JP2516358Y2 - Transfer structure for automatic storage and retrieval device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a transfer structure for warehousing of an automatic storage / retrieval device capable of automatically storing and retrieving and retrieving articles in a warehouse or the like.

(Prior Art) As an automatic storage / retrieval device of this kind, there is a device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-135230 by the present applicant, and this device has a plurality of shelves arranged in a matrix in the vertical and horizontal directions, A pair of storage areas that are arranged to face each other so that the open sides of the shelves face each other, and in the space sandwiched by the pair of storage areas, each shelf is provided so as to be horizontally movable in the horizontal direction and to A picker for loading and unloading containers in and out, and a part of the storage area, which is arranged in the same row as the shelves in the storage area. A storage container elevating mechanism that receives the containers placed on the storage shelves and the temporary storage shelves, raises and lowers them to a predetermined height, and sends them out of the storage area. And elevating transport put the coming container, and the container each goods receipt for temporary shelves and a warehousing container lifting mechanism for loading transfer extruded with pusher.

In addition, on each shelf in the storage area adjacent to each temporary storage shelf for shipping, there is a shipping pusher that pushes out the container to transfer the container placed on the temporary storage shelf for shipping to the shipping container lifting mechanism. It is provided for each stage.

Then, the container removed from the shelf by the picker is transferred to the temporary storage shelf for shipping, and the transferred container is pushed out by the shipping pusher, transferred to the shipping container lifting mechanism side, and then communicated to the outside. It is moved up and down to the height and sent out. In addition, the container sent from the outside is taken up by the receiving container elevating mechanism, then moved up and down to the target shelf, and is pushed and pushed by the pusher to be transferred to the temporary storage shelf for storage and transferred. The placed container is configured to be stored in a target shelf by a picker.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the above-mentioned conventional structure, it is assumed that each container has the same size, and the pushing stroke of the pusher provided in the container raising / lowering mechanism for storage is configured to be constant. Was there.

However, in the case of containers of the same size, there is a possibility that storage efficiency may be poor due to the size of the stored items, and there may be slight differences in container dimensions due to differences in container manufacturers and design changes. is there.

Therefore, if the containers to be stored for each shelf are unified and the widths of the containers to be stored between the shelves are different, if the pusher pushing stroke is constant as in the conventional case, the temporary storage for storage The center position in the width direction of the containers transferred on the shelves does not coincide with each other in the vertical storage temporary storage shelves. That is, in FIG. 9, reference numeral 101 denotes an elevating platform of a container elevating / lowering mechanism for a storage container, and a pusher 103 which is operated to move in and out with a constant stroke S toward the temporary storage shelf 102.
It has. When the container 104 having a large width is pushed out and transferred to the temporary storage shelf 102, the center position P of the pair of left and right arms 105 of the picker and the container 104 are moved.
When the structure is such that the center position Q in the width direction of the container 106 is the same, the container 106 having a small width dimension is indicated by an imaginary line.
Is pushed out and transferred onto the temporary storage shelf 102, the center position P of the arm 105 and the center position R of the container 106 in the width direction.
And does not coincide with each other, and the container 106 is at a position deviated to one arm 105 side. Therefore, the picking operation of the container by the picker becomes unstable, or according to the structure of the picker disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 62-197004, the picking portion of one arm is not properly engaged with the container side, There is a possibility that the take-out operation may become impossible, and there is a drawback that smooth operation is difficult to obtain.

Further, it is difficult in terms of configuration and cost to control the push stroke of the pusher by variously changing it for each shelf of each temporary storage shelf for storage.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has an automatic storage / retrieval device that can be smoothly operated with a simple configuration even if there are a plurality of widths of containers stored in each shelf. It is intended to provide a structure.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A technical means for achieving the above object is to provide a storage area having a plurality of shelves arranged in a matrix in a matrix in the vertical and horizontal directions, and a storage area along the shelf opening side of the storage area. A picker that is horizontally movable for each shelf and that moves containers into and out of each shelf and a picker that is arranged in the same row as the shelves and provided for each shelf, and temporarily holds the containers until they are taken out by the picker. A plurality of vertical storage shelves to be placed and a temporary storage shelf for storage, which are arranged adjacent to one side of the temporary storage shelf for storage and arranged in the same row as the shelves, and are sent from outside the storage area. It has an elevating table for loading and unloading a container, and a container elevating mechanism for transferring the container from the elevating table to each of the temporary storage shelves for warehousing. Push out in the direction of the temporary storage shelf In a transfer structure for storage of an automatic storage / retrieval device, in which a shear is provided so as to be able to move in and out freely, and a temporary stopper for storage is provided with a positioning stopper that comes into contact with the front side in the extrusion direction of a container pushed out by a pusher. , A positioning stopper is provided so that it can be moved and adjusted in the container pushing direction, and the pusher can be moved backward and backward to the pusher body to push out the container and the pusher body that is operated with a constant stroke in the pushing direction.
Further, it is provided with a pusher portion which is supported as an elastically urging force in the pushing direction.

(Operation) According to the present invention, when containers having different width dimensions are used between the respective shelves, the respective containers are transferred to the corresponding temporary storage shelves for storage by the pusher of the container elevating mechanism for storage. If the center position in the width direction of the container is matched between the temporary storage shelves for storage in the vertical direction, the positioning stopper can be moved back and forth in the container pushing direction beforehand, Regardless of the size of the width, each container is stopped at a predetermined position in contact with the stopper, so that the subsequent picking operation of the container by the picker can be stably and reliably performed, and a smooth operation can be obtained.

Further, the difference in the width of the container can be dealt with by the amount of the backward movement of the pusher portion against the elastic force of the pusher body in the pushing direction, and the pusher body can be moved in and out with a constant stroke.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an arbitrary shelf of the automatic storage and retrieval device. In this automatic storage and retrieval device, storage areas 2 and 3 are provided on the front side and the rear side of the housing 1, and the storage areas 2 and 3 are respectively provided. The shelves 4 serving as article storage areas are arranged vertically and horizontally in a matrix at 3. Front and rear storage areas 2 and 3 are shelves 4
The open sides of the storage areas face each other, and the storage areas 2, 3
A picker 6 for putting the container 5 in and out of the shelf 4 is provided for each of the racks so as to be horizontally movable in the left-right direction. That is, a pair of rails 7 are extended in the left-right direction at the height positions corresponding to the respective shelves in the front and rear storage areas 2 and 3, and the pickers 6 are movably mounted on the rails 7. There is. The picker 6 is provided with an in-and-out mechanism having a pair of left and right arms 6a, 6b, and the containers 5 stored in the shelves 4 in the front and rear storage areas 2, 3 are engaged and disengaged from the left and right sides by the arms 6a, 6b. The container 5 can be freely locked and taken in on the picker 6, or the container 5 can be inserted into the shelf 4 from above the picker 6.

As the structure of the container 5 and the picker 6, the structure disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Application No. 62-197004 may be adopted.

Further, in FIG. 1, on the left side of the front storage area 2,
A plurality of temporary shelving shelves 8 for exit that occupy an area of one shelf 4 are provided in the vertical direction for each shelf, and adjacent to one side of the temporary shelving 8 for shelving, the two shelves 4 are provided. A shipping container raising / lowering mechanism 9 occupying an area is disposed, and the shipping temporary storage shelf 8 and the shipping container raising / lowering mechanism 9 are arranged in the same row as each shelf 4.

On each of the shelves 4 adjacent to the other side of the temporary storage shelf 8 for delivery, a pusher 10 for shipping that pushes out the container 5 temporarily placed on the temporary shelf 8 for shipping to the side of the shipping container elevating mechanism 9 is a lifting mechanism. It is installed in 9 directions.

As in the conventional case, the exit container elevating mechanism 9 has an elevating table (not shown) that can be moved up and down, and the temporary evacuation shelf 8 for each exit is provided.
It is a mechanism for lowering the container 5 delivered from the above to the lifting table to the lowest position communicating with the external carry-out conveyor 11 and sending it to the outside.

On the other hand, on the right side of the front storage area 2, a plurality of storage temporary storage shelves 12 occupying an area of one shelf 4 are provided in the vertical direction for each shelf level, and at the side of one side of the storage temporary storage shelves 12. Adjacent to each other is a container raising / lowering mechanism 13 for storage that occupies an area corresponding to two shelves 4. The temporary storage shelves 12 for storage and the container raising / lowering mechanism 13 for storage are arranged in the same row as each shelf 4. It is set up.

The storage container elevating mechanism 13 lifts the containers 5 from the lowest position communicating with the external carry-in conveyor 14 that feeds the containers 5 from the outside to each shelf, and temporarily stores each storage shelf.
It is a mechanism to transfer the container 5 to 12.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the storage container lifting mechanism 13 includes a column 16 having a height reaching all the shelves in the storage area 2, and the column 16 has upper and lower sprockets.
An endless chain mechanism 18 in which an endless chain (not shown) is stretched around 17 is provided side by side, that is, in the front-back direction of the storage area 2, and a pair of endless chain mechanisms 18 are provided side by side. 19 are connected to each other, and the elevator 19 is moved up and down as the endless chain is driven.

The lift table 19 is appropriately provided with guide means such as rollers so that the lift table 19 can be stably moved up and down along the column 16.

Endless chain mechanism on the upper back side of column 16
A motor 20 that is a drive source for driving 18 is provided,
An endless chain 23 is stretched between a sprocket 21 directly connected to the motor 20 and a sprocket 22 directly connected to the sprocket 17 on the upper side of the pair of endless chain mechanisms 18.

On the lift table 19, cylindrical shafts 25a and taper rollers 25b are arranged so that the respective axes are oriented in the arrangement direction (left-right direction) of the shelves 4 in the storage area 2.
A roller conveyor 25 in which the and are alternately arranged in the front-rear direction of the storage area 2 is provided, and each cylindrical roller 25a and the taper roller 25b are driven by a drive source (not shown) to move the container 5 sent from the outside onto the lift table 19. Is configured to be taken into. The taper roller 25b has a column 1 on the small diameter side.
It is arranged on the side close to 6, and the container 5 on the lifting table 19 is guided to the column 10 side by the inclination of the taper roller 25b.

A stopper 26 for positioning the container 5 taken in on the lifting table 14 is provided in a protruding shape at one end of the lifting table 19 near the rail 7 on which the picker 6 travels. Further, a loading pusher 27 that pushes the taken-in containers 5 toward the arrangement direction of the shelves 4 in the storage area 2 is provided on the lift table 19. The pusher 27 includes a pusher body 28 and a pusher portion 29.
Has a structure that extends over the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the lifting table 19 at the end portion of the lifting table 19 opposite to the stopper 26 installation side, and the base body 30 located on the lower surface side is of the cylindrical roller 25a and the taper roller 25b. A pair of front and rear guide rods 31 extending in the same direction as the axial direction are fitted so as to be movable back and forth. Then, on the lower surface side of the lifting platform 19, an endless chain mechanism 34 is provided, in which an endless chain 33 is stretched over a pair of left and right sprockets 32 juxtaposed in the extending direction of the guide rod 31, and in the middle of the endless chain 33. The substrate 30 of the pusher main body 28 is connected to the pusher main body 28, and the endless chain mechanism 34 is driven to move the pusher main body 28 back and forth with a constant stroke toward the arrangement direction of the shelves 4 in the storage area 2. A motor 35, which is a drive source of the endless chain mechanism 34, is provided on the lower surface of the lift table 19.
Sprocket 36 directly connected to 35 and endless chain mechanism
An endless chain 38 is stretched between a sprocket 37 directly connected to the sprocket 32 on the right side of the 34.

The pusher main body 28 located on the upper surface side of the lifting table 19 has a length that extends over substantially the entire length of the lifting table 19 in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIGS. A plurality of support blocks 40 are attached and fixed at a predetermined interval to each other, and a cross section L for connecting the support blocks 40 to each other is formed.
A letter-shaped connecting plate 41 is attached. The pusher section 29
Is disposed closer to the temporary storage shelf 12 than the pusher body 28, and is formed in an L-shaped cross section including a side wall portion 29a and an upper wall portion 29b. The support blocks 4 on one side surface of the side wall 29a
A spring support block 42 is fixed to each of the positions facing 0 by welding or the like, and a support pin 43 having an axial center in the left-right direction is projected by welding or the like. And
Each support pin 43 is fitted into the fitting hole 44 of each support block 40 and the fitting hole 45 of the connecting plate 41, and a nut body 46 for retaining is screwed to the fitted protrusion. ing.
Further, each support block 40 and each spring support block 42 are formed with opposing spring support recesses 40a, 42a, respectively, and the coil spring 47 externally fitted to the support pin 43 is provided with both spring support recesses 40a, 42a.
It is mounted in a compressed state over 42a. Here, the pusher portion 29 is supported by an elastically urging force in the direction of the temporary storage shelves 12 for storage, that is, in the pushing direction, and is pushed out against the elastic force of the coil spring 47 as shown by the phantom line in FIG. It is possible to move backward in the direction.

The side wall portion 29a of the pusher portion 29 has a function of guiding the container 5 taken in on the lift table 19.

It should be noted that the lift table 19 includes a sensor for detecting that the pusher body 28 has advanced to a predetermined position, a sensor for detecting that the container 5 has been taken in at a predetermined position, and a lift table.
A sensor for detecting the height of 19 and the like are conventionally provided, and are controlled by a main computer (not shown) or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, the temporary storage shelves for receiving the temporary storage shelves for receiving the containers 5 pushed out from above the elevating table 19 by the pushers 27. A guide piece 49 for smoothly transferring the container 5 pushed out from the elevating table 19 of the container elevating mechanism 13 is provided on the end side of the temporary shelf 12 near the container elevating mechanism 13 in an inclined downward direction. It is provided in. Also guide pieces
On the side opposite to 49, there is provided a positioning stopper 50 that comes into contact with the front side of the container 5 in the pushing direction. The positioning stopper 50 has a cross section L including a horizontal portion 50a and a rising portion 50b.
It is formed in a letter shape, has an appropriate length in the front-back direction, and is a temporary storage shelf.
The horizontal portion is formed by using the plurality of guide holes 51 formed in 12 in the left-right direction, that is, in the pushing direction of the container 5.
50a is fastened to the temporary storage shelf 12 side by bolts 52 and nuts 53 so that it can be loosened and fastened, and the stopper 50 can be moved and adjusted in the pushing direction of the container 5 here.

The embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, and the pickers 6 of each shelf are controlled so as to stop at the positions that match each other in the vertical direction. When a plurality of types of containers 5 having different width dimensions are used between the respective shelves, the center position in the width direction of each container when each container is described in the corresponding temporary storage shelf 12 for storage. Are the same in the vertical direction, and both arms of the picker 6
The stopper 50 may be moved and adjusted in the pushing direction of the container 5 in advance so as to coincide with the center positions of the 6a and 6b.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when the container 5L having a large width is transferred from the lifting table 19 side to the temporary storage shelf 12 by the pusher 27, the pusher main body 28 moves forward to move the pusher main body 28 forward. The container 5L is pushed out at the portion 29, and then the container 5L comes into contact with the stopper 50 to stop the movement of the container 5L. Then pusher body
When 28 is moved forward, the pusher portion 29 is prevented from moving forward by the stopper 50 via the container 5L, so the coil spring 47 is compressed against the elastic force, and the pusher portion 29 is pushed into the pusher body. It is moved rearward relative to 28 in the extrusion direction. When the pusher main body 28 has moved forward by a constant stroke, the center position Q of the width direction of the container 5L and the center position P of both arms 6a, 6b of the picker 6 are aligned.

Next, in the other shelves, the same operation is performed when the container 5S having a small width is transferred from the lift table 19 side to the temporary storage shelf 12 for storage by the pusher 27 as shown in FIG. To be done. At this time, since the width dimension of the container 5S is small, the pusher main body 28 is moved forward more than the above, and the container 5S comes into contact with the stopper 50 to stop the movement of the container 5S.
The rearward movement in the direction of extrusion relative to 28 is smaller than that described above. When the pusher body 28 has moved forward by a constant stroke, the center position R in the width direction of the container 5S and the center position P of both arms 6a, 6b of the picker 6 are taken.
And are matched. The center positions in the width direction of the respective containers 5 transferred to the temporary storage shelves 12 of the respective shelves coincide with each other in the vertical direction.

When the pusher body 28 moves backward and returns to the initial position, the pusher portion 29 also returns to the initial position by the elastic force of the coil spring 47.

Since the center position P of both arms 6a, 6b of the picker 6 and the center positions Q, R of the large and small containers 5L, 5S respectively match, the distance between each arm 6a, 6b and both sides of the containers 5L, 5S is equal. Both arms 6a, 6b can be equally engaged with and disengaged from the container 5L, 5S side, respectively, and can be taken out to the picker 6 side, where the container 5L, 5S can be taken out stably and securely. , Smooth operation can be obtained.

Further, if the arms 6a and 6b of the picker 6 are within the allowable range (for example, 5 mm) in which the arms 6a and 6b can be engaged and disengaged, the same type of picker 6 can be used for both the containers 5L and 5S having different widths, and the position of the stopper 50 can be changed. It can be handled easily just by adjusting.

Furthermore, since the pusher 27 is divided into a pusher body 28 and a pusher portion 29, the pusher body 28 may be configured to move in and out with a constant stroke regardless of the height of the shelves, and the stopper 50 can be moved. It has a structure in which it can be freely adjusted and is attached to a temporary storage shelf for storage at 12, and there is also an advantage that it can be easily configured.

Although the stopper 50 is attached to the temporary storage shelf 12 by a bolt 52 and a nut 53 so that the stopper 50 can be moved and adjusted, the stopper 50 can be moved and adjusted by engaging and disengaging the engaging portion and the engaging hole. Well, it is not limited to the structure of the embodiment.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the positioning stopper that comes into contact with the container pushed out by the pusher is provided so as to be movable and adjustable in the pushing direction of the container, and the pusher moves forward and backward with a constant stroke in the pushing direction. It is equipped with a pusher body to be operated and a pusher portion that is movable in the pusher body in the pushing direction and is supported in the pushing direction as a resilient biasing force. Even if there are a plurality of width dimensions, there is an advantage that the container can be positioned at a predetermined position with a simple structure and can be transferred with the central positions aligned and a smooth operation can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an automatic storage / retrieval apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in an arbitrary shelf, FIG. 2 is a side view showing a container elevating / lowering mechanism of the storage container, and FIG. 3 is a container elevating / lowering mechanism of the storage container. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the temporary storage shelves and
FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged plan view of FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 3, and FIGS. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a transferred state of the container, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a transferred state of the conventional container. 2,3 ... Storage area, 4 ... Shelf, 5 ... Container, 6 ...
… Pickers, 12… Temporary storage shelves, 13… Storage container lifting mechanism, 19… Lifting platform, 27… Pushers, 28…
… Pusher body, 29 …… Pusher part, 50 …… Positioning stopper

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A storage area having a plurality of shelves arranged vertically and horizontally in a matrix form, and horizontally provided for each shelf along the shelf open side of the storage area, and between the shelves. A picker for loading and unloading the container, and is provided for each shelf in line with the shelf,
A plurality of vertical storage temporary storage shelves for temporarily placing containers until picked up by a picker, and are arranged adjacent to one side of the temporary storage shelves for storage and arranged in the same row as the shelves. The container includes an elevating table for loading and elevating and transporting a container sent from outside the storage area, and a container elevating / lowering mechanism for transferring the container from the elevating table to each of the temporary storage shelves for storage. In addition, a pusher for pushing out the container on the elevating table in the direction of the temporary storage shelf for storage is provided so as to be able to move in and out freely. In the loading / unloading structure of the automatic storage / retrieval device, the positioning stopper is provided so that it can be moved and adjusted in the container pushing direction, and the pusher can move in the pushing direction. A pusher body that is operated to move in and out with a constant stroke, and a pusher portion that can be moved rearward in the push-out direction in the pusher body to push out the container and that is supported as a resilient biasing force in the push-out direction. Transfer structure for storage of the characteristic automatic storage and retrieval device.