JP2010120774A - Vessel group lift-down device and vessel group lift-down method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vessel group lift-down device and a vessel group lift-down method, which do not damage stacked vessel groups having a variety of shapes, raw materials, rigidities, and weights despite the fact that the structure of the device is simple, adaptable also to the irregular arrangement of vessels, and capable of quickly lifting-down the vessel groups while removing the auxiliary materials inserted between the vessel groups. <P>SOLUTION: This vessel group lifting down device 1 includes a holding and conveying device 10 having a suction head having negative pressure characteristics which can suck and hold a variety of vessels, a robot 3 as a means for moving the suction head, and a negative pressure supply means. The vessel groups and the auxiliary materials are integrated with each other by the suction head of the holding and conveying device 10, and the vessel groups are held and conveyed for a series of lifting-down operation. Namely, after the vessel groups 11 and a separate sheet 12 on a pallet 20 are sucked and held by the suction head, the separate sheet 12 is separated on an auxiliary material box 22 by a gripping means, and only the vessel groups are moved onto a discharge conveyor 21. These operations are repeated until the lifting down operation is completed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for lowering a group of containers stacked on a pallet via a separate sheet. In particular, the present invention relates to a container group lowering apparatus and a container group lowering method that can suck and hold separate sheets and other stacking auxiliary materials with negative pressure and lower them from the pallet in addition to the container group.

  In a depalletizer as a device for lowering a container group from the pallet, a device for lowering a relatively small container such as a bottle, a can, or a packaging material made of paper or synthetic resin sequentially from the pallet is “bulk”. It is called a “depalletizer” and may be distinguished from a “case depalletizer” that lowers the case.

  For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-329234) shows an apparatus that pushes plastic bottles stacked on a pallet one by one from the uppermost stage onto an accumulator table (disassembling) (FIG. 5). 1). This apparatus is equipped with an elevating mechanism that raises the pallet according to the progress of lowering the plastic bottle so that the uppermost plastic bottle can always be lowered at the same height. However, such a conventional bulk depalletizer requires adjustment of the structure and mounting position of the mechanical means depending on the shape and size of the target article (container). It cost.

  In addition, in the above apparatus, a particularly lightweight container may fall over at the container discharge portion of the depalletizer due to the shape and alignment of the target articles, deformation of the separate sheet, and the like, so Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-37450). As described above, means for preventing the container from floating up has been proposed. Furthermore, in order to remove the separate sheets and the top frame as stacked auxiliary materials from the stacked pallets, a dedicated device for moving from the pallets to the auxiliary material accommodation place is required.

  On the other hand, a means has been proposed in which a separate sheet and a group of containers placed thereon are sucked and held in a lump and transferred in a lump. For example, Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-203621) discloses a suction-type container provided with a suction chamber device that covers a separate group of containers and a separate sheet carrying the container group from above and sucks the separate sheet with a vacuum force. A group transport device is disclosed. According to this apparatus, the container group for one stage and the separate sheet on which the container group is placed are integrally held and conveyed.

  However, when the container group is lowered using this suction-type container group transport device, it is indispensable to suck and hold the container group and the separate sheet together, and transport the container group by sucking and holding it alone. Therefore, a special apparatus for separating the container group and the separate sheet, for example, placed on the wide conveyor from the pallet and supplying the container group to the downstream production process is required. In addition, by using this suction type container group holding and conveying apparatus, the top frame and the separate sheet, which are usually arranged on the uppermost stage of the pallet, are sucked and held from the pallet alone or in combination to protect the container group. Since it cannot be transported to the storage place, a top frame and a separate sheet transport device are separately required.

  Patent Document 4 (US Pat. No. 3,307,819) discloses an apparatus for sucking and holding a flexible thin film by a vacuum holder having a plurality of suction holes. The vacuum holder of patent document 4 can hold | maintain a film, without reducing the vacuum degree of a vacuum holder, even if it is a case where the suction hole which is not covered with the flexible thin film film exists. However, for this purpose, the vacuum holder of Patent Document 4 is required to be equipped with valve means for preventing the vacuum degree from being lowered in all the suction holes, and therefore has a complicated structure.

  Patent Document 5 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-102014) discloses a device for conveying an individual object including a negative pressure source and a suction head connected to the negative pressure source. A boundary wall having a number of suction holes is provided below the suction head. Cups, cans, and the like to be transported are attracted to the boundary plate of the suction head by the negative pressure provided by the negative pressure source. Transported. The transport device of Patent Document 5 is characterized in that a thin flow duct that communicates all the suction holes of the suction head and the negative pressure device is provided. The distribution duct is configured to have a high pressure resistance in order to prevent a negative pressure drop in the suction chamber due to the suction hole that is open without contacting the object to be transported.

  The apparatuses of Patent Document 4 and Patent Document 5 disclose apparatuses that convey a flexible thin film film, a cup, a can, or the like by adsorbing the film to a suction head. In these devices, even when a vacuum holder for performing suction or a part of the suction port of the suction head is opened, a negative pressure is maintained and a container or the like can be transported. However, these devices require special valve means or flow ducts to prevent a negative pressure drop even if a part of the suction port is opened. For this reason, the structure of the whole apparatus was complicated. Moreover, it is necessary to optimize the configuration of these valve means or distribution ducts by the container to be transported, and the versatility of the apparatus for the container to be transported is low.

JP-A-6-329234 JP 2002-37450 A JP 2004-203621 A U.S. Pat. No. 3,307,819 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-102014

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and does not cause plastic deformation or breakage in containers as handling objects that are not necessarily strong and stacked on a pallet, Container group lowering device capable of responding to changes in the shape and material of containers, or irregular container arrangements, capable of stably holding and transporting with sufficient suction force and lowering It was made in order to provide a container group lowering method. It is another object of the present invention to make it possible to easily cope with changes in conditions such as product type switching of containers to be handled in a relatively short time.

  Furthermore, the present invention holds various container groups and separate sheets (one of the stacking auxiliary materials) stacked on the pallet separately and conveys them, and also combines the container groups and separate sheets. In addition, it is possible to transport the sheet in a state where the separate sheet and the top frame (stacked auxiliary material) are combined, and with a simple apparatus configuration, the container group, the separate sheet and / or the top frame can be quickly and efficiently used. An object of the present invention is to provide a container group lowering apparatus and a container group lowering method capable of lowering a container group.

The invention of claim 1 is a container group lowering device for lowering a container group stacked on a pallet from the pallet,
A discharge conveyor for loading and transporting the lowered containers to the downstream side;
A secondary material storage means for storing a separate sheet or other stacked secondary material inserted between the loading stages of the container group;
A holding and conveying device for holding the object to be conveyed so that it can be conveyed;
The holding and conveying device is
A suction head provided with an article suction surface having a plurality of suction holes on the lower surface side of the suction chamber, and holding the article to be sucked by bringing the article suction surface into contact with the object to be transported;
Moving means for moving the suction head in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction; and
Comprising negative pressure supply means connected to the suction chamber of the suction head;
The negative pressure supply means of the holding and conveying device is
The container is arranged to face the entire surface of the article suction surface when the suction head abuts the container on the article suction surface and sucks and holds the container through the plurality of suction holes. In a state in which outside air is not directly sucked from almost all of the suction holes, the container can be sucked and held with almost no plastic deformation, and there is a region where the container does not face the article suction surface, so In the state of directly sucking outside air from a suction hole that is not in contact, it has a suction characteristic of suction side static pressure vs. air volume that brings about negative pressure or air flow that can maintain suction holding of the container,
A container group leveling device that sequentially lowers a container group and a stacking auxiliary material stacked on a pallet from the pallet by the holding and conveying device.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the container group lowering apparatus according to the first aspect, the negative pressure supply means is configured by utilizing a suction side of a blower.

The invention of claim 3 is the container group lowering apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The negative pressure caused by the negative pressure supply means to the suction hole on the article suction surface of the suction head has the following two conditions:
(1) The container is brought into contact with all of the plurality of suction holes of the article suction surface, and the negative pressure is 10 KPa or less in a state where outside air is not directly sucked from all of the suction holes, and (2) The negative pressure becomes 0.5 KPa or more in a state where the container is brought into contact with half of the plurality of suction holes of the article adsorption surface and the outside air is directly sucked from the other half of the suction holes;
It is set so that it may satisfy | fill.

  As a result of various studies by the inventors, when the negative pressure provided to the suction hole on the article suction surface of the suction head by the negative pressure supply means exceeds 10 KPa, a container made of an easily deformable material is sucked. It has been confirmed that the possibility of causing plastic deformation becomes very high when held. In addition, when the negative pressure is less than 0.5 KPa, in the case of a normal small and light container, there is a high risk that it will drop off when it is sucked and held, and stable holding may be difficult. confirmed. From the above, it has been confirmed that in the present invention, it is most preferable that the negative pressure supply means provide a negative pressure of 0.5 KPa or more and 10 KPa or less.

The invention of claim 4 is a container group lowering method for lowering a container group stacked on a pallet from the pallet,
An article suction surface having a plurality of suction holes is provided on the lower surface side of the suction chamber, and a suction head for holding the article to be sucked by bringing the article suction surface into contact with the object to be conveyed, and the suction head horizontally A holding and conveying device for holding a conveyance object in a conveyable manner, comprising a moving means for moving in a direction and a vertical direction, and a negative pressure supply means connected to a suction chamber of the suction head, The negative pressure supply means of the holding and conveying device is
The container is arranged to face the entire surface of the article suction surface when the suction head abuts the container on the article suction surface and sucks and holds the container through the plurality of suction holes. In a state in which outside air is not directly sucked from almost all of the suction holes, the container can be sucked and held with almost no plastic deformation, and there is a region where the container does not face the article suction surface, so A holding and conveying device having suction characteristics of suction side static pressure versus air volume that brings about a negative pressure or air flow that can maintain suction holding of the container in a state in which outside air is directly sucked from a non-contact suction hole. make use of,
By sucking and holding and transporting the container groups stacked on the pallet and the separate sheets and other stacked auxiliary materials by the suction head, the containers and the stacked auxiliary materials are placed in a predetermined order from the pallet. The container group lowering method is characterized in that the container group is leveled down.

The invention of claim 5 is the container group lowering method according to claim 4,
As a pre-preparation before starting to unload containers on the pallet,
By using the suction head of the holding and conveying device, the top frame as the stacked secondary material placed on the uppermost stage of the stacked container group and the separate sheet positioned immediately below the top frame are sucked and held together to store the secondary material. A step of accommodating the top frame and the separate sheet in the auxiliary material accommodation means by releasing or lowering the negative pressure there.
It is characterized by implementing.

The invention of claim 6 is the container group lowering method according to claim 4 or 5,
A step of sucking and holding together a group of containers on a pallet and a separate sheet located directly below the group of containers on the pallet by the suction head of the holding and conveying device,
By separating the suction head of the holding and conveying device from the secondary material storage unit in a state where the separate sheet of the container group and the separate sheet transported integrally in the secondary material storage unit is gripped by the first gripping unit, the separation material is separated. Separating the sheet from the suction head and storing the sheet in the auxiliary material storing means; and
A step of placing the container group on the discharge conveyor by transporting the suction head of the holding and conveying device holding and sucking the container group from the auxiliary material storage means to the discharge conveyor, and releasing or lowering the negative pressure there,
After that, it is characterized in that the separator sheet as the lowering of the container group and the stacking auxiliary material is collected.

The invention of claim 7 is the container group lowering method according to claim 4 or 5,
A step of sucking and holding together a group of containers on a pallet and a separate sheet located immediately below by a suction head of the holding and transporting device, and transporting it integrally to a sheet separation table;
By moving the suction head of the holding and conveying device from the sheet separating table toward the discharge conveyor in a state in which the separate sheet of the container group and the separated sheet that are integrally conveyed in the sheet separating table is gripped by the second gripping means. Separating the separate sheet from the suction head;
A step of placing the container group on the discharge conveyor by moving the suction head of the holding and conveying apparatus that sucked and held the container group from the sheet separation table to the discharge conveyor, and releasing or lowering the negative pressure there, and
Storing the separated sheet separated in the sheet separating table in the auxiliary material storing means;
After that, it is characterized in that the separator sheet as the lowering of the container group and the stacking auxiliary material is collected.

The invention of claim 8 is the container group lowering method according to claim 4 or 5,
With the separate sheet located immediately below the container group on the pallet being gripped by the third gripping means, the container group is sucked and held by the suction head of the holding and transporting device and transported to the discharge conveyor, where the negative pressure is released. Or by lowering, placing the container group on the discharge conveyor, and
After releasing the separation sheet by the third gripping means, the separation sheet remaining on the pallet is sucked and held by the suction head of the holding and transporting device and transported to the auxiliary material storage means, where the negative pressure is released. Or a step of accommodating the separate sheet in the auxiliary material accommodation means by lowering,
After that, it is characterized in that the separator sheet as the lowering of the container group and the stacking auxiliary material is collected.

  According to the container group lowering apparatus of claim 1, the individual containers constituting the container group can be lowered from the pallet without plastic deformation (or damage) due to negative pressure. For this reason, it can respond to the lowering of the container of various shapes, dimensions, materials, and rigidity. In addition, it is possible to carry out leveling without problems even if the arrangement of containers on the pallet is disturbed or partial omission of containers, and the stability of operation is excellent. Furthermore, since not only the container group, but also separate sheets and other stacked auxiliary materials can be held and conveyed using the suction head of the same holding and conveying apparatus, the complexity of the structure of the container group stage lowering apparatus can be avoided, It is possible to simplify and improve the efficiency of the lowering work.

  According to the container group lowering apparatus of claim 1, the static pressure vs. air volume characteristic of the negative pressure supply means for providing a negative pressure to the suction head is optimized, so that the object to be transported on the article suction surface of the suction head. When the container is brought into contact and sucked and held, the container is disposed so that it faces the entire surface of the article adsorption surface, and even if the outside air is not directly sucked from almost all the suction holes, the container is practically used. It can be sucked and held without causing plastic deformation that would cause adverse effects. At the same time, since there is a region where the container does not face the article suction surface, even if the negative pressure of the suction head is reduced by directly sucking outside air from the suction hole not in contact with the container, the reduction level However, the suction holding of the container can be maintained with a small amount.

  As described above, since the container can be stably sucked and held even if air is sucked from between the article adsorbing surface and the container, it is softly deformed like the pad 32 shown in Patent Document 5 and There is no need for a special structure such as a member for preventing air from flowing in between. In addition, since the article adsorbing surface may be a rigid body such as a metal or a synthetic resin, a clean and damaged pad is not mixed in the container with little maintenance. And since there are few complicated parts which require maintenance like the special valve of patent document 4, the hose of patent document 5, etc., an inexpensive apparatus with few failures can be provided. As described above, according to the apparatus of the present invention, there is an effect that the container can be stably sucked and held without being plastically deformed or damaged in response to changes in various conditions of the target container.

  As described in claim 2, by using the suction side of the blower as the negative pressure supply means, the suction characteristics of the suction side static pressure versus the air volume as described above can be realized relatively inexpensively. In particular, by using the suction side of the blower, it is possible to realize a negative pressure supply means having a low negative pressure characteristic over a wide air volume region, so that the container is arranged so as to face the entire surface of the article adsorption surface, and almost all Even when the negative pressure of the suction head becomes high without sucking outside air directly from the suction hole, the container can be sucked and held with almost no plastic deformation. Further, the negative pressure supply means can be used even when the negative pressure of the blower suction head is reduced by directly sucking outside air from a large number of suction holes that are not in contact with the container so that the area where the container does not contact the article suction surface is wide. Since the suction side of the blower can suck the outside air from the suction hole with a large air volume, the negative pressure drop is slight, and the container can be reliably sucked and held.

  By setting the negative pressure and the air volume according to physical properties such as the shape and weight of the container so that the two conditions described in claim 3 are satisfied at the same time, the container is placed in all the suction holes of the suction surface of the article of the suction head. When the container is held and transported in a state where the outside air is not directly sucked from all the suction holes by contact, even if the transport object is a container made of a relatively easily deformable material, Little plastic deformation occurs in the container during suction holding. At the same time, even when the container does not come into contact and the suction hole that is not blocked by the container directly sucks outside air, stable suction is performed so that the container does not fall off when the container is transported to the article suction surface of the suction head. Can be held. Thus, the invention of claim 3 can achieve two contradictory matters.

  According to the container group lowering method of claim 4, the individual containers constituting the container group can be lowered from the pallet without plastic deformation (or damage) due to negative pressure. For this reason, it can respond to the lowering of the container of various shapes, dimensions, materials, and rigidity. In addition, it is possible to carry out leveling in response to disturbances in the arrangement of containers on the pallet and partial omissions without any problems, and the operation stability is excellent. Furthermore, since not only the container group but also other stacked auxiliary materials can be held and conveyed using the suction head of the same holding and conveying device, the lowering operation can be simplified and made more efficient.

  According to the container group lowering method of claim 5, the suction head of the holding and conveying device is brought into contact with the upper surface of the top frame on the separate sheet placed on the uppermost stage of the stacked container group. A negative pressure is applied to a space defined by the article suction surface of the sheet, the top frame, and the suction head. As a result, the top frame and the separate sheet immediately below the top frame can be sucked and held together. Therefore, the top frame and the separate sheet can be collected together from the pallet to the auxiliary material storage means, and the efficiency of lowering can be improved.

  According to the container group lowering method of claim 6, the container group on the pallet and the separate sheet located directly below the container group are integrally conveyed to the auxiliary material accommodation means, and only the separate sheet is removed from the suction head in the auxiliary material accommodation means. After being separated and accommodated in the auxiliary material accommodating means, the container group sucked and held by the suction head is transported to the discharge conveyor and placed there. For this reason, the lowering of the container group from a pallet and the collection | recovery of the separate sheet | seat as a stacking auxiliary material can be performed efficiently.

  According to the container group lowering method of claim 7, the container group on the pallet and the separate sheet located immediately below the container group are integrally conveyed to the sheet separation table, and only the separate sheet is separated from the suction head in the sheet separation table. Thereafter, the container group sucked and held by the suction head is transported from the sheet separation table to the discharge conveyor and placed there, and the separated sheet separated in the sheet separation table is accommodated in the auxiliary material accommodation means. . For this reason, the lowering of the container group from a pallet and the collection | recovery of the separate sheet | seat as a stacking auxiliary material can be performed efficiently.

  According to the container group lowering method of claim 8, only the container group on the pallet is first transported to the discharge conveyor, and then the separation sheet remaining on the pallet is transported to the secondary material storage means and stored. . For this reason, the lowering of the container group from a pallet and the collection | recovery of the separate sheet | seat as a stacking auxiliary material can be performed efficiently.

  Hereinafter, three embodiments of a container group level lowering device (depalletizer) and a container group level lowering method using the device of the present invention, that is, a first example (FIGS. 6 to 10), a second example (FIG. 11, 12, 13) and the third embodiment (FIGS. 14 and 15) will be described with reference to the drawings. Although the specific device configuration of the container group lowering device used in these three embodiments is slightly different from each other, the basic configuration is common. That is, the container group leveling device of any of the embodiments includes at least a discharge conveyor, a secondary material storage box as a secondary material storage means, and a holding and conveying device.

  The discharge conveyor here is a conveyor for placing a group of containers lowered one by one from the pallet and transporting them downstream. A secondary material storage box is a top frame placed on the top of a group of containers stacked on a pallet or separate sheets and other stacked secondary materials inserted between each stacking stage of a container group. It is one form of the auxiliary material accommodation means for accommodating these when removed at the time of grated. The holding and conveying apparatus is an apparatus for holding a container group, a separate sheet, or a top frame as an object to be conveyed so as to be conveyed. By this holding and conveying apparatus, the container group, separate sheet and top frame stacked on the pallet are sequentially lowered from the pallet.

  First, details of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 1 shows a holding and conveying device 10 of a container group lowering device 1 that sucks and holds a plurality of cans 11 regularly arranged as a container group and a separate sheet 12 that is in contact with the lower surface of the cans 11 and lowers them. It is a side view which shows the state. The holding and conveying apparatus 10 includes a suction head 2, a robot 3 as a moving unit that moves the suction head 2, and a negative pressure supply unit 4. The suction chamber 9 provided inside the suction head 2 and the negative pressure supply means 4 communicate with each other through an intake duct 5. The robot 3 as the moving means can control not only the suction head 2 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction but also the planar direction angle of the suction head 2.

  The negative pressure supply means 4 includes a blower 4 a, an intake duct 5, an intake distribution chamber 15, and a distribution duct 5 c, and is connected to the suction chamber 9. The intake duct 5 is composed of a fixed fixed duct 5a and a flexible intake duct 5b. The flexible intake duct 5b has flexibility, and its tip can move in accordance with the movement of the intake distribution chamber 15 which is a part of the suction head 2 that moves while being supported by the robot 3.

  A top view of the suction head 2 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 is shown in FIG. On the upper surface of the suction head 2, intake ports 6 are opened at four locations, and each is connected to a distribution duct 5c. The diameter of the intake duct 5 in this embodiment is 300 mm, and the distance from the intake port 6 to the negative pressure supply means 4 is 10 m. The suction head 2 is supported by the robot 3 via a central mounting portion 30.

  A bottom view of the suction head 2 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 is shown in FIG. A head frame 2a is provided on the lower surface side of the suction head 2, and an article suction surface 7 in which circular suction holes 8 having a diameter of 7 mm are opened at a pitch of 20 mm is fixed to the head frame. When the ratio (A / B) of the article suction surface (B) to the sum (A) of the opening areas of the suction holes 8 of the article suction surface 7 is the opening ratio, the opening ratio of the article suction surface 7 of this embodiment is 10%. It has become. In FIG. 3, a state in which the article suction surface 7 sucks and holds a plurality of cans 11 arranged in multiple rows in a zigzag pattern without a gap in a planar manner is shown by overlapping with a circular line. Note that the object to be sucked and held on the article suction surface 7 of the suction head 2 (that is, the object to be conveyed by the holding and conveying device 10) is not limited to the can 11 as a container. A frame is also included.

In FIG. 1, the negative pressure supply means 4 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 is a blower 4a. The intake duct 5 is connected to the suction side of the blower 4a. FIG. 4 shows an example of the relationship (QH characteristics) between the air volume of the blower 4a constituting the negative pressure supply means 4 and the static pressure. The blower 4a is the suction side when was operated at flow rate ^{30 m} 3 / min is subjected to negative hydrostatic pressure of 4 kPa. At this time, the negative pressure supply means 4 has a negative pressure of 3.5 kPa in the suction hole 8 of the article suction surface 7 of the suction head 2 by a combination of the blower 4a, related devices such as the intake duct 5 and the suction head 2. Can bring. Further, when the negative pressure supply means 4 is operated at an air volume of 50 m ³ / min, the negative pressure supply means 4 can provide a static pressure of 2 kPa. In this case, a negative pressure of 1.8 kPa is brought into the suction hole 8 of the article suction surface 7 of the suction head 2. By using one or a plurality of these blowers 4a, the holding and conveying device 10 can generate a negative pressure corresponding to a required negative pressure characteristic.

  As a comparative example, FIG. 4 shows a characteristic of a vacuum pump used as a negative pressure supply unit to the suction head 2 in a conventional holding and conveying apparatus by a one-dot chain line. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the vacuum pump has a characteristic of generating a very high suction negative pressure in a relatively small air volume range (a characteristic in which the pressure change with respect to the air volume change is steep). According to such characteristics, the container is sucked and held very strongly in a state where most of the suction holes in the suction head are closed by the container to be handled (that is, there are almost no suction holes for directly sucking outside air). Can do. On the other hand, if the number of suction holes for directly sucking outside air increases because the container is not blocked by the container, the suction negative pressure is drastically decreased, which makes it difficult to stably hold the container. As long as a vacuum pump with such characteristics is used, it is extremely difficult to control the negative pressure for sucking and holding containers made of easily deformable materials without plastic deformation, and when some containers are missing. Therefore, it is difficult to say that it is practically impossible to achieve both the prevention of plastic deformation of the container and the stable suction holding.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the suction side of the blower having a characteristic in which the pressure change is relatively gradual with respect to the air volume change is adopted as the negative pressure supply means 4. For this reason, even if most or all of the plurality of suction holes 8 provided in the article suction surface 7 are blocked by the container, the negative pressure increases and the container to be handled does not plastically deform. Even if the container does not come into contact with a part or half of the plurality of suction holes 8, the negative pressure is not lowered and it becomes difficult to suck and hold the container to be handled. A relatively wide range of pressure and air volume suitable for holding by suction can be secured. For this reason, even if the number of containers to be sucked and held at one time changes, it can be handled by the apparatus as it is without taking any additional measures. In other words, according to the holding and conveying device 10 of the container group lowering device of the present embodiment, even when the shape and quantity of the container to be handled change, the container made of the easily deformable material is prevented from being deformed and stably sucked and held. Can be easily achieved. In that sense, the holding and conveying device 10 of the present embodiment can greatly contribute to enhancing the versatility of the container group lowering device 1 in which it is incorporated.

In the case where the holding and conveying apparatus 10 in the present embodiment holds 176 cans 11 made of paper and having an open top surface with a diameter of 80 mm, an internal capacity of 600,000 mm ³ and a weight of 30 g, as well as 176 cans 11 and their bottom surfaces Taking as an example the case of holding and transporting a combination article of separate sheets 12 arranged so as to abut against, the relationship between the negative pressure near the suction hole 8 of the holding and conveying device 10 and the air flow is taken as an example and held and conveyed The characteristics of the device 10 will be described. The can 11 has a cylindrical shape in which an upper surface is open and a space 13 closed inside is formed by a side surface and a lower surface.

A case will be described in which the holding and conveying apparatus 10 simultaneously holds and conveys 176 cans 11 that are arranged in multiple rows so as to be in contact with each other at equal intervals as shown in the plan view of FIG. 5 (staggered arrangement). At this time, a vertical gap 14 exists between three adjacent cans 11. The area ratio in the horizontal direction of the gap around the can 11 is 22%. A plurality of cans 11 arranged in a dense manner in this manner are held at the top with 176 suctioned by the suction head 2 at a time. At this time, the article suction surface 7 of the suction head 2 is in contact with 12 to 17 suction holes 8 per can 11. When two air blowers 4a are used and the air volume is 80 m ³ / min (40 m ³ / min per unit), among the suction holes 8 of the article suction surface 7 of the suction head 2, the suction holes 8 that come into contact with the can 11 Is provided with a negative pressure of 2.5 kPa to hold the can 11 stably. On the other hand, the suction hole 8 positioned above the gap 14 is open to the outside air even when the can 11 is sucked and held by the suction head 2 and directly sucks the outside air. However, since the air flow generated in the suction hole 8 is a flow rate at which the negative pressure necessary for holding the can 11 is maintained, the can 11 is stably held. Further, since the static pressure at which the can 11 is plastically deformed is 3 kPa or more, there is no fear that the can 11 is plastically deformed by the negative pressure derived from the suction head 2, and the can 11 is held in a suitable state.

Next, a description will be given of a case where 176 cans 11 and a combined article of separate sheets 12 arranged so as to be in contact with the lower surface thereof are held and conveyed. When the air volume of the negative pressure supply means 4 using two blowers is 80 m ³ / min, 2 of the suction holes 8 on the article suction surface 7 of the suction head 2 are in contact with the can 11. A negative pressure of .5 kPa is provided to hold the can 11 stably. On the other hand, since the gap 14 is a space closed by the separate sheet 12 and the article adsorbing surface 7 in contact with the lower surface, a negative pressure of about 2.5 kPa is similarly applied to the gap 14 to separate the gap 14. The sheet 12 can be stably held. As described above, the holding and conveying device 10 is configured such that a part of the suction hole 8 of the article suction surface 7 of the suction head 2 is transferred to the can 11 by optimizing the negative pressure supplied by the negative pressure supply unit 4. Even in a state where the outside air is directly sucked without contact, the can 11 can be suitably held and transported. Further, it is possible to similarly hold and transport the combined article formed by combining the separate sheet 12 and the 176 cans 11 positioned thereon without changing the air volume of the negative pressure supply means 4. is there.

Furthermore, the case where the combination article | item of the top frame 16 mounted in the uppermost stage of the stacked can 11 and the separate sheet | seat 12 located just under it is hold | maintained and conveyed is demonstrated. The top frame 16 in the present embodiment is a substantially square frame made of resin having a side length of 1200 mm and a weight of 5 kg, and has a shape in which a part of the plane is opened. Further, the separate sheet 12 in this embodiment is a paper sheet having a side of 1200 mm and a weight of 2 kg. When the air volume of the negative pressure supply means 4 using two blowers is 80 m ³ / min, 2 of the suction holes 8 on the article suction surface 7 of the suction head 2 are in contact with the top frame 16. A negative pressure of .5 kPa is produced. The top frame 16 is sucked by the suction head 2 by this negative pressure. At the same time, the space in the portion of the top frame 16 where the window is removed is a space closed by the separate sheet 12 and the article adsorbing surface 7 that are in contact with the lower surface thereof. The separate sheet 12 is stably sucked and held by the suction head 2 by this negative pressure. Further, the separate sheet 12 held by the suction head 2 supports a top frame 16 that comes into contact with the upper surface thereof. As a result, both the negative pressure applied to the suction hole 8 in contact with the top frame 16 and the negative pressure applied to the suction hole 8 opened in the windowed portion of the top frame 16 cause suction. The head 2 can stably suck and hold the separate sheet 12 and at the same time can stably suck and hold the top frame 16.

  As described above, the holding and conveying device 10 is configured such that a part of the suction hole 8 of the article suction surface 7 of the suction head 2 is transferred to the can 11 by optimizing the negative pressure supplied by the negative pressure supply unit 4. Even in a state where the outside air is directly sucked without contact, the can 11 can be suitably held and transported. In addition, it is possible to hold and transport the combined article formed by combining the separate sheet 12 and the can 11 without changing the air volume of the negative pressure supply means 4. Further, as will be described in detail later, the top frame 16 and the separate sheet 12 can be controlled by appropriately controlling the damper and shutter provided in the holding and conveying device 10 without changing the air volume of the negative pressure supply means 4. Can be suitably held and transported as well.

  (First Embodiment) A first embodiment for lowering cans 11 stacked in a densely arranged state on a pallet 20 using a container group lowering device 1 including the holding and conveying device 10 is shown in FIG. This will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in the layout diagram of FIG. 6, the container group lowering device 1 includes a holding and conveying device 10, a carry-out conveyor 21 for discharging the lowered can 11 downstream, and a top frame 16 moved by the holding and conveying device 10. And a secondary material storage box 22 for storing the separate sheet 12. The pallet 20 on which the cans 11 are stacked and the top frame 16 is placed on the uppermost stage is sequentially loaded from the pallet supply conveyor 17 and supplied to the pallet stage lowering conveyor 18 facing the holding and conveying device 10. The pallet 20 stops at a predetermined position of the pallet lowering conveyor 18 and is lowered by the holding and conveying device 10. The pallet that has finished being unloaded is discharged to the pallet discharge conveyor 19.

  FIG. 7 shows a side view of a state in which a plurality of cans 11 and sub-materials that are lowered by the container group lowering device 1 of this embodiment are stacked on the pallet 20. As shown in FIG. 7, the separate sheets 12, which are auxiliary materials, are stacked on the upper surface of the pallet 20 disposed at the lowermost position, and the can 11 and the pallet 20 disposed on the separate sheets 12 are in direct contact with each other. Is prevented. On the separate sheet 12, 176 cans 11 are arranged in a single row and are arranged in multiple rows in a dense arrangement (staggered arrangement) so as to contact each other at regular intervals as shown in the plan view of FIG. 11 and separate sheets 12 are alternately stacked in four stages in the embodiment. A top frame 16 is placed on the uppermost separate sheet 12.

  Before starting the lowering of the can 11 from the pallet 12, the holding and conveying apparatus 10 applies the article suction surface 7 of the suction head 2 to the upper surface of the top frame 16 placed on the uppermost stage of the stacked cans 11. The top frame 16 and the separate sheet 12 positioned directly below the top frame 16 are integrally conveyed to the auxiliary material storage box 22 while being sucked and held, and the negative pressure is released or reduced there, whereby the top frame 16 and the separate sheet are separated. The sheet 12 is stored in the auxiliary material storage box 22. This is called a step-down preparation process.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the auxiliary material storage box 22 includes a plurality of chucks 23 as gripping means for gripping the separate sheet 12. Further, an alignment guide 24 for storing the auxiliary materials in a plane is provided inside the auxiliary material storage box 22, and the auxiliary material incorporating a hydraulic lifter that can be raised and lowered inside the alignment guide 24. Support means 25 is provided. The auxiliary material support means 25 receives the top frame 16 and the separate sheet 12 by raising the upper surface position of the auxiliary material placed on the upper surface to the vicinity of the chuck 23 in accordance with the accommodation status of the auxiliary material. The impact when the 16 is accommodated in the auxiliary material accommodation box 22 is alleviated, so that the top frame 16 is prevented from being damaged or dropped.

  After the step of preparing for lowering, the robot 3 of the holding and transporting apparatus 10 moves the suction head 2 to the upper end surfaces of the 176 cans 11 arranged in the uppermost dense position on the pallet 20, and the article suction surface of the suction head 2. 7 is brought into contact. As a result, the cans 11 that are densely arranged, the separate sheet 12 that is located immediately below the cans 11, the space of the gap 14 defined by the article suction surface 7 of the suction head 2, and the inside of the cans 11 can be used. The same level of negative pressure is exerted. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the suction head 2 sucks and holds the can 11 and the separate sheet 12 directly below the can 11. Then, the robot 3 conveys the suction head 2 holding the can 11 and the separate sheet 12 to the auxiliary material box 22. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a first suction holding step.

  The robot 3 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 temporarily stops the suction head 2 that sucks and holds the can 11 and the separate sheet 12 together on the auxiliary material storage box 22. As shown in FIG. 9, the chuck 23 of the auxiliary material storage box 22 grips each side of the separate sheet 12 held under the can 11 by negative pressure. The robot 3 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 raises the suction head 2 from the stop position in the direction of the arrow in FIG. As a result, the separate sheet 12 held by the chuck 23 is separated from the suction head and the can 11 held by suction. The chuck 23 drops and stores the separated sheet 12 separated into the secondary material support means 25 of the secondary material storage box 22 and collects it. In the following, this is referred to as a process for housing the separate sheet 12.

  The suction head 2 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 conveys the can 11 from the upper part of the auxiliary material storage box 22 to the discharge conveyor 21 by the robot 3. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a second suction holding process. As shown in FIG. 10, the holding and conveying apparatus 10 places the can 11 on the discharge conveyor 21 by releasing or lowering the negative pressure with the can bottom of the can 11 approaching the discharge conveyor 21. . In the following, this is referred to as a suction release step. The discharge conveyor 21 conveys the can 11 downstream.

  In the suction release process, when it is necessary to quickly release the negative pressure for improving the processing capacity, a shutter 27 is provided on the intake head 2 side of the intake duct 5 (see FIG. 1), and the shutter 27 is opened. Thus, outside air can be introduced, and a damper 26 can be provided on the negative pressure supply means 4 side of the intake duct 5 (see FIG. 1), and the damper 26 can be closed to block the intake of the negative pressure supply means 4. . In that case, the negative pressure is quickly released by the action of the shutter 27 and the damper 26, and the can 11 is quickly released from the suction holding of the suction head 2 and placed on the discharge conveyor 21.

  Further, when the negative pressure is reduced and the can 11 is released from the suction head 2 and placed on the discharge conveyor 21, it is possible to deal with it only by opening the shutter 27. When placing the can 11 while reducing the negative pressure, it takes more time to place the can 11 than when the damper 26 is closed and the negative pressure is released at the same time. The impact of can be further reduced.

  By executing the first suction holding process for the can 11 and the separate sheet 12, the accommodating process for the separate sheet 12, the second suction holding process for the can 11 and the suction releasing process for one cycle a plurality of times. The cans 11 and the separate sheets 12 densely arranged on the pallet 20 are stepped down one by one, the separate sheets 12 are accommodated in the auxiliary material accommodation box 22, and the cans 11 can be conveyed to the carry-out conveyor. The pallet 20 in which all the cans 11 on the pallet are lowered is discharged from the pallet lowering conveyor 18 to the pallet discharging conveyor 19. A new pallet 20 on which the cans 11 are stacked is carried from the pallet supply conveyor 17.

  (Second Embodiment) FIGS. 11 to 13 show a second embodiment in which a plurality of cans 11 stacked on the pallet 20 are lowered using a container group lowering device 31 including the holding and conveying device 10. It explains using. As shown in FIG. 11, the container group lowering device 31 includes a holding and conveying device 10, a separation table 32 that separates the separation sheet 12 integrally conveyed from the pallet 20 by the holding and conveying device 10 from the can 11, and a top frame 16. And the auxiliary material accommodation box 22 which accommodates the separate sheet | seat 12, and the carry-out conveyor 21 which discharges | relates the can 11 lowered | hung downstream are provided. The pallets 20 on which the cans 11 are stacked are sequentially loaded from the pallet supply conveyor 17 and are supplied to the pallet leveling conveyor 18, and are discharged to the pallet discharge conveyor 19 after the leveling is finished at a predetermined position. About the method and apparatus which have the same structure as 1st Example, the same name and the same code | symbol are provided and duplication description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the sheet separation table 32 includes a frame portion 33 having an opening at the center, a separation table portion 34, and a plurality of second gripping means arranged on the upper surface of the separation table portion 34. A certain sheet suction pad 35 is provided. The separation table unit 34 rises in the direction indicated by the arrow A in the drawing, passes through the central opening of the frame unit 33, and moves to the upper portion of the holding table 10 facing the suction head 2. Can be reached.

  The holding and conveying apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment performs the lowering preparation process before starting the lowering of the can 11 from the pallet 12 so that the top frame 16 and the separate sheet 12 positioned immediately below the subframe are stored in the auxiliary material storage box 22. To house.

  Next, the robot 3 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 moves the suction head 2 above the pallet 20, and the article suction surface 7 of the suction head 2 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the cans 11 densely arranged on the uppermost stage of the pallet 20. Let Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the can 11 on the pallet 20 and the separate sheet 12 positioned directly below the can 11 are sucked and held together and integrally conveyed onto the sheet separation table 32. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a third suction holding step.

  The separation table portion 34 of the sheet separation table 32 rises in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 12 and approaches the separate sheet 12 of the can 11 and the separate sheet 12 that are integrally conveyed. When it is detected by a sensor (not shown) that the plurality of sheet suction pads 35 arranged on the upper part of the separation table 34 are in contact with the separate sheet 12, the sheet suction pad 35 sucks and grips the separate sheet 12. To do. After the separate sheet 12 is adsorbed by the sheet suction pad 35 having a stronger suction holding force than the suction head 2, the suction head 2 is raised, and the separate sheet 12 is separated from the can 11 that is sucked and held. The suction head 2 and the can 11 sucked and held by the suction head 2 are moved in the direction indicated by the arrow B in FIG. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a separation step of the separate sheet 12.

  The suction head 2 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 moves the can 11 from the sheet separation table 32 to the discharge conveyor 21. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a fourth suction holding process. Further, the holding and conveying apparatus 10 places the can 11 on the discharge conveyor by the same suction release process as in the first embodiment. The carry-out conveyor 21 conveys the can 11 to the downstream side indicated by the arrow in FIG.

  The separation sheet 12 sucked and held by the suction pad 35 by the sheet separation table 32 is released from the suction by the suction pad 35 and sucked by the suction head 2 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 that has finished the fourth suction holding process. It is held, conveyed to the secondary material storage box 22 and stored therein. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a transporting and accommodating process of the separate sheet 12. The auxiliary material storage box 22 of this embodiment sequentially stores the top frame 16 and the separate sheets 12 conveyed by the conveying means from the sheet separation table 32 in the order of conveyance.

  One cycle includes a third suction holding step for the can 11 and the separation sheet 12, a separation step for the separate sheet 12, a fourth suction holding step for the can 11, a suction release step, and a transport and accommodation step for the separation sheet 12. The cans 11 and the separate sheets 12 densely arranged on the pallet 20 are lowered one by one, and the separate sheets 12 are separated on the sheet separation table 32 by performing the above operations a plurality of times. The separate sheet 12 conveyed to the carry-out conveyor 21 and separated on the sheet separation table 32 can be conveyed and accommodated in the auxiliary material accommodation box 22. The pallet 20 in which all the cans 11 are lowered is discharged to the pallet discharge conveyor 19, and a new pallet 20 in which the cans 11 are stacked is supplied to the pallet lowering conveyor 18 by the pallet supply conveyor 17.

  A modification of the configuration of the sheet separation table in this embodiment is shown in FIG. The sheet separation table 42 shown here includes a plurality of chucks 43 as second gripping means instead of the sheet suction pads 35. In the separation process of the separate sheet 12, the suction head 2 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow B '. First, the suction head 2 is lifted with the chuck 43 gripping three sides other than the side closest to the carry-out conveyor 21 among the sides of the separate sheet 12, and the separate sheet 12 is removed from the can 11 held by suction. To be separated. Next, the suction head 2 and the can 11 sucked and held by the suction head 2 move from the upper side of the sheet separation table 32 toward the discharge conveyor 21 in the left direction in FIG. The separated sheet 12 is conveyed and accommodated in the auxiliary material accommodation box 22 by the suction head 2 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 that has completed the fourth suction and holding step.

(Third Embodiment) A third embodiment in which the can 11 stacked in a densely arranged state on the pallet 20 is lowered using the container group lowering device 51 including the holding and conveying device 10 is shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, the container group lowering device 51 includes a holding and conveying device 10, a carry-out conveyor 21, and a secondary material storage box 22. The container group lowering device 51 of the present embodiment further includes a plurality of chucks 52 arranged as a third gripping means so as to be movable up and down and horizontally around the pallet lowering conveyor 18. . Among the present embodiments, those having the same configuration as the first embodiment and the second embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals and redundant description is omitted.

  After the top frame 16 and the separate sheet 12 placed on the pallet 20 are accommodated in the auxiliary material accommodation box 22 by the step-down preparation process, the suction head 2 of the holding and conveying device 10 is arranged in a dense arrangement on the pallet 20. The can 11 is sucked and held in contact with the upper surface of the can 11. At this time, as shown in FIG. 15, the plurality of chucks 52 grip the separate sheet 12 positioned immediately below the can 11, and separate the separate sheet 12 from the can 11 when the can 11 moves together with the suction head 2. . Hereinafter, this is referred to as a gripping process of the separate sheet 12.

  The robot 3 of the holding / conveying apparatus 10 moves the suction head 2 that sucks and holds the can 11 in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 14 to convey and place the can 11 on the discharge conveyor 21. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a fifth holding and conveying step. Next, the holding and conveying apparatus 10 performs a suction release process on the conveyor 21 to place the can 11 on the discharge conveyor 21.

  Next, the robot 3 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 moves the suction head 2 onto the pallet 20 again, and sucks and holds the separate sheet 12 that is left on the uppermost stage of the pallet 20 and is held by the chuck 52. After the chuck 52 releases the grip, the robot 3 moves the suction head 2 that sucks and holds the separate sheet 12 in the direction of arrow D in FIG. By releasing or lowering, the separate sheet 12 is accommodated in the auxiliary material accommodation box 22. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a transporting process of the separate sheet 12.

  The container group lowering device 51 executes an operation in which the separation process of the separation sheet 12, the fifth suction holding process for the can 11, the suction release process, and the conveyance process of the separation sheet 12 are performed a plurality of times. . The chuck 52 moves to the side portion of the separation sheet 12 to be gripped next and grips it each time the transporting process of the separate sheet 12 is completed, so that the cans 11 and the separation sheets densely arranged on the pallet 20 are separated. 12 can be lowered step by step, the separate sheet 12 can be conveyed and accommodated in the auxiliary material accommodation box 22, and the can 11 can be conveyed to the carry-out conveyor 21. When all the cans 11 are lowered from the pallet 20, the chuck 52 moves from above the pallet lowering conveyor 18. The pallet 20 is discharged from the pallet stage lowering conveyor 18 to the pallet discharge conveyor 19, and a new pallet 20 on which the cans 11 are stacked is carried by the pallet supply conveyor 17.

  Specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, but these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above. For example, the container group lowering device 51 of the third embodiment includes the chuck 52 as a third gripping device for gripping the separate sheet 12, thereby reliably separating the can 11 and the separate sheet 12. Although it is possible to hold and convey, it is also possible to adsorb and hold only the can 11 by controlling the negative pressure by adjusting the intake air of the blower without using the chuck 52.

 Further, for example, in the separation process of the separate sheet 12 using the sheet suction pad 35 of the second embodiment, when a small amount of air is blown between the can 11 and the separate sheet 12 when the separation is started, The separate sheet 12 can be more reliably separated.

  Further, for example, when the cylindrical containers to be transported are arranged on the pallet without being densely spaced, the horizontal area ratio of the peripheral gap to the cross-sectional area of the cylindrical container is more growing. Even in such a case, the container group leveling device of the present invention has an area ratio of the gap to the cross-sectional area of the container of 50% or less, and the container contacts half of the suction holes 8 of the suction head 2. In this case, the container can be held and conveyed.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the detailed description was given about the case where the holding | maintenance conveyance apparatus 10 of the container group lowering apparatus of this invention conveys the cylindrical paper can 11, it is a more flexible raw material made from a synthetic resin. Even if the container group is made of metal, the container group is made of metal, or the container group is made of a breathable material, the conditions of the air volume and the negative pressure of the negative pressure supply means 4 are adjusted, or the design condition is By changing, it is possible to transport the container group suitably without plastic deformation. Further, the container can be stepped down even if it has a rectangular cross section or a more complicated shape.

  For pallet stacked products that do not use the top frame 16, the lowering preparation process, which is a process related to the top frame 16, can be omitted. In the above-described embodiment, the configuration of the container group lowering device that moves the holding and conveying device 10 by the robot 3 has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 1 of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-329234). It is also possible to construct a container group lowering apparatus that does not use a robot by using the holding and conveying apparatus 10 of the present application in a type gantry type (gate type) lowering apparatus.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the blower 4a of the holding and conveying apparatus 10 is installed on the floor is shown. However, by using the blower 4a fixed to the suction head 2 that is supported and moved by the robot 3, the intake duct 5 is used. The configuration can be simplified.

It is a side view of the holding | maintenance conveyance apparatus 10 which is one Embodiment of this invention. 4 is a top view of the suction head 2 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the suction head 2 of the holding and conveying apparatus 10. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the air volume of the air blower which is the negative pressure supply means 4, and the static pressure on the suction side. It is a figure which shows the state of the can 11 densely arranged in multiple rows in order to be suction-held by the holding | maintenance conveyance apparatus. It is a layout figure of the container group stage lowering apparatus 1 of 1st Example. It is a side view of the pallet in which the can 11, the separate sheet | seat 12, and the top frame 16 were stacked. It is a figure which shows the 1st suction holding process performed using the holding | maintenance conveyance apparatus 10 of 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the accommodation process of the separate sheet | seat 12 performed using the holding | maintenance conveyance apparatus 10 of 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the suction cancellation process performed using the holding | maintenance conveyance apparatus 10 of 1st Example. It is a layout figure of the container group stage lowering apparatus 31 of 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the 3rd suction holding process performed using the holding | maintenance conveyance apparatus 10 of 2nd Example. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a separation process of a separate sheet 12 performed using a sheet separation table 42 provided with a chuck 43, which is a modification of the second embodiment. It is a layout figure of the container group stage lowering apparatus 51 of 3rd Example. It is a figure which shows the holding process of the separate sheet | seat 12 performed using the chuck | zipper 52 of 3rd Example.

Explanation of symbols

1,31,51 Container group lowering device 2 Suction head 3 Robot (moving means)
4 Negative pressure supply means 4a Blower 5 Intake duct 5a Flexible intake duct 5b Fixed duct 5c Distribution duct 6 Intake port 7 Article suction surface 8 Suction hole 9 Suction chamber 10 Holding and conveying device 11 Can (container)
12 Separate sheet 13 Space inside the can 14 Clearance 15 Intake distribution chamber 16 Top frame 17 Pallet supply conveyor 18 Pallet leveling conveyor 19 Pallet discharge conveyor 20 Pallet 21 Unloading conveyor 22 Secondary material storage box (Submaterial storage means)
23 Chuck (first gripping means)
24 Alignment guide 25 Sub-material support means 26 Damper 27 Shutters 32, 42 Sheet separation table 33 Frame 34 Separation table 35 Sheet suction pad (second gripping means)
43 Chuck (second gripping means)
52 Chuck (third gripping means)

Claims (8)

A container group lowering device for lowering a container group stacked on a pallet from the pallet,
A discharge conveyor for loading and transporting the lowered container group downstream;
A secondary material storage means for storing a separate sheet or other stacked secondary material inserted between the loading stages of the container group;
A holding and conveying device for holding the object to be conveyed so that it can be conveyed;
The holding and conveying device is
A suction head provided with an article suction surface having a plurality of suction holes on the lower surface side of the suction chamber, and holding the article to be sucked by bringing the article suction surface into contact with the object to be transported;
Moving means for moving the suction head in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction; and
Comprising negative pressure supply means connected to the suction chamber of the suction head;
The negative pressure supply means of the holding and conveying device is
The container is arranged to face the entire surface of the article suction surface when the suction head abuts the container on the article suction surface and sucks and holds the container through the plurality of suction holes. In a state in which outside air is not directly sucked from almost all of the suction holes, the container can be sucked and held with almost no plastic deformation, and there is a region where the container does not face the article suction surface, so In the state of directly sucking outside air from a suction hole that is not in contact, it has a suction characteristic of suction side static pressure vs. air volume that brings about negative pressure or air flow that can maintain suction holding of the container,
A container group leveling device that sequentially lowers a container group and a stacking auxiliary material stacked on a pallet from the pallet by the holding and conveying device.   The container group lowering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the negative pressure supply means is configured by using a suction side of a blower. The negative pressure caused by the negative pressure supply means to the suction hole on the article suction surface of the suction head has the following two conditions:
(1) The container is brought into contact with all of the plurality of suction holes of the article suction surface, and the negative pressure is 10 KPa or less in a state where outside air is not directly sucked from all of the suction holes, and (2) The negative pressure becomes 0.5 KPa or more in a state where the container is brought into contact with half of the plurality of suction holes of the article adsorption surface and the outside air is directly sucked from the other half of the suction holes;
The container group leveling device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container group leveling device is set so as to satisfy. A container group lowering method for lowering a container group stacked on a pallet from the pallet,
An article suction surface having a plurality of suction holes is provided on the lower surface side of the suction chamber, and a suction head for holding the article to be sucked by bringing the article suction surface into contact with the object to be conveyed, and the suction head horizontally A holding and conveying device for holding a conveyance object in a conveyable manner, comprising a moving means for moving in a direction and a vertical direction, and a negative pressure supply means connected to a suction chamber of the suction head, The negative pressure supply means of the holding and conveying device is
The container is arranged to face the entire surface of the article suction surface when the suction head abuts the container on the article suction surface and sucks and holds the container through the plurality of suction holes. In a state in which outside air is not directly sucked from almost all of the suction holes, the container can be sucked and held with almost no plastic deformation, and there is a region where the container does not face the article suction surface, so A holding and conveying device having suction characteristics of suction side static pressure versus air volume that brings about a negative pressure or air flow that can maintain suction holding of the container in a state in which outside air is directly sucked from a non-contact suction hole. make use of,
By sucking and holding and transporting the container group stacked on the pallet and the separate sheets and other stacked auxiliary materials by the suction head, the container group and the stacked auxiliary material are placed in a predetermined order from the pallet. A container group lowering method, characterized in that the container group is lowered. The container group leveling method according to claim 4,
As a pre-preparation before starting to unload containers on the pallet,
By using the suction head of the holding and conveying device, the top frame as the stacked secondary material placed on the uppermost stage of the stacked container group and the separate sheet positioned immediately below the top frame are sucked and held together to store the secondary material. A step of accommodating the top frame and the separate sheet in the auxiliary material accommodation means by releasing or lowering the negative pressure there.
A container group leveling method characterized by comprising: In the container group lowering method according to claim 4 or 5,
A step of sucking and holding together a group of containers on a pallet and a separate sheet located directly below the group of containers on the pallet by the suction head of the holding and conveying device,
By separating the suction head of the holding and conveying device from the secondary material storage unit in a state where the separate sheet of the container group and the separate sheet transported integrally in the secondary material storage unit is gripped by the first gripping unit, the separation material is separated. Separating the sheet from the suction head and storing the sheet in the auxiliary material storing means; and
A step of placing the container group on the discharge conveyor by transporting the suction head of the holding and conveying device holding and sucking the container group from the auxiliary material storage means to the discharge conveyor, and releasing or lowering the negative pressure there,
The container group leveling method is characterized in that the container group is leveled and a separate sheet as a stacking auxiliary material is collected. In the container group lowering method according to claim 4 or 5,
A step of sucking and holding together a group of containers on a pallet and a separate sheet located immediately below by a suction head of the holding and transporting device, and transporting it integrally to a sheet separation table;
By moving the suction head of the holding and conveying device from the sheet separating table toward the discharge conveyor in a state in which the separate sheet of the container group and the separated sheet that are integrally conveyed in the sheet separating table is gripped by the second gripping means. Separating the separate sheet from the suction head;
A step of placing the container group on the discharge conveyor by moving the suction head of the holding and conveying apparatus that sucked and held the container group from the sheet separation table to the discharge conveyor, and releasing or lowering the negative pressure there, and
Storing the separated sheet separated in the sheet separating table in the auxiliary material storing means;
The container group leveling method is characterized in that the container group is leveled and a separate sheet as a stacking auxiliary material is collected. In the container group lowering method according to claim 4 or 5,
With the separate sheet located immediately below the container group on the pallet being gripped by the third gripping means, the container group is sucked and held by the suction head of the holding and transporting device and transported to the discharge conveyor, where the negative pressure is released. Or by lowering, placing the container group on the discharge conveyor, and
After releasing the separation sheet by the third gripping means, the separation sheet remaining on the pallet is sucked and held by the suction head of the holding and transporting device and transported to the auxiliary material storage means, where the negative pressure is released. Or a step of accommodating the separate sheet in the auxiliary material accommodation means by lowering,
The container group leveling method is characterized in that the container group is leveled and a separate sheet as a stacking auxiliary material is collected.

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