JP4865480B2 - Container stacking equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a container stacking apparatus that lifts and stacks containers stacked in one or more stages conveyed by a conveyor and pushes up an upper container with a lower container.

  Conventionally, a plurality of lifting hooks that push up an article are attached to a rotatable roller chain that faces the conveyor, and a holding latch that supports the article pushed up by the hook from the lower side at a predetermined height is provided in a retractable manner. A stacking device that allows the articles to be stacked in a continuous manner by holding the article on the holding latch and then moving the lifting hook away from the article and returning it to the push-up position of the next article. It has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

  However, since this device uses the reaction force of the leaf spring for the protrusion of the holding latch, the reaction force decreases due to the settling of the leaf spring when used for a long time, and the protrusion of the retaining latch cannot be made. was there. Further, since the holding latch is retracted when the article comes into contact with the holding latch, the article may be damaged by the holding latch. Furthermore, an impact sound is generated by the return of the holding latch after the article passes, and there is a problem of noise.

  Therefore, a structure in which a plurality of latching members for latching the container are circulated at a constant pitch, and the new container is continuously lifted to interlock with the support member that supports the lowermost stage of the stacked containers. Stacking increases the processing capacity compared to the conventional reciprocating device, and operates gently so that the container with the retaining member is placed on the support surface of the supporting member. However, a stacking device has been proposed that can be smoothly operated over a long period of time without giving impact or load or damaging the container, with excellent durability and low noise. Reference 2).

However, since the support member of the above-described technique is to move horizontally to support the bottom of the container, there is no gap for inserting the tip of the support member between the upper and lower containers, or even if there is a gap, the rib of the container When the depth is small, it cannot be supported and stacking operation is impossible.
JP-A-11-278668 JP 2006-225099 A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve these conventional problems, and to stack the containers continuously and at a high speed, and to perform a stacking operation regardless of the presence or absence of gaps between the containers and the dimensions of the ribs. The object is to provide a container stacking device that is excellent in noise and durability.

The configuration of the present invention that solves this problem is as follows.
1) The container stacked in one or more stages conveyed by the conveyor is hooked and lifted at a fixed position, and the container lifted to the container gripped by the upper gripping member is added from below. A container stacking device for gripping the stacked containers with gripping members,
A pair of front and back endless chains or endless cords to be sent in the vertical direction are provided along the transport conveyor at a predetermined interval, and a pair of left and right endless chains or endless cords are provided facing each other across the transport conveyor. A plurality of hooking members for hooking the container between a pair of front and rear endless chains or endless cable bodies are installed at intervals longer than the height of the container through a pivot shaft provided with a pivot point roller at the shaft end. An endless guide that moves while restricting the position of the pivot shaft of the latching member along the endless chain or endless cable body by inserting the pivot point roller is provided, and the opposite left and right latching members located on the container side are the same Provided with a drive means to synchronize the front and rear endless right and left endless chains or endless cords so as to rotate in the upward direction so that they do not tilt in the front and rear direction, and the latching member is moved while the latching member moves on the container side Conveying conveyor with members The engaging portions of the left and right latch member in the section up to the position where container hooked with the hooking member from the lower side position of the position or its lifting vessel above can be gripped by the gripping member is protruded long in the container side container The left and right gripping members projecting from the left and right latching members are provided with latching projection means for lifting the container so that the container can be lifted. Arranged in a position that does not hit the latching member that moves in the vertical direction and is provided so that it can move forward and backward in the container direction. When the container lifted by the latching member overlaps the container gripped by the gripping member, the gripping member is placed on the container side. Gripping member control means for controlling the gripping member to advance the gripping member to the gripping position when the lowermost container that is temporarily retracted to the opposite side and then moved to the position where the gripping member can grip the bottom container is moved. Provided, After the stopper member has moved to the upper end of the above section, the latching part of the latching member is temporarily lowered to the lower side while retracting to the opposite side to the container side, and then moved upward and lifted by the latching part. There is provided a latching portion delivery movable means for moving the latching portion of the latching member so as to deliver the stacked containers to the advanced gripping member, and the latching member is a pair of front and rear endless chains or endless cords A pivot support is attached to each of the front and rear positions of the pivot shaft suspended in between so as to pivot in the middle thereof, and the latch becomes a latch portion that extends in the front-rear direction at the container side end of the front and rear opposing pivot supports. A receiving material is installed, a guide roller is rotatably provided below the pivot shaft of the pivot support, and a guide roller is attached to the end of the pivot support opposite to the container side, and the guide roller is inserted. An annular guide groove with a concave cross section is formed on the endless chain or endless cable body. A roller guide for contacting the guide roller is provided at an inner position near the inner side of the container-side endless chain or endless cable body, and the hook projecting means has the guide groove in a predetermined position with the endless chain or endless cable body. The guide groove of the section which makes the shape which regulates the posture of the pivotal support so as to maintain the state where the latch receiving material is retracted inward without separating the latch receiving material toward the container side, and the latch receiving material protrudes Is bent in the direction of the container so that one surface of the guide groove is divided, and a linear guide plate is provided so that the guide roller continuously contacts between the divided guide grooves. The guide roller moves away from the guide groove while being restrained by the guide plate in the protruding section of the stopper material, and the roller guide guides the guide roller that is in contact with the guide plate again into the guide groove and inserts it. To pivot The shape of the tool is restricted, and in the absence of the guide groove, the endless chain or endless cord, endless guide, pivot point roller, guide plate, and guide roller rotate the pivotal tool around the pivot axis. The latch receiving material is structured to regulate the posture of the pivotal support so that it rises and protrudes in the container direction, and the latch part delivery movable means moves the guide groove to the endless chain from the upper end of the part where the guide groove is removed. Alternatively, the structure is made to move so as to regulate the latch receiving member that becomes the latching portion by rotating the latching member while feeding it upward by bending it away from the endless cable body until the predetermined distance is reached. The container stacking device 2) is characterized in that the driving means can drive the endless chain or the endless cable body in either the forward or reverse feed direction, and conveys the last container to be stacked by the latching member. Lift from the conveyor The gripping member control means retracts the gripping member and maintains the retracted position at the time after adding the container from below to the container gripped by the holding member and stacking all the containers with the latching member. The means includes a control for reversing the endless chain or the endless cable body to transfer the stacked containers on the latching member to the transport conveyor without causing the last container to be stacked to be gripped by the gripping member. The container stacking apparatus according to 1) described above, wherein the stacked containers are immediately lowered, transferred to a transfer conveyor, and can be carried out.

  According to the present invention, a structure in which a plurality of latching members are circulated at a constant pitch is linked to a gripping member that continuously lifts a new container and grips the lowermost stage of the stacked containers. Thus, they are stacked and have a high processing capacity at a high speed compared with a conventional device that reciprocates. In addition, since the latching member operates gently so as to be separated from the bottom surface of the container that has been latched after the latched container is transferred to the gripping member, it is extremely low without giving an impact or load or damaging the container. It is durable with noise and can be operated stably over a long period of time. In addition, since the gripping member grips both sides of the container by applying pressure from the left and right sides, it can be held without problems even if there is no gap between the containers or the depth of the rib is small, and stable stacking is possible regardless of the shape of the container. Operation is possible.

  As the endless chain or endless cable body to which the latching member of the present invention is attached, there are a conventional chain member, a belt, a wire, and the like, and an endless chain that easily pivotably supports the latching member at the link portion is desirable. The last container to be stacked is lowered immediately without being gripped by the gripping member and transferred to the transport conveyor, or after the last container is gripped by the gripping member, it is lowered at a predetermined timing and transferred to the transport conveyor. May be listed. In addition, the stacked containers may be directly carried out by a separate forklift or the like without being lowered and carried out by the stacking device. As the grip member, a member having a grip plate having a large friction coefficient such as urethane is used.

  The maximum number of containers is determined by the height position of the gripping member from the transport surface of the transport conveyor and the height position of the container delivery section between the hooking member and the gripping member. When containers having the same height are stacked, they are stacked only by the instruction of the number of stages information, and when containers of different heights are mixed, they are stacked by the instructions of the number of stages information and the height information. The height information is calculated from the height information of each container stored in advance and the combination information of the containers, or is obtained by detecting the total height of the containers stacked by a sensor or the like. Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a front view of the stacking apparatus of the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a rear view of the stacking apparatus of the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a side view of the stacking apparatus of the embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the gripping member of the embodiment, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 10 to 13 are process diagrams of stacking containers according to the embodiment, FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing the locus of the catch receiving material of the catch member according to the embodiment, and FIG. It is a flow.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, the stacking apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a drive sprocket 3, a driven sprocket 4, and a pair of front and rear endless chains 2 that are fed in the vertical direction along the conveyor C at a predetermined interval. A pair of front and rear endless chains 2 are arranged to face each other across the conveyor C, and the bottom surface of the container B is hooked between the left and right endless endless chains 2 respectively. Four suspension members 6 are installed at intervals longer than the height of the container B via a pivot shaft 6f having a pivot point roller 6c at the shaft end, and the drive shaft 3a of the drive sprocket 3 is attached to the servo motor 5. The output shaft is connected via a reduction gear 5a. The servomotor 5 rotates the front and rear, left and right endless chains 2 upward or downward in synchronization so that the opposing left and right latching members 6 located on the container B side have the same height and do not tilt in the front and rear direction. It works to let you. 4a is a driven shaft.

  The latching member 6 is attached to each of the front and rear positions of the pivot shaft 6f suspended between the pair of front and rear endless chains 2 so as to pivot in the middle of the pivot shaft 6f. A latch receiving member 6a, which is a latching portion extending in the front-rear direction, is installed at the B side end, and a guide roller 6d is rotatably provided below the pivot shaft 6f of the pivot support 6b, and is opposite to the container B side. A guide roller 6e is attached to the end of the pivotal support 6b. The center point of the guide roller 6d is configured to be lower than the guide roller 6e in the horizontal state of the latch receiving member 6a.

  An endless guide 7 is provided at a position close to the endless chain 2 so as to move the position of the pivoting shaft 6f of the latching member 6 along the endless chain 2 by fitting the pivoting point roller 6c. A guide body 8 having an annular guide groove 8a having a concave cross section for fitting the guide roller 6d is provided at an inner position of the guide roller 6d. Provided in position. Most of the guide groove 8a is separated from the endless chain 2 by a predetermined distance, and the posture of the pivot support 6b is regulated so as to maintain the state in which the latch receiving member 6a is retracted inward without protruding toward the container B side. The guide groove 8a of the section in which the latch receiving member 6a protrudes is curved in the direction of the container B, and the portion is removed so that one surface of the guide groove 8a is divided, and between the divided guide grooves 8a. A linear guide plate 8b is provided so that the guide roller 6d abuts continuously, and the guide roller 6d moves away from the guide groove 8a while being restrained by the guide plate 8b in the absence of the guide groove 8a. Yes. The roller guide 9 has a shape that regulates the posture of the pivotal support 6b so that the guide roller 6d in contact with the guide plate 8b is again guided into the guide groove 8a.

  Further, a portion of the guide plate 8b with which the guide roller 6d in the section in which the latch receiving member 6a projects is abutted is defined as a projecting section 8c. A downward section from the lower end of the projecting section 8c is a rising section 8e in which the pivot support 6b rotates around the pivot shaft and the latch receiving member 6a rises horizontally and projects in the container B direction. Further, the guide groove 8a is curved from the upper end of the projecting section 8c upward until it is separated from the endless chain 2 to the position separated by the predetermined distance, so that the latch member 6 is rotated while being fed upward to receive the latch. It is set as the delivery section 8d which moves so that the material 6a may be controlled. As the shape of the delivery section 8d, various shapes such as an S shape and a cam shape are appropriately selected according to the shape, size, and the like of the container B.

  A pair of gripping members 10 that pressurize and grip both side surfaces of the container B from the left and right are provided in the outer proximity positions of the endless chain 2 so as to be able to advance and retreat in the direction of the conveyor C. The gripping member 10 is made of urethane having a flat gripping surface, and is provided at a height that is positioned on the side surface of the container B on which the latching member 6 is latched when moved to the upper end of the projecting section 8c. The cylinder 11 disposed in the front and rear is configured to move back and forth between the side surface position of the container B and the rear position that does not contact the container B. 11a is a cylinder rod, 12 is a rotatable backing plate that closes during stacking and aligns the container B, 12a is a cylinder that rotates the backing plate 12, 13 is a fixed backing plate that aligns the container B, and 14 is a step. This is a fixed backing plate for preventing shaking during loading and for preventing falling upon unloading after completion of stacking. The contact plate 14 is attached at a position where it does not interfere with the maximum number of containers B passing therebelow.

  Hereinafter, the stacking of the containers B will be described with reference to FIGS. In the stacking device 1, the gripping member 10 is retracted and the contact plate 12 is closed. When the container B comes below the stacking apparatus 1 and is detected by a sensor (not shown), the conveyor C is decelerated and stopped, the stacking apparatus 1 is started, and the type and number of stages of the containers B that have been conveyed are instructed ( In this case, it is one stage). As shown in FIG. 10A, the drive sprocket 3 feeds the endless chain 2 upward, and the latching member 6 reverses the drive sprocket 3 and moves up to the start end of the section 8e.

  The latch member 6 is a latch receiving member in which the guide roller 6e is restrained by the roller guide 9 and rises gradually by the rising section 8e, and the guide roller 6d comes off the guide groove 8a and comes into contact with the guide plate 8b to become horizontal. 6a comes below the container B and moves to the protruding section 8c. As shown in FIG. 10 (b), the latch receiving member 6a is held horizontally by the endless guide 7 and the guide plate 8b, latches the bottom surface of the container B from below, and lifts the protruding section 8c while raising it. When the side surface of the lifted container B moves to the position of the gripping member 10, the gripping member 10 is advanced to the gripping position as shown in FIG.

  When the guide roller 6e is restrained by the roller guide 9, the guide roller 6d is reinserted into the guide groove 8a from the guide plate 8b, and the hooking member 6 lifting the container B moves to the start end of the delivery section 8d. a) As shown in FIG. 14, the latch member 6 swings away from the bottom surface of the container B so that the latch member 6 a moves along the arrow, and the container B is delivered to the gripping member 10. . As shown in FIG. 11 (b), the latch member 6 rises with the latch receiving member 6 a retracted so as not to contact the container B as it is, and is reversed by the driven sprocket 4.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 11 (c), the latching member 6 reverses the drive sprocket 3 and rises in the rising section 8e, and the next transported container B as shown in FIG. 12 (a) is the same as described above. The lifting member 6 lifts up. Next, the conveyed containers B are stacked in two stages, and the type and number of stages of the containers B are instructed to the stacking apparatus 1. When the lifted two-stage container B overlaps the bottom surface of the upper container B, the gripping member 10 is retracted as shown in FIG. 12B (retraction is performed at an earlier timing by the number of stages instructed earlier) As shown in FIG. 12C, when the side surface of the lowermost container B latched by the latching member 6 moves to a position where it can be gripped by the gripping member 10, the gripping member 10 is advanced, and FIG. , (B) and the operation shown in FIG. After that, by repeating the steps shown in FIGS. 11C and 12A to 12C, the container B stacked in one or more stages conveyed by the conveyor C is continuously latched. Then push up and stack.

  When it comes to the last container B (in this case, it is one stage), as shown in FIG. 13 (a), the last container B is hooked from the conveyor C and lifted to move through the protruding section 8c. As shown in (b), after the last container B is added to the already stacked container B gripped by the gripping member 10 from the lower side and all the containers B are stacked, the gripping member 10 is moved backward to retract. The position is maintained, and the drive sprocket 3 is reversed as shown in FIG. 13 (c) to feed the endless chain 2 downward, and the stacked containers B on the retaining member 6 near the lower end of the protruding section 8c. The container B is transferred to the conveyor C, and the containers 12 stacked with the contact plates 12 opened are conveyed to a predetermined place.

  The container stacking apparatus of the present invention is preferably used in applications where higher speed and less impact stacking is required as compared with the prior art.

It is a front view of the stacking apparatus of an Example. It is a rear view of the stacking apparatus of an Example. It is a side view of the stacking apparatus of an Example. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the holding member of an Example. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of operation | movement of the latching member of an Example. It is explanatory drawing of operation | movement of the latching member of an Example. It is process drawing of the stacking of the container of an Example. It is process drawing of the stacking of the container of an Example. It is process drawing of the stacking of the container of an Example. It is process drawing of the stacking of the container of an Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the locus | trajectory of the latch receiving material of the latch member of an Example. It is the flow of the stacking of an Example.

Explanation of symbols

1 stacking device 2 endless chain 3 drive sprocket 3a drive shaft 4 driven sprocket 4a driven shaft 5 servo motor 5a speed reducer 6 hanging member 6a hanging receiving material 6b pivoting tool 6c pivot point roller 6d guide roller 6e guide roller 6f pivot Support shaft 7 Endless guide 8 Guide body 8a Guide groove 8b Guide plate 8c Protruding section 8d Delivery section 8e Raising section 9 Roller guide 10 Holding member 11 Cylinder 11a Cylinder rod 12 Contact plate 12a Cylinder 13, 14 Contact plate B Container C Conveyor

Claims (2)

The container stacked in one or more stages transported by the conveyor is hooked at a fixed position and lifted, and the lifted container is added to the container gripped by the upper gripping member from below to increase the number of stages. A container stacking device for gripping the stacked containers with gripping members,
A pair of front and back endless chains or endless cords to be sent in the vertical direction are provided along the transport conveyor at a predetermined interval, and a pair of left and right endless chains or endless cords are provided facing each other across the transport conveyor. A plurality of hooking members for hooking the container between a pair of front and rear endless chains or endless cable bodies are installed at intervals longer than the height of the container through a pivot shaft provided with a pivot point roller at the shaft end. An endless guide that moves while restricting the position of the pivot shaft of the latching member along the endless chain or endless cable body by inserting the pivot point roller is provided, and the opposite left and right latching members located on the container side are the same Provided with a drive means to synchronize the front and rear endless right and left endless chains or endless cords so as to rotate in the upward direction so that they do not tilt in the front and rear direction, and the latching member is moved while the latching member moves on the container side Conveying conveyor with members The engaging portions of the left and right latch member in the section up to the position where container hooked with the hooking member from the lower side position of the position or its lifting vessel above can be gripped by the gripping member is protruded long in the container side container The left and right gripping members projecting from the left and right latching members are provided with latching projection means for lifting the container so that the container can be lifted. Arranged in a position that does not hit the latching member that moves in the vertical direction and is provided so that it can move forward and backward in the container direction. When the container lifted by the latching member overlaps the container gripped by the gripping member, the gripping member is placed on the container side. Gripping member control means for controlling the gripping member to advance the gripping member to the gripping position when the lowermost container that is temporarily retracted to the opposite side and then moved to the position where the gripping member can grip the bottom container is moved. Provided, After the stopper member has moved to the upper end of the above section, the latching part of the latching member is temporarily lowered to the lower side while retracting to the opposite side to the container side, and then moved upward and lifted by the latching part. There is provided a latching portion delivery movable means for moving the latching portion of the latching member so as to deliver the stacked containers to the advanced gripping member, and the latching member is a pair of front and rear endless chains or endless cords A pivot support is attached to each of the front and rear positions of the pivot shaft suspended in between so as to pivot in the middle thereof, and the latch becomes a latch portion that extends in the front-rear direction at the container side end of the front and rear opposing pivot supports. A receiving material is installed, a guide roller is rotatably provided below the pivot shaft of the pivot support, and a guide roller is attached to the end of the pivot support opposite to the container side, and the guide roller is inserted. An annular guide groove with a concave cross section is formed on the endless chain or endless cable body. A roller guide for contacting the guide roller is provided at an inner position near the inner side of the container-side endless chain or endless cable body, and the hook projecting means has the guide groove in a predetermined position with the endless chain or endless cable body. The guide groove of the section which makes the shape which regulates the posture of the pivotal support so as to maintain the state where the latch receiving material is retracted inward without separating the latch receiving material toward the container side, and the latch receiving material protrudes Is bent in the direction of the container so that one surface of the guide groove is divided, and a linear guide plate is provided so that the guide roller continuously contacts between the divided guide grooves. The guide roller moves away from the guide groove while being restrained by the guide plate in the protruding section of the stopper material, and the roller guide guides the guide roller that is in contact with the guide plate again into the guide groove and inserts it. To pivot The shape of the tool is restricted, and in the absence of the guide groove, the endless chain or endless cord, endless guide, pivot point roller, guide plate, and guide roller rotate the pivotal tool around the pivot axis. The latch receiving material is structured to regulate the posture of the pivotal support so that it rises and protrudes in the container direction, and the latch part delivery movable means moves the guide groove to the endless chain from the upper end of the part where the guide groove is removed. Alternatively, the structure is made to move so as to regulate the latch receiving member that becomes the latching portion by rotating the latching member while feeding it upward by bending it away from the endless cable body until the predetermined distance is reached. A container stacking device characterized by that. The drive means can drive the endless chain or endless cable body in either forward or reverse feed direction, and lifts the last container stacked by the latching member from the conveyor to the container gripped by the gripping member from below. After all the containers are stacked with the latching member, the gripping member control means retracts the gripping member and maintains the retracted position, and then the driving means moves the endless chain or the endless cord body. It is equipped with a control to reversely transfer the stacked containers on the latching member to the conveyor, and the stacked containers are immediately lowered and conveyed without gripping the last container to be stacked by the gripping member. The container stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the container stacking apparatus can be transferred to a conveyor and carried out.

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