JPH09136718A - Pallet store/extract device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To change a solid pallet and an empty pallet efficiently between a pallet store/extract device and a conveyor juxtaposed with a pallet store/ extract port. SOLUTION: A sheet material feed conveyor 51 is provided in line at the specified height of a pallet store/extract device 60. The pallet store/extract device 60 is provided with an elevating base 62 having pallet placing parts 63 in two vertical stages composed of independently drivable roller conveyors. As the stand-by state of the elevating base 62, a solid pallet is placed on the upper pallet placing part 63, and in this state, the lower pallet placing part without a pallet placed thereon is positioned at the height connected to the sheet material feed conveyor 51.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pallet loading / unloading device for loading / unloading a pallet with a device arranged in parallel at a pallet loading / unloading port of a predetermined height.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a pallet loading / unloading device for loading / unloading a pallet with a conveyor arranged in parallel at a pallet loading / unloading port of a predetermined height, an elevator having one pallet mounting portion is provided. It is known that the pallet mounting part can be stopped at the pallet loading / unloading height.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional pallet loading / unloading apparatus, since there is only one pallet loading section on the lifting platform, the pallet loading / unloading apparatus actually works between the pallet loading / unloading apparatus and the conveyors arranged side by side. The pallets and empty pallets could not be exchanged efficiently. For example, when the empty pallet on the conveyor is carried out to the pallet mounting part of the elevator, and the actual pallet is loaded on the conveyor from the pallet mounting part of the elevator, the process of unloading the empty pallet from the conveyor to the elevator , A step of unloading an empty pallet from the lift table, a step of loading the real pallet to the lift table, a step of raising and lowering the lift table, and a step of loading the real pallet to the conveyor, I could not change the pallet quickly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a pallet loading / unloading device capable of quickly exchanging pallets with a device arranged in parallel at a pallet loading / unloading port of a predetermined height. To do.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a pallet loading / unloading device for loading / unloading a pallet with a device arranged in parallel at a pallet loading / unloading port of a predetermined height. The pallet loading / unloading device is provided with an elevating table having a plurality of pallet mounting sections on the upper and lower sides, and any pallet mounting section of the elevating table can be stopped at the pallet loading / unloading height.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the plurality of stages of pallet placing sections are each constituted by a conveyor that can be driven independently.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the standby state of the elevating table, at least one pallet mounting section has an actual pallet mounted thereon, and one pallet mounting section without a pallet mounted thereon. It is to be placed at the pallet loading / unloading height.

The present invention has the following functions. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lifting table having the plurality of stages of pallet mounting sections is provided above and below, and any pallet mounting section of this lifting table can be stopped at the pallet loading / unloading height. By using one or a plurality of pallet mounting portions for storing actual pallets, it is possible to quickly perform pallet exchange with a device arranged in parallel at a pallet loading / unloading opening of a predetermined height.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In this specification, the front means the right side in FIG. 1, the rear means the left side in the figure, the left means the back side in FIG. 1, and the right means the front side in the figure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the article transfer device includes a depalletizing station 10, a palletizing station 20 arranged in parallel in front of the depalletizing station 10, and a horizontal moving table 30 which is horizontally movable between upper portions of both stations. An article unloading conveyor 40 arranged in front of the palletizing station 20, a sheet material feeding device 50 provided above the article unloading conveyor 40, and a pallet loading / unloading apparatus 60 juxtaposed in front of the sheet material feeding device 50. have.

The details of each device and the relationship between the devices will be described below. The depalletizing station 10 includes a pallet P on which stacked articles are placed and which is vertically movable.
Alignment state of the lift table 11 and the article group W on the uppermost layer of stacked articles on the first lift table 11 or the article group W on the horizontal moving table 30 immediately above the first lift table 11 (the article receiving position) And an article holding device 13 capable of adsorbing and lifting the uppermost article group W of stacked articles on the first elevating table 11.

The correction means 12 in the depalletizing station 10 is provided above the elevating area of the first elevating table 11 and has four horizontally movable pressing plates. Each pressing plate is an article group W on the first lifting platform 11 or the horizontal moving platform 30.
By pressing the front, rear, left, and right side surfaces, the aligned state of the article group W is corrected. The three pressing plates on the left and right sides and the front side can move vertically as well as horizontally, so that interference with the horizontal moving table 30 can be avoided.

The article holding device 13 has a plurality of suction pads 14 which can be moved up and down.
The uppermost article group W of the stacked articles on the first elevating table 11 can be collectively lifted by adsorbing the upper surface thereof.

The palletizing station 20 includes a second elevating table 21 which is capable of moving up and down, on which a pallet P for receiving a group of articles W from the depalletizing station 10 is placed.
The correction means 22 corrects the aligned state of the article group W on the horizontal moving table 30 which is directly above the second lifting table 21 (the article transfer position).

The correction means 22 in the palletizing station 20 is provided above the elevating region of the second elevating table 21 and has four horizontally movable pressing plates. Each pressing plate corrects the aligned state of the article group W by pressing the front, rear, left and right side surfaces of the article group W on the horizontal moving table 30 at the article transfer position. The two front and rear pressing plates can be moved vertically as well as horizontally, so that interference with the horizontally moving table 30 on the article group W can be avoided. The rear pressing plate further functions as a means for restricting the backward movement of the article group W on the horizontal moving table 30 when the horizontal moving table 30 is retracted rearward from the article transfer position.

The horizontal moving table 30 has a roller conveyor and is horizontally movable between an article receiving position above the depalletizing station 10 and an article transferring position above the palletizing station 20. . Each roller 31 in the roller conveyor is driven by a motor (not shown) mounted on the horizontal moving table 30 as a drive source, and is interlocked by a chain (not shown) passed between sprockets fitted to the end of each roller shaft. It is configured to be driven.

As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of left and right guide members 32, a rack 33 and a rail member 34 are provided in the reciprocating region of the horizontal moving table 30 in this order from the outside along the front-rear direction. The pair of left and right outermost guide members 32 is for guiding the horizontal moving table 30 accurately in the front-rear direction, and a member (not shown) that engages with the guide member 32 is provided on the horizontal moving table 30 side. Has been. Guide member 3
The pair of left and right racks 33 inside 2 is for horizontally moving the horizontal moving table 30 back and forth, and a pair of left and right pinions 35 that mesh with the rack 33 are provided on the horizontal moving table 30 side. The pair of left and right pinions 35 are attached to a common drive shaft 36, and are configured to rotate in conjunction with each other by a motor (not shown) mounted on the horizontal moving table 30. With such a configuration, when the pair of left and right pinions 35 rotate, the horizontal moving table 30 is guided by the pair of left and right guide members 32 and horizontally moves back and forth.

The horizontal moving table 30 has a slope member 37 at the front end portion (rear end portion in the retreat direction) over substantially the entire left and right width, the upper surface of which is inclined downward toward the front. The slope member 37 is swingable around the roller axis of the frontmost roller 31, and the pair of left and right rail members 34 inside the rack 33 swings the slope member 37 according to the position of the horizontal moving table 30. It is for changing the inclination angle of the upper surface of the lever.

The rocking mechanism of the slope member 37 will be described. The rail member 34 has a different upper surface height depending on the position, and at the tip of the slope member 37, the rail is moved along with the horizontal movement of the horizontal moving table 30. A rotary member 38 that slides on the member 34 is provided, and the height position of the rotary member 38 on the rail member 34 changes in accordance with the horizontal movement of the horizontal moving table 30, so that the slope member 37 swings. It is designed to swing around the axis of motion.

Specifically, the rail member 34 has an inclined portion 34a and a lower step portion 34b at the front end thereof, and the horizontal moving table 3
When 0 is at the front end of the horizontal motion area (article transfer position),
Since the rotating member 38 is positioned on the lower step portion 34b of the rail member 34, the upper surface of the slope member 37 has a steep inclination angle, and the horizontal moving table 30 at the article transfer position can be moved to the front article unloading conveyor 40 as much as possible. It can be brought close (see FIG. 5).

On the other hand, when the rotating member 38 is positioned on a portion (upper step portion) other than the inclined portion 34a and the lower step portion 34b of the rail member 34, its height position is higher than that at the lower step portion 34b, The upper surface of the slope member 37 has a gentle inclination angle so that the article can be prevented from sliding down on the slope member 37 during transfer and receiving a strong impact (see FIG. 6).

The article unloading conveyor 40 connected to the front of the palletizing station 20 has a cutting-out means (not shown), and the article group W for one layer received from the horizontal moving table 30 at the article transfer position is set to one. It can be separated into individual articles and transported to the subsequent process.

The sheet material supply device 50 provided above the article unloading conveyor 40 includes a sheet material supply conveyor 51 having a conveyance direction in the front-rear direction, and a sheet material supply conveyor 51.
And an article holding device 53 having a plurality of suction pads 52 that are horizontally movable and vertically movable above and below. The article holding device 53 picks up only one of the uppermost sheet materials stacked on the sheet material pallet P on the sheet material supply conveyor 51 by the suction pad 52 and lifts the sheet material above the palletizing station 20. The sheet material adsorbed on the second lifting table 21 can be placed on the article group W on the second elevating table 21. The sheet material is, for example, corrugated cardboard and the like, and by interposing this sheet material between the layers of the article group W on the second lifting table 21, the article group W is in an aligned state having a gap like a square shape. However, articles can be further stacked on the gap.

A pallet loading / unloading device 60 provided in front of the sheet material feeding device 50 includes four masts 61 standing upright at apexes of a substantially square shape in a plan view, and an ascending / descending region formed by the masts 61. It has a lift table 62 that can be lifted and lowered, and a pallet intake station 64 that is provided in the lower part of the lift area.

The elevating table 62 has upper and lower two-stage pallet mounting portions 63. Each pallet mounting portion 63 is configured by a roller conveyor whose transport direction is the front-rear direction, and the lifting platform 62 is equipped with two motors (not shown) that are drive sources of the roller conveyor, and each roller. The conveyors can be driven independently of each other.

The pallet taking-in station 64 has a chain conveyor 65 whose left-right direction is the conveying direction, and is constructed so as not to interfere with the chain conveyor 65 when the elevating table 62 descends to the lowest position. Lifting table 6
When 2 is in the lowermost position, the transport surface of the chain conveyor 65 is located above the transport surface of the upper roller conveyor in the lifting platform 62, and the lifting platform 62 is raised from the lowest position and lowered to the lowest position. Thus, the pallet P can be transferred between the lifting platform 62 and the chain conveyor 65.

The operation of the article transfer device configured as described above will be described below. (1) The first lift 11 of the depalletizing station 10
The pallet P on which the stacked articles are placed is placed, and the empty pallet P on which the articles are not placed is placed on the second lifting platform 21 of the palletizing station 20.

(2) Group W of the uppermost layer of stacked articles
Is moved up to the position surrounded by the four pressing plates of the correcting means 12, and the correcting means 12 presses the side surfaces of the uppermost article group W from four directions to correct the aligned state.

(3) Suction pad 14 of article holding device 13
Is lowered until it hits the upper surface of the article group W, and is raised while adsorbing to raise the article group W of the uppermost layer.

(4) The horizontal moving table 30 on the palletizing station 20 side is moved rearward so that the horizontal moving table 30 enters directly below the lifted article group W (the article receiving position). At this time, the pressing plates on the left and right sides and the front side of the correction means 12 are in the raised position so that the horizontal moving table 30 does not interfere.

(5) The suction pad 14 is lowered until the lower surface of the article group W abuts the horizontal movement table 30 in the suction state, and then the suction state is released to move the article group W onto the horizontal movement table 30. Then, the alignment means 12 corrects the aligned state of the article group W again.

(6) Horizontal movement table 3 with the article group W placed thereon
0 is moved to the front so as to be located right above the second lifting platform 21 (the article transfer position) in the palletizing station 20. At this time, the pressing plate on the rear side of the correction means 22 is in the raised position, and the horizontal moving table 30 and the article group W on the horizontal moving table 30 are provided.
It is designed not to interfere with.

(7) The horizontal moving table 30 by the correction means 22
The side surfaces of the upper article group W are pressed from four sides to correct the aligned state. At this time, the second elevating table 21 stands by at a height where the upper surface of the empty pallet P is slightly lower than the lower surface of the horizontal moving table 30.

(8) When the article group W on the horizontal moving table 30 is transferred onto the second elevating table 21, only the pressing plate on the rear side of the correcting means 22 is brought into contact with the side surface of the article group W during the correction. In this state, the roller 31 is driven so that the transport direction is the forward direction and the transport speed is substantially equal to the withdrawal speed of the horizontal moving table 30 described later, and the horizontal moving table 30 at the article transfer position is set.
To move backward (retract). Since the horizontal moving table 30 is retracted while driving the roller 31 in this way,
The aligned state of the article group W on the horizontal moving table 30 is hardly broken by the retreating operation, and the article group W on the horizontal moving table 30 accurately maintains the aligned state at a position just below the retracting operation. While being transferred, it is transferred onto the second lift 21.

(9) The sheet material placed on the sheet material pallet P on the sheet material supply conveyor 51 is transferred by the sheet material supply device 50 to the second lift table 21 as required by the alignment state and the like. The second lift 21 is placed on the group of articles W that has been placed, and the second lift 21 is lowered by the height of the group of articles W.

(10) Substantially the same operations as (2) to (9) are repeated a predetermined number of times to transfer the article group W of a predetermined number of steps from the first lift table 11 to the second lift table 21.

In (11) and (7), after correcting the aligned state of the article group W on the horizontal moving table 30 and then delivering the article group W to the article unloading conveyor 40, the horizontal moving table 30 is placed at the article transfer position. The roller 31 is driven so that the conveyance direction is the forward direction while being stopped. The article group W delivered to the article unloading conveyor 40 is separated into individual articles by a predetermined cutting operation and conveyed.

(12) When the sheet material stacked on the sheet material pallet P on the sheet material supply conveyor 51 is used up, the pallet P is transferred to and from the pallet loading / unloading device 60 for replacement with the actual pallet P. To do. The lift table 62 of the pallet loading / unloading device 60 is in a standby state,
With the actual pallet P placed on the upper pallet placing portion 63, the lower pallet placing portion 63 has a height (the height at which the pallet P can be delivered) which is connected to the sheet material supply conveyor 51. After receiving the empty pallet P from the sheet material supply conveyor 51 by the lower pallet mounting section 63 and lowering it to a height at which the upper pallet mounting section 63 is connected to the sheet material supply conveyor 51, the empty pallet P is transferred to the sheet material supply conveyor 51. By paying out the actual pallet P, the pallet can be quickly replaced.

[0039]

The present invention is configured as described above.
The following effects are obtained. According to the invention described in claim 1, since there is provided an elevator having upper and lower pallet mounting portions, and any pallet mounting portion of this elevator can be stopped at the pallet loading / unloading height, the elevator By using one or more of the pallet loading parts for storing actual pallets, it is possible to quickly exchange pallets with the devices installed in parallel at the pallet loading / unloading port of a predetermined height, thus improving overall system efficiency. Can operate well. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the plurality of stages of pallet placing sections are each configured by a conveyor that can be driven independently. Therefore, by driving an arbitrary conveyor as necessary, the transfer of the robot or the like can be performed. The pallet can be put in and taken out from the pallet loading / unloading device having a predetermined height without using the loading device. According to the third aspect of the invention, in the standby state of the lift table, at least one pallet placing section has the actual pallet placed thereon, and one pallet placing section having no pallet placed therein is placed in and taken out of the pallet. Since it is positioned at the height, it is possible to quickly exchange pallets by receiving empty pallets from the devices arranged in parallel at the pallet loading / unloading port and delivering the actual pallets to the devices.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a simplified side view showing an article transfer device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially omitted plan view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a simplified front view showing a pallet loading / unloading device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining horizontal movement of a horizontal movement table.

FIG. 5 is a simplified side view showing the horizontal moving table in the article transfer position.

FIG. 6 is a simplified side view showing the horizontal moving table during the evacuation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P Pallet W Article group 10 Depalletizing station 11 First lifting platform 20 Palletizing station 21 Second lifting platform 30 Horizontal moving platform 31 Roller 32 Guide member 33 Rack 34 Rail member 37 Slope member 38 Rotating member 40 Article unloading conveyor 50 Sheet material supply Equipment 51 Sheet material supply conveyor 60 Pallet loading / unloading equipment 62 Lifting platform 65 Chain conveyor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pallet loading / unloading device for loading / unloading a pallet with a pallet loading / unloading device arranged in parallel at a predetermined height, comprising a lifting platform having a plurality of pallet loading sections at the top and bottom. A pallet loading / unloading device that can stop any pallet loading part of this lifting platform at the pallet loading / unloading height. 2. The pallet loading / unloading device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of stages of pallet placing portions is constituted by a conveyor that can be independently driven. 3. In the standby state of the lift table, at least one pallet mounting section with no actual pallet mounted is positioned at the pallet loading / unloading height with an actual pallet mounted on at least one pallet mounting section. Claim 1 or 2
The pallet loading / unloading device described.