JPH0637249B2 - Width Conveyor- - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a width-shifting conveyor that shifts the articles received at one end in a random position in the width direction to the left or right side and then sends the articles.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional article sorting apparatus having a width-shifting conveyor. In the figure, (1)
Is a sorting conveyor that sorts articles according to their destinations (for example, Tokyo and Osaka), and has diverters (101) on the left and right sides of the sorting conveyor, and a shute (102) on the opposite side of each diverter (101). Is provided. (2) is a conveyor that sorts articles unloaded from trucks and wagons (1)
Feed conveyor to send to (3) is feed conveyor (2)
A width-shifting conveyor arranged between the sorting conveyor and the sorting conveyor (1). Further, another example of the conventional article sorting apparatus having the width-shifting conveyor is shown in plan view in FIG. This is different from that shown in FIG. 15 in that a diverter (101) is replaced with a deflecting roller device (103) and a receiving roller conveyor (104). Incidentally, such an article sorting device is installed in a truck terminal or the like and is used according to the destination of the article, and is unloaded and sent in the direction indicated by the arrow (4) on the conveyor (3). The incoming article (5) is received at one end of the width-shifting conveyor (3) and is closer to the diverter (101) according to the sorting destination (destination) of the width-shifting conveyor, that is, in the case of FIG. 15, the width-shifting conveyor. When viewed in the article transport direction (6) of (3), the side closer to the right side shout (102), in the case of FIG. 16, the side closer to the left side shout (102) is width-aligned to the sorting conveyor (1). Sent out. After that, the article (5) is the first
In the case of FIG. 5, the diverder (101) is swung as shown by an imaginary line to be paid out to the left side short (102), and in the case of FIG. 16, the turning roller device (10).
3) Turn leftward and move rightward conveyor (104)
It is paid out to the left side short (102). In this way, the diverter (101) in the case of FIG.
Impacts the articles (5) when the articles collide with the articles (5), and in the case of FIG. 16, sorting can be performed efficiently.

Next, a conventional width-shifting conveyor (3) will be described with reference to FIG. The width-shifting conveyor (3) shown in FIG. 16 is also the same as that shown in FIG. 15, so its details are omitted for simplification of the drawing. In FIG.
Reference numeral (301) denotes a large number of guide bars extending in the width direction of the conveyor (3) and arranged in parallel in the article conveying direction (6), and rails provided on both ends of the conveyor (3) at both ends thereof ( Rollers (302) are mounted so as to run on (not shown), and are connected to each other endlessly by chains (303). And these rollers (302),
Therefore, the guide bar (301) is connected to a suitable electric motor (not shown) along a predetermined endless track consisting of an outward path (upper traveling section of the conveyor (3)) and a return path (lower traveling section of the conveyor (3)). It is driven in the article transport direction (6) by a driving device. Reference numeral (304) denotes a slide plate slidably attached to each guide bar (301) along which the article (5) is placed on the slide plate (304). Each sliding plate (3
A trochanter (not shown) is attached to the bottom of 04),
The sliding plate (304) is moved in the width direction of the conveyor (3) while the trochanter is fitted to a guide rail (not shown) extending to the left front or right front and is driven in the article conveying direction (6). The article (5) placed on it is moved leftward or rightward so that the article (5) is moved leftward or rightward (rightward in the case of FIG. 15). The guide rail is provided with a turning guide member that determines the direction of movement of the trochanter to the left or right.By switching this to the left or right direction, the trochanter is guided to the left or right guide rail. When it is driven in the article transport direction (6), it is moved to the left or right by the guide rail. Such a structure is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No.
It is just described in the publication. (305) is a guide conveyor provided on both left and right sides, and is indicated by an arrow.
Driven in direction (7). This guide conveyor (30
5) acts as a stopper device that prevents the article (5) from moving further in the width direction of the conveyor (3) by coming into contact with the article (5) when the article (5) is moved sideways.

Next, the operation of the width-shifting conveyor (3) will be described.
The sorting destination of the articles (5) arriving at the width-shifting conveyor (3) is stored in the computer, and the shout (102) sent to this sorting destination is the number of the left or right side of the sorting conveyor (1). It is also stored in the computer. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, when the article (5) to be paid out arrives at the first short side (102) on the left side, the deflection guide member receives the signal from the computer and the trochanter of the sliding plate (304). Is switched to guide the guide rail to the right side, and the trochanter that has entered this guide rail is moved to the right by the guide rail as it advances in the article transport direction (6), and is transferred to the sliding plate (304). The placed article (5) is squeezed to the right side together with the sliding plate (304) and comes into contact with the guide conveyor (305), and the article (5) is moved even if the sliding plate (304) moves further to the right side. Is a guide conveyor (30
It is blocked by 5) and does not move to the right end any more, but is moved to a predetermined right position. And the article (5) is sent to the sorting conveyor (1) at this width-shifting position,
When this article (5) reaches the left-most first shout (102), the signal from the computer activates the right-side first diverder (101) to dispense the article (5) to the left-side first shout (102). . When the chute corresponding to the sorting destination of the article (5) is located on the right side of the sorting conveyor (1), the turning guide member is switched so as to guide the trochanter of the sliding plate (304) to the guide rail to the left. To be Even if the sliding plate (304) is moved to the left or right, the sliding plate (304) is returned to the center of the conveyor (3) in the width direction by another guide rail provided on the return path and returns to the outward path. This is to ensure that the article (5) is received by the sliding plate (304) no matter where it is placed in the width direction of the feed conveyor (2).

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The conventional width-shifting conveyor is constructed as described above, receives the article (5) on the sliding plate (304), and receives the article (5) on the sliding plate (3).
04), the sliding plate (304) is moved leftward or rightward so that the sliding plate (304) is moved to the left or right, so that the sliding plate (304) is a distribution range of the article (5) in the conveyor width direction. It must have a length equal to (width of the feed conveyor (2)), and it can be made sure that no matter what size article (5) gets on which position on the sliding plate (304). In order to move the width of the feed conveyor (2), the width of the width-shifting conveyor is increased because the moving distances of the sliding plates (304) must be taken to the left and right, respectively. As shown in FIG. 15, if the moving distance is reduced in order to reduce the size of the sliding plate (304), a small article placed on one end of the sliding plate (304) cannot be moved sufficiently to the other side. , The longer sliding plate (304) must be used, so the sliding plate 304) not only requires strength itself, but also the guide bar (301) that supports the sliding plate (304) requires a length longer than the sliding plate (304), so strength against bending is required. Therefore, not only the sliding plate (304) but also the guide bar (301) becomes heavy, and there is a problem that the driving force therefor must be increased.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem of the prior art, and it is possible to perform reliable width adjustment with a small width dimension and to perform width adjustment with a driving force smaller than that of the conventional one. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a width-shifting conveyor.

[Means for Solving Problems] In a width-shifting conveyor according to the present invention, a slider is mounted on a guide bar so as to be slidable between both ends thereof, and a slider guide device is used to move the slider along the guide bar. And the slider is moved to the end of the guide bar in each moving direction, and the slider is mounted on the guide bar with the central part in the sliding direction protruding upward from the top of the guide bar. The above-mentioned article is pushed in the width direction of the conveyor, and a downwardly inclined surface is formed from the central portion toward both ends, and stopper devices are provided near the left and right sides of the forward path of the conveyor. The slider is brought into contact with an article moved to prevent the article from further moving in the width direction of the conveyor. It is a thing.

In the width-shifting conveyor according to another invention, the load supporting bar is inserted between the guide bars at an appropriate interval in the above-mentioned one, and the top of the load supporting bar is positioned at a level higher than the top of the guide bar. It is a thing.

[Action]

In the present invention, the width of the article is pushed by pushing the slider with the slider, and the slider can slip under the article by its inclined surface after the article comes into contact with the stopper device.

Further, in the another invention, in addition to the above, the load supporting bar supports at least a part of the load of the article.

Example of Invention

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. 1 is a plan view of a width-shifting conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is line III of FIG. -III is a sectional view, Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the end portion of the guide bar, Fig. 5 is a plan view of the slider guide device on the outward path of the width-shifting conveyor, and Fig. 6 is a plan view of the slider guide device on the outward path. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same parts.

In the figure, (8) is a width-shifting conveyor, (801) is a conventional guide bar corresponding to (301),
In this embodiment, there are two pairs of pipes,
It extends in the width direction of the conveyor (8) and in the article transport direction (80
It is installed in parallel with 2). The left and right ends of each pair of guide bars (801) are fixedly supported by supporting blocks (803), and rollers (804) are attached to each supporting block (803). The roller (804) rolls on rails (805) provided on both left and right sides of the conveyor (8). Block (803) is chain (8
06) connected endlessly by a chain (806)
Is hung between pulleys (807), and is driven in the article conveying direction (802) from the drive motor (808) via the reduction gear (809) and the pulley (807). Thus, the guide bar (801) includes a drive motor (808), a reduction gear (809), and a pulley (807).
And a chain (806) drive device along a predetermined endless track consisting of a forward path (upper traveling section) and a return path (lower traveling section) in the article transport direction (the direction of the arrow (802) on the outward path, It is driven in the direction opposite to the arrow (802).

Numerals (810) are sliders respectively, and by fitting a pair of guide bars (801) into the semicircular guide grooves (812) formed in the side wall (811) of the slider, As seen in FIG. 1, it is slidably mounted between its two ends. Each slider (80
In 1), the central portion (813) in the sliding direction is projected upward from the top portion (801A) of the guide bar (801),
It has a shape in which a downwardly inclined surface (815) is provided from the central portion (813) toward both ends (814). The lower end (815A) of each inclined surface (815) is located below the top (801A) of the guide bar (801). A shaft (816) is fixed to the bottom of each slider (810), and a trochanter (817) is fixed to this shaft (816).
(In this embodiment, it is a bearing, but it may be another trochanter such as a normal roller).

Reference numeral (818) (FIG. 5) is a slider guide device in the forward path, and (819) (FIG. 6) is a slider guide device in the forward path, both of which show the moving direction along the guide bar (801) of the slider (810). It controls and moves the slider (810) to the end of the guide bar (801) in each moving direction. The slider guide device (818) has guide rails (818A) extending substantially in an X shape so that the guide bar (801) contacts the trochanter (817) on the outward path when the guide bar (801) is driven in the article conveying direction (802). (818D) (a plate-shaped member in this embodiment, but other forms such as a groove member and a wire member may be used), and a turning guide member pivotally supported by a pin (818E) at the intersection of the X-shape. (818F). In the case shown, the trochanter (817) of each slider (810)
In the outward path, first, the first contact with the inner surface of the guide rail (818A) is gradually brought closer to the central portion in the width direction, and then along the outer surface of the guide rail (818D) by the turning guide member (818E) in the solid line position. It moves and is moved to the right as viewed in the article transport direction (802). Similarly, the slider guide device (809) on the return path also has guide rails (819A) to (819D) extending substantially in an X-shape and a turning guide member (819F) pivotally supported by a pin (819E) at the intersection thereof.
Consists of. When the trochanter (817) as shown in FIG. 5 is moved to the right side, the trochanter (817) first comes into contact with the inner surface of the guide rail (819B) and gradually moves to the center on the return path in the direction of the arrow (802A). The turning guide member (8
19F) is in the solid line position, it is guided to the guide rail (819D) by this turning guide member (819F), comes in contact with the outer side surface thereof, and is moved to the left side when viewed in the traveling direction (802A). When the turning guide member (819F) is at the position of the phantom line, the trochanter (817) moves the guide rail (8).
19C) and comes into contact with the outer side surface thereof, and is moved to the right side when viewed in the traveling direction (802A). In addition, (818
G) and (819G) are respectively computer-controlled according to the sorting destination of the articles, and the turning guide members (818F),
(819F) is an air cylinder that switches between a solid line position and a virtual line position.

Reference numeral (820) is a guide conveyor corresponding to the conventional one (305), which is provided near the left and right ends of the conveyor (8) and is driven at the same speed as the guide bar (801) in the direction of the arrow (821). It is something. (82
2) is a drive motor for the guide conveyor (820). The guide conveyor (820) is an article as described later.
Acts as a stopper device for preventing the article (5) from moving further in the width direction of the conveyor (8) by coming into contact with the article (5) when the (5) is squeezed by the slider (810). To do. Then, the inclined surface (815) of each slider (810) is moved to the stopper device (in this embodiment, the slider (810) after the article (5) is pushed by the slider (810) and comes into contact with the guide conveyor (820). 81
0) is formed so as to allow it to move to the end of the guide bar (801) while digging into the bottom of the article (5). In addition, (823) is a guide conveyor (8
20) A support plate for supporting the belt of 20) from the back side.

Next, the operation will be described. First, now the conveyor
The sorting destination of the article (5) sent from (2) is the first short side (102) (15th) of the sorting conveyor (1).
(Fig.) Corresponding. In that case, the turning guide member (819F) of the slider guide device (819) for the return path.
Is a computer-controlled air cylinder (819G)
By this, the position is switched to the position of the virtual line in FIG. Thus, the trochanter (817) of each slider (810) is guided along the outer surface of the guide rail (819C) in the direction of the arrow (802A), and ascends and rises in the outward direction, thereby moving in the article conveying direction (80).
The guide rail (818A) on the left side as viewed in 2) is guided in the article conveying direction (802) along the inner surface of the guide rail (818A), and accordingly, is moved toward the center in the width direction and to the right. At this time, the deflection guide member (818) of the outward slider guide device (818)
F) is an air cylinder (818) controlled by a computer.
It is located at the solid line position in FIG. 5 by G). Then, the trochanter (817) is guided from the guide rail (818A) through the turning guide member (818F) to the guide rail (818D), comes into contact with the outer surface thereof, and moves to the right as viewed in the article transport direction (802). To be done. By moving the trochanter (817) to the right, the slider (810) also moves in the article transport direction (8
As shown in FIG. 1, it is moved from the left end position to the right end position as it proceeds to 02). Therefore, width-shifting conveyor
The article (5) transferred to (8) is moved to the right by the inclined surface (815) of the slider (810) until it comes into contact with the guide conveyor (820). After that, the slider (810) is further moved to the right, but the inclined surface (815) is formed on the slider (810) and the lower end (815A) of the inclined surface (815) is the guide bar (801). Since the slider (810) is positioned below the top (801A) of the article (5), the slider (810) digs under the article (5) along the inclined surface (815) regardless of the shape of the bottom edge of the article (5). (810) does not crush or damage the article (5) with the guide conveyor (820). Further, even if the string of the article (5) is hung, the slider (810) is not caught by the string. In this way, the articles (5) squeezed to the right side are sent out from the shunting conveyor (8) to the sorting conveyor (1) at that position, and the first diverter (10) on the right side is sent.
1) (in the case of FIG. 15), it is paid out to the left-most first short (102). In addition, the slider (81
0) is surely moved from the left end position to the right position by the slider guide device (818), so what size article (5) is at which position in the width direction the width-shifting conveyor (8).
Even if it is sent to, it will surely be moved to the right side.

When the article (5) is moved to the left side, the turning guide member (819) of the backward slider guide device (819)
F) is switched to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, and the turning guide member (818F) of the outward slider guide device (818) is switched to the position shown by the phantom line in FIG. Since the guide conveyor (820) comes into contact with the article moved by the slider (810) to prevent further movement of the article in the width direction of the conveyor, the guide conveyor (820) may be slid into the slider (810). It goes without saying that even if the article is lifted, it has a height sufficient to contact the article.

As described above, according to the present invention, the article (5) can be moved left and right while being placed on the sliding plate (304) as in the conventional one. The slider (810) is used instead of the slider (81) to push the slider (81).
0) need only be short, therefore width-shifting conveyor (8)
The width of the width-shifting conveyor (8) is much smaller than that of the conventional one, because it is not necessary to take a large movement distance for the slider (810) beyond the width of the feed conveyor (2) on both left and right sides. can do. Further, since the slider (810) is surely moved to the end of the guide bar (801) by the slider guide device (818), the slider (810) pushes the article (5) so that the article (5) is moved closer. No matter what size article is sent to which position in the width direction, the article can be reliably width-aligned. Further, the slider (810) need only be short as described above and the guider (801) can be shorter than the conventional one, so that the slider (810) can be smaller in strength against bending than the conventional one. The required driving force is smaller than the conventional one. Also, the slider (810) has its inclined surface (81
Since it can be sunk under the article (5) by means of (5), there is no possibility of damaging the article (5).

The article (5) has a slanted surface (81) of the slider (810).
Although it was explained as pushing with 5), when the article (5) is transferred to the width-shifting conveyor (8), the bottom thereof is the slider (8).
Since the article (5) is inclined even when riding on the central portion (813) of the article (10), the article (5) is pushed by the central portion (813) and is squeezed. However, when handling or possibly handling very small items (5), such items
Since (5) must not ride on the opposite inclined surface (815), the width of the feed conveyor (2) should be adjusted so that its edge is substantially aligned with the central portion (813) as shown in FIG. You can leave it. Further, in the above embodiment, the inclined surface (81
The lower end (815A) of 5) is located below the top part (801A) of the guide bar (801) so that it can be crawled under any article to prevent damage to the article (5). However, if the bottom edge of the article (5) to be handled is rounded, etc., the lower end (815A) of the inclined surface (815) is the guide bar (80) as shown in FIG.
It may be located above the top (801A) of 1). By doing so, the guide groove (812) is formed into the inclined surface (81
The slider (810) can be easily formed because it is formed at a position deviated from (5).

An essential part of another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.
As shown in the figure. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the end portion of the guide bar in this embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX in FIG. 8. The same portions as those in FIGS. The same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted.

In the figure, (824) is a load support bar, which is a plate-shaped member in this embodiment, and both ends thereof (only one end is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9; Is fixedly supported by a support block (825), and a roller (826) is attached to each support block (825). The roller (826) has a guide bar (80
It is adapted to roll on the rail (805) together with the roller (804) of 1). The load support bars (824) are interleaved with pairs of guide bars (801) in this embodiment, and their support blocks (825) are inserted into the guide bars (80).
Chain (80) together with support block (803) of 1)
6) endlessly connected. The top surface (824A) of the load support bar (824) is attached to the guide bar (80
It is located above the top part (801A) of 1) and is provided with projections (827) projecting upward at both ends. The central portion (813) of the slider (810) projects above the top surface (824A) of the load support bar (824). Others are the same as the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 7.

Thus, in this embodiment, the load bearing bar (824) has its top surface (824A) at the top (8) of the guide bar (801).
01A), the article (5) rests on the load bearing bar (824) and its full load is carried by the load bearing bar (824). Therefore, the load of the article (5) is not applied to the guide bar (801). Therefore,
The guide bar (801) will not be bent by the load of the article (5), the movement of the slider (810) along the guide bar (801) will be smooth, and the driving force required to drive it will be the same as in the previous embodiment. It can be smaller. Furthermore,
By reducing the deflection of the guide bar (801), it is possible to reduce the clearance between the guide bar (801) and the guide groove (812) of the slider (810), and thus when the slider (810) slides. The noise generated is also low. Further, in this embodiment, the projection (827) acts as a stopper for the article (5) instead of the guide conveyor (820) in the previous embodiment, but the guide conveyor (820) may be used together with the projection (827). good. Also, the top surface (824A) of the load support bar (824)
Is at substantially the same level as the top portion (801A) of the guide bar (801) and the load support bar (824) and the guide bar (8).
01) and the load of the article (5) may be shared and supported.

Another embodiment of the alternative invention is shown in FIGS. 10 is an enlarged side view of the slider, FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line XI-XI of FIG. 10, and this embodiment differs from the embodiments of FIGS. 8 and 9 in that
The lower end (81) of the inclined surface (815) of the slider (810)
5A) is positioned above the top (801A) of the guide bar (801) and the load support bar (824) accordingly.
Is also a point located slightly above the case of FIGS. 8 and 9. In this embodiment, as in the case of FIG. 7, the guide (812) is formed at a position deviated from the inclined surface (815), so that the slider (810) can be easily formed.

In each of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 and the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the lower end (815A) of the inclined surface (815) is the top surface (8) of the load support bar (824).
24A), but when the bottom edge of the article (5) is rounded as shown in FIG. 7, the inclined surface (815) is easily digged under the article (5). When loaded, it may be located above the top surface (824A) of the load support bar (824).

Further, in any of the above-mentioned embodiments, the inclined surface (81
5) is smooth, but as shown in FIG. 12, a large number of narrow grooves extending in the width direction of the slider (810) are formed on the inclined surface (815) to increase friction with the article (5). Then, it is preferable to prevent the risk that the particularly lightweight article (5) will cross over the central portion (813) to the opposite side. However, this groove has an inclined surface (815) at the end of width adjustment.
The roughness and shape must be such that it can fit into the bottom of (5). In the above embodiment, the inclined surface (8
Although 15) is a straight line, as shown in FIG. 13, it is a fold consisting of a large gradient portion (815B) near the central portion (813) and a small gradient portion (815C) near the end portion (814). Curved parts (815B), (815C)
The bent portion (815D) between the tops (801A) of the guide bars (801) (the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 7) or the tops (824A) of the load support bars (824) (FIGS. 8 to 11). It may be located higher than the embodiment shown in the drawing. By thus reducing the slope of the portion (815C) close to the end (814), the slider (810) can smoothly start to dig into the bottom of the article (5), and before the end of the width adjustment. Already the part (815C) is the article (5)
If it goes into the bottom of the article (5), the article (5)
5D), and if the part (815C) also digs into the bottom of the article (5), the part with a large slope (81
5B) can also be easily inserted. Further, it is also preferable that the inclined surface (815) is a concave curved surface in the sliding direction of the slider as shown in FIG. In that case, the slanted surface (815) of the bottom surface of the article is made smoother than that of FIG.

In each of the above embodiments, one slider (810) is supported by the pair of guide bars (801).
May be supported. For example, the guide bar has a non-circular cross-sectional shape such as a quadrangle, a non-circular through hole corresponding to the widthwise center of the slider (810) is formed, and the guide bar (801) is passed through this hole to form a single bar. The guide bar can support the slider. Further, the guide bar does not have to be a pipe, but may be a solid rod. Furthermore, each guide bar (801) and load support bar (824)
Drive the chain in the article transport direction (802).
06) is used, but the chain (806) is used exclusively for connecting the guide bar (801) and the load support bar (824) in an endless manner and, for example, a V-belt is used for the drive. With this, the rollers (804) and (826) may be rotationally driven. Further, although the load supporting bar (824) is shown as a plate-shaped member, it does not have to be a plate-shaped member in particular and may be constituted by a pipe, for example. Further, although the load supporting bar (824) is shown as being alternately arranged with the pair of guide bars (801),
One load support bar (824) is inserted at an appropriate interval, for example, two pairs of guide bars (801) are inserted, and conversely, a pair of guide bars (8) is inserted every two pairs of load support bars (824).
01) may be inserted. Furthermore, in each of the above-described embodiments, the width-shifting conveyor is used as the article sorting apparatus, but the application is not limited to this. For example, in a product assembly plant, belt conveyors are arranged on both sides. It can be used to send each part to workers near the hand, or can be used to branch articles in two directions (in that case, instead of the sorting conveyor (1), two conveyors of about half the width are arranged side by side. It will be installed) and the invention is not limited by such application.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is extremely easy to push and pull the articles by the slider that is slidably mounted on the guide bar between the both ends and that is moved to the end of the guide bar by the slider guide device. With such a configuration, the width of the width-shifting conveyor can be made significantly smaller than that of the conventional one, and regardless of the size of the article, the position of the article placed on the width-shifting conveyor at any position in the width direction can be reduced. The slider can be surely moved to the side, and since the slider is provided with the inclined surface, it can be squeezed into the bottom of the article at the time of the movement to the side without damaging the article.

Furthermore, according to another invention, since the load supporting bars are inserted between the guide bars at appropriate intervals to support at least a part of the load of the article, in addition to the above effect, The deflection due to the load is reduced, the slider can be smoothly moved along the guide bar, and the driving force required to drive the slider can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a plan view of a width-shifting conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is line III of FIG. -A cross-sectional view along III,
FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the end portion of the guide bar, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the slider guide device on the outward path of the width-shifting conveyor, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the slider guide device on the return path, and FIG. An enlarged side view of a slider in another embodiment,
FIG. 8 is a plan view of an end portion of a guide bar in another embodiment of the invention, FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is another embodiment of the another invention. An enlarged side view of the slider in the example, FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line XI-XI of FIG. 10, FIGS. 12 to 14 are side views showing different shapes of the slider, and FIG. FIG. 16 is a plan view showing an example of an article sorting device provided with a width-shifting conveyor, and FIG. 16 is a plan view showing another example of a conventional article sorting device provided with a width-shifting conveyor. Aligning conveyor, (801) is a guide bar, (801
A) is the top of the guide bar, (802) is the article transport direction,
(806) is a chain, (807) is a pulley, (80
8) is a drive motor, (809) is a reduction gear, (810)
Is the slider, (813) is the center of the slider, and (8
14) both ends of the slider, (815) an inclined surface of the slider, (815A) a lower end of the inclined surface, (817) a trochanter, (818) an outward slider guide device, and (81).
9) is a slider guide device for the return path, (818A) ~
(818D) and (819A) to (819D) are guide rails, (818F) and (819F) are turning guide members, (820) is a stopper device (guide conveyor),
(824) is the load support bar, (824A) is the top of the load support bar, (827) is the stopper device (projection), (81).
5B) is a part of the inclined surface having a large slope, (815C) is a part having a small slope, and (815D) is a bent part. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A width-shifting conveyor which sends out an article received at one end by shifting the width to a desired side on either the right or left side, and a plurality of guide bars extending in the width direction of the conveyor and arranged side by side in the article transport direction. A drive device for driving these guide bars in the article conveying direction along a predetermined endless track consisting of a forward path and a return path, a large number of sliders slidably mounted on the guide bar between both ends thereof, and The slider is provided with a slider guide device that controls the moving direction of the slider along the guide bar and moves the slider to the end of the guide bar in each moving direction, and the slider has a central portion in the sliding direction of the guide bar. The article placed on the guide bar is pushed upward in the width direction of the conveyor by further projecting from the top of the conveyor. A stopper device is provided near each of the left and right sides of the forward path to abut the article moved by the slider to prevent further movement of the article in the conveyor width direction. It is characterized in that a downward inclined surface is formed from the central portion toward both ends to allow the slider to move to the end portion of the guide bar while digging into the bottom portion of the article after abutting on the device. Width-shifting conveyor. 2. The width-shifting conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the lower end of each inclined surface of the slider is located below the top of the guide bar. 3. The width-shifting conveyor according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of narrow grooves extending in the width direction are formed on the inclined surface of the slider. 4. The inclined surface of the slider is composed of a part having a large slope near the center and a part having a small slope near the end, and the bent part between these parts is located above the top of the guide bar. Claim 1 characterized by being located
The width-shifting conveyor described in the item. 5. An inclined surface of the slider is formed as a concave curved surface in a sliding direction thereof.
The width-shifting conveyor described in the item. 6. Each slider has a trochanter at the bottom thereof, and the slider guide device contacts the trochanter on each of the forward and backward paths of the guide bar when the guide bar is driven in the article conveying direction by its drive device. Then, the pair of guide rails for the forward path and the return path extending in an x-shape for moving the trochanter along the guide bar and the x-shaped intersection of the guide rails are pivotally supported to support the trochanter. The width-shifting conveyor according to claim 1, comprising a turning guide member that switches a movement path along a guide rail. 7. A width-shifting conveyor for shifting the width of an article received at one end to a desired side on either the right or left side, and a plurality of guide bars extending in the width direction of the conveyor and arranged side by side in the article transport direction. A drive device for driving these guide bars in the article conveying direction along a predetermined endless track consisting of a forward path and a return path, a number of sliders slidably mounted on the guide bar between both ends thereof, A slider guide device for controlling the movement direction of the guide bar along the guide bar and moving the slider to the end of the guide bar in each movement direction, and the drive device inserted at an appropriate interval between the guide bars. A load-bearing bar driven by a device along with the guide bar along the endless track and having a top located at a level above the top of the guide bar. The slider has a central portion in a sliding direction thereof projected upward from a top portion of the load supporting bar to push an article placed on the load supporting bar in a width direction of the conveyor, and further, the conveyor A stopper device provided near both the left and right sides of the forward path for abutting the article moved by the slider to prevent further movement of the article in the conveyor width direction, and the slider has an article After contacting the stopper device, a downward sloping surface that allows the slider to move to the end of the guide bar while digging into the bottom of the article is formed from the central portion toward both ends. Width-shifting conveyor. 8. A width-shifting conveyor according to claim 7, wherein the lower end of each inclined surface of the slider is located below the top of the load supporting bar. 9. The width-shifting conveyor according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of narrow grooves extending in the width direction are formed on the inclined surface of the slider. 10. An inclined surface of a slider is composed of a part having a large slope near the center and a part having a small slope near the end, and the bent part between these parts is located above the top of the load supporting bar. The width-shifting conveyor according to claim 7, wherein the width-shifting conveyor is located at 11. The width-shifting conveyor according to claim 7, wherein the inclined surface of the slider is formed as a concave curved surface in its sliding direction. 12. Each slider has a trochanter at the bottom thereof,
The slider guide device has a substantially x-shape that contacts the trochanter and moves the trochanter along the guide bar in each of the forward and backward paths of the guide bar when the guide bar is driven in the article conveying direction by the drive device. A guide guide member that is pivoted at the x-shaped intersection of the guide rails for the forward path and the return path and that switches the movement path of the trochanter along the guide rails. The width-shifting conveyor according to claim 7, which is characterized in that. 13. The width-shifting conveyor according to claim 7, wherein the stopper device comprises a protrusion provided at an end of the load supporting bar so as to project upward.