JPS6243967Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a mechanism for closing the bottom plate of a container that accommodates and transports items to be transported, such as mail, and in particular, the invention relates to a mechanism for closing the bottom plate of a container that accommodates and transports items to be transported, such as mail. This is to close the bottom plate of a container used in a conveyor device for sorting and transporting containers depending on the situation.

The present invention is equipped with a conveyor device that circulates and moves several containers as appropriate in order to process objects to be transported depending on their destination, and the objects to be transported are fed into a specified location of the container at the input section of the conveyor device and then discharged. After the container is transported to the storage section, the bottom plate of the container is opened at the discharge section, and the transported items are discharged to the designated accumulation section, the bottom plate of the opened container is opened before the empty container goes around to the input section. The object of the present invention is to provide a container bottom plate closing mechanism for a sorting conveyor device that smoothly and reliably closes the bottom plate during the circulation movement of containers and does not generate operating noise when the bottom plate is closed. That is.

Next, drawings showing an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

A box-shaped container 1 made of lightweight steel has an opening 2 at its upper end and has several partition plates 3 installed therein.
A compartment 4 is formed which is separated by a predetermined interval. At the bottom of each compartment 4, there is provided a rotatable pivot 6 with one end protruding from one side plate 1a of the container 1 and the other end supported by a support shaft 5 located near the other side plate 1b of the container 1. A bottom plate 7 bent into a substantially valley shape is fixed to each pivot shaft 6. The bottom plate 7 can be opened and closed by rotating the pivot 6.

A rotating piece 9 provided with a coil spring 8 is fixed to one end of the pivot shaft 6 of each compartment 4 protruding from one side plate 1a of the container 1. The coil spring 8 is a rotating piece 9
The bottom plate 7 of the pivot 6, which is fixed integrally with the rotating piece 9, is urged in the opening direction. Further, a stopper 10 made of rubber is fixed at a lower portion of the rotary piece 9 to restrict the range of rotation of the rotary piece 9 when the bottom plate 7 is rotated to open.

A pedestal 12 is located above the rotating piece 9 of each compartment 4 and fixed thereto, and a shaft 13 is provided on each pedestal 12, and a rod-shaped locking mechanism 11 that can be fixed around the shaft 13 is provided. Install. Each lock mechanism 11 has a hook portion 1 at its lower end that engages with the lower edge of the rotating piece 9 of the bottom plate 7.
4, and a circular head 15 is provided at the upper end. The shaft rod 13 is equipped with a spring 16 for returning the locking mechanism 11 to its rotation, and the pedestal 12 is equipped with a spring 16 for returning the locking mechanism 11 to rotation.
Two stopper rods 17 are provided in the middle,
The rotation range of the lock mechanism 11 that rotates around the shaft rod 13 is regulated. Furthermore, the locking mechanisms 11 are arranged in two types, long and short, with different lengths, and the heads 15 of each locking mechanism 11 are positioned in two stages, upper and lower.

A vertical roller 18 made of nylon resin that supports the container 1 and an upper and lower horizontal roller 19 are protruded from one side plate 1a of the container 1 at an appropriate position, and a drive chain 20 and the container 1 are driven in circulation near the upper horizontal roller 19. A connecting body 21 is provided to connect the two. Similar to the drive chain 20, the vertical rollers 18 and horizontal rollers 19 facing the upper and lower guide rails 22 that are installed in a circulating manner move the container 1 through the guide rails 22.
The container 1, which is connected to the drive chain 20, is connected to the upper and lower guide rails 2.
Move according to 2.

A marker 23 for each compartment 4 is provided protruding from the upper part of the other side plate 1b of the container 1, and the marker 23 faces a proximity detector (not shown) provided at a predetermined position along the moving path of the container 1.

An unlocking mechanism 30 of the lock mechanism 11 is installed at a predetermined position along the movement path of the container 1, facing the lock mechanisms 11 provided on one side plate 1a of the container 1, and operated by a signal from a proximity detector. Unlocking mechanism 3
0 is an upper and lower two-stage actuating body 3 that can move forward and backward to a position facing each head 15 of the two-stage locking mechanism 11.
The upper and lower actuating bodies 31 each have a long hole 32 formed at their rear end, and a support pin 33 that is located between the two actuating bodies 31 and projects vertically from each of the long holes 32.
It is supported so that it can move forward and backward, and has a long hole 32.
is longer than the diameter of the support pin 33. Upper and lower link plates 3 are provided near each tip of the upper and lower actuating bodies 31.
4 is fixed at one end, and upper and lower transmission plates 35 are respectively fixed to the other ends of both link plates 34, and both transmission plates 35 are connected to electromagnetic solenoids 36, which are drive sources, provided above and below the frame member 37. do. Further, between the upper and lower link plates 34, a support shaft is provided that passes through each center of both link plates 34, and the upper and lower link plates 34 are rotatable about the support shaft. Upper and lower link boards 34
Upper and lower springs 38 for returning each operating body 31 are provided between the frame member 37 and the upper and lower springs 38, respectively. This unlocking mechanism 30
The movement of an electromagnetic solenoid 36 that operates backward is transmitted to a transmission plate 35, and the actuating body 31 is moved forward by a link plate 34 that rotates.The actuating body 31 that has moved forward hits a stopper 39 made of rubber. The spring 38 returns to its original position until it makes contact.

A guide member 27 made of a flat belt or the like is provided within the movement path of the container 1 located below each bottom plate 7 of the container 1 and inclined upward in the direction of movement of the container 1. The guide member 27 has both ends attached to appropriate supports 2.
8.

The operation of the present invention will now be explained. A predetermined number of consecutive containers 1 are connected to upper and lower guide rails 22.
Accordingly, the drive chain 20 horizontally circulates within the conveyor device at a predetermined speed. At the input section (not shown) of the conveyor device for the conveyed articles M, the conveyed articles M whose destination has been specified temporarily wait for the approach of the container 1 which is circulating in the lower part. When the compartment 4 of the designated container 1 that matches the destination of M approaches, the designated container 1 is loaded into the compartment 4 by a separate synchronous running loading machine (not shown).
The transported object M accommodated in the designated compartment 4 of the container 1 is
As shown in FIG. 1, it moves forward (first
(see arrow A in the figure), and the lock mechanism 11 does not open the bottom plate 7 even when a heavy object M is loaded therein.

Subsequently, when the container 1 reaches the outlet (not shown) of the conveyor device, the proximity detector detects the marker 2.
detecting the arrival of the designated compartment 4 of the container 1 via 3;
The detection signal is transmitted to the unlocking mechanism 30. Unlocking mechanism 3
0 operates the upper or lower electromagnetic solenoid 36 facing the lock mechanism 11 in the compartment 4 to advance the actuating body 31 almost at the same time as receiving the detection signal.
The head 15 of the locking mechanism 11 at the tip of the operating body 31
hit. The locking mechanism 11 whose head 15 is struck rotates around the shaft 13 and releases the engagement between its hook portion 14 and the rotating piece 9 provided on the pivot 6 of the bottom portion 7. The disengaged rotary piece 9 rotates approximately half a turn downward due to the elastic force of the coil spring 8, and the pivot piece 9
The bottom plate 7 fixed to the bottom plate 7 is immediately opened (see FIGS. 4 and 5). The designated conveyance items M are discharged downward by opening the bottom plate 7 of the moving container 1, and are accumulated from a discharge chute to an accumulation section (not shown) at the same destination.

When each bottom plate 7 is opened and the empty container reaches the position of the guide member 27 for closing the bottom plate, each bottom plate 7 comes into contact with the upper surface of the guide member 27 that slopes upward in the direction of movement of the container 1. and gradually rotate upward. The upward rotation of each bottom plate 7 in the closing direction is as follows:
At the same time, the rotating piece 9 is rotated back via the pivot 6 that fixes the bottom plate 7. The rotating piece 9, which rotates back upward against the coil spring 8, slides into the tapered part 14a of the hook part 14 from the lower edge of the hook part 14 of the lock mechanism 11, and then rotates the spring 1.
The locking mechanism 11 is rotated about the shaft 13 against the rotation angle 6 (see the chain line state and the arrow RO in FIG. 4). When the hook part 14 has finished sliding with the tapered part 14a, the lock mechanism 11 returns due to the elastic force of the spring 16, and the hook part 14 of the lock mechanism 11 engages with the rotating piece 9, so that the bottom plate 7 (arrows B in Figures 3, 4, and 5,
(see c).

The container 1, which moves while gradually closing each bottom plate 7, makes a round to the input section of the conveyor device, and the next conveyed object M is input thereto.

According to the present invention configured as described above in detail, each bottom plate of the container can be reliably closed while the container circulates and moves in this type of conveyor device, and the moving operation of the container can be prevented. Each bottom plate can be closed using this method, and the closing mechanism can be made with an extremely simple structure. In addition, each bottom plate of the container is smoothly and gradually closed by the guide member,
Compared to a device that performs the closing operation all at once, this method has the advantage that no operating noise is generated during the closing operation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway front view, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal side view, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal front view, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion. The side view and FIG. 5 are enlarged front views of the parts, in which 1 is a container, 3 is a partition plate, 4 is a compartment, 6 is a pivot, and 7 is a side view.
1 is a bottom plate, 9 is a rotating piece, 11 is a lock mechanism, 14 is a hook portion, 15 is a head, 20 is a drive chain, 2
7 is a guide member, 30 is an unlocking mechanism, and 31 is an operating body.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A pivot with a rotating piece is provided at the bottom of each of the appropriate number of compartments formed in the moving container, and a bottom plate that can be opened and closed is fixed to each of the pivots, and the rotating piece of each compartment is fixed to each of the pivots. A bottom plate closing mechanism for a container for a sorting conveyor apparatus, comprising a rotatable locking mechanism that engages with the bottom plate, and a guide member that is located below the bottom plate and slopes upward in the direction of movement of the containers.