JP4500936B2 - Autoloader - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an autoloader for transferring articles applied to the field of pharmaceutical manufacture.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In some types of chemicals, a liquid drug is poured into a glass vial and then transferred to a freeze-drying chamber (internal temperature is about −60 ° C.) to freeze-dry the drug. In this case, an autoloader is installed on the production line as a means for loading and unloading chemicals into and from the freeze-drying warehouse, and this autoloader is operated to batch a large number of chemicals between the freeze-dryer warehouse shelves. I am trying to transfer it.
[0003]
Here, the autoloader used for the above-mentioned application is equipped with a movable table in combination with a forward / backward movement mechanism, a lifting / lowering movement mechanism, and an article transfer pusher mechanism inside the self-propelled carriage, and its operation and chemical transfer. The loading operation is configured to be performed fully automatically, and in the process of carrying into the freeze-drying warehouse, the chemicals (small bottles containing the drug) sent from the production line by the conveyor are aligned and placed on the table, Move the autoloader to the designated freeze-drying cabinet (with a built-in elevating multi-stage shelf and a front door with shutters), open the freeze-dryer entrance shutter, and advance the table Move and insert the tip of the table into the freeze-drying cabinet to access the shelf waiting in place, and then slide the table surface by pushing the chemicals placed on the table. Extruded into Batch type are to be transferred by transferring the shelves of the mating. When carrying out the processed chemicals from the freeze-drying warehouse, the products are collectively taken from the shelf of the freeze-drying warehouse to the table of the autoloader and transferred to the next step in the reverse procedure.
[0004]
In this case, in order to smoothly transfer the transferred chemicals between the autoloader table and the other shelf (shelf in the freeze-drying cabinet) without overturning or damaging, the table is placed at the access position of the autoloader. It is necessary to adjust the height correctly. For this reason, the conventional autoloader deals with the following method.
That is, the detection signal of the encoder combined with the table up-and-down movement mechanism is read to detect the amount of movement from the reference position (home position) of the table, and based on this, the table is moved from the home position to the predetermined standby position. The other party shelf that is stopped is accessed, and the table is positioned by adjusting the table so that the height of the table is aligned with the other shelf, and then the medicine is transferred.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the above-described conventional autoloader table alignment method still has the following problems in actual operation.
In other words, no matter how high the position accuracy of the autoloader table lift control system, the stand-by position of the lift shelf (partner shelf) installed inside the freeze-drying warehouse at the transfer destination is slightly displaced up and down from the fixed position. (Freeze-drying cabinet elevating shelf has very low positioning accuracy), or the shelf itself is warped and deformed, such as irregularities (if the inside temperature is extremely low like freeze-drying cabinet, The shelf itself is likely to warp and swell due to thermal distortion), and with the autoloader accessing the opponent's shelf, a level difference remains at the boundary between the table and the opponent's shelf, and if this step is large, it is pushed out of the table In the case of articles, especially small bottles containing the above-mentioned medicines, transfer troubles such as bottles falling or breaking in the middle of transfer or conversely being unable to transfer to the other shelf often occur.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points. The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the height position of the table at the access position without being influenced by the standby position accuracy of the counterpart shelf, the deformation of the shelf itself, or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved autoloader that adjusts to the optimum position in accordance with the position of the counterpart shelf and allows the articles to be transferred stably.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a movable table combined with a back-and-forth movement mechanism, a lifting and lowering movement mechanism, and a pusher mechanism for transferring articles is provided. In an autoloader for transferring articles between a table and a counter shelf by a pusher operation, a sensor unit for detecting the position of the counter shelf is provided at the tip of the table, and the lifting / lowering is performed based on a detection signal obtained by the sensor unit. It is assumed that the movement mechanism is controlled so that the height position of the table is adjusted in accordance with the counterpart shelf, and specifically, the embodiment is implemented in the following manner.
[0008]
(1) the sensor unit, a swing type detecting lever which Shokusetsu the upper surface of the mating ledge from the side of the table projecting forwardly, the sensor dog attached to the support shaft of the detection lever, the sensor dog and combinations Photo interrupter .
(2) In the preceding paragraph (1), the detection levers shall be provided on both the left and right edges of the table, also serving as the article delivery guide .
[0009]
(3) Based on the position of the opposite shelf detected by the sensor unit, in the step of transferring the article from the table to the opposite shelf, the table is corrected to a position slightly higher than the reference position, and the article is transferred from the opposite shelf to the table. In this step, the article is transferred while being corrected to a position slightly lower than the reference position (claim 2 ).
According to the autoloader described above, even if the other shelf is slightly displaced from the predetermined standby position, the sensor unit provided on the table side accurately detects the absolute height position of the other shelf without being affected by this. In addition, the table can be moved up and down in accordance with this position, thereby avoiding transfer troubles such as article falling due to the step between the table and the other shelf at the access position of the autoloader. , Always stable transfer.
[0010]
In addition, as described in (3) above, in the process of transferring the article from the table to the other shelf, based on the position of the other shelf detected by the sensor unit, the table is moved to a position slightly higher than the reference position (for example, about 1 mm). In the process of correcting and transferring the article from the opponent's shelf to the table, an error in positioning accuracy of the table lifting / lowering movement mechanism is determined by correcting the position slightly lower than the reference position (for example, about 1 mm) and determining the table transfer position. It is possible to stably transfer the article by compensating for a slight difference in height due to the stand-by position error of the other shelf, the warp of the shelf itself, and the swell.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated examples. First, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the entire structure of an autoloader applied to the pharmaceutical production line mentioned above as an example. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an autoloader, 2 denotes a transfer destination freeze-drying cabinet, 2a denotes a counterpart shelf arranged in the freeze-drying cabinet as a vertically movable multi-stage shelf, and the autoloader 1 has the following configuration.
[0012]
That is, the autoloader 1 includes a movable table 4 incorporated in the self-propelled carriage 3, a forward / backward moving mechanism 5 that moves the table 4 forward and backward, an elevation moving mechanism 6 that moves the table 4 up and down, The structure is equipped with a pusher mechanism 7 for transferring articles. After the tip of the table 4 is inserted into the freeze-drying cabinet 2 as indicated by a chain line, the counterpart shelf 2a is accessed, and then the pusher mechanism 7 is operated. The article 8 (small medicine bottle) placed on the table is pushed out and transferred to the opponent shelf 2a. Note that an entrance with a shutter 2c is opened in front of the freeze-drying chamber 2 in accordance with the standby position of the shelf in the cabinet.
[0013]
Here, the table 4 is a flat plate having a frame 4 superimposed on its lower surface side and provided with an article guide fence 4a along both left and right side edges, and will be described later through a guide block 4b protruding on the lower surface side. It is guided and supported along a linear guide laid on the base of the forward / backward movement mechanism. Although not shown, a sensor (photo sensor) that detects that the front edge of the table abuts against the front end surface of the mating shelf 2a when the table 4 is accessed to the mating shelf 2a on the lower surface side of the front edge of the table 4. ).
[0014]
The forward / backward moving mechanism 5 has a structure in which a ball screw 5c that is driven by being belt-coupled to a drive motor 5b is laid in the front-rear direction on an upper surface side of a base 5a having a frame structure, and a female screw 5d that is screwed into the ball screw 5c. Are coupled to the lower surface of the table 4. It should be noted that an encoder is connected to the shaft end of the ball screw 5c and the signal is taken into a controller (not shown) to detect the amount of forward and backward movement of the table 4.
[0015]
When the drive motor 5b is started based on the command and the ball screw 5c is rotated by the back-and-forth movement mechanism 5 having such a structure, the table 4 moves forward and backward along the ball screw 5c according to the rotation direction.
On the other hand, the up-and-down moving mechanism 6 includes a base 6a having a frame structure, screw-type jacks 6b installed at four positions on the front and rear sides and the left and right sides so as to support the base 5a of the front and rear moving mechanism 5 from below, and the jack 6b. And a drive motor 6c connected via a worm gear and a drive shaft. Similar to the forward / backward movement mechanism 4 described above, an encoder is attached to the drive shaft, and the vertical movement amount of the table 4 that moves up and down in conjunction with the operation of the jack 6b is detected by the encoder.
[0016]
With this configuration, when the jack 6b is operated by the drive motor 6c based on the table up / down command, the base 5a of the back-and-forth moving mechanism 5 moves up and down together with the table 4 accordingly.
Further, according to the present invention, a sensor unit 9 is newly provided on the front edge of the table 4 of the autoloader 1 having the above-described configuration. The height position of the cabinet shelf is detected.
[0017]
Further, the pusher mechanism 7 includes a drive unit 7a that is arranged on both the left and right sides of the table 4 and moves in the front-rear direction, and a vertically-movable pusher plate 7b that is attached to the tip of an arm that extends back and forth from the drive unit 7a. Become. When the article 8 placed on the table 4 is transferred to the opponent shelf 2a, the pusher plate 7b on the front end side is lifted upward from the table surface while the table 4 is accessed to the opponent shelf 2a. The drive part 7a is advanced, and the articles 8 are pushed forward from the back collectively by the pusher 7b on the rear end side. Further, when the article 9 is taken out from the counterpart shelf 2a and transferred to the table 4, the drive unit 7a is advanced until the pusher plate reaches the rear edge of the counterpart shelf 2a with the front end pusher plate 7b pulled up. Subsequently, the pusher plate 7b is lowered onto the counterpart shelf 2a, and then the drive unit 7a is moved backward to scrape the article 8 and transfer it to the table 4.
[0018]
Next, the detailed structure of the sensor unit 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. That is, on both sides of the front end of the table 4, a swing type detection lever 9a that protrudes forward in line with the extension line of the fence 4a, a swing block 9b that is coupled to the detection lever 9a, and a block 9b The detection lever 9a is inserted clockwise between the support shaft 9c coupled and pulled out, the bearing 9d of the support shaft 9c, the arm portion 9b-1 protruding rearward from the block 9b, and the frame of the table 4. An assembly of a compression spring 9e urging the disk, a disk-shaped sensor dog 9f attached to the tip of the support shaft 9c, and a photointerrupter (photocoupler in which a light emitting element and a light receiving element are combined) 9g arranged with the sensor dog 9f interposed therebetween Consists of.
[0019]
Here, the detection lever 9a is arranged in front of the fence 4a in accordance with the upper surface of the table 4, and further, a taper surface is formed so that the inner surface of the lever is tapered toward the tip, and the article is received from the other shelf. It serves as a guide for the occasion. On the other hand, the sensor dog 9f has a translucent slit 9f-1 opened at one place on the circumference of the disk. When the detection lever 9a swings from the solid line position in FIG. Positioning is performed so that the optical path of the interrupter 9g coincides with the light transmitting slit 9f-1 of the sensor dog 9f.
[0020]
The sensor unit 9 having such a configuration operates as follows. In other words, the detection lever 9a is normally tilted forward to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. On the other hand, when the table 4 is moved forward to access the opponent shelf 2a, the detection lever 9a gets on the opponent shelf 2a and comes into contact with the upper surface of the shelf. In this state, the optical path of the photo interrupter 9g is shielded by the photo dog 9f. From this point, when the table 4 is slightly lowered by the operation of the up-and-down moving mechanism 6, the detection lever 9a swings counterclockwise, and when the horizontal position indicated by the chain line is reached, the optical path of the photo interrupter 9g and the slit of the photo dog 9f. 9f-1 matches and is output as a signal from the photo interrupter. Therefore, if the signal of the photo interrupter 9g is captured and the elevation moving mechanism 6 is stopped and controlled, the upper surface of the table 4 is aligned with the upper surface of the counterpart shelf 2a.
[0021]
Next, the article transfer operation of the autoloader will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. That is, in the transfer step of transferring the article 8 placed on the table 4 of the autoloader 1 to the opponent shelf 2a, the table 4 is moved forward from the home position by the advance movement mechanism 5 in step S1 of the flowchart, Stops at the access position (S2). Subsequently, the table 4 is moved downward by the operation of the elevating drive mechanism 6 (S3), and the height position of the counterpart shelf 2a is detected by the sensor unit 9 during the lowering (S4), and the sensor as described in FIG. When the photo interrupter 9g of the section 9 detects the horizontal posture of the detection lever 9a, the downward movement of the table 4 is stopped by the output signal of the home position 9g (S5). In this state, the table 4 and the opponent shelf 2a are arranged on the same plane. Subsequently, according to the present invention, starting from the stop position of step S5 (the height position of the opponent shelf 2a), the table 4 is moved from the height position H of the opponent shelf 2a by ΔH (for example, 1 mm) as shown in FIG. 5 (a). (S6), the articles 8 arranged on the table are pushed out from behind by the operation of the pusher mechanism 7 at this correction position and transferred to the opponent shelf 2a (S7). When the transfer of the article is completed, the table 4 is moved upward and separated from the opponent shelf 2a (S8), and the table 4 is moved backward in the subsequent step S9 to return to the home position. The loading operation ends.
[0022]
In this case, the elevation of the table 4 is corrected in step S5 of the flowchart, and a slight step ΔH is set between the table 4 and the opponent shelf 2a as shown in FIG. Thus, the article 8 can be smoothly transferred from the table 4 to the opponent shelf 2a without any transfer trouble by compensating for the position error or the warp generated at the front edge of the opponent shelf 2a and the local unevenness.
[0023]
On the other hand, in the transfer process of taking the article 8 from the opponent shelf 2a into the table 4 of the autoloader, steps S1 to S5 are the same as described above in the flowchart of FIG. 4, but in step S6, as shown in FIG. 5 (b). The table 4 is lowered by a correction distance of ΔH with respect to the height position H of the opponent shelf 2a, and the article 8 is scraped from the opponent shelf 2a by this pusher operation and transferred to the table 4. In this case, the detection lever 9a protruding from the left and right side edges of the table 4 to the upper surface side of the mating shelf 2a serves as a take-in guide for the article 8. Thereafter, the table 4 is returned to the home position through steps S7 and S8, and a series of transfer operations is completed.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a movable table combined with a back-and-forth movement mechanism, a lifting / lowering movement mechanism, and a pusher mechanism for transferring articles is provided, and the pusher operation is performed after accessing the table to the other shelf. In the autoloader for transferring articles between the table and the other shelf, a sensor unit for detecting the position of the other shelf is provided at the tip of the table, and the lifting and lowering moving mechanism is based on a detection signal obtained by the sensor unit. By controlling the movement of the table and adjusting the height of the table to match the opponent's shelf, the transfer operation avoids transfer troubles such as article falling due to the step between the table and the opponent's shelf. Can be stabilized.
[0025]
Further, as in claim 4 of the present invention, by correcting the height position of the table on the basis of the position of the counterpart shelf detected by the sensor unit, an error in positioning accuracy of the table lifting / lowering mechanism, standby of the counterpart shelf It can compensate for slight height differences caused by position error, shelf warp, swell, etc., and can transfer the article stably while preventing overturning and breakage during the transfer operation.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view showing an overall structure of an autoloader according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an end view of a main part mechanism in FIG. 1. FIG. Is a side view, (b) is a plan view, (c) is a cross-sectional view, and (d) is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the sensor dog and photointerrupter in (c). FIG. 4 is an article transfer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a supplementary explanatory diagram of an article transfer operation by correction movement of the table in FIG. 4, (a) and (b) are items from the table to the other shelf, and from the other shelf to the table Schematic diagram showing the relative position of the table and the opponent's shelf during the transfer process
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Autoloader 2 Freeze-drying store | warehouse | chamber 2a as a transfer partner apparatus 4 Counter shelf 4 Table 5 Forward / backward moving mechanism 6 Elevating / moving mechanism 7 Pusher mechanism 8 Article 9 Sensor part 9a Detection lever 9c Support shaft 9f Sensor dog 9g Photo interrupter

Claims (2)

Equipped with a movable table combined with a back-and-forth movement mechanism, a lifting / lowering movement mechanism, and a pusher mechanism for transferring articles, the article is moved between the table and the opposite shelf by the pusher operation after accessing the opposite shelf. In the autoloader to be transferred,
A mating shelf comprising a swinging detection lever that protrudes forward from the side edge of the table and comes into contact with the upper surface of the mating shelf, a sensor dog attached to a support shaft of the sensing lever, and a photo interrupter in combination with the sensor dog Equipped with a sensor part that detects the position of the table at the tip of the table,
The detection lever is also provided on the left and right side edges of the table serving as an article transfer guide,
An autoloader characterized in that the elevation mechanism is moved based on a detection signal obtained by the sensor unit so that the height position of the table is adjusted according to the other shelf.   2. The autoloader according to claim 1, wherein in the step of transferring the article from the table to the counterpart shelf based on the position of the counterpart shelf detected by the sensor unit, the table is corrected to a position slightly higher than the reference position, and the article is placed in the counterpart shelf. An autoloader characterized in that, in the process of transferring from the table to the table, the article is transferred after being corrected to a position slightly lower than the reference position.

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