Rotating device for rotating single piece of goods

Abstract

The invention relates to a rotating device for a sorting device for at least partially rotating single-piece goods, comprising a roller belt for placing the single-piece goods and a conveyor belt adjoining the roller belt for transporting the single-piece goods along a rotating unit, on which conveyor belt a measuring device comprising a grating is arranged in front of the rotating unit, the measuring device is designed to determine the length and width of the single piece of goods, the measuring device further comprises an evaluation unit for determining the diagonal of the single piece of goods from the measured length and width of the single piece of goods, and the rotation unit comprises at least one calibration plate for rotating the single piece of goods, the calibration plate is arranged at the outer edge of the conveyor belt and can be introduced into the conveying path of the single piece of goods; and a control unit for controlling the calibration plate, the control unit being designed to trigger the calibration plate as a function of the diagonal line of the single piece of goods. In this way, a device is provided which optimally orients a single piece of goods prior to determining the length, so that erroneous measurements can be reduced or minimized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a rotating device for a sorting device, which is used to at least partially rotate individual items. The rotating device has a roller belt for placing the individual items and a conveyor belt adjacent to the roller belt for transporting the individual items along the rotating unit.

[0002] The invention also relates to a method for rotating a single piece of cargo using a rotating device. Background Art

[0003] In recent years, the number of delivered items has increased dramatically, and therefore the number of shipments to be processed at the shipping center has also increased significantly. In order to be able to provide fast delivery in the shortest possible time even with such a large number of shipments, the shipments or individual shipments need to be processed and sorted quickly and efficiently at the shipping center.

[0004] In the sorting device, the mail items or individual pieces are placed on the conveyor belt and sorted not only according to the destination area, but also, in particular in the pre-sorting device, according to their size and further processed or forwarded on another conveyor belt. Depending on the size of the individual pieces, the mail items can be sorted differently.

[0005] Commonly, in a sorting device, individual pieces of goods are pre-sorted in a pre-sorter and assigned to, for example, pallets of fixed size, in which these individual pieces of goods are further processed through other conveying schemes. According to the size of the individual pieces of goods, the number of required pallets is obtained and provided. A common problem is that, when measuring by means of a light barrier, individual pieces of goods are often arranged on a conveyor belt obliquely relative to the conveying direction or the measuring unit and the size of the individual pieces of goods cannot be correctly obtained. If the individual pieces of goods are tilted on the conveyor belt, the measurement starts, for example, at the left front corner and ends at the right rear corner. As a result, the individual pieces of goods are identified as being longer than their actual situation. Therefore, individual pieces of goods are usually incorrectly classified due to errors in measurement. In the example assigned to pallets, too many pallets are usually provided for the actual smaller individual pieces of goods, because the smaller individual pieces of goods are incorrectly measured and therefore identified as larger than their actual situation. Therefore, the capacity is usually not efficiently utilized, because many individual pieces of goods are identified as larger than their actual situation and therefore the space required on the sorting device, pallet, transport vehicle, etc. is incorrectly reserved. Summary of the invention

[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device which optimally orients the individual items before the length is determined, so that incorrect measurements can be reduced or minimized.

[0007] This object is achieved by the rotating device for a sorting device according to the present invention. A preferred improvement will be given by the technical solution according to the present invention.

[0008] Therefore, according to the present invention, a rotating device for a sorting device is proposed, which is used to at least partially rotate single pieces of goods. The rotating device has a roller belt for placing the single pieces of goods and a conveyor belt adjacent to the roller belt for transporting the single pieces of goods along the rotating unit, wherein a measuring device including a grating is provided on the conveyor belt in front of the rotating unit, and the measuring device is designed to determine the length and width of the single piece of goods. The measuring device also includes an evaluation unit, which is designed to determine the diagonal of the single piece of goods based on the measured length and width of the single piece of goods. The rotating unit includes at least one calibration plate for rotating the single piece of goods, the calibration plate is arranged at the outer edge of the conveyor belt and can be introduced into the conveying path of the single piece of goods; and a control unit for controlling the calibration plate, and the control unit is designed to trigger the calibration plate according to the diagonal of the single piece of goods.

[0009] A decisive point of the invention is therefore that in the device the individual pieces first pass through a measuring device for measuring the length and width of the individual pieces and that the rotating unit is triggered according to the diagonal determined thereby, so that the individual pieces are rotated and then measured for further processing. However, not every arriving individual piece is rotated indiscriminately. Rather, it is possible to select in a targeted manner which individual pieces are to be rotated, so that the time required for the rotation process can be reduced to a minimum.

[0010] If "unit load" is mentioned in this document, it refers in particular to any transported load that can be transported individually, in one piece. For example, mailings, boxes, packages, parcels and / or boxes are understood to be unit loads.

[0011] In this context, a "diagonal" refers in particular to the hypotenuse of a triangle, wherein the length and width of a single piece of goods form two sides of a right triangle.

[0012] If an "alignment plate" is mentioned in this context, this refers in particular to a plate-shaped rotating device which can be moved into the conveying path of the individual goods so that the individual goods strike the alignment plate and are rotated around the edge of the alignment plate while stopping the movement in the conveying direction. In this case, the alignment plate pushes the individual goods in a manner similar to a switch. In this context, "rotation" is understood in particular to mean a movement which moves the individual goods about at least one axis in order to orient them.

[0013] According to a preferred improvement of the invention, the rotating device can be integrated into an existing sorting device so that the individual pieces of goods are provided to the existing sorting device after passing through the rotating unit. The rotating device can be connected in front of the existing sorting device. For this purpose, the rotating device includes its own measuring technology, so that the measurement and rotation of the individual pieces of goods act independently of the existing sorting device. After the individual pieces of goods have been measured and, if necessary, rotated, they are provided to the sorting device via a conveyor belt. There, the pre-oriented individual pieces of goods can then be measured again according to the sorting process.

[0014] According to a preferred improvement of the present invention, the calibration plate lies flush against the outer edge of the conveyor belt in the initial position and is oriented at a predetermined angle to the outer edge in the activation position. "Outer edge" refers in particular to limiting edges or calibration plates arranged on the left and right sides on the outside of the conveyor belt to prevent single pieces of goods from falling transversely to the conveying direction. Therefore, the calibration plate is oriented so that it lies flat against the outer edge in the initial position (i.e. in the non-activated state). In this state, the normal vectors of the outer edge and the calibration plate are parallel to each other and both are perpendicular to the conveying direction. If the calibration plate is moved to the activation position, the calibration plate partially protrudes into the conveyor belt. The normal vectors of the outer edge and the calibration plate are oriented so as not to be parallel to each other.

[0015] According to a preferred improvement of the present invention, the calibration plate includes a linear drive, which is designed to move the calibration plate between an initial position and an activation position. The linear drive is based on various technologies. These linear drives are divided into mechanical, electromechanical, direct electric linear drives (so-called linear motors) and hydraulic and pneumatic linear drives. In particular, all drive systems that cause translational motion are referred to as linear drives or linear drive systems. The linear drive can move machines and devices along a straight line or other directions. Preferably, the linear drive includes a piston cylinder, particularly preferably a pneumatic cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder. The piston cylinder has a piston rod that can be retracted and extended so that the calibration plate can be moved to the activation position and moved back to the initial position. According to a preferred improvement of the present invention, the linear drive is designed to move as a whole in the opposite direction of the conveying direction. This refers in particular to the movement of the entire linear drive, not the stroke movement. For this reason, the linear drive and / or the calibration plate are particularly mounted on the mounting plate. The mounting plate can be moved counter to the conveying direction, so that the linear drive (e.g. piston cylinder) can be moved as a whole counter to the conveying direction and the piston rod can be extended in the process. Due to this additional degree of freedom, the linear drive can be arranged at the outer edge of the conveyor belt in a particularly space-saving manner, so that the width of the conveyor belt (including the rotary unit) can be kept to a minimum and the rotary device can therefore be mounted in a space-saving manner. The mounting plate is preferably driven by a second linear drive, which can be moved in particular in the longitudinal direction by up to 10 cm.

[0016] According to a preferred development of the invention, the rotation unit comprises at least two calibration plates. Preferably, a calibration plate is arranged at each outer edge of the conveyor belt. The two calibration plates can preferably be moved by means of respective mounting plates in the opposite direction of the conveying direction, so that the individual pieces can be rotated from both sides according to the calculated diagonal. Each calibration plate and / or mounting plate is moved by means of a separate linear drive. Multiple positions are controlled by the at least two, preferably four linear drives, so that individual pieces of all sizes can be rotated.

[0017] According to a preferred development of the invention, for each outer edge of the conveyor belt, a first alignment plate is designed to move the individual items perpendicular to the conveying direction, while a second alignment plate is designed to move the individual items along the conveying direction. The rotational movement is dependent on the point in time at which the respective alignment plate is moved into the activation position and on the forward movement achieved by the conveyor belt.

[0018] According to a preferred improvement of the present invention, the roller belt has a placement platform at the end side, and the placement platform has a sliding surface comprising plastic. At the placement platform, the single piece of goods is placed on the placement platform and the roller belt. Here, the placement platform preferably has an edge formed by smooth plastic, thereby improving the sliding ability. According to a preferred improvement of the present invention, the placement platform has at least one light barrier, and the at least one light barrier is designed to determine the thickness and / or length and / or width of the single piece of goods. The placement platform especially has two plastic blocks, which are used as the shell of the light barrier placed below. Preferably, there are four light barriers and also multiple reflectors below the shell and on the opposite side.

[0019] The light barrier detects individual items that are too thin (especially individual items with a thickness of <1 cm), individual items that are too long (especially length>125 cm), and / or mail items that are too small (especially length and / or width<10 cm). If an individual item that the machine cannot process is detected, the fault light is preferably lit. As a result, fewer individual items that the machine cannot process reach the device and fewer faults occur.

[0020] According to the present invention, a method is also provided, which is used to rotate a single piece of cargo using the above-mentioned rotating device, and the method has the following method steps:

[0021] a) Place a single piece of cargo on the roller belt;

[0022] b) measuring the length and width of the individual items by means of a light barrier and providing the length and width of the individual items to an evaluation unit;

[0023] c) determining the diagonal by means of an evaluation unit from the previously measured length and width of the individual items;

[0024] d) triggering at least one calibration plate for at least partially rotating the single piece of goods on the conveyor belt when the length of the diagonal line is above a predetermined first limit value and / or below a predetermined second limit value; and

[0025] e) Provide individual pieces of goods to the sorting device.

[0026] Therefore, another essential point of the present invention is that the length and width of the individual pieces of goods are first measured. Then, the evaluation unit determines the length of the diagonal from the length and width of the individual pieces of goods by approximating a right triangle and determining the hypotenuse. Depending on the length of the diagonal, it is decided whether the individual pieces of goods are to be completely rotated. The individual pieces of goods are only rotated if the length of the diagonal is above a predetermined first limit value and / or below a predetermined second limit value, more precisely within a predetermined value range. It is preferably proposed that a plurality of different calibration plates are manipulated depending on the length of the diagonal. This makes it possible to ensure that only those individual pieces of goods are rotated which usually lead to measurement errors and subsequent sorting errors.

[0027] According to a preferred improvement of the present invention, the method comprises the following further method steps:

[0028] f) Measuring the length of a single piece of goods with the aid of a light barrier,

[0029] g) Grouping the individual items into at least one group A or one group B according to their lengths measured by means of the light barriers.

[0030] After determining the length of the diagonal and rotating the single piece goods, the single piece goods are in a better and straight position to be measured and sorted subsequently. Group A or Group B is in particular a single-layer pallet or a double-layer pallet. This means that all single piece goods assigned to Group A are transported further in one pallet. The single piece goods assigned to Group B are too large for one pallet and are therefore transported in two pallets or double-layer pallets. That is, only those single piece goods that may be misclassified into Group B will be rotated (although they may actually be classified into Group A). ​​Single piece goods that are small enough and large enough do not need to be rotated because they can be clearly assigned. Only within the limit range between the two groups will incorrect measurements be generated. In this way, the proportion of single piece goods that are misclassified into Group B can be minimized, so that capacity is not wasted and the sorting process is more efficient overall.

[0031] Preferably, the predetermined first limit value is 70 cm and / or the predetermined second limit value is 82 cm. For example, a single piece of goods with a length of 55 cm and a width of 45 cm has a diagonal of 71.06 cm. Therefore, if the single piece of goods is placed at an angle without a rotating device and the diagonal is incorrectly determined as the length, the single piece of goods is classified into group B (i.e., it is classified into a double-layer pallet in the above example). The dimensions of the pallet are, for example, 70 cm×80 cm, so that one pallet is sufficient for the single piece of goods. For this reason, the single piece of goods is pre-rotated by the rotating unit so that it is positioned exactly on the conveyor belt and is correctly oriented for subsequent length measurement. The length measurement result shows that the single piece of goods can be classified into group A. Compared with a sorting device without a rotating device, only one pallet is reserved for further transportation and one pallet gains capacity.

[0032] Depending on the length of the diagonal, individual pieces of goods may require a rotation that is not "far" or "strong". Therefore, the plurality of calibration plates is preferably controlled and moved according to the diagonal in order to trigger the individually required rotation of the individual pieces of goods. Depending on the length of the diagonal, in particular only one calibration plate, two calibration plates on different sides, three calibration plates or all four calibration plates can be moved into the activation position. Particularly preferably, depending on the length of the diagonal, two calibration plates on different sides are moved into the activation position by at least two and at most four linear drives.

[0033] These movements take place either transversely to the conveying direction or transversely and longitudinally to the conveying direction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings with the aid of preferred embodiments. In the accompanying drawings:

[0035] Figure 1 A rotating device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown in a three-dimensional view.

[0036] Figure 2 A rotating device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown in a three-dimensional view.

[0037] Figure 3a A simplified illustration of a sorting device according to the prior art is schematically shown in a top view,

[0038] Figure 3b A simplified diagram of a rotating device and a sorting device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown in a top view,

[0039] Figure 4 A linear drive device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown in a three-dimensional view.

[0040] Figure 5 A flow chart showing a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0041] The reference numerals are described as follows:

[0042] 1: Rotating device

[0043] 2: Sorting device

[0044] 3: Single piece of cargo

[0045] 3.1: Single piece of cargo in the first position

[0046] 3.2: Single piece of cargo at the second location

[0047] 3.3: Single piece of cargo in the third location

[0048] 4: Roller belt

[0049] 5: Conveyor belt

[0050] 6: Rotation unit

[0051] 7: Measuring device

[0052] 8: Outer edge

[0053] 9: Calibration board

[0054] 10: Linear drive device

[0055] 11: Placement table

[0056] 12: Light Barrier

[0057] 13: Rigid calibration cheek plate

[0058] 14: Mounting plate

[0059] 15: signal light

[0060] 16: Second Light Barrier

[0061] F: Transmission direction

[0062] I: First Segment

[0063] II: Second Segment DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] from Figure 1The rotary device 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention can be schematically seen in a three-dimensional view. The rotary device 1 consists of a placement table 11, a roller belt 4 adjacent to the placement table 11 and a conveyor belt 5 adjacent to the roller belt 4. The individual pieces of goods 3 are placed on the placement table 11 and transported along the conveying direction F. The roller belt 4 is arranged to be slightly lowered, so that the individual pieces of goods 3 not only move in the direction of the conveyor belt 5, but also move sideways in the direction of the rigid calibration cheek 13. The placed individual pieces of goods 3 are oriented very roughly by means of the rigid calibration cheek 13. The light barrier 12 at the placement table first detects the length, width and / or thickness of the individual pieces of goods 3 to identify the individual pieces of goods that cannot be processed by the machine so that they can be sorted out. Calibration plates 9 are arranged on the left and right sides next to the conveyor belt 5. Figure 1 , the movable alignment plate 9 is in its initial position. This means that the alignment plate 9 lies flush against the corresponding outer edge 8 of the conveyor belt 5. In this state, the individual items 3 can pass through the rotating unit 6 without being rotated. This is the case when the individual items 3 are small or large enough to avoid distribution errors (for example as single-layer pallets or double-layer pallets). For the sake of clarity, in Figure 1 The measuring device 7 is not shown.

[0065] exist Figure 2 Shown in Figure 1 A rotary device 1 is provided, which contains a measuring device 7 and has a calibration plate 9 in an activated position. The measuring device 7 includes a light barrier and is arranged in a cubic support above the rotary unit 6. In this way, working safety can be additionally ensured. The calibration plate 9 is in the activated position. This means that the calibration plate 9 no longer lies flush or flat against the outer edge 8 of the conveyor belt 5, but is oriented at an angle to the outer edge 8. The pressing cylinder 10 is arranged on the side of the conveyor belt 5 and can move the calibration plate 9 into the activated position. If the single piece 3 now continues to move in the direction of conveying direction F and hits the protruding calibration plate 9 here, the single piece of goods is rotated around the edge of the calibration plate 9 pointing to the center of the conveyor belt 5. Alternatively, the conveyor belt 5 can be stopped and the calibration plate 9 extended, so that the single piece of goods 3 is rotated in a static state.

[0066] FIG. 3 shows a conventional sorting device 2 and a sorting device 2 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention with a preceding rotating device 1 in a comparative manner. Figure 3a 2 shows a conventional sorting device 2. The individual items 3 are placed on the conveyor belt and roughly oriented by means of the alignment plate 13. If the individual items 3 then pass through a bend, they are tilted relative to the light barrier 16, so that instead of measuring the actual length of the individual items 3, the diagonal from the left front corner to the right rear corner is measured. The individual items 3 are identified as being longer than they actually are and are incorrectly grouped or transported further by the sorting device 2.

[0067] exist Figure 3b In the embodiment, a rotating device 1 is arranged in front of the sorting device 2. The rotating device 1 can be constructed in a modular manner in front of the sorting device 2. The single piece of goods 3 is placed on the roller belt 4 of the rotating device 1 and is roughly oriented by means of the extended calibration plate 13. The single piece of goods 3 is then in the first position 3.1. When entering the rotating unit 6, the length and width of the single piece of goods 3 are measured by means of the measuring device 7 and the diagonal is then determined. If the length of the diagonal is within the predetermined limit range, the single piece of goods 3 must be rotated so that the single piece of goods can then be correctly picked up by the sorting device 2. In this case, the calibration plate 9 is brought to the activation position and the single piece of goods 3 is rotated. The single piece of goods is then in the second position 3.2. The single piece of goods 3 passes the bend and is optimally oriented with respect to the light barrier 16 so that the single piece of goods can be correctly measured in the third position 3.3 and then correctly grouped.

[0068] exist Figure 4 In the embodiment of the present invention, a linear drive 10 in the form of a piston cylinder is arranged at the calibration plate 9. The calibration plate 9 is in the initial position and lies flush against the outer edge 8 of the conveyor belt 5. The piston cylinder is arranged on a mounting plate 14 and is rotatably supported on the mounting plate. The mounting plate 14 can be displaced in the opposite direction of the conveying direction F and displaced back again. That is, if the calibration plate 9 is moved to the activation position, not only the piston is extended, but also the entire piston cylinder is rotated due to the movement of the mounting plate 14 in the opposite direction of the conveying direction F. This creates an additional degree of freedom and can achieve a sufficiently large movement or rotation to move the calibration plate 9 to the activation position and at the same time reduce the space requirement in the lateral direction, so that the rotation device 1 can be better integrated into existing devices.

[0069] Figure 5 A flow chart of a method according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. Here, a first part I (steps a to e) is performed by a rotating device 1, while a second part II (steps f and g) is performed by a sorting device 2 or is performed at the sorting device.

[0070] In a first step a), a piece of good 3 is placed on the roller belt 4. The piece of good 3 is transported in the conveying direction F. The piece of good 3 hits the measuring device 7 of the rotating unit 6, so that the length and width of the piece of good 3 can be measured in step b) by means of a light barrier. The measured values ​​are transmitted to the evaluation unit so that the length of the diagonal can be determined in step c). In step d), it is checked whether the length of the diagonal is above a predetermined first limit value and / or below a predetermined second limit value. If this is the case, the piece of good 3 is rotated. For this purpose, the conveyor belt 5 is stopped and the required calibration plate 9 is brought to the activation position. This rotation is associated with a small time delay. If the calibration plate 9 is in its initial position again, the conveyor belt 5 is started again. In step e), the rotated piece of good 3 is then provided to the adjacent sorting device 2. There, the length of the piece of good 3 is measured in step f) and grouped into group A or group B according to the length in step g). The measured length is now the actual length and not the diagonal that was erroneously measured as the length, so that this length can be used reliably for grouping. Thus, individual pieces 3 that are also incorrectly sorted in the event of an erroneous length measurement can be rotated and oriented before the length measurement by the sorting device 2. This significantly reduces erroneous allocations, so that capacity can be used efficiently.

Claims

1. A rotary device (1) for a sorting device (2), the rotary device being used to at least partially rotate individual pieces of goods (3), the rotary device comprising a roller belt (4) for placing the individual pieces of goods (3) and a conveyor belt (5) adjacent to the roller belt (4) for transporting the individual pieces of goods (3) along a rotary unit (6), wherein A measuring device (7) including a light barrier is arranged on the conveyor belt (5) in front of the rotating unit (6), and is designed to determine the length and width of the single piece of goods (3). The measuring device (7) further comprises an evaluation unit, which is designed to determine the diagonal of the single piece of goods (3) from the measured length and width of the single piece of goods (3), The rotation unit (6) comprises at least one calibration plate (9) for rotating the piece of goods (3), the calibration plate being arranged at the outer edge (8) of the conveyor belt (5) and being capable of being introduced into the conveying path of the piece of goods (3); and a control unit for controlling the calibration plate (9), and The control unit is designed to trigger the calibration plate (9) according to the diagonal of the piece of goods (3).

2. The rotating device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the rotating device (1) can be integrated into an existing sorting device (2), so that the single piece of goods (3) is provided to the existing sorting device (2) after passing through the rotating unit (6).

3. A rotating device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the calibration plate (9) is flush with the outer edge (8) of the conveyor belt (5) in the initial position, and is oriented at a predetermined angle to the outer edge (8) in the activation position.

4. The rotation device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the calibration plate (9) comprises a linear drive (10) which is designed to move the calibration plate (9) between the initial position and the activation position.

5. Rotation device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the linear drive (10) is designed to move opposite to the conveying direction (F).

6. The rotation device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the rotation unit (6) comprises at least four calibration plates (9) and two calibration plates (9) are respectively arranged at the outer edge (8) of the conveyor belt (5).

7. A rotating device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein for each outer edge (8) of the conveyor belt (5), a first calibration plate is designed to move the single piece of cargo perpendicular to the conveying direction, and a second calibration plate is designed to move the single piece of cargo along the conveying direction (F).

8. The rotary device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the roller belt (4) has a support platform (11) at the end side, which has a sliding surface composed of plastic.

9. The rotating device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the placement table (11) has at least one light barrier (12), which is designed to determine the thickness and / or length and / or width of the individual pieces of goods (3).

10. A method for rotating individual pieces of goods (3) using a rotating device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, the method comprising the following method steps: a) placing a single piece of cargo (3) onto the roller belt (4); b) measuring the length and width of the individual items (3) by means of the light barrier and providing the length and width of the individual items (3) to the evaluation unit; c) determining the diagonal by means of the evaluation unit from the previously measured length and width of the individual item (3); d) triggering at least one calibration plate (9) for at least partially rotating the single piece (3) on the conveyor belt (5) when the length of the diagonal line is above a predetermined first limit value and / or below a predetermined second limit value; and e) providing the single piece of goods (3) to the sorting device (2).

11. The method according to claim 10, comprising the following further method steps: f) measuring the length of the individual pieces of goods (3) by means of a second light barrier (16), g) grouping the individual items (3) into at least one group A or one group B according to the length of the individual items (3) measured by means of the second light barrier (16).

Images