Transporter/sorter and transport box

• US 7,565,966 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2005
• Issued: 07/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Yoshitani, Kazuhito
• Primary Examiner(s): Bidwell; James R
• Application Number:
  US11/168,498
• Publication Number:
  US 20060045673A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,490 Days
• Field of Search: 198/801, 198/867.11, 198/803.14, 198/800, 198/795, 414/331.03, 414/609, 414/787
• US Class Current: 198/801
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/08 using arrangements of conveyors transport of sheets B65H; transport in general B65G
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 17/12 comprising a series of individual load-carriers fixed, or normally fixed, relative to traction element
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 17/22 with oppositely-moving parts of the conveyor located in a common plane and being formed by individual load carriers only
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 17/36 having concave surfaces, e.g. buckets
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/02 Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/38 by dumping, tripping, or releasing load carriers by flexing or tilting travelling structures B65G47/94

Abstract

A transporter/sorter and a transport box therefore are disclosed. The transporter/sorter 1 comprises a guide rail 50 having straight portions and curved portions and forming an endless loop path, a plurality of transport wagons 30 undergoing excursion along the endless loop path in an inter-coupled state, and transport boxes 20 supported on the transport wagons 30, respectively, in a state of being found on the outer side of the guide rail 50.

Claims

1. A transporter/sorter comprising a frame having a sorting-out frame and a feeding frame, a guide rail provided inside the frame and in the form of an endless ioop having straight portions and curved portions, and a plurality of transport boxes hung from the guide rail and undergoing excursion along the endless loop path, wherein:

the transport boxes are configured to receive transport articles fed from a feeding port of an accommodating chamber, wherein the transport-direction width of a feeding space in the accommodating chamber increases toward the feeding port.

2. A transporter/sorter according to claim 1, wherein the transport box has two or more accommodating chambers, and feeding ports for adjacent accommodating chambers are provided at the opposite sides.

3. A transporter/sorter according to claim 1, wherein the transport-direction width of the feeding spaces is the accommodating chambers is different depending on the transport articles.

4. A transporter/sorter according to claim 1, wherein each of the accommodating chambers has a discharging means for discharging the fed transport articles.

5. A transporter/sorter comprising a plurality of transport boxes undergoing circulation along an endless loop path and feeding units for feeding transport articles to the transport boxes, wherein each of the feeding units comprises:

a feeding means for feeding transport boxes to each transport box, and a parallel-driving means for driving the feeding means in parallel with the transport box, wherein the feeding means comprises;

a receiving space for receiving the transport articles while being driven by parallel-driving; and

a transporting/discharging belt provided between a receiving port side and a discharging port side of the receiving space and serving to transport the received transport articles to the discharging port side and discharge the transport articles.