JPH0769599A - Article loading and unloading method and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stack many articles in a multi-layer at a correction and distribution yard and reduce a manual work by always limiting the reciprocating travel range of an elevator fork to area between the upper surface of an uppermost article in a group of articles stacked on a floor, and a conveyor. CONSTITUTION:An article carried forward on a conveyor 14 stops at a plate at the front end of an elevator fork 13. A lateral travel slider 20 is, then, driven to cause the horizontal motion of the elevator fork 13, together with an upright column 21, the fork 13 is stopped at a position near the left side wall of an article collection and distribution yard. Also, an elevating motor is driven to lower an elevator slider 22 for the column 21, thereby causing the fork 13 to near the floor level of the yard. Then, the fork 13 is inclined and the forward end thereof is kept in contact with a floor 16. In this state, the fluid pressure actuated cylinder 25 of an article holding means 15 is energized with the application of pressure, thereby extending forward a piston rod 24.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for loading and unloading articles, and more particularly, to a defined floor surface of a limited article collection yard such as a container, a truck bed or other warehouse. A method for automatically loading and unloading a large number of articles in a multi-stage manner from below, and an operation for sequentially unloading articles in a multi-stage manner on the floor surface from above, and a method of loading and unloading the articles. The present invention relates to an article loading / unloading apparatus that is preferably used for implementation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of so-called physical distribution, in which a large number of articles are loaded on a cargo bed of a container or a truck, or articles are sequentially unloaded from the cargo bed and delivered to a goods collection / dispersion base such as a warehouse, it is difficult to manually process the goods. Because it tends to be labor, it tends to be generally shunned by the people involved in the work.
For this reason, continuous efforts have conventionally been made to reduce the proportion of manual work by maximizing mechanization using forklifts, conveyors, and the like. These mechanized means have advanced remarkably efficiently depending on the form of the physical distribution site, and in some cases, they have been automated to the extent that they require little manpower.

[0003]

However, depending on the form of the physical distribution site, there are many cases in which full automation by these mechanical means is difficult. For example, articles packed in a cardboard box are loaded in a multi-tiered and multi-tiered manner on the bed of a container or a truck, and the articles are sequentially unloaded from the group of articles stacked on the container, or conversely from the goods collection and distribution base to containers and This is the case where the articles are sent toward the loading platform of the truck and the articles are sequentially loaded on the loading platform in multiple stages and multiple rows. In other words, up to the goods collection / disposal base, goods can be efficiently collected by means of mass transportation such as containers, trucks, and trains. In reality, many workers are still involved in loading each item into (collectively referred to) and unloading the item from the item collecting and collecting yard.

As a proposal for improving such a current situation, in the open type in which the cargo bed of the truck is completely opened, the goods are conveyed onto the cargo bed by means of the article carrying means such as a crane and are suspended in the air. A semi-automatic case is known in which an operator guides existing articles to a predetermined position and then lowers them to gradually stack the articles. For warehouses with high ceilings, use a combination of overhead traveling cranes and belt type conveyors.
This can relatively reduce the labor of the operator. However, a container or a truck whose only one is open and the other is all surrounded by walls and ceilings, and a truck whose roof is covered by a roof,
At present, there is little automation for loading and unloading a large amount of articles in warehouses where the ceiling is low and a traveling crane cannot be installed side by side on the ceiling, and other places where transportation means such as cranes cannot be carried. The current situation.

[0005]

It is an object of the present invention to stack, for example, box-shaped articles of the same standard on the floor of an article collecting yard in multiple stages (and multiple rows) at the above-mentioned physical distribution site, and to collect the article collecting yard. It is an object of the present invention to provide a means capable of significantly reducing the manual work when the articles stacked in multiple stages (and multiple rows) are sequentially shipped to the outside.

[0006]

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and preferably achieve the intended purpose, the method of loading articles according to the present invention forms a substantially fixed shape in a limited article collecting yard such as a container. When loading articles in multiple stages sequentially, as a series of first step groups for carrying out the loading, the first article carried from the article supply source to the first conveyor of the required height is moved up to the height of this first conveyor. A step of transferring to a second conveyor provided on the incoming lifting fork, and a step of lowering the lifting fork to a floor surface level of an article collecting yard, and then loading the first article placed on the second conveyor, A step of pushing the first article to a fixed position on the floor plane in the article collecting and yard by pressing it by means of an article holding means that is arranged to move back and forth on the lifting fork, and a series of second step groups connected to the first step group. As the first A step of raising the elevating fork after delivering the article to the level of the first conveyor, and transferring a second article carried into the first conveyor from the article supply source to the second conveyor of the elevating fork And after lowering the elevating fork to a position diagonally above the first article placed on the floor of the article collecting and yard, pressing the second article placed on the second conveyor by the article holding means. Sending the second article to the upper surface of the first article, and repeating the second step group, and stacking the range in which the lifting fork reciprocally moves up and down on the floor plane. It is characterized in that a large number of articles are loaded in multiple stages in the article collecting yard by performing a control that always limits between the upper surface of the uppermost article in the article group and the first conveyor. To.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and preferably achieve the intended purpose, the method of shipping articles according to the present invention is
Multi-tiered loading of multi-tiered articles in a limited collection / collection yard, such as a container, was performed as multi-tiered as a series of 1st process group for executing the loading. A step of bringing an ascending / descending fork to the position of the uppermost article in the article group, and advancing operation of an article holding means disposed so as to be movable back and forth on the elevating fork to hold the uppermost article; A step of retreating to transfer the uppermost article held by the article holding means to a second conveyor provided on the elevating fork, and elevating and lowering the elevating fork to position it at a required height. To the level of the first conveyor, and the step of sending the uppermost article placed on the second conveyor toward the first conveyor, and a series of second step groups connected to the first step group To, said lifting forks first
The conveyor is moved up and down to reach the position of the article in the second stage of the article group stacked in the article collecting and yard, and the article holding means is again operated to move forward.
A step of holding the article of the second stage; a step of retracting the article holding means to transfer the article of the second step held by the article holding means to a second conveyor provided on the lifting fork. The step of driving the elevating fork up and down to reach the level of the first conveyor, and transferring the second-stage article placed on the second conveyor to the first conveyor. While repeating the second step group, the range in which the elevating fork moves up and down reciprocally is set to the upper surface of the article group stacked in the article collecting yard and the first section.
It is characterized in that each article is sequentially unloaded from the article group stacked in multiple stages in the article collecting and yard by performing a control that always limits the distance between the article and the conveyor.

Further, in order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and suitably achieve the intended purpose, the article loading / unloading device according to the present invention is provided with an article having a substantially fixed shape in a limited article collecting yard such as a container. It is a loading / unloading device for sequentially loading multi-tiered articles from below, and for successively loading multi-tiered articles from above, which enables entry and retreat from article yard. A self-propelled carriage, a first conveyor that is disposed on the upper portion of the self-propelled carriage, is forward / backward driven to carry out loading and unloading of articles, and is disposed on the front frame of the self-propelled carriage, A lateral movement slider that can freely move and stop in a lateral direction intersecting the traveling direction of the carriage, and an upright column that is erected on the lateral movement slider, are vertically moved up and down along the column. Shi An elevating slider, an elevating fork provided with the elevating slider, extending substantially horizontally to the front of the self-propelled carriage, and for loading and unloading articles on the upper surface, and the elevating slider. hand,
It is possible to freely swing between an upper position of the lifting fork and a position retracted from the upper position, and the articles stacked in the article collecting yard are loaded onto the second conveyor or placed on the second conveyor. The present invention is characterized by comprising article holding means that is driven forward and backward to load articles to the article collecting and yard.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The method and apparatus for loading / unloading articles according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings with reference to the preferred embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the articles to be loaded and unloaded are assumed to be articles of substantially the same standard, for example, articles placed in a cardboard box, but other than this, cement bags and coffee beans are also available. An article in which the respective bag bodies have a substantially fixed shape, such as a hemp bag, may be handled. A vacuum suction cup is preferably used as an article holding means for directly holding the article or releasing the holding of the article, but when the target article is made of a breathable material like a hemp bag. In place of the cup, a hook-shaped hook that can easily be inserted into and removed from the hemp bag is used as the hook. Further, a finger-shaped hand for gripping and releasing the article may be appropriately used depending on the property of the article to be handled.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a loading / unloading device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The left side of the drawing is the "front side" of the device and the right side is the "rear side". I shall.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus, and the upper side of the figure is the “left side” and the lower side is the “right side” of the apparatus. Further, FIG. 3 is a front view of the apparatus, and it is assumed that the left side of the figure is the “left side” of the apparatus and the right side is the “right side”. Figure 4
FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an arrangement state of an elevating slider provided in the apparatus and a pair of elevating forks attached to the elevating slider. 5 and 6 are schematic perspective views showing the article holding means arranged on the elevating slider in two different positional relationships with respect to the elevating slider. The loading / unloading device according to the embodiment, viewed from the structural side thereof, is a portion of the self-propelled carriage including the first conveyor, and a portion of the upright support pillar that is disposed on the front surface of the self-propelled carriage and moves laterally left and right. And a pair of lifting forks that are vertically movable on the upright columns, and are loaded in relation to the lifting forks to load external articles onto a second conveyor provided on the forks, Further, since the articles on the second conveyor can be roughly divided into article holding means for loading the articles to the outside, they will be described below by dividing them into respective constituent parts.

(Regarding the basic structure of the self-propelled carriage) FIGS. 1 to 3
As shown in, the loading / unloading device according to the embodiment basically has a self-propelled carriage 18 capable of self-driving as a basic structure. The self-propelled carriage 18 includes, for example, a gantry frame 27 formed of a box-shaped frame body, and a dolly frame 65 provided below the gantry frame 27. Further, a pair of free wheels 29, 29 are provided on the front side, respectively. Behind the bogie frame 65, a bogie drive motor 30 is provided corresponding to each wheel 28.
The chain 32 is wound between the sprocket 33 provided on the reduction shaft of each motor 30 and the sprocket 33 provided on the wheel 28 so that the rotation of the motor 30 can be transmitted to the wheel 28. It has become. Further, the free wheel 29 is supported by a front wheel fork 36, and the wheel 28 on the drive side rotates so that the self-propelled carriage 18 can be linearly moved forward and backward. Each motor 30 may be driven by a battery or the like mounted on the self-propelled carriage 18 as a power source, or may be supplied from an external power source to the motor 30 via a cable. Further, a controller for operating the self-propelled carriage 18 is provided on the carriage 18 and an operator on the carriage generally operates the controller. However, the controller is provided outside and remote-controlled by a cable or wireless. It is also suggested to do so.

A conveyor frame 31 is horizontally arranged above the gantry frame 27 of the self-propelled carriage 18, and the first conveyor 12 is arranged on the conveyor frame 31 so as to be movable along the traveling direction of the carriage. There is. The first conveyor 12 is driven by a motor (not shown) provided inside the conveyor frame 31 to move forward (left side) in FIG.
Alternatively, the article can be transported by selectively traveling horizontally in the rear (right side). Note that, as shown in FIG. 23, for example, as shown in FIG. 23, for carrying in the articles to the first conveyor 12 and carrying out the articles from the first conveyor 12, a separately prepared article transport conveyor 17 (this is a constituent of the invention) Is not used).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, on the upper surface of the carriage frame 65, two roller guide rails 3 are arranged in parallel.
4,34 is fixed in the direction that intersects with the traveling direction of the truck,
It extends to the left and right for a specified distance. A slider 61 is mounted on each of the guide rails 34, 34 so as to be slidable in the lateral direction, and can be moved back and forth in the left and right directions in FIG. The gantry frame 27 is mounted and fixed on the sliders 61, 61, and a U-shaped roller support 35 is horizontally arranged at the open ends of the sliders 61 that extend to the left and right. This roller support 35
A plurality of guide rollers 26 are rotatably supported on the shaft. Below the gantry frame 27, a linear actuator 70 such as a pneumatic cylinder is provided with sliders 61.
The actuator 70 is provided corresponding to
The respective guide rollers 26 can be synchronously moved to the left and right in FIG. 2 by urging. The role of these guide rollers 26 is as described below.
In the case where the article collecting and yard is a cargo bed with a wall such as a container, it functions to assist in moving the self-propelled carriage 18 forward and backward in parallel along one of the walls. That is, even if the trolley frame 65 portion of the self-propelled trolley 18 cannot enter parallel to the wall surface of the container, the guide frame 26 is forcibly butted against one wall of the container, whereby the gantry frame 27 is slid. It slides on the guide rails 34, 34 together with 61, 61. Therefore, the gantry frame 27 can always be positioned parallel to one wall surface of the container or the like.

(Regarding Lateral Moving Mechanism of Upright Support) As can be seen from FIGS. 3 and 1, a horizontal moving slider 20 is attached to the front portion of the self-propelled carriage 18, and an upright support 21 provided vertically to the slider 20. Can be moved left and right. That is, a pair of horizontal slider rails 37, 37 are arranged and fixed in parallel to each other at a front portion of the gantry frame 27 in a vertical relationship, and a vertical plate member is mounted on these rails 37, 37 via a linear bearing 65. A lateral movement slider 20 composed of is attached and is horizontally movable in the lateral direction in FIG. For example, in the front portion of the gantry frame 27, a horizontal screw 38 is arranged in the middle of the pair of horizontal slider rails 37, 37 in parallel with the rail. The lateral screw 38 is rotatably supported by bearings 62, 62 at both ends thereof, and one end of the screw 38 is attached to a sprocket (not shown) on a rotary shaft of a motor provided on the gantry frame 27. ) And Chen 3
They are connected via 9. A nut (not shown) screwed with the horizontal screw 38 is fixed to the back side of the horizontal slider 20. Therefore, when the motor (not shown) is rotated in a predetermined direction, the rotational power is transmitted to the horizontal screw 38 via the chain 39, and the horizontal screw 38 and the nut (not shown) are screwed together. The laterally moving slider 20 is horizontally moved and stopped horizontally along the lateral slider rails 37 while keeping the upright columns 21 supported. The upright column 21 supports a pair of lifting forks 13 to be described later so as to be able to move up and down. The upright forks 13 and 13 are moved by the upright columns 21 together with the lateral movement slider 20.
When the article 11 is delivered between the second conveyor 14 (described later) provided in the vehicle and the first conveyor 12 provided in the self-propelled carriage 18, and as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG.
There is a case where 13 is moved in the lateral direction to further load the articles 11 next to the stacked article group.

(About Lifting Fork Arranged on Upright Support) The upright support 21 has two lifting forks 1 horizontally extending forward from a lift slider 22 provided thereon.
3, 13 are arranged so as to be able to move up and down. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, two vertical rails 43, 43 are vertically arranged on the front side of the upright support column 21 on the left and right sides.
A long vertical screw 40 extends vertically between the two.
The upper and lower ends of the vertical screw 40 are fixed and supported by supports 60, 60 respectively arranged at the upper part and the lower part of the upright column 21. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, an elevating slider 22 having a substantially box-like shape is provided with a pair of vertical rails 4 via linear bearings 66, 66 arranged corresponding to the rear surface thereof.
It is provided at 3, 43 so that it can be raised and lowered. A motor 49 for raising and lowering the slider 22 is provided inside the elevator slider 22. That is, the motor 49
Motor pulley 50 provided on the rotary shaft of the rotary nut 4 and a rotary nut 4 having a pulley shape on the outer periphery screwed into the vertical screw 40.
A belt 48 is wound around the belt 7. The lower portion of the rotary nut 47 is rotatably supported by a holder 63 extending from the lifting motor 49. Therefore, when the motor 49 is rotated in the required direction, the rotational force is transmitted to the rotating nut 47 via the belt 48. As described above, since the rotating nut 47 is rotatably supported by the holder 63 provided on the motor 49, the nut 47 is screwed with the vertical screw 40 to move the lifting slider. 22 is moved up and down along the upright columns 21 by a required distance. A so-called ball screw is preferably used as the vertical screw 40, but in this case, the elevating slider 22 is lowered by gravity when the motor 49 is inoperative. Therefore, in order to prevent this, a balancer mechanism described later is provided.

As described above, the elevating slider 22 freely driven up and down with respect to the upright column 21 has a pair of elevating forks 13, 1 positioned on the left and right thereof and extending horizontally forward.
3 is provided. In particular, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 2, horizontal shafts 41, 41 are provided on the front side of the elevating slider 22 so as to extend horizontally in the left-right direction, and each of the horizontal shafts 41 has an elevating fork having the illustrated shape. 13 is pivotally supported so as to be swingable at a required angle with respect to the horizontal plane. In addition, each horizontal axis 4
The pivotal position of the lifting fork 13 according to
It is preferable to pivot at a position slightly displaced rearward from the intermediate position in the longitudinal direction of 3. The two elevating forks 13, 13 positioned in parallel to the left and right with the elevating slider 22 interposed therebetween have a common intermediate bar 42 at a side part slightly forward of the pivotal support position of the horizontal shafts 41, 41.
It is designed to be fixed by.

On the upper surface of the intermediate bar 42, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the support 4 having a U-shape in a plane.
4 is fixed and stands up from the intermediate bar 42.
Further, a pair of tilting cylinders 45, 45 are pivotally supported on the front side of the elevating slider 22 so as to be vertically tiltable via a trunnion member, and the piston rod 46 extending movably from each cylinder 45 is It is pivotally attached to the corresponding part of the support 44 via a pin 67. These tilting cylinders 45, 45 are always located with the piston rod 46 retracted into the cylinder barrel, as shown by the solid lines in FIGS. 4 and 1, whereby the respective lifting forks 13 are moved to the lifting slider 22. On the other hand, the posture is kept almost horizontal. When the tilt cylinders 45, 45 are urged by fluid pressure as needed, the piston rods 46, 46
Extends from the cylinder barrel by a required distance, and as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the pair of lifting forks 13, 13 can be tilted by a required angle with respect to the lifting slider 22. The reason why the elevating forks 13 and 13 are made to have two forms, that is, a substantially horizontal position and a tilting tilting position with respect to the elevating slider 22 is as follows.
As will be described later, the article 1 is placed on the floor surface 16 of the article collecting and yard 10.
1 and vice versa.
This is because it is necessary when the lowermost article 11 placed on the floor surface 16 is transferred to the second conveyor 14.

A large number of cylindrical rollers are arranged in each of the elevating forks 13 in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction thereof, and a group of these rollers constitutes a second conveyor 14. Each of the rollers forming the second conveyor 14 is preferably an outer roller type electric motor having a roller body as a rotor, for example. By rotating these groups of rollers simultaneously in the forward and reverse directions, as will be described later. The articles 11 transferred onto the second conveyor 14 can be carried in and out. However, it goes without saying that an endless belt may be appropriately used instead of disposing these roller groups. A smooth wedge-shaped plate 64 is preferably provided at the front open end of the lifting fork 13 to facilitate loading and unloading of the article 11.

(Regarding the Article Holding Means Provided to the Elevating Slider) Above each of the elevating forks 13, when articles 11 are loaded from the article collecting yard 10 and articles 11 are collected and scattered from the elevating forks 13 as described later. The article holding means 15 required when the product is loaded toward the yard 10 is provided correspondingly. As the article holding means 15, a vacuum suction cup connected to a vacuum source is adopted in the illustrated example, and the article 11 located on the second conveyor 14 is used.
To prevent it from interfering with the article 11 during transportation of
It can be flipped up and retracted if necessary. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, a bracket 51 is arranged in front of the support 44 provided on the intermediate bar 42 that commonly connects the two lifting forks 13, 13. Both ends of the bracket 51 are formed in a fork shape, and a swing arm 52 is pivotally supported on each of the fork portions so as to be vertically swingable via a pin 55. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a swing cylinder 53 is horizontally arranged above the bracket 51, and a piston rod 54 that freely moves back and forth in the horizontal direction from the cylinder 53 is pivotally attached to the swing arm 52. Has been done. This swing arm 52
A cylinder 25 is horizontally provided on the rear end side of the upper part of the cylinder 25, and a piston rod 24 of the cylinder 25 is movable forward and backward from the swing arm 52.

A vacuum suction cup 23 is provided at the tip of the piston rod 24. The cup 23 is connected to a vacuum source (not shown) via a hose, and the cup 23 is evacuated by opening and closing the valve body. Adsorption and vacuum release are possible. As shown in FIG. 5, the piston rod 54 always extends horizontally from the rocking cylinder 53, and the rocking arm 52 pivotally supported by the bracket 51 is arranged in a direction intersecting the carrying direction of the second conveyor 14. It is located above. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, when the article 11 needs to be carried out on the second conveyor 14, in order to avoid the interference with the article 11, the rocking cylinder 53 is urged by pressure and the piston rod 54 is moved. Back into the cylinder barrel. As a result, the swing arm 52 (that is, the article holding means 15) can be flipped up and retracted above the second conveyor 14.

Regarding the mechanism of the article holding means 15,
Although only one means has been described, it goes without saying that the other article holding means 15 has the same mechanism. Further, in the apparatus of this embodiment, one pair of the lifting forks 13 is provided, but this is not an essential requirement of the present invention, and only one lifting fork 13 may be provided. The reason is, as will be described later, when the floor area of the article collecting and yard 10 is large, loading and unloading operations of articles over a wide lateral range without moving the self-propelled carriage 18 in the lateral direction. To get
This is because it is convenient to provide the lifting forks 13, 13 in a pair. Therefore, for example, in the case where the self-propelled carriage 18 is provided with a lateral movement mechanism,
The lifting fork 13 may be provided as a single structure except for the efficiency of loading and unloading the articles.

(About balancer device) The upright column 21
A balancer mechanism using a fluid pressure cylinder is provided as a mechanism for assisting the raising / lowering operation of the raising / lowering mechanism of the raising / lowering slider 22 in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a long balancer cylinder 56 is arranged below one side surface of the upright support column 21 in parallel therewith, and a piston rod 57 which is directed vertically upward from the balancer cylinder 56 advances. And it extends backward. A sprocket 59 is rotatably provided on the upper end of the piston rod 57 via a holder.
A balancer chain 58 that engages with 9 is fixed at one end to the rear end of the elevating slider 22 and at the other end to the upper end of the lateral movement slider 20. The balancer cylinder 56 is always biased by pressure in a direction to advance the piston rod 57 upward. As a result, when the lifting forks 13, 13 are raised with respect to the upright support 21, the lifting motor 49 is used.
In addition to the rotational force of the above, the pressing action of the piston rod 57 by the balancer cylinder 56 is added, so that the load on the lifting motor 49 can be reduced, and a type with a small motor capacity can be used. Lifting fork 1
The piston rod 57 is engaged with the balancer chain 58 through the sprocket 59 at the tip of the piston rod 57 also when the 3, 3 are lowered with respect to the upright column 21, so that the lifting fork 13 is moved at high speed. Even if I lower 13,
The damping action of the pressure fluid can be stopped promptly and without impact. Furthermore,
If a so-called ball screw is adopted for the vertical screw 40 as described above, the lifting slider 22 descends due to gravity when the motor 49 is inoperative, but the lifting slider 22 descends due to the pressing action of the balancer cylinder 56. Is effectively prevented.

[0023]

[Other Embodiments] FIGS. 27 and 28 show another example of the arrangement of the guide rollers 26. That is, in the self-propelled carriage 18 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the carriage frame 65
The gantry frame 27 having the sliders 61, 61 is mounted on the guide rails 34, 34 fixed to the upper surface of the pedestal, and a plurality of guide rollers 2 are movably attached to the gantry frame 27.
6 was supposed to extend horizontally to the left and right. However, since this complicates the configuration, another embodiment shown in FIGS. 27 and 28 is proposed. That is, the truck frame 65
Is provided with wheels 28 and 29 in the lower part, and linear bearings 66 and 66 are horizontally fixed in a vertical relationship on a vertical front surface of the bogie frame 65. Guide rails 67, 67 are horizontally fixed to the front frame 68 in a vertical relationship. By supporting these guide rails 67, 67 on the linear bearings 66, 66, the front frame 68 is arranged laterally movable on the vertical front surface of the bogie frame 65. Further, a roller support 35 is horizontally arranged on the front frame 68, and a plurality of guide rollers 26 are rotatably supported on the roller support 35. A linear actuator 70 such as a pneumatic cylinder is provided inside the front frame 68, and the roller support 35 is attached to the linear actuator 70. Therefore, by urging the actuator 70, the roller support 35 can be moved forward and backward together with the corresponding guide rollers 26 in FIG. 28. In this case, unlike the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, only the front frame 68 can always be positioned parallel to one wall surface of the container or the like with respect to the carriage frame 65, which is structurally simpler. Is.

[0024]

Operation of the embodiment Next, when the article loading / unloading apparatus according to the embodiment configured as described above is operated, the articles 11 are loaded onto the floor surface 16 of the article collecting / yard 10 and the article collecting / yard 10. The case where the articles 11 are sequentially loaded will be described. First, FIG. 9 to FIG. 18 show a floor surface 16 of an article collecting / dispersing yard 10 in which an article 11 is represented by a truck bed.
An example is shown in which stacking is sequentially performed on top, and after stacking is performed up to a predetermined height, stacking is continued again at a position adjacent to the stack. 19 to 26 show an example in which the articles 11 are sequentially unloaded from the article group stacked in the article collecting and yard 10. In order to carry the article 11 into the first conveyor 12 provided on the self-transporting carriage 18,
A long movable article conveyor 17 is additionally provided, but as described above, this is not an essential constituent element of the present invention.

(When Items are Sequentially Loaded in the Item Collecting Yard) FIGS.
It is a schematic diagram showing a typical process when 1 is loaded one by one. 9 to 18, a state in which the lifting fork 13, the first conveyor 12, and the article conveying conveyor 17 are observed from the side is shown on the left side, and a state in which they are observed from a plane is correspondingly shown on the right side thereof. . The article collecting and yard 10 in the drawing is, as described above, a cargo bed with a roof surrounded by walls on three sides in a truck, for example. Then, the articles 11 are stacked in order from the left corner in the article collecting and yard 10, and when the stacking is completed, the sequence of stacking again at the right fixed position is repeated. When the articles 11 are stacked on the front wall surface of the article collection / dispersion yard 10 in multiple stages / rows, the articles are stacked again on the front side of the stacked article group.

(Regarding FIG. 9) The self-transporting carriage 18 travels into the article collecting / dispersing yard 10 by itself to enter the carriage 1.
The front end of the lifting fork 13 extending forward from 8 stops at a position before the vertical dimension W of the article 11 from the front wall surface of the yard 10. The first article 11 is transferred to the second conveyor 14 of the lifting fork 13 via the article transport conveyor 17 and the first conveyor 12, and is being sent out further forward. At this time, the article holding means 15
It springs up under the urging action of the rocking cylinder 53,
The second conveyor 14 is retracted from a position above the second conveyor 14. Therefore, the first article 11 has the article holding means 15
Will not interfere with. (Regarding FIG. 10) The first article 11 sent forward on the second conveyor 14 stops at the portion of the plate 64 provided at the front part of the lifting fork 13. The state in which the first article 11 is stopped at the fixed position of the plate 64 is detected by the sensor.
When (not shown) detects, the rocking cylinder 53 is reversely biased to lower the article holding means 15 to a position right above the second conveyor 14, and the cup 23 thereof is brought close to the rear side of the first article 11. To be directed to. (Regarding FIG. 11) As shown in the plane of FIG.
The conveyor 14 is in alignment with the first conveyor 12. Therefore, in order to load the articles 11 on the second conveyor 14 at the left corner of the article collecting and yard 10, the elevating fork 13 is moved in the lateral direction,
It is necessary to descend to the floor surface 0 of 0. Therefore, the lateral movement slider 20 is driven by the motor (not shown) to move the elevating forks 13 together with the upright columns 21 horizontally (X direction) in the plan view of FIG.
Stop near the left side wall at. Further, the elevating motor 49 is driven to move the elevating slider 22 downward (in the Z direction) with respect to the upright column 21, thereby bringing the elevating fork 13 close to the floor level of the article collecting and yard 10. As a result, the first article 11 on the second conveyor 14 is located in front of the left corner of the article collecting and dispersing yard 10. The order of the movement operation of the lateral movement slider 20 and the descending operation of the elevating slider 22 may be reversed, but both may be driven simultaneously, and in this case, the cycle time can be shortened. .

(Regarding FIG. 12) In the previous stage of FIG. 11,
The lifting fork 13 is positioned substantially parallel to the floor surface 16 of the article collecting and yard 10, so that the lifting fork 13 and the floor surface 1 are
There is a slight head gap with the 6. Therefore, by vertically urging the tilting cylinder 45 described with reference to FIG. 4, the lifting fork 13 is tilted (tilted) with respect to the lifting slider 22 by a required angle, and the tip of the fork 13 is brought into contact with the floor surface 16. Leading to. (Regarding FIG. 13) Under such a condition that the elevating fork 13 is inclined and its tip is brought into contact with the floor surface 16,
The fluid pressure cylinder 25 of the article holding means 15 is biased by pressure to extend the piston rod 24 forward. As a result, the vacuum suction cup 23 presses the rear surface of the first article 11 and sends the article 11 on the second conveyor 14 to a fixed position at the left corner of the article collecting and yard 10. In this case, since the vacuum suction cup 23 only functions as a pusher together with the cylinder 25 and the piston rod 24, the vacuum suction action communicating with the vacuum source is not performed. (Regarding FIG. 14) The first article 11 is placed in the article collection / disposal yard 10.
The fork 13 that has been sent to
As indicated by the chain double-dashed line, the tilted posture is returned to the horizontal posture. Then, the reverse operation to the case of FIG. 11 is performed, the elevating fork 13 is moved horizontally (X direction), and the second conveyor 14 is realigned with the first conveyor 12. Also, the elevating slider 22 is raised with respect to the upright column 21.
(Z direction) and then the second conveyor 1 on the fork 13
4 reaches the same level as the first conveyor 12.
In this case as well, the order of the movement operation of the lateral movement slider 20 and the raising operation of the elevating slider 22 may be reversed, and if both are driven simultaneously, the cycle time can be shortened. The article holding means 15 is rebounded by the urging action of the swing cylinder 53, and the second conveyor 1
Retreat from the position above 4 to a position off.

(Regarding FIG. 15) Here, the steps carried out with respect to FIG. 9 are carried out. That is, the next article 11
Is transferred to the second conveyor 14 via the article conveyor 17 and the first conveyor 12, and is being sent out further forward. The article holding means 15 is the second conveyor 1
Since it is retracted from above 4, it does not interfere with the article 11. (Regarding FIG. 16) Here, the steps performed with respect to FIG. 10 are performed. That is, the second article 11 sent forward on the second conveyor 14 is the lifting fork 1
It stops at the part of the plate 64 provided in the front part of 3. When a sensor (not shown) detects that the second article 11 has stopped at a fixed position on the plate 64, the swing cylinder 53
Is reversely urged to lower the article holding means 15 to a position right above the second conveyor 14, and the cup 23 thereof is directed toward the rear side of the first article 11.

(Regarding FIG. 17) Here, FIG.
The steps performed for 1 are carried out. However, the descending amount of the lifting fork 13 is up to the upper level of the first article 11. That is, in order to load the second article 11 on the second conveyor 14 onto the first article 11 placed in the left corner of the article collecting / dispersing yard 10, the elevating fork 13 is moved laterally and the It is necessary to lower it to the level of one article 11. Therefore, as described above, the laterally moving slider 20 is driven, and the up-and-down fork 1 is moved together with the upright columns 21.
3 is moved horizontally (X direction) and stopped at a position close to the left side wall of the article collecting and yard 10. Also, lift slider 2
2 is lowered (in the Z direction) with respect to the upright column 21, whereby the lifting fork 13 is brought close to the upper surface level of the first article 11. The order of the movement operation of the lateral movement slider 20 and the descending operation of the elevating slider 22 may be reversed, but both may be driven simultaneously. (Regarding FIG. 18) Here, basically, the process executed with respect to FIG. 13 is performed. It is not necessary to tilt the lifting fork 13 (held in a substantially horizontal position) as in the case of FIG. That is, by pressing the cylinder 25 of the article holding means 15 with pressure and extending the piston rod 24 forward, the vacuum suction cup 23 presses the second article 11 on the second conveyor 14 from the rear surface, and The articles are delivered onto the first article 11 placed in the left corner of the article collecting and yard 10. Also in this case, the vacuum suction cup 2
3 only functions as a pusher and does not perform a vacuum suction action.

By repeating the above steps, a large number of articles 11 are gradually stacked on the floor surface 16 of the article collecting and yard 10. At this time, the lifting fork 13 is moved to the floor 1
The article 11 located at the top of the article group stacked in 6
The reciprocating up and down movement is performed between the upper surface level and the first conveyor 12. When the stacking of the articles 11 at the left corner of the article collecting and yard 10 is completed, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the elevating fork 13 is moved to the position on the right side of the stacked article group and the second conveyor 14. The horizontal movement in the X direction is performed between and, and the articles 11 are stacked again. In this way, a large number of articles 11 can be stacked in multiple stages and multiple rows at a fixed position in the article collecting and yard 10.

(Case of sequentially loading articles from the article collecting and yard) FIGS. 19 to 26 show typical steps for sequentially loading the articles 11 from the group of articles stacked in the article collecting and yard 10. It is a schematic diagram. These FIGS. 19 to 2
In FIG. 6, a state in which the lifting fork 13, the first conveyor 12, and the article transport conveyor 17 are observed from the side is shown on the left side, and a state in which they are observed from a plane is correspondingly shown on the right side. The group of articles stacked in multiple stages and multiple rows in the article collecting and yard 10 are sequentially loaded from the article 11 located on the most front side and on the left top row, and when the loading from the top row is completed, Item 1 on the left side of
We shall repeat the sequence in which the shipping of one is done.

(Regarding FIG. 19) It is assumed that the articles 11 are stacked in multiple stages (Z direction) and multiple rows (X direction and Y direction) on the floor surface 16 of the article collecting and dispersing yard 10. The self-transporting carriage 18 stops entering the inside of the article collecting / dispersing yard 10, and the lifting fork 13 extending forward from the carriage 18 is located on the frontmost side and the leftmost top row in the stacked article group. It has risen to a position corresponding to the level of the article 11 and stopped. By moving the elevating fork 13 horizontally (X direction), the second conveyor 14 provided therein is stopped at a position close to the left side wall of the article collecting and yard 10. At this time, the article holding unit 15 is located above the second conveyor 14. (Regarding FIG. 20) Cylinder 2 in article holding means 15
5 is urged by fluid pressure to move the vacuum suction cup 23 forward to bring it into contact with the rear side of the uppermost article 11. The cup 23 sucks and holds the rear portion of the article 11 by communicating with a vacuum source (not shown). (Regarding FIG. 21) Cylinder 2 in article holding means 15
The vacuum suction cup 23 is moved backward by urging 5 in reverse, and the uppermost article 11 suction-held by the cup 23 is transferred to the second conveyor 14 provided on the lifting fork 13.

(Regarding FIG. 22) As shown in the plane of FIG. 21, the second conveyor 14 is positioned while being displaced in the horizontal direction (X) with respect to the first conveyor 12, and the lifting fork 1
3 is located above the first conveyor 12. Therefore, in order to load the articles 11 on the second conveyor 14 onto the first conveyor 12, it is necessary to move the elevating fork 13 horizontally and lower it to the level of the first conveyor 12. Therefore, in FIG. 22, the lateral movement slider 2
0 is driven by a motor (not shown) to move the elevating fork 13 along with the upright columns 21 horizontally (X direction).
Align with conveyor 12. Further, the elevating motor 49 is driven to lower the elevating slider 22 (Z direction), and the elevating fork 13 is made to match the level of the first conveyor 12. The movement of the lateral movement slider 20 and the elevating slider 22
The order of the descending operation of may be reversed, but if both are driven simultaneously, the cycle time can be shortened. (Regarding FIG. 23) The vacuum suction of the article holding means 15 is released and the swing cylinder 53 is urged. As a result, the article holding means 15 is flipped up and retracts to a position separated from the second conveyor 14,
It does not interfere with the articles 11 on the conveyor 14. (Regarding FIG. 24) The article 11 is transferred onto the first conveyor 12 by operating the second conveyor 14. Therefore, the article 11 is conveyed through the first conveyor 12 and the article conveyor 17 and is carried out of the system.

(Regarding FIG. 25) Of the group of articles stacked in the article collecting / dispersion yard 10 in this way, when the article 11 located at the foremost side and the leftmost top row is unloaded, the lower row
Then, the next article 11 located in the (second stage) is moved to be loaded. That is, the laterally moving slider 20 is horizontally moved in the direction away from the first conveyor 12, whereby the lifting fork 13 is stopped along the left side wall of the article collecting and yard 10. Further, the lifting fork 13 rises above the level of the first conveyor 12 and stops at the frontmost side of the stacked article group and before the next article 11 located on the left second row. Also in this case, the moving operation of the lateral movement slider 20 and the lowering operation of the elevating slider 22 may be reversed, or both may be simultaneously driven to shorten the cycle time. (Regarding FIG. 26) Cylinder 2 in article holding means 15
5 to move the vacuum suction cup 23 forward,
The article 11 in the step is brought into contact with the rear side. Further, the cup 23 is connected to the article 11 by communicating with a vacuum source (not shown).
The rear part is suction-held.

By repeating the above steps, the articles 11 stacked in multiple stages and in multiple rows on the floor surface 16 of the article collecting and yard 10 can be sequentially loaded. A lifting fork 13 is provided between the level of the upper surface of the group of articles stacked in the article collecting / yard 10 and the first conveyor 12.
It is required to reciprocate up and down.

[0036]

As described above, according to the method and apparatus for loading and unloading articles according to the present invention, a large number of articles are provided on a predetermined floor surface in a limited article collecting yard such as a truck bed or a warehouse. It is possible to automatically load articles from the bottom in multiple stages, and to load articles from the floor in multiple stages sequentially from the top, greatly reducing the labor required for these operations. It can be lightened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a loading / unloading device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a loading / unloading device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a loading / unloading device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an arrangement state of an elevating slider provided in a loading / unloading device according to an embodiment and a pair of elevating forks attached to the elevating slider.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the article holding means arranged on the elevating slider in two different positional relationships with respect to the elevating slider.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing the article holding means arranged on the elevating slider in two different positional relationships with respect to the elevating slider.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a lifting fork provided in the loading / unloading device according to one embodiment in a state of being brought close to the left side surface of the article collecting and yard.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a lifting fork provided in the loading / unloading device according to the embodiment in a state in which the lifting fork is shifted to the right side of the article collecting and yard.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a first stage showing a sequence of sequentially stacking articles on a floor of an article collecting and yard, on the left side thereof, a lifting fork, a first conveyor, and an article conveyor. Is viewed from the side, and the right side thereof is correspondingly viewed from the plane.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a second stage showing a sequence of sequentially stacking articles on the floor surface of the article collecting and yard sequentially.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a third stage showing a sequence of sequentially stacking articles on the floor surface of the article collecting and yard sequentially.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a fourth stage showing a sequence of sequentially stacking articles on the floor surface of the article collecting and yard sequentially.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the fifth stage showing a sequence of sequentially stacking articles on the floor surface of the article collecting and yard sequentially.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a sixth stage showing a sequence of sequentially stacking articles on the floor surface of the article collecting and yard sequentially.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a seventh stage showing a sequence of sequentially stacking articles on the floor surface of the article collecting and yard sequentially.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of the eighth stage showing the sequence of sequentially stacking the articles on the floor surface of the article collecting and yard sequentially.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a ninth stage showing a sequence of sequentially stacking articles on the floor surface of the article collecting and yard sequentially.

FIG. 18 is a schematic view of a tenth step showing a sequence of sequentially stacking articles on the floor surface of the article collecting and yard.

FIG. 19 is a first sequence showing a sequence of sequentially loading each article from the article group stacked in the article collecting and yard.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of stages, in which the left-hand side thereof shows a state in which the lifting fork, the first conveyor, and the article-transporting conveyor are observed from the side, and the right side thereof shows correspondingly the state of being observed in a plane.

FIG. 20 is a second time-sequential sequence showing the sequential loading of each article from the article group stacked in the article collecting and yard.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of stages.

FIG. 21 is a third time-sequential sequence showing the sequential loading of each article from the article group stacked in the article collecting and yard.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of stages.

FIG. 22 is a fourth time-sequential sequence showing the sequential loading of each article from the article group stacked in the article collecting and yard.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of stages.

FIG. 23 is a fifth time-sequential sequence showing the sequential loading of each article from the article group stacked in the article collecting and yard.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of stages.

FIG. 24 is a sixth time-sequential sequence showing the sequential loading of each article from the article group stacked in the article collecting and yard.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of stages.

FIG. 25 is a seventh time-sequential sequence showing the sequential loading of each article from the article group stacked in the article collecting and yard.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of stages.

FIG. 26 is an eighth view showing a sequence of sequentially loading each article from the article group stacked in the article collecting / yard.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of stages.

FIG. 27 is a side view showing another example of arrangement of guide rollers.

FIG. 28 is a plan view showing another arrangement example of guide rollers.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 article collecting and yard 11 article 12 first conveyor 13 lifting fork 14 second conveyor 15 article holding means 16 floor 17 article transporting conveyor 18 self-propelled carriage 19 front frame 20 lateral movement slider 21 upright column 22 lifting slider 23 vacuum suction cup 24 Piston rod 25 Fluid pressure cylinder 26 Guide roller

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI technical display location B66F 9/19 A 7515-3F (72) Inventor Kuji Mizuno 11 Higashifukido, Ichiriyama-cho, Kariya city, Aichi prefecture Asuka Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tadao Yamabata 11 Higashifukido, Ichiriyama Town, Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture Asuka Co., Ltd.

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A limited collection / disposal yard such as a container.
When the articles (11) having a substantially fixed shape are sequentially loaded into (10) in multiple stages, as a series of first step group for carrying out the loading, the articles are fed from the article supply source to the first conveyor (12) of a required height. The second conveyor (14) provided on the lifting fork (13) that has reached the height of the first conveyor (12) with the first article (11)
And a step of lowering the lifting fork (13) to the floor level of the article collecting and yard (10), and then placing the first article (11) placed on the second conveyor (14), A step of pushing the first fork (11) to a fixed position on the floor plane of the article collecting and dispersing yard (10) by pressing it by means of an article holding means (15) arranged so as to move back and forth on the lifting fork (13); As a series of second step group connected to the first step group, the lifting fork (13) after sending out the first article (11)
To the level of the first conveyor (12), and the second article (11) carried into the first conveyor (12) from the article supply source is transferred to the second conveyor (14) of the lifting fork (13). ), And the elevating fork (13) is moved down diagonally above the first article (11) placed on the floor of the article collecting and yard (10), and then the second conveyor (14) ) Is pressed by the article holding means (15) to send the second article (11) to the upper surface of the first article (11). While repeating the second step group, the range in which the elevating fork (13) reciprocally ascends and descends is set to the upper surface of the uppermost article (11) in the article group stacked on the floor plane and the first A number of articles (11) are placed in the article collecting yard (10) by performing a control to always limit the number of articles to one conveyor (12).
A method for loading articles, characterized in that the articles are loaded in multiple stages. 2. A second step for carrying out the first step group
After the first article (11) is transferred onto the conveyor (14), the lifting fork (13) is laterally moved in the horizontal direction (X) with respect to the first conveyor (12), if necessary. ) The goods collection yard (10)
2. The method for loading articles according to claim 1, wherein the elevating fork (13) is lowered to the floor level of the article collecting and yard (10) after reaching the position just above the loading position in the article. 3. After loading the articles (11) in multiple stages at fixed positions on the floor of the article collecting and dispersing yard (10) by repeating the second process group, the horizontal direction (X ) Is restricted between the inside of the article group (11) loaded in multiple stages and the open end of the first conveyor (12), and the first step group and the second step group are performed again. The method for loading articles according to claim 2, wherein the articles (11) are loaded in multiple stages and in multiple rows on the floor plane of the article collecting and dispersing yard (10). 4. The floor plane X in the article collecting and yard (10)
After loading the articles (11) in a multi-stage and multi-row direction, the lifting fork (13) and the first conveyor (12) are moved backward in the Y direction of the floor plane by a required distance, and then again. First
By carrying out the step group and the second step group, the next article (11) may be similarly multi-tiered and multi-row loaded on the front side of the article group (11) previously multi-tiered and multi-row loaded. The method for loading articles according to claim 3, 5. Article (11) coming from an article supply source is first
As a means to carry the goods into the conveyor (12), the goods collection and distribution yard (1
The article transfer conveyor (17) provided in (0) is used.
The method of loading the described article. 6. A limited collection / disposal yard such as a container.
When the articles (11) having a substantially fixed shape loaded in multiple stages on (10) were to be sequentially loaded, as a series of the first process group for executing the loading, they were loaded on the article distribution yard (10) in multiple stages. The elevating fork (13) arrives at the position of the uppermost article (11) in the article group (11), and the article holding means (15) disposed on the elevating fork (13) so as to move back and forth is operated to move forward. Top item (11)
And a second conveyor in which the article holding means (15) is moved backward and the uppermost article (11) held by the article holding means (15) is provided on the lifting fork (13). The step of transferring to (14), and the ascending and descending fork (13) is moved up and down to reach the level of the first conveyor (12) located at the required height, and then to the second conveyor (14). Top-level articles placed (11)
To a first conveyor (12), and as a series of second step group connected to the first step group, the lifting fork (13) is driven up and down with respect to the first conveyor (12), This is brought to the position of the second-stage article (11) in the article group (11) stacked in multiple stages in the article collecting and yard (10), and the article holding means (15) is again operated to move forward to the above-mentioned 2
A step of holding the article (11) of the second step, and the article holding means (15) is retracted to move the article (11) of the second step held by the article holding means (15) to the lifting fork. The step of transferring to the second conveyor (14) provided in (13), and the raising and lowering fork (13) is driven up and down to reach the level of the first conveyor (12), and the second conveyor ( 14)
The step of transferring the second-stage article (11) placed on the first conveyor (12) to the first conveyor (12), the second step group is continuously repeated, and the lifting fork (13) reciprocates. By carrying out control to always limit the ascending / descending range between the first conveyor (12) and the upper surface of the article group (11) multi-tiered in the article collecting yard (10), the article collecting yard (10) A method for shipping articles, wherein each article (11) is sequentially unloaded from a multi-tiered article group. 7. A second step for carrying out the first step group
After transferring the uppermost article (11) onto the conveyor (14), the lifting fork (13) is moved laterally (X) with respect to the first conveyor (12) as necessary to move the second article. Conveyor (14) and first
The method of claim 6, wherein after aligning the conveyor (12), the uppermost article (11) placed on the second conveyor (14) is sent toward the first conveyor (12). 8. After the articles (11) have been unloaded from the fixed position on the floor of the article collection / disposal yard (10) by repeating the second process group, the horizontal movement (X) of the lifting fork (13) is performed. By limiting the stroke between the inside of the article rows (11) that are adjacently stacked in multiple stages and the first conveyor (12), by performing the first step group and the second step group again, 7. The method of shipping articles according to claim 6, wherein the article group (11) stacked in multiple rows and in multiple stages is sequentially loaded on the floor plane of the article collecting and yard (10). 9. Article (11) transferred to the first conveyor (12)
7. The method for shipping articles according to claim 6, wherein an article transporting conveyor (17) provided in the article collecting yard (10) is used as a means for sending the articles toward the article storage yard. 10. Articles (11) having a substantially fixed shape are successively loaded into a limited article collection / dispersion yard (10) such as a container in a multistage manner from below, and articles (11) loaded in a multistage manner are successively delivered from above. A self-propelled carriage (18), which is a loading / unloading device for moving into and out of the goods collecting and yard (10), and is capable of moving backward from the yard (10). ) On the front frame (19) of the self-propelled carriage (18) and the first conveyor (12) that is driven forward and backward to carry articles for loading and unloading (11). A lateral movement slider (20) which is arranged and can freely move and stop in a lateral direction (X) intersecting the traveling direction (Y) of the carriage (18), and an upright position on the lateral movement slider (20). And an up-and-down slider (22) which is arranged on the upright column (21) and can be vertically moved (Z) along the column (21) and stopped. Arranged to extend substantially horizontally toward the front of the self-propelled carriage (18), the lifting fork with the article second conveyor to perform a product out and loading of (11) (14) on the upper surface (13)
And the lifting fork mounted on the lifting slider (22).
It is possible to freely swing between an upper position of (13) and a position retracted from the upper position, and the articles (11) stacked in the article collecting yard (10) are loaded on the second conveyor (14). , Or the article collecting yard (1) of the article (11) placed on the second conveyor (14)
An article loading / unloading device comprising an article holding means (15) which is driven forward / backward to perform loading to (0). 11. The two lifting forks (13) are arranged in parallel with each other with the lifting slider (22) interposed therebetween.
Item 0 loading / unloading device. 12. The article loading / unloading device according to claim 10, wherein the lifting fork (13) is configured to be capable of performing a tilting operation with respect to the lifting slider (22) within a required angle range. 13. The article according to claim 10, wherein said article holding means (15) is composed of a fluid pressure cylinder (25) for advancing and retracting a piston rod (24) having a vacuum suction cup (23) at its tip. Loading / unloading device. 14. Self-propelled carriages (18) are provided with guide rollers (26) which can move forward and backward on both sides of the self-propelled carriages (18). 11. The article loading and unloading device according to claim 10, wherein the guide rollers (26) abut against a vertical wall surface of the article collecting and yard (10) to ensure parallel movement with respect to the wall surface when traveling in and out. .