JPS62180809A - Rotary type article accommodating storage - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To aim at remarkably shortening the waiting time from the time point at which the delivery of articles is instructed to the time point at which the articles are taken out, by providing a such an arrangement that pallets are conveyed along an closed circuit which is rotated around an horizontal axis, and by taking in and out articles through an introduction and delivery section adjacent to the closed circuit. CONSTITUTION:Several storage units B each incorporating therein a cubic frame body are laid laterally and stacked one upon another so that a rotary article accommodating storage is constituted. Each storage unit B is composed of rack sections 3, 4 having a pair of upper and lower conveying means for supporting pallets 2 which carry thereon articles, and lift devices 7, 8 incorporating elevating beds 5, 6 connected to the front and rear ends of the rack sections 3, 4. Each of the rack sections 3, 4 has a pair of roller chains 16 stretched between drive sprockets 14 and drive sprockets 15 and adapted to be rotated by means of a motor 13. Further, each of the lift devices 7, 8 is provided therein with delivery doors 9, 10 through which articles are taken out from a carrier vehicle onto a pallets.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention provides a rotary article storage in which a pallet on which articles are placed is rotated around a horizontal axis so that necessary articles can be easily taken out. Regarding.

(Prior art) An automated warehouse that uses pallets has a structure in which a stacker crane runs along guide rails laid on the floor to take out pallets stored on grid-like shelves. well known.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the automated warehouse using the stacker crane described above, a base is required for the stacker crane to run, and there is a problem that the storage efficiency of goods per loading area is poor. .

In addition, the stacker crane moves back and forth to the extraction port.

In order to transport a pallet, a waiting time is required from the time when an instruction is given to carry out the goods until the pallet on which the goods are placed actually comes out to the take-out port.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention aims to provide a rotary article storage in which pallet storage efficiency is improved and pallets 1 to 1 can be called up quickly.

That is, in the rotary article storage according to the present invention, conveying means for horizontally conveying a plurality of pallets on which articles can be placed are arranged in series in the conveying direction in a horizontal direction, and these conveying means are connected to each other. Transport means for vertically transporting the pallet are provided at both ends of the transport means to form a closed circuit for the pallet around a horizontal axis forming a quadrilateral, and adjacent to the closed circuit, transport means for transporting the pallet in the vertical direction are provided at both ends of the transport means. It has an entrance and exit section.

(Example) Hereinafter, a first example of the present invention will be described in detail based on FIGS. 1 to 11.

(A) shown in Figures 2 to 4 is a rotating article storage;
This is a structure in which storage bins 1 to (B) each having a cubic frame (1) consisting of a large number of supports (1a) and connecting rods (1b) are stacked in three rows on the left and right and two tiers on the top and bottom. The storage unit (B), whose schematic structure is shown in FIG. Shelf (3) with
4), and transport means (7) and (8) equipped with lifting and lowering platforms (5) and (6) respectively connected to the front and rear ends of the shelves (3) and (4), as will be described later. Each pallet (2) is rotated forward and backward so as to draw a quadrilateral trajectory when viewed from the side.

The front lift device (7) is provided with an access section, that is, the exit door (9), and the rear lift device (8) is provided with the other entrance and exit section, that is, the exit 1 (10).

Open or close either one to remove the goods (C) from the transport vehicle (11).
) can be taken in and out of the pallet (2).

Next, mainly based on FIG.
) and explain its structure.

As shown in FIG.
A pair of guide rails (12) and this guide rail (12)
), a conveying means, such as a motor (13
) a pair of drive sprockets (14) driven by
<14) and a driven sprocket (15) facing these driving sprockets (14) (15), and a roller chain (16) shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is wound between these sprockets. ing.

The roller tune (16) connects a pair of left and right inner and outer link plates (17) and (18) in an endless manner, and pivots a small-diameter inner roller (20) to a pin (19) that passes through them from side to side. Further, large diameter outer rollers (21) are alternately pivotally attached to the ends of the pins (19).

Further, on the upper and lower surfaces of the inner link (17), a protruding piece (17
a) are arranged in series to prevent the roller tune (16) from shifting from the guide rail (12) while traveling.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the guide rail (12)
A pallet (2) is written on the upper surface of the outer roller (21) of the roller chain (16) that is being rolled, and as the roller chain (16) runs, the pallet (12) moves forward or backward. transported to.

As shown in FIG. 10, the pallet (2) is made of a substantially square flat plate, and a rectangular notch (2a) is formed in the center of the front and rear end surfaces of the pallet (2).
), and a stepped portion (2b) that can be brought into contact with a detection switch (34) for detecting the position is also formed at one corner.

Also, the front and rear end surfaces (2c) (2c+) of the pallet (2)
Mark sheets (22) made of silver paper or the like are pasted at equal intervals to the optical reading head (22), which will be described later.
3) By reading these positions and numbers,
The pallet number within the storage unit (B) of the pallet (2) can be determined.

Next, the transfer means on the warehousing side, such as the lift device (8), will be explained with reference to FIG.

(24) is a horizontal axis, and one pair is provided on the upper and lower sides, and one pair on the left and right sides. A pair of front and rear sprockets (25) are attached to each horizontal shaft (24), and a pair of upper and lower sprockets h (25) are attached to each horizontal shaft (24).
2) In between, there is an endless chain (26
) are wound, and these four endless chains (
26) are fixed to each of the four corners of the lifting platform (6).

(27) is the drive means 1, such as a motor, and this output shaft (2
The gear shaft (28a) (29) of the gear (28) attached to the gear (28) and the gear (29) that meshes with the gear (28)
a) and the sprocket (31) attached to the horizontal shaft (24) below.
) are linked to each other via an endless chain (32).

Therefore, by the forward or reverse rotation of the motor (27), the lifting platform (6) can be moved to the upper position where the pallet (2) can be delivered to the shelf (4), or from the shelf (3) to the pallet (2) position.
) can be raised and lowered between the lower stage and the lower position where the goods can be delivered.

The lift device (7) on the exit side is also the lift device (8) mentioned above.
) has the same structure, so the explanation will be omitted.

(33) is a stopper that is provided at both ends of the shelves (3) and (4) and can move in and out independently, and engages with the notch (2a) of the pallet (2) to prevent its movement. It is now possible to do so.

(34) is a detection switch that detects the position of pallet (2).

Reference numeral (35) is an operation panel provided on the output side and the input side, respectively, so that a desired pallet number can be called up.

Although not shown, a control device using a computer is installed in a separate location, and controls the operation of the roller tuner (16) in the shelves (3) and (4) mentioned above and the lift device (7).
) (8) to control the operation of the lifting platform (5) and (6).

Therefore, in order to carry out the unloading operation, the operation panel (35) shown in FIG.
When the number 2) is called by operating a push button (not shown), the motors (13) (27) rotate and each pallet (2)
), for example, is transported from the lower shelf (3) to the lifting platform (5), then transferred upward, and then transferred to the upper shelf (4).
) and is rotated around the horizontal axis while drawing a quadrilateral trajectory.

When the pallet (2) is placed on the lifting platform (5), the pallet number is read by the optical reading head (23), and when the desired pallet (2) reaches the lifting platform (5), a closed circuit is activated. The pallet transfer operation is stopped.

Next, by opening the exit door (9), the goods (C)
can be issued.

In the same way as described above, the warehousing operation is carried out by calling the pallet (2) using the predetermined pallet number on the operation panel (35), or by specifying an empty pallet. The article (C) can be stored on the pallet (2) at a position where the pallet (2) faces the receiving m (10).

1 In the embodiment described above, each pallet (2)
Although it has been described that the scales are rotated clockwise in FIG. 51 and transferred, it is of course possible to rotate the scales counterclockwise in FIG. 5 instead.

To determine which direction to turn each pallet h(2), check whether the pallet with the specified number is
The computer detects where you are at that moment,
The specified pallet is determined to arrive at the calling port sooner.

As shown in Fig. 5, in the shelf section (3), there is a space corresponding to one pallet (2) at a position adjacent to the lifting platform (5), and there is a space corresponding to one pallet (2). Shelf (3)
It is possible to transfer to.

FIG. 12 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the shelf (
37), (38), and (39) are configured in three stages vertically, and the front and rear lifting platforms (40) are capable of transporting pallets (41) from the shelf (37) to any of the shelves (37) and (38). It is configured to be transportable.

In this case, the trajectory of the pallet (41) is a rectangular trajectory (D) passing through the shelves (37) and (38) when viewed from the outside.
In addition, a rectangular trajectory passing through the shelf (37) (3ri)
E) can also be used.

FIG. 13 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the locus (F) around the horizontal axis is linked with the locus (G) around the vertical axis, and the articles on the pallet (42) ( This structure is also effective when loading and unloading (II) takes time.

(Modification) In the above-described embodiment, a flat plate was used as the pallet, but this may also be a box pallet, a bass racket pallet, or a pallet with casters.

A belt conveyor or a roller conveyor may be used as the transfer means in the shelf section.

Moreover, the unloading and warehousing may be performed at the same place, and the loading/unloading section for articles may be provided at a desired location on the shelf without facing the loading/unloading platform.

In the embodiment, six sets of storage units (A) were combined to form the rotary article storage (A), but the rotary article storage can be made with at least one storage unit.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above in detail, the rotary article storage according to the present invention transports pallets so as to form a closed circuit that rotates around a horizontal axis, and has an entry/exit area adjacent to the closed circuit of the bracket. Since the article is taken out or stored from the container, the waiting time from the instruction to take out the article to the time when the article is taken out can be significantly shortened.

In addition, there is no need for a passageway for running stacker cranes, etc., and the installation area is small.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing storage units 1 to 1 in the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a side view, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing only the shelves in FIG. 4; FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view showing the roller chain in FIG. 1 with a portion cut away; FIG. 8 is also a side view, FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken along line IK-H in FIG. 5, FIG. 10 is a plan view of the pallet in FIG. 1, and FIG. 11 is a
Similarly, FIG. 12 is a schematic side view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view showing a third embodiment of the present invention. (A) Rotating article storage (B) Storage unit (C) Articles (1) Frame (la) support (1b) Connecting rod (2) Pallet (3) (4) Shelf (5) (6) Lifting Loading platform (7) (8) Lift device (9) Exit door
(10) Incoming goods (11) Transport vehicle (12)
Guide rail (13) Motor (14) Drive sprocket (15) Driven splot (16) Roller chain (17) (18) Link plate (19) Pin (2o) Inner roller (21)
Outer roller (22) Mark sheet (23) Optical reading head (24) Horizontal shaft (25) Sprocket (2
6) Endless chain (27) Motor (28) (2
9) Gear (39) (31) Sprocket (3
2) Endless chain (33) Stopper (34) Detection switch (35) Operation panel Figure 7 Figure 9

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) Conveying means for horizontally conveying a plurality of pallets on which articles can be placed are lined up in series in the conveying direction, and conveying means for vertically conveying the pallets to connect these conveying means to each other. are provided at both ends of the conveyance means to form a closed circuit for the pallet around a horizontal axis forming a quadrilateral, and an article entry/exit section for the pallet is provided adjacent to the closed circuit. Type goods storage. (2) The rotary article storage according to claim (1), wherein the closed circuit intersects and is linked to a pallet transport path around a vertical axis. (3) The rotary article storage according to claim (1), wherein the article entry/exit section is provided opposite the transfer means. (4) The rotary article storage according to claim (1), wherein the conveyance means is an endless roller chain. (5) The rotary article storage according to claim (1), wherein the transfer means is a lifting platform that can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction. (6) Claim No. (1) in which the pallet is a flat plate.
Rotating goods storage described in section.