JP7058557B2 - Automatic warehouse - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automated warehouse provided with a transport device for loading and unloading articles from a rack.

Depending on the articles stored in the automated warehouse, the rack is provided with a door body for closing the storage space of the articles, and specific examples thereof are described in Patent Documents 1 and 2. The door body is provided at the loading / unloading port of the article corresponding to the storage space, and the loading / unloading port is opened when the article is carried into the storage space or when the article is carried out from the storage space. When is not done, keep the carry-in / out door closed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-120768 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-78991

However, the automated warehouse described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 uses a drive source for opening and closing the door body, and requires a drive source and a control unit for controlling the operation of the drive source, so that the structure is complicated. There was a challenge.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automated warehouse that does not require the addition of a drive source for opening and closing a door body.

The automated warehouse according to the present invention according to the above object has an opening / closing device having a door body for opening and closing an article loading / unloading port, and an article supporting section, and the article supporting section is advanced to advance a storage space for articles from the loading / unloading port. In an automated warehouse equipped with a transport device that is inserted inside, retracted, passes through the carry-in / out port, and is taken out of the storage space, the transport device has contact members A and B that move integrally with the article support portion. The opening / closing device has a contact member C to which the contact member A advancing from outside the storage space toward the door body with the carry-in / exit port closed, and the contact member C opened from the inside of the storage space. The door is provided with a contact member D with which the contact member B retracting toward the carry-in / out port is in contact, and the contact member A exerts a force on the door body via the contact member C to exert a force on the door. The body is rotated to open the carry-in / out port, and the contact member B applies a force to the door body via the contact member D to rotate the door body and close the carry-in / out port.

In the automatic warehouse according to the present invention, the door body has an upper door that rotates about the horizontal axis E and a lower door that rotates about the horizontal axis F below the upper door, and the opening / closing device is It is preferable to provide a link mechanism G that interlocks the rotational movements of the upper door and the lower door.

In the automated warehouse according to the present invention, it is preferable that the contacted member C is fixed to the lower door and is arranged outside the storage space with the door body closed.

In the automated warehouse according to the present invention, the contacted member D rotates about a vertical axis, and the opening / closing device is connected to the contacted member D and the lower door via a universal joint, respectively. It is preferable to include a contact member D and a connecting member that interlocks each rotation operation of the lower door.

In the automated warehouse according to the present invention, the article support portion and the contact members A and B can be raised and lowered, and the contact member A has a first height or a second height lower than the first height. The contact member B moves forward together with the article support portion that moves forward in contact with the contacted member C, and the contact member B retracts together with the article support portion that retracts at the first height or the second height. It is preferable to contact the contacted member D.

In the automated warehouse according to the present invention, the transport device has contact members A and B that move integrally with the article support portion, and the opening / closing device advances from outside the storage space toward the door body with the carry-in / exit closed. The contact member C with which the contact member A is in contact is provided with the contact member D with which the contact member B retracting toward the carry-in / out port opened from the storage space is in contact with the contact member A. A force is applied to the door body via the contacted member C to rotate the door body to open the carry-in / out port, and the contact member B exerts a force on the door body via the contacted member D to open the door body. Since the loading / unloading port is closed by rotating, the loading / unloading port can be opened / closed by the contact members A and B that move integrally with the article support portion, and it is not necessary to add a drive source for opening / closing the loading / unloading port. Therefore, it is possible to avoid complication of the structure of the transport device.

It is explanatory drawing of the automated warehouse which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the opening and closing device in a state where the carry-out port is closed. It is explanatory drawing of the opening and closing device in a state where the carry-out port is open. (A) and (B) are explanatory views showing the relationship between the lower door, the rotating member, and the roller, respectively. It is explanatory drawing of the switchgear. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state that a roller came into contact with a plate material. It is explanatory drawing which shows the appearance that the article was placed on the article holding member. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state that the vertically elongated member came into contact with a shaft material. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state that the carry-out port was closed. (A) is an explanatory diagram showing how the roller is in contact with the plate material, and (B) is an explanatory diagram showing how the vertically elongated member is in contact with the shaft material.

Subsequently, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings, and the present invention will be understood.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the automated warehouse 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a switchgear 13 having a door body 12 for opening and closing the carry-in / out port 11 of the article W, and a slide member (article support portion). Example) 14 is provided with a transport device 16 that moves forward to enter the storage space 15 of the article W from the carry-in / out port 11, moves backward, passes through the carry-out port 11, and goes out of the storage space 15. Hereinafter, it will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, the automated warehouse 10 is a transport device (the present embodiment) that travels on racks 17 and 18 provided at intervals and rails 19 and 19a arranged in parallel between the racks 17 and 18. Then, it is equipped with a stacker crane) 16. In the rack 17 (the same applies to the rack 18), a plurality of storage spaces 15 capable of accommodating the article W are formed in the vertical direction. Each storage space 15 is provided with an loading / unloading port 11 for the article W, and an article holding member 20 capable of supporting the article W is fixed to a metal member (not shown) in each storage space 15. In FIG. 1, a partition plate may or may not be provided at the position of the broken line that divides the storage space 15 arranged in the vertical direction.

In the transport device 16, the fork 23 is attached to the elevating body 22 that moves up and down along the mast 21. The fork 23 has a structure in which a plurality of slide members 14, 23a, and 23b that can be horizontally moved by the operation of a motor (not shown) are stacked, and the article W is placed on the slide member 14 located at the uppermost position.
Hereinafter, the rack 18 side is the front side, the rack 17 side is the rear side, and the back side of the paper surface and the front side of the paper surface are the left side and the right side, respectively, with reference to the space between the racks 17 and 18.
The slide member 14 advances from the space between the racks 17 and 18 and enters the storage space 15 of the rack 18 through the loading / unloading port 11 of the rack 18 and retracts from the space between the racks 17 and 18 to the rack 17. It enters the storage space 15 of the rack 17 through the carry-out port 11.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 (A) and 4 (B), the transport device 16 is attached to a protrusion 24 provided on the front left side surface (one side side surface) of the slide member 14 and protruding to the left side. It has a roller (an example of an abutting member A) 25 and a vertically elongated member (an example of an abutting member B) 26. The roller 25 is rotatably mounted on the base end side of the protrusion 24 in a state of protruding above and forward of the protrusion 24, and the vertically elongated member 26 made of resin, which is long in the vertical direction (thickness direction of the slide member 14), is formed. It is fixed to the tip end side of the protrusion 24 in a state of protruding rearward from the protrusion 24.
Therefore, the roller 25 and the vertically elongated member 26 move integrally with the slide member 14. Further, the slide member 14, the roller 25, and the vertically elongated member 26 can be moved up and down together with the elevating body 22.
A roller and a vertically elongated member similar to the roller 25 and the vertically elongated member 26 are also attached to the rear side of the slide member 14 (illustration and detailed description of the roller and the vertically elongated member are omitted).

Next, the switchgear 13 provided on the rack 18 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 (A), 4 (B), and 5, the rack 18 is provided with a plurality of switchgear 13 corresponding to each of the plurality of storage spaces 15. Each storage space 15 is provided with a frame plate 27 having an carry-in / out port 11 formed inside, and each switchgear 13 is provided with a door body 12 for opening / closing the carry-in / out port 11.

The frame plate 27 is fixed to the pillars 28 and 29 arranged at intervals on the left and right, and two hinges 30 and two hinges 31 are provided in the upper region and the lower region of the carry-out port 11 of the frame plate 27, respectively. It is attached. Needless to say, the plate member 27 may be fixed to a member different from the pillar members 28 and 29. Each hinge 30 comprises a horizontal axis 32 (horizontal axis E), and each hinge 31 comprises a horizontal axis 33 (horizontal axis F). The two horizontal axes 32 are arranged at the same height, and the two horizontal axes 33 are arranged at the same height.

The door body 12 has a rectangular upper door 34 whose upper end is connected to the frame plate 27 by two hinges 30, and is arranged below the upper door 34, and its lower end is connected to the frame plate 27 by two hinges 31. It has a rectangular lower door 35. The upper door 34 and the lower door 35 are located on the front side of the carry-in / out entrance 11, that is, on the storage space 15 side, the upper door 34 can rotate to the storage space 15 side around the two horizontal axes 32, and the lower door 35 is 2. It can rotate to the storage space 15 side around one horizontal axis 33.

The upper door 34 and the lower door 35 are in a vertical state (substantially meaning vertical, the same applies hereinafter), and the lower end portion of the upper door 34 and the upper end portion of the lower door 35 are close to each other.
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the carry-out entrance 11 is closed by vertically arranging the upper door 34 and the lower door 35, and the upper door 34 and the lower door 35 are horizontal (substantially horizontal). It becomes an open state by being placed in (the same applies hereinafter). The carry-out port 11 is opened only when the article W is carried in and out of the storage space 15, and is normally closed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the article holding member 20 has a carry-in / out port so that the article holding member 20 and the article W held by the article holding member 20 do not come into contact with the rotating upper door 34 and the lower door 35. It is arranged in front of the 11 at a distance from the carry-in / out entrance 11. Here, in the present embodiment, since the door body 12 has the upper door 34 and the lower door 35, the distance from the article holding member 20 to the carry-in / out port 11 is set as compared with the case where the door body is composed of one door. Can be shortened.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the upper door 34 and the lower door 35 have a long member 36 and a connector 37 fixed to the upper door 34 and the lower door 35, respectively, and both ends thereof are long. A link mechanism 39 (link mechanism G) having a bar 38 rotatably attached to the scale member 36 and the connector 37 is connected. The link mechanism 39 can transmit the rotational power of the lower door 35 to the upper door 34 to interlock the rotational movements of the upper door 34 and the lower door 35, and the upper door 34 is in a state where the lower door 35 is vertically arranged. Is arranged vertically, and the upper door 34 is arranged horizontally with the lower door 35 arranged horizontally. In addition, in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the description of the long member 36 and the connecting tool 37 is omitted.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 (A), 4 (A), and 5 (B), the groove mold 41 fixed to the rear side of the frame plate 27 is arranged with an interval at the top and bottom. A rotating member (an example of the contacted member D) 44 provided with the arms 42 and 43 is attached. The arm 42 and the arm 43 arranged directly under the arm 42 are both L-shaped in a plan view, and each base end portion is rotatable on vertical shafts 45 and 45a fixed to the top and bottom of the groove mold 41, respectively. It is attached to. Therefore, the rotating member 44 can rotate about the vertical shafts 45 and 45a.

The central regions of the arms 42 and 43 are connected by a vertically arranged shaft member 46, and the tips of the arms 42 and 43 are connected by a vertically arranged shaft member 47. The shaft member 47 may be rotatably attached to the arms 42 and 43 around the axis of the shaft member 47, or may be fixed to the arms 42 and 43. The shaft members 46 and 47 are located at the same height. In the present embodiment, the rotating member 44 is mainly composed of the arms 42, 43 and the shaft members 46, 47.

One end of the rod-shaped connecting member 48 is connected to the lower end of the shaft member 46 penetrating the arm 43 via a universal joint 49, and the other end of the connecting member 48 is connected to the universal joint 50 and the connecting tool 51. It is connected to the lower door 35 via the lower door 35. The connecting member 48 transmits the rotational power of the lower door 35 to the rotating member 44, or transmits the rotational power of the rotating member 44 to the lower door 35 to interlock the rotational movements of the rotating member 44 and the lower door 35. be able to.
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 (A) and 4 (B), the shaft member 47 is in a state where the lower door 35 is vertically arranged and is located at the rearmost position and the leftmost side, and the lower door 35 is located. Is located in the front and rightmost position in the horizontally arranged state.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, 4 (A), 4 (B), and 5, a plate material (an example of the contacted member C) 52 having an arcuate outer edge is fixed to the lower door 35. There is. The plate material 52 is arranged vertically with respect to the lower door 35, and is arranged outside the storage space 15 in a state where the lower door 35 is arranged vertically (that is, a state where the door body 12 closes the carry-in / out port 11) and rearward. It will be in a protruding state.
In the present embodiment, the opening / closing device 13 is mainly composed of a door body 12, a link mechanism 39, a rotating member 44, and a plate member 52.

Next, the operations of the transport device 16 and the switchgear 13 when the article W is carried into the storage space 15 of the rack 18 and when the article W is carried out from the storage space 15 of the rack 18 will be described.
When the article W was carried into the storage space 15, as shown in FIG. 2, the slide member 14, the roller 25, and the vertically elongated member 26 on which the article W was placed moved up and down together with the elevating body 22 and were closed by the door body 12. It is arranged at a height position behind the carry-out port 11. The height position of the slide member 14 at this time is defined as the first height.

The slide member 14, the roller 25, and the vertically elongated member 26 advance the carry-in / out entrance 11 from the position (that is, outside the storage space 15) toward the lower door 35 of the door body 12, and the roller 25 moves forward from the position (that is, outside the storage space 15) toward the lower door 35 of the door body 12. As shown in FIG. 6, it comes into contact with the arcuate outer edge portion of the plate member 52. That is, the roller 25 advances together with the slide member 14 that advances at the first height and comes into contact with the plate member 52. The roller 25 in contact with the plate member 52 advances together with the slide member 14 and the vertically elongated member 26, exerts a forward force on the lower door 35 via the plate member 52, and exerts a forward force on the lower door 35 together with the lower door 35, the upper door 34 and the rotating member 44. To rotate.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper door 34 and the lower door 35 are rotated until they are horizontally arranged so that the carry-out entrance 11 is opened (that is, the roller 25 rotates the door body 12 to carry out the door body 12). (Opening the entrance 11), the rotating member 44 is in a state where the shaft member 47 is arranged on the frontmost side and the rightmost side. Then, the slide member 14, the roller 25, and the vertically elongated member 26 enter the storage space 15 from the carry-in / out port 11, advance to a position where the article W is arranged on the article holding member 20, and then, as shown in FIG. , Descent. The height position of the slide member 14 after descending is defined as the second height position.

By lowering the slide member 14, the article W on the slide member 14 is placed on the article holding member 20. The article holding member 20 is provided with a space in the center in the left-right direction, and the slide member 14 enters the space.
Then, the slide member 14, the roller 25, and the vertically elongated member 26 retract from the storage space 15 toward the carry-out entrance 11 opened by the upper door 34 and the lower door 35, and as shown in FIG. 8, the vertically elongated member 26 retreats. It comes into contact with the shaft member 47. Therefore, the vertically long member 26 retracts together with the slide member 14 that retracts at the second height and comes into contact with the shaft member 47.

The vertically elongated member 26 in contact with the shaft member 47 retracts together with the slide member 14 and the roller 25, exerts a backward force on the lower door 35 via the shaft member 47, and exerts a backward force together with the rotating member 44 on the upper door 34 and the lower side. The door 35 is rotated. As shown in FIG. 9, the upper door 34 and the lower door 35 rotate until they are in a vertical state to close the carry-in / out port 11 (that is, the vertically elongated member 26 rotates the door body 12 to close the carry-in / out port 11). Closed), the rotating member 44 is in a state where the shaft member 47 is arranged at the rearmost position and the leftmost side. Here, weights can be attached to one or both of the upper door 34 and the lower door 35 so that the upper door 34 and the lower door 35 can be stably arranged in a horizontal state and a vertical state.

Further, when the article W is carried out from the storage space 15, the slide member 14 is arranged at a second height behind the closed carry-out port 11. Then, the roller 25 advances integrally with the slide member 14 and the vertically elongated member 26 toward the lower door 35 that closes the carry-out entrance 11 together with the upper door 34, and as shown in FIG. 10A, the plate material 52 (That is, the roller 25 advances with the slide member 14 advancing at the second height and comes into contact with the plate member 52).

As the roller 25 advances, the upper door 34 and the lower door 35 rotate to open the carry-in / out port 11, the slide member 14 enters the storage space 15, and the slide member 14 enters the storage space 15 from below the article W placed on the article holding member 20. It rises to the first height and is in a state of supporting the article W. After that, the vertically elongated member 26 retracts together with the slide member 14 retracting at the first height, comes into contact with the shaft member 47 as shown in FIG. 10B, and is a rotating member due to the retracting of the vertically elongated member 26. The carry-out entrance 11 is closed by the upper door 34 and the lower door 35 by the rotation of the 44.

The rack 17 is also provided with a switchgear having the same structure as the switchgear 13, and a frame plate having the same structure as the frame plate 27 is attached to each storage space 15 of the rack 17.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and all changes in conditions that do not deviate from the gist are within the scope of the present invention.
For example, the slide member on which the article is placed does not have to be entirely accessible in the storage space, and a part of the slide member may not be able to enter the storage space. When a part of the slide member cannot enter the storage space, the area of the slide member that can enter the storage space corresponds to the article support portion.

Further, the door body does not have to have two doors, and for example, the door body may be composed of one door.
When the door body has an upper door and a lower door, the contacted member C may be fixed to the upper door, and the upper door and the lower door may be arranged at an angle with respect to the horizontal to open the carry-out entrance. good.
Further, the contacted member D may be designed to rotate about a horizontal axis. In that case, the connecting member may be rotatably connected to the contacted member D and the lower door, respectively, and it is not necessary to provide a universal joint to connect the connecting member to the contacted member D and the lower door.

10: Automated warehouse, 11: Carry-in / out entrance, 12: Door body, 13: Opening / closing device, 14: Slide member, 15: Storage space, 16: Transport device, 17, 18: Rack, 19, 19a: Rail, 20: Article Holding member, 21: mast, 22: elevating body, 23: fork, 23a, 23b: slide member, 24: protrusion, 25: roller, 26: vertically long member, 27: frame plate, 28, 29: pillar material, 30 , 31: Hinge, 32, 33: Horizontal axis, 34: Upper door, 35: Lower door, 36: Long member, 37: Connection tool, 38: Bar material, 39: Link mechanism, 41: Groove type tool, 42 , 43: Arm, 44: Rotating member, 45, 45a: Vertical shaft, 46, 47: Shaft material, 48: Connecting member, 49, 50: Universal joint, 51: Connecting tool, 52: Plate material, W: Article

Claims (5)

It has an opening / closing device having a door body that opens and closes the loading / unloading port of the article, and has an article support portion. In an automated warehouse equipped with a transport device that allows the storage space to be taken out of the storage space.
The transport device has contact members A and B that move integrally with the article support portion.
The switchgear is attached to the contacted member C to which the contact member A advancing from outside the storage space toward the door body that has closed the carry-in / out port and the carry-out port opened from the inside of the storage space. A contact member D with which the contact member B retreating toward the contact is provided.
The contact member A exerts a force on the door body via the contact member C to rotate the door body to open the carry-in / out port, and the contact member B holds the contact member D. An automated warehouse characterized in that a force is applied to the door body through the door body to rotate the door body and close the carry-in / out port. In the automatic warehouse according to claim 1, the door body has an upper door that rotates about a horizontal axis E and a lower door that rotates about a horizontal axis F below the upper door, and the opening / closing device. Is an automatic warehouse comprising a link mechanism G for interlocking each rotation operation of the upper door and the lower door. In the automated warehouse according to claim 2, the contacted member C is fixed to the lower door, and the door body is arranged outside the storage space with the carry-in / out port closed. .. In the automated warehouse according to claim 2 or 3, the contacted member D rotates about a vertical axis, and the opening / closing device is connected to the contacted member D and the lower door via a universal joint, respectively. , An automated warehouse comprising a connecting member that interlocks each rotation operation of the contacted member D and the lower door. In the automated warehouse according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the article support portion and the contact members A and B can be raised and lowered, and the contact member A is at a first height or said. It advances together with the article support portion that advances at a second height lower than the first height and comes into contact with the contacted member C, and the contact member B retracts at the first height or the second height. An automated warehouse characterized in that it retracts together with the article support portion and comes into contact with the contacted member D.

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