JPH0699024B2 - Tray conveyor - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus used for classifying and sorting various types of articles, and more specifically, it is a conveyor for moving a tray on which articles are placed, and for identifying articles. The present invention relates to a tray conveyor for sorting articles by inclining the tray mounting surface at an arbitrary position in response to a signal from the device and dropping the articles on the tray mounting surface in the inclination direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a conventional article sorting tray conveyor. This tray conveyor 1 is
It is composed of a tray 2 on which articles are placed and a support base 3 which is provided integrally with the tray 2 and supports the tray 2 from below. This support base 3 has an upper and lower two-stage structure, and an upper support base 3A having two wheels 4a and 4b on the left and right.
And a lower support 3B, which also has two wheels 4,4. The upper support 3A and the lower support 3B are
The upper support base 3A joined at the joint portion 5 is rotatable about the joint portion 5 in the direction indicated by → A in the drawing. In this tray conveyor 1, the wheels 4a and 4b of the upper support 3A and the wheels 4 and 4 of the lower support 3B are respectively laid in two predetermined upper rails 6a, 6b and two lower rails. It is designed to run on rails 7,7 along each rail. This tray conveyor 1
Tilts the tray 2 at a predetermined position and drops the articles on the tray 2 to the tilted side to sort the articles, so as shown in FIG. 3, below the two upper rails 6a and 6b, respectively. Two tilting rails 8a and 8b are provided which run in parallel along the upper rails 6a and 6b. That is, in the part where the article is to be dropped, the upper rail 6a (for example) on the side to be dropped (the side to be tilted) is the tilting rail.
By switching to 8a, both wheels 4a, 4 of the upper support 3A
b An upper support 3A, which is integrated with the tray 2 around the joint portion 5 as an axis, inclines toward the wheels 4a by making a difference in height between the respective traveling positions, and an article placed on the tray 2 Fall to the inclined (wheel 4a) side and are separated. On the other hand, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of a conventional article sorting tray conveyor. This tray conveyor 11 is
It is composed of a tray 12 on which articles are placed, and a support base 13 which is provided integrally with the tray 12 and supports the tray 12 from below. The support base 13 has a two-tiered upper and lower structure, and a support base main body 13A integrally formed with the tray 12 is joined to the lower part of the support base main body 13 and two wheels 14, 1 are provided on the left and right.
Consists of a pedestal 13B with four. The support base body 13A and the pedestal 13B are joined together at a joint portion 15, and the support base body 13A has a joint portion 15 as an axis in the figure.
It is rotatable in the direction shown in. This tray conveyor 11
Are the two left and right wheels 14,14 attached to the pedestal 13.
However, it runs along the two rails 16a and 16b laid in a predetermined area. Further, in this tray conveyor 11, the tray 12 is inclined at a predetermined position, and the articles on the tray 12 are dropped to the inclined side to sort the articles. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, it is attempted to drop the articles. In the part, two tilting rails 17a, 17b are installed side by side along the rails 16a, 16b on the left or right side of each of the two rails 16a, 16b. That is, in the portion where the article is to be dropped, the rails 16a and 16b on which the wheels 14 and 14 travel are positioned on the side opposite to the side (tilting side) on which the rails 16a and 16b are dropped (tilt side).
By switching to 17b, the pedestal 13B will be
The support body slides from the b side to the tilt rails 17a, 17b side, and the support body is bent in the direction opposite to the sliding direction of the pedestal 13B with the joint portion 15 as an axis by the inertial force of the pedestal 13B with respect to the slide. As a result, the support base body 3A integrated with the tray 2 is tilted toward the wheel 4a side, and the articles placed on the tray 2 are dropped to the tilted side for sorting.

[0003]

As described above, in each of the conventional tray conveyors 1 and 11, the trays integrated with the respective supports by switching the points of the rails on which the respective supports travel. Was tilted. However, in this way, the method of inclining the tray by switching the point of the rail on which the support of the tray conveyor travels causes the support to derail the rail at the time of switching the points. There is a limit, and since the rail point switching must be restored after the point switching before the next tray conveyor arrives, the next tray conveyor cannot be run until this return is completed. Therefore, due to the limitation of the traveling speed of the support base and the loss time for returning to the points, the time required for the article sorting work is extended, and smooth and quick processing cannot be expected. Also, in the conventional tray conveyor 1, the rail for tilting
The laying position of 8a, 8b, that is, the height difference between the upper rails 6a, 6b and the tilting rails 8a, 8b naturally fixes the tilting angle and the tilting speed of the tray 2. The speed could not be set. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to smoothly and quickly perform the tilting operation of the tray in the article sorting work, and the tilting angle and the tilting speed of the tray can be arbitrarily set for each article, It is an object to provide a tray conveyor that can effectively and promptly sort a large number of various kinds of goods.

[0004]

This problem is solved by a tray main body having a tray on which an article is placed on the upper surface and a supporting means for supporting the tray from below, and a tray main body from one side to the other side. It is provided with a main body moving means for moving it and a tray tilting means for tilting the mounting surface of the tray to one of the left and right sides in the traveling direction of the tray main body, and when moving the tray main body, at any position. A tray conveyor for sorting articles, in which various types of articles are sorted by inclining the tray placement surface and dropping the articles placed on the tray placement surface in the inclination direction of the tray. The supporting means includes a pedestal disposed below the tray, and two support columns interposed between the tray and the pedestal, one of the support columns having one end Rotatable to the tray tilt side of the pedestal Attached, and the other end is rotatably attached to the tray inclined side of the tray lower surface, and has a joint portion bent between at least one of the inclined side and the non-inclined side between the both ends, The other support pillar has one end fixedly attached to the tray non-tilted side of the pedestal and the other end fixedly attached to the tray non-tilted side of the tray lower surface, near the tray lower surface between both ends. The tray tilting means applies an external force to at least one of the tray tilting direction and the tray non-tilting direction to the one supporting pillar by having a bendable joint portion on the tilted side. Then, it is solved by bending the joint portion to at least one of the inclined side and the non-inclined side to incline the tray. Further, it is preferable that a damper for adjusting the inclination speed of the tray is interposed between the lower surface of the tray and the pedestal. An angle adjuster for adjusting the maximum inclination angle of the tray is provided on the pedestal, and the tip end of the adjuster is in contact with the bottom surface of the tray or the bent side of the joint portion of the bending support column. Is preferred.

[0005]

As described above, in the tray conveyor of the present invention, the tray inclining means applies the external force to one of the supporting columns from at least one of the tray inclining direction and the tray non-inclining direction. Since the joint portion is bent to at least one of the inclined side and the non-inclined side to incline the tray, when performing the inclination operation of the tray, the conventional tray conveyor described above is used. To
The problems caused by the guide rail point switching operation, such as the need to limit the traveling speed of the tray conveyor and the recovery time for performing the switching operation of the guide rail for traveling the next tray, are eliminated. . Also,
In the tray conveyor according to the second aspect, since the damper is provided between the lower surface of the tray and the pedestal, the inclination speed of the tray can be adjusted. Further, in the tray conveyor according to the third aspect, since the angle adjuster provided on the pedestal is interposed, the maximum inclination angle of the tray can be adjusted.

[0006]

1 and 2 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which reference numeral 21 is a tray conveyor. The tray conveyor 21 has a rectangular and flat upper surface shape, a tray 22 for mounting a plate-shaped article on the upper surface, a pedestal 23 for supporting the tray 22 from below via a supporting member, the tray 22 and A main body moving device (not shown) for moving the tray conveyor main body 24 in which the pedestal 23 is integrated by the supporting member from one side to the other, and the mounting surface X of the tray 22 are moved by the tray conveyor main body 24. And a tray inclining device 26 for inclining to the left or right in the direction. The pedestal 23 has guide grooves 28a, 27a provided in two guide rails 27, 27 laid in a predetermined area, and guide wheels 28 that are fitted freely along the guide grooves 27a, 27a. Is a rectangular pedestal, and a support member including two support columns 29 and 30 and a damper 31 is provided between the upper surface of the pedestal 23 and the lower surface of the tray 22. One end of the support column 29 is rotatably attached to a side of the pedestal 23 where the tray 22 is inclined (hereinafter, referred to as an inclined side), and the other end is rotatably attached to an inclined side of the lower surface of the tray 22. There is. Further, a joint portion 32 is provided between the both ends, and when an external force is applied to the joint portion 32 from the side inclining the tray 22 toward the opposite side (hereinafter referred to as the non-inclined side), It is supposed to be folded. On the other hand, the support pillar 30 is
One end is fixedly attached to the non-inclined side of the pedestal 23, and the other end is fixedly attached to the non-inclined side of the lower surface of the tray 22. In addition, hinges 33 that can be bent on the inclined side are provided near the lower surface of the tray 22 at both ends. damper
31 is provided on the pedestal 23, and the tip end of the cylinder 34 of the damper 31 is in contact with the lower surface of the tray 22. Also,
An angle adjuster 35 is provided between the support column 29 and the damper 31 on the pedestal 23. The angle adjuster 35 has one end fixed on the pedestal 23 and the other end vertically provided with the other end facing the lower surface of the tray 22, and a screw member 37 screwed into a screw hole on the front end surface of the pole 36. , (Or a horizontal screw 38 attached to the middle portion of the pole 36).
With this angle adjuster 35, the screw member 37
By screwing into the screw holes of 36, the distance between the top of the screw member 37 and the lower surface of the tray 22 can be adjusted to adjust the maximum angle when the tray 22 is inclined. (Or, by screwing the screw member 38 into the screw hole on the side of the pole 36, the bending degree of the support column 29 can be limited and the maximum inclination angle of the tray 22 can be adjusted.) As described above, the tray conveyor main body 24 having the above-described structure moves along the two guide rails 27, 27 laid in a predetermined area, and its moving means is fitted in the guide grooves 27a, 27a. A tow chain 40 that connects with a mating guide wheel 28,
The main body moving device is composed of 40 and a chain pulling device (not shown) that pulls the pulling chain in a predetermined direction.
The tray inclining device 26 is an air cylinder that is disposed on the inclined side of the support column 29 of the tray conveyor main body 24 that reaches the region where the tray 22 should be inclined, and the guide rails 27, 27 are located near the laying position. Is detachably arranged at any position. This tray tilting device 26 is
When inclining, the tip portion 26a of the cylinder is oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the support column 29 so that an external force can be applied to the joint part 32 of the support column 29 from the inclined side toward the non-inclined side. ing. In order to sort the articles by using the tray conveyor 21 of the present embodiment, the articles to be sorted are first placed on the placing surface of the tray 22. Next, switch on the chain towing device to pull the tow chains 40 and 40, and the tray conveyor body 24
Are moved to the article sorting position along the guide rails 27, 27. Next, when this item reaches its classification position,
Activate the tray inclining device 26 to move the tray conveyor body 24
The tip end portion 26a of the cylinder is extruded from the inclined side to the non-inclined side on the inclined side of the support column 29. This allows support pillars 29
However, while bending at the joint part 32, the supporting pillar 30
Bends to the inclined side at the hinge 33 part, and these support columns 29,3
The tray 22 supported by 0 is inclined to the inclined side. As a result, the articles on the tray 22 fall on the inclined side and are sorted. When the tray 22 is tilted, it is possible to adjust the tilt speed of the tray 22 by operating the damper 31 and pressing the tip end of the cylinder 34 of the damper 31 against the lower surface of the tray 22 with a desired pushing pressure. it can. Further, the maximum inclination angle when the tray 22 is inclined can be adjusted by adjusting the screw member 37 or the screw member 38 of the angle adjuster 35. In the tray conveyor 21 of the present embodiment, a so-called toggle joint was used as the support column 29, but this toggle joint has a straight bending point in order to avoid extension of the general toggle joint during bending. A spring having 29 and 29A connected to the other side so as to be held in a bent shape may be used, or a fitting protrusion may be provided at a portion where 29 and 29A are joined and overlapped. Further, in the present embodiment, the hydraulic damper 31 is used as the inclination speed adjusting means of the tray 22, but other than this, it is not particularly limited as long as it is an apparatus such as an air damper that can favorably adjust the inclination speed of the tray 22. As described above, in the tray conveyor 21 of the present embodiment, the cylinder tip end portion 26a of the tray tilting device 26 is pressed against the support column 29, and external force is applied from the tray tilting side to the non-tilting side to form a joint. Since the portion 22 is bent to incline the tray 22, when the tray 22 is tilted, it is necessary to limit the traveling speed of the tray conveyor like the conventional tray conveyor, and the next tray is moved. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the adverse effects caused by the guide rail point switching operation, such as a recovery time for performing the guide rail re-switching operation. As a result, it is possible to significantly reduce the time required for the work of sorting the articles, and to realize the rapid processing of a large number of products of various kinds. Moreover, since the tray inclining device 26 is detachably arranged at any position near the guide rails 27, 27 laying position, the tray conveyor 21
The inclination position of the tray 22 can be changed even after installation. Further, in the tray conveyor 21 of the present embodiment, since the damper 31 is provided between the lower surface of the tray 22 and the pedestal 23, the inclination speed of the tray 22 can be adjusted to a desired speed. For example, when sorting fragile articles, the tilt rate can be slowed to minimize shock when the articles fall. In addition, the tray conveyor 21 of this embodiment
In this case, one end is fixed on the pedestal 23 and the other end is a tray.
22 Since the angle adjuster 35 including the pole 36 that is vertically provided toward the lower surface and the screw member 37 that is screwed into the screw hole formed on the tip surface of the pole 36 is provided,
By appropriately adjusting the degree to which the screw member 37 is screwed into the screw hole of the pole 36, the maximum inclination angle when the tray 22 is inclined is adjusted by adjusting the distance between the top of the screw member 37 and the lower surface of the tray 22. It can be adjusted freely. (Or, instead of the screw member 37, by providing an angle adjuster 35 configured with a screw member 38 that is screwed into a screw hole formed on the side portion of the pole 36, the bending support column is separated from the bending side face. The maximum tilt angle of the tray 22 can be freely adjusted by adjusting the distance.)

[0007]

As described above, in the tray conveyor of the present invention, the tray inclining means is provided between the pedestal disposed below the tray and the tray and the pedestal. Two support columns are provided, and one support column has one end rotatably attached to the tray inclined side of the pedestal and the other end rotatably attached to the tray inclined side of the tray lower surface. And has a joint portion bent between at least one of the inclined side and the non-inclined side between both ends, and one end of the other support pillar is fixed to the tray non-inclined side of the pedestal. The tray is attached and the other end is fixedly attached to the tray lower surface on the tray non-inclined side, and a bendable joint portion on the inclined side is provided between the both ends in the vicinity of the tray lower surface. The tilting means is arranged so that the tray is attached to the one supporting pillar. By adding an external force of at least either side of the diagonal or tray untilted direction, since the joint portion is configured to tilts the tray by bending at least either side of the inclined side or untilted side,
When performing a tray tilt operation, it is necessary to limit the traveling speed of the tray conveyor, as in the conventional tray conveyor, and a return time is required to perform the switching operation of the guide rails for moving the next tray. The problem caused by the point switching operation of the guide rail is eliminated.
As a result, it is possible to significantly reduce the time required for the work of sorting the articles, and to realize the rapid processing of a large number of products of various kinds.
Further, in the tray conveyor according to claim 2, since a damper for adjusting the inclination speed of the tray is provided between the lower surface of the tray and the pedestal, it is desired according to the article for which the inclination speed of the tray is classified. It becomes possible to adjust to the speed of. For example, when sorting fragile items, the ramp rate can be slowed to minimize shock when the item falls. Further, in the tray conveyor according to claim 3, an angle adjuster whose tip portion can be adjusted is installed on the tray lower surface side, and the distance between the tip portion and the tray lower surface side is changed (or toggle). An angle adjuster whose tip can be adjusted is installed on the bending side of the joint, and the maximum inclination angle of the tray can be freely adjusted by changing the distance between the tip and the bending side of the toggle joint.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a tray conveyor that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which a tray 22 of a tray conveyor main body shown by reference numeral 24 in FIG. 1 is tilted by a tray tilting device 26.

3A and 3B are views showing an example of a conventional article sorting tray conveyor, in which FIG. 3A is a front view of the tray conveyor, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a traveling state of wheels 4a when the tray is tilted.

FIG. 4 is a view showing another example of a conventional article sorting tray conveyor, in which (a) is a front view of the tray conveyor and (b) is a front view of the tray conveyor.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing traveling states of wheels 17a and 17b when the tray is tilted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 ... Tray conveyor 22 ... Tray 23 ... Pedestal 24 ... Tray conveyor body 26 ... Tray tilting device 29,30 ... Support pillar 31 ... Damper 32 ... Joint part 33 ... Hinge 35 ... Angle adjuster

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A tray main body comprising a tray on which articles are placed on an upper surface and a supporting means for supporting the tray from below, and a main body moving means for moving the tray main body from one side to the other side. A tray mounting means for inclining the mounting surface of the tray to one of the left and right sides in the traveling direction of the tray body, and when the tray body is moved,
A tray for sorting articles in which various types of articles are sorted by inclining the tray placement surface at an arbitrary position and dropping the articles placed on the tray placement surface in the inclination direction of the tray. A conveyor, wherein the supporting means includes a pedestal arranged below the tray, and two supporting columns interposed between the tray and the pedestal, and one supporting column is , One end is rotatably attached to the tray inclined side of the pedestal, and the other end is rotatably attached to the tray lower side of the tray lower surface, and at least the inclined side or the non-inclined side is provided between both ends. It has a joint portion that bends to one side, and the other support pillar has one end fixedly attached to the tray non-inclined side of the pedestal, and the other end is the tray non-inclined side of the tray lower surface. Is fixedly attached to the tray and near the bottom surface of the tray between both ends The part has a bendable joint on the inclined side, and the tray inclining means applies an external force to the one supporting pillar from at least one of the tray inclining direction and the tray non-inclining direction. Then, the tray conveyor is characterized in that the joint portion is bent to at least one of the inclined side and the non-inclined side to incline the tray. 2. The tray conveyor according to claim 1, wherein a damper for adjusting the inclination speed of the tray is provided between the lower surface of the tray and the pedestal. 3. A maximum inclination of the tray is provided by installing a pole having an adjustable tip length screw on the pedestal (angle adjuster) and contacting the bottom surface of the tray or the joint back portion of the bent joint support column. The tray conveyor according to claim 1, further comprising an angle adjuster for adjusting the angle.