JPH0126653Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Technical Field of the Invention This invention relates to a branching and conveying device, which is used to separate and organize objects such as packaging boxes containing a large number of bottles into various categories at a shipping site or elsewhere. This is a system that quickly and easily divides conveyed items that are carried in a line along the route on the same plane, allowing for reliable branching even if the conveyance interval is small.Moreover, the device itself is compact, requires less installation space, and is easy to maintain. The present invention relates to a branching conveyance device.

Technical background of the invention and its problems Conventional branching conveyance devices of this type have a large area at the branching location, so the installation area must be large, so in order to incorporate it into existing conveyance equipment,
It required major changes, lacked versatility, and was not necessarily satisfactory in terms of layout and cost. In other words, the conventional
The drive chain was combined with the drive roller, and the chain was moved up and down to branch out.As such, it was not possible to move the chain up and down, or to switch the lever chain, etc. when there was an object on the drive chain. must also pass over the drive chain. Since this drive chain portion is quite long, it takes a long time to pass through it, and the loss time required for switching as a whole is long. Therefore, on the upstream side of the branching device,
It was necessary to install an extremely long accumulation conveyor to temporarily store and wait for conveyed items. However, this method requires a considerably large installation area, increases the cost of conveyor layout, and is not only uneconomical. In this case, the layout of existing equipment must be significantly changed.

Purpose of the invention Therefore, this invention was devised to eliminate the existing drawbacks as described above, and to facilitate branching by operating within the same plane. By shortening the accumulation rate conveyor, we have made the accessories more compact and the installation area has been minimized.In addition, the branching lever can be switched by swinging only when it is confirmed that there are no objects to be conveyed in the branching area. The purpose of the present invention is to ensure branch operation without applying excessive force to the switch, and to facilitate maintenance.

Summary of the invention Therefore, this invention uses phototube switches arranged in a crosswise manner at the branching part to confirm that there is no object, even if it is a part, between the two branching levers, and then activates the same lever. The direction of the conveyed object is changed to the side of the selected branching path, and a pair of left and right branching rollers on the branching conveyor configured on the same plane are mounted on shafts with the inner side in the branching direction positioned toward the discharge direction side compared to the outer side, By transferring the conveyed object to the side opposite to the branching path of the conveyor, which is branched by a conveyor having an inverted V-shape in plane, the conveyor is successfully made compact as a whole.

Embodiments of the invention Examples of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The branching conveyance device shown in one embodiment includes a carry-in conveyor 10 forming a carry-in path 11 with a large number of carry-in rollers 13 mounted on a shaft, and a large number of branch rollers arranged side by side in left and right pairs. 23A, 23B are
The branching conveyor 20 is mounted on a shaft with the inner side in the branching direction positioned toward the delivery direction side compared to the outer side, and is arranged in an inverted V-shape in a plan view to form left and right branching paths 21A and 21B. A plurality of suspended conveyance rollers 33 are connected to the left and right branch paths 21A and 21B, and separated from each other to form a pair of conveyance paths 3.
Unloading conveyor 30 forming 1A and 31B
A pair of branching levers 51 for distributing the conveyed article P guided on the carry-in path 11 to either branch path 21A or 21B are pivotally supported on the carry-in roller 13 so as to be able to swing freely. A branching mechanism 50 attached to the rear, a control detection mechanism 60 with two pairs of phototube switches 62 whose optical paths 61 cross each other at the branching site, and a limit switch 73 at the upstream end of the separation stay 34 (FIG. 7). It has a safety mechanism with

As shown in the figure, the loading conveyor 1
0, the branch conveyor 20 and the carry-out conveyor 30 are built into one frame 1 common to them,
This makes the overall installation easier and more compact. Specifically, as shown in FIG.
In order to form a pair of left and right first side frames 2 having the same width to form a frame 0 and a carry-out conveyor 30,
Left and right 1 slightly wider than the first side frame 2
A frame 1 is constituted by a pair of second side frames 3 and a connecting frame 4 interposed between the side frames 2 and 3 to connect them to each other.

The carry-in conveyor 10 includes a first side frame 2.
A large number of carry-in rollers 13 are mounted on a shaft via bearings 12 disposed above, and in the center along the carry-in direction, a conveyed object such as a synthetic resin packaging box containing a large number of bottles is placed. A pair of guide stays 14 having a width corresponding to the width of P are arranged on the carry-in roller 13, thereby forming the carry-in path 11.

The branch conveyor 20 includes a first side frame 2
Left and right side bearings 22A, 22B and left and right center bearings 2 are respectively disposed on the husband and on the center frame 5 provided in the center between the side frames 2.
A large number of left and right branch rollers 23A,
23B between the first side frame 2 on the left side and the center frame 5 to form a left branch path 21A, and between the first side frame 2 on the right side and the center frame 5 on the left side to form a branch path 21A on the left side. They are axially mounted symmetrically to form the right branch path 21B.

The unloading conveyor 30 includes a second side frame 3
A large number of carry-out rollers 33 are mounted on a shaft through bearings 32 disposed above, and in the center along the carry-out direction, there is a left carry-out passage 31A that is continuous with the left branch passage 21A, and a right-hand carry-out passage 31A that is continuous with the left branch passage 21A. A separation stay 34 is arranged on the carry-out roller 33 to separate the right-hand carry-out passage 31B which is continuous with the branch passage 21B.

At this time, as shown in the figure, the pair of left and right branching rollers 23A, 23B are mounted on shafts with the inner side in the branching direction positioned toward the delivery direction side compared to the outer side, and are arranged in an inverted V-shape in plan view. put. By doing so, the conveyed object P once placed on the branching rollers 23A and 23B is directed outward in the discharge direction, that is, the left branching roller 23A moves the conveyed object P to the left side. In addition, the branching rollers 23B on the right side transport the conveyed objects P to the right side, respectively, and the reliability of separation in the left and right direction can be further improved.

Furthermore, the left and right branching rollers 23A, 23B in the left and right branching paths 21A, 21B formed in the branching conveyor 20 have the left and right center bearings 22C, which are the inner sides in the branching direction, on the outer sides in the branching direction. By setting the upper part bearings 22A, 22B at a higher position, the inner part of the center part of the branch conveyor 20 is higher and the outer part thereof is lower, which is a so-called middle height type, and the branch rollers 23A, 23 are inclined.
The conveyed object P when conveyed on B is inclined toward the selected branch road side, and the lower surface of the conveyed object P is separated from the conveyor roller 23 on the non-selected branch road side. Therefore, no force acts on the conveyed object P in the direction of the unselected branch path, and the conveyed object P appropriately moves to the outside of the branch conveyor 23 of the selected branch path and is transferred downstream, and at the same time, the force of its own weight acts on the conveyed object P. The transition is complete.

In addition, the carry-in conveyor 10, the branch conveyor 20, and the carry-out conveyor 30 are all designed to operate synchronously.
It is designed to be driven by a drive source M such as a single motor. That is, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a drive source M is disposed on the bracket 6 at the bottom of the carry-in conveyor 10, and the carry-in roller 13 at the frontmost part of the main chain 40 driven by deceleration is mounted.
The rear carry-in roller 13 is sequentially rotated by the first transmission chain 41, the first linking chain 42, and the second transmission chain 43, and then the frontmost branch roller is rotated via the first intermediate chain 44. 23A,
23B, the adjacent rear branching roller 23
The rear branching rollers 23A, 23B are rotated via the interlocking chains 45 between them, and the second intermediate chain 46 (FIG. 3)
The conveyance roller 33 at the forefront is sequentially rotated through a third transmission chain 47, a second linking chain 48, and a fourth transmission chain 49. In any case, it is clear that the drive transmission between the conveyors 10, 20, and 30 is not limited to the illustrated example, and it goes without saying that various design changes are possible. In the figure, 24A and 24B represent the carry-in roller 13, the branch rollers 23A and 23B, and the branch rollers 23A and 2.
It is a free branch roller interposed between 3B and the carry-out roller 33, and these 13, 23A, 23
This is to eliminate the gaps that occur between B, 33 and 23A, 23B. Further, 7 is a chain transmission bracket.

Further, a branching mechanism 50 is provided at the rear of the loading path 11.
This branching mechanism 50 activates the branching lever 51 when it receives a signal for distributing the transported object P guided on the carry-in path 11 to the branch path on the opposite side to the transported object P located immediately downstream. A pair of branch levers 51 for turning in that direction are pivotally supported on the carry-in roller 13 so as to be swingable. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, a link 54 is swingably connected to a cylinder rod 53 of an electric power cylinder 52 or an air cylinder fixed below the rear of the carry-in path 11, and a link 54 is connected between the carry-in rollers 13. The lower ends of a pair of swinging pins 56 are made into a standing leg shape and supported swingably by bearings 55 provided on the frame 1, and the lower ends of the swinging pins 56 are connected swingably to both ends of the link 54, respectively. A pair of branching levers 51 are fixed to the upper end, respectively, so that the branching conveyor 20 faces towards the other side. This operation is performed when there is a shortage of conveyed articles in one branch path due to a conveyance shortage detection mechanism (not shown) provided at the downstream portions of both branch paths, and the branch lever 51 is directed to the side of the branch path where there is no shortage. Then, the control detection mechanism 60 confirms that there is no part of the conveyed object P between the branching levers 51, and in response to that signal, the branching lever 51 swings in accordance with the protrusion and retraction of the cylinder rod 53, and the transfer path 11 Branch road 21A on the left side or branch road 21B on the right side at the exit
The branch lever 51 is designed to swing in a short period of time, for example, 0.6 seconds.

Hereinafter, the control detection mechanism 60 for confirming that even a part of the conveyed object P, which is one of the conditions for turning the branching lever 51, does not exist between the branching levers 51 will be described. This control detection mechanism 60
As shown in the figure, two pairs of phototube switches 62 are arranged so that the optical paths 61 intersect each other at the branching site, and the optical paths 61 intersect at the center between the branching levers 51 in the branching mechanism 50. , the paired phototube switch 62 is connected to the first
They are arranged symmetrically on the left and right sides of the side frame 2. Optical line 61 in this phototube switch 62
When the branching lever is cut off, the branching mechanism 50 is assumed not to operate, and overloading of the power cylinder 52 occurs due to shaking the branching lever while pinching the conveyed object, and the discharge of the conveyed object during the shaking. This prevents incomplete redirection.

As shown in FIG. 7, a safety mechanism 70 is provided at the front of the separation stay 34 in the carry-out conveyor 30. When the side surface on the side of the branch road is outside the separation stay 34, the drive of this invented device is automatically stopped.As shown in FIG. The detection pin 72 which is urged forward by the elastic force of 71 is slidably attached, and when the conveyed object P collides with the front end of the detection pin 72 and the unloading pin 72 is forcibly retreated. , a limit switch 73 is disposed on the separation stay 34 to cut off current to the drive source M and the drive source (not shown) of the upstream conveyor.

This invention is constructed as described above, and is operated by energizing the drive source M to move the conveyors 10, 20, 30 through each chain 40 to 49.
Carrying-in roller 13, branching rollers 23A, 2
3B and the carry-out roller 33 are rotated, respectively, and the conveyed object P is conveyed from the front of the carry-in path 11. When the transported object P reaches the rear position of the carry-in path 11, which is the branching point, the transported object shortage detection mechanism (not shown)
When the conditions are satisfied based on the signal from the control detection mechanism 60, the branching lever 51 is oriented in the desired branching direction. Then, the branch rollers 23A, 2
3B urge each other outward in the branching direction, that is, in the left branch road 21A, the branches are biased toward the left side, and in the right branch road 21B, they are biased toward the right side. transported and contacted separately,
They are carried out to separate carry-out paths 31A and 31B, respectively, and sorted and organized at predetermined positions. If a problem occurs in the downstream part of the branch conveyor, such as temporary accumulation of the conveyed items P, the safety mechanism 70 immediately stops the conveyor, and after the problem is resolved, the sorting work is carried out again. be. In addition, in FIG. 3, the reference numeral 75 is a transmission shaft, the reference numeral 76 is a bearing, and the reference numeral 77 is a universal joint.

Effects of the invention Therefore, the carry-in conveyor 10 forming the carry-in path 11, the branch conveyor 20 forming the left and right branch paths 21A and 21B, and the conveyor 10 that is separated from each other.
Since the carrying-out conveyor 30 forming the pair of carrying-out passages 31A and 31B is arranged, carrying-in, branching, and carrying-out can be carried out extremely smoothly.
The length of the branching lever 51 attached to the rear of 1 is short, and the time to pass between the branching levers 51 is short, so the loss time for branching is extremely short, and the distribution is reliably made. There is no longer a need to lengthen the Umrate conveyor, the entire system becomes compact, and the installation area is reduced, and the safety mechanism 70 reliably detects incomplete branching of the conveyed object P, thus preventing trouble from occurring. This ensures reliability of operation.

In particular, in the branching conveyor 20, a large number of branching rollers 23A, which are mounted in pairs on the left and right,
23B is mounted on a shaft with the inside in the branching direction being located on the delivery direction side compared to the outside, and is arranged in an inverted V-shape in plane. As a result, it moves to the outside of the branch conveyor. Therefore, not only branching is performed reliably, but also transition is smooth.

Further, in the carry-out conveyor 30, the left and right branch paths 2
Since a pair of discharge paths 31A and 31B are connected to the rollers 1A and 21B and are separated from each other, there is no need to form separate discharge paths using separate rollers, and the structure can be simplified. There are advantages.

Furthermore, since the presence or absence of an object to be conveyed at the branch point is detected by a control detection mechanism consisting of two pairs of phototube switches that intersect with each other, there is no detection blind spot at the branch point.
Only when the control detection mechanism confirms that there is no object to be conveyed at the branching part, the pair of branching levers swingably pivoted on both the left and right sides of the branching part are oscillated. It is possible to reliably prevent the application of excessive force to the branching lever, which may lead to damage, or the branching lever may move incompletely, resulting in uncertain distribution of the transported objects to the branching path. Ru.

Furthermore, in each of the conveyors 10, 20, and 30, rollers are used for the carry-in path 11 and the branch path 2.
1A, 21B and discharge paths 31A, 31B, even if the conveyed object P has an uneven bottom surface, such as a synthetic resin packaging box for storing bottles, it will not get caught during conveyance. There is no problem, and the transfer transition is extremely smooth.

As explained above, according to this invention, it is possible to easily and quickly divide and separate items that have been transported along the same route on the same plane, making it possible to reliably separate items and also to prevent problems from occurring. Not only is this possible, but quick and reliable branching can significantly shorten the length of the conventionally required accumulation conveyor, making the entire device more compact, requiring less installation space, and requiring less maintenance. This method is not only easy, but also has excellent versatility and can be applied to automatic branching of various conveyed objects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawing shows an example of this invention.
Fig. 1 is a plan view, Fig. 2 is a side view taken along line A-A in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a plan view taken along line B-B in Fig. 2 showing chain transmission in each conveyor, and Fig. 4 is a plan view taken along line A-A in Fig. 1. The figure is a front view of the carry-in conveyor along line C-C in Figure 1, and Figure 5 is a sectional view of the main part along line D-D in Figure 2, showing the bearing structure of the branching roller on the inside in the branching direction. 6 is a front view of the branching mechanism taken along line E-E in FIG. 2, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the safety mechanism. P... Transported object, M... Drive source, 1... Frame, 2
...First side frame, 3...Second side frame, 4...Connection frame, 5...Central frame, 6...Bracket, 7...Bracket, 10
... Carrying-in conveyor, 11... Carrying-in path, 12... Bearing, 13... Carrying-in roller, 14... Guide stay, 20... Branch conveyor, 21A, 21B...
Branch road, 22A, 22B...Side bearing, 22C...
...Central bearing, 23A, 23B... Branch roller,
24A, 24B...Free branch roller, 30...
Carrying out conveyor, 31A, 31B... Carrying out path, 32
... Bearing, 33 ... Carrying out roller, 34 ... Separation stay, 40 ... Main chain, 41 ... First transmission chain, 42 ... First linking chain, 4
3... Second transmission chain, 44... First intermediate chain, 45... Interlocking chain, 46... Second
middle chain, 47... third transmission chain,
48... Second linking chain, 49... Fourth transmission chain, 50... Branching mechanism, 51... Branching lever, 52... Power cylinder, 53... Cylinder rod, 54... Link, 55... Bearing , 56
... Oscillating pin, 60 ... Control detection mechanism, 61 ...
Optical line, 62...Phototube switch, 70...Safety mechanism, 71...Coil spring, 72...Detection pin, 73...Limit switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A carry-in conveyor that forms a carry-in path with a large number of carry-in rollers mounted on a shaft, and a large number of branching rollers mounted on left and right shafts side by side in a direction of branching. The branch conveyor is mounted on a shaft with the inside facing toward the delivery direction compared to the outside, and is arranged in an inverted V-shape to form a left and right branch path, and a large number of delivery rollers mounted on the shaft. an unloading conveyor that is continuous with the left and right branching paths and separated from each other to form a pair of unloading paths; It has a pair of branching levers that are swung only when the vehicle is not in use, and that directs the transported goods guided on the delivery path to one of the branching paths, and two pairs of phototube switches whose optical paths intersect with each other at the branching site. A branching conveyance device characterized by having a control detection mechanism that detects whether or not there is an object to be conveyed at the branching site and allows a branching lever to swing when there is no object to be conveyed. 2. The branching conveyance device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of left and right branching rollers are arranged at an angle, with the inner side in the branching direction set at a higher position upward than the outer side.