JP4835510B2 - Article transfer device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an article transfer device that temporarily stores articles and throws the stored articles into an article collection container.

An example of the conventional article transfer device is disclosed in Patent Document 1.
The article transfer device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is disposed above a conveyor that conveys an article collection container (box body) that collects articles, and a plurality of articles that are loaded and stored therein. The slats, a slat support frame for supporting the plurality of slats, and lowering the slats to the vicinity of the bottom surface of the article collection container by lowering the slat support frame, and the slat support frame is raised. Thus, the slat lifting mechanism for raising the article to the loading position and the slat moving mechanism for displacing the postures of the plurality of slats into a horizontal posture and an inclined posture.

An article transfer procedure with this configuration will be described. In addition, it is assumed that an article is thrown in and placed and stored in a plurality of slats held in a horizontal posture.
First, when the article collection container is transported to the lower position of the article transfer device and stopped, the slat support frame is lowered by the slat lifting mechanism, and a plurality of slats storing articles are moved to the vicinity of the bottom surface of the article collection container Descend to

Next, the postures of the plurality of slats are displaced from the horizontal posture to the inclined posture by the slat moving mechanism, and the article on the slat is transferred onto the bottom surface in the article collection container.
When the transfer is completed, the slat support frame is lifted by the slat lifting mechanism while the plurality of slats are inclined, and is moved up to the loading position of the article.

When the plurality of slats rise above the article collection container, the articles transferred into the article collection container are carried out together with the article collection container by the conveyor.
Next, the plurality of slats are displaced from the inclined posture to the horizontal posture by the slat moving mechanism. Thereby, the next article can be put on the plurality of slats.
JP-A-9-221104

  With the article transfer device of Patent Document 1, it is possible to automatically load an irregularly shaped article into an article collection container having a limited size, and labor saving is realized. It is desired to improve the working efficiency as an article transfer device that can be automatically put into an existing article collection container and is employed in a picking facility.

  In the article transfer apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the slat descends to the bottom surface of the article collection container and the article transfer is executed, the article collection container needs to be stopped and is continuously conveyed. It has not been possible to automatically put the product collection container in the container. Furthermore, when a plurality of article transfer devices are continuously arranged as in the picking facility, the article collection container cannot be moved unless the transfer of the articles in all the article transfer apparatuses is completed. There was a problem that work efficiency could not be desired.

  As a structure of the article transfer device that solves such a problem and allows an article to be loaded into the article collection container that is continuously conveyed, the structure is constituted by a door that opens the bottom of the article transfer device downward. A structure in which an article is dropped from above by opening the door is considered. However, in the structure of the door, the distance between the bottom of the article transfer device and the article collection container is increased in order to avoid contact between the lower end of the door and the article collection container when the door is swinged downward. If the distance becomes longer as described above, the falling distance of the article becomes longer, and the article may be damaged by the impact of dropping. In addition, when dropping an article, the article slides on the door, and the direction and position of the drop differs for each article due to different friction for each article, and the article collection container is continuously conveyed. There is a risk of falling out of the collection container.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an article transfer device capable of reliably transferring an article to an article collection container that is continuously moving along a main conveyance path and shortening the falling distance of the article. .

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided with a main transport path for continuously transporting the article collection container, and is used for obtaining a sorting destination along the main transport path. In a picking facility in which a plurality of article storage units in which articles to be picked are stored are arranged, the articles picked from the respective article storage units are temporarily stored, and the stored articles are stored along the main transport path. An article transfer apparatus for loading an article collection container that is continuously conveyed, the apparatus including a box-shaped apparatus main body that temporarily stores the picked article, and the bottom surface of the apparatus main body is disposed on the bottom of the article collection container. In the upstream direction and the downstream direction along the transport direction, the two doors that open and close downward along an arc-shaped locus are formed, and the mounting surfaces on which the articles of the two doors are respectively placed In the transport direction A plurality of linear members, wherein the conveying direction is arranged parallel to the perpendicular transverse direction, is characterized in that it has an irregular shape.

  According to the above configuration, the bottom of the box-shaped device body is formed by two doors that can be opened and closed, and when the two doors are closed, articles are put in and stored, and the two doors are opened. When it is in a state, the stored article falls. At this time, the two doors are opened in the upstream direction and the downstream direction, whereby the falling articles are swung in the upstream direction and the downstream direction in the transport direction.

  In addition, the two doors are opened and closed with an arcuate trajectory, so that the door is prevented from swinging greatly below the apparatus body, and the vertical direction between the bottom surface of the apparatus body and the upper end of the article collection container is eliminated. The distance can be shortened, so that the falling distance of the article can be shortened, and the risk of the article being damaged by the impact of dropping can be reduced.

  In addition, by arranging a plurality of linear members facing the loading direction of the two door articles in parallel in the left-right direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, The article placed on is supported by a linear member with a line contact with a small contact surface from below, so that when the article falls from the door, the problem that the drop position is not stabilized for each article due to friction is eliminated. .

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the linear member of each door and the upstream side surface and the downstream side surface of the apparatus main body are combined in a comb-tooth shape, The opening / closing means of the two doors is moved along the bottom surface of the apparatus main body from the horizontal attitude when the doors are in a horizontal position when the doors are in a closed position, The posture is along the front side surface and the rear side surface in the transport direction.

  According to the above configuration, the two doors move from the horizontal posture along the bottom surface of the device main body during the opening operation to the posture along the front side surface and the rear side surface of the device main body, and during the closing operation, On the contrary, it moves from the posture along the front side surface and the rear side surface of the device main body along the bottom surface of the device main body to be in the horizontal posture. In this way, the two doors are opened and closed with an arcuate locus.

  Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shape of the open portion of the apparatus main body generated when the two doors are in the open state is defined as the article collection. The apparatus main body is disposed so that the open portion is positioned above the article collection container that is continuously conveyed by the main conveyance path in accordance with the planar shape of the opening above the article container, and the two sheets When the center of the article collection container is positioned substantially above the center of the apparatus main body, the door is opened in the upstream direction and the downstream direction.

  According to the above configuration, the planar shape of the open portion when the two doors are in the open state is matched with the planar shape of the opening above the article collection container, and the two doors are the articles collection container. When the center is located approximately above the center of the device body, it opens in the upstream and downstream directions, so that the articles stored by the two doors are swung in the upstream and downstream directions from the center of the article collection container. Even if there is a slight deviation in the timing of opening the two doors, the article is reliably put (transferred) into the article collection container.

  In the article transfer device of the present invention, the two doors are opened and closed while drawing an arcuate trajectory, so that the door can be prevented from swinging greatly below the device body. The vertical distance from the upper end of the product container can be shortened, that is, the fall distance of the article can be shortened, and the risk of the article being damaged by the impact of the fall can be reduced. Further, each of the two doors has a plurality of linear shapes. By arranging the members in parallel in the left-right direction, the article placed in the main body can be supported by a linear member with a small contact surface from below, so that the article falls from the door. In this case, the problem that the drop position is not stabilized due to friction can be solved, and the article can be reliably loaded (transferred) into the article collection container.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a picking facility equipped with an article transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the picking facility equipped with the article transfer device. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, it is mainly composed of an automatic loading line 2 and a plurality of picking zones (picking work areas) 3.

  The automatic loading line 2 is a line in which the picked article 5 is temporarily placed (after being stored) and then automatically loaded into an article collection container (for example, a container, a cardboard box, etc.) 6 that is continuously conveyed. And a main conveyor device (for example, a roller drive conveyor device) 7 that forms a main transport path (constant path) i for continuously transporting the article collection container 6 at a constant speed, along the main conveyor device 7 The plurality of picking zones 3 are arranged. In the automatic loading line 2, in each picking zone 3, the articles 5 picked according to the items and quantities of the articles 5 (ordered) obtained from a sorting destination such as a store are continuously conveyed by the main conveyor device 7. Are automatically loaded into the article collection container 6 (conveyed along the main conveyance path i).

  Each of the picking zones 3 is a zone in which a specific worker is in charge of picking work, and includes an article storage picking section 11 and an article input section 12 as shown in FIG.

  The article storage picking unit 11 includes a picking shelf 13 formed of a fluidized shelf, and has a plurality of racks 14 (four in the figure) inclined forward, and each rack 14 has an item ( Plural rows (six rows per picking zone 3 in the figure) of article storage sections 16 each storing storage boxes 15 of articles 5 to be picked of different types are formed, and a free roller conveyor for each article storage section 16 (Not shown) is provided, and a stopper (not shown) is provided at the front end of each free roller conveyor. With this configuration, a necessary article 5 is taken out from the storage box 15 locked by the stopper, and when the storage box 15 becomes empty, the storage box 15 is removed to bring the next storage box 15 to the front. .

  The article input unit 12 is provided continuously along the main conveyor device 7 (main transport path i), and picks up the articles 5 picked based on picking data (picking information) ordered from a sorting destination such as a store. It is composed of a plurality of preceding temporary placement tables (an example of a temporary placement table) 18 (5 for each picking zone in the figure) for storing the stored items 5 into the article collection container 6 being continuously conveyed. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the preceding temporary placement tables 18 has a two-row configuration (an example of a multi-row configuration) in the left-right direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the article collection container 6 by the main conveyor device 7. ing. The front row of the preceding temporary placement table 18 (one row of the plurality of rows corresponding to the foremost row; the row closest to the article storage picking portion 11) is the first in which the picked article 5 is loaded (placed) and temporarily stored. Consists of a belt conveyor device 20 that forms a loading portion (mounting portion), and the rear row (the other row in the plurality of rows corresponds to the last row; the row farthest from the article storage picking portion 11) is a belt conveyor. A book that constitutes a second input unit (input unit) that temporarily stores the articles 5 input to the apparatus (first input unit) 20 and automatically supplies the articles 5 to the article collection container 6 that is continuously conveyed by the main conveyor device 7. When the article 5 is loaded into the article collection container 6 from the article transfer apparatus (second input section) 21, the belt conveyor apparatus (first input section) 20 is configured. The placed article 5 is moved to the article transfer device (second throwing device). Portion) 21 is constituted as to be transferred to.

The article transfer device 21 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
The article transfer device 21 is opened at the top so that the articles 5 can be put in from the belt conveyor device 20, and the box-shaped apparatus main body 30 that forms a storage portion for the inputted articles 5, and the apparatus main body 30 are conveyed. A portal-shaped main body support 31 is provided that supports the left side surface 30b and the upper side of the right side surface 30c in the left-right direction perpendicular to the direction toward the transport direction.

  In addition, the bottom surface 30e of the apparatus main body 30 on which the loaded article 5 is placed has two doors 41 that can be opened and closed by drawing an arcuate trajectory in the upstream and downstream directions in the transport direction of the article collection container 6. The planar shape of the bottom opening when these two doors 41 are in the open state is matched with the planar shape of the opening above the article collection container 6. Each door 41 has a plurality of circular rods (an example of a linear member) 41a having a circular cross-section in the transport direction arranged in parallel in the left-right direction and below the rods 41a arranged in parallel. The rod body 41a is formed by welding (supporting) the plate to the T-shaped plate 41b, and the rod body 41a of the door 41 passes through the lower end of the upstream side surface 30d and the downstream side surface 30a of the apparatus main body 30. A notch 32 is provided in accordance with 41a, and the bar body 41a of each door 41 and the upstream side surface 30d and the downstream side surface 30a of the apparatus main body 30 are combined in a comb shape. With the configuration of the door 41, the placement surface of the article 5 of the two doors 41 (the placement surface on which the article 5 is placed) has a plurality of rods 41a directed in the transport direction in the left-right direction. The concavo-convex shape is arranged in parallel.

  The main conveyor device 7 is passed through the inside of the main body support 31 and the open portion of the two doors 41 is positioned above the article collection container 6 being continuously conveyed by the main conveyor device 7. Are arranged to be.

  The two doors 41 are opened and closed by the following opening / closing means 42 so that the closed state of each door 41 is set to a horizontal posture, and when each door 41 is set to an open state, from the horizontal posture, along the bottom surface 30e of the apparatus main body 30. The posture is moved along the downstream side surface 30a and the upstream side surface 30d of the apparatus main body 30 in the transport direction.

The opening / closing means 42
Two support plates 43 on the left side 30b side and two on the right side 30c side, which are vertically fixed to the left and right ends of the plate 41b of each door 41 and support each door 41 at the left and right ends;
A pair of opening and closing gears 45 disposed on the left side surface 30b and the right side surface 30c in the conveying direction of the apparatus main body 30 and having substantially the same diameter as the width of the door 41 in the conveying direction, and in the upstream and downstream directions where the teeth mesh with each other. When,
One support plate is rotatably supported at the left and right ends of the downstream side surface 30a and the upstream side surface 30d of the apparatus main body 30, and the other end is in a vertical posture when the door 41 is closed. Four L-shaped first link rods 46 rotatably supported on the outer upper end of 43;
One end is rotatably supported on the inner upper end of each support plate 43, and the other end is located at a position facing the inner upper end of the support plate 43 when the door 41 is closed, and the opening / closing gear 45. Four connecting shaft bodies 47 rotatably supported on the outer side of
One door opening / closing motor 48 which is disposed outside the left side surface 30b of the apparatus main body 30 and shifted from the center to the downstream side, and whose output shaft is installed horizontally toward the left side surface 30b, and the door opening / closing motor A drive wheel body 49 connected to the output shaft 48 and rotatably supported on the left side surface 30b;
One end is rotatably supported at a position that is the outer peripheral upper end of the drive wheel body 49 when the door 41 is in a closed state, and the other end is an opening / closing gear 45 that is located downstream of the left side surface 30b. One second link rod 50 rotatably supported so as to have a vertical posture in the closed state;
A pair of transmission gears 51 rotatably supported on the left and right end portions of the downstream side surface 30a of the apparatus main body 30 and having teeth meshing with the opening and closing gears 45 located on the left and right downstream sides, respectively;
A connecting shaft body 52 for connecting the rotation shafts of these transmission gears 51;
It is composed of

The opening / closing operation | movement of the door 41 by the structure of the said opening / closing means 42 is demonstrated. In the closed state, as shown in FIG. 5, the second link rod 50 is located at the upper end of the outer periphery of the drive wheel body 49.
First, the “opening operation” will be described.

  When the door opening / closing motor 48 is rotated in one direction (counterclockwise direction in FIG. 5), the opening / closing gear 45 positioned on the downstream side on the left side surface 30b via the drive wheel body 49 and the second link rod 50. Rotates clockwise, and the opening / closing gear 45 located upstream on the left side 30b and the transmission gear 51 located downstream of the left side 30b rotate counterclockwise. Further, the rotation of the transmission gear 51 located on the downstream side of the left side surface 30b is transmitted by the connecting shaft 52 to the transmission gear 51 located on the downstream side of the right side surface 30c, and rotates counterclockwise. The rotation of the gear 51 causes the opening / closing gear 45 positioned downstream of the right side surface 30 c to rotate clockwise, and the opening / closing gear 45 positioned upstream of the right side surface 30 c meshing with the opening / closing gear 45 is counterclockwise. Rotate around. Therefore, the opening / closing gear 45 located on the downstream side of the left and right side surfaces 30b, 30c simultaneously rotates clockwise, and the opening / closing gear 45 located on the upstream side of the left and right side surfaces 30b, 30c simultaneously rotates counterclockwise. .

  Therefore, the left and right support plates 43 on the downstream side, that is, the door 41, receives a force in the clockwise direction, and moves along the bottom surface 30e by the action of the first link rod 46, along the downstream side surface 30a of the apparatus main body 30. It is considered to be a posture. At the same time, the left and right support plates 43, that is, the doors 41 on the upstream side receive a force in the counterclockwise direction and move along the bottom surface 30 e by the action of the first link rod 46, and the upstream side surface 30 a of the apparatus main body 30. The posture is along.

In this way, the two doors 41 are opened while drawing an arcuate locus R.
Next, regarding the “closing operation”, the closing operation is an operation opposite to the opening operation, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. When the door opening / closing motor 48 is rotated in the other direction (the clockwise direction in FIG. 5), the two doors 41 are closed by drawing a reverse locus R in an arc shape.

  Further, when the L-shaped first link rod 46 positioned on the upstream side of the left side surface 30b is perpendicular to the upstream side surface 30d of the apparatus body 30, that is, when the door 41 is in the closed state, the L-shaped first When the closing detection sensor 54 including a proximity switch that detects the link rod 46 and the L-shaped first link rod 46 are lifted to the outside of the upstream side surface 30d, that is, when the door 41 is in an open state. An open detection sensor 55 comprising a proximity switch for detecting the L-shaped first link rod 46 is provided.

An article loading controller 61 that controls the door opening / closing motor 48 is provided on the left side 30 b side of the apparatus main body 30.
A door opening / closing motor 48, a closing detection sensor 54, and an opening detection sensor 55 are connected to the article loading controller 61, and an opening command for the bottom surface 30e is input from a general controller (not shown) that controls the picking operation. It is comprised so that. As shown in FIG. 6A, the opening command output from the overall controller is that the articles 5 are loaded (transferred) into the apparatus main body 30 from the belt conveyor device 20, and the loaded articles 5 are The center position of the width in the transport direction of the article collection container 6 to be sorted (input) is commanded at a timing slightly before the center of the bottom surface 30e in the transport direction.

  When the opening command for the bottom surface 30e is input, the article insertion controller 61 drives the door opening / closing motor 48 in one direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 5) so that the door 41 opens. Then, the door opening / closing motor 48 is driven to open the door 41 as shown in FIG. 6B, and the article 5 placed on the door 41 is put into the article collection container 6.

  As described above, the two doors 41 are opened in the upstream direction and the downstream direction slightly before the center position of the width in the transport direction of the article collection container 6 reaches the center of the bottom surface 30e in the transport direction. The article 5 is swung in the upstream direction and the downstream direction from the center of the article collection container 6, and the opening shape of the open portion when the two doors 41 are opened is the opening above the article collection container 6. By matching with the planar shape, the article 5 is reliably put into the article collection container 6 even if there is a slight deviation in the timing of opening the two doors 41. Further, since the article 5 is supported by a line-contact rod 41a having a small contact surface from below, when the article 5 falls, there is little friction between the article 5 and the door 41, and each article 5 has a drop position. The variation is eliminated, and the dropping position of the article 5 is stable.

When the door 41 is opened and the open detection switch 55 is operated, the article input controller 61 stops driving the door opening / closing motor 48.
Then, the article input controller 61 drives the door opening / closing motor 48 in the other direction to execute the closing operation of the door 41. When the door 41 is closed and the close detection switch 54 is operated, the article insertion controller 61 stops driving the door opening / closing motor 48. In this state, it waits for the next opening command.

  Even if the main conveyor device 7 stops, the opening operation is not executed unless the center position of the width in the transport direction of the article collection container 6 reaches a timing just before the center of the bottom surface 30e in the transport direction. Further, the planar shape of the open portion when the two doors 41 are open is the same as the planar shape of the opening above the article collection container 6, and the articles 5 are scattered in the upstream direction and the downstream direction. There is no fear that the article 5 falls outside the article collection container 6.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the two doors 41 are opened and closed while drawing the arc-shaped locus R, so that the door 41 is prevented from swinging greatly below the apparatus main body 30, and the apparatus The distance in the vertical direction between the bottom surface 30e of the main body 30 and the upper end of the article collection container 6 can be shortened, so that the drop distance of the article 5 can be shortened, and the risk of the article 5 being damaged by the impact of the drop can be reduced. it can.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, each of the two doors 41 is arranged in the apparatus main body 30 by arranging a plurality of rod bodies 41a directed in the transport direction in parallel in the left-right direction. The article 5 is supported by a line-contact rod 41a having a small contact surface from below, so that when the article 5 falls from the door 41, the problem that the dropping position is not stabilized for each article 5 due to friction can be solved. Can be prevented from falling out of the article collection container 6, and the article 5 can be reliably loaded (transferred) into the article collection container 6.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the two doors 41 are opened in the upstream direction and the downstream direction when the center of the article collection container 6 is positioned substantially above the center of the apparatus main body 30, thereby providing two sheets. The article 5 stored by the door 41 is swung in the upstream direction and the downstream direction from the center of the article collection container 6, and the planar shape of the open portion when the two doors 41 are opened is the article collection. By matching the planar shape of the opening above the container 6, the article 5 is reliably put (transferred) into the article collection container 6 even if there is a slight shift in the timing of opening the two doors 41. can do.

  In this embodiment, the door 41 is formed by the rod body 41a having a circular cross section. However, the cross section is not limited to a circular shape, and the contact surface with the article 5 is small. Any member may be used. Further, the entire door 41 or the surface (the surface on which the article 5 is placed) can be formed by a concave-convex plate whose convex portion faces the conveyance direction, and the contact surface with the article 5 can be made small. .

  Further, in the present embodiment, the article transfer device 21 is configured as a part of the second input unit of the preceding temporary placement table 18, but the article transfer device 21 may be the preceding temporary placement table 18 itself. That is, the preceding temporary placement table 18 is configured such that the first input unit (belt conveyor device 20) is eliminated, and the article 5 picked from the article storage unit 16 is directly input.

It is a whole lineblock diagram of picking equipment provided with the article transfer device in an embodiment of the invention. It is a principal part perspective view of the picking installation provided with the article transfer device. It is a rear view of the preceding temporary placement stand of the picking equipment provided with the article transfer device. FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line XX of FIG. 3 of the article transfer device. It is a figure which shows the article transfer apparatus, (a) is a principal part enlarged view, (b) is a block diagram of a door. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the article transfer apparatus in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

R Arc-like trajectory of the door i Main transport path 1 Picking equipment 2 Automatic input line 3 Picking zone 5 Article 6 Goods collection container 7 Main conveyor device 8 Picking zone 13 Picking shelf 18 Preliminary temporary table 20 Belt conveyor device (first input) Part)
21 Article transfer device (second input unit)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 Apparatus main body 30a Downstream side surface 30b Left side surface 30c Right side surface 30d Upstream side surface 30e Bottom surface 31 Main body support body 32 Notch 41 Door 41a Rod body 41b Plate 42 Opening / closing means 43 Support plate 45 Opening / closing gear 46 First link rod 47 Connection shaft Body 48 door opening / closing motor 49 driving wheel body 50 second link rod 51 transmission gear 52 connecting shaft body 54 closing detection sensor 55 opening detection sensor 61 article loading controller

Claims (3)

In a picking facility provided with a main transport path for continuously transporting an article collection container, and a plurality of article storage sections storing articles to be picked according to a request from a sorting destination along the main transport path The article transfer device that temporarily stores the articles picked from each article storage unit and throws the stored articles into an article collection container that is continuously transported along the main transport path,
A box-shaped device body for temporarily storing the picked article;
The bottom surface of the apparatus main body is formed by two doors that open and close downward along an arcuate path in an upstream direction and a downstream direction along the conveying direction of the article collection container,
A plurality of linear members each having a placement surface on which the article of the two doors is placed are directed in the transport direction, are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction perpendicular to the transport direction, and has an uneven shape. An article transfer device characterized by that. Combining the linear member of each door with the upstream side surface and the downstream side surface of the apparatus main body in a comb shape,
The opening / closing means of the two doors is moved along the bottom surface of the apparatus main body from the horizontal attitude when the doors are in a horizontal position when the doors are in a closed position, The article transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article transfer apparatus has a posture along a front side surface and a rear side surface in the transport direction. Matching the planar shape of the opening part of the apparatus main body that occurs when the two doors are open to the planar shape of the opening part above the article collection container,
The apparatus main body is arranged so that the opening portion is located above the article collection container that is continuously conveyed by the main conveyance path,
The said 2 doors are opened to the said upstream direction and downstream direction, when the center of the said article collection container is located in the upper center of the apparatus main body, The said upstream direction and the downstream direction are characterized by the above-mentioned. Article transfer device.

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