JP3589403B2 - Depalletizer and depalletizing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
Field of application of the invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for depalletizing articles placed on a pallet or the like by layer, and more particularly to a depalletizer and a depalletizing method capable of depalletizing a group of cardboard boxes and a group of P boxes.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art There is known a depalletizer in which a pallet is raised and lowered by an elevator, and a group of articles is picked up from a pallet by a picking conveyor, and is then loaded on another pallet or the like. When the cardboard box group is depalletized by this apparatus, picking for one layer can be performed by moving a movable picking conveyor between the layers of the cardboard box group. However, it is difficult to pick the P box with a picking conveyor. The P box is often used for transporting and storing bottles such as beer, sake, and soy sauce. When the bottles are stacked, the weight is large, and when a shock is applied during picking, the bottles may be damaged.
[0003]
[Problems of the prior art]
Picking by hand is difficult because the P box is heavy, and a depalletizer is required. However, a depalletizer dedicated to the P box is inefficient. Therefore, a device capable of depalletizing both the P box group and the cardboard box group is preferable, but such a device is not known.
[0004]
[Problems of the Invention]
The basic object of the present invention, P box group also cardboard box group also Ru near to be able to depalletizing same Deparetaiza.
An additional object of the second aspect of the present invention is to enable the same depalletizer to depalletize even if the shapes of the group of P boxes are different.
[0005]
Configuration of the Invention
According to the present invention, in a depalletizer for picking articles by layer, a suction device for sucking and holding an upper surface of a group of articles having a closed upper surface is provided, and a side surface of a P box group is hooked and held. Trolley provided with a hooking means for arranging the trolley separately and below the suction device so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and further movably in a horizontal direction separately from and below the trolley. When depalletizing a group of articles having a closed upper surface, the carriage and the movable conveyor are retracted from the lower part of the suction device, the group of goods is sucked by the suction device, and then the movable conveyor is suctioned. When moving to the lower part of the apparatus and unloading and depalletizing the group of P boxes, the movable conveyor is retracted from the lower part of the suction device, the carriage is positioned at the lower part of the suction device, Holding the P box group with provided hooked unit and then be characterized in that as offloading by moving the carriage. Examples of the group of articles having a closed upper surface include, for example, a group of cardboard boxes and a group of shrink-wrapped articles. These may be collectively referred to as a cardboard box group (claims 1 and 3).
[0006]
Preferably, in the hooking means, a hand provided with a plurality of claws that can come and go is provided on all sides (Claim 2).
[0007]
The present invention also provides a depalletizing method for picking up a group of articles by layer, in which a suction device for sucking and holding the upper surface of the group of articles having a closed upper surface is provided, and the side of the P box group is hooked and held. A carriage provided with a hooking means for moving the carriage is provided separately and below the suction device so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and separately from the carriage and below the carriage, and horizontally. When a movable movable conveyor is provided and when depalletizing an article group having a closed upper surface, the carriage and the movable conveyor are retracted from the lower part of the suction device, the suction device sucks the article group, and the movable conveyor is moved. When moving to the lower part of the suction device, unloading and depalletizing the P box group, the movable conveyor is retracted from the lower portion of the suction device, and the P box group is held by the hooking means provided on the carriage, Moving the wherein the offloading to.
[0008]
Function and Effect of the Invention
In the present invention, the upper surface of the group of articles whose upper surfaces are closed is suctioned and depalletized by the suction device, and the side surface of the P box group is hooked and depalletized by the hooking device. any of the P box group Ru can depalletizing.
[0009]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the P box group is supported by hands from all sides, and each hand holds and holds the P box with claws that fit into the irregularities on the side of the P box. Alternatively, depalletizing can be performed by changing the arrangement of the P boxes in the P box group.
[0010]
According to the present invention, when depalletizing a cardboard box group or the like, picking is performed by a suction device, and then a movable conveyor moves to a lower portion of the suction device to receive the cardboard box group or the like from the suction device. They are moving horizontally and retreating. In the depalletizing of the group of P boxes, the movable conveyor is retracted and picked by the hooking means. For example, a truck provided with the hooking means moves to the upper part of the movable conveyor, and the group of P boxes is unloaded on the movable conveyor. Therefore, the suction device does not need to move horizontally. Further, since the cart provided with the hooking means and the suction device are provided separately, there is no difficulty in disposing the suction device and the hooking device in a narrow area at the bottom of the cart as in the case of integrating them. , 3).
[0011]
【Example】
1 to 6 show an embodiment, and FIG. 1 shows the entire configuration of the depalletizer of the embodiment. Reference numerals 2, 3, and 4 denote posts, 6 denotes a ceiling frame, and 7 drives a movable conveyor described later. Rails for Reference numeral 8 denotes an elevating table, and reference numerals 9 and 10 denote guide rollers.
[0012]
Reference numeral 12 denotes a conveyor, and reference numeral 13 denotes a conveyor motor. The conveyor 12 is provided with a slit at the tip of the elevating platform 8 such that, for example, a pair of arms can be inserted therein. For example, when the elevator 8 rises from the state shown in FIG. 1, the pallet 14 can be received from the conveyor 12 and can be raised. When the elevator 8 descends, the pallet 14 can be delivered to the conveyor 12. Articles 15 such as a cardboard box and a P box are stacked on a pallet 14, and in this specification, a layer composed of a plurality of articles is called a "layer", and an article group for one layer is called an "article group". In the following, the depalletizing of the cardboard box group and the P box group will be described, but an article or the like that is shrink-wrapped instead of the cardboard box may be used.
[0013]
The movable conveyor 16 is a roller conveyor which is movable in the horizontal direction and rotates a number of rollers by a conveyor motor (not shown) by, for example, a chain drive. The movable roller 16 travels in a horizontal direction along a rail 7 by a traveling motor (not shown), and reciprocates between a position indicated by a chain line and a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. An unloading conveyor 17 is provided on the left side of the movable conveyor 16. When one layer of articles is depalletized, the articles are transferred from the active conveyor 16 to the unloading conveyor 17 and unloaded.
[0014]
Reference numeral 18 denotes a chucking trolley, which is provided with a plurality of hands 19 on the four sides on the bottom surface, and moves horizontally between a solid line state and a chain line state in FIG. 1 along a rail 20 provided along the ceiling frame 6. . FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the structure near the bottom surface of the chucking cart 18. A plurality of hands 19 are provided on each of four sides of the bottom surface of the chucking cart 18, and each hand 19 has a claw 21 that can come and go. Are provided, and the claw 21 is urged toward the center of the bottom surface of the chucking cart 18 by a spring or the like (not shown). Each hand 19 is driven by a fluid cylinder 22 and advances toward the center of the carriage 18 during chucking. The hand 19 provided with the claws 21 is an example of a hooking means.
[0015]
The suction device 24 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3. Reference numeral 25 denotes a vacuum pump, which decompresses or vacuums the inside of the suction device 24; And move it up and down along the frame 28. As shown in FIG. 3, the suction device 24 includes a vacuum chamber 30 and a suction chamber 31, and a plurality of valves for suctioning and holding the upper surface of the article 15 are provided on the bottom surface of the suction chamber 31. In the arrangement of these valves, as will be described later, the arrangement of the cardboard boxes in the cardboard box group is changed so that there is no problem even if there is a valve that does not contact the upper surface of the cardboard box.
[0016]
FIG. 3 shows some of these valves as valves 32a and 32b. Each valve is urged in a normally open direction by a spring 33 or the like, and an annular packing 34 is provided around the valve. When the upper surface of the article 15 made of a cardboard box is sucked, vacuum leaks in the packing 34. To prevent 36 is a valve for connecting the suction chamber 31 and the vacuum chamber 30 to each other, 38 is a valve for returning the vacuum chamber 30 and the suction chamber 31 to the atmospheric pressure, and 40 is for connecting the vacuum chamber 30 to the vacuum pump 25 described above. It is a valve to do. 42 is a pipe for guiding the adsorption chamber 31 to the valve 38, and 44 is an atmosphere chamber outside the valve 38.
[0017]
FIG. 4 shows a procedure for holding the article 15 by suction using the suction device 24. In this case, the article 15 is a cardboard box, and the valve 40 is opened to make the inside of the vacuum chamber 30 close to the vacuum. At this time, the valves 36 and 38 are closed and the valves 32 a and 32 b are normally open. Is kept at atmospheric pressure. In this state, the suction device 24 descends along the frame shown in FIG. 1 and comes into contact with the upper surface of the group of articles on the elevator to stop.
[0018]
When the valve 36 is opened from here, air flows from the adsorption chamber 31 into the vacuum chamber 30, and the pressure inside the adsorption chamber 31 is rapidly reduced. Here, in the valve 32 b that does not touch the upper surface of the article 15, the pressure inside the suction chamber 31 is rapidly reduced, so that the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the suction chamber 31 overcomes the force of the spring 33 and the valve 32 b closes. On the other hand, in the valve 32a in contact with the upper surface of the article 15, the packing prevents the flow of air around the valve 32a, and the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the valve 32a is small. Is kept in a state. Therefore, the inside of the packing 34 is decompressed, and the article 15 is held by the suction device 24 with a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the packing 34. In this way, the valve 32a is opened to hold the article at the position in contact with the upper surface of the article, and the valve 32b is closed where it is not in contact with the upper face of the article to prevent leakage.
[0019]
Subsequently, when the suction device 24 moves up along the frame shown in FIG. 1 and the movable conveyor moves in the horizontal direction and comes to a position with a small gap from the bottom surface of the group of articles below the suction device, the valve is opened. 40 is closed and the valve 38 is opened to send air into both the vacuum chamber 30 and the adsorption chamber 31. As a result, the holding of the article 15 by the valve 32a is released, and the article 15 is unloaded on the lower movable conveyor. Thereafter, when the articles are moved in the horizontal direction by the movable conveyor and the articles are carried out to the carry-out conveyor 17 shown in FIG. 1, the conveyance of the cardboard box group for one layer is completed. After the suction of the articles is completed, the valves 38 and 36 are closed, the valve 40 is opened, and the vacuum chamber 30 is evacuated to prepare for the next suction.
[0020]
FIG. 5 shows the operation when depalletizing the group of P boxes. In addition, each member is referred using the code | symbol of FIG. 1, FIG. First, the movable conveyor 16 is retracted to the left side in FIG. 1, and the chucking cart 18 stands by just above the elevator 14. Next, the elevator 14 is raised, and when the uppermost group of articles is raised to a position surrounded by the hand 19 from all sides, the hand 19 is advanced to the center of the bottom surface of the chucking cart 18 using the cylinder 22. The side surface of the P box generally has a concave portion, and the claw 21 urged by a spring (not shown) fits into the concave portion. The shape and arrangement of the concave portions vary depending on the type of the P box, and there are claws that do not fit into the concave portions, but such claws come into contact with the side surfaces of the P box and stop, and the other claws fit into the concave portions. It doesn't get in the way. In this way, the P box group is surrounded by the hands 19 from all sides, and the plurality of claws 21 provided on each hand are fitted into the recesses of the P box and chucked.
[0021]
When the chucking is completed, the lift 14 descends, and the chucking cart 18 travels to the left side in FIG. 1 and travels on the movable conveyor 16 stopped at a position in contact with the unloading conveyor 17. At this time, the distance between the bottom of the chucked group of P boxes and the upper surface of the movable conveyor 16 is made small, and the hand is retracted by the cylinder 22 from here. When the chuck of the group of P boxes is released, the chuck on the movable conveyor 16 is released. P boxes are unloaded. Next, the chucking cart 18 returns to the position on the right side in FIG. 1, and when the group of P boxes is carried out to the carry-out conveyor 17 using the movable conveyor 16, the depalletizing of the group of P boxes for one layer is completed.
[0022]
Here, the chucking cart 18 is horizontally moved onto the movable conveyor 16 to load and unload the P box group. Conversely, the movable conveyor 16 may travel to the lower part of the chucking cart 18 to receive the group of P boxes, and then return to the position in contact with the unloading conveyor 17.
[0023]
FIG. 6 shows the depalletizing of a group of cardboard boxes. In the description of FIG. 6, description will be made using the reference numerals in FIGS. First, the chucking cart 18 has been retracted to the left in FIG. 1, and the movable conveyor 16 has also retracted to the left in FIG. Subsequently, the suction device 24 is lowered along the frame 28, and the lift 14 is raised, so that the upper surface of the cardboard box contacts the bottom surface of the suction chamber 31. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the valve 36 is opened, and the upper surface of the cardboard box is sucked by the valves 32a and 32b. Depending on the arrangement of the cardboard boxes on the pallet 14, some valves do not touch the top of the cardboard boxes, but such valves remain closed and no air flows into the adsorption chamber 31. When the group of cardboard boxes is suctioned by the suction device 24 in this way, the movable conveyor 16 travels to the lower part of the suction device 24, and then the suction is released and the group of cardboard boxes is unloaded onto the movable conveyor 16. Thereafter, when the suction device is raised, the movable conveyor 16 is retracted to the left side in FIG. 1, and the cardboard box group is carried out to the carry-out conveyor 17, the depalletizing for one layer is completed.
[0024]
In the embodiment, both the movable conveyor 16 and the chucking cart 18 are reciprocated in the same direction. On the other hand, it is possible to retreat the chucking cart 18 and the movable conveyor in the left and right directions of the suction device 24, but the embodiment is a more compact depalletizer. Further, the suction device 24 is mounted on the bottom surface of the chucking cart 18, and the suction device 24 is used when depalletizing the cardboard box group, and the hand 19 is used when depalletizing the P box group. It is also possible to depalletize both the P box group and the cardboard box group. However, in this case, both the suction device and the hand must be mounted on the bottom surface of one carriage 18, which makes the design difficult.
[0025]
In the embodiment, both the P box group and the cardboard box group can be depalletized by one depalletizer. In addition, since it becomes a compact depalletizer, hands 19 are provided on four sides of the bottom surface of the chucking cart 18 and a plurality of claws are provided on each hand 19, so that P boxes of various shapes and sizes can be depalletized. Further, in the suction means, a plurality of valves are provided on the bottom surface so as to close the valves that are not in contact with the upper surface of the article, so that the cardboard boxes can be reliably depalletized even if the pattern of stacking them on the pallet is various.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of a depalletizer of an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of a main part of a chucking cart used in the embodiment. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a suction device used in the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the operation from the adsorption to the desorption of an article in the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure for depalletizing a P box using a chucking cart in the embodiment. Flow chart showing the procedure for depalletizing a cardboard box using a movable conveyor [Description of reference numerals]
2 to 4 columns 6 ceiling frame 7 rails 8 elevators 9, 10 guide rollers 11 elevating motors 12 conveyors 13 conveyor motors 14 pallets 15 articles 16 movable conveyors 17 unloading conveyors 18 chucking carts 19 hand 20 rails 21 claws 22 fluid cylinders 24 suction Device 25 Vacuum pump 26 Lifting drive unit 27 Suspension member 28 Frame 30 Vacuum chamber 31 Adsorption chamber 32 a, b Valve 33 Spring 34 Packing 36, 38, 40 Valve 42 Pipe 44 Atmosphere chamber

Claims (3)

In a depalletizer for picking articles by layer,
Along with providing an adsorption device for adsorbing and holding the upper surface of the group of articles with closed upper surfaces ,
A cart provided with hooking means for hooking and holding the side surface of the group of P boxes is disposed separately from the suction device and at a lower portion thereof so as to be movable in a horizontal direction,
Furthermore, a movable conveyor that is movable in the horizontal direction is provided separately from and at the lower part of the carriage,
When depalletizing a group of articles whose upper surface is closed, the carriage and the movable conveyor are retracted from the lower part of the suction device, the group of goods is sucked by the suction device, and then the movable conveyor is moved to the lower part of the suction device. And unload,
When depalletizing the group of P boxes, the movable conveyor is retracted from the lower part of the suction device, the cart is positioned at the lower part of the suction device, and the group of P boxes is held by the hooking means provided on the cart, and then A depalletizer characterized by moving a truck and unloading it. 2. The depalletizer according to claim 1, wherein said hooking means is provided with hands provided with a plurality of claws which can freely appear and disappear on all sides. In a depalletizing method for picking articles by layer,
Along with providing an adsorption device for adsorbing and holding the upper surface of the group of articles whose upper surface is closed,
A cart provided with hooking means for hooking and holding the side surface of the group of P boxes is disposed separately from the suction device and at a lower portion thereof, so as to be movable in a horizontal direction,
Furthermore, a movable conveyor that is movable in the horizontal direction is provided separately from and at the lower part of the carriage,
When depalletizing a group of articles whose upper surface is closed, the carriage and the movable conveyor are then retracted from the lower part of the suction device, the group of goods is sucked by the suction device, and the movable conveyor is moved to the lower part of the suction device. And unload,
When depalletizing the group of P boxes, the movable conveyor is retracted from the lower part of the suction device, and the cart is positioned at the lower part of the suction device, and the group of P boxes is held by hooking means provided on the cart. A depalletizing method comprising: moving a cart and then unloading the cart.

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