt conveyor 26, as in the first embodiment, a chute for discharging the work W carried out in the sorting zone 7 is installed, and the work drop detection sensor 20 for detecting the carried work is installed on the chute. Therefore, when the workpiece fall detection sensor 20 detects the fall of the workpiece W, the sorting conveyors 27a, 27b, and 27c can be stopped. In this case, since the workpiece W is transferred to the workpiece transfer conveyor 5 with a gap in the upstream intermittent transfer conveyor 4, the workpiece transfer conveyor 5, the belt conveyor 26 and the like are continuously stopped during the sorting operation. Can be driven.

It is a schematic plan view of the whole conveyance sorting equipment of Example 1 of the present invention. It is a schematic side view of the whole conveyance sorting equipment. It is a principal part top view of the sorting apparatus of Example 1. FIG. It is a principal part side view of the sorting apparatus of Example 1. FIG. It is a partial perspective view of a belt. It is an assembly exploded view of a ball unit. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing when the small size workpiece | work W1 is detected. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing when the workpiece | work W1 is carried in to the sorting conveyor upper part. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing when the workpiece | work W1 passes a sorting conveyor. It is explanatory drawing when carrying out the workpiece | work W1 from a belt conveyor to a chute | shoot. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing when the workpiece | work W1 carried out to the chute | shoot is detected. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing at the time of carrying in the workpiece | work W2 of a big size in a sorting zone. It is explanatory drawing at the time of carrying out the workpiece | work W2 from a belt conveyor to a chute | shoot. It is explanatory drawing in the case of classifying a workpiece | work with one wide sorting conveyor. It is a principal part top view of the sorting apparatus of Example 2. FIG. It is a principal part side view of the sorting apparatus of Example 2. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyance sorting equipment 2 Loading conveyor 3 Work size detection means 3a Work arrival detection sensor 4 Intermittent carry-out conveyor 5 Work conveyance conveyor 6 Work arrival detection sensor 6a Light emitting element 6b Light receiving element 7 Sorting zone 8 Sorting device 9 Belt conveyor 9a with a ball upper side Traveling belt 9b Return side belt 9c Transfer part 10 Belts 11a, 11b Hinge part 11c Gap part 11 Belt member 12 Free ball 13 Ball unit 14 Upper holding frame 15 Lower holding frame 16 Hinge pin 17 Separately opposed belt wheels 18a, 18b, 18c Conveyors 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d Chute 20 Work drop detection sensor 20a Light emitting element 20b Light receiving element 21 Discharge chute at the end 22 Wide sorting conveyor 25 Sorting device 26 Belt conveyor 26a Upper traveling belt 26b Return side belt 27a, 27b, 27c Sorting conveyor with balls 28 Belt 29 Free ball 30 Belt wheel 31 Conveyor W, W1, W2 Workpiece M1, M2, M3, M4 Motor E1, E3 Encoder D1 One unit width of sorting conveyor D2 Multi-unit width of multiple sorting conveyors L1, L2 spacing

Claims (5)

In the sorting zone arranged downstream of the workpiece conveyor, there is provided a belt conveyor with balls composed of a belt in which a number of free balls are rotatably provided with their upper and lower ends partially protruding, and the belt A plurality of sorting conveyors are provided adjacent to each other perpendicular to the conveyor, and the sorting conveyor moves from the lower surface side to the upper running belt of the belt conveyor and rotates the free balls of the belt conveyor to rotate the upper conveyor belt. In a sorting apparatus for carrying out a work placed on a traveling belt to the side of the belt conveyor,
A workpiece arrival detection sensor is provided in front of the sorting zone, and when the workpiece is detected by the workpiece arrival detection sensor, a number of the sorting conveyors corresponding to the size of the workpiece measured in advance by the workpiece size detecting means on the upstream side. The sorting apparatus characterized by driving. A belt conveyor is provided in the sorting zone located downstream of the workpiece conveyor, and a belt is provided in which a number of free balls are rotatably provided with their upper and lower ends partially protruding perpendicular to the belt conveyor. A plurality of sorting conveyors with balls formed are provided adjacent to each other, and the sorting conveyor moves in contact with the upper traveling belt of the belt conveyor from the upper surface side to rotate the free balls of the sorting conveyor, thereby rotating the sorting conveyor. In a sorting apparatus that carries work placed on a conveyor to the side of the belt conveyor,
A workpiece arrival detection sensor is provided in front of the sorting zone, and when the workpiece is detected by the workpiece arrival detection sensor, a number of the sorting conveyors corresponding to the size of the workpiece measured in advance by the workpiece size detecting means on the upstream side. The sorting apparatus characterized by driving.   The workpiece size detecting means includes a workpiece arrival detection sensor provided on a workpiece loading conveyor provided on the upstream side of the workpiece conveying conveyor, and an encoder connected to a driving motor of the workpiece loading conveyor. An output signal when the front end edge and the rear end edge of the moving workpiece are detected by the arrival detection sensor and an output signal of the encoder are input to the controller, and the workpiece size is calculated by the controller and calculated. The sorting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   The sorting conveyor has a width corresponding to a minimum size workpiece as one unit width, and the sorting zone is provided with a plurality of sorting conveyors having a multi-unit width corresponding to a maximum size workpiece. The sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A chute is provided on the side of the belt conveyor, and a work drop detection sensor is provided on the chute to detect the work carried out. When the work is detected by the work drop detection sensor, the sorting conveyor is stopped. The sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sorting apparatus includes:

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