JP2020189730A - Article sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an article sorting device that even if a conveyed article starts to rotate with a position at which the article collides with a side wall of a chute as a center, can suppress rotation that causes accumulation positions to deviate in the chute and in a case, to improve storage efficiency without increasing workers and burdens on the workers, with a simple configuration.SOLUTION: An article sorting device 100 comprises: a tilting-operation unit L that tilts a tray T arranged in a carriage C that travels along a conveyance path S, at a tilting position; a chute 110 on which a conveyed article W held on the tilted tray T is discharged through a side of the conveyance path S to a receiving case H; and a control part, where a collision plate 114 is formed at an end part of a discharge inclined surface 113 at a downstream side in a travelling direction of the conveyance path S and a rotation suppressing part 115 is provided in at least part of the discharge inclined surface 113.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an article sorting device that tilts a tray provided on a carriage traveling along a transport path and sends out the transported articles held by the tray to the side of the transport path.

Conventionally, an article sorting device that tilts a tray provided on a trolley that travels along a transport path by using a tilting differential device or the like and sends the transported articles held by the tray to the side of the transport path via a chute. It is known.

For example, in Patent Document 1, a product supply means 1 composed of supply-dedicated chutes arranged for each type of product, a product storage means 2 for each shipping destination composed of chutes (delivery-dedicated chutes) arranged for each shipping destination, and the like. Product payout means 3 consisting of a trolley (trolley conveyor) with trays (tilting trays) connected in large numbers along a transport path (transport line) between the product supply means 1 and the product storage means 2 for each shipping destination. A control unit that controls a product returning means 4 for returning the transported goods (goods) to the product supply means 1, a product supply means 1, a product storage means 2 for each shipping destination, a product transport payout means 3, and a product return means 4. An article sorting device (commodity sorting and arranging device) having a product control device 10) is disclosed.

The article sorting device (commodity sorting and arranging device) described in Patent Document 1 identifies the transported article (commodity) supplied from the commodity supply means 1 to the tray (tilt tray) on the transport path (convey line). , The product storage means 2 for each shipping destination is configured to be distributed to each chute (dedicated unloading chute) having a different shipping destination as many as necessary.

Further, in Patent Document 2, a transport path (tilted conveyor belt assembly 14) provided on the elevated support frame 12 and a transport article (luggage 20) held on the transport path (tilted conveyor belt assembly 14) are described. It has a plurality of chutes (exit chute 16) for discharging to the side of the transport path (inclined conveyor belt assembly 14), and between the respective chutes (exit chute 16), a transport path (inclined conveyor belt assembly 14) is provided. An article sorting device (tilted conveyor sorting device 10) provided with a wall-shaped barrier 22 is disclosed along the line.

In the article sorting device (tilt conveyor sorting device 10) described in Patent Document 2, a gate assembly 40 is provided between a chute (outlet chute 16) and a transport path (tilt conveyor assembly 14) so that the gate assembly 40 can move up and down.
As a result, the transported article (luggage 20) does not move to the chute (exit chute 16) side at a position where the tip of the gate assembly 40 is higher than the transport path (tilted conveyor belt assembly 14), and the transport path (tilted conveyor belt assembly 14) does not move. 14) Stay on top and move from the transport path (tilted conveyor belt assembly 14) through the slide plate 48 of the gate assembly 40 to the chute (exit chute 16) at a position where the tip of the gate assembly 40 is lower than the transport path. It is configured.
That is, by moving the gate assembly 40 up and down, the conveyed article (baggage 20) can be sorted to a desired chute (exit chute 16).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-95335 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-09691

However, there is still room for improvement in the tilting operation device known in the above patent documents and the like.

That is, the article sorting apparatus (commodity sorting load assortment device, inclined conveyor sorting device 10) described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 shoots the conveyed article (commodity, luggage 20) from the conveying path (inclined conveyor belt assembly 14). When moving to (the unloading chute, the outlet chute 16), the transport path (inclined conveyor belt assembly 14) always travels in the transport direction, and the transport article (commodity, luggage 20) has momentum in the transport direction. By being thrown into the chute (delivery-only chute, exit chute 16) as it is, it moves on the chute (delivery-only chute, exit chute 16) in an arc-like trajectory.
Therefore, the transported article (commodity, luggage 20) collides with the side wall of the chute (delivery chute, exit chute 16) while passing through the chute (delivery chute, exit chute 16), and is conveyed by rotation around the collision point. With the direction of the goods (goods, luggage 20) changed, they are randomly accumulated on the chute (delivery chute, exit chute 16) and on the outlet conveyor 68, and the transportation goods (goods) accommodation efficiency in the chute (carry-out chute) There is a risk that the balance of the items (baggage 20) to be transported on the outlet conveyor 68 may become unstable.
Further, it is conceivable to arrange workers to appropriately align the transported articles (commodity luggage 20) in the chute (dedicated chute for carrying out) and on the outlet conveyor 68, but the cost increases by increasing the number of workers. There was a risk that the burden on the operator would increase.

The present invention solves these problems. With a simple configuration, the transported article moves into the chute while maintaining the momentum in the traveling direction of the transport path, and is centered on the collision position with the side wall of the chute. It is an object of the present invention to provide an article sorting device capable of suppressing a bias in the accumulation position in a chute or a case even when the rotation is started, and improving the storage efficiency without increasing the burden on the operator and the operator. It is a thing.

The article sorting device of the present invention receives a transport path, a tilting operation unit for tilting a tray provided on a trolley traveling along the transport path, and a transport article held by the tilted tray from the side of the transport path. It is an article sorting device having a chute that can be discharged into a case, and the chute has a receiving port for receiving a transported item from a tilted tray, a discharge port for discharging the transported article to a case, and a discharge port from the receiving port. It has a discharge inclined surface that inclines downward toward, and a collision plate is formed at the end of the discharge inclined surface on the downstream side in the traveling direction of the transport path, and the tilting operation unit is a receiving port on the transport path. The above problem is solved by providing a rotation suppressing portion at least a part of the discharge inclined surface provided at the opposite position.

In the article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, the chute has a receiving port for receiving the transported article from the tilted tray, a discharge port for discharging the transported parts to the case, and a discharge inclination tilted downward from the receiving port toward the discharge port. A collision plate is formed at the end of the discharge inclined surface on the downstream side in the traveling direction of the transport path, and the tilting operation unit is provided at a position facing the receiving port on the transport path. Since at least a part of the above is provided with a rotation suppressing portion, the conveyed article moves into the chute while maintaining the momentum in the traveling direction of the conveyed path, and when the conveyed article collides with the collision plate, the conveyed article rotates. Even if it starts, the rotation of the transported article is suppressed by passing over the rotation restraining portion, so that the accumulation position in the chute or the case can be suppressed from being biased, and the orientation of the transported article when it is discharged to the case can be adjusted. It can be aligned in a desired direction, and the storage efficiency of the transported articles in the case can be improved.

According to the configuration according to claim 2, since the rotation suppressing portion has a gently convex surface protruding upward from the discharge inclined surface, the rotation suppressing portion passes through the rotation suppressing portion by adjusting the inclination angle and height of the convex surface. It is possible to effectively suppress the rotation of the transported articles having various shapes, and further improve the storage efficiency of the transported articles in the case.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the rotation suppressing portion has a surface having a higher friction coefficient than other parts of the discharge inclined surface, the rotation suppressing portion is adjusted by adjusting the friction coefficient of the rotation suppressing portion. It is possible to more effectively suppress the rotation of the conveyed articles of various shapes passing through the portion, and further improve the accommodating efficiency of the conveyed articles in the case.
Further, by providing a surface having a higher coefficient of friction than other parts of the discharge inclined surface between the receiving port and the collision plate, it is possible to suppress the momentum when the conveyed article collides with the collision plate, and the rotation of the conveyed article is further increased. It can be further suppressed.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the rotation suppressing portion has a movable member that comes into contact with the conveyed article on the discharge inclined surface to adjust the advance / retreat, it is on the trajectory drawn by the conveyed article that collides with the collision plate. By interfering with the movable member, the movable member can stop the rotation of the conveyed article and the movement toward the discharge port side, and the movable member is separated from the trajectory drawn by the conveyed article to rotate the conveyed article. The movement can be started again toward the discharge port without any trouble, and the storage efficiency of the transported articles in the case can be surely improved.

Top view of the article sorting apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The front view of the article sorting apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. A three-view view showing a rotation suppressing member 115 of an article sorting apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The top view which shows the sorting procedure 1 by the article sorting apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The top view which shows the sorting procedure 2 by the article sorting apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The front view which shows the sorting procedure 2 by the article sorting apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. Top view showing the sorting procedure by the conventional article sorting apparatus 200. The front view which shows the sorting procedure by the conventional article sorting apparatus 200. The top view which shows the sorting procedure 1 by the article sorting apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention which attached the rotation restraint part 115a. The front view which shows the sorting procedure 1 by the article sorting apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention which attached the rotation restraint part 115a. The top view which shows the sorting procedure 2 by the article sorting apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention which attached the rotation restraint part 115a. The front view which shows the sorting procedure 2 by the article sorting apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention which attached the rotation restraint part 115a. The top view which shows the sorting procedure 1 by the article sorting apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention which attached the rotation restraint part 115b. The front view which shows the sorting procedure 1 by the article sorting apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention which attached the rotation restraint part 115b. The top view which shows the sorting procedure 2 by the article sorting apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention which attached the rotation restraint part 115b. The front view which shows the sorting procedure 2 by the article sorting apparatus 100 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention which attached the rotation restraint part 115b.

The article sorting apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the article sorting device 100 includes a transport path S, a tilting operation unit L for tilting a tray T provided on a carriage C traveling along the transport path S, and a tilted tray T. It has a chute 110 that discharges the transported article W held in the transport path S to the side of the transport path S.
Further, the article sorting device 100 has a control unit (not shown) that controls the operation of the tilting operation unit L.

The chute 110 has a receiving port 111, a discharging port 112, and a discharging inclined surface 113 that inclines downward from the receiving port 111 toward the discharging port 112, and among the sides of the discharging inclined surface 113, the transport path S A collision plate 114 is formed on the downstream side in the traveling direction of the above.
Further, on the discharge inclined surface 113, a rotation suppressing portion 115 having a rotation suppressing surface F which is a gently inclined surface facing the collision plate 114 is formed.

The case H for accommodating the transported article W that has passed through the chute 110 is arranged near the discharge port 112.
The control unit (not shown) has a tilting instruction means (not shown) that operates the tilting operation unit L at a predetermined timing.
The rotation suppressing portion 115 forms a rotation suppressing surface F which is a gently inclined surface by arranging the round bar B under the covering sheet P laid on the discharge inclined surface 113.

Next, the procedure for sorting the conveyed articles W by the article sorting apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.
First, the transported article W is placed on the tray T on the carriage C that moves along the transport path S as shown in FIG. 4, and is transported to the receiving port 111 of the chute 110.

The control unit (not shown) operates the tilting operation unit L by the tilting instruction means (not shown) to tilt the tray T toward the receiving port 111 side.
As a result, the conveyed article W on the tray T enters the chute 110 from the receiving port 111.

Here, since the tray T throws the conveyed article W into the chute 110 while moving to the downstream side in the traveling direction of the conveyed path S, the conveyed article W moves on the discharge inclined surface 113 of the chute 110 in an arc-like trajectory. Then, it collides with the collision plate 114.
As a result, the conveyed article W starts a rotary motion with the contact point with the collision plate 114 as a fulcrum, and starts moving toward the discharge port 112 side due to the inclination of the discharge inclined surface 113, which is opposite to the collision plate 114 side of the conveyed article W. The end portion rides on the rotation suppression surface F of the rotation suppression portion 115.

Since the rotation suppressing surface F is gently inclined, the rotational movement of the conveyed article W moving to the discharge port 112 side is suppressed.
As a result, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the transported article W slides on the discharge inclined surface 113 in a direction in which the longitudinal side of the transported article W and the longitudinal side of the case H are substantially parallel to each other, and the discharge port is as it is. It is housed in case H from 112.

On the other hand, in the case of the normal article sorting device 200 in which the rotation suppressing unit 115 is not provided, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the conveyed article W thrown into the chute 210 from the tray T collides with the collision plate 214. , Start a rotary motion with the contact point with the collision plate 214 as a fulcrum, slide the discharge inclined surface 213 in a direction so that the longitudinal side of the conveyed article W and the collision plate 214 are substantially parallel, and move from the discharge port 212 to the case H. Be housed.
As a result, if the length on the longitudinal side of the transported article W is longer than the length on the short side of the case H, there is a risk that the transported article W will not fit in the case H and will be caught. Therefore, there is a risk that the storage efficiency of the case H may be lowered, and there is a risk of cost increase due to arranging a worker for storing the transported article W in the case H by reorienting the direction.

The rotation suppressing portion 115 does not necessarily have to form the rotation suppressing surface F which is a gently inclined surface by arranging the round bar B under the covering sheet P laid on the discharge inclined surface 113, for example. , The prism may be arranged under the covering sheet P, or the rotation suppressing surface F may be integrally formed directly on the discharging inclined surface 113 without providing the covering sheet P, and the friction coefficient may be another discharge inclined surface. It may be a high friction surface higher than 113 and flat.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, the rotation suppressing portion 115a is formed in a plate shape that penetrates the discharge inclined surface 113 so as to be able to advance and retreat, and the conveyed article W thrown into the chute 110 makes a contact with the collision plate 114. Immediately after starting rotation as a fulcrum, the rotation suppressing portion 115a receives the conveyed article W, and after the rotation of the conveyed article W has stopped, the rotation suppressing portion 115a is moved below the discharge inclined surface 113 to discharge the conveyed article W. It may be slid toward the exit 112 side.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 13 to 16, the discharge port 112 of the discharge inclined surface 113 is provided with a partition plate-shaped rotation suppressing portion 115b that can rotate arbitrarily with the discharge port 112 as the center of rotation, and is inserted into the chute 110. While the conveyed article W is rotating with the contact point with the collision plate 114 as a fulcrum, the rotation suppressing portion 115b receives the conveyed article W, and after the rotation of the conveyed article W is stopped, the rotation suppressing portion 115b is rotated to incline the discharge. The conveyed article W may be put into the case H by moving below the surface 113.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the present invention described in the claims. It is possible.

In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that one tilting operation unit is provided, but the number of tilting operation units is not limited to this, and for example, two or more tilting operation units are provided for one chute. You may.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the tilting direction of the tray is limited to one direction with respect to the transport path, but the tilt direction of the tray is not limited to this, for example, on both sides of the transport path. A chute may be provided so that the tray can be tilted to either side.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the rotation suppressing portion has been described as being mounted on the discharge inclined surface, but the configuration of the rotation suppressing portion is not limited to this, and for example, the discharge inclined surface is partially raised to suppress rotation. A portion may be formed.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the rotation suppressing portion has been described as being formed in a plate shape that penetrates the discharge inclined surface so as to be able to advance and retreat, but the configuration of the rotation suppressing portion is not limited to this, and for example, the rotation suppressing portion is formed. The portion may be formed in a rod shape that penetrates the collision plate so as to be able to advance and retreat.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the collision plate is described as being provided on the downstream side in the traveling direction of the transport path among the sides of the discharge inclined surface, but the arrangement of the collision plate is not limited to this. For example, it may be provided on the upstream side in the traveling direction of the transport path.

100, 200 ・ ・ ・ Goods sorting device 110, 210 ・ ・ ・ Chute 111, 211 ・ ・ ・ Inlet 112, 212 ・ ・ ・ Discharge port 113, 213 ・ ・ ・ Discharge slope 114 ・ ・ ・ Collision plate 115, 115a・ ・ ・ Rotation suppression part B ・ ・ ・ Round bar C ・ ・ ・ Bogie F ・ ・ ・ Rotation suppression surface H ・ ・ ・ Case L ・ ・ ・ Tilt operation unit P ・ ・ ・ Cover sheet S ・ ・ ・ Transport path T ・・ ・ Tray

Claims (4)

A transport path, a tilting operation unit for tilting a tray provided on a trolley traveling along the transport path, and a transport article held by the tilted tray can be received from the side of the transport path and discharged to a case. An article sorting device with a possible chute,
The chute has a receiving port for receiving the transported article from the tilted tray, a discharge port for discharging the transported article to the case, and a discharge inclined surface inclined downward from the receiving port toward the discharge port. Have and
A collision plate is formed at the end of the discharge inclined surface on the downstream side in the traveling direction of the transport path.
The tilting operation unit is provided at a position on the transport path facing the receiving port.
An article sorting device characterized in that a rotation suppressing portion is provided on at least a part of the discharge inclined surface. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation suppressing portion has a gently convex surface protruding upward from the discharge inclined surface. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rotation suppressing portion has a surface having a friction coefficient higher than that of other portions of the discharge inclined surface. The article sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rotation suppressing unit has a movable member that comes into contact with the conveyed article on the discharge inclined surface to adjust the advance / retreat.

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