JPH04313513A - Classifying method for number of article to be conveyed - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform counting of the number of articles regardless of a speed difference by counting a first article by means of first photo-sensors and counting the number of a second and following articles by means of second photo sensors in the article discharge positions of vertical belts positioned facing each other on both sides of a carriage conveyor. CONSTITUTION:A pair of vertical belts 2 and 2' are positioned facing each other in a position in the vicinity of the terminal of a carriage conveyor 1 and on both sides of the conveyor. First photo-sensors 7 and 7' to count a first article to be classified are disposed such that an optical path is positioned on B. Further, second photo-sensors 6 and 6' to count the passage of second and following articles of the number N of articles by time-base are disposed such that an optical path is positioned on A. Namely, from a moment when the optical paths of the photo-sensors 7 and 7' are cut off by a first article P delivered from the vertical belts 2 and 2', a light shield time is detected by the second photo-sensors 6 and 6'. After a lapse of the passing time of the number (N-1) of articles, the vertical belts 2 and 2' are stopped and classified of the article P is carried out.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention is a conveyor article used for sorting beverage packs and other articles conveyed on a conveyor into predetermined numbers and sending them to a required post-processing process such as shrink wrapping. Regarding the number sorting method.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, when sorting multiple articles for stacking etc. that are supplied one after another by a conveyor, for example, when the conveyed articles are beverage packs, a position near the end of the conveyor is used. Brake members or vertical belts of a predetermined length are provided on both left and right sides of the conveyor belt, and the articles are held or held and moved therebetween to control the movement of the articles by the conveyor and to sort them into a predetermined number of articles. Among these, those that use brake members rely solely on the friction between the conveyor and the articles to move the articles, and it takes time to sort them, so recently, vertical belts have been used exclusively to forcibly move the articles. It looks like this.

As a conventional sorting device using the above-mentioned vertical belt, the type shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is used. In this device, a pair of vertical belts 2 and 2' are provided facing each other on both left and right sides of a predetermined position near the end of the conveyor 1, and the conveyor speed of the conveyor 1 is V.
1 or faster speed V2 (for example, V2=1
．． 5V1) to clamp the article P (for example, the one shown in FIG. 7) and send it forward, and a stopper and guide is provided at a predetermined position at the end of the conveyor 1 to dam the article P and guide it laterally. Board 9 is arranged, and in front of it (
A short pusher 8 is provided on the side (upstream side), and pushes the articles (three in the figure) sorted and stored in front of the guide plate 9 toward the article accumulation position on the side (left side in the conveyor traveling direction). It is designed to move. Further, an auxiliary guide plate 9' is provided opposite to the guide plate 9 in order to guide and align the rear end of the sorted articles P on the upstream side. The short pusher 8 is located as close to the ends of the vertical belts 2, 2 as possible to increase the working speed.

[0004] On the article discharge side of the vertical belts 2, 2', optical sensors 7, 7' for counting the number of articles P to be sent out are disposed across the conveyance path. For example, the optical sensors 7, 7' are connected to the vertical belts 2, 2.
1/2 of the length L in the traveling direction of the article from a line A that connects the centers of the pair of drive shafts on the article sending side of ' and is perpendicular to the conveying direction
They are arranged so that the optical path is located on a line B that is parallel to the line A and is spaced apart from them. This happens when part of the final sorted item (the 3rd item when sorting by 3 items) remains on the vertical belt, and when the next item to be sorted (the 4th item when sorting by 3 items) remains on the vertical belt.
The optical path is set at the optimal position for counting conveyed articles, taking into consideration the case where the conveyed articles are viewed from the vertical belt.

On the other hand, when the vertical belts 2, 2' have accumulated a predetermined number of articles (three in the figure) or more on the article entry side when the vertical belts are in a stopped state (in this case,
The opposing distance between the pair of vertical belts 2 and 2' is set to be slightly narrower than the width of the article in the traveling direction, for example, in the case of a width of 40 mm, the interval is set to 38 mm, so that the article is carried on the conveyor. ), an optical sensor 5 detects this and drives the vertical belts 2, 2',
5' are arranged to sandwich the conveyance path. Then, the articles stored in front of the vertical belt are sent out by the vertical belt, the sent out articles P are counted by the optical sensors 7 and 7', and the vertical belts 2 and 2' are stopped for a predetermined period of time (depending on the conditions of each part of the machine). ), the short pusher 8 pushes out a predetermined number (three in the figure) of articles P sorted and stored in front of the stopper/guide plate 9 to the side.

[0006]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] When the conveyed articles are sorted by the above-mentioned device, the articles P discharged from the vertical belts 2, 2' are partially held by the vertical belts 2, 2'. The article P is transported at the feed speed V2 of the vertical belt as long as the object P is conveyed, and when it is discharged from the belts 2, 2', the article P is sent at the feed speed V1 of the conveyor 1. Therefore, the article P across the optical path for counting articles.
When passing through, the optical path is 1 half of the length L in the traveling direction of the article from the line connecting the axes on the sending side of the vertical belt.
/2L is placed in front, so the first half 1/2L in which the article P passes through the optical path is at the feed speed V2 of the vertical belts 2, 2' (see FIG. 4), and the article P passes through the optical path. The latter half 1/2L is sent at the feed speed V1 of the conveyor 1 (see FIG. 6). Then, when the light of the leading (first) article is blocked, the timer is turned on, the passage of the article P is counted in time, and after a set time corresponding to a predetermined number (3 pieces in the figure), the clutch is turned off and the brake is turned on to vertical belts 2, 2'.
The short pusher is activated after a predetermined period of time after the vertical belt stop signal, but the article P
When the goods pass through the optical path of the sensors 7 and 7', the speed changes as described above, and due to the effects of the start-up when the clutch is activated and the friction between the goods and the conveyor 1, the sorting process when the vertical belt is stopped is affected. The discharge condition of the final product is inconsistent and unstable, and in the case of long and slim type pack containers that have recently been manufactured, there are delicate points in adjusting the optical path and reducing the speed of the conveyor. This tendency is remarkable, and the following various problems occur.

The biggest problem is that the optical sensors 7, 7
In order to read the number of articles that have passed through the optical path in the light-blocking time of the optical path, when a predetermined number of articles P pass through the optical path of the optical sensor, the article before the last article (or the second article if the predetermined number is 3) is read. If the transit time to the article (object) is longer and the final article is in front of the optical path when the transit time counted by the optical sensor reaches the set time, the number of articles to be sorted (3 pieces) will be detected by the optical sensor 7, 7'. Since the vertical belts 2 and 2' are stopped after determining that the item has passed the optical path, the pusher 8 operates while the final item is held on the vertical belt, resulting in an insufficient number of items to be sorted. . In this case, the vertical belt has stopped and the final article (third article) remains on the vertical belt, but the optical path is not blocked (if the sensor optical path is interrupted when the vertical belt is stopped) (Although the alarm is set to sound), the problem occurs that the alarm does not sound and the work continues with insufficient quantity.

[0008] Furthermore, it is determined that a predetermined number of final articles (the third article) have passed through the optical path of the optical sensor even though they have not passed through, and the vertical belt stops, and the final article (the third article) When a state occurs in which an article (article) is held on the vertical belt and the optical path is blocked, an alarm sounds and the pusher stops the work. In this case, the final product must be removed from the vertical belt, manually moved to the front of the pusher next to the insufficient number of sorted products, and the reset button must be pressed to restart the work.

Furthermore, after a predetermined number of articles (the above three articles) pass through the optical path of the optical sensor, the vertical belt stops, and the next article (fourth article) is held by the vertical belt and passes through the optical path. If this occurs, the pusher will stop and work will be interrupted as soon as an alarm sounds. In this case, you must remove the next item from the vertical belt, press the reset button, and resume work.

In addition, as mentioned above, a predetermined number of articles are detected by the optical sensor 7, 7' depending on the counting time by the optical sensor.
It is determined that the optical path has passed through the vertical belt 2, 2'.
When the machine stops, the final product immediately leaves the vertical belt and blocks the optical path of the optical sensor, causing an alarm to sound and the short pusher 8 to stop. When a person goes to the machine, the final product is carried on the conveyor and transferred to the pusher. If the last article is lined up correctly in front of 8, or the last article has just left the vertical belt and passed through the above optical path, the alarm does not sound and the pusher is activated and the pusher pushes the last article that is being moved together with the article that has already finished moving. There have been cases in which the final product is caught between the auxiliary guide plate 9' and the pusher 8 and damaged due to the movement of the product.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and in sorting and sending out a predetermined number of articles by controlling the movement of articles sent one after another on a conveyor using a vertical belt, When counting the articles sent out from the vertical belt and stopping the vertical belt, the discharge state of the final sorted articles is not constant and becomes unstable, resulting in insufficient number of sorted items and Conveyed articles that can be sorted stably by preventing troubles that occur when the remaining or next item (4th item) is exposed and when the sorted items are pushed by a pusher from the side after sorting. The purpose is to provide a method for sorting the number of pieces.

0012

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for sorting conveyed articles for sorting and sending out a predetermined number of N articles sequentially supplied by a conveyor 1. A pair of vertical belts 2 and 2' provided opposite to each other on both the left and right sides of the conveyor 1 are used to clamp the articles supplied by the conveyor 1 and send them to the destination. Also, the length L in the traveling direction of the article from the line A connecting the centers of the pair of drive shafts on the sending side of the vertical belts 2, 2'.
A first optical sensor 7, 7' arranged so that the optical path is located on a line B parallel to a line A connecting the centers apart from each other detects the sorted articles discharged from the driven vertical belts 2, 2'. From the time when the front surface of the first article is detected, the optical path of each of the (N-1) articles is determined by the second optical sensor 6, 6' arranged so that the optical path is located on the line A connecting the drive shafts. The passing time is detected, and after a set time corresponding to the passing of (N-1) articles, the vertical belts 2, 2' are stopped and the articles are sorted. When at least a predetermined number N of articles stay on the transport conveyor 1, an appropriate detection means detects this and drives the vertical belts 2, 2' to send out the articles.

[0013]

[Operation] When sorting a predetermined number N of articles carried one after another on the conveyor 1 at a feed speed V1 using the method configured as described above, the vertical belts 2, 2
When ' is in a stopped state, the articles are dammed up and accumulated one after another at the inlet portion of the vertical belts 2, 2', which are set at intervals slightly narrower than the width of the articles in the traveling direction, and at least a predetermined number (e.g. 3), the transport conveyor 1
The vertical belts 2, 2', which are in a stopped state, begin to move in response to signals from detection means such as optical sensors 5, 5' installed oppositely on both sides of the vertical belts 2, 2'. And vertical belt feed speed V2 (
Normally V2>V1), the goods are forced to the vertical belt 2
, 2'. At this time, vertical belt 2
, 2' are arranged so that the optical path is located on a line B that is parallel to a line A that connects the centers of a pair of drive shafts on the sending-out side and is perpendicular to the conveying direction, and is spaced from the line A by a length L in the direction of movement of the article. When the first (No. 1) of the sorted items begins to block light from the optical path of the first optical sensor 7, 7' provided, the first (No. 1) of the sorted items begins to block light.
1) In addition to counting the items, the items are sent one after another by the second optical sensors 6, 6' arranged so that the optical path is located on the line A connecting the centers of the drive shafts from the moment the light starts to be blocked. The passage of (N-1) articles after the second (No. 2) that comes is counted by the light-shielding time, and the second (No.
2) Setting time (
The rotation speed of the vertical belt drive motor is constant, and after a period of time calculated from the speed of the vertical belt (by turning on the brake of a motor with a clutch brake, etc.), the vertical belts 2, 2' are stopped in preparation for the next sorting.

[0014] That is, the first (No. 1) article is:
The second (No. 2) and third optical sensors are counted by the first optical sensors 7 and 7', which have optical paths located at a distance L from the line A connecting the centers of the drive shafts of the vertical belts in the direction in which the article travels. (No. 3) ---- article is the second optical sensor 6
, 6', the setting time of the light path shading corresponding to (N-1) items is counted, so after counting the first (No. 1) item, the second (No. 2) and subsequent items are counted by the line A above. The light path above always counts at a set time that corresponds to the constant speed of the vertical belt, so it can be counted accurately. This eliminates the problem that the state of discharge of the final sorted items from the vertical belt is inconsistent when the vertical belt is stopped, which causes various problems such as insufficient number of items to be sorted. Regardless of the position of the next article after the discharged final article, it is possible to stably count the article without any trouble. (Note that if the optical path on line B above is advanced forward, the counting of the second and subsequent articles will be inaccurate. Also, if the optical path on line A above is used to count only in a constant speed state, when the vertical belt stops (The stopping position of the first item to be counted varies, making it impossible to stably count the items by moving at a constant speed.)

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus for sorting the number of conveyed articles according to the method of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of only the main parts of FIG. The case is shown in which they are sorted into three pieces and are successively accumulated by the short pusher 8.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a conveyor, and the articles P that are successively fed on the conveyor are placed opposite each other on both left and right sides of the conveyor at a predetermined position near the end of the conveyor in the traveling direction of the conveyor. The article P is held between a pair of vertical belts 2 and 2' provided with an interval slightly narrower than the width of the conveyor 1 at a speed V2 (for example, V2=1.5V1) that is faster than the conveyance speed V1 of the conveyor 1. By controlling the supply to the destination (downstream side) and sorting the number of articles P (sorting into 3 pieces in the example), by increasing the sorting discharge speed, the accumulation speed of the sorted articles in the subsequent process can be reduced. It is supposed to be raised.

[0018] Also, a stopper/guide is provided at a predetermined position at the end of the conveyor 1 for damming up the articles P discharged from the vertical belts 2, 2' and being sent on the conveyor, and guiding the sorted articles stored therein to the side. A plate 9 is disposed, and an auxiliary guide plate 9' is disposed on the front upstream side opposite to the guide plate 9 for guiding and aligning the rearmost ends of the sorted articles P. A short pusher 8 is provided on the side in front of the stopper/guide plate 9 (on the upstream side), and when a predetermined number (3 pieces) of articles sent out and sorted from the vertical belts 2, 2' are accumulated, It is designed to be pushed toward the collection position and sent out.

On the article discharge side of the vertical belts 2, 2', first optical sensors 7, 7' for counting the first (No. 1) article to be sorted are installed on the conveyor path of the conveyor 1. On the downstream side of a line A that is perpendicular to the transport direction connecting the centers of the drive shafts of the pair of drive pulleys 3 and 3' with the vertical belts 2 and 2' in between, the line A is separated by a length L in the traveling direction of the article. The optical path is placed close to the conveyor transport surface so that the optical path is located on a line B parallel to . This is No. 1 article P is vertical belt 2, 2'
When No. 1 is no longer held and its feed speed changes from the vertical belt feed speed V2 to the conveyor conveyance speed V1 and passes through the optical path, No. This is for counting the number of articles and detecting the front side of the article to activate second optical sensors 6 and 6', which will be described later, and is designed to eliminate the influence of the tilt of the article on the conveyor during detection. This is what I did.

Furthermore, vertical belts 2, 2' are placed on a line A orthogonal to the conveyance direction connecting the centers of the pair of drive shafts on the article discharge side of the vertical belts 2, 2', sandwiching the conveyance path of the conveyor 1. The second (No. 2) of the predetermined number N of articles to be sorted is
) A second optical sensor 6, 6' for counting the passage of subsequent articles in terms of time is arranged so that sharp detection can be performed using an optical fiber. That is, the first (No.
The moment the article P of 1) is detected by the optical sensors 7 and 7' on the B line, that is, the article No. 1 article P is optical sensor 7, 7
From the moment when the optical path of ' is interrupted, the second optical sensor 6, 6'
is used to detect the light blocking time caused by the article, and the speed V2 of the vertical belt and the length L in the traveling direction of the article P are determined in advance.
After a set time corresponding to the passage of (N-1) (2 in the example) articles calculated from , the brake of a motor with a clutch brake (not shown) is activated to stop the vertical belts 2, 2'. Articles P are sorted.

On the other hand, the pulley 4 on the upstream side of the vertical belt, which is in a stopped state after sending out the article, is sandwiching the conveyance path on the conveyor on the upstream side of the vertical belts 2, 2'.
, 4', a predetermined number of articles P (
3) One set of optical sensors 5, 5' are provided in each of the upper and lower stages in order to detect when the light is stagnation based on the light blocking time and drive the vertical belts 2, 2'. This means that if the item P is transported in a collapsed state,
When only the lower optical sensor detects this and the upper optical sensor does not detect this, it is determined that the machine is in a collapsed state and the machine is stopped to prevent trouble.

When the above-mentioned device sorts the articles P that are successively conveyed on the conveyor 1, the vertical belt 2 which is in a stopped state after sorting a predetermined number N (3 pieces) of articles P is used.
, 2', when more than a predetermined number (3 pieces) of articles P accumulate on the conveyor 1 on the upstream side of the conveyors 1, the upstream optical sensors 5, 5' detect this and the vertical belts 2, 2' are driven. is,
The articles P are fed one after another between the opposing vertical belts 2 and 2', and the articles clamped by the vertical belts are forcibly transported at the feed speed V2 of the vertical belt faster than the conveyance speed V1 of the conveyor 1, and are transferred to the driving side of the vertical belt. The light passes through the optical path of the second optical sensor 6, 6' on the line A connecting the centers of the drive shafts of the pulleys 3, 3' and is discharged. At this time, the first (No. 1) item to be sorted is
The first optical sensor 7, 7' counts when its optical path is blocked by the article. From the moment the first article begins to block the optical path, the second optical sensor 6, 6' on the upstream side is turned ON by the signal from the first optical sensor (see FIG. 1). ), third (No. 3)
) is detected by the second optical sensor 6, 6' as it passes through the optical path while moving at a constant speed, and after a set time, the brake of a motor with a clutch brake (not shown) is activated and the vertical belt 2, 2' will be stopped. A predetermined number (3) of articles discharged from the vertical belts 2, 2' and sorted are carried on a conveyor and stored one after another in front of the stopper/guide plate 9 (Fig. 3
reference). The above vertical belt stops for a predetermined period of time (
(Determined by the number of items to be sorted, the speed of the conveyor, etc.) After that, the short pusher 8 moves the sorted articles on the conveyor in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, and moves them to the opposing guide plate 9,
9' to accumulate behind the previously sorted and pushed articles. After the accumulation is completed, the short pusher 8 moves back and prepares for the next accumulation, while the stopped vertical belts 2, 2' are driven according to the state of the articles stored upstream, and the articles are sandwiched between the belts. The vertical belt 2,
2' is stopped and thereafter this cycle is repeated to sequentially perform sorting.

In this apparatus, as described above, the first (No. 1) article to be sorted by the first optical sensor 7, 7' is
After counting when they are discharged from the vertical belt and starting to be conveyed on the conveyor, the second (No. 2) and subsequent articles are counted and sorted at a constant speed by the second optical sensor 6, 6', so they are always accurately and stably sorted. When the vertical belts 2, 2' stop after sorting, no matter where the next article P is on the vertical belt [for example, the second optical sensor 6, 6' (see Figure 3)], the counting of articles always starts with the first optical sensor 7, 7', so it is stable regardless of the stopping position of the next sorted article. Sorting is possible, and there are no problems caused by the stopping position of the articles as in the past.

In the above embodiment, the number of sorted articles to be transported is 3.
Although we have explained the case of sorting items into individual items, when sorting into arbitrary N items (for example, 5 items), the first optical sensor counts the first item, and (N-1) items are sorted into the second item. By counting and sorting at a set time using an optical sensor, it is possible to always sort stably, and in the example, the speed of the vertical belt for sorting control was set higher than the speed of the conveyor, but this is not limited to this. Even if the speed is almost the same, troubles caused by the stopping position of the next sorted item on the vertical belt can be prevented.

[0025]

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, when sorting the articles sequentially supplied by the conveyor into a predetermined number of pieces, the The optical paths of the first and second optical sensors are arranged at the article discharge position of the vertical belt, and the first optical sensor counts the first article to be sorted as it leaves the vertical belt, and the second optical sensor counts the first article to be sorted as it leaves the vertical belt. Since the number of articles after the number of articles being sent at a constant speed of the vertical belt is counted by time using a second optical sensor, even if the speed of the vertical belt is faster than the speed of the conveyor, there is a difference in speed. It is possible to stably count and sort items regardless of the size of the item, and the next item after the item that has been sorted can be placed anywhere on the vertical belt, so this type of sorting device using a vertical belt is This system can completely prevent troubles caused by the stopping position of the next sorted item held on the vertical belt, and can be used at high speeds for items such as slim-type pack containers that have recently been produced. It greatly contributes to things like sorting.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus for sorting the number of conveyed articles according to the method of the present invention, when counting and sorting of conveyed articles is started;

[Fig. 2] A side view showing only the main parts of Fig. 1;

[Figure 3] Figure 1
A plan view when the vertical belt has stopped after the device has finished sorting the conveyed items once,

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a conventional conveyance article number sorting device;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing only the main parts of FIG. 4;

[Fig. 6] A diagram when the feeding speed of the article detected by the optical sensor changes in the apparatus shown in Fig. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of articles to be sorted. 1 Transport conveyor 2 Vertical belt 6 2nd optical sensor (light emitting side) 6' 2nd optical sensor (light receiving side) 7 1st optical sensor (light emitting side) 7' 1st optical sensor (light receiving side) A Line B connecting the centers of a pair of vertical belt drive shafts
A line L parallel to line A separated by length L in the direction of movement of the article
Length of the article in the advancing direction P Article V1 Feed speed of the conveyor V2 Feed speed of the vertical belt

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for sorting conveyed articles for sorting a predetermined number N of articles sequentially supplied by a conveyor 1 and sending them out, the method comprising: a pair of articles provided facing each other on both left and right sides of the conveyor 1; When the vertical belts 2, 2' clamp the articles supplied by the conveyor 1 and send them out, a pair of drive shafts that are perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor 1 and are centered on the sending side of the vertical belts 2, 2' The first optical sensors 7, 7' are arranged so that the optical path is located on a line B that is parallel to the line A that connects the centers and is a length L away from the line A that connects the center of the article in the traveling direction of the article. A line A connecting the center of the drive shaft from the time when the original front surface of the sorted articles discharged from the belts 2 and 2' is detected.
A second optical sensor 6 arranged so that the optical path is located above
, 6' detects the passage time of each of the (N-1) articles through the optical path, and stops the vertical belts 2, 2' after a set time corresponding to the passage of the (N-1) articles. While sorting, when at least a predetermined number N of articles accumulate on the transport conveyor 1 in front of the stopped vertical belts 2, 2', this is detected and the vertical belts 2, 2' are driven to send out the articles. A method for sorting the number of transported articles, characterized in that: