JPH09290902A - Horizontal circulation station mechanism for three-dimensional automated warehouse and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the efficiency of a cargo handling work by taking out a prescribed container from a storage shelf and delivering the container to the first position of a handling station and taking out a container at the second position and storing it in the prescribed shelf of a storage shelf. SOLUTION: A container K1 is transferred from a carrying unit of a stacker crane 5 to the rear position (B) on a roller conveyor of a handling station 49 and is moved to a front position (A) by the roller conveyor (a). A housing bag is took out from the container K1 at the front position (A) or is stored there (b). A container K2 is transferred from the carrying unit of the stacker crane 5 to the rear position (B) on the roller conveyor (c). The container K1 is taken out to the carrying unit (d). The container K1 is restored to the prescribed shelf 3 of a storage shelf 2 by the carrying unit and the container K2 is moved from the rear position (B) to the front position (A).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a horizontal circulation station mechanism of a three-dimensional automatic warehouse for storing articles such as X-ray films and a control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a three-dimensional automated warehouse for storing articles generally has a pair of storage and storage shelves 6 arranged in parallel as shown in FIG.
2, 62 ', and the storage / storage shelves 62, 62' include a large number of shelves 63, 6 for storing containers storing articles.
3, ... Are arranged vertically and horizontally. A pair of storage shelves 6
A delivery device 65 is arranged between the two 62 'so as to be movable along the front surface of the storage and storage rack and capable of moving up and down, and one side of the storage and storage rack 62' has a station for handling containers. 66 are arranged adjacent to each other. And
As shown in FIG. 9A, the operator selects the station 6
When the container K1 is handled on the container 6 and the handling of the container K1 is completed, as shown in FIG.
1 is taken out by the delivery device 65, and is stored in a predetermined shelf 63 of the storage and storage shelves 62 by the delivery device 65, as shown in FIG. 9C. Next, as shown in FIG. 9D, the container K2 stored in the storage shelf 62 'is taken out by the delivery device 65, and received by the delivery device 65 on the station 66 as shown in FIG. 9E. After being handed over, the handling of the container K2 is started.

[0003]

By the way, in the control method of the single station mechanism of the three-dimensional automatic warehouse as described above, the next container cannot be taken out from the storage shelf without returning the container for handling the cargo. Therefore, it is not possible to start handling the next container until the next container arrives at the station, and it takes a long waiting time to start the next handling. Was extremely inefficient. In particular, in a large-scale storage / storage shelf, the time required for taking out and returning the containers increases, and accordingly, the number of containers that can be handled within a fixed time further decreases.

Therefore, there is also a station mechanism for a three-dimensional automatic warehouse as shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a conventional method for controlling a horizontal moving station mechanism of a three-dimensional automatic warehouse. As shown in FIG. 10, the station 68 is unloaded from the delivery device 65 at the position [C], and the container 68 is unloaded. Is moved from the [C] position to the [D] position, the container is handled at the [D] position, and when the handling is completed, the container is moved to the [E] position and the container is transferred to the delivery device 65. It has become. Therefore,
When the delivery device 65 unloads the container K1 at the [C] position, it can immediately take out the container K2 at the [E] position and store it in a predetermined shelf of the storage and storage shelves 62, 62 '. It is possible to move the container K1 to the [D] position for handling, reduce the waiting time before starting the next handling, and perform the handling efficiently. However, according to the horizontal moving station mechanism of the three-dimensional automatic warehouse as described above,
The horizontal moving station requires a large space, and in the case of the automatic station, there is a problem that the mechanism is complicated and the cost is high, and in the case of the manual station, the operator moves the container from the [C] position. There is a problem that the operator is easily tired because the operator has to move a long distance to the [E] position.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the waiting time before the handling of cargo is short, the number of containers that can be handled within a fixed time is large, the efficiency of the handling work is improved, and the station is compact and the space is small. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a horizontal circulation station mechanism of a three-dimensional automatic warehouse and a control method thereof for solving the above-mentioned problems.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and a storage and storage shelf for storing containers in which a plurality of shelves arranged vertically and horizontally are used to store containers, respectively. Adjacent to the storage / storage rack, the container from the rack of the storage / storage rack is received at the first position, and the container is moved by the moving means from the first position to the second position in the front direction with respect to the operator. And a handling station capable of handling the contents of the container in the second position, and movable along the front surface of the storage and storage shelf and capable of moving up and down, taking out a predetermined container from the shelf of the storage and storage shelf, and While delivering the container to the first position of the handling station, take out the container at the second position of the handling station, And a transfer device for storing a horizontal circulating station mechanism of the three-dimensional automatic warehouse which is characterized in that it comprises an on. In addition, a pair of storage and storage shelves arranged in parallel to store containers storing the stored items on a large number of shelves arranged vertically and horizontally, and a pair of storage and storage shelves adjacent to each of the pair of storage and storage shelves. The container from the shelf is received at the first position, the moving unit moves the container from the first position to the second position in the front direction with respect to the operator from the first position, and the container is moved at the second position. Shelf of a pair of storage and storage shelves arranged between a pair of handling stations arranged side by side capable of handling stored items and the pair of storage and storage shelves, movable along the front of the storage and storage shelves, and vertically movable. Taking out a predetermined container from the container, passing the container to the first position of each of the handling stations, and at the second position of each of the handling stations. Removed container was a horizontal circulating station mechanism of the three-dimensional automatic warehouse which is characterized by comprising and a transfer device for storing a predetermined shelf of the pair of storage shelving.

Further, the first container is taken out by the delivery device from the shelf of the storage and storage shelf that stores the containers in which the containers are stored in a plurality of vertically and horizontally arranged shelves, and the handling station adjacent to the storage and storage shelf. Delivering to a first position, and then the delivery device receives a second container, which has been handled, at a second position in the front direction of the operator from the first position of the handling station, and stores and stores the second container. It is possible to handle a stored item in the first container by storing it in a predetermined shelf and moving the first container in the first position to the second position by the moving means of the handling station. The control method of the horizontal circulation station mechanism of the three-dimensional automated warehouse is as follows.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a horizontal circulation station mechanism of a three-dimensional automatic warehouse to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a three-dimensional automatic warehouse to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the three-dimensional automatic warehouse 1 includes a pair of storage shelves 2 arranged in parallel for storing a container 13 described later. A large number of shelves 3, 3, ... For accommodating the containers 13 are arranged vertically and horizontally on the storage and storage shelves 2, 2 '. A stacker crane 5 is provided between the pair of storage and storage shelves 2 and 2 '.
It is movably arranged along the front surface of 2 '.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the storage and storage shelves and the stacker crane. As shown in FIG. 2, the stacker crane 5 is a rail laid on the floor between the left and right storage and storage shelves 2, 2 '. 6, a traveling frame 8 which is driven by a traveling motor 7 to drive, a vertical frame 9 which is erected on the traveling frame 8, and a vertical frame 9 which is attached to the vertical frame 9 so as to be vertically movable. And a loading unit 11 for loading.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the stacking unit and the container of the stacker crane. As shown in FIG. 3, the stacking unit 11 is a drive device 15 for taking out the container.
And a movable plate 16 of the drive device 15 for taking out the container.
From which a hook fixing shaft 17 extends in the front-rear direction, and hooks 18, 18 formed at both ends of the hook fixing shaft 17
Respectively, the engaging fittings 20 of the container 13 (see FIG. 4)
And can be engaged. A drive sprocket and a sprocket 24 fixed to a rotation shaft of a container take-out motor 23 are axially supported at both ends of the base body 22 of the loading unit 11 in the advancing and retracting direction of the container 13, and the drive sprocket and the sprocket 24 have a chain. 26 is wound around, and the lower end of the movable plate 16 is fixedly attached to the chain 26. Then, when the container take-out motor 23 is driven, the chain 26 moves to move the movable plate 16 and the hook fixed shaft 1.
7, and the hooks 18 and 18 move, and accordingly, the engaging fitting 20 and the container 13 engaged with the hook 18 advance and retreat.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the container. As shown in FIG. 4, the case 28 of the container 13 has a handle 29 on the front surface and a rear surface with respect to the moving direction and a side view below the handle 29, respectively. An inverted L-shaped engaging fitting 20 is provided, and the inside of the case 28 is partitioned by partition plates 30 and 30. A large number of storage bags 31, 31, ... For storing the X-ray film are stored inside the case 28, and the partition plate 30,
It is designed to be partitioned by 30 at predetermined intervals. Then, the hook 18 is provided with the engaging fitting 20 of the container 13.
With the hook 18 engaged with the engaging metal fitting 20 of the container 13, the container 13 can be finely moved in the moving direction of the container 13 and can be freely inserted and moved in the lateral direction.
When the hook 18 moves to the loading unit 11 side, the container 13 advances to the loading unit 11 side, and when the hook 18 moves to the storage and storage shelves 2, 2'side, the tip of the hook 18 presses the side surface of the case 28 of the container 13. And then container 1
3 is retracted to the storage / storage shelves 2, 2'side, and when the hook 18 moves laterally, the hook 1
8 and the engagement fitting 20 of the container 13 are released. The engaging fitting 20 and the handle 29 may be formed integrally or separately and separately.

Further, as shown in FIG.
The outer back surface of 2'is covered with side panels 33, 33, and the upper sides of the storage and storage shelves 2, 2'are front panels 35,
The lower part is covered with a desk 36. Shutters 37 and 38 are supported at the center and right part of the lower end of the front panel 35 so as to be vertically openable and closable. In addition, the desk 36 has a structure in which the sides of the storage and storage shelves 2 and 2'project forward and the rear is open, and the left desk 36a, the central desk 36b, and the right desk 36c.
And are integrally formed.

The central desk 36b has a substantially quadrangular opening on the upper surface, the rear edge and the right edge of the opening are opened, a defense partition plate 41 is erected on the left edge, and a safety cover is provided on the front edge. 42
Is erected. The loading unit 11 can be moved forward and backward through the opening. The upper surface of the right desk 36c is opened in a substantially rectangular shape, the rear edge and the left edge of the opening are open, and the left edge is open in communication with the right edge of the opening of the central desk 36b. FIG. 5 is a side view showing the handling station. As shown in FIG.
The four shelves 3, 3, 3, 3 at the bottom of the vertical shelves 3, 3, ... on the right desk 36c side are cut out, and in the space surrounded by the notched place and the opening of the right desk 36c. Is the roller conveyor 44
Is arranged so that the container 13 can be transported in the front-rear direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a safety sensor 46 for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle on the upper surface of the right desk 36c, and a bar code reader for reading the unique bar code of the storage bag 31 housed in the container 13. And 47 are provided. Then, the roller conveyor 44, the central desk 36b and the right desk 36
A handling station 49 is constructed from c. In addition,
In FIG. 1, 51 is an emergency stop button for stopping the driving of the stacker crane 5 and the roller conveyor 44, and 52 is a container start button (N for driving the stacker crane 5 for handling the next container at the handling station 49).
EXT button), 54 is a display panel, 55 is an operation switch,
56 is a printer.

In addition, the operator operates the handling station 49.
While the container is being unloaded, the safety sensor 46 detects an obstacle and is turned on. Even if the container start button (NEXT button) 52 is pressed in this on state, the stacker crane 5 does not drive, and the container is taken out. You can't.

Next, the control method of the horizontal circulation station mechanism of the three-dimensional automatic warehouse according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
It is explained along. FIG. 6 is a process diagram of a control method of a single station type horizontal circulation station mechanism of a three-dimensional automatic warehouse. First, as shown in FIG. 6A, the container K1 is transferred from the stacking unit 11 of the stacker crane 5 to the rear position [B] on the roller conveyor 44 of the handling station 49, and is moved to the front position by the roller conveyor 44. Move to [A]. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the operator takes out a predetermined storage bag 31 from the container K1 at the front side position [A] on the roller conveyor 44, or stores the predetermined storage bag 31 in the container K1. I will handle it. At this time, the sensor (not shown) installed on the roller conveyor 44 detects that the container K1 is in the [A] position, and the barcode reader 4
The barcode of the storage bag 31 is read by 7. Then, while the container K1 is handling the cargo, the shelf 3 of the storage storage shelf 2'is
The container K2 stored in is stored in the stacking unit 11 of the stacker crane 5.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6C, the container K1 is being handled, and the container K2 is transferred from the loading unit 11 of the stacker crane 5 to the rear position [B] on the roller conveyor 44. It Then, as shown in FIG. 6D, the container K1 that has been completely handled is taken out by the stacking unit 11 of the stacker crane 5. And
As shown in FIG. 6 (e), the container K1 is returned to the predetermined shelf 3 of the storage / storage shelf 2 by the loading unit 11 of the stacker crane 5, and the roller conveyor 44 is driven to move the container K2 from the [B] position to the [B] position. A] Move to the position and the handling is started.

Therefore, the next container can be taken out during the container handling work, and the handling and the taking-out can be simultaneously performed in parallel. Further, when the handling of one container is completed, the handling of the next container can be started in a short time, and the waiting time is greatly reduced. Further, the horizontal circulation type handling station has a simple structure and is compact, requires a small installation space, and can reduce the cost. Further, even if the operator manually moves the container from the [B] position to the [A] position without driving the roller conveyor 44 by the driving means, the moving distance is short and the operator's fatigue can be reduced.

Although the roller conveyor is used as the container moving means in the above embodiment, it is not limited to this and other moving means such as a belt conveyor may of course be used. Further, although a pair of storage and storage shelves is used in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and one storage and storage shelf may be used.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a control method of a double station type horizontal circulation station mechanism of a three-dimensional automatic warehouse. In the double station type horizontal circulation station mechanism shown in FIG. 7, handling stations 58, 58 'are arranged adjacent to the storage shelves 2, 2'.
Others have the same configuration as the embodiment shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7A, the handling stations 58, 5
An operator is arranged at each of 8 ', and the container K stored in the shelves of the storage and storage shelves 2, 2'is taken out by the stacker crane 5 and transferred to the [B] position of the handling stations 58, 58', and the roller conveyor. 44 is container K
Is moved from the [B] position to the [A] position, and the operator handles the container K at the [A] position. And FIG.
As shown in (b), the container K, which has completed the handling at the position [A], is taken out by the stacker crane 5 and returned to a predetermined shelf of the storage and storage shelves 2, 2 '.
Therefore, there are 2 handling stations and 2 operators.
Since a person can simultaneously handle containers in parallel, the number of containers that can be handled per unit time can be significantly increased.

Further, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a control method at the time of emergency exit of the double station type horizontal circulation station mechanism of the three-dimensional automatic warehouse, and has the same device configuration as FIG. 7. At the time of emergency delivery, as shown in FIG. 8A, the stacker crane 5 takes out the container K from the predetermined shelves of the storage and storage shelves 2, 2 ′, and the handling stations 58, 58 ′.
Stop at a position adjacent to the container K, and the container K is placed on the stacking unit 11 of the stacker crane 5,
The storage bag 31 of 1 is handled. Then, as shown in FIG. 8B, the container K, which has been completely handled, is directly returned by the stacker crane 5 to a predetermined shelf of the storage / storage shelves 2 and 2 ′. Therefore, there are three places to handle the containers, and three operators can handle the containers in parallel at the same time. In an emergency, the specified container K is promptly taken out, handled, and returned. be able to.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The next container can be taken out during container handling.
Since loading and unloading can be performed in parallel at the same time, once the loading and unloading of one container is completed, the loading and unloading of the next container can be started in a short time, and the waiting time can be significantly reduced, and the fixed time can be reduced. It is possible to increase the number of containers that can be handled. Further, in a large-scale storage / storage shelf, the time required for taking out and returning a container increases, so in the conventional method, the waiting time before starting to handle the next container becomes long accordingly. According to the above, since the loading and unloading can be performed in parallel at the same time, the waiting time is greatly reduced and the number of containers that can be handled within a certain period of time is significantly increased even with a large-scale storage / storage shelf. be able to.

Further, the horizontal circulation type handling station according to the present invention has a simple structure and is compact, requires a small installation space, and can reduce the cost.
In addition, it is possible to take out the container from the shelf of the storage and storage shelf with the delivery device and directly handle the stored items of the container on the delivery device.Therefore, in case of an emergency delivery, promptly release the specified container and handle the stored items of the container. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a three-dimensional automated warehouse to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a storage cabinet and a stacker crane.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a loading unit and a container of the stacker crane.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a container.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a handling station according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a process diagram of a method for controlling a single station type horizontal circulation station mechanism of a three-dimensional automatic warehouse according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a control method of a double station type horizontal circulation station mechanism of a three-dimensional automatic warehouse according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a control method at the time of emergency leaving of the double station type horizontal circulation station mechanism of the three-dimensional automatic warehouse according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a process diagram of a conventional method for controlling a single station mechanism of a three-dimensional automated warehouse.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional method for controlling a horizontal moving station mechanism of a three-dimensional automatic warehouse.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 three-dimensional automatic warehouse 2, 2'storage and storage shelves 3, 3, ... Shelf 5 Stacker crane 7 Traveling motor 10 Lifting motor 11 Loading unit 13 Container 15 Drive device for taking out container 16 Movable plate 17 Fixed shaft 18, 18 Hook 20 Engagement metal Tool 22 Base body 23 Container extraction motor 28 Case 29 Handle 30 Partition plate 31, 31, ... Storage bag 33, 33 Side panel 35 Front panel 36 Desk 36a Left desk 36b Central desk 36c Right desk 37, 38 Shutter 41 Defense partition 42 Safety cover 44 Roller conveyor 46 Safety sensor 47 Bar code reader 49 Handling station 51 Emergency stop button 52 Container start button 54 Display board 55 Operation switch 56 Printer 58, 58 'Handling station K, K1, K2 Container

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A storage / storage shelf for storing containers in which a plurality of vertical and horizontal shelves are stored, and a storage container which is adjacent to the storage / storage shelf and has a container from the storage / storage shelf at a first position. And a handling station that can move the container from the first position to a second position in the front direction with respect to the operator from the first position by the moving means, and can handle the contents of the container at the second position. Is movable along the front surface of the storage and storage shelf and can be moved up and down, takes out a predetermined container from the shelf of the storage and storage shelf, and transfers the container to the first position of the handling station, and the second position of the handling station. A three-dimensional automatic device, comprising: a delivery device that takes out the container at the position and stores it in a predetermined shelf of the storage shelf. Horizontal circulation station mechanism of the warehouse. 2. A pair of storage and storage shelves arranged in parallel for storing containers in which a plurality of shelves are arranged vertically and horizontally, respectively, and a pair of storages adjacent to each of the pair of storage and storage shelves. The container from the shelf of the storage shelf is received at the first position, the moving unit moves the container from the first position to the second position in the front direction with respect to the operator from the first position, and then the second position. It is arranged between a pair of parallel handling stations that can handle the contents of the container and the pair of storage and storage shelves, and can be moved and moved up and down along the front of the storage and storage shelves. A predetermined container is taken out from the rack and the container is delivered to the first position of each of the handling stations, and the second port of each of the handling stations is transferred. Removed Deployment of the container, horizontal circulation station mechanism of the three-dimensional automatic warehouse which is characterized by comprising and a transfer device for storing a predetermined shelf of the pair of storage shelving. 3. The first container is taken out by a delivery device from a shelf of a storage and storage shelf that stores containers in which a plurality of vertically and horizontally arranged shelves are stored, and the first storage container of the storage station adjacent to the storage and storage shelf is removed. Delivering to a first position, and then the delivery device receives a second container, which has been handled, at a second position in the front direction of the operator from the first position of the handling station, and stores and stores the second container. It is possible to handle a stored item in the first container by storing it in a predetermined shelf and moving the first container in the first position to the second position by the moving means of the handling station. Control method of horizontal circulation station mechanism of 3D automated warehouse.