JPH10152209A - Article carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article carrying device which uses a single action type fork, eliminates a wasteful space, and carries out an article constantly to one article carry-out exit. SOLUTION: In this article carrying device, an article A on a storage shelf 8 located on the right and left of an elevating/lowering passage of an elevating/ lowering base 11 is carried to the elevating/lowering passage side, the article A is transferred on the elevating/lowering base 11 by advancing/retracting a fork 21 provided on the elevating/lowering base 11, and the elevating/lowering base 11 is elevated/lowered to the carry-out position of the article A, and the fork 21 is of advancing/retracting single action type, provided with fork advancing/retracting spaces 42, 43 to allow advancement/retraction of the fork 21 in the right-to-left direction close to the carry-out position, a control means scoops the article A by a tip part of the fork, the fork 21 is advanced/retracted in the fork advancing/retracting spaces 42, 43 before the article is carried out from the elevating/lowering base 11, and the article A on the fork 21 is located on the prescribed position for carry-out at the carry-out position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vertically movable platform, a retractable fork provided on the platform, and a plurality of storage shelves for storing articles arranged side by side in a vertical direction. An article storage device having a step, and control means for controlling the operation of the elevator and fork, the article storage devices are disposed on the left and right across the elevating path of the elevator, and articles on each storage shelf are raised and lowered. It can be transported to the path side,
The present invention relates to an article transport apparatus configured to transfer articles from each storage shelf to a lifting platform by moving the fork in a left-right direction, and to raise and lower the lifting platform to an article unloading position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An article transport apparatus having such a structure is used, for example, in a vending machine which sells articles in units of cases, and a conventional apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-235433. Are known. In the device disclosed in this publication, a roller conveyor is disposed on each of the left and right sides of a vertically movable platform, and the articles on the left storage shelf are transferred onto the roller conveyor on the left side of the vertically movable platform, descend and descend. To the left goods exit provided in the above, and for the goods on the right storage shelf, it is transferred onto the right roller conveyor and descends,
It is configured to be carried out to the right article outlet provided below.

[0003]

Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, two article outlets are required, and furthermore, roller conveyors are provided on the left and right sides of the elevator, respectively. It is necessary to secure the vertical path of the elevating platform long to the left and right in the vertical direction, and there is a problem that the article storage space is reduced accordingly.

In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to provide a fork which can move back and forth in the left and right direction on the elevator, and to transfer the articles on the storage shelves to the elevator by moving the fork. In addition, in order to have a single product exit,
It is conceivable that the fork is constituted by a double-acting fork having a multiple structure. For example, when the article exit is provided corresponding to the center in the left-right direction of the elevator, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a double-acting fork 21A having a double structure including a tip-side fork 21a and a root-side fork 21b for scooping an article A is used as a retractable fork provided on the elevator 11. The article A on the shelf 8 is configured to be scooped up by the fork 21a on the tip side and transferred onto the elevating table 11, and the article A on the fork 21A can be unloaded to the article carry-out port during the transfer. It is conceivable to transfer the product to the center of the elevating platform 11.

However, a double-acting fork 21 having a double structure
When the article A is to be transferred to the center of the elevating platform 11 by A, when the article A is scooped, it is necessary to position the center of the article A at the center in the left-right direction of the tip-side fork 21a,
The tip of the tip-side fork 21a projects beyond the article A to be scooped to the adjacent article A side. In this case, it is conceivable to provide a space B between the article A located at the leading end of each storage shelf 8 and the next article A following the tip end of the tip side fork 21a. When the space B is provided for each of the storage shelves 8, there is a possibility that the space is wastefully increased and the storage space for the article A is reduced.

[0006] Of course, if the fork provided on the elevating table is of a double action type having a triple structure or a multi-layer structure of more than that, it is possible to eliminate the space B as described above. The mechanism for retreating is greatly complicated and expensive, and because of the weight, the entire platform becomes heavier and requires a lot of power to raise and lower the platform. Problems arise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems at a glance, and has as its object to use a single-acting fork having a simple structure and to reduce wasteful space as much as possible. It is an object of the present invention to provide an article transporting device which can secure a storage space for the fork and can be positioned at one specific position where articles on a fork can always be carried out.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a fork provided on an elevator is constituted by a single-acting fork capable of moving in and out of the left and right directions. Since the control means for controlling the operation of the fork and the like is configured to scoop up the articles in the storage shelf at the left and right ends of the fork and transfer the goods to the elevating table, a single-acting fork with a simple structure Can be used, and by scooping up the article with the tip of the single-acting fork, the space that allows the passage of the tip of the fork as described above is unnecessary. A fork evacuation space is provided on the left and right of the elevating platform near the carry-out position on the evacuation path to allow the fork to egress and retreat in the left-right direction. The fork is retracted in the retreat space and the article on the fork is positioned at one specific position where the fork can be unloaded at the unloading position. Regardless of whether the articles are to be unloaded from the storage shelves, the articles can always be located at one specific position where they can be unloaded at the unloading position. The article can be carried out to the article exit. That is, the structure shown in FIG. 10 requires a space for allowing the passage of the tip end of the fork for each storage shelf, but according to the present invention, it is sufficient to provide only one fork withdrawal space. It is possible to secure the goods storage space by minimizing wasteful space,
The effect becomes more remarkable as the number of storage shelves increases.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by providing the carry-out position below the elevating path of the elevating platform, it is almost necessary to raise the elevating platform when articles are transferred onto the elevating platform. It is possible to carry out the articles only by descending the elevator, thereby reducing the power required for conveying the articles, reducing the running cost, and using the article storage devices located on the left and right of the elevation path. By providing the fork evacuation space below the lowermost storage shelf, articles on the lowermost storage shelf can be carried out almost only by descending the elevating platform.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, an electric motor which can be driven forward and reverse to move the fork in the left-right direction is provided on the lift table, and the relative position of the fork with respect to the lift table is detected. Since the control means controls the electric motor based on the detection result of the detection means, the detection means can surely detect the relative position of the fork with respect to the lifting platform. By controlling the electric motor based on the result and correcting the relative position of the fork, the article can be reliably located at one specific position.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a driving sprocket and an idle sprocket are provided on the left and right sides of the lifting platform,
An electric motor is linked to the drive sprocket, a chain is wound between the two sprockets, and a fork is connected to the chain. And relative position correction can be performed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, each of the storage shelves of the article storage device is tilted so that the elevation path side of the elevating table is lowered, and gravity is transferred to the storage path by gravity. Since a conveyor is provided, it is possible to transport the articles in each storage shelf to the elevating platform side without requiring special power, and provide a stopper near the elevating path of each storage shelf in contact with the articles. Thus, the article on the tip side of each storage shelf can be reliably held at a position suitable for transfer to the elevating table.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the gravitational conveyor is constituted by a roller type gravitational conveyor composed of a plurality of idler rollers, so that each article can be stably stored and held and transported. In addition, by providing a fork passing space that allows vertical movement of the fork at the front-rear intermediate portion of the end of the roller type gravity conveyor at the side of the elevating path, the scooping of articles by the fork can be performed without hindrance. .

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which an article conveying apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a vending machine selling cases will be described with reference to the drawings. In this vending machine, as shown in FIG. 1, a panel 5 provided with a product selection button 2, a bill insertion slot 3, a change payout slot 4, and the like is disposed at the center of the box 1 when viewed from the front. An article take-out port 6 having an opening / closing lid as an article carry-out port is provided below. A transfer device 7 as shown in FIG. 2 is provided in the box 1 on the back side of the panel 5, and in the left and right boxes 1 of the transfer device 7, a case unit storing canned beer, canned juice and the like is provided. An article storage device 9 provided with a plurality of storage shelves 8 for storing articles A in a horizontal direction in a vertical direction is provided, and the article storage device 9 of the box 1 is provided.
Is openable and closable.

The transporting device 7 includes a lifting platform 11 that moves up and down along a vertical path 10 extending in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the lifting platform 11 has an L-shape when viewed from the side. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of guide rollers 13 that rotate in contact with a guide frame 12 provided along the rear of the elevating path 10 are provided above and below the rear vertical frame portion.
Is provided so as to be able to move up and down along the guide frame 12. Above the elevating table 11, the elevating chain 1
4 is connected and fixed at one end, the other end of the chain 14 is connected and fixed below the lifting platform 11, and the lifting chain 14 is directly connected to the lifting electric motor 15 mounted above the box 1. The elevating table 11 is wound around the elevating drive sprocket 16 and the elevating idle sprocket 17 mounted below the box 1, and the elevating table 11 is moved via the elevating chain 14 by the forward / reverse rotation drive of the elevating electric motor 15. It is configured to be able to move up and down.

As shown in FIG. 5, the elevator 11 has
A position detecting piece 18 made of a metal plate for detecting the vertical position of the lift 11 is provided.
Position detecting photosensors 19a to 19e for detecting the presence of the position detecting
Are provided in total of five. The position detecting photosensors 19a to 19e are attached to the lateral sides of the guide frame 12, and in order from the top, 19a is located in the fourth storage shelf 8 from the bottom, 19b is located in the third shelf, 19c is located in the second shelf The eyes 19d correspond to the first-stage storage shelf 8 and a centering position described later,
The position detecting photosensors 19a to 19e detect the vertical position of the lift 11 by detecting the position detecting piece 18 at a desired position. The lift 11 is configured to be stopped.

A pair of front and rear slide guide frames 20 each having a U-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. 6 and extending along the left and right sides are mounted on the lift table 11. A pair of front and rear forks 21 slidable in the horizontal direction are provided. Each fork 21
Is not a double-acting fork that can be extended in multiple stages, but a single-acting fork made of a single member, which is formed in a U-shaped cross section with an open bottom, and a plate-shaped inner surface A slide frame 22 is attached. Each slide frame 2
2 and the slide guide frame 20 are connected via a slide mechanism in which a plurality of balls circulate while rotating, and each fork 21 is held by the slide guide frame 20 via the slide frame 22 and slides. Each fork 21 is configured to slide smoothly left and right along the guide frame 20 for use.

Each slide guide frame 2 of the lift 11
0, a drive sprocket 23 for reciprocating the fork 21 and an idle sprocket 24 are pivotally supported, and a reciprocating chain 25 is provided between the two sprockets 23, 24. It is wound. Each evacuation chain 25 is stretched along the slide guide frame 20, the fork 21 is connected to the evacuation chain 25, and the elevating drive sprockets 23 located in front and back are connected to each other by a connecting shaft. 26, an electric motor 27 for egress and retraction is connected to the connection shaft 26 in an interlocking manner, and both forks 21 are driven by the forward and backward drive sprockets 23 and the chain 25 by forward and reverse rotation of the electric motor 27. Are configured to be able to slide in and out of the horizontal direction in synchronization with each other.

The fork 21 located forward of the two forks 21 is provided with a withdrawal detection piece 28 for detecting the position of the fork 21 with respect to the left and right with respect to the lift 11. A total of five outgoing / leaving detection photosensors 29a to 29e for detecting the presence of the outgoing / leaving detecting piece 28 are provided at locations corresponding to the movement path in the left and right and lateral directions of 28. Photo sensors 29a to 29e for detecting the going out and going out
Are mounted on the lift platform 11 side, and in order from the left in FIG. 7, 29a is the maximum projecting position to the left of the fork 21 and a centering position described later, and 29b and 29d are the articles A on the fork 21. In the position to go up and down
9c is provided at the center of the elevating platform 11, and 29e is provided so as to correspond to the maximum protruding position of the fork 21 to the right and the centering position. This photo sensor 29a
29e and the retreat detecting piece 28 act as detecting means for detecting the left-right relative position of the fork 21 with respect to the lift 11 and the position detecting photosensors 29a to 29e detect the reciprocating detecting piece 28. The fork 21 is configured to be able to stop at a desired position by detecting the left / right position of the fork 21.

Each of the storage shelves 8 of the article storage device 9 is provided with a pair of front and rear shelf frames 30 that are inclined so that the elevation path 10 side of the elevating platform 11 is lower. The idler roller 31 is pivotally supported, and at the end on the side of the elevating path 10, a divided idler roller 32 divided forward and backward over a certain distance is axially supported. The space is defined as a fork passage space 33 that allows the fork 21 to pass in the vertical direction. A plurality of guide rollers 34 are rotatably supported on each shelf frame 30. When the articles A are placed on the idle rollers 31, the articles A are guided by the guide rollers 34 back and forth. It is configured to move on the idler roller 31 and the split idler roller 32 and be conveyed to the elevation path 10 side.

That is, each storage shelf 8 is provided with a roller-type gravity conveyor comprising a plurality of idler rollers 31 and divided idler rollers 32, and is sequentially conveyed to the leading end side of the gravity conveyor in the conveying direction. A stopper 35 is attached to each shelf frame 30 to abut the incoming article A and stop further conveyance. Then, the article A at the leading end in the transport direction
Is configured to stop on the split idler roller 32 that is positioned forward and backward in contact with the stopper 35, in other words, on the fork passage space 33. And a light receiving device, each of which is configured to detect whether or not there is an article A in each storage shelf 8.

Below the elevating path 10 of the elevating table 11, two carry-out idler rollers 37 and 38 are provided rotatably in the horizontal direction. An unloading roller conveyor 39 including a plurality of idler rollers is provided between them. As is clear from FIG. 5, the unloading idle rollers 37 and 38 and the unloading roller conveyor 39 are arranged such that their centers in the unloading direction are on the same line in plan view and on the same line as the article take-out port 6. As shown in FIG. 3, the rear idler roller 37 is higher and the front roller conveyor 39 is lower in side view, as shown in FIG. , 38 and unloading roller conveyor 39
And the inclined plane is inclined to the article take-out port 6 side.

The rear idler roller 37 of the unloading idler rollers 37 and 38 is disposed further rearward than the rear fork 21 in plan view, and the front idler roller 3
Numeral 8 is arranged between the front and rear forks 21. The lifting platform 11 is provided with openings 40 and 41 for avoiding interference with the idle rollers 37 and 38 for transport. Then, the upper surface of the fork 21 is positioned at the rear
At a centering position slightly above the upper surface of the fork 7, a fork retracting space 42 that allows the fork 21 to protrude to the maximum protruding position to the left is provided in the first-stage storage shelf 8 located on the left. Similarly, a fork retracting space 43 is provided below the first storage shelf 8 on the right side and allows the fork 21 to project to the maximum projecting position to the right.

The operation of the vending machine is entirely controlled by a control device H as control means housed in the box 1, and as shown in FIG.
A main controller H1 that stores and manages information about the articles A stored in the elevator, an elevation controller H2 that controls the operation of the elevating motor 15 to control the elevating operation of the elevating table 11, and an elevating electric motor 27. By controlling the operation and the like, the fork 21
The main control device H1, the elevation control device H2, and the exit control device H3 are configured to be able to communicate with each other.

Next, the specific operation of the transport device in this vending machine will be described with reference to FIG. 8. First, a bill is inserted into the bill insertion slot 3 and a desired product (article) is pressed by the product selection button 2. Is selected, the main control device H1 searches the storage shelf 8 in which the article A is stored, and transmits the search result to the elevation control device H2 and the exit control device H3. For example, if the storage shelf 8 is the fourth shelf on the left side from the bottom, the elevation control device H2
Drives the electric motor 15 for elevating and lowering the elevating table 11, and the position detecting photosensor 1 corresponding to the fourth shelf
When 9a detects the position detecting piece 18 provided on the lifting platform 11, the lifting electric motor 15 is stopped. In this stop position, the upper surface of the fork 21 on the elevator 11 is located at a position slightly lower than the bottom of the article A at the tip of the fourth storage shelf 8.

Thereafter, the retraction control device H3 drives the retraction electric motor 27 to slide the fork 21 positioned at the center of the lift 11 to the left, and to move the fork 21 positioned on the left to the left. The electric motor 27 for stopping and moving is stopped when the detecting member 29a detects the movement detecting piece 28 provided on the fork 21. At the maximum projecting position of the fork 21 to the left, the left end of the fork 21 is located in the fork passage space 33 and below the bottom of the article A at the tip of the storage shelf 8. A is shifted to the right by a margin h from the left end of the bottom of A. In this state, the elevating platform 11 rises, and the fork 21 scoops up only one article A and stops. In this stop position, the bottom of the scooped article A is located above the stopper 35, and the continued article A on the storage shelf 8 is in contact with the scooped article A. Has become.

Next, the electric motor 27 for retreat is driven in reverse to retreat the fork 21 to the right side, and when the fourth photosensor 29d for retreat from the left detects the retreat detecting piece 28, the retreat is performed. Stop the electric motor 27 for use and lift the platform 1 for the article A.
1 transfer is completed. In the transfer state, the article A protrudes to the left from the tip of the fork 21 by about the margin h, but since the fork 21 is located slightly to the right of the center of the lift 11, the lift The article A on 11 does not interfere with other articles A when the elevating platform 11 moves up and down. With the retreat of the fork 21 to the right,
Each article A on the storage shelf 8 that has stopped in contact with the article A on the fork 21 is sequentially conveyed by one by the gravity of the article itself, and the article A at the tip comes into contact with the stopper 35 and stops. At this time, if there is no article A on the storage shelf 8, the fact that the article A is sold out is appropriately displayed on the panel 5 based on the detection by the presence detector 36.

As described above, with the fork 21 slightly shifted to the right, the elevator 11 is lowered, and the position detecting photo corresponding to the centering position (which is also the position corresponding to the first storage shelf 8 from the bottom). Sensor 19d is position detecting piece 1
8 is stopped, the lifting electric motor 15 is stopped.
In this stop position, the bottom surface of the article A on the fork 21 is located slightly above the upper surface of the unloading idler roller 37 located behind, and the upper surface of the fork 21
It is located slightly below, so as not to interfere with the storage shelf 8 of the tier. In this state, the drive motor 27 is driven to slide the fork 21 to the right to protrude into the fork withdrawal space 43 on the right side. Is stopped, the electric motor 27 is stopped. In this stop position,
The article A on the fork 21 is moved by the idle rollers 37, 38 for unloading.
Is set in advance so as to be located on the center line in the unloading direction, the article A is located on the center line of the unloading idle rollers 37 and 38 and the unloading roller conveyor 39 in the transport direction and the center of the article take-out port 6. Located on the line. That is, the position on the center line in the transport direction of the unloading roller conveyor 39 corresponds to the specific position where the article A on the fork 21 can be unloaded to the article take-out port 6 via the unloading roller conveyor 39.

Thereafter, the platform 11 is further lowered, and when the position detecting photosensor 19e corresponding to the article carry-out position detects the position detecting piece 18, the platform 11 is stopped. With the lowering of the rollers, the unloading idle rollers 37, 38 scoop up the article A on the fork 21, transfer the article A onto the unloading roller conveyor 39 by the gravity of the article itself, and unload the article A to the article take-out port 6. I do. Then, the lift 11 stopped at the article discharge position prepares for the next article discharge with the fork 21 returned to the center of the lift 11.

From the fourth storage shelf 8 on the left side, the article A
The operation at the time of unloading was explained.
The same applies to the stage. Item A from storage shelf 8 on the right
When the article A is carried out, when the article A is transferred to the elevator 11 and lowered, the fork 21 is located slightly to the left of the center of the elevator 11 and the article A is placed on the right end of the fork 21. After that, the article A is placed on the elevator 11
When the fork 21 is slid to the left to center it at the center of the fork, there is a difference that the fork 21 projects into the left fork egress / retreat space 42, but the difference is only the left and right.

[Another Embodiment] In the above embodiment,
Although the case vending machine has been described as an example, the present invention is also applicable to vending machines other than case vending machines, and it is also possible to implement this article conveying apparatus in combination with an apparatus other than the vending machine. Even in such a case, since the article on the fork can be positioned at one specific position where the article can be unloaded at the unloading position, for example, a conveyor having a width corresponding to the width of the article is used as the unloading conveyor. This is advantageous in simplifying the configuration of the carry-out section, for example. In addition, one specific position that can be carried out does not necessarily need to correspond to the center of the elevator,
Of course, it may be deviated from the center. Each storage shelf 8
The conveyor provided is not limited to the gravitational conveyor, but may be modified in various ways, such as using a belt conveyor, roller conveyor, chain conveyor, etc. of a forced drive using ordinary power, or using a combination of various conveyors. If a gravity conveyor is used, a chain-type gravity conveyor other than the roller type can be used.

The retracting operation of the fork 21 can be variously changed in addition to using the chain 25, such as using a screw shaft or retracting using a cylinder. It is not always necessary to provide the storage shelf 8 above and below the storage shelves 8 in a plurality of upper and lower stages, but it is also possible to provide the storage shelves 8 above and in the middle of the plurality of stages. 2
It can be provided at a location, or can be provided at three or more locations.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a vending machine.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the inside of the vending machine.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the article transport device.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the article transport device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the article conveying device.

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view of a fork.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway plan view of a fork.

FIG. 8 is a schematic front view showing the movement of the article transport device.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a control device.

FIG. 10 is a schematic front view showing the movement of the article transport device having the comparative structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 8 storage shelf 9 article storage device 10 elevating path 11 elevating platform 21 fork 23 drive sprocket 24 idle sprocket 25 chain 27 electric motor 28, 29a to 29d detecting means 31, 32 idle roller 33 fork passage space 35 stopper 42, 43 fork Exit space A Article H Control means

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An article storage device having a vertically movable platform, a retractable fork provided on the platform, and a plurality of vertical storage shelves for storing articles arranged in a horizontal direction. Control means for controlling the operation of the elevator and the fork, the article storage devices are disposed on the left and right sides of the elevator path of the elevator, and articles on each storage shelf can be transported to the elevator path. The article transport device is configured to transfer the articles from each storage shelf to the lifting platform by moving the fork in the left-right direction, and to lift the lifting platform to the article unloading position. A fork evacuation space in which the fork is constituted by a single-acting fork capable of moving in and out in the left-right direction, and allowing the fork to move in the left-right direction to the left and right near the carry-out position on the elevating path. Is provided, and the control means includes: The left and right ends of the fork scoop up the article and transfer it to the elevating table, and before the article is unloaded from the elevating table, withdraw the fork in the fork egress / retract space, and move the unloading position. An article transport device configured to position an article on the fork at one specific position where the article can be carried out. 2. The unloading position is provided below an elevating path of the elevating table, and the fork evacuation space is provided below a lowermost storage shelf of an article storage device located on the left and right of the elevating path. 2. The article conveying device according to 1. 3. An elevator, comprising: an electric motor capable of driving a fork to reciprocate in a left-right direction; and a detecting means for detecting a relative position of the fork with respect to the elevating table. 3. The article transport device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to control the electric motor based on a detection result of the detection unit. 4. 4. A driving sprocket and an idle sprocket are provided on the left and right sides of the elevator, and the electric motor is interlocked to the driving sprocket, a chain is wound between the two sprockets, and the fork is connected to the chain. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the article conveying apparatus is provided. 5. The storage shelf of the article storage device is tilted so that the elevation path side is lowered, a gravity conveyor that conveys articles to the elevation path side by gravity is provided in each storage shelf, and The article conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a stopper is provided near the lifting path to contact the article. 6. The gravity conveyor is constituted by a roller-type gravity conveyor comprising a plurality of idler rollers, and the fork is allowed to move up and down at an intermediate portion in the front-rear direction of an end of the roller-type gravity conveyor on the side of a lifting path. The article conveying device according to claim 5, wherein a fork passage space is provided.