JPH0537716U - Automatic warehouse - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] The stacker crane 9 allows the carriage 7 to move.
The carriage 7 can be stably lifted so that the carriage 7 can be stored in the article storage shelf 3 as it is. [Structure] The article transfer device 13 of the stacker crane 9 has not only a center slide fork 15 that supports the central portion of the bottom surface of the carriage 7, but also clamp slide forks 14 that clamp a pair of both side surfaces of the carriage 7. I decided.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse capable of accommodating a carriage for transportation.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, the following types of automatic warehouses are known. That is, it is an automatic warehouse consisting of a rack device in which a plurality of article storage shelves are arranged vertically and horizontally, and a stacker crane which is provided so that the front region of the rack device can be moved left and right. The stacker crane includes a traveling base for left-right movement, an elevator that can be moved up and down with respect to a mast installed on the traveling base, and an article transfer device provided on the elevator. have. Generally, as this article transfer device, a slide fork is used which can be moved forward and backward by combining a gear train and the like.

[0003]

[Operation of conventional technology]

 The operation of the conventional automatic warehouse will be described below. First, a case where an article is stored in an article storage shelf will be described. When an article is automatically or manually placed on the table of the article loading station, the traveling base moves to a position where the lateral center of the slide fork is aligned with the lateral center of the article loading station table and stops. .. At the same time, the lifting platform moves up and down to position the upper surface of the slide fork below the lower surface of the article on the table of the article loading station. After that, the slide fork advances toward the lower side of the lower surface of the article (the table of the article carry-in station has an insertion space in which the slide fork can be appropriately moved back and forth and up and down). Next, the slide fork lifts the article as the lift rises, and then the slide fork retracts toward the lift, so that the article is pulled onto the lift. Thus, after the article is taken out from the article loading station, the traveling base runs and the center of the article in the left-right direction (the center of the slide fork in the left-right direction) is moved to the shelf column to which the article storage shelf that stores the article belongs. Stop at a position that matches the center of the left-right direction. Simultaneously with the traveling of the traveling base, the elevating platform ascends and descends until the lower surface of the article is positioned slightly above the upper surface of the article storage shelf to be stored. After that, the article is unloaded to the article storage rack by the operation reverse to the above, and the storage operation is completed. A slide fork insertion space is formed between the top and bottom of the article storage rack to allow the slide fork to move in the vertical direction. On the other hand, by the operation opposite to the above, the articles stored in the article storage rack can be carried out to the table of the article carrying-out station.

[0004]

[Disadvantages of the prior art]

 The conventional automatic warehouse has the following drawbacks. That is, there is a case where it is desired to store the carriage as it is as an article to be stored in the article storage shelf. However, since the wheels are attached to the bottom of the dolly, the insertion space for the slide fork was limited in the width direction, and the slide fork itself had to be formed in a narrow shape. With such a slide fork, the lifted state of the trolley becomes extremely unstable, so there was a drawback that the trolley could not be taken in and out safely and reliably.

[0005]

[Means for eliminating the above drawbacks]

 This invention adopts the following means in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks. This invention is an automatic warehouse having a rack device having a plurality of upper and lower, left and right article storage shelves, and a stacker crane movably provided in the front region of the rack device. The article transfer device provided in the article includes a center slide fork that supports the central portion of the bottom surface of the article, and a clamp slide fork that holds a pair of both side surfaces of the article.

[0006]

[Function of the device]

 This device has the following actions. The article transfer device provided on the lifting platform of the stacker crane not only supports the central portion of the bottom surface of the article (hereinafter, the transportation cart will be mainly described) by the center slide fork, but also uses the clamp slide fork to support the article. Since the pair of both sides of the trolley is sandwiched, this trolley is supported at three points as a whole and can be stably lifted. Therefore, the cart can be stored in the article storage shelf. However, the target articles in this invention are not limited to carts for transportation but can be broadly applicable to articles as in the past.

[0007]

【Example】

 The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. In this specification, the front means the front side of FIG. 1, the rear means the back side of FIG. 1, the left means the left side of FIG. 1, and the right means the right side of FIG.

The rack device 1 is erected on the floor surface, and is provided with a plurality of article storage shelves 3 capable of accommodating the carriages 7 vertically and horizontally. As shown in FIG. 2, the article storage rack 3 includes a large number of front columns 2 arranged at right and left at predetermined intervals, a rear column 2 arranged at predetermined intervals behind the front columns 2, and front and rear of these columns 2. It is constructed by a pair of left and right article support members 4, 4 that are installed between both columns 2 and 2 and that face each other without the column 2. Between the pair of left and right article support members 4 and 4, there is an insertion space 5 that allows the center slide fork 15 of the article transfer device 13 described later to move mainly in the upward and downward directions. However, this insertion space 5 is not always necessary because it can be secured even within the center of the bottom surface (wheel base portion) of the carriage 7 within the height of the wheel.

In the front area of the rack device 1, a pair of upper and lower guide rails 8 whose longitudinal directions are oriented in the left-right direction are provided, and a stacker crane 9 which is movable left and right along the guide rails 8 is provided. Has been. The stacker crane 9 is provided with respect to a traveling base 10, an elevating platform 12 that is movable up and down by a known elevating device with respect to a mast 11 installed upright on the traveling platform 10, and the elevating platform 12. The article transfer device 13 is provided.

The article transfer device 13 is different from the conventional one in which only a slide fork is used in the following points. That is, the article transfer device 13 includes a center slide fork 15 that supports the central portion of the bottom surface of the carriage 7 and two clamp slide forks 14 and 14 that sandwich a pair of both side surfaces of the carriage 7. is doing. Each of these forks 15 and 14 can be moved forward and backward by a known advance / retreat mechanism in which a multi-stage slide bar and a gear train (not shown) are combined.

The two clamp slide forks 14, 14 are attached to the lifting table 12 of the stacker crane 9 via a fluid pressure cylinder 6 (see FIG. 2) and the like, and are slightly opposed to each other. The companion movement of can be performed. By this operation, the pair of both side surfaces of the carriage 7 are clamped. It is preferable that the dolly 7 is framed with a lightweight material such as an aluminum pipe, as shown in FIG. 3, because it is easily clamped by the clamp slide fork 14 and reinforced. ..

[0012]

[Operation of the embodiment]

 Next, the operation of the embodiment apparatus will be described. When the dolly 7 is loaded onto the platform (not shown) of the article loading station, the traveling base 10 of the stacker crane 9 sets the center of the center slide fork 15 to the left-right center of the platform of the article loading station. Drive to the matching position and stop. At the same time, the lift 12 moves up and down to position the upper surface of the center slide fork 15 below the bottom surface of the carriage 7. Then, the center slide fork 15 advances toward the central portion of the bottom surface of the carriage 7. Next, the lifting platform 12 rises to a position where the upper surface of the center slide fork 15 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the carriage 7 or a position where the carriage 7 is slightly lifted, and at the same time or before or after this, the clamp slide fork 14 is moved. The carriage 7 advances toward a pair of sides on both sides, and then the fluid pressure cylinder 6 extends to clamp and operate the two clamp slide forks 14, 14. As a result, the carriage 7 is lifted in a stable state in which it is supported at three points. After that, the center slide fork 15 and the clamp slide fork 14 synchronously retreat to the lift table 12 side, so that the carriage 7 is pulled onto the lift table 12. Thus, after the trolley 7 is taken out from the platform of the article loading station, the traveling base 10 travels and the center of the trolley 7 in the left-right direction (the center of the center slide fork 15 in the left-right direction) is stored in the article. The shelf to which the storage shelf 3 belongs Stops at a position aligned with the horizontal center of the vertical column. After that, the center slide fork 15 and the clamp slide fork 14 are advanced synchronously, the lift 12 is slightly lowered (the carriage 7 is stored on the article storage shelf 3), the clamp slide fork 14 is released and held, and the lift 12 is moved. The dolly 7 is stored in the article storage shelf 3 by the operations substantially opposite to the above, such as the minute lowering and the forks 15 and 14 retreating. On the other hand, the trolleys 7 accommodated in the article storage shelves 3 can be carried out to the table of the article carrying-out station by a substantially reverse operation.

By the way, as the mechanism for moving the center slide fork 15 and the clamp slide fork 14 forward and backward of the article transfer device 13 and the mechanism for holding the clamp slide fork 14 in a pinching operation, any conventionally known mechanism can be adopted. .. Further, in the article storage rack 3, if a pair of left and right article support members 4 facing each other are formed in a downward slope toward the center as shown in FIG. 4, centering when the carriage 7 is accommodated is automatically performed. Therefore, there is an advantage that a stable accommodation state can be obtained. In this case, it is safe to project a car stop bank 16 corresponding to the length (depth dimension) in the front-rear direction from the projecting edge of each product support member 4.

[0014]

[Effect of the device]

 The present invention has the following effects due to the above configuration. Since the article transfer device is configured to lift the carriage in a three-point supporting state by the center slide fork and the two clamp slide forks, the lifted state can be stably maintained. That is, it is possible to safely and surely move the cart into and out of the automated warehouse.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an essential part showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of a carriage.

FIG. 4 is a front view of essential parts showing a preferred embodiment of the article storage rack.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Rack Device 3 Article Storage Shelf 7 Carrying Cart 9 Stacker Crane 12 Lifting Table 13 Article Transfer Device 14 Clamp Slide Fork 15 Center Slide Fork

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An automatic warehouse having a rack device having a plurality of article storage shelves vertically and horizontally, and a stacker crane movably provided in a front region of the rack device, in an elevator of the stacker crane. The article transfer device provided is an automatic warehouse including a center slide fork that supports a central portion of the bottom surface of the article and a clamp slide fork that holds a pair of both side surfaces of the article.