JP2023059611A - Lateral feed conveyor and sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a lateral feed conveyor and a sorter which can improve conveyance efficiency of a sorted object.SOLUTION: In a lateral feed conveyor 1 for conveying sorted objects sorted according to a predetermined condition for each sorting selection in a lateral direction, the lateral feed conveyor has a trough 30 including a plurality of gutters 31 to 34 for receiving the sorted objects for each of the sorting selections, and guiding conveyance of the sorted objects received for each of the sorting selections, the trough includes a bottom layer 39 arranged at the lowest part and a plurality of layers composed of one or a plurality of upper layers 38 arranged above the bottom layer, and the one or more gutters among the plurality of gutters 31 to 34 are formed in each of the plurality of layers.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a transverse conveyor and a sorting machine capable of laterally transporting sorted objects.

Conventionally, optical sorters have been used to sort raw materials such as grains such as rice and wheat, resin pellets, coffee beans, and other granular materials into non-defective and defective products, as well as to sort out and remove foreign matter from the raw materials. Are known. The sorting process is performed, for example, by any technique that optically detects the color of raw materials or foreign matter. An example of a color sorter that optically sorts raw materials is the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 below.

JP 2011-092861 A

In the color sorter of Patent Document 1, the raw material finally determined as a non-defective product is discharged out of the machine from a discharge gutter for fine products arranged at a high place in the sorter, while the raw material is finally determined as a defective product. The raw material is discharged out of the machine through a discharge gutter for defective products located at a lower part of the sorter. In addition, the transfer of non-defective raw materials to the high place of the sorter where the discharge gutter for fine products is provided is realized by providing the sorter with an elevator.

If the discharge trough is provided at a high place in the sorting machine, for example, by arranging the raw material input part in the weighing machine or bagging machine in the post-process so as to be located below the discharge trough for the refined product, the raw material can be placed in the weighing machine. or directly into the bagging machine. Therefore, according to such a color sorter, it is possible to easily transport the raw material between the devices used in the steps before and after the sorting process, and to easily determine the arrangement location of each device including the sorter. .

Therefore, in view of the presence of post-processes related to the disposal of defective products, it is originally preferable to dispose not only the discharge trough for good products but also the discharge trough for defective products at a high place in the sorter. However, if the discharge gutter for defective products is also arranged at a high place in the sorter, not only the raw materials determined as non-defective products but also the raw materials finally determined as defective products can be transported to the sorter using the elevator. need to be lifted to a higher place.

In the case of a color sorter having a general structure, raw materials that have been optically sorted, that is, objects to be sorted, are placed on a conveyor provided at a low position in the sorter after being divided into each sorting section. In addition, the raw material entrance of the elevator is arranged on the side of the conveyor. Each sorted raw material is conveyed on the conveyor in a substantially horizontal direction, so to speak, sideways, and reaches the raw material entrance of the corresponding elevator.

Therefore, if the discharge gutter for the final defective products is also placed at a higher place than the sorting machine, not only should an elevator for the final defective products be installed, but also a conveying route for the final defective products leading to the elevator should be installed on the conveyor. need will arise. For example, in the secondary sorting type color sorter disclosed in Patent Document 1, three elevators and three conveyor paths are provided, but the discharge gutter for final defective products is also at a high place in the sorter. If so, the conveyor would need to have four paths side by side leading to each elevator.

However, if the number of paths of the conveyor is increased, the width of each path must be reduced, and the material conveying efficiency of each path must be reduced. Depending on the expected amount of raw material to be transported, it may be possible to design the width of the route, which is expected to carry a large amount of material, to be wide. Concerning the narrowed route, the material conveying efficiency is lowered.

On the other hand, it is possible to substantially maintain the transport efficiency by widening the width of the conveyor as a whole, but if the overall width of the conveyor is widened, the width of the main body of the sorting machine on which the conveyor is mounted must be widened accordingly. do not get However, in view of the recent trends, it is desirable to avoid designs that lead to an increase in the size of the sorting machine as much as possible.

Furthermore, in the secondary sorting type color sorter disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to convey the primary defective products in the primary sorting to the secondary sorting chute, while the good products in the secondary sorting are reprocessed. For primary sorting, it must be conveyed to the chute for primary sorting. In such a sorting machine, due to the layout of the elevator and the optical part, somewhere between the conveyor and each chute, there is a transport path for the primary defective products during the primary sorting and a transport path for the good products during the secondary sorting. must cross the transport path of

If these conveying routes are intersected by a flow-down route through which the material flows down after being lifted by the elevator, the structure of each flow-down route becomes complicated. Therefore, the height of the elevator has to be increased in order to secure the flow path.

Up to this point, we have explained the problem when trying to arrange the discharge gutter for defective products at a high place in the sorting machine. However, there is, of course, the problem of further improving the transport efficiency of the sorted raw materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cross-feed conveyor and a sorting machine that have a small size and a simple structure and yet have a high efficiency in conveying objects to be sorted.

The invention according to (1) is a horizontal conveyer for horizontally conveying objects sorted according to predetermined conditions for each sorting division, wherein the transverse conveyor receives the objects sorted for each sorting division, Each sorting section has a trough including a plurality of troughs for guiding the transportation of the objects to be sorted received, and the trough comprises a bottom layer disposed at the lowest position and one or more disposed above the bottom layer. A traversing conveyor formed including a plurality of layers comprising a plurality of upper layers, each of said plurality of layers being formed with one or more troughs of said plurality of troughs.

In the invention according to (2), an opening is provided in the upper layer among the plurality of layers, and the objects to be sorted pass through the opening to pass through the gutter formed below the opening. It is a lateral feed conveyor according to the above (1) that is transferred to.

In the invention according to (3), the floor surface of the upper layer is arranged so as to form a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the floor surface of the bottom layer, with the conveying direction side of the objects to be sorted facing downward. The transverse conveyor according to (1) or (2) above.

The invention according to (4) is any one of the above (1) to (3), wherein each of the plurality of troughs includes a trough wall arranged so that the angle of the inner corner of the trough is 45 degrees or more. It is a sideways feed conveyor described in the above.

The invention according to (5) is characterized by a sorting unit for sorting input items according to predetermined conditions, a lateral conveyer for laterally transporting the sorted items sorted by the sorting unit, and conveying by the lateral conveyer. and an elevating unit that receives and raises the objects to be sorted, wherein the horizontal conveyer receives the objects to be sorted in each sorting section and guides them to each sorting section. wherein said trough is formed including a plurality of layers, each of said plurality of layers being formed with one or more troughs of said plurality of troughs.

In the invention according to (6), the trough has a plurality of delivery ports for delivering the objects to be sorted to the outside of the transverse conveyor, and the plurality of troughs are arranged at end portions on the conveying direction side of each trough. According to (5) above, it is connected to any one of a plurality of delivery ports, and the mutual arrangement positional relationship of the plurality of delivery ports is arranged based on the structure of at least one of the elevating section and the sorting section. is a sorting machine.

The invention according to (7) has a discharge device for discharging the objects to be sorted lifted by the lifting unit to the outside of the sorting machine, and the trough sends out the objects to be sorted to the outside of the transverse conveyor. A plurality of delivery ports are provided, and each of the plurality of troughs is connected to one of the plurality of delivery ports at an end portion of each trough on the conveying direction side, and the mutual arrangement positional relationship of the plurality of delivery ports is as described above. The sorting machine according to (5) above, which is arranged based on the arrangement position of the discharging device.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, there exists a specific effect that the conveyance efficiency of the to-be-sorted object can be improved, without increasing the dimension of a sorting machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a whole perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the sorting machine which concerns on this invention from the front upper right direction. Fig. 2 is a left side view schematically explaining the internal structure of the embodiment of the sorter shown in Fig. 1; FIG. 2 is a front view schematically explaining the internal structure of the embodiment of the sorter shown in FIG. 1; 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a trough included in a transverse conveyor according to the invention; FIG. Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment of the trough shown in Figure 4; FIG. 6 is a top view of the trough lid shown in FIG. 5; Figure 6 is a top view of the trough upper layer shown in Figure 5; Figure 6 is a top view of the trough bottom layer shown in Figure 5; Fig. 5 is a schematic side view of the embodiment of the trough shown in Fig. 4 resting on a horizontal surface; FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of a trough included in the cross-feed conveyor according to the invention;

Next, with reference to each drawing, one embodiment of the lateral feed conveyor and sorting machine of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the transverse conveyor 1 broadly refers to a conveying device that horizontally or substantially horizontally conveys an object placed on the floor surface, that is, conveys it laterally. In addition, the sorting machine 2 broadly refers to a device that sorts the items put into the machine according to a predetermined standard.

In this embodiment, examples of objects to be sorted by the sorter 2 include raw materials such as grains such as rice and wheat, resin pellets, coffee beans, and other granular materials, and foreign substances mixed in with these raw materials. is mentioned. In the following description, the object to be sorted may be simply referred to as "raw material".

Note that the sorter 2 in this embodiment is a color sorter that detects the color of an object to be sorted, particularly granular material, using an optical device, and sorts the material according to the detection result. However, the sorting machine 2 may adopt a configuration for sorting raw materials using any method other than the optical method.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sorter 2 includes an elevating unit 4 positioned on the rear side of the sorter 2 for lifting the raw materials, and a front side of the elevating unit 4 for lifting the raw materials. It has at least an optical sorting section 6 for optical sorting and a transverse conveyor 1 positioned below the optical sorting section 6 for returning the sorted materials to the lifting section 4 . The optical sorting unit 6 in the present embodiment sorts the input materials through a two-stage sorting process.

Further, the lifting section 4 includes a plurality of bucket conveyors 9 to 12 that are used to lift and transport raw materials. The raw materials to be lifted by the respective bucket conveyors 9 to 12 are sorted according to the sorting process of the raw materials and the sorting result. In this embodiment, on the bucket conveyor 9, the secondary defective product b2 determined as a defective product in both the primary sorting and secondary sorting processes is lifted, and on the bucket conveyor 10, raw materials before the primary sorting process are lifted. sent. Further, the bucket conveyer 11 lifts the good product g1 determined as non-defective in the primary sorting process, and the bucket conveyor 12 transports the primary defective product b1 determined as defective in the primary sorting process.

In this embodiment, the bucket conveyors 9 to 12 are arranged side by side in the width direction of the sorter 2 when viewed from the front. The arrangement of each of the bucket conveyors 9 to 12 corresponds to the arrangement of the delivery ports for each sorting section of the transverse conveyor 1 . Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the bucket conveyors 9 to 12 are housed compactly in the housing of the sorter 2 in this embodiment.

The sorting machine 2 has a charging hopper 13 which is provided at a lower part of the sorting machine 2 and behind the lifting section 4 so that raw materials can be charged from behind the sorting machine 2 . The widthwise dimension of the input hopper 13 is preferably within the range of the widthwise dimension of the sorting machine 2 when viewed from the front.

The input hopper 13 has a raw material supply port for supplying the input raw material to the next device, and the bucket conveyor 10 has a raw material receiving port for receiving the raw material supplied from another device. The raw material supply port of the charging hopper 13 is connected to the raw material receiving port of the bucket conveyor 10 .

The sorting machine 2 has storage tanks 14 and 15 which are arranged below the lifting section 4 and above the optical sorting section 6 and temporarily store the raw materials lifted by the lifting section 4 . In this embodiment adopting a two-step sorting system, the storage tank 14 is for primary sorting, and the storage tank 15 is for secondary sorting.

The sorting machine 2 further includes a defective product discharge gutter 16 connected to the bucket conveyor 9 for discharging secondary defective products b2 to the outside of the sorting machine 2, and a good product discharge gutter 16 connected to the bucket conveyor 11 to discharge the good products to the outside of the sorting machine 2. It has a discharge gutter 17 . In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the defective product discharge trough 16 is located at a high position on the left side of the sorting machine 2, and the good product discharge trough 17 is directed from the high position on the right side to the outside of the machine. It is provided so as to extend out. However, the structure is not limited to those shown in these figures, and the discharge paths and outlets of the discharge troughs 16 and 17 can be arbitrarily set according to the dimensions of the sorter 2 and the internal structure of the machine.

Further, it is preferable to arrange the gutter passages of the discharge gutter 16, 17 as close to the inner end of the main body of the sorter 2 as possible, because the space inside the machine can be utilized more effectively. In addition, with such an arrangement, it is possible to prevent the trough from intersecting with the path of the raw materials heading for the optical sorting section 6 . For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, most of the gutter passages of the discharge gutter 16, 17 are arranged in the vicinity of the front, rear, left, and right ends of the inside of the machine. Then, by arranging such a trough, in the central part in the sorter 2, the arrangement area of the storage tanks 14 and 15 and each device that becomes the intermediate route from these tanks to the optical sorting unit 6 can be widened. can be done.

Regarding the discharge gutter 16, 17, a plurality of discharge paths leading to the discharge port and each discharge port may be provided for one bucket conveyor. In this case, the discharge trough may also be provided with path switching means for switching the opening/closing state of the discharge path leading to each discharge port, for example, a valve for opening/closing a predetermined path or a device having a similar function. According to such a configuration, it is possible to appropriately change the discharge port for discharging the raw material according to the operation of the path switching means.

The sorting machine 2 has rotary valves 18 and 19 for controlling the flow rates of the materials supplied from the storage tanks 14 and 15 respectively. The sorter 2 further comprises chutes 20, 21 which are provided with a predetermined slope and which serve as sliding downflow paths for the raw materials. In this embodiment, the outlet of the storage tank 14 is connected to the inlet of the rotary valve 18 , and the outlet of the rotary valve 18 is connected to the inlet of the chute 20 . Similarly, the outlet of the storage tank 15 and the inlet of the rotary valve 19, and the outlet of the rotary valve 18 and the inlet of the chute 21 are connected. An optical sorting section 6 is provided below the chutes 20 and 21 , and raw materials discharged from the lower ends of the chutes 20 and 21 are transported to the optical sorting section 6 .

The light selector 6 includes a light detector 22 and an ejector 23 . The optical sorting unit 6 including the light detection unit 22 and the ejector 23 can, for example, optically detect a plurality of raw materials falling in a line in the width direction of the sorting machine 2, and appropriately repel the raw materials with air. be.

As shown in FIG. 3, the optical sorting section 6 is divided into a primary sorting section 24 and a secondary sorting section 25 depending on the position of the sorter 2 in the width direction when viewed from the front. The primary sorting unit 24 sorts the raw materials supplied from the storage tank 14 for primary sorting, and the secondary sorting unit 25 sorts the raw materials supplied from the storage tank 15 for secondary sorting. It is. The primary sorting section 24 and the secondary sorting section 25 have substantially the same structure except for the chute surface.

In the present embodiment, the photodetector 22 may be a known device including a sensor such as a CCD line sensor, a light source such as a fluorescent lamp, and a background as a background device or means. As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of photodetectors 22 used in this embodiment are arranged with chutes 20 and 21 sandwiched therebetween. Each pair of photodetectors 22 includes a sensor 22a, a mirror 22b, a light source 22c and a background 22d. Each pair of photodetectors 22 captures an image of the raw material falling from the lower ends of the chutes 20 and 21 at the detection position, and determines whether the raw material is good or bad, or foreign matter mixed in the raw material, based on the obtained imaging signal. .

The ejector 23 is not limited to one configured to push the raw material by air, and for example, a leaf spring driven by a solenoid or the like may be used to push the raw material.

In FIG. 2, reference numerals are attached only to the light detection section 22 arranged on the front side of the sorting machine 2 for the sensor 22a, the mirror 22b, the light source 22c, and the background 22d. However, the configuration of the photodetector 22 disposed on the rear side of the sorting machine 2, to which reference numerals are omitted, is the same as the configuration of the photodetector 22 on the front side.

The sorting machine 2 has a plurality of discharge hoppers (or discharge troughs) 26 to 29 arranged below the optical sorting section 6 . More specifically, below the primary sorting section 24, a discharge hopper 26 is located at a position where it can receive raw materials sorted as primary good products g1 as a result of the primary sorting, and receives raw materials sorted as primary defective products b1. A discharge hopper 27 is arranged at each possible position. Similarly, below the secondary sorting unit 25, a discharge hopper 28 is located at a position capable of receiving the raw materials sorted as the secondary non-defective products g2 as a result of the secondary sorting, and receives the raw materials sorted as the secondary defective products b2. A discharge hopper 29 is arranged at each possible position.

The horizontal feed conveyor 1 as one embodiment of the present invention is arranged below the discharge hoppers 26 to 29, and passes raw materials sorted by the optical sorting unit 6 through the discharge hoppers 26 to 29 to primary non-defective products g1 and primary non-defective products g1. The non-defective item b1, the secondary non-defective item g2, and the secondary defective item b2 can be received separately.

The traversing conveyor 1 includes at least a trough 30 as shown in FIG. 4 as its component. As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the trough 30 is formed with a plurality of troughs 31-34 corresponding to the positions at which the material is dropped from the discharge hoppers 26-29. The troughs 31 to 34 serve to receive the objects sorted by the optical sorting section 6 and guide the received objects to be sorted so that they are smoothly transported on the trough 30 . The transverse conveyor 1 may also be a vibrating conveyor provided with a vibrating mechanism for vibrating the bottom surface of the trough 30 .

The positions where the troughs 31-34 are formed in the trough 30 of the transverse conveyor 1 correspond to the positions of discharge ports from which the sorted materials are discharged from the discharge hoppers 26-29. The raw materials sorted by the optical sorting unit 6 are supplied onto a predetermined gutter that leads to one of the bucket conveyors 9 to 12 serving as the respective transport destinations.

The trough 30 of the transverse conveyor 1 includes a trough main body 36 in which the gutter 31 to 34 are formed, and a lid 37 that partially covers the upper surface of the trough 30 . In the trough main body 36, the troughs 31-34 are arranged in a plurality of layers, that is, arranged at different heights. At least one of the troughs 31 to 34 is formed in each layer in the trough body portion 36 .

In this embodiment, the trough body 36 is divided into two layers, an upper layer 38 and a bottom layer 39, as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the layer arranged at the bottom (bottom) of the trough main body 36 will be referred to as the bottom layer, and all the layers arranged above the bottom layer will be referred to as upper layers. .

An upper layer 38 of the trough body 36 is formed with troughs 31 and 32 . The gutter 31 serves as a conveying path for receiving the primary non-defective product (fine product) g1 from the discharge hopper 26 and sending the received primary non-defective product g1 toward the bucket conveyor 11 . The gutter 32 serves as a transport path for receiving the primary defective products b1 from the discharge hopper 27 and delivering the received primary defective products b1 to the bucket conveyor 12 .

On the other hand, the bottom layer 39 is formed with troughs 33 and 34 . The gutter 33 receives the second good product g2 from the discharge hopper 28 and serves as a conveying path for sending the received second good product g2 toward the bucket conveyor 10. - 特許庁The gutter 34 receives secondary defective products b2 from the discharge hopper 29 and serves as a conveying path for sending the received secondary defective products b2 to the bucket conveyor 9 .

FIG. 4 shows the trough 30 integrally assembled by covering the trough body 36 with the lid 37 . On the other hand, FIGS. 5 and 6 to 8 separately show the lid portion 37 and the upper layer 38 and the bottom layer 39 of the trough body portion 36 that constitute the trough 30. As shown in FIG. It should be noted that the depiction of the bottom layer 39 of the trough body 36 in FIGS.

Arrows g1, b1, g2, and b2 indicated by partially broken lines in FIG. It shows the flow of falling until it reaches the floor surface of the gutter 31-34.

The trough walls defining the troughs 31 - 34 are suitably placed on the surface of the upper layer 38 or the bottom layer 39 of the trough body 36 . Also, an end wall provided at the edge of the trough main body 36 may be used as part of the gutter wall.

The lid portion 37 of the trough body portion 36 has a plurality of openings 41-44 corresponding to the dropping positions of the materials from the discharge hoppers 26-29. That is, on the surface of the lid portion 37, a plurality of the plurality of Openings 41-44 are provided.

The openings 41 to 44 form holes penetrating vertically from the top surface to the bottom surface of the lid portion 37, and sorted materials dropped from the discharge hoppers 26 to 29 pass through these holes. In the case of the lid portion 37 of the present embodiment, in relation to the route of the raw material sorted by the primary sorting, the opening portion 41 is below the position where the discharge port of the discharge hopper 26 is arranged. An opening 42 is provided below the arrangement position. In addition, regarding the path of the raw material sorted by the secondary sorting, the opening 43 is below the position where the discharge port of the discharge hopper 28 is arranged, and the opening is below the position where the discharge port of the discharge hopper 29 is arranged. A section 44 is provided.

The trough 30 of the transverse conveyor 1 feeds the selected raw materials from the troughs 31 to 34 provided in the trough 30 to the raw material receiving ports provided in the bucket conveyors 9 to 12 corresponding to the troughs for receiving the selected raw materials. It has outlets 45-48. The delivery ports 45 to 48 are preferably arranged side by side at one widthwise end of the trough 30 . The delivery ports 45-48 are respectively connected to the raw material receiving ports of the bucket conveyors 9-12 directly or indirectly via other connecting elements. Each of the delivery ports 45 to 48 has a connecting element that can be directly connected to the raw material receiving ports of the bucket conveyors 9 to 12, or is connected to the raw material receiving ports of the bucket conveyors 9 to 12 via other connecting elements. It is configured to be indirectly connectable.

The paths of the troughs 31 and 32 formed in the upper layer 38 of the trough body 36 and the widths of these paths may be arbitrarily designed and formed as long as they lead to the outlets 47 and 48, respectively.

Raw materials dropped from the discharge hopper 26 and sorted out as primary non-defective products g1 pass through an opening 41 provided in the lid 37 and are transferred onto the floor surface of the trough 31 . That is, the gutter 31 receives the dropped primary good product g1 in a region 51 substantially directly below the position where the opening 41 of the lid 37 is arranged. Raw materials that have been dropped from the discharge hopper 27 and selected as primary defective products pass through an opening 42 provided in the lid 37 and are transferred onto the floor surface of the path of the gutter 32 . That is, the gutter 32 receives the dropped primary defective product b1 in an area 52 substantially directly below the position where the opening 42 of the lid 37 is arranged.

The primary non-defective product g1 received by the gutter 31 in the area 51 is conveyed along the route of the gutter 31 and finally delivered from the delivery port 47 to the raw material receiving port of the bucket conveyor 11 . An arrow g1 in FIG. 7 indicates the flow of transportation of the primary non-defective product g1 in the gutter 31. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, the primary defective product b1 received by the gutter 32 in the area 51 is conveyed along the path of the gutter 32 and finally delivered from the delivery port 48 to the raw material receiving port of the bucket conveyor 12 . An arrow b1 in FIG. 7 indicates the flow of transportation of the primary defective product b1 in the gutter 32. As shown in FIG.

In addition to the troughs 31 , 32 , openings 53 , 54 are provided on the floor surface of the upper layer 38 of the trough main body 36 . The opening 53 is formed below, preferably vertically below, the arrangement position of the opening 43 when the lid 37 is properly covered with respect to the trough main body 36 . The opening 54 is formed below, preferably vertically below, the arrangement position of the opening 44 when the lid 37 is properly covered with respect to the trough main body 36 .

With such a configuration, the raw material selected as the secondary non-defective product g2 dropped from the discharge hopper 28 passes through the opening 43 and then through the opening 53 . In addition, the raw material selected as secondary defective products b2 dropped from the discharge hopper 29 passes through the opening 44 and then through the opening 54 .

The structure and arrangement of the openings 53, 54 and the troughs 31, 32, which are both provided on the floor surface of the upper layer 38, can be arbitrarily determined as long as different sorted raw materials are not mixed. For example, walls 53a and 54a surrounding the peripheries of the openings 53 and 54 can be provided on the floor surface of the upper layer 38 . By installing the walls 53a and 54a in this manner, the internal space of the trough 30 can be used more effectively.

The paths of the troughs 33 and 34 formed in the bottom layer 39 of the trough body 36 and the width of these paths may also be arbitrarily designed and formed as long as they lead to the respective outlets.

The raw material that has been dropped from the discharge hopper 28 and selected as the secondary non-defective product g2 passes through the openings 43 and 53 and reaches the floor surface of the trough 33 . In other words, the gutter 33 receives the falling second good product g2 in a region 63 (see FIG. 8) that is substantially directly below the positions where the openings 43 and 53 of the lid 37 and the upper layer 38 are arranged. It will happen. Also, the raw materials that are dropped from the discharge hopper 29 and selected as secondary defective products b2 pass through the openings 44 and 54 and reach the floor surface of the path of the gutter 34 . That is, the gutter 34 removes secondary defective products b2 that are dropped in a region 64 (see FIG. 8) that is substantially directly below the positions where the openings 44 and 54 of the lid portion 37 and the upper layer 38 are arranged. I will accept it.

The secondary non-defective product g2 received by the gutter 33 in the region 63 is conveyed along the route of the gutter 33 and finally delivered from the delivery port 46 to the raw material receiving port of the bucket conveyor 10 . An arrow g2 in FIG. 8 indicates the flow of conveyance of the secondary non-defective product g2 within the gutter 33. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, the secondary defective product b2 received by the gutter 34 in the region 64 is conveyed along the path of the gutter 34 and finally delivered from the delivery port 45 to the material receiving port of the bucket conveyor 9. An arrow b2 in FIG. 8 indicates the flow of transportation of the secondary defective product b2 in the gutter 34. As shown in FIG.

Regarding the route of each gutter 31 to 34, which one of the delivery ports 45 to 48 is to be the exit, ie, the material transport destination, is determined by the components in the sorter 2, such as the elevating section 4, the optical sorting section 6, the storage tank 14, the 15, the defective product discharge gutter 16 and the good product discharge gutter 17 are preferably determined.

In this embodiment, the components in the sorting machine 2 used in the primary sorting process and the preceding stage (particularly, the bucket conveyor 10 in the lifting section 4, the storage tank 14, the rotary valve 18, the chute 20, the optical sorting section 6 The primary sorting unit 24) has a front view width compared to the components (bucket conveyor 12, storage tank 15, rotary valve 19, chute 21, secondary sorting unit 25) used in the secondary sorting process and its previous stage Placed on the left side of the direction. Therefore, the delivery port 46 of the gutter 33, which serves as the conveying path for the secondary non-defective products g2 to be subjected to the primary sorting process again, is the same as the outlet 46 of the gutter 32, which serves as the conveying path for the primary defective products b1 to which the secondary sorting process is performed next. It is arranged on the left side of the delivery port 48 in the front view width direction.

For the same reason, in the present embodiment, in view of the relative positional relationship in the width direction of the front view of the defective product discharge gutter 16 and the good product discharge gutter 17, the delivery port of the gutter 34 serving as the conveying route for the secondary defective product b2 45 is arranged on the left side in the front view width direction of the delivery port 47 of the gutter 31, which is the conveying path of the fine product g1.

By determining the arrangement positions of the delivery ports 45 to 48 in this way, the flow-down route leading to the primary or secondary sorting section in the sorter 2 needs to have a structure in which it intersects with another route in the middle of the flow-down route. will be eliminated, and a simple structure will suffice.

The path of each trough disposed on the floor surfaces of the upper layer 38 and the bottom layer 39 constituting the trough body 36 is defined by providing trough walls on both width portions of the path. As mentioned above, the path of each trough can be designed to some extent freely, but it is particularly preferable to have the material conveying direction (in FIG. 7 The path should be set at an angle of 45 degrees or more with respect to the arrow D) shown. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the path of the gutter 32 is set such that the angle θ1 between the gutter wall 32a and the gutter wall 32b, which is also the end wall of the trough body 36, is θ1≧45°. .

In this way, if the angle of the inner corner of each gutter is set to 45 degrees or more, it is possible to effectively prevent the material such as grain from not being conveyed smoothly and part of it to remain in the gutter, thereby reducing the conveying performance. can be prevented.

A more specific value of the angle of the internal corner of each gutter depends on the layout of the route, the type of material to be handled, the degree of inclination of the transverse conveyor 1 when installed in the sorting machine 2, and the vibration provided on the transverse conveyor 1. It can be determined appropriately according to various conditions such as the performance of the mechanism.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable that the traversing conveyor 1 in the sorting machine 2 is arranged in such a manner that the raw material conveying direction is inclined downward to some extent. In this way, by installing the transverse conveyor 1 in the sorting machine 2 so as to be inclined in the vertical direction, the transverse conveyor 1 can more smoothly convey the received materials to the bucket conveyors 9-12.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9, the floor surface of the upper layer 38 has a predetermined inclination angle (θ2) with respect to the floor surface (H1) of the bottom layer 39 when the trough 30 is placed on the horizontal plane (H0). It may be configured so that The floor surface of the upper layer 38 is located on the destination side of the raw material, that is, the delivery ports 45 to 48, with respect to the direction of the source of raw material, that is, the side of the areas 51, 52, 63, and 64 that receive the raw material from the discharge hoppers 26 to 29. The side connected to is inclined downward.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9, if the trough 30 is placed on a horizontal surface, the floor surface H1 of the bottom layer 39 is also arranged parallel to the horizontal surface H0, whereas the floor surface of the upper layer 38 lies between the horizontal surface H0 and the bottom layer 39. It is arranged at an angle of θ2 with respect to the floor surface H1. According to such a configuration, it is possible to increase the amount of material conveyed by the transverse conveyor 1 without increasing the width of each gutter provided in the trough 30 .

A suitable value for the angle θ2 may vary depending on various conditions, but is, for example, θ2=2°. Various conditions that affect the determination of the value of the angle θ2 include, for example, the layout of the path provided in the trough 30, the type of raw material to be handled, and the degree of gradient of the transverse conveyor 1 itself when installed in the sorter 2. , the performance of the vibration mechanism provided in the transverse conveyor 1 .

When the trough 30 is placed on the horizontal plane H0, the floor surface of the bottom layer 39 may be configured to have a predetermined downward inclination angle (here, θb) with respect to the horizontal plane H0. In such a case, the upper layer 38 is disposed on the trough body 36 at an angle of .theta.2 degrees with respect to the floor surface of the lower layer and at an angle of .theta.b+.theta.2 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane. Also, in the case where the trough 30 has a structure having a plurality of upper layers 38, from the same point of view, each layer is arranged in the trough body such that the higher the upper layer 38 is, the greater the angle of inclination with respect to the horizontal plane. It can be arranged in the section 36 .

According to the present embodiment, the products after the primary sorting are conveyed in the upper layer 38 of the trough main body 36 and the products after the secondary sorting are conveyed in the bottom layer 39 . However, the structures of the transverse conveyor 1 and the sorting machine 2 are not limited to this in relation to the transport processing of the objects to be sorted. For example, the transverse conveyor 1 and the sorting machine 2 may have a structure in which the bottom layer 39 carries the products resulting from the primary sorting and the upper layer 38 carries the products resulting from the secondary sorting. In which layer provided in the trough 30 each object to be sorted is to be transported depends on the layout of the route provided in the trough 30 and the structure of the sorting machine 2, particularly the lifting section 4 and the optical sorting section 6. Therefore, the manufacturer or user of the lateral feed conveyor 1 and sorting machine 2 can freely decide.

In the sorter 2, all the materials discharged from the discharge hoppers 26 to 29 preferably pass through the openings 41 to 44 of the lid 37 arranged substantially directly below the discharge ports of the discharge hoppers. However, there is a possibility that part of the raw material will not pass through the openings 41 to 44 and will scatter on the surface of the lid portion 37 due to the influence of disturbance. In preparation for the occurrence of such an event, it is preferable to provide a gutter 66 on the surface of the lid portion 37 for guiding the scattered raw material to an appropriate delivery port.

The gutter 66 has a gutter wall 68 for smoothly guiding the raw material scattered on the surface of the lid portion 37 to the delivery port. By providing the gutter wall 68, the scattering raw material is efficiently conveyed in the direction S of the delivery port.

In the trough 30 of the present embodiment, the quality of the scattered raw material as a whole is regarded as equivalent to the second good product g2, and the delivery port 46 leading to the bucket conveyor 10 is the guide destination of the gutter 66 . However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the delivery port to which the material scattered on the surface of the lid portion 37 is guided may be determined arbitrarily. As an example, if it is desired to select raw materials according to the strictest possible standards, the quality of the scattered raw materials is regarded as equivalent to the secondary defective product b2, and the delivery port 45 leading to the bucket conveyor 9 is used as the guide destination of the gutter 66. can do.

Next, a raw material sorting process in the case of using the embodiment of the present invention will be described. Raw materials to be sorted are loaded into a loading hopper 13 provided at a lower part of the sorting machine 2 behind the lifting unit 4 and then lifted by the bucket conveyor 10 . The pumped material is stored in the storage tank 14 and then supplied to the chute 20 at a constant flow rate via the rotary valve 18 .

The raw materials falling on the chute 20 are detected and sorted by the photodetector 22 in the primary sorter 24 of the optical sorter 6 . The raw material selected as the primary non-defective product g1 falls through the discharge hopper 26 onto the gutter 31 provided in the trough 30 of the transverse conveyor 1. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, the raw material selected as the first defective product b1 is repelled by the ejector 23 and dropped onto the gutter 32 provided in the trough 30 of the transverse conveyor 1 via the discharge hopper 27 .

The primary non-defective product g<b>1 dropped onto the gutter 31 is conveyed to the bucket conveyor 11 of the lifting section 4 . After that, the primary non-defective product g1 is lifted by the bucket conveyor 11, passes through a good product discharge gutter 17 provided to extend outside from a high place of the sorter 2, and finally is discharged outside the sorter 2 as a good product. discharged to

On the other hand, the primary defective products b1 dropped onto the gutter 32 are conveyed to the bucket conveyor 12 of the lifting section 4, and then the primary defective products b1 are lifted by the bucket conveyor 12. The pumped primary defective products b1 are stored in the storage tank 15 and then supplied to the chute 21 at a constant flow rate via the rotary valve 19 .

The raw materials falling on the chute 21 are detected and sorted by the photodetector 22 in the secondary sorter 25 of the optical sorter 6 . The raw material selected as the secondary non-defective product g2 falls through the discharge hopper 28 onto the trough 33 provided in the trough 30 of the transverse conveyor 1 . On the other hand, the raw material selected as the secondary defective product b2 is repelled by the ejector 23 and dropped onto the gutter 34 provided in the trough 30 of the transverse conveyor 1 via the discharge hopper 29 .

The secondary non-defective product g<b>2 dropped onto the gutter 33 is conveyed to the bucket conveyor 10 of the lifting section 4 . After that, the secondary non-defective product g2 is lifted by the bucket conveyor 10 together with the raw material newly charged to the charging hopper 13 . The secondary non-defective products b2 lifted together with the newly introduced raw materials are stored in the storage tank 14 and then sorted again in the primary sorting section 24 of the optical sorting section 6 .

On the other hand, the secondary defective products b2 that have fallen onto the gutter 34 are conveyed to the bucket conveyor 9 of the lifting section 4. As shown in FIG. After that, the secondary defective products b2 are lifted by the bucket conveyor 9, pass through the defective product discharge gutter 16 provided by extending from a high place of the sorting machine 2 to the outside, and finally reach the machine of the sorting machine 2. discharged outside.

In the above-described embodiment, a sorting machine in which four bucket conveyors 9 to 12 are arranged adjacently is used as the lifting section 4 . However, the number of adjacent bucket conveyors can be changed as appropriate. Further, it goes without saying that the bucket conveyor can be replaced with other lifting devices or lifting means having equivalent functions.

Next, another embodiment of the transverse conveyor according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The description is mainly about the structure of the trough used in this embodiment, but the same reference numerals are used for the parts or portions that are common to the components of the trough 30 used in the previous embodiment, and redundant description is omitted. . The embodiment described below is an embodiment of a horizontal feed conveyor that can be mounted on a sorting machine in which three bucket conveyors are arranged adjacently as the elevating unit 4 .

The trough 30, shown in its separated state in FIG. 10, also has a lid portion 37 and a trough body portion 36, the trough body portion 36 comprising a plurality of layers, namely a top layer 38 and a bottom layer 39. As shown in FIG.

In the case of this embodiment, the upper layer 38 includes a gutter serving as a conveying path for receiving the second good product g2 that has passed through the opening 43 provided in the lid portion 37 and sending the second good product g2 toward the outlet 46 for the second good product g2. 33 are provided. On the other hand, the bottom layer 39 includes a gutter 31 as a conveying path for receiving the first good product g1 that has passed through the opening 41 and sending it to the delivery port 47, and a delivery port for receiving the first defective product b1 that has passed through the opening 42. A trough 32 is provided as a conveying path to 48 . However, regarding the determination of the layer in which each gutter 31 to 33 is arranged and the specific route of each gutter, as long as appropriate accommodation in the sorting machine 2 of the horizontal feed conveyor 1 and smooth transportation of raw materials are realized Arbitrary design and formation are possible. Therefore, the arrangement layer of each gutter 31 to 33 and the specific shape of the path in this embodiment are not limited to the structural example shown in FIG.

By the way, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the opening 44 forming a passage hole for the secondary defective products b2 falling from the discharge hopper 29 is connected to the discharge chute on the rear surface side of the lid portion 37. It is The discharge chute serves as a sliding downflow path for discharging secondary defective products b2 out of the sorting machine 2 . If the sorter 2 is provided with a defective product discharge gutter at a lower part of the machine body, the lower end of the discharge chute, that is, the outlet side end, may be configured to be connectable with the defective product discharge gutter of the sorter 2. . Alternatively, the transverse conveyor 1 and the sorting machine 2 may be configured so that the lower end of the discharge chute itself protrudes outside the sorting machine 2 so that the secondary defective products b2 can be directly discharged outside the sorting machine 2. .

The traverse conveyor 1 having the trough 30 having the structure shown in FIG. 10 is shaped and dimensioned to fit the accommodating space of the traverse conveyor of the sorter having the conventional structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. As long as it is formed with, it can be used by mounting it on a conventional sorter body. That is, even in an existing sorting machine, the raw material conveying efficiency is improved by replacing only the lateral feed conveyor to be mounted with the one according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The number of layers in the trough 30 of the transverse conveyor 1 according to the present invention and the number of troughs provided in each layer are arbitrary according to the number of sorting operations performed by the sorter and the number of raw material sorting categories in each sorting stage. can be determined to By increasing the number of floors and troughs that the trough 30 has, it is possible to increase the efficiency of conveying the material.

The weight of the horizontal conveyor 1 as a whole can also increase with the increase in the number of floors and gutter. However, in order to prevent a decrease in transport efficiency due to an increase in weight, the vibration frequency generated by the vibrating mechanism of the transverse conveyor 1 is also increased to maintain and maintain transport efficiency compared to a normal weight conveyor. can be increased. Alternatively, by reducing the weight of the transverse conveyor 1, it is possible to maintain a predetermined conveying efficiency without excessively increasing the vibration frequency provided by the vibrating mechanism. Weight reduction of the transverse conveyor 1 can be achieved, for example, by partially hollowing out the floor surface and gutter wall of the trough 30, or by using a material that is as light as possible while having the necessary strength for the material that constitutes the trough 30. It can be realized by

Although the configurations and operations of the embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments described with reference to the drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and substitutions to that configuration are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

1 Horizontal feed conveyor 2 Sorter 4 Elevating unit 6 Optical sorting unit 9 to 12 Bucket conveyor 13 Input hopper 14, 15 Storage tank 16 Defective product discharge gutter 17 Good product discharge gutter 18, 19 Rotary valve 20, 21 Chute 22 Light detection unit 23 ejector 24 primary sorting section 25 secondary sorting section 26-29 discharge hopper 30 trough 31-34 gutter 32a, 32b gutter wall 36 trough body 37 lid 38 upper layer 39 bottom layer 41-44 opening 45-48 delivery port 53, 54 opening

Claims (7)

In a transverse conveyor that conveys objects sorted according to predetermined conditions in the lateral direction for each sorting category,
The transverse conveyor receives the objects to be sorted for each sorting section, and has a trough including a plurality of troughs for guiding the transportation of the sorted items received for each sorting section,
The trough is formed with a plurality of layers comprising a bottom layer disposed at the bottom and one or more upper layers disposed above the bottom layer, each of the plurality of layers comprising the A transverse conveyor characterized in that at least one of a plurality of troughs is formed. an opening is provided in the upper layer of the plurality of layers;
2. The transverse conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the objects to be sorted pass through the opening and are transferred to the gutter formed below the opening. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the floor surface of the upper layer is arranged so as to form a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the floor surface of the bottom layer, with the conveying direction side of the objects to be sorted facing downward. Horizontal conveyor. 4. The transverse conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of said plurality of troughs includes a trough wall arranged such that an angle of an internal corner of said trough is 45 degrees or more. a sorting unit that sorts the input items according to predetermined conditions;
a cross-feed conveyor that laterally conveys the sorted objects sorted by the sorting unit;
A sorting machine having an elevating unit that receives and lifts the objects to be sorted transported by the transverse conveyor,
The lateral feed conveyor is
having a trough including a plurality of troughs for receiving the objects to be sorted for each sorting section and guiding them for each sorting section;
A sorter, wherein said trough is formed including a plurality of layers, each of said plurality of layers being formed with one or more troughs of said plurality of troughs. The trough has a plurality of delivery ports for delivering the objects to be sorted to the outside of the transverse conveyor,
Each of the plurality of troughs is connected to one of the plurality of delivery ports at the end of each trough on the conveying direction side,
The sorting machine according to claim 5, wherein the mutual arrangement positional relationship of the plurality of delivery ports is arranged based on the structure of at least one of the elevating section and the sorting section. Having a discharge device for discharging the objects to be sorted lifted by the lifting unit to the outside of the sorting machine,
The trough has a plurality of delivery ports for delivering the objects to be sorted to the outside of the transverse conveyor,
Each of the plurality of troughs is connected to one of the plurality of delivery ports at the end of each trough on the conveying direction side,
The sorting machine according to claim 5, wherein the mutual arrangement positional relationship of the plurality of delivery ports is arranged based on the arrangement position of the discharge device.

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