JP4396494B2 - Article transfer device and article transfer method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article transfer device for holding and transferring an article stored in a storage section in an article management area having an article storage means having a plurality of storage sections capable of storing articles, and an article transfer method using the same About.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an article transfer device that sandwiches and carries an article stored in a storage section in an article management area including an article storage means having a plurality of storage sections capable of storing articles (see Patent Document 1). . The article transfer device described in Patent Document 1 includes a pair of belt-type sandwiching and conveying bodies for sandwiching and carrying out articles stored in a storage unit, and the articles to be carried out by the sandwiching and conveying bodies. A clamping operation is performed so as to clamp the frame from both sides. In this article transfer device, a light shielding plate and a photoelectric switch are provided. Based on detection information obtained when the photoelectric switch is shielded from light by the light shielding plate when the holding conveyance body moves in a holding direction to a predetermined position. Thus, the movement of the sandwiching conveyance body in the sandwiching direction is stopped.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-189305 (page 4-6, FIG. 7-11)

  In the article transfer device, when an article to be carried out is sandwiched and carried out from both sides by a pair of sandwiching bodies, it is necessary to carry out the article against the frictional force between the article and the placement surface of the storage unit. A heavier article must be sandwiched and carried out with a stronger force. On the other hand, if the holding force is set on the assumption that the weight of the article is heavy, the holding force is too large in the case of an article that is a light article and the contents are stored in a soft box or the like. There is a risk of damage to the boxes constituting the article. Normally, there are various kinds of articles to be carried out, both heavy and light, but it is desirable that the articles can be carried out by being held with an appropriate holding force according to the weight of each article.

  However, in the article transfer device described in Patent Document 1, since the photoelectric switch is shielded by the light shielding plate, the movement of the sandwiching conveyance body in the sandwiching direction is stopped. In the article management area to be carried out, it is difficult to carry out the article while holding it with an appropriate holding force according to the weight of each article. Also, usually, the unloading operation is often performed in a state where the weight of the article to be transported is unknown. In such a case, the article is unloaded with an appropriate clamping force according to the weight of each article. Is extremely difficult.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention can carry out an article by holding it with an appropriate holding force according to the weight of the article, and can suppress the possibility of the article being damaged. It is an object to provide an apparatus and an article transfer method using the apparatus.

Means and effects for solving the problems

The present invention relates to an article transfer device that sandwiches and carries an article stored in the storage section in an article management area including an article storage unit having a plurality of storage sections capable of storing articles.
And the article transfer apparatus of this invention has the following some features in order to achieve the said objective. That is, the present invention comprises the following features alone or in appropriate combination.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first feature of the article transfer device according to the present invention is that a pair of sandwiching bodies that perform a sandwiching operation of sandwiching an article to be carried out stored in the storage unit from both sides, and the pair A wrapping belt that is attached so as to be capable of rotating in each of the sandwiching bodies and that performs a pulling-around operation for pulling the article to be moved in the carrying-out direction while the article to be carried out is sandwiched between the pair of sandwiching bodies. And a detecting means for detecting the article to be carried out passing between the pair of sandwiching bodies, and a control for performing the sandwiching operation for moving the pair of sandwiching bodies so as to approach each other. Control means for controlling the belt to perform the pulling-around operation, and when the detection means detects, the control means for stopping the clamping operation of the pair of clamping bodies; It is that it is e.

  According to this configuration, the revolving operation of the revolving band is performed while the holding operation for bringing the pair of holding members closer to each other is performed. For this reason, when the pair of sandwiching bodies comes into contact with the article via the orbital belt and further receives a sufficient reaction force from the article, the article is caused by the frictional force between the orbital band and the article due to the pulling-around operation. It will move in the carry-out direction. Then, since the nipping operation is stopped when the detecting means detects that the article that has moved in the carry-out direction has passed between the pair of nipping bodies, an excessively large clamping force is applied to the article. Can also be prevented. As a result, it is necessary to move the article against the frictional force between the article and the placement surface of the storage unit, and in a state of securing an appropriate clamping force that does not become excessive, a revolving operation is performed. It is possible to carry out the article. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an article transfer apparatus that can carry out the article while being held with an appropriate clamping force according to the weight of the article, and can suppress the possibility of the article being damaged. Even if the weight of the article to be transported is unknown, according to the present invention, it is possible to carry out the article while holding it with an appropriate clamping force according to the weight of each article.

  A second feature of the article transfer device according to the present invention is that the detection means is attached to a distal end side of the pair of holding members facing the storage portion.

  According to this configuration, after the article starts to move in the carry-out direction due to the frictional force between the circling zone and the article, it is easy to quickly detect the passage of the article by the detection means. For this reason, it is easy to set a short time until the holding operation is stopped after an appropriate holding force is generated, and an excessive holding force is generated after the holding force necessary for carrying out the article is secured. Can be further suppressed.

  The third feature of the article transfer device according to the present invention is that the detection means includes a light projector attached to one of the pair of sandwiching bodies and a light receiver attached to the other. It is.

  According to this configuration, since the passage of the article can be detected by blocking the light beam between the projector and the light receiver, it is possible to more reliably detect the article passing between the pair of sandwiching bodies. High detection means can be easily realized with a simple mechanism.

  Moreover, the 4th characteristic in the goods transfer apparatus which concerns on this invention is that the said goods management apparatus is an automatic warehouse provided with the shelf which is the said goods storage means.

  When an operator changes the state of an article stored in a predetermined storage section of the shelf without going through the article transfer device (for example, from an article in which a plurality of contents are stored in a box) When the content of the part is picked), the weight of the article stored in the storage part changes. In an automatic warehouse, such a change in the weight of the articles in the storage unit is likely to occur due to picking work or the like by an operator. However, according to the configuration of the present invention, even when the weight of the article to be transported is easily changed without using the article transfer device, the change in the situation is affected. It is possible to carry out the article by holding it with an appropriate holding force according to the weight of each article without any problem.

  In addition, an article transfer method according to the present invention for achieving the above-described object is an article transfer method using the above-described article transfer device of the present invention, and is a position where the article to be carried out can be held. A sandwiching body disposing step for disposing the pair of sandwiching bodies on the periphery, and a reciprocating sandwiching for causing the pair of sandwiching bodies disposed in the sandwiching body disposing step to perform the sandwiching operation and to perform the pulling-around operation on the orbiting belt. And a pinching stop step for stopping the pinching operation in the round pinching step when detection by the detecting means is performed.

  According to this configuration, in the orbiting clamping step, the orbiting operation of drawing the orbital band is performed while the clamping operation for bringing the pair of clamping bodies closer to each other is performed. For this reason, when the pair of sandwiching bodies comes into contact with the article via the orbital belt and further receives a sufficient reaction force from the article, the article is caused by the frictional force between the orbital band and the article due to the pulling-around operation. It will move in the carry-out direction. Then, since the detecting means detects that the article that has moved in the carry-out direction has passed between the pair of holding bodies, the holding operation is stopped in the holding stop step. Can be prevented from being added. As a result, it is necessary to move the article against the frictional force between the article and the placement surface of the storage unit, and in a state of securing an appropriate clamping force that does not become excessive, a revolving operation is performed. It is possible to carry out the article. Accordingly, it is possible to carry out the article while holding it with an appropriate clamping force according to the weight of the article, and to suppress the possibility of the article being damaged. Even if the weight of the article to be transported is unknown, according to the present invention, it is possible to carry out the article while holding it with an appropriate clamping force according to the weight of each article.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. An article transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention is widely applied to a case where an article stored in a storage unit is sandwiched and carried out in an article management area including an article storage unit having a plurality of storage units capable of storing articles. can do. The article transfer device according to the present embodiment can be applied, for example, when the article management area is an automatic warehouse including a rack (shelf) that is an article storage unit, and this embodiment is an example of this case. However, it is not necessarily limited to the example of the use of this automatic warehouse.

  First, the automatic warehouse 1 to which the article transfer device according to the present embodiment is applied will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a part of the automatic warehouse 1 and schematically showing it. An automatic warehouse 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of racks 2 arranged in parallel (only two racks 2 are shown in FIG. 1), and a crane 3 is disposed between the racks 2. . The rack 2 is provided with a plurality of storage shelves in multiple stages in the vertical direction (vertical direction in the drawing), and each storage shelf is provided with a plurality of storage units 4. A load (article) W is carried into and out of each storage unit 4.

  The crane 3 disposed between the racks 2 is disposed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the rack 2 and is disposed so as to be movable up and down along the vertical height direction of the rack 2. The crane 3 is provided with a traveling carriage 5 that is movable along its longitudinal direction. Further, on the traveling carriage 5, a transfer machine 6 that carries the loading operation to the storage unit 4 and the unloading operation from the storage unit 4 while holding the load W is mounted. In this way, the transfer machine 6 freely moves to a position where the load W can be carried in and out of each storage unit 4 by the lifting and lowering operation of the crane 3 and the traveling movement of the traveling carriage 5 on the crane 3. It is provided so that it can. Note that the article transfer device according to the present embodiment includes the transfer machine 6 and a crane controller 21 described later.

  FIG. 2 shows a plan view (FIG. 2A) showing the transfer machine 6 and one storage unit 4 and a side view corresponding to the plan view (FIG. 2B). FIG. 2 shows a state where the load W is stored in the storage unit 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer machine 6 includes a pair of conveyor arms 7 that can hold the load W and carry the load W into the storage unit 4 and the load W from the storage unit 4. Is provided. The transfer machine 6 itself is provided so as to be able to advance and retract (shift operation) toward the storage unit 4.

  The pair of conveyor arms 7 in the transfer machine 6 includes a pair of sandwiching bodies 7a and a conveyor belt 7b (circular belt). The pair of sandwiching bodies 7a are provided so as to be movable toward and away from each other, and can perform a sandwiching operation (clamping operation) for sandwiching the load W to be carried out stored in the storage unit 4 from both sides. ing. The conveyor belt 7b is wound around each of the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a, and is attached so as to be able to rotate. Then, the conveyor belt 7b moves the load W in the unloading direction (the direction from the storage unit 4 to the transfer machine 6 in FIG. 2) in a state where the load W to be unloaded is sandwiched between the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a. Thus, a pulling-around operation for pulling in can be performed.

  Moreover, the transfer machine 6 is provided with a plurality of pairs of load detection sensors (16, 17, 18,...) And detects the load W to be carried out passing between the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a. Can be done. Each of these load detection sensors (16, 17, 18,...) Is attached to the projector (16a, 17a, 18a,...) Attached to one of the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a and the other. It comprises a light receiver (16b, 17b, 18b, ...). Note that the load detection sensor 17 constitutes the detection means in the present embodiment, and this load detection sensor 17 is attached to the tip side facing the storage portion 4 in the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view (FIG. 3A) and a side view (FIG. 3B) showing the transfer device 6 and the storage unit 4, and the transfer device 6 is in a shifting operation. It shows something. The shift operation of the transfer machine 6 is performed by a shift drive motor (shift drive unit) 8 provided at the lower part of the transfer machine 6, and the rack and pinion mechanism 9 is driven by the rotation of the shift drive motor 8. A shift operation which is an advance / retreat operation with respect to the storage unit 4 of the transfer machine 6 is performed. The shift operation of the transfer machine 6 is performed by sliding the transfer machine 6 with respect to the slide support frame 10 attached to the traveling carriage 5 (not shown in FIG. 3).

  FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the transfer machine 6 and the storage unit 4 and shows the transfer machine 6 in a clamping operation. The clamping operation of the transfer machine 6 is performed by sliding the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a in the sandwiching direction (the arrow direction in the drawing), whereby the load W is sandwiched from both sides by the sandwiching body 7a. A clamp drive motor (clamp drive unit) 11 is provided at one end side in the clamping direction of the transfer machine 6, and the clamp drive motor 11 has a drive pulley (not shown) that rotates together with the rotation shaft of the clamp drive motor 11. Is attached. And the driven pulley 12 is provided in the other end side in the clamping direction of the transfer machine 6, and the drive belt and the driven pulley 12 are wound around the clamp belt 13 which is a toothed belt. A clamping operation for clamping the load W is performed by these clamp driving mechanisms.

  FIG. 5 is a plan view (FIG. 5A) showing the transfer machine 6, a side view corresponding to the plan view (FIG. 5B), and a front view (FIG. 5C). 6 shows what is pulling in the load W to the transfer machine 6 side. As the pulling-in operation, a pulling-around operation performed by rotating the conveyor belt 7b with a conveyor belt drive motor (conveyor driving unit) 15 and a shift operation for retracting the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a from the storage unit 4 are appropriately combined. Can be done. The conveyor belts 7b wound around the sandwiching bodies 7a are respectively driven by the conveyor drive motors 15 provided on both sides in the sandwiching direction, so that the conveyor operation is performed. By this pull-in operation, the load W sandwiched between the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a by the clamp operation is pulled toward the transfer machine 6 (in the direction of the arrow in the figure). In addition, about the stop position of drawing-around operation | movement, it can comprise so that it may judge based on the detection result of several pairs of load detection sensors, for example.

  Next, a control device that controls the carry-out operation of the transfer device 6 described above (control means of the article transfer device according to the present embodiment) will be described. FIG. 6 illustrates a functional block diagram of the control device of the transfer machine 6 together with the system configuration of the automatic warehouse 1.

  In FIG. 6, warehousing information and warehousing information of the load W in the automatic warehouse 1 are managed by the inventory management device 20. A crane controller 21 and a conveyor controller 22 constituting a control device (control means) of the article transfer device of the present embodiment are connected to the inventory management device 20 so as to communicate with each other. Further, the transfer machine 6 and the crane drive device 23 are connected to the crane controller 21 so as to communicate with each other. The conveyor controller 22 controls the operation of a conveyor (not shown) that transports the load W between the crane 3 and a loading / unloading port (not shown) of the automatic warehouse 1 during loading and unloading. is there. The crane drive device 23 includes a lift drive unit (lift drive motor) 26 that drives the crane 3 up and down, and a travel drive unit (travel drive motor) 27 that drives the traveling carriage 5. .

  The crane controller 21 includes a memory (ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory)), a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a communication interface (not shown), and the like. The memory stores various software used for operating the crane controller 21 and various software including a program for controlling the unloading operation of the transfer machine 6 of the present embodiment. The memory also stores data received from the inventory management device 20. By combining these hardware and software, the transfer machine position control unit 24 and the transfer operation control unit 25 shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. 6 are constructed in the crane controller 21.

  The transfer machine position control unit 24 of the crane controller 21 issues a control command to the crane drive device 23 and the transfer machine 6 so as to arrange the pair of holding bodies 7a at positions where the load W to be carried out can be held. Output. First, in the crane drive device 23, the elevation drive motor 26 and the travel drive motor 27 are driven based on the control command from the crane controller 21, and the crane 3 and the travel cart 5 move to predetermined positions. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the transfer machine 6 moves to a position facing the target storage unit 4 in which the load W to be carried out is stored and stops. Next, in the transfer machine 6, the shift drive motor 8 is driven based on the control command from the crane controller 21, and moves until the tip portions of the pair of sandwiching bodies 7 a partially enter the storage unit 4. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of clamping body 7a will be arrange | positioned in the position which can clamp the load W for carrying out.

  The transfer operation control unit 25 of the crane controller 21 controls the above-described shift operation, clamp operation (clamping operation), retraction operation, and the like in the transfer machine 6. The transfer operation control unit 25 first controls the clamp drive motor 11 so as to perform a clamp operation for moving the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a to approach each other from the state shown in FIG. At the same time, the conveyor belt drive motor 15 is controlled so that the conveyor belt 7b is drawn and rotated. FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic view showing a part of the transfer machine 6 for explaining the operation of the conveyor arm 7 under the control of the crane controller 21 at this time. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, a clamping operation is performed in which the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a move in the direction of the arrow (A) in the drawing while approaching, and at the same time, the conveyor belt 7b moves in the direction of the arrow (B) in the drawing. A moving pull-in operation is performed. In the state shown in FIG. 7, the light beam emitted from the projector 17a of the load detection sensor 17 is received by the light receiver 17b and is not shielded.

  When the clamping operation of the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a further proceeds from the state shown in FIG. 7, the tip portions of the sandwiching bodies 7a abut against the load W. And even if the clamping body 7a contacts the load W, the clamping operation is continued. Immediately after the sandwiching body 7a comes into contact with the load W, the reaction force acting on the sandwiching body 7a from the load W is small, and the frictional force between the conveyor belt 7b and the load W is also small. For this reason, the conveyor belt 7b is in a state of rotating around while being rubbed in contact with the load W.

  However, since the clamping operation is continued after the sandwiching body 7a contacts the load W, the clamping force of the load W by the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a gradually increases. And, as the clamping force is increased, a sufficient frictional force to move the load W against the frictional force between the load W and the mounting surface of the storage unit 4 can be obtained between the load W and the conveyor belt 7b. If it is secured between the two, the sufficient holding force for carrying out is secured, so that the load W starts to move from the storage unit 4 toward the transfer machine 6 side. When the load W passes between the light projector 17a and the light receiver 17b after the load W starts to move, as shown in FIG. 8, the light emitted from the light projector 17a is blocked and received by the light receiver 17b. Will not be detected. The detection by the load detection sensor 17 detects that the load W has passed between the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a. And the transfer operation control part 25 of the crane controller 21 will control to stop the clamp operation | movement of a pair of clamping body 7a, if the said detection by the load detection sensor 17 is performed.

  After stopping the clamping operation based on the detection result of the load detection sensor 17, the transfer operation control unit 25 of the crane controller 21 continues the pulling-around operation of the conveyor belt 7b as it is. And the shift operation of the conveyor arm 7 is also performed in an appropriate combination, whereby the carry-out operation of the load W to be carried out from the storage unit 4 is completed.

  Next, the article transfer method of the present embodiment, which is performed by the operation of the article transfer apparatus according to the present embodiment, will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The article transfer method of the present embodiment is performed using the article transfer apparatus of the present embodiment, and is performed based on the processing in the crane controller 21 described above.

  First, in step 101 (hereinafter referred to as “S101”, the same applies to other steps), the stock management device 20 issues a shipping instruction to the crane controller 21 regarding the load W of the next shipping target (unloading target). (Shipping instruction is sent). When there is a delivery instruction (S101), the transfer machine position control unit 24 issues a crane lifting / lowering operation command to the lifting / lowering driving motor 26 of the crane driving device 23 to start the lifting / lowering operation of the crane 3 (S102). When the crane lifting / lowering operation is completed, the transfer machine position control unit 24 then issues a transfer machine movement command to the travel drive motor 27 to start the travel movement of the travel carriage 5 on which the transfer machine 6 is mounted. (S103).

  When the traveling movement of the traveling carriage 5 is completed and the transfer machine 6 is located in the front of the target storage unit 4 (the state shown in FIG. 2), the shift drive motor is moved from this state by the transfer machine position control unit 24. A shift operation command is issued to 8. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, a shift operation for causing the tip portions of the pair of conveyor arms 7 to enter the storage portion 4 in which the load W to be carried out is stored is started (S104). By the steps from S102 to S104 after the delivery instruction is issued, the sandwiching body placement step of the present embodiment in which the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a is placed at a position where the load W to be carried out can be sandwiched is executed. .

  When the shift operation of S104 is completed, the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a arranged in the sandwiching body arranging step are clamped and drawn into the conveyor arm 7b based on the control by the transfer operation control unit 25. A round clamping operation (see FIGS. 4 and 7) is performed (S105). By this round pinching operation, the round pinching step of this embodiment is executed. And if there is no detection by the load detection sensor 17 which is a detection means of this embodiment (S106, NO), a circumference clamping operation will be performed repeatedly. On the other hand, if there is detection by the load detection sensor 17 (S106, YES), the clamping operation in the circular clamping operation (S105) is stopped based on the control by the transfer operation control unit 25 (S107). At this time, the drawing-around operation is continued without being stopped (S107). In addition, by this S107, the clamping stop step of this embodiment is performed.

  After the clamping operation is stopped in S107, the unloading operation of the load W from the storage unit 4 is performed by appropriately performing a shift operation in addition to the drawing-around operation. When the transfer of the load W from the storage unit 4 to the transfer device 6 is completed, the lifting drive motor 26 and the travel drive motor 27 of the crane drive device 23 are driven based on the control command from the transfer device position control unit 24. Then, the transfer device 6 is moved, and the unloading operation for transferring the load W from the transfer device 6 to a conveyor (not shown) is performed, thereby completing the unloading operation (S108).

  As described above, according to the article transfer device of the present embodiment, the pulling-around operation of the conveyor belt 7b is performed while the clamping operation for bringing the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a closer to each other is performed. For this reason, when the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a come into contact with the load W via the conveyor belt 7b and receive a sufficient reaction force from the load W, the gap between the conveyor belt 7b and the load W accompanying the pulling-around operation is reached. The load W moves in the carry-out direction by the frictional force. The clamp operation is stopped when the load detection sensor 17 detects that the load W that has moved in the unloading direction has passed between the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a. Can be prevented from being added. Thereby, in a state of securing an appropriate clamping force that is necessary to move the load W against the frictional force between the load W and the placement surface of the storage unit 4 and does not become excessive, The load W can be carried out by the drawing-around operation. Therefore, it is possible to carry out the article by holding it with an appropriate holding force according to the weight of the load W, and it is possible to obtain an article transfer device that can suppress the possibility that the load W is damaged. Moreover, even if the weight of the load W to be conveyed is unknown, according to the present invention, it is possible to carry out the load W by holding it with an appropriate holding force according to the weight of each load W. .

  In addition, as the load W to be carried out, for example, a case of a load made of a cardboard box in which predetermined contents are stored is assumed, and various strengths of the cardboard boxes are set depending on the weight of the contents. There are many. In such a case, the article transfer apparatus of the present embodiment that can be held and carried out with an appropriate holding force according to the weight of each load W having various strengths is particularly effective.

  Further, according to the article transfer device of the present embodiment, since the load detection sensor 17 as a detection means is attached to the front end side of the sandwiching body 7a, the article is caused by the frictional force between the conveyor belt 7b and the load W. After starting to move in the unloading direction, the load detection sensor 17 can quickly detect the passage of the load W. For this reason, it is easy to set the time until the clamping operation is stopped after an appropriate clamping force is generated, and an excessive clamping force is generated after the clamping force necessary for carrying out the load W is secured. This can be further suppressed.

  Further, according to the article transfer device of the present embodiment, the passage of the load W can be detected by blocking the light beam between the light projector 17a and the light receiver 17b, and therefore, between the pair of sandwiching bodies 7a. A highly reliable detection means for more reliably detecting the passing load W can be easily realized with a simple mechanism.

  Further, in this embodiment, the case where the article transfer device is applied to the automatic warehouse 1 has been described as an example. However, in the case of the automatic warehouse as described above, a predetermined rack 2 is set by an operator without using the article transfer device. It is easy for a part of the contents stored in the box of the load W stored in the storage unit 4 to be picked (shipped). In such a case, the weight of the load W stored in the storage unit 4 changes. However, according to the article transfer device of the present embodiment, as in the automatic warehouse 1, it is easy to perform work without going through the article transfer device, and the weight of the load W to be transported changes. In addition, the load W can be carried out by being held with an appropriate holding force according to the weight of each load W without being affected by such a change in the situation.

  Further, according to the article transfer method of the present embodiment, the same effect as that of the article transfer device described above can be obtained, and the load W is carried out by being held with an appropriate holding force according to the weight of the load W. It is possible to suppress the possibility that the load W is damaged. Further, even when the weight of the load W to be transported is unknown, it is possible to carry out the load W by holding it with an appropriate holding force according to the weight of each load W.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made as long as they are described in the claims. For example, the following modifications may be made.

(1) For an automatic warehouse to which the present invention is applied, a plurality of storage units are provided even if the shelf having a plurality of storage units is not configured by a plurality of racks arranged in multiple stages as in the present embodiment. The present invention can be applied if it is provided. Further, the present invention can be applied to an automatic warehouse having only one rack. Further, the present invention can be applied to an automatic warehouse in which a plurality of loads are stored in one storage unit. Further, the present invention can be applied to other than automatic warehouses.

(2) About the automatic warehouse to which the present invention is applied, the transfer machine is not moved by the crane and the traveling carriage, but may be moved by other moving means.

(3) The detection means of the article transfer device is not necessarily a sensor composed of a projector and a light receiver. For example, the detecting means may be configured by a limit switch or the like that is arranged at a position where it can come into contact with the article to be carried out and is operated by contacting the article to switch the contact.

It is the top view which illustrated the automatic warehouse where the article transfer device concerning the embodiment of the present invention is applied, and is the figure shown typically. It is a top view (Drawing 2 (a)) and a side view (Drawing 2 (b)) corresponding to the transfer machine shown in Drawing 1, and one storage part. It is a top view (Drawing 3 (a)) which shows a transfer machine and a storage part shown in Drawing 1, and a side view (Drawing 3 (b)) corresponding to it. It is a top view which shows the transfer machine and storage part which are shown in FIG. It is a top view (Drawing 5 (a)) which shows the transfer machine shown in Drawing 1, a side view (Drawing 5 (b)) corresponding to it, and a front view (Drawing 5 (c)). The functional block diagram of the control apparatus in the article transfer apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention is illustrated with the system configuration | structure of the automatic warehouse shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the action | operation of the transfer machine shown in FIG. 2, Comprising: It is the schematic diagram which expands and shows a part. It is a figure explaining the action | operation of the transfer machine shown in FIG. 2, Comprising: It is the schematic diagram which expands and shows a part. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the goods transfer method of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Automatic warehouse (article management area)
2 racks (goods storage means)
4 storage unit 6 transfer machine (article transfer device)
7 Conveyor arm 7a Clamping body 7b Conveyor belt (circular belt)
17 Load detection sensor (detection means)
17a Light projector 17b Light receiver 21 Crane controller (control means of article transfer device)
24 Transfer machine position control unit 25 Transfer operation control unit W Load (article)

Claims (5)

An article transfer device for sandwiching and carrying out an article stored in the storage section in an article management area comprising an article storage means having a plurality of storage sections capable of storing articles,
A pair of sandwiching bodies that perform a sandwiching operation of sandwiching an article to be carried out stored in the storage unit from both sides;
Each of the pair of sandwiching bodies is attached so as to be capable of rotating, and performs a pulling-around operation for pulling the article to be moved out in the unloading direction while the article to be carried out is sandwiched between the pair of sandwiching bodies. The orbital zone,
Detecting means for detecting the article to be carried out passing between the pair of sandwiching bodies;
When the control is performed to perform the clamping operation of moving the pair of clamping bodies so as to approach each other, and to perform the pulling-around operation in the orbital belt, and the detection by the detection means is performed. Control means for stopping the clamping operation of the pair of clamping bodies;
An article transfer device comprising:   The article transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is attached to a distal end side of the pair of sandwiching bodies facing the storage unit.   3. The article transfer according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit includes a light projector attached to one of the pair of sandwiching bodies and a light receiver attached to the other. 4. apparatus.   The article transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the article management area is an automatic warehouse including a shelf as the article storage means. An article transfer method using the article transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A sandwiching body arranging step of placing the pair of sandwiching bodies at a position where the article to be carried out can be sandwiched;
A circumferential clamping step of causing the pair of clamping bodies arranged in the clamping body arranging step to perform the clamping operation and causing the circumferential belt to perform the pulling-around operation;
A pinching stop step for stopping the pinching operation in the round pinching step when detection by the detecting means is performed;
An article transfer method characterized by comprising:

Images