JP2517538B2 - Automatic warehouse - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse for picking.

(Conventional automatic warehouse) Conventionally, the following automatic warehouses are known. That is,
A pair of horizontal wheels, which are arranged at a predetermined interval and have their axes centered in the up-down direction, endless belts stretched around these wheels, and horizontally provided on the endless belts at predetermined intervals. It is known that a shelving device having a large number of case shelves is provided in multiple stages, and a case transfer device that is movable up and down is provided outside them.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made for the purpose of enabling picking (taking out of articles) to be performed safely and efficiently in the automatic warehouse.

(Means for Achieving the Object) This invention employs the following means in order to achieve the object.

The present invention provides a shelf device provided with a predetermined number of stages at predetermined intervals in the height direction, a case transfer device provided on the outer side of these shelf devices, and provided on the outer side of the shelf device of the required lower stage. In addition, the shelving device has a plurality of case shelves that horizontally move in an endless horizontal passage, and each of the shelves of the take-out station. A case loading / unloading device for loading / unloading an article storage case on one case shelf is provided corresponding to the device, and the case loading / unloading device is located under the case shelf or at a position protruding outward from the case shelf. As described above, the case stand on which the article storage case pulled out from the case shelf is placed, and the outer surface of the article storage case on the case stand is moved as the case stand moves inward. And a drawer for pushing the inner surface of the article storage case on the case shelf toward the case table as the case table moves to the outside. .

(Operation of the Invention) The present invention has the following operations.

Since the case shelf moves horizontally, the worker does not have to move and can efficiently perform picking. Also, since the take-out station is located away from the case transfer device, the worker is absorbed in picking. However, it is safe without being injured by being caught in the case transfer device.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a rack device 2 described below is provided on a base frame 1 at a predetermined number of stages in the height direction at predetermined intervals. The shelf device 2 has a vertical rotary drive shaft 3 on the right side in FIG. 1 that is rotatably provided on the base frame 1, and a drive wheel 4 is fixed to the rotary drive shaft 3 so that the drive wheel 4 can be stopped. 4, the driven wheel 5 is a vertical support shaft 6 on the left side of FIG.
The support shaft 6 is fixed to the base frame 1. An endless band 7 made of an endless chain is stretched over the drive wheel 4 and the driven wheel 5, and a case shelf 8 is provided on the endless band 7 at predetermined intervals.
However, the endless belt 7 is provided in a horizontal projection in a state where it can be bent at the drive wheel 4 or the driven wheel 5, and a support roller 9 is provided on the lower surface of the base and the free end of these case shelves 8. Internal and external endless or non-external guide rails for supporting the rollers 9.
10 are provided on the base frame 1. With such a configuration, each of the shelving devices 2 can rotate the rotary drive shaft 3 to move the endless belt 7 and ultimately the case shelves 8 horizontally. That is, the case rack 8 is horizontally moved in an endless horizontal passage.

An article storage case 12 (the case includes a pallet-like one) is placed on the case shelf 8, and a pair of downwardly-folded side walls of the article storage case 12 facing each other are provided. A bent handle 13 is provided.

On the right side of FIG. 1, there is provided a case transfer device 15 for taking out or accommodating the article storage case 12 from the case shelf 8, and the case transfer device 15 is an elevating table 17 provided on a support 16 so as to be able to move up and down. A case support 18 is horizontally rotatably provided on the lifting table 17, and the case support 18 is provided.
A moving body 20 having a hook 19 is horizontally movably provided. With such a configuration, after the hook 19 is exposed below the handle 13 of the article storage case 12, the elevating table 17 is slightly raised to engage the hook 19 with the handle 13 and then the hook 19
The article storage case 12 can be drawn into the case support 18 by horizontally moving the article storage case 8 away from the case shelf 8. In addition, the reverse operation causes the article storage case 12
Can be transferred from the case support 18 to the case shelf 8 or the like. As is clear from this description, the hook 19 is a moving device that moves the article storage case 12 horizontally, which is defined in the claims. Since the case support 18 can be rotated horizontally,
The carrying-out / retracting direction of the article storage case 12 can be set to a desired direction. Following the case transfer device 15, a conveyor 21 for carrying in and carrying out the article storage case 12
Is provided.

The group of shelving units 2 is divided into two groups, an upper and lower group, with a horizontal imaginary line X as a boundary. To the left of FIG. A take-off station 23 is provided. The take-out station 23 is provided with a case taking-in / taking-out device 24 corresponding to one case shelf 8 of each shelf device 2. Corresponding to the case loading / unloading device 24, a lamp 22 is provided which lights up when the device is ready to start operation. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the case base 25 of the case loading / unloading device 24 is located under the case shelf 8 or
The case base 25 is provided so as to be horizontally movable so as to be located at a position projecting therefrom, and the case base 25 is guided by a pair of guide rails 27 fixed to the base frame 1 via rollers 26. The case table 25 is adapted to be operated by a fluid pressure cylinder 28. On the upper surface of the case table 25, the front and rear (the front means the left in FIG. 2, the rear means the right in the figure) (the front means the “outside” in the claims, and the rear means It means "inside" in the claims.) Long ridge 29 in the direction
However, the left and right (the left means the upper side in FIG. 3, the right means the lower side in FIG. 3) are provided with a predetermined interval.
Inclination guides 30 are provided so that the lower ends of the protrusions 29 enter between them, and the upper ends of the inclination guides 30 are located at substantially the same height as the case shelves 8. In this state, the inclined guide 30 is fixed to the outer guide rail 10.

At the front part of the case table 25, a pushing tool 33 for pushing the article storage case 12 on the case table 25 into the case shelf 8 is provided as follows. That is, a pair of left and right rods 34 are erected on the front part of the case table 25, support pieces 35 are vertically movably fitted to these rods 34, and these support pieces 35 are downwardly moved by a spring 36 fitted to the rod 34. Being energized. A pair of guide rods 37 are fixed to the support piece 35, a pair of left and right sliders 38 are fitted to the guide rods 37 so as to be movable left and right, and a main body of a fluid pressure cylinder 39 is pivotally attached to one of the sliders 38. A rod of a fluid pressure cylinder 39 is pivotally attached to the other end of the fluid pressure cylinder 39.
The operation of 39 causes the slider 38 to move left and right. In addition, in order to prevent both sliders 38 from approaching each other within a set distance, a pair of left and right stoppers 40
Is fixed to the guide rod 37. These stoppers
Rollers 43 are provided on the lower protruding portion of 40, and these rollers 43 are projected by
Hitting the upper surface between 29. With such a configuration, the roller 43 rides on the tilt guide 30 when the case table 25 is retracted. A horizontal link 41 is pivotally attached to each of the sliders 38 so as to swing horizontally, and a pusher 42 is pivotally attached to the free ends of the horizontal links 41. The stopper 40 also serves as a stopper that prevents the pusher 42 from coming closer to the guide rod 37 than the set position. With such a structure, the pusher 42 can be moved back and forth by operating the fluid pressure cylinder 39.

At the rear of the case table 25, a drawer 45 for pulling out the article storage case 12 placed on the case shelf 8 to the case table 25 is arranged as follows. That is, the case stand
A pair of left and right struts 46 is erected on the front of the 25, and these struts 46
Has an upper end higher than the upper ends of the article storage cases 12 on the case shelves 8, and horizontal beams 47 are continuously provided on the upper ends of the columns 46 so as to project rearward.
In Fig. 4 so as not to hit 13 Drawers 45 appearing in are connected in series. The distance between the drawer 45 and the pusher 42 protruding toward that side is longer than the length of the article storage case 12 in the longitudinal direction including only the one handle 13. A flexible supply pipe 48 for supplying a working fluid to the fluid pressure cylinder 39 is connected to the fluid pressure cylinder 39 through the drawer 45, the horizontal beam 47 and the support column 46.

(Operation of the device) Next, the operation of the device will be described.

First, a case will be described in which the articles in the article storage case 12 placed on the desired case shelf 8 of the shelf apparatus 2 of the desired stage are taken out from the group of shelf apparatuses 2 below the horizontal imaginary line X. When the predetermined case rack 8 faces the case loading / unloading device 24, the rack device 2 is stopped, and the case loading / unloading device 24 becomes operable, the lamp 22 is turned on. The operator can know from this lighting that the case loading / unloading device 24 is ready to start operation. At that time, the case table 25 is located below the case shelf 8, that is, it is retracted.
It does not come into contact with the article storage case 12 on the case shelf 8 at a position close to 37, and the drawer 45 has the article storage case 12
Since it is located rearward of the handle 13 and does not contact the article storage case 12, and the column 46 and the horizontal beam 47 do not contact the article storage case 12 on the case shelf 8, they are It does not interfere with the operation of the shelf device 2. Also, since the roller 43 rides on the tilt guide 30,
The pusher 42 is in the raised position. And then
An operator operates the operation button of the case loading / unloading device 24 (not shown)
When is pressed, the case table 25 moves forward, so that the drawer 45 allows the inner side surface (rear side surface) of the article storage case 12 to be pushed and the article storage case 12 to be pulled out. By that action,
The article storage case 12 is transferred to the case table 25 via the tilt guide 30. The operator takes out (picks) the article in the article storage case 12 pulled out in this manner based on the instruction. After that, since the case table 25 is retracted, the outer surface (front side surface) of the article storage case 12 on the case table 25 is pushed by the pusher 42, and the article storage case 12 is tilted.
It is returned to the case shelf 8 through 30. At that time, the tilt guide 30
Since the lower end of the tilt guide 30 is located between the ridges 29 of the case stand 25 and the lower end of the tilt guide 30 does not hit the article storage case 12, the article storage case 12 can move up the tilt guide 30 smoothly. Further, since the roller 43 rides on the tilt guide 30, the pusher 42 also rises as the article storage case 12 rises. After that, the rod of the fluid pressure cylinder 39 retracts, and the pusher 42 projects rearward.
Pushed by it, the article storage case 12 is completely transferred to the case shelf 8. After that, the pusher 42 is moved away from the article storage case 12 so as not to interfere with the drive of the shelf device 2, that is, so as not to hit the article storage case 12, and approaches the guide rod 37. In this way, the article storage case 12
When is returned to the case rack 8, the rack device 2 is driven to start preparation for taking out the next article from the rack device 2. In the meantime, since preparations for taking out articles from the shelf device 2 of another stage are completed, the operator presses the operation button (not shown) of the case loading / unloading device 24 after the operation of the previous shelf device 2 is started. Then, since the case base 25 of this time moves forward, the article in the article storage case 12 can be immediately taken out. In addition,
If the article storage case 12 is emptied during the operation of picking up an article, this is recorded by a detector that detects that the article storage case 12 is emptied. Note that the empty article storage case 12 may be manually removed during the manual removal operation of the article.

Then, with respect to the empty article storage case 12 of the shelf device 2 in the lower group, the operation of manually removing the article is not performed by hand, and is performed as follows at night. That is,
When the case shelf 8 on which the empty article storage case 12 is placed faces the case support 18 of the case transfer device 15, the empty article storage case 12 is pulled out to the case support 18, and then the case support 18 Is conveyed to the conveyor 21. Note that the empty item storage case 12
Needless to say, the above-mentioned work is unnecessary when the is manually removed. The empty case shelves 8 were placed on the case shelves 8 of the shelving unit 2 in the upper group. The article storage case 12 filled with the articles is transferred by the case transfer device 15.

Note that the empty case shelves 8 of the upper group of shelving apparatuses 2 are supplied with article storage cases 12 filled with articles using the case transfer apparatus 15 after the above work or at another time. To be done.

(Effects of the Invention) This invention has the following effects due to the above-mentioned configuration.

Since the case shelf moves horizontally, the worker does not have to move and can efficiently perform picking. Also, since the take-out station is located away from the case transfer device, the worker is absorbed in picking. However, it is safe without being injured by being caught in the case transfer device.

A push-in tool that pushes the outer surface of the article storage case on the case table toward the case shelf as the case table moves inward, and a push-in tool for the article storage case on the case shelf that moves as the case table moves to the outside. Since it has a drawer that pushes the inner surface toward the case table, by pushing the article storage case with the drawer and pushing tool, the article storage case moves smoothly while stabilizing the orientation of the article storage case. It can be done. Moreover, since the movement of the article storage case can be performed only by pushing with the drawer and push-in tool, the article storage case can be put in and taken out from the case shelf quickly and easily. As long as the article storage case has a size that fits in the space, the article storage case having an arbitrary size can be easily taken in and out.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view with intermediate omitted, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.
The drawing is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2 ... Shelving device, 4 ... Drive wheel, 5 ... Follower wheel 5, 7 ... Endless belt, 8 ... Case shelf, 12 ... Article storage case, 15 ... Case transfer device, 17 ... Lifting / lowering Stand,
19 …… Hook (moving device that moves the article storage case 12 horizontally), 23 …… Removal station

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A shelf device provided with a predetermined number of stages at predetermined intervals in the height direction, a case transfer device provided on the outer side of these shelf devices, and provided on the outer side of the shelf device of the required lower stage. And a take-out station located at a position distant from the case transfer device, and the shelving device has a large number of case shelves that horizontally move in an endless horizontal passage. Corresponding to the shelf device,
A case loading / unloading device for loading / unloading an article storage case on one case shelf is provided, and the case loading / unloading device is horizontally movable so as to be located under the case shelf or to a position protruding outward from the case shelf. Made, a case stand on which the article storage case pulled out from the case shelf is placed, and a pushing tool that pushes the outer surface of the article storage case on the case stand along the movement of the case stand toward the case shelf,
An automatic warehouse having a drawer for pushing the inner surface of the article storage case on the case shelf toward the case table as the case table moves to the outside.