JPH11165850A - Method and device for leading article into sorting conveyor, and article sorting device provided with article lead-in device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve article sorting capacity compared to a conventional method. SOLUTION: A control device 160 is provided to arrange a preceding article 21 and a succeeding article 22 in correspondence with necessary FF space information and necessary BF space information on the basis of sorting place information of the preceding article 21 and succeeding article 22. Each article is therefore set to an appropriate arrangement space according to the sorted objective places of the articles conveyed adjacently to each other, so that the article quantity supplied to a sorting conveyor 140 per unit time can be maximized so as to improve article sorting capacity compared to a conventional method.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article introduction method for supplying articles to an article sorting conveyor provided at a truck terminal or a distribution center, an article introduction apparatus for executing the article introduction method, and the article introduction method. The present invention relates to an article sorting apparatus including the apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a belt conveyor type sorting apparatus using a steel belt or the like, a dispensing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a diverter) as shown in FIG. 6 is arranged in plural at the sorting destination along the belt 1 of the sorting conveyor. Have been.
Such a diverter 10 transports a dispensing plate 11 (hereinafter, referred to as a paddle), which is a component of the diverter, between a standby position 14 and a dispensing position 13 around a vertical turning shaft 12 provided at one end thereof. By performing a reciprocating swinging operation across the belt 1, sorted goods (hereinafter referred to as “articles”) placed and conveyed on the belt 1 are transferred to a chute or another conveyor provided on the side of the belt 1. Perform the payout operation. Note that the standby position 14 is a position on the one end edge side of the belt 1 in the conveying direction and a position through which the articles placed and conveyed on the belt 1 pass, and the payout position 13 is a position on the belt 1 Means the position at which the article is paid out to the chute.

In places where large quantities of articles are sorted, such as truck terminals and distribution centers, in recent years, increasingly high sorting processing capacity has been required. as a result,
In the above-described belt conveyor type sorting apparatus, it is necessary to increase the conveying speed of the belt 1, increase the operating speed of the paddle 11, and further reduce the interval between articles on the belt 1 as much as possible in time. Has occurred. Of the above,
The increase in the conveyor speed of the belt conveyor and the operation speed of the paddle 11 of the diverter 10 directly increases the impact applied to the articles, and when the article interval is not accompanied by the increase in the speed, the effect of the processing capacity is obtained. Cannot be obtained.

In order to feed the articles to the sorting conveyor, there is a method in which the articles are supplied at an equal interval on an introduction conveyor installed upstream of the sorting conveyor, or the articles are narrowed and supplied as the articles are longer in the transport direction. Efforts have been made to make the time interval as short as possible in comparison with the operation time of the paddle 11. In other words, usually the article pitch, that is, the time interval between the front end of the article on the front side along the transport direction and the front end of the article that follows, based on the time required for the payout operation by the paddle 11,
Attempts have been made to approach the reference time as much as possible within a range not less than this.

On the other hand, in the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-133861, when an article moves between conveyors having different speeds, the article moves at the speed of the conveyor on which the center of gravity of the article is riding. And Then, an adjusting conveyor is arranged adjacent to the sorting conveyor on the upstream side of the sorting conveyor, and after the center of the preceding article has shifted to the sorting conveyor, the rear end of the preceding article and the front end of the succeeding article following the preceding article are arranged. Is adjusted by switching the speed of the adjusting conveyor based on an experimental value to make the interval closer to the reference time. The point that this invention is different from the previous thought
The point is not to keep the article pitch constant, but to keep the article interval constant.

[0006]

As described above, there are two methods for introducing articles into a sorting conveyor: the case where the article pitch is controlled and the case where the article interval is controlled.
There are two methods, either of which is actually employed.
However, when considering two articles continuously conveyed on the sorting conveyor, the preceding article is discharged first by the diverter 10 with respect to the subsequent article, or conversely, is discharged later. Depending on the control conditions. That is, FIG. 7 shows that, of the two articles 21 and 22 continuously conveyed on the sorting conveyor, the preceding article 21
Is discharged from the belt 1 by the diverter 10 at a certain sorting place, and the movement of the paddle 11 of the diverter 10 and the articles 21, 22 when the succeeding articles 22 are sorted at the same sorting place or at a further sorting place further downstream. It shows the relationship with the movement of. On the other hand, FIG. 8 shows a paddle of the diverter 10 when the preceding article 21 is not sorted by the diverter 10 at the sorting place, is conveyed further downstream, and the succeeding article 22 is discharged by the diverter 10 at the sorting place. 11 shows the relationship between the movement of the object 11 and the movement of the articles 21 and 22. Note that “FF” shown in FIG. 7 corresponds to the above-mentioned article pitch, and “BF” shown in FIG. 8 corresponds to the above-mentioned article interval.

As can be seen by comparing these two figures,
In the case of FIG. 7, when the front end of the article 21 reaches a predetermined position 23 (hereinafter, this position is referred to as an “starting point”) 23 of the paddle 11 of the diverter 10, the diverter 11 is activated, and the article 21 is moved. It pays out in the direction of arrow 24 and returns to the original standby position 14 again. During this time, that is, until the paddle 11 is activated and returns to the standby position 14, the succeeding article 22 must not reach the operating range of the diverter 10. That is, referring to FIG. 9, when considering the minimum required FF distance among the FF distances, the moving distance 25 of the belt 1 during the operation time of the paddle 11 alone is not enough.
The sum of the distance and the distance 26 of the paddle 11 to the starting point 23 is the minimum required FF distance, and this distance must be secured as the required inter-FF distance 31. Thus, the paddle 1 is required for the required FF distance 31.
1 operating time is relevant. On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 8, the succeeding article 22 must not reach the diverter activation point 23 until the preceding article 21 passes through the paddle 11. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the distance 27 from the rear end of the preceding article 21 to the front end of the succeeding article 22 is the minimum required BF distance among the above BF distances.
It is necessary to secure the distance 32. In the latter case, the operating time of the paddle 11 is independent of the distance between the articles,
When the preceding article 21 is long in the transport direction, the succeeding article 22
, That is, the FF distance is inevitably increased. As described above, the required BF distance 32 is a distance from the diverter starting point 23 to the tip of the paddle 11, and is a value obtained by dividing this distance by the transport speed of the belt 1 in terms of time.

As described above, the FF distance, which is the article pitch, is uniformly controlled to be as small as possible, and the BF distance, which is the article interval, is kept at a minimum constant value. This indicates that this is not an appropriate control method for obtaining the maximum throughput in the sorting conveyor. The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and an article introduction method and apparatus capable of improving the article sorting processing ability as compared with the related art, and an article sorting apparatus including the article introduction apparatus. It is intended to provide a device.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article introducing method for introducing an article to a sorting conveyor for conveying articles to be sorted at a constant speed. When the preceding article and the succeeding article are successively introduced into the sorting conveyor in this order adjacent to each other along the conveying direction of the preceding article, the necessary FF is required based on the sorting destination of the preceding article and the succeeding article.
At least on the sorting conveyor, the preceding article and the following article are selected at least on the required F
Introducing the preceding article and the following article on the sorting conveyor so as to be arranged corresponding to the information between F or at least the information between the necessary BFs, wherein:
The required inter-FF information is at least a minimum necessary value of information indicating an interval between a front end of the preceding article and a front end of the succeeding article along the transport direction at least on the sorting conveyor. The necessary inter-BF information is at least a minimum necessary value of information indicating at least the interval between the rear end of the preceding article and the front end of the succeeding article along the transport direction on the sorting conveyor.

The article introducing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is an article introducing apparatus which is installed adjacently in the same row on the upstream side to a sorting conveyor for conveying articles to be sorted at a constant speed. In addition, an adjustment conveyor that successively introduces the preceding article and the succeeding article placed adjacent to each other to the sorting conveyor in this order and an adjustment conveyor that places the preceding article and the following article on the same are possible. A drive device for driving a shift, and respective sorting destinations of the preceding article and the succeeding article are supplied, and based on the sorting destination, either required FF information or required BF information is selected, and at least the sorting conveyor is selected. In the above, the preceding article and the succeeding article are selected at least by the required FF.
A control device for controlling the driving device to adjust the speed of the adjusting conveyor so as to be arranged corresponding to the inter-information or at least the required inter-BF information. The necessary FF information is at least along the transport direction on the sorting conveyor.
Among the information indicating the interval between the front end of the preceding article and the front end of the succeeding article, it is a minimum necessary value, and the necessary BF information is at least on the sorting conveyor, along the transport direction, This is a minimum necessary value among the information indicating the interval between the rear end of the preceding article and the front end of the subsequent article.

An article sorting apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is provided with the article introducing apparatus according to the second aspect.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an article introduction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, an article introduction method executed by the article introduction apparatus, and an article sorting apparatus provided with the article introduction apparatus. This will be described below with reference to FIG.
In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 1, the article sorting apparatus 101 in the above embodiment includes a transport conveyor 110, an adjusting conveyor 200, a connecting conveyor 130, a sorting conveyor 140, and a control device 160. In the present embodiment, an example that fulfills the function of the article introduction device corresponds to the adjustment conveyor 200 and the control device 160. These transport conveyor 110 and adjustment conveyor 20
0, transit conveyor 130, and sorting conveyor 14
0 are arranged in the same row adjacent to each other in the above-described order from the upstream side to the downstream side as shown in FIG.
The articles are conveyed in the same direction as shown in FIG. From the viewpoint of facilitating a control operation described later in the article sorting apparatus 101, the transport conveyor 110, the adjustment conveyor 200, the connecting conveyor 130, and the sorting conveyor 140 are
Conveniently at the same speed, the adjustment conveyor 200
In some cases, the transfer operation is stopped, and the high-speed operation may cause the stop operation to be incomplete. Therefore, the low-speed operation is preferable. On the other hand, the sorting conveyor 140 preferably operates at a high speed in relation to the sorting ability of the articles. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the belt 111 for placing articles on the transport conveyor 110 is driven at a constant speed of 80 m / min by the driving device 112, and the belt 131 for placing articles on the transit conveyor 130 is transmitted to the driving device 132. 120m /
driven at a constant speed of min.
At 0, the belt 1 on which the article is placed is driven by the driving device 142 at a constant speed of 150 m / min. In the present embodiment, each of these driving devices 112, 132, and 142 uses an induction motor. On the other hand, the belt 20 for placing articles on the adjustment conveyor 200
Reference numeral 1 denotes a driving device 202 which is normally driven at a speed of 100 m / min, but is driven at a variable speed. In the present embodiment, a servomotor is used as the driving device 202.
As will be described later in detail, an encoder 203 and an encoder 143 are respectively connected to the driving device 202 of the adjustment conveyor 200 and the driving device 142 of the sorting conveyor 140. The belts 111, 201, and 131 of each conveyor are formed of a resin material, a rubber material, or the like in the present embodiment, and the belt 1 of the sorting conveyor 140 uses a steel belt in the present embodiment. The belt material is not limited to these.

Each article is placed on the belt 111 of the conveyor 110 in a state where the articles are almost in contact with each other.
The above articles are sequentially supplied to the adjustment conveyor 200. The adjustment conveyor 200 is a characteristic component part in the present embodiment, and as described in detail later, the preceding article 21 based on the respective sorting destinations of the two adjacent articles 21 and the succeeding article 22 which are conveyed continuously. It operates to set the information indicating the interval between the object and the succeeding article 22 to a predetermined value. The transfer conveyor 130 is driven at an intermediate speed between the transfer speed of the adjustment conveyor 200 and the transfer speed of the sorting conveyor 140, and is provided to facilitate transfer of articles from the adjustment conveyor 200 to the sorting conveyor 140. The article sorting apparatus 102 shown in FIG.
Can also be omitted.

The sorting conveyor 140 has the same structure as that used in the above-mentioned prior art,
One or a plurality of diverters 10 as an example of a dispensing device are arranged for each sorting destination along one transport direction.
A chute 40 is provided corresponding to the diverter 10. In the drawing, an example is shown in which the chute 40 is disposed only on the left side in the transport direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Further, when each package arrives at the chute 40 corresponding to the respective sort destination, the sort conveyor 140 is supplied to the sort conveyor 140 at the starting end of the sort conveyor 140 in order to drive the paddle 11 which is an example of the payout plate. A measurement start photoelectric switch 144 for detecting a start point of measurement of a transport distance or a transport time of the article to a desired chute 40 is provided. In the present embodiment, the measurement start photoelectric switch 144 is of a type that sends an ON signal when light is blocked by an article and sends an OFF signal when light is released. In the present embodiment, the desired shoot 40
Although the above-described transport distance is used as the measurement information up to, specifically, the number of pulses transmitted by the encoder 143 of the sorting conveyor 140 is used in accordance with the transport distance. Therefore, the controller 160 sets the number of pulses corresponding to each distance from the measurement start position of the measurement start photoelectric switch 144 to each diverter activation point 23 in each chute 40, for each chute 40, that is, the sorting destination. It is stored every time. Therefore, as described later, the adjustment conveyor 20
The bar code reader 206 as an example that fulfills the function of “sorting destination detecting device” provided in the unit 0 detects the sorting destination for the article, and the control device 160 recognizes the sorting destination based on the detected information. Then, from the point in time when the article has passed the measurement start photoelectric switch 144, the control device 16
0 performs the counting of the number of pulses, and when the number of pulses corresponding to the sorting destination is reached, the corresponding diverter 10
Is operated to discharge the article to the chute 40.
As will be described later, the measurement start photoelectric switch 144 of the present embodiment is also used for detecting again the interval between adjacent articles along the transport direction.

Next, the operation of the adjusting conveyor 200 and the control device 160 and the related operation of the adjusting conveyor 200 will be described. As described above, the servomotor as the driving device 202 is installed at the end portion of the adjustment conveyor 200 in the transport direction, and the encoder 203 is connected to the output shaft of the driving device 202. Encoder 2
03 generates a pulse signal in accordance with the rotation of the output shaft of the drive device 202 and sends the pulse signal to the control device 160. The control device 160 recognizes the transport speed of the adjustment conveyor 200 by counting the pulses of the pulse signal, and controls the transport speed by controlling the rotation of the output shaft of the driving device 202 as necessary. . Further, as described later, the control device 160 counts the pulses of the pulse signal in accordance with the signal supplied from the first photoelectric switch 205, and thereby, the load length of each of the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22, and It is also used for measuring the distance between the object and the succeeding article 22, and thus for measuring its time. The mounting position of the encoder 203 is the same as the driving device 202 described above.
The driving device 202 is not limited to this.
Can be attached to the driven pulley around which the belt 201 is wound.

Also, on the side edge of the adjustment conveyor 200,
A first photoelectric switch 205, a barcode reader (BCR) 206, a second photoelectric switch 207, and a third photoelectric switch 208 are arranged along the transport direction. These photoelectric switches 205, 207, and 208 have light emitting and light receiving elements, respectively, and are connected to the control device 160, respectively. The first photoelectric switch 205 corresponds to a first switch, and is disposed at a distance corresponding to at least the maximum load length of the article to be processed, that is, 1800 mm in the present embodiment, from the start end of the adjustment conveyor 200. Length along the transport direction of the load supplied to the conveyor 200,
The so-called load length, the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22
Is a switch for detecting an interval with the front end of the switch. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the first photoelectric switch 205 sends, for example, an ON signal to the control device 160 at time t0 due to the interruption of the optical axis of the first photoelectric switch 205 by the front end of the conveyed preceding article 21. And an off signal is sent to the control device 160 at time t1 due to the recovery of the interruption by the rear end of the preceding article 21. The on / off signal for the preceding article 21 corresponds to “first detection information”. Further, similarly to the case of the preceding article 21, the first photoelectric switch 205 detects the front end and the rear end of the conveyed succeeding article 22, and sends a detection signal to the control device 160.

The controller 160 controls the number of pulses of the pulse signal supplied from the encoder 203 between the on and off signals, and the number of pulses per one pulse corresponding to the conveying speed of the adjustment conveyor 200 between the on and off. Based on the transport distance information, the length of the preceding article 21 is calculated as distance information. Similarly, based on the detection signals of the front end and the rear end of the succeeding article 22, the control device 160
2 is calculated as distance information. Further, similarly to the above-described case, the control device 160 determines the distance information between the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 corresponding to the “second detection information” and corresponding to the time from time t1 to time t2. Is calculated as “measured BF information” as actually measured information.

As will be described later, necessary inter-FF information and necessary B
In this embodiment, the inter-F information is obtained as time information. However, the first photoelectric switch 205 and the encoder 203 are used to measure the length of each article, and the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article are measured. The interval with 22 is
As described above, the distance (length) information is obtained. The time from the time t1 to the time t2 is also determined by the encoder 20.
3 is distance information obtained by counting the pulses from No. 3.
This is because the adjusting conveyor 200 is driven at a variable speed as described above, and may be decelerated or stopped relative to the normal transport speed. For example, if the load length is measured by a timer, the belt 201 is stopped. However, timekeeping will proceed and will result in inaccurate information.

In this embodiment, the bar code reader 206 is disposed between the first photoelectric switch 205 and the second photoelectric switch 207, reads a bar code attached to the side of a conveyed package, and reads the read information. Control device 160
To send to. The control device 160 determines the delivery destination of the package based on the read information, that is, the article sorting device 10.
The information of the sort destination in 1, for example, the information of the shoot number assigned to the shoot 40 is obtained. Note that the chute numbers are sequentially numbered from the upstream side along the transport direction for the chute 40 arranged on the sorting conveyor 140. Therefore, the control device 160 sequentially recognizes the sorting destination information corresponding to each package conveyed by the adjustment conveyor 200 along the conveyance direction. Further, the control device 160 selects either the necessary FF information or the required BF information based on the sorting destination information of the two preceding articles 21 and the following articles 22 adjacent to each other along the transport direction. Here, the necessary inter-FF information and the necessary inter-BF information are information indicating an interval between the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 in a state where the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 are placed on the sorting conveyor 140. In the present embodiment, the distance information corresponds to the required inter-FF distance 31 and the required BF distance 32 described above with reference to FIG. 9, and the distance information is divided by the transport speed of the sorting conveyor 140. Is converted into time information.

More specifically, the necessary inter-FF information includes a paddle 1 between the payout position 13 and the standby position 14.
The time required for the belt 1 to make one reciprocation and the distance from one end of the portion where the paddle 11 can come into contact with the article to the starting point 23 of the paddle 11 from the end of the pivot 12 side, that is, the distance indicated by reference numeral 26 in FIG. The required BF information is the time obtained by adding the time obtained by dividing by the transfer speed of the starting point.
This is a time obtained by dividing the distance from 3 to the tip, which is the other end of the paddle 11, that is, the distance indicated by reference numeral 27 in FIG. As described above, in particular, the necessary inter-FF information is information relating to the operation time of the paddle 11 of the diverter 10, and the operation of the diverter 10 is controlled by the time information. Then, the above-mentioned necessary FF information and the necessary BF information are represented by time information. The necessary inter-FF information and the necessary inter-BF information can be calculated if the operation time of the paddle 11, the dimensions of the paddle 11, and the transport speed of the belt 1 are determined as described above. The calculated value is stored in the control device 160.

In the present embodiment, the required FF information is set to 0.46 seconds, and the required BF information is set to 0.15 seconds. As described above, the required inter-FF information and the required inter-BF information include the time required for one cycle of the paddle 11 of the diverter 10, the total length of the paddle 11, the length from the one end of the paddle 11 to the starting point 23, The value fluctuates depending on each information of the length from the starting point 23 of the paddle 11 to the tip of the paddle 11 and the transport speed of the sorting conveyor 140. Therefore, the value of 0.46 seconds of the information between the necessary FFs and the value of 0.15 seconds of the information between the necessary BFs are values calculated based on the experiment and experience of the applicant so that the average articles to be sorted can be sorted without any trouble. The load length of the preceding article 21 is 500 mm, the time required for one cycle of the paddle 11 of the diverter 10 is 0.28 seconds, and the total length of the paddle 11 is 800, respectively.
mm, the length from the starting point 23 of the paddle 11 to the tip of the paddle 11 is 350 mm, and the transport speed of the sorting conveyor 140 is 2.5 m / sec.

As described above, for example, the preceding article 2
By obtaining the sorter information from the barcode reader 206 for 1, the control device 160 recognizes the shoot number information for paying out the preceding article 21, and transmits the sorter information from the barcode reader 206 to the succeeding article 22. The control device 160 can obtain the following article 22
Recognize the shoot number information. Therefore,
The chute from which the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 should be discharged is recognized based on the sorting information of each of the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22. 22
Is discharged to a chute located on the downstream side in the transport direction, or the succeeding article 2 is transferred to a chute in which the preceding article 21 is disposed at the same position as the disposed chute.
2 is paid out, the necessary FF information is selected. On the other hand, when the preceding article 21 is paid out to a chute located on the downstream side in the transport direction from the chute from which the succeeding article 22 is paid out, the necessary BF information is selected. select. In addition, since the load is continuously supplied to the adjustment conveyor 200 sequentially, in the article 22 and the article immediately after the article 22 (not shown), the article 22 corresponds to the preceding article, and Either the required inter-FF information or the required inter-BF information is selected for these two articles.

The second photoelectric switch 207 transmits an ON signal when the light is shielded, and transmits an OFF signal when the light-shielded state is released.
Is a switch for sending to the control device 160 a signal to start adjusting the transport speed of the belt 201. That is, as will be described in detail later in the description of the operation, when the necessary FF information is selected, the measured BF information actually measured based on the output signal of the first photoelectric switch 205 is calculated BF information. When the required inter-BF information is selected so as to be equal to or more than
The front end of the subsequent article 22 is set to the second position so that the measured inter-BF information is equal to or exceeds the required inter-BF information.
When the photoelectric switch 207 is shielded from light, the control device 160 starts reducing the transport speed of the adjustment conveyor 200.

Here, the calculated inter-BF information is as follows. That is, as described above, the necessary inter-FF information is information calculated in advance, and the load length information of the preceding article 21 is a pulse signal of the encoder 203 of the adjustment conveyor 200 and an output signal of the first photoelectric switch 205. Is information calculated based on the counted value. Therefore, by calculating the load length information of the preceding article 21 based on the count value, the leading article 2 is calculated from the necessary FF information.
The information corresponding to the distance between the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 along the transport direction can be obtained by subtracting the above-mentioned load length information. However, as described above, the necessary inter-FF information is stored in the sorting conveyor 140.
FIG. 9 shows information indicating the arrangement of the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 in a state where the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 are placed thereon.
Is calculated by dividing the distance indicated by reference numeral 31 by the transport speed of the sorting conveyor 140. In contrast, the preceding article 21
Is the information obtained from the adjustment conveyor 200. Therefore, the encoder 2 of the adjustment conveyor 200
03, it is necessary to convert the load length information of the preceding article 21 into the converted load length information on the sorting conveyor 140. In this embodiment, the load length information is converted to the sorting conveyor 1
By dividing by the transport speed of 40, it is converted into time information as the converted load length information. Then, the converted load length information is subtracted from the required inter-FF information. The information obtained in this way is referred to as the calculated inter-BF information. Thus, the calculated BF is obtained based on the necessary inter-FF information.
On the other hand, what is obtained based on the actual measurement by the output signals of the first photoelectric switch 205 and the encoder 203 is the above-mentioned measurement BF information. Therefore, when the above-mentioned measured BF information is represented by time information as in the present embodiment, it is obtained by dividing the article interval distance information obtained based on the pulse of the encoder 203 by the transport speed of the adjustment conveyor 200. The calculations such as the conversion are performed by the controller 16.
0 is executed. Further, as described above, the necessary inter-BF information is the same as the necessary inter-FF information, the sorting conveyor 140.
9 is information indicating the arrangement of the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 in a state where the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 are placed. In the present embodiment, the distance 27 shown in FIG. It is obtained by dividing by the conveyor speed of the conveyor 140. In this embodiment, as described above, it is assumed that the necessary BF information is invariable on the sorting conveyor 140 and the adjustment conveyor 200.

The third photoelectric switch 208 is provided at the end of the adjustment conveyor 200 and sends an ON signal to the control device 160 when the front end of the subsequent article 22 is shielded from light, and sends an OFF signal to the controller 160 when the light is released. It is. Similarly to the second photoelectric switch 207 described above, the third photoelectric switch 20
Reference numeral 8 denotes a switch for sending a signal for adjusting the transport speed of the belt 201 of the adjustment conveyor 200 to the control device 160. The control device 160 uses the ON signal sent from the third photoelectric switch 208 to cause the control device 160 to send the signal. A signal to stop 200 is sent to the driving device 202.

As is apparent from the above description of the second photoelectric switch 207 and the third photoelectric switch 208, the adjustment conveyor 2 executed by the control device 160 in the present embodiment.
The conveyance speed adjustment of 00 means that the adjustment conveyor 200 is decelerated to a speed lower than the normal conveyance speed and the adjustment conveyor 2
This is done by stopping 00. That is, when the required inter-FF information is selected and the measured inter-BF information is lower than the calculated inter-BF information, and when the required inter-BF information is selected, the measured inter-BF information is set to the required inter-BF information. When the measured inter-BF information is lower than the information, the subsequent inter-measured BF information is the same as or exceeds the calculated inter-BF information, or the measured inter-BF information is equal to or exceeds the required inter-BF information. Control is performed to reduce the transport speed of the adjustment conveyor 200 on which the article 22 is loaded, and to stop the adjustment conveyor 200 when the reduction is insufficient. Therefore, in the deceleration control,
The control device 160 has previously input information indicating how much the so-called BF interval between the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 is opened by the deceleration operation. In the present embodiment, the deceleration speed of the adjustment conveyor 200 due to the deceleration operation is 40 m / min, and the opening degree of the BF interval is stored in the control device 160 in advance corresponding to the deceleration speed. The deceleration speed is not limited to one type as described above, and may be provided in plural types or in a stepless manner. Also, the degree of opening of the BF interval is predetermined according to the deceleration speed at that time. Or a so-called lookup table method.

Article sorting apparatus 1 configured as described above
01 will be described. The operation of the article sorting device 101 is controlled by the control device 160. The control device 160 stores an operation control program, and uses the time information as described above to obtain the necessary FF information and the required BF. The interval information is stored in advance. As shown in the drawing, the rear end of the article 41 and the front end of the article 42 adjacent to each other in the conveyance direction are conveyed in contact with or close to each other on the conveyance conveyor 110. Since the conveyor 200 has a higher conveyance speed, the preceding article 21
An appropriate gap is generated between the object and the succeeding article 22. FIG.
In step (shown by “S” in the figure) 1 shown in FIG.
The preceding article 21 transferred to the adjustment conveyor 200 is the first article.
While the photoelectric switch 205 is shielded from light, the controller 16
0 counts the pulses of the pulse signal supplied from the encoder 203, and calculates the above-mentioned load length of the preceding article 21 based on the number of pulses. Similarly, the succeeding article 22 is the adjustment conveyor 2
The control device 160 calculates the load length of the succeeding article 22 based on the detection of the light blocking of the first photoelectric switch 205. Further, the control device 1 controls the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 based on the number of pulses from the encoder 203 during the ON / OFF of the first photoelectric switch 205.
60 calculates the interval between the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 as the measured BF interval information.

In step 2, the control device 160 obtains the calculated inter-BF time and the measured inter-BF time from the time information. That is, as described above, the control device 160 converts and converts the load length information of the preceding article 21 including the distance information into time information on the sorting conveyor 140, and converts the time information between the required FFs based on the time information. , Preceding article 21
The above-mentioned time corresponding to the load length is subtracted to obtain the calculated inter-BF time. Further, the control device 160 obtains the measured inter-BF time based on the time information by dividing the measured inter-BF information of the distance information by the transport speed of the adjustment conveyor 200. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the information between measurement BFs, that is, the measurement BF time does not change on the adjustment conveyor 200 and the sorting conveyor 140 as described above. The calculated inter-BF time and the measured inter-BF time thus obtained are stored in the memory 161 provided in the control device 160.

In step 3, the preceding article 21 is further conveyed and passes through the barcode reader 206, so that the barcode affixed to the side of the preceding article 21 is read. The information is stored in the memory 161 as sorting destination information. Similarly, the sorting destination information of the subsequent article 22 is stored in the memory 161. As described above, the load length information, the interval information, and the sorting destination information are sequentially stored in the memory 161 for the articles that have moved onto the adjustment conveyor 200.

In step 5, the control device 160 compares the sorting destination information of the preceding article 21 with the sorting destination information of the succeeding article 22, and based on the comparison result, in step 6, the succeeding article 22 is compared with the preceding article 22. With respect to the time indicating the interval with 21, it is determined whether to be the required inter-FF time or the required inter-BF time. That is, as described above, the succeeding article 22 is paid out to a chute located on the downstream side in the transport direction as compared with the chute from which the preceding article 21 is paid out, or the arrangement of the chute from which the preceding article 21 is paid out. When the subsequent article 22 is paid out to the chute arranged at the same position as the position, the control device 160
Selects the required time between FFs. On the other hand, when the preceding article 21 is dispensed to the chute located on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the chute from which the succeeding article 22 is dispensed, the control device 160 sets the required inter-BF time. select.
As described above, since the articles are sequentially and continuously supplied to the adjustment conveyor 200, there are articles behind the succeeding articles 22. Therefore, the concepts of the "preceding article" and the "subsequent article" are sequentially replaced.
That is, when the sorting destination is compared between the succeeding article 22 and the article arranged behind the succeeding article 22, the succeeding article 22 is a preceding article, and the following article is a succeeding article.

As described above, it is determined whether to control the succeeding article 22 based on the required inter-FF time or the required inter-BF time. If, for example, the required inter-FF time is selected in step 6, step 7
The control device 160 determines whether or not the measured inter-BF time is equal to or exceeds the calculated inter-BF time. As a result, when the measured inter-BF time is equal to or longer than the calculated inter-BF time, the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 are spaced apart by the calculated inter-BF time or more. Therefore, in step 13, the adjustment conveyor 200 continues to transport the subsequent article 22 under the control of the control device 160 while maintaining the normal transport speed, that is, the speed of 100 m / min. On the other hand, when the measured inter-BF time is shorter than the calculated inter-BF time, the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 are equal to the calculated B time.
Since the interval is less than the time between F, since the front end of the succeeding article 22 has interrupted the optical axis of the second photoelectric switch 207 in Step 9, the control device 160
00 is instructed to decelerate to the driving device 202. At this time, the preceding article 21 has already been transferred to the connecting conveyor 130.
, The time interval between the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 is widened by lowering the conveying speed of the adjustment conveyor 200.
Further, as described above, the control device 160 recognizes the degree of expansion of the time interval due to the deceleration operation, and the control device 160 outputs a deceleration instruction for a predetermined time.

If the time interval between the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 has reached the calculated inter-BF time in step 10 due to the deceleration operation, step 1 is executed.
Then, the process proceeds to step S3, where the adjusting conveyor 200 is operated again at the above-described normal transport speed. On the other hand, in step 10, the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22
When the control device 160 determines that the time interval with the front end of the third product does not reach the calculated inter-BF time, at the time when the front end of the succeeding article 22 interrupts the optical axis of the third photoelectric switch 208 in step 11, The operation of the driving device 202 of the adjustment conveyor 200 is stopped, and the belt 201 is stopped.
When the belt 201 of the adjustment conveyor 200 stops, the front end of the succeeding article 22 is
3 so as to stop near the end of the first photoelectric switch 2
08 is installed. Further, since the control device 160 recognizes the transport speed of the connecting conveyor 130, the time for executing the stop in step 12 based on the transport speed, and the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 Is calculated, and when the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 reach at least the calculated inter-BF time, the driving device 2 for the adjustment conveyor 200 is calculated.
02 is restarted, and the adjustment conveyor 200 is operated at the normal transport speed. As a result, the succeeding article 22 transfers to the transfer conveyor 130.

If, for example, the required inter-BF time is selected in step 6, the control device 160 determines in step 8 whether the measured inter-BF time is equal to or exceeds the required inter-BF time. Judge. as a result,
When the measured inter-BF time is equal to or exceeds the required inter-BF time, the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 are spaced apart by the required inter-BF time or more. Adjustment conveyor 20 at 13
In the case of 0, the control of the control device 160 continues the conveyance of the succeeding article 22 while maintaining the normal conveyance speed. on the other hand,
If the measured inter-BF time is shorter than the required inter-BF time, the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 have an interval shorter than the required inter-BF time. Is the second photoelectric switch 207
The control device 160 instructs the driving device 202 of the adjustment conveyor 200 to decelerate from the time when the optical axis is blocked. At this time, since the preceding article 21 has already moved on the belt 131 of the connecting conveyor 130, the conveyance speed of the adjustment conveyor 200 is reduced, so that the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 are separated. The time interval widens. As in the case where the required inter-FF time is selected, control device 160 outputs a deceleration instruction for a predetermined time.

If the time interval between the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 has reached the required inter-BF time in step 10 due to the deceleration operation, step 1 is executed.
Then, the process proceeds to step S3, where the adjusting conveyor 200 is operated again at the above-described normal transport speed. On the other hand, when the control device 160 determines in step 10 that the time interval between the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 does not reach the required inter-BF time even by the deceleration operation, the process proceeds to step 11. When the front end of the subsequent article 22 cuts off the optical axis of the third photoelectric switch 208, the driving device 20 of the adjustment conveyor 200
2 is stopped, and the belt 201 is stopped. Then, in step 12, the control device 160 calculates the time to execute the above stop, and the extent of the time interval between the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22. The front end of the article 22 is at least the required BF
When the time has elapsed, the driving device 202 of the adjustment conveyor 200 is restarted, and the adjustment conveyor 200 is operated at the normal transport speed. As a result, the succeeding article 22 transfers to the transfer conveyor 130.

The driving device 202 by the control device 160
The above-described control operation is the same even in the case where the connecting conveyor 130 is not provided and the articles are directly supplied from the adjusting conveyor 200 to the sorting conveyor 140.

The preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 having an interval corresponding to the calculated inter-BF time or the required inter-BF time are supplied to the sorting conveyor 140 via the connecting conveyor 130. Note that, as described above, the sorting conveyor 14 is more than the connecting conveyor 130.
Since the transport speed is higher at 0, the distance between the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 due to the state in which the preceding article 21 is on the sorting conveyor 140 and the succeeding article 22 is on the connecting conveyor 130 is The distance on the sorting conveyor 140 is greater than on the transit conveyor 130. However, in this embodiment, the distance between the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 is controlled not by distance but by time, and since the transport speed of the sorting conveyor 140 is faster than the transport speed of the transit conveyor 130, The time indicating the interval between the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 is determined on the connecting conveyor 130 by the sorting conveyor 140.
The above is almost the same. Therefore, even if the interval between the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 is set by the adjustment conveyor 200 as in the present embodiment, the amount of articles supplied to the sorting conveyor 140 hardly decreases in practice. .

When the preceding article 21 supplied to the sorting conveyor 140, for example, shields the measurement start photoelectric switch 144 from light, the control device 160 starts the sorting conveyor 140.
The counting of the pulses supplied from the encoder 143 provided in the above is started, and when the number of pulses corresponding to the sorting destination of the preceding article 21 is reached, the paddle 11 of the diverter 10 corresponding to the sorting destination is operated. Therefore, the preceding article 21
Is discharged to the chute 40 according to the sorting destination. The succeeding article 22 is similarly discharged.

In the present embodiment, based on the detection signal of the measurement start photoelectric switch 144, the control device 160 determines the time interval between the rear end of the preceding article 21 that has moved onto the sorting conveyor 140 and the front end of the succeeding article 22. Check again. In the event that the time interval between the rear end of the preceding article 21 and the front end of the succeeding article 22 on the sorting conveyor 140,
When the required inter-FF time is selected, the calculation B
If the time is less than the time between Fs, or if the required time between the BFs is selected and the time is less than the required time between the BFs, as described with reference to FIGS. May not be emitted. Therefore, in such a case, the control device 160 stops discharging both the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 to the predetermined chute, that is, the articles are placed in the discharge chute corresponding to these articles. Even if it arrives, the diverter 10 is passed without being driven, and is discharged to a so-called miss chute. By performing such control, due to an ejection mistake that occurs when an article that does not satisfy the predetermined time interval is forcibly ejected, even other articles that satisfy the predetermined time interval can be used. The possibility of causing a discharge error can be eliminated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, either the required inter-FF time or the required inter-BF time is selected based on the sorting destination of the adjacent preceding article 21 and succeeding article 22, and The preceding article 21 is adjusted by the adjustment conveyor 200 so that the time indicating the interval with the succeeding article 22 is the selected required inter-FF time or required inter-BF time.
After adjusting the distance between the first article 21 and the second article 22, the preceding article 21 and the second article 22 are supplied to the sorting conveyor 140. Thus, the amount of articles supplied to the sorting conveyor 140 per unit time can be maximized.

One embodiment of the required inter-FF time and the required inter-BF time and the sorting processing capacity will be described below. The load length of the preceding article 21 is 500 mm, the load length of the succeeding article 22 is 800 mm, the operation time of one cycle of the paddle 11 in the diverter 10 is 0.28 seconds, the paddle length is 800 mm, and the starting point 23 of the paddle 11 The length to the tip of the paddle is 350 mm, and the transport speed of the adjustment conveyor 200 when the load length of the preceding article 21 is measured is 1
00m / min (= 1667 mm / sec), and the conveying speed of the sorting conveyor 140 was set to 150 m / min (= 250
0 mm / sec), the required BF time is shown in FIG.
Is a value obtained by dividing the length from the starting point 23 of the paddle 11 to the tip of the paddle 11 by the transport speed of the sorting conveyor 140. Specifically, 350/2500 =
0.14 seconds, and the required inter-FF time is equal to the paddle 11
The value obtained by dividing the operation time of 0.28 seconds of one cycle and the distance indicated by reference numeral 26 in FIG. 9 by the transport speed of the sorting conveyor 140, specifically, (800-350) / 2500 =
This is a value obtained by adding 0.18 seconds, which is 0.46 seconds.
Therefore, assuming that all the articles are controlled only by the required inter-FF time as in the related art, each piece of luggage has a capacity of 0.
Since it is sent at 46 second intervals, it is 3 per hour
600 / 0.46 = 7826 pieces / hour. During this time, if a package controlled by the required BF time enters, the required F
Since the required inter-BF time is shorter than the inter-F time, it is apparent that the amount of sorting per time is further increased as compared with the related art.

In the above-described embodiment, as described above, the measured inter-BF time uses a value obtained by using the transport speed of the adjustment conveyor 200 and does not change on the sorting conveyor 140. It was assumed that it was always constant.
However, although the measured inter-BF time obtained by the adjustment conveyor 200 is still used in the sorting conveyor 140, the measured inter-BF time is actually changed by the load length of the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22. Changes slightly. Therefore, it is more preferable to make the above-mentioned measured BF time variable according to the load length of the preceding article 21, for example. That is,
Using the length information of the preceding article 21 obtained from the output signals of the first photoelectric switch 205 and the encoder 203 of the adjustment conveyor 200, for example, when the length of the preceding article 21 is 200 mm or more and less than 500 mm, the above measurement B
The time between F is set to 0.14 seconds, and the value is sorted by the conveyor 14.
0, and the load length is 500
When the length is not less than 800 mm and less than 800 mm, the time between the measured BFs is 0.09 seconds, and when the load length is 800 mm or more, the time between the measured BFs is 0.07 seconds. By changing the time between the measurement BFs in this manner, the arrangement of the preceding article 21 and the succeeding article 22 on the sorting conveyor 140 can be made more accurate, and the article sorting amount per unit time can be further increased. Can be. The method of calculating the inter-measurement BF time may be a known method such as a method using a lookup table as described above, or a method of sequentially obtaining the time using an arithmetic expression.

In the above-described embodiment, the sorting destination of each article is automatically read by the barcode reader 206. For example, before the articles are put into the transport conveyor 110, the sorting destination for each article is determined by the operator. Can also be entered. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the photoelectric switch is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a known detector that performs the same function within a range considered by those skilled in the art can be used.

In the above embodiment, the information between the measured BFs is the same as or exceeds the calculated inter-BF information, or the information between the measured BFs is the same as or exceeds the necessary inter-BF information. Although the belt 201 of the adjusting conveyor 200 is decelerated or stopped, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the belt 201 is driven to prohibit transfer of articles from the adjusting conveyor 200 to the transfer conveyor 130 or to the sorting conveyor 140 when the transfer conveyor 130 is omitted, for example, by protruding the arm to prohibit transfer of the article to the sorting conveyor 140. May be forcibly stopped only on the belt 201 by, for example, contacting the arm with the arm.

[0045]

As described above in detail, according to the article introducing method of the first aspect, the article introducing apparatus of the second aspect, and the article sorting apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, the control apparatus controls the preceding article and the succeeding article. Necessary F based on sorting destination information for goods
Either the inter-F information or the necessary inter-BF information is selected, and the preceding article and the subsequent article are exchanged for the necessary FF.
It is arranged to correspond to the inter-information or the necessary inter-BF information. Therefore, an appropriate arrangement interval is set between the articles according to the sorting destination of the articles conveyed adjacent to each other, and the quantity of articles supplied to the sorting conveyor per unit time can be maximized. The sorting ability can be improved more than before.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an article sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the article sorting apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the article sorting apparatus shown in FIG.

4 is a diagram showing output waveforms when a preceding article and a succeeding article are detected by a second photoelectric switch provided in the article sorting apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a modification of the article sorting apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a diverter.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an operation state of an article when paying out two adjacent articles by defining an interval between FFs.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation state of articles when payout is performed for two adjacent articles by defining a space between BFs.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a required inter-FF distance and a required inter-BF distance.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: diverter, 11: paddle, 21: preceding article, 2
2 ... subsequent articles, 101, 102 ... article sorting device, 16
0: control device, 200: adjustment conveyor, 202: drive device, 205: first photoelectric switch, 206: bar code reader, 207, 208: second photoelectric switch.

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An article introduction method for introducing said articles to a sorting conveyor (140) for conveying articles to be sorted at a constant speed, wherein said articles are arranged adjacent to each other along a conveying direction of said sorting conveyor. When the 21) and the succeeding article (22) are successively introduced in this order onto the sorting conveyor, either the necessary FF information or the necessary BF information is determined based on the sorting destination of the preceding article and the following article. At least on the sorting conveyor, the preceding article so that the preceding article and the succeeding article are arranged corresponding to the selected at least the required FF information or at least the required BF information. And the following article are introduced on the sorting conveyor, wherein the necessary inter-FF information is at least On divided conveyor along said conveying direction, of the information representative of the distance between the front end of the front end and the trailing article of the preceding article, a minimum value, and the required BF between information,
An article introduction method, which is at least a minimum value of information indicating a distance between a rear end of the preceding article and a front end of the succeeding article along the transport direction on the sorting conveyor. 2. A sorting conveyor, a chute (40) for dispensing the articles from the sorting conveyor for each sorting destination along a conveying direction of the sorting conveyor, and a dispensing device (10) provided corresponding to the chute. ) And
The dispensing plate (11) of the dispensing device has a dispensing position (13) for dispensing the article to the chute about a pivot axis provided at one end of the dispensing plate, and a standby position (14) for passing the article. The article introduction method according to claim 1, wherein the article introduction method is performed in an article sorting apparatus that sorts the articles by reciprocating swinging between the articles. 3. The sorting destination when the required inter-FF information is selected is defined as whether the succeeding article is paid out to a chute located downstream in the transport direction from the chute to which the preceding article is paid out, Or, when the succeeding article is paid out to a chute arranged at the same position as the arrangement position of the chute from which the preceding article has been paid out, and the sorting destination when the necessary BF information is selected, 3. The article introduction method according to claim 2, wherein the preceding article is dispensed to a chute located downstream in the transport direction than the chute from which the subsequent article is dispensed. 4. The information between required FFs and the information between required BFs are time information, and the dispensing device corresponding to the sorting destination determines whether the articles are to be sorted by the dispensing device based on distance information on the articles being conveyed on the sorting conveyor. The article introduction method according to claim 2 or 3, which is paid out. 5. The control for obtaining an arrangement corresponding to the required inter-FF information and the control for obtaining an arrangement corresponding to the required inter-BF information are provided on the upstream side of the sorting conveyor and have a variable conveying speed. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the succeeding article is being conveyed on an adjustment conveyor (200), the conveyance speed of the adjustment conveyor is adjusted. 6. When the necessary inter-FF information is selected, the adjustment of the transport speed of the adjustment conveyor is performed so that the measured inter-BF information is the same as the calculated inter-BF information in order to obtain an arrangement corresponding to the necessary inter-FF information. Alternatively, when the required inter-BF information is selected, in order to obtain an arrangement corresponding to the necessary inter-BF information, the adjustment of the transport speed of the adjustment conveyor is performed by measuring the inter-BF information. The information is executed so as to be the same as or larger than the required inter-BF information. Here, the measured inter-BF information is between the rear end of the preceding article and the front end of the rear article along the transport direction. And the calculated inter-BF information is the length of the preceding article along the transport direction, which is measured in advance with respect to the preceding article. Goods A load length correspondence information corresponding to the length, which is information obtained by subtracting from the required FF between information, article introduction method of claim 5, wherein. 7. The article introduction method according to claim 1, wherein the required inter-FF information and the required inter-BF information are time information. 8. The article introduction method according to claim 6, wherein the information between the measured BFs is obtained based on the length of the preceding article. 9. An article introduction device which is installed adjacently in the same row on the upstream side to a sorting conveyor (140) for conveying articles to be sorted at a constant speed, wherein the article introducing apparatuses are adjacent to each other. An adjustment conveyor (200) for successively introducing the placed preceding article (21) and the succeeding article (22) to the sorting conveyor in this order; and the adjusting conveyor for placing the preceding article and the succeeding article. A driving device (202) for driving the preceding article at a variable speed, and a sorting destination for each of the preceding article and the following article is supplied, and either the necessary FF information or the necessary BF information is selected based on the sorting destination. At least on the sorting conveyor, the preceding article and the succeeding article are arranged corresponding to the selected at least the necessary FF information or at least the required BF information. A control device (160) for controlling the driving device to adjust the speed of the adjusting conveyor so that the required FF information is at least the sorting conveyor. In the above, along the transport direction, of the information indicating the interval between the front end of the preceding article and the front end of the succeeding article is a minimum required value, and the required BF interval information,
An article introduction device, which is a minimum necessary value among information indicating a distance between a rear end of the preceding article and a front end of the subsequent article along at least the sorting conveyor along the transport direction. 10. The sorting destination when the necessary inter-FF information is selected is defined as whether the succeeding article is paid out to a chute located on the downstream side in the transport direction from the chute to which the preceding article is paid out, Or, when the succeeding article is paid out to a chute arranged at the same position as the arrangement position of the chute from which the preceding article has been paid out, and the sorting destination when the necessary BF information is selected is 10. The article introduction device according to claim 9, wherein the operation is performed when the preceding article is dispensed to a chute located on the downstream side in the transport direction than the chute from which the subsequent article is dispensed. 11. A front end and a rear end of the preceding article are detected to measure a preceding article conveyed length of the preceding article conveyed by the adjustment conveyor in the conveying direction. The first detection information obtained is sent to the control device, and the rear end of the preceding article and the front end of the rear end article are determined to obtain information between the rear end of the preceding article and the front end of the subsequent article. A first switch (205) for sending second detection information obtained by detection to the control device, wherein the control device is configured to load the preceding article based on the first detection information supplied from the first switch; Calculate length information,
And between the measurement BF which is information indicating between the rear end of the preceding article and the front end of the succeeding article based on the second detection information supplied from the first switch, and which is information actually measured. After calculating the required inter-FF information, calculating the calculated inter-BF information by subtracting the preceding article load length information from the required inter-FF information, and selecting the required inter-FF information, the measured inter-BF information is changed to the calculated inter-BF information. In order to be the same or larger than the information,
When the interval information is selected, the operation control of the driving device is changed to change the transport speed in the adjustment conveyor so that the measured inter-BF information becomes the same as or larger than the required inter-BF information. The article introduction device according to claim 9 or 10, which performs the operation. 12. The article according to claim 9, further comprising a sorting destination detecting device (206) for detecting a sorting destination of each of the preceding article and the succeeding article and sending it to the control device. Introduction device. 13. An article sorting apparatus comprising the article introduction apparatus according to claim 9. Description: 14. A dispensing device having a chute (40) for dispensing the article from the sorting conveyor for each sorting destination along the conveying direction of the sorting conveyor, and a dispensing plate (11) provided corresponding to the chute. (10), wherein the dispensing device further comprises: a dispensing position (13) for dispensing the article to the chute around a pivot provided at one end of the dispensing plate; 14. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the article is sorted by reciprocating swinging between a standby position and a standby position.