JP2013133191A - Article transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To correctly detect an article having a different attitude to prevent the article from causing clogging.SOLUTION: This article transport device transports a container 1 including long sides 1a and short sides 1b includes guide members to cross from an upstream-side transport conveyer toward a downstream-side conveyer, and further includes an imaging means 9 to image the container on the upstream-side transport conveyer, an attitude recognition means 8a to recognize the attitude of the container based on an image imaged by the imaging means 9, a determination means 8b to determine whether the container clogs in a subsequent process based on the recognition result of the attitude recognition means 8a, and a rejection means 10 to reject the container 1 determined to cause clogging by the determination means 8b. The attitude recognition means recognizes a forward attitude angle α or a backward attitude angle β of the container, and the determination means rejects the container by the rejection when the attitude angle of the container 1 exceeds a predetermined permissible angle.

Description

  The present invention relates to an article conveying device, and more specifically, a plurality of conveying conveyors that convey a rectangular article having a long side and a short side, and have an upstream end and a downstream end connected in parallel. Further, the present invention relates to an article conveying apparatus including a conveying guide for guiding an article on the conveying conveyor.

Conventionally, while conveying a rectangular article having a long side and a short side, a plurality of conveyors connected in parallel with an upstream end and a downstream end, and articles on the conveyor 2. Description of the Related Art An article conveyance device including a conveyance guide for guiding is known (Patent Documents 1 to 3).
The conveyance guide in the article conveying apparatus of Patent Documents 1 to 3 includes an inclined portion that obliquely intersects from the upstream conveying conveyor to the downstream conveying conveyor, and conveys the article that has contacted the inclined portion to the upstream side. It is to be transferred from the conveyor to the downstream conveyor.
Further, the conveyance guide in the conventional article conveyance apparatus is provided on the downstream conveyance conveyor and opposed to the position where the article is sandwiched, and is formed so that the width gradually decreases toward the downstream side. One having a width-decreasing portion is also known.
By providing such a width reducing portion, the article passes in a state of being aligned in a row between the width reducing portions, and at that time, each article has its long side facing the conveyance direction by the width reducing portion. It has come to be corrected.

Japanese Patent No. 272283 Japanese Patent No. 4042075 JP 2010-47397 A

Here, in the article conveying apparatus as in Patent Documents 1 to 3, when the article collides with the inclined portion of the conveying guide and moves from the upstream conveying conveyor to the downstream conveying conveyor, the friction with the inclined portion. Depending on the situation, the posture may change.
Specifically, when an article conveyed on the upstream conveyor conveys against the inclined portion of the conveyance guide, the article rotates due to friction generated between the article and the inclined portion, and the attitude of the article, that is, The angle formed between the long side of the article and the transport direction may be substantially orthogonal to the transport direction.
And when the width | variety downstream of the width reduction part in the said conveyance guide is narrower than the length of the diagonal of the said article, the top part on the diagonal of the said article will collide with a width reduction part, and goods It will clog the said width reduction part.
In contrast to the occurrence of such an article, conventionally, an article having a different posture is detected and discharged using a photoelectric tube or a limit switch. However, the photoelectric tube or limit switch accurately determines the posture of the article. There was a problem that it could not be recognized and was applied to reliability.
In view of such a problem, the present invention provides an article transport apparatus that can accurately detect articles having different postures and prevent the articles from becoming clogged.

That is, the article conveying apparatus according to the present invention conveys a rectangular article having a long side and a short side, and a plurality of conveying conveyors in which an upstream end and a downstream end are connected in parallel. A transport guide for guiding articles on the transport conveyor,
The conveyance guide is provided so as to obliquely intersect from the upstream conveyance conveyor to the downstream conveyance conveyor, and an inclined portion that guides the article to the downstream conveyance conveyor, and the article is sandwiched between the downstream conveyance conveyor In the article conveying apparatus having a width reducing portion that is provided and gradually narrows toward the downstream side,
Based on the recognition means provided on the upstream side of the inclined portion of the transport guide, for capturing the article, the posture recognition means for recognizing the posture of the article based on the image captured by the imaging means, and the recognition result of the posture recognition means Determining means for determining whether the article causes clogging in the width-decreasing portion;
At least one of reject means for rejecting an article determined to cause clogging by the determination means or clogging prevention means for correcting the posture of the article and preventing the article from clogging at the width reduction portion. Prepared,
The posture recognition means includes a forward posture angle in which the long side of the article is inclined in the same direction as the inclined portion of the conveying guide with respect to the conveying direction, and the inclined portion of the conveying guide in which the long side of the article is inclined with respect to the conveying direction. And the reverse posture angle inclined in the reverse direction,
The determination means activates at least one of the rejection means or the clogging prevention means when the forward posture angle or the reverse posture angle of the article exceeds a predetermined allowable angle, and the determination means The allowable angle of the forward posture angle is set larger than the allowable angle of the reverse posture angle.

According to the above invention, since the posture recognition means recognizes the posture of the article imaged by the imaging means, it is possible to accurately recognize the postures of all articles conveyed by the upstream-side transport conveyor. .
Then, the determination means determines whether or not the article is clogged in a subsequent process from the forward posture angle or the reverse posture angle of the article recognized by the posture recognition means, and an article that may cause clogging. Since the clogging can be prevented by the rejecting means or the clogging preventing means, clogging of the article in the subsequent process can be prevented.

The top view of the article conveyance apparatus concerning a present Example Top view about the container Enlarged plan view of the upstream conveyor and downstream conveyor The figure explaining the behavior of the container which contacted the inclined part of the 2nd guide member The figure explaining 2nd Example

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an article conveying apparatus 2 that aligns containers 1 as articles while conveying the container 1 as an article. The article conveying apparatus 2 accumulates the containers 1 discharged from a filling machine (not shown). Provided between the accumulator conveyor and a labeler for applying a label to the container 1, and the containers 1 randomly supplied from the accumulator conveyor are arranged in a line and then supplied to the labeler. .
FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the container 1. When the container 1 is viewed in a plan view, the container 1 is provided in parallel with each other and has a square shape having a long side 1 a and a short side 1 b, respectively. Indicates a state in which the long side 1a is oriented in parallel with the transport direction, and (b) and (c) indicate a state in which the long side 1a is randomly inclined with respect to the transport direction.
In the following description, the state in which the long side 1a as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C is inclined with respect to the transport direction is referred to as the posture of the container 1 respectively.

The article conveying apparatus 2 includes a plurality of conveyors and conveys the containers 1 from the upstream side on the left side to the downstream side on the right side in the figure, and sequentially supplies them from the accumulation conveyor in a plurality of rows and in a random posture. A collecting conveyor 3 for collecting the containers 1 collected, an upstream conveying conveyor 4 for conveying the containers 1 assembled by the collecting conveyor 3, and a downstream conveying for discharging the containers 1 from the upstream conveying conveyor 4 to the labeler. And a conveyor 5.
Furthermore, a pair of first guide member 6 and second guide member 7 are provided as a transport guide for guiding the containers 1 on these conveyors from the collective conveyor 3 to the downstream transport conveyor 5. The container 1 in contact with the guide members 6 and 7 is guided downward or upward in FIG. 1 while moving in the transport direction.
The article conveying apparatus 2 includes the control means 8 shown in FIG. 3, and the imaging means 9 for imaging the container 1 conveyed on the upstream conveying conveyor 4 and the clogging described below occur. Rejecting means 10 for rejecting the determined container 1 is provided.

The collective conveyor 3 is composed of first to fourth conveyors 11 to 14 in which the number of conveyor rows is gradually reduced from the upstream side to the downstream side, and among these, the fourth conveyor 14 located most downstream is 1 Consists of a row conveyor.
Each of the first to third conveyors 11 to 13 is composed of a plurality of rows of conveyors, and these speeds are increased by a speed change mechanism (not shown) so that the conveying speed increases as the conveyor is located on the downstream side in the lower part of the figure. Is set.
On the other hand, the fourth conveyor 14 is continuously provided at the downstream end of the conveyor at the lower end of the third conveyor 13, and the upstream transport conveyor 4 is provided downstream of the fourth conveyor 14. .
And the said 1st guide member 6 has the inclination part 6a provided crossing the said 1st-3rd conveyors 11-13 diagonally, and the conveyance direction of the said 4th conveyor on the said 4th conveyor 14 after that And is provided continuously to the downstream side conveyor 5 as will be described later.
On the other hand, the second guide member 7 is continuously provided from the downstream side of the fourth conveyor 14 to the downstream conveyance conveyor 5, and in parallel with a position facing the first guide member 6 in the fourth conveyor 14. Is provided.
And in the 4th conveyor 14, the said container 1 passes between the said 1st guide member 6 and the 2nd guide member 7, These widths are more than the distance on the diagonal in the said container 1 at least. Is also set wide.

According to the collective conveyor 3 having the above-described configuration, the first conveyor 11 is supplied with the containers 1 in a plurality of rows and with random postures. At this time, the containers 1 are supplied to a position at least deviated with respect to the fourth conveyor 14. It has come to be.
The container 1 transported on the first conveyor 11 collides with the inclined portion 6a of the first guide member 6, whereby the container 1 moves along the first guide member 6 while moving in the transport direction by the first conveyor 11. 1 is moved downward in the figure, and the second and third conveyors 12 and 13 are moved in the same manner.
At this time, since the containers 1 are transferred from the conveyor having a low conveying speed located on the upstream side to the conveyor having a high conveying speed located on the downstream side, the containers 1 which are in a plurality of lines are made into one line by the first guide member 6. Most containers 1 have their long sides 1a in contact with the first guide member 6 and are supplied to the fourth conveyor 14 in this state.
When the container 1 supplied to the fourth conveyor 14 passes between the first and second guide members 6 and 7 and then reaches the downstream side of the fourth conveyor 14, the first guide that has been in contact with the container 1 until then passes. It is separated from the member 6, contacts the second guide member 7, and is guided along the second guide member 7 to the upstream conveyor 4.

The upstream conveying conveyor 4 is provided at a position adjacent to the fourth conveyor 14 in the collective conveyor 3 in the upper part of FIG. 1, and the upstream end and the downstream end are connected in parallel. It has become.
As shown in FIG. 3, the first guide member 6 is provided along the upper side of the upstream conveyance conveyor 4, and the second guide member 7 is provided along the lower side of the upstream conveyance conveyor 4. The width between the first guide member 6 and the second guide member 7 is set wider than at least the diagonal distance of the container 1.
The downstream conveyor 5 is provided at a position adjacent to the fourth conveyor 14 in the upper part of FIG. 1 and has an upstream end and a downstream end connected in parallel. Yes.
The first guide member 6 is provided on the downstream conveyor 5 continuously from the upstream conveyor 4, and the first guide member 6 crosses the downstream conveyor 5 diagonally, and then downstream. It is provided along the upper side of the conveyor 5 in the figure.
On the other hand, the second guide member 7 is also provided on the downstream transport conveyor 5 continuously from the upstream transport conveyor 4. The second guide member 7 crosses the upstream transport conveyor 5 obliquely and the container 1 An inclined portion 7 a that collides from the upstream side is provided, and is then provided along the illustrated lower side of the downstream side conveyor 5.
And in the downstream conveyance conveyor 5 in a present Example, the width reduction part 6b formed so that the width | variety of the said 1st guide member 6 and the 2nd guide member 7 may become narrow gradually toward the downstream from the upstream. 7b are formed.
The width of the width reducing portions 6b and 7b is set wider than the diagonal length of the container 1 on the upstream side of the downstream side conveyor 5, and wider and longer than the short side 1b of the container 1 on the downstream side. It is made narrower than the side 1a.

According to the upstream-side conveyor 4 and the downstream-side conveyor 5 having the above-described configuration, the containers 1 aligned in a row by the collective conveyor 3 are moved along the second guide member 7 while being transported along the upstream-side conveyor. Move on conveyor 4.
Thereafter, when the container 1 is transported to the downstream side of the upstream transport conveyor 4, the container 1 comes into contact with the inclined portion 7a of the second guide member 7, and then the downstream transport conveyor 5 is provided while moving in the transport direction. Guided upward in FIG.
4A to 4C are views for explaining the behavior of the container 1 in contact with the inclined portion 7a of the second guide member 7, and FIG. The long side 1a is conveyed in the state which contact | adhered to the 2nd guide member.
In this case, when the container 1 reaches the inclined portion 7a of the second guide member 7, the posture is changed in accordance with the inclined portion 7a as it is, and when the container 1 is subsequently transferred to the downstream conveying conveyor 5, the long side 1a is moved in the conveying direction. On the other hand, the said downstream conveyor 5 will be conveyed, maintaining the angle of the said inclination part 7a.
As described above, the container 1 transported on the upstream transport conveyor 4 in the posture as shown in FIG. 4A is a width formed by the first and second guide members 6 and 7 in the downstream transport conveyor 5 thereafter. It passes between the reduction | decrease parts 6b and 7b, and will be supplied to the said labeler.

FIG. 4B illustrates the behavior of the container 1 in which the long side 1a as shown in FIG. 2B is inclined in the same direction as the inclined portion 7a with respect to the transport direction. The state in which the long side 1a of the container 1 shown in FIG. 2 is inclined in the same direction as the inclined portion 7a with respect to the transport direction is referred to as the forward posture of the container 1, and the angle formed with respect to the transport direction at this time is the forward posture angle. Called α.
In the container 1 in such a forward posture, the top portion located on the downstream side of the container 1 collides with the inclined portion 7a of the second guide member 7, and as a result, the top portion and the second guide member 7 Due to this friction, the entire container 1 tries to rotate clockwise.
When the forward posture angle α of the container 1 is small, the container 1 rotates clockwise and the long side 1a is brought into close contact with the inclined portion 7a, and then the downstream transfer conveyor 5 is transferred.
Then, the container 1 is conveyed on the downstream conveyor 5 with the long side 1a maintaining the angle of the inclined portion 7a with respect to the conveying direction, and the width reducing portion is the same as the container 1 of FIG. It passes between 6b and 7b and is supplied to the labeler.
However, when the forward orientation angle α of the container 1 is large, the long side 1a may not be in close contact with the inclined portion 7a even if the container 1 is rotated clockwise. The angle α may remain large.
As shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 4B, when the forward posture angle α of the container 1 is large, the top of the container 1 on the diagonal side is the first when passing between the width reducing portions 6b and 7b. Since the first and second guide members 6 and 7 are brought into contact with each other and cannot proceed any further, the container 1 is clogged with the width reducing portions 6b and 7b.

On the other hand, FIG. 4C illustrates the behavior of an article in which the long side 1a as shown in FIG. 2C is inclined in the direction opposite to the inclined portion 7a with respect to the conveying direction. The state in which the long side 1a of the container 1 shown in c) is inclined in the direction opposite to the inclined portion 7a with respect to the conveyance direction is referred to as a reverse posture of the container 1, and the angle formed with respect to the conveyance direction at this time is the reverse direction. Called the attitude angle β.
In the container 1 in such a reverse posture, the top portion located on the upstream side of the container 1 collides with the inclined portion 7a of the second guide member 7, and as a result, the top portion and the second guide member 7 Due to this friction, the entire container 1 tries to rotate clockwise.
When the reverse posture angle β of the container 1 is small, the reverse posture angle β can be maintained relatively small even when the container 1 rotates clockwise, and then along the inclined portion 7a. Then, when it changes to the downstream conveyor 5, it passes between the width reducing portions 6b and 7b and is supplied to the labeler.
However, when the reverse posture angle β of the container 1 is large, the container 1 is rotated clockwise so that, for example, the diagonal line of the container 1 is substantially orthogonal to the transport direction.
As indicated by the imaginary line in FIG. 4 (c), when the reverse orientation angle β of the container 1 is large, the top of the container 1 on the diagonal side is the first when passing between the width reducing portions 6b and 7b. Since the first and second guide members 6 and 7 are brought into contact with each other and cannot proceed any further, the container 1 is clogged with the width reducing portions 6b and 7b.

In order to prevent the clogging of the containers 1 in the width reducing portions 6b and 7b as described above, as shown in FIG. 3, the upstream conveying conveyor 4 has the containers 1 on the upstream conveying conveyor 4 in order from the upstream side. A sensor 21 for detecting the image, an image pickup means 9 for picking up an image of the container 1 on the upstream conveyor 4, and a reject means 10 for discharging the container 1 that may cause clogging in the passage W of the downstream conveyor 5. Is provided.
Further, the control means 8 includes the attitude recognition means 8a for recognizing the attitude of the container 1 from the image of the container 1 captured by the imaging means 9, and the attitude of the container 1 recognized by the attitude recognition means 8a. Judgment means 8b for judging whether or not the container 1 is clogged with the width reducing portions 6b and 7b of the downstream side conveyor 5 is provided.
The sensor 21 detects the container 1 passing on the upstream conveyor 4 and transmits a detection signal to the controller 8. The controller 8 is based on a signal from an encoder 4 a provided on the upstream conveyor 4. Thus, when the container 1 passes through the imaging means 9, the imaging means 9 is operated.
The imaging means 9 is provided above the upstream conveyor 4 and images from directly above the container 1 so that the long side 1a and the short side 1b of the container 1 passing below can be recognized.

The image of the container 1 picked up by the image pickup means 9 is transmitted to the posture recognition means 8a. The posture recognition means 8a recognizes the posture of the container 1 by a conventionally known method, and the long side 1a and the upstream conveyor 4 are combined. Recognize the angle formed by the direction of transport.
That is, the posture recognition means 8a recognizes the container 1 shown in FIG. 2 (b) as a forward posture and recognizes the forward posture angle α, and similarly recognizes the container 1 shown in FIG. 2 (c) as a reverse posture. Then, the reverse posture angle β is recognized.
When the posture recognizing means 8a recognizes the posture and the posture angles α and β of the container 1, the determining means 8b is based on the posture angles α and β of the container 1 and then the container 1 It is determined whether or not the width reducing portions 6b and 7b are clogged.
Specifically, when the forward posture angle α or the reverse posture angle β of the container 1 exceeds the required allowable angle when the container 1 is imaged by the imaging unit 9, the determination unit 8 b It is determined that the container 1 is clogged with the width reducing portions 6b and 7b of the downstream side conveyor 5.

Explaining in detail below, the determination means 8b has the width reducing portion 6b for the container 1 in the posture shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 4 (a) in which the long side 1a is parallel to the transport direction of the upstream transport conveyor 4. It is determined in 7b that no clogging occurs.
That is, the container 1 having such a posture is inclined along the inclined portion 7a of the second guide member 7 after having been transferred to the downstream-side transport conveyor 5, but as described above, the width reducing portion 6b, Since it passes through 7b, the determination means 8b determines that no clogging occurs in the width reducing portions 6b and 7b for the container in such a posture.
Next, with respect to the container 1 in the forward posture shown in FIG. 2B and the container 1 in the reverse posture shown in FIG. 2C, the posture is rotated clockwise by the inclined portion 7a of the second guide member 7. Therefore, the determination means 8b determines whether or not the container 1 after the posture change causes clogging at the width reducing portions 6b and 7b.
First, when the container 1 in the forward posture collides with the inclined portion 7a of the second guide member 7, the container 1 further rotates clockwise from the forward posture, so that the forward posture angle α after the posture change becomes small.
For this reason, since the forward posture angle α after the collision is decreased with respect to the forward posture angle α before the collision, the container 1 is not clogged with the width reducing portions 6b and 7b. The allowable angle of the direction / posture angle α is set large.
Conversely, the container 1 in the reverse orientation collides with the inclined portion 7a of the second guide member 7 and the container 1 further rotates clockwise from the reverse orientation, so that the reverse orientation angle β after the orientation change is further increased. turn into.
For this reason, since the reverse posture angle β after the collision increases with respect to the reverse posture angle β before the collision, the allowable angle of the reverse posture angle β is set to be relatively small in the determination unit 8b. .
As described above, the allowable angle of the forward posture angle α is set to be larger than the allowable angle of the reverse posture angle β. For example, the inclined portion 7a of the second guide member 7 is the conveying means of the upstream conveying conveyor 4. , The allowable angle αmax of the forward posture angle α can be set to about 2θ, and the allowable angle βmax of the reverse posture angle β can be set to about θ.
Note that the allowable angle of the forward posture angle α and the allowable angle of the reverse posture angle β differ depending on the frictional force between the container 1 and the second guide member 7, the angle of the inclined surface 7a, and the like. In this case, it is necessary to set these permissible angles in advance before the operation of the article conveying device 2.

The reject means 10 includes a pusher 22 provided adjacent to the lower side of the upstream conveying conveyor 4 in the figure, and a reject box 23 provided on the opposite side of the article upstream conveying conveyor 4 with respect to the pusher 22. ing.
When the determination unit 8b determines that the forward posture angle α or the reverse posture angle β of the container 1 about to pass through the rejection unit 10 exceeds the allowable angle, the determination unit 8b controls the pusher 22, The container 1 is pressed against the upstream side conveyor 4 in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, and is collected in the reject box 23.

According to the article conveying apparatus 2, since the containers 1 are imaged by the imaging means 9 and the attitudes of the containers 1 are recognized by the attitude recognizing means 8a, all the containers 1 conveyed by the upstream conveying conveyor 4 are detected. It is possible to accurately recognize the posture.
Then, the determination means 8b determines whether or not the container 1 is clogged in a subsequent process from the forward posture angle α or the reverse posture angle β of the container 1 recognized by the posture recognition means 8a. The container 1 determined to be clogged based on is rejected.
As a result, it is possible to recognize the container 1 that may be clogged with higher accuracy than when a container having an abnormal posture is detected by a phototube or a limit switch as in the past, and a container that is erroneously rejected. By reducing the number of 1s, it is possible to improve the yield in the article conveying device 2.

FIG. 4 shows the article conveying device 2 according to the second embodiment, and in the following description, the description of the parts common to the configuration of the first embodiment is omitted.
In the second embodiment, clogging prevention means 31 for preventing the container 1 from clogging at the width reducing portions 6b and 7b is provided further upstream of the reject means 10.
The clogging prevention means 31 is a support member that holds the container 1 pressed by the pressing means 32 and the pressing means 32 that presses the container 1 from a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. The second guide member 7 is used.
The pressing means 32 has the same configuration as the pusher 22 of the rejecting means 10, but a roller 32 a aligned in the transport direction is provided at the tip, and the container 1 is moved by the pressing means 32 to the second. When sandwiched between the guide member 7, no sliding resistance is generated between the container 1 and the pressing means 32 by the roller 32 a, and the container 1 is not decelerated.
According to the clogging prevention means 31 having the above-described configuration, the pressing means 32 sandwiches the container 1 with the second guide member 6, thereby forcing the long side 1 a of the container 1 into the upstream conveyance conveyor 4. It can be parallel to the transport direction.
In addition, since the support member constitutes a part of the second guide member 7, the container 1 whose posture has been corrected maintains the state in which the long side 1a is in contact with the second guide member 7 thereafter. As described in (a), when the sheet is subsequently moved to the downstream side conveyor 5, clogging does not occur in the width reducing portions 6 b and 7 b.

Then, the determination means 8b of the present embodiment has a predetermined larger angle than the allowable angle defined in the first embodiment with respect to the forward posture angle α or the reverse posture angle β of the container 1 recognized by the posture recognition means 8a. The clogging prevention means 31 is operated on the container 1 within the correctable angle.
That is, since the container 1 within the allowable angle defined in the first embodiment does not cause clogging in the width reducing portions 6b and 7b of the downstream-side transport conveyor 5 without correcting the posture, the judging means In 8b, it is not necessary to operate the clogging prevention means 31.
On the other hand, among the containers 1 exceeding the allowable angle defined in the first embodiment, for example, in the case of the container 1 having a posture in which the diagonal line is substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, the pressing means 32 presses the container 1. Even if it cannot be rotated, the posture of the container 1 may not be corrected.
For this reason, the posture recognizing means 8a of the present embodiment has a correctable angle which is larger than the allowable angle set in the first embodiment but is an angle at which the posture of the container 1 can be changed by the pressing means 32. Is set.
The determination means 8b corrects the attitude of the container 1 by the clogging prevention means 31 for the container 1 having an attitude angle larger than the allowable angle set in the first embodiment and smaller than the correctable angle. For the container 1 in a posture exceeding the correctable angle, the container 1 is rejected by the reject means 10 located on the downstream side.

According to the configuration of the second embodiment, it is possible to correct the posture of some containers 1 as compared to the article conveying device 2 in the first embodiment. It becomes possible to supply to the labeler, and the yield can be further improved.
In the second embodiment, the pressing means 32 may correct the posture of all containers 1 whose forward posture angle α or reverse posture angle β is within the correctable angle. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container 1a Long side 2 Article conveyance apparatus 4 Upstream conveyance conveyor 5 Downstream conveyance conveyor 6 1st guide member 6b, 7b Width reduction part 7 2nd guide member 7a Inclination part 8 Control means 8a Attitude recognition means 8b Determination means 9 Imaging Means 10 Reject means 31 Clogging prevention means α Forward posture angle β Reverse posture angle

Claims (2)

While conveying the rectangular article | item which has a long side and a short side, it guides the articles | goods on the said conveyance conveyor with several conveyance conveyors which connected the edge part of the upstream side, and the edge part of the downstream side in parallel. A conveyance guide,
The conveyance guide is provided so as to obliquely intersect from the upstream conveyance conveyor to the downstream conveyance conveyor, and an inclined portion that guides the article to the downstream conveyance conveyor, and the article is sandwiched between the downstream conveyance conveyor In the article conveying apparatus having a width reducing portion that is provided and gradually narrows toward the downstream side,
Based on the recognition means provided on the upstream side of the inclined portion of the transport guide, for capturing the article, the posture recognition means for recognizing the posture of the article based on the image captured by the imaging means, and the recognition result of the posture recognition means Determining means for determining whether the article causes clogging in the width-decreasing portion;
At least one of reject means for rejecting an article determined to cause clogging by the determination means or clogging prevention means for correcting the posture of the article and preventing the article from clogging at the width reduction portion. Prepared,
The posture recognition means includes a forward posture angle in which the long side of the article is inclined in the same direction as the inclined portion of the conveying guide with respect to the conveying direction, and the inclined portion of the conveying guide in which the long side of the article is inclined with respect to the conveying direction. And the reverse posture angle inclined in the reverse direction,
The determination means activates at least one of the rejection means or the clogging prevention means when the forward posture angle or the reverse posture angle of the article exceeds a predetermined allowable angle, and the determination means The article conveying apparatus, wherein an allowable angle of the forward posture angle is set larger than an allowable angle of the reverse posture angle. An upstream side of the upstream conveyor is provided with a collective conveyor composed of a plurality of rows of parallel conveyors. The transport guide is located downstream from the upstream conveyor in the upstream side of the conveyor. It has an inclined part provided so as to cross diagonally across the conveyor on the side,
While the articles supplied in a plurality of rows to the upstream conveyor in the collective conveyor collide with the inclined portion of the guide member and guide the articles to the downstream conveyor in the collective conveyor, 2. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the articles are aligned in a line.

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