JPH07257708A - Automatic elevating rack - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate storage and retrieval of an article at any level by providing respective storage racks, which are positioned in respective home positions in multilevel between elevating routes in an elevating member, freely liftably in front of the home positions because of vertical action or forward/backward action of a fork. CONSTITUTION:A pair of elevating members 10 freely liftable along both of left and right side members 2 are arranged, and a pair of forks 9 are moved forward/backward according to the elevation of each of the elevating members 10. Between elevating routes R for the elevating members 10, plural storage racks 3 supported by a pair of forks 9 are arranged, and a storage rack supporting part 40 on the opposed face side of each fork 9 is engaged with an engaging part formed in the storage rack 3 when the fork 9 is moved vertically or forward/backward, and consequently, the storage rack 3 is elevated in front of the home position. In this process, an ascent stop position and a descent stop position of the elevating member 10 are detected by means of a vertical proximity sensor, while the forward/backward movement positions of the fork 9 are detected by means of a forward/backward proximity sensor, and this detection is used for movement control.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic elevating rack which can store various articles in multiple stages and can raise and lower any of the storage shelves to a position convenient for storing and taking out articles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in storage shelves capable of storing various articles in multiple stages, a user must use a stepladder or the like when storing articles in a shelf at a high position or taking out an article from a shelf at a high position. These were used for storing and taking out these.

[0003]

Therefore, there is a drawback that it is inconvenient for frequent storage and removal.

If the weight of the articles to be stored is heavy, the storage operation using a stepladder or the like is dangerous.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and automatically moves up and down the shelves at any stage to a height convenient for the user to store and retrieve the articles, It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic elevating shelf that allows easy and safe storage and retrieval of the.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an automatic elevating shelf according to the present invention is provided with a pair of left and right side members facing each other, and can be moved up and down at the same time along these side members. Elevating members, a pair of forks that are provided on the facing surfaces of these elevating members and that move up and down at the same time as each of the elevating members moves up and down, and that can move in the front-rear direction at the same time while being guided by the elevating members. A plurality of storage shelves that are positioned in the respective home positions in multiple stages between the hoistways of the elevating members, and are supported by the pair of forks to ascend and descend in front of the home position, and on the opposing surface side of the pair of forks. The storage rack support portions provided respectively, and the storage rack support portions are provided on the left and right side portions of each storage rack with their front and rear positions displaced, respectively, and the pair of forks are provided at the same time. Lifting of the elevating member so that the engaging portion that engages with the storage shelf support portion by moving up and down and the front-rear direction and the storage shelf that moves up and down in front of the home position stop at a predetermined height position. The vertical proximity sensor detects a stop position and a descent stop position, and a front and rear proximity sensor provided on the elevating member and detecting a front and rear movement stop position of the fork along the elevating member.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the storage shelves positioned in the respective home positions in multiple stages between the hoistways of the elevating member are moved up and down in front of the home position by raising and lowering and moving the forks forward and backward.

To describe this point in detail, first, the fork simultaneously moves up and down as the elevating member moves up and down, and simultaneously moves back and forth while being guided by the elevating member. The detection of the stop position of the forward and backward movement of the fork is
This is performed by the front-rear proximity sensor provided on the elevating member.

On the other hand, on both left and right sides of the storage rack, engaging portions that engage with the storage rack support portions provided on the forks are provided with their front and rear positions displaced from each other. .

For this reason, in the storage rack that needs to be pulled out at the home position, the fork is moved in the front-rear direction so that the front-back position of the storage rack support portion and the engagement portion of the storage rack is aligned. In this state, the fork is slightly lifted to be supported by the fork. Then, the forks move forward while being guided by the elevating member while supporting the storage shelves, whereby the storage shelves move forward of their home positions. Therefore, as the fork is raised and lowered integrally by raising and lowering the raising and lowering member, the storage rack is raised and lowered to a predetermined position in front of the home position. The detection of the predetermined stop position of the storage rack is performed by a vertical proximity sensor that detects an ascending stop position and a descending stop position of the elevating member.

The return of the storage rack from the front of the home position to the home position is performed by operating the fork in the opposite direction.

According to the present invention, as described above, any of the storage shelves can be moved up and down to a position convenient for storing and taking out articles. Therefore, it is possible to easily store and take out articles even in a high-level storage rack, and to store and take out heavy articles safely and easily.

Furthermore, since the front-rear movement stop position of the fork is detected by the front-rear proximity sensor provided on the elevating member, the stop position does not deviate and the movement is accurate.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of an automatic lifting shelf according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematic perspective views showing the internal structure thereof.

The illustrated automatic lifting shelf 1 includes left and right side plates 2, 2.
2, a plurality of storage shelves 3 (3a to 3e) positioned in multiple stages between the side plates 2 and 2, a ceiling member 4 connecting the upper end portions of the left and right side plates 2 and 2, and The bottom frame 5 connects the lower ends of the left and right side plates 2 and 2, and the back plate 6 that covers the back of the left and right side plates 2 and 2.

It should be noted that these members are not necessarily plate members, and if necessary, aggregates, nets, etc. can be used as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 1, each of the storage shelves 3 is placed on a storage rack support arm 7 provided in multiple stages in the automatic lifting rack 1. The storage rack support arms 7 are provided so as to project from the two left and right column members (not shown) fixed to the back plate 6 toward the front in a pair of left and right stages. Each of the storage shelves 3 has a home position (storage position) supported by the storage shelf support arms 7 of the respective stages.

Reference numeral 8 in the drawing denotes a decorative member attached in the left-right direction so as to connect the front ends of the storage rack support arms 7 of the respective stages. The decorative member 8 also fills a gap between the storage shelves 3 vertically adjacent to each other in each home position, and also serves to adjust the appearance design of the front surface of the automatic elevating shelf 1. The left and right ends of the decorative member 8 extend close to the left and right side plates 2 and 2, but are not connected to the left and right side plates 2. this is,
This is because a slit S for vertically moving a fork 9, which will be described later, must be provided between the front portions 2a, 2a of the left and right side plates 2, 2 and the storage shelves 3a to 3e.

Gaps are also provided between the left and right side portions 31, 31 of each of the storage shelves 3 located at the home position and the inner surfaces of the left and right side plates 2, 2. Here, a pair of left and right elevating members 10 of the same shape that simultaneously elevate at the same height on the left and right as hoistways R, R in these gaps,
10 are provided symmetrically.

Each of the elevating members 10 and 10 is a substantially quadrangular plate body, and is arranged vertically in the hoistways R and R on the opposite side of the left and right side plates 2 and 2 so that two of them are arranged in front and back. It moves up and down along the attached guide rails 11. That is, the lifting members 10, 10
On the surfaces of the side plates 2 and 2 of FIG.
The elevating members 10, 10 correspond to the elevating rollers 1
2 sandwiches the guide rail 11 from the front and back and rolls along the guide rail 11 so that the guide rail 11 can move up and down while being guided by the guide rail 11.

Now, the simultaneous lifting mechanism for the lifting members 10, 10 will be described.

A drive device for raising and lowering each of the elevating members 10, 10 is built in the bottom frame 5.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of drive shafts 13a, 13b extending in the left-right direction inside the bottom frame 5.
Are arranged side by side in parallel with each other. These front and rear drive shafts 13a and 13b are connected to a common motor 15 as a prime mover via clutch-brake reduction gears 14a and 14b, respectively. The drive shafts 13a, 13b are integrally rotatable in the same direction and at the same speed at the same time by the operation of the motor 15 and the operation of the clutch / brake reduction gears 14a, 14b, and the rear drive shaft 13b. Only one can rotate independently.

Further, in the ceiling member 4, two driven shafts 16a and 16b are arranged in parallel in the front and rear direction so that they are located right above the respective drive shafts 13a and 13b. Then, sprocket wheels 17a, 17b, 18a, 18b having the same diameter are attached to the left and right ends of the driven shafts 16a, 16b and the drive shafts 13a, 13b as a drive sprocket and a driven sprocket, respectively. Front and rear chains 19 and 20 are respectively wound between the corresponding drive sprockets and driven sprockets (17a and 18a, 17b and 18b). The driven shafts 16a and 16b do not necessarily rotate in a series of left and right turns. It does not need to be a moving shaft, but may be four short support shafts that rotatably support the driven sprockets 18a, 18a, 18b, 18b.

In the illustrated example, two left and right front chains 19 and 19 for vertically linking the front drive shaft 13a and the front driven shaft 16a respectively have respective ends 19a and 19 respectively.
b is fixed to brackets 21 which are provided on the front side of the outer surface of each of the elevating members 10, 10 so as to project outward in the left and right directions. On the other hand, the left and right two rear chains 20 and 20 that vertically link the rear drive shaft 13b and the rear driven shaft 16b are endless chains, and are attached to the upper rear side of the outer surface of each of the elevating members 10 and 10 via brackets 10a. 3 sprockets mounted side by side
They are alternately laid around 2, 23, 24 (see FIG. 3).

With the above structure, the left and right lifting members 1
0 and 10 can move up and down simultaneously in the hoistways R and R along the guide rails 11 and 11 while maintaining a horizontal state.

That is, when the front drive shaft 13a is rotated by the drive of the motor 15 via the front drive shaft clutch brake reducer 14a, the front chains 19 and 19 travel vertically. As a result, the left and right lifting members 10, 10 are simultaneously pulled up or pulled down by the front chains 19, 19. Since the elevating members 10 and 10 ascend and descend along the guide rails 11, they are always maintained in a horizontal state.

At this time, the rear drive shaft 13b is rotated at the same speed in the same direction as the front drive shaft 13a by the action of the motor 15 and the rear drive shaft clutch / brake reducer 14b. And the rear drive shaft 1
Due to the rotation of 3b, the rear chains 20, 20 also run in the same direction as the front chains 19, 19 at the same speed.
Therefore, the sprocket 22, 23, 24 provided on the rear upper side of the outer surface of the elevating members 10, 10 meshing with the rear chains 20, 20 alternately does not rotate, and the elevating members 10, 10 do not rotate. As it moves up and down, it moves up and down while maintaining its relative position to the rear chains 20, 20.

As described above, the left and right lifting members 10,
10 is the left and right side plates 2, while maintaining the same height as each other.
It can be raised and lowered along 2.

The operation of the motor 15 is controlled by the user operating the operation switch 25 provided at an appropriate position of the automatic elevating shelf 1 according to this embodiment.

On the inner surfaces of the elevating members 10, 10 facing each other, substantially L-shaped forks 9, 9 are arranged with their vertical portions 9a facing rearward.

Each of the forks 9, 9 has a horizontal portion 9b.
The front-rear length of the vertical portion 9a is slightly shorter than the front-rear length of the elevating members 10, 10, and the length of the vertical portion 9a is the elevating member 1.
Each of the elevating members 1 is a plate body slightly longer than 0 and 10.
It moves in the front-rear direction along the 0 and 10 at the same speed in the left and right directions.

The forks 9, 9 have their home positions in the following states. That is, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, when the forks 9 and 9 are positioned to overlap the lifting members 10 and 10 and the forks 9 move up and down as the lifting members 10 and 10 move up and down. To
The storage shelf support portion is provided so that the storage shelf support portion 40, which will be described later, provided on each of the forks 9, 9 can avoid the interference with the engagement portion 41, which will be described later, provided on each of the storage shelves 3a to 3e. 40 and the engaging portion 41 are slightly displaced from each other in the front-rear direction (left and right in FIG. 4). In this embodiment,
The state in which the storage rack support portion 40 is located slightly forward of the engagement portion 41 is the home position.

First, the mounting structure of the forks 9, 9 to the elevating members 10, 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, the elevating member 10 and the fork 9 on the right side from the front side of the automatic elevating shelf shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are shown.
It is shown. Elevating member 10 and fork 9 on the opposite side
Is symmetrical with the one shown in FIG.
All have the same structure.

As shown in the drawing, the vertical portion 9a of the fork 9 has a V-shaped cross section through an upper end of the outer surface of the vertical portion 9a protruding upward from the elevating member 10 via a support shaft 26 protruding outward in the left-right direction. Rear rolling wheels 27 are attached. The rolling wheel 27 fits with an upper guide member 28 having a chevron cross section fixed to the upper edge portion of the elevating member 10, and rolls back and forth along the upper guide member 28.

On the other hand, on the lower side of the front part of the inner surface of the elevating member 10, there is a cross section V through support shafts 29, 29 protruding inward.
Two character-shaped front rolling wheels 30, 30 are mounted side by side on the front-rear horizon with a space between them. A lower guide member 39 having a chevron cross section is fixed to the front rolling wheels 30 and 30 along the lower edge of the horizontal portion 9b of the fork 9.

As a result, the fork 9 is in a form of being hung from and supported by the elevating member 10 from above, and the rear rolling wheel 27 and the front rolling wheel 3 are provided.
0 and 30 are guided by the upper guide member 28 and the lower guide member 39, respectively, and roll to move back and forth along the elevating members 10.

The rear rolling wheel 2 is located on the outer surface side (the lifting member 10 side) of the vertical portion 9a of the fork 9.
7, a stopper that sandwiches the upper guide member 28 from above and below with the rear rolling wheel 27 and prevents the rear side of the fork 9 from jumping upward when the fork 9 moves forward. 32 is provided, and further, a fixed shaft 38 also serving as a stopper is provided at the rear portion of the outer surface of the horizontal portion 9b of the fork 9.

The stopper 32 is the upper guide member 2
8 is always in contact with the lower surface 28a of the inwardly projecting portion.
Further, the fixed shaft 38 also serving as a stopper is always in contact with the lower surface of the elevating member 10. Therefore, even if the fork 9 is pulled out to the maximum, the front side of the fork 9 does not tilt downward.

At the tip of the support shaft 26 of the rear rolling wheel 27 of the fork 9, the fork 9 is attached to the lifting member 1.
One end 33a of the forward / backward movement chain 33 for moving in the forward / backward direction along 0 is fixed. The forward-backward movement chain 33 is provided with three sprockets 22, 2 which are vertically arranged on the upper rear side of the outer surface of the elevating member 10.
Of the 3, 24, it is wound around the first front and rear sprocket 34, which is integrally provided side by side with any one of the sprockets, and is routed to the lower front part of the elevating member 10. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the intermediate one of the three sprockets 22, 23, 24 is a double sprocket 35, and the inner one of the double sprockets 35 is the first forward / backward sprocket 34.

A second front and rear sprocket 37 is attached to the lower front portion of the outer surface of the elevating member 10 via a support shaft 36 projecting outward of the elevating member 10. On the sprocket 37, the front-rear movement chain 33 wound around the first front-rear movement sprocket 34 is wound from above. The other end 33b of the forward / backward movement chain 33 is routed rearward of the lower portion of the outer surface of the elevating member 10 to the rear end of the outer lower portion of the fork 9 projecting downward from the lower edge of the elevating member 10. It is fixed to the fixed shaft 38 protruding outward.

With the above structure, the left and right forks 9 and 9 can be moved along the left and right elevating members 10 and 10 simultaneously in the front and rear direction at the same speed at the left and right.

That is, when only the rear drive shaft 13b of the drive shafts 13a and 13b is rotated in either direction by the operation of the motor 15, the rear chains 20 and 20 are caused to run accordingly. At this time, since the front drive shaft 13a is not rotating, the vertical positions of the left and right elevating members 10, 10 do not change.
Further, since the three sprockets 22, 23, 24 provided at the rear portions of the respective elevating members 10, 10 are meshed with the rear chains 20, 20, the rear chains 20, 20 are accompanied by the traveling of the rear chains 20, 20. The three sprockets 22, 23, 24 also rotate.

Here, the three sprockets 22 and 2 are
Of the parts 3, 24, the intermediate part is a double sprocket 35, and the first front and rear sprocket 34 inside thereof is a sprocket 34.
Since the back-and-forth movement chain 33 is wound around the front-and-back movement chain, when the double sprocket 35 is rotated by the rotation of the rear chain 20, the front-and-rear movement chain 33 is sent in either the front or rear direction, The fork 9 is moved in either the front or back direction.

For example, referring to FIG. 3, the rear drive shaft 1
When the double sprocket 35 is rotated counterclockwise by the rotation of 3b, the fixed shaft 38 of the fork 9 is pulled forward through the forward / backward chain 33, and the second forward / backward sprocket 37 is pulled. Move to approach. As a result, the fork 9 is moved forward along the elevating member 10.

On the contrary, when the double sprocket 35 is rotated in the clockwise direction by the rotation of the rear drive shaft 13b, the support shaft of the rear rolling wheel 27 of the fork 9 is passed through the forward / backward movement chain 33. 26 is pulled rearward and moves so as to approach the first forward / backward moving sprocket 34. As a result, the fork 9 is moved rearward along the elevating member 10.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the forks 9,
On the inner side surface (opposite surface side) of 9, there are provided a pair of roller-shaped storage rack support portions 40 protruding inward at appropriate intervals in the front and rear. These storage shelf support portions 40 engage with the engaging portions 41 provided side by side in the front and rear direction so as to project outward from the left and right side portions 31, 31 of the storage shelves 3, respectively. The storage rack 3 is lifted from the storage rack support arm 7 and supported.

The engaging portion 41 is provided with the forks 9, 9
Is located at the home position, the front and rear positions are slightly offset from the storage rack support portions 40 provided on the forks 9, 9. This is because when the forks 9 and 9 are located at the home position and simultaneously move up and down in the hoistways R and R together with the hoisting members 10 and 10, the storage shelf support portion 40 is engaged. This is for avoiding the portion 41 and passing therethrough so as not to engage with each other.
Then, the storage rack support portions 4 of the forks 9, 9 are provided.
0 is engaged with each engaging portion 41 of each storage rack 3 only when the storage rack 3 is desired to be pulled out.

This point will be specifically described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 schematically shows a lifting member 10 and a fork 9 on the left side from the front side of the automatic lifting shelf 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The elevating member 10 and the forks 9 on the opposite side of FIG. 3 are shown to show the relationship between the storage shelf support portion 40 provided on the forks 9 and the engagement portion 41 provided on each of the storage shelves 3. This is to make it easier.

Now, assume a situation where articles such as the tool T for machine tools are stored in the storage shelves 3 at a certain level. For example, this is a case where the article T is to be stored in the uppermost storage shelf 3a of the storage shelf having the five-stage structure as shown in FIG. At this time, the 5th storage rack 3a is located at the home position, that is, on the 5th storage rack support arm 7. The elevating member 10 together with the fork 9 includes, for example, a first
It is assumed that it is stopped at the position corresponding to the storage shelf 3e of the tier.

FIGS. 6 to 14 sequentially show the flow of a series of operations of the automatic elevating shelf 1 under the above-described conditions, and FIG. 15 shows an arbitrary Nth storage shelf 3 in FIG. Is a flow chart showing a series of operations when using. Note that each step of S1 to S11 in the following description corresponds to S1 to S11 in FIG.

<Step S1> First, the user operates the operation switch 25 to give an instruction to call the fifth-stage storage rack 3a.

<Step S2> When an automatic control circuit (not shown) is activated to activate the motor 15, the front and rear drive shafts 13a and 13b are moved to the position A in FIG.
It can be rotated counterclockwise as seen from the direction of the arrow. As a result, the elevating member 10 ascends along with the fork 9 to the vicinity of the fifth-stage storage rack 3a (see FIG. 6). Then, when the storage rack support portion 40 provided on the fork 9 reaches slightly below the engagement portion 41 provided on the storage rack 3a, the elevating member 10 stops.

Here, the stop position of the elevating member 10 is detected by the speed reducers 14a and 14b with the clutch brakes.
Rotary encoders 4 attached to each
2a, 42b (see FIG. 2). this is,
It is the same when you call up the storage shelves of any stage,
Regardless of the position of the elevating member 10, the vertical movement of the elevating member 10 is controlled by position detection by the rotary encoders 42a, 42b to a position slightly below the storage shelves 3a to 3e of a desired stage, such as an elevator. To be done.

<Step S3> Next, the rear drive shaft 1
Only 3b rotates in the clockwise direction when viewed from the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 5, whereby the fork 9 moves rearward along the elevating member 10 and the storage rack support portion 40 provided on the fork 9. The engaging portion 41 provided on the storage shelf 3a
The front-to-back alignment with and is performed.

Here, the detection of the backward movement stop position of the fork 9 is performed by the first front-back proximity sensor 43 attached to the elevating member 10 (see FIG. 7). The first front-rear proximity sensor 43 is provided, for example, on the inner surface side of the elevating member 10 and slightly behind the vertical portion 9a of the fork 9 at the home position. Then, when the first front-rear proximity sensor 43 senses the vertical portion 9a of the fork 9 moving rearward, the rotation of the rear drive shaft 13b is stopped, and the fork 9 is stopped. ing. The fork 9
When the fork 9 stops, the storage rack support 4 of the fork 9
0 is located directly below the engaging portions 41 provided on the left and right side portions 31 of the storage shelf 3a.

<Step S4> After that, the front drive shaft 13a and the rear drive shaft 13b are simultaneously rotated in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG.
The elevating member 10 rises along with the fork 9, and the storage rack support portion 40 is fitted into the engagement portion 41 from directly below. The elevating member 10 includes the storage shelf support portion 40.
Even after the engagement portion 41 and the engagement portion 41 are engaged with each other, the storage shelf 3a is slightly moved upward and stopped until the storage shelf 3a is lifted from the storage shelf support arm 7.

Here, the detection of the ascending / descending position of the elevating member 9 is performed by the first vertical proximity sensor 44 attached to the elevating member 10 (see FIG. 8).

The first vertical proximity sensor 44 is attached to, for example, a bracket 45 provided at an appropriate position on the outer surface side of the elevating member 10. The bracket 45 extends from the elevating member 10 toward the side plate 2 (see FIG. 9).

On the other hand, a member 50 to be detected which is sensed by the first vertical proximity sensor 44 is provided on an appropriate fixed portion side of the hoistway R. This detected member 50
In the example of FIG. 9, is attached to a guide rail support member 51 that supports the guide rail 11.
This guide rail support member 51, as shown in FIG.
It is fixed to the side plate 2 in the vertical direction.
Of course, the detected member 50 is the lifting roller 1
It is provided so that it does not interfere with the rolling of No. 2.

Immediately after the elevating member 10 moves up together with the fork 9 to lift up the storage rack 3a from the storage rack support arm 7, the height of the first vertical proximity sensor 44 is increased. The height of the detected member 50 is the same as that of the detected member 50, and the first vertical proximity sensor 44 is
When 0 is sensed, the rotation of the front drive shaft 13a and the rear drive shaft 13b is stopped, and the lifting of the elevating member 10 is stopped.

The detected member 50 is provided so as to correspond to each of the stages 3a to 3e of the storage rack 3. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the guide rail support member 5 is
A total of five detected members 50 for one are attached at predetermined positions.

Of course, if only one member 50 to be detected is attached to the elevating member 10 and five vertical proximity sensors 44 are provided on an appropriate fixed portion side of the hoistway R, the same as above. Although it is possible to detect the ascending / descending position of the elevating / lowering member 10, the configuration of this embodiment is preferable from the viewpoint of economicalness and simplification of the control circuit by reducing the number of proximity sensors.

<Step S5> Next, the rear drive shaft 1
Only 3b rotates counterclockwise as viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. As a result, the fork 9 moves forward along the elevating member 10 while supporting the storage rack 3a. Then, the fork 9 stops when the entire supporting storage shelf 3a is completely exposed forward from the front portion 2a of the side plate 2 (see FIGS. 4 and 10).

Here, the forward movement stop position of the fork 9 is detected by the second front-rear proximity sensor 52 attached to the elevating member 10. The second front-rear proximity sensor 52 is provided, for example, on the inner surface side of the elevating member 10 and on the front side of the vertically central portion thereof. Then, the second front-rear proximity sensor 52 senses the vertical portion 9a of the fork 9 moving forward, the sensor 52 is once turned on, and further, the vertical portion 9a of the fork 9 moves to the second portion. At the moment when the sensor 52 is turned off after passing the side of the front-rear proximity sensor 52, the rotation of the rear drive shaft 13b is stopped and the fork 9 is stopped. At this time, the storage shelf 3 supported by the fork 9
The entire a is completely exposed to the front from the front portion 2a of the side plate 2.

<Step S6> The storage rack 3a completely moved forward from the home position by the forward movement of the fork 9 has the second front-rear proximity sensor 5a.
2 to control the front and rear drive shafts 13a, 1
By rotating 3b in the clockwise direction when viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 5, as it is supported by the fork 9, it descends in front of its home position as the elevating member 10 descends. Automatically stops at a height that makes it easy to store and remove (see FIGS. 1 and 11). In the illustrated example, all the storage shelves 3a to 3e are stopped at the height position of the second storage rack 3d from the bottom to store and take out the article T.

Here, the stop position of the storage shelf 3a, that is, the lowering stop position of the elevating member 10 is detected by a second vertical proximity sensor 53 provided on the side of an appropriate fixed portion in the hoistway R. Done.

The second vertical proximity sensor 53 is shown in FIG.
In the example of FIG.
Is provided at a portion corresponding to the descending stop position of. On the other hand, a detected member 54 that is sensed by the second vertical proximity sensor 53 is provided at an appropriate position on the outer surface of the elevating member 10. These second vertical proximity sensors 5
3 and the detected member 54 are disposed so that their front and rear positions are aligned with each other.

When the elevating member 10 descends and the second vertical proximity sensor 53 coincides with the detected member 54 and senses it, the front and rear drive shafts 1 are detected.
The rotation of 3a and 13b is stopped, and the lifting member 10
The descent is stopped.

The second vertical proximity sensor 53 is
It may be provided on the elevating member 10 side.

<Step S7> When the storage of the article T in the storage shelf 3a or the removal of the article T from the storage shelf 3a is completed, the operator operates the operation switch 25 to set the home position of the storage shelf 3a. To return to.

<Step S8> Then, the front and rear drive shafts 13a and 13b rotate counterclockwise as viewed from the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 5, and the fork 9 supporting the storage rack 3a is moved. Accordingly, the elevating member 10 rises in the hoistway R to the original height of the fifth step (see FIG. 12).

When the first vertical proximity sensor 44 detects the detected member 50, the rotation of the front and rear drive shafts 13a and 13b is stopped, and the elevating member 10 is stopped.

<Step S9> Next, only the rear drive shaft 13b rotates in the clockwise direction when viewed from the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 5, and the fork 9 is moved along the elevating member 10 so as to pull in the storage shelf 3a. Will retreat. The fork 9
Is stopped when the first front-rear proximity sensor 43 senses the vertical portion 9a (see FIG. 13).

<Step S10> Subsequently, the front and rear drive shafts 13a and 13b are rotated clockwise as viewed from the direction of the arrow A in FIG.
With the fork 9 is slightly lowered. This is for releasing the engagement between the storage rack support portion 40 provided on the fork 9 and the engagement portion 41 provided on the storage rack 3a.

That is, when the elevating member 10 descends together with the fork 9, the storage shelf 3a has its lower surface supported by the storage shelf support arm 7, so that the storage shelf support provided on the fork 9 is supported. The engagement between the portion 40 and the engagement portion 41 provided on the storage shelf 3a is released. Immediately after these engagements are released, the front and rear drive shafts 1 are
The rotation of 3a and 13b is stopped, and the elevating member 1
0 stops.

Here, the lowering stop position of the elevating member 10 is detected by the speed reducers 14a, 14 with the clutch brake.
the rotary encoders 42a provided on the respective b,
42b.

<Step S11> Finally, only the rear drive shaft 13b is rotated counterclockwise as viewed in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
Move forward along 0. Thereby, the front and rear positions of the engagement portion 41 provided on each of the storage shelves 3a to 3e and the storage shelf support portion 40 provided on the fork 9 are displaced,
The fork 9 returns to its home position.

Here, the forward movement stop position of the fork 9 is detected by the third front and rear proximity sensor 55 provided on the elevating member 10 (see FIG. 13). The third front-back proximity sensor 55 is, for example, the lifting member 1
It is provided on the inner surface side of 0 and in front of the first front-back proximity sensor 43. When the third front-rear proximity sensor 55 senses the vertical portion 9a of the fork 9 moving forward, the rotation of the rear drive shaft 13b is stopped, and the fork 9 returns to its home position. Will be located.

In the examples of FIGS. 6 to 14, the proximity sensors 43, 44, 52, 55 are all provided on the elevating member 10 on the right side from the front side of the automatic elevating shelf 1. It may be provided on the left and right elevating members 10 or may be distributed and provided on the left and right elevating members 10.

Although a series of operations have been described above by taking the fifth-stage storage rack 3a as an example, the other-stage storage racks 3b are described.
Needless to say, 3e can also be automatically called up to a desired position by elevating and lowering the elevating member 10 and the fork 9 and moving back and forth.

According to the automatic elevating shelf 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above and operating as described above, the user can move the storage shelves 3 of a desired level to a height convenient for storing and taking out the articles T. Since it can be freely moved up and down, the work of storing and taking out the article T is easy, and for example, the storage of heavy objects such as various replacement parts in a machine tool can be safely performed by combining with a robot hand or the like. is there.

Further, different movements such as the raising and lowering of the raising and lowering member 10 and the fore-and-aft movement of the fork 9 are unified by the operation of one motor, and the internal structure is not wasted.

Further, since the fore-and-aft movement stop position of the fork 9 along the elevating member 10 is detected by the proximity sensors 43, 52, 55 provided on the elevating member 10, the fork 9 of the fork 9 is detected. There is less deviation than when controlling forward and backward movements with an encoder, and accurate control is possible.

[0088]

According to the present invention, since it is possible to raise and lower any of the storage shelves to a position convenient for storing and taking out the articles, it is possible to store the articles in the storage shelves at a high position. It has an effect that it can be easily taken out and that a heavy article can be stored and taken out safely and easily.

Further, since the fore-and-aft movement stop position of the fork is detected by the proximity sensor provided on the elevating member,
Accurate control with little deviation is possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a use state of an automatic lifting shelf according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an overall schematic perspective view showing the internal structure of the automatic lifting rack shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an essential part for explaining an elevating mechanism of an elevating member and a longitudinal movement mechanism of a fork.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of essential parts showing a state where the storage rack is supported by a fork and moved forward.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of essential parts for explaining a state in which the storage rack is supported by a fork.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state <step S2>.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state <step S3>.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state <step S4>.

9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line IX-IX in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state <step S5>.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state <step S6>.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state <step S8>.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state <step S9>.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state <step S11>.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of operation <Steps S1 to S11>.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Side material 3 Storage shelf 9 Fork 10 Lifting member 31 Side part of storage shelf 40 Storage shelf support portion 41 Engagement portion 43, 52, 53, 55 Proximity sensor R Hoistway

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pair of elevating members (10, 10), which are respectively provided on the facing surfaces of the left and right side members (2, 2) and are vertically movable along these side members (2, 2), and these. Are provided on the facing surface side of the lifting members (10, 10), and simultaneously move up and down as the lifting members (10, 10) move up and down, and simultaneously in the front-back direction while being guided by the lifting members (10, 10). The pair of movable forks (9, 9) and the hoistways (R, R) of the elevating members (10, 10) are positioned at their respective home positions in a multistage manner, and the pair of forks ( 9, 9) and a plurality of storage shelves (3) that move up and down in front of the home position, and storage shelf support portions (40, 40) provided on the facing surfaces of the pair of forks (9, 9), respectively. ) And each of the storage shelves (3) The left and right side portions (31, 31) are respectively provided with the storage rack support portions (40, 40) displaced in the front-rear position, and the pair of forks (9, 9) move up and down and move in the front-rear direction at the same time. Engagement portions (41, 41) that engage with the storage shelf support portions (40, 40)
And a vertical proximity sensor (which detects a rising stop position and a lowering stop position of the lifting members (10, 10) so that the storage rack (3) that moves up and down in front of the home position stops at a predetermined height position ( 44, 53) and a front-rear proximity sensor (43, 43) provided on the elevating member (10, 10) and detecting a front-rear movement stop position of the fork (9, 9) along the elevating member (10, 10). 52,
55) An automatic elevating shelf characterized by comprising: