JP2011111273A - Article positioning device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To position an article without requiring a large space in a horizontal direction in a device centering a pallet by raising the pallet from a conveying level with a lift device installed with a free roller on the upper surface and pushing the pallet in a separate mechanism from a side or a device centering the pallet on a conveyor by raising the pallet from the conveying level with a lift device installed with the conveyor on an upper surface, in an article positioning device. <P>SOLUTION: This article positioning device 1 includes an elevating base 29 and a front side regulating member 35. The elevating base 29 is movable in a vertical direction. The front side regulating member 35 is provided on the elevating base 29 and is arranged corresponding to the external shape of an article W. The front side regulating member 35 positions the article W, while being vertically moved by an elevating member. Then, a space occupied by the device 1 for positioning the article W does not needed to be secured in the horizontal direction of the device 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an article positioning apparatus and method, and more particularly to an article positioning apparatus and method using a lifter.

  A conventional automatic warehouse includes, for example, a pair of racks, a stacker crane, a warehouse station, and a warehouse station. The pair of racks are provided at a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction. The stacker crane is provided so as to be movable in the left-right direction between the front and rear racks. The warehousing station is arranged on the side of one rack. The delivery station is arranged on the side of the other rack. The rack has a large number of article storage shelves vertically and horizontally. The stacker crane has a traveling carriage, a lifting platform that can be raised and lowered by a mast provided therein, and an article transfer device (for example, a slide fork that is slidable in the front-rear direction). is doing. In the loading / unloading station, a conveyor is used to transport the articles.

  Articles are usually conveyed in a state of being placed on a pallet. For example, in a state where the article is placed on a pallet, the article is transferred to a conveyor at a storage station by a forklift or the like, conveyed by the conveyor, further loaded onto a stacker crane, and finally loaded onto a rack shelf by the stacker crane.

  When the article is transferred to the conveyor and the center of the pallet in the width direction of the pallet is shifted from the center of the conveyor in the width direction, the following problem occurs. For example, when a stacker crane places an article on a shelf with a fork or the like, the article on the pallet may collide with the shelf. That is, the article delivery operation is not performed smoothly. For this reason, it is preferable that the center in the conveyor width direction of the pallet is accurately aligned with the center in the width direction of the conveyor.

On the other hand, centering the pallet with respect to the conveyor by a forklift is difficult and requires skill.
Therefore, an example in which a left / right positioning device for articles on a conveyor is provided is known. The left and right positioning device centers the article in the course of the conveyor (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-69923

  There is also known an apparatus that lifts a pallet from a conveying level by a lift device having a free roller on the upper surface and pushes the pallet by a separate mechanism from the side to perform centering. Furthermore, there is also known an apparatus that lifts a pallet from a conveyance level by a lift device having a conveyor on the upper surface and performs centering by the conveyor. However, these centering devices also have a problem of requiring a large space.

  An object of the present invention is to enable positioning in an article positioning device without requiring a large space in the horizontal direction.

The article positioning apparatus according to the present invention includes an elevating member that is movable in the vertical direction, and a guide that is provided on the elevating member and is arranged corresponding to the outer shape of the article.
In this apparatus, the guide positions the article while moving up and down by the elevating member. As a result, it is not necessary to ensure the space occupied by the device for positioning the article in the horizontal direction of the device.

The elevating member may be capable of moving the article up and down between an article transfer position where the article is transferred to the transfer device and an article placement position below the article transfer position.
In this apparatus, when the elevating member raises or lowers the article, the guide moves up and down together with the elevating member. Therefore, the guide positions the article while moving up and down. As a result, it is not necessary to ensure the space occupied by the device for positioning the article in the horizontal direction of the device.

The article positioning device may further include a placement unit on which an article is placed at the article placement position. When the article is at the article transfer position, a space in which the transfer device is inserted may be secured between the article and the placement unit.
In this apparatus, when the article is raised to the article transfer position, the transfer apparatus performs a transfer operation using the space secured by the ascent. Thus, since the article is positioned by the article positioning device used for the mating with the transfer device, the number of driving members can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

The mounting part may have a mounting part main body and a stopper provided on the back side of the mounting part main body. The guide may be in a position to sandwich the article on the placement unit main body together with the stopper.
In this apparatus, the positioning can be easily performed by the stopper, and the article can be accurately positioned by the guide. In this way, positioning can be performed with a simple device.

The placement unit may further include a free roller provided on the placement unit main body. The article positioning apparatus may further include an article push-out mechanism that pushes the article and moves it onto the placement unit main body.
In this apparatus, when the article pushing mechanism pushes the article onto the placement unit main body, the article is smoothly moved by the free roller. Furthermore, the use of the free roller facilitates the movement of the article during positioning by the guide.

An article positioning method according to another aspect of the present invention includes an elevating member that is movable in the vertical direction, a guide provided on the elevating member, a placing part on which the article is placed, and a placing part. An article positioning method using an article positioning apparatus having a stopper and an article push-out mechanism for pushing an article, and includes the following steps.
◎ Step of pushing the article onto the placement part by the extrusion mechanism ◎ Step of sandwiching the article between the guide and the stopper by raising the elevating member ◎ Step of separating the article from the article ◎ Step of raising and lowering the elevating member further Forming a space between the article and the placement portion into which a transfer device for transfer can be inserted;

  In the article positioning apparatus and method according to the present invention, the article can be positioned without requiring a large space in the horizontal direction.

1 is a schematic plan view of an article positioning device in a first embodiment of the present invention. The model side view of an article | item positioning apparatus. The block diagram which shows the control structure of a lift apparatus. The flowchart which shows the control operation of a lift apparatus. The schematic plan view of an article | item positioning apparatus. The model side view of an article | item positioning apparatus. The model side view of an article | item positioning apparatus. The model side view of an article | item positioning apparatus. The schematic plan view of the article | item positioning apparatus in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The model front view of an article | item positioning apparatus. The schematic plan view of the article | item positioning apparatus in 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The model front view of an article | item positioning apparatus.

1. First Embodiment (1) Article Positioning Device An article positioning device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an article positioning device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the article positioning device. 1 is defined as the X direction, and the vertical direction of the sheet is defined as the Y direction.

The article positioning device 1 is a positioning device for transferring the article W to the stacker crane 2. The article positioning device 1 mainly includes a lift device 3, a transport carriage 5, and a pusher 7. The lift device 3 is a device for raising the article W in a positioned state and transferring the article W onto the stacker crane 2. The transport carriage 5 is a device that transports the article W in a state where the article W is placed, and supplies the article W to the lift device 3. The pusher 7 is a device that pushes the article W transported by the transport cart 5 and moves it to the lift device 3.
In this embodiment, since the article W moves together with the pallet P while being placed on the pallet P, the pallet P itself may be an “article”, or a combination of the article W and the pallet P may be “ It may be “article”.

  The stacker crane 2 can be stopped on one side of the lift device 3 in the X direction. The stacker crane 2 can travel on a traveling rail 8 extending in the Y direction. The stacker crane 2 includes a traveling unit 9 and a transfer unit 10. The transfer unit 10 is movable in the vertical direction, and further includes a slide fork 11 for transferring the article W. The slide fork 11 is slidable from the transfer portion 10 to one side in the X direction.

(2) Lift device The lift device 3 mainly includes a roller mechanism 13 and a lifter 15. The roller mechanism 13 includes a frame 17 and a plurality of free rollers 19. The frame 17 is a member arranged at a position higher than the ground, and has an upper surface 17a. The free roller 19 is rotatably supported on the frame 17. The free rollers are lined up at a constant interval in the Y direction, and the rotation axis is parallel to the X direction.

  The lower side in the Y direction of the frame 17 is the front side in the loading direction, and the upper side in the Y direction is the back side in the loading direction. A back side stopper 21 is provided on the carry-in back side of the frame 17. The back side stopper 21 is a plate member and extends further upward from the upper surface 17 a of the frame 17.

  Side guides 23 are provided at positions away from the frame 17 on both sides in the X direction of the frame 17. The side guide 23 is disposed at a position further above the upper surface 17 a of the frame 17. In the figure, the structure for supporting the side guides 23 is omitted.

  The lifter 15 includes a base 27, a lift 29, a lift mechanism 31, and a lift shaft 33. The base 27 is placed on the ground. The elevator 29 is disposed above the base 27. The lifting mechanism 31 has a scissor mechanism, and connects the base 27 and the lifting base 29 and moves the lifting base 29 up and down relative to the base 27. As is clear from FIG. 1, the lifting platform 29 is wider on both sides in the X direction than the frame 17. The lifting shafts 33 extend upward from the four corners of the lifting platform 29, and two lifting shafts 33 are arranged on both sides of the frame 17 in the X direction. In addition, although the raising / lowering shafts 33 are not shown in figure, you may mutually connect.

  A front-side regulating member 35 is provided on the elevating shaft 33 on the front side in the carry-in direction (Y direction). The near side regulating member 35 is a member for vertically moving together with the lifting shaft 33 and for regulating the movement of the article W. The near side regulating member 35 is a plate member extending in the vertical direction, and a lower end portion and an upper end of the elevating shaft 33 are connected by a connecting member 37. The position of the front side regulating member 35 is in the vicinity of the front side end in the loading direction of the frame 17.

(3) Conveying Cart The conveying cart 5 is movable from the right side in the X direction to the front side in the Y direction of the lift device 3 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. The transport cart 5 may be automatic traveling or manual traveling.

(4) Pusher As is clear from FIGS. 1 and 2, the pusher 7 is provided between the lift device 3 and the transport cart 5 when the transport cart 5 is disposed on the front side in the Y direction of the lift device 3. 5 is arranged at a position sandwiching 5. That is, the lift device 3, the transport carriage 5, and the pusher 7 are arranged in a straight line in the Y direction. In this state, the pusher 7 can push the article W on the transport carriage 5 toward the lift device 3.

  The pusher 7 has a push member 39 and a drive mechanism (not shown). Note that the X-direction width of the push member 39 is shorter than the X-direction width of the pair of front side regulating members 35 of the lift device 3, and the push member 39 is in a state where the push member 39 is closest to the lift device 3. Does not interfere with the pair of front side regulating members 35.

(5) Control Configuration of Lift Device The control configuration of the lift device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the lift device.

  The control unit 41 is a computer including a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and performs a control operation by executing a program read from the memory. The controller 41 is connected to a lift drive unit 43, a photoelectric sensor 45, and a limit switch 47. The elevating drive unit 43 drives the elevating mechanism 31 based on a command from the control unit 41. The photoelectric sensor 45 detects whether or not the article W is placed on the frame 17 of the lift device 3. The limit switch 47 detects whether or not the article W is placed on the upper surface of the elevating shaft 33.

(6) Control operation of lift device The control operation of the lift device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the lift device.

  In the initial state, as shown in FIG. 2, the elevating shaft 33 and the elevating platform 29 of the lift device 3 are disposed in the lower position. Accordingly, the upper surface of the elevating shaft 33 and the upper end of the front side regulating member 35 are located below the upper surface 17 a of the frame 17 and the upper surface of the free roller 19.

In step S <b> 1, the control unit 41 waits for the article W to be pushed onto the frame 17 and the free roller 19 by the pusher 7. When the control unit 41 determines that the article W has been carried in based on a signal from the photoelectric sensor 45, the process proceeds to control step S2.
When the pusher 7 presses the article W, the article W travels on the free roller 19 and moves to the back side in the loading direction of the frame 17 while being guided by the side guide 23. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the article W comes into contact with the back stopper 21 and stops. At this time, the article W may return a slight distance to the front side in the carry-in direction.

  In step S <b> 2, the control unit 41 outputs a command to the lift drive unit 43 to drive the lift mechanism 31. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 7, the raising / lowering mechanism 31 moves the raising / lowering stand 29 to an intermediate position. Thereby, the near side regulation member 35 rises to a position on the near side in the loading direction of the pallet P. At this time, the front side regulating member 35 does not interfere with the push member 39 of the pusher 7. The near side regulating member 35 guides the article W to return to the back side in the carry-in direction depending on the situation. As a result, the near side regulating member 35 positions the article W so as to sandwich the pallet P between the near side stopper 21. In this state, the upper surface of the elevating shaft 33 is not in contact with the bottom surface of the pallet P, so that the article W can move smoothly on the free roller 19.

  In step S3, the control unit 41 waits for the push member 39 of the pusher 7 to be pulled from the pushed position to the original position. The control unit 41 acquires information returned from the control unit of the pusher 7 to the original position.

  In step S <b> 4, the control unit 41 outputs a command to the lift drive unit 43 to drive the lift mechanism 31. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 8, the raising / lowering mechanism 31 moves the raising / lowering stand 29 to a transfer position. In the middle of this, the elevating shaft 33 contacts the bottom surface of the pallet P and moves the pallet P and the article W upward. As a result, a space S is secured between the pallet P and the frame 17 and the free roller 19. When the lifting shaft 33 contacts the pallet P, the pallet P and the article W are already accurately positioned by the front side regulating member 35, so that the article W and the pallet P are correctly positioned with respect to the lifting shaft 33. Placed in.

  In step S <b> 5, the control unit 41 waits for the article W to be picked up by the slide fork 11 of the stacker crane 2 and conveyed from the lifting shaft 33. When the control unit 41 determines that the article W has been carried out based on a signal from the limit switch 47, the process proceeds to control step S6.

  In step S <b> 6, the control unit 41 outputs a command to the lift drive unit 43 to drive the lift mechanism 31. Thereby, the elevating mechanism 31 moves the elevating platform 29 to the lower position. Thereby, the lift apparatus 3 returns to the state shown in FIG.

When the above steps are outlined, the article positioning method according to the present invention is as follows.
Step of pushing the article W onto the frame 17 and the free roller 19 by the pusher 7 (Step S1)
◎ Step of sandwiching the article W between the near side regulating member 35 and the far side stopper 21 by raising the lifting platform 29 (step S2)
◎ Step in which pusher 7 leaves article W (step S3)
A step of further raising the lifting platform 29 to form a space S into which the slide fork 11 for transferring the article W can be inserted between the article W and the free roller 19 (step S4).

(7) Effects of First Embodiment The article positioning device 1 includes a lifting platform 29 that can move in the vertical direction and a front-side regulating member 35. The front side regulating member 35 is provided on the lifting platform 29 and is arranged corresponding to the outer shape of the article W.
In this apparatus, the front side regulating member 35 positions the article W while moving up and down by the lifting platform 29. As a result, it is not necessary to secure the space occupied by the device for positioning the article W in the horizontal direction of the device.

The lifting platform 29 can move the article W up and down between an article transfer position where the article W is transferred to the stacker crane 2 and an article placement position below the article transfer position.
In this apparatus, when the lifting platform 29 lifts and lowers the article W, the front side regulating member 35 moves up and down together with the lifting platform 29. Therefore, the front side regulating member 35 positions the article W while moving up and down. As a result, it is not necessary to secure the space occupied by the device for positioning the article W in the horizontal direction of the device.

The article positioning device 1 further includes a roller mechanism 13 on which the article W is placed at the article placement position. When the article W is in the article transfer position, a space S in which the slide fork 11 is inserted is secured between the article W and the roller mechanism 13.
In this apparatus, when the article W is raised to the article transfer position, the slide fork 11 performs the transfer operation using the space S secured by the rise. Thus, since the article W is positioned by the article positioning device 1 used for the engagement with the stacker crane 2, the number of driving members can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

The roller mechanism 13 includes a frame 17 and a back side stopper 21 provided on the back side of the frame 17. The front side regulating member 35 is in a position to sandwich the article W on the frame 17 together with the back side stopper 21.
In this apparatus, the article W can be positioned easily by the back side stopper 21 and the article W can be accurately positioned by the front side regulating member 35. Thus, there is an advantage that positioning can be performed with a simple device.

The roller mechanism 13 further includes a free roller 19 provided on the frame 17. The article positioning device 1 further includes a pusher 7 that pushes the article W and moves it onto the frame 17.
In this apparatus, when the pusher 7 pushes the article W onto the frame 17, the article W moves smoothly by the free roller 19. Furthermore, the use of the free roller 19 facilitates the movement of the article W during positioning by the front side regulating member 35.

2. Second Embodiment (1) Article Positioning Device An article positioning device 101 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of an article positioning device in the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of the article positioning device.

  The article positioning device 101 is a positioning device for transferring the article W to a stacker crane (not shown). The article positioning device 101 positions the article W and transfers the article W to the stacker crane.

The article positioning device 101 mainly includes a placement mechanism 103 and a centering device 105. The article W is placed on the placement mechanism 103. The centering device 105 centers the article W placed on the placement mechanism 103.
In this embodiment, the widths of the article W and the pallet P are equal in the Y direction, but the width of the pallet P is larger than the width of the article W in the X direction. The pallet P is provided with a plurality of slits 106.

  The placement mechanism 103 has four placement units 107 on which the pallet P is placed. The placement unit 107 includes a support unit 111 and a ball bearing 113. The placement unit 107 is arranged to support the four corners according to the outer shape of the pallet P. The support part 111 is installed on the ground and supports the ball bearing 113 at an upper position away from the ground. The ball bearing 113 is a member for smooth movement of the pallet P. The placement unit 107 further includes a guide 115. The guide 115 is provided at the corner of the support portion 111 and supports the corner of the pallet P from the side.

  The centering device 105 includes a lift device 117 and a correction roller mechanism 119. The lift device 117 includes a base 127, a lift 129, and a lift mechanism 131. The lifting platform 129 is disposed above the base 127. The lifting mechanism 131 has a scissor mechanism, and connects the base 127 and the lifting base 129 and moves the lifting base 129 up and down with respect to the base 127. As is clear from FIG. 9, the lifting platform 129 has a shorter X-direction width and a slightly longer Y-direction width than the pallet P.

  The correction roller mechanism 119 is provided on the lifting platform 129. The correction roller mechanism 119 has a total of eight correction rollers 135. A pair of correction rollers 135 are arranged to guide the sides of the article W. Correcting rollers 135 having rotation axes parallel to the X direction are provided at both ends in the Y direction of the lifting platform 129. Correcting rollers 135 having rotation axes parallel to the Y direction are provided at both ends in the X direction of the lifting platform 129. The correction roller 135 is disposed at a position higher than the upper surface of the lifting platform 129 by the support member 137.

(2) Centering operation In the initial state, as shown in FIG. 10, the lifting platform 129 of the lift device 117 is disposed at a lower position. Therefore, the upper end of the correction roller 135 is at a position below the pallet P, and a space S is secured between the correction roller 135 and the pallet P.

  First, the article W and the pallet P are placed on the placement mechanism 103. At that time, the pallet P is roughly positioned by the guide 115.

  Next, the lifting mechanism 131 moves the lifting platform 129 to the upper position. At this time, the correction rollers 135 disposed on both sides in the X direction move further upward from the pallet P through the slits 106 formed in the pallet P. As a result, the correction roller 135 moves further upward from the pallet P and guides the lower part of each side of the article W. As a result, the article W and the pallet P are accurately positioned with respect to the placement mechanism 103. At this time, the article W moves smoothly by the ball bearing 113.

  When the positioning is performed, the lifting mechanism 131 moves the lifting platform 129 to the lower position. Thereby, the lift device 117 returns to the original state.

  Next, the slide fork 141 of the stacker crane is inserted into the space S, and the article W and the pallet P are scooped up from the placement mechanism 103.

(3) Effects of Second Embodiment The article positioning device 101 includes a lifting platform 129 that can move in the vertical direction and a correction roller 135. The correction roller 135 is provided on the lifting platform 129 and is arranged corresponding to the outer shape of the article W.
In this apparatus, the correction roller 135 positions the article W while moving up and down by the lifting platform 129. As a result, it is not necessary to secure the space occupied by the device for positioning the article W in the horizontal direction of the device.

  In this way, the article W is accurately positioned with respect to the placement mechanism 103 by the centering device 105. In particular, it is not necessary to use a device for correcting the article W from four sides even when the article is directly in contact with the stacker crane or when stations provided with the article positioning device are adjacent to each other.

3. Third Embodiment (1) Article Positioning Device An article positioning device 201 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view of an article positioning device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a schematic side view of the article positioning device.

  The article positioning device 201 is a positioning device for transferring the article W to a stacker crane (not shown). The article positioning device 201 positions the article W and transfers the article W to the stacker crane.

The article positioning device 201 mainly includes a placement mechanism 203 and a centering device 205. The article W is placed on the placement mechanism 203. The centering device 205 centers the article W placed on the placement mechanism 203.
In this embodiment, the widths of the article W and the pallet P are equal in both the Y direction and the X direction.

  The placement mechanism 203 has four placement portions 207 on which the pallet P is placed. The placement unit 207 includes a support unit 211 and a ball bearing 213. The placement unit 207 is arranged to support the four corners according to the outer shape of the pallet P. The support part 211 is installed on the ground and supports the ball bearing 213 at an upper position away from the ground. The ball bearing 213 is a member for smooth movement of the pallet P. The placement unit 207 further includes a guide 215. The guide 215 is provided at the corner of the support portion 211 and supports the corner of the pallet P from the side.

  The centering device 205 includes a lift device 217 and a correction roller mechanism 219. The lift device 217 includes a base 227, an elevator base 229, and an elevator mechanism 231. The lifting platform 229 is disposed above the base 227. The lifting mechanism 231 has a scissor mechanism, and connects the base 227 and the lifting base 229 and moves the lifting base 229 up and down with respect to the base 227. As is clear from FIG. 11, the elevator platform 229 has slightly longer X and Y widths than the pallet P.

  The correction roller mechanism 219 is provided on the lifting platform 229. The correction roller mechanism 219 has a total of eight correction rollers 235. A pair of correction rollers 235 are arranged to guide the sides of the article W. Correcting rollers 235 having rotation axes parallel to the X direction are provided at both ends in the Y direction of the lifting platform 229. Correcting rollers 235 having rotation axes parallel to the Y direction are provided at both ends in the X direction of the lifting platform 229. The correction roller 235 is disposed at a position higher than the upper surface of the lifting platform 229 by the support member 237.

(2) Centering Operation In the initial state, as shown in FIG. 12, the lifting platform 229 of the lift device 217 is disposed at the lower position. Therefore, the upper end of the correction roller 235 is located below the pallet P, and a space S is secured between the pallet P.

  First, the article W and the pallet P are placed on the placement mechanism 203. At that time, the pallet P is roughly positioned by the guide 215.

  Next, the elevating mechanism 231 moves the elevating platform 229 to the upper position. At this time, the correction roller 235 moves further above the pallet P and guides the lower part of each side of the article W. As a result, the article W and the pallet P are accurately positioned with respect to the placement mechanism 203. At this time, the article W moves smoothly by the ball bearing 213.

  When the positioning is performed, the lifting mechanism 231 moves the lifting platform 229 to a lower position. As a result, the lift device 217 returns to the original state.

Next, the slide fork 241 of the stacker crane is inserted into the space S, and the article W and the pallet P are scooped up from the placement mechanism 203.
(3) Effects of Third Embodiment The article positioning device 201 includes a lifting platform 229 that can move in the vertical direction and a correction roller 235. The correction roller 235 is provided on the lifting platform 229 and is arranged corresponding to the outer shape of the article W.
In this apparatus, the correction roller 235 positions the article W while moving up and down by the lifting platform 229. As a result, it is not necessary to secure the space occupied by the device for positioning the article W in the horizontal direction of the device.

  In this way, the article W is accurately positioned with respect to the placement mechanism 203 by the centering device 205. In particular, it is not necessary to use a device for correcting the article W from four sides even when the article is directly in contact with the stacker crane or when stations provided with the article positioning device are adjacent to each other.

4). Other Embodiments Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

  The present invention can be widely applied to an article positioning apparatus and method, and particularly to an article positioning apparatus and method using a lifter.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article positioning device 2 Stacker crane 3 Lifting device 5 Carriage cart 7 Pusher (article pushing mechanism)
8 Traveling rail 9 Traveling section 10 Transfer section 11 Slide fork 13 Roller mechanism (mounting section)
15 Lifter 17 Frame (Placement body)
17a Upper surface 19 Free roller 21 Back side stopper 23 Side guide 27 Base 29 Lift base (lift member)
31 Elevating mechanism 33 Elevating shaft 35 Front side regulating member (guide)
37 Connecting member 39 Push member 41 Control unit 43 Lifting drive unit 45 Photoelectric sensor 47 Limit switch 101 Article positioning device 103 Placement mechanism 105 Centering device 106 Slit 107 Placement unit 111 Support unit 113 Ball bearing 115 Guide 117 Lift device 119 Correction roller Mechanism 127 Base 129 Elevator (elevating member)
131 Lifting mechanism 135 Straightening roller (guide)
137 Support member 141 Slide fork 201 Article positioning device 203 Placement mechanism 205 Centering device 207 Placement portion 211 Support portion 213 Ball bearing 215 Guide 217 Lift device 219 Correction roller mechanism 227 Base 229 Lift base (lift member)
231 Lifting mechanism 235 Straightening roller (guide)
237 Support member 241 Slide fork P Pallet S Space W Article

Claims (5)

An apparatus for positioning an article comprising:
A lifting member movable in the vertical direction;
A guide provided on the elevating member and arranged corresponding to the outer shape of the article;
An article positioning apparatus comprising: The elevating member can raise and lower the article between an article transfer position where the article is transferred to a transfer device and an article placement position below the article transfer position.
The apparatus further includes a placement unit on which the article is placed at the article placement position,
The article positioning device according to claim 1, wherein when the article is at the article transfer position, a space for inserting the transfer device is secured between the article and the placement unit. The mounting unit has a mounting unit body and a stopper provided on the back side of the mounting unit body,
The article positioning device according to claim 2, wherein the guide is located at a position where the article on the placement unit main body is sandwiched together with the stopper. The above-mentioned mounting part further has a free roller provided in the above-mentioned mounting part main body,
The article positioning apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an article push-out mechanism that pushes the article and moves the article onto the placement unit main body. An elevating member movable in the vertical direction, a guide provided on the elevating member, a placing portion on which the article is placed, a stopper provided on the placing portion, and an article for pushing the article An article positioning method for an article positioning device having an extrusion mechanism,
The push-out mechanism pushes the article onto the placement section, and
Sandwiching the article between the guide and the stopper by raising the elevating member;
The extruding mechanism moving away from the article;
A step of further raising the elevating member to form a space in which a transfer device for transferring the article can be inserted between the article and the mounting portion;
An article positioning method comprising:

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