JP7432435B2 - Container stack conveyance device and container stack conveyance method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a conveyance device and a conveyance method for conveying a container stack in which a plurality of containers such as paper cups are stacked.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, for example, cup containers for storing food and cup containers for dispensing beverages have been known. These containers are made of, for example, paper or resin, and are sometimes transported in a state where they are stacked one above the other (this is also referred to as a "container stack").

For example, in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a container is provided with a container holding mechanism having a container holder capable of holding a container stack configured by stacking containers, and a position control mechanism capable of transferring the container holding mechanism. A conveying device has been proposed.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-136458 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-187861

According to the above-mentioned patent document, since the container stack can be transported automatically and repeatedly, efficiency can be improved compared to the case where the container stack is transported manually. On the other hand, in the above-mentioned patent document, a position regulating member 73 is provided to appropriately close both ends of the container stack storage space, thereby suppressing the fall of the container stack during transportation of the container stack.

It is true that according to the above-mentioned patent document, it is possible to transport the container stack to an arbitrary location without dropping it, but it takes a long time from grasping the container stack housed in the storage box to completing transportation to the destination location (for example, a container hopper). There was a need for greater efficiency and more reliable measures to prevent falls.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems as an example, and provides a container stack transport device and a container stack that can more efficiently transport a container stack in which containers are stacked one above the other to a destination without causing the containers to fall. The purpose is to provide a transportation method.

A container stack conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes (1) a side surface holding means for holding a side surface of a container stack in which a plurality of containers are stacked; and a flange support for supporting a flange of a lowermost container in the container stack. means, a driving means for transporting the container stack in a state where the side surface of the container stack is held by the side surface holding means and the flange is supported by the flange supporting means, and opening/closing of the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means. The present invention is characterized by comprising an opening/closing control means for performing control.

Further, in the container stack conveying device according to (1) above, (2) the flange support means includes a support plate capable of supporting the lower surface of the flange so as to sandwich at least a part of the body of the container. , a moving mechanism that moves the support plate toward or away from the flange, and the support plate contacts the lower surface of the flange via the moving mechanism to move the container stack. Preferably, it moves between a supportable closed position and an open position that is more distant from the flange than the closed position.

Further, in the container stack conveying device according to (2) above, (3) the moving mechanism includes a swing link that swings the support plate, and a drive cylinder that drives the swing link, It is preferable that the support plate swings between the open position and the closed position by pivoting around a swing fulcrum provided opposite a part of the side surface of the container stack.

Further, in the container stack conveying device according to (2) or (3) above, (4) the side surface holding means is a clamping member that extends in the axial direction of the container stack and can grip the side surface of the container stack. The clamping plate includes a plate, and the clamping plate is movable between a closed position in which it contacts and clamps a side surface of the container stack, and an open position in which it is spaced from the side surface of the container stack and the side surface of the container stack is open. It is preferable that the container stack before being transported is approached with the clamping plate in the open position and the flange support means in the closed position.

Further, in the container stack conveying device according to any one of (1) to (4) above, (5) the driving means moves the container stack held by the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means in a vertical direction. It is preferable that the opening/closing control means opens the container stack by controlling the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means in a state where the container stack is tilted.

Furthermore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a container stack conveying method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes (6) a side surface holding means for holding a side surface of a container stack in which a plurality of containers are stacked; flange support means for supporting flanges of containers; and a container stack transport method using a container stack transport device having a container stack, wherein the side surface holding means and the flange support means are lowered from above the untransported container stack. a lowering step, a side holding step of holding the side surface of the container stack with the side surface holding means in a state where the flange of the lowermost container and the support plate of the flange supporting means are in contact with each other, and a side surface holding step of holding the side surface of the container stack with the side surface holding means; a conveyance step of conveying the container stack with the flange supported by the flange support means while holding the side surface of the stack; and after the conveyance step, restraining the container stack by the side surface support means and the flange support means. and an opening step of releasing the container stack and opening the container stack.

Further, in the container stack conveying method according to (6) above, (7) the support plate is moved from the bottom side of the flange via a moving mechanism that moves the support plate close to or away from the flange. and an open position which is further away from the flange than the closed position, and in the lowering step, the support plate is in contact with the flange. It is preferable that the container stack be lowered from above the untransported container stack in the closed position.

In the container stack conveying method described in (6) or (7) above, (8) in the opening step, the container stack held by the side surface holding means and the flange support means is moved vertically. It is preferable that the restraints of the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means are released in the obliquely inclined state.

According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve a high level of efficiency in the total transport time from pickup of a container stack to a destination location, and to suppress falling of the container stack during transport.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view schematically showing the conveyance system of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an external side view of the container stack conveyance device as seen from the side. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state of the container stack transport device before picking up an untransported container stack among state transitions in the container stack transport method. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the container stack transport device when picking up an untransported container stack among state transitions in the container stack transport method. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state of the container stack transport device after picking up an untransported container stack among state transitions in the container stack transport method. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the container stack transport device during transport after picking up an untransported container stack, among state transitions in the container stack transport method. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the container stack transport device when opening the untransported container stack at the destination location, among state transitions in the container stack transport method. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which an opened container stack moves within a destination location (slides down within a container hopper) among state transitions in the container stack transport method. It is a flowchart which shows the conveyance method of the container stack of this embodiment.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the container stack conveyance apparatus and conveyance method of this invention are specifically demonstrated, referring drawings suitably. Note that the following embodiments are for explaining an example of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention, and other known configurations may be supplemented as appropriate. Further, for configurations other than those detailed below, known transport mechanisms including those disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above may be used.

<Transport system>
FIG. 1 shows a container stack conveyance system in this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the transport system of this embodiment includes a container stack transport device 100 that can grip and transport container stacks CS to any position, and a storage box 200 that accommodates a plurality of unused container stacks CS. , and a processing device 300 that performs a desired process (for example, filling food or drink) to the containers C constituting the container stack CS.

Here, the term "container stack" refers to a structure in which a plurality of containers C are sequentially stacked in the vertical direction, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. More specifically, in the container stack CS of this embodiment, almost the entire body and bottom of the upper container C to be stacked except for the upper end (flange Cf) is sequentially stored in the lower container C. For example, it has the form of several to several dozen stacked in a columnar shape.

The material for the container C is not particularly limited and any known material may be used, such as paper, resin, or paper coated with resin. Similarly, known shapes can be applied to the shape of the container C, such as a shallow cup shape suitable for food use or a cup shape suitable for beverage use, and the opening shape can be arbitrary such as circular or square. A known shape may be adopted. In addition, the objects to be stored in such a container C include, in addition to solid objects such as foods such as natto and yogurt and drugs containing medicinal ingredients, various known substances such as liquid objects such as drinks. I can give an example.

<Storage box 200>
As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the storage box 200 is a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped box having an opening surface through which the container stack CS can be carried in or taken out. As an example, the storage box 200 of this embodiment may be a known cardboard box that can accommodate only a plurality of container stacks CS in a horizontally (lying) state.

As shown in FIG. 1, the storage box 200 is transported to the vicinity of the container stack transport device 100 by a known transport mechanism (not shown) such as a robot hand. Inside this storage box 200, a large number of untransported container stacks CS are packed in a state in which they are arranged in parallel in the radial direction so as to be substantially parallel to each other, and stacked vertically in several stages. Note that these container stacks CS may be packed closely together in a staggered manner within the box so that the space within the storage box 200 is minimized and the container stacks do not lose their shape during transportation.

<Processing device 300>
The processing device 300 receives a new container stack CS via the container stack transport device 100. Such a processing device 300 has various functions depending on the substance filled in the container C as described above. As an example, as shown in FIG. 1, the processing apparatus 300 of the present embodiment includes one or more container hoppers 301 (in the illustration, a first container hopper 301a to a first container hopper 301a to a first container hopper 301a to 4 container hoppers 301d) and a plurality of container receiving openings 302 disposed below these container hoppers 301 so as to face each other, respectively.

Therefore, the container stack CS transported to the processing device 300 is supplied into the container receiving opening 302 via this container hopper 301, and is subjected to various types of processing (for example, the above-described (e.g., filling of food products) is carried out. Note that the structure and function of the processing device 300 described above are merely examples, and there is no particular restriction as long as the container stack CS can be transported from the container stack transport device 100, and the processing device 300 having various known functions and structures may be used. Applicable.

<Container stack conveyance device 100>
Next, the detailed configuration of the container stack conveying device 100 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
As understood from these figures, the container stack conveying device 100 of this embodiment is configured to include a side surface holding means 10, a flange supporting means 20, a driving means 30, an opening/closing control means 40, and a frame means 50. .

The side surface holding means 10 has a function of holding the side surface of a container stack CS in which a plurality of containers C are stacked. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the side surface holding means 10 extends in the axial direction of the container stack CS (the direction in which the containers C are stacked, and in the left-right direction in FIG. 2) to stack the containers. It is configured to include a pair of blade-shaped clamping plates that can clamp the sides of the CS. As shown in FIG. 3(b), the pair of clamping plates have a blade shape corresponding to the axial length of the container stack CS, and the reference blade plate 11 located on one side of the container C and the container C and a movable blade plate 12 that can be deployed on the other side of the blade.

As will be described later, in this embodiment, the reference blade plate 11 is immovable, and the movable blade plate 12 is deployed to a position where it surrounds the body of the container C (when the clamping plate is in the "closed position P3") or a position where it does not surround the body of the container C. The configuration is such that the side surface holding of the container C is executed/released by being located in the stored position (when the clamping plate is in the "open position P4"). In this way, the holding plate of the present embodiment has two positions: a closed position P3 in which the reference blade plate 11 and the movable blade plate 12 work together to contact and hold the side surface of the container stack CS, and a side surface of the container stack CS. The container stack CS can be moved to an open position P4 where the side surface of the container stack CS is opened.

Note that in this embodiment, one of the pair of clamping plates (in this example, the reference blade plate 11) is immovable, but the embodiment is not limited to this, and the reference blade plate 11 also corresponds to the movable blade plate 12, and the above-mentioned container C It may be configured to be movable so as to surround at least a portion of the body of the body. In addition, the clamping plate of this embodiment is not configured as a pair such as the reference blade plate 11 and the movable blade plate 12, but is made of a single curved plate as long as the side surface of the container C can be held without unintentionally tilting. A board may also be used.

Furthermore, as for the drive mechanism of the clamping plate and the rest of the structure in the side surface holding means 10, various known drive mechanisms such as a cylinder mechanism or an electric motor can be applied. As an example, the above-described drive mechanism in the side surface holding means 10 may be the drive mechanism in the container holding mechanism of JP-A No. 2006-187861 mentioned above.

The flange support means 20 has a function as a stopper that supports the flange Cf of the lowermost container _CB in the container stack CS. More specifically, the flange support means 20 of this embodiment includes a support plate 21 that can support the bottom of the flange Cf so as to sandwich at least a part of the body of the container C, and a support plate 21 that can support the bottom of the flange Cf of the container C. and a moving mechanism for moving the container closer to or away from the bottom of the container.

The support plate 21 of this embodiment is a member made of, for example, a metal piece or a resin piece, and supports the flange Cf of the container _CB located at the bottom of the container stack CS. For this purpose, the support plate 21 of this embodiment is moved via the above-mentioned moving mechanism into a closed position P1 where it can contact the lower surface of the flange and support the container stack CS, and an open position which is further away from the flange than the closed position P1. It is configured to be movable between position P2 (for example, see FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 in comparison).

As for the specific shape of the support plate 21, it is preferable that the supporting plate 21 has a Y-shaped outer shape that is curved along the lower surface of the flange Cf of the container C, for example. However, the shape of the support plate 21 is not particularly limited as long as it supports the flange Cf of the lowermost container C _B mentioned above and prevents the container stack CS from falling. For example, it may have a V-shape instead of a Y-shape, or The support plate 21 may be constituted by a support piece that supports a portion (at one location or intermittently at multiple locations) of the lower surface of Cf.

Details of a moving mechanism for moving such a support plate 21 are shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the moving mechanism of this embodiment includes a swing link 22 that swings the support plate 21 described above, and a drive cylinder 23 that drives this swing link 22. There is. More specifically, the swing link 22 has a base end 24 rotatably installed on a frame means 50 described below, and a swing side end 25 rotatably connected to the support plate 21. has been done. As is clear from FIG. 2, the base end 24 is located above the flange Cf of the container _CB .

Further, in the drive cylinder 23 of this embodiment, the base end 26 is rotatably installed on the frame means 50 described above, and the end on the operating side is connected to the swing side end 25 described above. ing. In this way, the base end 24 of the swing link 22 is located closer to the frame in the X-axis direction than the flange Cf of the container C _B , and the swing side end 25 is moved by the drive cylinder 23 under the restriction of the swing link 22. This allows the support plate 21 to pivot around the base end 24 as a fulcrum. The structures of the base end 24, the swinging end 25, and the base end 26 are not particularly limited as long as they can perform the functions described above, and a known mechanism such as a bearing mechanism can be used.

In other words, the support plate 21 of this embodiment is moved by the above-mentioned moving mechanism to a swing fulcrum (base end) that is provided opposite a part of the side surface of the container stack CS (but above the flange Cf of the container C _B ). 24), and is configured to swing between the open position P2 and the closed position P1 described above. At this time, the support plate 21 pivots from the _bottom side of the container in the axial direction (the direction in which the gripped container stacks CS are stacked, the Z-axis direction in FIG. 2) from the flange Cf of the lowermost container CB, and the flange Contact with the lower surface of Cf. As a result, when opening the container stack CS, which will be described later, smooth opening is realized, and unintended tilting can also be suppressed.

Note that, as described above, in this embodiment, it is desirable that the support plate 21 swings in a pivoting manner via the above-described moving mechanism, but the present invention does not necessarily have to be limited to this form. That is, for example, if the above-mentioned smooth opening and unintentional tilting are satisfied to a certain extent, a configuration in which the support plate 21 is slid in (straight line movement) from the side (straight side) of the flange Cf of the lowermost container _CB is possible. You can also use it as In this case, the above-mentioned swing link 22 becomes unnecessary, and it is sufficient to simply move the support plate 21 in and out linearly using, for example, the drive cylinder 23, which contributes to a reduction in the number of parts.

The driving means 30 has a function of transporting the container stack CS while holding the side surface of the container stack CS with the side surface holding means 10 and supporting the lower surface of the flange Cf with the flange support means 20. More specifically, the driving means 30 of this embodiment can be, for example, a known robot hand capable of six-axis driving that is centrally controlled by a control device CPU, which will be described later.

In this embodiment, a frame means 50 is provided at the tip of the robot hand serving as the drive means 30. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to control the above-mentioned side surface holding means 10 and flange supporting means 20 in any posture via the driving means 30, and to position them at a desired location.
The frame means 50 is not particularly limited as long as it can mount the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 described above, and for example, a metal material or a resin material may be used as in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-187861. Any known frame structure can be applied.

The opening/closing control means 40 controls the opening/closing of the clamping plate in the side surface holding means 10 described above and the opening/closing of the supporting plate 21 of the flange supporting means 20 described above. More specifically, the opening/closing control means 40 of this embodiment can be exemplified by a known computer equipped with a memory and a control device CPU (not shown). Thereby, for example, the holding plate of this embodiment can be switched between the open position P4 and the closed position P3, and the support plate 21 can be swung between the closed position P1 and the open position P2.

<Container stack transportation method>
Next, the container stack conveyance method in this embodiment will be described in detail with further reference to FIGS. 3 to 9. This container stack transport method is a transport method using a container stack transport device 100 having a side surface holding means 10 and a flange support means 20, which can be stored as a program in the above-mentioned memory and executed by the control device CPU, for example. Note that the program for this container stack transportation method may be stored in the memory, or may be downloaded via a network such as a cloud.

That is, in step 1 shown in FIG. 9, first, the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 are moved and positioned on the storage box 200 (first movement step). When the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 are positioned on the storage box 200, the state of the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 is set to the "unheld movement mode" shown in FIG.

More specifically, in this embodiment, under the control of the opening/closing control means 40 described above, the side holding means 10 (clamping plate) is in the open position P4 in the non-holding movement mode, and the flange supporting means 20 is in the open position P4. (Support plate 21) is set to the open position P2. In addition, in the unheld movement mode of this embodiment, the flange support means 20 (support plate 21) is set to the open position P2, but the flange support means 20 (support plate 21) is set to the closed position P1. may be set to the state.

In Step 2 after Step 1, the above-described side holding means 10 and flange supporting means 20 are moved from above the untransported container stack CS accommodated in this storage box 200 so as to face the body of the container stack CS. and descends (descending process). When the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 are lowered from above the untransported container stack CS stored in the storage box 200, the states of the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 are shown in FIG. It is set to "take-out lowering mode".

More specifically, in this embodiment, under the control of the above-mentioned opening/closing control means 40, the side holding means 10 (clamping plate) is in the open position P4 in the take-out and lowering mode, and the flange supporting means 20 ( The support plate 21) is set to the closed position P1. As described above, in this embodiment, the container stack CS before being transported is approached with the clamping plate of the side holding means 10 in the open position P4 and the support plate 21 of the flange supporting means 20 in the closed position P1. In other words, in the lowering process in this embodiment, the support plate 21 is lowered from above the untransported container stack CS in the closed position P1 so as to come into contact with the flange Cf.

That is, when the flange support means 20 is inserted into the storage box 200, the flange Cf of the lowermost container _CB is simultaneously supported by the support plate 21. Thereby, for example, when holding the container stack CS with the side surface holding means 10, it is possible to smoothly hold the container stack CS in a prescribed correct positional relationship while omitting the swinging time of the support plate 21. Further, as is clear from FIGS. 1 and 4, the support plate 21 of this embodiment is located inside the end of the container stack CS when inserted into the storage box 200. Therefore, since the support plate 21 does not interfere with the storage box 200 during the above-mentioned insertion, smooth removal of the container stack CS is achieved even if the inner dimensions of the storage box 200 are made approximately the same as the stacking height of the container stack CS. can.

In the following step 3, the above-described control device CPU determines whether the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 have reached the container stack CS via a known detection means such as an optical sensor (not shown). In addition to the above-mentioned method of determining the arrival at the container stack CS, in addition to the detection using the optical sensor, etc., the determination of completion of descent is performed by setting the position information of the storage box 200 and teaching the robot hand. It can be carried out.

If it is determined that the lowering of the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 has been completed, the opening/closing control means 40 drives the side surface holding means 10 in step 4 so as to bring the side surface holding means 10 into the closed position P3. (side holding process). In this side surface holding step, the side surface of the container stack CS is held by the above-mentioned clamping plate of the side surface holding means 10 in a state where the flange Cf of the lowermost container C _B and the support plate 21 are in contact with each other.

In the subsequent step 5, the control device CPU determines whether or not the side surface holding of the container stack CS by the opening/closing control means 40 has been completed, and if this side surface holding has been completed, the process proceeds to step 6. .
That is, in step 6, the container stack CS is transported while the side surface of the container stack CS is held by the side surface holding means 10 and the above-mentioned flange Cf is supported by the flange support means 20 (transporting step).

When the container stack CS is gripped and lifted from inside the storage box 200 and transported to the target location, the side surface holding means 10 and the flange support means 20 are in the "transport mode" shown in FIG. ” is set.

More specifically, in this embodiment, under the control of the above-mentioned opening/closing control means 40, in the transport mode, the side holding means 10 (pinching plate) is in the closed position P3, and the flange supporting means 20 (supporting The state in which the plate 21) is in the closed position P1 is set. Thereby, by supporting the flange Cf of the lowermost container _CB while holding the container stack CS by the side holding means 10, smooth extraction and conveyance and prevention of unintended tilting are achieved.

As shown in FIG. 6, during at least a part of the conveyance process, the driving means 30 tilts the container stack CS held by the side holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 obliquely with respect to the vertical direction. The container stack CS may be transported to a destination location. This further suppresses unintended tilting of the container stack CS during transportation.

Next, in step 7, it is determined whether the side holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 holding the container stack CS have reached the destination, which is the destination. If the target location has not yet been reached, the above-described transport operation is continued, while if the target location has been reached, the process moves to step 8 and the opening operation of the container stack CS is performed.

That is, in step 8, the restraint (side surface holding & flange support) of the container stack CS by the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 is released to open the container stack CS (opening step). More specifically, in the opening step, as shown in FIG. Preferably, the restraint by the flange support means 20 is released.

Note that if the container stack CS restrained by the side surface holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 is tilted obliquely with respect to the vertical direction in the above-mentioned conveyance process, the above-described tilted state will continue to be maintained even in the opening process. It is preferable that

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a procedure (an example) for releasing the restraint of the container stack CS and the subsequent state transition.
That is, as shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, when opening the container stack CS, the clamping plate of the side surface holding means 10 first shifts to the above-mentioned open position P4 (the left side state in FIG. 7). As a result, the container stack CS is supported by the flange support means 20. At this time, as described above, in this embodiment, since the container stack CS is inclined obliquely with respect to the vertical direction, the container stack CS continues to follow the inclination of the side surface holding means 10 and maintain contact with the clamping plate.

After the clamping plate of the side surface holding means 10 moves to the above-mentioned open position P4, the support plate 21 of the flange supporting means 20 then pivots around the above-described swing fulcrum (base end 24) to the closed position P1. to the open position P2 (the right side state in FIG. 7). As a result, the container stack CS, whose support has been released, slides down onto the blade-shaped holding plate and into the container hopper 301, as shown in FIG. At this time, as described above, the support plate 21 pivots and swings away from the flange Cf, so that the sliding movement of the container stack CS does not become unstable and tilting forward is suppressed.

The embodiment described above is an example embodying the gist of the present invention, and changes may be made as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention. Further, modifications may be made by appropriately adding known structures and techniques without departing from the above-mentioned spirit of the present invention.

For example, in this embodiment, the flange support means 20 functions as a stopper that supports the flange Cf of the lowermost container C _B in the container stack CS, but in addition to this, the flange support means 20 functions as a stopper for supporting the flange Cf of the lowermost container C _B in the container stack CS. A mechanism for covering the flange Cf (see ) from above may be further provided. This makes it possible to further suppress tilting of the container stack CS during transportation.

In addition to supporting the flange Cf of the lowermost container C _B of the container stack CS, the flange support means 20 also supports one or more flanges Cf between the lowermost container C _B and the uppermost container C _T. An additional support plate 21 may be provided to further support the bottom of the flange Cf. Thereby, the container stack CS can be supported more stably.

Further, in the present embodiment, the blade-shaped side holding means 10 has a linear shape along the axial direction of the container stack CS, but is not limited to this shape, and may have a gently curved shape within the range where the above-mentioned tilting does not occur. It may be in a shape that exhibits.

In addition, in this embodiment, a known sensor is provided to detect the number of containers remaining in the container hopper 301, and based on the detection result of this sensor, a new container stack is placed in the container hopper 301 in which the container C is insufficient. The container stack conveying device 100 may be configured to input the CS.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the two container stacks CS are restrained by the side holding means 10 and the flange supporting means 20 so as to be juxtaposed and transported to the target location, but a single container stack CS It may be configured to transport CS or to transport three or more arbitrary container stacks CS at the same time.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention is suitable for realizing the conveyance apparatus of the container stack which achieves both the efficiency of the conveyance time from a pick-up to a destination location, and the prevention of falling at a high level.

100 Container stack conveyance device 10 Side holding means 20 Flange support means 30 Driving means 40 Opening/closing control means 50 Frame means 200 Storage box 300 Processing device 301 Container hopper 302 Container receiving opening

Claims (8)

side holding means for holding the sides of a container stack in which a plurality of containers are stacked;
flange support means for supporting a flange of a lowermost container in the container stack;
a drive means for transporting the container stack in a state where the side surface of the container stack is held by the side surface holding means and the flange is supported by the flange support means;
opening/closing control means for controlling opening and closing of the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means;
A container stack conveyance device characterized by comprising: The flange support means includes:
a support plate capable of supporting the lower surface of the flange so as to sandwich at least a portion of the body of the container;
a moving mechanism that moves the support plate close to or away from the flange;
including;
The support plate is moved via the movement mechanism to a closed position in which it is in contact with the lower surface of the flange and can support the container stack, and an open position that is further away from the flange than the closed position. The container stack conveying device according to claim 1. The moving mechanism is
a swing link that swings the support plate;
a drive cylinder that drives the swing link;
The container stack according to claim 2, wherein the support plate swings between the open position and the closed position by pivoting around a swing fulcrum provided opposite a part of a side surface of the container stack. Conveyance device. The side surface holding means includes a clamping plate that extends in the axial direction of the container stack and can clamp the side surface of the container stack,
The clamping plate is movable between a closed position where it contacts and clamps the side surface of the container stack, and an open position where it is separated from the side surface of the container stack and the side surface of the container stack is open,
The container stack conveying device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the holding plate approaches the container stack before being conveyed while the holding plate is in the open position and the flange support means is in the closed position. The driving means tilts the container stack held by the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means obliquely with respect to the vertical direction,
The container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the opening/closing control means controls the side surface holding means and the flange support means to open the container stack when the container stack is tilted. Stack conveyance device. A container stack conveying method using a container stack conveying device having a side surface holding means for holding a side surface of a container stack in which a plurality of containers are stacked, and a flange supporting means for supporting a flange of a lowermost container in the container stack. And,
a lowering step in which the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means are lowered from above the untransported container stack;
a side surface holding step of holding the side surface of the container stack with the side surface holding means in a state where the flange of the lowermost container and the support plate of the flange support means are in contact with each other;
a conveyance step of conveying the container stack in a state where the side surface of the container stack is held by the side surface holding means and the flange is supported by the flange support means;
After the conveying step, an opening step of releasing the restraint of the container stack by the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means to open the container stack;
A method for conveying a container stack, comprising: The support plate is moved between a closed position in which the container stack can be supported by contacting the lower surface of the flange and a closed position in which the support plate is moved closer to or away from the flange through a moving mechanism. is also movable to an open position spaced from the flange;
7. The container stack transportation method according to claim 6, wherein in the lowering step, the support plate is lowered from above the untransported container stack in the closed position so as to come into contact with the flange. In the opening step, the restraint of the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means is released while the container stack held by the side surface holding means and the flange supporting means is tilted obliquely with respect to the vertical direction. , The container stack conveying method according to claim 6 or 7.