JP2660600B2 - Case transfer device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer apparatus for storing and moving various containers storing articles, for example, a winged case or the like in a warehouse or the like. It is.

[Prior Art] In the storage of goods in a warehouse or the like, the movement of taking out from a storage place, and the collection, sorting, transfer, and transportation of goods in logistics, etc., storage is performed when handling various small articles one by one. In general, a container for storing articles is used because the work efficiency of the handling is reduced.

Although the shape and structure of the container can be varied, there is a brim case 30 as shown in FIG. 13 as an example for storing relatively small items. This spit case 30
The upper portion has a flange portion 30a formed at the upper edge thereof, and a stepped fitting portion 30b is appropriately formed at the bottom portion so as to be convenient for carrying and carrying. Therefore, there is a configuration in which the fitting portion 30b is fitted to the upper edge portion of the case 30 to prevent the article from falling off even when the articles are stored in the case 30 and stacked one above the other.

And conventionally, the article is put in the case 30 as described above, and this case is, for example, as shown in FIG. 12,
They were stored one by one in a multi-tiered rack 100, and stored as appropriate in factories and warehouses. This is because when the case 30 is stored in such a rack, the space fixed for each case is formed by the rack, and the problem of load collapse when the case 30 is taken in and out by hand or by a transfer device. Not convenient.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the rack 100 having the above structure,
When loading / unloading the case, the horizontal shelf 101 and the left / right vertical frame 102
Since the space formed by the above requires a certain amount of gaps D ₁ and D ₂ and the lowermost space D etc., the height and width of the rack 100 itself are large by the gaps D ₁ , D ₂ and D etc. Space is needed (depth is not shown, but naturally it is larger than the size of the case, so a larger space is needed). There was a problem that the storage quantity was reduced. In addition, once the rack is installed, the removal of the rack is not a very simple operation, so that even if the case 30 is not stored, the rack 100 itself remains. This is a serious problem from the viewpoint of effective use of space during a period when the case is not stored at the installation location due to the installation of the rack.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to reduce the space for storing a case, simplify the case storage facility, effectively use the space, and improve the efficiency of transfer / transport work. A case transfer device is provided.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The object according to the present invention is to be able to move up and down along a column of a movable traveling vehicle, and to be able to expand and contract in the horizontal direction, and to engage the side surface of the case to hold the case. A first gripping means having a fork, and a fork or a bottom surface of the case which can be extended and contracted substantially equivalently to the first gripping means and which engages with a case side different from an engagement portion of the first gripping means. A second holding means having a suitable mounting member,
The first holding means is extended to a stacked row in which a plurality of the cases are directly stacked, and the transfer target case is held and lifted, and the mounting target case is held by the second holding means, and the transfer symmetric case is provided. This is achieved by a case transfer device characterized in that the transfer non-target case on the top is lifted again by the first gripping means and returned to the stacked row.

Embodiment An embodiment of the case transfer device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a partial perspective view of a storage facility provided with a transfer device that moves on rails, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the transfer device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the transfer device shown in FIG. 4, and FIGS. 4 (a), (b) and (c) show a plan view, a side view and a cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining the structure of the gripping means. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a telescopic structure of a fork, and Figs. 6 to 10 are schematic side views for explaining a case transfer method step by step.

The feature of this embodiment is that the case containing the articles is directly stacked and placed at a location along the track on which the transfer device moves, and a case to be transferred is selected from the stacked cases. Even if the case is not at the top of the stack, it must be hollowed out and taken out and transferred. The case used in the present embodiment is, for example, a flange portion as shown in FIG.
It is convenient to have a brim case 30 having an upper end with 30a, and furthermore, a step-like fitting portion 30b is appropriately formed at the bottom, so that articles are stored in the case 30 and stacked. However, the fitting portion 30b is fitted to the upper edge portion of the case 30 to prevent the case 30 from dropping off, and when the cases are directly stacked, the fitting action of the fitting portion 30b allows stable and high stacking. Things.

First, a description will be given of the overall configuration of the storage facility and the transfer apparatus with reference to FIG. 1. A pair of parallel running rails 1 of an arbitrary length fixed to the floor are appropriately laid.
Are places where the cases 30 are stacked. Then, by the transfer device 2 traveling on the traveling rail 1,
Remove or load the desired case 30.

Next, the transfer device 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The transfer device 2 includes a traveling vehicle 10 having a pair of columns 11, a traveling device 20 located below the vehicle for reciprocating the traveling vehicle 10 on the rail 1, and vertically moving along the columns 11 and moving horizontally. The fork device 12, which is a first gripping means capable of expanding and contracting in the direction, an elevating device 21 for controlling the lifting and lowering of the fork device 12, a telescopic device 22 for expanding and contracting the fork device 12 in the horizontal direction, and a second gripping means according to the present invention. The bed mechanism 23 includes a corresponding bed mechanism 23, an elevating device 24 of the bed mechanism 23, and the like.

The traveling device 20 includes a servomotor 40 with an encoder shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a speed reducer (not shown) directly connected thereto, a pinion 41 attached to an output shaft of the speed reducer, and the like. And the rack 42 along the rail 1 is the rail 1
The truck 2 can be started or stopped freely back and forth by driving the pinion 41.

The stop position of the transfer device 2 is stopped at a predetermined position by counting the number of pulses by an encoder, that is, at the introduction position 3 where the case 30 is gripped or the transfer position 4 where the gripped case 30 is transferred. It is made to do.

An elevating device 21 for moving the fork device 12 up and down is provided in the support 11 from the base of the transfer device 2,
Servo motor with encoder 50, reducer directly connected to this
51, a sprocket 52 attached to the output shaft thereof, a sprocket 53 attached to an upper portion in a direction opposite to the sprocket 52, and a chain extended between the two sprockets 52, 53.
Consists of 54 mag. One end of the chain 54 is fixed to the main body of the fork device 12. As a result, when the servo motor 50 is driven, the chain
54 pivots and moves in desired directions up and down. And
For example, it is stopped at a position at a predetermined height by counting the number of pulses by an encoder.

The fork device 12 holds and opens the case 30 by extending and retracting a fork F capable of gripping the case 30. As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, a servo with an encoder is provided. A motor 60, a gear 61 directly connected thereto, a gear 62 meshing with the gear 61, a pair of bevel gears 63 provided at both ends of the gear 62, and gears 64, 65 provided at the other end of the bevel gear 63.
Etc. The gear 65 meshes with a rack 67 attached to a second fork 66, and by driving the motor 60, the second fork 66 reciprocates.

Meanwhile, the fork F extends horizontally in a pair of left and right sides, and includes a pair of second forks 66 that reciprocate along the fork base Fa, and a top fork 68 that reciprocates along the second fork 66, and the like. The case 30 is gripped so that the fork 68 enters below the brim 30a of the case 30 as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 4 (a).

And the second fork 6 against the fork base Fa
6, the reciprocating motion of the top fork 68 is performed by winding a wire 69 around one end of the fork base Fa and a wire 69 around one end of the fork base Fa, and attaching the wire 69 to one end of the second fork 66, as shown in FIG. , And the other end of the wire 69 is fixed to a fixing portion 71 provided on the top fork 68. That is, when the wire wheel 70 is rotated by the drive of the servo motor 60, the rotational force is transmitted by the wire 69 to the second fork 66, the top fork.
It is transmitted to 68 and can reciprocate.

With this configuration, the second fork 66
Can be obtained between the second fork 66 and the top fork 68, the same amount of movement as that has been moved, so that a double amount of movement can be obtained. By driving the motor 60, the top fork 68 expands and contracts in the horizontal direction in a direction orthogonal to the rail 1, and the encoder 30 counts the number of pulses to hold the predetermined position, that is, the case 30. At the position where the case 30 is moved and the position where the gripped case 30 is transferred.

On the other hand, in the configuration of the bed mechanism 23, the lifting device
24 is substantially the same as the lifting device 21 and the lifting mechanism is exactly the same.
Are compared with the reference numerals 50 to 54 in the lifting device 21 and the description thereof is omitted. The motor 60a shown in FIG.
A drive source for extending and contracting the bed 23a in the horizontal direction. The bed 23a is extended and contracted by turning a pinion that meshes with a rack provided at an appropriate position of the bed 23a. Accordingly, the bed mechanism 23 moves up and down by the motor 50a and moves in the horizontal direction by the motor 60a.

The case to be transferred among the stacked cases 30
The detection or selection of whether or not it is 30 is performed, for example, by providing an identification display such as a bar code on the side surface of the case 30, and in accordance with this identification display, the support 11 of the transfer device 2 or the proper position of the device. A desired case 30 can be selected by the installed detecting device (a plurality of sensors installed corresponding to the barcode height of each case stacked in a stack).

Further, for example, the above-mentioned identification display is read in advance by another scanning device or the like and stored in the control circuit, and based on this information, the position at which the transfer device 2 moves on the rail by the transfer command signal, If the vertical movement position of the means, the number of cases transferred, and the same identification display (cases that can be moved at the same time) are continuously overlapped vertically, the operation of simultaneous conveyance or the upper case if the same display is skipped A predetermined transfer is automatically performed in which an operation such as a first transfer is automatically performed. Regarding the operation after the automatic setting, an accurate operation is assured by counting through the above-described encoder and the like.

Next, a method of transferring the case 30 by the transfer device 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. The transfer method described below is for a case in which a case at an intermediate position among cases 30 directly stacked in a plurality (for example, five stages) is transferred.

The transfer device 2 approaches a predetermined stacking row. Stacked rows have 5 as shown on the floor as a to e.
The step cases 30 are directly stacked.

Then, the barcode on the side surface of the case 30 to be transferred is read by the detection device among the five cases 30 stacked in a stack. In the operation of transferring the detected case 30, the above-described motors are operated in an appropriate order and drive amount by a control device (not shown). This is for example the case c, d
In the case of transferring the
The fork device 12 is raised to a position directly below 30a. Next, the top fork 68 is extended toward the lower part of the flange 30a of the case d. This operation is performed by driving the motor 60. The extension interval, in other words, the distance is counted by the encoder, and the operation is stopped when the extension is performed to the grip position.

Next, the entire fork device 12 is lifted up again by the elevating device 21. The lifting height at this time is such that the case d is removed from the case e and that the bed 23a can be inserted between the cases d and e. Is fine. As a result,
As shown in FIG. 7, among the cases a to e, the other cases a to d are lifted while leaving the case e,
A gap is formed between cases d and e.

A bed 23a is inserted into this gap as shown by a virtual line in FIG. 7, and then four cases a, b, c, d are placed on the bed 23a.
Is placed.

Next, the fork device 12 operates to retract the top fork 68 and the second fork 66 by an appropriate amount, and the bed 23
With the cases a to d placed on the a, the flange 30a of the case b
Rise to the bottom of. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the top fork 68 and the second fork 66 are extended again, and the case 30b is gripped from both sides.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the entire fork device 12 is lifted upward, the cases a and b are separated from the cases c and d, and the bed mechanism 23 is moved with the cases c and d placed on the bed 23a. The case is returned to the original position, and the cases c and d are brought into the center of the transfer device 2. In this state, the fork device
12 is lowered, and cases a and b are stacked on the case e,
Further, the fork device 12 is retracted as described above.

As a result, while the cases a, b, and e are re-stacked in the original stacking row in a three-tiered state, the transfer target cases c and d are stacked on the transfer device 2. (No. 10
Figure).

Next, the transfer device 2 travels on the rail 1 with the cases c and d stacked. Then, the vehicle travels to a preset location and stops. This stop can be automatically stopped, for example, by counting the traveling distance by an encoder, or can be stopped appropriately by other means.

Next, when lowering the cases c and d to the transfer device, they can be grasped again by the fork device 12 and placed in a predetermined place. However, when the bed 23a is used, the bed 23a is moved to the cases c and d. While being placed, the extension operation in the horizontal direction is performed (the bed 23a moves to both the left and right in the figure), and then the descending operation is performed to lower the bed 23a to the transfer device. By configuring the bed 23a to enter the lower side of the mounting surface such as the transfer table, the bed 23a
Cases c and d can be replaced on the transfer table only by dropping a.

Then, by pulling the bed 23a or the fork device 12 back to the original position, the cases c and d are transferred to the predetermined position in a state of being stacked in two stages, and a series of moving operations is completed. .

It goes without saying that other transfer means such as a conveyor and a transfer vehicle may be arranged at the transfer position in place of the transfer table.

On the other hand, for loading by the transfer device 2, for example, the above cases c and d can be appropriately loaded at the empty stage of the stacking row from which the cases c and d are taken out.

As described above, the use of the transfer device according to the present embodiment makes it possible to easily take out a case in the middle of a case even if the cases are directly stacked on the floor. And the storage space of the case can be used efficiently. In addition, since the cases need not always be transported one by one, the moving efficiency can be improved.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications as described below are possible.

For example, when the case 30 to be transferred is, for example, stacked on the uppermost stage, or when a plurality of cases continuous from the uppermost stage are transferred, there is no need to place the case 30 on the bed 23a. It is also possible to convey it to the transfer position while holding it by the gripper 12. Further, the mounting surface of the bed 23a may be flat, but the case 30 may be held by a fork structure similarly to the fork device 12 as the gripping means.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the second gripping means does not necessarily need to hold the case bottom, and for example, the case
If 30 has a projection structure such as another brim portion in the middle portion in the case height direction in addition to the brim portion 30a, the second gripping means has the same structure as the first gripping means of the above-described embodiment, that is, the case 30
May be gripped from the side.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the bed mechanism 23 as the second gripping means is configured to expand and contract in the horizontal direction. The structure is also included in the technical idea of the present invention.

 In addition, the following modifications are also possible.

The pair of rails 1 can be omitted, and the lower wheel of the transfer device 2 may be a so-called trackless device in which a rubber tire or the like with little noise is used. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a case where cases are stacked on a movable pallet 200 as shown in FIG.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the case transfer device of the present invention, a plurality of cases including a transfer target case are lifted from the stacked cases by the first holding means, and the plurality of cases are lifted. After placing the case on the bed as the second holding means, the case not to be transferred is further held by the first holding means and removed from the bed, and the case to be transferred is transported to the transfer position. Can be transferred.

Therefore, when transferring a plurality of cases from a stacked row including a plurality of cases to be transferred to the same place, it is not necessary to independently transport each case to the transfer place every time,
It is possible to improve the work efficiency such as shortening the transfer time in which cases at the same transfer place can be stacked and transferred on a plurality of beds.

Further, according to the transfer device of the present invention, the cases can be stacked directly on the floor, so that it is not necessary to install a rack for accommodating the cases one by one as in a conventional case storage area, thereby reducing equipment costs. Simplification of fixed equipment and the simplification of installation and reduction of case storage equipment can be facilitated.In addition, the entire equipment can be reduced in size and there is no rack, so even cases of different sizes can be stacked, and more space can be used. The space can be effectively used for other purposes.

Furthermore, even if the case storage location is not on the floor but on a pallet, for example, the cases can be sorted and transferred in a state where the cases are directly stacked. There is no need to provide such a case, and the structure can be simplified. In addition, the number of cases loaded per pallet can be increased, and the case loading or case storage space can be effectively used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is an embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic perspective view showing a part of a case storage facility provided with a transfer device that moves on a rail, and FIG. 2 is a diagram of the transfer device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the transfer device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a plan view and a side view for explaining the structure of the gripping means in (a), (b) and (c). FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a telescopic structure of a fork, and FIGS. 6 to 10 are schematic side views of a transfer device for sequentially explaining a case transfer process.
FIG. 11 is a schematic side view when a pallet is used for a case storage place, FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a conventional case storage facility using a rack, and FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a case. (Signs in the drawing) 1 ... a pair of rails, 2 ... a transfer device, 10 ... a traveling trolley, 11 ... a column, 12 ... a fork device, 20 ... a traveling device, 21, 24 ... a lifting device , 23 …… Bed mechanism, 23a …… Bed 30 …… Brim case, 40, 50 …… Servo motor, 51 …… Reducer, 54, 54a …… Chain, 60, 60a …… Motor, 66 …… Second Fork, 68 ... Top fork, 200 ... Pallet, F ... Fork, Fa ... Fork base.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A first gripping means provided with a fork which can move up and down along a column of a movable traveling carriage, can expand and contract in a horizontal direction, and engages with a side surface of a case to hold the case; A second gripper having a fork or a mounting member capable of holding a bottom surface of the case, the fork engaging with a case side different from the engagement portion of the first gripper, and being capable of extending and contracting substantially the same as the gripper; The case to be transferred is lifted by extending the first gripping means with respect to the stacked row in which a plurality of the cases are directly stacked, and the transferable case is configured to be changeable by the second gripping means. A case transfer device characterized by the above-mentioned.