JPH11246005A - Article transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a structure and improve efficiency of transferring work. SOLUTION: A device body 3 is provided with an extensible member 11 for transferring an article, which can mount an article G and extend along the article transferred direction, and a conveying device 12 for transferring the article, which mounts and conveys the article in the same direction as the article transferred direction by the extensible member and provided with a mounting and conveying part 13 on both the right and left sides of the extensible member, wherein the extensible member and the conveying device are provided in a manner of relatively free liftable operation so as to selectively switch them to an article transferring operation state, a pair of the mounting and conveying parts are parted respectively at an interval in the article transfer direction, and an auxiliary article supporting part 31 which projects above the mounting and conveying part to mount the article in transferring the article by the extensible member and is gotten into the parted 30 of the mounting and conveying part in transferring the article by the conveying device is integrally provided in the extensible member.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a telescopic member for transferring an article which can be placed on the article and which can be expanded and contracted along the direction of transferring the article, and an article which is moved in the same direction as the direction of transferring the article by the telescopic member. A transfer device for transferring articles, which is placed and conveyed and provided with the loading and conveying sections on both the left and right sides of the telescopic member, is provided in the main body of the apparatus, and the telescopic member and the conveying device are connected to each other. The present invention relates to an article transfer device which is provided so as to be capable of performing a relative lifting operation so as to be selectively switched to a loading operation state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the above-mentioned article transfer apparatus, an article transferred to an apparatus main body by an expansion / contraction member is delivered to a transfer apparatus, and is transferred outside the apparatus by the transfer apparatus, or transferred to the apparatus main body by a transfer apparatus. In order to selectively switch the expandable member and the transport device to the article transfer operation state so that the transferred article can be delivered to the elastic member and transferred to the outside of the apparatus by the elastic member, The articles are conveyed by the conveying device so that they can be moved up and down relative to each other. Conventionally, in such an article transfer device, the extensible member is provided between the left and right mounting / transporting sections so that the extensible member and the transporting device do not interfere with each other during the relative elevating operation. (For example, see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-54609).

[0003]

Therefore, when the article is transferred by the expandable member, the mounting position of the article by the expandable member tends to be unstable, and the mounting position is disturbed and the article is transferred in a desired position. It is necessary to perform the transfer operation of the article at a low speed so that the article cannot be dropped or the article falls from the elastic member. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that it is difficult to improve the efficiency of the transfer operation. In other words, since the article is delivered and transferred between the elastic member and the transport device, the article to be transferred has a width enough to be placed over the loading and transporting units on both the left and right sides. On the other hand, since the width of the elastic member is smaller than the interval between the loading and transporting units on both the left and right sides, the article is placed on the elastic member in a mounting posture protruding from the elastic member on both the left and right sides. That is, the mounting posture tends to be unstable. In order to solve this drawback, for example, a retractable auxiliary arm that protrudes to the side of the telescopic member and supports the article in an auxiliary manner is provided on the telescopic member. By projecting to the side of the telescopic member to support the part of the article that protrudes from the telescopic member, the auxiliary arm is retracted to the telescopic member side so as not to hinder the transport operation by the transport device when transferring the article by the transport device. It is conceivable to configure so that the However, in this case, an auxiliary arm is provided so as to be able to move back and forth, and a drive device for moving the auxiliary arm back and forth is required. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by devising a structure for placing articles by using an elastic member, it is possible to improve the efficiency of transfer work while simplifying the structure. Aim.

[0004]

In the article transfer apparatus according to the first aspect, when transferring the article by the expansion and contraction member, the auxiliary article support portion protrudes above the loading and conveying section and is placed on the expansion and contraction member. The part of the article that protrudes from the elastic member can be supported by the auxiliary article support section, and at the time of article transfer by the transport apparatus, the auxiliary article support section enters into the dividing portion of the placing and transporting section, and is moved by the transport apparatus. It does not hinder the transfer operation. Therefore, when the article is transferred by the elastic member, the mounting posture of the article by the elastic member is stabilized by the auxiliary article support portion, and even if the article is moved at a higher speed than before,
Since there is little risk that the mounting position of the article is disturbed and the article cannot be transferred in a desired attitude, or that the article drops from the elastic member, the efficiency of the transfer operation can be improved.
In addition, the auxiliary article support portion provided integrally with the elastic member is inserted into the divided portion of the placing and transporting portion when the article is transferred by the transport device, so that the structure can be simplified. In the article transfer device according to the second aspect, since the placing / conveying section is divided at a plurality of division points in the article transfer direction, and the auxiliary article support section is provided corresponding to the plurality of division points, The portion protruding from the elastic member can be supported by the plurality of auxiliary article support portions, and the mounting posture of the article by the elastic member can be further stabilized. In the article transfer apparatus according to the third aspect, since the apparatus main body is provided so as to be able to move up and down and move horizontally, an article storage unit in which a plurality of article storage units are vertically arranged in multiple stages and side by side. Articles can be transferred to and from shelves. In addition, since the transport device is provided so as to be able to move up and down relative to the apparatus main body for relative lifting and lowering of the transport device and the extendable member, when transferring the article between the extendable member and the transport device, the transfer device can be moved right and left. The articles stably placed on both sides of the loading / unloading section can be moved up and down with respect to the apparatus main body to be transferred to and from the elastic member, and the articles placed on the elastic members can be moved up and down with respect to the apparatus main body. It can be delivered in a more stable posture than when it is delivered. In the article transfer device according to the fourth aspect, the expansion / contraction member and the transporting device are provided in the apparatus main body such that the article transfer direction is orthogonal to the horizontal movement direction of the apparatus main body. Can be moved horizontally along the direction in which the article storage sections of the article storage shelves are arranged, and articles can be transferred between desired article storage sections provided in upper and lower tiers. In the article transfer device according to the fifth aspect, the transport device is configured by arranging a plurality of drive rollers in the article transfer direction in correspondence with each of the pair of loading and transporting sections. It is possible to use the space between the adjacent drive rollers as a separation point of the mounting and transporting unit.For example, a chain conveyor is provided as a transporting device, and the mounting and transporting unit configured by the transport chain is separated to separate the separating portion. The structure can be simplified as compared with the case of providing.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an article storage facility such as an automatic warehouse. This article storage facility has two storage shelves A installed at intervals so that the articles can be taken in and out of each other. A stacker crane C for automatically traveling along a work passage B formed between the storage shelves A is provided;
The stacker crane C has an article transfer device E according to the present invention.
Are provided as described later.

[0006] A large number of article storage sections D are vertically and horizontally arranged on the storage shelf A, and the article storage sections D are provided between a pair of supporting columns A1 fixed between adjacent shelf columns A1 in the front-rear direction of the shelf. The left and right sides of a pallet P on which an article G is placed are placed and supported on the arm D1 to be stored.

[0007] A single traveling rail 1 is installed in the work passage B along the longitudinal direction of the storage shelf A. A controller F1 for input to the crane C, and a pair of roller conveyors F2 for loading with the traveling rail 1 interposed therebetween are provided. The stacker crane C travels along the traveling rail 1 based on a loading / unloading command, The article G placed on the pallet P is taken in and out between the loading roller conveyor F2 and the article storage section D.

As shown in FIG. 2, the stacker crane C includes a traveling vehicle body 2 traveling along a traveling rail 1.
The lifting carriage E as the above-mentioned article transfer device, and a pair of front and rear columns 4 for guiding and supporting the lifting carriage E so as to be able to move up and down freely, are provided. Bolts are fixed to the fixed column fixing brackets 4a, and the upper ends of the columns 4 are connected to each other by an upper frame 6 that is guided and supported along a guide rail 5 installed above the work passage.

The upper frame 6 has a guide rail 5
And a pair of left and right upper idler rollers 10 which roll around the vertical axis along the side surface of the stacker crane C as the stacker crane C travels.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the traveling vehicle body 2 is provided with driving wheels 7a and driven wheels 7b which can travel on the traveling rail 1 in front and rear, and are provided near the driving wheels 7a and the driven wheels 7b. And a pair of left and right lower idler rollers 8 that sandwich the traveling rail 1 from the left and right sides and regulate the position of the traveling rail 1 with respect to the traveling rail 1 in the vehicle width direction, and a traveling drive including a traveling electric motor M1. A device 9 is provided, and further, a power collecting device (not shown) for collecting power from a power supply device installed on the floor surface, a control device (not shown) for controlling the operation of the stacker crane C, and the like are provided.

The stacker crane C is configured to travel along the traveling rail 1 by being driven by the traveling driving device 9 while being prevented from falling down by the upper idler roller 10 provided on the upper frame 6. .

The lifting carriage E is suspended and supported by a lifting chain 15 connected to the left and right sides thereof. The lifting chain 15 is provided on a guide sprocket 16 provided on the upper frame 6 and on one of the columns 4. It is wound around a guide sprocket 17 and connected to a take-up drum 18 provided at one end of the traveling vehicle body 2. Then, the take-up drum 18 is driven and rotated by the electric motor M2 for raising and lowering in the normal and reverse directions, and the lifting carriage E is driven up and down by the operation of feeding and winding the chain 15 for raising and lowering.

As shown in FIG. 5, the lifting carriage E includes a fork member 11 as an extendable member for transferring articles, which is capable of placing articles G together with pallets P and extending and contracting along the article transfer direction. A roller conveyer 12 as a transfer device for transferring the articles G along with the pallets P in the same direction as the article transfer direction by the fork member 11, and the roller conveyor 12 can be moved up and down with respect to the elevating table 3. And a conveyer elevating unit 19 supported on the common base 20, and the base 20 is attached to the elevating base 3 as an apparatus body.
It is configured to be fixed. Therefore, the lift 3 can be moved up and down along the column 4 and the traveling rail 1 of the traveling body 2
Is provided so as to be able to move horizontally by traveling along.

The fork member 11 and the roller conveyor 12 are provided so that the article transfer direction is perpendicular to the horizontal movement direction of the lift 3.
Is attached to the lift 3 so as to be able to expand and contract along a certain height. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the article G is transferred by the roller conveyor 12 at a position higher than the fork member 11 to and from the roller conveyor F2 by the lifting operation of the roller conveyor 12 with respect to the elevator table 3. The loading operation state, and as shown in FIG.
1 is configured to selectively switch to an article transfer operation state in which the article G is transferred to and from the article storage unit D at a position higher than the roller conveyor 12 by a control device (not shown). .

The roller conveyor 12 includes a pair of left and right loading / transporting sections 13 with the fork member 11 interposed therebetween, and a transport driving section 21 for driving the loading / transporting sections 13 as shown in FIGS. As described above, the pair of placing and transporting units 13 are integrally fixed by the conveyor base frame 22, and as shown in FIG. 9, the conveyor lifting frame 3 is fixed back and forth on the elevator 3. At each of the front and rear positions of the conveyor base frame 22, two right and left guided members 24 which are slidably guided in a vertical direction along guide rails 23 fixed to the frame body 48 are fixed.

Each of the pair of placing and transporting sections 13 is constituted by arranging a number of placing and transporting drive rollers 14 in the article transfer direction.
A roller support plate 26 for rotatably supporting the roller 5 is fixed to the conveyor base frame 22 by bolts. The roller support plate 26
The intermediate support plate 27 that rotatably supports the intermediate position in the longitudinal direction of the drive roller 14 is formed to be bent, and regulates the drive unit mounting plate 28 to which the transport drive unit 21 is mounted and the transfer posture of the article G. The guide plate 29 is fixed by bolts.

As shown in FIG. 8, in each of the loading and transporting sections 13, two driving rollers 14 that are adjacent to each other in the transporting direction are provided at two locations where the distance between the driving rollers 14 is wider than the other. Each of the parts 13 is divided at two separation points 30 at a large interval in the article transfer direction at an interval in the article transfer direction, and the intermediate support plate 27 is made to correspond to each of the separation points 30. In addition, a notch 32 is formed in the fork member 11, into which an auxiliary article support arm 31 described later enters.

The transport drive unit 21 is provided with each roller rotating shaft 2.
5 and each drive unit mounting plate 28
The sprocket 34 and the idler sprocket 35 supported by each other are linked by a chain 36 for each loading / conveying section 13, and the idler sprocket 35 a is connected to the transmission shaft 37.
The sprocket 34 supported on one drive unit mounting plate 28 is driven and rotated by a transfer electric motor M3 fixed to the drive unit mounting plate 28 to drive the drive roller 14 of each mounting / transporting unit 13. It is configured to be driven.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the conveyor elevating section 19 fixes two left and right rack gears 38 at each of the front and rear positions of the conveyor base frame 22 and a pinion gear meshing with each rack gear 38. 39 is supported on a frame 48, and a conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 40 for driving these pinion gears 39 is attached to the front and rear frame 48,
The forward and reverse rotation of the pinion gear 39 causes the roller conveyor 12 to rotate.
Is moved up and down with respect to the elevating table 3.

The conveyor lifting / lowering drive unit 40 connects the left and right two pinion gears 39 by an interlocking shaft 41 and drives the driven belt wheel 4 fixed to the interlocking shaft 41.
2, a timing belt 45 is wound around a drive belt wheel 43 driven by a conveyor lifting electric motor M4, and an idle belt wheel 44, and the pinion gear 39 is driven by the conveyor lifting electric motor M4. The conveyor base frame 22 is driven up and down along the guide rail 23 by driving and rotating in the opposite direction.

Two photosensors 47, which are turned on and off by a light-shielding plate 46 fixed to the conveyor base frame 22, are fixed to the frame body 48 up and down. Turn on / off these photo sensors 47
In this way, it is configured to detect the ascending stop position and the descending stop position of the roller conveyor 12.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 and 10, the fork member 11 supports an intermediate slide frame 50 on a fixed frame 49 fixed to the base 20 so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction. The article mounting frame 5 is placed on the slide frame 50.
1 is slidably supported in the horizontal direction.
A fork driving device 52 that slides the article mounting frame 51 together with the intermediate slide frame 50 is provided.

The fork driving device 52 supports, on a fixed frame 49, two pinion gears 54 meshing with a rack gear 53 fixed to the intermediate slide frame 50, and an intermediate gear 55 for interlocking these pinion gears 54. The fork driving electric motor M5 for driving the pinion gear 39 is mounted on the fixed frame 49, and the two idler pulleys 56 rotating around the horizontal axis are supported on the front and rear sides of the intermediate slide frame 50. Two wires 5 connected over one end of the object mounting frame 51 and one end of the article mounting frame 51.
7 is wound around each idler pulley 56.

When the pinion gear 54 is driven to rotate in the forward and reverse directions by the fork driving electric motor M5, the intermediate slide frame 50 slides to one side, and the idle pulley 56 moves with the sliding movement. One wire 57
Is configured to pull out the article mounting frame 51.

The article mounting frame 51 includes a fork member 1
8, the articles G are placed so as to protrude above the roller conveyor 12 as shown by solid lines in FIG. 8, and when the articles are transferred by the roller conveyor 12, as shown by virtual lines in FIG. Four auxiliary article support arms 31 serving as auxiliary article support portions that enter the cut portions 30 of the placing and transporting sections 13 and the cutout portions 32 of the intermediate support plate 27 are integrally formed corresponding to each of the four cut portions 30. Is provided.

When the article is transferred to and from the article storage section D by the fork member 11, as shown in FIG.
The bottom of the article G, that is, the pallet P is placed on the article placement frame 51, and the bottom of the article G protruding laterally from the article placement frame 51 is supported by the four auxiliary article support arms 31. It is configured as follows.

The article unloading operation of transferring the articles G stored in the article storage section D to the loading roller conveyor F2 provided in the article loading / unloading section F by the lifting carriage E will be described with reference to FIG. I do. Note that the article loading operation for storing the articles G placed on the loading roller conveyor F2 in the article storage unit D may be performed in the reverse order of the article unloading operation, and a description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 7, the roller conveyor 12
Is lowered, and the article placing frame 51 is
The fork member E is moved forward of a desired article storage section D, and the fork member 11 is extended to move the article placement frame 51 into a lower portion of the article storage section D. With the rise of E, the article G is skimmed by the article mounting frame 51 as shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12B, the fork member 11 is contracted to hold the article G substantially in the center of the lifting carriage E, and then the roller conveyor 12 is raised. As shown in (c), the article G is supported by the roller conveyor 12.

Then, the lifting carriage E is moved to the front of the loading roller conveyor F2, and the roller conveyor 12 and the loading roller conveyor F2 are driven. As shown in FIG. Is transferred to the loading roller conveyor F2,
It waits until the next entry command or exit command is input.

[Other Embodiments] In the above-described embodiment, the article transfer device mounted on the stacker crane is shown, but traveling along the width direction of the storage shelf on the elevating table having a length extending over the entire width of the storage shelf operated up and down along the front side of the storage shelf. It may be freely supported, provided to be able to move up and down by raising and lowering the elevator, and to be horizontally movable by traveling along the elevator. 2. In the above embodiment, the roller conveyor is shown as the transfer device for transferring the articles. However, for example, a chain conveyor or a belt conveyor may be used. In this case, a plurality of chain conveyors and belt conveyors are provided at intervals in the transport direction, and a space between adjacent chain conveyors and belt conveyors in the transport direction is configured as a dividing portion into which the auxiliary article support portion enters. There may be. 3. In the above-described embodiment, a portion where the distance between the adjacent drive rollers in the transport direction is wider than the other portion is provided, and the portion with the wider interval is configured as a dividing portion into which the auxiliary article support portion enters. And at a fixed interval, and providing a shorter driving roller than the other of the driving rollers so that the interval with the elastic member is wider than the other, and assisting the lateral side portion of the shorter driving roller It may be configured as a dividing part into which the article support part enters. 4. In the above-described embodiment, the four auxiliary article support sections and the four sections of the loading / transporting section are provided. However, the number of the auxiliary article support sections and the number of divided sections into which the auxiliary article support sections enter is one. And the number is not limited. 5. In the above-described embodiment, the transfer device for transferring articles is provided so as to be able to move up and down with respect to the apparatus main body, and the expandable member and the transfer device are provided so as to be able to move up and down relative to each other. , And the expansion and contraction member and the transport device may be configured to be able to freely move up and down. 6. The article transfer device according to the present invention may be configured to be able to run on the floor by itself. 7. The article transfer device according to the present invention may be fixedly installed at a fixed location.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially omitted perspective view of an article storage facility.

FIG. 2 is a partially omitted side view of a stacker crane.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part of the stacker crane.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part of the stacker crane.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the article transfer device.

FIG. 6 is a sectional front view of a main part of the article transfer device.

FIG. 7 is a sectional front view of a main part of the article transfer device.

FIG. 8 is a sectional side view of a main part of the article transfer device.

FIG. 9 is a sectional plan view of a main part of the article transfer device.

FIG. 10 is a sectional side view of a main part of the article transfer device.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing an article transfer operation by the article transfer apparatus.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view schematically showing an article transfer operation by the article transfer apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 3 device main body 11 elastic member 12 transport device 13 placing and transporting unit 14 drive roller 30 breaking point 31 auxiliary article support unit G article

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An article-movable telescopic member that can freely place and extend articles along the article-transfer direction, and an article that is placed and conveyed in the same direction as the article-transfer direction by the elastic member, and ,
An article transfer conveyance device having the placement and conveyance section on both the left and right sides of the elastic member is provided in the apparatus main body, and the elastic member and the conveyance device are selectively placed in an article transfer operation state. An article transfer device that is provided so as to be capable of relative lifting and lowering to be switched, wherein each of the pair of placement and transport units is separated at an interval in an article transfer direction, and At the time of article transfer by the elastic member, the article is placed by protruding above the placing and transporting section, and at the time of article transfer by the transport device, an auxiliary article support section which enters into the dividing portion of the placing and transporting section is integrally provided. Goods transfer device. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the placing / conveying section is divided at a plurality of division points in the article transfer direction, and the auxiliary article support section is provided corresponding to the plurality of division points. Article transfer equipment. 3. The apparatus main body is provided so as to be vertically movable and horizontally movable, and the transport device is provided so as to be vertically movable with respect to the apparatus main body so as to be able to move up and down relative to the telescopic member. 3. The article transfer device according to claim 1, wherein 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the expansion member and the transporting device are provided on the apparatus main body such that an article transfer direction is orthogonal to a horizontal movement direction of the apparatus main body.
An article transfer device as described in the above. 5. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of drive rollers are arranged in the article transfer direction so as to correspond to each of the pair of placement and transport units. Article transfer equipment.