JPH0712854B2 - Sorting equipment for goods - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an article sorting apparatus having a simple structure and lightweight, which is suitable for low noise and energy saving.

[Conventional technology]

In the conventional device for sorting the destination such as parcels and letters and the like, an endless transportation line is provided,
A supply line and a sorting line are installed at arbitrary points on this transfer line, and a large number of traveling carriages are connected to a chain conveyor on the line to run the traveling carriages. Therefore, driving the chain conveyor causes a large amount of noise and has a drawback that the structure is complicated.

For this reason, a method of driving a traveling vehicle with a linear motor, for example, JP-A-57-137218, JP-A-60-41584,
There is one disclosed in JP-A-63-165218.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

By the way, even in the system driven by the above linear motor, if the scale of the whole sorting apparatus becomes large by connecting a large number of traveling carriages, the equipment becomes expensive if the structure of the traveling carriage is complicated, and the traveling carriage is The power required for driving is inevitably large, and there is a problem in terms of energy saving.

The present invention has a simple structure, light weight, low noise, and
An object of the present invention is to provide an article sorting apparatus suitable for energy saving.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has a plurality of sorting chutes arranged on the side of a straight line portion of a loop-shaped traveling road, and a traveling carriage equipped with a transfer device to the chutes on the traveling road is driven by a linear motor. A number of articles are arranged so that they can be moved, and adjacent traveling carriages are connected to each other so as to be vertically and horizontally swingable by a connecting tool so that all traveling carriages can be simultaneously driven by a linear motor. In the sorting device, a wheel that moves on the track in a plane that includes the horizontal swing axis of the connector, a horizontal roller that abuts the side surface of the track in the plane that includes the vertical swing axis of the connector, The gist of the invention is that it is provided only on one end side of the traveling carriage in the vicinity of the connecting tool.

A ball joint can be used as the connecting tool.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a schematic overall view of the article sorting apparatus, and the loop-shaped traveling path is an example, and is not limited to this shape.

Next, description will be made on the basis of the embodiment shown in FIGS.

The running path 1 having a loop shape is formed by supporting a lower part of the running path surface 1a by a pedestal 1b arranged at a required interval, and is bent and inclined at both ends 1X of the running path 1, etc. Is a horizontal straight road 1Y, 1Z, and the straight roads 1Y, 1Z are arranged so as to be vertically parallel to each other, and the traveling road 1 forms a loop as a whole. And this straight road 1Y
In the lower straight road 1Z, a large number of sorting chutes 2a, 2b ... 2n are arranged adjacently on one or both sides thereof, and a part of the straight road 1Y.1Z or a curved road 1X is used to sort articles. One or two or more transfer conveyors 4a, 4b, ... Are provided at a position where they are transferred onto the transfer device of the traveling vehicle.

A plurality of traveling carriages 3, 3, ... Are arranged along the entire length of the loop-shaped traveling path 1, and the front and rear traveling carriages 3, 3 are movable in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to each other by a connecting tool 36. It is freely connected, and all traveling carriages travel at the same time. This trolley 3
Is run by several linear motors 6 arranged at one end side of the running path 1, for example, at the end opposite to the transfer conveyor, with an appropriate interval. A large number of traveling carriages mounted on the road 1 are simultaneously transferred. This linear motor 6 moves in a straight line 1Z so as to push up a curved road on which the traveling carriage is inclined, that is, to push it up.
2 to 3 units are arranged at the end of the curved road, and 2 to 3 units are arranged at the end of the upper straight road 1Y so as to give more thrust to the truck that has moved up the curved road, and thus the linear motor 6
Install several cars at the upper and lower straight road ends near one curved road.

Here, the linear motors are distributed and arranged in several units.
By arranging in a distributed manner, the tension of the connecting portion of the traveling carriage can be reduced, and the structure of the connecting portion of the traveling carriage can be reduced in size,
The weight can be reduced and the tension can be dispersed.
This is because the capacity of the linear motor can be reduced.

The traveling speed and braking of the traveling vehicle are controlled by the linear motor 6. In addition, in order to drive the traveling carriage more efficiently with the linear motor 6,
As shown in the figure, the linear motors 6 are arranged so as to face both side surfaces of a reaction plate 31 that is vertically provided on the lower surface of the traveling carriage 3, and the linear motors 6 as a set of these two are mounted on the reaction plate 31. Thrust is applied simultaneously from both sides. The linear motor 6 is fixed to the frame of the traveling path.

The traveling carriage 3 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. This traveling trolley 3 is divided into an upper unit 3A as a transfer device mainly for loading and unloading articles to be sorted and a lower unit 3B mainly for connecting traveling and trolleys, and a lower unit 3B.
On the other hand, the upper unit 3A is compatible with the lower unit 3B so that it can be used by being combined with any unit. By making the shape of the upper unit 3A common to the lower unit 3B and depending on the type of the article, it is possible to sort various articles.

The lower unit 3B of the traveling carriage 3 has a reaction plate 31 vertically provided at the center of the lower portion of a carriage body 30 having a predetermined size, along the traveling direction of the carriage, and the front side of the carriage body 30 in the traveling direction. Boss portions 32, 32 are provided on both side portions, wheels 33, 33 are rotatably supported on the boss portions 32, and a shaft 3 is provided below the boss portions 32 in a vertically protruding manner.
The horizontal rollers 35, 35 are rotatably supported by 4, 34, respectively, and the wheel 33 and the horizontal roller 35 are supported by the same track 1R forming the traveling road surface 1a.

That is, the wheel 32 is in contact with the top surface of the track 1R and is capable of traveling while supporting the entire load applied to the lower unit and the upper unit, the horizontal roller 35 is in contact with the inner surface of the track 1R, and when the truck is running or stopped, The falling moment applied to the carriage is supported, and the traveling carriage is stably maintained in a predetermined posture.

As is clear from the description of FIGS. 3 and 4, the wheel 32 and the horizontal roller 35 are located in the vicinity of the connector 36 arranged in the carriage body 30 of the lower unit 3B of the traveling carriage 3 and in the carriage body. The wheel 32 is provided only on one end side of 30, and the wheel 32 is in the plane including the horizontal swing axis of the coupling tool 36, and the horizontal roller 35 is in the plane including the vertical swing axis of the coupling tool 36. Provide so that it is located.

A connecting tool 36 arranged in the center of the carriage main body 30 is composed of a ball joint or the like, and a connecting frame 37 is provided at the center of the rear side of the carriage main body 30 adjacent to the front side by the connecting tool 36. The front and rear bogie bodies 30, 30 are connected to each other such that they can be bent vertically and horizontally within an allowed angle.

Brackets 38, 38 that are joined to the upper unit 3A are integrally provided on the upper portion of the trolley body 30, and the bracket 38 and the bracket 41 provided on the lower portion of the upper unit 3A are united to each other by bolting or the like. Join.

The upper unit 3A is provided with a bracket 41 joined to the lower unit 3B at the bottom of a carriage frame 40 having a required size and shape, and a hinge 45 is provided at an upper portion of a shaft 43 supported by a pan support bracket 42. A pan 44 is swingably and tiltably provided via a hinge 45 or directly on a shaft 43. The pan 44 has another V-shape to ensure that the articles can be transferred. Brackets 42, 42 are provided so as to project on the back side of both side plates of the pan 44, and the lower ends of the brackets 42, 42 are brought into contact with a support roller 46 movably provided on the carriage frame 40. The bracket 42 is supported in contact with the bracket 42 to prevent the pan 44 from tilting so that the pan is positioned at the position indicated by the solid line in FIG.
The support roller 46 is rotatably supported by the carriage frame 40, a restoring spring is attached to the support shaft of the support roller 46, and a lever 47 is provided at the end of the support roller shaft. When pushed, the support roller 46 is tilted via the roller support shaft, and when the support roller 46 is tilted, the corresponding relationship with the bracket 42 is released and the pan 44 can be freely tilted. At this time, the main body 30 is provided with a shock absorber 48 that abuts and supports the back surface of the pan so as to stop at a predetermined angle when the pan tilts.

As described above, the lower unit 3B has the desired shape of the upper unit.
In order to connect the traveling carriage 3 and two or more of them by joining 3A, it is possible to freely swing the connecting frame 37 to the front carriage body 30 and the rear carriage body 30 with the ball joint of the coupling tool 36. To connect. In this way, they are sequentially linked.
In this case, the wheel and the horizontal roller are installed only on one end side of the bogie main body 30 of one traveling bogie, but by connecting the front and rear bogie main bodies 30 to each other, the wheel 33 and the horizontal roller are provided near the connecting portion. And horizontal roller 35 is located,
Furthermore, since the wheel 32 is provided so as to be located in the plane including the horizontal swing axis of the coupling tool 36, and the horizontal roller 35 is provided so as to be located in the plane including the vertical swing axis of the coupling tool 36, The load applied to the entire front and rear bogies is supported by the wheels 33, and the horizontal roller 35 efficiently acts on the overturning moment of the bogie, so that the traveling accuracy of the traveling bogie can be improved.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, a wheel that moves on a track in a plane that includes a horizontal swing axis of a connecting member is a horizontal roller that abuts a side surface of the track in a plane that includes a vertical swing axis of the connecting tool. To
Since each of them is provided only on one end side of the traveling carriage near the connecting tool, the structure of the traveling carriage becomes simple,
The traveling carriage itself can be made lighter in weight and the traveling resistance between the traveling carriages connected to each other by the connecting members can be reduced very smoothly because the swinging movement in the vertical and horizontal directions is extremely smooth.

Therefore, the traveling stability of the traveling vehicle is improved, noise during traveling can be reduced, and further, the power required to drive the traveling vehicle can be reduced, so that energy saving can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a traveling path, FIG. 2 is a front view of the same, FIG. 3 is a front view of a traveling vehicle of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the same. 1R is a track, 3A is a traveling unit, 3B is a lower unit, 3 is a traveling carriage, 30 is a carriage body, 31 is a reaction plate,
33 is a wheel, 35 is a horizontal roller, 36 is a coupling tool, 37 is a coupling frame, 38 and 41 are brackets, 40 is a carriage frame, and 44 is a pan.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Internal reference number FI Technical display location B65G 54/02 (56) References JP 57-137218 (JP, A) JP 52- 145966 (JP, A) JP 60-41584 (JP, A) JP 63-165218 (JP, A) Actually opened 62-68911 (JP, U) Actually opened 48-62775 (JP, U)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of sorting chutes are arranged on the side of a straight line portion of a loop-shaped traveling path, and a traveling carriage equipped with a transfer device for the chutes can be arranged on the traveling path by a linear motor so that a large number of them can be distributed. In a sorting device for articles, which is provided and which connects adjacent traveling carriages to each other so that the traveling carriages can be swung in the vertical and horizontal directions, and all traveling carriages can be simultaneously driven by a linear motor. The wheel that moves on the track in the plane that includes the horizontal swing axis of the track, and the horizontal roller that abuts the side surface of the track in the plane that includes the vertical swing axis of the link tool in the vicinity of the link tool, respectively. An article sorting apparatus, which is provided only on one end side of a traveling carriage. 2. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is formed of a ball joint.