JP2006199450A - Article transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article transfer device having a data reader capable of realizing the efficient ID reading when reading the ID data of articles when the articles are received or making an inventory. <P>SOLUTION: In a carriage 11 having a slide fork 12 to longitudinally move an article loading member 30 to load an article W, a turn-driving unit capable of turning the article loading member 30 on the slide fork 12 is provided, and an ID reader 15 as a data reader to read the data of an ID tag T as a data display member mounted on the article W is provided on the article loading member 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an article transfer apparatus provided with a data reader used for reading article data at the time of goods receipt / shipment or inventory.

Conventionally, article data is read for inventory management in factories and warehouses.
For example, in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, the light receiving / receiving device 18 provided in the loading / unloading device 3 of the automatic warehouse for detecting the presence / absence of articles on each storage shelf, and the articles W at the stations 11, 13, 15. A data reader 16 for reading a data display member such as an attached barcode, storage means for storing inventory information of storage shelves, a reading result of the data reader 16 and the like and inventory information in the storage means at the time of inventory And a personal computer 20 for collation. Then, when the articles W arrive at the warehousing stations 11 and 13 and the warehousing and unloading station 15, the data reader 16 reads the data display member for each article W. Further, at the time of inventory, the articles W stored in the storage shelf are transported to the warehousing stations 11 and 13 and the warehousing station 15 by the warehousing and unloading device 3, and are provided in the warehousing stations 11 and 13 and the warehousing and unloading station 15. The data reading member 16 reads the data display member and confirms the collation. If reading by the data reader 16 is not normally performed, a dummy ID is set, temporarily stored, and stored as abnormality information, and the operator confirms after the inventory operation is completed.

In the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 2, a stocktaking unit 11 having digital cameras 12 and 13 and bar code readers 14 and 15 is always provided, and when stocktaking is performed, the stocktaking unit 11 is used as a lifting platform 54 of the stacker crane 5. And the bar code readers 14 and 15 read the barcode labels B attached to the side surfaces of the articles W on both sides and read them. The data is referred to the article data stored in the inventory management computer.
JP-A-9-202411 (page 3-4, FIG. 1, FIG. 6) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-35827 (page 3-4, FIGS. 1 and 2)

However, in the first prior art described above, since a data reader is installed at the loading / unloading station and reading is performed, if there are a plurality of loading / unloading stations, a data reader must be provided for each loading / unloading station. It becomes costly. In addition, when the direction of the article changes at the time of loading and unloading, and the position of the data display member attached to the article and the data reader is different, the data reading cannot be performed, and the work of aligning the direction of the article is separately required. Thus, there is a problem in terms of work efficiency. Further, at the time of inventory, the article must be transported from the storage shelf to the loading / unloading station to read the data, which causes a problem that it takes much time. Furthermore, if the data reading is not performed normally, the article must be temporarily stored in another place, or the work must be temporarily suspended and the confirmation work must be performed, which requires extra man-hours. .
In the second prior art, at the time of stocktaking, the bar code of the articles on the storage shelves on both sides can be read simultaneously by moving the traveling carriage on which the inventory unit 11 is placed. There is no need to read the data from the storage shelf to the loading / unloading station. However, two barcode readers are required, and a special reading device called an inventory unit is prepared in advance, and it is attached to the traveling carriage only at the time of data reading such as at the time of inventory, so it can only be used at the time of inventory. There is a problem that a dedicated device must be prepared at all times.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article transfer apparatus including a data reader capable of realizing efficient ID reading.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is an article transfer device comprising: an article placement member for placing an article; and a moving means for moving the article placement member in the article transfer direction. And a data reader for reading data of a turning drive unit for turning the article placement member of the article transfer device and a data display member attached to the article provided in a turning portion of the article transfer device It is characterized by comprising.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is only necessary to read the data after rotating the article placement member in advance so that the position of the data display member attached to the article matches the position of the data reader. It is possible to efficiently and reliably read data on an article when the article is transferred.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the article transfer device according to the first aspect, the swivel driving unit includes a structure that allows the swiveling member to swivel with respect to the moving means, and the data reader is provided. It is provided on the article mounting member.
According to invention of Claim 2, only an article mounting member can be freely swung. Accordingly, the position of the data reader provided on the article placement member can be changed as necessary, and it can be handled regardless of whether the data display member of the article is on the left or right side, thereby improving work efficiency. Can do.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the article transfer device according to the first aspect, the swivel driving unit includes a structure that allows a moving means of the article transfer device to be swiveled, and the data reader is moved as described above. It is provided in a part of the means.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the moving means of the article transfer device is swiveled, the data reader can be installed anywhere on the moving means, and the mounting position of the data reader can be freely set. The degree can be increased.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the article transfer device according to any one of the first to third aspects, when the data reading member data of the article is not normally read by the data reader, the article is transferred. A control device is provided for controlling the placement member to move a predetermined amount in the front-rear direction on the article transfer device and execute the reading again.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even when the position of the article is shifted and the data reading is not successful, the relative position between the data display member and the data reader is matched by moving the article mounting member by a predetermined amount. Thus, re-reading can be performed, and the interruption of the work and the confirmation work by a person can be reduced.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the article transfer apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the data reader has a direction changing mechanism for changing the direction.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reliably read data by changing the direction of the data reader in accordance with the position of the data display member. In addition to reading the articles placed on the article placement member, the data stored in the storage shelves at the time of inventory can be read.

The invention according to claim 6 is the article transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the article transfer apparatus is configured to store articles in and out of a storage shelf including a plurality of article storage units. It is equipped with an automatic warehouse stacker crane that can be used.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently and reliably carry out the work of loading and unloading articles to and from the automatic warehouse.

The invention according to claim 7 is the article transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the article transfer device is capable of unmanned transfer of an article to a plurality of transfer sources and transfer destinations. It is provided in a transport vehicle.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently and reliably carry out the goods receipt / shipment operation using the automatic guided vehicle.

  The article transfer apparatus provided with the data reader according to the present invention can reliably read the data display member attached to the article at the time of receipt / shipment of the article or at the time of inventory, thereby greatly improving the work efficiency. be able to.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, an article transfer apparatus including a data reader according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article transfer apparatus of this embodiment is an example applied to an automatic warehouse.
The automatic warehouse 1 includes a pair of storage shelves 2 including a plurality of storage units 3 capable of storing articles W, a first receiving station 4, a second receiving station 5, and a leaving station for receiving and storing the articles W. 6. Stacker crane 7 that reciprocates along storage shelf 2, machine base side control device 13 that controls operation of stacker crane 7, operation control device 14 that gives operation instructions to machine side control device 13, and operation control It comprises an inventory management control device (not shown) that communicates with the device 14.

First, the storage shelf 2 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pair of storage shelves 2 are formed of storage shelves 2a and 2b that are installed on the floor so as to face each other. A plurality of storage portions 3 are provided which are partitioned in the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction of 2a and 2b.
In addition, a first warehousing station 4 for warehousing is provided so as to face the front end in the longitudinal direction of one storage shelf 2a (left side in FIG. 1), and is provided at the front end of the other storage shelf 2b. A delivery station 6 for delivery is installed in parallel with the storage shelves 2a and 2b at a position opposite to the first entry station 4. A second warehousing station 5 capable of warehousing from a direction perpendicular to the row of storage shelves 2a is installed in the immediate vicinity of the first warehousing station 4.

Next, the stacker crane 7 will be described.
In the stacker crane 7, the operation control device 14 that has received a transport instruction based on a warehousing request or a warehousing request from an inventory management control device (not shown) issues an operation command to the machine base side control device 13. The article W is controlled to be stored in the storage unit 3 of the storage shelf 2 or the article W stored in the storage shelf 2 is taken out.
In this embodiment, rails 8 are laid along the longitudinal direction of the storage shelf 2, and the stacker crane 7 is guided by the rails 8 and reciprocates.

As shown in FIG. 1, the stacker crane 7 includes a traveling carriage 9, a mast 10, a carriage 11 that is an article transfer device, a slide fork 12 that is an article moving means provided in the carriage 11, and a machine base side control device. Mainly composed of 13 grades.
The traveling carriage 9 has a pair of masts 10 erected on the left and right sides, and a carriage 11 that can be raised and lowered between the masts 10. Here, in the direction in which the stacker crane 7 moves on the rail 8 in FIG. 1, the first storage station 4 side is the left direction, the opposite side is the right direction, and the carriage 11 is moved in the vertical direction with respect to the traveling carriage 9. Is the vertical direction, the direction in which the article W on the slide fork 12 is stored in the storage shelf 2 is the front, and the direction in which the article W is taken out is the rear.
Further, the traveling carriage 9 is provided with wheels (not shown) that roll with respect to the rail 8 on the floor on the left and right sides, and a traveling motor (not shown) for reciprocating the traveling carriage 9 on the rail 8; An elevator motor (not shown) for raising and lowering the carriage 11 and a machine-side controller 13 for controlling each device on the stacker crane 7 side are mounted.

  The detailed structure of the carriage 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. The carriage 11 includes a floor member 11a and left and right side plates 11b. An article W is placed on the upper surface of the floor member 11a toward the storage shelf 2 and the loading / unloading stations 4, 5, 6 (see FIG. 2). A movable three-stage slide fork 12 is provided. A slide fork drive motor 21 is attached to the rear wall portion of the floor member 11a, and a drive shaft 21a connected to the slide fork drive motor 21 has two gear boxes 22 supported by the rear wall portion of the floor member 11a. It is connected to a pinion (not shown). The expansion / contraction mechanism of the gear box 22 and the slide fork 12 to be described later is structured to be interlocked with a rack and pinion.

The slide fork 12 includes a three-stage fork including a lower fork 23, a middle fork 24, and an upper fork 25.
The lower fork 23 is formed of a pair of lower fork rails 23a on the right side and a pair of lower fork rails 23b on the left side. The lower fork rails 23a and 23b are fixed to the floor member 11a.
The middle fork 24 is formed of a pair of right middle fork rails 24a and a pair of left middle fork rails 24b. The middle fork rails 24a and 24b are engaging portions with the lower fork rails 23a and 23b. And is supported so as to be movable integrally in the front-rear direction.

The upper fork 25 is formed of a right upper fork rail 25a and a left upper fork rail 25b. The upper fork rails 25a and 25b have engaging portions with the middle fork rails 24a and 24b and are bridged by the upper fork board 26, and are supported so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. Yes.
A linear motion mechanism using a rack and pinion (not shown) is provided between the forks of each stage, and the slide fork moves back and forth. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the slide fork 12 transfers the article W to the storage unit 3 by extending the three-stage slide fork in the front-rear direction.

Next, the configuration of the article placement member and the turning drive unit will be described.
The upper fork board 26 is integrally provided with a ring-shaped top plate support 26a that protrudes upward, and a swing drive motor 27 is erected on the lower part of the upper fork board 26 with the drive shaft 27a facing upward. The turning gear 28 is fixed to the upper end of the drive shaft 27a.
On the other hand, an annular belt-like internal gear 29a is integrally provided on the lower surface of the swivel top plate 29, and the outer peripheral portion of the internal gear 29a is inserted into the inner peripheral portion of the top plate support portion 26a and is slidable. It has a simple structure. Further, a gear formed on the inner peripheral surface of the internal gear 29 a is meshed with the turning gear 28, and the internal gear meshed with the turning gear 28 as the drive shaft 27 a of the turning drive motor 27 rotates. The turning top 29 can be rotated by rotating 29a. An article placement member 30 for placing the article W is fixed on the upper surface of the swivel top plate 29.

Next, the ID reader 15 as a data reader will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, an ID reader 15 is attached to the left end portion of the article placement member 30, and the ID reader 15 includes a data reading unit 16 and a column 17 for supporting the reading unit 16. It is configured. When the reading unit 16 is arranged so as to face a surface parallel to the article moving direction to the storage shelf 2 and faces the ID tag T attached to the side surface of the article W placed on the article placement member 30. It is configured to put a certain distance. The support column 17 is supported so as to be rotatable about the axis of the support column 17. A direction changing drive motor 31 is provided on the lower surface of the article placement member 30, and is connected to the support column 17 by gears 32 and 33. Has been. Then, by the rotational drive of the drive motor 31, the reading unit 16 rotates 90 degrees, and the reading surface 16 a can be changed in a direction facing the storage shelf 2. (See Figure 2)

  The ID tag type recognition technique used in this embodiment is a known technique. The ID reader 15 has antenna and controller functions, and the ID tag T has an IC memory and can store information. Yes. Management information such as the product name, product number, lot number, and number of the article W stored in the ID tag T by the mutual wireless communication function can be read by the ID reader 15.

The operation flow at the time of warehousing using the article transfer apparatus including the data reader having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, in S101, when the article W is received at the first receiving station 4 or the second receiving station 5, the operation flow starts. Next, in S102, the operation control device 14 gives a scoop instruction to the machine base side control device 13 of the stacker crane 7. The scoop instruction is attached to the posture information of the article W, that is, the article W. It includes position information of the ID tag T indicating whether the ID tag T has been placed in a state where the ID tag T is positioned on the left or right side of the article W. It is assumed that the attachment position of the ID tag T attached to the article W is determined in advance. In S <b> 103, the stacker crane 7 moves along the rail 8 to the first warehousing station 4 or the second warehousing station 5 where the article W is received.

In S104, it is determined whether or not the article placement member 30 needs to be turned by 180 degrees before the article W received in the entry station is transferred. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the article W is received at the first receiving station 4 with the ID tag T attached to the right side in the transfer direction.
Therefore, in the case of the example of FIG. 2, the position of the ID tag T of the article W received in the first warehousing station 4 and the position of the ID reader 15 coincide with each other, so it is not necessary to turn the article placement member 30. . In this case, the process proceeds to S106, and the slide fork 12 performs scooping.

  On the other hand, it is assumed that the article W is stored in the second storage station 5 with the ID tag T facing the left side. At this position, since the position of the ID tag T of the article W and the position of the ID reader 15 do not coincide with each other, the article placement member 30 needs to be turned. In this case, the process proceeds to S105, and the article placement member 30 is turned 180 degrees. That is, the turning drive motor 27 is driven, and the driving force is transmitted from the turning gear 28 to the internal gear 29a. The article placement member 30 fixed to the turning top plate 29 is turned 180 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to the upper fork substrate 26 with the ID reader 15 as a reference with respect to the center of the internal gear 29a. By this turning, the position of the ID tag T of the article W matches the position of the ID reader 15. Then, the process proceeds to S106.

  Next, in S <b> 106, the slide fork 12 performs scooping, and the article W is transferred to the article placement member 30. That is, the slide fork drive motor 21 is driven, the middle fork 24 and the upper fork 25 move forward, and move toward the first storage station 4 or the second storage station 5 where the article W is placed. Then, the article placement member 30 that moves integrally with the upper fork 25 stops just below the article W. Thereafter, when the carriage 11 is raised and the article placement member 30 lifts the article W, the slide fork drive motor 21 is driven in a direction opposite to the above drive direction, and the upper fork 25 and the middle fork 24 are simultaneously moved to the carriage 11. It is stored toward.

In step S <b> 107, the ID reader 15 reads data of the ID tag T of the article W. The read data is temporarily stored in a storage device (not shown) provided in the machine-side control device 13.
In S <b> 108, the stacker crane 7 moves to the storage location for the article W instructed from the operation control device 14.

  In S <b> 109, the slide fork 12 performs the lowering and transfers the article W to the storage shelf 3. That is, the slide fork drive motor 21 is driven, the middle fork 24 and the upper fork 25 move forward, and move toward the storage portion 3 for storing the article W. Then, the article placement member 30 stops just above the storage unit 3. Thereafter, the carriage 11 is lowered, and the article W placed on the article placement member 30 is transferred to the storage unit 3. Subsequently, the slide fork drive motor 21 is driven in the direction opposite to the above drive direction, and the upper fork 25 and the middle fork 24 are simultaneously stored toward the carriage 11.

Note that the article W is stored in the storage shelf 2 so that the ID tag T is positioned on the side of the stacker crane 7 where the stacker crane 7 reciprocates. Accordingly, in FIG. 2, the stacker crane 7 to which the article W in the first storage station 4 is transferred is moved to the designated place and the slide fork 12 is operated if the designated unloading place is in the row of the storage shelf 2b. Then, the article W is transferred to the storage unit 3. If the designated unloading location is in the row of the storage shelf 2a, after moving to the designated location, the article placement member 30 is turned 180 degrees to change the direction of the article W, and then the slide fork 12 is operated. The article W is transferred to the storage unit 3.
Next, in S <b> 110, the machine base side control device 13 of the stacker crane 7 transmits an end report to the operation control device 14. This end report includes the ID information of the article W read in S107 and the address information of the storage unit 3 that stores the article W in S109. In addition, the operation control device 14 appropriately transmits various data included in the received end report to the inventory management control device. Thus, a series of operation flow is completed.

Next, the operation flow at the time of inventory will be described using the flowchart of FIG.
First, in S201, based on the command of the inventory management control device, the operation control device 14 instructs the stock control to the machine base side control device 13 of the stacker crane 7.
In S202, the stacker crane 7 moves to the first stage, which is the lowest stage at the left end of the row of the storage shelves 2a that is the start position.
Here, when the reading surface 16a of the reading unit 16 of the ID reader 15 installed on the article placement member 30 of the slide fork 12 is installed toward a plane parallel to the forward / backward movement direction of the slide fork 12 Is the standard position of the ID reader 15, and the case where the reading unit 16 is rotated 90 degrees by the drive motor 31 and the reading surface 16 a is installed in the direction facing the storage shelf 2 is the non-standard position.

  In S203, it is determined whether or not the ID reader 15 is in the standard position. If it is determined that the ID reader 15 is in the standard position, the process proceeds to S204, and the ID reader 15 is switched to the non-standard position by rotating it 90 degrees clockwise. As a result, the orientation of the reading surface 16a of the reading unit 16 is changed in a direction facing the storage shelf 2. If the ID reader 15 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2) is not in the standard position and is in the non-standard position, the process proceeds to S205 as it is.

  In S205, the ID reader 15 reads the ID data of the article W stored in the storage unit 3 of the storage shelf 2 while moving the stacker crane 7 on the rail 8 at a constant speed. The ID tag T of the stored article W is stored so that the stacker crane 7 is positioned on the side of the path in which the stacker crane 7 reciprocates. Therefore, the ID reader 15 stores the ID data of the ID tag T of the article W. It can be read. The read ID data is temporarily stored in a storage device (not shown) provided in the machine-side control device 13.

Next, in S206, when the stacker crane 7 arrives at the end of the row of the storage shelves 2a, after the reading operation is completed, the article placement member 30 is rotated 180 degrees together with the ID reader 15 and moved toward the row of the adjacent storage shelf 2b. The ID reader 15 is turned.
In S207, the ID reader 15 reads the ID data of the article W stored in the storage shelf 2b while moving the stacker crane 7 in the opposite direction.
In S208, after the storage shelf 2b is finished, the stacker crane 7 turns the article placement member 30 together with the ID reader 15 by 180 degrees, directs the ID reader 15 toward the row of the storage shelf 2a, and moves to the start position. Then, the carriage 11 is raised to the second stage.

In S209, while moving the stacker crane 7 on the rail 8 at a constant speed, the ID reader 15 reads the ID data of the article W stored in the second storage section 3 in the row of the storage shelf 2a. . Thereafter, the same operation is repeated up to the top level.
Next, in S <b> 210, when the reading to the uppermost storage unit 3 is completed, the machine base side control device 13 of the stacker crane 7 transmits an end report to the operation control device 14. This completion report includes inventory information. In addition, the operation control device 14 appropriately transmits the inventory information included in the received end report to the inventory management control device. Thus, a series of operation flow is completed.

According to 1st Embodiment, there exist the following effects.
(1) Even if the position of the ID tag T attached to the article W and the position of the ID reader 15 are different, the article W is transferred after the article placement member 30 is swung together with the ID reader 15, and the ID Since the tag T can be read, the ID data can be read efficiently and reliably without requiring extra man-hours such as changing the direction of the article W at the warehousing station or the like.
(2) Since the ID reader 15 is attached to the article placement member 30 and the ID tag T can be read after the article W is transferred to the article placement member 30, there are a plurality of entry / exit stations. However, it is not necessary to provide the ID reader 15 separately.
(3) Since the orientation of the ID reader 15 can be changed, the storage shelf can be moved while the stacker crane 7 is moved at a constant speed while the reading surface 16a is directed toward the storage shelf 2 during inventory. It is possible to read the ID data of the article W stored in the second storage unit 3. Further, by combining with the turning mechanism of the article placement member 30, the storage shelves 2 on both sides of the stacker crane 7 can be automatically and reliably invented.
(4) Only the article placement member 30 can be swung, and can be performed simultaneously with the movement operation of the slide fork 12 in the front-rear direction, and the article placement member 30 is provided with a data reader. As a result, data can be read from the data display member of the article immediately after the article is transferred to the article placement member 30, so that the work efficiency can be improved.
(5) Since the ID reader 15 is used as the data reader and the ID tag T is used as the data display member, it can be read without making the positional accuracy of the ID reader 15 relative to the ID tag T so high. Since the ID tag is not easily affected by dirt or scratches, reading reliability can be improved.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described based on FIGS.
In the second embodiment, the entire slide fork 12 which is an article moving means is changed so as to turn on a carriage 11 which is an article transfer device, and an ID reader 15 is attached to a part of the slide fork 12 which can be turned. It is a thing.
Therefore, here, for convenience of explanation, a part of the reference numerals used in the description of the first embodiment is used in common, the description of the common configuration is omitted, and only the changed part is described.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the lower fork 23 of the three-stage slide fork 12 has a structure fixed to the fork support substrate 40, and the middle fork 24 and the upper fork 25 extend and retract in the front-rear direction by a rack and pinion mechanism (not shown). It is free. The upper fork substrate 26 provided on the upper fork 25 corresponds to the article placement member, and the article W can be transferred thereon.

  On the other hand, a turning substrate 41 is provided on the lower surface of the fork support substrate 40, and the fork support substrate 40 and the turning substrate 41 are supported and fixed. Further, an annular band-shaped top plate support portion 42 protruding upward is integrally provided at the center portion of the floor member 11 a of the carriage 11. An annular belt-like internal gear 41 a is integrally provided on the lower surface of the swivel board 41, and the outer peripheral portion of the internal gear 41 a is inserted into the inner peripheral portion of the top plate support portion 42 and is slidable. It has become. A turning drive motor 43 is attached to the floor member 11a, and the turning substrate 41 can be rotated with the drive of the turning drive motor 43 by a drive coupling mechanism similar to the first embodiment. That is, by driving the turning drive motor 43, the entire slide fork 12 including the turning substrate 41 is turned.

The ID reader 15 is attached to a support plate 44, and the support plate 44 is fixed to the fork support substrate 40. Further, the support plate 44 is provided with a direction changing mechanism for changing the direction of the ID reader 15 (not shown) so that the reading unit 16 can be rotated 90 degrees in a direction facing the storage shelf 2.
In the first embodiment, the ID reader 15 is attached to the swiveling article placement member 30, whereas in the present embodiment, the ID reader 15 is attached to the fork support substrate 40. Does not move.

The operation flow of the present embodiment having the above configuration is shown in FIG. 5 except that the fork support substrate 40 that supports the slide fork 12 turns instead of turning the article mounting member 30 of the first embodiment. This is the same as in the case of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.
The operation flow at the time of inventory is the same as that in the first embodiment shown in FIG.

Next, an operation flow at the time of re-reading by the ID reader, which is a characteristic function of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the flowchart of FIG. 8 is an operation flow in a form inserted between S107 and S108 of the flowchart of FIG.
First, in S301, when the ID reader 15 fails to read the ID data of the article W transferred to the upper fork substrate 26, this information is transmitted to the operation control device 14.
In S302, the operation control device 14 instructs the machine base side control device 13 of the stacker crane 7 to temporarily suspend the work and reread the ID data.

  In S303, the position of the article W placed on the upper fork substrate 26 in the front-rear direction is moved by moving the slide fork 12 forward or backward by several tens of millimeters. This is because the article W may move slightly in the front-rear direction when the article W is transferred to the slide fork 12. In this case, the position of the ID tag T and the position of the ID reader 15 do not match, and the reading is successful. Absent. In such a case, the position of the ID tag T and the position of the ID reader 15 can be matched by moving the slide fork 12 in the front-rear direction. It is assumed that the distance, direction, and order for moving the slide fork 12 are programmed in advance.

In S304, the ID reader 15 rereads the ID tag T.
In S305, it is determined whether or not the reading is successful. If the reading is successful, the process proceeds to S306. If the reading is not successful, the process returns to S303 and starts again. This is done according to the above program.
Next, in S <b> 306, the machine base side control device 13 of the stacker crane 7 transmits the reading result to the operation control device 14.
In S307, the operation control device 14 instructs the machine control device 13 of the stacker crane 7 to resume the work before the interruption. Thus, a series of operation flow is completed.

According to 2nd Embodiment, there exist the following effects.
In addition, since the effect of (1)-(3), (5) of 1st Embodiment is common, it abbreviate | omits and describes another effect.
(1) Even if the position of the article W transferred to the upper fork substrate 26 as the article placement member is misaligned and the ID data cannot be read successfully, the slide fork 12 is moved in the front-rear direction, and the ID tag Re-reading may be performed after the position of T and the position of the ID reader 15 are aligned, and work interruption and confirmation work by the operator can be reduced.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The third embodiment is an example in which an article transfer device including a data reader is applied to a transport system of an automatic guided vehicle.
As shown in FIG. 9, the unmanned conveyance system includes an automatic guided vehicle 50, a plurality of stations 55 to 60 disposed toward the track 51 of the automatic guided vehicle 50, and a machine-side controller 61 of the automatic guided vehicle 50. On the other hand, it is mainly comprised from the operation control apparatus 62 which performs a conveyance instruction | indication, the inventory management control apparatus (not shown) etc. which communicate between the operation control apparatuses 62, etc.

First, the automatic guided vehicle 50 will be described. The automatic guided vehicle 50 of this embodiment is arranged on a track 51 laid in a reciprocating manner.
The automatic guided vehicle 50 includes a drive source (not shown) capable of self-propelling, a cargo bed 52 as an article transfer device, and a plurality of slide forks 53 as article moving means provided on the cargo bed 52. It is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the stations 55 to 60, and a machine base side control device 61 for operating the automatic guided vehicle 50 is mounted. In addition, the machine side control device 61 includes a transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving data to / from the operation control device 62. Here, in the direction in which the automatic guided vehicle 50 moves on the track 51 in FIG. 9, the downward direction is the left direction, the upward direction is the right direction, and the direction in which the loading platform 52 moves in the vertical direction with respect to the automatic guided vehicle 50 is the vertical direction. The transfer direction of the article W on the slide fork 53 is the front-rear direction.

The slide fork 53 is composed of a three-stage fork, not shown, a lower fork, an intermediate fork, and an upper fork. The lower fork is supported and fixed to the loading platform 52,
The middle fork 24 and the upper fork 25 are extendable in the front-rear direction by a rack and pinion mechanism (not shown). In addition, a turning top plate 63 that is driven to turn on the upper fork is provided, and an article placement member 64 is fixed on the turning top plate 63, and the article W is transferred onto the article placement member 64. Is possible. The turning drive mechanism is the same as in the first embodiment, and a description thereof is omitted. The loading platform 52 is movable in the vertical direction.

  An ID reader 54 as a data reader is attached to the right side of the article placement member 64, and the ID reader 54 includes a data reading unit 65 and a column 66 for supporting the reading unit 65. Yes. The reading unit 65 is disposed so as to face a plane parallel to the moving direction of the slide fork 53, and is fixed when facing the ID tag T attached to the side surface of the article W placed on the article placement member 64. Is configured to put a distance.

Next, the stations 55 to 60 will be described.
In this embodiment, six stations 55 to 60 serving as a transfer source or transfer destination are arranged on both sides of the track 51.
In this embodiment, the first station 55 and the second station 56 are receiving stations for sending the articles W to the automatic guided vehicle 50, and the third station 57, the fourth station 58, and the fifth station 59 are automatic guided vehicles 50. The sixth station 60 is a spare station.

  With regard to the operation flow at the time of arrival of the present embodiment having the above configuration, the operation flow of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5 except that the automatic guided vehicle 50 is operated instead of the stacker crane 7 of the first embodiment. The description is omitted.

According to the third embodiment, the following effects are obtained.
(1) Even if the position of the ID tag T attached to the article W is different from the position of the ID reader 54, the article W is transferred after the article placement member 64 is swung with the ID reader 54 in advance. Since the tag T can be read, the ID data can be efficiently and reliably read without requiring extra man-hours such as changing the direction of the article W at the arrival station or the like.
(2) Since the ID reader 54 is attached to the article placement member 64, and the ID tag T can be read after the article W is transferred to the article placement member 64, there are a plurality of receipt / shipment stations. However, it is not necessary to provide the ID reader 54 separately.
(3) Only the article placement member 64 can be swung and can be performed simultaneously with the movement operation of the slide fork 53 in the front-rear direction. The article placement member 64 is provided with a data reader. Therefore, since the data reading of the data display member of the article can be read immediately after the article is transferred to the article placement member 64, the work efficiency can be improved.
(4) Since the article placement member 64 can be swung when the article W received at the arrival station is transferred to the article placement member 64 and conveyed to the shipping station for execution of the unloading, the article W can be turned. It is possible to specify which of the ID tags T is directed toward.
(5) Since the ID reader 54 is used as the data reader and the ID tag T is used as the data display member, it can be read without making the positional accuracy of the ID reader 54 relative to the ID tag T so high. Since the ID tag T is not easily affected by dirt or scratches, reading reliability can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. For example, the following modifications may be made.
In the first, second, and third embodiments described above, the timing at which the data reader reads data is described as after the article is transferred to the article transfer device. However, the article is transferred to the article transfer device. It is also good before In this case, a re-reading operation can be performed by moving the article transfer device back and forth. In the first, second, and third embodiments, the ID reader is used as the data reader and the ID tag is used as the data display member. However, the bar code reader is used as the data reader and the data display is performed. You may use a barcode label as a member. In the case of a bar code, the bar code reader must be installed facing the front side of the bar code label of the article W. The bar code system is being standardized and easy to use, and bar code readers and bar code labels are inexpensive.
In the third embodiment described above, the article placement member is installed on the upper fork so as to be pivotable, and the ID reader is attached to the article placement member. However, the entire slide fork pivots on the loading platform, An ID reader may be attached to the swivel board. In this case, even if the position of the article W transferred on the upper fork substrate is displaced and the ID data cannot be read successfully, the slide fork is moved in the front-rear direction, and the position of the ID tag T and the ID Rereading may be performed after the reader is aligned, and work interruption and confirmation work by the operator can be reduced.
In the first and second embodiments described above, it has been described as having a direction changing mechanism that can automatically change the orientation of the ID reader. However, the operator manually changes the orientation of the ID reader when necessary as a manual type. You may do it. In this case, there is an advantage that the apparatus can be made inexpensive.
○ In the first, second, and third embodiments described above, the ID data read by the ID reader is temporarily stored in the machine-side controller, and after the instructed operation flow is completed, the data is collected in the operation controller. However, the ID data may be transmitted to the operation control device each time.
In the third embodiment described above, the track traveling type automatic guided vehicle is used, but the track traveling type automatic guided vehicle may be used.
In the above embodiment, the data reading method has been described as a wireless communication method using an ID tag and an ID reader, and an optical method using a bar code label and a bar code reader, but other ultrasonic methods, magnetic methods, CCD camera methods, semiconductors A laser type or the like may be used.

Here, although not described in the claims, technical matters related to the present invention will be described just in case.
As a first technical matter, in the article transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the data reader is an ID reader, and the data display member is an ID tag. It is in the point to.
In this case, the reading can be performed without increasing the position accuracy (distance and angle with the ID tag) of the ID reader, and the ID tag is not easily affected by dirt or scratches. Can be raised.
As a second technical matter, in the article transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the data reader is a barcode reader, and the data display member is a barcode label. It is in the point characterized by.
In this case, the bar code system is being standardized and easy to use, and the bar code reader and bar code label are inexpensive.

It is a schematic perspective view of an automatic warehouse. It is a schematic plan view of an automatic warehouse. It is a front view including the partially broken surface of the article transfer apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement flow at the time of warehousing in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement flow at the time of inventory in 1st Embodiment. It is a side view including the partially broken surface of the article transfer apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement flow of the reread by the ID reader in 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic plan view of the unmanned conveyance system in 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic warehouse 2 Storage shelf 3 Storage part 4, 5 Warehousing station 6 Unloading station 7 Stacker crane 11 Carriage 12 Slide fork 13 Base side control device 14 Operation control device 15 ID reader 21 Slide fork drive motor 27 Rotation drive motor 29 Rotation top Plate 30 Article placement member 31 Direction change drive motor W Article T ID tag

Claims (7)

In an article transfer apparatus comprising an article placement member for placing an article and a moving means for moving the article placement member in the article transfer direction, at least the article placement member of the article transfer device is swung An article transfer device comprising: a turning drive unit that performs rotation; and a data reader that reads data of a data display member attached to the article provided at a turning portion of the article transfer device. 2. The article according to claim 1, wherein the turning drive unit includes a structure that allows the article placing member to turn with respect to the moving unit, and the data reader is provided on the article placing member. Transfer device. 2. The article transfer according to claim 1, wherein the turning drive unit has a structure that allows the moving means of the article transfer device to turn, and the data reader is provided in a part of the moving means. apparatus. When the data reading of the data display member of the article by the data reader is not normally performed, the article placement member is moved by a predetermined amount in the front-rear direction on the article transfer device, and the reading is executed again. The article transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a control device is provided. The article transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the data reader has a direction changing mechanism for changing a direction. The said article transfer apparatus was equipped with the stacker crane of the automatic warehouse which enables the receipt / entry of an article | item with respect to the storage shelf which comprises a several article | item storage part. The article transfer apparatus according to the description. The article transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the article transfer device is provided in an automatic guided vehicle capable of transferring an article to a plurality of transfer sources and transfer destinations. .

Images