JP4556979B2 - Sorting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sorting apparatus that determines the quality of a transported article weight and discharges defective products.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed a sorting apparatus that determines whether the weight of a transported article is good (whether it is within a predetermined weight range) and discharges an article determined to be out of the predetermined weight range as a defective product. The sorting apparatus includes a first conveyor that weighs an article while conveying the article, a weight determination unit that determines the quality of the article based on a weight measurement signal from the first conveyor, and a conveyor that conveys the article from the first conveyor. The defective product is discharged based on the weight determination signal of the weight determination means at the predetermined distribution position provided in the second conveyance conveyor for conveying the incoming goods and the conveyance path of the second conveyance conveyor, while the non-defective product is left as it is. Distributing means for passing to the downstream end is provided.

  As the sorting means, an air nozzle is installed beside the second conveyor, and air is supplied to the air nozzle at the timing when the defective product arrives there, so that the defective product is blown off from the conveyor and discharged. At the timing when the non-defective product arrives, a device that allows the non-defective product to pass without air supply is adopted, but depending on the shape and posture of the conveyed product, the defective product cannot be blown off well and is conveyed to the downstream end side. There is a fear.

Therefore, the conventional sorting device outputs an article detection sensor that detects an article passing through the downstream end of the second transport conveyor and a weight determination signal at a timing when the article reaches the downstream end of the second transport conveyor. Timing output means, and when an article is detected at the time of outputting a weight determination signal corresponding to a non-defective product, it is determined that the sorting process has been performed properly, while a weight determination signal corresponding to a defective product is determined. When an article is detected at the time of output, it is determined that there is a mistake in the sorting process, a sorting error signal is output, and a warning is given by a warning means. Further, even when the article is not detected when the weight determination signal corresponding to the non-defective product is output, it is determined that the article is clogged and the sorting error signal is output (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-92482

  However, in the above-described conventional sorting device, it is judged whether or not all articles are properly sorted, for example, whether or not non-defective products are sorted to the non-defective product sorting side, and for this purpose, the article detection signal and the weight judgment signal are used. In combination, a distribution miss signal is generated each time, which is wasteful and hinders high-speed processing.

  Further, in the above-described conventional sorting apparatus, the signal level of the weight determination signal output by the timing output unit is maintained until a weight determination signal for a subsequent article is newly output. Therefore, for example, in the middle of the second conveyor, another article (defective product) is illegally mixed, and even if the product is detected by the product detection sensor, it corresponds to a non-defective product if it is immediately after passing the good product. Since the signal level is maintained, it may be erroneously determined that the sorting process has been properly performed depending on the combination thereof.

  Further, in the above-described conventional sorting apparatus, even if the transported article is caught in the middle, for example, even if it is slightly misaligned in the transport direction, if the signal level of the weight determination signal is within the held range, it is determined as abnormal. It is never detected. Therefore, when the processing apparatus installed on the downstream side requires an appropriate article conveyance interval, it is necessary to separately provide a conveyance interval monitoring device.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention determines whether the conveyed article weight is good or not, and enables a highly safe sorting process while simplifying the control of the judgment process in the sorting apparatus that discharges defective products, An object of the present invention is to provide a sorting apparatus that can monitor illegal mixing of articles, deviations in conveyance intervals, and the like.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sorting apparatus comprising: a first transport conveyor that weighs an article while transporting the article; and a weight determination unit that determines the quality of the article based on a weight measurement signal from the first transport conveyor. A weight from the weight determination means at a predetermined distribution position provided in the middle of the second transport conveyor for transporting the articles transported from the first transport conveyor and the transport path of the second transport conveyor Based on the determination signal, the distribution means for distributing the non-defective product to the non-defective product, the non-defective product determination signal corresponding to the non-defective product among the weight determination signals, Non-defective product timing output means for delay output at the timing of passing through, and passability determination means for determining that the article passage at the carry-out port is not always permitted,
Based on only the non-defective product determination signal from the non-defective product timing output means, the passability determination means stops the determination, starts permission to pass non-defective products, and obtains a value obtained by dividing the article length in the transport direction by the conveyor speed. When the time obtained by multiplying the safety factor greater than 1 and less than 2 has elapsed, the stop of the determination is terminated, and the permission is terminated, so that at all timings other than from the start to the end of the permission, The article is not allowed to pass through.

A sorting apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention is the sorting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an article detection sensor that detects an article passing through a carry-out port on the non-defective article sorting side of the second conveyor.
When the non-defective product passes at a timing other than the start to the end of the permission, the outflow of the article to the downstream process is prevented.

  The distribution device according to claim 3 of the present invention is the distribution device according to claim 2, wherein the article detection sensor is a photoelectric sensor including a projector and a light receiver, and the projector is the second sensor. The light receiving device is provided on the upstream side of the transport conveyor and projects toward the reflector plate provided on the downstream side of the second transport conveyor above the transport article of the second transport conveyor. It is provided on the downstream side of the transport conveyor, and receives reflected light directed downward from the reflector plate below the transport surface of the second transport conveyor.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the distribution device according to the third aspect, the light projection by the light projector is set so as to cross the upper side of the second conveyor in an oblique direction. It is characterized by that.

According to the allocating device according to claim 1 or 2 of the present invention, the following excellent effects are obtained. At the pass timing of non-defective products, the judgment by the pass / fail judgment means is stopped and the article passage is permitted, but at all other times the passage of all articles is not permitted, so the safety is simplified while simplifying the control. High distribution processing can be realized. In particular, the non-defective product obtained by multiplying the stoppage of the determination by the passability determining means by the safety factor greater than 1 and less than 2 by dividing the article length in the transport direction by the conveyor speed from the output start of the non-defective product determination signal is by ending at the time of the lapse of the required time for passing the carry-out port, a timing other than the beginning and the end of the authorization, so it was decided not to allow any article conventionally could not be detected It is possible to reliably detect improper mixing of articles immediately after the transfer of non-defective products and positional deviation in the conveyance direction of articles.

  According to the sorting apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention, in addition to the effects exhibited by the sorting apparatus according to claim 2, the following excellent effects are achieved. When there is an article detection sensor that crosses between the upstream light projector and the downstream reflector above the second conveyor (for example, the article is improperly mixed or removed by care on the second conveyor). Can be detected, so that a more reliable sorting process can be ensured.

  According to the sorting device according to claim 4 of the present invention, in addition to the effect produced by the sorting device according to claim 3, the following excellent effect is achieved. Since the detection area by the article detection sensor is expanded not only in the transport direction of the second transport conveyor but also in the conveyor width direction, it is possible to further increase the detection capability against illegal mixing of articles and the like.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the sorting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing the operation of the sorting apparatus 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating (a) a configuration example of an article detection sensor provided in the sorting apparatus 1 and (b) a modification thereof.

  The sorting apparatus 1 weighs the articles G received from the upstream carrying-in conveyor IN by the first transport conveyor 2 to determine whether the weight of the articles is good or not, and a predetermined sorting position 3a provided in the second transport conveyor 3 Thus, the distribution means 31 distributes the non-defective product and the defective product, and delivers only the non-defective product from the carry-out port 3b to the carry-out conveyor EX in the downstream process.

  The first transport conveyor 2 weighs the article G while transporting the article G, and outputs a weight weighing signal to the weight determination means 22. A carry-in detection sensor 23 for detecting the carry-in of articles to the first carry conveyor 2 is provided at the carry-in entrance 2a of the first carry conveyor 2, and the articles G conveyed at a predetermined interval pass through the carry-in entrance 2a. A carry-in detection signal is output each time (FIG. 2A). A switch 24 is provided between the weighing unit 21 and the weight determination unit 22, and the switch 24 performs sampling after a predetermined time has elapsed since the loading detection by the loading detection sensor 23 (timing when the weight weighing signal is stabilized). By being closed at 25, a weight measurement signal is introduced to the weight determination means 22.

  Based on the weight measurement signal, the weight determination means 22 determines whether or not the weight of each loaded article is within the allowable weight range, and determines whether the weight is “good” or “bad” depending on the result. Is output (FIG. 2B). The weight determination signals are sequentially stored in the data first-in first-out first determination signal memory 26, and are output after a predetermined time T1 has elapsed (the timing when the article G corresponding to each weight determination signal reaches the predetermined sorting position 3a). (FIG. 2C).

  A distribution timing output means 27 is provided as a timer that defines the timing at which the weight determination signal is output from the first determination signal memory 26. The distribution timing output means 27 outputs the carry-in detection signal from the carry-in detection sensor 23 to the first determination signal memory 26 as a timing signal delayed by a predetermined time T1. Note that the weight determination signal output from the first determination signal memory 26 is output to a distribution unit 31, a second determination signal memory 28, and a non-defective product timing output unit 29, which will be described later. The predetermined time T1 is obtained by dividing the distance D1 from the carry-in entrance 2a to the predetermined distribution position 3a by the conveyor speed S.

  The second conveyor 3 conveys the article G conveyed from the first conveyor 2, and the weight determination output from the first determination signal memory 26 at a predetermined distribution position 3a provided in the middle of the conveyance path. Based on the signal, the sorting means 31 sorts the product into a non-defective product and a defective product. The sorting means 31 is provided on the side of the second conveyor 3 and includes an air nozzle 31a that can blow the article G passing through the predetermined sorting position 3a to the outside of the conveyor, and is outside the allowable weight range (defective product). ) Is discharged to the outside of the conveyor by supplying air to the nozzle 31a. On the other hand, the articles determined to be within the allowable weight range (non-defective product) are directly downstream without supplying air to the nozzle 31a. It passes through the carry-out port 3b provided on the side (FIG. 2 (d)).

  The second determination signal memory 28 is a memory that reads out data in the order of writing in the same manner as the first determination signal memory 26, but only the non-defective product determination signal corresponding to the non-defective product among the weight determination signals from the first determination signal memory 26. Are different from the first determination signal memory 26 in that they are sequentially stored and output. The non-defective product timing output unit 29 is a timer that delays the timing signal output from the distribution timing output unit 27 by a predetermined time T2 and outputs the delayed timing signal to the second determination signal memory 28. The first determination signal memory 26 Is output at the timing when the non-defective product reaches the unloading port 3b on the non-defective product distribution side. As a result, the non-defective product determination signal stored in the second determination signal memory 28 is output to the passability determination means 33 at the timing when the corresponding non-defective product reaches the carry-out port 3b (FIG. 2 (e)). The predetermined time T2 is obtained by dividing the distance D2 from the predetermined distribution position 3a to the carry-out port 3b by the conveyor speed S.

  The second conveyor 3 is provided with an article detection sensor 32 for detecting the article passage at the carry-out port 3b, and outputs an article detection signal every time the article passes (FIG. 2 (f)). The article detection sensor 32 is a photoelectric sensor including a projector 32a, a light receiver 32b, and a reflection plate 32c shown in FIGS. 1 and 3A. The projector 32 a is provided at a predetermined distribution position 3 a (upstream side) of the second conveyor 3 and above the second conveyor 3, and the reflector 32 c is an outlet 3 b (downstream) of the second conveyor 3. Side) and above the second conveyor 3. The light beam projected from the projector 32a passes through a height position that is directly above the conveyance path of the article G and slightly above the upper surface of the article G to be conveyed, and travels toward the reflection plate 32c. Therefore, when an article is mixed into the conveyance path or an article is extracted from the conveyance path, the article or hand is surely obstructed. The reflecting plate 32c reflects the light beam from the projector 32a downward.

  The light receiver 32b is provided at the carry-out port 3b of the second transport conveyor 3, and receives reflected light directed downward by the reflecting plate 32c below the transport surface of the second transport conveyor 3. As described above, the article detection sensor 32 detects the passage of the article at the carry-out port 3b by blocking the light beam between the light receiver 32b provided at the carry-out port 3b and the reflection plate 3c, and the above-described projector 32a. By blocking the light beam between the reflecting plate 32c and the reflecting plate 32c, it is possible to detect the maintenance of the second conveying conveyor 3 with respect to the article conveying path, the mixing and extraction of articles, and the like.

  The passability determination means 33 determines that the article passage to the non-defective product distribution side is not always permitted. However, the determination is stopped at the output timing of the non-defective product determination signal by the non-defective product timing output means 29, and other than the output timing of the good product determination signal The above determination is made only at the timing (FIG. 2 (e ′)). That is, the passability determination means 33 stops the determination at a timing when the non-defective product passes through the carry-out port 3b (non-defective product pass timing), permits all the articles to pass, and a timing when the non-defective articles other than the above are not scheduled. It is determined that no item is allowed to pass through.

  Since the pass / fail judgment unit 33 makes a determination at a timing other than the non-defective product passing timing, for example, as shown by * 1 in FIG. 2F, when the article detection sensor 32 detects the article at such timing. In addition, a signal is output to the warning means 34. Based on the signal, the warning means 34 issues a warning to the operator as a screen display or a warning sound on the monitor (FIG. 2 (g)), stops the article conveyance by the sorting device 1, and prevents the downstream process. Prevent outflow of non-defective products.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 2 (f), each article G is moved through the outlet 3b (article detection sensor 32) for a very short time T3 (= L / S [L: total length in the conveyance direction of the article G, S : Conveyor speed]). On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, the weight determination signal output from the weight determination unit 22 is conveyed with a signal level of “good” or “bad” at predetermined intervals. This is held until the output of the weight determination signal of the subsequent article is started. For example the weight determination signal of the article G _1, the signal level is held over a time T4 until the output start of the subsequent article G ₂ weight determination signal from the output start, the retention time corresponding longer than the above time T3 .

Here, as a non-defective determination signal articles G ₁ outputted from the second signal decision memory 28, as indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 2 (e), the weight determination signal from the weight determination unit 22 (output time T4) If directly output, even after the article G ₁ is sensed through the outlet port 3b, continues the stop of the determination by the passing determination means 33, during its stop determination is incorrect incorporation article (FIG. 2 (f) * 2 is allowed to pass. In the present embodiment, in order to prevent such a situation, the output time of the weight determination signal from the weight determination means 22 (for example, T4) as shown in FIG. Regardless of the output time, the output time is limited so that the output ends when the predetermined time T5 elapses.

  In this predetermined time T5, a time obtained by multiplying the article passage time T3 by a safety factor R (> 1) is set as a required time for the article to pass through the carry-out port 3b. Compared to the output time of the weight determination signal determined according to the interval or the like, it is greatly shortened. That is, since the determination by the passability determination means 33 is resumed immediately after passing the non-defective product, the illegally mixed articles as indicated by * 2 are also subject to the passability determination. The safety coefficient R is a coefficient for preventing the inconvenience that the conveyance posture of the article G is inclined and the detected article length by the article detection sensor 32 is increased and the passage is not permitted, but a value smaller than “2” (for example, 1 .1 to 1.2), even if there is an illegally mixed article (indicated by * 3 in FIG. 2 (f)) at a position very close to the preceding non-defective product, it must be judged whether or not it can be passed. It becomes the object of.

(Operation of the sorting apparatus according to the above embodiment)
Article _G 1 _~G 4 to the distribution device 1 according to the embodiment _(G 1 _{G 4: good, G} 2 G _3: defective) illustrating the operation of the case where are sequentially carried below.

First, when the articles G _{1 to} G ₄ are carried into the first transport conveyor 2 from the upstream process, the articles G _{1 to} G ₄ are moved to the respective articles G _{1 to} G ₄ by the carry-in detection sensor 23 as shown in FIG. Corresponding carry-in detection signals are sequentially output. Further, based on the weight measurement signal from the weighing unit 21, the weight according to the “good” and “bad” weights of the articles G _{1 to} G ₄ as shown in FIG. Determination signals are sequentially output and stored in the first determination signal memory 26.

As shown in FIG. 2C, the weight determination signals of the articles G _{1 to} G ₄ stored in the first determination signal memory 26 are determined by the timing signal from the distribution timing output means 27 only for a predetermined time T1. The output is delayed and output to the second determination signal memory 28, the non-defective product timing output means 29 and the distribution means 31. According to the weight determination signal from the first determination signal memory 26, the distribution means 31 is as shown in FIG. 2D at the timing when the defective products G ₂ and G ₃ reach the predetermined distribution position 3a. Air is supplied to discharge the defective products G ₂ and G ₃ to the outside of the conveyor.

The second determination signal memory 28 stores only the non-defective product determination signals corresponding to the non-defective products G ₁ and G ₄ among the weight determination signals output from the first determination signal memory 26, and the timing signal from the non-defective product timing output unit 29 is stored. Output in response. The output of the non-defective product determination signal is delayed by a predetermined time T2, as shown in FIG. 2 (e), and is started in accordance with the timing when the non-defective products G ₁ and G ₄ reach the carry-out port 3b. The process ends when time T5 has elapsed. During this time, the article detection sensor 32 detects an article passing through the carry-out port 3b, and outputs an article detection signal as shown in FIG.

Since the pass / fail determination unit 33 stops the determination until the predetermined time T5 elapses from the timing when the non-defective products G ₁ and G ₄ reach the carry-out port 3b, the non-defective products G ₁ and G ₄ are permitted to pass. Of course, even if the article detection signal is output from the article detection sensor 32 within the predetermined time T5, no warning is given. On the other hand, at a timing other than the above timing, it is always determined that article passage is not permitted, and when an article detection signal is output as shown by * 1 in FIG. As shown, a warning is given by the warning means 34, and the article conveyance by the sorting apparatus 1 is stopped.

By the way, the passability determination means 33 performs only the determination that the article passage is not permitted at a timing other than the non-defective product passage timing, so that the non-defective products G ₁ and G ₄ are misaligned in the transport direction or illegal during the transport. Even if it is extracted, the warning and the conveyance stop for the absence of the article passing (output of the article detection signal) itself are not performed at the non-defective article passing timing. However, when the position is shifted in the transport direction, the article passes through the carry-out port 3b at a timing other than the output timing of the non-defective product determination signal, that is, at the timing when the determination by the passability determination means 33 is performed. At that time, a warning signal is output.

  Further, when an article is illegally extracted in the middle of conveyance, since the light passing through the article is blocked by an unauthorized person, a warning or conveyance stop is performed at that time. As a result, it is possible to reliably detect misalignment of articles and improper care (sampling), and to give a warning or the like. Although it is conceivable that the article is extracted at the determination stop timing based on the non-defective product determination signal for the non-defective product that is transported in advance, it is difficult to perform unauthorized sampling within the extremely short determination stop time T5. It is considered that the suspension cannot be avoided.

(Characteristics of the sorting apparatus 1 according to the embodiment)
First, the sorting apparatus 1 includes a first conveyor 2 that weighs an article G while conveying the article G, and a weight determination unit 22 that determines whether the article weight is good or not based on a weight measurement signal from the first conveyor 2. On the basis of the weight determination signal, the second transfer conveyor 3 for transferring the article G transferred from the first transfer conveyor 2 and the predetermined sorting position 3a provided in the transfer path of the second transfer conveyor 3 A non-defective product distribution means 31, a non-defective product timing output means 29 for outputting a non-defective product determination signal at a timing at which the non-defective product corresponding to the non-defective product passes through the non-defective product distribution side (unloading port 3 b) of the second conveyor 3 An article detection sensor 32 for detecting an article passing through the sorting side, and a passability determining means 33 for determining whether or not the article on the non-defective sorting side is allowed to pass. Is stopped at the time when the time T5 based on the article length in the conveying direction has elapsed from the start of the output of the non-defective product determination signal by the non-defective product timing output means 29, so that the non-defective product passes only at the original timing. At other timings, the passage of all articles is not permitted.

  As described above, in the sorting apparatus 1, the passability determination unit 33 stops the determination at the output timing of the non-defective product determination signal, permits the passage of the article, and performs the determination at a timing other than the above. When the mixed article has been transported to the non-defective product side or when the non-defective product has been transported at a timing different from the original, passage is not permitted. Therefore, it is possible to realize a highly safe distribution while simplifying the control. In particular, the output of the non-defective product determination signal is terminated when the time T5 based on the length of the product in the transport direction has elapsed from the start of output regardless of the transport interval between the product corresponding to the non-defective product determination signal and the subsequent product. In addition, since the output time is limited, it is possible to reliably detect improper mixing of articles and deviations in conveyance intervals that could not be detected in the past.

  Secondly, the sorting apparatus 1 includes an article detection sensor 32 that detects an article passing through the non-defective product sorting side of the second conveyor 3, and when the non-defective product passes at a timing different from the original, the sorting device 1 The article conveyance by 1 is stopped, and the article outflow to the downstream process is prevented.

  Third, the sorting apparatus 1 is a photoelectric sensor in which the article detection sensor 32 includes a projector 32 a, a light receiver 32 b, and a reflector 32 c, and the projector 32 a is provided on the upstream side of the second conveyor 3. The light is projected toward the reflecting plate 32c provided on the downstream side of the second transport conveyor 3 above the transported article on the second transport conveyor 3, and the light receiver 32b is provided on the downstream side of the second transport conveyor 3. In addition, below the transport surface of the second transport conveyor 3, it has a feature of receiving reflected light directed downward from the reflecting plate 32c.

  Since it is as described above, for example, the illegal detection of the article by the maintenance of the article conveyance path and the illegal sampling, the signal output by the article detection sensor 32 is performed in the same manner as the article passing through the carry-out port 3b. High distribution is realized.

  In the above embodiment, the article detection sensor 32 detects the passage of the conveyed article at the carry-out port 3b. However, it may be provided in the middle of the conveyance path as long as it is on the non-defective item distribution side. In the above-described embodiment, defective products are discharged out of the conveyor, and non-defective products are conveyed as they are on the conveyor. However, non-defective products may be further divided into a plurality of conveyors. In the above embodiment, the non-defective product timing output unit 29 controls the operation of the pass / fail determination unit 33 as a timer for defining the signal output timing from the second determination signal memory 28. The operation of the pass / fail determination unit 33 may be directly controlled.

  In the above embodiment, the light beam projected from the projector 32a is set in the same direction as the conveyance direction of the article G. However, if it is finally directed to the reflection plate 32c of the carry-out port 3b, the second conveyance conveyor 3 May be crossed diagonally. For example, by shifting the installation positions of the projector 32a and the reflecting plate 32c in the width direction of the second transport conveyor 3, unauthorized mixing and unauthorized sampling of articles due to care can be performed not only in the transport direction of the conveyor but also in the width direction. As a result, it is possible to enhance the detection capability against unauthorized entry of articles. Further, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), by adding one or more intermediate reflectors to the side of the second conveyor 3, the light beam is reciprocated in the conveyor width direction, and in a wider range. You may make it improve the detection capability with respect to the unauthorized mixing of articles | goods etc. further.

  In addition, the distribution device of the present invention is not limited to the configuration and structure of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the distribution apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. The timing chart showing the action | operation of the distribution apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. (A) The structure of the article | item detection sensor with which a distribution apparatus is equipped, (b) The figure which shows the modification.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sorting apparatus 2 1st conveyance conveyor 2a Carry-in port 3 2nd conveyance conveyor 3a Predetermined sorting position 3b Carry-out port 21 Weighing part 22 Weight determination means 23 Carry-in detection sensor 24 Switch 25 Sampling means 26 First determination signal memory 27 Distribution Timing output means 28 Second determination signal memory 29 Non-defective product timing output means 31 Sorting means 31a Air nozzle 32a Floodlight (article detection sensor)
32b Light receiver (article detection sensor)
32a Reflector (article detection sensor)
33 Passability determination means 34 Warning means IN Carry-on conveyor EX Carry-out conveyor G Article

Claims (4)

A first conveyor that weighs while conveying the article;
Based on the weight measurement signal from the first conveyor, weight determination means for determining the quality of the article weight,
A second transport conveyor for transporting articles transported from the first transport conveyor;
In the transport path of the second transport conveyor, at a predetermined sorting position provided in the middle, based on a weight determination signal from the weight determination unit, a sorting unit that sorts non-defective products and defective products;
A non-defective product timing output means for delaying and outputting a non-defective product determination signal corresponding to a non-defective product among the weight determination signals at a timing at which the non-defective product passes through a carry-out port on the non-defective product distribution side of the second conveyor.
Passability determination means for determining that the article passage at the carry-out port is not always permitted, and
Based on only the non-defective product determination signal from the non-defective product timing output means, the passability determination means stops the determination, starts permission to pass non-defective products, and obtains a value obtained by dividing the article length in the transport direction by the conveyor speed. When the time obtained by multiplying a safety factor greater than 1 and less than 2 has elapsed, the stop of the determination is terminated, and the permission is terminated, so that at all timings other than from the start to the end of the permission, A sorting apparatus that does not allow passage of articles. The sorting apparatus according to claim 1,
An article detection sensor for detecting an article passing through a carry-out port on the non-defective product distribution side of the second conveyor,
A sorting apparatus characterized in that, when a non-defective product passes at a timing other than the start to end of the permission, an article outflow to a downstream process is prevented. The sorting apparatus according to claim 2,
The article detection sensor is a photoelectric sensor comprising a projector and a light receiver,
The light projector is provided on the upstream side of the second transport conveyor, and projects light toward the reflecting plate provided on the downstream side of the second transport conveyor above the transport article of the second transport conveyor,
The light receiving device is provided on the downstream side of the second transport conveyor, and receives the reflected light directed downward from the reflecting plate below the transport surface of the second transport conveyor. . The distribution device according to claim 3,
The light distribution by the light projector is set so as to cross the upper side of the second conveyor in an oblique direction.

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