JPS62235121A - Article sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the storing of members ever so easy, by reading each mark of sorted articles, feeding it to an article deliverer via an article feeder and an article transfer, and transferring the sorted article to an article sorting member corresponding to the read mark. CONSTITUTION:A mark B of a sorted article A is read by control of a controller 6 with a reader 1, storing it in this controller 6. With the control of the controller 6, the article A is fed to an article transferrer 3 via an article feeder 2. When there is an article sorting command, the article is delivered to an endless chain 32 from the article transferrer 3, conveyed in an arrow Y direction, passing through article delivery spots 5A-5E and 5F-5J, and in the midway, it is delivered to any of spring members 4A-4J at these article sorting members 4A-4E and 4F-4J corresponding to the read mark. The article A stays inside the article transferrer 3 till the sorting command comes up. With this constitution, a lot of articles are sotable continuously and automatically.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an article sorting device for sequentially sorting a large number of articles into predetermined types.

(Background of the Invention) For example, in the clothing cleaning industry, which uses a chain store format, the laundry orders received from many laundry stores are collected at one laundry factory, where the same kind of laundry is processed. - After cleaning in bulk,
The cleaned items are sorted by each store and delivered to each store.

By the way, in the laundry industry like this, workers visually identify the sorting labels attached to each item (laundry), and then manually transport each identified item to the customer. Items at each store were sorted by division.

However, the manual sorting of articles as described above has the problem that the sorting is troublesome and sometimes the articles are sorted in the wrong place. Note that if the items are sorted in the wrong place, they will be delivered to a store different from the correct destination.

(Object of the Invention) In view of the above-mentioned problems in the manual method of sorting articles, an object of the present invention is to propose an article sorting device that can automatically and accurately sort articles. It is something to do.

(Means for Achieving the Object) The article sorting apparatus of the present invention includes a label reading device for reading labels attached to articles to be sorted, and a label reading device for sorting by the label reading device. An article supplying device for sequentially supplying articles to a succeeding device after the labels have been read, and an article holding section capable of receiving and holding articles for the sorted articles supplied from the terminal end of the article supplying device. and an article transfer device for forwarding the articles held in the article holding section, and an article transfer device installed sequentially along the article transfer line of the article transfer device and transferred by the article transfer device. A plurality of article sorters for collecting articles by predetermined types are installed as members, and each article sorter is installed corresponding to the member and is transported by the article transfer device when not in operation. The articles to be sorted are placed on the article transfer device as they are and transferred, and during operation, the articles to be sorted transferred by the article transfer device are removed from the article holding section of the article transfer device, and the article sorting is performed by removing the articles from the article holding section of the article transfer device. An article transfer device that can transfer the articles to the article transfer device side receives a label reading signal from the label reading device that reads the label, and the sorted articles are transferred to the article transfer device side. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a controller that emits a signal to operate a predetermined article delivery device so that the articles are not sorted and the predetermined sorting of articles is delivered to a member.

(Function) In the present invention, after the sorting mark attached to the article is read by a label reading device, the article to be sorted is transferred from the article supply device side to the article transfer device side. P from the sign reader! In response to the confirmation that the article has been read, the controller issues a signal to operate the article delivery device corresponding to the predetermined article sorting member, and the article delivery device is thereby operated. When the article to be sorted approaches the installed part of the operated article delivery device, the article to be sorted is removed from the article holding section of the article transfer device by the article delivery device, and the predetermined article sorting is performed by stamping. It comes to be sorted into. In this way, the articles to be sorted can be sorted automatically and continuously into predetermined sections by simply feeding the articles to the article supplying device after reading the labels with the label reading device. Become.

(Embodiment) To explain the present invention in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the article sorting apparatus of this embodiment is used, for example, in a laundry cleaning factory, where laundry items are collected from a large number of stores that receive laundry orders. This system is suitable for cleaning the laundry of each store in a batch using the same cleaning method, and then sorting the cleaned clothes to each store. In addition, in this embodiment, the article A to be sorted is a piece of washed clothing hung on a wire hanger H, and the article A is marked with a sorting sign B at the appropriate place. has been done.

The illustrated article sorting apparatus includes a label reading device 1 for reading the classification label B attached to the article A to be sorted, and a label reading device 1 for reading the sorting label B attached to the article A to be sorted; An article supplying device 2 for sequentially supplying the articles A to the succeeding device side, and an article holding section 34, 34, which can receive and hold the articles A to be sorted supplied from the terminal end of the article supplying device 2. In addition, an article transfer device 3 is provided for transporting the articles A held in an article holding section 34, and each sorted article A is sorted into predetermined types by the article transfer device 3. A plurality of articles are sorted by members 4A to 4J, and each article is sorted by member 4.
The article transfer section, which is installed corresponding to each of A to 4J and is transferred by the article transfer device 3, removes the article A from the article holding section 34 and transfers the predetermined article sorting to the members 4A to 4J. The apparatus includes devices 5A to 5J, and a controller 6 that receives a label reading signal from the label reading device 1 and issues a signal to operate members (4A to 4J) for predetermined article sorting.

The label reading device 1 is connected to the controller 6, and the label reading signal read by the label reading device 1 is transmitted to the controller 6.

The article supply device 2 includes a motor 21, a screw rod 22 rotated by the motor 21, and a guide stand connected to the tip of the screw rod 22 to reach an article transfer position of an article transfer device 3, which will be described later. It has 23. This guide stand 23 is installed so that the front side is inclined downward.

Then, in this article supplying device 2, when the hanger H of the article A to be sorted is hooked on the screw rod 22 rotated by the motor 21, the article A to be sorted is attached to the screw rod 22.
The upper end of the threaded rod is sent to the tip 22a side, and the threaded rod is transferred from the tip to the base end of the guide stand 23.

The articles A to be sorted transferred onto the guide table 23 slide toward the leading end side on the guide table 23 due to their own weight.

At the tip of the guide table 23, a concave-shaped article stop part 24 is formed for temporarily waiting at the tip of the guide table when the article A to be sorted is delivered to the article transfer device 3 side. The sorted item that has slid toward the tip side on the guide table 23 is article A.
The hanger H automatically fits into the article stop part 24, so that the article A to be sorted is temporarily held there.

A stopper device 7 is provided above the guide table 23 to prevent or allow the articles A to be sorted from passing on the guide table 23.

This stopper device 7 includes an air cylinder 71 and a stopper piece 72 that is moved up and down on a guide table by the air cylinder 71. This stopper device 7 has a stopper piece 7 when the air cylinder 71 is extended.
2 moves down to prevent the article A to be sorted from passing on the guide table 23, and when the stopper piece 72 is contracted, the stopper piece 72 moves upward to open the guide table 23 (the article to be sorted is A is allowed to pass.

Between the tip of the threaded rod 22 and the base of the guide stand 23,
A limit switch 26 is provided.

This limit switch 26 is connected to the article A (hanger) to be sorted, which is supplied from the screw rod tip 22a to the guide table 23 side.
When this limit switch 26 is operated, the motor 2I is stopped and subsequent sorted articles hooked on the threaded rod 22 are placed on the guide table 23 with duplicate articles A. We are trying to prevent it from being supplied to

The article transfer device 3 includes a large number of sprockets 33, 33...
One endless chain 32 is wrapped around the endless chain 32.
A plurality of small protrusion-shaped article holders 34, 34 are mounted on the endless chain 32 at appropriate regular intervals.
It is constructed by attaching... This article holding section 34.
34 are attached horizontally to the endless chain 32, and the hanger hook portion of the article A to be sorted can be hooked to the article holding portion 34.

The endless chino 32 of the article transfer device 3 is installed so as to run near the article stop portion 24 of the guide table 23.
When the article holding section 34 attached to the endless chino 32 passes near the article stopping section 2-4 at the tip of the guide table 23, the article holding section 34 is temporarily held at the article stopping section 24 as shown in FIG. The sorted articles A can be transferred to the article holding section 34 side. That is, endless cheno 3
2, the items to be sorted are installed so as to run obliquely upward from below near the article stop section 24 at the tip of the guide table 23, which serves as an article delivery section, and the article holding section 34
When the article passes through the article stopping section 24, the article holding section 34
The sorted items hung on the article stopping part 24 can be transferred by scooping up the hanger hook part of the article A. The endless chino 32 circulates so that the lower side runs in the direction of arrow P and the upper side runs in the direction of arrow Q.

In the endless chain 32, the air cylinder 71 of the stopper device 7 is operated in the contraction direction at a position near the upstream side of the article delivery section Y, which transfers the articles A to be sorted from the article supply device 2 side to the article transfer device 3 side. An operative switch 27 is provided. This limit switch 27
is the article holding section 34 attached to the endless chino 32
．． It is designed to be operated sequentially by 34...
When the limit switch 27 is operated, a signal is issued to contract the air cylinder 71, and the stopper device 7 is released from its stop (allowing the article A to pass through). When the stopper device 7 is released from the stop, the articles A to be sorted that have been stopped in front of the stopper piece 72 slide toward the front side of the guide table 23 and are held within the article stop part 24. Further, another switch (for example, a limit switch) 28 is attached to the outer surface of the tube of the air cylinder 71, and when the air cylinder 7I is at its lowest contraction, the switch 28 is operated to immediately extend and stop the air cylinder 71. I'm trying to get it back to normal.

The lower running portion of the endless chino 32 serves as an article transfer line Z for transferring articles A to be sorted to each sorting section. Further, directly below the article transfer line of the endless chino 32, a large number of article sorting members 4A to 4J are installed at appropriate regular intervals in the running direction of the endless chino (direction of arrow P). In addition, in this embodiment, article sorting is carried out by members 4A to 4.
J is provided in pairs so as to face each other on both the left and right sides of the article transfer line. For these article sorting members 4A to 4J, long rod-shaped guide rods 14 are used, and the guide rods 14 are installed in a downwardly inclined state from the tip side to the base side. Also, the guide rod 1
The tip end 14a of the endless chain 32 is placed close to the endless chain 32 with a distance such that the sorted items held and transferred by the article holding section 34 of the endless chain 32 do not obstruct the passage of the articles A. In this embodiment, a total of 10 members are provided for the article sorting, but the number of members may be increased or decreased depending on the types of articles to be sorted.

In order to sort each article in the endless chain 32, two sprockets 33, 33 are arranged vertically at the positions corresponding to the members 4A to 4J, and the article holding parts 34, 34, . . . are attached to the endless chain 32. can be moved from top to bottom by a small height range as appropriate. The stepped running portions, D, etc. in the endless chino 32 are for facilitating the delivery of the articles A to be sorted by the article delivery devices (5A to 5J), as will be explained next.

In this embodiment, the article delivery devices 5A to 5J employ air cylinders 5I. The air cylinders 51, 51, . . . that constitute each of the article delivery devices 5A to 5J are installed in a downwardly inclined state on both the left and right sides of the step-like running portion D, . . . in the article transfer line Z. In the contracted state, the air cylinder 5I is held by the article holding section 34, and the sorted articles passing through the step-like running section do not act on the articles A, and the sorted articles A are moved to the rear side as they are. In the extended state, the cylinder rod 52 protrudes as shown in FIG. The article can be received from the article holding section 34.

In addition, when the air cylinder 51 is in the extended state, the tip of the cylinder rod 52 extends to a position directly above the guide rod tip 14a of the article sorting member (4A to 4J) handled by the article delivery device. The articles A to be sorted received above slide forward on the cylinder rod by their own weight, and are transferred from the tip of the cylinder rod 52 to the guide rod tip 14a.

Each of the article delivery devices 5A to 5J is operated by a signal from the controller 6 which is issued in response to a label reading signal from the label reading device 1. The controller 6 receives the label reading signal from the label reading device l, and when the endless chino 32 travels a predetermined distance, that is, the sorted article A is transferred to the article holding section 34 at the article delivery section Y. , the predetermined article sorting in which article A should not be sorted is the member (4A
When the article is transferred to the position just before the step-like traveling section corresponding to the installation position of the member (4J), the predetermined article sorting issues a signal to extend the air cylinder 51 of the article delivery device (5A-5J) corresponding to the member. It is something. In this embodiment, the counter device 30 is installed close to the endless chino 32, and the number of article holding parts 34 passing through the part where the counter device 30 is installed is counted.
I am trying to measure the distance traveled. Furthermore, in this embodiment, from the article delivery section Y to the first stepped running section of the article transfer line Z, there are two adjacent article holding sections 3.
4.34, and the article A to be sorted at the article delivery section Y is separated by the article supply device 2.
After being delivered to the article holding section 34 of the article transfer device 3 from the side, when the counter device 30 counts three times (three articles have passed through the article holding section 34), the sorted object is holding article A. The article holding section 34 is arranged to reach a position immediately in front of the first stepped running section.

The air cylinder 51 of each article delivery device 5A to 5J is
For predetermined sorting of articles, the article holding section 34 holding the article A is transferred to the member (4A to 4J) side, and the article holding section 34 holding the article A is placed at a position just before the air cylinder 51 for delivery (each stepped traveling section, D The air cylinder 51 is extended by a signal from the controller 6 when the air cylinder 51 reaches a front position in a range smaller than the distance between the
The sorting is carried out immediately after the article A is transferred from the article holding section 34 via the cylinder rod 52 to the guide rod 14 side of the member (before the next article holding section 34 reaches the air cylinder 51). ) can be reduced by a signal from a timer or the like.

To explain the method of sorting articles using a device, the articles A to be sorted are each marked with a sorting mark (order store mark) B in advance. Then, the articles A to be sorted and the labels B are sequentially read by a label reading device, and then the articles A to be sorted are hooked on the threaded rod of the article supplying device 2 in order after the labels have been read.

The articles A to be sorted hung on the threaded frame 22 are sequentially arranged one by one through the guide table 23 and transferred to the article holding sections 34, 34, . . . of the article transfer device 3. It will be delivered and sent later. The articles A to be sorted held in the respective article holding sections 34, 34, and the predetermined article sorting members (4A to 4J) are placed immediately before the corresponding step-like running section. When the object reaches the object, a signal from the controller 6 sends a signal from the controller 6 to the object delivery device (5) that corresponds to the object.
The air cylinders 51 of A to 5J) are extended, and the articles to be sorted into members are sorted when the article holding section 34 holding the article A passes through the near cylinder 51 installation part. For sorting, the article A is stored in the article holding section 34.
Predetermined articles are sorted into members (guide rods 14) from the side via the cylinder rods 52. Immediately after the extended air cylinder 51 transfers the article A to be sorted from the article holding section 34 side to the guide rod 14 side, it is immediately contracted, and the air cylinder 51 subsequently contracts the article A to be sorted. This prevents the held article holding section 34 from interfering with the passage of the article A, or from erroneously sorting the article A in subsequent sorting. In this way, the sorted articles A can be sorted by simply having the label B read by the label reading device I, and then hooking the articles A onto the article supplying device 2 in order. The predetermined article sorting can be performed automatically and consecutively into members (4A to 4J).

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, the article sorting apparatus of the present invention reads the label B attached to the article A, and then sorts the article by the label reading device l. For sorting, simply support the articles A on the article supply device 2 side, and use members (4A to 4) to sequentially sort a large number of articles to be sorted.
J) Continuous and automatic sorting is possible, and the sorting work can be performed accurately.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an article sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are partially enlarged views of the article sorting apparatus of FIG. 1, respectively. A... Items to be sorted B... Items to be sorted are marked ■... Sign reading device 2... Item supply device 3... Item transfer Devices 48 to 4J... Article sorting is performed by members 5A to 5J... Article delivery device 6... Controller 34... Article holding section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A label reading device (
1), an article supply device (2) for sequentially supplying the articles to be sorted (A) whose sorting labels have been read by the label reading device (1) to a subsequent device, and the article supply device (2). It has an article holding part (34) that can receive and hold the articles to be sorted (A) supplied from the terminal end, and the article to be sorted (A) is held in the article holding part (34). and an article transfer device (3) for sorting the articles to be sorted (A), which are sequentially installed along the article transfer line of the article transfer device (3) and are transferred by the article transfer device (3). ) for each predetermined type, a plurality of article sorting members (4A to 4J);
The article transfer device (3) is installed corresponding to each of the article sorting members (4A to 4J) and when not in operation.
The articles to be sorted (A) transferred by the article transfer device (3) are transferred as they are on the article transfer device (3), and during operation, the articles to be sorted (A) transferred by the article transfer device (3) are transferred to the article transfer device (3). (3) An article delivery device (5A to 5J) that can be removed from the article holding part (34) and delivered to the article sorting member (4A to 4J), and a sorting mark (B) for the article to be sorted (A). ), a predetermined article sorting member ( An article sorting device comprising: a controller (6) that issues a signal to operate a predetermined article delivery device (5A to 5J) to deliver the article to the article delivery device (5A to 4J).