JP3925251B2 - Stacker crane with load transfer device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a stacker crane having a load transfer device provided with a work guide for preventing slippage used in an automatic warehouse system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An automated warehouse system has been put into practical use, in which luggage transported from the production line or from the outside is moved by a conveyor, etc., and automatically stored on a shelf in the warehouse, and the cargo stored on the shelf is automatically delivered. Yes. In such an automatic warehouse system, a load is transferred to and from a predetermined shelf by a load transfer device that automatically travels on a rail installed in parallel with the shelf.
[0003]
A work guide that regulates the inclination of the load is provided so as not to cause a load slippage when the load is transported by the load transfer device. Conventionally, as a work guide for preventing load slippage, a fixed work guide and an open / close structure that sandwiches a load with the work guide are known.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the fixed work guide needs to have a certain gap between the load and the work guide so that the load does not come into contact with the work guide when loading / unloading the load. For this reason, there arises a problem that the load is inclined when the load transfer device is traveling.
[0005]
On the other hand, the structure that sandwiches the load with the work guide can hold the load securely with the work guide, so there will be no problems such as slippage of the load, but the mechanical structure for opening and closing the work guide and the opening and closing This requires a drive source such as a motor and a control device for controlling the motor, which increases the cost.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a configuration for moving the work guide while preventing the load from being displaced by the horizontal movement of the work guide. a mechanically simple, is to provide a stacker crane having a load transfer device which is disposed on a carriage newly provided need not work guide a drive source for moving.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The load transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the load transfer device is mounted so as to be movable up and down between masts of a stacker crane that travels on a rail disposed along a travel path between shelves. above luggage to the storage portion of the shelf, or the luggage stored in the storing unit as well as movably disposed a moving section for moving the goods loader, the movable portion on both sides of the mobile portion A work guide for holding the transferred goods is disposed, and the work guide is supported by a slide part held horizontally by the guide part and is urged toward the moving part by a biasing member. An abutting member that is slidable at all times with the moving part and that is pressed by the movement of the moving part to move away from the fitting state with the recess provided in the moving part and horizontally move outside the moving part is provided. Load transfer characterized by And summarized in that a stacker crane having a location.
[0008]
According to the present invention, since the work guide provided on the carriage moves horizontally in conjunction with the movement of the moving part of the load transfer device, the work guide operating mechanism can be mechanically simple. Further, it is not necessary to newly provide a work guide drive source. Furthermore, since the work guide 20 is provided on the carriage of the stacker crane, it is easy for the operator to work, and the work guide maintenance and parts replacement are facilitated.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a stacker crane of an automatic warehouse system will be described.
[0010]
(A 1st embodiment) An automatic warehouse system is constituted so that a shelf which has a plurality of storage parts which store a load may be oppositely arranged, and a stacker crane may move along a traveling path between the shelves, and load and unload a load. Yes.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a view showing a stacker crane to which the present invention is applied. The stacker crane 1 is driven to travel on a guide rail 2 installed along a travel path by the travel belt (not shown) being caught in a drive pulley. A traveling motor 3 for driving a traveling belt is installed on the outer surface of the mast 5 erected from the base 1 a of the stacker crane 1. The traveling belt and the traveling motor 3 constitute traveling means.
[0012]
An inside of the mast 5 is provided with a load transfer device 8 that lifts and lowers a load, and an elevating belt for moving the load transfer device 8 up and down (on the base 1a on the outer surface of the mast 5) An elevating motor 6 that drives a motor (not shown) is installed. Control of the elevating motor 6, the traveling motor 3, and the like is performed by a controller incorporating a CPU or the like.
[0013]
The load transfer device 8 is on the carriage 4 that moves up and down along the mast 5 and moves forward in order to store the transported luggage in the storage section or take out the stored luggage from the storage section of the shelf. And a moving part 7 that moves backward, and a work guide 20 that is also on the upper surface of the carriage 4 and clamps the load on the moving part 7 when the moving part 7 is in the center of the load transfer device 8. Has been.
[0014]
An appropriate number of guide rollers 4a that engage with the mast 5 and a holding member 4b that is connected to one end of a belt driven by an elevating motor 6 are attached to the carriage 4 at the front and rear ends. The moving part 7 that extends and contracts in the left-right direction (direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the stacker crane 1) is attached.
[0015]
The moving unit 7 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. The moving unit 7 includes a plurality of rollers that are pivotally attached to a pair of left and right brackets 4 c (front and rear as viewed from FIG. 1) that are erected on the upper surface of the carriage 4. 11, an outer guide rail 7a that is mounted so as to be capable of moving forward and backward toward the storage section, an inner guide rail 7b that is integrated with the back surface of the outer guide rail 7a, and a roller 12 on the inner guide rail 7b. And an upper fork 7c mounted via The outer guide rail 7a is formed in a U-shaped cross section, and an arcuate recess 70c is formed at the center in the longitudinal direction of the upper wall 70.
[0016]
The left and right inner guide rails 7b are integrally connected by a connecting member 7d. On the back surface of the connecting member 7d, for example, a rack 15 is engraved in the length direction and attached to the upper surface of the carriage 4. The pinion 14a rotated by the fork drive motor 14 is engaged with the rack 15, and thereby the outer guide rail 7a and the inner guide rail 7b are moved forward and backward.
[0017]
Sprockets 17 are attached to the front end portion and the rear end portion of the inner guide rail 7b, respectively. One end of the sprocket 17 is attached to a fixing member such as the bracket 4c or the carriage 4, and the other end of the chain 18 is attached to the bottom of the upper fork 7c. Accordingly, the upper fork 7c can be moved forward and backward in conjunction with the forward and backward movements of the inner guide rail 7b.
[0018]
Next, the work guide 20 will be described in detail. The work guide 20 has a function for holding the load on the moving unit 7 and preventing the load from being displaced when the moving unit 7 is at the center position of the load transfer device 8. It can be moved horizontally in conjunction with the movement of the moving part 7. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a guide portion 20a disposed on a work guide support plate 21 fixed to the carriage 4, and held by the guide portion 20a and urged in the direction of the upper fork 7c and at the front end. The slide portion 20b includes a driving roller 25 as a contact member, and a plate holding portion 20c having a work guide plate 29 connected to the slide portion 20b and holding a load on the upper fork 7c from its side surface.
[0019]
Specifically, the guide portion 20a includes a guide hole 201 whose outer shape is substantially a rectangular parallelepiped shape and is penetrated in parallel with the upper fork 7c. The slide portion 20b is held by inserting the guide pin 22 provided in the slide portion 20b into the guide hole 201 so as to be slidable. Further, the guide portion 20a is provided with a spring holder 23 having an L shape in front view, and a spring 24 as an urging member is interposed between the spring holder 23 and the slide portion 20b. The spring 24 urges the slide portion 20b toward the upper fork 7c.
[0020]
The slide portion 20b has a substantially isosceles triangle shape in plan view, and a driving roller 25 that is in contact with the upper wall side surface 70d of the outer guide rail 7a is rotatably attached to the apex portion thereof. The driving roller 25 is always pressed against the side surface 70d of the upper wall 70 of the outer guide rail 7a by the urging force of the spring 24.
[0021]
The slide portion 20b has an L-shaped cross section, and its rear side (the triangle base side) is bent downward at different positions in the front and rear at the center portion and both end portions. The portion 203 serves as a receiving portion for the spring 24, thereby pressing the driving roller 25 against the upper wall side surface 70d. The bent portion 202 on the center side serves as an attachment portion for the guide pin 22, and the slide portion 20b is supported by the guide portion 20a.
[0022]
Next, the plate holding portion 20c will be described in detail. The plate holding portion 20c having a substantially isosceles triangle shape in a plan view has an L-shaped cross section, the upright portion is a flat plate, and both tip portions are curved outward. A plate 29 is formed, and the flat surface portion is an attachment portion to the slide portion 20b. A pair of long holes 27 directed in the direction of the upper fork 7c are provided in the plane portion, and the plate holding portion 20c is movably assembled to the slide portion 20b by bolts 28 at appropriate positions of the long holes 27. . In addition, although the plate holding | maintenance part 20c was comprised separately from the slide part 20b, it is not necessarily limited to a separate body, The integral structure may be sufficient.
[0023]
The work guide 20 of the stacker crane 1 configured as described above operates as follows. When the upper fork 7c of the moving part 7 is housed in the center of the load transfer device 8 (the state shown in FIG. 2), the drive roller 25 of the slide part 20b is in the arcuate recess 70c on the side surface of the outer guide rail 7a. It is in the state fitted to. At this time, the spring 24 urges the slide portion 20b toward the upper fork 7c. The work guide plate 29 of the plate holding portion 20c interlocked with the slide portion 20b is located inside, that is, on the upper fork 7c side. In this state, the clearance between the work guide plate 29 and the load on the upper fork 7c is the minimum necessary, and the load is prevented from being unloaded.
[0024]
To move the upper fork 7c of the moving part 7 forward in the direction of the storage shelf (front side in FIG. 2), the fork drive motor 14 is driven, and the guide rails 7a and 7b are moved forward via the pinion 14a and the rack 15. To do. Since the sprocket 17 also moves with this advance operation, the upper fork 7c moves forward by being pulled by the chain 18 wound around the sprocket 17.
[0025]
As the outer guide rail 7a advances, the driving roller 25 is pushed out from an arcuate recess 70c formed in the upper wall 70 of the outer guide rail 7a while rotating about the pin as a central axis, Roll along 70d. At this time, the driving roller 25 is pushed toward the work guide 20 by the upper wall side surface 70d. That is, the slide portion 20b and the plate holding portion 20c move horizontally in the direction away from the upper fork 7c against the spring 24, that is, outward, so that the work guide plate 29 is separated from the load. The operation opposite to the forward operation of the fork 7c is performed. The same operation is performed when the upper fork 7c moves forward and backward to the opposite storage shelf (rear side in the drawing).
[0026]
The effect of this embodiment is as follows.
[0027]
(1) According to the present invention, in conjunction with the movement of the outer guide rail 7a for moving the upper fork 7c, the arcuate recess 70c and the upper wall side surface 70d formed on the upper wall 70 of the outer guide rail 7a are rolled. Since the moving drive roller 25 moves away from and approaches the upper fork 7c and the work guide 20 moves horizontally, the structure for moving the work guide 20 between the outer position and the inner position is mechanically simple. can do. In addition, it can be said that the configuration is simple in that it is not necessary to newly provide a drive source for operating the work guide.
[0028]
(2) Since the work guide 20 is provided on the upper surface of the carriage 4 of the stacker crane 1, it is easy for an operator to work, and maintenance of the work guide 20 and replacement of parts are facilitated.
[0029]
(3) The slide portion 20b of the work guide 20 and the plate holding portion 20c are connected by bolting the long hole 27 at an arbitrary position, thereby enabling fine adjustment of the position of the work guide plate 29 of the work guide 20. It becomes possible.
[0030]
(4) Since the slide portion 20b of the work guide 20 is pressed and biased toward the upper fork 7c by the spring 24, the drive roller 25 is always in pressure contact with the upper wall side surface 70d of the outer guide rail 7a. The plate 29 is prevented from moving unexpectedly during the load transfer operation.
[0031]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change suitably in the range which does not deviate from the summary.
[0032]
In addition to the components of the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the outer guide rail 7a is formed into two upper and lower grooves with a U-shaped cross section, and the lower groove portion 70a is pivoted to the bracket 4c of the carriage 4. The guide roller 11 is fitted, and an arcuate recess 70e as a recess is formed in the longitudinal central portion of the upper groove portion 70b, that is, the central portion of the load transfer device 8, so that the driving roller 25 rolls in the upper groove portion 70b. It is good also as a structure which moves. According to this structure, the upper groove portion 70b serves as a guide, and when the drive roller 25 slides in the groove portion 70b, the drive roller 25 is fitted into the arc-shaped recess 70e when the upper fork 7c returns to the center position. Then, the work guide 20 moves inward, the work guide plate 29 is opened and closed stably, and the vertical movement of the drive roller 25 is restricted by the upper and lower walls of the groove 70b.
[0033]
○ transfer structure of the moving part 7 outer guide rails 7a in this embodiment is not limited to the three-stage inner guide rail 7b and the upper fork 7c, a structure that a fork to move, for example, by the guide rail and the guide rail Also good.
[0034]
In the above embodiment, the concave portion formed on the upper wall of the outer guide rail 7a is the arc-shaped concave portion 70c. However, the shape is not limited to this as long as the abutting member can be immersed, for example, a concave portion having an obtuse angle. It may be.
[0035]
In addition, by making the inclination of the arc-shaped concave portion 70c steep or gentle, and further changing the length of the concave portion, the waiting time at the outer side, the inner moving speed, the outer position, and the inner position of the work guide 20 Therefore, it is possible to adopt a shape tailored to customer needs.
[0036]
In the above embodiment, the contact member is in contact with the side surface of the outer guide rail 7a. However, the contact member may be on the side surface of the moving portion 7. For example, a recess is formed in the upper fork 7c, and the upper fork 7c It is good also as a structure which makes a contact member contact.
[0037]
In the above embodiment, the work guide 20 is configured to operate when the moving unit 7 moves in the direction of the shelves on both sides, but the moving unit can be moved only on one side. Further, on the assumption that the moving parts move to the shelves on both sides, a single arc-shaped recess 70c is provided at the center of the side surface of the outer guide rail 7a, but it is not necessarily provided at the center of the side surface of the outer guide rail 7a. It is also possible to provide it at another position. Further, the number of the concave portions is not limited to a single number, and may be plural depending on the configuration.
[0038]
In the above-described embodiment, it is conceivable to reduce the surface pressure of the work driving roller 25 by changing the urging force of the spring 24 and suppress the failure of the driving roller 25.
[0039]
In the above-described embodiment, the work guides 20 on both sides are operated by the moving unit 7, but the work guides 20 are not necessarily provided on both sides, and only one side of the work guide 20 provided on both sides by the moving unit 7. The other can be configured as a fixed work guide 20.
[0040]
In the above embodiment, the driving roller 25 is used as the contact member, but various other types can be applied. For example, the contact member can be configured by making the shape of the tip of the slide portion 20b slidable with the upper fork 7c and the arc-shaped recess 70c, for example, an arc shape. In this case, a separate member such as the drive roller 25 is not necessary.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, in the stacker crane, the work guide provided on the carriage moves horizontally in conjunction with the movement of the moving part of the load transfer device. Can be mechanically simple. Further, there is no need to newly provide a dedicated drive source for moving the work guide.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a stacker crane according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a moving part and a work guide part in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a front view of a moving part and a work guide part in the embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a moving unit and a work guide in a modified example of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Stacker crane
2 rails
5 Mast
7 Moving part
8 Loading equipment
20 Work guide
20a Guide part
20b slide
20c Plate holder
24 Spring as a biasing member
25 Driving roller as a contact member
29 Work guide plate
70c, 70e Arc-shaped recess as a recess
70b groove
70d The upper wall side surface as the side surface of the moving part.

Claims (1)

A vertically movably mounted goods loader between the mast of the stacker crane which travels on disposed the rails along the travel path between the shelves, on the carriage of the goods loader, shelf luggage to housing portion or luggage that is held in the holding section as well as movably disposed a moving section for moving the goods loader, luggage said is transferred to the mobile unit on both sides of the moving portion, The work guide is supported by a slide portion that is held so as to be horizontally movable by the guide portion, and is urged toward the moving portion by an urging member so that the work guide always slides with the moving portion. A load comprising an abutting member that is movable and is pressed by the movement of the moving part and moves horizontally outside the moving part by detaching from a fitting state with the recess provided in the moving part. Stacker with transfer device Lane.

Images