JP3622113B2 - Automatic warehouse - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Field of the Invention]
The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse, and more particularly to stably supporting articles being conveyed.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art A stacker crane is known in which a plurality of parallel support members are provided on a fork, and an article is placed on the support member and conveyed. When a narrow article is conveyed using such a stacker crane, it is necessary to accurately determine the position of the article on the support member so that the article is supported by as many support members as possible. However, complex mechanisms are required to accurately center the article.
[0003]
[Problems of the Invention]
A basic object of the present invention is to make it possible to stably support an article on a support member of a transport device without accurately centering the position of the article (claims 1 to 3).
An additional problem in the inventions of claims 2 and 3 is to provide a specific configuration for the above problem.
[0004]
[Structure of the invention]
The present invention provides an automatic warehouse provided with a conveying device that supports and conveys the bottom surface of an article with a plurality of parallel support members, the article so that the side direction of the article bottom surface is inclined with respect to the support member. By horizontally rotating, means for increasing the width of the bottom surface of the article in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the support member, and supporting the bottom surface of the article with a larger number of support members than when not horizontally rotated. (Claim 1).
[0005]
Preferably, the transport device is provided with three or more support members, and in the state where the longitudinal direction of the bottom surface is parallel to the support members, the horizontal rotating means is used for the articles supported only by the two support members. And are supported by three or more support members (claim 2).
Preferably, the horizontal rotation means is provided in a warehouse station.
[0006]
[Operation and effect of the invention]
In the present invention, the article is horizontally rotated, that is, the article is rotated about a substantially vertical axis so that the side direction on the bottom surface of the article is inclined with respect to the support member. For this reason, the width of the article viewed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the support member is increased, the article can be placed on a larger number of support members, the article can be conveyed more stably, and the article can be collapsed during conveyance. (Claim 1). The present invention is effective when storing an article having a rectangular bottom surface, and there is no point in horizontally rotating the article having a circular bottom surface. However, the automatic warehouse according to the present invention may be an automatic warehouse that stores articles having a rectangular bottom surface, and the bottom surface of a part of the stored articles may be circular.
[0007]
Corresponding to a plurality of parallel support members in the transport apparatus, support racks are often provided at intervals in the rack of an automatic warehouse, and are often transferred from the transport apparatus onto the support member on the rack side. In such a case, even if the article is accurately positioned with respect to the support member of the transport device, the positioning accuracy with respect to the support member of the rack is lowered, and the posture for storing the article on the rack becomes unstable. There is. However, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in such a case, even in the rack, the side direction of the bottom surface of the article is inclined with respect to the support member, and can be stably stored. Similarly, when an article is transferred again from the rack to the transport device, the side direction of the bottom surface of the product is also inclined with respect to the support member of the transport device, and the article is placed on a larger number of support members. The article can be conveyed more stably.
[0008]
In the invention of claim 2, when the longitudinal direction of the bottom surface is parallel to the support member, the article supported only by the two support members is horizontally rotated and supported by three or more support members. Can be transported in a more stable posture.
[0009]
In the invention of claim 3, since the article is horizontally rotated at the warehousing station, the article has already been rotated when transferred to the transfer device, and the article collapses when transferred from the warehousing station to the transfer device. Absent. In addition, an automatic warehouse can be configured simply as compared with the case where a horizontal rotation device for articles is mounted on the transport device.
[0010]
【Example】
1 to 6 show an embodiment and its modifications. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes an automatic warehouse entry station, which may also be used as an exit station. 4 and 6 are divided conveyors, for example, power roller conveyors, which are divided along the left and right of the center line 7 in the conveying direction of the warehousing station 2, and the divided conveyor 4 is in the forward direction (from right to left in FIG. 1). ) And in the reverse direction (from left to right in FIG. 1). The division conveyor 6 may be capable of driving only in the forward direction or may be capable of driving in both forward and reverse directions. One of the divided conveyors 4 and 6 may be driven (conveyed) in both forward and reverse directions, and the other may be driven in the forward direction at least.
[0011]
Here, the divided conveyors 4 and 6 are divided to the left and right of the center line 7 so that they do not overlap when viewed in the transport direction, but may partially overlap in the vicinity of the center line 7. In the embodiment, a stacker crane, which will be described later, is provided with a pair of comb forks and simultaneously conveys two articles. Therefore, a pair of divided conveyors 4 and 6 are provided on the front side and the side of the station 2. Just as good. Further, a chain conveyor may be used as the dividing conveyor. For example, when the chain conveyor has two chains, the one side chain and the other chain may be driven in opposite directions to form the dividing conveyor. Alternatively, when a four-strand chain is used, it may be divided into two chain conveyors two by two and driven to the opposite side to form a split conveyor.
[0012]
Reference numerals 8 and 10 denote ordinary power roller conveyors that convey articles to the division conveyors 4 and 6. Reference numerals 12 to 14 denote stoppers for regulating the positions of a pair of corner portions on the diagonal of the article when the article is rotated by the division conveyors 4 and 6. The stopper 12 is a fixed stopper, and is located in the innermost part of the warehousing station 2, and the wall of the wall of the station may be used as the stopper. The stoppers 13 and 14 are movable stoppers, the stopper 14 is a stopper on the front side (right side in FIG. 1) of the division conveyors 4 and 6, and the stopper 13 is a stopper on the back side.
[0013]
A plurality of lifters 16 are provided so as to appear and disappear from the gap between the division conveyors 4 and 6. For example, five lifters 16 are provided for the division conveyors 4 and 6, four of which are arranged in the division conveyors 4 and 6, and the frontmost lifter is arranged in the conveyors 8 and 10. This is for lifting up articles having a width larger than the length of the division conveyors 4 and 6.
[0014]
The articles conveyed from the right side of FIG. 1 are stopped on the dividing conveyors 4 and 6 one by one using the stoppers 12 and 14, and the dividing conveyors 4 and 6 are rotated in the left and right directions to rotate. A pair of corner portions on the diagonal line of the article are positioned by contacting the stoppers 12 to 14. Thereafter, the division conveyors 4 and 6 are stopped, the articles are lifted up by the lifter 16, and transferred onto the comb-like forks 18 of the stacker crane.
[0015]
Reference numeral 20 denotes a length sensor, which uses a photo interrupter or the like, outputs a beam in a direction parallel to the axis of the conveyor roller, and detects the length of the article from, for example, the time when the article is blocking the beam. When the length of the article is equal to or shorter than the length of the dividing conveyors 4 and 6, the article is rotated by the dividing conveyors 4 and 6 and the stoppers 12 to 14 via a control means (not shown). Note that L1 in FIG. 1 is the minimum width of the article handled in the station 2, and L2 is the maximum width.
[0016]
FIG. 2 shows a modified station 22. In this modification, an ordinary conveyor 24 is used in place of the divided conveyors 4 and 6, and an article is sucked and rotated from the upper surface by the suction moving device 26. At this time, if the central portion of the upper surface of the article is sucked and rotated together with the suction moving device 26, the stoppers 12 and 13 become an obstacle. Therefore, for example, the vicinity of the end of the upper surface of the article is adsorbed, the end of the article opposite to the adsorbed position is rotated about the axis, and conveyed from, for example, the left side to the right side in FIG. It is rotated while restricting the rotation range. 2 shows the shape of the article before rotation, and 28 shows the shape of the article after rotation. The other points are the same as the warehousing station 2 in FIG. It should be noted that the stoppers 12 and 13 may be set to the retracted position when the article is rotated, and the stopper 14 may not be provided, and the center of the upper surface of the article may be sucked by the suction moving device 26 and rotated together with the suction moving device.
[0017]
FIG. 3 shows the stacker crane 34, its lifting platform 30, rack 42, and delivery station 44 in addition to the entry station 2. The lifting platform 30 moves up and down along the mast 32 provided on the stacker crane 34, and the pair of forks 18 and 18 are provided. The stacker crane 34 travels on the traveling rail 36. However, the type of transfer device in the automatic warehouse is arbitrary. Each fork 18 has, for example, four support members 19, which are moved back and forth from the lifting platform 30 by the slide mechanism unit 38 to transfer articles between the stations 2 and 44 and the rack 42. Reference numeral 40 denotes a linear motion guide for moving one of the forks 18 and 18 and may not be provided.
[0018]
The delivery station 44 is provided with a conveyor 48 such as a roller conveyor and stoppers 46, 46, and it is not necessary to provide the division conveyors 4, 6. The article unloaded from the fork 18 is transported to the left in FIG. 3 by the conveyor 48 with the stopper 46 in the protruding state, stopped by the stopper 46, and reverse to the rotation by the divided conveyors 4 and 6. For example, the longitudinal direction of the article becomes perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor 48.
[0019]
FIG. 4 shows a modification in which the suction rotation device 50 is provided on the lifting platform 31 to rotate the articles 52 and 53 on the lifting platform 31 instead of the warehousing station. The suction rotation device 50 is movable up and down, and after being rotated like an article 53 from a state where the article is adsorbed by vacuum suction or the like in contact with the upper surface of the article and transferred onto the fork 18 like the article 52. Rotate to the state. The other points are the same as the lifting platform 30 of FIG.
[0020]
FIG. 5 shows the operation of the warehousing station 2 of FIG. The incoming goods are conveyed from the right to the left in the figure, and the first article hits the stopper 12 and stops. At this time, the width of the article is monitored by a length sensor, and when the width is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the stopper 14 on the front side in the transport direction is raised, and the divided conveyor is driven in the left and right direction, so Then, the corners on the diagonal line of the article are rotated so as to be regulated. As a result, for example, the article having the minimum width L1 has a front width increased to L3 when viewed from the fork 18 of the stacker crane 34, and can be supported by three pieces supported by two support members. The posture becomes stable. When the running posture becomes stable, the posture when it is transferred to the rack 42 or transferred again from the rack 42 onto the fork 18 of the stacker crane 34 for delivery is also stabilized. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the article from falling during the period from entry to delivery.
[0021]
There are a pair of division conveyors 4 and 6 on the back side and the front side because a stacker crane 34 using two forks 18 and 18 is used. After the first article has passed, the second article is stopped by the stopper 13, and the width is measured in the same manner. If the width is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value, the front stopper 14 is raised and the dividing conveyor is used. It is rotated so that the front width viewed from the fork 18 is L3. When the rotation of the article is completed, the article is lifted up by the lifter 16, the support member of the fork 18 is inserted and raised from below, and the article is transferred from the lifter 16 to the fork 18.
[0022]
FIG. 6 shows the transfer of articles between the rack 42 and the lifting platform 30. The article 60 is placed on the fork 18 so that the long side direction of the bottom surface is inclined with respect to the support member 19, and is transferred onto the support member 56 of the rack 42 in this posture. It is transferred from 56 to the fork 18. The support member 56 is made of, for example, L-shaped steel, and the upper surface of the support member 56 is fixed to the bottom surface of the horizontal member 54 of the rack 42 to simplify the configuration of the support member 56.
[0023]
FIG. 7 shows a second modification of the warehousing station, 62 is a new warehousing station, 63 to 66 are conveyors using power rollers, etc., and this conveyor 65 is divided into two triangular shapes, and 2 A stopper 68 protrudes and protrudes from between the divided conveyor rollers onto the conveying surface. The stopper 68 may be lowered from the top of the conveyor 65, retracted from the article when it is raised, and stopped when it is lowered. The stopper 68 is greatly inclined from the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and the degree of this inclination is equal to or greater than the maximum angle at which the article is rotated at the warehousing station 62.
[0024]
S1 and S2 are rear end detection sensors for the article using an optical interrupter, and S1b and S2b are light receiving ends. When the rear end of the article passes through the detection line indicated by the chain line in the figure, the rear end detection sensors S1 and S2 are turned on so that the light beam reaches the light receiving ends S1b and S2b, and the rear end of the article is detected. Detects passing through the line. When the rear end detection sensor S1 is turned on, the control unit 70 stops the conveyor 63, raises the stopper 13 to the exit position, lowers the stopper 68 to the submerged position, and sets the corner on the diagonal line of the next article. Position. The points other than the above are the same as those of the embodiment of FIG. 1, and the lifter 16 of FIG.
[0025]
The operation of the modified example of FIG. 7 is shown. The article shown in 72 is restrained by the stopper 68 and pivoted counterclockwise, and when the stopper 68 is lowered, it is transported to the conveyor 63, and like the article shown in 73, the tip of the article This corner is stopped by the stopper 12 perpendicular to the conveying direction, and is rotated clockwise by the conveying force of the conveyor 63 to reduce the inclination. When the article rotates and the inclination decreases and the rear end passes through the detection line of the detection sensor S1, the control unit 70 stops the conveyor 63, and the width of the article viewed from the transfer means of the transport device is the stopper 12. And the rear end detection sensor S1 are approximately equal to each other, and the front end and the rear end on the diagonal of the article occupy a predetermined position. At substantially the same time, the controller 70 raises the stopper 13 to the exit position, lowers the stopper 68 to the sink position, and conveys the next article onto the conveyor 64. The stopper 13, the rear end detection sensor S2, and the conveyor Similarly, the degree of the rotation of the article is reduced using 64, and the width viewed from the fork is made equal to the interval between the stopper 13 and the rear end detection sensor S2 perpendicular to the conveying direction.
[0026]
In this modification, the article is excessively rotated by the stopper 68 and is rotated in the reverse direction using the stoppers 12 and 13 and the conveyors 63 and 64. Then, the rear end detection sensor detects that the rear end of the article has occupied a predetermined position along the transport direction, and stops the conveyors 63 and 64. For this reason, even if the width | variety of articles | goods is various, a pair of corner part on the diagonal of an article | item can be positioned in a predetermined position along a conveyance direction with simple structure.
[0027]
As described above, in the embodiment, for example, when viewed in the transfer direction, an article having a front width corresponding to two support members on the fork of the stacker crane is rotated and transferred onto the three support members on the fork. Included. For example, it is supported on the rack by three support members. For these reasons, it is difficult for articles with a narrow width to fall down against the acceleration / deceleration and traveling wind of the stacker crane, and the appearance when stored in the rack is stable. In the embodiment, an article having a width corresponding to two support members on a fork is supported by three support members. However, an article having a width corresponding to one support member is supported by two support members. Can also be used to
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the main part of a warehousing station in the automatic warehouse of the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the warehousing station of the modified example. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a main part showing a stacker crane in the meantime. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a main part showing a lifting platform in a modified stacker crane. Fig. 5 schematically shows various height levels in the station of the example. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the main part showing the transfer of the stacker crane from the lifting platform to the rack in the automatic warehouse of the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the main part of the warehousing station of the second modification. Description】
2, 22, 62 Warehousing station 4, 6 Division conveyor 7 Center line 8, 10, 63-66 Conveyor 12-14, 68 Stopper 16 Lifter 18 Fork 19 Support member 20 Length sensor 24 Conveyor 26 Adsorption moving device 27, 28 Goods 30, 31 Lift platform 32 Mast 34 Stacker crane 36 Traveling rail 38 Slide mechanism section 40 Linear motion guide 42 Rack 44 Unloading station 46 Stopper 48 Conveyor 50 Suction rotation device 52, 53, 60 Article 54 Horizontal material 56 Support member 70 Control section 72, 73 Article L1 Minimum width L2 Maximum width S1, S2 Rear end detection sensor

Claims (3)

In an automatic warehouse equipped with a transport device that supports and transports the bottom surface of an article with a plurality of parallel support members,
By horizontally rotating the article so that the side direction of the article bottom surface is inclined with respect to the support member, the width of the article bottom surface in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the support member is increased, and the article is horizontally rotated. An automatic warehouse provided with means for supporting the bottom surface of an article with a larger number of support members than in the case of not doing so. When the transport device is provided with three or more support members and the longitudinal direction of the bottom surface is parallel to the support members, the horizontal rotation means rotates the articles with respect to the articles supported only by the two support members. The automatic warehouse according to claim 1, wherein the automatic warehouse is supported by three or more support members. The automatic warehouse according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the horizontal rotation means is provided in a storage station.

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