JPH10101219A - Aligning device for loaded articles - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely align loaded articles, and replace a pallet as necessary. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a frame member. 4: having a table 3 in a lower end, and a movable wall 20: movable along the corner part of the frame member 4, in the front surface side of the frame member 4. The frame member 4 is rotatably pivoted by a horizontal spindle 9, and is rotated at about 90 deg. rearward by a driving device to be overturned, thereby tilting the frame bodies 4A and 4B of the frame member 4 at about 40 deg. to a horizontal surface. Similarly the first and second walls 20A and 20B of the movable wall 20 are tilted at about 45 deg., and the table 3 and the pallet 2 stand about vertically. Consequently, articles 11 on the pallet 2 are overturned rearward, and are transferred onto the movable wall 20 to be slid along the walls 20A and 20B by deadweight to be aligned, The rearward movement of the movable wall 20 in this condition transfers the articles 11 too to make the pallet 2 replaceable, and the return of the frame member 4 and the movement wall 20 to their original standing condition retuns the articles 11 on the movement wall 20 to a condition where they are aligned on the pallet 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for arranging articles such as cardboard boxes, cases, etc., containing goods loaded on pallets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the case of temporarily storing articles such as cardboard, cases and the like in which goods are stored in a warehouse, the articles are usually stacked on a pallet, and the pallet is conveyed to the warehouse by a forklift or the like and stacked. In this case, if the articles stacked in a high state on the pallet are not aligned, the stability is poor and the article is easily collapsed. Therefore, the articles stacked on the pallet are aligned by the aligning device. In addition, even when the entire stacked articles are covered with a plastic sheet or the like, it is desirable that the articles be arranged in order by the aligning device in advance.

Conventionally, as this type of alignment apparatus, generally, a stacked article is pressed from front to back, left and right directions, pressed against a wall, or first and second walls orthogonal to each other for a printing sheet for printing. A method has been adopted in which the loading paper is moved and aligned by tilting the moving wall having the rearward at a required angle.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional aligning apparatus, particularly in an apparatus for aligning articles by pressing the articles from front to back, right and left, and pressing against a wall surface, a load on which a large load is applied. There is a problem that a large pressing force is required to move and align the articles in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, an alignment device that inclines the moving wall is suitable for aligning relatively light paper, sheets, and the like.However, in the case of a heavy article, if the inclination angle is small, an article located in a lower layer when the moving wall is inclined Difficult to move. Also, in any of the alignment devices, when bands are hung on the article, the bands are caught on each other,
There was a problem that alignment was difficult. in addition,
Even if the pallet is damaged or damaged, all of the conventional alignment devices cannot be replaced because the items are aligned with the articles resting on the pallet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. It is an object of the present invention to ensure that articles loaded on a pallet can be aligned reliably and smoothly. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for arranging loaded articles, which can exchange pallets according to the conditions.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an L-shaped frame member having a table to which a pallet is supplied at a lower end, and a frame member extending along a corner of the frame member. A movable L-shaped movable wall in plan view and a horizontal axis rotatably supporting the frame member around an axis intersecting the first and second frame bodies at substantially the same angle. A frame member driving device for rotating the frame member backward by a predetermined angle around the axis; and a moving wall driving device for moving the moving wall along a corner of the frame member. It is characterized by.
Further, in the present invention, the frame member driving device is characterized in that the frame member is rotated substantially 90 ° rearward. Further, in the present invention, the frame member includes a rotatable roller that movably supports the moving wall. Further, the present invention comprises a moving wall formed by a plurality of divided walls formed so as to be divided in the height direction, and adjacent ones are movably connected to each other by a constant distance in a vertical direction by a connecting member,
The uppermost partition wall is connected to a moving wall drive device. Further, in the present invention, the table is provided with a roller for guiding the pallet.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the frame member is rotatably supported by a shaft, and is rotated rearward by a frame member driving device. Here, in the present invention, the “front-back direction of the frame member” refers to an extension line of a bisector of an angle formed by the first and second frames that constitute the frame member, and the front side of the frame member is forward; The rear side is called the rear. Frame member is approximately 90 ° rearward
When turned, it turns sideways and faces directly upward, and the first and second frames are inclined at approximately 45 ° with respect to the horizontal plane. The moving wall falls on the back together with the frame member and rests on the frame member, and the first and second walls thereof are approximately 4
Incline 5 °. On the other hand, the pallet on the table stands substantially vertically together with the table, and the articles stacked on the pallet fall over. Accordingly, the articles are slid by their own weight along the first and second walls of the moving wall and are aligned by being gathered at the corners of the moving wall. In this state, when the moving wall and the frame member are returned to the original vertical state, the table and the pallet return to the horizontal state. Thus, the articles are laid up on the original pallet by the moving wall and are stacked. When the moving wall is moved rearward by a predetermined distance by the moving wall driving device in a state where the frame member and the moving wall are laid on the back, the articles move with the moving wall and separate from the pallet, so that the lower layer articles move. And pallets can be exchanged while making alignment easier. Further, when the object is turned over in the range of 90 ° to 95 °, there is almost no friction between the articles adjacent in the horizontal direction, and the articles can be smoothly moved and aligned.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the plurality of divided walls constituting the movable wall are connected to each other by a connecting member so as to be movable by a fixed distance, the divided wall is inclined backward together with the frame member to be the uppermost divided wall. When the wall is moved rearward by the moving wall drive device, the next and subsequent divided walls also sequentially move rearward. Therefore, a gap is generated between adjacent divided walls. Further, since the articles lying on each of the divided walls also move together with the divided walls, a gap is generated between the articles placed on the adjacent divided walls, and the friction between these articles is reduced to zero. Therefore, it is easy to move and align the articles located in the central portion.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of an article alignment apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing a part of the apparatus, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view of the apparatus, and FIG.
6 is a plan view of the moving wall, FIG. 7 is a view of the moving wall as viewed in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a view of the moving wall as viewed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. In these figures, the alignment device 1
An L-shaped frame member 4 is integrally provided with a table 3 to which a pallet 2 on which articles 11 are loaded is supplied at a lower end.

The table 3 is formed in a rectangular frame that is long in the discharge direction of the pallet 2 (the direction of arrow D) and has a plurality of rollers 6. The rollers 6 are arranged side by side at predetermined intervals in the discharge direction with their axes aligned with the supply direction (the direction of arrow C) shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the pallet 2. Is configured to be rotated in the discharge direction by the drive of the drive motor 7 provided in the printer.
The rotation of the drive motor 7 is controlled by the chain
Is transmitted to

The frame member 4 includes a first frame 4A that rises vertically from an end of the table 3 opposite to the pallet supply side,
Vertically rising from the end opposite to the pallet discharge side
A second frame 4B is provided so as to be orthogonal to the end opposite to the discharge side of the frame 4A.
The alignment device 1 is rotatably supported in the front-rear direction by a horizontal shaft 9 that intersects A and 4B at substantially the same angle (45 °). In this case, the “front-back direction of the aligning device 1”, in other words, the front-back direction of the frame member 4 is defined as an extension of the bisector 10 of the angle (90 °) formed by the first and second frames 4A, 4B. Therefore, the front side of the frame member 4 is referred to as a front side, and the rear side is referred to as a rear side.

The shaft 9 is located near the center of the frame member 4 in the height direction, but the frame member 4 in a state where the pallet 2 on which a required number of articles 11 are loaded is supplied onto the table 3.
It is assumed to be near the center of gravity of the whole. The axis 9 is the first frame 4A
Shaft 9 fixed to the back side of the pallet discharge side end of
A, and a second shaft 9B fixed to the back surface of the pallet supply side end of the second frame 4B. Ends of the first and second shafts 9A and 9B opposite to the frame member 4 are provided on the base 1
2 are rotatably supported by columns 13 erected on both sides. The first and second shafts 9A and 9B are, of course, provided with their axes aligned, and are orthogonal to the front-rear direction of the alignment device 1.

The frame member 4 having such a structure is disposed above the base 12, and includes the first and second shafts 9A, 9A.
Two frame member driving devices 15 provided near 9B, respectively.
As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. A hydraulic cylinder is used as the driving device 15, and the bottom side of the cylinder body 15 </ b> A is connected to a bracket 16 provided on the base 12 by connecting pins 1.
The working end of the piston rod 15B is connected to a bracket 18 provided on the frame member 4 via a connecting pin 19 so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction. In this case, in the present embodiment, an example in which a hydraulic cylinder is used as the driving device 15 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an air cylinder, a driving device including a driving motor and a gear train, or the like may be used.

A movable wall 22 is provided on the front side of the frame member 4 so as to be movable along a corner 21 of the frame member 4, that is, a joint between the first and second frames 4A and 4B. ing. The moving wall 22 is formed in an L-shape in a plan view, thereby forming a first wall 22A and a second wall 22A orthogonal to the first wall 22A.
The rear side is movably supported by a plurality of rollers 23 provided on the frame member 4. This roller 23 is provided horizontally in each opening 25 of the first and second frames 4A and 4B as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, and has an end rotatably by a bearing member 26. It is pivoted. Further, the movable wall 22 is provided on the back surface of both ends and is engaged with the back surface of the end of the frame member 4 to prevent rattling in the front-rear direction by an L-shaped member 24 (FIGS. 3 and 6) in plan view. Have been. Further, on the upper surface side of the moving wall 22, two guide pins 27 for regulating the movement of the moving wall 22 in the front-rear direction together with the member 24 are provided. As shown in FIG. 9, the guide pins 27 are vertically provided on the lower surface of a mounting plate 28 fixed to the upper surface of the movable wall 22, and
Is slidably inserted from above into an insertion hole 29 provided at the upper end of the. The moving wall 22 having such a structure is used.
Is configured to be moved along the corner 21 of the frame member 4 by the moving wall driving device 30 shown in FIG.

The moving wall driving device 30 is composed of a hydraulic cylinder and is provided vertically on the back side of the frame member 4. The bottom side of the cylinder body 30A is provided on the first frame 4A side via the plate 31. The operating end of the piston rod 30B is fixed to a bracket 33, and is fixed to a bracket 34 provided on the back surface of the first wall 22A. In FIG. 4, illustration of the moving wall 20 is omitted. The drive device 30 is not limited to a hydraulic cylinder, but may be an air cylinder, a drive device including a drive motor and a gear train, or the like.

Next, the alignment operation of the alignment apparatus 1 having the above structure will be described. The pallet 2 on which the articles 11 are loaded is conveyed by a forklift 35, abuts against the first wall 20 </ b> A of the moving wall 20 in the supply direction shown in FIG. 1, and is placed on the roller 6 of the table 3. Pallet 2
The upper article 11 is made of cardboard or the like containing goods and is stacked in an unaligned state. Pallet 2 to Table 3
When placed on the top, the forklift 35 moves backward.

When the pallet 2 is set on the table 3, the frame member driving device 15 is driven to rotate the frame member 4 backward by about 90 ° and fall down on the back, so that the table 3 and the pallet 2 are in a vertical state. To Therefore, the first and second frame members 4A and 4B of the frame member 4
Incline 5 °. The moving wall 20 also rotates integrally with the frame member 4 and falls down on the back, and rests on the frame member 4. When the table 3 starts to tilt due to the rotation of the frame member 4, the pallet 2 moves on the roller 6 in the direction opposite to the discharge direction, and moves to the second wall 20.
Contact B. When the frame member 4 starts rotating backward, the article 11 on the pallet 2 leans backward and the first and second walls 20.
A, 20B, and the first and second walls 20 by their own weight.
A and 20B slide along the corners of the moving wall 20 to align. Then, when the frame member 4 is rotated by approximately 90 ° and stopped, the frame member 4 is completely moved onto the first and second walls 20A and 20B. In this state, when the moving wall 20 is moved backward by a predetermined distance (for example, 100 mm) by the moving wall driving device 30, the article 11 also moves with the moving wall 20 and separates from the pallet 2, so that the movement of the lower article 11 The pallet 2 can be replaced while the alignment is facilitated.
The replacement of the pallet 2 is effective when the pallet 2 is damaged.

After moving the frame member 4 backward to align the articles 11, the driving wall 15 returns the moving wall 20 to the original vertical state, and the moving wall 20 also returns to the original vertical state. Since the table 3 and the pallet 2 return to the horizontal state, the articles 11 are stacked in a state of being aligned on the pallet 2. Thereafter, when the roller 6 is rotated in the discharge direction by the drive of the drive motor 7, the pallet 2 is discharged from the table 3 and the alignment operation is completed. The return of the moving wall 20 by the moving wall driving device 30 may be before or after the frame member 4 is returned.

In such an aligning apparatus 1, the frame 11 and the moving wall 20 form a double wall, and the article 11 is tilted by rotating it about 90 ° to 95 ° backward. And slides along the first and second walls 20A and 20B to gather at the corners of the moving wall 20 and thereafter moves the moving wall 20
Is moved backward, so that the band 40
Even if the articles 11 are hanged (FIG. 1), they can be smoothly aligned because there is no friction between the articles. Further, the pallet 2 can be replaced as needed.

In the above embodiment, the position of the center of gravity of the frame member 4 when the pallet 2 on which the articles 11 are loaded is placed on the table 3 is rotatably supported by the shaft 9. The driving torque and the frame member 4
Can be reduced, and the size of the device itself can be reduced. However, the lower end of the frame member 4 may be rotatably supported on the shaft, in which case the height of the table 3 can be reduced.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11 is a view of a moving wall viewed from a pallet supply direction, and FIG. 12 is a part of the moving wall viewed from a pallet discharge direction. FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a portion A in FIG. Note that the same components as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In these figures, in the present embodiment,
The moving wall 20 is constituted by divided walls 201 to 204 divided into four in the height direction, and these divided walls 201 to 20 are formed.
4 are connected in series by a connecting member 50 so as to be movable by a predetermined distance in the vertical direction, and the uppermost partition wall 201 is connected to a piston rod 30B of a hydraulic cylinder 30 as a moving wall driving device via a bracket 34. ing. Second-, third-, and fourth-stage dividing walls 202 to 20 from the top
4 are equal in height, for example, equal to the height of one article 11 (see FIG. 1) loaded on a pallet, and the uppermost partition wall 201 is set sufficiently larger than the height of the article 1.

As shown in FIG. 13, bent portions 51 and 52 bent toward the back side are integrally provided on the end faces of the uppermost and second-stage divided walls 201 and 202 which come into contact with each other. These bent portions 51 and 52 are provided with the connecting member 5.
Insertion holes 54 and 55 through which the cylinder 0 is inserted through the cylindrical body 53 are formed. Although an example in which the bolt 56 and the nut 57 are used as the connecting member 50 has been described, a pin may be used instead of this. The cylindrical body 53 is slidably fitted into the insertion holes 54 and 55, and the lower end thereof is positioned below the bent portion 52 by d ((d = 1
(About 0 to 20 mm). In FIG. 13, the connection structure of the uppermost stage and the second stage dividing walls 201 and 202 is shown, but the second stage, the third stage, the third stage and the fourth stage dividing wall are also connected by the coupling member 50. They are similarly connected.
58 and 59 are washers. Other configurations are the same as those of the above-described embodiment.

In such a structure, after the frame member 4 is turned backward by approximately 90 ° and turned on its back,
Is moved backward by the moving wall drive device 30,
Each of the divided walls 201 to 204 can be separated by a fixed distance (d). That is, when the moving wall driving device 30 is driven, first, the uppermost partition wall 201 is moved rearward, and the bent portion 51 is separated from the bent portion 52 of the second partition wall 202. At this time, the connecting member 56 and the cylindrical body 53 also move integrally with the bent portion 51 of the uppermost divided wall 201, and when they move a predetermined distance (d), the washer 59 comes into contact with the bent portion 52. Since the dividing wall 201 continues to move even after the washer 59 contacts the bent portion 52, the movement of the dividing wall 201 is
9 and is transmitted to the second-stage divided wall 202. Therefore, the second-stage divided wall 202 also moves rearward integrally with the divided wall 201. In this manner, the third and fourth separation walls 203 and 204 are also sequentially moved. As a result, a gap (d) is generated between the bent portions of the adjacent separation walls. Each dividing wall 201
When ~ 204 sequentially move rearward and separate, the articles lying side by side on each separation wall also move with the divided walls, and a gap is created between the articles.

In this case, in the above-described embodiment in which the moving wall 20 is not constituted by a separation wall, among the articles placed on the moving wall, the article located at the center maintains the state of being in close contact with the adjacent article. However, because of the weight of the article placed thereon, it is difficult to move and it is difficult to align compared to the outer articles. A gap is created between the articles on the wall, and the friction between the articles is reduced to zero, so that the articles located in the central portion can be easily moved and can be aligned reliably.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a plurality of rollers 6 are provided on the table 3 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of rollers 6 that can rotate in all directions are not limited thereto. Individual balls may be provided. When using a ball, arrange the ball between the upper and lower two plates,
A hole having a hole diameter smaller than the diameter of the ball may be formed in the upper plate, and the upper peripheral surface of the ball may be projected upward from the hole. The use of such balls has the advantage of increasing the degree of freedom in the direction of pallet supply and discharge.

[0026]

As described above, the apparatus for arranging stacked articles according to the present invention has an L-shaped frame member having a table to which a pallet is supplied at a lower end thereof, and a frame member extending along a corner of the frame member. A movable wall having an L-shape in plan view and movable horizontally, and a horizontal wall rotatably supporting the frame member around an axis intersecting the first and second frames of the frame member at substantially the same angle. An axis, a frame member driving device for rotating the frame member backward by a predetermined angle around the axis, and a moving wall driving device for moving the moving wall along a corner of the frame member. Therefore, the articles on the pallet can be reliably aligned. That is, when the frame member and the moving wall are rotated backward by about 90 °, the pallet is in a vertical state, and the article slides along the first and second walls of the moving wall by its own weight, and the corner of the moving wall is moved. Since they are gathered at the corners, they can be smoothly aligned on the moving wall with little friction. In this state, when the moving wall is returned to the original vertical state together with the frame member, the articles can be returned to the pallet in a state where they are aligned. In addition, if the moving wall is retracted in a state where the frame member is overturned, the articles are released and separated from the pallet, so that the lower-layer articles can easily slide along the moving wall and can be more reliably aligned. . In this state, the pallets can be replaced as needed. Also, since the moving wall is movably supported by rollers provided on the frame member,
It can be easily moved while the articles are loaded. Further, when the vicinity of the position of the center of gravity is rotatably supported, the driving torque and the turning radius of the frame member are small, and the apparatus itself can be downsized. Also, the rollers of the table
When the frame member starts to rotate, the pallet can be moved along the rollers to hit the moving wall.

Further, according to the present invention, the moving wall is constituted by a plurality of divided walls divided in the vertical direction, and these divided walls are connected by a connecting member so as to be freely movable by a predetermined distance. When moved backward by the moving wall driving device, the adjacent divided walls can be separated from each other to form a gap. For this reason, the articles placed on each separation wall are also separated from each other to form a gap. Therefore, the articles in the central portion are easily moved, and can be more reliably aligned.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an article alignment device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a part of the device in a cutaway manner.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same device.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the same device.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 3 of the frame member.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a moving wall.

FIG. 7 is a view of the moving wall as viewed from an arrow A in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow B in which a part of the moving wall in FIG. 6 is broken.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a side view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a view of the moving wall as viewed from a pallet supply direction.

FIG. 12 is a partially broken view of the moving wall viewed from a pallet discharging direction.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a portion A in FIG.

[Description of Signs] 1 ... Aligning device, 2 ... Pallet, 3 ... Table, 4 ... Frame member, 4A ... First frame, 4B ... Second frame, 6 ... Roller, 7 ... Drive motor, 9 ... Shaft, 11 article, 12 base, 15 drive device for frame member, 20 moving wall, 20A
1st wall, 20B ... 2nd wall, 23 ... roller, 30 ... drive device for moving walls, 50 ... connecting member, 201-204 ... separation wall.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An L-shaped frame member having a table to which a pallet is supplied at a lower end thereof, an L-shaped movable wall movable in a plane along a corner of the frame member, and the frame. A horizontal axis rotatably supporting the frame member around an axis intersecting the first and second frame members at substantially the same angle, and rotating the frame member backward by a predetermined angle around this axis; An apparatus for arranging loaded articles, comprising: a driving device for a frame member to be moved; and a driving device for a moving wall to move the moving wall along a corner of the frame member. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving device for the frame member rotates the frame member rearward by approximately 90 °. 3. The loaded article aligning device according to claim 1, wherein the frame member includes a rotatable roller for movably supporting the moving wall. 4. An apparatus for arranging loaded articles according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the stacked articles are formed so as to be divided in a height direction, and adjacent ones are movably connected in a vertical direction by a predetermined distance by a connecting member. A moving wall is constituted by a plurality of divided walls, and the uppermost divided wall is connected to a moving wall driving device. 5. An apparatus for arranging loaded articles according to claim 1, wherein the table is provided with a roller for guiding the pallet.