JPH0388617A - Automatic sorting conveyer apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate sorting by providing an automatic sorting device having driving wheels which are in contact with a rotary roller and can be turned in the right and left directions to the rotating direction of the rotary roller on the rotary roller in a sorting position of a main transport conveyer in an apparatus used in the distribution center or the like. CONSTITUTION:When transported articles are articles not required to be sorted to be advanced linearly, driving wheels 25 are aligned in the advancing direction. If sorting is required,the driving wheels 25 for converting the direction are turned about 30-degree are according to the sorting direction. Thus, the articles are in contact with a rotary roller 22 and the transport direction of the articles is changed to a designated side by the rotating driving wheels 25 to discharge the articles.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field This invention is an automatic sorting conveyor device mainly used in distribution centers and distribution centers, etc. In particular, ordinary articles such as cardboard cases are sorted in the direction according to instructions. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Automatic sorting using redirectable drive wheels relates to conveyor devices.

Conventional technology Conventionally, this type of automatic sorting conveyor device rotates a drive wheel from rotating rollers via a round belt, changes the direction of the drive wheel to either the left or right direction when sorting articles, and rotates the drive wheel through a round belt. An automatic sorting system that sorts items by protruding them from the transport surface of a conveyor is a conveyor device, and an automatic sorting system that sorts articles by arranging drive wheels on the same surface as the conveyor's transport surface and changing the direction of these drive wheels is a conveyor device. etc. are known.

However, the problem that the invention aims to solve is that automatic sorting in which the drive wheel is driven by a round belt from rotating rollers takes time to replace the conveyor device when the round belt is cut, and the conveyor sorting operation is interrupted. Moreover, even if it is temporarily joined, it is difficult to join completely and there is a risk of it being cut again. In addition, in conveyor equipment, such automatic sorting is necessary.When articles are sorted incorrectly or stagnant due to such an accident, the problem is not only at such defective locations, but also when sorting is performed at locations. Sorting and sorting also causes errors in the order, etc., and sorting under control can cause mistakes, so operation must be temporarily stopped and then restarted after repairs, which is inconvenient. occurs. Furthermore, when a round belt is used to drive the drive wheel by passing it between a rotating roller and a drive wheel to change the direction of the drive wheel, a difference occurs in the positional relationship between the drive wheel and the rotating roller, making it difficult to use the round belt. Creates a difference in length. This means that the tension of the round belt is strong when the belt is spinning, and weak when the belt is spinning, and when the drive wheels rotate and the conveyed object is heavy, it may slip and the drive wheels will not rotate and the tension will be lower. Items are likely to be stagnant during the process, causing trouble in sorting.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve these conventional problems by providing mechanical bearings coated with wear-resistant synthetic rubber on the rotating rollers as drive wheels, which are placed at intervals along the rotating rollers. At the same time, these driving wheels are supported so as to be able to change direction left and right with respect to the rotational direction of the rotating roller, and the rotating roller is transferred from the rotating roller to the driving wheel by the contact friction resistance between the rotating roller and the driving wheel driven by the driving device. The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic sorting conveyor device equipped with an automatic sorting device capable of transmitting power.

Means for Solving the Problems To distantly relate to the above-mentioned objects, the automatic sorting conveyor apparatus of the present invention includes a rotating roller mounted on each of a plurality of spaced apart rotating rollers driven by a drive device. An automatic sorting device is constructed by supporting a plurality of drive wheels that are in contact with a rotating roller and are provided at intervals along a rotating roller so that the direction can be changed left and right with respect to the rotating direction of the rotating roller. It is characterized by the fact that each division is placed in its own location.

Accordingly, the automatic sorting conveyor device of the present invention can be configured by placing the automatic sorting device at the sorting point of the belt or driven roller conveyor to form the automatic sorting conveyor device by the above-mentioned means, such as a computer, etc. The sorting stored in the storage device automatically sorts the articles according to the instructions to a predetermined sorting point or to a predetermined sorting point by changing the direction of movement of the drive wheels of the device. It can be divided into

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description below, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment FIG. 1 of the drawings shows one embodiment of an automatic sorting conveyor apparatus using the automatic sorting apparatus of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the automatic sorting system of the present invention includes a conveyor system 1 that includes a main transport conveyor system 2, such as a belt or driven roller conveyor, and a main transport conveyor system 2 along which the main transport system ``if2'' Article A provided in each
A large number of sorting devices are mainly composed of a receiving port 3 and an automatic sorting device 5 provided at a sorting point of the main conveyor device 2 for sorting articles to the left and right. In the illustrated automatic sorting, in the conveyor device 1, the sorting of the articles A conveyed at the entrance of the main conveyor device 2 is first stored in an appropriate automatic storage device such as a computer, and then transferred to the main conveyor. The articles A are conveyed by the device 2 and are sorted at a predetermined sorting point, and the automatic sorting device 5 is operated according to a sorting command from the automatic storage device, and the articles A are sorted in a predetermined sorting direction on either the left or right side. The articles A are received at a receptacle 3 consisting of a conveyor or a chute.

The details of the automatic sorting device 5 of the conveyor device 1 according to the present invention are clearly shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. As shown in Figures 2 to 4, automatic sorting is carried out by the device 5.
is a pair of spaced apart conveyor frames 21.21
a plurality of rotating rollers 22 freely rotatably supported by bearings 23, 23, respectively, and arranged on each of the plurality of rotating rollers 22 at intervals along each rotating roller 22 At the same time, a large number of direction changers are rotatably held by the support frame 24 so that the rotation rollers 22 are rotated by contacting and engaging with each of the rotating rollers 22, and can freely change the direction to either the left or right direction. A drive wheel 25 for use is provided at the bottom of the tank.

In this automatic sorting, two drive devices for rotationally driving the rotating roller 22 of the device 5 are arranged below the rotating roller 22. For example, this drive device 29 includes a drive pulley 32 that is rotationally driven by an electric motor 31, and a drive pulley 32 that is rotationally driven by an electric motor 31.
2 and a driven pulley 33 provided at a distance.
The upper running surface of the rotating roller 22 is pressed by the roller 34.
The roller 22 is pressed downward to rotate the rotating roller 22. Of course, the drive device 29 is not limited to such a drive belt type, and other suitable drive devices can be used.

Furthermore, such automatic sorting is carried out in the device 5 by the drive device 2.
The drive wheel 25 for direction change is in contact engagement with each rotating roller 22 that is rotationally driven by 9.
Both ends of the support frame 24, which rotatably supports the drive wheels 25, are attached to square links 27 by shafts 28, 28'.

Each square link 27 is articulated at a corner,
A shaft 26.2 with both ends mounted in the conveyor frame 21.21'
6' as a fulcrum, and when rotated by a rotating device such as a rotating solenoid, the drive wheel 25 for direction change maintains contact with the rotating roller 22 on the rotating roller 22. While being rotated, the direction of rotation can be changed to either the left or right direction at an arbitrary angle with respect to the rotation direction of the rotating roller 22.

In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIG.
It is shown in three states with a straight direction of 30 degrees. Further, a phototube 35 is placed at the entrance of the automatic sorting device 5, so that it is possible to confirm the passage of the article A.

In the automatic sorting device 5 configured in this way, articles A
When an instruction for the article A to go straight is given as information, the drive wheels 25 for direction change are aligned in the direction of travel and convey the article A so as to go straight without being sorted.

In addition, if the information on the article A indicates that the article A should be sorted in either the left or right direction, the progress of the article A is confirmed with the phototube 35, and the article A is sorted in the predetermined direction. There are approximately 30 driving wheels 25 for direction change.
'The predetermined sorting on either the left or right side is changed in direction, whereby the predetermined sorting of the articles A is performed, and after a certain period of time has elapsed, the driving wheels 25 for changing direction are returned to the straight direction.

In a similar manner, a subsequent article A enters the photocell 35
When the sorting command from the automatic storage device is interrupted, the direction of the driving wheels 25 for changing direction is changed to a predetermined sorting direction, and the articles A are similarly sorted in a predetermined direction.

The functions of the automatic sorting conveyor device of the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

As shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, first, at the entrance of the main transport conveyor device 1, the incoming article A is stored in a suitable automatic storage device such as a computer, and the classification of the article A is first stored in a suitable automatic storage device such as a computer. It is transported by the main transport conveyor device 1. In this way, the articles A transported by the main transport conveyor device 1 pass through the phototube 35 at the entrance of each automatic sorting rack W5 and enter the automatic sorting rack N5, and the sorting stored in the automatic storage device Accordingly, if the article A is to proceed straight ahead, or if the article A is to be sorted in either the left or right direction, the automatic sorting will be carried out according to the command by rotating the rotary solenoid of the device 5 to drive the direction change. The wheels 25 are changed in direction for predetermined sorting on either the left or right side, the articles A are sorted in the predetermined sorting direction, and the sorted articles A are received at the receiver 3 to complete the sorting. Articles A that are subsequently transported are also subjected to predetermined sorting in the same manner.

Effects of the Invention As described above, in the automatic sorting system of the present invention, information such as where to sort the articles at the entrance of the main transport conveyor system is stored in a suitable automatic storage device such as a computer, and this storage When the articles arrive at a predetermined sorting location according to the information provided, the automatic sorting at the location changes the direction of the driving wheels of the device so that the articles are sorted in the predetermined sorting direction, and the driving wheels contact the rotating rollers. Objects can be reliably sorted simply by changing the direction of the rollers, and since the sorting mechanism can be constructed with a simple configuration of rotating rollers and drive wheels, it can be manufactured at low cost with fewer failures. Just by turning the roller approximately 30' in either the left or right direction while in contact with the rotating roller, contact between the rotating roller and the drive wheel can be maintained at all times, and driving force can be reliably obtained from the rotating roller.

Furthermore, the transmission force due to the contact resistance between the rotating roller and the drive wheel increases as the pressing pressure increases, but even if the articles to be sorted by the drive wheel are heavy, the contact pressure increases in proportion to the weight of the article. The driving force is increased, and there is no drop in driving force due to slipping when handling heavy items, unlike with conventional round belt drives.Furthermore, since the transmission method using round belts is not used, there is no belt damage, and the layering is simple. Effects such as being able to create a structure that is

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the automatic sorting conveyor device of this invention;
Figure 2 is a plan view of the automatic sorting conveyor device of this invention, Figure 3 is a surface diagram of the automatic sorting device in Figure 2, and Figure 4 is a straight forward movement of the automatic sorting device by the conveyor device. This is a plan view similar to FIG. 2 showing the drive wheels of the automatic sorting device in these three states, such as sorting in the direction and sorting in the right direction. In the figure, 1: Conveyor device for automatic sorting, 2: Main conveyor device, 3: Receiver, 5: Device for automatic sorting, 21.21': Conveyor frame, 22: Rotating roller, 23.23': Bearing , 24: Support frame, 25 drive wheels, 26.28.28': Axis, 27: Link, 2
9: Drive device, 30: Drive belt, 3rd work: Electric motor, 32
: Drive pulley, 33: Followed pulley, 34: Pressing roller, 35: Phototube.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of drive wheels are provided on each of the plurality of spaced apart rotating rollers driven by the drive device and in contact with the rotating roller and spaced along the rotating roller in the direction of rotation of the rotating roller. An automatic sorting conveyor device characterized in that an automatic sorting device supported so as to be able to change direction from side to side is provided at each sorting location of a main conveyor.