JPH1179370A - Sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To reduce the installation height of a storage unit, minimize dead space, and provide a simple mechanism for a sorting device. A supply unit (23) for sequentially supplying envelopes (2),
A transport unit 24 having a large number of carriers 31 moving in a closed loop and transporting the envelopes supplied from the supply unit by the carriers in the closed loop, and along a movement locus of the carrier in the transport unit. A sorting unit 25 having storage boxes 12 for each sorting section and a control unit 26 for controlling the envelopes conveyed by the carrier to be stored in the corresponding storage boxes based on the sorting information of each envelope. In the sorting apparatus, the transport unit is configured so that each carrier moves along a closed loop in a horizontal plane.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for sorting items such as envelopes on the basis of sorting information such as zip codes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a conventional apparatus for sorting envelopes based on the description of a postal code will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram seen from the front, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram seen from the plane. The sorting apparatus 1 in the figure includes a supply unit 3, a transport unit 4, a sorting unit 5, and a control unit 6 for controlling these units.

In the supply section 3, a bundle of envelopes 2 on which postal codes are described is placed randomly by the operator with respect to the postal codes. These envelopes 2 are supplied one by one to the transport unit 4 by a known separating device 7 including a suction belt and the like. At the time of transportation, the postal code attached to the envelope 2 is read by the reading device 7a.

The transport section 4 has a pair of toothed wheels 9 supported on a horizontal shaft 8 and driven to rotate, and a chain 10 wound around the both toothed wheels 9. A plurality of carriers 11 are supported on the chain 10 at equal pitches. As the chain 10 moves, the carriers 11 move in a closed loop formed in a vertical plane. FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of each carrier 11. The entire carrier 11 is formed in a box shape,
A shutter 11b, which has an opening 11a on the surface side on which the envelope object 2 is inserted from the supply unit 3, and which opens and closes in the directions indicated by arrows in the upper and lower directions.
1c. Normally, the shutters 11b and 11c are closed. However, as described later, when the shutter reaches a predetermined storage box 12 of the sorting unit, the shutter is opened, and the envelope 2 which has been transported so far is stored in the storage box 12. Discharge. Although the horizontal shaft 8 may be driven intermittently, it is continuously rotated here to increase the processing speed.

[0005] In the sorting section 5, a plurality of storage boxes 12 as shown in FIG. The storage box 12 stores the envelopes 2 to be sorted, and the number of installations is determined according to a desired number of sorts.

The operation of the sorting device 1 is as follows.

First, the bundled envelopes 2 placed on the supply unit 3 by the operator are supplied to the transport unit 4 while being separated one by one by the separation device 7. At this time, the postal code attached to the envelope 2 is read by the reading device 7a. The envelopes 2 supplied from the supply unit 3 are sequentially stored one by one in one carrier 11 just opposite the supply point 3a of the supply unit 3 through the opening 11a. The carrier 11 containing the envelope 2 moves in the closed loop as the chain 10 moves, and during this movement, the carrier 11
Passes above the plurality of storage boxes 12.

The postal code read by the reading device 7a is sent to the control section 6 as sorting information. In addition to this information, the control unit 6 includes a separating device 7
Drive motor M1 and drive motor M2 for driving the horizontal shaft 8
The drive information such as the rotation angle of is input. From these information, the postal code of the stored envelope 2 and the current position of the carrier 11 are determined by the control unit 6 for each carrier 11. It can be grasped. Then, when the control unit 6 recognizes that the envelope 2 conveyed by the carrier 11 has reached or has reached the upper part of the storage box 12 in which the envelope 2 is to be sorted, the storage unit 6 stores the envelope. The shutter 11 of the carrier 11 is operated by a shutter opening / closing mechanism (not shown) installed for each box 12.
When b or 11c is opened, the envelope 2 stored so far is discharged from the carrier 11 and stored in the storage box 12 corresponding to the postal code attached to the envelope 2. The opened shutters 11b and 11c are closed (not shown) in a movement section until the carrier 11 makes one round of the closed loop and faces the supply point 3a of the supply unit 3.

By repeating the above operation,
The envelope 2 placed on the supply unit 3 is placed in one of the storage boxes 12.
It is finally stored and sorted in
Each storage box 12 is provided with a full sensor or the like (not shown),
When a full signal or a full notice signal is output from this sensor, the empty box is operated by an operator depending on a display or a warning to that effect, or an automatic exchange device of the storage box 12 is operated based on this signal. Is exchanged for the storage box 12.

[0010]

As described above, in the conventional sorting apparatus, each carrier 11 moves in a closed loop formed in a vertical plane. For this reason, in FIG. 4, in the upper area A where the sorting is performed while the carrier 11 moves to the left, the installation height of the storage box 12 correspondingly installed is considerably higher than the floor surface, and the operator is Workability when replacing the storage box 11 is poor, and replacement using a ladder or the like is not preferable in terms of safety.

Further, in the sorting device 1 of the type described above in which the carrier 11 moves in a closed loop in a vertical plane,
The discharge of the envelope 2 stored in the carrier 11 into the storage box 12 can be performed in the horizontal section (areas A and B) of the chain 10 in FIG. 4, but cannot be performed in the corner portion. That is, the place where the storage box 12 can be installed is limited to only the linear portion in the closed loop, and from the viewpoint of the sorting operation, this corner becomes a dead space.

Further, in the conventional sorting apparatus, when discharging the envelope 2 from the carrier 11, the carrier 1
When the shutter 1 is discharged while it is located in the upper area A, the shutter 1
When the shutter 1b is opened and the shutter 11b is opened during the ejection while being located in the lower region B, the shutters 11b need to be opened and closed separately according to the ejection position of the carrier 11. A moving mechanism is required, and the mechanism becomes complicated.

An object of the present invention is to reduce the installation height of the storage unit, minimize the dead space, and provide a simple mechanism for the sorting apparatus.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a supply unit for sequentially supplying sorted materials, and a large number of carriers moving in a closed loop. The carriers are supplied from the supply unit. A transport unit that transports the sorted items in the closed loop, a sorting unit that is disposed along a movement locus of the carrier in the transport unit, and has a storage unit for each sorting section, and the carrier that is based on the sorting information of each sorted item. And a control unit that controls to store the sorted items conveyed in the corresponding storage unit.
The transport unit is configured such that each carrier moves along a closed loop in a horizontal plane.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the sorted materials sequentially supplied from the supply unit are respectively conveyed to the carriers moving along the closed loop in the horizontal plane, and correspond to the sorted materials. It is stored in the storage unit.

[0016]

1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a carrier, and FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of FIG. The sorting device 21 shown here sorts the envelope objects 2 based on the sorting information such as a postal code or a bar code. The sorting device 21
It has a supply unit 23, a transport unit 24, a sorting unit 25 for the envelope 2 and a control unit 26 for controlling them, and is functionally similar to the supply unit 3 and the transport unit 4 of the conventional apparatus described above. Corresponding to the sorting unit 5 and the control unit 6, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and different points in the following description will be described in detail.

First, the supply unit 23 supplies the envelopes 2 placed randomly by the operator with respect to the postal code to the transport unit 24 one by one. The zip code attached to the envelope 2 is read by the reading device 7a one by one to the transport unit 24 by the device 7 one by one.

The transport section 4 is continuously driven by a drive motor M3.
Alternatively, it has a pair of toothed wheels 29 supported on a vertical shaft 28 driven intermittently, and a chain 30 wound around both toothed wheels 29. A plurality of carriers 31 are supported at equal pitches on the chain 30, and as the chain 30 moves, the carriers 31 move in a closed loop formed in a horizontal plane. As shown in FIG. 2, the carrier 31 is formed in a box shape as a whole, and the envelope 2 is
An opening 31a is provided on the side from which the shutter 3 is inserted, and the bottom plate forms a shutter 31b. This shutter 31b
Rollers 3 are provided at the ends perpendicular to the carrier movement direction.
1c, and can be opened and closed by a hinge in the direction of the arrow.

FIG. 3 shows a mechanism for opening and closing the shutter 31b. As the chain 30 moves, the carrier 31 moves in the closed loop.
A guide guide 32 is also installed in a closed loop on the locus of the roller 31c accompanying the movement of. Then, a part is divided (for example, 32a), and a swing arm 33 is installed at the division part 32a. Each of the swing arms 33 includes a rotary solenoid R1 and swings between a horizontal position where the upper surface of the arm is flush with the guide surface of the guide guide 32 and a position above the guide surface at an appropriate timing described later. Is what you do. In addition, the division | segmentation part 32a is provided corresponding to the storage box installation location of the sorting part 25 mentioned later. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 34 denotes a closing cam. In actuality, the closing cam 34 is provided at the supply point 23a of the supply section 23 of FIG.
The shutter 31b is arranged close to the roller 31c of the shutter 31b in an open state as the carrier 31 moves, and pushes up the roller 31c with the moving force of the carrier 31 to close the shutter 31b.

In the sorting section 25, the storage boxes 12 corresponding to a desired number of sorting are installed along the movement locus of the carrier 31 and below the movement locus.

Next, the operation of the sorting device 21 having the above configuration will be described.

First, the bundled envelopes 2 placed on the supply unit 23 by the operator are supplied to the transport unit 24 while being separated one by one by the separation device 7. At this time, the envelope 2
Is read by the reading device 7a. The envelopes 2 supplied from the supply unit 23 are sequentially stored one by one in one carrier 31 just opposite the supply point 23a of the supply unit 23 through the opening 31a. At this time, the shutter 31b of the carrier 31 is closed because the roller 31c is moving while engaging with the guide 32.

The carrier 31 containing the envelope 2 moves in a closed loop in a horizontal plane with the movement of the chain 30, and during this movement, the carrier 31
Pass over the.

The zip code read by the reading device 7a is sent to the control section 26 as sorting information in the same manner as in the prior art, and the zip code of the driving motor M1 of the separating device 7 and the driving motor M3 for driving the vertical shaft 28 are sent. Drive information such as a rotation angle is also input to the control unit 26. From the information, the postal code of the envelope 2 stored for each carrier 31 and the current position of the carrier 31 are determined. Can be grasped. Therefore, while the carrier 31 containing the envelope 2 moves in the closed loop, it is controlled that the carrier 31 has reached a specific position, that is, near the position above the storage box 12 from which the envelope 2 contained therein should be discharged. When recognized by the unit 26, the rotary solenoid R provided corresponding to the storage box 12 is provided.
1 is operated, and the swing arm 33 is lifted upward. For this reason, as the carrier 31 containing the envelope 2 moves, the roller 31c of the carrier 31 is disengaged from the guide 32 and there is no support, so the shutter 31b is opened by its own weight. As a result, the envelope 2 previously stored in the carrier 31 falls,
It is stored in the storage box 12 waiting below. The swinging arm 33 at the upper position is returned to the horizontal position when the envelope 2 stored in the subsequent carrier 31 is not stored in the same storage box 12 as it is now, and the subsequent carrier 31
The upper surface of the swing arm 33 at this horizontal position is
Pass while engaging, so that the carrier 31 passes with the shutter 31b closed. The shutter 31b that has been opened once is closed by the closing cam 34 arranged near the supply point 23a of the supply unit 23 during the subsequent movement of the carrier 31.

By repeating the above operation,
The envelope 2 placed on the supply unit 23 is stored in one of the storage boxes 1.
2 is finally stored and sorted. When a full sensor or the like is provided in each of the boxes 12, or when a full signal or a full notice signal is output from this sensor, an operator or a signal indicating that the full signal or the full notice signal is output is made. In the same manner as in the related art, the storage box 12 is replaced with an empty storage box 12 by operating an automatic exchange device for the storage box 12 based on the above.

According to the present embodiment, each carrier 31 moves in a closed loop formed in a horizontal plane. For this reason, any of the storage boxes 12 in the sorting section 25 can have the same installation height, and the height can be suppressed to a position lower than the floor surface. For this reason, the operability when the operator replaces the storage box 12 is improved, and the installation place can be reduced.

Further, since the carrier 31 moves in a closed loop in a horizontal plane, the discharge of the envelope 2 stored in the carrier 31 to the storage box 12 is not limited to the area of the linear part in the closed loop, but in the area of the curved part. Is also possible. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the sorting operation, the occurrence of the conventional dead space is prevented. In this regard,
Compared with the conventional device, if the number of sorting is the same, it means that the size in the longitudinal direction of the device can be reduced by the amount of no dead space, and conversely, if the installation length is the same, the number of sorting can be increased, This means that more storage boxes can be installed, which means that fine sorting can be performed.

Further, in the conventional sorting device, it is necessary to provide two shutters at the top and bottom of the carrier. However, in this embodiment, it is sufficient to provide one shutter 31b for one carrier 31. The mechanism can be simplified.

In the above-described embodiment, the information read from the envelope is the postal code, but may be barcode information attached to the envelope in advance.

Further, the rotary solenoid R is read using read information such as a postal code and a bar code attached to the envelope.
1 is used to obtain the swing timing of the swing arm 33, but instead of placing the envelope on the supply unit 23, for example, a known envelope creating device, a postal code printing device, or a barcode printing device is used. In the case where a device or the like is provided at the preceding stage, the print information may be used instead of the read information.

In discharging the envelope material conveyed by the carrier 31, the shutter 31b of the carrier 31 is opened.
Each time, a carrier device such as a pusher device is provided.
The take-out device may be operated at a timing when the envelope 1 reaches the position where the internal envelope 2 is to be discharged, and the envelope 2 may be taken out to the outside.

Further, although the description has been made in the form of an envelope as a sort, the present invention can be applied to a book or the like, and can be applied to any sort of sort.

In any case, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and any change in design or the like without departing from the gist of the present invention is included in the present invention.

[0034]

As described above, according to the sorting apparatus of the present invention, the installation height of the storage section installed in the sorting section can be kept low, the dead space can be reduced as much as possible, and the apparatus can be simplified. It can be a mechanism.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a carrier.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the conventional device as viewed from the front.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a conventional device viewed from a plane.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventionally used carrier.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a storage box.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Envelope 7 Separating device 7a Reading device 12 Storage box 21 Sorting device 23 Supply unit 23a Supply point 24 Conveying unit 25 Sorting unit 26 Control unit 28 Vertical axis 29 Toothed wheel 30 Chain 31 Carrier 31a Opening 31b Shutter 32 Guide guide 33 Swing Moving arm 34 closing cam

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] October 3, 1997

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All figures

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

FIG. 2

FIG. 3

FIG. 4

FIG. 5

FIG. 6

FIG. 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A supply unit for sequentially supplying sorted items, and a transport unit having a large number of carriers moving in a closed loop and transporting the sorted items supplied from the supply unit by the carriers in the closed loop. A sorting section arranged along a movement locus of the carrier in the transport section and having a storage section for each sorting section, and the sorted articles transported by the carrier based on the sorting information of each sorted article in the corresponding storage section. A sorting device, comprising: a control unit configured to control storage so that each carrier moves along a closed loop in a horizontal plane.