JP7380511B2 - Goods conveyance equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to article conveyance equipment that conveys articles for each article group containing at least one article.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-32020 discloses a conveying device (1) equipped with an accumulating conveyor (2) and a merging line (3) (in the background art, the numbers in parentheses refer to the documents referred to). ). The accumulation conveyor (2) is a linear belt conveyor that conveys the articles (W) in a horizontal conveyance direction. Further, a plurality of merging lines (3) are arranged along the conveyance direction of the accumulating conveyor (2) so as to intersect at a substantially right angle from one side of the accumulating conveyor (2). The articles (W) are supplied from each merging line (2) to the accumulating conveyor (2), and the articles (W) are conveyed by the accumulating conveyor (2).

The accumulation conveyor (2) is provided with crosspieces arranged adjacent to each other at equal intervals in the conveyance direction. This crosspiece prevents misalignment of the articles (W) supplied from the merging line (3) to the accumulating conveyor (3) along the conveyance direction, and prevents the articles (W) being supplied from a different merging line (3) to the accumulating conveyor (2). This suppresses contact between the articles (W). That is, the space between adjacent bars in the transport direction is set as the transport area (Z) for the article (W).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-32020

By installing partitioning materials such as crosspieces on the conveyor as described above, it is possible to appropriately suppress misalignment of articles and contact between articles. However, the transport area of the articles is almost fixed by the partitioning material. If the size of the article to be transported changes, the transport area may become too narrow or too wide, but in this case it is not easy to rearrange the partitioning materials. If the items to be transported change frequently, the efficiency of the entire transport facility will be affected. In particular, when a group of articles including a plurality of articles is collected in one conveyance area and conveyed, it is preferable that the conveyance area is set more flexibly.

In view of the above background, it is desired to provide a technique for appropriately setting an area for transporting articles by a conveyor without using partitioning materials or the like.

In view of the above, an article conveyance equipment that includes at least one article and conveys said articles for each article group defined by different order information in which the type and quantity of a single type or multiple types are specified is a transport conveyor that transports the articles along the transport direction; an article supply device that supplies articles; and a control device that controls the conveyor and the article supply device; A gap area sandwiched between two unit conveyance areas adjacent in the direction is provided on the conveyance surface without physically partitioning the unit conveyance area and the gap area by providing a partitioning material between the unit conveyance area and the gap area. and causes the article supply device to supply the articles included in one article group to one unit conveyance area, and at least the unit conveyance area among the unit conveyance area and the gap area is It is variably set based on the order information and article information about the article .

According to this configuration, the unit conveyance area and the gap area can be set on the conveyance surface without using a partitioning material or the like. By setting the unit conveyance areas, it is possible to appropriately convey the articles by placing the articles in the respective unit conveyance areas for each group of articles. Moreover, since a gap area is set between adjacent unit conveyance areas in the conveyance direction, articles included in different article groups are suppressed from coming into contact with each other.

Further characteristics and advantages of the article conveying installation will become clear from the following description of an exemplary and non-restrictive embodiment with reference to the drawings.

Perspective view of article conveyance equipment Plan view of article conveyance equipment A perspective view schematically showing a part of a multi-stage sorting device. Side view of article conveyance equipment Control block diagram of article conveyance equipment Diagram showing area settings on the conveyance surface and conveyance status in each phase of article conveyance Diagram showing area settings on the conveyance surface and conveyance status in each phase of article conveyance Diagram showing area settings on the conveyance surface and conveyance status in each phase of article conveyance Diagram showing area settings on the conveyance surface and conveyance status in each phase of article conveyance Diagram showing area settings on the conveyance surface and conveyance status in each phase of article conveyance Diagram showing area settings on the conveyance surface and conveyance status in each phase of article conveyance Diagram showing an example of conditions for setting unit conveyance area and gap area Diagram showing the relationship between the formation interval of unit conveyance areas and the arrangement interval of supply ports A perspective view schematically showing the internal structure of the main body of the transfer device. Diagram showing an example of state transition of the transfer device

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of article conveyance equipment will be described based on the drawings, taking as an example a form applied to a sorting system (assortment system). The article conveyance equipment conveys articles for each article group containing at least one article, and includes a conveyor that conveys the articles along the conveyance direction, and an article supply device that supplies the articles onto the conveyance surface of the conveyor. and a control device that controls the conveyor and the article supply device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the article transport equipment PS is installed in a logistics facility owned by a mail-order business, for example, and is used to select necessary articles G from among a plurality of articles G stored in an automated warehouse (not shown). Articles G are sorted and delivered. In this case, a plurality of articles G are stored in containers according to type in the automated warehouse. Then, the plurality of articles G accommodated in containers for each type are automatically carried out from the automated warehouse and separated into individual articles G in an article disassembling section (not shown). After that, each of the plurality of articles G is individually conveyed. Note that "articles G" include various products such as food and daily necessities, or work-in-progress used in factory production lines, etc., and the articles G to be sorted include various items. It will be done.

The article transport equipment PS receives articles G from the multi-stage sorting device 7 and the multi-stage sorting device 7, and transports the received articles G along a first direction X, which is a direction away from the multi-stage sorting device 7. An unloading conveyor 8 receives the article G from the unloading conveyor 8 and moves the article G along a second direction Y (conveying direction) that intersects (orthogonally in the illustrated example) the first direction X (width direction) in plan view. and an article conveying device 100 that conveys the articles. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the article conveyance equipment PS of this example includes a carry-in device 6 that conveys the articles G to the multi-stage sorting device 7, and a transfer device 5 that receives the articles G from the article conveyance device 100. and an unloading device 9 for unloading. The transfer device 5 is configured as an automatic loading machine that receives the article G supplied from the article conveyance device 100 and automatically puts the article G into a container C installed on the carry-out device 9.

As described later, the article conveyance device 100 includes a first conveyor 1, a second conveyor 2, and an intermediate conveyor 3 in this embodiment. In a broad sense, the article conveyance device 100 corresponds to a conveyor, and in a narrow sense, the first conveyor 1 corresponds to a conveyor. In the following description, the first conveyor 1 will be described as a transport conveyor. Further, the carry-in device 6, the multi-stage sorting device 7, and the carry-out conveyor 8 correspond to the article supply device 4. Further, the transfer device 5 is provided downstream of the conveyor (the first conveyor 1, the article conveyor 100), and is provided for each at least one article group Gg (FIG. 2, FIG. 4, FIG. 6 to FIG. 11, etc.). This corresponds to the supplied device to which the article G is delivered.

The carry-in device 6 sequentially carries the articles G housed in containers by type from the automated warehouse and separated into individual articles in the article disassembly section to the multi-stage sorting device 7. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the carry-in device 6 is configured as a conveyor. As shown in FIG. 5, the carry-in device 6 is controlled by a carry-in control section 65 via a general control device Ct that controls the entire article transport facility PS.

The multi-stage sorting device 7 is a device for sorting the articles G carried in from the carrying-in device 6. As shown in FIG. 3, the multi-stage sorting device 7 has a plurality of tier frontages 71 having different heights in the vertical direction, and the articles G are sorted into any of the plurality of tier openings 71 and discharged. In the illustrated example, the multi-stage sorting device 7 has a plurality of openings 71 arranged in an orthogonal grid pattern including a plurality of stages and a plurality of rows. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the multi-stage sorting device 7 includes an article discrimination section 77 and a sorting control section 75.

The multi-stage sorting device 7 sorts the articles G into any one of a plurality of frontages 71 based on order information. In this example, the multi-stage sorting device 7 sorts the articles G by discharging the articles G from a specific frontage 71 determined based on the order information and delivering them to the carry-out conveyor 8. Note that the order information here is, for example, an order (picking order) specifying the type and quantity of the article G to be shipped (which may be a single type or a combination of multiple types). This is information indicating. The multi-stage sorting device 7 then sorts the articles G by discharging one or more articles G specified by each order to a different opening 71 for each order.

Although detailed illustration is omitted, the multi-stage sorting device 7 sorts the articles G based on the discrimination results by the article discrimination section 77 for discriminating the articles G. For example, the article discrimination section 77 includes a camera that images the article G, and is configured to discriminate the article G by performing image recognition processing on image data acquired by this camera. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and for example, an IC tag, a barcode, etc. (storage unit) for storing article information is attached to the article G, and the article discrimination section 77 stores the article information. It may be configured to include a reader (reading section) for reading, and to discriminate the article G based on the article information read by the reader.

The articles G to be transported by the article transport facility PS include those of various shapes. Those articles G may be handled differently depending on whether they have a shape that makes it difficult to roll on the conveyor (for example, the first conveyor 1) that constitutes the article conveyance device 100 or a shape that makes it easy to roll and move. May be desirable. Therefore, for example, the articles G are classified into non-rolling articles, which are articles G with a rectangular parallelepiped external shape, articles G that are more difficult to roll, and rolling articles, which are articles G that are easier to roll than non-rolling articles. can do. The multi-stage sorting device 7 can determine whether each article G is a non-rollable article or a rolling article based on the discrimination by a camera or the article information read by a reader.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the multi-stage sorting device 7 includes a rail 72 and a plurality of conveyance carts 73 that move along the rail 72. The rail 72 includes a horizontal portion provided along the horizontal direction (second direction Y) for each of the plurality of stages in which the frontage 71 is provided. The transport vehicle 73 is configured to travel along the horizontal portion of the rail 72, thereby transporting the article G in the second direction Y. Further, the rail 72 may extend in the vertical direction and include upper and lower portions that connect horizontal portions arranged in multiple stages. In this case, the transport vehicle 73 is configured to move up and down along the upper and lower portions of the rail 72, thereby being able to move to each of the horizontal portions arranged in multiple stages. In this case, the number of transport vehicles 73 is not limited to the number of stages in which the frontage 71 is provided. Therefore, for example, it is also possible to arrange fewer or more transport vehicles 73 than the number of stages in which the frontage 71 is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 3, eight conveyance carts 73 are arranged for the frontage 71 of eight stages.

In this embodiment, each of the transport vehicles 73 includes a discharge conveyor 74 that supports the article G from below and discharges the article G from the frontage 71. The discharge conveyor 74 moves the article G in the first direction X from the travel path of the transport vehicle 73. The sorting control unit 75 drives and controls these transport vehicles 73 and discharge conveyor 74.

The carry-out conveyor 8 is a device for conveying the articles G sorted by the multi-stage sorting device 7. As shown in FIG. 5, the delivery conveyor 8 is driven and controlled by a delivery conveyor control section 85. In this embodiment, the carry-out conveyor 8 is provided corresponding to each of the frontages 71 of the plurality of stages, and temporarily stores the articles G discharged from the frontage 71 by the multi-stage sorting device 7. The article G is conveyed in the first direction X. In this embodiment, the plurality of carry-out conveyors 8 are arranged in line in the second direction Y so as to correspond to each of the plurality of rows of frontages 71 in each of the plurality of stages.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the carry-out conveyor 8 transports the articles G in units of article groups Gg, which are a collection of a plurality of articles G for each order, and discharges them to the first conveyor 1 of the article conveying device 100. The number of articles G constituting one article group Gg differs for each order. For example, depending on the order, one article G may constitute one article group Gg. In this way, the article supply device 4 including the carry-out conveyor 8 supplies the first article for each article group Gg from one side in the width direction (first direction The article G is supplied onto the first conveyance surface F1 of the conveyor 1. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of supply ports 81 for supplying the articles G from the carry-out conveyor 8 to the first conveyor 1 are provided so as to be lined up along the second direction Y.

The article conveyance device 100 is a device for conveying articles G. The article conveying device 100 conveys articles G (article group Gg) discharged from the unloading conveyor 8 along the conveying direction (second direction Y) in the article conveying equipment PS, and transports the articles G (article group Gg) discharged from the unloading conveyor 8 to the unloading device via the transfer device 5. Hand over to 9th.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article conveyance device 100 includes a first conveyor 1 and a second conveyor 2 that convey articles G, respectively. Moreover, the article conveyance device 100 further includes an intermediate conveyor 3 arranged between the first conveyor 1 and the second conveyor 2 in the second direction Y. As shown in FIG. 5, these first conveyor 1, second conveyor 2, and intermediate conveyor 3 are controlled by a first conveyor control section 15, a second conveyor control section 25, and an intermediate conveyor control section, respectively, via an integrated control device Ct. The drive is controlled by 35.

In this embodiment, the first conveyor 1 is constituted by a belt conveyor having a pulley and a belt wound around the pulley, and a first conveyance surface F1 is formed on the upper surface of the belt. The belt is driven by rotationally driving a pulley by an actuator such as a motor controlled by the first conveyor control section 15 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the first conveyor 1 includes a first side wall portion S1 arranged adjacent to the first direction X with respect to the first conveyance surface F1. The first side wall portion S1 is disposed along the second direction Y, protruding upward from the first conveyance surface F1. The first side wall portion S1 can prevent the article G being transported on the first transport surface F1 from falling off the first transport surface F1 to the outside in the first direction X. In other words, the first side wall portion S1 can appropriately guide the article G being transported on the first transport surface F1 in the second direction Y (transport direction). In this example, the first side wall portion S1 is also configured as a conveyor, and the article G is conveyed along the second direction Y (conveyance direction) by both the first conveyance surface F1 and the first side wall portion S1. Ru.

As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, in this embodiment, the first conveyor 1 includes a lifting mechanism 11 that lifts and lowers the first conveyance surface F1. The lifting mechanism 11 is also drive-controlled by the first conveyor control section 15. By raising and lowering the first conveyor 1 by the lifting mechanism 11, as shown in FIG. can. Thereby, the first conveyor 1 can receive the article G from any of the plurality of stages of carry-out conveyor 8. In this example, as shown in FIG. 1, the elevating mechanism 11 includes a mast 111 that supports the first conveying surface support section 10 in a vertically movable manner, and an elevating drive section 110 that drives the first conveying surface supporting section 10 up and down. We are prepared.

Although detailed description is omitted, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the second conveyor 2 is arranged downstream of the first conveyor 1 in the conveyance direction (first side Y1 in the second direction). The second conveyor 2 has a conveyance surface that is arranged at a different height from the first conveyance surface F1 and conveys the article G on it, and drives the conveyance surface independently of the first conveyor 1. It is equipped with a drive mechanism to Similar to the first conveyor 1, the second conveyor 2 is constituted by a belt conveyor having a pulley and a belt wound around the pulley, and a conveyance surface is formed on the upper surface of the belt. The belt is driven by rotationally driving a pulley by an actuator such as a motor controlled by the second conveyor control section 25.

Further, the intermediate conveyor 3 is located between the first conveyor 1 and the second conveyor 2, that is, downstream of the first conveyor 1 in the conveyance direction (second direction first side Y1) and further than the second conveyor 2 in the conveyance direction. It is arranged on the upstream side (second direction second side Y2). The intermediate conveyor 3 is arranged at different heights with respect to the conveying surfaces of the first conveying surface F1 and the second conveyor 2, and has a conveying surface on which the article G is placed and conveyed, and a conveying surface of the first conveyor 1 and the second conveyor 2. A drive mechanism that drives the conveyance surface independently of the conveyor 2 is provided. Similar to the first conveyor 1 and the second conveyor 2, the intermediate conveyor 3 is constituted by a belt conveyor having a pulley and a belt wound around the pulley, and a conveying surface is formed on the upper surface of the belt. The belt is driven by rotationally driving pulleys by an actuator such as a motor controlled by the intermediate conveyor control section 35.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first conveyance surface F1 of the first conveyor 1 is inclined at an angle in the first direction X with respect to a horizontal plane (for example, 10° to 20°). Thereby, the article G conveyed by the first conveyor 1 can be conveyed in a state closer to the first side wall portion S1 on the first conveyance surface F1. In this example, the angle of the first conveyance surface F1 in the second direction Y with respect to the horizontal plane is set to 0°.

Further, the height of the conveyance surface of the second conveyor 2 in the vertical direction is lower than that of the first conveyance surface F1, and the angle of the first direction X with respect to the horizontal plane is lower than the angle of the first direction is also a small angle (0° in this embodiment). That is, the conveyance surface of the second conveyor 2 is arranged along a horizontal plane. Thereby, the article G can be conveyed along the horizontal plane. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a delivery device carries out articles G in units of article groups Gg for each order on the downstream side of the second conveyor 2 in the conveyance direction (first side Y1 in the second direction). A transfer device 5 (automatic loading machine) is provided for loading the containers into the tray 9. In this example, the angle of the second direction Y of the conveyance surface of the second conveyor 2 with respect to the horizontal plane is set to 0°.

The conveyance surface of the intermediate conveyor 3 is arranged between the first conveyance surface F1 and the conveyance surface of the second conveyor 2 in the vertical direction, and the angle of the first direction It is inclined at an intermediate angle between the angle in the direction X and the angle in the first direction X with respect to the horizontal plane of the conveying surface of the second conveyor 2 . With such a configuration, it is possible to shorten the distance in the vertical direction when the article G moves from conveyance surface to conveyance surface between a plurality of conveyors. Therefore, according to the article conveyance device 100, it is possible to reduce the impact when an article is moved between a plurality of conveyors having conveyor surfaces having different inclination angles in the first direction X with respect to the horizontal plane and different heights in the vertical direction. is possible. In this example, the angle of the conveyance surface of the intermediate conveyor 3 in the second direction Y with respect to the horizontal plane is set to 0°.

The transfer device 5 includes a box-shaped main body portion 50 with an open bottom and an input port 56 formed on the second side Y2 in the second direction through which the article G is supplied from the article conveyance device 100. The transfer device 5 is arranged such that the bottom of the main body 50 is located above the carry-out device 9 installed below the article conveyance device 100. The carry-out device 9 transports containers C containing articles G in units of article groups Gg sorted by the multi-stage sorting device 7. In this embodiment, the empty containers C are sequentially transported from the second side Y2 in the second direction toward the first side Y1 in the second direction, and the articles G are transported below the transfer device 5. It is housed in container C. Then, the containers C containing the articles G in the article group Gg are transported from the transfer device 5 toward the first side Y1 in the second direction.

The transfer device 5 is configured with a transfer mechanism for alleviating the impact when transferring the article G to the container C on the carry-out device 9 located below the conveyance surface of the second conveyor 2. There is. The transfer mechanism is controlled by a transfer control section 55 as shown in FIG. Furthermore, in synchronization with the transportation of the article G by the article conveyance device 100 and the transfer of the article G by the transfer device 5, the unloading device 9 for conveying the container C is controlled by the unloading control section 95 as shown in FIG. controlled.

The perspective view of FIG. 14 schematically shows the internal structure of the main body 50 of the transfer device 5, and FIG. 15 shows an example of state transition of the transfer device 5. As shown in FIG. 14, the transfer device 5 includes a receiving member 58 that receives the article G from the article conveyance device 100. The receiving member 58 is made of a flexible sheet-like member. In this embodiment, the receiving member 58 has a rectangular shape, the first end 51 is one side, and the second end 52 is the opposite side to the first end 51.

The transfer device 5 includes a drive sprocket 66 disposed at one of the four inner corners of each of the two side surfaces along the first direction and driven sprockets 62 arranged respectively. The drive sprockets 66 provided on the two side surfaces are arranged in pairs to face each other and are connected by a drive shaft 67. The drive sprocket 66 and the drive shaft 67 are rotationally driven by a rotation drive unit M6 configured by an actuator such as a motor. The rotation drive section M6 is controlled by a transfer control section 55 (see FIG. 5). Further, the respective driven sprockets 62 provided on the two side surfaces are also arranged in pairs to face each other. In this embodiment, a guide shaft 63 is provided between the pair of driven sprockets 62 . The guide shaft 63 guides the movement of the sheet-shaped receiving member 58 and functions as a support portion that supports the receiving member 58. Note that the driven sprocket 62 and the guide shaft 63 may be relatively rotatable.

A drive chain 61 is stretched between one driving sprocket 66 and three driven sprockets 62 arranged inside each side surface. The drive shaft 67 and the drive sprocket 66 are rotationally driven by the orbital drive unit M6, so that the drive chain 61 moves along a fixed path and orbits along the surface of each side portion. A connecting member 53 to which one end of a sheet-shaped receiving member 58 is connected is connected to a predetermined position of the pair of drive chains 61 . The connecting member 53 is a rigid member that holds the entire side of the first end 51 of the receiving member 58, and in the example shown, the connecting member 53 is It is a rod-shaped member that extends over the entire area. When the drive chain 61 rotates, the receiving member 58 also rotates together with the drive chain 61.

The receiving member 58 is connected to the drive chain 61 via the connecting member 53 on the first end 51 side, which is the downstream side in the circumferential direction. The upstream side of the second end 52 of the receiving member 58 is not connected to the drive chain 61 and is held between the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42 in a part of the circumferential direction. . The feed roller 41 is rotationally driven by a feed drive unit M5 configured by an actuator such as a motor. The feeding drive unit M5 is controlled by a transfer control unit 55.

By rotationally driving the feed roller 41 with the receiving member 58 held between the feeding roller 41 and the pressing roller 42, the receiving member 58 can be fed out in the circumferential direction even if the drive chain 61 is stopped. . When the feed roller 41 is stopped, movement of the receiving member 58 in the circumferential direction can be restricted by the sandwiching between the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42. Although illustration of the drive device is omitted, it is preferable that the pressure roller 42 is configured to be able to change its position between a state in which it presses the feed roller 41 and a state in which it is separated from the feed roller 41 and released from the pressed state. It is.

The receiving member 58 has a first posture along the horizontal plane as shown in the first phase #1 of FIGS. 14 and 15, and a fourth phase #4, a fifth phase #5, and a sixth phase of FIG. As shown in phase #6, the receiving member 58 is released on the second end 52 side and becomes a free state, and as shown in the second phase #2 and third phase #3 of FIG. , and a third posture in which the receiving member 58 is bent downward from the horizontal plane. Note that the third attitude is realized by feeding out the receiving member 58 in the first attitude toward the first end portion 51 by the feed roller 41 while the drive chain 61 is stopped. Further, when the receiving member 58 is further extended from the third attitude to the downstream side in the circumferential direction of the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42, the receiving member 58 assumes the second attitude. That is, with the receiving member 58 being held between the feeding roller 41 and the pressing roller 42, the feeding roller 41 is rotationally driven to change the attitude of the receiving member 58 from the first attitude to the third attitude, and further The third attitude can be changed to the second attitude.

When a plurality of articles G constituting an article group Gg are sequentially supplied from the article conveyance device 100, the transfer control unit 55 controls the amount by which the receiving member 58 is fed out from the first attitude in accordance with the supply of the plurality of articles G. is increased to set the third attitude, and after all the articles G have been supplied, the third attitude is changed to the second attitude. As a result, as the plurality of articles G are sequentially supplied, the amount of deflection of the receiving member 58 increases, and the capacity that the receiving member 58 can receive increases. The transfer control unit 55 also feeds out the receiving member 58 so that the articles G supplied from the article conveying device 100 are sequentially stacked on the receiving member 58. Therefore, the plurality of articles G can be appropriately accommodated in the container C without overflowing from the receiving member. Moreover, a plurality of articles G can be appropriately accommodated in the container C in a state in which they are piled on top of each other.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 15, a procedure for transferring a plurality of articles G (article group Gg) by the transfer device 5 will be described. Before the article G is supplied from the article conveyance device 100, the receiving member 58 is in the first posture (first phase #1). Subsequently, the transfer control unit 55 increases the amount of delivery of the receiving member 58 from the first attitude in accordance with the supply of the article G (second phase #2, third phase #3). The third phase #3 is a phase in which the supply time of the articles G from the article conveying device 100 has elapsed longer than that in the second phase #2, or as shown in FIG. is the supplied phase. Therefore, in the third phase #3, the receiving member #3 is extended more than in the second phase #2, and the downward deflection of the receiving member 58 is large.

When all the articles G constituting the group of articles Gg are supplied, the transfer control unit 55 releases the receiving member 58 held between the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42 (fourth phase #4). As a result, the tension in the receiving member 58 is lost, and the article G, together with the receiving member 58, descends to the bottom of the container C (fifth phase #5). At this time, the article G has been lowered to a position sufficiently close to the bottom of the container C by the downwardly bent receiving member 58, so that the impact between the container C and the article G is alleviated. Subsequently, the drive chain 61 is driven by the orbiting drive unit M6, and the receiving member 58, the first end 51 of which is fixed to the drive chain 61, is pulled out from the container C (sixth phase #6). In this way, by gradually increasing the amount of deflection of the receiving member 58, the article G can be stably transferred to the container C. Therefore, even if the total amount of articles G to be transferred to container C is large, the articles G can be transferred appropriately.

As described above, when transporting each group of articles Gg sorted and supplied by the article supplying apparatus 4 and providing them to the unloading apparatus 9 via the transfer apparatus 5 as a supplied apparatus, the article conveying apparatus 100 (Particularly on the first conveyor 1), it is preferable that the articles G belonging to different article groups Gg are conveyed without being mixed. One possible solution is to physically partition the first conveyance surface F1 by providing partitioning materials such as crosspieces on the first conveyance surface F1 of the first conveyor 1. However, it is generally not easy to move the partition material attached to the first transport surface F1, and the partitions are fixed, which impedes flexible transport according to the goods G to be transported, and reduces transport efficiency. There is a possibility that it will decrease. In this embodiment, the article G can be appropriately transported by setting a region on the first transport surface F1 without using a partitioning material or the like.

Specifically, the integrated control device Ct that controls the first conveyor 1 and the article supply device 4 has a unit conveyance area E that is divided into the conveyance direction (second direction Y) on the first conveyance surface F1, and A gap region B sandwiched between two adjacent unit transport regions E is set on the first transport surface F1. Then, the overall control device Ct causes the article supply device 4 to supply the articles G included in one article group Gg to one unit transport area E. By setting the unit conveyance area E, it is possible to place the article G in each unit conveyance area E for each article group Gg and convey the article G appropriately. Moreover, since the gap region B is set between the unit transport regions E adjacent in the transport direction, it is suppressed that the articles G included in different article groups Gg come into contact with each other.

6 to 11 show the area setting on the first conveyance surface F1 and the conveyance state in each phase of article conveyance. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, for the first conveyor 1 in which the unit conveyance area E and the gap area B are set on the first conveyance surface F1, the center portion Ec of the unit conveyance area E in the conveyance direction is targeted. The article G is supplied from the article supply device 4 as follows. At this time, the first conveyor 1 is moving at the first speed V1 or is stopped.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the overall control device Ct causes the article supply device 4 to supply the article G while causing the first conveyor 1 to transport the article G in the second direction Y. Further, as described above with reference to FIG. 2, the supply ports 81 for supplying the articles G from the carry-out conveyor 8 to the first conveyor 1 constituting the article supply device 4 are provided along the second direction Y. There is. Therefore, the articles G may be supplied in parallel to the unit transport areas E at a plurality of locations using the supply ports 81 at a plurality of locations. Naturally, when supplying the article G from any of the supply ports 81, the overall control device Ct causes the article G to be supplied to the unit transport area E where no article G is placed.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the overall control device Ct causes the carry-out conveyor 8 to supply the article G, aiming at the central portion Ec in the second direction Y of the unit conveyance area E. Thereby, the article G can be appropriately placed within the unit transport area E. However, as long as the article G can be placed within the unit transport area E, this does not prevent the article G from being supplied to a location away from the central portion Ec.

When the unit conveyance area E and the gap area B are formed and the article G is supplied to the unit conveyance area E, the central control device Ct stops conveyance of the article G by the first conveyor 1 and stops the conveyance of the article G by the first conveyor 1. 1 conveyance surface F1 is raised and lowered to a height corresponding to the conveyance surface of intermediate conveyor 3. Specifically, if the supply port 81 that last supplied the article G is located below the conveyance surface of the intermediate conveyor 3, the first conveyor 1 is raised and the supply port 81 that last supplied the article G is located below the conveyance surface of the intermediate conveyor 3. When the mouth 81 is located above the conveyance surface of the intermediate conveyor 3, the first conveyor 1 is lowered. FIG. 9 shows a state in which the first conveyance surface F1 of the first conveyor 1 is located at a height that allows the article G to be conveyed to the transfer device 5 via the intermediate conveyor 3 and the second conveyor 2.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the central control device Ct drives the first conveyor 1 at a second speed V2 faster than the first speed V1, and drives the intermediate conveyor 3 and the intermediate conveyor 3 at a speed higher than the first conveyor 1. The second conveyor 2 is driven. At this time, the central control device Ct moves the first conveyor 1 to the first side Y1 in the second direction by the length of one window corresponding to the combined area of one unit conveyance area E and one gap area B. and after the movement, the first conveyor 1 is temporarily stopped (FIG. 11). Note that the second speed V2 may be different between the movement corresponding to the unit transport area E and the movement corresponding to the gap area B.

9 and 11 show a state in which the first conveyor 1 is stopped, and FIG. 10 shows a state in which the first conveyor 1 is moving at the second speed V2. When articles G are supplied to unit conveyance areas E at multiple locations, by repeating FIGS. passed on. In other words, the overall control device Ct causes the first conveyor 1 to repeatedly drive and stop in the second direction Y for each unit conveyance area E, thereby moving the first conveyor 1 (article conveyance device 100) to the supplied device. The article G is delivered to the transfer device 5.

Further, the transfer device 5 moves the receiving member 58 in accordance with the movement of the first conveyor 1. Specifically, in response to the first conveyor 1 starting to move in the second direction Y, the transfer control unit 55 controls the rotation drive unit so that the receiving member 58 changes from the first attitude to the third attitude. The feeding drive unit M5 is driven while keeping the M6 stopped. When the first conveyor 1 moves in the second direction Y by a length corresponding to the unit conveyance area E, the transfer control unit 55 controls the feeding drive unit so that the receiving member 58 changes from the third attitude to the second attitude. Controls M5 and the rotation drive unit M6. While the first conveyor 1 is moving in the second direction Y by a length corresponding to the gap area B following a length corresponding to the unit conveyance area E, the transfer control unit 55 A member 58 changes from the third position to the first position.

By the way, the article G may roll or slide on the first conveyor 1. Furthermore, there may be a shift in the timing of supplying the articles G from the multi-stage sorting device 7 to the first conveyor 1. The articles G are supplied from the multi-stage sorting device 7 so as to be placed in the unit conveyance area E, but the articles G may not be placed within the unit conveyance area E due to rolling or slipping of the articles G, or due to a difference in the supply timing. Otherwise, it may enter the gap region B. For example, in a case where a sensor is provided to detect the article G on the first conveyor 1 (including a configuration in which the first conveyance surface F1 of the first conveyor 1 is photographed and the article G is detected by image processing). In this case, the overall control device Ct can acquire information as to whether the article G exists in the gap region B or not.

When the article G is supplied to the gap region B, the integrated control device Ct controls the first conveyor control section 15, the second conveyor control section 25, the intermediate conveyor control section 35, and the transfer control section 55 to The moving speeds of the first conveyor 1, the second conveyor 2, and the intermediate conveyor 3 are reduced, and the attitude change of the receiving member 58 is suspended. In other words, the transfer control unit 55 causes the receiving member 58 to wait in the third attitude, and after the article G supplied to the gap area B is put into the receiving member 58, the transfer control unit 55 changes the receiving member 58 from the third attitude to the second attitude. Migrate. Note that if all the articles G constituting the article group Gg are normally supplied to the unit transport area E and no article G is supplied to the gap area B, the transfer control unit 55 naturally controls the receiving member 58 To shift to a second attitude without waiting in a third attitude.

Note that in the embodiments described above with reference to FIGS. 6 to 11, an example in which a plurality of articles G constituting one article group Gg are supplied to one unit transport area E from one common supply port 81 is described. Indicated. However, a plurality of articles G constituting one article group Gg may be supplied to one unit transport area E from a plurality of different supply ports 81.

As described above, the second speed V2 is faster than the first speed V1. The first speed V1 is the speed at which the article G is supplied from the carry-out conveyor 8 (article supply device 4) to the first conveyor 1. In other words, the first speed V1 can be said to be the speed while the article G is being supplied by the article supply device 4. On the other hand, the second speed V2 is the speed after the article G is supplied to the first conveyor 1, and the second speed V2 is the speed when the article G is not being supplied. That is, the overall control device Ct reduces the conveyance speed of the first conveyor 1 in the second direction Y while the article G is being supplied by the article supplying device 4, compared to when the article G is not being supplied. As a result, movement of the article G due to rolling or sliding on the first conveyance surface F1 of the first conveyor 1 while the article G is being supplied by the article supplying device 4 is suppressed, and the article G is appropriately placed within the unit conveyance area E. The article G can be conveyed by placing it thereon. Of course, if the second speed V2 is sufficiently low to prevent the article G from rolling or sliding on the first conveyance surface F1 of the first conveyor 1, then the first speed V1 and The two speeds V2 may be the same.

Note that the length of the window configured by the unit conveyance area E and the gap area B in the second direction Y may not be fixed but may be variable. At this time, if the length of at least one of the unit conveyance area E and the gap area B in the second direction Y is variable, the length of the window in the second direction Y can be changed. Although it is possible to make either variable, by making the unit conveyance area E variable, the length of the window in the second direction Y can be flexibly set according to the article G or group of articles Gg to be conveyed. be able to.

For example, the overall control device Ct can variably set the length of the unit transport area E in the second direction Y depending on the size of the article G included in the article group Gg. When the length of the unit conveyance area E in the conveyance direction is set according to the size of the article G, the article G can be conveyed while being appropriately placed within the unit conveyance area E. For example, if the size of the article G is too large for the unit conveyance area E, there is an increased possibility that the article G will protrude from the unit conveyance area E and interfere with the article G placed in the adjacent unit conveyance area E. do. Furthermore, if the size of the article G is too small with respect to the unit transport area E, there will be wasted space in the unit transport area E, which will reduce transport efficiency. By variably setting the unit conveyance area E according to the size of the article G, occurrence of these problems is suppressed.

Further, for example, the overall control device Ct can variably set the length of the unit conveyance area E in the second direction Y according to the conveyance speed of the article G by the first conveyor 1. When the length of the unit conveyance area E in the second direction Y is set according to the conveyance speed of the conveyor, while moving the first conveyor 1, the article G is properly placed within the unit conveyance area E. G can be transported.

Naturally, the overall control device Ct determines the length of the unit conveyance area E in the second direction Y based on both the size of the article G included in the article group Gg and the conveyance speed of the article G by the first conveyor 1. It may be set variably depending on the situation. Also, of course, the length of the unit conveyance area E in the second direction Y is variable based on conditions other than the size of the article G included in the article group Gg and the conveyance speed of the article G by the first conveyor 1. May be set. Further, although an improvement in the transport efficiency is not expected, this does not prevent the length of the unit transport area E in the second direction Y from being variable and being a fixed value.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 12, conditions for setting the lengths of the unit conveyance area E and the gap area B in the second direction Y will be described. The length of the unit conveyance area E in the second direction Y is determined based on, for example, the size of the articles G included in the article group Gg to be supplied and the size of the articles G when the article group Gg includes a plurality of articles G. It is set based on the amount of spread in the second direction Y and the amount of movement of the article G due to the change in the conveyance speed of the first conveyor 1. Note that the spread amount and the movement amount are influenced by the conveyance speed of the article G by the first conveyor 1. Therefore, setting the unit conveyance area E based on the amount of spread and setting the unit conveyance area E based on the amount of movement means that the unit conveyance area E is set based on the conveyance speed of the article G by the first conveyor 1. It is included in setting E.

As described above, it is preferable that the article G to be transported is appropriately accommodated in the unit transport area E and placed on the first transport surface F1. Therefore, if the size of the article G is included in the setting condition for the length of the unit conveyance area E in the second direction Y, the article G is conveyed with the article G appropriately placed within the unit conveyance area E. be able to. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, it is preferable that the unit transport area E includes a first transport area Ye1 based on the size of the article G. Here, if the posture (orientation, etc.) of the article G after being supplied onto the first conveyance surface F1 is determined or can be predicted, the dimension of the article G in the second direction Y in the posture after being supplied. It is preferable to use this as the "size of article G" here. It is also preferable to use the maximum dimension (the dimension of the longest part) of the article G as the "size of the article G." The configuration using the maximum dimension of the article G is particularly suitable when the posture of the article G after being supplied onto the first conveyance surface F1 cannot be predicted. Alternatively, it is also preferable to use the volume of the article G as the "size of the article G." Note that when the article group Gg includes a plurality of articles G, it is preferable to use the sum of any of the above-mentioned "sizes of the articles G" for the plurality of articles G, for example.

Furthermore, when the article group Gg includes a plurality of articles G, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the article G is supplied from the article supply device 4 to the first conveyor 1, the article G They are placed spread out in the Y direction. By including the spread amount of the plurality of articles G in the second direction Y in the setting conditions of the unit conveyance area E, the plurality of articles G can be appropriately placed within the unit conveyance area E. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, it is preferable that the unit conveyance area E includes a second conveyance area Ye2 based on the spread amount of the plurality of articles G. In addition, the second conveyance area Ye2 is located at two locations with respect to the first conveyance area Ye1: a first side Y1 in the second direction (downstream side in the conveyance direction) and a second side Y2 in the second direction (upstream side in the conveyance direction). It is set separately. The amount of spread of the plurality of articles G in the second direction Y can be estimated based on indicators such as the conveyance speed of the articles G by the first conveyor 1, the shape of each article G, and the weight of each article G. Therefore, in this embodiment, the overall control device Ct is configured to be able to refer to a spread amount map that defines the relationship between these indicators and the spread amount. Then, the overall control device Ct refers to the spread amount map based on the article information acquired by the article discrimination section 77 and the like and the information on the control state of the first conveyor 1, and then Find the amount of spread.

Further, as described above, the conveyance speed of the first conveyor 1 may be set to, for example, the first speed V1 and the second speed V2, which are different speeds. Further, as described above with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11, when transferring the article G from the article conveying apparatus 100 to the unloading apparatus 9 via the transfer apparatus 5, the first conveyor 1 stops and the conveyor Repeat. The first conveyor 1 decelerates or accelerates between the first speed V1 and the second speed V2 or between stop and conveyance. At this time, an inertial force acts on the article G placed on the first conveyor 1, and the article G may roll or slide on the first conveyance surface F1 of the first conveyor 1, causing the placement position to shift. There is sex. By including the amount of movement of the article G due to the change in the conveyance speed of the first conveyor 1 in the setting conditions of the unit conveyance area E, even if the placement position of the article G is shifted, the article G can be appropriately placed within the unit conveyance area E. The article G can be transported in a placed state. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, it is preferable that the unit conveyance area E includes a third conveyance area Ye3 based on the amount of movement of the article G by changing the conveyance speed. Note that similarly to the second conveyance area Ye2, the third conveyance area Ye3 also has a first side Y1 in the second direction (downstream side in the conveyance direction) and a second side Y2 in the second direction (downstream side in the conveyance direction) with respect to the first conveyance area Ye1. It is set up in two places: the upstream side) and the upstream side. The amount of movement of the articles G due to a change in the conveyance speed of the first conveyor 1 can be predicted based on indicators such as the acceleration during the change in conveyance speed, the shape of each article G, and the weight of each article G. Therefore, in this embodiment, the overall control device Ct is configured to be able to refer to a movement amount map that defines the relationship between these indicators and movement amounts. Then, the integrated control device Ct refers to the movement amount map based on the article information acquired by the article discrimination section 77 and the like, information on the control state of the first conveyor 1, and determines whether the article is changed by changing the conveyance speed of the first conveyor 1. Find the amount of movement of G.

Note that the unit transport area E does not have to include all of the first transport area Ye1, the second transport area Ye2, and the third transport area Ye3. The unit transport area E may be set to include at least one of them.

Further, the length of the gap region B in the second direction Y is, for example, the deceleration distance that the first conveyor 1 moves when decelerating the first conveyor 1, and the idle running distance that the first conveyor 1 moves due to a control delay. This is set based on the error of a sensor such as an encoder that detects the amount of movement of the first conveyor 1.

As described above, the overall control device Ct causes the first conveyor 1 to repeatedly drive and stop in the second direction Y for each unit conveyance area E, thereby causing the first conveyor 1 (article conveyance device 100) to The article G is delivered to the transfer device 5 as the supplied device. Since the first conveyor 1 moves even when the first conveyor 1 decelerates, it is preferable that the gap area B includes a first gap area Yb1 based on the deceleration distance. Naturally, the deceleration distance may be the length of the first gap region Yb1 in the second direction Y. Here, the deceleration distance can be determined based on the acceleration when decelerating the first conveyor 1 and the speed before deceleration.

Further, even if the overall control device Ct or the first conveyor control unit 15 issues a command to decelerate, a control delay occurs before the first conveyor 1 actually starts to decelerate. During this control delay period, the first conveyor 1 moves without decelerating. Therefore, it is preferable that the second gap region Yb2 based on the idle running distance is included in the gap region B. Similarly to the first gap region Yb1, the idle running distance may be the length of the second gap region Yb2 in the second direction Y. Here, the length of the control delay period can be determined experimentally. Further, the idle running distance can be determined based on the speed of the first conveyor 1 before deceleration and the length of the control delay period.

Further, the first conveyor 1 is feedback-controlled based on the detection result of a sensor such as an encoder, which detects the amount of movement of the first conveyor 1. This sensor error leads to an error in the amount of movement of the first conveyor 1. Therefore, it is preferable that the gap area B includes a third gap area Yb3 based on the error of the sensor that detects the amount of movement of the first conveyor 1. Here, the error of the sensor can be determined from the specifications of the sensor or can be determined experimentally.

By the way, as described above, a plurality of supply ports 81 for supplying the articles G from the carry-out conveyor 8 to the first conveyor 1 are provided along the second direction Y. Therefore, the articles G may be supplied in parallel to the unit transport areas E at a plurality of locations using the supply ports 81 at a plurality of locations. At this time, as shown in FIG. 13, the first interval P1, which is the interval in the second direction Y at which one window constituted by one unit transport area E and one gap area B, and the respective It is preferable to match the second interval P2, which is the arrangement interval in the second direction Y of the supply ports 81 that supply the article G to the unit transport area E. When the first interval P1 and the second interval P2 match, the articles G can be efficiently supplied from the article supply device 4 to the first conveyor 1. Note that when the length of the gap area B in the second direction Y is a fixed value, the interval in the second direction Y at which one window is formed matches the interval in the second direction Y of the unit conveyance area E. do. Therefore, in this case, the first interval P1 can also be said to be the interval in the second direction Y in which the unit transport area E is set.

In addition, in FIG. 13, in order to simplify the explanation, an example is shown in which the first intervals P1 are all the same and the second intervals P2 are all the same. However, when the unit conveyance area E is variable, the first interval P1 becomes a different interval. In this case, the first interval P1 and the second interval P2 can be synchronized by varying the second interval P2 according to the different first interval P1.

As explained above, by setting the gap area B in the unit conveyance area E, the group of articles Gg to be placed in the adjacent unit conveyance area E can be properly transferred to the first conveyor without being mixed with each other. 1, and the articles G are appropriately delivered to the transfer device 5 for each article group Gg.

[Other embodiments]
Other embodiments will be described below. Note that the configurations of each embodiment described below are not limited to being applied individually, but can be applied in combination with the configurations of other embodiments as long as no contradiction occurs.

In the above description, the first conveyor 1, the second conveyor 2, and the intermediate conveyor 3 are configured by a belt conveyor having a pulley and a belt wound around the pulley. However, without being limited to such a form, at least one of the first conveyor 1, second conveyor 2, and intermediate conveyor 3 may be configured by a conveyor other than a belt conveyor, for example, a roller conveyor or a chain conveyor. It's okay. When the first conveyor 1 is constituted by a roller conveyor, the first conveyance surface F1 is a virtual surface that connects the upper ends of each of the plurality of rollers that constitute the roller conveyor. Similarly, when each of the above-mentioned conveyors is constituted by a chain conveyor, the first conveyance surface F1 is a virtual surface connecting the upper surfaces of each of the plurality of chains constituting the chain conveyor. The unit conveyance area E and the gap area B are set on such a virtual first conveyance surface F1.

[Overview of embodiment]
Hereinafter, the outline of the article conveyance equipment described above will be briefly explained.

In one aspect, an article conveyance facility that conveys the articles for each article group including at least one article includes a conveyor that conveys the articles along a conveyance direction, and a conveyor that conveys the articles in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction in plan view. an article supply device that supplies the article onto the conveyance surface of the conveyor from one side in the width direction for each article group; and a control device that controls the conveyor and the article supply device; The control device divides unit transport areas on the transport surface into sections in the transport direction and gap areas sandwiched between two adjacent unit transport areas in the transport direction on the transport surface. and causes the article supply device to supply the articles included in one article group to one unit transport area.

According to this configuration, the unit conveyance area and the gap area are set on the conveyance surface without using partitioning materials such as crosspieces. By setting the unit conveyance areas, it is possible to appropriately convey the articles by placing the articles in the respective unit conveyance areas for each group of articles. Moreover, since a gap area is set between adjacent unit conveyance areas in the conveyance direction, articles included in different article groups are suppressed from coming into contact with each other.

Further, the control device may variably set the length of the unit conveyance area in the conveyance direction according to at least one of a size of the article included in the article group and a conveyance speed of the article by the conveyor. suitable.

When the length of the unit conveyance area in the conveyance direction is set according to the size of the article, the article can be conveyed with the article appropriately placed within the unit conveyance area. Furthermore, when the length of the unit conveyance area in the conveyance direction is set according to the conveyance speed of the conveyor, it is possible to convey the article while moving the conveyor while properly placing the article within the unit conveyance area. I can do it.

Further, it is preferable that the control device causes the article supply device to supply the article, aiming at a central portion of the unit conveyance area in the conveyance direction.

According to this configuration, the article can be appropriately placed and transported within the unit transport area.

Further, it is preferable that the control device lowers the conveyance speed of the conveyor in the conveyance direction when the article is being supplied by the article supplying device, compared to when the article is not being supplied.

According to this configuration, when an article is supplied from the article supply device to the conveyor, movement of the article due to rolling or sliding on the conveyance surface is suppressed to a minimum, and the article is appropriately placed within the unit conveyance area. can be transported.

Further, the article supply device includes a plurality of supply ports for supplying the article along the conveyance direction, and the control device controls whether the article is placed when the article is supplied from any of the supply ports. It is preferable that the article is supplied to the unit transport area where the unit transport area is not provided.

When supply ports are provided at a plurality of locations along the transport direction, articles can be supplied in parallel from the plurality of supply ports to a plurality of unit transport areas provided along the transport direction. At this time, by supplying the articles to the unit conveyance area where no articles are placed, it is possible to appropriately convey the articles without mixing a plurality of article groups.

Further, the length of the unit conveyance area in the conveyance direction is determined based on the size of the articles included in the group of articles to be supplied and the size of the articles of the plurality of articles when the group of articles includes a plurality of articles. Preferably, the setting is based on the amount of spread in the conveyance direction and the amount of movement of the article by changing the conveyance speed of the conveyor.

If the size of the article is included in the setting conditions for the length of the unit conveyance area in the conveyance direction, the article can be conveyed while being appropriately placed within the unit conveyance area. Furthermore, when a plurality of the articles are included in the article group, when the articles are supplied from the article supply device to the conveyor, the articles are placed spread out in the conveyance direction. By including the spread amount of the plurality of articles in the conveyance direction in the setting conditions of the unit conveyance area, it is possible to appropriately place the plurality of articles within the unit conveyance area. Further, when the transport conveyor decelerates or accelerates, inertia force acts on the articles placed on the transport conveyor, and the articles may slip on the conveyance surface and the placement position may shift. Since the setting conditions for the unit conveyance area include the amount of movement of the article due to changing the conveyance speed of the conveyor, the article can be placed properly within the unit conveyance area even if the loading position of the article is shifted. Can be transported.

Further, a supplied device is provided downstream of the conveyor to which the articles are delivered for each group of at least one article, and the control device controls the conveyor to drive in the conveyance direction for each unit conveyance area. The article is delivered from the transport conveyor to the supplied device by repeating and stopping, and the length of the gap area in the transport direction is determined by the deceleration of the transport conveyor when the transport conveyor is decelerated. Preferably, the setting is based on the distance, the idle distance that the conveyor moves due to control delay, and the error of the sensor that detects the amount of movement of the conveyor.

When the transport conveyor repeats driving and stopping in this way, the length of the gap area in the transport direction is set based on the deceleration distance of the transport conveyor, the idle running distance, and the sensor error. The articles to be placed in the unit conveyance area can be appropriately conveyed by the conveyor so that they do not mix with each other. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately deliver the articles to the supplied apparatus for each article group.

1: 1st conveyor (transport conveyor)
4: Goods supply device 5: Transfer device (supplied device)
81: Supply port B: Gap area Ct: General control device (control device)
E: Unit conveyance area Ec: Central portion F1: First conveyance surface (conveyance surface of conveyor)
G: Article Gg: Article group PS: Article conveyance equipment V1: First speed (transport speed of the conveyor while the article is being supplied from the article supply device)
V2: Second speed (conveyance speed of the conveyor while non-articles are being supplied from the article supply device)
X: First direction (width direction)
Y: Second direction (conveying direction)

Claims (7)

An article conveyance facility that includes at least one or more articles and conveys the articles for each article group defined by different order information in which the type and quantity of a single type or multiple types are specified,
a conveyor that conveys the article along the conveyance direction;
an article supplying device that supplies the articles from one side in the width direction onto the conveyance surface of the conveyor for each group of articles, with the width direction being a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction in plan view;
A control device that controls the conveyor and the article supply device,
The control device divides a unit transport area divided on the transport surface in the transport direction, and a gap area sandwiched between two adjacent unit transport areas in the transport direction into the unit transport area and the unit transport area. A dividing material is provided between the gap area and the conveying surface is set without physically dividing the area , and the articles included in one article group are placed in one unit conveying area in the article supplying device. It is to supply
The article conveyance equipment is characterized in that at least the unit conveyance area among the unit conveyance area and the gap area is variably set based on the order information and article information about the article. The control device variably sets the length of the unit conveyance area in the conveyance direction according to at least one of a size of the article included in the article group and a conveyance speed of the article by the conveyor. Item conveyance equipment according to item 1. The article conveyance equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control device causes the article supply device to supply the article, aiming at a central part of the unit conveyance area in the conveyance direction. Any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the conveyance speed of the conveyor when the article is supplied from the article supply device to the conveyor is less than or equal to the conveyance speed after the article is supplied to the conveyor. Article transport equipment as described in item (1) above. The article supply device includes a plurality of supply ports for supplying the article along the conveyance direction,
5. The control device according to claim 1, wherein when the article is supplied from any of the supply ports, the control device causes the article to be supplied to the unit transport area where the article is not placed. Equipment for transporting goods as described. The length of the unit conveyance area in the conveyance direction depends on the size of the article included in the group of articles to be supplied and the conveyance direction of the plurality of articles when the group of articles includes a plurality of articles. The article conveyance equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the article conveyance equipment is set based on an amount of spread of the article and an amount of movement of the article due to a change in conveyance speed of the conveyor. A feeding device is provided downstream of the transport conveyor, to which the articles are delivered for each group of at least one article;
A combined area of one unit conveyance area and one gap area is defined as one window,
After the article is supplied from the article supply device to the conveyor, the control device is configured to control, for each window , a conveyance speed of the conveyor when the article is supplied from the article supply device to the conveyor. delivering the article from the conveyor to the supplied device by repeatedly causing the conveyor to convey the article at a second speed equal to or higher than the first speed and stopping;
The length of the gap region in the conveyance direction is determined by the deceleration distance that the conveyor moves when decelerating from the second speed to stop the conveyor, and the distance that the conveyor does not decelerate due to a control delay. The article conveyance equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the article conveyance equipment is set based on an idle distance traveled at the second speed and an error of a sensor that detects the amount of movement of the conveyor.

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