JPH11301842A - In-loading conveyer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an in-loading conveyer capable of forming a conveying route longer than by technique in the past without enlarging a diameter of a conveying roller, and setting the conveying route to a desired length. SOLUTION: An in-loading conveyer is provided with a plurality of belt conveyers 11A, 11B, 11C arranged so as to deliver an article 30 successively along a prescribed conveying route X. An index part 4 for indicating a loading position of the article 30 is provided in belts 2A, 2B, 2C of each belt conveyer 11A, 11B, 11C. By inverter controlling each drive motor M1, M2, M3, a conveying speed of each belt 2A, 2B, 2C is controlled so as to synchronously move the index part 4 of each belt conveyer 11A, 11B, 11C.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a loading conveyor having an index portion for indicating a mounting position of an article to be conveyed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an operation of sorting a large number of articles,
Belt conveyors are widely used, but in order to perform such sorting smoothly, it is necessary to place each article on the belt at regular intervals. There has been proposed a loading conveyor provided with an index portion for indicating a mounting position of an article at intervals of.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional loading conveyor. As shown in FIG. 5, in the loading conveyor 100, an endless belt 102 provided with an index portion 104 at a predetermined interval L includes a plurality of transport rollers 1.
The belt 102 is conveyed in a direction indicated by an arrow X by rotating a predetermined conveying roller 103M by a driving motor 101.

Here, in the conventional loading conveyor 100, sensors 105 and 106 for detecting an article 130 are used.
Roller 103a, 103b, 103
c, 103d, and the belt 102
2A and 102B are formed, and the sensors 105 and 106 are arranged in the space formed by these.

As a result, the article 130 on the belt 102
Are placed on the receiving section A, the receiving section B, and the receiving section C.
Is divided into two parts.
30 is transferred, the article 13 is moved in the direction of the arrow X.
0 is conveyed.

By the way, in the loading conveyor 100 having such a configuration, when the articles 130 are placed by a plurality of persons, the articles 130 are passed even after passing through the transfer portion between the placing sections A to C. And the index unit 104
And must be synchronized.

For this reason, in the prior art, the belt 1
02 so that the belt length of the folded portions 102A and 102B is an integral multiple of the interval L between the index portions 104.
By arranging 3a to 103d, the distance between the indicator 104a of the receiver A and the indicator 104b of the receiver B and the indicator 104c of the receiver B and the indicator 104d of the receiver C are set.
Are set to a constant interval L.

[0008]

However, in such a conventional loading conveyor 100, since the conveying path is formed by using one belt 102, the peripheral length of the belt 102 becomes longer. ,as a result,
There is a problem that the weight becomes heavy as a whole and the load applied to the transport roller 103 increases.

To reduce this load, the transport roller 1
Although it is conceivable to increase the outer diameter of the small article 03, the small article 130
It is required that the outer diameters of the transport rollers 103a and 103d disposed at the transfer portions of the placement sections A to C are as small as possible in order to smoothly transport the sheet.

As a result, in the case of the conventional example, the number of divisions of the area where the article 130 is placed is limited to two or three places, and the transport path length of the article 130 can be freely selected to be a predetermined length or more. There was a problem that it was not possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such problems of the prior art, and sets the conveying path to be longer than the prior art and to a desired length without increasing the diameter of the conveying roller. It is an object of the present invention to provide a loading conveyor that can perform the loading.

[0012]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for transferring articles (30) sequentially along a predetermined transport path (X). A plurality of belt conveyors (11A, 11B, 11
C), and each belt conveyor (11A, 11B, 11
C) is a placing conveyor provided with an index portion (4) for indicating a placing position of the article (30) on the belt (2A, 2B, 2C), and the belt conveyor (11)
A, 11B, and 11C) controlling the conveyance speed of each belt (2A, 2B, 2C) so that the index part (4) moves synchronously.

In the case of the invention described in claim 1, a plurality of belt conveyors (11A, 11B, 11C) are provided, and the belts (2A, 11A, 11B, 11C) of each belt conveyor (11A, 11B, 11C) are provided.
2B and 2C) are moved synchronously. Therefore, when the transport path (X) is lengthened, the number of belt conveyors (11) may be increased, as in the prior art. Since it is not necessary to increase the length of the belt, the load on the transport roller (3) for feeding the belt (2) does not need to be large.

As a result, according to the present invention, the conveying path (X) can be made longer than in the prior art without increasing the diameter of the conveying roller (3), and the number of belt conveyors (11) can be changed. Thus, the transport path (X) can be set to a desired length.

In this case, as in the second aspect of the present invention,
In the invention according to claim 1, the belt conveyor (1)
1A, 11B, 11C) belts (2A, 2B, 2C)
Detecting means (10) for detecting the transport speed of
It is also effective that the transport speed of each of the belts (2A, 2B, 2C) is controlled based on the result obtained by the detection means (10).

According to the present invention, the transport speed of each belt (2A, 2B, 2C) is detected, and the transport speed of each belt (2A, 2B, 2C) is controlled based on the result. Therefore, the transport speed of the belts (2A, 2B, 2C) can always be kept constant, and more accurate synchronization of the index section (4) can be performed.

Further, as in the third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the detecting means (10) includes a belt (2A, 2B, 2C) of the belt conveyor (11A, 11B, 11C). It is also effective to detect the reference portion provided in the.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the transport speed of each belt (2A, 2B, 2C) can be easily detected by measuring the timing of detecting the index portion (4). Belt (2A,
2B, 2C) can be controlled to a desired value.

In this case, as in the fourth aspect of the present invention,
In the invention according to claim 3, the reference portion detected by the detection means (10) can be an index portion (4). In that case, the apparatus configuration and the manufacturing process are simplified, and the cost is reduced. Can be.

Further, as in the invention according to claim 5, in the invention according to any one of claims 3 and 4, a hole is provided as the index portion (4) and the detecting means (10) is provided. It is also effective that an optical sensor (7, 8) is provided as a sensor and the hole is detected by passing the light of the optical sensor (7, 8) through the hole. is there.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the light of the optical sensors (7, 8) is passed through the holes provided in the belt (2), the index portion can be reliably formed with a simple configuration. (4) can be detected, and a problem such as detection failure of the reference portion due to peeling of the paint or the like does not occur.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the conveyor according to the fifth aspect, further comprising a blowing means (12) for blowing air toward the detecting means (10). .

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the loading conveyor according to the fifth or sixth aspect, the detecting means (10) is covered with a light transmitting member (13). is there.

According to the sixth or seventh aspect of the present invention, since dust and the like can be prevented from being deposited on the detecting means (10), the function of the detecting means (10) is maintained in a stable state. As a result, the index section (4) can be reliably synchronized for a long period of time.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a loading conveyor according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a loading conveyor according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a belt conveyor which is a basic configuration of the present embodiment. The loading conveyor 1 according to the present embodiment is for transporting the articles 30 in a stage before the sorting operation of the articles 30 is performed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the loading conveyor 1
Is a plurality (three in the case of the present embodiment) of belt conveyors 11 arranged along the transport path X (in the direction of arrow X).
(11A, 11B, 11C) and a pair of sensors 5, 6 provided between adjacent belt conveyors 11A, 11B and 11B, 11C. Here, each of the belt conveyors 11A to 11C has the same configuration, and is disposed at regular intervals.

As shown in FIG. 2, the belt conveyor 11 of this embodiment has a plurality of transport rollers 3 arranged in parallel.
And one endless belt 2 is wrapped around it.
A transport drive roller 3a is provided between the transport rollers 3 arranged at a predetermined interval, and the drive motor M transmits a rotational driving force to the transport drive roller 3a.

In the vicinity of the transport drive roller 3a, transport rollers 3b and 3c for applying a predetermined tension to the belt 2 are disposed, and the transport drive roller 3a is rotated by a drive motor M in a predetermined direction (clockwise). By driving, the belt 2 is fed in the arrow X direction. Then, by this, the article 3 is located in the upper part of the belt 2.
A transport unit 20 that transports 0 is formed.

In this case, each of the belt conveyors 11A to 11A
C belts 2A, 2B, and 2C
A, 20B, and 20C are arranged so as to have substantially the same height. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, drive motors M1 and M1 for driving the respective belt conveyors 11A to 11C.
2 and M3, each drive circuit (not shown) is connected to the drive control means 40.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of index portions 4 are provided at a constant length L at a central portion in the longitudinal direction of the belt 2. In the case of the present embodiment, holes having a predetermined size are formed as these index portions 4.

As shown in FIG. 2, below the conveyor 20 of the belt 2, there is provided a detecting means 10 for detecting the conveying speed of the belt 2 of each belt conveyor 11, and this detecting means 10 , Are connected to the drive control means 40 described above.

In the case of this embodiment, as the detecting means 10, for example, a transmission type photoelectric sensor (optical sensor) including a light emitting sensor 7 and a light receiving sensor 8 is used. In this case, the light emission sensor 7 is disposed vertically below the reversing part 21 of the belt 2, and the light receiving sensor 8 is disposed so as to be sandwiched between the transport part 20 and the reversing part 21 of the belt 2.
Then, the light emission sensor 7 is moved so that the sensor light traveling from the light emission sensor 7 to the light receiving sensor 8 passes through each index portion 4 of the belt 2.
And the position of the light receiving sensor 8 are determined.

As shown in FIG. 1, each belt conveyor 11
A to 11C are arranged at regular intervals so that articles 30 to be conveyed can be smoothly delivered and include a pair of light-emitting sensors and light-receiving sensors between adjacent belt conveyors 11A, 11B and 11B, 11C. The sensor 5 and the sensor 6 are disposed so as to face each other along a direction orthogonal to the transport path X.

In this embodiment having such a configuration, each belt 2 of each of the belt conveyors 11A to 11C is used.
The intervals between the index portions 4 provided on the conveyors A to 2C are constant, that is, the intervals between the index portions 4a and 4b adjacent to the transport portion 20A of the belt conveyor 11A and the transport portion 20B of the belt conveyor 11B, and the belt conveyor. The distance between the adjacent index portions 4c and 4d of the transport portion 20B of the belt conveyor 11B and the transport portion 20C of the belt conveyor 11C is the same as the index portions 4 (for example, 4b and 4b) provided on the belts 2A to 2C of each of the belt conveyors 11A to 11C. The conveyance speed of the belts 2A, 2B, 2C is controlled so as to be equal to the interval L of 4c).

For this reason, in this embodiment, each of the belt conveyors 11A to 11A is detected by the detecting means 10 described above.
The index portions 4 of the 1C belts 2A to 2C are sequentially detected, and the drive control means 40 is controlled based on the detected timing.
By controlling each of the drive motors M1, M2, M3 by a known inverter control in
The conveying speed of 2C is corrected to a desired value, and the index portions 4 of the belts 2A to 2C of each of the belt conveyors 11A to 11C are synchronously moved.

By performing such control, the article 3
When 0 is passed between the belt conveyors 11A to 11C, the article 30 and each index section 4 move in synchronization with each other, and therefore, as shown in FIG. 30 is transported along the transport path X.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
When the transport path X is lengthened, the number of the belt conveyors 11 may be increased, and it is not necessary to increase the length of the belt as in the related art. Therefore, if the load on the transport roller 3 for feeding the belt is large. You don't have to. As a result, the transport path X can be made longer than before without increasing the diameter of the transport roller 3, and the transport path X can be set to a desired length.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the detecting means 1
Since the transport speed of the belt 2 is detected by detecting the index portion 4 of each of the belts 2A to 2C by 0 and the transport speed of the belt 2 is controlled based on the result, the transport speed of the belt 2 is always kept constant. This makes it possible to synchronize the index unit 4 with higher accuracy.

In particular, in the case of the present embodiment, each index unit 4
Is configured to also serve as a reference portion for detection, so that the device configuration and the manufacturing process can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, in the case of this embodiment, the belt 2
Since the light from the optical sensor is transmitted through the hole provided in the sensor, the index portion 4 can be reliably detected with a simple configuration, and the detection of the reference portion due to the peeling of the paint or the like is problematic. Does not occur.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show another embodiment of the loading conveyor according to the present invention. In the following, portions corresponding to those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be given. Description is omitted. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the detecting means of the loading conveyor according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the detecting means 10A of the present embodiment is obtained by providing the blowing means 12 to the detecting means 10 of the above embodiment. The blowing means 12 is moved by an arrow F toward the light emitting portion of the light emitting sensor 7 by a fan or the like.
It is configured to blow air in the direction.

In the case of the above embodiment, the light emission sensor 7
Since the light-emitting portion is directed upward, dust or the like easily accumulates in the light-emitting portion, and detection of the index portion 4 may be unstable. However, according to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, Since dust and the like can be prevented from accumulating on the light emitting portion of the sensor 7, the function of the detecting means 10 can be maintained in a stable state, and as a result, the index portion 4 can be reliably synchronized for a long period of time. Can be. Other configurations and operational effects are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a detecting means of a loading conveyor according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 4, the detecting means 10B of the third embodiment
Is a device in which a transparent body (light transmitting member) 13 is provided in the detection means 10 of the above embodiment. The transparent body 13 is formed of a hemispherical light-emitting sensor 7 made of, for example, glass or plastic.
Made of a material that can transmit the sensor light. In this case, the transparent body 13 covers the light-emitting sensor 7 and is disposed such that the upper surface 13 a of the transparent body 13 contacts the reversing portion 21 of the belt 2.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent dust and the like from being deposited on the light emitting portion of the light emitting sensor 7 by the transparent body 13, so that the function of the detecting means 10 is the same as in the second embodiment. Can be maintained in a stable state, and the upper surface 13a of the transparent body 13
Therefore, the sensor light of the light emitting sensor 7 can be transmitted in a good state without dust or the like adhering to the upper surface 13a of the transparent body 13. Other configurations and operational effects are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made. For example,
In the above-described embodiment, three belt conveyors 1
Although the example of the loading conveyor provided with 1A to 11C has been described, the belt conveyor 11 can be freely added without departing from the present invention.

In the above-described embodiment, the drive motors M1 and M1 of the belt conveyors 11A, 11B and 11C are used.
Although drive control of M2 and M3 is performed by inverter control, speed control or position control by pulse control can also be performed by using a DC servomotor or a stepping motor for each of the drive motors M1, M2, and M3. .

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a transmission type photoelectric sensor is used for the detecting means 10, 10A, 10B, but a reflection type photoelectric sensor can be used. In this case, a reflective sensor having a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit may be provided at the position of the light emitting sensor 7, and a reflecting mirror may be provided at the position of the light receiving sensor 8.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the air blowing means 12 is used in the detecting means 10A, and the transparent body 13 is used in the detecting means 10B. It is possible.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the belt conveyor for conveying the articles in the stage prior to the sorting operation of the articles has been described. However, the present invention relates to a belt conveyor for conveying the articles at equal intervals. , Can be applied to various things. However, the present invention is most effective when applied to the so-called loading conveyor described above.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention, the transport path can be made longer than in the prior art without increasing the diameter of the transport roller, and the transport path can be set to a desired length. A possible loading conveyor can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of a belt conveyor device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a belt conveyor which is a basic configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a detecting means of a loading conveyor according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a detecting means of a loading conveyor according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional loading conveyor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Loading conveyor 2 (2A, 2B, 2C) Belt 4 Indicator part 7 Light emitting sensor (optical sensor) 8 Light receiving sensor (optical sensor) 10 Detecting means 11 (11A, 11B, 11C) Belt conveyor 12 Blowing means 13 Transparent body ( Light transmitting member) 30 articles

Claims (7)

[Claims] A plurality of belt conveyors (11A, 11B, 11C) arranged so as to sequentially deliver articles (30) along a predetermined transport path (X), and each of the belt conveyors (11A, 11B). , 11C) belts (2A, 2C,
(B, 2C) provided with an indicator (4) for indicating the placement position of the article (30), wherein the indicator (4A) of each of the belt conveyors (11A, 11B, 11C). 4) so that each belt (2) moves synchronously.
(A, 2B, 2C). 2. The belt conveyor (11A, 11B, 1).
1C) for detecting the conveyance speed of the belts (2A, 2B, 2C).
0), the belts (2A,
2. The loading conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the loading conveyor is configured to control the conveyance speed of 2B, 2C). 3. The belt conveyor (11A, 11B, 11C) of the belt conveyor (11A, 11B, 11C).
3. The loading conveyor according to claim 2, wherein the loading conveyor is configured to detect a reference portion provided in (B, 2C). 4. The loading conveyor according to claim 3, wherein said reference portion is said index portion (4). 5. A hole is provided as said indicator part (4), and an optical sensor (7,
8) is provided, and the optical sensor (7,
The structure according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the hole is detected by passing the light of (8).
A loading conveyor according to any one of the preceding claims. 6. A loading conveyor according to claim 5, further comprising a blowing means for blowing air to said detecting means. 7. A light transmitting member (1) wherein said detecting means (10) is
7. The loading conveyor according to claim 5, wherein the loading conveyor is covered by 3).