JP2005112538A - Box takeout device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a box takeout device capable of taking out necessary ones of many boxes stacked on a product rack in any desired number, shortening the working time, and suppressing the equipment costs by decreasing the number of driving devices to lead to simplification of the mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: The box takeout device includes a takeout part 12 to serve also as a stopper which is installed at the lower end of each stage inclined of product racks 11 and energized upward by a coil spring 16. An arm 18 able to depress the takeout part 12 with rotation of itself is installed at the rear end of a belt conveyor 22 on a discharging dolly 20. A movable stopper 23 is installed which can move to the front and rear in the conveyor moving direction and can emerge and retract in the direction up and down. When the arm 18 is rotated to depress the takeout part 12, the box 2 moves onto the conveyor 22 by its own weight, and the following boxes 2 can be stopped if the takeout part 12 is raised. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a so-called “box cutting device” for taking out a desired number of boxes from a shelf in which a large number of boxes (generally individuals) in which products or the like are stored are collected.

  As in the product shelf 1 shown in FIG. 8, a large number of boxes 2 storing products are concentrated in a space as small as possible, and a box 2 storing necessary types of products is required. Conventionally, a multi-stage product shelf 1 is used so that the number can be quickly taken out (referred to as “cutting out”). A plurality of boxes 2 of different sizes and contents are mixed and accumulated in each stage of the product shelf 1. Each step of the product shelf 1 is inclined in the same direction, and a number of rotatable anti-friction rollers 3 are provided on the upper surfaces thereof. Accordingly, the box 2 that is received from the rear as indicated by the arrow c automatically slides on the roller 3 due to its own weight and moves toward the relatively lower end of the product shelf 1, and the adjacent box 2 and It comes into contact with no gap. Conventionally, since the number of stages of the product shelf 1 is about 3 or less, it is usual to manually take out the box 2 that has come to the end of the product shelf 1 and transfer it directly to the delivery cart 8 or the like.

  However, if the number of product shelves 1 is increased in order to increase space efficiency, or the number of outlets is increased by providing a plurality of product shelves 1 in parallel in the horizontal direction, it is difficult to manually perform the cutting operation. become. A possible countermeasure is to use an automated box cutting device. The concept of an automated box cutting device can be considered to some extent even within the scope of the prior art. FIG. 8 shows, as a reference example, the configuration and operation of the automated box cutting device assumed as described above.

  In the reference example shown in FIG. 8, a first stopper 4 that can be moved up and down is provided at the lower end of each stage of the product shelf 1, and is moved up and down as indicated by an arrow a by an actuator such as a pneumatic cylinder 5. To be able to. In addition, several boxes close to the lower end are required to pull out (cut out) the box 2 to be taken out at the lower end of each stage of the product shelf 1 away from the other boxes 2 that follow it. A rotation driving device (not shown) is provided on the roller, which is used as the driving roller 6, and a second stopper that moves up and down as shown by an arrow b by an actuator such as the pneumatic cylinder 5 at a position behind the driving roller 6. 7 is provided.

  In the box cutting device (reference example) configured according to the prior art as shown in FIG. 8, it is provided at the end of any one of the stages of the product shelf 1 to which the delivery cart 8 is approaching. The first stopper 4 is lowered, and the driving roller 6 is rotated by a driving device (not shown), so that only one box 2 that has been in contact with the first stopper 4 is accelerated and provided on the delivery cart 8. The belt conveyor 9 is moved. At this time, the subsequent second and subsequent boxes 2 also try to move gently on the roller 3 due to their own weight, but the second stopper 7 is raised and inserted into the gap between them caused by the difference in the moving speed of the two. This prevents the second and subsequent boxes 2 from moving. In this way, one box 2 at the end of the product shelf 1 can be separated from all the rear boxes 2 including those adjacent to it, and only one separated box 2 is separated. Can be moved onto the delivery cart 8. Thereafter, the next box 2 can be moved to the end of the product shelf 1 by raising the first stopper 4 and lowering the second stopper 7. Since the delivery cart 8 can be self-propelled, the box 2 transferred from the product shelf 1 onto the belt conveyor 9 is conveyed to a target location.

  However, in the box cutting device having such a configuration, the first stopper 4 and the second stopper 7 respectively operated by an actuator such as a pneumatic cylinder 5 for each stage of the product shelf 1 and a driving device (not shown). Since it is necessary to provide a driving roller 6 that is rotationally driven and a control device that centrally manages the operation of these rollers, not only the equipment becomes expensive, but also a long time is placed on the product shelf 1. When a plurality of types of boxes 2 having different lengths L are mixed, the distance between the first stopper 4 and the second stopper 7 is constant, so there is no need to cut out the boxes 2 one by one. However, since a plurality of boxes 2 cannot be cut out together, there is a problem that it takes time to transfer the boxes 2 onto the delivery cart 8.

  Further, in order to separate one target box 2 from the group of subsequent boxes 2, a gap is formed between the two by the operation of the driving roller 6, and the time when the gap passes the position of the second stopper 7 is determined. It is necessary to raise the second stopper 7 instantaneously aiming, but when a new box 2 enters the rear end of any step of the product shelf 1 as indicated by an arrow c, the space between the boxes 2 is caused by the impact or vibration. When the second stopper 7 is raised, it does not match the gap between the boxes 2 and the subsequent boxes 2 cannot be stopped. When handling a box 2 whose bottom surface is deformed or a box 2 whose center of gravity is biased backward, there is a risk that it will be unable to move outside the normal course (clogging), and has come to the end of the product shelf 1 Even box 2 is difficult to cut out Because there is a case're interested in seeing a need to replace the box 2 as normal, so that it is necessary to transfer the longitudinal direction of the box 2 occurs, there is a possibility to come occurred various problems.

  In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and various problems expected in the reference example considered as an improved technique, the present invention reduces the portion where the drive device needs to be provided, and the mechanism of the box cutting device By simplifying the process, the equipment cost can be reduced, and even when multiple types of boxes with different sizes are mixed, it is possible to cut out the boxes at once and work time. The necessary number of products that have reached the end of the product shelf even when a slight impact is applied, by eliminating the need for difficult operations such as forming a gap between adjacent boxes and inserting a stopper in it. The box has a new structure that can be surely cut out the box, and does not cause any problems when handling a box whose bottom is deformed or a box whose center of gravity is biased backward. Cut And its object is to provide a to device.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a box cutting device as described in claim 1.

  In the box cutting device according to the present invention, a movable stopper that can move back and forth along the moving direction of the conveyor and move up and down from the upper surface of the conveyor, and a rear end of the conveyor And an arm that can rotate in the forward and reverse directions. On the side of the product shelf, in order to prevent the boxes accumulated on the shelf from sliding down due to their own weight, a cutout portion having a simple configuration that is energized and raised by elastic means is provided. When the arm is in a non-engagement position with respect to the cutout portion, the cutout portion acts as a stopper for stopping the box on the shelf, but the engagement portion provided on a part of the cutout portion by rotating the arm When the button is pushed down, the cutout part is lowered, so that the box 2 can move from the shelf to the delivery cart by its own weight. The conveyor helps that movement. The size and number of boxes to be loaded on the delivery cart can be arbitrarily set by changing the position of the movable stopper.

  In the box cutting device of the present invention, the product shelves are stacked in multiple stages, or the product shelves are provided in parallel in a plurality of rows in the horizontal direction, thereby increasing the number of boxes that can be accumulated on the product shelves and increasing the space efficiency. However, an arbitrary number of boxes can be cut out from a number of frontages by a single delivery cart. In this case, at least the base of the delivery cart that supports the conveyor, the movable stopper, and the arm can be raised and lowered to an arbitrary height by the lifting device, and the delivery cart has wheels for self-propelling. The wheel can be moved to a position facing the end of an arbitrary row of the product shelf.

  The entire box cutting device of the present invention can be automated by providing a driving device and a control device for automatically operating movable parts such as a conveyor, a movable stopper, and an arm. The box can be moved smoothly by providing anti-friction rollers at least on the upper surface of the product shelf, the upper portion of the cut-out portion, and part of the tip of the arm.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the box cutting device 10 which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The box cutting device 10 of the illustrated embodiment is divided into a multi-stage product shelf 11 and a delivery cart 20. The multi-stage product shelves 11 can be provided in a plurality of rows in parallel, whereby the space efficiency around the product shelves 11 can be improved, and the boxes 2 can be provided by a single delivery cart 20 from a large number of openings in the product shelves 11. The necessary number of can be cut out. In each row of the product shelves 11 in each row, a plurality of boxes 2 having different contents and sizes are stacked in a mixed state at random. Each stage of the product shelf 11 is inclined in the same direction, and a large number of rotatable anti-friction rollers 3 are provided on the upper surfaces thereof.

  Accordingly, the box 2 that has entered the product shelf 11 automatically slides on the roller 3 due to its own weight, makes contact with the adjacent box 2 without any gap, and moves toward the relatively lower end of the product shelf 11. And A cutout portion 12 that can be moved up and down is provided at the lower end of each stage. The cutout unit 12 is provided to “cut out” only a desired number of boxes 2 from the end of the product shelf 11, but also serves as a stopper for preventing the movement of the subsequent boxes 2 at the same time. It is. However, the main body of the cutout portion 12 is a simple bar, and several members are provided for the purpose of guiding the movement of the cutout portion 12, but the cutout portion 12 is operated to move up and down. No actuator or the like is provided on the product shelf 11 side.

  The detailed structure of the cutout part 12 and the parts related thereto is shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. A stopper roller 13 having the same structure as that of the roller 3 can be rotated by a shaft so that a common surface with a large number of rollers 3 is formed on the upper portion of the horizontal bar-shaped cutout portion 12 when it is lowered to a predetermined position. It is supported. In order to support the cutout portion 12 and to be able to move up and down, several vertical members 15 including left and right fixing holders 14 and vertical round bars attached thereto are formed on the outside of the product shelf 11. It is provided so as to be a part of the frame. Two specific left and right members of the vertical member 15 are slidably fitted into holes formed in the horizontal bar-shaped cutout portion 12, so that the cutout portion 12 is guided by the vertical member 15. You can go up and down.

  Further, since the coil spring 16 made of a compression spring is attached to the vertical member 15 below the cutout portion 12, the coil spring 16 always moves upward so as to push up the cutout portion 12 toward the position where it contacts the fixed holder 14. Energized. An arm receiver 17, which is an L-shaped metal fitting, is attached to the center portion of the cutout portion 12 by a method such as welding. A generally horizontal surface 17a of the arm receiver 17 is formed so that a roller 19 provided at the tip of an arm 18 on the side of the delivery cart 20 described later can be brought into contact therewith to push down the cutout portion 12.

  The unloading cart 20 cuts out one or several boxes 2 at a time from any stage of the product shelf 11 in any row, and carries one or more cut out boxes 2 to a target position. For this purpose, a plurality of traveling wheels 21 are provided. The direction of the wheel 21 is not limited to the direction shown in the figure, but can be arbitrarily changed according to the target position. As a result, the unloading cart 20 can move closer to or away from the product shelf 11, and the front of each row of the product shelf 11 can be moved laterally so that the product shelves 11 other than those shown in the figure can be It is also possible to face the row.

  Further, although not shown, a high bowl-like frame is mounted on the delivery cart 20 in the vertical direction, and an elevating device composed of a motor, a chain, a sprocket, and the like is incorporated in the frame. The base not to be moved can be moved up and down to an arbitrary height of the product shelf 11. A belt conveyor 22 as schematically shown in FIG. 1 and the like is provided on this base. Rather than providing a single belt conveyor 22, it is better to connect two parts divided in front and rear as shown in the figure in series. Further, instead of using only one wide conveyor belt 22 having a width equal to the width of the box 2, two belt conveyors 22 having a narrow width supporting the left and right portions of the box 2 are parallel to each other. This can be provided. Thus, when there are a plurality of belt conveyors 22, they are driven to rotate simultaneously or individually by one or a plurality of motors (not shown).

  A plate-shaped movable stopper 23 that can be arbitrarily operated and moved is provided on the delivery cart 20. First, the movable stopper 23 can be moved up and down (in / out) in the vertical direction as indicated by an arrow v with reference to the upper surface of the belt conveyor 22. The movable stopper 23 can also move in the front-rear direction along the moving direction of the belt conveyor 22 as indicated by an arrow h. When only one movable stopper 23 is provided at the central portion of the base of the delivery cart 20, the belt conveyor 22 needs to be divided into two left and right portions in the width direction of the box 2 as described above. However, when the belt conveyor 22 is a single one and is not divided into two parts on the left and right, the movable stopper 23 is divided into two parts on the left and right, and these two parts are arranged on both sides of the belt conveyor 22 on the conveyor 22. What is necessary is just to comprise so that it may move to the front-back direction and the up-down direction of a moving direction simultaneously. The movable stopper 23 is also operated by an actuator (not shown) such as a motor or a solenoid.

  A base end portion of the arm 18 is attached to a rear end of a base (not shown) of the delivery cart 20 so as to be rotatable by a shaft (not shown). This shaft can be rotated forward and backward by a motor with a reduction gear (not shown). When the arm 18 is rotated counterclockwise in FIGS. 1 and 2 by controlling this motor, the arm 18 moves to the upright position as shown in FIG. It becomes non-engaged with respect to the cut-out part 12 provided. Accordingly, in this case, the cutout portion 12 is lifted by the urging force of the coil spring 16, and the stopper roller 13 provided on the cutout portion 12 protrudes upward from the group of rollers 3 so that the box 2 moves due to its own weight. To prevent. When the arm 18 is rotated clockwise in FIGS. 1 and 2, the roller 19 at the tip of the arm 18 is engaged with the surface 17a of the arm receiver 17 attached to the cutout portion 12 as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the surface 17a is pushed down against the urging force of the coil spring 16, so that the stopper roller 13 moves down to the same level as the roller 3 group together with the cutout portion 12, and does not act as a stopper for the box 2. Therefore, in this case, the box 2 can move on the roller 3 and the stopper roller 13 by its own weight.

  The box cutout device 10 of the illustrated embodiment is provided on the side of the product shelf 11 like the cutout portion 12 and on the side of the delivery cart 20 like the arm 18 and the movable stopper 23 that operate the cutout portion 12. It is configured as a combination mechanism of both of the parts. Next, the operation of the box cutting device 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. These five drawings are operated in accordance with their order so as to cut out two specific boxes 2 storing the target product from a large number of boxes 2 collected on the product shelf 11 at a time. The state change of the box cutting device 10 in the case of

  FIG. 3 shows the identification of a specific row in which two boxes 2 each having a length L containing the target product are continuously located at the end of the product shelf 11 having a large number of rows and stages. After adjusting the height of the base of the unloading carriage 20 by a lifting device (not shown) according to the height of the stage, for example, running and moving the unloading carriage 20 as indicated by an arrow n, Positioning it so as to face the end of a specific stage in a specific row, and immediately rotating the arm 18 rightward, via the arm receiver 17 to which the stopper roller 13 at the tip of the arm 18 is engaged, The state where the cut-out part 12 and the stopper roller 13 of the opposite step are lowered to the level of the group of rollers 3 against the bias of the coil spring 16 is shown. In the middle of or prior to this operation, the movable stopper 23 is moved along the belt conveyor 22 in the direction of the arrow h, and in this case, the length 2L of two boxes 2 of the target length L is obtained. The position is set so that a slightly shorter length is formed on the belt conveyor 22, and the movable stopper 23 is raised at that position to protrude above the upper surface of the belt conveyor 22.

  As the stopper roller 13 is lowered as shown in FIG. 3, the pawl of the box 2 is eliminated, and the series of boxes 2 slides on the roller 3 group by its own weight as shown in FIG. The first box 2 is placed on the delivery cart 20. If the belt conveyor 22 is operated at this time, the first box 2 moves on the delivery cart 20 to a position where it contacts the movable stopper 23. Subsequently, the second box 2 also follows and moves while maintaining contact with the first box 2, but the movable stopper 23 moves the second box 2 completely onto the delivery cart 20. Since the second box 2 is moved onto the delivery cart 20 by about half of the length L as shown in FIG. The first one of the series of boxes 2 that are moved by the operation of the contact with the movable stopper 23 stops together with the subsequent ones.

  When the movement of the box 2 is stopped by the movable stopper 23, the arm 18 is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG. As a result, the cutout portion 12 and the stopper roller 13 are pushed up by the urging force of the coil spring 16, and the rear end of the second box 2 is pushed up slightly. If the movable stopper 23 is lowered as shown in FIG. 6 at this time, the belt conveyor 22 continues to operate, so that the second box 2 is in contact with the first box 2 on the delivery cart 20. When the belt conveyor 22 is stopped, it stops at that position. On the other hand, since the third and subsequent boxes 2 are pawled by the stopper roller 13 of the cutout portion 12 in the raised position, they are left on the product shelf 11 because they cannot move due to their own weight. In this way, only the two target boxes 2 can be separated (taken out) from the other boxes 2 very smoothly and quickly, and it is difficult to perform simple sequential operations at that time. Since there is no need to perform operations, the control device when these operations are automated becomes simple.

  In addition, after the two boxes 2 to be cut out move on the delivery cart 20, when the arm 18 is rotated to the upright position as shown in FIG. 7, the arm 18 is placed on the belt conveyor 22 of the delivery cart 20. This acts as a stopper that prevents the box 2 loaded on the rear side from moving backward, so that the box 2 moves backward from the outgoing truck 20 due to inertia when the outgoing truck 20 travels and moves to the target location. Even if there is a fear of slipping, it can be prevented beforehand. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a special stopper such as a fence that appears in the vertical direction at the rear end of the delivery cart 20, and an operation for making it appear and disappear is also unnecessary.

  In the operation of the box cutting device 10 of the illustrated embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7, the case where two boxes 2 are cut out together is taken up, but the case where only one box 2 is cut out, Even when three or more pieces are cut out together, it is considered that the explanation is not necessary that the box cutting device 10 of the embodiment can be used. The only thing that needs to be changed according to the number and length L of the boxes 2 to be cut out is only the position of the movable stopper 23 in the moving direction of the belt conveyor 22, as shown in FIGS. Therefore, by changing the positioning of the movable stopper 23, it is possible to immediately cope with the above case.

  The present invention is expressed as a box cutting device because there is no appropriate name, but the object to be handled by the device of the present invention does not have to be a box containing products etc., and the object may be any individual. Therefore, “box” in the present invention should be generally interpreted as meaning “individual”, and “product shelf” should generally be interpreted as meaning “individual stack”. Therefore, the “box cutting device” of the present invention can be used as a means for taking out only a part of objects from a shelf in which a plurality of individual objects including boxes are accumulated.

It is a system configuration figure showing the side of the box cutting device of an example. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of an Example. It is a side view which shows the 1st state in the action | operation of an Example. It is a side view which shows the 2nd state in the action | operation of an Example. It is a side view which shows the 3rd state in the action | operation of an Example. It is a side view which shows the 4th state in the action | operation of an Example. It is a side view which shows the 5th state in the action | operation of an Example. It is a system block diagram which shows the side of the box cutting-out apparatus of a reference example.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Product shelf (reference example)
2 ... Box (individual)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... Roller 4 ... 1st stopper 5 ... Pneumatic cylinder 6 ... Drive roller 7 ... 2nd stopper 8 ... Delivery cart (reference example)
9 ... belt conveyor 10 ... box cutting device (embodiment of the present invention)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Product shelf 12 ... Cutout part 13 ... Stopper roller 14 ... Fixed holder 15 ... Vertical member 16 ... Coil spring 17 ... Arm receiver 17a ... Generally horizontal surface (engagement part)
18 ... Arm 19 ... Roller 20 ... Delivery cart 21 ... Wheel 21
22 ... belt conveyor 23 ... movable stopper

Claims (7)

  A conveyor provided on a delivery cart, a movable stopper that can be positioned by moving back and forth along the moving direction of the conveyor, and can move up and down from the upper surface of the conveyor, and the conveyor An arm provided at the output cart at the rear end and capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions, and a box provided at the lower end of the slightly inclined product shelf and accumulated on the product shelf. A cutout portion that can be urged and raised by elastic means to prevent sliding off from the end due to its own weight, and the cutout portion to lower the cutout portion against the urging force of the elastic means A box cutting device provided with an engaging portion that is provided at a part of the arm and is pushed downward when engaged with an end of the arm.   The box cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the product shelves are stacked in multiple stages and are inclined in the same direction.   The box cutting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the product shelves are provided in parallel in a plurality of rows in the horizontal direction.   4. The box cutout according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a base of the delivery cart that supports at least the conveyor, the movable stopper, and the arm can be raised and lowered to an arbitrary height by a lifting device. apparatus.   The box according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the unloading carriage has wheels for self-propelling and can be moved to a position facing an end of an arbitrary row of the product shelf by the wheels. Cutting device.   6. The box cutting device according to claim 1, comprising a drive device and a control device for automatically operating the movable part.   7. The box cutting device according to claim 1, wherein an antifriction roller is provided on at least a part of an upper surface of the product shelf, an upper portion of the cutting portion, and a tip portion of the arm.

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