JP7644347B2 - Item sorting device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an article sorting device that distributes articles transported on a transport conveyor to multiple branch conveyors.

There is known an article sorting device that distributes and sorts articles transported by a transport conveyor to a number of branch conveyors branching off from the transport conveyor. In such an article sorting device, for example, a configuration has been proposed in which a sorting section is provided on the transport conveyor that selectively sends articles to each branch conveyor (see Patent Document 1). In this configuration, a sorting wheel (roller) facing the branch conveyor can be selectively inserted and removed from under the transport surface, so that articles are selectively transferred to the branch conveyor. However, in a configuration in which wheels are placed under the transport surface and raised and lowered, there is a possibility that dirt or other falling objects may get into the wheels or the lifting device and cause problems, for example, if the articles being transported are dirty.

Meanwhile, in a device that distributes a predetermined number of articles transported on a first conveyor to the first conveyor and a second conveyor that is arranged parallel to the first conveyor, a configuration is known in which a branching endless chain is installed above the first conveyor so as to cross diagonally forward from the first conveyor toward the second conveyor (Patent Document 2). In this configuration, multiple blind guide plates are intermittently provided on the chain, and the chain is driven in synchronization with the transport speed of the first conveyor, so that articles that come into contact with the blind guide plates are distributed to the second conveyor, and articles that do not come into contact with the blind guide plates are distributed to the first conveyor.

Special Publication No. 63-43284 Special Publication No. 4-46856

However, in the configuration of Patent Document 2, when continuously distributing items to the second conveyor, the transport pitch of the items on the first conveyor must be large, which is disadvantageous for high-speed operation.

The objective of the present invention is to provide an article sorting device that can operate at high speed without being affected by falling objects.

The first invention of the present invention is an article sorting device comprising a first transport conveyor for transporting articles, a second transport conveyor connected to the first transport conveyor and transporting the articles in a direction different from that of the first transport conveyor, article guiding means provided above the first transport conveyor for engaging with the articles and guiding the articles to the second transport conveyor, and article detection means for detecting articles transported on the first transport conveyor, the article guiding means being disposed in a direction intersecting the first transport conveyor in a plan view and comprising at least two sets of chains that circulate vertically, a plurality of guides attached to each of the chains so as to have an empty section through which the articles transported on the first transport conveyor can pass, and an article detection means provided on each of the chains, The system is equipped with a drive means for moving the guides between an engagement position where the guides engage with an article and a standby position where the guides do not engage with an article, and a control means for controlling the drive means. When an article conveyed on the first transport conveyor is to be directly transported on the first transport conveyor, the guides of all of the chains are positioned at the standby position. When an article conveyed on the first transport conveyor is to be guided to the second transport conveyor, the guides attached to at least one of the chains are positioned at the engagement position, and the guides attached to the other chains are positioned at the standby position, thereby engaging the article while moving the guides positioned at the engagement position, and guiding the article from the first transport conveyor to the second transport conveyor.

The present invention provides an article sorting device that can operate at high speeds without being affected by falling objects.

1 is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of an article sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a view of the article guide device as seen from a direction II in FIG. 1 . FIG. 4 is a view of the article guide device as seen from a direction indicated by an arrow IV in FIG. 1 . 5A to 5C are plan views showing in time sequence how articles are moved to a branching conveyor by the article guiding device.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the layout of an article sorting device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The article sorting device 10 of this embodiment includes a transport conveyor (first transport conveyor) 12 and multiple branch conveyors (second transport conveyors) 14 that branch off from the side of the transport conveyor 12 diagonally forward in the transport direction. An article guide device (article guide means) 16 is disposed above each of the branching positions of the transport conveyor 12 and the branch conveyors 14. For example, roller conveyors are used for the transport conveyor 12 and each branch conveyor 14, and although two branch conveyors 14A and 14B are depicted in FIG. 1 as the branch conveyors 14 branching off from the transport conveyor 12, the number of branch conveyors is arbitrary.

The items M are cases that contain products such as vegetables and fruits, and are supplied by, for example, a worker on the upstream side of the conveyor 12. Each case contains, for example, a specific type of product, and cases corresponding to multiple types are supplied to the conveyor 12 randomly, including with spacing, in a mixed state. Each case is marked with a QR code (registered trademark), for example, to identify the type of product inside the case, and this is read by a reading device (item detection means) 18 provided on the upstream side of the conveyor 12. The worker supplies the case to the conveyor 12 with the mark facing the reading device 18.

The type of item M being transported on the transport conveyor 12 is identified by the reading device 18, and its position is detected by sensors (item detection means) 20A, 20B located on the side of the transport conveyor 12, just before each branch position. The item guide device 16 is driven by a control device (control means) (not shown) based on signals from the reading device 18 and sensors 20A, 20B, and distributes the transported item M to branch conveyor 14A or branch conveyor 14B, or to be transported directly on the transport conveyor 12, depending on the type of item.

Figure 1 shows an example in which there are three types of items M, M1, M2, and M3, and item M1 is distributed from the conveyor 12 to the branch conveyor 14A, item M2 is distributed from the conveyor 12 to the branch conveyor 14B, and item M3 is transported directly on the conveyor 12.

Next, the configuration of the article guide device 16 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2, 3, and 4. Figure 2 is a view of the article guide device 16 seen from the direction indicated by the arrow II in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a plan view of the article guide device 16. Also, Figure 4 is a view of the article guide device 16 seen from the direction indicated by the arrow IV in Figure 1.

The article guide device 16 is equipped with a pair of endless chains 22A, 22B that are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval and run vertically in a circular motion. The endless chain 22A is looped around a pair of sprockets 24A, and the endless chain 22B is looped around a pair of sprockets 24B. Each of the sprockets 24A, 24B is attached to a pair of shafts 28A, 28B at both ends of the frame 26. The sprocket 24A attached to the shaft 28A and the sprocket 24B attached to the shaft 28B are rotated integrally with the shafts 28A, 28B via the keys 30, respectively. Meanwhile, the sprocket 24B attached to the shaft 28A and the sprocket 24A attached to the shaft 28B are held rotatably relative to the respective shafts 28A, 28B. In addition, shafts 28A and 28B can be rotated by motors (driving means) 32A and 32B, respectively, and endless chains 22A and 22B can be driven independently by motors 32A and 32B.

A plurality of (e.g., six) guide plates 34A, 34B are attached to each of the endless chains 22A, 22B. The base ends of the guide plates 34A, 34B are attached to one side of the endless chains 22A, 22B so that the tip ends of the guide plates 34A, 34B extend outward from the tracks of the endless chains 22A, 22B. The guide plate 34A is attached to the side of the endless chain 22A facing the endless chain 22B, and the guide plate 34B is attached to the side of the endless chain 22B facing the endless chain 22A. The guide plates 34A, 34B are attached at predetermined intervals only in a section corresponding to one span length of each of the endless chains 22A, 22B, and are not provided in other sections.

The article guiding device 16 is positioned at a height such that the tips of the guide plates 34A, 34B extending downward from the lower span of the endless chain 22A or the endless chain 22B engage with the upper side of the article M being transported on the transport conveyor 12 as shown in Figures 2 and 4. Also, as shown in Figure 1, the article guiding device 16 is positioned so that the guide plates 34A, 34B provided on the endless chains 22A, 22B cross the transport conveyor 12 in a direction along the side of the branch conveyors 14A, 14B located downstream in the transport direction of the transport conveyor 12.

When an item M to be distributed to the branch conveyor 14 is conveyed on the transport conveyor 12, one of the endless chains 22A, 22B is driven by the motor 32A, 32B, and one of the guide plates 34A, 34B is moved to the lower span (engagement position). The item M engages with the guide plate 34A or 34B moving along the lower span, and is conveyed toward the branch conveyor 14. In FIG. 1, the guide plate located in the lower span is shown in black, and the guide plate located in the upper span is shown in white. In addition, with regard to guide plates that overlap in the upper and lower spans, only the lower span is shown.

When the same type of item M is continuously conveyed, the motors 32A and 32B are driven so that the guide plates 34A and 34B move continuously and alternately along the lower span. This allows all of the items M to be distributed to the same branch conveyor 14. On the other hand, when the item M conveyed on the conveyor 12 is not an item M that should be distributed to the branch conveyor 14, both guide plates 34A and 34B are moved to the upper span (standby position), and the item M passes under the item guide device 16 and is conveyed on the conveyor 12 without interfering with either of the guide plates 34A and 34B.

For example, when the article guide device 16 provided at the branching position with the branching conveyor 14A determines that the article M1 has reached the branching position based on signals from the reading device 18 and the sensor 20A, it moves the guide plate 34A or the guide plate 34B along the lower span. This causes the corner of the article M1 to engage with the guide plate 34A or the guide plate 34B, changing its orientation toward the branching conveyor 14A. The article M1 is then moved from the transport conveyor 12 to the branching conveyor 14A together with the guide plate 34A or the guide plate 34B, and is transported on the branching conveyor 14A by the rollers 36 of the branching conveyor 14A.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the item that arrives at the branching position with the branching conveyor 14A is item M2 or item M3, then both guide plates 34A and 34B are moved to the upper span, and item M2 or item M3 is directly transported downstream on the transport conveyor 12. Next, if the item M that arrives at the branching position with the branching conveyor 14B is determined to be item M2, the item guide device 16 provided at the branching position with the branching conveyor 14B moves guide plate 34A or guide plate 34B along the lower span, and distributes item M2 to the branching conveyor 14B. Also, if it is determined that item M is item 3, then both guide plates 34A and 34B are moved to the upper span, and item M3 is directly transported on the transport conveyor 12.

Figure 5 is a plan view showing in chronological order the movement of an article M to a branch conveyor 14 by the article guide device 16. As in Figure 1, in Figure 5, guide plates located on the lower span are shown in black, and guide plates located on the upper span are shown in white. For guide plates that overlap in the upper and lower spans, only the lower span is shown.

As shown in FIG. 5(a), an item M being transported on the transport conveyor 12 first has one of its leading corners engage with the guide plate 34A that has been moved to the lower span. Then, as shown in FIG. 5(b) to FIG. 5(e), the corner of the item M that has engaged with the guide plate 34A is moved toward the branch conveyor 14 while still engaged with the guide plate 34A, and the orientation of the item M is directed toward the branch conveyor 14. The item M then aligns with the guide plate 34A of the lower span, is oriented completely along the branch conveyor 14, and is transported along the branch conveyor 14 by the rollers 36 of the branch conveyor 14.

As described above, according to the sorting device of this embodiment, the article guide device is positioned above the transport conveyor, preventing it from being affected by falling objects, and by providing two independent sets of parallel chains that drive the guide plates, it can also handle cases where the same type of article is transported continuously with no gap between them. This also makes it possible to set the article transport speed to a higher speed.

In this embodiment, two sets of chains are used, but three or more sets of chains can be provided, and one chain can be provided with multiple sets of guides. Also, one item can be guided to a branch conveyor using guides attached to two chains. For example, four sets of first to fourth chains can be arranged, and item 1 can be guided to the branch conveyor by guides attached to the first and second chains, and item 2 can be guided to the branch conveyor by guides attached to the third and fourth chains.

10 Article sorting device 12 Transport conveyor 14, 14A, 14B Branching conveyor 16 Article guide device 18 Reading device (article detection means)
20A, 20B Sensor (item detection means)
22A, 22B: endless chain 32A, 32B: motor (driving means)
34A, 34B Guide plate

Claims (1)

a first transport conveyor for transporting articles;
a second conveyor connected to the first conveyor and configured to convey the articles in a direction different from that of the first conveyor;
an article guide means provided above the first transport conveyor for engaging with the article and guiding the article to the second transport conveyor;
an article detection means for detecting an article transported on the first transport conveyor;
The article guide means includes:
The first conveyor is disposed in a direction intersecting the first conveyor in a plan view,
At least two sets of chains that circulate vertically;
a plurality of guides attached to the chains so as to have an open section through which the articles transported on the first transport conveyor can pass;
a driving means provided on each of the chains for moving the guide between an engagement position where the guide engages with an article and a standby position where the guide does not engage with an article;
A control means for controlling the driving means,
When the article conveyed on the first transport conveyor is to be transported on the first transport conveyor as is, the guides of all the chains are positioned at the standby position,
When guiding an item transported on the first transport conveyor to the second transport conveyor, this item sorting device positions a plurality of guides attached to at least one of the plurality of chains at the engagement position, and positions a plurality of guides attached to the other chains at standby positions, thereby moving the plurality of guides positioned at the engagement positions to engage with the item, and guide the item from the first transport conveyor to the second transport conveyor.

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