JP7156740B1 - Sorting conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to prevent damage to an article to be conveyed and to smoothly convey the article. A conveyor chain (12), which is an endless traveling member, a plurality of transfer arms (13) arranged along the traveling direction of the conveyor chain, and a transfer arm (13) fixed to the conveyor chain between a transfer posture and a tilted posture. A holder 14 that is rotatably held, an engaging hook 20 that is swingably attached to the holder 14 and engages the transfer arm in the transfer posture, and a transfer arm 13 that rotates from the transfer posture to the tilted posture. and a tilting mechanism 15 . The tilting mechanism 15 includes an actuating lever 26 that can swing vertically. The actuating lever 26 has a sideways substrate portion 26a extending in a direction intersecting the running direction and an upstream end portion from one end of the substrate portion 26a. It has a protruding portion 26b formed thereon, and an abutting piece portion 26c that contacts the engaging hook 20 formed at one end of the substrate portion 26a and the protruding portion 26b. [Selection drawing] Fig. 1

Description

In the present invention, a conveyor chain, which is an endless member, is fixed to a plurality of holders arranged side by side in the direction of travel of the conveyor chain. The present invention relates to a sorting conveyor in which a transport arm carrying articles is tilted by a tilting mechanism, and the articles are sorted according to standards such as size and weight.

Conventionally, as a conveyor for conveying articles, a sorting conveyor has been proposed that can sort articles to be conveyed according to standards such as size and weight and send them out (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

This sorting conveyor, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, has a conveyor chain 52 running along a guide rail 51 fixed to a frame 50, and a holder fixed to one side of the conveyor chain 52. 53, a plurality of transfer arms 54 attached to the holder 53 so as to be vertically swingable, and a tilting mechanism that is fixed to the frame 50 on the other side of the conveyor chain 52 and tilts the transfer arms 54 downward. and a mechanism 55 .

The holder 53 has an engaging hook 56 attached so as to be vertically swingable, and the transport arm 54 is vertically swingable between a transport posture for transporting the article M and a tilted posture. . Further, the transport arm 54 is held in the transport posture when the engaging hook 56 is engaged, and is in the tilted posture when the engaging hook 56 is disengaged.

The tilting mechanism 55 includes a stand 57 attached to the frame 50 , an electromagnetic actuator 59 held by the stand 57 to move the pusher 58 downward, the other end supported by the stand 57 , and one end pushed down by the pusher 58 . and an actuating lever 60 .

As shown in FIG. 9, the actuating lever 60 of the tilting mechanism 55 is biased upward by a double torsion-shaped torsion coil spring 61, and has a downward abutment positioned above the engaging hook 56 of the holder 53 at one end thereof. It has a contact piece 60a.

When the pusher 58 is pushed down, the contact piece 60a is pushed down integrally with the operating lever 60, and the contact piece 60a abuts against the engaging hook 56. As shown in FIG. This abutment swings the engaging hook 56 downward, releases the engagement with the transfer arm 54 , and causes the transfer arm 54 to tilt.

Further, in order to reduce the load on the electromagnetic actuator 59, the operating lever 60 is formed with a hole-shaped relief portion 60b extending from one end to the contact piece portion 60a, thereby reducing the weight.

The contact piece 60a also has an upstream end 60c protruding upstream in the running direction of the conveyor chain 52 (hereinafter simply referred to as upstream), and a lower edge 60d of the end 60c extending upstream. The weight is reduced by forming a sharp point so as to incline upward.

JP 2012-046262 A

By the way, when a large number of articles M are placed on the conveying arm 54 in the conveying posture, the articles M placed on the conveying arm 54 may come into contact with other articles being conveyed. In some cases, the transfer arm 54 in a tilted posture disposed in the upper part of the holder 53 may be climbed over and dropped above the holder 53 (see the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 8).

At this time, there is a possibility that the sharp contact piece 60a contacts the article M that has fallen above the holder 53, and the surface of the article M is damaged. In addition, the end 60c of the contact piece 60a may bend toward the transport arm 54 due to contact with the article M, and the end 60c may come into contact with the transport arm 54 in the transport posture, making it impossible to transport the article. There is also

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a sorting conveyor capable of preventing damage to conveyed articles and smoothly conveying articles.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an endless traveling member, a plurality of transfer arms arranged along the traveling direction of the endless traveling member, fixed to the endless traveling member, and the conveying arm. a holder that holds an arm rotatably between a transport posture and a tilted posture; an engaging hook that is rotatably attached to the holder and engageable with the transport arm in the transport posture; a tilting mechanism for rotating the arm from the carrying posture to the tilting posture, the tilting mechanism having an actuating lever capable of swinging in the vertical direction, the actuating lever having the other end extending in the direction intersecting the traveling direction; a board portion made of a lateral plate-like member extending toward one end from the base portion; The hook is disengaged from the transfer arm when it hits the contact piece of the operating lever swinging downward, and the transfer arm is disengaged from the engagement hook. The abutting piece portion has an inclined portion that inclines upward toward the upstream side in the traveling direction of the endless traveling member, and the operation It is possible to employ a configuration in which an edge portion of the one end portion of the lever on the upstream side in the running direction is formed along a direction intersecting the running direction.

According to this configuration, the upstream edge in the traveling direction of the one end of the actuating lever is formed along the direction intersecting the traveling direction by the base portion forming the actuating lever. Since the contact piece is formed at one end of the base plate, the contact piece is not sharpened toward the upstream side in the traveling direction and is not bent toward the transport arm.

In the sorting conveyor of the present invention, since the abutting piece of the operating lever is formed at one end of the base plate, it does not sharpen toward the upstream side in the running direction and does not bend toward the conveying arm. Therefore, the articles can be smoothly conveyed without damaging the articles to be conveyed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The perspective view which shows the sorting conveyor of 1st embodiment which concerns on this invention. Longitudinal cross-sectional view of the same sorting conveyor The perspective view which shows the holder of a sorting conveyor The perspective view which shows the tilting mechanism of a sorting conveyor. Longitudinal sectional view showing the operation of the sorting conveyor The perspective view which shows the other form of the operation lever of the tilting mechanism of a sorting conveyor. (a) Perspective view showing the sorting conveyor of the second embodiment of this invention, (b) Perspective view showing the sorting conveyor of the third embodiment of this invention, (c) Of the fourth embodiment of this invention Perspective view showing a sorting conveyor Vertical cross-sectional view showing the operation of a conventional sorting conveyor Perspective view showing a tilting mechanism of a conventional sorting conveyor

A sorting conveyor according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this sorting conveyor includes conveyor chains 12, which are endless running members that run along guide rails 11 fixed to a frame 10, and a plurality of conveyor chains 12 arranged along the running direction. a carrier arm 13 fixed to the conveyor chain 12 and attached to the carrier chain 12 so that the carrier arm 13 can swing vertically between a carrying posture for placing an article and a tilting posture; and a tilting mechanism 15 for rotating the transport arm 13 from the transport posture to the tilting posture.

The frame 10 has a driving sprocket and a driven sprocket (not shown) installed on both sides, and a pair of guide rails 11 fixed to the upper and lower parts, respectively. The pair of guide rails 11, 11 are long resin moldings, and are fixed to the upper and lower portions of the frame 10 so as to face each other.

The conveyor chain 12 is an endless chain, wound between the drive sprocket and the driven sprocket, and held movably between a pair of guide rails 11 fixed to the upper and lower portions of the frame 10. .

A plurality of holders 14 are mounted side by side in the running direction of the conveyor chain 12 (hereinafter simply referred to as the running direction) on a shaft 16 projecting from the pin of the conveyor chain 12 to one side.

3, two shafts 16 of the conveyor chain 12 extending from the outer plates of the conveyor chain 12 are inserted into the holder 14, and the ends of the shafts 16 are engaged with the shafts 16a. 16 is fixed.

The holder 14 is integrally formed with three brackets 17 arranged in the running direction on the end opposite to the conveyor chain 12 . The bracket 17 protrudes upward and away from the conveyor chain 12 with respect to the holder 14, and the conveying arm 13 is attached to the protruding end via a connecting pin 18 so as to be vertically swingable.

The bracket 17 has an engaging hook 20 attached to the base of the holder 14 via a connecting pin 19 so as to be vertically swingable. The engaging hook 20 has a bifurcated portion 20a formed at one end, a lever portion 20b formed at the other end, and a hook portion 20c formed above the lever portion 20b.

The bifurcated portion 20 a of the engaging hook 20 sandwiches the base portion of the bracket 17 and the connecting pin 19 passes through the base portion of the bracket 17 and the lever portion 20 b protruding toward the conveyor chain 12 .

The hook portion 20c engages with a locking pin 13c of the transfer arm 13 in the transfer state, which will be described later. The lever portion 20b is arranged to protrude upward toward the conveyor chain 12, and has a horseshoe-shaped cross section with a curved upper portion. Further, the lever portion 20b is arranged at a position where the contact piece portion 26c of the operating lever 26 of the tilting mechanism 15, which will be described later, comes into contact with the contact piece portion 26c when the contact piece portion 26c moves downward.

The engaging hook 20 is centered on the connecting pin 19 in a state where the lever portion 20b is urged upward by a helical spring 21 attached to the connecting pin 19, and the tip portion of the bifurcated portion 20a presses the upper portion of the holder 14. (See arrow A in FIG. 5).

Further, the engaging hook 20 is disengaged from the transfer arm 13 in a state in which the contact piece 26c of the operating lever 26, which will be described later, abuts against the lever portion 20b.

As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying arm 13 includes a strip-shaped upper plate portion 13a extending in a direction away from the conveyor chain 12, a pair of side plate portions 13b protruding downward from both side edges of the upper plate portion 13a, and side plate portions 13a and 13b. and a locking pin 13c that spans between 13b.

The upper plate portion 13a has a valley shape gently sloping upward from the central portion in the longitudinal direction toward both ends. The pair of side plate portions 13b has the widest width in the vertical direction at the portion near the conveyor chain 12, and the width in the vertical direction is formed to be smaller toward both longitudinal ends of the upper plate portion 13a.

A connecting pin 18 penetrates each of the side plate portions 13b in such a manner that the protruding end portion of the bracket 17 is sandwiched between the lower portions near the conveyor chain 12, and the conveying arm 13 is attached to the bracket 17 so as to be vertically swingable (Fig. 5). (see arrow B).

The conveying arm 13 is urged by a helical spring 22 attached to the connecting pin 18 so that the tip portion of the upper plate portion 13a moves downward (a tilted posture).

The locking pin 13c is arranged closer to the conveyor chain 12 than the connecting pin 18 is. The hook portion 20c of the engaging hook 20 is engaged with the locking pin 13c in a posture (transportation posture) in which the upper plate portion 13a of the transport arm 13 faces upward. On the other hand, when the engaging pin 13c and the hook portion 20c of the engaging hook 20 are disengaged, the helical spring 22 rotates the transport arm 13 from the transport posture to the tilted posture.

That is, the conveying arm 13 has a conveying posture with respect to the bracket 17 of the holder 14, in which the hook portion 20c of the engaging hook 20 is engaged with the locking pin 13c, and a tilted posture in which the hook portion 20c is released. It is held between them so as to be able to swing vertically.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the tilting mechanism 15 includes a fixed stand 23 attached to the frame 10 , an electromagnetic actuator 25 held by the fixed stand 23 to move the pusher 24 downward, and the other end supported by the fixed stand 23 . and an operating lever 26 whose one end is pushed down by a pusher 24 .

The fixed stand 23 includes a rectangular back plate portion 23a positioned on the other side of the conveyor chain 12, a pair of side plate portions 23b, 23b projecting from both side edges of the back plate portion 23a toward the conveyor chain 12, and a back plate. and a pedestal 27 fixed to the portion 23a and on which the electromagnetic actuator 25 is mounted.

The pair of side plate portions 23b are formed integrally with the back plate portion 23a so as to face each other. A lower portion of each side plate portion 23b is bent outward in the opposite direction along the traveling direction, and the bent portion is fixed to the frame 10. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the base 27 includes a fixed plate portion 27a fixed to the back plate portion 23a of the fixed stand 23, a seat plate portion 27b formed perpendicular to the fixed plate portion 27a, and a seat plate portion. and a pair of bearing piece portions 27c extending downward from both side edges of the bearing 27b in the running direction.

A fixed plate portion 27a, a seat plate portion 27b, and a bearing piece portion 27c of the base 27 are integrally formed by bending a metal plate.

The fixed plate portion 27a is fixed to the back plate portion 23a of the fixed stand 23 so as to face the inner surface of the side plate portion 23b. The seat plate portion 27b is formed perpendicular to the fixed plate portion 27a from its lower edge toward the conveyor chain 12, and has a through hole 27d for the pusher 24. As shown in FIG.

Further, the electromagnetic actuator 25 is fixed to the seat plate portion 27b with the pusher 24 passing through the through hole 27d. Each bearing piece 27c is spanned by a shaft 28 at the end on the fixed plate portion 27a side, and an operating lever 26 and a coil spring 29 are attached to the shaft 28 .

The coil spring 29 is a double torsion-shaped torsion coil spring with both ends wound around the shaft 28, and urges the operating lever 26 upward.

The actuating lever 26 is formed of a metal plate, and has a substrate portion 26a made of a plate-like member, the other end of which is rotatably attached to the shaft 28, and a protruding portion 26b that protrudes upstream in the traveling direction from one end of the substrate portion 26a. and an abutting piece portion 26c made of a plate-like member extending from the edge of one end of the substrate portion 26a and the projecting portion 26b toward the lever portion 20b of the engaging hook 20. As shown in FIG.

The substrate portion 26a is formed of a rectangular plate-like member having a cylindrical portion at the other edge and extending along the direction crossing the running direction. The shaft 28 of the pedestal 27 is inserted through the cylindrical portion of the base plate portion 26a so that the base 27 can swing vertically around the shaft 28. As shown in FIG. The protruding portion 26b is made of a plate-like member, and is formed continuously and integrally with one end portion of the substrate portion 26a so that the surfaces thereof are flush with each other.

In addition, the protruding portion 26b is formed such that the edge on the upstream side in the running direction is linear along the direction orthogonal to the running direction. Therefore, the upstream edge in the running direction of the one end of the operating lever 26 is formed by the upstream edge in the running direction of the projecting portion 26b.

The edge of the projecting portion 26b on the upstream side in the traveling direction is parallel to the edge of the substrate portion 26a on the upstream side in the traveling direction. Further, the edge of the projecting portion 26b on the other end side is perpendicular to the edge of the substrate portion 26a on the upstream side in the running direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lower portion of the abutting piece 26c is located above the lever portion 20b of the engaging hook 20. As shown in FIG. An upward inclined portion 26d is formed in the lower portion of the contact piece portion 26c toward the upstream in the running direction (see FIG. 4).

The sorting conveyor according to the first embodiment of the present invention is constructed as described above, and conveying conveyors (not shown) for conveying sorted articles are separately installed at a plurality of locations along the running direction of the conveyor chain 12. there is

The transport conveyor is positioned below the transport arm 13 and transports the article M1 toward the tip of the transport arm 13 in a direction away from the conveyor chain 12 .

Articles M1 placed on the transport arm 13 in the transport posture of the sorting conveyor are transported as the conveyor chain 12 travels. Each article M1 is dropped onto a preselected conveyor among a plurality of conveyors, based on its standard.

For example, when an article is to be dropped onto a certain transport conveyor, the transport arm 13 on which the target article M1 is placed crosses the traveling direction of the conveyor chain 12 above the transport conveyor. At the timing when the article M1 on the transport arm 13 passes in front of the tilting mechanism 15, the electromagnetic actuator 25 moves the pusher 24 downward.

When the base portion 26a of the operating lever 26 is pushed down by the pusher 24 moving downward, the projecting portion 26b and the contact piece portion 26c move downward. The inclined portion 26d formed on the contact piece portion 26c sequentially pushes down the lever portions 20b of the plurality of engaging hooks 20 from the downstream side in the traveling direction. Therefore, the lever portion 20b of the engaging hook 20 does not hit the contact piece portion 26c, and the transfer arm 13 can be smoothly swung to the tilted posture.

When the lever portion 20b of the engaging hook 20 is pushed down, the engaging hook 20 swings about the connecting pin 19 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. get off. The transport arm 13 is tilted by the helical spring 22, and the article M1 drops from the transport arm 13 and is transported by the transport conveyor.

After that, the transport arm 13 in the tilted posture moves together with the conveyor chain 12 . Subsequently, a well-known restoring member (not shown) attached to the upstream end of the frame 10 restores the conveying posture.

This sorting conveyor is as described above, and as shown in FIGS. A portion 26c is formed.

The contact piece portion 26c formed in this manner does not sharpen in the upstream direction in the running direction. Since the article that has fallen above the holder 14 is received by the edge on the upstream side of the projecting portion 26b, the surface of the article is less likely to be damaged.

In addition, the upstream end of the abutment piece 26c does not bend due to contact with the article, and the upstream end is prevented from coming into contact with the transport arm in the transport posture.

One end of the actuating lever 26 of the sorting conveyor has an upstream edge in the running direction, that is, an upstream edge in the running direction of the projecting portion 26b is formed along a direction perpendicular to the running direction. It is not necessary, and may be formed along the direction intersecting the running direction.

In addition, since the load on the electromagnetic actuator 25 is reduced, the weight of the operating lever 26 can be reduced. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the actuating lever 26 can be formed with a hole-shaped relief portion 26e extending from one end of the base plate portion 26a to the contact piece portion 26c.

Next, FIG. 7(a) shows a sorting conveyor according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, in the operating lever 26 of the tilting mechanism 15, the contact piece portion 26c is formed only at one end portion of the substrate portion 26a and is not formed at one end portion of the projecting portion 26b. is different from the embodiment of Other configurations are the same as in the case of the first embodiment.

That is, the contact piece portion 26c is positioned such that the upstream end portion of the inclined portion 26d in the running direction is located in the middle of the one end portion of the operating lever 26 in the running direction. At one end of the base plate portion 26a, the protruding portion 26b protrudes upstream in the running direction from the upstream end portion of the inclined portion 26d in the running direction.

The edge of the projecting portion 26b on the upstream side in the running direction is formed in a straight line along the direction intersecting the running direction, and the edge portion on the upstream side in the running direction at one end of the operating lever 26 extends along the running direction of the projecting portion 26b. It is constituted by the upstream edge.

As in the case of the first embodiment, the contact piece 26c in this embodiment does not sharpen in the upstream direction in the traveling direction, and the end on the upstream side does not bend due to contact with an article.

A sorting conveyor according to a third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 7(b). In this embodiment, the actuating lever 26 of the tilting mechanism 15 has a downward tip piece 26f made of a plate-like member formed along a direction intersecting the traveling direction of the protrusion 26b. is different from the embodiment of Other configurations are the same as in the case of the first embodiment.

The tip piece portion 26f has a vertical width that is smaller than the vertical width of the downstream end portion of the contact piece portion 26c in the running direction. One ends of the inclined portion 26d and the tip piece portion 26f are continuously inclined upward toward the upstream side in the traveling direction without a step.

As a result, the edge portion of the one end portion of the operating lever 26 on the upstream side in the running direction is formed by the plate surface facing the upstream side in the running direction of the tip piece portion 26f. Then, the conveying arm 13 can be smoothly swung to the tilted posture without the lever portion 20b of the engaging hook 20 coming into contact with the contact piece portion 26c and the tip piece portion 26f.

As in the case of the first embodiment, the contact piece 26c in this embodiment does not sharpen in the upstream direction in the traveling direction, and the end on the upstream side does not bend due to contact with an article.

In addition, the article that has fallen above the holder 14 can be received by the plate surface of the tip piece 26f facing upstream in the running direction. Therefore, compared with the case of the first embodiment, the article surface is more effectively less likely to be damaged.

A sorting conveyor according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 7(c). This embodiment differs from the above-described first embodiment in that the operating lever 26 of the tilting mechanism 15 does not have a projecting portion 26b formed on the substrate portion 26a. Other configurations are the same as in the case of the first embodiment.

That is, the substrate portion 26a is formed of a plate-like member extending along the direction intersecting the running direction. For this reason, the upstream edge in the running direction of one end of the operating lever 26 is composed of the upstream edge in the running direction of one end of the base plate portion 26a, and is formed along the direction intersecting the running direction.

The contact piece portion 26c is formed with an inclined portion 26d that is inclined upward toward the upstream side in the traveling direction from a midway position in the traveling direction. As a result, the lever portion 20b of the engaging hook 20 does not abut against the contact piece portion 26c, and the transfer arm 13 can be smoothly swung to the tilted posture.

As in the case of the first embodiment, the contact piece 26c in this embodiment does not sharpen in the upstream direction in the traveling direction, and the end on the upstream side does not bend due to contact with an article.

10 Frame 11 Guide Rail 12 Conveyor Chain 13 Transfer Arm 13a Upper Plate 13b Side Plate 13c Locking Pin 14 Holder 15 Tilting Mechanism 16 Shaft 16a Stopper 17 Bracket 18 Connecting Pin 19 Connecting Pin 20 Engaging Hook 20a Forked Portion 20b Lever Portion 20c Hook portion 21 Helical spring 22 Helical spring 23 Fixed stand 23a Back plate portion 23b Side plate portion 24 Pusher 25 Electromagnetic actuator 26 Actuating lever 26a Base plate portion 26b Protruding portion 26c Contact piece portion 26d Inclined portion 26e Stealing portion 26f Tip piece Part 27 Pedestal 27a Fixed plate portion 27b Seat plate portion 27c Bearing piece portion 27d Through hole 28 Shaft 29 Coil spring 50 Frame 51 Guide rail 52 Conveyor chain 53 Holder 54 Transfer arm 55 Tilting mechanism 56 Engaging hook 57 Stand 58 Pusher 59 Electromagnetic actuator 60 actuating lever 60a abutting piece 60b recessed portion 60c end 60d lower edge 61 torsion coil springs M, M1 article

Claims (2)

an endless traveling member (12); a plurality of transport arms (13) arranged along the traveling direction of the endless traveling member (12); (13) rotatably held between a transport posture and a tilted posture; An engaging hook (20) that can be engaged, and a tilting mechanism (15) that rotates the transfer arm (13) from the transfer posture to the tilted posture,
The tilting mechanism (15) includes an actuating lever (26) that can swing vertically,
The actuating lever (26) includes a substrate portion (26a) formed of a lateral plate-shaped member extending from the other end toward one end in a direction intersecting the running direction, and one end portion of the substrate portion (26a). provided in the running direction upstream side of the projecting portion (26b) and the substrate portion (26a) , or a downward edge of one end of the substrate portion (26a) and the projecting portion (26b) and a contact piece (26c) made of a plate-shaped member that protrudes from the engaging hook (20) and contacts the engaging hook (20),
The engaging hook (20) is disengaged from the transfer arm (13) in a state of contact with the contact piece (26c) of the operating lever (26) swinging downward, The transport arm (13) rotates from a transport posture to a tilted posture in a state in which engagement with the engaging hook (20) is released,
The contact piece (26c) has an inclined portion (26d) inclined upward toward the upstream side in the traveling direction of the endless traveling member (12), and the protrusion (26b) is inclined upstream in the traveling direction. A sorting conveyor in which side edges are formed along a direction orthogonal to the running direction. The projecting portion (26b) has a downward tip piece (26f) made of a plate-shaped member at the edge on the upstream side in the running direction, and the tip piece (26f) intersects the running direction. 2. The edge portion of the protruding portion (26b) on the upstream side in the traveling direction is composed of a plate surface facing the upstream side in the traveling direction of the tip piece portion (26f). sorting conveyor.

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