JP7302119B2 - Goods stowage device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article stowage device, and more particularly to an article stowage device for stacking rectangular articles such as corrugated cardboard boxes in a bar on a loading platform such as a pallet.

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a so-called order stacking type article stowage device is generally used as a device for automatically stacking mixed-size, square-shaped articles on a loading platform such as a pallet or a basket truck.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic system configuration diagram of a conventional article stowage apparatus of the order-mounting system. As shown in FIG. 6, when a plurality of types of goods with different sizes to be stowed, that is, mixed-size goods are mixed, in this example, there are nine types of sizes indicated by numbers 1 to 9 (Fig. 6 shows the same size). The goods 100 of the group to be stowed (illustrated by size) are supplied from the transport path 10 to the automatic machine 11, and the automatic machine 11 stacks them on a loading platform 12 such as a pallet. In that case, before reaching the automatic machine 11 from the conveying path 10, the program logic calculates a combination with a high stowage efficiency from among the product groups to be stowed, and based on the calculation, the sequence device 9 performs the order, In this example, the articles 100 are supplied to the automatic machine 11 through the transport path 10 in numerical order from 1 to 8, and the automatic machine 11 stacks them on the loading platform 12 from the bottom up. The operation of determining the supply order in the conveying path 10 is called a sequential system, which is generally widely used in article stowage devices (see Patent Document 1, for example).

JP 2013-126909

However, in the conventional order-loading type goods stowage system, when automatically stowing mixed-size goods, after calculating by logic the combination with high stowage efficiency from among the groups of goods to be loaded, It is necessary to transport products on the transport path in order and supply them to automatic machines, and the program logic for this and functions to efficiently supply the products in order on the transport path, such as multi-shuttle systems, conveyor buffer systems, etc. Not only does it require a device, but even after being stowed, the goods 100 mixed in size are randomly stowed on the loading platform 12, which causes the problem of unstable loading and easy collapse of the goods. there were.

The present invention is intended to solve the problems associated with the prior art, and eliminates the need for sequential erection, eliminates the need for sequential erection devices by using a bar stacking method, and increases the loading efficiency on the loading platform. To provide an article stowage device capable of stably stowage in a high pattern without collapsing.

The inventors of the present invention have found that by adopting a bar stacking system as a device for stacking goods of multiple sizes, it is possible to eliminate the need for a sequential stacking function and enable stable stacking at low cost. The invention has been completed.

That is, the article stowage apparatus of the present invention is an article stowage apparatus that conveys mixed-size box-shaped articles on a conveying path and automatically stows them on a loading platform, wherein the articles are the same in length and width, or have the same size. a database that groups by approximate size, stores an address to be loaded on the loading platform for each size as group data, and stores a pattern of high loading efficiency as logic by combining the group data; It is characterized by an automatic machine that sets and stacks goods of the relevant size in a bar shape by combining groups with high loading efficiency based on information from the database on the loading platform. .

More preferably, the automatic machine includes a transport path for carrying the article onto the loading platform, and a Y moving body and the transport path provided above the transport path and driven in the same direction as the transport path. An X-moving body driven in an orthogonal direction and a clamp arm supported by a clamp holder attached to the X-moving body and driven up and down, wherein the clamp arm moves on the conveying path based on the information in the database. , and piled up at a predetermined address on the loading platform.

More preferably, the Y moving body is a frame having guide members on both sides that move along a Y rail facing the Y direction, and an X rail provided on both sides perpendicular to the Y rail, The X moving body is a frame having guide members on both sides that move along the X rail and the clamp holder attached to the lower part, and the X moving body and the Y moving body have information in the database are driven in the Y direction and the X direction, respectively.

More preferably, the loading platform can be either a pallet, a trolley or a transport tray.

According to the article stowage device of the present invention, the stacking method eliminates the need for a sequential device and enables stable stowage without collapsing in a pattern with high loading efficiency on the loading platform.

1 is a system configuration diagram conceptually showing an article stowage device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an automatic machine used in an article stowage device of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a top view showing an example of stacking addresses of articles on a loading platform; It is a figure which shows an example of the size in the article|goods of Mick size. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the control circuit of an automatic machine. It is a system block diagram which shows notionally the article stowage apparatus of the conventional order system.

The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of embodiments represented in the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but is limited only by the technical ideas described in the claims.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram conceptually showing an embodiment of an article stowage device of the present invention. Similar to the conventional example shown in FIG. 6, this is an example of the case where the automatic machine 11 stacks the articles 100 of eight different size groups to be stowed indicated by numerals 1 to 8 on pallets. In the present invention, mixed-size articles 100 are randomly supplied from a conveying path 10 to an automatic machine 11 without stacking them in order as in the conventional art, and the automatic machine 11 stacks them on a pallet 12 by bar stacking. is. That is, unlike the conventional art, the sheets are fed into the conveying path 10 after being arranged in order, but are fed into the conveying path 10 at random and supplied from the conveying path 10 to the automatic machine 11 . The automatic machine 11 is controlled based on information in a database 31 that stores group data for each size of the articles 100 and logic for generating a loading combination that maximizes the loading efficiency of the articles. As shown, the articles 100 are piled up on the pallet 12 by the automatic machine 11. As shown in FIG. Next, the configuration of the automatic machine 11 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the automatic machine 11 used in the article stowage device of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the article stowage device of this embodiment basically comprises a conveying path 10 such as a roller conveyor, an automatic machine 11 for stacking bars, and a pallet 12 as a loading platform. there is

The automatic machine 11 stacks articles on a pallet 12 by driving a vertically movable clamp arm 16 in the horizontal direction (X direction) and the front-rear direction (Y direction). Above a transport path 10 such as a roller conveyor, a Y moving body 13 that moves in the transport direction (Y direction) of the transport path 10 and an X moving body 13 that is supported by the Y moving body 13 and moves in a direction orthogonal to the Y moving body 13 It comprises a moving body 14 , a clamp holder 15 attached to the X moving body 14 , and a clamp arm 16 supported by the clamp holder 15 .

The Y moving body 13 has wheels 19 on both sides of a rectangular frame 17 in the X direction, and a pair of rails 18 on both sides in the Y direction. The Y moving body 13 rolls on the rail 20 to move in the Y direction. A guide member that slides on the rail 20 can be used instead of the wheel 19 .

The X-moving body 14 has four wheels 21 on its lower portion, and these wheels 21 roll on the rails 18 of the Y-moving body 13 so that the X-moving body 14 moves in the X-direction. A guide member that slides on the rail 18 can be used instead of the wheel 21 .

A clamp holder 15 is attached to the lower portion of the X moving body 14, and a pair of clamp arms 16 are attached to the clamp holder 15 so as to move up and down by wires or the like. The clamp arm 16 is opened and closed by a known clamp opening/closing mechanism to grip the article 100 from both sides.

A conveying path 10 such as a roller conveyer is installed below the automatic machine 11 to convey articles 100 sent from a sorting machine (not shown). A pallet 12 , which is a loading platform for loading articles 100 , is installed on a pallet conveyor 24 in front of the transport path 10 . Pushers 23 driven by air cylinders 22 are provided on both sides of the pallet 12 (only one side is shown).

Just before the conveying path 10 (on the right side of the drawing) is the distribution center's goods handling area, where the goods are grouped according to the program before they arrive at the automatic machine 11 .

FIG. 3 is a top view image showing the addresses when stacked on the pallet 12. As shown in FIG. The articles to be piled up are rectangular cardboard cases or plastic cases, and A to G are conceptual diagrams showing the positions (addresses) where the grouped articles 100 are piled up, and FIG. 4 is an example of size groups. showing.

At position A (address) in FIG. 150 mm and L of 150 to 170 mm, and at position C, an article of W of 400 to 450 mm and L of 400 to 450 mm is to be stowed. Similarly, articles of a predetermined size are stowed at positions D to G (size examples are omitted).

FIG. 5 is an example of a block circuit for controlling the automatic machine 11. As shown in FIG. The grouping information as described above is stored as a program in the database 31 of the information processing device (not shown), and the address (stacking position) on the pallet 12 is determined before the pallet is carried into the transport path 10. ing. The type (size) of goods to be stowed differs depending on the user who carries out stowage and physical distribution, or the date of stowage. and store it in the database 30. Further, the database 31 stores, as combination data, logic 31b that combines the grouped data to generate a pattern with high loading efficiency, that is, a pattern with high loading efficiency that allows as many items as possible to be loaded on a pallet.

Information such as the size of the article 100 is displayed on the case of the article 100. This information is read by the sensor 30 before the article 100 is brought into the conveying path 10 and arrives at the automatic machine 11, and the size information is stored in the database 31. , the control information is transmitted from the database 31 to the control circuit 32 of the automatic machine 11 , and the automatic machine 11 is driven by the control circuit 32 .

The articles 100 are conveyed in the direction of the pallet 12 on the conveying path 10 while the sizes are mixed, and are temporarily stopped just before the pallet 12.例文帳に追加Here, the automatic machine 11 is controlled by the output from the control circuit 32 . That is, the Y moving body 13 of the automatic machine 11 is driven in the Y direction on the rails 20 via the wheels 19, and the X moving body 14 is driven in the X direction on the rails 18 via the wheels 21. The clamp arm 16 descends above the article 100A at the head of 10, grabs the article 100A by the clamp arm 16, lifts it, and sets it at the address set by the program, for example, the A position. Subsequently, the articles 100 on the conveying path 10 are successively brought to the predetermined addresses A to G in the same manner, and as shown in FIG. Stacked on the pallet 12 by stacking. At this time, the automatic machine 11 can select the articles 100 according to a pattern with high loading efficiency stored as logic in the database 31, and stack the articles 100 at the corresponding address.

The articles 100 stacked at addresses A to G are of the same size in width (W) and length (L). In the case of , by stacking in a state in which the centers are aligned, the stacks are stably stacked even if there is some unevenness. If the width (W) and length (L) sizes of the articles 100 are the same or similar, they can be stowed at the same address even if the heights are different.

After stacking is completed, the stacked articles are pushed from two sides (only the pusher on one side is shown) by the pusher 23, and the pallet 12 is moved by the pallet conveyor 24 and transported by the vehicle after adjusting the shape. In addition, instead of the pallet 12 shown in the drawing, there is a case where a car carriage or other carriage or a transport tray is used, and a cargo handling table other than the pallet can be used.

As described above, according to the article stowage apparatus of the embodiment of the present invention, the articles are grouped by size, and the group data are combined to create a program logic for arrangement and combination of patterns with high loading efficiency. is stored in the database 31, the automatic machine 11 is controlled based on the information, and articles of the same or similar size are stowed on the pallet 12 by bar-like stacking at the same address. A device becomes unnecessary, it becomes possible to randomly supply from a conveying path 10, and articles having the same or similar sizes in width (W) and length (L) are stably stowed in a bar shape without shifting. In addition, the loading combination logic enables loading in a pattern with the highest loading efficiency, so that more items can be stably loaded on the pallet 12 of a fixed area.

In addition, the automatic machine 11 for stacking articles can also be realized by a simple configuration of the Y moving body 13, the X moving body 14 and the clamp arm 16, a complicated stacking robot is not required, and a low-cost stacking device for stacking articles. can be provided.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, this is an embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited by this embodiment.

The article stacking apparatus of the present invention can be applied to all box-shaped articles such as cardboard cases, plastic cases, wooden cases, and the like.

10 transport path 11 automatic machine 12 pallet (loading table)
13 Y moving body 14 X moving body 15 Clamp holder 16 Clamp arm 17 Frame body 18 Rail 19 Wheel (guide member)
20 rail 21 wheel (guide member)
22 pusher 31 database 31a grouping data 31b loading combination data 32 control circuit 100 article

Claims (4)

a transport path for transporting mixed-size box-shaped articles ;
a loading platform on which the articles conveyed on the conveying path are automatically stowed ;
A clamp holder for supporting a Y-moving member driven in the same direction as the transport path and a clamp arm driven vertically is provided above the transport path and is mounted in the direction of the transport path and perpendicular to the transport path. an X mover driven in a direction, wherein said clamp arm grips and automatically stows said articles onto said loading platform;
The goods are grouped into groups whose vertical and horizontal sizes are the same or similar, and a pattern with high loading efficiency is obtained by combining group data in which an address to be loaded on the loading platform is assigned in advance for each size and the group data. a database that stores the logic to generate;
The plurality of articles are conveyed on the conveying path while the sizes are mixed, and are temporarily stopped immediately in front of the loading table, and an article is selected from the plurality of articles according to the pattern of high loading efficiency stored in the database . Then, the selected goods are set at a predetermined address on the loading platform defined by the group data , and goods of the same or similar size are stowed at the same address for bar- shaped stowage . a control circuit for controlling the automatic machine;
An article stowage device comprising: The Y moving body is a frame having guide members on both sides that move along the Y rails facing in the Y direction, and X rails provided on both sides perpendicular to the Y rails,
The X-moving body is a frame having guide members on both sides that roll along the X-rail and having the clamp holder attached to the bottom thereof,
2. The article stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said X moving body and Y moving body are driven in the Y direction and the X direction, respectively, based on the information in said database. 3. The article stowage device according to claim 1, wherein the cargo handling platform is one of a pallet, a cart, and a tray for transportation. The article stowage device further comprises a conveyor for conveying the cargo handling table in front of the conveying path, and a mechanism for arranging the articles stacked on the cargo handling table on both sides of the conveyor . The article stowage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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