JP4883041B2 - Article measuring method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article measuring method and apparatus for measuring the external dimensions and the like of an article.

An example of a sorting facility provided with a conventional article detector (article measuring device) is disclosed in Patent Document 1.
The sorting equipment disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an equipment that introduces articles to a sorting conveyor at a predetermined interval by an introduction conveyor, and sorts the articles on a predetermined branch chute while conveying the articles by the sorting conveyor. The articles on the slats are conveyed by the movement of a plurality of slats provided along the conveyor frame, and the articles are pressed from the slats by a predetermined movement from the slats by moving the moving shoes provided on the slats in the longitudinal direction of the slats. Sort on the branch chute.

  The article detector is arranged on the introduction conveyor and is conveyed on the introduction conveyor by first to third sensors PH1, PH2, PH3 each composed of a transmission type phototube having a light emitting part and a light receiving part. The width W and the length L of the article being detected are detected.

  In 1st sensor PH1, the light emission part and the light-receiving part are arrange | positioned facing along the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of articles | goods, and have the detection direction orthogonal to a moving direction. That is, the light emitted from the light emitting unit crosses the upper side of the belt conveyor in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction and enters the opposing light receiving unit.

  In the second sensor PH2, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are arranged to face each other along a direction intersecting the optical path K1 of the first sensor PH1 with a predetermined angle α1, and the optical path K1 has a predetermined angle. It has a detection direction that intersects with α1. That is, the light emitted from the light emitting unit crosses the upper side of the belt conveyor in a direction intersecting with the optical path K1 at a predetermined angle α1, and enters the opposing light receiving unit.

  Further, in the third sensor PH3, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are opposed to each other along a direction intersecting the optical path K1 with a predetermined angle α1 and intersecting the optical path K2 of the second sensor PH2 with a predetermined angle α2. And has a detection direction that intersects the optical path K1 with a predetermined angle α1 and intersects the optical path K2 with a predetermined angle α2. In other words, the light emitted from the light emitting section crosses the optical path K1 above the belt conveyor at a predetermined angle α1 and crosses the optical path K2 at a predetermined angle α2 and enters the opposing light receiving section. .

  The length L of the article and the length of the article are calculated by an arithmetic expression based on the time during which the sensors PH1, PH2 and PH3 arranged in this way are shielded by the article being conveyed by the introduction conveyor and the conveyance speed of the article by the belt conveyor. The width W is obtained (the calculation formula is omitted).

Based on the length L and the width W of the articles detected as described above, the introduction conveyor is operated or stopped, and the interval of the articles introduced into the sorting conveyor is determined according to the aspect ratio W / L of each article. Adjusted to the required interval for each article. That is, an article having a small length in the moving direction of the article (article turning overhang amount) that protrudes backward when the article is tilted when branched to the branch chute when the value of the aspect ratio W / L is smaller than 1.0. Adjusts the interval of each article so that the interval with the subsequent article is narrowed, and the value of the aspect ratio W / L is close to 1.0, and the article with a larger amount of article turning overhang increases the distance between the subsequent articles. Thus, the interval between the articles is adjusted.
JP-A-8-198440

  In the sorting conveyor, when an article falls down when the article is pressed and sorted from the slat onto a predetermined branch chute by the movement of the moving shoe, the article is sorted only by the moving shoe assigned to the movement of the article. There was a risk that the product could not be carried out, or the article fell on the conveyor frame of the sorting conveyor, caught and could not be branched to the branch chute.

  Whether or not the article is pushed by the moving shoe and falls down can be determined by the ratio of the width W of the article and the height H of the article perpendicular to the moving direction of the article. However, the conventional article detector cannot detect the height H of the article.

  Further, the conventional article detector requires first to third sensors PH1, PH2, and PH3 each composed of three transmission type phototubes for detecting the length L and the width W of the article. Therefore, it has been desired to reduce the number of sensors.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an article measuring method and apparatus capable of detecting the article height in addition to the article length L and the article width W with a small number of sensors.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the invention described in claim 1 of the present invention is an article measuring method for an article moving along a certain conveyance path,
A line provided horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the article is measured to determine an article length L that is the length of the article in the moving direction by measuring the amount of movement of the article while the article is passing, A direction perpendicular to the direction of movement is a line that is inclined at a first predetermined angle α and horizontally provided, and the amount of movement M of the article while the article is passing is measured, and the first predetermined angle α is defined as the article. Is set to an angle θ that is inclined when branching into a branch path that is provided on the side of the transport path, and is inclined obliquely from a direction perpendicular to the transport surface of the article in the transport path along the moving direction. 2 The movement amount Q of the article while the article is passing is measured along a line inclined at a predetermined angle β, and the movement direction of the article is determined by the measured movement amount M of the article and the obtained article length L. The article width W, which is the length in the right-angle direction, is calculated by the equation W = (ML) ÷ tan α.
Based on the measured movement amount Q of the article and the obtained article length L, the article height H, which is the length in the vertical direction of the article, is calculated by the equation H = (Q−L) ÷ tan β.
An article having a length in the direction of movement of the article that protrudes rearward by tilting when the article is branched into the branch path, based on the measured movement amount M of the article and the obtained article length L. Rotation overhang amount Z
Z = M × cos θ−L
It is characterized by calculating | requiring by .

According to the above method, in addition to the article length L and the article width W, the article height H is obtained by measuring the amount of movement of the article while the article passes through the three lines. Further, by measuring the article length L and the movement amount M of the article, the article turning overhang amount Z can be obtained without calculating and obtaining the article width W. Therefore, it is possible to measure the article length L, the article width W , the article height H, and the article turning overhang amount Z with a small number of sensors.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein when the ratio of the article height H to the article width W is less than 1.3, the article is in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction. It is characterized by determining that there is no possibility of falling even if pressed.

According to the above method, when the article height H is less than 1.3 times the article width W, it is determined that there is no possibility of the article falling even if it is pressed sideways .

The invention according to claim 3 is an article measuring apparatus for an article that is moving along a certain conveyance path,
A first optical sensor in which an optical axis is disposed horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the article, and a second optical sensor in which the optical axis is disposed horizontally by inclining a first predetermined angle α with respect to the direction perpendicular to the moving direction. And a third optical sensor in which an optical axis is inclined at a second predetermined angle β obliquely from a direction perpendicular to the conveyance surface of the article in the conveyance path along the movement direction, and the second light The first predetermined angle α of the sensor is set to an angle θ that is inclined when the article is branched into a branch path provided on the side of the transport path, and the optical axis of the first optical sensor is moving. The amount of movement of the article while being shielded by the article is measured to obtain the article length L which is the length of the article in the moving direction, and the optical axis of the second optical sensor is shielded by the moving article. The movement amount M of the article while being measured is measured, and the optical axis of the third optical sensor is determined by the moving article. The movement amount Q of the article while being shielded from light is measured, and the article width W, which is a length perpendicular to the movement direction of the article, is determined by the measured movement amount M of the article and the obtained article length L. Formula W = (ML) ÷ tanα
Based on the measured movement amount Q of the article and the obtained article length L, the article height H, which is the length in the vertical direction of the article, is calculated by the equation H = (Q−L) ÷ tan β.
An article having a length in the direction of movement of the article that protrudes rearward by tilting when the article is branched into the branch path, based on the measured movement amount M of the article and the obtained article length L. Rotation overhang amount Z
Z = M × cos θ−L
It is characterized by including a detection device obtained by the following.

According to the above configuration, in addition to the article length L and the article width W, the article height H is obtained by measuring the movement amount of the article while the article passes through the three optical axes of the optical sensor. Further, by measuring the article length L and the movement amount M of the article, the article turning overhang amount Z can be obtained without calculating and obtaining the article width W. Accordingly, the article length L, the article width W , the article height H, and the article turning overhang amount Z can be measured with three optical sensors , and the cost can be reduced.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 3 , wherein the detection device is configured such that when the ratio of the article height H to the article width W is less than 1.3, the article moves in the moving direction. It is characterized in that it is determined that there is no possibility of falling even if pressed in a direction perpendicular to the direction.

According to the above configuration, when the article height H is less than 1.3 times the article width W, it is determined that there is no possibility of the article falling even if the article is pressed sideways .

The article measuring method and apparatus for an article of the present invention are arranged by arranging three lines or three optical axes in the conveyance path, and measuring the amount of movement of the article while the article passes through the one line or the optical axis. In addition to the article length L and the article width W, the article height H and the article turning overhang amount Z can be measured, and the cost can be reduced.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an article measuring apparatus that implements an article measuring method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The appearance of an article 13 moving along a certain conveyance path 12 formed by a belt conveyor apparatus 11 is shown. Dimensions and the like (details will be described later) are measured.

The belt conveyor device 11 is separated into an upstream belt conveyor device 11A and a downstream belt conveyor device 11B so that an optical axis 24a of a third optical sensor 24 ( to be described later) passes through the conveying surface 14, and each belt conveyor device. 11A and 11B are both formed by stretching an endless belt 17 between the driven pulley 15 and the driving pulley 16, and a driving motor 18 is connected to the rotation shaft of each driving pulley 16, and the driving force of each driving motor 18 is used. Each of the belt conveyor apparatuses 11A and 11B is operated at the same speed (corresponding to the conveyance speed of the article 13). A pulse encoder 19 is connected to the drive motor 18 of the upstream belt conveyor device 11A.

  The article measuring device 21 of the present invention includes three optical sensors 22, 23, 24 disposed at the downstream end of the upstream belt conveyor device 11A, detection signals from these optical sensors 22, 23, 24, and a pulse encoder. By the 19 pulse output signals, the article length of the article 13 (length in the moving direction 20 of the article 13) L, the article width (length in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction 20 of the article 13) W, and the article height (article 13). ) In the vertical direction) and a detection device 25 comprising a computer for obtaining an article turning overhang amount Z by calculation.

The first optical sensor 22 is a transmissive photoelectric switch, and an optical axis (an example of a line for obtaining the article length L) 22 a is disposed horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction 20 of the article 13.
The second optical sensor 23 is a transmissive photoelectric switch, and an optical axis (an example of a line for obtaining the movement amount M) 23a is disposed horizontally at a first predetermined angle α with respect to the direction perpendicular to the moving direction 20. ing.

  The third optical sensor 24 is a transmissive photoelectric switch, and the optical axis (an example of a line for obtaining the movement amount Q) 24a is inclined by a second predetermined angle β obliquely from the vertical direction along the movement direction 20. It arrange | positions and this optical axis 24a is arrange | positioned so that the clearance gap between 11 A of upstream belt conveyor apparatuses and the downstream belt conveyor apparatus 11B may pass.

The detection device 25 obtains the article length L, the article width W, and the article height H of the article 13 as follows.
The pulse count value C1 is obtained by counting the number of pulses of the pulse encoder 19 input while the optical axis 22a of the first optical sensor 22 is shielded by the moving article 13, and the second optical sensor 23 A pulse count value C2 is obtained by counting the number of pulses of the pulse encoder 19 input while the optical axis 23a is shielded from light by the moving article 13, and the optical axis 24a of the third optical sensor 24 is moved. The pulse count value C3 is obtained by counting the number of pulses of the pulse encoder 19 that are input while the product is shielded from light.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the article length L is equal to the pulse count value C1 detected at a time when the optical axis 22a of the first optical sensor 22 is shielded by the moving article 13, and is endless per pulse. Since it is obtained by multiplying the movement amount S of the belt 17, that is, obtained from the movement amount of the article 13 while the article 13 is passing, the article length L is obtained by the equation (1).

L = C1 × S (1)
Also obtained by multiplying the pulse count value C2 detected during the time when the optical axis 23a of the second optical sensor 23 is shielded by the moving article 13 by the movement amount S of the endless belt 17 per pulse. The length M, that is, the amount of movement M of the article 13 while the article 13 is passing is
M = C2 × S
Is required. As shown in FIG.
M = L + W × tan α
Is represented by
W = (ML) ÷ tan α
It is expressed. Therefore, the article width W is obtained by the equation (2).

W = (C2 × S−L) ÷ tan α (2)
Also obtained by multiplying the pulse count value C3 detected during the time when the optical axis 24a of the third optical sensor 24 is shielded by the moving article 13 by the movement amount S of the endless belt 17 per pulse. The length Q to be obtained, that is, the movement amount Q of the article 13 while the article 13 is passing,
Q = C3 × S
Is required. As shown in FIG.
Q = L + H × tan β
Is represented by
H = (Q−L) ÷ tan β
Therefore, the article height H is obtained by the equation (3).

H = (C3 × S−L) ÷ tan β (3)
Thus, in the detection device 25, the article length L, the article width W, and the article height H of the article 13 are obtained.

Further, the obtained information on the article length L, the article width W, and the article height H of the article 13 is used, for example, in the sorting facility for the article 13 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the sorting apparatus for the articles 13 loads articles 13 from the belt conveyor device 11 into a large number of slats 32 provided along the conveyor frame 31, and the articles 13 on the slats 32 are moved by the movement of the slats 32. The articles 13 are pressed from the side by the movement of the moving shoes 33 provided on the slats 32 in the longitudinal direction of the slats 32, and sorted from the slats 32 onto a predetermined branch chute (an example of a branch path) 34. . In FIG. 5, reference numeral 35 denotes a branch guide rail that guides the moving shoe 33 toward the branch chute 34.

  In such a sorting facility, when the article 13 is branched to the branch chute 34, the article turning overhang amount Z {FIG. 6 (b)}, which is the length of the article 13 in the moving direction, protrudes backward when the article 13 tilts. It becomes a problem.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the article D1 is placed on the slats 32 having the numbers “8” to “13” of the moving shoe 33, and the slats 32 having the number “14” of the moving shoe 33 are opened. Assume that the article D2 is placed on the slats 32 of the numbers “15” to “19”, the upstream article D2 is branched first, and the article D1 is branched downstream. Under this assumption, there is no problem if the numbers “15” to “19” of the moving shoe 33 are accurately guided to the branch guide rail 35 and moved to branch the article D2, but the number “14” of the moving shoe 33 does not occur. Has moved for branching, the next time the article D1 is branched by the numbers “8” to “13” of the moving shoe 33, the rear part of the article D1 protrudes rearward. Contact with the number “14” may change the posture of the article D1 and cause a problem such as contact with the side surface of the branch chute 34. Therefore, it is necessary to throw the article 13 into the slat 32 in consideration of the article turning overhang amount Z instead of simply vacating one slat 32.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the article turning overhang amount Z is such that when the article 13 is branched to a branch chute 34 provided on the side of the conveyance path, the movable shoe 33 is guided to the branch guide rail 35, It is obtained by subtracting the article length L from the length Y in the moving direction when the article 13 is conveyed while being tilted.

Z = Y-L
When the first predetermined angle α of the second optical sensor 23 is set to an angle θ (set angle of the branch guide rail 35) that is inclined when the articles 13 are sorted, as shown in FIG.
M = L + W × tan θ
= (L × cos θ + W × sin θ) ÷ cos θ
And
L × cos θ + W × sin θ = M × cos θ (4)
It is expressed. The length Y in the moving direction at the time of branching is as shown in FIG.
Y = L × cos θ + W × sin θ
It is expressed. Therefore, according to equation (4):
Y = M × cos θ (5)
It is expressed. The article turning overhang amount Z is as described above,
Z = Y-L
Therefore, Z = M × cos θ−L according to equation (5)
It is expressed. M = C2 × S
Because it is required in
Z = C2 × S × cos θ−L
It is expressed. Therefore, when the article length L and the pulse count value C2 are obtained, the article turning overhang amount Z is obtained without obtaining the article width W.

Accordingly, the article 13 is loaded from the belt conveyor device 11 in consideration of the front-rear spacing of the article 13 based on the article turning overhang amount Z.
When the article length L, the article width W, and the article height H of the article 13 are obtained, the article 13 is pressed when the article 13 is pressed by the movement of the moving shoe 33 in the slat longitudinal direction in the sorting equipment. Is checking for the possibility of falling. The ratio of the article height H to the article width W is less than 1.3, that is,
H / W <1.3
Is satisfied, and if satisfied, it is determined that the articles 13 can be sorted in the sorting facility. Although the numerical value “1.3” is a guideline, it is set based on whether or not it is difficult to collapse based on the average weight of the article 13, the pressing force of the moving shoe 33, and the average degree of sliding of the article 13 in the slat 32. The ratio of the article height H to the article width W is 1.3 or more, that is, H / W ≧ 1.3.
At this time, it is determined that the article 13 falls down during sorting, an alarm is issued, for example, a signal lamp is turned on to notify the operator, and the operator removes the article 13 from the belt conveyor device 11 and sorts the equipment. I am trying not to throw it in. When the article 13 falls down, it may come into contact with the conveyor frame 31 or with another article 13 and may not be sorted. If the posture can be changed by tilting the article 13 in advance, the work of tilting by the belt conveyor device 11 may be executed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by measuring the number of pulses of the pulse encoder 19 while the article 13 passes through the three optical axes 22a, 23a, and 24a, in addition to the article length L and the article width W, Thus, the article height H can be obtained, and therefore, the article length L, the article width W, and the article height H can be measured with a small number of the three optical sensors 22, 23, 24, thereby reducing the cost. be able to.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when the article height H is less than 1.3 times the article width W, it is determined that the article 13 is not likely to fall down even if it is pressed sideways. The fear that the article 13 cannot be sorted due to the fall of the article 13 can be solved.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the first predetermined angle α of the second optical sensor 23 is set to the angle θ that is inclined when the articles 13 are sorted, so that the article width W can be calculated and obtained easily. The article turning overhang amount Z can be obtained, and by taking into account the article turning overhang amount Z, the article 13 is spaced apart in the front-rear direction, thereby avoiding the possibility of the article 13 being pinched by the moving shoe 33 during branching.

  In the present embodiment, the number of pulses of the pulse encoder 19 is counted to measure the amount of movement of the article 13, but the time during which the optical axis is blocked by the article 13 is measured, The amount of movement of the article 13 may be obtained by multiplying the amount of movement of the endless belt 17 per unit time, and the L, M, Q, and Z of the article 13 may be obtained.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, although the conveyance path | route is formed with the belt conveyor apparatus 11, what is necessary is just a means which can convey the articles | goods 13 without a posture changing.

It is a block diagram of the article | item measuring apparatus in embodiment of this invention, (a) is a side view, (b) is a top view, (c) is a control block diagram. It is a measurement principle figure of the article length in the article measuring device. It is a measurement principle figure of the article width in the article measuring device. It is a measurement principle figure of the article height in the article measuring device. It is a block diagram of the sorting equipment in which the amount of article turning overhangs measured in the article measuring apparatus is used. It is a measurement principle figure of the amount turning overhang of the goods in the goods measuring device.

Explanation of symbols

L Article length W Article width H Article height S Movement amount of belt per pulse Z Article turning overhang amount α First predetermined angle of optical axis of second optical sensor β Second predetermined angle of optical axis of third optical sensor DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Belt conveyor apparatus 12 Conveyance path 13 Article 19 Pulse encoder 20 Movement direction of article 21 Article measuring apparatus 22 First optical sensor 22a Optical axis 23 Second optical sensor 23a Optical axis 24 Third optical sensor 24a Optical axis 25 Detection apparatus 31 Conveyor Frame 32 Slat 33 Moving shoe 34 Branch chute 35 Branch guide rail

Claims (4)

An article measuring method for an article moving along a certain conveyance path,
A line provided horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the article, the amount of movement of the article while the article is passing is measured, and an article length L that is the length of the article in the moving direction is obtained.
The direction perpendicular to the moving direction is a line that is horizontally inclined with a first predetermined angle α, and the amount of movement M of the article while the article is passing is measured.
The first predetermined angle α is set to an angle θ that is inclined when the article is branched into a branch path provided on a side of the conveyance path,
Along the movement direction, the amount Q of movement of the article while the article is passing along a line inclined at a second predetermined angle β obliquely from a direction perpendicular to the article conveyance surface of the conveyance path is measured. And
Based on the measured movement amount M of the article and the obtained article length L, an article width W, which is a length perpendicular to the movement direction of the article, is calculated by the equation W = (ML) ÷ tan α.
Sought by
Based on the measured movement amount Q of the article and the obtained article length L, an article height H which is the length in the vertical direction of the article is calculated as H = (Q−L) ÷ tan β.
Sought by
Based on the measured movement amount M of the article and the obtained article length L, the article turning overhang amount, which is the length in the movement direction of the article, protrudes backward when the article is tilted when it is branched into the branch path. Z is an arithmetic expression,
Z = M × cos θ−L
Object measuring method <br/> and finding by. 2. The article according to claim 1, wherein when the ratio of the article height H to the article width W is less than 1.3, the article is determined not to fall down even if pressed in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction. The article measuring method described. An article measuring device for an article moving along a certain conveyance path,
A first optical sensor having an optical axis disposed horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the article;
A second optical sensor in which an optical axis is horizontally arranged at a first predetermined angle α with respect to a direction perpendicular to the moving direction;
A third optical sensor having an optical axis inclined at a second predetermined angle β obliquely from a direction perpendicular to the conveyance surface of the article in the conveyance path along the movement direction;
With
The first predetermined angle α of the second photosensor is set to an angle θ that is inclined when the article is branched into a branch path provided on the side of the transport path,
By measuring the amount of movement of the article while the optical axis of the first optical sensor is shielded by the moving article, the article length L which is the length in the movement direction of the article is obtained, and the second optical sensor The movement amount M of the article while the optical axis of the third light sensor is shielded by the moving article is measured, and the article of the article while the optical axis of the third optical sensor is shielded by the moving article is measured. Measure the movement amount Q,
Based on the measured movement amount M of the article and the obtained article length L, an article width W, which is a length perpendicular to the movement direction of the article, is calculated using an arithmetic expression.
W = (ML) ÷ tan α
Sought by
  Based on the measured movement amount Q of the article and the obtained article length L, an article height H which is the length of the article in the vertical direction is calculated by
H = (Q−L) ÷ tan β
Sought by
Based on the measured movement amount M of the article and the obtained article length L, the article turning overhang amount, which is the length in the movement direction of the article, protrudes backward when the article is tilted when it is branched into the branch path. Z is an arithmetic expression,
Z = M × cos θ−L
Equipped with the detection device required by
An article measuring apparatus characterized by the above. When the ratio of the article height H to the article width W is less than 1.3, the detection device determines that there is no possibility of the article falling even if the article is pressed in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction. The article measuring apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein:

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