JP2003182811A - Carrier device of article - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carrier device of an article capable of preventing dust generation in the middle of carrying the article to the utmost. <P>SOLUTION: This carrier device of the article is furnished with a driving roller conveyor 11 to carry a metal case F carried in on a carry-in conveyor device 1, a lift unit 12 to lift the metal case F carried on the driving roller conveyor 11 from the driving roller conveyor 11 and a centering unit 13 to center the metal case F lifted by the lift unit 12 by pushing it sideways, and a freely rolling roller 37 is provided on a support part of the metal case F of the lift unit 13. In this constitution, the metal case F is smoothly positioned without sliding as it is supported by the freely rolling roller 37 of the lift unit 12 when the metal case F is centered, and consequently, it is possible to prevent the dust generation at the time of centering to the utmost. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to, for example, an article transporting apparatus arranged around an article storage facility, and more particularly to an article transporting apparatus used for loading an article into the article storage facility.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an article storage facility, a storage shelf having a plurality of storage sections for articles and traveling along the storage shelf,
There is known an automatic warehouse equipped with a stacker crane that conveys and transfers the articles between a loading / unloading port for the articles and a storage section of the storage rack.

In such an automatic warehouse, when a carry-in conveyor device is provided as a carrying device for carrying the product to the carry-in / out port of the product, the product falls from the carry-in conveyor device when the product is scooped by the fork device of the stacker crane. It is necessary to accurately position the articles and pass them to the stacker crane at the downstream end of the carry-in conveyor device (the delivery position of the articles to the stacker crane) in order to prevent the load from collapsing or collapsing the load.

In such a case, a guide for regulating the passage position of the article is provided in the middle of the article conveying path of the conveyor device, and the guide is moved while regulating the position of the article, so that the downstream end (delivery of the article to the stacker crane). Positioning) is performed.

[0005]

However, when the above guide is used, the article comes into contact with or slides against the guide, so that the article or the guide is rubbed by the contact / sliding contact or the friction due to the contact / sliding contact. Dust is generated,
May damage the environment. Particularly in a clean room, a "metal case containing a substrate" is often transported as an article, and dust generated from the metal case or the guide causes a decrease in reliability of the substrate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an article transporting device that prevents dust generation during the transportation of articles as much as possible.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a conveying means for conveying an article, and an elevating and lowering means for elevating the article conveyed by the conveying means. Means and lateral pushing means for laterally pushing an article lifted from the carrying means by the lifting means from a direction perpendicular to the carrying direction of the article by the carrying means to align the article at a predetermined position. It is characterized in that an idler wheel rotatable in the perpendicular direction is provided on a support portion of the article.

According to the above structure, the article is conveyed by the conveying means, the conveyed article is lifted from the conveying means by the elevating means, and then the article is perpendicular to the conveying direction of the article by the conveying means by the lateral pushing means. It is pushed laterally from the right direction and aligned in a predetermined position. At this time, since the article is supported by the idle wheel of the elevating means, the article is smoothly positioned without sliding, and dust is prevented from being generated during the positioning as much as possible.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the article is provided with an identification code for identifying the article, and the lateral pushing means is provided with the identification code of the article. A reading means for reading is provided, and the reading means moves at the same time when the article is laterally pushed by the lateral pushing means to approach the article and reads the identification code.

According to the above construction, when the articles are aligned at the predetermined position by the lateral pushing means, the reading means simultaneously moves to approach the article and reads the identification code for identifying the article. Therefore, the identification code can be read even when the article is conveyed away from the reading means.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the lateral pushing means returns the article to the conveying means by the elevating means. After that, the lateral pushing action on the article is eliminated.

According to the above structure, the article is returned to the conveying means by the elevating means in a state where the article is laterally pushed by the lateral pushing means, and after the article is returned, the lateral pushing action on the article by the lateral pushing means is performed. Then, the lateral pushing means is disengaged from the article and the article is placed at a predetermined position on the conveying means.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the supporting portion for the article of the elevating means is an inner side of the lateral pushing means. And is arranged close to the lateral pushing means, and supports both side portions of the article in the perpendicular direction.

According to the above construction, when the article is lifted from the conveying means by the elevating means, both sides of the article in the direction perpendicular to the article are arranged inward of the lateral pushing means and close to the lateral pushing means. It is supported by the article support section of the lifting means.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 9 is a plan view and a side view of essential parts of an article storage facility including the carry-in conveyor device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the article storage facility FS, a pair of left and right frame-shaped storage shelves A installed at intervals such that the article loading and unloading directions face each other, and between these storage shelves A. A stacker crane C that automatically travels along a work path B formed between them is provided. The article storage facility FS is arranged in a clean room.

Each of the storage shelves A has a vertical column (truss; vertical members arranged in parallel) G and arms attached to the column G (horizontal members arranged in parallel to receive articles).
A plurality of storage portions (article storage portions) D are formed by K in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and a metal case (an example of the article) F in which a liquid crystal substrate is stored in each storage portion D via arms K.
Is supported.

Further, by removing (opening) a part of the lower part of the storage section D of the storage rack A, a carry-in conveyor device for carrying the metal case F into the article storage facility FS, which is the article transporting apparatus of the present invention. 1 and the metal case F is an article storage facility FS
An unloading conveyor device 2 for unloading the metal case F is carried out between the loading conveyor device 1 and the article storage part D by the stacker crane C, and the article storage part D and the unloading conveyor are carried out. The warehousing operation of the metal case F is executed with the device 2. Further, the metal case F is carried into the carry-in conveyor device 1 by a cargo handling vehicle 3, for example, a self-propelled carriage or a forklift, and the metal case F is carried out from the carry-out conveyor device 2 to the cargo handling vehicle 3.

The structure of the carry-in conveyor device 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. This carry-in conveyor device 1
Is arranged on the downstream side of the driving roller conveyor (an example of a conveying means) 11 capable of individually conveying and supporting two consecutive metal cases F, and is conveyed by the driving roller conveyor 11. A lift unit (an example of lifting means) 12 for lifting and lowering the metal case F from above the drive roller conveyor 11, and this lift unit 12
The metal case F that is lifted from the drive roller conveyor 11 by means of a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the metal case F is conveyed by the drive roller conveyor 11 (hereinafter referred to as the left-right direction).
It includes a centering unit (an example of a lateral pushing means) 13 and the like that pushes laterally to and aligns it to a central position (an example of a predetermined position).

The drive roller conveyor 11 has a transport path capable of supporting and transporting two metal cases F. The drive roller conveyor 11 is a "stacker crane C and a fork device (transfer means) of the cargo handling vehicle 3". Can intrude,
A plurality of drive rollers 21 arranged in the left-right direction position at intervals to allow the metal case F to be transferred and arranged in the transport direction of the metal case F, respectively. Bearings 23 that support both ends of the shaft 22 of each drive roller 21, a chain wheel 24 fixed to one end of the shaft 22, a chain 25 that meshes with these chain wheels 24, and a wheel group 26 that drives this chain 25. And drive motor 27
And a machine frame (frame) 28 that supports the bearing 23, the wheel group 26, and the drive motor 27,
Further, the loading side (cargo handling vehicle 3 side) and the unloading side (stacker crane C side) can be driven independently. That is, the drive motors 27A and 27A are respectively provided on the carry-in side and the carry-out side.
27B is provided, and the driving force of each drive motor 27A, 27B is configured to be independently transmitted to the drive rollers 21 on the carry-in side and the carry-out side via the wheel group 26,
The metal case F can be independently loaded and unloaded on the carry-in side and the carry-out side.

In the lift unit 12, the lifting bodies 31 are arranged along the drive rollers 21 at the left and right positions on the carry-out side, and the upper ends of the rods 32 are fixed to the lower surfaces of the side surfaces of the lifting bodies 31, respectively. Two linear guide devices 33 for vertically guiding the elevating body 31, and two lift cylinder devices 35 for vertically elevating the elevating body 31 with the upper ends of the rods 34 fixed to the lower surfaces of the middle of the elevating body 31 respectively. , The drive roller 2 on the upper surface of each lifting body 31.
A plurality of brackets (an example of a supporting portion of an article) 36 that are vertically installed in the gap positions at intervals of 1 and support the metal case F arranged at the upper ends of these brackets 36 and rotate in the left-right direction. And a freely rotating roller (idling wheel; which constitutes a part of a support portion of the article) 37.

Further, the centering unit 13 is located outside each of the left and right drive rollers 21 in the open state, and has a pair of left and right lateral push plates 41 that act on the side surfaces of the metal case F when driven. The rods 42 are respectively arranged on the upper surfaces of the machine frames 28 at the left and right positions of the drive roller conveyor 11, and the tip ends of the rods 42 are fixed to the side surfaces of both sides of the lateral push plates 41 to guide the horizontal push plates 41 in the horizontal direction. The two linear guide devices 43 and the left and right positions of the drive roller conveyor 11 are respectively arranged on the upper surfaces of the machine frames 28, and the tip ends of the rods 44 are fixed to the side surfaces of the lateral push plates 41 on the central side, respectively, and the rods 44 are laterally moved by air pressure. Push plate 41
It is composed of two centering cylinder devices 45 for driving the right and left sides.

Further, it is arranged so as to be connected to one of the lateral pushing plates 41, moves in the left-right direction together with the lateral pushing plate 41, approaches the side surface of the metal case F, and is attached to the metal case F.
An ID reader (an example of a reading unit) 51 that reads information from a D tag (an example of an identification code that identifies an article; not shown)
Is provided.

Due to the structure and arrangement of the lift unit 12 and the centering unit 13, the lift unit 1
The second idler roller 37 (supporting part for the article) is arranged inward of the left and right drive ranges of the lateral pushing plate 41 of the centering unit 13 and close to the centering unit 13.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the carry-in conveyor device 1 is provided with a fork detector 61 comprising a reflection type photoelectric switch, which is arranged at an end of the carry-in side and detects the fork of the fork of the cargo handling vehicle 3, and the carry-in conveyor device 1. Side loading roller 62, which detects that the metal case F has been loaded (placed) on the drive roller 21 on the side, and the metal case F on the drive roller 21 on the side of unloading. The carry-out side in-load detector 63, which is a transmission type photoelectric switch, for detecting that the metal case F has been moved (placed), and the metal case F moves to a position where the metal case F can be scooped by the fork device of the stacker crane C. And a protrusion detector 64 composed of a transmissive photoelectric switch for confirming whether or not the detector 61, 62, 63, 64 has detection information. Is input to the controller 71 of location 1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the controller 71 is provided with the carry-in side drive motor 27A, the carry-out side drive motor 27B, and two left and right lift cylinder devices 35.
The (control valve), the left and right centering cylinder devices 45 (control valve), the ID reader 51, and the control device 72 of the stacker crane C and the control device 73 of the cargo handling vehicle 3 are connected. .

The operation of the carry-in conveyor device 1 driven by the controller 71 will be described. First, when the inquiry data as to whether or not the metal case F may be carried in is input from the control device 73 of the cargo handling vehicle 3, the carry-in side presence detector 6
2 confirms the presence or absence of the metal case F on the loading side drive roller 21, and if there is the metal case F, the disapproval data indicating that the metal case F cannot be loaded is output to the control device 73 of the cargo handling vehicle 3, and the metal case F is If there is not, permission data indicating that the cargo can be carried in is output to the control device 73 of the cargo handling vehicle 3.

When the cargo handling vehicle 3 starts the loading operation of the metal case F according to the permission data and the fork is projected from the cargo handling vehicle 3 and the fork detector 61 operates, the loading side drive motor 27A is driven, Drive side drive roller 21
Is rotated to bring in the metal case F from the cargo handling vehicle 3,
When the carry-in side load detector 62 operates, the carry-in side drive motor 27A is stopped and the carry-in ends.

Subsequently, the presence / absence of the metal case F on the carry-out side drive roller 21 is confirmed by the carry-out side load detector 63. If the metal case F is present, the process waits as it is, and if the metal case F is not present. , The carry-in side drive motor 27A and the carry-out side drive motor 27B are driven to rotate the carry-in side and carry-out side drive rollers 21 to move the metal case F from the carry-in side drive roller 21 to the carry-out side drive roller 21. When the carry-out side load detector 63 operates, the carry-in side drive motor 27
A and the unloading side drive motor 27B are stopped, and the movement is completed.

Subsequently, each of the left and right lifting cylinder devices 35 is driven so that the left and right lifting bodies 31 are guided together by the linear guide device 33 and raised, and the idle rollers 37 are projected from between the drive rollers 21. The metal case F is supported by the idle roller 37. Then, the left and right centering cylinder devices 45 are driven to drive the left and right lateral push plates 41 toward the center, and the lateral push plates 41 laterally push the metal case F to move it to the central position. Do). Then, the ID reader 51 is driven so that the ID reader 51 reads the information of the ID tag of the metal case F.

Next, each of the left and right lifting cylinder devices 35 is driven to guide the left and right lifting bodies 31 together by the linear guide device 33 to lower the metal casing F onto the drive roller 21. The left and right centering cylinder devices 45 are driven to drive the left and right lateral push plates 41 outward, and the metal case F is released from these lateral push plates 41 (the lateral push action is canceled).

After that, it is confirmed whether or not the metal case F is detected by the protrusion detector 64, and when it is not detected (when there is no protrusion of the metal case F), the receipt including the information of the ID tag of the metal case F. Data (data indicating that the metal case F has been loaded) is formed, and this storage data is output to the control device 72 of the stacker crane C.
Alternatively, when the metal case F is being detected by the protrusion detector 64 (when the metal case F is protruding), the carry-out side drive motor 27B is driven to move the stacker crane C side again until the metal case F cannot be detected. After that, the storage data is formed and output to the control device 72 of the stacker crane C.

The control device 72 of the stacker crane C drives the stacker crane C according to this storage data to scoop the metal case F from the driving roller 21 on the unloading side to store the metal case F, and the ID tag of the metal case F The stored metal case F is managed based on the information. When the metal case F is unloaded from the unloading drive roller 21,
The carry-out side load detector 63 is turned off (no load is present), and the metal case F can be moved onto the drive-side drive roller 21.

In this way, the metal case F carried into the carry-in conveyor device 1 is carried by the drive roller conveyor 11, and the carried metal case F is inside the centering unit 13 and approaches the centering unit 13. Is lifted by the idler roller 37 (supporting part of the article) of the lift unit 12 that is arranged in parallel, and then the metal case F is laterally pushed by the centering unit 13 from the left and right to be centered (aligned to a predetermined position). By doing so, it is possible to prevent the metal case F from dropping or collapsing when the metal case F is scooped by the fork device of the stacker crane C.
Further, at this time, since the metal case F is supported by the idler roller 37 of the lift unit 12, the metal case F is smoothly positioned without sliding, thus preventing dust generation during centering as much as possible. can do.

Subsequently, the metal case F is laterally pushed by the centering unit 13 and is lifted by the lift unit 1.
2 is returned to the drive roller conveyor 11, and after the return, the lateral pushing action of the centering unit 13 on the metal case F is eliminated, so that the metal case F is moved to the central position on the drive roller conveyor 11 (conveying means). It can be arranged without deviating from the above predetermined position).

When the metal case F is centered by the centering unit 13, the ID reader 51 moves at the same time to approach the metal case F, and the information of the ID tag for identifying the metal case F is read, whereby the metal case F is read. The information of the ID tag can be read even when the document is conveyed away from the ID reader 51.

Further, as described above, when the metal case F is positioned at the center position (predetermined position), the metal case F is
Since the amount of sliding is reduced and dust is prevented as much as possible, it is possible to provide an optimal transfer device in a clean room.

In this embodiment, the carry-in conveyor device 1 is described as a device for carrying articles, but of course, the carry-out conveyor device 2 is provided with the lift unit 12 and the centering unit 13, and the metal case F ( The article can also be centered (aligned at a predetermined position). It can also be applied to a conveyor device that can carry articles in and out, both for loading and unloading.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the drive roller conveyor 11 is provided as the carrying means, but other carrying means such as a belt conveyor having left and right carrying belts may be used. At this time, the lift unit 12
Are arranged inside the left and right conveyor belts.

Further, in the above-described present embodiment, the idler roller 37 (the article supporting portion of the elevating means) of the lift unit 12 is
Although it is arranged inside and close to the centering unit 13, it may be arranged apart from the centering unit 13 and near the intermediate portion of the left and right drive rollers 21.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the ID tag is used as the identification code for identifying the article, but the present invention is not limited to such a tag, and a bar code printed label or the like may be used. it can. At this time, a bar code reader is used as the reading means.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, the article is conveyed by the conveying means, the conveyed article is lifted by the elevating means, and then the article is laterally pushed by the lateral pushing means to a predetermined position. Since the articles are supported by the rotating rollers of the elevating means when they are aligned, the articles are smoothly positioned without sliding, and thus dust during the positioning can be prevented as much as possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a carry-in conveyor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the carry-in conveyor device.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the carry-in conveyor device.

FIG. 4 is a front view of main parts of a drive roller unit and a lift unit of the carry-in conveyor device.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a lift unit of the carry-in conveyor device.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a centering unit of the carry-in conveyor device.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a main part of a centering unit of the carry-in conveyor device.

FIG. 8 is a control configuration diagram of the carry-in conveyor device.

FIG. 9 is a plan view and side view of a main part of an article storage facility including the carry-in conveyor device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Carry-in conveyor device 2 Carry-out conveyor device 3 cargo handling vehicles 11 Drive roller conveyor 12 Lift unit 13 Centering unit 21 Drive roller 27A, 27B drive motor 31 Lifting body 35 Lift Cylinder Device 37 Idler roller 41 Horizontal push plate 45 Cylinder device for centering 51 ID reader 71 controller FS Goods storage facility A storage shelf C stacker crane D article storage F Metal case (article)

Continued front page    F term (reference) 3F022 AA08 BB09 CC02 EE05 FF01                       HH13 JJ09 KK01 LL06 LL12                       LL19 LL32 LL33 MM08 MM35                       MM66 MM67 PP04 QQ12 QQ13                 3F081 AA20 BC08 CC12 CE10 CE14                       EA10 EA15 EA16                 5F031 CA05 DA08 EA14 FA03 FA07                       GA53 JA05 JA22 JA36 KA02                       KA11 KA20 LA07 LA13 LA15                       NA02 PA26

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Conveying means for conveying an article, elevating means for elevating and lowering an article conveyed by the conveying means, and an article lifted by the conveying means by the elevating means with a conveying direction of the article by the conveying means. Is provided with a lateral pushing means for laterally pushing from a perpendicular direction to align it at a predetermined position, and an idler wheel rotatable in the perpendicular direction is provided on a supporting portion of the article of the elevating means. A device for transporting articles. 2. The article is provided with an identification code for identifying the article, and the lateral pushing means is provided with a reading means for reading the identification code of the article. The reading means laterally pushes the article by the lateral pushing means. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the articles are pushed, they are simultaneously moved to approach the article and the identification code is read. 3. The lateral pushing means cancels the lateral pushing action on the article after the article is returned to the conveying means by the elevating means. The apparatus for conveying articles according to item 1. 4. The supporting portion for the article of the elevating means is arranged inward of the lateral pushing means and close to the lateral pushing means, and supports both side portions of the article in the perpendicular direction. The article conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is characterized by the above.