JPH0436980B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a method for storing arbitrary products in trays in various factories and transporting them between various manufacturing and processing lines.
Related to linked product conveyance devices.

In order to automate the manufacturing and processing of small products in various factories, etc., it is necessary to transport the products between the various manufacturing and processing lines in an automatically organized and regulated state.

Generally speaking, this transportation system involves loading and unloading a large number of trays containing small products onto a trolley, etc., and then loading and unloading the trays again at the next manufacturing/processing department. It takes a lot of work to unload the trays, and it is difficult to organize and control the loading and unloading of a large number of trays. The positioning must be controlled according to the
This positioning control also required a lot of effort.
However, according to the conventional system, when transporting products using trays, there are many difficulties in transporting the trays, that is, the products in an organized and regulated state.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and in product transportation using trays, a large number of trays are housed in a special frame-shaped carrier, and a work machine formed separately from the carrier is used to control the storage of a large number of trays inside the carrier. By circulating the trays, a large number of trays can be transported in a well-organized manner, eliminating the need for loading and unloading trays, and making it easier to load and unload trays in various manufacturing and processing departments. The present invention proposes a product conveyance device that allows for easy positioning and conveys products quickly and accurately.

Embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described in detail below. FIG. 1 is an overall conceptual diagram of the apparatus of the present invention.

In the figure, the present invention includes a working unit 50 that manufactures or processes arbitrary products in various factories, etc.
Working devices 3 consisting of a loading section 4 and a working device 5 are installed at A and 50B, respectively, and these working devices 3, 3
The conveyor 1 stores a large number of trays 2, 2, and is removably attached to the loading section 4 of each work device 3. Products are loaded into and taken out of the tray 2, and at this time, the carrier 1 is circulated between upper and lower parts of the frame by the work machine 5, and the work robot 40 is pulled out from the upper part of the carrier 1. The tray 2 is constructed so that loading and unloading operations can always be carried out at a predetermined position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the carrier, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 2. In the figure, a conveyor 1 is formed in the shape of a case framed by a frame material, and a plurality of trays 2 are stacked and housed within the frame.

The conveying body 1 in this embodiment is made up of seven stacked trays 2 and stored therein, and a receiving part 17 is provided at the bottom of the conveying body 1, and the trays 2 stacked on the receiving part 17 are has been placed. Inside the transport body 1, one fewer trays 2 than the number of trays 2 that can be stored is stored, so that there is always a space for one tray in the top tier. There is. However, it is also possible to accommodate the tray 2 entirely inside the carrier 1 so that the space described above is not provided.

An upper opening 12 and a lower opening 13 are provided on one side of the carrier 1, and the upper opening 1
The tray 2 taken out from the carrier 2 is inserted into the lower opening 13, and the tray 2 is circulated between the upper and lower parts of the carrier. Furthermore, a side opening 14 and a bottom opening 15 are provided on the circumferential surface of the carrier 1 in order to insert and operate the operating tip of the working machine 5 from the outside.

The tray 2 described above has a rectangular outer shape that approximately adapts to the cross-sectional shape of the carrier 1, and is formed with a shallow bottom. Recessed part 1 for receiving
6 and 16 are provided. Note that the external shape and depth of the tray can be freely selected, and any tray such as a general pallet or a commercially available plastic container can be used. In addition, a formwork made of styrofoam or the like adapted to the external shape of the transported product is stored in the tray so that the product itself can be positioned.
The work can be carried out smoothly.

Next, the working device 3 consisting of the loading section 4 and the working device 5 will be explained.

First, as mentioned above, the loading section 4 of the working device 3 is installed near the working section 50 of various factories, etc., and as shown in FIGS. It is formed in a suitable groove shape, and a pedestal 21 on which the carrier 1 is placed is provided on the bottom surface.

As shown in FIG. 4, the loading section 4 is provided with a working machine 5 facing nearby. This work machine 5
basically has an extruder 6, a pusher 7, and a lift 8 for the tray 2, and the pusher 7 is additionally provided with a pusher 9 and a locking tool 11. A locking tool 10 is additionally provided.

First, the elevator 8 is configured with a folding arm provided on the lower surface of a base, and is used to raise and lower the carrier 1 loaded in the loading section 4 between the upper opening 12 and the lower opening 13. Further, the push-up machine 9 has an air spring provided on the lower surface of the base, and this is installed on the lower surface of the loading section 4. This push-up machine 9 is inserted into the carrier 1 through the bottom opening 15 of the carrier 1 and lifts up the trays 2, 2.

Since a space for one tray is provided in the carrier 1, the lifter 9 lifts the entire tray 2 to a height of approximately one tray, as shown in FIG. At this time, the upper and lower locking parts 10 and 11 operate to respectively receive the trays 2 and 2 in the upper and lower stages.

Each of the locking tools 10 and 11 is provided with a locking claw at the tip of the cylinder so that the locking claw can freely come out and retract.
4 to the tray 2 side, and are inserted into the recesses 16, 16 of each tray 2 to respectively receive the tray 2. At this time, the lower tray 2 received by the locking tool 11 supports five trays 2 located in the middle other than the upper tray. In this state, the pusher 9
is lowered by at least one tray to form a space for one tray at the bottom of the carrier 1. The locking tool 11 has a lower surface receiving portion 17 inside the carrier 1.
It is provided at a position where the second tray 2 is received.

Therefore, the tray 2 in the upper part is attached to one of the locking tools 10.
A to the other locking tool 10B by the extruder 6. This extruder 6 has at least a tray 2
A guide frame 6a is provided on a cylinder having a stroke that can move the tray 2 by one piece, and the guide frame 6a presses the tray 2 to release the locking tool 10 from the upper opening 12.
Push it out to the B side. The work robot 40 loads the tray 2 held by the locking tool 10B.

On the other hand, the elevator 8 is loaded with one tray other than the seven trays 2 stored in the carrier 1 and is kept on standby. Push it into the lower space of the carrier 1. By keeping one tray 2 on standby, the circulating transfer of the tray 2 can be carried out even more smoothly.

Next, the push-up machine 9 is operated again, and at this time, the locking device 10A and the locking device 11 are released from the locking state, and the entire tray 2 is raised one step, and the upper and lower trays 2 are raised again. , 2 to the locking tool 10A,
11, and the push-up machine 9 descends.

At this time, the tray 2 held by the locking tool 10B is placed on the elevator 8 after loading, and at the same time, the elevator 8 transports the tray 2 by releasing the locking of the locking tool 10B. Transfer to the lower opening 13 of the body 1.

As described above, due to the operation of the working machine 5, the loading section 4
The loaded conveyor 1 takes out the stored tray 2 from the upper part and inserts it into the lower part. During this time, the work robot 40 loads the tray 2.
Circulate up and down. Note that loading and unloading of cargo can also be performed manually without using a work robot.

Note that the tray 2 can be circulated by taking it out from the bottom and inserting it into the top, and even if the extruder 6 and pusher 7 are mechanisms that pull the tray 2 from the front, etc., without pressing it from the back. good. Further, the elevator 8 and the pusher 9 may be of any type as long as they have the function of substantially raising and lowering the tray 2, and may be configured by, for example, a combination of a cylinder and a base.

Next, FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the locking device. The locking tool 11 in the same figure is composed of a spring and a wedge, and once it is locked in the recess 16 of the tray 2, when the next tray 2 rises from below, it is activated by the wedge action. It is automatically removed from the upper tray 2, and the lower tray 2 is automatically received. However, according to the locking tool 11 of this example, the release/
The trays 2 can be received from below in order without issuing a receiving operation command to improve work efficiency. Further, as a locking tool, an angle member can be moved into and out of the recess, and as a locking mechanism, the recess can be secured by receiving the bottom surface of the tray or crimping and clamping the sides of the tray. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which this is not used.

Next, the operation of the product conveyance device of the present application will be explained. First, the carrier 1 is loaded into the loading section 4 in the first working section 50A, and the work machine 5 circulates and transfers the trays 2 in the carrier 1 one by one between the upper and lower parts.
During this process, the work robot 40 loads or unloads the tray 2 taken out from the carrier 1 at a predetermined position. By continuously carrying out this operation of circularly transporting the trays 2 one frame at a time, loading of all the trays 2 in the carrier 1 is completed. The loaded carrier 1 is transported to the next working section 50B, loaded into the loading section 4 of that section, pushes out the upper tray 2 from the carrier 1, and the work robot 40 loads and unloads the cargo in order. do.
Here, too, the working machine 5 operates to vertically circulate and transport the trays 2 one by one, while the work robot 40 loads and unloads the load from each tray 2.

The above-mentioned transport body 1 is transported by an arbitrary trolley, fork, or the like, but it may also be equipped with its own casters. Also,
A plurality of the above-mentioned conveyance bodies 1 themselves can be stacked, and the conveyance bodies 1 can be conveyed in a stacked state or temporarily stopped at a predetermined place. In addition, the above-mentioned working section 50
A and 50B are not limited to being installed in the same factory, but may be installed in other buildings or between subcontracted factories. Furthermore, the locking tool can be directly attached to the carrier without providing it on the working device.

As described above, the present invention provides a framework-formed carrier with a plurality of stacked trays, loads this carrier into the loading section of a working device provided in each working section, and loads the trays in the carrier. Since it is configured to circulate up and down using a work machine, it is possible to transport a large number of trays, that is, products, in a well-organized and regulated state, and the automatic transport of products can be performed well.Moreover, each tray is assembled into a transport body. Since the machine automatically removes and inserts the trays, the work of directly stacking and unloading the trays is completely unnecessary, and it also makes it easier to position the trays in various manufacturing and processing departments. The loading section makes it easy to transport the product quickly and accurately.

Furthermore, when transporting the conveyor, the conveyor can be used as a temporary storage, and since the conveyor has a structure that only stores trays in a stack, it can be easily manufactured, so if a large number of these conveyors are used, A large number of products can be transported easily and accurately.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is an overall conceptual diagram, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the carrier, Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of Figure 2, Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of the working device, and Figure 5 is a front view of the working state. , 6th
7 and 7 are side views of the working state, and FIG. 8 is a view of another embodiment of the locking tool. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Conveyance body, 2... Tray, 3... Working device, 4... Loading part, 5... Working machine, 6... Extruder, 7... Pushing machine, 8... Lifting machine, 9... Pushing up machine, 10, 11...locking tool.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A product conveyance device comprising a combination of a conveyance body housing a tray for loading and unloading products and a working section, and having the following requirements. (a) A plurality of trays are stacked and stored in a framework-formed carrier, and the trays can be taken in and out from upper and lower openings provided on the sides of the carrier. (b) The working section is provided with a loading section on which the conveying body is detachably mounted, and a working machine is provided on the loading section for operating the tray inside the conveying body from the outside and circulating it between the upper and lower parts of the conveying body. (c) The above-mentioned working machine includes an extruder, a pusher, and an elevator for circulating the tray between the upper and lower parts of the conveyor. (d) The pusher or extruder includes a pusher that pushes up the entire tray within the carrier, and a locking tool that locks the tray. (e) The extruder is capable of freely extruding the tray inside the carrier out of one of the upper and lower openings, and the pusher is configured to push the tray out of the carrier from one of the upper and lower openings after the tray is moved up and down by the elevator. It can be pushed freely into the conveyor body.