JP5391109B2 - Article conveying device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement of an article conveying apparatus including an elevator that accommodates articles stacked in multiple stages and vertically moves up and down.

  As described above, as an article conveying apparatus including an elevator that accommodates articles stacked in multiple stages and vertically moves up and down, the apparatus described in [1] or [2] below is known.

[1] An elevator that accommodates the stacked seedling boxes and vertically moves up and down is provided, and the seedling boxes that are fed from the stock conveyor on the floor are placed in front of the storage space that houses the nursery boxes of the elevator. An article transporting apparatus provided with a belt conveyor for placing and supporting, and feeding a seedling box group from the belt conveyor to the elevator side, and feeding the seedling box group lowered by the elevator to a lower level feeder (see Patent Document 1).
[2] The seedling box group on the extrusion conveyor is transported to the extrusion conveyor consisting of a roller conveyor through the nursery box group supply conveyor and the progressive conveyor that accommodates the seedling box groups stacked on the floor. Is transported to the accommodation space in the elevator by a delivery unit arranged at the upper position of the seedling box group, and the seedling box group lowered by the elevator is sent out to the nursery box supply device in the downstairs (patent Reference 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-127668 (see paragraph number [0002], FIG. 1) JP-A-9-156766 (see paragraph numbers [0029] and [0035], FIG. 11 and FIG. 12)

  As shown in the above [1], in the structure described in Patent Document 1, when the nursery box group is fed from the belt conveyor on the front side of the elevator to the accommodation space in the elevator, only the power of the belt conveyor on the front side is used. The seedling box group could not be fed deeply into the accommodation space, and some auxiliary feeding means or manual feeding operation was necessary.

  As shown in the above [2], in the structure described in Patent Document 2, as a dedicated feeding means for feeding the seedling box group on the extrusion conveyor to the accommodation space in the elevator, the upper part of the seedling box group is positioned above. A delivery unit is provided. Therefore, although the seedling box group can be sent into the interior of the accommodation space, a dedicated device for that purpose is required, and it has been difficult to avoid complicated and large structures. In addition, since the feeding unit acts on the upper part of the seedling box group, it was necessary to prepare the posture of the seedling box group stacked in advance so that the posture of the seedling box group was not disturbed during the feeding operation. .

  The object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for a feeding device having a complicated structure when feeding stacked articles into the interior of the elevator housing space, and to feed the stacked articles after preconditioning the posture of the stacked articles. It is an object of the present invention to provide an article conveying apparatus that does not require any preliminary operation such as operation and that can be used conveniently with a simple structure.

In order to achieve the above object, the article transport apparatus according to the present invention employs the following technical means.
[Solution 1]
The article conveying apparatus of the present invention includes an elevator that accommodates stacked articles and vertically moves up and down, and swings around the vertical axis at the entrance of the accommodation space that accommodates the article of the elevator, An open / close door that can be switched between an open state in which the housing space is opened to the outside and a closed posture that partitions the outside is provided, and the door is housed on the inner surface of the door facing the housing space in the closed posture. A pressing portion is provided that can contact the rear surface side in the pushing direction of the target stacked article and can be pushed into the inner side of the accommodation space.

[Operation and effect of invention according to Solution 1]
According to the configuration of the present invention shown in the above solution 1, the posture can be switched between an open state in which the housing space is opened to the outside and a closed posture in which the housing space is partitioned with respect to the outside by swinging around the vertical axis. Since the opening / closing door is provided at the entrance of the accommodation space and the pressing portion is provided on the inner surface side of the opening / closing door, the door closing operation can be used for the pushing operation of the article.
In other words, in the transport device that transports to the front of the storage space in the elevator, the article cannot be fully pushed to a position that reaches a predetermined location in the storage space in the elevator. Pushing work by human operation is required.
However, if a delivery unit acting on the upper part of the article group as shown in the prior art is provided, the apparatus may be increased in size, or the posture of stacked articles may be disturbed. In addition, the pushing operation by human operation may require a large number of manual operations and may be an inefficient operation.
In comparison with this, in the present invention, the opening / closing door for separating the storage space in the elevator from the outside is a pressing operation tool for the stacked article, and contacts the rear surface side in the pushing direction of the stacked article to be stored. Since the stacking article is pushed, the structure is relatively small and the structure is simple, but there is less risk of posture disturbance during the pushing operation as compared with the structure that acts on the upper part of the stacking article. That's it.

  Therefore, it is possible to push the stacked article into a predetermined position of the accommodation space in the elevator while avoiding the complicated and large size of the structure of the entire apparatus and with less risk of the posture disorder of the stacked article by a simple operation. There are advantages.

[Solution 2]
Another technical means of the present invention taken to solve the above-mentioned problem is that, as described in claim 2, the open / close door swings around a vertical axis positioned on each of the left and right sides of the entrance of the accommodation space. It is characterized in that it is configured in a double-spread type so that it moves.

[Operation and effect of invention according to Solution 2]
As described above, in the article conveying apparatus of the present invention according to the solution means 2, the open / close door is configured in a double door type that swings around the upper and lower shaft cores positioned on the left and right sides of the entrance of the accommodation space. Therefore, compared to the case of an open / close door that swings around the vertical axis located on either the left or right side of the entrance of the storage space, it is easier to push in the stacked articles to be stored with a good balance between left and right It is.
In other words, when the open / close door is an open / close door that swings around the vertical axis located on either the left or right side of the entrance of the accommodation space, the pressing portion formed on the inner surface of the door contacts the stacked article. The point position moves along an arc locus around the vertical axis. For this reason, even if the pressing part on the inner surface side of the door is formed at the central position in the left-right direction of the entrance of the accommodation space, the contact point position of the pressing part with respect to the stacked article is in accordance with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door. The direction of the line of force at the pressing location also changes, and the stacked articles tend to be difficult to press accurately toward the center position of the accommodation space.
Compared with this, in the thing of this invention comprised in the double-spread type so that the opening and closing doors swing around the upper and lower shaft cores positioned on the left and right sides of the entrance of the accommodation space, Oscillates around the left and right vertical axes, and the direction of the force line at the pressing point is also the direction in which the component forces in the left and right lateral directions cancel each other, and the acting force that causes the stacked articles to move laterally Therefore, there is an advantage that it is easy to press toward the central portion of the housing space with a good left / right balance.

[Solution 3]
According to another technical means of the present invention taken to solve the above-mentioned problem, as described in claim 3, the pressing part on the inner surface side of the door has an article that moves to the accommodation space side in an open state of the door. Thus, there is a feature in that a guide surface that restricts lateral movement in the left-right direction at the entrance of the accommodation space is formed.

[Operation and effect of invention according to Solution 3]
As described above, in the article conveying device of the present invention according to the solving means 3, the guide surface for restricting the lateral movement in the left-right direction at the entrance portion of the accommodation space in the open state of the opening / closing door is provided on the pressing portion on the door inner surface side. The lateral movement of the article which is formed and moves to the accommodation space side is regulated.
Therefore, when the stacked article conveyed to a position before the accommodation space in the elevator is laterally moved in the left-right direction during the conveyance, the lateral movement can be restricted by the guide surface. Since the stacked article can be subjected to a pressing action by the pressing portion in a state where the lateral movement is restricted and in a predetermined position, there is an advantage that the pushing into the accommodation space can be easily performed as expected.

It is the whole nursery box conveyance apparatus side view. It is the whole nursery box conveyance device front view. It is a side view of the upper floor side of a seedling box transport device. It is a side view of the upper floor side of a seedling box transport device. It is a side view of the upper floor side of a seedling box transport device. It is the VI-VI sectional view taken on the line in FIG. 3 which shows the upper floor side of a seedling box conveying apparatus. It is the VII-VII sectional view taken on the line in FIG. 5 which shows the upper floor side of a seedling box conveying apparatus. It is the VIII-VIII sectional view taken on the line in FIG. 5 which shows the upper floor side of a seedling box conveying apparatus. It is the IX-IX sectional view taken on the line in FIG. 5 which shows the upper floor side of a seedling box conveying apparatus. It is the XX sectional view taken on the line in FIG. 5 which shows the upper floor side of a seedling box conveyance apparatus. It is explanatory drawing in the front view which shows the operation state in the descent | fall position of a mounting support apparatus, (a) is the process in which a locking body descend | falls with the mounting attitude | position which supported the lowermost seedling box of the seedling box group. (B) shows the process of descending and touching and raising the nursery box downstairs, and (c) shows the retracted posture deviated from the lowest seedling box of the seedling box group. It is explanatory drawing in the front view which shows the action | operation state in the raise position of a mounting support apparatus, (a) shows the process which a latching body raises in the retracted position which released | released support of the seedling box group, (b) Indicates a state in which a predetermined upper floor position has been reached and the locking body has been restored to the mounting position. It is a front view of the opening-and-closing door part in the upper floor side of a seedling box conveyance apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the accommodation process to the accommodation space of the seedling box group in the upper floor side of a seedling box conveyance apparatus, (a) shows the state which a seedling box group is located on a conveyance conveyor, (b) is a seedling box The state immediately before the end of the transfer operation by the transfer conveyor with respect to the group is shown, (c) shows the state immediately after the end of the transfer operation by the transfer conveyor, and (d) shows the state where the seedling box group is stored in the storage space. . It is a side view of the downstairs side of a seedling box conveying apparatus. It is a front view of the downstairs side of the seedling box transport device. It is the XVII-XVII sectional view taken on the line in FIG. 16 which shows the downstairs side of a seedling box conveying apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the action | operation state of the linkage drive mechanism in the rear view in a fall supply apparatus, A lower nail | claw locks the seedling box group and shows the state from which the upper nail removed from the seedling box group. It is explanatory drawing which shows the action | operation state of the linkage drive mechanism in the rear view in a fall supply apparatus, and shows the state from which the upper nail | claw locked the nursery box group and the lower nail removed from the nursery box group. It is a front view which shows the operation | movement state of a fall supply apparatus, (a) shows the state which the lower nail locked the nursery box group, and the upper nail removed from the nursery box group, (b), the upper nail showed the nursery box The group is locked, and the state where the lower nail is detached from the nursery box group is shown. It is an action explanatory view in side view which shows the operation state of a fall supply device, (a) shows the state where the lower nail locked the nursery box group, and the upper nail removed from the nursery box group, (b) The upper nail locks the nursery box group and the lower nail is detached from the nursery box group.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

[Overall configuration of article transport device]
As an example of the article conveying apparatus, a seedling box conveying apparatus 1 that descends and conveys a seedling box group 2A in which seedling boxes 20 that are examples of articles are stacked is shown.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the seedling box transfer device 1 includes a seeding plant 1A provided on the first floor of a building and a seedling box supply unit 2 for a seeding plant provided on the second floor. It has a role as an elevator for transporting seedling boxes. That is, between the seedling box supply unit 2 on the second floor and the seeding plant 1A on the first floor, the seedling box 20 as an article to be conveyed is lowered and conveyed from the seedling box supply unit 2 on the upper floor to the seeding plant 1A side on the lower floor. It is configured as follows.

The sowing plant 1A is provided with a floor soil supply device (not shown), a irrigation device (not shown), a seeding device (not shown), a soil covering device (not shown), and the like above the sowing conveyor 1B that conveys the seedling box 20. Configured.
The seedling box supply unit 2 includes a transport conveyor 21, and a seedling box group 2A composed of seedling boxes 20 stacked in multiple stages (for example, 30 boxes) is placed on the transport conveyor 21 at a large number of locations. Are formed so as to be conveyed toward the nursery box conveying apparatus 1.

The seedling box transport device 1 is a lift that can mount a seedling box group 2A as an elevator 3 inside a structural frame 10 erected from a seeding plant 1A on the first floor to a seedling box supply unit 2 on the second floor. The frame 30 is configured to move up and down.
And in this seedling box conveyance apparatus 1, from the seedling box supply part 2 side which sends the seedling box group 2A to the said elevator 3, the accommodation space S inside the elevator 3 is divided from the external space on the upstream side in the transport direction of the seedling box 20 A door device 4 is provided.
Further, the seedling box transport device 1 receives the seedling box group 2A in the lowered elevating frame 30 on the lower side of the structural frame body 10, and receives the seedlings at the lowest stage from the seedling box group 2A in a stacked state. A drop supply device 5 for taking out the boxes 20 one by one and delivering them to the seeding conveyor 1B side is provided.

〔elevator〕
The elevator 3 includes a lifting frame 30 that moves up and down inside a structural frame 10 that is erected from a seeding plant 1A on the first floor to a seedling box supply unit 2 on the second floor. The mechanism 31 is configured to move up and down.

The chain drive mechanism 31 is engaged with an electric motor 32 fixed to the upper part of the structural frame 10 and an output sprocket 32 a of the electric motor 32, and one end side is a lifting frame 30 and the other end side is a balance weight 34. The drive chain 33 and the balance weight 34 connected to each other are provided, and the elevating frame 30 and the balance weight 34 are moved up and down against each other by forward and reverse rotation of the electric motor 32.
The balance weight 34 has a predetermined weight that is balanced with the sum of the weight of the lifting frame 30 and the articles mounted in the accommodation space S. In this case, the weight of the lifting frame 30 on which the 30-stage seedling boxes 20 are loaded. And the weight is set to balance.

  The elevating frame 30 is located on the opposite side of the housing space S from the side facing the door device 4 with respect to the upper and lower guide rails 12 provided on the structural frame 10 via guide rollers 36a and 36b. Thus, it is configured to move up and down in a state in which horizontal movement of the front, rear, left and right is restricted.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 8, there is provided a rectangular tube-shaped guide frame 11 for slidingly guiding a balance weight 34 suspended from the drive chain 30 in the vertical direction of the structural frame 10. A flat plate member 11A is welded to the guide frame 11, and a portion of the flat plate member 11A protruding from the guide frame 11 to the left and right sides is used as the guide rail 12.

On the lifting frame 30 side, a guide bracket 35 having an L-shaped section that is vertically long is welded and fixed at a position sandwiching the guide rail 12 from both the left and right sides. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the guide bracket 35 includes a pair of front and rear guide rollers 36 a and 36 a that rotate around a horizontal axis P <b> 1 that faces left and right so as to sandwich the guide rail 12 from both front and rear sides. The guide rail 12 is provided on both the left and right sides, and at two upper and lower positions with a distance therebetween.
Further, the guide bracket 35 is located at a position different from the position where the guide rollers 36a, 36a rotating around the horizontal axis P1 facing left and right are disposed in the vertical direction, as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 8, guide rollers 36b and 36b that rotate about the horizontal axis P2 facing in the front-rear direction are provided at two positions in the upper and lower sides so as to be opposed to the left and right sides of the guide rail 12 and sandwiched from both the left and right sides. is there.

In this way, the front and rear movement of the elevating frame 30 is restricted by sandwiching the guide rail 12 from both front and rear sides by a pair of front and rear guide rollers 36a and 36a that rotate about the horizontal axis P1 that faces left and right. The guide roller 36b, 36b rotating around the core P2 is configured to restrict the movement of the elevating frame 30 in the left-right direction by sandwiching the guide rail 12 from both the left and right sides.
The guide rollers 36a and 36b are provided at two positions with a vertical distance therebetween, so that the guide rollers 36a and 36b can be moved up and down while restricting the inclination of the lifting frame 30 with respect to the vertical line.

[Containment space]
The accommodation space S in the lifting frame 30 is configured as follows.
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 10, on the entrance side near the location where the door device 4 is present in the accommodation space S, there are lateral restriction plates 30a that are set slightly wider than the lateral width of the seedling box group 2A. It attaches to the raising / lowering frame 30, and the horizontal direction position of the seedling box group 2A is regulated in a state sandwiched from the left and right by the lateral regulating plate 30a.

  On the inner back side of the accommodation space S, the rear side regulation plate 13 formed in an L-shaped cross section is provided on the lifting frame 30 so as to regulate both the left and right sides of the seedling box group 2A and the inner rear end side. The frame is fixed to the structural frame 10 so as to avoid the position in contact with the frame. That is, the back side regulation plate 13 regulates the position of the seedling box group 2A accommodated in the accommodation space S, but is not fixed to the elevating frame 30, and the elevating frame 30 and its elevating frame are not fixed. It is comprised so that the relative movement of the seedling box group 2A in 30 may be permitted.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the front end edge S <b> 1 side that is the entrance side of the accommodation space S is provided so as to be flush with the front end edge 30 b of the elevating frame 30 or slightly forward. This is because the pushing action of the seedling box group 2A by the door device 4 to be described later works effectively on the edge of the entrance side of the seedling box group 2A located at the front edge S1 of the accommodation space S. FIG. It is for the effect | action which regulates the front side position of the seedling box group 2A by the front regulation board 14 shown thru | or FIG. 5 work effectively.
That is, the front regulating plate 14 is made of a flat plate material, and as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, no function is achieved when the lifting frame 30 is positioned corresponding to the seedling box supply unit 2 on the second floor. However, when the elevating frame 30 is lowered, it acts so as to be opposed to the front edge S1 of the accommodation space S and to restrict the forward movement of the raising seedling box group 2A that is moving downward. To do.

[Placement support device]
The lower surface side of the accommodation space S in the elevating frame 30 is configured as follows.
The elevating frame 30 is configured such that the lower side is open and the seedling box group 2A can be taken out from below, but as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 and FIGS. A placement support device 37 is provided so as to support the seedling box group 2 </ b> A in the accommodation space S from below under the frame 30.
The mounting support device 37 receives and supports the bottom surface side of the seedling box group 2A accommodated in the accommodation space S on both the left and right sides, and the latching body 38 for the seedling box group 2A. An urging spring 39 that elastically urges each of the placing posture for placing and supporting and the retracted posture with the placement support released is configured.

  The locking body 38 is formed integrally with a horizontal shaft 38b pivotally supported at the lower left and right sides of the elevating frame 30 around the horizontal axis P3 facing forward and backward, and around the horizontal axis P3. It is configured to be swingable up and down. By changing the posture by swinging up and down around the horizontal axis P3, the placement surface 38a is placed horizontally so that the seedling box group 2A in the accommodation space S is placed and supported, and the placement surface 38a accommodates it. The posture can be changed to the retracted posture released from the lower portion of the space S and released from the mounting support.

The posture change of the locking body 38 is performed as shown in FIGS.
The horizontal shaft 38b integrated with the locking body 38 is provided with a crank-shaped arm portion 38c on one end side thereof, and is integrally equipped with a spring receiving piece 38d to which one end side of the biasing spring 39 is connected on the other end side. .
In a state where the lifting frame 30 is at the highest position and is positioned corresponding to the seedling box supply unit 2, the arm portion 38c contacts the contact pin 15 fixed to the structure frame 10 side. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 12B, the mounting surface 38a of the locking body 38 is in a horizontal posture, and is in a mounting posture capable of mounting and supporting the seedling box group 2A.
When the seedling box group 2A is carried into the storage space S in this placement posture, the seedling box group 2A is stored in the storage space S in the lifting frame 30 as shown in FIG.

When the elevating frame 30 is lowered from the mounting posture, until the inclined lower edge 38e of the locking body 38 contacts the seedling box 20 located below the floor, as shown in FIG. The placement surface 38a maintains a horizontal placement posture. As shown in FIG. 11B, when the inclined lower edge 38e of the locking body 38 comes into contact with the seedling box 20 located downstairs, the locking body 38 is pushed up by the seedling box 20 so that the locking body 38 is aligned in the horizontal axis. It swings upward around P3, and the posture is changed to the retracted posture deviated from the lower portion of the accommodation space S as shown in FIGS. 11 (c) and 12 (a).
In this retracted position, the connecting point 39a of the urging spring 39 connected to the spring receiving piece 38d fixed to the horizontal shaft 38b is positioned on the left side of the horizontal axis P3 that becomes a dead point in FIG. doing. Therefore, the locking body 38 is urged to rotate clockwise around the horizontal axis P <b> 3 by the elastic urging action of the urging spring 39 toward the tension side, and comes into contact with a part of the elevating frame 30 to be retracted. Maintained. As a result, when the lifting frame 30 is raised, the locking body 38 is raised without being caught by the lowered seedling box group 2A while maintaining its retracted posture.

Then, when the elevating frame 30 is raised to the upper limit position and is positioned corresponding to the seedling box supply unit 2 on the upper floor, as shown in FIG. The arm portion 38c is brought into contact with the contact pin 15 fixed to the structural frame body 10 and pushed back counterclockwise around the horizontal axis P3 to place the locking body 38 so that the mounting surface 38a is horizontal. Change posture to be posture.
In this state, as shown in FIG. 12B, the connecting point 39a of the urging spring 39 connected to the spring receiving piece 38d fixed to the horizontal shaft 38b is on the right side of the horizontal axis P3 serving as a dead point. Transition. In this state, the urging force of the urging spring 39 acts in a direction to urge the locking body 38 to rotate counterclockwise, and a part of the locking body 38 on the side of the mounting surface 38a is a lifting frame. The posture is regulated by coming into contact with the lower contact portion 30c.

  In this seedling box transport device 1, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 and 9, the stopper pin 16 is attached to the structure frame 10 side, the locking hole 30d is provided on the lift frame 30 side, and the lift frame 30 is An elongate drive device 17 is provided for engaging and disengaging the stopper pin 16 with respect to the locking hole 30d when it is raised to the upper limit position and is positioned corresponding to the nursery box supply unit 2 on the upper floor. Yes. The engagement of the stopper pin 16 and the locking hole 30d is for preventing the lifting operation of the lifting frame 30 due to an erroneous operation, and for releasing the restraining operation. A structure having an appropriate structure such as a pneumatic cylinder or a solenoid moved by an electromagnetic solenoid may be used.

(Door device)
The structural frame 10 corresponding to the entrance side of the accommodation space S inside the elevator 3 is provided with a door device 4 for partitioning the accommodation space S from an upstream external space in the conveying direction of the seedling box group 2A. It is provided.
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 10 and FIG. 13, the door device 4 includes a pair of left and right open / close doors 40 that can rotate around the vertical axis y, and the open / close door 40 around the vertical axis y. It is comprised with the opening-and-closing drive device 41 which opens and closes.

The opening / closing drive device 41 includes a hydraulic cylinder 42 in which a cylindrical portion 42 a is fixed near the ceiling portion of the structural frame 10, and a rod portion 42 b extends in a telescopic manner toward the entrance side of the accommodation space S, and the hydraulic cylinder 42. Arm member 43 fixed to the front end portion of the rod portion 42b, and link members 44 that connect the left and right end portions of the arm member 43 and the inner surface sides of the left and right open / close doors 40, respectively. Yes.
The operation of the hydraulic cylinder 42 is configured to expand and contract by an operation of an operation switch (not shown) that can be operated artificially.

On the entrance side of the accommodation space S, the opening / closing door 40 swings around the vertical axis y on the left and right sides of the structural frame 10 near the left and right ends of the accommodation space S. It is pivoted freely and is configured as a double-spread type.
On each inner surface side (accommodating space S side) of the left and right open / close doors 40, there are provided pressing portions 45 for pushing in the stacked seedling box groups 2A that are articles accommodated in the accommodating space S. .

  As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 10, the pressing portion 45 has a vertical length over almost the entire space of the accommodation space S in the vertical direction, and in the plan view, the side on which the vertical axis y is present. Further, it is formed so as to bulge toward the inner surface of the door toward the opposite end side farther from the vertical axis y.

As shown in FIG.4 and FIG.6, when the conveyance conveyor 21 in the seedling box supply part 2 conveys the seedling box group 2A to the accommodation space S side, a part of the pressing part 45 is provided on the side of the conveyance conveyor 21. A guide surface 45a that restricts movement in the left-right direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the seedling box group 2A is formed in a region that is deviated closer to the accommodation space S side from the range in which the side guide 23 is guided so as to restrict lateral movement. It is.
As shown in FIG. 6, the guide surface 45a extends slightly outward toward the side guide 23 in the direction substantially along the imaginary line connecting the vertical axis y and the side guide 23, and is on the vertical axis y side. It is configured to regulate the lateral movement of the seedling box group 2 </ b> A transported by the transport conveyor 21 at a position that is inclined so as to narrow.

The pressing portion 45 is provided with a free end side guide surface 45b at a location farther from the vertical axis y than the guide surface 45a, and a guide support plate at the end of the guide surface 45a closer to the vertical axis y. 45c is provided.
The free end side guide surface 45b spreads outward on the outside of the transport path on the transport conveyor 21 in the guiding posture during transport of the seedling box group 2A by the transport conveyor 21 shown in FIG. 6, and the seedling box group shown in FIG. In the pushing posture of the 2A into the accommodation space S, the posture is parallel to the front edge S1 of the accommodation space S.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the guide support plate 45 c is a position where the guide surface 45 a of the pressing portion 45 avoids interference with the link member 44 of the opening / closing drive device 41 during the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door 40. It is provided so that it may be formed.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 10, the pressing portion 45 is accommodated from a position a where the pushing action by the pushing roller 22 of the carrying conveyor 21 does not reach and the carrying force with respect to the seedling box group 2 </ b> A disappears. In the range L1 reaching the entrance side end position b of the space S, the pushing action force toward the accommodation space S side is applied to the seedling box group 2A.
In other words, the opening / closing door 40 defines an operating range by the opening / closing drive device 41 so as to operate from a state in which the lateral displacement of the seedling box group 2A shown in FIG. 6 is restricted to a closed posture shown in FIG. If the pressing part 45 does not exist, as shown in FIG. 10, the door 40 is only in the range L2 from the position a where the conveying force to the seedling box group 2A disappears to the position c where the door 40 is closed. The movement in the closing direction cannot be used for transporting the seedling box group 2A.
Compared with this, in the thing of this invention, since the opening / closing door 40 was equipped with the bulging amount L3 of the press part 45 shown in FIG. 10, the conveyance force by the said conveyance conveyor 21 lose | disappears with respect to the seedling box group 2A. The movement in the closing direction by the opening / closing door 40 can be applied as a pushing action force toward the accommodation space S in the entire range L1 from the position a to the entrance side end position b of the accommodation space S.

The posture of the seedling box group 2A and the operation of the related apparatus at the location where the seedling box group 2A is transferred from the conveyor 21 to the accommodation space S in the seedling box supply unit 2 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 14 (a), a termination roller 24 positioned at the end of the transport conveyor 21 is provided on the front side of the front frame member 10a positioned at the foremost portion of the structural frame 10. An introduction guide roller 18 located on the entrance side of the accommodation space S is provided on the rear side of the front end side frame member 10a.
Here, when the relative height relationship of each part is shown in FIG. 14, the height h1 of the introduction guide roller 18 is the highest, and then the height h2 of the transfer surface of the transfer conveyor 21 is the highest, and then The position h is set so that the height h3 of the end roller 24 is high and the height h4 of the mounting surface 38a of the locking body 38 of the mounting support device 37 is the lowest. In addition, since the upper surface of the front end side frame member 10a of the structural frame body 10 is located between the introduction guide roller 18 and the terminal roller 24 and is lower than any of them, there is a possibility of contacting the bottom surface of the seedling box group 2A. There is almost no.

When the transport conveyor 21 transports the seedling box group 2A from the state shown in FIG. 14 (a) to the accommodation space S side (right side in the figure), the transport by the transport conveyor 21 as shown in FIG. 14 (b). Immediately before the power disappears, the bottom surface of the seedling box group 2A is in a state where it rides on the introduction guide roller 18 and the terminal roller 24.
In this state, the bottom surface of the seedling box group 2A rides on the introduction guide roller 18 whose front side in the conveying direction is high, and the rear side is positioned on the low end roller 24, and the center of gravity of the seedling box group 2A is the axis of the introduction guide roller 18 Since it does not exceed the passing vertical line y1, it is in a state where it is subjected to the conveying action by the push-in roller 22 in a rearward tilted state where the front side is high and the rear side is low.
After that, when the pushing action by the pushing roller 22 of the conveyor 21 disappears, as shown in FIG. 14C, the bottom surface of the seedling box group 2A is a mounting surface 38a of the locking body 38 whose front side in the conveying direction is low. , The rear side is positioned on the high introduction guide roller 18, the front side is low and the rear side is high, and the center of gravity of the seedling box group 2 A exceeds the vertical line y 1 passing through the axis of the introduction guide roller 18. ing.

That is, in the final stage of the range where the pushing action by the pushing roller 22 of the conveyor 21 is reached, the pushing force is applied in the process of shifting the center of gravity of the seedling box group 2A from the front side of the introduction guide roller 18 to the rear side. Is working.
Therefore, when the pushing action force disappears in a state where the bottom surface of the seedling box group 2A subjected to the pushing action is in contact with the placement surface 38a of the locking body 38 having a large frictional resistance, the pushing action force disappears. Although the movement of the seedling box group 2A stops at the position, if the bottom surface of the seedling box group 2A is before the placement surface 38a of the locking body 38 having a large frictional resistance, the pushing action force disappears. The distance of the moving inertia of the seedling box group 2A can be moved farther than the range in which the pushing action reaches.
As described above, the range where the pushing action force of the transport conveyor 21 reaches is as close as possible to the accommodation space S, but at a place where the pushing action force does not reach as much as possible, the moving inertia of the seedling box group 2A itself is effectively utilized to accommodate more. It is devised to approach the space S.

  Thereafter, when the opening / closing drive device 41 of the door device 4 is activated and the opening / closing door 40 is operated to the closing side, as shown in FIG. 14 (d), the whole seedling box group 2A pushed by the pressing portion 45 is obtained. Is pushed into the accommodation space S beyond the introduction guide roller 18 and is positioned on the mounting surface 38 a of the locking body 38.

[Fall supply device]
After receiving the seedling box group 2A in the stacked state in the lowered lifting frame 30, the seedling box transporting apparatus 1 takes out the bottom seedling box 20 from the seedling box group 2A in the stacked state one by one. A drop supply device 5 is provided.
As shown in FIGS. 15 to 20, this drop supply device 5 is mounted on the lower mounting frame 19 on the lower side of the structural frame body 10, and moves the lowermost seedling box 20 of the stacked seedling box group 2 </ b> A to the left and right. A lower claw 50 that is placed and supported on both sides and an upper claw 51 that supports the seedling box 20 located on the second stage from the bottom are provided on both the left and right sides, and the lower claw 50 and the upper claw 51 are moved together. An interval expansion mechanism 7 configured to be switchable between a separation posture that widens the gap between the linkage drive mechanism 6 and the upper nursery box 20 and the lower nursery box 20 and a separation release posture that releases the separation posture. It is prepared for.

As shown in FIGS. 15 to 18A and 18B, the lower claw 50 is pivotally attached to the lower mounting frame 19 via a lower shaft 52 that faces in the front-rear direction. It is configured to be swingable around the axis x1.
As shown in FIG. 15 to FIG. 18A, the lower claw 50 includes a plate-like locking portion 50a for supporting the bottom surface of the lowermost seedling raising box 20 and supporting both ends of the plate-like locking portion 50a. An arm flange portion 50b connected to the lower shaft 52, and an operation piece 50c extended to the rear side so as to operate the interval extending mechanism 7 described later on the rear side of the plate-like locking portion 50a. .

As shown in FIGS. 17, 18 </ b> A, and 18 </ b> B, the lower claw 50 is composed of a pair of parts positioned on the left and right sides of the accommodation space S that accommodates the seedling box group 2 </ b> A. Lower interlocking links 54 a and 54 b are integrally attached to the right lower shaft 52 to which the claw 50 is attached and the left lower shaft 52 to which the left lower claw 50 is attached, respectively.
As shown in FIGS. 17, 18 </ b> A, and 18 </ b> B, each of the lower interlocking links 54 a and 54 b is formed in a U-shaped cross-section with the upper surface open, and is attached to the lower interlocking link 54 a attached to the lower shaft 52 on the right side. The lower interlocking link 54b attached to the lower shaft 52 on the left side is provided with a connecting pin 54d, and a flexible connecting structure with the pin 54d and the long hole 54c. Therefore, the left and right lower claws 50 are allowed to swing.
A first roller 54e is provided on the outer periphery of the pin 54d, and the first roller 54e is configured to serve as a cam follower that comes into contact with a large-diameter cam 61 of the linkage drive mechanism 6 described later. It is.

As shown in FIGS. 15 to 18A and 18B, the upper claw 51 is pivotally attached to the lower mounting frame 19 via an upper shaft 53 facing forward and backward, and is an upper portion that is an axis of the upper shaft 53. It is configured to be swingable around the axis x2.
As shown in FIGS. 15 to 18, the upper claw 51 includes a plate-like locking portion 51 a that supports the seedling box 20 located on the second stage from the bottom on both the left and right sides, and the plate-like locking portion 51 a. A connecting body 51b that is connected to the upper shaft 53 and an interval expanding mechanism 7 to be described later are provided.

As shown in FIGS. 17, 18 </ b> A, and 18 </ b> B, the upper claw 51 is composed of a pair of ones positioned on the left and right sides of the accommodation space S that accommodates the seedling box group 2 </ b> A. Upper interlocking links 55a and 55b are integrally attached to the right upper shaft 53 to which the claw 51 is attached and the left upper shaft 53 to which the left upper claw 51 is attached, respectively.
As shown in FIGS. 17, 18 </ b> A, and 18 </ b> B, each of the upper interlocking links 55 a and 55 b is formed in a U-shaped cross section with the upper surface open, and is connected to the upper interlocking link 55 a attached to the upper shaft 53 on the right side. The upper interlocking link 55b having the connecting long hole 55c attached to the left upper shaft 53 is equipped with a connecting pin 55d, and a flexible connecting structure by the pin 55d and the long hole 55c. Therefore, the left and right upper claws 51 are allowed to swing.
A second roller 55e is provided on the outer periphery of the pin 55d, and the second roller 55e is configured to serve as a cam follower that comes into contact with a small-diameter cam 62 of the linkage drive mechanism 6 described later. is there.

The linkage drive mechanism 6 for linking the lower claw 50 and the upper claw 51 is configured as follows.
As shown in FIGS. 15 to 18A and 18B, the linkage drive mechanism 6 includes an electric motor 60 mounted on the lower mounting frame 19 as a power source, and is integrally mounted on an output shaft 60a from the electric motor 60. A large-diameter cam 61 and a small-diameter cam 62 are provided.
As cam followers corresponding to each of the large-diameter cam 61 and the small-diameter cam 62, a first roller 54e on the lower interlocking link 54a, 54b side and a second roller 55e on the upper interlocking link 55a, 55b side are provided. Further, the lower interlocking links 54a, 54b are pushed upward toward the large-diameter cam 61 so that the first roller 54e on the lower interlocking links 54a, 54b is pressed and biased, and the tension spring 63 that biases the lower interlocking links 54a, 54b upward. A tension spring 64 is provided to pull up and bias the upper interlocking links 55a and 55b to the upward side so as to press and bias the second roller 55e on the interlocking links 55a and 55b side toward the large-diameter cam 61.

The large-diameter cam 61 and the small-diameter cam 62 provided on the output shaft 60a are mounted so that the long-diameter direction of each cam is directed in the opposite direction across the axis x3 of the output shaft 60a. When the long diameter portion of the (large diameter cam 61 or small diameter cam 62) is downward, the other cam (small diameter cam 62 or large diameter cam 61) is mounted 180 degrees out of phase so that it is upward.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18A, in the state where the long diameter portion of the small diameter cam 62 faces downward and the long diameter portion of the large diameter cam 61 faces upward, the second roller 55e on the upper interlocking links 55a and 55b side is pushed downward. Thus, the upper claw 51 is positioned in the non-operating posture, and the first roller 54e on the lower interlocking link 54a, 54b side is pulled up by the tension spring 63 so as to come into contact with the short diameter portion of the large diameter cam 61, The nail | claw 50 becomes an action posture. This state is a standby state in which the upper nail 51 is in a non-acting posture and the lower nail 50 places and supports the lowermost seedling growing box 20.

  As shown in FIG. 18B, in a state in which the long diameter portion of the large diameter cam 61 faces downward and the long diameter portion of the small diameter cam 62 faces upward, the first roller 54e on the lower interlocking link 54a, 54b side is pushed downward, The lower pawl 50 is positioned in the non-acting posture, and the second roller 55e on the upper interlocking links 55a and 55b side is pulled up by the tension spring 64 so as to contact the short diameter portion of the small diameter cam 62, and the upper pawl 51 is It becomes an action posture. This state is a supply state in which the upper nursery box 20 is placed and supported by the upper claws 51 and the placing support of the lower nursery box 20 by the lower claws 50 is released.

[Interval expansion mechanism]
The fall supply device 5 configured as described above can be switched between a separation posture that widens the space between the upper nursery box 20 and the lower nursery box 20 and a separation release posture that releases the separation posture. A configured interval expansion mechanism 7 is provided.
As shown in FIGS. 15 to 20, the gap extending mechanism 7 is provided in a state of being integrated with the upper claw 51.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, a flat plate-like separation operating body 70 is positioned below the plate-like engaging portion 51 a of the upper claw 51, and an operation integrated with the separation operating body 70 is performed. The shaft 71 is inserted into and supported by boss portions 51 c provided on both sides of the connecting body 51 b with the upper shaft 53 of the upper claw 51.
An intermediate portion of the bell crank 72 is fixed to a portion of the operation shaft 71 exposed to the side opposite to the separation operation body 70, and the bell cranks 72 mounted on the operation shafts 71 on both sides are close to each other. A tension spring 74 is connected to the end portion on the side to draw the end portions in directions close to each other.
On the other end side of the bell crank 72, a pressure receiving roller 73 that is rotatable around an axis z2 parallel to the axis z1 of the operation shaft 71 is mounted, and an operation for pushing up the operation piece 50c of the lower claw 50 is performed. Accordingly, the operation shaft 71 is rotated.

The interval extending mechanism 7 configured as described above operates as shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B to 20.
That is, as shown in FIG. 18A, the long-diameter portion of the small-diameter cam 62 faces downward, the long-diameter portion of the large-diameter cam 61 faces upward, the upper claw 51 is positioned in the non-operating posture, and the lower claw 50 is in the working posture. In the positioned state, as shown in FIGS. 19A and 20A, the bottom side of the seedling box group 2A is supported by the lower claws 50, and the load of the seedling box group 2A is applied to the upper claws 51. It is not working.
In this state, as shown in FIG. 20 (a), the gap extending mechanism 7 is configured such that the ends of the bell cranks 72 on both sides are attracted by the tension springs 74, and the right operating shaft among the operating shafts 71. 71 is urged in the direction of rotating clockwise, and the left operating shaft 71 is urged in the direction of rotating counterclockwise.
Accordingly, the right separating operation body 70 is biased in a clockwise rotation direction and is fixed in a position pressed against the lower surface side of the plate-like locking portion 51a, and the left separating operation body 70 is counterclockwise. The position is fixed in a posture that is biased in the direction of rotating around and pressed against the lower surface side of the plate-like locking portion 51a.

Then, as shown in FIG. 18B, the long diameter portion of the small diameter cam 62 faces upward, the long diameter portion of the large diameter cam 61 faces downward, the upper claw 51 is located in the working posture, and the lower claw 50 is placed in the non-working posture. In the positioned state, as shown in FIG. 19 (b) and FIG. 20 (b), the seedling box 20 positioned in the second stage from the bottom by the upper claw 51 is the seedling box group 2A on the upper side. The load of the seedling box group 2A is not acting on the lower nail 50.
In this state, as shown in FIGS. 19 (b) and 20 (b), the gap extending mechanism 7 contacts the operation piece 50c of the lower claw 50 in which the pressure receiving roller 73 is driven to the non-acting posture side. Therefore, the right operation shaft 71 rotates counterclockwise against the urging force of the tension spring 74, and the left operation shaft 71 rotates clockwise.
Along with this, the right separation operation body 70 rotates counterclockwise, and the left separation operation body 70 rotates clockwise, so that the lowermost seedling box 20 is supported by the plate-like locking portion 51a. It pushes down to the lower side away from the seedling box 20 located at the second stage from the bottom, and acts to forcibly increase the distance from the seedling box 20 located at the second stage from the bottom.

At this time, the left and right separation operation bodies 70 are moved in a direction along one surface of the facing nursery box group 2A so that the movement at the time of expanding the space moves in a perspective direction with respect to the seedling box group 2A, for example. Rather than being rotated around the horizontal axis, it is configured to rotate around the axis z1 of the operating shaft 71 having a horizontal axis in a direction perpendicular to one surface of the facing nursery box group 2A. ing.
Accordingly, the operation when the interval of the separation operation body 70 is expanded does not change in a direction farther away from the seedling box group 2A, and the engagement depth d of the separation operation body 70 with the seedling box 20 during the operation is d. (See FIG. 19b) remains constant.
Accordingly, the separation operation body 70 can be operated in a state in which the engagement allowance between the seedling box 20 and the separation operation body 70 during the interval extending operation is secured to a predetermined amount, and this engagement allowance is determined by the separation operation body. There is no possibility of causing a problem that the desired interval expansion operation cannot be accurately performed by gradually changing during the operation 70.

[Other Embodiment 1]
The operation of the hydraulic cylinder 42 of the opening / closing drive device 41 that opens and closes the opening / closing door 40 around the vertical axis y is not limited to a structure that is expanded and contracted by operation of an operation switch (not shown) that can be manually operated, For example, a sensor for detecting the position of the seedling box group 2A is provided at an appropriate position on the transfer conveyor 21 of the seedling box supply unit 2, and the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 42 of the opening / closing drive device 41 is controlled based on the detection result of the sensor. You may do it.

[Second embodiment]
The weight of the balance weight 34 of the elevator 3 is not limited to a weight that is balanced with respect to the sum of the weight of the lifting frame 30 and the weight of the seedling box group 2A, and is set to be approximately the same as the weight of the lifting frame 30, for example. It may be.
That is, whether the elevator 3 is configured to be balanced in a fully loaded state, to be balanced in an empty state, or to be configured to be balanced at an intermediate value thereof may be appropriately set. .

[3 of another embodiment]
The open / close structure of the open / close door 40 is not limited to the double door structure described in the embodiment, and, for example, a piece that swings around the vertical axis y on the left or right side of the entrance portion of the accommodation space S. An openable opening / closing door 40 may be used.
In this case, it is desirable to provide the pressing portion 45 at an intermediate location in the left-right direction of the entrance location of the accommodation space S.

  The article conveying apparatus of the present invention can be applied not only to conveying the seedling box group 2A in the sowing center in the elevator 3, but also to various articles conveying apparatuses conveyed in a stacked state.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Nursery box conveyance apparatus 2 Nursery box supply part 2A Nursery box group 3 Elevator 4 Door apparatus 5 Drop supply apparatus 10 Structure frame 20 Nursery box 30 Lifting frame 40 Opening / closing door 45 Press part 45a Guide surface S Storage space y Vertical axis

Claims (3)

An elevator that accommodates stacked articles and vertically moves up and down is provided, and the storage space is opened to the outside by swinging around the vertical axis at the entrance of the storage space for storing the elevator. An open / close door is provided that can be switched between an open state and a closed posture that divides the outside.
A pressing portion is provided on the inner surface of the door that faces the housing space in the closed position of the open / close door, and can be pushed into the inner space of the housing space by contacting the rear surface in the pushing direction of the stacked articles to be stored. Goods transport device.   2. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the open / close door is configured in a double-spreading manner so as to swing around the upper and lower shaft cores positioned on the left and right sides of the entrance of the accommodation space.   3. A guide surface is formed in the pressing portion on the inner surface side of the door to regulate the lateral movement of the article moving to the accommodation space side in the left-right direction at the entrance portion of the accommodation space when the door is opened. Article transport device.

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