JP7018188B2 - Goods sorting method and goods sorting device - Google Patents

Description

It relates to a sorting method and a sorting device for sorting a large number of articles based on the sorting information, and can be used for sorting articles by horizontally sending them out to a belt conveyor or the like in various devices. .. As an example, it can be used as a sorting machine for sorting perishable items such as vegetables and fruits.

There are several devices according to the type, size, and shape of the articles as a device for sorting a large number of articles by placing them on a carrier and transferring them to a belt conveyor provided at a sorting port in the middle of the line.

For example, in the case described in Patent Document 1, the article carrier of the article carrier is operated diagonally backward to send the article diagonally backward, and the article is transferred to a pool conveyor arranged on the side of the article carrier. It is designed so that it can be sorted. In this mechanism, since the speed component in the transport direction of the article discharged from the traveling article carrier becomes small, it is possible to transfer to a pool conveyor having a narrow width orthogonal to each other in a substantially horizontal state.

Public relations of JP-A-2009-274878.

In the above invention, large fruits and fruits that are comfortable to sit on can be transferred to the pool conveyor in a stable posture, but small fruits and fruits that are easy to roll may not be transferred well. The reason is the method itself of sending the article diagonally backward.

The delivery speed of the article can be expressed by a velocity vector in the diagonally backward direction, which is a velocity component in the transport direction of the article carrier (a negative value because it is in the opposite direction to the transport direction of the article carrier) and the side of the article carrier. It can be decomposed into two, 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 diagonal velocity vector is made as large as possible to the minus side, and the total with the moving speed of the article carrier is calculated. It is desirable to be close to 0. For that purpose, it is sufficient to turn the angle diagonally backward as much as possible, but it is not realistic to move the article in a direction close to the rear because it collides with the immediately following article. Further, there are structural and mechanical restrictions when the belt is reciprocated by the locking tool and the locking tool guide shown in FIG. For this reason, the diagonally rearward angle is actually set to a backward angle of about 35 degrees with respect to the sideways angle.

For example, assuming that the article is sent diagonally backward at an angle of 35 degrees, the feeding speed in the diagonally backward direction may be increased in order to increase the negative speed in the article transport direction as much as possible. Specifically, the rotation speed of the diagonal belt conveyor may be increased. However, on the other hand, at the same time, the velocity component in the lateral direction of the article carrier also increases. As the speed in the lateral direction increases, it becomes necessary to rotate the pool conveyor on the side to be taken over at a high speed as well. However, if the pool conveyor is operated at high speed, it will inevitably become long. Furthermore, if the pool conveyor is operated intermittently to align and store articles, the conveyor must be rapidly accelerated and decelerated within the cycle time of the intermittent operation, and round and uncomfortable fruits such as peaches and apples are precious. Even if the transfer is made in a good posture, it may be shaken back on the conveyor and fall, or if the intermittent distance is reduced, the fruits may collide with each other on the conveyor.

From the above, while setting the diagonally rearward angle to about 35 degrees, looking at the overall balance, the speed vector of the diagonally rearward delivery does not completely cancel the speed of the goods carrier, and the takeover speed of the pool belt is also moderate. I had to control the delivery with a somewhat compromised setting of raising it. As a result, small fruits and fruits such as peaches and apples that were uncomfortable were transferred to the pool conveyor while the speed in the transport direction remained, and there remained a problem with the number of falls and accumulations on the pool conveyor.

In addition, when the article carrier is composed of a belt or a roller, the article is driven up to the tip roller, but since the diameter of the roller is practically 10 or more mm, it is necessary to drive the article to the tip of the pool conveyor facing each other. There was a valley of several centimeters in which the article could not be driven. This valley became a big problem for the small items described above and the items that were difficult to sit and roll easily, and combined with the speed balance above, it was a factor that hindered smooth connections.

Further, if the article carrier is composed of a belt or a roller, there is a problem that it is difficult to clean even if dirt adheres.

The article sorting method of the present invention is an article sorting method in which articles to be transported on an article carrier are sent out to a sorting port next to a transport line in a substantially horizontal state based on the article sorting information and sorted. The article support portion of the two or more article carriers that support the article is placed on the rear side of the article carrier and supported by being placed on one or more article carriers. The article was sent out by rotating in the same direction around each axis of rotation in a certain horizontal direction.

The article is brought into contact with and supported by the article support portion of one article carrier, and the article support portion of the article carrier that comes into contact with the article is a sorting port in a substantially horizontal plane by a rotation axis arranged on the rear side of the article support portion. While rotating around the same rotation axis in a certain lateral direction, the article support part one behind is also rotated in the same direction around the rotation axis of the article support part, and the moved article is moved to the article support part on the rear side. The article was sent out by contacting with the movement restraining means provided on the edge of the object to prevent the article from remaining on the article support portion in front of the object.

In the article sorting device of the present invention, a large number of article carriers are connected along the transport line, and the articles transported by the article carrier based on the article sorting information are substantially horizontal to the sorting port provided beside the transport line. It is an article sorting device that sends out and sorts articles in a state, and each article carrier can swing laterally in a substantially horizontal plane by a rotation axis in which an article support portion that can support articles is arranged on the rear side, and sorts. The mouth is provided with a swing driving means that enables the article support portion of the passing article carrier to rotate in the same direction around the rotation axis in the horizontal direction with the sorting port, and the swing driving means is used for sorting information of the articles. At least two or more continuous article support portions are swung based on the above.

The article support portion is formed in an arc shape concentric with the rotation axis and formed in a thin plate shape, and the rotation axis of the article support portion is inclined slightly rearward from the vertical direction so that the rotation space of the article support portion is created in the front and rear article carriers. I tried not to interfere with each other.

The article sorting method of the present invention has the following effects.
(1) Since the article support portion is rotated so as to swing sideways on the rear rotation axis to deliver the article, for example, if the article is swung 90 degrees, the delivery direction of the article is opposite to the transport direction of the article carrier. , The moving speed of the article carrier can be easily canceled and discharged to the side. Although the lateral speed of the article support is 0 in itself, the article can be discharged laterally because the support of the article is moved laterally and centrifugal force acts on the article. It can be taken over in a nearly horizontal state.
(2) Since the article is sent out in an arcuate orbit, it is less likely to come into contact with the article behind compared to the method of ejecting the article diagonally backward, and the space for placing the article on the article carrier is narrowed to improve the transport capacity. be able to.
(3) Since the article support portion does not require additional small parts such as belts and rollers that are difficult to clean, it is possible to realize an article sorting device that is easy to clean and hygienic.
(4) If the article support portion is made into a thin plate shape, the article support portion can be flush with and close to the upper surface of the conveyor when a belt conveyor is provided at the sorting port for transfer, and a valley that causes a transfer error. Does not produce. Since the thin plate-shaped article support portion sends the article to the upper surface of the belt conveyor, the article can be smoothly and stably transferred in a stable posture.
(5) When the rear article support portion that comes into contact with the article is also swung together, the movement suppressing means of the article support portion pushes the article outward, so that the article can be sent out more reliably.
(6) For a method of transporting articles by supporting them on one or more article carriers, a large one is placed on three or four article carriers, and a small one is placed on two article carriers. Large and small items can be mixed and sorted efficiently.

In addition to the above effects, the article sorting apparatus of the present invention has the following effects.
(1) It is possible to make a sorting device having a simple structure in which the article support portion on which the parts are placed and supported is swung.
(2) By making the article support portion arcuate or fan-shaped, even if the placement position of the article changes, it can be moved in almost the same trajectory, so that there is a margin for the change in the placement method.
(3) Since the rotation axis of the article carrier is slightly tilted rearward and the rotation spaces of the front and rear article support portions are different, the article carriers can be brought close to each other and arranged at high density. When the interval between the article carriers is small, it is possible to transport a mixture of small items to large items, and it is possible to improve the transfer capacity and the sorting capacity.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sorting port portion in an embodiment of the article sorting method and the article sorting device of the present invention. It is an enlarged view of FIG. 1 and is a state in which the article support portion is swung. The perspective view which showed the other embodiment of the article carrier in the article sorting method and article sorting apparatus of this invention. The perspective view which showed the other embodiment of the article sorting method of this invention.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the article sorting method of the present invention, and are examples of sorting round fruit vegetables such as peaches and tomatoes as the article 2. A large number of article transporters 1 on which the article 2 is placed and transported are attached along a chain 10 that circulates at equal intervals smaller than the size of the article 2. In this example, they are attached at an interval of 31.75 mm according to the pitch of the small chain 10. The article carrier 1 is moved by the chain 10 at 450 mm / sec. Each article carrier 1 is provided with a substantially fan-shaped fan-shaped component 11 at the upper portion, and in the initial position, the arc-shaped edge portion (which is the article support portion 4) is oriented in the chain moving direction (direction of arrow a in FIG. 2). It is aimed. The fan-shaped component 11 is connected to the chain 10 by a hinge 12, and the center of the arc is concentric with the rotation axis 5 of the hinge 12, and the article support portion 4 is oriented 90 degrees or more behind the partition port 3 in the lateral direction. It is possible to swing. Further, the rotation shaft 5 of each hinge 12 is tilted about 3 degrees rearward from the vertical direction, and fan-shaped parts 11 having a radius of about 70 mm, which is larger than the mounting pitch of the article carrier 1, are overlapped like scales, and each fan-shaped part is overlapped. 11 allows each one to swing and rotate independently. Further, the article support portion 4 on the front side of each article carrier 1 is raised due to the backward inclination of the rotating shaft 5, and when the article 2 is passed over to two or more article carriers 1 and placed on the article carrier 1, almost only the article support portion 4 is used. It has come to be supported.

A plurality of ridges 13 are provided radially 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. Further, the arcuate edge 14 of the article support portion 4 is one step higher than the upper surface of the fan-shaped component 11 in front together with the ridge 13, and is like a wall from the front side, and the article 2 is a rotation axis. It is a movement suppressing means 6 that suppresses the movement of the fifth inward in the radial direction. When the rear article support 4 is swung together with the front article support 4 on which the article 2 is placed by the movement suppressing means 6, the article 2 moved by the swing of the front article support 4 is moved. It comes into contact with the rearward movement suppressing means 6 and is pushed out to the outside, so that the lateral delivery of the article 2 is further strengthened.

In this example, two or more articles 2 are passed on the article carrier 1 and the articles 2 are placed and transported. Then, the article support portions 4 of the two or more article carriers 1 on which the article 2 is placed are swung in order from the first one at a place where the sorting port 3 is located. At this time, the rotation speed is controlled so that the speed of the article support portion 4 rotated by approximately 90 degrees is the same as the chain speed but is 180 degrees opposite (direction of arrow b in the figure), and the direction of arrow a of the article 2 is reached. The ground speed in is set to 0. By doing so, the article 2 placed on the article support 4 is moved in a substantially horizontal plane in an arc, and is sent out in the arrow c direction with the ground velocity in the arrow a direction of the article carrier 1 being 0. Is done. Then, by providing a belt conveyor 15 that is flush with and close to the upper surface of the article support portion 4 and rotated in the direction of the arrow c just before the article 2 is sent out, the article 2 can be transferred in a substantially horizontal state. can. Even after the article support portion 4 is rotated 90 degrees, it is continuously rotated about 10 degrees, and during that time, the speed of the article carrier 1 in the transport direction by the article support portion 4 is canceled out, and the article should be exerted. Even if it takes a long time to transfer to 2, the article 2 is prevented from being braked in the direction of chain movement.

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

In the present invention, a small article 2 or an elongated article 2 such as a cucumber may be placed on an article support portion 4 of one article carrier 1 and transported. For example, when the article 2 is a cucumber as shown in FIG. 4, the article 2 is placed on one article support 4 along the arc direction in the longitudinal direction, and when the article 2 is swung, it is rearward. The article support portion 4 is also swung together. The article 2 placed on the front article support portion 4 is brought into contact with the arcuate edge 14 of the rear article support portion 4 during the swing movement and is sent out in the arrow c direction by the movement suppressing means 6. At this time, since the cucumber is sent out after being converted in the direction of 90 degrees, it is convenient to take over the cucumber on the belt conveyor 15 because the accumulation interval can be shortened. Since the article support portion 4 of the fan-shaped parts 11 stacked like scales gradually slips under the rear article support portion 4 during the swing rotation, the article 2 is the rear article support portion 4. It comes into contact with the arc-shaped edge 14 (movement suppressing means 6) and is pushed out to the outside of the arc, and when it is swung 90 degrees, the article 2 is sent out from above the article support portion 4 in the direction of arrow c. ing.

In the present invention, the sorting port 3 may be provided with another device such as a downhill shooter instead of the belt conveyor 15. Depending on the article 2, a roller conveyor or a turntable may be used. In the method of the present invention, if the article support portion 4 is made into a thin plate shape, any transfer device can be provided so as to be substantially flush with each other and close to each other, and can be transferred in a substantially horizontal state.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the article sorting apparatus of the present invention, and is an example of a case where fruits such as peaches and vegetables such as tomatoes are sorted as article 2. A large number of article carriers 1 on which the articles 2 are placed and conveyed are attached along a chain 10 that circulates at equal intervals, which is slightly smaller than the size of the articles 2. In this example, they are attached at an interval of 31.75 mm according to the pitch of the small chain 10. Therefore, the normal size article 2 is handed over to two or more article carriers 1 and placed on the article carrier 1. However, it is 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 carrier 1. The article carrier 1 has a hinge 12 at the lower portion, and the rotation shaft 5 of the hinge 12 is tilted about 3 degrees backward in the transport direction with respect to the vertical direction. In this hinge 12, the first plate 16 is fixed to the chain 10, and the second plate 17 is rotatable. The fan-shaped component 11 is attached to the upper portion of the second plate 17, so that the arcuate edge 14 protrudes greatly from the rotation shaft 5 toward the front side in the transport direction. A pin 18 is projected downward from the lower portion of the second plate 17, and when the pin 18 is rotated in the direction of the arrow d, the article support portion 4, which is the arcuate edge portion of the upper fan-shaped component 11, is formed in a substantially horizontal plane. It can be rotated so as to swing in the lateral direction with the partition port 3, and when the pin 18 is returned in the direction of arrow e, the article support portion 4 of the fan-shaped component 11 can be returned to the initial position in front of the transport direction. There is.

The fan-shaped component 11 has a thin plate shape and a thickness of less than 2 mm. The arc edge of the front article support portion 4 is centered on the rotation axis 5 of the hinge 12, and the radius thereof is about 70 mm, which is larger than the mounting pitch of the article carrier 1, and is forward due to the rearward inclination of the rotation axis 5. The fan-shaped component 11 of the rear article carrier 1 is overlapped on the fan-shaped component 11 of the article carrier 1 like a radius. More specifically, the fan-shaped component 11 has a metal plate whose base has a spring property, and a resin component molded into a sheet shape is attached onto the metal plate. The surface of the article support portion 4 is cut so that only the upper surface of the front article support portion 4 is horizontal even if the fan-shaped component 11 is inclined backward by the rotation shaft 5, and the cross section of the article support portion 4 is formed. Is getting thinner toward the tip. Further, a large number of small ridges 13 are formed radially on the article support portion 4 in order to increase the carrying force in the rotational direction. The article support portion 4 is also a movement suppressing means 6 for suppressing the front article 2 from being moved inward in the radial direction beyond the arcuate edge 14 together with the protrusion 13. Further, a lateral support protrusion 19 that can support the side surface of the article 2 is provided on the lateral edge of the article support portion 4 on the opposite side to the partition port 3. The lateral support protrusion 19 has a function of preventing the article 2 from tilting to the opposite side due to inertial force when the article support portion 4 is rotated, and swings the article support portion 4 90 degrees to the partition port 3 side. It has a function of pushing out to the front end of the belt conveyor 15 of the sorting port 3 and reliably sending out the article 2.

A guide component 20 that can guide the pin 18 of the hinge 12 is provided at the partition 3 portion of the chain 10. The guide component 20 is provided with guide grooves 21 and 22 capable of guiding the pin 18, one is a straight guide groove 21 and the other is an oblique guide groove 22. At the intersection of both guide grooves 21 and 22, a switching tool 23 for passing the pin 18 through either guide groove is provided. The switching tool 23 is moved up and down, and when the switching tool 23 is lowered, the pin 18 is made to go straight to the guide groove 21 which goes straight, and the article support portion 4 is held in the initial state facing forward in the transport direction, and the switching tool 23 moves. In the raised state, the pin 18 is guided by the diagonal guide groove 23, the pin 18 is gradually moved to the partition port 3 side, the second plate 17 is rotated in the direction of the arrow d, and the article support portion 4 is the partition port 3. Swing to the side. The diagonal guide groove 22 is designed according to the width of the belt conveyor 15, and the article support portion 4 is gradually swung from the front side in the width direction of the belt conveyor 15 and slightly ahead of the center in the width direction of the belt conveyor 15. By the way, the article support portion 4 is swung 90 degrees, and can be swung up to 100 degrees while advancing further. Therefore, the article 2 supported by the article support portion 4 can be transferred near the center in the width direction of the belt conveyor 15. The guide component 20 and the switching tool 23 are swing driving means 7 that enable the article carrier 1 passing through the sorting port 3 to swing in the lateral direction where the sorting port 3 is located.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of the sorting ports 3 are provided along the transport direction of the chain 10. Although not shown on the front side of these sorting ports 3 in the transport direction, the size, shape, and color of the hand-selecting section for manually placing the article 2 on the article transport body 1 and the article 2 being transported are photographed with a camera. There is an inspection department that inspects. The inspection unit determines the standard of each article 2 based on the inspection result of the article 2, determines the number of the sorting port 3 to send the article 2, and generates the sorting information. For example, it is information that the article 2 having the standard A is discharged to the first sorting port 3 and the standard B is discharged to the second sorting port 3. This sorting information is assigned to each article carrier 1, and the switching tool 23 of each sorting port 3 is moved up and down based on this sorting information. For example, when the goods carrier 1 whose sorting information is the first sorting port 3 passes through the first sorting port 3, the first switching tool 23 is raised and the sorting information becomes the second sorting port 3. When the goods carrier 1 passes through the second sorting port 3, the second switching tool 23 is raised. Further, when the same article 2 is supported by the two article carriers 1, the assortment information is obtained by continuously swinging the article support portion 4 of the two article carriers 1 and similarly by the three article carriers 1. When transporting the same article 2, the article support portion 4 of the three article transport bodies 1 is continuously swung. Further, even if the article 2 is not directly placed, if the article 2 comes into contact with the article support portion 4 of the front and rear article carrier 1 when the article 2 is swung, the article carrier 1 to be contacted also also has a contact. The same sorting information is assigned so that the article support portion 4 swings.

In the present embodiment, the belt conveyor 15 of each sorting port 3 also operates in conjunction with the sorting information, and when the first switching tool 23 operates, the timing at which the first belt conveyor 15 is suitable for taking over the article 2. The rotation is started at, and the rotation is stopped at the timing when the article 2 is completely transferred. When the article 2 is continuously sent out from the article carrier 1, the belt conveyor 15 is continuously operated only during that period. This prevents very small intermittent luck.

A tip cover 24 having an L-shaped cross section is attached to the tip of the belt conveyor 15 so that the swinging article support portion 4 of the article carrier 1 does not come into direct contact with the tip. The upper surface of the tip cover 24 is substantially flush with the upper surface of the belt conveyor 15.

The article carrier 1 in the article sorting method and the article sorting device of the present invention may have a structure in which two articles are set as shown in FIG. 3 in order to facilitate attachment of the article carrier 1 at small intervals. In FIG. 3, a drive case 33 containing three gears 30, 31, and 32 is attached to two parallel chains 10, and two fan-shaped parts 11 are attached on the drive case 33. The two fan-shaped parts 11 rotate the lever 34 connected to the gear 30 in the direction of arrow e, so that 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 arrow d. , The above two article support portions 4 can be swung toward the sorting port 3. The lever 34 can be guided and moved by the guide groove as shown in FIG. In this example as well, the rotation shaft 5 of the fan-shaped component 11 is tilted about 3 degrees rearward from the vertical direction, and the rear fan-shaped component 11 is overlapped on the front fan-shaped component 11 in a scale shape. In the example of the article carrier 1, assortment information is assigned to each set of two, and when the article carrier 1 on which the article 2 is placed straddles two drive cases 33, these are simultaneously or continuously. Drive to swing. Further, even if the article 2 is not directly supported, if there is an article support portion 4 that comes into contact with the article 2 during the swing, the article support portion 4 is also swung.

In the article sorting method and the article sorting device of the present invention, the mechanism for swinging the article support portion is not limited to the above. For example, the article support portion 4 is locked with a latch in a state where the spring is compressed and the article support portion 4 is kept facing forward, and the latch is released at the swing point so that the article support portion 4 is driven by the force of the spring. There is also a method.

In the present invention, the rotation axis of the fan-shaped component of the article carrier may be tilted by 3 degrees or more, for example, 5 degrees or 6 degrees from the vertical direction. In this case, when the arc-shaped article support portion is swung 90 degrees, the flat article support portion becomes a downward inclined surface in the discharge direction, so that the lateral discharge of the article is further promoted.

The article sorting method and the article sorting device of the present invention can be used for sorting substantially spherical fruit vegetables such as tomatoes and peaches, fruits, and other various articles.

1 Goods carrier 2 Goods 3 Sorting port 4 Goods support 5 Rotating shaft 6 Movement restraining means 7 Swing driving means

Claims (4)

This is an article sorting method in which articles to be transported on an article carrier are sent out to a sorting port next to a transport line in a substantially horizontal state based on the article sorting information and sorted, and the articles are delivered to two or more article carriers. The article support parts of two or more article carriers that are placed and supported by the article carrier are arranged on the rear side of the article support portion. An article sorting method characterized in that articles are sent out by rotating them in the same direction around the center . This is an article sorting method in which articles to be transported on an article carrier are sent out to a sorting port next to a transport line in a substantially horizontal state based on the article sorting information and sorted, and the articles are sorted by an article support portion of one article carrier. The article support part of the article carrier that comes into contact with the article is placed on the rear side of the article support portion, and is supported by the article carrier. Along with the rotation, the article support portion one rearward is also rotated in the same direction around the rotation axis of the article support portion, and the moved article comes into contact with the movement suppressing means provided on the edge of the article support portion on the rear side. An article sorting method, characterized in that the article is prevented from remaining on the front article support portion and is sent out. A large number of article carriers are connected along the transport line, and the articles transported by the article carrier based on the article sorting information are sent out to the sorting port provided next to the transport line in a substantially horizontal state for sorting. It is a device, and each article carrier can swing laterally in a substantially horizontal plane by a rotation axis in which an article support portion capable of supporting the article is arranged on the rear side, and the article carrier passes through the sorting port. The swing driving means is provided so that the article support portion of the article can be rotated in the same direction around the rotation axis in the lateral direction with the sorting port, and the swing driving means is at least two or more based on the sorting information of the article. An article sorting device characterized in that a continuous article support portion is swung. The article support portion is formed in an arc shape concentric with the rotation axis and formed in a thin plate shape, and the rotation axis of the article support portion is inclined slightly rearward from the vertical direction so that the rotation space of the article support portion is created in the front and rear article carriers. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the article sorting apparatus is designed so as not to interfere with each other.

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