JP3920981B2 - Transported material sorting device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for sorting conveyed items used when sorting articles or the like according to destinations in a distribution center, for example.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a sorting device for a transported material used when sorting a transported material transported in a transport path according to a destination, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-282835, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-48724, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5- No. 26921 is disclosed.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the apparatuses disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-282835 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-48724, the structure of the sorting apparatus is complicated because the rollers or wheels are moved up and down during sorting. It was.
[0004]
In addition, the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-26921 has a problem in that it is difficult to selectively sort in a plurality of sorting directions because the sorting direction of the conveyed product is limited.
[0005]
The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transported material sorting apparatus capable of selectively and reliably sorting a transported object in a plurality of sorting directions. .
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the transported material sorting apparatus according to the present invention is a transported material capable of selectively sorting a transported material transported on a transport path in any one of a plurality of sorting directions. In the sorting device,
A drive roller interlocking with the drive motor;
A driven roller that is in contact with the drive roller and rotates reversely to the drive roller;
It is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to an axis perpendicular to the conveyance path surface of the conveyed product, and is provided at the tip of an inclination shaft provided to be rotatable around the axis so as to be rotatable around the axis. And an inclined roller that is selectively brought into contact with the driving roller or the driven roller and rotated in the forward and reverse directions by being rotated around an axis perpendicular to the road surface.
According to this feature, when the conveyed product conveyed in the conveying path reaches the inclined roller, the conveyed item receives the rotational force of the driving roller directly or via the driven roller and drives the upper surface of the inclined roller. It is brought into contact with the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion, receives the rotational force of the inclined roller, is converted into a predetermined direction, and is sent out. Also, if the direction is changed by rotating the tilt roller in the horizontal direction, it is selectively brought into contact with the drive roller or driven roller, and the rotation direction is switched, so that the conveyed product can be converted into an arbitrary direction and sent out. I can do it.
[0007]
In the conveyed product sorting apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the driven roller is provided so as to be rotatable around the axis of the driving roller in a state where the driven roller is in contact with the driving roller and the inclined roller.
If it does in this way, the change range of the direction change angle of the conveyed product by an inclination roller will become wide.
[0008]
The transported article sorting apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a drive shaft appropriately interlocked with the drive motor over the vicinity of each of the plurality of inclined rollers, and each of the drive shafts and each of the drive rollers provided corresponding to each of the inclined rollers. It is preferable that the drive rollers are interlocked with each other through the interlocking means so that each drive roller is interlocked with the rotation of the drive shaft.
In this way, since a plurality of inclined rollers can be simultaneously interlocked by one drive motor, the structure is simplified and the cost can be reduced.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a main part of a transport apparatus 1 as an embodiment of the present invention. The transport apparatus 1 includes a pair of left and right conveyor rails 2. 2 and a roller 4 provided between the conveyor rails 2 and 2 via a support shaft 3 that is rotatable in the left-right direction with respect to the conveyance direction (arrow direction in the figure) of the conveyed product. The upstream carrying-in part 5 and the downstream carrying-out parts 6, 7, and 10 and the conveyed product conveyed from the carrying-in part 5 toward the carrying-out part in any of the downstream carrying-out parts 6, 7, and 10 A direction changing device 8 that can be selectively conveyed includes a plurality of branch portions 9 provided between the conveyor rails 2 and 2.
[0010]
The plurality of rollers 4 disposed in the carry-in unit 5 and the carry-out units 6, 7, and 10 are coupled to each other so as to be rotatable in the same direction via coupling belts 12 wound around the rollers 4 adjacent to each other. As shown in FIG. 2, the roller 4 at a predetermined location is connected to a pulley 15 fixed to a drive shaft 14 of a drive motor 13 provided at a predetermined location below the roller 4 via a connection belt 12a. Therefore, the driving force of the driving motor 13 is applied so as to transfer the object positioned on the roller 4.
[0011]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of direction changing devices 8 are arranged on the upstream side of the branching section 9 in the left-right direction with respect to the entering direction of the conveyed product. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 in particular, the direction changing device 8 includes a vertical axis 16b perpendicular to the conveyance path surface 19 of the conveyance object constituted by the plurality of rollers 4, and an upper side relative to the vertical axis 16b. Is inclined on a shaft member 16 formed of an inclined shaft 16a inclined at a predetermined angle α (about 15 degrees in the present embodiment), and on a receiving member 17 which is tapered upward at the upper end of the inclined shaft 16a. The inclined roller 18 is rotatably mounted around the axis 16a.
[0012]
The vertical shaft 16b is supported by being inserted through a horizontal plate 20b of an L-shaped support member 20 including a vertical plate 20a erected on the substrate 22 and a horizontal plate 20b connected from the upper end of the vertical plate 20a. The lower end is inserted into the board 22 horizontally placed between the conveyor rails 2 and 2, and is rotated around the axis on the board 22 by the flange portion 21 provided so as to sandwich the upper and lower surfaces of the board 22. It is provided freely.
[0013]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the lower end of the vertical shaft 16 b slides in the left-right direction with respect to the entering direction of the conveyed object via a guide member 24 erected at the predetermined position on the substrate 22. A pinion 23 that meshes with a linear rack 25 that is movably provided is fixed.
[0014]
A drive motor 26 is provided on one end side of the rack 25, and a speed reducer 27 is connected to the drive motor 26. A drive pinion 29 fixed to a connecting shaft 28 protruding from the upper end of the speed reducer 27 is engaged with the rack 25. By driving the drive motor 26, the rack 25 can be moved in the left-right direction. ing. That is, by the movement of the rack 25, the vertical shaft 16b is rotated around the axis, and the directions of the inclined shaft 16a and the inclined roller 18 are switched as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
[0015]
The drive motor 26 is connected to a control device provided at an appropriate place, and can be driven at a desired place. Further, the drive motor 26 is provided with a rotary encoder (not shown) for measuring the rotational speed of the drive shaft and the like, and the direction and switching angle of the inclined roller 18 can be controlled.
[0016]
Further, a guide roller 31 for biasing the rack 25 in the direction of the pinion 23 via the spring 30 is provided so that the gear portion of the rack 25 and the gear portion of the pinion 23 and the drive pinion 29 are reliably engaged with each other. Is provided.
[0017]
As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, behind each direction changing device 8, a drive shaft 35 that is inserted and supported through the horizontal plate 20 b is mounted on a substrate through a recess 36 provided at the lower end. 22 is rotatably fitted around a base shaft 37 provided vertically. A disc-shaped drive roller 38 is attached to the tip of the drive shaft 35.
[0018]
At the lower end of the drive shaft 35, a connecting belt is connected to a pulley 40 provided at equal intervals on a horizontal shaft 39 provided between the drive shaft 35 and the shaft member 16 via the guide member 43 and substantially parallel to the rack 25. A pulley 42 connected via 41 is fixed. The horizontal shaft 39 is connected to a drive motor 44 provided at one end, and is rotated around the axis by driving of the drive motor 44. This rotational force is transmitted via the connection belt 41. It is transmitted to each drive shaft 35.
[0019]
A support cylinder 45 having a lower end fixed on the horizontal plate 20b is provided at a predetermined position on the outer periphery of the drive shaft 35. Further, a concave groove 45a formed on the outer periphery of the support cylinder 45 is substantially L-shaped. A rotating shaft 46 formed in a shape is provided to be rotatable around the axis of the shaft member 35 via an annular ring 46a. A driven roller 47 having the same diameter as that of the drive roller 38 is provided at the upper end of the rotation shaft 46 so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis so that the outer peripheral surface 47 a is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface 38 a of the drive roller 38. .
[0020]
The rotary shaft 46 is always urged clockwise around the drive shaft 35 in FIG. 5A by a spring 48 whose one end is held by a fixed pin 50 erected on the horizontal plate 20b. And it is regulated by a stopper pin 49 standing on the horizontal plate 20b at a predetermined location.
[0021]
Further, on the downstream side of the direction changing device 8 in the branching section 9, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a support roller 33 that can rotate around a horizontal axis is provided between the conveyor rails 2 and 2 and the conveying path surface 19. It is provided on the board | substrate 32 horizontally mounted substantially parallel with respect to. These support rollers 33 are rotatable about a vertical axis 34 that is inserted into the substrate 32 so as to face the delivery direction of the conveyed product, and the uppermost portion is located at substantially the same height as the uppermost portion of the inclined roller 18. It is provided as follows.
[0022]
In the inclined roller 18 shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 6A, the inclined shaft 16a is centered on the axis of the vertical shaft 16b with respect to the entering direction of the conveyed product (the white arrow in the figure). It is set to be inclined by a predetermined angle θ (θ = 45 degrees). In this state, the vicinity of the uppermost portion of the outer periphery of the upper surface 18a of the inclined roller 18 is positioned above the conveying path surface 19 of the conveyed object constituted by the roller 4 by a height h as shown in FIG. Is set.
[0023]
In this state, the outer peripheral surface 18c of the inclined roller 18 is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface 47a of the driven roller 47 in which the outer peripheral surface 47a is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface 38a of the driving roller 38. The driving roller 38 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in the drawing by the rotation of the horizontal shaft 39 that is rotated by the rotation of the horizontal shaft 39, so that the driving roller 38 is rotated clockwise in the drawing. At this time, since the driven roller 47 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface 18c of the inclined roller 18 by the spring 48, loss of rotational force due to slipping is prevented.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 6B, when the inclination angle θ is −45 degrees, that is, 45 degrees in the opposite direction to FIG. 18c abuts on the outer peripheral surface 38a of the drive roller 38, and the rotational force of the drive roller 38 is directly transmitted, so that it rotates counterclockwise in the figure.
[0025]
Further, when the inclination angle θ is inclined by 90 degrees as shown in FIG. 6C, the driven roller 47 has the outer peripheral surface 47a from the position shown in FIG. While being in contact with the outer peripheral surface 18 c of the tilt roller 18, the tilt roller 18 is rotated counterclockwise around the drive shaft 35. Then, it receives the rotational force of the driving roller 38 via the driven roller 47 and is rotated clockwise. Even in this state, the driven roller 47 is pressed against the inclined roller 18.
[0026]
Next, the action of the inclined roller 18 when changing the direction of the conveyed product will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 6A to 8.
[0027]
First, when the inclination angle of the inclined shaft 16a with respect to the entering direction of the conveyed product is set to θ = 45 degrees, the conveyed product H is applied with a driving force as shown in FIG. When transported in the direction of the branching section 9 by the roller 4 and reaches the branching section 9, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6A in particular, the tip of the transported object H is near the outer peripheral portion of the inclined roller 18, a point P1. Touched nearby.
[0028]
Here, the conveyed product H receives the rotational force of the inclined roller 18 driven as described above, and the contact point between the conveyed product H and the inclined roller 18 is a position indicated by the oblique line in FIG. 6A from the position near P1. Is moved so as to ride on the outer peripheral portion of the inclined roller 18, and receives the rotational force of the inclined roller 18 at the uppermost position near P2 and receives the feed force in the tangential direction of the inclined roller 18.
[0029]
When the entire conveyed product H is further entered into the branching section 9 as shown in FIG. 8C, the entire conveyed product H is gradually changed in direction by the plurality of direction changing devices 8 and the support roller 33 is Are gradually fed out in the direction of the carry-out unit 7, that is, in the direction of about 45 degrees to the right (arrow direction in the figure) with respect to the carrying direction, and enters the carry-out unit 7.
[0030]
Further, when the direction of the conveyed product H is changed in the direction of the carry-out unit 10, the inclined roller 18 is rotated in contact with the driving roller 38, and when the conveyed product H is further sent in the direction of the carry-out unit 6, the inclined roller 18 makes the driven roller 47 Therefore, the transported object H can be reliably sent to the unloading units 6 and 10 without being decelerated or stopped by the direction changing unit 8, and the inclined roller 18 is horizontally driven at a predetermined angle by the drive motor 26. Can be selectively sorted in the direction of a plurality of carry-out sections.
[0031]
In addition, if at least the vicinity of the outer periphery of the upper surface of the inclined roller 18 is made of a high friction member having high sliding friction resistance, such as hard rubber, the conveying can be performed without increasing the inclination angle α of the inclined shaft 16a with respect to the vertical shaft 16b. The object H can be smoothly converted in a desired direction.
[0032]
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and modifications and additions within the scope of the present invention are included in the present invention. It is.
[0033]
For example, in this embodiment, the inclined roller 18 is driven only when it is inclined at 45 degrees, −45 degrees, or 45 degrees or more with respect to the entering direction of the conveyed product. The range can be arbitrarily changed.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention has the following effects.
[0035]
(A) According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the conveyed product conveyed in the conveying path reaches the inclined roller, the conveyed product receives the rotational force of the driving roller directly or via the driven roller. In contact with the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the upper surface of the tilting roller that is driven, the rotational force of the tilting roller is received and converted into a predetermined direction and sent out. Also, if the direction is changed by rotating the tilt roller in the horizontal direction, it is selectively brought into contact with the drive roller or driven roller, and the rotation direction is switched, so that the conveyed product can be converted into an arbitrary direction and sent out. I can do it.
[0036]
(B) According to invention of Claim 2, the change range of the direction change angle of the conveyed product by an inclination roller becomes wide.
[0037]
(C) According to the invention of claim 3, since a plurality of inclined rollers can be simultaneously interlocked by one drive motor, the structure is simplified and the cost can be reduced.
[0038]
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an essential part showing a conveying apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which a conveyed product is being conveyed on an inclined roller.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG.
6A is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the inclined roller is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the conveying direction, FIG. 6B is −45 degrees, and FIG.
7 is a plan view showing a state in which the direction of a conveyed product is changed on the conveying device of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIGS. 8A to 8C are side views showing a state in which the direction of the conveyed product is changed.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyance apparatus 2 Conveyor rail 3 Support shaft 4 Roller 5 Carry-in part 6, 7, 10 Carry-out part 8 Direction change apparatus 9 Branch part 12, 12a Connection belt 13 Drive motor 14 Drive shaft 15 Pulley 16 Shaft member 16a Inclined shaft 16b Vertical axis 17 receiving member 18 inclined roller 18a upper surface 18b tapered surface 18c outer peripheral surface 19 conveying path surface 20 support member 20a vertical plate 20b horizontal plate 21 flange portion 22 substrate 23 pinion 24 guide member 25 rack 26 drive motor 27 reduction device 28 drive shaft 29 drive pinion 30 Spring 31 Guide roller 32 Substrate 33 Support roller 34 Vertical shaft 35 Drive shaft 36 Recess 37 Base shaft 38 Drive roller 38a, 47a outer peripheral surface 39 Horizontal shaft 40, 42 Pulley 43 Guide member 44 Drive motor 45 Rotating shaft 45a Concave groove 46 Rotating shaft 46a annular ring 47 driven roller 48 Spring 49 Stopper pin 50 Fixing pin

Claims (3)

In a sorting apparatus for transported objects that can selectively sort a transported object that is transported on a transport path in any of the plurality of sorting directions,
A drive roller interlocking with the drive motor;
A driven roller that is in contact with the drive roller and rotates reversely to the drive roller;
It is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to an axis perpendicular to the conveyance path surface of the conveyed product, and is provided at the tip of an inclination shaft provided to be rotatable around the axis so as to be rotatable around the axis. An inclined roller that selectively rotates against a driving roller or a driven roller and rotates in a forward or reverse direction by being rotated around an axis perpendicular to a road surface. apparatus. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driven roller is rotatably provided around an axis of the driving roller in a state where the driven roller is in contact with the driving roller and the inclined roller. A drive shaft appropriately interlocked with the drive motor is provided in the vicinity of each of the plurality of inclined rollers, and the drive shaft and each of the drive rollers provided corresponding to each of the inclined rollers are interlocked via an interlocking unit, 3. The conveyed product sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving roller is interlocked by rotation of the driving shaft.

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