JP5783833B2 - Transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport apparatus that includes a plurality of transport rollers that can rotate about a horizontal axis and that can rotate about a vertical axis, and can turn the transport direction of an article by the rotation of the rollers. The transport device is, for example, a sorting device that sorts articles by turning the transport direction of the articles.

  The transport device includes a plurality of roller assemblies having transport rollers, a rotational drive mechanism that rotationally drives the rollers, a rotational drive mechanism that rotates the rollers, and a holding member to which the roller assemblies are attached. In addition to the roller, the roller assembly includes a roller support that supports the roller rotatably about a horizontal axis, and a rotating body that supports the roller support and can rotate about the vertical axis. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3349084 (paragraphs 0024-0032, FIGS. 4 and 5)

  The rotation drive mechanism that rotates the rotating body includes an actuator that generates a driving force for rotating the rotating body, a connecting member that connects the plurality of rotating bodies, and a member that is interposed between the actuator and the connecting member. When there is an intermediate member (lever mechanism or link mechanism) that forms a drive force transmission path, the number of parts is large, and it takes time to assemble and remove the parts that make up the rotation drive mechanism. Due to the problem that the assemblability and maintainability of the device are deteriorated and the presence of the intermediate member, the transmission path until the driving force generated by the actuator is transmitted to the connecting member becomes long, so the rotation response of the roller is There was a problem of lowering.

  Further, when the intermediate member is positioned above the holding member, similarly, from the viewpoint of preventing interference between the roller assembly positioned above the holding member and the intermediate member, the plurality of roller assemblies are transported. There is a problem in that the degree of freedom in arrangement of the roller assembly is reduced due to restrictions on the interval in the direction. For this reason, for example, it may be difficult to reduce the size of the roller and to close the roller assembly.

  Further, when a plurality of roller assemblies, a rotation drive mechanism, and a rotation drive body are individually attached to and detached from the machine base of the transport apparatus, the number of members attached to and detached from the machine base is large. As a result, it takes time to assemble and remove these members from the machine base, and there is a problem that the assemblability and the maintainability of the transport device are lowered.

Further, when both the roller support body and the rotating body constituting the roller assembly are made of metal, since the weight of the roller assembly is large, the roller assembly with respect to the holding member that rotatably supports the roller assembly. It takes time to assemble and remove the three-dimensional object, which causes a problem that the assembling property and maintenance property of the conveying device are deteriorated, and a cause of lowering the rotation responsiveness of the roller that is rotated by the rotation driving mechanism. There was a problem.
For this reason, when it is intended to ensure the required rotational response of the roller, the rotational drive mechanism may increase in energy consumption and increase in size.

The present invention solves the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to improve assembly and maintenance by the structure of a rotation drive mechanism that rotates a roller to turn the conveyance direction, It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport device that improves the rotational response of a roller assembly.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a conveying apparatus having a large degree of freedom in arrangement of the roller assembly by the structure of the rotating mechanism.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a transport device that is improved in assemblability and maintainability by the structure of the roller assembly, the rotation drive mechanism, and the rotation drive mechanism.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a transport apparatus that improves the assemblability and maintainability by the structure of the roller assembly, and further improves the rotational response of the roller assembly.

First, the invention according to claim 1 includes a conveying roller that conveys an article by rotating, a roller support that rotatably supports the roller around a horizontal axis, and the roller support that supports the roller support and a vertical axis. A predetermined number of roller assemblies each having a rotatable rotating body, a rotational drive mechanism having a plurality of rotational driving bodies for rotating the rollers about the horizontal axis, and the rotating body about the vertical axis A rotation drive mechanism that rotates the rotation assembly, a holding member to which the roller assembly is attached, and a machine base to which the holding member, the rotation drive mechanism, and the rotation drive mechanism are attached. The predetermined number of the rollers and the roller support arranged in the conveyance direction of the article and the width direction of the conveyance path rotate together with the rotation body, thereby causing the rollers to rotate. In the transport device in which the transport direction is turned, the rotation drive mechanism is configured to connect a plurality of the rotating bodies to rotate the plurality of rotating bodies at the same time and a driving force generated. An actuator that directly drives the connecting member, and the connecting member is a member that is driven by the driving force to move integrally to transmit the driving force to the rotating bodies, and the actuator is connected to the connecting member. An action part that directly applies the driving force to a member, and the connecting member is disposed so as to have an overlapping portion that occupies the same position as the holding member in the vertical direction, the roller, the roller support, The coupling portion of the rotating body and the coupling member is disposed above the lower surface of the holding member, and the actuator is at least in the action portion, and the holding portion Downward than the upper surface, and the roller, by being arranged below the roller support and the coupling section is obtained by solving the problems described above.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a conveying roller that conveys an article by rotating, a roller support that supports the roller rotatably around a horizontal axis, and the roller support that supports the roller support and rotate around a vertical axis. A predetermined number of roller assemblies having a plurality of rotatable bodies, a rotation drive mechanism having a plurality of rotation drive bodies for rotating the rollers around the horizontal axis, and the rotation body rotating about the vertical axis. A rotation drive mechanism to be moved; a holding member to which the roller assembly is attached; and a machine base to which the holding member, the rotation drive mechanism, and the rotation drive mechanism are attached; The predetermined number of the rollers and the roller support arranged in the conveyance direction and the width direction of the conveyance path rotate together with the rotation body, thereby causing the rollers to perform the rotation. In the transport device in which the feeding direction is turned, the rotation drive mechanism is configured to connect the plurality of rotation bodies together to connect the plurality of rotation bodies and the generated driving force to rotate the rotation bodies simultaneously. An actuator that directly drives the connecting member, and the connecting member is a member that is driven by the driving force and moves together to transmit the driving force to the rotating bodies, and the number of the connecting members is less than the predetermined number. The holding member to which the unit roller assembly group composed of a second predetermined number of the roller assemblies is attached constitutes a unit support, and one or more of the rotational driving bodies are the unit roller assembly group A rotational drive body for the unit that rotationally drives each of the rollers, and the one or more rotational drive mechanisms rotate the rotational body of the roller assemblies of the unit roller assembly group. A unit rotation driving mechanism, wherein the unit roller assembly group, the unit rotation driving unit, and the unit rotation driving mechanism are attached to the unit support to constitute one roller unit. The roller unit solves the above-described problems by being detachable from the machine base by attaching and detaching the unit support to the machine base .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a conveying roller that conveys an article by rotating, a roller support that supports the roller so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis, and the roller support are supported and rotated about a vertical axis. A predetermined number of roller assemblies having a plurality of rotatable bodies, a rotation drive mechanism having a plurality of rotation drive bodies for rotating the rollers around the horizontal axis, and the rotation body rotating about the vertical axis. A rotation drive mechanism to be moved; a holding member to which the roller assembly is attached; and a machine base to which the holding member, the rotation drive mechanism, and the rotation drive mechanism are attached; The predetermined number of the rollers and the roller support arranged in the conveyance direction and the width direction of the conveyance path rotate together with the rotation body, thereby causing the rollers to perform the rotation. In the transport device in which the feeding direction is turned, the rotation drive mechanism is configured to connect the plurality of rotation bodies together to connect the plurality of rotation bodies and the generated driving force to rotate the rotation bodies simultaneously. An actuator that directly drives the connecting member, and the connecting member is a member that is driven by the driving force and moves together to transmit the driving force to the rotating members, and the roller support and the rotating member. Since the moving body is formed of resin , the above-described problems are solved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the second or third aspect of the invention, the actuator includes an action portion that directly applies the driving force to the connecting member, and the connecting member includes: Arranged to have an overlapping portion occupying the same position as the holding member in the vertical direction,
The roller, the roller support, and a coupling portion of the rotating member and the coupling member are disposed above the lower surface of the holding member, and the actuator is at least in the operating portion of the holding member. The above-described problems are solved by being disposed below the upper surface and below the roller, the roller support, and the coupling portion .

  Therefore, the transport device of the present invention supports a roller for transporting articles by rotating, a roller support that supports the roller rotatably about a horizontal axis, and supports the roller support and can rotate about a vertical axis. A predetermined number of roller assemblies having a plurality of rotating bodies, a rotation driving mechanism having a plurality of rotation driving bodies for rotating the rollers around a horizontal axis, and a rotation drive for rotating the rotating bodies about a vertical axis. A mechanism, a holding member to which the roller assembly is attached, and a machine base to which the holding member, the rotation drive mechanism, and the rotation drive mechanism are attached, arranged in the conveyance direction of the article in the conveyance path and the width direction of the conveyance path When the predetermined number of rollers and roller supports rotated together with the rotating body, the conveying direction by the rollers is turned, so that the rotation driving mechanism is turned into the rotating body and the roller support. By rotating the roller through the support, not only it is possible to deflect the conveying direction of the articles conveyed by the rollers, it is possible to obtain the unique effect of the present invention as follows.

That is, according to the conveying apparatus of the present invention according to claim 1, the rotation drive mechanism is generated with the connecting member to which the plurality of rotation bodies are connected to rotate the plurality of rotation bodies at the same time, and the generated drive. And an actuator that directly drives the connecting member by force, and the connecting member is a member that moves integrally with the driving force and transmits the driving force to each rotating body, thereby rotating the roller to turn the conveying direction. The driving force generated by the actuator to be moved directly acts on the connecting member to which a plurality of rotating bodies are connected without using an intermediate member such as a lever mechanism or a link mechanism disposed between the actuator and the connecting member. In addition, since the connecting member moves integrally with the driving force, it is possible to improve the rotation response when the rotation position of the roller is changed, that is, the response for turning the conveyance direction. In addition, since the intermediate member is not necessary, the number of parts constituting the rotation drive mechanism is reduced, and the assembly and removal of the actuator and the connecting member constituting the rotation drive mechanism are facilitated. Assembling and maintenance of the apparatus can be improved.
The actuator has an action part that directly applies a driving force to the connecting member, and the connecting member is arranged so as to have an overlapping portion that occupies the same position as the holding member in the up-down direction. By utilizing the width of the holding member, the connecting member is arranged at a position overlapping the holding member in the vertical direction, so that the whole connecting member is directly connected to the actuator as compared with the case where the connecting member is arranged below or above the holding member. Since the rotation drive mechanism having the connecting member that moves integrally with the holding member is arranged compactly in the vertical direction with respect to the holding member, the transport device can be downsized in the vertical direction.
Moreover, the roller, the roller support, and the coupling portion of the connecting member in the rotating body are disposed above the lower surface of the holding member, and the actuator is at least at the action portion below the upper surface of the holding member, In addition, the action portion that causes the driving force to act directly on the connecting member is disposed below the upper surface of the holding member by being disposed below the coupling portion of the roller, the roller support body, and the rotating body, and the roller, roller support body. Since the roller is disposed below the coupling part of the rotating body, the roller disposed above the lower surface of the holding member, the roller support body, and the rotating body are not disposed above the coupling part. It is possible to prevent the action part from constraining the arrangement of the coupling part of the roller, the roller support body and the rotating body in the transport direction. And it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of location in the conveying direction, it can be reduced in size and compacted in the roller assembly of the roller.

According to the transport apparatus of the present invention according to claim 2 , the rotation drive mechanism is configured to connect the plurality of rotation bodies to each other in order to rotate the plurality of rotation bodies all at once, and the generated driving force. An actuator that directly drives the connecting member, and the connecting member is a member that moves integrally with the driving force and transmits the driving force to each rotating body, thereby rotating the roller to turn the conveying direction. The driving force generated by the actuator acts directly on the connecting member to which a plurality of rotating bodies are connected without using an intermediate member such as a lever mechanism or a link mechanism disposed between the actuator and the connecting member. Since the connecting member moves integrally with the driving force, it is possible to improve the rotation response when the rotation position of the roller is changed, that is, the response for turning the conveyance direction. In addition, since the intermediate member is not necessary, the number of parts constituting the rotation drive mechanism is reduced, and the assembly and removal of the actuator and the connection member constituting the rotation drive mechanism are facilitated. Assemblability and maintainability can be improved.
A holding member to which a unit roller assembly group composed of a second predetermined number of roller assemblies, which is a plurality less than the predetermined number, is mounted constitutes a unit support, and one or more rotary driving bodies are used for the unit. Rotation unit for unit that rotationally drives each roller of the roller assembly group, and one or more rotation drive mechanisms rotate the rotation unit of each roller assembly of the unit roller assembly group The unit roller assembly group, the unit rotation drive unit, and the unit rotation drive mechanism constitute a single roller unit by being attached to the unit support, and the roller unit is a unit support. By attaching / detaching to / from the machine base, the unit roller assembly group, unit rotary drive body, unit Since the rotation drive mechanism and the unit support can be attached to and detached from the machine base in units of roller units, the assembly and removal of the roller assembly group, the rotation drive body, and the rotation drive mechanism from the machine base is facilitated. Therefore, it is possible to improve the assembling property and the maintenance property of the transfer device.
Furthermore, by replacing the roller unit unit, it is easy to diversify the arrangement of the rollers, and when a defect occurs in the roller assembly, the roller unit including the defective part and the normal roller unit Since the replacement is easy, the operating rate of the transfer device can be improved.

According to the conveyance device of the present invention according to claim 3, the rotation drive mechanism is configured to connect the plurality of rotation bodies together to rotate the plurality of rotation bodies at the same time and the generated driving force. An actuator that directly drives the connecting member, and the connecting member is a member that moves integrally with the driving force and transmits the driving force to each rotating body, thereby rotating the roller to turn the conveying direction. The driving force generated by the actuator acts directly on the connecting member to which a plurality of rotating bodies are connected without using an intermediate member such as a lever mechanism or a link mechanism disposed between the actuator and the connecting member. Since the connecting member moves integrally with the driving force, it is possible to improve the rotation response when the rotation position of the roller is changed, that is, the response for turning the conveyance direction. In addition, since the intermediate member is not necessary, the number of parts constituting the rotation drive mechanism is reduced, and the assembly and removal of the actuator and the connection member constituting the rotation drive mechanism are facilitated. Assemblability and maintainability can be improved.
And since the roller support body and the rotating body are made of resin, the rotating body driven by the rotation drive mechanism and rotating, and the roller support body rotating together with the rotating body are reduced in weight. The assembly and removal of the roller assembly can be facilitated by the weight reduction, so that the assembly and maintenance of the conveying device can be improved, and the conveyance direction of the article in the roller that rotates together with the rotating body and the roller support body Rotation responsiveness for turning can be improved.

According to the transport apparatus of the present invention according to claim 4, in addition to the effect exhibited by the invention according to claim 2 or claim 3, the following effect can be achieved.
The actuator has an action part that directly applies a driving force to the connecting member, and the connecting member is arranged so as to have an overlapping portion that occupies the same position as the holding member in the vertical direction, whereby the holding member in the vertical direction Since the connecting member is arranged at a position overlapping the holding member in the vertical direction by using the width of the connecting member, it is directly connected to the actuator and integrated as compared with the case where the whole connecting member is arranged below or above the holding member. Since the rotational drive mechanism having the moving connecting member is arranged compactly in the vertical direction with respect to the holding member, the transport device can be downsized in the vertical direction.
Moreover, the roller, the roller support, and the coupling portion of the connecting member in the rotating body are disposed above the lower surface of the holding member, and the actuator is at least at the action portion below the upper surface of the holding member, In addition, the action portion that causes the driving force to act directly on the connecting member is disposed below the upper surface of the holding member by being disposed below the coupling portion of the roller, the roller support body, and the rotating body, and the roller, roller support body. Since the roller is disposed below the coupling part of the rotating body, the roller disposed above the lower surface of the holding member, the roller support body, and the rotating body are not disposed above the coupling part. It is possible to prevent the action part from constraining the arrangement of the coupling part of the roller, the roller support body and the rotating body in the transport direction. And it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of location in the conveying direction, it can be reduced in size and compacted in the roller assembly of the roller.

The principal part top view of an article conveyance system provided with the sorting apparatus which is an Example of this invention. The figure of the principal part in the II arrow of the sorting apparatus of FIG. The figure of the principal part by the III arrow of the sorting apparatus of FIG. The top view of the roller unit of the sorting apparatus of FIG. (A) is the VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 4, (b) is the bb sectional view taken on the line of (a). VI-VI sectional view taken on the line of FIG. VII-VII line sectional drawing of FIG. The figure of the roller assembly in the VIII arrow of FIG.

  The present invention relates to a conveying roller that conveys an article by rotating, a roller support that supports the roller rotatably about a horizontal axis, and a rotating body that supports the roller support and can rotate about a vertical axis. A predetermined number of roller assemblies, a rotation driving mechanism having a plurality of rotation driving bodies for rotating the rollers around the horizontal axis, and a rotation for rotating the rotating body about the vertical axis A drive mechanism; a holding member to which the roller assembly is attached; and a machine base to which the holding member, the rotation drive mechanism, and the rotation drive mechanism are attached. When the predetermined number of the rollers and the roller support arranged in the width direction of the conveyance path rotate together with the rotation body, the conveyance direction by the rollers changes. In the transport apparatus, the rotation drive mechanism directly connects the connection member to the connection member to which the plurality of rotation bodies are connected in order to rotate the plurality of rotation bodies at the same time. An actuator for driving, and the connecting member is a member that is driven by the driving force and moves together to transmit the driving force to the rotating bodies, and rotates the roller to turn the conveying direction. As long as the structure of the rotating drive mechanism to be used improves the assemblability and maintainability and improves the rotation response of the roller assembly, any specific embodiment may be used.

For example, the conveyance device may be a conveyance device that can change the conveyance direction on the conveyance path in accordance with the type and shape of the article to be conveyed, in addition to the sorting device.
The roller may be a rolling element, and includes a spherical shape in addition to a cylindrical shape.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
Referring to FIG. 1, an article transport system 1 including a sorting apparatus 100 as a transport apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is bound to an article 10 (for example, a bundled article such as a bundle of newspapers or a bundle. In addition to the sorting apparatus 100 including a plurality of first predetermined number of roller assemblies A (see FIGS. 2 and 5) that transport a plurality of articles), a carrying apparatus for loading the articles 10 into the sorting apparatus 100 2 (for example, a roller conveyor) and an unloading conveying device 3 (for example, a roller conveyor) for unloading the articles 10 conveyed by the sorting device 100.

The unloading conveyance device 3 is branched by the sorting device 100 and the basic unloading conveyance device 3a for unloading the article 10 conveyed in the basic conveyance direction 21 and the conveyance direction 20 intersecting the basic conveyance direction 21. A branch carry-out transport device 3b for carrying out the article 10 transported in the transport direction 22;
Then, the article 10 carried into the sorting device 100 from the carrying-in transport device 2 can rotate around the vertical axis Lv (see FIG. 6), and the rotation position P (see FIG. 4) of the roller 120 of each roller assembly A. ) In response to the sorting device 100 capable of turning in the transport direction 20, and is sorted and carried out to either of the carrying-out transport devices 3 a and 3 b.

Here, the basic transport direction 21 (hereinafter referred to as “transport direction 21”) is a reference position P0 (described later) as a rotation position P around the vertical axis Lv (see FIG. 6). 4), the conveyance direction 20 of the article 10 is the same as the conveyance direction in the carry-in conveyance device 2 and the basic carry-out conveyance device 3a.
The branch conveyance direction 22 in which the conveyance direction 20 is turned from the conveyance direction 21 is a conveyance direction when the roller 120 occupies a first turning position P1 (see FIG. 4) described later as the rotation position P.
In this embodiment, the direction parallel to the transport direction 21 shown in FIG. 1 is the front-rear direction, the front is the transport direction 21, and the rear is the direction opposite to the transport direction 21.

In addition, instead of being arranged in one direction side of the conveyance path 101 in the width direction 24 of the conveyance path 101 in the sorting apparatus 100, the branch carry-out conveyance apparatus 3b is conveyed as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The roller 120 may be arranged on the other direction side of the path 101. In this case, in order to convey the article in the branch conveyance direction 23, the roller 120 has a second turning position P2 (see FIG. 4) described later as the rotation position P. Occupy.
Further, the branch carry-out transfer device 3 b may be disposed on both sides of the transfer path 101 in the width direction 24.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the sorting apparatus 100 forms a machine base 110 installed on the floor 5 as an installation unit thereof, a transport path 101 through which articles 10 are transported, and a transport direction 21 and a transport path 101. The first predetermined number of rollers 120 arranged in the width direction 24 and the rollers 120 are rotatably supported around a horizontal axis Lh (see FIG. 6) and rotated around a vertical axis Lv (see FIG. 6). The first predetermined number of possible roller support bases A1 and one or more line shafts 171 serving as a plurality of rotational driving bodies in the present embodiment that rotationally drive the plurality of rollers 120 arranged in the width direction 24 are provided. One or more for rotating the rotation driving mechanism 170 and the second predetermined number of rollers 120, which are plural, via the roller support base A1 simultaneously around the vertical axis Lv, as plural in this embodiment. Two rotation drive mechanisms 150, a unit support 190 that is detachably attached to the machine base 110, and a cover 200 that forms the transport path 101 together with each roller 120 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. 2 and 3). And a cover holding unit 205 for holding the cover 200 on the machine base 110.
The roller 120 that conveys the article 10 by rotating and the roller support A1 constitute a roller assembly A.

Here, the vertical axis Lv (refer to FIG. 6), which is the rotation center line of the roller 120, is defined by the rotation support shaft 146 (refer to FIG. 6) of the roller assembly A, and the vertical direction (in this embodiment, The vertical axis direction parallel to the vertical axis Lv).
In the present embodiment, the transport direction 21 and the width direction 24 are substantially orthogonal.
The expression “almost” includes the case where there is no modifier “almost” and does not exactly match the case where there is no modifier “almost”, but the modifier “almost”. It means a range in which there is no significant difference with respect to the effect as compared with the case where there is no.

1 to 3, each roller assembly A, a rotation drive mechanism 170, each rotation drive mechanism 150, each unit support 190 and a cover 200 are attached to the machine base 110.
The machine base 110 includes four leg portions 111 to 114 (see FIG. 1) and a pair of leg portions 111 and 113; 112 and 114 that are separated in the width direction 24 and in the transport direction 21. A pair of machine base frames 115 and 116 to be connected to each other, and a pair of lower portions for connecting a pair of legs 111 and 112; 113 and 114 which are separated in the conveyance direction 21 and in the width direction 24 to each other. A frame (a part of one lower frame 117 is shown in FIG. 2).
The pair of machine base frames 115 and 116 is a support member that supports the unit support 190 and constitutes the upper end portion of the machine base 110.
All of the rollers 120 included in the sorting apparatus 100 form a plurality of rows arranged in the transport direction 21 at intervals, in this embodiment, 10 roller rows R.
Each roller row R that is a row in the width direction 24 includes a plurality of rollers 120 arranged at equal intervals in the width direction 24.

  In addition, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the first roller row R <b> 1 and the second roller row R <b> 2 which are two or more predetermined row numbers in this embodiment, that is, a plurality of roller rows R in this embodiment, are provided by the sorting device 100. A unit roller row Ru is configured in each of the roller units U of one or more units provided, that is, a plurality of five roller units U1 to U5 (see FIGS. 1 and 3).

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, each roller 120 that rotates by being frictionally driven by the line shaft 171 has an outer peripheral portion 121 that forms an outer peripheral surface that is a contact surface with the line shaft 171 formed of a rubber material.
A cover 200 that covers each roller 120 from above is provided with a circular roller protrusion hole 201 (see also FIG. 1). The upper part of the outer peripheral portion 121 protrudes upward from the cover 200 through the roller protrusion hole 201 so as to contact the article 10 conveyed on the cover 200.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the sorting apparatus 100, the articles 10 are sequentially supported by a plurality of rotating rollers 120, and the conveyance direction 21 or the branch conveyance direction is caused by a frictional force acting between the rollers 120. 22 is conveyed.

2 to 5, each roller unit U includes a roller assembly group G for units composed of a second predetermined number of roller assemblies A that are less than the first predetermined number, and the roller sets. A unit support 190 that rotatably supports each roller assembly A of the three-dimensional group G, and one or more, in this case, one unit as a unit rotational driving body that rotationally drives each roller 120 of the roller assembly group G. In order to rotate the line shaft 171 and each roller 120 of the roller assembly group G around the vertical axis Lv (see FIG. 6) via the roller support base A1 of each roller assembly A of the roller assembly group G, It has one or more, here, one rotation drive mechanism 150 as a unit rotation drive mechanism for rotating the roller support base A1.
In each roller unit U, the second predetermined number of roller assemblies A, the line shaft 171 and the rotation drive mechanism 150 are attached to a unit support 190.

In the sorting apparatus 100, the first predetermined number of rollers 120 that are all the rollers 120 supported by the machine base 110 belong to one of a plurality of roller assembly groups G (that is, a plurality of roller units U). The second predetermined number, which is the number of all roller assemblies A constituting the roller assembly group G (that is, the number of rollers 120), the number of line shafts 171 and the number of rotation drive mechanisms 150 are determined by each roller. It is the same in unit U.
Therefore, each roller unit U has the same structure.

Hereinafter, the roller unit U will be further described.
Referring mainly to FIGS. 4 to 7 and appropriately referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the unit support 190 attached to the pair of machine base frames 115 and 116 so as to be detachable is attached to the roller assembly group G. In this embodiment, a plurality of first and second holding frames 191 and 192 arranged at intervals in the conveying direction 21 as holding members to which the roller assembly A is attached, and in the width direction 24 It has the connection part 193 which mutually connects the 1st, 2nd holding frame 191,192 extended substantially parallel, and a pair of bearing part 194 which supports the line shaft 171 rotatably.

In the unit support 190, the holding frames 191 and 192 that rotatably support the attached roller assembly A are detachably coupled to a pair of machine base frames 115 and 116 by a bolt B1 as a coupling tool. By this, it is fixed to both machine stand frames 115 and 116 so that attachment or detachment is possible. Thus, the holding frames 191 and 192 attached to the pair of machine base frames 115 and 116 also function as reinforcing frames for connecting the pair of machine base frames 115 and 116, so that the unit support of the roller unit U is supported. The body 190 can be used to increase the rigidity of the pair of machine base frames 115 and 116, and consequently the rigidity of the machine base 110 (see FIGS. 1 and 2).
Each of the holding frames 191 and 192 is a rod-shaped member, and the cross-sectional shape of the holding frames 191 and 192 in a plane orthogonal to the width direction 24 is substantially constant at an arbitrary position in the width direction 24 and is rectangular (FIG. 3). , See FIG.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of three connecting portions 193 are respectively coupled to the holding frames 191 and 192 by bolts B2 serving as coupling means.
Both bearing portions 194 are coupled by bolts B3 as coupling means in a state of straddling the end portions of the machine base frames 115 and 116, respectively.
Each bearing portion 194 holds a base portion 195 detachably coupled to each end portion of each holding frame 191, 192 and a bearing (not shown) that rotatably supports the line shaft 171 and is attached to the base portion 195. And a bearing holder 196 detachably coupled.

Next, the roller assembly A will be described.
6 to 8, each roller assembly A of the roller unit U has basically the same structure for each of the roller rows R1 and R2, and the roller 120 and the roller 120 are rotated around the horizontal axis Lh. A roller support 130 that is rotatably supported, a rotating body 140 that supports the roller support 130 and is rotatable about the vertical axis Lv, and an urging force that presses the roller 120 against the line shaft 171 is applied to the roller 120. And a biasing spring S as a biasing member.
All the roller assemblies A of one roller unit U (that is, one roller assembly group G) are distributed to the first and second holding frames 191 and 192 and supported rotatably.

The roller 120 includes an outer peripheral portion 121 and a core portion 122 that is rotatably supported by the roller support 130. The core portion 122 includes an outer peripheral core portion 123 covered from the outer side in the radial direction by the outer peripheral portion 121, an inner peripheral core portion 124 to which a bearing 137 described later is mounted, and a plurality of reinforcing radial ribs 125. Have.
In the radial direction, a cylindrical annular space is formed between the outer peripheral core portion 123 and the inner peripheral core portion 124 by being partitioned by the four radial ribs 125 of the core portion 122 in the circumferential direction. Is formed radially outward from the bearing 137.
Thus, the roller 120 has a shell structure in which the internal space 126 is formed in the core portion 122, so that the weight is reduced compared to the case where the internal space 126 is not formed.
Unless otherwise specified, the radial direction and the circumferential direction are a radial direction and a circumferential direction around the horizontal axis Lh, respectively. The horizontal axis direction is a direction parallel to the horizontal axis Lh.

  The roller support 130 includes a roller shaft 131 that rotatably supports the roller 120 with respect to the roller support 130, a support body 132 having a pair of support walls 133 and 134 that support the roller shaft 131, and a diameter. And a pair of bearings 137 which are bearings held between the roller shaft 131 and the inner core portion 124 in the direction.

The support body 132 includes a pair of plate-shaped roller shaft support walls 133, 134 and a plate-shaped connection wall 135 that connects the pair of support walls 133, 134.
Each support wall 133, 134 forms an insertion hole through which the roller shaft 131 penetrating in the horizontal axis direction is inserted, and roller shaft support portions 133 a, 134 a for supporting the roller shaft 131, and a joint penetrating in the horizontal axis direction It has joint shaft support portions 133b and 134b that form an insertion hole through which the shaft 141 is inserted and support the joint shaft 141.

In order to increase the rigidity of the support walls 133, 134, resin is formed on the outer side surface of each support wall 133, 134 (FIG. 6 shows the side surface 133 e of one support wall 133). A plurality of linear reinforcing ribs 136 formed by a mold when the supporting walls 133 and 134 are formed are crossed.
The connecting wall 135 is disposed between the roller 120 (therefore, the roller shaft 131) and a joint shaft 141 described later at a position that intersects the vertical axis Lv, and in a range larger than the outer diameter of the joint shaft 141 in the circumferential direction. They are provided continuously (see FIG. 6).

  The rotating body 140 is provided on a joint shaft 141 that enables the roller support 130 to swing relative to the rotating body 140, a rotating body main body 142 that supports the joint shaft 141, and the holding frames 191 and 192. And a support shaft 146 that can be rotated by the holding frames 191 and 192 themselves and a bush 149 as a bearing that is directly held by the holding frames 191 and 192.

The rotating body main body 142 includes a pair of plate-shaped joint shaft support walls 143 and 144 disposed between the pair of support walls 133 and 134 in the horizontal axis direction, and the pair of support walls 143 and 144. And a bottom wall 145 which is a plate-like connecting wall.
Each of the support walls 143 and 144 has joint shaft support portions 143b and 144b that form insertion holes through which the joint shafts 141 penetrating in the horizontal axis direction are inserted and support the joint shafts 141. Each joint-axis support part 143b, 144b is comprised by the member inserted in each support wall 143,144.
Further, the bottom wall 145 has a rotating arm 145a pivotally attached to a connecting member 160 described later.

  The joint shaft 141 passes through the support walls 133 and 134 of the roller support 130 and the support walls 143 and 144 of the rotating body 140 and is supported by the support walls 133 and 134; 143 and 144. The roller 120 is supported via the roller support 130 so as to be swingable about a swing axis Ls parallel to the horizontal axis Lh.

Each of the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141 is a shaft component T shared by the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141. The shaft component T is a shaft provided with a cylindrical hollow portion T3 extending in the axial direction (also in the horizontal axis direction of the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141) at the center, and is secured to the flange T1 and the retaining member. It has part T2 as both ends.
Moreover, the shaft component T is lightened by providing the hollow part T3.

In the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141, the flange T1 as a contact portion can contact with one support wall 134 of the roller support body 130 in order to prevent the movement of the shafts 131 and 141 in the horizontal axis direction. It is.
Further, the flange T1 includes a convex portion 134d as an engaging portion included in the support portions 134a and 134b of the support wall 134 and a rotation stop portion T1d that engages in the circumferential direction of the shafts 131 and 141 with respect to the shafts 131 and 141. Part of the circumferential direction. The rotation stopper T1d includes a roller shaft 131 for the pair of support walls 133 and 134 of the roller support 130 and a joint shaft 141 for the pair of support walls 133 and 134 and the pair of support walls 143 and 144 of the rotating body 140. It is comprised by the recessed part as a shaft side engaging part which controls rotation of this.

In the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141, the retaining portion T2 is engaged with a support wall 133 different from the support wall 134 with which the flange T abuts in the roller support 130, so that the roller shaft 131 is supported by the support wall 133, 134 and the joint shaft 141 is prevented from coming out of the support walls 133, 134; 143, 144.
The retaining portion T2 includes a plurality of four engaging pieces T2a as engaging portions that can engage with the support wall 133. These engagement pieces T2a are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the shaft part T.
Each engagement piece T2a that is contracted and expanded by elastic deformation has a claw T2b.
Each claw T2b can be reduced in diameter in the insertion hole of each support part 133a, 134a, 133b, 134b, 143b, 144b, and the assembly state of the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141 to the roller assembly A is completed. Thus, it expands larger than the hole diameter of the insertion hole outside the insertion hole of each support part 133a, 133b, 143b, and engages with each support part 133a, 133b, 143b of the support walls 133, 143.

In the rotating body 140, the rotating support shaft 146, which is a member separate from the support walls 143 and 144 and the bottom wall 145, is exposed from the bottom wall 145 of the columnar shaft component F embedded in the bottom wall 145. And is integrated with the bottom wall 145.
The pivot support shaft 146 includes a base shaft portion 147 as a high rigidity portion connected to the bottom wall 145 and a retaining portion 148 as a low rigidity portion having a lower rigidity than the base shaft portion 147 that is in sliding contact with the bush 149. Have.
The rotation support shaft 146 is held by the holding frames 191 and 192 so that the entire base shaft portion 147 is disposed between the pair of bushes 149 in the vertical axis direction.
The retaining portion 148 prevents the rotational support shaft 146 from the holding frames 191 and 192, and thus the rotational body 140 and the roller assembly A, from being removed.

The retaining portion 148 that is the tip of the rotation support shaft 146 protrudes from the insertion hole 198 in the rotation support shaft 146 that passes through the holding frames 191 and 192, and is screw-coupled to the base shaft portion 147 as a coupling means. Are integrally coupled to the base shaft portion 147.
The retaining portion 148 is disposed between the pair of engaging pieces 148 a as an engaging portion that can be engaged with the holding frames 191 and 192 and the pair of engaging pieces 148 a in the circumferential direction of the rotation support shaft 146. And a male threaded portion 148d that is a threaded portion that is screwed into a female threaded portion 147d that is a threaded portion as a coupling portion provided at the end of the base shaft portion 147.
Each engagement piece 148a that is contracted and expanded by elastic deformation has a claw 148b.
Each claw 148b can be reduced in diameter in the insertion hole 198, and expands larger than the diameter of the insertion hole 198 outside the insertion hole 198 and engages with the holding frames 191 and 192.
The retaining portion 148 is provided with a hexagonal hole 148e as a tool engaging portion for screwing the retaining portion 148 into the base shaft portion 147.
The pair of projecting pieces 148 c have a guide function for facilitating insertion of the rotation support shaft 146 into the insertion hole 198 together with the engagement pieces 148 a.

  Thus, the retaining portions T2 and 148 of the roller shaft 131, the joint shaft 141, and the rotation support shaft 146 have a snap-fit structure, and the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141 are supported by the support wall 133 of the roller support 130. The pivot support shaft 146 is snap-coupled to the frame member.

The roller support 130 and the rotating body 140 are formed of a resin that is a synthetic resin. This resin is a resin having high strength (for example, polyacetal resin or fiber reinforced resin).
More specifically, the entire support body 132 of the roller support 130 and the entire shaft part T that becomes the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141 are integrally formed of resin.
Further, the rotating body main body 142 of the rotating body 140 is in all parts except for the joint shaft support portions 143b and 144b formed of metal or a resin having higher strength than the resin forming the rotating body main body 142. It is integrally molded with resin.
The entire retaining portion 148 of the rotation support shaft 146 is integrally formed of resin.
On the other hand, the base shaft portion 147 is made of metal or a resin having higher strength than the resin forming the rotating body main body 142.
The bush 149 is made of metal or resin.

Therefore, the entire rotating body 140 may be formed of resin. The roller shaft 131, the joint shaft 141, and the rotation support shaft 146 are simply attached by snap coupling using the elastic deformation of the engagement piece 148a.
Moreover, in the roller support body 130 and the rotating body 140, the separate members formed of resin may be formed of the same type of resin, or may be formed of different types of resin.

  In the roller assembly A, the roller shaft 131, the support body 132, the joint shaft 141, and the rotating parts that are components extending from the vertical axis Lv that is the rotation center line farther than the rotation support shaft 146. Since the moving body main body 142 is made of resin, the weight of the moving body main body 142 is reduced. Therefore, the roller assembly is smaller than the case where the roller shaft 131, the support body main body 132, the joint shaft 141, and the rotating body main body 142 are made of metal. In A, the moment of inertia about the vertical axis Lv decreases.

The biasing spring S is disposed between the connecting wall 135 and the bottom wall 145 while being wound around the joint shaft 141, and the roller support 130 is disposed so that the roller 120 is always in contact with the line shaft 171. The roller 120 is urged through.
The biasing spring S is a central portion S1 in a direction parallel to the horizontal axis Lh when the roller 120 occupies the reference position P0 (see FIG. 4), and is one of the roller support body 130 and the rotating body 140, in this embodiment. The rotating body 140 is urged, and the roller support 130 is urged in the present embodiment at the both ends S2 in the width direction 24, in addition to the roller support 130 and the rotating body 140.
As a result, the urging force acting on each of the roller support body 130 and the rotating body 140 can be equalized in the direction parallel to the horizontal axis Lh (or the width direction 24). Thus, the roller support frame 141 can be prevented from tilting in the width direction 24, and consequently the roller 120 can be prevented from tilting in the width direction 24.
As a result, at any rotation position P, the roller 120 can be efficiently rotated by the line shaft 171.

The connecting wall 135 of the roller support 130 is provided with a pair of receiving grooves 135s (see also FIG. 2) for receiving the end portions S2 of the urging spring S and restricting movement in the horizontal axis direction. .
Since the urging spring S is held at a predetermined position by the housing groove 135s, fluctuations in the urging force due to the urging spring S are suppressed, and the urging state of the roller 120 with respect to the line shaft 171 is stabilized. Therefore, the conveyance performance of the article by the roller 120 can be improved.

  The rotation support shaft 146 is supported at the base shaft portion 147 by the holding frames 191 and 192 via the bush 149 so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis Lv with respect to the holding frames 191 and 192.

  On the other hand, conventionally, in order to rotatably support the rotating body on the holding member, the rotating support shaft of the rotating body is supported via the bearing holder that holds the bearing. The problem is that a bearing holder that is a dedicated member for the rotation is required, and that the rotation support shaft may become long, resulting in an increase in the weight of the rotation body, and thus the roller assembly, and an increase in size in the vertical direction. there were.

In this embodiment, the rotation support shaft 146 is inserted into a bush 149 that is inserted and inserted into an insertion hole 198 provided in each holding frame 191, 192, whereby each holding frame 191, 192 itself. Functions as a bearing holder.
Therefore, a dedicated member for supporting the rotation support shaft 146 (for example, a cylindrical bearing holder (for example, a bearing cylinder of Patent Document 1) provided so as to protrude upward from a member fixed to the machine base 110) is provided. Further, since the rotation support shaft 146 is almost entirely accommodated in the holding frames 191 and 192 and is at the same position in the vertical direction as the holding frames 191 and 192 fixed to the machine base 110, The joint shaft 141 of the moving body 140, the roller support body 130, and thus the roller 120 can be arranged close to the holding frames 191 and 192 in the vertical direction.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the entire roller 120 and the first and second holding frames 191 and 192 in the vertical direction are within the range of twice the maximum outer diameter d of the roller 120 in the vertical direction. The whole in the direction is arranged.
With these configurations, the roller 120 and the first and second holding frames 191 and 192 can be compactly arranged in the vertical direction. Therefore, the roller unit U can be downsized in the vertical direction, and thus the sorting apparatus 100 in the vertical direction. Can be miniaturized.

  2 to 6, in each roller unit U, a rotation drive mechanism 150 that rotates the roller assembly A and therefore the roller 120 about the vertical axis Lv includes an air cylinder 151 as an actuator, a roller In order to simultaneously rotate the rotating bodies 140 of the second predetermined number of roller assemblies A of the assembly group G, a connecting member 160 to which the rotating arms 145a of the rotating bodies 140 are connected is provided.

The air cylinder 151 that generates a driving force for driving the connecting member 160 (hereinafter simply referred to as “driving force”) directly drives the connecting member 160 by the driving force.
More specifically, the air cylinder 151 attached to each holding frame 191 and 192 is a tandem cylinder mechanism, and includes a cylinder 152 and a pair of pistons (slidably accommodated in the cylinder 152). And a pair of actuating rods 153 and 154 as actuating members which are coupled to each other and perform linear reciprocating motion.

The first operating rod 153 extends over the first and second holding frames 191 and 192, and is attached to a support 197 fixed below the mounting rod 153a, which is a joint that is pivotally pivoted in the vertical direction. Have The support body 197 is a part of the unit support body 190.
The second actuating rod 154 is pivotally attached to an attachment portion 165a provided fixed to the connecting member 160 so as to be pivotable in the vertical direction, and is an action portion 154a that is a connecting portion that directly applies a driving force to the connecting member 160. Have

Referring to FIGS. 4 to 6, in the connecting member 160, for each roller row R, pivot arms 145 a of a plurality of roller assemblies A each having a plurality of rollers 120 constituting each roller row R are pivotally attached. A pair of connecting members 161 and 162, and a connecting member 163 that integrally connects the pair of connecting members 161 and 162 so as not to move relative to each other.
The connection body 163 that integrally couples the two coupling bodies 161 and 162 by bypassing one holding frame 192 downward is a first coupling body fixed to each coupling body 161 and 162 by a bolt B4 as coupling means. 164 and a second connection body 165 fixed to the first connection body 164 by a bolt B5 as a coupling means.
Each of the coupling bodies 161 and 162 and the first and second connection bodies 164 and 165 is a single member, and the coupling member 160 in which these members are combined so as not to move relative to each other is also a single member. It has become.

The second connection body 165 has a mounting portion 165a positioned between the first and second holding frames 191 and 192 in the front-rear direction (or the transport direction 21).
The action portion 154a of the second operating rod 154 is pivotally attached to the attachment portion 165a. The driving force generated by the air cylinder 151 to rotate each rotating body 140 directly acts on the mounting portion 165a from the action portion 154a, and causes the connecting member 163 and the connecting member 160 composed of the pair of connecting members 161 and 162 to move. Move together.
Therefore, the air cylinder 151 is directly connected to the connecting member 160 at the second operating rod 154.
Further, the connecting member 160 does not move relative to itself when the driving force is applied (that is, the pair of connecting members 161 and 162 and the first and second connecting members 164 and 165 move relative to each other). The member is a member that moves integrally and transmits the driving force to each rotating body 140.
Then, the connecting member 160 that is driven and moved by the driving force rotates each rotating body 140 of the roller unit U, and thus rotates each roller 120.

The entire roller 120, the entire roller support 130, the joint shaft 141 of the rotating body 140 and the rotating body main body 142 (that is, the rotating body 140 other than the rotating support shaft 146, the rotating arm 145 a Is included above the lower surfaces 191b and 192b as the lowermost portions of the holding frames 191 and 192, and in this embodiment, the holding frames 191 and 192 (that is, the upper surfaces 191a and 192a). It is arranged above.
In the present embodiment, the air cylinder 151 is located below the upper surfaces 191a and 192a as the uppermost portions of the holding frames 191 and 192, and in this embodiment the holding frame 191 and at least the action portion 154a. 192 (i.e., the lower surfaces 191b and 192b) is disposed below the roller 120, the roller support 130, and the rotating arm 145a.

The connecting member 160 has an overlapping portion 160a that occupies the same position as the holding frames 191 and 192 in the vertical direction (or overlaps the holding frames 191 and 192 in the vertical direction) than the holding frames 191 and 192. Are also arranged from above to below.
In the present embodiment, at least a part of each of the coupling bodies 161 and 162 is disposed above the holding frames 191 and 192 in the present embodiment.

2 and 3, in a pressure chamber (not shown) provided in the cylinder 152, a working air as a working fluid having a predetermined working pressure is controlled by the rotation control device 156. (It is not shown in the figure. Hereinafter, it is simply referred to as a “pressure control valve”) and is supplied and discharged through a conduit (not shown).
More specifically, the rotation control device 156 included in the sorting device 100 is a pressure that operates based on a control signal output from a control panel C (schematically illustrated in FIG. 2) operated by an operator. A control valve block 157 in which the control valve is disposed, and an adjuster (not shown in the figure, hereinafter simply referred to as “adjuster”) that controls the flow rate of operating air supplied to and discharged from the cylinder 152 and adjusts the operating speed. .) Is arranged with a speed adjustment block 158.
In the control valve block 157 and the speed adjustment block 158, a plurality of pressure control valves that control the operation of all the cylinders included in the sorting apparatus 100 and the same number of regulators as the pressure control valves are assembled.

The control valve block 157 and the speed adjustment block 158 are detachably attached to a support plate 119 provided in the machine base 110 and cantilevered by the lower frame 117 at the lower corner of the machine base 110.
Thus, in the sorting apparatus 100, since all the pressure control valves are gathered and similarly arranged in a state where all the regulators are gathered, the maintenance is performed on the pressure control valves and the regulators. And the adjustment of the operation speed for each air cylinder 151 by the adjuster is facilitated.
In addition, each pressure control valve of the sorting apparatus 100 is concentrated on the control valve block 157 as one member, and each regulator is concentrated on the regulator block as one member. Assembly and removal of the pressure control valve and regulator from 110 are facilitated.

As shown in FIG. 4, each roller 120 driven by the rotation drive mechanism 150 controlled by the rotation control device 156 and rotated about the vertical axis Lv (see FIG. 6), and thus the roller row R, As the rotation position P, a reference position P0 when the roller array R transports the article 10 in the transport direction 21, and the roller array R rotates from the reference position P0 and branch transport directions 22, 23 (see FIG. 1). In this embodiment, one or more of the two turning positions P1 and P2 when the article 10 is carried out are occupied.
More specifically, in accordance with the expansion and contraction of the first and second actuating rods 153 and 154, each roller 120, and hence the roller row R, is set as its rotation position P as a reference position P 0 (in FIG. ), A first turning position P1 (indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 4) rotated from the reference position P0 in one rotation direction (in FIG. 4, the clockwise rotation direction), and The second turning position P2 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4) rotated from the reference position P0 in the rotation direction opposite to the one rotation direction (the counterclockwise rotation direction in FIG. 4). ).
In FIG. 4, the turning positions P <b> 1 and P <b> 2 are shown for one roller 120 in order to avoid complication of the drawing.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the rotation drive mechanism 170 includes a line shaft 171 for each roller unit U and a drive unit 172 that rotationally drives the line shaft 171.
The drive unit 172 is attached to the machine base 110 and has a drive source unit M having an electric motor 173 as a drive source controlled by the control panel C (see FIG. 2), and the power of the electric motor 173 is supplied to each line shaft 171. And a wrapping transmission mechanism 180 as a power transmission mechanism for transmitting to the motor. The drive unit 172 drives the line shafts 171 of the sorting apparatus 100 in the same rotational direction all at once by the power generated by the electric motor 173 and transmitted by the winding transmission mechanism 180.

In addition to the electric motor 173, the drive source unit M includes an attachment bracket 174 as an attachment member for detachably attaching the electric motor 173 to one machine base frame 116.
The electric motor 173 includes a housing 173h that houses a power generation mechanism (not shown), and an output rotation shaft 173s that is rotationally driven by the power generation mechanism.

The mounting bracket 174, which is a bent plate-like member, has a bottom portion 175 to which the mounting portion 173a of the housing 173h is detachably coupled and fixed by a bolt B6 as a coupling means, and a housing 173h that rises from the bottom portion 175 and extends in the front-rear direction. The drive source housing space 170s formed by the pair of first and second side portions 176 and 177 extending in the vertical direction on both sides of the bottom, and the bottom portion 175 and the side portions 176 and 177, is directed outward. And first and second machine base mounting portions 178 and 179 extending rearward.
The mounting bracket 174 is detachably coupled to the machine frame 116 with bolts B7 as coupling means at the first and second machine mounting parts 178 and 179 as the machine mounting parts.

The electric motor 173 is fixed to the mounting bracket 174 by a bolt B6 at first and second drive source mounting portions 175a and 175b as drive source mounting portions provided on the bottom portion 175 so as to be separated from each other in the front-rear direction. In a state of being fixed to the machine base frame 116 via the mounting bracket 174 by B7, they are arranged so as to satisfy the following relational expression.
That is, the vertical distance N between the rotation center line Lm of the output rotating shaft 173 s and the machine frame 116 is determined by the rollers in the vertical direction from the holding frames 191 and 192 in a state of being attached to the machine frame 116. It is set to a value that satisfies any of the following relational expressions between the height Hr of the assembly A or the maximum outer diameter d of the roller 120 (see FIG. 6).
N <Hr, or 0.8d <N <1.5d
In this state, the height Hm from the floor 5 to the rotation center line Lm is set to a value that satisfies any of the following relational expressions with the interval N, the height Hr, or the maximum outer diameter d. Yes.
Hm <Hr + N, Hm <2.5d, Hm <2.5N, or Hm <2Hr

  The winding transmission mechanism 180 includes a driving pulley 181 as a driving rotating part provided on the output rotating shaft 173s, a driven pulley 182 as a driven rotating part provided on each line shaft 171 and a plurality of guide rotating parts. A winding transmission mechanism having a guide pulley 183, a belt 184 as an endless winding transmission wound around the pulleys 181 to 183, and a tensioner 186 that applies tension to the belt 184 on the slack side of the belt 184. 180.

The driven pulley 182 is provided such that one end portion of the line shaft 171 is coupled to an extending portion 171 a (see FIG. 2) extending through the bearing of the bearing portion 194. The driven pulley 182 constitutes a part of the roller unit U.
One guide pulley 183a is rotatably supported by a plate-like support portion 185 provided on the first side portion 176 by fixing means (for example, welding).
As another example, the support portion 185 and a fixed support portion 187a described later may be formed by integral molding with the mounting bracket 174.

The tensioner 186 is fixed to the second side portion 177 by a coupling means (for example, welding) and can be moved with respect to the fixed support portion 187a. Here, the tensioner 186 is centered on the rotation center line Lt. A movable support portion 187b that is rotatably supported by the movable support portion, a tension pulley 188 as a tension applying portion that is rotatably supported by the movable support portion 187b, and a rotation that is a position of the movable support portion 187b with respect to the fixed support portion 187a. And an adjustment screw 189 as an adjustment member for adjusting the position. The fixed support portion 187a and the movable support portion 187b constitute a tensioner support portion 187.
And the operation pin 187p integrally provided in the movable support part 187b fits in the guide hole 187e which consists of a circular-arc-shaped hole provided in the fixed support part 187a.
An adjustment screw 189 that abuts on the movable operation pin 187p guided by the guide hole 187e adjusts the position of the movable support portion 187b via the operation pin 187p, thereby adjusting the position of the tension pulley 188. The tension of 184 is set to an appropriate value.

The electric motor 173 can rotate in the reverse direction, and thus the output rotation shaft 173 s can rotate in the reverse direction so that the conveyance direction 21 of the article 10 (see FIG. 1) is the reverse direction.
FIG. 3 shows a state in which the electric motor 173 rotates in one direction, in this case, forward.
The mounting bracket 174, which is a mounting bracket with a tensioner in which at least the tensioner 186 of the tensioner 186 and the guide pulley 183a is integrated, can be switched in the transport direction 21 with respect to the positional relationship of the mounting bracket 174 with respect to the electric motor 173 and the machine frame 116. And detachably attached to the electric motor 173 and the machine base frame 116.

More specifically, when the conveyance direction 21 by the sorting apparatus 100 is reversed, the electric motor 173 rotates in the reverse direction from the rotation direction shown in FIG.
At this time, in FIG. 3, the mounting bracket 174 is attached to the electric motor 173 at the position where the first drive source mounting portion 175a is attached to the second drive source mounting portion 175b, and for the second drive source. The attachment portion 175b is attached to the electric motor 173 at the position where the first drive source attachment portion 175a is attached, and the first machine base attachment portion 178 is attached to the second machine base attachment portion 179. So that the second machine base mounting portion 179 is attached to the machine base frame 116 at the position where the first machine base mounting portion 178 is attached. 173 and the machine frame 116.
As described above, the mounting bracket 174 is a member whose mounting form with respect to the electric motor 173 and the machine base frame 116 is interchangeable in the transport direction 21, so that the tensioner 186 and the guide can be used in other sorting apparatuses having different transport directions 21. The mounting bracket 174 in which the pulley 183a is integrated can be used as a common part.

  Further, when the same sorting apparatus 100 is used in a state where the conveying direction 21 is reversed, the mounting bracket 174 is temporarily removed from the electric motor 173 and the machine base frame 116, and then the above-mentioned thing In the same manner as described above, by changing the mounting form of the mounting bracket 174 in the conveying direction, or the mounting bracket 174 is temporarily removed from only the machine base frame 116, and then the mounting form of the mounting bracket 174 only to the machine base frame 116 By exchanging in the transport direction 21, the transport direction 21 can be reversed without replacing the position of the sorting apparatus 100 in the transport direction 21 with respect to the floor 5.

  1 to 4, the cover holding portion 205 for holding the cover 200 above the holding frames 191 and 192 and the machine base frames 115 and 116 is directly above the machine base frames 115 and 116. Plural pieces are arranged at intervals in the transport direction 21. The cover 200 is detachably positioned and fixed to the base by a fixing means (for example, an engaging member or a screw) (not shown).

Next, operations and effects of the embodiment configured as described above will be described.
The sorting apparatus 100 includes a plurality of roller assemblies A having a roller 120 and a roller support base A1 including a roller support 130 and a rotating body 140, and a rotation driving mechanism 170 that rotates the roller 120 about a horizontal axis Lh. A rotation drive mechanism 150 that rotates the rotation body 140 about the vertical axis Lv, holding frames 191 and 192 to which the roller assembly A is attached, the holding frames 191 and 192, the rotation drive mechanism 170, and the rotation drive mechanism. A plurality of rollers 120 and a roller support 130 arranged in the conveyance direction 21 of the article 10 in the conveyance path 101 and the width direction 24 of the conveyance path 101, together with the rotation body 140. As a result, the rotation direction of the conveying direction by the roller 120 is turned, whereby the rotation driving mechanism 150 is rotated. By rotating the roller 120 via the 40 and the roller support 130, it is possible to deflect the conveying direction of the articles conveyed by the rollers 120.

  The rotation driving mechanism 150 connects the plurality of rotating bodies 140 so that the plurality of rotating bodies 140 rotate at the same time, and an air cylinder 151 that directly drives the connecting member 160 by the generated driving force. And the connecting member 160 is a member that moves integrally with the driving force and transmits the driving force to each of the rotating bodies 140, so that the air cylinder that rotates the roller 120 to turn the conveyance direction 21 is provided. The driving force generated by the 151 is applied to the connecting member 160 to which the plurality of rotating bodies 140 are connected without using an intermediate member such as a lever mechanism or a link mechanism disposed between the air cylinder 151 and the connecting member 160. Since the connecting member 160 acts directly with the driving force and moves together, the rotational response when the rotational position of the roller 120 is changed, that is, Responsiveness for turning the feeding direction 21 can be improved, and in addition, the intermediate member is not required, so that the number of parts constituting the rotation drive mechanism 150 is reduced, and the rotation drive mechanism 150 is configured. Assembling and removing of the air cylinder 151 and the connecting member 160 to be performed are facilitated, and the assembling property and the maintenance property of the sorting device 100 can be improved.

  The air cylinder 151 has an action part 154a that directly applies a driving force to the connecting member 160, and the connecting member 160 is disposed so as to have an overlapping portion that occupies the same position as the holding frames 191 and 192 in the vertical direction. By using the width of the holding frames 191 and 192 in the vertical direction, the connecting member 160 is disposed at a position overlapping the holding frames 191 and 192 in the vertical direction. Compared with the case where it is disposed below or above, the rotational drive mechanism 150 having the connecting member 160 that is directly connected to the air cylinder 151 and moves integrally is more compactly arranged in the vertical direction with respect to the holding frames 191 and 192. The sorting apparatus 100 can be downsized in the vertical direction.

In addition, the rotating arm 145a, which is a coupling portion of the roller 120, the roller support 130, and the connecting member 160 in the rotating body 140, is disposed above the lower surfaces 191b and 192b of the holding frames 191 and 192, and the air The cylinder 151 is disposed below the upper surfaces 191a and 192a of the holding frames 191 and 192 and at a position lower than the rollers 120, the roller support member 130, and the rotating arm 145a at least in the action portion 154a. An action portion 154a that directly applies a driving force to 160 is disposed below the upper surfaces 191a and 192a and below the rollers 120, the roller support member 130, and the rotating arm 145a, so that the lower surfaces 191b and 192b Are also arranged above the roller 120 and the roller support 130. And the pivoting arm 145a is not arranged above the pivoting arm 145a, so that it is possible to avoid the action part 154a from restricting the arrangement of the roller 120, the roller support 130 and the pivoting arm 145a in the transport direction 21. Thus, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the rotation arm 145a of the roller 120, the roller support body 130, and the rotation body 140 can be increased in the conveying direction 21, and the roller 120 can be downsized and the roller assembly A can be densely packed. It becomes possible.
Further, the entire roller 120, the entire roller support 130, the joint shaft 141 and the rotating body main body 142 of the rotating body 140 are disposed above the upper surfaces 191a and 192a, so that the action portion 154a is It can be arranged closer to the top surfaces 191a and 192a in the vertical direction.

The roller assembly group G, the line shaft 171 as a unit rotation drive body, and the rotation drive mechanism 150 as a unit rotation drive mechanism constitute a roller unit U by being attached to the unit support 190. The roller unit U can be attached to and detached from the machine base 110 by attaching and detaching the unit support 190 to and from the pair of holding frames 191 and 192, so that the roller assembly group G and the line shaft 171 can be attached. Since the rotation drive mechanism 150 and the unit support 190 can be attached to and detached from the machine base 110 in units of roller units U, the roller assembly group G, the line shaft 171 and the rotation drive mechanism 150 to the machine base 110 can be removed. Since assembly and removal are facilitated, assembly and maintenance of the sorting apparatus 100 can be improved. Kill.
Furthermore, the replacement of the roller unit U unit makes it easy to diversify the arrangement of the rollers 120. In addition, when a failure occurs in the roller assembly A or the like, the roller unit U including the defective component is normal. Since the replacement with the simple roller unit U is easy, the operating rate of the sorting apparatus 100 can be improved.

In the sorting apparatus 100, the first predetermined number of rollers 120 that are all the rollers 120 supported by the machine base 110 belong to one of the plurality of roller assembly groups G or one of the plurality of roller units U. The number of all roller assemblies A constituting the roller assembly group G (that is, the number of rollers 120), the second predetermined number, the number of line shafts 171 and the number of rotation drive mechanisms 150 are determined by each roller unit U. Are the same.
With this structure, all the rollers 120 or roller assemblies A included in the sorting apparatus 100 belong to any one of the roller units U, so that the assembling property and the maintainability of the sorting device 100 can be improved. Further, in each roller unit U, the number of roller assemblies A, the number of line shafts 171 and the number of rotation drive mechanisms 150 are the same, so that all roller units U included in the sorting apparatus 100 are made common. As a result, the cost of the sorting apparatus 100 can be reduced.

  Since the roller support body 130 and the rotation body 140 are formed of resin, the rotation body 140 rotated by the rotation drive mechanism 150 and the roller support body 130 rotated together with the rotation body 140 are reduced in weight. Therefore, the assembly and removal of the roller assembly A can be facilitated by the weight reduction, so that the assembling property and the maintenance property of the sorting device 100 can be improved, and the rotating device 140 and the roller support member 130 can be rotated. The rotation responsiveness for turning the conveying direction 21 of the article 10 in the roller 120 to be improved can be improved.

  The rotational drive mechanism 170 includes a line shaft 171 that rotationally drives the roller 120 and an electric motor 173 that generates power for rotationally driving the line shaft 171, and the machine base 110 constitutes an upper end portion of the machine base 110. Since the machine base frames 115 and 116 are provided, and the holding frames 191 and 192 and the electric motor 173 are attached to the machine base frames 115 and 116, the roller assembly A and the electric motor attached to the holding frames 191 and 192 are provided. 173 can be disposed in the vertical direction while being close to the machine base frames 115 and 116 which are the upper end portions of the machine base 110, so that the roller assembly A and the rotary drive mechanism 170 are compactly arranged in the vertical direction. The sorting apparatus 100 can be downsized in the vertical direction, and the machine base 110 The machine frame 115 and 116 on the floor 5 of the machine frame 110 is installed becomes possible to place close in the vertical direction, it is possible to reduce the height of the sorting apparatus 100 from the floor 5.

  The rotation drive mechanism 170 has a winding transmission mechanism 180 having a belt 184 that transmits the power of the electric motor 173 to the line shaft 171, and the electric motor 173 is connected to the rotation center line Lm of the output rotation shaft 173 s of the electric motor 173. The vertical spacing N between the machine base frames 115 and 116 is arranged at a position smaller than the height Hr of the roller assembly A in the vertical direction in a state of being attached to the holding frames 191 and 192. As a result, the rotation center line Lm of the electric motor 173 is positioned within the range of the height Hr of the roller assembly A from the holding frames 191 and 192 when attached to the holding frames 191 and 192. Since the electric motor 173 is arranged in the direction, the sorting apparatus 100 can be downsized in the vertical direction, and further, the belt 1 Since 4 the length can be shortened, it is possible to reduce the cost of sorting device 100.

  The electric motor 173 is reversely rotatable so that the conveyance direction 21 of the article 10 is reversed, and is attached to the machine base frame 116 via the attachment bracket 174, and the winding transmission mechanism 180 is tensioned to the belt 184. The mounting bracket 174 is provided with a tensioner 186 provided on the mounting bracket 174, and the mounting bracket 174 can be replaced with the electric motor 173 and the mounting frame 174 with respect to the machine base frame 116 in the transport direction 21. The attachment position of the attachment bracket 174 with respect to the electric motor 173 and the machine frame 116 when the conveying direction 21 of the article 10 by the sorting device 100 is changed to the reverse direction by being detachably attached to the machine frame 116. Put in the opposite direction in the transport direction 21 In addition, by replacing the mounting form, the mounting bracket 174 in which the tensioner 186 is integrated can be used as a common member without depending on the transport direction 21, so that the rotary drive mechanism having the electric motor 173 and the tensioner 186 is used. The cost of the sorting apparatus 100 provided with 170 can be reduced.

  The support body 132, the roller shaft 131, the rotating body main body 142, and the joint shaft 141 are formed of resin, so that in the roller assembly A, a component that extends far from the vertical axis Lv that is the rotation center line. Since the roller shaft 131, the support body main body 132, the joint shaft 141, and the rotating body main body 142 are all made of resin, the weight is reduced, so that the moment of inertia around the vertical axis Lv is reduced in the roller assembly A. Rotational response of the roller 120 can be improved.

  Further, the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141 in the roller assembly A are attached to the support body 132 and the joint shaft 141 by snap coupling to the support body 132 or the rotating body 142, respectively. Is assembled by snap coupling utilizing the fact that it is a resin member, so that the assembly and removal of the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141 are improved, and the roller assembly A, and thus the sorting device 100 is improved. Assembling property and maintainability can be improved.

  Since each of the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141 is a shaft component T shared by the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141, the roller shaft 131 and the joint shaft 141 are the same shaft component T. Compared with the case where the joint shaft 141 is a separate shaft component, the cost of the roller assembly A can be reduced, so that the cost of the sorting apparatus 100 can be reduced. In addition, the assemblability and maintainability of the roller assembly A can be reduced. Can be improved.

  The rotating body 140 has a rotating support shaft 146 that is inserted into an insertion hole 198 provided in the holding frames 191 and 192 and is rotatably supported by the holding frames 191 and 192. Since the whole is accommodated in the holding frames 191 and 192, the rotation support shaft 146 of the roller assembly A is rotatably supported by the holding frames 191 and 192 itself, so that the roller assembly A is attached. The holding frames 191 and 192 used also serve as bearing holders that rotatably support the rotation support shaft 146, so that a dedicated bearing holder for supporting the rotation support shaft 146 becomes unnecessary, and the rotation support shaft Since almost the entire 146 is accommodated in the holding frames 191 and 192, the axial length of the rotation support shaft 146 can be shortened, and the weight of the roller assembly A is reduced. When, and vertical direction can be downsized, it is possible to reduce the size of the vertical direction and hence the sorting apparatus 100.

  Since the rotation support shaft 146 is coupled to the holding frames 191 and 192 by snap coupling, the assembly and removal of the roller assembly A with respect to the holding frames 191 and 192 are facilitated. Maintainability can be improved.

Hereinafter, an example in which a part of the configuration of the above-described embodiment is changed will be described with respect to the changed configuration.
A roller, a roller support body, and a coupling | bond part may be arrange | positioned further downward, and can be reduced in size by the up-down direction.
Further, for example, the air cylinder may be disposed so as to occupy at least partially the same position as the holding frame in the vertical direction.
The actuator of the rotation drive mechanism may be an electromagnetic type (for example, a solenoid or an electric motor).
Since the core portion 122 of the roller 120 is formed of resin instead of metal, the roller assembly A is further reduced in weight.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Sorting device 120 ... Roller 130 ... Roller support 131 ... Roller shaft 140 ... Rotating body 141 ... Joint shaft 142 ... Rotating body main body 145a ... Rotating arm 146... Rotation support shaft 150... Rotation drive mechanism 154 a .. Action part 160... Connection member 160 a .. Overlapping portions 161 and 162. ... Line shaft 173 ... Electric motor 173s ... Output rotation shaft 174 ... Mounting bracket 180 ... Wound transmission mechanism 184 ... Belt 186 ... Tensioner 190 ... Unit support 191 192: Holding frame A: Roller assembly G: Roller assembly group Hr: Height N: Spacing

Claims (4)

A plurality of conveyance rollers that convey articles by rotating, a roller support that supports the rollers rotatably around a horizontal axis, and a rotating body that supports the roller supports and can rotate around a vertical axis. A predetermined number of roller assemblies, a rotation drive mechanism having a plurality of rotation drive bodies that rotate the rollers around the horizontal axis, and a rotation drive mechanism that rotates the rotation bodies around the vertical axis; A holding member to which the roller assembly is attached; and a machine base to which the holding member, the rotation drive mechanism, and the rotation drive mechanism are attached, and the conveyance direction of the article in the conveyance path and the width of the conveyance path The predetermined number of rollers arranged in a direction and the roller support are rotated together with the rotating body so that the conveying direction by the rollers is turned. In the device,
The rotation drive mechanism includes a connecting member to which the plurality of rotating bodies are connected to rotate the plurality of rotating bodies at the same time, and an actuator that directly drives the connecting member by a generated driving force. And
The connecting member is a member that is driven by the driving force and moves together to transmit the driving force to the rotating bodies,
The actuator has an action part that directly applies the driving force to the connecting member,
The connecting member is disposed so as to have an overlapping portion that occupies the same position as the holding member in the vertical direction,
The roller, the roller support, and the coupling portion of the rotating member and the connecting member are disposed above the lower surface of the holding member,
The transport , wherein the actuator is disposed at least in the action portion below the upper surface of the holding member and below the roller, the roller support, and the coupling portion. apparatus. A plurality of conveyance rollers that convey articles by rotating, a roller support that supports the rollers rotatably around a horizontal axis, and a rotating body that supports the roller supports and can rotate around a vertical axis. A predetermined number of roller assemblies, a rotation drive mechanism having a plurality of rotation drive bodies that rotate the rollers around the horizontal axis, and a rotation drive mechanism that rotates the rotation bodies around the vertical axis; A holding member to which the roller assembly is attached; and a machine base to which the holding member, the rotation drive mechanism, and the rotation drive mechanism are attached, and the conveyance direction of the article in the conveyance path and the width of the conveyance path The predetermined number of rollers arranged in a direction and the roller support are rotated together with the rotating body so that the conveying direction by the rollers is turned. In the device,
The rotation drive mechanism includes a connecting member to which the plurality of rotating bodies are connected to rotate the plurality of rotating bodies at the same time, and an actuator that directly drives the connecting member by a generated driving force. And
The connecting member is a member that is driven by the driving force and moves together to transmit the driving force to the rotating bodies,
The holding member to which a unit roller assembly group composed of a second predetermined number of the roller assemblies that are a plurality less than the predetermined number is attached constitutes a unit support.
One or more of the rotational drive bodies are unit rotational drive bodies that rotationally drive the rollers of the unit roller assembly group,
The one or more rotation drive mechanisms are unit rotation drive mechanisms that rotate the rotation bodies of the roller assemblies of the unit roller assembly group;
The unit roller assembly group, the unit rotation drive body, and the unit rotation drive mechanism constitute one roller unit by being attached to the unit support,
The roller unit can be attached to and detached from the machine base by attaching and detaching the unit support to the machine base . A plurality of conveyance rollers that convey articles by rotating, a roller support that supports the rollers rotatably around a horizontal axis, and a rotating body that supports the roller supports and can rotate around a vertical axis. A predetermined number of roller assemblies, a rotation drive mechanism having a plurality of rotation drive bodies that rotate the rollers around the horizontal axis, and a rotation drive mechanism that rotates the rotation bodies around the vertical axis; A holding member to which the roller assembly is attached; and a machine base to which the holding member, the rotation drive mechanism, and the rotation drive mechanism are attached, and the conveyance direction of the article in the conveyance path and the width of the conveyance path The predetermined number of rollers arranged in a direction and the roller support are rotated together with the rotating body so that the conveying direction by the rollers is turned. In the device,
The rotation drive mechanism includes a connecting member to which the plurality of rotating bodies are connected to rotate the plurality of rotating bodies at the same time, and an actuator that directly drives the connecting member by a generated driving force. And
The connecting member is a member that is driven by the driving force and moves together to transmit the driving force to the rotating bodies,
The conveying device, wherein the roller support and the rotating body are made of resin . The actuator has an action part that directly applies the driving force to the connecting member,
The connecting member is disposed so as to have an overlapping portion that occupies the same position as the holding member in the vertical direction,
The roller, the roller support, and the coupling portion of the rotating member and the connecting member are disposed above the lower surface of the holding member,
Wherein the actuator, at least in the working section, downwardly from the upper surface of the holding member, and the roller, according to claim 2 or claim characterized in that it is disposed below the roller carrier and the coupling part 3. The transfer device according to 3 .

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