JP6595846B2 - Sorting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present disclosure relates to a sorting apparatus that sorts articles to be conveyed into a desired number while performing alignment and posture control of articles to be conveyed.

Foods manufactured in a food factory, for example, hamburger patties, croquettes, and chili cutlets are rapidly frozen by a continuous transport refrigeration apparatus such as a freezer while being transported by a conveyor, and then packed and shipped. In some cases, loose foods are placed in a tray and quickly frozen while being conveyed on a conveyor.
Since the frozen foods to be shipped need to be grouped and packaged and packed, they must be transported to the packaging machine by a conveyor, and the shipped products must be aligned and aligned during transport by the conveyor. For this reason, many devices have been proposed that can automatically perform these during conveyance.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a conveying apparatus provided with a guide for guiding an article to be conveyed along a conveying direction of a conveyor and a rotating shaft body. In this apparatus, a plate-shaped article to be conveyed is placed on both the conveyor and the shaft body, and alignment and posture control are performed by applying the article to be conveyed to the guide by the rotational force of the shaft body.
In Patent Document 2, a large number of articles to be conveyed placed on a conveyance surface formed by a conveyor are equally distributed to a large number of alignment paths formed in parallel on the conveyance surface by a partition. An aligning / conveying apparatus for sending out after aligning is disclosed.

JP 2006-103845 A JP 2012-082046 A

The conveyance device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is not suitable for handling a large number of articles to be conveyed because the articles to be conveyed are placed and aligned on a conveyor and a shaft body one by one.
Although the conveyance apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 can handle a large number of articles to be conveyed, there is a problem that the apparatus configuration must be large.
In addition, it is necessary to monitor the articles to be conveyed that have not been aligned or have not been subjected to posture control, and arrange workers to eliminate these problems.
Furthermore, it is desired that the articles to be conveyed whose alignment and attitude are controlled are surely grouped and packed and packed without any trouble.

In view of the above problems, at least one embodiment of the present invention aims to enable grouping of a large number of articles to be transported with simple and low-cost means.
Further, as a secondary purpose, it is an object to facilitate grouping by performing alignment and posture control of articles to be conveyed in a stage before grouping.

(1) A sorting apparatus according to at least one embodiment of the present invention includes:
A conveyor having a conveying surface for conveying the article to be conveyed;
A conveying path that extends in the conveying direction of the article to be conveyed on the conveying surface and that allows the article to be conveyed to pass through is formed on the conveying surface, and the articles to be conveyed conveyed on the conveying path are arranged on both sides. At least two guides having a guideable distance from;
A number detection sensor provided at the downstream end in the transport direction of the transport path for detecting and counting the passage of the transported article;
A stopper part capable of stopping the conveyance of the article to be conveyed subsequent in the conveyance path;
When the number detection sensor detects the passage of the set number of the articles to be conveyed, a control unit for operating the stopper unit to prevent the subsequent articles to be conveyed;
Is provided.

In the configuration (1), when the article to be conveyed is conveyed on the conveyance path formed between the two guides, and the number detection sensor detects passage of the set number of articles to be conveyed through the conveyance path, The stopper is actuated by the control unit to prevent passage of the article to be conveyed following the conveyance path.
Thereby, the articles to be conveyed can be grouped for each set number, and subsequent packaging and packaging can be performed without hindrance. This can be achieved by simple and low-cost means.
Note that “can be guided from both sides” means “when the article to be conveyed is not aligned and the posture control is not achieved, the two guides can contact the article to be conveyed from both sides to be aligned and attitude controlled”. It means that.

(2) In some embodiments, in the configuration (1),
The two guides have a cross section having different diameters in the circumferential direction with respect to a center line passing through the center of the cross section.
A driving unit for rotating the two guides around the center line is further provided.
According to the configuration (2), the article to be conveyed is guided by the two guides having the above-described configuration to rotate, so that the surface of the guide intermittently hits the article to be conveyed and generates vibration in the article to be conveyed. be able to. By the generation of this vibration and the friction generated when the article to be conveyed comes into contact with these guides, an alignment action and a posture control action can be imparted to the article to be conveyed.
In addition, even if the article to be transported is caught between the guides or the article to be transported is sandwiched between the transport surface and the guide, these can be eliminated by the vibration generated in the article to be transported. It can be done smoothly.
Further, when the article to be conveyed, which has been aligned and posture-controlled in advance, is carried into the conveyance path formed between the two guides, the article to be conveyed is smoothly conveyed without breaking the state of alignment and attitude control. it can.

The article to be conveyed is vibrated at a frequency corresponding to the different diameter shape of the cross section of the guide and the rotational speed of the guide.
The guide having the above configuration has, for example, a transverse cross section such as a rectangular shape or an elliptical shape. On the other hand, a guide having a circular cross section is not included in the guide having the above-described configuration. Since the article to be conveyed does not vibrate even if the article to be conveyed contacts a guide having a cross section of a perfect circle, the alignment action and the attitude control action do not occur.

(3) In some embodiments, in the configuration (2),
The surfaces of the two guides that contact the article to be conveyed are rotated upward by the drive unit.
According to the configuration (3), the two guides rotate upward with respect to the article to be conveyed, whereby an upward force is applied to the article to be conveyed. The vibration generated in the article to be conveyed and the upward force can suppress the object to be conveyed between the conveyance surface and the guide.

(4) In some embodiments, in the configuration (3),
A jump prevention member provided above the transport path is provided.
According to the configuration (4), jumping of the article to be conveyed that is likely to occur when an upward force is applied to the article to be conveyed can be suppressed by the jump preventing member.

(5) In some embodiments, in any one of the configurations (1) to (4),
The stopper portion is
A stopper member capable of projecting into the transport path formed by the two guides;
An actuator for reciprocating the stopper member to a position retracted from the conveyance path and a position protruding from the conveyance path;
With
The controller is
When the number detection sensor detects the passage of the set number of articles to be conveyed, the actuator is operated to cause the stopper member to protrude into the conveyance path.
According to the configuration (4), it is possible to stop a subsequent article to be transported that is transported through the transport path by causing the stopper member to protrude into the transport path with simple and low-cost means.

(6) In some embodiments, in the configuration (5),
The actuator is an air cylinder;
The stopper member is attached to a piston rod of the air cylinder.
According to the configuration (6), the stopper portion can be further simplified and reduced in cost.

(7) In some embodiments, in any one of the configurations (1) to (6),
The two guides have a rectangular cross section.
According to the configuration (7), since the guide has a rectangular cross section, the surface of the guide intermittently hits the article to be conveyed in contact with the guide, and the article to be conveyed is vibrated. By the generation of this vibration and the friction generated when the article to be conveyed comes into contact with the oblique guide, an alignment action and a posture control action can be imparted to the article to be conveyed.

(8) In some embodiments, in the configuration (7),
The two guides have a hexagonal cross section.
According to the configuration (8), the cost can be reduced by using a hexagonal bar having a hexagonal cross section as the guide. Further, it is possible to generate a vibration having a frequency suitable for giving an alignment action and a posture control action to the articles to be conveyed.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to group a large number of articles to be transported with simple and low-cost means, and packaging and packaging in subsequent processes can be performed without any trouble.
Further, as a secondary function and effect, by rotating at least two guides that form a conveyance path and guide articles to be conveyed, alignment and posture control of articles to be conveyed before grouping can be performed. Grouping can be facilitated.

It is a top view of the sorting device concerning one embodiment. It is a front view of the sorting device concerning one embodiment. It is side surface sectional drawing which follows the AA line in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the sorting apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a cross-sectional view which follows the BB line in FIG. It is a cross-sectional view which follows the CC line | wire in FIG. It is a perspective view of the sorting device concerning one embodiment.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in the embodiments or shown in the drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but are merely illustrative examples.
For example, expressions expressing relative or absolute arrangements such as “in a certain direction”, “along a certain direction”, “parallel”, “orthogonal”, “center”, “concentric” or “coaxial” are strictly In addition to such an arrangement, it is also possible to represent a state of relative displacement with an angle or a distance such that tolerance or the same function can be obtained.
For example, an expression indicating that things such as “identical”, “equal”, and “homogeneous” are in an equal state not only represents an exactly equal state, but also has a tolerance or a difference that can provide the same function. It also represents the existing state.
For example, expressions representing shapes such as quadrangular shapes and cylindrical shapes represent not only geometrically strict shapes such as quadrangular shapes and cylindrical shapes, but also irregularities and chamfers as long as the same effects can be obtained. A shape including a part or the like is also expressed.
On the other hand, the expressions “comprising”, “comprising”, “comprising”, “including”, or “having” one constituent element are not exclusive expressions for excluding the existence of other constituent elements.

A sorting apparatus 10 according to at least one embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the sorting apparatus 10 includes a conveyor 12 (12a, 12b, 12c) having a conveyance surface 13 (13a, 13b, 13c) for conveying the article to be conveyed m, and on the conveyance surface 13c. Are provided with at least two guides 14a and 14b. The two guides 14a and 14b are extended in the conveyance direction (arrow a direction) of the article to be conveyed m, and form at least one conveyance path 16 (16a) through which the article to be conveyed m can pass on the conveyance surface 13c. To do. The guides 14a and 14b have an interval at which the article to be conveyed m conveyed on the conveyance path 16 (16a) can be guided from both sides.

The transport path 16 (16a) includes at least one number detection sensor 18 (18a) for detecting and counting the passage of the transported article m transported through the transport path 16 (16a), and the transported article m is transported by the transport path. The stopper part 20 (20a) which can prevent passing 16 (16a) is provided.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the number detection sensor 18 (18a) detects the passage of the set number of articles to be conveyed m, the stopper 20 (20a) is operated to detect the subsequent articles to be conveyed m. A control unit 22 for stopping the conveyance is provided.
The number detection sensor 18 (18a) and the stopper portion 20 (20a) are provided, for example, at the downstream end of the transport path 16 (16a).

In the illustrated embodiment, the conveyor 12 includes a plurality of conveyors 12a, 12b, and 12c from the upstream side in the conveyance direction, and each conveyor has conveyance surfaces 13a, 13b, and 13c, respectively.
In the conveyor 12c, a conveyance path 16b formed by the two guides 14c and 14d is provided adjacent to the conveyance path 16a formed by the two guides 14a and 14b. At least one number detection sensor 18b and a stopper portion 20b are provided on the conveyance path 16b.
In yet illustrated embodiment, the conveyor 12b, a pair of oblique guides 24a and 24b which are arranged symmetrically to the longitudinal center line C ₁ that passes through the widthwise center of the conveyor 12, the center line C ₁ Two guides 26a and 26b arranged side by side are provided. By these four guides, the conveyance paths 28a and 28b tapering toward the downstream in the width direction are formed. The downstream end of the conveyance path 28a communicates with the upstream end of the conveyance path 16a, and the downstream end of the conveyance path 28b communicates with the upstream end of the conveyance path 16b.

In the exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the guides 14 a to 14 d have a cross section having a different diameter in the circumferential direction with respect to a center line C <b> ₂ passing through the center of the cross section. Furthermore, a drive unit 30a~30d for rotating these guides about the center line _{C 2.}
In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the drive units 30 a to 30 d are configured by motors, the drive units 30 a and 30 d are disposed on the outer side in the width direction of the transport surface 13 c of the conveyor 12 c, and the drive units 30 b and 30 c are It is fixed on the gantry 34 provided in the conveyance surface width direction above the conveyance surface 13c.
Rotation of the output shaft of the motor is transmitted to the guide 14a~14d via a power transmission belt 32 to rotate the guide 14a~14d about the center line _{C 2.}

  In this configuration, when the article to be transported m is transported through the transport paths 16a and 16b, the surfaces of the rotating guides 14a to 14d intermittently hit the article to be transported m from both sides to generate vibrations in the article to be transported m. . The article to be conveyed m is aligned and controlled by the generation of this vibration and the friction generated when the article to be conveyed m contacts these guides.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, oblique guide 24a, 24b and the guide 26a, 26b also which has the same cross-sectional shape and the guide 14a to 14d, rotating them about the center line _{C 2} Drive units 30e to 30h are provided.
By rotating the oblique guides 24a and 24b and the guides 26a and 26b by the driving units 30a to 30d, the alignment action and the posture similar to the guides 14a to 14d with respect to the article m to be conveyed conveyed on the conveyance paths 28a and 28b. A control action can be given.
Thus, the article to be transported m is transported to the entrance of the transport path 16 (16a, 16b) while being aligned and controlled in posture by the transport paths 28a and 28b. When the article to be conveyed m subjected to alignment and attitude control is carried into the conveyance path 16 (16a, 16b), the article to be conveyed m receives the alignment action and attitude control action of the guides 14a to 14d, thereby aligning and attitude. It is conveyed to the downstream end of the conveyance path 16 (16a, 16b) while maintaining the controlled state.

  In the exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the surfaces of the guides 14 a to 14 d that are in contact with the article to be conveyed m are rotated upward by the driving units 30 a to 30 d. As a result, an upward force is applied to the conveyed article m. The vibration generated in the article to be conveyed m and the upward force can suppress the jamming (clogging) of the article to be conveyed m between the conveyance surface 13c and the guide, and the article to be conveyed m can be smoothly conveyed to the downstream end.

In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the oblique guides 24a and 24b and the guides 26a and 26b are arranged so as to guide only from one side with respect to the article to be conveyed m, and The tangent surface rotates downward.
By being guided by these guides, the article to be conveyed m is aligned and controlled in posture, and a downward force is applied to the article to be conveyed m, so there is no possibility that the article to be conveyed m jumps from the conveyance surface. .
The oblique guides 24a and 24b and the guides 26a and 26b are in contact with the article to be conveyed m only from one side, and the opposite side of the article to be conveyed m is opened without being guided by the guide. Therefore, even if the guided article m vibrates downward due to vibration of the article to be conveyed m, there is no possibility that the article to be conveyed m enters between the conveying surface 13b and the guide and clogging occurs.

In the exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the sorting apparatus 10 includes a jumping prevention member 36 above the conveyance paths 16 a and 16 b. In FIG. 1, illustration of the jump prevention member 36 provided in the transport path 16a is omitted.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the jump prevention member 36 includes a plurality of pipes provided in parallel in the transport direction above the transport paths 16 a and 16 b. When an upward force is applied to the article to be conveyed m by the rotation of the guides 14a to 14d, the jumping prevention member 36 prevents the article to be conveyed m from jumping up.

In the exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the stopper portion 20 includes a stopper member 38 that can project into the transport path 16, a position where the stopper member 38 is retracted from the transport path 16, and a position that projects into the transport path. And an actuator 40 that reciprocates.
When the number detection sensor 18 (18a, 18b) detects the passage of the set number of articles to be conveyed m, the control unit 22 operates the actuator 40 to cause the stopper member 38 to protrude into the conveyance path 16a or 16b, thereby conveying the article. The article m is stopped.

In the exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the actuator 40 comprises an air cylinder, and the stopper member 38 is attached to the piston rod 42 of the air cylinder.
In the illustrated embodiment, a through hole 44a is formed in the non-rotating portion 44 provided at the downstream end of the guides 14a and 14d in the transport direction, and the stopper member 38 protrudes into the transport path 16a or 16b through the through hole 44a. It is configured. The stopper member 38 is formed of a plate piece that is long in the axial direction of the non-rotating portion 44, and the through hole 44 a has a shape that is long in the axial direction of the non-rotating portion 44.

In the exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the guides 14a-14d have a rectangular cross section. As a result, the surface of the guide rotating with respect to the article to be conveyed m intermittently hits, causing the article to be conveyed m to vibrate. By the generation of this vibration and the friction generated when the article to be conveyed m comes into contact with the guide, an alignment action and a posture control action can be imparted to the article to be conveyed m.
In the exemplary embodiment, the guides 14a-14d have a hexagonal cross section, as shown in FIG. During one rotation of the guides 14a to 14d, there are six intermittent contacts with the article to be transported m, and the frequency of vibration generated in the article to be transported m depends on the number of times of this contact and the rotational speed of the guides 14a to 14d. It is determined.

In such a configuration, the articles to be conveyed m conveyed in the conveying direction by the conveyor 12a are aligned by the oblique guides 24a and 24b and the guides 26a and 26b while passing through the conveying paths 28a and 28b on the conveying surface 13b of the conveyor 12b. And attitude control. Furthermore, the articles to be transported m are arranged in a line on the transport paths 28a and 28b, and are transported in the transport paths 16a and 16b one by one.
In the transport path 16, the article to be transported m is guided by the guides 14 a to 14 d and transported to the downstream end of the transport path 16 while maintaining the state of alignment and posture control.

When the number detection sensor 18a or 18b provided at the downstream end of the transport path 16a or 16b detects the passage of the article to be transported m by the set number, the control unit 22 operates the stopper unit 20a or 20b to stop the stopper member 38a or 38b is protruded to the conveyance path 16a or 16b, and the subsequent article to be conveyed m is stopped in the conveyance path 16a or 16b.
By the above operation, the articles to be conveyed m grouped in a set number in two rows are sent to the conveyors 46 and 48, and further sent from the conveyor 48 to a packaging machine or a packing machine (not shown) for packaging for each set number. Or packed.

In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, when the conveyance path 16 is closed by the stopper portion 20, four in-stock sensors are respectively provided at positions where the four articles to be conveyed m stop in order from the top. 50 (50a1-4 and 50b1-4) are provided.
Further, full sensors 52 (52a, 52b) are provided in the conveyance path 16 on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the in-stock sensor 50, respectively.
In the illustrated embodiment, the number detection sensor 18, the stock sensor 50, and the full sensor 52 are attached to a frame 54 provided along the transport direction outside the transport path 16. Further, the end portion of the jump prevention member 36 is fixed to the gantry 34.
In this embodiment, when all the in-stock sensors 50 detect the presence of the article to be transported m after a set time (for example, 0.1 second) after the transport paths 16a and 16b are closed by the control system shown in FIG. The paths 16a and 16b are opened simultaneously, and four articles to be conveyed m are conveyed to the conveyor 46 through the conveyance paths 16a and 16b.

Further, when the transport paths 16a and 16b are filled with the transported articles m and the full sensors 52a and 52b detect the transported articles m stopped, the control unit 22 operates the stopper sections 20a and 20b, and the transport paths 16a and 20b. 16b is opened, and the article m to be conveyed is discharged to the conveyor 46.
Note that the number of in-stock sensors 50 in the transport path 16a or 16b is determined by the number of articles to be transported m to be packed or packed.

According to some embodiments, the articles to be conveyed m can be grouped for each set number with simple and low-cost means, and subsequent packaging or packaging can be performed without any trouble.
In addition, alignment and posture control can be performed while the articles to be conveyed m are conveyed by the guides 14a to 14d, and the articles to be conveyed m are not caught or clogged with the guides 14a to 14d. Can be transported smoothly.
Further, since the articles to be transported m can be aligned and posture-controlled by the oblique guides 24a and 24b and the guides 26a and 26b on the upstream side in the transport direction of the transport path 16, the transport paths 16a and 16b are in an aligned and posture-controlled state. It is only necessary to maintain, and alignment and posture control before grouping can be performed reliably.

Further, since the guides 14a to 14d rotate upward with respect to the article to be conveyed m and apply an upward force to the article to be conveyed m, it is possible to effectively clog the article to be conveyed m between the conveying surface 13c and the guide. Can be suppressed.
Further, by providing the jump prevention member 36, it is possible to suppress the jump of the article to be conveyed m that is likely to occur when an upward force is applied to the article to be conveyed m.
Further, the stopper portion 20 is configured by the stopper member 38 and the actuator 40, so that the stopper portion 20 can be simplified and reduced in cost, and the actuator 40 can be further reduced in cost by being configured by an air cylinder.

The guides 14a to 14d, the oblique guides 24a and 24b, and the guides 26a and 26b.
Is formed into a rectangular cross section so that vibration is generated in the article to be conveyed m, and the article to be conveyed m is aligned and oriented by the generation of this vibration and the friction generated when the article to be conveyed m contacts these guides. Can be controlled.
Further, by using a hexagonal bar having a hexagonal cross section for the guide, the cost of the guide can be reduced, and vibration of a frequency suitable for alignment and posture control can be generated with respect to the conveyed article m. .
Furthermore, by providing the stock sensor 50 on the transport path 16, the number of articles m to be transported can be accurately grouped, and by providing the full sensor 52, the stopper unit 20, the stock sensor 50, etc. can be quickly broken down. Can be detected.

  According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to group a large number of articles to be conveyed with simple and low-cost means, and to perform alignment and posture control of articles to be conveyed before the grouping. Thus, grouping can be facilitated.

10 Sorting device 12 (12a, 12b, 12c), 46, 48 Conveyor 13 (13a, 13b, 13c) Conveying surface 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, 26a, 26b Guide 16 (16a, 16b), 28a, 28b Conveying path 18 (18a, 18b) Number detection sensor 20 (20a, 20b) Stopper part 22 Control part 24a, 24b Diagonal guide 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d, 30e, 30f, 30g, 30h Motor (drive part)
32 Power transmission belt 34 Mounting base 36 Jump prevention member 38 Stopper member 40 Air cylinder (actuator)
42 the piston rod 44 non-rotating portion 44a through hole 50 (50a1,50a2,50a3,50a4,50b1,50b2,50b3,50b4) load presence sensor 52 (52a, 52b) full sensor 54 frames C _{1, C 2} the center line m to be Conveyed goods

Claims (7)

A conveyor having a conveying surface for conveying the article to be conveyed;
A first conveyance path that extends in the conveyance direction of the article to be conveyed on the conveyance surface and that allows the article to be conveyed to pass through is formed on the conveyance surface, and the article to be conveyed that is conveyed through the first conveyance path. At least two first guides having an interval capable of guiding the conveyed article from both sides;
Forming a second transport path that can be transported to the entrance of the first transport path, and at least one second guide capable of guiding the article to be transported transported through the second transport path from one side;
A number detection sensor provided at the downstream end in the transport direction of the transport path for detecting and counting the passage of the transported article;
A stopper portion capable of stopping conveyance of the article to be conveyed in the conveyance path;
When the number detection sensor detects the passage of the set number of articles to be transported in advance, a control unit for operating the stopper portion to prevent the passage of the articles to be transported subsequently;
With
The first guide rotates upward on a surface in contact with the article to be conveyed,
The sorting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a surface of the second guide that contacts the article to be conveyed rotates downward. The first guide has a cross section having a different diameter in the circumferential direction with respect to a first center line passing through the center of the cross section.
The second guide has a cross section having a different diameter in the circumferential direction with respect to a second center line passing through the center of the cross section.
A first drive unit for rotating the first guide about the first center line;
The sorting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second driving unit configured to rotate the second guide about the second center line.   The sorting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a jump prevention member provided above the first transport path. The stopper portion is
A stopper member capable of projecting into the first conveyance path formed by the first guide;
An actuator for reciprocating the stopper member to a position retracted from the first conveyance path and a position protruding to the first conveyance path;
With
The controller is
4. The device according to claim 1, wherein when the number detection sensor detects the passage of the set number of articles to be conveyed, the actuator is operated to cause the stopper member to protrude into the first conveyance path. The sorting apparatus according to claim 1. The actuator is an air cylinder;
The sorting device according to claim 4, wherein the stopper member is attached to a piston rod of the air cylinder. Sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the first guide or the second guide is characterized by having a cross-section of rectangular shape. The sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first guide or the second guide has a hexagonal cross section .

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