JP2016016963A - Article conveyance device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article conveyance device capable of connecting a predetermined plate and an article taking-in-and-out part without using drive means with large torque.SOLUTION: An article conveyance device 1 conveys articles between plural plates 5, 5 disposed in a vertical direction with predetermined intervals and an article taking-in-and-out part 6 disposed in a separated state from the plates 5, 5 in a longitudinal direction. A conveyor for connecting the respective plates 5, 5 and the article taking-in-and-out part 6 is divided into plural sections, and the divided conveyors 9, 10 rotate vertically, respectively, for forming predetermined article conveyance paths α, β, γ.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an article transporting apparatus that loads and unloads articles from a position apart from a predetermined shelf of a plurality of shelves arranged at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction.

  In recent years, large storage facilities having a plurality of shelves arranged in a warehouse or the like are designed to carry out goods in and out from a predetermined position by using an article transport device with respect to a predetermined shelf to improve efficiency. Is becoming more common. For example, an article conveying device as in Patent Document 1 is known. This article transport device is equipped with a buffer conveyor (shelf stage) arranged on the side of each shelf part of the storage facility, and a carry-in / out place in which workers are placed in and out of the buffer conveyor in the longitudinal direction. A conveyor (article loading / unloading section) and a tilt conveyor that is pivotally supported at the end of the loading / unloading conveyor at the buffer conveyor side are provided. In this article conveying apparatus, the carry-in / out conveyor and the predetermined buffer conveyor are connected by tilting the tilt conveyor and bringing the free end of the tilt conveyor close to the end of the predetermined buffer conveyor. Thus, articles can be carried in / out from a carry-in / out conveyor with respect to a predetermined buffer conveyor.

Japanese Patent No. 2929426 (page 5, FIG. 13)

  However, in Patent Document 1, a tilt conveyor having a length substantially the same as the separation width of the buffer conveyor and the carry-in / out conveyor is prepared, and the free end of the tilt conveyor is tilted to the end of the predetermined buffer conveyor. Therefore, it is necessary to use a driving means having a large torque.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a problem, and provides an article conveying apparatus capable of connecting a predetermined shelf and an article loading / unloading section without using a large torque driving means. Objective.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an article conveying device of the present invention is
An article conveying apparatus that conveys an article between a plurality of shelves arranged at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction and an article loading / unloading part arranged apart from the shelves in a longitudinal direction,
A conveyor that connects each of the shelves and the article loading / unloading section is divided into a plurality of parts, and each of the divided conveyors is rotated up and down to form a predetermined article conveyance path.
According to this feature, the conveyor for connecting each shelf and the article loading / unloading section is divided into a plurality of parts, and the arm length of each conveyor is shortened to form an article conveyance path. Torque required for rotational driving of the conveyors necessary for connecting the conveyors can be reduced.

Each of the divided conveyors is configured to form the article conveyance path by being driven to rotate synchronously.
According to this feature, since the divided conveyors are driven to rotate in synchronization, the time for forming a predetermined article conveyance path can be shortened.

The conveyor includes a plurality of first article transfer conveyors pivotally supported at the ends of the respective shelves and a second pivotally supported by the ends of the article loading / unloading portions. An article transfer conveyor, wherein the first article transfer conveyor and the second article transfer conveyor are linked by driving a link mechanism.
According to this feature, since the first article transfer conveyor and the second article transfer conveyor can be driven in conjunction with each other by driving the link mechanism, the first article transfer conveyor and the second article transfer conveyor are driven. There is no need to control the loading conveyor by separate driving means.

The link mechanism includes a rotating arm, one link member installed on one side of the arm and the plurality of first article transfer conveyors, the other side of the arm, and the second article transfer. And the other link member installed on the loading conveyor.
According to this feature, the first arm is raised (or lowered) and the other arm is lowered (or raised), whereby the plurality of first article transfer conveyors are raised (or moved by one link member). The second article transfer conveyor is lowered (or raised) by the other link member. Therefore, the load on the opposite side of the article transfer conveyor is raised using the load on the lower side of the article transfer conveyor, and the load applied to driving the link mechanism can be reduced.

The weight balance applied to both sides of the rotation fulcrum of the arm is substantially equal.
According to this feature, since the weight balance applied to both sides of the rotation fulcrum of the arm is substantially equal, the load applied to drive the link mechanism is made equal and the first article transfer conveyor and the second article transfer are made. The conveyor can be pivoted up and down with good balance.

It is a side view which shows a rotary rack and a warehousing apparatus. It is a top view which shows a rotary rack, a warehousing apparatus, and a warehousing apparatus. It is a side view which shows an article conveyance apparatus. It is an upper surface sectional view showing an article conveyance device similarly. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state in which the article conveyance path (alpha) was formed. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which formed article conveyance path (beta). It is a schematic diagram which shows the state in which the article conveyance path (gamma) was formed.

  EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The form for implementing the goods conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention is demonstrated below based on an Example.

  The article conveying apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Hereinafter, the right side of the screen in FIG. 1 will be described as the front side (front side) of the article transport apparatus, and the left and right sides viewed from the front side of the article transport apparatus will be described as the left and right sides.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a large warehouse or the like has a multistage rotary rack 2 in which a plurality of tray rows 2a each having a plurality of trays 2b, 2b,... The goods are stored in and out of the rotary rack 2 by using the storage device 3 and the storage device 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotary rack 2 includes tray rows 2a, 2a by sprockets 2c, 2c spaced apart by a predetermined distance, an endless chain 2d provided across the sprockets 2c, 2c, and a motor (not shown). , ... are designed to forward in the horizontal direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the warehousing device 3 includes a plurality of shelves 5, 5,... And adjacent shelves 5, 5,. It is mainly comprised from the carrying-in lines 6 and 6 arrange | positioned spaced apart in the front direction, and the articles | goods conveying apparatus 1 which conveys articles | goods between shelf level 5,5 ... and the carrying-in lines 6 and 6. . In the carry-in line 6, an operator carries in articles to the warehousing device 3. The unloading device 4 is mainly composed of a plurality of shelves 5, 5,..., Unloading lines 6 ′ and 6 ′, and the article conveying device 1. In the carry-out line 6 ′, an operator carries in articles to the unloading device 4. The carry-in line 6 and the carry-out line 6 ′ function as an article loading / unloading unit that loads and unloads articles with respect to the loading device 3 and the loading device 4. Moreover, goods may be loaded / unloaded with respect to the rotary rack 2 by one loading / unloading apparatus provided with the goods loading / unloading part which can perform both carrying in and carrying out. Since the warehousing device 3 and the warehousing device 4 have substantially the same configuration, only the warehousing device 3 will be described below and the description of the warehousing device 4 will be omitted.

  Each shelf 5 and carry-in line 6 of the present embodiment is a belt conveyor that can convey articles from the front to the rear by a driving roller, a driven roller, and an endless belt (not shown). Each shelf 5 and the carry-in line 6 are not limited to a belt conveyor, but may be a roller conveyor or the like that can convey articles when each roller is driven.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the articles placed on the respective shelves 5, 5,... Are directed toward the trays 2b, 2b,. A push-in pusher 7, 7,... Is provided (only one stage is shown). In addition, the rotary rack 2 is provided with unloading pushers 8, 8,... That push out articles stored in the tray rows 2a, 2a,. (Only one stage is shown).

  The article transport apparatus 1 forms predetermined article transport paths α, β, γ that connect predetermined shelves 5 and a carry-in line 6 described later (see FIGS. 5 to 7). As shown in FIG. 3, the article transport apparatus 1 includes a plurality of first article transfer conveyors 9, 9,... Provided in the vicinity of the front end portions of the respective shelves 5, 5,. , 6, and a link mechanism 11 that links the second article transfer conveyors 10, 10 provided near the rear end of each of the first article transfer 6 and the first article transfer conveyors 9 and the second article transfer conveyors 10. , 11 and a frame body 12 that supports each member.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the frame body 12 includes support columns 121, 121 erected on the left and right sides of the front end of each of the shelf steps 5, 5,. Supporting columns 122 and 122 standing on both right and left sides, supporting columns 123 and 123 arranged between the supporting columns 121 and 121 and the supporting columns 122 and 122, and an erection member 124 that connects upper ends of the supporting columns 121, 122, and 123, 124,... Further, an auxiliary column 125 is erected in the vicinity of the front end of the arm 111a in front of the rotating member 111, which will be described later. The auxiliary column 125 includes upper sensors 13, 13, lower sensors 14, 14, and a middle sensor. 15 and 15 are fixed.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the first article transfer conveyors 9, 9,... Have first rotation shafts 16, 16,. The free end portions 9a are pivoted up and down and can be turned up and down. Further, the first article transfer conveyors 9, 9,... Are connected by auxiliary link members 17, 17 for each of the three adjacent first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the second article transfer conveyors 10, 10 are pivoted on the second rotating shafts 18, 18 provided at the base ends over the columns 122, 122. Each free end 10a is supported so as to be able to turn up and down.

  The first article transfer conveyors 9, 9,... And the second article transfer conveyors 10, 10 are belt conveyors capable of conveying articles from the front to the rear by sprockets, endless chains, and endless belts (not shown). It is. Further, the weight of one second article transfer conveyor 10 is set to be substantially the same as the total weight of the three first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9. Each of the first article transfer conveyors 9 and the second article transfer conveyors 10 is not limited to a belt conveyor, and may be a roller conveyor or the like that can convey articles when each roller is driven.

  The link mechanism 11 described above is connected so that the three first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9 connected by the auxiliary link member 17 and the one second article transfer conveyor 10 are interlocked. In the article transporting apparatus 1, two link mechanisms 11, 11 are arranged one above the other. Since the two link mechanisms 11 and 11 have the same configuration, only the configuration of the lower link mechanism 11 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the link mechanism 11 includes upper and lower two-stage rotating members 111, 111 ′,. A drive motor 112 that rotates the drive shaft 19, first link members 113 and 113 (one link member) that connect the upper and lower rotation members 111 and 111 ′ on the shelf 5 side, and an upper and lower rotation member Second link members 114 and 114 (the other link member) for connecting 111 and 111 ′ to each other on the carry-in line 6 side.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotating members 111 and 111 ′ include arms 111 a and 111 b that extend in the front-rear direction. The lower rotating members 111 and 111 are fixed to the drive shaft 19 pivotally attached to the support columns 123 and 123, and the upper rotating members 111 ′ and 111 ′ are fixed to the support columns 123 and 123. It is being fixed to the rotary bodies 20 and 20 pivoted, respectively. The drive shaft 19 is rotationally driven in the forward or reverse direction by the drive motor 112, and the arms 111a and 111b are rotated as the drive shaft 19 is rotated. It has become. As shown in FIG. 3, the length dimension A of the front arm 111a and the length dimension A 'of the rear arm 111b are substantially the same dimension.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first link member 113 is pivotally supported between the distal ends of the arms 111 b and 111 b of the upper and lower rotating members 111 and 111 ′. The left and right first link members 113, 113 are arranged on the left and right sides of the three adjacent first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9, and are located at the center of the first link member 113 in the vertical direction. Is formed with a long hole 113a having a longitudinal length in the front-rear direction. Of the three first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9, the elongated hole 113a is loosely fitted with a protruding portion 9c of the second-stage first article transfer conveyor 9. As a result, the projecting portion 9c can move back and forth along the elongated hole 113a. Therefore, as the first link member 113 moves up and down as will be described later, the three first article transfers are performed. The loading conveyors 9, 9, 9 are rotatable.

  Further, the second link member 114 is pivotally supported between the tip ends of the arms 111a and 111a of the upper and lower rotating members 111 and 111 '. The left and right second link members 114, 114 are arranged on the left and right sides of the second article transfer conveyor 10, and the second article transfer conveyor 10 is inserted into the long hole 114 a of the second link member 114. The protruding portion 10c is loosely fitted. Thereby, since the protrusion part 10c can move back and forth now along the long hole 114a, the 2nd article transfer conveyor 10 is accompanying with the 2nd link member 114 moving up and down so that it may mention later. Is rotatable.

  Moreover, the upper protrusion piece 21 and the lower protrusion piece 22 which protrude ahead are provided at the upper and lower ends of the second link member 114. The upper projecting piece 21 and the lower projecting piece 22, and the upper sensor 13, the lower sensor 14, and the middle sensor 15 are used for controlling the drive motor 112. Specifically, when the article transport path α is formed by the predetermined first article transfer conveyor 9 and the second article transfer conveyor 10, the lower protruding piece 22 is arranged in the middle sensor 15. When the article transport path β is formed, the upper projecting piece 21 is arranged on the upper sensor 13, and when the article transport path γ is formed, the lower projecting piece 22 is the lower sensor. 14 is arranged. When the upper projecting piece 21 and the lower projecting piece 22 are located at the position of the upper sensor 13, the lower sensor 14, or the middle sensor 15, the control unit (not shown) drives the control unit. The motor 112 is controlled to stop.

  As described above, the first link member 113 and the second link member 114 are relatively vertically interlocked by rotating the arms 111a and 111b of the rotating members 111 and 111 ′ by the drive motor 112 as described above. It has become. And as the first link member 113 and the second link member 114 move relative to each other, the three adjacent first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9 and the second article transfer conveyor 10 are connected. Are relatively pivoted up and down (see FIGS. 5 to 7).

  Next, a description will be given of a mode in which the first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9 and the second article transfer conveyor 10 are actually rotated and interlocked to form predetermined article transport paths α, β, γ, respectively. To do. Here, only operations of the first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9 and the second article transfer conveyor 10 arranged in the lower stage of the article transport apparatus 1 will be described.

  In FIG. 5, the lower protruding piece 22 of the second link member 114 is arranged in the middle sensor 15, and an article transport path α is formed by the predetermined first article transfer conveyor 9 and the second article transfer conveyor 10. 2 shows an initial state of the article transport device 1. At this time, the free end portion 9a of the first article transfer conveyor 9 at the second stage and the free end section 10a of the second article transfer conveyor 10 are opposed to each other, and the first article transfer at the second stage. The upper surface 9b of the loading conveyor 9 and the upper surface 10b of the second article transfer conveyor 10 are adjacent to each other in a flat manner. Thereby, it becomes possible to convey an article from the carry-in line 6 to the second shelf 5.

  When the drive shaft 112 is driven to rotate in one direction by the drive motor 112 from the initial state of the article transporting apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. The arm 111b comes down. As a result, the second link member 114 rises and pushes up the second article transfer conveyor 10, and the first link member 113 descends and pushes down the first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, and 9. And if the upper protrusion piece 21 is arrange | positioned at the upper stage sensor 13, the drive motor 112 will be stopped by the said control part. At this time, the free end portion 9a of the first article transfer conveyor 9 at the first stage and the free end section 10a of the second article transfer conveyor 10 face each other, and the first article transfer conveyor at the first stage. 9 is formed so that the upper surface 9b of the sheet 9 and the upper surface 10b of the second article transfer conveyor 10 are adjacent to each other. Thereby, it becomes possible to convey an article from the carry-in line 6 to the first shelf 5.

  When the drive shaft 19 is driven to rotate in the other direction by the drive motor 112 from the initial state of the article transporting apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. The arm 111b rises. As a result, the first link member 113 rises and pushes up the first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9, and the second link member 114 descends and pushes down the second article transfer conveyor 10. And if the lower protrusion piece 22 is arrange | positioned at the lower stage sensor 14, the drive motor 112 will be stopped. At this time, the free end portion 9a of the first article transfer conveyor 9 at the third stage and the free end section 10a of the second article transfer conveyor 10 face each other, and the first article transfer conveyor at the third stage. 9 is formed so that the upper surface 9b of the second article 9 and the upper surface 10b of the second article transfer conveyor 10 are adjacent to each other. As a result, the article can be conveyed from the carry-in line 6 to the third shelf 5.

  As described above, the article transport paths α, β, γ connecting the predetermined shelf 5 and the carry-in line 6 are the first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9 and the second article transfer conveyor 10. Are rotated to form each. In other words, the article transport paths α, β, and γ are the conveyors that connect the shelves 5 and the carry-in line 6, and the first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9 and the second article transfer conveyor 10. Each of the first article transfer conveyors 9 and the second article transfer conveyor 10 is rotated up and down so that the respective article transport paths α, β, and γ are formed. It has become. Therefore, the arm lengths of the divided first article transfer conveyors 9 and second article transfer conveyors 10 are shortened, and the torque required to drive each of them can be reduced.

  Furthermore, when each article conveyance path α, β, γ is formed, the upper surface 9b of the first article transfer conveyor 9 and the upper surface 10b of the second article transfer conveyor 10 are adjacent to each other flatly. Therefore, the predetermined shelf 5 and the carry-in line 6 can be connected with the shortest distance, and the article conveyance efficiency is high.

  Each of the first article transfer conveyors 9 and the second article transfer conveyor 10 is relatively interlocked with each other by driving the link mechanism 11. Therefore, the time required to form the article transport paths α, β, γ can be shortened. Moreover, each 1st article transfer conveyor 9 and the 2nd article transfer conveyor 10 can be driven with one drive motor 112, and cost can be held down.

  Moreover, since the 1st article transfer conveyors 9, 9, and 9 are connected so that it may synchronize by the 1st link member 113 and the auxiliary link member 17, each 1st article transfer conveyor 9 rotates. Sometimes interference can be prevented.

  Further, as described above, when each front arm 111a is raised, each rear arm 111b is lowered, and when each front arm 111a is lowered, each rear arm 111b is raised. Accordingly, the first link member 113 and the second link member 114 are relatively moved up and down. Therefore, the load of the article transfer conveyor on the lower side is raised using the load of the article transfer conveyor on the lower side, and the load applied to driving the link mechanism 11 can be reduced.

  Further, as described above, since the total weight of the three first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9 and the weight of the one second article transfer conveyor 10 are substantially the same, The weight balance applied to the arm 111a and the rear arms 111b is substantially equal. More specifically, since the length dimension A of each front arm 111a and the length dimension A 'of each rear arm 111b are substantially the same dimension, the drive shaft 19 and each rotating body 20 are the center. The moment on the front arm 111a side and the moment on the rear arm 111b side are equalized. Therefore, the load applied to the drive motor 112 of the link mechanism 11 can be made uniform in the front and rear directions, and the first article transfer conveyor 9 and the second article transfer conveyor 10 can be rotationally driven in a balanced manner. The length dimension A of each front arm 111a and the length dimension A ′ of each rear arm 111b may not be the same, but the weight applied to each front arm 111a and each rear arm 111b. Are preferably substantially equal.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and modifications and additions within the scope of the present invention are included in the present invention. It is.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the three first article transfer conveyors 9, 9, 9 and the one second article transfer conveyor 10 are rotationally driven. One article transfer conveyor may be provided, and two or more second article transfer conveyors may be provided, and the first article transfer conveyor and the second article transfer conveyor having different quantities are rotationally driven. If so, the quantity of each article transfer conveyor can be set freely.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although one article conveyance path was divided | segmented by the 1st article transfer conveyor 9 and the 2nd article transfer conveyor 10, it is not restricted to this, For example, an article conveyance path is It may be divided by three or more article transfer conveyors, and each article transfer conveyor may rotate.

  In the above-described embodiment, each article conveyance path α, β, γ is formed to be substantially flat when viewed from the side, but is not limited thereto. For example, the article conveyance path is formed such that the article conveyance path is bent when viewed from the side. Also good.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although each 1st article transfer conveyor 9 and the 2nd article transfer conveyor 10 came to rotate interlockingly by the drive of the link mechanism 11, it is not restricted to this. Instead, the first article transfer conveyor and the second article transfer conveyor may be rotated by separate driving means. Even in the above case, it is preferable to drive the first article transfer conveyor and the second article transfer conveyor in synchronization to shorten the time required for forming the article transport path.

  In the above-described embodiment, the drive shaft 19 is driven by the drive motor 112 so that a driving force is directly applied to the link mechanism 11. For example, the first article transfer conveyor or the second article is provided. A driving force is applied to the link mechanism by rotating one of the transfer conveyors, and the other of the first article transfer conveyor or the second article transfer conveyor is interlocked by driving the link mechanism. It may be.

  Moreover, in the said Example, the link mechanism 11 is the rotation member 111,111, the 1st link member 113, the 2nd link on the both right and left sides of the 1st article transfer conveyor 9 or the 2nd article transfer conveyor 10. FIG. Each member 114 is provided, but various members may be disposed only on either the left or right side.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Goods conveying apparatus 2 Rotary rack 3 Warehousing apparatus 4 Unloading apparatus 5 Shelf level 6 Carry-in line (goods in / out part)
6 'Unloading line (goods entry / exit section)
9 first article transfer conveyor 10 second article transfer conveyor 11 link mechanism 12 frame 16 first rotation shaft 18 second rotation shaft 19 drive shaft 111 rotation member 111a front arm 111b rear arm 112 Drive motor 113 first link member (one link member)
114 Second link member (the other link member)
A Front arm length dimension A 'Rear arm length dimension α, β, γ

Claims (5)

An article conveying apparatus that conveys an article between a plurality of shelves arranged at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction and an article loading / unloading part arranged apart from the shelves in a longitudinal direction,
A conveyor for connecting each of the shelves and the article loading / unloading section is divided into a plurality of parts, and the divided conveyors rotate up and down to form a predetermined article transport path. apparatus.   2. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the divided conveyors is rotationally driven in synchronization to form the article conveying path.   The conveyor includes a plurality of first article transfer conveyors rotatably supported at the ends of the respective shelves, and a second article transfer rotatably supported at the ends of the article loading / unloading portions. The first article transfer conveyor and the second article transfer conveyor are linked with each other by driving of a link mechanism. The article conveying apparatus according to the description.   The link mechanism includes a rotating arm, one link member installed on one side of the arm and the plurality of first article transfer conveyors, the other side of the arm, and the second article transfer. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 3, comprising: the other link member installed on the loading conveyor.   The article conveying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the weight balance applied to both sides of the rotation fulcrum of the arm is substantially equal.

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