JP2716896B2 - Article storage and transport system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing
Store the cardboard boxes containing the articles such as assembly parts on the pallet in the storage, and remove the cardboard boxes together with the pallet from the storage as needed, and only the cardboard boxes containing the articles from the pallet To an operation line, and only the empty pallets can be collected again.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a product assembly factory or the like, articles delivered from outside the factory are usually stored in cardboard boxes. During storage, storage, and transport, repeated storage and transport operations, such as moving only cardboard boxes containing parts on a transport line such as a roller conveyor, may damage the bottom of the cardboard boxes and damage the items inside. There is a possibility of. In addition, the storage shelf portion of the normal three-dimensional storage only has front and rear longitudinal support rails on the left and right sides thereof, and supports only the left and right lower surfaces of the article or container, and the lower central portion is a space in the vertical direction. Therefore, if the width of the cardboard box is too small, it cannot be stored in a predetermined storage shelf of the three-dimensional storage.

[0003] Conventionally, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 78 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 60-119004, articles are mounted on a pallet of a fixed shape and size and stored in a storage shelf of a three-dimensional storage box. The loaded pallets of a fixed shape and size are taken in, transported to the three-dimensional storage by the stacker, and stored, while the pallets loaded with the luggage taken out of the storage by the stacker are moved to the work area on the transport line. It is disclosed that an empty container from which an article is taken out by a working unit is transported and stacked and accumulated by an accumulation device.

[0004]

However, depending on the shape of the pallet, it is difficult to load or unload the box containing the parts on the pallet, or to move the box into and out of the storage section of the storage box. However, the direction of stacking of the pallets can be set to an arbitrary state, so that when the stacked pallets are separated one by one, it is necessary to separately arrange the pallets in a predetermined direction. Further, if the pallet is merely a flat frame, the stacking position of the pallet is shifted in the horizontal direction, and there is a problem that the pallet is easily collapsed when a large number of pallets are stacked. There was a problem that it was not possible.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a new article storage and transport system that solves the problems of the prior art.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article storage and transport system according to the first aspect of the present invention, which has a rectangular shallow plate shape in plan view for mounting a box storing articles therein. A pallet comprising a front and rear part having an inclined surface for guiding a bottom surface of the box, and a block fitted to both right and left sides orthogonal to the front and rear part during stacking.
The pallet is in contact with the left and right block portions of the pallet.
A picker that includes a dovetail and the inclined surface faces out and in from each storage unit in the storage, and is disposed between one end of the storage, the entry line, and the exit line, and each line and the Between the picker, a connection column for inheriting the pallet on which the box is mounted, and only the mounted box via the inclined surface from the pallet conveyed at the other end of the unloading line to a work line. And a delivery line connected to the other end of the delivery line and the other end of the storage line for transporting the empty pallets after the delivery.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the article storage / transport system according to the first aspect, a stack for stacking the empty pallets on the transport line so that the block portions are vertically aligned. And a separating device for separating the stacked empty pallets one by one.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, exemplary type embodying the present invention
The state will be described. First, the pallet 1 used in the system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The pallet 1 made of a thin metal plate has a rectangular shallow dish shape in a plan view. The left and right side plates 1b, 1b of the bottom plate 1a are erected, and the front and rear portions 1c, 1c are formed to be inclined outward and upward.
The front and rear portions 1c, 1c are formed so as to be inclined such that the height of the curled outer edge is lower than the upper edges of the left and right side plates 1b. Therefore, the state in which the cardboard box W serving as the box storing the articles is mounted on the pallet 1
a When sliding out on the a, the front and rear parts 1c, 1
Only possible from c.

A substantially cubic block 2 made of synthetic resin or the like fixed to the front and rear end portions of the left and right side plates 1b, 1b of the pallet 1 with screws 3 and nuts 4 stores the pallet 1 as described later. The pallet 1 functions as an engaging portion when the pallet 1 is loaded into and discharged from the storage shelf 15, prevents misalignment when the pallets 1 are vertically stacked in a plurality of stages, and furthermore, when the pallets 1 are stacked vertically, It has a function as a pinch engagement part when carrying. That is, the longitudinal front and rear surfaces 2a and 2b of each block 2 serve as engagement portions when the pallet 1 is pushed out and pulled in, and are formed in the upper surface of each block 2a (open toward the upper edge of the side plate 1b). By fitting the substantially rectangular projections 6 projecting downward from the lower surface of the block 2 of the upper pallet 1 into the place 5, the pallets 1 in the upper and lower tiers can be stacked right and left and back and forth without displacement (FIG. 4). , FIG. 5). Also,
A substantially rectangular pinch engaging portion 7 is formed in the longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction of the pallet 1 formed on the outer surface of each block 2.

Next, FIGS. 6 and 7 show schematic overall views of the system of the present embodiment, and reference numeral 10 denotes an inner picker 1 at the center.
1 shows a three-dimensional storage provided with storage areas 13 and 14 on the front and rear sides of one passage 12. Each of the storage areas 13 and 14 has a configuration in which storage shelves 15 opened toward the passage 12 are arranged in a matrix in up, down, left, and right directions. The inner picker 11 moves the pallets 1 to the storage shelves 15 for each shelf.
A pair of rails 16 are provided at the height positions of the front and rear storage areas 13 and 14 for each shelf, and the inner picker 11 extends over the pair of rails 16 and 16.
Is configured to travel. A mechanism for moving the pallet 1 in and out of the inner picker 11 will be described later.

At the left end or right end of the storage 10, there is a connection column 19 connected to the entry line 17 and the exit line 18.
(See FIG. 8). In the present embodiment, the storage line 17 is disposed at a low position near the floor, and the storage line 18 is disposed on the storage line 17 so as to substantially extend in the longitudinal direction. The connection column 19 has a storage section 20 at the front and rear thereof.
And the retrieval unit 21 are connected to the sides of the pair of storage areas 13 and 14. An elevator 22 on which drive rollers 23 and 24 for driving the pallet 1 to move in a right-angle direction in a plan view is provided in the storage 20 and the storage 21 so as to move up and down. The driving roller group 23 is configured to slightly move up and down with respect to the driving roller group 24 so that the other driving roller group does not interfere when the pallet 1 is forcibly moved in the orthogonal direction.

As a result, the pallet 1 on which the cardboard boxes W are mounted is loaded at the loading section 25 at the other end of the loading line 17 into the loading section 2.
0, the elevator 2 at the transfer position
After the pallet 1 is transferred together with the cardboard box W to 2, the elevator 22 is moved to a predetermined storage area (empty storage shelf 15).
Up or down to the height of
The pallet 1 is transferred together with the cardboard box W to the inner picker 11 stopped at 9. Contrary to the above, the pallet loaded with the cardboard box W pulled out from the predetermined storage shelf 15 is moved by the inner picker 11 to the connection column 19 and raised to the same height position in the unloading section 21.
Then, the pallet 1 is transferred to the delivery line 18 with the cardboard box W at the transfer position. The mark code attached to the side of the cardboard box W is read by a sensor (not shown),
The information is stored in the computer together with the address of the stored storage shelf 15 so that desired articles can be taken out.

At the other end of the retrieval line 18, a plurality of payout portions 26 extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the retrieval line 18 are provided, and each of the payout portions 26 slides only the cardboard box W on the pallet 1. Pay out. A work unit 28 is arranged at one end of a transport roller conveyor 27 connected to each payout unit 26. The other end of the unloading line 18 and the carry-in section 25 of the cardboard box W are connected by a transport line 29 by a roller conveyor. In the transport line 29, the discharged empty pallets 1 are stacked in multiple stages. Stacking device 30
Is provided in the vicinity of the other end of the unloading line 18 and the loading section 25
The front portion of provided with a separation device 31 for separating the One not a single empty pallets stacked.

Next, the structure of the inner picker 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. Reference numeral 32 denotes a main body frame, and reference numerals 33, 33 denote rails 1 in the passage 12.
The wheels are mounted on the wheels 6 and 16 and run, and are driven via a drive motor 34 for running, a reduction mechanism and a chain. On both outer sides of the mounting plate 35 on which the pallet 1 is mounted, a pair of longitudinal slide arms 36, 36 facing the left and right sides of the entrance and exit of the storage shelf 15 are arranged, and a guide box 38 is provided outside each of the slide arms 36. A plurality of guide shafts 37 for slidably supporting the slide arm 36 are provided therein.

A drive motor 39 capable of rotating forward and reverse, a chain,
Slide arm 3 via transmission shaft 40 and rack gear 41
6, the endless chain wound in the longitudinal direction of the inner surface of the slide arm 36 is driven by the drive motor 39, and the guide shaft 42 in each slide arm 36 is attached to the endless chain. The engagement block 43 fitted slidably is attached to. Engagement block 43
The rotatable engagement claws 44 provided on the front and rear surfaces are selectively raised by an electromagnetic solenoid (not shown) such that the posture is such that they fall substantially horizontally and the free end is located in the slide arm 36 as shown in FIG. It is configured to be selectively undulating with the posture.

Thus, when the slide arm 36 advances with respect to the storage shelf 15, the engagement block 43 also advances within the slide 36 at the same time. At this time, the engaging claws 44 provided on the rear surfaces of the left and right engaging blocks 43 are tilted substantially horizontally as shown by a dashed line in FIG.
4, the pallet 1 is pushed into the storage shelf 15 together with the cardboard box W by pushing the rear surfaces 2b, 2b in the traveling direction of the blocks 2, 2 on both left and right sides of the pallet 1 (see FIG. 9).

On the other hand, when pulling out the pallet 1 from the storage shelf 15, the engaging claws 44, 44 tilted on the front side of each engaging block 43 abut against the front surface 2 a of the left and right side blocks 2, 2 of the pallet 1, and slide arm The pallet is pulled out together with the cardboard box W in accordance with the retreat of the engagement block 43 and the engagement block 43. As shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, the roller conveyors in the storage line 17, the storage line 18, the transport line 29, etc.
6, the deceleration mechanism 47, a motor roller 49 with a built-in clutch and brake mechanism 48, (not a two One in the embodiment) just roller 50 and a plurality are arranged alternately, the rollers 49,
In this configuration, a large number of roller units, each of which is wound and connected between end portions 50 by an endless body 53 such as a timing belt, are provided.

The unit length of each roller unit is set so as to be substantially equal to the length of the pallet 1, and is moved on the roller conveyor by a light reflection type detector 52 provided on the conveyor frame 51. The presence / absence of each pallet 1 is detected, and control is performed to drive / stop each roller unit so that the pallets before and after do not collide with each other.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show the payout section 26 and the working section 28, and the delivery line 18 in the payout section 26.
Of the pallet 1 stopped on the rollers 49, 50, the front and rear portions 1c, 1c are directed in the longitudinal direction of the inclined roller conveyor (working line) 54 to the working section 28. Then, a stopper 55 is formed on the conveyor frame 51 so as to face the front portion 1c of the pallet 1 but not to extend upward. Reference numeral 56 denotes pallet 1
A long push body for pushing out the upper cardboard box W in the direction of the inclined roller conveyor 54, and a bracket 59 supporting one longitudinal end of a push body 56 having a cushioning material stretched on the front face is provided below the rollers 49 and 50. To a rodless air cylinder 57 slidably fitted on a guide shaft 58 extending along the longitudinal direction. When the rodless air cylinder 57 is moved rightward in FIG. 14, the pallet 1 is stopped by the stopper 55, so that only the cardboard box W is discharged toward the inclined roller conveyor 54 while leaving the pallet 1.

In the working section 28 connected to the tip of the inclined roller conveyor 54, a swing table 60 for receiving the cardboard box W is provided.
Is pivoted by an actuator 61 such as an air cylinder or the like, and the rocking table 60 is selectively turned into a substantially horizontal position and a position substantially in the same plane as the inclined fixing table 62 with the free end side down. It can be operated by an operator to operate. An article is taken out of the cardboard box W stopped at the lower end stopper 63 of the inclined fixing base 62 and transferred to the working section.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show a stacking device 30 for the pallets 1 at the end of the delivery line 18 at a high position or at the division of the transport line 29, and when an empty pallet 1 comes to that position, the sensor 64 detects it. Upon detection, the front end of the empty pallet 1 is positioned and stopped by the stopper 66 which moves up and down by the electromagnetic solenoid 65. In this case, the left and right side blocks 2 of the pallet 1 are located on both left and right sides in the transport direction of the retrieval line 18 and the like. Frame 6 above it
At 7 is attached a left and right longitudinal support frame 69 to be attached to an air actuator 68 which moves back and forth in the transport direction.

At the left and right ends of the support frame 69, grip frames 71, which are moved forward and backward by air actuators 70, 70, respectively, are provided.
At the inner end of each gripping frame 71, gripping portions 72 that engage with the concave sandwiching engaging portions 7 on the outer surfaces of the four blocks 2 of the pallet 1 are formed to protrude inward.
The base end of a U-shaped lifting table 73 that rises and falls at a position adjacent to the end of the delivery line 18 or the end of the separation part of the transport line 29 is provided with a screw rod 75 erected on a frame 74.
, And can be moved in parallel along a pair of guide rails 77 provided on the frame 74. When the screw rod 75 is rotationally driven by the step motor 76 that can be rotated forward and backward, the elevating table 73 repeats the ascending and descending movement of rising to the pallet 1 receiving position and descending to the standby position. On the upper surface of the elevating table 73, the lower pallet 6 of the four empty blocks 1 of the empty pallet 1 is fixedly provided at a position where the lower surface projections 6 are fitted to the positioning mounting blocks 78 to be fitted. Reference numeral 79 denotes a vertically long guide piece for guiding the edge of the pallets 1 during stacking.

Then, the support frame 69 is positioned beside the empty pallet 1 which is detected by the sensor 64 at the end of the unloading line 18 or at the end of the separation part of the transport line 29 and stopped at the stopper 66, and The distance between the left and right gripping frames 71, 71 is reduced by the air actuators 70, 70, and the four gripping engagement portions 72 of the left and right gripping frames 71, 71 allow the outer surface of the block 2 of the pallet 1 to be sandwiched at four places. Fit and grab. Next, after the stopper 66 is lowered, the support frame 69 is horizontally moved, transferred to the elevating table 73 at a slightly lowered position, and stopped. Next, the elevator 73
Is raised by a predetermined height distance (H1), the protrusions 6 on the lower surface of the four blocks 2 are fitted into the four mounting blocks 78 on the upper surface of the elevating table 73, so that the left and right holding frames can be held. The grip of the pallet 1 is released by widening the interval between 71 and 71. The elevating table 73 on which the empty pallet 1 is placed is again added to the predetermined distance (H1), lowered by the height of the empty pallet 1 and waits, and the support frame 6 for the next empty pallet is returned.
The operation of waiting for horizontal transfer according to 9 is repeated, and a plurality of empty pallets 1 are stacked on the elevating table 73. When the stacking operation of a predetermined number (25 in the embodiment) is completed, the elevator 73 is lowered significantly, and the U-shaped elevator 73 in a plan view is formed.
The empty pallets in a stacked state are placed on the discharge-side roller conveyor section 80 disposed below (closer to the floor) below the inner diameter side (space section).

[0024] Figure 17 shows a separation device 31 for separating the empty pallet 1 stacked above the One not a single, the separating device 31, the transport line 29 ends in front of the loading unit 25 of the cardboard box W The placement roller unit 90 to be positioned, a lifting frame 91 surrounding three sides except for the entrance side of the placement roller unit 90, and the stacked empty pallets mounted on the left and right arms 92, 92 of the lifting frame 91. A scooping means 93, 93 for scooping and supporting an empty pallet in a stacked portion above the one empty pallet at the lower end of the pallet 1; To a discharge conveyor section 95 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the transport line 29 extends, as viewed in a plan view, and an endless chain (not shown).

The lifting frame 91 is attached to the main body frame 9 on the rear side.
6 is slidably supported by a plurality of guide shafts 97 erected at 6 and is positioned between the lifting frame 91 and the body frame 96 by a three-position lifting actuator 98 at three upper and lower height positions. Is configured to be stoppable. Posture (orientation) of stacked empty pallets 1 at 90 places of the loading roller section
Are oriented so that the inclined front and rear portions 1c, 1c of each pallet 1 face flat scooping bodies 99, 99 in the scooping means 93, 93. The pair of scooping bodies 99, 99 are moved by the air actuator 100 of the scooping means 93, 93 between the empty pallet at the lower end of the stacked empty pallets 1 and the empty pallet at the upper position adjacent thereto (the inclined front and rear portions). 1c, 1c).

Then, first, a pair of scooping bodies 99, 9
9 is retracted to a predetermined distance, and the lifting frame 91 is moved to the second position.
Position, and the tips of the pair of scooping bodies 99, 99 are positioned between the lowermost end and the empty pallet 1 at the second height position among the stacked empty pallets 1 that have been introduced into the loading roller unit 90. It is operated so as to face the front and rear portions 1c, 1c between them. Next, the air actuators 100, 100
To move the two scooping bodies 99, 99 forward and to face below the bottom plate 1a of the second empty pallet from the lowermost end. In this state, when the elevating frame 91 is raised to the highest position (third position), only the empty pallet at the lowermost end is placed on the loading roller unit 9.
The empty pallet group that is left behind at a position 0 and is higher than that is supported by a pair of scooping bodies 99, 99 at a high position.

In this state, the discharging means 94, 94
One empty pallet 1 in the placing roller unit 90 is pushed out to the discharge conveyor unit 95. When the discharging operation is completed, when the lifting frame 91 is lowered to the lowest position (first position), the stacked empty pallet group is mounted on the upper surface of the mounting roller unit 90. Next, while the pair of scooping bodies 99, 99 are retracted, the operation of raising the elevating frame 91 to the second position and advancing the pair of scooping bodies 99, 99 to the third position is repeated. Thereby, the empty pallets 1 stacked can be sequentially separated from the lowest empty pallet.

The control of the stacking device and the separation device described above is mainly performed by sequence control, and the control of these controls, the control of the loading and unloading of the cardboard box W with respect to the storage, and the transport control of each line are performed by a central control by a computer. It is managed by a device (not shown).

[0029]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
According to the invention described in (1), the box in which the articles are put in the carry-in section is put on the pallet via the storage line while being put on the pallet, is discharged along the discharge line, and is conveyed toward the work line. In these cases, the pallet has a rectangular shallow dish shape having a rectangular shape in plan view for mounting a box containing articles therein, and has no front and rear portions having an inclined surface for guiding the bottom surface of the box. The right and left sides are perpendicular to each other, and are provided with mating blocks . The picking claw provided on the picker is used to contact the left and right blocks with the engaging claws so that the pallet can be taken in and out of the storage unit. It is easy to make the predetermined direction of the pallet constant, and it is extremely easy for the dispensing section to slide out the mounted box using the inclined surfaces of the front and rear portions of the pallet. Then, only the box is transported to the working unit. The empty pallets remaining in the payout unit can be returned from the unloading line to the original loading unit via the transport line.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of taking out an article from a box and replacing it with a container at the carry-in section, and to store and unload the article in a state where the box storing the article is placed on a pallet. There is an effect that the direction of the pallet when transporting can be made constant, and the boxes can be easily dispensed. According to the second aspect of the present invention,
In the transport line, by providing a stacking device for stacking empty pallets with the block portions aligned vertically and a separating device for separating the stacked empty pallets one by one, cumbersome processing of empty pallets Can be performed without relying on humans,
Since the left and right sides of the pallet have blocks that fit each other during stacking, the stacking direction of the pallets can be kept constant, and the stacking state can be stabilized.
This has the effect that the separation operation of the pallets by the subsequent separation device becomes easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pallet.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a pallet.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway sectional view of a stacked state of the pallets viewed from the front direction.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view of a stacked state viewed from the side of the pallet.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of the entire storage / transport system.

7 is a side view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a connection column.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the operation of loading and unloading a pallet to a storage shelf.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a side view of the transport roller conveyor unit.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a schematic side view of a payout unit and a working unit.

FIG. 14 is a side view of a main part of a payout unit.

FIG. 15 is a side view of the stacking device.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the stacking device.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a separation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pallet 1a Bottom plate 1c, 1c Front and rear part 2 Block 5 Concave part 6 Projection part 7 Pinch engagement part 10 Storage 11 Inner picker 12 Passage 13, 14 Storage area 15 Storage shelf 17 Entry line 18 Departure line 19 Connection column 25 Loading part Reference Signs List 26 Discharge unit 28 Work unit 29 Conveyance line 30 Stacking device 31 Separation device 36 Slide arm 43 Engagement block 44 Engagement claw 55, 66 Stopper 56 Press body 57 Air cylinder 60 Swing table 61 Actuator 62 Inclined fixing stand 64 Sensor 67 Frame Body 68, 70 Air actuator 69 Support frame 71 Gripping frame 72 Gripping portion 73 Lifting table 78 Mounting block 80 Roller conveyor section 90 Mounting roller section 91 Lifting frame 93 Scooping means 94 Discharging means 95 Discharge conveyor section 98 Lifting actuator 99 Scooping body 1 0 air actuator

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Agency reference number FI Technical display location B65G 59/06 103 B65D 21/02 Z

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rectangular shallow dish-like shape for mounting a box storing articles therein, the front and rear portions being inclined surfaces for guiding the bottom surface of the box, and being orthogonal to the front and rear portions during stacking. A pallet comprising blocks fitted on both sides on the left and right sides, and a member for contacting the block portions on the left and right sides of the pallet.
A picker that includes a dovetail and the inclined surface faces each storage unit in the storage, and is inserted and removed, and is disposed between one end of the storage, the entry line, and the exit line, and each line and the Between the picker, a connection column for inheriting the pallet on which the box is mounted, and only the mounted box via the inclined surface from the pallet conveyed at the other end of the unloading line to a work line. A dispensing unit for dispensing the pallets, and a transport line connected to the other end of the unloading line and the other end of the receiving line, for transporting the empty pallets after the dispensing. Storage and transport system. To wherein said conveying line, said comprising the empty pallet stacking device for stacking by matching the block portion up and down, and a separating device for separating one by one the empty pallet stacked the The article storage / transport system according to claim 1, wherein: