JP2012046344A - Sorting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sorting apparatus, with which an object to be conveyed can be sorted out to the lateral direction, by a simple structure, without damaging the degree of freedom when the installation or layout thereof is changed, the maintainability of which is improved and in which even when the object to be conveyed is stopped in such a state that a part of the object to be conveyed is placed on a conveyance route, the stopped object to be conveyed is prevented from being an obstacle to the conveyance of the succeeding object to be conveyed.SOLUTION: The sorting apparatus 100 has a linear driving belt 121 for imparting rotational force to free balls 111 projected from the lower end of a ball conveyor 110. The linear driving belt 121 is hung up to a belt extension part 130 beyond the lateral direction of the ball conveyor 110, and has a ball holding member 132 in which many fixed-position free balls 131 are rotatably provided above the belt extension part 130 while partly projecting the upper ends and lower ends thereof.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sorting apparatus suitable for sorting transported objects having a flat bottom surface such as a box shape, a plate shape, and a cylindrical shape.

  Conventionally, a ball conveyor made up of a belt provided so that a large number of free balls partially protrude from the upper end and lower end of the ball conveyor, and the free ball that protrudes from the lower end of the ball conveyor to give the free balls a rotational force. 2. Description of the Related Art A conveyor device that has a drive mechanism and drives the contact mechanism to move an object to be transported placed above the ball conveyor on the ball conveyor or to pay it out to the side is known.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, in a known sorting apparatus 500 that pays out a conveyed object to the side of a ball conveyor, a large number of free balls 511 are provided with their upper ends and lower ends partially protruding so as to be rotatable. And a linear drive belt 521 that makes contact with the free balls 511 protruding from the lower end of the ball conveyor 510 and applies a rotational force to the free balls 511 (see Patent Document 1 and the like). ).

  When a conveyor device having a plurality of linear drive belts provided orthogonal to the ball conveyor as described in Patent Document 1 is used as a sorting device for carrying out the object to be conveyed from the side, the linear drive belt ( The conveying belt is stopped in a state where the object to be conveyed (work W) is placed on the ball conveyor (conveying belt) having free balls above the direction changing conveyor), and the linear driving belt (direction changing conveyor) is driven to free By rotating the ball and moving the object to be conveyed (work W) in the direction opposite to the driving direction of the linear driving belt (direction changing conveyor), the object is unloaded from the side of the ball conveyor (conveying belt).

Japanese Patent No. 3828108 (all pages, FIG. 1, FIG. 6, FIG. 8)

In general, the object to be conveyed discharged to the side of the sorting apparatus 500 is transferred to a conveying apparatus such as a downstream conveyor.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a free roller 501 is provided adjacent to the side of the sorting device 500, and the discharged workpiece W is transferred to the downstream conveyor 502 via the free roller 501. Configured to transfer.

  In the known sorting apparatus 500, the linear drive belt 521 is installed only below the ball conveyor 510, and transmits a driving force for paying sideways only on the ball conveyor 510 to the conveyed object W. Depending on the shape and weight of the object to be conveyed W, as shown in FIG. 7, it is not completely transferred to the free roller 501 but is partially placed on the ball conveyor 510 which is the conveyance path of the object to be conveyed W. There is a problem that it stops in a state where it is in a state where it becomes an obstacle to the transport of the subsequent transported object W.

In order to prevent the stop on the ball conveyor 510, even if the downstream conveyor 502 is installed as close as possible to the side of the sorting device 500, the radius of the end portion of the downstream conveyor 502 is reduced. Therefore, there is a problem that the minimum free roller 501 that fills the gap caused by the above-described problem cannot be solved depending on the shape and weight of the conveyed object W.
In addition, when there is no drivable conveying device such as the downstream conveyor 502 downstream of the payout, this means cannot be adopted in the first place.

  In order to prevent the stop on the ball conveyor 510, it may be possible to drive the free roller 501 at the side of the sorting device 500, but the drive roller 501 can be driven by an inexpensive and simple structure. As a result, the configuration of the transportation facility becomes complicated and expensive, and there is a problem that the degree of freedom of installation and layout change is significantly reduced.

  Further, since the linear drive belt 521 is installed only below the ball conveyor 510, the linear drive belt 521 is provided below the placement surface of the conveyed object W of the ball conveyor 510, that is, the linear drive belt 521 includes a drive unit. All of them are provided on the inner side of the ball conveyor 510, and the entire sorting device 500 is required to access the linear drive belt 521 and the drive unit, resulting in poor maintenance. there were.

  The present invention solves the problems of the prior art as described above, that is, the object of the present invention is to the side of the conveyed object with a simple structure without impairing the freedom of installation and layout change. A sorting device that can be used to prevent the subsequent transported object from being obstructed by stopping while the transported object is partially placed on the transport path. Is to provide.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a ball conveyor including a belt in which a number of free balls are rotatably provided with their upper ends and lower ends partially protruding, and free balls that come into contact with the free balls protruding from the lower ends of the ball conveyor. A linear drive belt for applying a rotational force to the balls, wherein the linear drive belt is configured to be able to be driven in a direction orthogonal to the drive direction of the ball conveyor, and in the width direction of the ball conveyor. A ball holding member that is hung up to a belt extension part that exceeds at least one side end part, and a plurality of fixed-position free balls are provided above the belt extension part so that the upper end and lower end partly protrude to be rotatable. A linear drive belt of the belt extension is in contact with a fixed position free ball protruding from the lower end of the ball holding member. By being configured to provide a rotational force to the position the free ball is intended to further solve the problems.

  In addition to the configuration of the sorting device according to claim 1, the invention according to claim 2 is provided with the belt extension portion beyond the side end portions on both sides in the width direction of the ball conveyor, The ball holding member is provided above the belt extension on both sides in the width direction of the ball conveyor, and the linear drive belt is configured to be able to drive in both forward and reverse directions, thereby further solving the problem. To do.

  In the invention according to claim 3, in addition to the configuration of the sorting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, the drive part of the linear drive belt is provided in the belt extension part, The problem is further solved.

  In addition to the configuration of the sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the invention according to claim 4 is provided on the back surface of the contact surface of the linear drive belt with the free ball and the fixed position free ball. The above problem is further solved by providing a belt receiving member for supporting the linear drive belt from below.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a ball conveyor including a belt in which a number of free balls are rotatably provided with their upper ends and lower ends partially protruding, and free balls that come into contact with the free balls protruding from the lower ends of the ball conveyor. A sorting device having a linear drive belt for applying a rotational force to the balls, wherein the linear drive belt is configured to be drivable in a direction orthogonal to the drive direction of the ball conveyor and at least one side in the width direction of the ball conveyor A ball holding member is provided which is looped around the belt extension beyond the one end, and a plurality of fixed-position free balls are provided so that the upper end and the lower end are partly protruded and rotated freely above the belt extension. The linear drive belt of the belt extension comes into contact with the fixed position free ball protruding from the lower end of the ball holding member, and rotational force is applied to the fixed position free ball. By being configured to give, it is possible to transmit the driving force for paying out the ball side to the conveyed object on the ball conveyor and the ball holding member by driving the linear driving belt. It can be surely prevented that an object stops while being partially placed on the conveyance path and becomes an obstacle to the conveyance of the subsequent object to be conveyed.

  In addition, since the object to be transported can be reliably moved to the outside of the transport path by driving the linear drive belt, there is no need for any additional configuration for transport equipment such as a free roller downstream in the payout direction, and a simple structure And the degree of freedom of installation and layout change is not impaired.

  Further, the payout side end of the belt extension may be the thickness of the ball holding member and the linear drive belt, and only the ball holding member can be further extended to the payout side. It is possible to omit the crossing means between the transfer device, the entire transfer facility can have a simple structure, and the degree of freedom of installation and layout change is further improved.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, the belt extension portion is provided beyond the side end portions on both sides in the width direction of the ball conveyor, and above the belt extension portions on both sides in the width direction of the ball conveyor. When each ball holding member is provided and the linear drive belt is configured to be able to drive in both forward and reverse directions, it is possible to distribute and distribute to both sides in the width direction of the ball conveyor. In addition, it is possible to reliably prevent the transported object from being stopped in a state where it is partially placed on the transport path and becoming an obstacle to transporting the subsequent transported object.

  Also, on either side, the conveyance object can be reliably moved to the outside of the conveyance path by driving the linear drive belt, so any additional configuration is necessary for conveyance equipment such as a free roller downstream. The structure can be simplified and the degree of freedom of installation and layout change is not impaired.

  According to the configuration of the third aspect of the present invention, since the drive portion of the linear drive belt is provided in the belt extension portion, it is below the placement surface of the object to be conveyed of the ball conveyor, that is, around the ball conveyor. Since there is no need to provide a drive unit for the linear drive belt on the inside, it is possible to reduce the radius of the sprocket around which the ball conveyor is wound, and to reduce the thickness of the entire sorting device. The degree of freedom is further improved.

  Also, when maintaining the linear drive belt and its drive unit, the linear drive belt and its drive unit can be accessed from below or from the side of the belt extension without disassembling the entire sorting device. Therefore, maintainability is improved.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, the belt receiving member that supports the linear drive belt from below is provided on the back surface of the contact surface of the linear drive belt with the free ball and the fixed position free ball. Even if the linear drive belt is hung up to the belt extension and the span becomes longer, the linear drive belt, the free ball, and the fixed ball are used to prevent the slack in the middle and keep the linear drive belt flat. Contact with the position free ball is ensured, and the object to be conveyed can be reliably driven and paid out to the side.

The perspective view of the sorting device which is one Example of this invention. FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view of FIG. 1. Front explanatory drawing of FIG. The partial expanded sectional view of the belt extension part of the sorting apparatus which is one Example of this invention. The perspective view of the conventional sorting apparatus. Operation | movement explanatory perspective view of the conventional sorting apparatus. Plane explanatory drawing of FIG.

  The present invention relates to a ball conveyor composed of a belt in which a large number of free balls partially rotate at the upper end and lower end thereof, and a free ball protruding from the lower end of the ball conveyor so that the free balls are subjected to rotational force. And a linear drive belt configured to be able to be driven in a direction orthogonal to the drive direction of the ball conveyor, and to exceed at least one side end in the width direction of the ball conveyor. A plurality of fixed-position free balls are provided above the belt extension, and a ball holding member is provided on the upper side of the belt extension. The drive belt is in contact with the fixed position free ball protruding from the lower end of the ball holding member so as to give a rotational force to the fixed position free ball. With a simple structure, it is possible to dispense the transferred object to the side without impairing the flexibility of installation and layout change, improving maintainability, and a part of the transferred object is placed on the transfer path Any specific embodiment may be used as long as it is prevented from being hindered from being a hindrance to the transport of the subsequent transported object.

Hereinafter, the sorting apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a sorting apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a ball conveyor 110 formed of a belt in which a large number of free balls 111 are rotatably provided with their upper ends and lower ends partially protruding. And a linear drive belt 121 that comes into contact with the free balls 111 protruding from the lower end of the ball conveyor 110 and applies a rotational force to the free balls 111.

  The linear drive belt 121 is configured to be able to be driven in a direction orthogonal to the drive direction of the ball conveyor 110, and is wound around a belt extension 130 that extends beyond both side ends in the width direction of the ball conveyor 110.

  Above the linear drive belt 121 of the belt extension 130, a ball holding member 132 is provided in which a large number of fixed-position free balls 131 are rotatably provided with their upper ends and lower ends partially protruding. 121 is configured to come into contact with the fixed position free ball 131 protruding from the lower end of the ball holding member 132 and to apply a rotational force to the fixed position free ball 131.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the ball holding member 132 is sandwiched and fixed between the upper ends of a pair of support frames 133 provided on the belt extension 130 and the fixed frame 134.
A drive unit 120 for the linear drive belt 121 is provided below the ball holding member 132 between the pair of support frames 133 of the belt extension 130, and the linear drive belt 121 is moved in both directions by the drive unit 120. It is configured to be drivable.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the linear drive belt 121 is slidably supported from below on the back side of the surface of the linear drive belt 121 that contacts the free ball 111 and the fixed position free ball 131. A belt receiving member 122 that keeps the belt 121 flat is provided.

It is desirable that the free ball 111 and the fixed position free ball 131 have the same diameter, and that the upper end and the lower end of each of them are provided on the same plane.
Further, it is desirable that the interval between the free balls 111 on the ball conveyor 110 and the interval between the fixed-position free balls 131 on the ball holding member 132 be the same, but may be different depending on the object to be handled.
Further, the ball holding member 132 may be a plate-like body as illustrated, or may have a shape obtained by cutting a part of the ball conveyor 110.

The operation of the sorting apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the object to be conveyed is loaded into the sorting apparatus 100 in the direction of arrow A and is discharged in the direction of arrow B, the upper surface of the linear drive belt 121 is driven in the direction b. As a result, the free balls 111 of the ball conveyor 110 and the fixed position free balls 131 of the ball holding member 132 that are in contact with the upper surface of the linear drive belt 121 rotate so as to pay out the object to be conveyed in the direction of arrow B.

At this time, by making the drive speed of the linear drive belt 121 sufficiently faster than the drive speed of the ball conveyor 110, the conveyed object can be reliably delivered from the ball conveyor 110 onto the side ball holding member 132. it can.
When paying out the object to be conveyed in the direction of arrow C, the upper surface of the linear drive belt 121 is driven in the c direction, contrary to the above.

  The linear drive belt 121 is paid out onto the ball holding member 132 by applying a rotational force in contact with all of the free balls 111 of the ball conveyor 110 and the fixed position free balls 131 of the ball holding member 132. The object to be conveyed is conveyed to its side end and stops in a state where it is partially placed on the ball conveyor 110 which is the conveying path, and does not hinder the conveyance of the subsequent object to be conveyed. .

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the payout side end portion of the belt extension portion 130 may be thick enough to be wound around the ball holding member 132 and the linear drive belt 121. It is possible to omit the crossing means between the two.
Furthermore, it is possible to extend only the ball holding member 132 to the payout side beyond the end of the linear drive belt 121 and to provide the same function as the free roller.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the drive unit 120 of the linear drive belt 121 is provided in the belt extension unit 130, so that the lower side of the surface of the ball conveyor 110 to be conveyed, that is, the ball conveyor 110. Since it is not necessary to provide the drive unit 120 of the linear drive belt 121 on the inner side being wound around, the radius of the sprocket (not shown) around which the ball conveyor 110 is wound is reduced to reduce the thickness of the sorting apparatus 100 as a whole. It becomes possible to do.

Furthermore, when maintaining the linear drive belt 121 and its drive unit 120, the linear drive belt 121 and the drive unit 120 are accessed from below or from the side of the belt extension 130 without disassembling the sorting device 100 as a whole. Is possible.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the linear drive belt 121 and the drive unit are separated by disassembling only the ball holding member 132 by disassembling the upper end of the pair of support frames 133 and the fixed frame 134 provided in the belt extension 130. By exposing 120, the linear drive belt 121 and the drive unit 120 can be easily accessed, and maintainability is improved.

  As described above, according to the sorting apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to discharge a conveyed object to the side with a simple structure without impairing the degree of freedom of installation and layout change, improving maintainability, The effect is enormous, for example, when the conveyed product is stopped in a state where it is partially placed on the conveying path to prevent the conveyance of the subsequent conveyed object.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100, 500 ... Sorting apparatus 501 ... Free roller 502 ... Downstream conveyor 110, 510 ... Ball conveyor 111,511 ... Free ball 120, 520 ... Drive part 121, 521 ... Linear drive belt 122 ... belt receiving member 130 ... belt extension 131 ... fixed position free ball 132 ... ball holding member 133 ... support frame 134 ... fixed frame W ... transported object

Claims (4)

A ball conveyor composed of a belt in which a large number of free balls are rotatably provided with their upper ends and lower ends partially protruding, and a linear drive belt that contacts the free balls protruding from the lower end of the ball conveyor and gives a rotational force to the free balls A sorting device having
The linear drive belt is configured to be drivable in a direction orthogonal to the drive direction of the ball conveyor, and is wound around a belt extension that extends beyond at least one side end in the width direction of the ball conveyor,
Above the belt extension, there is provided a ball holding member in which a number of fixed-position free balls are rotatably provided with their upper and lower ends partially protruding,
The sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the linear drive belt of the belt extension portion is configured to contact a fixed position free ball protruding from a lower end of the ball holding member and apply a rotational force to the fixed position free ball. The belt extension portions are provided beyond the side end portions on both sides in the width direction of the ball conveyor, and the ball holding members are provided above the belt extension portions on both sides in the width direction of the ball conveyor. ,
The sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the linear drive belt is configured to be driven in both forward and reverse directions.   The sorting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a drive portion of the linear drive belt is provided in the belt extension portion. 4. The belt receiving member for supporting the linear drive belt from below is provided on the back surface of the contact surface of the linear drive belt with the free ball and the fixed position free ball. Sorting device according to crab.

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