JP4450274B2 - Direction change device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a direction changing device that changes the direction of an article and conveys the article.

  For example, in a palletizer in which articles such as cardboard boxes are stacked on a pallet, the articles are arranged in accordance with a stacking pattern for one stage stacked on the pallet at the inlet of the palletizer, and the stacking pattern 1 Articles are stacked one by one on the pallet. A direction changing device is provided at the inlet of the palletizer to change the direction of the article 90 ° to the left or right according to the stacking pattern, or to carry the article directly without changing the direction. It is used.

A conventional direction changing device includes a transfer conveyor in which two rows of conveyors on which articles are straddled are provided in parallel. When transferring an item that does not change direction, the two rows of conveyors are controlled at a constant speed to keep the items constant. When transporting the article in the direction and changing the direction, the conveying speed of the two conveyor rows is changed, and the direction of the article is changed by the speed difference. In the direction change of the article, the direction of the article is changed 90 degrees to the left or right in a certain distance section from the start end that is the direction change start position of the transport conveyor to the end that is the direction change completion position. That is, the conveyance speed and the speed difference of each conveyor row are set so that the direction change of the articles is completed in accordance with the end position of the conveyance conveyor (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-322059 (page 6-7, FIG. 1)

  However, when handling articles with different varieties, such as size and mass, with the conventional direction changing device, the ease of direction change differs depending on the size, mass, etc. of the articles. If this is the case, the direction change of the article cannot be completed in accordance with the end position of the conveyor. For this reason, it is necessary to set the transport speed and speed difference of each conveyor row for each product type so that the direction change is completed in accordance with the end position of the transport conveyor for each product type. It must be configured to be capable of multi-speed adjustment or linear speed adjustment, and it is not easy to determine the conveyance speed and the speed difference of each conveyor row in order to match the completion of turning at the end of the conveyance conveyor, Therefore, there is a problem that it cannot be easily applied to a wide variety of articles.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a direction changing device that can easily change direction by 2-speed control and can accurately change the direction of an article to be conveyed and can easily cope with various kinds of articles. The purpose is to provide.

The direction changing apparatus according to claim 1 has two rows of conveyors on which articles are placed and has a plurality of driving zones that can be individually driven along the conveying direction in each of the conveyor rows, The speed when the drive zone where the articles in the conveyor row are located is controlled to the first transport speed, and the drive zone where the articles in the other conveyor row are located is controlled to the second transport speed different from the first transport speed. The article is conveyed while changing the direction due to the difference, and the article is kept constant when the driving zone where the article in the two conveyor rows is located is controlled at a constant speed by either the first conveyance speed or the second conveyance speed. a conveyor for transporting remain posture, having respective sensors disposed in the drive zone of the conveyor, the conveying of the direct detection and the driving zone of the article by each sensor at each drive zone And a degree, and detecting means for detecting the position of the transport direction of the article to convey the respective driving zone, a area which is subdivided along the conveying direction of each driving zone of the conveyor, said by varieties of the article Setting means for setting a direction change completion area for completing the direction change of articles on the conveyor, and when conveying the articles to be changed, the articles in the two rows of conveyor rows are positioned based on the detection of the detection means. with a drive zone for controlling different speed, and control means for pre SL controls constant speed drive zones article conveyor column of the two columns is located When the turning completion area set by the setting means article reaches comprising It is what you are doing.

In this configuration, when an article to be redirected is conveyed, the drive zone in which the article in one conveyor row of the conveyor is located is set to the first conveyance speed, and the drive zone in which the article in the other conveyor row is located is the first. The article is transferred to the second transfer speed different from the first transfer speed while changing the direction and is changed in direction, and the article is placed in the direction change completion area set in advance by the setting means while detecting the position of the article in the transfer direction. Is reached, the drive zone in which the articles in the two conveyor rows are located is controlled at a constant speed to convey the articles in the direction after the change of direction, so that the two-speed control of the first conveyance speed and the second conveyance speed is performed. Thus, the direction can be easily changed, and the direction of the article can be accurately changed by finding the direction change completion area for each type, so that it is possible to easily deal with various kinds of articles. In addition, by controlling for each drive zone in which the article is located, the article can be redirected and conveyed in parallel in a plurality of drive zones of the conveyer, and the throughput of the article is improved. Moreover, turning Completed be set in the setting means is a area obtained by subdividing the driving zone along the conveying direction of the conveyor, turning is completed turning of the article on the conveyor by varieties of the article Since it is a completion area, the setting according to the kind of goods becomes easy.

According to the diverting apparatus 請 Motomeko 1 wherein, when transporting the article to be diverted, the driving zones article of one of the conveyor train of conveyor is located in the first transport speed, the article of the other conveyor column The driving zone in which is positioned is controlled at a different speed to a second transport speed different from the first transport speed and transported while changing the direction, and is set in advance by the setting means while detecting the position of the article in the transport direction by the detecting means. When the article reaches the direction change completion area , the drive zone in which the articles in the two conveyor rows are located is controlled at a constant speed to convey the article in the direction after the change of direction. The direction can be easily changed by the two-speed control with the conveyance speed, and the direction of the article can be changed accurately by finding the direction change completion area for each type, so that it can easily deal with various types of articles. In addition, by controlling for each drive zone in which the article is located, the article can be redirected and conveyed in parallel in a plurality of drive zones of the conveyer, and the article throughput can be improved. Moreover, turning Completed be set in the setting means is a area obtained by subdividing the driving zone along the conveying direction of the conveyor, turning is completed turning of the article on the conveyor by varieties of the article Since it is a completion area, the setting according to the kind of goods can be made easy.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, 11 is a direction changing device, and this direction changing device 11 is installed between a transport device 12 on the upstream side in the transport direction F and an inlet portion of a palletizer (not shown) on the downstream side. The inlet of the palletizer is rotated by 90 ° to the left or right, depending on the stacking pattern arranged at the inlet of the palletizer, or straightly without rotating, depending on the stacking pattern arranged at the inlet of the palletizer. To the part.

  The direction changing device 11 has a base 16 installed on the floor surface or the like, and a transport conveyor 17 for placing the article 13 on the base 16 and transporting it in the transport direction F is disposed. This conveyor 17 has two conveyor rows 18a and 18b arranged in parallel in the direction intersecting the conveying direction F, and an article 13 is straddled on these two conveyor rows 18a and 18b. The articles 13 are redirected and conveyed by the conveyor rows 18a and 18b.

  Each conveyor row 18a, 18b has a mounting frame 20 supported by a plurality of mounting bases 19 installed on a base 16, and outer sides arranged outside the conveying conveyor 17 at both ends of the mounting frame 20. A frame 21 and an inner frame 22 arranged on the inner side which is the center side of the conveyor 17 are respectively attached, and the outer frame 21 and the inner frame 22 are integrally connected by a plurality of transverse members 23.

  A plurality of rollers 24 are arranged in parallel along the transport direction F between the outer frame 21 and the inner frame 22 of each conveyor row 18a, 18b. Each roller 24 has a roller shaft 25 attached to both the outer frame 21 and the inner frame 22 in a non-rotating state, and a roller portion 26 rotatably attached to the roller shaft 25. A pulley portion 27 is provided on the outer end side. Then, driving zones S1 to S5 that can individually drive the three rollers 24 as a set in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction F are configured, and the pulley portion 27 of the roller 24 in each driving zone S1 to S5. Are coupled by a belt 28 so as to be able to rotate together in the same direction, thereby constituting a conveyor unit 29 in which three rollers 24 rotate integrally. One roller 24 in the center of each of the drive zones S1 to S5 is a motor roller 24a with a built-in motor, and the roller 24 of each of the drive zones S1 to S5 is rotationally driven by driving the motor roller 24a. The motor roller 24a performs two-speed control, for example, to a first conveyance speed that is low and a second conveyance speed that is higher than the first conveyance speed. When one of the two conveyor rows 18a, 18b is controlled to the first transport speed and the other to the second transport speed, the article 13 is transported while changing the direction due to the speed difference, Further, when the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are controlled at a constant speed by either the first conveyance speed or the second conveyance speed, the articles 13 are conveyed in a constant posture without changing the direction.

  The rollers 24 of the two conveyor rows 18a, 18b are inwardly inclined with the height of the inner end side of the rollers 24 approaching each other of the two conveyor rows 18a, 18b lower than the outer end side, It is inclined at a predetermined angle α with respect to the horizontal plane.

  One conveyor row 18a is supported by a slide guide 30 disposed on the base 16 so as to be movable toward and away from the other conveyor row 18b. At the time of use, one conveyor row 18a is used in a state of approaching the other conveyor row 18b, and at the time of maintenance, etc., one conveyor row 18a is moved away from the other conveyor row 18b. The motor rollers 24a arranged in the rows 18a and 18b are configured to be easily maintained.

  Further, the conveying device 12 has a belt conveyor 41 that carries the article 13 and conveys it, and a plurality of rollers 42 that deliver the article 13 from the belt conveyor 41 to the direction changing device 11, and a belt is provided at the side of the conveying device 12. A motor 43 for driving the conveyor 41 is attached.

  Further, sensors PRA, PRP, PR1 to PR5 for detecting the article 13 are located at one side position of the transport device 12, one side position of the entrance of the direction changing device 11, and one side position between the drive zones S1 to S5. Each is arranged. Each of these sensors PRA, PRP, PR1 to PR5 is, for example, a photoelectric sensor, and projects sensor light from one side to the other side of the transport device 12 and the direction changing device 11, and other than the transport device 12 and the direction changing device 11. It is configured to receive the reflected light reflected by the reflector 46 arranged on the side, the absence of the article is detected when the sensor light reflected by the reflector 46 is received, and the sensor light is shielded by the article 13 The presence of an article is detected when the sensor light is not received.

  4, each motor roller 24a of the direction changing device 11 is connected to a control board 51 provided with a motor driver for controlling the driving, and these control boards 51 are connected to the direction changing device 11 and the conveying device 12. Is connected to a control panel 52 that controls the entire palletizer. The control panel 52 includes a control unit 56 having a CPU 53, a memory 54, a counter 55, and the like. The control unit 56 includes an input device 57 for inputting the type of the article 13, and the like, sensors PRA, PRP, PR1 to PR5. Sensors 58 are connected to each other.

  The CPU 53 of the control unit 56 changes the direction of the article 13 on the conveyor 17 according to the function of the detection means 59 for detecting the position in the conveyance direction F of the article 13 conveyed by the conveyor 17, and the type and size of the article 13. The function of the setting means 60 for automatically generating and setting the direction change completion position for completing the operation, when conveying the article 13 to be changed, drive zones S1 to S5 in which the articles 13 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are located When the article 13 reaches the direction change completion position set by the setting means 60 based on the detection by the detection means 59, the driving zones S1 to S5 in which the articles 13 in the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are located are controlled. It has the function of the control means 61 for controlling constant speed.

  The detection means 59 directly detects the position of the article 13 in the transport direction F with the sensors PRA, PRP, PR1 to PR5, and the count value by the counter 55 after the detection of each sensor PRA, PRP, PR1 to PR5 and the article 13 The position in the transport direction F of the article 13 is obtained from the transport speed for transporting the article.

  The direction change completion position set by the setting means 60 is an area obtained by subdividing each drive zone S3 to S5 downstream of the transfer conveyor 17 in the transfer direction F, and the direction change of the article 13 is completed on the transfer conveyor 17 Direction change completion areas A1 to A9, and when the control means 61 conveys the articles 13 to be changed, the control means 61 moves the driving zones S1 to S5 where the articles 13 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are located at different speeds. When the article 13 reaches the direction change completion areas A1 to A9 set by the setting means 60 based on the detection by the detection means 59, the drive zones S3 to S5 in which the articles 13 in the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are located. Is controlled at a constant speed.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

  By inputting the type such as the size and mass of the article 13 to be processed by the input device 57, the setting means 60 automatically generates the direction change completion areas A1 to A9 for completing the change of the direction of the article 13 on the transport conveyor 17. And stored in the memory 54. For example, in the case of the article 13 shown in FIG. 1, a direction change completion area A8 is set.

  In the standby state in which the direction changing device 11 is to receive the article 13, both the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b rotate and drive the motor rollers 24a at the low first conveyance speed.

  The direction change of the article 13 is started by detecting the article 13 to be changed in direction conveyed by the transfer apparatus 12 with the sensor PRP at the entrance of the direction change apparatus 11. When the article 13 is detected by the sensor PRP, the driving zone S1 is controlled at different speeds. For example, the driving zone S1 of the conveyor row 18a on one side remains at the low first conveyance speed, and the driving zone S1 of the conveyor row 18b on the other side remains. Is switched to the high-speed second conveyance speed. Therefore, the article 13 entering the drive zone S1 from the transport device 12 is transported in the transport direction F while being turned counterclockwise in FIG. 1 due to the speed difference between the drive zones S1 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b.

  When the article 13 is detected by the sensor PR1 in the driving zone S1, the driving zone S2 is similarly controlled at a different speed, and the article 13 entering the driving zone S2 from the driving zone S1 is also turned in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. While in the transport direction F. In this way, when the article 13 is detected by the sensors PR2 to PR4 of the driving zones S2 to S4, the downstream driving zones S3 to S5 are similarly controlled at different speeds, and the driving zones in which the article 11 sequentially enters are detected. The sheet is conveyed in the conveying direction F while being turned counterclockwise in FIG.

  When the article 13 no longer detects the position of the sensor PR1 in the drive zone S1, that is, when the article 13 passes through the drive zone S1, the drive zone S1 is switched to constant speed control. That is, the drive zone S1 of the other conveyor row 18b is switched to the low-speed first transport speed, and the drive zone S1 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b is switched to the constant speed control of the first transport speed. Similarly, when the article 13 no longer detects the position of the sensors PR2 to PR3 and the like in each of the driving zones S2 to S3, that is, when the article 13 passes through the driving zones S2 to S3, the driving zones S2 to S3 and the like are Switch to constant speed control.

  While the article 13 is being conveyed, the position of the conveyance direction F is monitored by detection by the detection means 59, and if the article 13 is detected to have reached the direction change completion area A8 set by the setting means 60, the article 13 The drive zones S4 to S5 that are positioned are switched to constant speed control. That is, the drive zones S4 to S5 of the other conveyor row 18b are switched to the low-speed first transport speed, and the drive zones S4 to S5 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are controlled at the constant speed of the first transport speed. Switch.

  When the article 13 reaches the direction change completion area A8, the direction of the article 13 has been changed by 90 °, and the drive zones S4 to S5 where the articles 13 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are located are controlled at a constant speed. By switching to, the article 13 that has completed the 90 ° direction change is conveyed in the conveyance direction F in that direction.

  By switching the driving zones S1 to S5 of the one conveyor row 18a to the high speed second conveying speed while keeping the driving zones S1 to S5 of the other conveyor row 18b at the low first conveying speed, The article 13 can be turned in the clockwise direction in FIG.

  When the article 13 being conveyed by the conveying device 12 is an article 13 that does not change direction, the driving zones S1 to S5 in which the articles 13 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are located are controlled at a constant speed to change the direction. Without going straight, keep going straight.

  Further, in the case of the article 13 shown in FIG. 1, the direction change is completed by the different speed control of the drive zones S1 to S5, but as shown in FIG. 5, the direction change is smaller and lighter than the article 13 shown in FIG. In the case of the easy article 13, the direction change is completed by the different speed control of the drive zones S1 to S3. In this case, for example, when the direction change completion area A3 is reached, the direction of the article 13 is changed by 90 °, and thereafter, the drive zones S2 to S5 in which the articles 13 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are located. Is the constant speed control, and the article 13 that has completed the 90 ° direction change is conveyed in the conveying direction F in that direction.

  Thus, when conveying the article 13 whose direction is changed, the drive zones S1 to S5 in which one article 13 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b of the conveyer 17 is located are set to the first conveyance speed. The drive zones S1 to S5 in which the other articles 13 of the conveyor rows 18a and 18b of the series are located are conveyed while being controlled by changing the speed to the second conveyance speed, and the conveyance direction of the articles 13 is detected by the detecting means 59. When the article 13 reaches the direction change completion position set in advance by the setting means 60 while detecting the position of F, the drive zones S1 to S5 where the articles 13 of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are located are controlled at a constant speed. Since the article 13 is conveyed in the direction after the direction change, the direction can be easily changed by the two-speed control of the first conveyance speed and the second conveyance speed, and the direction change completion position for each type can be found. The direction of the article 13 can be accurately changed, and a variety of articles 13 can be easily handled.

  Moreover, by controlling for each of the drive zones S1 to S5 where the article 13 is located, the article 13 can be redirected and conveyed in parallel in the plurality of drive zones S1 to S5 of the conveyor 17 and the processing capacity of the article 13 is improved. it can.

  Further, the direction change completion position set by the setting means 60 is an area obtained by subdividing each drive zone S3 to S5 of the transport conveyor 17 in the transport direction F, and the direction change of the article 13 is completed on the transport conveyor 17. Since it is the direction change completion areas A1 to A9, setting according to the type of the article 13 can be easily performed.

  In the above embodiment, the direction changing device 11 shows an example of changing the direction of the article A by 90 °. However, the direction changing device 11 is not limited to 90 °, and can change the direction of any angle. For example, when the side surface of the article A facing the outer periphery of the pallet to be aligned is set to a specified direction, the direction can be changed by 180 ° and conveyed.

  Also, during normal times (when the article 13 is not located or when the article 13 is moved straight without changing the direction by constant speed control), the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are set to the first conveyance speed at a low speed, and the direction is changed. At times, one of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b was switched to the high-speed second conveyance speed, but in normal times the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b were set to the high-speed second conveyance speed, One of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b may be switched to a low first conveyance speed, and the processing capacity of the article 13 can be improved.

  Further, when the articles 13 are loaded one by one on the conveyor 17 of the direction changing device 11, the drive zones S1 to S5 are eliminated, and the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b are each provided with one drive source. It may be driven, and the configuration can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

  Further, when the article 13 is rotated only in one direction to change the direction, the driving zones S1 to S5 are set only in one of the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b, and the other is the driving zone S1 to S5. It may be possible to drive at the same speed by one drive source without setting, and the configuration can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

  Further, in addition to the rollers 24, belt conveyors using belts may be adopted for the two conveyor rows 18a and 18b.

It is a top view of the direction change apparatus which shows one embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of a direction change apparatus same as the above. It is an end view of a direction change apparatus same as the above. It is a block diagram of a direction change apparatus same as the above. It is a top view which shows the direction change of the goods of another goods by the direction change apparatus same as the above.

11 Direction change device
13 Goods
17 Conveyor
18a, 18b conveyor train
59 Detection means
60 Setting method
61 Control means
A1 ~ A9 Direction change completion area
PR1-PR5 sensor
S1-S5 drive zone

Claims (1)

There are two rows of conveyors on which articles are straddled, and each of these conveyor rows has a plurality of drive zones that can be individually driven along the conveying direction, and a drive zone in which the articles of one conveyor row are located When the drive zone in which the article of the other conveyor row is located is controlled to a second conveyance speed different from the first conveyance speed at the first conveyance speed, the article is conveyed while changing the direction due to the speed difference. And a transport conveyor that transports the articles in a constant posture when the drive zone in which the articles of the two conveyor rows are located is controlled at a constant speed at one of the first transport speed and the second transport speed;
It has each sensor arranged in each drive zone of this conveyor , and the conveyance direction of the article which conveys each drive zone from the direct detection of the article by each sensor in each drive zone and the conveyance speed of each drive zone Detection means for detecting the position of
Setting means for setting a direction change completion area in which each drive zone of the transport conveyor is subdivided along the transport direction, and the direction change of the article is completed on the transport conveyor for each type of the article;
When transporting articles to be diverted, on the basis of the detection of the detection means, wherein with article two rows conveyor train of the drive zone to control different speed positioned before Symbol diverting complete area set by the setting means And a control means for controlling at a constant speed a drive zone in which the articles of the two conveyor rows are located.

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