JPH09194035A - Pallet feeder and feeding method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve pallet positioning precision so as to prevent a wrapped object from sticking out from the pallet in stacking by forcibly feeding the pallet by means of a pallet pressing member and clamping the pallet between a stopper arranged on the downstream side of the pallet conveying unit so as to position the pallet. SOLUTION: When an empty pallet A is fed in a frame 1 so as to be stacked up, the second empty pallet from the lowermost side in the empty pallet A group is held by means of an empty pallet supporting hook 12c, while the lowermost empty pallet A is separated so as to be lowered to a conveying chain 21. Subsequently, a roller conveyor 31 is lifted so as to be flush with the conveying chain 21 by means of an air cylinder 32 in a wrapped object stacking unit 30. Then, the conveying chain 21 is driven by means of a driving motor 25, an empty pallet A is pushed out onto the roller conveyor 31 by means of a pressing member 26 so as to be brought into contact with a stopper 33, and the empty pallet A is positioned when the conveying chain 21 is stopped.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pallet supply device and a supply method for supplying pallets to a plurality of loading positions and unloading loaded pallets from the plurality of loading positions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a pallet supply device has a plurality of pallet conveyors respectively arranged at a plurality of loading positions, a pallet loading device for loading a package on a pallet on each pallet conveyor, and an empty pallet. An empty pallet supply unit for supplying, an actual pallet unloading unit for unloading the actual pallet on which the packages are loaded, an end of each pallet conveyor,
It has a real pallet conveyor that is movable along the empty pallet supply part and the real pallet unloading part and that supports the real pallet in the upper stage, and has an empty pallet conveyor that supports the empty pallet in the lower stage, and above and below these. And a traverser having elevating means for elevating and lowering the two-stage conveyor to connect to the end of each pallet conveyor.

Accordingly, the actual pallet is conveyed to the traverser by the reverse rotation of the conveyor of the package stacking section and the conveyor above the traverser, and the actual pallet is conveyed to a predetermined position of the conveyor above the traverser. , The traverser rises, the conveyor at the lower stage of the traverser becomes the same level as the upper surface of the conveyor at the packaging body loading section, the conveyor at the lower stage of the traverser and the conveyor at the packaging body loading section rotate, and the empty pallet moves to the predetermined level in the packaging body loading section. It is transported to the position.

Next, the upper conveyor of the traverser is lowered to the same height as the upper surface of the conveyor of the actual pallet unloading section, and is horizontally moved to the conveyor of the actual pallet unloading section next to the package loading section. And the conveyor of the actual pallet unloading section is rotated, and the actual pallet is discharged. By repeating this operation, the actual pallet is discharged and the empty pallet is continuously supplied.

Such a technique is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-59.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 108624.

[0006]

However, the present inventor has found that the pallet feeder described above has the following problems. That is, since the traverser has the function of carrying between the empty pallet supply conveyor and the actual pallet unloading conveyor, and the function of adjusting the conveyor height of the empty pallet supply section and the actual pallet unloading section, the conveyor of the empty pallet supply section The actual pallet must be lifted at the part where the conveyor of the actual pallet unloading section is transferred. Therefore, the structure of the device becomes complicated, the work efficiency is reduced, and the space property is deteriorated. Further, since the heavy real pallet is lifted, it is necessary to make the device strong, the drive source for lifting the real pallet becomes large, and the cost becomes high.

Further, the empty pallet is conveyed on the roller conveyor of the package loading section and stopped and positioned by the stopper, but since the empty pallet is light in weight, it slides on the conveyor of the package loading section, and the predetermined pallet is slid. It is installed out of position. When the empty pallet is installed at a position largely displaced from the predetermined position, the package is pushed out of the pallet and stacked, and when the actual pallet is loaded on the truck by a forklift or the like, the package is pushed out of the bed of the truck. For this reason, the worker must correct the actual pallet and then load it on the truck, which lowers the workability.

[0008] The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pallet supply device and a supply method capable of reliably positioning an empty pallet by eliminating the work of lifting an actual pallet. The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, the outline of a representative one will be briefly described.
It is as follows. (1) The pallet supply device of the present invention includes a pallet storage unit that stores a plurality of pallets, a pallet transport unit that transports the pallet, and a pallet pressing member that is provided in the pallet transport unit and presses the pallet. It is provided with a stopper mounted on the downstream side of the pallet transport section, which comes into contact with the pallet pressed by the pallet pressing member, and a pallet discharge section which carries out the pallet on which the packages are stacked.

(2) In the pallet feeding apparatus of the present invention, in the means (1), the pallet carrying section and the pallet discharging section are arranged in a direction orthogonal to each other. (3) According to the pallet feeding method of the present invention, the pallet is placed on the pallet conveying unit having the pallet pressing member, and the pallet pressing member pushes the pallet while hitting the stopper mounted on the downstream side of the pallet conveying unit. The steps include contacting, stopping the movement of the pallet, sandwiching the pallet between the pallet pressing member and the stopper, and placing the pallet on the pallet discharging portion.

Therefore, the pallet is reliably positioned by being sandwiched between the pallet pressing member and the stopper. Further, the pallet is placed on the pallet discharging section while being sandwiched between the pallet pressing member and the stopper, and the pallet in which the packing of the packages is completed is discharged by the pallet discharging section. Note that the pallet mainly refers to a pallet on which a package is not loaded, and includes a pallet having a recess, and an auxiliary member for loading the package on the pallet.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pallet feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of a pallet feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is related to an embodiment of the present invention. 4A to 4D are front views of the pallet supporting portion of the pallet feeder, FIG. 4A to FIG. 4D are process diagrams illustrating the pallet feeding method according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a pallet according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is process drawing explaining a supply method. Further, in all the drawings for explaining the embodiments, those having the same functions are designated by the same reference numerals, and the repeated description thereof will be omitted.

1 and 2, the pallet supply device stores a plurality of empty pallets A, and the empty pallets A are
Empty pallet storage unit 10 for separating sheets one by one, and empty pallet A
An empty pallet supply unit 20 that conveys the pallets, a package stacking unit 30 that stacks the packages on the empty pallet A, and an actual pallet discharge unit 40 that discharges the actual pallet on which the packages are stacked. .

The empty pallet storage unit 10 has a box-shaped frame 11, and a plurality of empty pallets A are provided in the frame 11.
Are stacked in the height direction. An empty pallet support 12 for supporting the empty pallet A is provided at a predetermined portion of the frame 11.
Are mounted via the pillow unit 13. Also,
A hydraulic lifter 14 (see FIG. 4) is provided below the lowermost empty pallet A so that the empty pallet A can be moved up and down.

The empty pallet support 12 has an air cylinder 12a, as shown in FIG.
The link 12b is connected to the tip of the link 12a.
An L-shaped empty pallet support hook 12c, which is inserted into the insertion opening of the empty pallet A, is pivotally attached to b by a hook rotation shaft 12d. Empty pallet supply unit 20
, A pair of endless belt-shaped empty pallet transport chains 21 and 21 for transporting the empty pallet A to the package stacking unit 30 are arranged in parallel. The empty pallet transport chain 21 is 1
The connecting rod 23 is fixed to the sprocket 22 and is installed between the pair of sprockets 22. Connecting rod 23
Is connected to a drive motor 25 via a drive chain 24, and the rotation of the drive motor 25 causes the empty pallet transport chain 2 to rotate.
It works together with 1. Further, on the empty pallet transport chain 21, engaged with one side of the empty pallet A,
An empty pallet pressing member 26 that presses the empty pallet A is provided in a protruding manner.

A roller conveyor 31 into which the empty pallet A is carried is arranged in the package loading section 30 on an extension line of the empty pallet transport chains 21 and 21.
An air cylinder 32 for raising and lowering the roller conveyor 31 is arranged below. Further, on the downstream side of the roller conveyor 31, the stopper 3 with which the other side of the empty pallet A abuts
3, and a robot 34 for stacking the packages on the empty pallet A is provided.

In the actual pallet discharging section 40, a pair of endless belt-shaped discharging chains 41, 41 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the empty pallet conveying chain 21, and the pair of discharging chains 4 is arranged.
A roller conveyor 31 is provided between the terminals 1 and 41. Further, the discharge chain 41 is installed between a pair of sprockets (not shown), and the connecting rod 4 is attached to the sprockets.
2. The drive motor 44 is connected via the drive chain 43 in sequence, and the rotation of the drive motor 44 is interlocked with the discharge chain 41.

Next, a method of supplying empty pallets by the empty pallet supplying device will be described. First, when there is no empty pallet A in the frame 11 of the empty pallet storage unit 10,
The hydraulic lifter 14 moves up to the highest level, and the empty pallet support hook 12c is opened. Then, the empty pallets A are loaded into the frame 11 and the empty pallets A are stacked (see FIG. 4A).

Next, the hydraulic lifter 14 is lowered to a predetermined height. After that, the air cylinder 12a is operated to rotate the empty pallet support hooks 12c through the link 12b in the direction of closing, and the empty pallets A stacked up from the bottom 2
The empty pallet support hook 12c is inserted into the insertion opening of the second empty pallet A (see FIG. 4B). Further, the hydraulic lifter 14 is lowered to separate the empty pallet A at the bottom (see FIG. 4C), and the separated empty pallet A is lowered onto the empty pallet transport chain 21. Thereafter, a solenoid valve (not shown) supplies air pressure to the air cylinder 32 of the package stacking unit 30, and the roller conveyor 31
Is raised until its upper surface is flush with the upper surface of the empty pallet transport chain 21.

Then, the drive motor 25 drives the empty pallet transport chain 21, and the empty pallet pressing member 26 pushes the empty pallet A onto the roller conveyor 31,
The empty pallet pressing member 26 presses the empty pallet A until it abuts the stopper 33. Then, the sensor (not shown) detects that the empty pallet A has hit the stopper 33, and the empty pallet transport chain 21 is stopped.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the empty pallet A is sandwiched between the stopper 33 and the empty pallet pressing member 26 and positioned at a predetermined position of the package stacking section 30. Then, the air pressure of the air cylinder 32 is discharged, the roller conveyor 31 descends, and the empty pallet A is placed on the discharge chain 41 of the actual pallet discharging unit 40. Here, until the empty pallet A is placed on the discharge chain 41, the empty pallet A is clamped by the empty pallet pressing member 26 and the stopper 33, and does not move on the discharge chain 41 due to the frictional force due to its own weight. Therefore, the empty pallet A does not largely deviate from the predetermined position.

Then, the empty pallet pressing member 26 is returned to a predetermined position where the next empty pallet A is lowered by the reverse rotation of the drive motor 25. After that, the robot 34 stacks the packages on the empty pallets A according to a predetermined algorithm. While the robot 34 is stacking the packages, the hydraulic lifter 14 rises and the empty pallet A is placed on the hydraulic lifter 14 (see FIG. 4D). After that, the empty pallet support hook 12c is pulled out from the insertion port of the empty pallet A, and the same state as in FIG. 4A is obtained.

Then, when the robot 34 finishes the stacking, the drive motor 44 drives the discharge chain 41 to stop the discharge chain 41 after the packages are loaded, that is, the actual pallets are discharged. Thus,
The packing work for one pallet is completed. As described above, in this embodiment, the empty pallet A is reliably positioned on the package stacking unit 30 by being sandwiched between the empty pallet pressing member 26 and the stopper 33. Further, the empty pallet A is lowered onto the discharge chain 41 while being sandwiched between the empty pallet pressing member 26 and the stopper 33, and the packages are stacked on the empty pallet A on the discharge chain 41. Since the pallet is discharged by the discharge chain 41, the actual pallet can be exchanged for the empty pallet A without lifting the actual pallet, and the wasteful operation of the connecting portion between the empty pallet supply unit 20 and the actual pallet discharge unit 40 is eliminated, and the device Can be simplified, reliability can be secured, and cost can be reduced. The entire cargo handling work is performed automatically.

The inventions made by the present inventors are as follows.
Although the present invention has been specifically described based on the embodiments, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
In this embodiment, the chain is used as the conveying means for the empty pallet and the actual pallet, but instead of this, a belt installed on a pulley may be used.

[0025]

Advantageous effects obtained by typical ones of the inventions disclosed by the present application will be briefly described as follows.
It is as follows. According to the present invention, the pallet is sandwiched by the pallet pressing member and the stopper,
The pallet positioning accuracy is improved, and it is possible to prevent the packing body from sticking out from the pallet and being stacked.

Further, since the pallet is placed on the pallet discharging section while being sandwiched between the pallet pressing member and the stopper and discharged by the pallet discharging section, the actual pallet and the empty pallet are not lifted up. Can be exchanged, the operation waste of the connecting portion between the empty pallet supply section and the actual pallet discharge section can be eliminated, and the simplification of the apparatus, reliability assurance and cost reduction can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pallet feeder that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a pallet supply apparatus that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a pallet support portion of the pallet supply device that is an embodiment of the present invention.

4A to 4D are process diagrams illustrating a pallet supply method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a process diagram illustrating a pallet supply method that is an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Empty Pallet Storage Section 11 Frame 12 Empty Pallet Support Section 12a Air Cylinder 12b Link 12c Empty Pallet Support Hook 12d Hook Rotating Shaft 13 Pillow Unit 14 Hydraulic Lifter 20 Empty Pallet Supply Section 21 Empty Pallet Conveying Chain 22 Sprocket 23, 42 Connecting Rod 24 , 43 Drive chain 25, 44 Drive motor 26 Empty pallet pressing member 30 Package stacking section 31 Roller conveyor 32 Air cylinder 33 Stopper 34 Robot 40 Actual pallet discharging section 41 Discharging chain A Empty pallet

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pallet storage section for storing a plurality of pallets, a pallet transfer section for transferring the pallet, a pallet pressing member for pressing the pallet, which is provided in the pallet transfer section, and a downstream side of the pallet transfer section. A pallet supply device, comprising: a stopper that is mounted on the side, with which the pallet pressed by the pallet pressing member abuts, and a pallet discharge unit that carries out the pallet on which the packages are stacked. 2. The pallet supply device according to claim 1, wherein the pallet transport unit and the pallet discharge unit are arranged in a direction orthogonal to each other. 3. A pallet is placed on a pallet conveying unit having a pallet pressing member, and while pressing the pallet by the pallet pressing member, the pallet is brought into contact with a stopper mounted on the downstream side of the pallet conveying unit, A pallet supply method characterized in that the movement is stopped, the pallet is sandwiched between the pallet pressing member and the stopper, and the pallet is placed on a pallet discharging section.