JPH0544912Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) This invention transports articles such as information storage shaped articles arranged in a housing to a predetermined location such as an information reading device, or This invention relates to an article loading/unloading device that returns items to their original alignment position.

(Problems with the conventional technology) In the conventional example of this type of information storage shaped article loading/unloading device, a picker is used for inserting and removing the information storage shaped articles into and out of the information storage shaped article aligning section and the information reading device in the housing. As shown in FIG. 16, the information storage shaped product 3 is gripped from above and below by fingers 2, in which the base ends of a pair of gripping pieces 1 are pivoted to each other so as to open and close in the vertical direction. The information storage regular shaped product 3 is configured to be inserted into and removed from the regular shaped product arranging section and the information reading device.

However, in such a configuration, if there is a difference in height between the information storage shaped product aligning section or the information reading device and the picker, unreasonable force will be applied to the information storage shaped product 3 during the above-mentioned insertion/removal operation. Therefore, the positioning accuracy of the picker must be increased, which causes the problem of complicated positioning control and increased costs.

(Purpose of the invention) This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problem. To provide an article loading/unloading device which can automatically absorb the displacement when inserting/removing an article even if there is a displacement, and can smoothly insert/remove the article, and has an extremely simple configuration. .

(Means for Achieving the Object) In order to achieve the above object, this invention transports articles arranged in a housing to a predetermined position,
Alternatively, in the article loading and unloading device comprising a picker that returns the articles from the predetermined place to the original alignment position, the picker is provided with an article gripping mechanism so as to be movable forward and backward in the article loading and unloading direction, and the article gripping mechanism The article gripping mechanism includes a pair of left and right fingers, each of which is pivotally supported at an intermediate position and which can be freely opened and closed in a horizontal plane to grip the article at its tip; a rotating member provided at an intermediate position of the rear ends of the fingers and rotationally driven in a horizontal plane; and a pair of left and right fingers that respectively link the rear ends of the pair of left and right fingers and positions opposite to the center of rotation of the rotating members. A guide surface is formed at the front end of the support section in the direction of loading and unloading the article, and a guide surface is formed at the front end of the support section in the direction of loading and unloading the article, and the tip of the finger is provided with a guide surface that slopes downwardly toward the front. Therefore, a finger roller is provided which is rotatably supported and clamps the article in a vertically movable manner, and the intermediate link member is provided with an elastic force that urges the finger in the closing direction, and the article alignment section for information storage shaped articles is provided. When correcting the height deviation that occurs between a predetermined location such as an information readout device and a picker by using a guide surface that the article comes into contact with when loading and unloading, the rotation of the finger roller allows the correction operation to be performed smoothly. In addition, due to the elastic force imparted to the intermediate link member, a stable gripping force can be obtained even when the amount of rotation of the rotating member varies, and an unreasonable force is not applied to an article such as an information storage shaped article. We are trying to prevent this.

(Example) Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the main part of an article loading/unloading device which is an embodiment of this invention applied to loading/unloading of information storage shaped articles, and Figures 2, 3, and 4 respectively. A front sectional view, a side sectional view, and a plan sectional view of the access/exit device are shown.

In this loading/unloading device, shelves 13 for storing cassettes 12, which are shaped information storage products, are arranged vertically in multiple stages on the back side of the housing 11. Cassette deck 14 which is an information reading device
is located.

A guide column 1 is located on the left side inside the housing 11.
5 and a guide rail 16 are vertically provided on the right side, and a picker 17 is attached astride the guide column 15 and the guide rail 16 so as to be able to move up and down. That is, the guide column 15 passes through the front left end side of the generally U-shaped picker frame 18, and a pair of front and rear guide rollers 19 are provided at the right end of the picker frame 18.
a and 19b sandwich the guide rail 16.

On the other hand, a pair of front and rear sprockets 20a and 20b are arranged in parallel on the ceiling inside the housing 11, and a counterweight 22 is connected to one end of a chain 21 wound between these sprockets 20a and 20b. The picker 17 is suspended from the other end. The sprocket 20a has a pulley 24, a belt 25, a pulley 26,
This is transmitted through a speed reducer 27, and the picker 17 is moved up and down in front of the cassette 12 and the cassette deck 14 by driving the motor 23.

The picker 17 is for inserting and removing the cassette 12 into and from the shelf 13 and the cassette deck 14, and as shown in FIG.
Between 8b and 8b is a pusher 28 for pushing the cassette 12 toward the shelf 13 and the cassette deck 14.
is installed so that it can be moved freely back and forth.
That is, this pusher 28 is slidably suspended between left and right advance/retreat guide rods 29 (only the left side is shown in FIG. 1). Furthermore, this pusher 28 is fixed to a part of a belt 30 provided at the lower part of the picker frame 18, and moves forward and backward as this belt 30 is switched between forward and reverse directions by a forward and backward drive motor 31. is configured to do so.

A pair of left and right fingers 32 are pivotally supported on the pusher 28 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane, as shown in a plan view and a front view in FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively. This finger 32 is connected to a lever 33 and an arm portion 3 in front of the lever 33.
The finger roller 34 is pivotally mounted to the roller shaft 3a with its axis horizontal, and the outer periphery of the roller shaft 34a of the finger roller 34 is rotatably covered with an elastic member 34b such as rubber via a dry bearing 34c. A long hole 35a formed at one end of the intermediate link member 35 is engaged with a pin 33c formed on the arm portion 33b facing rearward of the lever 33 of each of these fingers 32. The other end of the finger drive motor 38 is connected to the rotation shaft 38a of the finger drive motor 38 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane at the center of the pusher 28 (at the middle position between the rear ends of the pair of fingers 32). The movable members 36 are respectively pivotally connected at rotationally symmetrical positions. As the rotating member 36 rotates left and right due to the drive of the motor 38, the left and right finger rollers 3
4 swings, thereby allowing the cassette 12 to be pinched and gripped from the left and right sides, and to be released. Further, a compression coil spring 37 is attached to each of the intermediate link members 35 in the longitudinal direction thereof, and the biasing force of the compression coil spring 37 is applied via the head 37a to the rear arm portion 33b of each corresponding finger 32. ni, finger 32
It is configured to act in the direction of closing.

The lower side of the picker frame 18 is attached to the shelf 13 and the cassette deck 14 by fingers 32.
A picker shelf 59 is provided for placing the cassettes 12 taken in from the picker 17 side. This Pocket Shelf 59 has cassette 1.
a pair of left and right cassette support plates 60 on which cassettes 2 are mounted;
The front part of the cassette support plate 60 is formed with a guide surface 60a that slopes downward toward the front. A tapered guide surface 61a is formed that expands toward the center.

Further, a pair of height position detection sensors 39a and 39b are provided at the left end of the picker frame 18, while a mark plate 40 facing the sensors 39a and 39b is provided at the left side inside the housing 11.
As shown in FIG.
are arranged in vertical columns. Between the marks A and B, the upper end of one mark A and the lower end of the other mark B, and the lower end of one mark A and the upper end of the other mark B are alternately set at a predetermined height. They are arranged at different heights so that they coexist within a range h, and the above height range h provides a range within which the picker 17 is allowed to stop as a height position corresponding to each shelf 13. . Also, the bottom end of one mark A is the cassette deck 1.
It is adjusted to the height position H of 4.

Furthermore, cassette detection sensors 41a and 41b, each consisting of a light emitter and a light receiver, are mounted on the left arm section 18a and the right arm section 18b of the picker frame 18. The other sensor 41b is located at a lower position than the right arm portion 18b, and they are provided so as to face each other, and when the picker 17 moves up and down, these sensors 41a,
When the optical axis 42 connecting between 41b and 41b is interrupted by the cassette 12 that protrudes from the shelf 13,
It is configured to stop the lifting and lowering operation of the picker 17 to prevent the picker 17 from colliding with the protruding cassette 12. In addition, the sensor 41
By working together with the sensor 49, a and 41b are also used as a sensor for detecting that the cassette 12 is accurately stored on the picker 17 side.

In addition, the shelf 13 that stores the cassette 12
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, there are a pair of left and right side guide pieces 13 that guide both sides of the cassette 12.
a, and a pair of left and right bottom guide plates 13b that guide the bottom of the cassette 12. The inside of the side guide piece 13a is formed with a tapered surface that expands toward the front, and the front part of the bottom guide plate 13b is The cassette 12 is tilted toward the picker 17 from a position slightly shifted from the shelf 13.
Even if it is inserted by
It is constructed so that it can be corrected by the guiding action of 3 itself.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically showing the structure of the above-mentioned mechanism and control circuit 43 of this access device.
4 is a TV monitor 45 using a cassette deck 14;
9 to 13 set in advance in response to detection signals from the sensors 39a, 39b, 41a, 41b and other sensors and input signals from the operation panel 46. It is configured to control the drive of each motor 23, 31, 38 via a relay driver 47 based on the program shown in the flow diagram. In FIG. 1, a sensor 49 detects whether the cassette 12 is on the picker shelf 59;
2 is a sensor for confirming the position of the pusher 28; 53 and 54 are sensors for confirming the open/closed state of the finger 32; 55 is a picker 1;
This is a sensor that detects the end of the upward movement range of No.7.

Next, the operation of this entrance/exit device will be explained with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 to 13. The overall operation is as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
An initialization step _S1 is executed in which the cassette 12 is set at a reference position at the lowest end opposite to the cassette 4, and then a main step _S2 is executed in which the picker 17 moves the cassette 12 in and out.

As shown in FIG. 10, in the initializing operation, first, in step _S3 , the height position detection sensors 39a and 39b confirm whether the picker 17 is at the height position at the end of the operation. In this program, when the cassette 12 is returned to its original shelf 13, the picker 17 stops at the height of the shelf 13, so it is determined that the height is not at the correct height during this check. Then, it is assumed that an error has occurred, and execution moves to step _S4 of error processing. This proper position is confirmed by detecting the corresponding marks A and B shown in FIG. 8 by the sensors 39a and 39b.
This can be confirmed from the fact that it is located within the stop tolerance range h shown in the figure. When it is confirmed that the cassette 12 is in the proper position, the process moves to step _S5 , and based on the detection signals of the cassette detection sensors 41a, 41b and the sensor 49, the cassette 12 is checked to see if there is any cassette 12 left on the picker 17 side. A check is made to see if the cassette 12 is protruding from the cassette 12. If the cassette 12 is detected here, it is assumed that an error has occurred and execution moves to step _S4 for error handling.

If the cassette 12 is not detected, the process moves to step _S6 , and a descending command is issued to the picker 17.
That is, the picker 17 is connected to the lifting drive motor 23.
Rotational drive in the direction of lowering is commanded. When the picker 17 starts to descend, step _S7 is executed, and the sensors 41a and 41b check whether or not the cassette 12 is protruding from the shelf 13 during its descent, in parallel with the descent. If the cassette 12 is detected at this time, the process moves to step _S8 , where the lowering of the picker 17 is stopped, and execution moves to step _S9 , which is an error process. This prevents the picker 12 from hitting the protruding cassette 12. During this downward movement, the part of the optical axis 42 between the sensors 41a and 41b near the sensor 41b is first blocked by the cassette 12, but as shown in FIG. A predetermined interval α ₁ is set in advance to allow for the descent due to inertia from when the protrusion of the cassette 12 is detected until the picker 17 stops, and therefore collisions due to inertia are prevented.

When it is confirmed by the sensors 41a and 41b that there is no protrusion of the cassette 12, it is confirmed in the next step _S10 whether the lowest position, that is, the reference position facing the cassette deck 14 has been reached. This confirmation is performed by the height position detection sensor 39 in FIG.
This is confirmed by determining whether or not marks A and 39a respectively detect corresponding marks A and B.
If it is determined that the reference position has not been reached, the execution returns to step _S6 , and thereafter steps _S6 to _S10 are repeated until it is confirmed that the reference position has been reached.

In step _S10 , when it is confirmed that the reference position has been reached, that is, the mark A shown in FIG.
If neither of the corresponding sensors 39a and 39b detect B, the time delay step
After passing through _S11 , the lifting drive motor 2 is activated at step _S12 .
3 is stopped. That is, Pitzker 17
At this time, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG.
8, the sensor 39a, 3 reaches the stop position where it is released from the chain 21.
9b is located at a position slightly below the cassette deck height position H shown in FIG. 8, and does not face either of the marks A and B. When the picker 17 stops, the value of the counter that counts the height position of the picker 17 is reset in step _S13 .
After the above execution, execution returns to the main step _S2 described above.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the main operation, when a desired cassette number is input from the operation panel 46 shown in FIG. 7 in step _S14 , the next step is started.
Execution moves to S ₁₅ . In step _S15 , the picker 17 is raised by a series of operations according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12, which will be described later, and stops at the height of the shelf 13 in which the desired cassette 12 is stored. Then in step S ₁₆ , Shielf 13
The cassette 12 is taken out from there. This take-out operation is performed by driving the finger drive motor 38 to rotate the rotating member 36 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 in the counterclockwise direction, and the finger 32
This is done by rotating from the open state shown by the phantom line in the figure to the closed state shown by the solid line. That is, by this operation, the finger rollers 34 of the left and right fingers 32 grip the cassette 12 housed on the shelf 13 from both sides thereof.

At this time, by setting the amount of rotation of the rotation member 36 by the finger drive motor 38 to be somewhat large, the finger roller 34 can move the cassette 1.
An advancing motion of the intermediate link member 35 that pushes the finger 32 toward the closing side beyond the rotational position where it abuts the side surface of the intermediate link member 35 occurs. However, this advancing motion is allowed by the elongated hole 35a on the intermediate link member 35 side that engages with the pin 33c on the finger 32 side, and the pressing force acting on the rear arm portion 33b of the finger 32 due to this advancing motion is When the compression coil spring 37 is compressed and deformed, the force is absorbed by the force, thereby preventing excessive force from being applied to the cassette 12, the finger 32, and the intermediate link member 35. As a result, the cassette 12 can be properly gripped by the fingers 32 with a stable gripping force without requiring very high precision in controlling the finger drive motor 38 that rotates the rotary member 36.

Thereafter, the pusher 28 is moved backward by the forward/backward drive motor 31, whereby the cassette 12 held by the fingers 32 is pulled out from the shelf 13 and stored in the picker shelf 59. In this drawing operation, even if there is a slight deviation in the height position between the shelf 13 and the picker 17, the cassette support plate 60
The cassette 12 can be pulled out smoothly without being subjected to undue force by the guide surface 60a that slopes downward at the front of the cassette 12, and by the rotation of the finger rollers 34 to vertically correct the gripping position.

The relative rotational movement of the finger roller 34 holding the cassette 12 in the vertical direction with respect to the cassette 12 is performed by the finger roller 34 as shown in FIG.
This is achieved because the rotational frictional force between the elastic member 34b on the outer periphery of the roller shaft 34a and the cassette 12 is large, whereas the rotational frictional force between the elastic member 34b and the roller shaft 34a is reduced by interposing the dry bearing 34c. be done. In FIG. 14, the cassette 12 indicated by a virtual line indicates the upper limit of the height at which it can be taken into the picker 17, and the solid line indicates the lower limit. By this operation, the height position deviation is allowed to be within ±1/2 of the height dimension of the cassette 12.

When the removal of the cassette 12 is completed, the step
At step _S17 , it is checked whether the cassette 12 is completely loaded onto the picker shelf 59. This confirmation is performed by the previously mentioned cassette detection sensors 41a and 41b and a sensor 49 on the front side of the picker frame 18 as shown in FIG. When these sensors 41a, 41b, and 49 do not detect the cassette 12, it is assumed that a malfunction has occurred, and the error processing step _S18 is performed.
Move on to execution. On the other hand, when it is confirmed that the loading of the cassette 12 has been completed, execution proceeds to the next step _S19 . In this step _S19 , the picker 17 moves downward by a series of operations according to the flowchart shown in FIG. Stop at a position.

Next, in step _S20 , after the cassette 12 is released from the fingers 32 of the picker 17, the cassette 12 is inserted from the picker 17 into the cassette deck 14. This insertion operation is performed by driving the advance/retreat drive motor 31 to advance the pusher 28 until the sensor 52 detects the detection. When the insertion of the cassette 12 is completed, the pusher 28 is moved back to a position where the sensor 50 at the front of the picker frame ₁₈ detects the pusher 28 in step S21. Then, in step _S22 , it is checked whether the cassette 12 has been completely inserted into the cassette deck 14. This confirmation is performed using the sensors 41a and 41 mentioned above.
b, 49, and these sensors 41
When any one of the cassettes 12a, 41b, and 49 detects the cassette 12, it is assumed that a malfunction has occurred, and the process moves to step _S23 for error handling.

On the other hand, when the insertion of the cassette 12 is confirmed, the next step _S24 is executed, and the pusher 28 is kept on standby at a position where the sensor 51 shown in FIG. 1 detects this. Then, in step _S25 , reproduction of the image by the cassette deck 14 is started, and when the reproduction is finished or interrupted in step _S26 , the ejection of the cassette from the cassette deck 14 is confirmed in the next step _S27 . This confirmation is performed using the cassette detection sensors 41a and 41b mentioned above.
It is carried out by. When the cassette eject is confirmed, the next step _S28 moves the cassette 1 from the cassette deck 14 to the pickup shelf 59.
2 is taken in, and then in step _S29 it is confirmed whether the cassette has been taken in. If the confirmation is not possible, the process moves to step _S30 for error processing.
The operations in steps S ₂₈ to _{S 30} are similar to the steps S ₁₆ to S 30 described above for taking out the cassette 12 from the shelf 13.
Same operation as _S18 .

When it is confirmed that the cassette 12 has been taken in, the picker 17 is raised and the cassette 12 is taken out in step _S31 through a series of operations according to the _flowchart in FIG. It stops at the original height of the shelf 13. Then, in steps _S32 and _S33 , the cassette 12 is returned from the picker 17 to the shelf 13, and the return of the cassette 12 is confirmed in step _S34 , and if the confirmation cannot be made, execution moves to step _S35 for error handling. It can be done. The series of operations in steps _S32 to _S35 is the same as the operation of inserting the cassette 12 into the cassette deck 14 in steps _S20 to _S23 described above.

Steps S ₁₅ and S ₃₁ during the above main execution
The operation in the flowchart of FIG. 12 showing the movement of the picker 17 in is performed by the following procedure. First, by step S ₃₆ , the current picker 1
The magnitude relationship between the height position of 7 and the height position of the target shelf 13 is determined. This determination is made based on the count value obtained by the up-down counter counting the detection signals of marks A and B shown in FIG. This is done by comparing it with the count value corresponding to the height position. If it is determined that the count value corresponding to the target shelf 13 is larger, step _S37
The picker 17 is commanded to rise, and then, in step _S38 , addition is performed to the current count value at the timing of the rise of the mark detection signal of one of the sensors 39a, 39b. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S36 that the current count value is larger, the picker ₁₇ is
Then, in step _S40 , the current count value is subtracted at the timing of the rise of the mark detection signal of one of the sensors 39a and 39b. In FIG. 8, reference numeral a indicates a position corresponding to the rise of the mark detection signal during the above-mentioned rise, and reference numeral b indicates a position corresponding to the rise of the mark detection signal during the fall.

When the picker 17 starts moving up and down, the cassette 12 is moved from the shelf 13 to the cassette 12 in step _S41 .
A check is made to see if there are any protrusions.
This confirmation is performed using the cassette detection sensor 41 mentioned above.
a, 41b. When the protrusion of the cassette 12 is detected, step _S42 is executed to stop the picker 17 from moving up and down, and step _S43 is executed.
Execution shifts to error handling. This pick car 1
In the stopping operation accompanying the detection of the cassette protrusion during the upward/downward movement of step 7, in the downward movement, the sensor 41 shown in FIG.
The part of the optical axis 42 between a and 41b near the sensor 41b is first blocked by the cassette 12, and due to the inertia of the picker 17 due to the distance α ₁ set between this part of the optical axis 42 and the lower end of the picker 17. Cassette 1
Collision with 2 is prevented. On the other hand, in the rising operation, the part of the optical axis 42 of the sensors 41a, 41b near the sensor 41a is first blocked by the cassette 12, but there is also a predetermined distance between this part of the optical axis 42 and the upper end of the picker 17. The interval α ₂ is set in advance,
Therefore, the cassette 12 due to the inertia of the picker 17
collision is prevented.

When it is confirmed in step _S41 that there is no protrusion of the cassette 12, it is then determined in step _S44 whether the current count value and the count value corresponding to the desired height position of the shelf 13 are equal. be done. If it is determined that they are not equal, the process returns to step _S36 and the same process is repeated. If it is determined in step _S44 that the current count value is equal to the count value corresponding to the target shelf 13, the process moves to step _S45 and the picker 17 stops. Next, in step _S46 , it is checked whether the height of the picker 17 is within the permissible stop range indicated by the symbol h in FIG. This confirmation is performed by both the two height position detection sensors 39a and 39b detecting the corresponding marks A and B. If it is determined that the stop tolerance is not within the range, step S ₄₇
The height position is corrected by slightly moving the picker 17 up and down.

Also, during the main execution mentioned above,
The operations from step _S6 ' to step S13' in the flowchart of FIG. 13 showing the movement of the picker ₁₇ to the reference position in step _S19 are similar to step _S6 in the initialization flowchart shown in FIG.
The operation is the same as that from step _S13 .

In the above embodiment, the pin 33c on the finger 32 side is loosely fitted into the elongated hole 35a on the intermediate link member 35 side, and the finger 32 is urged toward the closing side by the compression coil spring 37 provided on the intermediate link member 35. Although the intermediate link member 35 is given elastic force by this, for example, as shown in the link mechanism schematic diagram in FIG. 15, the intermediate link member 35 itself may be composed of an elastic body such as a spring. This embodiment also produces the same effects as the above embodiment. Further, it goes without saying that the number of stages of the intermediate link member 35 is not limited to one stage.

(Effects of the invention) As described above, according to the article loading/unloading device of this invention, information storage shaped articles can be stored by a pair of fingers that have rotatable finger rollers with their axes facing horizontally forward, and that open and close from side to side. Since the article is configured to grip an article such as an information storage shaped article, both sides of the article are held between the left and right pair of finger rollers, and the article is placed between a predetermined place such as an article alignment section or an information reading device, and the picker. When correcting the height position deviation between Therefore, there is no risk of damage due to excessive force being applied to articles such as information storage shaped articles, and the configuration thereof is extremely simple, so costs can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, due to the elastic force imparted to the intermediate link member, no unreasonable force is applied to the information storage shaped product, the finger, or the intermediate link member, and as a result, a highly accurate control device is required to control the drive source that drives the finger. It is possible to obtain effects such as being able to properly grip an article with a stable gripping force using the fingers without having to prepare a gripper.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a picker of an article loading/unloading device which is an embodiment of this invention; FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are front sectional views of the loading/unloading device;
A side sectional view, a horizontal sectional view, FIGS. 5 and 6 are a plan view and a front view showing the finger section of the picker, respectively, FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the control circuit of the access device, and FIG. 8 is a height position. 9 to 13 are flowcharts showing the operation procedure of the loading/unloading device; FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of loading the cassette into the picker shelf;
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the link mechanism, and FIG. 16 is a side view of the main part of the conventional example. 12...cassette, 14...cassette deck,
17...Pitzker, 32...Finger, 33c
... Pin, 34 ... Finger roller, 35 ... Link member, 35a ... Long hole, 36 ... Rotating member,
37...Compression coil spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) An article loading/unloading device comprising a picker that transports articles lined up in a housing to a predetermined location or returns the articles from the predetermined location to the original alignment position, The picker is provided with an article gripping mechanism that can move forward and backward in the direction of loading and unloading the article, and is also provided with a support part for the article taken in by the article gripping mechanism, and the article gripping mechanism is pivoted at an intermediate position and is mounted on a horizontal surface. a pair of left and right fingers that can be opened and closed freely within the interior and grip an article with their tips, a rotating member that is provided at an intermediate position between the rear ends of the pair of left and right fingers and that is rotationally driven in a horizontal plane; a link mechanism consisting of a pair of left and right intermediate link members that respectively link the rear ends of the fingers of the rotary member and positions opposite to the center of rotation of the rotary member, and at the front end of the supporting portion in the direction of loading and unloading the article; a guide surface is formed that slopes downward toward the front; a finger roller is rotatably supported by a horizontal shaft at the tip of the finger and grips the article in a vertically movable manner; An article loading/unloading device characterized in that the finger has an elastic force that biases the finger in a closing direction. (2) The article loading/unloading device according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate link member is made of an elastic body. (3) In the utility model registration claim, the connecting point between the rear end of the finger and the intermediate link member is provided with play, and the intermediate link member is provided with a spring that biases the corresponding finger toward the closing side. A device for loading and unloading items as described in Scope 1.