JP2023031967A - Commodity conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a commodity conveying device capable of successfully conveying a commodity while preventing the commodity from being damaged.SOLUTION: In a commodity conveying device, a conveying unit 30 for conveying a commodity placed on a commodity storage rack 2 to a commodity placing shelf 6 comprises: a unit body 33 which has a bottom 331 and a rear face 332 and can be moved in a vertical direction or the like; and an operation mechanism 35 which is disposed on the unit body 33 in such a manner as to be able to perform an advance movement away from the rear face 332 and a retreat movement approaching the rear face 332 and is disposed at a standby position in a normal state. When the unit body 33 is moved to a commodity take-out position of the commodity storage rack 2, the commodity conveying device performs the advance movement of the operation mechanism 35 from the standby position to engage an operation member 353 with the commodity and then performs the retreat movement to be located on the standby position, and thus places the commodity on the bottom 331. After the unit body 33 is moved to a commodity delivery position of the commodity placing shelf 6, the commodity conveying device performs the advance movement of the operation mechanism 35 from the standby position while releasing an engagement state of the operation member 353 with the commodity, and thus places the commodity on the commodity placing shelf 6.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product transport device, and more particularly to a product transport device having a transport unit that transports target products stored at the most downstream position of a product storage shelf to a product placement shelf.

For example, in a refrigerated warehouse (backyard) built in a store such as a convenience store or a supermarket, product storage is arranged in showcases that allow customers to take out products from product storage shelves that store products. 2. Description of the Related Art As a commodity conveying device that conveys commodities toward a shelf, one having a gripping unit proposed in Patent Literature 1 is known.

Such a grasping unit comprises a pair of left and right arm members, and an arm driving section for moving these arm members in a manner of approaching and separating from each other. is provided in

In such a gripping unit, when the transport mechanism moves to the product pick-up position of the product storage shelf, the arm members are moved in a manner to approach each other to pinch and grip the product, and the transport mechanism places the product. When the product is moved to the product delivery position on the shelf, the arm members are moved so as to be separated from each other so that the product that has been gripped so far is delivered and placed on the product placement shelf.

JP 2020-78857 A

By the way, in the gripping unit proposed in Patent Document 1, since the arm members are brought close to each other to grip the product, the frictional force generated between the arm members and the product is sufficiently reduced. As a result, the force for moving the arm members closer to each other becomes greater than the strength of the product, and there is a risk that the product may be crushed or otherwise damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a product conveying apparatus capable of properly conveying products while preventing the products from being damaged.

In order to achieve the above object, a product transport apparatus according to the present invention is a product transport apparatus comprising a transport unit for transporting a target product stored at the most downstream position of an arbitrary product storage shelf to a product placement shelf. , the transport unit has a bottom portion and a rear surface portion extending upward from an edge portion of the bottom portion, and is provided to be movable in at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction; provided in the unit body in such a manner that it is possible to advance and move away from the back portion and to move backward toward the back portion, and in a normal state, it is arranged at a standby position above the bottom portion after the backward movement. a working mechanism portion, wherein when the unit main body moves to the product take-out position of the product storage shelf, the working mechanism portion advances from the standby position to move the working member constituting the working mechanism portion to the target; After the product is engaged with the product, the action mechanism is moved backward to be placed at the standby position, thereby sliding the target product from the product storage shelf to the bottom and placing it on the bottom. While the target product is being taken out, when the unit body with the target product placed on the bottom moves to the product dispensing position on the product placement shelf, the engagement between the action member and the target product is detected. While canceling the interlocking state, the operating mechanism is advanced from the standby position to slide the target product from the bottom to the product placement shelf, and then the operating mechanism is retracted to wait. By arranging the target product at the position, the target product is put out on the product placing shelf.

Further, according to the present invention, in the above article conveying apparatus, the working member has a semi-cylindrical working main body portion having a central axis extending along the vertical direction, and the curved outer surface of the working main body portion is the back surface. and a second posture in which the curved inner surface of the working body portion faces the back portion, the working mechanism portion being rotatable about the central axis. It is characterized by

Further, in the commodity conveying apparatus according to the present invention, when the unit main body moves to the commodity take-out position, the conveying unit advances and moves the action mechanism portion from the standby position to move the action member to the first position. After rotating the working member from the posture to the second posture and arranging the working member on the upstream side of the target product, the working mechanism portion is moved backward to be placed at the standby position, thereby moving the target product to the product. While sliding from the storage shelf to the bottom portion and placing it on the bottom portion, when the unit main body moves to the product delivery position, the operating member is rotated from the second posture to the first posture and the By advancing and moving the working mechanism portion from the standby position to slide the target product from the bottom portion to the product placement shelf, and then moving the working mechanism portion backward to place it at the standby position, The target product is placed on the product placement shelf.

Further, according to the present invention, in the above article conveying apparatus, the conveying unit comprises a pedestal installed in a conveying mechanism for moving the conveying unit in at least one of vertical and horizontal directions, the pedestal and the unit main body. and a unit main body rotation driving mechanism interposed between and rotating the unit main body around the central axis of the unit main body rotating shaft extending along the vertical direction.

Further, in the above product conveying apparatus, the conveying unit, when moved to the product pick-up position, has a bottom portion of the unit main body positioned at a height equal to or higher than the product storage shelf. It is characterized by being arranged at a low height position.

Further, in the above product conveying apparatus, the conveying unit, when moved to the product dispensing position, has a bottom portion of the unit main body at the same height as the product placing shelf, or It is characterized by being arranged at a height position higher than

According to the present invention, a unit main body having a bottom portion and a back portion extending upward from the edge portion of the bottom portion and provided so as to be movable in at least one of the up-down direction and the left-right direction; an action mechanism provided on the unit body in such a manner that it is capable of moving forward away from the back surface and retracting toward the back surface, and is normally disposed at a standby position above the bottom after moving backward; When the unit main body moves to the product pick-up position of the product storage shelf, the transport unit moves the working mechanism portion forward from the standby position and engages the working member constituting the working mechanism portion with the target product. After that, the action mechanism is moved backward to be placed at the standby position, so that the target product is slid from the product storage shelf to the bottom and is placed on the bottom, thereby performing the take-out operation of the target product. On the other hand, when the unit main body with the target product placed on the bottom moves to the product dispensing position on the product placement shelf, the action mechanism part is moved from the standby position while releasing the engagement state between the operating member and the target product. By moving forward, the target product is slid from the bottom to the product placement shelf, and then the action mechanism is retracted to place it at the standby position, thereby placing the target product on the product placement shelf. Since the target product is dispensed, there is no need to grip the product in a pinching manner as in the conventional art. As a result, there is an effect that the products can be transported satisfactorily while preventing the products from being damaged.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an application example of a product conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the control system of the product conveying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view schematically showing the XY transport mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the transport unit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a main part of the transport unit shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a main part of the transport unit shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a main part of the transport unit shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams showing the product picking operation of the transport unit shown in FIG. 9A and 9B are explanatory diagrams showing the product picking operation of the transport unit shown in FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the transport unit shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 11A and 11B are explanatory diagrams showing the product picking operation of the transport unit shown in FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the transport unit shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 13A and 13B are explanatory diagrams showing the product pick-up operation of the transport unit shown in FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the transport unit shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 15A and 15B are explanatory diagrams showing the product dispensing operation of the transport unit shown in FIG. 16A and 16B are explanatory diagrams showing the product dispensing operation of the transport unit shown in FIG. 17A and 17B are explanatory diagrams showing the product dispensing operation of the transport unit shown in FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a product conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an application example of a product conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a control system of the product conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. is.

The product conveying apparatus 10 exemplified here is installed, for example, in a cold storage warehouse called a backyard built in a store such as a convenience store or a supermarket. It is arranged between a showcase 5 from which customers of the store can take out merchandise. In the following description, as shown in FIG. 1, the article storage 1 is provided on the rear side and the showcase 5 is provided on the front side when viewed from the article conveying apparatus 10. As shown in FIG.

The product storage shed 1 is provided with a plurality of product storage shelves 2 along the vertical direction. These product storage shelves 2 are configured by laterally arranging replenishment storage columns 3 for storing replenishment products of the same kind in an upright posture along the front-rear direction. In the commodity storage 1, each replenishment storage column 3 is numbered.

The showcase 5 is provided with a plurality of product placement shelves 6 along the vertical direction. These product placement shelves 6 are constructed by arranging product storage columns 7 on the left and right side by side along the front-rear direction for storing products of the same kind in an upright posture. In this showcase 5, each product storage column 7 is numbered.

The article conveying apparatus 10 is configured with an XY conveying mechanism 20, a conveying unit 30, and a control section 50. As shown in FIG.

The XY transport mechanism 20 is conventionally known, and moves the transport unit 30 vertically and horizontally. As shown in FIG. 3, the XY transport mechanism 20 comprises a first moving body 21 and a second moving body 22. As shown in FIG.

The first moving body 21 is an elongated body whose longitudinal direction is the horizontal direction, and is provided movably along the vertical direction with respect to a pair of left and right rails 23 each extending along the vertical direction. . The second moving body 22 is provided on top of the first moving body 21 and is provided to be movable along the longitudinal direction (horizontal direction) of the first moving body 21 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the transport unit 30 includes a pedestal portion 31, a unit body 33, and an action mechanism portion 35. As shown in FIG. The pedestal portion 31 is formed by processing sheet metal or the like, for example, and is installed on the upper surface of the second moving body 22 that constitutes the XY transport mechanism 20 .

The unit main body 33 is formed by processing sheet metal, for example, and is configured by integrally molding a bottom portion 331 and a rear portion 332 . The bottom portion 331 is a flat plate portion having a rectangular shape, and the left end portion thereof is bent upward in FIG. 4 . The rear portion 332 is a plate-like portion extending upward from the edge portion of the bottom portion 331, that is, the rear end portion in FIG.

Such a unit main body 33 has a bottom portion 331 attached to the pedestal portion 31 via the unit main body rotation drive mechanism 32 . The unit body rotation drive mechanism 32 has a unit body rotation drive motor 321 which is an actuator, and is driven by the unit body rotation drive motor 321 to rotate the unit body rotation shaft (Fig. not shown).

The action mechanism section 35 includes an action mechanism base section 351 , an action member 353 , an action member attitude detection section 355 and a target product detection section 357 .

The action mechanism base portion 351 is a plate-like body formed by processing sheet metal or the like, for example, and has both left and right end portions bent downward and a rear end portion bent upward. Such an action mechanism base portion 351 is connected to the unit main body 33 via the action mechanism portion drive mechanism 34 .

The action mechanism portion drive mechanism 34 includes an action mechanism portion drive actuator 341 , an elevating body 343 , and a link mechanism 345 . The action mechanism portion drive actuator 341 is installed on the upper surface of the action mechanism base portion 351, as also shown in FIGS. The working mechanism portion driving actuator 341 incorporates a working mechanism portion driving motor (not shown) that rotates in forward and reverse directions in accordance with a command given from the control portion 50 . (not shown) is connected to a threaded member 342 passing through.

The screw member 342 is composed of, for example, a Napier screw or the like, and is a long columnar member that extends along the vertical direction. A thread groove (not shown) is formed in the side peripheral surface of the screw member 342, and when the working mechanism drive motor rotates forward, the screw member 342 rotates clockwise when viewed from above. When the drive motor is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, it rotates counterclockwise when viewed from above.

The elevating body 343 includes a driven member 3431 and an elevating member 3432 . The driven member 3431 is formed with a screw hole 3431a, and is screwed to the screw member 342 by relatively inserting the screw member 342 into the screw hole 3431a. This driven member 3431 moves relatively upward when the screw member 342 rotates clockwise when viewed from above (when the action mechanism drive motor rotates forward), while the screw member 342 rotates from above. When it rotates counterclockwise when viewed (when the action mechanism drive motor rotates in the reverse direction), it moves relatively downward.

The elevating member 3432 is formed by processing sheet metal or the like, for example, and is integrally attached to the driven member 3431 while allowing the screw member 342 to pass therethrough. The elevating member 3432 elevates integrally with the driven member 3431 according to the rotation of the screw member 342 .

The link mechanism 345 is configured with a first link member 3451 and a second link member 3452 . The first link member 3451 is a pair of left and right elongated members. These first link members 3451 connect the action mechanism base portion 351 and the support piece portion 333 attached to the back surface portion 332 of the unit main body 33 . More specifically, one end of the first link member 3451 is rotatably supported by the action mechanism base portion 351, and the other end is capable of displacing a long hole 333a formed in the support piece portion 333 and whose longitudinal direction is the vertical direction. connected to

The second link member 3452 is a pair of left and right elongated members. These second link members 3452 connect the lifting member 3432 and the support piece portion 333 . More specifically, the second link member 3452 has one end rotatably supported by the lifting member 3432 and the other end rotatably supported by the upper end portion of the support piece portion 333 . The second link member 3452 is pivotally supported by the corresponding first link member 3451 in the middle of extension.

In the normal state, the action mechanism portion 35 connected to the unit main body 33 via the action mechanism portion driving mechanism 34 is arranged such that the elevating member 3432 is screwed to the lower end portion of the screw member 342 to As shown in FIG. 5, it is arranged at the standby position above the bottom portion 331 of the unit main body 33 .

When the screw member 342 rotates clockwise when viewed from above (when the action mechanism drive motor rotates forward), the lifting body 343 relatively moves upward. , as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, in the working mechanism 35, when the screw member 342 rotates counterclockwise when viewed from above (when the working mechanism drive motor rotates in the reverse direction), the elevating body 343 moves relatively downward. As a result, the unit body 33 moves backward in a direction approaching the back surface portion 332 of the unit body 33 .

In other words, the action mechanism 35 is provided in the unit main body 33 in such a manner that it can move forward away from the back surface portion 332 and move backward toward the back surface portion 332. are placed in

The working member 353 is made of, for example, a resin material, and is composed of a semi-cylindrical working body portion 3531 and a working lid portion 3532 that closes the top opening of the working body portion 3531, which are integrally molded. It is Here, the action main body portion 3531 is a semi-cylindrical member whose center axis extends along the vertical direction, and whose inner diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the product to be conveyed (target product), for example, about 65 to 75 mm. is.

Such an acting member 353 is connected to the acting mechanism base portion 351 via the acting member rotation drive mechanism 352 in such a manner that the acting body portion 3531 is separated from the bottom portion 331 of the unit body 33 .

The working member rotation drive mechanism 352 is configured with an working member rotation drive actuator 3521 . The working member rotation drive actuator 3521 is installed on the upper surface of the working mechanism base 351 as shown in FIG. The working member rotation drive actuator 3521 is provided in such a manner that an working member rotation driving motor 3521a that rotates according to a command given from the control unit 50 penetrates a part of the working mechanism base portion 351. is connected to a connecting member 3522 passing through a mounting hole 3511 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) formed in the .

The connecting member 3522 is a columnar member that extends along the vertical direction and is integrally attached to the action lid portion 3532 . Here, the connecting member 3522 is attached to the action lid portion 3532 in a manner that coincides with the central axis of the action member 353 .

Such a connecting member 3522 rotates clockwise when viewed from above when the working member rotation drive motor 3521a rotates. will rotate to

The working member orientation detection section 355 is provided on a mounting piece 354 attached to the left end portion of the working mechanism base section 351, as shown in FIG. When the contactor 355a is pressed by the detection projection 3533 provided above the edge portion of the working main body 3531 of the working member 353, the working member orientation detection section 355 is turned on and the control section 50 It sends an ON signal.

The control unit 50 to which the ON signal is sent from the working member orientation detection unit 355 stops driving the working member rotation drive motor 3521a. As a result, the working member 353 has a first posture in which the curved outer surface of the working main body portion 3531 faces the back surface portion 332 of the unit main body 33 as shown in FIG. is rotatably provided between a second posture facing the back surface portion 332 of the unit main body 33 .

The target product detection unit 357 is composed of, for example, an optical sensor or the like, and detects the presence or absence of a product in the area immediately below the action lid unit 3532 . When the target product detection section 357 detects a product in the area directly below the action lid portion 3532, the target product detection section 357 notifies the control section 50 of the fact.

The control unit 50 controls the above-described XY transport mechanism 20, the unit body rotation drive mechanism 32, the action mechanism drive mechanism 34, the action member rotation drive mechanism 352, the action member attitude detection unit 355, and the target product detection unit 357. It is electrically connected to the input operation section 41 , the article pickup position detection section 42 and the article pickup position detection section 43 .

The input operation unit 41 is used by an operator such as an employee of a store to perform an input operation. In this input operation section 41, the number of the replenishment storage column 3 storing the target product for replenishment and the number of the product storage column 7 to which the target product is to be conveyed are input. is output to the control unit 50 as an input signal.

The product take-out position detection unit 42 detects whether or not the transport unit 30 is positioned at the front side position (product take-out position) of the replenishment storage column 3 that stores the target product. is sent to

The product delivery position detection unit 43 detects whether or not the transport unit 30 is arranged at the rear side position (product delivery position) of the product storage column 7 to which the target product is to be transported, and controls the detection result. It is sent to the unit 50 .

The control section 50 comprehensively controls the operation of each section of the product conveying apparatus 10 according to programs and data stored in a storage section 51 electrically connected in the same manner as the XY conveying mechanism 20 and the like. . It should be noted that the control unit 50 may be implemented by software, for example, by causing a processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) to execute a program, or may be implemented by hardware such as an IC (Integrated Circuit). Alternatively, software and hardware may be used together.

The product conveying apparatus 10 configured as described above operates in the following manner so that the product storage column 7 with a predetermined number, which is the destination, is transferred from the replenishment storage column 3 with the predetermined number that is input through the input operation unit 41 to the product storage column 7 with the predetermined number that is the destination. deliver the subject goods to As a premise, it is assumed that the action mechanism portion 35 is arranged at the standby position and the action member 353 is in the first posture.

The controller 50 drives the XY conveying mechanism 20 to move the conveying unit 30 vertically and horizontally, and as shown in FIG. The conveying unit 30 is arranged at the front side position (merchandise pick-up position) of the replenishment storage column 3 of . In this case, the transport unit 30 is arranged such that the bottom portion 331 of the unit body 33 is at the same height as the commodity storage shelf 2 constituting the bottom portion of the replenishment storage column 3, or at a position lower by, for example, about 5 mm.

When the conveying unit 30 is placed at the product pick-up position in this way, the controller 50 causes the action mechanism drive motor in the action mechanism drive mechanism 34 to rotate forward. As a result, the elevating body 343 moves relatively upward, and the action mechanism 35 advances and moves away from the back surface portion 332 of the unit main body 33 .

9 and 10, the control unit 50 that has moved the action mechanism 35 forward detects the product at the most downstream position of the replenishment storage column 3 in the area directly below the action lid 3532 by the target product detection unit 357, as shown in FIGS. If so, the action mechanism drive motor is stopped.

The control unit 50 that has stopped the driving motor of the working mechanism drives the working member rotation driving motor 3521a in the working member rotation driving mechanism 352, and when an ON signal is sent from the working member orientation detection unit 355 after that, , the working member rotation drive motor 3521a is stopped, and the working member 353 is placed in the second position as shown in FIGS. As a result, the action member 353 is arranged on the upstream side of the target product at the most downstream position, and the target product can be separated from the products arranged on the upstream side of the target product.

The control unit 50 with the action member 353 in the second posture drives the action mechanism portion drive motor in the action mechanism portion drive mechanism 34 to rotate in the reverse direction. As a result, the elevating body 343 moves relatively downward, so that the action mechanism 35 retreats in a direction approaching the back surface portion 332 of the unit main body 33 . Due to the backward movement of the action mechanism 35 in this way, the target product slides on the product storage shelf 2 which is the bottom portion of the replenishment storage column 3 and then slides on the bottom 331 of the unit main body 33 .

13 and 14, when the action mechanism portion 35 that moves backward is placed at the standby position, the control portion 50 causes the action mechanism portion drive motor in the action mechanism portion drive mechanism 34 to stop driving. , ends the operation of taking out the target product.

The control unit 50, which has completed the target product picking operation in this way, drives the unit body rotation drive motor 321 in the unit body rotation drive mechanism 32 to rotate the unit body 33 by, for example, 180°, while the XY transport mechanism 20 is rotated. is driven to move the conveying unit 30 in the vertical and horizontal directions, and as shown in FIG. (dispensing position). In this case, the transport unit 30 is arranged such that the bottom portion 331 of the unit main body 33 is at the same height as the product placement shelf 6 constituting the bottom portion of the product storage column 7, or at a position higher by about 5 mm, for example.

When the conveying unit 30 is placed at the commodity delivery position in this way, the control section 50 drives the working member rotation driving motor 3521a in the working member rotation drive mechanism 352, and then the working member orientation detection section 355 outputs an ON signal. is sent, the working member rotation drive motor 3521a is stopped, and the working member 353 is brought into the first posture as shown in FIG.

The control unit 50 with the action member 353 in the first posture drives the action mechanism drive motor in the action mechanism drive mechanism 34 to rotate forward. As a result, the elevating body 343 moves relatively upward, so that the working mechanism 35 advances and moves away from the back surface portion 332 of the unit main body 33 as shown in FIG. 17 . As the action mechanism 35 advances in this manner, the target product slides on the bottom portion 331 of the unit body 33 and then slides on the product placement shelf 6 that is the bottom portion of the product storage column 7 .

The control unit 50 that has moved the action mechanism 35 forward in this way stops the drive motor for the action mechanism. As a result, the target product is arranged in the predetermined product storage column 7 .

When the control unit 50 that has stopped the action mechanism drive motor drives the action mechanism drive motor to rotate in the reverse direction to move the action mechanism 35 backward, the action mechanism 35 is placed at the standby position. Then, the driving motor of the action mechanism section is stopped, and the payout operation of the target is completed.

As described above, according to the product conveying apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the conveying unit 30 has the bottom portion 331 and the back surface portion 332, and is moved vertically and horizontally by the XY conveying mechanism 20. and the unit body 33 is provided in such a manner that the unit body 33 can move forward away from the rear surface portion 332 and retreat toward the rear surface portion 332, and is normally in a standby position. When the unit main body 33 moves to the product take-out position, the action mechanism 35 is advanced from the standby position to shift the action member 353 from the first posture to the second posture. After rotating the working member 353 to the upstream side of the target product, the working mechanism part 35 is moved backward to be placed at the standby position, thereby moving the target product from the product storage shelf 2 to the bottom part 331 When the unit main body 33 is moved to the product dispensing position, the working member 353 is rotated from the second posture to the first posture while the working mechanism portion 35 is moved from the standby position. By moving forward, the target product is slid from the bottom portion 331 to the product placement shelf 6, and then the action mechanism portion 35 is retracted to place it at the standby position, thereby moving the target product to the product placement shelf. 6, there is no need to hold the product in a pinching manner as in the conventional art. As a result, the product can be conveyed satisfactorily while preventing the product from being damaged.

In particular, the working member 353 has a semi-cylindrical working main body portion 3531 whose center axis extends along the vertical direction, and the curved outer surface of the working main body portion 3531 faces the back surface portion 332 in a first posture. Since the working mechanism portion 35 is provided in such a manner that the curved inner surface of the working main body portion 3531 is rotatable about the central axis between the second posture in which the working main body portion 3531 faces the back surface portion 332, the working mechanism portion 35 The installation space can be made sufficiently small, and the size of the entire device can be reduced.

According to the product conveying apparatus 10, the unit main body 33 constituting the conveying unit 30 is rotated by the unit main body rotation driving mechanism 32 with respect to the pedestal 31 installed in the XY conveying mechanism 20. Since it is provided rotatably around the axis, even when the product storage shelf 2 and the product placement shelf 6 are arranged in different directions, the products can be conveyed satisfactorily.

According to the product conveying apparatus 10, when the transport unit 30 moves to the product pick-up position, the bottom portion 331 of the unit main body 33 is positioned at the same height as the product storage shelf 2 or lower than the product storage shelf 2. Since it is arranged at the height position, the product can be reliably slid up to the bottom portion 331 when the action mechanism portion 35 is moved backward to be arranged at the standby position.

According to the product conveying apparatus 10, when the conveying unit 30 moves to the product delivery position, the bottom portion 331 of the unit main body 33 is positioned at the same height as the product placement shelf 6 or above the product placement shelf 6. Therefore, when the operating mechanism 35 is moved forward, the product can be reliably slid to the product placement shelf 6. As shown in FIG.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made.

In the embodiment described above, the working member 353 has a semi-cylindrical working main body portion 3531 whose center axis extends along the vertical direction, and the curved outer surface of the working main body portion 3531 extends to the back surface portion 332 . The working mechanism portion 35 is provided in such a manner as to be rotatable about the central axis between the first attitude of facing and the second attitude of facing the curved inner surface of the working main body portion 3531 to the back surface portion 332. However, in the present invention, the working member need not necessarily have a semi-cylindrical element, and various forms can be adopted.

That is, the action member may have a shape that engages with the target product when the action mechanism advances from the standby position when the unit main body moves to the product pickup position of the product storage shelf. According to this, when the action mechanism is moved backward and placed at the standby position, the target product can be slid from the product storage shelf to the bottom, and the product can be placed on the bottom.

In the above-described embodiment, the unit main body 33 constituting the transport unit 30 is connected to the pedestal 31 via the unit main body rotation drive mechanism 32. However, in the present invention, the product storage shelf and the product placement shelf and are installed in the same direction as viewed from the product conveying apparatus, the unit main body rotation mechanism may not be provided.

In the above-described embodiment, the working member orientation detection section 355, the target product detection section 357, the product pickup position detection section 42, and the product pickup position detection section 43 are provided. or image recognition by a camera, etc., may be changed as appropriate.

Each configuration illustrated in the above embodiment is a functional schematic, and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the form of dispersion/integration of each device and component is not limited to the illustrated one, and all or part of them can be functionally or physically distributed/integrated in arbitrary units according to various usage conditions. can be configured

2 Product storage shelf 3 Replenishment storage column 6 Product placement shelf 7 Product storage column 10 Product transport device 20 XY transport mechanism 30 Transport unit 31 Pedestal 32 ... Unit body rotation drive mechanism 33 ... Unit body 331 ... Bottom part 332 ... Rear part 34 ... Working mechanism part driving mechanism 341 ... Working mechanism part driving actuator 342 ... Screw member 343 ... Elevating body 345 ... Link Mechanism 35 Action mechanism portion 351 Action mechanism base portion 352 Action member rotation drive mechanism 3521 Action member rotation drive actuator 3522 Connection member 353 Action member 3531 Action body portion 3532 Action lid Section 355 Action member orientation detection section 357 Target product detection section 41 Input operation section 42 Product pickup position detection section 43 Product delivery position detection section 50 Control section.

Claims (6)

A product transport device comprising a transport unit for transporting a target product stored at the most downstream position of an arbitrary product storage shelf to a product placement shelf,
The transport unit is
a unit body having a bottom portion and a rear portion extending upward from an edge portion of the bottom portion, the unit body being provided to be movable in at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction;
It is provided on the unit main body in such a manner that it can advance away from the back surface portion and retreat toward the back surface portion, and in a normal state, it is disposed at a standby position above the bottom portion after the retraction movement. and
When the unit main body is moved to the commodity take-out position of the commodity storage shelf, after the action mechanism section is moved forward from the standby position and the action member constituting the action mechanism section is engaged with the target commodity. and, by moving the action mechanism portion backward and arranging it at the standby position, the target product is slid from the product storage shelf to the bottom portion and placed on the bottom portion, thereby performing the take-out operation of the target product. On the other hand, when the unit body with the target product placed on the bottom moves to the product dispensing position on the product placement shelf, the action member and the target product are disengaged from each other. By advancing and moving the working mechanism portion from the standby position to slide the target product from the bottom portion to the product placement shelf, and then moving the working mechanism portion backward to place it at the standby position, 1. A product conveying apparatus, characterized in that it carries out a target product delivery operation for placing the target product on the product placement shelf. The working member has a semi-cylindrical working main body portion having a central axis extending along the vertical direction, and a first posture in which the curved outer surface of the working main body portion faces the back surface portion; 2. The action mechanism part according to claim 1, wherein the curved inner surface of the body part is rotatable about the central axis between the second posture facing the back part. Product conveying device. When the unit main body moves to the product pick-up position, the conveying unit advances and moves the action mechanism portion from the standby position to rotate the action member from the first posture to the second posture. After arranging the action member on the upstream side of the target product, the action mechanism is retracted and arranged at the standby position, thereby sliding the target product from the product storage shelf to the bottom portion. While being placed on the bottom, when the unit main body is moved to the product delivery position, the action mechanism portion is moved forward from the standby position while rotating the action member from the second posture to the first posture. Thus, the target product is slid from the bottom portion to the product placement shelf, and then the working mechanism is retracted to place the target product on the product placement shelf. 3. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the article conveying apparatus The transport unit is
a pedestal installed in a transport mechanism for moving the transport unit in at least one of vertical and horizontal directions;
a unit main body rotation driving mechanism interposed between the pedestal and the unit main body, and rotating the unit main body around a center axis of a unit main body rotating shaft extending along the vertical direction. The product conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The conveying unit is characterized in that, when moved to the product pick-up position, the bottom portion of the unit body is arranged at a height position equal to or lower than the product storage shelf. The product conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. When the transport unit is moved to the product delivery position, the bottom of the unit body is arranged at a height position equal to or higher than the product placement shelf. The article conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by:

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