JP7439709B2 - Goods transfer device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an article transfer device that receives articles supplied from an article supply device and transfers the articles to a conveyor placed below the article supply device or a container installed on the conveyor.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-153394 discloses an article transfer device as described above (in the background art, the reference numerals in parentheses refer to the documents referred to). This article transfer device extends across a box-shaped main body (19) with an open bottom and at least one side surface, and a pair of opposing side surfaces adjacent to the bottom surface of the main body (19). A long rectangular belt-shaped receiving member (27) is provided. The article (16) is supplied from the article supply device through the side opening of the main body (19), and the article (16) is supplied with the lower opening of the main body (19) facing the opening of the container (17). The article (16) is transferred to the container (17).

When the article (16) is supplied through the side opening of the main body (19), the article (16) is received by the receiving member (27). At this time, the receiving member (27) is fixed at one side (first side) and extended by a certain length from the other side (second side), thereby bending downward to prevent the goods from being stored. Accept (16). This feeding is performed in accordance with the timing of conveyance of the container (17) being conveyed below the main body (19). When all the supplied articles (16) are received, the receiving member (27) is further extended and released from the second side surface. Then, when the receiving member (27) is moved toward the first side, the receiving member (27) is pulled out from the container (17), and the article (16) is accommodated in the container (17). Since the article (16) comes into contact with the bottom of the container (17) after being received by the receiving member (27), the article (16) is appropriately transferred by suppressing the impact on the article (16). .

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-153394

As mentioned above, when the receiving member is extended by a certain length and flexed downward, if multiple items are thrown in beyond the capacity corresponding to the size of the flexure, the items will not fit properly into the container. There is a possibility that it will not come in. In other words, even if the capacity of the container is sufficient, there is a possibility that a plurality of articles cannot be properly accommodated in the container. Furthermore, if the article is light, there is a possibility that the article will be thrown out when the receiving member is pulled out after the article is inserted.

In view of the above background, it is desired to provide an article transfer device that can appropriately accommodate a plurality of articles in a container.

In view of the above, receiving the articles supplied from an article supplying device that is sorted based on order information and transports the articles under drive control by a control device in units of article groups consisting of one or more articles; The article transfer device, which is controlled by the control device and transfers the articles for each group of articles to a container disposed below the article supply device, is configured of a flexible sheet-like member, and A receiving member for receiving an article, a first support portion supporting a first end that is one end of the receiving member, and a second end that is the other end of the receiving member. a second support section that supports the region; and an attitude change section that changes the attitude of the receiving member, the second support section being arranged to face the first support section in a direction along a horizontal plane; It is possible to support the receiving member in the defined area, to release the receiving member, and to extend the receiving member in the direction of the first end while supporting the receiving member; The posture changing section includes a first operation of holding the receiving member between the first supporting section and the second supporting section so that the receiving member assumes a first posture along a horizontal plane, and a first operation of holding the receiving member between the first supporting section and the second supporting section; a second operation of releasing the receiving member from the second support portion so that the receiving member assumes a second attitude in which it is free on the side of a third operation of feeding out the receiving member from the second support part until the position change part is controlled by the control device , and the posture change part controlled by the control device When a plurality of the articles are sequentially supplied from the article supply device in units of the article group , based on the total amount of the articles supplied from the article supply device or the supply time of the articles from the article supply device. In the third operation , the amount of feeding of the receiving member from the first attitude is increased as the articles are sequentially supplied, and after all the articles have been supplied, the second operation is executed.

According to this configuration, when a plurality of articles are sequentially supplied from the article supply device driven and controlled by the control device , the attitude changing unit controlled by the control device is configured to control the total amount of articles supplied from the article supply device, Alternatively, the amount of feeding of the receiving member is increased based on the supply time of the article from the article supply device . Therefore, as a plurality of articles are sequentially supplied, the amount of deflection of the receiving member increases, and the capacity that the receiving member can receive increases. Therefore, a plurality of articles can be appropriately accommodated in the container without overflowing from the receiving member. That is, according to this configuration, it is possible to provide an article transfer device that can appropriately accommodate a plurality of articles in a container.

Further characteristics and advantages of the article transfer device will become clear from the following description of an exemplary and non-restrictive embodiment with reference to the drawings.

Perspective view of a sorting system equipped with an article transfer device Plan view of a sorting system equipped with an article transfer device A perspective view schematically showing a part of a multi-stage sorting device. Side view of sorting system A perspective view schematically showing the internal structure of the main body of the article transfer device. Control block diagram of a sorting system including an article transport device and an article transfer device Diagram showing an example of state transition of the article transfer device

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of an article transfer device will be described based on the drawings, taking as an example a form applied to a sorting system (sorting system).

First, the sorting system PS will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the sorting system PS is installed in a logistics facility owned by, for example, a mail-order business, and sorts necessary items G from among a plurality of items G stored therein and dispatches the items. The sorting system PS, for example, sorts necessary articles G from a plurality of articles G stored in an automated warehouse (not shown) and ships them out. In this case, a plurality of articles G are stored in containers according to type in the automated warehouse. Then, the plurality of articles G stored in containers for each type are automatically carried out from the automated warehouse and separated into individual articles G in an article disassembling section (not shown). After that, each of the plurality of articles G is individually conveyed. Note that "articles G" include, for example, various products such as foodstuffs and daily necessities, or work-in-progress used in factory production lines, etc., and the articles G to be sorted include various items. It will be done.

The sorting system PS includes a multi-stage sorting device 7 and an unloading system that receives articles G from the multi-stage sorting device 7 and transports the received articles G along a first direction X, which is a direction in which the received articles G are separated from the multi-stage sorting device 7. A conveyor 8 and an article conveying device 100 that receives an article G from the carry-out conveyor 8 and conveys the article G along a second direction Y that intersects (perpendicularly intersects with the illustrated example) the first direction X in plan view. We are prepared. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the sorting system PS of this example includes a carry-in device 6 that carries the articles G into the multi-stage sorting device 7, and a device that receives the articles G from the article conveyance device 100 via the article transfer device 5. and an unloading device 9 for unloading.

Although details will be described later, the article conveyance device 100 corresponds to an article supply device that supplies the article G to the article transfer device 5. Moreover, the carry-out device 9 corresponds to a conveyor (shipping conveyor) arranged below the article supply device. The article transfer device 5 is an automatic loading device that automatically transfers the article G to the unloading device 9 or a container B installed on the unloading device 9. In this embodiment, the article transfer device 5 is disposed on the first side Y1 in the second direction, which is the downstream side of the article conveyance device 100 in the conveyance direction, and serves as an article supply device. It is configured as an automatic loading machine that receives the articles G supplied from the article conveyance device 100 and automatically puts the articles G into a container B installed on the carry-out device 9.

The carry-in device 6 sequentially carries the articles G housed in containers by type from the automated warehouse and separated into individual articles in the article disassembly section to the multi-stage sorting device 7. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the carry-in device 6 is configured as a conveyor.

The multi-stage sorting device 7 is a device for sorting the articles G carried in from the carrying-in device 6. As shown in FIG. 3, the multi-stage sorting device 7 has a plurality of tier frontages 71 having different heights in the vertical direction, and the articles G are sorted into any of the plurality of tier openings 71 and discharged. In the illustrated example, the multi-stage sorting device 7 has a plurality of openings 71 arranged in an orthogonal grid pattern including a plurality of stages and a plurality of rows.

The multi-stage sorting device 7 sorts the articles G into any one of a plurality of frontages 71 based on order information. In this example, the multi-stage sorting device 7 sorts the articles G by discharging the articles G from a specific frontage 71 determined based on the order information and delivering them to the carry-out conveyor 8. Note that the order information here is, for example, an order (picking order) specifying the type and quantity of the article G to be shipped (which may be a single type or a combination of multiple types). This is information indicating. The multi-stage sorting device 7 then sorts the articles G by discharging one or more articles G specified by each order to a different opening 71 for each order.

Although detailed illustration is omitted, for example, the multi-stage sorting device 7 includes an article discrimination section for discriminating articles G. The multi-stage sorting device 7 sorts the articles G based on the discrimination results by the article discrimination section. For example, the article discrimination section includes a camera that captures an image of the article G, and is configured to discriminate the article G by performing image recognition processing on image data acquired by the camera. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and for example, an IC tag, a bar code, etc. (storage unit) that stores item information may be attached to the item G, and the item discrimination unit may read the item information. It may be configured to include a reader (reading section) and to discriminate the article G based on the article information read by the reader.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the multi-stage sorting device 7 includes a rail 72 and a plurality of conveyance carts 73 that move along the rail 72. The rail 72 includes a horizontal portion provided along the horizontal direction (second direction Y) for each of the plurality of stages in which the frontage 71 is provided. The transport vehicle 73 is configured to travel along the horizontal portion of the rail 72, thereby transporting the article G in the second direction Y. Further, the rail 72 may extend in the vertical direction and include upper and lower portions that connect horizontal portions arranged in multiple stages. In this case, the transport vehicle 73 is configured to move up and down along the upper and lower portions of the rail 72, thereby being able to move to each of the horizontal portions arranged in multiple stages. In this case, the number of transport vehicles 73 is not limited to the number of stages in which the frontage 71 is provided. Therefore, for example, it is also possible to arrange fewer or more transport vehicles 73 than the number of stages in which the frontage 71 is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 3, eight conveyance carts 73 are arranged for the frontage 71 of eight stages.

In this embodiment, each of the transport vehicles 73 includes a discharge conveyor 74 that supports the article G from below and discharges the article G from the frontage 71. The discharge conveyor 74 moves the article G in the first direction X from the travel path of the transport vehicle 73.

The carry-out conveyor 8 is a device for conveying the articles G sorted by the multi-stage sorting device 7. In this embodiment, the carry-out conveyor 8 is provided corresponding to each of the frontages 71 of the plurality of stages, and temporarily stores the articles G discharged from the frontage 71 by the multi-stage sorting device 7. The article G is conveyed in the first direction X. In this embodiment, the plurality of carry-out conveyors 8 are arranged in line in the second direction Y so as to correspond to each of the plurality of rows of frontages 71 in each of the plurality of stages.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the carry-out conveyor 8 conveys the articles G in units of article groups Gg, which are a collection of a plurality of articles G for each order, and discharges them to the article conveying device 100. The number of articles G constituting one article group Gg differs for each order. For example, depending on the order, one article G may constitute one article group Gg.

The article conveyance device 100 is a device for conveying articles G. In the sorting system PS, the article conveyance device 100 as an article supply device conveys the articles G (article group Gg) discharged from the carry-out conveyor 8 in the second direction Y, and transfers them to the carry-out device 9 via the article transfer device 5. hand over to.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article conveyance device 100 includes a first conveyor 1 and a second conveyor 2 that convey articles G, respectively. Moreover, the article conveyance device 100 further includes an intermediate conveyor 3 arranged between the first conveyor 1 and the second conveyor 2 in the second direction Y. These first conveyor 1, second conveyor 2, and intermediate conveyor 3 are drive-controlled by a control device C (see FIG. 6).

In this embodiment, the first conveyor 1 is constituted by a belt conveyor having a pulley and a belt wound around the pulley, and a first conveyance surface F1 is formed on the upper surface of the belt. The belt is driven by rotationally driving a pulley by an actuator such as a motor (first drive unit M1: see FIG. 6). The first drive unit M1 is controlled by a control device C.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first conveyor 1 includes a first side wall portion S1 arranged adjacent to the first direction X with respect to the first conveyance surface F1. The first side wall portion S1 is disposed along the second direction Y, protruding upward from the first conveyance surface F1. The first side wall portion S1 can prevent the article G being transported on the first transport surface F1 from falling off the first transport surface F1 to the outside in the first direction X. In other words, the first side wall portion S1 can appropriately guide the article G being transported on the first transport surface F1 in the second direction Y (transport direction). In this example, the first side wall portion S1 is also configured as a conveyor, and the article G is conveyed along the second direction Y (conveyance direction) by both the first conveyance surface F1 and the first side wall portion S1. Ru.

As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, in this embodiment, the first conveyor 1 includes a lifting mechanism 11 that lifts and lowers the first conveyance surface F1. The lifting mechanism 11 is controlled by a control device C (see FIG. 6). The first conveyor 1 raises and lowers the first conveyance surface F1 using the lifting mechanism 11, so that the first conveyor 1 reaches a height corresponding to each of the discharge conveyors 8 provided in multiple stages, as shown in FIG. It is possible to arrange the surface F1, and it is possible to receive the article G from any of the plurality of stages of carry-out conveyor 8. In this example, as shown in FIG. 1, the elevating mechanism 11 includes a mast 111 that supports the first conveying surface support section 10 in a vertically movable manner, and an elevating drive section 110 that drives the first conveying surface supporting section 10 up and down. We are prepared.

Although a detailed description will be omitted, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the second conveyor 2 is disposed on the downstream side of the first conveyor 1 in the conveyance direction (first side Y1 in the second direction). The second conveyor 2 is arranged at a different height from the first conveyance surface F1 and drives the conveyance surface independently of the first drive unit M1. The second drive unit M2 is provided with a second drive unit M2. Similar to the first conveyor 1, the second conveyor 2 is constituted by a belt conveyor having a pulley and a belt wound around the pulley, and a conveyance surface is formed on the upper surface of the belt. The belt is driven by rotationally driving a pulley by an actuator such as a motor (second drive unit M2: see FIG. 6). The second drive unit M2 is controlled by a control device C.

Further, the intermediate conveyor 3 is located between the first conveyor 1 and the second conveyor 2, that is, on the downstream side of the first conveyor 1 in the conveyance direction (second direction first side Y1) and further than the second conveyor 2. It is arranged on the upstream side of the direction (second direction second side Y2). The intermediate conveyor 3 is arranged at different heights with respect to the conveyance surfaces of the first conveyance surface F1 and the second conveyor 2, and has a conveyance surface on which the article G is conveyed, and a first drive section M1 and a first drive section M1. 2. An intermediate drive section M3 that drives the conveyance surface independently of the second drive section M2 is provided. Similar to the first conveyor 1 and the second conveyor 2, the intermediate conveyor 3 is constituted by a belt conveyor having a pulley and a belt wound around the pulley, and a conveying surface is formed on the upper surface of the belt. The belt is driven by rotating a pulley using an actuator such as a motor (intermediate drive section M3: see FIG. 6). The intermediate drive section M3 is controlled by a control device C.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first conveyance surface F1 of the first conveyor 1 is inclined at an angle in the first direction X with respect to a horizontal plane (for example, 10° to 20°). Thereby, the article G conveyed by the first conveyor 1 can be conveyed in a state closer to the first side wall portion S1 on the first conveyance surface F1. In this example, the angle of the first conveyance surface F1 in the second direction Y with respect to the horizontal plane is set to 0°.

Further, the height of the conveyance surface of the second conveyor 2 in the vertical direction is lower than that of the first conveyance surface F1, and the angle of the first direction X with respect to the horizontal plane is lower than the angle of the first direction is also a small angle (0° in this embodiment). That is, the conveyance surface of the second conveyor 2 is arranged along a horizontal plane. Thereby, the article G can be conveyed along the horizontal plane. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a delivery device carries out articles G in units of article groups Gg for each order on the downstream side of the second conveyor 2 in the conveyance direction (first side Y1 in the second direction). An article transfer device 5 (automatic loading machine) is provided for loading the articles into the container 9. In this example, the angle of the second direction Y of the conveyance surface of the second conveyor 2 with respect to the horizontal plane is set to 0°.

The conveyance surface of the intermediate conveyor 3 is arranged between the first conveyance surface F1 and the conveyance surface of the second conveyor 2 in the vertical direction, and the angle of the first direction It is inclined at an intermediate angle between the angle in the direction X and the angle in the first direction X with respect to the horizontal plane of the conveying surface of the second conveyor 2 . With such a configuration, it is possible to shorten the distance in the vertical direction when the article G moves from conveyance surface to conveyance surface between a plurality of conveyors. Therefore, according to the article conveyance device 100, it is possible to reduce the impact when an article is moved between a plurality of conveyors having conveyor surfaces having different inclination angles in the first direction X with respect to the horizontal plane and different heights in the vertical direction. is possible. In this example, the angle of the conveying surface of the intermediate conveyor 3 in the second direction Y with respect to the horizontal plane is set to 0°.

The article transfer device 5 includes an input port 56 through which the article G is supplied from the article conveyance device 100 is formed on the second side Y2 in the second direction, and a box-shaped main body portion 55 with an open bottom. . The article transfer device 5 is arranged such that the bottom of the main body 55 is located above the carry-out device 9, which is installed below the article conveyance device 100 as an article supply device. The carry-out device 9 transports containers B containing articles G in units of article groups Gg sorted by the multi-stage sorting device 7. In the present embodiment, the empty containers B are sequentially transported from the second side Y2 in the second direction toward the first side Y1 in the second direction, and the articles are transported below the article transfer device 5. G is stored in container B. Then, the container B containing the articles G in the article group Gg is transported from the article transfer device 5 toward the first side Y1 in the second direction.

Although details will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7, the article transfer device 5 includes a receiving member 50 that receives the article G from the article conveying device 100 as an article supply device, and a first end 51 of the receiving member 50. , a second support part 82 that supports the defined region R on the second end 52 side of the receiving member 50, and an attitude changing part 40 that changes the attitude of the receiving member 50. ing.

FIG. 5 shows the internal structure of the main body portion 55. As shown in FIG. 5, the receiving member 50 is made of a flexible sheet-like member. In this embodiment, the receiving member 50 has a rectangular shape, the first end 51 is one side, and the second end 52 is the opposite side to the first end 51. The first support portion 81 supports the first end portion 51 that is one end portion of the sheet-like receiving member 50 . The second support portion 82 supports the defined region R on the second end portion 52 side, which is the other end portion of the sheet-like receiving member 50 . As will be described later, the attitude of the receiving member 50 changes by changing the support position in the defined region R by the second support part 82. The attitude changing unit 40 changes the attitude of the receiving member 50 by changing the supported position by the second supporter 82 while the first end 51 is supported by the first supporter 81 .

As shown in FIG. 5, the article transfer device 5 includes a drive sprocket disposed at one of the four inner corners of each of the two side surfaces along the first direction X of the box-shaped main body 55. 64, and driven sprockets 62 arranged at each of the three corners. The drive sprockets 64 provided on the two side surfaces are arranged in pairs to face each other, and in this embodiment are connected by a drive shaft 65. The drive sprocket 64 and the drive shaft 65 are rotationally driven by a rotation drive section M6 configured by an actuator such as a motor. Further, the respective driven sprockets 62 provided on the two side surfaces are also arranged in pairs to face each other. In this embodiment, a guide shaft 63 is provided between the pair of driven sprockets 62 . The guide shaft 63 guides the movement of the sheet-shaped receiving member 50 and functions as a support portion (first support portion 81 and second support portion 82) that supports the receiving member 50. Note that the driven sprocket 62 and the guide shaft 63 may be relatively rotatable.

A drive chain 61 is stretched between one driving sprocket 64 and three driven sprockets 62 arranged inside each side surface. The drive shaft 65 and the drive sprocket 64 are rotationally driven by the orbiting drive unit M6, so that the drive chain 61 moves along a fixed path and orbits along the surface of each side portion. A connecting member 53 to which one end of a sheet-shaped receiving member 50 is connected is connected to a predetermined position of the pair of drive chains 61 . In this embodiment, the connecting member 53 is a rigid member that holds the entire area of the side forming the first end portion 51 of the receiving member 50 . In the illustrated example, the connecting member 53 is a rod-shaped member that extends over the entire area of the receiving member 50 in the second direction Y. When the drive chain 61 rotates, the receiving member 50 also rotates together with the drive chain 61. The end on the side where the connecting member 53 is provided along the circumferential direction is the first end 51 of the receiving member 50, and the end on the opposite side to the first end 51 along the circumferential direction is the receiving member. 50, the second end 52 of the 50.

The receiving member 50 is connected to the drive chain 61 via a connecting member 53 on the first end 51 side, which is the downstream side in the circumferential direction. The second end 52, which is the upstream side of the receiving member 50, is not connected to the drive chain 61, and is held between the feed roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 in a certain range in the circumferential direction. . The feed roller 41 is rotationally driven by a feed drive unit M5 configured by an actuator such as a motor. The feeding drive unit M5 is controlled by a control device C.

By rotationally driving the feed roller 41 with the receiving member 50 being held between the feeding roller 41 and the pressing roller 42, the receiving member 50 can be fed out in the circumferential direction even if the drive chain 61 is stopped. . When the feed roller 41 is stopped, movement of the receiving member 50 in the circumferential direction can be restricted by the sandwiching between the feed roller 41 and the pressure roller 42. Although illustration of the drive device is omitted, it is preferable that the pressure roller 42 is configured to be able to change its position between a state in which it presses the feed roller 41 and a state in which it is separated from the feed roller 41 and released from the pressed state. It is.

As shown in FIG. 5, in a state where the receiving member 50 is positioned so as to close the opening at the bottom of the main body portion 55, the guide shaft 63 and the connecting member that guide the first end 51 side of the receiving member 50 53 corresponds to the first support portion 81 that supports the first end portion 51 of the receiving member 50. Further, the guide shaft 63 that guides the second end 52 side of the receiving member 50, the feed roller 41, and the pressing roller 42 are connected to the second support portion 82 that supports the receiving member 50 on the second end 52 side. Equivalent to. As described above, even when the drive chain 61 is stopped and the connecting member 53 is not moved, the receiving member 50 can be extended in the circumferential direction on the second end 52 side. That is, the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42 can restrict movement of the receiving member 50 in the circumferential direction while the receiving member 50 is extended in the circumferential direction. That is, the feed roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 can support the defined region R on the second end 52 side.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first support part 81 and the second support part 82 are arranged to face each other in the direction along the horizontal plane. As described above, the second support part 82 supports the receiving member 50 in the specified region R, and extends the receiving member 50 in the direction of the first end 51 while supporting the receiving member 50. is possible. Furthermore, the second support portion 82 can release the receiving member 50 without supporting it by letting out the receiving member 50 to the downstream side in the circumferential direction of the feeding roller 41 and the pressing roller 42 .

As shown in the first phase #1 of FIGS. 5 and 7, the receiving member 50 has a first attitude in which the receiving member 50 is along the horizontal plane between the first support part 81 and the second support part 82, and a first attitude in FIG. As shown in the fourth phase #4, fifth phase #5, and sixth phase #6 of FIG. As shown in second phase #2 and third phase #3, the receiving member 50 is bent downward from the horizontal plane between the first support part 81 and the second support part 82. can become a state. When the second support portion 82 supports the receiving member 50 in the prescribed region R, the receiving member 50 assumes the first attitude and the third attitude. Note that the third attitude is realized by the second support portion 82 feeding out the receiving member 50 in the first attitude toward the first end portion 51 . Further, the second support portion 82 feeds out the receiving member 50 to the downstream side in the circumferential direction relative to the feed roller 41 and the pressing roller 42, so that the receiving member 50 assumes the second attitude.

As described above, with the receiving member 50 being held between the feeding roller 41 and the pressing roller 42, the feeding roller 41 is rotationally driven, thereby changing the attitude of the receiving member 50 from the first attitude to the third attitude. However, the third attitude can be further changed to the second attitude. Therefore, the feed roller 41, the pressure roller 42, and the feeding drive section M5 correspond to the posture changing section 40 that changes the posture of the receiving member 50. As described above, the posture changing section 40 performs a first operation in which the receiving member 50 is held in the first posture, and a second operation in which the receiving member 50 is in a free state on the second end 52 side. A second operation of releasing the receiving member 50 from the second support part 82 so that the receiving member 50 assumes two postures, and a second operation of the receiving member 50 changing from the first posture to the second posture so that the receiving member 50 forms a third posture. Until then, a third operation of feeding out the receiving member 50 from the second support portion 82 can be performed.

As described above, the articles G stored in the container B may constitute an article group Gg made up of a plurality of articles G. When the plurality of articles G are sequentially supplied from the article conveyance device 100, the posture changing unit 40 increases the amount of feeding of the receiving member from the first posture by a third operation in response to the supply of the plurality of articles G, After all the articles G have been supplied, a second operation is performed. As a result, as the plurality of articles G are sequentially supplied, the amount of deflection of the receiving member 50 increases, and the capacity that the receiving member 50 can receive increases. Therefore, the plurality of articles G can be appropriately accommodated in the container without overflowing from the receiving member.

The amount of feed in the third operation is the total amount of articles G constituting a group of articles Gg supplied from the article conveying device 100 or the supply of articles G constituting a group of articles Gg supplied from the article conveying device 100. The time can be set according to the time, according to the time.

That is, the attitude changing unit 40 controls the receiving member 50 so that as the total amount of articles G supplied from the article conveying device 100 increases, the amount of movement of the receiving member 50 by the third operation before starting the second operation increases. be able to. When the posture changing unit 40 controls in this way, as the total amount of articles G increases, the amount of deflection of the receiving member 50 increases, and the capacity of the deflected portion increases, so that it is possible to properly receive a plurality of articles G. It can be stored in container B. Here, as a measure for determining the total amount of articles G, for example, any one or a combination of the volume, number, and weight of articles G can be used. This information can be configured such that the control device C receives it from a higher-level control device or the like.

Further, the posture changing unit 40 can continuously feed out the receiving member 50 by the third operation for a time corresponding to the supply time of the article G from the article conveying device 100. When the posture changing unit 40 performs the control in this manner, the amount of deflection of the receiving member 50 gradually increases with the passage of time corresponding to the supply time, and the capacity of the deflected portion also gradually increases. Therefore, when a plurality of articles G are supplied, a deflection capable of receiving the plurality of articles G can be appropriately formed, and the plurality of articles G can be appropriately accommodated in the container B.

Further, the posture changing unit 40 may pay out the receiving member 50 by the third operation so that the articles G supplied from the article conveying device 100 are sequentially stacked on the receiving member 50. When the posture changing unit 40 controls in this manner, the amount of deflection of the receiving member 50 increases as the number of articles G to be supplied increases, and a plurality of articles G can be appropriately accommodated in the container B in a state where they are stacked on top of each other.

Further, the attitude changing unit 40 preferably starts the third operation before the first article G among the articles G constituting the group of articles Gg is supplied from the article conveying device 100. As shown in the first phase #1 of FIGS. 5 and 7, before the article G is supplied from the article conveyance device 100, the receiving member 50 is in the first posture along the horizontal plane, and is in a state where tension is applied. It is. Therefore, there is a possibility that the article G supplied from the article conveyance device 100 may bounce by the receiving member 50. However, if the third operation is started and the receiving member 50 is bent before the first article G is supplied, the tension is reduced, so the article G is less likely to bounce and is properly received by the receiving member 50. Naturally, even in the first position, if the tension is reduced to such an extent that the receiving member 50 does not bend, the receiving member 50 can be held at the same time as the first article G is supplied, or when the first article G starts to be supplied. A third operation may be started later.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 7, a procedure for transferring a plurality of articles G (article group Gg) by the article transfer device 5 will be described. Before the article G is supplied from the article conveyance device 100, the receiving member 50 is in the first posture supported by the first support section 81 and the second support section 82 (first phase #1). Subsequently, the posture changing unit 40 increases the amount of delivery of the receiving member 50 from the first posture by a third operation in accordance with the supply of the article G (second phase #2, third phase #3). The third phase #3 is a phase in which the supply time of the article G from the article conveying device 100 has elapsed longer than that in the second phase #2, or as shown in FIG. is the supplied phase. Therefore, in the third phase #3, the receiving member #3 is extended more than in the second phase #2, and the downward deflection of the receiving member 50 is larger.

When all the articles G constituting the group of articles Gg have been supplied, the posture changing unit 40 performs the second operation and releases the receiving member 50 from the second supporter 82 (fourth phase #4). As a result, the tension in the receiving member 50 is lost, and the article G, together with the receiving member 50, descends to the bottom of the container B (fifth phase #5). At this time, the article G has been lowered to a position sufficiently close to the bottom of the container B by the downwardly bent receiving member 50, so that the impact between the container B and the article G is alleviated. Subsequently, the drive chain 61 is driven by the rotational drive unit M6, and the receiving member 50, the first end 51 of which is fixed to the drive chain 61, is pulled out from the container B (sixth phase #6).

In this way, by gradually increasing the amount of deflection of the receiving member 50, the articles G can be stably transferred to the container B. Therefore, even if the total amount of articles G to be transferred to container B is large, the articles G can be appropriately transferred.

[Other embodiments]
Other embodiments will be described below. Note that the configurations of each embodiment described below are not limited to being applied individually, but can be applied in combination with the configurations of other embodiments as long as no contradiction occurs.

(1) In the above description, the entire receiving member 50 is rectangular, the first end 51 is one side, and the second end 52 is the opposite side to the first end 51. did. However, the receiving member 50 does not have to have a rectangular shape as a whole. For example, the range located between the first support portion 81 and the second support portion 82 from the first posture to the third posture to the second posture may be at least rectangular. For example, the first end 51 side may have a triangular shape whose width becomes narrower toward the end. In the above, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the connecting member 53 holds the entire side of the first end 51 of the receiving member 50. In this case, the connecting member 53 It is preferable that the triangular vertex on the one end 51 side is held.

(2) In the above, the amount of feed in the third operation is the total amount of articles G constituting a group of articles Gg supplied from the article conveying device 100 or the total amount of articles G constituting a group of articles Gg supplied from the article conveying device 100. The embodiment has been explained by exemplifying the form that is set according to the time corresponding to the supply time of the article G constituting the item. However, the feeding amount may be controlled to increase at a constant rate for a certain period of time each time, regardless of the amount of the article G supplied from the article conveying device 100 or the supply time.

(3) In the above description, the article G supplied to the input port 56 is conveyed by the first conveyor 1, the second conveyor 2, and the intermediate conveyor 3. However, the present invention is not limited to such a form, and various known methods can be used to supply the article G to the input port 56. For example, the article G may be supplied to the input port 56 using a slider instead of a conveyor. Furthermore, when a conveyor is used to supply the article G to the input port 56, the conveyor may be configured by a conveyor other than a belt conveyor, for example, a roller conveyor or a chain conveyor.

(4) In the above description, an example is given in which the article transfer device 5 automatically puts the article G into the unloading device 9 configured with a conveyor or the container B installed on the unloading device 9. did. However, the container B is not limited to being automatically transported by a conveyor or the like, but may be installed by an operator or the like. That is, the article transfer device 5 only needs to receive the article G supplied from the article supply device and transfer the article G to the container B arranged below the article supply device, and the container B is placed in the article transfer device. 5 may be installed in any manner.

[Overview of embodiment]
The outline of the article transfer device described above will be briefly explained below.

In one embodiment, an article transfer device that receives the article supplied from an article supply device and transfers the article to a container disposed below the article supply device has flexibility. a receiving member configured with a sheet-like member having a sheet-like member for receiving the article; a first support portion supporting a first end that is one end of the receiving member; a second support part that supports a prescribed area on a certain second end side; and an attitude change part that changes the attitude of the receiving member, and the second support part supports the first support part in a direction along a horizontal plane. disposed opposite to a support part, supporting the receiving member in the defined area, releasing the receiving member, and moving the receiving member toward the first end while supporting the receiving member; The attitude changing unit is configured to hold the receiving member between the first support part and the second support part so that the receiving member assumes a first attitude along a horizontal plane. a second action of releasing the receiving member from the second support portion so that the receiving member assumes a second posture in which the receiving member is free on the second end side; A third operation of feeding out the receiving member from the second support part can be performed between the first attitude and the second attitude, and the attitude changing part is configured to move the plurality of objects from the article supply device to the second attitude. When the articles are sequentially supplied, the third operation increases the amount of delivery of the receiving member from the first posture in response to the supply of a plurality of articles, and after all the articles have been supplied, Execute the second operation.

According to this configuration, when a plurality of articles are sequentially supplied from the article supply device, the attitude changing section increases the amount of delivery of the receiving member in accordance with the supply of the plurality of articles. Therefore, as a plurality of articles are sequentially supplied, the amount of deflection of the receiving member increases, and the capacity that the receiving member can receive increases. Therefore, a plurality of articles can be appropriately accommodated in the container without overflowing from the receiving member. That is, according to this configuration, it is possible to provide an article transfer device that can appropriately accommodate a plurality of articles in a container.

Here, the attitude changing unit is arranged such that as the total amount of the articles supplied from the article supply device increases, the amount of feeding out of the receiving member by the third operation until starting the second operation increases. It is preferable to control as follows.

According to this configuration, as the total amount of articles supplied from the article supply device increases, the amount of deflection of the receiving member increases, and the capacity of the deflected portion increases. Therefore, a plurality of articles can be properly received and stored in the container.

Further, it is preferable that the attitude changing unit continuously feeds out the receiving member by the third operation for a time corresponding to the supply time of the article from the article supply device.

According to this configuration, the amount of deflection of the receiving member gradually increases with the passage of time corresponding to the supply time, and the capacity of the deflected portion also gradually increases. Therefore, when a plurality of articles are supplied, a flexure capable of receiving the plurality of articles can be appropriately formed, and the plurality of articles can be appropriately accommodated in the container.

Further, it is preferable that the attitude changing unit feeds out the receiving member by the third operation so that the articles supplied from the article supplying device are sequentially stacked on the receiving member.

According to this configuration, as the number of articles to be supplied increases, the amount of deflection of the receiving member increases, and a plurality of articles can be appropriately accommodated in a stacked state in the container.

Further, it is preferable that the attitude changing unit starts the third operation before the first article is supplied from the article supply device.

According to this configuration, the first article to be supplied can be appropriately received by the receiving member.

Preferably, the receiving member has a rectangular shape, the first end is one side, and the second end is the opposite side to the first end.

Since the receiving member has a rectangular shape and the first and second ends are opposite sides, the first and third postures can be appropriately formed, and the receiving member can be quickly moved to the second posture in the second posture. It can be released from the support.

Further, it is preferable that the container is placed on a conveyor placed below the article supply device and transported.

Since the container is placed on the conveyor and transported, it becomes easy to automate the loading of the article from the article transfer device into the container and the transportation of the container after the article has been loaded.

5: Goods transfer device 9: Unloading device (conveyor installed below the goods supply device)
40 : Attitude change part 50 : Receiving member 51 : First end part 52 : Second end part 81 : First support part 82 : Second support part 100 : Article conveyance device (article supply device)
B: Container G: Article R: Specified area

Claims (7)

Receives the articles supplied from an article supply device that is sorted based on order information and conveys the articles under drive control by a control device in units of article groups consisting of one or more articles, and receives the articles supplied from an article supply device that transports the articles under drive control by a control device , An article transfer device that transfers the articles for each group of articles to a container arranged below the article supply device,
a receiving member configured with a flexible sheet-like member and receiving the article;
a first support part that supports a first end that is one end of the receiving member;
a second support part that supports a defined area on the second end side, which is the other end of the receiving member;
a posture changing section that changes the posture of the receiving member;
The second support part is arranged to face the first support part in the direction along the horizontal plane, and has the following functions: supporting the receiving member in the defined area, releasing the receiving member, and supporting the receiving member. It is possible to feed out the receiving member in the direction of the first end in a state where the receiving member is
The posture changing section includes:
a first operation of holding the receiving member between the first supporting part and the second supporting part so that the receiving member assumes a first posture along a horizontal plane;
a second operation of releasing the receiving member from the second support portion so that the receiving member assumes a second posture in a free state on the second end side;
A third operation of feeding out the receiving member from the second support part can be performed until the receiving member takes the first attitude to the second attitude,
The attitude changing unit, which is controlled by the control device , is configured to change the posture of the article supply device when the plurality of articles are sequentially supplied in units of the article group from the article supply device, which is drive-controlled by the control device. Based on the total amount of the articles to be supplied or the supply time of the articles from the article supply device, the third operation increases the amount of feeding of the receiving member from the first posture as the articles are sequentially supplied. , an article transfer device that performs the second operation after all the articles are supplied. The attitude changing unit controls so that as the total amount of the articles supplied from the article supply device increases, the amount of feeding out of the receiving member by the third operation until starting the second operation increases. The article transfer device according to claim 1. 2. The article transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the attitude changing unit continuously moves out the receiving member by the third operation for a time corresponding to a supply time of the article from the article supply device. 2. The article transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the attitude changing unit moves out the receiving member by the third operation so that the articles supplied from the article supplying device are sequentially stacked on the receiving member. The article transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the attitude change unit starts the third operation before the first article is supplied from the article supply device. The receiving member has a rectangular shape, the first end is one side, and the second end is the opposite side to the first end, according to any one of claims 1 to 5. equipment for transferring goods. The article transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the container is placed on a conveyor placed below the article supply device and transported.

Images