JPH06321316A - Carrying system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify a whole system by providing a carrying dolly with a function for automatically transferring loads between the carrying dolly and the racks of a warehouse in a carrying system having a carrying rail, the carrying dolly traveling along the rail, and the warehouse wherein article keeping racks are arranged. CONSTITUTION:A carrying rail 2 is formed so as to pass the arranged portion of the article keeping racks 5 of a warehouse 1, and also a handling mechanism 12 transferring articles between a carrying dolly 3 and shelves of the racks 5 in a condition where the carrying dolly 3 is at a position corresponding to the rack 5 and an elevating mechanism 13 elevating the handling mechanism 12 are provided on the carrying dolly 3 traveling along the rail 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transportation system having a transportation rail, a transportation vehicle traveling along the rail, and a warehouse in which a rack for storing articles is arranged.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a factory or the like, for example, a structure shown in FIG. 27 has been used as a transfer system for transferring an article between a warehouse and a station for various works by using a carrier truck that conveys along a rail. Are known. That is, in this figure, a rail 12 for transportation such as a monorail
2 is formed over a portion facing the warehouse 121 and a portion corresponding to stations for various works (not shown),
A self-propelled carrier truck 123 travels along the carrier rail 122. Further, the warehouse 121 has a rack 125 for storing articles, which has a plurality of upper and lower shelves.
And an automatic loading / unloading device 130 such as a stacker crane. And the warehouse 121
The above-mentioned carrier 1
The automatic loading / unloading device 130 performs the operation of taking out the luggage from the rack of the rack 125 and loading it onto the transport carriage 123 in the warehouse 121, and the operation of unloading the luggage from the transport carriage 123 and placing it on the shelf in the warehouse 121. It is like this.

[0003]

In the conventional apparatus as described above, the rail 122 and the transport carriage 123 for transporting luggage, the rack 125 of the warehouse 121, and the transport carriage 12 are provided.
3 is provided separately from the automatic loading / unloading device 130 for automatically transferring the luggage to and from 3, so that there is a problem that the entire system becomes complicated and large, and the equipment cost becomes high. It was

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention simplifies the entire system and reduces the cost by providing the carrier truck with a function of automatically transferring luggage to and from the warehouse rack. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transportation system that can achieve space saving.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a transport system of the present invention according to claim 1 is a transport rail, and a transport carriage traveling along the rail.
And a warehouse in which a rack for storing articles having a plurality of upper and lower shelves is disposed, the transportation rail is formed so as to pass through a rack disposition portion of the warehouse, and the transportation vehicle is provided with the transportation vehicle. A handling mechanism that enables transfer of articles to and from the rack of the rack in a position corresponding to the rack and an elevating mechanism that raises and lowers the handling mechanism are provided.

Further, in the carrying system according to the second aspect of the present invention, the handling mechanism has a positioning mechanism for positioning the handling mechanism with respect to the shelf at the time of transferring the article.

Further, the transport system according to claim 3 is
The positioning mechanism is arranged at four corners of the frame of the handling mechanism, and has a leg member that is displaceable between a laterally projecting state and a non-projecting state, and an actuating means that actuates the leg member. is there.

[0008]

According to the transfer system of the first aspect of the present invention, at the time of loading and unloading work in which luggage is transferred between the rack of the warehouse and the transfer carriage, the carriage is stopped at a portion where the rail passes through the rack installation location of the warehouse. In this state, the lifting mechanism and the handling mechanism are operated to automatically carry out the work of moving the load from the desired rack of the rack to the transport trolley or the work of moving the load from the trolley to the desired rack of the rack. Be seen.

According to the transfer system of claim 2,
The positioning mechanism positions the handling mechanism and the shelves during the operation of transferring the luggage from the shelves to the carrier or the operation of transferring the luggage from the shelves to the shelves.

In particular, when the positioning mechanism is configured as in the transport system according to the third aspect, the handling mechanism is positioned between the two racks with a constant space or between the rack and the fence. When the leg members are in the non-protruding state when the legs are lifted and the loads are transferred, the lifting and lowering of the handling mechanism is permitted, and when the leg members are in the protruding state, they are engaged with the racks on both sides. Can be stopped.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 schematically shows the entire system. In this figure, 1 is a warehouse, 2 is a transportation rail, and 3 is a transportation carriage that runs along this rail. Racks 5 for storing articles are arranged in the warehouse 1, for example, the racks 5 are arranged in two rows at predetermined intervals. In addition, the rail 2
Are formed so as to pass through the rack-arranged portion of the warehouse 1, and are formed so as to pass between the two rows of racks 5 according to the example of FIG. Further, although omitted in FIG. 1, work stations are arranged on a side of the rail 2 at a plurality of positions, and the rails are formed so that the carriage can be circulated between these work stations and the warehouse.

2 to 5 show specific structures of the warehouse 1, the rail 2 and the carriage 3 described above. In these figures, the rack 5 in the warehouse 1 is provided with a rack frame 6 having pillars 7 on all sides and a plurality of upper and lower (for example, 5) shelves 8 provided in the rack frame 6, and each rack 8 A bucket B accommodating articles is placed on the.
Then, a plurality of (for example, three) adjacent racks 5 are connected to each other to form a rack row, and the rack rows are arranged in two rows facing each other at a predetermined interval.

Each of the columns 7 of the rack frame 6 also serves as a vertical guide for the handling mechanism 12 of the carrier 3 described later. Each of the shelves 8 has a pair of bucket support plates 8 on both sides in the rack row direction.
a and 8b are provided, and a space is provided between the two bucket support plates 8a and 8b to allow introduction of a slide table 21 described later in the carriage 3.

The rail 2 is composed of, for example, a monorail, and is hung from the ceiling of a factory assembly line via a support arm 9. In the portion passing through the rack installation location of the warehouse 1, both the racks are mounted. A rail 2 extends above the space between the rows in parallel with the rack row direction. The carrier 3 is held on the rail 2 in a suspended state. Further, the rail 2 is provided with a trolley wire (not shown) for supplying a current to the carrier 3 and transmitting a work command signal.

The transport carriage 3 includes a carriage main body 11, a handling mechanism 12, an elevating mechanism 13 for raising and lowering the handling mechanism 12, and the like.

The trolley body 11 has drive wheels 14 which are driven by a motor (not shown) via a clutch or the like to roll on the rails 2, and the rolling of the drive wheels 14 allows the vehicle to travel. Has become. Below this trolley body 11,
The handling mechanism 12 is attached via the lifting mechanism 13. The lifting mechanism 13 includes a pair of winding drums 16 and belts 1 drawn from the drums 16.
7, the tip of the belt 17 is connected to the handling frame 15 of the handling mechanism 12, and the winding drum 16 is driven by a motor provided in the carriage main body 11 via a transmission mechanism and a clutch. Has become. The lifting mechanism 13 enables the handling mechanism 12 to be lifted and lowered within a range extending from the upper end position higher than the upper end of the rack 5 of the warehouse 1 to the lower end position corresponding to the lowermost stage of the rack 5.

The specific structures of the drive mechanism and the elevating mechanism for causing the carriage main body 11 to travel are not limited to the present invention, and well-known structures can be adopted. Although illustration and description are omitted, for example, the one disclosed in JP-A-2-200561 may be adopted.

The handling mechanism 12 has a handling frame 15, and the handling frame 15
Further, a transfer mechanism 20 described later is provided. The handling frame 15 is formed in a predetermined frame shape with a pipe or the like,
At each of the four corners, the upper and lower corners, idle rollers 18 are provided that roll along the side surfaces of the columns 7 of the rack frame 6 when the warehouse 1 moves up and down between the rows of racks.

The transfer mechanism 20 is capable of moving on both sides in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the carrier (rail direction), a motor 22 as a drive source for the slide table 21, and a motor 22 of this motor 22. An operating mechanism for sliding the slide table 21 in response to driving. Further, a roller 23 is rotatably provided outside the slide table 21. This roller 23
Moves integrally with the slide table 21, and the slide table 21 moves the pair of bucket support plates 8 of the rack 5.
bucket support plates 8a, 8 when plunging between a, 8b
The arrangement is set so that when the user rides on the wheel b, and the slide table 21 reaches the end of its stroke, it rides over the bucket support plates 8a, 8b. On the other hand, the bucket support plates 8a and 8b are provided with rollers 23 on both ends thereof.
Inclined surfaces 24 and 25 are formed to facilitate riding on the vehicle.

6 to 8 show an example of a specific structure of the transfer mechanism 20. In the description of these drawings, for convenience, the moving direction of the carriage is the front-rear direction, and the direction orthogonal thereto is the left-right direction. In these figures, the transfer mechanism 20 has a pair of front and rear fixed guides 26 extending in the left-right direction in parallel with each other, and is attached to the handling frame 15. The slide table 21 is mounted between the fixed guides 26 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction via a movable guide 27 and a guided member 28. In addition, the main body includes a left and right driving point rail 3
1 and a fulcrum rail 32 in the front-rear direction are provided in a T-shaped arrangement, while an operating point rail 33 extending in the front-rear direction is provided on the lower surface of the slide table 21.

A link 34 is provided below the slide table 21. The link 34 has a fulcrum pin 35 at one end and a driving point pin 36 at a position close to the fulcrum pin 35.
Has an operating point pin 37 on the other end side, and each pin 3
5, 36 and 37 are the fulcrum rail 32 and the drive point rail 3
1 and the operating point rail 33 are movably engaged in the respective rail directions. Further, the driving point pin 3
6 is connected to the linear head 38, and the linear head 3
The motor 8 is driven by a motor 22 via a pinion and a rack 39, and linearly moves in the left-right direction.

The rails 31, 32, 33 and the link 34
And the linear head 38, the slide table 21
An operating mechanism is configured to slide the. And
When the linear head 38 is driven by the motor 22, the driving point pin 36 moves on the driving point rail 31, and accordingly, the fulcrum pin 35 moves on the fulcrum rail 32, and the link 34 rotates. As the link 34 rotates, the operating point pin 37 moves on the operating point rail 32, so that the slide table 21 slides left and right. In this way, the slide table 21 is moved to the protruding state as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 9 and as shown in FIG. 6 on either side, centering on the state of being set in the slide mechanism as shown by the solid line in FIG. I'm supposed to get it.

The operation of the system of this embodiment as described above will be described below.

When loading and unloading luggage with the rack 5 of the warehouse 1 by means of the carrier truck 3, the carrier truck 3 driven in response to a command signal or the like moves along the carrier rails 2 of the warehouse 1. It travels up to between the rack rows and stops at a position corresponding to the rack 5 to be worked. Next, the lifting mechanism 13 is driven to lower the handling mechanism 12 from the rising end position. In this case, the two columns 7 of the rack row located on both sides of the handling mechanism 12 serve as guides, and the idle rollers 18 provided on the handling frame 15 roll along the side faces of these columns 7. Thereby, the vertical movement of the handling mechanism 12 is smoothly performed.

Then, the handling mechanism 12 is lowered until it reaches the height corresponding to the shelf 8 to be worked, and then the transfer mechanism 20 is driven to drive the bucket B.
Is carried out from the transport carriage 3 to the rack 8 or the leaving operation is carried out to move the bucket B from the rack 8 to the transport carriage 3. That is, when the slide table 21 is slid in the direction in which it projects from the handling mechanism 12, the bucket support plates 8a and 8b of the shelf 8 are reached,
Here, after the bucket B is delivered, the slide table 21 is drawn into the handling mechanism 12.

In this case, in particular, according to the transfer mechanism 20 having the structure shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the stroke when the slide table 21 projects from the handling mechanism 12 is larger than the width of the handling mechanism 12. In addition, the slide table 21 and the operating mechanism are accommodated in the handling mechanism 12 when the slide table 21 is pulled into the handling mechanism 12, and the slide table 21 slides from the handling mechanism 12 to the left or right side. Can be made. Therefore, it is convenient for loading and unloading work with the handling mechanism 12 of the carrier 3 positioned between the rack rows of the warehouse 1 as described above, and loading and unloading the racks 5 on either side. You can do the work.

Further, when the roller 23 is provided on the outer side of the slide table 21, the operation of the transfer mechanism 20 is smoothly performed. That is, when the bucket B is to be transferred from the carrier 3 to the rack 8 of the rack 5, the slide table 21 on which the bucket B is placed is slid toward the rack 8 at a height corresponding to the rack 8. When moving, the roller 23 first moves the bucket support plate 8a,
Riding on 8b from the inclined surface 24 on the starting end side. This allows the slide table 21 to move the bucket support plates 8a, 8
Since it is supported by B and the handling mechanism 12 and is not in a cantilever state, the slide table 21 can be moved stably. When the slide table 21 moves to the maximum stroke, the roller 23 passes over the bucket support plates 8a, 8b via the inclined surface 25 on the terminal side of the bucket support plates 8a, 8b, and the bucket 8 supports the bucket from the slide table 21. Transfer to the plates 8a and 8b. Then, after the handling mechanism 12 is slightly lowered, the slide table 21 is pulled toward the handling mechanism 12 side while the rollers 18 pass below the bucket support plates 8a and 8b.

If the bucket B is to be transferred from the shelf 8 of the rack 5 to the transport carriage 3, contrary to the case of transferring it to the shelf 8 of the rack 5, first, the roller 18 is moved to the bucket support plate 8 by the roller 18.
The slide table 21 is slid in the protruding direction to the maximum stroke while passing the lower sides of the a and 8b, and then the handling mechanism 12 is slightly raised,
When the slide table 21 is slid in the retracting direction, the rollers 23 move the bucket supporting plates 8a, 8b.
Riding on the inclined surface 25 on the terminal side of the slide table 21 from the bucket support plates 8a and 8b.
It moves up and moves to the handling mechanism 12 side.

In the warehouse 1, after the bucket B has been transferred to the carrier truck 3, the handling mechanism 12 is lifted above the rack 5 and then the carrier truck 3 travels to move the bucket B.
Move to the station where the items stored in are used. Then, at this station, the bucket B is unloaded from the transport carriage 3. Further, used buckets B are loaded from the station onto the carrier truck 3 and transported to the warehouse 1.

The work of unloading and loading at this station can be automatically performed by providing a bucket mounting base 41 with a guide frame as shown in FIG. . That is, the gantry 41 shown in these figures is provided with upper and lower two-stage shelves 42 and 43 for receiving buckets and for delivering buckets, and each of the shelves 42 and 43 is the shelf 8 of the rack 5 in the warehouse 1 respectively. Similarly to the above, it has a pair of bucket support plates. Further, on the outer side of the gantry 41, a guide frame 44 having four columns that serve as guides for the handling mechanism 12 of the transport carriage 3 is integrally provided.

When the carriage 3 loaded with the bucket B reaches the position corresponding to the station 40, the handling mechanism 12 descends, and first, the upper shelf 42 of the gantry 41.
When the bucket B on the slide table 21 is moved to the shelf by the operation of the transfer mechanism 20, the bucket B on the slide table 21 is moved to the height corresponding to the above. Next, the handling mechanism 12 descends to a height corresponding to the lower shelf 43 of the gantry 41, and the same operation as in the case of transferring the bucket B from the shelf 8 of the rack 5 of the warehouse 1 to the transport carriage 3 is performed on the shelf 43. The used bucket B that has been placed is transferred to the slide table 21.

In the above transfer system, two rows of racks are arranged in the warehouse 1 so that the rails 2 can pass between them. However, three or more rows of racks are provided, and the racks are arranged in a meandering shape. Rails may pass through. Alternatively,
The racks may be arranged in one row, and the rail may pass along one side of the racks along the row of racks.

11 to 16 show another embodiment of the handling mechanism applied to the transport system of the present invention.

This handling mechanism 12a basically has a structure in which a frame-shaped handling frame is provided with a transfer mechanism for loading and unloading cargo, and the lifting mechanism 13 is similar to the above-mentioned handling mechanism 12. Belt 17 that is led out
It is supported by the hanging type. It should be noted that in the following description, the conveyance direction of the carriage is the front-rear direction, and the direction orthogonal thereto is the left-right direction.

As shown in these figures, a pair of front and rear mounting members 51 are mounted on the upper portion of the handling frame 50 of the handling mechanism 12a, and the belt 17 drawn out from the elevating mechanism 13 is fixed to the upper surfaces of these members. The transfer mechanism 52 is attached to the lower surface. Further, a pair of front and rear luggage supporting portions 66 for supporting the bucket B are fixedly provided on the lower portion of the handling frame 50, and the handling mechanism 1 is used during the loading / unloading operation.
Positioning mechanism 80 for positioning 2a with respect to the shelf
Is provided.

The transfer mechanism 52 is the handling mechanism 1
Slide member 5 movable from 2a toward both left and right sides
3, a motor 54 as a drive source for the motor 3, and a moving mechanism that slides the slide member 53 according to the driving of the motor.

Guide members 55 are attached to the front and rear ends of the slide member 53. The guide member 55 supports the slide member 53 on the handling frame 50 and allows the slide member 53 to project to the left and right sides of the handling mechanism 12a. It has become. More specifically, the guide member 55, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12,
A fixed guide 55a fixed to the mounting member 51 and a movable guide 55b slidable in the left-right direction with respect to the fixed guide 55a.
And a guided member 55c that is further slidable in the left-right direction with respect to the movable guide 55b. The guided member 55c is fixed to the outer surface of the slide member 53. Then, the movable guide 55 with respect to the fixed guide 55a.
By sliding b and the guided member 55c, the guide member 55 extends in two stages, and the slide member 5
3 is projected to the left and right sides of the handling mechanism 12a.

The mechanism for operating the guide member 55 has, for example, the following structure.

That is, in the guide member 55 on one side (the guide member 55 on the right side in FIGS. 11 and 12), a pair of brackets 58a, 58b protruding outward are provided near both ends of the movable guide 55b. A pulley 59 pivotally supported by the mounting member 51 is arranged above the bracket 58a on one side. Bracket 58
The starting end of the timing belt 61 is fixed to a, and this timing belt 61 is used for the bracket 5 on the other side.
It is fixed by a bracket 58b via a drive pulley 60 and the pulley 59 provided on the output shaft of the motor 54 located near 8b. As a result, when the motor 54 is driven, the movable guide 55b operates, that is, moves in the left-right direction.

Further, in each of the guide members 55,
Pulleys 62 and 63 are axially supported on both left and right ends of the movable guide 55b, and both ends of a wire 64 hung on the one end side pulley 62 (left side in FIG. 13) are located near both ends of the mounting member 51 and the slide member 53. The wire 65 that is connected and hung on the other end side pulley 63 (right side in FIG. 13)
Both ends of are attached to the vicinity of both ends of the attachment member 51 and the slide member 53. That is, these pulleys 6
As shown in FIG. 16, when the movable guide 55b slides with respect to the fixed guide 55a by the wires 2, 63 and the wires 64, 65, the guided member 55c slides in conjunction with it. As a result, the guides 55a, 5 of the guide member 55 are
5b and 55c are overlapped and housed in the handling mechanism 12a (the state shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 16) and the guides 55a, 55b and 55c of the guide member 55 slide toward each other outside the handling mechanism 12a. The guide member 55 is actuated in the projecting state (state shown by the solid line in FIG. 16).

Luggage locking mechanisms 67 and 68 are provided on the left and right ends of the slide member 53, respectively. Each of the luggage locking mechanisms 67 and 68 has a pair of front and rear locking arms 69 and an operating mechanism for operating these locking arms 69.

In the luggage locking mechanism 67, each locking arm 69 is slid through the support shaft 70.
3 is rotatably supported by a shaft. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 14, a disk 71 is attached to the end of each support shaft 70 in the slide member 53.
Are connected by a connecting arm 72, and the respective support shafts 70 are interlocked with each other to rotate in opposite directions. Further, the slide member 53 is provided with a drive solenoid 74, and the drive arm 73 connected to the drive shaft of the drive solenoid 74 is connected to the disc 71 on one side (the disc 71 on the left side in FIG. 14), and A return spring 75 is attached to the connecting portion and the slide member 53. That is, in the ON state of the drive solenoid 74, the drive arm 73 is pulled toward the drive solenoid 74 side and the respective disks 71 and the support shaft 70 rotate in the directions shown by the arrows in FIG. On both the left and right sides of the handling mechanism, the drive solenoid is displaced from the locking position (position shown by the solid line in FIG. 11) facing the front of the bucket B to the retracted position that is closed inside (the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 11). In the off state of 74, the drive arms 73 are brought to the pulled-out position by the urging force of the return springs 75, so that the respective locking arms 69
Are held in the locking position. In addition,
Although the luggage locking mechanism 67 on one side has been described above, the luggage locking mechanism 68 on the other side has the same configuration.

By the way, in the handling mechanism 12a, a controller 77 is provided on the front side (left side in FIG. 11) of the handling frame 50, and is used for transmitting drive signals and supplying electric power to the luggage locking mechanisms 67, 68. This is performed by a signal line and a power supply line derived from the controller 77. In the embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 15, the pulley 62 is attached to the pulley 62 of the slide member 53 in the front guide member 55.
8 are arranged side by side, and both ends of the flat cable 79 hung on the pulley 78 are attached to the attachment member 51 and the slide member 5.
3 are connected near both ends. Then, the signal or the like derived from the controller 77 is transferred via the flat cable 79 to the luggage locking mechanism 6 on the slide member 53.
7 and 68. That is, by adopting such a wiring processing structure, a drive signal or the like is transmitted to the mechanism on the slide member 53 with the minimum necessary length of wiring according to the movement of the slide member 53.

The positioning mechanism 80 includes positioning leg members 81 provided at four corners of the handling mechanism 12a.
And an operating mechanism for operating these leg members 81 in conjunction with each other.

Each leg member 81 is formed in a substantially L shape having a positioning surface 81a as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11, the front and rear leg members 81 are connected by a connecting shaft 82 pivotally supported by the handling frame 50, whereby the leg members 81 integrally rotate with respect to the handling mechanism 12a. It is like this.
At the end portions of the left and right connecting shafts 82 (right end portions in FIG. 11),
As shown in FIG. 13, discs 83 are mounted respectively, and by coupling these discs 83 by the coupling arms 84, the coupling shafts 82 rotate in conjunction with each other in opposite directions, and the coupling arms 84 And a return spring 87 mounted over the handling frame 50 and urged in one direction. Further, the handling frame 50 is provided with a drive solenoid 86, and the drive arm 85 connected to the drive shaft of the drive solenoid 86 is connected to the disc 83 on one side (the disc 83 on the left side in FIG. 13). That is, when the drive solenoid 86 is in the ON state, the drive arm 85 is pulled toward the drive solenoid 86 and the left and right disks 83 and the connecting shaft 82 rotate in the directions shown by the arrows in FIG. 81 from the retracted position (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 13) hanging below the handling mechanism 12a,
It is adapted to be displaced to the operating position (the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 13) protruding to the left and right sides of the handling mechanism 12a. On the other hand, when the drive solenoid 86 is off, all the leg members 81 are held in the retracted position by the urging force of the return spring 87.

Next, the operation of the handling mechanism 12a of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. In these drawings, 90 indicates a rack arranged on the left and right of the handling mechanism 12a, 91 indicates four columns of the rack 90, and 92 indicates a shelf 92 provided on the rack 90. Unlike the shelf 8 described above, it is formed in a plate shape.

First, the operation of transferring the bucket B supported by the handling mechanism 12a to the rack 92 of the rack 90 will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. in this case,
The transport carriage 3 travels along the transport rail 2 to a position above the rack, and stops at a position corresponding to the rack 90 as the work target, and then the handling mechanism 12a is moved to the upper end position according to the drive of the lifting mechanism 13. Is descended from. At this time, the respective locking arms 69 of the luggage locking mechanisms 67 and 68 are in the locking position so that the bucket B is prevented from moving in the left-right direction, and the leg members 8 of the positioning mechanism 80 are also blocked.
1 is in the retracted position (FIG. 17 (a)).

Then, when the handling mechanism 12a approaches the shelf 92 which is the work target, each leg member 81 of the positioning mechanism 80 is displaced to the operating position protruding left and right from the handling mechanism 12a (FIG. 17 (b)). When the handling mechanism 12a further descends, the positioning surface 81a of each leg member 81 engages with the work target shelf 92 and the corresponding shelf 92 of the rack 90 facing the work target shelf 92, so that the handling mechanism 12a is positioned between both racks by the positioning mechanism 80. The bridge is positioned (FIG. 18 (a)).

From this state, the slide member 53 is moved by the operation of the transfer mechanism 52 of the handling mechanism and the work target shelf 92 is moved.
The bucket B in the handling mechanism 12a is pushed toward the rack 92 by being pushed by the locking arm 69 on the slide rear end side of the slide member 53 (FIG. 18).
(B)).

When the slide member 53 slides completely, the locking arm 69 on the slide front end side of the slide member 53 is displaced and held at the retracted position (FIG. 18).
(C)) After that, the guide member 55 is operated in the returning direction, so that the bucket B is left on the shelf 92 and the slide member 53 is housed in the handling mechanism 12a (FIG. 18 (d)). In this way, the transfer of the bucket B to the shelf 92 is completed.

Next, the operation of moving the bucket B from the shelf 92 to the handling mechanism 12a will be described with reference to FIG.

When the bucket B is not supported by the handling mechanism 12a, the handling mechanism 12a is adjusted so as to correspond to the shelf 92 on which the bucket B is placed (the state shown in FIG. 18D above). From the above, the transfer mechanism 52 of the handling mechanism 12a is operated and the slide member 53 is slid toward the work target shelf 92.
At this time, the locking arm 69 on the slide front end side of the slide member 53 is displaced to the retracted position, and the slide member 5
3 can pass above the bucket B (FIG. 19A).

When the slide member 53 slides completely, the locking arm 69 on the slide front end side of the slide member 53 is displaced and held at the locking position (FIG. 19).
(B)) After that, the guide member 55 is operated in the return direction, so that the bucket B is pulled from the shelf 92 into the handling mechanism 12a by the locking arm 69 (FIG. 19C). When the slide member 53 is completely stored in the handling mechanism 12a, the bucket B is placed on the luggage support portion 66 of the handling mechanism 12a, and the transfer of the bucket B to the handling mechanism 12a is completed. (FIG. 19 (d)).

In the handling mechanism 12a of this embodiment, in particular, the positioning mechanism 80 is provided, so that the handling mechanism 12 can be easily positioned with respect to the work target shelf as compared with the previously described handling mechanism 12. It is advantageous in terms. That is, the leg member 81 is engaged with the shelf by operating the positioning mechanism 80 in the vicinity of the work target shelf, and the handling mechanism 12a is bridged between the racks so that the handling mechanism 12a is supported on the shelf. Therefore, the amount of the belt 17 delivered from the elevating mechanism 13 may be a sufficient amount for the handling mechanism 12a to reach the work target shelf, and the amount of the belt 17 delivered from the elevating mechanism 13 can be set with high accuracy. Handling mechanism 12 without adjusting to
The positioning support of a can be performed.

Further, as described above, the handling mechanism 12
In the state where a is positioned, the handling mechanism 12a
Of the positioning mechanism 80 is supported by the leg members 81 of the positioning mechanism 80 when the baggage is loaded and, in particular, the load of the baggage on the handling mechanism 12a is compared with the case where the handling mechanism is supported only by the belt. Another advantage is that the handling mechanism is extremely stable when loading and unloading luggage.

Further, in the above-mentioned handling mechanism 12a, since the handling mechanism itself is not guided by the rack pillars, highly precise positioning for guiding the handling mechanism 12a to the rack pillars is not required, and the positioning mechanism for positioning is not required. There is also an advantage that the traveling control of the transport vehicle 3 can be simplified. In this case, as shown in FIG. 20, a leg member 81 having a tapered positioning surface 81a having a triangular cross-section is provided, and a recess 92a that can be fitted into the leg member 81 is formed on the shelf 92 to provide a handling mechanism. When positioning the 12a, if the positioning surface 81a of the leg member 81 is guided by the recess 92 of the shelf 92, the positioning accuracy of the handling mechanism 12a with respect to the rack in the front-back direction (conveying direction of the carriage) can be performed with high accuracy. You can

The specific construction of the transfer mechanism in the handling mechanism is not limited to the above embodiment,
For example, the arrangement may be different from that of the transfer mechanism shown in FIGS. 11 to 16, and the configuration shown in FIGS. 21 to 23 may be adopted. That is, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a slide member 101 is provided on the upper portion of the handling frame 50a, and the slide member 101 is used as one guide member 10
The handling mechanism 12b having the transfer mechanism 100 slidably supported by 2 may be configured. In this case, since the slide member 101 can be slid by one guide member 101, the handling mechanism 12 described above is used.
The structure can be simplified as compared with a. Further, as shown in FIG. 22, a transfer mechanism 103 including a guide member 104 and a slide member 105 below the luggage support portion 66a.
And a handling mechanism 12c for moving the bucket B by the locking arm 69 while sliding the slide member 105 below the bucket B, and further, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the transfer mechanism 10 having the divided structure in which the guide member 107 and the slide member 108 are arranged at the lateral positions of the bucket B before and after the handling frame 50a.
The handling mechanism 12d provided with 6 may be configured. The handling mechanisms 12c and 12d shown in FIG. 22 and FIG. 23 have an advantage that the buckets stacked in a plurality of stages can be transferred and the buckets with the load protruding can be loaded and unloaded. . In particular, according to the handling mechanism 12d shown in FIG. 23, when loading the luggage on the handling mechanism 12d, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), even when the bucket B placed on the shelf 109 is tilted, the slide member 107 is brought into contact with the front and rear side surfaces of the bucket B by the operation of the transfer mechanism 106. Since the inclination is corrected and drawn into the handling mechanism 12d (FIG. 24 (b)-
(E)) There is an advantage that the load can be transferred appropriately without being influenced by the loading state of the load placed on the shelf 109.

Further, the following transfer mechanism may be configured as a mechanism mechanically different from the transfer mechanism 20 and the transfer mechanism 52 of the above embodiment. For example, in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5A, a carriage 110 is provided in the handling mechanism 12e, a lifter 111 that can be moved up and down by a hydraulic cylinder, an air cylinder or the like is mounted on the carriage 110, and the carriage 110 is handled through a guide member 112. Connected to a drive means (not shown) provided in the mechanism 12e,
The transfer mechanism 115 may be configured such that the carriage 110 travels while sliding to the left and right of the handling mechanism 12e. According to this, when the bucket B is transferred from the shelf 113 on which the bucket B is placed, the cart 110 is moved from the state shown in FIG.
Drive toward 13. At this time, bucket B is
A pair of front and rear luggage support parts 114 provided on the shelf 113
The trolley 110 which is placed on the top and is traveling is interposed between these luggage supporting parts 114 (FIG. 25 (b)). When the dolly 110 is completely moved to the shelf 113, the lifter 111 is activated and the bucket B
Is lifted from the luggage support 114 by the lifter 111 (FIG. 25 (c)). Then, in that state, the trolley 1
As the vehicle 10 travels toward the handling mechanism 12e, the bucket B moves from the shelf 113 to the handling mechanism 12e.
When the carriage 110 is completely transferred and stored in the handling mechanism 12e after being transferred to the inside of the handling mechanism 12e (FIG. 25D), the lifter 111 is lowered to complete the transfer of the bucket B to the handling mechanism 12e. (FIG.19 (e)). When the transfer mechanism 115 having such a configuration is applied, an object that cannot be dragged when loading and unloading the cargo,
For example, there is an advantage that heavy loads can be transferred.

Further, the transfer mechanism 11 as shown in FIG.
6 can also be configured. That is, in the transfer mechanism 116 shown in FIG. 26, a pair of front and rear belt conveyors 117 extending in the left-right direction are provided, and these belt conveyors 117 are supported by the handling mechanism 12f by the fulcrum 118. In these belt conveyors 117, the belt is stretched around a pair of pulleys that rotate around a vertical axis. Further, each belt conveyor 117 is swingable around the fulcrum 118, and further, is movable in the left-right direction by a moving mechanism (not shown) of the handling mechanism 12f. Thereby, for example, when transferring the bucket B from the shelf 119 on which the bucket B is placed, each belt conveyor 117 is swung about the fulcrum 118 from the state shown in FIG. Each belt conveyor 117 is opened toward the work target shelf 119 (FIG. 26B), and each belt conveyor 117 is moved toward the work target shelf 119 (FIG. 26).
(C)). Then, when each belt conveyor 117 is completely moved to the end of the handling mechanism 12f, each belt conveyor 117 is swung again around the fulcrum 118,
The bucket B is held by each belt conveyor 117, each belt conveyor 117 is operated, and the bucket B is drawn between the belt conveyors 117 with the rotational movement of the belt (FIG. 26D). Thereafter, when the bucket B is completely drawn between the belt conveyors 117, the operation is stopped and the belt conveyors 117 are integrally moved to the center of the handling mechanism 12f while holding the bucket B (FIG. 26 (e)). )). Thus, the transfer of the bucket B to the handling mechanism 12f is completed. When the transfer mechanism 116 having such a configuration is applied, the movement amount of the belt conveyor 117 does not have to be small, and thus the movement mechanism of the belt conveyor can be simplified. Further, it is also advantageous in that it is possible to transfer the buckets stacked in a plurality of stages, and it is possible to unload the buckets in which the load overflows and the like.

[0060]

According to the present invention, a transport rail is formed so as to pass through a portion where a rack for storing articles in a warehouse is arranged, and the transport truck runs along the rail. Since a handling mechanism that enables transfer of articles between the rack and the rack in the corresponding position and an elevating mechanism that raises and lowers the handling mechanism are provided, a warehouse and a work station, etc. The transport carriage for transporting luggage between the two also has a function of automatically transferring the cargo between the rack in the warehouse and the transport carriage, and an automatic loading / unloading device such as a stacker crane is unnecessary. Therefore, the entire system can be simplified, and space saving and cost reduction can be achieved.

In this case, if the handling mechanism is provided with a positioning mechanism for positioning the handling mechanism with respect to the shelves when the articles are transferred, the positioning accuracy of the handling mechanism with respect to the rack of the rack can be improved. At the same time, it is possible to improve the stability of the handling mechanism when transferring the article.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an entire system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a portion including a warehouse, rails, and a carriage.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the same portion.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of a main part.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of a main part.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example of a handling mechanism.

7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG.

8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of FIG.

FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory view of the handling mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing an example of a station portion.

11 is a view of a handling mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention as seen from the direction of arrow A in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the handling mechanism as seen from the line XII-XII in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13: XIII-XIII of FIG. 11 of the same handling mechanism
It is the fragmentary sectional view seen from the line.

FIG. 14 is a view taken in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 12, showing an operating mechanism of a luggage locking mechanism in the handling mechanism.

15 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the same handling mechanism as seen from the line XV-XV in FIG.

FIG. 16 is an operation explanatory view of the guide member in the handling mechanism.

17 (a) and 17 (b) are explanatory views showing a positioning operation of the handling mechanism on a work target shelf.

FIGS. 18 (a), (b), (c), and (d) are explanatory views showing an operation when a package is moved onto a shelf by the handling mechanism.

19 (a), (b), (c), and (d) are explanatory views showing an operation when a package is taken in from a shelf by the handling mechanism.

FIG. 20 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of the positioning mechanism in the handling mechanism.

FIG. 21 is a front view showing a handling mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a front view showing a handling mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a front view showing a handling mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 24 (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) are explanatory views showing the operation when the luggage is taken in from the shelf by the handling mechanism shown in FIG.

25 (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) are explanatory views showing an operation when a package is taken in from a shelf by a handling mechanism having another transfer mechanism.

FIGS. 26 (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) are explanatory views showing an operation in the case where a package is taken in from a shelf by a handling mechanism having another transfer mechanism.

FIG. 27 is a schematic view of a conventional transfer system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Warehouse 2 Transport Rail 3 Transport Cart 5 Rack 12 Handling Mechanism 13 Lifting Mechanism

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transport rail, a transport carriage that travels along the rail, and a warehouse in which a rack for storing articles having a plurality of upper and lower shelves is disposed. The transport rail is the warehouse. A handling mechanism that is formed so as to pass through the rack-arranged portion of the rack and that enables transfer of articles to and from the shelves of the rack in a state where the transport carriage is at a position corresponding to the rack. And a lifting mechanism for lifting the handling mechanism. 2. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the handling mechanism is provided with a positioning mechanism for positioning the handling mechanism with respect to a shelf when transferring the article. 3. The positioning mechanism is arranged at four corners of a frame of a handling mechanism, and is capable of being displaced between a laterally projecting state and a non-projecting state, and an actuating means for actuating the leg member. The transport system according to claim 2, further comprising: