JP6833534B2 - Sorting system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sorting system for transporting a transported object along a transport route using a sorting conveyor in which a plurality of transport carts are connected.

A large number of transport trolleys having a conveyor on which the transferred articles (conveyed objects) are placed and the articles placed at predetermined positions are transferred in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport trolleys are connected, and these transport trolleys are appropriately driven. A sorting conveyor that uses an apparatus to run along a loop-shaped transport route is generally known.

In a sorting system using such a sorting conveyor, a tray for placing articles is provided on a transport trolley (traveling trolley) traveling on a transport route, and a tray is provided from a ground station provided on the ground side to a traveling trolley via an on-board station. It has been proposed that the tray is tilted based on the transmitted control information and the article is dispensed to the target sorting chute (see Patent Document 1). The tray tilting device mounted on this traveling trolley operates using a rotary solenoid, and receives the drive power of the rotary solenoid from the ground station and controls the tray tilting between the ground station and the on-board station. The signals are combined and transmitted, and the control signal in this case is a signal that operates immediately, and the control unit on the machine only converts the signal, and the advanced controller that stores and calculates on the machine Not installed.

In addition to this, it has been proposed that carrier belts are arranged in parallel on a transport unit traveling on a transport route, and articles placed on each carrier belt are individually or simultaneously delivered to a target sorting chute (Patent Documents). 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-265077 Japanese Patent No. 4141846

For example, a traveling carriage or a transportation unit constituting a sorting conveyor is generally designed and manufactured based on the maximum size of articles that can be transported in a sorting system.
Therefore, as the maximum size of the article increases, the number of traveling carriages and transport units traveling on the transport route decreases, and it is difficult to secure a high transport capacity in a sorting system in which the traveling speeds of the traveling carriages are the same. In addition to this, the articles sorted by the sorting system are not necessarily articles of the same size. For example, in the case of a sorting system that sorts small items in addition to the maximum size items, the more small items there are, the smaller the items are transported to a traveling trolley with a larger area, that is, the items per traveling speed of the traveling trolley. Since the number is small, the transport efficiency is poor, and as a result, it becomes difficult to secure a high sorting capacity in the sorting system.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sorting system capable of ensuring a high transport efficiency of goods as well as a high sorting ability of goods.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the sorting system of the present invention uses a sorting conveyor in which a plurality of conveyors in which at least two cross sorter conveyors whose transport direction is orthogonal to the traveling direction are juxtaposed in the traveling direction are connected. In a sorting system for transporting transported objects along a transport route, a trolley-side communication unit provided on the side of the transport trolley and along the traveling direction corresponding to each of the at least two cross sorter conveyors. And, on the ground side near the input conveyor located on the side of the transport route, the same number of transmission / reception units as the transmission / reception units of the trolley side communication unit are provided, and the trolley side provided on the side of the transport trolley. A ground-side communication unit that allows each of the transmission / reception units of the communication unit to face each other at the same time, and a ground-based communication unit that is connected to the ground-side communication unit and manages information transmitted / received by the ground-side communication unit. The trolley-side communication unit includes a side management device, and the trolley-side communication unit is a transmission / reception unit of the ground-side communication unit located on the upstream side of the ground-side communication units provided on the transfer route when the conveyor is traveling. Information indicating the operating status of the upstream cross sorter conveyor of the two corresponding cross sorter conveyors is assigned and transmitted to a part of the above, and corresponds to a part of the transmission / reception unit of the ground side communication unit located on the upstream side. Information indicating the operating status of the downstream cross sorter conveyor of the two cross sorter conveyors is assigned and transmitted, and the ground side communication unit inputs the information to the upstream cross sorter conveyor of the two corresponding cross sorter conveyors. The upstream side division position information obtained by dividing the position information indicating the sorting destination of the transported object by a predetermined number of bits is transmitted from the ground side communication unit located on the upstream side to the trolley side communication unit located on the upstream side. The ground-side communication unit located on the downstream side transmits to the trolley-side communication unit located on the upstream side in order at each face-to-face timing, and the ground-side communication unit is one of the two corresponding cross sorter conveyors. The downstream side division position information obtained by dividing the position information indicating the sorting destination of the transported object to be put into the downstream side cross sorter conveyor by a predetermined number of bits is located on the downstream side from the ground side communication unit located on the upstream side. It is characterized in that transmission is sequentially performed from the ground-side communication unit located on the downstream side to the trolley-side communication unit located on the downstream side at each face-to-face timing.

Further, the sorting system of the present invention uses a sorting conveyor in which a plurality of conveyors in which at least two cross sorter conveyors whose transport direction is orthogonal to the traveling direction are juxtaposed in the traveling direction are connected to convey a conveyed object. In the sorting system for transporting along the conveyor, the conveyor side communication unit provided on the side of the conveyor and along the traveling direction corresponding to each of the at least two cross sorter conveyors, and the side of the conveyor route. On the ground side near the input conveyor located on the side, the same number of transmission / reception units as the transmission / reception units of the trolley side communication unit are provided, and with each of the transmission / reception units of the trolley side communication unit provided on the side of the conveyor. It has a ground-side communication unit that can face its own transmission / reception unit at the same time, and a ground-side management device that is connected to the ground-side communication unit and manages information transmitted / received by the ground-side communication unit. Then, when a plurality of cross sorter conveyors are moved at the same time to load and discharge the transported material placed across the plurality of cross sorter conveyors, the trolley-side communication unit is used when the transport trolley is traveling. Information indicating the operating status of the upstream cross sorter conveyor of the two corresponding cross sorter conveyors to a part of the transmission / reception unit of the ground side communication unit located on the upstream side of the ground side communication unit provided in the above. Is assigned and transmitted, and information indicating the operating status of the downstream cross sorter conveyor of the two corresponding cross sorter conveyors is assigned and transmitted to a part of the transmission / reception unit of the ground side communication unit located on the downstream side. The ground-side communication unit divides the position information indicating the sorting destination of the transported object to be put into the downstream side cross sorter conveyor of the two corresponding cross sorter conveyors by a predetermined number of bits, and divides the downstream side division position information. The ground-side communication unit located on the upstream side faces the trolley-side communication unit located on the upstream side, and the ground-side communication unit located on the downstream side faces the trolley-side communication unit located on the upstream side in order. It is characterized by transmitting at each timing.

Further, one of the transport trolleys included in each group in which a plurality of the transport trolleys traveling on the transport route are grouped by a predetermined number is provided with a management device for managing the operating status of the transport trolleys in the same group. The management device restores a plurality of divided position information received by the carriage side communication unit as the position information to obtain upstream position information and downstream position information, and combines them with a predetermined number of address information for each of the transport carriages. It is characterized in that the sorting destinations of the transported objects to be put into each of the at least two cross sorter conveyors provided on the transport carriages in the same group are managed by performing the storage calculation.

Further, the ground-side communication unit and the trolley-side communication unit can transmit and receive as a total of 8-bit data of the information indicating the operation status and the position information, and the ground-side communication unit is one of the 8-bit data. It is characterized in that the bit data of the unit is transmitted as the divided position information to the communication unit on the trolley side.

Further, the trolley side communication unit uses a part of the bit data of the 8-bit data to transmit information indicating the operating status of the corresponding cross sorter conveyor to the ground side communication unit.
Among the ground-side communication units, the ground-side communication unit located on the upstream side uses a part of the bit data of the 8-bit data to drive the cross sorter conveyor when the conveyed object is loaded. The information indicating the above is transmitted to the trolley side communication unit.

Further, when the transported object is loaded across at least two cross sorter conveyors of the transport carriage, each of the ground-side communication units provided on the transport route is of the ground-side communication unit of the transport carriage. Information indicating the driving method of the cross sorter conveyor at the time of loading the transported object is simultaneously transmitted to each of the above-ground communication units, and the above-ground communication unit located upstream is the trolley-side communication unit. It is characterized in that the division position information is transmitted to the carriage side communication unit corresponding to the upstream side cross sorter conveyor.

According to the present invention, it is possible to secure a high transport efficiency of goods at the same time as a high sorting ability of goods.

It is a top view of the sorting conveyor of this invention. It is a top view which shows one Embodiment of the structure of the transport carriage. It is a side view of the transport carriage shown in FIG. It is a figure when the transport carriage shown in FIG. 2 is visually recognized from the front. It is a top view which shows an example of the positional relationship between the input conveyor installed in the transport route, the 1st ground side communication unit and the 2nd ground side communication unit. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of a sorting system. It is a flowchart which shows the control flow of the PLC on the carriage side when the article is put into one belt conveyor unit. It is a flowchart which shows the control flow of the ground side PLC when the article is put into one belt conveyor unit. (A) is a schematic diagram showing an example of communication between the first trolley side communication unit and the first ground side communication unit, and (b) is an example of communication between the first trolley side communication unit and the second ground side communication unit. It is a schematic diagram which shows. (A) is a schematic diagram showing an example of communication between the second carriage side communication unit and the first ground side communication unit, and (b) is an example of communication between the second carriage side communication unit and the second ground side communication unit. It is a schematic diagram which shows. It is a flowchart which shows the control flow of the PLC on the carriage side at the time of loading an article across each of two belt conveyor units. It is a flowchart which shows the control flow of the ground side PLC when the article is put over each of two belt conveyor units. (A) is a schematic diagram showing an example of communication between the first carriage side communication unit and the second ground side communication unit, communication between the second carriage side communication unit and the first ground side communication unit, and (b) is the second. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of communication between a trolley side communication unit and a 2nd ground side communication unit.

Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a top view showing an example of the sorting conveyor 10. The sorting conveyor 10 of the present embodiment runs a large number of conveyors 15 connected in a loop shape (endless shape) by connecting beam-shaped links forming frames of adjacent conveyors along a loop-shaped conveyor route. It is a thing. A pair of traveling rails are installed on the loop-shaped transport route, and when the sorting conveyor 10 is driven, each of the connected transport carriages 15 travels while the traveling direction is restricted by the pair of traveling rails.

The sorting conveyor 10 is driven by a drive device (not shown) installed at a predetermined position on the transport route and between a pair of traveling rails. As an example of the drive device, a friction drive type drive device can be mentioned. The friction drive type drive device has a pair of friction belts that are pressed against both side surfaces of the beam-shaped link 21 of the transport carriage 15, and the forward side of the pair of friction belts is pressed against the side surfaces of the beam-shaped link that forms the frame of the transport carriage 15. It is a drive device having a large number of friction rollers pressed in a direction and a pair of motors with a speed reducer provided for each of the pair of friction belts.

When the sorting conveyor 10 is driven, each transport carriage 15 is driven in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1 (direction A in FIG. 1). In the process of moving each transport trolley 15 in the A direction in FIG. 1, the transported material conveyed by the loading conveyor (omitted in FIG. 1) installed at the loading position of the transport route is delivered to each transport trolley 15. The transported object is placed on the cross sorter conveyor unit included in the transport carriage 15. The transport carriage 15 moves in the direction A in FIG. 1 even after the conveyed object is placed on the cross sorter conveyor unit of the transport carriage 15. Then, when the transport trolley 15 moves to the payout position, the cross sorter conveyor unit is driven to deliver the conveyed material from the transport trolley 15 to the payout conveyor (omitted in FIG. 1).

Hereinafter, the configuration of the transport carriage 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. Hereinafter, among the pair of traveling rails provided on the transport route, the traveling rails arranged on the left side in FIG. 2 will be described by reference numerals 16 and the traveling rails arranged on the right side in FIG. 2 will be described by reference numerals 17.

The transport trolley 15 includes a beam-shaped link 21 whose longitudinal direction is the traveling direction of the transport trolley 15, and three support cross members 22 which are juxtaposed at predetermined intervals perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the beam-shaped link 21. It has 23 and 24 as a chassis portion forming a skeleton.

The beam-shaped link 21 is a member having a substantially square cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and made of a hollow metal material. The beam-shaped link 21 is positioned as a piece of a chain of a large transport loop while forming a skeleton in the traveling direction of the transport carriage 15 in the transport route of the transport carriage 15. The beam-shaped link 21 is a member that receives the forward-sided portion of the pair of friction belts of the friction drive type driving device described above on the side surface.

The three support cross members 22, 23, 24 are members having a substantially rectangular shape with a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction having a long side in the vertical direction and made of a hollow metal material. Of the three support cross members 22, 23, 24, the support cross member 22 holds the side frame 30, the support cross member 23 holds the central frame 31, and the support cross member 24 holds the side frame 32 on the upper surface. To do. Support members 34 and 35 are arranged at predetermined intervals between the side frame 30 and the center frame 31. Although not shown, support members are similarly arranged between the central frame 31 and the side frame 32 at predetermined intervals.

The transport carriage 15 has two belt conveyor units arranged side by side in the extending direction of the beam-shaped link 21 (traveling direction of the transport carriage 15) as a conveyor unit for the cross sorter. Hereinafter, the belt conveyor unit provided on the front end side in the traveling direction of the transport carriage is referred to as a first belt conveyor unit 36, and the belt conveyor unit provided on the rear end side in the traveling direction of the transport carriage is referred to as a second belt conveyor unit 37. .. The first belt conveyor unit 36 is arranged with the side frame 30 and the center frame 31 as its own frame in the gap portion formed between the side frame 30 and the center frame 31. Further, the second belt conveyor unit 37 is arranged with the central frame 31 and the side frame 32 as its own frame in the gap portion formed between the central frame 31 and the side frame 32. Hereinafter, since the configurations of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 are the same, the configuration of only the first belt conveyor unit 36 will be described, and the configuration of the second belt conveyor unit 37 will be omitted. ..

Other than the frame, the first belt conveyor unit 36 includes a drive pulley 41, a driven pulley 42, a plurality of rollers 43, an endless belt 44, a transmission mechanism 45, and a servomotor 46. Here, the drive pulley 41, the driven pulley 42, and the plurality of rollers 43 are arranged so that the vertices of each pulley and each roller portion are located on the same horizontal plane. In the present embodiment, a case where a plurality of rollers 43 are provided between the drive pulley 41 and the driven pulley 42 as a member for supporting the upper portion (the portion on which the conveyed object is placed) of the endless belt 44 from below will be described. Instead of providing the plurality of rollers 43, it is also possible to provide a support plate between the drive pulley 41 and the driven pulley 42.

The drive pulley 41 is arranged at the right end portion in the y direction in FIG. 2 in the gap portion between the side frame 30 and the central frame 31. One end 41a of the rotation shaft of the drive pulley 41 projects from the side frame 30. The toothed pulley 48 constituting the transmission mechanism 45 is fixed to one end 41a of the rotating shaft protruding from the side frame 30. The drive pulley 41 has V grooves 41b and 41c at both ends of a roller portion around which the endless belt 44 is wound.

The driven pulley 42 is arranged at the left end portion in the y direction in FIG. 2 in the gap portion between the side frame 30 and the central frame 31. Like the drive pulley 41, the driven pulley 42 has V grooves 42a and 42b at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the roller portion around which the endless belt is wound.
The plurality of rollers 43 are arranged between the drive pulley 41 and the driven pulley 42. Further, the plurality of rollers 43 have V grooves 43a and 43b at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the roller portion to which the inner side surface of the endless belt 44 is slidably contacted.

The endless belt 44 is provided with ridges (not shown) at both ends in the width direction of the belt and over the entire circumference of the inner surface of the belt. When the endless belt 44 is wound around the drive pulley 41 and the driven pulley 42, these ridges enter the V-groove provided in each pulley or each roller. As a result, meandering of the endless belt 44 when the endless belt 44 travels is prevented.

The transmission mechanism 45 is composed of two toothed pulleys 48 and 49 and a drive timing belt 50. Of the two toothed pulleys 48 and 49, the toothed pulley 48 is fixed to one end 41a of the rotating shaft of the drive pulley 41 protruding from the side frame 30, and the toothed pulley 49 is the rotating shaft 46a of the servomotor 46. Is fixed to. The drive timing belt 50 is wound around two toothed pulleys 48 and 49. Therefore, the toothed pulley 49 fixed to the rotating shaft 46a of the servomotor 46 is the main pulley, and the toothed pulley 48 fixed to one end 41a of the rotating shaft of the drive pulley 41 protruding from the side frame 30 is the driven pulley. Become.

The servomotor 46 is fixed to the side frame 30 via the bracket 51. The servomotor 46 is electrically connected to, for example, a servo amplifier 52 held between the central frame 31 and the side frame 32 and on the upper surface of the beam-shaped link 21.

The transport carriage 15 described above has guide wheel units 55 and 56 at both ends of the support cross member 24 in the width direction of the transport carriage 15.

Of the pair of traveling rails provided on the transport route, the guide wheel unit 55 is a traveling wheel 61 that rotates while sliding at the apex at the straight portion of the traveling rail 16 or near the apex at the curved portion, and at the straight portion of the traveling rail 16. The bottom point or the curved portion has a guide wheel 62 that rotates while being slidably contacted in the vicinity of the bottom point, and a guide wheel 63 that rotates while being slidably contacted from the side of the traveling rail 16. The traveling wheel 61 is fixed to the rotating shaft 65a of the generator 65 fixed to the bracket 64. The traveling wheel 61 supports the weight of the transport carriage 15 and transmits most of the weight of the carriage to the traveling rail 16 while sliding at or near the apex of the traveling rail 16. Further, the guide wheel 62 is spaced slightly wider than the outer diameter of the traveling rail 16 from the traveling wheel 61, and the rotating shaft is the rotating shaft of the traveling wheel 61 (specifically, the rotation of the generator 65). It is pivotally supported by the bracket 64 so as to be parallel to the shaft 65a). Further, the guide wheel 63 is pivotally supported by the bracket 64 so that the rotation axis is orthogonal to the rotation axes of the traveling wheel 61 and the guide wheel 62. The bracket 64 described above is pivotally supported by a bracket 66 provided on the support cross member 24. Reference numeral 67 in FIG. 2 is a rotation axis of the guide wheel unit 55.

The generator 65 generates electricity by receiving rotation of the traveling wheel 61 while sliding at or near the apex of the traveling rail 16. The electric power obtained by generating electricity from the generator 65 is supplied to the servomotors 46 of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37, respectively, via the servo amplifier 52.

In the guide wheel unit 55 of the present embodiment, one guide wheel is a guide wheel that rotates while being slidably contacted from the side of the traveling rail 16, but the present invention is not limited to this, and two guide wheels are used. It is also possible.

Further, in the guide wheel unit 55 of the present embodiment, the traveling wheel 61 is fixed to the rotating shaft 65a of the generator 65, and the generator 65 generates electric power by the rotation of the traveling wheel 61. However, a non-contact power supply mechanism may be used instead of the generator 65. Although not shown, the non-contact power supply mechanism includes, for example, a loop coil provided diagonally upward to the outside of the traveling rail 16 and a pickup coil provided in the guide wheel unit of the transport carriage through which the loop coil is inserted. It is composed of the coil part and the coil part. In this non-contact power supply mechanism, the loop coil functions as a primary coil, and the pickup coil contained in the coil portion functions as a secondary coil. Therefore, when a high-frequency current is passed through the loop coil, an electromagnetic induction action is generated between the loop coil and the pickup coil contained in the coil portion, and the high-frequency current flowing through the loop coil is applied to the pickup coil contained in the coil portion. Be transmitted. The high-frequency current transmitted to the pickup coil contained in the coil portion is supplied to the servo amplifier via an A / D converter, a converter, or the like (not shown).

The guide wheel unit 56 is a pair of traveling rails provided on the transport route, and the traveling wheel 71 that rotates while sliding in contact with the apex of the traveling rail 17 or in the vicinity of the apex, and the traveling rail 17 in sliding contact with or near the bottom point. It has a guide wheel 72 that rotates while being driven, and a guide wheel 73 that rotates while sliding from the side of the traveling rail 17. The traveling wheel 71 is pivotally supported by the bracket 75. The traveling wheel 71 supports the weight of the transport carriage 15 and transmits most of the weight of the carriage to the traveling rail 17 while sliding at or near the apex of the traveling rail 17. Further, the guide wheel 72 has a bracket 74 so that the distance between the guide wheel 72 and the traveling wheel 71 is slightly wider than the outer diameter of the traveling rail 17 and the rotation axis is parallel to the rotation axis of the traveling wheel 71. It is supported by. Further, the guide wheel 73 is pivotally supported by the bracket 74 so that the rotation axis is orthogonal to the rotation axis of the traveling wheel 71 and the rotation axis of the guide wheel 72. The bracket 74 described above is pivotally supported by a bracket 75 provided on the side frame 32. Reference numeral 76 in FIG. 2 is a rotation axis of the guide wheel unit 56.

In the guide wheel unit 56 of the present embodiment, one guide wheel is a guide wheel that rotates while being slidably contacted from the side of the traveling rail 17, but the present invention is not limited to this, and two guide wheels are used. It is also possible.

The guide wheel unit 55 travels by sliding the traveling wheel 61 at or near the apex of the traveling rail 16 and the guide wheel 62 at or near the bottom point of the traveling rail 16. The position of the transport carriage 15 with respect to the rail 16 in the vertical direction is regulated. Further, by sliding the guide wheel 63 from the side of the traveling rail 16, the transport carriage 15 is restricted from moving toward the traveling rail 17.

The guide wheel unit 56 travels by sliding the traveling wheel 71 at or near the apex of the traveling rail 17 and the guide wheel 72 at or near the bottom point of the traveling rail 17. The position of the transport carriage 15 with respect to the rail 17 in the vertical direction is regulated. Further, by sliding the guide wheel 73 from the side of the traveling rail 17, the transport carriage 15 is restricted from moving toward the traveling rail 16.

Therefore, in the process in which the transport carriage 15 travels, the transport carriage 15 is restricted by the guide wheel units 55 and 56 in the traveling direction of the transport carriage 15 to the extending direction of the pair of traveling rails installed along the transport route. Further, when the transport carriage 15 travels, the transport carriage 15 is prevented from falling off from the pair of traveling rails.

In the large number of transport carts 15 constituting the sorting conveyor 10 of the present embodiment, two adjacent transport carts 15 are connected via a connecting mechanism 80. Although description will be omitted in detail, the connecting mechanism 80 has a mechanism that rotates in three axial directions in the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis directions. Therefore, when two adjacent transport trolleys 15 are connected by using the connecting mechanism 80, one of the two transport trolleys 15 has the x-axis, the y-axis, and the other transport trolley 15 with respect to the other transport trolley 15. It is possible to rotate the z-axis around at least one of the axes. Further, when two adjacent transport carriages 15 are connected by using the connection mechanism 80, the rotation center E about the z-axis is the guide wheel of the transport carriage 15 on the leading side of the two transport carriages 15. It is located on a straight line G connecting the center 67a of the rotating shaft 67 of the unit 55 and the center 76a of the rotating shaft 76 of the guide wheel unit 56. As a result, when the guide wheel units 55 and 56 of the transport carriage 15 on the leading side of the two transport carriages 15 move from a straight line to a curve of the transport route, or when they move from a straight line to a curve of the transport route. It is possible to prevent the connecting portion between the two transport carriages 15 from falling.

The side frame 30 of the transport carriage 15 described above is provided with the first carriage side communication unit 82 via the bracket 81. Further, the central frame 31 of the transport carriage 15 is provided with the second carriage side communication unit 84 via the bracket 83. The first carriage side communication unit 82 is provided corresponding to the first belt conveyor unit 36, and the second carriage side communication unit 84 is provided corresponding to the second belt conveyor unit 37. The first carriage side communication unit 82 and the second carriage side communication unit 84 may be attached from the beam-shaped link 21 via the bracket 81 or the bracket 83 instead of the side frame 30 and the center frame 31.
The first carriage side communication unit 82 and the second carriage side communication unit 84 transmit and receive information between the first ground side communication unit 86 and the second ground side communication unit 87 provided on the side of the transport route. ..

As shown in FIG. 5, the first ground-side communication unit 86 is, for example, among the loading conveyors 90 and 91 provided on the left and right sides of the transport route, the transport carts 15 to 3 at positions where articles are loaded by the loading conveyor 90. It is installed at a position facing the second carriage side communication unit 84 provided on the transport carriage 15 located on the rear side of the platform (upstream side in the transport direction). Further, the second ground-side communication unit 87 is, for example, three of the loading conveyors 90 and 91 provided on the left and right sides of the transport route from the transport trolley 15 at the position where the articles are loaded by the loading conveyor 90 (conveying). It is installed at a position facing the first carriage side communication unit 82 provided on the transport carriage 15 located on the upstream side in the direction). That is, the first ground side communication unit 86 and the second ground side communication unit 87 transmit and receive information between the first ground side communication unit 86 and the second trolley side communication unit 84, and the second ground side communication unit. It is provided in the transport route so that information can be transmitted and received simultaneously between the 87 and the first carriage side communication unit 82.

As shown in FIG. 6, the first carriage side communication unit 82 has two transmitting units OUT1 and OUT2, and six receiving units IN3, IN4, IN5, IN6, IN7, and IN8. Further, the second carriage side communication unit 84 has two transmission units OUT1 and OUT2, and six reception units IN3, IN4, IN5, IN6, IN7, and IN8.

The first ground-side communication unit 86 has two receiving units IN1 and IN2 and six transmitting units OUT3, OUT4, OUT5, OUT6, OUT7, and OUT8. Further, the second ground side communication unit 87 has two receiving units IN1 and IN2 and six transmitting units OUT3, OUT4, OUT5, OUT6, OUT7 and OUT8.

The transmitting unit of each communication unit has a photodiode, and the receiving unit has an optical sensor.

In the sorting conveyor 10, a plurality of transport carts 15 provided in the transport route are grouped into one group for each predetermined number, and the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the first belt conveyor unit 36 provided in each of the predetermined number of transport carts 15 included in one group. The second belt conveyor unit 37 is driven and controlled by a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) provided on one of the predetermined number of transport carriages 15 included in one group. Hereinafter, the transport carriage provided with the PLC will be referred to as a management transport carriage, and will be described with reference numeral 15A. Further, the PLC provided on the management transport carriage 15A is referred to as a carriage side PLC, and the PLC provided on the ground is referred to as a ground side PLC. On the ground side, a circuit may be built with a relay as a control panel, even if it is not a PLC.

As shown in FIG. 6, the management transport carriage 15A includes a first belt conveyor unit 36, a second belt conveyor unit 37, a servo amplifier 52, a first carriage side communication unit 82, a second carriage side communication unit 84, and a carriage side. It has a PLC93. Further, among the predetermined number of transport trolleys 15 in the same group, the transport trolleys 15 excluding the management transport trolley 15A are the first belt conveyor unit 36, the second belt conveyor unit 37, the servo amplifier 52, and the first trolley. It has a side communication unit 82 and a second carriage side communication unit 84.

The trolley side PLC93 is a first trolley provided in each of the first trolley side communication unit 82 and the second trolley side communication unit 84 provided in the management transport trolley 15A, and other transport trolleys 15 in the same group. It is connected to the side communication unit 82 and the second carriage side communication unit 84. Further, the carriage side PLC93 is connected to one servo amplifier 52 provided on the management transport carriage 15A. The servo amplifier 52 provided on the management transport carriage 15A and the servo amplifier 52 provided on each of the other transport carriages 15 are connected separately. Therefore, in the transmission and reception of information between each servo amplifier 52 of each of the transport trolleys 15 in the same group and the trolley side PLC 93, the forward and reverse rotation power supply of the servomotor power to each servo amplifier is supplied to each servo amplifier via each servo amplifier 52. Is executed.

The trolley side PLC93 manages whether or not the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 of the transport trolleys 15 included in the same group are loaded, and manages the normality / abnormality of the servo amplifier 52. Management of forward and reverse rotation of the servo motor 46 that is driven when an article is placed on each of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 of the conveyor belt 15, and the first belt conveyor of each conveyor belt 15. It manages the payout position of the articles placed on the unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37. In addition to this, information is transmitted and received to and from the ground side PLC95. Although not shown, the carriage side PLC93 has a storage unit, stores the above-mentioned information in the storage unit, and performs a predetermined calculation to manage each information.

The ground-side PLC95 reads specific information such as a bar code attached to each of the transported articles (not shown), and from the specific information for each transported article, the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 of each transport trolley 15. It manages bit division information of the position information of the sorting destination of the goods to be put into the conveyor, and manages the operations of the putting conveyors 90 and 91 to put the goods into the conveyor 15.

As described above, the transmission and reception of information between the carriage side PLC93 and the ground side PLC95 is performed by the first carriage side communication unit 82, the second carriage side communication unit 84, and the first ground side communication provided in each transport carriage 15. It is executed by using optical communication for each transmission / reception unit between the unit 86 and the second ground side communication unit 87. Optical communication is used because a large amount of miscellaneous radio waves are generated by using a lot of inverters, and by installing a PLC on the dolly side, the minimum necessary communication between the aircraft and the ground can be sufficiently performed with the ON / OFF bit of light. Therefore, reliable transmission can be performed without using radio waves that often malfunction. Hereinafter, the rotation of the servomotor 46 that is driven when the article is loaded from the loading conveyor 90 into the transport trolley 15 is forward rotation, and the rotation of the servomotor 46 that is driven when the article is loaded from the loading conveyor 91 into the transport trolley 15 is reversed. Let it rotate.

The transmission unit OUT1 of the first trolley side communication unit 82, the transmission unit OUT1 of the second trolley side communication unit 84, the reception unit IN1 of the first ground side communication unit 86, and the reception unit IN2 of the second ground side communication unit 87 correspond to each other. It is used to send and receive information on the presence or absence of cargo in the belt conveyor unit.

The transmission unit OUT2 of the first trolley side communication unit 82, the transmission unit OUT2 of the second trolley side communication unit 84, the reception unit IN1 of the first ground side communication unit 86, and the reception unit IN2 of the second ground side communication unit 87 correspond to each other. It is used to send and receive information on whether or not the servo amplifier that drives the belt conveyor unit is normal.

The receiving unit IN3 of the first trolley side communication unit 82, the receiving unit IN3 of the second trolley side communication unit 84, the transmitting unit OUT3 of the first ground side communication unit 86, and the transmitting unit OUT3 of the second ground side communication unit 87 are articles. Is used to transmit and receive information indicating that the servomotor is loaded from the loading conveyor 90 (or information indicating that the rotation of the servomotor when loading the article into the transport carriage is forward rotation).

The receiving unit IN4 of the first trolley side communication unit 82, the receiving unit IN4 of the second trolley side communication unit 84, the transmitting unit OUT4 of the first ground side communication unit 86, and the transmitting unit OUT4 of the second ground side communication unit 87 are articles. Is used to send and receive information indicating that is loaded from the loading conveyor 91 (or information indicating that the rotation of the servomotor 46 when loading the article into the transport carriage 15 is reverse rotation).

Transmission units IN5, IN6, IN7, IN8 of the first trolley side communication unit 82, transmission units IN5, IN6, IN7, IN8 of the second trolley side communication unit 84, transmission units OUT5, OUT6, of the first ground side communication unit 86. The transmission units OUT5, OUT6, OUT7, OUT8 of the OUT7, OUT8 and the second ground side communication unit 87 are used to transmit and receive information on the position (sorting destination position) at which the goods to be thrown out are to be discharged.

Next, the flow of control on the carriage side PLC93 when loading articles into the first belt conveyor unit 36 provided on the transport carriage 15 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7. It should be noted that the flow of control of the carriage side PLC93 when the article is loaded into the first belt conveyor unit 36 is the same as the control flow of the carriage side PLC93 when the article is loaded into the second belt conveyor unit 37. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, the first carriage side communication unit 82 and the second carriage side communication unit 84 are not distinguished from each other, and are simply referred to as the carriage side communication unit.

Step S101 is a process of determining whether or not the servo amplifier is normal. The carriage-side PLC 93 communicates with the servo amplifier 52 corresponding to the first belt conveyor unit 36, and determines whether or not the servo amplifier 52 is functioning normally. When the carriage side PLC93 determines that the servo amplifier 52 is functioning normally, the result of the determination process in step S101 is Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S102. On the other hand, when the carriage side PLC93 determines that the servo amplifier 52 is not functioning normally, the result of the determination process in step S101 is No. In this case, the process proceeds to step S103.

Step S102 is a process of turning on the transmission unit OUT2 of the carriage side communication unit. The carriage-side PLC93 emits light from a photodiode provided in the transmission unit OUT2 of the carriage-side communication unit.

Step S103 is a process of turning off the transmission unit OUT2 of the carriage side communication unit. The carriage-side PLC93 is in a state in which the photodiode provided in the transmission unit OUT2 of the carriage-side communication unit is turned off without emitting light.

Step S104 is a process of determining whether or not there is a load. The carriage side PLC93 determines whether or not an article is placed on the belt conveyor unit (whether or not there is a load) based on the drive history of the belt conveyor unit. When the carriage side PLC93 determines that the article is placed on the belt conveyor unit, the determination result in step S104 is Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S105. On the other hand, when the carriage side PLC93 determines that the article is placed on the belt conveyor unit, the determination result in step S104 is No. In this case, the process proceeds to step S106.

Step S105 is a process of turning on the transmission unit OUT1 of the carriage side communication unit. The carriage-side PLC93 emits light from a photodiode provided in the transmission unit OUT1 of the carriage-side communication unit.

Step S106 is a process of turning off the transmission unit OUT1 of the carriage side communication unit. The carriage-side PLC93 is in a state in which the photodiode provided in the transmission unit OUT1 of the carriage-side communication unit is turned off without emitting light.

Step S107 is a process of determining whether or not the signal has been received by the receiving unit IN3 or the receiving unit IN4 of the trolley-side communication unit. When the signal is received by the receiving unit IN3 or the receiving unit IN4 of the trolley-side communication unit, the trolley-side PLC93 sets the determination result in step S107 to Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S108. The carriage-side PLC93 stores the rotation direction of the servomotor of the corresponding belt conveyor unit based on the reception result of the receiving unit IN3 or the receiving unit IN4 of the carriage-side communication unit.

On the other hand, when the reception unit IN3 or the reception unit IN4 of the trolley side communication unit has not received the signal, the trolley side PLC93 sets the determination result in step S107 to No. In this case, the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 7 ends.

Step S108 is a process of receiving information on the sorting position from the first ground-side communication unit in the trolley-side communication unit. The receiving units used when receiving the position information by the trolley side communication unit are four receiving units IN5, IN6, IN7, IN8. These receiving units receive the lower 4-bit data of the 8-bit data indicating the sorting position from the first ground-side communication unit 86. The received lower 4-bit data is output to the carriage side PLC93.

Step S109 is a process of receiving information on the sorting position from the second ground-side communication unit in the trolley-side communication unit. The receiving units IN5, IN6, IN7, and IN8 of the trolley-side communication unit receive the upper 4-bit data from the 8-bit data indicating the sorting position from the second ground-side communication unit 87. The received upper 4-bit data is output to the carriage side PLC93. The trolley side PLC93 stores 8-bit data in which the obtained upper 4-bit data and lower 4-bit data are combined as sorting position information. That is, since the information of the sorting position obtained from each of the first ground-side communication unit 86 and the second ground side communication unit 87 is in each 2 ^{4 =} 16 types information, by the 8-bit data, a total of 16 × 16 = 256 types of information can be obtained.

Step S110 is a process of instructing the driving of the servomotor. The control of the carriage side PLC93 instructs the servo amplifier 52 corresponding to the first belt conveyor unit 36 to drive the servo motor 46. At this time, the carriage side PLC93 transmits the information on the rotation direction of the servomotor 46 stored in step S107 to the corresponding servo amplifier 52. As a result, the servomotor 46 is driven, and the endless belt 44 of the corresponding belt conveyor unit travels in the transfer direction of the article transferred by either the input conveyor 90 or the input conveyor 91.

The flow of control on the ground side PLC 95 when the article is put into the belt conveyor unit provided on the transport carriage 15 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Step S201 is a process of receiving by the receiving unit IN1 and the receiving unit IN2 of the first ground side communication unit 86. As described above, the trolley-side PLC93 uses the transmission unit OUT1 of the trolley-side communication unit to provide information on whether or not the servo amplifier 52 is normal, and uses the transmission unit OUT2 of the trolley-side communication unit to indicate whether or not there is a load. Information on whether or not to use is transmitted. Therefore, the receiving unit IN1 of the first ground-side communication unit 86 provides information on whether or not the servo amplifier 52 is normal, and the receiving unit IN2 of the first ground-side communication unit 86 provides information on whether or not the servo amplifier 52 is loaded. Are received respectively.

Step S202 is a process of confirming the received information. From the information received by the receiving unit IN1 and the receiving unit IN2 of the first ground-side communication unit 86, the ground-side PLC95 determines whether or not the servo amplifier 52 corresponding to the belt conveyor unit is normal, and the belt conveyor unit has an article. Check if is in the cargo. As a result, the ground side PLC95 can confirm the operating status of the belt conveyor unit of the transport carriage 15.

Step S203 is a process of determining whether or not to load the article. The ground-side PLC95 determines whether or not to load the article from the information obtained from the carriage-side PLC93 and the information of the article to be loaded. The information on the goods to be input is information on the size of the goods.

For example, from the information obtained from the carriage side PLC93, when the servo amplifier 52 corresponding to the belt conveyor unit is normal, but the article is not loaded in the belt conveyor unit, the ground side PLC95 is the article to be loaded. With reference to the information in the above, it is determined whether or not the size of the article is a size that can be loaded in the belt conveyor unit. When the size of the article is large enough to be loaded in the belt conveyor unit, the ground side PLC95 determines that the article is to be loaded. In this case, the result of the determination process in step S203 is Yes, and the process proceeds to step S204.

On the other hand, when the size of the article exceeds the size that can be loaded in the belt conveyor unit, the above-ground side PLC95 determines that the article is not loaded. The result of the determination process in step S203 is No. In this case, the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 8 ends. Further, from the information obtained from the PLC 93 on the trolley side, the servo amplifier 52 corresponding to the belt conveyor unit is normal, but when an article is loaded in the belt conveyor unit or the servo amplifier 52 corresponding to the belt conveyor unit If is not normal, the trolley-side PLC93 determines that no article has been inserted, regardless of the result of determining the information of the article to be loaded. That is, even in these cases, the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 8 ends.

Step S204 is a process of determining whether or not the rotation of the servomotor at the time of loading the article is forward rotation. The rotation of the servomotor 46 is determined according to the transfer direction of the goods to be loaded. For example, when the servomotor 46 is rotated forward when the article is loaded, the ground side PLC95 sets the result of the determination process in step S204 to Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S205. On the other hand, when the servomotor 46 is rotated in the reverse direction when the article is loaded, the ground side PLC95 sets the result of the determination process in step S204 to No. In this case, the process proceeds to step S206.

Step S205 is a process of turning on the transmission unit OUT3 of the first ground side communication unit 86. The ground side PLC95 lights the photodiode included in the transmission unit OUT3 of the first ground side communication unit 86.

Step S206 is a process of turning on the transmission unit OUT4 of the first ground side communication unit 86. The ground-side PLC95 lights a photodiode included in the transmission unit OUT4 of the first ground-side communication unit 86.

Step S207 is a process of transmitting the sorting position by using the transmission unit OUT5, the transmission unit OUT6, the transmission unit OUT7, and the transmission unit OUT8 of the first ground side communication unit 86. The information indicating the sorting position is 8-bit data. Therefore, the ground side PLC95 uses the transmission unit OUT5, the transmission unit OUT6, the transmission unit OUT7, and the transmission unit OUT8 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to transmit the lower 4 bit data of the 8-bit data indicating the sorting position. To do.

Step S208 is a process of transmitting the sorting position by using the transmission unit OUT5, the transmission unit OUT6, the transmission unit OUT7, and the transmission unit OUT8 of the second ground side communication unit 87. The ground-side PLC95 uses the transmission unit OUT5, the transmission unit OUT6, the transmission unit OUT7, and the transmission unit OUT8 of the second ground-side communication unit 87 to transmit the upper 4-bit data among the 8-bit data indicating the sorting position.

Step S209 is a process of instructing the drive of the input conveyor. The ground side PLC95 transmits a drive signal to the input conveyor that transfers the article. In response to this, either the charging conveyor 90 or the charging conveyor 91 that transfers the article is driven to transfer the article.

FIG. 9 shows signals between the first carriage side communication unit 82, the first ground side communication unit 86, and the second ground side communication unit 87 when the article is loaded into the first belt conveyor unit 36 of the transport carriage 15. It is a schematic diagram which shows the transmission of.

As shown in FIG. 9A, when the transport carriage 15 travels in the T direction in FIG. 9A and the first carriage side communication unit 82 and the first ground side communication unit 86 face each other, the first carriage Information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT1 and the transmission unit OUT2 of the side communication unit 82 to the reception unit IN1 and the reception unit IN2 of the first ground side communication unit 86. As a result, the ground side PLC95 grasps the state of the first belt conveyor unit 36. Further, the transmission unit OUT3 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to the reception unit IN3 of the first carriage side communication unit 82, or the transmission unit OUT4 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to the reception unit 82 of the first carriage side communication unit 82. Information is transmitted to IN4. At the same time, information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT5 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to each of the transmission units OUT8, and from the reception unit IN5 of the first carriage side communication unit 82 to each of the reception units IN8. As a result, the rotation direction of the servomotor 46 of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the lower 4-bit data of the sorting destination of the goods to be loaded are acquired.

As shown in FIG. 9 (b), when the transport carriage 15 continues to travel in the T direction in FIG. 9 (b) and the first carriage side communication unit 82 and the second ground side communication unit 87 face each other, the second Information is transmitted from the transmitting unit OUT5 of the ground-side communication unit 87 to each of the transmitting units OUT8, and from the receiving unit IN5 of the first carriage-side communication unit 82 to each of the receiving units IN8. As a result, the upper 4-bit data of the sorting destination of the goods to be input is acquired.

After that, the carriage side PLC93 stores 8-bit data in which the obtained upper 4-bit data and lower 4-bit data are combined as sorting position information. As a result, only the first belt conveyor unit 36 travels in a predetermined direction, and the article transferred from the charging conveyor 90 or the charging conveyor 91 is placed on the first belt conveyor unit 36.

The articles placed on the first belt conveyor unit 36 are delivered to a predetermined sorting conveyor (not shown) based on the sorting position information stored in the carriage side PLC93.

FIG. 10 shows information on the second trolley side communication unit 84 and the first ground side communication unit 86 and the second ground side communication unit 87 when the goods are loaded into the second belt conveyor unit 37 of the transport trolley 15. It is a schematic diagram which shows the transmission of.

As shown in FIG. 10A, when the transport carriage 15 travels in the T direction in FIG. 10A and the second carriage side communication unit 84 and the first ground side communication unit 86 face each other, the second carriage Information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT1 and the transmission unit OUT2 of the side communication unit 84 to the reception unit IN1 and the reception unit IN2 of the first ground side communication unit 86. As a result, the state of the second belt conveyor unit 37 is grasped by the ground side PLC95. Further, the transmission unit OUT3 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to the reception unit IN3 of the second carriage side communication unit 84, or the transmission unit OUT4 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to the reception unit 84 of the second carriage side communication unit 84. Information is transmitted to IN4. At the same time, information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT5 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to each of the transmission units OUT8, and from the reception unit IN5 of the second carriage side communication unit 84 to each of the reception units IN8. As a result, the rotation direction of the servomotor 46 of the second belt conveyor unit 37 and the lower 4-bit data of the sorting destination of the goods to be loaded are acquired.

As shown in FIG. 10 (b), when the transport carriage 15 continues to travel in the T direction in FIG. 10 (b) and the second carriage side communication unit 84 and the second ground side communication unit 87 face each other, the second Information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT5 of the ground-side communication unit 87 to each of the transmission units OUT8, and from the reception unit IN5 of the second carriage side communication unit 84 to each of the reception units IN8. As a result, the upper 4-bit data of the sorting destination of the goods to be input is acquired.

As a result, on the carriage side PLC93, only the second belt conveyor unit 37 travels in a predetermined direction, and the article transferred from the charging conveyor 90 or the charging conveyor 91 is placed on the second belt conveyor unit 37.

The articles placed on the second belt conveyor unit 37 are delivered to a predetermined sorting conveyor (not shown) based on the sorting position information stored in the carriage side PLC93.

Next, the flow of control on the carriage-side PLC 93 when one article is loaded across each of the two belt conveyor units 36 and 37 provided on the transport carriage 15 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Step S301 is a process of determining whether or not the servo amplifier corresponding to the first belt conveyor unit is normal. The carriage-side PLC 93 communicates with the servo amplifier 52 corresponding to the first belt conveyor unit 36, and determines whether or not the servo amplifier 52 is functioning normally. When the carriage side PLC93 determines that the servo amplifier 52 is functioning normally, the result of the determination process in step S301 is Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S302. On the other hand, when the carriage side PLC93 determines that the servo amplifier 52 is not functioning normally, the result of the determination process in step S301 is No. In this case, the process proceeds to step S303.

Step S302 is a process of turning on the transmission unit OUT2 of the first carriage side communication unit. The carriage-side PLC93 causes the photodiode provided in the transmission unit OUT2 of the first carriage-side communication unit 82 to emit light.

Step S303 is a process of turning off the transmission unit OUT2 of the first carriage side communication unit. The carriage-side PLC93 is in a state in which the photodiode provided in the transmission unit OUT2 of the first carriage-side communication unit 82 is turned off without emitting light.

Step S304 is a process of determining whether or not there is a load. The carriage-side PLC93 determines whether or not an article is placed on the first belt conveyor unit 36 (whether or not there is a load) based on the drive history of the first belt conveyor unit 36. When the carriage side PLC93 determines that the article is placed on the first belt conveyor unit 36, the determination result in step S304 is Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S305. On the other hand, when the carriage side PLC93 determines that the article is placed on the first belt conveyor unit 36, the determination result in step S304 is No. In this case, the process proceeds to step S306.

Step S305 is a process of turning on the transmission unit OUT1 of the first carriage side communication unit. The carriage-side PLC93 causes the photodiode provided in the transmission unit OUT1 of the first carriage-side communication unit 82 to emit light.

Step S306 is a process of turning off the transmission unit OUT1 of the first carriage side communication unit. The carriage-side PLC93 is in a state in which the photodiode provided in the transmission unit OUT1 of the first carriage-side communication unit 82 is turned off without emitting light.

Step S307 is a process of determining whether or not the servo amplifier corresponding to the second belt conveyor unit is normal. The carriage-side PLC 93 communicates with the servo amplifier 52 corresponding to the second belt conveyor unit 37, and determines whether or not the servo amplifier 52 is functioning normally. When the carriage side PLC93 determines that the servo amplifier 52 is functioning normally, the result of the determination process in step S307 is Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S308. On the other hand, when the carriage side PLC93 determines that the servo amplifier 52 is not functioning normally, the result of the determination process in step S307 is No. In this case, the process proceeds to step S309.

Step S308 is a process of turning on the transmission unit OUT2 of the second carriage side communication unit. The carriage-side PLC93 causes the photodiode provided in the transmission unit OUT2 of the second carriage-side communication unit 84 to emit light.

Step S309 is a process of turning off the transmission unit OUT2 of the second carriage side communication unit. The carriage-side PLC93 is in a state in which the photodiode provided in the transmission unit OUT2 of the second carriage-side communication unit 84 is turned off without emitting light.

Step S310 is a process of determining whether or not there is a load. The carriage-side PLC93 determines whether or not an article is placed on the second belt conveyor unit 37 (whether or not there is a load) based on the drive history of the second belt conveyor unit 37. When the carriage side PLC93 determines that the article is placed on the second belt conveyor unit 37, the determination result in step S310 is Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S311. On the other hand, when the carriage side PLC93 determines that the article is placed on the second belt conveyor unit 37, the determination result in step S310 is No. In this case, the process proceeds to step S312.

Step S311 is a process of turning on the transmission unit OUT1 of the second carriage side communication unit. The carriage-side PLC93 causes the photodiode provided in the transmission unit OUT1 of the second carriage-side communication unit 84 to emit light.

Step S312 is a process of turning off the transmission unit OUT1 of the second carriage side communication unit. The carriage-side PLC93 is in a state in which the photodiode provided in the transmission unit OUT1 of the second carriage-side communication unit 84 is turned off without emitting light.

Step S313 is a process of determining whether or not reception is received by the receiving unit IN3 or the receiving unit IN4 of the first carriage side communication unit. When the reception unit IN3 or the reception unit IN4 of the first carriage side communication unit 82 receives the signal, the carriage side PLC93 sets the determination result in step S313 to Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S314. The carriage-side PLC 93 stores the rotation direction of the servomotor 46 of the first belt conveyor unit 36 based on the reception result of the reception unit IN3 or the reception unit IN4 of the first carriage-side communication unit 82.

On the other hand, when the reception unit IN3 or the reception unit IN4 of the trolley side communication unit has not received the signal, the trolley side PLC93 sets the determination result in step S313 to No. In this case, the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 11 ends.

Step S314 is a process of determining whether or not the signal has been received by the receiving unit IN3 or the receiving unit IN4 of the second carriage side communication unit. When the signal is received by the receiving unit IN3 or the receiving unit IN4 of the second carriage side communication unit 84, the carriage side PLC93 sets the determination result in step S313 to Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S315. The carriage-side PLC 93 stores the rotation direction of the servomotor 46 of the second belt conveyor unit 37 based on the reception result of the reception unit IN3 or the reception unit IN4 of the second carriage-side communication unit 84.

On the other hand, when the reception unit IN3 or the reception unit IN4 of the second carriage side communication unit 84 has not received the signal, the carriage side PLC93 sets the determination result in step S314 to No. In this case, the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 11 ends.

Step S315 is a process of receiving information on the sorting position from the first ground side communication unit in the second carriage side communication unit. The receiving units used when the second carriage side communication unit 84 receives the position information are four receiving units IN5, IN6, IN7, and IN8. These receiving units receive the lower 4-bit data of the 8-bit data indicating the sorting position from the first ground-side communication unit 86. The received lower 4-bit data is output to the carriage side PLC93.

Step S316 is a process of receiving information on the sorting position from the second ground side communication unit in the second carriage side communication unit. The receiving units IN5, IN6, IN7, IN8 of the second carriage side communication unit 84 receive the upper 4 bit data from the 8 bit data indicating the sorting position from the second ground side communication unit 87. The received upper 4-bit data is output to the carriage side PLC93. The trolley side PLC93 stores 8-bit data in which the obtained upper 4-bit data and lower 4-bit data are combined as sorting position information. That is, since the information of the sorting position obtained from each of the first ground-side communication unit 86 and the second ground side communication unit 87 is in each 2 ^{4 =} 16 types information, by the 8-bit data, a total of 16 × 16 = 256 types of information can be obtained.

Step S317 is a process of instructing the driving of the servomotor. The control of the carriage side PLC93 instructs each of the servo amplifiers 52 corresponding to the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 to drive the servo motor 46. At this time, the carriage side PLC93 transmits the information on the rotation direction of the servomotor 46 stored in step S107 to each of the servo amplifier 52 of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37. As a result, the servomotors 46 of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 are driven, and each of the endless belts 44 of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 is transferred. Travel according to the transfer direction of the goods.

Next, the flow of control on the ground side PLC 95 when the article is loaded across each of the two belt conveyor units 36 and 37 provided on the transport carriage 15 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Step S401 is a process of receiving by the receiving unit IN1 and the receiving unit IN2 of the second ground side communication unit. As described above, the trolley side PLC93 uses the transmission unit OUT1 of the first trolley side communication unit 82 to send information on whether or not the servo amplifier 52 is normal to the transmission unit OUT2 of the first trolley side communication unit 82. Information on whether or not there is a cargo is transmitted by using each. Therefore, the receiving unit IN1 of the second ground-side communication unit 87 provides information on whether or not the servo amplifier 52 is normal, and the receiving unit IN2 of the second ground-side communication unit 87 provides information on whether or not the servo amplifier 52 is loaded. Are received respectively.

Step S402 is a process of receiving by the receiving unit IN1 and the receiving unit IN2 of the first ground side communication unit. As described above, the carriage side PLC93 uses the transmission unit OUT1 of the second carriage side communication unit 84 to send information on whether or not the servo amplifier 52 is normal, and the transmission unit OUT2 of the second carriage side communication unit 84. Information on whether or not there is a cargo is transmitted by using each. Therefore, the receiving unit IN1 of the first ground-side communication unit 86 provides information on whether or not the servo amplifier 52 is normal, and the receiving unit IN2 of the first ground-side communication unit 86 provides information on whether or not the servo amplifier 52 is loaded. Are received respectively.

Step S403 is a process of confirming the received information. From the information received by the receiving unit IN1 and the receiving unit IN2 of the second ground-side communication unit 87, the ground-side PLC95 determines whether or not the servo amplifier 52 corresponding to the first belt conveyor unit 36 is normal, and the first. It is confirmed whether or not the article is loaded in the belt conveyor unit 36. At the same time, the ground-side PLC95 determines whether or not the servo amplifier 52 corresponding to the second belt conveyor unit 37 is normal based on the information received by the receiving unit IN1 and the receiving unit IN2 of the first ground-side communication unit 86. It is confirmed whether or not an article is loaded in the second belt conveyor unit 37. As a result, the ground side PLC95 can confirm the operating status of the belt conveyor unit of the transport carriage 15.

Step S404 is a process of determining whether or not to load the article. The ground-side PLC95 determines whether or not to load the article from the information obtained from the carriage-side PLC93 and the information of the article to be loaded. The information on the goods to be input is information on the size of the goods.

For example, from the information obtained from the carriage side PLC93, the servo amplifier 52 corresponding to each of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 is normal, and the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt When no article is loaded in each of the conveyor units 37, the above-ground side PLC95 refers to the information of the article to be loaded, and the size of the article is the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit. It is determined whether or not the size can be loaded across 37. When the size of the article is a size that can be loaded across the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37, the ground side PLC95 determines that the article is loaded. In this case, the result of the determination process in step S404 is Yes, and the process proceeds to step S405.

On the other hand, if the size of the article is not a size that can be loaded across the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37, the ground side PLC95 determines that the article has not been loaded. The result of the determination process in step S404 is No. In this case, the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 12 ends. Further, from the information obtained from the carriage side PLC93, the servo amplifiers corresponding to each of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 are normal, but the first belt conveyor unit 36 or the second belt conveyor unit 36 is normal. If an article is loaded in at least one of 37, or if either the first belt conveyor unit 36 or the servo amplifier 52 corresponding to the second belt conveyor unit 37 is not normal, the article to be loaded. Regardless of the result of determining the information of, the trolley side PLC93 determines that no article is put in. That is, even in these cases, the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 12 ends.

Step S405 is a process of determining whether or not the rotation of the servomotor at the time of loading the article is forward rotation. The rotation of the servomotor 46 is determined according to the transfer direction of the goods to be loaded. For example, when each of the servomotors 46 of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 is rotated in the forward direction when the article is loaded, the ground side PLC95 sets the result of the determination process in step S405 to Yes. In this case, the process proceeds to step S406. On the other hand, when each of the servomotors 46 of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 is rotated in the reverse direction at the time of loading the article, the ground side PLC95 sets the result of the determination process in step S405 to No. In this case, the process proceeds to step S408.

Step S406 is a process of turning on the transmission unit OUT3 of the first ground-side communication unit. The ground side PLC95 lights the photodiode included in the transmission unit OUT3 of the first ground side communication unit 86.

Step S407 is a process of turning on the transmission unit OUT3 of the second ground side communication unit. The ground side PLC95 lights the photodiode included in the transmission unit OUT3 of the second ground side communication unit 87. When the process of step S407 is completed, the process proceeds to step S410.

If the determination result in step S405 is No, that is, if each of the servomotors 46 of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 is rotated in the reverse direction at the time of loading the article, the process proceeds to step S408.

Step S408 is a process of turning on the transmission unit OUT4 of the first ground side communication unit 86. The ground-side PLC95 lights a photodiode included in the transmission unit OUT4 of the first ground-side communication unit 86.

Step S409 is a process of turning on the transmission unit OUT4 of the second ground side communication unit 87. The ground-side PLC95 lights a photodiode included in the transmission unit OUT4 of the second ground-side communication unit 87. When the process of step S409 is completed, the process proceeds to step S410.

Step S410 is a process of transmitting the sorting position by using the transmission unit OUT5, the transmission unit OUT6, the transmission unit OUT7, and the transmission unit OUT8 of the first ground side communication unit 86. The information indicating the sorting position of the ground side PLC95 is 8-bit data. Therefore, the ground side PLC95 uses the transmission unit OUT5, the transmission unit OUT6, the transmission unit OUT7, and the transmission unit OUT8 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to transmit the lower 4 bit data of the 8-bit data indicating the sorting position. To do.

Step S411 is a process of transmitting the sorting position by using the transmission unit OUT5, the transmission unit OUT6, the transmission unit OUT7, and the transmission unit OUT8 of the second ground side communication unit 87. The ground-side PLC95 uses the transmission unit OUT5, the transmission unit OUT6, the transmission unit OUT7, and the transmission unit OUT8 of the second ground-side communication unit 87 to transmit the upper 4-bit data among the 8-bit data indicating the sorting position.

Step S412 is a process of instructing the drive of the input conveyor. The ground side PLC95 transmits a drive signal to the input conveyor that transfers the article. In response to this, either the charging conveyor 90 or the charging conveyor 91 that transfers the article is driven to transfer the article.

FIG. 13 shows information on the information between the first trolley side communication unit 82 and the ground side communication unit when the article is loaded across each of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 of the transport trolley 15. It is a schematic diagram which shows the transmission.

As shown in FIG. 13A, when the transport carriage 15 travels in the T direction in FIG. 13A, the first carriage side communication unit 82 faces the second ground side communication unit 87, and the second carriage The side communication unit 84 faces the first ground side communication unit 86. At this time, information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT1 and the transmission unit OUT2 of the first carriage side communication unit 82 to the reception unit IN1 and the reception unit IN2 of the second ground side communication unit 87. As a result, the ground side PLC95 grasps the state of the first belt conveyor unit 36.

At the same time, information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT1 and the transmission unit OUT2 of the second carriage side communication unit 84 to the reception unit IN1 and the reception unit IN2 of the first ground side communication unit 86. As a result, the state of the second belt conveyor unit 37 is grasped by the ground side PLC95.

Further, the transmission unit OUT3 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to the reception unit IN3 of the second carriage side communication unit 84, or the transmission unit OUT4 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to the reception unit 84 of the second carriage side communication unit 84. Information is transmitted to IN4. From the transmitting unit OUT3 of the second ground side communication unit 87 to the receiving unit IN3 of the first trolley side communication unit 82, or from the transmitting unit OUT4 of the second ground side communication unit 87 to the receiving unit IN4 of the first trolley side communication unit 82. Information is sent. As a result, the rotation direction of the servomotor 46 included in the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the rotation direction of the servomotor 46 included in the second belt conveyor unit 37 are acquired.

At the same time, information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT5 of the first ground side communication unit 86 to each of the transmission units OUT8, and from the reception unit IN5 of the second carriage side communication unit 84 to each of the reception units IN8. As a result, the lower 4-bit data of the sorting destination of the goods to be input is acquired.

As shown in FIG. 13 (b), when the transport carriage travels in the T direction in FIG. 13 (b) and the second carriage side communication unit 84 and the second ground side communication unit 87 face each other, the second ground side Information is transmitted from the transmission unit OUT5 of the communication unit 87 to each of the transmission units OUT8, and from the reception unit IN5 of the second carriage side communication unit 84 to each of the reception units IN8. As a result, the upper 4-bit data of the sorting destination of the goods to be input is acquired.

As a result, on the carriage side PLC93, the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 are simultaneously driven, and the articles transferred from the charging conveyor 90 or the charging conveyor 91 are moved from the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 36 and the second. It is loaded across each of the belt conveyor units 37.

The articles loaded across each of the first belt conveyor unit 36 and the second belt conveyor unit 37 are a predetermined sorting conveyor (not shown) based on the sorting position information stored in the carriage side PLC93. Will be paid out to.

In this way, communication between the trolley side PLC and the ground side PLC is performed to determine whether or not to load the goods, and the sorting destination of the goods loaded by the trolley side PLC is stored and managed. , It is possible to improve the sorting ability of articles and at the same time improve the transport efficiency of articles. Further, by collectively managing the sorting destinations of the goods put into the transport carriage by the PLC on the carriage side, it is possible to omit the configuration of the control device provided on the ground side and the detection means for detecting the transport carriage.

10 ... Sorting conveyor, 15 ... Transport trolley, 36 ... 1st belt conveyor unit, 37 ... 2nd belt conveyor unit, 46 ... Servo motor, 52 ... Servo amplifier, 82 ... 1st trolley side communication unit, 84 ... 2nd trolley Side communication unit, 86 ... 1st ground side communication unit, 87 ... 2nd ground side communication unit, 90, 91 ... input conveyor, 93 ... trolley side PLC, 95 ... ground side PLC

Claims (6)

In a sorting system in which at least two cross sorter conveyors whose transport direction is orthogonal to the travel direction are connected to a plurality of transport carts arranged side by side in the travel direction, the conveyed objects are conveyed along the transfer route.
A carriage-side communication unit provided on the side of the transport carriage and along the traveling direction corresponding to each of the at least two cross sorter conveyors.
The same number of transmission / reception units as the transmission / reception units of the trolley-side communication unit are provided on the ground side near the input conveyor located on the side of the transfer route, and the trolley-side communication unit provided on the side of the transfer trolley. A terrestrial communication unit that allows each of the transmission / reception units to face each other at the same time.
A ground-side management device that is connected to the ground-side communication unit and manages information transmitted and received by the ground-side communication unit.
Have,
The trolley-side communication unit corresponds to a part of the transmission / reception unit of the ground-side communication unit located on the upstream side of the ground-side communication units provided on the transfer route when the transport trolley is traveling. Information indicating the operating status of the upstream side cross sorter conveyor of the cross sorter conveyor is assigned and transmitted, and a part of the transmission / reception part of the ground side communication unit located on the upstream side is of the corresponding two cross sorter conveyors. Allocate and transmit information indicating the operating status of the downstream cross sorter conveyor,
The ground-side communication unit divides the position information indicating the sorting destination of the transported object to be input to the upstream-side cross-sorter conveyor of the two corresponding cross-sorter conveyors by a predetermined number of bits, and divides the upstream-side division position information. From the ground-side communication unit located on the upstream side to the trolley-side communication unit located on the upstream side, and from the ground-side communication unit located on the downstream side to the trolley-side communication unit located on the upstream side. The ground side communication unit transmits position information indicating the sorting destination of the transported object to be input to the downstream cross sorter conveyor of the two corresponding cross sorter conveyors by a predetermined number of bits, which is transmitted at each face-to-face timing. The divided downstream side division position information is located on the downstream side from the ground side communication unit located on the downstream side with respect to the trolley side communication unit located on the downstream side from the ground side communication unit located on the upstream side. A sorting system characterized by transmitting to the communication unit on the trolley side in order at each face-to-face timing. In a sorting system in which at least two cross sorter conveyors whose transport direction is orthogonal to the travel direction are connected to a plurality of transport carts arranged side by side in the travel direction, the conveyed objects are conveyed along the transfer route.
A carriage-side communication unit provided on the side of the transport carriage and along the traveling direction corresponding to each of the at least two cross sorter conveyors.
The same number of transmission / reception units as the transmission / reception units of the trolley-side communication unit are provided on the ground side near the input conveyor located on the side of the transfer route, and the trolley-side communication unit provided on the side of the transfer trolley. A terrestrial communication unit that allows each of the transmission / reception units to face each other at the same time.
A ground-side management device that is connected to the ground-side communication unit and manages information transmitted and received by the ground-side communication unit.
Have,
When moving multiple cross sorter conveyors at the same time and loading and unloading the transported items placed across multiple cross sorter conveyors.
The trolley-side communication unit corresponds to a part of the transmission / reception unit of the ground-side communication unit located on the upstream side of the ground-side communication units provided on the transfer route when the transport trolley is traveling. Information indicating the operating status of the upstream side cross sorter conveyor of the cross sorter conveyor is assigned and transmitted, and a part of the transmission / reception part of the ground side communication unit located on the downstream side is of the corresponding two cross sorter conveyors. Allocate and transmit information indicating the operating status of the downstream cross sorter conveyor,
The ground-side communication unit divides the position information indicating the sorting destination of the transported object to be put into the downstream-side cross-sorter conveyor of the two corresponding cross-sorter conveyors by a predetermined number of bits, and divides the downstream-side division position information. From the ground-side communication unit located on the upstream side to the trolley-side communication unit located on the upstream side, and from the ground-side communication unit located on the downstream side to the trolley-side communication unit located on the upstream side. A sorting system characterized by transmitting at each face-to-face timing. In the sorting system according to claim 1 or 2.
One of the transport trolleys included in each group in which a plurality of the transport trolleys traveling on the transport route are grouped according to a predetermined number is provided with a management device for managing the operating status of the transport trolleys in the same group.
The management device restores a plurality of divided position information received by the carriage side communication unit as the position information to obtain upstream position information and downstream position information, and combines them with a predetermined number of address information for each of the transport carriages. A sorting system characterized in that it manages the sorting destinations of the transported objects to be loaded into each of the at least two cross sorter conveyors provided on the transport carriages in the same group by performing a memory calculation. In the sorting system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The ground-side communication unit and the trolley-side communication unit can transmit and receive 8-bit data.
The ground-side communication unit is a sorting system characterized in that a part of the 8-bit data is transmitted to the trolley-side communication unit as divided position information. In the sorting system according to claim 4,
The trolley-side communication unit uses the information indicating the operation status and the position information as a total of 8-bit data, and transmits information indicating the operation status of the corresponding cross sorter conveyor to the ground-side communication unit.
Among the ground-side communication units, the ground-side communication unit located on the upstream side uses a part of the bit data of the 8-bit data to drive the cross sorter conveyor when the conveyed object is loaded. A sorting system characterized in that information indicating the above is transmitted to the trolley side communication unit. In the sorting system according to claim 4,
When the transported object is loaded across at least two cross sorter conveyors of the transport carriage, each of the ground-side communication units provided on the transfer route is connected to each of the ground-side communication units of the transport carriage. , Information indicating the driving method of the cross sorter conveyor at the time of loading the transported object is simultaneously transmitted.
The ground-side communication unit located upstream of the ground-side communication unit transmits the divided position information to the carriage-side communication unit corresponding to the upstream cross sorter conveyor among the carriage-side communication units. Sorting system.

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