JPH08231045A - Case stacking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To ensure the fitting between an upper-tiered case and a lower-tiered case, and facilitate stacking work and instructing work. CONSTITUTION: Cases 1 are stacked and tiered on a pallet 44 while the bottom surface rib of an upper-tiered case 1 is fitted in the upper surface opening part of a lower-tiered case 1. That device is provided with a case stacking lifter 48 which lifts and lowers the pallet 44, a lift controller which positions the ascending/descending positions of the pallet 44 by the control of the case stacking lifter 48 so that the stacking of the cases 1 on the pallet 44 can be done in the position at constant height, and first pusher mechanisms 56 which can push and press the whole side wall surfaces of the top-tiered cases 1 stacked on the pallet 44 from an outer circumferential direction, and so on.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a case stacking apparatus suitable for stacking plastic cases for transporting milk packs, vegetables and the like on pallets using a handling robot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when a milk carton, vegetables and the like are shipped and transported from a factory, a fixed amount of the milk carton, vegetables and the like are stored in a case having an open top. The case is made of durable and lightweight synthetic resin or plastic, and has a holding hole formed on the side surface of the case so that a person can put his / her hand in when carrying the case. Further, in this case, usually, an upper edge rib is formed around the upper surface opening portion, and a bottom surface rib is formed on the bottom surface. When the cases are stacked in multiple stages, the bottom ribs of the upper case are fitted into the upper openings of the lower case, so that the collapse of the load is prevented.

By the way, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-19231, the case loading work is carried out after the pallet is set on a fixed mounting table.
A case is gripped by a worker or a teaching / reproducing type handling robot, and the bottom ribs of the upper case are fitted to the upper opening of the lower case, and are stacked on the pallet in order. There is.

The upper surface of the pallet is composed of thin and slender plates which are attached in a row, and the upper plate of this pallet is often damaged by the pawls of the forklift when being transported by the forklift. , In that case, the pallet is reused by replacing the scraped plate. For this reason, some pallets include those having an uneven top surface because the thickness of the pallets is not uniform due to replacement of the plates by repair. When the cases are stacked on such a pallet, the case of the first stage is placed in a state of being slightly inclined according to the unevenness of the place where it is placed. If each case of the first stage is tilted, each time the upper stage is stacked, the place for stacking the cases will gradually expand (see FIG. 9).

[0005]

However, in the above conventional method, when the cases of the second and subsequent stages are stacked,
Even if you carry the case at the same place where you stack the first stage, the lower case cannot be fitted into the upper opening of the lower case because the lower case is expanding. There is a problem that it may be placed at an angle or may be ridden.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional method, since the pallet is installed on the fixed mounting table, the stacking height position is increased for each number of stages of the case. Therefore, when the handling robot performs the loading work, it is necessary to teach the position in the plane direction parallel to the pallet surface and the position in the height direction of each step to the handling robot, which complicates the teaching work. There is a problem of becoming.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a case stacking device which can surely fit the upper and lower cases together and can easily carry out the stacking work and the teaching work. To do.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the case stacking device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is taught / disposed.
The reusable handling robot stacks the cases on the pallet while stacking the bottom ribs of the upper case on the upper opening of the lower case, and stacks the cases. Have

That is, the case loading device according to claim 1 is
Lift means for raising and lowering the pallet; lift control means for positioning the raising and lowering position of the pallet under the control of the lift means so that cases are stacked on the pallet at a constant height position; It is characterized in that it has case pressing means capable of pressing the opposite side wall surfaces of the uppermost case stacked on top from both sides.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the case stacking device according to the first aspect, wherein the case pressing means has a rotatable roller which presses the upper part of the side wall of the case by linearly contacting the upper part. I am trying.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the case stacking device according to the first aspect, wherein the case pressing means has a rotatable roller that presses the upper and lower portions of the side wall surface of the case by linearly contacting each other. Is characterized by.

[0012]

According to the structure of claim 1, the elevation position of the pallets is positioned so that the cases are stacked on the pallet at a constant height position, and the cases are stacked in the uppermost position. Even in such a case, it is not necessary to lift the case upward, which facilitates the packing work. Also,
By pressing the side wall surfaces of the uppermost case stacked on the pallet from both sides, even if the upper surface opening of the uppermost case is widened, it is possible to correct the original spacing. Therefore, when stacking is performed, the bottom rib of the upper case to be stacked can be reliably fitted into the upper surface opening of the uppermost case on the lower side. Further, since teaching is performed in a plane at a constant height position where cases are stacked, teaching work of the robot can be simplified.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the upper portion of the side wall surface near the opening of the upper surface of the case is linearly pressed,
It is possible to surely correct the upper surface opening portion, and as a result, the fitting between the upper and lower cases can be further ensured. Further, since the roller is rotatable, even if the descending case comes into contact with the roller, the case does not get caught by the roller and fall off.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the upper portion of the side wall surface near the upper surface opening of the case and the lower portion of the side wall surface near the bottom rib of the case are linearly pressed, the upper surface opening and It is possible to surely correct the bottom ribs, and as a result, the fitting between the upper and lower cases can be further ensured. Furthermore, a case that is pressed,
If the case located in the lower stage of this case is not properly fitted, the lower case of the side wall moves so that the case fits easily. Can be done by

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, the case stacking apparatus according to the present embodiment is arranged within the operating range of a teaching / reproducing type handling robot 41 having a case stacking hand 40. Around the stacking device 45, the handling robot 41, the case transport system 37, the pallet carry-in system 38, and the pallet carry-out system 3 are provided.
9 and 9 are arranged so as to face the four sides of the pallet 44 (case 1).

The case transfer system 37 includes a transfer conveyor 42 for transferring the case 1 containing a milk pack and the like, and a positioning conveyor 43 for positioning the case 1 transferred by the transfer conveyor 42 as a set of four at the gripping position. ,
It has a bypass conveyor 47 that retracts the case 1 ... Then, the handling robot 41 simultaneously grips the four cases 1 arranged in series at the gripping position on the positioning conveyor 43 by the case stacking hand 40 and transfers them to the pallet 44 of the stacking device 45. Has become.

As shown in FIG. 5, the case 1 carried by the case carrying system 37 has an upper surface opening 1c formed on the upper surface and a shape obtained by slightly reducing the shape of the upper surface opening 1c. Bottom rib 1b and top opening 1c
Has upper edge ribs 1a formed on the periphery of the case, so that the bottom surface ribs 1b of the upper case 1 are fitted into the upper opening 1c of the lower case 1 when stacked in multiple stages. It has become.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the pallet carry-in system 38 includes a handling robot 41 of the loading device 45.
The pallet 44, which is arranged on the opposite side to the direction, stores a plurality of pallets 44, and when the loaded pallets 44 are unloaded from the stacking device 45, the stored pallets 44 are stacked. It is designed to be loaded into the attachment device 45. Further, the pallet unloading system 39 is arranged on the opposite side of the stacking device 45 with respect to the case transport system 37 direction, and the pallets 44 that have already been stacked are stacked in the stacking device 4
It is designed to be carried out from 5.

The above-mentioned loading device 45 is a pallet 44.
It has a case stacking lifter 48 (lifting means) for raising and lowering. As shown in FIG. 1, the case stacking lifter 48 is installed in the lifter housing chamber 55, and the fixed base 54 fixed to the bottom wall 55 a of the lifter housing chamber 55 and the fixed base 54. Pallet mounting table 52 on which the pallet 44 is mounted, and the fixed base 5
4 and lifting mechanism 5 provided between the pallet mounting table 52
And 3. And the case loading lifter 4
8, the lifting mechanism 53 fixes the pallet mounting base 52 to the fixed base 5.
4, the pallet mounting table 52 is moved up and down together with the pallet 44.

The lift position of the pallet mounting table 52 is controlled by a lift control device (lift control means) not shown. The lift control device includes a pallet mounting table 52.
It has an up-and-down position detector that detects the current position in the up-and-down direction, and a position controller that positions the pallet mounting table 52 at a predetermined up-and-down position based on a detection signal from the up-and-down position detector.

The above-mentioned lift position detector is used in the lifter housing chamber 5.
5, a plurality of limit switches disposed on the side wall 55b, and a contact member fixed to the pallet mounting table 52 so as to be detected by contacting these limit switches. Then, the limit switches are arranged on the side wall 55b at intervals corresponding to the height of the case 1 so as to detect the abutting member when the upper surface of the case 1 at each stage reaches the stacking height position. The position controller to which the detection signal from the limit switch is input executes the lift control routine of FIG. 4 described later so that the handling robot 41 can always load the case 1 at a constant loading height. It is designed to be done in position.

A distance sensor for detecting the distance between the fixed base 54 and the pallet mounting table 52 may be used as the ascending / descending position detector, or a transmission type or a reflection type sensor may be used at the stacking height position. It may be configured such that a vertical type photoelectric switch is provided and the upper and lower positions of the pallet mounting table 52 are indirectly detected by detecting the upper surface of the uppermost case 1 by the photoelectric switch.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first pusher mechanisms 56, 56 (case pressing means) are provided on the upper edge of the lifter accommodating chamber 55 so as to press the entire side wall surface of the case 1 from the outer peripheral direction. A second pusher mechanism 57, 57 (case pushing means) and a third pusher mechanism 58 (case pushing means) are provided. Specifically, the first pusher mechanism 56, 56
Is the handling robot 41 and the pallet loading system 3
8 is arranged so as to press both side wall surfaces of the case 1 and the second pusher mechanisms 57, 57 are arranged so as to press the side wall surface of the case 1 facing the pallet unloading system 39. . The third pusher mechanism 58 is arranged so as to press the side wall surface of the case 1 facing the case transport system 37.

In this embodiment, the direction of the upper plate of the pallet 44 to be carried in is fixed, that is, the direction in which the thickness of the upper plate of the pallet 44 is varied is fixed. Therefore, when the stacking position of the case 1 is widened, the case 1 is widened with respect to the 22nd pusher mechanisms 57, 57, so that only the 22nd pusher mechanisms 57, 57 may be provided. Further, by providing the first pusher mechanism 56, 56 and the third pusher mechanism 58, it is possible to correct the spread in other directions, so that the device becomes complicated, but
It is more effective in correcting the loading position.

The first pusher mechanism 56 has the same construction as the other second pusher mechanism 57 and the third pusher mechanism 58, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side wall surface of the case 1 is lined. Roller 56a capable of abutting in a circular shape
And an advancing / retreating mechanism 56b for advancing / retreating the contact roller 56a in the case 1 direction. And the contact roller 5
6a is rotatably provided on the advancing / retreating mechanism 56b, so that when the contact roller 56a comes into contact when the case 1 descends, the case 1 is prevented from coming off due to being caught by the case 1 and the contact roller 56a. It has become.

The contact position between the contact roller 56a and the case 1 may be the upper portion of the side wall surface of the case 1 as shown in FIG. 6, or the contact position of the case 1 as shown in FIG. It may be below the side wall surface. When the contact roller 56a is brought into contact with the upper portion of the side wall surface of the case 1, the case 1
By pressing the vicinity of the upper surface opening 1c, it is possible to sufficiently correct the interval between the upper surface openings 1c. On the other hand, the contact roller 56a is attached to the lower portion of the side wall surface of the case 1.
When the cases 1 and 2 are brought into contact with each other, the upper and lower cases 1 and 1 can be fitted more reliably by the movement of the case 1 by pressing.

The advancing / retreating mechanism 56b for advancing / retreating the contact roller 56a moves the contact roller 56a by air pressure or hydraulic pressure so that the case 1 can be reliably pressed even if the case 1 has a different shape or size. 56a is advanced and brought into contact with the side wall surface of the case 1 with a constant pressing force.

The advancing / retreating mechanism 56b is provided with a positioning means according to the shape and size of the case 1 so that the contact roller 56a can be advanced to a predetermined position to contact the side wall surface of the case 1. It may be. Further, the first pusher mechanism 56 may have two contact rollers 56a, 56a so as to contact the upper and lower parts of the case 1, as shown in FIG.

The operation of the case stacking device 45 having the above structure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, when an empty pallet 44 is loaded from the pallet loading system 38 to the loading device 45 (S
1), as shown in FIG. 1, the case loading lifter 48 is placed so that the upper surface of the pallet 44 is located at the loading height position.
Is moved up and down for positioning (S2). And
When the first-stage case 1 ... Is completely stacked on the pallet 44 (S3), the case stacker 48 is loaded.
Is lowered by one step, the elevating position of the pallet 44 is positioned so that the upper surface of the case 1 ... of the first step coincides with the stacking height position (S4).

Thereafter, the first pusher mechanism 56, the second pusher mechanism 57, and the third pusher mechanism 58 press the side wall surfaces of the case 1 of the first stage from all sides (S5), and the case 1 of the first stage. The case 1 of the second tier will be stacked on top. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, even when the first stage case 1 is tilted and the space for loading the second stage case 1 is widened, the pusher mechanisms 56 to 58 are also provided.
By pressing, the upper surface opening 1c of the case 1 ...
Since the distance between the two is corrected to a regular distance, the bottom rib 1b of the case 1 of the second stage is securely fitted to the upper opening 1c of the case 1 of the first stage (S6).

When the stacking processing for all cases 1 ... In the second stage is completed, it is determined whether or not the current uppermost stage number is the final stage. If it is not the final stage, by re-executing from S4, the elevation position of the pallet 44 is positioned so that the upper surface of the case 1 at the current uppermost stage coincides with the stacking height position, and the pusher mechanisms 56-58. While being corrected by the pressing of, the stacking process of Case 1 ... In the next stage will be performed (S
7). When the final stage is reached, the pallet 44 is unloaded from the case-loading lifter 48 because the entire loading process is completed (S8). still,
In the loading process at the final stage, even if the case 1 at the final stage and the case 1 at the lower stage are insufficiently fitted, it is considered that the influence on the loading is small, and therefore the pusher mechanisms 56 to 58 at S5. It is also possible to omit the correction by pressing.

[0032]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the teaching / reproducing type handling robot is mounted on the pallet while the bottom rib of the upper case is fitted into the upper opening of the lower case. Cases are stacked and stacked in stages, and lifting means for raising and lowering the pallet and raising and lowering positions of the pallets are set so that the cases are stacked on the pallet at a constant height position. Lift control means for positioning by control of the lift means,
The case pressing means is capable of pressing the side wall surfaces of the uppermost cases stacked on the pallet from both sides.

Thus, the ascending / descending positions of the pallets are positioned so that the cases are stacked on the pallet at a constant height position, and the cases are moved upward even when the stacking of the cases approaches the uppermost stage. Since there is no need to lift up to, the packing work becomes easier. Also, by pressing the side wall surfaces of the uppermost case stacked on the pallet from both sides, it is possible to correct the uppermost case even if the upper opening has widened the original spacing. Therefore, when stacking is performed, it is possible to reliably fit the bottom ribs of the upper case to be stacked into the upper opening of the uppermost case on the lower side. Since the teaching is performed in a plane at a fixed height position where the cases are stacked, the teaching work can be simplified.

As described above, the case stacking device according to the second aspect of the present invention includes the rotatable roller that the case pressing means according to the first aspect presses by linearly contacting the upper portion of the side wall surface of the case. It has a structure.

As a result, the upper portion of the side wall surface near the upper surface opening of the case is linearly pressed, so that the upper surface opening can be surely corrected, and as a result, the fitting between the upper and lower cases is possible. It can be made more reliable.
Further, since the roller is rotatable, even if the descending case comes into contact with the roller, the case is prevented from being caught by the roller and falling off.

As described above, the case stacking device according to the third aspect includes the rotatable roller that the case pressing means according to the first aspect presses by linearly contacting the upper and lower portions of the side wall surface of the case. It is a configuration that has.

As a result, the upper portion of the side wall surface near the top opening of the case and the lower portion of the side wall surface near the bottom rib of the case are linearly pressed, so that the top opening and the bottom rib are surely corrected. As a result, the fitting between the upper and lower cases can be further ensured. Further, in the case where the case to be pressed and the case located in the lower stage of the case are not fitted properly, the lower part of the side wall surface is moved to facilitate the fitting of the case. There is an effect that it is possible to more surely fit the case.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a side view of a case stacking device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the case stacking device in a plan view.

FIG. 3 is a plan view around a case stacking device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a lift control routine.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the case.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a case and an advancing / retreating mechanism.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a case and an advancing / retreating mechanism.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a case and an advancing / retreating mechanism.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of cases stacked on a pallet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Case 1a Upper Edge Rib 1b Bottom Rib 1c Top Opening 37 Case Conveying System 38 Pallet Carrying In System 39 Pallet Carrying Out System 40 Case Loading Hand 41 Handling Robot 44 Pallet 45 Packing Device 46 Pallet Carrying Conveyor 47 Bypass Conveyor 48 Case Loading Attaching lifter 56 First pusher mechanism 57 Second pusher mechanism 58 Third pusher mechanism

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A case where a teaching / reproducing type handling robot stacks cases by stacking the cases on a pallet while the bottom ribs of the case on the upper side are fitted into the upper openings of the case on the lower side. A stacking device for lifting and lowering the pallet, and positioning the pallet up and down position under the control of the lift means so that the case is stacked on the pallet at a constant height position. A case stacking device comprising lift control means and case pressing means capable of pressing opposite side wall surfaces of the uppermost case stacked on the pallet from both sides. 2. The case stacking device according to claim 1, wherein the case pressing means includes a rotatable roller that presses the upper part of the side wall surface of the case by linearly contacting the upper part. . 3. The case stacking device according to claim 1, wherein the case pressing means includes a rotatable roller that presses the upper and lower portions of the side wall surface of the case by linearly contacting each other. Attachment device.