JP2002167006A - Automated storage and retrieval warehouse - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry out maintenance operation without attendance of an observer each time even if valuable goods and dangerous goods are stored in an automated storage and retrieval warehouse. SOLUTION: Two storages 1 having racks of multistage are arranged to face each other. On each rack stage of the storages 1, a rail 5 is placed, and a transfer carriage is mounted on the rail 5 to run freely. Outside the storages, reservoirs 16, lift devices, and carrying in/out conveyors are arranged. Each rail 5 is extended largely to an outside of the storage to form a maintenance area. End faces of the storages are provided with doors 25 for closing an entrance and an exit. The doors 25 are provided with locking means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse for carrying goods in and out of a hangar by a transfer device such as a bogie or a stacker crane.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an automatic warehouse is constructed by arranging two hangars having multi-stage shelves opposite to each other to constitute one unit, and a transfer passage is provided between the opposed hangars. In the transfer passage, a transfer device such as a bogie or a stacker crane is arranged.

The transfer passage extends linearly in a plan view, and one end or both ends thereof serve as an entrance. The carry-in / out conveyor extends to the vicinity of the entrance.

In the case of a trolley-type automatic warehouse, a lift is often arranged near the doorway for loading and unloading luggage between the carry-in / out conveyor and each trolley (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 3-26).
No. 7203).

In an automatic warehouse, a transfer device such as a bogie or a stacker crane requires maintenance and inspection.
Repair work is also necessary if there is a breakdown or accident. Therefore,
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 10-181807 describes that a maintenance area is provided outside a hangar, and a door is provided at a portion between the maintenance area and the hangar.

[0006]

Incidentally, there are cases where luggage requiring high antitheft properties such as valuables and dangerous goods is stored in the hangar. Therefore, when an operation such as maintenance of a transfer device such as a cart (hereinafter referred to as a maintenance operation) is performed in an automatic warehouse storing luggage with high anti-theft properties, the operation is performed in the presence of an observer.

However, automatic warehouse facilities are often composed of a large number of units. In such a facility, in a system in which an observer is always present, if it is assumed that the maintenance work is performed simultaneously in each unit, the number of units is reduced. Only a guard is needed, which is not practical. On the other hand, when the number of supervisors is one or a small number, each unit must be worked in order, and thus there is a problem that the work efficiency is significantly deteriorated.

[0008] Even if the maintenance work is partial, if the work is performed for a long time, the burden on the supervisor increases. In addition, there was a problem that workers were subjected to psychological pressure due to being constantly monitored.

[0009] Further, there is a problem in that if security is reduced due to, for example, a break of working hours or a vacation, the probability of theft of an intruder from outside increases.

It is a technical object of the present invention to provide an automatic warehouse which solves these problems.

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems To solve this technical problem, an invention according to claim 1 includes a hangar provided with multi-tiered shelves and an opening surface of the hangar for loading and unloading luggage to and from the hangar. And a transfer passage extending along the opening of the hangar so that the transfer device can move. One end and the other end of the transfer passage in plan view are provided. In an automatic warehouse in which one or both of the parts are used as a doorway for luggage or people, a maintenance area is provided outside the doorway where the transfer device can be moved to perform maintenance, repair, etc. Provided on the outer surface and the transfer passage are shielding means for preventing a person from intruding from a portion except the entrance,
A door device for closing the entrance and a locking device for keeping the door closed by the door device are provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, hangars are disposed on both sides of the transfer passage, and a horizontal rail on which the transfer trolley is mounted so as to run freely is provided on opposing surfaces of both hangars. A pair of rails is arranged for each shelf, and these rails extend to the maintenance area.

The door devices are arranged in pairs on both sides of the doorway and extend over substantially the entire height of the storage compartment. The door devices are formed in a comb shape so as not to interfere with the rails. And a locking device for holding the door device in a closed state.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect,
Outside the hangars and on both sides of the outwardly extending portion of each of the rail groups, reservoirs for temporarily storing luggage are provided at the heights of each shelf, and the reservoirs are sandwiched between the reservoirs. A lift device provided with a lift on the mast is disposed at a position opposite to the hangar so that the mast is located outside the lift with the rail group interposed therebetween. The carry-in / out conveyor is arranged at a site opposite to the storage area, and the maintenance area is provided at a site opposite to the storage with the reservoir therebetween.

In the case where the entrance is provided at both ends of the transfer passage, the maintenance area may be provided only on at least one of the entrances. Naturally included.

[0016]

According to the present invention, if the door is closed with the door device closed and locked, a person cannot enter the interior of the hangar or the transfer passage.
Observers do not need to be present at the work.

Therefore, even a maintenance work by a large number of people can be managed by one or a small number of supervisors, and the labor required for monitoring can be greatly reduced. In addition, even if security is not available during off hours or on vacations, the doors can be closed and locked by the door device to isolate the baggage in the hangar from the outside, so that the antitheft property can be significantly improved. .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even in an automatic warehouse of a trolley type having multiple rails, the entire entrance can be closed by a pair of doors, thereby improving the efficiency of opening and closing the doors. it can.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the mast of the lift is provided outside the elevating platform with the rails interposed therebetween, the mast of the lift does not interfere with the rails. Also, a maintenance area can be provided in a portion where the load is carried in and out.

Therefore, the present invention is particularly useful in a trolley-type automatic warehouse in which loads are carried in and out of entrances on both sides of a transfer passage, and in a trolley-type automatic warehouse in which one end of a hangar is in contact with a wall of a building.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(1) First Embodiment (FIGS. 1 to 12) FIGS. 1 to 12 show a first embodiment, and this embodiment is applied to a bogie type automatic warehouse.

First, an outline of the automatic warehouse will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the whole, FIG. 2 is a schematic conceptual view, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are partial plan sectional views.

The automatic warehouse has a number of units arranged in parallel (only one unit is shown in the figure), and each unit has a pair of storages 1 arranged to face each other. .

Each hangar 1 has a frame composed of a front support 2, a rear support 3, a rear horizontal frame 4, a horizontal rail 5 fixed to the front of the front support 2 in multiple stages, and the like. Are arranged in multiple stages.

The rail 5 is a rail 5 having the same height as the shelf 6.
Are arranged in multiple stages. The shelf 6 is fixed to the front column 2, and the shelf 6 is also supported by the rails 5, although not shown in detail. As schematically shown in FIG. 2, a transfer carriage 7 is mounted on each pair of rails 5 so as to be able to travel. Therefore, a portion between the opposed storages 1 is a transfer passage.

For example, as shown in FIG.
Is a main body frame 9 and a pair of front and rear, right and left traveling wheels 1
0, a luggage placement unit 11, and a two-stage movable arm 12 for luggage transfer arranged on both sides of the luggage placement unit 11. A picker 13 that hits the front or rear surface is provided so as to be horizontally rotatable. Of course, the luggage transfer mechanism is not limited to the one shown in the figure, and various mechanisms can be adopted.

The transfer passage 8 extends linearly in a plan view, and has one end and both ends as an entrance 15 through which a load W and a person can enter and exit. An entrance may be provided only at one end of the transfer passage, and this may be used as an entrance for the load W and the person. Alternatively, only one end of the transfer passage 8 may be used as an entrance for the load and the person. It may be an entrance where only people can enter and exit.

The outer surface of the hangar 1 and the portion of the transfer passage 8 excluding the entrance 15 are closed by a wire net 15 as a shielding means. Of course, the shielding means is not limited to a wire mesh, but may be a metal plate such as a steel plate, a lath plate, or a fine iron fence.

The shelf according to the present embodiment is configured as a flat shelf with a plate as a whole, and a portion between columns 2 and 3 adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction of the rail 5 is a unit area. A plurality of packages W can be stored side by side in this unit area.

The shelf is not limited to the flat shelf type, but may be a bracket type which supports the load only at the left and right sides.

Each of the rails 5 is greatly extended outside one end face of the storage 1. A conveyor-type reservoir (temporary placing table) 16 is provided for each shelf at a portion of the outside of the storage 1 close to one end surface thereof. The reservoir 16 is driven by a motor (not shown).

A lift device 19 having a mast 17 and an elevating table 18 is disposed at a position opposite to the hangar 1 with each reservoir 16 interposed therebetween. A carry-in / out conveyor 20 extends to the opposite side.

Accordingly, the carry-in / out conveyor 20 and the elevator 1
8, elevator 18 and reservoir 16, reservoir 16 and carriage 7
The automatic storage and unloading is performed by reloading the luggage W between the steps. Note that the carry-in / out conveyor 20 may be provided in multiple stages, and the functions may be shared only for carry-in or only carry-out.

Each of the rails 5 extends to a portion sandwiching the left and right carry-in conveyors 20, and a portion sandwiched by the left and right carry-in conveyors 21 of the extended portion of the rail 5 is used for maintenance and maintenance of the bogie 7. A maintenance area 21 for performing inspections and repairs is provided.

The lift device 19 is arranged so that its mast 17 is located outside the lift 18 with the group of rails 5 interposed therebetween. For this reason, the rail 5 does not interfere with the mast 17, and the maintenance area 21 can be provided between the left and right conveyors 20.

The front support 2 and the rear support 3 at the maintenance area 21 are connected by a horizontal rail 23. As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of front supports 2 to which the ends of the rails 5 are fixed are provided with stays 23 'for each step of each rail 5.
Are connected by

As shown in FIG. 5, the maintenance work at a high part is performed by bridging a side corridor (work deck) 24 on the horizontal rail 23. Although the walkway 24 is detachable, it may be fixed.

Although not shown in the drawing, the maintenance area 21 may be surrounded by a shielding material such as a wire mesh, and a door with a lock may be provided on the front surface (the lower end in FIG. 4). That is, the maintenance area 21 can also be a closed space so that the worker cannot move to another part without permission.

As shown briefly in FIG. 3, a door pocket 25 is provided between both end faces of the hangar 1 and the group of reservoirs 16, and a door 25 for closing the entrance 15 is provided in the door pocket 25. . This will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, you may arrange | position at the boundary part of the door 25, the reservoir 16, and the maintenance area 21.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view, and FIG.
8 is a perspective view in a state where the entrance 15 is closed, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along IX-IX in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a cutaway front view showing the locking device.

One end face and the other end face of the hangar 1 are entirely closed by a metal end plate 27 so that a person cannot penetrate or insert a hand. And this end plate 2
The door 25 is disposed outside the door 7.

The door 25 has a vertically long base frame 28 extending substantially at the same height as the hangar 1 at the back of the door pocket 25, and a base frame 2
8 and a shielding plate 29 fixed to the shutter 8. A receiving frame 30 into which the base frame 28 fits is disposed behind the door pocket portion 25.

The shielding plate 29 is formed in a thin box shape by bending the periphery. Of course, various structures such as a hollow shape, a simple thick body, a punched metal structure, a structure in which a frame is covered with a wire mesh, and the like can be adopted.

There is an interval between the vertically adjacent shielding plates 29 so as not to interfere with each rail 5.
For this reason, the door 25 has a comb shape as a whole.

At the upper and lower ends of the base frame 28, upper and lower horizontal frames 31, 32 extending in parallel with the end plate 27 of the hangar 1 are fixed, and a door wheel 33 is provided on the lower horizontal frame 32. The door roller 33 is rotatably fitted to a lower guide rail 34 such as a gutter. On the other hand, a guide roller 35 is provided on the upper horizontal frame 31 and is fitted into an upper guide rail 36.

As shown in FIG. 7, both doors 25 are provided with an opening / closing pull 37 on a shielding plate 29 located at about the height of a person's chest. Therefore, the left and right doors 25 can be manually opened and closed by a person (observer). As clearly shown in FIG. 9, a cushion material 38 made of a soft material such as rubber is provided on the distal end surface of each shielding plate 29 in order to reduce an impact at the time of closing.

As shown in FIG. 7, the upper and lower guide rails 3
At substantially the center of the doors 4 and 36, stoppers 39 for restricting left and right movement of the door 25 that has moved the entrance 15 closed are provided. Although not shown, the door 25 and the lower guide rail 5 have a state in which the door 25 is open (the door pocket 25
(In a state where it is completely stored), a fixing means including a bar and an engagement hole is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, a limit switch 41 for detecting the opening and closing of the door 25 is provided at an appropriate position such as the end plate 27 of the storage 1. When the limit switch 41 does not detect the fully opened state of the door 25, that is, when the door 25 is slightly moving in the closing direction, the power to each of the bogies 7, the lift device 19, and each of the reservoirs 16 is set to be turned off. are doing.

Accordingly, it is possible to prevent an unexpected accident in which the bogie 7 collides with the door 25 and a risk that the lift device 19 operates during the maintenance work.

Of the right door 25, on the back surfaces of two shielding plates 29, a shielding plate 29 provided with a pull 37 and a shielding plate 29 therebelow, a cylinder type or the like which is turned and locked by a key. Are provided. The lock 42 is surrounded by a case, and only the keyhole 43 is exposed.

As shown in FIG. 10, the lock 42 is provided with a bar 44 which is rotated by a key turning operation. A hook portion 44a is formed at the tip of the bar rod 44.
By the rotation of the hook 4, the hook portion 44a comes and goes through a hole 45 provided at the tip of the shielding plate 29. An engagement hole 46 for engaging and disengaging the hook 44a of the bar rod 44 is provided in the front end plate of the opposing shielding plate 29 in the left door 25.

The reason why the two locks 42 are provided is to enhance the anti-theft property. The lock is not limited to a cylinder lock, but may be a padlock, a dial lock, or an electric lock (electronic lock) driven by an electromagnetic solenoid or a motor.
In the case of an electric lock, a locking operation can be performed remotely or a turning operation can be performed with a remote control.

The door 25 can be opened and closed not only by manual opening and closing but also by driving means such as a motor or a cylinder. Since the doors and the doors can be locked and locked remotely at the same time, the labor can be further reduced.

When the degree of breakdown of the cart 7 is extremely large, it is necessary to carry the cart 7 out of the hangar 1. A device for facilitating carrying out and carrying in of the cart 7 will be described with reference to FIGS.

A raised hanging frame 48 is provided on the ceiling of the maintenance area 21. A pair of hanging supports 50 for hanging the chain block 49 are provided on the hanging frame 48. The rails 5 are provided so as to be separated from each other along the longitudinal direction.

Then, the chain 51 of the pair of chain blocks 49 is hooked on the front part and the rear part of the carriage 7, and the carriage 7 is lifted once. Then, as shown in FIG. It is lowered so that it is located, and then it is lowered in the same posture and placed on the transport trolley 52,
Carry out of hangar 1. Loading is performed in the reverse order.

When the posture of the carriage 7 is changed and the rail 5 interferes with the width of the carriage 7, the posture may be changed after removing only the rail 5 on which the carriage 7 has been mounted (in this case, the rail 5). 5 may be removed).

An eyebolt may be used as the hanging support 50, or the churn block 49 may be directly hooked on a ceiling frame such as the hanging frame 48.

Further, the means for suspending the carriage 7 is not limited to the chain block 49, but may be a crane device or the like. In the present embodiment, since a pair of chain blocks 49 may be attached as needed, there is an advantage that the structure can be simplified accordingly.

(2) Second Embodiment (FIG. 13) FIG. 13 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the following embodiments, components having the same structure and operation as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Only one trolley 7 is shown by a two-dot chain line, and illustration of the remaining trolleys 8 is omitted. The illustration of the right end plate 27 is also omitted.

In this embodiment, the door device is provided with a door 25 only at the end of the storage 1 on the right side, and is configured as a single-opening type. A vertically long door stop frame 53 against which the end face of the door 25 abuts is attached to the left storage compartment 1, and a bracket 54 to which the bar 44 of the lock 42 is disengaged is provided on the door stop 53. Therefore, also in this case, the same operation and effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

In the case where the door device is configured to be a single-opening type, the door 25
Is constructed in a double-acting manner by a plurality of sheets overlapping each other, even if the width of the entrance 15 becomes larger than the depth dimension of the door pocket 25, the entrance 15 can be closed.

(3) Third Embodiment (FIGS. 14 and 15) FIGS. 14 and 15 show a third embodiment. FIG.
4 is a front view, and FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.

In this embodiment, the transfer passage 8 is provided at one end with an entrance / exit 15 for luggage W and a person, and at the other end as an emergency entrance / exit 56 through which only persons can enter / exit. Door 57 is provided. In a normal state, the emergency door 56 is closed.

As shown in FIG. 14, a pair of left and right vertical frames 58 having the same height as the hangar 1 is fixed to the emergency entrance 15. A work deck (not shown) is provided in the transfer passage 8 at each height position about the height of a person, and left and right vertical frames 58 are provided at each height of each work deck.
Are connected by a connection plate 59.

The emergency doors 57 are arranged on both upper and lower sides of the connecting plate 59, and the emergency doors 57 are attached to the vertical frame 58 by hinges 60 so as to be horizontally rotatable and rotatable.

A bar bar 61 as a locking means is slidably provided at an appropriate height at a position near the free end of each of the emergency doors 25, and a vertical frame facing the free end of the emergency door 25. 58 is provided with a receiving fitting 62 into which the bar bar 61 is fitted. The bar bar 61 is integrally provided with a lock plate 63 having a lock hole, and the emergency door 57 is provided with a ring 64 into which the lock plate 63 is fitted. When the padlock 65 is locked by locking the ring body 64, the emergency door 57 is held in a closed state.

The vertical frame 58 facing the free end of each emergency door 25
Is provided with a limit switch 66 for detecting the open / closed state of each emergency door 57. In addition, a main power supply plug 67 that cuts off power to the carriage 7 is provided in one vertical frame 58 facing the free end of the emergency door 57.

The plug 67 is attached to the emergency door 25 with a chain 68. When the emergency door 57 is opened, the plug 67 is pulled out, the main power is cut off, and the carriage 7 is set to be unable to run. Therefore, when the worker opens the emergency door 67 and enters the transfer passage 8 for work or inspection, it is possible to prevent a runaway accident of the bogie 7 or an electric shock caused by touching the trolley wire.

(4) Fourth and Fifth Embodiments (FIGS. 16 and 17) FIG. 16 shows a fourth embodiment in which the door 69 is configured to be horizontally rotatable. This door 69 is also formed in a comb-like shape as in the first embodiment (locking means is omitted). Door 6
9 is provided in the vicinity of the reservoir 16, the reservoir 1
Needless to say, the configuration is made so as not to interfere with No. 6.

The fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 17 is applied to an automatic warehouse of the stacker crane type, in which a shutter storage frame 70 is provided on the ceiling of the transfer passage 8 and the shutter provided in the shutter storage frame 70 is provided. It is configured so that the door 71 is pulled out to close the entrance 15.

(5) Others The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be embodied in various embodiments.

For example, a luggage doorway may be provided only at one end of the transfer passage, and a maintenance area may be provided at the other end as a doorway for only a person, at a doorway where only this person enters and leaves. is there.

As a shielding means, a transparent tempered glass plate or the like can be used. It is also possible to cover the hangar or the transfer passage with a wall surface or a ceiling surface of the building, that is, to use the ceiling or the wall of the building as a shielding means. A work deck may be provided on the upper surface of the hangar.

Further, as the door device for closing the entrance, another configuration such as a hanging door type door may be used. In short,
It just needs to be able to open and close the doorway of the hangar. Further, the reservoir and the lift device are not limited to the conveyor type, and may be a pusher type or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic warehouse.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a framework of a hangar.

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view of a portion including an entrance in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view of a part including a maintenance area.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of a maintenance area.

FIG. 6 is a cutaway perspective view of a main part with a door closed.

7 is a VII-VII view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part with a door closed.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway front view with the door closed.

FIG. 11 is an essential part side view showing a procedure for carrying the cart out of the hangar.

FIG. 12 is a front view of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a front view showing the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a front view (rear view) of the third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a plan sectional view of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a schematic side sectional view of the fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage 2, 3 Prop 5 Rail 6 Shelf 7 Dolly 8 Transfer passage 14 Doorway 15 Wire mesh (Shielding means) 16 Reservoir 17 Mast 18 Elevating stand 19 Lifting device 20 Carry-in / out conveyor 21 Maintenance area 24 Walkway (work deck) 26 door 27 end plate 28 base frame 29 shielding plate

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Tadashi Sawada 1-6-11 Awaji-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi F-term in Itoki Corporation (reference) 3F022 FF01 JJ13 JJ20 KK12 MM11 MM51 MM57

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A hangar provided with a plurality of shelves, a transfer device that moves along an opening surface of the hangar to load and unload luggage, and an opening of the hangar so that the transfer device can move. It has a transfer passage that spreads along the surface,
An automatic warehouse in which one or both of the one end and the other end in plan view of the transfer passage is used as a doorway for luggage or a person, outside the doorway, the transfer device, Provide a maintenance area that can be moved to perform maintenance and repair, etc., and provide a shielding means on the outer surface of the hangar and the transfer passage so as to prevent humans from entering the site except for the entrance and exit. An automatic warehouse provided with a closing door device and a locking device for keeping the doorway closed by the door device. 2. A hangar is disposed on both sides of the transfer passage, and a horizontal rail on which the transfer trolley is movably mounted is provided on opposing surfaces of both hangars. Each of these doors is extended to the maintenance area while the door devices are arranged in pairs on both sides of the doorway and extend over substantially the entire height of the hangar. 2. The automatic warehouse according to claim 1, further comprising a locking device that is formed in a comb-teeth shape so as not to interfere with each of the rails, and further holds the door device in a closed state. 3. Reservoirs for temporarily storing luggage are provided outside the both hangars and on both sides of the outwardly extending portion of each of the rail groups, for each shelf height. A lift device provided with a lift on the mast is disposed at a position opposite to the hangar across the reservoir, such that the mast is located outside the lift with the rail group interposed therebetween,
Furthermore, the carrying-in / out conveyor is arrange | positioned in the site | part opposite to a reservoir across the said lift apparatus, The said maintenance area is provided in the site | part opposite to a hangar across a reservoir, The claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Automatic warehouse.