JPH0759448B2 - Goods sorting equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to an article sorting apparatus provided with a diverter for discharging articles conveyed by a sorting conveyor to the side of the sorting conveyor, and particularly, the diverter is used to sort articles. The present invention relates to an improvement of the paddle, which comprises a payout paddle and an endless paddle support which is disposed above the sorting conveyor and in a direction intersecting with the sorting conveyor and which is driven in the article dispensing direction and supports the paddle.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 13 is an overall plan view of a conventional article sorting apparatus of this type, and FIG. 14 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a part of FIG. 13, in which (1) is a sorting conveyor. The articles (2) to be sorted are placed on the article placement surface (101) and conveyed in the direction of the arrow (3). (4) is a diverter for discharging the articles (2) conveyed by the sorting conveyor (1) into a plurality of chutes (5A), (5B) arranged on the side of the sorting conveyor (1), (6) ) Is a worker, (7) is a loading conveyor that transfers the article (2) to the sorting conveyor (1), and the worker (6) loads the article (2) onto the loading conveyor (7). Place. (8) is a chute (5A) for sorting the articles (2) placed on the loading conveyor (7),
A keyboard for entering each article (2) with the number of (5B), and (9) is an article (2) when the article (2) is transferred to the article placement surface (101) of the sorting conveyor (1). A photoelectric tube for detecting passage of the tip of the, and a pulse generator (10) for generating a pulse having a frequency proportional to the traveling speed of the sorting conveyor (1).

The diverter (4) is arranged above the article mounting surface (101) of the sorting conveyor (1) and is driven in a direction intersecting with the sorting conveyor (1) in the form of a pair of left and right endless chains (401). The paddle support and the endless chain (401) are mounted and supported on the outer periphery of the endless chain (401) at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and push the articles (2) to the side of the sorting conveyor (1). Two paddles (402), (4
03) and. Incidentally, (404), (405) are sprockets provided at both ends of the endless chain (401), one of which is a motor (406) acting as a drive device.
It is designed to be driven from. As described above, the configuration in which the two paddles (402) and (403) are provided at substantially equal intervals is effective in that the size of the diverter (4) can be minimized and the required sorting ability can be secured. In addition, (11)
The endless chain (401) swings upward and the paddle (402),
A pressing plate that prevents an excessive gap from being formed between the tip of the (403) and the article placement surface (101).

Next, the operation will be described.

The worker (6) places the articles (2) to be sorted on the stopped loading conveyor (7) and inputs the sorting destination of the articles (2) in the form of a chute number on the keyboard (8). This input starts the feeding conveyor (7). On the other hand, in the motor controller (not shown) of the motor (406) that drives the endless chain (401) of the diverter (4), the distance from the photocell (9) to the shoots (5A) and (5B) is small. It is stored as the number of pulses from the pulse generator (10), and if the sorting destination shoot number is N, the pulse number (Xn) corresponding to this shoot is read from the storage device and the Nth shoot is made. Is registered in the N-th counter corresponding to. At the same time, the rotation direction of the motor (406) is determined depending on whether the N-th chute is on the left or right side of the sorting conveyor. When the tip of the article (2) passes through the phototube (9), an output signal is generated from the phototube (9), and the output signal causes the Nth counter to start subtraction. Next, when the rear end of the article (2) passes through the photocell (9), the output of the photocell (9) is turned off, whereby the loading conveyor (7) is stopped and the next article (2) is placed. Assuming that the Nth shoot is the shoot (5B) in FIG. 14, when the article (2) reaches the dispensing position for the Nth shoot (5B), the Nth counter becomes zero as a result of the subtraction, and A payout signal is generated. By this payout signal, the drive motor (406) is rotated in a predetermined direction, the endless chain (401) is driven in the direction of the arrow (12) in FIG. 14, and the article (2) is No. N by the paddle (402). It is paid out to the shoot (5B). When the delivery of the article (2) is completed, the paddle (402) is rotated 180 °, that is, the
Stopped at the position of the paddle (403) shown in Fig. 14 and the paddle (403)
Also rotates 180 ° and moves to the position of the paddle (402) in Fig. 14 to prepare for the next payout.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

The conventional article sorting device is configured as described above, and the paddles push the articles to the side of the sorting conveyor to dispense them, but this is a problem when sorting articles of small thickness such as mail. Occurs. That is, due to a mounting error in the height direction of the diverter, vertical vibration of the article placing surface of the sorting conveyor, etc., a gap is created between the paddle and the article placing surface when the article is discharged, and the paddle passes over the article. There was a problem that the goods were not paid out. In order to avoid this problem, the height dimension of the paddle should be sufficiently large so that no gap is created between the paddle and the article placement surface despite the mounting error and vertical vibration of the article placement surface. In that case, if the paddle is made of a rigid material, excessive friction will occur between the paddle and the article mounting surface, making it inoperable, or an excessive load will be applied to the drive device of the endless paddle support. However, problems such as damage to the attachment part of the paddle to the endless paddle support occur, and if it is made of an elastic material, the paddle will bend backward when it comes into contact with the article placement surface, There is a problem that it will not slip out over the top and the payout will not be made.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem of the conventional one, and causes excessive friction between the paddle and the article mounting surface, or an excessive load on the drive device of the endless paddle support. An object of the present invention is to provide an article sorting device capable of reliably delivering even an article having a small thickness without causing hanging or damage to the attachment portion of the delivery member.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above object, an article sorting apparatus according to the present invention includes a base member having a paddle attached to an endless paddle support, a tip member separate from the base member, the base member and the tip member. It comprises a spring member which is coupled to each other, and the tip member is pressed against the article mounting surface of the sorting conveyor by the spring member.

[Action]

In the article sorting apparatus configured as described above, since the tip member is pressed against the article placing surface of the sorting conveyor by the spring member, even if there is a mounting error in the diverter, the article placing surface also vibrates vertically. However, the tip member is surely brought into sliding contact with the article mounting surface.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention, in which the same parts as those of the conventional device are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the figure, (407) is a conventional one (402), (403)
And a projection (408) for mounting the paddle (407) is integrally provided on the outer periphery of each chain (401). The paddle (407) is fixed to the protrusion (408) by an appropriate means such as a screw (409) or the like, and is fixed to the outer periphery of the endless chain (401) as a base member (410) and the base member (410). A separate tip member (411) and a plurality of the base member (410) and the tip member (411) spaced apart in the width direction of the base member (410), that is, the width direction of the endless chain (401). And a leaf spring (412) which is a spring member coupled to each other at the position. And this leaf spring (41
One end of 2) is fixed to the tip end surface (413) of the base member (410) by an appropriate means such as a screw, and the other end is attached to (414) of the tip end member (411) facing the tip end surface (413). The tip member (411) is fixed by a suitable means such as a screw (415), and is pressed against the article mounting surface (101) of the sorting conveyor (1).

Next, the operation will be described. The operation of the entire diverter (4) is similar to the conventional one, but the operation of the paddle (407) is different. That is, since the leaf spring (412) presses the tip member (411) against the article placement surface (101) of the sorting conveyor (1), the tip member (411) is It is reliably pressed against the article placement surface (101). That is, even if the diverter (4) has a mounting error in the height direction, the article mounting surface (10) of the sorting conveyor (1) is
Even if 1) vibrates up and down, such mounting error and vibration are absorbed by the leaf spring (412), and the tip member (411) is kept pressed against the article placement surface (101), and the paddle (Four
There is no gap between the tip of 07) and the article placement surface (101), or at least a gap is less likely to occur than the conventional one. Therefore, even an article having a small thickness can be paid out with higher reliability than the conventional one. Even if the base member (410) and the tip member (411) are made of a rigid material, the entire height of the paddle (407) is reduced by the compression of the leaf spring (412), so the tip member (411). The friction between the article mounting surface (101) becomes excessive and it becomes inoperable, or the drive motor (406) is overloaded,
Alternatively, there is no problem such as damage to the attachment portion of the base member (410) to the endless chain (401), and the base member (41
0) and the tip member (411) are made of an elastic material, the paddle (407) can be reduced in total height by the compression of the leaf spring (412), so that it is in contact with the article placing surface (101). Even after entering, the backward bending of the paddle (407) is small, and the possibility of slipping over the article is significantly smaller than the conventional one. Further, if a plurality of spring members are provided as in the illustrated embodiment, the position of the tip end member (411) with respect to the base member (410) becomes stable. Further, the leaf spring (412) is used as the spring member in the illustrated embodiment, but since the leaf spring has a constant direction of deflection (in the present invention, vertical deflection is utilized), the base member The position of the tip member (411) with respect to (410) is further stabilized.

As can be understood from the above, the height dimensions of the base member (410) and the tip member (411) are such that the tip member (411) is in sliding contact with the article placement surface (101) of the sorting conveyor (1) as shown in the figure. In the meantime, the size is selected such that the leaf spring (412) can be held in a compressed state, but the centrifugal force of the tip member (411) is reduced and the contact with the article placement surface (101) is entered. Expansion of the leaf spring (412) at the time of contact, and therefore also the impact when entering into contact with the article placement surface (101), and the mounting portion of the leaf spring (412), especially the base member (410). ), The tip member (411) is preferably made as lightweight as possible by reducing the height dimension as much as possible. Further, when the tip end member (411) or the leaf spring (412) collides with the side edge of the sorting conveyor (1) during the article dispensing operation, the paddle (407) may be damaged, so the sorting conveyor (1) Must have a width large enough to allow the tip member (411) to come into direct contact with the article mounting surface (101).

The main part of another embodiment of the present invention is shown in a perspective view in FIG. This embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that an endless belt (401A) made of a flexible material is used instead of the endless chain (401) as the endless paddle support, and the projection (408) is The point is that a reinforcing member (416) having high rigidity is provided at the mounting portion of the base member (410). That is, the use of an endless belt (401A) made of a flexible material instead of the endless chain (401) as the endless paddle support suppresses the generation of noise during operation. The reinforcing member (416) having high rigidity is attached to the outer peripheral surface (4) of the endless belt (401A).
By fixing to the protrusion (408) in a state of closely facing the 17), the bending moment applied to the protrusion (408) while the paddle (407) is pushing the article, the bending moment applied to the reinforcing member (416) and the endless belt (401A). Received at the contact part with the outer peripheral surface (417) of
This is to prevent the fatigue of the root of the protrusion (408) and the rearward inclination of the paddle (407). A large number of teeth (418) are provided in series on the inner peripheral surface of the endless belt (401A), and a toothed pulley is used instead of the sprockets (404) and (405) in FIG. It is designed to reliably drive the belt (401A).

The main part of still another embodiment of the present invention is shown in a perspective view in FIG. In this embodiment, a U-shaped leaf spring (412A) is used as a spring member, and the U-shaped curved portion (419) is oriented in the longitudinal direction of the endless belt (401A) to form a base member (410) and a tip member (410). It is different from the embodiment of FIG. 2 in that it is fixed to 411). That is, in the embodiment of FIG. 2, when the leaf spring (412) is linear and the tip member (411) is pushing the article, the attachment part to the base member (410) and the tip member (411) are attached. There is a problem that a rotational moment about these mounting portions (screws) is applied to the mounting portions, and fatigue easily occurs in these mounting portions. However, in this embodiment, the leaf spring (412A) is U-shaped, and By orienting the curved portion (419) in the lengthwise direction of the endless belt (401A), the rotational moment applied to both the mounting portions is virtually eliminated.

The main part of yet another embodiment of the present invention is shown in a side view in FIG. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment of FIG.
Holding the tip member (411) directly fixed to one end of the leaf spring (412A), with a stopper (not shown) at the downstream end when viewed in the article conveying direction of the sorting conveyor (1) The tool (420) is fixed to the end of the leaf spring (412A) by an appropriate means such as a screw (421), and the dovetail-shaped holder (42
The tip member (411) is pushed in from the upstream end of (0) and held. With this configuration, the tip member (411) that is most likely to be worn can be easily replaced.

The main part of another embodiment of the present invention is shown in perspective view in FIG. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 3 in that the leaf spring (412A) is U-shaped, but the U-shaped curved portion (419) is oriented in the width direction of the belt (401A). Different. That is, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, if the height of the article is within the range of the height of the tip member (411), the article hits only the tip member (411), so that the article payout direction is the arrow (1).
Although there is no problem in either direction of 2) and (13), if the height of the article exceeds the height of the tip member (411), the article will not be delivered if the article is paid out in the direction of the arrow (13). It may hit the leaf spring (412A) and damage it. In this embodiment, the U-shaped curved portion (419) of the leaf spring (412A) is oriented in the width direction of the belt (401A), so that the rotation moment applied to the attachment portion of the leaf spring (412A) in the embodiment of FIG. Although the effect of avoiding is sacrificed, even if the height of the article exceeds the height of the tip member (411), and the article payout direction is either the arrow (12) or (13) direction. It is possible to obtain the effect of reducing the risk that the article will give an excessive impact to the leaf spring (412A) and damage it. This effect can be obtained similarly in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but when the leaf spring (412A) is U-shaped to obtain the same bending margin in the vertical direction, the endless paddle support width Directional leaf spring (412A) with linear dimensions (41
2) It is smaller than the above, so even if the paddle (407) in the width direction of the endless paddle support is small, a plurality of leaf springs (412
The effect that A) can be provided without difficulty is obtained. Leaf spring (412A)
In order to further enhance the effect of preventing the contact with the article, it is preferable that the leaf spring (412A) is set within the width of the base member (410) and the tip member (411) in the article dispensing direction. Is.

The main part of yet another embodiment of the present invention is shown in a perspective view in FIG. In this embodiment, the leaf spring (41
2A) is different from the embodiment of FIG. 5 in that a spring steel wire (412B) is used in place of 2A), and the same effect as that of the embodiment of FIG. 5 is obtained also in this embodiment.

The main part of another embodiment of the present invention is shown in perspective view in FIG. In this embodiment, a single leaf spring (412C) is used instead of the two spring members provided in the previous embodiments, and both ends of the leaf spring (412C) are fixed by screws (415). It is fixed to the tip member (411), and the middle portion is fixed to the base member (410) by screws at a plurality of places, which are not visible in the drawing. According to this structure, the same effect as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 can be obtained, and the number of parts can be reduced. Although the reinforcing member (416) is omitted in this embodiment, this indicates that the reinforcing member (416) is not always necessary when sorting only lightweight articles.

The main part of another embodiment of the present invention is shown in a perspective view in FIG. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 7, the spring member is
In both cases, one side is open between the attachment parts of the spring member to the base member (410) and the tip end member (411), so the attachment part to the tip end member (411) becomes the attachment part to the base member (410). On the other hand, it is relatively free to move back and forth when viewed in the article dispensing direction, and therefore a thin and heavy article such as an iron plate leans against either end of the tip member (411) in the longitudinal direction. In this case, the tip member (411) may be tilted as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 7, and the spring member may be twisted. In that case, the pressing force of the spring member against the tip member (411) may decrease in response to the twist, and the tip member (411) may slip over the article and be unable to be dispensed. The embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is to solve such a problem, in which two leaf springs (412D) are bent endlessly by bending one leaf spring into the base member (410) and the tip member (411) with screws. It is fixed by (415). By doing so, there is no open part between the mounting portion of the leaf spring (412D) to the base member (410) and the mounting portion to the tip member (411), and the twisting direction is the same for both mounting portions. The left and right parts are opposite to each other with respect to the center, and the degree of freedom with respect to twisting is reduced, making it difficult to twist. Therefore,
The decrease in the pressing force of the leaf spring (412D) against the tip member (411) due to the twist is also reduced. In this case, each leaf spring (412
When both ends of D) are integrally connected by welding or the like, the rigidity against torsion is further improved.

The main part of another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 9 in a side view. Reference numeral (420) is a mounting member for fixing the base member (410) to the protrusion (408), and is fixed to the protrusion (408) by a screw (409) together with the reinforcing member (416). In this embodiment, the base member (410) is composed of two plates (410A) fixed to the front and rear sides of the mounting member (420) by appropriate means such as screws (421) when viewed in the article dispensing direction. Has been done. (422) is a spring holding member fixed between the plates (410A) by an appropriate means such as a screw (423),
In this embodiment, a compression coil spring (412E) is used as the spring member.
E) are provided at a plurality of locations (for example, below each belt (401A)) when viewed in the width direction of the belt (401A). Each coil spring (412E) has its one end in contact with the spring holding member (422) and the other end in contact with the surface (414) of the tip member (411) so that the tip member (411) is sorted. It is adapted to be pressed against the article mounting surface (101) of 1). A guide rod (424) is fixed to the tip member (411), and the guide rod (424) extends through the center of the coil spring (412E). On the other hand, the holding member (422) is formed with a recess (425) for slidably accommodating the end portion of the guide rod (424), and the holding member (422) is formed at this end portion of the guide rod (424). The bolt (427) is fixed by freely penetrating the bolt insertion hole (426) formed in (4). A nut (428) is screwed on the free end of the bolt (427). Also, the plate (410A) is
It is dimensioned so as to extend beyond the coil spring (412E) and partially overlap (oppose) the front and rear of the tip member (411) when the articles are discharged.

Then, the coil spring (412E) is held by the guide rod (424) so as not to bend in the left-right and front-rear directions, and the tip member (411) has the end portion of the guide rod (424) recessed in the holding member (422). 425) is slidably accommodated in the article placing surface (101) by being pressed against the article placing surface (101) by the coil spring (412E).
Of the diverter (4) and can compensate the mounting error in the height direction of the diverter (4). Further, the tip member (41
It is nut (42) that 1) separates from base member (410).
It is prevented by 8). In addition, in this embodiment, when the articles are discharged, the plate (410A) of the base member (410) is replaced by the tip member (4).
Since it partially overlaps with the front and rear of 11), no article of any shape will collide with the coil spring (412E).
Articles that can be picked up by the tip member (411) (for example, articles with a bottom-shaped bottom) will not pass between the tip member (411) and the base member (410). . Further, since the plate (410A) only partially overlaps the tip member (411) at the time of delivering the article and does not hit the article placing surface (101) of the sorting conveyor (1), There is no unnecessary friction between them.

The main part of still another embodiment of the present invention is shown in a perspective view in FIG. This embodiment is an arrow (13) shown in FIG.
When the product is used only in the direction of (4) (when the products exceeding the height of the tip member (411) are also sorted), the leaf spring (4
12A) Shielding plate (429) for shielding the object from the screw (430)
It is fixed by. The height of the shielding plate (429) is the same as that of the plate (410A) in the embodiment shown in FIG.
The tip member (41) is passed over the leaf spring (412A) when the goods are discharged.
It is selected so that it will extend to a point where it partially overlaps the surface on the item delivery side of 1).

Thus, the leaf spring (412A) does not collide with or come into contact with any article when the article is dispensed, and damage to the leaf spring (412A) due to such collision or contact is prevented.

The main part of another embodiment of the present invention is shown in a perspective view in FIG. This embodiment differs from the embodiment of FIG. 5 in that the same shield plates (429) as in FIG. 10 are fixed to the front and rear surfaces of the base member (410). That is, in this embodiment, the arrow (1
2) and (13) are for delivering articles in both directions, and the front and back sides are the article delivery side surfaces when viewed in the article delivery direction, and the shielding plates (429) are fixed to both sides. Of. Then, the leaf spring (412A) has an arrow (12),
When the article is dispensed in either direction of (13), it is protected from collision and contact with the article.

The main part of still another embodiment of the present invention is shown in a perspective view in FIG. In this embodiment, the height dimension of the tip member (411) is set to be the gap (the size of this gap) between the base member (410) and the article placing surface (101) of the sorting conveyor (1) at the time of delivering the articles. Means a gap of such a size that it actually reaches its maximum value, although it varies depending on the vibration of the article mounting surface (101) and the mounting error in the height direction of the diverter (4).
In addition to making the tip member (411) larger,
0) is disposed so as to face the surface on the side opposite to the article delivery side, and one end of the leaf spring (412A) is a surface opposite to the surface on the article delivery side of the base member (410) (in this embodiment Is fixed relative to the tip end member (411), and the other end is fixed relative to the tip member (411).

According to this structure, at the time of dispensing and dispensing, the base member (410)
Partially overlaps the surface of the tip member (411) on the article dispensing side,
Protects leaf spring (412A) from impact or contact with articles. Further, since the base member (410) also serves as the shielding plate (429) in the embodiment of FIG. 10, the number of parts is reduced as compared with the embodiment of FIG. The base member (410) is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 in that it also serves as the shield plate (429). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the leaf spring (412A) is interposed between the base member (410) and the shield plate (429). If a single base member (410) is provided and fixed to the protrusion (408) or the other base member (410) (shown in FIG. 12), a leaf spring (412A) is used as a spring member or a coil spring. The function and configuration are the same as those in the embodiment of FIG. 9 except that (412E) is used.

The number of spring members is one or two in the illustrated embodiment, but three or more may be provided. In the embodiment using the endless belt (401A) as the endless paddle support, two belts (401A) are provided on the left and right, but the width of the diverter (4), and hence the width of the paddle A single wide belt having about the same width may be used. Also, the number of paddles (407) is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more.
Further, the chain (401) and the belt (401A) are shown as being arranged orthogonally to the sorting conveyor (1), but when paying out to only one side, paying out diagonally forward (paddle ( 407) may be arranged obliquely with respect to the sorting conveyor (1) so as to reduce the impact when the article hits the article).

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, by the extremely simple configuration of the paddle, the base member attached to the outer periphery of the endless paddle support, the tip member, and the spring member coupling these to each other, It is possible to obtain an effect that even an article having a small thickness can be reliably paid out.

Further, by providing a plurality of spring members at intervals in the width direction of the endless paddle support, the position of the tip member with respect to the base member is stabilized.

Further, by using a leaf spring as the spring member, the position of the tip member with respect to the base member is stable.

Furthermore, by using a U-shaped leaf spring and orienting the U-shaped curved portion in the length direction of the endless paddle support, the rotational moment applied to the attachment portion of the leaf spring to the base member and the tip member is actually It will not rise and fatigue will not occur easily in the mounting part.

Furthermore, a U-shaped leaf spring is used, and the U
By directing the character-shaped curved portion in the width direction of the endless paddle support, even if the height of the article is larger than the height of the tip member, the article exerts an excessive impact on the leaf spring regardless of the article delivery direction. When the possibility of breakage is small and the same bending allowance is obtained in the vertical direction, the dimension in the width direction of the endless paddle support is smaller than that of the linear leaf spring.

Furthermore, by using an endless spring as the leaf spring, the leaf spring itself is less likely to be twisted, and the reduction in the pressing force of the leaf spring against the tip member due to the twist is reduced.

Further, by providing a shielding plate on the article delivery side surface of the base member, which extends from the base member beyond the spring member to a portion that partially overlaps the article delivery side surface of the tip end member when the article is delivered, It is possible to prevent the spring member from colliding or coming into contact with the spring member and prevent the spring member from being damaged.

Furthermore, the height dimension of the tip member is made larger than the gap between the base member and the article placement surface of the sorting conveyor at the time of article delivery, and the tip member is provided on the side opposite to the article delivery side of the base member. Of the spring member, one end of the spring member is fixed to the surface of the base member opposite to the surface on the article dispensing side, and the other end is fixed to the tip member.
Since the base member also serves as the shielding plate, it is possible to prevent the spring member from being damaged due to collision or contact with the article with a small number of parts.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views of main parts of different embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a side view of the main part of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a side view of the main part of another embodiment of the present invention. 10 to 12 are perspective views of a main part of still another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 13 is an overall plan view of a conventional article sorting apparatus, and FIG. 14 is a part of FIG. It is a partial cross-sectional side view. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. In the figure, (1) sorting conveyor, (101) article mounting surface, (2) article, (4) diverter, (401) endless paddle support (chain), (401A) endless paddle support Body (belt), (407) paddle, (410) base member,
(411) is the tip member, (412) is the spring member (leaf spring),
(412A) is a spring member (U-shaped leaf spring), (412B) is a spring member (spring steel wire), (412C) is a spring member (leaf spring), (412D) is a spring member (endless leaf spring). , (412
E) is a spring member (coil spring), (419) is a U-shaped curved portion of a U-shaped leaf spring, (429) is a shielding plate, (12), (1
3) is the direction of goods delivery.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location B65G 47/82 E (56) References JP-A-55-21390 (JP, A) JP-A-54 -67965 (JP, A) JP-A-59-207317 (JP, A) JP-A-55-66421 (JP, A) JP-A-53-7075 (JP, A) JP-A-56-82714 (JP, A) ) Actually open 57-529 (JP, U) Actually open 60-19526 (JP, U) Actually open 51-71587 (JP, U) Actually open 63-148621 (JP, U) Special public Sho-57- 46237 (JP, B2) Actual public 48-40454 (JP, Y1) Actual public 43-4340 (JP, Y1) Actual public 58-42325 (JP, Y2) Actual public 52-7653 (JP, Y2) Actual public Sho 52-26447 (JP, Y2)

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An article sorting apparatus comprising a sorting conveyor for placing and transporting articles to be sorted, and a diverter for discharging articles transported by the sorting conveyor to the side of the sorting conveyor. The diverter is a paddle that pushes out the articles conveyed by the sorting conveyor to the side of the sorting conveyor and dispenses them, and is arranged above the sorting conveyor and in a direction intersecting the sorting conveyor and driven in the article dispensing direction. , And an endless paddle support that supports the paddle, wherein the paddle is a base member attached to the outer periphery of the endless paddle support, a tip member that is separate from the base member, and the base member. And a tip member, each of which comprises a spring member for connecting the tip member to each other, and the tip member is sorted by the spring member. Article sorting apparatus being characterized in that as of pressing the mounting face. 2. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of spring members are provided at intervals in the width direction of the endless paddle support. 3. The spring member according to claim 1, which is a leaf spring.
The article sorting device described. 4. The leaf spring is U-shaped, and the U-shaped curved portion is fixed to the base member at one end thereof in the longitudinal direction of the endless paddle support and the other end is fixed to the tip member. The article sorting device described. 5. The leaf spring is U-shaped, and the U-shaped curved portion is fixed to the base member at one end thereof in the width direction of the endless paddle support and the other end is fixed to the tip member. Article sorting device. 6. The article sorting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the leaf spring is endless. 7. A surface of the base member on the article delivery side is fixed with a shielding plate extending from the base member over the spring member to a part of the surface of the tip member on the article delivery side when the article is delivered. 1. The article sorting device according to 1. 8. The height dimension of the tip member is made larger than the gap between the base member and the article placement surface of the sorting conveyor at the time of delivering the articles, and the tip member is the surface of the base member on the article delivery side. Is arranged so as to face the surface on the opposite side, one end of the spring member is fixed to a surface of the base member opposite to the surface on the article dispensing side, and the other end is fixed to the tip member.
Alternatively, the article sorting device according to item 2.