JP4805684B2 - Cross belt sorter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cross belt sorter for distributing and carrying a conveyed product to a predetermined place.

In general cross belt sorters, a number of carts connected endlessly travel along an endless guide path, and a belt conveyor that travels in a direction perpendicular to the travel direction is mounted on each cart. Yes. There are two types of cross belt sorters: a flat type in which an endless guideway is installed in a plane and a vertical type in which the horizontal area of the guideway is set in two layers.
In the former case, the entire guideway can be used, but the installation area is increased.
In the latter case, the installation area is small, but only the horizontal area of the guideway is used.
Furthermore, the saddle type includes a method in which the carriage is reversed between the upper and lower horizontal regions and a method in which the carriage is not reversed.

  There are two types of belt conveyor drive and control: manual operation and electric power use.Electric power supply uses a battery, an alternator, a contactless power supply device, and a power supply rail as a guideway. There are a method of installing and attaching a current collecting shoe to each vehicle, a non-contact power feeding method, and the like.

  In the case of the saddle type in the conventional technology with the aim of reducing the installation area, the carriage is reversed between the upper and lower horizontal areas. This is possible with only one of the straight traveling paths, and the advantages of poor use efficiency and a small installation area are also lost.

  All the carts are used for power supply for driving and controlling the belt conveyor in the conventional technology in which the carts are reversed between the upper and lower horizontal areas in the conventional technology, which allows loading and unloading of the conveyed products to and from the carts on both sides of the guide path. In addition, there are a method in which a battery, an alternator, and a non-contact power supply device are installed, and a power supply rail / current collection shoe method in which all carts are equipped with a current collecting shoe. However, the former increases in weight, size, and cost.

  In addition, the power supply rail / current collection shoe system, in which all the carriages are equipped with current collecting shoes, makes it difficult for the current collecting shoes to slide on the power supply rail along the curved travel path that connects the two ends of the upper and lower straight travel paths. Therefore, the installation of the power supply rail is limited to only the vertical straight traveling road area. Therefore, power supply to the current collecting shoe is intermittently generated, and it takes several seconds for the belt conveyor control to be stabilized when power supply is resumed. Therefore, it is necessary to take a longer feed rail contact start area, and the travel rail, that is, the installation range area of the travel path becomes longer by that length. The installation of the current collecting shoe and the extension of the installation range of the traveling path increase the cost and increase the overall size of the apparatus.

  In addition, the equipment such as the battery of all the above-mentioned trucks increases in weight, and the equipment of the current collecting shoes of all the trucks increases friction, that is, increases the running resistance, which leads to an increase in the truck driving power, for example, a linear motor, Noise and power consumption increase.

  This invention is a saddle-type cross belt sorter, in which the carriage is not reversed between the upper and lower horizontal areas of the guide path, and the feeding method that can be used for the power supply side of the carriage for driving and controlling the belt conveyor. And to solve the problem of avoiding all the vehicle equipment of the power feeding device having the above-mentioned drawbacks.

The cross belt sorter of this invention is
Parallel guide rails on both sides forming a traveling path in which two ends of a straight traveling path of upper and lower layers are connected by a curved traveling path;
An endless flexible traveling body having rolling elements that roll on the guide rail and capable of traveling along the guide rail;
A carriage train that is equipped with a conveyor device that travels in a substantially perpendicular direction to the running path and a drive control means for the conveyor device, and that carriages that are connected and supported by the endless flexible running body are sequentially arranged;
Trolley travel drive means;
Feed rail installed along the guide rail of the straight traveling path, current collecting shoe provided on the carriage, electric wire connecting portion , first electric wire connecting the electric wire connecting portion and the current collecting shoe , electric wire connecting portion and drive control means And a power supply means for drive control means comprising a second electric wire for connecting ; and a carry-in device and a carry-out device arranged laterally along a straight traveling path.

  And the connection support part rotatably connected to the endless flexible traveling body about the axis orthogonal to the traveling direction is provided at one place on each side of the carriage, and the connection support parts on both sides are mutually connected to the carriage running direction. The guide rails on both sides are shifted in the direction of the straight traveling path by the same predetermined distance as in the connection support portion.

  The electric wire connecting portion is provided on the connection support portion, and the electric wire connecting portions of each carriage in the carriage row are connected by the third electric wire, and the third electric wire is connected to the electric wire connecting portion so as to be rotatable around the axis line; The current collecting shoe and the first electric wire are provided in only a part of the carriage row so that the current collection shoe of at least one carriage in the carriage row contacts the power supply rail.

The carriage train circulates along the guide rail by the operation of the carriage travel drive means.
In the circulating travel, the carriage is connected and supported by the connection support portion to the short block of the endless flexible travel body, and travels by rolling on the guide rail of the rolling element of the block.
Therefore, the carriage is naturally maintained in a horizontal state when the carriage is traveling in the horizontal linear region of the guide rail. However, even when the carriage is traveling in the curved area of the guide rails at both ends, the front and rear in the horizontal direction between the guide rails on both sides is Since the shift and the connecting support portions on both sides, that is, the shift in the front and rear direction of the block, are equal, the connecting support portions on both sides of the carriage are maintained at the same height, and the horizontal state of the carriage is also maintained.

  In addition, when the carriage in the horizontal linear region of the guide rail is used, the carriage with the current collecting shoe slides while the current collecting shoe is in contact with the power feeding rail, so that the current from the power feeding rail passes through the first electric wire. The drive control means is operated via the second electric wire to the connection portion, the drive control means is activated, and the current from the first electric wire is coupled to the connection portion of any carriage so as to be rotatable about the axis. It flows sequentially through the three wires to the connecting part of the carriage without the current collecting shoe. In a cart without a current collecting shoe, the flow further flows from the connecting portion to the drive control means via the second electric wire, and the drive control means operates.

  In the traveling in the curving region of the guide rails at both ends in the circulating traveling of the above-described bogie train, since the front and the back of the bogie are reversed while maintaining the level, the bogie, that is, the connecting portion is the endless flexible running. It will rotate 180 degrees relative to the short block of the body. Therefore, although the third electric wire is to be twisted 180 degrees, it is not twisted because the third electric wire is connected to another electric wire so as to be rotatable around the axis at the connecting portion.

  The drive control means controls the operation of the conveyor device at each predetermined loading device / unloading device position of the predetermined carriage according to a predetermined program. As a result, the conveyor device travels so as to carry the conveyed product from the carry-in device or to carry the conveyed product to the carry-out device, and the conveyance of the conveyed product is performed.

  The power supply for the control drive of the conveyor system of the trolley is equipped with a part of the trolley, and it is easy to supply power for the control drive of the conveyor system of all the trolleys in the trolley train, but there is a disadvantage that the installation area is wide On the other hand, with regard to the power supply for the control drive of the conveyor device of each carriage of the carriage train in the vertical cross-belt sorter using the upper and lower two-layer traveling path where the carriage with a small installation area is not reversed, the weight, dimensions and cost It is possible to avoid the method of installing an independent power supply means for each trolley that is bulky, and it is necessary to take a long feed rail contact start area, and the overall size of the device is increased, and the cost is increased for each trolley. It is possible to avoid the power supply rail / current collection shoe system equipped with the current collection shoe.

  For the control drive of the conveyor system of all carts with the power equipment of some carts, which is difficult in the saddle type cross belt sorter using the upper and lower two-layer traveling path, not all the carts equipment of the cart row having the above disadvantages It is possible to supply power.

A cross belt sorter according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the cross belt sorter includes guide rails 1 having a shape (hereinafter referred to as an oval shape) in which both ends of parallel straight lines arranged vertically as viewed from the front according to the traveling path of the carriage train are connected by a substantially circular arc. A large number of carts 3, 3, 3... Are suspended in an endless manner on endless link chains 2, 2 that are guided by 1 and run, that is, a large number of carts 3, 3, 3,. The endless link chains 2 and 2 are connected to each other.
The two guide rails 1 and 1 installed in parallel at an interval on both sides of the carriage 3 are front and rear by a predetermined dimension X approximating the length of the carriage 3 as will be described later (the carry-in / out area of the carriage 3). In the traveling direction) (see FIG. 1).

In the travel path, the upper and lower horizontal straight lines sandwiched between the curved areas at both ends serve as carry-in / out areas of the conveyed product W with respect to the carriage 3. In other words, an appropriate number of carry-in devices and carry-out devices (not shown) are installed at appropriate positions on both sides of the horizontal linear travel section in which the carriage 3 travels in the horizontal linear area.
Since the lower limit of the radius of curvature of the curved area is limited according to the curvature of the carriage row, the travel path of the carriage row, that is, the guide rail 1 is parallel when narrowing the interval between the upper and lower carry-in / out zones in the middle. Instead of a shape in which both ends of the straight line are connected by a semicircle, the intermediate parallel region is deflated as shown in FIG.

The guide rail 1 has a U-shaped cross section, and as a preferred specific example, four square bars 12 are formed on the opening side, leaving a space inside the U-shaped cross section 11 as shown in FIG. There is one which is arranged and configured so as to have a partial relationship, or one drawing material having a cross section shown in FIG.
The two guide rails 1, 1 are installed in parallel at intervals that are substantially opposite sides of the carriage 3 with the cross-sectional opening side facing each other.

  In the carriage 3, a power-driven belt conveyor device 4 is mounted at the center of the upper surface of the quadrilateral base plate 31, a back yoke 32 for driving a linear motor is attached to the center of the lower surface, and auxiliary wheels 33 are mounted at the four corners of the lower surface. Hanger brackets 34a and 34b are erected on the corners (two places) on one diagonal line on the upper surface of the quadrilateral base plate 31.

In the trolley 3 under the condition that at least one trolley 3 of the traveling trolley train is provided with the current collecting shoe 37 in a part of the trolley train 3, that is, in the straight traveling section of the trolley. A current collecting shoe 37 that slides in contact with the power supply rail 7 described later is provided on one side edge region of the lower surface of the base plate 31.
An electric wire connecting portion 35 with slip ring having slip ring means inside is attached to the upper portion of the hanger bracket 34a on the side where the current collecting shoe 37 is provided. The electric wire connecting part 35 with slip ring includes a rotatable shaft 36 that protrudes outward of the carriage 3.

  The endless link chain 2 will be described. In the endless link chain 2, as shown in FIG. 5, a short block 21 having a quadrilateral cross section and a long connecting rod 22 having a quadrilateral cross section are alternately coupled to each other at the ends. And endlessly bendably connected. Specifically, both ends of the block 21 and the connecting rod 22 are less than half the thickness, and they are overlapped with a spacer 23 interposed therebetween and are flexibly coupled by a rotatable shaft 24. Traveling wheels 28, 28 are attached to both ends of 24, and rotatable roller shafts 26, 26 protruding vertically are passed through the front and rear portions of the block 21, and guide wheels 29, 29 are attached to both ends thereof. It has been.

The distance between the shafts 25 and 25 of the hanger brackets 34a and 34b located at the corners (two places) on one diagonal line (the distance in the carriage linear travel direction) is the distance between the two guide rails 1 and 1 described above. The predetermined dimension X of the deviation before and after installation (the traveling direction of the carry-in / out area of the carriage 3) is the same, and the direction of deviation is the same (see FIG. 1).
Further, the distance between the axes of the tube shafts 25 of the blocks 21 that are alternately connected to the connecting rods 22 is the distance between the carriages 3 that forms a row, that is, the carriage pitch P.

  A tube shaft 25 projecting inwardly and outwardly is fixed through the center of the block 21 of the endless link chain 2 on the side where the current collecting shoe 37 of the carriage 3 and the wire connection part 35 with slip ring are located.

  The inner end of the tube shaft 25 is supported by a bearing hole penetrating the upper part of the hanger brackets 34a and 34b via a rolling bearing and is slidably engaged with the rotatable shaft 36 of the electric wire connecting portion 35 with a slip ring. Similarly, the outer end protrudes into the internal space portion of the U-shaped cross-section member 11 of the guide rail 1 and a terminal block 27 is attached.

  Between the guide rails 1 and 1 in the carriage linear traveling section, a linear motor 5 in the traveling direction of the carriage train is installed at a position opposed to the back yoke 32 provided on the lower surface of the carriage 3. Auxiliary rails 6 and 6 having two U-shaped cross sections in the traveling direction are arranged in parallel with the cross-section opening sides facing each other, and the auxiliary wheel 33 of the traveling carriage 3 rolls on its upper surface. It is like that.

  The power supply rail 7 is installed in the space inside the auxiliary rail 6 on one side, and the current collecting shoe 37 of the traveling carriage comes into contact with and slides on the power supply rail 7 from the sectional opening side of the auxiliary rail 6. ing,

  The belt conveyor device 4 mounted on the base plate 31 of the carriage 3 is mounted so that the conveyor belt 41 travels in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the carriage 3, and the upper side of the conveyor belt 41 has at least guide rails 1, 1. The height is higher than the upper surface of 1 and corresponds to the top of the slope portion 13 formed on the upper surface of the guide rails 1, 1. The lower end of the slope portion has a height corresponding to a loading / unloading device (not shown) disposed on the left and right of the guide rails 1 and 1.

  The base plate 31 has a control device 8 for controlling the operation of the belt conveyor device 4 together with the belt conveyor device 4, that is, the operation of the belt conveyor device 4 based on a command by wireless communication with the photoelectric transmission device and a cart position confirmation by the photoelectric tube sensor. A control device 8 is provided for controlling the above.

  Between the terminal blocks 27 and 27 of each carriage 3 in the carriage row, an electric cable L5 is sequentially installed and connected to each other within the terminal block 27, and further connected to the electric cables L5 and L5 within the terminal block 27. The electric cable L2 (L3) is inserted into the tube shaft 25 of the endless link chain 2 and the rotatable shaft 36 of the electric wire connecting portion 35 with slip ring.

In the cart 3 provided with the current collecting shoe 37, the electric wire cable L1 to the control device 8 and the electric wire cable L4 from the current collecting shoe 37 are connected inside the electric wire connecting portion 35 with slip ring, and the connection point is the electric wire. In the carriage 3 that is connected to the cable L2 through the slip ring and does not include the current collecting shoe 37, the electric cable L1 to the control device 8 is connected to the electric cable L3 in the electric wire connecting portion 35 with the slip ring. Connected through.
That is, a relative angular displacement around the axis is allowed between the electric cables L2, L3 and the electric cables L1, L4.

The operation of the cross belt sorter will be described.
When the linear motor 5 is activated, each carriage 3 having the back yoke 32 is driven in the direction selected by the linear motor 5 in accordance with a predetermined program (for example, in the direction of the arrow in the drawing). 1 circulates in the clockwise direction in FIG.

  In the circulating travel, the carriage 3 is connected to the guide rail 1 via the hanger brackets 34, 34 of the base plate 31, the tube shafts 25, 25 of the endless link chains 2, 2, the blocks 21, 21 and the traveling wheels 28, 28. , 1 is run by rolling of the running wheel 28 while being suspended and supported.

Therefore, in the travel of the cart 3 in the horizontal linear region of the guide rails 1, 1, the cart 3 is naturally maintained in a horizontal state, but in the travel of the cart 3 in the curved region of the guide rails 1, 1 at both ends, Horizontal deviation X between the guide rails 1 and 1 on both sides and deviations of the running wheels 28 and 28 on both sides in the running direction (distance between the shafts 25 and 25 on both sides of the carriage 3) Since X is equal, corners (two places) on one diagonal line of the base plate 31 of the carriage 3 are maintained at the same height, and the horizontal state of the carriage 3 is also maintained.
During traveling of the carriage 3, the lateral position of the carriage 3 is stably maintained by the guide wheels 29 and 29 that roll on the guide rail 1 together with the traveling wheels 28.

In the horizontal linear region of the guide rails 1, 1, the auxiliary wheel 33 travels on the auxiliary rail 6 while contacting the auxiliary rail 6 and supporting the load of the carriage 3. Accordingly, the stability of the carriage 3 at the time of loading / unloading with respect to the loading / unloading device (not shown) of the conveyed product W is maintained.
Further, in traveling of the cart 3 in the horizontal linear region of the guide rails 1 and 1, in the cart 3 provided with the current collecting shoe 37, the current collecting shoe 37 slides while contacting the power feeding rail 7. The electric current flows into the electric wire connecting portion 35 with slip ring via the electric wire cable L4, and further flows into the control device 8 via the electric wire cable L1, and the control device 8 operates and the electric wire connecting portion with slip ring. It flows to the electric wire cable L5 sequentially through the slip ring in the electric wire 35, the electric wire cable L2 and the terminal block 27.

  In the carriage 3 that does not include the current collecting shoe 37, the current from the electric cable L5 is controlled via the terminal block 27, the electric cable L2, the slip ring in the electric wire connecting portion 35 with the slip ring, and the electric cable L1. The control device 8 operates.

In the traveling in the curved region of the guide rails 1 and 1 at both ends in the circulating traveling of the bogie trains 3, 3, 3..., The front and rear of the bogie 3 are reversed while maintaining the level. The carriage 3, that is, the wire connecting portion 35 with slip ring, rotates 180 degrees with respect to the block 21, that is, the terminal block 27.
Therefore, when the electric cables L2, L3 are fixed, they are twisted 180 degrees. However, the electric wire cables L2 and L3 are connected to the electric wire cables L1 and L4 via the slip ring in the electric wire connecting portion 35 with a slip ring, and between the electric wire cables L2 and L3 and the electric wire cables L1 and L4, the axis line is around. The relative angular displacement is allowed, so that twisting does not occur.

  The control device 8 controls the operation of the belt conveyor device 4 at each predetermined loading device / unloading device position of the predetermined cart 3 according to a predetermined program based on a command by wireless communication by the photoelectric transmission device and a cart position confirmation by the photoelectric tube sensor. As a result, the conveyor belt 41 travels so as to carry the conveyed product W from the loading device onto the conveyor belt 41 or to carry the conveyed product W from the conveyor belt 41 to the unloading device. Transport is performed.

  It can be applied to a sorter for various deliverables such as mail and parcels.

It is a front lineblock diagram (partially enlarged view) which shows the relation of the guide rail of a cross belt sorter, a trolley train, and an endless link chain in an embodiment of this invention. It is a fragmentary top view which shows the relationship between the guide rail of the cross belt sorter in this embodiment of this invention, a bogie train, and an endless link chain. FIG. 3 is a layout diagram of a power feeding cable to the control device of the belt conveyor device in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a detailed enlarged partial plan view of FIG. 3. It is sectional drawing in line VV of FIG. It is a cross-sectional view of a cart, a guide rail, and a power supply rail of a cross belt sorter in an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Guide rail 11 Cross-section U-shaped material 12 Square material 13 Slope part 2 Endless link chain 21 Block 22 Connecting rod 23 Spacer 24 Shaft 25 Pipe shaft 26 Roller shaft 27 Terminal block 28 Traveling wheel 29 Guide wheel 3 Cart 31 Base plate 32 Back yoke 33 Auxiliary wheel 34 Hanger bracket 35 Wire connection part with slip ring 36 Rotatable shaft 37 Current collecting shoe 4 Belt conveyor device 41 Conveyor belt 5 Linear motor 6 Auxiliary rail 7 Power supply rail 9 Controller L1-5 Electric wire cable W Conveyed material

Claims (3)

Guide rails on both parallel sides forming a traveling road in which both ends of a straight traveling path of two upper and lower layers are connected by a curved traveling path; endless which has rolling elements that roll on the guide rail and can travel along the guide rail -Like flexible traveling body; a carriage having a conveyor device that travels substantially perpendicular to the traveling path and a drive control means for the conveyor device, and carts that are connected to and supported by the endless flexible traveling body in order. column; connecting the straight running path the installed electric power supply rails along the guide rails, collector shoes provided on the carriage, the wire connecting portion, and said shoe and the electric wire connecting portion; carriage traveling drive means the first electric wire and a drive control means for the power supply means consisting of a second electric wire connected to the electric wire connecting part and said drive control means; and the loading device and the unloading device are disposed laterally along a linear travel path Configured,
The endless flexible travel body has a connection support portion rotatably connected around an axis orthogonal to the travel direction at one location on each side portion of the carriage, and the connection support portions on both sides are in the cart travel direction. In the cross belt sorter that is shifted back and forth by a predetermined distance, and the guide rails on both sides are shifted in the straight traveling path direction by the predetermined distance as well as the connection support part,
The electric wire connecting portion is provided on the connection support portion, and the electric wire connecting portions of each carriage in the carriage row are connected by a third electric wire, and the third electric wire is rotatable about the axis to the electric wire connecting portion. Connected;
The current collecting shoe and the first electric wire are provided in only a part of the carriage row so that the collecting shoe of at least one carriage in the carriage row is in contact with the power supply rail during traveling. Cross belt sorter.
  The cross belt sorter according to claim 1, wherein the third electric wire is wired via an endless flexible traveling body and a connection support portion. The endless flexible running body is composed of short blocks that support the rolling elements that roll on the guide rail and long connecting rods that are alternately coupled endlessly with their ends being axially coupled. The cross belt sorter according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein

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