KR20240043676A - Sorting apparatus and article conveyance system - Google Patents

Abstract

Obtain new and improved sorting devices and material conveyance systems.
A sorting device that, in a first state in which the movable part is located in the first position, sorts the articles into a first conveyance path, and in a second state in which the movable part is located in a second position, sorts the articles into a second conveyance path, For example, when the classification device is restarted after the power supply to the classification device is cut off, when the position detection unit detects that the movable part is located in the second position, the drive control unit determines that the movable part is located in the second position. In addition to controlling the drive mechanism to do so, the conveyance control unit controls the conveyance mechanism to perform a conveyance operation of the article to the second conveyance path, and when the position detection unit detects that the movable portion is not located in the second position, The drive control unit controls the drive mechanism so that the movable portion is located in the first position.

Description

Sorting device and article conveyance system {SORTING APPARATUS AND ARTICLE CONVEYANCE SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to a sorting device and an article transport system.

Conventionally, a sorting device is known for sorting articles being transported on a conveyance path into a plurality of conveyance paths (for example, see Patent Document 1).

An article conveyance system including this type of sorting device includes, for example, an article sensor that detects articles at a plurality of positions on the conveyance path, and an identification information sensor that detects identification information of the article at a predetermined position on the conveyance path; there is. The product transport system determines the approximate location of the product on the transport route and the identification information of the product by associating the detection information of the product with the identification information. Then, the classification device classifies the arrived article into a conveyance path corresponding to the article among the plurality of conveyance paths, based on the identification information associated with the detection information of the article.

Japanese Patent No. 4715663 Publication

In the product transport system with the above-described configuration, if a power outage suddenly occurs, there is a risk that the actual position of the product and the detection information of the product may be misaligned, or the detection information may be lost. In particular, if there are articles in the sorting device or near its entrance, there is a risk that the sorting device may not be able to classify the articles correctly when restarted after a power outage. For example, workers may need to use the identification information of the actual articles. There was a risk that it would take time to confirm and take or send the item to the correct return route according to the identification information, and it would take time to restore normal operation.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to obtain a new and improved sorting device and article transport system that makes it possible to reduce the effort and time required for restoration even when a power outage occurs suddenly, for example.

The sorting device of the present invention includes, for example, a movable part movable between a first position and a second position, and a drive that moves the movable part so as to be switchable between a state positioned in the first position and a state positioned in the second position. A drive control unit that controls the drive mechanism so that the movable part is located in the first position or the second position in correspondence to each of the mechanism and the article, and a position detection unit that detects whether the movable part is in the second position. and a conveyance mechanism that conveys the article to a first conveyance path or a second conveyance path, and a conveyance control portion that controls the operation of the conveyance mechanism, and in a first state in which the movable portion is located at the first position, A sorting device that sorts the articles into a first conveyance path and, in a second state in which the movable part is located in a second position, sorts the articles into a second conveyance path, wherein the power supply to the sorting device is cut off. At the time of subsequent restart, when the position detection unit detects that the movable part is located in the second position, the drive control unit controls the drive mechanism so that the movable part is located in the second position, The transport control unit controls the transport mechanism to perform a transport operation of the article to the second transport path, and when the position detection unit detects that the movable part is not located in the second position, the drive The control unit controls the drive mechanism so that the movable part is located at the first position.

Additionally, the product transport system of the present invention includes, for example, the sorting device, the first transport path, and the second transport path.

1 is an exemplary and schematic plan view of an article conveyance system including a sorting device of the first embodiment.
Fig. 2 is an exemplary and schematic rear view of a part of the classification device of the embodiment.
3 is an exemplary block diagram of a classification device of the embodiment.
Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a control procedure upon restarting after a power failure by the classification device of the embodiment.
Fig. 5 is an exemplary and schematic plan view of an article conveyance system including a sorting device of the second embodiment.
Fig. 6 is an exemplary and schematic plan view of an article conveyance system including a sorting device of the third embodiment.
Fig. 7 is an exemplary and schematic plan view of an article conveyance system including a sorting device of the fourth embodiment.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are disclosed. The configuration of the embodiment shown below, and the actions and results (effects) obtained from the configuration, are examples. The present invention can be realized by configurations other than those disclosed in the embodiments below. Additionally, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain at least one of various effects (including derivative effects) obtained by the following configuration.

A plurality of embodiments illustrated below include similar configurations, and according to each embodiment, similar effects based on these similar configurations are obtained. In addition, in the following, similar components are given common symbols and overlapping descriptions may be omitted.

Additionally, in this specification, ordinal numbers are given for convenience to distinguish positions, structures, etc., and do not indicate priority or order, nor do they limit the number.

Additionally, arrows indicating directions are drawn in each figure. The X and Y directions roughly follow the horizontal direction, and the Z direction roughly follows the vertical upward direction. The X direction, Y direction and Z direction are orthogonal to each other.

[First Embodiment]

[Configuration of the goods return system]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the article transport system 1A(1) of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1 , the product transport system 1A includes a transport path 10, a sorting device 100, a transport path 21, and a transport path 22.

The conveyance paths 10, 21, and 22 each have at least one conveyance mechanism for conveying the article A. The conveying mechanism is, for example, a conveyor such as a roller conveyor or a chain conveyor, but is not limited thereto. Additionally, the conveyance mechanism that conveys the article A right in front of the sorting device 100 in the conveyance path 10 is referred to as the conveyance mechanism 104.

In the conveyance path 10, article A is conveyed to the sorting device 100. The sorting device 100 selectively delivers the article A to either the conveyance path 21 or the conveyance path 22, that is, sorts it. In the conveyance paths 21 and 22, the articles A classified by the sorting device 100 are conveyed. The conveyance path 21 is an example of a first conveyance path, and the conveyance path 22 is an example of a second conveyance path.

An article sensor 40 is provided in the conveyance paths 10, 21, 22 and the sorting device 100, respectively. Each of the product sensors 40 outputs a detection signal for the product A at a predetermined transport position. Based on the detection signal, it is detected whether the article A exists at the conveyance position. In each of the conveyance paths 10, 21, and 22, a plurality of article sensors 40 are provided at predetermined intervals in the direction of conveyance of the article A. In addition, the sorting device 100 is also provided with a plurality of product sensors 40 corresponding to different transport positions of the products A. The article sensor 40 is, for example, but is not limited to a photoelectric sensor. In addition, the conveyance position indicates the position of the article A on the conveyance path 10, 21, 22 or the sorting device 100. The article sensor 40 is an example of an article detection unit.

Additionally, identification information sensors 50 (50-1, 50-2) are provided in the conveyance paths 10 and 21, respectively. The identification information sensor 50 reads the identifier assigned to the product A at a predetermined conveyance position and detects the identification information of the product A. The identification information sensor 50 is, for example, a code reader with a light receiving unit and a decoder, but is not limited thereto. Additionally, for example, the identifier may be an RFID (radio frequency identifier) tag, and in that case, the identification information sensor 50 may be an RFID reader. The identification information sensor 50 is an example of an identification information detection unit.

The identification information sensor 50-1 is located at the rear of the conveyance path 10 in the conveyance direction with respect to the sorting device 100, and is capable of detecting the identification information of the article A before entering the sorting device 100. It is prepared so that it can be done. Additionally, the identification information sensor 50-2 is located in front of the conveyance direction with respect to the sorting device 100 in the conveyance path 21, and is located at the product A classified from the sorting device 100 to the conveyance path 21. It is provided so that identification information can be detected.

[Classification device]

The sorting device 100 includes a conveyance mechanism 101 for conveying article A in the X direction toward the conveyance path 21, a conveyance mechanism 102 for conveying article A in the Y direction toward the conveyance path 22, and It has a conveyance mechanism 103 for conveyance toward the X direction. The conveyance mechanisms 101 to 103 are configured so as not to interfere with each other. The conveyance mechanisms 101 and 103 are, for example, roller conveyors, and the conveyance mechanism 102 is, for example, a chain conveyor, but is not limited thereto.

The sorting device 100 switches the state in which the conveyance mechanisms 101 and 103 convey article A and the state in which the conveyance mechanism 102 conveys article A by changing the position of the conveyance mechanism 102 up and down. do.

Figure 2 is a rear view of a part of the sorting device 100 viewed in the X direction. As shown in FIG. 2 , the conveyance mechanism 102 is configured to be movable between the first position P1 and the second position P2 above the first position P1.

In the first state S1 in which the conveyance mechanism 102 is at the first position P1, the upper surface 102a of the conveyance mechanism 102 is located below the upper surface 101a of the conveyance mechanism 101. In this first state S1, the article A is supported on the upper surface 101a of the conveyance mechanism 101 and is conveyed in the X direction by the conveyance mechanism 101, that is, it is classified into the conveyance path 21. do.

On the other hand, in the second state S2 in which the conveyance mechanism 102 is at the second position P2, the upper surface 102a of the conveyance mechanism 102 is located above the upper surface 101a of the conveyance mechanism 101. In this second state S2, the article A is supported on the upper surface 102a of the conveyance mechanism 102 and is conveyed in the Y direction by the conveyance mechanism 102, that is, it is classified into the conveyance path 22. do.

In this way, the sorting device 100 of the present embodiment has a first state S1 in which the article A is sorted into the conveyance path 21 by switching the first position P1 and the second position P2 of the conveyance mechanism 102. , the second state S2 in which the article A is sorted to the conveyance path 22 is switched. The conveyance mechanism 102 is an example of a movable part.

Additionally, various types of transers, sorters, diverters, etc. can be employed as the sorting device 100, and the configuration of the sorting device 100 and the movable portion is not limited to this example. Additionally, the movable portion of the sorting device may be configured to selectively guide the article A to one of the conveyance paths 21 and 22, and the first position P1 and the second position P2 may be different positions in the horizontal direction.

[Control of sorting device]

Figure 3 is a block diagram of the classification device 100. As shown in FIG. 3, the classification device 100 includes a computer and has an arithmetic processing unit 110, a main memory 121, and an auxiliary memory 122.

The calculation processing unit 110 is, for example, a processor (circuit). The main memory 121 is, for example, RAM (random access memory) or ROM (read only memory), and the auxiliary memory 122 is, for example, a HDD (hard disk drive) or SSD (solid state drive). . The arithmetic processing unit 110 reads and executes a program (application) stored in the ROM of the main memory 121 or the auxiliary memory 122. By operating according to a program, the processor operates the transport control unit 111, classification determination unit 112, drive control unit 113, end determination unit 114, article detection processing unit 115, identification information processing unit 116, and location. It operates as a detection processing unit 117 and a voltage detection processing unit 118. In this case, the program includes these transport control unit 111, classification determination unit 112, drive control unit 113, end determination unit 114, article detection processing unit 115, identification information processing unit 116, and position detection processing unit. 117, and a program module corresponding to each of the voltage detection processing unit 118.

A program is a file in an installable or executable format, and may be provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. A recording medium may also be referred to as a program product. Additionally, the program can be stored in the memory of a computer connected to a communication network and introduced into the computer by being downloaded via the network. Additionally, the program may be pre-built into ROM or the like.

Additionally, when at least part of the computer is comprised of hardware, the computer may include, for example, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

The ROM or auxiliary memory 122 of the main memory 121 includes a conveyance control unit 111, a classification determination unit 112, a drive control unit 113, an end determination unit 114, an article detection processing unit 115, and an identification unit. Information used in calculation processing by the information processing unit 116, position detection processing unit 117, and voltage detection processing unit 118 is stored. Additionally, the information used in the calculation process may be described within the program.

In addition, the calculation processing unit 110 includes transport mechanisms 101 to 104, a drive mechanism 140, an article sensor 40, an identification information sensor 50, a position sensor 161, and a voltage sensor 162. are electrically connected.

The transport control unit 111 can control the transport mechanisms 101 to 104 to transport the product A.

The classification determination unit 112 acquires the identification information of the product A from the identification information processing unit 116, and combines the identification information of the product A stored in the auxiliary storage unit 122 with the classification destination of the conveyance routes 21 and 22. By referring to the data indicating the correspondence, the return route 21, 22 serving as the sorting destination corresponding to the identification information of the article A is determined.

The drive control unit 113 controls the drive mechanism 140 so that the conveyance mechanism 102 as a movable part is positioned at the first position P1 or the second position P2. The drive mechanism 140 includes, for example, a motor, a deceleration mechanism, and a rotational linear conversion mechanism. In this case, the position of the conveyance mechanism 102 changes as the motor of the drive mechanism 140 rotates, and the conveyance mechanism 102 stops as the motor stops. That is, the drive mechanism 140 switches the state in which the conveyance mechanism 102 is located in the first position P1, the state in which it is located in the second position P2, and the state in which it moves between the first position P1 and the second position P2. You can. During normal operation, the drive control unit 113 ensures that the product A is transported along the transport paths 21 and 22 determined by the classification determination unit 112, that is, the transport mechanism 102 is configured to correspond to each item A. The drive mechanism 140 is controlled to be positioned at the first position P1 or the second position P2.

The end determination unit 114 determines whether to end control at the time of restart after a power outage. The operation of the end determination unit 114 will be described later.

The article detection processing unit 115 detects the presence or absence of article A at the conveyance position corresponding to the article sensor 40, based on the detection signal from each article sensor 40. The product sensor 40 and the product detection processing unit 115 are examples of the product detection unit.

The identification information processing unit 116 acquires identification information from each identification information sensor 50 and sends the identification information to the classification determination unit 112. Additionally, the identification information processing unit 116 may constitute an identification information detection unit together with the identification information sensor 50.

The position detection processing unit 117 detects the position of the conveyance mechanism 102 as a movable part based on the detection signal from the position sensor 161. The position detection processing unit 117 can detect at least whether the conveyance mechanism 102 is at the second position P2. The position sensor 161 outputs a detection signal of the position of the conveyance mechanism 102. The position sensor 161 is a sensor that outputs a detection signal when the conveyance mechanism 102 is located at the second position P2, for example, and is a photoelectric sensor, but is not limited to this. Additionally, in addition to a sensor that outputs a detection signal when the conveyance mechanism 102 is located at the second position P2, a sensor that outputs a detection signal when it is located at the first position P1 may be provided. The position sensor 161 and the position detection processing unit 117 are examples of the position detection unit.

The voltage detection processing unit 118 detects the voltage of the power supply to the classification device 100 based on the detection signal from the voltage sensor 162. The voltage detection processing unit 118 and the voltage sensor 162 are examples of the voltage detection unit.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 3, the classification device 100 may be provided with a spare power source 150. The backup power source 150 maintains the supply of operating power to at least the article sensor 40 even in the event of a power outage, and is, for example, an uninterruptible power supply device. Additionally, the backup power source 150 may maintain the supply of operating power to sensors other than the article sensor 40, such as the identification information sensor 50 and the position sensor 161, during a power outage. The spare power source may also be referred to as a backup power source. In addition, the voltage sensor 162, the arithmetic processing unit 110 as a computer, the main memory 121, and the auxiliary memory 122 are operated separately from the spare power supply 150 or by the spare power supply 150, It is configured so that operating power is supplied regardless of the presence or absence of .

Additionally, in this embodiment, in the event of a power outage, the supply of operating power to the conveyance mechanisms 101 to 104 and the drive mechanism 140 is not maintained, that is, it is cut off. This is because larger power is required to operate the transport mechanisms 101 to 104 and the drive mechanism 140, so the device configuration of the backup power supply becomes larger and the installation cost increases. Additionally, in this case, the supply of power to both the conveyance mechanisms 101 to 104 and the drive mechanism 140 does not need to be cut off.

[Control procedure when restarting after power outage]

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the classification device 100 when restarting after a power outage. When restarting after a sudden power outage, the sorting device 100 operates in a mode different from normal operation according to the procedure in FIG. 4. In addition, a power outage causes the power supply to the conveyance mechanisms 101 to 103, the conveyance mechanism 104, the drive mechanism 140, etc. of the sorting device 100 to be cut off.

When restarting after a power outage, the position detection processing unit 117 first detects whether the conveyance mechanism 102 is located at the second position P2 (S11).

In S11, when the position detection processing unit 117 detects that the transfer mechanism 102 is located at the second position P2 (“Yes” in S11), the drive control unit 113 detects the transfer mechanism 102 The drive mechanism 140 is controlled to maintain at the second position P2 (S12).

Then, the transport control unit 111 controls the transport mechanisms 101 to 104 to start the transport operation of the product A to the transport path 22 (S13). In addition, the transport operation in S13 means an operation that enables transport of the product A to the transport path 22. That is, in S13, if there is actually product A, the product A is returned, but if there is actually no product A, the product A is not returned.

Here, in the article detection processing unit 115, when the article A is detected (“Yes” in S14) at a predetermined conveyance position (predetermined position) of the article A set corresponding to the sorting device 100, the end determination unit After that, (114) tracks the transport position of product A, that is, performs additional monitoring of the transport position of product A, and at the point when it determines that the movement of product A to the transport route 22 is completed (“Yes” in S15) "), Ends a series of controls upon restart after a power outage. In other words, until the end determination unit 114 determines the end of control in S15, the transfer control unit 111 continues the transfer operation started in S13, and the drive control unit 113 continues the transfer operation to determine the end of control. The drive mechanism 140 is controlled so that A is conveyed to the conveyance path 22. Upon completion of the series of controls, the classification device 100 returns to normal operation. Additionally, if the end determination unit 114 does not determine that the movement of the product A to the conveyance path 22 has been completed (“No” in S15), S15 is repeated at predetermined time intervals. Additionally, the judgment in S15 may be completed by providing a time limit.

The predetermined position in S14, that is, the predetermined transport position of the product A set corresponding to the sorting device 100, is, for example, the position at which the detection signal by the product sensor 40A shown in FIG. 1 is output, the sorting device 100. It is forward in the conveyance direction with respect to the conveyance position within 100 or the conveyance position where identification information is detected by the identification information sensor 50-1, and is rear (front) in the conveyance direction with respect to the sorting device 100. This is the conveyance position, etc.

On the other hand, in S14, if the article A is not detected at the predetermined position (“No” in S14), the end determination unit 114 determines, for example, when a predetermined time has elapsed immediately after S13 (“No” in S16). Yes"), ends the series of controls upon restarting after a power outage. That is, upon restart after a power outage, control of the conveyance mechanisms 101 to 104 by the conveyance control unit 111 and control of the drive mechanism 140 by the drive control unit 113 are terminated. Thereby, the classification device 100 returns to normal operation. On the other hand, if the predetermined time elapses (“No” in S16), the process returns to S14. Here, the predetermined time of S16 is, for example, the longest time required for the article A to move from the conveyance position where identification information is detected by the identification information sensor 50-1 to the conveyance path 22, and has a safety factor greater than 1. It is the time multiplied by . Additionally, the timing start time of the predetermined time may be set appropriately before or after S12 or S13.

Furthermore, in S11, when the position detection processing unit 117 detects that the conveyance mechanism 102 is not located at the second position P2 (“No” in S11), the drive control unit 113 determines the conveyance mechanism ( The drive mechanism 140 is controlled to maintain the position 102) at the first position P1 or move it to the first position P1 (S17), and the series of controls at the time of restart after the power failure are completed. Thereby, the classification device 100 returns to normal operation.

According to the procedure of the present embodiment described above, when the conveyance mechanism 102 is located at the second position P2 upon restart after a power outage, the sorting device 100 is scheduled to sort the article A into the conveyance path 22. Based on the assumption that the product A was located within the sorting device 100 and immediately in front of the sorting device 100, the product A is sorted into the conveyance path 22. On the other hand, when the conveyance mechanism 102 is not located at the second position P2, the sorting device 100 moves the article A located within the sorting device 100 and immediately in front of the sorting device 100 along the conveying path ( 21). According to this embodiment, even if the reliability of the detection information or identification information of the product A is damaged due to a power outage, the sorting device 100 can automatically classify the product A upon restart after the power outage. there is. For this reason, compared to the conventional case where workers manually checked the identification information of all articles A located in or near the entrance of the sorting device 100 and classified them, the effort and time required for recovery can be reduced. there is.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 1, an identification information sensor 50-2 is provided in the conveyance path 21. Therefore, even if, for example, the article A that should have been originally classified into the conveyance path 22 is classified into the conveyance path 21 by the above-mentioned control, the identification detected by the identification information sensor 50-2 Based on the information, the article A can be returned to the return path 22. Additionally, in this case, the work of moving the article A from the take-out position 21P to the conveyance path 22 may be performed manually by a worker. Additionally, the identification information sensor 50 may also be provided in the conveyance path 22.

In addition, when the backup power supply 150 maintains the supply of operating power to at least the article sensor 40 even in the event of a power outage, the calculation processing unit 110 acquires and tracks even before the power outage even in the event of a power outage. It becomes easier to determine the return location of product A. In this case, the advantage is obtained that control during restart can be performed more smoothly, more quickly, or more reliably.

[Second Embodiment]

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the article transport system 1B(1) of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5 , in this embodiment, a sorting device 21D and a conveyance path 23 (discharge path) are provided in the conveyance path 21. The sorting device 21D is equipped with a conveyance mechanism 105 that can discharge the article A to a conveyance path 23 other than the conveyance path 21. The conveyance mechanism 105 is an example of a carrying out mechanism.

The sorting device 21D acquires the identification information of the article A obtained by the identification information sensor 50-2, and refers to the information indicating the conveyance route corresponding to the identification information. Then, when the conveyance path corresponding to the article A is not the conveyance path 21, the sorting device 21D operates the conveyance mechanism 105 so that the article A is discharged to the conveyance path 23 other than the conveyance path 21. ) or controls a switching mechanism that switches between valid and invalid operation of the conveyance mechanism 105.

With this configuration, if, in the control at the time of restart after the power failure described above, the article A, which should have been originally sorted into the conveyance path 22, is sorted into the conveyance path 21 by the sorting device 100, In this way, it is possible to prevent the product A from being transported ahead of the sorting device 21D in the transport path 21 in the transport direction. In addition, the article A may be carried from the conveyance path 23 to the conveyance path 22 by a worker, or may be brought in through a joining device of the conveyance path 23 and the conveyance path 22.

[Third Embodiment]

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the article transport system 1C (1) according to the third embodiment. As shown in Fig. 6, the product transport system 1C of the present embodiment is provided with a sorting device 21D and a transport path 23 similar to those of the second embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the conveyance path 23 is configured to return the article A to the entrance of the article A in the sorting device 100. Specifically, the product transport system 1C is provided with a joining device 10J that returns the product A transported on the transport path 23 to the transport path 10, and the joining device 10J is a sorting device. It is provided in front of 100 (rear in the conveyance direction) and in front of the conveyance position where identification information is detected by the identification information sensor 50-1. Accordingly, in the control at the time of restart after the above-mentioned power failure, even if the article A, which was originally to be sorted into the conveyance path 22 by the sorting device 100, is sorted into the conveyance path 21, the sorting device For example, 100 can classify the article A into the conveyance path 22 during normal operation after control at the time of restart after a power outage. The conveyance path 23 of the third embodiment is an example of the third conveyance path.

[Fourth Embodiment]

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the article transport system 1D (1) according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7 , in the product transport system 1D of the present embodiment, the transport path 21 carries products into the transport path 10 through the joining device 10J. The position of the joining device 10J in this case is the same as in the third embodiment. In this configuration, the conveyance path 21, together with the convergence device 10J, the conveyance path 10 between the convergence device 10J and the sorting device 100, and the sorting device 100, allow the product A to be conveyed. It forms a circular path. In this case, as in the third embodiment, in the control at the time of restart after the above-mentioned power failure, the article A, which should originally be sorted into the conveyance path 22 by the sorting device 100, is transferred to the conveyance path 21. Even if it has been sorted, the sorting device 100 can sort the article A into the conveyance path 22, for example, during normal operation after control at the time of restart after a power outage.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated above, the above-mentioned embodiments are examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The above embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, combinations, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition, each configuration, shape, and specifications (structure, type, direction, format, size, length, width, thickness, height, number, arrangement, location, material, etc.) can be appropriately changed and implemented.

1, 1A to 1D: Goods transport system
10: Return route
10J: Joining device
21: Return route (first return route)
21D: Sorting device
21P: Take-out position
22: Return route (second return route)
23: Return route (3rd return route)
40, 40A: Item sensor (item detection unit)
50, 50-1, 50-2: Identification information sensor (identification information detection unit)
100: Sorting device
101: Conveyance mechanism
101a: top surface
102: Conveyance mechanism (moving part)
102a: top surface
103: Conveyance mechanism
104: Conveyance mechanism
105: Conveyance mechanism (carry out mechanism)
110: Operation processing unit
111: Return control unit
112: Classification decision unit
113: Drive control unit
114: End decision panel
115: Article detection processing unit (item detection unit)
116: Identification information processing unit (identification information detection unit)
117: Position detection processing unit (position detection unit)
118: Voltage detection processing unit
121: main memory
122: Auxiliary memory unit
140: Drive mechanism
150: Reserve power
161: Position sensor (position detection unit)
162: voltage sensor
A: Goods
P1: first position
P2: second position
S1: first state
S2: second state

Claims (10)

a movable portion movable between a first position and a second position;
a drive mechanism that moves the movable part to switch between a state positioned in the first position and a state positioned in the second position;
a drive control unit that controls the drive mechanism so that the movable unit is positioned in the first position or the second position in response to each article;
a position detection unit that detects whether the movable part is in the second position;
a conveyance mechanism for conveying the article to a first conveyance path or a second conveyance path;
A conveyance control unit that controls the operation of the conveyance mechanism
Equipped with
In the first state in which the movable part is located in the first position, the article is classified into the first conveyance path, and in the second state in which the movable part is located in the second position, the article is classified into the second conveyance path. , is a sorting device,
When restarting after the power supply to the classification device is cut off,
When the position detection unit detects that the movable part is located at the second position, the drive control unit controls the drive mechanism so that the movable part is located at the second position, and the conveyance control unit is configured to: Controlling the conveyance mechanism to perform a conveyance operation of goods to the second conveyance path,
When the position detection unit detects that the movable part is not located in the second position, the drive control unit controls the drive mechanism so that the movable part is located in the first position. According to paragraph 1,
an article detection unit that detects whether the article is at a predetermined transport position;
A spare power supply that maintains the supply of operating power to the article detection unit even when the power supply to the sorting device is cut off.
Equipped with a sorting device. According to paragraph 2,
A sorting device configured to cut off the supply of operating power to at least one of the conveying mechanism and the driving mechanism when the power supply to the sorting device is cut off. According to paragraph 1,
An article detection unit capable of detecting whether the article is in a predetermined transport position,
At the time of the restart, the drive control unit detects that the movable part is located at the second position by the position detection unit, and when the article is detected by the article detection unit, at least the second position of the article is detected. 2. A sorting device that controls the drive mechanism to continue the conveyance operation until movement to the conveyance path is completed. According to paragraph 1,
When the position detection unit detects that the movable part is located in the second position, control of the drive mechanism by the drive control unit and control of the transport mechanism by the transfer control unit begin from a predetermined timekeeping start time. A sorting device that continues for a predetermined period of time and then ends. According to paragraph 1,
The first conveyance path is a conveyance path provided with an identification information detection unit that detects identification information of the article conveyed on the first conveyance path. A sorting device. According to clause 6,
The first conveyance route corresponds to the first conveyance route, and when it is determined from a detection signal by the identification information detection unit that the article in question is not an article to be conveyed on the first conveyance path, the article is A sorting device, which is a conveyance path provided with a carrying out mechanism for carrying out the first conveyance path. In clause 7,
The first conveyance path is a conveyance path in which a third conveyance path is provided, corresponding to the discharge mechanism, to convey the article carried out by the discharge mechanism to the entrance of the article of the sorting device. According to paragraph 1,
The sorting device wherein the first conveying path constitutes a circulation path for conveying the article to the article entrance of the sorting device. The sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The first return path,
The second return path
Equipped with a product return system.

Images