JPH09142642A - Tray type sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To inexpensively and reliably enable three-dimensional tilting of a tray. A tray type sorting apparatus of the present invention comprises a carriage and a roller guide, and the carriage comprises a tray, an inclined shaft fixed to a lower surface of the tray so as to face obliquely downward in a traveling direction, and a universal joint to the inclined shaft. A vertical shaft connected through the trolley body, a bogie body, and locking means for restraining the rotation of the shaft so that the tray is kept horizontal and for rotating the shaft when a required rotation moment is applied to the shaft. , An arm fixed perpendicularly to the vertical axis and a roller provided at the tip of the arm, and the roller guide is fixed so as to have a narrow gap with the guide rail in the traveling direction of the carriage. And a movable member pivotally mounted so as to be swingable between a position where the roller passes and a position where the roller contacts the roller.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tray type sorting apparatus for sorting various articles by destination or by type in a distribution process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A tray type sorting apparatus which has been conventionally used for sorting articles sequentially places articles on horizontal trays which are continuously mounted on a chain conveyor and tilts the trays at a predetermined sorting position. In this system, the article slides down. The method of inclining the tray is such that the articles are slid at a sorting position in a direction just lateral to the traveling direction of the tray.

By the way, since the tray is moving even when the article slides down, the article slides obliquely forward while facing the traveling direction. Therefore, in order to receive the article so as to obtain the directionality of the article with the chute provided at the place where the article is received, the guide surface can make only a small angle of about 30 ° with respect to the traveling direction of the article. In order to smoothly convey the article downstream in the chute in this state, a belt conveyor or the like must be attached to the guide surface, which increases the cost of the chute.

[0004]

In order to solve the above problems, there has been proposed one in which the tray on which the articles are placed can be tilted obliquely forward by tilting the rotation axis of the tray (JP-A-5-162846). . When the rotation axis is slanted, the tray swings and the article faces diagonally forward when sliding down from the tray, so the guide surface that receives the article in the chute is 45 ° to 60 ° with respect to the traveling direction of the article. It is possible to have an angle of °, and if the angle is increased in this way, the article easily slides down along the guide surface, so that a belt conveyor is not necessary.

However, the one disclosed in the above-mentioned specification uses a spherical cam for tilting the tray, so that it is difficult and expensive to manufacture. The present invention has been devised in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a tray-type sorting device having a simple structure and easy to manufacture.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a tray type sorting apparatus of the present invention includes a carriage that travels along a guide rail, and a roller that is provided on the side of the guide rail and that is provided on the carriage. It consists of a roller guide that abuts and pushes the roller toward the guide rail side as the trolley travels to tilt the tray provided on the trolley, and the trolley moves to the tray on which the articles are placed and the tray lower surface. An inclined shaft fixed obliquely downward in the direction, a vertical shaft connected to the inclined shaft via a universal joint or a bevel gear, and a bogie body having bearing portions respectively supporting the inclined shaft and the vertical shaft. , A locking means for restraining the rotation of the shaft so that the tray is kept horizontal, and for allowing the shaft to rotate when a required rotation moment is applied to the shaft, and an arm fixed perpendicular to the vertical shaft, Ah The roller guide is provided with a roller provided at a tip thereof, and the roller guide has a fixing member having a fixing side surface which is arranged so that a gap between the roller guide and the guide rail becomes narrower in a traveling direction of the carriage, and an upstream side of the fixing member. It has a side surface that is provided continuously to the front end of the fixed side surface, and can swing between the position where the roller passes and the position where it abuts the roller when the tray approaches the roller guide in the horizontal state. And a movable member pivotally attached to the. The locking means is urged to fit into a recess provided near the shaft or the bearing, and restrains the rotation of the shaft so that the tray remains horizontal in the condition of being fitted into the recess, and at the same time, is required for the shaft. The shaft may be rotatable by retracting from the recess when a rotational moment is applied.

In the steady running state, the shaft is restrained by the locking means and the tray is kept horizontal. On the other hand, when the movable member of the roller guide comes into contact with the roller when the sorting position is reached, the arm is rotated by the roller guide, the tilt shaft is rotated through the vertical shaft and the universal joint, and the tray is moved. The product inclines forward and the article slides down. Further, when the movable member of the roller guide is in a position to pass the roller when it comes to the sorting position, the tray passes while keeping the horizontal state.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a truck of the tray type sorting apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a trolley, which has four traveling wheels 1a and two guide wheels 1b, and is connected to a chain (not shown) at the front and rear, and guide rails 2
It runs in 0 by being pulled by the chain. The carriage 1 may be driven not by a chain but by a linear motor, a friction drive, or the like. Reference numeral 2 denotes a tray on which articles are placed, which is kept horizontal during normal traveling, but when it reaches the sorting position, the articles are slanted forward as shown by the chain double-dashed line so that the placed articles slide down. Reference numeral 3 is an arrow indicating the traveling direction of the carriage 1. An inclination axis 4 is fixed to the lower surface of the tray 2 so as to face obliquely downward in the traveling direction 3.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a vertical shaft, and a tilt shaft 4 via a universal joint 5.
Is connected to Although the universal joint 5 is used in this embodiment, a bevel gear may be used. The inclined shaft 4 and the vertical shaft 6 are supported by the carriage main body 9 by bearings 7 and 8, respectively. The bearings 7 and 8 each include two radial ball bearings. Reference numeral 10 denotes a recess provided on the outer circumference of the tilt shaft 4 and has a conical shape. Reference numeral 11 denotes a locking means provided near the bearing 7, which is a fitting portion 11a having a conical tip.
And a spring 11b for urging the fitting portion 11a to be pushed out.
And a plug 11c that abuts the rear end of the spring.

The locking means 11 restrains the rotation of the inclined shaft 4 so that the tray 2 remains horizontal when the fitting portion 11a is fitted in the recess 10. However, when a required rotational moment is applied to the tilt shaft 4, the fitting portion 11a withdraws from the recess 10 against the spring 11b, and the tilt shaft 4 becomes rotatable. In this embodiment, the locking means 11 is provided on the tilt shaft 4, but
It may be provided on the vertical shaft 6, or conversely a recess may be formed in the bearing portion 7.
Alternatively, it may be provided in the vicinity of the bearing portion 8 and the locking means 11 may be provided in the inclined shaft 4 or the vertical shaft 6. The shape of the recess 10 or the fitting portion 11a may be hemispherical instead of being conical. FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. Reference numeral 12 in the drawing denotes an arm, which is fixed perpendicularly to the vertical axis 6.

Next, the roller guide 15 which is provided on the ground side and tilts the tray 2 by acting on the arm 12 as the truck 1 travels will be described. The roller guide 15 is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The roller guide 15 includes a fixed member 15a and a movable member 15b. Fixing member 15
Reference numeral a denotes a groove-shaped member having an open upper portion, which is supported by the guide rail 20 by a bracket (not shown), and the roller 14 runs in the groove 15e. The side surface of the groove 15e faces the front of the traveling direction 3 of the trolley 1 and the guide rail 2
It is arranged so that the interval with 0 is narrow. Groove 15e
The outer side surface 15c of the roller 14 moves along with the traveling of the carriage 1.
Is pressed toward the guide rail 20. Movable member 1
5b is provided on the upstream side of the fixing member 15a,
A pin 17 provided in the vicinity of a front end 15f of a side surface 15c on the outer side of 5a is pivotally attached to the fixing member 15a, and is oscillated by a cylinder 16. The side surface 15d of the movable member 15b and the outer side surface 15 of the fixed member 15a.
It is arranged so as to be continuous with c. Movable member 15b
Has a switching function of tilting the tray 2 when the tray 2 approaches the roller guide 15 in the horizontal state or passing the tray as it is. That is, the movable member 15b is shown in FIG.
Alternatively, when the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, that is, the rear end of the movable member 15b is closer to the guide rail 20, the roller 14 passes without contacting the roller guide 15.

When the movable member 15b is at the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, that is, when the rear end of the movable member 15b is away from the guide rail 20, the roller 14 contacts the movable member 15b, and the movable member 15b moves. 15b side surface 15d
Along with the fixed member 15a.

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line BB of FIG. As shown in the figure, the guide rail 20 has a narrow groove 20a in the upper part and a wide groove 20b in the lower part. In the figure, traveling wheels 1a and guide wheels 1b of the truck 1 are shown.

FIG. 7 shows a reset device for returning the tilted tray 2 to the horizontal position. A reset guide 21 is provided on the side surface of the guide rail 20. The reset guide 21 has a flat plate shape, and is an inclined surface 21 in a direction away from the guide rail 20 toward the front in the traveling direction 3 of the carriage 1 as shown in the figure.
It has a side surface 21b which is provided so as to be connected to a and the tip of the inclined surface thereof and which is parallel to the guide rail 20.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the shape of the arm 12 at each position. The figure shows a normal traveling state in which the tray is horizontal. In the figure, the movable member 15b of the roller guide 15 is in a position where it is in contact with the roller 14, that is, in the open state, and the roller 14 is in contact with the rear end of the movable member 15b. Shows a state in which the roller 14 has passed the movable member 15b and has reached the rear end of the fixed member 15a. Shows the state where the roller 14 reaches the tip of the fixing member 15a. In this state, the tray 2 has the maximum tilt angle. Even if the roller 14 leaves the roller guide 15, the cart 1 travels while the tray 2 is tilted. The states shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 correspond to those in FIG.

Next, a reset device for horizontally setting the tilted tray 2 will be described. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the state of each position of the arm 12 and the reset guide 21.
Shows the state where the roller 14 first contacts the inclined surface 21 a of the reset guide 21 for the first time in the state where the tray is inclined in the same manner as described above. Roller 14 is reset guide 21
It shows a state of being separated from the inclined surface 21a. Since the roller 14 is pressed in the direction away from the guide rail 20 by the reset guide 21 during the period from to, the arm 12 rotates counterclockwise in the figure and the tray 2 returns to the original horizontal state. The reset guide 21 is the guide rail 20.
Is provided in front of the corner of the tray and before the position where the tray 2 receives the articles from the previous stage.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

[0018]

As described above, the tray three-dimensional tilting device of the sorter of the present invention is easy to manufacture and inexpensive because the tilting shaft and the vertical shaft are connected by the universal joint or bevel gear.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a truck of a tray type sorting apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a roller guide.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a truck of a conventional tray type sorting apparatus.

5 is a view as seen from the arrow BB of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state at each position of the arm.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state of each position of the arm and a reset guide.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 trolley 2 tray 4 tilt axis 5 universal joint 6 vertical axis 7 bearing section 8 bearing section 9 trolley body 11 locking means 12 arm 14 roller 15 roller guide

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A trolley that travels along a guide rail,
It is provided on the side of the guide rail, and comprises a roller guide that abuts on a roller provided on the trolley and pushes the roller toward the guide rail side as the trolley travels to tilt the tray provided on the trolley, The trolley comprises a tray on which an article is placed, an inclined shaft fixed to a lower surface of the tray in a diagonally downward direction, a vertical shaft connected to the inclined shaft via a universal joint or a bevel gear, and the inclination. A trolley body having bearings for supporting the shaft and the vertical shaft, respectively, and a member for restraining the rotation of the shaft so that the tray is kept horizontal and enabling the shaft to rotate when a required rotation moment is applied to the shaft. A stop means, an arm fixed perpendicularly to the vertical axis, and a roller provided at the tip of the arm are provided, and the roller guide has a narrow gap with the guide rail in the traveling direction of the carriage. When the tray reaches the roller guide in a horizontal state, the roller has a fixed member having a fixed side surface and a side surface provided on the upstream side of the fixed member and continuously arranged at the front end of the fixed side surface. And a movable member pivotally mounted so as to be swingable between a position where the sheet passes and a position where the roller contacts the roller. 2. The locking means is biased to fit into a recess provided near the shaft or the bearing, and restrains the rotation of the shaft so that the tray remains horizontal in the condition of being fitted into the recess. 2. The tray type sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the shaft is given a required rotational moment, the shaft is rotatable by retracting from the recess.