JPH0338169B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for stacking articles by area, and is particularly suitable for forming a unit load by stacking articles of multiple types in multiple stages. The present invention relates to a surface unit loading method and an apparatus therefor.

〔overview〕

The present invention relates to a surface unit stacking method and device for combining and stacking multiple types of articles in single tier units. Based on the size relationship of the dimensions, to the extent that the items on the upper tier do not fall into the holes in the lower tier or protrude from the lower tier, resulting in an unstable condition, the items are stacked from the lower tier in the order of the above-mentioned surface unit dimensions, forming a unit load. This system enables unit load handling of a wide variety of goods in small quantities and prevents cargo from collapsing during transportation.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional technologies related to devices for handling articles by surface include JP-A-55-111322 and JP-A-57-
Those described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 77123 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-19118 are known.

To explain the prior art disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-111322 discloses a chuck head equipped with a centering mechanism, and cylinders mounted opposite to each other on the chuck head and controlled via a positioner. A load clamping device that moves toward and away from each other is described.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-77123 describes a surface unit gripping device that is equipped with two pairs of box pressing devices facing each other and that presses and grips four sides of a group of boxes such as cardboard boxes almost simultaneously. There is.

Further, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1988-19118 describes a four-sided clamp lift in which at least one of four clamp plates can be rotated to a position not facing the clamp plate on the opposite side.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, the above conventional technology had the following problems.

That is, in JP-A No. 55-111322, the object is held by rollers in a line-contact manner, and such gripping is often effective in the case of rigid objects such as blocks. It is difficult to achieve this effect with boxes that are easily deformed, such as cardboard boxes.

Furthermore, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-19118, it is possible to handle a unit load made of multi-tiered cardboard boxes etc. stacked in a rectangular hexahedral shape, but when handling a unit load after being transported by truck etc. Since the stacking condition is usually slightly disordered, it is necessary to increase the pressure when simply pressing the clamp plate, which may result in damage to the cardboard box or the like.

Incidentally, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-111322 or Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-19118 does not contain any description or suggestion regarding means for stacking articles of a plurality of types in multiple stages.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-77123 discloses an application to a device that packs articles of arbitrary types one layer at a time and stacks them on empty pallets.
There is no disclosure of means for controlling the loading order; for example, if a tier with a large surface unit size is stacked on top of a tier with a small surface unit dimension, the cargo may collapse when transported by truck, etc. Something happened.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application No. 60-230273 proposes a surface-by-surface picking method and device that can easily and reliably grip a unit load formed by stacking a large number of cardboard boxes or the like in a rectangular hexahedral shape. This proposal is equipped with two pairs of box pressing devices that face each other front and back and left and right, and after pressing at least two sides of a group of boxes in each stage of a unit load with loads stacked in multiple stages, the device is temporarily held in a pressed state. A method and device have been proposed in which a group of boxes can be picked one by one by releasing the box and pressing and gripping it again, and it has been effective in stacking easily deformable items such as cardboard boxes. However, this proposal does not mention anything about means for stacking multiple types of goods in multiple tiers.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems, thereby making it possible to easily form a unit load consisting of multiple types of articles stacked in multiple stages without causing the loads to collapse. The object of the present invention is to provide a method and device for attaching.

[Means for solving problems]

The area-by-area stacking method of the present invention is a area-by-area stacking method in which articles of multiple types are combined and stacked one by one. Based on the relationship between size and dimensions of each item, (a) stacking from the bottom in order of the above-mentioned surface unit dimensions, (b) for products with the above-mentioned holes, when the product on the upper row falls into the hole of the product on the lower row. (c) If the above-mentioned swapping of the upper and lower types causes the upper type with holes to protrude from the lower type, and the protruding product may cause the cargo to collapse during transportation, then The unit load is formed according to the following conditions, with the upper variety having holes being treated separately.

Further, the area-by-area stacking device of the present invention is an area-by-area stacking device equipped with a means for combining and stacking articles of a plurality of types in units of one tier. It includes a loading device for articles that form a unit load, and a loading order management device that controls the order in which the articles are stacked in the loading device, and the loading order management device controls the dimensions of the articles in units of area, It is characterized by including means for storing the respective sizes of the hole portions and the article dimensions of the hole portions not occupied by the article in a surface unit, and selecting the loading order based on the magnitude relationship of these respective dimensions.

The area unit loading device of the present invention includes a unit loading mechanism that includes two pairs of box pressing devices facing each other in the front and rear and left and right directions, and a unit load for this area unit gripping mechanism. It is preferable to include a unit load lifting device for vertically moving the unit load.

[Effect]

The area-by-area stacking method and device of the present invention, when combining and stacking multiple types of articles in one tier unit, the area-by-area dimensions of the above-mentioned articles, the hole dimensions of the holes not occupied by the above-mentioned articles in the area, and the Based on the size relationship of the article dimensions, the articles are stacked from the lower tier in descending order of surface unit dimension to form a unit load within a range in which the upper tier does not fall into the hole in the lower tier or protrude from the lower tier and become unstable.

Therefore, in principle, the unit load has a stable pyramid shape, and there is no risk of objects falling into holes or falling from protruding parts, which can cause cargo collapse, so it is extremely stable. can be kept.

Further, the area unit loading device of the present invention has a loading order management device that manages the loading order of articles as described above, and can automatically manage article loading. Formation can be easily performed.

Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily form a unit load in which a plurality of types of articles are stacked in multiple stages without causing the loads to collapse.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the area unit loading method of the present invention will be explained using FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a unit load stacked according to a first embodiment of the area unit stacking method of the present invention. On the pallet 100, the surface unit dimensions are L ₁₁ , L ₁₂ , L ₁₃ and L ₁₄ (L ₁₁ >L ₁₂ >L ₁₃ >
L ₁₄ ) of different kinds of articles A ₁ , B ₁ , C ₁ and
_D1 are stacked from the bottom in descending order of surface unit dimensions.

FIGS. 2a to 2c are explanatory diagrams showing the order of forming unit loads stacked according to the second embodiment of the area unit stacking method of the present invention. In this example, the surface unit dimensions are L ₂₁ , L ₂₂ , L ₂₃ and L ₂₄ (L ₂₁ >
L ₂₂ > L ₂₃ > L ₂₄ ) of different kinds of goods A ₂ ,
When B ₂ , C ₂ and D ₂ are stowed, the goods
A ₂ has a hole with a hole size L _HA2 , and the hole size L _HA2 is larger than the article size L _WB2 of the article B ₂ and the article size L _WC2 of the article C ₂ .

If the articles are stacked on the lower shelf in descending order of surface unit size, one of the articles _B2 located directly above the hole 101 will fall into the hole 101, as shown in FIG. 2a, which is inconvenient. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2b, when the article A ₂ and article B ₂ are exchanged, the article directly above the hole 101 is replaced.
C ₂ falls into the hole 101, which is still inconvenient.

Therefore, as shown in Figure 2 c, article A ₂ and article
When C ₂ and C 2 are exchanged, the article dimension L _WD2 of article D ₂ is sufficiently larger than the hole dimension L _HA2 , so
A stable state is achieved without falling into the hole 101.

FIGS. 3a to 3c are explanatory diagrams showing the order of forming unit loads stacked according to the third embodiment of the area unit stacking method of the present invention. In this example, the surface unit dimensions are L ₃₁ , L ₃₂ , L ₃₃ and L ₃₄ (L ₃₁ >
L ₃₂ > L ₃₃ > L ₃₄ ) of different types A ₃ , B ₃ , C ₃ and D ₃ are stacked, and the article A ₃ has a hole 101 _a with hole size L _HA3 . and the hole dimension L _HA3 is larger than the article dimension L _WB3 of article B ₃ and the article dimension L _WC3 of article C ₃ , and the second
As a result of exchanging the lower and upper stages according to the second embodiment shown in Figures a to c, the portion of article A ₃ protruding from article C ₃ that has a hole 101 _a as shown in Figure 3 a. This is a case where the article becomes unstable and becomes inconvenient. In this case, as shown in Figure 3b, one unit load is obtained by excluding article A ₃ and stacking articles B ₃ , C ₃ , and D ₃ from the bottom in descending order of surface unit dimension. The article A ₃ forms one unit load by itself, as shown in FIG. _3c .

In addition, in the above explanation, surface unit dimensions, hole dimensions, and article dimensions are defined appropriately depending on the shape of the articles to be stacked, such as by using the width and length, or the sum of the width and length. be done.

As explained above, the area-by-area stacking method of the present invention is capable of stacking articles of multiple types by stowing the above-mentioned embodiments as the basic conditions when stacking articles, and the area-by-area dimensions, hole dimensions, and Even if the dimensions are different, it is possible to easily form a unit load that basically has a stable pyramid shape and does not fall into the hole or fall from the protrusion, and does not cause the load to collapse. .

The feature of the area unit stowage method of the present invention is that the stowage of articles is the basic condition, and the
The object is to perform according to the embodiment shown in the figure.

Next, the configuration of an embodiment of the surface unit stacking apparatus of the present invention will be explained using FIGS. 4 to 13. Figure 4 is a plan view of this embodiment, Figure 5 is its front view, Figure 6 is its side view, Figures 7 and 8.
The figure is an explanatory diagram of the mounting structure of the gripping mechanism on the traveling truck, Figure 9 is a front view of the Statzker crane, Figure 10 is a side view thereof, Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram of the crossed state of the pressing plate, and Figure 12 is the gripping mechanism. FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of the piping to the cylinder for moving the slide boss of the mechanism, and is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment including a control block.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a main frame which is a long rectangular frame and is fixed to the floor, and two table lifters 2 and 3 are mounted in parallel in the longitudinal direction on the main frame. Above the main frame 1, two parallel running rails 4 running in the longitudinal direction are supported by vertical support columns 5, and a bogie 6 runs on the running rails 4 in the longitudinal direction. With the above structure, the traveling carriage 6 can be positioned directly above both the table lifters 2 and 3.

The surface unit gripping mechanism 7 is built into the traveling carriage 6, and specifically, as shown in FIG. One universal support frame 9 is provided with a spring 11 that keeps the gripping mechanism main body 8 horizontal at a position where the weight of the entire gripping mechanism 7 is absorbed.
The other universal support frame 10 has a structure in which brackets 13 and 14 are pivotally connected by a pivot pin 12. Note that the support structure using the universal support frame is not limited to the form shown in FIG. 7, but may be of the form shown in FIG. You can also do that.

Various configurations can be considered for the structure of the gripping mechanism 7. The gripping mechanism main body 8 has cross-shaped guide tubes 20 and 21 for the left and right directions and a guide tube 22 for the front and back directions.
and 23 and slide bosses 24 and 2, respectively.
5, 26 and 27 are slidably mounted, and slide boss moving cylinders 28, 29, 3 are aligned on these guide cylinders 20, 21, 22 and 23.
0 and 31, and each slide boss moving cylinder has its telescopic rod end connected to the upper part of the slide boss, and its base end connected to each guide cylinder 20, 2.
1, 22 and 23, and each slide boss 24, 25, 26 and 27
Box-shaped press plates 32, 33, 34 and 35 in the left-right and front-back directions of a constant height extending in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction are attached to the lower part of the press plates 32, 33, 34. And both ends of 35 are regularly uneven (lattice) as shown in Fig. 11 so that they can smoothly intersect with both ends of the adjacent pressing plate.
It is constructed by providing the following.

In addition, 36 and 37 in the figure (Figures 4 to 6)
38 is a rack for synchronizing the movement of the pressing plates 32 and 33 in the left-right direction, and a pinion for the same purpose. Also, the pressure plates 34 and 3 in the front and rear direction
5 is also synchronized using a similar mechanism. Note that the gripping mechanism 7 only needs to consist of two pairs of pressing devices facing each other in the front and back and left and right directions, and is not limited to the embodiment. Further, 42 is a photo switch, and 43 is a limit switch.

FIG. 12 shows slide boss moving cylinders 28, 29, 30 and 3 for operating the gripping mechanism 7.
1. As is clear from this figure, pressure reducing valves 61 and 62 are installed so that two types of gripping pressure can be set, and a switching valve 6 is also installed.
It has 3. Also, cylinders 28 and 29
A switching valve 64 is provided for operating these cylinders in the left and right directions, and two pressure switches 65 and 66 are provided for confirming completion of pressing.

Similarly, cylinders 30 and 31 are set as one set,
A switching valve 67 and pressure switches 68 and 69 are provided for operating these cylinders in the front-rear direction.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the area unit loading apparatus of this embodiment, including a control block. The present embodiment includes a gripping control device 71 that controls the area unit loading device main body 70 and the gripping mechanism 7, and a stowage order management device 72 that manages and controls the stowage order. The gripping control device 71 includes a loading order management device 72 as well as control means such as a microcomputer.

The three switching valves 63, 64 and 67 are controlled by a gripping control device 71 shown in FIG. For example, the set pressure of the pressure reducing valve 61 is set to 5.0 Kg/cm ² and the gripping pressure is about 180 Kg) and the weak gripping pressure (for example, the set pressure of the pressure reducing valve 62 is set to 2.5 Kg/cm ² and the gripping pressure is about 90 Kg). It is becoming possible to do so. That is, the gripping control device 71 stores in advance the gripping pressure (high/low) for each type of product to be gripped, and controls the switching valve 63 according to the target article to be gripped.

Furthermore, the gripping control device 71 has cylinders 28 and 2.
When the pressure switches 9, 30 and 31 are actuated in the gripping direction and the pressing force rises to the preset pressure, the pressure switches 65, 66, 68 and 69 are actuated, and their detection signals cause the cylinders 28, 29, 30 and 31 to move in the opening direction. The cylinders 29 and 29 in the left and right direction are set as one set, and the cylinders 30 and 31 in the front and back direction are set as one set, and each set can be controlled separately or simultaneously. It's summery.

Next, regarding an example in which a unit load is formed by the above-mentioned area unit loading method using the apparatus of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. Let's take up and explain the case where . First, the basic stacking operation by the above-mentioned surface unit stacking device will be explained.

First, an empty pallet 50 is placed on one table lifter 2, and a pallet 51 containing a certain type of product is placed on the other table lifter 3. The traveling cart 6 moves from the position shown in the figure (FIG. 5) to directly above the table lifter 3, and then the table lifter 3
rises. The table lifter 3 stops lifting after a certain period of time has elapsed since the optical axis of the topmost photo switch 42 of the target article on the table lifter 3 is blocked.
This certain period of time is controlled by the gripping control device 71 so that it is the time required for the target article to rise by one step +α. Therefore, the position where one stage of the target article can be gripped over a wide area over the entire side surface, that is, the top stage of the target article is surrounded by the pressing plates 32, 33, 34 and 35 in the left and right and front and rear directions. It will be brought into the space where it is created. Next, the four sides of the target article on the uppermost stage are pressed and gripped by the pressing plates 32, 33, 34 and 35 along with the operation of the two pairs of pressing devices.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 14, which schematically shows the operation order of the pressing plates, the two pairs of box pressing devices first press the target object by actuating (pressing) the left and right cylinders 28 and 29 as shown in . When the horizontal deviation (collapse) is corrected and the pressing force increases to the preset pressure, the pressure switches 65 and 66 are activated, and the cylinders 28 and 29 are activated in the direction of releasing the pressing force (in the direction of Fig. 14). death,
After confirming the open state of cylinders 28 and 29, actuate (press) cylinders 30 and 31 in the front and rear direction.
(in the direction of Fig. 14), corrects the displacement (collapse) of the target article in the front and rear directions, and operates the other pressure switches 68 and 69. The cylinders 28 and 69 in the left and right directions are moved again while maintaining the pressing force in the front and rear directions. 2
9 is actuated (pressed) to press and hold. When the pressure switches 65 and 66 confirm that the pressing force has increased to the preset pressure, the table lifter 3 lowers slightly while maintaining the same pressing force, and then the traveling cart 6 moves from the table lifter 3 to the table. Move to just above lifter 2.

Note that the operation of the two pairs of box pressing devices is not limited to the above, and may be performed in any other suitable order.

When the traveling carriage 6 moves to a position directly above the table lifter 2, the table lifter 2 is waiting at a position slightly lower than the bottom level of the gripped object article. Next, the table lifter 2 is driven and raised to bring the upper surface of the pallet 50 into contact with the lower surface of the cardboard box held by the gripping mechanism 7.

Furthermore, the gripping mechanism 7 has been raised and is suspended on the universal support racks 9 and 10 with springs 11.
lift up. Limit switch 43 operates,
The table lifter 2 stops rising, while the gripping mechanism 7 releases its grip on the target article. Thereafter, the table lifter 2 starts descending and, according to a timer, descends to a position where a space corresponding to one stage of target articles plus β is opened, and then stops. Next, the load on the table lifter 3 is replaced with a different type of load and the same operation is repeated to assemble and stack different types of load one by one on the pallet 50 on the table lifter 2.

In this embodiment, the handling device has the simplest structure, but the table lifter 2
It is also possible to add a conveyor or fork to the front and rear of the frame 3 as a device for carrying out the load without carrying it in. Also, the entire main frame 1 may be placed on a movable trolley, or the main frame 1 may be placed on a movable trolley, or as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Carriage 60 of the Studs Car Crane
The structure is such that the cargo is placed on the pallet, the cargo is taken from the left and right shelves, the various products are stacked on a surface basis, the various products are stacked on the pallet, and when a certain amount is reached, the cargo is carried out at the unloading station. You can also do it.

Next, when a unit load is formed by the area unit loading device of the above embodiment according to the area unit loading method of the present invention, the loading order management device 72 included in the area unit loading device The control operation will be explained below. This stacking order management device 72 has a microcomputer, and stores in advance the surface unit dimensions, hole dimensions, article dimensions, and their size relationships for each article to be stacked, and the embodiment of the surface unit stacking method of the present invention. The loading order of articles is programmed according to the basic conditions explained in . For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, article A ₁ , article
B ₁ , article C ₁ , article D ₁ in this order; in the embodiment of FIG. 2, article B ₂ , article C ₂ , article A ₂ , article D ₂ ; in the embodiment of FIG. B ₃ , article C ₃ , article D ₃ in one pallet, article A ₃
are individually stowed on other pallets.

In addition, although in the above embodiment, the stowage device is equipped with a surface unit gripping mechanism,
It does not need to be equipped with a surface unit gripping mechanism, and 1
The present invention can also be applied to a known palletizer that uses a method of arranging and stacking one or more articles.

As shown in FIG. 13, the feature of the area unit stowing apparatus of the present invention is that it is provided with a stowing order management device 72 that manages and controls the stowing order of articles.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention is based on the surface unit dimensions of multiple types of articles, the hole dimensions of holes that are not occupied by the above-mentioned articles in the surface, and the size relationship of the article dimensions, so that the articles on the upper tier may fall into the holes on the lower tier or protrude from the lower tier. As long as the unit load does not become unstable, the units are stacked in descending order of surface unit dimensions from the bottom to form a unit load.Therefore, the unit load eliminates the cause of internal collapse of the load and, in principle, has a stable pyramid shape. This has the effect of enabling unit load handling of small quantities and a wide variety of goods, and of easily forming a unit load that does not cause the load to collapse during transportation.

Furthermore, by applying the present invention to a stacking device equipped with a surface unit gripping mechanism, it is possible to easily form a stable unit load that does not collapse, even when it includes easily damaged items such as cardboard boxes.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1, 2 a-c and 3 a-c are
A first embodiment of the area unit loading method of the present invention, respectively;
Explanatory diagram showing a second example and a third example. Fourth
The figure is a plan view of one embodiment of the area unit stacking device of the present invention. Figure 5 is its front view. Figure 6 is its side view.
FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are explanatory diagrams of the mounting structure of the gripping mechanism on the traveling truck. FIG. 9 is a front view of a stacker crane equipped with the area unit loading device of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a side view thereof. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the crossed state of the pressing plates. FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of the piping to the slide boss moving cylinder for operating the gripping mechanism.
FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment including a control block. FIG. 14 is a plan view showing an example of a surface unit structure of a cardboard box or the like. 1... Main frame, 2, 3... Table lifter, 4... Parallel running rail, 5... Vertical support column,
6... Traveling trolley, 7... Gripping mechanism, 8... Gripping mechanism main body, 9, 10... Universal support rack, 11
...Spring, 12... Pivot pin, 13, 14...
... Bracket, 20-23 ... Guide tube, 24-2
7...Slide boss, 28-31...Slide boss moving cylinder, 32-35...Press plate, 3
6, 37...Rack, 38...Pinion, 42...
...Photo switch, 43...Limit switch,
50, 51...palette, 60...carriage,
61, 62... pressure reducing valve, 63, 64, 67... switching valve, 65, 66, 68, 69... pressure switch, 70... area unit loading device main body, 71... gripping control device, 72... Loading order management device, 80...
Surface unit, 81...Cardboard box, 82,101,1
01 _a ... hole, 100 ... pallet, A ₁ to D ₁ ,
_A2 to _D2 , _A3 to _D3 ... Goods.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an area-by-area stacking method in which articles of multiple types are combined and stacked in single-tier units, the area-by-area dimensions of the above-mentioned articles, the hole dimensions of the hole portions that are not occupied by the above-mentioned articles in the area, and the article dimensions. Based on the respective size relationships, (a) stack from the bottom in order of the above surface unit dimensions, (b) for varieties with the above holes, if the upper variety falls into the hole of the lower variety, stack the upper and lower rows. (c) If the above-mentioned swapping of the upper and lower products results in the upper product with a hole protruding from the lower product, and the protruding product will cause the cargo to collapse during transportation, the holes should be removed. An area unit loading method characterized in that a unit load is formed according to the order of the conditions, in which upper-level varieties having the same characteristics are treated separately. 2. An area-by-area loading device equipped with a means for combining and stacking articles of multiple types in units of tiers, which is a loading device for articles that combines and stacks items of multiple types in units of tiers to form a unit load. , a loading order control device that controls the order in which the above-mentioned articles are stacked in this loading device, and this loading order control device is configured to control the dimensions of the articles per surface, the hole portions that are not occupied by the above-mentioned articles in the per surface area, 1. An area-by-area stacking device characterized by comprising means for storing respective sizes of hole dimensions and article dimensions, and selecting a stacking order based on the magnitude relationship of these respective dimensions. 3. The loading device includes a surface unit gripping mechanism equipped with two pairs of box pressing devices facing each other in the front and rear and left and right sides, and a unit load lifting device that moves the unit load in the vertical direction with respect to the surface unit gripping mechanism. An area unit loading device according to claim 2, which includes: