JP2014136632A - Belt meander arrester - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a belt meander arrester wich can prevent a narrow belt in a narrow belt conveyor from meandering and can smoothly perform transportation.SOLUTION: A belt meander arrester 10 comprises a meander prevention guide 28 which is provided in a width direction of a narrow belt 14 and regulates lateral movement of a narrow belt 20, and a bypass units 36 which is provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the meander prevention guide 28. The bypass unit is configured from a belt conveyor 38 which is formed in such manner that the height of a transportation surface thereof is gradually increased from the height of a transportation surface of the narrow belt conveyor, and the belt conveyor can be driven by a driving force from a return side part of the narrow belts.

Description

  The present invention relates to a belt meandering prevention device used for a narrow belt conveyor, and more particularly to a belt meandering prevention device used for a sorter including a narrow belt conveyor and a sorting mechanism and generally called a belt type sorting device.

  As the sorting device for transported items, a narrow belt conveyor using a plurality of narrow strip belts (hereinafter referred to as “narrow belts”) and a sorting mechanism arranged at a predetermined sorting position are used. It has been known. There are various types of sorting mechanisms. For example, as described in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 below, a plurality of sorting mechanisms can be protruded upward from the conveying surface of the narrow belt conveyor through narrow belts. A thing provided with a wheel is common. When the wheels of the sorting mechanism protrude upward from the conveyance surface, the rotation direction is oblique to the conveyance direction of the narrow belt conveyor. Therefore, if the wheel that is being conveyed on the narrow belt conveyor reaches the sorting position, if the wheel is protruded from the conveying surface, the direction of conveyance of the conveyed object is changed by this wheel, and the conveyed object is moved to the side of the narrow belt conveyor. Extruded.

  In such a sorting apparatus, since the narrow belt is in contact with the conveyed product even during sorting, the narrow belt may be pulled in the pushing-out direction of the conveyed item to cause meandering. Therefore, for example, a belt meandering prevention device as described in Patent Document 3 below has been conventionally used.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the belt meandering prevention device 1 described in Patent Document 3 is attached across the sorting device 2 in the width direction (a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction), and a corresponding narrow belt 3 is passed therethrough. A meandering prevention guide 5 having a plurality of through holes 4. Since the narrow belt 3 passed through the through hole 4 of the meandering prevention guide 5 is restricted in the vertical and horizontal movements by the inner wall surface of the through hole 4, meandering is prevented.

  In addition, a plurality of rollers 6 are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the meandering prevention guide 5. The roller 6 closer to the meandering prevention guide 5 has a larger diameter, and the roller 6 is higher than the upper surface of the meandering prevention guide 5. As a result, the conveyance surface formed by the step is made higher. With this configuration, the transported material that has been transported through the sorting device 2 bypasses the meandering prevention guide 5 and the transport is not hindered.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-164369 No. 08-005141 Utility Model Registration No. 2501218

  However, the conventional belt meandering prevention device as described in Patent Document 3 adopts a configuration in which the narrow belt portion is brought into contact with the tight side portion of the narrow belt to transmit the driving force of the narrow belt to the roller. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the narrow diameter portion of the roller is in contact with the narrow belt. For this reason, the narrow belt is always pushed upward, which may cause the narrow belt to be in contact with the upper wall surface of the through hole of the meandering prevention guide.

  This wear can be prevented by setting the positions of the meandering prevention guide and the roller with high accuracy, but raising the accuracy causes a problem that the manufacturing and maintenance of the apparatus takes time and cost.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a belt meandering preventing device that does not cause the above-described problems. Note that the present invention can be applied to a mere narrow belt conveyor having no sorting function as long as the narrow belt may meander.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a belt meandering prevention device used in a narrow belt conveyor using a plurality of narrow belts, which is provided in the width direction of the narrow belt conveyor, and corresponds to each narrow belt. The meander prevention guide having a plurality of through-holes into which the tension side portion of the guide is inserted and the upstream and downstream sides of the meander prevention guide are formed, and a conveyance surface is formed above the meander prevention guide to bypass the meander prevention guide. A detouring device, and the detouring device is characterized by a belt meandering prevention device that is driven by a driving force from a return side portion of the narrow belt.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the detour device is configured by a belt conveyor formed so that the conveyance surface gradually increases from the height of the conveyance surface of the narrow belt conveyor toward the meandering prevention guide. In the conventional configuration shown in FIG. 5, as indicated by a two-dot chain line, the front end portion of the conveyed object being conveyed hits the roller 6, and there is a possibility that the conveyance of the conveyed object may be delayed, misaligned, or unloaded. Such a problem does not occur in the belt conveyor type bypass device.

  This belt meandering prevention device is particularly effective for a belt type sorting device in which a sorting mechanism is incorporated in a narrow belt conveyor.

  According to the belt meandering prevention device according to the present invention, since the driving force of the detour device is taken from the return side portion of the narrow belt, the work of adjusting the position of the tight side portion of the narrow belt and the detour device is greatly simplified. . Therefore, the labor and cost required for this position adjustment can be reduced. Further, after the position adjustment is completed, the narrow belt does not come into contact with the upper wall surface and the lower wall surface of the through hole of the meandering prevention guide, so that the wear of the narrow belt is prevented.

  Further, since no unnecessary force is applied to the tight side portion of the narrow belt serving as the conveying surface, the meandering prevention function by the meandering prevention guide is also preferably exhibited.

  Furthermore, when a belt conveyor is used as a bypass device for bypassing the meandering prevention guide, the transported material is transported more smoothly than the conventional bypass device consisting only of rollers, and the transported material is delayed or positioned. The possibility of deviation and package deviation is significantly reduced.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a belt type sorting apparatus including a belt meandering prevention device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the belt meandering prevention device shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing along the III-III line of FIG. It is sectional drawing along the IV-IV line of FIG. It is a figure which shows the conventional belt meandering prevention apparatus.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a belt type sorting device 12 provided with a belt meandering prevention device 10 according to the present invention includes a narrow belt conveyor 14 and a sorting mechanism provided at a required sorting position of the narrow belt conveyor 14 (FIG. 1). (Not shown). FIG. 1 shows a configuration of the sorting device 12 on the downstream side in the transport direction.

  The narrow belt conveyor 14 is composed of a pair of left and right side frames 16 arranged opposite to each other, and a pair of end pulleys (upstream side) disposed at a predetermined interval in the conveying direction and rotatably attached between the side frames 16. End pulleys (not shown) 18 and a plurality of (5 in the illustrated embodiment) endless narrow belts 20 wound around these end pulleys 18 and arranged in parallel at intervals are provided. . Further, a drive device 22 such as an electric motor is provided on the downstream side of the narrow belt conveyor 14 so as to drive the end pulley 18 on the downstream side or another pulley 24 as in this embodiment. The narrow belt 20 is hung on the driving pulley 24, whereby the narrow belt 20 is driven to circulate, and the transported object placed on the narrow belt 20 is transported.

  Although a sorting mechanism is not shown, a conventionally known mechanism can be used. For example, the sorting mechanism described in Patent Document 1 can be used, and the sorting mechanism is transported on the transport surface by moving a plurality of wheels in and out of the transport surface of the narrow belt conveyor. It is the type of sorting goods. The wheel is rotatably supported by a support base, and is disposed between the narrow belts 20 at a predetermined angle with respect to the conveying direction of the narrow belt conveyor 14, and by moving the support base up and down by a pneumatic cylinder, It is taken in and out from the transfer surface.

  The belt meandering prevention device 10 of the present invention is installed at an appropriate location of such a belt type sorting device 12, for example, the most downstream portion.

  As clearly shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the belt meandering prevention device 10 includes a plate-like meandering prevention guide 28 having through holes 26 through which a plurality of narrow belts 20 are respectively passed. The meandering prevention guide 28 of the illustrated embodiment includes a pair of plates 30 and 32 provided so as to sandwich the narrow belt 20 from above and below, and a plurality of spacers 34 arranged at predetermined intervals between these plates 30 and 32. The space surrounded by the plates 30 and 32 and the spacer 34 is the through hole 26. It is preferable that the plates 30 and 32 and the spacer 34 are made of a material that does not damage even if it contacts the narrow belt 20, such as a synthetic resin.

  Even if the narrow belt 20 tries to meander left and right by the meandering prevention guide 28, the narrow belt 20 contacts the left and right side wall surfaces of the through hole 26, so that the meandering of the narrow belt 20 does not become larger any more and is in a normal state. Return to.

  The belt meandering prevention device 10 according to the present invention further makes the conveyance surface of the sorting device 12 higher than the meandering prevention guide 28, and makes the conveyed product detour upward from the meandering prevention guide 28 to contact the meandering prevention guide 28. A bypass device 36 is provided to avoid the problem. The detour device 36 includes a plurality of pairs of small belt conveyors 38 provided before and after the meander prevention guide 28. The belt conveyor 38 is provided between the narrow belts 20. In the illustrated embodiment, since there are five narrow belts 20, four pairs of belt conveyors 38 are provided.

  Each belt conveyor 38 includes a first roller 42 and a second roller 44 around which an endless belt 40 is wound. In the illustrated embodiment, the first roller 42 is rotatably attached to a first support shaft 46 that is horizontally mounted between the left and right side frames 16 at a position adjacent to the meandering prevention guide 28. Further, the second roller 44 is attached to a second support shaft 48 that is horizontally mounted so as to be parallel to the first support shaft 46 between the left and right side frames 16 at a position farther from the meandering prevention guide 28. It is attached so that it can rotate freely. The diameter-enlarged portion of the first roller 42 has a top portion that is slightly higher than the upper surface of the meandering prevention guide 28. On the other hand, the diameter-enlarged portion of the second roller 44 has an uppermost portion that is substantially the same height as or slightly lower than the conveying surface of the narrow belt conveyor 14. Therefore, the conveyance surface formed by the upstream belt conveyor 38 is inclined so as to gradually increase along the conveyance direction from the height of the conveyance surface of the narrow belt conveyor 14 to a position higher than the meander prevention guide 28. Yes. On the other hand, the conveying surface formed by the downstream belt conveyor 38 is inclined from the position higher than the meandering prevention guide 28 to the height of the conveying surface of the narrow belt conveyor 14 so as to gradually become lower along the conveying direction. ing. Reference numeral 49 denotes a support roller for supporting the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 38.

  The first support shaft 46 is rotationally driven by a driving force from the return side portion of the narrow belt 20. This will be described in more detail. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the left and right side frames 16 are below the meandering prevention guide 28 and above the return side portion of one of the narrow belts (the center narrow belt in the illustrated embodiment). A third support shaft 50 is rotatably mounted between them. A friction pulley 52 with a hook is fixed at the center of the third support shaft 50, and its peripheral surface is in contact with the return side portion of the narrow belt 20.

  In the illustrated embodiment, an O-ring 54 is fitted at the center of the peripheral surface of the friction pulley 52 so that the driving force from the narrow belt 20 is reliably transmitted by friction. In addition, a pair of pressing rollers 56 is disposed below the return side portion of the narrow belt 20, and the narrow belt 20 is pushed up by these pressing rollers 56 to further contact the peripheral surface of the friction pulley 52. Assured. Furthermore, in order to efficiently perform the friction transmission from the narrow belt 20, it is preferable to increase the diameter of the friction pulley 52 and increase the contact area with the narrow belt 20. With such a configuration, when the narrow belt 20 is driven to circulate, the driving force is transmitted to the friction pulley 52, and the friction pulley 52 and the third support shaft 50 rotate.

  Further, two belt pulleys 58 are fixed to the third support shaft 50 so as to sandwich the friction pulley 52 therebetween. Each belt pulley 58 is wound with a transmission belt 62 such as a V belt between the belt 60 and a circumferential groove 60 formed in the reduced diameter portion of the first roller 42. In the illustrated embodiment, a transmission belt 62 is wound around two first rollers 42 located on the upstream side and the downstream side, and these rollers 42 are simultaneously driven to rotate in the same direction. Reference numeral 64 denotes a tension pulley that adjusts the tension of the transmission belt 62 and passes the position where the transmission belt 62 does not contact the meandering prevention guide 28.

  When the narrow belt 20 is driven by this mechanism, the driving force is transmitted to the first roller 42 via the friction pulley 52, the third support shaft 50, and the belt pulley 58, and the belt conveyor 38 is circulated and driven. The Therefore, when the conveyed product is conveyed from the upstream side of the narrow belt conveyor 14, the conveyed product smoothly transfers to the conveying surface of the upstream belt conveyor 38 and is conveyed by the upstream belt conveyor 38. At this time, since the conveying surface of the belt conveyor 38 is a flat surface, the conveyed product is smoothly conveyed without interfering with the roller 6 unlike the conventional configuration shown in FIG. The downstream end of the conveyance surface of the upstream belt conveyor 38 is higher than the meander prevention guide 28 and is at the same height as the upstream end of the conveyance surface of the downstream belt conveyor 38, so that the conveyed object is a meander prevention guide. Without touching the belt 28, it moves onto the downstream belt conveyor 38, and finally moves to the downstream conveyance surface of the narrow belt conveyor 14. Thus, since the conveyed product is smoothly conveyed, the presence of the meandering prevention guide 28 does not cause a delay, a positional shift, or a load deviation of the conveyed product.

  In the configuration described above, since the driving force of the bypass device 36 is taken from the return side portion of the narrow belt 20, it is not necessary to push the tension side portion of the narrow belt 20 up and down. That is, it is not necessary to adjust the vertical position of the narrow belt 20 passing through the through hole 26 of the meandering prevention guide 28 for transmission to the detour device 36, and labor and cost required for position adjustment are reduced. In addition, once the position is adjusted, the narrow belt 20 does not contact the upper wall surface and the lower wall surface of the through hole 26 of the meandering prevention guide 28, and wear of the narrow belt 20 is prevented.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described in detail, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the belt transmission mechanisms 56 and 60 are provided in two places on the left and right, but may be provided in one place or three or more places. Further, although the two rollers 42 are driven by one transmission belt 60, one transmission belt 60 may be arranged for each roller 42.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the belt meandering prevention device according to the present invention is applied to a belt type sorting device, but the present invention can also be applied to a mere narrow belt conveyor having no sorting function.

  It is also possible to use a roller conveyor type as shown in FIG. In this case, the driving force is transmitted from the return side portion of the narrow belt 20 to at least one roller (main roller) in the bypass device through an appropriate transmission mechanism, and the remaining rollers are connected by the main roller and the belt, etc. The driving force from the rollers may be transmitted to the remaining rollers.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Belt meander prevention device, 12 ... Sorting device, 14 ... Narrow belt conveyor, 16 ... Side frame, 20 ... Narrow belt, 22 ... Drive device, 26 ... Through-hole, 28 ... Meander prevention guide, 36 ... Detour device, 38 ... belt conveyor, 40 ... belt, 42 ... first roller, 44 ... second roller, 46 ... first support shaft, 48 ... second support shaft, 50 ... third support shaft, 52 ... friction pulley 54 ... O-ring, 56 ... Pressing roller, 58 ... Belt pulley, 60 ... Circumferential groove, 62 ... Transmission belt, 64 ... Tension pulley.

Claims (3)

A belt meandering prevention device (10) used in a narrow belt conveyor (14) using a plurality of narrow belts (20),
A meandering prevention guide (28) having a plurality of through holes (26) provided in the width direction of the narrow belt conveyor (14) and into which the tight side portions of the corresponding narrow belt (20) are respectively inserted;
A detour device (36) provided upstream and downstream of the meander prevention guide (28) and forming a conveying surface above the meander prevention guide (28) to bypass the meander prevention guide (28); With
The belt meandering prevention device, wherein the bypass device (36) is driven by a driving force from a return side portion of the narrow belt (20).   The detour device (36) includes a belt conveyor (38) formed so that the conveying surface gradually increases from the height of the conveying surface of the narrow belt conveyor (14) toward the meandering prevention guide (28). The belt meandering prevention device according to claim 1, wherein the belt meandering prevention device is provided.   The belt meandering prevention device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a sorting mechanism is incorporated in the narrow belt conveyor (14).

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