JP2012153490A - Article conveying and sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article conveying and sorting device that satisfactorily ensures the process of a sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism, includes a simple and light carriage and is efficiently operated.SOLUTION: The article conveying and sorting device 100 includes the carriage and a conveyance line. The carriage 110 includes the sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism 120, a conveyor driving mechanism 140 and a conveyor accelerating mechanism. The sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism 120 includes a pair of conveyance belt supporting rollers disposed above both sides of the carriage, and a conveyance belt 131 endlessly wound round the rollers. The conveyor driving mechanism 140 includes a pair of diving belt supporting pulleys 142 disposed below both sides of the carriage, a driving belt 141 endlessly wound round the pulleys, and a slider 143 fixedly provided on a conveyance line side of the driving belt 141. The conveyor accelerating mechanism is interposed between the sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism and the conveyor driving mechanism 140, increases driving speed and transmitting it to the sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism 120. The conveyance line 160 includes a slider driving mechanism 170 which is provided at the position of a discharge mechanism and drives the slider 143 according to the traveling of the carriage 110.

Description

  The present invention relates to an article transport sorting device that transports a transport article mounted on a transport cart that travels along a transport line, and sorts and transports the transport article to a carry-out mechanism. Article transport sorting having a transporting carriage having a sorting transporting conveyor movable in a direction perpendicular to the transporting direction of the article, and transporting the transported article mounted on the sorting transporting conveyor in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the transporting carriage It relates to the device.

  Conventionally, transported articles that have been thrown into the transport line from the carry-in mechanism are transported by being mounted on the sorting conveyor of the transport cart, and the transport sorting conveyor is driven at the unloading position to sort in either the left or right direction perpendicular to the transport direction. An article conveying and sorting apparatus for carrying out is known.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b), as a transport cart used in such a conventional article transport sorting device, a lower portion of the transport cart 510 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the transport cart. A movable slider 543 is provided, and constant rollers 522 are provided on both sides of the transport carriage 510, and two moving rollers 546 are provided on the slider 543, and an upper portion of the transport carriage 510 is orthogonal to the traveling direction. An intermediate portion of the sorting transport belt 521 that can be transported in the direction is disposed, and both side portions of the sorting transport belt 521 are alternately folded back around the constant roller 522 of the transport carriage 510 and the moving roller 546 of the slider 543, respectively. After that, it is known that it is fixed to both end portions 547 of the transport carriage 510 and an engagement portion 544 is provided at the lower portion of the slider 543, and the engagement portion 5 of the transport carriage 510 is known. 4 is moved in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction in accordance with the movement of the transport carriage 510 by an operating means (not shown) disposed in the transport line, so that the transport article W mounted on the sorting transport belt 521 is transported. Was carried out in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport carriage 510.
In such a transport cart 510, the sorting transport belt 521 is wound so as to be fixed to the constant roller 522 of the transport cart 510, the moving roller 546 of the slider 543, and the end 547 of the transport cart 510 as described above. Then, while the slider 543 moves by the step S, the sorting conveyance belt 521 is driven by the step 2S which is twice that, so that the loaded conveyance article W can be reliably carried out without remaining on the sorting conveyance belt 521. ing.

Further, as a transport carriage used in a conventional article transport sorting apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, a transport carriage 610 includes a slider 643 and a constant roller 622 similar to the transport carriage 510 described above. , A moving roller 646, an engaging portion 644, and the like, and a constant roller 622 ′ are further provided, and the sorting and conveying belt 621 is wound around these constant rollers 622, 622 ′ and the moving roller 646, and ends thereof What is fixed to the slider 643 is known, and similarly to the above-described transport carriage 510, the sorting transport belt 621 is driven by the operating means arranged in the transport line, and the transported article W is orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport truck 610. It was to be carried out in the direction of
In the case of such a transport carriage 610, it is possible to drive the sorting transport belt 621 by the process 3S that is three times as long as the slider 643 moves by the process S, and the mounted transport article is more reliably secured. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-21628 CD-ROM publication (full text, all figures)

  However, in the former conveying cart 510 used in the conventional article conveying and sorting apparatus, the moving process of the sorting and conveying belt 521 cannot be made sufficiently larger than the moving process S of the slider 543. However, the unloading mechanism can only be arranged on one side of the transfer line, which is inconvenient.

  Further, when the latter transport cart 610 is used, the process of the sorting transport belt 621 can be as large as 3S, so that the transported article W can be transported to either the left or right side. 643 has two moving rollers 646, and two pairs of constant rollers 622, 622 ′ are arranged on the conveyance carriage 610, and the sorting conveyance belt 621 needs to be wound in a complicated manner. Due to the complexity, there is a problem that the entire weight of the transport carriage 610 increases.

Further, in any of the transport carts 510 and 610, since the sorting transport belts 521 and 621 are wound in a complicated manner, a large driving force is required to drive the belts. It is necessary to increase the strength of 510 and 610, which further increases the weight, and it is also necessary to use a high-power operating means for driving the engaging portions of the sliders 543 and 643. There was a problem that the operation efficiency was poor with a large energy loss due to the operation of the sorting apparatus.
In addition, as described above, since the sorting and conveying belt is wound around a large number of rollers, the height of the conveying cart itself increases, the center of gravity of the conveyed article W increases, and the conveyed article W being conveyed becomes unstable. There was also a problem.

  Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problem, that is, the object of the present invention is to ensure a sufficient process of the sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism and to operate efficiently with a simple and lightweight conveying cart. It is to provide an article conveying and sorting apparatus.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a transport line extending along a transporting mechanism and / or a transporting mechanism for transported articles and a transported article that travels and is mounted on the transport line are orthogonal to the travel direction of the transport carriage. A pair of transports, wherein the transport carts are arranged on both upper sides of the transport cart, the transport cart having a transport cart that is transported in a direction and transporting and sorting the transported articles along a transport line. A sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism including a belt supporting roller and a conveying belt wound endlessly on the conveying belt supporting roller and mounting the conveyed article on an upper surface thereof; and a pair of disposed at lower portions on both sides of the conveying carriage A conveyor drive mechanism comprising: a drive belt support pulley; a conveyor drive belt wound endlessly around the drive belt support pulley; and a slider fixed on the conveying line side of the conveyor drive belt; A conveyor speed increasing mechanism that is interposed between the sorting conveyor mechanism and the conveyor driving mechanism and increases the driving speed of the conveyor driving mechanism and transmits the speed to the sorting conveyor. And the subject mentioned above is solved by providing the slider drive mechanism which drives the said slider with driving | running | working of the said conveyance trolley in the position in which the carrying-in mechanism was arrange | positioned.

  In addition to the configuration of the invention according to claim 1, the article conveying and sorting apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention is a small-diameter driven in which the conveyor speed increasing mechanism is coaxially fixed to one or both of the conveying belt support rollers. A pulley, a large-diameter driving pulley fixed coaxially to one or both of the driving belt support pulleys, and a relay belt wound between the large-diameter driving pulley and the small-diameter driven pulley. , Which further solves the aforementioned problems.

  In addition to the configuration of the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, the article transport sorting device according to the invention of claim 3 includes a drive rod that protrudes toward the transport line, and the slider drive mechanism includes: A switching rail that is movable to an engagement position that engages with the drive rod and a standby position that does not engage the drive rod, and is connected to the switch rail and engages with the drive rod to convey the drive rod. By providing a sorting rail that drives in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the carriage and a switching unit that moves the switching rail between the engagement position and the standby position, the above-described problem is further solved.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article conveying and sorting apparatus, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect of the invention, the slider includes a secondary conductor that forms a linear motor runner, and the slider driving mechanism. Is provided with a fixed magnetic pole that forms a linear motor, thereby further solving the above-described problems.

  In addition to the configuration of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the article conveying and sorting apparatus according to the invention according to claim 5 is formed such that the conveying line is continuously formed in an endless manner. A large number of the transport carts are connected and mounted, and a plurality of transport carts are driven along the transport line by driving some transport carts by a transport cart driving mechanism disposed in the transport line. By doing so, the above-described problems are further solved.

  In addition to the configuration of the invention according to claim 5, the article transport sorting apparatus according to the present invention according to claim 6 is a transport in which the transport carriage drive mechanism forms a travel element of a linear motor disposed at the bottom of the transport carriage. The above-described problem is further solved by being configured by a carriage secondary conductor and a fixed magnetic pole forming a linear motor disposed in the transport line.

  In addition to the configuration of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the article transport sorting apparatus according to the invention according to claim 7 has any direction in which the sorting transport conveyor mechanism is orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport carriage. Further, the above-described problems are further solved by being able to be carried out freely.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the conveyance line extending along the carrying-in mechanism and / or the carrying-out mechanism of the conveyance article, and the conveyance article that runs on the conveyance line and is mounted on the conveyance direction of the conveyance carriage A pair of transport belt support rollers, which have a transport carriage that transports in an orthogonal direction, and transports and sorts transported articles along a transport line. A sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism comprising: a conveying belt which is wound endlessly by a conveying belt support roller and mounts the conveyed article on an upper surface thereof; and a pair of driving belt supporting pulleys disposed at lower portions on both sides of the conveying carriage; A conveyor drive mechanism including a drive belt wound endlessly on a drive belt support pulley and a slider fixed on the drive line side of the drive belt, a sorting transport conveyor mechanism, and a conveyor A conveyor speed increasing mechanism interposed between the moving mechanism and the conveyor driving mechanism for increasing the driving speed of the conveyor driving mechanism and transmitting the speed to the sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism, and the conveying line is provided with a carry-out mechanism and / or a loading mechanism. By providing a slider drive mechanism that drives the slider along with the travel of the transport carriage, the sorting transport conveyor mechanism can be used without complicatedly stretching the transport belt disposed on the transport carriage as before. In addition, since the structure of the conveyor drive mechanism is simple and lightweight, the number of materials and parts can be reduced, and the manufacturing process can be simplified.

In addition, by simplifying the transport belt and the drive belt, the driving force for driving these mechanisms can be greatly reduced compared to the conventional mechanism in which the belt is wound in a complicated manner. In order to make the parts that support the mechanism not particularly strong, the slider starting mechanism provided on the transport carriage and transport line is made lighter and simpler, further reducing material consumption and operation. Cost can be reduced.
In addition, since each of these mechanisms is configured as a simplified unit, the assembly work of the transport carriage is simplified, so the workability when manufacturing the article transport sorting device and the workability during maintenance such as parts replacement are greatly increased. Can be improved.
In addition, in the conveyor speed increasing mechanism interposed between the sorting transport conveyor mechanism and the conveyor driving mechanism, the speed increasing ratio is set at an arbitrary ratio. Thus, the process of the sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism can be set, and the application field of the article conveying and sorting apparatus can be greatly expanded.

  According to the article conveying and sorting apparatus of the invention according to claim 2, in addition to the effect exhibited by the article conveying and sorting apparatus according to claim 1, the conveyor speed increasing mechanism is coaxially fixed to one or both of the conveying belt support rollers. By comprising a large-diameter driving pulley coaxially fixed to one or both of the provided small-diameter driven pulley and the driving belt support pulley, and a relay belt wound between the large-diameter driving pulley and the small-diameter driven pulley. Since the conveyor speed increasing mechanism has a simple structure, the structure of the entire transport carriage can be simplified, and the conveyor belt is a structure that does not require a height of the conveyor speed increasing mechanism, and is a transport belt that is a transport article mounting portion in the transport truck. Since the height of the sheet is kept low, the conveyed article can be stably conveyed at a low position.

  According to the article conveying and sorting apparatus of the invention according to claim 3, in addition to the effect exhibited by the article conveying and sorting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, the slider includes a drive rod that protrudes toward the conveying line, A switching rail that is movable between an engagement position where the slider driving mechanism engages with the driving rod and a standby position where the slider driving mechanism does not engage, and a switching rail connected to the switching rod to engage the driving rod and convey the driving rod By providing a sorting rail that drives in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the carriage and a switching portion that moves the switching rail between the engagement position and the standby position, the transport carriage has a heavy drive mechanism such as a motor. Since there is no need to install it, the transport carriage can be made light in weight and the transport article can be placed by switching the position of the switching rail between the engagement position and the standby position by the switching section. It is possible to discharge the carry-out mechanism, can be made an article conveyor sorting device, a user-friendly that can arbitrarily change the carry-out position.

According to the article conveying and sorting apparatus of the invention according to claim 4, in addition to the effect exerted by the article conveying and sorting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, the secondary conductor whose slider forms the runner of the linear motor is provided. Because the slider drive mechanism has a fixed magnetic pole that forms a linear motor, the slider drive mechanism is a linear motor mechanism that is not in contact with the slider. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a structure such as a switching rail and a sorting rail on the transport line side. Therefore, the structure of the article conveying and sorting apparatus such as the slider driving mechanism can be simplified.
Further, since the slider of the transport carriage and the slider drive mechanism of the transport line are not in contact with each other, the transport carriage is not physically restrained from the slider mechanism, so that there are fewer things that hinder the travel of the transport carriage. Can run smoothly.

  According to the article conveying and sorting apparatus of the invention according to claim 5, in addition to the effect exhibited by the article conveying and sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the conveying line is continuously formed in an endless manner. A large number of transport carts are connected and placed on the transport line, and a plurality of transport carts are driven together by driving some transport carts with a transport cart driving mechanism disposed on the transport line. Since there is no need to provide a drive mechanism such as a motor for each of the transport carts connected in large numbers, the overall structure of the article transport sorting device can be simplified and the device can be operated. The operating efficiency can be further improved by reducing the loss of driving energy.

  According to the article conveying and sorting apparatus of the invention according to claim 6, in addition to the effect exhibited by the article conveying and sorting apparatus according to claim 5, the traveling element of the linear motor in which the conveying cart driving mechanism is disposed at the bottom of the conveying cart. In this way, the linear motor mechanism is introduced to drive the carriage, and the chain is attached to the sprocket as before. The installation mechanism and maintenance work of the article transport sorting device are remarkably simplified in order to eliminate the need for complicated drive mechanisms such as engaging each transport carriage with the stretched chain. it can.

  According to the article conveying and sorting apparatus of the present invention according to claim 7, in addition to the effect exhibited by the article conveying and sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism is configured to run the conveying cart. Since it can be carried out in any direction orthogonal to the direction, the conveyed article can be arbitrarily carried out to either side of both sides of the carrying line. The convenience of use of the article conveying and sorting apparatus can be further improved.

The front view which cut the left half part of the front side board of a conveyance trolley about the article conveyance sorting device which is an example of the present invention. The side view of the conveyance trolley | bogie used for the goods conveyance sorting apparatus shown in FIG. The perspective view which looked at the principal part of the conveyance trolley shown in FIG. 2 from diagonally upward. The perspective view which looked at the conveyance trolley shown in FIG. The operation | movement aspect figure which the drive rod moved to the left in the article conveyance sorting apparatus shown in FIG. The perspective view which looked at the article conveyance sorting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 from diagonally upward. The perspective view seen from diagonally upward of the conveyance line used for the article conveyance sorting apparatus shown in FIG. (A) Schematic side view in the standby position of the transport cart of the first prior art, (b) Schematic side view in the operating position. (A) Side schematic diagram in the standby position of the transport cart of the second prior art, (b) Side schematic diagram in the operating position.

  The present invention relates to a conveying cart that extends along a carrying mechanism and / or a carrying mechanism for a conveying article and a conveying cart that travels and is mounted on the conveying line in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the conveying cart. In the article transport sorting apparatus that transports and sorts transported articles along the transport line, the transport carriage is connected to a pair of transport belt support rollers and transport belt support rollers disposed on both upper sides of the transport carriage. A sorting conveyor mechanism having a conveyor belt wound endlessly and carrying a conveyed article on its upper surface, and a pair of drive belt support pulleys and drive belt support pulleys disposed at both lower portions of the transport carriage are endless. A conveyor driving mechanism including a conveyor driving belt wound around the conveyor and a slider fixed on a conveying line side of the conveyor driving belt, a sorting conveying conveyor mechanism, and a conveyor driving mechanism; And a conveyor speed increasing mechanism that increases the driving speed of the conveyor driving mechanism and transmits the speed to the sorting transport conveyor mechanism, and the transport line is located at a position where the carry-out mechanism and / or the carry-in mechanism are disposed. If the slider drive mechanism that drives the slider as the transport cart travels is provided, and the process of the sorting transport conveyor mechanism is sufficiently secured and the transport cart has a simple and lightweight transport cart, it can be used. There is no particular limitation on the specific aspect.

That is, the conveyor speed increasing mechanism used in the transport carriage of the present invention is not limited to the belt transmission mechanism including the large diameter driving pulley, the small diameter driven pulley, and the relay belt. A chain transmission mechanism in which a chain is wound around, or a gear transmission mechanism including a large-diameter gear and a small-diameter gear may be used.
The relay belt when belt transmission is used may be either a toothed belt or a flat belt. However, considering that the driven side has a small diameter and a strong rotational driving force is required, it should be a toothed belt. Is preferred.

In addition, the carriage driving mechanism for driving the carriage is not limited to the linear motor mechanism, and each of the carriages is attached to and driven by a chain stretched on the conveyor line as used in the past. Such a mechanism may be adopted.
Moreover, you may make it drive | work by connecting a conveyance trolley endlessly, and you may make it carry a conveyance trolley individually.

  The conveyor speed increasing mechanism interposed between the drive belt support pulley and the conveyor belt support roller may be provided only on either side, but may be provided on both sides. The driving force for driving the transport conveyor mechanism can be transmitted more powerfully.

  The transport belt on which the transported article is loaded and unloaded can be any material such as a urethane belt, rubberized cloth belt, etc. Any of the attached belts may be used. However, in the case of sliding on the top plate of the transport carriage, it is appropriate to form the back surface of the transport belt with a material having a small friction coefficient.

Hereinafter, an article transport sorting apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.
FIG. 1 is a front view of the article conveying and sorting apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the left half of the front side plate 111 of the conveying carriage 110 is cut, and FIG. 2 is an article conveying and sorting apparatus 100 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the main part of the transport carriage 110 shown in FIG. 2 as a cross section viewed from obliquely above, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the transport carriage 110 shown in FIG. 5 is a perspective view seen from a slightly lower side, FIG. 5 is a view showing an operation mode in which the drive rod 144 of the article transport sorting device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is moved to the left, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the article conveying and sorting apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 viewed from obliquely above, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the conveying line 160 used in the article conveying and sorting apparatus 100 shown in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, an article conveyance sorting apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a conveyance carriage 110 on which articles are mounted and a horizontal conveyance line 160 on which the conveyance carriage 110 travels.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the transport carriage 110 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape including a front side plate 111, a rear side plate 112, a top plate 113, and a bottom plate 114. A conveyor belt support roller 122 is disposed between the rear side plate 112, and the conveyor belt 121 is rotatably wound between the conveyor belt support rollers 122 disposed on both sides, so that a sorting conveyor conveyor mechanism is provided. 120 is configured.
As this conveyor belt 121, a resin belt such as urethane, a rubberized cloth belt, or the like used for a conventional conveyor can be used, and either a flat belt or a toothed belt can be used.

In the present embodiment, a drive belt support pulley 142 is disposed below the both sides of the front side in the lower part of the transport carriage 110, and a conveyor drive belt 141 is wound around the drive belt support pulley.
One end of a slider 143 is fixed below the conveyor drive belt 141, and a drive rod 144 is fixed to the other end of the slider 143. The drive rod 144 is a slit 117 formed on the bottom plate of the transport carriage 110. To the transfer line 160 side.
In addition, on the upper side of the drive rod 144, it is fixed to a rectangular frame 151 provided between the front side plate 111 and the rear side plate 112, and the direction in which the conveyor drive belt 141 of the transport carriage 110 is stretched In parallel with the slide guide 156, a horizontally long rectangular column-shaped slide guide 156 is disposed, and the upper portion of the slider is fitted and supported by the slide guide 156, so that the slider 143 is smoothly and stably along the slide guide 156. To move.
Therefore, when the drive rod 144 moves to the left and right, the slider 143 and the drive belt 141 are operated accordingly, and the drive belt support pulleys 142 on both sides are rotated.
These drive belt support pulleys 142 are rotatably mounted on a shaft support plate 152 having one end fixed to the front plate 111 and the other end fixed to the rectangular frame 151.
These conveyor drive belt 141, drive belt support pulley 142, slider 143, and drive rod 144 constitute a conveyor drive mechanism 140.

In this embodiment, a conveyor speed increasing mechanism 130 is installed between the left conveying belt support roller 122 and the drive belt support pulley 142 in FIG.
The conveyor speed increasing mechanism 130 includes a small-diameter driven pulley 131 fixed to the end of the conveyance belt support roller 122, a large-diameter driving pulley 133 fixed to the end of the driving belt support pulley 142, and the small-diameter driven pulley 131. The relay belt 132 is wound around the large-diameter driving pulley 133, and the rotational speed is increased according to the diameter ratio between the large-diameter driving pulley 133 and the small-diameter driven pulley 131.

As described above, since the sorting conveyor mechanism 120, the conveyor driving mechanism 140, and the conveyor speed increasing mechanism 130 of the conveying cart 110 are configured, when the drive rod 144 is driven in one of the both sides, the conveyor driving belt is driven by the driving force. 141 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise to drive and drive the drive belt support pulley 142 and the large-diameter drive pulley 133.
The large-diameter driving pulley 133 that is driven to rotate rotates the small-diameter driven pulley 131 via the relay belt 132, and the small-diameter driven pulley 131 rotates the conveying belt support roller 122 that is coaxially fixed to drive the conveying belt 121. Then, the transported article W mounted on the transport belt 121 is carried out to the side.

At this time, since the speed is increased according to the ratio of the diameters of the large-diameter drive pulley 133 and the small-diameter driven pulley 131 (speed increase ratio, a), the drive rod 144 is at most from the center of the conveyor drive belt 141. Even if only the process S to the end of the drive belt support pulley 142 can be moved, the transport belt moves only by the process aS obtained by multiplying the process S by the speed increasing ratio a, so that the process is much larger than the drive belt 141. A conveyed article can be sent out.
In addition, the step of unloading the conveyed article W can be appropriately determined by the speed increasing ratio in the conveyor speed increasing mechanism 130, more directly, by the diameter ratio between the small diameter driven pulley 131 and the large diameter driving pulley 133. The unloading process can be freely set according to the characteristics of the conveyed article W.
In addition, in order to increase the carry-out process in this way, it is not necessary to wind the belt in a complicated manner as before, and the structure of the transport carriage 110 is simplified, so that the parts cost and the manufacturing cost are greatly reduced. It becomes possible to do.

In the present embodiment, the top plate 113 of the transport carriage 110 is positioned immediately behind the upper surface side of the transport conveyor 121 so that the load of the transported article W mounted on the transport conveyor 121 is supported by the top plate 113. Therefore, it is not necessary to support the weight of the mounted article by the transport belt support roller 122, and the driving parts such as the support shaft of the transport belt support roller 122 are reduced in weight.
In addition, a traveling wheel 154 that travels on the transport line 160 and a side guide wheel 155 that restricts lateral movement of the transport cart 110 are provided at the bottom of the transport cart 110. It is ensured that the vehicle travels smoothly on the travel rail 161 and the guide rail 162 on the 160 side.
Further, a connecting rod 115 is provided on the front side and a connecting hole 116 is provided on the rear side as a mechanism for connecting the conveying carts 110 to each other before and after the conveying cart 110, and the connecting hole 116 of the preceding conveying cart 110 is provided in the connecting hole 116. The connecting rod 115 of the subsequent transport carriage 110 is fitted and connected.
As a result, even if not all of the transport carts 110 are driven, all of the transported carts 110 that are connected can run if a part of the transport carts 110 that are connected are driven.

  Further, a secondary conductor 153 constituting a traveling body in the linear motor is disposed on the back side of the bottom plate of the transport carriage 110, and in combination with a fixed magnetic pole 180 provided on the transport line 160 side described later. Is configured.

The horizontal conveyance line 160 including the slider driving mechanism 170 that drives the conveyance carriage 110 as described above and drives the drive rod 144 will be described below.
The transport line 160 is formed with a travel rail 161 on both sides and a vertical guide rail 162 on the outer side of the travel rail 161, and a travel wheel 154 and a side guide wheel provided on the transport cart 110 are respectively above the travel rails 161. 155 and run.
In addition, the switching rail 171 and the switching rail 171 are disposed at locations along the unloading mechanism disposed on the side of the transport line 160 and positioned below the traveling carriage 110 that travels between the traveling rails 161. A sorting rail 173 is provided downstream of the sorting rail.
The switching rail 171 is provided with a switching actuator 172 that is a switching unit that moves the switching rail 171 up and down. An engagement position where the switching rail 171 is engaged with a drive rod 144 provided on the transport carriage 110, and a drive rod The position can be switched to a standby position where the transport carriage 110 is allowed to pass without engaging with 144.

A sorting rail 173 is provided on the extension of the inclination of the switching rail 171, and the sorting rail 173 includes a side surface extending obliquely to the vicinity of the traveling rail 161.
With the switching rail 171 and the sorting rail 173 at these switching positions, the drive rod 144 provided on the transport carriage 110 traveling on the transport line 160 is directed from the center position of the transport carriage to either side, It is driven as follows.

Initially, the drive rod 144 is located substantially at the center of the transport carriage 110 (see FIG. 1).
In the transport line 160 as shown in FIG. 7, if the switching rail 171 on the front side in the traveling direction and the left side in FIG. 7 is located at the engagement position, it is located below the transport carriage 110 that has traveled along the transport line 160. The provided drive rod 144 abuts against the side surface of the switching rail 171, and the drive rod 144 is driven laterally along the side surface of the switching rail 171 installed at an inclination.
As the transport carriage 110 travels and moves forward, the drive rod 144 moves further to the side by the side surface of the switching rail 171 and reaches the position of the sorting rail 173.
When the transport carriage 110 further advances, the drive rod 144 moves to the side end of the transport line 160 along the side surface of the sorting rail 173.

As a result, the drive rod 144 that has existed in the vicinity of the center of the transport carriage 110 until it contacts the switching rail 171 is guided to the switching rail 171 and the sorting rail 173 and moves to one side of the transport carriage 110. (See FIG. 7).
As described above, when the drive rod 144 is driven from the central portion to the side by the switching rail 171 and the sorting rail 173, the conveyor drive belt 141 is rotated in the transport carriage 110 as described above, and the conveyor speed increasing mechanism. Since the sorting transport conveyor mechanism 120 is rotated via 130, the transported article W mounted on the transport belt 121 is unloaded to the side (left side).
In FIG. 7, when the right switching rail 171 is switched to the engaged position, the conveyed article W is carried out to the opposite side (right side) through the same process as described above.

Although only the switching rail 171 and the sorting rail 173 are shown in the figure, a return rail for returning the drive rod moved laterally to the original position on the center side at an appropriate position after the carry-out mechanism. Is attached so that the transport carriage 110 is returned to the state shown in FIG.
However, when a carry-in mechanism is installed after the carry-out mechanism, the drive rod 144 is returned to the original position when the carry belt 121 is moved in the opposite direction to the previous carry-out operation. Also good.
The layout of the carry-out mechanism and the carry-in mechanism in the transport line 160 determines at which position on the transport line 160 in which direction the transport operation is performed and at which position the drive rod 144 is to be returned to the original position. At the same time, it may be set appropriately in design.

  In this embodiment, two sets of switching rails 171 and sorting rails 173 are installed in both the left and right directions, and one of the switching rails 171 is moved to the engaging position. In this case, a plurality of carry-out mechanisms are provided only on one side of the transfer line 160, and only one set of switching rails 171 (and sorting rails 173) is installed corresponding to the carry-out mechanism. Also good. If the switching rail 171 corresponding to the carry-out position of the loaded transport article W is switched to the engagement position, the transport article W can be appropriately transported and sorted.

In the embodiment described above, the slider 143 provided with the drive rod 144 is driven by the switching rail 171 and the sorting rail 173 installed on the transport line 160, but the linear motor mechanism is also used for driving the slider 143. It is also possible to do.
For example, a secondary conductor that can travel in both directions is provided on the slider 143, and a fixed magnetic pole is disposed on the transfer line 160 side in a manner similar to the switching rail 171 and the sorting rail 173, and the fixed magnetic pole is transferred to the transfer carriage. If measures such as excitation in synchronization with traveling of 110 are taken, the slider 143 provided on the transport carriage 110 can be driven without contact.

  In the article conveyance sorting apparatus 100 of the present embodiment obtained as described above, the conveyance carriage 110 is endlessly formed between the pair of conveyance belt support rollers 122 and the conveyance belt support rollers 122 disposed on both upper sides thereof. A sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism 120 that includes a conveying belt 121 that is rotated and mounts the conveyed article W on the upper surface, and a pair of driving belt support pulleys 142 and a driving belt supporting pulley 142 that are disposed at both lower portions of the conveying carriage 110. Conveyor drive mechanism 140 including endlessly wound drive belt 141 and slider 143 fixed on the conveyance line 160 side of drive belt 141 and one or both of conveyance belt support rollers 122 are coaxially fixed. A large-diameter driving pulley 133 and a large-diameter driving pulley 1 fixed coaxially to one or both of the small-diameter driven pulley 131 and the driving belt support pulley 142. 3 and a relay belt 132 wound between the small-diameter driven pulley 131 and interposed between the sorting conveyor mechanism 120 and the conveyor driving mechanism 140 to increase the driving speed of the conveyor driving mechanism 140. And a conveyor speed increasing mechanism 130 for transmitting to the transport conveyor mechanism 121, and a slider drive for driving the slider mechanism 134 as the transport carriage 110 travels to a position where the transport line 160 is provided with the transport mechanism and / or the transport mechanism. In addition to the mechanism 170, the slider 143 includes a drive rod 144 that protrudes toward the transport line 160, and an engagement position where the slider drive mechanism 140 engages with the drive rod 144 and a standby position where the slider rod 144 does not engage with the drive rod 144. The switching rail 171 that is freely movable and the switching rail 171 are connected to the driving rod 144 to engage with the driving rod 144. A sorting rail 173 for driving the carriage 144 in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the carriage and a switching actuator 172 for moving the switching rail 171 between the engagement position and the standby position. The process of the mechanism 120 can be secured sufficiently, and a simple and lightweight transport cart 110 can be operated without a complicatedly wound transport belt 121 and can be operated with high efficiency. The process can be freely set, and the article transport sorting apparatus 100 having a high degree of freedom in designing the transport line 160 and high convenience can be provided.

  In particular, the sorting conveyor mechanism 120, the conveyor driving mechanism 140, and the like have a simple configuration, so that the driving force for driving the conveyor driving mechanism 140 is reduced. In addition to reducing the weight of the transport carriage 110, the overall weight of the article transport sorting apparatus 100 can be reduced, the amount of these mechanisms can be reduced, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the transport carriage 110 can be reduced. It is possible to reduce the energy required for driving and efficiently operate. Further, the transport cart 110 is combined with units having simple mechanisms such as the sorting transport conveyor mechanism 120, the conveyor speed increasing mechanism 130, the conveyor drive mechanism 140, and the manufacture of each unit is simplified. The assembly of the units to assemble the transport carriage 110 has a great effect, for example, the manufacturing process of the transport carriage 110 has been arranged and simplified, and the manufacturing efficiency is improved.

Article conveying and sorting apparatus 100
Carriage cart ... 110
Front side plate ... 111
Rear side plate ... 112
Top plate ・ ・ ・ 113
Bottom plate ... 114
Connecting rod ... 115
Connecting hole ... 116
Slit ・ ・ ・ 117
Sorting conveyor mechanism ... 120
Conveyor belt ... 121
Conveying belt support roller 122
Conveyor speed increasing mechanism ... 130
Small-diameter driven pulley ・ ・ ・ 131
Relay belt ・ ・ ・ 132
Large-diameter drive pulley ... 133
Conveyor drive mechanism ... 140
Conveyor drive belt ... 141
Drive belt support pulley ・ ・ ・ 142
Slider ... 143
Driving rod 144
Rectangular frame ・ ・ ・ 151
Shaft support plate ・ ・ ・ 152
Secondary conductor 153
Running wheel 154
Side guide wheel 155
Slide guide ... 156
Transport line ・ ・ ・ 160
Traveling rail ... 161
Guide rail ... 162
Fixed magnetic pole ... 180
Slider drive mechanism 170
Switching rail 171
Switching actuator ・ ・ ・ 172
Sorting rail 173
Carriage cart ... 510,610
Sorting conveyor belt 521, 621
Fixed roller ... 522, 622, 622 '
Slider ... 543, 643
Engagement part ... 544, 644
Moving roller ... 546, 646
Conveyed goods ... W

Claims (7)

A transport line extending along the transport mechanism and / or transport mechanism of the transport article, and a transport cart for transporting the transport article mounted on the transport line in a direction perpendicular to the travel direction of the transport cart. In the article transport sorting apparatus for transporting and sorting the transported articles along the transport line,
The transport carriage is
A sorting and conveying conveyor mechanism comprising a pair of conveying belt support rollers disposed on both upper sides of the conveying carriage, and a conveying belt wound around the conveying belt supporting rollers in an endless manner and mounting the conveyed article on the upper surface; ,
A pair of drive belt support pulleys disposed on both lower sides of the transport carriage, a conveyor drive belt wound endlessly on the drive belt support pulley, and a slider fixed on the transport line side of the conveyor drive belt A conveyor drive mechanism provided;
A conveyor speed increasing mechanism that is interposed between the sorting transport conveyor mechanism and the conveyor driving mechanism and increases the driving speed of the conveyor driving mechanism and transmits the speed to the sorting transport conveyor mechanism;
The transfer line is
An article conveying and sorting apparatus comprising a slider driving mechanism for driving the slider as the conveying carriage travels at a position where the carrying-out mechanism and / or carrying-in mechanism is disposed.   The conveyor speed increasing mechanism includes a small-diameter driven pulley fixed coaxially to one or both of the conveying belt support rollers, a large-diameter driving pulley fixed coaxially to one or both of the drive belt support pulleys, 2. The article conveying and sorting apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a relay belt wound between a diameter driving pulley and a small diameter driven pulley. The slider includes a drive rod that protrudes toward the conveyance line,
The slider drive mechanism is movable to an engagement position that engages with the drive rod and a standby position that does not engage the drive rod, and is connected to the switch rod and engages with the drive rod. A sorting rail that drives the drive rod in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the transport carriage,
The article transport sorting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a switching unit that moves the switching rail between an engagement position and a standby position. The slider includes a secondary conductor that forms a linear motor runner;
3. The article conveying and sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the slider driving mechanism includes a fixed magnetic pole that forms a linear motor.   The transport line is continuously formed in an endless manner, and a large number of the transport carts are connected and placed on the transport line, and a part of the transport is driven by a transport cart driving mechanism disposed in the transport line. The article transport sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a plurality of transport carts connected by driving the cart travel along the transport line.   The transport carriage drive mechanism is composed of a transport carriage secondary conductor forming a linear motor runner disposed at the bottom of the transport carriage and a fixed magnetic pole forming a linear motor disposed in the transport line. The article conveying and sorting apparatus according to claim 5. 7. The article transport sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sorting transport conveyor mechanism can be carried out in any direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport carriage.

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