JP2016179896A - Conveyor system control method and conveyor system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that a flexible container is damaged at a joined and transferred part to a conveying conveyor while the flexible container is conveyed by a conveyor system having a plurality of supply conveyors joined to the conveying conveyor.SOLUTION: A transferring conveyor is arranged above a conveying conveyor to extend in an identical direction to a conveying direction of the conveying conveyor. A position of a conveyed article being conveyed by the conveying conveyor is detected so as to move the transferring conveyor downward at timing when the transferring conveyor does not interfere with the conveyed article moving below the transferring conveyor and to connect conveyance paths of the conveying conveyor and the transferring conveyor while coinciding the conveying speeds of the conveying conveyor and the transferring conveyor. The aforementioned configuration can reduce a possibility that the flexible container may be damaged at a joined and transferred part to the conveying conveyor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveyor system control method and a conveyor system for smoothly supplying and efficiently transporting objects to be conveyed from a plurality of locations.

BACKGROUND ART Conveyors that carry and convey an object to be conveyed (sometimes referred to simply as an object to be conveyed) on a ring-shaped belt that is looped around a pair of pulleys have been known to those skilled in the art for a long time. A to-be-conveyed object is efficiently conveyed by the conveyor.
Also, a roller conveyance type conveyor that forms a conveyance path (roller way) by driving rollers by arranging a plurality of driving rollers, and conveys an object to be conveyed stacked on the roller way by rotating the driving roller. The system has also been known for a long time.

In many cases, a single conveyor is used alone, but there are many cases that cannot be handled by a single conveyor, such as when the conveyance distance is long or the conveyance path is bent.
In such a case, a plurality of conveyors are configured and used as a set of conveyor systems arranged in a line so as to be continuous from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the object to be conveyed.

  Here, in general, a conveyor system that supplies and conveys objects to be conveyed from conveyors arranged in a plurality of places to a row of conveyors extending in the conveyance direction may be referred to as a merge conveyor.

The example of the conventional conveyor system disclosed by patent document 1 is shown.
In the conveyor system disclosed in Patent Document 1, a relatively short conveyor (referred to as Patent Document 1) is provided on the side of a long conveyor (referred to as a confluence conveyor in Patent Document 1) that extends in the conveying direction. It has a configuration in which a plurality of transfer conveyors) are arranged.

  And the conveyor system disclosed by patent document 1 adjusts the timing which supplies a to-be-conveyed object (it is called an article in patent document 1) from a transfer conveyor to a merge conveyor, on a merge conveyor. This is a technique characterized by controlling so that the gap between the objects to be conveyed is constant.

JP 11-314735 A

  Here, in a conventional conveyor system as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a method of transferring a transfer object by placing a plurality of transfer conveyors adjacent to a side surface of a merging conveyor is common. is there. However, in that case, the conveyance direction of the object to be conveyed changes abruptly at the junction between the junction conveyor and the transfer conveyor.

  For example, a bag-shaped packaging material called a flexible container is generally known. The flexible container is sometimes called a flexible container bag, a container bag, or a flexible container (registered trademark: National Marine Plastics Co., Ltd.), and is often composed of a sheet woven with fibers. A flexible container is a packaging material suitable for filling and transporting a load such as a bulk material, and has excellent versatility and functionality, and thus is used in many fields.

On the other hand, however, the flexible container has a demerit that if it is damaged during transportation, a load such as a bulk material filled in the bag may leak out.
For this reason, when a load such as a loose article is transported using a flexible container, it is necessary to pay attention to scratching or rubbing of the bag during the transport so as not to damage the flexible container.

  In particular, when the object to be conveyed is a flexible container (bag-shaped packaging material), the bottom surface of the object to be conveyed is twisted, strongly rubbed, and stretched when the conveying direction of the flexible container changes suddenly at the connecting portion. Or may be damaged by being pinched.

Also in the conveyor disclosed in Patent Document 1, the merging angle between the transfer conveyor and the merging conveyor is reduced (acute angle) to reduce the change at the connecting portion.
However, in the configuration in which the transfer conveyor is arranged on the side surface of the merging conveyor, the transfer directions of the transfer conveyor and the merging conveyor cannot be made completely coincident with each other.

  Also. In the conveyor disclosed in Patent Document 1, assuming that the transfer speeds of the transfer conveyor and the merging conveyor are different, the bottom surface of the object to be transferred is strongly rubbed due to the speed difference of the transfer speed when transferring, Moreover, there is a risk of being damaged by being stretched or being pinched.

In particular, in the case where the flexible container is repeatedly used, the above-described damage is repeatedly affected.
For this reason, there is a possibility that damage is gradually accumulated and leads to damage (breaking, etc.) of the flexible container.

  If the transfer conveyor and the merge conveyor are roller conveyors, it may be possible to improve the difference in transport speed by adjusting the rotational speed of the drive roller in the transfer section individually, but the structure is complicated. Moreover, control is extremely difficult.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides a conveyor system control method and a conveyor system that can reduce the possibility that a conveyed object is damaged.

In order to solve the above problems, a control method of a conveyor system according to the present invention includes:
(1) A transfer conveyor, a transfer conveyor that is arranged so as to be vertically movable above the transfer conveyor and faces in the same direction as the transfer direction of the transfer conveyor, and a supply conveyor that is inclined or intersects with the transfer direction of the transfer conveyor When the transfer conveyor is moved upward, the conveyance path of the supply conveyor and the transfer conveyor communicates with each other via the direction changing portion by the roller, and when the transfer conveyor is moved downward, the transfer conveyor This is a control method for a conveyor system that conveys the object to be conveyed from the supply conveyor to the transfer conveyor via the transfer conveyor by contacting the transfer path of the supply conveyor and the transfer conveyor in the middle of the transfer path. Detecting the position of the object being transported and connecting the transfer conveyor to the transfer conveyor By moving downward at a timing that does not interfere with the object to be transferred moving downward, the transfer conveyor and the belt conveying path of the transfer conveyor are connected to each other, and the transfer object is transferred from the transfer conveyor to the transfer conveyor.

(2) In the method for controlling a conveyor system according to (1), when the transfer object is transferred from the supply conveyor to the transfer conveyor, the transfer conveyor speed is controlled so that the speeds of the supply conveyor and the transfer conveyor coincide with each other. When the transfer object is transferred from the transfer conveyor to the transfer conveyor, the transfer conveyor speed and the transfer conveyor speed are matched.

(3) In the method for controlling a conveyor system according to (1) or (2), the object to be conveyed is a flexible container.

(4) In the control method of the conveyor system described in (1) to (3), belt type fall prevention guards are arranged on both sides of the transfer path of the transfer conveyor, and the belt of the fall prevention guard is connected to the transfer conveyor. Rotate at the same speed as the flexible container transport speed.

In order to solve the above problems, a conveyor system according to the present invention is provided.
(5) A transfer conveyor, a transfer conveyor that is arranged so as to be vertically movable above the transfer conveyor and faces the same direction as the transfer direction of the transfer conveyor, and a supply conveyor that is inclined or intersects with the transfer direction of the transfer conveyor When the transfer conveyor moves upward, the transport path of the supply conveyor and the transfer conveyor communicates with each other via the roller direction changer, and when the transfer conveyor moves downward, the transfer conveyor In the middle of the transport path, the supply conveyor and the transport path of the transport conveyor are in contact with each other.

  With the above-described configuration, the present invention can reduce the possibility that the transported object will be damaged when transferring between the conveyors when transporting the transported object.

  In particular, a bag-like packaging material such as a flexible container has a high effect of the present invention because the filled material leaks to the outside when it is damaged.

  In addition, according to the present invention, by providing the overturn prevention guards on both sides of the transfer path of the transfer conveyor, the transfer object can be prevented from falling during transfer by the transfer conveyor, and the transfer object is damaged. The possibility can be reduced.

It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the conveyor system concerning this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the behavior (first half part) of the conveyor system concerning this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the behavior (second half part) of the conveyor system concerning this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure (multiple supply conveyor) of the conveyor system concerning this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining other embodiment of the transfer conveyor used for the conveyor system which concerns on this invention.

Hereinafter, a preferred example of an embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 to 4 relate to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a conveyor system according to the present embodiment. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining the behavior of the conveyor system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is the first half of the behavior and FIG. 3 is the second half of the behavior.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the conveyor system according to the present embodiment, and describes the arrangement of a plurality of supply conveyors. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view for explaining another embodiment of the connecting conveyor according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, a preferred example of the configuration of the conveyor system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 shows a diagram in which one conveyor for supply is arranged in the conveyor system 10.
The conveyor system 10 includes a transport conveyor 1 for transporting the transported objects Ha and Hb to a transport destination, and a first supply conveyor 2a (as a supply conveyor for transporting the transported object Ha to the transport conveyor 1). And a first transfer conveyor 3a (referred to as a first transfer conveyor 3a), which will be described later.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the belt conveyor type belt conveyor is used as the conveyor 1, the first supply conveyor 2a, and the first transfer conveyor 3a. The form of the conveyor which can be performed is not limited to this, and may be a roller conveyor of a driving roller conveyance type.
As another embodiment, a driving roller conveyance type transit conveyor 30 will be described later as one of preferred examples.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1 (1), in this embodiment, the conveyor 1 and the first supply conveyor 2 a are arranged with a height difference, and the first supply conveyor is positioned higher than the conveyor 1. 2a is arranged.
As shown in FIG. 1 (2), the first supply conveyor 2 a is arranged to be inclined (45 degrees in the form shown in FIG. 1) with respect to the conveyance direction of the conveyance conveyor 1, and is a tip on the downstream side The part extends toward the upper part of the conveyor 1.

Here, in this embodiment, the short conveyor which faced the same direction as the conveyance direction of the conveyance conveyor 1 is distribute | arranged to the upper side of the conveyance conveyor 1 as the 1st transfer conveyor 3a.
And in this embodiment, the to-be-conveyed object Ha is connected to the conveyance conveyor 1 from the 1st supply conveyor 2a by the 1st transfer conveyor 3a.

  The first transfer conveyor 3a has a rear end portion on the upstream side extending in the direction of the first supply conveyor 2a described above, and a front end portion on the downstream side gently toward the first transfer conveyor 1. Inclined to descend.

  Here, the first transit conveyor 3a is configured to be movable up and down by a driving device (not shown). And when the 1st transit conveyor 3a raises to a raise end position with the drive device which is not illustrated, the rear end part which becomes the upper stream side via the 1st supply conveyor 2a and the 1st roller part 5a mentioned below The conveying path is connected adjacently and communicated.

Moreover, when the 1st transit conveyor 3a descend | falls to a descent | fall limit position, the front-end | tip part used as a downstream becomes the structure which a conveyance path connects and communicates with the conveyance conveyor 1 adjacently.
In addition, when the 1st transfer conveyor 3a raises to a raise limit position, it is comprised so that the to-be-conveyed object which moves the conveyance conveyor 1 can pass through the downward direction of the 1st transfer conveyor 3a, and the height is ensured. Has been.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the 1st roller part 5a for changing the direction of the to-be-conveyed object Ha is distribute | arranged to the rear-end part of the 1st supply conveyor 2a.
In the first roller portion 5a, a plurality of rollers extend in a direction substantially intersecting the transport direction to form a fan-shaped roller way.

In FIG. 1, one supply conveyor is provided, but a plurality of conveyors may be arranged as shown in FIG. 4, and the number of conveyors is not limited to this.

In the conveyor system 1 shown in FIG. 1, the conveying speed V1 of the conveying conveyor 1 is set larger than the conveying speed V2 of the first supply conveyor 2a in order to shorten the conveying time.
The first supply conveyor 2a and the transfer conveyor 3a used in this embodiment are variable speed conveyors that can be stopped and operated, and the transfer speed can be changed by a control device (not shown).

Although the details will be described later, the conveyed object Ha placed on the first supply conveyor is conveyed to the first transfer conveyor 3a located at the ascending limit position via the roller portion 5a. The first transit conveyor 2a descends without observing the timing of the transported object Hb flowing on the transport conveyor 1, communicates with the transport path of the transport conveyor 1 at the lower limit position, and transfers the transported object Ha to the transport conveyor. Transfer to 1.

Hereinafter, the control method of the conveyor system 10 by embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG.2 and FIG.3.
The transported object Ha (in this embodiment, a flexible container) is supplied from the first supply conveyor 2a onto the first transit conveyor 3a.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the first transit conveyor 3a measures the descending timing in a state where the transported object Ha is loaded on the belt.

Here, for the sake of explanation, the scheduled loading position of the object to be transported Ha on the transport conveyor 1 is set as P point, and the stacking position of the transported object Hb flowing on the transport conveyor 1 is set as R point.
As shown in FIG. 4, the transported object Hb is a flexible container that is supplied onto the transport conveyor 1 from the second supply conveyor 2 b disposed on the upstream side via the second roller portion 5 b.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (1), when the upstream end side position of the transported object Hb transported on the transport conveyor 1 coincides with the downstream end side position of the first transit conveyor 2a, the first transit conveyor 3a. Is started downward, at a timing that does not interfere with the transported object Hb that moves below the first transit conveyor 3a.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (2), when the first transfer conveyor 3a reaches the lower limit position, the distance between the downstream end of the first transfer conveyor 3a and the points P and R is Lp1 and Lr1, respectively. is there.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (3), before the point P coincides with the downstream end of the first connecting conveyor 3a, the belt transfer of the first connecting conveyor 3a is started and the transfer of the transported object Ha is started. To do. The distance between the downstream end of the first transit conveyor 3a and the point P is Lp2.

As shown in FIG. 3 (4), before the point P reaches the downstream end of the first connecting conveyor 3a, the conveying speed V3 of the first connecting conveyor 3a is the same as the conveying speed V1 of the conveying conveyor 1. Control to become.
When the point P is reached at the downstream end of the first transfer conveyor 3a, the transfer object Ha is transferred from the first transfer conveyor 3a to the transfer conveyor 1 as shown in FIG. 3 (5).

After the transfer object Ha is transferred to the transfer conveyor 1, as shown in FIG. 3 (6), the first transfer conveyor 3a is quickly raised to the ascending limit position. Since the first connecting conveyor 3a is arranged at the ascending limit position, the downstream end of the first supply conveyor 2 and the upstream end of the first connecting conveyor 3a are adjacent to each other via the roller portion 5a, and the conveying path is Connected, the conveyance path of the conveyance conveyor 1 and the 1st transfer conveyor 3a connects.
In this state, a new conveyed object Ha is supplied from the first supply conveyor 2a onto the first transit conveyor 3a and stacked.
In the present embodiment, the steps of FIGS. 2 (1) to (3) and FIGS. 3 (4) to (5) are sequentially repeated.

  In the prior art, as described above, when the object to be transported Ha is a bag or a fragile object, there is a problem that it may be damaged when moving between conveyors. .

According to the present embodiment, the object Ha is changed in direction by the first roller part 5a for changing the direction arranged between the first supply conveyor 2a and the first transit conveyor 3a, and the transfer direction is the transfer conveyor 1 The transfer object Ha is transferred onto the transfer conveyor 1 from the upper side of the transfer conveyor 1 through the first transfer conveyor 3a that coincides with the first transfer conveyor 3a.
In the present embodiment, even when the transport directions of the first supply conveyor 2a and the transport conveyor 1 are different due to the above-described configuration, when the transported object Ha is merged with the transport conveyor 1, that is, in the merge transit portion, It is possible to transfer the object to be transported Ha on the transport conveyor 1 in a state where the transport directions coincide.

  As described above in the prior art, in the configuration in which the supply conveyor (transfer conveyor) is adjacent to the side surface of the transfer conveyor (merging conveyor), even if a roller for changing the direction is arranged, the transfer is performed at the merge transfer section. It is extremely difficult to match the directions perfectly.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, there is little possibility that the transported objects Ha are twisted and strongly rubbed when joining and transferring. Further, the possibility of the object to be transported Ha being rubbed strongly due to the difference in the transport speed of the transfer conveyor 3a of the transport conveyor 1 is reduced.

  In particular, a bag-like packaging material such as a flexible container has a high effect of the present invention because the filled material leaks to the outside when it is damaged.

Note that when the conveyor 1, the first supply conveyor 2a, and the transfer conveyor 3a are belt conveyors as in the present embodiment, originally, only the transfer speed of the transfer area is individually adjusted to make a difference in transfer speed. Since the above cannot be eliminated, the effect of the present invention is particularly high.
Further, as described above in the section of the prior art, even when the transfer conveyor 1, the first supply conveyor 2a, and the transfer conveyor 3a are roller conveyors, in order to eliminate the difference in transfer speed of the transfer area, It is necessary to individually control and adjust the rotational speed of the driving roller in the connecting area, and the drive roller drive system structure is complicated and control is extremely difficult.
In the present embodiment, since it is only necessary to adjust the speed of the connecting conveyor 3a, the structure is simple and the control is relatively easy.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the connecting conveyor 30 that can be used in the present invention.
The transfer conveyor 30 shown in FIG. 5 is a roller conveyance type transfer conveyor 30 provided with a rotating belt type overturn guard.
The figure which observed the transit conveyor 30 from the upper surface in FIG. 5 (1) is shown, and the figure observed from the side in FIG. 5 (2) is shown.
As shown in FIG. 5 (1), the transfer conveyor 30 forms a conveyance path (roller way) for the object to be conveyed H by rollers by a plurality of drive rollers 35 arranged in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction. . The driving roller 35 is driven by the roller driving device 36 and rotates by itself to transport the transported object Ha stacked on the transport path formed by the rollers formed by the driving roller 35. In the present embodiment, the drive roller 35 rotates so as to convey the conveyed object Ha from the left side to the right side in the drawing.

Here, the transit conveyor 30 includes an overturn prevention guard 32 for preventing the article to be conveyed H from overturning in the conveyance path by the drive roller 35 during conveyance.
As shown in FIG. 5, the overturn prevention guard 32 is a ring-shaped belt spanned between pulleys arranged before and after the conveyance path, and the wall width direction is set up vertically on the conveyance path. It has a configuration arranged as follows.
Two sets of overturn prevention guards 32 are arranged along both side surfaces of the conveyance path formed by the drive roller 35, and between the two sets of overturn prevention guards 32 while the conveyed object Ha is being conveyed. It is configured to pass through.

  With the above-described configuration, the overturn prevention guard 32 comes into contact with the object to be transported Ha when it is tilted on the transport path, guards it from further tilting, and guards the transported object Ha from falling on the transport path. Therefore, it is preferable that the interval between the two sets of fall prevention guards 32 is a gap with a slight margin in the dimension of the conveyed object Ha.

Here, the belt provided in the overturn prevention guard 32 in the embodiment of FIG. 5 is a rotary type, and is driven by the belt driving device 33 to rotate independently in the same direction as the transport direction of the transported object Ha. (In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the belt of the fall prevention guard 32 is configured such that the belt surface facing the center of the conveyance path rotates from the left side to the right side in the drawing. ).
The overturn prevention guard 32 controls the belt drive device 33 so that the belt of the overturn prevention guard 32 rotates at the same speed as the conveyance speed of the conveyed object Ha by the drive roller 35.

With the above-described configuration, the overturn prevention guard 30 prevents the to-be-conveyed object Ha from falling over even if it is tilted during the transportation.
Even if the object to be transported H and the belt of the fall prevention guard 30 come into contact with each other, there is no speed difference between them, and therefore the object to be transported Ha is scratched by the belt or rubbed strongly. Absent. Therefore, the possibility that the transported object Ha is damaged is reduced.

In particular, when the object to be transported Ha is a flexible container, the position of the center of gravity is relatively high and it is easy to fall over. In addition, depending on the size of the flexible container, the weight is heavy, and depending on the state of filling, there is a possibility that a load such as a loose article moves in the flexible container.
Therefore, if the acceleration / deceleration of the flexible container is abruptly performed on the transit conveyor 30, the possibility of falling is high, so that the effect of the invention according to the embodiment of FIG. 5 is expected to be high.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, as a particularly preferable configuration, the fall prevention guard 32 is a rotating belt type, and the belt driving device 33 further rotates the belt by itself. However, even if the belt of the overturning guard 32 is not driven by the belt driving device 33, when the transported object Ha comes into contact with the transported part Ha, the belt can be freely rotated and the belt can be freely rotated. The reduction of damage caused by this can be expected.

  The speed control method of the conveyor system according to the present invention is a technique useful for transporting fragile transported objects such as flexible containers in a conveyor system in which transported objects are fed from a plurality of conveyors. It is.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyor 2a 1st supply conveyor 2b 2nd supply conveyor 3a 1st transit conveyor 3b 2nd transit conveyor 5a 1st roller part 5b 2nd roller part
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Conveyor system 30 Transit conveyor 32 Fall prevention guard 33 Belt drive device 35 Drive roller 36 Roller drive device Ha Conveyed object (conveyed object supplied from 1st supply conveyor)
Hb transported object (conveyed object supplied from the second supply conveyor)

Claims (5)

A transfer conveyor, a transfer conveyor arranged so as to be vertically movable above the transfer conveyor and facing the same direction as the transfer direction of the transfer conveyor, and a supply conveyor that is inclined or intersected with the transfer direction of the transfer conveyor ,
When the transfer conveyor moves upward, the transport path of the supply conveyor and the transfer conveyor communicates with each other via the direction changer by the roller.
When the transfer conveyor is moved downward, the supply conveyor and the transfer conveyor transfer path communicate with each other along the transfer conveyor transfer path.
A control method for a conveyor system that conveys an object to be conveyed from a supply conveyor to a conveyor via a transit conveyor,
By detecting the position of the transported object being transported by the transport conveyor and moving the transfer conveyor downward at a timing that does not interfere with the transported object moving below the transfer conveyor, the transfer conveyor and the transport conveyor A method for controlling a conveyor system, characterized in that a belt conveyance path is communicated to transfer an object to be conveyed from a transfer conveyor to a transfer conveyor. When the transfer object is transferred from the supply conveyor to the transfer conveyor, the transfer conveyor speed is controlled so that the supply conveyor and the transfer conveyor have the same speed.
2. The method for controlling a conveyor system according to claim 1, wherein when the transfer object is transferred from the transfer conveyor to the transfer conveyor, the speeds of the transfer conveyor and the transfer conveyor are matched.   The control method of the conveyor system of Claim 1 or Claim 2 which used the said to-be-conveyed object as a flexible container.   The belt type fall prevention guard is arranged on both side surfaces of the transfer path of the connecting conveyor, and the belt of the fall preventing guard is rotated at the same speed as the transfer speed of the flexible container by the connecting conveyor. The control method of the conveyor system of any one of Claims. A transfer conveyor, a transfer conveyor arranged so as to be vertically movable above the transfer conveyor and facing the same direction as the transfer direction of the transfer conveyor, and a supply conveyor that is inclined or intersected with the transfer direction of the transfer conveyor ,
When the transfer conveyor moves to the upper side, the transport path of the supply conveyor and the transfer conveyor communicates with each other via the direction changer by the roller.
Conveyor system in which the supply conveyor and the transport path of the transport conveyor communicate in the middle of the transport path of the transport conveyor when the transit conveyor is moved downward.

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