JPH1179372A - Classification device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve classifying precision without lengthening a device by setting storage parts for each of classifying sections in a plural number of stages in the vertical direction in a classifying area. SOLUTION: A classification device 21 is constituted of a feeding part 23 of an envelope article 2, a carrier part 25, a classifying part 25 having storage parts 12 for each of classifying sections in a classifying area and a control part 26. The storage parts 12 are arranged in two stages in the classifying area. Consequently, it is possible to reduce dimensions in the longitudinal direction of the device in case of the same classifying number, to increase the classifying number in case of the same setting length on the contrary, to set more storage boxes, to carry out finer classifying work and to improve classifying precision in comparison with conventional devices individually placed in parallel. Additionally, as a carrier 31 moves in a closed loop within a horizontal surface, it becomes possible to discharge the envelope article 2 stored in the carrier 31 to the storage box 12 even in an area of a curved part, to make all of moving loci classifying areas and to prevent generation of a dead space.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for sorting items such as envelopes on the basis of sorting information such as zip codes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a conventional apparatus for sorting envelopes based on the description of a postal code will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram viewed from the front, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram viewed from the plane. The sorting apparatus 1 in the figure includes a supply unit 3, a transport unit 4, a sorting unit 5, and a control unit 6 for controlling these units.

In the supply section 3, a bundle of envelopes 2 on which postal codes are described is placed randomly by the operator with respect to the postal codes. These envelopes 2 are supplied one by one to the transport unit 4 by a known separating device 7 including a suction belt and the like. At the time of transportation, the postal code attached to the envelope 2 is read by the reading device 7a.

The transport section 4 has a pair of toothed wheels 9 supported on a horizontal shaft 8 and driven to rotate, and a chain 10 wound around the both toothed wheels 9. A plurality of carriers 11 are supported on the chain 10 at equal pitches. As the chain 10 moves, the carriers 11 move in a closed loop formed in a vertical plane. FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of each carrier 11. The entire carrier 11 is formed in a box shape,
A shutter 11b, which has an opening 11a on the surface side on which the envelope object 2 is inserted from the supply unit 3, and which opens and closes in the directions indicated by arrows in the upper and lower directions.
1c. Normally, the shutters 11b and 11c are closed, but as described later, when the shutter reaches a predetermined storage box 12 of the sorting section in the sorting area, the shutter is opened, and the envelope 2 which has been transported so far is stored therein. Discharge into box 12. Although the horizontal shaft 8 may be driven intermittently, it is continuously rotated here to increase the processing speed.

[0005] In the sorting section 5, a plurality of storage boxes 12 as shown in FIG. 8 are installed in sorting areas A and B arranged along the movement locus of the carrier 11. This storage box 12
Is for storing the envelopes 2 to be sorted, and the number of installations is determined according to the desired number of sorts.

The operation of the sorting device 1 is as follows.

First, the bundled envelopes 2 placed on the supply unit 3 by the operator are supplied to the transport unit 4 while being separated one by one by the separation device 7. At this time, the postal code attached to the envelope 2 is read by the reading device 7a. The envelopes 2 supplied from the supply unit 3 are sequentially stored one by one in one carrier 11 just opposite the supply point 3a of the supply unit 3 through the opening 11a. The carrier 11 containing the envelope 2 moves in the closed loop as the chain 10 moves, and during this movement, the carrier 11
Passes above the plurality of storage boxes 12 in the sorting areas A and B.

The postal code read by the reading device 7a is sent to the control section 6 as sorting information. In addition to this information, the control unit 6 includes a separating device 7
Drive motor M1 and drive motor M2 for driving the horizontal shaft 8
The drive information such as the rotation angle of is input. From these information, the postal code of the stored envelope 2 and the current position of the carrier 11 are determined by the control unit 6 for each carrier 11. It can be grasped. Then, when the control unit 6 recognizes that the envelope 2 conveyed by the carrier 11 has reached or has reached the upper part of the storage box 12 in which the envelope 2 is to be sorted, the storage unit 6 stores the envelope. The shutter 11 of the carrier 11 is operated by a shutter opening / closing mechanism (not shown) installed for each box 12.
When b or 11c is opened, the envelope 2 stored so far is discharged from the carrier 11 and stored in the storage box 12 corresponding to the postal code attached to the envelope 2. The opened shutters 11b and 11c are closed (not shown) in a movement section until the carrier 11 makes one round of the closed loop and faces the supply point 3a of the supply unit 3.

By repeating the above operation,
The envelope 2 placed on the supply unit 3 is placed in one of the storage boxes 12.
It is finally stored and sorted in
Each storage box 12 is provided with a full sensor or the like (not shown),
When a full signal or a full notice signal is output from this sensor, the empty box is operated by an operator depending on a display or a warning to that effect, or an automatic exchange device of the storage box 12 is operated based on this signal. Is exchanged for the storage box 12.

[0010]

By the way, in the above-described conventional sorting apparatus, the storage box 12 is moved along the moving direction of the carrier 11 in each of the sorting areas A and B.
They are arranged side by side. For this reason, in order to increase the number of sorting sections and perform a fine sorting operation, it is necessary to lengthen the sorting areas A and B, which means that the interval between a pair of horizontal axes 8 is increased. Causes an increase in length.

An object of the present invention is to improve the sorting accuracy of a sorting apparatus without increasing the length of the apparatus.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a supply unit for sequentially supplying sorted materials, and a large number of carriers moving in a closed loop. The carriers are supplied from the supply unit. A transporting unit for transporting the sorted items in the closed loop, a sorting unit having a storage unit for each sorting section in a sorting area arranged along a movement locus of the carrier in the transport unit, and sorting information of each sorted item. And a control unit that controls to store the sorted items conveyed by the carrier in the corresponding storage unit based on the storage unit. It is characterized by being installed.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the sorted materials sequentially supplied from the supply unit are transported to the respective carriers moving along the closed loop, respectively, and are stored in two or more stages installed in the sorting area. It is stored in one of the parts.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a carrier, FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a state diagram of the place where it is discharged from and stored in a storage box. The sorting device 21 shown here sorts the envelope objects 2 based on the sorting information such as a postal code or a bar code. The sorting device 21 includes a supply unit 23 for the envelope 2, a transport unit 24, a sorting unit 25, and a control unit 26 for controlling them, and is functionally similar to the supply unit of the conventional device described above. 3, the same components as those of the transport unit 4, the sorting unit 5, and the control unit 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and differences in the following description will be described in detail.

First, the supply unit 23 supplies the envelopes 2 placed randomly by the operator with respect to the postal code to the transport unit 24 one by one. Similar to the conventional apparatus, the supply unit 23 includes a suction belt and the like. The zip code attached to the envelope 2 is read by the reading device 7a one by one to the transport unit 24 by the device 7 one by one.

The transport section 4 is continuously driven by a drive motor M3.
Alternatively, it has a pair of toothed wheels 29 supported on a vertical shaft 28 driven intermittently, and a chain 30 wound around both toothed wheels 29. A plurality of carriers 31 are supported at equal pitches on the chain 30, and as the chain 30 moves, the carriers 31 move in a closed loop formed in a horizontal plane. As shown in FIG. 2, the carrier 31 is formed in a box shape as a whole, and the envelope 2 is
An opening 31a is provided on the side from which the shutter 3 is inserted, and the bottom plate forms a shutter 31b. This shutter 31b
Rollers 3 are provided at the ends perpendicular to the carrier movement direction.
1c, and can be opened and closed by a hinge in the direction of the arrow.

FIG. 3 shows a mechanism for opening and closing the shutter 31b. As the chain 30 moves, the carrier 31 moves in the closed loop.
A guide guide 32 is also installed in a closed loop on the locus of the roller 31c accompanying the movement of. Then, a part is divided (for example, 32a), and a swing arm 33 is installed at the division part 32a. Each of the swing arms 33 includes a rotary solenoid R1 and swings between a horizontal position where the upper surface of the arm is flush with the guide surface of the guide guide 32 and a position above the guide surface at an appropriate timing described later. Is what you do. In addition, the division | segmentation part 32a is provided corresponding to the storage box installation location of the sorting part 25 mentioned later.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 34 denotes a closing cam. In actuality, the closing cam 34 is arranged near the supply point 23a of the supply section 23 in FIG. Roller 31c of shutter 31b
, And the roller 31c is pushed up by the moving force of the carrier 31 to close the shutter 31b.

In the sorting section 25, the storage boxes 12 corresponding to a desired sorting number are installed along the movement locus of the carrier 31 and below the movement locus. Further, in the case of the present embodiment, the entire movement trajectory of the carrier 31 can be used as a sorting area. In this sorting area, the storage boxes 12 are provided in two stages. The state is shown in FIG. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the aforementioned guide 32 is divided corresponding to each storage box 12, and the shutter opening / closing operation mechanism shown in FIG. Can be In addition, as schematically shown in FIG. 4, the guide chute 35 is provided corresponding to the lower storage box 12, and the envelope objects 2 sorted in the lower stage are:
After being discharged from the carrier 31, the guide chute 35
Is stored in the lower storage box 12 while being guided.

Next, the operation of the sorting device 21 having the above configuration will be described.

First, the bundled envelopes 2 placed on the supply unit 23 by the operator are supplied to the transport unit 24 while being separated one by one by the separation device 7. At this time, the envelope 2
Is read by the reading device 7a. The envelopes 2 supplied from the supply unit 23 are sequentially stored one by one in one carrier 31 just opposite the supply point 23a of the supply unit 23 through the opening 31a. At this time, the shutter 31b of the carrier 31 is closed because the roller 31c is moving while engaging with the guide 32.

The carrier 31 containing the envelope 2 moves in a closed loop in a horizontal plane with the movement of the chain 30, and during this movement, the carrier 31 moves above the plurality of storage boxes 12 installed in the sorting area. pass.

The postal code read by the reading device 7a is sent to the control section 26 as sorting information in the same manner as in the prior art, and the postal code of the driving motor M1 for driving the separation device 7 and the driving motor M3 for driving the vertical shaft 28 are sent. Drive information such as a rotation angle is also input to the control unit 26. From the information, the postal code of the envelope 2 stored for each carrier 31 and the current position of the carrier 31 are determined. Can be grasped. Therefore, while the carrier 31 containing the envelope 2 moves in the closed loop, it is controlled that the carrier 31 has reached a specific position, that is, near the position above the storage box 12 from which the envelope 2 contained therein should be discharged. When recognized by the unit 26, the rotary solenoid R provided corresponding to the storage box 12 is provided.
1 is operated, and the swing arm 33 is lifted upward. For this reason, as the carrier 31 containing the envelope 2 moves, the roller 31c of the carrier 31 is disengaged from the guide 32 and there is no support, so the shutter 31b is opened by its own weight. As a result, the envelope 2 previously stored in the carrier 31 falls,
It is stored in the storage box 12 waiting below. At this time, the envelope object 2 discharged toward the lower storage box 12 is guided by the guide chute 35 while falling, and
2 Note that the swing arm 33 at the upper position
Is returned to the horizontal position when the envelope 2 stored in the subsequent carrier 31 is not stored in the same storage box 12 as it is now, and the subsequent carrier 31 moves the upper surface of the swing arm 33 at this horizontal position. Since the roller 31c passes while engaging, the carrier 31 passes with the shutter 31b closed. Also, once opened shutter 31b
During the subsequent movement of the carrier 31, the carrier 31 is closed by the closing cam 34 arranged near the supply point 23a of the supply unit 23.

By repeating the above operation,
The envelope 2 placed on the supply unit 23 is stored in one of the storage boxes 1.
2 is finally stored and sorted. When a full sensor or the like is provided in each of the boxes 12, or when a full signal or a full notice signal is output from this sensor, an operator or a signal indicating that the full signal or the full notice signal is output is made. In the same manner as in the related art, the storage box 12 is replaced with an empty storage box 12 by operating an automatic exchange device for the storage box 12 based on the above.

According to the present embodiment, the storage boxes 12 are provided in two stages in the sorting area. Therefore, as compared with the conventional devices which are arranged one by one, if the number of sorting is the same, the dimension in the longitudinal direction of the device can be reduced, and if the installation length is the same, the number of sorting can be increased. More storage boxes can be installed, and a fine sorting operation can be performed to improve the sorting accuracy.

Further, in this embodiment, since the carrier 31 moves in a closed loop in a horizontal plane, the carrier 3
The discharge of the envelope 2 stored in 1 into the storage box 12 is not limited to the area of the linear portion in the closed loop, but is also possible in the area of the curved portion, and the entire movement locus of the carrier 31 can be set as the sorting area. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a dead space in which a sorting area cannot be set in a curved portion as in the conventional device. Thereby, the sorting accuracy can be further improved.

In this embodiment, since each carrier 31 moves in a closed loop formed in a horizontal plane, in the conventional sorting apparatus, it is necessary to provide two shutters at the top and bottom of the carrier. However, in the present embodiment, it is sufficient to provide one shutter 31b for one carrier 31, so that the mechanism can be simplified.

In the above embodiment, the information read from the envelope is the postal code, but it may be barcode information attached to the envelope in advance.

Further, the rotary solenoid R is read using read information such as a postal code and a bar code attached to the envelope.
1 is used to obtain the swing timing of the swing arm 33, but instead of placing the envelope on the supply unit 23, for example, a known envelope creating device, a postal code printing device, or a barcode printing device is used. In the case where a device or the like is provided at the preceding stage, the print information may be used instead of the read information.

In discharging the envelopes conveyed by the carrier 31, the shutter 31b of the carrier 31 is opened.
Each time, a carrier device such as a pusher device is provided.
The take-out device may be operated at a timing when the envelope 1 reaches the position where the internal envelope 2 is to be discharged, and the envelope 2 may be taken out to the outside.

Further, although the description has been made in the form of an envelope as a sort, the present invention can be applied to a book or the like, and can be applied to any sort of sort.

In the above-described embodiment, the storage boxes 12 are provided in two stages in the sorting area. However, the storage boxes 12 may be provided in three or more stages. A plurality of stages may be provided in a part of the sorting area.

The guide chute 35 is provided corresponding to the storage box 12 located at the lower stage.
Reference numeral 5 is not essential, and may be provided corresponding to each of the storage sections located at each level.

In the above embodiment, each carrier 31
Takes a type of sorting device that moves in a closed loop in a horizontal plane as an example, but from the viewpoint of preventing the device from becoming longer and improving the sorting accuracy, each carrier as described in the conventional device is in a vertical plane. The present invention can be applied to a type that moves in a closed loop.

In any case, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and any change in design or the like without departing from the gist of the present invention is included in the present invention.

[0036]

As described above, according to the sorting device of the present invention, the sorting accuracy can be improved without increasing the size of the device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a carrier.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which the envelope is discharged from the carrier and stored in a storage box in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the conventional device as viewed from the front.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a conventional device viewed from a plane.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventionally used carrier.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a storage box.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Envelope 7 Separating device 7a Reading device 12 Storage box 21 Sorting device 23 Supply unit 23a Supply point 24 Conveying unit 25 Sorting unit 26 Control unit 28 Vertical axis 29 Toothed wheel 30 Chain 31 Carrier 31a Opening 31b Shutter 32 Guide guide 33 Swing Moving arm 34 Closing cam 35 Guide chute

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] October 3, 1997

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All figures

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

FIG. 2

FIG. 3

FIG. 8

FIG. 4

FIG. 5

FIG. 6

FIG. 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A supply unit for sequentially supplying sorted items, and a transport unit having a large number of carriers moving in a closed loop and transporting the sorted items supplied from the supply unit by the carriers in the closed loop. A sorting section having a storage section for each sorting section in a sorting area arranged along a movement locus of the carrier in the transport section; and a sorting section transported by the carrier based on sorting information of each sorting section. A sorting unit having a control unit that controls the storage so as to be stored in a storage unit to be sorted, wherein two or more storage units for each of the sorting sections are vertically installed in the sorting area.