JPS6251847B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a crane for loading and unloading operations that can run along a shelf and has means for transferring cargo to and from the shelf on an elevating carriage.

In conventional automated warehouses, the load transfer means on the elevating carriage is also used for loading and unloading operations at the home position of the crane for loading and unloading operations. At the home position, a conveyor or loading platform for warehousing is installed on one side of the crane, and a conveyor or loading platform for shipping is installed on the other side, and the cargo shipped from the shelf is transferred to the loading platform. When performing unloading work to transfer cargo onto a conveyor or receiving platform and receiving work to load the cargo waiting on the receiving conveyor or receiving platform onto a crane, the reciprocating operation of running forks, etc. Since a cargo delivery means that moves in and out is used, the stocking operation must be carried out after the cargo delivery operation is completed and the cargo delivery means returns to its original position.The entire loading and unloading operation takes a long time and the cycle is shortened. This was a factor in not being able to shorten the time.

Furthermore, even if a single conveyor or loading platform is installed on either the left or right side of the home position, the loading and unloading conveyor is installed, and the running fork or the like is used to lift and lower the load from above the carriage to the ground side conveyor or loading platform. After being transferred to the loading dock, the running fork, etc. must be returned to the elevating carriage before the crane can start traveling for the next unloading operation, and even when loading, the crane must stop at the home position. Before the load is actually transferred to the elevating carriage, time is required for the running forks to advance to the conveyor or loading platform on the ground side, which also increases the loading/unloading cycle time as mentioned above. was.

In addition, according to Utility Model Application No. 48-66282, a conveyor for loading and unloading work is provided on the traverser to move the crane to a different travel route, and when the crane transfers onto the traverser and the elevating carriage descends to the lowering limit position, An automated warehouse is known that is configured to be able to transfer loads between the loading/unloading conveyor on the traverser and the lifting carriage of the crane. In order to transfer the load, it is necessary to use a means (running fork) for transferring the load to and from the shelf provided on the elevating carriage, which does not help to solve the above-mentioned problems.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems, and one embodiment thereof will be described below with reference to the attached illustrative drawings.

1 is a crane for loading and unloading work, and has shelves 2a,
2b, and an elevating carriage 5 that moves up and down between a pair of front and rear supports 4.
It is equipped with 6 is the home position of the crane 1 set at the end of the travel path 3 protruding from between the shelves 2a and 2b, and on one side is the warehousing conveyor 7.
is installed, and a delivery conveyor 8 is installed on the other side. Since these conveyors 7 and 8 are installed so that the transfer direction is parallel to the traveling direction of the crane 1, they are equipped with an incoming transfer conveyor 9 and an outgoing transfer conveyor 10 that convey loads in the right angle direction. ing. These transfer conveyors 9 and 10 can move up and down in and out of the transport surfaces of the loading and unloading conveyors 7 and 8. A running fork 12 is provided on the elevating carriage 5 of the crane 1 for transferring loads to and from each load receiving section 11 (equipped with a pair of right and left load receiving bars) of the shelves 2a and 2b. Furthermore, this running fork 12 is provided. Further, on both sides of the running fork 12, conveyors 13 and 14 are provided for loading and unloading operations at the home position. Both conveyors 13 and 14 are connected to the running fork 1
2 are integrated with each other by a connecting frame 16 passing under the connecting frame 16, and are operatively connected to one motor 17 installed on the connecting frame 16.
Both conveyors 13 and 14 are chain conveyors equipped with a conveyor chain 18 suspended parallel to the moving direction of the running fork 12, and are supported by a lifting guide rod 15 so as to be able to rise and fall freely, and are normally moved by gravity. , as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 2, is in a position recessed below the running fork 12. 21 is a stopper provided on the lower frame 22 of the crane 1 (the frame connecting the lower ends of the columns 4), and the elevating carriage 5 is connected to the second
Immediately before reaching the lowering limit position shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. As the elevating carriage 5 descends, the conveyors 13 and 14 for loading and unloading work rise relative to the elevating carriage 5 and reach a position where they protrude above the running forks 12.

To explain the loading and unloading method using the crane 1 described above, the crane 1 is stopped at the home position 6 as shown in FIG. 1, and the elevating carriage 5 is loaded and unloaded as shown by solid lines in FIGS. The conveyors 7 and 8 are positioned at the corresponding level, that is, at the lower limit position. At this time, the conveyors 13 and 14 for loading and unloading work on the elevating carriage 5 are moved by the stopper 21.
The load 19 on the running fork 12 taken from the shelf 2a or 2b is transferred onto both conveyors 13 and 14. On the other hand, transfer conveyors 9 and 1 attached to the loading and unloading conveyors 7 and 8
0 is raised, and the cargo 20 being supplied to the terminal end of the warehousing conveyor 7 is transferred onto the transfer conveyor 9. At this time, the transfer conveyors 9, 10 and the loading/unloading conveyors 13, 14 on the elevating carriage 5 are continuous in a straight line with each other at approximately the same level. Next, the transfer conveyors 9 and 10 and the conveyors 13 and 14 for warehousing and unloading work are driven at the same conveyance speed, and the load 20 on the transfer conveyor 9 is transferred onto the conveyors 13 and 14 for warehousing and unloading work, and this warehousing and unloading work is carried out. The loads 19 on the conveyors 13 and 14 are transferred onto the transfer conveyor 10 in the same direction. The load 20 reaches the center position of the lifting carriage 5, and the load 19
When it reaches the starting end of the delivery conveyor 8, the transfer conveyors 9 and 10 are lowered to the lower limit height, and the load 19 on the transfer conveyor 10 is transferred onto the delivery conveyor 8. The cargo 19 is carried out by this delivery conveyor 8.

On the other hand, once the cargo 20 has been transferred onto the loading/unloading conveyors 13 and 14 as shown in FIG.
While the crane 1 is running, the elevating carriage 5
The elevating carriage 5 is raised to correspond to the goods receiving part 11 for warehousing on the shelf 2a or 2b, but by raising the elevating carriage 5 from the lower limit, loading and unloading work to the elevating carriage 5 is performed. The running fork conveyors 13 and 14 are relatively lowered, and both conveyors 13 and 14
After the load 20 on the conveyors 13, 14 is transferred to the running forks 12, the conveyors 13, 14 rise together with the elevating carriage 5.

Once the elevating carriage 5 has been made to correspond to the cargo receiving section 11 for warehousing, the running fork 12 is advanced toward the shelves 2a or 2b, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 3, and the elevating carriage 5 is lowered by a predetermined amount. Then, the load on the running fork 12 can be transferred to the target load receiving section. Shelf 2a or 2b
The unloading operation from the warehouse can also be carried out by a combination of the moving in and out movement of the running fork 12 and the lifting movement of the elevating carriage 5 as before.

In the above work example, the warehousing work and the warehousing work are performed simultaneously at the home position 6, but of course it is also possible to perform only one of them. In addition, conveyors 13 and 14 for loading and unloading work were arranged on both sides of the running fork 12, but
It is also possible to divide the running fork into left and right halves and place a conveyor for loading and unloading work in the middle. In addition to the chain conveyor, this conveyor for loading and unloading work includes
It is also possible to use belt or slat conveyors or roller conveyors. Furthermore, although the running fork 12 is shown as a load transfer means on the elevating carriage 5,
It is also possible to use a self-propelled transfer cart with an elevating loading platform that can travel between a and 2b as a cargo delivery means. In this case, even if the lifting platform of the self-propelled transfer truck is not raised or lowered during loading and unloading operations at the home position, the lifting platform of the self-propelled loading truck and the conveyors 13, 14 can be moved by the vertical movement of the conveyors 13 and 14. Loads can be transferred between.

The present invention can be carried out as described above, and its characteristics include a crane having an elevating and lowering carriage equipped with means for transferring loads between shelves.
A conveyor for loading and unloading work at the home position is provided on the elevating carriage so as to be movable up and down between a position projecting upwardly and a position retracting downwardly relative to the cargo transfer means, and a conveyor is provided at the bottom of the conveyor. An abutted part (connection frame 16 in the embodiment) that can be pushed up from the bottom of the elevating carriage is provided at the bottom of the elevating path of the elevating carriage. A stopper is provided to receive the conveyor via the abutted portion, and after the stopper receives the conveyor, the conveyor is moved relative to the load transfer means to the protruding position by lowering the elevating carriage. The loading/unloading conveyor is configured to ascend, and is connected to the loading/unloading transfer conveyor on the ground side when the crane is at the home position and the elevating carriage is at the lowering limit position as described above. The present invention is characterized in that the load is transported between a position directly above the load transfer means which is in a standby state at a central position on the elevating carriage and the above-mentioned loading/unloading conveyor on the ground side.

According to the crane of the present invention, the loading and unloading work between the lifting carriage of the crane and the shelf can be carried out using the load transfer means (running fork 12 or self-propelled load transfer device 2) on the lifting carriage as before.
5, etc.), but loading and unloading work is performed when the crane is in its home position, i.e., loading and unloading work is carried out when the crane is in its home position, that is, transferring loads between the lifting carriage of the crane and the loading and unloading conveyor on the ground side. The loading operation can be performed without using any means for transferring goods to and from the shelves.

That is, the lifting carriage is lowered to the lower limit position, and the conveyor for loading/unloading work on the lifting carriage is relatively lifted by the stopper so as to be higher than the load supporting surface of the load transfer means. Just run the conveyor,
The load is conveyed from the loading/unloading conveyor on the ground side to a position directly above the load transfer means waiting at the center position on the elevating carriage, or vice versa, from the position directly above the load transfer means to the ground side. It is possible to transport cargo using a transfer conveyor for loading and unloading. Therefore, the running oak 12 moves by a predetermined distance from the center position (standby state) on the elevating carriage.
(in the case of the self-propelled load transfer device 25) or reciprocating movement (in the case of the self-propelled load transfer device 25) using the load transfer means between the ground side at the home position and the top of the elevating carriage. Compared to loading and unloading work, the time required for loading and unloading work is significantly shortened, and work efficiency can be improved. Furthermore, there is no need for a special drive device (cylinder unit, rotary cam, slide cam, etc.) to raise and lower the loading/unloading conveyor installed on the elevating carriage for loading and unloading between the loading and unloading means and the loading/unloading means. By simply configuring the system so that the lifting carriage stop position during loading and unloading operations at the home position is lower than the lifting carriage stopping position for transferring goods between the lowermost cargo receiving section of the shelf, the lifting carriage can be easily moved. It is possible to automatically raise and lower the loading/unloading conveyor using the vertical movement of the warehousing and unloading conveyor, and transfer loads between this conveyor and the loading/unloading means. There is no fear that loading and unloading operations between shelves will become impossible. Further, according to the crane of the present invention, the following working method can also be adopted. That is, only one of the warehousing transfer conveyor 9 and the warehousing transfer conveyor 10 is provided, and the work of receiving goods from the warehousing conveyor 7 (or the warehousing receiving platform) or the warehousing conveyor 8 (or Running fork 1 performs the work of unloading the cargo to the unloading loading platform)
In cases where it is necessary to carry out cargo transfer between the second and second-class shelves, the loading and unloading conveyors 13 and 14 are used for receiving and receiving cargo between the side where the transfer conveyor 9 or 10 is installed. It only needs to be used for shipping work. Of course, even in this case, the running fork 12 and the conveyors 13 and 14 for loading and unloading operations can be operated simultaneously to shorten the cycle time for loading and unloading operations at the home position.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a plan view, FIG. 2 is a side view of the main part, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the main part. 1... Crane for loading and unloading work, 2a, 2b...
Shelf, 5... Elevating carriage, 6... Home position, 7... Incoming conveyor, 8... Outgoing conveyor, 9, 10... Elevating transfer conveyor, 1
2...Running fork (cargo delivery means),
13,114... Conveyor for loading/unloading work, 15...
... Lifting guide rod, 17... Conveyor drive motor, 21... Conveyor receiving stopper.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a crane having an elevating carriage equipped with means for transferring goods to and from a shelf, a conveyor for loading and unloading work at the home position is placed on the elevating carriage at a position projecting above and below the means for transferring goods. The conveyor is provided at the bottom of the conveyor so as to be able to rise and fall freely between the conveyor and the retracted position, and a contact portion that can be pushed up from below the elevating carriage is provided at the bottom of the conveyor, and at the lowest end of the elevating path of the elevating carriage. Immediately before the elevating carriage reaches its lower limit, a stopper is provided to receive the conveyor via the abutted portion, and after this stopper receives the conveyor, the conveyor is moved to the load transfer means by the lowering of the elevating carriage. The loading and unloading work conveyor is configured to rise relatively to the protruding position, and furthermore, when the crane is at the home position and the elevating carriage is at the lowering limit position as described above, the conveyor for loading and unloading is configured to It is connected to the loading/unloading conveyor on the side, and conveys the load between a position directly above the loading/unloading means waiting at a central position on the elevating carriage and the above-mentioned loading/unloading conveyor on the ground side. A crane for loading and unloading work, which is configured to do the following: