JP7004424B2 - Three-dimensional automated warehouse - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a three-dimensional automated warehouse composed of a plurality of storage racks stacked in multiple stages in the vertical and horizontal directions, and has a transport mechanism that travels in a passage between a warehousing / delivery unit and a storage rack, and has an article or an article storage container. (Hereinafter referred to as "article") The present invention relates to a three-dimensional automated warehouse provided with a transport method having a transport mechanism that enables smooth movement to adjacent storage racks without passing through a passage between storage racks. Here, the adjacent storage racks in the three-dimensional warehouse are on the same floor in the height direction, and the transportation mechanism makes it possible to store and take out all the articles that can be stored in the storage rack.

Further, the present invention relates to a three-dimensional automated warehouse provided with a transport method capable of efficiently processing articles after the delivery section.

As a three-dimensional automated warehouse, for example, one provided with a transport method described in Patent Document 1 is known. This is a three-dimensional automated warehouse composed of a plurality of shelves, in which a transport mechanism traveling in the horizontal direction is arranged in each stage in the height direction between a pair of left and right storage racks.

According to it, this transport mechanism is mounted in the left-right direction so that the goods are mounted on the transport mechanism from the warehousing section and stored in the required place, and when necessary, are mounted on the transport mechanism from the necessary location and moved to the delivery section. It has a picking mechanism that allows articles to be taken in and out of both of the located storage racks. Further, this picking mechanism is attached to the moving frame of the transport mechanism and the moving frame, and when the article moves between the transport mechanism and the storage rack, the article is moved in any direction within the moving range of the moving frame. It has a function that can be moved. When the article moves between the transport mechanism and the storage rack, it moves from the luggage storage portion located on the bottom surface of the transport mechanism to the shelf surface of the storage rack, or in the opposite direction. ..

Also in the three-dimensional automated warehouse in Patent Document 2, this transport mechanism is mounted on the transport mechanism from the warehousing section and stored in a necessary place, and is mounted on the transport mechanism from the necessary place and moved to the delivery section when necessary. Has a picking mechanism that allows articles to be taken in and out of both storage racks located in the left-right direction. Similar to the above, when an article moves between a transport mechanism and a storage rack, it is located on the bottom surface of the transport mechanism. It will move from the luggage storage to the bottom surface of the shelf of the storage rack, or vice versa.

Therefore, in the transport method according to Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the state of the surface of the article in contact with the transport mechanism and the storage rack, the surface of the transport mechanism in contact with the article, and the surface of the storage rack in contact with the article are different. , Greatly affects the transportation and storage of goods.

First, regarding the storage space of the storage rack in the warehouse, it is important to stably store the goods in a fixed position. However, since a plurality of transport mechanisms and transport means mechanisms such as conveyors and lifts for loading and unloading are always in operation in the three-dimensional automated warehouse, the storage space portion of the storage rack integrated as a structure is not available. A slight vibration is always generated due to the movement of the transport means mechanism. Therefore, in order to stably arrange and store the article in a fixed position without moving due to the slight vibration, a protrusion for preventing movement is provided or friction between the surface of the storage space and the bottom surface of the article. It is necessary that the force is large enough.

On the contrary, the frictional force generated between the storage space of the storage rack and the article is as small as possible in order to move easily and smoothly, such as being mounted on the transport mechanism from the required location and moving to the delivery section when necessary. There is a need to.

That is, while stable storage requires protrusions and a large frictional force, it is necessary to be flat and to minimize the frictional force for smooth movement, and it is necessary to satisfy contradictory requirements at the same time. Will occur.

Therefore, in order to stably store the article in a fixed position, there is a method such as providing a protrusion or a butt portion on the outer peripheral portion of the storage area as described above, but it is difficult to move the article and the requirement is satisfied. In order to do so, a complicated structure is required, so the actual situation is that a flat surface is provided at present. However, there are the following problems.

Generally, when moving an object from a stationary state, a frictional force is generated between the moving object and the contact surface due to a unique friction coefficient, and the object starts to move only when the external force exceeds the maximum static frictional force. After that, it is known that it moves within a range of dynamic friction force smaller than the maximum static friction force, but it is possible that a large number of objects enter and exit from various environmental conditions on a daily basis, such as the environmental conditions in which a three-dimensional automatic warehouse is installed. Considering this, the maximum static friction force may be larger than expected due to wetting, dirt, etc. of the surfaces that come into contact with each other. In that case, a delicate time loss until the article starts to move is accumulated, and at the same time, an unreasonable force is applied to the article, which may have an adverse effect due to deformation of the article or an excessive load on the device.

Further, as described above, assuming a maximum static friction force exceeding the expectation, a drive device having a sufficiently large force is provided, whereby the article is moved, but it also leads to an increase in the impact force. .. As a method of mitigating this impact force, it is possible to slow down the moving speed, but the efficiency of the entire system will be reduced. It is possible to add various new functions, but the complicated structure adds an economic problem.

In this way, smooth movement of goods in the entire area of the three-dimensional automated warehouse, especially smooth movement between adjacent storage racks on the back surface, does not reduce the distribution efficiency in the three-dimensional automated warehouse, and at the same time, goods or transportation. A three-dimensional automated warehouse equipped with a simple transport method that does not increase the load on the structure of the mechanism has not been disclosed in any of the documents and has not yet been realized. Therefore, in the conventional three-dimensional automated warehouse, it is difficult to freely move the articles in the Z-axis direction between the storage shelves and the storage equipment having the adjacent storage shelves as a set, and it is not possible to sort the goods in the warehouse. In order to carry out the order of delivery in the ordered order, it is necessary to deploy a conveyor for time adjustment and sorting, and there is a problem that a large space centering on the vicinity of the delivery section is required.

Further, in the conventional three-dimensional automated warehouse where the warehousing / delivery work is automated, the processing of the goods in the warehousing work, for example, the classification of the goods by type, destination, customer, etc., and the rearrangement of the goods in the storage. , Technology focusing on the transportation method that can efficiently perform sorting work such as organizing, organizing, and disposing is not recognized. In particular, when the above-mentioned problem of the three-dimensional automated warehouse is solved, it becomes possible to sort the articles in the three-dimensional automated warehouse by moving the articles between adjacent storage racks on the back surface, and the ordering function of delivering the goods in a preset order is possible. Since the number of items is improved, a conveyor for time adjustment and sorting is not required, and the delivery processing capacity can be significantly improved. Therefore, it is necessary to solve these problems in the conventional method.

Patent No. 3358920 International Publication No. 2010/049987 Pamphlet

In view of the above background technology, the present invention requires a complicated and expensive transportation mechanism in order to efficiently move an article in the entire area in a three-dimensional automated warehouse, particularly between adjacent storage racks on the back surface. It is equipped with a transport method that has a transport mechanism that can solve the problem of the conventional technology, move goods smoothly, reduce the distribution efficiency of the three-dimensional automated warehouse, and at the same time reduce the load on the goods or related equipment. The purpose is to provide a three-dimensional automated warehouse.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a three-dimensional automated warehouse provided with a transport method capable of efficiently processing the delivered goods in the three-dimensional automated warehouse provided with the transport method having the above-mentioned transport mechanism. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional automated warehouse that can solve the problem of insufficient delivery processing capacity that occurs in the three-dimensional automated warehouse that enables sorting of goods in the three-dimensional automated warehouse.

In a three-dimensional automated warehouse, the transport unit must be stably stored in the storage space, and when it is necessary to move, smooth movement is required. However, for the former, it is necessary to have a large friction between the transport unit and the storage space, and for the latter, it is necessary to simultaneously solve the contradictory problem that the friction is desired to be small. The present inventors have solved the contradiction by adding a structure that instantaneously regenerates static frictional force, specifically, a structure that can be elastically deformed, to the transport mechanism.

That is, the above-mentioned problems have been solved by introducing a structure that can easily obtain a force exceeding the maximum static friction force by adding a structure that can be elastically deformed to the transport mechanism that moves the transport unit.

As described in claim 1, one aspect of the present invention is a storage warehouse unit composed of a plurality of storage racks in which shelves are stacked in multiple stages in the vertical and horizontal directions, an warehousing / delivery unit, and a storage surface for articles in the storage rack. In a three-dimensional automatic warehouse equipped with a transport mechanism that runs along a passage provided beside the warehouse, the transport mechanism is a multi-stage elastic structure that enables storage or removal of all items that can be stored in the storage rack. A telescopic elastic mechanism constructed or configured via elastically deformable structures between multi-stage rigid structures and telescopic when moving articles to be placed in any position for storage. A transport consisting of a mechanism in which a pushing or pulling force that combines a driving force and a change in speed by an elastic mechanism generates a force that exceeds the maximum static friction force generated between the surface of the structure at the storage position and the article. It is a three-dimensional automatic warehouse characterized by being a transport system having a mechanism.
Such a transport mechanism is optional for storage because the telescopic elastic mechanism is composed of a multi-stage elastic structure or an elastically deformable structure between the multi-stage rigid structures. When moving an article installed at the position of, the pushing or pulling force of the telescopic elastic mechanism regenerates a force that exceeds the maximum static friction force generated between the surface of the structure at the storage position and the article. It is possible to solve the above-mentioned problem due to the friction generated between the surface of the structure in which the article is installed in the storage rack and the article, and it becomes possible to obtain a smooth and reliable movement at the same time as stable storage of the article.

That is, by including the telescopic elastic mechanism, it is possible to obtain a large force that momentarily exceeds the maximum frictional force, so that smooth and reliable movement can be obtained. At the same time, it is possible to set an uneven portion or a friction portion that is large to some extent so that the article to be stored does not move carelessly due to slight vibration or the like, so that the article can be stably stored.

The effects of such a telescopic elastic mechanism are as follows. By providing an elastic material that can be expanded and contracted in the expansion and contraction direction of the mechanism in a part of the expansion and contraction mechanism obtained by combining a plurality of link mechanisms, the impact on the initial article is alleviated and the elastic material is compressed. When the maximum frictional force is reached, the article starts to move, and at that moment, the friction between the article and the surface of the storage structure changes from static friction to dynamic friction, so that the resistance is small and the movement of the article is soft. become. Here, if the initial pushing force of the article does not follow the movement of the article in time, the restoring force of the elastic material follows the article, or the article is pushed softly after some time. become. On the other hand, when the initial pushing force of the article follows the movement of the article in time, the article can be pushed without impact force, and a soft movement is given.

Further, as described in claim 2, in the present invention, the transport mechanism stores or takes out all the articles that can be stored in the storage rack by one transport mechanism having a telescopic elastic mechanism composed of multiple stages. It is a three-dimensional automated warehouse characterized by doing so, and it is possible to pass through an efficient movement route, and efficiency can be improved by shortening the total operating time.

That is, since the article is stored or taken out in the entire area of the storage rack in the expansion / contraction direction of the telescopic elastic mechanism by only one transport mechanism, the storage arranged on both sides of the aisle where one transport mechanism is located. Articles can be taken out, moved, and stored in a series of operations for all areas of the rack.

Further, as described in claim 3, the telescopic elastic mechanism of the transport mechanism is composed of a multi-stage rigidity and an elastic material, and is provided by a predetermined one hook of a plurality of hook portions protruding from the telescopic elastic mechanism. It is characterized by having a transport mechanism capable of applying a force for moving the article in the expansion / contraction direction, and such a transport mechanism can easily obtain a force exceeding the maximum static friction force.

That is, it is effective to store or take out the article in various situations such as when a plurality of sizes of the article are mixed, when the article is stored in a deep position of the storage rack, or when the article is stored in the front side. In order to carry out the above, hooks are provided at a plurality of places in the expansion / contraction direction so that a force exceeding the maximum static friction force can be applied to the article.

Further, in the present invention, in the three-dimensional automated warehouse equipped with the transport method having the transport mechanism described so far, a collection container presentation section is provided near the warehousing section and / or the warehousing section of the warehousing / delivery section. It is a three-dimensional automated warehouse characterized by. Then, it is more preferable to install an article presentation section to which the article is supplied in the warehousing section and / or the warehousing section of the warehousing / delivery section, and to provide a collection container presentation section in the vicinity thereof. Further, it is more preferable that the article presenting section is installed in the warehousing / delivery section via the extended transport means.

This warehousing / delivery section refers to the entire device related to the loading and unloading of goods, and in particular, the warehousing section refers to the processing of goods, for example, sorting goods by type, destination, customer, etc., in the storage. It is not limited as long as it is a transfer device to which the article is supplied in order to rearrange, organize, dispose of the article, etc., but the warehousing section can also serve as the transfer device to which the article is supplied. Is. In particular, as such a transfer device, it is preferable to provide an article presentation section in which articles are presented in the warehousing section and / or the delivery section. In this case, a collection container presentation section is provided near the article presentation section. By providing this article presentation unit, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in the article sorting work in the article delivery work of the three-dimensional automated warehouse and the article sorting work in the warehouse. Therefore, the transfer device to which the article is supplied and the transfer device constituting the article presentation unit are, if necessary, a temporary storage mechanism (accumulation conveyor), a speed control mechanism, a forward / reverse transfer mechanism, a branch transfer mechanism, and a merging. It is composed of a conveyor having at least one transfer mechanism and a stop mechanism.

Here, the "near" indicating the positional relationship between the transfer device constituting the warehousing / delivery section or the article presentation section and the collection container presentation section is defined by a worker, a robot, or the like (hereinafter referred to as "worker"). It means that it is possible to take out the article supplied to the warehousing / delivery section or the article presentation section and put the taken-out article into the collection container without substantially moving.

The collection container presentation section provided near the warehousing / delivery section or the transfer device constituting the article presentation section has been supplied to the warehousing / delivery section and the article presentation section without the worker substantially moving. It is not particularly limited as long as it is a means capable of processing articles and is a conveyor zone for sequentially supplying and carrying out collection containers such as cardboard boxes and oricons and non-box-shaped containers such as bags and hangers. Further, from the viewpoint of distribution efficiency, it is preferable that the collection container presentation unit is connected to the supply unit and the delivery unit of various collection containers.

Further, the article presentation unit does not need to process the article by the operator in the vicinity of the storage rack according to various purposes such as space saving of the warehouse, proper layout, and construction of the flow line, and the storage rack. If it is preferable to carry out the collection container away from the storage rack, that is, if it is preferable to install the collection container presentation portion away from the storage rack, it can be provided via the extension transport means. Similarly, when it is not necessary for the worker to process the article on the same floor as the storage rack and it is preferable to perform the processing on the lower floor or the upper floor of the storage rack, that is, the collection container presentation unit is the storage rack. If it is preferable to install it downstairs or upstairs, the article presentation unit can be installed downstairs or upstairs. That is, the article presentation unit and the collection container presentation unit can be installed on all floors where storage shelves are provided and on floors where there are no storage shelves. In such a case, it is preferable to use vertical transport of the article using a transfer transport device such as an elevating means or a conveyor.

It is said that if a transport method capable of efficiently carrying out such a warehousing operation is further provided to a three-dimensional automated warehouse equipped with a transport method having the above-mentioned transport mechanism, desired articles can be carried in and out from anywhere in the three-dimensional automated warehouse. Taking advantage of the above-mentioned characteristics of the present invention, articles in the entire area of the three-dimensional automated warehouse are transported to the warehousing / delivery section or the article presentation section. Efficient processing of goods, for example, classification by product type, destination, customer, etc., rearrangement, arrangement, disposal, etc. of goods in the warehouse can be performed without moving the goods. Will be.

As described above, according to the three-dimensional automated warehouse of the present invention, smooth movement of goods in the entire area of the three-dimensional automated warehouse, particularly smooth movement between adjacent storage racks on the back surface is possible, and the distribution efficiency in the three-dimensional automated warehouse is lowered. At the same time, simple transportation is possible without increasing the load on the structure of the article or the transportation mechanism. As a result, it becomes possible to sort goods in the three-dimensional automated warehouse, and the ordering function for delivering goods in a preset order is improved, so that a conveyor for time adjustment and sorting is not required, so that the three-dimensional automated warehouse is not required. It is possible to save space and greatly improve the delivery processing capacity.

Further, according to the three-dimensional automated warehouse of the present invention, processing of goods in the shipping work, for example, classification of goods by product type, destination, customer, etc., rearrangement of goods in the storage, organizing / organizing, etc. Sorting work such as disposal can be performed efficiently. In particular, it is possible to carry out the warehousing process corresponding to the ordering function of the three-dimensional automated warehouse that enables smooth movement of the above-mentioned articles.

It is a conceptual diagram of a storage rack. It is a conceptual diagram of a general three-dimensional automated warehouse. It is a conceptual diagram of the flow of luggage in a general three-dimensional automated warehouse. It is a conceptual diagram of article transportation in a storage rack. It is a top view of the transport mechanism. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the telescopic elastic mechanism of a transport mechanism. This is an example of a specific structure of a sliding elastic mechanism in a transport mechanism. This is an example of the fixed position state of the sliding elastic mechanism. This is an example of a state in which the sliding elastic mechanism is extended in one direction. This is an example of a specific structure of a bellows type elastic structure in a transport mechanism. This is an example of the structure of the inner surface of the sliding elastic mechanism. This is an example of a state in which an article is pushed out from a transport mechanism. This is an example of a state in which an article is pushed out from the transport mechanism to the maximum length. This is an example of a state in which the transport mechanism pulls out the article from the maximum length position. It is a relationship diagram of static friction and kinetic friction. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the warehousing transfer system which provided the collection container presenting part near the loading / unloading conveyor of the warehousing / delivery part, which is one Embodiment of this invention, and the flow of the article. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a three-dimensional automated warehouse having an article presentation section in the warehousing / delivery section and a collection container presentation section in the vicinity thereof, which is an embodiment of the present invention, and a three-dimensional automated warehouse and the flow of the article. .. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the warehousing transfer system which provided the extension conveyor and the article presenting part in the warehousing / delivery part, and provided the collection container presenting part in the vicinity thereof, which is one embodiment of the present invention, and the flow of the goods. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a delivery / transport system and a flow of articles thereof, which is an embodiment of the present invention, in which an article presentation section is provided at a position away from the storage rack and a collection container presentation section is provided near the article presentation section. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the delivery transport system which provided the article presenting part, the collection container presenting part, etc. under the floor of the storage rack which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the delivery transport system which provided the article presenting part, the collection container presenting part, etc. just under the storage rack which is one Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail using one embodiment shown in the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. It is possible to carry out and is limited only by the technical ideas described in the claims.

FIG. 1 conceptually depicts the structure of the storage rack 2, showing storage spaces 21 arranged in a plurality of vertical and horizontal stages, and here, an example in which 18 storage spaces 21 having 3 vertical stages and 6 horizontal rows are provided. However, in reality, more multi-stage ones are assumed.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a general three-dimensional automated warehouse 1, which is composed of a warehouse section 11 in which a plurality of storage racks 2 are arranged in parallel and a warehousing / delivery section 12 in which a part thereof is drawn. It shows the composition in which storage and delivery are performed according to controlled instructions. The warehousing / delivery unit 12 is composed of, for example, a combination of a plurality of horizontally moving means such as a first conveyor 12a to a fourth conveyor 12d and a vertically moving means such as a lift 12e. Goods are transported to any floor of the storage rack 2 at an arbitrary position. On the other hand, in the warehouse section 11, an article transported from the warehousing / delivery section 12 is arranged in an arbitrary storage space 21 by a transport mechanism (not shown) running in the area of the aisle 3 provided between the storage racks 2. It is configured to be taken out from the storage space 21 and transported to the warehousing / delivery unit 12.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of the flow of the article 7 in the three-dimensional automated warehouse 1 described in the previous section. It shows a flow of being transported to a predetermined floor by a lift 12e via a conveyor 12b of 2 and stored at a predetermined position of a storage rack 2 in the <4> row of the warehouse unit 11 via a transfer mechanism 4. Further, in the example of the flow of the broken line arrow in the upper part of the figure, the article 7 stored in the <1> row of the warehouse unit 11 passes through the plurality of conveyors of the warehousing / delivery unit 12 and the lift 12e via the transport mechanism 4. The flow of movement to the first conveyor 12a is shown. By the way, in the three-dimensional automated warehouse 1, all the instructions for entering and leaving the goods 7 and the instructions for the storage location, etc. are centrally managed, and the operations are appropriately performed according to the instructions, but the contents not directly related to the present proposal are omitted. ..

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the article 7 in the storage rack 2 is conveyed, and only a portion in which storage spaces 21 adjacent to each other in the lateral direction of the storage racks 2 arranged in the four rows in FIG. 3 are arranged in two rows is drawn. , An example of a state in which the article 7 is stored or moved in the entire area of the <2> and <3> rows at the position where the arrangement of the storage rack 2 is drawn in the <2> and <3> rows is shown. Here, in the state on the left side in the figure, the telescopic elastic mechanism 5 is maximized in the direction indicated by the arrow by the hooks 6 located at the tips of the two telescopic elastic mechanisms 5 installed in the transport mechanism 4. It shows a state in which the article 7 is stretched and fed to any position in the region in the expansion / contraction direction. On the other hand, on the right side of the figure, the article 7 is transported by retracting the telescopic elastic mechanism 5 in the direction of the arrow by the hooks 6 located at the tips of the two telescopic elastic mechanisms installed in the transport mechanism 4. The state of pulling to the main body side of 4 is shown.

FIG. 5 shows a top view of the transport mechanism 4, and the inner portion of the transport mechanism 4 that moves by the driving force of the traveling wheel 41 along the guide rail 22 located at the end of the storage rack 2 on the aisle 3 side is shown. The telescopic elastic mechanism 5 is configured at two locations, and the telescopic elastic mechanism 5 is integrated with the fixing portion 42, for example, and has a structure having a function of moving the telescopic portion of the telescopic elastic mechanism 5 by a drive portion (not shown). .. Here, on the innermost surface of the telescopic elastic mechanism 5, a plurality of hooks 6 that are displaced so as to be able to project for moving the article 7 are installed, so that the size of the article 7 to be conveyed and the size of the article 7 can be determined. It is possible to respond to an operation such as pushing it into the storage position or pulling it out from the storage position with a predetermined hook 6.

Further, FIG. 5 shows an example in which a plurality of hooks 6 to be installed are arranged in four stages. In the figure, the upper side is the A side and the lower side is the B side, and the four-stage hook 6 is from above. The A-side end hook 61a, the A-side inner hook 62a, the B-side inner hook 62b, and the B-side end hook 61b are arranged in this order. Here, when the article 7 is sent out or pulled out from the transport mechanism 4 to the storage rack 2 in the direction of arrow A, a protrusion by the A-side end hook 61a or the A-side inner hook 62a is provided depending on the size or arrangement position of the article 7. By using the storage rack 2 in the direction of arrow B, it is possible to effectively move the storage rack 2 by using the protrusion by the B-side end hook 61b or the B-side inner hook 62b.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of the telescopic elastic mechanism 5, in which the transport mechanism 4 traveling on the two guide rails 22 attached to the storage rack 2 can be expanded and contracted in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction. The telescopic elastic mechanism 5 is equipped at two places. Incidentally, the inner space between the two telescopic elastic mechanisms 5 has a width that can be operated with respect to the maximum width of the articles 7 stored in a series of automated warehouses.

FIG. 7 shows a sliding elastic elastic mechanism 51 as a specific structural example of the telescopic elastic mechanism 5 in the conveying mechanism 4, which corresponds to a side view in the XX direction in FIG. 6 and is from the conveying mechanism 4. The composition in which the first sliding portion 54a and the second sliding portion 54b expand and contract is shown. Here, a state is shown in which the first sliding portion 54a is moved to the right side in the drawing and the second sliding portion 54b is moved in the same direction by a drive unit (not shown).

FIG. 8 shows a sliding elastic elastic mechanism 51 as a specific structural example of the telescopic elastic mechanism 5 in the transport mechanism 4, which corresponds to the side view in the YY direction in FIG. 6 and corresponds to the sliding elastic elastic mechanism 51. It is a figure which shows the state which the elastic mechanism 51 is in a fixed position. In this figure, as a sliding type telescopic elastic mechanism 51, it can rotate in conjunction with a fixed portion 42, a timing gear 510 having a gear mechanism, and a timing gear 510, and has an uneven pitch equal to the uneven pitch of the timing gear 510 on the front and back surfaces. The timing belt 511, the first sliding portion 54a having an uneven pitch equal to that of the timing belt 511 on the side in contact with the timing belt 511, the second sliding portion 54b connected to the first sliding portion 54a, and the second. An example composed of a pulley 512 provided on the sliding portion 54b, and a first belt 513a and a second belt 513b for driving the first sliding portion 54a and the second sliding portion 54b. be.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a state in which the first sliding portion 54a and the second sliding portion 54b in the structure of FIG. 8 are extended in one direction, and the timing belt 511 is formed by rotating the timing gear 510 in one direction. The first sliding portion 54a moves in one direction at the same time, and at the same time, the tensions of the two first and second belts 513a and 513b are balanced via the pulley 512 in the direction shown in the figure. It shows the stretched state. Incidentally, when expanding and contracting in the opposite direction, the timing gear 510 is realized by rotating in the direction opposite to the above-mentioned direction.

FIG. 10 shows a lattice type telescopic elastic mechanism 52 in which a plurality of beams are crossed and combined as a specific structural example of the telescopic elastic mechanism 5 in the transport mechanism 4, and the side surface in the XX direction in FIG. Corresponds to the figure. In this case, the lattice type telescopic elastic mechanism 52 is used to eliminate bending due to its own weight even when the length at the time of extension becomes long, and to prevent the force in the axial force direction from becoming a component force when pushing out the article 7. It is effective to attach a structure such as a rotating body 53, which has a sliding frictional force that can be almost ignored, to the bottom surface of the tip portion of the above. The same applies to the sliding elastic elastic mechanism 51 described above.

FIG. 11 shows a structural example of the surface of the sliding elastic elastic mechanism 51 facing inward of the transport mechanism 4, and is a configuration example of the hook 6 configured on the surface of the second sliding portion 54b in FIG. 8 described above. Is drawn. The hook 6 is used to mount an article 7 (not shown) on the transport mechanism 4 at the time of warehousing, feed it to a required position at the time of storage, temporarily mount it on the transport mechanism 4 at the time of warehousing, and then feed it to the next position. It fits without protruding from the surface of the sliding portion 54b of 2, and when the article 7 is moved, the hook 6 at the required portion protrudes from the surface portion to come into contact with a part of the article 7, and the telescopic elastic mechanism. The entire 5 can be expanded and contracted to move the article 7 to an arbitrary position.

A plurality of the hooks 6 are arranged inside two telescopic elastic mechanisms 5 placed at symmetrical positions, and here, the A-side and B-side end hooks 61a and 61b are sandwiched between the front and rear ends thereof. An example of the region comprising 62a and 62b is shown here, but is not limited thereto. Further, the structure is, for example, a structure that rotates approximately 90 degrees around the rotation shaft 55 as shown in the enlarged view of the Z portion, and has a function of projecting from the surface of the second sliding portion 54b.

12 to 14 show a specific relationship with the article 7 when the telescopic elastic mechanism 5 expands and contracts with elastic deformation.

FIG. 12 shows a state in which the article 7 is pushed out from the transport mechanism 4 with respect to the article 7 via the B-side end hook 61b, and shows an example in which the article 7 is large and is arranged closer to the aisle 3 side of the storage rack 2. There is.

FIG. 13 shows a state in which the extension mechanism 5 requires the maximum extension length with respect to the depth of the storage rack 2 in a state of being pushed out from the transfer mechanism 4 to the article 7 via the A side end hook 61a. By the way, before reaching this state, the telescopic elastic mechanism 5 first moves in the direction opposite to the arrow direction in the drawing with respect to the article 7 placed in the substantially central portion of the transport mechanism 4, and then the A side end hook. When the article 7 reaches the position where the article 7 can be extruded, the A-side end hook 61a is projected from the surface to come into contact with the article 7 and move in the extrusion direction indicated by the arrow in the figure to reach the state shown in this figure. ..

FIG. 14 shows a state in which the article 7 is pulled out from the maximum length position with respect to the article 7 from the transport mechanism 4 via the A side end hook 61a. As shown in FIG. 13, this is an example of a case where the article 7 is stored at a position where the maximum extension length of the expansion / contraction mechanism 4 is required with respect to the depth of the storage rack 2.

FIG. 15 shows a relationship diagram between static friction and kinetic friction in this structure. Generally, when an object placed on a flat plate having a certain friction coefficient starts to move due to an external force, as shown by the solid line in the figure, an external force corresponding to the frictional force depending on the friction coefficient peculiar to the object and the flat plate is initially applied. The object starts to move for the first time when a force equal to or greater than the maximum static friction force f ₀ is applied, and after that, the object moves continuously by a force with a dynamic friction force f'smaller than that force.

Here, on the surface condition of the surface of the storage space 21 or the bottom surface of the article 7, there is a possibility that a larger friction than expected may occur due to dirt, wetting, or the like for some reason. If the article 7 is moved in such a state and does not move easily due to the large friction, the exterior portion of the article 7 may be damaged or a large load may be applied to the drive portion of the transport mechanism 4. Therefore, it is conceivable that the repetition of them may cause a failure.

In order to eliminate such damage as much as possible, by providing the telescopic elastic mechanism 5 utilizing the elastic characteristics as in the structural examples in FIGS. 6 to 10, for example, the telescopic elastic mechanism 5 of the transport mechanism 4 is first provided. When an external force to extend is applied, the series of elastic parts of the above-mentioned structural example, for example, the continuum of the timing gear 510, the timing belt 511, and the belt 513 in FIGS. 8 and 9 is initially deformed in the pulling direction. Although the impact on the article is alleviated, the force gradually increases to reach a force exceeding the maximum static friction force f ₀ , and the article starts to move. The elastic force generated by these stretchable elastic mechanisms stores energy as a result of the series of elastic bodies being deformed by the initial external force that becomes tensile stress, but is instantly dissipated as the external force and is instantly stable at the initial setting. Has the ability to calm down to external forces. Here, the relationship with the structures in FIGS. 8 and 9 has been described, but it goes without saying that the same behavior can be obtained when an elastic body is included in a part of the structure of the telescopic elastic mechanism 5, and the tension is obtained. Similar behavior can be obtained not only with deformation but also with compression deformation.

Next, in the three-dimensional automated warehouse of the present invention characterized by the transport mechanism, near the warehousing section and / or the warehousing section of the warehousing / delivery section, or near the article presentation section provided in the warehousing section and / or the warehousing section. In addition, a delivery and transportation method characterized by providing a collection container presentation unit will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, a warehousing / transporting method in which a collection container presenting section is provided near a warehousing section and / or a warehousing section of a warehousing / delivery section, and a flow of articles thereof. Of the two aisles 3a and 3b in the figure, storage racks 2 <1> and <2> are provided on both sides of the aisle 3a, and storage racks 2 are provided on both sides of the other aisle 3b. <3> and <4> are provided.

The warehousing / delivery unit 12 is provided with a first conveyor 12a for warehousing / unloading the article 7. The first conveyor 12a may be a normal conveyor, but if necessary, at least one of a temporary storage mechanism (accumulation conveyor), a speed control mechanism, forward / reverse transfer, branch transfer, merge transfer, and stop. It is preferable that the conveyor is composed of the conveyors having the above functions.

Then, the collection container presentation portions 81a and 81b are provided adjacent to the first conveyor 12a for loading and unloading the articles, and the workers 84a and 84b pass through the second conveyor 12b and the first conveyor 12a. Handles the article 7 supplied to.

Here, the positional relationship between the first conveyor 12a and the collection container presentation portions 81a and 81b is such that, for example, the article supplied to the first conveyor 12a is taken out without the worker substantially moving. It is the distance and place where the taken-out article can be put into the collection container 8. It should be noted that the taking-out work is not limited to the case where the workers 84a and 84b are used, and the material handling device such as a robot may be used.

Further, the regions 12fa'and 12fb'shown by the broken lines of the first conveyor 12a fulfill the function of the so-called article presentation section, in which the articles for the workers 84a and 84b to perform the collecting work are presented. There is.

Further, a collection container supply unit 82 including a well-known roller conveyor and a branching mechanism for supplying an empty collection container 8 to the collection container presentation units 81a and 81b, and a collection container 8 collected. A collection container unloading unit 83 provided with a well-known roller conveyor, a merging mechanism, and the like is provided to carry the container to the next process. However, the devices and methods of the collection container supply unit 82 and the collection container delivery unit 83 are not particularly limited.

Next, the goods in the three-dimensional automated warehouse having such a configuration are transported as follows. Articles can be moved between <1> and <2> on the same floor of the storage rack 2 using the transport mechanism 4a of the aisle 3a, and similarly, the same floor of the storage rack 2 can be moved using the transport mechanism 4b of the aisle 3b. Goods can also be moved between <3> and <4>. Further, as described with reference to FIG. 4, the telescopic elastic mechanism 5 can freely move between <2> and <3> on the same floor of the storage rack 2. In this way, the article 7 can be moved in the entire area from <1> to <4> on the same floor of the storage rack 2. Further, by using the lift 12e, the articles 7 in the entire area of the three-dimensional automated warehouse of the present invention can be freely moved and sorted in the three-dimensional automated warehouse.

Therefore, first, the warehousing of the goods will be described with respect to the goods 7c which have been conveyed by using, for example, the first conveyor 12a. The goods 7c will use the second conveyor 12b, the third conveyor 12c, and the fourth conveyor 12d. Via, using the transport mechanism 4b of the passage 3b, the goods are stored in the designated storage racks <3> and <4> on the same floor of the storage rack 2, for example, at the position of 7c-1. Further, by using the lift 12e, it is possible to store the goods in a storage rack on another floor.

Next, when collecting a specific article 7 to a certain destination, the transport mechanism 4, the telescopic elastic mechanism 5, and the lift 12e are used from the articles 7 in the entire three-dimensional automated warehouse of the present invention. The specific article 7 to the destination is moved to the storage rack 2 of <1> or <2> on the same floor as the collection container presentation units 81a and 81b. For example, in FIG. 16, the specific article 7a is moved to the position of 7a-1. The article 7a moved here is taken out by the transport mechanism 4a and moved to the first conveyor 12a via the fourth conveyor 12d, the third conveyor 12c, and the second conveyor 12b. Here, since the first collection container presentation unit 81a is provided adjacent to the first conveyor 12a, the worker 84a can process the article 7a without substantially moving. When there is an item to be collected from the article 7a, the worker 84a follows the indicator (not shown) to the article 7a in the collection container 8 supplied from the collection container supply unit 82 without moving. After confirming that a part of the above is transferred and contained in the collection container 8 in the specified range, the container is sent out to the collection container carry-out unit 83. Then, the next empty collection container 8 is supplied from the collection container supply unit 82 to the first collection container presentation unit 81a. On the other hand, the article 7a is returned to the position of 7a-2 because it is arranged and stored in the storage rack 2 again in preparation for the next collection work.

Similarly, a specific article 7b to another destination is moved to 7b-1, and the worker 84b performs the collection work. For example, when all of the articles 7b are collected, the article 7b Is carried out to the position of 7b-2.

If the storage rack is on the same floor as the collection container presentation units 81a and 81b, the articles to be collected shall be sequentially conveyed to the destination by using the transfer mechanism 4a and via the lift 12e. It is conveyed to the first conveyor 12a at the end of the warehousing / delivery section 12. If the storage rack for the articles to be collected is not on the same floor as the collection container presentation units 81a and 81b, the second conveyor 12c is located at the end of the warehousing / delivery unit 12 via the lift 12e. Is conveyed from the conveyor 12b to the first conveyor 12a. However, as described above, in the three-dimensional automated warehouse of the present invention, when collecting specific articles 7 to a certain destination, the transport mechanism 4, the telescopic elastic mechanism 5, and the articles 7 in the entire three-dimensional automated warehouse are collected. Then, the lift 12e is controlled to sort the specific article 7 to the destination in the storage rack 2 on the same floor as the collection container presentation units 81a and 81b.

Such movement of the specific article 7 is a control unit (not shown) of a general three-dimensional automated warehouse that interlocks and controls various conveyors, transfer mechanisms, indicators, collection containers, etc. based on the accumulated data. Is executed by.

Here, the order of transporting the goods in the warehousing / delivery unit 12 may be arranged by the control unit of the three-dimensional automated warehouse so as to be the same destination, but of course, it is not limited to the same destination. When the delivery order is specified, the goods can be freely rearranged and transported in such an order.

On the other hand, the storage rack 2 is not limited to the four zones <1> to <4>, the passage 3 is not limited to the two passages 3a and 3b, and may be a larger number of zones and passages. With this mechanism, it is possible to realize free movement between zones.

Further, although the collection container supply unit 82, the collection container presentation units 81a and 81b, and the collection container carry-out unit 83 are based on a roller conveyor or the like, a conveyor other than the roller, for example, a belt conveyor, a monorail, a lift, or the like, is used as a conveyor. It may be a means other than.

Further, the collection container 8 is preferably a container such as a cardboard box or an oricon, but is not limited to this, and may be a non-box-shaped container such as a bag or a hanger, a zone of a conveyor without a container, or the like.

In this way, the operator does not have to move the position substantially, and may transfer the article 7 transported in front of the user to the collection container 8 for efficient collection and efficient collection. You can issue goods.

In FIG. 17, an article presentation section 12fa and 12fb to which articles are supplied from a second conveyor 12b are provided at the end of the warehousing / delivery section 12, and a collection container 8 is presented adjacent to the article presentation section 12fa and 12fb for collection. It is an embodiment of the present invention characterized in that the container presentation portions 81a and 81b are deployed. Here, too, the positional relationship between the article presentation units 12fa, 12fb and the collection container presentation units 81a, 81b allows the worker to take out, for example, the articles supplied to the delivery units 12fa, 12fb without substantially moving. , The removed article is at a distance and a place where it can be put into the collection container 8.

The article presenting portions 12fa and 12fb have the same functions as the broken line regions 12fa'and 12fb' of the first conveyor 12a in FIG. However, by providing the article presentation units 12fa and 12fb shown in FIG. 17, the goods in and out of the three-dimensional automated warehouse, the processing of the goods in the warehousing work, for example, the classification of the goods by type, destination, customer, etc. Furthermore, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in sorting work such as rearranging, organizing / organizing, and disposing of articles in the storage. Therefore, the article presentation units 12fa and 12fb have at least one or more mechanisms of a temporary storage mechanism (accumulation conveyor), a speed control mechanism, a forward / reverse transfer mechanism, a branch transfer mechanism, a merging transfer mechanism, and a stop mechanism, if necessary. Consists of a conveyor with.

Further, FIG. 18 is an embodiment of the present invention characterized in that extension conveyors 12 ga and 12 g b are provided between the second conveyor 12b of FIG. 17 and the article presenting portions 12 fa and 12 fb . .. With this extension conveyor, the work environment and space of the workers 84a and 84b, the collection container supply unit 82, the collection container carry-out unit 83, and the like can be freely arranged.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 19, when the extension conveyors 12 ga and 12 g b are lengthened, the storage rack and the delivery work place are free in the same building in the three-dimensional automated warehouse site. It can be placed and does not have to be in the same building.

Further, it is composed of a delivery / transport system composed of a first article presentation unit 12fa and a first collection container presentation unit 81a, and a second article presentation unit 12fb and a second collection container presentation unit 81b. As an embodiment when the delivery / transport method is not on the same floor as the storage rack 2, the configuration as shown in FIG. 20 can be used.

FIG. 20 shows, in FIG. 17, a delivery / transport system including a first article presentation unit 12fa and a first collection container presentation unit 81a, a second article presentation unit 12fb, and a second collection container presentation unit. It is a conceptual diagram of the cross section in the vicinity of the cutting line I when the delivery transfer system composed of 81b is arranged downstairs of the storage rack 2. For example, when the article 7 to be processed is stored at the position of 7b-1, the article 7 conveyed by the transfer mechanism 4 passes through the fourth conveyor 12d and the third conveyor 12c, and via the lift 12e. Then, it is transferred to the third conveyor 12c-1 downstairs and the second conveyor 12b-1 downstairs, and is conveyed to the second article presentation unit 12fb downstairs. Here, the third conveyor 12c-1 downstairs and the second conveyor 12b-1 downstairs are not on the cutting line I in FIG. 17, but are shown downstairs on the storage rack <3> for convenience. .. Then, the worker 84b processes the article in the second collection container presentation unit 81b adjacent to the worker 84b. This is an example in which a delivery / transport system consisting of an article presentation unit and a collection container presentation unit is placed downstairs in a storage rack, but it can also be arranged upstairs.

Further, in order to save space in the three-dimensional automated warehouse, a conceptual diagram of a cross section of an embodiment of the present invention is provided in which a delivery / transport method including an article presentation unit and a collection container presentation unit is arranged directly under a storage rack. Is shown in FIG. In this way, by arranging the second article presentation unit 12fb, the second collection container presentation unit 81b, the collection container supply unit 82, and the collection container carry-out unit 83 directly under the storage rack 2, the three-dimensional automatic operation is performed. Warehouse space can be significantly reduced.

The present invention is a three-dimensional automated warehouse equipped with a transport method in which items stored in the entire warehouse can be freely and efficiently transferred and processed by workers, robots, etc., that is, sorting work can be performed. It is not limited to mere articles and article storage containers, but can be applied to all storage management systems such as cars, books, parts, and finished products.

1 Three-dimensional automated warehouse 11 Warehouse department 12 Entry / exit department
12a 1st conveyor 12b 2nd conveyor 12b-1 Downstairs 2nd conveyor 12c 3rd conveyor 12c-1 Downstairs 3rd conveyor 12d 4th conveyor 12e Lift 12fa 1st article presentation part 12fa'First Area that performs the same function as the article presentation section 1 12fb Area that performs the same function as the second article presentation section 12fb'Area that performs the same function as the second article presentation section 12ga First extension conveyor 12gb Second extension conveyor 2 Storage rack 21 Storage space 22 Guide rail 23 Storage rack floor 3 Passage 4, 4a, 4b, Conveyor mechanism 41 Traveling wheel 42 Fixed part 5 Telescopic elastic mechanism 51 Sliding telescopic elastic mechanism 510 Timing gear 511 Timing belt 512 Pulley 513a First belt 513b 2nd belt 52 Lattice type telescopic elastic mechanism 53 Rotating body 54a 1st sliding part 54b 2nd sliding part 55 Rotating shaft 6 Hook 61a A side end hook 61b B side end hook 62a A side internal hook 62b B side internal hook 7 Articles 7a, 7b Items to be transferred 7a-1, 7b-1, Positions where the items to be transferred were stored 7a-2, 7b-2, After the items were transferred Position of goods 7c Goods to be stored 7c-1 Position where goods are stored 8 Collection container 81a First collection container presentation part 81b Second collection container presentation part 82 Collection container supply part 83 Collection container carry-out Part 84a, 84b Worker 9 Strut F Force to move against friction f Friction force (reaction force of F)
f ₀ Maximum static friction force f'Dynamic friction force N Normal force against the weight (mg) of the article t Time I Cutting line

Claims (6)

A storage warehouse unit consisting of a plurality of storage racks in which shelves are stacked in multiple stages in the vertical and horizontal directions, a storage / retrieval unit, and a transport mechanism running through an aisle provided on the side of the storage surface of articles in the storage rack. In the three-dimensional automated warehouse that was set up
Even if the maximum static friction force generated between the surface of the storage space in the three-dimensional automated warehouse on which the article stored in the storage rack is mounted and the bottom surface of the article is slightly vibrated with respect to the article. It enables the article to be stably stored in a fixed position without moving.
A telescopic elastic mechanism that can be expanded and contracted in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the transport mechanism travels in the passage is provided on the left and right sides in the expansion and contraction direction.
The telescopic elastic mechanism stores the article by at least a hook housed in its base end and tip projecting inwardly perpendicular to the telescopic direction and abutting against all the articles that can be stored in the storage rack. Is it composed of a multi-stage elastic structure having a timing gear, a timing belt, and a continuum of belts, which is an elastic part and is a multi-stage elastic structure for enabling an operation of pushing into a position or an operation of pulling out from a storage position? Alternatively, it is composed of a multi-stage rigid structure and an elastically deformable structure interposed between the rigid structures.
The transport mechanism has the elastic force of the telescopic elastic mechanism at the initial stage when an external force for moving the article, which is an external force for moving the article, which is installed at an arbitrary position for storage, is applied. When the mechanism is deformed, energy is stored in the telescopic elastic mechanism, so that the impact on the article is alleviated, and then the energy stored in the telescopic elastic mechanism is dissipated to exceed the maximum static friction force. A three-dimensional automatic warehouse characterized by having a mechanism in which the article is started to move because a force is instantaneously generated. A transport system in which the transport mechanism is provided with a transport mechanism for storing or taking out all the articles that can be stored in the storage rack by one transport mechanism having the telescopic elastic mechanism configured in multiple stages. The three-dimensional automated warehouse according to claim 1, wherein the warehouse is characterized by being. The transport mechanism
The transport mechanism can be expanded and contracted in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction, and has a telescopic elastic mechanism composed of a multi-stage rigidity and / or an elastic material.
The three-dimensional automated warehouse according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transport method is provided with a transport mechanism having a hook portion protruding from the transport mechanism. The three-dimensional automated warehouse according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is characterized in that a collection container presentation section is provided near the warehousing section and / or the warehousing section of the warehousing / delivery section. Three-dimensional automated warehouse. In the three-dimensional automated warehouse according to any one of claims 1 to 3, an article or article storage container presentation section is provided in the warehousing section and / or the warehousing section of the warehousing / delivery section, and the article or article storage is provided. A three-dimensional automated warehouse characterized by having a collection container presentation section near the container presentation section. The three-dimensional automated warehouse according to claim 5, wherein an extended transport means is connected to the article or article storage container presentation unit.

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