JP4943773B2 - Floor lift - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a floor lift that carries in or out a conveyed product with respect to a vertical conveyor using pallets, and particularly relates to a floor lift that dramatically shortens the cycle time of a system.

  As with elevators, vertical conveyors that reciprocate transport goods can use various pallets by using a dedicated pallet, and their applications in distribution centers are expanding. And the floor lift which carries in or out of a load with respect to this vertical conveyance machine has a great influence on the facility capacity, and is very important.

  FIG. 8 shows the state of loading on the first floor (lower floor) and FIG. 9 shows the state of unloading on the other floor (upper floor) for the vertical transfer machine and floor lift (conventional example 1) used conventionally. It shows. The vertical conveyor 20 is configured such that a carriage 23 reciprocates up and down inside a main body frame 24, and the carriage 23 includes an upper conveyor 21 for conveying a loading pallet and a lower conveyor 22 for conveying an empty pallet.

  In order to carry in and carry out the luggage, a floor lift 301 is provided on the first floor (lower floor), and a floor lift 401 is provided on the other floor (upper floor). The floor lift 301 includes a carry-in / carry-out unit 310 and a lift unit 320, and the lift unit 320 is provided with a traverse conveyor 321 that moves up and down. In addition, the loading / unloading unit 310 includes an upper conveyor 311 for carrying a loading pallet and a lower conveyor 312 for carrying an empty pallet. Further, the floor lift 401 on the other floor (upper floor) is configured in the same manner.

  The loading will be described with reference to FIG. When the carriage 23 stops at a predetermined position on the first floor (lower floor), the upper and lower conveyors 21 and 22 are installed at the same level as the upper and lower conveyors 311 and 312 of the floor lift 301, respectively. Has been. In addition, empty pallets 61, 62, and 63 are prepared on the transverse conveyor 321, the lower conveyor 312 and the lower conveyor 22 of the carriage 23 of the floor lift 301, respectively (a). And after putting a conveyed product on the empty pallet 61 in a stand-by position, it shifts to automatic operation by pushing a completion button.

  First, the transverse conveyor 321 of the floor lift 301 rises to a position where it is at the same level as the upper conveyors 311, 21 (a → b: 6.5 seconds). Then, the loading pallet 61 is moved to the upper conveyor 21 of the carriage 23 (b → c) by the transverse conveyor 321 and the upper conveyors 311, 21. Next, the transverse conveyor 321 of the floor lift 301 is lowered to a position that is at the same level as the lower conveyors 312 and 22 (c → d).

  Actually, since the descending of the transverse conveyor 321 starts during the movement of the loading pallet 61, (c) is a diagram virtually shown (b → d: 15 seconds). Then, by the lower conveyors 22 and 312 and the transverse conveyor 321, the empty pallet 63 moves to the lower conveyor 312 and the empty pallet 62 moves to the transverse conveyor 321 (d → e: 11.5 seconds).

Finally, the carriage 23 loaded with the loading pallet 61 starts to rise toward another floor (upper floor), and the transverse conveyor 321 loaded with the empty pallet 62 descends to enter a standby state (e → f: 3 seconds).
As a result, the cycle time of the loading process (a → f) is 36 seconds + loading time.

  Next, unloading will be described with reference to FIG. On the other floor (upper floor), when the carriage 23 stops at a predetermined position, the upper and lower conveyors 21 and 22 are installed at the same level as the upper and lower conveyors 411 and 412 of the floor lift 401, respectively. Has been. Also, empty pallets 64 and 65 are waiting on the lower conveyor 412 and the transverse conveyor 421 of the floor lift 401, respectively (a).

  When the carriage 23 arrives, the traverse conveyor 421 of the floor lift 401 rises to the same level as the lower conveyors 22 and 412 (a → b: 3.5 seconds). Then, the lower pallets 64 and 412, and the transverse conveyor 421 move the empty pallet 64 to the lower conveyor 22 and the empty pallet 65 to the lower conveyor 412 (b → c).

  Next, the transverse conveyor 421 of the floor lift 401 rises to the same level as the upper conveyors 21 and 411 (c → d). Then, the loading pallet 61 is moved to the transverse conveyor 421 by the upper conveyors 21 and 411 and the transverse conveyor 421 (d → e). Actually, ascending the traverse conveyor 421 is performed while the loading pallet 61 is moving, and therefore (c) and (d) are virtually shown (b → e: 26.5 seconds).

Finally, the carriage 23 loaded with the empty pallet 64 starts to descend toward the first floor (lower floor), and the traverse conveyor 421 loaded with the loading pallet 61 descends to enter the unloading operation (e (→ f: 6 seconds).
As described above, the cycle time of the unloading step (a → f) is 36 seconds + unloading time.

  As described above, the floor lift of Conventional Example 1 has a very long cycle time and is difficult to shorten. In order to shorten the cycle time, there is a method of increasing the operation time of each process. However, the capacity of the electric motor is increased, and a transmission is required to avoid high-speed start / stop, resulting in high cost. In addition, there is a technical limit to stable operation at high speed, and it is difficult to dramatically reduce cycle time.

  Therefore, in order to shorten the cycle time, a floor lift in which the carry-in / out section 310 and the lift section 320 of the floor lift 301 described above are integrated and improved is proposed in Patent Document 1 (conventional example 2). ). As shown in FIG. 10 (a), Patent Document 1 discloses a floor lift 501 that loads and unloads packages on one floor (lower floor) and another floor (upper floor) with respect to the vertical transfer machine 30. (601) is described.

  The floor lift 501 includes a pair of left and right upper conveyors 511 and 511 for carrying in and carrying out a loading pallet and a pair of left and right lower conveyors 512 and 512 for carrying in and out an empty pallet (hereinafter, these are simply referred to as an upper stage). It is described as a conveyor 511 and a lower conveyor 512). These function in the same manner as the upper conveyor 311 and the lower conveyor 312 of the first conventional example. That is, the left and right flanges provided on the pallet 71 can be placed on these conveyors to carry in or out.

  Further, the floor lift 501 includes a pair of left and right front lifts 513 and 513 and rear lifts 514 and 514 that support the pallet 71 and move up and down at the front and rear of the upper conveyor 511 and the lower conveyor 512 (these elements) Since the four lifts always move in the same manner, they are collectively called lifts 515). The lift 515 functions similarly to the lift portion 320 of the first conventional example. That is, the left and right flanges provided on the pallet 71 can be supported and moved up and down.

  When raising and lowering the pallet 71, it is necessary to avoid the upper conveyor 511 and the lower conveyor 512 from hitting the flange of the pallet 71. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10B, the pallet 71 has a notch in a part of the flange. Further, the upper conveyor 511 and the lower conveyor 512 have a function that can be bent and deformed as shown in FIG. That is, in the state where the upper conveyor 511 and the lower conveyor 512 are bent and deformed, the front-rear length d is shorter than the length D of the notch portion of the pallet 71, and the pallet 71 can freely move up and down.

  The loading when the floor lift 501 is used will be described with reference to FIG. When the carriage 33 stops at a predetermined position on the first floor (lower floor), the upper and lower conveyors 31 and 32 are set to be at the same level as the upper and lower conveyors 511 and 512 of the floor lift 501. Has been. In addition, the upper conveyor 511 and the lower conveyor 512 of the floor lift 501 are bent and deformed. The lift 515 is located at the lowest level together with the empty pallet 71, and an empty pallet 72 is prepared on the lower conveyor 32 of the carriage 33. And after putting a conveyed product on the empty pallet 71 in a stand-by position, it shifts to automatic operation by pushing a completion button.

  First, after the lift 515 rises higher than the upper conveyor 511 (a → b: 6.5 seconds), the upper conveyor 511 and the lower conveyor 512 return to the normal state from the bent deformation state (b → c: 2 seconds). After the lift 515 is lowered and the loading pallet 71 is placed on the upper conveyor 511 (c → d: 1.5 seconds), the upper pallet 31 of the carriage 33 and the upper conveyor 511 of the floor lift 501 allow the loading pallet 71 moves to the upper conveyor 31 (d → e: 11.5 seconds).

  At this time, the empty pallet 72 is moved to the lower conveyor 512 by the lower conveyor 32 of the carriage 33 and the lower conveyor 512 of the floor lift 501. However, before the empty pallet 72 moves, the lift 515 needs to descend below the lower conveyor 512 (3.5 seconds).

Here, the carriage 33 loaded with the loading pallet 71 starts to rise toward another floor (upper floor). Then, the upper conveyor 511 is in a bent state (e → f: 2 seconds), the lift 515 is lifted to lift the empty pallet 72 onto the lower conveyor 512 (f → g: 2 seconds), and the lower conveyor 512 is further bent. The state becomes (g → h: 2 seconds), and finally the lift 515 descends to the lowest stage (h → a: 3 seconds).
As a result, the cycle time of the loading process (a → a) is 34 seconds + loading time.

  Next, unloading when the floor lift 601 is used will be described with reference to FIG. On the other floor (upper floor), when the carriage 33 stops at a predetermined position, the upper and lower conveyors 31 and 32 are installed at the same level as the upper and lower conveyors 611 and 612 of the floor lift 601. Has been. Further, the upper conveyor 611 and the lower conveyor 612 of the floor lift 601 are bent and deformed. The lift 615 is positioned at the lowest level along with the empty pallet 73 and stands by.

  First, in order to place the empty pallet 73 on the lower conveyor 612 of the floor lift 601, after the lift 615 rises above the lower conveyor 612 (a → b: 3.5 seconds), the upper conveyor 611 and the lower conveyor 612 are bent. Returning from the deformed state to the normal state (b → c: 2 seconds), the lift 615 is further lowered to place the empty pallet 73 on the lower conveyor 612 (c → d: 1.5 seconds).

  Next, the loading pallet 71 moves to the upper conveyor 611 by the upper conveyor 31 of the carriage 33 and the upper conveyor 611 of the floor lift 601 (d → e: 11.5 seconds). At the same time, the empty pallet 73 is moved to the lower conveyor 32 by the lower conveyor 32 of the carriage 33 and the lower conveyor 612 of the floor lift 601.

Here, the carriage 33 on which the empty pallet 73 is placed starts to descend toward the first floor (lower floor). Then, after the lift 615 is raised and the loading pallet 71 is lifted onto the upper conveyor 611 (e → f: 4.5 seconds), the upper conveyor 611 and the lower conveyor 612 are deformed into a bending deformation state (f → g : 2 seconds), the lift 615 descends, lowers the loading pallet to the lowest stage, and starts the unloading operation (g → h: 6 seconds).
As a result, the cycle time of the unloading step (a → h) is 31 seconds + unloading time.

As described above, the floor lifts 501 and 601 of the conventional example 2 are not sufficient although the cycle time is shortened compared with the floor lifts 301 and 401 of the conventional example 1, and the process is rather complicated. ing.
Japanese Patent No. 3510239

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is a floor lift that carries in or out a conveyed product and a pallet with respect to a vertical conveying machine that conveys a conveyed product loaded on the pallet and returns an empty pallet, The object is to provide a floor lift that can shorten the cycle time. Moreover, it is providing the floor lift which can simplify a loading process and an unloading process.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a floor lift according to claim 1 of the present invention is configured to convey a conveyed product loaded on a pallet and return the empty pallet to the vertical conveying machine. And a floor lift for loading or unloading the pallet, comprising a pair of left and right upper conveyors for loading or unloading a loading pallet and a pair of left and right lower conveyors for loading or unloading an empty pallet, and provided on the pallet The left and right flanges placed on these conveyors are carried in or out, and the pair of upper conveyors and the pair of lower conveyors can be raised and lowered, respectively, and the distance between the pair of upper conveyors is collapsible der is, and the upper conveyor which carries the pallet by down to the bottom, to place the pallet on the floor In so that the pallet is adopted means that have a sufficient height from the bottom surface to said flange.

The floor lift according to claim 2 of the present invention employs means in which the pair of upper conveyors and / or the pair of lower conveyors are chain conveyors in the floor lift according to claim 1. The floor lift according to claim 3 of the present invention employs means in which the pair of upper conveyors and / or the pair of lower conveyors are roller conveyors in the floor lift according to claim 1. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the floor lift according to the first aspect employs means in which the pair of upper conveyors and / or the pair of lower conveyors are belt conveyors. Also, the floor lift according to claim 5 of the present invention, in the floor lift according to any one of claims 1 to 4, by the pair of upper conveyor swings, employs the said distance is scaled is doing.

  The floor lift of the present invention can simplify the loading process and the unloading process by adopting the above-described means, and can dramatically shorten the cycle time.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, but these figures do not limit the present invention in any way. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a vertical transfer machine and a floor lift of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the vertical transfer machine and the floor lift shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a floor lift of the present invention. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the case where the upper conveyor is in the contracted position, FIG. 4 is a floor lift according to the present invention, and is a schematic perspective view showing the case where the upper conveyor is in the enlarged position. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between a pallet.

  Here, the vertical transfer machine 10 is provided between one floor (lower floor) and another floor (upper floor), and the floor lift 101 of the present invention is placed on the other floor (lower floor). The case where the floor lift 201 of the present invention is provided on the upper floor) will be described. In the vertical transfer machine 10, the carriage 13 moves up and down in the body frame 14. The carriage 13 includes a pair of left and right upper conveyors 11 and 11 for transporting a loading pallet and a pair of left and right lower conveyors 12 and 12 for transporting an empty pallet. (Hereinafter, these are simply referred to as the upper conveyor 11 and the lower conveyor 12).

  The floor lift 101 of the present invention includes a pair of left and right upper conveyors 111 and 111 that carry in and out a loading pallet, and a pair of left and right lower conveyors 112 and 112 that carry in and out an empty pallet (hereinafter, referred to as “the left lift”) These are simply referred to as the upper conveyor 111 and the lower conveyor 112).

  The upper conveyor 111 can travel in either the front or rear direction by the electric motor 131. As the type of the conveyor, a chain conveyor, a roller conveyor, a belt conveyor, or the like can be adopted. Further, the upper conveyor 111 is attached to an elevating body 121 suspended from a strip 151 stretched in the frame 102, and is attached so as to be movable up and down by driving an electric motor 133.

  The lower conveyor 112 can run in either the front or rear direction by the electric motor 132. As the type of conveyor, a chain conveyor, a roller conveyor, a belt conveyor, or the like can be adopted. Further, the lower conveyor 112 is an elevating body 122 suspended from a strip 152 stretched in the frame 102. It is attached so that it can be moved up and down by driving the electric motor 134. Further, the pair of left and right lower conveyors 112 has an appropriate distance between them to support the left and right flanges of the pallet 51. By moving the pallet 51 back and forth, Can be carried out.

  Furthermore, the pair of left and right upper conveyors 111 are attached so that the distance between them can be increased or decreased. That is, when the mutual distance is in the contracted position, the distance is appropriate for supporting the left and right flanges of the pallet 51, and the pallet 51 is carried in or out by traveling forward and backward with the pallet 51 mounted. Can do. Further, when the distance between the pallets 51 is at the expansion position, the distance between the left and right flanges of the pallet 51 can be increased or lowered by passing through the pallet 51.

  As a mechanism for expanding and contracting, an arm 126 is rotatably provided on the elevating body 121 via a support shaft 125, and the upper conveyor 111 is fixed to the arm 126. The arm 126 can be rotated in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the upper conveyor 111 and is forcibly rotated by the electric motor 135. As a result, the upper conveyor 111 can swing left and right, and the pair of upper conveyors 111 can swing symmetrically. Therefore, the pair of left and right upper conveyors 111 can increase or decrease the distance between them.

  As another mechanism that expands and contracts, the pair of upper conveyors 111 may expand and contract the distance between the left and right by linearly moving horizontally. Even when the upper conveyor 111 is swung, the mechanism is not limited to the case of swinging a vertical surface as in the above-described example, and a mechanism that swings a horizontal surface may be used.

  In the transport system using the floor lift 101 of the present invention, the pallet 51 to be used is not significantly different from that used conventionally, but the levels of the left and right flanges are slightly higher. For this reason, the pallet 51 can be placed on the floor surface by lowering the upper conveyor 111 carrying the pallet 51 to the lowest level.

  The expansion / contraction of the distance between the upper conveyors 111 will be described with reference to FIG. For example, when unloading, the loading pallet 51 is unloaded onto the floor surface by the upper conveyor 111. At this time, the upper conveyor 111 and the lower conveyor 112 are positioned at the lowest level, and the flange of the pallet 51 is positioned above the upper conveyor (a).

  The pallet 51 needs to be placed on the lower conveyor 12 of the carriage 13 by the lower conveyor 112 after carrying the cargo. Therefore, when the distance between the pair of upper conveyors 111 is increased (b) and the upper conveyor 111 is raised in the expanded state, the pallet 51 can be raised. Next, when the lower conveyor 112 is raised, the pallet 51 can be placed on the lower conveyor 112 (c).

  As described above, the floor lift 101 of the present invention is large in that the pair of left and right upper conveyors 111 and the pair of left and right lower conveyors 112 can be raised and lowered, and the distance between the pair of left and right upper conveyors 111 can be increased and decreased. It is a feature. As a result, the floor lift 101 of the present invention can simplify the loading process and the unloading process, and can dramatically shorten the cycle time.

  The loading using the floor lift 101 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. On one floor (lower floor), the upper and lower conveyors 11 and 12 of the carriage 13 are installed so that they can be stopped at the same level as the upper and lower conveyors 111 and 112 of the floor lift 101, respectively. In addition, empty pallets 51 and 52 are prepared on the floor surface of the floor lift 101 and the lower conveyor 12 of the carriage 13, respectively. Therefore, after placing the conveyed product on the empty pallet 51 in the standby position, the automatic operation is shifted to by pressing the completion button.

  First, the upper conveyor 111 rises and places the loading pallet 51 and stops at a predetermined position (a → b: 6.5 seconds). At the same time, the lower conveyor 112 is also raised to a predetermined position. Then, the loading pallet 51 moves to the upper conveyor 11 by the upper conveyors 11 and 111 (b → c: 11.5 seconds). At the same time, the empty pallet 52 is moved to the lower conveyor 112 by the lower conveyors 12 and 112.

  Here, the carriage 13 on which the loading pallet 51 is placed starts to rise toward another floor (upper floor). Then, the upper conveyor 111 has a mutual distance as an enlarged position and (d) descends to the lowest level. At the same time, the lower conveyor 112 also descends to the lowest level (c → d → e: 6 seconds).

Finally, the upper conveyor 111 returns from the enlarged position to the reduced position, and the cycle ends (e → f: 2 seconds). However, since the next loading operation can be started simultaneously with the process of e → f, it is not necessary to include these 2 seconds in the cycle time.
As a result, the cycle time of the loading process (a → f) is 24 seconds + the handling time.

  Next, unloading using the floor lift 201 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. On the other floor (upper floor), the upper and lower conveyors 11 and 12 of the carriage 13 are installed so as to be stopped at the same level as the upper and lower conveyors 211 and 212 of the floor lift 201, respectively. An empty pallet 53 is prepared on the floor surface of the floor lift 201, and the distance between the upper conveyors 211 is an enlarged position.

  First, the upper conveyor 211 rises, passes through the empty pallet 53, and stops at a predetermined position. In the middle of this process, the mutual distance returns from the enlargement position to the reduction position (a → b: 6.5 seconds). At the same time, the lower conveyor 212 also moves up with the empty pallet 53 and stops at a predetermined position.

  Next, the loading pallet 51 is moved to the upper conveyor 211 by the upper conveyors 11 and 211 (b → c: 11.5 seconds). At the same time, the empty pallet 53 moves to the lower conveyor 12 by the lower conveyors 12 and 212.

  Here, the carriage 13 carrying the empty pallet 53 starts to descend toward the first floor (lower floor). At the same time, the upper conveyor 211 and the lower conveyor 212 descend to the lowest level, and the loading pallet 51 is lowered to the floor (c → d: 6 seconds).

Finally, the distance between the upper conveyors 211 becomes the enlarged position, and the cycle ends (d → e: 2 seconds). However, since the unloading operation can be started simultaneously with the process of d → e, it is not necessary to include this 2 seconds in the cycle time.
As a result, the cycle time of the unloading process is 24 seconds + loading time.

  As described above, in loading and unloading using the floor lifts 101 and 201 of the present invention, the cycle time excluding the unloading time is 24 seconds, 36 seconds of the conventional example 1, 31 seconds of the conventional example 2 Compared to, it is dramatically shortened. Further, the loading and unloading steps shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are compared with the steps of the conventional example 1 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 and the steps of the conventional example 2 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. It can be seen that this is greatly simplified.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows an example of a vertical conveying machine and the floor lift of this invention. It is a schematic side view of the vertical conveyance machine and floor lift shown in FIG. It is a schematic perspective view of the floor lift of this invention which shows the case where an upper stage conveyor exists in a reduction position. It is a schematic perspective view of the floor lift of this invention which shows the case where an upper stage conveyor exists in an expansion position. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the floor lift and pallet of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the loading process using the floor lift of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the unloading process using the floor lift of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the loading process at the time of using the prior art example 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the unloading process at the time of using the prior art example 1. FIG. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the prior art example 2. It is explanatory drawing which shows the loading process at the time of using the prior art example 2. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the unloading process at the time of using the prior art example 2. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10, 20, 30 Vertical conveyor 11, 21, 31, 111, 211, 311, 411, 511, 611 Upper conveyor 12, 22, 32, 112, 212, 312, 412, 512, 612 Lower conveyor 13, 23, 33 Carriage 14, 24, 34 Main body frame 51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 71, 72, 73 Pallet 101, 201, 301, 401, 501, 601 Floor lift 102 Frame body 121, 122 Lifting body 125 Support shaft 126 Arm 131, 132, 133, 134, 135 Motor 151, 152 Strip 310, 410 Loading / unloading section 320, 420 Lift section 321, 421 Traverse conveyor 513, 514, 515, 615 Lift

Claims (5)

A floor lift for carrying in and carrying out the conveyed product and the pallet with respect to a vertical conveying machine that conveys the conveyed product loaded on the pallet and returns the empty pallet,
A pair of left and right upper conveyors for loading or unloading a loading pallet and a pair of left and right lower conveyors for loading or unloading an empty pallet,
The left and right flanges provided on the pallet are placed on these conveyors to carry in or out,
Together with the pair of upper conveyors and the pair of lower conveyors are each vertically movable, mutual distance of the pair of upper conveyor Ri can der scaling, and
By lowering the upper conveyor carrying the pallet to the bottom, the pallet so that it can be placed on the floor, the pallet is characterized that you have a sufficient height from the bottom surface to said flange Floor lift.   The floor lift according to claim 1, wherein the pair of upper conveyors and / or the pair of lower conveyors are chain conveyors.   The floor lift according to claim 1, wherein the pair of upper conveyors and / or the pair of lower conveyors are roller conveyors.   The floor lift according to claim 1, wherein the pair of upper conveyors and / or the pair of lower conveyors are belt conveyors. The pair of by the upper conveyor swings, floor lift according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said distance is scaled.

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