JPH07102897B2 - Article handling method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of use] The present invention relates to a method for handling an article, in which an arbitrary number of articles are taken out from an article accumulation group formed by accumulation and the taken out articles are discharged into a container or the like. The present invention relates to an apparatus, and more particularly to an article handling method and apparatus that can be suitably used for picking articles in a distribution center.

[Conventional technology]

As conventional techniques relating to a method of handling an article and an apparatus therefor, there are known those disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 50-128876 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-48550. The conventional technique described in the above publication is described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 50-1288.
No. 76 publication has rows (horizontal direction) and columns (longitudinal direction) of the warehouse end face.
In the automatic parts warehouse of the method in which the parts box is taken out on each end of each row and each column and has a storage window for storing a large number of parts boxes on the sloping floor in the depth direction. An elevator having a horizontal width of one row of the warehouse is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and a swingable suction pad attached to the elevator is reciprocally moved in the warehouse depth direction to be attached to the inclined floor end. It describes an automatic parts warehouse that takes out the parts box to the elevator side without being hampered by the parts box stopper.

Further, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 56-48550, the bricks loaded on the lifter are pushed by a pusher to push the uppermost bricks onto a feed conveyor in response to the lifted bricks one by one. A brick feeding device for feeding to is described.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, the above conventional techniques have the following problems.

That is, in the automatic parts warehouse described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 50-128876, the parts boxes (articles) can be taken out one by one from the end face of the take-out window which is subdivided into rows and columns. Taking out a plurality of articles at the same time, particularly taking out an arbitrary number of articles from an article accumulation group formed by accumulation,
There is no description about discharging the taken out article into a container or the like, and there is no suggestion.

Further, since the brick feeding device described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 56-48550 is designed to take out bricks (articles) at each stage, an arbitrary number of articles cannot be taken out. Further, when there is a step between the articles lined up in the take-out direction, the article may be caught at the step and the article cannot be taken out, or the article may be damaged.
Further, there is no description about discharging the article taken out to the supply conveyor into a container or the like, and there is no suggestion.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to take out an arbitrary number of articles from an article accumulation group formed by accumulation and to discharge the taken out articles to a container or the like, and a device therefor,
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide an article handling method and apparatus that can be suitably used for picking articles in a distribution center.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

According to the present invention, an arbitrary number of the above-mentioned articles are sequentially taken out from an article accumulation group formed by accumulating a plurality of articles in the height direction, a plurality of articles in the depth direction and one or more articles in the width direction, and the retrieved articles. In the method of handling an article for discharging into a container or the like, after aligning the height of the bottom surface of the article to be taken out of the article accumulation group and the height of the article receiving table at substantially the same height, the article is received. Take out to a stand, discharge the taken out items to the container etc.,
The above object is achieved by providing a method for handling an article, characterized in that after all the articles in the front row are taken out, the articles in the next row are moved to the front row, and then the articles are taken out. It was done.

In addition, it is preferable to take out the article by a suction tool corresponding to the arrangement.

In addition, the present invention is an apparatus that can be preferably used when carrying out the above-mentioned article handling method, in which a plurality of articles in the height direction, a plurality of articles in the depth direction, and one or more articles in the width direction are respectively accumulated. In an article handling device that sequentially takes out an arbitrary number of the articles from the formed article accumulation group and discharges the retrieved articles to a container or the like, an elevating device that supports and elevates the article accumulation group, and an article accumulation group A suction device for advancing and retracting the suction tool corresponding to the array of articles in the depth direction to suction and take out an arbitrary number of articles, an article restraint device for moving the article accumulation group to the suction apparatus side, and the suction apparatus The article receiving table for receiving the article taken out by the suction tool and the moving device for moving the article taken out to the article receiving table to the pushing position. The article that has been moved to location there is provided along the handling device of the article, characterized in that the said article receiving platform are no to discharge extruded into the container or the like.

The moving device preferably rotates the article receiving table about 90 degrees about the horizontal axis.

[Action]

According to the method of the present invention using the apparatus of the present invention, the bottom surface level of a desired article in the article stacking group is adjusted to approximately the same height as the article receiving table by the lifting device, and the article restraint device is used to load the article. In the restrained state, the suction tool sucks the desired article and pulls it out onto the article receiving table, and then
The article pulled out onto the article receiving tray can be moved to the pushing-in portion into the container or the like by the moving device, and then pushed into the container or the like by the article receiving tray and discharged.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, first, an article handling facility to which an embodiment of an article handling apparatus (article take-out apparatus) of the present invention, which can suitably carry out the article handling method of the present invention, is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. A description will be given based on FIGS. 6A to 6D. In each of the drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an article handling facility using the article handling apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an article take-out apparatus which is an example of the article handling apparatus of FIG. 3, and FIG. 3 (b) is a main part for explaining an article pull-out operation of the article take-out apparatus shown in FIG. 3 (a). 3C is a side view, FIG. 3C is a perspective view showing the operation of pushing the article into the container using the pushing device of the article take-out apparatus shown in FIG. 3A, and FIG. 4 is FIG. 3A. ,
The flowchart which shows one suitable embodiment of the extraction method of the article using the extraction apparatus of the article shown to (b), (c), FIG. 5, (a), (b), (c), (d), (). e),
(F) and (g) are explanatory views for explaining the order of taking out the articles, and FIGS. 6 (a), (b), and (c) show the taking-out method and order of the articles different from those in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 6 (d) is an explanatory diagram for explaining FIG. 6 (a), (b), (c).
It is a comparison explanatory view with.

The present embodiment is suitable for taking out a box-shaped article such as a detergent for clothes or a bag-shaped article such as a disposable diaper from a case such as a cardboard box having an opening.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article handling equipment to which the article take-out device E of this embodiment is applied has a plurality of cases 10 each having a plurality of cases 10 each containing an article B as an article accumulation group C as described later. A storage facility D for row storage, an article transfer device A for moving up and down and reciprocating left and right at the front end of the storage facility D, and for transferring the case 10 from the storage facility D, and an article transfer Adjacent to the apparatus A, an article take-out apparatus E for taking out an arbitrary number of articles B from the article accumulation group C transferred from the case 10 by the article transfer apparatus A and a transfer article taking-out apparatus E are taken out. The container G is provided with a container (container) G for accommodating the article B, and a transfer conveyor J for transferring the container G to the next step.

The article transfer device A is a stacking device 20 that takes out the case 10 from the storage facility D, and a case 10 that is taken out by the case removing device 20 is lifted and superposed on the article removing tool 40 that is arranged above. Device 31
And a carriage 50 on which the case 10 and the article take-out device 40 are turned over to the article take-out device E side, and the case take-out device 20, the turn-over device 30 and the like are mounted, and the carriage 50. The stacker crane 60 is configured to support up and down and reciprocate left and right.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 (a), (b), and (c), the article take-out apparatus E of the present embodiment takes out the article from the case 10 inverted by the article transfer apparatus A. An elevating device 91 that receives and supports only the article accumulation group C via the tool 40 and elevates and lowers the bottom surface of any number of the articles B to the take-out position, and a direction in which the article accumulation group C in the elevating apparatus 91 is taken out. An article restraint device (movement restraint device) 92 that restrains the article accumulation group C from moving in the opposite direction and moves the article accumulation group C to the suction device 93 side, and a suction tool (suction pad that corresponds to the arrangement of the articles B of the article accumulation group C). ) A suction device for advancing and retracting 93a in the depth direction to pick up and pick up an arbitrary number of articles B
93, an article receiving table (article receiving plate) 95a for receiving the article B taken out by the suction pad 93a of the suction apparatus 93, and a moving device 94 for moving the article B taken out to the receiving plate 95a into the pushing position. Equipped with
The article B moved to the pushing position is pushed into the container G by the article receiving table 95a.

Next, each of the above-mentioned components constituting the article handling facility will be sequentially described in detail.

The article take-out tool 40, the case take-out apparatus 20, the reversing apparatus 30 and the like which compose the article transfer apparatus A will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 (a), (b) and (c).

As shown in FIG. 2, the case removing device 20 includes a traveling table 32.
It is provided above, and includes a fixed conveyor 21 and a swing conveyor 23 that is continuously provided via a support shaft 22.
The case 10 is configured to be rocked up and down to take out the case 10 from the fluidized shelf 70 of the storage facility D.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the reversing device 30 is arranged along the flow direction of the case 10 stored in the fluidized shelf 70 on the carriage 50 of the stacker crane 60, that is, in the front-back direction with reference to the fluidized shelf 70. A traveling platform 32 that travels, a frame 33 that is erected on the traveling platform 32, a rotating shaft 34 that is erected near the upper end of the frame 33, and an axial direction of the rotating shaft 34 (hereinafter referred to as "left-right direction"). ), And the case 10 along the first gripping hand 35 that grips the article take-out tool 40 and the guide member 36 that hangs near the rotation shaft 34 side of the first gripping hand 35.
The second gripping hand 37 that moves up and down in a state where the first gripping hand 35 is gripped and the case 10 is superposed on the article take-out tool 40 gripped by the first gripping hand 35, the centering hand 38 that centers the case 10 on the second gripping hand 37, and the like. It is equipped with. Of these, the first and second gripping hands 35 and 37, the centering hand 38, and the guide member 36 constitute the superposing device 31. Therefore, the reversing device 30 is configured to integrally rotate the superposing device 31 with the rotating shaft 34 as the support shaft. The first gripping hand 35 is provided with a screw shaft 39 which is installed parallel to the rotary shaft 34 on the guide member 36, that is, a screw shaft 39 in which a right screw is formed on one side and a left screw is formed on the other side from the center of the shaft. It is configured to be opened and closed by driving. Further, on the inside of the first gripping hand 35, engaging projections (not shown) that engage with engaging recesses 45 (see FIG. 3A) formed on both sides of the frame 41 of the article take-out tool 40. ) Is provided, the first gripping hand 35
Is made to be able to securely grip the article take-out tool 40,
Moreover, the article take-out tool 40 is configured so as not to drop during reversing. In addition, the centering hand 38
Is configured to be opened and closed by rotating a screw shaft (not shown) similar to the screw shaft 39 supported by the second gripping hand 37 in parallel with the rotation shaft 34. A screw shaft 36a is provided inside the guide member 36, and the second gripping hand 37 is moved up and down by driving the screw shaft 36a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the article take-out tool 40 is placed on the article take-out apparatus E by the reversing device 30 from a state in which it is located above the case take-out apparatus 20 as shown in FIG. 3 (a). It is designed to be placed and frame 41
And a pair of guides 42, 42 fixed along the frame 41.
And a shutter 44 that reciprocates along the guides 42, 42 via a motor 43 to open and close the opening of the case 10. Further, needle-like protrusions (not shown) are provided on the surfaces of the pair of guides 42, 42 that contact the case 10, and
It is designed to fix 10. Therefore, by raising the elevating table 91a that constitutes the elevating device 91 of the article take-out device E, pulling out the shutter 44 to open the opening located on the lower side of the case 10, and lowering the elevating table 91a,
The article accumulation group C is taken out from the case 10. After the article stacking group C is transferred from the case 10 to the article pick-up device E via the article picking tool 40, a desired article B in the article stacking group C is transferred to the container G in accordance with a picking command as described later. It is configured to be ejected.

In addition, the stacker crane 60 has a frontage of each fluidized shelf 70.
The case take-out device 20 and the reversing device 30, which are configured to travel on a travel rail 61 disposed along the 71, and which are mounted on the carriage 50, are configured to be capable of moving up and down.

Further, the fluidized shelf 70 of the storage facility D is composed of a plurality of rows and a plurality of stages of inclined roller conveyors, an extraction frontage 71 is formed at the inclined front end thereof, and a stopper 72 is provided at the front end portion of the inclined roller conveyor. The case 10 supplied is configured so that the inclined roller conveyor slides down by its own weight and is locked by the stopper 72.

Next, an article take-out device E which is an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a), (b) and (c).

The article take-out device E is arranged between the conveyor J for conveying the container G and the traveling rail 61, receives the article accumulation group C from the article take-out tool 40, and receives the desired number of articles B in the container. It is configured to be pushed into G. Further, the elevating device 91 is configured to receive the article stacking group C taken out from the case 10 through the article taking tool 40 and to move the article stacking group C up and down to a desired position, as shown in FIG. ), An elevator 91a for mounting the article accumulation group C and a wire 91b for hoisting the four corners of the elevator 91a.
A pair of pulleys 91c and 91d rotatably provided on the frame 96 around which the wire 91b is wound, and a lower pulley 91d.
Is composed of a belt 91e that is wound around it, and a motor 91g that drives it via a drive shaft 91f that is connected to the belt 91e.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the movement restraint device 92 has the article stacking group C supported by the lifting platform 91a of the lifting device 91 on the back side (right side in FIG. 3 (b)). ), And is moved in the direction of the container G,
A pair of sprockets 92d, 92e arranged below the front and rear legs of the frame 96, a chain 92c wound around the sprockets 92d, 92e, and a chain 92c connected to the leg via the mounting bracket 92b. A movement restraint plate 92a is provided upright along the section, and the movement restraint plate 92a can be moved forward and backward by a drive motor 92f connected to the sprocket 92e. The mounting bracket 92b that supports the movement restraint plate 92a is adapted to move back and forth in accordance with a notch groove (not shown) formed in the lift 91a. By moving (advancing) the movement restraint plate 92a in the direction of the container G, the article stacking group C is positioned at the front end edge of the elevating table 91a, and the backward movement of each article B is restrained. The article stacking group C that has advanced to the front end edge of the elevator 91a via the movement restraint device 92 is located in the elevator 91, and is located at a position where the bottom surface level of the desired article B matching the picking number matches the article receiving plate 95a. The suction device 93 is moved up and down to draw a desired number of the articles B into the article receiving plate 95a.

In the suction device 93, suction pads 93a corresponding to X articles in the width direction and Y pieces in the height direction arranged on the surface (front surface) on the side receiving the article accumulation group C, and suction pads 93a are attached. Plate 93b, a base plate 93c juxtaposed to the plate 93b, and a cylinder 93d arranged substantially at the center of the base plate 93c and having a rod tip connected to the plate 93b, and the suction pad 93a is a cylinder 93d. Is configured to advance and retreat in the depth direction (front-back direction) of the article accumulation group C, and further includes the plate 93b and the base plate 93c.
A pair of guide bosses 93f, 93f and a pair of guide bosses 93g, 93g are fixed to each of them (see FIG. 3 (a)), and a slide shaft 93e is inserted through these, and the plate is inserted through the slide shaft 93e. 93h is configured to be movable. Further, the plate 93h is formed with a plurality of holes 93i corresponding to the arrangement of the suction pads 93a, and the suction pads 93a enter and exit the holes 93i of the plate 93h. With such a structure, when the cylinder 93d is driven, the suction pad 93a protrudes from the hole 93i of the plate 93h (indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 3B), and the desired number of articles B are suctioned onto the cylinder 93d. By returning 93d, item B
Can be pulled out onto the article receiving plate 95a. That is, when the cylinder 93d is returned, the plate 93h abuts on the stopper 93j attached to the base plate 93c and stops, and only the plate 93b attached with the suction pad 93a further returns to stop sucking the suction pad 93a. , The adsorbed article B is released. still,
For an unstable article B whose dimension in the depth direction is larger than the dimension in the height direction, after the article B pulled out onto the article receiving plate 95a is moved to the pushing portion L,
The suction of the suction pad 93a may be stopped. That is, as described above, when the cylinder 93d is returned, the suction pad 93a
Is stored in the hole 93i of the plate 93h.
Since 93a is deformed due to the rubber pad, the article B is moved to the push-in portion L in the sucked state. When the suction of the suction pad 93a is stopped, the suction pad 93a releases the sucked article B, returns to the original state, and is completely stored in the hole 93i.

The article B pulled out onto the article receiving plate 95a is
It is adapted to be moved to the pushing portion L on the container G side by the moving device 94.

The moving device 94 rotates the suction device 93 by 90 degrees (state of FIG. 3 (c)), and is attached to the lower end edge of the suction device 93 as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). A rotary shaft 94a that rotatably supports the base plate 93c, and a rotary shaft 94a.
A link 94b that is connected to one end of a and that rotates the base plate 93c with the rotating shaft 94a as a support shaft is attached between the link 94b and the frame 96, and expands and contracts between them to expand and contract the base plate.
And a cylinder 94c for rotating the 93c. Then, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), the moving device 94
The article B is pushed into the container G by the pushing device 95 after the article B moves to the pushing portion L via the. The pushing device 95 includes an article receiving plate 95a, engaging pieces 95b attached to both upper sides of the article receiving plate 95a, and an engaging piece 95b with respect to the guide 95c.
And a rodless cylinder 95d for advancing and retracting the article receiving plate 95a which is engaged via the container in the container G direction.

Next, one embodiment of the method for handling an article (article take-out method) of the present invention by the article handling equipment using the article take-out tool 40 and the article take-out device E of the present embodiment will be described.

Each of the fluidized shelves 70 in the storage facility D has, for example, 1
A plurality of cases 10 for accommodating an article accumulation group C composed of kinds of articles B are accommodated in the front-rear direction. On the other hand, when the shutter 44 of the article take-out tool 40 is opened and the article accumulation group C in the case 10 is handed over to the elevator 91a of the article take-out device E, the reversing device 30 causes the stacker crane 60 to travel and the carriage 50 to go up and down. Thus, the empty case 10 is moved to a position corresponding to the article take-out tool 40 on which the empty case 10 is placed, the traveling table 32 is advanced toward the article take-out tool 40, and the article take-out tool 40 is moved.
The empty case 10 is gripped by the first gripping hand 35, the second gripping hand 37, and the centering hand 38. At this time, the engagement protrusion of the first gripping hand 35 engages with the engagement recess 45 of the article take-out tool 40. Then, after the stacking device 31 rotates about the rotary shaft 34 about 10 degrees in the clockwise direction from the state of the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2, the traveling platform 32 advances to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. Is about 17 more clockwise
Rotate 0 degrees (state of solid line in the figure). Next, in order to discharge the emptied case 10 onto the discharge conveyor 120, the case 10 emptied by the second gripping hand 37 is fixed conveyor.
When the fixed conveyor 21 is rotated clockwise while being lowered to the level of 21, the emptied case 10 is discharged to the discharge conveyor 12
0 Drops and is discharged. At this time, in order to provide a space for the case 10 to drop, the case 10 that has emptied due to the traveling table 32 retracting from the frontage 71 is dropped. Empty case
After dropping 10, the carriage 50 is moved up and down and the stacker crane 60 is moved to take out the carriage 32 at a predetermined opening.
After moving to a position facing 71, the traveling platform 32 advances to the extraction frontage 71. Then, the swing conveyor 23
Swings counterclockwise around the center of the fixed conveyor 21 and further swings the fixed conveyor 21 and the swing conveyor 23 counterclockwise to take out the frontage.
The case 10 is taken out from 71 onto the second gripping hand 37. Then, when the traveling platform 32 reaches the position indicated by the solid line, the traveling platform 32 is moved up and down by the carriage 50 and the stacker crane 60 travels.
Is moved to a position facing the predetermined article removing device E, the second gripping hand 37 is raised, and at the same time, the case 10 is centered by the centering hand 38 and the article gripping tool 40 gripped by the first gripping hand 35. In case 10
Overlap. Since the case 10 is supplied to the fluidized shelf 70 with an opening at the top, the article take-out tool 40 is superposed on the opening of the case 10 and closed by the shutter 44. The article B inside is prevented from dropping even when the is rotated 180 degrees. Then, the superposing device 31 rotates 170 degrees counterclockwise about the rotary shaft 34, moves the traveling table 32 backward from the take-out opening 71 to the article taking-out device E, and moves the superposing device 31 further 10 degrees. After the article take-out tool 40 and the case 10 are rotated counterclockwise and placed on the frame 96 of the article take-out apparatus E (indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2),
Open the first gripping hand 35 and the centering hand 38,
The carriage 32 is advanced to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 and stands by in preparation for the next transfer.

In this way, the case 10 is placed on the frame 96 of the article take-out device E together with the article take-out tool 40 and is on standby.
When all the articles B on the elevator 91a of the article take-out device E are taken out, the article take-out tool 40 opens the shutter 44 and delivers the article accumulation group C in the case 1 onto the elevator 91a. At this time, the article take-out device E is provided with a moving restraint plate.
After the 92a retreats along the cutout groove to a position where it does not interfere with the lift 91a (the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 3B), the lift 91
a rises to just below the article take-out tool 40, and receives only the article accumulation group C in the case 10 from the article take-out tool 40 with the shutter 44 opened. Continuing on, the elevator 91a is used as the article accumulation group C.
The bottom surface of the article B at the top of the table matches the position of the article receiving table 95a at the desired article bottom level (picking level) (3rd
(Refer to figure (b)). And the movement restraint plate 92a
Pushes out the article stacking group C on the lifting platform 91a and stops at a position where the front end of the lifting platform 91a substantially coincides with the front surface of the article stacking group C. Next, the suction device 93 has the desired quantity (number of orders)
Only the article B is sucked by the suction pad 93a, and the cylinder 9
When 3d is driven to draw the article onto the receiving plate 95a, the moving device 94 is driven to tilt the article receiving plate 95a 90 degrees forward so that the article B is pushed into the opening of the container G at the pushing portion L on the container G side. After facing each other, the pushing device 95 is driven to advance the article receiving plate 95a to push the article B into the container G.

Here, the control flow of the take-out operation of the article B will be further described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. One embodiment of the method of taking out articles according to the present embodiment is such that a desired article B can be drawn and supported on the article receiving plate 95a (the article B in the upper stage is placed on the article B in the lower stage and accumulated. The bottom surface level of the article B at the bottom of the article receiving plate 95a (in a state where the article B can be pulled out onto the article receiving plate 95a in the state where the article receiving plate 95a is in the accumulated state or the accumulated state) is moved by the lifting device 91.
According to the level of a, a plurality of articles B are taken out at the same time.

Thus, in the control flowchart of FIG. 4, the number of orders is P, the total number of orders is P _T , the number of arrangements of the article B in the width direction (horizontal direction) is X, or the total number of orders P _T is the article B.
Is the quotient of the value divided by the horizontal array number X of a, and the remainder is b,
The level of the elevator 91a is set to M, and the total number of orders P _T
The initial values of the level M of the elevator 91a are defined as 0 and 1, respectively.

First, when the order number P is input to a computer (not shown) (step S1), the order number P is added to the order number cumulative P _T (step S2), and the order number cumulative P _T obtained in step S2 is obtained. The quotient a and the remainder b are obtained by dividing the number B of the articles B arranged in the horizontal direction (step S3). Step S3
Comparing the quotient a obtained in step 1 with the level M of the elevator 91a, the quotient a
Is determined to be at or above level M (step 4). If the quotient a is equal to or higher than the level M of the elevator 91a, the process proceeds to step S5-1. If the quotient a is less than the level M of the elevator 91a, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S5-1, the level M of the current lift 91a is replaced with the quotient a, and the lift 91a is quotient a.
And the article B is pulled out by turning on all the suction pads 93a for a stages from the bottom, while raising to a level (picking level) corresponding to the value of. Then, move to step S5-2,
1 is added to the current level M of the lifting platform 91a to raise the lifting platform 91a by one step, and b pieces of the suction pads 93a at the bottom are b
N and pull out b articles B. Also, in step S6,
Without lifting the elevating table 93a, the bottommost suction pads 93a are turned on by b and the article B is pulled out. In step S4,
If a = M, the level M of the lifting platform 91a cannot be replaced in step S5-1, so the lifting platform 91a does not move.

Enter the more specific numerical value and follow the above flow to the fifth step.
The take-out operation will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the initial product accumulation group C is four (X) in the horizontal direction, four (Y) in the height direction (vertical direction), and in the depth direction (front-back direction). Two articles B are collected. If the goods B are taken out from the goods accumulation group C in the order of, for example, the order number 2 → 6 → 2 → 4 → 2 ..., First, when the order number P = 2 is input to the computer (step S1), number P = 2 is the order number of total P _T of the initial value P _T = 0 to be addend order total P _T =
2 is registered (step S2), then the process proceeds to step S3, P _T / X, that is, 2/4 is calculated, and the quotient a = 0 and the remainder b = 2 are registered. Quotient a and elevator 91
The level a of the a is compared with the level M, and it is determined whether the quotient a is equal to or higher than the level M of the elevator 91a. The quotient a is 0,
Since the initial level M of the elevator 91a is smaller than M = 1, step S
Proceeding to step 6, the suction pads 93a at the bottom are turned on for the remaining two b, and two articles B shown in FIG. 5B are pulled out. That is, by operating the cylinder 93d, the suction pad 9
3a is pressed against the article B to adsorb the two articles B, and the two adsorbed articles B are drawn onto the article receiving plate 95a. Then, with the suction pad 93a turned OFF or in the ON state, the moving device 94 is driven to drive the base plate.
The article B is moved to the push-in portion L by rotating the 93c counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 3 (b) by 90 degrees about the rotation shaft 94a to bring it to the state shown in FIG. 3 (c). .
Next, the rodless cylinder 95d of the pushing device 95 is driven to advance the article receiving plate 95a to the container G side, so that the two articles B are pushed into the container G. Next, when the order number P = 6 is input,
The total number of orders P _T = 8 and the total number of orders P _T =
8/4 is calculated based on 8 and quotient a = 2, remainder b
= 0 is obtained (steps S1 to 3). Next, in step S4, the quotient a = 2 is compared with the level M = 1 of the lift 91a. Since the quotient a is larger than the level M of the lift 91a, the process proceeds to step S5-1. The value of the level M of the elevator 91a is replaced by the quotient a = 2, that is, the elevator 91a is changed to the level 2
The article B shown in FIG. 5 (c) is pulled out at a time by raising all the suction pads 93a from the bottom to turn on. Then, move to step S5-2,
1 is added to the level M of the lift 91a to raise the lift 91a one step. After that, normally, b pieces of the lowermost suction pads 93a are turned on to pull out b articles B. In this case, b
Is 0, the pull-out operation is not performed. Then, the next order number P = 2 is input, the order number of total P _T = 10, and the calculation of 10/4 is performed on the basis of the number of orders accumulated P _T = 10, the quotient a = 2, The remainder b = 2 is obtained (steps S1 to 3). Next, in step S4, the quotient a = 2 is compared with the level M = 3 of the lift 91a, and the quotient a is lifted 9
Since it is smaller than the level M of 1a, the process proceeds to step S6, and the two suction pads 93a at the bottom are turned on for the remainder b, and two articles B shown in FIG. 5 (d) are pulled out. Next, when the number of orders P = 4 is input, the total number of orders P _T = 14, 14/4 is calculated, and the quotient a = 3,
The remainder b = 2 is obtained (steps S1 to 3). Step
In S4, the quotient a = 3 is compared with the level M = 3 of the elevator 91a, and the quotient a is equal to the level M of the elevator 91a.
Move to step S5-1. Since the quotient a is equal to the level M of the lifting table 91a, the lifting table 91a does not move, and by turning on all the suction pads 93a for a steps from the bottom, the article B shown in FIG. Pull out two. After that, the process proceeds to step S5-2, 1 is added to the level M = 3 of the lifting platform 91a to raise the lifting platform 91a by one stage, and then the bottom suction pads 93a are turned on for the remaining two b. Two articles B shown in FIG. 5 (f) are pulled out. Next, when the number of orders P = 2 is input, the total number of orders P _T = 16, and a calculation of 16/4 is performed to obtain a quotient a = 4 and a remainder b = 0 (steps S1 to S3). ). In step S4, the quotient a = 4 is compared with the level M = 4 of the elevator 91a, and the quotient a = 4
Is equal to the level M of the lifting platform 91a, the process moves to step S5-1, the lifting platform 91a does not move as described above, and all the suction pads 93a for a stages from the bottom are turned on, so that FIG. ) Pull out two articles B indicated by. When all the articles B in the first row in the front-rear direction are taken out as described above, the movement restraint plate 92a is moved forward, the articles B in the second row in the front-rear direction are moved to the front end of the elevating table 91a, and the next taking-out is performed as described above. Then do. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, as described above, the elevating device 91 adjusts the bottom surface level of the desired article B in the article stacking group C to substantially the same height as the article receiving plate 95a, and the movement restraint device 92 is used. After restraining the articles B from moving in the direction opposite to the take-out direction and moving the article accumulation group C to the suction device 93 side,
A desired article B is adsorbed by the adsorption pad 93a and drawn out onto the article receiving plate 95a, and then, the adsorbed portion of the article B pulled out onto the article receiving plate 95a is released or adsorbed, and the container G is pushed in. After moving to L, by pushing the article B into the container G by the article receiving plate 95a,
After all the articles B in the front row are taken out, the articles B in the next row are moved to the front row, and then the articles are taken out to form an article accumulation group C formed by accumulation. It is possible to sequentially take out an arbitrary number of articles B from the above, and to eject (store) the taken-out articles B into the container G, which is particularly suitable for picking the articles B in a distribution center.

In this embodiment, the method of taking out the articles B in the first row in the front-rear direction of the article stacking group C sequentially from the upper side to the lower side and from the left side to the right side in each step has been described. Needless to say, is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, in order to pull out a desired number of articles B in one operation, steps S5-1 and S5
-2 and -2 may be executed at the same time. Further, in the case where three articles B have already been taken out from the article accumulation group C formed by four articles B in the width direction and three articles B in the height direction, when further three articles B are taken out, , As shown in FIG. 6 (d), it may be taken out in two steps,
The three hatched articles B shown in FIGS. 6 (a), (b), and (c) may be pulled out by one operation. In this case, the number of take-out operations can be reduced by one, so that the article B can be taken out more efficiently. In addition, by registering the previous value of the remainder b as b ₀ in the computer, in step S5-1 shown in FIG. 4, b ₀ of all the suction pads 93a for a stages from the bottom are b ₀ . The suction pads 93a may be turned off and taken out. Further, in step S6, b ₀ suction pads 93a may be turned off and taken out of the bottom b suction pads 93a.

Although the article B is raised and lowered in this embodiment, the article handling method of the present invention may be such that the suction device 93 and the article receiving plate 95a are raised and lowered. In addition, the article handling apparatus of the present invention has X suction pads 93a of the article removing apparatus E in the width direction and Y pieces of the suction pads 93a in the height direction.
1 is not provided corresponding to the arrangement of the article accumulation group C formed in 1.
It is also possible to provide X suction pads 93a for the step in the horizontal direction. Further, in the article handling apparatus of the present invention, the article transferring apparatus A is omitted, and the article take-out tool 40 is manually inserted into the case.
The articles 10 may be stacked, or the article take-out tool 40 may be omitted and the article accumulation group C may be manually set on the elevating table 91a. Further, instead of the container G, the article B may be directly taken out on a tray-shaped container or a conveyor.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the article handling method using the article handling apparatus of the present invention, the elevating device aligns the bottom surface level of a desired article in the article stacking group at substantially the same height as the article receiving table, and restrains the article. While the above-mentioned article is restrained by the device, the desired article is sucked by the suction tool and drawn out onto the article receiving stand, and then the article drawn out onto the article receiving stand is moved to the pushing part into the container etc. by the moving device. After that, you can push it into the container etc. by the article receiving stand and discharge it, so you can automatically and quickly take out any number of articles in a stable state, especially at the distribution center for picking articles etc. It can be suitably performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an article handling facility using the article handling apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 3 (a) is an article handling apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 (b) is a perspective view showing an article taking-out device as one embodiment, FIG. 3 (b) is a side view showing a main part for explaining an article taking-out operation of the article taking-out device shown in FIG. 3 (a), FIG. FIG. 4C is a perspective view showing the operation of pushing the article into the container using the pushing device of the article take-out apparatus shown in FIG. 3A, and FIG. 4 is FIG. 3A, FIG. FIG. 5 (a) is a flowchart showing a preferred embodiment of the article taking-out method using the article taking-out apparatus shown in c).
(B), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) are explanatory views for explaining the order of taking out the articles, and FIGS. 6 (a), (b), and (c) are FIG. 6 (d) is a front view showing another embodiment of the article handling method of the present invention different from the article take-out order shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6 (a), (b),
It is a front view for comparison with (c). Incidentally, FIG. 3 (a)
In, the mounting bracket 92b to the drive motor 92f are not shown. B; article, C; article accumulation group E; article take-out device (article handling device) G; container (container, etc.) L; push-in part, 91; lifting device 92; movement restraint device (article restraint device) 93; suction Device 93a; suction pad (suction tool) 94; moving device 95a; article receiving plate (article receiving table)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An arbitrary number of the above articles are sequentially taken out from an article accumulation group formed by accumulating a plurality of articles in the height direction, a plurality of articles in the depth direction and one or more articles in the width direction,
In the method of handling an article for ejecting an article taken out into a container or the like, after the height of the bottom surface of the article to be taken out of the article accumulation group and the height of the article receiving stand are aligned at substantially the same height, After taking out the articles to the article receiving table, discharging the taken out articles to the container, etc., and after moving all the articles in the front row to the front row, after moving all the articles in the next row to the front row, A method of handling an article, comprising taking out the article. 2. The method of handling an article according to claim 1, wherein the article is taken out by a suction tool corresponding to the arrangement. 3. An arbitrary number of the above articles are sequentially taken out from an article accumulation group formed by accumulating a plurality of articles in the height direction, a plurality of articles in the depth direction and one or more articles in the width direction,
In an article handling device for ejecting the taken out article into a container or the like, an elevating device for supporting and elevating the article accumulation group and a suction tool corresponding to the arrangement of the articles in the article accumulation group are moved back and forth in the depth direction. A suction device for sucking and picking up an arbitrary number of articles by suction, an article restraint device for moving the article accumulation group to the suction device side, an article receiving stand for receiving the articles taken out by the suction tool of the suction device, A moving device that moves the article taken out to the article receiving tray to the pushing position, and the article moved to the pushing position is pushed out to the container or the like by the article receiving tray and discharged. Equipment for handling goods. 4. The article handling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the moving device is configured to rotate the article receiving table about 90 degrees about a horizontal axis.