JP2008285289A - Article transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article transfer device capable of transferring articles to article collecting containers continuously moved in a main conveying path. <P>SOLUTION: The bottom surface of a device body is formed from a belt body 48 slidable in the conveying direction, and constituted so that a stored article 5 is thrown into an article collecting container 6 by sliding the belt body 48. With this structure, the article 5 can be thrown into (transferred to) the article collecting containers 6 continuously conveyed, and working efficiency of picking equipment can be improved. The bottom surface 42e of the device body 42 can be arranged close to the article collecting container 6 and a fall distance of the article 5 can be thereby shortened to reduce the shock to be caused when the article 5 is thrown into the article collecting container 6. Further, since the bottom surface of the device body is formed from the belt body 48, the article 5 can be transferred to the article collecting container 6 in the condition wherein a slip due to abrasion is restricted, and the article 5 can be accurately and surely thrown into a stable position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an article transfer device that temporarily stores articles and throws the stored articles into an article collection container.

An example of the conventional article transfer device is disclosed in Patent Document 1.
The article transfer device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is disposed above a conveyor that conveys an article collection container (box body) that collects articles, and a plurality of articles that are loaded and stored therein. The slats, a slat support frame for supporting the plurality of slats, and lowering the slats to the vicinity of the bottom surface of the article collection container by lowering the slat support frame, and the slat support frame is raised. Thus, the slat lifting mechanism for raising the article to the loading position and the slat moving mechanism for displacing the postures of the plurality of slats into a horizontal posture and an inclined posture.

An article transfer procedure with this configuration will be described. In addition, it is assumed that an article is thrown in and placed and stored in a plurality of slats held in a horizontal posture.
First, when the article collection container is transported to the lower position of the article transfer device and stopped, the slat support frame is lowered by the slat lifting mechanism, and a plurality of slats storing articles are moved to the vicinity of the bottom surface of the article collection container Descend to

Next, the postures of the plurality of slats are displaced from the horizontal posture to the inclined posture by the slat moving mechanism, and the article on the slat is transferred onto the bottom surface in the article collection container.
When the transfer is completed, the slat support frame is lifted by the slat lifting mechanism while the plurality of slats are inclined, and is moved up to the loading position of the article.

When the plurality of slats rise above the article collection container, the articles transferred into the article collection container are carried out together with the article collection container by the conveyor.
Next, the plurality of slats are displaced from the inclined posture to the horizontal posture by the slat moving mechanism. Thereby, the next article can be put on the plurality of slats.
JP-A-9-221104

  With the article transfer device of Patent Document 1, it is possible to automatically load an irregularly shaped article into an article collection container having a limited size, and labor saving is realized. It is desired to improve the working efficiency as an article transfer device that can be automatically put into an existing article collection container and is employed in a picking facility.

  In the article transfer apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the slat descends to the bottom surface of the article collection container and the article transfer is executed, the article collection container needs to be stopped and is continuously conveyed. It has not been possible to automatically put the product collection container in the container. Furthermore, when a plurality of article transfer devices are continuously arranged like a picking facility, the article collection container cannot be moved unless the transfer of the articles in all the article transfer devices is completed, There was a problem that work efficiency could not be desired.

  In addition, when the articles are put into the article collection container that is being conveyed continuously, it is of course necessary to set the timing of loading, but when a plurality of article collection containers are being conveyed continuously When the movement of the article collection container is stopped for some reason, there is a possibility that the article put into the article collection container from the article transfer device may fall out of the article collection container, and the movement of the article collection container is stopped. Measures are required.

  In addition, since the article transfer device described in Patent Document 1 uses slats, when the article is a bag-like product, when the plurality of slats are displaced from the horizontal posture to the inclined posture, the gap between the slats. Part of the product bag could be pinched, possibly damaging the bag.

  In addition, there is a method of dropping an article from above when putting it into an article collection container that is being conveyed continuously. However, if the fall distance of the article is long, the article may be damaged. It is desirable that the distance is short.

  Therefore, the present invention can reliably transfer (inject) an article with high accuracy into an article collection container that is continuously moving along the main transport path, and further, if the article is a bag-like product, An object of the present invention is to provide an article transfer device that can avoid damage and shorten the fall distance of articles.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided with a main transport path for continuously transporting the article collection container, and is used for obtaining a sorting destination along the main transport path. In a picking facility in which a plurality of article storage units in which articles to be picked are stored are arranged, the articles picked from the respective article storage units are temporarily stored, and the stored articles are stored along the main transport path. An article transfer device for feeding an article collection container that is continuously conveyed, wherein the bottom surface of the storage section for storing the article is slid along the conveyance direction of the article collection container by the main conveyance path. It is formed by a belt body having a smooth surface that opens and closes below the storage section, and slides the belt body to the downstream side in the transport direction to gradually open the lower section of the storage section from the upstream side in the transport direction. By going, it is characterized in that it has a structure to introduce an article that the reservoir to an article in Collection product container that is the continuous conveyor.

  According to the above configuration, the stored articles are stored by the belt body forming the bottom surface of the storage unit being slid to the downstream side in the transport direction and the lower portion of the storage unit being gradually opened from the upstream side in the transport direction. The article is gradually put into the article collection container from the bottom surface opened from the upstream side. Accordingly, the stored articles can be gradually and stably fed into the article collection container in accordance with the movement of the article collection container continuously conveyed to the downstream side. In addition, since the articles can be put into the article collection container that is continuously conveyed, the work efficiency of the picking equipment can be expected to be improved. Furthermore, by adopting a configuration in which the bottom surface of the storage unit is slid in the conveying direction and the article is loaded, the distance between the bottom surface and the article collection container can be shortened to shorten the falling distance of the article, and the article is loaded into the article collection container. It is possible to reduce the impact of the article at the time. Further, since the bottom surface of the storage portion is formed by the belt body, the article is transferred to the article collection container with a small amount of friction slip and is reliably put into a stable position. In particular, when the article is a bag-like product, the article is prevented from being caught on the bottom surface of the storage unit, so that the bag at the time of transfer can be prevented from being caught, and the bag can be prevented from being damaged and brought to a stable position. Can be reliably inserted.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the belt body is slid downstream in the transport direction to open the lower portion of the storage portion, and the main transport When the conveyance speed of the article collection container by the path is matched, and the conveyance of the article collection container by the main conveyance path is stopped, the sliding of the belt body is stopped.

  According to the above configuration, when putting the stored articles into the article collection container being continuously conveyed, the belt body is slid to the downstream side in the conveyance direction in accordance with the conveyance speed of the article collection container along the main conveyance path. By making the opening speed coincide with the conveyance speed of the article collection container through the main conveyance path, it is possible to input articles in accordance with the movement of the article collection container. When the main transport path is stopped and the transport of the article collection container is stopped, the article is removed when the transport of the article collection container is resumed by stopping the sliding of the belt body and stopping the opening of the bottom surface of the storage section. This eliminates the risk of mistakes in the article collection container being input.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the deceleration speed when stopping the sliding of the belt body is set to the conveyance stop of the article collection container by the main conveyance path. It is characterized in that it matches the deceleration speed of the hour.

  According to the above configuration, the decelerating speed when the main conveying path stops and the decelerating speed when the belt body slide of the storage unit stops coincide with each other. The sliding of the bottom surface of the storage unit is stopped simultaneously, and accordingly, the positional relationship between the opening part above the article collection container and the opening part of the bottom surface of the storage unit is prevented.

  The article transfer device according to the present invention is configured such that an article is input by sliding the bottom surface in the conveyance direction, whereby the article can be input into an article collection container that is continuously conveyed, and the working efficiency of the picking equipment In addition, the distance between the bottom surface and the article collection container can be shortened to reduce the falling distance of the article, and the impact of the article when it is put into the article collection container can be reduced. By forming the bottom surface of the portion with the belt body, the article can be transferred to the article collection container with little friction slip, and can be reliably and accurately put into a stable position.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a picking facility equipped with an article transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the picking facility equipped with the article transfer device. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, it is mainly composed of an automatic loading line 2 and a plurality of picking zones (picking work areas) 3.

  The automatic loading line 2 is a line in which the picked article 5 is temporarily placed (after being stored) and then automatically loaded into an article collection container (for example, a container, a cardboard box, etc.) 6 that is continuously conveyed. And a main conveyor device (for example, a roller drive conveyor device) 7 that forms a main transport path (constant path) i for continuously transporting the article collection container 6 at a constant speed, along the main conveyor device 7 The plurality of picking zones 3 are arranged. In the automatic loading line 2, in each picking zone 3, the articles 5 picked according to the items and quantities of the articles 5 (ordered) obtained from a sorting destination such as a store are continuously conveyed by the main conveyor device 7. Are automatically loaded into the article collection container 6 (conveyed along the main conveyance path i).

  Each of the picking zones 3 is a zone in which a specific worker is in charge of picking work, and includes an article storage picking section 11 and an article input section 12 as shown in FIG.

  The article storage picking unit 11 includes a picking shelf 13 formed of a fluidized shelf, and has a plurality of racks 14 (four in the figure) inclined forward, and each rack 14 has an item ( Plural rows (six rows per picking zone 3 in the figure) of article storage sections 16 each storing storage boxes 15 of articles 5 to be picked of different types are formed, and a free roller conveyor for each article storage section 16 (Not shown) is provided, and a stopper (not shown) is provided at the front end of each free roller conveyor. With this configuration, the necessary article 5 is taken out from the storage box 15 locked by the stopper, and when the storage box 15 becomes empty, the storage box 15 is removed to bring the next storage box 15 to the front. .

  The article input unit 12 is provided continuously along the main conveyor device 7 (main transport path i), and picks up the articles 5 picked based on picking data (picking information) ordered from a sorting destination such as a store. It consists of a plurality of preceding temporary placement tables (temporary placement tables) 25 (5 in each picking zone in the figure) for storing the stored articles 5 into the article collection container 6 being continuously conveyed. .

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the preceding temporary placement tables 25 has a two-row configuration (an example of a multi-row configuration) in the left-right direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the article collection container 6 by the main conveyor device 7. ing. The front row of the preceding temporary placement table 25 (one row of the plurality of rows corresponding to the foremost row; the row closest to the article storage picking portion 11) is the first in which the picked article 5 is placed (placed) and temporarily stored. Consists of a belt conveyor device 27 that forms a loading portion (mounting portion), and the rear row (the other row in the plurality of rows corresponds to the last row; the row farthest from the article storage picking portion 11) is a belt conveyor. A book that constitutes a second input unit (input unit) that temporarily stores the articles 5 input to the apparatus (first input unit) 27 and automatically supplies them to the article collection container 6 that is continuously conveyed by the main conveyor device 7. The article transfer device 28 of the present invention is configured, and when the article 5 is charged into the article collection container 6 from the article transfer device (second input unit) 28, the belt conveyor device (first input unit) 27 is loaded. The placed article 5 is transferred to the article transfer device 28. It is configured to be.

The article transfer device 28 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
A loading port 41 into which an article 5 is loaded from a belt conveyor device (first loading unit) 27 is provided on one side surface in the left-right direction perpendicular to the main conveyance path i (right side surface 42c in the drawing in the drawing direction). A box-shaped device main body 42 is provided, the device main body 42 is disposed above the article collection container 6 that is continuously conveyed along the main conveyance path i, and the bottom surface 42e of the apparatus main body 42 is an article collection product. It arrange | positions so that the container 6 may be approached.

  Also, a pair of vertical guide rails 43a are laid on the left side 42b and the right side 42c on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the article 5 by the main conveyor device 7 of the apparatus main body 42 and in the conveying direction, respectively. A cylindrical elevating pulley in which a rotating shaft is disposed in the left-right direction inside the downstream side surface 42a in the conveying direction, and bearings at both ends of the rotating shaft are respectively guided by the vertical guide rail 43a to be raised and lowered. 43 is provided.

  A cylindrical meander-preventing pulley 44 (with a bearing serving as a left and right side surface 42b of the apparatus main body 42), which is positioned below the elevating pulley 43 and has a rotation shaft disposed in the left and right direction inside the downstream side surface 42a of the apparatus main body 42. And a cylindrical first idler pulley 45 positioned below the meander-preventing pulley 44 and having a rotation shaft disposed in the left-right direction (the bearings are fixed to the left and right side surfaces 42b, 42c of the apparatus main body 42). A cylindrical second idler pulley 46 (the bearing is fixed to the left and right side surfaces 42b and 42c of the apparatus main body 42), which is located inwardly and obliquely above the first idler pulley 45 and in which a rotation shaft is disposed in the left-right direction. ) Is provided.

  The bottom surface 42e of the apparatus main body 42 is open, and a pair of horizontal guide rails 47a are laid across the entire bottom surface 42e at positions below the left and right side surfaces 42b and 42c. A rotation shaft is disposed in the left-right direction on the bottom surface 42e of the apparatus main body 42, and a plurality of guide rollers 47c (three in each of the left and right in the figure) disposed on bearings 47b at both ends of the rotation shaft are respectively paired with left and right guides. By being guided by the rail 47a, a cylindrical slide pulley 47 that can be moved horizontally across the entire bottom surface 42e in the front-rear direction along the main transport path i, and the slide pulley 47 are used to stretch. A belt body 48 having a flat and smooth surface for receiving the article 5 introduced from the insertion port 41 is provided. The belt body 48 and the apparatus main body 42 form a storage portion for the article 5.

  One end of the belt body 48 is fixed at a position below the lifting pulley 43 (inside the downstream side surface 42 a of the apparatus main body 42), lifted upward from this fixing position, The first idler pulley 45, the lower side of the first idler pulley 45, the lower side of the slide pulley 47, and the second idler pulley 46 from above the slide pulley 47. The other end is fixed at an inner position of the meandering prevention pulley 44 (inside the downstream side surface 42a of the apparatus main body 42). The slide pulley 47 is horizontally opposed to the first idler pulley 45, and the belt body 48 is formed from the lower side of the first idler pulley 45 disposed at the lower side inside the downstream side surface 42a. It is stretched horizontally below the slide pulley 47, and is stretched horizontally below the second idler pulley 46 disposed at the lower part inside the downstream side surface 42a.

  A pair of left and right drive sprockets 51 are provided on the left and right side surfaces 42b and 42c above the lifting and lowering pulley 43 and on the left and right side surfaces 42b and 42c, respectively. A pair of left and right first idler sprockets 52 are provided on the left and right side surfaces 42 b and 42 c on the upstream side in the transport direction of the upper portion of the apparatus main body 42 so as to face the drive sprocket 51, and face the first idler sprocket 52. A pair of left and right second idler sprockets 53 are provided on the left and right side surfaces 42b and 42c on the upstream side in the transport direction at the lower part of the apparatus main body 42, respectively.

  One end is fixed to the bearings at both ends of the lifting pulley 43, and the other end is drawn around the pair of left and right drive sprockets 51, the pair of left and right first idler sprockets 52, and the pair of left and right second idler sprockets 53. A pair of left and right chains 54 fixed to the bearings 47b at both ends of the two are provided. The rotation shafts of the pair of left and right drive sprockets 51 are connected, and the drive shaft of the chain drive motor 55 is connected to the connected rotation shafts. As the chain drive motor 55, a motor having the same deceleration time as the deceleration time of the article collection container 6 by the main conveyor device 7 is used.

  Due to the configuration of the article transfer device 28, the pair of left and right chain drive motors 55 are driven in one direction (for example, positive drive), whereby the elevating pulley 43 is raised, and along with this, the belt body 48 is routed to slide pulleys. 47 slides downstream in the transport direction, and the belt body 48 stretched on the slide pulley 47 slides downstream in the transport direction, so that the bottom surface 42e of the apparatus main body 42 is gradually opened and stored on the belt body 48. The article 5 falls. Further, by driving the pair of left and right chain drive motors 55 to the other side (for example, reverse drive), the slide pulley 47 is moved to the upstream side in the transport direction by being pulled by the chain 54, and the belt body 48 stretched on the slide pulley 47 is By sliding toward the upstream side in the conveying direction, the bottom surface 42e of the apparatus main body 42 is gradually closed, and the elevating pulley 43 is lowered as the belt body 48 is drawn. As described above, the belt body 48 is slid in the front-rear direction along the conveyance direction of the article collection container 6, so that the lower portion of the storage portion of the article 5 formed by the belt body 48 and the apparatus main body 42 is opened and closed. The

An article input controller 61 with a motor driving device (for example, an inverter) for controlling the chain driving motor 55 is provided on the left side surface 42 b of the apparatus main body 42.
The article drive controller 61 is connected to a chain drive motor 55 so that an opening command for the bottom surface 42e and a conveyance speed of the main conveyor device 7 are input from a general controller (not shown) that controls the picking operation. ing. According to the opening command output from the overall controller, the article 5 is put (transferred) into the article transfer device 28 from the belt conveyor device 27, and as shown in FIG. 5 is instructed at the timing when the downstream end of the article collection container 6 that sorts (inputs) 5 reaches the upstream side surface 42d of the apparatus main body 42 of the article transfer apparatus 28.

  When the opening command for the bottom surface 42e is input, the article insertion controller 61 positively drives the chain drive motor 55 so that the bottom surface 42e opens at the same opening speed as the conveying speed of the main conveyor device 7 (matched). Then, as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7D, the belt body 48 is slid to the downstream side at a speed (opening speed) that matches the transport speed of the main conveyor device 7, and is placed on the belt body 48. The placed articles 5 are put into the article collection container 6 in order from the article 5 placed on the upstream side.

  Further, the article loading controller 61 opens the entire bottom surface 42e after a predetermined time, and closes the bottom surface 42e when all the articles 5 placed on the belt body 48 are loaded into the article collection container 6. The chain drive motor 55 is reversely driven. Then, as shown in FIG. 7E, the belt body 48 is slid to the upstream side, and the bottom surface 42e is closed.

  When the main conveyor device 7 stops (that is, when the conveyance speed becomes 0), the rotational speed of the chain drive motor 55 becomes 0 and the sliding of the belt body 48 is stopped simultaneously (opening speed = 0). At this time, since the chain drive motor 55 uses a motor having the same deceleration time as the deceleration time of the article collection container 6 of the main conveyor device 7, the relative position between the article transfer device 28 and the article collection container 6 is used. Will not slip. When the main conveyor device 7 is restarted, the belt body 48 is slid according to the transport speed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the belt body 48 that forms the bottom surface 42e of the apparatus main body 42 is slid in the conveyance direction and the article 5 is loaded, so that it is continuously along the main conveyance path i. The article 5 can be loaded (transferred) into the article collection container 6 being conveyed, and it can be expected to improve the working efficiency of the picking facility.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the configuration is such that the belt body 48 forming the bottom surface 42e of the apparatus main body 42 is slid in the conveying direction and the article 5 is loaded, whereby the bottom surface 42e of the apparatus main body 42 is placed in the article collection container. 6 can be arranged close to each other, so that the falling distance of the article 5 can be shortened, and the impact when the article 5 is put into the article collection container 6 can be reduced.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the bottom surface 42e of the apparatus main body 42 is formed by the belt body 48, so that the article 5 can be transferred to the article collection container 6 with little friction slip, and can be moved to a stable position. Can be reliably inserted with accuracy. In particular, in the case where the article 5 is a bag-like product, the article 5 is transferred with the belt body 48 in a state where friction slippage is small, and is prevented from being caught on the bottom surface 42e. Damage can be avoided.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the belt body 48 is slid synchronously at the same speed (opening speed) as the conveying speed of the main conveyor device 7 to the downstream side, thereby the article collection container 6. As the belt body 48 is moved, the belt body 48 is slid, the bottom surface 42e is gradually opened from the upstream side, and the article 5 can be gradually dropped, so that the article 5 is stabilized in accordance with the movement of the article collection container 6. Can be inserted. When the conveyance of the article collection container 6 through the main conveyance path i is stopped, the sliding of the belt body 48 is stopped and the opening of the bottom surface 42e is stopped, so that the conveyance of the article collection container 6 is resumed. The fear of mistaking the article collection container 6 into which 5 is put (sorting mistake) can be eliminated.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, as the chain drive motor 55, a motor having the same deceleration time as the deceleration time of the article collection container 6 by the main conveyor device 7 is used, so that the main conveyor device 7 is stopped. In addition, the relative position between the article transfer device 28 and the article collection container 6 can be eliminated, and high-accuracy transfer can be realized. When the main conveyor device 7 is restarted, the belt body 48 can be re-executed from the state where the sliding of the belt body 48 is stopped according to the conveying speed.

  In the present embodiment, the belt body 48 has a configuration in which the belt body 48 is routed and the chain 54 is routed, and the article 5 is loaded by being slid in the front-rear direction in the conveyance direction. The belt body 48 can be moved in the front-rear direction in the transport direction by using other configurations, for example, a configuration in which the slide pulley 47 is a motor built-in type and can be self-propelled in the front-rear direction in the transport direction. It can be set as the structure which inserts the article 5 by making it slide.

  In the present embodiment, the article transfer device 28 is configured as a part of the second input unit of the preceding temporary placement table 25, but the article transfer device 28 may be the preceding temporary placement table 25 itself. That is, the preceding temporary placement table 25 is configured such that the first input unit (belt conveyor device 27) is eliminated, and the item 5 picked from the item storage unit 16 is directly input from the input port 41.

It is a whole lineblock diagram of picking equipment provided with the article transfer device in an embodiment of the invention. It is a principal part perspective view of the picking installation provided with the article transfer device. It is a rear view of the preceding temporary placement stand of the picking equipment provided with the article transfer device. It is a side view of the article transfer device. It is a rear view of the article transfer device. It is a top view of the article transfer device. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the goods transfer apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

i Main transport path 1 Picking equipment 2 Automatic input line 3 Picking zone 5 Article 6 Goods collection container 7 Main conveyor device 13 Picking shelf 25 Preliminary temporary table 27 Belt conveyor device (first input part)
28 article transfer device (second input unit)
41 Input Port 42 Device Body 42a Downstream Side 42b Left Side 42c Right Side 42d Upstream Side 42e Bottom 43 Lifting Pulley 43a Vertical Guide Rail 44 Meander Prevention Pulley 45 First Idler Pulley 46 Second Idler Pulley 47 Slide Pulley 47a Guide Rail 47b Bearing 47c Guide rail 48 Belt body 61 Article input controller

Claims (3)

In a picking facility provided with a main transport path for continuously transporting an article collection container, and a plurality of article storage sections storing articles to be picked according to a request from a sorting destination along the main transport path The article transfer device that temporarily stores the articles picked from each article storage unit, and throws the stored articles into the article collection container that is continuously transported along the main transport path,
The bottom surface of the storage unit for storing the article is formed by a belt body having a smooth surface that slides along the conveyance direction of the article collection container by the main conveyance path and opens and closes the lower part of the storage unit,
Articles in which the stored articles are continuously conveyed by sliding the belt body downstream in the conveyance direction and gradually opening the lower part of the storage unit from the upstream side in the conveyance direction. An article transfer device characterized by being configured to be put into a collection container. The article collection by the main conveyance path by matching the opening speed of opening the lower part of the storage unit by sliding the belt body downstream in the conveyance direction and the conveyance speed of the article collection container by the main conveyance path. 2. The article transfer device according to claim 1, wherein when the conveyance of the container is stopped, the sliding of the belt body is stopped. 3. The article transfer according to claim 1, wherein a deceleration speed at the time of stopping the sliding of the belt body coincides with a deceleration speed at the time of stopping the conveyance of the article collection container by the main conveyance path. Mounting device.

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