JP2525171B2 - Automatic container feeding / discharging device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic supply / discharge device for a work storage container, which is mainly applied when a robot automatically takes out a work.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, a transfer path for planarly transferring a container for storing a work from a loading place to a paying out place is provided, and the container is stopped at a fixed position at an unloading position in the middle of the transfer path to take out the work. I am trying.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the above, there is a problem that the installation space of the device becomes large due to the planar transfer of the container, resulting in poor space efficiency.

In this case, a predetermined number of containers can be loaded and unloaded, an entry / exit location, a standby location in front of the entry / exit location, an exit location above the standby location, and an exit location above and below the exit location. And a return place located at the same time, and the container is sent from the in-out place to the standby place in a stacked state.
A transport device, a first elevating device for sequentially raising the containers carried into the standby place from the upper one to the take-out place, and a positioning device for positioning the raised container at the take-out place,
A second transport device for returning an empty container from the take-out place to the return place and a second elevating device for lowering the container returned to the return place to the take-in / out place are provided. It may be possible to reduce the installation space by transferring

However, when the empty containers returned to the return place by this one are sequentially lowered to the in / out place by the second elevating device and stacked at the in / out place, the container groups previously put in the in / out place are Until all the containers are returned to the loading / unloading place and they are taken out of the loading / unloading place, the next group of containers cannot be put in the loading / unloading place, and after the completion of the work removal from the previous group of containers, It takes time until the work picking is started, which is lost time and reduces productivity.
It is desired to solve this.

Note that the container loading and unloading work is performed by placing it on the trolley of an empty container group taken out from the loading and unloading place and inserting the container group containing the work previously placed on the trolley into the loading and unloading place. Since the workability is poor if it is separated from the take-out place, it is preferable that the container can be put in and taken out at the same place as described above.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic container feeding / discharging device that meets the above-mentioned needs.

(Means for Solving Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an entrance / exit location where a predetermined number of containers for storing works can be put in and out, and a standby location in front of the entry / exit location. A stacking state in which containers are stacked from the loading / unloading place to the standby position, the loading position being above the standby position for picking up the workpieces from the container, and the returning position being above the loading / unloading place behind the loading position. A first transporting device that feeds the container as it is, a first elevating device that sequentially raises the containers that have been carried into the standby place from the upper one to the takeout place, and a positioning device that positions the raised container to the takeout place, A second transport device for returning a container emptied from the take-out place to the return place, and a second lifting device for lowering the container returned to the return place to the take-in / out place are provided. Attach the lifting device to the bottom of the container. A detachable hook can be moved up and down between a rising end position above the returning place and a lowering end position below the entering / exiting place, and between the rising end position and an intermediate position slightly below the returning place. It is characterized in that it is configured as.

(Operation) Stacked containers (hereinafter referred to as a first container group) that have been loaded into the loading / unloading place are sent to the standby position by the first transport device, and then the first lifting device and the positioning device perform the relevant operations. When the uppermost container of the first container group is elevated to the extraction position and positioned, and the work is taken out from the container in this state, and all the works in the container are taken out, the container is transferred by the second transfer. Then, the hook of the second lifting device descends from the rising end position to the intermediate position and rises again to the rising end position by the device, and at the time of this rising, the hook is attached to the bottom of the container returned to the returning place. Upon engagement, the container is lifted above the return location.

Next, the second-stage container of the first container group was elevated to the take-out position in the same manner as above, the work was taken out from the container, and then the empty container was returned to the return place. By the way, the hook descends from the ascending end position to the intermediate position and ascends to the ascending end position in the same manner as above, and the container is lifted above the returning place in a state in which the containers previously returned are stacked. After that, the same operation is repeated and the empty containers of the first container group are stacked above the returning place in a stacked state.

When the lowermost container of the first container group is lifted and positioned at the take-out place and the waiting place becomes empty, the containers in the stacked state that have been put in the take-out place in advance (hereinafter referred to as the second container group)
Are sent to the waiting place by the first transport device.

Then, the bottommost container of the first container group is emptied and returned to the return location, and when all the containers of the first container group are aligned at the return location, the hooks are lowered to the descending end position, and the access location is set. The first container group is returned to the first container group, while the uppermost container of the second container group is lifted and positioned at the unloading location, and the workpiece unloading from the second container group is started.

Then, the first container group is taken out while the work is being taken out from the second container group, the next container group is put in the place for taking in and out, and the containers are continuously supplied to the taking-out position by the same operation as described above.

(Embodiment) Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, (1) shows a machine frame framed so that a container w containing a work can be transferred back and forth and up and down. , A lower rear entrance / exit location (2) where a predetermined number of, for example, three containers w can be stacked and unloaded, a standby location (3) in front of the lower entry / exit location, and a standby location (3) for removing a work from the container w A take-out place (4) above the take-out place (4) and a return place (5) located behind the take-out place (2) above the take-out place (2), and the container w put in the take-out place (2) Are sent to the waiting place (3) in a stacked state by the first transfer device (6) arranged at the bottom of the machine casing (1), and these containers w are arranged at the rear of the machine casing (1). 1 The lifting device (7) sequentially raises the upper one to the take-out place (4), and the positioning device (8) ), The work in the container w is taken out by a robot or the like, and the empty container w is returned to the return place (5) by the second transfer device (9) arranged above the machine frame (1). The containers w that have been returned are stacked on the returning place (5) by the second elevating device (10) arranged at the rear of the machine frame (1), and three containers w are stacked. By the way, I decided to lower this to the access point (2).

The first transfer device (6) includes a plurality of transfer rollers (6c) rotated by a motor (6a) via a chain (6b).
It is assumed that the first lifting device (7) is composed of a chain lifter driven by a motor (7a), that is, on the left and right sides of the front part of the machine casing (1). The chain (7d) is wound between the lower drive sprocket (7b) and the upper driven sprocket (7c) provided in the front and rear pairs, and the front and rear two pairs of the left and right chains (7d) (7d) A support plate (7
e) is installed, and the first sprocket (7g) and the second sprocket (7g) that rotate in opposite directions by the power from the motor (7a) to the gear box (7f) connected to the motor (7a).
h) is provided, and the drive sprocket (7b) (7b) on the left side in FIG. 3 is connected to the chain (7j) by the first sprocket (7g) and the chain (7j) by the second sprocket (7h). The drive sprocket (7b) (7b) on the right side in FIG.
A pair of front and rear supporting plates (7e) and (7e) are vertically moved in synchronization with each other by the forward and reverse rotations of (a), and the container w is placed on both supporting plates (7e) and (7e) accordingly. I was able to go up and down in the state.

The positioning device (8) includes a pair of pressing cylinders (8a) (8a) for pressing the corners on both sides of the rear of the container w raised to the take-out location (4) in a diagonal direction of the container w, and the container w. A pair of positioning frames (8b) (8b) fixed to the machine frame (1) that receives the corners on both sides of the front of the container, and a pair of left and right support arms (8c) (8c) that support the bottom surface of the container w. Each of the support arms (8c) is composed of a pair of upper and lower cams formed on a guide plate (8e) fixed to the machine frame (1) by a cylinder (8d) as shown in FIG. Along the grooves (8f) (8f), it is possible to freely move in and out between the standby position (3) and the take-out position (4) in the operating position protruding into the container elevating path and the escape position outside thereof, and the escape By moving to the position, the container w can be moved up and down without interfering with the respective support arms (8c).

The second transfer device (9) includes a pair of left and right conveyor frames (9) extending between the take-out place (4) and the return place (5).
a) Return roller (9a) that receives both sides of the bottom of container w
b) and a pair of starter rollers (9c) (9c) abutting against the side surface of the container w existing at the take-out position (4) are attached, and these return frames of each conveyor frame (9a) are provided. The rollers (9b) are interlocked with each other via a chain (9d), and the starting rollers (9c) (9c) are connected to the return roller (9) at the front end.
b) is linked via a belt (9e), and a motor (9f) is provided between the take-out place (4) and the return place (5) as shown in FIG. An appropriate return roller (9b) of the conveyor frame (9a) on one side of the shaft (9h) connected via a chain (9g) and another return roller (9b) of the support frame (9a) of the one side. Via the shaft (9i) to the appropriate return roller (9) of the conveyor frame (9a) on the other side.
b), and thus the motor (9f) gives the return roller (9b) and the starting roller (9c) of the two conveyor frames (9a) and (9a) rotation in synchronization with each other, and the take-out place The container w existing in (4) is sent out from the support arms (8c) (8c) to the return roller (9b) by the starting roller (9c), and is conveyed to the return place (5) by the return roller (9b). It was to so.

As shown in FIG. 6, the two conveyor frames (9a) and (9a) are rotatably supported laterally with respect to the machine frame (1) by a supporting piece (9j) standing on the upper surface thereof. , A rotary actuator (9k) arranged near the motor (9f)
The lever (9l) interlocking with the above allows the containers (9m) to be opened and closed in synchronization with each other via the links (9m), and the container w is conveyed at the closed position shown by the solid line in FIG. Open both conveyor frames (9a) (9a) as shown by the phantom line in the figure,
When the container w is raised from the waiting place (3) to the take-out place (4) and when the container w is lowered from the return place (5) to the take-in place (2), the starting roller (9c) and the return roller (9b) are put on the container w. )
Did not interfere. The shaft (9h) (9
The i) is configured to have a hook joint so as not to hinder the opening / closing operation of the both conveyor frames (9a) (9a). In the figure, (9n) shows a guide plate provided on each conveyor frame (9a) for preventing lateral displacement of the container w.

The second lifting device (10) is composed of a chain lifter driven by a motor (10a), and is different from the first lifting device (7) in that the support plate (7e) is replaced by a container. w
The hooks (10e) that engage with the engaging grooves wa formed as shown in FIG. 7 are provided on both sides of the bottom part of the same, and other configurations are not particularly different, and are common to the first lifting device (7). Is the sign
The same alphabet as that of the numeral 7 is given to 10 and the description thereof is omitted.

Here, as shown in FIG. 6, each hook (10e) is attached to each chain (10d) so as to be tiltable between a laterally inward projecting position for engaging with the container w and a laterally outwardly escaping position, When lowering the hooks (10e) with respect to the container w from above, the hooks (10e) are pushed to the side surface of the container and tilted to the escape position, and the hooks (10e) with respect to the container w from below are hooked (10e). ) Is lifted, the hooks (10e) held at the projecting position by their own weight or an appropriate spring are engaged with the engaging groove wa of the container w, and each chain (10d) is moved by the motor (10a). These hooks (10e) can be moved up and down in synchronization with each other between an ascending end position above the return place (5) and an intermediate position slightly below the return place (5) through The intermediate position is allowed to descend to a descending end position slightly below the entrance / exit location (2), and further descending It was freely backward from the position the raised end position through the outer circulation passage of the chain (10d).

The machine frame (1) includes the above-mentioned devices (6) (7) (8).
Various sensors for performing the sequence operations of (9) and (10) are provided, and the operation of this embodiment will be described below in addition to the description of these sensors.

A container loading sensor (3) in which work-containing containers in a three-tiered stack are put into the entrance / exit location (2), and the bottom end of the container w is a photoelectric tube arranged in front of the lower part of the entrance / exit location (2) ( When it reaches 11), the motor (6a) of the first transfer device (6) is activated by the signal from the sensor (11), the container group is transferred to the waiting place (3), and the bottom container w When the front end of the container reaches a container carry-in sensor (12) composed of a photoelectric tube arranged on the lower front side of the waiting place (3), the sensor (1
The motor (6a) is stopped by the signal from 2), then the first
When the motor (7a) of the lifting device (7) operates, the container group rises in a stacked state and the uppermost container w rises to the take-out position (4). The detection claw (13a) provided on the front side swings inward and engages with the detection groove wb formed on the bottom of the front surface of the container w, and the tail end of the detection claw (13a) comprises a proximity switch to raise the container. Opposed to the sensor (13), the sensor (13) takes out the container w from the extraction position (4).
Is confirmed to rise.

At this time, the motor (7a) is stopped by the signal from the sensor (13) and the pressing cylinder (8a) of the positioning device (8) is operated to move the uppermost first container w to the positioning frame (8b). ) Is temporarily fixed to the take-out position (4) while being positioned in two horizontal directions, and then the motor (7a) is reversely operated to lower the remaining container w and the second container w in the middle stage is taken out. When the sensor descends to a position below the remaining container lowering sensor (14) composed of a photoelectric tube arranged below the position (4) and does not interfere with the supporting arm (8c) of the positioning device (8), the sensor ( 14) The supporting arm (8c) is projected to the operating position by the signal from 14) to position the first container w in the vertical direction, and then the arrangement of the model identification holes wc formed on the front surface of the container w is taken out ( Detected by the model identification sensor (15) provided on the front side of 4), It collates with the model data stored in advance, and when it matches the data, the robot sequentially takes out the workpiece from the container w.

After the work is taken out, the conveyor frame (9a) of the second transfer device (9) is closed and the pressing cylinder (8a) is retracted, and the swinging of the conveyor frame (9a) to the closed position is performed by the support piece (9j). ) And a conveyor frame opening / closing sensor (16) consisting of a proximity switch to operate the motor (9f), and the empty first container w is returned from the extraction location (4) to the return location (5). Return to.

Then, when the rear end of the container w reaches the container return sensor (17) composed of a photoelectric tube arranged at the rear side of the return place (5), the motor (9f) is driven by the signal from the sensor (17). At the same time as stopping, the motor (10a) of the second lifting device (10) is actuated to move the hook (10) at the rising end position.
e) is lowered, and when the hook (10e) is lowered to the intermediate position, the hook intermediate position sensor (1
When detected by 7), the motor (10f) reversely rotates, the hook (10e) rises and lifts the container w, and the hook (1
The motor (10f) is stopped when the hook rising end sensor (18) composed of a proximity switch detects the rising of 0e) to the rising end position.

At the same time, the signal from the sensor (18) opens the conveyor frame (9a), the support arm (8c) retracts to the escape position, and then the motor (7a) operates to raise the remaining container. , The second container w in the middle stage rises to the take-out place (4), and when this is detected by the container raising sensor (13) in the same manner as above, the motor (7a) is stopped, and thereafter the same procedure as above is followed. Temporary fixing of the container w at the take-out location (4) and the third step at the bottom
Of the second container w, the final positioning of the second container w, the work removal, the returning of the empty second container w to the returning place (5), and the rising end position of the hook (10e). The descending to the intermediate position and the ascending to the ascending position are performed, and the second container w is lifted above the return place (5) with the first container w stacked thereon. Then, the lowermost third container w is lifted to the take-out place (4) and positioned.

In this case, the support plate (7e) has risen to the lower surface level of the extraction place (4), the support plate rising end sensor (19) consisting of a proximity switch has been activated, and the standby place (3) has become empty. If it is confirmed that the next container group has been inserted in advance in the entrance / exit location (2) and the signal from the container insertion sensor (11) has been generated, the support plate (7e) descends to the descending end position and supports (not shown). When a signal is generated from the plate lowering edge sensor, the motor (6a) is activated and the next container w is carried into the waiting place (3).

When the work removal from the third container w is completed and returned to the return location (5), the hook (10e) descends from the ascending end position to the intermediate position and then temporarily ascends to the ascending end position. , The third container w and the second and first container w on top of it
, Then the conveyor frame (9a) is opened, then the hook (10e) descends to the descending end position, and these containers w are placed on the carrying roller (6c) existing at the loading / unloading place (2). On the other hand, the uppermost container w of the next container group carried into the waiting place (3) is raised to the taking-out place (4), and the work taking-out from the next container group is started.

It should be noted that the hook (10e) descends to the descending end position, this is detected by the hook descending end sensor (20) composed of a proximity switch, and that the empty container descending sensor consisting of a photoelectric tube indicates the descending of the empty container group to the entrance / exit position. When detected by (21), an appropriate alarm is activated to prompt the operator to move the container in and out, and the hook (10e) is activated by the continuous operation of the motor (10a) to cause the chain (10e) to move.
It is returned to the ascending end position via the circulation path on the outside of d) and prepares for stock of empty containers on the above-mentioned return place (5).

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the containers are supplied from the loading / unloading place through the front standby position to the upper loading position, and the empty containers are once stacked at the returning position behind the loading position. It can be stocked in the state and returned to the in / out place, and the placement space can be reduced by three-dimensionally transferring the containers, and the next container group can be put in the in / out place while the work is taken out from the container group that was put in first. It is possible to store the work in the previous container group, and after the completion of the work removal from the previous container group, it is possible to start the work removal from the next container group without causing any loss time and improve the productivity. The same lifting device can be used for stocking and lowering of these containers to the entrance / exit location, and the structure is simpler and less expensive than the case where separate lifting devices for stocking and entrance / exit are provided. The effect obtained Have.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a front view of an example of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a left side view thereof, FIG. 3 is a right side view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a plan view thereof.
6 and 6 are side views taken along the line VV and VI-VI of FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the container. w …… Container, (2) …… in / out place, (3) …… standby place, (4) …… outgoing place, (5) …… return place, (6)
...... First transport device, (7) …… First lifting device, (8)…
… Positioning device (9) …… Second carrier device (10) ……
Second lifting device, (10e) ... hook.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Izumi Uno 2198 Motomachi, Kui-shi, Mie Prefecture (72) Inventor Toshiaki Hasegawa 1 Oka, Okimura, Nishiharu-cho, Nishikasugai-gun, Aichi Sanyo Kiko Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kawabuchi Shigemasa 1 Oka, Okimura, Nishiharu-cho, Nishikasugai-gun, Aichi Prefecture Sanyo Kiko Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-60-122632 (JP, A) JP-A-61-145034 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A loading / unloading place capable of loading / unloading a predetermined number of containers for storing works, a standby position in front of the loading / unloading place, and a loading position above the standby position for removing the work from the container. A first transfer device, which is provided behind the take-out place and is located above the take-in place, and which sends the containers from the take-in / out place to the waiting place in a stacked state; A first elevating device for sequentially raising the containers from the upper one to the take-out place, a positioning device for positioning the raised containers at the take-out place, and returning an empty container from the take-out place to the return place A second transport device,
A second elevating device for lowering the container returned to the returning place to the in / out place, wherein the second elevating device is provided with a detachable hook at the bottom of the container and a rising end above the returning place. A work storage container configured to be movable up and down between a position and a lower end position below the loading / unloading place, and between an ascending end position and an intermediate position below the return position. Automatic feeding and discharging device.