JPH0432415A - Vertical loop type sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce a required space for a sorting device by moving trays in endless circulation drawing a vertical loop along sorting racks, and sorting subject articles. CONSTITUTION:When a tray 22 is moved to a basket 31 designated for a control circuit, a cylinder 61 facing the basket 31 is actuated by an actuation signal from the control circuit. The cylinder 61 then pushes a hook 55 to incline it counterclockwise, and engagement of the hook 55 with a counter part 54 is released. As a result, the tray 22 is inclined down by the weight of the tray itself and the weight of a sorted article C, so the sorted article C is discharged into the basket 31. The subject article C is thus discharged when the tray 22 is stopped, so a need of setting the size of the entrance of a chute 34 to include the motion of the tray 22 is eliminated, and its size can be almost the same as that of a width D of the tray 22, thereby it can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for sorting items such as products, parts, documents, etc. into predetermined storage units in distribution centers, distribution centers, warehouses, offices, etc.

Conventional technology and its problems Conventionally, an automatic sorting device (see Fig. 4) used for sorting items as described above is equipped with a plurality of tiltable trays 11 on which items to be sorted are placed so as to draw a horizontal curve. It has a chain 12 that moves in circulation, and a plurality of sorting chutes 13 installed along the chain 12.

The tray 11 moves and tilts as the chain 12 continues to operate, and discharges the sorted items into a chute 13. For this reason, the entrance of the chute 13 is formed wide enough to accommodate the movement of the tray 11. In addition, the chutes 13 are installed on both sides of the chain 12 in order to increase the number of items sorted. Note that numerals 14, 15, and 16 indicate a chain driving part, a chain driven part, and a chute inlet, respectively.

However, such an automatic sorting device 10 has the following problems.

■Because the chain circulates in a loop, there is wasted space within the loop.

■Since the chute entrance is widened, the entire automatic sorting device becomes longer.

- Since the chute 13 is provided on both sides of the chain 11, the width W of the automatic sorting device becomes wider.

(2) In order to discharge the sorted items to one side, a spiral chute 17 must be provided to change the direction of the discharged sorted items, as shown in FIG.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a sorting machine equipped with a plurality of storage sections in vertical and horizontal directions, and a tray circulation system that holds a plurality of trays and moves endlessly in a vertical loop along the sorting machine. The above problem is solved by a sorting device comprising a moving means and a sorted article discharge means that normally maintains the tray in a sorted article holding state and releases the sorted article holding state when discharging the sorted article. It is.

Operation Trays loaded with items to be sorted are endlessly circulated along the sorting machine in a vertical loop by the tray circulation moving means.

When the tray moves to a desired storage section, the sorted item discharge means is activated and the sorted items are discharged to the predetermined storage section.

Example Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

The automatic sorting device 20 of the present invention includes a sorting machine 21 and a tray 2.
2, and a tray tilting means 24, which is a means for discharging sorted items.

The sorting machine 21 has a plurality of baskets (storage parts) 31 arranged in upper and lower and left and right (horizontal) directions. At the entrance of each basket 31, there is a chute 3 for introducing sorted items.
4 are provided. The entrance width of this chute 34 is 1
The width is approximately the same as that of No. 22.

Of the baskets 31 lined up, the baskets 32 at both ends
．． 32 is provided with a pair of line sensors 33, 33. When the sorted items discharged from the tray 22 into the basket 31 become full and protrude from the basket 31, the line sensor 33 detects the protrusion and uses an alarm device such as a warning light or an alarm sound generator. This is a so-called fullness detector that informs that the basket 31 is full. Furthermore, the line sensor 33 also detects an abnormal storage state of the sorted items, such as when the sorted items overlap in the vertical direction (vertical direction) and protrude from the basket 33 even though they do not form a basket-full due to the discharge state of the tray 22. It is now possible to do so.

The tray circulation movement means 23 includes first and second chains 41 .
42, the first and second chains 41, 42 are connected to each other, and a crank-shaped link 43 having the tray 22 at one end, and a pair of first sprockets 44° 44 in which the first chain 41 meshes. , a pair of second sprockets 45.45 with which the second chain 42 meshes, and the first and second sprockets.
It has a motor 46 that rotates sprockets 44 and 45, and a reducer 47 that reduces the rotation speed of the motor 46. With such a mechanism, the tray circulation moving means 23 moves endlessly in a vertical loop along the sorting machine 21.

By the way, the first sprocket 44 is shifted to the left in FIGS. 1 and 2 with respect to the second sprocket 45. The distance A of this shift is approximately the same as the crank length B of the link 43.

Therefore, the tray 22 has a crank-shaped ring 4
3 and sprockets 44 and 45 whose positions are shifted from each other, the rotor is always held in an upward position and rotated in a clockwise direction in FIG.

Further, the tray circulation moving means 23 includes a known intermittent movement mechanism (not shown) between the motor 46 and the second sprocket 45.
This intermittent movement mechanism allows the tray to
For example, it moves cyclically while making intermittent movements that repeat stopping and moving once every two seconds. In addition,
Intermittent motion can also be obtained by using a servo motor as the motor 46 instead of providing an intermittent motion mechanism.

Further, the tray circulation moving means 23 includes a pair of loading sensors 48 that detect when sorted items are loaded into the tray 22.
, 48 (see Figure 2).

As shown in FIG. 3, the tray 22 is mounted on a tray support plate 51 provided at the tip of a link 43 via a rotating shaft 52 so as to be tiltable in the vertical direction (vertical end direction in FIG. 3). . The lower end of the tray support plate 51 is connected to a roller 5 on a rail 53 having a U-shaped cross section and installed below the first chain 41.
9 and are movably engaged. The tray 22 is provided with an engaged portion 54 formed by cutting out it. A hook 55 is normally engaged with the secured portion 54 . The hook 55 is tiltably provided on a support shaft 56 on the tray support plate 51, and is constantly biased clockwise by a spring 57. The engaged portion 54, the hook 55, and the spring 57 constitute a ratchet mechanism 8o.

On the tray circulation moving means 23 facing each basket 31, there is a lower end 5 of a hook 55 that moves together with the tray 22.
A cylinder 61 for pressing 8 is provided. The cylinder 61 and the ratchet mechanism 80 constitute the tray tilting means 24. Therefore, the tray 22 is always engaged and held upward by the ratchet mechanism 80.
The engaged state is released by the operation of the cylinder 61, and the state is changed to a tilted state.

A posture return cylinder 62 and a confirmation sensor 63 are provided on the tray circulation moving means 23 and near the first sprocket 44 (see FIG. 2). The posture return cylinder 62 is used to push up the tray 22, which has been tilted after discharging sorted items, from below and engage the hook 55 with the engaged portion 54 of the tray 22, thereby returning it to its original horizontal state. belongs to. The confirmation sensor 63 is the tray 2
2 has returned to the horizontal state.

Next, the operation will be explained.

In FIG. 1, each tray 22 is normally circulated in a clockwise direction along the side surface of the sorting shelf 21 while always facing upward and intermittently moving by a tray circulation movement means 23.

After having a barcode reader (all not shown) read the barcode attached to the sorted item, the worker M places the sorted item on the tray 22 that has been moved to the input lower 0. At that time, the pair of input sensors 48, 48 detect that the sorted items are placed on the tray 22. Then, the control circuit (not shown) uses the detection signal from the input sensor 48 and the reading signal from the barcode reader, to
Specify the basket 31 into which the sorted items are to be placed.

When the tray 22 moves to the designated basket 31, the cylinder 61 facing the designated basket 31 is activated by an actuation signal from the control circuit during the stop in the intermittent motion.
is activated. The cylinder 61 pushes the hook 55 and tilts it counterclockwise to release the engaged state between the hook 55 and the engaged portion 54 . As a result, the tray 22 tilts downward due to its own weight and the weight of the sorted items C (as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 3), and discharges the sorted items C into the basket 31. Therefore, since the sorted items C are discharged while the tray 22 is stopped, the entrance of the chute 34 does not need to be wide enough to accommodate the movement of the tray 22, unlike in the past. (see figure).
It can be made narrower than before.

Thereafter, the tray 22 moves to the vicinity of the input lower 0 while being tilted, is pushed up from below by the posture return cylinder 62, and is held in the original horizontal state by the engagement of the hook 55 with the engaged portion 54. . The horizontal state is confirmed by a confirmation sensor 63. If the tray has not returned to the horizontal state, it is detected by the confirmation sensor 63.

The automatic sorting device 20 described above is intended to be installed near a wall, and can be approximately 172 mm shorter in length and approximately 1/3 shorter in width than conventional automatic sorting devices.

Note that the number of items to be sorted can be doubled by providing the first chain and sorting shelves on both sides of the second chain (not shown) and discharging the items to be sorted from both sides of the chain.

Effects of the Invention According to the automatic sorting device of the present invention explained above, the tray moves endlessly in a vertical loop along the sorting shelf to sort the items, so the installation space for the sorting device can be significantly reduced. can do.

In addition, when the tray circulation moving means is moved intermittently as in claim 2, by discharging the sorted items during the stoppage of the intermittent movement, the width of the entrance of the chute is made narrower than the conventional width that takes into account the movement of the tray. Therefore, the total length of the sorting device can be made shorter than before.

According to the structure of claim 3.4, the tray can be made to take the sorted article holding attitude and the discharging attitude with a relatively simple structure.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the sorting device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a detailed side view of a tray and the vicinity of the tray. 4 and 5 are plan views of a conventional sorting device. C... Sorted items 20... Automatic sorting device 21
... Sorting shelf 22 ... Tray 23 ... Tray circulation movement means 24 ... Sorted item discharge means (tray tilting means) 31 ...
・Basket (storage part) 8o... Ratchet mechanism Fig. 2 Fig. 4

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A sorting shelf with multiple storage sections in the vertical and horizontal directions,
a tray circulation moving means that holds a plurality of trays and moves them endlessly in a vertical loop along the sorting shelves; and a tray circulation means that normally maintains the trays in a sorted article holding state and when discharging the sorted articles, the tray circulation means A sorting device comprising a sorted item discharge means for releasing the sorted items. (2) The sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the tray circulating means is driven intermittently so that the tray stops at each storage section. (3) The sorting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tray is normally held upward, and the sorted item discharge means comprises a tray tilting means for releasing the upward holding state of the tray when discharging the sorted item. . (4) The sorting device according to claim 3, wherein the upward state of the tray is maintained by a ratchet mechanism.