JPH0881049A - Conveying path switching device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To allow articles to be efficiently sorted in the vertical direction by interposing a conveying path switching device, formed by connecting two oscillating belt conveyors by link mechanism including an oscillating lever, between a main conveyor and two auxiliary conveyors disposed on the upper and lower sides. CONSTITUTION: In the case of sorting articles on a carry-in conveyor 12 to an upper side carry-out conveyor 14a, a driving means 24 oscillates an oscillating lever 34 clockwise so as to push a first oscillating belt conveyor 18 upward into a horizontal state by a link rod 30 and to pull a second oscillating belt conveyor 20 downward into a horizontal state by a link rod 32, thus sorting the articles 16 to the upper side carry-out conveyor 14a. In the case of sorting the articles 16 to a lower side carry-out conveyor 14b, the oscillating lever 34 is oscillated counterclockwise so as to place the respective inclined conveyors 18, 20 in the inclined state through the link rods 30, 32, and the articles 16 are sorted to the lower side carry-out conveyor 14b through the inclined conveyor 18.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transport path switching device for switching the transport paths of articles to be sorted or merged.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a vertical sorting device described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-66115 as a transport path switching device for sorting products in the process of transporting them. This device is schematically shown in FIG.
Shown in This device has one loading belt conveyor 70.
And two carry-out belt conveyors 7 arranged in the upper and lower two stages
2a and 72b, and two swing belt conveyors 74 and 76 arranged between the carry-in belt conveyor 70 and the carry-out belt conveyors 72a and 72b. The downstream side swing belt conveyor 76 is connected to the upper side discharge belt conveyor 72a, and the upstream side swing belt conveyor 74 is connected to the downstream side swing belt conveyor 76 and the lower side discharge belt conveyor 7.
It is configured to swing so that it can be connected to each of 2b. A swing mechanism 78 for swinging the upstream swing belt conveyor 74 and the downstream swing belt conveyor 76 includes cranks 80 and 82 for the upstream swing belt conveyor 74 and the downstream swing belt conveyor 76, respectively. Disks 84 and 86 connected via a disk, and a drive mechanism 88 that drives these disks 84 and 86 so that their rotation directions are opposite to each other. The cranks 80 and 82 are connected to the discs 84 and 86 with a phase difference of 180 °. The cranks 80, 82 are pivotally attached to side plates supporting the swing belt conveyors 74, 76.

The drive mechanism 88 is composed of a motor, a clutch brake unit, a miter gear, and the like. By rotating the disks 84 and 86 in different directions by the drive mechanism 88, the upstream side swing belt conveyor 74 and the downstream side belt conveyor 74 are provided. It swings with the swing belt conveyor 76. At the upper limit position of the upstream swing belt conveyor 74, the upstream swing belt conveyor 74 and the upper carry-out belt conveyor 72a are connected. Further, at the lower limit position of the upstream swing belt conveyor 74, the upstream swing belt conveyor 74 and the lower unloading belt conveyor 72b are communicated with each other, and the downstream swing belt conveyor 76 reaches the upper limit position and is discharged below. An opening for conveying articles is formed between the belt conveyor 72b and the belt conveyor 72b.

With such a structure, the article 90 conveyed from the carry-in belt conveyor 70 is switched by the swing belt conveyors 74 and 76 to either the upper carry-out belt conveyor 72a or the lower carry-out belt conveyor 72b. To be Since the articles 90 are sorted into the carry-out belt conveyors 72a and 72b which are provided three-dimensionally on the upper and lower sides, the installation area of the equipment can be smaller and the floor area can be saved more than the sorting on the horizontal plane. You can

[0005]

However, since the above-mentioned conventional apparatus is a drive mechanism 88 including a crank, a disc, a miter gear, etc., as a structure for driving the two swing belt conveyors 74, 76, The configuration is extremely complicated. Particularly, since many miter gears (not shown) are used, the assembly is complicated, and the number of parts is large, so that the weight is considerably heavy. Furthermore, since the weight is heavy, the drive mechanism cannot be operated quickly,
There is a problem of low processing efficiency. Further, in the above apparatus, when the upstream swing belt conveyor 74 and the downstream swing belt conveyor 76 are switched immediately after the article 90 is placed on the lower discharge belt conveyor 72b, the downstream swing belt conveyor 76 is changed. The article 90 on the lower carry-out belt conveyor 72b is crushed. As a result, there is a problem that the article 90 is damaged or the transfer path to the upper carry-out belt conveyor 72a cannot be appropriately switched.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a vertical transfer path switching device which is lightweight and easy to assemble due to its simple structure and which can efficiently sort and merge articles in the vertical direction. is there. A second object of the present invention is, in addition to the above first object, is to provide a vertical transport path switching device capable of appropriately switching transport paths without crushing articles.

[0007]

The above object of the present invention can be achieved by the following constitution. An article transport path provided between one main transport conveyor and two sub-transport conveyors arranged above and below which can communicate with the main transport conveyor and between the main transport conveyor and the sub-transport conveyor. In the transport path switching device for switching between, a first swing belt conveyor swingably connected to the main transport conveyor, and swingably connected to an upper sub-transport conveyor located above the sub-transport conveyor,
Second for forming an article-transporting frontage between the lower sub-transporting conveyor located below the sub-transporting conveyor at the upper limit position
An oscillating belt conveyor and the first oscillating belt conveyor communicate with the lower sub-transport conveyor at its lower limit position, and the first oscillating belt conveyor communicates with the second oscillating belt conveyor at its upper limit position. The above 2 so as to have a positional relationship
A transport path switching device including a link mechanism that connects two swing belt conveyors and includes a swing lever, and a drive unit that swings the swing lever.

[0008] It is provided between one main transfer conveyor and two sub transfer conveyors arranged above and below which can communicate with the main transfer conveyor, and between the main transfer conveyor and the sub transfer conveyor. In a transport path switching device for switching an article transport path, a swingable first swing belt conveyor swingably connected to the main transport conveyor and an upper sub-transport conveyor located above the sub-transport conveyor. The second oscillating belt conveyor connected to the second oscillating belt conveyor is swingably connected to a lower sub-conveying conveyor located below the sub-conveying conveyor at a distance such that the second oscillating belt conveyor serves as an article conveying opening with respect to the second oscillating belt conveyor. The third swing belt conveyor maintained in parallel and the upper limit position of the first swing belt conveyor, the second and third swing belt conveyors at the lower limit position, the first swing belt conveyor And a transport path of the second oscillating belt conveyor is connected, and the second and third oscillating belt conveyors are at an upper limit position at a lower limit position of the first oscillating belt conveyor and the first oscillating belt conveyor is at a lower limit position. A link mechanism including the rocking lever, a link mechanism including the rocking lever, and a driving means for rocking the rocking lever, the three rocking belt conveyors being connected to each other so that the conveyance path of the third rocking belt conveyor is in communication with each other. And a transfer path switching device.

[0009] It is provided between one main transfer conveyor and three sub transfer conveyors arranged above and below which can communicate with the main transfer conveyor, and between the main transfer conveyor and the sub transfer conveyor. In a transport path switching device for switching an article transport path, a swingable first swing belt conveyor swingably connected to the main transport conveyor and an upper sub-transport conveyor located above the sub-transport conveyor. The second oscillating belt conveyor connected to the second oscillating belt conveyor is swingably connected to the intermediate sub-transporting conveyor located in the middle of the sub-transporting conveyors, and is parallel to the second oscillating belt conveyor at a distance serving as an article transportation frontage. And a second oscillating belt conveyor which is swingably connected to a lower sub-transporting conveyor located below the sub-transporting conveyor. The fourth swing belt conveyor, which is maintained in parallel with the third swing belt conveyor at a distance serving as an article transport front, and the second to fourth swing belt conveyors at the upper limit position of the first swing belt conveyor. The first swing belt conveyor and the second swing belt conveyor are in communication with each other at a lower limit position, and the second to fourth swing belt conveyors are at intermediate positions at intermediate positions of the first swing belt conveyor. And the transport paths of the first oscillating belt conveyor and the third oscillating belt conveyor are in communication, and the second to fourth oscillating belt conveyors are at the upper limit position at the lower limit position of the first oscillating belt conveyor. A link mechanism including the rocking lever, the four rocking belt conveyors being connected to each other so that the transport paths of the first rocking belt conveyor and the fourth rocking belt conveyor are in communication with each other; Conveyance path switching device and a drive means for swinging the moving lever.

[0010]

According to the above construction, the means for oscillating the first oscillating belt conveyor and the second oscillating belt conveyor is a link mechanism having an oscillating lever, so that it is lightweight and simple in construction. It can be driven quickly and has high processing efficiency. Further, according to the above configuration, the second and third oscillating belt conveyors connected to the sub-transporting conveyor are always kept parallel to each other at a distance which is a frontage for article transportation. Even if the second oscillating belt conveyor is oscillated immediately after the article is placed, it does not interfere with the article on the third oscillating belt conveyor, and the transport path is appropriately switched. Further, according to the above configuration, the second to fourth oscillating belt conveyors connected to the sub-transporting conveyor are always kept parallel to each other at a distance which serves as an article-transporting frontage.
Even immediately after the article is placed on the oscillating belt conveyor or the fourth oscillating belt conveyor, the oscillating belt conveyor located above it can be oscillated downward without crushing the article. Moreover, since the three sub-transport conveyors are provided, the processing efficiency is extremely good.

The transport path switching device of the present invention can be applied to both sorting and merging of articles. When it is applied to sorting of articles, the main conveyor is the carry-in conveyor and the sub-transport conveyor is the carry-out conveyor.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an operation explanatory diagram of a transport path switching device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The transfer path switching device 10 includes a carry-in conveyor 12 as a main transfer conveyor, and carry-out conveyors 14a, 14 arranged vertically as sub-transfer conveyors.
The transfer path is switched to sort the articles 16 that are provided between the parts b and b into the predetermined sorting destination. The transfer path switching device 10 includes a first swing conveyor 18 connected to the carry-in conveyor 12, a second swing belt conveyor 20 connected to the carry-out conveyors 14a and 14b, and first and second swing belt conveyors 18 thereof. , 20 are connected to each other, and a drive means (servo motor) 24 for driving the link mechanism 22 is provided.

In the first swing belt conveyor 18, the belt support roller 26 on the upstream side serves as a swing fulcrum and can swing between an upper limit position (horizontal position) and a lower limit position (inclined position). There is. Further, in the second swing belt conveyor 20, the belt support roller 28 on the downstream side serves as a swing fulcrum,
It is swingable between a lower limit position (horizontal position) and an upper limit position (tilt position). Then, the second oscillating belt conveyor 20 is also horizontal at the horizontal position of the first oscillating belt conveyor 18, and the conveying paths of both are in contact with each other. Further, the first swing belt conveyor 18 is arranged so that the lower unloading conveyor 14b and the conveying path communicate with each other at an inclined position,
At this time, the second oscillating belt conveyor 20 is in an inclined position so as to form a frontage for article transportation with the lower unloading conveyor 14b as shown in FIG. 1 (b). The first oscillating belt conveyor 18 and the second oscillating belt conveyor 20 may be driven by motors provided respectively, but a chain is provided from the carry-in conveyor 12 and the carry-out conveyor 14a to the belt support roller serving as a fulcrum. The driving force may be transmitted.

The link mechanism 22 includes link rods 30 and 32 pivotally attached to the swing belt conveyors 18 and 20, and a swing lever 34 that drives the link rods 30 and 32. A sprocket 38 is fixed to the oscillating lever 34 coaxially with an oscillating shaft 36, and a chain 40 is wound around the sprocket 38 and the driving means 24. Then, by driving the drive means 24 to drive the sprocket 38, the swing lever 34 swings in accordance with the rotation of the sprocket 38. The operation of the drive means 24 is controlled based on the sorting information of the articles 16 so that the articles 16 conveyed from the carry-in conveyor 12 can be moved up or down.
It operates to sort into a and 14b.

When the articles 16 sorted by the upper carry-out conveyor 14a are conveyed to the carry-in conveyor 12, the driving means 24 causes the swing lever 34 to swing in the clockwise direction in the figure. Then, as shown in FIG. 1A, the swing lever 34
The first swing belt conveyor 18 is pushed upward by one of the link rods 30 to be horizontal and the second swing belt conveyor 20 is pulled down by the other of the link rods 32 to be horizontal. As a result,
The carrying path communicates from the carry-in conveyor 12 to the upper carry-out conveyor 14a, and the articles 16 are sorted to the upper carry-out conveyor 14a.

On the other hand, when the articles 16 sorted by the lower carry-out conveyor 14b are carried to the carry-in conveyor 12,
The drive means 24 swings the swing lever 34 in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing. Then, as shown in FIG. 1B, as the swing lever 34 swings, the first swing belt conveyor 18 is pulled downward by one of the link rods 30 to be in an inclined state, and the first swing belt conveyor 18 moves downward from the carry-in conveyor 12. The conveying path is connected to the side carry-out conveyor 14b, and the articles 16 are sorted to the lower carry-out conveyor 14b. At this time, the second swing belt conveyor 20 is pushed up by the other link rod 32 to be in an inclined state so that it does not interfere with the article 16 conveyed onto the lower unloading conveyor 14b. The second swing belt conveyor 20 does not swing when the article 16 is on the lower carry-out conveyor 14b so that the carry-in conveyor 1 does not swing.
The conveyance interval of the article 16 by 2 is set appropriately.

The first oscillating belt conveyor 18 and the second oscillating belt conveyor 20 have the same structure, and the pivot points are also in the same position. Here, assuming that the center of the swing lever 34 is the swing fulcrum, the weight balance is balanced on the left and right of the swing fulcrum. Therefore, both swing belt conveyors 18,
In the stationary state of 20, especially both swing belt conveyors 18,
No 20 supporting means are required. Further, in order to swing the swing lever 34, it is sufficient to apply a driving force to the swing lever 34 to overcome the rotation moment of the swing lever 34, and the swing lever 34 can be driven with a small force. You can Thus, according to the configuration of the first embodiment, the first
Also, since the swinging force transmitting means for swinging the second swinging belt conveyor has the simple structure of the link mechanism 22, it is possible to provide a lightweight transmitting means and drive it quickly. Therefore, the switching speed becomes faster than the conventional one, and the sorting efficiency is improved. Moreover, by balancing the weight balance at the swing fulcrum of the swing lever 34, the swing lever 34 can be driven with a small force.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory view of the transport path switching device of the second embodiment.
The second embodiment is an example in which the first embodiment is partially modified.
The embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the carry-out conveyor 14
two swing belt conveyors 20 connected to a and 14b,
42, and other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1, and the description thereof will be omitted. Only different portions will be described. Two carry-out conveyors 14a, 14b
The second oscillating belt conveyor 20 and the third oscillating belt conveyor 42 connected to the belt supporting roller 28,
It is swingable around 44, and is connected by a link rod 46 so as to always maintain parallelism at a height equal to or higher than the conveyance front of the article 16. Therefore, the link rod 46 is pivotally attached to the second swing belt conveyor 20 located above, and the third swing belt conveyor 42 located below has a small diameter that rolls in the slot 48 formed in the link rod 46. A roller 50 is provided.

When the articles 16 sorted by the upper carry-out conveyor 14a come to the carry-in conveyor 12, as shown in FIG. 2A, the swing lever 34 is swung in the clockwise direction in FIG. The conveyor 18 and the second oscillating belt conveyor 20 have continuous conveyance paths, and the upper unloading conveyor 14a
Then, the article 16 can be conveyed. Lower unloading conveyor 14b
When the articles 16 to be sorted into the
As shown in FIG. 2B, the swing lever 34 swings counterclockwise in the figure, and the first swing belt conveyor 18 and the third swing belt conveyor 18
The conveying path to the swing belt conveyor 42 is in communication, and the article 16 can be conveyed to the lower unloading conveyor 14b. here,
Since the second oscillating belt conveyor 20 and the third oscillating belt conveyor 42 are always kept parallel to each other, the second oscillating belt conveyor 42 immediately after the article 16 is transferred to the third oscillating belt conveyor 42. 20 and the third swing belt conveyor 42 are swung, the articles 16 on the third swing belt conveyor 42
Does not interfere with the second swing belt conveyor 20.

Therefore, since the transport path can be switched immediately after the articles 16 have passed through the first swing belt conveyor 18, high speed sorting is possible and the processing efficiency is improved.
When the rocking shaft 36 is located at the center of the rocking lever 34, the left-right balance with respect to the center of the rocking lever 34 is broken. Therefore, by balancing with a counterweight or the like, or by setting the position of the rocking shaft 36 to the right, As in the first embodiment, the swing belt conveyors 18, 20, 42 can be swung with a small force.

The link mechanism 22 in the second embodiment is shown in FIG.
The configuration shown in FIG. Link mechanism 52 shown in FIG.
Is the second link rod 53 pivotally attached to the swing lever 34.
The second swing belt conveyor 20 and the third swing belt conveyor 42 are pivotally attached only to the swing belt conveyor 20, and are connected by another link rod 54. Further, the link rod 53 may be pivotally attached only to the third swing belt conveyor 42 instead of being pivotally attached to the second swing belt conveyor 20. As described above, by connecting only one of the swing belt conveyors and the swing lever 34 by the link rod 53, it is not necessary to provide the slot 48 and the roller 50 unlike the link rod 46 described above.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view of the transport path switching device of the third embodiment. The third embodiment is an example in which the second embodiment is partially modified, and the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the three conveyors 14a, 14b, 14c are connected to each other.
It is provided with one swing belt conveyor 20, 42, 56, and the other structure is the same as that of the second embodiment. Therefore, the same components as those in the second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Three carry-out conveyors 14a, 14b, 14
The second swing belt conveyor 20, the third swing belt conveyor 42, and the fourth swing belt conveyor 56, which are connected to c.
Are swingable around belt supporting rollers 28, 44, 58 on the downstream side, and are linked by link rods 60, 62 so as to always maintain parallelism at a height equal to or higher than the frontage of conveyance of the article 16. One link rod 60 connects the three swing belt conveyors 20, 42, 56 in parallel, and the other link rod 62 connects the swing lever 34 and one of the swing belt conveyors to generate a driving force. This link rod 62 is connected to the third swing belt conveyor 42 in this example.

When the articles 16 to be sorted on the upper carry-out conveyor 14a come to the carry-in conveyor 12, the swing lever 34 is swung clockwise as shown in FIG. 4 (a) to move the first swing belt. The conveying path between the conveyor 18 and the second swing belt conveyor 20 communicates with each other, and the upper carry-out conveyor 14a
Then, the article 16 can be conveyed. Intermediate carry-out conveyor 14b
When the articles 16 to be sorted into the
As shown in FIG. 4B, the swing lever 34 is swung in the clockwise direction in the figure, and the first swing belt conveyor 18 and the third swing belt conveyor 18 are rotated.
The conveyance path with the swing belt conveyor 42 is in communication, and the article 16 can be conveyed to the intermediate carry-out belt conveyor 14c. When the articles 16 sorted by the lower carry-out conveyor 14b come to the carry-in conveyor 12, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), the swing lever 34 is swung counterclockwise in the figure, and the first swing belt conveyor is moved. The transport path between the 18 and the fourth swing belt conveyor 56 communicates with each other, and the article 16 can be transported to the lower unloading conveyor 14b. Here, since the second oscillating belt conveyor 20, the third oscillating belt conveyor 42, and the fourth oscillating belt conveyor 56 are always kept in parallel, the third oscillating belt conveyor 42 or the fourth oscillating belt Article 1 on conveyor 56
Even if the other oscillating belt conveyor is oscillated immediately after 6 is transferred, the article 16 on the third oscillating belt conveyor 42 or the fourth oscillating belt conveyor 56 interferes with the other oscillating belt conveyor. There is nothing to do.

Therefore, as in the second embodiment, the article 1
Since the transport path can be switched immediately after 6 passes through the first swing belt conveyor 18, high-speed sorting is possible and processing efficiency is improved. Furthermore, since the third embodiment can handle three sorting destinations, the processing efficiency is extremely high. In addition,
When the rocking shaft 36 is at the center of the rocking lever 34, the left-right balance around the center of the rocking lever 34 is broken. Therefore, by balancing with a counter weight or the like, a small force is applied as in the first and second embodiments. Rocking belt conveyor 1
8, 20, 42, 56 can be rocked.

In the third embodiment, the link rod 62 for transmitting the driving force from the rocking lever 34 is connected only to the third rocking belt conveyor 42, but the link mechanism of the second embodiment shown in FIG. Similarly, a slot may be formed in a link rod pivotally attached to any one of the swing belt conveyors, and rollers that roll in the slots may be provided in the swing belt conveyor. In each of the above embodiments, one carry-in conveyor 1
2 is a transport path switching device for sorting the articles 16 into a plurality of carry-out conveyors 14a, 14b, 14c. The carry-out conveyors 14a, 14b, 14c are used as carry-in conveyors, and the carry-in conveyor 12 is used as a carry-out conveyor. You may use as a conveyance path switching device at the time of joining. In the present invention, each conveyor is a belt conveyor, but a roller conveyor can be applied instead of these belt conveyors. In that case, a free roller conveyor may be used, or a driving means, a braking means, or the like may be provided on the roller conveyor, if necessary.

[0027]

According to the present invention, the mechanism for oscillating the oscillating belt conveyor is the link mechanism having the oscillating lever, and since the structure is simple and lightweight, the assembly is easy, and Since it can be driven quickly, the articles can be efficiently sorted and merged. Further, by providing the swing belt conveyors that can be connected to each of the plurality of sub-transporting means and are kept parallel to each other at the distance to be the article transporting front, the articles can be evenly placed on the swing belt conveyor. If it is possible to switch to another transport path, the sorting or merging efficiency of the articles is further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation explanatory view of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory view of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a modified example of the link mechanism.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a conventional transport path switching device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Conveyor path switching device 12 Carry-in conveyors 14a, 14b, 14c Carry-out conveyor 16 Articles 18 First oscillating belt conveyor 20 Second oscillating belt conveyor 22,52 Link mechanism 24 Driving means 30, 32, 46, 53, 54, 60 , 62 link rod 34 swing lever 36 swing shaft 38 sprocket 40 chain 42 third swing belt conveyor 48 slot 50 roller 70 carry-in conveyor 72a upper carry-out conveyor 72b lower carry-out conveyor 74 upstream swing belt conveyor 76 downstream shake Dynamic belt conveyor 78 Swing mechanism 80,82 Crank 84,86 Disc 90 Article

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A main transfer conveyor (12) is provided between one main transfer conveyor (12) and two sub transfer conveyors (14a, 14b) arranged above and below which a transfer path can communicate with each other. A transport path switching device (10) for switching an article transport path between the main transport conveyor (12) and the sub transport conveyors (14a, 14b), which is swingably connected to the main transport conveyor (12). A first oscillating belt conveyor (18), which is swingably connected to an upper sub-transport conveyor (14a) located above the sub-transport conveyors (14a, 14b), and the sub-transport conveyor (14a) at the upper limit position. , 14b)
A second oscillating belt conveyor (20) forming an article-transporting frontage with a lower sub-transporting conveyor (14b) located below the first oscillating belt conveyor (18). To the lower sub-conveyor (14b) at
The oscillating belt conveyor (18) is located at the upper limit position thereof and the second
A link mechanism (22) including the swing lever (34), which connects the two swing belt conveyors (18, 20) so as to establish a positional relationship with the swing belt conveyor (20).
And a conveyance path switching device (10) including a drive means (24) for swinging the swing lever (34). 2. A main transfer conveyor (12) and two sub-transfer conveyors (14a, 14b) arranged above and below which can communicate with the main transfer conveyor (12) and a transfer path are provided. A transport path switching device (10) for switching an article transport path between the main transport conveyor (12) and the sub transport conveyors (14a, 14b), which is swingably connected to the main transport conveyor (12). A first swing belt conveyor (18), and a second swing belt conveyor (20) swingably connected to an upper sub-transport conveyor (14a) located above the sub-transport conveyors (14a, 14b). Of the sub-transport conveyors (14a, 14b) is swingably connected to a lower sub-transport conveyor (14b) located below the sub-transport conveyors (14a, 14b) and serves as an article transport front for the second swing belt conveyor (20). A third swing belt conveyor (42) maintained in parallel at a certain distance, and a lower limit of the second and third swing belt conveyors (20, 42) at the upper limit position of the first swing belt conveyor (18). The first oscillating belt conveyor (18) and the second oscillating belt conveyor (20) are in communication with each other,
The second and third oscillating belt conveyors (20, 42) are at the upper limit position at the lower limit position of the first oscillating belt conveyor (18), and the first oscillating belt conveyor (18) and the third oscillating belt A link mechanism (22) including the swing lever (34), which connects the three swing belt conveyors (18, 20, 42) so that the conveyance path of the belt conveyor (42) is connected to each other. A transport path switching device (10) comprising a drive means (24) for swinging the swing lever (34). 3. A main transfer conveyor (12) and three sub-transfer conveyors (14a, 14b, 14c) arranged above and below so that a transfer path can communicate with the main transfer conveyor (12).
A main path conveyor (12) provided between the main transfer conveyor (12) and the sub-transfer conveyors (14a, 14b, 14c) to switch the article transfer path. ) And a first swing belt conveyor (18) swingably connected to the upper sub-transport conveyor (14a) located above the sub-transport conveyors (14a, 14b, 14c). The second swing belt conveyor (20) is swingably connected to an intermediate sub-transport conveyor (14c) located in the middle of the sub-transport conveyors (14a, 14b, 14c). A third oscillating belt conveyor (42) which is kept parallel to the conveyor (20) at a distance which is a frontage for transferring articles, and a lower one of the sub-transport conveyors (14a, 14b, 14c). It is swingably connected to the lower sub-transport conveyor (14b) to be placed and is kept parallel to the second swing belt conveyor and the third swing belt conveyor (20, 42) at a distance which serves as an article transport frontage. 4th swing belt conveyor (5
6), and the second to fourth swing belt conveyors (20, 42, 56) are at the lower limit position at the upper limit position of the first swing belt conveyor (18), and the first swing belt conveyor (18) is at the lower limit position. And a conveying path of the second swing belt conveyor (20) are connected to each other, and the second to fourth swing belt conveyors (20, 42, 5) are located at an intermediate position of the first swing belt conveyor (18).
6) is in the intermediate position, and the first swing belt conveyor (1
8) and the conveying path of the third oscillating belt conveyor (42) are connected to each other, and the second to fourth oscillating belt conveyors (20, 4) are located at the lower limit position of the first oscillating belt conveyor (18).
2, 56) are at the upper limit position, and the first swing belt conveyor (18) and the fourth swing belt conveyor (56) are connected to each other so that the conveyance paths are in communication with each other. Connect (18, 20, 42, 56),
A transport path switching device (10) comprising a link mechanism (22) including a swing lever (34) and a drive means (24) for swinging the swing lever (34).