阅读说明：本技术 物品整理装置及物品整理方法 (Article sorting device and article sorting method ) 是由 橘俊之 下田雅之 于 2018-12-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明的课题在于提供一种能够自动地进行用于消除物品的堆叠的物品整理装置和方法。物品整理装置投放多个物品(M),并消除物品(M)的重叠。具有用于载置物品(M)的物品载置面,实施使物品(M)在该物品载置面上进行回转运动和/或旋转运动以消除物品(M)彼此的重叠的物品整理运行。(The invention provides an article collating device and method capable of automatically eliminating stacking of articles. The article collating device dispenses a plurality of articles (M) and eliminates overlapping of the articles (M). The article sorting machine has an article placement surface for placing articles (M), and performs an article sorting operation in which the articles (M) are rotated and/or rotated on the article placement surface to eliminate overlapping of the articles (M).)

1. An article collating device for dispensing a plurality of articles and eliminating overlapping of the articles, characterized in that,

has an article-placing surface for placing an article,

an article sorting operation is performed in which articles are rotated and/or rotated on the article-placing surface to eliminate overlapping of the articles with each other.

2. The article collating device of claim 1, further comprising:

the plurality of conveying units are arranged in a plane to form the article placement surface, and each conveying unit includes a conveying unit having a moving function of moving an article and a biasing direction changing function of changing a biasing direction.

3. The article collating device according to claim 1 or 2,

has a discharge quantity detecting device for detecting the quantity of the articles discharged from the article collating device,

the article sorting operation is stopped on the condition that the number of articles detected by the discharge number detecting means reaches a predetermined number.

4. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the speed, speed of rotation, speed of gyration and radius of gyration of the articles can be varied.

5. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an article collating operation can be performed while advancing the articles in one direction.

6. The article collating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

having an article collating region for performing an article collating operation and an article arranging region located downstream of the article collating region, articles after collation can be arranged on a presumed arrangement line.

7. The article collating device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the article sorting system has an article sorting region for performing an article sorting run and an article separating region downstream of the article sorting region in which articles can be conveyed in one direction, in which case the conveying speed of the articles can be conveyed with a variation so that the articles are separated from one another back and forth in the direction of travel.

8. The article collating device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

there is an article collating region for performing an article collating run and an article separating region downstream of the article collating region in which articles can be conveyed in one direction, at which time the articles can be temporarily stopped or the conveying speed can be temporarily stopped to separate the articles from one another back and forth in the direction of travel.

9. The article collating device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,

the article sorting device has an article sorting area for performing article sorting operation and a swing area located downstream of the article sorting area, and in the swing area, the traveling direction of the articles can be changed successively, and the articles can be conveyed in one direction while being swung.

10. An article finishing method for eliminating article overlapping, characterized in that,

articles are placed on a predetermined placing surface, and the articles are rotated and/or rotated on the article placing surface to eliminate overlapping of the articles with each other.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an article sorting apparatus and an article sorting method. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for dispensing stacks of articles having overlapping portions, eliminating overlap of the articles with one another and causing the stacks to be discretely separated into individual articles.

Background

There are situations where small items are received from factories, wholesalers, etc. and packaged individually or sent for sale.

In this case, a large and complicated type of article may be carried in a state of being thrown into one box at a factory or the like. In addition, many of the same types of articles are sometimes packed in a box and transported in that state.

On the receiving side, the box is opened, and the article is put on a packaging line or the like for packaging or delivery.

Since many articles are contained in the received box, if the box is simply turned upside down and the articles are thrown onto the transfer belt, in many cases, the articles are conveyed to the downstream side in a state of being overlapped with each other, and jamming occurs.

Therefore, the receiving side performs the sorting operation (cargo handling operation) of the articles.

In practice, the box is turned over on a work bench or the like, thereby dumping the contents onto the work bench. As a result, the articles are stacked in a pile on the table. The worker takes out the stacked articles individually, places them one by one on a conveyor such as a conveyor, and conveys them to the downstream side.

As an invention related to the present invention, patent document 1 discloses an apparatus.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

As described above, article sorting for eliminating the stack of articles is performed by manual work of the worker. On the market, a method of automatically performing the work is required, but an apparatus for performing the work has not been developed yet.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to develop a device and method that can be automatically executed to eliminate the stacking of items.

Means for solving the problems

An aspect for solving the above-described problem is an article sorting apparatus that dispenses a plurality of articles and eliminates overlapping of the articles, the apparatus including an article placement surface on which the articles are placed, and performing an article sorting operation in which the articles are rotated and/or rotated on the article placement surface to eliminate overlapping of the articles.

According to the article sorting device of this mode, the upper article and the lower article are separated by centrifugal force.

In the above aspect, it is preferable that the article placement surface is configured by arranging a plurality of conveyance units in a planar manner, and the conveyance unit includes a conveyance unit having a moving function of moving the article and a biasing direction changing function of changing the biasing direction.

According to this mode, the article can be caused to perform a turning motion or a rotating motion.

In each of the above-described aspects, it is preferable to include a discharge number detection device that detects the number of articles discharged from the article sorting device, and to stop the article sorting operation on the condition that the number of articles detected by the discharge number detection device has reached a predetermined number.

In each of the above embodiments, the speed, the rotational speed, the revolving speed, and the radius of gyration of the article are preferably changeable.

According to this mode, an appropriate speed (speed of the article, rotation speed, revolution speed) or revolution radius may be selected according to the volume, weight, smoothness, etc. of the article.

In each of the above modes, it is preferable that the article sorting operation be performed while the article is advanced in one direction.

According to this aspect, the article arrangement can be performed while the article is being conveyed.

In each of the above-described aspects, it is preferable that the article sorting device includes an article sorting area for performing an article sorting operation and an article arraying area located downstream of the article sorting area, and that articles after sorting can be arrayed on a predetermined array line.

According to this way, the groups of articles can be collated and further arranged.

In the above-described aspects, it is preferable that the article sorting device includes an article sorting area for performing an article sorting operation and an article separating area located downstream of the article sorting area, and in the article separating area, the articles can be conveyed in one direction, and in this case, the articles can be conveyed with a variable conveyance speed, and the articles can be separated from each other back and forth in the traveling direction.

In this manner, a gap may be formed between the articles.

In each of the above-described aspects, it is preferable that the article sorting device includes an article sorting area for performing an article sorting operation and an article separating area located downstream of the article sorting area, and in the article separating area, the articles can be conveyed in one direction, and in this case, the articles can be separated from each other back and forth in the traveling direction by temporarily stopping the articles or temporarily stopping the conveying speed.

In this manner, a gap may be formed between the articles.

In each of the above-described aspects, it is preferable that the article sorting device includes an article sorting area for performing an article sorting operation and a swing area located downstream of the article sorting area, and the article can be conveyed in one direction while swinging the article by changing the traveling direction of the article in a stepwise manner (gradually or little by little).

According to this mode, the articles can be aligned with each other.

An article arranging method for solving the same problem is an article arranging method for eliminating overlapping of articles, characterized in that articles are placed on a predetermined placing surface, and the articles are rotated and/or rotated on the article placing surface to eliminate overlapping of the articles.

Effects of the invention

According to the article collating device and the article collating method of the present invention, the stacking of articles can be automatically eliminated.

Drawings

Fig. 1(a) is a plan view of a conveying device (collating device, article arraying device) according to an embodiment of the present invention, (b) shows a state in which the posture of the conveying unit is a forward posture, (c) shows a state in which the posture of the conveying unit is a rightward inclined posture, and (d) shows a state in which the posture of the conveying unit is a leftward inclined posture.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the conveyor of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the carrying unit assembly.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a state where the surface plate of the conveying unit assembly is detached from the conveying device of fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the carrying unit.

Fig. 6 is a profile view showing a power system of the carrying unit.

Fig. 7 is an explanatory view showing an operation of the article sorting area of the conveyor device in fig. 1, in which (a) shows an orientation of the conveying rollers of each conveying unit in the area and a biasing direction of the article, and (b) is an explanatory view of dividing the area into blocks in which the conveying rollers having the same biasing direction are gathered in the area.

Fig. 8 is an explanatory view showing the action of the article sorting region of the conveyor device of fig. 1, in which (a) shows the direction of the urging force acting on the conveyor unit in the region, (b) shows the movement of the articles in the article sorting region at the time of the article sorting operation, and (c) shows the movement of the articles in the article sorting region after the completion of the article sorting operation.

Fig. 9(a) to (d) are explanatory views showing the behavior of articles in the article sorting area and the degree of overlap of the articles.

Fig. 10(a) to (c) are explanatory views showing the operation of the article arrangement region.

Fig. 11(a) and (b) are explanatory views for explaining the operation of the conveying unit in the article arraying region.

Fig. 12(a) is a plan view showing the position of the article in the article alignment region, and (b) is an explanatory view corresponding to this drawing showing the direction in which the article is biased by the conveying unit.

Fig. 13(a) to (d) are explanatory views showing behaviors of the articles in the article arrangement region.

Fig. 14(a) to (c) are explanatory views for explaining behaviors when articles collide with each other in the vicinity of the arrangement line of the article arrangement region.

Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a movement trajectory of an article in the article arrangement region.

Fig. 16(a) and (b) are explanatory views showing the operation of the separation region.

Fig. 17(a) to (c) are explanatory views showing behaviors of the article in the separation region.

Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of the carry-out area.

Fig. 19(a), (b), and (c) are explanatory views showing behaviors of the articles in the carry-out area.

Fig. 20(a) to (c) are explanatory views showing another operation example of the article sorting region.

Fig. 21 is an explanatory view showing an operation of an article sorting area of a conveying device according to another embodiment, in which (a) shows an orientation of a conveying roller of each conveying unit in the area and a biasing direction of an article, and (b) is an explanatory view of a region in which conveying rollers having the same biasing direction are gathered in the area and divided into blocks.

Fig. 22 is a plan view of a conveying device (article collating device, article arraying device) according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be further explained. Fig. 1 shows a conveyance device 2 of an embodiment of the present invention. The conveying device 2 of the present embodiment is directly combined with the article collating device 30 and the article arraying device 31. The conveyor 2 conveys the article M from the upstream side to the downstream side, and the front part thereof serves as an article collating device and the rear part thereof serves as an article arraying device.

The conveyor 2 according to the present embodiment is realized by an apparatus having a structure shown in fig. 2. For convenience of drawing, fig. 2 shows a part of the conveyor 2, and the actual conveyor 2 has more conveyor units 1 than fig. 2.

The conveyor 2 has an article placement surface 32 on which the article M is placed. As shown in fig. 3, the article placement surface 32 is formed by arranging a plurality of the conveyor units 1 in a planar shape. That is, a large number of the conveyor units 1 are flatly stacked to form the conveyor 2 having the article placement surface 32.

As will be described later, the conveying unit 1 has a conveying roller 3 and a turn table 6 that turns (revolves) the conveying roller 3. The conveying unit 1 functions as a biasing device for biasing the article M. The conveying unit 1 as a biasing device has a conveying roller 3, and the conveying roller 3 moves the article M by contacting a bottom portion of the article M; the orientation of the delivery rollers 3 can also be changed by the turn table 6 to change the direction of the force applied to the article M.

In the conveying unit 1, the conveying rollers 3 function to move the article M by applying a force thereto, and the turn table 6 functions to change the direction of the force applied thereto.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 3, four carrying units 1 are combined into one assembly with one surface plate 33. Then, the carrying unit assembly 28 is laid in a planar manner to constitute the carrying device 2.

In the transport unit assembly 28, the tip end portion of the turn table 6 and a part of the transport roller 3 of each transport unit 1 are exposed from the surface plate 33. The bottom of the article M is in contact with the conveying roller 3, and as the conveying roller 3 rotates, the article M receives a thrust from the conveying roller 3. Further, the conveying unit 1 can change the direction of the urging force to the article M by rotating the turntable 6 by the rotary motor 8.

The appearance of the carrying unit 1 is shown in fig. 5.

The conveying unit 1 has a moving function of moving the article M by biasing the article M by the conveying rollers 3. The carrying unit 1 includes a biasing direction changing device that changes a biasing direction of the article M. Specifically, the conveying unit 1 has conveying rollers 3, and the article M is placed on the conveying rollers 3. The transport rollers 3 are rotated by the traveling motor 9, and the bottom of the article M on the transport rollers 3 is urged by the rotation of the transport rollers 3, thereby moving the article M.

The conveying unit 1 further includes a turn table 6, and the direction of the conveying roller 3 can be changed, so that the direction of the biasing force applied to the article M can be changed.

As shown in fig. 5, the transport unit 1 includes, in order from above, a traveling unit 5, a turntable 6, a casing 7, a rotary motor 8, a traveling motor 9, and the like.

The housing 7 is fixed to a fixed structure (not shown) of the vehicle 2.

The rotary electric machine 8 is fixed to the housing 7. A travel motor 9 is fixed below the rotation motor 8.

The traveling section 5 is mounted on a turn table 6. The turntable 6 is rotatably drivable mounted on a rotary motor 8.

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the traveling section 5 includes two transport rollers 3 (rotating bodies). The two conveying rollers 3 are rotatably supported by a turn table 6. Further, the conveyance roller 3 is engaged with the drive roller 4.

The drive roller 4 is rotated by power transmission from the drive shaft 14 of the travel motor 9 via the bevel gear portion 15 and the bevel gear portion 23, and the transport roller 3 is rotated by the rotation of the drive roller 4.

That is, the transport roller 3 of the traveling unit 5 receives power transmission from the traveling motor 9 and rotates.

The turntable 6 is a cylindrical member, and an internal gear 18 is provided therein. The rotational force is transmitted from the rotary motor 8 to the rotary table 6 via the gear 12, the gear 13, and the internal gear 18. Accordingly, the turn table 6 is rotated by the turn motor 8.

As described above, the traveling unit 5 is attached to the turn table 6. Therefore, when the turn table 6 rotates, the direction of the traveling portion 5 changes, and the biasing direction for biasing the article M changes.

In this way, in the transport unit 1, the rotational force of the travel motor 9 can be transmitted to the transport rollers 3, and the article M on the transport rollers 3 is urged by the rotation of the transport rollers 3 to move the article M.

Further, the direction of the urging force to the article M can be arbitrarily changed by driving the rotary motor 8 to rotate the rotary table 6 and changing the direction of the conveying roller 3.

In this way, the conveying unit 1 has a moving function for moving the article M and a biasing direction changing function for changing the biasing direction.

The conveyor 2 has an article placement surface 32 formed by a front plate 33 of the conveyor unit assembly and the tip of the turn table 6 of the conveyor unit 1, and the conveyor rollers 3 of the conveyor unit 1 are exposed from the article placement surface 32. Therefore, the article M on the article mounting surface 32 can be moved by rotating the transport rollers 3, and the biasing direction can be arbitrarily changed by rotating the turn table 6.

Further, the carrying unit 1 is provided with a load sensor 16. The load sensor 16 has a function of detecting the presence or passage of the article M. Further, the carrying unit 1 has a mutual communication means (not shown) that transmits a signal of the loading sensor 16 and a driving state of the traveling motor to the adjacent carrying unit 1.

In the present embodiment, the conveyance unit 1 constituting the conveyance device 2 may be operated in an intermittent operation mode. In the intermittent operation mode, the conveying rollers 3 of its own conveying unit 1 are started/stopped in accordance with the placement state of the article M and the driving state of the surrounding conveying units 1.

In the intermittent operation mode, when there is an article M on the own conveyor unit 1 and there is no article M on the conveyor unit 1 in the forward direction of travel, the travel motor 9 of the own conveyor unit 1 is driven to move the article M on the own conveyor unit 1. Further, when the transport unit 1 forward in the traveling direction is in a state of transporting the article M, the own transport unit 1 is stopped when the transport unit 1 forward in the traveling direction is not moving, and the own transport unit 1 is driven to move the article M on the own transport unit 1 when the transport unit 1 forward in the traveling direction is moving.

In the present embodiment, the conveying unit 1 constituting the conveying device 2 can be operated in the continuous operation mode. In the continuous operation mode, the transport rollers 3 are driven regardless of the state of the article M placed thereon.

The conveyor 2 according to the present embodiment is configured by laying a plurality of the conveyor units 1 described above. In the present embodiment, 8 conveying units 1 are provided in the width direction, and more conveying units 1 are arranged in the longitudinal direction.

The conveyor 2 of the present embodiment has an article sorting area 35 functioning as the article sorting device 30 and an article arraying area 36 functioning as the article arraying device 31 in the longitudinal direction, and a carry-out area 37 is provided in front of them.

The article arraying region 36 is also a swing region.

In addition, a portion of the article alignment area also serves as an article separating area 38.

The actions and functions of the respective areas will be described below.

In the conveying device 2, as indicated by a large arrow in fig. 1(a), the article M advances from the article sorting area 35 to the carry-out area 37. For convenience of explanation, a direction in which the article sorting region 35 linearly advances along the center line of the conveyor 2 toward the carry-out region 37 (the direction of the large arrow in fig. 1 a) is referred to as a main traveling direction or a Y direction. The direction orthogonal thereto is referred to as the X direction.

In each figure, the small arrows in the conveying unit 1 indicate the direction in which the article M is applied. The direction in which the article M is applied is the direction perpendicular to the conveying rollers 3.

As shown in fig. 1(b), the rotation axis of the transport roller 3 is oriented in a direction perpendicular to the main traveling direction, and a posture in which the urging direction of the article M by the rotation of the transport roller 3 is forward with respect to the main traveling direction is referred to as a forward posture.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 1(c) and (d), the rotation axis of the transport roller 3 is inclined with respect to the main traveling direction, and the posture in which the biasing direction of the article M by the rotation of the transport roller 3 is inclined with respect to the main traveling direction is referred to as an inclined posture. As shown in fig. 1 c, the posture in which the biasing direction (small arrow) of the conveyance roller 3 is inclined rightward with respect to the main traveling direction is referred to as a rightward inclined posture, and as shown in fig. 1 d, the posture in which the biasing direction (small arrow) is inclined leftward with respect to the main traveling direction is referred to as a leftward inclined posture.

Article collating area

An article collating device 30 is disposed in article collating area 35. The article collating device 30 in the article collating region 35 is a region for performing a function of collating the articles M stacked in a stack, removing the overlapping of the articles M, and separating the articles M from each other. That is, in the article sorting area 35, the article sorting device 30 performs an article sorting operation.

When the article sorting operation is performed, the posture and the urging direction of the conveying roller 3 of each conveying unit 1 are as shown in fig. 7.

As shown in fig. 7(a), the conveying rollers 3 of each conveying unit 1 are in a posture of urging the article M so that the article revolves around the center of the article sorting region 35. Further, the conveying rollers 3 of the conveying unit 1 of the outermost turn are in a posture of urging the article M in a direction toward the center of the article sorting region 35.

As shown in fig. 7 b, the article sorting area 35 is divided into a plurality of blocks according to the posture (biasing direction) of each of the conveying units 1.

As shown in fig. 7(b), at the central part of the action, the article sorting area 35 is divided into four blocks 40, 41, 42, 43. As shown by the arrows in fig. 7(b), the four blocks 40, 41, 42, and 43 at the center have urging directions different from each other by 90 degrees.

That is, the urging direction of the carrying unit 1 is oriented in the positive Y direction at the block 40, the block 41 is oriented in the X direction (downward in the figure), the block 42 is oriented in the negative Y direction, and the block 43 is oriented in the X direction (upward in the figure).

Therefore, the article M placed in the central portion moves and revolves on the four blocks 40, 41, 42, 43 in sequence. In the present embodiment, the four blocks 40, 41, 42, and 43 in the center portion constitute a turning region.

Around the turn around region is a centring region 45. In the centering area 45, the conveying rollers 3 of the conveying unit 1 are in a posture of urging the article M in a direction toward the center of the article sorting area 35, preventing the article M from running out of the article sorting area 35.

As shown in fig. 8(a), the direction (small arrow) in which each transport unit 1 moves the article M draws a plurality of circles as a whole. In the present embodiment, the postures of the conveying rollers 3 of the respective conveying units 1 are determined so that the article M turns around one point in the article sorting region 35.

In the present embodiment, the cell group in the article arranging region 35 is a combination of biasing the articles M in the X direction and the Y direction. The article M may be rotated with the conveying rollers 3 of the conveying unit 1 in an inclined posture.

During the article sorting operation, the conveying unit 1 operates in the continuous operation mode, and the conveying rollers 3 are always driven regardless of the loading state of the articles M and the like.

As shown in fig. 8(b), the articles M put in the article sorting region 35 revolve around one point. Also, the article M placed at the center is turned around in situ.

Articles M are randomly dropped into the collation area 35. At the initial stage of the release, most of the articles M overlap in the height direction. However, the articles M thrown into the article arranging region 35 are overlapped and collapsed during the rotation or rotation to be arranged in a planar shape.

There are several possible reasons for this phenomenon to occur.

One is that the centrifugal forces applied to the articles M superposed one above the other are different.

That is, as shown in fig. 9(a), at the initial stage of the rotation, for example, the two articles Mh, MI are overlapped one on top of the other. However, the centers of gravity of the two are slightly offset.

When revolving in this state, any of the articles M lying above and below is located outside with respect to the center of gyration. Here, the centrifugal force applied to the articles Mh, MI is proportional to the distance from the center of gyration. Therefore, the article Mh on the outer side with respect to the rotation center is subjected to a stronger centrifugal force than the other article MI. Therefore, the outer article Mh moves relative to the inner article MI, and the overlap collapses.

Another reason is the difference in friction. That is, the articles Mh and MI are subjected to centrifugal force by rotation and tend to move outward. Here, the lower article MI contacts the article mounting surface 32. Unlike this, the upper article Mh is in contact with the lower article MI.

Therefore, even if the centrifugal force applied to the articles Mh and MI is the same, the frictional force to prevent the movement of the two is different. Therefore, the outer article Mh moves relative to the inner article MI, and the overlap collapses.

For any reason, the outer article Mh is actually moved relative to the inner article MI to collapse the overlap, and the articles are arranged.

In the article sorting area 35, the articles M are rotated or rotated for a certain period of time, and the stacking of the articles Mh, MI is eliminated. After a certain time, the turn table 6 turns, and the transport roller 3 is brought into a forward posture as shown in fig. 8 (c). As a result, each article M is carried out to the article alignment area 36 on the downstream side.

In the present embodiment, during the article sorting operation, the angle of the turn table 6 is determined so that the article M is rotated around one point in the article sorting region 35 and the posture of the conveying roller 3 is set to a predetermined posture. However, as shown in fig. 20(a), the rotation may be performed around a plurality of points. Further, as shown in fig. 20(b), the article M may be turned around in situ.

As shown in fig. 20(c), the article M may be rotated spirally by moving the center of rotation. According to this measure, the article M performs an article sorting run while advancing toward b.

Further, it is preferable to change the speed, rotation speed, revolving radius, and the like of the article M during the article sorting operation according to the property and amount of the article M. Appropriate speed, rotation speed, revolution radius, and the like of the article M are predetermined by preliminary experiments and are selected according to the kind and number of articles M thrown into the article sorting area 35, and the like.

In addition, the speed of the article M and the like are sometimes changed during the article sorting operation. For example, when the number of articles M to be thrown in is large, first, the conveying rollers 3 are rotated at a high speed to substantially disassemble the pile of articles M, and then the rotation speed of the conveying rollers 3 is reduced to eliminate the overlapping of the articles Mh, MI.

Alternatively, the articles M are rotated at a small turning radius at the time of initial throwing to disassemble the pile of the articles M stacked in the article arranging region 35, spread the article group to the surroundings, and then enlarge the turning radius to eliminate overlapping of the articles M spread to the surroundings.

It is also contemplated to periodically vary the speed, rotational speed, slew radius, etc. of the articles M during the article collation run to agitate the groups of articles.

The rotational speed of the conveyance roller 3 of the conveyance unit 1 is not necessarily constant, and may be different depending on the position. In the above embodiment, although the article sorting operation is defined for a certain time, it may be detected whether or not the overlap of the articles M is eliminated by image analysis or the like, and the article sorting operation may be stopped at the stage of the elimination of the overlap.

As another measure, the number of articles that run out of the article sorting area due to centrifugal force may be detected, and the article sorting operation may be stopped when the number reaches a certain value.

Fig. 21 shows a carrying device 50 adopting this structure.

In the conveyor 50 shown in fig. 21, the region 51 adjacent to the article alignment region 36 is slightly inclined toward the article alignment region 36.

That is, in the conveyor 50 shown in fig. 21, the turning area is present in the central portion and the centering area 45 is provided around the turning area, but three sides of the turning area are surrounded as the centering area 45, and the urging direction of the conveyor roller 3 faces the article alignment area 36 side in the area 51 adjacent to the article alignment area 36.

The rotational speed of the transport rollers 3 in the turning area is not uniform, and the rotational speed of the transport rollers 3 is high in the area close to the article alignment area 36 and toward the article alignment area 36.

For example, if the central portion is divided into four blocks 40, 41, 42, 43, the speed of the block 41 is faster than the speed of the opposite block 43.

In the present embodiment, the discharge number detection device 52 is provided near the boundary between the article sorting region 35 and the article arraying region 36. The discharge number detection device 52 is a transmissive photosensor, and includes a pair of light projection units 52a and a light receiving unit 52 b. When the article M passes between the light projecting portion 52a and the light receiving portion 52b, the light of the light projecting portion 52a is momentarily blocked, and it is detected that the article M has moved from the article sorting region 35 to the article arranging region 36.

In the present embodiment, the number of articles M discharged from the article sorting area 35 is detected by the discharge number detection device 52.

In the present embodiment, for example, N articles M are carried into the article sorting area 35. In the article collating area 35, the articles M are made to rotate to eliminate the overlap. In the present embodiment, since the rotational speed of the transport rollers 3 is high in the region toward the article alignment region 36, the articles M receive a strong centrifugal force on the discharge side of the article sorting region 35, and therefore the articles swing by the centrifugal force and run out of the article sorting region 35.

Here, if the discharge quantity detection means 52 confirms that the same number of N articles M as the number of drops have run out of the finishing area 35, it is no longer necessary to continue the finishing operation.

In addition, when the number of the discharged few articles M is only one less than the number of the articles to be thrown, it is obvious that there is no overlap of the remaining one article, and therefore it is no longer necessary to continue the article sorting operation.

In practice, it may be determined that the overlap of all articles M is eliminated when the articles M are discharged at a ratio of a certain ratio to the number of articles thrown, and it is preferable to stop the finishing operation at this stage.

Further, it is also possible to recognize a plurality of articles M in a superimposed state as one article, detect the apparent number on the article sorting area 35 from an image of a camera or the like, and stop the article sorting operation when the number reaches a predetermined value. Further, the article sorting operation may be stopped in consideration of the apparent number on the article sorting region 35 and the number detected by the discharge number detecting device 52.

The discharge number detection device 52 is not limited to the transmission-type photoelectric sensor, and may be one using image analysis or one using the load sensor 16 of the transport unit 1.

In the above embodiment, after stopping the article sorting operation, as shown in fig. 8(c), the transport rollers 3 in the article sorting zone 35 are changed to the forward posture to be carried out to the article alignment zone 36 on the downstream side, but the article M may be carried out to the downstream side while changing the direction of the urging force, similarly to the article alignment zone 36 described later.

That is, the front half of the conveyor 2 may be included to have a function of an article arrangement region 36, which will be described later, with a part of the conveyor 2 being rotated to eliminate the overlapping of the articles M.

Article arrangement region

The article arraying device 31 is arranged in the article arraying region 36. The article alignment region 36 is a region having a function of aligning the articles M linearly in the main traveling direction (Y direction). In the article alignment region 36, the traveling direction of the article M changes little by little, and it can be said that the article M is a swing region having a function of conveying the article M in a predetermined direction (Y direction) while swinging the article M.

An alignment action is performed within the article alignment area 36. In this embodiment, the articles M are arranged in two rows along the main travel direction.

In the present embodiment, since eight transport units 1 are provided in the width direction, eight rows of the transport units 1 are provided in the vertical direction. As shown in fig. 11(a), the columns in the traveling direction of the article M are referred to as "a" to "h". In the present embodiment, a first alignment line L1 is defined between the b-column and the c-column, and a second alignment line L2 is defined between the f-column and the g-column. In the drawings, the first alignment line L1 and the second alignment line L2 are indicated by single-dot chain lines. In each figure, the article M travels generally from the left side to the right side. The traveling direction (main traveling direction) of the article M is the Y direction, and is indicated by arrows in the drawings.

The first alignment line L1 and the second alignment line L2 each extend in a direction along the main traveling direction (Y direction).

The first alignment line L1 and the second alignment line L2 are both located at the middle of the carriage 2, and the carriage units 1 (force application devices) are distributed across the first alignment line L1 and the second alignment line L2.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 11(a), the article alignment region 36 is divided into a first region and a second region substantially between the d-row and the e-row.

The first zone comprises a set of four rows a, b, c, d of conveyor units 1, with articles M arranged in a first alignment line L1 between row b and row c. The second zone comprises a set of four rows e, f, g, h of conveyor units 1, with articles M arranged on a second arrangement line L2 between the rows f and g.

Since each set of the conveying units 1 included in the first area and the second area performs the same action, the action of this set of the conveying units 1 in the first area will be mainly described below.

As described above, in the first region, the articles M are arranged on the first arrangement line L1 between the b-column and the c-column. As shown in fig. 11 a, the columns (b-column and c-column) on both sides sandwiching the first alignment line L1 are referred to as inner columns IL, and the two columns (a-column and d-column) on the outer sides thereof are referred to as outer columns OL. In addition, in the first region, the region on the left side of the first alignment line L1 (column a and column b) is referred to as a left region LA, and the region on the right side of the first alignment line L1 (column c and column d) is referred to as a right region RA.

In the row a and the row d belonging to the outer row OL, the turn table 6 is in an inclined posture as shown in fig. 11(a) and 11(b), and the urging direction (small arrow) of the transport roller 3 is the main traveling direction and is inclined toward the first alignment line L1. That is, the urging direction (small arrow) of the conveying roller 3 includes a vector component (Y-direction vector) in the direction of the first alignment line L1, and includes a vector component (X-direction vector) in the direction toward the first alignment line L1. That is, the urging direction of the conveying roller 3 includes a vector component (Y-direction vector) in the direction along the conveying direction, and includes a vector component (X-direction vector) in the direction intersecting the conveying direction.

As is clear from comparison between fig. 11(a) and fig. 11(b), the rows a and d belonging to the outer row OL do not turn the turn table 6 in principle at the time of the aligning operation, and the direction in which the conveying roller 3 applies force to the article M is constant.

Specifically, in the row a on the left side of the first alignment line L1, the urging direction (small arrow) is a rightward oblique direction, and the article M approaches the first alignment line L1 from the oblique direction. In the d row on the right side of the first alignment line L1, the urging direction (small arrow) is a leftward oblique direction, and the article M is also brought close to the first alignment line L1 from the oblique direction.

The inclination angle of the biasing direction of the transport rollers 3 belonging to the a-row and the d-row of the outer row OL is set to be approximately 20 degrees to 40 degrees with respect to the direction from the article sorting region 35 toward the article alignment region 36 side, in the biasing direction (small arrow) of the transport rollers 3. In this embodiment, the inclination angle of the urging direction is fixed to 30 degrees.

The vectors of the urging directions of the conveying rollers 3 belonging to the a-column and the d-column of the outer column OL have an inclination angle of 30 degrees with respect to the main traveling direction, and are decomposed into a vector component in the main traveling direction along the first alignment line L1 (Y-direction vector) and a vector component in the direction toward the first alignment line L1 (X-direction vector).

On the other hand, as is clear from a comparison between fig. 11(a) and fig. 11(b), in the b-row and c-row belonging to the inner row IL, the tilt angle of the turntable 6 frequently changes by rotating the turntable 6. Therefore, the postures of the conveying rollers 3 belonging to the b-row and the c-row of the inner row IL change, and the direction of the urging force on the article M changes.

The urging direction of the conveying rollers 3 belonging to the inner side row IL also includes a vector component in the direction of the first alignment line L1, and also includes a vector component in the direction toward the first alignment line L1. In other words, the urging direction (small arrow) of the conveying roller 3 includes a vector component (Y-direction vector) in the direction along the first alignment line L1 and a vector component (X-direction vector) in the direction toward the first alignment line L1.

The b-row on the left side (left area LA) of the first alignment line L1, which is the inner row IL, assumes a right-inclined posture so that the article M approaches the first alignment line L1 from an inclined direction, but the angle of the right inclination changes. That is, the b column in the left area LA is not inclined to the left, and the angle changes within a range inclined to the right.

The c-row located on the right side (right region RA) of the first alignment line L1, which is the inner row IL, assumes a left-inclined posture so that the article M approaches the first alignment line L1 from an inclined direction, but the angle of the left inclination changes. That is, the c columns located in the right area RA are not inclined to the right, and the angle varies within a range inclined to the left.

In the present embodiment, the conveying units 1 belonging to the b-row and the c-row of the inner row IL urge the article M at an inclination angle of 20 degrees at a certain time (fig. 11(a)), and urge the article M at an inclination angle of 45 degrees at the next time (fig. 11 (b)).

In the present embodiment, the urging direction of the c-line conveying rollers 3 is an inclination angle of 20 degrees or 45 degrees with respect to the main traveling direction, and therefore always includes a vector component in the direction along the first alignment line L1 and a vector component in the direction toward the first alignment line L1. That is, the vector in the force application direction always has an inclination angle with respect to the main traveling direction, and can be decomposed into a vector component in the main traveling direction along the first alignment line L1 (Y-direction vector) and a vector component in the direction toward the first alignment line L1 (X-direction vector).

However, the amount of change in the direction of the urging force is arbitrary, and for example, when the direction of the urging force is at an inclination angle of 0 degrees and 40 degrees with respect to the main traveling direction, the direction of the urging force of the urging means always includes a vector component in the direction along the first bank line L1 and temporarily includes a vector in the direction toward the first bank line L1.

As is apparent from a comparison between fig. 11(a) and fig. 11(b), in the present embodiment, the conveying rollers 3 of the inner row IL urge the article M at a larger or smaller angle than the inclination angles of the a-row and the d-row belonging to the outer row OL.

That is, the conveying rollers 3 of the inner row IL change from the state of relatively gentle inclination shown in fig. 11(a) to the state of the same inclination angle as the row a and the row d belonging to the outer row OL, and change to a larger inclination angle as shown in fig. 11 (b). And then from the greater angle of inclination back to the gentle angle of inclination.

The carrying units 1 of the inner column IL move as if shaking the head. The direction of the force applied from the carrying unit 1 to the article M is in the shape of japanese kana "ハ" with respect to the first alignment line L1, and the opening angle thereof changes.

In the present embodiment, the urging direction of the conveying units 1 (urging means) of the inner row IL disposed in the vicinity of the first alignment line L1 changes, and the conveying units 1 of the outer row OL disposed at a position distant from the first alignment line L1 have a constant urging direction.

In the aligning operation, the conveying unit 1 is operated in the intermittent operation mode. Therefore, in the aligning operation, when the article M is on the own transport unit 1 and there is no article M on the transport unit 1 in the forward direction of travel, the travel motor of the own transport unit 1 is driven to move the article M on the own transport unit 1. Even when the article M is conveyed by the conveyance unit 1 located forward in the traveling direction, the conveyance unit 1 is driven to move the article M on the conveyance unit 1.

The article group is carried from the article collating area 35 of the preceding stage into the article arranging area 36. In the finishing area 35 of the preceding stage, although the overlapping of the articles M is eliminated, the articles M are randomly scattered throughout the finishing area 35. Therefore, as shown in fig. 10(a), the article groups are carried into the article alignment region 36 in a widely dispersed state.

The article M entering the article alignment region 36 advances toward the carry-out region 37 (main travel direction, Y direction) as a whole, but the travel locus thereof is not a linear motion, but moves zigzag by changing the travel direction successively (little by little, gradually) as in fig. 12 and 15.

More specifically, as shown in fig. 12 and 15, the articles M entering the article arraying region 36 macroscopically advance obliquely toward the first arraying line L1, while microscopically finely change the direction of travel to advance zigzag.

For example, as in the article M in fig. 12(a), the article M which is initially in the a-row of the inner row IL and which is in the first position in the Y direction is biased in a direction inclined at an angle of 30 degrees from the conveying rollers 3 in the a-row. As a result, the article M moves diagonally forward at the inclination angle of 30 degrees.

Assume that the article M moves to the Y-direction second position, spanning the transport rollers 3 of the a-row and the transport rollers 3 of the b-row. The transport rollers 3 of the row a urge the article M in a direction inclined at an angle of 30 degrees, while the transport rollers 3 of the row b urge the article M at an angle of 20 degrees or 45 degrees. At the timing when the conveying rollers 3 in the b-row apply the force to the article M at an angle of 20 degrees, the article M is applied with a force in the direction of the composite vector of the directions of application of the conveying rollers 3 in the a-row and the b-row, and is therefore applied obliquely at an angle of less than 30 degrees. Therefore, the article M moves in a direction different from the traveling direction when advancing from the Y-direction first position to the Y-direction second position.

The article M is assumed to move to the third position in the Y direction and is placed on the b-line transport rollers 3. The conveying rollers 3 in the b-row apply a force to the article M at an inclination angle of 20 degrees or 45 degrees. If the article M is biased at an angle of 45 degrees by the transport rollers 3 in the b-row, the article M is biased at an angle of 45 degrees which is the direction of bias of the transport rollers 3 in the b-row. Therefore, the article M moves in a direction different from the traveling direction when advancing from the second position to the third position.

In this way, the article M changes its traveling direction by small increments, travels toward the Y-direction fourth position and the Y-direction fifth position in a swing state, and is finally placed on the first alignment line L1.

The moving trajectory of the article M, for example, as shown in fig. 15, while finely changing the traveling direction, travels obliquely toward the first alignment line L1, and finally, is placed on the first alignment line L1 and continues to advance in the main traveling direction.

In the present embodiment, the urging direction of the transport roller 3 is reversed in the forward and reverse directions with respect to the first alignment line L1, with the first alignment line L1 as a boundary. That is, the urging direction of the transport roller 3 has a different inclination angle with respect to the main traveling direction (Y direction) with the first alignment line L1 or its vicinity as a boundary. That is, as shown in fig. 10, 11, and 12, the biasing direction of the conveyance roller 3 is the rightward oblique direction in the left region LA, and the biasing direction of the conveyance roller 3 is the leftward oblique direction in the right region RA, and the inclination angle with respect to the main traveling direction is different in line symmetry.

Therefore, the article M on the first alignment line L1 is urged from the left side toward the first alignment line L1 by the conveying roller 3 of the left region LA, while being urged from the right side toward the first alignment line L1 by the conveying roller 3 of the right region RA.

As a result, as shown in fig. 10 and 13, the article M is simultaneously urged toward the first alignment line L1 from both sides of the first alignment line L1 without advancing deviating from the first alignment line L1.

The urging direction of the conveying unit 1 on which the inner row IL of the article M is placed changes, and the timing of the change also differs between the left area LA and the right area RA. Therefore, the article M advances while swinging.

As described above, the plurality of articles M are carried into the article alignment region 36 in a widely dispersed state. As shown in fig. 13 and 15, each article M advances toward the first alignment line L1 and the second alignment line L2 while swinging.

Since the randomly dispersed groups of articles approach the first alignment line L1 from both the left area LA and the right area RA, there is a possibility of collision in the vicinity of the first alignment line L1 as shown in fig. 14 (a).

Here, in the present embodiment, the article M approaches the first alignment line L1 while swinging. Further, the article M moving on the first alignment line L1 also swings. Also, the timings at which the articles M oscillate are different from each other.

Therefore, when the articles M collide in the vicinity of the first alignment line L1, one article M advances first and the other follows due to the oscillating movement of the articles M and the deviation of the oscillating timing as shown in fig. 14(b) and 14 (c). Alternatively, the article M is inserted into the column.

In addition, even if the articles M other than the vicinity of the first alignment line L1 may collide with each other, even in this case, due to the deviation of the swinging and swinging timings of the articles M, as shown in fig. 14(b) and 14(c), one article M advances ahead and the other follows, and therefore, jamming is unlikely to occur.

As a result, as shown in fig. 10(c), all the articles M are arranged on the first arrangement line L1.

In the article arraying device 31 of this embodiment, the bottom surface of the article M is urged by the urging device to move the article M. The urging direction of the urging means is set to a direction including a vector component (Y direction) in the direction along the alignment lines L1, L2 and a vector component (X direction) in the direction always or temporarily toward the alignment lines, and the urging direction of the urging means is changed during conveyance of the article M so as to move the article M in a specific traveling direction while swinging.

In the article arraying device 31 of the present embodiment, the articles M can be arrayed along a predetermined array line by the operation of the conveying unit 1 fitted into the article placement surface 32. The article arraying device 31 of the present embodiment is safe because there is no obstacle or moving guide on the conveying path.

In the article arraying device 31 of the present embodiment, articles can be arrayed on a predetermined array line without selecting the size, shape, and the like of the articles to be arrayed, and even if the sizes and shapes of the articles are not uniform.

The article arraying area 36 is a conveying device 2 that conveys the article M in a predetermined direction, and has a plurality of urging devices (conveying rollers 3) that urge the bottom surface of the article M to move the article M. The conveying roller 3 can change the direction of the urging force of the article M. The urging direction of the conveying roller 3 includes a vector component in the Y direction as the conveying direction and includes a vector component in a direction that always or temporarily intersects the conveying direction. Thus, the article M is moved in the predetermined direction while changing the urging direction to swing the article M.

Article separation zone

In this embodiment, the front half of the article alignment region 36 also serves as an article separating region 38.

As described above, in the article arraying region 36, the conveying unit 1 operates in the intermittent operation mode, but as shown in fig. 16(a), in the article separating region in the first half, the rotation speeds of the conveying rollers 3 of the conveying unit 1 on the front side in the traveling direction and the conveying unit 1 on the rear side in the traveling direction are different, and the rotation speed of the conveying roller 3 of the conveying unit 1 on the rear side is slightly slower.

Therefore, when the articles M are in contact with each other in a plan view as shown in fig. 17(a), the articles M on the leading side advance rapidly, and the interval between the articles M gradually increases as shown in fig. 17(b) and 17 (c).

As another measure, as shown in fig. 16(b), the driving of the rear side conveying unit 1 may be slightly delayed. According to this measure, even if the front article M moves due to the movement of the front transport unit 1 in the traveling direction, the rear article M stops at the position for a while. Therefore, as shown in fig. 16(a), the interval between the articles M gradually increases.

In the above embodiment, the articles M may be arranged in two rows on the conveyor 2, but the number of rows of the articles M is arbitrary, and may be 1 row or 3 or more rows.

In the above embodiment, the article arraying area 36 is divided into the first area and the second area, and each area includes a set of four rows of the conveying units 1. The transport units 1 are distributed across the arrangement lines L1 and L2, and one set of two rows of transport units are provided on one side of the arrangement lines L1 and L2, respectively.

However, the present invention is not limited to this structure, and the article arrangement region 36 may be divided into three or more regions. The rows of the transport units 1 belonging to the respective areas are arbitrary, and may be two or five or more. The number of columns belonging to the first area and the second area may be different.

In the above embodiment, the inner row IL and the outer row OL are two rows each, but the number of rows included in the inner row IL and the outer row OL is arbitrary.

In the above embodiment, the urging direction of the articles M in the inner row IL is changed, while the urging direction in the outer row OL is constant, but the urging direction may be changed in all regions. The amount of change in the urging direction may also vary depending on the position.

Delivery area

As shown in fig. 19, the forward movement operation is performed in the carry-out region 37.

The carry-out region 37 is a region on the downstream side of the article alignment region 36, and articles M are aligned on the alignment lines L1, L2.

The foremost end of the carry-out area 37 is also the foremost end of the transport 2. The transport unit 1 at the forefront or in the vicinity thereof is normally in a stopped state and is operated by a signal from another device or a manual input signal. The carrying unit 1 except the front end portion is operated in the intermittent operation mode. Therefore, in the carry-out area 37, the articles M are arranged in a dense series, and as shown in fig. 18 and 19(b), when the leading article M is discharged, the following article M enters as shown in fig. 19 (c).

As a result, as shown in fig. 19(c), the article M is placed at the forefront of the carry-out area 37 in a standby state, and is in a state of waiting for a carry-out opportunity.

Others

In the above embodiment, the article placement surface 32 is configured by arranging a plurality of the conveying units 1 in a planar shape, and each of the conveying units 1 has a moving function of moving the article M and a biasing direction changing function of changing the biasing direction, but not all the units have this function, and may include a unit having only the moving function and a unit having only the biasing direction changing function.

In the above embodiment, all the articles M are conveyed in the Y direction as the main traveling direction, but there is a case where the articles are distributed in a plurality of directions as in the conveying device 60 of fig. 22.

According to this structure, the main traveling direction branches halfway and is divided into two directions.

In the conveying device 60, the conveying direction of the article introduced into the article alignment region 36 is changed by 90 degrees to the X direction, and the article advances while being separated in the up-down direction in the drawing.

Therefore, in the article alignment region 36, the main traveling direction is both the positive X direction and the negative X direction.

In the upper region in the drawing, the urging direction of the conveying roller 3 includes a vector component in the conveying direction, i.e., the positive X direction, and includes a vector component in the Y direction that always or temporarily intersects the conveying direction. Thus, the article is moved in the positive X direction while changing the urging direction to swing the article M.

In contrast to this, in the lower region in the drawing, the urging direction of the conveying roller 3 includes a vector component in the conveying direction, i.e., the negative X direction, and includes a vector component in the Y direction that always or temporarily intersects the conveying direction. Thus, the article is moved in the negative X direction while changing the urging direction to swing the article M.

In the above embodiment, the conveyor 2 has the article mounting surface 32, and the article M can be arbitrarily advanced in the vertical and horizontal directions or in the oblique directions. Therefore, the traveling direction of the article M on the article mounting surface 32 is arbitrary, and the article can advance in any direction. Therefore, the main traveling direction of the article M can be arbitrarily set according to the application.

Description of the reference numerals

1 … carrying unit

2. 60 … conveyer

3 … transfer roll

6 … rotary table

30 … article finishing device (article loading and unloading device)

31 … article arranging device

32 … article carrying surface

35 … article tidying area (article loading and unloading area)

36 … article alignment area

37 … carry-out area

38 … article separating region

M … article

L1 … first alignment line

L2 … second alignment line

Inner column of IL …

Outer column of OL …

Left area of LA …

RA … right region.