JPH08258917A - Automatically sorting and storing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enhance working efficiency by automating the work for sorting, housing, and taking out articles to be sent our for each destination. CONSTITUTION: A reader, which reads/outputs a destination identification mark, a carrying part 200, which is equipped with a device for measuring the quantity of an article to be sent out, and a storage part 100, which is constituted of a multistage rack, are provided. In addition, a stacking robot 300 is provided, which holds the article carried by the carrying part 200 to store it in a tray or which, on the contrary, takes the article out of the tray to mount it on the carrying part 200. The information of the destination and the quantity of the article to be stored is received from the carrying part 200. If no tray was assigned, new assignment is given out. In case a tray was already assigned, the possibility of additional loading is judged, based on the information on the quantity of the shipping article. When judged impossible, a new tray is newly assigned, and the load of assignment of assigned trays is memorized in turn, so that the stacking robot 300 is instructed on the position of storage, while instruction is given to the storage part 100 to rotate the rack.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic sorting apparatus which is suitable for sorting and shipping a large number of documents, pamphlets, etc. by destination.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, forms, pamphlets, documents, books, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "shipments") are sorted and sorted according to a plurality of shipping destinations, storage management is facilitated, and convenience for shipping is improved. The use of horizontal multi-stage automated warehouses is planned. This horizontal multi-stage automated warehouse was provided with a large number of shelves, and the items to be shipped were manually sorted and stored in the shelves. FIG. 9 shows an example of a conventional horizontal multi-stage automatic warehouse. FIG. 9 shows a plan view and FIG. 10 shows a side view thereof. The horizontal multi-stage automatic warehouse 2 includes a multi-stage carousel 10 and a control unit 15. The multi-stage carousel 10 includes a large number of racks 14 (14a, 14a).
b, ... 14n), and each rack 14 has a large number of shelves 11
Is provided. Each rack 14 can be independently rotated by a motor 13. In the above configuration, when the shipment is stored in a predetermined shelf, the operator operates the control unit 15 to move the shipment in and out.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned method, although the number of copies to be shipped is small and there is no remarkable inconvenience when the number of shipping destinations is small, the number is small as in financial institutions and publishers. The following problems became prominent when the number became huge, and countermeasures were desired. (1) A large amount of manpower is required for the above-mentioned assortment storing work, which causes a problem that labor cost increases and sorting errors occur frequently. (2) Since the sizes of the shipped products are not uniform, there is a problem that the stored shipped products collapse or the work efficiency at the time of taking out is lowered. For this reason, it is necessary to store the shipment in a tray, etc., but in this case, prepare the tray,
In addition, there is a problem that the number of troubles such as collecting the empty trays after shipping increases. (3) In addition, in the case of adding the shipment in (2) above, pull out the corresponding tray, judge whether or not the addition is possible, return the tray if the addition is not possible, and then empty tray Since it has to be prepared, there is a problem that time loss occurs.

(4) In addition, since the sizes of the shipped products are not uniform in the case of the additional product, the previously stored shipped products are of a small size, and the additional shipped products are of a large size. Even if it can be piled up, there is a risk that the load will collapse in the tray. This problem becomes remarkable when the rotation of the rack is increased in order to increase the processing speed, because a large centrifugal force is applied to the shipment, and the efficiency of taking out the shipment is significantly reduced. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic assortment storage device that can solve the above problems and meet the needs.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a storage device for storing a shipment for each destination; transporting the shipment and assigning the destination attached to the shipment. A reading unit that reads and outputs the delivery destination identification symbol and a transport unit that includes a measuring device that measures the amount of the item to be shipped; a plurality of trays that are fixed and that are equipped with drive means and rotate independently. And a control unit; the control unit grips the items transported by the transport unit and stores them in the tray, or conversely from the tray. A stacking robot that takes out the shipment and places it on the transport unit, a receiving unit that receives the shipping destination information and the shipping amount information of the shipment to be stored from the transport unit, and the corresponding shipping based on the shipping destination information. Tray first If it has not been allocated, new allocation will be made if it has not been allocated, if it has already been allocated, the possibility of additional storage will be repeatedly judged based on the information on the shipment volume. An instruction to sequentially store the load amount of an assigned section and an assigned tray for performing new assignment, and to instruct the stacking robot of the storage position when the stacking robot stores the shipment in a predetermined tray based on the stored information. And a rack rotation drive unit for instructing the storage unit to rotate the rack so that a predetermined tray faces the stacking robot.

In the stacking robot, a first arm having a hand part for gripping a shipment and a first hinge part connected to the hand part for rotating the hand part in a horizontal plane, and the first arm. A second arm having a second hinge part connected to each other to rotate the first arm in a horizontal plane, and a third hinge part connected to the second arm to rotate the second arm in a horizontal plane. And a lift unit for moving up and down the first arm and the second arm.

Further, the hand part is provided with a fork-shaped loading part for loading the shipping items, a holding part for holding down the shipping items loaded on the loading part from above, and the holding part. An elevating slider for vertically elevating and lowering, a loading section for attaching the loading section, and a forward / backward slider for moving the loading section forward and backward in a horizontal plane, and a forward / backward slider and the lifting slider for attaching the first hinge section. And a slider mounting portion fixed to the.

When the forward / backward slider is retracted,
An end regulating portion is provided on the lower surface of the pressing portion so as to push the shipment from the stacking portion by abutting the end of the shipment, and the pressing portion descends in the direction of the stacking portion. When gripping, the end restricting portion is formed in a fork shape so as to avoid interlocking with the fork-shaped stacking portion so as to avoid contact with the stacking portion.

Further, the stacking section includes a plurality of rollers projecting on the stacking surface, and when the shipment is placed on the rollers, the shipment is pushed out by the end regulating section. It reduces friction between the loading section and the shipment.

Further, when the items to be shipped are stored in the tray, the front and upper surfaces of the tray are opened so as to store the items to be shipped from the front side or the upper side.

In addition, a wedge-shaped shipping in which the thickness increases toward the front surface of the tray in order to prevent the cargo stored in the tray from collapsing or jumping out due to the centrifugal force when the rack rotates. The tray has an article mounting portion.

Further, the measuring device measures each size such as length, width and height of the shipment and outputs it to the control unit.

Further, the tray has a plurality of shelves of different sizes for various sizes of the shipment.

Further, the control unit receives information on each size of the shipment from the measuring device, and based on the information, stores the shipment in the optimum size shelf of the tray so as to store the optimum size shelf. I will judge.

In addition, the fork-shaped loading section is composed of a plurality of members which are set to have a predetermined width narrower than the spacing between the forks so that the loading section can be loosely fitted, and the minimum thickness thereof is set to be larger than the thickness of the loading section. The tray has an article loading section, the loading section is loosely fitted from above the shipping article loading section, and the shipping item loaded on the loading section is loaded on the shipping item loading section. At the same time, after the stacking unit is inserted and loosely fitted from the front surface of the shipment placement unit, it is lifted by a predetermined amount and the shipment placed on the shipment placement unit is picked up and placed.

Further, when the hand portion grips the shipment and faces the tray assigned by the control unit, the storage position on the tray and the gripping position of the shipment by the hand portion are made to coincide with each other. An end that receives information on the storage position of the tray from the control unit and that contacts the shipping item being transported by the transporting unit based on the information to stop the shipping item at a predetermined position and define the gripping position. The transport section has an end position adjusting device provided with a part position adjusting plate.

Further, when the fork-shaped stacking unit grips and stacks the shipments conveyed by the conveying unit or unloads the shipments taken out from the tray on the conveying unit, the stacking unit And the carrying conveyor has a loading / unloading port that is set deeper than the thickness of the loading part and hides the loading part under the transport surface. When entering the loading section entrance from the side and picking up the shipment and loading and unloading the shipment onto the transport section, the loading section intrudes into the loading section entrance from above to transfer the shipment. It is placed on.

[0018]

According to the above structure, the tray for storing the items to be shipped is composed of a plurality of shelves having different storage sizes or a single size shelf, and the items can be stored according to the size of the items to be shipped. Prevent the collapse of goods. In addition, the stacking robot hand unit, the first arm, the second
The work space is reduced by connecting the arm and the lift part with the first hinge part, the second hinge part and the third hinge part, respectively, and making the hand part, the first arm and the second arm rotatable in a horizontal plane. To do.

When loading and storing the items to be shipped on the loading section,
In order to prevent the cargo from collapsing or falling from the loading section, a holding unit that can be raised and lowered by an elevating slider is provided to hold the shipment. The advancing / retreating slider retracts the loading section to unload the shipment. At this time, rollers are provided in the loading unit to prevent the shipping items from rubbing against the loading unit and being damaged, and the shipping items are prevented from being collapsed or pulled in when the loading unit retracts. An end regulating portion that regulates the movement of an object is provided on the pressing portion. Therefore, the loading section and the pressing section are formed in a fork shape and provided so as to interlink with each other. Therefore, the movement of the sheet can be regulated by the edge regulating section even for a single sheet of paper. When the racks are rotated, a drive means for independently rotating each rack is provided in order to shorten the storage work waiting time required for the trays to face the stacking robot, thereby enabling multi-rotation (simultaneous rotation). Further, a centrifugal force is applied to the shipment by the rotation of the rack, and a wedge-shaped shipment placing portion is provided so as to prevent the shipment from popping out or collapsing. The thickness of the shipment placing portion increases toward the front surface of the tray, and is larger than the thickness of the loading portion even at the minimum thickness. As a result, when the stacking unit takes out the shipment from the tray, it does not damage the shipment.

Further, the destination of the shipment is read by the reading device, and its size can be automatically measured by the measuring device and can be improved during the transportation.
When the tray has a plurality of shelves, it is necessary to load the shipment on the stacking unit so as to match the positions of the shelves to be stored. Therefore, the end position adjusting plate is positioned at the position, and the shipment is brought into contact with the end position adjusting plate to perform the alignment. Further, the fork-shaped loading section can be entered by the loading section entrance so as not to damage the shipment.

The control unit receives the shipping destination information and the shipping amount information of the items to be stored from the transport unit, and determines whether or not the tray has been assigned to the corresponding shipping destination based on the shipping destination information. If it has not been assigned, a new assignment is made. In addition, in the case of already allocated, the possibility of additional accumulation is repeatedly determined based on the shipment volume information, and in the case of impossible additional accumulation, new allocation is performed.
Then, the control unit sequentially stores the amount of shipments loaded on the assigned trays, and based on the stored information, instructs the stacking robots to store the stacking robots when storing the shipments in a predetermined tray. When there are a plurality of different storage sizes, the storage position is determined so as to be stored in an optimal shelf in consideration of the size of the shipment.
Further, the control unit instructs the storage section to rotate the rack so that the predetermined tray faces the stacking robot.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an automatic assortment storage device according to the present invention. The automatic assortment storage device 20 is a storage unit 100 having a multi-stage rotating rack structure, a delivery unit 200 for delivering a delivery destination of a shipment, and a delivery unit 2 for measuring the size thereof, and the delivery unit 2.
The stacking robot 300 that sends and receives the shipments from 00 to the storage unit 100 and the control unit 400 that manages and controls the movements of the stacking robot 300 are the main components. When the worker places the bundled shipment on the transport unit 200, the transport unit 200 reads the destination and its size during transport of the shipment and sends the information to the control unit 400. Control unit 40
0 is a receiving unit that receives the shipping destination information and the shipping amount information of the shipment to be stored from the transport unit 200, and determines whether the tray 101 has been assigned to the corresponding shipping destination based on the shipping destination information. , If it is not allocated, it makes a new allocation, if it is already allocated, it judges the possibility of additional accumulation based on the information on the amount of shipment, and if it is not possible, it makes a new allocation. When the stacking robot 300 stores the shipment in a predetermined tray based on the stored information, the stacking capacity of the assigned trays is sequentially stored, and an instruction unit for instructing the stacking robot a storage position and a predetermined tray are provided. The stacking robot and a rack rotation drive unit for giving an instruction to the storage unit to face the stacking robot and rotating the rack of the storage unit. The configuration and movement of each unit will be described in detail below.

[1] Storage Unit (100) Shipments are stored in the tray 101 of the storage unit 100. The storage unit 100 has a multi-stage rotating rack structure,
Each rack is independently controlled by the control unit 400,
It is rotatable. The reason why each rack is independently controlled in this way is to efficiently operate one or several stacking robots 300 and shorten the time (waiting time) required for rotation of the racks so that the racks can be loaded and unloaded. This is to improve work efficiency. For example, assume that the shipment A is loaded / unloaded in the tray A provided in the first rack, and then the shipment B is loaded / unloaded in the tray B provided in the second rack, and the stacking is performed. Robot 300 is one
Assume the case of the base. In this case, when the second rack rotates while loading / unloading the shipment A and the loading / unloading of the shipment A is completed, the loading / unloading of the shipment B can be continued, and the work efficiency of loading / unloading can be improved. Will be possible. Also storage unit 1
As shown in FIG. 2, the tray 101 provided at 00 is composed of a plurality of shelves, and the front side and the upper side are open type. In the figure, the tray 101 is a large size shelf 10.
Although it is composed of two and two small size shelves 103 and 104, the size of this shelf may be set according to the typical size of the shipment, and the number of shelves is not limited to these.

The tray 101 is fixed to the rack,
Therefore, when the rack rotates, the shipment may be subjected to centrifugal force and may jump out of the tray 101 or collapse the load. Therefore, the tray 101 is provided with a shipment placement portion 105, on which the shipment is placed. The shipment placement portion 105 is provided in a wedge shape whose thickness increases toward the front surface of the tray, and therefore prevents the shipment from popping out or collapsing even if centrifugal force acts. . Minimum thickness La of the shipment placement portion 105
(See FIG. 2) is a stacking robot 300 described later.
It is configured to be slightly thicker than the stacking portion 341 in FIG. In addition, the adjacent space Lb between the shipment placing portions 105 is set to a width in which the end regulating portion 347 is loosely fitted (see FIG. 7). Further, the bottom plate 106 of the tray 101 is set such that the front surface portion thereof is shorter than the depth of the tray and the shipment placement portion 105. This will be described later with reference to the pressing portion 346.
This is to make the escape of. A detailed description thereof will be given in the section of the stacking robot 300.

[2] Conveying Section (200) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the conveying section 200. Transport unit 20
Reference numeral 0 denotes a conveyor 210 including a roller conveyor or the like (not limited to a roller conveyor and may be a belt conveyor or the like), and a reading device such as a BCR for reading a delivery destination identification symbol attached to a shipment by a bar code or the like. 220, a measuring device 230 for measuring the size of the shipment, an end position adjusting device 240 for adjusting the end position of the shipment, and a loading / unloading port 250 through which the loading part 341 of the stacking robot 300 moves in / out. . When the bundled items are conveyed by the conveyor 210, the reader 220 reads the destination identification code indicating the destination of the items, and the size (height [H], width [W]). ], The length (depth) [Lc]) is measured by the measuring device 230 and sent to the control unit 400.

The measurement of each size by the measuring device 230 is
A detection signal from a laser or the like is emitted, and the height H thereof is calculated from the deflection angle when the detection signal is reflected by the shipment. That is, since the detection signal is configured to be emitted at a predetermined angle with respect to the perpendicular, the arrival point (detection position of the reflection signal) when the reflection signal reflected by the shipment reaches the measuring device 230 is sent. It depends on the height of the object. Further, the width W of the shipment (the direction perpendicular to the transport direction) causes the detection signal from the measuring device 230 to swing in the width W direction, and when the detection signal deviates from the shipment, the reflection signal is no longer detected. Utilizing this, the width W is calculated from the swing angle at that time. Further, the length Lc of the shipment is measured similarly to the measurement of the width W. However, in this case, it is not necessary to swing the detection signal because the shipment is being conveyed.

As described above, the delivery destination is read, each size is measured, and the delivered product comes into contact with the end position adjusting plate 241 in the end position adjusting device 240 and stops. The end position adjusting plate 241 is provided so as to be movable in the transport direction as shown in FIG. 3, and its stop position is determined by the following conditions. That is, the shipment 101
When storing the tray 101, which shelf of the tray 101 is to be stored is determined by the control unit 400 based on the size (especially the width dimension) of the shipment received from the measuring device 230. Then, when the shelves to be stored are determined, the control unit 400 transmits information regarding the shelves to the end position adjusting device 240, and based on this, the end position adjusting plate 241 is moved to the positions P1 and P.
Position it in 2nd place.

The reason for adjusting the position of the end position adjusting plate 241 in this way is that the positions of the shelves to be stored are different depending on the position of the stacking unit 34.
This is because 1 corresponds by changing the gripping position when gripping the shipment. For example, if the shipment is a large-sized shelf 10
2 or the small size shelf 103 on the left side (see FIG. 2), the end position adjusting plate 241 is located at the position P1 and regulates the end position of the shipment (hereinafter, left position adjustment). Called)). Further, in the case of storing in the small-sized shelf 104 on the right side, the end position adjusting plate 241 is located at the position P2 (hereinafter, referred to as right position adjusting).

The loading section 341 is formed in a fork shape and is configured to be loosely fitted in the loading section entrance 250. This is a fork-shaped loading section 3 when loading shipments.
This is because after 41 has entered the loading / unloading port 250 from the lateral direction (parallel to the transport surface and perpendicular to the transport direction), the shipment is picked up and loaded.
This is also for loading and unloading the shipment to the transport section 200 by entering the loading section entrance 250 from above (the direction vertical to the transport surface). In order to achieve the above function, a plurality of stacking section entrances / outlets 250 are provided between the rollers R, and the depth (the length in the vertical direction) is set deeper than the thickness of the stacking section 341. As a result, the hand unit 340
When entering the loading section entrance / exit 250, the shipment is not damaged or the cargo is not collapsed.

[3] Stacking Robot (300) The stacking robot 300 has a first stacking robot as shown in FIG.
From the first arm 310 having the hinge portion 344, the second arm 320 having the second hinge portion 330, the hand portion 340 that holds the shipment, and the lift portion 350 that has the third hinge portion 349 that moves them up and down. It is configured.
The hand portion 340 is rotatably provided in the horizontal plane with respect to the first arm 310 by the first hinge portion 344, and the first arm 310 is rotated by the second hinge portion 330.
It is rotatably provided in a horizontal plane with respect to 0. Further, the second arm 320 is rotatably provided in the horizontal plane with respect to the lift portion 350 by the third hinge portion 349. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, each of the hinge portions 344, 330, 34
9 move in conjunction with each other, and at least before and after the loading section 341 is loosely fitted into the loading section entrance 250, the loading section 3
It is set so as to maintain the facing state between 41 and the stacking section entrance / exit 250, and to maintain the facing state between the stacking section 341 and the tray before and after the shipment is placed in or out of the tray.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the hand portion 340. The hand unit 340 includes a fork-shaped stacking unit 341 for stacking shipments and a holding unit 346 for holding shipments. The stacking portion 341 is fixed to an advancing / retracting slider 342 that moves forward and backward in the arrow D1 direction (horizontal direction), and the holding portion 346 is fixed to an elevating slider 345 that moves up and down in the arrow D2 direction (vertical direction). The advancing / retreating slider 342 and the elevating slider 345 are attached to the slider attachment portion 343, and the slider attachment portion 343 is attached to the first hinge portion 3.
It is fixed to the first arm 310 via 44. In addition, the pressing portion 346 is provided with a fork-shaped end portion restricting portion 347 that restricts the position of the grasped shipment.
When 46 descends, they are linked to the stacking section 341 so that they do not contact each other. Note that the stacking unit 341 is provided with a plurality of rollers 348 protruding toward the stacking surface side so that the shipment does not rub the stacking unit 341.

The following steps are performed until the shipment is grasped by the stacking robot 300 having the above-mentioned configuration, received from the transport unit 200, and then stored in a predetermined shelf of the tray 101. When gripping a shipment from the transport unit 200, the first to third hinges 344, 330, 349 rotate and the fork portions of the loading unit 341 face the loading unit entrance 250 of the transport unit 200 from the lateral direction. To do. After that, the hinge portions 344, 330, 349 are further rotated to cause the loading portion 341 to enter the loading portion entrance 250. On this occasion,
The hinges 344, 330, 349 rotate in a correlated manner so that the stacking unit 341 and the stacking unit entrance / exit 250 do not come into contact with each other. Then, the lift section 350 starts to rise, and the stacking section 341 rises from the stacking section entrance / exit 250. As a result, the shipment is picked up and loaded. The lift unit 350
At the same time as the above, the pressing portion 346 descends and the shipment is gripped. After that, the hinge portions 344, 330, 349 rotate to cause the stacking portion 341 to face the tray. It should be noted that the control unit 400 stores the shipment on which tray of the tray,
The lift unit 350 determines the height when the shelves are piled up by judging how much the previously stored shipment is.
Then, the lift unit 350 stops at a place that matches this information. Then, the hinges 344, 330 and 349 rotate while inserting the stacking section 341 into the tray while maintaining the facing state of the stacking section 341 and the tray. Each arm 310,
When 320 becomes a predetermined angle (or when the rotation of each hinge portion satisfies a predetermined correlation), unloading of the shipment is started.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which the items to be shipped are stored in the tray 101, and FIG. 7 is a view taken along the line A--A in FIG.
The sectional view seen from is shown. In the figure, a shipment A indicates a shipment that has been stored in advance, and a shipment B indicates a shipment that is accumulated when the width is narrower than that of the shipment A. For loading and unloading of the shipment, the pressing portion 346 is slightly raised and the pressing of the shipment A is released, and then the forward / backward slider portion 3 is moved.
42 is retracted, and accordingly, the shipment A is pushed out by the holding section 346 and loaded and unloaded from the stacking section 341.

Since the rollers 348 are provided so as to project on the stacking section 341, the shipment A does not rub against the stacking section 341, and the shipment is not damaged. In addition, the end regulating portion 3
Since 47 and the stacking unit 341 are interlinked, even the undelivered shipment A can be loaded and unloaded on the tray 101 without the load collapse. The procedure for taking out the shipment from the tray is the reverse of the above procedure. At that time, the stacking unit 341 is arranged in such a manner that the tray-like front side of the tray is placed in a wedge-like form on the shipment placing unit 10.
It is inserted between 5. Since the minimum thickness of the shipment placing portion 105 is set to be thicker than the thickness of the loading portion 341, the shipment and the loading portion 341 do not come into contact with each other when inserted. After the loading section 341 is inserted into the shipment placement section 105, the loading section 341 moves up to scoop and load the shipment.

[4] Control Unit (400) In the above description, the operation of the control unit 400 was described as appropriate, but it will be described again here. A case where the shipment is stored in the tray will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG. The destination identification code attached to the shipment is read by the reading device 220 (S1), and its size (height [H], width [W], length (depth) [Lc]) is measured by the measuring device 230. It is measured (S2), transmitted to the control unit 400, and stored.

The control unit 400 receives these pieces of information and determines whether or not the tray corresponding to the shipping destination is already assigned (S3). If not, a new tray is assigned (S4). ). If trays are already assigned, it is determined whether the size of the shipment should be stored in a large size shelf or a small size shelf (S5). If it is determined in S5 that the size of the shipment is large, it is determined whether or not the product can be added (S).
6). If the stacking is not possible, a new tray is assigned (S8), and if the stacking is possible, the end position adjusting plate 241 moves to the position P1 and the end is adjusted to the left position of the shipment. Information is sent to the copy position adjusting device 240 (S9).

On the other hand, if it is determined in S5 that the size of the shipment is small, it is determined which of the left and right shelves can be stored. If they cannot be stored together, the process proceeds to S8, and a new tray is assigned, and if they can be stored in the left small size shelf 103, the process proceeds to S9. Also, a small shelf 1 on the right
If it can be stored in 04, the end position adjusting plate 241 is moved to the position P2, and information is sent to the end position adjusting device 240 to adjust the position of the shipment to the right (S10). It should be noted that the judgment as to whether or not it is possible to add more is made by the size information regarding the height of the newly received shipment and how much empty space there is in the corresponding shelf (the control unit stores this information as shown in S15). Is present) is present.

After that, the control unit 400 transmits the information of the tray 101 to be stored to the storage section (S11), and also the stacking robot 300 the height (storage position) at the time of stacking the shipment (the storage position). S12). Storage unit 100
Receives the tray information and rotates the rack for positioning the tray 101 in front of the stacking robot 300. When the position of the shipment is adjusted in S9 or S10, the stacking robot 300 holds the shipment from the transport unit 200, and stores the shipment on a shelf having a predetermined height based on the information in S12. Finally, the total amount (or empty space) of the items in the tray that stores the items to be stored is stored and the storing operation ends (S15, S16). Also,
When taking out the shipment, the operator inputs the corresponding shipping destination to the control unit, and the control unit 400 instructs the storage unit 100 to the corresponding tray. As a result, the rack rotates so that the tray is located in front of the stacking robot 300, and then the stacking robot 300 grips the tray and unloads it on the transport unit 200, thus ending the process.

[0039]

[Effects] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to store and take out a shipment item by the hand portion of the stacking robot, and automatically perform the storage on the tray fixed to the rack. Therefore, it is not necessary to manually prepare the shelves for loading and unloading. Further, since the destination and the remaining amount of trays are managed by the control unit, when allocating or accumulating a new tray, the shelf is called once to judge whether it is possible to store or accumulate. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of time loss, and it is possible to omit the trouble of preparing the number of trays in advance in accordance with the amount of items to be shipped for each destination. In addition, since the shipment placement section is provided on the tray, there is no problem that the shipment will jump out due to centrifugal force, and since the tray is composed of multiple shelves of different sizes, it is possible to prevent collapse of loads due to different sizes. it can. Further, since the loading section and the pressing section are each formed into a fork shape and the loading section is provided with rollers, and the pressing section is provided with the end portion restricting section, the cargo collapses when the cargo is loaded and stored. It will not be damaged or damaged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an automatic assortment storage device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tray.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a transport unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view illustrating the movement of first to third hinge portions of the stacking robot.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a hand unit of the stacking robot.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which a shipment is stored in a tray.

FIG. 7 is a diagram when viewed from an arrow AA in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure for storing in a tray.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a horizontal multistage rotary automatic warehouse applied to the description of the conventional technique.

FIG. 10 is a side view of FIG. 9.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 Automatic Sorting Storage Device 100 Storage Unit 101 Tray 102 Large Size Shelf 103 Small Size Shelf 104 Small Size Shelf 105 Shipment Placement Unit 106 Bottom Plate 107 Slope 109 Driving Means 200 Conveying Unit 210 Conveying Conveyor 220 Reading Device 230 Measuring Device 240 Edge Position adjusting device 241 End position adjusting plate 250 Stacking part entrance / exit 300 Stacking robot 310 First arm 320 Second arm 330 Second hinge part 340 Hand part 341 Stacking part 342 Forward / backward slider 343 Slider mounting part 344 First hinge part 345 Elevating slider 346 Presser part 347 End part restricting part 348 Roller 349 Third hinge part 350 Lift part 400 Control unit

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A storage device for storing a shipment item for each destination; a reader for conveying the shipment item and for reading and outputting a delivery destination identification symbol indicating the delivery destination attached to the shipment item; A transporting unit provided with a measuring device for measuring the amount of the delivered item; a storage unit having a plurality of trays fixedly attached thereto, and a driving unit, and a plurality of independently rotating racks configured in a stepped form; A stacking robot that grips and stores in the tray the shipment that has been transported by a unit, or conversely, takes out the shipment from the tray and stores in the transport unit;
A control unit; the control unit includes a receiving unit that receives the shipping destination information and the shipping amount information of the shipment to be stored from the transport unit, and the tray is assigned to the corresponding shipping destination based on the shipping destination information. If it is not already allocated, new allocation is made.If already allocated, the possibility of additional storage is repeatedly judged based on the information on the shipment volume. If additional allocation is not possible, new allocation is made. And an instructing unit for sequentially storing the loaded amount of the allocated trays and instructing the stacking robot a storage position when the stacking robot stores the shipment in a predetermined tray based on the stored information. ,
An automatic assortment storage device, comprising: a rack rotation drive unit that gives an instruction to the storage unit to rotate a rack so that a predetermined tray faces the stacking robot. 2. A stacking robot, a first arm having a hand part for gripping an item to be shipped, a first hinge part connected to the hand part for rotating the hand part in a horizontal plane, and the first arm. A second arm having a second hinge portion to which the arm is connected to rotate the first arm in a horizontal plane;
A third hinge part connected to the second arm for rotating the second arm in a horizontal plane, and a lift part for moving up and down the first arm and the second arm. The automatic assortment storage device according to claim 1. 3. The hand unit is provided with a fork-shaped stacking unit for stacking shipments, a holding unit for pressing down the shipments stacked on the stacking unit from above, and the holding unit attached to the holding unit. An elevating slider capable of moving up and down in a vertical direction, an advancing / retreating slider for advancing / retreating the advancing / retreating the loading part in the horizontal plane, the advancing / retreating slider and the elevating slider are attached to the first hinge part. The automatic assortment storage device according to claim 2, further comprising a slider mounting portion that is fixed. 4. The pressing portion is provided with an end regulating portion on a lower surface thereof so as to contact an end portion of the shipment to push the shipment from the stacking portion when the advancing / retreating slider is retracted, and the pressing portion. When the part descends in the direction of the loading part and grips the shipment,
4. The automatic assortment storage device according to claim 3, wherein the end restricting portion is formed in a fork shape so as to interlink with the fork-shaped stacking portion and avoid contact with the stacking portion. 5. The stacking unit is provided with a plurality of rollers on a stacking surface so as to reduce friction with the shipment when the shipment is pushed out by the end regulating unit. The automatic assortment storage device described in 4. 6. The automatic assortment storage device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, when the shipment is stored in the tray, the front surface and the top surface of the tray are opened so as to store the shipment from the front side or the upper side. 7. The tray has a wedge shape in which the thickness increases toward the front surface of the tray in order to prevent the cargo stored in the tray from collapsing or popping out by centrifugal force when the rack rotates. A shipment placing portion is provided.
Alternatively, the automatic assortment storage device described in item 6. 8. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device measures each length, width and height of the shipment and outputs the measured size to the control unit. Automatic sorting device. 9. The automatic assortment storage device according to claim 1, wherein the tray has a plurality of shelves having different sizes. 10. The control unit receives information of each size of the shipment from the measuring device and, based on the information, stores the shipment in the optimum size shelf of the tray, The automatic assortment storage device according to claim 9, wherein the shelf is determined. 11. The fork-shaped stacking portion is composed of a plurality of members which are set to be a predetermined amount narrower than a space between the forks so that the stacking portion is loosely fitted, and the minimum thickness thereof is set to be larger than the thickness of the stacking portion. The tray has a shipment placement portion, the stacking portion is loosely fitted from above the shipment placement portion, and the shipment loaded on the loading portion is placed on the shipment placement portion. At the same time, after the loading section is loosely inserted from the front surface of the shipment placement section, it is raised by a predetermined amount and the shipment placed on the shipment placement section is picked up and placed. Item 10. The automatic assortment storage device according to item 10. 12. When the hand unit grips the shipment and faces a tray assigned by the control unit, the storage position in the tray and the grip position of the shipment by the hand unit are matched. Therefore, the information on the storage position of the tray is received from the control unit, and the shipment transported by the transport unit abuts on the basis of the information to stop the shipment at a predetermined position to define the gripping position. 11. The automatic assortment storage device according to claim 2, wherein the transport section has an end position adjusting device provided with an end position adjusting plate. 13. The fork-shaped stacking unit grips and stacks the shipments transported by the transport unit, or unloads the shipments removed from the tray on the transport unit,
When the transport conveyor has an entrance / exit of the stacking section that is set deeper than the thickness of the stacking section and is hidden below the transport surface, the transport conveyor has When the loading section enters the loading section entrance from the side and picks up the shipment to be loaded and unloaded on the transport section, the loading section enters the loading section entrance from above and sends the shipment. The automatic assortment storage device according to claim 2, wherein the sheet is placed on the transport section.