JP2022049448A - Article transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an article transfer device capable of appropriately storing a plurality of articles in a container.SOLUTION: An article transfer device includes: a receiving member 50 composed of a sheet-shaped member; a first support part 81 for supporting a first end part 51 of the receiving member 50; a second support part 82 for supporting a specified region on a side of the second end part 52; and a posture change part 40 for changing a posture of the receiving member 50. The posture change part 40 can execute a first operation of holding the receiving member 50 so that the receiving member 50 is in a first posture along a horizontal plane, a second operation of releasing the receiving member 50 from the second support part 82, and a third operation of feeding out the receiving member 50 from the second support part 82, and the feed amount of the receiving member 50 is increased from the first posture by the third operation in response to the supply of a plurality of articles G, and after all the articles G are supplied, the second operation is executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to an article transfer device that receives articles supplied from an article supply device that supplies articles and transfers the articles to a conveyor arranged below the article supply device or a container installed on the conveyor.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-153394 discloses an article transfer device as described above (reference numerals in parentheses in the background art are those of the literature). This article transfer device extends over a box-shaped main body portion (19) having an open bottom and at least one side surface, and a pair of side surfaces facing the bottom surface of the main body portion (19) adjacent to the bottom surface. It is provided with a rectangular belt-shaped receiving member (27) having a length. The article (16) is supplied from the article supply device through the opening on the side surface of the main body (19), and the lower opening of the main body (19) and the opening of the container (17) face each other. The article (16) is transferred to the container (17).

When the article (16) is supplied through the opening on the side surface of the main body portion (19), the article (16) is received by the receiving member (27). At this time, the receiving member (27) is bent downward and the article is bent by fixing one side surface side (first side surface side) and paying out a certain length from the other side surface side (second side surface side). Accept (16). This feeding is carried out according to the transport timing of the container (17) transported below the main body (19). When all of the plurality of supplied articles (16) are received, the receiving member (27) is further extended and released from the second side surface side. Then, when the receiving member (27) is moved to the first side surface side, the receiving member (27) is pulled out from the container (17), and the article (16) is housed in the container (17). Since the article (16) comes into contact with the bottom of the container (17) after being received by the receiving member (27), the article (16) is appropriately transferred while suppressing the impact on the article (16). ..

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-153394

As described above, when the receiving member is extended by a certain length and bends downward, the articles are successfully placed in the container when a plurality of articles are loaded in excess of the capacity according to the magnitude of the deflection. It may not fit. That is, even if the capacity of the container is sufficient, it may not be possible to properly accommodate a plurality of articles in the container. Further, when the article is light, there is a possibility that the article may be ejected when the receiving member is pulled out after the article is put in.

In view of the above background, it is desired to provide an article transfer device capable of appropriately accommodating a plurality of articles in a container.

In view of the above, the article transfer device that receives the article supplied from the article supply device that supplies the article and transfers the article to a container arranged below the article supply device is flexible. A receiving member composed of a sheet-shaped member having the article to receive the article, a first supporting portion for supporting the first end portion which is one end of the receiving member, and an end portion on the other side of the receiving member. A second support portion that supports a defined region on the side of a certain second end portion and a posture change portion that changes the posture of the receiving member are provided, and the second support portion is the first support portion in a direction along a horizontal plane. The receiving member is arranged to face the support portion, supports the receiving member in the specified region, releases the receiving member, and holds the receiving member in the direction of the first end portion while supporting the receiving member. The posture changing portion can be extended, and the posture changing portion holds the receiving member between the first support portion and the second support portion so that the receiving member is in the first posture along the horizontal plane. One operation, the second operation of releasing the receiving member from the second support portion so that the receiving member is in a free state on the side of the second end portion, and the receiving member being said. From the first posture to the second posture, the third operation of feeding out the receiving member from the second support portion can be performed, and the posture changing portion has a plurality of posture changing portions from the article supply device. When the articles are sequentially supplied, the feeding amount of the receiving member is increased from the first posture by the third operation according to the supply of the plurality of the articles, and after all the articles are supplied, the articles are supplied. The second operation is executed.

According to this configuration, when a plurality of articles are sequentially supplied from the article supply device, the posture changing unit increases the feeding amount of the receiving member according to the supply of the plurality of articles. Therefore, as a plurality of articles are sequentially supplied, the amount of bending of the receiving member increases, and the capacity that the receiving member can receive increases. Therefore, a plurality of articles can be appropriately stored in the container without overflowing from the member. That is, according to this configuration, it is possible to provide an article transfer device capable of appropriately accommodating a plurality of articles in a container.

Further features and advantages of the article transfer device will be apparent from the following description of exemplary and non-limiting embodiments described with reference to the drawings.

Perspective view of a sorting system equipped with an article transfer device Top view of a sorting system equipped with an article transfer device Perspective view schematically showing a part of the multi-stage sorting device Side view of sorting system A perspective view schematically showing the internal structure of the main body of the article transfer device. Control block diagram of a sorting system including an article transfer device and an article transfer device The figure which shows an example of the state transition of the article transfer apparatus.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the article transfer device will be described with reference to the drawings, taking as an example the embodiment applied to the sorting system (assortment system).

First, the sorting system PS will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the sorting system PS is provided in, for example, a distribution facility owned by a mail-order business operator, and sorts and delivers necessary goods G from a plurality of stored goods G. The sorting system PS sorts and delivers necessary articles G from a plurality of articles G stored in an automated warehouse (not shown), for example. In this case, in the automated warehouse, a plurality of articles G are stored in a container for each type. Then, the plurality of articles G housed in the container for each type are automatically carried out from the automated warehouse and separated into individual articles G at the article disassembling portion (not shown). After that, each of the plurality of articles G is individually transported. The "article G" is, for example, various products such as foodstuffs and daily necessities, work-in-process products used in a production line of a factory, and the like, and the article G to be sorted includes various products. Is done.

The sorting system PS receives the article G from the multi-stage sorting device 7 and the multi-stage sorting device 7, and carries the received article G along the first direction X which is a direction away from the multi-stage sorting device 7. The conveyor 8 and the article transfer device 100 that receives the article G from the unloading conveyor 8 and conveys the article G along the second direction Y that intersects the first direction X (orthogonally in the illustrated example) in a plan view. I have. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the sorting system PS of this example receives the article G from the article transport device 100 via the carry-in device 6 for carrying the article G into the multi-stage sorting device 7 and the article transfer device 5. It is equipped with a carry-out device 9 for carrying out.

Although the details will be described later, the article transport device 100 corresponds to an article supply device that supplies the article G to the article transfer device 5. Further, the carry-out device 9 corresponds to a conveyor (shipping conveyor) arranged below the article supply device. The article transfer device 5 is an automatic loading device that automatically transfers the article G to the unloading device 9 or the container B installed on the unloading device 9. In the present embodiment, the article transfer device 5 is arranged on the second direction first side Y1 which is the downstream side in the transport direction of the article transfer device 100 with respect to the article transfer device 100, and serves as an article supply device. It is configured as an automatic loading machine that receives the article G supplied from the article transporting device 100 and automatically loads the article G into the container B installed on the unloading device 9.

The carry-in device 6 sequentially carries the article G, which is carried out from the automated warehouse in a state of being housed in a container for each type and is individually separated in the article disassembling portion, into the multi-stage sorting device 7. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the carry-in device 6 is configured as a conveyor.

The multi-stage sorting device 7 is a device for sorting the articles G carried in from the carrying-in device 6. As shown in FIG. 3, the multi-stage sorting device 7 has a multi-stage frontage 71 having different heights in the vertical direction, and sorts the article G into any of the multi-stage frontages 71 and discharges the article G. In the illustrated example, the multi-stage sorting device 7 has a plurality of frontages 71 of an orthogonal grid array consisting of a plurality of stages and a plurality of rows.

The multi-stage sorting device 7 sorts the article G into any of the plurality of frontages 71 based on the order information. In this example, the multi-stage sorting device 7 sorts the articles G by discharging the articles G from a specific frontage 71 determined based on the order information and delivering them to the carry-out conveyor 8. The order information here is, for example, an order (picking order) in which the type and quantity of the article G (which may be a single type or a combination of a plurality of types) to be shipped is specified. This is information indicating. Then, the multi-stage sorting device 7 sorts the articles G by discharging one or more articles G designated by each order to different frontages 71 for each order.

Although detailed illustration is omitted, for example, the multi-stage sorting device 7 includes an article discriminating unit for discriminating the article G. The multi-stage sorting device 7 sorts the articles G based on the discrimination result by the article discrimination unit. For example, the article discriminating unit includes a camera that captures the article G, and is configured to discriminate the article G by performing image recognition processing on the image data acquired by this camera. However, without being limited to such a configuration, for example, an IC tag, a barcode, or the like (storage unit) for storing article information is attached to the article G, and the article discrimination unit reads the article information. A reader (reading unit) may be provided, and the article G may be discriminated based on the article information read by the reader.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the multi-stage sorting device 7 includes a rail 72 and a plurality of transport carts 73 that move along the rail 72. The rail 72 includes a horizontal portion provided along the horizontal direction (second direction Y) for each of a plurality of stages in which the frontage 71 is provided. The transport carriage 73 is configured to travel along the horizontal portion of the rail 72, thereby transporting the article G in the second direction Y. Further, the rail 72 may extend in the vertical direction and may include upper and lower portions for connecting horizontal portions arranged in each of a plurality of stages. In this case, the transport carriage 73 is configured to move up and down along the upper and lower portions of the rail 72, whereby it can move to each of the horizontal portions arranged in each of a plurality of stages. In this case, the number of transport carriages 73 is not limited to the number of stages in which the frontage 71 is provided. Therefore, for example, it is possible to arrange a number of transport carriages 73 that is smaller or larger than the number of stages in which the frontage 71 is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 3, eight transport carts 73 are arranged with respect to the frontage 71 of eight stages.

In the present embodiment, each of the transport carts 73 is provided with a discharge conveyor 74 that supports the article G from below and discharges the article G from the frontage 71. The discharge conveyor 74 moves the article G from the traveling path of the transport carriage 73 in the first direction X.

The carry-out conveyor 8 is a device for transporting the articles G sorted by the multi-stage sorting device 7. In the present embodiment, the carry-out conveyor 8 is provided corresponding to each of the frontages 71 of the plurality of stages, and the article G discharged from the frontage 71 by the multi-stage sorting device 7 is temporarily stored and the storage thereof. The article G is configured to be conveyed in the first direction X. In the present embodiment, the plurality of carry-out conveyors 8 are arranged side by side in the second direction Y so as to correspond to each of the frontages 71 of the plurality of rows in each of the plurality of stages.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the unloading conveyor 8 conveys the article G in units of the article group Gg, which is a collection of a plurality of articles G for each order, and discharges the article G to the article transport device 100. The number of articles G constituting one article group Gg varies from order to order. For example, depending on the order, one article group Gg may be composed of one article G.

The article transport device 100 is a device for transporting the article G. The article transfer device 100 as an article supply device conveys the article G (article group Gg) discharged from the carry-out conveyor 8 in the second direction Y in the sorting system PS, and carries out the article transfer device 9 via the article transfer device 5. Hand over to.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article transporting device 100 includes a first conveyor 1 and a second conveyor 2 for transporting the article G, respectively. Further, the article transfer device 100 further includes an intermediate conveyor 3 arranged between the first conveyor 1 and the second conveyor 2 in the second direction Y. The first conveyor 1, the second conveyor 2, and the intermediate conveyor 3 are driven and controlled by the control device C (see FIG. 6).

In the present embodiment, the first conveyor 1 is composed of a belt conveyor having a pulley and a belt wound around the pulley, and the first transport surface F1 is formed on the upper surface of the belt. The belt is driven by rotationally driving the pulley by an actuator such as a motor (first drive unit M1: see FIG. 6). The first drive unit M1 is controlled by the control device C.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first conveyor 1 includes a first side wall portion S1 arranged adjacent to the first direction X with respect to the first transport surface F1. The first side wall portion S1 projects upward from the first transport surface F1 and is arranged along the second direction Y. The first side wall portion S1 can prevent the article G transported on the first transport surface F1 from falling off from the first transport surface F1 to the outside of the first direction X. In other words, the first side wall portion S1 can appropriately guide the article G being transported on the first transport surface F1 in the second direction Y (transport direction). In this example, the first side wall portion S1 is also configured as a conveyor, and the article G is conveyed along the second direction Y (conveyance direction) by both the first transport surface F1 and the first side wall portion S1. To.

As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, in the present embodiment, the first conveyor 1 includes an elevating mechanism 11 for elevating and lowering the first transport surface F1. The elevating mechanism 11 is controlled by the control device C (see FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 4, the first conveyor 1 raises and lowers the first conveyor surface F1 by the elevating mechanism 11, so that the first conveyor 1 is first conveyed to a height corresponding to each of the unloading conveyors 8 provided over a plurality of stages. The surface F1 can be arranged, and the article G can be received from any of the unloading conveyors 8 in a plurality of stages. In this example, as shown in FIG. 1, the elevating mechanism 11 has a mast 111 that vertically supports the first transport surface support portion 10 and an elevating drive unit 110 that elevates and drives the first transport surface support portion 10. I have.

Although detailed description is omitted, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the second conveyor 2 is arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction (first side Y1 in the second direction) from the first conveyor 1. The second conveyor 2 is arranged at a different height from the first transport surface F1 and drives the transport surface independently of the transport surface on which the article G is placed and the first drive unit M1. The second drive unit M2 is provided. Similar to the first conveyor 1, the second conveyor 2 is composed of a belt conveyor having a pulley and a belt wound around the pulley, and a transport surface is formed on the upper surface of the belt. The belt is driven by rotationally driving the pulley by an actuator such as a motor (second drive unit M2: see FIG. 6). The second drive unit M2 is controlled by the control device C.

Further, the intermediate conveyor 3 is transported between the first conveyor 1 and the second conveyor 2, that is, on the downstream side in the transport direction from the first conveyor 1 (first side Y1 in the second direction) and more than the second conveyor 2. It is arranged on the upstream side in the direction (Y2 on the second side in the second direction). The intermediate conveyor 3 is arranged at different heights with respect to the transport surfaces of the first conveyor F1 and the second conveyor 2, and the conveyor 3 is conveyed with the article G placed on it, and the first drive unit M1 and the first drive unit M1 and the first. 2 An intermediate drive unit M3 that drives the transport surface independently of the drive unit M2 is provided. Like the first conveyor 1 and the second conveyor 2, the intermediate conveyor 3 is composed of a belt conveyor having a pulley and a belt wound around the pulley, and a transport surface is formed on the upper surface of the belt. The belt is driven by rotationally driving the pulley by an actuator such as a motor (intermediate drive unit M3: see FIG. 6). The intermediate drive unit M3 is controlled by the control device C.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first transport surface F1 of the first conveyor 1 is inclined at an angle of the first direction X with respect to the horizontal plane (for example, 10 ° to 20 °). As a result, the article G transported by the first conveyor 1 can be transported in a state of being brought closer to the side of the first side wall portion S1 on the first transport surface F1. In this example, the angle of the first transport surface F1 in the second direction Y with respect to the horizontal plane is set to 0 °.

Further, the height of the transport surface of the second conveyor 2 in the vertical direction is lower than that of the first transport surface F1, and the angle of the first direction X with respect to the horizontal plane is larger than the angle of the first direction X with respect to the horizontal plane of the first transport surface F1. Is also a small angle (0 ° in this embodiment). That is, the transport surface of the second conveyor 2 is arranged along the horizontal plane. As a result, the article G can be transported along the horizontal plane. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article G is carried out in units of the article group Gg for each order on the downstream side in the transport direction (the first side Y1 in the second direction) from the second conveyor 2. An article transfer device 5 (automatic loading machine) for loading into 9 is provided. In this example, the angle of the second direction Y with respect to the horizontal plane of the transport surface of the second conveyor 2 is set to 0 °.

The transport surface of the intermediate conveyor 3 is arranged between the transport surface of the first transport surface F1 and the transport surface of the second conveyor 2 in the vertical direction, and the angle of the first direction X with respect to the horizontal plane is the first with respect to the horizontal plane of the first transport surface F1. It is tilted at an intermediate angle between the angle of direction X and the angle of first direction X with respect to the horizontal plane of the transport surface of the second conveyor 2. With such a configuration, it is possible to shorten the vertical distance when the article G moves from the transport surface to the transport surface between the plurality of conveyors. Therefore, according to the article transport device 100, the impact when the article moves between a plurality of conveyors having transport surfaces having different inclination angles in the first direction X with respect to the horizontal plane and heights in the vertical direction is alleviated. Is possible. In this example, the angle of the second direction Y with respect to the horizontal plane of the transport surface of the intermediate conveyor 3 is set to 0 °.

The article transfer device 5 includes a box-shaped main body 55 having an input port 56 to which the article G is supplied from the article transfer device 100 is formed on the second side Y2 in the second direction and the bottom is open. .. The article transfer device 5 is arranged so that the bottom of the main body 55 is located above the carry-out device 9 installed below the article transfer device 100 as the article supply device. The unloading device 9 conveys the container B for accommodating the article G in units of the article group Gg sorted by the multi-stage sorting device 7. In the present embodiment, the empty container B is sequentially conveyed from the second side Y2 in the second direction toward the first side Y1 in the second direction from the article transfer device 5, and the article is transported below the article transfer device 5. G is housed in container B. Then, the container B in which the article G is housed is conveyed from the article transfer device 5 toward the first side Y1 in the second direction in units of the article group Gg.

The details will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7, but the article transfer device 5 includes a receiving member 50 that receives the article G from the article transporting device 100 as an article supplying device, and a first end portion 51 of the receiving member 50. A first support portion 81 for supporting the receiving member 50, a second supporting portion 82 for supporting the defined region R on the side of the second end portion 52 of the receiving member 50, and a posture changing portion 40 for changing the posture of the receiving member 50. ing.

FIG. 5 shows the internal structure of the main body portion 55, and as shown in FIG. 5, the receiving member 50 is composed of a flexible sheet-like member. In the present embodiment, the receiving member 50 has a rectangular shape, the first end portion 51 is one side, and the second end portion 52 is the opposite side of the first end portion 51. The first support portion 81 supports the first end portion 51, which is one end of the sheet-shaped receiving member 50. The second support portion 82 supports the defined region R on the side of the second end portion 52, which is the other end of the sheet-shaped receiving member 50. As will be described later, the posture of the receiving member 50 changes as the support position in the defined region R by the second support portion 82 changes. The posture changing portion 40 changes the posture of the receiving member 50 by changing the support position by the second supporting portion 82 while the first end portion 51 is supported by the first supporting portion 81.

As shown in FIG. 5, the article transfer device 5 is a drive sprocket arranged in one of the four inner corners of each of the two side surfaces of the box-shaped main body 55 along the first direction X. It is equipped with 64 and a driven sprocket 62 arranged at each of the three corners. The drive sprockets 64 provided on the two side surface portions are arranged in pairs facing each other, and are connected by a drive shaft 65 in the present embodiment. The drive sprocket 64 and the drive shaft 65 are rotationally driven by a circumferential drive unit M6 configured by an actuator such as a motor. Further, the driven sprockets 62 provided on the two side surface portions are also arranged in pairs and opposed to each other. In this embodiment, the guide shaft 63 is provided between the pair of driven sprockets 62. The guide shaft 63 guides the movement of the sheet-shaped receiving member 50 and functions as a support portion (first support portion 81 and second support portion 82) for supporting the receiving member 50. The driven sprocket 62 and the guide shaft 63 may be rotatable relative to each other.

A drive chain 61 is stretched over one drive sprocket 64 and three driven sprockets 62 arranged inside each side surface portion. The drive shaft 65 and the drive sprocket 64 are rotationally driven by the circumferential drive unit M6, so that the drive chain 61 moves in a fixed path and orbits along the surface of each side surface portion. A connecting member 53 to which one end of the sheet-shaped receiving member 50 is connected is connected to a predetermined position of the pair of drive chains 61. In the present embodiment, the connecting member 53 is a member having rigidity to hold the entire area of the side constituting the first end portion 51 of the receiving member 50. In the illustrated example, the connecting member 53 is a rod-shaped member extending over the entire area of the receiving member 50 in the second direction Y. When the drive chain 61 orbits, the receiving member 50 also orbits together with the drive chain 61. The end on the side where the connecting member 53 is provided along the circumferential direction is the first end 51 of the receiving member 50, and the end on the opposite side to the first end 51 along the circumferential direction is the receiving member. The second end 52 of 50.

The receiving member 50 is connected to the drive chain 61 via the connecting member 53 on the side of the first end portion 51, which is the downstream side in the circumferential direction. The side of the second end 52, which is the upstream side of the receiving member 50, is not connected to the drive chain 61, and is narrowly held by the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42 in a part of the circumferential direction. .. The feed roller 41 is rotationally driven by a feeding drive unit M5 configured by an actuator such as a motor. The feeding drive unit M5 is controlled by the control device C.

By rotating the feed roller 41 while the receiving member 50 is sandwiched between the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42, the receiving member 50 can be fed in the circumferential direction even if the drive chain 61 is stopped. .. When the feed roller 41 is stopped, the movement of the receiving member 50 in the circumferential direction can be restricted by holding the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42 tightly. Although not shown in the drive device, it is preferable that the pressing roller 42 is configured so that the position can be changed between a state in which the feed roller 41 is pressed and a state in which the feed roller 41 is separated from the feed roller 41 and released from the pressed state. Is.

As shown in FIG. 5, the guide shaft 63 and the connecting member for guiding the side of the first end portion 51 of the receiving member 50 in a state where the receiving member 50 is positioned so as to close the opening at the bottom of the main body portion 55. 53 corresponds to a first support portion 81 that supports the first end portion 51 of the receiving member 50. Further, the guide shaft 63, the feed roller 41, and the pressing roller 42 that guide the side of the second end portion 52 of the receiving member 50 are on the second supporting portion 82 that supports the receiving member 50 on the side of the second end portion 52. Equivalent to. As described above, even when the drive chain 61 is stopped and the connecting member 53 does not move, the receiving member 50 can be extended in the circumferential direction on the side of the second end portion 52. That is, the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42 can restrict the movement of the receiving member 50 in the circumferential direction while the receiving member 50 is extended in the circumferential direction. That is, the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42 can support the defined region R on the side of the second end portion 52.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first support portion 81 and the second support portion 82 are arranged so as to face each other in the direction along the horizontal plane. Then, as described above, the second support portion 82 supports the receiving member 50 in the defined region R, and the receiving member 50 is extended in the direction of the first end portion 51 while the receiving member 50 is supported. Is possible. Further, the second support portion 82 can be released without supporting the receiving member 50 by feeding out the receiving member 50 to the downstream side in the circumferential direction from the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42.

As shown in the first phase # 1 of FIGS. 5 and 7, the receiving member 50 has a first posture in which the receiving member 50 is along the horizontal plane between the first support portion 81 and the second support portion 82, and FIG. As shown in the 4th phase # 4, the 5th phase # 5, and the 6th phase # 6, the second posture in which the receiving member 50 is released and becomes a free state on the side of the second end portion 52, and FIG. As shown in the second phase # 2 and the third phase # 3, the receiving member 50 bends downward from the horizontal plane between the first support portion 81 and the second support portion 82, and the third posture. Can be in a state. The second support portion 82 supports the receiving member 50 in the defined region R, so that the receiving member 50 is in the first posture and the third posture. The third posture is realized by the second support portion 82 extending the receiving member 50 in the first posture toward the first end portion 51. Further, the second support portion 82 extends the receiving member 50 to the downstream side in the circumferential direction from the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42, so that the receiving member 50 is in the second posture.

As described above, the posture of the receiving member 50 is changed from the first posture to the third posture by rotationally driving the feeding roller 41 in a state where the receiving member 50 is sandwiched by the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42. Further, it is possible to change from the third posture to the second posture. Therefore, the feed roller 41, the pressing roller 42, and the feeding drive unit M5 correspond to the posture changing unit 40 that changes the posture of the receiving member 50. As described above, the posture changing portion 40 has a first operation of holding the receiving member 50 so that the receiving member 50 is in the first posture, and a second operation in which the receiving member 50 is in a free state on the side of the second end portion 52. The second operation of releasing the receiving member 50 from the second support portion 82 so as to have two postures, and the receiving member 50 changing from the first posture to the second posture so that the receiving member 50 forms the third posture. In the meantime, the third operation of feeding out the receiving member 50 from the second support portion 82 can be executed.

As described above, the article G housed in the container B may constitute an article group Gg composed of a plurality of articles G. When a plurality of articles G are sequentially supplied from the article transport device 100, the posture changing unit 40 increases the feeding amount of the receiving member from the first posture by the third operation according to the supply of the plurality of articles G. After all the articles G have been supplied, the second operation is performed. As a result, as the plurality of articles G are sequentially supplied, the amount of bending of the receiving member 50 increases, and the capacity that the receiving member 50 can receive increases. Therefore, the plurality of articles G can be appropriately stored in the container without overflowing from the member.

The feeding amount in the third operation is the total amount of the articles G constituting the group of articles Gg supplied from the article transporting device 100, or the supply of the articles G constituting the group of articles Gg supplied from the article transporting device 100. It can be set according to the time according to the time.

That is, the posture changing unit 40 controls so that the amount of the receiving member 50 delivered by the third operation until the second operation is started increases as the total amount of the articles G supplied from the article transporting device 100 increases. be able to. When the posture changing unit 40 controls in this way, as the total amount of the articles G increases, the amount of bending of the receiving member 50 increases and the capacity of the bent portion increases, so that a plurality of articles G can be appropriately received. It can be stored in the container B. Here, as a measure for determining the total amount of the article G, for example, any one or a combination of the volume, the number, and the weight of the article G can be used. These information can be configured to be received by the control device C from a higher-level control device or the like.

Further, the posture changing unit 40 can continuously feed the receiving member 50 by the third operation for a time corresponding to the supply time of the article G from the article transporting device 100. When the posture changing unit 40 is controlled in this way, the amount of bending of the receiving member 50 gradually increases with the passage of time according to the supply time, and the capacity of the bent portion also gradually increases. Therefore, when a plurality of articles G are supplied, a deflection capable of receiving the plurality of articles G can be appropriately formed, and the plurality of articles G can be appropriately accommodated in the container B.

Further, the posture changing unit 40 may pay out the receiving member 50 by the third operation so that the articles G supplied from the article transporting device 100 are sequentially placed and overlapped on the receiving member 50. When the posture changing unit 40 is controlled in this way, the amount of bending of the receiving member 50 increases as the number of articles G supplied increases, and a plurality of articles G can be appropriately accommodated in the container B in a stacked state.

Further, the posture changing unit 40 may start the third operation before the first article G among the articles G constituting the group of articles Gg is supplied from the article transport device 100. As shown in the first phase # 1 of FIGS. 5 and 7, before the article G is supplied from the article transport device 100, the receiving member 50 is in the first posture along the horizontal plane and is in a state where tension is applied. Is. Therefore, the article G supplied from the article transport device 100 may bounce due to the receiving member 50. However, if the third operation is started and the receiving member 50 is bent before the first article G is supplied, the tension is lowered, so that the article G is hard to bounce and is appropriately received by the receiving member 50. As a matter of course, even in the first posture, if the tension is lowered to the extent that the receiving member 50 does not bend, the first article G is supplied at the same time as the first article G is supplied, or the first article G starts to be supplied. Later, the third operation may be started.

Hereinafter, the procedure for transferring a plurality of articles G (article group Gg) by the article transfer device 5 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. Before the article G is supplied from the article transfer device 100, the receiving member 50 is in the first posture supported by the first support portion 81 and the second support portion 82 (first phase # 1). Subsequently, the posture changing unit 40 increases the feeding amount of the receiving member 50 from the first posture by the third operation according to the supply of the article G (second phase # 2, third phase # 3). The third phase # 3 is a phase in which the supply time of the article G from the article transport device 100 has elapsed from the second phase # 2, or as shown in FIG. 7, more articles G than the second phase # 2. Is the supplied phase. Therefore, in the third phase # 3, the receiving member # 3 is extended more than in the second phase # 2, and the downward bending of the receiving member 50 is larger.

When all the articles G constituting the group of articles Gg are supplied, the posture changing unit 40 executes the second operation and releases the receiving member 50 from the second support unit 82 (fourth phase # 4). As a result, the tension of the receiving member 50 is lost, and the article G, together with the receiving member 50, descends to the bottom of the container B (fifth phase # 5). At this time, since the article G is sufficiently lowered to a position close to the bottom of the container B by the receiving member 50 bent downward, the impact between the container B and the article G is alleviated. Subsequently, the drive chain 61 is driven by the circumferential drive unit M6, and the receiving member 50 having the first end portion 51 fixed to the drive chain 61 is pulled out from the container B (sixth phase # 6).

By gradually increasing the amount of bending of the receiving member 50 in this way, the article G can be stably transferred to the container B. Therefore, even when the total amount of the article G to be transferred to the container B is large, the article G can be appropriately transferred.

[Other embodiments]
Hereinafter, other embodiments will be described. It should be noted that the configuration of each embodiment described below is not limited to the one applied independently, and can be applied in combination with the configuration of other embodiments as long as there is no contradiction.

(1) In the above, the embodiment in which the entire receiving member 50 has a rectangular shape, the first end portion 51 is one side, and the second end portion 52 is the opposite side of the first end portion 51 will be illustrated and described. did. However, the receiving member 50 does not have to have a rectangular shape as a whole. For example, the range located between the first support portion 81 and the second support portion 82 from the first posture to the second posture through the third posture may be at least rectangular. For example, the side of the first end portion 51 may have a triangular shape whose width becomes narrower toward the end portion. In the above, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the mode in which the connecting member 53 holds the entire area of the side constituting the first end portion 51 of the receiving member 50 is illustrated, but in this case, the connecting member 53 is the first. It is preferable that the configuration is such that the triangular vertices on the side of one end 51 are held.

(2) In the above, the feeding amount in the third operation is the total amount of the articles G constituting the group of articles Gg supplied from the article transporting device 100, or the group of articles Gg supplied from the article transporting device 100. The form set according to the supply time of the article G constituting the above is illustrated and described. However, the feeding amount may be controlled to increase at a constant rate for a certain period of time regardless of the amount of the article G supplied from the article transporting device 100 and the supply time.

(3) In the above, the mode in which the article G supplied to the charging port 56 is conveyed by the first conveyor 1, the second conveyor 2, and the intermediate conveyor 3 has been illustrated and described. However, without being limited to such a form, various known methods can be used as a method of supplying the article G to the input port 56. For example, the article G may be supplied to the input port 56 by using a slider instead of a conveyor. Further, when the article G is supplied to the input port 56 by using a conveyor, the conveyor may be composed of a conveyor other than the belt conveyor, for example, a roller conveyor or a chain conveyor.

(4) In the above, the embodiment in which the article G is automatically put into the unloading device 9 or the container B installed on the unloading device 9 in which the article transfer device 5 is provided with a conveyor will be described. did. However, the container B is not limited to the form of being automatically conveyed by a conveyor or the like, and may be installed by an operator or the like. That is, the article transfer device 5 may receive the article G supplied from the article supply device and transfer the article G to the container B arranged below the article supply device, and the container B is the article transfer device. It may be installed in any way with respect to 5.

[Outline of Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the outline of the article transfer device described above will be briefly described.

In one embodiment, the article transfer device that receives the article supplied from the article supply device that supplies the article and transfers the article to a container arranged below the article supply device is flexible. A receiving member composed of a sheet-shaped member having the article to receive the article, a first supporting portion for supporting the first end portion which is one end of the receiving member, and an end portion on the other side of the receiving member. A second support portion that supports a defined region on the side of a certain second end portion and a posture change portion that changes the posture of the receiving member are provided, and the second support portion is the first support portion in a direction along a horizontal plane. The receiving member is arranged to face the support portion, supports the receiving member in the specified region, releases the receiving member, and holds the receiving member in the direction of the first end portion while supporting the receiving member. The posture changing portion can be extended, and the posture changing portion holds the receiving member between the first support portion and the second support portion so that the receiving member is in the first posture along the horizontal plane. One operation, the second operation of releasing the receiving member from the second support portion so that the receiving member is in a free state on the side of the second end portion, and the receiving member being said. From the first posture to the second posture, the third operation of feeding out the receiving member from the second support portion can be performed, and the posture changing portion has a plurality of posture changing portions from the article supply device. When the articles are sequentially supplied, the feeding amount of the receiving member is increased from the first posture by the third operation according to the supply of the plurality of the articles, and after all the articles are supplied, the articles are supplied. The second operation is executed.

According to this configuration, when a plurality of articles are sequentially supplied from the article supply device, the posture changing unit increases the feeding amount of the receiving member according to the supply of the plurality of articles. Therefore, as a plurality of articles are sequentially supplied, the amount of bending of the receiving member increases, and the capacity that the receiving member can receive increases. Therefore, a plurality of articles can be appropriately stored in the container without overflowing from the member. That is, according to this configuration, it is possible to provide an article transfer device capable of appropriately accommodating a plurality of articles in a container.

Here, as the total amount of the articles supplied from the article supply device increases, the posture changing unit increases the amount of the receiving member delivered by the third operation until the second operation is started. It is preferable to control as such.

According to this configuration, as the total amount of articles supplied from the article supply device increases, the amount of bending of the receiving member increases, and the capacity of the bent portion increases. Therefore, a plurality of articles can be appropriately received and contained in a container.

Further, it is preferable that the posture changing unit pays out the receiving member by the third operation continuously for a time corresponding to the supply time of the article from the article supply device.

According to this configuration, the amount of bending of the receiving member gradually increases with the passage of time according to the supply time, and the capacity of the bent portion also gradually increases. Therefore, when a plurality of articles are supplied, it is possible to appropriately form a deflection capable of receiving the plurality of articles and appropriately accommodate the plurality of articles in the container.

Further, it is preferable that the posture changing unit pays out the receiving member by the third operation so that the articles supplied from the article supplying device are sequentially placed on the receiving member and overlapped with each other.

According to this configuration, the amount of bending of the receiving member increases as the number of articles to be supplied increases, and a plurality of articles can be appropriately stored in a container in a state of being stacked.

Further, it is preferable that the posture changing unit starts the third operation before the first article is supplied from the article supply device.

According to this configuration, the article to be supplied first can be appropriately received by the receiving member.

Further, it is preferable that the receiving member has a rectangular shape, the first end portion is one side, and the second end portion is the opposite side of the first end portion.

Since the receiving member has a rectangular shape and the first end and the second end are opposite to each other, the first posture and the third posture are appropriately formed, and the receiving member is quickly seconded in the second posture. It can be released from the support.

Further, it is preferable that the container is placed on a conveyor arranged below the article supply device and conveyed.

Since the container is placed on the conveyor and transported, it becomes easy to automate the loading of the article from the article transfer device into the container and the transport of the container after the article is loaded.

5: Article transfer device 9: Carry-out device (conveyor installed below the article supply device)
40: Posture change part 50: Receiving member 51: First end part 52: Second end part 81: First support part 82: Second support part 100: Article transfer device (article supply device)
B: Container G: Article R: Specified area

Claims (7)

An article transfer device that receives the article supplied from the article supply device that supplies the article and transfers the article to a container arranged below the article supply device.
A receiving member composed of a flexible sheet-like member and receiving the article,
A first support portion that supports the first end portion, which is one end portion of the receiving member, and a first support portion.
A second support portion that supports a defined area on the side of the second end portion, which is the other end portion of the receiving member, and a second support portion.
A posture changing portion for changing the posture of the receiving member is provided.
The second support portion is arranged so as to face the first support portion in a direction along a horizontal plane to support the receiving member, release the receiving member, and support the receiving member in the specified region. It is possible to extend the receiving member in the direction of the first end portion in this state.
The posture change part is
The first operation of holding the receiving member between the first supporting portion and the second supporting portion so that the receiving member is in the first posture along the horizontal plane.
A second operation of releasing the receiving member from the second supporting portion so that the receiving member is in the second posture in which the receiving member is in a free state on the side of the second end portion.
It is possible to execute the third operation of feeding out the receiving member from the second support portion while the receiving member is in the first posture to the second posture.
When a plurality of the articles are sequentially supplied from the article supply device, the posture changing unit pays out the receiving member from the first posture by the third operation in response to the supply of the plurality of articles. An article transfer device that increases and performs the second operation after all the articles have been supplied. The posture changing unit controls so that as the total amount of the articles supplied from the article supply device increases, the amount of the receiving member delivered by the third operation until the second operation starts increases. The article transfer device according to claim 1. The article transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the posture changing unit continuously pays out the receiving member by the third operation for a time corresponding to the supply time of the article from the article supply device. The article transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the posture changing unit pays out the receiving member by the third operation so that the articles supplied from the article supplying device are sequentially placed and overlapped on the receiving member. The article transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the posture changing unit starts the third operation before the first article is supplied from the article supply device. The one according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the receiving member has a rectangular shape, the first end portion is one side, and the second end portion is the opposite side of the first end portion. Goods transfer device. The article transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the container is placed and conveyed on a conveyor arranged below the article supply device.

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