JPH0571493B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a case stacking device, and in particular, the present invention relates to a case stacking device, and in particular, a case stacking device in which a plurality of flange cases each having a flange-like upper edge portion of an article storage container are arranged in a row. The present invention relates to a case stacking device suitable for stacking cases one by one at the same time inside a cage-shaped truck.

[Prior Art] In a series of processes such as physical distribution, ie, sorting, transfer, and transportation of articles, a bag case having a flange on the upper edge is widely used for convenience in carrying and handling. When transporting a plurality of these spitting cases containing desired items at once, for example, a plurality of spitting cases carried by a conveyor or the like are laid out on a trolley, and then layered in the same way. In some cases, the work involves stacking multiple layers. In such cases, conventionally, the process was not done by mechanical force, but by many hands.

In addition, this case has irregularities formed on the sides, so when storing the cases, the cases can be stored so that they fit into each other and can be stored in a small space, and when in use, they can be stacked on top of each other due to the irregularities. The structure is also such that the product can be prevented from being crushed.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] As mentioned above, in the past, all the box-shaped containers were loaded onto the basket-shaped trolley by hand, so when the weight of the spitting case was heavy, It is difficult to handle when there is a large number of cases.
The work was made even more troublesome and complicated because they were engaged to stack the cargo while preventing it from shifting.

As mentioned above, the reasons why mechanization has been difficult in the past, despite the problems of a considerable burden on workers, heavy labor, and inefficiency, are as follows: (a) In order to prevent the flange case from shifting inside the shaped cart, it is extremely difficult to fit the irregularities on the sides of the flange case in terms of positioning, etc. using a simple machine. In other words, in the stacking method of simply lifting the brim case with a fork and inserting it into a basket-shaped trolley like in a conventional palletizer, and then pulling out the fork and dropping the brim case, the upper and lower brim cases do not overlap each other. positioning was extremely difficult.

(b) The gap between the side wall of the cage-shaped cart and the collar case is small, and if the cage-shaped cart has an intermediate shelf, the gap between the upper part is also small. There is very little room for entry into the shaped trolley.

(c) The robot type, in which spittle cases are loaded one by one into a basket-shaped trolley, has low processing capacity, among other reasons.

Therefore, the present inventors proposed a device as shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-56442 to solve the above problem. However, subsequent research and development has led to some problems.

First, the structure of the gripping device, especially the structure of the fork portion for engaging with the collar of the case, is complicated. For this reason, it was not only difficult to further reduce the distance between the side wall of the cart and the spitting case, but also the distance between the cases, and there were many problems with maintenance.

In addition, the pallet feeding device had a chain-based structure, was complex and large, and produced a lot of noise during operation.

Furthermore, the structure of the pallet supply device that supplies multiple flanged cases to the cage-type truck is a structure using a chain as described above, and has a configuration in which multiple pushers are connected in series on the truck track. As the track became longer and a larger space was required, issues remained in terms of workability as well.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, allows a large number of box-shaped containers such as brimmed cases to be stacked on a basket-shaped trolley, etc. in a short time, accurately, and has a simple structure and easy-to-use case stacking system. The purpose is to provide an attached device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The object of the present invention is to provide an alignment device for arranging a plurality of bristle cases one by one, and a gripping device for simultaneously gripping one tier of bristle cases arranged on the alignment device. , a case loading device comprising an elevating device for raising and lowering the gripping device to a required height, and a positioning device for installing a cage-shaped trolley with only one side open at a spitting case loading position, the gripping device having at least one pair. The side holding arms are positioned below the flange of the brimmed case for one stage, and move approximately horizontally from the side of the case toward the center, so that the side holding arm is positioned below the flange. The positioning device is configured to engage and grip one stage of the flanged case at the same time, and the positioning device is equipped with a truck pusher that reciprocates on a track slightly longer than the truck, and the truck pusher is configured to grip the preceding one which has already been positioned. It has two forward and backward pressing parts that can be simultaneously engaged with the rear hook of the truck and the front hook of the truck following the truck, and is configured to simultaneously send out the leading truck and position the following truck. This is achieved by a case stowage device characterized by the following.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention illustrated in the drawings will be described in detail.

[Example] Fig. 1 shows four spit cases 30 mounted on a cage-shaped pallet 6, that is, one side is open and three sides are closed.
This figure shows an embodiment of a case stacking device (hereinafter simply referred to as "stacking device") that performs stacking in five stages.

This loading device includes a gate-shaped frame 26 having a plurality of supports, and a collar case 3 on one side of the gate-shaped frame 26.
A conveyor 25 for transportation of 0 is provided, and a pallet supply device 7, which is a positioning device for setting the cage car type pallet 6 at a case loading position, is installed adjacent to the other side.

On the conveyor 25, spitting cases 3 are continuously conveyed.
In order to avoid crushing the objects stacked one above the other, particularly those stored in the flanged case 30, a reversing device 2 is provided which can optionally change its direction by 180 degrees.
This reversing device 2 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.
It has a structure that allows it to be lifted from the collar case 30 and reversed in direction, and instructions for reversal can be given as appropriate by, for example, a detection device that reads a barcode display (not shown) provided on the side surface of the collar case 30. .

On the other hand, the pallet supply device 7 includes a pallet pusher 1 for carrying the cage-car type pallets 6 to the stowage position.
8 (bogie pusher), front stopper 23a for further positioning, rear stopper 23b, front positioning arm 31a, rear positioning arm 31b
etc. are provided.

Inside the gate-shaped frame 26, there is provided an alignment device 3, particularly shown in detail in FIG. A gripping device 5 capable of simultaneously gripping and loading a plurality of flanged cases 30 and a lifting device 4 for raising and lowering the gripping device 5 by means of rails provided on two supports of the gate-shaped frame 26 are provided. There is.

The overall structure of the stowage device has been described above, and next, each device constituting the stowage device will be described.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the reversing device 2
Specifically, there is a rotary plate 2a and a reversing frame 2b on which the spitting case 30 is placed and rotates, a rotary cylinder 2c that rotates the rotary plate 2a and the reversing frame 2b, an air cylinder 2d that performs vertical movement, and a conveyor. It consists of a motor M1, a drive mechanism, etc.

Next, the structure of the alignment device 3 will be explained.
As shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, stoppers 12a and 12b for stopping the spitting case 30 conveyed on the conveyor 11, and the two spitting cases 3
A pusher 10 that pushes out the 0 all at once toward the pallet supply device 7, a stopper 12c that restricts the movement of the flanging case 30 by the pusher 10, and a cylinder 10a that drives the pusher 10 in reciprocating motion in the left-right direction as shown in FIG. 3b. It consists of

Note that the cylinder 10a is fixed at a predetermined position on the pedestal.

The lifting device 4 includes a gate-shaped frame 26 having a square frame shape as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and a frame 4A for holding a gripping device 5 described below and lifting it to a desired height. The frame 4A is driven by, for example, a motor M2, as shown in FIG. It is becoming more and more guided by.

The gripping device 5 includes three holding arms 27a, 27b, 27 that protrude in the direction of the pallet feeding device 7.
c. A support fork 27A is held on the lifting device 4 via the frame 4A, and the supporting fork 27A is configured so that the holding arm 27 is horizontally moved out and away from the lifting device 4 along the frame 4A by a motor (not shown). (indicated by phantom lines in Figure 4). In addition, holding arms 27a, 27b, 27
Among c, the center holding arm 27b is fixed, but the pair of side holding arms 27a, 27c,
It is configured to move horizontally by air cylinders 15a, 15b to narrow or widen the distance between both side holding arms 27a, 27c.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pallet supply device 7 is equipped with a pair of trackways 7a for guiding the wheels of the cage-car type pallet 6, and between the trackways 7a, there is a track for guiding the wheels of the cage-car type pallet 6. The rear pusher pin 18b is a first pushing part that is hooked to move the pallet to the loading position, and the front pusher pin 18a is a second pusher that is hooked to the lower part of the preceding cage car type pallet 6 and transported to the discharge position. a pallet pusher 18, a rear pusher pin 18b,
A front stopper 23a and a rear stopper 23 that lock the cage car type pallet 6 so that it does not pop out by itself.
(b) Furthermore, it consists of a front positioning arm 31a, a rear positioning arm 31b, etc. for accurately positioning the cage car type pallet 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, the pallet pusher 18 has a front pusher pin 18a at its front end and a rear pusher pin 18b at its rear end, and is configured to be moved by a rodless cylinder 20.
The rear pusher pin 18b has the function of engaging the front hook 21a protruding from the bottom of the pallet and moving the cage car type pallet 6 to the set position.On the other hand, the front pusher pin 18a has already been set at the front end. It functions to send out the car-shaped pallet 6 from the set position. Both the pusher pins 18a and 18b are rotatably connected members consisting of an upright part A and a weight part B, and when the pallet pusher 18 returns to the standby position (left end in the figure), Even if the upright portion A comes into contact with it, it rotates so as not to hinder the return operation, and immediately returns to a state where the cage car type pallet 6 can be pressed.

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

The spitting cases 30 are continuously conveyed on the conveyor 25. A bar code is displayed on one side of the case 30 to indicate the orientation of the case 30 when loaded.

When there is another flange case on the passage path of the flange case 30, the first stopper 51 provided in front of the reversing device 2 is moved upward as shown by the arrow in FIG. case 30
The flange case 30 is protruded so as to be latched to the flange case 30, and the flange case 30 is appropriately stopped. In this way, each of the bristle cases 30 is moved forward at a constant interval, and the bristle cases 30 are sequentially placed on the reversing device 2.

The reversing device 2 performs reversing and non-reversing based on the bar code display. When reversing, the second stopper 52 is raised to wait for the spitting case 30 to arrive. In the case of non-reversal, the second stopper 52 does not rise and allows the flanged case 30 to pass through as it is.

To explain the reversal of the flanging case 30, after the flanging case 30 hits the second stopper 52 and stops, the rotary plate 2a is moved to the air cylinder 2.
The rotary plate 2a on which the flanged case 30 is placed is raised by the rotary cylinder 2c.
Rotate 180 degrees. Thereafter, when the rotary plate is lowered and the second stopper 52 is lowered, the flanging case 30 moves forward in the direction of the alignment device 3.
Note that the first flanging case 30 (the left flanging case in FIG. 3a) does not need to be reversed, so it moves forward on the conveyor 25 and stops when it hits the stopper 12a of the alignment device 3. Then, the stopper 12b rises, and the second flange case 30, whose direction is reversed by the reversing device 2 as necessary, hits the stopper 12b and stops.
That is, at this point, the two flange cases 30 are aligned in the alignment device 3 that is continuous with the conveyor 25 and are positioned by the stoppers 12a and 12b.

What should be noted here is that the interval between the first and second brim cases 30 is set to L. That is, during stacking, which will be described later, the center holding arm 27b is inserted into this interval (between L),
Then, since the side holding arms 27a and 27c move toward the center, the interval L is set to a degree that allows the center holding arm 27b to be inserted.

Next, the pusher 10 is driven by the air cylinder 10a, and the two flanged cases 30 are simultaneously pushed toward the pallet supply device 7 until they hit the stopper 12c. If we look at this effect with respect to Figure 3b, we get
The flanged cases 30 that were aligned on the rollers 11 in the alignment device 3 are pushed from the left side to the right side by the pusher 10, and the area on the rollers 11 in the alignment device 3 becomes empty again.

Subsequently, the third spitting case 30 is
Stopper 12 in the same way as the th spit case 30
The fourth spitting case 30 is stopped by a.
is stopped by the stopper 12b in the same way as the second flange case 30 described above. Next, the third and fourth flange cases 30 are pushed out by the pusher 10, and when the pusher 10 hits the first and second flange cases 30, the pusher 10 is returned to its original position. Therefore, four bristle cases are aligned on the alignment device 3 together with the first and second bristle cases 30 that were pushed out earlier.

Here, the lifting device 4 and the gripping device 5, which were waiting above, are lowered.

The pair of side holding arms 27a and 27c explained with reference to FIG. 4 are maintained at a constant distance from the side surface of the lower part of the flange portion 30a of the flange case 30. After the upper part of the holding arm 27 has descended to below the brim portion 30a of the brim case 30, the lifting device 4 is stopped, and then the side holding arms 27a, 27c are moved until they come into contact with the side surface of the brim case 30. .

After this contact is made, the center holding arm 27
In the direction in which the two spitting cases 30 approach b,
Move the side holding arms 27a, 27c. Then, it stops with a slight gap between the center holding arm 27b and the brim case 30. In this state, when the elevating device 4 and the gripping device 5 are raised as shown by the imaginary lines in FIG. supported at the top of the

On the other hand, in the pallet supply device 7, the rear stopper 23b is raised before the preceding cage car type pallet 6 is positioned within the pallet supply device 7. Then, the next cage car type pallet 6 is manually moved to the pallet supply device 7, in other words, the subsequent cage car type pallet 6 is moved to a standby state so as to be placed on the trackway 7a.

In this case, the pallet pusher 18 has already moved to the vicinity of the entrance of the pallet supply device 7, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. When the following cage car type pallet 6 arrives at the entrance of the pallet supply device 7, the pallet front hook 21a provided at the bottom of the front surface of the cage car type pallet 6 (located in a position that is longitudinally symmetrical to the pallet rear hook 21b) The rear pusher pin 18b of the pusher 18 is urged in the direction of movement and is brought down to be located in front of the rear pusher pin 18b. At this time, the rear pusher pin 18b once collapses and returns to its original state as described above, so that it can engage with the pallet front hook 21a.

In addition, in this case, the following cage car pallet 6
The forward movement of the pallet is restricted by the rear stopper 23b, and the pallet front hook 21a is on standby in a state where the rear pusher pin 18b pushes the pallet front hook 21a from the rear position.

Next, when the predetermined loading of the flanged case 30 onto the preceding cage car type pallet 6 is completed, the rear stopper 23b and the front stopper 23a are simultaneously lowered to position the front part of the preceding cage car type pallet 6. Arms 31a and 31b
will be released.

Subsequently, as the pallet pusher 18 moves, the rear pusher pin 18b pushes out the pallet front hook 21a of the following cage car type pallet 6, so that the cage car type pallet 6 moves on the pair of tracks 7a from the entrance to the vicinity of the exit. death,
The front bottom of the cage car type pallet is the front stopper 23a.
It will stop when it comes into contact with.

Note that the front pusher pin 18a of the pallet pusher 18 pushes out the pallet rear hook 21b, and the preceding (first) cage car type pallet 6 is delivered out of the pallet supply device 7.

In this case, immediately after the rear bottom of the pallet of the following pallet passes the rear stopper 23b, the front stopper 23a and the rear stopper 23b simultaneously rise, and the front positioning arm 31a is activated to move the pallet that has been introduced. Waiting for the arrival of the car-shaped pallet 6. When the cage car type pallet 6 arrives, the rear positioning arm 31b rotates from the rear of the cage car type pallet 6 to accurately fix the cage car type pallet 6.

The above-mentioned rotation of the rear positioning arm 31b takes into consideration the case where the cage car type pallet 6 does not arrive at the predetermined position.

At this point, the pallet pusher 18 is returned to its original position near the entrance to the pallet feeder 7.

Next, the holding arm 27 of the gripping device 5 that has gripped the four flanged cases 30 is moved to the pallet feeding device 7.
It moves horizontally in the direction of the cage-car type pallet 6 which is waiting at the terminal. When the holding arm 27 moves to a predetermined position, the holding arm 27 is lowered and the four spit cases 3 are placed on the bottom shelf of the basket car type pallet 6.
Make it drop 0.

Then, open the side holding arms 27a, 27c slightly, pull them toward the alignment device 3, return the holding arms 27 to the original position of the lifting device 4, and open the side holding arms 27a, 27c to the initial opened position. Do it like this. In this state,
The gripping device 5 is raised to a suitable position for gripping the spitting case 30 to be loaded on the second stage,
Waiting for the arrival of the second tier spitting case 30.
By repeating the above operation, it is possible to stack five cases with four flanges 30 in one layer.

On the other hand, in the pallet supply device 7, before the loading of the first cage-car type pallet 6 as described above is completed, the second cage-car-type pallet 6 is previously set as obtained. And 1
After the loading of the cage car type pallet 6 is completed, the front stopper 23a and the rear stopper 23b
while lowering the front positioning arm 31.
By repeating the above operations such as opening the rear positioning arm 31b and the rear positioning arm 31b, rapid and continuous loading can be performed.

As described above, it is possible to quickly and automatically load a large number of spit cases 30 without using much human labor, thereby improving the efficiency of the loading operation.

[Effects of the Invention] The case stacking device of the present invention includes a pair of side holding arms that move a plurality of flanged cases aligned in a desired direction toward the center holding arm and return them to their original positions. A plurality of spitting cases can be stacked using a gripping device, an elevating device that drives the grasping device up and down, and a pallet feeding device that supplies and positions a cage-car type pallet with one end open for stacking the spitting cases. The materials are stacked in layers on cage-car-shaped pallets.

Therefore, according to the case stacking device of the present invention, it is possible to grasp a plurality of flanged cases simply by horizontally moving the rod-shaped side holding arm of the grasping device, so the structure of the grasping device is extremely simple and easy to maintain. Not only does this improve the grip of the bristle case, but since each holding arm is simply a rod-shaped structure, each holding arm can be made smaller than before (particularly narrow configurations), allowing it to be used in tight spaces. It becomes possible to stow the cargo.

Further, according to the present invention, the pallet supply device that sets the cage car type pallet on which the spitting cases are loaded at a predetermined position has a structure having a trackway that is only slightly longer than the length of the cage car type pallet. As a result, the space of the device can be saved.Moreover, one pallet pusher operated by a rodless cylinder is equipped with two pusher pins (pressing parts), and the preceding cage car type pallet (one that has already been set) can be Because it is possible to simultaneously send out the cage car and introduce the succeeding cage car pallet (which will be set) at the same time, it is possible to operate accurately and efficiently, with lower drive noise and higher speeds than conventional chain drives. It is easy to implement and can improve work efficiency.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the case stacking device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view showing the structure of a reversing device used in the device shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the schematic structure of the gripping device and lifting device according to the present invention; FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the alignment device used in the device shown in FIG.
The figure is a schematic side view showing the gripping operation and lifting operation in the apparatus of the present invention, and FIGS. 6a and 6b are a plan view and a side view showing the structure of the pallet feeding apparatus. (Symbols in the figure), 2... Reversing device, 3... Aligning device, 4... Elevating device, 5... Gripping device, 6... Basket car type pallet, 7... Pallet feeding device, 7a
...Trackway, 11...Rollers, 12a, 12b,
12c... stopper of alignment device, 15a, 15b
...Air cylinder, 18...Pallet pusher,
18a, 18b... pusher pin, 21a, 21
b...Front and rear hooks, 23a, 23b...
Stopper of pallet supply device, 26... Gate-shaped frame, 27... Holding arm, 27a, 27c...
Side holding arm, 27b...Center holding arm, 30...Brim case.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An alignment device that arranges a plurality of cases with flanges one by one, a gripping device that simultaneously grips one layer of cases with flanges arranged on the alignment device, a lifting device that raises and lowers the gripping device to a required height, and one of the devices. In a case loading device equipped with a positioning device for setting a cage-shaped cart with only the side surfaces open at a collared case loading position, the gripping device includes at least one pair of aligned side holding arms.
It is located below the flange part of the brimmed case for each stage, moves approximately horizontally from the side of the case toward the center, and engages with the lower side of the flange part, so that it can grip the brimmed case for one stage at the same time. The positioning device is equipped with a bogie pusher that reciprocates on a track slightly longer than the bogie, and the bogie pusher connects the rear hook of the preceding bogie, which has already been positioned, and the front part of the following bogie of the said bogie. A case loading device comprising two forward and backward pressing parts that can be engaged with a hook at the same time, and configured to simultaneously send out a preceding truck and position a subsequent truck.