JPH06321345A - Branching unit and carried work in carrier device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To highly speedily carry out branching of a carried work from an original side conveyor to a branch side conveyor without stopping the carried work in a carrier device to carry out classification of the carried work and others. CONSTITUTION:A rotating body 12 arranged at an upstream side corner part at a branching position 5 of an original side conveyor 2 and a branch side conveyor 3 and rotated at the specified number of rotation, a plural number of work separation arms 13, 13,... installed on the rotating body 12 so as to extend in the radiative direction and with roughly same intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotating body 12 and a work engagement member 14A or 14B supported by the rotating body 12, arranged between the adjacent two work separation arms 13 and engaged with an engaged groove of a test tube holder 6 are provided. Thereafter, by separating carried works continuously carried by the original side conveyor 2, by the work separation arms 13 and selectively engaging the work engagement member with the carried work to be led to the branch side conveyor 3 out of the carried works carried on the original side conveyor 2, and the carried work is led to the branch side conveyor 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a branch unit and a transfer work in a transfer device, and a transfer device having a source-side conveyor and a tributary-side conveyor for sorting the transfer work from the source-side conveyor. An object of the present invention is to provide a branching unit in a novel transfer device that can branch a transfer work to a tributary conveyor at high speed without stopping the transfer work, and a transfer work suitable for this.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a transfer device having a source-side conveyor and a branch-side conveyor extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the source-side conveyor, a work to be transferred is branched from the source-side conveyor to the branch-side conveyor. Therefore, for example, there is one in which an extruding means for pushing the conveyed work toward the tributary conveyor side is provided on the opposite tributary side of the branch position.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing the outline of a conveying device provided with such an extruding means.

In the drawing, a is a conveying device, b is a belt conveyor on the original flow side thereof, and c is a belt conveyor on the tributary side provided so as to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the belt conveyor b on the original flow side.

[0005] Reference numeral d denotes a source side conveyor b and a tributary side conveyor c.
Is a push-out means disposed at a position corresponding to the branch position e of the push-out direction and outside the side edge of the original-flow-side conveyor b on the side opposite to the tributary-side conveyor c. And a pressing member g attached to the tip of the drive shaft of the air cylinder f.

The pressing member g is located outside the source side conveyor b when the drive shaft of the air cylinder f is not protruding, and is located on the opposite side edge of the source side conveyor b when it is protruding. It has become.

In the air cylinder f, the selected predetermined transfer work h is fed to the original conveyor b and the downstream conveyor c.
The pushing member g is driven when the branch position e of
Is projected forward, and the conveyed work h is pushed out toward the tributary conveyor c.

It should be noted that the transport work is selected by the source side conveyor b.
On the upstream side of the above, an index label or the like previously attached to the conveyed work is read by a reading sensor or the like, and the reading is performed based on the read information.

However, a selected one of a large number of conveyed works h, h, ..., Which have been conveyed by the original flow side conveyor b, is extruded by the extruding member g toward the auxiliary flow side conveyor c, and the tributary flow is generated. It is conveyed by the side conveyor c.

[0010]

However, in the transfer device a as described above, while the air cylinder f is being driven, the transfer works h, h ,. ..The flow of must be stopped,
Since the transfer work is temporarily stopped, there is a problem that the whole transfer work, especially the sorting work of the transfer work takes time.

Further, in the air cylinder f, the pushing member g attached to the tip of the drive shaft has to be reciprocated, and the reciprocating movement takes time,
The carrying capacity of the carrying device a per unit time is limited by the time of this reciprocating motion, and as a result, there is a problem that the speed cannot be increased.

[0012]

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the branching unit in the conveying apparatus of the present invention has a rotating body which is rotated at a predetermined number of revolutions, and extends in the radial direction of the rotating body. And a plurality of work separating arms attached at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotating body and two work separating arms which are supported by the rotating body and are adjacent to each other, and engage with a transferred work. And a workpiece engaging member that is disposed at the upstream corner of the branch position between the original flow side conveyor and the tributary side conveyor, and the transferred works that are continuously conveyed by the original flow side conveyor are described above. The work separation arm separates the work pieces at predetermined intervals and selectively engages the work engaging members with the work pieces to be guided to the tributary side conveyor among the work pieces conveyed by the original stream side conveyor. By is obtained so as to guide the conveying work in tributary side conveyor.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the transfer work of the present invention has a disk-shaped engaged portion formed in the lower portion of the transfer work and has an opening on the upper surface of the engaged portion, and The engaged groove is formed over the entire circumference.

[0014]

Therefore, according to the branching unit of the carrying apparatus of the present invention, the work engaging member is engaged with the work to be guided to the tributary conveyor, and the work is guided to the tributary conveyor by the rotation of the rotating body. It is not necessary to stop the other conveyed works conveyed by the side conveyor at the branching position, so that the sorting work of the conveyed works does not take time and the sorting work can be smoothly performed.

Further, since the conveyed works are sorted by the rotation of the rotating body, the time required for the reciprocating motion of the drive shaft of the air cylinder is not restricted as in the conventional case, and therefore the sorting work can be speeded up. it can.

Further, in the carrying work according to the present invention, since the engaged groove at the lower portion is formed over the entire circumference, the engaged groove is formed.
It is easy to engage the engaging member with the engaged groove while the transport work is being transported by the conveyor, and therefore, the transport work of the branching unit in the transport apparatus of the present invention is suitable.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the branching unit and the work to be carried in the carrying apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

The embodiment shown in the drawings holds a branching unit and a test tube in a carrier device for carrying out the present invention while sorting a plurality of test tubes containing various chemicals, blood, etc. It is applied to a test tube holder as a transfer work transferred by a conveyor.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a conveying device, 2 is a conveyor on the original flow side thereof, 3 is a conveyor on the tributary side provided so as to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveyor 2 on the original flow side. The conveyors 2 and 3 are arranged in a T-shape when viewed in a plane, the original flow side conveyor 2 flows downward from above the paper surface as shown in FIG. 1, and the tributary side conveyor 3 is the original flow side. It flows to the right from the portion adjacent to the conveyor 2.

Reference numeral 4 designates the original flow side conveyor 2 and the tributary side conveyor 3
Is a branching unit disposed at an upstream corner corresponding to the branching position 5 of

The test tube holders 6, 6, ... Conveyed by the conveyors 2 and 3 are provided on both sides of the conveyors 2 and 3 above the both sides of the conveyors 2 and 3, respectively. Guide members 7, 7, ... Are provided so as not to fall off the edges.

The original flow side conveyor 2 and the tributary side conveyor 3
Since the branching unit 4 is arranged at the upstream corner of the branching position 5 with the above, the guide member 7 is not provided.

The test tube holder 6 has a cylindrical holding portion 9 for holding the test tube 8 and a disc-shaped engaged member integrally provided at the lower end of the holding portion 9 and having a larger outer diameter than the holding portion 9. An engaging groove 11 is formed over the entire circumference of the upper surface of the engaged portion 10 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

The height of the upper surfaces of the guide members 7, 7, ... Is formed to be substantially the same as the upper surface of the engaged portion 10 of the test tube holder 6 placed on the conveyors 2, 3. The distance between the guide members 7 facing each other is slightly larger than the diameter of the engaged portion 10.

The branching unit 4 is provided with a rotating body 12 and eight work separating arms 13, 13 provided at the lower portion of the rotating body 12 so as to project outward from the peripheral surface thereof.
, And eight work engaging members 14, 14, ..., Which are arranged along the vertical direction on the peripheral surface of the rotating body 12 between the adjacent work separating arms 13, 13.

The rotating body 12 is a rotating disk 15 and a rotating cylinder 1 fixed to the upper surface of the rotating disk 15 concentrically therewith.
6 and the radius of the rotary cylinder 16 is formed to be approximately half of that of the rotary disk 15.

Such a rotating body 12 is a conveyor 2 on the source side.
Is arranged at an upstream corner of the branch position 5 between the branch conveyor 3 and the tributary side conveyor 3, and the upper surface of the rotating disk 15 is positioned slightly higher than the upper surfaces of the guide members 7, 7 ,. , The inner surface of each of the original flow side guide member 7 and the tributary side guide member 7 in the portion where the peripheral surface of the rotating disk 15 facing the branch position 5 is not formed with the guide members 7, 7 ... (Conveyor side) It is arranged so as to be substantially continuous with the side surface.

The rotating body 12 is rotated by the drive unit 17 disposed below the rotating disk 15, and the rotation thereof is in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1, that is, the portion facing the branch position 5 of the rotating body 12. Are moved from the original flow side conveyor 2 toward the tributary side conveyor 3.

The work separating arm 13 comprises an arm portion 18 having a rectangular rod-shaped cross section and a roller 19 rotatably supported by a support shaft vertically provided at the tip of the arm portion 18.
Is attached to the upper surface of the rotary disk 15 so as to extend in the radial direction and the roller 19 is projected outward from the peripheral edge of the rotary disk 15, and eight work separating arms 13, 13 ,. Are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotating body 12.

When the rollers 19 of the work separating arm 13 are located above the conveyors 2 and 3, they are spaced apart from the conveyors 2 and 3 so as to face the peripheral surface of the engaged portion 10 of the test tube holder 6. The distance between the circumferential surfaces of the adjacent workpiece separating arms 13, 13 between the rollers 19 of the workpiece separating arms 13, which face each other, is approximately the same as the diameter of the engaged portion 10 of the test tube holder 6. In this way, the engaged portion 10 of the test tube holder 6 can be sandwiched between the two rollers 19 and 19.

The test tube holders 6, 6, ... Which have been conveyed by the original flow side conveyor 2 are shown in FIGS.
As will be shown in order, the work separating arm 13,
13 and so on.

That is, the one test tube holder 6 contacts the roller 19 of the one work separating arm 13 from the clockwise side at the point P0 in FIG. With the rotation of 12, it moves on the source-side conveyor 2.

When the rotating body 12 is rotated 1/16 from the state shown in FIG. 5, the roller 19 of another work separating arm 13 located on the clockwise side of the one work separating arm 13 is rotated.
Is located above the original flow side conveyor 2, and between the side surface of the one test tube holder 6 on the branch unit 4 side and the side surface of another test tube holder 6 subsequent to the branch unit 4 side. Located (see FIG. 6).

The rotating body 12 is further 1/16 from the state of FIG.
When the test tube holder 6 is rotated, the one test tube holder 6 is moved to the point P1 (see FIG. 7), and the roller 19 of the another work separating arm 13 is brought into contact with the upstream side peripheral surface of the one test tube holder 6, The one test tube holder 6 is sandwiched between the one work separating arm 13 and the another work separating arm 13.

Further, prior to this, between the state of FIG. 6 and the state of FIG. 7, the another work separating arm 13 is provided between the one test tube holder 6 and the other test tube holder 6. It breaks in and separates one test tube holder 6 from another test tube holder 6.

In this way, a plurality of test tube holders 6 which are continuously conveyed by the original flow side conveyor 2,
6 are separated by the work separation arms 13, 13, ... Between points P0 and P1.

The separation of the plurality of test tube holders 6, 6, ... Performed by the work separating arm 13 is performed by the roller 1 rotatably attached to the tip of the work separating arm 13.
Since it is performed by 9, it can be performed smoothly.

The work engaging members 14, 14, ... Are provided with a pushed arm body extending horizontally in the upper portion thereof as will be described later, and a work engagement member 14B having no such pushed arm body. There are two types of work engaging members 14, 1
Of the total number (8) of 4, ..., half (4) are provided with the pressed arm 14A, 14A, ... And the other half (4) are not provided with the pressed arm Things 14B, 14B,
... and such work engaging members 14A, 14
A, ... And 14B, 14B ,.
Are arranged alternately and at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

Work engaging member 14A having a pressed arm
Is a base body 20 which is long in the vertical direction and longer than the rotary cylinder 16.
And the pressed arm 2 extending horizontally from the upper end of the base body 20
1 and a lower arm body 22 extending horizontally from the lower end of the base body 20, and the pressed arm body 21 and the lower arm body 22 project in mutually opposite directions when viewed in a plan view.

The work engaging member 14B not having the pressed arm 21 has a difference in whether or not it has the pressed arm 21 as compared with the work engaging member 14A having the pressed arm 21. It has a base body 20 and a lower arm body 22 extending horizontally from the lower end of the base body 20.

The work engaging members 14A, 14A, ...
.., 14B, 14B, ... are the bases 20, 20,
, Are formed on the peripheral surface of the rotary cylinder 16 of the rotary body 12 and extend vertically in the vertical direction via slide members 24, 24 ,. The work engaging member 14A is supported in a movable state.
The pressed arm 21 of is directed toward the center of the rotating body 12,
Further, the work engaging member 14A and the work engaging member 14B
The respective lower arm bodies 22, 22 are arranged so as to extend in the radial direction of the rotating body 12.

The work engaging members 14A and 14B have substantially the same movable range in the vertical direction, and the work engaging members 14A and 14B are located at the lowermost position in the moving range ( Hereinafter, the pressed arm 21 of the work engaging member 14 </ b> A is located above the upper surface of the rotary cylinder 16 and is also referred to as “lower end position”.
The upper end of the B base 20 is located above the upper surface of the rotary cylinder 16.

Reference numeral 25A denotes a pressed roller rotatably supported on the tip of the pressed arm 21 of the work engaging member 14A. The pressed roller 25A has a shaft extending in the radial direction of the rotary cylinder 16 as a rotary shaft. I am trying.

25B is a base 2 of the work engaging member 14B.
0 is a pressed roller rotatably supported on the inner side surface (the side facing the center of the rotary cylinder 16) of 0, and the pressed roller 25B has a shaft extending in the radial direction of the rotary cylinder 16 as a rotary shaft. The base body 2 of the work engaging members 14A and 14B
When 0 and 20 are at the same position in the height direction, the pressed roller 25A of the work engaging member 14A and the pressed roller 25B of the work engaging member 14B are located at the same height.

The four work engaging members 14A, 1
The pressed rollers 25A, 25A, ... of 4A, ... Are located on the same circumference concentric with the rotation center of the rotating body 12 when seen in a plan view, and the remaining four work engaging members 14B. ,
14B, ... Pressed rollers 25B, 25B ,.
Is on the same circle concentric with the center of rotation of the rotating body 12 when seen in a plane, and on a circle that is slightly larger than the circle drawn by connecting the pressed rollers 25A, 25A, ... To be done.

The lower arm members 22, 22, ... Of the work engaging members 14A, 14A, ... And 14B, 14B ,.
・ The tip of the rotating disk 15 is flat when viewed in a plane.
Of the rotary disk 15 is provided at the lower end of each of the engaging portions 26, which is protruded outward from the peripheral edge of the rotating disk 15 and integrally provided at the tip thereof. An engagement roller 27 having a shaft extending in a direction parallel to the tangential direction as a rotation shaft is rotatably supported.

When the engagement roller 27 is formed so that its diameter is smaller than the width of the engaged groove 11 of the test tube holder 6, and the engagement roller 27 is located at a position facing the point P1. , The test tube holder 6 located at the point P1
The part of the engaging groove 11 located at the side closest to the rotating body 12 is made to coincide with each other in a plan view.

Further, the engagement roller 27 of the test tube holder 6 is located at the uppermost position (hereinafter referred to as "upper end position") of the work engagement member 14 in the vertical movement range thereof. It is positioned slightly above the engaged portion 10 and is positioned in the engaged groove 11 when the work engaging member 14 is at the lower end position.

28, 28, ... Are the respective work engaging members 1
4A, 14A, ..., 14B, 14B ,.
, 14B, 14B, ... A coil spring contracted between the lower arm bodies 22, 22, ... of A, 14A, ..., 14B, 14B ,.
Are biased upward and are held at the upper end positions.

29 and 30 are the work engaging members 14
A cam member for lowering A and 14B, which is arranged above the rotary cylinder 16 and has the two types of engagement members 14 described above.
It corresponds to A and 14B, respectively.

The cam members 29 and 30 both have a curved wall shape that is an arc shape of approximately 90 degrees when viewed in a plane, and their wall thicknesses are the pressed rollers of the work engaging members 14A and 14B. The cam members 29 and 30 are formed to have substantially the same thickness as the axial direction of 25A and 25B (shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1). Each of them is vertically installed (see FIG. 2), and each actuator 31 and 32 can be vertically moved. The state shown in FIG. 2 is a state in which the cam member 30 is lowered by the outer actuator 32.

The cam members 29 and 30 have the centers of the arcs when viewed in the plane thereof coincide with the center of the rotating body 12, and the cam members 29 and 30 respectively correspond to the work engaging members 14A and 14B when viewed in the plane. Pressed rollers 25A, 25B
Of the work engaging member 14A.
The cam member 29 corresponding to No. 1 has a large curvature, and the cam member 30 corresponding to the work engaging member 14B is formed with a small curvature, and the cam member 30 is positioned outside the cam member 29 (see FIG. 1).

Both of the cam members 29 and 30 are arranged so that the central portions of the outer peripheral surfaces thereof in the circumferential direction oppose the branch position 5 between the original flow side conveyor 2 and the tributary side conveyor 3. The end portions on the clockwise direction side are opposed to the point P1 as seen in a plane.

The lower surface 33, 34 of each cam member 29, 30
Are inclined surfaces 33A and 34A formed in the range of about 30 degrees at the central angle and are displaced downward as they go counterclockwise from the ends on the clockwise direction, and the inclined surface 33.
A, 34A and the horizontal planes 33B, 34B formed in the range of about 60 degrees at the remaining central angle from the counterclockwise side end. Note that FIG. 8 shows the cam members 29, 30 in a developed state.

Further, the amount of vertical displacement at both ends of the inclined surfaces 33A, 34A formed on the lower surfaces of the cam members 29, 30 is made substantially the same as the depth of the engaged groove 11 of the test tube holder 6. There is.

When the cam members 29, 30 are in the most raised position (shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 8), the horizontal surfaces 33B, 34B are located at the upper end positions of the work engaging members 14A, 14B. When the cam members 29 and 30 are in the most lowered state, the inclined surfaces 33A and 34A are positioned at the end portions on the clockwise side and the upper end position. The upper ends of the pressed rollers 25A and 25B are arranged at substantially the same height.

Therefore, at a predetermined timing, the cam member 2
When 9 or 30 is lowered by the actuator 31 or 32 (state shown by the solid line in FIG. 8), the lowered cam member 2
The pressed roller 25A or 25B of the work engaging member 14A or 14B, which has been rotated together with the rotating body 12, comes into contact with the inclined surface 33A or 34A of 9 or 30 (the second position from the left in FIG. 8). , The pressed roller 25A or 2
5B rolls along the inclined surface 33A or 34A, whereby the work engaging member 14A or 14B is gradually lowered from the upper end position against the coil spring 28.

The abutting contact of the pressed roller 25A or 25B that is gradually lowered is due to the inclined surface 33 of the cam member 29 or 30.
When the work A is moved from A or 34A to the horizontal plane 33B or 34B (the fourth position from the left in FIG. 8), the work engaging member 14A or 14B is located at the lower end position.

The pressed roller 2 is placed on the horizontal surface 33B or 34B.
When 5A or 25B is in contact, the engaging member 14A
Alternatively, 14B is held at the lower end position and the pressed roller 25A
Alternatively, when 25B is disengaged from the horizontal plane 33B or 34B, the work engaging member 14A or 14B is lifted by the coil spring 28 and returned to the upper end position (the rightmost position in FIG. 8). .

Reference numeral 35 is a flow changing member for changing the flow of the test tube holder 6 conveyed by the original flow side conveyor 2 so as to extend along the circumferential direction of the rotating body 12 in a circumferential direction. Is provided on the guide member 7 on the side opposite to the branching unit 4 of the original flow side conveyor 2 in a range from the point P1 to a position closer to the downstream side.
That is, the surface on the side facing the rotating body 12 is formed as an arc surface within a range of a central angle of about 30 degrees about the axis of the rotating body 12, and the upstream end of the arc surface is the guide member 7. It is continuous to the inner side surface.

Reference numeral 36 denotes a cutout portion of the guide members 7, 7 formed at the downstream corner portion at the branch position 5 of the original flow side conveyor 2 and the tributary side conveyor 3, and the flow changing member 3
The test tube holder 6 slightly displaced from the state of being placed in the central portion in the width direction on the source side conveyor 2 by 5 again is placed in the state of being placed in the center portion in the width direction of the source side conveyor 2 again. Formed to return.

Reference numeral 37 is a position corresponding to the point P0 of the original flow side conveyor 2, and is a detection sensor supported by the outer guide member 7, and the detection sensor 37 has the test tube holder 6 at the point P0. It is for detecting whether or not it has arrived.

Reference numeral 38 is for detecting whether the work engaging member 14 facing the point P1 of the source-side conveyor 2 is the member 14A having the pressed arm 21 or the member 14B not having the pressed arm 21. Detection sensor, and the detection sensor 38
Is above the locus of the pressed rollers 25A, 25A, ... Supported by the tips of the pressed arms 21, 21, ... And the clockwise direction of the work engaging member 14 facing point P1. It is supported by a support member (not shown) at a position offset by 90 degrees in the direction side.

This is the work engaging member 14 facing the point P1 and 90 degrees clockwise from the work engaging member 14.
In order to determine whether or not the work engaging member 14 located at the position deviated from the work engaging member 14 is provided with the pressed arm body 21, the work engaging member 14 facing the point P1 is moved in the clockwise direction by 9
By detecting the presence / absence of the pressed arm 21 of the work engaging member 14 located at the position shifted by 0 degree, it is possible to detect the presence / absence of the pressed arm 21 of the work engaging member 14 facing the point P1. it can.

Then, it is determined by the detection of the detection sensor 38 which of the two types of cam members 29 and 30 should be lowered, and one of them is lowered to P1.
The work engaging member 14A or 14B located at the point is selectively lowered.

Therefore, the sorting by the branching unit 4 of a large number of test tube holders 6, 6, ... Which are continuously conveyed by the original flow side conveyor 2 is performed in the order shown in FIGS. 9 to 12. Do it.

9 to 12 show the original flow side conveyor 2
The first test tube holder 6 that has been conveyed is guided to the tributary side conveyor 3, and the test tube holder 6 following the test tube holder 6 is conveyed as it is on the original side conveyor. .

Further, in each drawing, the work engaging member 14
Among them, the work engaging member 14 whose outer end is shown by hatching is engaged with the test tube holder 6.

First, the original flow side conveyor 2 and the tributary side conveyor 3 move at a predetermined speed, and the rotating body 12 of the branching unit 4 is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed.

The test tube holders 6, 6, ... Which are continuously conveyed by the original flow side conveyor 2 are connected to the work separating arms 13, 1 of the branching unit 4 as described above.
The test tube holders 6 separated by 3, ... And guided to the tributary side conveyor 3 are selected.
The work engaging member 14A or 14B is engaged with and the guide member is guided to the tributary side conveyor 3 side for sorting.

The selection of which test tube holder 6, 6, ... Is to be guided to the tributary conveyor 3 is arranged on the upstream side of the point P0 on the original conveyor 2. A reading sensor (not shown) is provided to read, for example, an index label for sorting, which is attached to the test tube 8 held by the test tube holder 6, and the reading is performed based on the read information.

For the index of the index label for sorting, for example, a bar code or color coding may be used.

As a result of the reading by the reading sensor, when it is the test tube 8 to be guided to the tributary side conveyor 3, at the time when the test tube 8 reaches the point P1 or at a point earlier than that, the above-mentioned The actuator 31 or 32 is driven to lower one of the cam members 29 or 30.

By the lowering of the cam member 29 or 30, the work engaging member 14 corresponding to this and facing the point P1.
The pressed roller 25A or 25B of A or 14B is the inclined surface 33A of the lower surface 33 or 34 of the cam member 29 or 30.
Alternatively, the work engaging member 14A or 14B is brought into contact with the work engaging member 14A or 14B (the second position from the left in FIG. 8).

Work engaging member 14A or 14 lowered
In B, the engaging roller 27 of the engaging portion 26 at the lower end thereof is inserted into the engaged groove 11 of the selected test tube holder 6 (the state of being located fourth from the left in FIG. 8).

At this time, the test tube holder 6 is abutted against the flow changing member 35 on the original flow side conveyor 2 and slightly deviated from the state of being placed in the central portion in the width direction of the original flow side conveyor 2. In this state, the workpiece 12 is moved along the rotating disk 15 of the rotating body 12 (see FIG. 9), so that the workpiece engaging member 14A or 14B that is lowered while rotating with the engaged groove 11 of the test tube holder 6 is engaged. When viewed in a plane, the roller 27 moves on the same locus, so that the engaging roller 27 is inserted into the engaged groove 11 by its lowering.

Further, since the engaging roller 27 is arranged so that its rotating shaft extends parallel to the tangential direction of the rotating body 12, the engaging roller 27 can be smoothly inserted into the engaged groove 11 of the test tube holder 6. To be done.

At a position (point P2) which is moved by about 90 degrees from the point P1 at the central angle (see FIG. 10), the pressed roller 25A or 25B of the work engaging member 14A or 14B is moved by the cam member 29 or 30. Horizontal plane 33B or 34
When viewed in the plane of B, it reaches the counterclockwise direction side end portion, comes off from this side end portion, and the work engaging member 1 is moved by the coil spring 28.
4A or 14B rises, and the engaging portion 26 of the work engaging member 14A or 14B from the engaged groove 11 of the test tube holder 6
The engaging roller 27 of (2) comes out (the state of being located on the far right in FIG. 8).

Thus, the work engaging member 14A or 14
The test tube holder 6 which has been disengaged by B is conveyed downstream by the tributary conveyor 3 (see FIG. 11).

The test tube holder 6 with which the work engaging member 14A or 14B is engaged in this way is disengaged from the original flow side conveyor 2 along with the movement of the work engaging member 14A or 14B, and is guided to the tributary side conveyor 3 side. As a result, the test tube holder 6 placed on the tributary side conveyor 3 is conveyed by the tributary side conveyor 3.

Further, which of the work engaging members 14A or 14B is to be lowered is determined as follows.

That is, when the test tube holder 6 located on the point P0 is judged by the reading sensor (not shown) to be the test tube holder 6 to be guided to the tributary side conveyor 3, the test tube holder 6 is judged to be the point P1. The work sensor engaging member 14 facing the point P1 at that time is either the work engaging member 14A provided with the pressed arm 21 or the work engaging member not having the pressed arm 21 when it reaches 14B, for example, when it is the work engaging member 14B without the pressed arm 21, the actuator 32 is driven to lower the cam member 30 located outside. (The state shown in FIG. 2).

By the lowering of the outer cam member 30, the work engaging member 14B facing the P1 point is lowered, and the engaging roller 27 is inserted into the engaged groove 11 of the test tube holder 6 located at the P1 point. It

By the way, the test tube holders 6, 6, ...
There are two systems of the cam member 29, work engaging members 14A, 14A, ... And the cam member 30, work engaging members 14B, 14B ,. The lower surfaces 33 and 34 of the cam members 29 and 30 for lowering the engaging members 14A and 14B have a central angle of approximately 90.
Of the test tube holder 6 separated by the work separating arms 13, 13, ...
Since 6 and 6 are separated by a central angle of about 45 degrees, one test tube holder 6 and the test tube holder 6 following it
This is so that and can be selected separately.

Therefore, temporarily, the work separating arm 13,
Two test tube holders 6 separated by 13, ...
When 6 and 6 are separated from each other by a central angle of about 90 degrees, the cam member and the work engaging member may be one system,
Further, depending on the angle between the original flow side conveyor 2 and the tributary side conveyor 3 and the state of separation between the two test tube holders 6 and 6 separated by the work separation arm, there are three or four systems of cam members and works. You may make it comprised with an engaging member.

Next, a case will be described in which the test tube holders 6, 6, ... Are not sorted to the tributary side conveyor 3 and are conveyed from upstream to downstream of the original flow side conveyor 2.

First, regarding the test tube holder 6 following the test tube holder 6 to be guided to the tributary side conveyor 3,
It is judged by the reading sensor upstream of the point P0 that this is conveyed as it is by the original flow side conveyor 2.

The test tube holder 6 is separated from another test tube holder 6 adjacent to the front by the work separating arm 13 between the points P0 and P1.
Based on the above judgment, the actuators 31, 32 of the cam members 29, 30 are not driven, and therefore the work engaging member 14A or 14B does not descend, and the test tube holder 6 concerned.
For No., the work engagement member 14 does not engage (see FIG. 9).

When the test tube holder 6 is conveyed downstream from the point P1, it moves from the state in which it is placed in the central portion in the width direction of the original flow side conveyor 2 to the branch unit 4 side by the flow changing member 35. Although it is misaligned (see Fig. 10),
After passing the downstream end of the flow changing member 35, the flow changing member 35 is conveyed in a state in which it is dislocated from the center of the original flow side conveyor 2 (see FIG. 11).

Next, the test tube holder 6 conveyed while being separated from the central portion of the original flow side conveyor 2 is located at the downstream corner of the branch position 5 between the original flow side conveyor 2 and the tributary side conveyor 3. The formed guide members 7, 7 collide with the notch 36 of the guide member 7, are guided to the original flow side guide member 7 of the portion, and are again moved to the central portion in the width direction of the original flow side conveyor 2 ( (See FIG. 12), and is conveyed by the source-side conveyor 2.

[0091]

As is apparent from the above description, the branching unit in the transporting device of the present invention is the branching unit in the transporting device having the source side conveyor and the tributary side branching from the source side conveyor. And
A rotating body, which is disposed at an upstream corner portion at a branch position between the original flow side conveyor and the tributary side conveyor, is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed, and a circumference of the rotating body that extends in the radial direction of the rotating body. A plurality of work separating arms attached at substantially equal intervals in the direction, and a work engaging member which is supported by the rotating body and is arranged between two adjacent work separating arms and which engages a conveyed work. With the above, the work pieces to be continuously conveyed by the source side conveyor should be separated into a predetermined interval by the work separation arm, and should be guided to the tributary side conveyor among the conveyance works conveyed by the source side conveyor. It is characterized in that the work engaging member is selectively engaged with the work to be guided to the tributary conveyor.

Further, another carrying work of the present invention is a carrying work carried by a work carrying device, wherein a lower part of the carrying work is provided with a disc-shaped engaged portion, and the engaged portion An engaged groove is formed on the upper surface of the above so as to open upward and extend over the entire circumference.

Therefore, according to the branching unit in the carrying apparatus of the present invention, the work engaging member is engaged with the carrying work to be guided to the tributary conveyor, and the work is guided to the tributary conveyor by the rotation of the rotating body. It is not necessary to stop the other conveyed works conveyed by the side conveyor at the branching position, so that the sorting work of the conveyed works does not take time and the sorting work can be smoothly performed.

Further, since the conveyed works are sorted by the rotation of the rotary member, the time required for the reciprocating motion of the drive shaft of the air cylinder is not limited as in the conventional case, and therefore the sorting work can be speeded up. it can.

Further, in the carrying work of the present invention, since the engaged groove at the lower portion is formed over the entire circumference, the engaged groove is formed.
It is easy to engage the engaging member with the engaged groove while the transport work is being transported by the conveyor, and therefore, the transport work of the branching unit in the transport apparatus of the present invention is suitable.

Although the test tube holder is shown as a work piece in the above embodiment, the branching unit in the carrying device of the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to branching of any work piece carried by the carrying device. it can.

Further, the structures and shapes of the rotating body, the work separating arm, the work engaging member, the cam member and other parts shown in the above embodiment are merely examples of the embodiment in carrying out the present invention. The technical scope of the present invention should not be limitedly interpreted by these.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of essential parts showing an example of an embodiment in which a branching unit in a carrying device of the present invention is applied to a branching unit in a carrying device for carrying test tubes while sorting.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a main part of a branch unit.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing an example of an embodiment of the transport work of the present invention.

4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.

5 to 7 are diagrams for sequentially explaining the separation of a conveyed work which is continuously conveyed by a branching unit in the conveying device. In this figure, the conveyed work reaches a point P0. It is a schematic plan view which shows a state.

6 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the rotating body is rotated 1/16 from the state shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the rotating body is further rotated 1/16 from the state of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the positional relationship between the work engaging member and the transported work by expanding the cam member.

9 to 12 are diagrams for sequentially explaining the sorting of the transfer work conveyed to the original flow side conveyor by the branching unit in the transfer device to the tributary side conveyor. It is a schematic plan view which shows the state which rotated the rotating body 1/8 from the state of 7.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the rotating body is rotated 1/8 of the state shown in FIG.

11 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the rotating body is rotated 1/16 from the state shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the rotating body is rotated 1/16 from the state shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing a branch unit in a conventional transfer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveying device 2 Original flow side conveyor 3 Tributary side conveyor 4 Branching unit 5 Branching position 6 Transported work (test tube holder) 10 Engaged part 11 Engaged groove 12 Rotating body 13 Work separation arm 14 Work engaging member 14A Work Engaging member 14B Work engaging member 28 Biasing means (coil spring) 29 Cam member 30 Cam member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A branching unit in a conveying device having a source-side conveyor and a branch-side conveyor branched from the source-side conveyor, wherein an upstream-side angle at a branching position between the source-side conveyor and the branch-side conveyor. And a plurality of workpiece separating arms attached to the rotating body at a substantially constant interval in the circumferential direction of the rotating body and extending in the radial direction of the rotating body. , A work which is supported by the rotating body and is arranged between two adjacent work separating arms, and which is provided with a work engaging member which engages a work to be carried, and which is continuously carried by a source-side conveyor While separating the work at a predetermined interval by the work separation arm, the work engaging member is attached to the work to be guided to the tributary conveyor among the works conveyed by the original conveyor. A branching unit in a carrying device, wherein the carrying work is guided selectively to the tributary side conveyor. 2. The work engaging member is supported on the peripheral surface of the rotating body so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and each work engaging member is moved within a range of movement by an urging means for urging the work engaging member individually upward. A cam member, which is located at the upper end position and is movable in the up-and-down direction, is provided above the work engaging member and in a range between guiding the transported work from the original flow side conveyor to the tributary side conveyor, In the state where the cam member is lowered, the work engaging member moved by the rotation of the rotating body is adapted to be lowered by abutting the upper end thereof to the cam member, and is branched from the source side conveyor. When the transfer work to be guided to the side conveyor is selected or at a predetermined timing, the cam member is moved down to lower the corresponding work engaging member, and the engaging portion of the work engaging member is transferred to the selected transfer. Wa The branch unit in the transport device according to claim 1, wherein the branch unit is engaged with the engaged portion of the ark. 3. The cam member and the work engaging member are provided in two systems so that every other one of the work engaging members arranged in the circumferential direction corresponds to the same cam member. The branching unit in the conveying device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. 4. A transfer work conveyed by a work transfer device, wherein a lower part of the transfer work is provided with a disk-shaped engaged portion, and the upper surface of the engaged portion is opened upward. ,And,
A conveyed work having an engaged groove formed over the entire circumference.