JP3529957B2 - Multi-row sorting system for articles - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-row sorting apparatus for sorting articles such as containers moving on a conveyor into a predetermined number of rows. 2. Description of the Related Art For example, containers such as packaging bottles or PET bottles are packaged in a predetermined number of rows in a predetermined number for transfer or storage after the containers are manufactured. At the time of this alignment, the containers are sorted into a predetermined number of rows of articles by a sorting device that moves laterally in the width direction of the conveyor. [0003] As this kind of conventional sorting means, for example, a sorting device 90 as shown in FIG. 6 is used. The sorting device 90 is provided at the loading section C1 of the conveyor C.
The articles B arranged in a row (usually in one row) are arranged in the array C
It is divided into a predetermined number of rows (in this case, 10 rows of 4) by 2, and includes a traverser 92 that moves laterally in a predetermined order along a machine base 91 provided in the width direction of the conveyor C. The traverser 92 includes a guide member 93 for the articles B to be sorted, and a rear portion 94 of the guide member 93 is pivotally supported at a connection position with the carry-in portion C1 so as to be always connected to the carry-in portion C1. I have. Guide member 9
A stopper 96 that can be freely opened and closed is provided at the front end portion 95 on the front side of 3. The stopper 96 sends out the articles B onto the conveyor C in an open state, and closes after sending out a predetermined number of articles B. The traverser 92 moves laterally with the stopper 96 closed. According to the sorting device 90, the stopper 96 of the guide member 93 is opened at the position of the traverser 92 in FIG. 6 (6A), and the article B1 for the article row L1 is sent out onto the conveyor C. When the delivery of a predetermined number (10) of articles B1 in the row is completed by a counter (not shown), the stopper 96 of the guide member 93 is closed, and the traverser 92 is moved to the next row L2 as shown in FIG. Move to position. During this time, the articles B1 sent out as the row L1 are sent to the array C2 by the conveyor C and held in a row as shown in FIG. 6 (6C). When the traverser 92 moves to the position of the next row L2, the articles B2 of the next row are held and moved by the guide members 93 as shown in FIGS.
Then, when the traverser 92 completes the movement to the position of the next row L2, as shown in FIG. 6 (6D), the stopper 96 is opened to feed out a predetermined number of articles B2 on the conveyor C for the next row L2. After the predetermined number of articles B2 constituting the row L2 has been sent out, the stopper 96 of the guide member 93 is closed, and the same operation as described above is repeated for successive rows. As described above, in the conventional sorting device 90, while the traverser 92 moves laterally from one row L1 to the next row L2, (6B) and (6) in FIG.
As shown in C), the stopper 96 of the guide member 93 is closed, and the next row of articles B2 is stopped in the guide member 93. Therefore, the loading of the articles from the loading section C1 of the conveyor C is also stopped. That is, in the conventional device 90, the carrying-in operation of the article B is stopped during the column switching (moving), so that there is a problem that the time required for the sorting operation becomes long and efficient work cannot be performed. In order to improve the time loss during row switching, measures such as increasing the conveyor speed have been taken. Get higher. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above problems, and is intended to sort a row of articles into a predetermined number of rows of articles when switching rows. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device capable of performing a sorting operation continuously without stopping the articles to be sorted in the device and thereby performing an efficient sorting operation. [0008] That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, articles (B) arranged in a row at a carry-in section (C1) on a conveyor (C) are arranged in a predetermined number of rows. (L1, L
2. . ), A machine (11),
A traverser body (20) provided on the machine base and moving in the width direction of the conveyor in a predetermined order, and a guide bar provided on the traverser body and holding articles in a row in parallel with the traveling direction of the conveyor ( A guiding guide member (40) provided between the carry-in section and the traverser main body and guiding the articles in the carry-in section to the fixed guide member in a row; A guide bar (59) provided on the main body, arranged vertically with the guide bar of the fixed guide member and arranged so that its inner surface is flush with the guide bar; And a movable guide member (50) that moves back and forth in the traveling direction of the conveyor while holding in a state, and relates to a multi-row sorting apparatus for articles. The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sorting device showing stepwise an example of a method for sorting articles according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of the sorting device, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the conveyor of the sorting device cut in a width direction, and FIG. It is the schematic plan view shown by the arrow in order. First, a description will be given of a multi-row sorting method for articles by the sorting apparatus according to the present invention.
The present invention relates to a method of sorting articles moving in a row on a conveyor into a predetermined number of rows of articles by a sorting apparatus that laterally moves in a predetermined order in the width direction of the conveyor. In addition,
In the following description, a case will be described in which articles in a single row are sorted into multiple rows, but articles in a plurality of rows (for example, articles in two rows) can be sorted into multiple rows. (For example, if articles in a two-row state are sorted into four rows, eight rows can be aligned as a whole.) In the present invention, the sorting apparatus holds the articles in a row state while moving the conveyor in the traveling direction. A movable guide member that moves back and forth is provided, and after a predetermined number of articles are sent out on the conveyor at one row position, the movable guide member at the retreat position is moved laterally to the next row position and is advanced, After the completion of the movement to the next row position, the movable guide member at the advance position is retracted while sending out a predetermined number of articles on the conveyor at the next row position, and so on.
The operation is repeated in a predetermined column order. In this method, the sorting device is provided with a movable guide member that moves back and forth in the traveling direction of the conveyor, and moves the movable guide member forward with the lateral movement to the next row. By retreating the guide member, the sorting operation is continuously performed without stopping the articles to be sorted in the apparatus at the time of switching the rows, thereby performing an efficient sorting operation. In this method, by providing an openable and closable stopper at the tip of the movable guide member and controlling the opening and closing of the delivery of the articles on the conveyor, a safer sorting operation can be performed. In this method, since the movable guide member moves back and forth in the traveling direction of the conveyor, continuous operation can be performed without necessarily providing a stopper. Further, in this method, if the moving speed of the movable guide member is substantially the same as the moving speed of the conveyor, the articles to be sorted can be carried in almost without interruption, and the movement of the goods on the conveyor can be performed. It can be performed smoothly and can prevent shake and fall. Hereinafter, this method will be described in detail and concretely with the apparatus of claim 1 according to the drawings. The first aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for realizing the above-described multi-row sorting method for articles, and as shown in FIG. 1, a row state (in this example, one row in the loading section C1 on the conveyor C). The apparatus 10 which sorts the articles B arranged in a plurality of rows into a predetermined number of rows of articles (four rows of ten rows in the embodiment) in the arrangement section C2 of the conveyor C. According to. This sorting device 10 includes a machine base 11,
Articles B including the traverser main body 20, the fixed guide member 30, the introduction guide member 40, and the movable guide member 50, and arranged in a line at the carry-in portion C1 on the conveyor C.
Are arranged in the arrangement section C2 of the conveyor C so that four rows of articles L1, L2,... The machine base 11 is laid across the conveyor C in the width direction between the carry-in section C1 and the arrangement section C2 of the conveyor C as shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 12 denotes a side frame, and 13 denotes an upper frame. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality (four) of the conveyors C are arranged side by side in this example corresponding to the article rows. The traverser body 20 sorts the articles B carried in from the carry-in section C1 of the conveyor C into a predetermined number of rows on the array section C2 of the conveyor C by a predetermined number.
It moves laterally in the width direction of the conveyor C along the upper frame 13 of the machine base 11 in a predetermined order. That is, FIG.
As is well understood from the drawings, the machine base 11 is provided with a motor (servo motor) 21 for lateral movement, and a toothed belt 24 stretched between pulleys 22 and 23 installed on the upper frame 13. Causes the traverser body 20 to move in a predetermined order. Reference numeral 25 denotes a connecting portion between the traverser main body 20 and the toothed belt 24. The order of the lateral movement of the traverser body 20 is determined in advance by a control unit (not shown) of the motor 21, and an example thereof is shown in FIG. As is apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4, the traverser body 20 of the embodiment is arranged in parallel with the traveling direction of the conveyor C in relation to a width adjusting mechanism 70 described later.
It is composed of two main body members 20A and 20B, and a screw rod 72 and a nut member 73 for connecting the two body members so as to be adjustable in width. Reference numeral 71 denotes a width adjusting handle for rotating the screw rod 72. The traverser body 20 includes a fixed guide member 30, an introduction guide member 40, and a movable guide member 5 described below.
0 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fixed guide member 30 is a main body member 20 of the traverser body 20.
A and 20B each have a guide bar 32 fixedly mounted via frames 31 and 31. The guide bar 32 guides both sides of the sorted articles B in a row, and it goes without saying that the guide bars 32 are provided in parallel with the traveling direction of the conveyor C. When articles in a plurality of rows are sorted into multiple rows, an intermediate guide bar is provided (not shown) (the same applies to the following introduction guide member and movable guide member). As can be understood from FIG. 1, the introduction guide member 40 includes a carry-in portion C1 of the conveyor C and the traverser main body 2.
0, and guides the article B of the loading section C1 to the fixed guide member 30 fixed to the traverser 20. Since the introduction guide member 40 moves laterally together with the traverser body 20, as shown in FIG.
It is axially connected to the traverser body 20 via pins 41 and the like,
The loading section C1 is also pivotally supported by pins 42 and the like. Reference numeral 43 in the figure is a connecting member, 44 is a bracket, 45
Is a guide bar. The movable guide member 50 includes the traverser body 2.
0, which is provided with a stopper 65 which can be freely opened and closed at a tip end thereof, and moves back and forth in the traveling direction of the conveyor. That is, as is well understood from FIG.
Reference numeral 0 denotes rail members 52, 52 that slide along sliding groove members 51, 51 provided on the main body members 20A, 20B of the traverser main body 20, respectively. Moving motor (servo motor) 53, pulleys 54 and 55, and toothed belt 5
6, the motor 53 moves back and forth in a predetermined manner by a control device (not shown) of the motor 53. Reference numeral 57 denotes a connecting portion between the rail member 52 and the toothed belt 56. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 58 denotes a bracket of the movable guide member 50, and 59 denotes a guide bar. Reference numeral 60 denotes a connecting member for integrally moving the left and right rail members 52, 52, and two connecting members are provided in front and rear as shown in FIG. The connecting member 60 has an expandable and contractible structure including an outer cylindrical portion 61 and an inner cylindrical portion 62 in relation to the width adjusting mechanism 70. The guide bar 59 of the movable guide member 50 is arranged so as to be vertically aligned with the guide bar 32 of the fixed guide member 30 as shown in the figure, and the inner surfaces of both guide bars 59 and 32 are configured to be flush. Have been. The stopper 65 provided at the tip of the movable guide member 50 is a conventionally known one, and its opening / closing control is performed by confirming passage of a predetermined number of articles by a counter (not shown) or confirming the lateral movement position of the traverser body. Is made. Here, the width adjusting mechanism 70 for the fixed guide member 30 and the movable guide member 50 will be described. The diameter of the article to be sorted, for example, a bottle container or a plastic bottle changes depending on its size. In such a case, it is extremely convenient that the widths of the fixed guide member 30 and the movable guide member 50 can be adjusted with one touch.
Therefore, a width adjusting mechanism 70 as shown is provided.
That is, as described above, the traverser main body 20 has the main body members 20A and 20B arranged in parallel with the traveling direction of the conveyor C, and the fixed guide member 30 and the movable guide member 50 are attached to the main body members 20A and 20B. Have been. Therefore, the main body members 20A and 20A
By changing the width of the conveyor B in the width direction, the widths of the fixed guide member 30 and the movable guide member 50 can be changed simultaneously and easily. In this example, as described above, one of the main body members 20A of the traverser main body 20 is provided with the screw rod 72 which is rotated by the handle 71, and the other main body member 20B
Is provided with a nut member 73 to which the screw rod 72 is screwed,
The rotation of the screw rod 72 by the handle 71 causes the other main body member 20B to approach and separate from the one main body member 20A, thereby adjusting the width interval therebetween. As described above, the connecting member 60 of the movable member 50 has a structure that can be expanded and contracted so as to cope with the width adjustment. Next, a method of sorting articles using the sorting apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. First, FIG.
As shown in (1A), after a predetermined number of articles B1 are sent out on the conveyor C as a row L1, the stopper 65 is closed. At this time, the movable guide member 50 is in the retracted position, and the article B2 for the next row L2 is introduced and held in the fixed guide member 30 and the movable guide member 50 of the traverser 20 via the introduction guide member 40. I have. After the stopper 65 is closed (if no stopper is provided, immediately after a predetermined number of articles B1 are sent out as a row L1), the traverser body 20 is moved as shown in FIG. 1 (1B). It is moved laterally toward the next row L2 position in a predetermined order. At the same time, the movable guide member 50 is advanced. By setting the advance speed of the movable member 50 to be substantially the same as the speed of the conveyor C, the articles B2 for the next row L2 in the movable guide member 50 advance in synchronization with the conveyor, so that the articles can be carried in without interruption. And a smooth and gapless arrangement is possible. On the other hand, the article B1 sent out first advances to the arrangement part C2 of the conveyor C as the row L1. As shown in FIG. 1 (1C), when the traverser body 20 reaches the position of the next row L2, the movable guide member 50
Is released. By opening the stopper 65 (if no stopper is provided, the article B2 that has been advanced together with the movable guide member 50 is sent out onto the conveyor C as a row L2. At this time, the article B2 for the next row L2 is
, The time for sending out the articles B2 as rows L2 is greatly reduced. The movable guide member 50 at the forward position
Fig. 1 shows the delivery of the article B2 on the conveyor C
As shown in (1D), it retreats to the traverser main body 20 side. Then, in this retreat position, a predetermined number of articles B2
Send it out on a conveyor as 2. After a predetermined number of articles B2 have been sent out by a counter (not shown) or the like, the process returns to (1A) of FIG.
The above operation is repeated. In addition, the code | symbol S of FIG.
And a door member for opening and closing the front and rear portions of each row of articles stored in the door. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the movement of the traverser body 20 and the movable member 50 in this embodiment in order indicated by arrows. As shown in the figure, in this apparatus, (1) the movable member is retracted, (2) the traverser body is moved rightward while moving the movable member forward, (3) the movable member is retracted, and (4) the traverser is moved forward the movable member. Rightward movement of the body, (5) retreat of the movable member,
(6) Move the traverser body leftward while moving the movable member forward, (7) Retreat the movable member, and (8) move leftward the traverser body while moving the movable member forward. These operations are performed by the control unit of the traverser main body 20 and the movable member 50. As shown and described above, according to the article multi-row sorting apparatus of the present invention, the traverser body which moves laterally in a predetermined order in the width direction of the conveyor, and the traverser body is provided on the traverser body. A fixed guide member for holding the articles in a row state, an introduction guide member provided between the loading section and the traverser body, and an introduction guide member for guiding the articles in the loading section to the fixed guide member in a row state, and provided on the traverser body. And a movable guide member that moves back and forth in the traveling direction of the conveyor while holding the articles in a row state, so that the articles are conveyed even during the lateral movement, and the articles are sorted into predetermined rows. It can be carried out quickly and can maintain an appropriate conveyor speed, greatly reducing problems such as falling and collision of articles on the conveyor, and performing efficient work Can be. Further, the fixed guide member has a guide bar for holding articles in a row in parallel with the traveling direction of the conveyor, and the movable guide member is vertically aligned with the guide bar of the fixed guide member. It has a guide bar arranged so that its inner surface is flush, and is configured to move back and forth with respect to the traveling direction of the conveyor while holding the articles in a row in parallel with the traveling direction of the conveyor. Therefore, it is possible to greatly suppress problems such as falling collision of articles on the conveyor, and it is possible to perform an efficient operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sorting device showing an example of a method for sorting articles according to the present invention in a stepwise manner. FIG. 2 is an overall side view of the sorting device. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of the sorting device. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the conveyor of the sorting device cut in a width direction. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view in which movements of a traverser main body and a movable guide member are sequentially shown by arrows. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a sorting device showing an example of a conventional sorting method in a stepwise manner. [Description of Signs] 10 sorting device 11 machine base 20 traverser body 30 fixed guide member 40 introduction guide member 50 movable guide member 65 stopper 70 width adjustment mechanism C conveyor C1 loading section C2 array section B, B1, B2 articles to be sorted

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 47/00-47/32 B65G 47/68

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims 1] The articles (B) arranged in a row at the loading section (C1) on the conveyor (C) are arranged in a predetermined number of rows (L).
1, L2. . A machine base (11), a traverser body (20) provided on the machine body, and laterally moving in a predetermined order in the width direction of the conveyor; and a traverser body provided on the traverser body. A fixed guide member (30) having a guide bar (32) for holding the guide bar (32) in a row in parallel with the traveling direction of the conveyor, and provided between the loading section and the traverser body; An introduction guide member (40) for guiding to the fixed guide member; and a guide bar (59) provided on the traverser main body, arranged vertically with the guide bar of the fixed guide member and arranged so that the inner surface thereof is flush. ), And the movable guide member (5) that moves back and forth in the traveling direction of the conveyor while holding the articles in a row in parallel with the traveling direction of the conveyor.
1) a multi-row sorting apparatus for articles.