JPH04201917A - Accumulation conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent damage of objects to be conveyed by forming an accumulation conveyor from a plurality of unit conveyors joined together, furnishing a sensor to sense object in the downstream side, and controlling operation of each conveyor by a control device. CONSTITUTION:When an object 15 is conveyed by a supply conveyor 13 and it is sensed by a sensor 18 equipped on the conveyor 13, a roller 1a of the downstream unit conveyor joined therewith is actuated to carry the object 15. When a sensor 17a on the roller 1a on which the object 15 is placed has sensed it, a roller 1b of the next downstream unit conveyor is actuated in the case free from object to be conveyed, while the roller 1b is lef out of operation in case another sensor 17b is sensing existence of object and, at the same time, the roller 1a on which the object 15 is placed is stopped. When the sensor 17a of the roller 1a doesnot sense the object 5 any more, the roller 1a is stopped. In the same manner, objects 15 are transported one after another.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to an accumulation conveyor.

(Prior Art) An accumulation conveyor is a conveyor system that can temporarily accumulate conveyed objects while the drive section of the roller conveyor is in motion.

As a conventional accumulation conveyor,
6-48422 is known.

In this conventional example, there are a carrier roller rotated by a power supply unit, a detection means for detecting that there is an object on the carrier roller, a first switch that is always off and operated by receiving a signal from the detection means, and a first switch that is always on. The conveyor has a second switch, a control means for controlling power supply to the carrier roller, and a plurality of units equipped with the control means, and the carrier roller of each unit is connected to the conveyor directly or via a free roller. It was set up.

Then, the carrier roller power supply section of the first unit is connected in series to the power supply of the first switch and the feed switch of that unit, and the power supply section of the carrier roller of the second unit is connected to the first switch of that unit and the power supply of the first switch of the first unit. This is an accumulation conveyor with a similar configuration, connected in series with a two-switch power supply.

In this conventional accumulation conveyor, when there is no object to be transported, the carrier roller does not rotate, and when one carrier roller has an object to be transported, the switch is turned on and the carrier roller rotates. Similarly, when the next carrier roller rotates, the rotating carrier roller stops.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, this conventional accumulation conveyor has the following problems.

(1) When a conveyed object is placed on a stopped carrier roller, it is detected and the carrier roller rotates from zero and rises to a constant speed, causing the speed of the conveyed object to drop and create an unnatural flow.

(2) As shown in Fig. 24, if the distance between two carrier rollers A and B is longer than the transported object, the downstream carrier roller B will be moved by the preceding transported object due to the movement of the further downstream carrier roller C. Therefore, it is uncertain that it can be either rotating or stopped. This increases uncertainties depending on the detection state of the transported object, for example, the state of the contact surface between the transported object and the roller.

If the downstream carrier roller B is stopped, there is a possibility that the transported object will slip onto the stopped carrier roller B, and in this case, it will collide with the preceding transported object, and it will not slip. In this case, there was a problem that the adjustment would not go well because it would stop in the opposite direction. Therefore, zero pressure accumulation was not possible.

(3) As shown in Figure 25, two carrier rollers A8
If the distance between them is shorter than the length of the transported object, when the rear end of the transported object is on carrier roller A, the front end of the transported object acts on the next downstream carrier roller B, so
There was an inconvenience that the carrier roller A would stop.

In this way, conventional accumulation conveyors have different effects as described above depending on the length of the conveyed object, so there are problems with smooth conveyance and zero pressure accumulation. Ta.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an accumulation conveyor that allows objects to be transported smoothly with zero pressure and whose operation is not affected by the length of the object.

(Means for solving the problem) In order to achieve this objective, an accumulation lane conveyor is constructed by sequentially connecting multiple unit conveyors, and a sensor is installed downstream of each unit conveyor and supply conveyor to detect the conveyed items. , each sensor is connected to the conveyor operating device and control device provided for each unit conveyor,
A program manually entered into the control device recognizes the combinations of sensing and non-sensing of each sensor and activation signals of the discharge conveyor, and automatically activates and stops each conveyor operating device.

In addition, the accumulation conveyor is constructed by sequentially connecting multiple unit conveyors, and a sensor is provided downstream of each unit conveyor and supply conveyor to detect the conveyed object, and each sensor is connected to a conveyor operating device and Connected to the control device, when the sensor on the upstream unit conveyor detects the conveyed object, the sensor on the downstream unit conveyor connected thereto operates the downstream unit conveyor without sensing the conveyed object, and the sensor on the operating unit conveyor operates. The unit conveyor is configured to stop when the unit is not detected.

Furthermore, the accumulation conveyor is made up of a plurality of unit conveyors that are connected in sequence, and a sensor is installed downstream of each unit conveyor and supply conveyor to detect the conveyed object, and each sensor is connected to a conveyor operating device and A select switch connects to the control device and selects the program input to the control device.
The combination of sensing and non-sensing of each sensor and activation signal of the discharge conveyor is converted, and each conveyor activation device can be automatically activated and stopped according to the length of the conveyed object.

(Function) When the conveyance is carried from the supply conveyor on the upstream side of the accumulation conveyor and detected by the sensor of the supply conveyor, the unit conveyor on the downstream side connected to it is activated to carry the conveyance. At this time, the condition is that no object is placed on the unit conveyor on the downstream side, that is, that it is not detected by the sensor. and,
The other downstream unit conveyors are not operating. Next, when the sensor of the unit conveyor on which the object is carried detects the object, the next downstream unit conveyor operates if there is no object to be carried, and if the sensor detects the object, The unit conveyor on the downstream side is not operated, and at the same time, the unit conveyor on which the transported object is placed is also stopped.

Further, when the sensor of the unit conveyor on which the object was placed no longer detects the object, the unit conveyor stops.

Similarly, the operation is repeated sequentially to transport the object to the downstream side.

Further, the most downstream unit conveyor is operated by a signal from the discharge conveyor.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a plane view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 also shows the front view, FIG. 4 to 19 to explain,
An explanation will be given based on FIGS. 20 to 23 showing the operating state of another embodiment.

A plurality of rollers 1 are rotatably attached between frames 3 via shafts 2. The frame 3 is supported by legs 6. 7 is support. The duct frame 8 is
Install it parallel to the frame 3 between the frames 3 below the roller l.

There is a groove 4 at the left and right ends of each roller 1, and the groove 4 engages a belt 5.

In this embodiment, a conveyor capable of accumulating four objects is used, and four unit conveyors are constructed between one frame 3. Each unit conveyor has a set of five consecutive rollers, and from the upstream side, each unit conveyor is configured as rollers 1a, 2b, and IC11d.

The belt 5 is passed between the pulleys 10 on the rotating shaft of the roller motor 9 on the most downstream side of the roller 1a. This rotation of the most downstream roller 1a is caused by the rotation of the roller 1 adjacent to the groove 4 at the other end.
It is continued by the belt 5 in the groove 4 of a. Thereafter, the rollers 1a of one unit conveyor continue in the same manner.

The motor 9 and sensor 17 are attached to the duct frame 8 and located below the downstream roller 1 of each unit. In this embodiment, the sensor 17 is composed of a photoelectric device, and its optical axis 11 is provided between the most downstream roller 1 and its adjacent roller 1 so as to face upward toward near the center in the width direction of the roller.

Instead of the motor 9, one roller in the unit may be used as a motor roller.

If the rollers 1 making up one set of unit conveyors are motor rollers with a built-in motor, the belt 5
is not necessary, and instead of the photoelectric device 17, a sensor 17 such as a proximity switch or a limit switch may be used.

Further, the unit conveyor may be a belt conveyor.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a control device, which is configured to allow programs to be freely inputted therein, and is provided with a select switch (not shown) to convert each program.

13 is a supply conveyor, 18 is a sensor, 15 is a conveyed object,
16 is a discharge conveyor. The sensor 18 is provided downstream of the supply conveyor 13 and consists in this example of a photoelectric device. 14 is an optical axis of the sensor 18.

The control device I2 includes each sensor 17aS 17b, 17c.
, 17d, a sensor 18 of the supply conveyor 13, and a signal transmitter (not shown) from the discharge conveyor 16, and
Motors 9a, 9b19c, and 9d are electrically connected.

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 19, which are the first embodiment.
This will be explained according to the diagram.

A first conveyed object 15+lL is conveyed by the supply conveyor 13 (FIG. 4), interrupts the optical axis 14, and
It is sensed by the sensor 18 of No. 3. Then, the motor 9a connected to this sensor 18 is activated and transmits its rotation to the five rollers 1a via the belt 5, causing the rollers 1a to rotate (FIG. 5).

The conveyed object 15a is transported by the roller 1a of the first unit conveyor.
When the optical axis 11a of the sensor 17a of the first unit conveyor is interrupted, the second unit conveyor connected to this sensor 17a
The motor 9b of the unit conveyor operates and transmits this rotation to the roller lb, causing the five rollers 1b of the second unit conveyor to rotate (FIG. 6).

Similarly, when the conveyed object 15a is sensed by the optical axis 11b of the sensor 17b of the second unit conveyor, the motor 9c of the third unit conveyor connected thereto is activated and this rotation is transmitted to the roller 1c. At this time, when the optical axis 11a of the sensor +7a of the first unit conveyor is no longer blocked by the object 15a, the motor 9a of the first unit conveyor stops and the roller 1a also stops (FIG. 7).

Similarly, the conveyed object 15a is placed on the third unit conveyor. At this time, the roller 1b of the second unit conveyor on the upstream side stops (FIG. 8).

The conveyed object 15a is placed on the roller 1d of the fourth unit conveyor, blocks the optical axis lid, and is sensed by the sensor 17d. If there is a signal indicating that the discharge conveyor 16 is operating, the motor 9d continues to operate.

On the other hand, if there is a signal that the discharge conveyor is not operating as shown in Figure 9, the optical axis 11d is blocked, the motor 9d of the fourth unit conveyor stops, the rotation of the roller 1d also stops, and the conveyor is transported. The object 15a is stopped on the roller 1d of the fourth unit conveyor. Further, the second conveyor 15b is carried from the supply conveyor I3, and the roller 1a of the first unit conveyor rotates as detected by the sensor 18 (FIG. 9).

The second conveyed object 15b similarly passes through the second unit conveyor and is placed on the roller 1c of the third unit conveyor (first
figure).

As shown in Figure 11, roller 1 of the fourth unit conveyor
If there is an object 15a on the conveyor 15a and it continues to be sensed by the sensor 17d, the motor 9d of the fourth unit conveyor will not move even if the sensor 17C of the third unit conveyor senses the object 15b. The motor 9C of the three-unit conveyor stops (Fig. 11).

The third cargo 15c that was carried in the same way is (Fig. 12)
, stops on the roller 1b of the second unit conveyor (
Figure 13).

Next, when a signal indicating that the discharge conveyor 16 has been operated is manually inputted to the sensor 17d of the fourth unit conveyor, the motor 9d is operated and the roller 1d is rotated. Transport +5
21 is discharged to the discharge conveyor 16 (Fig. 14), and the fourth
When the optical axis lld of the sensor 17d of the unit conveyor no longer detects the conveyed object 15a, the motor 9c is activated via the sensor 17C of the third unit conveyor. At this time, the roller 1d of the fourth unit conveyor continues to rotate (FIG. 15) and (FIG. 16). Second conveyance 1
5b is the optical axis 1 of the sensor 17c of the third unit conveyor
1c, the motor 9C of the third unit conveyor stops (Fig. 17), and when the conveyed object 15b is detected by the optical axis lid of the sensor 17d of the fourth unit conveyor, the motor 9C of the second unit conveyor stops. 9b and the motor 9c of the third unit conveyor are operated, and the rollers 1b,
lc rotates. Since there is no signal to activate the discharge conveyor 16, the conveyed article 15b stops on the fourth unit conveyor (FIG. 18).

The conveyed object 15c is moved to the third position by the rotation of the roller 1b11c.
The motor 9C is stopped by the sensor 17c and the downstream sensor 17d. At the same time, the motors 9a and 9b of the first and second unit conveyors on the upstream side are operated to rotate the rollers 1a and lb (FIG. 19).

Thereafter, when a signal for operating the discharge conveyor 16 enters the fourth unit conveyor, the conveyed articles 15 are discharged by the same action, and the conveyed articles 15 are sequentially moved to the downstream side (discharge side) and accumulated.

Such adjustment between the sensors 17 is determined by a program input to the control device 12 and is adjusted electrically. For example, in the first embodiment described above, the conveyed objects 15 are matched to the length of each unit conveyor, but 2 ([ii
In the case of a conveyed object 15 extending between two unit conveyors (over two sensors), the control device 12 adjusts the functions between each sensor 17 and the motor 9 using a select switch, or automatically adjusts the operation between each sensor 17 and motor 9. The length of the conveyed object 15 is sensed and the controller 12 is adapted accordingly.

20 to 23 show examples in which other programs are input to the control device 12.

When two or more conveyance items 15 are continuously accumulated on the rollers of each unit conveyor, when an activation signal is received from the discharge conveyor 16, the unit conveyor on which all the conveyance items 15 are placed The roller l is
A discharge state is shown in which the rollers 1 of each unit conveyor simultaneously rotate and stop at the time when the most downstream transported article 15 is discharged until the next activation signal from the discharge conveyor 16 is received.

(Effects of the Invention) Therefore, according to the present invention, there is no possibility that the objects to be transported come into contact with each other, so there is an effect that the objects to be transported are not damaged.

Furthermore, since the unit conveyor rotates before it comes into contact with the object to be transported, the object can be transported smoothly and the object is not damaged.

Furthermore, since unit conveyors that are not carrying objects do not operate, there is an effect of energy saving.

Furthermore, since the structure is relatively simple, there are fewer failures and maintenance work is reduced.

Another advantage is that the operation can be selected depending on the length of the object to be transported.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 23 show an embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the accumulation conveyor of this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view, and FIG. 3 is the same as that of FIG. A-A
The arrow views and FIGS. 4 to 19 are explanatory diagrams showing the operating state of this embodiment, and FIGS. 20 to 23 are explanatory diagrams showing the operating states of other embodiments. FIGS. 24 and 25 are explanatory diagrams of a conventional accumulation conveyor. 111 a, l b, l cSl cl・-・
Rollers 9.9a, 9b, 9c, 9
cl-・-Motor 1 1, 1 1a, l l
b, 1 1c, l ld... Optical axis (of sensor 17) 12... Control device, I3... Supply conveyor, 14... Optical axis (sensor 18) )15...
...Transported object, 16...Discharge conveyor, 17.17a, 17b, 17c, t7d-==sensor (of unit conveyor)

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In an accumulation conveyor, a plurality of unit conveyors are sequentially connected, and a sensor is provided downstream of each unit conveyor and supply conveyor to detect the conveyed object, and each sensor is connected to a conveyor operating device and It is connected to a control device, and can recognize the combination of sensing/non-sensing of each sensor and activation signal of the discharge conveyor according to a program input into the control device in advance, and can automatically activate and stop each conveyor operating device. An accumulation conveyor that is characterized by the following: (2) In the accumulation conveyor, a plurality of unit conveyors are sequentially connected, and a sensor is provided downstream of each unit conveyor and supply conveyor to detect the conveyed object, and each sensor is connected to a conveyor operating device and a sensor provided for each unit conveyor. Connected to the control device, when the sensor of the upstream unit conveyor detects the conveyed object, the sensor of the downstream unit conveyor connected to it activates the unit conveyor of one unit downstream immediately when the conveyed object is not detected. An accumulation conveyor characterized in that the unit conveyor stops when the unit conveyor's sensor fails to detect the sensor. (3) In the accumulation conveyor, a plurality of unit conveyors are sequentially connected, and a sensor is provided downstream of each unit conveyor and supply conveyor to detect the conveyed object, and each sensor is connected to a conveyor operating device and a sensor provided for each unit conveyor. A select switch that is connected to the control device and selects the program input to the control device converts the combination of sensing, non-sensing, and discharge conveyor activation signals of each sensor, and adjusts each conveyor according to the length of the transported object. An accumulation conveyor characterized in that an operating device can be automatically activated and stopped.