JPH11188316A - Assorting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a sorting device in which the front and back sides of a sorted product are arranged in a fixed direction. SOLUTION: In a sorting device 21, a carrier 31 is provided.
Can be loaded into the storage box 12 of the sorting unit 25 from the sorting unit 25, and the input path is brought into contact with the envelope object 2 to incline the loading posture of the envelope object 2 into the storage box 12 in a certain direction. A device provided with attitude control devices 41 and 42.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sorting apparatus for sorting sorted objects such as envelopes based on sorting information such as postal codes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a conventional apparatus for sorting envelopes based on the description of a postal code will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram seen from the front, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram seen from the plane. The sorting apparatus 1 in the figure includes a supply unit 3, a transport unit 4, a sorting unit 5, and a control unit 6 for controlling these units.

In the supply section 3, a bundle of envelopes 2 on which postal codes are described is placed randomly by an operator in the order of postal codes. These envelopes 2 are supplied one by one to the transport unit 4 by a known separating device 7 including a suction belt and the like. In addition, these envelope objects 2
It is supplied in a bundle in which the surface with the postal code is directed to one side, and at the time of transport, the postal code on the surface of the envelope 2 is read by the reading device 7a.

The transport section 4 has a pair of toothed wheels 9 supported on a horizontal shaft 8 and driven to rotate, and a chain 10 wound around the both toothed wheels 9. A plurality of carriers 11 are supported on the chain 10 at equal pitches. As the chain 10 moves, the carriers 11 move in a closed loop formed in a vertical plane. FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of each carrier 11. The carrier 11 is formed in the shape of a box as a whole, and has an opening 11 on the side where the envelope 2 is supplied from the supply unit 3.
a, and a shutter 11 that opens and closes in the direction of the arrow above and below
b, 11c. And usually, the shutters 11b, 1
Although the shutter 1c is closed, when the shutter reaches a predetermined storage box 12 of the sorting section in the sorting area as described later, the shutter is opened, and the envelope 2 which has been transported so far is thrown into the storage box 12. Although the horizontal shaft 8 may be driven intermittently, it is continuously rotated to increase the processing speed.

[0005] In the sorting section 5, a plurality of storage boxes 12 as shown in FIG. 11 are provided in sorting areas A and B arranged along the movement locus of the carrier 11. This storage box 1
Numeral 2 is for storing the envelopes 2 to be sorted, and the number of the envelopes 2 is determined according to the desired number of sorts.

The operation of the sorting device 1 is as follows. First, the bundled envelopes 2 placed on the supply unit 3 by the operator are supplied to the transport unit 4 while being separated one by one by the separation device 7. At this time, the envelope 2
Is read by the reading device 7a. Envelopes 2 supplied from the supply unit 3 sequentially form one carrier 1 just opposite the supply point 3a of the supply unit 3.
One by one is stored through the opening 11a. The carrier 11 storing the envelope 2 moves in the closed loop with the movement of the chain 10, and during this movement, the carrier 11 passes above the plurality of storage boxes 12 in the sorting areas A and B.

[0007] The postal code read by the reading device 7a is sent to the control section 6 as sorting information. In addition to this information, the control unit 6 includes a separating device 7
Drive motor M1 and the drive motor M2 for driving the horizontal shaft 8
The drive information such as the rotation angle of is input. From these information, the postal code of the stored envelope 2 and the current position of the carrier 11 are determined by the control unit 6 for each carrier 11. It can be grasped. Then, when the control unit 6 recognizes that the envelope 2 conveyed by the carrier 11 has reached or has reached the upper part of the storage box 12 in which the envelope 2 is to be sorted, the storage unit 6 stores the envelope. The shutter 11 of the carrier 11 is operated by a shutter opening / closing mechanism (not shown) installed for each box 12.
b or 11c is opened, and the envelope 2 stored so far is stored.
Is discharged from the carrier 11 and put into the storage box 12 corresponding to the postal code attached to the envelope 2 and stored. The opened shutters 11b and 11c are closed (not shown) in a movement section until the carrier 11 makes one round of the closed loop and faces the supply point 3a of the supply unit 3.

By repeating the above operation,
The envelope 2 placed on the supply unit 3 is placed in one of the storage boxes 12.
It is finally stored and sorted in
Each storage box 12 is provided with a full sensor or the like (not shown),
When a full signal or a full notice signal is output from this sensor, the empty box is activated by an operator depending on a display or warning to that effect, or an automatic exchange device of the storage box 12 is operated based on this signal. Is exchanged for the storage box 12.

[0009]

However, the prior art has the following problems. That is, the orientation of the envelope 2 placed in the carrier 11 from the supply unit 3 is set so that the surface of the envelope 2 to which the postal code is attached faces one side. However, the storage box 12 of the envelope 2 placed in the storage box 12 from the carrier 11
The orientation of the inside of the envelope 2 is random, with the postal code-added surface of the envelope 2 up or down. This is because the envelope 2 that has fallen vertically from the carrier 11 into the storage box 12 cannot be controlled to fall to the left or right side in the storage box 12, and the inside of the carrier 11 before the shutters 11b and 11c are opened. This is because it is not possible to control the posture of the envelope 2 to be tilted to one of the left and right sides in advance. If the direction of the front and back of the sorted envelopes 2 stored in the storage box 12 is random, the handling workability of the sorted envelopes 2 is impaired.

[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide a sorting apparatus in which the front and back sides of a sorted product are arranged in a fixed direction.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a supply unit for sequentially supplying sorted materials, and a large number of carriers moving in a closed loop. A transport unit that transports sorted items in the closed loop, a sorting unit having storage units for each sorting section in a sorting area arranged along a movement locus of the carrier in the transport unit, and sorting of each sorted item. In a sorting device having a control unit that controls to store the sorted items conveyed by the carrier in the corresponding storage unit based on the information, the sorted items can be put into the storage unit of the sorting unit from the carrier, The feeding path is provided with a feeding posture regulating means for abutting the sorting material and inclining the feeding posture of the sorting material into the storage section in a predetermined direction.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, further, as a shutter capable of opening and closing the bottom plate of the carrier, the sorted material is put into the storage portion of the sorting portion by opening the shutter. The closing attitude restricting means stops the shutter opening angle of the carrier at a fixed inclined opening angle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, further, as a shutter capable of opening and closing the bottom plate of the carrier, the sorted material is put into the storage portion of the sorting portion by opening the shutter. The closing attitude regulating means slowly controls the shutter opening speed of the carrier so that the sorting object is brought into contact with the shutter in the inclined opening angle state when the sorting object is inserted.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the input attitude regulating means is a guide chute attached to a storage portion of the sorting portion. is there.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the following operations are provided. Sorted materials discharged from the carrier and thrown into the storage unit of the sorting unit collide with the throwing position regulating means provided on the throwing path, and the throwing attitude to the throwing unit is inclined in a certain direction. . As a result, when the sorted material reaches the storage unit, it always falls to one of the predetermined left and right sides, and the inside and outside of the storage unit can be oriented in a fixed direction.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the following operations are provided. Since the throwing attitude restricting means stops the shutter opening angle of the carrier at a fixed inclined opening angle state, it is possible to adjust the front and back sides of the sorted objects to a fixed direction with a simple configuration.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the following operations are provided. The loading attitude regulating means controls the shutter opening speed of the carrier at a low speed, and when the sorting product is loaded, the sorting product is brought into contact with the shutter in the inclined open angle state. The front and back sides can be arranged in a fixed direction.

According to the present invention, the following effects are obtained. Since the throwing-in attitude regulating means is a guide chute attached to the storage section of the sorting section, the front and back sides of the sorted articles can be arranged in a fixed direction with a simple configuration.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the entire sorting device, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a carrier, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a shutter opening / closing mechanism of the carrier, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first embodiment, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a third embodiment.

(First Embodiment) (FIGS. 1 to 5) A sorting device 21 sorts envelopes 2 based on postal codes, bar codes, or the like, which are sorting information.
The sorting device 21 includes a supply unit 23 for the envelope 2 and a transport unit 2.
4. Sorting unit 25 and control unit 26 for controlling them
And functionally correspond to the supply unit 3, the transport unit 4, the sorting unit 5, and the control unit 6 of the conventional device described above, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and In the description, the differences will be described in detail.

First, the supply unit 23 is arranged so that the postal code is placed on the one side (the side facing the reading device 7a), although the operator places the postal code randomly on the order of the postal code. The envelopes 2 are supplied in a bundle state, and the envelopes 2 are supplied one by one to the transport unit 24. The transport unit 24 is supplied one by one by the separation device 7 including a suction belt or the like as in the conventional device. The postal code attached to the envelope 2 in the middle is read by the reading device 7a.

The transport section 24 has a pair of toothed wheels 29 supported on a vertical shaft 28 driven continuously or intermittently by a drive motor M3, and a chain 30 wound around the double toothed wheels 29. A plurality of carriers 31 are supported at equal pitches on the chain 30, and as the chain 30 moves, the carriers 31 move in a closed loop formed in a horizontal plane. As shown in FIG. 2, the carrier 31 is formed in a box shape as a whole, has an opening 31 a on the side where the envelope 2 is supplied from the supply unit 23, and the bottom plate constitutes a shutter 31 b. This shutter 31b
Has a roller 31c at each end perpendicular to the carrier moving direction, and can be opened and closed in the direction of the arrow by a hinge.

FIG. 3 shows a mechanism for opening and closing the shutter 31b. As the chain 30 moves, the carrier 31 moves in the closed loop.
Guide rail 32 on the trajectory of roller 31c accompanying the movement of
Are installed along its closed loop. Guide rail 32
Supports the roller 31c of the shutter 31b so that the shutter 31b can be held at the closed position, and is divided at various portions corresponding to the storage box installation location of the sorting unit 25 (for example, 32a). An oscillating bridge 33 that can be attached to and detached from 32a. This swing bridge 33
Are individually provided with a rotary solenoid R1 and are pivoted at appropriate timings to be described later to be attached to and detached from the dividing portion 32a of the guide rail 32. The bridge 33 is at the dividing point 32a
When the bridge is set to
And the bridge 33 supports the roller 31c of the shutter 31b to position the shutter 31b at the closed position. In a state where the bridge 33 is detached from the dividing portion 32a, the upper surface of the bridge is swung up above the guide surface of the guide rail 32, and the shutter 31b by the bridge 33 is moved.
The support of the roller 31c is released and the shutter 31b can be opened.

When the carrier 31 is guided by the guide rails 32 and passes through the storage box installation places where it is not necessary to store the sorted items, the control section 26 controls the guide rails 32 corresponding to those storage box installation places. Division part 32a of
(B) When reaching the position corresponding to the storage box installation location where the sorted items are to be stored, the bridge 33 is set from the divided portion 32a of the guide rail 32 corresponding to this storage box installation location. Shall be removed.

The transport section 24 cuts the guide rail 32 just before the supply point 23a of the supply section 23, and guides the guide rail 32 continuously to the guide section 32 at a cut portion 32b of the guide rail 32 near the supply section. A cam 34 is provided. The guide introduction cam 34 comes into contact with the roller 31c of the shutter 31b in the open state as the carrier 31 moves,
The roller 31c is moved to the guide rail 3 by the moving force of the carrier 31.
2 and pushed up to close the shutter 31b.

In the sorting section 25, the storage boxes 12 corresponding to a desired number of sorting are installed along the movement locus of the carrier 31 and below the movement locus. Further, in the case of the present embodiment, the entire movement trajectory of the carrier 31 can be used as a sorting area. In this sorting area, the storage boxes 12 are provided in two stages. The state is shown in FIG. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the above-described guide rail 32 is divided corresponding to each storage box 12, and the shutter opening / closing mechanism shown in FIG. Can be In addition, as schematically shown in FIG. 4, a guide chute 35 is provided corresponding to the lower storage box 12, and the envelope objects 2 to be sorted in the lower stage.
Is discharged from the carrier 31 and stored in the lower storage box 12 while being guided by the guide chute 35.

However, the sorting device 21 is provided with the carrier 3
In order to adjust the direction of the front and back of the envelope 2 to be put into the storage box 12 from 1, the feeding posture regulating device of the following (A) and (B) is provided.

(A) Loading posture regulating device 41 for upper storage box 12 (FIG. 5) The loading posture regulating device 41 is provided immediately below the guide rail dividing portion 32a corresponding to the upper storage box installation location of the sorting section 25. The fixed guide 41A is fixedly arranged and can abut the roller 31c of the shutter 31b.

When the carrier 31 reaches a position corresponding to the location of the upper storage box in which the envelope 2 is to be stored, the control unit 26 causes the rotary solenoid R1 to operate the bridge 33.
Is released from the dividing portion 32a (FIG. 5B), the roller 31c of the shutter 31b of the carrier 31 is no longer supported by the bridge 33, and after the shutter 31b is opened by its own weight, the shutter 31b is fully opened by 90 degrees. before,
The shutter 31b is supported by the fixed guide 41A and stops at an opening angle of a certain angle. And
The envelope 2 discharged from the carrier 31 with the shutter 31b opened is put into the storage box 12 by abutting against the shutter 31b in the inclined open angle state during the loading process into the upper storage box 12. Hold the posture in a fixed direction (shutter 31b
(In the direction along the direction of inclination). Thus, the falling direction of the envelope 2 when it reaches the storage box 12 is always restricted to a fixed direction, and the inside and the inside of the storage box 12 can be oriented in a fixed direction.

(B) The loading posture regulating device 42 for the lower storage box 12 (FIG. 5) The loading posture regulating device 42 is located immediately below the guide rail dividing portion 32a corresponding to the lower storage box installation location of the sorting section 25. The guide chute 35 is fixedly arranged. The guide chute 35 is formed by bending a throwing attitude restricting portion 35A on the lower end side.

When the carrier 31 arrives at a position corresponding to the lower storage box installation place where the envelope 2 is to be stored, the control unit 26 controls the bridge 33 by the rotary solenoid R1.
Is released from the dividing portion 32a (FIG. 5B), the roller 31c of the shutter 31b of the carrier 31 is not supported by the bridge 33, and the shutter 31b is fully opened by 90 degrees by the opening operation of the shutter 31b by its own weight.
Then, the envelope 2 ejected from the carrier 31 with the shutter 31b opened is inserted into the lower storage box 12 in the process of being inserted into the lower storage box 12, and the insertion attitude regulating unit 35 of the guide chute 35 is set.
The input posture to the storage box 12 is inclined in a certain direction (a direction along the bending direction of the input posture restricting portion 35A) in abutment with A. Thus, the falling direction of the envelope 2 when it reaches the storage box 12 is always restricted to a fixed direction, and the inside and the inside of the storage box 12 can be oriented in a fixed direction.

Next, the operation of the sorting device 21 having the above configuration will be described. First, the supply unit 2 is operated by the operator.
The bundled envelope 2 placed on
The sheets are supplied to the transport unit 24 while being separated one by one. On this occasion,
The postal code attached to the envelope 2 is read by the reading device 7a. Envelopes 2 supplied from the supply unit 23 are sequentially placed just opposite the supply point 23a of the supply unit 23.
One carrier 31 is stored one by one through the opening 31a. At this time, the shutter 31b of the carrier 31
Is closed because the roller 31c is moving while engaging with the guide rail 32.

The carrier 31 containing the envelope 2 moves in a closed loop in a horizontal plane with the movement of the chain 30, and during this movement, the carrier 31
b passes above the plurality of storage boxes 12 while being supported by the guide rail 32 and the bridge 33 provided at the dividing portion 32a of the guide rail 32 and held at the closed position. The postal code read by the reading device 7a is sent to the control unit 26 as sorting information in the same manner as in the related art, and the rotation angle of the driving motor M1 of the separating device 7 and the driving motor M3 for driving the vertical shaft 28 are also determined. Is also input to the control unit 26, and from this information, the postal code of the envelope 2 stored for each carrier 31 and the current position of the carrier 31 are grasped by the control unit 26. I can do it. Therefore, while the carrier 31 containing the envelope 2 moves in the closed loop,
When the control unit 26 recognizes that the carrier 31 has reached a specific position, that is, near the position above the storage box 12 from which the envelope object 2 stored therein is to be discharged, the carrier 31 is provided corresponding to the storage box 12. Rotary solenoid R1 is activated,
The bridge 33 is lifted up so that the bridge 33 is detached from the division 32a of the guide rail 32. For this reason, as the carrier 31 accommodating the envelope 2 moves, the roller 31c of the carrier 31 is not supported by the bridge 33 at the division 32a of the guide rail 32, and the shutter 31b is opened by its own weight. Thus, the envelope 2 previously stored in the carrier 31 falls and is stored in the storage box 12 waiting below.

At this time, the envelope 2 discharged from the carrier 31 toward the upper storage box 12 is set to an inclined open angle state by the fixed guide 41A of the loading attitude regulating device 41 during the loading process into the storage box 12. The storage box 12 is tilted in a certain direction (direction along the inclination direction of the shutter 31b) by abutting against the shutter 31b that is in contact with the shutter 31b. Be trimmed. Further, the envelope 2 discharged from the carrier 31 toward the lower storage box 12 abuts against the input attitude restricting portion 35A of the guide chute 35 constituting the input attitude restricting device 42 in the process of being input into the storage box 12. The storage container 12 is tilted in a predetermined direction (a direction along the bending direction of the storage posture restricting portion 35A) so that the inside and the rear of the storage box 12 can be adjusted to a predetermined direction.

It should be noted that the bridge 33 at the upper position is used for storing the envelope 2 stored in the subsequent carrier 31 in the same storage box 1 as it is now.
If it is not stored in the guide rail 32, it is returned to the horizontal position and reset to the dividing point 32a of the guide rail 32, and the subsequent carrier 31 is separated from the guide rail 32 by the dividing point 3a.
The roller 31c passes through the upper surface of the bridge 33 at the horizontal position reset to 2a while being supported, and the carrier 31 passes with the shutter 31b closed. Further, the shutter 31b that has been opened once is connected to the supply point 2 of the supply unit 23 during the movement of the carrier 31 thereafter.
It is closed by the guide introduction cam 34 arranged near 3a.

By repeating the above operation,
The envelope 2 placed on the supply unit 23 is stored in one of the storage boxes 1.
2 is finally stored and sorted. Note that when a full sensor or the like is provided in each box 12, or when a full signal or a full notice signal is output from this sensor,
The replacement of the empty storage box 12 with an empty storage box 12 is performed in the same manner as in the related art by the operator relying on the display or warning of that effect, or by operating the automatic replacement device of the storage box 12 based on this signal. is there.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the following operations are provided. Storage box 1 of sorting section 25 discharged from carrier 31
The envelope 2 to be inserted into the storage box 1 is brought into contact with the input attitude regulating devices 41 and 42 provided in the insertion path, and
2 can be tilted in a certain direction. As a result, when the envelope object 2 reaches the storage box 12, it always falls to one of the predetermined left and right sides.
The front and back inside of 2 can be arranged in a fixed direction.

The loading posture regulating device 41 for the upper storage box 12 stops the shutter opening angle of the carrier 31 at a fixed inclined opening angle state.
With a simple configuration, the direction of the front and back of the envelope 2 can be adjusted to a fixed direction.

By setting the loading attitude regulating device 42 for the lower storage box 12 to be the guide chute 35 provided along with the storage box 12 of the sorting section 25,
With a simple configuration, the direction of the front and back of the envelope 2 can be adjusted to a fixed direction.

According to the present embodiment, the storage boxes 12 are provided in two stages in the sorting area. Therefore, as compared with the case of arranging one by one as in the conventional device shown in FIG. 8, if the number of sorting is the same, the size in the longitudinal direction of the device can be reduced. The number of sorting can be increased, that is, more storage boxes can be installed,
A fine sorting operation can be performed to improve the sorting accuracy.

Further, in this embodiment, since the carrier 31 moves in a closed loop in the horizontal plane, the carrier 3
The discharge of the envelope 2 stored in 1 into the storage box 12 is not limited to the area of the linear portion in the closed loop, but is also possible in the area of the curved portion, and the entire movement locus of the carrier 31 can be set as the sorting area. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a dead space in which a sorting area cannot be provided in a curved portion as in the conventional device shown in FIG. This allows
The above-described sorting accuracy can be further improved.

Further, in this embodiment, since each carrier 31 moves in a closed loop formed in a horizontal plane, in the conventional sorting apparatus, two shutters are provided on the carrier as shown in FIG. However, in the present embodiment, it is sufficient to provide one shutter 31b for one carrier 31, so that the mechanism can be simplified.

In the above embodiment, the information read from the envelope is the postal code, but it may be barcode information attached to the envelope in advance.

Further, the rotary solenoid R is read using read information such as a postal code and a bar code attached to the envelope.
1 is used to obtain the swing timing of the swing arm 33, but instead of placing the envelope on the supply unit 23, for example, a known envelope creating device, a postal code printing device, or a barcode printing device may be used. In the case where a device or the like is provided at the preceding stage, the print information may be used instead of the read information.

In discharging the envelopes conveyed by the carrier 31, the shutter 31b of the carrier 31 is opened.
Each time, a carrier device such as a pusher device is provided.
The take-out device may be operated at a timing when the envelope 1 reaches the position where the internal envelope 2 is to be discharged, and the envelope 2 may be taken out to the outside.

Further, although the description has been made in the form of an envelope as a sort, the present invention can be applied to a book or the like, and can be applied to any sort of sort.

In the above-described embodiment, the storage boxes 12 are provided in two stages in the sorting area. However, the storage boxes 12 may be provided in three or more stages. A plurality of stages may be provided in a part of the sorting area.

The guide chute 35 is provided corresponding to the storage box 12 located at the lower stage.
Reference numeral 5 is not essential, and may be provided corresponding to each of the storage sections located at each level.

In the above embodiment, each carrier 31
Although the example of a type of sorting device that moves in a closed loop in a horizontal plane is taken as an example, from the viewpoint of keeping the front and back directions of the sorted material constant, each carrier is a vertical surface as described in the conventional device. The present invention can also be applied to a type in which a closed loop is moved.

(Second Embodiment) (FIG. 6) In a second embodiment, a descending bridge 101 (101A, 101B) is provided at a dividing portion 32a of a guide rail 32, and this bridge 101 is attached to a cylinder device 102 (102).
A, 102B) can be detached downward from the dividing portion 32a. In the second embodiment, the direction of the front and back of the envelope 2 put into the storage box 12 from the carrier 31 is adjusted to a certain direction according to the following (A) and (B).

(A) Loading posture regulating device 51 for upper storage box 12 (FIG. 6) The loading posture regulating device 51 is attached to and detached from the guide rail cutting portion 32a corresponding to the upper storage box installation location of the sorting section 25. And a bridge 101A.

Waiting until the carrier 31 reaches a position corresponding to the upper storage box installation place where the envelope 2 is to be stored,
The controller 26 causes the bridge 101A to support the roller 31c of the shutter 31b. The lower stroke of the cylinder device 102A is determined so that the bridge 101A is lowered by the cylinder device 102A, and the opened shutter 31b is stopped at the inclined open angle state before the full opening of 90 degrees. Then, the envelope object 2 to be discharged from the carrier 31 with the shutter 31b opened is abutted against the shutter 31b in the inclined opening angle state during the loading process into the upper storage box 12, and is moved to the storage box 12. Is inclined in a fixed direction (a direction along the inclination direction of the shutter 31b). Thus, the falling direction of the envelope 2 when it reaches the storage box 12 is always restricted to a fixed direction, and the inside and the inside of the storage box 12 can be oriented in a fixed direction.

(B) Loading posture regulating device 52 for the lower storage box 12 (FIG. 6) The loading posture regulating device 52 is constituted by the guide chute 35, like the loading posture regulating device 42 of the first embodiment. Is done.

When the carrier 31 reaches the position corresponding to the lower storage box installation place where the envelope 2 is to be stored, the bridge 101B is lowered by the cylinder device 102B. The roller 31c of the shutter 31b of the carrier 31
The support by the bridge 101B is lost, and the shutter 31
The shutter 31b is fully opened by 90 degrees by the opening operation due to its own weight of b. Then, the carrier 3 with the shutter 31b opened
The envelope 2 ejected from the storage box 1 abuts the insertion attitude regulating portion 35A of the guide chute 35 in the process of being inserted into the lower storage box 12, and changes the insertion attitude into the storage box 12 in a certain direction ( (In a direction along the bending direction of the throwing-in attitude regulating portion 35A). Thereby, the envelope 2 is stored in the storage box 12.
Is always regulated to a fixed direction, so that the front and back inside the storage box 12 can be adjusted to a fixed direction.

(Third Embodiment) (FIG. 7) In the third embodiment, a rotary damper 110 for slow-controlling the opening speed of the shutter 31b is provided on a shutter 31b of the carrier 31. In the third embodiment, the direction of the front and back of the envelope 2 put into the storage box 12 from the carrier 31 is adjusted to a certain direction by the following (A) and (B).

(A) Loading posture regulating device 61 for upper storage box 12 (FIG. 7) The loading posture regulating device 61 is constituted by a rotary damper 110 of a shutter 31b.

When the carrier 31 reaches a position corresponding to the location of the upper storage box in which the envelope 2 is to be stored, the control unit 26 controls the bridge 33 by the rotary solenoid R1.
Is separated from the dividing portion 32a, the carrier 31
The roller 31c of the shutter 31b is no longer supported by the bridge 33, and the shutter 31b opens by its own weight. At this time, the shutter 31b is
10 slowly opens slowly. And the shutter 31b
During the loading process into the upper storage box 12, the envelope object 2, which has been discharged from the opened carrier 31, abuts against the shutter 31 b still in the inclined open angle state, so that the storage box 1 is closed.
2 is tilted in a fixed direction (a direction along the tilt direction of the shutter 31b). Accordingly, the falling direction of the envelope 2 when it reaches the storage box 12 is always regulated to a fixed direction, and the inside and the back of the storage box 12 can be oriented in a fixed direction.

(B) The loading posture regulating device 62 for the lower storage box 12 (FIG. 7) The loading posture regulating device 62 is also configured substantially in the same manner as the above (A) by the rotary damper 110 of the shutter 31b. You. In this case, the envelope 2 discharged from the carrier 31 is slowly opened by the rotary damper 110 in the process of being inserted into the lower storage box 12 and abuts against the shutter 31b still in the inclined opening angle state. In addition to tilting the loading attitude into the storage box 12 in a certain direction (direction along the tilt direction of the shutter 31b), the loading of the guide chute 35 is performed similarly to the loading attitude regulating device 42 of the first embodiment. Also, the loading posture into the storage box 12 is tilted in a certain direction (direction along the bending direction of the loading posture regulating portion 35A) by abutting the posture regulating portion 35A.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the design may be changed without departing from the scope of the present invention. The present invention is also included in the present invention. For example, the throwing posture restricting means of the present invention includes the shutter 3 of the carrier 31.
The carrier 31 itself may be provided with a stopper for stopping the opening angle of 1b at a fixed inclined opening angle.

The present invention can, of course, be applied to a case where the storage boxes 12 provided in the sorting area are arranged in one stage.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention, the sorting apparatus can adjust the front and back sides of the sorted products in a fixed direction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the entire sorting apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a carrier.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a shutter opening / closing mechanism of a carrier.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a sorting unit having two-stage storage units.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the conventional device as viewed from the front.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a conventional device as viewed from above.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a conventionally used carrier.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a storage box.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Envelope (sorted) 7 Separating device 7a Reader 12 Storage box 21 Sorting device 23 Supply unit 23a Supply point 24 Transport unit 25 Sorting unit 26 Control unit 28 Vertical axis 29 Gear wheel 30 Chain 31 Carrier 31a Opening 31b Shutter 32 Guide rail 33 Swing arm 34 Guide introduction cam 35 Guide chute 35A Injection attitude regulating section 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62 Injection attitude regulating device 41A Fixed guide 110 Rotary damper

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A supply unit for sequentially supplying sorted items, and a transport unit having a large number of carriers moving in a closed loop and transporting the sorted items supplied from the supply unit by the carriers in the closed loop. A sorting section having a storage section for each sorting section in a sorting area arranged along a movement locus of the carrier in the transport section; and a sorting section transported by the carrier based on sorting information of each sorting section. A sorting unit having a control unit configured to control the sorting unit to store the sorted items in the storage unit of the sorting unit from the carrier. A feeding attitude regulating means for inclining the feeding attitude of the storage device into the storage section in a certain direction. 2. A shutter capable of opening and closing a bottom plate of the carrier, wherein an opening operation of the shutter allows a sorting object to be thrown into a storage portion of a sorting section, and the throwing attitude regulating means opens the shutter opening angle of the carrier at a predetermined angle. 2. The sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the sorting device stops at an angle. 3. A shutter capable of opening and closing a bottom plate of the carrier, wherein the shutter can be opened to allow a sorting object to be thrown into a storage part of a sorting unit, and the throwing attitude regulating means controls a shutter opening speed of the carrier slowly. 2. The sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the sorted material is supplied, the sorted material is brought into contact with a shutter in an inclined open angle state. 4. The guide chute provided in the storage section of the sorting section, wherein the throwing attitude regulating section is provided.
Sorting device as described.