Transporter/sorter and transport box

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a transporter/sorter and a transporter box, more particularly, to a transporter/sorter for transporting and sorting transport articles as large-size home-distributed envelopes and a transport box to be used with such transporter.

Up to date, documents, magazines, books, CD cases etc., are sent as home-distributed mails and post mails.

The documents, magazines, etc. that are sent are accommodated in large vinyl or paper envelopes or cardboard or thick paper cases for home distribution or post mails. Sometimes, magazines or the like are sent without being accommodated in envelopes or cases but by merely bound with strips or in the bear state.

Large-size envelopes and cases as noted above (including post cards and small envelopes) are sorted by special transporters/sorters.

A conveyor for the carriage of goods is disclosed in GB 917,625 A. This conveyor comprises an endless conveyor chain provided with carriers for goods to be taken into and out of a processing chamber over guide chains mounted inside and outside said chambers, wherein the chain guides in the processing chamber are placed such that the chain is taken in a plurality of forward and backward loops, the curvature of the chain around all the guides being on the same side of the chain in the direction of advance and the carriers of the chain being placed on the side of the chain opposite the guides.

US 4,706,951 A discloses an apparatus for collating differentiated printed products. A plurality of hoppers or bins which are product-loadable from above are uniformly spaced from each other and are transported along a path of conveyance. The hoppers or bins, each of which is bounded by two walls or faces which are substantially transverse to the direction of conveyance, pass by a plurality of individual infeed conveyors which are staggerdly arranged in the direction of conveyance. These individual infeed conveyors possess controllable grippers or clamps which are spaced from one another. These mutually spaced clamps or grippers are used to load or fill each hopper or bin with a printed product. The mutual spacing of successive clamps or grippers and their circulating speed substantially correspond to the mutual separation distance or spacing and the circulating speed of the hoppers or bins. In order to accommodate as many hoppers or bins as possible per unit length of the path of conveyance of the hoppers or bins and still assure the problem-free loading of the hoppers or bins, each individual infeed conveyor passes over the path of conveyance of the hoppers or bins with its product transfer or delivery region inclined or sloping towards the path of conveyance. Furthermore, the product transfer or delivery region of each individual infeed conveyor is provided with a guide plate in order to guide the freely suspended edges of the printed products into the loading or infeed opening of the hoppers or bins.

Another example of a conventional transporter/sorter will be described with reference to Figs. 2 - 4.

Fig. 2a is a schematic plan view of a conventional transporter/sorter and Fig. 2b is a schematic front view of such transporter/sorter.

In Figs. 2a and 2b, the prior art transporter/sorter 500 comprises a frame 510, a guide rail 550 of an endless loop having straight portions and curved portions and also provided in the frame 5110, and a plurality of transport boxes 520 depending from the guide rail 550 so as to travel in circulation along the endless loop path.

The frame 5110 comprises a plurality of section frames 5111 and four feeder frames 5112. The section frames 5111 are provided with a plurality of stackers 5113 for stacking transport articles 5101 discharged from the transport boxes 520. On the other hand, the feeder frames 5112 comprise feeder frames 512 for feeding stacked transport articles 5101 one by one, belts 514 for transporting the fed transport articles 5101, and feeding means 513 for transporting the fed transport articles 5101 to the transport boxes 520.

It is to be noted that the stackers 5113 and the feeding means 513 are generally disposed at the straight transport portions for the transport boxes 520. The transport articles 5101 may be post cards, documents, magazines, books, CD cases, etc., but not limited thereto.

Fig. 3a is a schematic front view of the prior art transport box, while Fig. 3b is a schematic side view of the prior art transport box as seen from the outside thereof.

In Figs. 3a and 3b, the transport box 520 is a generally rectangular box and comprises four accommodating chambers 5121 divided by partitioning plates 5122 at an equal spacing. As best shown in Fig. 3b, the transport box 520 is a parallelogram that is projecting in the transport direction at the top as seen from the side. With this arrangement, the transport articles 5101 can be discharged smoothly.

Additionally, the transport box 520 is depending from the guide rail 550 by way of inter-coupled transport wagons (not shown). The transport boxes 520 are supported onto the guide rail 550 in such a manner that the center of gravity of each transport box 520 is immediately below the guide rail 550 as seen from the top.

Each of the transport boxes 520 is formed with a feeding port 5123 on the side face in the outer direction through which the transport articles may be thrown.

Each of the accommodating chambers 5121 is made to have a constant width W in the transport direction over the entire area as seen from the front. Accordingly, the width in the transport direction of the feeding space 5124 which is used when the transport articles 5101 are fed is also W (constant) over the entire area as seen from the front.

The transport boxes 520 are formed with a revolving bottom lid 518 at the bottom of each accommodating chamber 5121 as discharging means for the transport articles 5101.

The bottom lid 518 is pivotally supported at both ends in such a manner that the bottom lid 518 is in the open state (see the solid arrow in Fig. 3b) by spring bias of a coil spring 581. On the other hand, the bottom lid 518 is kept in the closed state by engagement of a notch 582 with an engaging plate 583 when it is closed.

Also, the engagement plate 583 is coupled to an abutment plate 584 which is pivotally supported in a biased in the closed state (see the dotted arrow in Fig. 3b) by an elastic member such as a coil spring or the like (not shown).

The bottom lid 518 is arranged so that, when the transport box 520 is transported over a predetermined stacker 5113, a pin 586 of a solenoid 585 (see Fig. 3a) disposed in the inward orientation projects for a short time, thereby allowing the abutment plate 584 to revolve. Such revolution also allows the engagement plate 583 to revolve, thereby opening the biased bottom lid 518 and maintaining such state.

Moreover, when the transport box 520 passes the last stacker 5113, the bottom lid 518 in the open state is in contact with a bottom plate (not shown) disposed at the lower portion of the transport box 520, thereby revolving the bottom lid 518 in the closing direction. When the bottom lid 518 is closed, the notch 582 engages with the engagement plate 583 and the bottom lid 518 remains in the closed state.

It is to be noted, however, that the discharging means is not limited to the above configuration comprising the bottom lid 518.

As shown in Fig. 4, the feeding means 513 comprises, for example, two belts 5132, 5133 which run over a plurality of rollers 5134 for transporting the transport articles 101 therebetween, a roller 5135 provided at the end portion in the transport direction, and swinging means (not shown) for swinging the feeding means 513 in response to the transport speed and timing of the transport box 520. With this arrangement, since the feeding means 513 swings the transport box 520 in harmony with the transport speed and timing of the transport box 520, it is possible to extend the feeding time (from the start of feeding to the completion of feeding).

Now, the operation of the transporter/sorter 500 as shown in Figs. 2 - 4 will be described.

The transporter/sorter 500 transports the transport articles 5101 which are fed by the belts 514 of the feeder 512 one by one to the feeding means 513. Then, the feeding means 513 feeds the transport articles 5101 to the predetermined accommodating chamber 5121. It is to be noted that, in general, the most upstream (or a first) feeding means 513 feeds the transport articles 5101 to the leading (or a first) accommodating chamber 5121 in the transport direction. Then, the subsequently downstream (second, third and fourth) feeding means 513 feed the transport articles 5101 to the sequential (second, third and fourth) accommodating chambers 5121.

Fig. 4 is cross section views seen from the top for describing the feeding operation of the prior art feeding means, wherein Fig. 4(a) is a schematic view when the feeding is started, Fig. 4(b) is a schematic view on the half way of feeding operation, Fig. 4(c) is a schematic view when the feeding operation has been completed and Fig. 4(d) is a schematic when it is in preparation for feeding.

In Fig. 4(a), the feeding means 513 swings by the swinging means in such a manner that the velocity component at the end portion where the transport articles 5101 are pushed out is substantially equal to the transport speed of the transport box 520. And the transport articles 5101 are fed by the two belts 5132, 5133. It is to be noted that the feeding start time is when a leading end of a transport article 5101 reaches the feeding port 5123.

Then, in Fig. 4(b), the feeding means 513 continues to swing, thereby feeding the transport article 5101 into the feeding space 5124 in the accommodating chamber 5121. As shown in Fig. 4(c), the feeding means 513 continues to swing and feeding until the tail end of the transport article 101 reaches the feeding port 5123. The completion time of feeding is the time when the tail end of the transport article 5101 has reached the (the last) feeding port 5123.

Upon completion of the feeding, the feeding means 513 decreases the swinging speed and stops. Subsequently, the feeding means 513 swings in the opposite (returning) direction and stops to resume the ready condition in preparation for the next feeding as shown in Fig. 4(d).

It is to be noted that the transport articles 5101 are thrown into the feeding spaces 5124 from the feeding ports 5123 in substantially horizontal direction and fall downward by colliding with inner side plates 5125. And the fallen transport articles 5101 are clamped by the outer side plate 5126 (see Fig. 3b) so that they do not jump out of the feeding ports 5123.

Then, the transporter/sorter 500 transport the transport boxes 520 in which the transport articles 5101 are fed along the guide rail 550 to the section frames 5111 by driving means (not shown). And the transporter /sorter 500 opens the bottom lids 518 for discharging the transport articles 5101 into the respective stackers 5113 depending on their destinations. That is, the transporter/sorter 500 can classify the transport articles 5101 to their destinations while being transported.

Incidentally, let the width of each accommodating chamber 5121 in the transport direction be W and the thickness of the transport article 5101 in the transport direction be t as shown in Fig. 3b, the gap Δ of the feeding spaces 5124 in the transport direction is Δ = W-t (mm).

Transport density of the transport boxes 520 is given by t/W (%) on the assumption that the thickness of the partitioning plates 5122 is negligible small.

Furthermore, the feeding time required for stably feeding the transport articles 5101 is proportional to Δ and counter proportional to the transport speed v of the transport boxes 520.

As understood from the above relationship, if the transport density is increased in order to improve the transport capacity of the transport boxes 520, Δ decreases and thus reducing the feeding time, thereby decreasing feeding stability. Similarly, if the transport speed v is increased in order to improve the processing capacity of the transporter/sorter 500, Δ decreases and thus reducing the feeding time, thereby decreasing feeding stability.

On the other hand, if the feeding speed of the feeding means 513 is made constant, since the feeding time increases as the length of the transport article 5101 in the feeding direction becomes longer, it is necessary to increase the gap Δ in the transport direction or decrease the transport speed v.

The transporter/sorter as shown in Figs. 2 - 4 has a drawback that the transport articles tend to contact with the partitioning plates of the accommodating chambers at the opposite sides to the transport direction before completion of feeding of the transport articles if the gap Δ in the transport direction between the adjacent accommodating chambers in the transport box is reduced or if the transport speed v of the transport boxes of the transporter/sorter is increased, thereby causing unstable feeding or failure of feeding.

Particularly, if the transport articles become larger in the feeding direction, the feeding time becomes longer. The extended feeding time is a bottleneck for improving the processing capacity of the transporter/sorter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and to provide a transporter/sorter, which is simple in arrangement and permits transport articles processing capacity improvement and process operation stabilization.

According to the present invention, there is provided a trolley type transporter/sorter according to claim 1.

With this arrangement, even by minimizing the pitch of the transport boxes in the straight portions of the endless loop path, the transport boxes can be moved along the curved paths of the endless loop path with no poss ibility of contacting adjacent boxes. Thus, it increases the transport density of the transporter/sorter, and improves the transport capacity. Also, since the transport boxes are supported on the outer and inner guide rails, it improves the support load and transports heavy transport articles.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the above trolley type transporter/sorter, wherein each of the transport boxes has feeding rollers rolling on the outer and inner guide rails.

With this arrangement, the transport boxes can be supported on the outer and inner guide rails in a stable state.

According to the present invention, each of the transport boxes has partitioning members for partitioning the accommodating chamber and a revolving means for revolving the partitioning members to increase the transport-direction width of a feeding space in the accommodating chamber.

With this arrangement, it is possible to selectively increase the transport-direction width of the feeding space, thereby ensuring stable feeding operation and increasing the transport density.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided the above trolley type transporter /sorter, wherein the revolving means is locked at a predetermined position in a state that the partitioning members are biased in the transport direction.

With this arrangement, it simplifies the partitioning plate revolving means and reduces the cost of manufacture.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided the above trolley type transporter/sorter, wherein the revolving means comprises a coupling member for rotatably coupling the partitioning members, and an upper roller and a lower roller for vertically clamping the support rail and rotatably supporting the partitioning members.

With this arrangement, it is possible to cause revolution of the partitioning members and further support the transport boxes by a multi-point support.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided the above trolley type transporter/sorter, wherein the support rail is upwardly curved with respect to the feeding means.

With this arrangement, when transporting the transport boxes to a position corresponding to the feeding means, the partitioning members can be automatically opened, thereby readily and reliably controlling the revolution of the partitioning members.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided the above trolley type transporter /sorter, wherein the support rail comprises an outer guide rail and an inner guide rail.

With this arrangement, the partitioning members can be supported on the outer and inner rails for revolution.

The trolley type transport box according to the invention minimizes the pitch of the transport boxes in the straight portions of the endless loop path and improves the transport capacity. Also, since the transport boxes are supported on the outer and inner guide rails, it is possible to improve the support load and transport heavy transport articles.

Furthermore, by increasing the transport-direction width of the feeding spaces in the feeding chambers, it is possible to stabilize the article feeding operation.

Other objects and features of the present invention will be clarified from the following description with reference to attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

• Fig. 1a is a schematic plan view of an embodiment of the transporter/sorter according to the present invention;
• Fig. 1b is a schematic front view of the transporter/sorter in Fig. 1a;
• Fig. 2a is a schematic plan view of a prior art transporter/sorter;
• Fig. 2b is a schematic front view of the transporter/sorter in Fig. 2a;
• Fig. 3a is a schematic front view of the transport box in Fig. 2;
• Fig. 3b is a schematic side view of the transport box in Fig. 2 as seen from outside; and
• Fig. 4 is cross section views of the feeding means as seen from the top for describing the feeding steps, wherein (a) is a schematic view at the start of feeding, (b) is a schematic view on the half way of feeding, (c) is a schematic view when feeding has been completed, and (d) is a schematic in preparation for next feeding.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the transporter/sorter and transport box according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

An embodiment of the transporter/sorter according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1a and 1b. Fig. 1a is a schematic view showing the embodiment of the transporter/sorter according to the present invention or a trolley type transporter/sorter. Fig. 1b is a schematic front view showing such trolley type transporter/sorter according to the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1a and 1b, the trolley type transporter/sorter 311 (sometimes abbreviated as the transporter/sorter herein) is different from the above prior art transporter/sorter 500 in that it comprises an outer and an inner guide rails 351 and 352 facing each other in the horizontal-direction to form an endless loop path and a plurality of transport boxes 320 supported for movement on the outer and inner guide rails 351 and 352 for undergoing excursion along the endless loop path. The other constituent elements are substantially the same as the prior art transporter/sorter 500.

Thus, in Figs. 1a and 1b elements like those in Figs. 2a and 2b are designated by like reference numerals, and their detailed description is not given herein.

The transporter/sorter and the transport box according to the present invention are particularly suited to such take-out articles as documents, magazines, books, CD cases, etc., larger in size than a post card, such large take-out articles are by no means limitative, and the invention is suitably applicable as well to small take-out articles such as post cards and small envelopes.