TW201425188A - Traversing conveyer and sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

A traversing conveyer and a sorting device are provided, wherein the convenience is increased by enlarging the setting degrees of freedom of a traversing target position, and the transporting efficiency of the goods is increased by enlarging the transporting speed of the traversed goods in a main transporting direction. A traversing conveyer transporting goods along a main transporting direction and traversing the goods in the left-right direction includes a plurality of width roller rows arranged along the main transporting direction. The plurality of rows of the width roller rows are classified into non-tilt rollers and tilt rollers. The roller's direction of non-tilt rollers is identical with the main transporting direction, and the roller's direction of tilt rollers is tilted relative to the main transporting direction. The positions of the non-tilt rollers and tilt rollers in the left-right direction can be changeable based on the rotating position of each roller. The rotating angle of a tilt roller adjacent to a non-tilt roller is the minimum value of the rotating angle of the tilt roller.

Description

Traverse conveyor and sorting equipment

The present invention relates to a traverse conveyor that traverses in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the main conveyance direction while conveying an article in the main conveyance direction, and a sorting device including the traverse conveyor.

Conventional traverse conveyors include a plurality of rows of roller rows arranged in the main conveying direction of the articles. The plurality of rollers constituting the horizontal roller row are arranged in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the main conveyance direction, and are conveyed by rotating around the rotation center line, and are rotatable around the rotation center line. Each of the rollers is rotated so as to be inclined with respect to the main conveyance direction, whereby the article is traversed in the left-right direction while being conveyed in the main conveyance direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Further, as a sorting device for sorting articles, there is known a sorting device including a plurality of rows of horizontal roller rows arranged in the main conveying direction of the articles, and the plurality of rollers constituting the horizontal roller row are simultaneously rotated around the respective rotation center lines. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).

[Background literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-174318 (paragraphs 0034 to 0054, 0070 to 0072, Figs. 1 to 6, and Fig. 9)

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 11-208876 (paragraph 0019-0065, Figs. 1 to 6)

However, in the traverse conveyor that changes the article conveyed in the main conveyance direction, that is, the traverse conveyor that traverses the article in the left-right direction, all the rollers constituting the horizontal roller row are used for traverse When the direction of the roller is rotated so as to be inclined at the same steering angle with respect to the main conveyance direction, there is no target position in the left-right direction for setting the traverse in each of the horizontal roller rows (hereinafter, referred to as "traverse target" The wheel of the position ").

Therefore, there is a problem in that the degree of freedom in setting the traverse target position is small, for example, it is impossible to traverse to the middle of the horizontal roller row in the left-right direction (that is, the center traverse), etc., thereby traversing the convenience of the conveyor. Low sex.

Further, in the case of performing central traverse with a traverse conveyor including two kinds of oblique rollers whose roller directions are fixed in different directions, the traverse target position is one, and thus there is still a set degree of freedom of traverse target position. Small, traversing conveyor has low convenience.

Further, in the case where the roller directions of all the rollers of the horizontal roller row are the same for the traverse, there is no roller whose roller direction is directed to the main conveyance direction, and therefore there is a problem in the traverse conveyor that it is difficult to make the traverse The speed component in the main conveyance direction of the conveyance speed of the article traversing the target position is increased, and the conveyance efficiency of the traverse conveyor is lowered.

Therefore, if the speed component in the main conveyance direction of the conveyance speed of the article in the conveyance conveyor is increased in order to increase the conveyance efficiency, the speed component in the left-right direction of the conveyance speed is reduced, and thus there is a problem in that In the case where the position of the article immediately before moving into the traverse conveyor is away from the traverse target position in the left-right direction, the movement of the article to the traverse target position takes time, and in order to traverse to the traverse target position, traverse The conveyor becomes large in the main conveying direction.

On the other hand, if the steering angle in the direction of the roller is increased or the transport speed is increased in order to speed up the arrival of the article to the traverse target position, the position of the article immediately before being moved into the traverse conveyor approaches the traverse in the left-right direction. In the case of the target position, there is a case where the article moves beyond the traverse target position in the left-right direction. Therefore, if the conveyance speed of the article is reduced in order to suppress the phenomenon of the article with respect to the traverse target position, the speed component in the main conveyance direction also becomes small, and the conveyance efficiency of the traverse conveyor is lowered.

The present invention can solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a traverse conveyor that improves convenience by increasing the degree of freedom in setting a traverse target position, and by moving the main conveyance direction of the traversed article. The transport speed on the upper side is increased to improve the transport efficiency of articles.

Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a traverse conveyor which also improves traverse efficiency and traverse accuracy to a target traverse position, and is small in the main conveyance direction.

Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a sorting apparatus which can improve the efficiency of sorting work by including a traverse conveyor and a sorting device which achieve the object, and which is small in size and can be cost-reduced. .

First, the present invention provides a traverse conveyor comprising a horizontal roller row group, the horizontal roller row group comprising a plurality of rows of horizontal roller rows arranged along a main conveying direction of the article, the horizontal roller column including along the main conveying a plurality of predetermined number of rollers arranged in the left-right direction orthogonal to the direction, and the roller that conveys the article by rotating around the rotation center line can be rotated about the rotation center line to the roller direction with respect to the a plurality of rotational positions at which the steering angle is formed by the main transport direction, and the roller is inclined with respect to the main transport direction, and the article is transported in the main transport direction while in the horizontal direction In the traverse, the traverse conveyor solves the problem by dividing the predetermined number of the rollers into one or a plurality of adjacent ones in the left-right direction. a non-tilting roller, and one or more inclined rollers, wherein the roller direction of the non-tilt roller is the same as the main conveying direction, and the roller direction of the inclined roller is opposite to The main conveyance direction is inclined, and in the horizontal roller row, the positions of the non-tilt roller and the inclined roller in the left-right direction may be changed according to the rotational position of each of the rollers, including Said non-tilt in the horizontal roller column group The non-inclined roller group of the roller forms one or more rows of non-inclined longitudinal roller rows, and the one or more rows of non-inclined vertical roller rows are a column arranged by the non-tilting roller along the main conveying direction or a plurality of rows of non-inclined vertical roller rows adjacent in the left-right direction, and an inclined roller group including the inclined rollers in the horizontal roller row group forms one or more inclined vertical roller rows, and the one or more inclined vertical roller rows are The inclined roller is arranged in the main conveying direction, and in the horizontal roller row, the inclined roller adjacent to the non-tilting roller in the left-right direction is the one adjacent rocking roller The steering angle of the adjacent inclined roller is a minimum value of the steering angle of the inclined roller, and in the case where the adjacent inclined roller has one on the left side and the right side with respect to the non-tilted roller The steering angle of the adjacent inclined roller on the left side is the minimum value of the steering angle of all the inclined rollers on the left side, and the steering angle of the adjacent inclined inclined roller on the right side is located All sides of the tilt wheel steering angle the minimum.

The present invention solves the above problems. In the above-described configuration, in the horizontal roller row, a plurality of the rollers are the inclined rollers, and the inclined roller group forms a plurality of rows of the inclined vertical rollers. In the row of the horizontal rollers, the steering angle of the inclined roller closer to the non-tilt roller in the left-right direction is smaller.

The present invention solves the above problems in that, in the above-described configuration, in each of the non-tilted vertical roller rows, the non-tilt rollers of the non-tilted vertical roller row have the same roller direction In each of the inclined vertical roller rows, the roller directions of the inclined rollers of the inclined vertical roller row are the same.

The present invention solves the above problems by the above-described configuration. The traverse conveyor includes one or more traverse units having one or more rows of the horizontal roller rows, and the traverse unit includes a single actuator of all of the rollers of the traverse unit that rotates simultaneously, the actuator rotating all of the rollers of the traverse unit in the following manner: in the row of the roller Having one or more middle rollers located in the middle portion in the left-right direction, one or more left rollers positioned on the left side with respect to the middle roller via one or more of the rollers, and relative to the middle roller One of the one or more right rollers positioned on the right side with one or more of the rollers is the non-tilted roller.

The present invention also provides a sorting apparatus comprising: the above-described traverse conveyor; a supply conveyor disposed upstream of the traverse conveyor; and a sorting line disposed downstream of the traverse conveyor, said Sorting the articles conveyed by the conveyor; the sorting device solves the problem by: the sorting line includes: a main conveyor, transporting articles from the traverse conveyor; and more than one classification a device disposed in the middle of the main conveyor; and a branch line that transports the articles classified by the sorting device; the traversing manner of the horizontal roller row group may be according to the rollers in the horizontal roller row The rotational position is changed to a central traverse mode when the position of the non-inclined vertical roller row is the middle position in the left-right direction; and the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row is relative to the left-right direction a left traverse mode when the middle position is the left position; and a position of the non-tilted vertical roller row when the position is the right position with respect to the middle position in the left and right direction Traverse mode; the branch line comprises: with respect to the main conveyor and located on the left a left branch conveyor on the side and a right branch conveyor on the right side; the sorting manner of the sorting device may be changed to: a left sorting mode, and moving the article traversed by the left traverse to the left branch transport The right sorting mode moves the article traversed by the right traverse to the right branch conveyor; and the traverse position maintaining mode maintains the position moved by the traverse conveyor to move the article The main conveyor to the downstream.

In the present invention, the expression "identical" means substantially the same. Moreover, the expression "substantially" refers to the case of including the qualifier without "substantially", and indicates that although strictly speaking, it is not consistent with the case of the qualifier without "substantially" (for example, the inconsistency caused by the tolerance) However, there is no meaningful difference in the effect of the effect compared to the case where there is no "substantial" modifier.

The direction of the roller of the roller is a direction orthogonal to the center line of rotation of the roller as seen from the direction in which the center line of rotation of the roller extends.

The steering angle is an angle that includes 0°.

Therefore, the traverse conveyor of the present invention includes a horizontal roller row group including a plurality of rows of horizontal roller rows arranged in the main conveying direction of the article, and the horizontal roller row includes a predetermined number arranged in the left-right direction orthogonal to the main conveying direction. The plurality of rollers can be rotated by the rotation center line around the rotation center line to a plurality of rotation positions in which the roller direction forms a steering angle with respect to the main conveyance direction, and the plurality of rollers are used. The roller that is inclined with respect to the main conveyance direction traverses in the left-right direction while conveying the article in the main conveyance direction, thereby not only utilizing a plurality of rollers arranged in the main conveyance direction and the left-right direction and rotatable about the rotation center line, and the article is conveyed in the main conveyance direction, and a plurality of traverse directions in the left-right direction are set according to the rotation position of the roller, and The effects unique to the present invention.

That is, according to the traverse conveyor of the present invention, in the horizontal roller row, a predetermined number of rollers are divided into one or a plurality of non-tilt rollers adjacent to each other in the left-right direction, and one or more inclined rollers, The direction of the roller of the inclined roller is the same as the direction of the main conveyance, and the direction of the roller of the inclined roller is inclined with respect to the main conveying direction. In the horizontal roller row, the positions of the non-tilt roller and the inclined roller in the left and right directions can be respectively according to the rotational position of each roller. Further, the non-tilted roller group including the non-tilt rollers in the horizontal roller row group is formed by a row in which the non-tilting rollers are arranged in the main conveying direction or a plurality of rows of non-tilting vertical roller columns adjacent in the left-right direction, including the horizontal The inclined roller group of the inclined roller in the roller row group forms one or more inclined vertical roller rows arranged by the inclined roller in the main conveying direction, and the inclined roller adjacent to the non-tilting roller in the horizontal direction in the horizontal roller row That is, in the case where the adjacent inclined roller is one, the steering angle of the adjacent inclined roller is the minimum value of the steering angle of the inclined roller, and the adjacent inclined roller is opposite. In the case where there is one of the left and right sides of the non-tilt roller, the steering angle of the adjacent inclined roller on the left side is the minimum value of the steering angle of all the inclined rollers on the left side, and the steering angle of the adjacent inclined roller on the right side is all on the right side. The minimum value of the steering angle of the inclined roller is such that the articles carried into the traverse conveyor are transported by the inclined vertical roller row constituted by the inclined rollers of the respective roller rows, and are moved in the main transport direction while being moved in the left-right direction. a non-tilted roller that is up close to each horizontal roller row The direction of the non-inclined vertical roller row moves to traverse to the non-tilted vertical roller row, and the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row in the left-right direction is traversed as the traverse target position. Further, since the position of the non-inclined vertical roller row in the left-right direction can be changed according to the rotational position of each roller of the horizontal roller row group, the traverse can be changed by changing the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row in the left-right direction. Since the target position is set, the degree of freedom in setting the traverse target position becomes large, and the convenience of the traverse conveyor can be improved.

Further, since the roller direction of each of the non-tilted rollers of the non-tilted vertical roller row is the same as the main transport direction, the non-tilted vertical roller row is transported in the main transport direction by the transport speed at which the speed component in the main transport direction is large. The article, and because the steering angle of the adjacent inclined roller of the inclined vertical roller row is the minimum of the steering angle of all the inclined rollers, the speed component in the main conveying direction with respect to the speed component in the left-right direction is adjacent to the inclined roller is larger than When the conveyance speed of the other inclined roller is equal to or larger than the conveyance speed of the other slanting roller, the conveyance speed of the traversed article in the main conveyance direction becomes larger in the horizontal roller row group. Thereby, the conveyance efficiency of the articles in the traverse conveyor can be improved.

According to the traverse conveyor of the present invention, in addition to the above effects, in the horizontal roller row, the plurality of rollers are inclined rollers, and the inclined roller group forms a plurality of rows of inclined vertical roller rows, and in the horizontal roller row, the closer to the left in the left-right direction The smaller the steering angle of the inclined roller of the inclined roller, the closer the speed of the article transport speed to the left-right direction is, the more the speed component in the main transport direction with respect to the speed component in the left-right direction. Therefore, it is possible to improve the transport efficiency of the traversed articles in the main transport direction.

Further, since the articles that are carried into the horizontal roller row group at a position away from the non-tilted vertical roller row (or the traverse target position) in the left-right direction are directed toward the non-tilted vertical roller at a conveying speed in which the speed component in the left-right direction is large. Since the column is transported, the traverse to the target traverse position becomes rapid, and the article that is carried into the horizontal roller train group at the position close to the non-tilted vertical roller row in the left-right direction and the traverse to the non-tilt longitudinal The article in the vicinity of the roller row is moved toward the non-tilted vertical roller row by the conveyance speed of the inclined roller in the left-right direction with respect to the speed component in the main conveyance direction, and is smaller than the distance in the left-right direction. The phenomenon that the article moves beyond the target traverse position in the left-right direction is suppressed, and the traverse to the target traverse position becomes rapid, so that the traverse efficiency and the traverse accuracy to the target traverse position can be improved, and The traverse conveyor is miniaturized in the main conveying direction.

Further, when the roller at the end portion in the left-right direction is a non-tilt roller, the movement in the left-right direction is relatively reduced by the relative decrease in the velocity component in the left-right direction, so that the article can be prevented from being traversed by the traverse. The effect of the conveyor drop is increased.

According to the traverse conveyor of the present invention, in addition to the above-described effects, in each of the non-inclined vertical roller rows, the non-tilted roller rows of the non-tilted vertical roller rows have the same roller direction, and in each column of the inclined vertical roller rows, the inclined vertical Since the roller directions of the inclined rollers of the roller row are the same, it is easy to smooth the traverse and ensure stability over the entire range in the main transport direction, and it is easy to change the positions of the non-tilt roller and the tilt roller in the horizontal roller row, and It is easy to increase or decrease the horizontal roller row depending on the article, for example, the length of the article in the main conveying direction, and the like, so that the convenience of the traverse conveyor can be improved.

According to the traverse conveyor of the present invention, in addition to the above effects, the traverse conveyor includes one or more traverse units having one or more rows of horizontal roller rows, and the traverse unit includes a single unit that simultaneously rotates all the rollers of the traverse unit Actuator, the actuator rotates all the rollers of the traverse unit in such a manner that, in the row of the horizontal rollers, one or more middle rollers located in the middle portion in the left-right direction are separated from each other on the left side with respect to the middle roller One or more left rollers positioned by the above rollers and one or more right rollers positioned with one or more rollers on the right side of the middle roller become non-tilt rollers, thereby utilizing a single The setting of the non-tilt roller of the actuator is three kinds of traverse modes of the three types of rollers, the middle roller, the left roller and the right roller, which are separated from each other by the roller in the left-right direction, and therefore, the structure of the traverse conveyor becomes Simple, you can cut the cost of the traverse conveyor.

Further, the interval of the traverse target position in the left-right direction can be easily changed by changing the number of the intermediate rollers which are respectively between the middle roller and the left roller and between the middle roller and the right roller, that is, the number of the intermediate rollers. Therefore, the degree of freedom in the design of the traverse conveyor is increased, and for example, the number of the intermediate rollers is changed depending on the size of the article in the left-right direction, and the convenience of the traverse conveyor can be improved.

According to the sorting apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the above effects, the sorting apparatus includes: a traverse conveyor; a supply conveyor disposed upstream of the traverse conveyor; and a sorting line disposed downstream of the traverse conveyor, facing the cross The articles transported by the conveyor are classified; the sorting line includes: a main conveyor that transports articles from the traverse conveyor; one or more sorting devices disposed in the middle of the main conveyor; and a branch line that is transported by the sorting device Item; the traversing method of the horizontal roller column group can be based on the horizontal The rotation position of each of the rollers in the roller row is changed to a central traverse mode when the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row is the middle position in the left-right direction; the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row is relative to the middle position in the left-right direction. The left traverse mode when the position is the left side; and the right traverse mode when the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row is the right position with respect to the middle position in the left-right direction; the branch line includes: the left side with respect to the main conveyor The left branch conveyor and the right branch conveyor on the right side; the classification method of the sorting device can be changed to: the left sorting mode, moving the article traversed by the left traverse to the left branch conveyor; the right sorting mode enables The article traversed by the right traverse mode moves to the right branch conveyor; and the traverse position maintenance mode maintains the position after the traverse of the traverse conveyor to move the article to the downstream main conveyor, thereby traversing the conveyance The articles transported by the machine and moved into the sorting device are traversed to the left and right sides respectively corresponding to the left branch conveyor and the right branch conveyor with respect to the sorting device, so The sorting by the sorting device is easy. Therefore, as the transport efficiency of the traverse conveyor is improved, the efficiency of the sorting operation of the sorting device can be improved, and the sorting device can be downsized, and the sorting device can be miniaturized and reduced. cost.

3, 4‧‧‧ arrow view direction

10‧‧‧Classification equipment

11‧‧‧Supply conveyor

12‧‧‧ classification line

20‧‧‧Main conveyor

20a‧‧‧Inlet conveyor

21‧‧‧The most upstream conveyor

22‧‧‧Intermediate conveyor

23‧‧‧The most downstream conveyor

30‧‧‧Classification device

30A‧‧‧Upstream classification device

30B‧‧‧Classification device

35‧‧‧Classification wheel

50‧‧‧ branch line

51, 51A, 51B‧‧‧ left branch conveyor

52, 52A, 52B‧‧‧ right branch conveyor

60‧‧‧ Guide members

61‧‧‧Left guide member

62‧‧‧right guiding member

100‧‧‧travel conveyor

101‧‧‧ machine base

102‧‧‧ cover

102a‧‧‧ round hole

110‧‧‧Wheel Roller Group

111‧‧‧Unit wheel column

112‧‧‧Wheel roller column

120‧‧‧Roller

120C‧‧‧Central wheel

120L‧‧‧left end roller

120R‧‧‧Right end wheel

121‧‧‧Non-tilt wheel

122‧‧‧Tilt wheel

122E‧‧‧Adjacent inclined roller

123‧‧‧Non-tilt vertical roller column

124‧‧‧inclined vertical roller column

126‧‧‧ outer perimeter

127‧‧‧Central contact surface

128‧‧‧End contact surface

130‧‧‧Support base

131‧‧‧Unit support base

132‧‧‧Support frame

134, 135‧‧‧ Linkage Department

138‧‧‧Installation Department

140‧‧‧Roller support

141‧‧‧Roller support frame

142‧‧‧Rotating support members

143‧‧‧Rotating body

143a‧‧‧Rotating arm

144‧‧‧ joint axis

145‧‧‧Rotary axis

146‧‧‧ pivotal department

147‧‧‧ force spring

150‧‧‧Rotary drive mechanism

151‧‧‧ cylinder

152‧‧‧Cylinder

153, 154‧‧‧ action rod

155‧‧‧Linked institutions

156‧‧‧Connected shaft

157‧‧‧Shake arm

158‧‧‧Connected body

159‧‧‧Relay links

160‧‧‧ drive shaft

170‧‧‧Rotary drive mechanism

171‧‧‧Electric motor

172‧‧‧Winding drive mechanism

173‧‧‧Belt

180‧‧‧Control device

181‧‧‧Control Department

182‧‧‧Setting Department

183‧‧‧Detection Department

184‧‧‧ traverse item information detecting element

185‧‧‧Classification information detection component

185A‧‧‧Article information detection component

F‧‧‧Floor

W, W1~W5‧‧‧ items

Lh‧‧‧ horizontal axis

Lr‧‧‧Rotation centerline

Ls‧‧‧ shaking center line

Lv‧‧‧vertical axis

P1~P3‧‧‧ Rotating position

U‧‧‧ traverse unit

θ 1~θ 3‧‧‧ steering angle

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 1(a) is a partially omitted schematic plan view of a sorting apparatus including a traverse conveyor, and Fig. 1(b) is an enlarged view of a main part of a portion b of Fig. 1(a) .

Figure 2 is the main traverse conveyor of the sorting device of Figure 1 in the central traverse mode To partially enlarge the picture.

Fig. 3 is a view showing a main portion of the traverse conveyor in the arrow 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view showing a main portion of the traverse conveyor in the arrow 4 of Fig. 2;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the traverse unit of the traverse conveyor of Figure 2;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a main portion at a line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of a main part of the traverse conveyor similar to Fig. 2, and is a view in the left traverse mode.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of a main portion of the traverse conveyor similar to Fig. 2, and is a view in the right traverse mode.

The traverse conveyor of the present invention may be any one as long as it is a traverse conveyor, and the traverse conveyor includes a horizontal roller train including a plurality of rows of horizontal roller rows arranged in the main conveyance direction of the article. The group and the horizontal roller row include a predetermined number of rollers arranged in the left-right direction orthogonal to the main conveyance direction, and the roller that conveys the article by rotating around the rotation center line can be rotated around the rotation center line to a plurality of rotational positions in which the direction of the roller forms a steering angle with respect to the main conveyance direction, and the roller that is inclined with respect to the main conveyance direction by the roller direction moves the article in the left-right direction while being conveyed in the main conveyance direction, and the horizontal roller row The predetermined number of rollers are divided into one or a plurality of non-tilt rollers adjacent to each other in the left-right direction, and one or more inclined rollers, and the direction of the roller of the non-inclined roller is The conveying direction is the same, and the direction of the roller of the inclined roller is inclined with respect to the main conveying direction. In the horizontal roller row, the positions of the non-tilting roller and the inclined roller in the left-right direction can be changed according to the rotational position of each roller, and the horizontal roller row is included. The non-inclined roller group of the non-tilted roller in the group forms a row which is arranged by the non-inclined roller in the main conveying direction or a plurality of rows of non-tilted vertical roller columns adjacent in the left-right direction, and includes the inclined roller in the horizontal roller group The inclined roller group forms one or more inclined vertical roller rows arranged by the inclined roller in the main conveying direction, and in the horizontal roller row, the inclined roller adjacent to the non-tilting roller in the left-right direction is the adjacent inclined roller. In this case, the steering angle of the adjacent inclined roller is the minimum value of the steering angle of the inclined roller, and in the case where the adjacent inclined roller is one on the left side and the right side with respect to the non-tilted roller, the steering angle of the adjacent inclined roller on the left side is located. The minimum value of the steering angle of all the inclined rollers on the left side, and the steering angle of the adjacent inclined roller on the right side is the right side The minimum value of the steering angle of the tilting roller is increased, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in setting the traverse target position, and increasing the transport speed in the main transport direction of the traversed article. Improve the efficiency of the transfer of items.

For example, the number of rollers constituting the horizontal roller row of the traverse conveyor of the present invention may be an even number, or may be in the same number of rows in each of the horizontal roller rows, or may be in each column of the horizontal roller column or each of the plurality of columns. There are different numbers in the horizontal roller column. The plurality of rows of roller rows constituting the roller rows of the horizontal roller row may be adjacent to each other in the main conveyance direction, or may be spaced apart from each other by the other roller row.

[Examples]

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 9 .

With reference to Fig. 1, in the embodiment, the traverse conveyor 100 is installed in the sorting device 10 that is a transport device that transports a plurality of articles W of different types, and changes the article W while transporting the article W in the main transport direction. The traverse of the position in the left and right direction. The sorting device 10 is installed in a distribution facility, and performs a sorting operation of classifying the transported articles W according to their classification destinations.

The sorting device 10 includes, in addition to the traverse conveyor 100, a supply conveyor 11, which is disposed upstream of the traverse conveyor 100, carries the article W into the traverse conveyor 100, and a sorting line 12 as a downstream line is disposed at Downstream of the conveyor 100, the article W conveyed by the traverse conveyor 100 is conveyed; the guide member 60 corrects the posture of the article W conveyed by the traverse conveyor 100; and the control device 180 categorizes the object W according to the purpose of classification The sorting device 30 that traverses the conveyor 100 and the sorting line 12 is controlled.

The main conveyance direction is the conveyance direction of the article W in the traverse conveyor 100 that conveys the article W to the sorting line 12, and is preferably set to be the same as the conveyance direction of the article W in the entrance conveyor 20a in the sorting line 12.

The left and right direction is a direction orthogonal to the main conveyance direction. The plane including the main conveyance direction and the left-right direction is a horizontal plane orthogonal to the vertical direction (that is, the up-and-down direction) in this embodiment. The left and right are left and right when facing the main transport direction, respectively. Further, regarding the right and left, one of the left and right sides is one of the left and right sides, and the other side of the left and right is the other of the left and right sides.

The expressions "downstream" and "upstream" are expressions relating to the flow of the article W transported in the sorting device 10 (i.e., the movement of the article W).

The conveyance direction of the article W in the supply conveyor 11 in which the worker arbitrarily inputs the plurality of articles W is the same as the main conveyance direction.

The sorting line 12 includes a main conveyor 20 that transports articles W that are traversed by the traverse conveyor 100; one or more, in the present embodiment, a plurality of sorting devices 30 disposed in the middle of the main conveyor 20; and a branch line 50 It is branched from the main conveyor 20 and is the same number as the sorting device 30.

The main conveyor 20 includes: an upstream conveyor 21 disposed directly downstream of the traverse conveyor 100; one or more, in the present embodiment, a plurality of intermediate conveyors 22 located in the main conveyor 20 The conveyors 23 adjacent to each other in the transport direction and the conveyor 23 at the most downstream are disposed immediately downstream of the most downstream sorting device 30B. The most upstream conveyor 21 transports all the articles W transported by the traverse conveyor 100 in a state of being traversed (hereinafter referred to as a "traverse state"), that is, maintaining a position that has been traversed in the left-right direction. We carry out while carrying. Therefore, the article W in the traverse state is carried into the most upstream sorting device 30A by the most upstream conveyor 21. The inlet conveyor 20a includes a most upstream conveyor 21 and an upstream upstream sorting device 30A.

The branch line 50 is disposed on at least one of the right and left sides with respect to the main conveyor 20 for each sorting device 30. In the present embodiment, the left branch conveyor 51 and the right branch conveyor 52 disposed on the left and right sides are included.

Each of the conveyors 22, 51, 52 of the supply conveyor 11 and the sorting line 12 includes a drive type conveyor having a drive source, or a non-drive type conveyor (including a chute) having no drive source, or a drive type a combination of conveyor and non-driven conveyor, Further, it is a conveyor of any structure that can transport articles W, such as a roller conveyer or a belt conveyor.

The guide member 60 includes a left guide member 61 and a right guide member 62 which are disposed on the right side and the left side, respectively, with respect to the traverse conveyor 100. Each of the guide members 61 and 62 includes a pair of belt conveyors that move in the same moving direction as the main conveyance direction, and are disposed across the traverse conveyor 100 and the most upstream conveyor 21 in the main conveyance direction.

Each of the guide members 61, 62 contacts the article W traversed by the traverse conveyor 100, corrects the posture of the article W so as to follow the main conveyance direction, and restricts the article from the traverse conveyor 100 to the left and right direction. The amount of protrusion also helps to prevent the article W from falling off the traverse conveyor 100.

2 to 7, the traverse conveyor 100 includes a base 101 disposed on the floor F of the logistics facility, and a horizontal roller row group 110 including a plurality of rows of horizontal roller rows 112 arranged in the main conveying direction; The cover body 102 covers the gap between the rollers 120 formed in the roller group including all the rollers 120 constituting the horizontal roller row group 110 from above; the plurality of roller support bodies 140 are horizontal axes Lh as the rotation center line. The center rotatably supports each of the rollers 120; the support base 130 rotatably supports the rollers 120 via the roller support 140 with the vertical axis Lv as a center line of rotation and includes more than one unit, which is a plurality of units in this embodiment Supporting base 131; one or more, here a plurality of rotating drive mechanisms 150, rotating each roller 120 about a vertical axis Lv; more than one, here a plurality of line shafts 160 as rotating drives, about a horizontal axis Lh rotationally drives each of the rollers 120; and a rotary drive mechanism 170 that rotationally drives the drive shaft 160.

In the traverse conveyor 100, the horizontal roller train group 110, the support base 130 detachably fixed to the base 101, the rotational drive mechanism 150, the transmission shaft 160, and the rotary drive mechanism 170 are detachably mounted to the base. There are more than one, here, a plurality of five traverse units U (FIG. 4, FIG. 5) having substantially the same configuration.

The traverse conveyor 100 is constituted by the plurality of traverse units U, whereby the horizontal roller row 112, the roller support 140, the rotation drive mechanism 150, and the transmission shaft 160 can be easily attached and detached to the cradle 101, so that the traverse can be improved. The assembly and maintenance of the conveyor 100 are maintained.

Referring to FIGS. 5 to 7, each of the horizontal roller rows 112 includes a predetermined number of a plurality of the plurality of rollers 120 which are arranged in the left-right direction. The portion of the roller 120 that forms the contact surface with the propeller shaft 160, that is, the outer peripheral surface 126, is formed of a rubber material as a friction material that generates a frictional force between the portion and the propeller shaft 160 and the article W.

The outer peripheral surface 126 includes a middle contact surface 127, which is in contact with the transmission shaft 160 when the roller 120 is a non-tilt roller 121 to be described later and is constituted by a cylindrical surface, and a pair of end contact faces 128, and the roller 120 is a tilt roller 122 which will be described later. It is in contact with the drive shaft 160 and is composed of a spherical surface. As other examples, the central contact surface 127 and each end contact surface 128 may also be spherical surfaces of the same radius or different radii.

A part of the outer peripheral surface 126 penetrates the circular hole 102a provided in the lid body 102, protrudes upward from the lid body 102, and comes into contact with the article W conveyed on the lid body 102. The article W is supported by the plurality of rotating rollers 120 and is conveyed by a frictional force acting between the article W and the outer peripheral surface 126.

The friction coefficient of the outer peripheral surface 126 is set to be smaller than the value of the friction coefficient, that is, by the plurality of rollers 120 having the same direction as the roller (for example, the sorting roller 35 (FIG. 1(b)) of the sorting device 30) is transported. The coefficient of friction of the sorting roller 35 at the time of the article W. As a result, the swing in the left-right direction of the article W due to the difference in the direction of action of the frictional force generated by the contact of the plurality of rollers 120 different in the direction of the roller is reduced, and stable traverse can be performed.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 7 , the unit support base 131 includes a pair of support frames 132 , coupling portions 134 and 135 that couple the pair of support frames 132 , and a mounting portion 138 . A pair of coupling portions 134 rotatably support the transmission shaft 160.

The roller support body 140 includes a roller support frame 141 that rotatably supports the roller 120, and a rotation support member 142 that swingably supports the roller support frame 141 about a rocking center line Ls parallel to the horizontal axis Lh, and is rotatable about a vertical axis Lv And a biasing spring 147 that presses the roller 120 against the drive shaft 160.

The rotation support member 142 includes a rotation body 143 having a rotation arm 143a, a joint shaft 144 that is held by the rotation body 143 and rotatably supports the roller support frame 141, and a rotation shaft 145 rotatably supported by the support frame 132. .

The rotation drive mechanism 150 includes an air cylinder 151 as an actuator, and a coupling mechanism 155 that couples the cylinder 151 and the rotation arm 143a of each roller support 140.

The cylinder 151 fixed to the pair of support frames 132 is a tandem type cylinder mechanism, and includes: a cylinder 152; and a pair of action bars 153, 154 respectively slidably received a pair of pistons (piston) in the cylinder 152 (not shown) combined.

The first action bar 153 is pivotally connected to a pair of rocking arms 157 that are rockably supported by the two support frames 132, and the second action bars 154 are pivotally connected to the mounting portions 138 that are fixed to the two support frames 132.

The connecting mechanism 155 includes: a pair of rocking arms 157, integrally coupled with the connecting shaft 156 pivotally supported by each of the support frames 132; a plate-shaped pair of connecting bodies 158, pivotally connected to each of the rotating arms 143a through the pivoting portion 146; And a pair of relay links 159 connecting the pair of rocking arms 157 and the pair of connecting bodies 158, respectively.

The air cylinder 151 is controlled by the control device 180 (FIG. 1), and the roller support 140 and the roller 120 are rotated via the coupling mechanism 155 to control the rotational positions P1 to P3 of the respective rollers 120 (FIGS. 2, 8, and 9).

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotary drive mechanism 170 for rotationally driving each of the drive shafts 160 includes an electric motor 171 as a drive source, mounted on the base 101 and controlled by the control device 180 (FIG. 1); The winding transmission mechanism 172 has a belt 173 as a power transmission mechanism that transmits the power of the electric motor 171 to each of the transmission shafts 160. The electric motor 171 simultaneously rotates and drives the respective transmission shafts 160 of the traverse conveyor 100 in the same rotational direction. The main conveyance direction is a direction orthogonal to the rotation center line Lr (FIG. 6) of the transmission shaft 160 as seen from the direction in which the vertical axis Lv extends.

Referring primarily to Figures 2, 8, and 9, and with appropriate reference to Figures 3 through 5, all of the rollers 120 of the unit roller train 111 are driven by the drive shaft 160 and simultaneously rotated at the same rotational speed. Moreover, by using each of the rotational driving mechanisms 150 to drive the traverse transmission All the roller rows 112 of the conveyor 100 are rotated, and the rollers 120 of the roller row group 110 are synchronously rotated simultaneously to a plurality of rotational positions in which the roller directions respectively form different steering angles with respect to the main conveying direction, which is in this embodiment Three rotational positions P1 to P3 of three different steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 are respectively formed.

Further, each of the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 includes 0° and is an angle greater than or equal to 0° and less than 90°. When the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 are 0°, the direction of the roller is the same as the direction of the main conveyance.

Further, each of the rollers 120 in the horizontal roller row 112 is connected to the connecting body via the roller supporting body 140 in such a manner that its rotational positions P1 to P3 (that is, the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 in the roller direction) are different for each roller 120 . 158 links.

Therefore, the traverse mode of the articles W formed by the horizontal roller row group 110 can be changed in accordance with the rotational positions P1 to P3 of the respective rollers 120.

Specifically, at each of the rotational positions P1 to P3, all of the rollers 120 of the horizontal roller row 112 are divided into one non-tilt roller 121 and a plurality of tilt rollers 122 as non-specific rollers other than the tilt roller 121. The non-tilt roller 121 is a specific roller that defines a traverse target position, and the tilt roller 122 is a non-specific roller that traverses the article W toward the non-tilt roller 121.

The non-tilted roller group including all of the non-tilt rollers 121 in the horizontal roller row group 110 forms a row of non-tilted vertical roller rows 123 which are arranged in the main conveying direction by the non-tilting rollers 121. Further, the inclined roller group including all the inclined rollers 122 in the horizontal roller row group 110 forms a plurality of rows in which the inclined rollers 122 are arranged in the main conveying direction, and the number of rows in the embodiment and the inclination in the horizontal roller row 112 Roller 122 The number of inclined vertical roller rows 124 is the same.

The vertical axis Lv (Fig. 3) of the roller 120 constituting each of the vertical roller rows 123 and 124 is substantially located on one plane orthogonal to the left-right direction.

Further, the cylinder 151 (Fig. 3) rotates all the rollers 120 of the traverse unit U in such a manner that, in the horizontal roller row 112, one middle roller 120C and one left end of the left roller are rotated according to the rotational positions P1 to P3. One of the roller 120L and one of the right end rollers 120R as the right roller becomes a non-tilt roller 121 which is located in the middle in the left-right direction, and the left end roller 120L is located on the left side with respect to the middle roller 120C. In the above embodiment, in the position of a plurality of the two rollers 120, the right end roller 120R is located at a position separated from the middle roller 120C by one or more, and in the present embodiment, a plurality of rollers 120 on. Moreover, of all the rollers 120 of the horizontal roller row 112, only the three rollers 120 may become the non-tilt rollers 121.

Therefore, in each of the row roller rows 112 (or each column roller row 111), when the rollers 120 of the horizontal roller row 112 are located at the first rotational position P1 shown in FIG. 2, the horizontal roller row group 110 is formed as the first In the central traverse mode of the traverse mode, when located at the second rotational position P2 shown in FIG. 8, the horizontal roller train group 110 forms a left traverse mode as the second traverse mode, as shown in FIG. At the three rotation position P3, the horizontal roller row group 110 forms a right traverse mode as the third traverse mode.

As described above, in the horizontal roller row group 110, the central traverse mode is a mode in which the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row 123 is the middle position in the left-right direction, and the left traverse mode is the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row 123 in the left-right direction. Upper relative to the middle In the case of the left position, the right traverse mode is a mode in which the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row is the right position with respect to the middle position in the left-right direction.

Here, the middle position, the left side position, and the right side position are relative positions in the left-right direction in the horizontal roller row group 110, as long as the middle position is a position between the left side position and the right side position in the left-right direction.

In the present embodiment, the middle position is a center position which is a position which is equal to the left side position and the right side position defined by the left end roller 120L and the right end roller 120R in the left-right direction. Further, in the horizontal roller row 112, the middle roller 120C is a center roller which is a roller in a state in which the same number of inclined rollers 122 are used as intermediate rollers on the left and right sides with respect to the middle roller 120C, respectively. In the state of the interposition, the left end roller 120L and the right end roller 120R are the end rollers of the roller 120 located at the end in the left-right direction.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the first rotational position P1, in each of the horizontal roller rows 112, with respect to the non-tilted roller 121, the inclined rollers 122 on the left and right sides are substantially mirror images.

The direction of the roller of the non-tilt roller 121 is the same direction as the main conveyance direction (that is, the direction in which the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 are substantially 0°). Further, the roller direction of the tilt roller 122 is inclined with respect to the main conveyance direction so as to approach the non-tilt roller 121 in the main conveyance direction.

In each traverse mode, the roller direction of each of the most upstream inclined rollers 122 is directed to the most downstream non-tilt roller 121, for example, to the vertical axis Lv of the most downstream non-tilt roller 121.

The steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 of the tilt roller 122 are not increased as the tilt roller 122 approaches the non-tilt roller 121 in the left-right direction, and the closer to the tilt roller 122 of the non-tilt roller 121 in this embodiment The steering angle θ 1 to θ 3 is the smaller the angle.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the case where the adjacent inclined roller 122E adjacent to the non-tilt roller 121 in the left-right direction has one on the left side and the right side with respect to the non-tilt roller 121, the steering of the left adjacent inclined inclined roller 122E The angle θ 1 is the minimum value of the steering angle θ 1 of all the inclined rollers 122 on the left side, and the steering angle θ 1 of the adjacent inclined inclined rollers 122E on the right side is the minimum value of the steering angle θ 1 of all the inclined rollers 122 on the right side.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in the case where the adjacent inclined roller 122E as the inclined roller 122 is one, the steering angles θ 2, θ 3 adjacent to the inclined roller 122E are the steering angles θ 2 of the inclined rollers 122. The minimum value of 3.

In all of the non-inclined vertical roller rows 123 of the horizontal roller row group 110 and the only non-tilted vertical roller row 123 in this embodiment, the non-tilt rollers 121 of the non-tilted vertical roller row 123 have the same roller direction. On the other hand, in all of the inclined vertical roller rows 124 of the horizontal roller row group 110, on the one hand, the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 are different for each column of the inclined vertical roller rows 124, and on the other hand, in each inclined vertical roller row The direction of the rollers in 124 is the same.

Referring primarily to Figure 1, and with appropriate reference to Figures 3 and 5, the sorting device 30 differs from the traverse conveyor 100 in that it has substantially the same construction as the traverse conveyor 100 in other respects, all of which are all Classification wheel 35 is made up of The number of the rollers of the non-tilt roller 121 is different, and the number of the sorting rollers 35 constituting the pair of the horizontal roller rows 112 corresponding to the roller row of the unit roller row 111 is different.

Further, by the control device 180, the rotation drive mechanism corresponding to the rotation drive mechanism 150, the transmission shaft corresponding to the transmission shaft 160, and the rotation drive mechanism corresponding to the rotation drive mechanism 170 (none of which are shown) are controlled by the classification device 30. The classification method can be changed to a left classification method in which the article W is moved to the left branch conveyor 51, a right classification method in which the article W is moved to the right branch conveyor 52, and an article W in the traverse state in the same direction as the main conveyance direction. In the basic transport direction, the traverse position maintaining mode of the main conveyor 20 is moved.

The sorting rollers 35, which are driven by the rotation driving mechanism and rotated to different rotation positions around the rotation center line, are located at the basic rotation position in the traverse position maintaining mode (indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1(b)), on the left The classification method is located at the left rotation position (indicated by a one-dot chain line in Fig. 1(b)), and in the right classification mode at the right rotation position (indicated by a two-dot chain line in Fig. 1(b)).

Referring to Fig. 1, control device 180 includes setting unit 182 in which setting information is input in advance by an operator of sorting device 10, and detecting unit includes traverse article information detecting element and sorting article information detecting element that detects article information of article W The control unit 181 controls the supply conveyor 11, the traverse conveyor 100, and the sorting device 30 based on the initial setting information from the setting unit 182 and the detection signal from the detecting unit 183.

The classification information including the classification destination of the article W and each branch are included in the setting information. Conveyors 51, 52 and the most downstream conveyor 23 establish corresponding information.

Each item information detecting element 184, 185 (for example, a bar code reader) detects the sort destination of the item W as the item information. The traverse article information detecting element 184 is provided on the supply conveyor 11, and the sorting destination of the article W is detected on the conveyor 11. The classification item information detecting element 185 is provided on the most upstream conveyor 21 and each intermediate conveyor 22, and detects the classification destination of the article W on the main conveyor 20.

The control unit 181 controls the classification device 30 such that the traverse mode of the traverse conveyor 100 is controlled based on the classification destination of the article W, and the article W is transported to any one of the branch conveyors 51, 52 or the most downstream conveyor 23. In addition, by controlling the conveyance speed of the supply conveyor 11, the interval in the main conveyance direction of the articles W carried in the traverse conveyor 100 is adjusted.

The classification operation by the classification device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 1 .

Each of the articles W that have been loaded into the supply conveyor 11 is detected by the traverse article information detecting element 184, and then transported to the traverse conveyor 100 by the supply conveyor 11. The control unit 181 changes the traverse mode of the traverse conveyor 100 based on the classification destination detected by the article information detecting element 184.

Specifically, when the classification destination of the article W is the left branch conveyor 51, the control unit 181 is in the left traverse mode or the right traverse mode in the case of the right branch conveyor 52. Further, in the case of the most downstream conveyor 23, the cylinders 151 (FIG. 3) of the respective traverse units U (FIG. 4) are simultaneously operated in such a manner as to be in the center traverse mode.

Next, the control unit 181 controls the classification method of each classification device 30 based on the classification destination detected by the classification article information detecting element 185. For example, in the case where the classification destination of the article W is the left branch conveyor 51A that classifies the article W by the sorting device 30A immediately downstream of the article information detecting element 185A, the sorting device 30A traverses to the left traverse mode to The article W1 at the left end is turned to the left branch conveyance direction of the left branch conveyor 51A, and is transported. In the case of the right branch conveyor 52A that classifies the article W by the sorting device 30A, the sorting device 30A makes the right traverse The article W2 traversed to the right end is turned to the right branch conveyance direction of the right branch conveyor 52A and transported.

Further, in the case of the article W classified by the sorting device 30B located downstream of the sorting device 30A, each sorting device 30 upstream of the sorting device 30B is in the case where the sorting destination of the article W is the right branch conveyor 52B, When the left branch conveyor 51B is conveyed, the article W3 is conveyed so as to maintain the traverse state of the left end of the horizontal roller row group 110, and the article W4 is conveyed so as to maintain the traverse state of the left end of the horizontal roller row group 110. Further, in the case of the most downstream conveyor 23, the article W5 is conveyed so as to maintain the traverse state in the middle of the horizontal roller row group 110, so that the articles W3 to W5 are not turned and are directed toward the intermediate conveyor 22 or the most downstream. The conveyor 23 is transported in the basic transport direction (same as the main transport direction).

In this way, all the articles W that are put into the supply conveyor 11 are sorted to the respective sort destinations.

Next, the action and effect of the embodiment configured as described above will be described.

The traverse conveyor 100 includes arranging along the main transport direction of the article W The horizontal roller row group 110 of the multi-row horizontal roller row 112 includes a predetermined number of rollers 120 arranged in the left-right direction. The roller 120 is rotatable about the vertical axis Lv to the roller direction to form the plurality of rotational positions P1 to P3 of the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 . Further, the traverse conveyor 100 traverses the article W while moving in the main conveyance direction by the roller 120 that is inclined with respect to the main conveyance direction.

Thereby, a plurality of rollers 120 that are arranged in the main conveyance direction and the left-right direction and rotatable about the vertical axis Lv can be used to transport the articles W in the main conveyance direction while setting the plurality of rotation positions P1 to P3 of the rollers 120. The direction of traverse in the left and right direction.

The predetermined number of rollers 120 of the horizontal roller row 112 are divided into two types: a non-tilt roller 121 and a tilt roller 122. The roller direction of the non-tilt roller 121 is the same as the main transport direction, and the roller direction of the tilt roller 122 is opposite to the main transport. The position of the non-tilt roller 121 and the tilt roller 122 in the left-right direction can be changed according to the rotational positions P1 to P3 of the respective rollers 120, and the non-tilted vertical roller row 123 and the inclined are formed in the horizontal roller row group 110. In the vertical roller row 124, in the horizontal roller row 112, the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 of the adjacent inclined rollers 122E adjacent to the non-tilt rollers 121 in the left-right direction are the minimum of the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 of the inclined rollers 122. value.

As a result, the articles W that are carried into the traverse conveyor 100 are transported by the inclined vertical roller row 124 formed by the inclined rollers 122 of the horizontal roller rows 112, and are moved in the left-right direction while moving in the main transport direction. The direction of the non-tilted vertical roller row 123 formed by the non-tilt roller 121 of the horizontal roller row 112 is moved, thereby traversing The position of the non-tilted vertical roller row 123 in the left-right direction is traversed to the slanting vertical roller row 123 as the traverse target position. Further, since the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row 123 in the left-right direction can be changed according to the rotational positions P1 to P3 of the respective rollers 120 of the horizontal roller row group 110, the non-tilted vertical roller row 123 in the left-right direction is changed. Since the position of the traverse target can be changed at the position, the degree of freedom in setting the traverse target position becomes large, and the convenience of the traverse conveyor 100 can be improved.

Further, since the roller direction of each non-tilt roller 121 of the non-tilted vertical roller row 123 is the same as the main conveyance direction, the non-tilted vertical roller row 123 is conveyed in the main conveyance direction at a conveyance speed having a large speed component in the main conveyance direction. The article W is traversed, and since the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 of the adjacent inclined rollers 122E of the inclined vertical roller row 124 are the minimum values of the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 of all the inclined rollers 122, the inclined rollers 122E are adjacent to each other. The speed component in the main transport direction in the left-right direction is greater than or equal to the transport speed of the other tilt rollers 122, and transports the traversed article W or the article W that is traversed to the substantially finished state. The conveyance speed in the main conveyance direction of the traversed article W is increased in the horizontal roller row group 110, and the conveyance efficiency of the article W in the traverse conveyor 100 can be improved.

A plurality of rows of inclined vertical roller rows 124 are formed in the horizontal roller row group 110, and in the horizontal roller row 112, the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 of the inclined rollers 122 that are closer to the non-tilt roller 121 in the left-right direction are smaller.

As a result, the inclination roller 122 that is closer to the non-tilt roller 121 in the left-right direction has a higher speed component in the main conveyance direction with respect to the speed component in the left-right direction of the conveyance speed of the article W. Traverse item W transport efficiency in the main transport direction.

In addition, the article W that is carried into the horizontal roller row group 110 at a position away from the non-inclined vertical roller row 123 (or the traverse target position) in the left-right direction is a transport speed that is large in the left-right direction. Since the slanting vertical roller row 123 is transported, the traverse to the target traverse position becomes rapid, and the article W that is carried into the horizontal roller row group 110 at a position close to the non-tilted vertical roller row 123 in the left-right direction, And the article W which is traversed to the vicinity of the non-inclined vertical roller row 123 is a conveyance speed of the inclined roller 122 in the left-right direction with respect to the speed component in the main conveyance direction, and is smaller than the position in the left-right direction. The movement toward the non-tilted vertical roller row 123 is suppressed, so that the movement of the article W in the left-right direction beyond the target traverse position is suppressed, and the traverse to the target traverse position becomes rapid, so that the traverse efficiency can be improved. And the traverse accuracy of the traverse position to the target, and the traverse conveyor 100 can be miniaturized in the main conveyance direction. In addition, when the roller 120 at the end portion in the left-right direction is the non-tilt roller 121, the movement in the left-right direction is relatively reduced by the relative decrease in the velocity component in the left-right direction, so that the article W can be prevented from being caused by the traverse. The effect of dropping from the traverse conveyor 100 is improved, and the impact caused by the collision of the article W with the guide members 61, 62 can be reduced, so that the article W can be prevented from being damaged by the collision.

The non-inclined roller rows 123 of the non-inclined vertical roller row 123 have the same roller direction, and the inclined rollers 122 of the inclined vertical roller row 124 have the same roller direction, thereby facilitating smoothing of the traverse over the entire range in the main transport direction. To ensure stability, it is easy to change the positions of the non-tilt roller 121 and the tilt roller 122 in the horizontal roller row 112. Since it is easy to increase or decrease the horizontal roller row 112 based on the article W, for example, the length of the article in the main conveyance direction, the convenience of the traverse conveyor 100 can be improved.

Each of the traverse units U of the traverse conveyor 100 has a single actuator that causes all of the rollers 120 of the traverse unit U to rotate simultaneously around the respective vertical axis Lv, the actuator making the traverse unit in the following manner All the rollers 120 of the U rotate, that is, in the horizontal roller row 112, only the middle roller 120C located in the middle direction in the left-right direction, and the left roller 120L positioned on the left side with the plurality of rollers 120 on the left side with respect to the middle roller 120C, And one of the right end rollers 120R positioned with respect to the middle roller 120C on the right side via the plurality of rollers 120 becomes the non-tilt roller 121.

Therefore, the setting of the non-tilt roller 121 by the single actuator is three kinds of traverse modes of the three types of rollers 120, which are the middle roller 120C, the left end roller 120L, and the right end roller 120R, which are separated from each other by the roller 120 in the left-right direction. Therefore, the configuration of the traverse conveyor 100 is simplified, and the cost of the traverse conveyor 100 can be reduced.

In addition, the interval of the traverse target position in the left-right direction can be easily changed by changing the number of the intermediate rollers between the middle roller 120C and the left end roller 120L and between the middle roller 120C and the right end roller 120R. Since the degree of freedom in the design of the traverse conveyor 100 is increased, for example, the number of the intermediate rollers is changed according to the size of the article W in the left-right direction, and the convenience of the traverse conveyor 100 can be improved.

In the sorting device 10, the traverse mode of the horizontal roller row group 110 can be changed to the center horizontal direction according to the rotational positions P1 to P3 of the respective rollers 120 in the horizontal roller row 112. In the shift mode, the left traverse mode, and the right traverse mode, the sorting method of the sorting device 30 can be changed to move the article W traversed by the left traverse to the left sorting mode of the left branch conveyor 51, and to the right The article W traversed in the traverse mode moves to the right sorting mode of the right branch conveyor 52, and the intermediate conveyor 22 or the most downstream conveyor 23 that maintains the position traversed by the traverse conveyor 100 to move the article W to the downstream. The traverse position maintenance mode.

As a result, the article W transported by the traverse conveyor 100 and carried into the sorting device 30 is traversed to the left side and the right side of the left branch conveyor 51 and the right branch conveyor 52 with respect to the sorting device 30, so that the sorting device is used. The classification performed by 30 becomes easy. Therefore, as the transport efficiency of the traverse conveyor 110 is improved, the efficiency of the sorting operation by the sorting device 10 can be improved, and the sorting device 30 can be downsized, and the sorting device 10 can be downsized and cost reduced.

Hereinafter, a modified configuration of an embodiment in which a part of the above-described embodiment is changed will be described.

At any of the rotational positions P1 to P3, when the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 of all the inclined rollers 122 in the horizontal roller row 112 are equal, the steering angles θ 1 to θ 3 are minimum values.

The horizontal roller row 112 may have a plurality of non-tilt rollers 121 including rollers 120 adjacent to each other in the left-right direction. In this case, a plurality of rows of non-tilted vertical roller rows 123 adjacent to each other in the left-right direction are formed, and There is a tilting roller 122, in which case a series of inclined longitudinal roller rows 124 are formed.

In the horizontal roller row 112, the middle roller, the left roller, and the right roller At least one of the plurality may also be a plurality of rollers 120. In the case that the left roller or the right roller includes a plurality of rollers 120, the left roller may include the left end roller 120L or the left end roller 120L, and the right roller may include the right end roller 120R or the right end roller 120R. . Further, only two of the middle roller, the left roller, and the right roller may be the non-tilt roller 121.

The actuator may also be an electric actuator (e.g., a linear drive including a motor and a ball screw mechanism).

The rotational position (i.e., the steering angle) of each of the rollers 120 for forming a plurality of traverse modes may be two or more than three. In this case, the number of branch conveyors included in the branch line can be increased or decreased depending on the number of rotation positions, and the main conveyor can be divided into a plurality of division conveyors in the left-right direction.

The sorting means may be a sorting means other than the sorting means including the plurality of rows of the horizontal roller rows arranged in the conveying direction (for example, including a steering member that turns the article by the abutment with the article and moves to the branch line (for example, A sorting device called a diverter).

The number of the rollers 120 constituting the horizontal roller row 112 may be an even number, or may be equal to each other in all the horizontal roller rows 112, or may be one column or more of the horizontal roller rows 112 in one or more rows. Different in each of U.

3, 4‧‧‧ arrow view direction

100‧‧‧travel conveyor

102‧‧‧ cover

110‧‧‧Wheel Roller Group

111‧‧‧Unit wheel column

112‧‧‧Wheel roller column

120‧‧‧Roller

120C‧‧‧Central wheel

120L‧‧‧left end roller

120R‧‧‧Right end wheel

121‧‧‧Non-tilt wheel

122‧‧‧Tilt wheel

122E‧‧‧Adjacent inclined roller

123‧‧‧Non-tilt vertical roller column

124‧‧‧inclined vertical roller column

134‧‧‧Connecting Department

160‧‧‧ drive shaft

173‧‧‧Belt

P1‧‧‧ Rotating position

θ 1‧‧‧ steering angle

Claims (5)

A traverse conveyor comprising a horizontal roller row group, the horizontal roller row group comprising a plurality of rows of horizontal roller rows arranged along a main conveying direction of the article, the horizontal roller row being included along a direction orthogonal to the main conveying direction a plurality of predetermined number of rollers arranged in the left-right direction, and the roller that conveys the article by rotating around the rotation center line can be rotated about the rotation center line to the roller direction with respect to the main conveyance Forming a plurality of rotational positions of the steering angle, and using the roller that is inclined with respect to the main transport direction, the article is transported along the main transport direction while in the left and right direction The traverse conveyor is characterized in that, in the horizontal roller row, the predetermined number of the rollers are divided into one or a plurality of non-tilt rollers adjacent in the left-right direction, In combination with one or more inclined rollers, the roller direction of the non-tilt roller is the same as the main conveying direction, and the roller direction of the inclined roller is inclined with respect to the main conveying direction In the horizontal roller row, the positions of the non-tilt roller and the inclined roller in the left-right direction may be changed according to the rotational position of each roller, and include the horizontal roller group The non-inclined roller group of the non-tilted roller forms one or more columns of non-inclined longitudinal roller rows, and the one or more columns of non-tilted vertical roller columns a row of the non-tilted roller arranged in the main conveying direction or a plurality of rows of non-inclined vertical roller rows adjacent to the left-right direction, including the inclined roller in the horizontal roller row group The inclined roller group forms one or more inclined vertical roller rows, and the one or more inclined vertical roller rows are arranged by the inclined roller in the main conveying direction, and in the horizontal roller row, in the horizontal direction In the case where the inclined roller adjacent to the non-tilt roller is one of the adjacent inclined rollers, the steering angle of the adjacent inclined roller is the minimum value of the steering angle of the inclined roller. In the case where the adjacent inclined roller has one on the left side and the right side with respect to the non-tilted roller, the steering angle of the adjacent inclined roller on the left side is the steering angle of all the inclined rollers on the left side. The minimum value, the steering angle of the adjacent inclined roller on the right side is the minimum value of the steering angle of all the inclined rollers on the right side. The traverse conveyor according to the first aspect of the invention, characterized in that, in the row of the horizontal rollers, a plurality of the rollers are the inclined rollers, and the inclined roller group forms a plurality of rows of the inclined longitudinal A row of rollers in which the steering angle of the inclined roller closer to the non-tilt roller in the left-right direction is smaller. The traverse conveyor according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in each of the non-tilted longitudinal roller rows, the non-tilted roller of the non-tilted vertical roller row The rollers are in the same direction, In each of the inclined vertical roller rows, the roller directions of the inclined rollers of the inclined vertical roller row are the same. The traverse conveyor according to claim 1 or 2, comprising one or more traverse units having one or more rows of said horizontal roller rows, wherein said traverse unit comprises said a single actuator that traverses all of the rollers of the unit simultaneously, the actuator rotating all of the rollers of the traverse unit in such a manner that in the row of rollers One or more middle rollers in the middle direction in the left-right direction, one or more left rollers positioned on the left side with one or more of the rollers on the left side, and one on the right side with respect to the middle roller One of the one or more right rollers positioned by the above roller becomes the non-tilted roller. A sorting device comprising: the traverse conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 4; a supply conveyor disposed upstream of the traverse conveyor; and a sorting line disposed at the Downstream of the traverse conveyor, classifying the articles transported by the traverse conveyor; characterized in that the sorting line comprises: a main conveyor that transports the articles from the traverse conveyor One or more sorting devices disposed in the middle of the main conveyor; and a branch line that transports the articles classified by the sorting device; the traverse mode of the horizontal roller train group may be according to the horizontal roller train Said in The rotation position of each roller is changed to a central traverse mode when the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row is a middle position in the left-right direction; and the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row is in the left-right direction a left traverse mode when the left position is opposite to the middle position; and a right traverse mode when the position of the non-tilted vertical roller row is the right position with respect to the middle position in the left and right direction The branch line includes: a left branch conveyor located on the left side with respect to the main conveyor, and a right branch conveyor located on the right side; the classification manner of the classification apparatus may be changed to: a left classification mode, The article traversing in the left traverse mode moves to the left branch conveyor; the right sorting mode moves the article traversed in the right traverse mode to the right branch conveyor; and traverses The position maintaining mode maintains the position moved by the traverse conveyor to move the article to the downstream main conveyor.