JP2010280459A - Article sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article sorting device smoothly discharging sorted articles without enlarging the size of whole facilities, inexpensively automatizing discharging work of the articles after sorted, thereby saving labor and automatizing from processes from sorting to discharging. <P>SOLUTION: Openable bottom plates 22, 23, hung down by opening the bottom plate, block the side faces of a mat piling space formed between the lower place of a stock box 20 and the upside of the conveying surface of a discharge conveyor 21 in combination with block plates 45. The discharge conveyor 21 is arranged in common to each of stock boxes 20 and is placed with contained mats dropped from each of stock boxes 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an article sorting apparatus that automates sorting work by transporting sorting articles such as heavy objects, which are troublesome to sort manually, to sorting stations divided into a plurality of sorting positions.

  Examples of such heavy objects include dust control products such as rental mats and rental carpets. In a cleaning and recycling processing factory for rental dust control products, it is necessary to sort dust control products collected from agents or customers in a dirty state by product type before cleaning processing. In order to handle heavy and dirty articles, this sorting operation uses a conveyor, or, for example, uses a self-propelled article carrier as disclosed in Patent Document 1, and performs a plurality of sorting. It is transported to a sorting station divided into positions to save labor or automate sorting operations.

  FIG. 10 shows a three-dimensional configuration of a conventional sorting apparatus using a self-propelled article carrier. FIG. 11 shows a plan configuration of the sorting apparatus of FIG. When article conveying means such as a conveyor and article carrier are arranged in a plane with respect to the sorting station, a handling device is required for transfer from the article conveying means. Therefore, in the case of the sorting apparatus shown in FIG. And a three-dimensional arrangement configuration in which the article carrier 102 is moved to a predetermined sorting station, the input article is dropped onto each collection box cart 101 and transferred.

  In the sorting station in which the collection box carts 101 are arranged in a column, the position of each collection box cart 101 corresponds to one section of the sorting position. A track rail 100 is laid in a closed loop above the sorting station. The article carrier 102 is provided so as to be able to travel along the track rail 100. Sorted articles are loaded into the article carrier 102 by the conveyor 103 disposed at the loading position of the track rail 100. The article carrier 102 travels to the sorting destination sorting position stored at the time of article insertion, drops the transported article from the bottom onto the collection box cart 101 and transfers it.

JP 2004-18132 A

Since the sorting function of the sorting device is determined by the number of lines of the sorting articles input conveyor 3 and the number of collection box carts 101, the larger the number of sorts or cleaning category groups, the more collection box carts 101 are used. Need to be densely arranged in the sorting station.
However, if a large number of collection box carts 101 are used, the transportation work by collecting and installing the carts increases, and the input articles from the article carrier to the carts can be dropped while the carts are collected and installed. As it disappeared, labor saving was hindered.

  Therefore, in order to further save labor, it is necessary to automate the work for carrying out articles after sorting. For example, an article unloading operation after sorting can be automated by transporting the sorted articles for each sorting position to the unloading work site to the sorting station. In this case, from the viewpoint of sorting efficiency, it is necessary to separately provide transfer means for temporarily storing or accumulating the sorted articles for each sorting position and then transferring them to the carry-out conveyor.

  For example, a container bag can be used as the transfer means. FIG. 12 shows an example of an article storage / unloading mechanism in which the container bag 104 to which the article 106 is once transferred from the article carrier 105 is arranged above the unloading conveyor 111. The container bag 104 is a woven fabric cylindrical bag body having an upper portion opened and a lower portion opened and closed by a fastening string 109. The upper portion of the container bag 104 is fixed to the upper portion 115 of the frame frame 114 while maintaining an open state. A fastening string 109 is wound around the hem of the container bag 104 in a sewing manner with respect to the plurality of holes 108, and the fastening string 109 is connected to a winding device 110 so as to be wound. By winding the fastening string 109 on the winding device 110, the lower portion of the container bag 104 is squeezed and closed, and the container bag 104 is in a bottomed bag state in which an article such as a dust control product can be accommodated. When the winding of the fastening cord 109 is released, the container article 104 is exposed to its own weight and the lower part of the container bag 104 is fully opened as shown by the broken line in FIG. The conveying surface of the carry-out conveyor 111 faces the lower part of the container bag 104, and the accommodated article 106 dropped from the container bag 104 is placed on the conveyor conveying surface. On both sides of the conveyor transport surface, shielding plates 113 for preventing the placed article 107 from falling off are arranged. The carry-out conveyor 111 is driven by a drive motor 112 and conveys the placed article 107 in a predetermined direction.

  As the positions of the article carrier 105 and the container bag 104 increase, the size of the three-dimensional equipment increases, and as shown in FIG. 12, the space between the squeezed portion 104A that narrows the lower portion of the container bag 104 and the conveyor conveyance surface is allowed. It is necessary to set the relative positional relationship between the container bag 104 and the conveyor 111 to a minimum by providing only a space in which the remaining articles can be placed on the transport surface. However, in the minimum setting state, when the accommodation article 106 is released by opening the lower part of the container bag 104, as shown by the broken line, the binding margin at the bottom of the bag hangs downward due to the opening and is placed. An inconvenience of covering the upper article of the article 107 occurred. That is, during the conveyance by the carry-out conveyor 111, the progress of the upper article covered by the drooping of the lower part of the container bag 104 is hindered.

In order to avoid the inconvenience of hanging down the lower part of the container bag 104, the position of the container bag 104 may be raised so as not to cover the upper article of the placed article 107. FIG. 13 is an article storage / unloading mechanism diagram when the position of the container bag 104 is increased in FIG.
However, as the position of the container bag 104 is shifted upward so as not to cover the upper article of the placed article 107, the length H of the frame frame 114A also increases. Therefore, since the traveling position of the article carrier is also increased, the installation height of the track rail must be increased, leading to an increase in equipment size and an increase in equipment cost.
Furthermore, since an extra large open space is formed between the unloading conveyor and the transfer means, when the sorted articles are transferred from the container bag to the unloading conveyor, they are sorted. However, the product may not be normally placed on the conveyance surface and may protrude or sag, which may hinder normal article conveyance, and the shielding plate 113A needs to be enlarged in order to close the open space.

  In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to smoothly carry out sorted articles without increasing the size of the entire equipment, automating the article carrying out work after sorting at a low price, and from the sorting step. It is an object of the present invention to provide an article sorting apparatus that can realize labor saving and automation up to the unloading process.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, the sorted articles are transported to a sorting station divided into a plurality of sorting positions, temporarily transferred to a predetermined sorting position, and the sorted articles accumulated at the sorting position are transferred to the unloading position. In the sorting device to be collected, a plurality of article containers are arranged in a state in which the sorted articles can be transferred at each sorting position, and the bottom of the article container is opened and closed by a double-opening opening / closing bottom plate It is configured freely, has a transport surface arranged below the bottom, and includes transport means for transporting articles on the transport surface to the carry-out position side, and is transferred and stored in the article container. When collecting the sorted articles, the opening / closing bottom plate is opened downward, the sides of the conveying surface are shielded by the suspended opening / closing bottom plate, and the articles contained in the article container are placed on the conveying surface. Articles dropped on It is a divided unit.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, a shielding plate that shields a side of the conveyance surface is disposed along a conveyance direction, and the open / close bottom plate that is suspended by the opening joints with the shielding plate. An article sorting device that shields a side surface of an article loading space between the article container and the transport surface.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the plurality of article containers are arranged in a row, and the conveying means is arranged in common with respect to each article container. This is an article sorting device including a conveyor on which the stored articles dropped from the container are placed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second, or third aspect, the open / close bottom plate closes the bottom like a ship and accommodates the sorting articles. This is an article sorting apparatus that is suspended on the side and shields the side of the conveying surface.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the article carrier moves along a track rail laid along the sorting station with the sorting article input position as a starting point. The sorting articles are conveyed to the sorting position, the track rails are arranged in a closed loop shape, and a plurality of the article carriers are circulated in the closed loop, and the sorting articles are conveyed and transferred by the respective article carriers. Is an article sorting device that makes it possible to repeat.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the article carrier is provided with an article accommodating portion provided with an article release mechanism for releasing the accommodated article downward, and the sorted article is the article accommodating portion at the loading position. Sorting processing means for storing the sorting position of the sorting destination when the item is put into the container, moving to the sorting destination, and discharging the stored articles toward the sorting object storage by driving the article discharging mechanism. This is an article sorting apparatus.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the sorted article is an article sorting apparatus that is a dust control product such as carpets, mats, and wiping bodies made of various varieties.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, after the transfer of the sorted articles to the article container, the open / close bottom plate is opened downward when the collected articles of the article container are collected. Then, the side of the conveying surface is shielded by the suspended opening and closing bottom plate, and the accommodated articles (sorted articles) of the article container are dropped onto the conveying surface. The open space between the bottom of the body is shielded by the open / close bottom plate, and the sorted articles are dropped and placed on the transfer surface without protruding or hanging down, and the sorting work of the sorted articles is stabilized. And it can be performed smoothly. In addition, since the open / close bottom plate closes the bottom portion to form an accommodation (accumulation or accumulation) body for sorted articles and can constitute a transport guide body that shields the open space by the opening. There is no waste of storage due to the amount of binding at the bottom of the bag when in use, the position of the sorting article transport system does not need to be raised, the equipment cost is not increased, and the sorting apparatus is inexpensive. Can be formed. Therefore, according to the article sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment, it is possible to automate the article carrying out operation after sorting at a low price, and to realize labor saving and automation from the sorting process to the carrying out process.

  As the article container, a box-shaped container with good accommodation efficiency can be used. As the transport means, a transport device such as an endless belt conveyor or a roller conveyor can be used. A rail track self-propelled article carrier, a conveyor belt, or the like can be used for conveying the sorted articles to the sorting station.

  When the plate area of the open / close bottom plate is small, the side of the article loading space between the article container and the transport surface cannot be sufficiently shielded, and when the amount of the article container is large, the dropped article is There is a risk of falling off the transport surface. Therefore, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the open / close bottom plate suspended by the opening shields the side surface of the article stacking space in cooperation with the shielding plate arranged along the conveying direction. Even if the plate area of the open / close bottom plate is small, the side of the article loading space is shielded together with the shielding plate, and the article loading space having a large allowable amount can be formed without reducing the amount of the article containing body, The sorting article conveyance efficiency can be improved.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the plurality of article containers are arranged in a row, and the conveying means is arranged in common for each article container, and the containers dropped from the respective article containers. Since the articles are placed on the conveyor, even if the article containers are densely arranged in a row, the articles dropped on the conveyor conveying surface fall off from the conveyor due to the shielding action of the opening and closing bottom plate. It is possible to carry out the work of unloading sorted articles stably and smoothly to cope with various sorts of varieties, and to simplify the configuration and reduce costs by sharing the conveyor. it can.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the open / close bottom plate closes the bottom in the shape of a ship and accommodates the sorting articles, and when the open / close bottom plate is opened vertically, the open / close bottom plate is suspended vertically to the side of the conveying surface. Therefore, the stored articles are discharged downward from the center of the bottom portion by the opening, and can be prevented from falling off the transport surface by the inner surface of the open / close bottom plate hanging vertically. The work for carrying out the article can be performed stably and smoothly.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the sorted article is transported to the sorting position via an article carrier that moves along a track rail laid along the sorting station, starting from the input position of the sorted article. Since the track rails are arranged in a closed loop shape, a plurality of the article carriers are circulated in the closed loop, and the articles can be transferred and transferred by each article carrier repeatedly. The sorting articles can be transported with high efficiency by the circulating running, and high-speed automation from the sorting process to the unloading process can be realized.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the sorted article is put into the article storage unit, the sorting processing unit stores the sorting position of the sorting destination, moves to the sorting destination, and moves the stored article to the sorting destination. Since it discharges | releases toward the said goods container of a sort destination, the labor-saving from a sorting process to a carrying-out process can be promoted more by performing the automatic sorting conveyance of the said sorting goods by the said article carrier.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the sorted articles are dust control products such as carpets, mats, and wiping bodies made of various varieties, it is necessary to manually sort and carry out the relatively heavy dust control products. It can be done efficiently and safely.

1 is a plan layout diagram of a two-layer article sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which shows the state which looked at the upper and lower stage track | truck closed loop of the said two-layer-type article | item sorting apparatus side. It is a front view of the goods carrier and stock box which are used for the said 2 layer type goods sorter. It is a block diagram which shows the communication control system in the said 2 layer type goods sorting apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the self-propelled process sequence in the upper carrier of the said 2 layer type goods sorting apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the self-propelled process sequence in the lower carrier of the said 2 layer type goods sorting apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the sorting goods collection | recovery process procedure of the said 2 layer type goods sorting apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the movement control of the up-and-down carrier in the said 2 layer type goods sorting apparatus. It is a plane layout figure of the 1 layer type goods sorting device concerning another this embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the conventional sorting apparatus using a self-propelled article carrier. It is a plane block diagram of the sorting apparatus of FIG. It is an article accommodation / unloading mechanism diagram in which the container bag 104 is used as an article transfer means. FIG. 13 is an article storage / unloading mechanism diagram when the position of the container bag 104 is increased in FIG. 12.

An article sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The article sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment is a two-layer sorting apparatus in which a track closed loop is configured in two layers.
FIG. 1 shows a planar layout of an article sorting apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a side view of the upper and lower track closed loop.

  The article sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an upper track rail 2 and a lower track rail that are arranged in multiple layers with a common sorting station for sorting dust control products P (mats) collected from agents and the like. 32. The upper track rail 2 and the lower track rail 32 are provided with different input positions, and constitute an oval upper track closed loop and a lower track closed loop. The upper carrier rail 1 and the lower carrier 31, which are self-propelled article carriers equipped with a self-propelled drive device capable of running and stopping, can run along the monorail on the upper track rail 2 and the lower track rail 32, respectively. Has been deployed. In each of the upper track rail 2 and the lower track rail 32, about 10 upper carriers 1 and lower carriers 31 are provided.

  Below the straight portions of the track rail 2 and the track rail 32, seven stock boxes (article containers) 20 for temporarily storing and stocking sorting mats are arranged in a column, and further below, a carry-out conveyor. A sorting station SS having 21 is disposed. The position of the stock box 20 is determined corresponding to one section of the sorting position. 20 to 50 stock boxes 20 can be accommodated according to the number of types of dust control products P or the number of cleaning category groups.

  In the vicinity of the corner portions of the track rail 2 and the track rail 32, a loading position for loading the sorted article of the dust control product P into the upper carrier 1 and the lower carrier 31 is set. This article input path is inclined with respect to each track rail, and conveyors 3 and 33 for transporting sorted articles from the reference floor surface position are provided at the input positions of the upper and lower track rails 32, 32, respectively. Has been. Each end of the conveyors 3 and 33 includes short horizontal conveyor belts 3A and 33A. The track rail 2 is slightly shortened in the longitudinal direction from the track rail 32 so that the lower conveyor 33 faces the track rail 32 inside. Each of the upper track closed loop and the lower track closed loop forms a two-layer track closed loop in which a plurality of article carriers are moved to a common sorting station starting from the loading position and can be circulated back to the loading position again. .

  FIG. 3 shows the arrangement of the article carriers 1, 31, the stock box 20 and the carry-out conveyor 21. Each stock box 20 is fixedly disposed on the elevated support column 49 via the horizontal frame 46 directly under the article carriers 1 and 31. The stock box 20 has an open top box shape and is provided with open / close bottom plates 22 and 23 at the bottom. The carrying surface of the carry-out conveyor 21 is arranged in common for each stock box 20 along the bottom of the stock boxes 20 arranged in a column, and the end of the conveyor is outside the installation area A of the article sorting apparatus of this embodiment. It is extended. The carry-out conveyor 21 rotates the drive shaft supported by the drive bearing 44 by the drive motor 43, and carries the placement mat toward the outside of the installation area A. The mat carried out by the carry-out conveyor 21 is collected at the end of the conveyor. Moreover, another conveyance conveyor may be connected to the terminal end of the carry-out conveyor 21, and you may make it convey to another process.

  The article carriers 1 and 31 are composed of bucket-shaped article accommodating parts, and the bottom part of the article accommodating part is composed of bottom plates 4 and 34 that can be opened and closed outward in a double-sided manner by a bottom opening / closing mechanism 5 comprising a drive motor. As indicated by the two-dot chain line, the articles contained in the article carriers 1 and 31 are discharged into the lower stock box 20 when the bottom plate 4 is opened. The article carriers 1 and 31 are connected to the self-propelled drive support portions 6b and 7b through the outer support portions 6a and 7a. The track rails 2 and 32 include upper guide track rails 2A and 32A and lower drive track rails 2B and 32B, respectively. A pair of free rollers 8 guided by the track rail 2A is rotatably provided on the upper side of the self-running drive support 6b. A pair of free rollers 38 guided by the track rail 32A is rotatably provided on the upper side of the self-running drive support portion 7b. Drive rollers 11 and 41 are rotatably mounted on the track rails 2B and 32B on the lower side of the self-running drive support portions 6b and 7b. A pair of free rollers 9 and 39 that are guided by the track rails 2B and 32B are also rotatably provided on the lower side so that the drive rollers 11 and 41 are not removed. The drive rollers 11 and 41 are attached to the drive shafts of the drive motors 10 and 40, respectively, and are driven by motors.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the sorting station SS is disposed on the inner peripheral side of the upper track closed loop and the lower track closed loop. The article carriers 1 and 31 are cantilevered inside the track rails 2 and 32 of the upper track closed loop and the lower track closed loop by the drive mechanism shown in FIG. Therefore, the track rail can be constituted by a monorail compared to the both-end support structure to simplify the configuration of the track closed loop, and the cost of the two-layer track closed loop article sorting device can be reduced.

  The bottom side of the stock box 20 forms a bottom portion that protrudes downward in a state where the opening and closing bottom plates 22 and 23 that open and close like a double door are closed in a ship bottom shape. At both ends of one side surface of the stock box 20, swing centers 24A, 25A of swing members 24, 25 attached integrally to respective ends of the open / close bottom plates 24, 25 are disposed. Reference numeral 25 is provided so as to be rotatable about the swing centers 24A and 25A. Both ends of the drive wire 27 are engaged with the free ends of the swing members 24 and 25, and the center of the drive wire 27 is hooked on the drive end of the solenoid 26. The drive end of the solenoid 26 is disposed so as to advance and retract in the vertical direction. When the drive end of the solenoid 26 is advanced and extended, the swing members 24 and 25 are pulled up to close the bottom like a ship bottom. When the drive end of the solenoid 26 is retracted and contracted, the swinging members 24 and 25 rotate downward to open the bottom. When opened, the open / close bottom plates 22 and 23 are suspended in the vertical direction.

  On both sides of the carrying surface of the carry-out conveyor 21, shielding plates 45 fixed to the support frame 47 of the horizontal frame 46 are arranged along the carrying direction. The height of the shielding plate 45 is set at a position where the ends of the closed bottom plates 22 and 23 suspended in the vertical direction by the opening operation of the solenoid 26 overlap. In FIG. 2, the front side shielding plate 45 is removed.

  The open / close bottom plates 22 and 23 suspended by opening the bottom part together with the shielding plate 45 shield the side surface of the mat stacking space formed between the lower side of the stock box 20 and the upper conveying surface of the carry-out conveyor 21. Therefore, since the side surfaces of the mat stacking space can be shielded together with the shielding plate 45 even if the open / close bottom plates 22 and 23 are small, a mat loading space having a large allowable amount can be formed without reducing the storage capacity of the stock box 20. The sorting article conveying efficiency can be improved.

  Moreover, since the mat stacking space is formed by opening the open / close bottom plates 22 and 23, the mat stacking space can be set to a space in which an allowable number of mats of the stock box 20 can be mounted on the conveyor transport surface. become. Accordingly, it is not necessary to increase the relative positional relationship between the stock box 20 and the carry-out conveyor 21 as compared with the case where the container bag 104 shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 is used, and the positions of the article carrier and the stock box 20 can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and cost of the three-dimensional equipment.

  The carry-out conveyor 21 is arranged in common for each stock box 20, and the accommodation mat dropped from each stock box 20 is placed thereon. Therefore, even if the stock boxes 20 are densely arranged in a row, the open / close bottom plate Due to the shielding action of 22 and 23, the mats dropped on the conveyor transport surface can be placed normally without dropping from the conveyor, and the sorted mats can be carried out stably and smoothly. Simplification of configuration and cost reduction can be realized by sharing the carry-out conveyor 21.

  The open / close bottom plates 22 and 23 close the bottom of each stock box 20 in the shape of a ship and accommodate sorting mats, and when opened, they are suspended vertically to shield the side of the transport surface of the carry-out conveyor 21. Can be released from the center of the bottom portion by the opening operation of the open / close bottom plates 22 and 23, and can be prevented from falling off the transport surface by the inner surface of the open / close bottom plate hanging vertically, so that the sorted mat can be carried out. It can be performed stably and smoothly.

  FIG. 4 shows a communication control system in the article sorting apparatus according to this embodiment. In the dust control product, an ID chip 51 in which data such as an individual identification code and a product type is written is attached, for example, by being embedded in a mat material. An RFID tag can be used as the ID chip. In the vicinity of the conveyors 3 and 33, a sorting control device 50 including a reading device that reads data stored in the ID chip 51 is installed. The sorting control device 50 includes a transmission device that transmits sorting destination information based on the individual identification code read from the dust control product, and the transmission device is configured to be able to communicate with each of the article carriers 1 and 31 without contact. A measuring device 13 for measuring the weight of the article is disposed at the start ends of the conveyors 3 and 33. The weight value measured by the measuring device 13 is transmitted to the sorting control device 50 and transmitted from the sorting control device 50 to the article carrier as weight data corresponding to the individual identification code.

  The control unit 52 of the article carriers 1 and 31 includes a microprocessor 53 and a data storage memory 54, and the microprocessor 53 outputs a drive control signal to a carrier drive unit 55 including the bottom opening / closing mechanism 5 and the drive motor 10. The data storage memory 54 stores sort destination information based on the individual identification code read from the dust control product, measured weight value data by the measuring device 13, and the like. The control unit 52 includes communication means capable of transmitting and receiving with other article carriers 56 with the range of the installation area A formed by the track rails 2 and 32 as at least a communicable region. As shown in FIG. 8 to be described later, this communication means is constituted by a light projecting / receiving sensor composed of a photocoupler. The light projecting sensor US of the upper carrier 1 and the light receiving sensor LS of the lower carrier 31 are each installed on the outer side surface of the article accommodating portion. A light entry sensor described later is optically output from the light projecting sensor US of the upper carrier 1 to the light receiving sensor LS of the lower carrier 31. Reflective optical sensors PS1 and PS2 are installed at the bottom of the article storage portion of the upper carrier 1 in order to detect the presence of the lower carrier 31. Each stock box 20 is provided with a sort destination ID chip (not shown) storing sorting position information. This sort-destination ID chip can be transmitted to and received from the control unit 52, and transmits trolley stop information to the moving carrier.

When the article carriers 1 and 31 are self-propelled in the respective closed loops and the sorted articles are loaded into the article storage unit at the loading position, the sorting position of the sorting destination is stored in the data storage memory 54, and The control unit 52 includes sort processing means for driving the bottom opening / closing mechanism 5 and releasing the input articles downward after moving to the sort destination and stopping.
In the present embodiment, the article carrier is temporarily stopped at the sort destination and then the article is dropped vertically to release the article. However, the article is discharged while traveling without stopping or while controlling deceleration. Also good. In the case of traveling release, for example, when the front end of the article carrier reaches or approaches the sort destination, the bottom opening / closing mechanism 5 is driven to open the bottom, and the released article is released toward the sort destination while drawing a parabola. In the case of deceleration control, for example, the traveling speed is reduced immediately before the front end of the article carrier reaches the sorting destination, and at the same time the bottom is opened, and the release is performed while drawing a smaller parabola than in the case of traveling release by the deceleration control. Release the goods toward the sort destination. According to the traveling release or deceleration control method, it is possible to eliminate the traveling time loss associated with the stop of the article carrier.

FIG. 5 shows the carrier self-running processing control of the sorting processing means of the upper carrier in the mat product sorting processing. FIG. 6 shows the carrier self-running process control of the sort processing means of the lower carrier in the sorting process of the mat product. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of carrier operation showing an example of communication control between upper and lower carriers.
As shown by the arrows in FIG. 1, the upper carrier 1 and the lower carrier 31 circulate counterclockwise along the upper track rail 2 and the lower track rail 32, respectively. First, the empty carrier is driven forward by the drive motor 10 and stops when it reaches the mat insertion position (steps S1 to S3, S20 to S22). This carrier stop is performed by receiving a stop signal output from the sorting control device 50.

  After receiving the mats to be sorted through the conveyors 3 and 33, the article carrier resumes traveling forward (steps S4, S5, S23, and S24). When mat insertion is accepted by the article storage unit, sort destination information based on the individual identification code of the input mat is transmitted from the sorting control device 50 and stored in the data storage memory 54 as sort data. Next, the article carrier runs on its own aiming at one of the stored sorting destination stock boxes 20. When the article carrier receives the sorting position stop information from the desired stock box 20 while self-propelled, it stops at that position, releases the input mat of the article storage unit, and transfers it to the sorting destination stock box 20 (step). S6, S26). After the mat is released, the stored data is cleared (steps S9, S10, S27, and S28), the article carrier is driven forward again, circulates in the closed loop, and the mat insertion / release is repeatedly executed. A continuous and large-scale processing is executed.

  Although omitted in the control flow of FIGS. 5 and 6 in the above sort destination moving process, even if the article carriers in the upper track closed loop and the lower track closed loop move simultaneously to the same sort destination, The article carrier in the upper track closed loop stops and waits at the sort destination so that the article carriers in the track closed loop and the lower track closed loop do not interfere with each other, and the article release priority processing on the lower track closed loop side is executed. This priority processing is confirmed by mutual communication between both article carriers. When the article carrier in the lower track closed loop moves after the priority processing is completed, the article is released by the article carrier in the upper track closed loop. Therefore, even if the article carriers in the upper track closed loop and the lower track closed loop move simultaneously to the same sort destination, the article carriers do not interfere with each other, and the sorting process can be executed smoothly.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the lower carrier 31A in the lower track closed loop is stopped and the upper carrier 1A in the upper track closed loop storing the same sort destination is advanced, after moving to that sort destination A signal for confirming the existence of the lower carrier 31A is output. If the presence of the lower carrier 31A is confirmed, the upper carrier 1A stops at the sorting position. The upper carrier 1A moves after the lower carrier 31A completes the sorting process, waits until the confirmation signal is canceled, and moves to an article discharging operation after the cancellation. In other words, the presence of the lower carrier 31 is confirmed when the mat of the upper carrier 1 is released. As shown in FIG. 8 (8A), when the presence of the lower carrier 31 is not detected by the reflective optical sensors PS1 and PS2 provided at the bottom of the article storage portion of the upper carrier 1, it is determined that normal discharge is possible. As shown by the broken line, the bottom plate 4 is opened downward, and the accommodation mat is dropped toward the sorting destination stock box 20. As shown in (8B) of FIG. 8, when the presence of the lower carrier 31 is detected by any one of the reflective optical sensors PS1 and PS2, the standby is stopped until the sensor is turned off (step S7). After determining that it is possible, the accommodation mat is dropped (steps S7 and S9). The reflection-type optical sensors PS1 and PS2 are separately installed before and after the lower carrier 31 in the traveling direction. In addition to the presence of the lower carrier 31 being stopped, as shown in (8B) of FIG. The presence of the passing lower carrier 31 is also detected.

  When the upper carrier 1 in the upper track closed loop moves to the sort destination and performs mat discharge, the control unit prevents the traveling of the lower carrier 31 in the lower track closed loop from inhibiting normal mat discharge by the upper carrier 1. 52 transmits an entry prohibition signal to the article carrier 31 (step S8). That is, as shown in FIG. 8 (8A), when the upper carrier 1 has reached the sorting position first, the lower carrier 31 receives light from the light projecting sensor US installed on the outer surface of the article accommodating portion. An approach prohibition signal is optically output toward the sensor LS. Of course, as shown in (8B) of FIG. 8, before the upper carrier 1 reaches the sorting position, if the lower carrier 31 is stopped or passing through the sorting position, it enters the light receiving sensor LS of the lower carrier 31. Since the light cannot be received even if the prohibition signal is transmitted, the upper carrier 1 enters the standby stop state as described above. The transmission timing of the entry prohibition signal may be started when stopping at the sort destination or immediately before the stop. When the upper carrier 1 stops at the sort destination and is releasing the mat, the lower carrier 31 moving in the lower track closed loop approaching the sort position is temporarily stopped in response to the entry prohibition signal ( Steps S25 and S29). Therefore, when the upper carrier 1 in the upper track closed loop is stopped at the sort destination or is approaching until just before the stop, an entry prohibition signal is transmitted, and the lower carrier 31 in the lower track closed loop enters the sort destination. Therefore, in the two-layer sorting device, the article carrier in the lower track closed loop is prevented from accidentally entering, and the article carrier is distributed safely and efficiently to perform the sorting process smoothly. Can do. When the mat release is completed, the stored data is cleared and the transmission of the entry prohibition signal is canceled (step S10), so that the lower carrier 31 that has stopped in response to the entry prohibition signal can resume traveling forward ( Step S25).

  In the embodiment described above, the article carriers 1 and 31 in the upper and lower track closed loops can be smoothly circulated and the sorting work efficiency can be improved about twice. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the track rails 2 and 32 are arranged in multiple layers so that the floor occupation area A is determined in the installation area of the track rail 32 which is larger in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, an article sorting apparatus having a significantly increased processing capacity can be realized at low cost.

The collection processing of the sorted mats under the control of the sorting control device 50 will be described below. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the mat collection processing procedure in this embodiment.
The sorting control device 50 reads the individual identification code of the sorting mat (step S30), determines the sort destination based on the read individual identification code (step S31), and stores the sort destination information at the time of mat insertion as described above. 1 and 31 (steps S4 and S23). Next, the measured weight value data read by the measuring device 13 is stored (step S32), and the number of mats is counted and the count value is stored (step S33).

At the time of counting the number of sheets, an accommodable state of the sorting destination stock box 20 is confirmed (step S34). The stock box 20 can be accommodated by checking the number of transfer mats already stored for each stock box 20, that is, for each sort destination. In the accommodable state confirmation process (step S34), a sort destination full condition within an allowable range is set in advance. Therefore, when the allowable range is reached, the transfer of articles exceeding the allowable range is prohibited as exceeding the sorting destination full condition, and the number of sorted articles is adjusted, that is, the number of additional mats thereafter is limited and corrected. (Steps S34 and S42). If it does not reach the allowable range and does not exceed the sort destination full condition, mat insertion into the article carrier is permitted and accommodation into the sort destination stock box 20 is performed (steps S34, S35, S40, S41). The article storage in the sorting destination stock box 20 is repeated until the sorting destination full condition is satisfied (steps S32 to S35, S40, and S41).
The sort destination full condition is set based on the allowable capacity of the stock box 20, and an appropriate load (total weight value) is set as an upper limit value. Accordingly, the sort articles accommodated in the sort destination stock box 20 are not limited to the same type, and even different sizes and different weights can be conveyed to the same sort destination and accommodated.

  When the sorting destination full condition is satisfied by the repetition of the accommodation of articles in the sorting destination stock box 20 (step S35), in order to preferentially collect the collecting mats of the stock box 20, a mat drop occurs at the sorting destination. In order to prevent this, the regulation process for the article carrier is performed (step S36). After this restriction processing is performed, new transfer from the article carrier at the sorting destination is not executed. After the restriction process for the article carrier is started, an opening drive signal is transmitted to the solenoid 26 of the sorting destination stock box 20 (step S37). By driving the solenoid 26, the bottom of the stock box 20 is opened by the opening operation of the swing members 24 and 25 shown in FIG. 3 (step S37). The storage mat is dropped onto the carry-out belt 21 by opening the stock box 20. A weight detection sensor (not shown) is disposed below the carry-out belt 21 and transmits a drop completion signal to the sorting control device 50 when the weight of the drop mat is detected by the weight detection sensor. Upon receiving the drop completion signal, it is determined that the opening process has ended, and a closing drive signal is transmitted to the solenoid 26 of the sorting destination stock box 20, and the restriction process for the article carrier is released (steps S38 and S39). As described above, under the management of the sort destination full condition, the collection process is executed as appropriate according to the storage capacity of the stock box 20. As described above, the sort destination full condition is set appropriately based on the accommodation load, so any sort destination will contain and collect up to the appropriate load, and efficient accommodation and collection will be repeated. can do. After completing the mat collection processing for the sorting destination, the sorting destination information is given to the article carriers 1 and 31 (steps S4 and S23), and the mat sorting processing is continued. Note that the mat collection timing may be performed as needed when a predetermined number of sheets or more are reached in the stock box 20.

The present invention can be applied not only to the above-described two-layer type multilayer article sorting apparatus but also to a one-layer article sorting apparatus.
FIG. 9 is a plan layout view of a one-layer article sorting apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 shows a three-dimensional track configuration of a sorting apparatus using a self-propelled article carrier. The sorted articles are transported by a conveyor 62 and loaded into an article carrier 61 that circulates and moves on the track rail 60. Under the elevated rail rail 60 forming a closed loop, as in the above embodiment, stock boxes (article containers) 63 for temporarily storing and stocking sorted articles are arranged in a tandem shape, and are further carried out below. A sorting station in which the conveyor 64 is arranged is provided. Similar to the stock box 20, the stock box 63 is provided with an open / close bottom plate at the bottom, opens the open / close bottom plate downward at the time of collection of the stored articles, and the side of the carrying surface of the carry-out conveyor 64 is suspended by the open / close bottom plate. The item stored in the stock box 63 is dropped onto the conveying surface. That is, the open space between the conveyance surface side and the bottom of the stock box 63 is shielded by the open / close bottom plate, and even in a one-layer sorting apparatus, the sorted articles do not protrude or sag. It is possible to stably and smoothly carry out the articles that are dropped and placed on the conveyance surface and sorted.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications, design changes and the like within the scope not departing from the technical idea of the present invention are included in the technical scope. Nor.

  According to the present invention, once the collected articles have been collected, the bottom opening mechanism of the article container for storing the sorted articles can be smoothly carried out without increasing the size of the entire facility. It is possible to provide an article sorting apparatus that can automate the unloading operation at a low price and realize labor saving and automation from the sorting process to the unloading process.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper carrier 1A Upper carrier 2 Track rail 2A Track rail 2B Track rail 3 Conveyor 4 Bottom plate 5 Bottom opening / closing mechanism 6a Outer support portion 6b Self-propelled drive support portion 7a Outer support portion 7b Self-propelled drive support portion 8 Free roller 9 Free roller 10 Drive motor 11 Drive roller 12 Drive shaft 13 Measuring device 14 Measuring device 20 Stock box 21 Unloading conveyor 22 Open / close bottom plate 23 Open / close bottom plate 24 Oscillating member 24A Oscillating center 25 Oscillating member 25A Oscillating center 26 Solenoid 27 Driving wire 31 Lower carrier 31A Lower carrier 32 Track rail 32A Track rail 32B Track rail 33 Conveyor 34 Bottom plate 38 Free roller 39 Free roller 40 Drive motor 41 Drive roller 43 Drive motor 44 Drive bearing 45 Shield plate 46 Horizontal frame 47 Support frame 48 Mat 49 Elevated support 50 Finish Control device 51 ID chip 52 Control unit 53 Microprocessor 54 Data storage memory 55 Carrier drive unit 56 Other article carrier 60 Track rail 61 Article carrier 62 Conveyor 63 Stock box 64 Unloading conveyor 100 Track rail 101 Collection box cart 102 Article carrier 103 Conveyor 104 Container Bag 104A Squeezed Portion 105 Article Carrier 106 Article 107 Article 108 Hole 109 Fastening String 110 Winding Device 111 Conveyor 112 Drive Motor 113 Shield Plate 113A Shield Plate 114 Frame Frame 114A Frame Frame 115 Upper A Installation Area P Dust Control Product

Claims (7)

In a sorting apparatus that transports sorted articles to a sorting station partitioned into a plurality of sorting positions, temporarily transfers the sorted articles to a predetermined sorting position, and transfers and collects the sorted articles accumulated at the sorting position. Each of the article containers is arranged in a state where the sorted articles can be transferred at each sorting position, and the bottom part of the article container is configured to be openable and closable by a double-opening opening / closing bottom plate, below the bottom part When carrying out the collection of the sorted articles that are transferred and stored in the article container, comprising a conveying means that conveys the article on the conveying surface to the carry-out position side, An article characterized by opening the opening / closing bottom plate downward, shielding the side of the conveying surface by the suspended opening / closing bottom plate, and dropping an article contained in the article container onto the conveying surface. Sorting Location. A shielding plate that shields the side of the conveying surface is disposed along the conveying direction, and the open / close bottom plate that is suspended by the opening cooperates with the shielding plate to provide an article between the article container and the conveying surface. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a side surface of the loading space is shielded. The plurality of article containers are arranged in a row, and the conveying means is arranged in common for each article container, and comprises a conveyor on which accommodated articles dropped from the respective article containers are placed. 3. The article sorting apparatus according to 1 or 2. 4. The open / close bottom plate closes the bottom portion like a ship bottom and accommodates the sorted articles, and the open / close bottom plate is suspended vertically to shield a side of the transport surface when opened. Goods sorting equipment. The sort article is transported to the sort position via an article carrier moving along a track rail laid along the sort station from the sorting article input position as a starting point, and the track rail is arranged in a closed loop shape. The article sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a plurality of the article carriers are circulated in the closed loop so that sorting articles can be transported and transferred by each article carrier. The article carrier stores an article storage unit having an article release mechanism for discharging the stored article downward, and a sorting position of a sorting destination when the sorted article is put into the article storage unit at the charging position, The article sorting apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: a sort processing unit that moves to the sorting destination and discharges the contained articles toward the sorting container by driving the article discharging mechanism. The article sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sorting article is a dust control product such as carpet, mat, or wiping body made of various varieties.

Images