JPH09104523A - Article sorting equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] The thrust of the linear motor that drives the tray truck can be effectively used, the capacity of the linear motor does not have to be increased, and the transfer line can be arranged in three dimensions, reducing the installation space. To provide a sorting device for articles driven by a linear motor. [Structure] A plurality of sorting chutes 2 are arranged on the side of a straight portion 1Y of a loop-shaped traveling path 1 formed by arranging the straight traveling paths 1Y and 1Z vertically and bending them at both ends 1X in a loop shape. On this traveling path 1, a large number of traveling carriages 3 each having a tiltable pan are arranged so that they can travel by a linear motor 6, and adjacent traveling carriages 3 are movably connected to each other so that all traveling carriages 3 Are driven by the linear motor 6 at the same time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article sorting apparatus suitable for low noise and energy saving.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a device for sorting articles such as parcels and letters as their destination and others, an endless transfer line is provided, and a supply line and a sorting line are installed at arbitrary points of this transfer line. A large number of tray carts are connected to the chain conveyor on the line to run the tray carts. 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 the tray carriage by a linear motor, for example, a method shown in FIG. 6 has been used. However, when a large number of tray carriages are continuously arranged and are circulated along an endless transfer line, a curved portion is inevitably required in the rotating portion that changes the direction. In this curved portion, the running resistance becomes large in the conventional tray truck. A large amount of power is required in the curved portion of the capacity of the power source required to drive the tray truck. That is, because of the curved portion, a large capacity power source is required. Especially in the method of driving with a linear motor, this increase in capacity necessitates a narrower interval between linear motor installations and a large number of arrangements.
There was a problem that the equipment cost was high. On the other hand, conventionally, the transport lines are arranged endlessly on a plane, and a large number of sorting chutes are provided outside the transport lines to sort the articles. Therefore, a large space is required in plan view. For this reason, there has been a demand for an apparatus in which the transfer lines are arranged three-dimensionally in order to reduce the space. However, none of the conventional devices achieve this.

[0003]

In view of this, the present invention makes it possible to effectively use the thrust of a linear motor that drives a tray carriage, does not require an increase in the capacity of the linear motor, and provides a three-dimensional transport line. An object of the present invention is to provide a sorting device for articles which can be arranged and can be installed in a small space and which is driven by a linear motor.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the article sorting apparatus of the present invention is a loop-shaped running path in which straight-part running paths are arranged vertically and bent at both ends in a loop shape. A plurality of sorting chutes are arranged on the side of the straight part of the vehicle, and a large number of traveling carriages equipped with tiltable pans are arranged on this traveling path by a linear motor so that a large number of them can be arranged. It is characterized in that it is movably connected so that all traveling carriages can be simultaneously driven by a linear motor.

[0005]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an apparatus for sorting articles according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a loop-shaped traveling path, which is supported by a pedestal 1b arranged at a lower portion of the traveling rail 1a at a required interval and bent at both ends 1X of the traveling rail 1a. Moreover, the straight roads 1Y and 1Z that are inclined and the other portions are horizontal, and the straight roads 1Y and 1Z are arranged so as to be parallel to each other vertically,
The traveling rail 1a forms a loop shape as a whole.
In the upper straight path 1Y and the lower straight path 1Z, a large number of sorting chutes 2 are provided on one side or both sides of the upper straight path 1Y and the lower straight path 1Z.
a, 2b ... 2n are arranged adjacent to each other, and their straight paths 1Y, 1
One or more transfer conveyors 4a, 4b ... Are arranged at a position where the articles to be sorted are transferred onto the pan of the traveling carriage in a part of Z or in the curved path 1X, and the loop-shaped traveling path is provided. A plurality of traveling carriages 3, 3 ... Are arranged along the entire length of 1, and the adjacent traveling carriages 3, 3 are swingably connected to each other, and all traveling carriages travel at the same time. The traveling carriage 3 is traveled by several linear motors 6 arranged at one end side of the traveling path 1, for example, an end opposite to the transfer conveyor, with an appropriate interval. At 6, a large number of traveling carriages mounted on the traveling path 1 are simultaneously transferred. Two or three linear motors 6 are arranged at the end of the straight road 1Z so as to push up the curved road on which the traveling carriage is inclined in the ascending direction, and the thrust is further applied to the carriage that has climbed the curved road. 2 to 3 are provided at the end of the upper straight road 1Y so that several linear motors 6 are provided at the upper and lower straight road ends near one curved road. Here, the linear motors are dispersedly arranged in several units. By disposing the linear motors in a distributed manner, the tension of the pan connecting portion can be reduced, and the structure of the pan connecting portion can be made small and lightweight, and This is because by dispersing the tension, it is possible to reduce the traveling resistance of the horizontal guide roller 30G on the curved road of the traveling vehicle and to reduce the capacity of the linear motor. The traveling speed and braking of the traveling vehicle are controlled by the control of the linear motor 6. Further, in order to drive the traveling carriage more efficiently by the linear motor 6, as shown in FIG. 3, a reaction plate vertically installed on the lower surface of the traveling carriage 3.
The linear motors 6 are arranged on both sides of the reaction plate 32 so as to face each other, and the two linear motors 6 are set so as to simultaneously apply thrust from both sides of the reaction plate 32. Further, the linear motor 6 is fixed to a frame on the traveling path. The traveling carriage 3 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3 to 5. A reaction plate 32 is vertically installed at a lower portion of a trolley main body 30 having a predetermined size so as to be along the traveling direction of the trolley 3.
The hinge 30H is provided on the shaft 30S supported by the pan support bracket 30B at the upper part, and the hinge 30H is provided through the hinge 30H or the shaft 30S.
The pan 31 is provided directly on the S so that the pan 31 can be freely rocked and tilted. The pan 31 has a V-shape or other shape so that articles can be reliably transferred. A frame 33 is fixed to the lower end of the reaction plate 32, and a wheel 30W is arranged below the frame so that the wheel 30W can travel on the rail 1R of the traveling path 1. Further, two horizontal guide rollers 30G are provided at both front and rear positions of the frame 33.
The reaction plate 32 is sandwiched between the guide rails 1G provided on both sides of the rail 1R on the traveling path so as to face each other.
The lower part of the plate is prevented from tilting in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction, and the gap between the reaction plate 32 and the linear motor 6 can be kept constant. Further, the rail 1R is provided with an upper rail 1U, and a vertical guide roll 30R provided in a vertical direction on the frame is brought into contact with the lower surface of the upper rail 1U so that the traveling carriage is driven from the traveling path by the thrust given by the linear motor 6 during traveling. Prevent it from rising. Bread 31
Brackets 3B, 3B are provided on the rear side of the both side plates of the bracket so that the lower ends of the brackets 3B, 3B abut on a support roller 34 movably provided on the main body 30. 3B is abutted and supported to prevent the pan 31 from tilting so that the pan is positioned at the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. The support roller 34 has a roller support shaft 34S projectingly provided on a shaft 35 supported by the main body 30, and is rotatably supported by the shaft 34S and a restoring spring 35S is provided on the shaft 35.
Is attached, a lever 35L is provided at the shaft end, and this lever 35L
By pushing, the supporting roller 34 is tilted via the shaft 35 and the roller supporting shaft, and when the supporting roller 34 is tilted, the contact with the bracket 3B is released and the pan 31 can be freely tilted. At this time, that is, a shock absorber 36 is provided in the main body 30 for supporting the back surface of the pan by abutting it so as to stop at a predetermined angle when the pan tilts. Connecting brackets 37, 37 are provided at the front and rear ends of the main body 30 in the traveling direction, and an upper guide roller 37G is attached to a connecting shaft 37S which vertically penetrates and supports the connecting bracket 37.
Is rotatably supported and the end portion of a turnbuckle type connecting rod 38 is locked. The connection between the end of the connecting rod 38 and the connecting shaft 37S is of the ball joint type, so that even if adjacent front and rear traveling carriages swing in different directions, the swing is absorbed by the ball joint portion. The traveling carriages are connected to each other so that they can travel smoothly. The pan provided to be tiltable on the upper part of the traveling cart 3 is tilted at a fixed position of the transfer conveyor 4 or the sorting chute 2 so that loading and unloading of articles can be performed quickly and reliably. In this case, a conventionally used device is employed.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the traveling carts for sorting are movably connected to each other, and the traveling carts are arranged on a loop-shaped traveling path in which a straight path is vertically arranged through curved portions inclined at both ends. Since it is provided so that it can travel freely, and a large number of sorting chutes and an arbitrary number of transfer conveyors are arranged on the side of this straight road, it is possible to avoid increasing the capacity of the linear motor and to install a large number of small installation spaces. It has the advantage of sorting.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an apparatus for sorting articles according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a side longitudinal sectional view of the traveling vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of a known article sorting apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Traveling path 2 Sorting chute 3 Traveling carriage 4 Transfer conveyor 6 Linear motor

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] August 11, 1995

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Full text

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Document Name] Statement

Title of the invention

[Claims]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article sorting apparatus suitable for energy saving.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an article sorting apparatus used for sorting articles such as parcels and letters according to their destinations is provided with an endless transport line, and a supply line and a sorting section are provided at an arbitrary position on the transport line. A line was set up, and many traveling vehicles were connected to the chain conveyor on the line. In the case of this device, there is a drawback that a loud noise is generated by driving the chain conveyor and the structure is complicated. For this reason, in recent years, a device for driving a traveling vehicle with a linear motor, for example, a device shown in FIG. 7 has been used. In the case of this device, the secondary side, that is, the traveling vehicle is driven by intermittently exciting the primary side of the linear motor. However, when the traveling vehicle moves, the excitation is released at that time, and the traveling vehicle is released. By exciting the primary side of another linear motor at the position where has moved by an appropriate control device, the traveling vehicle is accelerated, decelerated, stopped, and the like. By the way, when the traveling vehicles are individually driven along an endlessly continuous traveling path, the traveling resistance is increased in a curved portion that changes direction, and in that portion, in order to obtain a large amount of power for driving the traveling vehicle, The increase in the capacity of the linear motor and the reduction in the installation interval of the primary side of the linear motor have caused factors such as an increase in cost. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-1372
As shown in No. 18, there is an attempt to form a traveling vehicle connected body in which a number of traveling vehicles are movably connected to each other in a ring shape. In this case, too, the traveling vehicle is intermittently excited by exciting a primary side of a linear motor. However, it does not go beyond the conventional linear motor drive system for performing acceleration, deceleration, stop, and the like.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional article sorting apparatus, can effectively use the thrust of a linear motor driving a traveling vehicle, and can reduce the capacity of the linear motor. It is another object of the present invention to provide a low-cost linear motor-driven article sorting apparatus that can be downsized.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, an article sorting apparatus according to the present invention has an article transfer conveyor and a sorting chute arranged laterally, and has an endless continuous straight section and a curved section. A traveling road consisting of, and a traveling truck connected body annularly connected on the traveling road, and a linear motor driven article sorting device including a linear motor driving unit, wherein the traveling truck connected body includes a number of traveling vehicles. The linear motor drive unit, comprising: a tiltable pan that is arranged close to each other at the top of each traveling vehicle; and a connecting rod that rotatably connects the adjacent traveling vehicles at the lower inner side of the pan. The linear motor is composed of several sets of opposed-excitation primary coils which are distributed only in the linear portion of the traveling path and are continuously energized, and are vertically mounted on each traveling vehicle and closely arranged to each other. Characterized in that consisting of the reaction plate.

[0005]

The traveling carriage connecting body constructed by connecting traveling carriages with the reaction plate vertically arranged by continuously energizing the linear motor composed of several sets of opposed excitation primary coils is as if one motor rotor. Is driven by induction.

[0006]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an apparatus for sorting articles according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a loop-shaped running path, which is supported by a pedestal 1b arranged at a lower portion of the running rail 1a at a required interval and bent at both ends 1X of the running rail 1a, and Tilted,
The other portions are horizontal straight roads 1Y and 1Z, and the straight roads 1Y and 1Z are arranged so as to be vertically parallel to each other, and the traveling rail 1a forms a loop shape as a whole. In the upper straight path 1Y and the lower straight path 1Z, a large number of sorting chutes 2a are provided on one side or both sides of the upper straight path 1Y and the lower straight path 1Z.
2b ... 2n are arranged adjacent to each other, and their straight paths 1Y, 1
One or more transfer conveyors 4a, 4b, ... Are arranged at a position where the articles to be sorted are transferred onto the pan of the traveling carriage on a part of Z or on the curved road 1X, and the loop-shaped transfer conveyors 4a, 4b. A plurality of traveling carriages 3, 3 ... Are arranged along the entire length of the traveling path 1, and adjacent traveling carriages 3, 3 are arranged.
They are connected so that they can swing between them, and all the traveling carriages travel at the same time.

The traveling of the traveling vehicle 3 is performed by several linear motors 6 arranged on the traveling path 1, and a large number of traveling vehicles mounted on the traveling path 1 are moved by the linear motors 6 and 6. Transfer at the same time. Two or three linear motors 6 are disposed at the end of the straight road 1Z so as to push up the curved road on which the traveling bogie on the running road is inclined, that is, to push up the curved bogie. Two or three linear motors 6 are arranged at the end of the upper straight road 1Y so as to provide thrust, and therefore several linear motors 6 are arranged at the upper and lower straight road ends near one curved road. Here, the linear motors are distributed to several units and arranged only on the straight roads. By disposing the linear motors only on the straight roads, the tension of the pan connecting portion can be reduced, and the structure of the pan connecting portion can be reduced. Can be made smaller and lighter, and the tension can be distributed to prevent interference between adjacent traveling vehicles on the curved road of the traveling vehicle and to prevent horizontal guide rollers.
This is because it is possible to reduce the running resistance due to 30 G and to reduce the capacity of the linear motor. The traveling speed and braking of the traveling vehicle are controlled by the control of the linear motor 6. Further, in order to drive the traveling carriage more efficiently by the linear motor 6, as shown in FIG. 3, the linear motor is arranged so as to oppose both side surfaces of the reaction plate 32 vertically provided on the lower surface of the traveling carriage 3. 6 are arranged, and the linear motors 6 which are paired with each other are provided with thrust from both side surfaces of the reaction plate 32 at the same time. Further, the linear motor 6 is fixed to a frame on the traveling path.

The traveling vehicle 3 is shown in detail in FIGS. A reaction plate 32 is vertically provided on a lower portion of a trolley body 30 having a predetermined size along the traveling direction of the trolley 3, and a shaft 30S supported on a pan support bracket 30B is provided on an upper portion thereof.
A hinge 30H is provided in the pan, and the pan 31 is swingably tilted via the hinge 30H or directly on the shaft 30S.
The pan 31 is V-shaped or otherwise shaped to ensure that the articles can be transferred. The frame 33 is fixed to the lower end of the reaction plate 32, and the traveling path 1 is provided below the frame.
The wheels 30W are arranged so that they can travel on the rails 1R, and the wheels 30W support the full load of the traveling carriage 3, and further the front and rear positions of the frame 33 are
One horizontal guide roller 30G is provided, and the lower portion of the reaction plate 32 is placed in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction by being sandwiched by the guide rails 1G provided on both sides of the rail 1R on the traveling path. The tilting is prevented, and the gap between the reaction plate 32 and the linear motor 6 can be kept constant. Further, the rail 1R is provided with an upper rail 1U, and a vertical guide roll 30R provided in a vertical direction on the frame is brought into contact with the lower surface of the upper rail 1U so that the traveling carriage is driven from the traveling path by the thrust given by the linear motor 6 during traveling. Prevent it from rising. Brackets 3B, 3B are provided on the back side of both side plates of the pan 31, and the lower ends of the brackets 3B, 3B are brought into contact with a support roller 34 movably provided on the main body 30. The tilting of the pan 31 is prevented by supporting and supporting the bracket 3B by the bracket 3B so that the pan is positioned at the solid line position in FIG. The support roller 34 has a roller support shaft 34S projectingly provided on a shaft 35 supported by the main body 30, and is rotatably supported by the shaft 34S and a restoring spring 35 is provided on the shaft 35.
S is attached, and a lever 35L is provided at the shaft end.
When L is pushed, the support roller 34 is tilted via the shaft 35 and the roller support shaft, and when the support roller 34 is tilted, the contact with the bracket 3B is released and the pan 31 can be tilted freely. At this time, that is, a shock absorber 36 is provided in the main body 30 for supporting the back surface of the pan by abutting it so as to stop at a predetermined angle when the pan tilts.

Connecting brackets at the front and rear ends of the main body 30 in the traveling direction
37, 37 are provided so as to project, and an upper guide roller 37G is rotatably supported on a connecting shaft 37S that penetrates and supports the connecting bracket 37 in the vertical direction, and an end of a turnbuckle type connecting rod 38 is locked. The end of the connecting rod 38 and the connecting shaft 37S
With the ball joint type, the front and rear running carriages swing in different directions, so that the ball joints absorb the swing and the traveling carriages are connected to each other to smoothly run. It can be so. The pan that is tiltably provided on the traveling carriage 3 tilts at a fixed position of the transfer conveyor 4 or the sorting chute 2,
The loading and unloading of goods can be done quickly and surely, and the equipment used conventionally is adopted for this. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the traveling carriages 3 located on the curved portions are driven while pushing and pulling each other between adjacent traveling carriages. Is 1/2, that is, when the connecting rod 38 is not interposed, the angle 2α between the adjacent traveling carriages is set to the angle α by interposing the connecting rod 38.
Therefore, the driving force transmitted between the adjacent traveling vehicles is F · c when the connecting rod 38 is not interposed.
By connecting the connecting rod 38 to os2α, F
It can be set to cos α · cos α (> F · cos 2 α), and the driving force can be smoothly transmitted between the adjacent traveling vehicles.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the linear motor consisting of several sets of opposed-excitation primary-side coils is arranged so as to be distributed only in the straight line portion of the traveling path, and therefore the primary-side coil The gap with the reaction plate can be set small, and energy loss can be reduced. Also,
The traveling vehicles located at the curved portions are driven while pushing and pulling each other between the adjacent traveling vehicles. However, the interposition of the connecting rod reduces the angle between the adjacent traveling vehicles by 1 /.
2, so that the driving force can be smoothly transmitted between the adjacent traveling vehicles. In addition, since the connecting rods are configured to rotatably connect the adjacent traveling carts on the lower inner side of the pan, the pan and the reaction plate of each traveling cart can be closely arranged with each other. It is possible to improve the sorting capacity and the driving capacity of the traveling vehicle connected body. As a result, the thrust of the linear motor that drives the traveling carriage can be effectively used, the capacity of the linear motor can be reduced, and the device can be downsized.
There is an advantage that a low-cost linear motor driven article sorting apparatus can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an apparatus for sorting articles according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a side longitudinal sectional view of the traveling vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of transmission of driving force between adjacent traveling vehicles.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of a known article sorting apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 traveling path 2 sorting chute 3 traveling carriage 32 reaction plate 38 connecting rod 4 transfer conveyor 6 linear motor

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 6

[Correction method] Change

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FIG. 6

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 7

[Correction method] Added

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FIG. 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A straight part running path is arranged vertically, and a plurality of sorting chutes are arranged on the side of the straight part of the loop running path formed by bending in a loop shape at both ends, and on this running path, A large number of traveling carriages equipped with tiltable pans are arranged with a linear motor so that they can travel, and adjacent traveling carriages are movably connected so that all traveling carriages can be simultaneously driven by a linear motor. An article sorting device characterized by the above.