JP2005280878A - Product transporting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transfer a product being transported with a small force even when the product in handling has a large weight. <P>SOLUTION: A product transporting device is equipped with a transport conveyor, a supporting table 4 to admit placing of the product transported H in the transfer position on the transport path, and a transfer changeover means 9 to make changing-over between the standby condition in which the supporting table 4 is positioned below the transporting surface of the transport conveyor 7 and the transfer condition in which the supporting table 4 is positioned above the transporting surface, and in the transfer position, the product H is placed on and supported by the supporting table 4 through changing-over from the standby condition to the transfer condition, and further a transfer device is provided to heave from below the product H placed on and supported by the supporting table 4 in the transfer condition and transport it to the part whereto the transfer should be made, wherein the transfer changeover means 9 is furnished with a conveyor supporting mechanism to support the transport conveyor 7 movably in the vertical direction and an elevation/sink driving mechanism 10 to elevate and sink the transport conveyor 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, an article transport apparatus that is installed in a storage section of an automatic warehouse and can deliver a transported object to and from a stacker crane, and more specifically, can be transported in a state where the transported object is placed. A stand is provided, and a support stand is provided on which the transported object can be placed and supported at a transfer position in the transport path of the transport conveyor, and the support stand is positioned below the transport surface position of the transport conveyor. The transfer object is provided with transfer switching means that can be switched between the transfer state and the transfer state in which the support is positioned above the transfer surface position, and the transfer object placed on the transfer conveyor at the transfer point. Is placed on and supported by the support base by switching from the standby state to the transfer state, and the transported object placed and supported on the support base in the transfer state is lifted from below. The An article transport device which transfer device is provided for conveying the mounting target portion.

Conventionally, as this kind of article conveying apparatus, as shown in FIG. 4, a support base 4 is provided at a transfer position located in a downstream portion of the transport conveyor 70 so as to be movable up and down, and the support base 4 is moved up and down. There has been provided an elevating drive device 11 corresponding to a transfer switching means for switching between the standby state and the transfer state by driving (for example, see Patent Document 1).
The article transporting device lowers the lifting drive device 11 when the transported object H is transported by the transporting conveyor 70 and keeps it in the standby state. When the transported object H reaches the transfer location, the transporting conveyor 70 is stopped. Then, the lifting / lowering driving device 11 is lifted and lifted in a state where the transported object H is supported by the support 4 and switched to the transfer state. After that, as an example, a usage form in which a fork 2a of a transfer device such as a stacker crane is inserted below the transported object H, lifted, and transported to a transfer target part (for example, an article storage shelf of a three-dimensional warehouse). Can be mentioned.

JP-A-10-53327 (paragraph number [0029], FIG. 1 and FIG. 3)

  According to the above-described conventional article transporting device, the transfer switching means is constituted by the lift drive mechanism that lifts the support base from the standby state and switches to the transfer state. In such a case, the elevating drive device also requires a large output, which has an economical problem that the device cost and the operation cost are increased.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an article conveying apparatus that solves the above-described problems and facilitates transfer of a conveyed object with a small output even when handling a heavyly conveyed object. is there.

  A first characteristic configuration of the present invention is that a transport conveyor is provided that can be transported in a state where a transported object is placed, and a support base that is capable of placing and supporting the transported object at a transfer position in a transport path of the transport conveyor. A transfer switching means is provided that is switchable between a standby state in which the support table is positioned below the transfer surface position of the transfer conveyor and a transfer state in which the support table is positioned above the transfer surface position. The transported object placed on the transfer conveyor at the transfer location is placed and supported on the support base by switching from the standby state to the transfer state. In the article transport apparatus provided with a transfer device that lifts the transported object that is placed and supported by the support base from below in a state and transports the transported object to a transfer target part, the transfer switching means includes the transport Move conveyor up and down A conveyor support mechanism for rotatably supporting, there is to you have configured the conveyor and a lifting drive operably lifting drive mechanism.

In this type of article transport device, the transfer of the transported object from the transport conveyor to the support base is performed by placing the transported object at the transfer location on the transport conveyor in the standby state (the support base is located below the transport conveyor). Is supported by changing the relative position so that the support is positioned above the conveyor, according to the first feature of the present invention, This can be realized by driving the transport conveyor downward instead of driving the support base upward as in the prior art.
Since driving energy is lower when the same heavy object is driven downward than when it is driven upward, according to the present invention, it is easy to carry over the conveyed object from the conveyor to the support base with a small device output. Become. As a result, it is possible to use a low-power raising / lowering drive mechanism, and it is possible to achieve a reduction in apparatus cost.
Furthermore, in the transport conveyor descending drive process, the weight of the transported material acts on the transport conveyor only at the initial stage until it is transferred to the support base, and in the subsequent processes, only the weight of the transport conveyor is applied. Therefore, it is only necessary to be able to descend in a state in which the operation is performed, so that it is possible to drive with a smaller output, and it is possible to achieve a reduction in operation cost.
Accordingly, it is possible to improve the economy associated with the conveyance of the article.
Further, as a lifting mechanism with a small output can be adopted, it is possible to save the space of the apparatus.

  According to a second characteristic configuration of the present invention, the elevating drive mechanism is a cam type elevating drive mechanism.

According to the second characteristic configuration of the present invention, in addition to achieving the above-described operation and effect of the first characteristic configuration of the present invention, it is possible to drive the lifting drive mechanism with a smaller driving force. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce the operating cost.
In addition, since the structure of the cam type lifting drive mechanism itself is simple, apparatus maintenance and the like can be easily and reliably performed.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of an article conveying device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the parts indicated by the same reference numerals as those in the conventional example indicate the same or corresponding parts.

This article transport device is used in an automatic warehouse as shown in FIG. 1, and this automatic warehouse stores and stores transported articles (various articles A placed on a pallet P) H. A storage shelf (corresponding to a transfer target part) 1 is provided.
The storage shelf 1 has a structure in which a plurality of storage units for placing and holding the pallets P are arranged in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and a plurality of sets each having a pair of opposing ones are arranged.
A stacker crane (corresponding to a transfer device) 2 having a lifting platform that can be moved up and down, a fork 2a, and the like is provided between the storage shelves 1 facing each other in a movable manner along the rail 3. The stacker crane 2 carries the transported object H on the loading support 4a provided on the storage side of the storage shelf 1 into the storage part of the storage shelf 1, or transports the transported object H in the storage part 1 to the storage shelf 1 It is comprised so that it may carry out to the support stand 4b for carrying out provided in the delivery side.

On the front side of each set of storage shelves 1 on the warehousing side, a carry-in conveyor (corresponding to a transport conveyor according to the present invention) 7 constituted by a chain conveyor is provided, while the front side on the outgoing side of the storage shelves 1 Also, a carry-out conveyor 8 that is also constituted by a chain conveyor is provided.
In addition, although not shown in the drawing, delivery of the conveyed product H to the carry-in conveyor 7 and receipt of the conveyed product from the carry-out conveyor 8 can be performed by, for example, a forklift or other conveyor device. it can.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the carry-in conveyor 7 and the carry-out conveyor 8 include a pair of left and right frames 14 and a pair of left and right chains 15 that are rotatably supported by the frames 14. The carry-in conveyor 7 and the carry-out conveyor 8 are arranged in parallel to each other, and are configured such that the conveyance direction, that is, the rotation direction of the chain 15 is different.
The carry-in support 4a is arranged at the end of the carry-in conveyor 7 in the carrying direction, and the carry-out support 4b is arranged at the start of the carry-out conveyor 8 in the carrying direction. At a position where both the support bases 4 are installed, the transported object H is delivered from the carry-in conveyor 7 to the carry-in support base 4a or from the carry-out support base 4b to the carry-out conveyor 8. Each of these positions is referred to as a transfer location in the transport path.

Between the support table 4 and the respective conveyors 7 and 8, the support tables 4a and 4b are positioned below the conveyor transfer surfaces 7a and 8a (see FIGS. 2 (a) and 3 (c)). And a transfer switching means 9 that can be switched to a transfer state in which the support bases 4a and 4b are positioned above the positions of the transfer surfaces 7a and 8a (see FIGS. 2 (b) and 3 (b)). Is provided.
In the standby state, the support 4 is positioned below the upper surface position of the chain 15 between the left and right chains 15 of the conveyor, and transport and delivery are performed with the transported object H placed on the chain transport surface. It is in a state where it can be performed.
On the other hand, in the transfer state, the support bases 4a and 4b are at a relative position higher than the upper surface position of the left and right chains 15, and the transport object H is placed on the support bases 4a and 4b. In addition, in a state where the fork 2a of the stacker crane 2 can be positioned, it can be transferred to and from the stacker crane 2.

The mechanism of the transfer switching means 9 is different between the warehousing side and the warehousing side.
The transfer switching means 9A on the warehousing side includes a conveyor support mechanism that supports the carry-in conveyor 7 so as to be movable up and down, and a cam-type lift drive mechanism 10 that is capable of operating the carry-in conveyor 7 up and down. On the other hand, the loading / unloading switching means 9B on the warehousing side is configured by the lifting / lowering driving device 11 that can freely operate the lifting / lowering support 4b.
That is, on the warehousing side, in the state where the conveyed product H is conveyed to the transfer location by the carry-in conveyor 7, the cam-type lifting drive mechanism 10 is operated to lower the carry-in conveyor 7, so that the carry-on support base 4a The transported object H is transferred to the machine. Accordingly, the transfer work from the carry-in conveyor 7 to the support 4a is not lifted by the cam type elevating drive mechanism 10, so that even if the transported object H is heavy, a large amount is required. This can be implemented without an output drive source.
On the unloading side, the transported object H is transferred onto the transporting conveyor 8 by lowering the elevating drive device 11 from the state where the transported object H is placed on the unloading support 4b by the stacker crane 2. is there. Also in this case, since the conveyed product H is not lifted by the lifting / lowering drive device 11, even if the conveyed product H is a heavy object, the present invention can be carried out without a large output drive source.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the carry-in conveyor 7 has a conveyor support mechanism in which one end side is pin-supported and an intermediate portion is placed and supported by an eccentric cam (an example of a cam type lifting drive mechanism 10) 12. Can be adopted. The eccentric cam 12 is in contact with the lower surfaces of the left and right frames 14, and by rotating the eccentric cam 12 forward and backward by motor driving, the entire carry-in conveyor 7 is swung up and down around the pin support axis on one end side, It is configured to be switchable between the standby state and the transfer state. The carry-in support base 4a is composed of a pair of support portions 16 arranged in parallel at intervals in the conveyor transport direction, and a stand frame 17 that keeps the support portions 16 at a constant height. In the state, the support portion 16 is formed to be located slightly below the transport surface 7a of the carry-in conveyor 7 located at the upper end of the swing range.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the carry-out conveyor 8 has a fixed height and is not provided with a mechanism for changing the height. The unloading support base 4b includes a pair of support portions 16 arranged in parallel at intervals in the conveyor conveyance direction, and a stand frame (lifting / lowering drive device 11) whose height can be changed by motor drive while supporting the support portions 16. An example) 18 and the like. In the transfer state, the base frame 18 can be positioned at the upper end of the lifting range by motor driving, while in the standby state, it can be positioned at the lower end of the lifting range by motor driving.

Next, a procedure for loading / unloading of a conveyed product by the article conveying apparatus of the present embodiment will be described.
(Import procedure)
[1] The conveyance object H is received on the chain 15 while the carry-in conveyor 7 is raised to the transfer state by driving the eccentric cam 12, and the conveyance object H is conveyed to the transfer position by the chain drive (FIG. 2). (See (i)).
[2] The eccentric cam 12 is driven and the carry-in conveyor 7 is lowered, so that the conveyed product H is inherited on the carry-in support 4a (see FIG. 2B).
[3] The fork 2a of the stacker crane 2 enters below the transported object H and lifts it, moves to the storage shelf 1 by operating the stacker crane 2, and places the transported object H on the corresponding storage unit.
(Unloading procedure)
[4] The unloading holding base 4b is raised to the transfer state by the elevating drive device 11, and the transported object H stored in the holding shelf 1 is placed on the fork 2a of the stacker crane 2 and unloaded. It moves on the holding base 4b (see FIG. 3 (A)).
[5] The transport drive H is delivered onto the carry-out conveyor 8 by driving the lifting / lowering drive device 11 downward to enter the standby state (see FIG. 3B).
[6] The conveyed product H is moved by the chain drive of the carry-out conveyor 8 and transferred to another mechanism (see FIG. 3C).

  According to the article transporting apparatus of the present embodiment, in the transfer of the transported object H between the support 4 and the conveyor, the transported object is not lifted, but on the warehousing side, the carry-in conveyor is lowered and supported on the unloading side. This can be realized by lowering the table 4b, and is easy to implement with a small device output. As a result, it is possible to improve the economics associated with the conveyance of goods, such as a reduction in apparatus cost and a reduction in operating cost.

[Another embodiment]
Other embodiments will be described below.

<1> The raising / lowering drive mechanism 10 capable of freely raising / lowering the conveyance conveyor 7 is not limited to the configuration including the eccentric cam described in the previous embodiment, and includes, for example, a telescopic drive cylinder (hydraulic pressure, air drive, etc.) Alternatively, a screw feed mechanism in which a male screw member and a female screw member are combined may be used, and these are collectively referred to as a lifting drive mechanism.
Further, the conveyor support mechanism of the transfer conveyor 7 is not limited to one that supports the vertically swinging state by the combination of the pin support on one end described in the previous embodiment and the support by the eccentric cam. 7 may be supported so that it can move up and down while maintaining the horizontal posture.

  In addition, as mentioned above, although the code | symbol was written in order to make contrast with drawing convenient, this invention is not limited to the structure of an accompanying drawing by this entry.

Arrangement of article conveying device Side view explanatory diagram showing the warehousing situation Side view explanatory diagram showing the delivery status Side view explanatory drawing which shows the conventional article conveyance apparatus

Explanation of symbols

2 Stacker crane (equivalent to transfer equipment)
4 Support stand 7 Carry-in conveyor (equivalent to the conveyor according to the present invention)
9 Transfer switching means 10 Elevating drive mechanism H

Claims (2)

A transport conveyor that can be transported in a state where the transported object is placed is provided, and a support base that is capable of placing and supporting the transported object at a transfer position in the transport path of the transport conveyor is provided, and a transport surface position of the transport conveyor A transfer switching means is provided that can be switched between a standby state where the support table is positioned below and a transfer state where the support table is positioned above the transfer surface position, and the transfer is performed at the transfer location. The transported object placed on the conveyor is configured to be placed and supported on the support table by switching from the standby state to the transfer state, and is placed and supported on the support table in the transfer state. An article conveying apparatus provided with a transfer device that lifts the conveyed item from below and conveys it to a transfer target unit,
The article transfer device is configured to include a conveyor support mechanism that supports the transfer conveyor so that the transfer conveyor can move up and down, and an elevating drive mechanism that can move the transfer conveyor up and down.   The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elevating drive mechanism is a cam type elevating drive mechanism.

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