JP2000264406A - Automatic warehouse with bridging function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the bridging function for accepting and delivering by arranging the accepting and delivering stations on the corresponding racks in two lanes, and mounting a transfer device for transferring the cargoes between the accepting and delivering stations. SOLUTION: When the cargoes are accepted on the racks 9, 10 in one of lanes, the cargoes loaded on an accepting station 1 are received by a stacker lane 5, an the cargoes are transferred as they are to be accomodated in a prescribed rack. When the cargoes are accepted on the racks 11, 12 in the other lane, a double reach shuttle fork of a lane-to-lane transfer device 17 is extended to the accepting station 1 to take-in the cargoes, and the cargoes are transferred to an accepting station 15 in the other lane, when the stacker crane 5 is not positioned on the accepting and delivering stations 1, 2. Then the cargoes are received by a stacker crane 6 in the other lane, and the baggages are transferred as they are to be accomodated in the prescribed racks in the other lane.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse provided with a horizontal transfer function in a continuous automatic warehouse.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic warehouse is equipped with shelves composed of several rows and several stages on both sides of a stacker crane's traveling path, and the load is placed on each shelf by running the stacker crane and moving up and down an elevator provided in the stacker crane. In some cases, this automatic warehouse is connected to several lanes. Conventionally, the loading and unloading work when this automatic warehouse is connected is roughly divided into the following two.
The scheme is known.

[0005] First, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the loading / unloading stations 1 and 2 are arranged on the side faces of the automatic warehouses A and B which are continuously provided.
A traverser 3 running in a direction perpendicular to the loading / unloading stations 1 and 2 is disposed outside the traverser 3, and the traverser 3 transfers a load between the loading / unloading stations 1 and 2 of each shelf. In addition, 4 is a traveling path of the traverser 3, 5 and 6 are stacker cranes, 7 and 8 are traveling paths of the stacker cranes 5 and 6, and 9, 10, 11, and 12 are rows of shelves of automatic warehouses A and B.

[0006] In the example shown in FIG. 6, the loading / unloading stations 1 and 2 are arranged at the lowermost level in front of the automatic warehouses A and B connected to each other. Inter-lane conveyors 13 and 14 are installed between the lowermost shelves corresponding to the loading and unloading stations 1 and 2 of the shelf 11 of B, respectively.

With respect to the shelves 9 and 10, loading and unloading work is performed by directly transferring a load between the loading and unloading stations 1 and 2 and the stacker crane 5. For the shelves 11 and 12 on the second lane side, inter-lane conveyors 13 and 14 are provided.
The transfer between the lanes conveyors 13 and 14 and the loading / unloading stations 1 and 2 is performed by the stacker crane 5
Is being relayed.

That is, for example, in regard to storage, the load on the storage station 1 is picked up by the stacker crane 5 in the first lane, transferred to the inter-lane conveyor 13 by the shuttle of the stacker crane 5, and then transferred to the inter-lane conveyor 13. Is picked up by the stacker crane 6 and stored in the shelves 11 and 12 on the second lane side. Departure is the reverse procedure of entry.

In the conventional example shown in FIG. 5, a traveling path 4 for the traverser 3 is required. For this reason, in a limited space, there is a disadvantage that the number of widths of the shelves must be reduced accordingly. Further, in the conventional example shown in FIG. 6, the stacker crane 5 has to perform the loading / unloading operation for the shelves 9 and 10 and the relaying operation for the inter-lane conveyors 13 and 14, which has a drawback that the loading / unloading capability is extremely reduced. there were.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional type, and is intended to relay a stacker crane in a system in which a loading / unloading station is arranged in front of a continuous automatic warehouse. In addition, an object of the present invention is to obtain an automatic warehouse having a crossing function for carrying in and out of a shelf on the second lane side.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems In the automatic warehouses arranged consecutively, an entry / exit station is arranged at the bottom of the shelf in front of the first lane, and at the bottom of the shelf of the second lane, The shelf corresponding to the loading / unloading station in the first lane has a second
A lane entrance / exit station is disposed, and the lane entrance / exit station is disposed between the first and second lane entrance / exit stations.
A transfer device for transferring cargo between lane entry / exit stations was provided.

[0010] Further, a transfer device having a double reach shuttle fork and capable of moving up and down is arranged on a shelf corresponding to the loading / unloading station of the first lane and the traveling path of the stacker crane. Further, an inter-lane transfer vehicle that can move up and down and moves between the first lane entrance / exit station and the second lane entrance / exit station is arranged.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment in which the transfer device of the present invention is used, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the transfer device. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an embodiment when the transfer cart of the present invention is used, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the embodiment.

A is a first lane automatic warehouse, B is a second lane automatic warehouse, and both automatic warehouses A and B are connected to each other. 1 is a first lane entry station provided at the bottom of the shelf 9 in front of the automated warehouse A, 2 is a first lane exit provided at the bottom of the shelf 9 in front of the automated warehouse A and adjacent to the entry station 1. Station. Reference numeral 5 denotes a first lane stacker crane, and reference numeral 6 denotes a second lane stacker crane. Reference numeral 7 denotes a traveling path of the stacker crane 5, and reference numeral 8 denotes a traveling path of the stacker crane 6.

The loading / unloading stations in the first lane are each composed of a plurality of rows of chain conveyors, and a load is placed on these chain conveyors. Then, a double reach shuttle fork, which will be described later, extends between the chain conveyors, and moves up and down to receive and pay out the load.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a lowermost stage of the shelf 11 of the automatic warehouse B, which is a second lane receiving station provided on a shelf corresponding to the aforementioned receiving station 1; This is a second lane exit station provided on a shelf next to the station 15. The second
The loading / unloading stations 15 and 16 of the lane are each provided with a load receiving member capable of placing both ends of the bottom surface of the load on the shelf 11.
It is configured to be attached to. Then, a double reach shuttle fork described later is extended between the load receiving members, and is moved up and down to receive and pay out the load.

Reference numeral 17 denotes the bottom of the shelf 10 of the automatic warehouse A,
This is an inter-lane transfer device for storage installed on a shelf facing the second lane storage station 15. Also, 18
Is an exit lane transfer device installed on a shelf facing the second lane exit station 16 at the bottom of the shelf 10 of the automatic warehouse A.

The loading / unloading lane transfer devices 17 and 18 have the same structure. As shown in FIG. 2, a lifter 21 having a roller at one end, a cross link 19 fixed at the other end, and being vertically movable by operation of a cylinder 20,
It comprises a double reach shuttle fork 22 fixed on the lifter 21. The double reach shuttle fork 22 can extend to the position of the first lane entrance / exit stations 1 and 2 over the traveling path 7 of the stacker crane 5.

The double reach shuttle fork 22 is a multi-stage telescopic fork, which is operated by a rack and a pinion driven only by the first stage motor, and the other stages are linked with the movement of the first stage. It expands and contracts with sprockets and chains. Note that FIG. 2 shows only a rightward extension mechanism in the figure, but the same mechanism can also be used to extend the leftward direction in the figure.

The operation of the loading / unloading operation in such a configuration will be described. First, when entering the shelves 9 and 10 in the first lane, the load placed in the entry station 1 is received by the stacker crane 5, and the stacker crane 5 is run as it is and stored in a predetermined shelf. In the case of leaving, the procedure is the reverse of that of entering.

In order to enter the shelves 11 and 12 in the second lane, the stacker crane 5 in the first lane is not at the position of the entry / exit station 1 or 2, or from the position of the entry / exit station 1 or 2. It retracts, extends the double reach shuttle fork 22 of the inter-lane transfer device 17 to the storage station 1, picks up and loads the load arranged in the storage station 1, and transfers the loaded load to the storage station 15 in the second lane. Transfer.

The load transferred to the storage station 15 in the second lane is received by the stacker crane 6 in the second lane, and the stacker crane 6 travels to store it on a predetermined shelf in the second lane. In the case of leaving, the procedure is the reverse of that of entering. In the above description, the load is picked up from the storage station 1 and the transfer of the load to the storage station 15 is performed by lifting and lowering the lifter 21 of the transfer device 17.

Next, an embodiment in which a transfer carriage is used will be described. 23 and 24 are the first lane entrance / exit stations 1 and 2 to the second lane entrance / exit station 1
Rails laid on the warehouse floor up to positions 5 and 16. The rails 23 and 24 cross the running rails of the stacker crane 5 laid on the running path 7 of the stacker crane 5 in the first lane.

Reference numerals 25 and 26 denote self-propelled inter-lane transfer vehicles mounted on the rails 23 and 24, respectively.
24, the first lane entrance / exit stations 1, 2
To the position of the entrance / exit stations 15 and 16 in the second lane. Elevating tables 27 and 28 are provided above the transfer carts 25 and 26.

The operation of the loading / unloading operation in the configuration including the inter-lane transfer vehicles 25 and 26 will be described. First, when entering the shelves 9 and 11 in the first lane, as in the first embodiment, the load placed at the entry station 1 is received by the stacker crane 5, and the stacker crane 5 is run as it is to obtain a predetermined shelf. To be stored. In the case of leaving, the procedure is the reverse of that of entering.

Next, when entering the shelves 11 and 12 in the second lane, the stacker crane 5 in the first lane is not located at the position of the loading / unloading stations 1 and 2 or the position of the loading / unloading stations 1 and 2 is set. , The transfer cart 25 is moved to the position of the storage station 1, the table 27 is raised at that position, and the load placed there is transferred to the transfer cart 25.

Then, the transfer carriage 25 is moved to the position of the storage station 15 in the second lane, the table 27 is lowered, and the load is transferred to the storage station 15. The load transferred to the storage station 15 is received by the stacker crane 6 in the second lane, and the stacker crane 6 travels as it is to store it on a predetermined shelf. Similarly, in the case of leaving the warehouse, the procedure is the reverse of that of entering the warehouse.

The transfer device 17 in the above embodiment,
Since the shuttle 18 and the traveling of the transfer carts 25 and 26 also cross the traveling of the stacker crane 5, when the stacker crane 5 is in the cross area, the double reach shuttle of the transfer devices 17 and 18 is used. The fork 22 is not shuttled, and the transfer carts 25 and 26 are not run.

On the contrary, the transfer devices 17, 18
When the double reach shuttle fork 22 or the transfer vehicles 25, 26 are in the cross area, the stacker crane 5 is prevented from entering the cross area. These controls are automatically controlled by the controller.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a continuous automatic warehouse, the loading / unloading station is arranged at the bottom of the shelf in front of the first lane, and at the bottom of the shelf of the second lane. The second lane entrance / exit station is arranged on a shelf corresponding to the first lane entrance / exit station, and the transfer of the load between the first and second lane entrance / exit stations is performed by an inter-lane transfer device. In this case, the stacker crane was not relayed.

For this reason, the stacker crane on the first lane is used for the original cargo handling work on the shelves on the first lane.
With respect to the shelves in the second lane, it is possible to transfer the load between the loading and unloading stations in the first lane and the second lane during the operation of the stacker crane in the first lane, as compared with the case of using an inter-lane conveyor. Storage capacity has increased. In addition, the number of shelves can be increased as compared with the method of disposing traversers on the side of the automatic warehouse.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an automatic warehouse according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the transfer device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the automatic warehouse according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a conventional example of an automatic warehouse.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing another conventional example of an automatic warehouse.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A, B Automatic warehouse 1, 2 Entry / exit station 3 Traverser 4 Traverser travel path 5, 6 Stacker crane 7, 8 Stacker crane travel path 9, 10, 11, 12 Automatic warehouse shelves 13, 14, Inter-lane conveyor 15, 16th 2 lane loading / unloading station 17, 18 lane transfer device 19 cross link 20 cylinder 21 lifter 22 double reach shuttle fork 23, 24 rail 25, 26 lane transfer cart 27, 28 lifting table

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A loading and unloading station is arranged at the bottom of a shelf in front of a first lane of an automatic warehouse that is arranged in series,
In addition, at the bottom of the shelf of the second lane, an entry / exit station of the second lane is arranged on a shelf corresponding to the entrance / exit station of the first lane, and is arranged between the entrance / exit station of the first and second lanes. An automatic warehouse with a transfer function, comprising a transfer device for transferring a load between the loading and unloading stations on the first and second lanes. 2. A transfer device having a double-reach shuttle fork and being capable of moving up and down is provided on a shelf corresponding to the loading / unloading station of the first lane and a traveling path of the stacker crane. Automatic warehouse with horizontal delivery function as described in 1. 3. An inter-lane transfer trolley, which is movable between an entrance / exit station on a first lane and an entrance / exit station on a second lane.
Automatic warehouse with horizontal delivery function as described.