JP2015040124A - Article movement facility - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article movement facility provided with a plate-like body in a suitable configuration from a viewpoint of preventing an article falling from a container.SOLUTION: An article movement facility 1 includes an article movement device 5 which moves to a container 2 an article 70 delivered out from a delivery end 10a of an article conveyance device 10. A position controller 22 of the article movement device 5 performs relative position control for moving a plate-like body 30 to the upstream side of a conveyance direction X relative to the container 2 when a plurality of articles 70 are delivered out from the delivery end 10a. An execution period of relative position control includes a period during which an upstream end 30a of the plate-like body 30 is positioned above a downstream end 30b of the plate-like body 30, and a period during which the downstream end 30b is moved from a downstream part of the conveyance direction X in internal space 3 of the container 2 to the upstream side of the conveyance direction X relative to the container 2 in a state where a separation distance between the downstream end 30b and the bottom face of the container 2 is less than the height H of the article 70.

Description

  According to the present invention, an article conveying apparatus that conveys an article in the conveying direction and an article that is sent from a sending end that is a downstream end in the conveying direction of the article conveying apparatus are disposed below the article conveying apparatus. The present invention relates to an article moving facility including an article moving device that moves to an internal space of a container that opens upward.

  As such an article moving facility, a facility described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-213482 (Patent Document 1) is known. The article moving facility (picking system 10) of Patent Document 1 is a container (collection box 14) that opens an article that is sent from the delivery end (the downstream end of the fifth conveyor 265) of the article transport device upward. In the configuration for moving to the internal space, a plate-like body (sagging cloth 48) is provided at the delivery end. Paragraph 0037 of Patent Document 1 describes that by providing this plate-like body, an article can be moved to a container without giving an impact.

JP 2011-213482 A (paragraph 0037, FIG. 2 etc.)

  By the way, in such an article moving facility, in addition to the suppression of the impact applied to the article, suppression of spillage of the article from the container is also strongly desired. However, in Patent Document 1, there is no specific description about the plate-like body provided at the delivery end, and the article moving facility provided with the plate-like body in a suitable form from the viewpoint of suppressing spillage from the container of the article, Not yet known.

  Therefore, it is desired to realize an article moving facility including a plate-like body in a suitable form from the viewpoint of suppressing spillage of articles from a container.

  An article conveying apparatus for conveying an article in the conveying direction according to the present invention, and an article sent from a sending end that is a downstream end in the conveying direction of the article conveying apparatus, below the article conveying apparatus And an article moving device that moves to the internal space of the container that is opened upward, and the article moving device includes: an article moving device configured to move an article sent from the delivery end to the internal space; A plate-like body to be slid and a position control device for controlling a relative position of the plate-like body and the container in the carrying direction, and the position control device includes a plurality of the article carrying devices from the delivery end. Relative position control for relatively moving the plate-like body disposed above the bottom surface of the container to the upstream side in the transport direction continuously or intermittently with respect to the container when the article is sent out Run the relative The upstream end, which is the upstream end portion of the plate-like body in the transport direction, is positioned above the downstream end, which is the downstream end portion of the plate-like body, in the transport direction during the placement control execution period. In addition, in a state where the distance between the downstream end and the bottom surface of the container is less than the height of the article, the downstream end is from a portion downstream of the central portion in the transport direction in the internal space. In contrast, there is a movement period that is a period of relative or continuous movement relative to the upstream side in the conveyance direction.

According to the above characteristic configuration, since the upstream end of the plate-like body is located above the downstream end during the movement period, it is sent from the delivery end of the article conveying device and slides on the plate-like body during this movement period. The article to be moved can be moved from the downstream end of the plate-like body to the bottom surface of the container. In this case, during the movement period, the distance between the downstream end of the plate-like body and the bottom surface of the container is less than the height of the article, so that the impact applied to the article when moved to the bottom surface of the container is suppressed. can do. In addition, according to the above-described characteristic configuration, since the downstream end of the plate-like body is relatively moved to the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the container during the movement period, the article previously sent from the delivery end is removed from the plate. The article newly delivered from the delivery end can be received on the plate-like body while being moved from the downstream end to the bottom surface of the container. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the article delivered from the delivery end from staying in the vicinity of the upstream end of the plate-like body and sliding down to the side of the plate-like body, and appropriately move the article to the internal space. Can do. As a result, the protrusion of the article from the internal space and the spillage of the article from the container can be suppressed.
As described above, according to the above-described characteristic configuration, it is possible to suppress the spillage of the article from the container while suppressing the impact applied to the article. As a result, it is preferable from the viewpoint of suppressing the spillage of the article from the container. Article moving equipment provided with a plate-like body can be realized.
Furthermore, according to the above-described characteristic configuration, in addition to the relative movement of the downstream end of the plate-like body to the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the container during the movement period, the relative movement start position is Since the article is downstream of the central part in the conveying direction in the paper, the articles sent from the sending end are regularly arranged from a position relatively close to the downstream end in the conveying direction in the internal space toward the upstream side. Is possible. As a result, articles can be arranged in a state where gaps are not formed in the internal space as much as possible, and the container accommodation efficiency can be improved.

  Here, it is preferable that the plate-like body is configured such that a portion including the downstream end is more easily bent than a portion including the upstream end.

According to this configuration, since the portion including the downstream end in the plate-like body is configured to be relatively easily bent, the shape of the portion can be configured to be deformed into an arc shape by its own weight or the weight of the article. Become. As a result, when the article is moved to the bottom surface of the container, the portion including the downstream end of the plate-like body can be deformed into a shape along the bottom surface of the container, and when the article reaches the bottom surface of the container. It is possible to reduce the impact received by the article.
Furthermore, according to said structure, since the part including the upstream end in a plate-shaped body is comprised comparatively hard to bend, articles | goods can be stably slid and moved using the said part. Thereby, it can suppress that the attitude | position of an article | item changes after it is supplied to a plate-shaped object until it moves to the bottom face of a container, and several articles | goods are ordered in the conveyance direction on the bottom face of a container. It becomes possible to arrange.

  In addition, a plurality of articles that are sent out from the sending end as articles that are moved to the internal space of the single container by the article transport device are divided into a plurality of product groups arranged in the transport direction, and the position control device is The relative position control is executed as many times as the number of the article groups corresponding to each of the plurality of article groups, and in the second and subsequent execution periods of the relative position control, instead of the movement period. The upstream end is located above the downstream end, and the distance between the downstream end and the article in the internal space is less than the height of the article, and the downstream end is in the internal space. It is preferable to include a period of relative or continuous movement relative to the container from the downstream side of the central part in the transport direction to the upstream side in the transport direction.

According to this configuration, it is possible to move many articles to the internal space compared to the case where the relative position control is executed only once, and the sum total of the volumes of articles moved to the internal space with respect to the volume of the internal space. The ratio (that is, the container accommodation efficiency) can be improved.
Further, according to the above configuration, in the second and subsequent relative position control execution periods, the “separation distance from the bottom surface of the container” is replaced with “separation distance from the article in the internal space” in the movement period. Since the period is included, in the second and subsequent relative position control, as in the first relative position control, it is possible to suppress the spillage of the article from the container while suppressing the impact applied to the article. Articles delivered from the delivery end can be arranged in a relatively orderly manner from the position relatively close to the downstream end in the transport direction in the internal space toward the upstream side.
In the second and subsequent relative position control, the article sent from the sending end is basically moved to the upper surface of another article in the internal space. At this time, the height of each of the other articles in the internal space is different from each other, so that the upper surfaces of the other articles may form irregularities. In this regard, according to the above configuration, the article sent from the delivery end slides on the plate-like body and reaches the downstream end, so that the article can be moved while suppressing the influence of the unevenness. Can be supplied to the upper surface of the other article. As a result, even in the second and subsequent relative position control, a plurality of articles can be arranged in a relatively orderly manner along the transport direction.

  As described above, in the configuration in which the position control device executes the relative position control the same number of times as the number of the article groups corresponding to each of the plurality of article groups, the article moving device includes the article The same number of plate-like bodies as the group are provided at different positions in the carrying direction, and the article carrying device sets the position of the sending end in the carrying direction to a position corresponding to each of the plurality of plate-like bodies. The position control device is configured to be changeable, and executes the relative position control as many times as the number of the article groups in order from the plate-like body arranged on the upstream side or the downstream side in the transport direction. A configuration is preferable.

  According to this configuration, compared with the case where the relative position control of the same number as the number of the article group is executed without sequentially using the plate-like bodies arranged on the upstream side or the downstream side in the transport direction, the article moving facility Simplification of the overall configuration can be achieved. For example, when each plate-like body is fixed and the container is moved to the downstream side in the transport direction to move the plate-like body relative to the container to the upstream side in the transport direction, the same number of times as the number of article groups The relative position control of the container is executed in order from the plate-like body arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction, so that the moving direction of the container at the time of execution of the relative position control and the plate-like body used first. To the plate-like body used later can be the same side in the transport direction. Therefore, simplification of the configuration of the container transport device for transporting the container and simplification of the configuration for controlling the container transport device can be achieved, and as a result, the configuration of the entire article moving facility can be simplified. Can do.

  In addition, in each of the relative position controls, the position control device transports the plate-like body with respect to the container by an amount of movement according to the length of the article sent from the delivery end in the transport direction. A moving operation for relative movement to the upstream side in the direction is performed in the same order as the order of sending the articles from the sending end, and the position control device starts from the sending end in the second and subsequent relative position control. It is preferable that the ratio of the movement amount of the article to be sent out first with respect to the length of the article in the transport direction is set smaller than the first relative position control.

According to this configuration, since the moving amount in the moving operation is a moving amount according to the length in the conveyance direction of the article sent from the sending end, the article sent from the sending end is connected to the upstream end of the plate-like body. The above-described effect that it is possible to suppress staying in the vicinity of the plate and slipping down to the side of the plate-like body becomes remarkable.
Further, according to the above configuration, in the second and subsequent relative position control, the ratio of the movement amount of the article first sent out from the delivery end to the length in the conveyance direction of the article is the first relative position control. Therefore, in the second and subsequent relative position control, it is possible to increase the number of articles placed on the plate-like body at the same time as compared with the execution of the first relative position control. Thus, when the article to be moved is moved from the downstream end of the plate-like body to the upper surface of another article in the internal space, the article placed on the upstream side in the carrying direction is moved to the downstream side in the carrying direction. The pressing force can be used. As a result, even in the second and subsequent relative position control, even when affected by the unevenness described above, the plurality of articles are directed from the position relatively close to the downstream end in the transport direction in the internal space to the upstream side. Can be arranged.

  In the article moving equipment having each configuration described above, the article moving device is rotatable around a rotation axis along a horizontal direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and the rotating member having the upstream end of the plate-like body fixed thereto. And a driving device that rotates the rotating member around the rotation axis, and a portion including the downstream end of the plate-like body is configured to bend due to the weight of an article, and the driving device is configured to have the relative position. It is preferable that the rotation control is performed to rotate the rotating member by a predetermined angle after all the articles included in the article group to be controlled are sent from the sending end.

  According to this configuration, since the portion including the downstream end of the plate-like body is configured to bend by the weight of the article, the plate is sent after all the articles included in the article group to be subjected to relative position control are sent out. Even when an article is placed on the plate-like body, the article placed on the plate-like body is removed from the downstream end of the plate-like body while suppressing the article from spilling out of the container by executing rotation control. It can be moved to the bottom surface of the container or the top surface of other articles in the interior space. That is, the article placed on the plate-like body can be moved with a small amount of movement without moving the plate-like body relative to the container to the upstream side in the transport direction or even when moving. As a result, it is possible to reduce the size of the article moving facility in the transport direction.

  The article conveying apparatus is configured to be able to move the sending end in the carrying direction, and after all the articles included in the article group to be subjected to the relative position control are sent from the sending end, It is preferable that the sending end movement control is performed to move the sending end to the downstream side in the transport direction to a position set downstream of the upstream end in the transport direction in the internal space. .

  According to this configuration, after all the articles included in the article group to be subjected to relative position control are sent, even if the article is placed on a portion located outside the internal space in the plate-like body, By executing the movement control, the article can be pushed and moved by the delivery end to a position downstream of the upstream end in the transport direction in the internal space. As a result, the protrusion of the article from the internal space and the spillage of the article from the container can be effectively suppressed.

It is a perspective view of the goods movement equipment concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram of a control device concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the goods movement process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the 1st article movement process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the 2nd article movement process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 1st article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 1st article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 1st article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 1st article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 1st article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 1st article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 1st article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 1st article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 1st article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 2nd article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 2nd article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 2nd article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 2nd article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 2nd article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 2nd article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 2nd article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 2nd article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing one situation of the 2nd article movement processing concerning an embodiment of the present invention.

  An embodiment of an article moving facility according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, as shown in FIG. 1, the direction orthogonal to both the transport direction X and the vertical direction (vertical direction), that is, the direction parallel to the horizontal plane and orthogonal to the transport direction X is defined as the transport orthogonal. The direction is Y.

1. Overall Configuration of Article Moving Facility As shown in FIG. 1, the article moving facility 1 includes an article conveying device 10 and an article moving device 5. The respective operations of the article transport device 10 and the article moving device 5 are controlled by the control device 40. As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 40 is provided so as to be communicable with each of the article conveyance device 10 and the article movement device 5, controls the operation of the article conveyance device 10, and includes a container conveyance device included in the article movement device 5. 20 and the drive device 60 are controlled. The control device 40 includes a plurality of functional units including a relative position control unit 41, a rotation control unit 42, and a delivery end movement control unit 43. The plurality of functional units are configured by software (program), and the control device 40 includes a storage device that stores the software and an arithmetic processing device (for example, a CPU) that can refer to the storage device.

  The article transport apparatus 10 is an apparatus that transports the article 70 in the transport direction X as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. The article moving device 5 is a device that moves an article 70 sent from the sending end 10 a of the article carrying device 10 to the internal space 3 of the container 2. Here, the delivery end 10 a is an end portion on the downstream side in the transport direction X in the article transport apparatus 10. The container 2 is a container that opens upward, and is disposed below the article conveying device 10. That is, the article 70 delivered from the delivery end 10 a of the article transport device 10 is automatically put into the internal space 3 of the container 2 from the opening of the upper part of the container 2 by the article moving device 5.

  In the present embodiment, the internal space 3 of the container 2 is a rectangular parallelepiped space. And in this embodiment, the opening part of the upper part of the container 2 is formed so that it may open upwards with the same shape and area as the uppermost part of the internal space 3. FIG. That is, the opening at the top of the container 2 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed in the vertical direction. Specifically, the cross-sectional shape (cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the vertical direction) along the horizontal plane of the internal space 3 of the container 2 has two sides along the transport direction X and two sides along the transport orthogonal direction Y. It is rectangular. In this example, the side along the transport direction X is formed longer than the side along the transport orthogonal direction Y. Moreover, the cross-sectional shape along the horizontal plane of the internal space 3 is uniform along the vertical direction, and is the same shape regardless of the position in the vertical direction. As the container 2 having the internal space 3 having such a shape, in the present embodiment, a container having a rectangular parallelepiped shape and opening upward is used. That is, the container 2 has a rectangular bottom wall portion having two sides along the transport direction X and two sides along the transport orthogonal direction Y, and a total of four standing from each side of the bottom wall portion. And a side wall portion. A rectangular opening having two sides along the conveyance direction X and two sides along the conveyance orthogonal direction Y is formed in the upper part of the container 2 by the uppermost part of these four side wall portions. The container 2 is, for example, a resin tray. The shapes of the container 2 and the internal space 3 can be changed as appropriate.

  The article moving facility 1 basically handles an article 70 whose outer shape is a rectangular parallelepiped (including a cube). In the present embodiment, the article movement facility 1 handles a plurality of types of articles 70 having different sizes. Specifically, after a plurality of articles 70 taken out from an automatic warehouse (not shown) based on an assortment command by an operator or the like are conveyed to the article moving apparatus 5 by the article conveying apparatus 10, the article moving apparatus 5 Is moved to the internal space 3 of the container 2. The step of taking out the article 70 from the automatic warehouse includes, for example, picking processing by a picking device. The plurality of articles 70 may include a plurality of types of articles 70 having different items (types). The article 70 is, for example, an individual packaging box or a dozen box of goods that should avoid impacts such as medicines, confectionery, and food.

2. Configuration of Article Conveying Apparatus The article conveying apparatus 10 is an apparatus that conveys the article 70 in the conveying direction X and supplies the article 70 to the article moving device 5. The conveyance direction X is set to a direction having a horizontal component, and the article conveyance device 10 conveys the article 70 at least in the horizontal direction. The conveyance direction X is set to a direction (including a direction parallel to the horizontal plane) whose inclination angle from the horizontal plane is 5 degrees or 10 degrees or less, for example. In the present embodiment, the transport direction X is set in a direction parallel to the horizontal plane by design. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the conveyance direction X of the article 70 in the end region including the delivery end 10a is a direction inclined downward with respect to the horizontal plane. The same applies to the downstream end region in the transport direction X of the first article transport apparatus 11 and the second article transport apparatus 12 described below. Therefore, strictly speaking, the conveyance direction X of the main area in the article conveyance apparatus 10 excluding the area where the conveyance direction X of the article 70 is locally different is set in a direction parallel to the horizontal plane by design. .

  In the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the article conveyance device 10 includes a first article conveyance device 11, a second article conveyance device 12, and a third article conveyance device 13 described from the upstream side in the conveyance direction X. In order. The downstream end of the third article transport apparatus 13 in the transport direction X is the delivery end 10 a of the article transport apparatus 10. The 1st article conveyance apparatus 11, the 2nd article conveyance apparatus 12, and the 3rd article conveyance apparatus 13 are arrange | positioned so that each conveyance direction X (The conveyance direction X in the said main area | region) may become mutually parallel. The transport speeds of the first article transport apparatus 11, the second article transport apparatus 12, and the third article transport apparatus 13 are basically controlled to the same speed.

  The article 70 to be moved to the container 2 is supplied from the upstream side in the transport direction X to the article transport apparatus 10 (first article transport apparatus 11 in this example). The article 70 supplied to the first article transport apparatus 11 is transported to the second article transport apparatus 12 by the first article transport apparatus 11 and then transported to the third article transport apparatus 13 by the second article transport apparatus 12. . Then, the article 70 supplied to the third article transport device 13 is sent out from the sending end 10a toward the downstream side in the carrying direction X.

  In the present embodiment, the article conveyance device 10 is configured to place and convey the article 70 along the conveyance direction X. Specifically, each of the first article transport device 11, the second article transport device 12, and the third article transport device 13 moves the transport belt forming the transport surface in the transport direction X, thereby moving the transport surface to the transport surface. It is comprised by the belt conveyor which conveys the mounted article | item 70. FIG. In this embodiment, the conveyance surface of the article conveyance device 10 is arranged along the horizontal plane.

  In the present embodiment, the article transport apparatus 10 is configured to be able to move the delivery end 10a in the transport direction X. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, for the third article transport device 13 having the delivery end 10 a at the downstream end in the transport direction X, the transport belt and the transport belt are looped around. A plurality of pulleys and rollers are integrally movable in the transport direction X, and the position of the transport end X in the transport direction X is controlled by controlling the position of the transport belt in the transport direction X. As will be described later, the article transporting apparatus 10 is configured to execute the sending end movement control under the control of the sending end movement control unit 43 of the control device 40.

  The article conveyance device 10 (first article conveyance device 11 in this example) includes an article detection sensor 90 that detects the presence of an article 70 conveyed by the article conveyance device 10. The article detection sensor 90 is, for example, a light-shielding optical sensor that detects the presence of the article 70 by the absence of detection light, or a reflective optical sensor that detects the presence of the article 70 by the presence of reflected light of the detection light. Composed. As shown in FIG. 2, the detection information of the article detection sensor 90 is input to the control device 40. The control device 40 derives the length L in the conveyance direction X of the article 70 conveyed by the article conveyance device 10 based on the detection information of the article detection sensor 90. The derived information on the length L of the article 70 in the conveyance direction X is used when a movement operation described later is executed.

  Specifically, the control device 40 determines the length L in the conveyance direction X of the article 70 based on the conveyance distance of the article 70 by the article conveyance device 10 while the presence of the article 70 is detected by the article detection sensor 90. Is derived. In the present embodiment, the conveyance distance of the article 70 by the article conveyance device 10 while the presence of the article 70 is detected by the article detection sensor 90 is derived as it is as the length L in the conveyance direction X of the article 70. For example, the conveyance distance by the article conveyance device 10 may be derived based on an output signal of a rotary encoder provided in the article conveyance device 10. The rotary encoder is attached so as to rotate in conjunction with a rotating member (for example, a driving pulley, a driven pulley, etc.) of the article transporting apparatus 10, and each time the rotating member rotates by a unit angle, that is, the article 70 is unit. Each time a distance is conveyed, one pulse signal is generated. Therefore, the article conveyance device while the presence of the article 70 is detected by the article detection sensor 90 is obtained by counting the pulse signals generated by the rotary encoder while the presence of the article 70 is detected by the article detection sensor 90. 10, the conveyance distance of the article 70 can be derived.

  As illustrated in FIG. 8 and the like, the article transporting apparatus 10 transports a plurality of articles 70 in a state of being separated from each other in the transport direction X. Specifically, in the present embodiment, each of the plurality of articles 70 is conveyed in a state of being located in a virtual area assigned to each article 70. Here, the virtual area is an area formed by virtually dividing the conveyance area of the article conveyance device 10 along the conveyance direction X (in this example, divided at equal intervals), and the conveyance speed of the article conveyance apparatus 10 Moves in the transport direction X at the same speed. The length of the virtual region in the transport direction X is set to be larger than the article 70 having the maximum length L in the transport direction X among the articles 70 to be handled. In the present embodiment, the state in which the position of the sending end 10a in the carrying direction X coincides with a first sending position corresponding to a first plate-like body 31 described later (see FIG. 13 and the like), and the carrying of the sending end 10a. The length along the conveyance direction X of the conveyance region of the article conveyance device 10 in a state where the position in the direction X coincides with a second delivery position corresponding to a second plate-like body 32 described later (see FIG. 15 and the like). However, in any of these two states, a plurality of virtual regions are set so as to divide the conveyance region in the current state of the article conveyance device 10 along the conveyance direction X at equal intervals.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of articles 70 sent from the delivery end 10 a as the articles 70 that the article transport apparatus 10 moves to the internal space 3 of the single container 2 are divided into a plurality of article groups arranged in the transport direction X. Yes. One article group includes a plurality of articles 70 selected such that the sum of the lengths of the articles 70 in the target direction is smaller than the length of the internal space 3 in the transport direction X. Here, the target direction is a direction that is individually set for each article 70 or for each item of the article 70, and is arranged so as to be along the conveyance direction X in a state of being conveyed by the article conveyance device 10 by design. Direction. In the present embodiment, the plurality of articles 70 to be moved to the internal space 3 of the single container 2 are two article groups of a first article group 71 (see FIG. 8) and a second article group 72 (see FIG. 13). It is divided into Each of FIGS. 6 to 23 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the article movement process according to the present embodiment in time series, and the state of each part at a later time point (phase) as the figure number increases. Is shown. In each of the drawings, the plurality of articles 70 included in the second article group 72 are darker hatched than the plurality of articles 70 included in the first article group 71.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality (the same number as the plurality of articles 70) of virtual regions that are continuous in the transport direction X are assigned to the plurality of articles 70 included in one article group. Further, as shown in FIG. 8 and the like, in the present embodiment, a set of a plurality of virtual areas (virtual area group) assigned to a plurality of articles 70 included in the first article group 71 and a second article group 72 are included. A virtual area is not set between a plurality of virtual areas (virtual area group) assigned to the plurality of articles 70 to be assigned. That is, the virtual region groups of the two article groups arranged in the transport direction X are continuously arranged in the transport direction X. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which one or a plurality of virtual areas (empty virtual areas) to which the articles 70 are not allocated are set between the virtual area groups of the two article groups arranged in the transport direction X. is there.

3. Configuration of Article Moving Device As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the item moving device 5 includes a plate-like body 30 and a container transport device 20. As will be described later, the container transport device 20 (second container transport device 22 in this example) is configured to execute relative position control under the control of the relative position control unit 41 of the control device 40. That is, in this embodiment, the container transport device 20 (second container transport device 22 in this example) corresponds to the “position control device” in the present invention.

3-1. Configuration of Plate-like Body The plate-like body 30 is a member that slides the article 70 sent from the sending end 10 a to the internal space 3 of the container 2. The plate-like body 30 is a rectangular plate-like member in plan view, and two parallel sides (long sides in this example) of the rectangle are arranged along the transport direction X in the vertical view, The remaining two parallel sides (short sides in this example) of the rectangle are arranged along the conveyance orthogonal direction Y. Here, the “plan view” of the plate-like body 30 means a direction view orthogonal to the plane when the plate-like body 30 is arranged in a plane. Then, one of the two sides arranged along the conveyance orthogonal direction Y constitutes an upstream end 30a that is an upstream end portion of the plate-like body 30 in the conveyance direction X, and follows the conveyance orthogonal direction Y. The other of the two sides arranged in this manner constitutes a downstream end 30b that is an end of the plate-like body 30 on the downstream side in the transport direction X. The length of the plate-like body 30 in the conveyance orthogonal direction Y is set to be equal to or less than the length of the internal space 3 in the conveyance orthogonal direction Y.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the plate-like body 30 includes a flexible portion 33 having flexibility and a support portion 34 that supports the flexible portion 33. Here, “flexibility” means a property that can be bent or bent. Each of the flexible portion 33 and the support portion 34 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view, and the upstream portion of the flexible portion 33 in the transport direction X is fixed to the support portion 34. Therefore, the portion including the downstream end 30b in the plate-shaped body 30 (rectangular portion in plan view) is configured by the flexible portion 33, and the portion including the upstream end 30a in the plate-shaped body 30 (rectangular shape in plan view). The portion) is configured by the support portion 34. The support portion 34 is configured to have higher rigidity than the flexible portion 33, in other words, configured to be more difficult to bend than the flexible portion 33. Therefore, in this embodiment, the plate-like body 30 is configured such that the portion including the downstream end 30b is more easily bent than the portion including the upstream end 30a. Specifically, the degree of flexibility of the plate-like body 30 is higher in the downstream portion in the transport direction X than in the upstream portion in the transport direction X at the boundary portion between the flexible portion 33 and the support portion 34. It is configured to change step by step.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the case where the flexible portion 33 is configured by one plate-like member is shown as an example. However, the flexible portion 33 is formed by stacking a plurality of plate-like members. It can also be set as the structure formed. In this case, by changing the number of superimposed sheets depending on the position in the transport direction X, the degree of ease of bending of the flexible portion 33 can be varied depending on the position in the transport direction X. For example, the number of overlaps in the upstream portion of the flexible portion 33 in the transport direction X is set to a plurality (for example, “3”), and the number of overlaps in the downstream portion of the flexible portion 33 in the transport direction X is “1”. By setting, the degree of ease of bending of the plate-like body 30 is not limited to the boundary portion between the flexible portion 33 and the support portion 34, but also in the portion where the number of overlaps in the flexible portion 33 changes. A configuration in which the downstream portion in the transport direction X changes stepwise so that the upstream portion in the transport direction X is higher than the upstream portion. Note that the configuration in which the number of stacked sheets varies depending on the position in the transport direction X is, for example, when each upstream end in the transport direction X of a plurality of plate-shaped members is disposed at the same position. This can be realized by making the lengths of the members in the transport direction X different from each other. The degree of ease of bending of the flexible portion 33 is conveyed by changing the material constituting the plate-like body 30 depending on the position in the conveyance direction X, or changing the thickness of the plate-like body 30 depending on the position in the conveyance direction X. It is good also as a structure made to change with the position of the direction X. FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the flexible portion 33 is configured to bend due to its own weight. That is, the part including the downstream end 30 b in the plate-like body 30 is configured to bend by the weight of the article 70. Here, it is preferable that the flexible portion 33 is configured to be bent by the weight of the lightest article 70 among the articles 70 to be handled. On the other hand, the support part 34 is configured not to be bent by the weight of the article 70. That is, the part including the upstream end 30 a of the plate-like body 30 is configured not to be bent by the weight of the article 70. Here, it is preferable that the support portion 34 is configured not to be bent by the weight of the heaviest article 70 among the articles 70 to be handled.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the article moving device 5 includes a rotating member 50 to which the upstream end 30 a of the plate-like body 30 is fixed, and a driving device 60 that rotates the rotating member 50 around the rotation axis. The rotating member 50 is supported on the lower side of the article conveying apparatus 10 and on the upper side of the container 2 so as to be rotatable around the rotation axis. Here, the rotation axis of the rotating member 50 is set in a direction along the conveyance orthogonal direction Y, and is set in a direction parallel to the conveyance orthogonal direction Y in this embodiment. The downstream end 30b of the plate-like body 30 is a free end that is not fixed to any member. And in this embodiment, the flexible part 33 is comprised so that it may bend also by its own weight. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the shape of the flexible portion 33 in the plate-like body 30 in the conveyance orthogonal direction Y is basically curved in a state where the upstream end 30 a is supported by the rotating member 50. . As will be described later, the drive device 60 is configured to perform rotation control under the control of the rotation control unit 42 of the control device 40. The drive device 60 is configured using, for example, a servo motor, and controls the rotational position of the rotary member 50.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the plurality of articles 70 that are moved to the internal space 3 of the single container 2 are divided into a plurality of article groups. In order to move a plurality of article groups to the internal space 3 of the single container 2, the article moving device 5 includes the same number of plate bodies 30 as the article groups at different positions in the transport direction X. Specifically, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6, the article moving device 5 includes a first plate-like body 31 and a second plate that is disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction X with respect to the first plate-like body 31. Two plate-like bodies 30 are provided. In this embodiment, the 1st plate-shaped body 31 and the 2nd plate-shaped body 32 are comprised similarly to each other except the point from which the arrangement position in the conveyance direction X differs. The article moving device 5 includes a first rotating member 51 as a rotating member 50 to which the first plate-like body 31 is fixed, and a first driving device 61 as a driving device 60 that rotates the first rotating member 51. The article moving device 5 includes a second rotating member 52 as the rotating member 50 to which the second plate-like body 32 is fixed, and a second driving device 62 as the driving device 60 that rotates the second rotating member 52. .

  The article conveyance device 10 is configured to be able to change the position of the delivery end 10 a in the conveyance direction X to a position corresponding to each of the plurality of plate-like bodies 30. The position in the transport direction X corresponding to the plate-like body 30 is set to a position where the article 70 sent from the sending end 10a can be supplied to the plate-like body 30, for example, the plate-like body in the transport direction X. 30 is set with reference to the position of the upstream end 30a. For example, the position of the upstream end 30 a of the plate-shaped body 30 in the transport direction X can be set as the position of the sending end 10 a corresponding to the plate-shaped body 30 in the transport direction X. In this embodiment, the article conveying apparatus 10 corresponds to the position of the sending end 10a in the conveying direction X to the first sending position (see FIG. 6) corresponding to the first plate 31 and the second plate 32. It can be changed to the second delivery position (see FIG. 15).

3-2. Configuration of Container Transport Device The container transport device 20 is a device that transports the container 2. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the container transport device 20 includes a first container transport device 21 and a second container transport device 22. The first container transport device 21 is a device that supplies an empty container 2 that does not contain the article 70 to the second container transport device 22. The second container transport device 22 is a device that transports the container 2 at least in the transport direction X below the article transport device 10. In the present embodiment, the transport direction of the container 2 by the second container transport device 22 coincides with the transport direction X. The second container transport device 22 controls the relative position of the plate-shaped body 30 and the container 2 in the transport direction X by controlling the position of the container 2 in the transport direction X.

  The container transport device 20 (second container transport device 22 in this example) is controlled by the relative position control unit 41 of the control device 40 when the article transport device 10 delivers a plurality of articles 70 from the delivery end 10a. Relative position control is executed. Here, the relative position control is a control in which the plate-like body 30 disposed above the bottom surface 4 of the container 2 is moved relative to the container 2 continuously or intermittently upstream in the transport direction X. It is. In the present embodiment, in relative position control, the container 2 is intermittently moved downstream in the transport direction X, so that the plate-like body 30 is intermittently moved relative to the container 2 upstream in the transport direction X. Let

  In the present embodiment, the plurality of articles 70 moved to the internal space 3 of the single container 2 are divided into a plurality of article groups, and the relative position control is performed for each of the plurality of article groups. It is executed as many times as the number of groups. That is, the relative position control is executed a plurality of times (in this example, twice) for one container 2. In the present embodiment, the container transport device 20 (in this example, the second container transport device 22) is a plate-like body that is disposed on the upstream side in the transport direction X with the same number of relative position controls as the number of article groups. Use in order starting from 30. Specifically, the second container transport device 22 executes the first relative position control using the first plate 31 and then executes the second relative position control using the second plate 32. To do. In the present embodiment, the first relative position control execution period includes a first movement period described later, and the second relative position control execution period includes a second movement period described later. The specific contents of the relative position control will be described in the following “4. Procedure for article movement process”.

4). Procedure of article movement process An article movement process (article movement method) executed in the article movement facility 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the article movement process according to the present embodiment is a process of sequentially executing a first article movement process (step # 01) and a second article movement process (step # 02). Here, the first article movement process is a process of moving the plurality of articles 70 included in the first article group 71 to the internal space 3 of the container 2 using the first plate 31 (the first relative position control is performed). The second article movement process is a process of moving a plurality of articles 70 included in the second article group 72 to the internal space 3 of the container 2 using the second plate 32 (second relative time). Processing including position control). Hereinafter, each of the first article movement process and the second article movement process will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and FIGS. 6 to 23 showing the states of the respective parts in time series. Each process described below is executed by the article transport device 10, the container transport device 20, the first drive device 61, or the second drive device 62 under the control of the control device 40.

4-1. First Article Movement Process When the first article movement process is started, the delivery end 10a of the article transport device 10 is moved to the first delivery position corresponding to the first plate 31 (see FIG. 6). Step # 10). In addition, when the sending end 10a is already arranged at the first sending position, the state is maintained. Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the container 2 is moved to the first start position by the container transport device 20 (step # 11). In this embodiment, when the movement of the container 2 to the first start position is started, the support portion 34 of the first plate-like body 31 is arranged along the horizontal plane, and the downstream side in the transport direction X in the container 2. As shown in FIG. 7, after the side wall portion of the support portion 34 has moved to the downstream side in the transport direction X, the downstream end portion of the support portion 34 in the transport direction X moves downward. The one rotation member 51 is rotated by the first driving device 61. That is, the support portion 34 of the first plate-like body 31 is arranged in a posture toward the lower side toward the downstream side in the transport direction X.

  Here, the first start position is a position in the transport direction X set corresponding to the first plate-like body 31. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the transport in the internal space 3 of the container 2 is performed. The upstream end 30a of the first plate 31 is disposed on the upstream side in the transport direction X with reference to the downstream end in the direction X, and the first plate 31 is downstream on the downstream in the transport direction X. The position where the end 30b is disposed is set. That is, the first plate-like body 31 is disposed so as to be supported from below by a side wall portion on the downstream side in the transport direction X in the container 2 (hereinafter referred to as “target wall portion”). And the upstream side part of the conveyance direction X rather than the object wall part in the 1st plate-shaped body 31 bends with dead weight, and the lowest part in the said upstream part is arrange | positioned in the intermediate part in the conveyance direction X of the said upstream part. . In this example, the upstream end 30a of the first plate-like body 31 is located upstream of the central portion in the transport direction X in the internal space 3 in the state where the container 2 is disposed at the first start position. Placed in.

  Next, the delivery of the article 70 from the delivery end 10a of the article transport apparatus 10 is started (Step # 12), and until all the articles included in the first article group 71 are delivered from the delivery end 10a (Step S12). # 15: No) Every time the execution timing of the relative movement of the first plate 31 and the container 2 in the transport direction X arrives (step # 13: Yes), the container 2 is moved with respect to the first plate 31. Then, a relative movement process is performed for relative movement in the downstream side in the transport direction X (step # 14).

  In the present embodiment, the timing at which the article 70 is sent out from the sending end 10 a is set as the execution timing of the relative movement process that is executed corresponding to the article 70. Here, the timing at which the articles 70 are delivered from the delivery end 10a is specified based on, for example, tracking data in which the positions of the articles 70 on the article transport apparatus 10 are recorded. And in this embodiment, a movement operation is performed as a relative movement process of the container 2 in step # 14. Here, the moving operation means that the plate-like body 30 (here, the first plate-like body 31) is moved to the container 2 by a movement amount ΔX corresponding to the length L in the conveyance direction X of the article 70 sent from the sending end 10a. The relative movement to the upstream side in the transport direction X is performed. In this embodiment, since the plate-like body 30 is fixed, the container 2 is moved downstream in the transport direction X by the movement amount ΔX. In the present embodiment, the movement amount ΔX is associated with each of the articles 70 to be subjected to the first article movement process (first relative position control), in other words, with respect to each of the articles 70 included in the first article group 71. It is set to the same size as the length L of the article 70 to be conveyed in the conveyance direction X. The movement operation of the movement amount ΔX for one article 70 is basically completed before the next article 70 is delivered from the delivery end 10a.

  8 and FIG. 9 show the movement amount ΔX (in accordance with the length L1 of the conveyance direction X of the article 70 in accordance with the delivery timing of the first article 70 included in the first article group 71 from the delivery end 10a. L1) shows the situation in which the container 2 is moved downstream in the transport direction X, and FIGS. 9 to 11 are in accordance with the delivery timing of the second article 70 included in the first article group 71 from the delivery end 10a. Thus, the situation is shown in which the container 2 is moved downstream in the transport direction X by the movement amount ΔX (L2) corresponding to the length L2 of the article 70 in the transport direction X. Note that the first order or the like for the article 70 is the order of delivery from the delivery end 10a in one article group, and so on. In the present embodiment, ΔX (L1) = L1 and ΔX (L2) = L2.

  Until all the articles 70 included in the first article group 71 are delivered from the delivery end 10a (step # 15: No), the moving operation is executed in the same order as the delivery order of the articles 70 from the delivery end 10a. As shown in FIG. 13, when all the articles 70 included in the first article group 71 are sent out from the delivery end 10a (step # 15: Yes), the delivery of the article 70 from the delivery end 10a is stopped (step S15). # 16). In this example, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 13, while a plurality of articles 70 included in the first article group 71 are being moved in the same order as the order of delivery of articles 70 from the delivery end 10a. From the first state (see FIG. 10) in which the first plate-like body 31 is supported from the lower side by the side wall portion on the downstream side in the transport direction X in the container 2, the downstream end 30b of the first plate-like body 31 is the container. Transition to the second state (see FIG. 11) arranged in the internal space 3 of FIG.

  Here, the dimension of the 1st plate-shaped body 31 is set to the dimension which the downstream end 30b can contact | abut to the bottom face 4 of the container 2 in a 2nd state, and the 1st plate-shaped body 31 in a 2nd state. The downstream end 30 b is basically in a state where the distance from the bottom surface 4 of the container 2 is less than the height H of the article 70. At this time, the height H of the reference article 70 may be the height H of any of the articles 70 to be handled. For example, the height H is the smallest among the articles 70 to be handled. The height H of the article 70 is suitable. The separation distance between the downstream end 30b of the first plate 31 and the bottom surface 4 of the container 2 is preferably less than half of the height H of the article 70, and is “0” (that is, It is more preferable that it is in contact. The same applies to the separation distance between the downstream end 30b of the second plate-like body 32, which will be described later, and the article 70 in the internal space 3.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the overall shape of the first plate 31 after the transition from the first state to the second state as viewed in the conveyance orthogonal direction Y is directed downward toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction X. Shaped. Therefore, with the transition from the first state to the second state, the article 70 (see FIG. 10) placed on the first plate 31 in the first state is, as shown in FIG. It slides on the body 31 and is moved to the bottom surface 4 of the container 2. At this time, as described above, the downstream end 30b of the first plate-like body 31 is in a state in which the distance from the bottom surface 4 of the container 2 is less than the height H of the article 70, and in this embodiment, the downstream end 30b. Alternatively, the portion adjacent to the downstream end 30 b basically comes into contact with the bottom surface 4 of the container 2. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the part including the downstream end 30b in the 1st plate-shaped body 31 is comprised by the flexible part 33, and the shape of the flexible part 33 in the conveyance orthogonal direction Y view is the conveyance direction X view. It can form in the shape which has an arc-shaped part where the inclination angle from a horizontal surface becomes small as it goes downstream. Thus, the impact applied to the article 70 when moved to the bottom surface 4 of the container 2 can be mitigated, and the posture of the article 70 can be prevented from changing when moved to the bottom surface 4 of the container 2. You can also. Furthermore, since the downstream end 30b of the 1st plate-shaped body 31 is arrange | positioned downstream from the center part of the conveyance direction X in the internal space 3 at the time of changing from a 1st state to a 2nd state, it is 1st article | item. As shown in FIG. 11, it is easy to move the first article 70 included in the group 71 to a position near the downstream end in the transport direction X in the internal space 3.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the article 70 delivered from the delivery end 10 a in the second state slides on the support portion 34 and the flexible portion 33 of the first plate 31 in order and moves to the bottom surface 4 of the container 2. Moved. Here, as described above, the support portion 34 is configured not to bend due to its own weight. Therefore, the article 70 delivered from the delivery end 10a can be stably slid and moved on the support portion 34 and then supplied to the flexible portion 33. As a result, the entire first plate-like body 31 has the article 70. It becomes possible to suppress the posture change. Thereby, it becomes easy to arrange a plurality of articles 70 in an orderly manner along the transport direction X on the bottom surface 4 of the container 2, and as a result, the total volume of the articles 70 moved to the internal space 3 with respect to the volume of the internal space 3 is increased. It is possible to improve the ratio (that is, the accommodation efficiency of the container 2).

  Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, after the transition to the second state, the downstream end 30 b of the first plate 31 is separated from the bottom surface 4 of the container 2 every time the moving operation is performed. In a state where the distance is less than the height H of the article 70, the distance relative to the container 2 is moved upstream in the transport direction X. Therefore, while the article 70 previously sent from the delivery end 10a is moved from the downstream end 30b of the first plate 31 to the bottom surface 4 of the container 2, the article 70 newly delivered from the delivery end 10a is moved to the first plate. It can be received on the body 31. As a result, it is easy to appropriately move all the articles 70 delivered from the delivery end 10a to the internal space 3 while suppressing the protrusion of the articles 70 from the internal space 3 and the spillage of the articles 70 from the container 2. It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the present embodiment, when at least the first article 70 is delivered from the delivery end 10 a, the downstream end portion in the transport direction X of the support portion 34 of the first plate 31. Is disposed below the upper end of the container 2 (here, the upper end of the side wall). Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, when the container 2 is transported to a predetermined position in the transport direction X (position illustrated in FIG. 12), The first rotating member 51 is rotated by the first driving device 61 so that the downstream end portion in the transport direction X moves upward. In the example illustrated in FIG. 12, the first rotating member 51 is rotated so that the support portion 34 is in a posture along a horizontal plane.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 4, after stopping the delivery of the article 70 from the delivery end 10a as described above (step # 16), the second plate 32 corresponding to the second plate-like body 32 is shown in FIG. The delivery end 10a is moved downstream in the transport direction X with the second delivery position (see FIG. 15) as the final target position (step # 17), and the second start position (see FIG. 15) is the final target position. The container 2 is moved to the downstream side in the transport direction X (step # 18), and the first article movement process is completed. Here, the second start position is a position in the transport direction X set corresponding to the second plate-like body 32. The second start position is set similarly to the first start position described above except that the first plate-like body 31 is replaced with the second plate-like body 32.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the process of step # 17 is performed in the transport direction X to the position where the sending end 10a is set downstream of the upstream end of the transport direction X in the internal space 3. This is a process for controlling the movement of the sending end to be moved to the downstream side, and continuing the movement of the sending end 10a to the downstream side in the transport direction X thereafter. In other words, in the present embodiment, the article transporting apparatus 10 sends out after all the articles 70 included in the article group to be subjected to the relative position control (here, the first relative position control) are sent from the sending end 10a. It is comprised so that edge movement control may be performed. By executing the delivery end movement control, when the article 70 is placed on a portion (for example, the support portion 34) located outside the internal space 3 in the first plate-like body 31, the article 70 is delivered to the delivery end 10a. Can be pushed toward the downstream side in the conveying direction X. As a result, the protrusion of the article 70 from the internal space 3 and the spillage of the article 70 from the container 2 can be suppressed.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 11 to 14, the execution period of the relative position control in the first article movement process (the execution period of the first relative position control) includes the first movement period. Here, the first movement period means that the upstream end 30a of the plate-like body 30 (here, the first plate-like body 31, the same applies hereinafter) is located above the downstream end 30b of the plate-like body 30, and In a state in which the distance between the downstream end 30b and the bottom surface 4 of the container 2 is less than the height H of the article 70, the downstream end 30b is moved from the portion downstream of the central portion in the transport direction X in the internal space 3 to the container. 2 is a period of relative movement to the upstream side in the transport direction X continuously or intermittently (intermittently in this example) with respect to 2. That is, in the first movement period, the downstream end 30 b of the plate-like body 30 is located below the upstream end 30 a of the plate-like body 30 and is less than the height H of the article 70 from the bottom surface 4 of the container 2. Is moved relative to the container 2 continuously or intermittently upstream in the transport direction X from a portion downstream of the central portion in the transport direction X in the internal space 3. The In the present embodiment, the first movement period corresponds to the “movement period” in the present invention.

  Here, a period (moving operation period) in which the moving operation is executed in the same order as the order of sending the articles 70 from the sending end 10a, which is a period included in the execution period of the first relative position control, Although the case where it overlaps with the first movement period has been described as an example, the first movement is performed only in a period after the movement operation period in the execution period of the first relative position control (for example, a period in which step # 18 is executed). A configuration including a period may also be adopted.

4-2. Second article movement process Steps # 20 to # 26 in the second article movement process of FIG. 5 replace the first plate 31 with the second plate 32, replace the first delivery position with the second delivery position, The first start position is replaced with the second start position, the first rotating member 51 is replaced with the second rotating member 52, the first driving device 61 is replaced with the second driving device 62, and the first article group 71 is replaced with the second article group. The process is basically the same as steps # 10 to # 16 in the first article movement process described above except that the point 72 is replaced. Therefore, below, it demonstrates focusing on a different point from the 1st article movement processing.

  When the second article movement process is started, the delivery end 10a of the article transport apparatus 10 is moved to the second delivery position corresponding to the second plate 32 as shown in FIG. 15 (step # 20). Then, the container 2 is moved to the second start position by the container transfer device 20 (step # 21). In this example, the process of step # 20 is performed by setting the sending end 10a moving toward the downstream side in the transport direction X to the second sending position by executing step # 17 (see FIG. 4) of the first article moving process. It is a process to stop. Further, in the process of step # 21, the container 2 moving toward the downstream side in the transport direction X by the execution of step # 18 (see FIG. 4) of the first article movement process is stopped at the second start position. It is processing.

  Next, the delivery of the article 70 from the delivery end 10a of the article transport apparatus 10 is started (step # 22), and until all the articles included in the second article group 72 are delivered from the delivery end 10a (step # 22). # 25: No) Every time the execution timing of the relative movement in the transport direction X between the second plate 32 and the container 2 comes (step # 23: Yes), the container 2 is moved with respect to the second plate 32. Then, a relative movement process is performed for relative movement in the downstream side in the transport direction X (step # 24).

  Here, in the movement operation as the relative movement process executed in the second article movement process, in other words, in the second and subsequent (here, the second) relative position control, the article 70 that is first sent from the sending end 10a. The ratio (hereinafter referred to as “movement ratio”) of the movement amount ΔX of the (first article 70) with respect to the length L in the conveyance direction X of the article 70 is set smaller than the first relative position control. To do. As described above, in the movement operation (first relative position control) executed in the first article movement process, the movement amount ΔX is set to the same size as the length L of the corresponding article 70 in the conveyance direction X. Therefore, the movement ratio for the first article 70 in the first relative position control is “1”. Therefore, the movement rate for the first article 70 in the second relative position control is set to be smaller than “1”, and is set to “0” in the present embodiment. That is, in this example, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the movement amount ΔX for the first article 70 (the article 70 having the length L3 in the transport direction X) included in the second article group 72 is “0”. Therefore, the movement operation for the article 70 is not executed.

  In the present embodiment, the movement amount ΔX for the second and subsequent articles 70 included in the second article group 72 is set to the same size as the length L of the corresponding article 70 in the transport direction X. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, when the second article 70 included in the second article group 72 is delivered from the delivery end 10a, the conveyance direction of the article 70 is matched to the delivery timing. The container 2 is moved downstream in the transport direction X by a movement amount ΔX (L4) corresponding to the length L4 of X. In this example, ΔX (L4) = L4.

  As described above, in the second relative position control, the movement rate for the first article 70 is set to be smaller than that in the first relative position control, compared to when the first relative position control is executed. The number of articles 70 placed on the plate-like body 30 (here, the second plate-like body 32) at the same time can be increased. Thus, when the article 70 is moved from the downstream end 30b of the second plate-like body 32 to the upper surface of another article 70 in the internal space 3 or the bottom surface 4 of the container 2, the article 70 is conveyed to the moving article 70. The pressing force to the downstream side in the transport direction X by the article 70 arranged on the upstream side in the direction X can be effectively used. As a result, the first article 70 included in the second article group 72 can be used. However, as shown in FIG. 18, it is easy to move the inner space 3 to a position close to the downstream end in the transport direction X.

  In the second article movement process, unlike the first article movement process, the article 70 delivered from the delivery end 10a is basically moved to the upper surface of another article 70 in the internal space 3. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 18 to 21, the downstream end 30 b of the second plate-like body 32 is in a state where the distance from the article 70 in the internal space 3 is less than the height H of the article 70. Relative to the upstream side in the transport direction X. Therefore, when moving to the upper surface of another article 70 in the internal space 3, the impact applied to the moved article 70 and the other article 70 in the internal space 3 can be reduced. Furthermore, since the articles 70 delivered from the delivery end 10a slide on the second plate 32 and reach the downstream end 30b, the plurality of articles 70 moved to the internal space 3 by the first article movement process. Even when the heights of the articles 70 are different from each other, the articles 70 delivered from the delivery end 10a can be transferred to other parts in the internal space 3 while suppressing the influence of the unevenness formed by the upper surfaces of the articles 70. It can be moved to the upper surface of the article 70. Thereby, also in the second article movement process, the plurality of articles 70 included in the second article group 72 can be arranged in a relatively orderly manner along the transport direction X.

  As shown in FIG. 20, when all the articles 70 included in the second article group 72 are delivered from the delivery end 10a (step # 25: Yes), the delivery of the article 70 from the delivery end 10a is stopped (step #). 26). Then, as shown in FIG. 21, the sending end 10a is moved downstream in the transport direction X (step # 27), and the container 2 is moved downstream in the transport direction X (step # 28). Here, in the process of step # 27, as shown in FIG. 21, the delivery end 10a is downstream in the transport direction X to a position set downstream of the upstream end of the transport direction X in the internal space 3. It is the sending end movement control which moves to the side. In FIG. 21, the container 2 at the time of executing the process of step # 27 is indicated by a broken line, and the container 2 after executing the process of step # 28 executed after the process of step # 27 is indicated by a solid line. . As shown in FIG. 20, in this example, at the time before execution of the sending end movement control, the downstream side in the transport direction X in the support portion 34 of the plate-like body 30 (here, the second plate-like body 32). The end portion is located downstream of the upstream end portion in the transport direction X in the internal space 3. In such a case, the position of the destination of the delivery end 10a set in the delivery end movement control is downstream of the upstream end in the transport direction X in the internal space 3, and is the support portion 34. It is preferable to set it at a position downstream of the downstream end in the transport direction X.

  As shown in FIG. 22, after the execution of step # 28, the sending end 10a is moved to the upstream side in the transport direction X (step # 29). At this time, the target position of the delivery end 10a is set at a position upstream of the second plate 32 in the transport direction X. In this example, the target position is set to the first delivery position corresponding to the first plate 31. Is done. After execution of step # 29, as shown in FIG. 22, the driving device 60 (here, the second driving device 62) rotates the rotating member 50 (here, the second rotating member 52) by a predetermined angle. Control is executed (step # 30). In the example shown in FIG. 22, the rotation angle in the rotation control is set to about 90 degrees, and the rotation direction is set to the direction in which the downstream end portion of the support portion 34 in the transport direction X moves upward. Yes. By executing such rotation control, the plate-like body 30 (here, the second plate-like shape) can be moved without moving the container 2 downstream in the transport direction X or with a small amount of movement. The article 70 placed on the body 32) can be moved to the upper surface of another article 70 in the internal space 3. At this time, since the flexible portion 33 is configured to bend by the weight of the article 70, the downstream end 30b of the second plate-like body 32 is basically in the internal space 3 even during the rotation control. In a state where the distance from the article 70 is short (for example, a state where the article 70 is less than the height H), the container 2 moves to the upstream side in the transport direction X. Therefore, the article 70 placed on the second plate-like body 32 can be appropriately moved to the upper surface of the article 70 in the internal space 3. After execution of step # 30, as shown in FIG. 23, the container 2 is moved to the downstream side in the transport direction X (step # 31), and the second article movement process ends.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 18 to 21, the execution period of relative position control in the second article movement process (execution period of second relative position control) includes a second movement period instead of the first movement period. . Here, in the second movement period, the upstream end 30 a of the plate-like body 30 is positioned above the downstream end 30 b of the plate-like body 30, and the downstream end 30 b and the article 70 in the internal space 3 are separated from each other. In a state where the distance is less than the height H of the article 70, the downstream end 30b is continuously or intermittently with respect to the container 2 from a portion downstream of the central portion in the transport direction X in the internal space 3 ( In this example, it is a period in which the relative movement is performed upstream (intermittently) in the transport direction X. That is, in the second movement period, the downstream end 30 b of the plate-like body 30 is located below the upstream end 30 a of the plate-like body 30, and the article 70 from the upper surface of the article 70 in the internal space 3. In a state of being located on the upper side by a distance less than the height H, from the portion downstream of the central portion of the internal space 3 in the transport direction X to the container 2 continuously or intermittently upstream of the transport direction X It is moved relative.

  Here, a period (moving operation period) that is a period included in the execution period of the second relative position control and in which the moving operation is executed in the same order as the order of sending the articles 70 from the sending end 10a, Although the case where it overlaps with the second movement period has been described as an example, the second movement is performed only in a period after the movement operation period in the execution period of the second relative position control (for example, a period in which step # 28 is executed). A configuration including a period may also be adopted.

5. Other Embodiments Finally, other embodiments according to the present invention will be described. Note that the configurations disclosed in the following embodiments can be applied in combination with the configurations disclosed in other embodiments as long as no contradiction arises.

(1) In the above embodiment, except for the movement amount ΔX for the first article 70 in the second and subsequent relative position control, the movement amounts ΔX for all the articles 70 are in the conveyance direction X of the corresponding article 70. The configuration set to the same size as the length L has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the movement amount ΔX for at least one of the articles 70 can be set to a value that is larger or smaller than the length of the corresponding article 70 in the transport direction X. Further, as described above, in one article group, the total sum of the lengths of the articles 70 in the target direction (the direction in which the articles 70 are arranged along the conveyance direction X by design) is the same as the conveyance direction X of the internal space 3. A plurality of articles 70 that are selected to be smaller than the length are included, but for the articles 70 that are transported so that the target direction intersects the transport direction X, the length in the transport direction X is the length of the target direction. It may be larger than this. In consideration of such a case, each article 70 is set so that the total amount of movement ΔX for each of the plurality of articles 70 included in one article group does not exceed the length of the internal space 3 in the transport direction X. It is also possible to set a movement amount ΔX for the. In this case, for example, for the article 70 whose delivery order from the delivery end 10a in the article 70 included in one article group is the previous order, the movement amount ΔX is set under a predetermined condition, and has already been set from the delivery end 10a. When it is predicted that the integrated value of the movement amount ΔX of the sent article 70 is larger than the length of the internal space 3 in the transport direction X, for the article 70 sent from the sending end 10a thereafter, It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a smaller movement amount ΔX (including “0”) is set than when set under predetermined conditions.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the movement ratio of the first article 70 in the second and subsequent relative position control is set smaller than that in the first relative position control has been described as an example. Specifically, the configuration in which the movement ratio for the first article 70 in the second and subsequent relative position control is set to “0” has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the movement ratio for the first article 70 in the second and subsequent relative position control can be set to a value larger than “0”. In this way, when the movement rate for the first article 70 in the second and subsequent relative position control is set to be smaller than that in the first relative position control, 2 in the second and subsequent relative position control. It is good also as a structure which sets largely the movement ratio about the article | item 70 after the 1st compared with the relative position control of the 1st time. In this case, for example, the sum of the movement amounts ΔX for each of the second and subsequent articles 70 is a value based on the sum of the lengths in the transport direction X for all the articles 70 including the first article 70 (for example, the total sum). The movement ratio for the second and subsequent articles 70 may be set so as to match the same value. It is also possible to set the movement rate for the first article 70 in the second and subsequent relative position controls in the same manner as in the first relative position control.

(3) In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the timing at which the article 70 is sent out from the sending end 10a is set as the execution timing of the movement operation for the article 70 has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the execution timing of the movement operation is a time point before the delivery timing of the corresponding article 70 from the delivery end 10a (for example, a time point when the relative movement has already been completed at the delivery timing), or the corresponding article 70. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the timing is set later than the transmission timing from the transmission terminal 10a.

(4) In the above embodiment, the start position (the first start position and the second start position described above) set corresponding to the plate-like body 30 is downstream in the transport direction X in the internal space 3 of the container 2. The upstream end 30a of the plate-like body 30 is disposed on the upstream side in the transport direction X, and the downstream end 30b of the plate-shaped body 30 is disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction X with reference to the end of The configuration to be described has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the start position set corresponding to the plate 30 is such that the downstream end 30 b of the plate 30 is upstream in the transport direction X with respect to the downstream end in the transport direction X in the internal space 3 of the container 2. It can also be set as the position set to the position arrange | positioned. In this case, the separation distance in the conveyance direction X from the downstream end of the downstream end 30 b of the plate-like body 30 in the internal space 3 of the container 2 in the conveyance direction X is equal to or less than the length L in the conveyance direction X of the article 70. It is preferable that the configuration is as follows.

(5) In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the plate-like body 30 includes the flexible portion 33 and the support portion 34 has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the plate-like body 30 can be configured to include only the flexible portion 33. In this case, as in the above embodiment, the portion including the downstream end 30b of the plate-like body 30 can be configured to bend more easily than the portion including the upstream end 30a of the plate-like body 30. Unlike the form, the degree of ease of bending may be uniform along the transport direction X. In addition, the plate-like body 30 may have a configuration in which the flexible portion 33 is not provided, that is, a configuration in which the entire plate-like body 30 is not bent by its own weight.

(6) In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the plate 30 is intermittently moved relative to the container 2 to the upstream side in the transport direction X in the relative position control has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, in the relative position control, the plate-like body 30 can be continuously moved relative to the container 2 continuously upstream in the transport direction X.

(7) In the above-described embodiment, the article moving device 5 includes the same number of plate bodies 30 as the article group at different positions in the transport direction X, and sequentially from the plate bodies 30 arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction X. The configuration in which the relative position control is executed as many times as the number of article groups is described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the relative position control may be executed in the same number of times as the number of article groups using the plate-like bodies 30 arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction X in order. Further, the article moving device 5 may include a smaller number (for example, one) of plate-like bodies 30 than the article group, and the relative position control may be performed a plurality of times using the same plate-like body 30. . In this way, when the relative position control is executed a plurality of times using the same plate-like body 30, unlike the above embodiment, the position of the delivery end 10a in the transport direction X is fixed. You can also

(8) In the above embodiment, a plurality of article groups in which a plurality of articles 70 sent from the delivery end 10 a as the articles 70 moved by the article transport apparatus 10 to the internal space 3 of the single container 2 are arranged in the transport direction X. The configuration in which the relative position control is executed a plurality of times for one container 2 has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which one relative position control is executed for one container 2.

(9) In the above embodiment, the length L of the article 70 in the conveyance direction X is derived based on the conveyance distance of the article conveyance device 10 while the presence of the article 70 is detected by the article detection sensor 90. The configuration has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when information on the conveyance speed of the article conveyance device 10 can be acquired, the length of a period during which the presence of the article 70 is detected by the article detection sensor 90 and the conveyance speed of the article conveyance apparatus 10 in that period are calculated. Based on the product, the length L in the conveyance direction X of the article 70 may be derived.

(10) In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the length L of the article 70 in the transport direction X is derived based on the detection result of the article detection sensor 90 has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the length L in the conveyance direction X of the article 70 can be derived by image recognition processing using an image obtained by photographing the article 70. In addition, when the length L in the transport direction X of each article 70 can be acquired from the storage unit or the like instead of detecting the length L in the transport direction X of the article 70, the movement amount ΔX based on the data. It can also be set as the structure which sets.

(11) In the above embodiment, for the third article transport device 13 having the delivery end 10a at the downstream end in the transport direction X, the transport belt and a plurality of pulleys and rollers on which the transport belt is looped are provided. The configuration that can move integrally in the transport direction X has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the article transport apparatus 10 (the third article transport apparatus 13 in the above embodiment) having the delivery end 10a at the downstream end in the transport direction X is configured to be able to extend and contract in the transport direction X. The position in the transport direction X of the sending end 10a can be controlled by controlling the position in the transport direction X of the downstream end of the transport direction X in FIG. As a configuration in which such a conveyance surface can be expanded and contracted, for example, among the plurality of pulleys around which the conveyance belt is looped, a pulley disposed at the upstream end in the conveyance direction X is fixed, and the plurality Among these pulleys, the pulley disposed at the end on the downstream side in the transport direction X can be configured to be movable in the transport direction X.

(12) Regarding other configurations as well, the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. In other words, configurations that are not described in the claims of the present application can be modified as appropriate without departing from the object of the present invention.

1: Article moving equipment 2: Container 3: Internal space 4: Bottom surface 5: Article moving device 10: Article conveying device 10a: Sending end 22: Second container conveying device (position control device)
30: Plate 30a: Upstream end 30b: Downstream end 50: Rotating member 60: Drive device 70: Article 71: First article group 72: Second article group H: Height L, L1 to L4: Length X: Transport direction ΔX: Travel distance

Claims (7)

An article conveying device that conveys an article in the conveying direction, and an article that is sent from a sending end that is a downstream end of the article conveying device in the conveying direction is disposed below the article conveying device and is An article moving device provided with an article moving device that moves to the internal space of the container that opens to
The article moving device includes a plate-like body that slides the article sent from the sending end into the internal space, a position control device that controls a relative position of the plate-like body and the container in the transport direction, With
The position control device is configured such that when the article transport device delivers a plurality of articles from the delivery end, the plate-like body disposed above the bottom surface of the container is continuously with respect to the container or Relative position control for intermittently moving relative to the upstream side in the transport direction is executed.
During the execution of the relative position control, an upstream end that is an upstream end portion in the transport direction of the plate-like body is higher than a downstream end that is a downstream end portion of the plate-like body in the transport direction. And the downstream end is in a state where the distance between the downstream end and the bottom surface of the container is less than the height of the article, the downstream end from a portion downstream of the central portion in the transport direction in the internal space, An article moving facility including a moving period which is a period in which the container is moved relative to the container continuously or intermittently upstream in the conveying direction.   The article moving facility according to claim 1, wherein the plate-like body is configured such that a portion including the downstream end is more easily bent than a portion including the upstream end. A plurality of articles that are sent out from the sending end as articles that are moved to the internal space of the single container by the article conveying device are divided into a plurality of article groups arranged in the conveying direction,
The position control device executes the relative position control as many times as the number of the article groups corresponding to each of the plurality of article groups,
In the second and subsequent execution periods of the relative position control, instead of the movement period, the upstream end is positioned above the downstream end, and the separation distance between the downstream end and the article in the internal space Is lower than the height of the article, and the downstream end is continuously or intermittently upstream from the central portion in the transport direction in the internal space with respect to the container. The article moving facility according to claim 1, wherein a period of relative movement to the side is included. The article moving device includes the same number of plate-like bodies as the article group at different positions in the transport direction,
The article conveying device is configured to be able to change the position of the delivery end in the conveying direction to a position corresponding to each of the plurality of plate-like bodies,
The said position control apparatus performs the said relative position control of the same number of times as the number of the said articles | goods group, using in order from the said plate-shaped body arrange | positioned in the upstream or downstream of the said conveyance direction. Goods moving equipment. In each of the relative position controls, the position control device moves the plate-like body in the transport direction with respect to the container by an amount of movement corresponding to the length in the transport direction of an article sent from the delivery end. Performing a movement operation for relative movement to the upstream side in the same order as the delivery order of the articles from the delivery end;
Further, in the relative position control after the second time, the position control device sets the ratio of the amount of movement of the article first sent out from the sending end to the length of the article in the transport direction for the first time. 5. The article moving facility according to claim 3, wherein the article moving facility is set smaller than the relative position control. The article moving device is rotatable around a rotation axis along a horizontal direction orthogonal to the conveying direction and the upstream end of the plate-like body is fixed, and the rotation member is connected to the rotation axis. A drive device that rotates around,
The portion including the downstream end of the plate-like body is configured to bend by the weight of the article,
The said drive device performs rotation control which rotates the said rotation member only a predetermined angle, after all the articles | goods contained in the goods group used as the object of the said relative position control are sent from the said sending end. The article moving facility according to any one of 1 to 5.   The article conveying apparatus is configured to be able to move the delivery end in the carrying direction, and after all articles included in the article group to be controlled by the relative position are delivered from the delivery end, the delivery is performed. 7. The sending end movement control is executed to move the end to the downstream side in the transport direction to a position set downstream from the upstream end in the transport direction in the internal space. The article moving facility according to one item.

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