EP0480822A1 - Device for a quick distribution of plate-like objects in a bucket conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

Delivery machine, designed to be linked with a continuously or semi-continuously moving conveyor carrying a plurality of buckets or suchlike containers arranged vertically and open at the top to receive flat objects (5) such as in particular mail envelopes of varying shapes and/or thicknesses and weights. According to the invention, this machine is characterised in that it comprises a delivery arm (2) which moves the envelopes one by one in a first horizontal direction towards a temporary holding magazine (3) which is able to move each envelope received from the arm in a second direction which is also horizontal but substantially perpendicular to the first in order to introduce it into a discontinuously-moving insertion assembly (4) capable of receiving each envelope from the holding magazine and passing it in a vertical direction into a bucket (6) belonging to the conveyor through the latter's open top (7).

Description

The present invention relates to a dispensing device, making it possible to feed at high speed a bucket conveyor or similar container, in continuous or semi-continuous scrolling, with flat objects, in particular letter envelopes of formats, thicknesses and weights may vary from letter to letter.

We already know of such bucket conveyors, used in particular in mail sorting installations, where the envelopes, generally of different formats and of various consistencies (paper, plastic envelopes, in the form of elongated strips, or else flat packets ...), are distributed in such buckets or neighboring containers, carried by an endless band or belt which ensures their displacement from one point to another, by maintaining them in vertical position, opening at the top, the envelopes being introduced into these buckets with a flow rate which, in known devices, is ordinarily not greater than two objects per second. In particular, the devices currently used carry out the capture of each envelope from a stack from which these envelopes are delivered one by one in a vertical position and in horizontal displacement, then successively subject each envelope to a change of direction at 90 °, to bring them in a vertical downward movement in a bucket of the conveyor, arranged below the position where the envelope is removed from the stack and diverted down.

The present invention relates to a device for the distribution of flat objects in a bucket conveyor, which is more efficient and faster than the devices known to date, in particular making it possible to at least double the feed rates of the buckets, this which for the same overall yield, on the other hand, avoids a double doubling of the unstacking systems and of the automatic reading apparatuses, situated upstream in the sorting installation, which represent very significantly higher costs.

To this end, the distribution device considered, designed to be associated with a conveyor with continuous or semi-continuous movement, carrying a plurality of buckets or similar containers, arranged vertically and open at their upper part to receive flat objects, of the kind in particular of envelopes of letters of variable formats and / or thicknesses and weights, is characterized in that it comprises a distribution arm ensuring the displacement of the envelopes one by one in a first horizontal direction towards a temporary storage store, suitable for move each envelope received from the arm in a second horizontal direction but substantially perpendicular to the first to introduce it into an injection assembly, with discontinuous movement, suitable for receiving each envelope from the storage magazine and delivering it in a direction vertical in a bucket of the conveyor by the open upper part of it.

The device according to the invention thus achieves a double change of direction of the envelopes, from the one with which these envelopes are delivered by the distribution arm, the intermediate storage magazine, disposed between this arm and the buckets of the conveyor ensuring regulation feeding these buckets with the envelopes and at the same time increasing the rate with which the latter are injected into the successive buckets running with the conveyor under the magazine.

According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the dispensing arm is constituted by means of two lateral edge belts, moving in two parallel vertical planes, on either side of a sole belt, extending in a horizontal plane, the edge belts guiding the envelopes in a substantially vertical position, delivered one by one by the arm to the storage magazine in the first direction of movement, defined by the direction of drive of the sole belt, on which the envelopes rest by their bottom edge.

Preferably, the dispensing arm comprises a support structure for the shore and sole belts, respectively, in the form of a deformable parallelogram, such that the ends of the sole belt and of the two shore belts, disposed near the store. can undergo a relative movement, substantially parallel to the second direction of movement of the flat objects inside this store.

Advantageously, the edge belts comprise pulleys or rollers for guiding and tensioning these belts, mounted at their ends and comprising vertical axes of rotation, respectively integral with two separate supports, the projection of these axes on the horizontal plane of the sole belt, constituting the vertices of the deformable parallelogram, two of which are movable in a given direction and the other two movable in a direction perpendicular to the previous one.

According to another characteristic of the device according to the invention, the storage magazine is constituted by means of two helical spirals, of horizontal axes parallel to each other and offset laterally and vertically, these spirals being driven in discontinuous rotation at due to one revolution each time, having identical but inverted steps and being associated with a vertical jogging edge, the plane of which is parallel to their axes, so that a flat object delivered by the dispensing arm in a any space delimited between two neighboring turns of one of the spirals or driven by it and taken up simultaneously by the other spiral which, in combination with the first, causes the movement of said object in the second direction of movement towards the injection assembly, with a constant spacing between the objects disposed between the consecutive turns of these spirals.

According to yet another characteristic, the injection assembly consists of a laterally retractable support, parallel to the second direction, in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the envelopes in the storage magazine, of two motorized rollers driven in rotation in a direction which causes by friction on the object, the extraction thereof downwards, out of the magazine, when this object is presented at the end of the magazine and falls on the retractable support, these rollers being arranged respectively at above and below this support, and a pressing member, pivoting on either side of an intermediate position, capable of applying the object against one then the other of the motorized rollers to complete the entrainment of said object towards the open upper part of a conveyor bucket, located below to the right of the magazine.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the pressing member comprises a support lever articulated on a fixed axis, comprising two free end rollers in rotation, the support lever forming with the direction from the right joining the axes of the motorized rollers a dihedral in the angle of which the object is received after removal of the retractable support, the pivoting of the support lever realizing under the effect successively of one then of the other of its rollers d 'end, the tilting of the flat object leaving the support on the first roller to come into contact with the second, simultaneously with the return of the retractable support in the initial position.

In another alternative embodiment, the pressing member comprises two parallel belts and a movable conveyor belt, in continuous movement, this band being movable in a movement of comes and goes substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the retractable support.

• La Figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'ensemble du dispositif de distribution considéré.
• La Figure 2 est une vue de dessus, à plus grande échelle, du bras de distribution de ce dispositif.
• La Figure 3 est une vue également de dessus du magasin de stockage temporaire des objets plats.
• La Figure 4 représente l'ensemble d'injection monté à l'extrémité du magasin de stockage pour délivrer les objets plats dans les godets d'un convoyeur, l'ensemble d'injection étant illustré avec ses différentes parties représentées dans quatre positions distinctes, repérées respectivement (a), (b), (c) et (d) au cours d'une séquence de transfert d'un objet depuis le magasin jusqu'au godet.
• La Figure 5 illustre une autre variante de réalisation de l'ensemble d'injection avec ses différentes parties représentées cette fois dans six positions successives, repérées (a) à (f), lors d'une séquence de transfert.

Other characteristics of a device for the rapid distribution of flat objects in a bucket conveyor will become more apparent from the following description of several exemplary embodiments given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• Figure 1 is an overall perspective view of the distribution device considered.
• Figure 2 is a top view, on a larger scale, of the dispensing arm of this device.
• Figure 3 is also a top view of the temporary storage store for flat objects.
• FIG. 4 represents the injection assembly mounted at the end of the storage magazine for delivering flat objects into the buckets of a conveyor, the injection assembly being illustrated with its different parts represented in four distinct positions, identified respectively (a), (b), (c) and (d) during a sequence of transfer of an object from the store to the bucket.
• Figure 5 illustrates another alternative embodiment of the injection assembly with its different parts represented this time in six successive positions, marked (a) to (f), during a transfer sequence.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 1 in particular, the device considered, designated as a whole under the reference 1, mainly comprises a distribution arm 2, a temporary storage magazine 3 and an injection assembly 4 arranged to allow transfer then the establishment of flat objects 5, of the kind of letters or any mail, inside of buckets 6, carried by a conveyor (not shown), with continuous or semi-continuous movement, comprising a plurality of such buckets, suitably separated from each other and scrolling under the injection assembly 4, so that the letters 5, delivered to the end of the storage magazine 3, are transferred in a substantially vertical movement in order to be introduced inside a bucket 6 of the conveyor through the open end 7 thereof. In the drawing, the arrow 8 shows schematically the direction of movement of the buckets of the conveyor with respect to the storage warehouse in particular.

The dispensing arm 2 is preferably made up of two contiguous parts, respectively 9 and 10, each of these parts being produced by means of a sole belt 11, extending horizontally and driven in continuous movement, being guided and tensioned between end rollers, respectively 12 and 13, one of these rollers being controlled in rotation by means of a gearmotor (not shown) to cause the movement of movement of the belt and the movement with it of the letters 5 resting on the upper strand 14 of the belt by their lower edge, these letters being held in a substantially vertical position by means of two edge belts, respectively 15 and 16, extending vertically above the sole belt 11 and being separated from each other by a suitable space to allow envelopes of variable thickness to be transmitted by the distribution arm to the temporary storage store poraire 3. The edge belts 15 and 16 are also guided, in each of the parts 9 and 10 of the arm, on end rollers 17 and 18, at least one of which is powered in order to drive these belts in movement continuous in the same direction as the sole belt, this direction being shown diagrammatically in Figure 1 by the arrow 19.

In the second part 10 of the distribution arm 2, the vertical axes of rotation, respectively 20 and 21, of the rollers 17 and 18 of the edge belts 15 and 16 are arranged to constitute the vertices of a deformable parallelogram, these axes being carried , as best shown in Figure 2, by means of two separate supports 22 and 23, one of which 22, arranged as close as possible to the first part 9 of the arm is capable of moving in a given direction, shown diagrammatically in the drawing by the double arrow 31, while the other 23, can be moved back and forth in a direction shown schematically by the double arrow 24. These provisions allow in particular to deform the parallelogram formed by the pairs of axes 20 and 21 rollers 17 and 18 guiding the two belts 15 and 16, this deformation of the parallelogram resulting from the movement in the direction of the arrow 31 of the axes 20 and from the simultaneous displacement of the axes 21 with their support in the perpendicular direction according to arrow 24, so that that the letters 5 delivered by the arm are brought into the storage magazine 3, at a precise location thereof but which is not systematically the same for each of these letters.

In the same way, the guide and drive rollers 12 and 13 of the sole belt 11 are carried by separate supports, respectively 24 and 25 (Figure 1), the support 24 being pivotally mounted about an axis 26 carried by the above-mentioned fixed support 22, while the other support 25 is itself articulated around an axis carried by the movable support 23 (FIG. 2), so that the sole belt 11 can follow exactly the deformation of the parallelogram formed by the four vertical axes of the rollers driving the edge belts 15 and 16. In Figure 1, there is schematically shown an actuator 28, of the pneumatic, electric or electromagnetic cylinder type, suitable for controlling the desired movement of a casing 29 inside which the supports 22 to 25 are mounted. The first part 9 of the arm 2 is moreover capable of moving in a guide 30 in the direction of the double arrow 31, in order to adjust the relative position of the arm vis-à-vis the temporary storage magazine 3.

The storage magazine 3 is essentially constituted by means of two helical spirals, respectively 32 and 33, with horizontal axes, each of which being mounted at the end of a shaft 34, controlled in discontinuous rotation by means of a geared motor (not shown), by means of a set of pinions 35 and 36, so that the two spirals, with inverted pitch, are driven in synchronism but with directions of rotation different from one relative to the 'other. In addition, the position of the shafts 34 defining that of the longitudinal axes of the spirals is determined so that these axes are offset from one another, both in the vertical direction and in the transverse direction. These spirals, which present preferably dimensions and an identical pitch, delimit between their successive turns spaces 37, able to collect the letters 5 as and when they are delivered by the dispensing arm, then, due to their relative rotation, to drive them in the direction of their axes in a horizontal direction, shown diagrammatically in the drawing in FIG. 1 by arrow 38, the envelopes thus being maintained in the vertical position with which they are driven between the belts of the dispensing arm 2.

The storage magazine 3 also comprises a lateral jogging edge 39 against which the corresponding sides of the envelopes 5 abut, in order to allow a presentation of the latter exactly determined, both in the transverse direction and in the horizontal direction, at the end of the magazine 3, in particular at the place where these envelopes are taken up by the injection assembly 4, allowing, in a downward vertical movement, to introduce them one by one into the buckets 6 of the conveyor.

Figure 4 illustrates a first embodiment of the injection assembly considered, mounted under the storage magazine 3 with its spirals 32 and 33, at the end of this magazine. In this example, the assembly 4 comprises a retractable support 40, provided at its end with a stop wheel 41 and having a support flange 42 on which each of the letters 5, delivered to the end of the magazine 3 by the spirals 32 and 33 comes to bear by its lower edge as shown in Figure 4 (a). In this position, the front face of the letter 5 is in abutment against one of two motorized rollers 43 and 44, arranged on either side of the support 40, the rotation of the roller 43 located above the support having the effect of 'press the letter on the rim 42. The injection assembly also comprises a pressing member 45 comprising a lever 46 articulated around an axis 47 and carrying at its ends two rollers, respectively 48 and 49, mounted idly on the lever. A control member, not shown in the drawings to simplify the latter, but whose action is shown diagrammatically by the arrow 50 in FIGS. 4 (b), (c), and (d), makes it possible to exert on the lever 46 a tilting force around its axis 47, either in one direction or in the other, with respect to the support 40, in order to come to apply one or the other of the rollers 48 or 49 against the letter 5 during its transfer to the bucket 6 of the conveyor.

The operation of the injection assembly 4 shown in Figure 4 is as follows. In the position illustrated in Figure 4 (a), the letter 5 falls at the end of the magazine 3 on the retractable support 40, brought into the advanced position in the direction of the arrow 51, following the rotation on a revolution of the two reverse pitch helical spirals 32 and 33. In this case, the pressing member 45 has its lever 46 in the neutral, substantially vertical position. In the next phase shown in Figure 4 (b), the support 40 is moved from right to left in the drawing so as to hide under the lower edge of the letter 5, at the same time as the lever 46 is tilted in the direction of the arrow 50 to bring the upper roller 48 against the rear face of the letter, thus gripped between the roller 43 and this roller. Due to the drive of this roller, the letter moves down in the direction of arrow 52, until its front face comes into contact with the second motorized roller 44 as shown in Figure 4 (c) . At this time, the return to the initial position of the support 40 is controlled, simultaneously with the tilting of the lever 46 in the opposite direction, as shown in Figure 4 (d). In this movement, the letter 5 pivots on itself around its point of contact with the motorized roller 44 located under the support 40 and the roller 49 mounted at the lower end of the lever 46, this tilting movement being facilitated by the 'Support of the caster 41 provided at the end of the support 40 which comes into contact with the letter in the substantially middle part thereof. The motorized roller 44 completes the drive of the letter towards the bucket 6 located below, by moving it in contact with the rollers 48 and 49.

Note that, in the previous sequence, it is possible to start supplying a letter from the storage magazine 3 as soon as the retractable support 40 has returned to its initial position. This particularity makes it possible in particular to increase the rate of injection of the letters into the buckets 6 of the conveyor, a new letter is supplied on the retractable support while the previous one has not yet left the injection assembly 4.

Figure 5 illustrates another alternative embodiment of the injection assembly 4. In this, there is the retractable support 40 provided with its wheel 41 and having a support flange 42 for the lower edge of each of the letters 5 delivered by the storage magazine 3. Under the support 40 is provided a guide roller 53 and, under the latter, a conveyor belt 54, driven in continuous movement under two rollers 55 and 56. This band is carried by a support 57 movable in a guide 58 in a substantially transverse direction, allowing a corresponding movement of the strip according to the arrow 59. The strip 54 is associated with two pressing members, respectively 60 and 61, each comprising a belt 62 driven on rollers 63 and 64, these pressing members being able to be articulated independently of one another around two fixed axes (not shown), making it possible to vary their relative orientations with respect to the plane of the strip 54 and letters 5 entrained by the latter.

The operation of the injection assembly in this second variant is as follows: firstly, represented in FIG. 5 (a), the first letter 5 delivered to the end of the storage magazine 3, rests on the rim 42 of the retractable support 40. At a given instant, the latter is hidden in the direction of the arrow 51, the letter 5 being driven by gravity downwards, being guided by the roller 53 and falling into the sort of funnel or dihedral, delimited by the angle formed between the conveyor belt 54 and the pressing member 60 located at the top, above the other member 61 (See Figure 5 (b)). In this situation, the letter 5 is driven downwards by being pinched between the strip and the belts 62 of one then of the other of the pressing members 60 and 61, by means of an appropriate displacement of the support 57 in the direction arrow 59 (Figure 5 (c)); simultaneously, the retractable support 40 returns to its initial position, its caster 41 rolling freely on the front face of the letter. Of course, in this second variant, we can, as in the previous one, supply the injection assembly with the letters 5 as soon as the retractable support 40 returns to the initial position, without waiting for the letter being transferred to be definitively introduced into the bucket of the conveyor which receives it, thereby increasing the rate of mail processing.

The movement of the letter 5 then continues downwards between the strip and the two pressing members until it escapes from one, then from the other, at the same time as the support. 57 in turn returns to the initial position to release the letter and deliver it to the bucket 6 of the conveyor which receives it (Figure 5 (d), (e), and (f).

This produces a device for distributing flat objects, in particular letters or mail envelopes, making it possible to execute the movements of movement of these letters in three successive directions, substantially perpendicular to each other, respectively in the distribution arm, the temporary storage store and the injection assembly, with a high rate of up to at least three objects per second. The letters are introduced into the distribution arm with an appropriate spacing and a scrolling speed which can reach 2.5 m / s. In the conveyor buckets, the letters are moved to the sorting facility with a generally lower speed, of the order of 0.5 m / s, each bucket can naturally contain a determined number of different letters. In addition, it should be noted that the horizontal movement of the letters inside the storage magazine is independent of the vertical downward movement of these letters at the end of this magazine in the injection assembly.

Of course, it goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the embodiments more specifically described above and shown in the accompanying drawings; on the contrary, it embraces all its variants.

Claims (8)

1 - Distributor device, intended to be associated with a continuous or semi-continuous movement conveyor, carrying a plurality of buckets or similar containers, arranged vertically and open at their upper part to receive flat objects (5), in particular of the type of envelopes of letters of variable formats and / or thicknesses and weights, characterized in that it comprises a distribution arm (2) ensuring the displacement of the envelopes one by one in a first horizontal direction towards a temporary storage store (3 ), able to move each envelope received from the arm in a second horizontal direction but substantially perpendicular to the first to introduce it into an injection assembly (4), with discontinuous movement, suitable for receiving each envelope from the storage store. and to deliver it in a vertical direction into a bucket (6) of the conveyor through the open upper part (7) thereof. 2 - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the distribution arm (2) is constituted by means of two lateral edge belts (15, 16), moving in two parallel vertical planes, on either side of 'A sole belt (11) extending in a horizontal plane, the edge belts guiding the envelopes (5) in a substantially vertical position, delivered one by one by the arm to the storage magazine (3) according to the first direction of movement, defined by the direction of drive of the sole belt, on which the envelopes rest by their lower edge. 3 - Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the distribution arm (2) comprises a support structure for the belts respectively of the shore and sole, in the form of a deformable parallelogram, so that the ends of the sole belt and two edge belts, disposed near the storage magazine (3) can undergo a relative movement, substantially parallel to the second direction of movement of the envelopes inside this magazine. 4 - Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the edge belts (15, 16) comprise pulleys or rollers (17, 18) for guiding and tensioning these belts, mounted at their ends and comprising axes of vertical rotation (20,21), respectively integral with two separate supports (22,23), the projection of these axes on the horizontal plane of the sole belt (11), constituting the vertices of the deformable parallelogram, two of which are movable according to a given direction (31) and the other two movable in a direction (24) perpendicular to the previous one. 5 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the storage magazine (3) is constituted by means of two helical spirals (32, 33), with horizontal axes parallel to one other and offset laterally and vertically, these spirals being driven in discontinuous rotation at the rate of one revolution each time, having identical but inverted steps and being associated with a vertical jogging edge (39), the plane of which is parallel to their axes, so that a flat object (5) delivered by the distribution arm in any space (37) delimited between two neighboring turns of one of the spirals is driven by the latter and taken up simultaneously by the other, spiral which, in combination with the first, causes the movement of said object in the second direction of movement towards the injection assembly (4), with a constant spacing between the objects disposed between the consecutive turns of these spirals ales. 6 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the injection assembly (4) consists of a laterally retractable support (40), parallel to the second direction, in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the flat objects in the storage magazine (3), of two motorized rollers (43,44) driven in rotation in a direction which causes by friction on the object, the extraction of the latter down, out of the magazine, when this object is presented at the end of the magazine and falls on the retractable support, these rollers being disposed respectively above and below this support, and a pressing member (45), pivoting from one side and on the other from an intermediate position, able to apply the object against one then the other of the motorized rollers to complete the drive must object towards the open upper part (7) of a bucket (6) of the conveyor, located below to the right of the store. 7 - Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the pressing member (45) comprises a support lever (46) articulated on a fixed axis (47), comprising two free end rollers (48,49) in rotation, the support lever forming with the direction of the right joining the axes of the motorized rollers a dihedral in the angle of which the object is received after removal of the retractable support (40), the pivoting of the support lever achieving under the successive effect of one then of the other of its end rollers, the tilting of the flat object leaving the support on the first motorized roller (43) to come into contact with the second (44) , simultaneously with the return of the retractable support to the initial position. 8 - Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the pressing member (60,61) comprises two parallel belts (62) and a movable conveyor belt (54), in continuous movement, this band being movable in a movement back and forth substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the retractable support (40).

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