JP7185395B2 - material handling equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to article handling equipment.

2. Description of the Related Art There is known an article handling apparatus capable of taking out articles replenished at a predetermined location. Patent Literature 1 describes a dispensing device such as a vending machine as a specific example of this type of article handling device.

The dispensing device described in Patent Literature 1 is provided with a plurality of shelves inside the device. Each shelf is equipped with a plurality of racks, and each rack is provided with a plurality of columns in which merchandise is replenished.

JP 2009-288982 A

For example, consider the case of replenishing a column with products in Patent Document 1. In this case, the operator pulls out a rack with multiple columns from the shelf inside the device, checks and grasps the empty situation of the columns of the pulled out rack, and then, based on the grasped empty situation, the product to be replenished in the column. The type (for example, if the product is cigarettes, the brand) and quantity are determined, the brand to be replenished is searched for from the baggage transported to the installation location of the dispensing device, and the product of the searched brand is replenished in each column, It is necessary to perform a series of operations of pushing racks that have been replenished with goods onto the shelves for all the racks mounted on each shelf. Therefore, it is pointed out that there is a large work burden on workers when replenishing goods (here, commodities).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article handling apparatus capable of reducing the work burden on workers when replenishing articles. is.

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of storage sections to which articles are replenished, and upon receiving an input designating an article, picks up the designated article from the storage section under the control of a control section. and a unit for moving to a predetermined supply location. This unit picks up an article placed at a predetermined replenishment location, moves to the storage section to which the article is replenished, and replenishes the destination storage section with the item.

In the article handling apparatus configured in this way, the articles placed at the predetermined replenishment locations are automatically replenished in each storage section. Therefore, the work load on the worker when replenishing the articles is reduced as compared with the conventional one.

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a replenishment storage section for storing replenishment articles, and a replenishment storage section installed at a replenishment location or a replenishment storage section installed at the replenishment location. It is good also as a structure provided with the detection part which detects that articles|goods were stored. In this case, when the detection section detects the above-mentioned detection (that the replenishment storage section is installed at the replenishment location or that the article is stored in the replenishment storage section), the replenishment storage Take the item stored in the department, move to the replenishment destination storage section, and replenish the destination storage section with the item.

In the article handling apparatus configured as described above, when the detecting section detects that the replenishment storage section is installed at the replenishment location or that the article is stored in the replenishment storage section, the article is placed at the replenishment location. Items are automatically replenished in each storage unit. Therefore, the work burden on the worker when replenishing the articles is reduced.

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include an information holding section that holds information on the types of articles to be replenished in each storage section, and a reading section that reads information on articles picked up by the unit. . Addresses may be assigned to a plurality of storage units. In this case, the information holding section holds the information on the type of article to be replenished in each storage section in association with the address, and the unit identifies the storage section to be replenished based on the information read by the reading section. When the address is acquired by the control unit, it moves to the storage unit of the acquired address, and replenishes the storage unit of the movement destination with the article.

In the article handling apparatus constructed in this manner, articles are automatically replenished at appropriate positions within the apparatus. Therefore, the work burden on the worker when replenishing the articles is reduced.

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a replenishment detection unit that detects whether or not each storage unit is replenished with articles, and specifies the number of articles to be replenished based on the detection result of the replenishment detection unit. and a notification unit for notifying the quantity specified by the specification unit.

In the article handling apparatus configured in this manner, the operator can grasp the number of articles to be replenished in the apparatus without checking the presence or absence of articles in each storage section by himself/herself. Therefore, the work burden on the worker when replenishing the articles is reduced.

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a replenishment detection unit that detects whether or not each storage unit is replenished with articles, and a detection result of the replenishment detection unit and information held in an information holding unit. A configuration may be provided in which a specifying unit specifies the type and quantity of articles to be replenished based on the information, and a notification unit notifying the type and quantity specified by the specifying unit.

In the article handling apparatus constructed as described above, the operator can grasp the kind and quantity of articles to be replenished in the apparatus without confirming the presence or absence of articles in each storage section and the kind and quantity of articles to be replenished. can do. Therefore, the work burden on the worker when replenishing the articles is reduced.

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include a replenishment notification section that notifies whether or not replenishment of articles is necessary based on the detection result of the replenishment detection section.

With the article handling apparatus configured in this manner, the operator can grasp whether or not the apparatus should be replenished with articles without having to confirm the presence or absence of articles in each storage section by himself/herself. Therefore, the work burden on the worker when replenishing the articles is reduced.

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include an inventory determination section that determines whether or not each storage section is replenished with articles. In this case, the unit moves to the storage section determined not to be replenished with articles, and replenishes the destination storage section with the articles taken from the replenishment storage section.

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include a reading section that reads information on an article picked up by the unit. Addresses may be assigned to a plurality of storage units. In this case, the inventory determination unit determines to which address the storage unit the article whose information has been read by the reading unit has been replenished, and whether the item replenished in the storage unit at which address has been moved to the supply location. It is detected one by one, and based on the detection result, it is determined whether or not each storage unit is replenished with articles.

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing that supports a plurality of storage units, an opening formed in the housing, and a replenishment place inside the housing through the opening. may be

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a movement control section that controls a driving section to move a unit; a first position information section that indicates a position in the article handling apparatus with a first resolution; a second position information section indicating the position of each of the storage sections at a second resolution finer than the first resolution; and detecting the position of the unit based on the positions indicated by the first and second position information sections It is good also as a structure provided with the position detection part which carries out. In this case, the movement control section controls the movement speed of the unit by the drive section based on the position of the unit detected by the position detection section.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the movement control section reduces the movement speed of the unit when the position detection section detects a position close to the target storage section based on the position indicated by the first position information section. The movement of the unit may be stopped when the position detection section detects that the unit has reached the target storage section based on the position indicated by the second position information section.

In this way, the position of the unit is detected based on the positions indicated by the two types of position information sections with different resolutions, and the movement speed of the unit by the driving section is controlled based on the detected position of the unit. It is possible to shorten the time required for the unit to move to the target position and to accurately stop the unit at the target position.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the position detection section may be configured to have a sensor attached to the unit. In this case, the first position information part is, for example, a member having a shape in which concave parts with a first width and convex parts with a second width are arranged alternately in the movement direction of the unit, and the second position information part is a slit portion narrower than the second width, which is formed in the convex portion. The position detection section detects the position of the unit by detecting the concave portion and the convex portion with the sensor, and detects that the unit has reached the target storage portion by detecting the slit portion with the sensor.

In the article handling device configured as described above, since the first position information section and the second position information section are configured by one member, the first position information section and the second position information section can be It is possible to reduce the number of parts compared to the case of configuring with separate members.

In one embodiment of the present invention, each protrusion of the member having recesses and protrusions is provided at a position corresponding to, for example, a storage section. In this case, the slit portion of each convex portion is formed on the center line of the corresponding storage portion.

In the article handling apparatus configured in this manner, the unit can be accurately stopped at a position directly facing the storage section.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first width and the second width may be the same. This makes it easy to set the moving speed of the unit to a high speed in accordance with the performance of the sensor (sampling frequency, response speed, etc.).

In one embodiment of the present invention, the unit includes an article storage section that stores articles placed in the storage section and the replenishment location in a predetermined storage area within the unit, and an article storage section that stores the articles stored in the article storage section from the storage area to the outside of the unit. It is good also as a structure provided with the article putting-out part to put out. In this case, the article delivery section delivers the articles stored in the storage area from the storage section to the supply location outside the unit, and delivers the articles stored in the storage location from the replenishment location to the destination storage location outside the unit. .

In one embodiment of the present invention, the unit may be configured to include a guide portion protruding from the storage area toward the storage section and guiding the movement of the article between the storage area and the storage area. In this case, the guide section is operable between a first guide state and a second guide state, and when the article is accommodated in the storage area from the storage section, the movement of the article is guided. It operates in the first guide state, and operates in the second guide state so as to guide the movement of the article when the article is taken out of the storage area and replenished in the storage section of the movement destination.

In the article handling apparatus configured as described above, the state of the guide section is changed between when the article is stored in the storage area from the storage section and when the article is taken out of the storage area and replenished in the storage section to which the article is moved. Since the movement of the article is guided by the guide section, the article can be smoothly moved between the storage section and the place.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the guide portion has a fulcrum at the base end portion on the storage side, and the tip portion on the storage portion side can move up and down about the fulcrum. , the tip is lowered to a position lower than the placement surface of the storage section on which the article is placed, and in the second guide state, the tip rises to a position higher than the placement surface of the storage section to which the article is moved. may have been

In this manner, the position of the leading end of the guide portion with respect to the placement surface of the storage section is changed when the article is stored in the storage section from the storage section and when the article is taken out of the storage section and replenished in the storage section at the destination. By changing, it becomes possible to smoothly move the articles between the storage section and the place.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the article storage section may be configured to have a gripping section for gripping articles placed in the storage section and the replenishment location. The gripping part is operable between a pull-out position where it is pulled out to the storage part and the replenishment place and a pull-in position where it is pulled into the storage area, and grips the article when it is pulled out to the pull-out position. A configuration may be adopted in which the article is pulled into the retracted position to assist the storage of the article in the storage area. The tip of the guide portion rises to a position higher than the loading surface when the gripping portion is at the drawn-out position, and when the gripping portion pulled out to the pulled-out position grips the article and is pulled into the pulled-in position, the guide portion moves up to the loading surface. A configuration in which the tip portion is lowered to a position lower than that may be adopted.

In this manner, by configuring the position of the leading end of the guide portion with respect to the placement surface of the storage portion in conjunction with the grip portion that grips the article, it is possible to change the position of the tip portion of the guide portion with respect to the placement surface of the storage portion. When the article is removed from the storage area and replenished in the destination storage area, the tip moves to a state suitable for guiding the movement of the article between the storage area and the storage area.

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured to include a guide support portion that supports the guide portion so that the tip portion moves up and down via a fulcrum. In this case, when the gripping portion moves from the pulled-in position to the pulled-out position, the gripping portion abuts against the guide support portion to change the posture of the guide support portion from the first posture to the second posture, interlocking with the posture of the guide support portion. Then, the guide portion moves around the fulcrum, and the tip portion is lowered to a position lower than the placement surface. is changed from the second posture to the first posture, and the guide portion moves around the fulcrum in conjunction with the posture of the guide support portion, thereby raising the tip portion to a position higher than the mounting surface.

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cam section interlocking with a gripping section and an article dispensing section, and a cam operating section capable of moving the cam section within a first operating range and a second operating range. It is good also as a structure provided with. In this case, the gripping portion moves between the pulled-out position and the pulled-in position according to the motion of the cam portion in the first motion range. Also, the article ejecting section moves from a predetermined initial position in a predetermined pushing direction to push the article out of the unit according to the operation of the cam section in the second operating range.

In the article handling device configured in this manner, the gripping section and the article dispensing section can be operated by a single cam section, so the number of components required is reduced compared to the case where the gripping section and the article dispensing section are operated by separate cam sections. It is possible to reduce the points.

In one embodiment of the invention, the article is, for example, a box-shaped article.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an article handling device capable of reducing the work burden on workers when replenishing articles.

1 is a perspective view showing a dispensing device according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a dispensing device according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a figure which expands and shows a one part structure of opening vicinity provided in the front panel part of the dispensing device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 4 is a flow chart showing merchandise replenishment processing for replenishing the inventory stocker in the dispensing device with merchandise placed in the replenishment stocker of the dispensing device according to one embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flow chart showing product discharge processing for discharging the product placed in the inventory stocker from the dispensing device according to one embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a perspective view of an XY rail portion of a rail unit provided in the dispensing device according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an operating mechanism of an X rail portion that supports a transport unit provided in the dispensing device according to one embodiment of the present invention so as to be movable in the X direction; FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining movement control in the X direction of the transport unit according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing X-direction movement control of a transport unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram to help explain the flowchart of FIG. 9; FIG. 10 is a diagram for outlining a product picking operation in which the transport unit according to one embodiment of the present invention picks up products from the shelf board of the inventory stocker; FIG. 10 is a diagram for outlining a product picking operation in which the transport unit according to one embodiment of the present invention picks up products from the shelf board of the inventory stocker; FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing main members supported by a unit housing provided in the transport unit according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how the guide part and the arm supported by the unit housing according to the embodiment of the present invention are interlocked. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of each component of the transport unit when performing the product picking operation in one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram for outlining product placement operations in which the transport unit according to one embodiment of the present invention places products on the shelf board of the inventory stocker; FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of each component of the transport unit when performing the product placement operation in one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram for outlining a product ejection operation in which the transport unit according to the embodiment of the present invention drops the product stored in the product storage area onto the ejection chute;

An article handling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. An article handling device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a dispensing device such as a vending machine, in which a product specified by a customer is taken out from an inventory stocker (having a plurality of storage units) inside the vending machine and placed at a discharge port. It has a function of automatically replenishing the inventory stocker with the products stored in the replenishment stocker (having a plurality of replenishment storage units) as well as discharging from the stock. Therefore, the work burden on the worker when replenishing articles is reduced as compared with the conventional dispensing device.

Note that the article handling device according to the present invention is not limited to a dispensing device such as a vending machine. The article handling device according to the present invention is, for example, one that automatically takes out a drug described in a prescription from a drug shelf installed in a pharmacy or the like, automatically replenishes the drug to the drug shelf, or It may be one that automatically takes out the clothes displayed on the shelves in the store or automatically replenishes the clothes on the shelves.

Thus, the article handling apparatus according to the present invention includes various forms of article handling apparatus. Therefore, the goods handled by the goods handling device are not limited to the products such as cigarettes and drinking water that are generally sold by the dispensing device, but also various kinds of goods such as medicines and clothes mentioned in the above examples, miscellaneous goods, toys, food, etc. It may be a product. Also, the article is not limited to a product, and may be a personal item or another article. That is, the article handling apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to those for selling products, but for example, automatically takes out clothes, books, tableware, and food from a chest of drawers, a bookshelf, and a pantry installed at home, and , books, and tableware may be automatically returned to a chest of drawers, a bookshelf, or a pantry, or food may be automatically replenished to the pantry.

FIG. 1(a) is a perspective view showing the appearance of a dispensing device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the dispensing device 1 has an opening 10aa formed in a front panel portion 10a of a housing 10. As shown in FIG. An operator can detachably install a plurality of replenishment stockers 22 inside the dispensing device 1 through the opening 10aa formed in the front panel portion 10a. FIG. 1(b) shows a perspective view when the replenishment stocker 22 is removed from FIG. 1(a).

FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the dispensing device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that each figure including FIG. 2 illustrates the main constituent elements necessary for the explanation of the present embodiment, and the constituent elements that are not particularly necessary for the explanation of the present embodiment are shown as appropriate. omitted. Also, in FIG. 2, for the sake of convenience, an enlarged view showing only the transport unit 100 (described later) is attached.

As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 10 includes a front panel section 10a, a rear panel section 10b and a side panel section 10c. By assembling each panel part, the box-shaped housing|casing 10 is completed (refer FIG.1(a) and FIG.1(b)).

Two pairs of racks 20 are installed inside the housing 10 . One pair of them is arranged vertically on the front panel portion 10a side, and the remaining pair is arranged vertically on the rear panel portion 10b side.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a part of the configuration near the opening 10aa formed in the front panel portion 10a. The lower rack 20 on the side of the front panel portion 10a is installed at a position inside the housing 10 and exposed from the opening 10aa. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of guides 20a are provided at equal intervals on the top surface and bottom surface (surface facing the top surface) of the lower rack 20 on the front panel portion 10a side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the replenishment stocker 22 has a plurality of (10 in the example of FIG. 3) shelves 22a arranged vertically. Merchandise to be replenished to the dispensing device 1 (more specifically, the inventory stocker 24) is placed on each shelf 22a. Products to be sold by the dispensing device 1 according to the present embodiment are box-shaped products such as cigarettes, and are products of many types (brands).

The replenishment stocker 22 is provided with a handle 22b for an operator to hold the replenishment stocker 22. - 特許庁The operator holds the handle 22b and installs the replenishment stocker 22 on the rack 20. - 特許庁Each replenishment stocker 22 is guided by two pairs of upper and lower guides 20a (a pair provided on the top surface and a pair provided on the bottom surface), and stoppers 20b (see FIG. 3) provided on each surface of the top surface and the bottom surface. , magnified view), it is installed on the rack 20 . That is, the replenishment stocker 22 is supported inside the housing 10 via the rack 20 .

A detection switch 20c (see the enlarged view in FIG. 3) is provided on the bottom surface of the rack 20. As shown in FIG. When the replenishment stocker 22 is installed on the rack 20, the detection switch 20c is pushed by the replenishment stocker 22, and the detection switch 20c is turned on. That is, the detection switch 20 c functions as a detection section that detects that the replenishment stocker 22 has been installed on the rack 20 .

The detection switch 20c, which is a detection unit, detects that the replenishment stocker 22 is installed on the rack 20, thereby detecting that the shelf board 22a on which the product is placed is installed at a predetermined replenishment position. In other words, the detection unit detects that the product to be replenished in the inventory stocker 24 has been placed at a predetermined replenishment location.

In another embodiment, the replenishment stocker 22 may be configured not to be detached from the dispensing device 1 except during maintenance or the like. In this case, the replenishment stocker 22 is installed (fixed) at a position exposed from the opening 10aa of the front panel portion 10a. A flap is provided on the front surface of the replenishment stocker 22 for each shelf board 22a. An operator pushes in each flap of the replenishment stocker 22 and puts the product on the shelf board 22a behind each flap.

Each flap is provided with a sensor for detecting opening/closing of the flap (or a switch for detecting opening/closing of the flap, which is referred to as an "open/close detector" for the sake of convenience). When the product is placed on the shelf board 22a by pushing the flap, it is detected that the product is stored on the shelf board 22a by switching on/off of the open/close detector. That is, the detection unit is, for example, a flap open/close detection unit provided in the replenishment stocker 22, and detects that the product is stored on the shelf board 22a, which is the replenishment storage unit installed at a predetermined replenishment location. may be detected.

As will be described later, in this embodiment, when the replenishment stocker 22 is installed on the rack 20, the product replenishment process for replenishing the inventory stocker 24 with products is started. In the embodiment in which the The product replenishment process may be started when an input requesting replenishment start is received from (a tablet or the like).

As shown in FIG. 2, a circuit board 30 on which a controller 300 is mounted is installed inside the housing 10 . The controller 300 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) that controls the dispensing device 1, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores a control program executed by the CPU, and various controllers necessary for executing the control program. It has a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like for temporarily storing data. The controller 300 detects that the replenishment stocker 22 is installed in the rack 20 when the detection switch 20c is turned on.

As shown in FIG. 2, an inventory stocker 24 is detachably installed on each of the upper racks 20 on the side of the front panel section 10a and the upper and lower racks 20 on the side of the rear panel section 10b. These racks 20 and inventory stockers 24 have the same configurations as the lower racks 20 and replenishment stockers 22 on the front panel portion 10a side. Therefore, detailed descriptions of these racks 20 and inventory stockers 24 are omitted or simplified as appropriate. Note that the stock stocker 24 is not removed from the rack 20 during normal operation of the dispensing device 1, but is removed from the rack 20 if necessary, for example, during maintenance.

In the space sandwiched between each rack (and each stocker) installed on the front panel section 10a side and each rack (and each stocker) installed on the rear panel section 10b side, a transport unit 100 (unit) and a rail unit 200 is installed (see FIGS. 2 and 1(b)). The transport unit 100 is held by the rail unit 200 so as to be movable in the above space in two-dimensional directions (horizontal direction (X direction in the figure) and vertical direction (Y direction in the figure)). is held by the rail unit 200 so as to be rotatable. For convenience of explanation, the position in the X direction is referred to as "X position" and the position in the Y direction is referred to as "Y position".

As shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), an illumination lamp 50 is embedded in the front panel portion 10a. The controller 300 controls the lighting state (color, continuous lighting, blinking, etc.) of the illumination lamp 50 to change the status of the dispensing device 1 (for example, product shortage, product replenishment, product sales, product taking out, product Completion of discharge) is notified to workers and customers. A simple animation may be played by the illumination lamp 50 in order to reduce the customer's stress during the waiting time from the purchase operation to the delivery of the product.

[Product replenishment process]
A sensor array (not shown) is installed in the dispensing device 1 . The sensor array includes a plurality of sensors corresponding to each shelf of replenishment stocker 22 and inventory stocker 24 . Each sensor detects the presence or absence of products on the corresponding shelf board. The controller 300 determines whether or not the product is placed on each shelf board of the replenishment stocker 22 and the inventory stocker 24 based on the output of each sensor. That is, the controller 300 (and the sensor array) functions as a replenishment detector that detects whether or not each shelf board is replenished with products.

The controller 300 determines whether or not the product needs to be replenished based on the output of each sensor in the sensor array (in other words, the inventory status). For example, the controller 300 determines that the dispensing device 1 needs to be replenished with products when the number of shelf boards on which no products are placed reaches a certain number, or when the inventory of hot-selling products falls below a certain number. judge. When the controller 300 determines that the product needs to be replenished, the controller 300 controls the lighting state of the illumination lamp 50 to notify this. In other words, the illumination lamp 50 functions as a replenishment notification unit that notifies whether or not the product needs to be replenished.

When the worker determines that it is necessary to replenish the product by means of the illumination lamp 50, for example, he starts replenishing the product. Specifically, the operator places the products to be replenished in the dispenser 1 on each shelf board 22a of the replenishment stocker 22, and installs the replenishment stocker 22 on the rack 20 through the opening 10aa of the front panel portion 10a. When the controller 300 detects that the detection switch 20c is turned on (installation of the replenishment stocker 22 on the rack 20), the controller 300 starts execution of product replenishment processing to replenish the inventory stocker 24 with the products placed in the replenishment stocker 22. FIG. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the product replenishment process.

As will be described later, the controller 300 holds in advance information (including types) of products to be replenished on each shelf 24 provided in the inventory stocker 24 . The controller 300 identifies the type and quantity of the product to be replenished from this information, and notifies the worker of the type and quantity of the identified product by transmitting it to, for example, an information processing terminal (tablet, etc.) for the worker. . That is, the controller 300 notifies an information holding unit that holds information on the types of products to be replenished, a specification unit that specifies the quantity (and types) of products to be replenished, and the specified quantity (and types) of products. Functions as a notification unit. The operator can grasp the types and quantities of the products to be replenished through the information processing terminal without opening the dispensing device 1 and directly checking the inventory of the products.

As shown in FIG. 4, the controller 300 controls the transport unit 100 and the rail unit 200 when determining that the replenishment stocker 22 is installed on the rack 20 (step S11).

Specifically, the rail unit 200 moves the transport unit 100 to a position facing the replenishment stocker 22 (more specifically, the shelf board 22a) (step S12). The transport unit 100 picks up one commodity placed on one shelf board 22a (the shelf board 22a, which is a replenishment storage unit arranged at a predetermined replenishment place by installing the replenishment stocker 22 on the rack 20). , is accommodated in the transport unit 100 (step S13).

The transport unit 100 is provided with a reading device 190 (see FIG. 15 to be described later) for reading information on the accommodated products. The reading device 190 (reading unit) is, for example, a barcode reader, and reads barcodes printed on products. The product information read by the reading device 190 is output to the controller 300 (step S14).

The controller 300 holds in advance the address (X-position and Y-position information) of each shelf 24a provided in the inventory stocker 24 and the information of the product to be replenished on each shelf 24a (each address). That is, the controller 300 functions as an information holding unit that associates and holds the address of the shelf board 24a and the information of the product to be replenished on the shelf board 24a (address).

The controller 300 identifies the address of the shelf board 24a to which the product should be replenished from the information input from the reader 190, and controls the rail unit 200 according to the identified address. That is, the rail unit 200 moves the transport unit 100 to the specified address (opposing position of the shelf board 24a) (step S15). It should be noted that which shelves 24a should be replenished with which products can be arbitrarily changed, for example, by the operator instructing the controller 300 through the information processing terminal.

When the conveying unit 100 moves to the shelf board 24a to which the goods are to be replenished, the conveying unit 100 pushes out the accommodated goods toward the replenishment destination (destination) shelf board 24a and transfers them to the shelf board 24a. This completes the replenishment of one product (step S16). The controller 300 repeats the series of processes shown in steps S12 to S16 until all the products placed on the shelves 22a of the replenishment stocker 22 are replenished on the shelves 24a of the inventory stocker 24 (step S17). ).

As described above, the controller 300 holds the address of each shelf board 24a and allows the reading device 190 to read the information of the products accommodated in the transport unit 100. FIG. Therefore, the controller 300 knows which product has been replenished to which shelf 24a and which product has been taken out from which shelf 24a (product entry/exit record).

The controller 300 stores this known information (referred to as "inventory information" for convenience) in a built-in storage medium such as ROM and RAM, and sequentially updates it to determine which product is placed on which shelf board 24a. (Additionally, the presence or absence of products on each shelf board 24a) can be grasped. In a configuration in which the controller 300 manages such inventory information, there is no need to detect the presence or absence of commodities on each shelf board using the above-described sensor array. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of parts (omit the sensor array). Further, the controller 300 does not have to hold in advance the information of the products to be replenished on each shelf board 24a. The controller 300 determines the vacant shelf 24a from the inventory information, and controls the rail unit 200 so that the shelf 24a determined to be vacant is sequentially replenished with products.

That is, the controller 300 functions as an inventory determination unit that determines whether or not each shelf 24a is replenished with products (in other words, the presence or absence of products on each shelf 24a). In this case, under the control of the controller 300, the transport unit 100 moves to the shelf board 24a (empty shelf board 24a) determined not to be replenished with goods, and moves the goods taken from the shelf board 22a to the destination. The shelf board 24a is replenished.

In addition, the controller 300, which operates as an inventory determining unit, determines which shelf board 24a (address) the product whose information is read by the reading device 190 is replenished, and which shelf board 24a (address) the replenished product is delivered. It is sequentially detected whether or not the article has been moved to the outside of the apparatus 1 (supply place described later), and based on the detection result, it is determined whether or not each shelf 24a is replenished with articles.

When steps S12 to S16 are executed for the first time, the controller 300 temporarily moves the transport unit 100 to a predetermined initial position and then moves the transport unit 100 to the replenishment stocker so that the absolute position of the transport unit 100 during the product replenishment process can be grasped. You may make it move to 22. A limit switch (not shown) is installed in the vicinity of this initial position. When the transfer unit 100 moves to the initial position and contacts the limit switch, the limit switch is turned on. When the controller 300 detects that the limit switch is turned on, the controller 300 determines that the transport unit 100 has moved to the initial position. By performing such initial position confirmation, the controller 300 can grasp the absolute position of the transport unit 100 during the product replenishment process.

When the steps S12 to S16 are executed for the second time or later, the controller 300 confirms the initial position again because the absolute position of the transport unit 100 during the product replenishment process can be grasped by executing the initial position confirmation. The conveying unit 100 is directly moved from the shelf board 24a on which the replenishment of commodities has been completed to the replenishment stocker 22.例文帳に追加

In this embodiment, each product placed on each shelf 22a of the replenishment stocker 22 is automatically replenished to an appropriate replenishment position (shelf 24a) in the dispensing device 1. FIG. Therefore, the worker does not need to perform work while sequentially confirming which shelf board 24a of which inventory stocker 24 should be replenished with which product. When replenishing the dispensing device 1 with commodities, the operator only needs to confirm the types and quantities of commodities to be replenished, and then appropriately place the commodities on the shelves 22a of the replenishment stocker 22.例文帳に追加Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the work load on the worker when replenishing products is reduced compared to the conventional one. In particular, in the case of commodities with many types (brands) such as cigarettes, just confirming which brand should be replenished to which shelf board 24a of which inventory stocker 24 is a difficult task. In the case of the dispensing device 1 according to this embodiment, even such a worker can easily and accurately replenish commodities.

[Product discharge processing]
A customer can operate an information processing terminal such as a tablet placed side by side on the dispensing device 1 to designate a product that the customer wishes to purchase. The payout device 1 is wired or wirelessly connected to this information processing terminal according to a predetermined communication standard. When the controller 300 receives the information on the product specified by the customer from the information processing terminal, the controller 300 starts executing the product ejection process for ejecting the product placed in the stock stocker 24 from the dispensing device 1 . FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of the product ejection process.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the controller 300 receives the information on the product specified by the customer, the controller 300 specifies the address of the shelf board 24a on which the product indicated by the received information is placed (step S21). 100 and rail unit 200.

Specifically, the rail unit 200 moves the transport unit 100 to the position facing the identified shelf board 24a (step S22). The transport unit 100 picks up the product placed on the destination shelf 24a and stores it in the transport unit 100 (step S23).

At this time, the controller 300 reads the product information using the reading device 190 and compares the read information with the product information specified by the customer in order to avoid the inconvenience of providing the wrong product to the customer. . If these pieces of information do not match, the rail unit 200 moves the transport unit 100 to a position facing the shelf plate 22a of the replenishment stocker 22. FIG. When the transport unit 100 moves to the shelf board 22a, it pushes out the accommodated product toward the shelf board 22a of the movement destination and transfers it to the shelf board 22a. Next, the rail unit 200 moves the transport unit 100 to a position facing another shelf board 24a on which the product specified by the customer is placed. The transport unit 100 picks up the product placed on the destination shelf 24 a and stores it in the transport unit 100 . The fact that the products do not match is notified to the worker through the information processing terminal for the worker or the illumination lamp 50 on the front panel portion 10a.

The transport unit 100 rotates around the axis in the Y direction from the orientation facing the destination shelf 24a to the orientation not facing (step S24). Next, the transport unit 100 pushes out the stored product and drops it downward (step S25). A discharge chute 40 is installed below the transport unit 100 . The commodities dropped into the ejection chute 40 are ejected to the outside of the dispensing device 1 (supply place) from the ejection port 40 provided at the bottom of the dispensing device 1 . As a result, the customer can receive the desired product.

[Movement Control of Transport Unit 100]
If it takes a long time for the product to be discharged after the customer makes a purchase, the customer may feel uncomfortable. In order to shorten the customer's waiting time, it is conceivable, for example, to move the transport unit 100 to a target position (opposite position of the shelf board 24a of the inventory stocker 24) in the dispensing device 1 at high speed. However, when the transport unit 100 is moved at high speed, it becomes difficult to accurately stop the transport unit 100 at the target position. For example, if the transport unit 100 stops at a position deviated from the position facing the shelf board 24a, there is a risk that the transport unit 100 will hinder the product picking operation of the shelf board 24a and the product placing operation of placing the product on the shelf board 24a. be.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the controller 300 controls the movement of the transport unit 100 so that the time required for the transport unit 100 to move to the target position can be shortened and the transport unit 100 can be accurately stopped at the target position. I do. That is, the controller 300 functions as a movement control section that moves the transport unit 100 .

<<Movement Control of Transport Unit 100 in Y Direction>>
FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the XY rail portion 210 provided in the rail unit 200. As shown in FIG. The XY rail section 210 has an X rail section 220 that supports the transport unit 100 movably in the X direction, and a Y rail section 230 that supports the X rail section 220 movably in the Y direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, the Y rail section 230 has a pair of slide rail sections 2302 (2302A, 2302B) and an upper plate 2304 connecting the slide rail sections 2302A and 2302B.

A driving portion (motor 2308) for moving the X rail portion 220 in the Y direction and a driving pulley (not visible in the drawing) connected to the motor 2308 are provided at the lower end portion of the slide rail portion 2302A. A belt 2306 is wound around the drive pulley.

A portion of the belt 2306 is arranged along the slide rail portion 2302A, and is wound around a driven pulley (near the upper plate 2304, invisible in the drawing) provided at the upper end portion of the slide rail portion 2302A. ing. This driven pulley is driven by the driving force of the motor 2308 being transmitted via the driving pulley and belt 2306 .

A portion of the belt 2306 is arranged along the upper plate 2304 from the upper end of the slide rail portion 2302A to the upper end of the slide rail portion 2302B. A driven pulley (near the upper plate 2304 and invisible in the drawing) is also provided at the upper end of the slide rail portion 2302B. A belt 2306 is wound around this driven pulley as well. The belt 2306 is also wound around a driven pulley 2310 provided at the lower end of the slide rail portion 2302B (see enlarged view in FIG. 6). The driven pulley at the upper end of the slide rail portion 2302B and the driven pulley 2310 are driven by the driving force of the motor 2308 transmitted via the driving pulley and the belt 2306 .

Such a configuration causes belt 2306 to move. In the above configuration, the motor, which is the driving source, is provided only in the slide rail portion 2302A. A configuration in which they are moved separately by separate motors (the movements themselves are synchronized) may also be used.

Each of the slide rail portion 2302A and the slide rail portion 2302B has a rail (not shown) extending in the Y direction. Both ends of the X rail portion 220 are connected to a portion of the belt 2306 (the portion with which the movement in the Y direction is synchronized). When the driving force of the motor 2308 is transmitted to the X rail section 220 via the belt 2306, the movement of the X rail section 220 is guided by the rail and moved in the Y direction (vertical upward direction or vertical downward direction). slide).

An encoder 2312 is connected to the driven pulley 2310 of the slide rail portion 2302B. The encoder 2312 converts the rotation of the driven pulley 2310 into an electric signal, detects the Y position of the X rail portion 220 from the converted electric signal, and outputs it to the controller 300 . Thereby, the controller 300 can grasp the Y position of the X rail portion 220 .

<<Movement Control of Transport Unit 100 in X Direction>>
FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an operation mechanism of the X rail portion 220 that supports the transport unit 100 so as to be movable in the X direction. As shown in FIG. 7, the X rail section 220 is provided with a drive section (motor) 2202 for moving the transport unit 100 in the X direction and a drive pulley 2204 connected to the motor 2202 . Motor 2202 is, for example, a stepping motor or a DC motor.

A belt 2206 is wound around the driving pulley 2204 . A plurality of driven pulleys 2208 are also entrained around the belt 2206 . Each driven pulley 2208 is driven by the driving force of motor 2202 being transmitted via drive pulley 2204 and belt 2206 .

The X rail portion 220 has rails 2210 extending in the X direction. The transport unit 100 is connected to the belt 2206 . When the driving force of the motor 2202 is transmitted to the transport unit 100 via the belt 2206, the transport unit 100 is guided by the rails 2210 and moves (slides) in the X direction (horizontally right or left). )do.

The X rail portion 220 supports the rotary motor 110 . The rotary motor 110 is connected to the transport unit 100 and can rotate the transport unit 100 around the axis in the Y direction. By controlling the rotation of the rotary motor 110, the controller 300 moves the transport unit 100 to the shelf board of the stocker on the front panel section 10a side or the stocker shelf board on the rear panel section 10b side during the product picking operation or the product placing operation. , or rotate it to an angle that does not face the shelf plate when dropping the product onto the discharge chute 40.例文帳に追加

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining movement control of the transport unit 100 in the X direction. 8 shows a schematic diagram of the sensing sheet metal 400 and the shelf board 22a of the replenishment stocker 22 (or the shelf board 24a of the inventory stocker 24) in addition to the top view of the transport unit 100. FIG.

The sensing sheet metal 400 is a member formed by sheet metal processing a metal sheet material, and has a shape extending in the X direction, which is the movement direction of the transport unit 100 . The sensing sheet metal 400 includes a group of shelf boards of each stage of the stocker (replenishment stocker 22 or inventory stocker 24) (the shelf boards of each stocker arranged in the X direction at the same height position (Y position) are referred to as a "shelf board group". ), and are supported in the vicinity of each shelf board group by a support portion formed in the housing 10 .

As shown in FIG. 8, the sensing sheet metal 400 has a shape (first position information portion) in which concave portions 410 and convex portions 420 are alternately arranged in the X direction. In other words, the sensing sheet metal 400 is a rod-shaped member in which wide width portions (concave portions 410) and narrow width portions (convex portions 420) are periodically arranged in the longitudinal direction. The concave portions 410 and the convex portions 420 are alternately arranged over at least the entire movable range of the transport unit 100 in the X direction.

The width D1 of the concave portion 410 and the width D2 of the convex portion 420 are the same. In other embodiments, width D1 and width D2 may be different.

Each convex portion 420 is arranged near each shelf board of the shelf board group arranged in the X direction. A slit portion 430 (second position information portion) having a width D3 is formed in the convex portion 420 . The slit portion 430 is formed on the center line of the corresponding shelf plate (the shelf plate in the vicinity of the convex portion 420) (on the line extending from the center of the shelf plate to the transport unit 100 side).

As shown in FIG. 8 , a transmissive photosensor 500 is attached to the transport unit 100 . The transmissive photosensor 500 detects the positional information (the concave portion 410, the convex portion 420, and the slit portion 430) indicated on the sensing sheet metal 400. FIG.

Specifically, the convex portion 420 blocks the light emitted from the light projecting portion of the transmissive photosensor 500 (arranged at a position to block), and the recessed portion 410 and the slit portion 430 are the light emitted from the light projecting portion. do not block the light. Therefore, when the light-receiving portion cannot receive the light emitted from the light-projecting portion, the transmissive photosensor 500 detects that the transport unit 100 is positioned at the X position corresponding to the convex portion 420, and emits light from the light-projecting portion. When the light can be received by the light receiving portion, it is detected that the transport unit 100 is positioned at the X position corresponding to the concave portion 410 or the slit portion 430 .

The controller 300 detects the X position of the transport unit 100 based on the position information detected by the transmissive photosensor 500 . That is, the controller 300 functions as a position detection section that detects the position of the transport unit 100 . In another embodiment, the transmissive photosensor 500 may be replaced by another non-contact sensor, such as a reflective photosensor.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the X-direction movement control of the transport unit 100 by the controller 300 . FIGS. 10(a) to 10(c) are diagrams to help explain the flow chart shown in FIG.

When the controller 300 acquires the address of the target shelf board (for example, the shelf board 24a to which the product is to be replenished or the shelf board 24a on which the product specified by the customer is placed), the controller 300 drives the motor 2308 of the Y rail portion 230. Then, the X rail portion 220 is moved in the Y direction to the stage of the shelf board group where the target shelf board is located. The controller 300 then drives the motor 2202 of the X rail section 220 to move the transport unit 100 in the X direction to the target shelf board. In addition, in FIG. 10, the target shelf board is denoted by reference numeral 24a'.

Specifically, the controller 300 first drives and controls the motor 2202 so that the rotational speed of the motor 2202 (in other words, the moving speed of the transport unit 100) instantly reaches a high speed (step S31). If the motor 2202 is a stepping motor, the controller 300 instantly increases the pulse frequency from a low frequency to a high frequency. If motor 2202 is a DC motor, controller 300 instantly increases the supply voltage.

The controller 300 detects the X position of the transport unit 100 based on the positional information (the concave portion 410 and the convex portion 420 of the sensing sheet metal 400) detected by the transmissive photosensor 500 while the transport unit 100 is moving. The moving speed of the transport unit 100 depends on the resolution of the X position indicated by the concave portions 410 and the convex portions 420 (the pitch of the concave portions 410 and the convex portions 420) and the performance of the transmissive photosensor 500 (sampling frequency, response speed, etc.). It is set as appropriate in consideration of this. In this embodiment, setting the width D1 and the width D2 equal makes it easier to set the moving speed of the transport unit 100 to a high speed in accordance with the performance of the transmissive photosensor 500 .

The width D3 of the slit portion 430 is narrower than the width D1 of the concave portion 410 and the width D2 of the convex portion 420 . As an example, width D1 and width D2 are 20 mm, while width D3 is 0.5 mm. Therefore, it can be said that the resolution of the X position by the slit part 430 is higher than the resolution of the X position by the concave part 410 and the convex part 420 (width D1 and width D2).

During high-speed movement of the transport unit 100, the performance (sampling frequency) of the transmissive photosensor 500 is substantially unable to detect the slit portion 430 with high X-position resolution. Therefore, the transmissive photosensor 500 detects only the concave portion 410 and the convex portion 420 while the transport unit 100 is moving at high speed.

The controller 300 counts the number of protrusions 420 detected by the transmissive photosensor 500 while the transport unit 100 is moving at high speed, and roughly estimates the X position of the transport unit 100 (step S32). High-speed movement of the transport unit 100 not only shortens the waiting time for customers, but also helps prevent the occurrence of errors in estimating the X position due to erroneous detection (detection of the slit portion 430).

In the example of FIG. 10(a), the transport unit 100 (solid line in the figure) is moving to a position where it has passed through the fourth projection 420' from the left side in the figure. Therefore, the controller 300 detects that the transport unit 100 is positioned at the X position corresponding to the fourth concave portion 410' from the left side in the figure.

If the transport unit 100 is kept moving at high speed, it becomes difficult to accurately stop the transport unit 100 on the target shelf board 24a'. Therefore, the controller 300 detects that the transport unit 100 has passed the shelf board two positions before the target shelf board 24a' (in other words, the position of the convex portion 420' and the position close to the shelf board 24a'). Then, the transport unit 100 is rapidly decelerated (step S33). If the motor 2202 is a stepper motor, the controller 300 will step down the pulse frequency from a high frequency to a low frequency. If motor 2202 is a DC motor, controller 300 temporarily provides voltage to reverse the DC motor.

The controller 300 detects the passage of the shelf board (in other words, the convex portion 420′) two positions before the target shelf plate 24a′, rapidly decelerates the transport unit 100, and then causes the second convex portion 420 (convex portion 420″), it is detected that the transport unit 100 is about to reach the target position (step S34) (see FIG. 10B).

Since the transport unit 100 is moving at a reduced speed, even with the performance (sampling frequency) of the transmissive photosensor 500, the slit portion 430 with high X-position resolution can be reliably detected. When the transmissive photosensor 500 detects the slit portion 430 (step S35), the controller 300 detects that the transport unit 100 has reached the target position, stops the motor 2202, and moves the transport unit 100. is stopped (step S36) (see FIG. 10(c)). Note that the "target position" is a position where the center position of the transport unit 100 and the target center position of the shelf board 24a' match. When the transport unit 100 stops at the target position, the transport unit 100 is positioned directly in front of (directly facing) the target shelf board 24a'.

As described above, in this embodiment, first, the transport unit 100 is moved at high speed to detect the rough X position of the transport unit 100, and when it is detected that the transport unit 100 has approached the target position, the transport unit 100 is moved. Decelerate and move slowly. Since the transport unit 100 accurately stops at the target position (directly in front of the shelf board 24a'), it is possible to perform the product picking operation and the product raising operation without hindrance.

Such X-position movement control can also be applied to Y-position movement control. That is, by performing the same movement control in the Y direction, the time required for the transport unit 100 to move to the target position can be shortened, and the transport unit 100 can be moved to the stage of the shelf board group where the target shelf board is located. can be stopped with high precision.

[Product Picking Operation/Product Placement Operation/Product Ejection Operation]
In the transport unit 100, when taking out products from the shelves of the stocker (replenishment stocker 22 or inventory stocker 24) and when placing products on the shelf, the products are prevented from falling, and the products between the transport unit 100 and the shelf are prevented from falling. A guide portion 1802 is provided to guide the movement of the . In the transport unit 100 according to the present embodiment, as will be described below, when taking out a product from the shelf board, the shelf board is positioned so that the movement of the product between the transport unit 100 and the shelf board is properly guided. The posture of the guide part 1802 with respect to the shelf plate changes each time the product is placed. As a result, for example, the end face of the product collides with the end face of the guide portion 1802, making it impossible to smoothly take out the product from the shelf board, prevent the smooth placement of the product on the shelf board, damage the product, and the like. problems can be avoided.

《Picking up goods》
FIGS. 11(a) to 11(c), 12(a) and 12(b) are diagrams for outlining how the transport unit 100 picks up products from the inventory stocker 24 (shelf board 24a). is. The product picking operation for picking up the product from the replenishment stocker 22 (shelf board 22a) is also the same as the product picking operation shown in FIGS. Therefore, the description of the product picking operation for picking the product from the replenishment stocker 22 will be omitted. In the following, items are denoted by reference numeral I for convenience.

As shown in FIG. 11( a ), the transport unit 100 has a unit housing 130 . A space surrounded by the walls of the unit housing 130 serves as a product storage space 130a (place) where the product I is stored. The unit housing 130 supports a plurality of members such as the guide portion 1802, the upper guide 120, the arm 1502, the roller 1702, and the like.

A pair of arms 1502 are provided and are operable between a pull-out position where the product is pulled out from the product storage area 130a to the shelf plate 22a or 24a and a pull-in position where the product is pulled into the product storage area 130a. The guide portion 1802 and the arm 1502 are mechanically interlocked. When the arm 1502 is pulled out from the pulled-in position (see FIG. 11(a)) to the pulled-out position, the tip 1802a of the guide portion 1802 is positioned higher than the shelf plate 24a (FIG. 11(a), enlarged view). ) to a position lower than the shelf plate 24a (see the enlarged view in FIG. 11(b)).

The interval between the arms 1502 is initially wider than the width of the product I. When these arms 1502 are pulled out to the pull-out position, they hold the product I from both sides (see FIG. 11(c)).

Each arm 1502 releases the clamping of the commodity I when it is drawn to the pull-in position while clamping (gripping) the commodity I. As shown in FIG. That is, each arm 1502 moves away from each side of item I and returns to its initial state. At this timing, the upper guide 120 loosely presses the product I from above, and the plurality of rollers 1702 start rotating (forward rotation of a roller motor (not shown)) to convey the product I to the product storage area 130a (FIG. 12(a)). ) and FIG. 12(b)). That is, the arm 1502 assists the storage of the product I in the product storage area 130a by being pulled into the retracted position while holding the product I therebetween. The final storage of the product I in the product storage area 130a is mainly performed by the rollers 1702. FIG. In addition, the roller 1702 functions as an article storage section for storing the article I in the article storage area 130a, and the arm 1502 (arm assembly 150) functions as a gripping section that constitutes the article storage section.

When the arm 1502 is retracted to the retracted position, the guide part 1802 raises (returns) the tip part 1802a from a position lower than the shelf board 24a to a position higher than the shelf board 24a.

In this embodiment, when the product I is moved from the shelf board 24a to the product storage space 130a, the tip 1802a of the guide part 1802 is lowered to a position lower than the shelf board 24a. Therefore, the end face of the product I is placed on the guide portion 1802 without colliding with the tip portion 1802a of the guide portion 1802, and the guide portion 1802 guides the movement from the shelf board 24a to the product storage space 130a. According to this embodiment, the product I can be taken out smoothly from the shelf board 24a, and damage to the product I due to collision between the end surface of the product I and the tip portion 1802a of the guide portion 1802 can be avoided.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing main members supported by the unit housing 130. As shown in FIG. 14(a) to 14(d) are diagrams showing how the guide portion 1802 and the arm 1502 are interlocked. 15(a) to 15(d) are diagrams schematically showing the operation of each component of the transport unit 100 when performing the product picking operation. These drawings will be used to further explain the product picking operation.

As shown in FIG. 13, the unit housing 130 includes a cam plate 140, a cam motor 141, an arm link 142, a push link 143, a switch link 144, a switch lever 145, a switch board 146, an arm assembly 150, a push assembly 160, A roller assembly 170 and a guide assembly 180 are supported.

FIG. 14(a) shows the positional relationship between the arm assembly 150 and the guide assembly 180 before the product picking operation (initial state). FIG. 15(a) schematically shows each component of the unit housing 130 in the initial state. A guide portion 1802 is provided in the guide assembly 180 . As shown in FIG. 14A, in the initial state, the guide portion 1802 is in a posture in which the tip portion 1802a faces obliquely upward, and the tip portion 1802a is raised to a position higher than the shelf plate 24a. be.

The cam plate 140 (cam section) is rotatably supported by the unit housing 130 by a cam motor 141 (cam operating section). As shown in FIG. 13, the cam plate 140 is formed with a first cam groove 140a, a second cam groove 140b and a third cam groove 140c.

The switch link 144 has a pin 144a and a pin 144b. The pin 144 a engages with the first cam groove 140 a and the pin 144 b engages with the long groove 145 a of the switch lever 145 .

The switch lever 145 is a lever for switching ON/OFF of the three switches SW3 to SW5 mounted on the switch board 146. FIG. Each of the switches SW3 to SW5 is turned on when the switch lever 145 is contacted, and turned off when the switch lever 145 is released. In the initial state, the switch lever 145 is in contact with all the switches SW3-SW5. Therefore, all the switches SW3 to SW5 are turned on.

When the cam plate 140 is rotated by the cam motor 141, the pin 144a slides in the first cam groove 140a. Thereby, the switch link 144 moves along the first cam groove 140a with the pin 144c as a fulcrum. The rotational force of the cam plate 140 is transmitted to the switch lever 145 via the pin 144b of the switch link 144 (the pin 144b slides in the long groove 145a).

When the cam plate 140 rotates and the rotational force is transmitted through the switch link 144, the switch lever 145 moves on the switch board 146 with the pin 145b serving as a fulcrum. As a result, the switch SW in contact with the switch lever 145 is changed, and the on/off states of the switches SW3 to SW5 are changed. In other words, the ON/OFF states of the switches SW3 to SW5 change according to the rotational angular position of the cam plate 140. FIG.

The controller 300 detects the rotational angular position of the cam plate 140 from the ON/OFF states of the switches SW3 to SW5, and controls the rotation of the cam plate 140. FIG. The following shows the relationship between the rotational angular position of the cam plate 140 detected by the controller 300 and the ON/OFF states of the switches SW3 to SW5. Note that "+" is an angle that progresses clockwise with respect to the initial position, and "-" is an angle that progresses counterclockwise from the initial position. For ease of understanding, ON is indicated by "1" and OFF is indicated by "0". Also, the “initial position” corresponds to the retracted position of the arm 1502 and the “+90° position” corresponds to the retracted position of the arm 1502 .

Rotation angle position of cam plate 140: SW3:SW4:SW5
Initial position (initial state, 0° position): 1: 1: 1
First intermediate position (between 0° and +90°): 0: 1: 1
+90° position: 0: 0: 1
Second intermediate position (between 0° and -90°): 1: 1: 0
-90° position: 1: 0: 0

The arm link 142 is provided with a follower 142a. The follower 142a is engaged with the second cam groove 140b. When the cam plate 140 is rotated by the cam motor 141, the arm link 142 moves following the second cam groove 140b.

A long groove 142 b is formed in the arm link 142 . A follower 1504 provided on the lower surface of the arm assembly 150 is engaged with the long groove 142b. The rotational force of cam plate 140 is transmitted to arm assembly 150 via arm link 142 (follower 1504 slides in long groove 142b).

When the rotational force of the cam plate 140 is transmitted via the arm link 142, the arm assembly 150 advances (moves toward the shelf 24a) or retreats (moves away from the shelf 24a). Specifically, when the cam plate 140 rotates from the 0° position toward the +90° position, the arm assembly 150 advances, and when the cam plate 140 rotates from the +90° position toward the 0° position, the arm assembly 150 moves forward. fall back.

The shape of the second cam groove 140b is designed so that the arm assembly 150 advances or retreats only when the cam plate 140 is operating in the first operating range (0° position to +90° position). It is In other words, the shape of the second cam groove 140b is designed so as not to move the arm assembly 150 when the cam plate 140 is operating in the second operating range (range from 0° position to −90° position). ing.

Further, as will be described later, the push assembly 160 is engaged with the third cam groove 140 c so that the rotational force of the cam plate 140 is transmitted via the push link 143 . The shape of the third cam groove 140c is designed so that the push assembly 160 advances or retreats only when the cam plate 140 is operating in the second operating range (range from 0° position to -90° position). ing. In other words, the shape of the third cam groove 140c is designed so as not to move the push assembly 160 when the cam plate 140 operates in the first operating range (range from 0° position to +90° position). there is

That is, of the arm assembly 150 and the push assembly 160, the cam plate 140 advances or retracts only the arm assembly 150 when operating in the first operating range (range from 0° position to +90° position), It has a cam groove configuration that advances or retracts only the push assembly 160 when operating in a second range of motion (0° to -90°).

In the product picking operation, the controller 300 first rotates the cam plate 140 from the 0° position toward the +90° position (rotates the cam motor 141 forward) to move the arm assembly 150 forward.

14(b) and 14(c) show the relationship between the arm assembly 150 and the guide assembly 180 when the rotation angle position of the cam plate 140 is at the first intermediate position (between the 0° position and the +90° position). Indicates positional relationship. FIG. 14(d) shows the positional relationship between the arm assembly 150 and the guide assembly 180 when the rotation angle position of the cam plate 140 is at the +90° position.

The guide assembly 180 has a guide link 1804 (guide support). The guide link 1804 is initially biased by a biasing member (not shown) so that the base end 1804b faces obliquely upward (see FIG. 14A). The guide link 1804 is operable with a pin (not shown) inserted into the hole 1804a as a fulcrum.

A base 1506 of the arm assembly 150 is formed with a pressing portion 1506a. When the arm assembly 150 moves forward, the pressing portion 1506a abuts against the proximal end portion 1804b of the guide link 1804 (see FIG. 14(b)). The pressing portion 1506a has a tapered surface on which the base end portion 1804b abuts. Therefore, when the proximal end portion 1804b abuts against the pressing portion 1506a (tapered surface), it slides on the tapered surface and is guided to the lower surface of the arm assembly 150 (base 1506). As a result, the guide link 1804 is restrained by the arm assembly 150 from being biased by the biasing member.

The guide portion 1802 is connected to the distal end portion 1804c of the guide link 1804 via a connecting pin 1808. As shown in FIG. One end of the connecting pin 1808 is engaged with a round hole 1804ca formed in the tip portion 1804c, and the other end of the connecting pin 1808 is engaged with a long groove 1802b formed in the guide portion 1802. Support shafts 1802 c serving as fulcrums of the guide portion 1802 are formed on both side surfaces of the guide portion 1802 . The support shaft 1802 c is supported by support pins 1704 formed on the roller assembly 170 . The roller assembly 170 is fixedly supported by the unit housing 130 .

When the pressing portion 1506a and the base end portion 1804b come into contact with each other and the guide link 1804 rotates about the pin, the posture of the tip portion 1804c is lowered slightly backward (in the direction away from the shelf plate 24a). As the posture of the distal end portion 1804c is slightly lowered rearward, the position of the connecting pin 1808 is also slightly rearward. At this time, the connecting pin 1808 slides in the long groove 1802b, and the guide portion 1802 rotates about the support shaft 1802c. As a result, the tip 1802a of the guide portion 1802 changes its posture to face obliquely downward (see FIGS. 14(c) and 14(d)), and the tip 1802a is lowered to a position lower than the shelf plate 24a. Become.

The base 1506 supports the slide plate 1508 so as to be slidable in forward and backward directions. A leading end side wall portion 1508a is formed at the leading end of the slide plate 1508 made of sheet metal by bending. A front wall portion 1706 is formed on the front side of the roller assembly 170 .

When the rotation angle position of the cam plate 140 reaches the +90° position, the arm 1502 provided on the arm assembly 150 reaches the pulled-out position (see FIG. 15(b)). Just before the arm 1502 reaches the withdrawn position, the front side wall 1706 of the roller assembly 170 abuts against the leading end side wall 1508a of the slide plate 1508 and pushes the slide plate 1508 backward with respect to the base 1506 (slides very slightly backward). cause).

A cam groove is formed in the slide plate 1508 . Engagement pins of a pair of links 1510 arranged in a V shape (see FIG. 13) are engaged with the cam groove. When the slide plate 1508 is pushed backward against the base 1506 by the front side wall portion 1706 of the roller assembly 170, the engagement pin of the link 1510 slides in the cam groove of the slide plate 1508 and opens in the direction of the V shape. A pair of links 1510 move. As a result, the tips of the pair of arms 1502 connected to each link 1510 move toward each other, and the product I is sandwiched from both sides.

In the product picking operation, the controller 300 reverses the rotation of the cam plate 140 when the cam plate 140 reaches the +90° position. That is, the controller 300 rotates the cam plate 140 from the +90° position toward the 0° position (reversing the rotation of the cam motor 141). As a result, the arm assembly 150 retreats (moves from the shelf plate 24a toward the product storage area 130a).

By interlocking with the arm assembly 150 (arm 1502), the tip portion 1802a of the guide portion 1802 is lowered to a position lower than the shelf plate 24a. Therefore, the end face of the product I is placed on the guide portion 1802 without colliding with the tip portion 1802a of the guide portion 1802, and the guide portion 1802 guides the movement from the shelf board 24a to the product storage space 130a.

When the arm assembly 150 retreats (on the way from the +90° position to the 0° position), the pressing portion 1506a releases the base end portion 1804b of the guide link 1804 from being pressed. Therefore, the guide link 1804 returns to the initial posture (the posture in which the base end portion 1804b faces obliquely upward). As the guide link 1804 returns to its initial posture, the guide portion 1802 also returns to its initial posture (a posture in which the distal end portion 1802a faces obliquely upward).

FIG. 15(c) schematically shows each component of the unit housing 130 when returning from the +90° position to the 0° position.

A base end side wall portion 1508b is formed at the base end of the slide plate 1508 by bending. A rear wall portion (not shown) similar to the front wall portion 1706 is formed on the rear side of the roller assembly 170 . Immediately before the rotational angle position of the cam plate 140 reaches the 0° position (the arm 1502 is pulled out), the rear side wall contacts the base end side wall 1508b and pushes the slide plate 1508 forward with respect to the base 1506 (forward ).

When the slide plate 1508 is pushed forward with respect to the base 1506 by the rear wall of the roller assembly 170, the engagement pins of the link 1510 slide in the cam grooves of the slide plate 1508 and move in the direction of closing the V shape. link 1510 moves. As a result, the tips of the pair of arms 1502 connected to each link 1510 move away from each other (move away from both sides of the product I and move away from each other). That is, the clamping of the product I by the pair of arms 1502 is released.

The controller 300 controls, for example, a drive unit (not shown) to lower the position of the upper guide 120 at the timing when the clamping of the product I is released, and rotates a plurality of rollers 1702 rotatably supported by the roller assembly 170. (Forward rotation of the roller motor) is started. As a result, the product I is pulled into the product storage area 130a by the rotation of the roller 1702 while being loosely pressed from above by the upper guide 120 (see FIG. 15(d)). By holding the product I by the upper guide 120, the idle rotation of the roller 1702 is prevented.

The push assembly 160 has a push portion 1602 . Push portion 1602 is slidably supported by body portion 1606 of push assembly 160 . Specifically, the push portion 1602 is slidably engaged with a guide groove 1606a formed in the body portion 1606 and is connected to the body portion 1606 via the link 1604. As shown in FIG.

One end of the coil spring (not shown) is hooked on a hook portion 1604 a formed on the link 1604 , and the other end of the coil spring is hooked on a hook portion 1606 b formed on the body portion 1606 . The biasing force of this coil spring biases the push portion 1602 forward.

A switch board 148 is provided above the push assembly 160 . Switches SW1 and SW2 are mounted on the switch substrate 146 . The push portion 1602 is provided with a segment 1602a. The segment 1602a is initially in contact with the switch SW1 (when the push portion 1602 is urged forward by the urging force of the coil spring). The switch SW1 is turned on when it contacts with the piece 1602a.

When the product I is pulled into the product storage space 130a by the rotation of the roller 1702, the end face of the product I contacts the push portion 1602 and pushes the push portion 1602 backward. As the push portion 1602 slides backward with respect to the body portion 1606, the piece 1602a retreats and leaves the switch SW1, turning off the switch SW1. When the switch SW1 is turned off, the controller 300 detects that the push section 1602 has been pushed backward.

When the push portion 1602 is further pushed backward and the segment 1602a contacts the switch SW2, the switch SW2 is turned on. As a result, the controller 300 determines that the product I has been placed in the product storage area 130a, stops the rotation of the roller 1702, and ends the product picking operation.

《Item placement operation》
FIGS. 16(a) to 16(d) are diagrams outlining the product placement operation of placing the product I accommodated in the product storage area 130a by the transport unit 100 on the stock stocker 24 (shelf board 24a). The product placement operation for placing products on the replenishment stocker 22 (shelf board 22a) is also the same as the product placement operation shown in FIG. Therefore, a description of the product placement operation for placing products in the replenishment stocker 22 is omitted.

FIG. 16(a) shows the state before the product placement operation. The transport unit 100 advances the push assembly 160, pushes the product I from the product storage area 130a by the push part 1602 (see FIGS. 16(b) and 16(c)), and transfers the pushed product I to the shelf board 24a. (See FIG. 16(d)). As a result, the replenishment of the product I is completed.

Arm 1502 does not move from the retracted position during item placement operations. Therefore, the tip portion 1802a of the guide portion 1802 remains raised to a position higher than the shelf plate 24a. Therefore, the product I is smoothly moved from the guide portion 1802 to the shelf board 24a without the end face colliding with the end face of the shelf board 24a. According to this embodiment, the product I can be smoothly placed on the shelf board 24a from the product storage area 130a, and damage to the product I due to collision between the end face of the product I and the end face of the shelf plate 24a can be avoided.

17(a) to 17(d) are diagrams schematically showing the operation of each component of the conveying unit 100 when performing the product placement operation. Mainly using FIG. 13 and FIG. 17, the product placement operation will be further explained.

FIG. 17(a) shows the state before the product placement operation is performed. In the product placement operation, the controller 300 first starts rotating the roller 1702 (reversing the roller motor). As a result, the product I is conveyed from the product storage space 130a toward the shelf board 24a by the rotation of the roller 1702 while being loosely pressed from above by the upper guide 120 (see FIG. 17B).

Since the push portion 1602 is biased forward by the biasing force of the coil spring, when the product I is conveyed by the rollers 1702, the push portion 1602 is pushed forward with respect to the main body portion 1606 so as to follow the product I and push the product I out. slide to. As the push portion 1602 slides forward, the piece 1602a advances and leaves the switch SW2, turning off the switch SW2. Thereby, the controller 300 detects that the product I is about to be pushed out from the product storage area 130a.

When the push portion 1602 slides further forward and contacts the switch SW1, the switch SW1 is turned on. As a result, the controller 300 detects that the rollers 1702 have finished conveying the product I, and stops the rotation of the rollers 1702 .

Next, the controller 300 rotates the cam plate 140 from the 0° position toward the -90° position (reverses the cam motor 141).

The push link 143 is provided with a follower 143a. The follower 143a is engaged with the third cam groove 140c. When the cam plate 140 is rotated by the cam motor 141, the push link 143 moves following the third cam groove 140c.

A long groove 143b is formed in the push link 143 . A follower (not visible in the drawing) provided on the lower surface of the push assembly 160 is engaged with the long groove 143b. The rotational force of cam plate 140 is transmitted to push assembly 160 via push link 143 (follower slides in long groove 143b).

The push assembly 160 advances or retreats when the rotational force of the cam plate 140 is transmitted through the push link 143 . Specifically, when the cam plate 140 rotates from the 0° position toward the -90° position, the push assembly 160 advances, and when the cam plate 140 rotates from the -90° position toward the 0° position, the push assembly moves forward. 160 retreats.

Controller 300 rotates cam plate 140 from the 0° position toward the -90° position to advance push assembly 160 . As a result, the product I is pushed by the push portion 1602 and pushed out from the product storage area 130a when the cam plate 140 reaches the -90° position (see FIG. 17(c)). In other words, the push assembly 160 functions as an article unloading unit that unloads the commodity I from the commodity storage area 130a.

The product I is moved (replenished) to the shelf board 24a by being pushed out from the product storage space 130a. When the cam motor 141 is rotated forward to return the cam plate 140 from the -90° position to the 0° position, the push assembly 160 retreats and returns to its original position (see FIG. 17(d)).

《Product ejection operation》
FIGS. 18(a) to 18(c) are diagrams outlining the product ejection operation in which the transport unit 100 drops the product I accommodated in the product storage area 130a onto the ejection chute 40. FIG.

FIG. 18(a) shows the state before the product ejection operation is performed. The controller 300 controls the rotary motor 110 to rotate the conveying unit 100 about 90 degrees from the direction facing the shelf plate 24a of the inventory stocker 24 (see FIG. 18(b)). The conveying unit 100 performs the same operation as the product placement operation to push the product I out of the product storage area 130a and drop it onto the discharge chute 40 (see FIG. 18(c)). As a result, the customer can receive the product I that the customer wishes to purchase.

The foregoing is a description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention are not limited to those described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. For example, the embodiment of the present application also includes the content of appropriately combining the examples and the like explicitly specified in the specification or the obvious examples and the like.

1 dispensing device 10 housing 10a front panel portion 10aa opening 10b rear panel portion 10c side panel portion 20 rack 20a guide 20b stopper 20c detection switch 22 replenishment stocker 22a shelf board 22b handle 24 inventory stocker 24a shelf board 30 circuit board 40 for discharge Shooter 42 Discharge port 50 Illumination lamp 100 Transfer unit 110 Rotary motor 120 Upper guide 130 Unit housing 130a Product storage area 140 Cam plates 140a to 140c First to third cam grooves 141 Cam motor 142 Arm link 142a Follower 142b Long groove 143 Push link 143a Follower 143b long groove 144 switch link 144a to 144c pin 145 switch lever 145a long groove 145b pin 146, 148 switch board 150 arm assembly 160 push assembly 170 roller assembly 180 guide assembly 190 reader 200 rail unit 210 XY rail section 220 X rail section 230 Y rail Part 300 Controller 400 Sensing sheet metal 410 Concave part 420 Convex part 430 Slit part 500 Transmissive photosensor 1502 Arm 1504 Follower 1506 Base 1506a Pressing part 1508 Slide plate 1508a Tip side wall part 1508b Base end side wall part 1510 Link 1602 Push part 1602a Cut piece 1604 Link 1604a Hook portion 1606 Body portion 1606a Guide groove 1606b Hook portion 1702 Roller 1704 Support pin 1706 Front wall portion 1802 Guide portion 1802a Tip portion 1802b Long groove 1802c Support shaft 1804 Guide link 1804a Hole 1804b Base end portion 1804c Tip portion 1804ca Connecting pin 1808 2202 Motor 2204 Drive pulley 2206 Belt 2208 Driven pulley 2210 Rails 2302A, 2302B Slide rail portion 2304 Upper plate 2306 Belt 2308 Motor 2310 Driven pulley 2312 Encoder

Claims (20)

a plurality of storage units replenished with goods;
a unit that, upon receiving an input specifying an item, takes the specified item from the storage unit and moves it to a predetermined supply location under the control of a control unit;
a replenishment storage unit for storing replenishment items;
a restocking location where the replenishment storage unit can be located;
a detection unit that detects that the replenishment storage unit is installed at the replenishment location or that an article is stored in the replenishment storage unit installed at the replenishment location;
An article handling device comprising:
Said unit is
When the detection is made by the detection unit, the article handling device takes the articles stored in the replenishment storage section, moves to the replenishment destination storage section, and replenishes the replenishment destination storage section with the articles. . a plurality of storage units to be replenished with articles; a unit that, upon receiving an input designating an article, picks up the designated article from the storage section and moves it to a predetermined supply location under the control of a control unit;
an information holding unit that holds information on the types of articles to be replenished in each of the storage units;
a reading unit that reads information on an article picked up by the unit;
An article handling device comprising:
Addresses are assigned to the plurality of storage units,
The information holding unit
Information on the types of articles to be replenished in each storage unit and the address are held in association with each other,
Said unit is
When the control unit acquires the address of the storage unit to be replenished based on the information read by the reading unit, the article placed in a predetermined replenishment place is picked up, and the storage unit from which the address is acquired. and replenishes the article to the storage section from which the address was obtained . a replenishment detection unit that detects whether or not the plurality of storage units replenished with articles are replenished with articles, respectively ;
a specifying unit that specifies the quantity of articles to be replenished based on the detection result of the replenishment detection unit;
a reporting unit that reports the quantity specified by the specifying unit;
comprising
An article handling device according to claim 1 or claim 2. a replenishment detection unit that detects whether or not the plurality of storage units replenished with articles are replenished with articles, respectively ;
a specifying unit that specifies the type and quantity of articles to be replenished based on the detection result of the replenishment detection unit and the information held in the information holding unit;
a notification unit that notifies the type and quantity specified by the specifying unit;
comprising
3. An article handling device according to claim 2. a replenishment notification unit that notifies whether or not the article needs to be replenished based on the detection result of the replenishment detection unit;
An article handling device according to claim 3 or claim 4. an inventory determination unit that determines whether or not the plurality of storage units to which the goods are replenished are replenished with the goods;
Said unit is
move to the storage section determined that the article has not been replenished;
replenishing the storage unit determined not to be replenished with the item taken from the replenishment storage unit;
An article handling device according to claim 1. A reading unit for reading information on the article taken by the unit,
An address is assigned to each of the plurality of storage units to which goods are replenished ,
The inventory determination unit
It is sequentially detected at which address the storage section is replenished with the article whose information is read by the reading section and at which address the article replenished in the storage section is moved to the supply location. , respectively determining whether or not the article is replenished in the storage unit sequentially detected based on the detection result ;
7. An article handling device according to claim 6. a housing that supports a plurality of storage units replenished with articles ;
an opening formed in the housing;
with
having the replenishment location inside the housing through the opening;
An article handling device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. a movement control unit that controls a driving unit to move the unit;
a first position information unit that indicates a position in the article handling device with a first resolution;
a second position information unit that indicates the position of each of the plurality of storage units to which articles are replenished with a second resolution that is finer than the first resolution;
a position detection unit that detects the position of the unit based on the positions indicated by the first and second position information units;
with
The movement control unit is
controlling the movement speed of the unit by the drive unit based on the position of the unit detected by the position detection unit;
An article handling device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The movement control unit is
when the position detection unit detects a position close to the target storage unit based on the position indicated by the first position information unit, decelerate the moving speed of the unit;
When the position detection unit detects that the unit has reached the target storage unit based on the position indicated by the second position information unit, the movement of the unit is stopped.
10. An article handling device according to claim 9. The position detection unit is
a sensor attached to the unit;
The first location information unit
A member having a shape in which concave portions with a first width and convex portions with a second width are arranged alternately in the moving direction of the unit,
The second location information unit
a slit narrower than the second width formed in the convex,
The position detection unit is
detecting the position of the unit by detecting the concave portion and the convex portion with the sensor;
By detecting the slit portion with the sensor, it is detected that the unit has reached the target storage portion.
An article handling device according to claim 9 or claim 10. Each convex portion of the member is
each provided at a position corresponding to each of the plurality of storage units replenished with articles ,
The slit part of each convex part,
formed on the centerline of the corresponding housing,
12. An article handling device according to claim 11. the first width and the second width are the same;
An article handling device according to claim 11 or claim 12. Said unit is
an article storage section that stores the articles placed in the plurality of storage sections to which articles are replenished and the replenishment locations in a predetermined storage area within the unit;
an article unloading section for unloading the article stored in the article storage section from the storage area to the outside of the unit;
with
The article delivery section is
The articles stored in the storage area are taken out of the unit toward the supply location from a storage unit in which the articles are stored in the storage area, and the articles stored in the storage area are transferred from the replenishment location to the replenishment destination . out of the unit toward the storage section;
14. An article handling device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13. Said unit is
a guide part protruding from the storage area toward the plurality of storage areas in which articles are replenished , and guiding the movement of the articles between the storage area and the plurality of storage areas ;
The guide part is
It is operable between a first guide state and a second guide state,
operating in the first guide state so as to guide the movement of the article when the article is stored in the storage area from the plurality of storage units ;
When the article is taken out of the storage area and replenished in the storage part of the replenishment destination , the second guide state is operated so as to guide the movement of the article.
15. An article handling device according to claim 14. The guide part is
A fulcrum is provided at a base end portion on the storage space side, and a plurality of tip end portions on the side of the storage portion to which articles are replenished can move up and down around the fulcrum,
In the first guide state, the tip portion is lowered to a position lower than the placement surface of the storage portion on which the article is placed,
In the second guide state, the tip portion rises to a position higher than the placement surface of the storage portion of the replenishment destination .
16. An article handling device according to claim 15. The article storage unit is
having a plurality of storage units in which articles are replenished and a gripping unit that grips the articles placed in the replenishment locations;
The gripping part is
It is operable between a pull-out position where it is pulled out to the plurality of storage units and the replenishment place and a pull-in position where it is pulled into the storage place,
gripping the article when pulled out to the pull-out position, and pulling the article into the pull-in position while gripping the article, thereby assisting accommodation of the article in the storage space;
The guide part is
When the gripping portion is in the pulled-out position, the tip portion rises to a position higher than the mounting surface, and when the gripping portion pulled out to the pulled-out position grips the article and is pulled into the pulled-in position, lowers the tip portion to a position lower than the mounting surface,
17. An article handling device according to claim 16. A guide support part that supports the guide part so that the tip part moves up and down via the fulcrum,
When the gripping portion moves from the pulled-in position to the pulled-out position, the gripping portion abuts against the guide support portion to change the posture of the guide support portion from the first posture to the second posture, thereby causing the guide support portion to move. By moving the guide part around the fulcrum in conjunction with the posture of the, the tip part is lowered to a position lower than the mounting surface,
When the gripping portion moves from the pulled-out position to the pulled-in position, the gripping portion separates from the guide support portion to change the posture of the guide support portion from the second posture to the first posture, thereby supporting the guide. By moving the guide part around the fulcrum in conjunction with the posture of the part, the tip part rises to a position higher than the mounting surface,
18. An article handling device according to claim 17. a cam portion that interlocks with the gripping portion and the article dispensing portion;
a cam operating section capable of moving the cam section in a first operating range and a second operating range;
with
The gripping part is
operates between the pulled-out position and the pulled-in position according to the operation of the cam portion in the first operating range;
The article delivery section is
pushing the article out of the unit by moving from a predetermined initial position in a predetermined pushing direction according to the operation of the cam portion in the second operating range;
19. An article handling device according to claim 17 or claim 18. The article is a box-shaped article,
20. An article handling device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 19.

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