JP2021171880A - Container stack conveyance device and container stack conveyance method - Google Patents

Abstract

To efficiently convey a container stack, in which containers are stacked vertically, to a target place without dropping the container stack.SOLUTION: A container stack conveyance device of the invention includes: side surface holding means which holds a side surface of a container stack in which containers are stacked; flange supporting means which supports a flange of the container at the bottom of the container stack; driving means which conveys the container stack in a state that the side surface of the container stack is held by the side surface holding means and the flange is supported by the flange supporting means; and opening/closing controlling means which controls opening/closing of the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a transport device and a transport method for transporting a container stack in which containers such as a plurality of paper cups are stacked.

Conventionally, for example, a cup container for storing food and a cup container for pouring a beverage have been known. These containers are made of, for example, paper or resin, and may be transported in a state of being stacked on top of each other (this is also referred to as “container stack”).

For example, in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a container including a container holding mechanism having a container holder capable of holding a container stack configured by stacking containers and a position control mechanism capable of transferring the container holding mechanism. Conveyors have been proposed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-136458 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-187861

According to the above-mentioned patent document, since the container stack can be transported automatically and repeatedly, the efficiency can be improved as compared with the case where the container stack is manually transported. On the other hand, in the above patent document, by providing the position regulating member 73 and sealing both ends in the container stack accommodating space in a timely manner, the container stack is prevented from falling when the container stack is transported.

Certainly, according to the above-mentioned patent document, the container stack can be transported to an arbitrary place without dropping, but further from grasping the container stack contained in the storage box to the completion of transportation to the target place (for example, a container hopper). There was a need for more efficient measures and more reliable fall prevention measures.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems as an example, and is a container stack transport device and a container stack capable of more efficiently transporting a container stack in which containers are stacked up and down to a target location without dropping the container stack. The purpose is to provide a transport method.

The container stack transfer device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes (1) a side surface holding means for holding the side surface of the container stack in which a plurality of containers are stacked, and a flange support for supporting the flange of the lowermost container in the container stack. The means, the driving means for transporting the container stack while the side surface holding means holds the side surface of the container stack and the flange supporting means for supporting the flange, and the opening / closing of the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means. It is characterized by being provided with an opening / closing control means for controlling.

Further, in the container stack transfer device according to (1) above, (2) the flange supporting means is a support plate capable of supporting the lower side surface of the flange so as to sandwich at least a part of the body portion of the container. The support plate includes a moving mechanism that moves the support plate closer to or further from the flange, and the support plate comes into contact with the lower side surface of the flange via the moving mechanism to move the container stack. It is preferable to move to a closed position that can be supported and an open position that is farther from the flange than the closed position.

Further, in the container stack transfer device according to the above (2), (3) the moving mechanism includes a swing link for swinging the support plate and a drive cylinder for driving the swing link. It is preferable that the support plate swings around the swing fulcrum provided so as to face a part of the side surface of the container stack to swing the open position and the closed position.

Further, in the container stack transfer device according to the above (2) or (3), (4) the side surface holding means extends in the axial direction of the container stack and can hold the side surface of the container stack. The holding plate, including the plate, can be moved to a closed position in which the holding plate is in contact with and held by the side surface of the container stack, and an open position in which the side surface of the container stack is opened away from the side surface of the container stack. It is preferable that the holding plate is in the open position and the flange supporting means is in the closed position and approaches the container stack before transfer.

Further, in the container stack transfer device according to any one of (1) to (4), (5) the driving means vertically holds the container stack sandwiched between the side holding means and the flange supporting means. It is preferable that the opening / closing control means controls the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means to open the container stack while the container stack is tilted.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the container stack transport method according to the embodiment of the present invention includes (6) a side holding means for holding the side surfaces of the container stack in which a plurality of containers are stacked, and the lowermost stage of the container stack. In a container stack transporting method using a container stack transporting device having a flange supporting means for supporting the container flange of the container, the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means descend from above the unconveyed container stack. The lowering step, the side surface holding step of holding the side surface of the container stack by the side surface holding means in a state where the flange of the lowermost container and the support plate are in contact, and the side surface holding means of the side surface of the container stack. After the transport step of transporting the container stack with the flange supporting means while holding the container and the transport step, the restraint of the container stack by the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means is released. It is characterized by having an opening step of opening the container stack.

Further, in the container stack transport method according to the above (6), (7) the support plate is in contact with the lower side surface of the flange via the movement mechanism to have a closed position capable of supporting the container stack, and the above. It is movable from the closed position to the open position separated from the flange, and in the lowering step, from above the unconveyed container stack in the closed position so that the support plate comes into contact with the flange. It is preferable to descend.

Further, in the container stack transport method according to the above (6) or (7), in the (8) opening step, the container stack sandwiched between the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means is held in the vertical direction. It is preferable that the restraint of the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means is released in a state of being inclined at an angle.

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the total transport time from the pickup of the container stack to the destination and to suppress the drop of the container stack during transport at a high level.

It is external perspective view which showed typically the transport system of this embodiment. It is an external side view which looked at the container stack transfer apparatus from the side. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the container stack transfer apparatus before picking up the unconveyed container stack among the state transitions in the container stack transfer method. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the container stack transfer apparatus at the time of picking up an unconveyed container stack among the state transitions in a container stack transfer method. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the container stack transfer apparatus after picking up the unconveyed container stack among the state transitions in the container stack transfer method. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the container stack transporting apparatus at the time of transporting after picking up the unconveyed container stack among the state transitions in the container stack transporting method. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the container stack transfer apparatus at the time of opening the unconveyed container stack at a target place among the state transitions in the container stack transfer method. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the opened container stack moves in the destination place (sliding in the container hopper) among the state transitions in the container stack transport method. It is a flowchart which shows the transport method of the container stack of this embodiment.

Hereinafter, the container stack transfer device and the transfer method of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. It should be noted that the following embodiments describe an example of the present invention, and do not unintentionally limit the present invention, and other known configurations may be complemented as appropriate. Further, for a configuration other than the configuration described in detail below, a known transport mechanism including the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 may be used.

<Transport system>
FIG. 1 shows a container stack transfer system according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the transport system of the present embodiment includes a container stack transport device 100 capable of gripping a container stack CS and transporting it to an arbitrary position, and a storage box 200 containing a plurality of unused container stack CSs. The container C constituting the container stack CS includes a processing device 300 that performs a desired processing (for example, filling of food or beverage).

Here, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the “container stack” refers to a container in which a plurality of containers C are sequentially stacked in the vertical direction. More specifically, in the container stack CS of the present embodiment, substantially the entire body and bottom of the container C other than the upper end (flange Cf) of the upper container C to be stacked are sequentially stored in the lower container C. For example, it has a form in which only a few to several tens of columns are stacked in a columnar shape.

The material of the container C is not particularly limited, and a known material can be applied. For example, paper, resin, or paper coated with resin can be exemplified. As the shape of the container C, a known shape can be similarly applied, various shapes such as a shallow cup shape suitable for food use and a cup shape suitable for beverage use can be applied, and the opening shape can be any shape such as a circle or a quadrangle. A known shape may be adopted. In addition to solid substances such as foods such as natto and yogurt and drugs containing medicinal ingredients, various known substances such as liquid substances such as beverages can be contained in the container C. It can be exemplified.

<Accommodation Box 200>
As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the storage box 200 is a rectangular parallelepiped box having an opening surface through which the container stack CS can be carried in or out. As an example, the storage box 200 of the present embodiment may be a known corrugated cardboard box capable of storing only a plurality of container stack CS in a sideways (laid down) state.

As shown in FIG. 1, the storage box 200 is transported to the vicinity of the container stack transport device 100 by a known transport mechanism (not shown) such as a robot hand. A large number of unconveyed container stacks CS are packed in the storage box 200 in a state of being juxtaposed in the radial direction so as to be substantially parallel to each other and stacked in several stages vertically. It should be noted that these container stack CSs may be packed in a staggered state in the box so that the space in the storage box 200 is minimized and the shape is not lost during transportation.

<Processing device 300>
The processing device 300 receives the supply of a new container stack CS via the container stack transfer device 100. As described above, such a processing device 300 has various functions depending on the substance to be filled in the container C. As an example, as shown in FIG. 1, the processing apparatus 300 of the present embodiment has one or more container hoppers 301 (in the figure, first container hoppers 301a to No. 1) that are slightly inclined with respect to the vertical direction and extend vertically upward. It has a quadruple configuration up to the four container hoppers 301d) and a plurality of container receiving openings 302 arranged below the container hoppers 301 so as to face each other.

Therefore, the container stack CS conveyed to the processing device 300 is supplied into the container receiving opening 302 via the container hopper 301, and various processes (for example, the above) are performed based on the various functions described above of the processing device 300. Filling of the food, etc.) is carried out. The structure and function of the processing device 300 described above are an example, and there is no particular limitation as long as the container stack CS can be transported from the container stack transporting device 100, and the processing device 300 having various known functions and structures can be used. Applicable.

<Container stack transfer device 100>
Next, a detailed configuration of the container stack transfer device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
As can be understood from these figures, the container stack transfer device 100 of the present embodiment includes a side surface holding means 10, a flange supporting means 20, a driving means 30, an opening / closing control means 40, and a frame means 50. ..

The side surface holding means 10 has a function of holding the side surface of the container stack CS in which a plurality of containers C are stacked. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the side surface holding means 10 extends in the axial direction of the container stack CS (the direction in which the containers C are laminated and the left-right direction on the paper surface in FIG. 2) to extend the container stack. It is configured to include a pair of blade-shaped holding plates capable of holding the side surfaces of the CS. As shown in FIG. 3B and the like, the pair of holding plates has a blade shape corresponding to, for example, the axial length of the container stack CS, and the reference blade plate 11 located on one side of the container C and the container C. It is configured to have a deployable movable blade plate 12 on the other side of the.

As will be described later, in the present embodiment, the reference blade plate 11 is immovable, and the movable blade plate 12 expands and surrounds the body of the container C (when the holding plate is in the “closed position P3”) or does not surround the container C. The side surface holding of the container C is executed / released by being positioned at the storage position (when the holding plate is in the “open position P4”). As described above, in the holding plate of the present embodiment, the reference blade plate 11 and the movable blade plate 12 cooperate with each other to hold the container stack CS in contact with the side surface of the container stack CS and the closed position P3 and the side surface of the container stack CS. It is possible to move to the open position P4 in which the side surface of the container stack CS is opened apart from the container stack CS.

In the present embodiment, one of the pair of holding plates (reference blade plate 11 in this example) is immovable, but the reference blade plate 11 is not limited to this embodiment, and the container C described above corresponds to the movable blade plate 12. It may be configured to be movable so as to surround at least a part of the body of the body. Further, the holding plate of the present embodiment does not have a pair of configurations like the reference blade plate 11 and the movable blade plate 12, and if the container C can hold its side surface without unintentionally tilting, a single curve is formed. A plate may be used.

Further, various known drive mechanisms such as a cylinder mechanism and an electric motor can be applied to the drive mechanism of the holding plate and the remaining configuration of the side holding means 10. As an example, the above-mentioned drive mechanism in the side surface holding means 10 may refer to, for example, the above-mentioned drive mechanism in the container holding mechanism of JP-A-2006-187861.

Flange support means 20 has a function as a stopper for supporting the flange Cf of the lowermost container C _B of the containers stacked CS. More specifically, the flange supporting means 20 of the present embodiment includes a support plate 21 capable of supporting the bottom of the flange Cf so as to sandwich at least a part of the body portion of the container C, and the flange Cf of the container C with the support plate 21. It is configured to include a moving mechanism that moves it closer to or further from the bottom of the.

Support plate 21 of the present embodiment is, for example, a member made of a metal piece or resin pieces, underpinning flange Cf of the containers C _B located at the very bottom of the container stack CS. Therefore, the support plate 21 of the present embodiment has a closed position P1 capable of contacting the lower side surface of the flange and supporting the container stack CS via the moving mechanism described above, and an opening that is separated from the flange by the closed position P1. It is configured to be movable between and between position P2 (see, for example, FIG. 3 and FIG. 5).

As a specific shape of the support plate 21, for example, it is preferable that the support plate 21 has a Y-shaped outer shape curved along the lower side surface of the flange corresponding to the flange Cf of the container C. However the shape of the support plate 21, specifically limited unless the container stack CS underpinning the flange Cf of the lowermost container C _B described above is dropped is not, or a V-shape, for example, instead of the Y-shaped, flange The support plate 21 may be composed of support pieces that support a part (one place or a plurality of places intermittently) of the lower side surface of the Cf.

The details of the moving mechanism for moving the support plate 21 are shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the moving mechanism of the present embodiment includes a swing link 22 that swings the support plate 21 and a drive cylinder 23 that drives the swing link 22. There is. More specifically, the swing link 22 is installed so that the base end 24 can be rotated by the frame means 50 described later, and the swing side end portion 25 is rotatably connected to the support plate 21. Has been done. Incidentally, as it is clear from FIG. 2, the base end 24 is positioned above the flange Cf of the container C _B.

Further, the drive cylinder 23 of the present embodiment is installed so that the base end portion 26 can be rotated by the frame means 50 described above, and the end portion on the action side is connected to the swing side end portion 25 described above. ing. Thus the proximal end 24 of the swing link 22 is positioned in the X axis direction frame side than the flange Cf of the container C _B, further movement swinging side end portion 25 by the driving cylinder 23 under the constraint of the pivot link 22 By doing so, the support plate 21 can rotate around the base end 24 as a fulcrum. The structures of the base end 24, the swing side end portion 25, and the base end portion 26 are not particularly limited as long as they can exhibit the above functions, and a known mechanism such as a bearing mechanism can be applied.

In other words, the support plate 21 of the present embodiment, the by the moving mechanism, a portion of the sides of the container stack CS (although containers C flange Cf from above of _B) and opposed fulcrum which is provided (the base end It is configured to rotate around 24) and swing between the above-mentioned open position P2 and closed position P1. At this time, the support plate 21 is pivoted from the bottom side of the container in the axial direction than the flange Cf of the lowermost container C _B (direction gripped container stack CS is laminated, Z-axis direction in FIG. 2) flanges It contacts the lower surface of Cf. As a result, smooth opening is realized when the container stack CS, which will be described later, is opened, and unintended tilting can be suppressed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, it is desirable that the support plate 21 swings so as to rotate via the above-mentioned moving mechanism, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this embodiment. Thus, for example if the sufficient to satisfy smooth opening and unintended tilting described above to some extent, form the support plate 21 is slid into the side (just beside) the flange Cf of the lowermost container C _B (linear movement) May be. In this case, the swing link 22 described above becomes unnecessary, and for example, the support plate 21 only needs to be linearly moved in and out by the drive cylinder 23, which can contribute to the reduction of the number of parts.

The drive means 30 has a function of transporting the container stack CS in a state where the side surface holding means 10 holds the side surface of the container stack CS and the flange supporting means 20 supports the lower side surface of the flange Cf. More specifically, the drive means 30 of the present embodiment can be exemplified by, for example, a known robot hand capable of six-axis drive, which is collectively controlled by a control device CPU described later.

In the present embodiment, the frame means 50 is provided at the tip of the robot hand as the drive means 30. As a result, in the present embodiment, the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 can be controlled to an arbitrary posture or positioned at a target location via the driving means 30.
The frame means 50 is not particularly limited as long as the above-mentioned side surface holding means 10 and flange supporting means 20 can be mounted. For example, as in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-187861, a metal material or a resin material is used. The known frame structure that has been used can be applied.

The opening / closing control means 40 controls the opening / closing of the holding plate in the side surface holding means 10 and the opening / closing of the support plate 21 of the flange supporting means 20 described above. More specifically, the open / close control means 40 of the present embodiment can be exemplified by a known computer provided with a memory (not shown) or a control device CPU. As a result, for example, the holding plate of the present embodiment can switch between the open position P4 and the closed position P3, and the support plate 21 can swing between the closed position P1 and the open position P2.

<Container stack transport method>
Next, the container stack transfer method in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9. This container stack transfer method is, for example, a transfer method using a container stack transfer device 100 having a side surface holding means 10 and a flange support means 20, which is stored as a program in the above-mentioned memory and can be executed by the control device CPU. The program of this container stack transport method may be stored in the above memory or downloaded via a network such as a cloud.

That is, in step 1 shown in FIG. 9, first, the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 are moved and positioned on the storage box 200 (first moving step). When the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 are positioned on the housing box 200, the states of the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 are set to the "unheld movement mode" shown in FIG.

More specifically, in the present embodiment, under the control by the opening / closing control means 40 described above, the side holding means 10 (holding plate) is in the open position P4 and the flange supporting means 20 is in the non-holding movement mode. The state in which the (support plate 21) is in the open position P2 is set. In the non-holding movement mode of the present embodiment, the flange supporting means 20 (support plate 21) is set to the open position P2, but the flange supporting means 20 (support plate 21) is not limited to this, and the flange supporting means 20 (support plate 21) is set to the closed position P1. It may be set to the state of.

In step 2 after step 1, the side holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 described above face the body of the container stack CS from above the unconveyed container stack CS housed in the storage box 200. And descend (descending process). When the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 descend from above the unconveyed container stack CS housed in the storage box 200, the states of the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 are shown in FIG. It is set to "take-out and lowering mode".

More specifically, in the present embodiment, under the control by the opening / closing control means 40 described above, the side surface holding means 10 (holding plate) is in the open position P4 and the flange supporting means 20 (the flange supporting means 20) is set as the take-out / lowering mode. The state in which the support plate 21) is in the closed position P1 is set. As described above, in the present embodiment, the holding plate of the side surface holding means 10 approaches the container stack CS before transfer in the state of the open position P4 and the support plate 21 of the flange supporting means 20 in the closed position P1. In other words, in the lowering step in the present embodiment, the support plate 21 is lowered from above the unconveyed container stack CS in the closed position P1 so as to come into contact with the flange Cf.

That is, when the flange support means 20 is inserted into the receiving box 200, which would be realized to be underpinned parallel flanges Cf of the lowermost container C _B in the support plate 21 at the same time. As a result, for example, when the container stack CS is held by the side surface holding means 10, the container stack CS can be smoothly held in the correct positional relationship defined while omitting the swing time of the support plate 21. Further, as is clear from FIGS. 1 and 4, the support plate 21 of the present embodiment is located inside the end of the container stack CS when inserted into the storage box 200. Therefore, since the support plate 21 does not interfere with the storage box 200 during the above-mentioned insertion, the container stack CS can be smoothly taken out even if the inner dimensions of the storage box 200 are approximately the same as the stacking height of the container stack CS. can.

In the following step 3, it is determined by the control device CPU described above whether or not the side holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 have reached the container stack CS via a known detecting means such as an optical sensor (not shown). As a method for determining the arrival at the container stack CS described above, in addition to the detection by the optical sensor or the like, the completion of descent is determined by teaching the robot hand by setting the position information of the storage box 200. It can be carried out.

When it is determined that the lowering of the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 is completed, the opening / closing control means 40 drives the side surface holding means 10 to be in the closed position P3 in step 4. (Side holding process). In this aspect holding step, the flange Cf and the side surface of the container stack CS in a state where the support plate 21 is in contact of the lowermost container C _B described above is held by the holding plates described above aspect holding means 10.

Then, in the following step 5, the control device CPU determines whether or not the side holding of the container stack CS by the opening / closing control means 40 is completed, and when the side holding is completed, the process proceeds to step 6. ..
That is, in step 6, the container stack CS is conveyed while the side surface holding means 10 holds the side surface of the container stack CS and the flange supporting means 20 supports the flange Cf (conveyance step).

Then, when the container stack CS is grasped from the storage box 200 and ascended to transport the container stack CS to a target location, the states of the side holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 are in the “conveying mode” shown in FIG. Is set to.

More specifically, in the present embodiment, under the control by the opening / closing control means 40 described above, the side surface holding means 10 (holding plate) is in the closed position P3 and the flange supporting means 20 (supporting) is in the transport mode. The state in which the plate 21) is in the closed position P1 is set. Thus, by underpinning flange Cf of the lowermost container C _B while maintaining the container stack CS by the side holding means 10, smooth extraction and transport and unintended tilting suppression and are compatible.

As shown in FIG. 6, during at least a part of the transport process, the driving means 30 tilts the container stack CS sandwiched between the side holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 diagonally with respect to the vertical direction. The container stack CS may be transported to a desired location. As a result, the unintended tilting of the container stack CS during transportation is further suppressed.

Next, in step 7, it is determined whether or not the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 holding the container stack CS have reached the target place which is the transport destination. Then, if the target location has not yet been reached, the above-mentioned transport operation is continued, while if the target location is reached, the process proceeds to step 8 and the container stack CS opening operation is executed.

That is, in step 8, the restraint (side holding & flange bottom support) of the container stack CS by the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 is released, and the container stack CS is opened (opening step). More specifically, in the opening step, as shown in FIG. 7, the container stack CS sandwiched between the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 is tilted obliquely with respect to the vertical direction, and the side surface holding means 10 and the container stack CS are tilted. It is preferable that the restraint by the flange supporting means 20 is released.

When the container stack CS restrained by the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 is inclined obliquely with respect to the vertical direction in the above-mentioned transporting step, the above-mentioned tilted state is continuously maintained even in the opening step. It is preferable to be done.

7 and 8 show a procedure (one example) for releasing the restraint of the container stack CS and the subsequent state transitions.
That is, as shown in FIG. 7, in the present embodiment, when the container stack CS is opened, the holding plate of the side holding means 10 first shifts to the above-mentioned open position P4 state (the state on the left side in FIG. 7). As a result, the container stack CS is in a state of being supported by the flange supporting means 20. At this time, as described above, since the container stack CS is inclined obliquely with respect to the vertical direction in the present embodiment, the contact with the holding plate is continuously maintained following the inclination of the side surface holding means 10.

Then, after the holding plate of the side surface holding means 10 shifts to the above-mentioned open position P4 state, the support plate 21 of the flange supporting means 20 then turns around the above-mentioned swing fulcrum (base end 24) to close the closed position P1. Shifts to the state of the open position P2 (the state on the right side in FIG. 7). As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the container stack CS from which the support has been released slides down into the container hopper 301 while sliding down on the blade-shaped holding plate. At this time, as described above, since the support plate 21 swivels and swings away from the flange Cf, it is possible to prevent the container stack CS from sliding down and tilting forward without becoming unstable.

The embodiment described above is an example embodying the gist of the present invention, and may be appropriately modified without departing from the above gist of the present invention. Further, a known structure or method may be appropriately added and modified without departing from the above gist of the present invention.

For example in the present embodiment has been working as a stopper for supporting the flange Cf of the lowermost container C _B of the container stack CS by a flange support means 20, in addition to the top of the container C _{T (FIG.} 2 A mechanism for covering the flange Cf of (see) from above may be further provided. This makes it possible to further suppress the tilting of the container stack CS during transportation and the like.

Further, the flange supporting means 20 supports the flange Cf of the _{lowermost container C B in} the container stack CS, and further, one or more of _{the flange supporting means 20 between the lowermost container C B} and the uppermost container C _T. It may have an additional support plate 21 that further supports the bottom of the flange Cf. As a result, the container stack CS can be supported more stably.

Further, in the present embodiment, the blade-shaped side surface holding means 10 has a linear shape along the axial direction of the container stack CS, but is not limited to this shape and has a gentle curved surface shape as long as the above-mentioned tilt does not occur. It may have a shape to be presented.

Further, in the present embodiment, a known sensor for detecting the number of containers remaining in the container hopper 301 is provided, and a new container stack is provided in the container hopper 301 in which the container C is insufficient based on the detection result of this sensor. The CS may be configured to be loaded by the container stack transfer device 100.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the two container stacks CS are restrained by the side holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20, respectively so as to be juxtaposed, and transported to the target location, but a single container stack. The CS may be transported, or three or more arbitrary container stack CS may be transported at the same time.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is suitable for realizing a container stack transport device that achieves both efficiency of transport time from a pickup to a destination and drop suppression at a high level.

100 Container stack transport device 10 Side holding means 20 Flange support means 30 Drive means 40 Open / close control means 50 Frame means 200 Storage box 300 Processing device 301 Container hopper 302 Container receiving opening

Claims (8)

A side holding means for holding the side of a container stack in which a plurality of containers are stacked, and
Flange supporting means for supporting the flange of the lowermost container in the container stack, and
A driving means for transporting the container stack while holding the side surface of the container stack by the side surface holding means and supporting the flange by the flange supporting means.
An opening / closing control means for controlling the opening / closing of the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means, and
A container stack transfer device characterized by being equipped with. The flange supporting means is
A support plate capable of supporting the lower side surface of the flange so as to sandwich at least a part of the body portion of the container.
Includes a moving mechanism that moves the support plate closer to or further from the flange.
The support plate moves through the moving mechanism to a closed position where the container stack can be supported in contact with the lower surface of the flange and an open position which is farther from the flange than the closed position. The container stack transfer device according to claim 1. The moving mechanism
A swing link that swings the support plate and
Including a drive cylinder for driving the swing link,
The container stack according to claim 2, wherein the support plate swings around a swing fulcrum provided so as to face a part of a side surface of the container stack to swing between the open position and the closed position. Transport device. The side surface holding means includes a holding plate extending in the axial direction of the container stack and capable of holding the side surface of the container stack.
The holding plate can be moved to a closed position in which the container stack is held in contact with the side surface of the container stack and an open position in which the side surface of the container stack is opened away from the side surface of the container stack.
The container stack transfer device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the holding plate is in the open position and the flange supporting means is in the closed position and approaches the container stack before transfer. The driving means tilts the container stack sandwiched between the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means at an angle with respect to the vertical direction.
The container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the opening / closing control means controls the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means to open the container stack in a state where the container stack is tilted. Stack transfer device. A container stack transporting method using a container stack transporting device having a side surface holding means for holding a side surface of a container stack in which a plurality of containers are stacked and a flange supporting means for supporting the flange of the lowermost container among the container stacks. And
A lowering step in which the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means are lowered from above the unconveyed container stack.
A side surface holding step of holding the side surface of the container stack by the side surface holding means in a state where the flange of the bottom container and the support plate are in contact with each other.
A transfer step of transporting the container stack while holding the side surface of the container stack by the side surface holding means and supporting the flange by the flange supporting means.
After the transfer step, an opening step of releasing the restraint of the container stack by the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means to release the container stack, and
A container stack transport method comprising. The support plate can be moved to a closed position capable of supporting the container stack in contact with the lower side surface of the flange via the moving mechanism and an open position farther from the flange than the closed position.
The container stack transport method according to claim 6, wherein in the lowering step, the support plate is lowered from above the undelivered container stack in the closed position so as to come into contact with the flange. In the opening step, the restraint of the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means is released in a state where the container stack sandwiched between the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means is inclined obliquely with respect to the vertical direction. , The container stack transport method according to claim 6 or 7.

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