JP2012051691A - Facility for diverging and converging of article using conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control diverging and converging of articles all together by being mixed in a short section of a conveyor to allow the articles to flow efficiently and to downsize a facility for diverging and converging of the articles.SOLUTION: Branch lines Ln for diverging and branch lines Ls for converging are arranged alternately on the left side of a main conveyor 1, and a storage and retrieval terminal of a stacker crane is provided between mutually adjacent branch lines Ln, Ls, thereby allowing the articles to travel between an automated warehouse, and the storage and retrieval terminal by the stacker crane so that the article may enter and leave the warehouse. A program is included by which: virtual spaces N, S for diverging and converging are alternately allocated to a virtual loading zone 9 to show the position where the article on the main conveyor 1 is to be loaded; the virtual spaces, the article to be loaded and the branch lines Ln, Ls for diverging and converging of the article are made to correspond; the virtual loading zone 9 is sent out in synchronization with the conveyance distance of the main conveyor 1, and the article is transferred to the branch line Ln, or from the branch line Ls to the main conveyor 1 when the virtual spaces N, S come to the corresponding branch lines Ln, Ls.

Description

  In the present invention, while continuously transporting articles on a conveyor, some articles are branched and transferred to another line, or articles not on the conveyor are joined to the conveyor, and branch and merge of articles are simultaneously performed on one conveyor. The present invention relates to a technique for effectively performing sorting, distribution, and merging of articles and merging of combinations of articles that can be performed.

  As the prior art of the branching method, the following Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, Patent Document 6, and Patent Document 7 developed by the present applicant are described. Moreover, as a confluence | merging method, there are description in the following patent document 3, patent document 4, and patent document 5.

(Branching method)
In Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a right-angle conversion device is arranged at each branch point of the conveyor, and when the article reaches a target branch point, the right-angle conversion device rises from below, and the chain conveyor of the right-angle conversion device. An article branching device having a structure for conveying articles in a transverse direction perpendicular to the conveyor is disclosed.
Patent Document 6 and Patent Document 7 disclose an article branching device having a structure in which a ram for right-angle conversion is arranged at each branch point, and when the article reaches a target branch point, the ram pushes the article in a transverse direction. ing.

  In any case, the position tracking control of the article in the middle of the conveyor is substantially the same, and the position tracking control is as described in detail in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. The control is carried out in a transport system having a plurality of branch conveyors along one main conveyor (roller conveyor), and transports articles on the main conveyor (roller conveyor) to a target branch point. The actual amount of rotation of the drive system is counted by pulses from a pulse encoder, branched at a right angle with a predetermined pulse count value, and transferred to a branch conveyor. Also disclosed is a technique for detecting and correcting the amount of slip between an article and a roller when the article travels on a roller conveyor, and causing it to branch correctly at a target branch point. A technique is also disclosed in which the length of an article is detected at the start point even when the length of the article to be conveyed is different, and the vehicle is started at the length of the article + the crossing time + the marginal pitch.

(Meeting method)
In Patent Document 3, Patent Document 4, and Patent Document 5, a tributary line composed of a plurality of gravity roller lines is arranged along the main conveyor, and the amount of movement of the main conveyor is a pulse count value obtained by counting pulses by a pulse encoder. When measuring and cutting out from the tributary line so that it is arranged in the desired order on the main conveyor, the virtual length corresponding to the length of the article is assumed, and the length of the article + transfer time + margin Assuming a virtual space having a pitch (variable pitch), a technique for joining the main conveyor to the main conveyor at a required pulse count value of the main conveyor is disclosed. As described above, branching and merging are independent control technologies, and are not a technology in which branching and merging branch lines are mixedly arranged so that branching and merging can be performed within the same section on the same main conveyor.

  In a plurality of automatic warehouses, the stacker cranes in each automatic warehouse are arranged at independent positions far away from the storage station and the storage station. And the warehousing branch conveyor branched from the main conveyor and the warehousing station are connected by a warehousing conveyor. And the control method of flowing the goods to be received from the upstream on the main conveyor and branching them to the storage branch conveyor of the target automatic warehouse, using the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2 and Patent Documents 6 and 7 above. High-performance branch control can be easily performed. However, in the case of delivery, articles were transported to each delivery tributary conveyor via dedicated delivery conveyors connected to the respective delivery stations of the stacker cranes of each automatic warehouse, and then the articles were joined to the main conveyor. . Ordered joining that joins the main conveyor so that it is arranged in the desired order can be easily performed with high-capacity joining control using the techniques of Patent Documents 3, 4, and 5.

  However, the transfer conveyor for warehousing and the transfer conveyor for warehousing in an automatic warehouse requiring high capacity have been arranged separately. For example, goods are received from one end of the automatic warehouse via each transfer conveyor for loading and unloading, and discharged from the other end on the opposite side. However, if the loading and unloading are performed at the same time, the stacker crane will run to the opposite station each time the loading and unloading. That is, at the time of warehousing, an article is taken out from the warehousing station, stored in the nearest empty shelf of interest, and then moved to the shed for delivery goods, and the article is taken out from the shelf, taken out to the evacuation station, and unloaded. Next, if it is warehousing, it moves to the opposite warehousing station in the sky. This is a useless operation. Therefore, when entering / exiting in the same time zone, entering / exiting is performed on the same side. However, in the prior art, the equipment for warehousing and delivery could not be controlled by the same main conveyor, so it had to be divided into two stages, upper and lower. Installing the upper and lower two systems increases the equipment cost, and it is necessary to divide the upper and lower two stages, or to arrange the upper and lower two stages at the same level. For this reason, there is a drawback that the peripheral equipment becomes complicated.

  In addition, each time a warehouse is loaded / unloaded, the stacker crane must move between two upper and lower stations. If the warehousing is in the lower stage and the warehousing is in the upper stage, the stacker crane picks up the goods from the lower warehousing station, stores them in the nearest empty shelf, then takes them out of the warehousing shelves, moves them to the warehousing station, unloads them, Go down to the receiving station in the sky. Even though the travel distance was short, it was wasted time.

  Specifically, since automatic warehouse entry (branch) and delivery merge could not be performed in the same section of the main conveyor, the conveyor position to be merged with the conveyor position to be separated is divided into the other end opposite to the automatic warehouse one end. It was necessary to design it so as to be largely separated or to divide it into two upper and lower stages on the same side. In any case, every time the stacker crane enters the warehouse after the delivery, there is a disadvantage that a wasteful moving time from the delivery station to the entry station is required and the cycle time becomes long. In addition, since the equipment for warehousing and equipment for warehousing are separated, the equipment cost becomes expensive, and the peripheral equipment of the warehousing equipment and the equipment for warehousing becomes complicated and the necessary space is widened. .

Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-17259 Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-17260 Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-76886 Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6-79930 Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-79931 Japanese Patent No. 3864074 Japanese Patent No. 3864075

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve these conventional problems, enable branching and merging at the same time for the same section of one conveyor, simplify the loading and unloading equipment, and greatly increase the equipment cost. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for branching and merging articles using a conveyor, which can reduce the cycle time of loading and unloading.

The configuration of the present invention that solves this problem is as follows.
1) A plurality of tributary lines Ln branched from the main conveyor and a merging tributary line Ls for transferring articles to the main conveyor are mixed at a position close to each other along the feeding direction of the main conveyor for conveying the articles. A transfer device is provided for each branch line that is arranged and transfers articles between the main conveyor and the branch lines Ln, Ls, and the articles are transferred from the main conveyor to the branch branch line Ln or from the merge branch line Ls. A branch and merging facility for articles using a conveyor, equipped with a control device using a computer that operates the transfer device at a required timing to be transferred to the main conveyor,
An apparatus for branching and merging articles using a conveyor, characterized in that the computer of the control device has the following programs a, b, c and d and a storage section necessary for the program:
A: A virtual space of a required length in which an article to be branched is placed with sufficient margin with respect to a virtual virtual placement zone indicating a placement region of the conveyor that is fed out in synchronism with the conveyor feed by the operation of the main conveyor. A virtual space allocation program a in which N and a virtual space S having a predetermined length on which articles to be merged are placed with sufficient space are mixed, and an assigned space number is assigned to each allocated virtual space
b: Stored in such a manner that the space number of the virtual space N of the main conveyor on which the article to be branched is placed, the identification line number of the branch line Ln to which the article branches, and the identification article number of the article are associated with each other. And the article virtual space in which the space number of the virtual space S of the main conveyor on which the articles to be merged are placed, the line number of the branch line Ls of the merge of the articles, and the article number of the articles are associated with each other. Line association program b
c: With the operation of the main conveyor, the virtual virtual loading zone is fed along the main conveyor line at the conveyor feed speed, and the virtual space N on the virtual loading zone is associated with the space number. Whether or not the virtual space N of the space number has reached the position of the branch line Ln of the branch of the line number, and the position of the confluence branch line Ls associated with the space number for each virtual space S A virtual space arrival determination program c that determines whether or not the virtual space S of the space number has arrived and outputs the arrival determination result
d: a transfer device for the branch line of the line number that has arrived in response to the arrival determination result that the virtual spaces N and S have reached the associated branch lines Ln and Ls in the virtual space arrival determination program c Transfer device operation program d for operating
2) An introduction conveyor for feeding articles to be conveyed by the main conveyor is provided upstream of the main conveyor, and a cutting device for transferring articles to the required virtual space N of the virtual loading zone of the main conveyor at the end of the introduction conveyor. And a branching and merging facility for articles using the conveyor as described in 1) above, and a branch line Ln along the main conveyor. And the tributary line Ls are alternately arranged close to each other, and the virtual space N and the virtual space S are alternately allocated to the virtual placement zone, and the article using the conveyor according to the above 1) or 2) 4) Conveying equipment that can be stored in and out of an automatic warehouse that temporarily stores articles at a position close to the branch line Ln of the adjacent branch and the branch line Ls of the merge. Any one of the above 1) to 3), which is provided with a main conveyor, a pair of branch lines that merge with the main conveyor, and a branch line that joins and unloads the goods that enter and exit the automatic warehouse. 5) Branching / merging equipment for articles using the conveyor described in 5) A loading / unloading terminal is provided between the branching branch line Ln and the branching branch line Ls, and the conveyor is located at the branching lines Ln, Ls and the loading / unloading terminal. The article branching and merging equipment 6) using the conveyor as described in 4) above, which is capable of transferring the article between the two branches and the adjacent branching line Ln and the merging branch line Ls. At the specified position, an entry / exit terminal for an article transfer line for loading / unloading articles is provided between the main conveyor and the work place for processing articles, assembling articles, loading / unloading or sorting. The branching and merging facility for articles using the conveyor according to any one of 1) to 3), which smooths the movement of articles between the in-conveyor and the work place 7) The length of all virtual spaces N of the virtual loading zone Are the same length, and the lengths of all the virtual spaces S are also the same length. Branching and merging equipment for articles using the conveyor according to any one of 1) to 6) 8) The space number of the merging virtual space S is The space of the virtual space S in which the article numbers of the articles are placed according to the order of the desired article numbers that are assigned in ascending order from the downstream to the upstream of the main conveyor and flow at the end of the main conveyor of the joined articles The branching and merging equipment for articles using the conveyor according to any one of 1) to 7) above, wherein the numbers are associated in ascending order so that the articles can be joined in a desired order at the end of the main conveyor. That.

In the prior art, branching and merging control that requires high capacity is performed, and branching and merging are mixed in the equipment of these control devices using a common main conveyor and branching, merging branch line, transfer device and computer. Control is possible, conventional drawbacks are eliminated, and the following effects 1, 2, 3, 4 can be obtained.
1. The branching of articles and the merging of articles can be freely performed in a short main conveyor section.
2. In the case where the virtual space N and S of the virtual loading zone are alternately set and the branch tributary line Ln and the branch tributary line Ls are arranged close to each other, the main conveyor and another facility for handling the article are provided. The two-way movement (in / out) of the article between the two can be performed directly or via an intermediate conveyance device using adjacent branch lines Ln and Ls adjacent to each other at substantially the same height level as the main conveyor, The transport path between the main conveyor and other equipment can be made compact without reducing the occupied area, thus simplifying the goods distribution of the equipment with bidirectional movement of the goods, and adding extra peripheral equipment and a large installation area. It is unnecessary and can reduce equipment costs.
3. Bidirectional movement of articles between the main conveyor and another facility for handling articles can be accelerated.
4). If it is used in an automated warehouse, the cycle time for loading and unloading can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of warehousing that is a branch of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a state of leaving, which is a confluence of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of entering / exiting mixed branching / merging in the embodiment. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the hardware configuration of the computer according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the software configuration of the computer according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 shows an equipment basic data input program part of the computer program of the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a processing flow diagram of the virtual space allocation program a of the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a process flow diagram of the article virtual space line association program b of the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram of the virtual space arrival determination program c and the transfer device operation program d of the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a plan layout view of another example used for entering and exiting the main conveyor and goods at the processing site.

  As the main conveyor in the present invention, any of a roller conveyor, a belt conveyor, and a chain feed pallet conveyor may be used, and an appropriate forced drive conveyor is adopted according to the article to be conveyed. The virtual placement band of the main conveyor in the present invention is a virtual continuous placement surface on which articles that are fed out synchronously from the start end of the main conveyor when the operation of the main conveyor is started, and the conveyor feed (conveyor operation) It is fed out from the conveyor start end together with the conveyance distance from the start of the article placed at the start. An offset distance may be provided between the starting point of the virtual loading band (the starting position of the virtual loading band, the same applies hereinafter) and the position of the starting edge when the main conveyor starts to operate. This conveyor feed (virtual placement zone feed) is measured with an electrical physical quantity (such as a count value of the number of pulses of the encoder) that inputs the number of rotations of the output shaft of the motor that drives the conveyor or the rotation speed of the conveyor drive wheel with an encoder or the like. And input to the computer.

This electrical physical quantity (count value, etc.) (or a numerical value determined uniquely from that value. This is also included. The same shall apply hereinafter) is taken as a virtual load that is fed out in synchronization with the main conveyor feed. The length of the placement band (feeding length) and the midway position thereof are measured as the distance (electrical physical quantity) from the starting point of the virtual placement band as 0 value, and the positions of the virtual spaces N and S are also values of the electrical physical quantity. The position is specified by (numerical value). The positions of the downstream end and the upstream end of each section of the virtual spaces N and S above it are specified by a numerical value of an electrical physical quantity (count value or the like).
As described above, the electric physical quantity at the start position of the conveyor at the start of feeding of the virtual mounting band is not necessarily set to “0” value, but starts from a specific numerical value, and the virtual mounting band at the start is set downstream. It can also be assumed.

The allocation of the virtual spaces N and S to the virtual placement zone in the present invention is a mixed allocation, and may be alternate NSNSNS ..., NNSNSSNNN ..., NNNSNNNSNNN ..., NNNNNSSSSNNNNNSSSS, etc. It is better to determine the mixing ratio roughly by the ratio of the amount of articles to be branched and the amount of articles to be merged. If the amount of warehousing and leaving is almost the same in an automatic warehouse, it seems that alternating NSNS ... is usually good.
The NS arrangement may take into account temporal variations in the amount of articles that merge with the branched articles.

  The arrangement of the tributary lines Ln and Ls in the present invention may be arranged on the left side, the right side or both sides in the conveying direction of the main conveyor 1, but the branch tributary line Ln on the side where the article enters and exits is located. And the merging tributary line Ls are preferably close to each other. It is preferable that the branching and the merging line are on the same side, because it is not necessary to arrange a conveyor for entering and exiting articles connected to a common target place in a three-dimensional manner or around to avoid crossing with the main conveyor. In particular, if the conveyors at the same common location are arranged on the adjacent branch line Ln and the merged branch line Ls, it is preferable to bring the entrance and exit conveyors very close to each other. For example, it is generally preferable that the alternate arrangement corresponds to the loading / unloading of an automatic warehouse, or the conveyance path for loading / unloading with the processing place and the place of shipment / shipping can be the same or close to each other. Moreover, it is preferable that the distance between adjacent lines of the tributary line is close to within 5 m.

  Here, the predetermined length (section width) of the virtual space is considerably longer than the length of the article, and the length of the article (maximum length) is equivalent to the transfer time between the main conveyor and the branch line of the article by the transfer device. In addition, it is set to a length that secures a margin for safety, and is appropriately determined by the feed speed of the main conveyor 1, the length of the article, the transfer time by the transfer device, etc. . In the embodiment, the length (1.5 m) is three times the length of the article (0.5 m).

The virtual space allocation program a according to the present invention uniquely identifies the positions of the virtual spaces N and S to be alternately allocated to the virtual placement band by the above-described electrophysical quantities (pulse count values and the like). Each of the virtual spaces N and S has a predetermined length (section width / length), and the positions of the downstream end and the upstream end of the virtual space are specified by numerical values of the electrical physical quantity, and the virtual storage space of the computer stores the virtual space. The positions are stored in association with the space numbers of the spaces N and S.
Here, there is generally no space between the virtual space N and the virtual space S that are alternately allocated, but it is also possible to provide some space. When there is no interval, the position of the downstream end of the upstream virtual space coincides with the position of the upstream end of the downstream virtual space adjacent thereto, and at that time, one of the downstream ends of the virtual spaces N and S (or The position can be specified only by the electrophysical quantity at the position of the other upstream end or the intermediate value thereof.
The virtual space allocation program a and the virtual space line association program b are alternately set with a predetermined section width (length) of each virtual space N, S from the starting point (zero value point) of the virtual placement zone, The value of the electrical physical quantity at the downstream end (or upstream end or intermediate value) of the section is stored and assigned to the space number of the virtual space.

The virtual space arrival determination program c of the present invention will be described. For the determination, first, the position of each virtual space N, S that is being fed out on the main conveyor (the offset value of the current virtual space N, S from the conveyor start end) and its virtual The offset value from the main conveyor start of the tributary line associated with the space number (or article number) of the space is calculated, and whether or not it comes with whether it is coincident or approximately coincident with a small margin of requirement judge.
The current offset value from the beginning of the main conveyor in each virtual space N, S (the distance from the beginning to the current position where each virtual space N, S is sent) is the current position of the starting position of the main conveyor. This can be calculated by subtracting the length (offset value) of the physical quantity from the start point of the virtual placement band in the virtual spaces N and S from the electrical physical quantity at the position (feeding amount) of the virtual placement band.

The distance (line offset value) from the start of the main conveyor at the position of each tributary line (usually the downstream end of the line width) is also calculated by the electrophysical quantity, and the line offset value is stored for each tributary line. In addition, the downstream end, the upstream end, or the intermediate position of the space or line is selected as the measuring point of the offset value of each virtual space N, S and each tributary line Ln, Ls.
Accordingly, one method for determining whether or not the predetermined virtual spaces N and S have arrived at the associated tributary line is to determine the value of the electrophysical quantity at the current position of the required virtual spaces N and S and the main conveyor. Whether or not the difference between the current position of the virtual placement band at the start position (the value of the feeding amount) matches the electrophysical quantity of the above-described line offset value (even if a slight margin is not provided) Good).

This determination calculation is simplified and calculated in advance as a transfer amount value at the time of transfer of the virtual mounting zone at the time when an operation command is given to the transfer device of each branch line (the time of arrival at a predetermined branch line in the virtual space). The value is associated with the article number, the line number, and the space number and stored in the storage unit, and whether or not the current feeding amount of the virtual loading belt matches (substantially matches) the feeding amount value at the time of transfer of each tributary line. It can be replaced with this judgment. The amount of feeding at the time of transfer is, for example, that of the corresponding branch line that branches or merges with the distance (offset value from the starting point) from the starting point (zero point) of the virtual mounting zone at the downstream end of the virtual spaces N and S. It can be calculated as an added value of the line offset value from the conveyor start end at the downstream end.
Note that a minute time difference can be provided without causing the arrival time of each branch line in the virtual spaces N and S to coincide with the operation command of the transfer device. The above determination method is an example, and another method of calculation similar to this is possible.

  The tributary line of the present invention may be a forcibly driven conveyor, a gravity conveyor (inclined free roller conveyor) having no driving source, a slider, or the like. The length of the tributary line may be an appropriate length depending on the purpose. The one is selected. Generally, there is a stopper at the end of the tributary line for temporarily storing articles. In addition, a transfer device for transferring articles from the main conveyor to the tributary line or from the tributary line to the main conveyor is provided for each tributary line, but the right angle conversion device disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is the distance between the tributary lines. This is preferable because it can be transferred with a shorter length. In addition, it is preferable to use a right angle conversion device having the same structure for branching and merging with different directions of operation for ease of design and cost reduction.

  Further, as an example other than the use example in the automatic warehouse of the embodiment of the present invention, the branching line for branching and the branching line for merging of the main conveyor are lengthened and directly connected to the machining site, and are conveyed by the main conveyor. A branch line for branching unprocessed raw material and sending it to the machining site as it is, and as a line for sending parts machined at the machining site to the main conveyor, to join the main conveyor and transport it to another place Can be used as a line.

  Alternatively, the branch branch line is used as a line for sending articles having various delivery destinations of the main conveyor to the delivery place of the same delivery destination, and articles having different delivery destinations collected in the delivery place to the main conveyor. It can be used as a tributary conveyor to be sent, and can be used for the purpose of joining the main conveyor and sending it to another delivery destination.

  Place the article to be branched on the main conveyor in such a way that the introduction conveyor is arranged continuously at the beginning of the main conveyor, and the article on the introduction conveyor is cut out by the cutting device at the end of the introduction conveyor, and the virtual space scheduled for the main conveyor is placed. N may be placed. Alternatively, the article supply conveyor may be arranged at a right angle upstream of the main conveyor, and the articles on the article supply conveyor may be transferred at a right angle and placed in a predetermined virtual space N of the main conveyor.

Based on an Example, it demonstrates in detail below.
This embodiment is an example used for branching and merging of articles for loading and unloading of four automatic warehouses. Four automatic warehouses are arranged in the conveyor feed direction near the main conveyor, and a loading / unloading station of each automatic warehouse. Is an example in which a loading / unloading terminal close to a tributary line is substituted, and a stacker crane, which is a transporter of the automatic warehouse, runs as it is between each automatic warehouse and a tributary line. The loading / unloading terminal is arranged between the branch (entry) branch line Ln and the merge (ship) branch line Ls for each automatic warehouse, and the stacker crane can carry articles at the same height as any of the left and right branch lines. It has a structure that can be transferred to each other. Articles transported by the introduction conveyor are transferred so as to be placed in a predetermined virtual space N of the main conveyor at the end, and branch to a predetermined branch line for warehousing in four automatic warehouses in the middle of the main conveyor. Then, it is transferred to the stacker crane of the automatic warehouse transporter at the loading / unloading terminal provided close to the tributary line, and is transported and loaded into the automatic warehouse. Articles to be delivered from the automated warehouse are transported from the warehouse by the stacker crane of the automated warehouse and sent to the entry / exit terminal, where the articles are transferred to the junction branch line. In this example, the main conveyor is joined. And it is an example made to join so that the conveyance order of the joined goods in the terminal of a main conveyor may be sent in order of article number s1, s2, s3. Furthermore, the branch branch line for each automatic warehouse is provided upstream from the merge branch branch line, and the warehouse terminal is provided between the branch branch line and the branch branch line for delivery. ing.
Further, the tributary lines Ln and Ls are alternately arranged along the main conveyor, and the virtual spaces N and S are alternately allocated to the virtual placement zone.

  In addition, at the end of the introduction conveyor for supplying the article to be branched to the main conveyor, a retractable stopper (cutout device) for feeding the article is provided so as to transfer the article to the virtual space N position of the main conveyor of the article. . At the end of the main conveyor, a carry-out conveyor that continues to convey the joined articles is connected. The feed amount of the main conveyor and the introduction conveyor is measured by a pulse count value of a pulse encoder attached thereto, and the pulses are inputted to the computer via an interface and added to be expressed as a cumulative pulse number. In addition, the placement position of the article on the conveyor (the position of the virtual space of the virtual placement zone of each virtual conveyor) can be specified by the pulse value. The pulse count value at the start end position at the start of the operation of the main conveyor is “0”, which is the starting point of the virtual placement zone.

  The computer of the control device has a CPU, a software program and RAM / ROM for storing data, and an HDD. By an external input, the article number (article ID) of the article conveyed by the introduction conveyor and the conveyor The virtual space position (space number) of the virtual placement zone is stored. In addition, the virtual placement band of the main conveyor is fed out from the start end of the main conveyor in synchronization with the operation of the main conveyor. Then, the virtual space N and S for branching and merging are alternately allocated with a predetermined length to the virtual placement zone of the main conveyor by the virtual space allocation program a of the computer, and a space number is assigned to each virtual space. N1, S1, N2, S2, N3, S3,. Each of the branching virtual spaces N1, N2,... And the merging virtual spaces S1, S2, S3 has the same length (1500 mm: 1500 pulse length), and is downstream of each virtual space of the virtual placement zone. The distance (offset value) from the starting point “0” of the end virtual placement band is determined by a pulse value as shown in Table 2 below. The virtual loading band is fed out synchronously from the beginning of the conveyor along with the main conveyor. The feed amount is expressed by the cumulative number of pulses from the start of the main conveyor start.

  Accordingly, the current position on the conveyor from the beginning of the main conveyor in each of the virtual spaces N and S (measured from the downstream end of the virtual space as a measuring point) is the number of pulses (the cumulative number of pulses) of the feeding amount of the virtual mounting band. ) To the number of pulses obtained by subtracting the number of pulses of the distance (space offset value X) from the start point 0 of the downstream end of each virtual space N, S.

The computer also has an article number of a branching article conveyed by the main conveyor, a line number of a tributary line from which the article branches, and a virtual space N of a virtual placement zone of the main conveyor on which the article is placed. And the offset value (number of pulses) from the start point 0 of the downstream end position of the virtual space of the space number are associated with each other in the storage unit of the memory by the article virtual space line association program b. Tables 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are stored. The correspondence between the article number and the tributary line is determined as shown in the following Table 3 by inputting the external storage management information.
Similarly, the article number of the article to be merged, the line number of the branch line for the merge, the number of pulses of the line offset value Y from the conveyor start of the branch line of the same line number, and the virtual placement band of the main conveyor By the article virtual space line association program b, the space number of the virtual space S to be placed in is associated with the offset value X (number of pulses) from the start point 0 of the downstream end position of the virtual space of the space number. As shown in Tables 1 to 5, they are stored in the storage unit of the memory.

  One main conveyor 1 is arranged near the four automatic warehouses, and branch lines Ln and Ls for branching and unloading for each automatic warehouse are on the left side where the automatic warehouse of the main conveyor 1 is located. It is alternately provided adjacently along. A loading / unloading terminal of a stacker crane which is an article transporter capable of both loading and unloading at each automatic warehouse is provided between the loading and unloading branch lines Ln and Ls.

Reference numerals in the drawings of this embodiment will be described.
In the figure, G is an apparatus for branching and merging articles using the conveyor of the embodiment applied to an automatic warehouse. Reference numerals 1 to 9 denote constituent parts of the embodiment, and the additional numbers of the respective terms are assigned so as to increase from the downstream side toward the upstream side. 1 is a main conveyor with roller conveyors forcer, _{1 0} the beginning of the main conveyor _1, 1 _{n1, 1 s1,} 1 n2, · · · _{1 s4} Each branch line Ln, between the Ls and the main conveyor 1 2 is an introduction conveyor, 2a is a stopper which is an article cutting device provided at the end of the introduction conveyor, 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ , 3 ₃ and 3 ₄ are each branch line Ln, Ls stacker cranes goods movements terminals provided _{between, L n1, L n2, L} n3, L n4 automatic warehouse _{4 1,} 4 _2, 4 3, _{4 4} Receipt for branch _line, L _{s1, L s2,} L _s3 , L _s4 are automatic storage warehouses 4 ₁ , 4 ₂ , 4 ₃ , 4 ₄ branch lines for delivery, 4 ₁ , 4 ₂ , 4 ₃ , 4 ₄ are automatic warehouses arranged near the main conveyor 1, 5 ₁ , _{5 2,} 5 3, _{5 4} Automatic warehouse 4 _1, 4 2, _{4 3,} 4 ₄ receipts for goods movements and unloading conveyor of the stacker crane which is (first machine, the second Unit, No.3, and are denoted as 4 Unit) In the automatic warehouse, it has a function to transfer articles between each shelf in the cascaded column and the stacker crane, and between each tributary line Ln, Ls and the stacker crane, and the storage terminal 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ , Travel between 3 ₃ , 3 ₄ and its automatic warehouse 4 ₁ , 4 ₂ , 4 ₃ , 4 ₄ and in the automatic warehouse. 6 is a carry-out conveyor for conveying articles from the end of the main conveyor 1, 7 is a control device, 8 is a computer used therefor, 8 a is its CPU, 8 b is a ROM storing program, data, and OS, 8 c is Memory RAM for storing data necessary for the present invention, 8d is an HDD for storing programs, data, OS, article entry / exit management software, etc. 8e is the number of pulses of the encoder of the conveyor, etc. An interface for sending an operation command to the device, stopper 2, stacker crane, various conveyors, etc., 8f is a communication device for sending and receiving information commands from the outside, and 8g is a communication line. 9 is a virtual loading band of the main conveyor 1, m and s are articles, and Ln and Ls are branch lines.

  In addition, the computer 8 of the embodiment includes an OS, peripheral equipment of the computer, and AP software / BIO that operates the following program. The program for operating the facility of the present invention includes the following programs a to e as shown in FIG. Have. The equipment basic data input program part e having the processing flow of FIG. 7, the virtual space allocation program a having the processing flow of FIG. 8, the article virtual space line association program b having the processing flow of FIG. 9, and the processing of FIG. It consists of a virtual space arrival determination program c having a flow and a transfer device operation program d for operating a transfer device for a tributary line that has arrived based on the arrival determination result.

The speed of the main conveyor 1 is 0.5 m / sec. The conveyor encoder pulse is 1 mm / 1 pulse, so the conveyor speed is 500 pulses / sec. The automatic warehouses 4 ₁ , 4 ₂ , 4 ₃ and 4 ₄ have 4 units, the stacker cranes 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , 5 ₃ and 5 ₄ have 4 units, and the main conveyor 1 has an overall length of 19 m. The virtual space allocation program a of the computer 8 allocates the virtual spaces N and S having a length of 1.5 m so that the virtual placement belt 9 of the main conveyor 1 continues infinitely at a pitch of 3 m, and space numbers N1, S1, N2 and S2 , N3, S3,... Are alternately attached to NS.
The lengths of the articles m and s to be conveyed are substantially the same and 0.5 m. Since the length of the virtual spaces N and S is 1.5 m, there is a margin of 1 m for the length (maximum length) 0.5 m of the articles m and s. This length takes 2 seconds for the main conveyor 1 to move. Even if 1.2 seconds are required for the article to move across the main conveyor 1 to the conveyor of the tributary line Ln or to join the main conveyor 1 from the tributary line Ls by the operation of the transfer device, another 0.8 sec. I try to make room.

The above-mentioned specifications for hardware and basic operation of the equipment of this embodiment are inputted by the equipment basic data input program section e in the processing flow of FIG. 7 and stored in the memory of the RAM 8c. Each branch line Ln, the position of Ls (the position of the downstream end) is input as the distance from the start end 1 ₀ of the main conveyor 1 (line offset value Y value) is stored in the pulse number as in Table 1.
The allocation of the virtual spaces N and S is performed in the processing flow of FIG. 8 by the virtual space allocation program a. As shown in Table 2, the position of the downstream end of each virtual space N and S (distance offset value X from the starting point 0) Value) is stored as the number of pulses.

  The movement amount of the main conveyor 1 is set to 0 pulse when the conveyor operation starts (starts feeding), and a pulse by a pulse encoder is input to the computer 8 via the interface 8e, so that the virtual loading band 9, its virtual space N, S Is stored in the memory as shown in Table 2 (the computer 8 calculates the position and state of the main conveyor 1). When the main conveyor 1 advances by 1 mm, one pulse is generated by a pulse encoder and counted by a counter (not shown) (or by inputting the count value of the pulse counter), thereby virtually loading on the main conveyor 1. A device 9 and its virtual spaces N and S can be assumed. If you start the assumption of the virtual spaces N and S, reset the counter of the starting point of the virtual placement zone 9 (it is not limited to 0/0 but may be set to a leading initial value) Then, the value of the counter is 1500 when the main conveyor 1 advances 1.5 m. At this time, the section (number of pulses 0 to 1500) of the virtual space N1 is determined. That is, the virtual space N1 can be defined as a virtual space N from the start point (0) of the virtual placement zone to 1500 mm (1500 pulse numerical value). The next 1500 mm (1500 to 3000 as the number of pulses) following the virtual space N1 is the virtual space S1. By the virtual space allocation program a, the virtual space N and the virtual space S are alternately arranged in a virtual space N1, S1, N2 with a length of 1500 mm (1500 pulse numerical value) as shown in FIG. , S2, N3, S3,... Are set. States b2 to b8 in FIG. 2 indicate a state in which an article m to be received is flowing on the main conveyor. Note that the virtual space N and the virtual space S are alternately allocated without an interval.

  The state b1 in FIG. 2 shows the position of the articles on the introduction conveyor 2 before the start. The rectangular frames on the virtual loading belt 9 of the introduction conveyor 2 and the main conveyor 1 in the figure are the goods m to be branched, and the virtual space numbers N1, N2,. The article numbers m1, m2, m3,... Of the articles to be placed have the same numerical value.

  The article m to be stored is transferred from the end of the introduction conveyor 2 to the main conveyor 1. A state immediately before the first article m1 is transferred to the virtual space N1 of the main conveyor 1 is shown in a state b1. The length of the virtual space 1.5 m of the virtual loading zone 9 of the main conveyor 1 is 3 seconds when converted to time. The set pitch of the virtual space N or the virtual space S is 3 m and 6 seconds in terms of time. The maximum capacity of the incoming tributary line is 1 in 6 seconds, that is, 600 / hour.

When an article m flows on the introduction conveyor 2 at intervals of approximately every 3 seconds, or if the second article m2 comes within 6 seconds, the article is stopped by the stopper 2a at the tip of the introduction conveyor 2. m2 is stopped, waited until the virtual space N2 of the main conveyor 1 appears, and the main conveyor 1 advances and transfers when the virtual space N2 comes. On the other hand, when it comes after 6 seconds or more, the virtual space N2 has passed, so it waits until the next virtual space N3 comes. The state b3 shows a state in which three articles m1, m2, and m3 to be received are transferred to the virtual spaces N1, N2, and N3 and are conveyed on the main conveyor 1. When the article m is transferred from the introduction conveyor 2 to the main conveyor 1, the space number of the virtual space N of the main conveyor 1, the article number of the article transferred to it, and the correspondence thereof are shown in Table 4 by the article virtual space line association program b. Is fixed. Further, the article virtual space line associating program b of the computer 8 reads the article numbers of the articles m and s and the space numbers N1, S1, N2, and the virtual spaces N and S on the virtual placement band 9 on which the article is placed. S2,..., The space offset value X from the starting point 0 of the virtual placement band of the same space number, and the branch line Ln for entering (branching) the branch or the branch line Ls for leaving the article to be joined Numbers L _n1 , L _s1 , L _n2 , L _s2 ,... _Are stored in association with the correspondence of Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, and Table 4. In addition, a line offset value (Y value) from the conveyor start end of each branch line is also stored. Further, the offset values X and Y are added and stored as a feed amount value (X + Y) at the time of transfer of each transfer device as shown in Table 5.

  The correspondence between the branch numbers L1, L2 branching and merging with the article numbers m1, m2,..., S1, s2,. Is memorized.

Article m1 is a branch line L _n1 , article m2 is a branch line L _n3 , and article m3 is a branch line L _n2 . Further, the main conveyor 1 advances and the state b4 {transfer amount value X + Y = 10,000} during transfer is reached. This is the position at which the article m2 at the position of the virtual space N2 branches to the warehousing branch line _Ln3 of Unit 3. Here, the main conveyor 1 is not stopped, and the article m2 is branched to the _berthing branch line _Ln3 of the No. 3 machine by the transfer device _1n3 . At this time, the fourth article m4 (for No. 4 machine) transfers from the introduction conveyor 2 to the virtual space N4. Next, the main conveyor 1 further advances to a state b5 {X + Y = 12,000}. This is the position where the article m4 branches to the _berthing branch line _Ln4 of No. 4 unit. In state b6 {X + Y = 13,4500}, the fifth article m5 (for No. 1 machine) transfers from the introduction conveyor 2 to the virtual space N5 of the main conveyor 1. In the state b7 {X + Y = 15,000}, the article m1 branches to the warehousing branch line _Ln1 of the first unit by the transfer device _1n1 . State b8 {X + Y = 17,000} an article m3 branches to branch line _{L n2} for Unit 2 Receipt by the transfer device _{1 n2.}

The branching (transfer) of the article from the main conveyor 1 to the warehousing branch line Ln moves every time the virtual space arrival determination program c of the computer generates a pulse signal of the encoder as shown in the processing flow of FIG. The virtual spaces N1, N2,... Of the virtual placement belt are the branch branches L _n1 , L _n2,. If it arrives, the signal of operating the transfer device 1 _n1 , 1 _n2 , 1 _n3 , 1 _n4 of the tributary line Ln is sent, so that the article in the virtual space N that has arrived It transfers to the tributary line Ln with the transfer apparatus.
The details of the above arrival determination are actually the offset value from the start point 0 of the virtual space N of each article (X value in Table 1) and the line offset value from the conveyor start end of the branch line where it branches (in Table 1). As the addition value of the Y value), the current transfer amount (cumulative pulse number P _now ; count value) of the virtual placement zone is added to one of the transfer amount values (X + Y) calculated and stored previously. ) Match (substantially match). If they match (substantially match), the transfer device operation program d outputs a transfer command to the transfer device of the tributary line Ln, and the transfer device Perform transfer. This is performed as shown in the flow of FIG. 10 using the virtual space arrival determination program c and the transfer device operation program d.

  The four articles m1, m2, m3, and m4 are now on the main virtual conveyors 1 through the virtual spaces N1 to N4 and branched to the branch line for warehousing at the branching point of each target machine. In the five articles described and illustrated so far, only one remaining in the virtual space N5 remains unbranched. Of course, as long as the goods to be stored flow one after another and the conveyor continues to rotate, the virtual spaces N and S can be set infinitely, and the virtual space N of the storage can be set to the branch point of the storage branch line Ln for the target unit. Branching by the transfer device 1n.

Next, at the time when the article m to be stored flows, each of the stacker cranes 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , 5 ₃ and 5 ₄ outputs the same number of articles s almost simultaneously, and the storage terminal 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ , 3 ₃ , 3 ₄ are transferred to the outgoing branch line Ls. Moreover, the length of each branch branch line Ls is set so that the articles can be sufficiently stored so as not to be interrupted. The stacker cranes 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , 5 ₃ , 5 ₄ are arranged in order, and each unit is For each delivery cycle, the same number of articles s are delivered as in all units, and as shown in the examples shown in FIGS. The virtual spaces S1, S2, S3 are allocated in the order of s2, s3, s4, s5,. The article s1 is the third machine of the tributary line L _s3 , the article s2 is the first machine of the tributary line L _s1 , the article s3 is the second machine of the tributary line L _n2 , the article s4 is the fourth machine of the tributary line L _n4 , and the article s5 is the tributary line. L _s2 No. 2; article s6 is tributary line L _s3 No. 3; article s7 is No. 1; article s8 is No. 4; article s9 is No. 3; article s10 is No. 4; article s11 is No. 1; it is an example of placing the second car of the stacker crane ₅ 1 to 5 ₄ goods issue for branch line Ls. In the state g1 {X + Y = 11,000} in FIG. 3, the virtual space S1 has just reached the position of the unloading branch line L _s3 of the No. 3 machine where the article s1 is waiting, and the transfer device 1 _s3 is activated. The article s1 of No. 3 joins the virtual space S1 of the main conveyor 1 at the timing. Next, in the state g2 {X + Y = 16,000}, the state exactly the virtual space S4 reaches the position of the unloading branch line L _s4 of the No. 4 machine where the article s4 in the order 4 is waiting. At this time, the virtual space arrival determination program c outputs an incoming signal. The Unit 4 of the article s4 is receiving incoming signals in Kuimingu is transfer device 1 _s4 of the branch line L _s4 is merged with transfer to the main conveyor 1 operates. Next, in the state g3 {X + Y = 21,000}, the state exactly the virtual space S3 reaches the position of the unloading branch line L _s2 of the No. 2 machine where the article s3 in order 3 is waiting. At this timing, the article s3 of the second machine is joined to the main conveyor 1 by the transfer device 1 _s2 . Next, in the state g4 {X + Y = 22,000}, the state just in the virtual space S2 has reached the position of the unloading branch line L _s1 of the first unit where the article s2 in order 2 is waiting. At this timing, the first article s2 joins the main conveyor 1. Next, in the state g5 {X + Y = 27,000}, the state just in the virtual space S5 reaches the position of the unloading branch line L _s2 of the No. 2 machine where the article s5 of order 5 is waiting. At this timing, the item s5 of the second machine joins the main conveyor 1. As described above, the timings of joining the states g1 to g5 have been explained in order, but it can be seen that five articles s1, s2, s3, s4, and s5 are joined to the main conveyor 1 and flow in the state g5. Moreover, it flows in a desired order (article number) s1, s2, s3, s4, s5,. In the above description, branching and merging are described separately for the sake of clarity. However, the virtual spaces N and S on the main conveyor are alternately arranged with the branching virtual space N and the merging virtual space S. Since it is non-aggressive, even if the branch and merge flow in a mixed state, they do not collide with each other, and the branched article and the merged article flow in an orderly manner (see FIG. 4).

  Here, the article numbers s1, s2, s3, s4, and s5 in the order of flow at the end of the main conveyor 1 are assigned to the virtual spaces S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5 (virtual space S in order from the downstream side). ) To be assigned. Here, the articles s1, s2, s3, s4, and s5 are transferred from the automatic warehouse that stores the articles to the branch line Ls for merging by the stacker crane and placed on the branch line Ls. It waits for S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5 to arrive, and if it arrives, it is possible to join the articles in the required order at the end of the main conveyor simply by transferring it to the virtual space.

The program determination as to whether or not the virtual spaces N and S have reached the predetermined tributary lines Ln and Ls is based on the transfer amount value at transfer time (calculated and stored in advance in each tributary line in Table 5). X + Y / pulse number) is whether to match the feed amount of current virtual mounting置帯(cumulative pulse number P _now) constantly monitors the operating instructions if they match to the transfer device of the matched branch lines I am trying to output.

When the states b2 to b8 in FIG. 2 of the above-mentioned branch are roughly superimposed on the states g1 to g5 in FIG. 3 in the description of the above-mentioned merge, the state mixture 1 to 12 in FIG. 4 is obtained. That is, when the first article s1 joins the merged virtual space S1 from the unloading branch line L _{s3 of} Unit 3 in the state g1, the main conveyor 1 already has branched virtual spaces N1 and N3 as shown in the state mixture 4. , The article s1 joins from the unloading branch line L _{s3 of the} No. 3 machine into the merging virtual space S1 between the branching virtual spaces N1, N2 in a state where the articles m1, m3, m4 are being carried on N4. . Of course, it merges without colliding with the articles m1 and m3 that have joined.

  In the conventional branching method of the patent document, the length of the article is measured before starting the article from the main conveyor start position (starting end), and the article is started at a variable pitch according to the length of the article. In the merging method, the lengths of the virtual spaces N and S corresponding to the lengths of the articles are set, and the target articles are merged from the branch line in the order of the set virtual spaces. In the present embodiment, the lengths of the virtual spaces N and S corresponding to the maximum length of the article to be handled are set, and the virtual space N on which the article to be merged and the virtual space N on which the article to be branched should be placed are placed. Are divided in advance. (It is desirable that the lengths of the articles to be handled are substantially the same.) For example, an odd-numbered virtual space in a continuous virtual space is defined as a virtual space N on which an article to be branched is placed, and an article to be merged in an even-numbered virtual space. A virtual space S is assumed. (Of course, the reverse is also possible.) N in the figure is a virtual space for entering (branching), and S is a virtual space for joining (joining).

  Therefore, the virtual spaces N and S of NSNS ········ N and S are alternately set on the main conveyor 1, and in the case of warehousing (branching), the article is placed on the virtual space N and controlled, and the warehousing (merging) In the case of (2), control for joining the articles on the virtual space S is performed.

(For branching)
The timing at which the article m to be branched from the introduction conveyor 2 at the most upstream position (starting end) of the main conveyor 1 is transferred to the main conveyor 1 is determined by the operation of the stopper 2a provided at the end of the introduction conveyor 2 by the pulse encoder of the main conveyor 1. The pulse numerical value is started at a predetermined value and transferred to a predetermined virtual space N. After that, as described above, the virtual space N may be branched when it moves to the branch line that is the target branch point. For example, the transfer device may be a right angle conversion disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, or a ram type disclosed in Patent Documents 6 and 7. The virtual space position association of the virtual placement band is sequentially calculated and determined by the computer 8 using the virtual space allocation program a, the article virtual space line association program b, the virtual space arrival determination program c, and the transfer device operation program d. It is made while. The calculation / judgment in the case of merging is the same as branching.

(In the case of ordered merge)
The articles s1, s2, s3,... To be merged waiting on the tributary line Ls are the space numbers S1, S2, S3,... Of the continuous virtual questions S of the main conveyor 1 associated with the article numbers. It suffices to join at the point of arrival (arrival).

As described above, as can be seen in the embodiment of the automatic warehouse of the present invention, a virtual placement zone is assumed, and the confluence virtual spaces S1, S2 are independent of the branch virtual spaces N1, N2,. ,... Are set with a predetermined length, so that branch (entry) and merge (departure) can be branched and merged independently without interfering with each other on the main conveyor, and the virtual space N, By alternately setting S, the branch (entrance) article and the merge (exit) article coexist, but the article movement can be made compact and the movement distance can be shortened and effectively branched and joined. This is because goods such as automatic warehouses, distribution centers, processing factories, etc., which interact with articles on the main conveyor, often move in both directions, and close the end of the conveyance path to the adjacent tributary lines Ln and Ls. By arranging, effective article movement is enabled.
Furthermore, in the embodiment, since the loading / unloading terminal of the automatic warehouse and its tributary lines Ln and Ls are brought close to each other, the moving distance of the stacker crane of the automatic warehouse can be greatly shortened, and the loading / unloading of goods to / from the main conveyor can be performed. Not only can it be done in a short main conveyor section, it can greatly improve the work efficiency of loading and unloading, but also the equipment can be made much more compact. In addition, since the loading / unloading terminal and the tributary lines Ln and Ls can be made at the same height, it is possible to store and receive compact articles without the complexity of three-dimensional lines.

FIG. 11 shows an input / output terminal of each processing site K ₁ , K ₂ , K ₃ , K ₄ in the vicinity of the tributary lines Ln, Ls of the main conveyor 1, and the input / output terminals T ₁ , T ₂ , T _3, between the _{T 4} and the machining field _K 1 ~K _4, provided the carry conveyor _{10 n1, 10 n2, 10 n3} , 10 n4 and out conveyor _{10 s1, 10 s2, 10 s3} , 10 s4, they main each branch line _L n1 of the conveyor _{1, L n2, L n3,} L n4, L s1, L s2, is connected to the _{L s3,} L _s4. In the same manner as in the above embodiment, the articles on the main conveyor 1 are branched and merged, the raw materials are sent to the processing sites K ₁ , K ₂ , K ₃ , K ₄ and the processed products are carried out.

  The present invention is a technique for widely merging and merging articles for distribution / collection of raw materials, parts, processed articles in processing factories, delivery / collection / distribution of articles, documents, and sealed letters, etc. Can be used as

Branching equipment m the article using a conveyor G embodiment, s article N, S virtual space Ln, Ls branch lines _{K 1, K 2, K 3} , K 4 processing plant 1 main conveyor 1 ₀ starting 1 _n1, 1 _{n2, 1 n3, 1 n4} receipts for transfer device 1 _{s1, 1 s2,} 1 _{s3, 1 s4} unloading for transfer device 2 introduced conveyors 2a stopper 3 _{1, 3 2,} 3 3, _{3 4} Goods Movement terminals 4 _1, 4 ₂ , 4 ₃ , 4 ₄ Automatic warehouse 5 ₁ , 5 ₂ , 5 ₃ , 5 ₄ Stacker crane 6 Unloading conveyor 7 Controller 8 Computer 8a CPU
8b ROM
8c RAM
8d HDD
8e interface 8f communication device 8g communication line 9 virtual mounting置帯 _{10 n1, 10 n2, 10 n3} , 10 n4 carry-in conveyor _{10 s1, 10 s2, 10 s3} , 10 s4 discharge conveyor

Claims (8)

A plurality of tributary lines Ln branching from the main conveyor and a merging tributary line Ls for transferring articles to the main conveyor are mixed in a position close to each other along the feed direction of the main conveyor for conveying the articles. A transfer device for transferring articles between the main conveyor and the branch lines Ln and Ls is provided for each branch line, and the articles are transferred from the main conveyor to the branch branch line Ln or from the merged branch line Ls to the main conveyor. A branch and merging facility for articles using a conveyor, equipped with a control device using a computer that operates the transfer device at a required timing so as to transfer to
An apparatus for branching and merging articles using a conveyor, characterized in that the computer of the control device has the following programs a, b, c and d and a storage section necessary for the program.
A: A virtual space of a required length in which an article to be branched is placed with sufficient margin with respect to a virtual virtual placement zone indicating a placement region of the conveyor that is fed out in synchronism with the conveyor feed by the operation of the main conveyor. A virtual space allocation program a in which N and a virtual space S having a predetermined length on which articles to be merged are placed with sufficient space are mixed, and an assigned space number is assigned to each allocated virtual space
b: Stored in such a manner that the space number of the virtual space N of the main conveyor on which the article to be branched is placed, the identification line number of the branch line Ln to which the article branches, and the identification article number of the article are associated with each other. And the article virtual space in which the space number of the virtual space S of the main conveyor on which the articles to be merged are placed, the line number of the branch line Ls of the merge of the articles, and the article number of the articles are associated with each other. Line association program b
c: With the operation of the main conveyor, the virtual virtual loading zone is fed along the main conveyor line at the conveyor feed speed, and the virtual space N on the virtual loading zone is associated with the space number. Whether or not the virtual space N of the space number has reached the position of the branch line Ln of the branch of the line number, and the position of the confluence branch line Ls associated with the space number for each virtual space S A virtual space arrival determination program c that determines whether or not the virtual space S of the space number has arrived and outputs the arrival determination result
d: a transfer device for the branch line of the line number that has arrived in response to the arrival determination result that the virtual spaces N and S have reached the associated branch lines Ln and Ls in the virtual space arrival determination program c Transfer device operation program d for operating   An introduction conveyor is provided upstream of the main conveyor to feed articles to be conveyed by the main conveyor, and a cutting device is provided at the end of the introduction conveyor to transfer articles to the required virtual space N of the virtual loading zone of the main conveyor. The equipment for branching and merging articles using the conveyor according to claim 1, further comprising an unloading conveyor for conveying the article sent on the main conveyor as it is at the end of the main conveyor.   The tributary lines Ln and the tributary lines Ls are alternately arranged along the main conveyor in a close proximity, and the virtual space N and the virtual space S are alternately allocated to the virtual placement zone. Equipment for branching and merging articles using the described conveyor.   A loading / unloading terminal of a transfer machine capable of loading / unloading an automatic warehouse for temporarily storing articles is provided at a position close to an adjacent branching branch line Ln and a branching branch line Ls. The branching and merging facility for articles using the conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the branching and merging of articles entering and leaving the automatic warehouse can be performed at the same time using the branch line and the loading / unloading terminal.   A loading / unloading terminal is provided between the branch branch line Ln and the merged branch line Ls, and the transfer of articles can be performed at the same height between the branch lines Ln, Ls and the conveyor at the loading / unloading terminal. An apparatus for branching and merging articles using the conveyor according to claim 4.   Goods that are carried in and out of the main conveyor between the work site where the goods are processed, the goods are assembled, transported and unloaded or sorted, at positions close to the adjacent branch line Ln and the merged branch line Ls. The equipment for branching and merging articles using the conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an entry / exit terminal of the transfer line is provided to smoothly move the goods in and out of the main conveyor and the work place.   Branching and merging of articles using a conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein all the virtual spaces N of the virtual placement belt have the same length, and all the virtual spaces S have the same length. Facility.   The space numbers of the merged virtual space S are numbered in ascending order from the downstream to the upstream of the main conveyor, and the article numbers of the articles according to the order of the desired article numbers flowing at the end of the main conveyor of the merged articles The conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the space numbers of the virtual space S on which the machine is placed are associated so as to be assigned in ascending order, thereby allowing articles to be joined in a desired order at the end of the main conveyor. Branch and merging equipment for used items.

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