Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
  • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
  • B07C3/00—Sorting according to destination
  • B07C3/02—Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
  • B07C3/08—Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution using arrangements of conveyors
  • B07C3/082—In which the objects are carried by transport holders and the transport holders form part of the conveyor belts

Definitions

• Sorting device in particular for mail
• the machine-readable postcodes to be specified on postal items such as letters, postcards, small parcels and the like, as a key figure for a location, a delivery area, a mailbox or a bulk recipient, enable the machine to be rapidly distributed by machine.
• the incoming mail items are sorted with the aid of controllable conveying goods carriers, which are loaded manually or mechanically with one mail item each in special input places and then deliver this mail item to a sorting container assigned to the respective postal code or a corresponding sorting compartment. Since, for reasons of space saving, there is a desire to arrange both the input places as well as the sorting containers or sorting compartments on different levels, the conveying goods carriers circulating at conveying devices may also have to be able to bridge different altitudes. After the mail item has been handed over to the assigned sorting container or the assigned sorting bin, the empty conveyed goods carrier can be loaded with a mail item again when it passes through an input location.
• the invention specified in claim 1 is based on the problem of creating a sorting device which is of simple construction and ensures rapid and reliable transfer of the conveyed goods to the assigned sorting container or the assigned sorting compartment.
• the sorting device should also be particularly suitable for sorting and distributing thin letters.
• a sorting device In addition to the sorting and distribution of mail in public post offices or the in-house mail centers of large companies, a sorting device according to the invention can also be used, for example, in storage systems or automatic picking machines for comparable tasks in which goods or parts provided with codes are assigned to the respective codes Sorting containers or sorting compartments are fed.
• the invention is based on the knowledge that, in the closed position, conveyed goods carriers consisting of a fixedly arranged wall part and a movably arranged wall part also convey conveyed goods, e.g. thin letters, can reliably accommodate and allow a reliably controllable transfer of the conveyed goods to an assigned sorting container or an assigned sorting compartment. It is not necessary to stop or slow down the conveyed goods carrier when the conveyed goods are handed over.
• the development according to claim 3 ensures a particularly safe transport of the material to be conveyed by the secured firing position. On the other hand, only a minimum of effort is required to reliably take the delivery position.
• the embodiment according to claim 5 ensures a particularly safe transport of the conveyed material, since the interlocking toothing prevents thin letters or the like from falling out even in the event of incomplete shot control.
• the embodiment according to claim 6 enables a further stiffening of the wall parts, the wine-shaped configuration at the same time also preventing undesired adhesion of thin letters or the like to the wall parts of the conveyed goods carrier.
• the further development according to claim 7 enables a particularly safe control of the sorting container or sorting compartment assigned to the respective material to be conveyed.
• the inclination of the discharge chute and the speed of the conveyed goods can be matched to one another in such a way that even a vertical drop of thin letters can be achieved.
• the discharge chute is preferably built through the movable wall. The center of gravity of the movable wall panel is shifted downwards, which enables an automatic swiveling from the firing control into the delivery position without additional actuation means.
• the embodiment according to claim 9 enables a cantilevered arrangement of the conveyed goods carriers on a rotating transport carriage, wherein the conveyed goods carriers can also be passed between two rows of sorting containers arranged at a relatively small vertical distance from one another.
• two or more conveyed goods carriers are preferably fastened to the transport carriage, which results in a further reduction in the structural outlay for the entire conveying device.
• the further loading according to claim 11 enables a side loading of the conveyed goods carriers, as a result of which particularly small overall heights of the sorting device can be reactivated.
• the configuration according to claim 12 enables safe guidance of the transport trolleys with minimal construction expenditure, the profiles according to claim 13 preferably being tubularly shaped.
• the further expansion according to claim 14 enables a robust and reliable arrangement of the two profiles in the rectilinear sections of the conveyor, so that additional fastening means for the profiles can be dispensed with in the curved and uneven areas of the conveyor.
• the embodiment according to claim 15 enables a reliable and robust drive of the trolley with particularly little effort.
• the further embedding according to claim 16 enables, for example, a doubling of the sorting containers available for the sorting tasks with the same pitch area of the entire sorting device.
• the trolley is guided according to claim 17 in each level along two pairs of rows with sorting bins.
• the required U-shaped deflections and height-adjustable deflections are particularly easy to implement due to the routing of the trolleys on two profiles and the drive with an all-round transport menu.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conveyed goods carrier consisting of a fixed wall unit and a movable wall unit,
• FIG. 2 shows the interlocking of the two wall parts shown in FIG. 1 in the shooting control of the conveyed goods carrier
• FIG. 3 shows a perspective illustration of two modules of a sorting device equipped with conveyed goods carriers according to FIG. 1.
• FIG. 4 shows the functional principle of the conveyor device used in the sorting device according to FIG. 2
• FIG. 5 shows a study of the sequence of movements of the conveyed goods when they are ejected from a conveyed goods carrier according to FIG. 1,
• FIG. 6 shows a side view of a sorting device constructed from modules according to FIG. 3,
• Figure 7 is a plan view of the sorting device according to Figure 6 and
• FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the conveying device being guided over two levels by the sorting device shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.
• FIG. 1 shows a perspective illustration of a conveyor goods carrier, generally designated FT, which comprises a fixed wall part FW and a movable wall part BW.
• the movable wall unit BW can be pivoted about an axis of rotation DA oriented transversely to the transport direction TR of the conveyed goods carrier FT.
• FIG. 1 shows the shooting control of the conveyed goods carrier FT, in which the fixedly arranged wall part FW and the movably arranged wall part BW, both of which are arched outwards, form an approximately V-shaped receiving pocket for the conveyed goods.
• the two wall parts FW and BW are each curved in a ween-shaped manner, the two wall parts FW and BW intermeshing with a toothing VZ in the shot control SS shown in a plan view from above.
• the securing position SS is secured according to FIG. 1 by a pawl SK which can be rotated about an axis designated A and can be released by actuating a lifting magnet HM.
• the flexible wall part BW is pivoted about the axis of rotation DA in such a way that a discharge contactor of the conveyed goods carrier FT that is open at the bottom bows.
• the lower extension of the movably arranged wall part BW forms a discharge chute AR which adjoins this discharge slot and which is inclined counter to the transport direction TR.
• FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of two modules M1 and M2 of a sorting device equipped with conveyed goods carriers FT according to FIG. 1.
• a total of five conveyed goods carriers FT are attached to a transport carriage TW, which is part of a conveying device FE and rotates in two levels E1 and E2.
• Each module Ml and M2 has two support plates AB in each level El and E2, on which sorting containers SB can be stacked close together. It can be seen that the conveyed goods carriers FT circulate on the transport trolleys TW above the sorting containers SB in such a way that when the pawl SK is actuated (see FIG. 1) the material to be conveyed, which is not shown in more detail in FIG. 3, can be thrown into a sorting container SB assigned to the respective coding.
• FIG. 4 shows further details of the conveying device FE shown in FIG. 3.
• the transport carriage TW is guided over tubes marked with R on two tubular profiles P which extend in the transport direction TR (see FIG. 1).
• the profiles P aligned at a vertical distance from one another are connected to one another in rectilinear regions of the conveying device FE via webs ST which also extend in the transport direction TR, while these webs ST are dispensed with in the curved regions.
• a transport trolley TW is driven via an endlessly rotating transport menu TS, to which the transport trolley TW is fastened with the aid of a driver MN.
• the transport trolley TW On the side opposite the transport menu TS, the transport trolley TW has a support plate TB to which the individual conveyed goods carriers FT are fastened on the end face and which also carries the pawls SK and the associated lifting magnets HM.
• the support plate TB acts as a holder for the axes of rotation DA of the movable wall parts BW, while the fixed wall parts FW of the individual conveyed material carriers FT are firmly connected to the support plate TB via end flanges F (cf. FIG. 1).
• FIG. 5 shows a study of the time-independent movement sequence when the conveyed goods are ejected from the conveyed goods carriers FT according to the invention.
• a conveyor FT can be seen in its shooting control SS.
• this is a thin letter.
• the second conveyed goods carrier FT seen from the left, is already shown in its delivery control AS, in which the movable wall unit BW, by rotating about the axis of rotation DA together with the fixedly arranged wall unit FW, forms a discharge contactor for the conveyed material FG. From the following positions of the conveyed material FG it can be seen that it slides down over the discharge chute AR and, in addition to the downward vertical movement component, receives a horizontal movement component opposite to the transport direction TR.
• the transport speed in the transport direction TR and the inclination of the discharge chute AR can be coordinated with one another in such a way that the conveyed goods FG can at least largely fall vertically downwards into an assigned sorting container SB (see FIG. 3).
• FIGS. 6 and 7 show a sorting device composed of individual modules M in the side view and in the top view.
• the individual modules M correspond the modules M1 and M2 shown in FIG. 3, but in FIG. 6 an additional feed belt ZB arranged below the lower level E1 for the ready control of empty sorting containers SB is shown.
• an empty sorting container SB When a full sorting container SB is removed from the level E1 or the level E2, this can then be replaced by an empty sorting container SB provided on the feed belt ZB.
• FIG. 8 shows the guidance of the conveying device FE (compare FIGS. 3 and 4) in a highly simplified schematic representation over the two levels E1 and E2.
• the line L shows the spatial course of the transport menu TS (see FIG. 4), the transport direction being shown by the pusher TR.
• the guidance of the transport rope TS in the area of the vertical deflection HU and in the area of the input module EM is indicated by deflection U u.
• the corresponding spatial profile of the profiles P (see FIG. 4), which leads to the line L, cannot be seen in FIG.
• conveyed goods carriers FT are deflected forward at the same height in the front area of the input module EM and then work on the sorting containers SB arranged on the front on the lower storage tray AB ⁇ transported.
• the conveyed goods carriers FT are then guided diagonally upwards into the upper level E2 and transported there past the sorting containers SB arranged on the rear on the upper storage plate AB.
• the conveyed goods carriers FT are then deflected forward at the same height and then transported past the sorting containers SB arranged on the front on the upper storage plate.
• the conveyed goods carriers FT are then guided obliquely downward into the lower level E1 and transported there past the sorting containers SB arranged on the rear side on the lower storage tray AB.
• the individual conveyed goods carriers FT deliver the carried conveyed goods FG to an assigned sorting container SB, so that they can be loaded again with conveying conveyor FG when they pass the rear loading zone.

Landscapes

• Sorting Of Articles (AREA)
• Discharge Of Articles From Conveyors (AREA)
• Supports Or Holders For Household Use (AREA)
• Devices For Checking Fares Or Tickets At Control Points (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=6492774

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Cited By (2)

Families Citing this family (16)

Family Cites Families (10)

• 1993
  • 1993-07-14 DE DE4323564A patent/DE4323564A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 1994
  • 1994-07-07 WO PCT/DE1994/000784 patent/WO1995002469A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 1994-07-07 ES ES94920389T patent/ES2097054T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1994-07-07 AT AT94920389T patent/ATE148644T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1994-07-07 US US08/581,521 patent/US5850901A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1994-07-07 DE DE59401779T patent/DE59401779D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1994-07-07 EP EP94920389A patent/EP0708693B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1994-07-07 DK DK94920389.7T patent/DK0708693T3/da active
• 1997
  • 1997-03-24 GR GR970400579T patent/GR3022897T3/el unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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