Direction changing device and sorting system

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a direction changing device capable of reducing a resistance force at the time of a direction change while ensuring conveyance stability in the main conveyance direction of a conveyance path, and capable of achieving a reduction in size, power saving, improvement of conveyance capacity, and long life.　The above problem is solved by configuring a turn roller type direction changing device such that some or all of a plurality of conveyance rollers (120) comprise a cylindrical part (121) having a cylindrical outer peripheral surface (122), and a spherical part (123) provided on at least one side in a rotation axis direction and having a spherical outer peripheral surface (124), and such that an introduction part (125) having a curved outer peripheral surface (126) connecting the cylindrical outer peripheral surface (122) and the spherical outer peripheral surface (124) is provided.

Description

Diversion and sorting systems

[0001] The present invention relates to a direction changing device that changes the conveying direction of an article, and a sorting system that includes the direction changing device.

[0002] Currently, so-called "turn roller type" direction changing devices that change the conveying direction of articles along an article conveying path are known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In this type of direction changing device, multiple conveying rollers are aligned in the primary conveying direction and width direction of the article conveying path and supported rotatably about horizontal axes, and are frictionally driven simultaneously by multiple line shafts to convey articles in the primary conveying direction of the article conveying path. The conveying rollers are then rotated about vertical axes by actuators such as air cylinders, and a driving force is transmitted in a state in which the rotation axes of the conveying rollers and the rotation axes of the line shafts are oblique, thereby enabling a change in direction to a direction different from the primary conveying direction of the article conveying path.

[0003] 11A , a conveying roller 120a having a spherical outer peripheral surface 124, or a conveying roller 120b having a cylindrical portion 121 having a cylindrical outer peripheral surface 122 provided at the center in the direction of the rotation axis as shown in FIG. 11B , is used. In the conveying roller 120a shown in FIG. 11A , the spherical outer peripheral surface 124 is configured as a part of an arc having a center of curvature Cs, for example, at the intersection of the rotation axis Ra and the center line of the width direction of the conveying roller 120a, in a cross section including the rotation axis Ra. In the conveying roller 120b shown in FIG. 11B , portions continuous with both sides of the cylindrical portion 121 are spherical portions 123 having the spherical outer peripheral surface 124 having a center of curvature Cs, for example, at the intersection of the rotation axis Ra and the center line of the width direction of the conveying roller 120b, in a cross section including the rotation axis Ra.

[0004] Patent No. 2911809 Patent No. 5197269

[0005] Therefore, in a turn-roller type direction-changing device, to perform a fast and reliable sorting operation, it is desirable to have a small resistance force when rotating the conveying roller to change the direction of the items. In this regard, it is preferable to use the conveying roller 120a configured as shown in FIG. 11A because the frictional resistance with the line shaft associated with the rotation of the conveying roller does not change significantly. However, with the conveying roller 120a configured as shown in FIG. 11A, the driving force transmitted from the line shaft to the conveying roller 120a cannot be increased, resulting in a weak conveying force for the items and reduced directional stability, resulting in poor conveyance stability in the main conveyance direction of the item conveyance path. On the other hand, the conveying roller 120b configured as shown in FIG. 11B includes a cylindrical portion 121, which ensures stable conveyance of items in the main conveyance direction of the item conveyance path even under slight disturbances. However, with the conveying roller 120b configured as shown in FIG. 11B, the resistance force when rotating the conveying roller 120b is large, and therefore an actuator with a large thrust is required to perform a fast and reliable sorting operation. This leads to problems such as an increase in the size of the device, an increase in energy consumption, and an increase in noise when the actuator is operating.

[0006] The present invention has been made in light of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a direction-changing device that can reduce resistance when changing direction while ensuring conveyance stability in the main conveyance direction of the conveyance path, and that can achieve miniaturization, power saving, improved conveyance capacity, and a longer life. Another aim of the present invention is to provide a sorting system that can sort articles at high speed.

[0007] The present invention solves the above problem by providing a direction changing device comprising multiple rows of rollers, a line shaft arranged parallel to the roller rows and rotating the multiple conveying rollers that make up the roller rows in unison around a horizontal axis, and a rotation mechanism that rotates the multiple conveying rollers in the roller row around a vertical axis while aligning the orientation of the conveying rollers, wherein some or all of the multiple conveying rollers have a cylindrical portion with a cylindrical outer circumferential surface and a spherical portion with a spherical outer circumferential surface provided on at least one side in the direction of the rotation axis, and an introduction portion with a curved outer circumferential surface that connects the cylindrical outer circumferential surface and the spherical outer circumferential surface.

[0008] Furthermore, the sorting system of the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by being configured to include the above-mentioned direction changing device.

[0009] According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cylindrical portion of the conveying roller ensures stable conveyance of items in the main conveyance direction of the item conveying path when the conveying roller is in its normal position, where the conveying drive direction is the main conveyance direction of the item conveying path. Furthermore, the spherical portion of the conveying roller stabilizes the rotational posture of the conveying roller when it is rotated to a switching position (where the conveying roller is tilted by a predetermined angle) where the conveying drive direction is different from the main conveyance direction of the item conveying path. Furthermore, the introduction portion of the conveying roller allows for a gradual change in shape from the cylindrical portion to the spherical portion, thereby reducing resistance when the conveying roller is rotated to switch positions. This allows the rotation mechanism to be configured with an air cylinder with a small air volume, an electric actuator, an electromagnetic solenoid, or other actuator with a small thrust, thereby enabling the direction-changing device to be smaller and more energy-efficient. In addition, by reducing the resistance when the conveying rollers are switched, it is possible to improve the operating speed and thereby improve the conveying capacity, and it is also possible to suppress wear and deterioration of the sliding parts and conveying rollers, thereby achieving a longer lifespan.

[0010] According to the invention of claim 2, the conveying roller can maintain an appropriate contact state with the line shaft whether the conveying roller is in the normal position or the switching position. According to the invention of claim 3, the position of the conveying roller can be smoothly switched.

[0011] According to the invention as set forth in claim 4, it is possible to construct a sorting system capable of sorting articles at high speed.

[0012] 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of a direction changing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view schematically showing the configuration of a main part of the direction changing device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a roller unit of the direction changing device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along a combined line B-B in FIG. 3. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the rotational operation of a conveying roller. FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of a conveying roller, cut along a plane including the rotation axis. FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of another example of a conveying roller, cut along a plane including the rotation axis. FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of yet another example of a conveying roller, cut along a plane including the rotation axis. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the rotation angle of a conveying roller and the thrust of an actuator required to rotate the conveying roller. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of an example of a sorting system including a direction changing device according to the present invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of another example of a sorting system including a direction changing device according to the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of yet another example of a sorting system including a direction changing device according to the present invention. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a conventional conveying roller. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration of a conventional conveying roller.

[0013] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A direction changing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0014] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the direction changing device 100 of the present invention comprises multiple roller rows 110 arranged in one direction, which is the main conveying direction of the article conveying path (indicated by the white arrow in Figure 1), a rotation drive mechanism 140 having a line shaft 142 that rotates the multiple conveying rollers 120 that make up the roller row 110 all at once around a horizontal axis, and a rotation mechanism 150 that rotates the multiple conveying rollers 120 that make up the roller row 110 around a vertical axis while aligning the orientation of the conveying rollers 120.

[0015] The roller row 110 is composed of a plurality of conveying rollers 120 arranged in the width direction of the item conveying path (the vertical direction in FIG. 1 ). The surfaces (sliding surfaces) of the conveying rollers 120 are made of a relatively low-hardness material, such as nitrile rubber. In this embodiment, the roller row 110 includes a first roller row 110a having nine conveying rollers 120 in the width direction of the item conveying path and a second roller row 110b having ten conveying rollers 120. The multiple roller rows 110 are arranged so that the first roller row 110a and the second roller row 110b are alternately arranged in one direction, and the first roller row 110a and the second roller row 110b form one unit, thereby constituting five roller units 115. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the first roller row 110a and the second roller row 110b will be simply referred to as the roller row 110.

[0016] Each conveying roller 120 is supported by a support structure 130 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis and so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis, and as shown in Fig. 5, a portion of the conveying roller 120 is exposed upward from a number of circular roller protrusion holes 106 formed in the upper surface of the cover 105, thereby supporting an article. The support structure 130 includes a bearing sleeve 131 fixed to the holding frame 102 of the machine base 101 so as to extend vertically, a roller pivot shaft 132 supported by the bearing sleeve 131 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis, a rotating arm 133 fixed to the upper part of the roller pivot shaft 132, a joint shaft 134 provided on the rotating arm 133 so as to extend in the width direction of the article conveying path on the rotation axis of the roller pivot shaft 132, and a roller support 135 supported so as to be swingable by the joint shaft 134 and to support the conveying roller 120 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis.

[0017] The conveying roller 120 is biased by a biasing member 136 so as to always maintain contact with the line shaft 142. In this embodiment, a torsion coil spring, for example, is used as the biasing member 136, which is wound around the joint shaft 134 and interposed between the roller support 135 and the rotating arm 133.

[0018] The rotation drive mechanism 140 includes an electric motor 141 capable of rotating forward and reverse, a plurality of line shafts 142 provided for each roller unit 115, and a winding transmission mechanism as a power transmission mechanism that transmits the power of the electric motor 141 to each line shaft 142.

[0019] The line shaft 142 is oriented so that its rotation axis extends horizontally parallel to the roller row 110, and both ends are rotatably supported by bearing members 104 fixed to the machine base 101, and a driven toothed pulley 146 is attached to one end in the axial direction.

[0020] 2, the winding transmission mechanism is configured by a toothed belt 145 being stretched around a drive toothed pulley 147 fixed to the drive shaft of the electric motor 141, a driven toothed pulley 146 attached to the line shaft 142, a tension pulley 148a, and an idle pulley 148b, so that all of the line shafts 142 are simultaneously driven to rotate in the same direction by the single electric motor 141. The tension pulley 148a is provided so that its position can be adjusted relative to the machine base 101, thereby allowing the tension of the toothed belt 145 to be adjusted. The idle pulleys 148b are provided in one direction at intervals on the holding frame 102 of the machine base 101.

[0021] The pivoting mechanism 150 includes a connecting member 155 that integrally connects the pivot arm 133 that constitutes the support structure 130 for the conveying rollers 120 in the first roller train 110a and the pivot arm 133 that constitutes the support structure 130 for the conveying rollers 120 in the second roller train 110b so as to be immovable relative to each other, and an actuator 151 that moves the connecting member 155 in the width direction of the item conveying path. The pivot arm 133 is connected to the connecting member 155 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis that is parallel to the rotation axis of the roller pivot shaft 132.

[0022] In this embodiment, the rotation of the conveying roller 120 about the vertical axis can be performed independently for each roller unit 115, and an actuator 151 is provided for each roller unit 115. As shown in FIG. 4 , the actuator 151 is, for example, an air cylinder having a cylinder 152 and first and second actuating rods 153 a and 153 b as actuating members that are respectively coupled to a pair of pistons (not shown) slidably housed in the cylinder 152 and perform linear reciprocating motion. The first actuating rod 153 a is pivotally attached to a support 156 fixed to a connecting member 155 so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis, and the second actuating rod 153 b is pivotally attached to a support 103 fixed to the holding frame 102 so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis. In this embodiment, a configuration using an air cylinder as the actuator 151 has been described, but an electric actuator or an electromagnetic solenoid may also be used as the actuator 151.

[0023] In this embodiment, the direction of the conveyance roller 120 around its vertical axis is changed by switching between a normal position, in which the conveyance drive direction is the conveyance direction α of the main conveyance path (the direction of the hollow arrow shown by the dashed line in FIG. 6 ), and a first switching position, in which the conveyance drive direction is a first direction β (the direction of the hollow arrow shown by the solid line in FIG. 6 ) that is oriented at a predetermined angle θ° with respect to the main conveyance direction α of the item conveyance path, or by switching between the normal position and a second switching position (not shown), in which the conveyance drive direction is a second direction that is oriented at a predetermined angle −θ° with respect to the main conveyance direction of the item conveyance path. In FIG. 6 , Pa denotes the rotation axis of the conveyance roller 120, which includes the center of curvature Cs of the spherical portion 123 of the conveyance roller 120 described below and is positioned so as to pass through a plane normal to the rotation axis Ra. Therefore, whether the conveyance roller 120 is in the normal position or the switching position, the conveyance roller 120 can maintain proper contact with the line shaft 142. The angle θ formed between the main transport direction and the first direction or the second direction can be set appropriately depending on the purpose, but one example is 35°.

[0024] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7A , the conveying roller 120 includes a cylindrical portion 121 having a cylindrical outer peripheral surface 122 located at the center in the direction of the rotation axis Ra, and spherical portions 123 having spherical outer peripheral surfaces 124 located on both sides in the direction of the rotation axis Ra. The spherical outer peripheral surfaces 124 have a center of curvature Cs on the rotation axis Ra in a cross section including the rotation axis Ra. The cylindrical portion 121 of the conveying roller 120 ensures stable conveyance of items in the main conveyance direction of the item conveyance path when the conveying roller 120 is in the normal position. Furthermore, the spherical portion 123 of the conveying roller 120 stabilizes the rotational posture of the conveying roller 120 when the conveying roller 120 is rotated to the first switching position or the second switching position.

[0025] The cylindrical portion 121 is formed symmetrically with respect to a plane Ls (hereinafter referred to as the "plane of symmetry") that includes the center of curvature Cs of the spherical portion 123 and has the rotation axis Ra as its normal line, and the dimension W (hereinafter referred to as the "planar width") in the direction of the rotation axis Ra between the intersection of this symmetry plane Ls with the cylindrical outer peripheral surface 122 and the tangent point of the cylindrical portion 121 and the introduction portion 125 (described later) is uniform on both sides of the symmetry plane Ls. With this configuration, the orientation of the conveying rollers 120 can be maintained when the conveying rollers 120 are in their normal position where the conveying drive direction is the main conveying direction of the item conveying path, thereby improving the conveying stability of items in the main conveying direction of the item conveying path.

[0026] The planar width W of the cylindrical portion 121 is preferably 7.8% or more of the roller diameter D. If the planar width W is less than 7.8% of the roller diameter D, the conveyance stability in the main conveyance direction of the item conveyance path is likely to decrease. However, by making the planar width W 7.8% or more of the roller diameter D, it is possible to configure the conveyance roller 120 so that when it is tilted from its normal position, the torque of the force that attempts to return it to its normal position is greater than the torque of the force that prevents this. Therefore, even if it is subjected to an external disturbance, the conveyance roller 120 can be caused to automatically return to its normal position, thereby improving the conveyance stability in the main conveyance direction of the item conveyance path.

[0027] Furthermore, it is preferable that the planar width W of the cylindrical portion 121 is configured to be 11.9% or less of the roller diameter D. If the planar width W were more than 11.9% of the roller diameter D, it would be difficult to smoothly switch the position of the conveying roller 120. However, by making the planar width W 11.9% or less of the roller diameter D, it is possible to reduce resistance when rotating the conveying roller 120 to switch positions while ensuring conveyance stability in the main conveying direction of the item conveying path, and therefore it is possible to quickly switch the position of the conveying roller 120 with a small switching thrust.

[0028] Therefore, in the direction changing device 100 of this embodiment, all of the multiple conveying rollers 120 are configured so that an introduction section 125 having a curved outer peripheral surface 126 connecting a cylindrical outer peripheral surface 122 and a spherical outer peripheral surface 124 is provided on both sides of the cylindrical section 121.

[0029] The outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125 is connected to the cylindrical outer peripheral surface 122 of the cylindrical portion 121 and the spherical outer peripheral surface 124 of the spherical portion 123 so that the outer peripheral surface of the conveying roller 120 is not concave, thereby enabling smooth switching of the position of the conveying roller. In this embodiment, the outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125 includes the connection point between the cylindrical portion 121 and the introduction portion 125, has a center of curvature Ci on a plane Lv to which the rotation axis Ra is normal, and is spherical with a radius of curvature r2 smaller than the radius of curvature r1 of the spherical outer peripheral surface 124. In this conveying roller 120, the cylindrical outer peripheral surface 122 and the outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125 are connected in a connected state such that a tangent to the cylindrical outer peripheral surface 122 and a tangent to the outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125 are the same at the connection point between the cylindrical outer peripheral surface 122 and the outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125. Furthermore, the outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125 and the spherical outer peripheral surface 124 are connected in a connection state (a connection state in which the two tangents intersect convexly outward) in which the inclination of the tangent to the outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125 with respect to the rotation axis Ra is smaller than the inclination of the tangent to the spherical outer peripheral surface 124 with respect to the rotation axis Ra at the connection point between the outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125 and the spherical outer peripheral surface 124 of the spherical portion 123.

[0030] 7B , the outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125 and the spherical outer peripheral surface 124 may be connected in a state where a tangent T to the spherical outer peripheral surface 124 and a tangent T to the outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125 are the same at the connection point between the outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125 and the spherical outer peripheral surface 124. In the conveying roller 120 configured in this manner, the center of curvature Ci of the introduction portion 125 is located at a position where a straight line connecting the connection point between the introduction portion 125 and the spherical portion 123 and the center of curvature Cs of the spherical portion 123 intersects with a plane that includes the connection point between the cylindrical portion 121 and the introduction portion 126 and has the rotation axis Ra as its normal line.

[0031] In this embodiment, all of the plurality of conveying rollers 120 are configured to include the introduction portion 125, but at least some of the plurality of conveying rollers 120 may be configured to include the introduction portion 125. Furthermore, although the introduction portion 125 is configured to be provided on both sides of the cylindrical portion 121, for example, if the direction change of the conveying roller 120 about the vertical axis is configured by switching between a normal position and a first switching position, the introduction portion 125 may be provided on only one side of the cylindrical portion 121, as shown in FIG. 8 . In this case, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 8 , the cylindrical portion 121 does not need to be formed symmetrically with respect to the symmetry plane Ls, and the other side of the cylindrical portion 121 may have a dimension equal to or greater than the planar width W on one side of the cylindrical portion 121.

[0032] Furthermore, outer peripheral surface 126 of introduction portion 125 does not need to be spherical, and may be, for example, an ellipsoidal spherical shape having a center on the vertical line Lv. In such a configuration, outer peripheral surface 126 of introduction portion 125 and spherical outer peripheral surface 124 are connected in a connection state in which the inclination of a tangent to outer peripheral surface 126 of introduction portion 125 with respect to rotation axis Ra is smaller than the inclination of a tangent to spherical outer peripheral surface 124 with respect to rotation axis Ra (a connection state in which the two tangents intersect convexly outward) at the connection point between outer peripheral surface 126 of introduction portion 125 and spherical outer peripheral surface 124 of spherical portion 123. Furthermore, when the outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125 is configured to be spherical, the introduction portion 125 may be connected in a connection state in which the inclination of the tangent to the outer peripheral surface 126 of the introduction portion 125 relative to the rotation axis Ra is smaller than the inclination of the tangent to the spherical outer peripheral surface 124 relative to the rotation axis Ra (a connection state in which the two tangents intersect convexly outward).

[0033] Therefore, by providing the introduction portion 125 to the conveying roller 120, the change in shape from the cylindrical portion 121 to the spherical portion 123 is gradual, thereby reducing resistance when the conveying roller 120 is rotated to change its position. As shown by the solid curve in Figure 9, the position of the conveying roller 120 can be quickly changed with a small switching thrust. The solid curve in Figure 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the rotation angle of the conveying roller 120 and the thrust of the actuator when a conveying roller 120 manufactured with reference to the configuration shown in Figure 7A so that the planar width W of the cylindrical outer peripheral surface 122 is 9.6% of the roller diameter D is used. The dashed curve in Figure 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the rotation angle of the conveying roller 120b and the thrust of the actuator when a conveying roller 120b manufactured with reference to the configuration shown in Figure 11B so that the planar width W of the cylindrical outer peripheral surface 122 is 18.5% of the roller diameter D is used.

[0034] Therefore, according to the direction changing device 100 configured as described above, the rotation mechanism 150 can be configured to include an actuator 151 with a small thrust, such as an air cylinder with a small air volume, an electric actuator, or an electromagnetic solenoid, thereby realizing a compact and energy-efficient direction changing device 100. Furthermore, by reducing the resistance when switching the position of the conveying roller 120, it is possible to improve the operating speed and thereby improve the conveying capacity, and it is also possible to suppress wear and deterioration of the sliding parts and the conveying roller 120, thereby realizing a longer lifespan.

[0035] The direction changing device 100 according to the present invention can be placed on a conveyor line, for example, to change the direction of an article conveyance path, such as "sorting," "intersecting," or "branching," and is extremely useful for building a high-speed automatic sorting system. The sorting system of the present invention will be described below.

[0036] For example, the sorting system 160a shown in Figure 10A is arranged between a main conveying path 161 along which the above-mentioned direction change device 100 conveys items O in one direction, and a first branch conveying path 162a arranged downstream of the main conveying path 161 and conveying items O in one direction, and a second branch conveying path 162b and a third branch conveying path 162c are arranged at a position on the upstream end side of the first branch conveying path 162a, extending in a direction intersecting the first branch conveying path 162a, thereby enabling high-speed sorting of items O in three directions: left and right directions perpendicular to the item conveying direction of the main conveying path 161, and a straight direction.

[0037] 10B shows a sorting system 160b in which two parallel conveying lines are provided to convey articles in one direction, and the article conveying path can be changed between the two conveying lines. Each conveying line is configured by the above-described direction changing device 100 being disposed between an upstream conveying path 165a, 165b and a downstream conveying path 166a, 166b disposed downstream of the upstream conveying paths 165a, 165b. This sorting system 160b is capable of high-speed sorting of articles O conveyed on the upstream conveying path 165a of one conveying line to the downstream conveying path 166a of the one conveying line or the downstream conveying path 166b of the other conveying line, and high-speed sorting of articles O conveyed on the upstream conveying path 165b of the other conveying line to the downstream conveying path 166a of the one conveying line or the downstream conveying path 166b of the other conveying line.

[0038] 10C, the above-mentioned direction changing device 100 is disposed between a main conveying path 161 along which the articles O are conveyed in one direction and a first branch conveying path 162a disposed downstream of the main conveying path 161 and conveying the articles O in one direction, and a second branch conveying path 162b is disposed on one side of the direction changing device 100 and conveys the articles O in a direction different from the one direction, thereby enabling high-speed sorting of the articles O in two directions, a straight direction and a branch direction relative to the article conveying direction of the main conveying path 161. In such a sorting system 160c, the conveying roller 120 in the direction changing device 100 may have a configuration (see FIG. 8) in which the introduction portion 125 is provided only on one side of the cylindrical portion 121 in the direction of the rotation axis Ra.

[0039] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various design modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims. For example, while the conveying rollers have been described as being changeable between a normal position and two switching positions, the configuration of the conveying rollers is not limited thereto and may be changeable between, for example, four or more positions. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, two roller rows are used as roller units, and each roller unit is configured to be able to change its direction independently. However, for example, each roller row may be configured to be able to change its direction independently, or each conveying roller may be configured to be able to change its direction individually. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the number of roller rows, the number of conveying rollers constituting each roller row, and other specific configurations can be optimally selected depending on the type of article to be conveyed, the conveying speed, the installation space, etc.

[0040] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100: Direction changing device 101: Machine base 102: Holding frame 103: Support 104: Bearing member 105: Cover 106: Roller projection hole 110: Roller row 110a: First roller row 110b: Second roller row 115: Roller unit 120: Conveying roller 120a: Conveying roller 120b: Conveying roller 121: Cylindrical portion 122: Cylindrical outer peripheral surface 123: Spherical portion 124: Spherical outer peripheral surface 125: Lead-in portion 126: Outer peripheral surface 130: Support structure 131: Bearing sleeve 132: Roller pivot shaft 133: Rotating arm 134: Articulated shaft 135: Roller support 136: Urging member 140: Rotation drive mechanism 141: Electric motor 142: Line shaft 145: Toothed belt 146: Driven toothed pulley 147: Drive toothed pulley 148a: Tension pulley 148b: Idle pulley 150: Rotating mechanism 151: Actuator 152: Cylinder 153a: First operating rod 153b: Second operating rod 155: Connecting member 156: Support 160a: Sorting system 160b: Sorting system 160c: Sorting system 161: Main conveying path 162a: First branch conveying path 162b: Second branch conveying path 162c: Third branch conveying path 165a 165b: upstream conveying path; 166a: downstream conveying path; 166b: downstream conveying path; Ci: center of curvature of introduction portion; Cs: center of curvature of spherical portion; Pa: rotation axis; Ra: rotation axis; O: article.

Claims

1. A direction changing device comprising: a plurality of roller rows; a line shaft arranged parallel to the roller rows and rotating the plurality of conveying rollers constituting the roller rows in unison about a horizontal axis; and a rotation mechanism that rotates the plurality of conveying rollers in the roller row about a vertical axis while aligning the orientation of the conveying rollers, wherein some or all of the plurality of conveying rollers have a cylindrical portion having a cylindrical outer circumferential surface, and a spherical portion having a spherical outer circumferential surface and is provided on at least one side in the direction of the rotation axis, and an introduction portion is provided with a curved outer circumferential surface that connects the cylindrical outer circumferential surface and the spherical outer circumferential surface.

2. The direction changing device described in claim 1, characterized in that the conveying roller is biased by a biasing member so as to maintain contact with the line shaft, the center of curvature of the spherical portion is positioned on the rotation axis of the conveying roller, and the rotation axis of the conveying roller includes the center of curvature of the spherical portion and passes through a plane to which the rotation axis is normal.

3. The direction changing device described in claim 1, characterized in that the outer peripheral surface of the introduction portion is connected to each of the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion and the spherical outer peripheral surface of the spherical portion in a cross section including the rotation axis so that the outer peripheral surface of the conveying roller is not concave.

4. A sorting system comprising a direction changing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

Images