JP3003412B2 - Conveyor using a spiral conveyor - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to, for example, sorting of goods to be delivered in a transportation facility in a system for processing luggage for air passengers, department stores or distribution centers, and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transport apparatus using a spiral conveyor for transporting a transported article between upper and lower layers while passing the article through a building in a transport facility applied to a postal collection center or the like.

[0002] The term spiral conveyor as used herein is a spirally formed conveyor which has a substantial end-to-end over about 180 ° or about 90 ° or any phase angle. It is especially used in the sense of a single conveyor that circulates and operates the curved surface on the front and back of the spiral as the reciprocating passage surface of the conveyor. A conveyor having such a configuration is capable of projecting a cylindrical body that is theoretically wound into a cylindrical shape, even if the gradient of the transport path is restricted to an angle allowed for a general conveyor, for example, within 30 °. By installing two or four or any number of single conveyors together, it is possible to install a continuous spiral staircase conveyor with a phase angle of 360 ° This is a device which can be formed and is conventionally used practically as a device for performing vertical conveyance with a large installation head and a small head.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art A transport facility for processing luggage for air passengers, a collection / delivery of a department store, a postal matter, etc., which transports a transport article through different floors in a building where the facility is provided. In the case of transporting in the vertical direction on the same floor, a conventional general transport device is an elevator that transports the load in the vertical direction by placing the load on each of the loading trays arranged at a fixed vertical interval. Various methods have been proposed, such as a conveyor method in which a belt conveyor is three-dimensionally arranged and a conveyed object is conveyed in a vertical direction.

[0004] The above-mentioned conveyor system includes a system in which a conveyed object is sandwiched between two belts, and a vertical system in which the conveyor is vertically conveyed through a plurality of layers by combining an inclined conveyor and a horizontal conveyor. There is a conveyor system and the like.

In addition to the above example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 48-100878 discloses a system in which a conveyed object is placed on a spirally arranged roller conveyor and conveyed vertically.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned conventional transfer apparatus still has the following problems.

[0007] In the elevator system, a) Since the conveyed article is placed on the conveyer pedestal and conveyed, there is a restriction due to the size of the conveyer pedestal.

(B) Since the receiving tables are provided at regular intervals, intermittent conveyance occurs.

[0009] Among the conveyor systems, the conveyor system in which a conveyed object is sandwiched between two belts is a) unreasonable in structure, and is not suitable for a large conveyed object.

(B) Since half of the entire length of the conveyor is the return path, the longer the length of the conveyor, the more uneconomical.

In the case of the inclined conveyor system, a) Since the inclination angle of the conveyor is limited (approximately 30 °), the opening area of the floor at a place penetrating the floor is large, and a large space and occupation of space are required. Inevitable.

Further, in the system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 48-100878, a) a holding arm for regulating the movement of the position on the plane is required.

(B) Since the holding arms are provided at intervals, the conveyance must be intermittent.

(C) It is impossible to take in or take out the conveyed goods at a middle level.

There are the following problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and when a transport apparatus is provided through a plurality of floors of a building, the occupied space and space required for each floor are minimized. Can be reduced to the size,
In addition, it can sufficiently handle large conveyed goods, and can flexibly cope with an increase or decrease in the number of conveyed goods in the middle of conveyance, and can convey the conveyed goods continuously to the upper and lower floors of the building. It is intended to provide a device.

[0017]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a conveying apparatus utilizing a spiral conveyor, comprising: a) a plurality of spiral conveyors and a plurality of intermediate conveyors interposed therebetween; By a series of conveyor devices configured as a continuum, it penetrates between the upper floor and the lower floor of the building, spirally connects the respective layers therebetween, and conveys the goods on the conveyor device < b) In the transfer device, b) the transfer path of the intermediate conveyor portion is a horizontal road surface or an inclined road surface with a small head, and c).
Means for taking in or taking out the conveyed goods provided in the series of conveyor devices are provided in the portion of the intermediate conveyor.

The invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that:
A means for taking in transported goods is provided at the bay,
In order to process the flow of a plurality of conveyed articles , the means for taking in the conveyed articles has a standby space for temporarily holding the articles to be taken in .

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the intermediate conveyor is provided.
In place of the means for taking in the transported goods of the invention of claim 1
Means for taking out the conveyed goods, and
Out means is a shall comprise a separation device for detecting the detection device a particular transport product to be taken out to separate out of the region of the normal conveying path the conveyed object.

[0020]

According to the present invention , a conveyor device constructed as a continuum of a plurality of spiral conveyors and a plurality of intermediate conveyors interposed therebetween penetrates between an upper floor and a lower floor of a building. Are connected spirally, and the intermediate conveyor intervening is a horizontal road surface or a sloping road surface with a small head.Therefore, a means for taking in or taking out a conveyed article is provided in the intermediate conveyor part, and Each operation of taking in and taking out the conveyed goods with the mainstream of the conveyor device can be performed very easily and very smoothly.

In addition, in the series of conveyor devices, portions other than the intermediate conveyor are constituted by spiral conveyors, and in this portion, a sufficient head is provided on the conveying road surface, so that conveying is performed through a plurality of layers of the building. When installing the apparatus, the occupied space and space required for each level can be reduced to the minimum range, and as a result, the advantages of the spiral conveyor are fully utilized in installing the transport apparatus. .

In this state, when the entire series of conveyors is operated by circulating the individual units constituting the conveyors as a unit, all conveyed articles on the conveyors are uniformly conveyed. At the same time, it is possible to continuously take in or take out the goods at the intermediate conveyor at each level, and as a result, take in the goods at an arbitrary level from outside the building, or conversely, at each level, It is possible to take out the conveyed goods and carry them out of the floor to the outside of the building.

In particular, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in order to process the flow of a plurality of conveyed objects, the conveyed object taking-in means can temporarily hold the conveyed objects to be taken in. If, for example, a detector as an intake means is attached to the conveyor device, thereby detecting the conveyance density of the conveyed goods on the mainstream conveyor device,
When the conveyed goods are overcrowded, it is possible to temporarily or partially suspend all or a part of the conveyed goods to be taken in the waiting space.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, as the means for taking out the conveyed object, a specific conveyed object to be taken out is detected by a detecting device, and the conveyed object is separated out of a region of a normal conveying path. For example, if a separation device is provided, the barcode can be read using a barcode scanner stretched on the conveyor device to detect the specific conveyed product to be removed, and the barcode can be read downstream according to the detection result. By operating the provided separating device, the specific conveyed object can be accurately separated out of the route.

[0025]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a conveying apparatus using a spiral conveyor according to the present invention. 1 is a plan view of the device of the present invention disposed in a building, FIG. 2 is a view taken along line II-II of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a view taken along line III-III in FIG.

A plurality of levels of the building P (A, B, C,
1 and 2, a plurality of spiral conveyors 1, 2, 1a,... A series of conveyor devices Q configured as a continuum of a plurality of intermediate conveyors 3, 4, 3a,. Spiral connection.

Spiral conveyors 1, 2, 1a, ‥‥
Are arranged in such a way that they are all located at the penetrating part of the floor of the vertically adjacent floor, and utilizing the formation of a high head within the limited site area characteristic of the spiral conveyor, At the vertical conveyor height, and the following intermediate conveyors 3, 4, 3a, ‥‥ are provided with a horizontal surface or a gentle gently inclined surface that facilitates each operation of taking in and taking out the conveyed material. It is arranged so that it can be done.

FIG. 3 shows the outer shape of the spiral conveyor 2 having a phase angle of 180 °. In the figure, reference numeral 2a denotes a roll on the entrance side for driving the conveyor, 2b denotes a roll on the exit side for driving the conveyor, 2c denotes a forward path surface of the conveyor bridged therebetween, and 2d denotes a return path surface thereof. The rolls 2a and 2b are rotationally driven by respective driving motors 2e. The spiral conveyor 2 is helically formed over a phase angle of 180 °, as can be seen in FIG. 1, with the head between them being indicated by H in FIG.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the intermediate conveyor 3,
4, 3a,... Are all on the floor of each floor, and the conveying path surface forms a horizontal plane or a gentle gentle slope, so that each operation of taking in or taking out the conveyed goods to the intermediate conveyor is easy. I can do it.

The intake conveyor 5 is composed of a feed conveyor 6, a standby conveyor 7, 7,... And the like, and constitutes a main part of an intake means for taking in the conveyed material a from the outside at the intermediate conveyor 3 of the conveyor device Q. Make up. A detector 8 as part of the intake means is provided upstream of the intermediate conveyor 3 to detect the conveying density of the conveyed goods on the mainstream conveyor device and to take in when the conveyed goods are overcrowded. Some or all of the conveyed products can be temporarily made to stand by on the standby conveyor 7.

The take-out conveyor 9 is composed of a receiving conveyor 10, a pay-out conveyor 11,... And the like, and constitutes a main part of a take-out means for taking out a desired conveyed material at the intermediate conveyor 4 out of the flow of the conveyor device Q. Things. A bar code scanner 12 as a detecting device for detecting a specific conveyed object to be taken out is provided as an auxiliary equipment of the take-out means, on the upstream side of the intermediate conveyor 4, and receives the detection result and normalizes the conveyed object. 1 as a separation device that extrudes out of the area of a simple transport path and separates
3 and a motor 14 as a driving power source for the motor 3. Along the vertical surface of the diverter 13, there is provided a vertical belt 15 that is driven to circulate in the direction of the arrow S, and for a conveyed material that is pushed out while sliding along the vertical surface.
The movement is made to be smooth.

Next, a description will be given of a mode of use of the apparatus of the present invention having the above-described configuration.

1 and 2, spiral conveyors 1, 2, 1a,..., Intermediate conveyors 3, 4, 3a,.
Are operated by their own power source, whereby all the articles placed on the conveyor device Q are transported in the direction of the arrow, that is, from a high place to a low place.

Here, in order to take in the conveyed material a from the B level into the mainstream of the conveyor device Q using the take-in conveyor 5,
After the transported article a is transported to the leading standby conveyor 7, the transported article a is temporarily stopped here, and the detector 8 detects the transported density of the transported article on the mainstream conveyor device. When the conveyed articles are overcrowded, a part or all of the conveyed articles to be taken in is temporarily put on standby on the standby conveyor 7. When the take-in is possible, the conveyed material a on the standby conveyor 7 is sent to the intermediate conveyor 3 via the feed-in conveyor 6, thereby completing the conveyed material.

Next, in order to use the take-out conveyor 9 arranged in parallel with the side surface of the intermediate conveyor 4 to separate and take out the conveyed article a ', which is conveying the C level, from the main stream of the conveyor device Q, The barcode scanner 12 provided on the upstream side of the intermediate conveyor 4 catches the passage of the specific conveyed material to be taken out, and communicates the result to the motor 14 to drive the motor 14 to move the diverter 13 to the proper position (FIG. By moving from the position indicated by the solid line (1 in FIG. 1) to the position indicated by the broken line by turning in the direction of arrow R, the conveyed object traveling on the intermediate conveyor 4 is pushed out of the area of the normal conveyance path and separated. During this operation, when the vertical belt 15 on the vertical surface of the diverter 13 is driven to circulate in the direction of the arrow S, the pushing operation is performed more easily and smoothly.

FIG. 4A shows an example of a configuration in the vicinity of the point where the conveyed article a is fed toward the conveyor apparatus Q from the upstream end 16 of the apparatus of the present invention. That is, the end 16 constitutes an intake means provided in the case of the intermediate conveyor 3 in this case. FIG. 4B shows the downstream end 1.
7 shows an example of the configuration in the vicinity of the conveyed material a being discharged out of the conveyor device Q. That is, the end portion 17 constitutes a take-out means provided in the case of the intermediate conveyor 3 in this case.

In each of the above embodiments, an example has been described in which the transported material is transported from the upper floor to the lower floor.
Conversely, it is also possible to convey a conveyed object from a lower floor to an upper floor by the apparatus of the present invention. However, in this case, it is needless to say that the attachment positions of the diverter 13, the detector 8, the barcode scanner 12, and the like need to be changed.

[0038]

The conveying apparatus using the spiral conveyor according to the present invention is constructed as described above, and has the following excellent effects.

According to the present invention , a conveyor device constructed as a continuous body of a plurality of spiral conveyors and a plurality of intermediate conveyors interposed therebetween penetrates between an upper floor and a lower floor of a building. Are connected spirally, and the intermediate conveyor intervening is a horizontal road surface or a sloping road surface with a small head.Therefore, a means for taking in or taking out a conveyed article is provided in the intermediate conveyor part, and Each operation of taking in and taking out the conveyed goods with the mainstream of the conveyor device can be performed very easily and very smoothly.

In addition, in the series of conveyor devices, portions other than the intermediate conveyor are constituted by spiral conveyors, and in this portion, a sufficient head is provided on the conveying road surface, so that the conveying device passes through a plurality of layers of the building. When the apparatus is provided, the occupied space and the space required for each level can be suppressed to a minimum range, and a very efficient layout can be implemented.

In this state, when the entire series of conveyor devices is operated by circulating the individual units constituting the conveyor device as a unit, all the articles on the conveyor are uniformly conveyed. At the same time, it is possible to continuously take in or take out the goods at the intermediate conveyor at each level, and as a result, take in the goods at any level from the outside of the building, or vice versa. It is possible to take out a conveyed article in a story and carry it out of the story to a building outside.

In addition, since the surfaces of all the conveyors of the conveyor device forming the conveying surface are flat and have no obstacles such as projections, there is little restriction on the size of the conveyed object, and it is sufficient for a large conveyed object. Response is possible.

In particular, the invention of claim 1 provides the intermediate conveyor
Transport means are provided in the conveyor section, and the means for taking in the conveyed goods have a standby space for temporarily holding the conveyed goods to be taken in. Detects the transport density of the conveyed goods on the mainstream conveyor device by means of a detector attached to, and temporarily or partially suspends all or a part of the conveyed goods to be taken in when the conveyed goods are overcrowded, etc. This makes it possible to make full use of the transfer capability of a series of conveyor devices, which contributes to an improvement in the efficiency of the transfer device.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the intermediate conveyor
In place of the means for taking in the transported goods of the invention of claim 1
Means for taking out the conveyed goods, and as a means for taking out the conveyed goods from the middle of the conveyor device, a specific conveyed material to be taken out is detected using a detection device, and the conveyed goods are normally conveyed. A separation device is provided outside the path area for separation.For example, a barcode scanner installed on a conveyor device is used to read a barcode to detect a specific conveyed product to be removed. Activate the separation device provided on the downstream side accordingly,
It is possible to extrude a specific conveyed object on the conveying path to the outside of the area of the path and separate it, so that it is possible to perform an accurate unloading operation for any conveyed object in the conveyor device during the conveying. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an intermediate floor in a state where a transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention is disposed in a building.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 (a) is a plan view of the uppermost level in a state where a transport device according to another embodiment of the present invention is disposed in a building. FIG. 4B is a plan view of a lowermost floor in a state where a transport device according to another embodiment of the present invention is disposed in a building.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1a, 2 Spiral Conveyor 3, 3a, 4 Intermediate Conveyor 5 Intake Conveyor 7 Standby Conveyor 9 Extraction Conveyor 12 Barcode Scanner 13 Divertor Q Conveyor Device

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Koji Inokakura 3-1-1, Higashikawasakicho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. Kobe Plant (72) Inventor Tsutomu Senba Higashikawasaki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo 3-1-1, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. Kobe Factory (56) References JP-A-56-99113 (JP, A) Jpn.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A series of conveyor devices configured as a continuum of a plurality of spiral conveyors and a plurality of intermediate conveyors interposed therebetween, penetrating between an upper floor and a lower floor of a building. Spiral connection between the layers in between
In the conveying device for conveying the conveyed goods on the conveyor device, the conveying path of the intermediate conveyor portion may be a horizontal road surface or a sloping road surface with a small head, and a conveying material taking-in means provided in the series of conveyor devices. Provided in the part of the intermediate conveyor, wherein the means for taking in the conveyed material has a standby space capable of temporarily holding the conveyed material to be taken in, in order to process a plurality of flows of the conveyed material. Transfer device using a spiral conveyor. 2. A series of conveyor devices configured as a continuum of a plurality of spiral conveyors and a plurality of intermediate conveyors interposed therebetween, penetrating between an upper floor and a lower floor of a building. Spiral connection between the layers in between
In the transport device for transporting the transported material on the conveyor device, the transport path of the intermediate conveyor portion may be a horizontal road surface or a sloping road surface with a small head, and the means for removing the transported material provided in the series of conveyor devices may include A separation device is provided at the intermediate conveyor, and the separation means for taking out the conveyed material is provided with a detecting device for detecting the specific conveyed material to be taken out by the detection device and separating the conveyed material out of the region of the normal conveyance path. A transport device using a spiral conveyor.