JP2019059604A - Bucket exchange method and bucket exchange apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a bucket exchange method and a bucket exchange apparatus capable of improving work efficiency and reducing an installation space.SOLUTION: The bucket exchange method comprises: a bucket supply step of supplying buckets in a stacked state; a first bucket operation step of performing a predetermined operation on the uppermost bucket in the stacked state; a second bucket operation step of repeatedly performing uppermost bucket separation processing for separating the uppermost bucket from the bucket at the lower stage, raising it to an upper standby position and holding it until the predetermined operation is performed on all the buckets, and bucket operation processing for performing a predetermined operation on the newly uppermost bucket; a stacking step of lowering buckets held in the standby position and stacking them on the remaining buckets when articles are removed from all the buckets; and a bucket discharge step of discharging the buckets stacked by the stacking step in a stacked state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a bucket exchange method and a bucket exchange apparatus.

Conventionally, an upper roller inclined so as to decrease in height toward the working position, a lower roller located below the upper roller and inclined in the opposite direction to the upper roller, an upper roller and a lower roller in the working position There has been proposed a bucket changer provided with a movable roller moving up and down between the two (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In addition, buckets containing articles are stacked and set on the loading side, articles are taken out from the buckets on the top stage to perform work, and buckets that are emptied are transferred to the unloading side to be stacked A switching device has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-101525 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-312334

In the bucket changer described in Patent Document 1 above, every time work on one bucket is completed, the movable roller is lowered to the height of the lower roller to eject the bucket, and the movable roller is raised to the height of the upper roller It is necessary to load the bucket from the upper roller to the movable roller. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the frequency of exchanging buckets is high and the working efficiency is low.
Moreover, in the bucket exchange apparatus described in the said patent document 2, in order to arrange the bucket stacking part on the input side and the bucket stacking part on the discharge side side by side, there is a disadvantage that the installation space of the bucket replacement part becomes large. .
The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a bucket exchange method and a bucket exchange apparatus capable of increasing the working efficiency and reducing the installation space.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional subject, the 1st mode of the bucket exchange method of the present invention is the bucket supply process of supplying a plurality of buckets to a predetermined position in a stacking state, and the stage supplied to the predetermined position The first bucket work step of performing predetermined work on the uppermost bucket of the stacked buckets, and the predetermined position until the predetermined work is performed on all the buckets supplied to the predetermined position The top bucket separation process which separates the top bucket from the bottom bucket and raises it to a standby position above the predetermined position and holds the new bucket at the predetermined position by the top bucket separation process The second bucket operation step of repeatedly executing the bucket operation processing for performing the predetermined operation on the bucket at the uppermost stage, and all the components supplied to the predetermined position Stacking the bucket held at the standby position to the predetermined position when the predetermined work is performed on the bucket, and stacking the buckets remaining on the predetermined position; And the bucket discharging step of discharging the buckets stacked by the stacking step in a stacked state. Here, the bucket is used to store articles (parts, finished products, etc.), and means a stackable container.

  Further, according to a second aspect of the bucket replacement method of the present invention, a bucket supply step of supplying a plurality of buckets to a predetermined position in a stacked state, and a stacked bucket which is supplied to the predetermined position, A first bucket work step of separating the bucket above the lowermost stage from the bucket of the lowermost stage and raising it to a standby position above the predetermined position, and performing predetermined work on the lowermost bucket; The lowermost bucket of the buckets held in the standby position is placed in the predetermined position until the predetermined work is performed on all the buckets supplied to the predetermined position. The lowermost bucket stacking process to be stacked on the upper stage and the lowermost bucket stacking process, the bucket preparation process is performed to perform the predetermined work on the bucket newly formed at the predetermined position. The second bucket operation step of repeatedly performing the processing and the buckets stacked at the predetermined position when the predetermined operation is performed on all the buckets supplied to the predetermined position And discharging the stack buckets in a state.

  Further, in the above configuration, the bucket may be supplied to the predetermined position by the bucket supplying step in a state where an article is accommodated, and the predetermined operation may be an operation for taking out the article from the bucket.

  In the above configuration, the bucket may be supplied to the predetermined position by the bucket supplying step in an empty state, and the predetermined operation may be an operation for storing an article in the bucket.

  Next, according to the bucket exchange apparatus of the present invention, the bucket supply unit for supplying the plurality of buckets to the first predetermined position in the stacked state and the buckets in the stacked state supplied to the first predetermined position A bucket separating unit that separates the buckets above the stage and raises the bucket to a standby position above the first predetermined position, and lowers the bucket held in the standby position to lower the first predetermined position. It is characterized by comprising a bucket stacking unit for stacking on the buckets remaining in the position, and a bucket discharge unit for discharging the buckets stacked by the bucket stacking unit in a stacked state.

  Further, in the above configuration, the first operation unit operated by the foot of the operator and the second operation unit operated by the hand of the operator are provided, and the bucket supply unit and the bucket discharge unit are the first The bucket separation unit and the stacking unit operate in response to the operation of one of the first operation unit and the second operation unit. It may be configured to operate.

  In the above configuration, the bucket supply unit further includes a table elevating unit configured to raise and lower the elevating table on which the bucket is placed between the first predetermined position and a second predetermined position below the first predetermined position, A bucket loading unit inclined from a position higher than the first predetermined position toward the first predetermined position, and stacking the buckets from the bucket loading unit by the table lifting unit; The bucket discharging unit has a bucket unloading unit inclined from the second predetermined position to a position lower than the second predetermined position. The stacked buckets placed on the elevating table at the second predetermined position may be discharged to the bucket unloading unit.

  Further, in the above configuration, the bucket separating unit and the bucket stacking unit are configured to hold a bucket one stage higher than the predetermined stage with respect to the buckets stacked at the first predetermined position; The rear end of the grip portion is rotatable so that the front end of the grip portion is located above the rear end and the grip portion is inclined to the stacked bucket side from the vertical direction A support portion for supporting the support portion, a support portion elevation portion for raising and lowering the support portion, and a tip end of the grip portion in contact with the lower surface of the grip portion when the height of the support portion is less than a predetermined height Is displaced away from the bucket, and when the height of the support portion is higher than the predetermined height, the tip of the grip portion abuts against the bucket and the predetermined step away from the lower surface of the grip portion. Grab a bucket one step higher than your eyes And the bucket separating unit is raised above the predetermined stage by raising the supporting unit to a position higher than the predetermined height by the supporting unit elevating unit. The bucket is separated, raised to a standby position above the first predetermined position, and held, and the bucket stacking unit lowers the support to a position lower than the predetermined height by the support elevating unit. The bucket held at the standby position may be stacked on the bucket placed at the first predetermined position.

According to the bucket exchange method and bucket exchange apparatus of the present invention, bucket exchange (supply and discharge of bucket) at a work location (predetermined position) where work (extraction or storage of articles) is performed on the bucket It is done as a stacked state. Then, at the work site, there is no need to replace the bucket each time the work for one bucket is finished, and by separating the topmost buckets for which the work is finished in order and holding them in the upper standby position, the next bucket Work can be continued. Alternatively, work can be continued on the next bucket by stacking the lowermost bucket held in the standby position above the completed work bucket.
Therefore, it is possible to reduce the frequency of bucket replacement and improve work efficiency. Further, since the separated buckets are made to stand by above the work area, it is not necessary to prepare a space for placing the buckets on the left and right of the work area. Therefore, the installation space of the bucket changer can be reduced.

The block diagram of a bucket exchange device. The flowchart which showed the work process of the bucket exchange device. Explanatory drawing of a stacking bucket discharge process. Explanatory drawing of a stacking bucket supply process, a top bucket separation process, and a stacking process. Explanatory drawing of a structure and operation | movement of a isolation | separation mechanism.

  With reference to FIGS. 1-5, an example of embodiment of the bucket exchange method of this invention and a bucket exchange apparatus is demonstrated.

[1. Configuration of bucket changer]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the bucket changer. With reference to FIG. 1, the bucket changer 1 of the present embodiment is used, for example, in a production line of a vehicle, carrying in a bucket containing parts of the vehicle, taking out the parts from the bucket, and taking out the parts. Used for unloading empty buckets.

  The bucket changer 1 performs stock removal of the buckets in which the parts are stored and the empty buckets in which the parts are removed in a stacked state, and unstacked buckets to separate the parts from each bucket. It comprises a disassembly unit 10 which enables removal. In the present embodiment, the buckets are stored in the stock unit 50 in a state in which the buckets are stacked in two layers, and the buckets in the two-stack state are supplied from the stock unit 50 to the disassembly unit 10. In addition, empty buckets in a two-tiered state are discharged from the disassembling unit 10 to the stock unit 50.

  The caster 2 is attached to the bucket changer 1, and the worker P places the bucket containing the part in the parts warehouse etc. on the stock unit 50, and moves the bucket changer 1 to the production line it can. In addition, when the worker P takes out the parts from all the buckets, the bucket changer 1 on which the empty bucket is placed can be moved back to the parts warehouse or the like.

  The stock unit 50 is disposed below the bucket loading unit 60 and the bucket loading unit 60, the bucket loading unit 60 having a slope gradually decreasing in height toward the tiering unit 10, and the height gradually increases toward the tiering unit 10 And an inclined bucket delivery unit 70.

  A roller 62 pivotally supported by the frame 61 so as to be rotatable in the transport direction is provided on the upper surface (conveyance surface) of the bucket carry-in unit 60, and a cutout stopper 63 is provided in front of the connection portion with the step separation unit 10. ing. The cutout stopper 63 has a front stopper 64 and a rear stopper 65, and is switched between the state shown in FIG. 1 (the cutout state) and the state of FIG. 3B (standby state) described later.

  In the cutout state, the front stopper 64 is lower than the roller 62, and the rear stopper 65 is higher than the roller 62. Therefore, the bucket placed at the top of the bucket carry-in unit 60 is moved in the direction of the arrow D1 in FIG. Further, the movement of the second and subsequent buckets is blocked by the rear stopper 65.

  Further, in the standby state, the front stopper 64 is higher than the roller 62, and the rear stopper 65 is lower than the roller 62. Therefore, as shown in B of FIG. 3, the movement of the foremost buckets 91a and 91b is blocked by the front stopper 64, and the buckets 91a and 91b are stopped at the tip of the bucket carry-in unit 60. Further, the second and subsequent buckets 92a and 92b and the buckets 93a and 93b are also stopped by the movement of the leading buckets 91a and 91b and stopped.

  Similar to the bucket loading unit 60, the upper surface (transporting surface) of the bucket unloading unit 70 is also provided with a roller 72 pivotally supported by the frame 71 so as to be rotatable in the transporting direction. The bucket discharged from the disassembling unit 10 to the bucket unloading unit 70 moves in the direction of the arrow D2 in FIG. 1 due to the inclination of the bucket unloading unit 70. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the two-tiered buckets 94a and 94b are discharged.

  The disassembling unit 10 includes a separating mechanism 20 and an unloading mechanism 30. The separation mechanism 20 includes a gripping portion 21 gripping the flange portion of the upper bucket 90a of the buckets 90a and 90b supplied in a two-tiered state, an arm 22 connected to the gripping portion 21, and an arm elevating portion 23 lifting and lowering the arm 22. When the arm 22 ascends to the upper end, it is in a locked state, and includes a stepped stopper 24 that holds the arm 22 at the upper end position. The separating mechanism 20 includes the functions of the bucket separating unit and the bucket stacking unit of the present invention.

  The upper bucket 90a is held by the grip portion 21 and the arm lifting and lowering unit 23 raises the arm 22 to the upper end position, and the step stopper 24 is locked to hold the upper bucket 90a at the standby position above the lower bucket 90b. Can be held in This enables removal of the component from the lower bucket 90b. When the lock of the disengaging stopper 24 is released, the arm 22 is lowered and the upper bucket 90a is stacked again on the lower bucket 90b.

  The unloading mechanism 30 is locked when the lifting table 31 on which the buckets 90a and 90b are placed, the table lifting unit 33 for lifting the lifting table 31, and the lifting table 31 ascends to the upper end. A lift stopper 35 is provided to hold in position.

  Similar to the bucket loading unit 60 and the bucket unloading unit 70 described above, the upper surface (transport surface) of the lifting table 31 is provided with a roller 32 rotatably supported in the transport direction. The table lifting unit 33 is provided with a weight 34 for lifting the lifting table 31. When the bucket is not placed on the lifting table 31 and the operation of the lifting stopper 35 is not restricted, the weight 34 lifts the lifting table 31 to the upper end (first predetermined position).

  A protruding portion 36 is provided in the vicinity of the lower end of the lifting range of the lifting table 31. When the lock of the lift stopper 35 is released in a state where the bucket is placed on the lift stopper 35, the lift table 31 is lowered to the lower end (the second predetermined position) against the weight 34 by the weight of the bucket. Then, the front portion of the lifting table 31 abuts on the protruding portion 36, and the bucket delivery unit 70 side of the lifting table 31 is lowered, and the lifting table 31 is inclined (state of B in FIG. 3). Due to this inclination, the bucket placed on the lifting and lowering table 31 is unloaded to the bucket unloading unit 70.

  In addition, the bucket supply part of this invention is comprised by the bucket carrying-in part 60 and the raising / lowering table 31, and the bucket discharge part of this invention is comprised by the bucket unloading part 70 and the raising / lowering table 31.

  The bucket changer 1 includes a pedal 11 operated by the user's foot (corresponding to a first operation unit of the present invention) and a lever 13 operated by the user's hand (a second operation unit of the present invention). Corresponding)) are provided. The pedal 11 is for supplying a bucket from the bucket carry-in unit 60 to the stage separating unit 10 and discharging a bucket from the stage separating unit 10 to the bucket outlet unit 70.

  The wire 12 is connected to the pedal 11, and when the operator P steps on the pedal 11, the wire 12 is pulled. Then, the tension applied to the wire 12 acts on the cutout stopper 63 and the raising and lowering stopper 35 via a relay mechanism (not shown). Thus, the cutting stopper 63 is in a standby state. Further, the lifting stopper 35 is bent to be restricted in a state in which the locked state is released, and the lifting table 31 is lowered to the lower end.

  In addition, when the worker P releases the foot from the pedal 11, the tension applied to the wire 12 disappears, and the cutout stopper 63 is in the cutout state. Further, when the restriction of the lift stopper 35 is released and the bucket is not placed on the lift table 31, the lift 34 lifts the lift table 31 to the upper end by the weight 34.

  The lever 13 is provided with a first handle 14 for pulling operation and a second handle 16 for lowering operation. The lever 13 is for performing separation of the upper bucket by the separation mechanism 20 and restacking of the separated upper packet on the lower bucket.

  When the operator P pulls the first handle 14 in a state where the lifting table 31 is locked at the upper end position and the two-tiered bucket is placed, the wire 15 connected to the first handle 14 is pulled and Become. Then, the tension applied to the wire 15 acts on the arm lifting and lowering unit 23 through the relay mechanism (not shown), and in the state of FIG. 1, the arm lifting and lowering unit 23 is an arm gripping the flange of the upper bucket 90 a by the grip 21 Raise 22 to the top. Thereby, the upper bucket 90a is separated from the lower bucket 90b and ascends to the standby position. When the arm 22 ascends to the upper end, the stepped stopper 24 becomes linear and is in a locked state, and the upper bucket 90a is held at the standby position.

  With the upper bucket 90a held at the standby position, when the operator P lowers the second handle 16, the wire 17 connected to the second handle 16 is pulled. Then, the tension applied to the wire 17 acts on the stepped stopper 24 via a relay mechanism (not shown) to bend the stepped stopper 24. As a result, the lock of the disengaging stopper 24 is released, the arm 22 descends, and the upper bucket 90a is stacked again on the lower bucket 90b.

  In this way, occurrence of a work defect due to an operation error can be achieved by clearly separating the bucket supply and discharge operations and the bucket separation and restacking operations by completely different operation methods such as hands and feet. It can be prevented. In addition, it is good also as a structure which performs supply and discharge of a bucket by operation of the lever 13, and performs isolation | separation and restacking of a bucket by operation of the pedal 11 contrary to the said embodiment.

[2. Work procedure by bucket changer]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, according to the flow chart shown in FIG. 2, supply and discharge of buckets in a two-tiered state will be described, and an execution procedure of a series of operations for removing parts from the bucket will be described. Here, as shown to A of FIG. 3, the case where an operation | work is started is demonstrated to an example, from the state which took out of the components from two-tiered bucket 90a, 90b mounted in the raising / lowering table 31 was completed.

  In step S1 of FIG. 2, the operator P depresses the pedal 11 (pedal depressing operation). Thereby, the processes of the following steps S2 and S3 are executed in parallel. In step S2, from the cut-out state shown in A of FIG. 3 (the state in which the front stopper 64 is lowered and the rear stopper 65 is raised), the cutting stopper 63 is in the standby state (front stopper 64) shown in B of FIG. Ascends, the rear stopper 65 is lowered).

  Since the rear stopper 65 is lowered, as shown in B of FIG. 3, the two-tiered buckets 91 a, 91 b, 92 a, 92 b, and 93 a, 93 b lead the two-tiered buckets 91 a, 91 b as the front stopper 64. Move until it abuts.

  Further, in step S3, the lift stopper 35 is bent to release the lock, and as shown in FIG. 3B, the lift table 31 on which the two-stage loading buckets 90a and 90b are placed is lowered. Then, the lifting table 31 abuts on the projecting portion 36 and inclines, whereby the two-stage loading buckets 90 a and 90 b placed on the lifting table 31 are discharged to the bucket unloading portion 70. The step of discharging the two-tiered buckets in step S3 corresponds to the bucket discharging step in the bucket replacement method of the present invention.

  In the subsequent step S4, the operator P releases the foot from the pedal 11 (pedal release operation). Thereby, the processes of the following steps S5 and S6 are executed in parallel. In step S6, the restriction (holding in the bent state) of the lift stopper 35 is released, and the lift table 31 is lifted by the weight 34 to the upper end. As shown in C of FIG. 4, when the lifting table 31 ascends to the upper end, the lifting stopper 35 becomes linear and is locked, and the lifting table 31 is held at the upper end position.

  In step S5, as shown in C of FIG. 4, the cutout stopper 63 is cut out from the standby state (the state in which the front stopper 64 is raised and the rear stopper 65 is lowered), and the front stopper 64 is lowered. State is raised). As a result, the top two-stage stacking buckets 91 a and 91 b are supplied from the bucket loading unit 60 to the elevating table 31.

  Here, after the lifting table 31 is moved up to the upper end in step S6, the operation timing of the cutout stopper 63 is performed so that loading of the two-stage stacking buckets from the bucket loading unit 60 to the lifting table 31 is performed in step S5. Has been adjusted. In addition, the process of supplying the bucket of a 2-stage stacking state by step S2, S5, S6 is equivalent to the bucket supply process in the bucket exchange method of this invention.

  In the state of C in FIG. 4, it is possible to take out the components from the upper bucket 91 a placed on the lift table 31. Therefore, in the subsequent step S7, the worker P takes out a part from the upper bucket 90a and performs an operation of attaching it to the vehicle. The step of removing the part from the upper bucket 91a in step S7 corresponds to the first bucket work step in the bucket replacement method of the present invention, and corresponds to the predetermined work of the present invention.

  When the upper bucket 90a becomes empty, the worker P pulls the first handle 14 of the lever 13 (lever pull operation) in the following step S8. By pulling the first handle 14, in the subsequent step S9, as shown in D of FIG. 4, the arm 22 holding the flange of the upper bucket 91a by the holding unit 21 is raised to the upper end by the arm lifting unit 23. . When the arm 22 ascends to the upper end, the step separating stopper 24 is in a linear shape and is in a locked state, and the upper bucket 91a is held at the standby position above the lower bucket 91b (upper bucket separating process).

  In the state of D in FIG. 4, it is possible to take out components from the lower bucket 91 b placed on the lifting table 31. Therefore, in the subsequent step S10, the worker P takes out the part from the lower bucket 91b (article taking out process) and performs an operation of attaching it to the vehicle. In addition, the process of taking out components from the lower stage bucket 91b by step S10 is corresponded to the 2nd bucket operation process in the bucket exchange method of this invention.

  When the lower bucket 91 b becomes empty, the worker P lowers the second handle 16 of the lever 13 (lowering operation of the lever) in the following step S11. By lowering the second handle 16, in the subsequent step S12, the step separation stopper 24 is bent and the lock is released, and the arm 22 is lowered to stack the upper bucket 91a on the lower bucket 91b. As a result, the state of FIG. 4C is returned to, and the upper bucket 91 a and the lower bucket 91 b are both emptied and stacked.

  In this state, the worker P executes the work from step S1 again. Thus, the empty buckets in the two-tiered state are carried out to the bucket unloading portion 70 by the unloading mechanism 30, and the buckets in the two-tiered state in which the parts are stored are supplied from the bucket loader 60 to the lifting table 31, Installation work can be continued.

[3. Configuration of separation mechanism]
Next, a configuration example of the separation mechanism 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The separating mechanism 20 shown in FIG. 5 performs the unstacking and stacking of the two-tiered buckets 90 a and 90 b placed on the elevating table 31.

  The separation mechanism 20 includes a pair of grips 21a and 21b that grip the collar of the upper bucket 90a. The grip portion 21a has its rear end 111a rotatably supported by an arm 22a (corresponding to the support portion of the present invention). The rotation range of the gripping portion 21a is restricted to the range of D11 in which the tip portion 110a of the gripping portion 21a is above the lower end 111a and the gripping portion 21a is inclined to the buckets 90a and 90b from the vertical direction. There is.

  The arm 22a is movably supported by the linear guide 100a in the vertical direction (direction D11 in the drawing), and is raised and lowered along the linear guide 100a by the arm raising and lowering unit 23 (see FIG. 1). At a predetermined position of the frame of the separation mechanism 20, a grip stopper 120a (corresponding to the stopper of the present invention) is provided.

  The gripping portion stopper 120a is fixed to the frame, and when the height of the arm 22a is equal to or less than a predetermined height by the arm elevating portion 23 (corresponding to the supporting portion elevating portion of the present invention), A in FIG. The lower surface of the gripping portion 21a abuts on the gripping stopper 120a. When the lower surface of the gripping portion 21a abuts on the gripping stopper 120a, the gripping portion 22a is pushed up and displaced upward, whereby the tip 110a of the gripping portion 22a is separated from the buckets 90a and 90b. By separating the tip 110a of the grip 22a from the buckets 90a and 90b, it is possible to prevent the tip 110a of the grip 22a from interfering with the buckets 90a and 90b when the lifting table 31 is lowered by the unloading mechanism 30.

  The configuration of the gripping portion 21b, the arm 22b, the guide 100b, and the gripping portion stopper 120b is the same as that of the gripping portion 21a, the arm 22a, the guide 100a, and the gripping portion stopper 120a. The rear end 111b of the grip 21b is rotatably supported by an arm 22b (corresponding to the support of the present invention). The rotation range of the gripping portion 21b is restricted to the range of D12 in which the tip portion 110b of the gripping portion 21a is above the lower end 111b and the gripping portion 21b is inclined from the vertical direction toward the buckets 90a and 90b. There is.

  The arms 22a and 22b maintain the same height and move up and down in conjunction with the linear guides 100a and 100b. Therefore, when the height of the arm 22a is equal to or less than the predetermined height, the height of the arm 22b is also equal to or less than the predetermined height, and the lower surface of the grip 21b abuts on the grip stopper 120b. Then, both the tip 110a of the grip 21a and the tip 11b of the grip 21b are separated from the buckets 90a and 90b.

  When the arms 22a and 22b are raised by the arm elevating unit 23 from the state of A in FIG. 5, as shown in B of FIG. 5, the lower surface of the gripping portion 21a separates from the gripping portion stopper 120a and the gripping portion 21b The lower surface of the holder separates from the grip stopper 120b. Since the grips 21a and 21b are inclined toward the buckets 90a and 90b, the tips 110a and 110b abut the upper bucket 90a while being inclined toward the buckets 90a and 0b (in the direction of D13 and D14) by their own weight.

  When the arms 22a and 22b are further raised by the arm lifter 23 from the state of B in FIG. 5, the tips 110a and 110b of the grips 21a and 21b abut against the flanges of the upper bucket 90a and lift the upper bucket 110a. . Then, as shown in FIG. 5C, the upper bucket 90a is separated from the lower bucket 90b.

  Further, when the arms 22a and 22b are lowered by the arm elevating unit 23 from the state of C in FIG. 5, the state returns to the state of A in FIG. 5 and the tip portions 110a and 110b of the gripping portions 21a and 21b are the upper bucket 90a. The upper bucket 90a is stacked on the lower bucket 90b. In addition, by adjusting the height of the grip portion stopper 120a, it is possible to set to hold the bucket of a predetermined stage among the stacked buckets.

  As described above, according to the configuration of the separation mechanism 20 shown in FIG. 5, the process of gripping and separating the upper bucket 90a in conjunction with the elevation of the arms 22a and 22b by the arm elevation unit 21 and the upper bucket A process of releasing the grip of 90a and stacking can be performed.

[4. Other embodiments]
In the above embodiment, although the case where the work of taking out parts from the bucket is performed has been described, the work of storing an article in an empty bucket can also be performed in the same procedure. In this case, in the flowchart of FIG. 2, the process of step S <b> 7 is “accommodating an article in the upper bucket” (corresponding to the first bucket work step in the bucket replacement method of the present invention). Further, the process of step S10 is "accommodation of articles in lower bucket" (corresponding to a bucket work process, a second bucket work process in the bucket replacement method of the present invention).

  In the above embodiment, a configuration is described in which loading and unloading and stage separation are performed for buckets in a two-stage stacking state to enable removal of parts from each bucket. However, when stacking three or more buckets In the same manner, the present invention can be applied. In this case, the loaded buckets in the stacked state are separated one by one from the uppermost stage and sequentially made to stand by at an upper predetermined position. Then, when the parts are taken out of all the buckets, the buckets waiting at the predetermined position are stacked again on the lowermost bucket placed on the elevating table, and carried out in a stacked state. Just do it. In this case, the processes of steps S7 to S9 of FIG. 2 are repeatedly executed until parts are taken out of all the buckets.

  In the above-described embodiment, work is sequentially performed on buckets supplied in a stacked state from the top bucket, but work may be sequentially performed on the bottom bucket. In this case, the lowermost bucket of the stacked buckets supplied is left at the working position, and the upper bucket above the lowermost bucket is raised to the standby position and held (first bucket working step). Then, after processing for the bucket left at the working position is completed, the lowermost bucket of the buckets held at the standby position is stacked on the bucket placed at the working position (lowermost bucket stage) Stacking process), work may be performed on stacked buckets. If the buckets are stacked in three or more stages, separate and stack the lowermost buckets of the buckets held in the standby position, and repeat the process of performing work on the stacked buckets Just do it (the second bucket work process).

  In the above-mentioned embodiment, although the composition which operates a mechanism part with tension of a wire obtained by operation of a worker was shown, it is good also as composition which operates a mechanism part using an actuator which operates by air pressure, electric power, etc.

  In the above embodiment, the pedal 11 is shown as the first operating portion of the present invention operated by the foot of the operator, and the lever 13 is shown as the second operating portion of the present invention operated by the hand of the operator. The configurations of the first operation unit and the second operation unit are not limited to these, and other configurations such as a handle may be used. Moreover, when operating a mechanism part using the actuator operated by pneumatic pressure, electric power etc., you may use the switch which receives operation electrically.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 bucket exchange apparatus 10 step separation unit 11 pedal 13 lever 14 1st handle 16 2nd handle 20 separation mechanism 21 grip part 22 arm 23 arm raising / lowering part 24 step releasing stopper 30 carrying out mechanism 31 raising / lowering table 33 table raising / lowering part 34 weight 35 raising / lowering Stopper 36 Protrusive part 50 Stock unit 60 Loading path 63 Cutting stopper 64 Front stopper 65 Rear stopper 70 Carrying out path 90 to 94 Bucket 120a, 120b Gripping part stopper

Claims (8)

A bucket feeding step of feeding a plurality of buckets to a predetermined position in a stacked state;
A first bucket operation step of performing a predetermined operation on the uppermost bucket of the stacked buckets supplied to the predetermined position;
Until the predetermined work is performed on all the buckets supplied to the predetermined position, the bucket at the uppermost position in the predetermined position is separated from the buckets in the lower stage, and the standby position above the predetermined position is reached A top step bucket separation process for raising and holding, and a bucket work process for performing the predetermined work on the top bucket newly at the predetermined position by the top stage bucket separation process are repeatedly executed. 2 bucket operation process,
When the predetermined work is performed on all the buckets supplied to the predetermined position, the bucket held at the standby position is lowered to the predetermined position, and is placed on the remaining buckets at the predetermined position. Stacking process of stacking,
A bucket discharging step of discharging the buckets stacked in the stacking step in a stacked state. A bucket feeding step of feeding a plurality of buckets to a predetermined position in a stacked state;
With respect to the stacked buckets supplied to the predetermined position, the bucket above the lowermost stage is separated from the bucket at the lowermost stage, and is raised and held to the standby position above the predetermined position. A first bucket operation step of performing a predetermined operation on the lower bucket;
Until the predetermined work is performed on all the buckets supplied to the predetermined position, only the lowermost bucket of the buckets held at the standby position is placed on the bucket mounted at the predetermined position. And the bucket work processing for performing the predetermined work on the bucket newly formed at the predetermined position by the lowermost bucket stacking processing of stacking the lowermost bucket and the lowermost bucket stacking processing. Second bucket work process,
Stacking buckets discharging the stack of buckets stacked at the predetermined position when the predetermined work is performed on all the buckets supplied to the predetermined position; and Characteristic bucket exchange method. The bucket is supplied to the predetermined position by the bucket supply step while the articles are stored.
The bucket replacement method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the predetermined operation is an operation for removing an article from the bucket. The bucket is supplied to the predetermined position by the bucket supply process in an empty state,
The bucket replacement method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the predetermined operation is an operation for storing an item in the bucket. A bucket supply unit that supplies a plurality of buckets in a stacked state to a first predetermined position;
And a bucket separating unit configured to separate buckets above the predetermined stage among the buckets in the stacked state supplied to the first predetermined position, and raise the bucket to a standby position above the first predetermined position and hold the separated buckets. ,
A bucket stacking unit that lowers the bucket held in the standby position and stacks on the remaining bucket in the first predetermined position;
And a bucket discharge unit for discharging the buckets stacked by the bucket stacking unit in a stacked state. A first operation unit operated by an operator's foot;
A second operation unit operated by the hand of the operator;
The bucket supply unit and the bucket discharge unit operate in response to an operation of one of the first operation unit and the second operation unit, and the bucket separating unit and the bucket stacking unit perform the first operation. The bucket changer according to claim 5, wherein the bucket changer operates according to the operation of the other of the unit and the second operation unit. A lifting unit configured to lift and lower a lifting table on which the bucket is placed between the first predetermined position and a second predetermined position below the first predetermined position;
The bucket supply unit has a bucket loading unit inclined from a position higher than the first predetermined position toward the first predetermined position, and stacks of buckets from the bucket loading unit to the table elevating unit Supply the lift table to the first predetermined position,
The bucket discharging unit has a bucket unloading unit inclined from the second predetermined position to a position lower than the second predetermined position, and the lifting and lowering table set to the second predetermined position by the table lifting and lowering unit The bucket exchange device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the stacked buckets placed on the ground are discharged to the bucket outlet. The bucket separating unit and the bucket stacking unit are
A gripping unit configured to grip a bucket one stage higher than the predetermined stage with respect to the buckets stacked in the first predetermined position;
The rear end of the grip portion is rotatable with the front end of the grip portion positioned above the rear end and the grip portion inclined toward the stacked buckets from the vertical direction. A supporting portion to support,
A support elevating unit that raises and lowers the support;
When the height of the support portion is equal to or less than a predetermined height, the support portion abuts on the lower surface of the grip portion to displace the tip end of the grip portion in a direction away from the bucket, and the height of the support portion When the height is higher than a predetermined height, it is separated from the lower surface of the holding portion, and the tip of the holding portion abuts against the bucket and shares a stopper for displacing the bucket to a position one step higher than the predetermined step. Be prepared
The bucket separating unit separates the bucket above the predetermined stage by raising the supporting unit to a position higher than the predetermined height by the supporting unit elevating unit, and the bucket is separated above the first predetermined position. Raise and hold to the standby position of
The bucket stacking unit is configured such that the bucket held at the standby position is placed at the first predetermined position by lowering the support to a position lower than the predetermined height by the support elevating unit. The bucket changer according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the buckets are stacked on top of each other.

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