JPH1025020A - Sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the transport speed of an assorting conveyer while securing its favorable workability. SOLUTION: On the loading surface 55 for articles 10 in an introduction conveyer 51, markings are provided in a transport direction A at preset intervals so that the articles 10 may be placed inside of the markings by workers. A controller 50 controls an assorting conveyer 20 and a loading conveyer 53 based on the assorting information of the articles 10 from an assorting information reader 54 located in the lowest stream part of the introduction conveyer 51. And the controller 50 transfers the articles 10 from the introduction conveyer 51 on the assorting conveyer 20 at a required timing made to meet the action of the assorting conveyer 20 by means of the loading conveyer 53.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sorting apparatus for sorting articles introduced into a sorting conveyor by an introduction conveyor at a predetermined position for each article in a predetermined direction on the sorting conveyor. Related to the structure to do.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional sorting apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-120.
No. 56, as shown in FIG. 5, transports an article 71 placed on a slat 70 in a predetermined transport direction (leftward in FIG. 5) by moving the slat 70, A slat conveyor 74 for pressing an article 71 by a slidable article pressing shoe 72 and sorting the article 71 from a slat 70 to a predetermined sorting roller conveyor 73 is described. Slat 7
An article mounting area 75 is provided at a predetermined interval in the transport direction of the article 71 on the surface of the “0”. The worker 76
The article 71 on the introduction roller conveyor 77 is transferred to the slat 7
The document is transferred to an empty article placement area 75 above the “0”.

[0003]

The above-mentioned conventional sorting apparatus is used for a relatively small-scale apparatus, and the operation of introducing the articles 71 to the slat conveyor 74 is performed manually without using an introduction conveyor and a confluent conveyor. ing. The operator 76 only needs to place the article 71 in the article placing area 75, and the workability is good.

However, since the article 71 is manually transferred from the introduction roller conveyor 77 onto the slat conveyor 74, if the conveying speed of the slat conveyor 74 is set too high, the transfer operation of the article 71 by the operator 76 is not possible. Problems such as not being able to catch up with the movement of the slat conveyor 74 occur. Therefore, even if the slat conveyor 74 has the ability to execute a higher conveying speed, the conveying speed cannot be increased, and there is a problem that it is difficult to improve the sorting efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sorting apparatus capable of significantly increasing the conveying speed of a sorting conveyor while ensuring good workability, thereby improving the sorting efficiency of articles. I have.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to convey articles placed on a conveying surface in a predetermined conveying direction, and at a predetermined position for each article in a predetermined sorting direction from the conveying surface. A sorting conveyor, which is provided on the upstream side of the sorting conveyor, and an introduction conveyor for introducing the articles to the sorting conveyor, and a mounting surface of the articles on the introduction conveyor, which is provided at a predetermined interval in the transport direction of the articles, This is achieved by a sorting device having a configuration including an area display unit that indicates an area where an article is to be placed.

[0007] It is another object of the present invention to convey an article placed on a slat in a predetermined conveying direction by moving the slat, and to use a moving shoe provided slidably in the longitudinal direction of the slat. A sorting conveyor that presses the article at a predetermined position for each, sorts in a predetermined sorting direction from above the slats, and is provided upstream of the sorting conveyor;
An introductory conveyor for introducing the articles to the sorting conveyor, an area display section provided on the mounting surface of the articles on the introductory conveyor at predetermined intervals in the article transport direction, and indicating an area where the articles should be placed; A loading conveyor that is provided between the conveyor and the introduction conveyor and transfers articles from the introduction conveyor to the sorting conveyor, and a sorting information reading means that is provided upstream of the loading conveyor and reads sorting information previously assigned to the articles. And controlling the sorting conveyor and the loading conveyor based on the sorting information of the articles from the sorting information reading means, and loading the articles from the introduction conveyor by the loading conveyor at a required timing in accordance with the operation of the sorting conveyor. And a control means for transferring the data to the sorting apparatus.

[0008]

In the sorting apparatus according to the present invention, the articles are placed in the area indicated by the area display section on the article placement surface of the introduction conveyor, and are introduced into the sorting conveyor. The articles introduced into the sorting conveyor are transported in a predetermined transport direction while being placed on the transport surface,
At a predetermined position for each article, the articles are sorted from the conveying surface in a predetermined sorting direction.

Further, in the sorting apparatus according to the present invention, the articles are placed in the area indicated by the area display section on the article placement surface of the introduction conveyor, and are introduced into the sorting conveyor. That is, the articles to be introduced into the sorting conveyor are read by the sorting information reading means by the sorting information reading means provided in advance, and are loaded from the introducing conveyor and transferred to the sorting conveyor by the loading conveyor. At this time, the control means controls the sorting conveyor and the loading conveyor based on the sorting information of the articles from the sorting information reading means, and loads the articles from the introduction conveyor at a required timing in accordance with the operation of the sorting conveyor. It is transferred to the sorting conveyor by the infeed conveyor. The articles transferred to the sorting conveyor are transported in a predetermined transport direction by the movement of the slats while being placed on the slats, and each article is moved by a moving shoe slidably provided in the longitudinal direction of the slats. At a predetermined position, and the slats are sorted in a predetermined sorting direction from above.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is an overall plan view schematically showing a sorting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is similar to FIG.
It is a top view which shows the principal part of the sorting conveyor of the sorting apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a main part of the introduction conveyor of the sorting apparatus shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, the control device 50 controls the sorting conveyor 20 and the loading conveyor 53 based on the sorting information of the articles 10 from the sorting information reading device 54, so as to match the operation of the sorting conveyor 20. At a required timing, the articles 10 from the introduction conveyor 51 are placed on the sorting conveyor 20 by the loading conveyor 53.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the case of the present embodiment, the sorting conveyor 20 is described as being constituted by a slat 21 and a shoe 30 moving thereon.
Sorting conveyors of other configurations can also be used. As shown in the figure, the sorting conveyor 20 includes the articles 1 placed on a plurality of slats 21 provided along the conveyor frame 11.
0 is conveyed upward in the figure by the movement of each slat 21. Then, the sorting conveyor 20 presses the article 10 at a predetermined position of each article 10 by moving the moving shoe 30 in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in the figure) of the slat 21,
The slats 21 are sorted from the top into chutes 12 (FIG. 1) provided on both left and right sides (or one side) in the transport direction A.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the introduction conveyor 51 comprises a belt conveyor or the like, and the sorting conveyor 20.
Is provided on the upstream side. The introductory conveyor 51 holds the article 10
Is introduced into the sorting conveyor 20 via the conveyor 53. Placement surface 5 of article 10 on introduction conveyor 51
5 is provided with a marking 52 as an area display section at a predetermined interval B in the transport direction A. Marking 5
Reference numeral 2 denotes an area where the article 10 is to be placed.

Referring to FIG. 1, the loading conveyor 53
Is composed of a belt conveyor or the like, and is provided between the sorting conveyor 20 and the introduction conveyor 51. Loading conveyor 5
3 is a sorting conveyor 2 for transferring the articles 10 from the introduction conveyor 51.
Transfer to 0.

The sorting information reading device 54 is provided on the upstream side of the loading conveyor 53 (in this embodiment, on the most downstream side of the introduction conveyor 51). The assortment information reading device 54 is composed of a barcode reader or the like, and reads assortment information such as a barcode given to the article 10 in advance.

In this embodiment, the sorting conveyor 2
0 is, for example, about 60 m / min.
1 is, for example, about 20 to 60 m / min, and the operation speed of the loading conveyor 53 is, for example, about 60 m / min. Reference numeral 56 denotes an update photo sensor.

The operation of this embodiment will be described. Article 10
Is placed in the marking 52 on the placement surface 55 of the introduction conveyor 51 by an operator, and is introduced into the sorting conveyor 20 via the loading conveyor 53 by the introduction conveyor 51. In other words, the article 10 placed on the introduction conveyor 51 uses the sorting information given in advance by the sorting information reading device 5.
After being read by 4, it is transferred from the introduction conveyor 51 to the sorting conveyor 20 by the loading conveyor 53.

At this time, the control device 50 controls the sorting conveyor 20 and the loading conveyor 53 based on the sorting information of the articles 10 from the sorting information reading device 54, so as to match the moving speed of the sorting conveyor 20. At a required timing, the articles 10 from the introduction conveyor 51 are placed on the sorting conveyor 20 by the loading conveyor 53. The articles 10 are placed on the sorting conveyor 2 by the conveyor 53.
The timing of transfer to zero is after the moving shoe 30 of the sorting conveyor 20 has been moved to a position corresponding to the sorting direction (either right or left in the transport direction A).

That is, when sorting the articles 10 into, for example, the chute 12 on the left side in the transport direction A, the sorting conveyor 20
Of the moving shoe 30 moves from the right side to the left side in the conveying direction A of the slat 21, so that the
Must move to the right. Also, when the articles 10 are sorted into, for example, the chute 12 on the right side in the transport direction A, the moving shoe 30 of the sorting conveyor 20 moves from the left side in the transport direction A on the slat 21 to the right side. It needs to be moved. These operations must be performed before the articles 10 are loaded and transferred to the sorting conveyor 20 by the conveyor 53. Then, the control device 50 controls the sorting conveyor 20 and the loading conveyor 53 to thereby control the moving shoe 3.
0 before the sorting is performed, the articles 10 are transferred to the sorting conveyor 20.
Before the transfer.

Thereafter, the articles 10 transferred to the sorting conveyor 20 are placed on the slats 21 while the slats 2 are placed on the slats 21.
While being transported in the transport direction A by the movement of 1, it is pressed by the moving shoe 30 at a predetermined position for each article 10, and is sorted from the slat 21 into the predetermined chute 12.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a main part of an introduction conveyor of a sorting apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the introduction conveyor 60 is provided with a plurality of marking detection sensors 61 including photo sensors and the like at predetermined intervals in the transport direction A, and on the downstream side near each marking detection sensor 61, The article detection sensor 62 composed of a photo sensor or the like
1, respectively. The marking detection sensor 61 and the article detection sensor 62 are
0 (see FIG. 1).

Each of the marking detection sensors 61 detects the presence or absence of the article 10 in the corresponding marking 63 by detecting a line 64 such as a white line provided before and after the conveying direction A of the marking 63 as the area display section. .
Each of the article detection sensors 62 detects the article 10 when the optical path is blocked by the article 10 on the mounting surface 65 of the introduction conveyor 60. Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

In the introduction conveyor 60 of such a sorting device, the worker inputs the sorting information of the articles 10 to the scanner 66.
After reading the article 10 with the appropriate marking 63
When the control device 50 is placed in the
The worker and the article 10 can be specified based on the signals from the article detection sensor 62 and the marking detection sensor 61 on the downstream side of. Therefore, a large number of workers can be arranged, and the working efficiency can be greatly improved.

As described above, according to the above embodiments, the control device 50 controls the sorting conveyor 20 and the loading conveyor 53 based on the sorting information of the articles 10 from the sorting information reading device 54, and The articles 10 from the introduction conveyors 51 and 60 are loaded and transferred to the sorting conveyor 20 by the loading conveyor 53 at a required timing corresponding to the operation of the operation 20.

Therefore, the worker operates the introduction conveyor 51,
By simply placing the articles 10 in the markings 52, 63 of the 60, the article intervals on the sorting conveyor 20 can be kept at a predetermined value without the need for acceleration / deceleration control of the introduction conveyors 51, 60. Thereby, the sorting conveyor 2
In addition, the sorting operation at 0 can be performed smoothly and reliably, the driving speed of the sorting conveyor 20 can be increased, and the sorting efficiency of the articles 10 can be greatly improved.

Since the acceleration / deceleration control of the introduction conveyors 51 and 60 is not required, a servomotor or a clutch and a brake are used as motors (not shown) for driving the mounting surfaces 55 and 65 of the introduction conveyors 51 and 60. It is not necessary to use a motor with an attachment, and the cost can be reduced. Further, the operator can set the loading surface 5 of the introduction conveyors 51 and 60.
When the article 10 is placed on the 5, 52, the marking 52,
The region 63 on which the article 10 is to be placed can be easily recognized by the reference numeral 63, and the workability is extremely good.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the introduction conveyor for introducing the articles to the sorting conveyor is provided upstream of the sorting conveyor, and the area display portion indicating the area where the articles are to be placed is provided. , On the loading surface of the articles on the introduction conveyor,
They are provided at predetermined intervals in the direction of transporting the articles. Therefore, the operation speed of the sorting conveyor can be significantly increased while ensuring good workability. Thereby, the sorting efficiency of the articles can be greatly improved. According to the present invention, the introduction conveyor for introducing the articles to the sorting conveyor is provided on the upstream side of the sorting conveyor, and between the sorting conveyor and the introduction conveyor, the articles are transferred from the introduction conveyor to the sorting conveyor. A loading conveyor is provided. Further, the control means controls the sorting conveyor and the loading conveyor based on the sorting information of the articles from the sorting information reading means provided on the upstream side of the loading conveyor, and at a required timing in accordance with the operation of the sorting conveyor. Then, the articles from the introduction conveyor are loaded and transferred to the sorting conveyor by the conveyor. Therefore, the operation speed of the sorting conveyor can be greatly increased while ensuring good workability, and the sorting direction of the articles by the moving shoes of the sorting conveyor can be set on both sides in the article conveying direction. Thereby, the sorting efficiency of the articles can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall plan view schematically showing a sorting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a main part of a sorting conveyor of the sorting apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a main part of an introduction conveyor of the sorting apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a main part of an introduction conveyor of a sorting apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a conventional sorting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Article 12 Chute 20 Sorting conveyor 21 Conveying surface (slat) 30 Moving shoe 33 Guide pin 34 Guide roller 40 Switching device 41 Main rail 42 Branch rail 50 Control means (Control device) 51 Introduction conveyor 52 Area display part (Marking) 53 Place Conveyor 54 Sorting information reading means (sorting information reading device) 55 Placement surface A Article transport direction B Interval along marking transport direction A

Claims (2)

[Claims] An article (1) placed on a transport surface (21).
0) is transported in the predetermined transport direction (A), and is sorted at a predetermined position for each article (10) from the transport surface (21) in a predetermined sorting direction; and a sorting conveyor (20). ) Upstream of the product (1)
0) is introduced to the sorting conveyor (20), and a predetermined surface of the introduction conveyor (51) is placed on the mounting surface (55) of the article (10) in the conveying direction (A) of the article (10). An assortment device comprising: an area display section (52) provided at an interval (B) and indicating an area where an article (10) is to be placed. 2. An article (1) placed on a slat (21).
0) is transported in the predetermined transport direction (A) by the movement of the slats (21), and the moving shoes (30) slidably provided in the longitudinal direction of the slats (21). A sorting conveyor (20) for pressing the article (10) at a predetermined position to sort the article (10) from above the slats (21) in a predetermined sorting direction, and an article (1) provided upstream of the sorting conveyor (20).
0) is introduced to the sorting conveyor (20), and a predetermined surface of the introduction conveyor (51) is placed on the mounting surface (55) of the article (10) in the conveying direction (A) of the article (10). An area display section (52) that is provided at an interval (B) and indicates an area where the article (10) is to be placed, and is provided between the sorting conveyor (20) and the introduction conveyor (51), and ) Is transferred from the introductory conveyor (51) to the sorting conveyor (20).
A sorting information reading means (54) provided upstream of the loading conveyor (53) for reading sorting information previously given to the article (10); and an article (10) from the sorting information reading means (54). The sorting conveyor (20) and the loading conveyor (53) are controlled on the basis of the sorting information of (1), and the articles (10) from the introduction conveyor (51) are removed at a required timing according to the operation of the sorting conveyor (20). A sorting means, comprising: a control means (50) for transferring the material to the sorting conveyor (20) by the loading conveyor (53).