WO2019078142A1 - Article sorting method and article sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To enable feeding operation in the lateral direction while efficiently counteracting on a speed in the transport direction in a moving article transporting body. [Solution] An article 2 is supported by one or more article transporting bodies 1 and the article 2 is fed by an article supporting unit 4 of the article transporting body 1 being swung, by a rotational shaft 5 on the rear side, on a substantially horizontal plane in the lateral direction toward a sorting port 3. One or both of the article supporting units 4 in the front and back in contact with the article 2 being fed swing in the lateral direction at the same time or substantially at the same time. A motion suppressing means 6 for suppressing article movement to the interior in the radial direction of the rotational shaft 5 is provided on the article supporting unit 4. The article supporting unit 4 is formed in an arcuate shape concentric with the rotational shaft 5 and formed as a thin plate. The rotational shaft 5 tilts from the vertical slightly to the rear side.

Description

Item sorting method and item sorting apparatus

The present invention relates to a sorting method and a sorting apparatus for sorting a large number of articles based on the sorting information, and can be used for horizontally feeding articles in various devices and transferring them to a belt conveyor or the like for sorting. . As an example, it can be used as a sorting machine for sorting fragile articles such as vegetables and fruits. It can also be used as a substitute for the cross belt sorter.

There are several apparatuses according to the type, size, and shape of an article as a device for placing a large number of articles on a transport body, transporting and transferring onto a belt conveyor or the like provided at a sorting port in the middle of a line.

For example, in the case of Patent Document 1, the article carrier of the article transport body is operated obliquely backward, the articles are sent obliquely backward, and the article is transited to a pool conveyor disposed on the side of the article transport body. It is made to be able to sort. In this mechanism, the speed component in the transport direction of the articles discharged from the traveling article transport body is reduced, and therefore, it is possible to make the transition approximately horizontally to the narrow pool conveyor which crosses at right angles.

JP 2009-274878 public information.

In the above invention, large fruit vegetables and good sitting vegetables can be transferred to the pool conveyor in a stable posture, but small fruit vegetables and easily rolling fruit vegetables can not be successfully transferred. The reason lies in the method of sending the article diagonally backward itself.

The delivery speed of the article can be represented by a velocity vector directed obliquely backward, but this is a velocity component in the transport direction of the article transport (a negative value because it is opposite to the transport direction of the article transport) and the article transport side. It can be split into two with the velocity component in the direction. In order to smoothly transfer the goods being transported to the pool conveyor in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction, the velocity component in the transport direction of the oblique velocity vector is made as large as possible to the negative side, and the sum with the moving velocity of the article transport is It is desirable to be close to 0. For that purpose, it is sufficient to turn the angle backward to the rear as much as possible, but it is not realistic to move the article in a direction close to the rear in the first place because it collides with the article immediately after. In addition, there are structural and mechanical restrictions when the belt is reciprocated by the fastener and the fastener guide shown in FIG. For this reason, in actuality, the diagonally backward angle is a backward angle of about 35 degrees with respect to the side.

For example, assuming that the articles are fed obliquely backward at an angle of 35 degrees, in order to make the minus speed in the article conveying direction as large as possible, it is sufficient to increase the feeding speed toward obliquely backwards. Specifically, the rotational speed of the oblique belt conveyor may be increased. At the same time, however, the velocity component in the lateral direction of the article carrier also increases. When the lateral speed increases, it is necessary to also rotate the pool conveyor on the side to be handed over at high speed. However, when the pool conveyor is operated at high speed, it inevitably becomes long. Furthermore, when the pool conveyor is operated intermittently and articles are to be aligned and stored, the conveyor must be rapidly accelerated and decelerated within the cycle time of the intermittent operation, and fruits such as peaches and apples that are poorly seated can be clogged Even if the connection is made in a good posture, it may be shaken back on the conveyer and fall over, or if the intermittent distance is reduced, fruits may collide with each other on the conveyer.

From the above, while the angle of the oblique rear is about 35 degrees, the balance as a whole is seen, and the speed vector of the delivery to the oblique backward does not completely cancel the speed of the article transport body, and the takeover speed of the pool belt is also reasonable. I had no choice but to control the delivery in a somewhat compromised setting, such as raising. As a result, small fruits and fruits such as poor sitting peaches and apples were transferred to the pool conveyor while the speed in the transport direction remained, and problems remained in the number of falls and accumulation on the pool conveyor.

In addition, when the article carrier is constituted by a belt or a roller, the drive of the article is up to the tip roller, but the diameter of the roller is practically required to be 10 several mm or more. The valley which can not drive an article was generated for about several centimeters in between. In the small articles described above and articles that are badly seated and prone to rolling, this valley area is a major problem, and it is also a hindrance to smooth transits in combination with the remaining speed.

Furthermore, when the article carrier is constituted by a belt or a roller, there is a problem that it is difficult to clean even if dirt adheres.

The article sorting method according to the present invention is an article sorting method in which articles to be transported by being placed on an article transport body are sent out approximately horizontally to a sorting port next to a transport line based on sorting information of articles and sorted. Alternatively, the article supporting portion of one or more article carriers carrying articles supported by being placed over and supported by two or more article carriers is substantially in a horizontal plane by the rotary shaft disposed on the rear side of the article support. It was made to send out the goods by making it swing in a sideways direction with an inside of the assortment.

In addition to the article carrier for supporting the articles, the article supports of either or both article supports before and after being in contact with the articles being delivered are also allowed to swing laterally simultaneously or substantially simultaneously.

The article supporting portion is provided with movement restraining means for restraining article movement of the rotating shaft inward in the radial direction, and the article supported or in contact with the article supporting portion is easily pushed outward in the radial direction when swinging.

In the article sorting apparatus according to the present invention, a plurality of article transports are connected along the transport line, and the articles transported by the article transport are substantially horizontal on the transport line side based on the sorting information of the articles. The article transport apparatus is capable of laterally swinging in a substantially horizontal plane by an axis of rotation on which an article support portion capable of supporting articles is disposed at the rear side. Is provided with a swing drive means capable of swinging the article support portion of the passing article transport body in the lateral direction with a sortation opening, and the action of the same swing drive means is controlled based on the sorting information of the articles It was like that.

The article support portion was formed in an arc shape concentric with the rotation axis and in a thin plate shape.

The rotation axis of the article support is inclined slightly backward from the vertical, so that the rotational spaces of the article support do not interfere with each other in the front and rear article transports.

The article sorting method of the present invention has the following effects.
(1) In order to send out the article by swinging the article supporting portion so as to swing laterally around the rear rotation axis, for example, when it is oscillated 90 degrees, the delivery direction of the article is exactly opposite to the transport direction of the article transport body This makes it possible to easily cancel the moving speed of the article carrier and discharge it just beside. Although the lateral velocity of the article support is itself zero, the article support can be laterally displaced because the article support is moved laterally and the article also exerts a centrifugal force. It can be taken over in a substantially horizontal state.
(2) Since the delivery of the article is a circular arc track, it is difficult to contact the article in the rear as compared with the method in which the article is discharged straight diagonally backward, narrowing the placement interval of the article on the article transport body to improve the transport ability. be able to.
(3) Since the article supporting portion does not require small, difficult-to-clean parts such as belts and rollers, it is possible to realize an article sorting apparatus that is easy to clean and easy to manage hygiene.
(4) When the article supporting portion is formed into a thin plate, the article supporting portion can be made flush with and close to the upper surface of the conveyor when connecting the belt conveyor to the sorting port, and the valleys causing the misconnection Not produce Then, since the thin plate-like article support portion delivers the articles to the upper surface of the belt conveyor, the articles can be transited in a smooth and stable state posture.
(5) Since the rear article support to be brought into contact with the article is also oscillated together, the movement suppression means of the article support pushes the article outward, so that the article can be delivered more reliably.
(6) Three or four large articles are placed on the large article conveyer, and small articles are placed on the two article conveyer because the article is conveyed by being supported by one or more article conveyers. Large and small items can be mixed and efficiently sorted.

The article sorting apparatus of the present invention has the following effects in addition to the effects described above.
(1) It is possible to make a sorting device with a simple structure that only swings an article support for mounting and supporting parts.
(2) By making the article support part arc-shaped or fan-shaped, even if the placement position of the article changes, it is possible to move along a substantially similar track, so that a margin is also created for the change in placement.
(3) Since the rotation axis of the article transport body is slightly inclined rearward and the rotation spaces of the article support portions are different from each other, the article transport bodies can be brought close to each other and arranged at high density. When the distance between the article carriers is small, it is possible to mix and carry from small to large ones, and it is possible to improve the conveying ability and the sorting ability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The perspective view of the assortment part in the Example of the goods sorting method of this invention and the goods sorting apparatus. It is the enlarged view of FIG. 1, and the state which made the goods support part swing. The perspective view which showed the other embodiment of the articles | goods conveyance body in the articles | goods sorting method and articles | goods sorting apparatus of this invention. The perspective view which showed the other Example of the goods sorting method of this invention.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the method of sorting articles according to the present invention, which is an example of sorting round fruits such as peach and tomato as articles 2. FIG. A large number of article transports 1 on which articles 2 are placed and transported are attached along the circulating chain 10 at equal intervals smaller than the size of the articles 2. In this example, they are attached at an interval of 31.75 mm matched to the pitch of the small chain 10. The article carrier 1 is moved by the chain 10 at 450 mm / sec. Each article transport body 1 is provided with a fan-shaped part 11 having a substantially fan shape at the upper part, and in the initial position, the arc-shaped edge part (which is the article support 4) in the chain movement direction (arrow a direction in FIG. 2) It is aimed at. The fan-shaped part 11 is connected to the chain 10 by the hinge 12 and the center of the arc is concentric with the rotation axis 5 of the hinge 12 and the article support 4 is directed laterally with the sorting port 3 back 90 degrees or more It is said that it can swing. Further, the rotation shaft 5 of each hinge 12 is inclined backward about 3 degrees from the vertical, and fan-like parts 11 having a radius of about 70 mm, which is larger than the mounting pitch of the article carrier 1, are overlapped like a scale. Each of the 11 is independently swingable. Further, the article support portion 4 on the front side of each article transport body 1 is raised by the backward inclination of the rotation shaft 5, and when the article 2 is placed over two or more article transport bodies 1 It is supposed to be supported.

A plurality of ridges 13 are radially provided on the upper surface of the article support portion 4 so that the supported article 2 can be sent out in the swing direction without slipping. The arc-shaped edge 14 of the article support 4 is raised one step higher than the upper surface of the fan-shaped part 11 located forward with the ridges 13 and is like a wall from the front side. The movement suppressing means 6 is configured to suppress movement in the radial direction 5 of 5. When the rear article support 4 is oscillated together with the front article support 4 on which the articles 2 are placed by the movement suppressing means 6, the articles 2 moved by the oscillation of the front article support 4 are moved. It comes in contact with the rear movement suppressing means 6 and is pushed outward, and the delivery in the lateral direction of the article 2 is further strengthened.

In the present example, two or more articles are delivered on the article transport body 1 described above, and the articles 2 are placed and transported. Then, the article supporting portions 4 of the two or more article conveying bodies 1 on which the articles 2 are placed at the portion where the sorting port 3 is placed are sequentially swung in order from the leading one. At this time, the rotational speed is controlled so that the speed of the article support 4 rotated approximately 90 degrees is the same as the chain speed but 180 degrees opposite (in the direction of arrow b in the figure). Make the ground speed at 0 zero. By doing this, the article 2 placed on the article support 4 is sent out in the direction of arrow c with the ground speed of the direction of arrow a of the article carrier 1 being 0 while being moved to draw an arc in a substantially horizontal plane. Be Then, the article 2 can be transited in a substantially horizontal state by providing the belt conveyor 15 rotated in the direction of the arrow c flush with and close to the upper surface of the article support portion 4 just before the article 2 is delivered. it can. The article support unit 4 is continuously rotated by about 10 degrees even after being rotated by 90 degrees, and during that time, the speed of the conveyance direction of the article transport body 1 by the article support unit 4 is canceled. Even if it takes a long time to transit 2, the article 2 is prevented from being braked in the chain movement direction.

The swing of the article carrier 1 is made to operate based on the assortment information of the articles 2. This assortment information is set for each article transport body 1, the number 1 is set to the article transport body 1 supporting the articles 2 sent out at the first assortment port 3, and the second assortment port 3 In the article carrier 1 on which the articles 2 to be sent out are placed, the number 2 is set. This assortment information can be obtained, for example, by providing a camera or the like in the middle of the line of the article transport body 1 to determine the standard of the article 2 and assigning a sorting port according to the standard.

In the present invention, the small articles 2 and the elongated articles 2 such as pepper may be transported by being placed on the article supporting portion 4 of one article transport body 1. For example, when the article 2 is a pepper as shown in FIG. 4, the article 2 is placed on one article support 4 along the longitudinal direction along the arc direction, and when the article 2 is oscillated, The article support 4 is also swung together. The article 2 placed on the front article support unit 4 is brought into contact with the arcuate edge 14 of the rear article support unit 4 at the time of swinging movement, and is sent out in the arrow c direction by the movement suppressing means 6. At this time, since the pepper is changed in the direction of 90 degrees and sent out, it is convenient because the accumulation interval can be reduced by taking over by the belt conveyor 15. Since the article support 4 of the fan-shaped part 11 stacked like a scale gradually descends under the article support 4 in the rear during the swinging rotation, the article 2 is made of the article support 4 in the rear. It comes into contact with the arc-shaped edge 14 (movement suppressing means 6) and is pushed out to the arc outer side, and the article 2 is sent out from the article support 4 in the direction of arrow c when it is swung 90 degrees. ing.

In the present invention, the sorting port 3 may be replaced with the belt conveyor 15 and another device such as a down-tilt shooter may be provided. Depending on the item 2, a roller conveyor or a turntable may be used. According to the method of the present invention, if the article supporting portion 4 is formed in a thin plate shape, any takeover device can be provided substantially flush and close, and transit can be made in a substantially horizontal state.

1 and 2 show an article sorting apparatus according to the present invention, which takes as an example a case where fruits such as peaches and vegetables such as tomatoes are sorted as articles 2. FIG. A large number of article transports 1 on which articles 2 are placed and transported are attached at regular intervals slightly smaller than the size of the articles 2 along a circulating chain 10. In this example, they are attached at an interval of 31.75 mm matched to the pitch of the small chain 10. For this reason, the articles 2 of normal size are passed over and placed on two or more article carriers 1. However, it is also possible to transport an article 2 having a diameter of 30 mm or less, and in this case, one article 2 is placed on one article transport body 1. The article transport body 1 has a hinge 12 at the lower part, and the rotation axis 5 of the hinge 12 is inclined about 3 degrees backward in the transport direction with respect to the vertical. The hinge 12 fixes the first plate 16 to the chain 10, and the second plate 17 is rotatable. The second plate 17 has a fan-shaped part 11 attached to the upper part thereof, and the arc-shaped edge 14 is largely protruded from the rotation shaft 5 toward the front side in the transport direction. A pin 18 protrudes downward at the lower part of the second plate 17, and when the pin 18 is rotated in the direction of the arrow d, the article supporting portion 4 which is an arc-shaped edge portion of the upper fan-shaped part 11 is substantially horizontal It can be turned so as to swing in the lateral direction with the assortment port 3 inside, so that when the pin 18 is returned in the direction of the arrow e, the article support portion 4 of the fan-shaped part 11 can be returned to the initial position forward It is

The fan-shaped parts 11 are thin plate-like and have a thickness of less than 2 mm. The arcuate edge of the front article support 4 is centered on the axis of rotation 5 of the hinge 12 and its radius is about 70 mm greater than the attachment pitch of the article carrier 1, and the forward inclination due to the rearward inclination of the axis of rotation 5. The fan-shaped parts 11 of the article conveyance body 1 on the rear are overlapped like a scale on the fan-shaped parts 11 of the article conveyance body 1 of FIG. More specifically, the fan-shaped part 11 is a metal plate having a base having a spring property, and a resin part molded in a sheet shape is attached to the metal part. Even if the fan-shaped part 11 is inclined by the rear inclination of the rotating shaft 5, the surface of the article support 4 is cut so that only the upper surface of the front article support 4 is horizontal. Is getting thinner towards the tip. Further, in order to increase the conveying force in the rotational direction, a large number of small convex stripes 13 are radially formed on the article supporting portion 4. The article supporting portion 4 also serves as a movement restraining means 6 for restraining the article 2 on the front side from being moved radially inward beyond the arc-shaped edge 14 together with the ridges 13. Further, a lateral support projection 19 is provided on the lateral edge of the article support 4 opposite to the sorting port 3 to support the side of the article 2. The lateral support projection 19 has a function to prevent the article 2 from being inclined to the opposite side by inertia force when the article support section 4 is rotated, and the article support section 4 swings 90 degrees to the sorting port 3 side. It has a function to push out the article 2 reliably by pushing it out to the front end of the belt conveyor 15 of the sorting port 3 when it is made to.

A guide part 20 capable of guiding the pin 18 of the hinge 12 is provided at the sorting port 3 of the chain 10. The guide part 20 is provided with guide grooves 21 and 22 capable of guiding the pin 18, one being a guide groove 21 going straight and the other being an oblique guide groove 22. At the intersection of the two guide grooves 21 and 22, a switching tool 23 for passing the pin 18 through either one of the guide grooves is provided. The switching tool 23 is moved up and down, and in a state where the switching tool 23 is lowered, the pin 18 is made to go straight to the guide groove 21 to go straight and hold the article support part 4 in the initial state directed forward in the transport direction. In the raised state, the pin 18 is guided by the oblique guide groove 23, and the pin 18 is gradually moved to the sorting port 3 side to rotate the second plate 17 in the direction of the arrow d to sort the article supporting portion 4 Swing to the side. The oblique guide groove 22 is designed in accordance with the width of the belt conveyor 15 and makes the article support part 4 swing gradually from the near side in the width direction of the belt conveyor 15 and slightly ahead of the center of the belt conveyor 15 in the width direction. By the way, the article support portion 4 is made to swing 90 degrees, and it is possible to swing it up to 100 degrees while advancing further. For this reason, the articles 2 supported by the article support unit 4 can be transited in the vicinity of the widthwise center of the belt conveyor 15. The guide part 20 and the switching tool 23 constitute a swing drive means 7 which enables the article transport body 1 passing through the sorting port 3 to swing in the lateral direction with the sorting port 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of sorting ports 3 are provided along the transport direction of the chain 10. Although not illustrated, the hand selecting unit for manually placing the article 2 on the article transport body 1 and the article 2 being transported are photographed with a camera to measure the size, shape, and color, though not shown. There is an inspection department to inspect the The inspection unit discriminates the standard of each item 2 based on the inspection result of the item 2 and determines to what sort of sorting port 3 the item 2 is to be sent out to generate sorting information. For example, it is information that discharges one having the standard of the article 2 of A into the first sorting port 3 and discharges the standard B into the second sorting port 3. The assortment information is assigned to each article transport body 1, and the switching device 23 of each assortment port 3 is moved up and down based on the assortment information. For example, when the article transport body 1 whose sorting information is the first sorting port 3 passes the first sorting port 3, the first switching tool 23 is raised, and the sorting information becomes the second sorting port 3 When the article carrier 1 passes the second sorting port 3, the second switching tool 23 is lifted. Further, when the same article 2 is supported by the two article transports 1, the assortment information causes the article support portions 4 of the two article transports 1 to oscillate continuously, and similarly, the three article transports 1 In the case of transporting the same article 2, the article supporting portions 4 of the three article carriers 1 are oscillated continuously. Furthermore, even when the article 2 is not placed directly on the article transport body 1 to be contacted when the article 2 is in contact with the article support portion 4 of the article transport body 1 before and after when the article 2 is moved by swinging. The same assortment information is assigned to swing the article support 4.

In the present embodiment, the belt conveyor 15 of each sorting opening 3 is also interlocked with the sorting information, and when the first switching tool 23 operates, the timing when the first belt conveyor 15 is suitable for taking over the articles 2 Start rotating and stop intermittently at the timing at which the article 2 completely changes over. When the articles 2 are continuously fed out of the article carrier 1, the belt conveyor 15 is operated continuously only during that time. This prevents very small intermittent luck.

An end cover 24 having an L-shaped cross section is attached to the end of the belt conveyor 15 so that the oscillated article support portion 4 of the article transport body 1 does not contact directly. The top surface of the tip cover 24 is substantially flush with the top surface of the belt conveyor 15.

The article transport method 1 and the article transport body 1 in the article sorter according to the present invention may have a structure in which two pieces are set as shown in FIG. 3 in order to facilitate attachment of the article transport body 1 at small intervals. In FIG. 3, a drive case 33 incorporating three gears 30, 31, 32 is attached to two parallel chains 10, and two fan-shaped parts 11 are attached on the drive case 33 two by two. When the two fan-shaped parts 11 rotate the lever 34 connected to the gear 30 in the direction of the arrow e, the two gears 31 and 32 attached to the rotation shaft 5 of the fan-shaped part 11 are simultaneously rotated in the direction of the arrow d , And the upper two article support parts 4 can be swung to the side of the assortment port 3. The lever 34 can be guided and moved in a guide groove as shown in FIG. Also in this example, the rotation axis 5 of the fan-shaped part 11 is inclined about 3 degrees rearward from the vertical, and the rear fan-shaped part 11 is overlapped in a scale shape on the front fan-shaped part 11. In the example of the article transport body 1, assortment information is assigned to sets of two each, and when the article transport body 1 carrying the article 2 straddles two drive cases 33, these are simultaneously or continuously Drive to swing. Further, even if the article support portion 4 is in contact with the article 2 during swinging even if the article support portion 4 does not directly support the article 2, the article support portion 4 is also oscillated.

The mechanism for causing the article support portion to swing in the article sorting method and the article sorting apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above. For example, in a state where the spring is compressed, the article support portion 4 is latched by a latch while facing forward, and the latch is released at a swing position so that the article support portion 4 swings and drives by the force of the spring. There is also a way.

In the present invention, the rotation axis of the fan-shaped part of the article transfer body may be inclined by 3 degrees or more, for example, 5 degrees or 6 degrees from the vertical. In this case, when the arcuate article support portion is swung by 90 degrees, the flat article support portion is inclined downward in the discharge direction, thereby further promoting lateral discharge of the articles.

The method for sorting articles and the sorting apparatus according to the present invention can be used for sorting substantially spherical fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and peaches and for sorting various other articles.

Reference Signs List 1 article carrier 2 article 3 sorting port 4 article support unit 5 rotation shaft 6 movement suppressing means 7 swinging driving means

Claims (6)

1. An article sorting method of sending out articles conveyed on an article conveyance body substantially horizontally to an article next to a conveyance line based on assortment information of the article, and sorting the article by one or two or more article conveyance bodies The article support portion of one or more article transports that support the article by supporting it in a horizontal direction with a sorting opening in a substantially horizontal plane by the rotary shaft disposed on the rear side of the article support portion A method of sorting articles, characterized in that the articles are delivered by swinging the
2. In addition to the article carrier for supporting the articles, the article supports of either or both article supports before and after being brought into contact with the articles being delivered are also oscillated simultaneously or substantially simultaneously. Article sorting method described.
3. The article supporting portion is provided with a movement restraining means for restraining the article moving inward in the radial direction of the rotary shaft, and the article supported or in contact with the article supporting portion is easily pushed outward in the radial direction when swinging. A method of sorting articles according to claim 1 or claim 2.
4. An article sorting apparatus in which a large number of article transports are connected along a transport line, and articles transported by the article transport are sent out approximately horizontally to a sorting port provided on the side of the transport line based on sorting information of articles. And each article transport body is laterally swingable in a substantially horizontal plane by an axis of rotation on which the article support portion capable of supporting articles is disposed on the rear side, and the sorting port passes through the article transport body A swing drive means is provided for laterally swinging the article support with a sorting port, and the swing drive means is characterized in that the operation is controlled based on sorting information of the articles. Item sorting device.
5. 5. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the article supporting portion is formed in an arc shape concentric with the rotation axis and in a thin plate shape.
6. The article according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the rotation axis of the article support is inclined slightly backward from the vertical, so that the rotational spaces of the article support do not interfere with each other in the front and rear article transports. Sorting device.

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