Article conveyance device

Abstract

The invention provides an article conveying device which is simple in structure, does not need to greatly change existing equipment, can restrain cost increase and maintenance frequency increase, and can be distributed on a branch conveying path in an appropriate direction and convey articles. Specifically, the article transport device is provided with: a main transport path for transporting an article; a branch conveyance path branched from the main conveyance path; a connection transport path for transferring the articles from the main transport path to the branch transport paths; the control unit is in control connection with the carrying path; and an acceleration / deceleration mechanism that accelerates and decelerates the conveyance speed of the connection conveyance path, the main conveyance path has an article transport mechanism that transports the articles and a detection unit that detects the articles, and the control unit controls the acceleration / deceleration mechanism so as to accelerate and decelerate the conveyance speed of the connection conveyance path on the basis of detection information of the detection unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an article conveying device, which comprises: a main conveying path for conveying articles; and a branch conveying path branching from the main conveying path and conveying articles to a next process. Background Art

[0002] In the past, as an article transporting device for transporting articles, there is a known article transporting device (transporting equipment) in Patent Document 1, which has: a main transport path (main transport route); and a branch transport path (branch transport route), which branches from the main transport path and transports articles to the next process.

[0003] The article transport device (transport equipment) known in patent document 1 is provided with a branch unit at the branch part of the main transport path (main transport route 8), and the branch transport path (branch transport route 16) is branched at an acute angle relative to the main transport path (main transport route 8).

[0004] The items (transported objects W) transported on the main transport path (main transport route 8) are moved to the branch transport path (branch transport route 16) through the branch unit, and pass through the receiving conveyor section 12, the horizontal conveyor section 13, and then transported to the downstream side by the direct conveyor section 14.

[0005] In addition, since a transmission belt 37 of a jointless rotating body is arranged on the outer side of the receiving conveyor section 12 and the outer side of the transverse conveyor section 13, and is constructed to be able to receive the article (the transported object W) from the side, by making one end corner of the front part of the article (the transported object W) abut against the transmission belt 37 of the receiving conveyor section 12 and applying a rotational force to the article (the transported object W), the article (the transported object W) can be corrected to a direction suitable for transportation and transported to the downstream of the branch transport path (branch transport route 16).

[0006] Patent Literature

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-082351 Summary of the invention

[0008] However, there is still room for improvement in the known article transporting devices disclosed in the above-mentioned patent documents and the like.

[0009] That is, since the article transport device known in Patent Document 1 is equipped with a special device composed of a transmission belt on the branch transport path, in order to apply it to existing equipment equipped with a wall-shaped non-moving guide, etc., it may lead to increased costs or increased maintenance frequency.

[0010] Furthermore, since the direction of the object is corrected by actively contacting the conveyor belt, the object may be deformed or the object may get caught on the conveyor belt due to its material and shape, causing the device to stop.

[0011] Furthermore, in a branch conveying path arranged orthogonally to the main conveying path, it is difficult to actively move articles in a direction to contact a belt on the side of the branch conveying path, so that special equipment must be newly installed, which may increase costs.

[0012] The present invention is an invention for solving these problems. The technical problem to be solved is to provide an article transporting device with a simple structure, which does not require major changes to existing equipment, can suppress cost increases and increased maintenance frequency, and can evenly disperse and transport articles in appropriate directions on branch transport paths.

[0013] The article conveying device of the present invention comprises: a main conveying path for conveying articles within the device; a branch conveying path for branching off from the main conveying path and conveying articles to the next process; a connecting conveying path for transferring articles from the main conveying path to the branch conveying path; a control unit for controlling the connecting conveying path; and an acceleration / deceleration mechanism for accelerating / decelerating the conveying speed of the connecting conveying path. The problem can be solved by the following contents, namely, the main conveying path comprises: an article unloading mechanism for conveying articles to the connecting conveying path side; and a detection unit for detecting articles on the main conveying path, and the control unit controls the acceleration / deceleration mechanism based on the detection information of the detection unit so as to accelerate / decelerate the conveying speed of the connecting conveying path.

[0014] Since the control unit of the article transporting device involved in Technical Solution 1 controls the acceleration and deceleration mechanism and accelerates and decelerates the transport speed of the connecting transport path based on the detection information of the detection unit, the transport speed difference between the connecting transport path and the branch transport path can be adjusted only by accelerating and decelerating the transport speed of the connecting transport path which is widely used as a general existing equipment, and the article can be corrected to a direction suitable for transport on the branch transport path, or the transport position on the branch transport path can be adjusted.

[0015] Therefore, for example, when a general-purpose anti-fall guide is provided on the side of the branch transport path, it is possible to prevent items from being moved to a position where the items on the branch transport path interfere with the anti-fall guide. For example, it is possible to prevent long items from getting caught on the anti-fall guide and becoming trapped between the connecting transport path and the branch transport path.

[0016] Furthermore, there is no need to replace the general-purpose anti-fall guide with a belt or the like, thereby suppressing an increase in cost and maintenance frequency required for equipment renewal.

[0017] Furthermore, since articles can be evenly arranged on the branch conveying path, the entire branch conveying path can be effectively utilized and conveying efficiency can be improved.

[0018] According to the configuration described in claim 2, since the acceleration / deceleration mechanism is configured to be able to adjust the conveyance speed of the branch conveyance path, the conveyance position of the article on the branch conveyance path can be adjusted more effectively and accurately.

[0019] According to the configuration described in Technical Solution 3, since the acceleration / deceleration mechanism is configured to be able to accelerate / decelerate the conveying speed of the articles on the connected conveying path to at least two stages, the optimal conveying speed can be selected on the connected conveying path to convey the articles based on the detection information of the detection unit.

[0020] According to the configuration described in Technical Solution 4, since the detection information of the detection unit is the length of the article along the conveying direction on the main conveying path, the control unit can accelerate or decelerate the conveying speed of the article on the connecting conveying path based on the information of the length of the article along the conveying direction, and can more accurately correct it to a direction suitable for conveying on the branch conveying path, or more accurately adjust the conveying position on the branch conveying path.

[0021] According to the configuration described in technical solution 5, since the detection unit is composed of sensors that can detect the starting and ending points of the article, the detection unit can be composed of cheap and easily available sensors, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

[0022] In addition, by simply using sensors to detect the starting and ending points of the conveying direction of the items on the main conveying path, the length of the items can be simply and reliably identified, and based on the information on the length of the items, the acceleration and deceleration mechanism of the control unit can be used to adjust the speed of the connecting conveying path, thereby reliably correcting the direction of the items on the branch conveying path to the appropriate direction.

[0023] According to the construction described in Technical Solution 6, since the detection information of the detection unit is the shape of the article, the acceleration and deceleration mechanism can be operated not only based on the length of the article along the conveying direction, but also based on the three-dimensional shape information, so that the conveying speed of the articles on the better connected conveying path can be adjusted, and the direction of the articles on the branch conveying path can be further effectively corrected to the appropriate direction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It is a top view of an article transport device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 It is an explanatory diagram showing a conveying method 1 and a conveying method 2 of an article conveying device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 3 This is an enlarged view of part A showing a transport method 1 of an article transport device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 4 This is an enlarged view of part B showing a transport method 1 of the article transport device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 5 This is an enlarged view of part A showing a transport method 2 of the article transport device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 6 This is an enlarged view of part B showing a transport method 2 of the article transport device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Explanation of symbols

[0031] 100-article handling device; 110-main handling path; 111-main handling conveyor; 112-main handling guide (anti-falling guide); 113-article unloading mechanism; 114-detection unit; 120-branch handling path; 121-branch handling conveyor; 122-branch handling guide (anti-falling guide); 130-connecting handling path; 131-connecting handling conveyor; 132-connecting handling guide (anti-falling guide); 140-storage area; W (W1, W2)-article; Tm-handling speed of main handling conveyor; T1-handling speed of connecting handling conveyor; T2-handling speed of branch handling conveyor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] Next, use Figures 1 to 6 An article transport device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0033] In addition, only the vicinity of the branch transport path 120 is shown in the main transport path 110 .

[0034] like Figure 1 As shown, an article transport device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a main transport path 110 for transporting articles W; a branch transport path 120 for branching from the main transport path 110 and transporting articles W to the next process; a connecting transport path 130 for transferring articles W from the main transport path 110 to the branch transport path 120; a control unit (not shown) for controlling the connecting transport path 130; and a storage area 140 for loading articles W on the downstream side of the branch transport path 120.

[0035] The main transport path 110 includes: a main transport conveyor 111, which transports articles W at a specified transport speed in the transport direction of the main transport path 110; a main transport guide 112, which is an anti-fall guide arranged on both sides of the main transport conveyor 111; an article unloading mechanism 113, which can unload articles W from the main transport conveyor 111 to the side of the main transport conveyor 111 connected to the transport path 130; and a detection unit 114, which detects articles W.

[0036] The branch transport path 120 includes a branch transport conveyor 121 that extends in the transport direction ( Figure 1 and a branch transport guide 122, i.e., an anti-falling guide arranged on both sides of the branch transport conveyor 121.

[0037] The connecting transport path 130 includes: a connecting transport conveyor 131, which transports the article W moved out from the article moving mechanism 113 to the branch transport path 120 at an arbitrary transport speed; a connecting transport guide 132, which is an anti-falling guide provided on the side of the connecting transport conveyor 131; an acceleration and deceleration mechanism (not shown) which switches the transport speed of the connecting transport conveyor 131 to two modes, namely, a low speed mode and a high speed mode which is higher than the low speed mode; and a control unit (not shown) which controls the acceleration and deceleration mechanism (not shown).

[0038] The control unit (not shown) is configured to be able to communicate with the detection unit 114, and based on the information of the article W (W1, W2) obtained from the detection unit 114 (hereinafter referred to as detection information), it is able to select and switch the instruction connecting the conveying conveyor 131 from the low speed mode and the high speed mode on the acceleration and deceleration mechanism (not shown). Transport speed T1.

[0039] The main transport conveyor 111 , the branch transport conveyor 121 , and the connecting transport conveyor 131 are not particularly limited in their configuration as long as they can transport the article W in a predetermined transport direction, and may be, for example, a belt conveyor or a roller conveyor.

[0040] Next, use Figures 2 to 6 A method of transporting an article W1 and a large article W2 whose sides are longer than the article W1 by the article transport device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0041] First, a method for conveying the article W1 (referred to as conveying method 1) will be described.

[0042] like Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown, the article W1 on the main transport conveyor 111 is transported on the main transport conveyor 111 at a predetermined transport speed Tm, and passes through the detection unit 114 provided on the upstream side of the article carrying-out mechanism 113 .

[0043] At this time, when the detection unit 114 is a sensor of a simple configuration such as a reflection type sensor, for example, it is possible to detect the start and end points of the article W1 in the conveyance direction and obtain the detection information.

[0044] When the detection unit 114 is a camera or the like, the shape of the article W1 and its detailed position and direction on the main transport conveyor 111 can be easily detected and obtained as detection information.

[0045] like Figure 4 As shown, after passing through the detection unit 114 , the article W1 is carried out from the main transport path 110 to the connecting transport path 130 by the article carrying-out mechanism 113 at a predetermined carrying-out speed, and travels on the connecting transport conveyor 131 along the connecting transport guide 132 .

[0046] At this time, by operating the article carrying-out mechanism 113 at a predetermined timing based on the detection information of the article W1 , the article W1 can be carried out with a uniform posture at a position along the connecting transport guide 132 on the connecting transport conveyor 131 .

[0047] In addition, the specific structure of the article carrying mechanism 113 is not particularly limited. For example, the article W1 can be carried out to the connecting conveying path 130 by freely switching a plurality of steering rollers of the steering direction. The article W1 can also be carried out to the connecting conveying path 130 by lifting the side of the article carrying mechanism 113 opposite to the adjacent part of the connecting conveying path 130 to form a ramp inclined toward the connecting conveying path 130, so that the article W1 slides toward the connecting conveying path 130. The article W1 can also be carried out in a direction different from the forward direction of the connecting conveying path 130.

[0048] Since the article W1 is small enough relative to the width of the branch transport conveyor 121, it will be transferred from the article unloading mechanism 113 to the branch transport conveyor 121 in a short time. Therefore, the control unit (not shown) can recognize that the length of the side of the connecting transport guide 132 along the article W1 is suitable for transport in high-speed mode based on the detection information of the shape of the article W1 obtained from the detection unit 114, and can set the transport speed T1 of the connecting transport conveyor 131 to high-speed mode by using an acceleration and deceleration mechanism (not shown), so that it can be quickly transported toward the branch transport path 120.

[0049] After being quickly conveyed on the connecting conveyor 131 in the high-speed mode, the article W1 is conveyed out to the branch conveyor 121 of the branch conveying path 120 and conveyed on the branch conveyor 121 at a conveying speed T2.

[0050] The articles W1 carried out onto the branch transport conveyor 121 are carried out at a transport speed T to the storage area 140 .

[0051] In addition, by switching between high-speed mode and low-speed mode, the transport speed T1 of the connecting transport conveyor 131 can be accelerated or decelerated. For example, the momentum of the item W1 moved from the connecting transport conveyor 131 to the branch transport conveyor 121 can be adjusted, and the position of the item W1 transported on the branch transport conveyor 121 can be adjusted.

[0052] Thus, the articles W1 can be dispersedly arranged on the branch transport conveyor 121 and can be efficiently transported.

[0053] In addition, for example, if the configuration is such that the aggregation state of the articles in the storage area 140 can be confirmed by a control unit, an acceleration and deceleration mechanism (not shown) can be used to switch between high-speed mode and low-speed mode to adjust the transport speed T1, and the articles W can be moved out at any position of the branch transport conveyor 121 so that the articles W can be evenly aggregated in the storage area 140.

[0054] Next, a method for conveying the article W2 (referred to as conveying method 2) will be described.

[0055] In addition, descriptions of portions overlapping with the method for conveying the article W1 are partially omitted.

[0056] like Figure 2 and Figure 5 As shown, the article W2 on the main transport conveyor 111 is transported at a predetermined transport speed Tm on the main transport conveyor 111 and passes through the detection unit 114 provided on the upstream side of the article carrying-out mechanism 113 .

[0057] like Figure 6 As shown, after passing through the detection unit 114 , the article W2 is carried out from the main transport path 110 to the connecting transport path 130 by the article carrying-out mechanism 113 at a predetermined carrying-out speed, and travels on the connecting transport conveyor 131 along the connecting transport guide 132 .

[0058] At this time, by operating the article unloading mechanism 113 at a predetermined timing based on the detection information of the article W2 , the article W2 can be unloaded with a uniform posture at a position along the connecting transport guide 132 on the connecting transport conveyor 131 .

[0059] When item W2 is larger than item W1 and the difference between the length of the side of item W2 along the connecting conveying guide 132 (as the long side) and the width of the branch conveying conveyor 121 is small, when the conveying speed T1 of the connecting conveying conveyor 131 is set to the same high-speed mode as when conveying item W1, item W2 may come into contact with the branch conveying guide 122 of the branch conveying conveyor 121 at a position opposite to the connecting conveying conveyor 131 and be damaged.

[0060] However, since the present invention is based on the detection information of the article W2 obtained from the detection unit 114, after identifying that the long side of the article W2 is of a length suitable for small conveying in the low-speed mode, the conveying speed T1 of the connecting conveying conveyor 131 is set to the low-speed mode using an acceleration and deceleration mechanism (not shown). Therefore, when switching from the connecting conveying conveyor 131 to the branch conveying conveyor 121, it is possible to ensure that the long side of the article W2 is slowly corrected to the conveying direction along the branch conveying conveyor 121.

[0061] Thus, the articles W2 can be reliably conveyed to the storage area 140 without causing the articles W2 to strongly contact the branch conveyance guide 122 .

[0062] Furthermore, by setting the conveying speed T1 in the low-speed mode to a lower speed, the direction of the article W2 can be changed so that the long side thereof is reliably along the conveying direction of the branch conveyor 121 .

[0063] As described above, as long as the article can be transported on the main transport conveyor 111, no matter what shape or size the article is, the length of the side of the article W along the connecting transport guide 132 can be identified based on the detection information, and the acceleration and deceleration mechanism (not shown) can be operated by the control unit (not shown) to switch the transport speed T1 of the connecting transport conveyor 131 to a low speed mode or a high speed mode to adjust the speed difference with the transport speed T2 of the branch transport conveyor 121. As a result, the article will not collide strongly with or be hooked on the branch transport guide 122, and the article W can be corrected to the appropriate direction on the branch transport conveyor 121, so that the article can be safely and effectively moved out without deformation or damage, and the article W can be quickly moved to the downstream side of the branch transport path 120.

[0064] In addition, since the direction of the article W can be adjusted only by adjusting the timing of the article W being carried out by the article carrying mechanism 113 and by operating the acceleration and deceleration mechanism (not shown) through the control unit (not shown) to adjust the carrying speed T1 of the connecting conveyor 131, the equipment itself can use the same structure as the existing one. For example, there is no need to replace the anti-fall guide of the connecting conveying path 130, that is, the connecting conveying guide 132, with a special structure such as a belt with a movable part, thereby suppressing the increase in cost and maintenance frequency required for equipment updates.

[0065] In addition, the transport speed T1 of the connecting transport conveyor 131 does not need to be limited to the low-speed mode and the high-speed mode. For example, a medium-speed mode that is faster than the low-speed mode and slower than the high-speed mode can be set to form three modes, and it can also be constructed so that it can be infinitely and appropriately adjusted to a specified transport speed suitable for transporting to the branch transport path 120 according to the size of each object W.

[0066] In addition, if the acceleration / deceleration mechanism (not shown) is constructed so as to be able to accelerate / decelerate the transport speed T2 of the branch transport conveyor 121, the speed difference between the transport speeds T1 and T2 can be more flexibly adjusted according to the size of the article W without the need to accelerate / decelerate the transport speed T1 to an extreme degree.

[0067] In addition, if an article arrangement mechanism capable of pre-adjusting the article W to a specified direction is provided on the main transport path 110, for example, by utilizing the article arrangement mechanism to make the longitudinal direction of the article W on the main transport path 110 consistent with the transport direction of the main transport path 110, the detection unit 114 can more effectively implement the detection of the starting and ending points of the longitudinal direction of the article W, and can also further accurately adjust the transport speed T1.

[0068] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention described in the claims.

[0069] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the transport direction of the branch transport path is a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the main transport path is described, but the transport direction of the branch transport path is not limited to this.

[0070] In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment describes the case where anti-fall guides are respectively provided on the main transport path, the branch transport path, and the connecting transport path, the configuration of the main transport path, the branch transport path, and the connecting transport path is not limited to this. For example, there may be no anti-fall guide, and the anti-fall guide may be provided only on a single side of the side of the main transport path or the branch transport path.

[0071] In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment describes a case where a storage area is provided downstream of the branch transport path, the structure of the downstream of the branch transport path is not limited to this. For example, the downstream of the branch transport path can be directly connected to the next process, and the structure can also be such that the operator directly receives the items from the terminal of the branch transport path.

Claims

1. An article transporting device, comprising: a main transport path for transporting articles in the device; a branch transport path for branching from the main transport path and transporting articles to the next process; a connecting transport path for transferring articles from the main transport path to the branch transport path; a control unit for controlling the connecting transport path; and an acceleration / deceleration mechanism for accelerating / decelerating the transport speed of the connecting transport path, characterized in that: The main transport path includes: an article carrying-out mechanism capable of carrying out articles to the connecting transport path side; and a detection unit for detecting articles on the main transport path. The control unit controls the acceleration / deceleration mechanism so as to accelerate / decelerate the conveyance speed of the connection conveyance path based on the detection information of the detection unit.

2. The article transporting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The acceleration / deceleration mechanism is configured to be able to adjust a conveyance speed of the branch conveyance path.

3. The article transporting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The acceleration / deceleration mechanism is configured to be able to accelerate / decelerate the conveyance speed of the connection conveyance path into at least two stages.

4. The article transporting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The detection information of the detection unit is the length of the article on the main transport path along the transport direction.

5. The article transporting device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The detection unit is composed of a sensor capable of detecting the starting end and the ending end of the article.

6. The article transporting device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The detection information of the detection unit is the shape of the object.

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