JP3761012B2 - Goods storage facility - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention includes an upright column and a plurality of article placement members connected to the column at intervals in the vertical direction along the longitudinal direction of the column. A storage shelf for storing the article in parallel in the direction, an article transfer device for transferring the article between the article placement member and itself, and the article transfer device in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. The transfer device that is driven to move and the article transfer device so as to be positioned at an appropriate transfer height and an appropriate transfer lateral position for transferring articles between the storage shelves. It is detected whether the conveyance control means for controlling the operation of the apparatus and the article transfer device are positioned at a stop preparation height set corresponding to each of the article placement members arranged vertically. A stop preparation height detecting means, and the article placement device includes the article placement section. The conveyance control means moves the article transfer device up and down until it is located at the stop preparation height based on the detection information of the stop preparation height detection means. Then, the present invention relates to an article storage facility configured to execute a stop process of moving up and down until it is positioned at the proper transfer height based on the detection information of the mounting member detection means.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Such an article storage facility includes an article on a storage shelf provided with upright columns and a plurality of article placement members connected to the columns at intervals in the vertical direction along the longitudinal direction of the columns. The article transfer device that stores and stores the articles in parallel in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and transfers the article between the article placement member and itself, the vertical and horizontal directions in the conveyance device Is moved and driven to carry in / out goods.
In such facilities, it is necessary for the article transfer device to be able to transfer articles smoothly, and the article transfer device has an appropriate height for transferring articles, that is, an appropriate transfer height. It is important to stop at the proper stop position for transfer in the storage shelf lateral direction, that is, at the proper lateral position for transfer.
This proper transfer height is set with reference to an article placement member for placing and supporting the article, and finally based on detection information of a placement member detection means for detecting the article placement member. Stop.
[0003]
However, if the mounting member detecting means is always operated to detect the article mounting member, there is a risk of erroneous detection due to the presence of the mounted article, etc. Accordingly, the stop preparation height is set corresponding to each of the article placement members, and the placement member detection means detects the placement member detection means from the stop preparation height. Start and stop based on the detection information. As described above, since the stop is finally made based on the detection information of the mounting member detection means, the setting of the stop preparation height with respect to the existence height of the article mounting member requires so high accuracy. Is not.
Conventionally, in order to perform such control, a temporary stop position is set at the above-mentioned stop preparation height and an appropriate lateral position for transfer, and the article transfer device is first stopped at the temporary stop position by the transport device. After that, the article transfer device is lowered or raised and stopped at the appropriate transfer height based on the detection information of the mounting member detection means.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional configuration, the article transfer device can be accurately and stably stopped even when the article placement member is slightly curved by the load of the article, but the article transfer device is transferred. As a result, it takes a long time to stop at the position for the operation and the work efficiency is lowered. Specifically, for example, even when the article transfer device has been moved up and down to the stop preparation height, if the position of the article transfer device in the horizontal direction of the storage rack has not reached the temporary stop position, Since the lifting / lowering stop state of the article transfer device is maintained until it is located at the stop position, and the lifting / lowering is started toward the proper transfer height after being temporarily stopped at the temporary stop position, the work efficiency of the transfer device is reduced. It becomes.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve the work efficiency of loading and unloading articles with respect to a storage shelf.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
By having the arrangement according to the first aspect, the conveyance control means for controlling the transport device, when reached the stop preparing height before the article transfer device reaches a lateral position for proper transfer, lifting movement is stopped, when the position in the storage rack transverse direction of the article transfer device falls within a set range including the lateral position for proper transfer, on the basis of the detection information of the mounting member detecting means, the article transfer Stop processing is performed to move the mounting device up and down until the mounting device is positioned at the proper transfer height.
That is, even when the article placement member is slightly curved due to the load of the article, the change in the height of the article placement member is within a relatively short range including the lateral position for proper transfer. Paying attention to the fact that can be neglected sufficiently, the article based on the detection information of the mounting member detecting means before the position of the article transfer device in the horizontal direction of the storage shelf reaches the appropriate horizontal position for transfer The transfer device is moved up and down to an appropriate transfer height in advance.
Accordingly, the article transfer device can be quickly positioned at the proper transfer height and the appropriate transfer lateral position, and the goods loading / unloading work efficiency with respect to the storage shelf can be improved.
[0006]
Further, when the stop preparation height detection means detects that the article transfer device is located at the stop preparation height, the light as the placement member detection means is provided. The sensor is to be detected within the range of the vertical width of the article placement member, and the conveyance control means lowers the article transfer device from its stop preparation height, and the optical sensor is placed on the article placement. When the lower end position of the article placement member is detected by shifting from the state of detecting the presence of the article member to the state of not detecting, the vertical position of the article placement member can be accurately specified, and this position is set as a reference. The article transfer device can be moved to the appropriate transfer height.
In this way, when the article placement member is simply configured by the optical sensor, the article placement member is detected, and the presence of the article placed on and supported by the article placement member and the article placement are detected. Although it may be difficult to discriminate from the mounting member, setting the stop preparation height and the appropriate transfer height as described above allows the proper transfer height to be accurately determined based on the detection information of the optical sensor. Can be stopped.
[0007]
In addition, by providing the configuration according to the third aspect, the conveyance control means is provided when the article transfer device reaches the proper transfer lateral position before reaching the stop preparation height, and the stop preparation height. If the direction of lifting / lowering of the article transfer device until reaching the height and the direction of lifting / lowering of the article transfer device until reaching the appropriate transfer height from the stop preparation height match, the stop preparation height Is passed as it is, and based on the detection information of the mounting member detection means, stop processing is performed to move the article up and down until the article transfer device is positioned at the appropriate transfer height.
As a result, the article transfer device can be moved more quickly than in the case of stopping at the stop preparation height uniformly as in the prior art.
Therefore, even when the article transfer device reaches the stop preparation height before reaching the appropriate transfer lateral position, the article transfer device properly transfers before the article transfer device reaches the stop preparation height. Even in the case where the horizontal position is reached, the article transfer device can be moved efficiently, and the efficiency of loading and unloading articles with respect to the storage shelf can be further improved.
[0008]
In addition, by providing the configuration according to the above-described fourth aspect, the article transfer device is prepared to stop by detecting the detected member arranged on the lifting column with the sensor arranged on the article transfer device side. It can be detected whether or not it is located at a height.
Therefore, since the stop preparation height detecting means can be arranged by using the elevating support column necessary for the raising / lowering drive of the article transfer device, the configuration of the stop preparation height detecting means can be simplified.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the article storage facility of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the article storage facility SU has a stacker crane 2 disposed between opposing storage shelves 1, and a self-propelled stacker crane 2 and an article transfer unit that is attached to the stacker crane 2 so as to be movable up and down. By moving the loading device 3 up and down, the loading table 4 for delivering the article transfer device 3 to each article storage section of the storage shelf 1 and the article A (specifically, a pallet on which a load is placed) to be loaded and unloaded. With respect to the storage shelf 1, the storage shelf 1 is placed in an appropriate position for transferring the article and transferred in a state of being placed on the article A.
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 3, the storage shelf 1 has a plurality of long columns 5 standing in the vertical direction, and a long column as an article placement member connected and fixed between the columns 5. The article A is stored in a state where the article A is placed between the transverse beams 6 which are framed by the transverse beams 6 and a plurality of braces 7 arranged as necessary, and are arranged in the front-rear direction of the storage shelf. That is, the above-described article storage portion is formed on the cross beam 6.
[0011]
In the stacker crane 2, a pair of front and rear support columns 11a and 11b are erected on the traveling carriage 10 in the moving direction of the stacker crane 2. The traveling carriage 10 is guided to travel on the traveling rail 8 on the ground side, and the lifting support pillar 11a. 11b are guided by the guide rail 9 on the ceiling side, and are movable in the lateral direction of the storage shelf 1.
The article transfer device 3 is disposed between the pair of lifting columns 11a and 11b and is guided to be lifted and lowered by these.
Although not shown in FIG. 1, the traveling carriage 10 includes a traveling motor 12 that rotationally drives the drive wheels of the traveling carriage 10 and an elevation motor 13 that moves the article transfer device 3 up and down. The lifting motor 13 is provided to lift and lower the article transfer device 3 by feeding and winding a pair of cords 14 that suspend and support the article transfer device 3. Accordingly, the transporting device TM for moving and driving the article transfer device 3 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction of the storage shelf 1 is configured by the traveling carriage 10 and the lifting columns 11a and 11b.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 2, the article transfer device 3 includes a pair of left and right slide fork mechanisms 15 that place and support the pallet portion of the article A, and reflection as a placement member detection means BS that detects the cross beam 6. Type optical sensor 16, a fixed position sensor 18 which is a sensor for detecting a fixed position plate 17 as a member to be detected attached to the lifting column 11a, and a lifting rotary encoder 19 which contacts the lifting column 11a. And are provided.
When the fixed position plate 17 attached to the lifting column 11a is arranged at the same pitch as the horizontal beam 6 arranged vertically, and the optical sensor 16 is within the range of the width of the horizontal beam 6 in the vertical direction. Further, the fixed position sensor 18 is disposed so as to be positioned near the center of the fixed position plate 17 in the vertical direction. That is, each fixed position plate 17 corresponds to each of the horizontal beams 6 on which the article A is placed and supported, and by specifying the fixed position plate 17, one of the horizontal beams 6 arranged vertically can be specified.
As shown in FIG. 5, detection signals from the optical sensor 16 and the like are connected to a crane control device 20 that controls the operation of the stacker crane 2.
[0013]
When the article transfer device 3 having the above-described configuration transfers the article A on the cross beam 6 onto the article transfer device 3, the slide fork mechanism 15 is operated to project toward the storage shelf 1 so as to enter the fork insertion groove 21 of the pallet. After inserting and raising the article transfer device 3 slightly, the slide fork mechanism 15 is retracted. On the other hand, when the article A mounted on the article transfer device 3 is transferred onto the cross beam 6, the slide fork mechanism 15 is protruded toward the storage shelf 1 so that the article A is placed above the pair of front and rear cross beams 6. Then, the article transfer device 3 is slightly lowered to place the article A on the cross beam 6, and then the slide fork mechanism 15 is retracted.
In order to accurately perform such an operation, it is necessary to accurately stop the article transfer device 3 and accurately stop the slide fork mechanism 15 with respect to the cross beam 6.
[0014]
The stop position of the article transfer device 3 in the horizontal direction of the storage shelf is provided with a rotary encoder (not shown) in the traveling carriage 3, and based on the output signal, an appropriate position for transferring the article A in the horizontal direction of the storage shelf. That is, it is stopped at the proper horizontal position for transfer.
The stop position of the article transfer device 3 in the vertical direction is set based on the vertical position when the lower end position of the horizontal beam 6 is detected based on the detection information of the optical sensor 16. The vertical position of the article transfer device 3 when the lower end position of the article 6 is detected is the stop height when the article A mounted on the article transfer device 3 is transferred onto the cross beam 6, that is, the appropriate transfer height. The stop height when the article A on the cross beam 6 is transferred to the article transfer apparatus 3 is slightly lower than the vertical position of the article transfer apparatus 3 when the lower end position of the cross beam 6 is detected. That is, the stop height for proper transfer.
[0015]
Hereinafter, the control for stopping the article transfer device 3 at the above-described proper transfer height will be briefly described based on the flowchart of FIG.
6 is executed independently of the traveling control of the traveling carriage 10 by the lifting control unit 20a of the crane control device 20 functioning as a conveyance control unit.
The flowchart of FIG. 6 is based on the detection information of the fixed position sensor 18 when the position where the article A is stored or the position where the article A is taken out is designated and the article transfer device 3 is moved up and down toward the target position. The processing executed when the upper end position or the lower end position of the fixed position plate 17 corresponding to the target position is detected is shown. In parallel with the processing in FIG. The traveling control of the traveling carriage 12 is executed so that the mounting device 3 is positioned at the lateral position for proper transfer.
[0016]
When the upper end position or the lower end position of the fixed position plate 17 corresponding to the target position is detected, first, counting of output pulses of the lift rotary encoder 19 is started by a counter provided in the lift control unit 20a (step # 1). ) When the count of the set value is completed (step # 2), whether or not the article transfer device 3 has completed the movement in the storage shelf lateral direction, that is, the position of the article transfer device 3 in the storage shelf lateral direction is It is confirmed whether or not the proper horizontal position for transfer corresponding to the target position has been reached (step # 3). If it has not reached the proper lateral position for transfer, the elevating motor 13 is immediately stopped and held, and elevating is temporarily stopped (step # 4). At the time when the process shown in FIG. 6 is started, the ascending / descending speed of the article transfer device 3 is sufficiently reduced.
4 showing the movement of the article transfer device 3 by the schematic movement of the detection target area of the optical sensor 16 (moving in the order of a, b, c or d, e, f), FIG. ) As shown in FIG.
The temporarily stopped height is set as the stop preparation height, and the count number is set so that the optical sensor 16 becomes a height to be detected within the range of the width of the horizontal beam 6 in the vertical direction. Is set. Therefore, the fixed position plate 17, the fixed position sensor 18, the rotary encoder 19, and the elevation control unit 20a function as stop preparation height detection means SH that detects whether or not the article transfer device 3 is positioned at the stop preparation height. To do.
[0017]
In this state, when the article transfer device 3 moves in the horizontal direction and enters the set range including the proper horizontal transfer position indicated by the width W in FIG. When the detection operation of the cross beam 6 by the sensor 16 and the descent of the article transfer device 3 are started (step # 6) and the lower end position of the cross beam 6 is detected based on the detection information of the optical sensor 16 (step # 7), the article A When the operation is a so-called lowering operation for transferring the object A onto the cross beam 6, the operation immediately stops (step # 9). When the operation is a so-called scooping operation for transferring the article A on the cross beam 6 to the article transfer device 3, the rotary encoder is used. After further lowering until the 19 output pulses reach the set count number (steps # 10 and # 11), the output pulse is stopped (step # 9).
[0018]
On the other hand, in step # 3, when the article transfer device 3 is already stopped at the appropriate transfer lateral position (the state shown in FIG. 4B), the article until the stop preparation height is reached. If the movement of the transfer device 3 is an upward movement, the lifting / lowering is temporarily stopped (steps # 12 and # 13). If the movement is a downward movement as shown in FIG. Without stopping the process 3, the process proceeds to step # 6 and subsequent steps (step # 12). That is, in FIG. 4B, the robot is continuously lowered to the position indicated by f without stopping at the stop preparation height indicated by e. The operations after step # 6 are the same as described above.
In other words, when the article transfer device 3 reaches the proper transfer lateral position before reaching the stop preparation height, and when the article transfer device 3 moves up and down until the stop preparation height is reached, In the case where the ascending / descending direction of the article transfer device 3 from the stop preparation height to the appropriate transfer height is the same, the stop preparation height is passed and the stop process is executed. It is.
[0019]
[Another embodiment]
Hereinafter, other embodiments of the present invention will be listed.
(1) In the above embodiment, the article placement member 6 is directly detected by the optical sensor 16 as the placement member detection means BS, but the light reflecting plate is attached to the horizontal beam 6 which is the article placement member. It is good also as a structure which detects the cross beam 6 indirectly by sticking and detecting the light reflecting plate with the optical sensor 16. FIG.
Further, as the mounting member detection means BS, for example, since the cross beam 6 is generally made of a metal material, its specific configuration can be variously changed, such as being made of a metal detector.
(2) In the above embodiment, as the article transfer device 3, the type having the so-called slide fork mechanism 15 is illustrated, but for example, the article A is moved in the transfer direction of the article A on the article transfer device 3 side. The specific configuration can be variously changed, for example, including a hook that moves in and out, a part of the article A being locked with the hook, and the article A being transferred.
[0020]
(3) In the above embodiment, a case where two articles A are stored between one frontage of the article mounting member 6, that is, between the columns 5 adjacent to the storage shelf in the lateral direction is illustrated. One article A may be stored in one frontage, or three or more articles A may be stored.
(4) In the above embodiment, the transport device TM for moving and driving the article transfer device 3 is constituted by a so-called stacker crane. For example, for a lifting rail having substantially the same length as the lateral width of the storage shelf 1. The article transfer device 3 is supported so as to be movable in the horizontal direction of the storage shelf, and the lifting device is driven to move up and down to move the article transfer device 3 in the vertical and horizontal directions. The specific configuration of can be variously changed.
[0021]
(5) In the above embodiment, for the convenience of control, the stop preparation height is set so that the optical sensor 16 detects within the range of the width in the vertical direction of the horizontal beam 6 as the article placement member. However, it is not necessarily within the range, and may be set at a location slightly away from the horizontal beam 6 as long as it is near the horizontal beam 6.
(6) In the above-described embodiment, the stop preparation height detecting means SH for detecting the stop preparation height is provided with the fixed position plate 17 and the fixed position sensor 18 arranged corresponding to the horizontal beams 6 arranged vertically. However, the stop preparation height detecting means SH may be constituted by a single fixed position plate and a rotary encoder.
In addition, when the stop position detection plate SH is provided with a fixed position plate and a fixed position sensor arranged corresponding to each of the horizontal beams 6 arranged vertically, the fixed position sensor detects the fixed position plate. You may set so that the up-and-down position of may become stop preparation height.
Further, the stop preparation height detecting means SH includes a switch corresponding to each of the horizontal beams 6 arranged vertically, and a part of the article transfer device 3 is switched as the article transfer device 3 is raised and lowered. The specific configuration of the stop preparation height detection means SH can be variously changed, such as a configuration in which the switch is turned on and off by contacting the switch.
(7) In the above embodiment, the cross beam 6 is exemplified as the article placement member. However, the article placement member is formed in a plate shape to support the entire bottom surface of the article A, etc. The specific configuration can be variously changed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an article storage facility according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of an article transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation of the article transfer device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a block configuration diagram according to the embodiment of the present invention. Flow chart according to form [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage shelf 3 Article transfer apparatus 5 Support | pillar 6 Article mounting member 11a Elevating support column 16 Optical sensor 17 Detected member 18 Sensor 20 Transport control means BS Mounting member detection means SH Stop preparation height detection means TM Transport apparatus

Claims (4)

An upright column and a plurality of article placement members connected to the column at intervals in the vertical direction along the longitudinal direction of the column are provided, and the articles are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. A storage shelf to store in a state,
An article transfer device for transferring an article between the article placement member and itself;
A transfer device for moving the article transfer device in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction; and
Conveyance control for controlling the operation of the conveying device so that the article transfer device is positioned at an appropriate transfer height and an appropriate transfer lateral position for transferring articles to and from the storage shelf. Means,
A stop preparation height detecting means for detecting whether or not the article transfer device is positioned at a stop preparation height set corresponding to each of the article placement members arranged vertically; and
The article transfer device is provided with a placement member detection means for detecting the article placement member,
The conveyance control means moves the article transfer device up and down until it is located at the stop preparation height based on detection information of the stop preparation height detection means, and then detects the placement member detection means. It is an article storage facility configured to execute a stop process for moving up and down until it is located at the appropriate transfer height based on information,
When the article transfer device reaches the stop preparation height before the article transfer device reaches the proper transfer lateral position, the conveyance control means stops the up-and-down movement and moves the horizontal direction of the article transfer device. When the position in the direction falls within the set range including the proper lateral position for transfer, it is moved up and down until it is located at the proper transfer height based on the detection information of the mounting member detecting means. An article storage facility configured to execute the stop process. The mounting member detection means is configured by an optical sensor,
The stop preparation height is set to a height at which the optical sensor is to be detected within a range of an existing width in the vertical direction of the article placement member,
The article storage facility according to claim 1, wherein the proper transfer height is set with reference to a lower end position of the article placement member.   The conveyance control means is configured to transfer the article when the article transfer apparatus reaches the proper transfer lateral position before reaching the stop preparation height and until the stop preparation height is reached. When the direction of raising / lowering of the apparatus coincides with the direction of raising / lowering of the article transfer apparatus from reaching the stop preparation height to the appropriate transfer height, the stop preparation height is passed through The article storage facility according to claim 1, wherein the article storage facility is configured to execute a stop process. The conveying device is configured to include a lifting column for lifting and lowering the article transfer device,
The stop preparation height detecting means includes a detected member disposed on the lifting column corresponding to the article placing members arranged vertically, and a detected member disposed on the article transfer device side. The article storage facility according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a sensor for detection.

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