JP2019104572A - Article conveying facility - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an article conveying facility capable of making it hard to cause a plurality of articles transferred on a container to collapse.SOLUTION: An article conveying facility includes a transferring device 3 for transferring an article W in a container C1; a control device transfers the article in the container based on array set by an array setting part; the array setting part selects an article stored on an uppermost stage on the condition that it has a larger plane dimension than that of an article having the largest plane dimension in a second stage from an upper part when storing the articles in a state where the articles are arrayed in a plurality of stages in a lamination direction and where a plurality of the articles are arrayed on the second stage from the upper part in an arranging direction; arraying is set so as to store the article stored on the uppermost stage in a state where at least a part of a plurality of the respective articles stored on the second stage from the upper part is covered.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an article transfer facility provided with a transfer device for transferring an article to a container and a control device for controlling the transfer device.

  The conventional example of this goods conveyance installation is described in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2015-039767 (patent document 1). In the article transport facility of Patent Document 1, an article is transferred to a container by a transfer device (picking robot P). In such an article transport facility, the transfer device arranges a plurality of articles on the support surface of the container in the alignment direction along the support surface, and arranges the plurality of articles in the stacking direction orthogonal to the alignment direction. The goods may be transferred to the container.

JP, 2015-039767, A

  When a plurality of articles are transferred to the container so that the plurality of articles are arranged in the arranging direction and the laminating direction as described above, the articles are shifted in the arranging direction and the piled articles are inclined in the laminating direction, and the accumulated articles are broken. There is a case.

  Then, the article conveyance facility which a plurality of articles transferred to a container can not collapse easily is desired.

In view of the above, the characteristic configuration of the article transport facility includes a transfer apparatus for transferring an article to a container, and a control apparatus for controlling the transfer apparatus.
An array setting unit configured to set an array that is an attitude and a position with respect to the container with respect to each of the articles to be transferred to the container, and the article has a planar dimension that is a size of the article in the vertical direction There are a plurality of different types of articles, and the container is capable of containing the articles on a support surface for supporting the articles, in an arrangement direction along the support surface and a lamination direction along the vertical direction; The control device controls the transfer device to transfer the article to the container based on the arrangement set by the arrangement setting unit, and the arrangement setting unit arranges a plurality of stages in the stacking direction. In the case where the articles are accommodated in a state where a plurality of articles are arranged in the row direction in the second row from the top, the planar dimension is larger than the article having the largest planar dimension in the second stage from the top That is big Select the item to be stored in the top row, and store the item in the top row, covering at least a part of each of the plurality of items in the second row from the top The point is to set the array.

  According to this configuration, the second stage from the top is housed such that the top stage having a relatively large planar dimension covers at least a part of each of the plurality of articles housed in the second from the top On a plurality of articles. Therefore, the uppermost article acts as a press for the second and subsequent articles from the top, and the articles stacked in the stacking direction can be prevented from falling down by being displaced in different directions from each other. Therefore, it is possible to make the plurality of articles transferred to the container less likely to collapse.

Top view of goods conveyance facility Perspective view of the article Control block diagram The figure which shows the state which accommodated the article in the first container The perspective view which shows another state which stored the article in the first container Diagram showing the order of transporting the second container to the second position Load control flow chart A diagram showing a state in which a first-class article is being transferred The figure which shows the state which is pushing the first-class article Flow chart of transfer storage control The figure which shows the state which accommodated the articles | goods in the 1st container in another embodiment.

1. Embodiment An embodiment of an article transport facility will be described based on the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the article loading facility comprises an article contained in a first conveyance device 1 for conveying a first container C1, a second conveyance device 2 for conveying a second container C2, and a second container C2. A transfer device 3 for transferring W to the first container C1 and storing the article W in the first container C1 and an automatic warehouse 4 for storing the second container C2 are provided.

(Automatic warehouse)
As shown in FIG. 1, the automated warehouse 4 is provided with a storage rack 6, a transport carriage 7, a relay conveyor 8 and a lift device 9.
The storage racks 6 are provided in a pair at spaced intervals, and each of the storage racks 6 is provided with a plurality of shelf boards 11 arranged in the vertical direction. The storage rack 6 stores the second container C2 while supporting the second container C2 on the shelf board 11. The transport carriage 7 travels along the storage rack 6 between the pair of storage racks 6 to transport the second container C2.

  As the relay conveyor 8, there are a relay conveyor 8 for storage used when storing the second container C2 in the storage rack 6, and a relay conveyor 8 for unloading used when the second container C2 is discharged from the storage rack 6. It is equipped. A plurality of the pair of relay conveyors 8 are arranged in the vertical direction according to the number of steps of the shelf board 11 in the storage rack 6. As the lift device 9, a lift device 9 for storage and a lift device 9 for storage are provided. The pair of lift devices 9 is provided with a conveyor, and the storage lift device 9 receives the second transfer device 2 or the second container C2 and delivers the second container C2 to the second transfer device 2 The lift device 9 for delivery is configured to receive the second container C2 from the transit conveyor 8 for delivery and to deliver the second container C2 to the second transport device 2 ing.

  The automated warehouse 4 transports the second container C2 stored in the storage rack 6 to the delivery position P3 by the transport carriage 7, the relay conveyor 8 and the lift device 9, and the second container C2 is removed from the automated warehouse 4 Get out of stock. Further, the second container C2 located at the storage position P4 is transported to the storage rack 6 by the lift device 9, the relay conveyor 8, and the transport carriage 7, and the second container C2 is stored in the automatic warehouse 4.

(First Transport Device and Second Transport Device)
The 1st conveyance apparatus 1 is comprised by conveyors, such as a roller conveyor, and conveys the 1st container C1 to one direction. A first position P1 is set in the middle of the transport path of the first transport apparatus 1. The first transport apparatus 1 transports the first container C1 from the transport source outside the figure to the first position P1, and transports the first container C1 from the first position P1 to the transport destination outside the figure. Although the article W is not stored in the first container C1 transported to the first position P1 by the first transport device 1, it is transferred to the first container C1 transported from the first position P1 by the first transport device 1 An article W transferred by the loading device 3 is accommodated.

  The second conveyance device 2 is configured by a conveyor such as a roller conveyor, and conveys the second container C2 in one direction. A delivery position P3 is set at the upstream end of the transport path of the second transport device 2, and a storage position P4 is set at the downstream end of the transport path of the second transport device 2. In addition, a second position P2 is set in the middle of the transport path of the second transport device 2. The second transfer device 2 transfers the second container C2 from the unloading position P3 to the second position P2, and transfers the second container C2 from the second position P2 to the storage position P4. One or more articles W are accommodated in the second container C2 conveyed to the second position P2 by the second conveyance device 2, and the articles W accommodated in one second container C2 are the same kind of articles W It is. In the second container C2, the articles W are accommodated by type. The second position P2 corresponds to the transport position.

That is, in the transfer facility, the empty first container C1 is transferred to the first position P1 by the first transfer device 1, and the second container C2 containing the article W is discharged from the automatic warehouse 4 and the discharged second The second container C2 is transported by the second transport device 2 to the second position P2.
Then, the transfer device 3 takes out the article W from the second container C2 located at the second position P2, and stores the taken-out article W in the first container C1 located at the first position P1. W is transferred from the second container C2 to the first container C1. The second container C2 from which all the articles W to be taken out have been taken out is conveyed from the second position P2 by the second conveyance device 2 and is stored in the automatic warehouse 4. The first container C1 containing all the articles W to be stored is transported by the first transport device 1 from the first position P1. Hereinafter, among the articles W contained in the second container C2 transported to the second position P2, the article W to be transferred to the first container C1 is referred to as an article W to be transferred.

(container)
As shown in FIG. 4, the first container C1 includes a rectangular support portion 13 supporting the article W from below and side wall portions 14 rising from four sides forming the outer edge of the support portion 13. , The upper surface is formed in the box shape which opens. The upper surface of the support portion 13 forms a support surface 13A that supports the article W from below. The direction along the support surface 13A in the first container C1 is the alignment direction Y, and the direction orthogonal to the alignment direction Y is the stacking direction X. The first container C1 has the alignment direction Y and the stacking direction on the support surface 13A. It is formed in the magnitude | size which can accommodate the articles | goods W in the state arranged in X. In FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 4 is also the alignment direction Y along the support surface 13A, and the direction along any one of the four sides of the support 13 is taken as the first alignment direction Y1. A direction perpendicular to the first alignment direction Y1 in the stacking direction X is referred to as a second alignment direction Y2. The second container C <b> 2 is formed in a box shape having an open upper surface, as in the first container C <b> 1.
In the present embodiment, a cardboard box is used as the first container C1, and a foldable container is used as the second container C2. The first container C1 corresponds to the container to which the article W is transferred by the transfer device 3.

(Articles)
As shown in FIG. 2, the article W is a package B in which the contained article G is accommodated. There are a plurality of types of articles W, and different types of articles W are different in at least one of the package B and the contents G. In the present embodiment, the package B is, for example, a highly flexible bag made of synthetic resin or a box with low flexibility made of paper, and as the container G, a costume or decoration such as clothes, socks, slippers, or sunglasses It is an article. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the article W includes an article W containing clothes as a contained article G in a bag-like package B, an article etc. containing slippers as a contained article G in a thick paper package B, etc. There is. And there exist some which differ in the magnitude | size of the upper surface of the articles | goods W by a kind being different, and there exist several types of articles | goods W in which the magnitude | sizes of the upper surface of articles | goods W differ.
Further, the article W includes an article W in which the contained article G contained in the package B is relatively difficult to break (for example, an article W containing the clothes as the contained article G) and the contained article G contained in the packaged body B There is an article W that is relatively easy to break (for example, an article W containing sunglasses as the contained article G).

  In the case of an article W using a highly flexible bag as the package B and a highly flexible clothes as the container G, the form W is relatively easily deformed and the flexibility is high. On the other hand, in the article W using a cardboard box with low flexibility as the package B, and the article W containing the paperboard with low flexibility together with the container G in the package B, relatively It is hard to collapse and its flexibility is low. Thus, the articles W may differ in flexibility depending on the type.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the article W includes an article W in which the vent holes E are formed in the package B and an article W in which the vent holes E are not formed in the package body B. Further, even in the article W in which the vent holes E are formed in the package B, the size and the number of the vent holes E may be different. Furthermore, the article W may have different flexibility depending on the type as described above. Therefore, when the article W is held and lifted by the transfer device 3, the article W is likely to lose its shape, and the article W does not easily lose shape due to air entering the package B from the vent E. Alternatively, there is an article W in which air does not easily enter the package B because the article W is out of shape but has no or small vent holes E.

(Transfer device)
As shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the transfer device 3 includes an articulated arm 16 and a suction pad 17 supported at the tip of the arm 16. It is comprised so that it can support in the state which the upper surface of W was adsorbed. Then, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the transfer device 3 adsorbs and holds the upper surface of the article W stored in the second container C2 positioned at the second position P2 by the suction pad 17, and thereafter After the article W is taken out of the second vessel C2 and accommodated in the first vessel C1 located at the first position P1, the adsorption on the article W by the suction pad 17 is released, and the article W is removed from the second vessel C2. Transfer to container C1. Thus, the transfer device 3 transfers the article W to the first container C1 while holding the upper surface of the package B, which is the upper surface of the article W. Further, the upper surface of the article W is a direction facing upward when the article W is accommodated in the first container C1 or the second container C2, and the upper side is one direction in the stacking direction X.

  In the present embodiment, the transfer device 3 is provided with a plurality of suction pads 17 arranged in the alignment direction Y in a state where the suction pads 17 shown in FIG. 4 face the support surface 13A. Then, the transfer device 3 selects a part or all of the plurality of suction pads 17 according to the type of the article W, particularly the upper surface of the article W, and adsorbs the article W by the selected suction pad 17 to support it. Do.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the transfer device 3 lowers the suction pad 17 in a state of being positioned immediately above the article W accommodated in the first container C1 so that the article W accommodated in the first container C1 is lowered. Is configured to be able to be pressed from above by the suction pad 17. That is, the transfer device 3 is also used as the pressing device 18 that presses the article W transferred to the first container C1 from above. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the transfer device 3 is provided with a pressure sensor 19 that detects a pressing force when the article W is pressed from above by the suction pad 17.

(Control device)
As shown in FIG. 3, the transfer facility is provided with a control device H that controls the first transfer device 1, the second transfer device 2, the transfer device 3, and the automatic warehouse 4.
The articles W are assigned different article codes for each type. The control device H stores the item code and the item information in association with each other. The article information indicates the length, width, height, weight, pattern information, the flexibility of the article W, the ease of air entering the package B, the fragility of the article W, the center of gravity position, etc. It is information.

The article W transfers the article W by the transfer apparatus 3 according to a first-type article in which air easily enters the package B according to a predetermined standard when the article W is transferred by the transfer apparatus 3. According to a predetermined standard, it is classified into a second type of article in which air can not easily enter the package B. That is, the article W includes the first-type article and the second-type article, and the first-type article is transferred into the package B when being transferred by the transfer device 3 compared to the second-type article. Is an article W that is easy to enter.
Then, as information indicating “easiness of air entering the package B” in the article information stored in the control device H, whether the article W belongs to the first kind article or the article W belongs to the second kind article Information is shown. Therefore, based on the information indicating the ease of air entering the package B, the control device H can determine whether the article W to be transferred is a first-type article or a second-type article. That is, the control device H has a function as the determination device 23 for determining whether the article W transferred by the transfer device 3 is a first type article or a second type article, and the first type article or second type The transfer device 3 is controlled on the basis of the discrimination information that has been discriminated as a seed item.

The container G is a first-class container which is easily broken by a predetermined standard when the container B is pressurized in the vertical direction, and the container G is vertically held in the container B. It is classified into a second type container which is less likely to be broken than a predetermined standard when pressurized in a direction. That is, the container G includes a first-class container and a second-class container, and the first-class container is a container G that is more easily damaged than the second-class container.
Then, as the information indicating “fragility of the article W” in the article information stored in the control device H, whether the article W contains the container G belonging to the first-class container in the package B, Information on whether the article W contains the container G belonging to the second type container is shown in the package B. Therefore, based on the information indicating the fragility of the article W, the control device H determines whether the contained article G accommodated in the article W to be transferred is a first-class contained article or a second-class contained article. Furthermore, in the one or a plurality of transferred articles W transferred in the first container C1, there is an article W containing the container G belonging to the first kind container in the package B. It is possible to determine whether it is or not.

Further, in the control device H, storage position information of the second container C2 stored in the automatic warehouse 4 and a product code of the article W stored in the second container C2 are stored in association with each other.
Furthermore, the control device H receives order information from a plurality of shipping destinations. The order information includes code information indicating a product code set separately for each type of product W, and number information indicating the number of articles W of the type corresponding to each product code indicated by the code information. It is done.

The control device H also receives imaging information of the first imaging device 21 and imaging information of the second imaging device 22. The first imaging device 21 is installed to be able to image the first container C1 located at the first position P1 and the article W stored in the first container C1. The first imaging device 21 is capable of imaging the article W accommodated in the first container C1 from the opening formed on the first container C1 located at the first position P1 and the upper surface of the first container C1. ing. The second imaging device 22 is provided so as to be able to image the article W accommodated in the second container C2 from the opening formed on the second container C2 located at the second position P2 and the upper surface of the second container C2. ing.
The control device H recognizes the presence of the article W in the second container C2 located at the second position P2 based on the imaging information of the second imaging device 22, and determines the type of the article W having recognized the presence. To add the description, the control device H detects a region higher than the support surface 13A in the second container C2 based on the imaging information of the second imaging device 22, and the article W exists in the region higher than the support surface 13A. It is determined that Further, the control device H performs image processing such as pattern matching on an area higher than the support surface 13A based on the pattern information, and determines the type of the present article W.
The control device H determines the posture and the position of the article W stored in the first container C1 located at the first position P1 based on the imaging information of the first imaging device 21, and as the array information indicates, It is determined whether the article W is accommodated in the first container C1.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the control device H executes the article distribution control, the arrangement setting control, and the transport transfer control in this order. The article distribution control is control for setting the number of first containers C1 for loading the article W to be transferred indicated by the order information. The arrangement setting control sets an arrangement for the first container C1 of the article W for each of one or more transfer target W accommodated in one first container C1, and as arranged in the first container C1. It is control to set the transfer order which is the order of stacking. The transport and transfer control transfers the article W to be transferred to the first container C1 in the order indicated by the transfer order in the posture and position indicated by the arrangement based on the set arrangement and transfer order. The first transport device 1, the second transport device 2 and the transfer device 3 are controlled.

(Sorting control)
In the article distribution control, the number of first containers C1 for storing the article W to be transferred indicated by the order information is set.
Specifically, according to the volume and the number of objects W to be transferred indicated by the order information, the total volume of the articles W contained in one first container C1 is the set volume of the first container C1 to be accommodated Keep it as below. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the set volume is set to 60% of the storable volume of the first container C1, and the total volume of the article W to be transferred indicated by the order information corresponds to that of the first container C1. When the volume is 60% or less of the storable volume, the article W to be transferred is storable in one first container C1, and 1 is set as the number of the first containers C1. When the total volume of the object W to be transferred indicated by the order information exceeds 60% of the accommodating capacity of the first container C1, the total volume of the objects W accommodated in the respective first containers C1 is accommodated. The number of first containers C1 is set to 2 or more so as to be 60% or less of the possible volume.

(Sequence setting control)
In the arrangement setting control, an arrangement indicating an attitude and a position with respect to the first container C1 is set such that one or more articles W accommodated in one first container C1 can be accommodated within the set height H1. And in arrangement | positioning setting control, the articles | goods order which is the order which piles up the articles | goods W on the 1st container C1 is set so that the articles | goods W can be stacked according to the set arrangement. As described above, the control device H has a function as an array setting unit that sets an array that is an attitude and a position with respect to the first container C1 with respect to each of the articles W transferred to the first container C1.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 for setting the arrangement, the articles W are accommodated in a plurality of stages in the stacking direction X and a plurality of articles W are arranged in the second direction from the top. In the case of containing, the article W to be accommodated in the uppermost stage is selected on the condition that the planar dimension is larger than the article W having the largest planar dimension in the second stage from the top, and the article W to be accommodated in the uppermost stage is The arrangement is set so as to accommodate at least a part of each of the plurality of articles W accommodated in the second tier from the top.

Specifically, in the arrangement setting control, among the articles W to be transferred and stored in one first container C1, the article W having the largest planar dimension is selected. When there are a plurality of types of articles W having the largest planar dimension, an article W that is the least deformable (low in flexibility) is selected from among the plurality of types of articles W, and a plurality of articles W that are the most difficult to deform are further selected. If there is a species, the article W with the largest weight is selected.
Then, with the exception of the selected one, each article W is arranged and positioned so as to be positioned in the lower layer as the planar size increases and to the upper layer as the planar size decreases. The arrangement and position are set so that the selected one article W is placed on the top row. In the case where the arrangement is set in this manner, when a plurality of articles W in the second row from the top are arranged in the arrangement direction Y as shown in FIG. To accommodate.

Incidentally, in the arrangement shown in FIG. 4, one article W is accommodated in the uppermost row, and only in one direction of the row direction Y (for example, the first row) in the second and third rows from the top and each of the lower rows. Only the direction Y1) The two articles W are accommodated in a state where the two articles W are aligned. Further, in the arrangement shown in FIG. 5, one article W is accommodated in the uppermost stage, and two articles are arranged in both the first arrangement direction Y1 and the second arrangement direction Y2 in each of the second stage and the lower stage from the top The four articles W are accommodated in the state.
Then, depending on the type of the article W housed in one first container C1, the article W having the largest plane dimension is, as shown in FIG. 4, the plane dimensions of the plurality of articles W housed in the second row from the top If it is the same as the total plane size of the sum of the above, or as shown in FIG. 5, it is larger than the plane size of one article W in the article W housed in the second from the top, It may be smaller than the sum of the planar dimensions of the plurality of articles W being made.

(Transportation transfer control)
In the transfer and transfer control, by executing the first transfer control, the second transfer control, and the transfer storage control, one or more articles from one or more second containers C2 to one first container C1. W is accommodated. At this time, all the objects W to be transferred indicated by the order information are transferred and accommodated in one first container C1 in the arrangement indicated by the arrangement information.
In the second transport control, the second container C2 is transported from the storage rack 6 to the second position P2, and all of the transfer target articles W stored in the second container C2 at the second position P2 are transferred to the transfer device 3 The second transfer device 2 and the automatic warehouse 4 are controlled to transfer the second container C2 from the second position P2 to the storage rack 6 after being taken out.
Further, in the first transport control, the empty first container C1 is transported from the outside to the first position P1, and all the objects W to be transferred that should be accommodated in the first container C1 at the first position P1 are transfer devices. 3 to control the first transfer device 1 so as to transfer the first container C1 to the outside from the first position P1.
Moreover, in transfer and storage control, the article W to be transferred and stored in the second container C2 at the second position P2 is taken out and stored in the first container C1 at the first position P1 in the arrangement indicated by the arrangement information. In this way, the transfer device 3 is controlled.

In the first container C1 shown in FIG. 4, the first type articles W1 are accommodated in the lowermost stage and the third stage from the top, and in the second stage from the top, the second type articles W2 are It is accommodated, and the third type of article W3 is accommodated at the top. As described above, in the case where the articles W are accommodated in the first container C1, the transfer order is the first type of article W1, the second type of articles W2, the third type in order from the type located in the lower stage in the first container C1. It is set in the order of the articles W3 of types.
Then, as shown in FIG. 6, in the second conveyance control, the second container C2 in which the first type of article W1 is accommodated and the second type of article W2 are accommodated based on the transfer order. The second transport device 2 is configured to be discharged from the automatic warehouse 4 and transported to the second position P2 by the second transport device 2 in the order of the two containers C2 and the second container C2 in which the third type articles W3 are stored. And control the automatic warehouse 4.

(Transfer and storage control)
Next, transfer and storage control will be described.
When the article W to be transferred by the transfer device 3 is a first-type article, the control device H performs transfer control to transfer the article W to the first container C1 by the transfer device 3 and a transfer control. In the case where the article W transferred by the transfer device 3 is a second-type article, both of the first pressing control of pressing the article W transferred into one container C1 from above by the transfer device 3 are executed, Of the transfer control and the first pressing control, only transfer control is executed.
Then, the control device H executes one or more of the first container C1 after executing only the transfer control of the transfer control and the first press control or both of the transfer control and the first press control. When the height H3 of the article W is higher than the set height H1 set in advance, the second pressing control of pressing the one or more articles W in the container from above by the transfer device 3 is executed.
In addition, when the first pressing control or the second pressing control is performed, the control device H transfers the article W in the container when the article W containing the first-type stored item is not present in the container. When there is an article W which is pressed by the second setting pressure from above by the loading device 3 and the first type container C1 contains the first type accommodation, the transfer device 3 transfers the article W in the first container C1 It presses with the 1st setting pressure lower than the 2nd setting pressure.

In particular, when the article W is transferred by the transfer apparatus 3 to the uppermost stage of the first container C1 by the transfer apparatus 3, when the article W is a first-class article, the transfer control and the first pressing control are performed. Run both sides. In the case where the article W is transferred onto the uppermost stage of the first container C1 by the transfer device 3, when the article W is a second type article, only transfer control among transfer control and first pressing control Run.
Then, the control device H executes only transfer control among transfer control and first press control or both transfer control and first press control, and the topmost article W in the first container C1. After the accommodation, when the height H3 of the topmost article W is higher than the preset height H1, the second pressing control is performed.
The first pressing control corresponds to the individual pressing control, and the second pressing control corresponds to the upper pressing control.

In the transfer control, after the upper surface of the transfer target article W contained in the second container C2 is adsorbed by the suction pad 17 and the transfer target article W is held, the transfer target article W is first The adsorption movement control to be transferred so as to become the array indicated by the arrangement information in the container C1, and the adsorption release control to release the adsorption to the article W to be transferred by the adsorption pad 17 are executed. When transferring to the first container C1 by adsorption movement control, the article W is placed on the placement surface 17A of the first container C1 or another article W previously transferred to the first container C1. It will be.
The first pressing control is control performed between suction movement control and suction release control in transfer control, and lowers the suction pad 17 in a state where the upper surface of the article W to be transferred is adsorbed by the suction pad 17 Thus, the object W to be transferred that has been transferred to the first container C1 is controlled by the suction pad 17 from above.
The second pressing control is control executed after transfer control execution is completed, and the first container C1 is lowered by lowering the suction pad 17 in a state where the upper surface of the article W is not adsorbed by the suction pad 17. Control is performed to press the transferred article W from above with the suction pad 17.

The transfer control will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.
In the transfer control, the article W to be transferred is not a first-class article in which air easily enters the package B (a second-class article), and the planned storage height H2 is greater than the set height H1. If the pressure is sufficiently low, suction release control is performed, and then suction release control is performed without executing the first pressing control (S1 to S4). In addition, in the transfer control, when the object W to be transferred is the first type article, after performing the adsorption movement control, the first pressing control is performed, and thereafter, the adsorption release control is performed (S1, S2 , S5 to S7). In addition, in the transfer control, even when the item W to be transferred is not a first-type item (a second-type item), the set height H1 and the storage planned height H2 are close (specifically, In the case where there is a difference of several percent or less), after the suction movement control is performed, the first pressing control is performed, and then the suction cancellation control is performed (S1 to S3, S5 to S7). Then, when the first pressing control is performed, if there is no article W containing the easily damaged first type container in the first container C1, pressing is performed with the second set pressure (S5, S7 ), When there is an article W containing a first-type storage thing in the first container C1, the first setting pressure lower than the second setting pressure is pressed (S5, S6).

  As described above, after the control device H places the article W held by the suction pad 17 on the placement surface 17A of the first container C1 or another article W previously transferred to the first container C1. The article W held by lowering the suction pad 17 is pressed from above by the suction pad 17, and thereafter, the holding of the article W by the suction pad 17 is released, and the transfer control and the first press control Run.

  Then, after transfer control of the article W to be transferred is completed, the height H3 of the article W contained in the first container C1 is equal to or less than the set height H1 based on the imaging information of the first imaging device 21. In the case of (5), the transfer and storage control of the article W to be transferred is completed (S8). When the height H3 of the article W contained in the first container C1 exceeds the set height H1 after the transfer control of the article W to be transferred is completed, it is accommodated in the first container C1. The second pressing control is repeatedly executed until the height H3 of the article W in question is equal to or less than the set height H1 or until the number of times the second pressing control is performed reaches the set count number (S8 to S12). And when performing 2nd press control, when the articles | goods W which accommodated the 1st-class accommodation thing easy to be damaged in the 1st container C1 do not exist, it presses by 2nd setting pressure (S10, S12 ), When there is an article W containing a first-class content in the first container C1, the first container C1 is pressed with a first set pressure lower than the second set pressure (S10, S11).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 9, in the second pressing control, the highest part of one or a plurality of articles W in the first container C <b> 1 is pressed by the transfer device 3. Note that “pressing the highest part by the transfer device 3” is a position on one side in the alignment direction Y among the plurality of suction pads 17 aligned in the alignment direction Y in the posture when pressing the article W. The highest portion of the article W in the first container C1 is from the end of one side of the suction pad 17 to the other end of the suction pad 17 positioned on the other side in the alignment direction Y It should just be located. Therefore, for example, in a state where the highest part of the articles W in the first container C1 is positioned between the suction pads 17 arranged in the arrangement direction Y, the article W may be pressed from the upper side by the suction pads 17 The highest part of the article W in one container C1 may not be pressed directly by the suction pad 17.

2. Other Embodiments Next, other embodiments of the article transport facility will be described.

(1) In the above embodiment, when there are a plurality of articles W satisfying the conditions as the articles W housed in the top row, the article W having the largest planar dimension, the article W most difficult to deform, the article W having the largest weight The items W to be stored in the top row are preferentially selected in the order of description, but when there are a plurality of items W satisfying the condition as the top layer W, the priority order to be selected is appropriately changed It is also good. That is, the articles W to be accommodated in the uppermost row may be selected preferentially in the order of description of the article W having the largest plane dimension, the article W having the largest weight, and the article W most difficult to be deformed. The articles W to be stored in the uppermost row may be selected preferentially in the order of description of the difficult articles W, the articles W having the largest planar dimension, and the articles W having the largest weight. The article W to be stored at the top may be selected preferentially in the order of the large article W and the article W having the largest plane dimension, and the article W having the largest weight, the article W most difficult to deform, the plane dimension The articles W to be stored at the top may be selected preferentially in the order of the description of the largest article W.

In addition, when there are a plurality of articles W satisfying the conditions as the articles W housed in the uppermost row, the article W with the largest planar dimension, the article W most difficult to deform, and the article W with the largest weight are given priority in order of description. In the case where there are a plurality of articles W that satisfy the condition as the articles W housed in the top row, any of the articles W having the largest planar dimension, the article W most difficult to deform, and the article W having the largest weight One or two may be selected preferentially, and the article W having the largest planar dimension, the article W which is the least deformable, and the article W having the largest weight may not be preferentially selected. Therefore, the article W having the largest planar dimension may be accommodated at a place other than the top row, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, the article W having the largest planar dimension is accommodated at the lowest stage, and an article having the second largest planar dimension W may be accommodated at the top. The second article W may be accommodated at the top as well in terms of weight and difficulty of deformation.
In short, as the article W accommodated in the uppermost stage, it is sufficient that the planar dimension is larger than the article W having the largest planar dimension in the second stage from the top.

(2) In the above embodiment, when the article W transferred by the transfer device 3 is a first-class item, both transfer control and first pressing control are executed, and the transfer device 3 transfers the load. When the article W is the second type article, only transfer control of the transfer control and the first pressing control is executed, but the article W transferred by the transfer device 3 is the first kind article or the second Regardless of the type of article, both transfer control and first pressing control may be executed, or only transfer control among transfer control and first pressing control may be executed. Good.

(3) In the above embodiment, a cardboard box is used as the first container C1, but a foldable container may be used as the first container C1. When a cardboard box is used as the first container C1, a cardboard box in which the side surface of the cardboard box can be folded inward and whose height can be changed (the capacity can be changed) may be used.

(4) In the above embodiment, the articles W contained in one second container C2 are articles W of the same type, and one second container C2 contains one type of article W. Two or more types of articles W may be stored in the second container C2. In addition, the second container C2 may be provided with a partition that divides the space in the second container C2 into a plurality of regions, and as described above, when two or more types of articles W are accommodated in one second container C2. The different types of articles W may be accommodated in different areas.

(5) In the embodiment described above, the contained material G is a costume or a decorative item, but the contained material G may be other than a costume or a decorative item such as food or daily necessities.

(6) The configurations disclosed in the above-described embodiments can be applied in combination with the configurations disclosed in the other embodiments as long as no contradiction arises. As for the other configurations, the embodiments disclosed herein are merely illustrative in all respects. Therefore, various modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

3. Overview of the Embodiment Hereinafter, an overview of the article transport facility described above will be described.

The article transport facility includes a transfer apparatus for transferring an article to a container, and a control apparatus for controlling the transfer apparatus.
An array setting unit configured to set an array that is an attitude and a position with respect to the container with respect to each of the articles to be transferred to the container, and the article has a planar dimension that is a size of the article in the vertical direction There are a plurality of different types of articles, and the container is capable of containing the articles on a support surface for supporting the articles, in an arrangement direction along the support surface and a lamination direction along the vertical direction; The control device controls the transfer device to transfer the article to the container based on the arrangement set by the arrangement setting unit, and the arrangement setting unit arranges a plurality of stages in the stacking direction. In the case where the articles are accommodated in a state where a plurality of articles are arranged in the row direction in the second row from the top, the planar dimension is larger than the article having the largest planar dimension in the second stage from the top That is big Select the item to be stored in the top row, and store the item in the top row, covering at least a part of each of the plurality of items in the second row from the top , Set the array.

  According to this configuration, the second stage from the top is housed such that the top stage having a relatively large planar dimension covers at least a part of each of the plurality of articles housed in the second from the top On a plurality of articles. Therefore, the uppermost article acts as a press for the second and subsequent articles from the top, and the articles stacked in the stacking direction can be prevented from falling down by being displaced in different directions from each other. Therefore, it is possible to make the plurality of articles transferred to the container less likely to collapse.

  Here, using the container as a first container, a transport device for transporting a second container different from the first container to a transport position, and arranging the articles in the first container according to the arrangement set by the arrangement setting unit An order setting unit for setting a transfer order of the second container, the second container contains the articles according to types, and the transfer device is configured to position the second container at the transfer position It is preferable that the article is transferred to the first container, and the control device controls the transfer device to transfer the second container to the transfer position according to the transfer order.

  According to this configuration, since the second container is transported to the transport position in accordance with the transfer order set by the sequence setting unit, the second container, which is sequentially transported to the transport position, is transferred to the first container. It becomes easy to transfer an article according to the arrangement | sequence which the arrangement | sequence setting part set to one container.

  Preferably, the arrangement setting unit sets the arrangement so as to accommodate the article having the largest planar dimension among the articles accommodated in the container in the uppermost stage.

  According to this configuration, among the articles contained in the container, the article having the largest planar dimension is accommodated at the top of the plurality of articles contained in the container. This makes it possible to more effectively press the uppermost article against a plurality of articles in the second and subsequent stages from the top. Therefore, it is possible to more appropriately control the falling of the articles stacked in the stacking direction, with the plurality of articles aligned in the arranging direction being shifted in different directions.

  Further, when there are a plurality of the articles satisfying the condition as the articles accommodated in the uppermost row, the array setting unit accommodates the article which is most difficult to be deformed among the plurality of the articles in the uppermost row. It is preferred to set the array.

  According to this configuration, among the articles which are larger in planar dimension than the second-stage articles from the top and are the articles which are the least likely to be deformed among the articles accommodated in the container, the uppermost stage of the plurality of articles accommodated in the container. Be housed. As a result, it is possible to restrict the deformation of the item stored in the uppermost stage and the collapse of the item stored in the container. Therefore, the uppermost article can be a more effective press for a plurality of articles in the second and subsequent stages from the top, and the plurality of articles aligned in the arrangement direction are stacked in the laminating direction while being shifted in different directions. It is possible to more appropriately regulate the falling of the article.

  In addition, when there are a plurality of articles satisfying the conditions as the articles accommodated in the uppermost row, the arrangement setting unit accommodates the article with the largest weight among the plurality of articles in the uppermost stage, It is preferred to set the array.

  According to this configuration, an article having a plane size larger than that of the second-stage article from the top and having the largest weight among the articles accommodated in the container is the topmost of the plurality of articles accommodated in the container. Be housed. This makes it possible to more effectively press the uppermost article against a plurality of articles in the second and subsequent stages from the top. Therefore, it is possible to more appropriately control the falling of the articles stacked in the stacking direction, with the plurality of articles aligned in the arranging direction being shifted in different directions.

  Further, the article is a package in which the contents are accommodated, and the article further includes a pressing device for pressing the article transferred onto the container from above, the control device including the transfer device and the pressing. The apparatus is controlled, the transfer apparatus transfers the article while holding the upper surface of the package, and the control apparatus causes the pressing apparatus to store the article stored in the top of the container from above from above It is preferable to execute upper pressing control for pressing.

  According to this configuration, by holding the upper surface of the package by the transfer device, air may flow from the vent formed in the package to increase the volume of the article. However, by executing the upper pressing control, air which has flowed into the package of the articles can be discharged from the package by pressing the articles stored in the uppermost stage of the container from the upper side by the pressing device. Therefore, the volume of the articles contained in the container can be reduced. In particular, by pressing an article having a relatively large planar size housed in the uppermost row, the entire article transferred to the container can be efficiently pressed to keep the volume small.

  Further, it is preferable that the control device execute the upper pressing control when the height of the article stored in the uppermost stage of the container is higher than a preset height.

  According to this configuration, when the height of the article transferred to the uppermost stage by the transfer device is higher than the set height, the upper pressing control is executed, and the uppermost article is pressed from the upper side by the pressing device, If the height of the article transferred to the top by the apparatus is less than the set height, the upper pressing control is not performed. Therefore, the article can be transferred to the container efficiently.

  The apparatus further comprises a determination device for determining whether the article to be transferred by the transfer device is a first type article or a second type article, and the controller transfers the transfer condition based on the determination information of the determination device. An apparatus and the pressing device are controlled, and the first type article is an article which is more likely to get air into the package when transferred by the transfer device than the second type article, and the control device When the article to be transferred by the transfer device is the first type article, the transfer control for transferring the article to the container by the transfer device, and the transfer transferred by the transfer control When both the individual pressing control of pressing an article from above by the pressing device and the article transferred by the transfer device is the second type article, the transfer control and the individual press control Execute only the transfer control of That if it is suitable.

According to this configuration, when the first type of article which is relatively easy to enter air is transferred to the container by the transfer device, the transfer control is executed and the transfer device transfers the item to the container and By performing pressing control and pressing the article in the container from above by the pressing device, the air flowing into the package of the article can be discharged from the package. Therefore, the volume of the articles contained in the container can be reduced.
In addition, when transferring a second type article which is relatively difficult to enter air by the transfer device, the transfer device transfers the items to the container by executing the transfer control, but does not execute the individual pressing control Therefore, the article can be transferred to the container efficiently.
Therefore, the storage efficiency of a container can be raised, efficiently transferring the goods which accommodated the content in the package body.

  The technique according to the present disclosure can be used for an article transfer facility provided with a transfer device for transferring an item to a container.

2: Second transport device (transport device)
3: Transfer device 13A: Support surface C1: First container (container)
C2: Second container H: Controller (arrangement setting unit)
P2: Second position (transfer position)
W: article X: stacking direction Y: alignment direction

Claims (8)

An article transfer facility comprising: a transfer device for transferring an article to a container; and a control device for controlling the transfer device,
The arrangement setting unit configured to set an arrangement that is an attitude and a position with respect to the container with respect to each of the articles to be transferred to the container,
The article includes a plurality of types of articles having different planar dimensions, which is the size in the vertical direction of the article.
The container is capable of containing the articles on a support surface that supports the articles, in a state in which the containers are aligned in the alignment direction along the support surface and the stacking direction along the vertical direction;
The control device controls the transfer device so as to transfer the article to the container based on the arrangement set by the arrangement setting unit.
When the arrangement setting unit accommodates the articles in a plurality of stages in the stacking direction and accommodates the articles in the second row from the top, the arrangement setting unit is in the second stage from the top A plurality of items for selecting the articles to be stored in the top row on the condition that the plane dimensions are larger than the articles with the largest plane dimensions, and to store the articles to be stored in the top row in the second row from the top An article transport facility that sets up an array to accommodate at least a portion of each of the articles in the item of A transport device for transporting the second container different from the first container to the transport position, using the container as the first container;
And an order setting unit for setting a transfer order for placing the articles in the first container according to the arrangement set by the arrangement setting unit;
The second container contains the articles by type.
The transfer device transfers the article from the second container located at the transfer position to the first container,
The article transfer facility according to claim 1, wherein the control device controls the transfer device to transfer the second container to the transfer position in accordance with the transfer order.   The article transfer facility according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the arrangement setting unit sets the arrangement so as to accommodate the article having the largest planar dimension among the articles accommodated in the container at the uppermost stage.   The array setting unit arranges the array so that, when there are a plurality of articles satisfying the conditions as the articles accommodated in the uppermost stage, the article which is most difficult to deform among the plurality of articles is accommodated in the uppermost stage The goods conveyance installation as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3 to set.   When there are a plurality of articles satisfying the condition as the articles accommodated in the uppermost row, the array setting unit arranges the array so that the article having the largest weight among the plurality of articles is accommodated in the uppermost stage. The goods conveyance installation as described in any one of Claim 1 to 4 to set. The article is one in which the contents are contained in a package,
It further comprises a pressing device for pressing the article transferred to the container from above,
The control device controls the transfer device and the pressing device,
The transfer device transfers the article while holding the upper surface of the package,
The article transport facility according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the control device executes an upper pressing control of pressing the article stored in the uppermost stage of the container from above by the pressing device.   The article transport facility according to claim 6, wherein the control device executes the upper pressing control when the height of the article stored at the top of the container is higher than a preset height. The apparatus further comprises a determination device for determining whether the item transferred by the transfer device is a first-type item or a second-type item.
The control device controls the transfer device and the pressing device based on the discrimination information of the discrimination device,
The first-type article is an article that is more likely to get air into the package when being transferred by the transfer device than the second-type article.
The controller is
When the article to be transferred by the transfer device is the first type article, transfer control for transferring the article to the container by the transfer device and the article transferred by the transfer control Performing both individual pressing control pressing from above by the pressing device,
The article according to claim 6 or 7, wherein only the transfer control of the transfer control and the individual pressing control is executed when the item transferred by the transfer device is the second-type article. Transport equipment.

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