Daifuku Co., Ltd.

Yoshihiko Fujio

Takuya Isomura

Gokichi Hatouchi

Masao Imai

Toshio Maeda

Shigetsugu Nakase

Kazuyoshi Ogita

Hifumi Katsuragi

An upper surface of a main body section () is used as a placement surface () on which an article is placeable. The main body section () includes an intermediate section (), a front section () adjacent to the intermediate section () on a front side (X) in a front-rear direction (X), and a rear section () adjacent to the intermediate section () on a rear side (X) in the front-rear direction (X). The intermediate section () is rectangular in a plan view, the front section () is shaped as a trapezoid that becomes smaller in a width direction (Y) while extending toward the front side (X) in a plan view, and the rear section () is shaped as a trapezoid that becomes smaller in the width direction (Y) while extending toward the rear side (X) in a plan view.

Tray and transport facility

Conveyance tray

A conveyor conveys a tray along a transportation path including a linear path and a curved path connected to the linear path. The conveyor includes an orientation assist member configured to assist a change of the conveyance orientation of the tray when the tray is conveyed from the linear path to the curved path. The orientation assist member is provided on the linear path on the upstream side of conveyance from a starting position S of the curved path on the transportation path.

Conveyor

A transportation equipment branch convergence device has a curving transportation device that tangentially connects to a straight track anchored at a fixed height so as to transport an object along the entirety of a curving track at the same level as the straight track. The straight track comprises a straight track section of a fixed length encompassing an entire area of overlap with the curving transportation device. A straight transportation device constituting this straight track section of fixed length comprises a vertical transportation mechanism that slopes in the vertical direction with pivot points at both ends of the straight track section. When the vertical transportation mechanism is in a downward sloping state, the straight transportation device is retracted beneath the transported object for transport. When the vertical transportation mechanism is in an upward sloping state, the transported object for transport passes over the curving transportation device.

Diverging/merging device for conveying equipment

A conveying and sorting apparatus has a plurality of tilting conveyor units in a row in the conveying direction. Each tilting conveyor unit is able to switch between a horizontal conveying orientation and a tilted orientation for ejecting the object being conveyed, by means of gravity, laterally with respect to the conveying direction and has a belt conveyor with a plurality of ridge portions which extend in the width direction on the inside surface, and on the outside surface the ridge portions which extend in the width direction are provided an equivalent intervals in the length direction of the belt. A plurality of recessed grooves which engage with each of the ridge portions on the inside surface of the belt are provided to the peripheral surfaces of a front pulley and a rear pulley of the belt.

Conveying and sorting apparatus

A transportation path diverter diverts the transportation path of a conveyed article. The transportation path diverter includes an upstream-side lower diverting conveyor, a downstream-side upper diverting conveyor, a downstream-side lower diverting conveyor, a height sensor, and an article sensor. The height sensor detects the article conveyed by the upstream-side lower diverting conveyor, the article having at least a predetermined height. The article sensor detects the article transferred from the upstream-side lower diverting conveyor to the downstream-side lower diverting conveyor. A swing of the downstream-side upper diverting conveyor by a first swinging device is controlled based on the detection of the article by the height sensor and the article sensor.

Transportation path diverter

A conveying and sorting apparatus has a plurality of tilting conveyor units in a row in a conveying direction, and reflective photoelectric sensors. The tilting conveyor units are supported above a frame so as to be able to swing to the left and right about a support shaft which is parallel with the conveying direction, between a horizontal conveying orientation and a tilted orientation for ejecting the object being conveyed, by means of gravity, in the lateral direction with respect to the conveying direction. The reflecting photoelectric sensors detect objects being conveyed which pass between the tilting conveyor units by means of light beams which pass, in the vertical direction, between tilting conveyor units which adjoin one another in the conveying direction. The reflecting photoelectric sensors are attached to a support member which surrounds the periphery of the support shaft and which is supported by the frame.

A conveying and sorting apparatus has a plurality of tilting conveyor units in the conveying direction. Each tilting conveyor unit is able to swing to the left and right about a support shaft, between a horizontal conveying orientation and a tilted orientation for ejecting objects being conveyed by means of gravity. Both side edges in the left and right swinging direction are provided with side guides which restrict the width of the conveying path, and at least the side guide on the side to which the conveyor unit swings in the tilted orientation, is supported so as to be able to open in the swinging direction towards the tilted orientation with respect to the structure of the tilting conveyor unit, and is held in a standing orientation by the orientation holding means until a certain load or more is applied in to said side guide in the opening direction.

A curved conveyor in a horizontal curved path section of a conveying path has an inner idler wheel array arranged to the inside of the horizontal curved path section with respect to an arc-shaped center line that passes through the center of the path width of the horizontal curved path section, and an outer driving wheel array arranged to the outside of the horizontal curved path section with respect to the arc-shaped center line, wherein the distance from the arc-shaped center line to the outer driving wheel array is smaller than the distance from the arc-shaped center line to the inner idler wheel array.

Curved conveyor

A conveying and sorting apparatus has tilting motors which switch tilting conveyor units which are supported so as to be able to swing about a support shaft that is parallel with the conveying direction, between a horizontal conveying orientation and a tilted orientation; and a conveyor driving motor which drives the conveying conveyors and that are provided to the tilting conveyor units. The support shaft has a single interlocking transmission shaft having a length which covers the entire area of the plurality of tilting conveyor units. The conveying conveyors of each tilting conveyor unit are interconnected by the interlocking transmission shaft. One conveyor driving motor is provided for the plurality of tilting conveyor units supported by the interlocking transmission shaft. This single conveyor driving motor drives the conveying conveyors via the interlocking transmission shaft.

Tray for conveyor

A goods transport facility for transporting goods along a transportation path including a curved part, and in particular a goods transport facility provided with a plurality of transport carriages that move along a pair of left and right rails, which are provided along the transportation path, so as to transport goods. A rail width adjusting mechanism capable of changing a rail width between the left and right rails and is provided in at least one of a curving region and an S-curve region in the curved part of the transportation path.

Growing community of inventors

Shiga, Japan

Yoshihiko Fujio