WO2013047793A1

WO2013047793A1 - Article sorting method and article sorting apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2013047793A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/075172
Authority: WO
Inventors: 山岡和彦
Original assignee: Yamaoka Kazuhiko
Priority date: 2011-09-29
Filing date: 2012-09-28
Publication date: 2013-04-04
Also published as: JP5915883B2; JP2013075735A

Abstract

A method and apparatus for sorting articles by individually placing articles onto the article-conveying members of a conveyor configured by linking a plurality of article-conveying members in an endless manner, conveying the articles, and ejecting the articles into given sorting ports provided along the conveyance path of the article-conveying members on the basis of sorting information for each individual article, wherein each article is placed so as to extend over a pair of article-supporting implements positioned at the front and back in the conveyance direction and is conveyed, and an article placed so as to extend over a pair of supporting implements is ejected, while being conveyed substantially horizontally, by rotationally driving both supporting implements so that the implements open relative to each other within a substantially horizontal plane at the location of a given sorting port.

Description

Article sorting method and article sorting apparatus

The present invention relates to a sorting apparatus for sorting a large number of articles on the basis of the sorting information. The articles are sent out almost horizontally in various apparatuses and transferred to sorting belt conveyors, turntables, shooters, and the like. It can be used for sorting. As an example, it can be used as a sorter for sorting perishable items such as vegetables and fruits.

There are various types of devices that transport a large number of articles and transfer them to a sorting conveyor provided at a sorting port in the middle of the line, depending on the type, size, and shape of the article. Among these, regarding a sorter that sorts articles such as vegetables and fruits into equal classes, there was the following structure.

For example, as shown in Fig. 5 of the Japanese Patent Publication No. 07-073694, the items to be sorted are placed on a tray-like article carrier and are provided in the middle. There is a tray-shaped article carrier that opens downward at the sorting port to drop and drop articles. The shape of the article carrier varies depending on the shape of the fruit and fruit, and in the case of a nearly spherical shape such as tomatoes and peaches, the bucket-like article carrier is tilted laterally at the sorting port and the article placed on it is intended for conveyance. Some roll in the horizontal direction. In these apparatuses, articles discharged from the sorting port can be transferred to a sorting receiving box (table), a turntable, or a belt conveyor.

Since the sorting device drops or rolls the article, there is a possibility that the article may be damaged, and the article can be discharged horizontally with a belt. For example, as shown in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-115654, a belt is provided on the conveyance surface of each article conveyance body for carrying and conveying articles, and the belt is rotated at the sorting port and discharged to the side of the conveyance line. The sorting port is provided with a sorting belt conveyor that takes over and conveys the discharged articles. In this case, an oblique belt conveyor is disposed along the discharge direction of the articles so that the articles discharged from the traveling article carrier are stably transferred to the sorting belt conveyor.

Public information of JP 07-073694. JP 2010-115654 PR.

In the thing of patent document 1, since an article conveyance body opened down and dropped an article down, there was a possibility of being damaged or damaged depending on the kind of article. Even in the case of the bucket type, the article transport body falls down sideways, and the article falls down in the lateral direction to be discharged, so that the article may be damaged or damaged. Also, when falling or falling, the direction of the articles varied from top to bottom, right and left, and it was inconvenient to take out from the receiving box or turntable. In particular, when the taken-out article is neatly packed in a box, the direction of the article is aligned upward, which may lead to a reduction in work efficiency, and a long-time work may cause tendon sheath inflammation.

Among the belt types shown in Patent Document 2, in particular, those in which an inclined belt conveyor is arranged can transfer the placed article to the sorting conveyor in the same posture, but each article carrier is a belt. It is a conveyor, and a high structural cost is an issue for sorting small fruits and vegetables. Further, when cleaning the article carrier, it is difficult to clean the belt because there is a belt, and it is difficult to remove the belt from the article carrier one by one. In addition, this belt type is provided with protrusions for preventing overturning when discharging items on the upper surface of the belt opposite to the discharge direction, but if this is present, articles can be discharged only in either the left or right direction of the transport line, The sorting conveyor can only be provided on one side of the line, and increasing the number of sorting ports lengthens the total length of the sorting device.

Articles 3 are placed and conveyed one by one on an article carrier 1 of a conveyor 2 formed by connecting a large number of article carriers 1 endlessly, and the article carrier 1 is conveyed based on the sorting information of each article 3. In this method, the articles 3 are discharged to an arbitrary sorting port 4 provided in the middle of the route and sorted, and each article 3 is straddled on a pair of article supports 5 and 6 arranged in the front and rear directions. The

article support tools

5 and 6 that are paired at an arbitrary sorting port 4 are rotationally driven so as to open each other in a substantially horizontal plane and straddled on both

support tools

5 and 6. The articles 3 were discharged while being sent out substantially horizontally.

An article conveyor 1 that can carry articles 3 one by one is provided with a conveyor 2 that is connected endlessly, and conveys articles 3 that are conveyed by the article carrier 1 based on the sorting information of the articles 3 It is a sorting device that sends out and sorts to a plurality of sorting ports 4 provided in the middle of the line, and each article carrier 1 has two pairs of article supports 5 and 6 arranged opposite to each other in the front and rear direction in the carrying direction. It can be rotated in a substantially horizontal plane around the

rotation shafts

7 and 8 in the front and rear of the conveying direction, and these paired article supports 5 and 6 can be placed on the article 3 across the

article support tools

5 and 6. In the vicinity of each sorting port 4 of the transport conveyor 2, an arbitrary pair of

article support tools

5, 6 is rotated based on the sorting information of the article 3 so as to open in a substantially horizontal plane, and is placed thereon. Substantially horizontal discharge is possible while sending the article 3 in the horizontal direction of the conveyance direction. Those having a discharge driving device 9,.

The article carrier 1 is formed with a support portion 10 on the upper surface of the pair of article supports 5 and 6 for supporting the article 3 to be placed so as not to fall down.

The article sorting method of the present invention has the following effects.
(1) Compared with an article transporter having a belt-type structure, articles can be sent out substantially horizontally and discharged to a sorting port with a simple structure in which a pair of article supports is rotated in a substantially horizontal plane. . Therefore, the device can be manufactured at low cost.
(2) In particular, if the article support is structurally thin, the article can be sent to the upper surface of the sorting receptacle such as a receiving box, a belt conveyor, or a turntable provided at each sorting port. It is possible to transfer without almost falling.
(3) Even if it is provided with irregularities and wall surfaces for preventing rolling according to the shape of the article on the upper surface of the article support tool, the article can be sent substantially horizontally without interfering with it, so even a spherical article that is easy to roll is safe. Can be conveyed and sorted.
(4) The article supporter can be easily manufactured using only a material having durability and easy hygiene management, such as plastic and stainless steel, and does not require a belt or the like, and therefore is excellent in maintenance and hygiene management.
(5) The article can be discharged to either the left or right of the conveying direction simply by reversing the rotation direction of the article support.

The article sorting apparatus of the present invention has the following effects.
(1) A pair of article support tools are arranged opposite to each other in the transport direction and can be rotated in a substantially horizontal plane around a rotation axis in the front and rear of the transport direction as a fulcrum. It is possible to place the article support parts to be arbitrarily paired based on the sorting information of the articles in the vicinity of each sorting mouth of the conveyor, so that the pair of article supporting parts can be driven to rotate in a substantially horizontal plane. The above-described sorting method can be easily realized by providing a drive device that allows the articles placed thereon to be discharged substantially horizontally while being sent in the lateral direction of the conveying direction.
(2) Since a support portion for supporting the article to be placed so as not to fall down can be formed on the upper surface of the paired article support tool, the article carrier falls over or loses its posture during transportation. Can be prevented.
(3) Since the support part can be opened together when the article support is opened even if the support part is provided, it is possible to provide an apparatus that can transport and sort articles of any shape. .
(4) Since the pair of article supports each has a roller shape, when an article is placed across the rollers, the spherical article can be conveyed while rotating between the two rollers, and the conveyance path If a camera for appearance inspection is arranged on the way, it is possible to record and inspect the entire circumference of the rotating article, and the inspection accuracy can be improved.

It is the perspective view which showed 1st Embodiment of the goods sorting method and goods sorting apparatus of this invention, and is the elements on larger scale near the sorting mouth. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an article transporter in the article sorting apparatus of FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the whole of the article sorting apparatus of FIG. 2A and 2B are partial plan views showing a sorting port portion in the sorting apparatus of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. Figure. The perspective view which showed 2nd Embodiment of the articles | goods conveyance body in the article sorting method and article sorting apparatus of this invention. The top view which showed 3rd Embodiment of the articles | goods conveyance body in the article sorting method and article sorting apparatus of this invention. The top view which showed 4th Embodiment of the articles | goods conveyance body in the articles | goods sorting method and article sorting apparatus of this invention. The perspective view which showed 5th Embodiment of the articles | goods conveyance body in the articles | goods sorting method and article sorting apparatus of this invention. The perspective view which showed 6th Embodiment of the articles | goods conveyance body in the articles | goods sorting method and article sorting apparatus of this invention.

1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a sorting method and a sorting apparatus according to the present invention. Reference numeral 3 in FIG. 1 denotes substantially spherical fruits and fruit vegetables such as tomatoes, apples, peaches, melons, and strawberries, which are articles to be sorted in this embodiment. Reference numeral 2 in FIG. 1 denotes a conveyor for a sorting apparatus that loads and conveys articles 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conveyor 2 is configured in an endless manner, and a large number of article carriers 1 are attached to a chain 20 driven in the direction of arrow a in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the chain 20 is hung on a driven sprocket 21 and a drive sprocket 22 disposed at both front and rear ends of a long sorter, and the drive sprocket 22 to which a motor 23 at the rear of the device is connected is shown in the figure. It is driven at a predetermined speed in the direction of arrow a. A sensor 24 for measuring the size and color of the article 3 is provided in the middle of the transport path of the transport conveyor 2 as shown in FIGS. A mouth 4 is provided. The sorting ports 4 are on the left and right sides of the transport conveyor 2, and each sorting port 4 is provided with a sorting conveyor 26 and a sorting turntable 27 having a transport surface 25 that circulates in a track shape as shown in FIG. . Each sorting port 4 is provided with a discharge driving device 9 for discharging the article 3 from the article carrier 1 in correspondence with the discharge position of the article 3. In the present embodiment, in addition to the one shown in FIG. 3, various belt conveyors and roller conveyors laid with thin rollers can be arranged in the sorting port 4, and a plurality of various kinds can be arranged in combination. . In any case, it is preferable to arrange the article delivery direction at the discharge location of the article 3 so that the conveyor conveyance direction at the connecting point on the conveyor is substantially coincident. In the present embodiment, the article 3 is assumed to be a peach, and the sizes of the article carrier 1, the sorting conveyor 26, the sorting turntable 27, and the like are determined according to the size. When the article 3 is a large fruit such as melon, the article carrier 1, the sorting conveyor 26, the sorting turntable 27, etc. are made larger and the article 3 is a small fruit such as a strawberry. The article carrier 1, the sorting conveyor 26, the sorting turntable 27, and the like are preferably made small.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each article carrier 1 is attached to the chain 20 so as to cover the chain 20 from above, and is mounted on the metal fitting 30 so as to face the longitudinal direction of the chain 20 in the longitudinal direction. Two article supports 5 and 6 are provided. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the mounting bracket 30 is fixed to the chain 20 by a joining means such as a screw (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, round holes 31 and 32 are provided at two positions before and after the upper surface of the mounting bracket 30, so that the article supports 5 and 6 are rotatable in a horizontal plane above the

holes

31 and 32. It is attached (as shown in FIG. 1, it is rotatable about the

rotating shafts

7 and 8 as fulcrums). Inside the

holes

31 and 32 of the mounting bracket 30,

turntables

33 and 34 that are connected to the article supports 5 and 6 and are rotatable together are attached.

Pins

35 and 36 project downward from the lower surfaces of the

respective rotary plates

33 and 34. Both pins 35 and 36 are inserted into elongated

holes

40 and 41 at both front and rear ends of a slide member 39 having

round rods

37 and 38 on the left and right. On the other hand, the left and

right round rods

37, 38 of the slide member 39 are slidably inserted into

round holes

42, 43 formed on the left and right side surfaces of the mounting bracket 30, and when the round rod 37 is pushed in the direction of the arrow b, the slide member is pushed. 39 slides in the same direction b inside the mounting bracket 30 and rotates in the direction of arrow e in conjunction with the

rotary plates

33 and 34. On the other hand, when the round rod 38 is pushed in the direction of arrow c, the slide member 39 becomes the same c. It slides in the direction and rotates in the direction of arrow f in conjunction with the

rotary plates

33 and 34. Therefore, when the round rod 37 is pushed in the direction of the arrow b, the article supports 5 and 6 are rotated in the direction of the arrow e in the figure, and when the round rod 38 is pushed in the direction of the arrow c, the article supports 5 and 6 are turned into the arrow f in the figure. Rotated in the direction. The rotation angle θ of the article supports 5 and 6 is regulated within a slidable range of the slide member 39. In this case, the article supports 5 and 6 can be rotated 65 degrees to the left and right at the maximum. Coil springs 44 and 45 are attached to the

round rods

37 and 38 of the slide member 39, respectively. When the push of the round rod 37 in the arrow b direction is released, the spring 45 on the round rod 38 side that has been compressed is released. When the slide member 39 is pushed back in the direction of the arrow c by the restoring force, the rotation angle θ of the article supports 5 and 6 is returned to 0, and on the contrary, when the push of the round rod 38 in the direction of the arrow c is released, the round rod is compressed. The slide member 39 is pushed back in the direction of the arrow b by the restoring force of the spring 44 on the 37 side so that the rotation angle θ of the article supports 5 and 6 is returned to zero. That is, when neither of the

round rods

37 and 38 is pressed, the slide member 39 is held at the center in the width direction of the mounting bracket 30, and the

article support tools

5 and 6 are kept at the rotation angle θ. ing. In the present invention, the method of rotating the article supports 5 and 6 is not limited to that described above, and a gear mechanism, a cam mechanism, a link mechanism, a wire link mechanism may be used, and an electromagnet, You may use an attractive force or a repulsive force using a permanent magnet. Further, the

rotation shafts

7 and 8 do not have to be simple rotations with the

single rotation shafts

7 and 8 as fulcrums, and a desired rotation can be realized by adopting a link mechanism as a rotation method.

The article supports 5 and 6 shown in FIG. 2 are integrally formed of a resin material such as plastic, and have a size that allows the article 3 to be placed on the article 3 and transported. In addition, two upper surfaces of the

support members

5 and 6 face each other in a state where the angle θ in a state where both the

support members

5 and 6 are not rotated is 0, that is, both the

support members

5 and 6 completely face each other. Semi-cup-shaped support wall surfaces 46 and 47 are formed so as to be substantially cup-shaped dents, and the support wall surfaces 46 and 47 serve as support portions 10 that support the article 3 so as not to fall down. Further, the

lower edges

48 and 49 of the opposing portions of both the

support tools

5 and 6 are formed in an arc shape centering on the

respective rotation shafts

7 and 8. The

article support

5 and 6 may be molded entirely using a flexible material such as rubber, or only the surface layer is made of a flexible material and the other is molded of a hard resin material. It may be a composite structure. In addition, various antibacterial materials can be used as the material. By the way, the inclined surfaces on both sides across the

lower edges

48, 49 of the support wall surfaces 46, 47 not only function as walls for supporting the article 3, but for example, the

article support tools

5, 6 in FIG. The inclined surface in the direction of arrow b functions as a means for pushing the article 3 in the direction of arrow c when opened in the same direction, and similarly, the inclined surface in the direction of arrow c when the article supports 5 and 6 are opened in the direction of arrow b. Functions as a means for pushing the article 3 in the direction of arrow b. Such a shape of the

article support tools

5 and 6 also has two functions of assisting the discharge at the time of discharge while stably supporting the article 3 when the article 3 is substantially spherical. In this embodiment, the article 3 is assumed to be a peach, and the article supports 5 and 6 are sized so that the smallest peach to the largest peach can be placed.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, each of the sorting ports 4 in the middle of the conveyor 2 is provided with article supports 5, 6 based on the sorting information of the articles 3 as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). A discharging drive device 9 is provided for rotationally driving the. Each discharge driving device 9 operates in response to a signal from a control device such as a PLC (programmable logic controller). In this case, the appearance provided in the middle of the conveyor 2 shown in FIG. The sensor 24 discriminates the size color and shape as the sorting standard of the article 3 to generate sorting information of the article 3, and the PLC manages the positional information of the article carrier 1 and the sorting information of the article 3 thereon. The

round rod

37 or 38 of an arbitrary article carrier 1 is operated based on the sorting conditions preset in the PLC, and the arbitrary article 3 is discharged to a predetermined sorting port 4 for sorting. . The discharge driving device 9 is provided on the side of the conveyor 2 so that the article supports 5 and 6 of the article carrier 1 are rotated by pushing the round rod 37 or the round rod 38 of the article carrier 1. It has become. More specifically, the guide rail member 52 is attached to the tip of the linear motion pin 51 of the linear motion actuator 50. When the PLC turns on the linear motion actuator 50, the linear motion pin 51 protrudes and the guide rail member 52 is illustrated. The circular rod 38 (37) of the article transport body 1 that moves in the direction indicated by the arrow c is gradually moved in the arrow c direction by the guide rail member 52, and the article supports 5 and 6 are gradually rotated. It is supposed to let you. When the linear motion actuator 50 is turned off (when the article 3 is not ejected), the linear motion pin 51 is retracted to move the guide rail member 52 to the standby position indicated by the phantom line in the figure, and the circle of the article transport body 1 that passes therethrough. The rod 38 (37) is not pushed.

As shown in FIG. 3, each sorting port 4 of the transport conveyor 2 has a sorting conveyor 26 having a transport surface 25 that circulates like a track in a horizontal plane, and a sorting structure in which a circular table rotates at a constant speed. A turntable 27 is provided. The sorting conveyor 26 is called a top chain or a table top chain, and a metal plate 55 having a shape as shown in FIG. 1 is attached to the upper part of a chain link (not shown). A belt-like transport surface 25 that is driven and guided by a sprocket and a guide rail (not shown) and circulates in a horizontal plane is configured. Further, in the present invention, a cushion sheet is stuck on the metal plate 55 to soften the contact of the article 3, or a sheet material having a low friction coefficient is stuck to improve slipping, or the surface of the article 3 is provided with a depression. Rolling can be prevented, or a combination of these can be achieved. You can also paste a sheet of antibacterial material.

The conveying surface 25 of the sorting conveyor 26 and the upper surface 56 of the sorting turntable 27 shown in FIG. 3 are slightly smaller than the bottom surfaces 57 and 58 (FIG. 1) of the article supports 5 and 6 of the article carrier 1 (for example, about 5 mm). As shown in FIG. 1, when the article supports 5 and 6 are opened, the

supports

5 and 6 squeeze out over the transport surface 25 and the upper surface 56, and the article support 5 and When the 6 is opened, the article 3 on it can be transferred with almost no drop. Further, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the speed vector Vz of the article 3 and the sorting conveyor 26 are approximately at the position when the article 3 discharged from the article carrier 1 is transferred to the sorting conveyor 26. The velocity vectors (Vz) of the curve portion are substantially matched. That is, the position is set so that it can be transferred to the curve portion of the sorting conveyor 26 in accordance with the speed vector Vz of the article 3 discharged horizontally by the speed vector Vy from the article carrier 1 moving at the speed vector Vx. Similarly, in the case of the turntable 27, the installation position of the turntable 27 is adjusted so that the speed vector of the article 3 and the speed vector of the table 27 at the connection position are approximately the same. In the present invention, the sorting conveyor 26 and the turntable 27 may be constantly rotated at a speed suitable for the transfer of the articles 3, but may be an intermittent operation in which the articles 3 are rotated for a certain period of time. In this case, the sorting conveyor 26 and the turntable 27 are driven on and off by the PLC so as to be interlocked with the discharge driving device 9. In the present invention, a chute such as a slide can be provided at the sorting port 4. Compared with the sorting conveyor 26 and the turntable 27 described in detail above, the connecting posture of the articles 3 is likely to collapse, but since it is inexpensive, if it is provided at some of the sorting ports 4, the number of discharge ports can be greatly increased at low cost. it can.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the article carrier 1 in the sorting method and sorting apparatus of the present invention. In this embodiment, the article supports 5 and 6 mounted on the mounting bracket 30 according to the first embodiment are substantially fan-shaped metal plates 60, and the articles 3 are supported on the flat metal plate 60 so as not to fall. The support portion 10 is configured by providing two triangular pyramidal projections 61 for the purpose. Each protrusion 61 is made of a soft material, and is deformed by its weight when the article 3 is placed so that it can safely support a large article 3 to a small one. Further, when the article supports 5 and 6 are opened in the direction of the arrow f in the figure, the protrusion 61 reliably pushes the article 3 from behind and the article 3 remains on the metal plate 60. On the contrary, when the article supports 5 and 6 are opened in the direction of the arrow e in the figure, the one indicated by the reference numeral 62 reliably pushes the article 3 from behind and the article 3 remains on the metal plate 60. It also serves to prevent In this embodiment, the mounting bracket 30 and the internal structure can be made the same as those in the first embodiment. In addition, when the article 3 has a flat surface on the bottom like a box, for example, and the article 3 can be reliably discharged by opening and closing the metal plate 60, the projection 61 need not be provided at all. A sheet material having a high frictional force may be attached to the surface of the metal plate 60, or a sponge-like material may be attached to further improve cushioning properties.

FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the article carrier 1 in the sorting method and sorting apparatus of the present invention. In this case, the

rotation shafts

7 and 8 of the article supports 5 and 6 mounted on the mounting bracket 30 of the first embodiment are offset in the left and right directions as shown in the figure, and the article supports 5 and 6 are shown by arrows in the drawing. The article 3 can be discharged obliquely in the direction of arrow b in the figure when rotated in the f direction. In this case, since the discharge direction of the articles 3 discharged from the article carrier 1 moving in the direction of the arrow a in the figure is the arrow c direction when viewed from the stationary coordinate system, the belt conveyor provided in the sorting port 4 is conveyed. A belt conveyor or the like can be arranged so as to convey the article 3 in a direction perpendicular to the conveyor 2, that is, in the direction of the arrow c.

FIG. 7 shows a fourth embodiment of the article carrier 1 in the sorting method and sorting apparatus of the present invention. In this embodiment, the article supports 5 and 6 to be mounted on the mounting bracket 30 of the first embodiment are each constituted by a substantially strip-shaped metal plate 65, and each metal plate 65 is rotated by two

parallel links

66 and 67. It is attached to do. The links 66 are driven to rotate by rotating

shafts

7 and 8, respectively, and two strips are formed by links 67 that are rotatably attached at both ends when rotated in the direction of arrow f in the figure. The metal plate 65 is moved in the direction of the arrow b in the figure while keeping the parallel state of the metal plates 65 so that the distance between them is widened, and the article 3 placed thereon is moved in the direction of the arrow b in the figure. However, it is paid out from the opened metal plate 65. In the present invention, the article supports 5 and 6 may be rotated not by simple rotation but by interposing link parts. Further, in the present invention, the substantially strip-shaped metal plate 65 may be arranged in the direction of the arrow b slightly backward with respect to the traveling direction as shown in FIG. 6 instead of the direction of the arrow b perpendicular to the direction of the arrow a in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a fifth embodiment of the article carrier 1 in the sorting method and sorting apparatus of the present invention. In this embodiment, the rotating

shafts

7 and 8 of the article supports 5 and 6 mounted on the mounting bracket 30 according to the first embodiment are tilted slightly inward rather than vertically, and the article supports 5 and 6 are completely horizontal. Instead of rotating inside, it is rotated slightly tilted as shown in the figure. In the present invention, the article 3 can be placed and transported across the

article support

5 and 6 and the article placed by rotating the

article support

5 and 6 can be sent out substantially horizontally. If there is, the

rotary shafts

7 and 8 may be tilted as shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 shows a sixth embodiment of the article carrier 1 in the sorting method and sorting apparatus of the present invention. This is an example in which the article supports 5 and 6 are made into a roller shape, and the article supports 5 and 6 that are paired with each other can be transported while being placed on the articles. These article supports 5 and 6 are attached to the upper part of the attachment fitting 30 attached to the chain 20 as in the other embodiments. Specifically,

support members

70 and 71 formed by bending metal round bars that can be rotated about the

rotation shafts

7 and 8 are mounted on the mounting bracket 30. The article supports 5 and 6 are attached to the

tip shafts

72 and 73. The article supports 5 and 6 are rotatable around the

tip shafts

72 and 73. When the

support members

70 and 71 are rotated about the

rotation shafts

7 and 8 as the fulcrums, the article supports 5 and 6 are opened from a state in which they are parallel to each other (a state in which the article 3 is placed) as shown in the figure The state in which the article 3 is discharged). Although this figure does not show a drive mechanism for rotating the

support members

70 and 71, the article support tool is provided in a state in which a discharge drive device 9 is provided at each sorting port 4 in parallel to the first embodiment and parallel to the discharge location. 5 and 6 can be opened, the article 3 can be discharged in the lateral direction of the conveying direction, and placed on the turntable 27 in the figure. In the present embodiment, the roller-shaped article supports 5 and 6 are rotated in the conveying direction of the chain 20 in a standby state (a state in which they are parallel to each other), and are illustrated in the installation location of the sensor 24 shown in FIG. The article supports 5 and 6 are both rotated at the same rotational speed by a drive device that is not present, and the substantially spherical article 3 placed across the

supports

5 and 6 is rotated in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the roller. It has become. In this section, the sensor 24 records images of the surface of the article 3 intermittently at a continuous or short interval above the article 3 so that the entire circumference of the article 3 can be photographed.

In each of the above embodiments, the two article supports 5 and 6 facing each other have the same shape. However, in the present invention, it is not necessary to stick to the same shape. Either one may be enlarged or the shape of either one may be changed. The material can also be different.

The article sorting method and article sorting apparatus of the present invention are not limited to fruit vegetables and fruits described in the above embodiment, and are apparatuses for sorting articles into various sorting tools such as belt conveyors, turntables, shooters, and receiving boxes in various industrial fields. Can be applied and used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Goods conveying body 2 Conveying conveyor 3 Goods 4 Sorting port 5 Goods support tool 6 Goods support tool 7 Rotating shaft 8 Rotating shaft 9 Ejection drive device 10 Support part

Claims

Articles are placed one by one on an article carrier of a conveyor that is formed by connecting a large number of article carriers in an endless manner, and is provided in the middle of the conveyance path of the article carrier based on the sorting information of each article. This is a method of discharging articles to an arbitrary sorting port and sorting, and each item is transported by being placed on a pair of article support tools arranged in the front and rear direction in the conveying direction. The article supporting tool is rotated and driven so as to open each other in a substantially horizontal plane, and the article placed on both supports is discharged while being sent out substantially horizontally. Sorting method.
It is equipped with a transport conveyor in which a large number of endlessly transported article transporters that can carry articles one by one are connected, and the articles transported by the article transporter based on the sorting information of the articles are provided in the middle of the transport line Each of the article transporters is a sorting device that sends out to a plurality of sorting ports and sorts the articles, and two pairs of article support tools are arranged opposite to each other in the front and rear directions in the transport direction, and each has a substantially horizontal plane with rotation axes in the front and rear directions in the transport direction as fulcrums. These paired article supporters can be placed on the article so as to straddle the article support, and can be arbitrarily placed in the vicinity of each sort opening of the transfer conveyor based on the sort information of the article. A drive device for discharging that enables the article support to be rotated in a substantially horizontal plane so that the article placed thereon can be discharged in a horizontal direction while being sent in the lateral direction of the conveyance direction. Characteristic article Minute equipment.
3. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the article transporter is formed with a support portion on the upper surface of the paired article support so that the article to be placed does not fall down. Sorting device.
3. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each pair of article supports is formed into a roller shape, and each of the pair of article supports is rotatable about a rotation shaft.