JPH01231717A - Stowage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten a stowage time and to execute accurate stowage, by a method wherein, in a device to stack containers in a cage type truck, the sides of aligned containers equivalent to containers at one stage are gripped, and the containers are orderly piled up in stages. CONSTITUTION:A container 30 conveyed on a conveyor 25 has a bar code read by a bar code reader, not shown, and the container is fed to a direction aligning device 3 through the action of a turn-over device 2 so that the direction of the container is uniformized. Through drive of a roller conveyor, the containers equivalent to those at one stage are arranged in order. An elevating device 4 is lowered, and the containers 30 arranged in order are gripped from the outside by means of a gripping device, now shown. The elevating device 4 is then raised, and is moved onto a pellet 6 to contain the gripped containers 30. During this movement, the containers 30 equivalent to those at a next stage are arranged in order, and are conveyed in a similar manner described above onto the pallet 6 to pile them up, in order. This constitution enables accurate piling up of the containers in a short time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention is a method for arranging a plurality of box-shaped containers such as containers and
This invention relates to a loading device that can be stacked in stages simultaneously inside a cage-shaped truck.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, in logistics, etc., when multiple containers containing desired goods are to be withdrawn at once, 1. For example, multiple containers transported by a conveyor etc. are laid out on a trolley, and then layered in the same manner on top of the containers. The work of stacking multiple layers,
Everything was done by hand, not by machines.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) As mentioned above, in the past, for example, box-shaped containers were all loaded manually onto a basket-shaped trolley, so if the container was heavy, it would be difficult to handle it. This is difficult, and the work is even more complicated when the containers are stacked by providing unevenness or grooves on the upper and lower surfaces of the containers and fitting them together to prevent cargo shifting.

As mentioned above, the reasons why mechanization has not been carried out in the past, despite the problems of heavy burden on workers, heavy labor, and inefficiency, are as follows: (a) In order to prevent the container from shifting inside the shaped truck, it is extremely difficult to fit the unevenness on the top and bottom surfaces of the container, for example. In other words, unlike conventional palletizers, where the container is lifted with a fork and inserted into a basket-shaped trolley, and then the fork is pulled out and the container is dropped, the loading method does not involve fitting the upper and lower containers into each other. is not possible.

(b) The gap between the side wall of the cage-shaped cart and the container is small, and if the cage-shaped cart has an intermediate shelf, the gap at the top is also small. There is very little room to enter the inside of the truck.

(C) A robot-type system that loads containers one by one into a basket-shaped cart has low throughput.

etc. are possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide an apparatus that can accurately load a large number of box-shaped containers such as containers onto a basket-shaped cart or the like in a short time.

[Means for solving problems]

The stowage device of the present invention includes an alignment device for arranging a plurality of containers one tier at a time, a gripping device for simultaneously grasping one tier of containers arranged on the alignment device, and a holding device for holding the latching device to a required height. A gripping device comprising a lifting device for raising and lowering and a positioning device for installing a basket-shaped cart with only one side open at a loading position, and gripping each of the aligned containers for one stage from the sides simultaneously. The present invention is characterized in that a plurality of containers are stacked one stage at a time inside the cage-shaped trolley by moving forward and backward.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, the containers sent by a conveyor or the like are appropriately arranged in one stage on an alignment device after appropriately selecting their orientation, and the plurality of containers in one stage are They are simultaneously gripped from the sides by a gripping device with a structure that does not overhang the shape of the container, and the one-tier container gripped by the gripping device is lifted to a required height by a lifting device, where the gripping device The device enters the cage-shaped trolley waiting at a predetermined position by the positioning device, and the gripping device releases the container and retreats, and this operation is repeated as appropriate until, for example, the cage-shaped trolley is full. By continuing up to this point, the efficiency of the work can be improved by mechanizing and automating the work of loading box-shaped containers onto carts, etc., which was conventionally done manually.

(Example) Fig. 1 shows a cage-shaped pallet, that is, a cage-shaped pallet with one side open and three sides closed.
This figure shows an example of a loading device that stacks five containers, each with one container. This loading device is equipped with a gate-shaped frame 26 having supports at the four corners, a conveyor 25 for transporting containers 30 is provided on the negative side, and a pallet supply for transporting cage-car type pallets 6 is provided on the other side. A device 7 is installed adjacent and parallel to the conveyor 25.

Containers 3 that have been continuously transported are placed on the conveyor 25.
The cutting device 1 separates the 0 pieces one by one and sends them into the portal frame 26, and the direction of the cutting device 1 is changed by 180 degrees as the case may be, in order to prevent the objects contained in the containers from being crushed when the upper and lower containers are stacked. A reversing device 2 is provided which can be rotated. This reversing device 2 has a structure that can lift the container 30 from the conveyor 25, and the reversing instruction is given as appropriate by, for example, a detection device that reads a barcode display provided on the side of the container 30. be able to.

On the other hand, the pallet supply device 7 is provided with a pallet supply mechanism 29 that transports the cage-car type pallet 6 to the loading position, and a pallet positioning device 8 that fixes the pallet 6 at the loading position.

Inside the gate-shaped frame 26, there is provided a container for arranging the containers 30 sent from the conveyor 25, especially as shown in FIG.
, b, the alignment device 3 shown in detail in FIG. A lifting device 4 is provided which raises and lowers the gripping device 5 by being guided so as to be slidable up and down by a lever.

To explain using FIG. 2, the alignment device 3 is conveyor 25.
roller conveyors 11.13 having a suitable area are provided in two rows in a direction perpendicular to the conveyors 11 and 1.
3 and on the extension of the conveyor 25, there is a stopper 1 which can be retracted from the general conveyance surface of the conveyor 1 and has a free roller.
Similarly, at the rear end of the conveyor 13, there is provided a pump-up wheel lOa which is moved up and down by an air cylinder 10 to sort the containers 30 into the conveyor 13 and the conveyor 11. In addition, the pop-up wheel 10a is attached to the base plate 1 so that the container 30 can be self-propelled.
The base plate 10b is provided so as to be appropriately inclined by the angle 0b, and is configured to move along the guide 10C (in the direction of the arrow) by the force of the air cylinder 10.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lifting device 4 consists of a gate-shaped frame having a square frame shape and a frame 4A for holding and lifting a gripping device 5 to a desired height, which will be described below. is driven by a motor, for example,
Its four corners are stably held horizontally by rails provided on the four pillars of the frame 26, and are guided up and down.

The gripping device 5 has three holding arms 27 that protrude in the direction of the basket table type pallet positioning device 8, and has three holding arms 27 that are attached to the frame 4A.
The support fork 27A is held by the lifting device 4 via the air cylinder 14, and the supporting fork 27A is configured to horizontally project and retract the holding arm 27 from the lifting device 4 (as shown by imaginary lines in FIG. 3). It can move along the frame 4A of the lifting device 4. Each holding 7-m 27 includes a plurality of rotary hooks 16 operated by a link rod 15a connected to an F cylinder 15 held by a support fork 27A. As is clear from FIG. 3A, one end of the rotating hook 16 is rotatably held on the upper and lower surface of the holding arm 27, and the other end is attached to the hole in the link rod 15a.
It is fixed to the crankshaft 16a engaged with the crankshaft 5b. The crankshaft 1ea is further supported by a support member 28A, which is integrally formed with the holding arm 27 and fixed to the inner surface of the insertion portion 28 forming a side wall thereof, through a hole 28E3 provided in this member. Air cylinder 15
When the link rod 15a is pushed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3A, the crankshaft 16a is rotated, and the rotating hook 1
6 is made to protrude toward the container side. 3rd A
As shown in the figure, holding plates 17a, i7b, and 17c are provided on the upper side of the holding arm 27, respectively, and each of these holding plates 17a, 17b and 17c are springs 45 adjacent to the upper surface of the holding arm 27, respectively.
is loaded by. That is, these presser plates 17a
, 17b, 17C, a rod 41 is fixed,
This rod extends downward through a hole 43 in a protrusion 42 protruding from the inside of the insertion portion 2 of the holding arm 27, and is provided with a flange 44 on the underside of the protrusion 42;
A spring 45 is arranged between this flange and the protrusion 42.

Furthermore, in order to confirm whether or not the gripping device 5 is in a position where it can grip the container, at least one holding arm 27 is lowered by the lifting device 4 so that the abutment member 40 of the presser plate 17a can be placed on the container 30. A sensor 46 (for example, a proximity switch) is provided which engages with the upper edge 30a and detects that the holding arm 27 is in a position where it can grip the container 30. In this case, the sensor 46 is provided so as to protrude inside the insertion part 2, and when the shielding plate 47 provided at the lower end of the rod 41 passes between the sensors 46,
It is detected that the holding arm 27 is located at a gripping position where it can grip the upper edge 30a of the container 30 between the holding plates 17a, 17b, i7c and the rotating hook of the holding arm 27, and the air cylinder 15, the rotary hook 16, which is rotated via the link rod +52, outputs a signal to activate the F-cylinder and rotates the upper edge 3 of the container.
While supporting the lower surface of the container 0a, the holding plates l7a, 17b, 17c are pressed against the upper surface of the container upper edge 30a by the force of the spring, and the lifting device 4 is raised so as to grasp this.

Although not shown, the central holding arm 27 has a gripping means consisting of a crankshaft 16a having two rotary hooks 16 attached back to back. That is, the crankshaft 16a is rotated by the operation of the air cylinder 15, and one rotation hook protrudes through an opening formed in the insertion portion 28, so that the rotation hook protrudes on both sides.

The pallet supply device 7 includes a pair of trackways 7a for guiding the wheels of the basket table type pallet 6 (FIG. 1).
In between are first and second push pins 18a that are hooked to the lower part of the basket table type pallet 6 and transported to the loading position and then to the discharge position, and a chain 20 that is pivotally connected to the basket table type pallet 6.
A pallet supply mechanism 29 is provided. Note that the chain 20 is connected to, for example, an air cylinder, and is configured to be able to reciprocate as appropriate. The pallet supply device 7 is also provided with a positioning device 8 that fixes the pallet basket type pallet 6 in a predetermined position. A positioning member 31 is provided for engaging the part and fixing it in a predetermined position.

The button pins 18a and 18b are, for example, triangular members with one vertex pivotally connected to the pin (Fig. 6), and when a pallet hits the pin from behind, the triangular members fall down using the pins as pivots, pushing the pallet forward. It can be sent to
In the case of the opposite direction, the button pins 18a and 18b rise to hold the lower part of the basket table type pallet 6 and stop it. Further, on the pallet supply device 7, there are further provided a positioning stopper 22, an F cylinder 21 that drives the chain 20 of the pallet supply mechanism 29, and a front stopper 23 that supports the basket table type pallet 6 so that it does not fly out by itself. ing. Furthermore, a stopper pin 19 for preventing the cage table-type pallet 6 from moving freely is attached to the chain 20.

In addition, FIG. 1 shows the pallet 6 up to the pallet supply mechanism 29.
A case is shown in which a preliminary withdrawal mechanism 298 is provided for conveying.

Hereinafter, the operation of the stowage device of the present invention will be explained.

The containers 30 are continuously transported on the conveyor 25. For example, a bar code is displayed on the side of the container 30 to indicate the orientation of the container 30 when loading.

Further, the container 30 that has been divided into individual pieces by the cutting device 1 moves forward and reaches the reversing device 2, where it is reversed as necessary.

The first container 30 that has passed through the reversing device 2 travels straight over the pop-up wheel 10a, which is lined with a large number of small wheels that protrude upward from the rollers of the roller conveyor 13, and passes over the stopper 12 that is retracted at this time. and enters onto the roller conveyor 11. Therefore, the container 30 changes its direction as shown by the right arrow in FIG.
In the figure, the container is conveyed along a guide (not shown) by the roller conveyor 11, changing its direction by the rotational force to the left caused by the frictional force between the front side of the bottom of the container and the roller conveyor 11. and is positioned at the location (a) by the fixed stopper 12a.

The second container 30, like the first container 30, is reversed by the reversing device if necessary, and then moves straight on the pop-up wheel 10a, reaching the stopper 12 already protruding from the conveyor withdrawal surface. When the air cylinder 10 is operated, the pop-up wheel 10a is lowered, and the container 30 is moved onto the roller conveyor 1.
3 and the transport direction suddenly changes as shown by the arrow on the right in FIG.
The sheets are conveyed by the rotation of the rollers 13 in a state in which the directions are different by 0 degrees, and are conveyed to point (c) by the fixed stopper 12a, where they are stopped. The third container 30 is also the second container 3
It is carried to point (b) in the same way as 0. In this way, three containers for one stage are arranged on the arrangement device 3. Note that the order in which the containers 30 are arranged can be determined by changing the operation timing of the stopper 12 as appropriate.
3 side and the roller conveyor 11 side can be reversed.

In this way, the containers 30 for the first stage are held by the gripping device 5.
After being loaded, the second tier container 3Q will be transported through the same process, but if the containers are stacked directly on top of each other, the upper tier container 30 will fit deeply into the previous tier container. Since it is necessary to reverse the orientation of each container from when it is stored in order to prevent the containers from being mixed in, the reversing device 2 is compatible with this operation mode to appropriately change the orientation of the following three containers 30. .

Next, the basket car type pallet 6 (A and B in Fig. 6)
Indicated by ) set will be explained. Before the first stage container 30 is placed on the alignment device 3 as described above, the pallet A is already waiting on the other side of the gate-shaped frame 26. This palette A.

B can also be provided with a partition plate 9 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. First, pallet A and then pallet B are pushed into the pallet feeding device 7 manually or by the auxiliary feeding mechanism 29a shown in FIG. 1 (FIG. 6a).
. At this time, the first bushing pin 18a operates as described above and catches the rear lower end of the pallet, thereby setting the pallet B in a standby state. Therefore, when the loading of the pallet A is completed, the air cylinder 24 of the positioning device 8 is activated and the positioning 7-m 31 is rotated to open, and then when the F cylinder 21 is activated, the chain 20 moves forward. Palette A is Butshapin 18b
It is pushed out and moves forward while being held by the stopper pin 19, and when the stopper pin 19 retracts downward just before the front stopper 23 provided at the exit, it comes into contact with the front stopper 23 and stops. . On the other hand, at this time, the pallet B is pushed by the button pin 18a and reaches the loading position, and after being stopped by the positioning stopper 22, the air cylinder 24 of the positioning device 8 is operated and the pallet B is rotated so that the positioning 7-m 31 is closed. , positioning is performed by firmly sandwiching pallet B from both sides, and preparation for loading is completed (FIG. 6C).

In this way, the cage car type pallet 6 can be continuously and simultaneously supplied to and discharged from the pallet positioning device 8.
It is possible to reduce time loss and improve efficiency.

Next, the loading operation of the container 30 onto the cage-car type pallet 6 will be explained based on FIGS. 4 and 5.

As described above, when the three containers 30 are aligned on the alignment device 3, the containers 30 are loaded by the gripping device 5. This loading work begins with the gripping device 5.
is lowered from the position shown in FIG. 5a onto the container 30 on the alignment device 3 by the lifting device 4. At that time, the holding arm 27
The vertically extending insertion portion 28 has a thin structure, so that it can easily enter between the containers 30 and on both sides thereof (FIG. 4a). When the presser plates 17a, 17b, +7C provided at the upper part of the holding arm 27 hit the upper end of the container 30, the presser plates 17a, 17b, 1
7c is the stopper (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5b), holding arm 2
7 further descends against the force of the spring, and when it descends a certain distance, the holding plates 17a, 17b, 17c and the holding arm 27
The sensor 46 detects the positional deviation between the two and stops. When the F-cylinder 15 operates, the crankshaft 16a is rotated via the air cylinder 15, and the rotation hook 16 provided inside the holding arm 27 rotates horizontally around its axis, and the crankshaft 16a is rotated through the air cylinder 15. It protrudes to the side of the container (Fig. 4C). Since the container 30 has an upper edge 30a projecting like a flange at its upper end, when the gripping device 5 rises, the force of the spring creates a gap between the rotary hook 16 and the holding plates 17a, 17b, and 17C. The upper edge 30a is held between the upper and lower sides. Note that the holding plates 17a, 17c and the rotating hook 16 on both sides of the holding arm 27 have a structure that protrudes to one side (inward) as shown in FIG. 16 has a structure that protrudes from both sides as described above, so the holding plate 17b simultaneously presses the protruding upper edges 30a of the containers 30 on both sides, and the rotating hook 16 lowers the upper edges of the containers 30 on both sides. It can be held from the side.

When the lifting device 4 operates, the 3 lines aligned on the alignment device 3
Grasping the two containers 30 from both sides, the gripping device 5 rises to the required height (FIG. 4d), and then the air cylinder 1
4, the holding arm 27 advances horizontally and enters the pallet 6 (FIG. 5C). When the gripping device 5 moves forward enough, the lifting device 4 lowers slightly, and when the container 30 is lowered into the pallet, the holding arm 27 and the holding plate 1
7a, 17b, and 17C are separated again against the force of the spring, and the sensor 46 detects this positional deviation, and the air 9° cylinder 15
is actuated, thereby rotating the rotating hook 16 and removing it from the container 30. Then, the holding arm 27 moves up slightly to separate the holding plates 17a117b and 170 from the upper edge 30a of the container, and then retreats by the operation of the F cylinder 14. Note that if this is not the first loading and the containers are stacked on top of each other, it is necessary to lower the container while aligning with the container 30 that has already been loaded on the pallet. It can be set up with a constant lift and forward stroke to easily achieve the desired loading. In this gripping device 5, since the holding arm 27 does not greatly protrude from the container 30 to the top and side, even when the cage car type pallet 6 has a partition 9 or there is not much clearance between the container 30 and the cage car type pallet 6. It is also possible to easily enter and retreat from the ground (Fig. 5d). That is, holding 7-me 2
As long as there is a gap that allows the pallet member 7 to enter, sufficient operation can be achieved even if the space between the pallet member and the container is narrow. Therefore, automatic loading is possible even in the cage-car type pallet 6 in which the gap is reduced in order to prevent the container 30 from collapsing. After loading, the cage-car type pallet 6 is transported to the discharge position. At this time, the pallet A (see FIG. 6) pushed out as described above moves forward while being supported by the stopper pin 19 attached to the chain 20 so as not to accelerate, and is stopped by the front stopper 23. When the vehicle stops at the front stopper 23, a foot switch (not shown) is activated.
The front stopper 23 is disengaged to enable the pallet A to be taken out, and the air cylinder 21 is activated to drive the chain 20 to return the button pins 18a, 18b and stopper pin 19 to their original positions.

In the above embodiment, the pallet supply mechanism 29 is configured to have an inclination, but it is not necessarily limited to such a structure and may be a flat structure. Further, although the drive system of the elevating device 4 and the like will not be described in detail, it goes without saying that it is constituted by, for example, a motor or a normal means for transmitting its power.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In the loading device of the present invention, a cage-shaped cart with only one side open is accurately positioned, a plurality of containers are aligned in a desired direction, and the aligned containers are simultaneously gripped and The container can be moved up and down freely using a lifting device with a gripping device that does not require a large space to release the grip, so it can be used when the gap between the side of the cart and the container is small. Containers can be easily and accurately loaded into predetermined positions within the basket-shaped trolley, and the container does not collapse when the trolley is being transported.
Furthermore, since it is possible to simultaneously load a large number of containers in one tier (the number of containers in one tier can be greater than the three in the above embodiment), the work throughput is significantly improved compared to the conventional method. can do.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire structure of the loading device. Figure 2a,
b are a diagrammatic plan view and a side view of the alignment device, respectively; FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic cutaway perspective view showing the function of the gripping device. FIG. 3A is a partially cutaway perspective view for explaining the gripping mechanism. FIGS. 4a to 4d are explanatory diagrams showing the container gripping operation of the gripping device. FIGS. 5A to 5D are explanatory diagrams showing container gripping and insertion operations by the gripping device. FIGS. 6a to 6c are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the pallet supply device. 1 cutting device, 2 reversing device, 3 aligning device. 4 lifting device, 4A frame, 5 gripping device. 6 Pallet, 7 Pallet supply M' device, 7
a Trackway, 8 Pallet positioning device, 9 Partition, 1
0 Air cylinder, 10th Pop-up wheel, 10b Pace plate, 10C guide, 11 Roller conveyor, 12 Stopper + 12a Fixed stopper, 1
3 roller conveyor, 14 F cylinder, 15 air cylinder, 15a link rod, 15b link rod hole. 16 rotating hook, 16a crankshaft, 17a, +
7b, I 7c Holding plate, 18a, 18b Button pin, 19 Stopper pin, 20 Chain, 2
1 Air cylinder, 22 Positioning stopper, 23
Front stopper, 24 Near cylinder, 25 Conveyor, 26 Portal frame, 27 Holding arm, 27
A Support fork, 2 days Insertion part, 28A
Support member. 28B Support member hole, 29 Pallet supply mechanism, 2
9a Pallet supply auxiliary mechanism, 30 Container, 3
0a Upper edge of container, 31 Positioning arm, 40
Contact member, 41 Rod 142 Projection, 43 Hole of projection, 447 Lunge, 45 Spring, 46 Sensor, 4
7 shielding plate. (3 others) ■(Y1 yen, 4th - (a) (b) (c)
(d) Figure 5 (a) (b) (c) (d) (a) (b) (C)

Claims (1)

[Claims] An alignment device that aligns a plurality of containers one tier at a time, a gripping device that simultaneously grips one tier of containers arranged on the alignment device, a lifting device that raises and lowers the gripping device to a required height, and only one side surface. A positioning device is provided to place the open cage-shaped cart at a container loading position, and a gripping device that simultaneously grasps the arranged one-stage containers from each side is moved forward and backward to move the cage-shaped cart forward and backward. A loading device characterized in that a plurality of containers are stacked one tier at a time in a trolley.