JP2734432B2 - Conveyor device for sorting items such as cardboard boxes - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for sorting articles such as cardboard boxes which sorts based on destination information including bar code labels attached to the surface of articles such as cardboard boxes and cargo containers. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, with the development of physical distribution, cargo handling work has been automated, and collected goods are automatically sorted to predetermined points according to purposes by a combination of an automatic sorting device and a sorting device. As this sorting system,
For example, the mainstream is to read destination information based on barcode information of a barcode label stuck on the surface of an article, and to switch the movement of the conveyed article at a predetermined location based on the input signal to perform lateral discharge. In this case, as a conventionally known conveyor device for transporting articles, a simple belt conveyor or a slat conveyor is used, and when an article individually given destination information comes to a predetermined point, it is placed on the upper surface of the belt conveyor. A switching plate (diverter plate) that crosses diagonally and protrudes and collides and discharges the goods in a horizontal direction (extrusion-type sorting conveyor). There is an inclined slat type sorting conveyor (see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 53-5733) in which the slat group (unit) is inclined at a predetermined point and discharged to a drawer conveyor (branch conveyor).

[0003]

However, in the above two conveyors (extrusion type, inclined slat type), the sorting position must be maintained at least at a certain interval for the continuously conveyed articles. It is difficult to switch only a predetermined item by using the above. In other words, in the case of an extruding sorting conveyor using a switching plate, when the product is a long product, it is necessary to contact the switching plate having an obstruction, which is sequentially blocked by the conveyor, so that the product can be horizontally discharged while gradually changing the moving direction. There is a defect in that there is a limit, and when the conveyor speed is increased, the impact of the switching plate on the goods is increased.

[0004] Further, in the inclined slat method, a group of a plurality of slats on which articles are placed is gradually inclined during transportation during a large number of slats. This is because a tip receiving member that is gradually inclined from a position slightly before a predetermined drawer conveyor is provided, and the tip receiving member is tilted along the tip of the slat. As a result, the flat surface slides out (moves) and is dropped and discharged, so that the falling speed is affected by the weight of the product itself, and a smooth partitioning operation cannot be expected.
Of course, a simple slat structure requires a considerable inclination, which inevitably results in a branch mechanism with a large head and an increased drop impact. In addition, since the leading end receiving member and the returning member of the slat are arranged at the front and rear positions of the drawer conveyor, there is a limit to the interval between the drawer conveyors, and the articles to be placed on the slat conveyor are packed (close contact). Cannot move and cannot sort efficiently.

Further, in the conventional sorting apparatus, the size (length) of the articles is limited because the sorting area of the articles is limited.
It was difficult to perform high-speed sorting work.

In view of the above circumstances, according to the present invention, a conveyor body on which articles are placed is arranged in a group of roller receivers in which small rollers are arranged, and only the roller receivers on which articles are placed are instantaneously tilted to allow roller sliding. An object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor for sorting articles such as a cardboard box, which solves the above-mentioned problem.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided an article sorting conveyor device for reading predetermined destination information attached to an article such as a cardboard box fed in one line and sorting the articles into an appropriate discharge path. on one side of the conveying traveling chain body traveling section, of mounting a holder which is supported by a portion of the link pin of the two units at predetermined intervals, a support plate portion projecting above surface each holder, a plurality Free law
The flat-type roller receptacle formed at its side disposed a small roller consisting of La to narrow supporting frame unit and piece support arrangement of one point pivot,且
At the lower leg of each roller receiver, maintain the posture separately from the pivot point.
A control pin that is part of the holding stopper mechanism is provided
A cylinder in which the control pins are placed at appropriate locations on the side of the transfer machine
Through the control lever provided on the holder linked to the mold actuator
Rotating plate of the stopper mechanism for holding posture
To hold the roller receiver flat, and
Roller receiver type conveyor body for the entire roller receiver group
A roller that holds a predetermined number of roller receivers
Release the topper mechanism from the cylinder at the predetermined discharge position.
Goods due to the destination information signal input to the mold actuator
The operation is performed only for the passage time corresponding to the width, in which only the roller receiver on which the article is placed is tilted to one side, and the article is laterally discharged by sliding down the roller.

[0008]

[0009]

[0010] As described above, the article sorting and conveyor system includes:
A conveyor structure is provided on a plurality of holders on one side of a traveling chain body running on a chain rail portion, and each holder is provided with at least two tiltable roller receivers on one side as a unit, and a lower portion of the roller receivers. A stopper mechanism for holding the attitude controlled by the control lever is attached to the roller receiving type conveyor body, which has a slat shape as a whole, so that items with destination information such as barcodes can be appropriately attached to narrow roller receivers. When the number of articles placed over the number and moved in synchronization with the reading of the input signal of the destination information reaches a predetermined partitioning position, an operating device arranged on one side of the conveyor,
It operates until the appropriate number of roller receivers on which articles are placed pass, and the locking pin at the tip of each control lever, which is pressed and moved by the operating device, separates from the receiving groove of the rotating plate to release a kind of stopper. .

When the stopper comes off, only the appropriate number of roller receivers on which the articles are placed are automatically inclined to one side (laterally) about the fulcrum axis for one-sided support, and the articles on the roller receivers face the roller surface. Side discharge smoothly to the slide drawer conveyor side. In this case, the article slides down due to the roller rolling of the roller receiver accompanying the inclination, so that the article automatically starts sliding and moves with a slight inclination of the roller receiver, so that the draw-out conveyor can be arranged closer to the main conveyor. The head can be minimized. Therefore, the discharge movement is small in impact. When the roller receiver once tilted moves to the return side, for example, the original standby position (horizontal position) is forcibly provided by a separate restoring means.
Should be returned to

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings of the embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a sorting conveyor device in which two roller receivers are provided for each holder attached to a transporting traveling chain main body. Reference numeral 1 denotes a two-row transport chain main body in which a carrier runs on a chain rail section 2 laid on a predetermined sorting line. Each of the link pins 3 protruding from a link plate 1b on one side of the chain chain main body 1 is provided. At the tip end, holders 4 are successively inserted and mounted with their bases 4a in units of two link pins 3, and a plurality of holders 4 are provided between opposing support plate portions 4b projecting above the respective holders 4. In the drawing, a roller receiver 7 formed by arranging 12) small plastic rollers 5 serving as free rollers side by side on a narrow width support frame 6 so that the upper surface becomes a flat surface 5a is used as the lower leg portion 7a. The lower leg portion 7a is fitted and a pivot 8 is inserted through the lower leg portion 7a. A coil spring 9 is mounted on the pivot 8, and the roller receiver 7 itself is in a single support inclining to one side by this repulsion. .

At the rear end of the lower leg 7a of the roller receiver 7, a control pin 11 which is a member of a posture holding stopper mechanism 10 is protruded, and the control pin 11 is connected to the support plate 4b.
Geneva wheel-shaped receiving groove 14 cut into one peripheral edge of cam-shaped rotating plate 13 of stopper mechanism 10 supported by shaft 12
In the receiving groove 14 'cut into the other peripheral edge of the rotary plate 13, a locking pin 17 at the tip of a U-shaped control lever 16 which is supported by a fulcrum shaft 15 in the support plate portion 4b is fitted. Structure.

In this case, two roller receivers 7 are attached to a single holder 4, so that the traveling chain body 1
Of the plurality of roller receivers 7 arranged above and
The whole is a roller receiving type conveyor body 18.

Reference numeral 19 denotes an input signal (sorting) obtained by reading the destination information of the bar code, which is a pre-process, disposed at a predetermined position (sorting position) of the transporting machine body 20 standing on one side of the chain rail portion 2 by the automatic reading device 21. The actuator 19b of the cylinder 19a, which can be freely protruded from the lower end of the actuator 19, is formed through a hook-shaped lever rod 22 whose base end is pivotally connected to the carrier 20. The rear end of the shape control lever 16 is configured to be pressed, and the sorting conveyor device 23 is constituted by the entire configuration.

The transporting traveling chain main body 1 itself includes an endless chain to be passed over a sprocket 24 and a driving sprocket 24 'disposed at the front and rear ends of a transporting body 20 constructed along the entire length of the sorting line including the alignment transporting portion 18a. The chain roller portion 1a of the transporting traveling chain body 1 travels on the chain rail portion 2 at least in the carrier portion, and a holding rail 25 is disposed on the upper surface of the chain roller portion 1a to prevent the traveling floating. .

Next, the operation will be described. For example, an article A such as a cardboard box with a flat bottom having a bar code label B attached to the side where destination information is entered is provided by an appropriate supply means (not shown). The roller receiver 7 on the side of the aligning and transporting portion 18a of the roller receiving type conveyor body 18 having a slat shape as a whole.
In one row. At the time of passing through the automatic barcode reader 21 disposed at the end of the aligning / conveying section 18a, the destination information of the barcode is optically read, and the sorting signal is synchronously moved from the position of the automatic reader 21. Sorting / conveying unit 1 arranged at a predetermined position corresponding to the distance
Output to the cylinder type actuator 19 on the 8b side.

Here, the predetermined operating device 19 operates in synchronization with the movement of the article A, and protrudes the operator 19b of the cylinder 19a downward, and the operator 19b connects one end of the control lever 16 via the lever 22. Control lever 16 is pivoted on the center fulcrum shaft 15 as a fulcrum.
Is rotated downward so that the tip is directed upward, and the locking pin 17 at the tip is the receiving groove 1 of the rotating plate 13 serving as the stopper mechanism 10.
4 'and the stopper is released (see FIG. 4).

For this reason, the roller receiver 7 itself pivotally attached to the holder 4 has a function of always tilting to one side (horizontal direction) by the repulsion of the coil spring 9 mounted on the pivot 8, so that if the stopper comes off, the roller receiver 7 will be disengaged. The roller receiving member 7 starts to move, and the receiving groove 14 is pushed by the control pin 11 of the lower leg portion 7a, so that the rotating plate 13 also rotates, and the roller receiving member 7 inclines to one side of the conveyor path all at once to a predetermined angle. The regulation of the inclination of the roller receiver 7 is stopped by the lower surface 7b of the roller receiver 7 abutting on the receiving step 28 projecting from the front edge of the support plate 4b of the holder 4.
If the rotary plate 13 is slightly rotated backward by the rotation of the control pin 11 on the roller receiving member 7 side, the receiving groove 14 ′ at a position symmetrical to the receiving groove 14 also rotates following the stopper groove 14, and the stopper is again engaged. Take a standby position to facilitate stopping.

That is, the roller receiver 7 is set at a predetermined angle (for example,
If the article A is tilted at an angle of about 20 ° (shown in FIG. 5), the placed article A automatically slides down the surface of the freely rollable (free roller structure) roller 5 and is discharged laterally. For this reason,
Even if the article A is a little heavy, it slides down smoothly. A pull-out conveyor 27 just below the inclined roller receiver 7.
Can be set to a small drop relative to the main conveyor path, and the discharged articles A
Does not hurt.

In addition, since only the roller receiver 7 on which the article A is placed is tilted substantially instantaneously in conjunction with the transport speed, the subsequent article A is in a close or contact state. Even if it is transported by the method, if it comes to a predetermined partition position, it is inclined based on the destination information read in the previous process, and does not cause a malfunction in discharging the article A.

In this case, the article A placed on the roller receiver 7
Even if the shape is large or small, the passage time at the position of the automatic reading device 21 is measured, and if the cylinder type operating device 19 is operated for a time corresponding to the time, the number of the roller receivers 7 reaching the predetermined position is obtained. Since only the slant is inclined, horizontal discharge according to the product can be performed. This also enables mixed transport. Of course, even if a part (the front end or the rear end) of the desired article A is laid over the roller receiver 7 on which the preceding or subsequent article A is placed, the roller receiver 7 is Even if the article A is inclined, the article A is placed over the plurality of main roller receivers 7, so that horizontal support is maintained and no trouble occurs.

Next, the roller receiver 7, which has been tilted once at a predetermined operating device position, is moved to, for example, the end of the carrier portion. The lower surface slides, turns upward sequentially, and returns to a horizontal state. At this time, the roller receiver 7
Makes a horizontal return rotation (restoration), the control pin 11 of the lower leg portion 7a also reversely rotates (downward rotation), and the control pin 11
The receiving groove 14 in which is fitted is turned, and the receiving groove 14 ′ also rotates upward in conjunction with the rotation of the rotary plate 15, and the control lever 16 which is always inclined to the tip end side by the repulsion of the coil spring 30 mounted on the fulcrum shaft 15.
The locking pin 17 is fitted into the receiving groove 14 ', so-called stopper engagement is performed, and the roller receiver 7 returns to the horizontal state. Therefore, the roller receiver 7 that has returned to the horizontal state moves to the return side while maintaining its attitude, and goes around to the aligning and transporting section 18a.

[0025]

As described above, the conveyor device for sorting articles such as cardboard boxes of the present invention has a plurality of small holders provided on one side of a traveling chain main body for transportation on a chain rail. Two roller receivers for placing rollers
Individual, one-point pivotally supported, and a stopper mechanism for holding the attitude is attached to the lower part of each roller receiver, and the roller receiver group is a roller receiving type conveyor body that inclines laterally in the transport direction by separating the stopper mechanism, A stopper is released by operating an actuator at a predetermined sorting position that receives an output from a reading device that reads an input signal of destination information including a bar code or the like attached in advance, and instantaneously tilts only a roller receiver group on which articles are placed. Therefore, in the case of single-row feeding, even if an article is sent in a packed state (contact state), only the article slides down the roller receiver and is automatically laterally discharged to perform accurate sorting. In addition, since the roller receiver on which the article is mounted is configured such that the small roller of the free roller is oriented sideways, the inclined article moves at high speed due to the rolling of the roller and the sliding of the article itself, and is not affected by the weight of the article. It has a descent and ensures reliable discharge.
Furthermore, the roller receiver unit is robust with a simple configuration in which a plurality of small rollers are simply arranged flat on the narrow supporting frame portion,
In addition, since the conveyor body having a slat state as a whole is formed by arranging a large number of roller receivers, stable mounting is achieved regardless of the size of articles to be fed. In addition, because the small rollers are arranged transversely to the conveyance direction, even if the conveyor speed is increased, there is less vibration on the conveyed items themselves, resulting in stable sitting (placement), which in turn leads to faster sorting. It has the effect of giving the gospel to cargo handling.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a main part of one embodiment of an apparatus for sorting articles such as cardboard boxes according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the main part.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view in which the stopper is released and the roller receiver starts to tilt.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram in which a roller receiver is inclined at a maximum and articles are slid down and discharged.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a roller receiver.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the stopper mechanism that can be separated.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a sorting line.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveying travel chain main body 2 Chain rail part 4 Holder 5 Small roller 6 Narrow support frame part 7 Roller receiver 10 Posture holding stopper mechanism 13 Rotating plate 16 Control lever 17 Locking pin 19 Actuator A Product

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A traveling chain for traveling on a chain rail portion in an article sorting conveyor apparatus for reading predetermined destination information attached to articles such as cardboard boxes fed in one row and sorting the articles into an appropriate discharge path. On one side of the body,
Mounting a holder which is supported by part of the link pins Chi two units at regular intervals, projecting Each holder top support
A flat roller receiver formed by arranging a small roller composed of a plurality of free rollers on a narrow width support frame portion sideways on a plate portion is arranged so as to be pivotally supported at one point , and a lower leg portion of each roller receiver is provided. To
Is a part of the stopper mechanism for holding the posture separately from the pivot point
Control pins are provided, and the control pins are
Holder that is linked to the cylinder type actuator that is placed at the appropriate location
Position holding switch regulated by the control lever
Flatten the roller receiver by engaging with some rotating plates of the topper mechanism
Hold the roller, and use the roller
It is a receiving conveyor body, and a predetermined number of
Release the stopper mechanism that holds the roller receiver flat.
Line input to the cylinder type actuator at the fixed discharge position
Due to the previous information signal, it operates only for the transit time of the product width
And only one side of the roller receiver on which the article is placed is tilted,
An apparatus for sorting articles such as cardboard boxes, wherein the articles are laterally discharged by roller downhill.