JPH08198437A - Article feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To accomplish reduction in a cycle time and in a size of a device and to provide an article feeder which requires no elevator and is constructed of a small structure by dispensing with a time and a space for lifting/lowering of an article receiving tray. CONSTITUTION: An article feeder is provided with an article receiving tray 8, a rotary shaft 15 rotated by the rotation of a motor 18 via an endless belt 17 and a wheel, a crank mechanism horizontally moving the article receiving tray 8 by the rotation of the rotary shaft 15, and a guide part guiding the article receiving tray 8 horizontally. The article feeder is also provided with endless belts 11, which are driven by the rotation of the rotary shaft 15, and a pusher 7 pushes an article W on a roller conveyor 5 which consists of a rod hung and stopped by the endless belt 11 on the right side and on the left side and a slope 6 forward.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article supply device,
More specifically, in a stacking device for articles on a pallet,
The present invention relates to an article supply device that supplies articles to an elevating tray that can move up and down.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The applicant of the present invention has already provided, in a stacking device for articles on a pallet, an article receiving tray that can be raised and lowered and horizontally movable, and a pusher that supplies articles to the article receiving tray at the uppermost position. The present invention proposes an article supply device that supplies articles to an elevating tray that is vertically movable. In this article supply device, the article receiving tray to which the article is supplied by the pusher at the uppermost position descends to the lowest position with the article placed, and then horizontally retracts to the elevating tray below. To supply.

[0003]

However, in this article supply apparatus, since it takes time and space for the article receiving tray on which the articles are placed to descend from the uppermost position to the lowermost position, it descends. There is a problem in that the cycle time becomes longer depending on the time interval and the apparatus becomes larger due to the space for descending. In addition, since the article receiving tray is moved up and down, an elevating mechanism is required in addition to the horizontal moving mechanism, and the structure becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to shorten the cycle time and downsize the apparatus by omitting the time and space for raising and lowering the article receiving tray. An object of the present invention is to provide an article supply device having a simple structure that does not require a lifting mechanism.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is an article supply device for supplying articles to an elevating tray which can be raised and lowered below, and which protrudes above the elevating tray. The article supply device includes an article receiving tray that is horizontally movable so as to move in and out of the article receiving tray, and a pusher that supplies articles to the article receiving tray.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the article receiving tray and the pusher are interlockingly connected.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a guide for horizontally guiding the article receiving tray, a first arm having one end fixed to a rotating shaft, and one end pivotally attached to the other end of the first arm. , And a crank mechanism including a second arm pivotally attached to the article receiving tray at the other end.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, articles are supplied by the pusher to the article receiving tray projecting above the elevating tray, and the article receiving tray on which the article is placed retreats from above the elevating tray. Items are supplied to the tray.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the article receiving tray and the pusher are interlockingly connected, the article is supplied at a predetermined timing to the article receiving tray which moves horizontally by the pusher.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since it has a guide for horizontally guiding the article receiving tray and a crank mechanism, when the first arm pivots about one end fixed to the rotating shaft, The second arm moves along with the circular movement of the other end of the first arm, and the article receiving tray pivotally attached to the second arm moves horizontally by being guided by the guide.

[0011]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these examples without departing from the gist of the present invention. In this specification, the front means the left side in FIG. 1, the rear means the right side in FIG. 1, the left means the lower side in FIG. 1, and the right means the upper side in FIG.

An article conveying conveyor (conveyor having a driving device) 1 is provided above the floor surface (ceiling side) of a warehouse or the like, with the conveying direction facing forward and backward. An article turning device (not shown) for changing the direction of the article W, a position regulating device (not shown) for adjusting / regulating the lateral position of the article W, etc. are installed in the middle of the article conveyor 1. At the rear end (upstream end) of the article conveyor 1, a plurality of article stations and a depalletizer such as an unloading robot (not shown) corresponding to each article station are provided. It is adapted to be supplied to the article conveyor 1.

An article supply device 2 is connected in front of the article conveyor 1. The article supply device 2 is rotatably handed over to the left and right side frames 3 connected to the left and right side frames of the article conveyor 1 and the side frames 3 with their axes centered in the left and right directions, and a drive device (not shown). Roller conveyor 5 consisting of a group of many rollers 4 that are constantly driven by
And a slope 6 that is connected to the front of the roller conveyor 5 and that has a downward bent portion 6a formed at the front end and that is inclined slightly downward toward the front, and the roller conveyor 5 and the article W on the slope 6 to the front. It has two pushers 7, which will be described later in detail, and an article receiving tray 8 which is horizontally movable by means described later. The slope 6 is fixed to the side frame 3 so as not to interfere with a wheel 10 for moving the article receiving tray 8 and the pusher 7 and an endless belt 11 which will be described later.

The mounting / operating mechanism of the pusher 7 will be described below. The pair of left and right wheels 1 are positioned above and below the transport surface at the rear end of the roller conveyor 5.
0a, 10b are rotatably provided on the side frame 3 with the axis centered in the left-right direction, and the pair of left and right wheels 10c sandwich the front end part of the slope 6 from the left and right so that the side frame 3 has the axis centered on the left and right. It is rotatably provided so as to face the direction, and the left wheel group 10 (10a, 10b)
And 10c) and the right wheel 10 group, the endless belts 11 made up of chains, belts, etc. are stretched, and the left and right endless belts 11 are positioned so as to bisect the length of the endless belts 11. , Two pushers 7 made of a rod with its axis oriented in the left-right direction are stopped. Further, the shaft to which the wheel 10a located above the conveying surface at the rear end of the roller conveyor 5 is fixed is
The wheel 12 is fixed so as to be positioned outside the wheel 10a (on the left side with respect to the left wheel 10a and on the right side with respect to the right wheel 10a). With such a configuration, when the wheel 12 rotates, the endless belt 11 is driven along with the rotation of the wheel 10b, and the pusher 7 is moved along the movement locus of the endless belt 11 formed by the three sets of wheels 10a, 10b, and 10c. Moving. When the article W conveyed on the article conveyor 1 is placed on the roller conveyor 5, the pusher 7 is projected behind the conveyor surface of the roller conveyor 5, and the article W is driven by driving the roller 4 and moving the pusher 7 forward. Can be sent forward. It should be noted that no member is projected in the movement trajectory drawn when the pusher 7 moves along with the driving of the endless belt 11. Further, in order that the article W does not collide with or interfere with the wheels 10 (wheels 10a, 10b, and 10c) and the endless belt 11, the inner end of the guide portion 25 formed on the upper portion of the side frame 3 may be the wheel 10 and the endless belt 11.
It projects more inward (see Figures 3 and 4).

The mounting / operating mechanism of the article receiving tray 8 will be described below. Wheel 10 of endless belt 11
Horizontal guides extending in the front-rear direction are provided on the left and right side frames 3 that are substantially the same height as the movement path between the wheel c and the wheel 10b and extend from the vicinity of the front end of the roller conveyor 5 to the vicinity of the rear end of the elevating body 30, which will be described later. 26 is formed. At the left and right ends of the article receiving tray 8, the article receiving tray 8 is bent to the upper side, and is approximately 9
A rising portion 8a forming an angle of 0 degree is formed.
On the outer side surface of the rising portion 8a, at two front and rear positions, a rotatable roller 44 having its axis centered in the vertical direction and slidingly contacted with the inner side surface and the upper and lower surfaces of the guide section 26, and its axis oriented in the left-right direction. Rotatable rollers 45, 45 are provided, and the article receiving tray 8 is guided by the guide portion 26 and horizontally moved back and forth. The left and right side frames 3 are provided with a rotatable rotary shaft 15 which is positioned below the roller conveyor 5 and whose axis is oriented in the left-right direction. A motor 18 is arranged behind the rotary shaft 15 and
Wheel 16 and motor 18 fixed in the center of 5
The endless belt 17 is stretched over the shaft, and the rotation of the motor 18 is transmitted to the rotary shaft 15.

The article receiving tray 8 has the rotating shaft 15
Left and right crank mechanisms 20, 20 that operate by rotation of the
Can be moved horizontally via. The crank mechanism 20 includes a first arm 21 having one end fixed to the rotating shaft 15 and a second arm 22 pivotally mounted outside the other end of the first arm 21.
And a third arm 23 whose one end is pivotally mounted inside the other end of the second arm 22 and whose other end is fixed to the bottom surface of the article receiving tray 10. With such a configuration, when the rotary shaft 15 rotates, the first arm 21 pivots around one end fixed to the rotary shaft 15, and the second arm moves with the circular motion of the other end of the first arm 21. The arm 22 moves, and the third arm 23 and the article receiving tray 8 horizontally move back and forth.
The other end of the second arm 22 may be pivotally attached to the bottom surface of the article receiving tray 8 without providing the third arm 23. In the crank mechanism 20, the connecting part (pivotally connecting part) of the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 moves on a circumference having a radius of the length of the first arm 21 around the rotation shaft 15. , The connecting portion of the second arm 22 and the third arm 23 moves on a line segment having a height according to the length of the third arm 23, but any member projects in the movement locus of each arm. It is designed not to.

At the left and right ends of the rotary shaft 15, the wheel 16 is sandwiched from the left and right so as to be positioned just below the wheels 12 and 12 and slightly forward.
14 is stopped. An endless belt 13 is stretched between the wheels 12 and 14. With such a configuration, when the rotation shaft 15 rotates due to the rotation of the motor 18, the wheel 12 also rotates, that is, the rotation of the motor 18 causes the endless belt 17, the wheel 16, the rotation shaft 15, the wheel 14, the endless belt. It is transmitted to the pusher 7 via the band 13, the wheel 12, the wheel 10b and the endless band 11.

As described above, the endless belt 11 and the crank mechanism 20, that is, the pusher 7 and the article receiving tray 8 are interlocked by the single motor 18. The size (diameter) of each wheel and the length of each arm in the crank mechanism 20 are adjusted so that the pusher 7 supplies the article W to the article receiving tray 8 at a predetermined timing. When the article receiving tray 8 is retracted to the last position or the vicinity thereof, one pusher 7 is positioned at the center position of the forward movement locus projecting from the transport surface of the roller conveyor 5, and the other pusher 7 is pushed. Reference numeral 7 is at the center position of the backward movement locus retreating from the conveyance surface of the roller conveyor 5 (see FIG. 6). When the article receiving tray 8 projects to the frontmost position or its vicinity, one pusher 7 is positioned near the frontmost position of the movement locus (near the wheel 10c) (see the chain line in FIG. 6). At this time, the other pusher 7 is near the last position of the movement trajectory. When the one pusher 7 is in a position where the article W is completely pushed out from the slope 6, the article receiving tray 8 is located at the frontmost position or in the vicinity thereof so that the article W does not drop from the front of the article receiving tray 8. Has been done. In addition, the article receiving tray 8
The front end of the article receiving tray 8 is arranged so as not to be located in front of the front end of the slope 6 when the front end of the article receiving tray 8 retreats to or near the last position. Further, by using the crank mechanism 20, even when the rotary shaft 15 rotates at a constant speed, the horizontal movement (projection / retraction) speed of the article receiving tray 8 varies depending on the position. A crank mechanism 20 is provided so that the article receiving tray 8 can be optimally moved horizontally depending on the position in response to the lifting and lowering of the tray.
The length of each arm is adjusted.

The mast 28 is positioned on the front left side of the movement path of the article receiving tray 8 and is suspended from a support frame 27 which is erected on the floor so as not to collide with or interfere with a pallet table 40 described later. It is provided in. That is, mast 2
The lower end of 8 is not connected to any member so as not to collide with or interfere with the pallet P on the pallet base 40.

An elevation body 30 is movably provided on the mast 28 by a well-known elevation drive mechanism.
An elevating tray 31 is provided in the lower part of the above so as to be horizontally movable back and forth so as to project below the article receiving tray 8 in the projecting state and to withdraw from the article receiving tray 8. The elevating tray 31 is operated by a known horizontal actuator (not shown). In addition, on the upper and lower parts of the lifting body 30, the lifting body tray 3
1, a stopper 32 is provided so as to be horizontally movable back and forth. The stopper 32 is operated by a known horizontal operating device (not shown).

A fixed base frame 34 is provided on the floor below the mast 28, and the fixed base frame 34 is moved left and right along a pair of guide rails 35 provided on the upper surface of the fixed base frame 34 with the longitudinal direction oriented in the left-right direction. A table 37 is provided so as to be movable left and right, and a pallet table 40 is provided so as to be movable forward and backward along a pair of guide rails 38 provided on the table 37 for which the longitudinal direction is directed in the front-back direction. The left-right moving table 37 and the pallet table 40 are operated by a known horizontal operating device (not shown). With such a configuration, the pallet table 40 can be moved back and forth and left and right.

The pallet table 40 is composed of a driving roller conveyor whose conveying direction is the front-rear direction. Further, on the pallet table 40, a device (not shown) for positioning and locking the pallet P placed on the pallet table 40.
Is provided. Further, the movement ranges of the left-right moving table 37 and the pallet table 40 are set so that an arbitrary position of the pallet P placed on the pallet table 40 can be located below the horizontally protruding lift tray 31. .

At the position where the pallet P on the pallet table 40 completely comes out from the lower side of the mast 28 to the right and is further moved to the front, the unloading conveyor 42 connected to the pallet table 40 is placed on the floor surface. It is provided.

[0024]

Operation of the Embodiment Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described. When the article W conveyed from the article conveyor 1 is placed on the roller conveyor 5, the pusher 7 projects from the rear of the roller conveyor 5 from the conveyance surface of the roller conveyor 5, and the article W is rotated by the rotation of the roller 4 and the forward movement of the pusher 7.
Is pushed forward. At this time, a sensor (not shown) that detects the article W and the pusher 7 is installed at an appropriate location so that the pusher 7 does not lift the article W from below or push two articles W forward at the same time. Thereafter, the article W is placed on the article receiving tray 8 which is advancing from the front end of the slope 6. In the meantime, the lifted tray 31 which has become empty rises to the uppermost position (position approaching the projecting article receiving tray 8) and projects. After that, when the article W is completely placed on the article receiving tray 8, the article receiving tray 8 reaches the foremost position and starts retreating and entering the article W.
The pusher 7 that has been pushing enters under the slope 6. Article W that moves as the article receiving tray 8 moves in and out
Is restricted in its movement by the bent portion 6a formed at the front end of the slope 6, and the article receiving tray 8 is completely retracted (the front end is retracted rearward from the bent portion 6a).
Then, it is transferred to the lifting tray 31. After that, the elevating tray 36 descends by the height of the article W. After that, the same operation as described above is repeated, and the required number of articles W are stacked (rod-stacked) on the elevating tray 31. When the elevating tray 31 reaches a predetermined height during stacking, the stopper 32 is projected and applied to the side surface of the article W.

After that, the lifting tray 31 is moved to the pallet table 40.
After descending to a position approaching the pallet P that is supplied and locked, the elevating tray 31 is retracted at high speed, and the stacked articles W are placed on the pallet P. Lifting tray 3
Immediately after the withdrawal of 1, the stopper 32 is also withdrawn at a high speed.

After that, the pallet base 40 is horizontally moved as described later, and the stacking position of the next pallet P is positioned below the protruding tray 31. At the same time, the lifting tray 31 moves up toward the uppermost position. During the ascending, the elevating tray 31 horizontally projects when reaching a predetermined height (height higher than the articles W on the pallet P). Thereafter, the same operation as described above is repeated, and the required number of articles W are stacked on the pallet P. The packing of the articles W on the pallet P is
It is performed in the numerical order of (1) to (10) in FIG. That is, the transfer of the articles W from (1) to (5) is performed by intermittently moving the pallet P in the direction of arrow a, and then the pallet P is quickly returned in the direction of arrow b and the direction of arrow c. The transfer of the articles W from (6) to (10) is performed by intermittently moving the pallet P in the direction of arrow D.

For the pallet P on which the articles W are stacked, after the pallet table 40 is connected to the unloading conveyor 42, the pallet P is unlocked, and the driving roller conveyor and the unloading conveyor 42 of the pallet table 40 are driven. It is carried out by the carry-out conveyor 40. In the embodiment, the mechanism for horizontally moving the article receiving tray 8 is the crank mechanism 20, but another mechanism such as a cylinder may be used.

[0028]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. According to the invention of claim 1,
Since the pusher pushes the article receiving tray that protrudes above the lifting tray, and the article receiving tray moves back and forth to feed the article to the lower lifting tray, the article receiving tray moves up and down. This is advantageous in terms of both time and space, and it is possible to shorten the cycle time and downsize the device. Further, an elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the article receiving tray is not required, and the article receiving tray can be configured with a simple structure.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the article receiving tray and the pusher are interlocked with each other, and the article is supplied to the article receiving tray that moves horizontally by the pusher at a predetermined timing, the article supplied by the pusher can be easily supplied. It can be prevented from falling without being placed on the article receiving tray.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since it has the guide for horizontally guiding the article receiving tray and the crank mechanism, the article receiving tray can be reliably moved horizontally with a simple structure. Further, since the article receiving tray is horizontally moved based on the rotation of the rotating shaft, the article receiving tray can be adjusted so as to have an optimum speed corresponding to the position even when the rotating shaft rotates at a constant speed. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a simplified plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part of the article supply apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a power system diagram showing movement timings of the article receiving tray and the pusher.

FIG. 7 is a power system diagram showing movement timings of the article receiving tray and the pusher.

FIG. 8 is a power system diagram showing movement timings of the article receiving tray and the pusher.

FIG. 9 is a power system diagram showing movement timings of the article receiving tray and the pusher.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the transfer order of articles on a pallet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W articles P pallets 1 article conveyors 2 article feeders 3 side frames 5 roller conveyors 6 slopes 7 pushers 8 article trays 10 wheels 11 endless belts 15 rotary shafts 18 motors 20 crank mechanisms 21 first arms 22 second arms 23 Third arm 30 Lifting body 31 Lifting tray 40 Pallet stand

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An article supply device for supplying articles to a vertically movable elevator tray, which is horizontally movable so as to project above and below the elevator tray. An article supply apparatus having a pusher for supplying an article to an article receiving tray. 2. The article supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article receiving tray and the pusher are interlockingly connected. 3. A guide for horizontally guiding the article receiving tray, a first arm having one end fixed to a rotating shaft, and one end pivotally attached to the other end of the first arm and the other end receiving the article. 3. The article supply apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a crank mechanism including a second arm pivotally attached to the tray.