JP2000118627A - Picking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry out picking in high grade and in high precision against an article weak for vibration and easy to be damaged. SOLUTION: It is furnished with a shipping-delivery rack 5 to store articles 6 by arranging them in a row on a plural number of shelf parts 2 inclined downward toward the depth direction from an article output port 8 and a picking arm 17 having a picking head 22 to hold the articles 6 by suction of air and to carry out picking by introducing the picking head 22 from the article output port 8 on the specified shelf part 2. The picking arm 17 is provided free to revolve in the vertical direction, and an article collection box 18 to recover the picked articles 6 is arranged below the picking arm 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a picking device for automatically picking an article stored on a shelf.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as this kind of picking device, for example, one described in JP-A-59-12002 has been known. In this conventional example, a plurality of trays in which predetermined articles are stored in a row are arranged side by side on an inclined shelf. A picking device is provided on a traveling body that can move along the shelf, and the traveling body is moved to a predetermined tray so that a target article can be picked by a belt conveyor.

As another conventional example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
The one described in Japanese Patent Application No. 0115 is also known. In this conventional example, articles are arranged in a row on an inclined shelf, and a predetermined article can be picked up by picking means such as a manipulator.

[0004]

However, such a conventional picking device has the following problems. That is, in the case of the above-described prior art, an article located at the bottom of the inclined tray is picked up by, for example, a claw or a gripping means, and is put into a collection container. It is not suitable for articles which are vulnerable to vibration and easily scratched.

In the case of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Sho 59-12002, the traveling body moves along a traveling rail provided in parallel with the shelves to move to a predetermined shelf. However, it is difficult to move to the shelf at the target address accurately due to the deviation from the running rail, etc., and to perform accurate picking, it is necessary to provide a detector etc. and perform complicated control There's a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such problems of the prior art, and is capable of performing high-quality and high-precision picking on articles which are vulnerable to vibration and are easily damaged. It is intended to provide a device.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plurality of shelves (2) inclined downward in a depth direction from an article outlet (8). A storage rack (5) for storing articles (6) in a line in a row, and a holding section (24) for holding the articles (6) by suction of air, and an article outlet of a predetermined shelf (2). A picking device characterized by comprising picking means (17) for picking by introducing the holding portion (24) from (8).

In the case of the first aspect of the present invention, since the article (6) is sucked and held by the holding portion (24) of the picking means (17) and picking is performed, the article (6) is damaged when picking. There is no sticking, and the article (6) can be collected quietly without vibrating.

In this case, as in the invention described in claim 2,
In the invention according to claim 1, the picking means (1
It is also effective that 7) is provided rotatably in the vertical direction, and a collection container (18) for collecting the picked article (6) is provided below the picking means (17). .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, for example, it is possible to pick and thinly stack thin articles (6).

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an outgoing rack (5) having a plurality of shelves (2) for storing articles (6) in a row in a depth direction from an article outlet (8). A picking crane (13) having picking means (17) for picking up the article (6) from the article outlet (8) of the shelf (2) and capable of running in a state engaged with a predetermined running rail (11); A picking device comprising:

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the picking crane (13) which can travel while being engaged with the predetermined traveling rail (11) is provided, it is shifted from the traveling rail (11). Can be accurately moved to the shelf at the target address without the occurrence of the problem, and there is no need to perform complicated control.

In the case of the present invention, as in the invention according to the fourth aspect, in the invention according to the third aspect, the storage rack (5) is inclined downward from the article outlet (8) in the depth direction. It is effective when a plurality of shelves (2) are provided, and in particular, in the invention according to any one of claims 3 and 4, like the invention according to claim 5, the picking means (17). However, when the article (6) can be held by suction of air, accurate picking is performed without damaging the article (6) and without vibrating the article (6). be able to.

Further, as in the invention according to claim 6, in the invention according to any one of claims 3 to 5, the picking means (17) is provided rotatably in the vertical direction, and the picking means (17) is provided. In the case where a collection container (18) for collecting the picked article (6) is provided below 17), for example, accurate picking can be performed on a thin article (6) and quietly. It becomes possible to stack.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a picking device according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the entire configuration of the picking device according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the picking device 1 according to the present embodiment has shelf units 3 and 4 in which a plurality of inclined shelves 2 are provided in multiple stages.
In each shelf 2, storage boxes 7 for storing articles 6 are stored side by side. Here, each storage box 7 is accommodated in each shelf 2 in a state of being inclined downward from the article outlet 8 in the depth direction.

In the present embodiment, a delivery rack 5 is constituted by a pair of shelf units 3 and 4. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, one shelf rack 5 is configured such that the depths of the shelves 2 of the respective shelf units 3 and 4 face each other.

On the other hand, the article outlet 8 of each of the shelf units 3 and 4
A pair of running rails 11 and 11 are disposed in parallel on the side of the ceiling portion 9 and the ground 10, and these running rails 1
Crane (picking crane) 13 along 1 and 11
Is configured to travel. In the case of the present embodiment, as described later, the crane 13
1, 11 are connected. The running rails 11, 1
1 is disposed so as to surround the delivery rack 5.

The crane 13 is provided with a lift shaft 14 extending in the vertical direction, and a picking unit 15 and a replenishing unit are attached to the lift shaft 14. The picking unit 15 and the replenishing unit 16 are driven by a belt (not shown) and move up and down along the lift shaft 14, respectively.

The picking unit 15 comprises a picking arm (picking means) 17 for picking up the stored articles 6 and a collection box (collection container) 18 for collecting the picked up articles 6. The picking arm 17 and the collection box 18 are attached to a support plate 19, respectively.

FIG. 2A is a side view showing the appearance of the picking arm 17 of the present embodiment, FIG. 2B is a front view showing the picking head of the picking arm 17, and FIG. 3 is a side view showing the appearance of the picking arm 17, showing a state in which the article 6 is sucked.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the picking arm 17 of the present embodiment has a drive mechanism (not shown) composed of, for example, a motor and a drive belt provided in a main body 20. The drive shaft 21 is moved by the mechanism
It comes to be put in and out. A picking head 22 is fixed to the tip of the drive shaft 21.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the picking head 22 is provided with a plurality of (four in the present embodiment) suction pads (holding portions) 24 on a square plate-like suction member 23, for example.
Is provided. Each suction pad 24 is made of a bellows-like member having elasticity such as rubber, for example. Each suction pad 24 communicates with a suction pipe 25 via a communication path (not shown) formed in the suction member 23. And
The suction pipe 25 is connected to a suction pump (not shown). When the suction pump is operated with such a configuration, the article 6 is sucked on the suction pad 24 of the picking head 22 as shown in FIG. The drive shaft 21 of the picking head 22 can rotate by a predetermined angle during operation.

The main body 20 of the picking arm 17 is rotatably mounted on the support plate 19, and as will be described later, the drive shaft 21 is oriented parallel to the shelf 2 and the picking head 22 is directed downward. The drive shaft 21 is configured to be positioned in a vertical posture.

The collection box 18 is formed in a shape that can store thin articles 6 in a stacked manner. In the case of the present embodiment, the bottom portion 18a of the collection box 18 is configured to be able to move up and down in the vertical direction, so that the article 6 can always be placed at a constant height.

On the other hand, the replenishing unit 16 is for storing the storage box 7 loaded with the articles 6 in the shelf units 3 and 4, and for taking out the empty storage box 7 from the shelf units 3 and 4. is there. As shown in FIG.
Has a support means 26 for supporting the storage box 7, and is configured to hold and move the storage box 7 by a holding means (not shown). The support means 26 is attached to the lift shaft 14 such that the angle of the support portion 26a is equal to the angle of the shelf 2 of the shelf units 3 and 4. The support means 26 is provided so that the lift shaft 1 can rotate in the horizontal direction.
The storage unit 7 is attached to the shelf unit 3 so that the storage unit 7 can be stored in both of the adjacent shelf units 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a connecting portion between the crane 13 and the traveling rail 11 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a connecting portion between the crane 13 and the traveling rail 11 according to the present embodiment. It is.

In this embodiment, the crane 13 and the traveling rail 11 are connected by a rack and a pinion. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a rack 11a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the traveling rail 11 of the present embodiment, and the rack 11a of the traveling rail 11 is formed.
Are configured to mesh with a plurality of (two in the present embodiment) pinion gears 12 (12A, 12B) provided on the upper and lower driving members 27 of the crane 13 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Only the lower one is shown).

Here, for example, the torque of a drive motor (not shown) is transmitted to one pinion gear 12A provided on the lower drive member 27, so that the crane 13 moves forward or backward along the traveling rail 11. It is configured.

An arm 28 is rotatably supported on a support shaft 12a of each pinion gear 12, and a rotatable pressing roller 29 provided on the arm 28 is pressed against the inner side surface 11b of the traveling rail 11. Is configured. That is, in the present embodiment, the traveling rail 11 is configured to be sandwiched between the pinion gears 12 and the pressing rollers 29, so that the crane 13 does not come off from the traveling rail 11.

FIGS. 5A to 5F are explanatory diagrams showing the picking operation in the present embodiment. First, FIG.
As shown in (a), the crane 13 is moved along the traveling rail 11 based on predetermined picking information to move the picking unit 15 to a predetermined storage box 7 position, and the picking head 22 is picked up. The article 6a to be placed is made to face.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the drive shaft 21 of the picking arm 17 is extended, and the picking head 22 is pressed against the article 6a to suck the air, whereby the suction pad of the picking head 22 is sucked. 24, the article 6 is sucked.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5C, the drive shaft 21 of the picking arm 17 is pulled back, and the article 6 is picked from the storage box 7.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5D, the picking arm 17 is rotated in the direction of arrow A so that the picking head 22 is directed downward.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5E, the drive shaft 21 of the picking arm 17 is extended in the posture as it is, and the article 6a is placed on the uppermost article 6b of the collection box 18. . In this case, depending on the type of the article 6a, the drive shaft 21 of the picking head 22 is rotated by a predetermined angle to be placed on the article 6b.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 5 (f), the suction of the air in the picking head 22 is stopped, the article 6 is separated from the picking pad, and the drive shaft 21 of the picking arm 17 is pulled back so as to return to FIG. ).

Thereafter, a predetermined picking operation is performed by repeating the above-described operation based on predetermined picking information. When the picking operation is completed, a delivery station (not shown) of the crane 13
To transfer the collection box 18 to a transport conveyor (not shown).

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
The article 6 is picked up by the picking pad 24 of the picking arm 17.
The picking is performed by sucking and holding, so that the article 6 is not damaged at the time of picking, and can be collected quietly without vibrating the article 6, such as a CD, cassette tape, or bag. It is possible to perform a high-quality and highly reliable picking operation on articles 6 requiring careful handling such as packed articles and bottles.

In particular, according to the present embodiment, the crane 13 is caused to travel while being engaged with the traveling rail 11, so that there is no gap between the traveling rail 11 and the shelf at the address where the crane 13 is intended. The picking device 1 can be accurately moved to the section 2, and it is not necessary to perform complicated control, so that the picking device 1 with a simple configuration and high accuracy can be obtained.

Further, according to the present embodiment, for example, since the thin articles 6 can be picked up and collected in the collection box 18, they can be easily sorted afterwards. .

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made. For example,
In the above-described embodiment, a picking head that sucks and holds an article is used as the picking head. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a picking head configured to hold an article can be used.

For example, in the above embodiment,
Although the present invention is applied to a picking device in which one shelf is composed of two shelf units, the present invention is not limited to this.
The present invention can be applied to various picking devices.

In the above-described embodiment, the picking device of the type in which a storage box accommodating a large number of articles is stored on a shelf has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is not limited to this. It can also be applied to those that store data.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, a high-quality and highly reliable picking operation can be performed on an article requiring careful handling. Further, according to the present invention, a high-precision picking device having a simple configuration can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an overall configuration of a picking device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a side view showing the appearance of the picking arm of the embodiment. (B): It is a front view which shows the picking head of the picking arm of the embodiment. (C): A side view showing an appearance of the picking arm of the embodiment, showing a state in which an article is sucked.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a connection portion between the crane and the traveling rail according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a connecting portion between the crane and the traveling rail according to the embodiment.

FIGS. 5A to 5F are explanatory diagrams showing a picking operation in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Picking apparatus 2 Shelf part 3, 4 shelf unit 5 Outgoing rack 6 Article 7 Storage box 8 Article take-out 11 Travel rail 11a Rack 12 Pinion gear 13 Crane (picking crane) 17 Picking arm (picking means) 18 Collection box (collection) Container) 21 Drive shaft 22 Picking head 24 Picking pad 25 Suction pipe 29 Holding roller

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Manfred Price Nuremberg, Germany 90411 Schaafhofstrasse 10 F-term (reference) 3F022 CC02 CC04 FF01 JJ09 KK10 KK11 MM66 MM67 NN02

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An outgoing rack (5) for storing articles (6) in a row on a plurality of shelves (2) inclined downward in the depth direction from an article outlet (8), and suctioning air. The holding section (2) for holding the article (6)
4) a picking device, comprising: picking means (17) for picking up an article (6) by sucking the article (6) from an article outlet (8) of a predetermined shelf (2). 2. The picking means (17) is rotatably provided in a vertical direction, and a collecting container (18) for collecting picked articles (6) is provided below the picking means (17). The picking device according to claim 1, wherein the picking device is used. 3. An outgoing rack (5) having a plurality of shelves (2) for storing articles (6) in a line in the depth direction from an article outlet (8), and an article pick-up section of said shelf (2). A picking crane (13) having picking means (17) for picking up the article (6) from the exit (8), and capable of running while meshing with a predetermined running rail (11) is provided. Picking device. 4. The picking device according to claim 3, wherein the outgoing rack has a plurality of shelves inclined downward in a depth direction from the article outlet. apparatus. 5. The picking means (17) has a holding portion (24) for holding the article (6) by suction of air.
The picking device according to the item. 6. The picking means (17) is provided rotatably in the vertical direction, and a collecting container (18) for collecting the picked article (6) is provided below the picking means (17). The picking device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the picking device is used.