JP7609040B2 - Item transport device and item position adjustment device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an item transport device and an item position adjustment device.

Conventionally, there is known an article transport device equipped with a stopper that limits the movement of an article on a transport mechanism such as a conveyor (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, the stopper is made of a relatively hard material.

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-37764

In this type of item transport device, if the stopper can only be provided above the transport mechanism, the stopper will approach the item from above the transport mechanism. In this case, if the height of the item that is to be restricted by the stopper is low, it becomes difficult to set the stopper. That is, if the stopper is too close to the transport mechanism, it may interfere with the transport mechanism, and conversely, if it is too far from the transport mechanism, it will be difficult to restrict the movement of the item, so it may be difficult to avoid interference between the stopper and the transport mechanism and restrict the movement of the item by the stopper at the same time. In addition, more strict management of the distance between the stopper and the transport mechanism will be required, which may increase the effort and cost required for manufacturing and maintenance of the item transport device.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article transport device and article position adjustment device, for example, equipped with a member that contacts an article to restrict the movement of the article or move the article.

The article transport device of the present invention includes, for example, a transport mechanism having a support part for supporting an article and transporting the article in a lateral direction intersecting with the vertical direction, a flexible first member that contacts a first article as the article and restricts the movement of the first article in the lateral direction on the support part or moves the first article in the lateral direction relative to the support part, and a holding member that holds the first member above the support part, and the first member extends from the holding member toward the support part.

The article position adjustment device of the present invention further includes, for example, a flexible first member that contacts a first article and limits the movement of the first article in a lateral direction intersecting with the up-down direction on a support portion that supports the first article, or moves the first article in the lateral direction relative to the support portion, and a holding member that holds the first member, and the first member extends from the holding member and is elastically bendable upon contact with the first article or the support portion.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary schematic plan view of two articles to be transported by an article transport apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exemplary schematic side view of the two articles of FIG. FIG. 3 is an exemplary schematic plan view of a combination of two articles to be transported by the article transport apparatus of the embodiment, which is different from those in FIGS. FIG. 4 is an exemplary schematic side view of the two articles of FIG. FIG. 5 is an illustrative schematic side view of the item transport apparatus of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an illustrative schematic side view of the positioning mechanism included in the item transport apparatus of the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is an exemplary block diagram of an article transport device according to an embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of a procedure for positioning and transporting an item by the item transport apparatus of the embodiment. FIG. 9 is an exemplary schematic side view of a portion of the article transport apparatus of the first embodiment, illustrating a state before the two articles shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are positioned by the positioning mechanism. Figure 10 is an exemplary and schematic side view of a portion of the item transport apparatus of the first embodiment, showing a state in which only one of the two items shown in Figures 1 and 2 has been positioned by the positioning mechanism. FIG. 11 is an exemplary schematic side view of a portion of the article transport apparatus of the first embodiment, showing a state in which both of the two articles shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 have been positioned by the positioning mechanism. FIG. 12 is an exemplary schematic side view of a portion of the article transport apparatus of the first embodiment, showing a state in which one of the two articles in FIG. 1 has been transported and positioned alone. FIG. 13 is an exemplary schematic side view of a portion of the article transport apparatus of the first embodiment, illustrating a state before the two articles shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are positioned by the positioning mechanism. Figure 14 is an exemplary and schematic side view of a portion of the item transport apparatus of the first embodiment, showing a state in which only one of the two items shown in Figures 3 and 4 has been positioned by the positioning mechanism. FIG. 15 is an exemplary schematic side view of a portion of the article transport apparatus of the first embodiment, showing a state in which both of the articles shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 have been positioned by the positioning mechanism. FIG. 16 is an exemplary schematic side view of a portion of the article transport apparatus of the second embodiment, showing a state in which both of the articles shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 have been positioned by the positioning mechanism. FIG. 17 is an exemplary schematic side view of a portion of the article transport apparatus of the third embodiment, showing a state in which both of the articles shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 have been positioned by the positioning mechanism. FIG. 18 is an exemplary schematic side view of a portion of the article transport apparatus of the fourth embodiment, showing a state in which both of the articles shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 have been positioned by the positioning mechanism. FIG. 19 is an illustrative schematic side view of a positioning mechanism included in an item transport apparatus according to the fifth embodiment.

Below, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are disclosed. The configurations of the embodiments shown below, and the actions and results (effects) obtained from said configurations, are merely examples. The present invention can also be realized with configurations other than those disclosed in the following embodiments. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain at least one of the various effects (including derivative effects) obtained from the following configurations.

In this specification, ordinal numbers are used for convenience to distinguish between objects, components, directions, etc., and do not indicate priority or order.

In each figure, each direction in the item transport device is indicated by an arrow. The X, Y, and Z directions intersect and are mutually perpendicular. The Z direction is approximately along the vertical direction, and the arrow Z points vertically upward. The X and Y directions are approximately along the horizontal direction. The X direction is also called the transport direction, front-to-back direction, or longitudinal direction, the Y direction is called the width direction, left-to-right direction, or short direction, and the Z direction can be called the thickness direction, height direction, or up-down direction.

In addition, in each figure, the symbol indicating the position of each item may be shown in parentheses accompanying the symbol indicating the item.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of articles 11, 12 (10) to be transported by a transport mechanism 110 (see FIG. 5) of an article transport apparatus 100, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the articles 11, 12 of FIG.

Both Figures 1 and 2 show the state in which items 11 and 12 are transported by the transport mechanism 110. As is clear from Figures 1 and 2, item 12 is transported while placed on item 11. Also, as is clear from Figure 1, in a plan view, item 11 is wider than item 12, in other words, item 12 is narrower than item 11. Also, as is clear from Figure 2, in the transported state, the height of item 11 from the support surface Pn of the transport mechanism 110 is lower than the height of item 12 from the support surface Pn. Item 11 is an example of a second item, and item 12 is an example of a first item.

The article 11 has a substantially rectangular shape and a plate or sheet shape. The article 11 is, for example, paper, a sheet, a film, or the like, specifically, cardboard, corrugated cardboard, an envelope sheet, or the like. A cushioning material such as air bubble cushioning material may be attached to the article 11. The article 11 may also be folded in a forming device or packaging device (not shown) to which it is transported by the transport mechanism 110, and may be formed into an envelope, bag, or box that contains or covers the article 12. In this embodiment, the article 11 is flat, but is not limited to this and may be slightly curved, for example.

On the other hand, item 12 is, for example, relatively thin, relatively low, and rectangular. Item 12 is, for example, a card, cardboard holding a card, a relatively thick envelope, a relatively thin box, etc. Item 12 may be packaged in film, paper, etc. As is clear from FIG. 2, item 12 is thicker than item 11 in this embodiment, but is not limited to this.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the items 11, 13 (10) to be transported by the transport mechanism 110 of the item transport device 100, and Figure 4 is a side view of the items 11, 13 in Figure 3.

Both Figures 3 and 4 show the state in which items 11 and 13 are transported by the transport mechanism 110. As is clear from Figures 3 and 4, item 13 is transported while placed on item 11. Also, as is clear from Figure 3, in a plan view, item 11 is wider than item 13, in other words, item 13 is narrower than item 11. Also, as is clear from Figure 4, in the transport state, the height of item 11 from the support surface Pn of the transport mechanism 110 is lower than the height of item 13 from the support surface Pn. Item 13 is an example of a third item.

Item 13 has, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Item 12 is, for example, a box. Item 13 may be packaged in film, paper, or the like. As shown in FIG. 4, item 13 is thicker than item 11. As is clear from a comparison of FIGS. 2 and 4, item 13 is thicker than item 12, and the height of item 13 from support surface Pn is greater than the height of item 12 from support surface Pn.

The transport mechanism 110 can transport both the article 11 on which the article 12 is placed as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the article 11 on which the article 13 is placed as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In other words, the transport mechanism 110 is used for both transporting the article 11 on which the article 12 is placed and transporting the article 11 on which the article 13 is placed. In addition, on the transport mechanism 110, the article 11 on which the article 12 is placed and the article 11 on which the article 13 is placed may be mixed regularly or randomly. Note that an article other than the articles 12 and 13 may be placed on the article 11, for example, between the article 11 and the articles 12 and 13, or on top of the articles 12 and 13. The other article may be, for example, paper such as a document, a leaflet, or a flyer.

Figure 5 is a side view of the item transport device 100A (100). The item transport device 100A includes a transport mechanism 110 that transports items 11, 12, 13 (10) in the form shown in Figures 1 and 2 or 3 and 4, positioning mechanisms 120F and 120R (120) that position items 12 and 13, and positioning mechanisms 130F and 130R (130) that position item 11.

The conveying mechanism 110 can convey the article 10 in the X direction along the substantially horizontal direction and in the direction opposite to the X direction. As the conveying mechanism 110, various conveyors such as a belt conveyor, a roller conveyor, and a chain conveyor can be adopted. The conveying mechanism 110 has a support part 110a that supports the article 10. The support part 110a differs depending on the type of the conveying mechanism 110. For example, when the conveying mechanism 110 is a belt conveyor, the support part 110a is a belt, and when the conveying mechanism 110 is a roller conveyor, the support part 110a is a roller. The conveying mechanism 110 conveys the article 10 supported by the support part 110a. Note that the conveying direction of the article by the conveying mechanism 110 is not limited to the substantially horizontal direction, and may be, for example, a direction inclined with respect to the substantially horizontal direction. The horizontal direction and the direction inclined with respect to the horizontal direction are examples of a lateral direction intersecting with the up-down direction.

Here, in this embodiment, a support surface Pn is defined that supports the article 10 by the conveying mechanism 110. The support surface Pn is a surface on which the article 10 is placed. The support surface Pn differs depending on the type of the conveying mechanism 110. For example, when the conveying mechanism 110 is a belt conveyor, the support surface Pn is the surface of the belt. Also, when the conveying mechanism 110 is a roller conveyor, the support surface Pn is the envelope surface (virtual surface) of the upper end of the roller. The support surface Pn approximately overlaps with the movement trajectory of the bottom surface (lower end) of the article 10.

The positioning mechanism 120 positions the item 12 in a horizontal direction intersecting with the vertical direction. As described above, in this embodiment, the item 12 is placed on the item 11, and the item 11 is wider than the item 12. For this reason, it is difficult for the positioning mechanism 120 to approach the item 12 from below the item 11. Therefore, in this embodiment, the positioning mechanism 120 is provided above the item 11 and the support portion 110a of the conveying mechanism 110, approaches the item 12 from above the item 11 and the support portion 110a, and performs a positioning operation for the item 12.

The item transport device 100A includes two positioning mechanisms 120F and 120R spaced apart in the X direction as the positioning mechanism 120. The positioning mechanisms 120F and 120R are each configured to be movable at least between positions Pi and Pa. Position Pi is a position spaced above the support surface Pn (support section 110a) of the transport mechanism 110, and is a retreat position that does not interfere with the item 10 transported by the transport mechanism 110 so as not to interfere with the transport of the item 10. Position Pi can also be referred to as an initial position or a standby position. On the other hand, position Pa is closer to the support surface Pn than position Pi, is in close proximity to the support surface Pn, and is a position that contacts and interferes with the item 12 to limit the movement of the item 10. Position Pa can also be referred to as an advance position or an operating position.

When positioned at position Pa, the positioning mechanism 120F comes into contact with the end 12a of the article 12 in the X direction, thereby restricting movement of the article 12 in the X direction on the support portion 110a, and thereby positions the article 12 at the position where it comes into contact with the positioning mechanism 120F. On the other hand, when positioned at position Pa, the positioning mechanism 120R comes into contact with the end 12b of the article 12 in the opposite direction in the X direction, thereby restricting movement of the article 12 in the opposite direction in the X direction on the support portion 110a, and thereby positions the article 12 at the position where it comes into contact with the positioning mechanism 120R.

Figure 6 is an enlarged side view of a portion of the positioning mechanism 120F located at position Pa. Note that in order to clearly show the gap g, the illustration of the item 11 is omitted in Figure 6. The item 11 (not shown in Figure 6) is located between the support surface Pn and the item 12. At least a portion of the support portion 110a moves in the X direction, thereby transporting the item 11 carrying the item 12 in the X direction. The positioning mechanism 120F contacts the item 12 on the item 11, thereby restricting the movement of the item 12 in the X direction. In the positioning mechanism 120F, the X direction is an example of a first direction.

The positioning mechanism 120F has a contact member 121 and a holding member 122. The holding member 122 holds the contact member 121 above the contact member 121, i.e., at a position farther away from the support portion 110a than the contact member 121. The contact member 121 extends downward from the holding member 122, i.e., so as to approach the support portion 110a.

The contact member 121 is supported by the holding member 122 in a cantilever manner. The upper end of the contact member 121 held by the holding member 122 is a fixed end, and the lower end 121a opposite the upper end is a free end. The lower end 121a can also be referred to as the tip.

In this embodiment, the contact member 121 has a brush-like structure in which a plurality of fine bristles or wires are bundled together. The bristles or wires are made of an elastic material such as a synthetic resin material. For this reason, the contact member 121 has flexibility and elastically bends when it comes into contact with the object 12 (not shown). Specifically, in the case of FIG. 6, the contact member 121 of the positioning mechanism 120F that limits the movement of the object 12 in the X direction is slightly curved in the X direction by the force in the X direction acting from the object 12. The specifications of the contact member 121 are appropriately set so that the contact member 121 can support the object 12 in contact with it in an elastically bent state when subjected to the force acting from the object 12, and can limit the movement of the object 12. The amount of bending of the contact member 121 is determined according to the specifications of the contact member 121 and the object 12, the mass of the object 12, the relative speed and acceleration between the contact member 121 and the object 12, and the like. The contact member 121 is an example of a first member.

A gap g is set between the lower end 121a and the support surface Pn. This gap g makes it possible to prevent the lower end 121a from interfering with the support part 110a moving in the X direction, and no energy loss occurs due to contact with the lower end 121a when the support part 110a moves in the X direction. In addition, the size δ of the gap g is set to be lower than the height h2 of the item 12 from the support surface Pn. This allows the contact member 121 to more reliably support the item 12.

Furthermore, the lower end 121a does not have to come into contact with the item 11. That is, a gap (not shown) may be provided between the lower end 121a and the item 11. By providing such a gap, it is possible to prevent the lower end 121a from interfering with the item 11 being transported in the X direction, and no energy loss is generated due to contact with the lower end 121a when the item 11 moves in the X direction.

However, the lower end 121a of the contact member 121 may contact the article 11 or may extend to a position that reaches the support surface Pn. In the latter case, the lower end 121a may contact the support portion 110a depending on the structure of the conveying mechanism 110. If the contact member 121 is made of a hard material that does not have flexibility, when the lower end 121a contacts the article 11 or the support portion 110a, there is a risk that the article 11 that is not positioned by the contact member 121 may be unintentionally positioned by the contact member 121, the operation of the support portion 110a may stop, or the conveying mechanism 110 may be damaged. In this regard, in this embodiment, the contact member 121 has flexibility, and when it contacts the article 11 or the support portion 110a, it is configured to bend elastically and release the article 11 or the support portion 110a in the moving direction. That is, in this embodiment, by appropriately setting the specifications of each part of the item transport device 100, including the contact member 121, even when the lower end 121a comes into contact with the item 11 or the support part 110a, it is configured to bend without affecting the restriction of the movement of the item 12 by the contact member 121 and without restricting the movement of the item 11 or the support part 110a in the X direction, that is, to bend elastically relatively easily.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the contact member 121 that limits the movement of the item 12 in the X direction extends in a direction inclined downward (Z direction) in the X direction. In this case, if the lower end 121a contacts the item 11 or the support part 110a as described above, the lower end 121a is likely to move away from the item 11 or the support part 110a as shown by arrow B in FIG. 6 due to the force received in the X direction from the contacted item 11 or the support part 110a. Therefore, in this case, the lower end 121a is less likely to resist the movement of the item 11 or the support part 110a. In this embodiment, the contact member 121 extends in a direction inclined downward in the X direction as a whole, but is not limited to this, and a portion close to the lower end 121a of the contact member 121 or a section including the lower end 121a may partially extend in a direction inclined downward in the X direction. That is, at least the lower portion of the contact member 121 needs to extend in a direction inclined toward the X direction relative to the downward direction (Z direction).

As shown in FIG. 5, the positioning mechanism 120R that limits the movement of the article in the opposite direction to the X direction has a mirror image relationship with the positioning mechanism 120F in the line of sight of FIG. 5, but has a basically similar structure to the positioning mechanism 120F. Therefore, the positioning mechanism 120R also has the same action and effect as the positioning mechanism 120F. As shown in FIG. 5, in the positioning mechanism 120R, the contact member 121 that limits the movement of the article 12 in the opposite direction to the X direction extends in a direction inclined downward (Z direction) in the opposite direction to the X direction, and the same action and effect as the positioning mechanism 120F can be obtained. In this positioning mechanism 120R, at least the lower part of the contact member 121 only needs to extend in a direction inclined downward (Z direction) in the opposite direction to the X direction. In the positioning mechanism 120R, the opposite direction to the X direction is an example of the first direction.

The holding member 122 of the positioning mechanism 120F can restrict movement of the article 13 in the X direction on the support portion 110a by contacting the article 13. The holding member 122 of the positioning mechanism 120R can restrict movement of the article 13 in the opposite direction to the X direction on the support portion 110a by contacting the article 13. The positioning of the article 13 by the holding member 122 will be described later. The holding member 122 is an example of a second member.

The positioning mechanism 130 positions the item 11 in the X direction. The item transport device 100A includes two positioning mechanisms 130F and 130R spaced apart in the X direction as the positioning mechanism 130. The positioning mechanisms 130F and 130R are each configured to be movable at least between position Pi and position Pa. Position Pi is a position spaced downward from the support surface Pn of the transport mechanism 110, and is a retreat position that does not interfere with the item 10 transported by the transport mechanism 110 so as not to interfere with the transport of the item 10. Position Pa is a position that protrudes upward from the support surface Pn, and is a position that interferes with the item 10 to limit the movement of the item 11. In this embodiment, the position Pi of the positioning mechanism 130 is set below the support surface Pn (support portion 110a), but is not limited to this, and may be set above the support surface Pn, similar to the positioning mechanism 120.

When positioned at position Pa, the positioning mechanism 130F comes into contact with the end 11a of the article 11 in the X direction, thereby restricting movement of the article 11 in the X direction on the support portion 110a, and thereby positions the article 11 at the position where it comes into contact with the positioning mechanism 130F. When positioned at position Pa, the positioning mechanism 130R comes into contact with the end 11b of the article 11 in the opposite direction in the X direction, thereby restricting movement of the article 11 in the opposite direction in the X direction on the support portion 110a, and thereby positions the article 11 at the position where it comes into contact with the positioning mechanism 130R.

Figure 7 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an item transport device 100. As shown in Figure 7, the item transport device 100 includes a sensor 201, a control device 200, and a drive mechanism 140 in addition to the transport mechanism 110.

The sensor 201 is a sensor that detects the presence or absence of the article 10 and the position of the article 10, and can be configured, for example, by an image sensor or a photoelectric sensor. The sensor 201 may also be configured to detect the misalignment of the articles 12 and 13 relative to the article 11. The drive mechanism 140 is a mechanism that moves the positions of the positioning mechanisms 120 and 130, and can be electrically operated in response to a control signal from the control device 200. The drive mechanism 140 has, for example, a motor as an actuator. Furthermore, the drive mechanism 140 may have a motion conversion mechanism, a reduction mechanism, etc. The drive mechanism 140 is provided corresponding to each of the positioning mechanisms 120F, 120R, 130F, and 130R.

The control device 200 is configured as a computer having, for example, a controller (circuit) such as a CPU, a main memory such as a RAM or ROM, and an auxiliary memory such as a HDD or SSD. The controller of the control device 200 executes each process according to the installed program. The controller determines whether positioning is necessary and determines the positioning process to be executed according to the detection signal of the sensor 201, and controls the drive mechanism 140 so that the positioning mechanisms 120, 130 execute the determined positioning process.

Figure 8 is a flow chart showing an example of the positioning process and conveying process by the item conveying device 100. In the example of Figure 8, the controller of the control device 200 first operates as a detection unit, and detects the direction and magnitude of deviation of item 12 or item 13 relative to item 11 for the item being conveyed by the conveying mechanism 110, i.e., the item being conveyed including item 11 and item 12 or item 13 placed on item 11, based on the detection signal of the sensor 201 (S1).

Next, the controller operates as a judgment unit and compares the magnitude of the deviation calculated in S1 with a threshold value to judge whether positioning is required, i.e., whether the positions of the items 12 and 13 need to be corrected (S2).

In S2, if the magnitude of the misalignment of the items 12, 13 is equal to or greater than the threshold, the determination unit determines that positioning is necessary (Yes in S3), and if the magnitude of the misalignment of the items 12, 13 is less than the threshold, the determination unit determines that positioning is not necessary (No in S3). Note that in S2 and S3, the threshold may be set for each of the items 12, 13, or may be set for each direction of misalignment.

If S3 is Yes, the controller operates as a drive control unit and controls the transport mechanism 110 and the drive mechanism 140 to correct the misalignment, i.e., to perform positioning (S4). S4 will be described later.

On the other hand, if S3 is No, and after the positioning control by S4 is completed, the controller operates as a transport control unit and transports the transported object to the subsequent stage (S5). Note that S5 is executed with the positioning mechanism 120 and the positioning mechanism 130 each positioned at position Pi.

Figures 9 to 11 are side views showing the change in position of items 11 and 12 during positioning processing, i.e., misalignment correction processing, when the misalignment in the X direction of item 12 relative to item 11 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

In S2 and S3 of FIG. 8, if the item 12 is shifted in the X direction relative to the item 11 by more than the threshold value, the controller of the control device 200 operates as a drive control unit and controls the drive mechanisms 140 of the positioning mechanisms 120F and 130F so that the positioning mechanisms 120F and 130F move from position Pi to position Pa, respectively, as shown in FIG. 9.

The controller also controls the transport mechanism 110 to move the item 11 in the X direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the contact member 121 of the positioning mechanism 120F comes into contact with the X-direction end 12a of the item 12, restricting the movement of the item 12 in the X direction. In this way, the item 12 is positioned at position Ps.

The controller then controls the conveying mechanism 110 so that the article 11 moves in the X direction. In this embodiment, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11, when the support portion 110a moves in the X direction, the contact member 121 restricts the movement of the article 12 in the X direction and allows the movement of the article 11 in the X direction. Thus, the article 11 moves in the X direction together with the support portion 110a. Note that in the operation of Figs. 10 and 11, the contact member 121 can be said to slide the article 12 relatively to the support portion 110a and the article 11, that is, to move the article 12 relatively. Also, in this operation, the contact member 121 can be said to allow the article 11 to slide relatively to the contact member 121, that is, to move relatively.

To obtain the operation shown in Figures 9 to 11, it is necessary that the upper surface 11c of the article 11 and the lower surface 12f of the article 12 placed on the upper surface 11c are slippery, the lower end 121a of the contact member 121 and the upper surface 11c of the article 11 facing the lower end 121a are not in contact with each other or are slippery, and the support part 110a and the lower surface 11d of the article 11 placed on the support part 110a are not slippery. For this reason, the specifications of the contact member 121 and the support part 110a are appropriately set according to the mass of the articles 11 and 12 and the properties of the upper surface 11c, the lower surface 11d, and the lower surface 12f.

The contact member 121 needs to have a suitable degree of elasticity. This elasticity is such that it does not bend too much and allows the item 12 to be held at position Ps even when pressed in the X direction by the item 12 with a force approximately equal to the frictional force between the upper surface 11c and the lower surface 12f.

In addition, with regard to the friction of each part, it is necessary to set the sum of the magnitude of the frictional force between the lower end 121a and the upper surface 11c and the magnitude of the frictional force between the lower surface 12f and the upper surface 11c to be smaller than the magnitude of the frictional force between the lower surface 11d and the support part 110a.

From the viewpoint of reducing the frictional force between the lower end 121a and the upper surface 11c, it is preferable that the lower end 121a is configured so as not to come into contact with the upper surface 11c. However, even if the lower end 121a and the upper surface 11c come into contact, the operation shown in Figures 9 to 11 can be realized by appropriately setting the specifications of each part. To further reduce the coefficient of friction of the lower end 121a, for example, the contact member 121 may be made of a material with a relatively small coefficient of friction, the lower end 121a may be formed into a spherical shape, or the lower end 121a may be covered with a coating to reduce friction.

From the viewpoint of increasing the frictional force between the lower surface 11d and the support portion 110a, it is preferable to set the friction coefficient of the support portion 110a to be larger. For this reason, the surface of the support portion 110a may be provided with an anti-slip member or coated with an anti-slip coating.

As shown in FIG. 11, the positioning mechanism 130F contacts the end 11a of the article 11 in the X direction, restricting the movement of the article 11 in the X direction. This positions the article 11 at position Ps.

9 to 11, first, the positioning mechanism 120F positions the item 12 at a predetermined position Ps in the item transport device 100, and then the positioning mechanism 130F positions the item 11 at a predetermined position Ps in the item transport device 100. As a result, the items 11 and 12 are positioned in the desired relative positional relationship. The operations in FIGS. 9 to 11 can be said to be corrections that lengthen the distance between the X-direction end 11a of the item 11 and the X-direction end 12a of the item 12. As described above, in this embodiment, such positioning of the items 11 and 12, i.e., correction of misalignment, requires the operation of the positioning mechanisms 120F and 130F as well as the operation of the transport mechanism 110 that moves the item 11 with the item 12 loaded thereon. In other words, the positioning mechanisms 120F and 130F and the transport mechanism 110 constitute a position adjustment device for the items 11 and 12.

Although not shown, if the deviation of item 12 from item 11 in the opposite X-direction is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, items 11 and 12 can be positioned in a desired relative positional relationship by transporting item 11 carrying item 12 in the opposite X-direction by transport mechanism 110 and positioning mechanisms 120R and 130R in the same manner as shown in Figures 9 to 11. In this case, positioning mechanisms 120R and 130R and transport mechanism 110 constitute a position adjustment device for items 11 and 12.

In this embodiment, the item transport device 100A is equipped with positioning mechanisms 120F, 130F that correct misalignment of item 12 relative to item 11 in the X direction, and positioning mechanisms 120R, 130R that correct misalignment of item 12 relative to item 11 in the opposite direction to the X direction, but this is not limited to this, and the item transport device 100 may be equipped with only one of these mechanisms, for example, only positioning mechanisms 120F, 130F, or only positioning mechanisms 120R, 130R.

Also, FIG. 12 is a side view of the case where the item 12 is not placed on the item 11 but is placed directly on the support portion 110a of the conveying mechanism 110. Even when the item 12 is conveyed alone in the X direction as in this case, the positioning mechanism 120F can restrict the movement of the item 12 in the X direction by contacting the item 12, and position the item 12. Even when the item 12 is conveyed alone in the opposite direction to the X direction (not shown), the positioning mechanism 120R can restrict the movement of the item 12 in the opposite direction to the X direction by contacting the item 12, and position the item 12. Such an operation can be used, for example, when a task such as attaching a label to a specified position on the item 12 is performed.

Figures 13 to 15 are side views showing the change in position of items 11 and 13 during a positioning process, i.e., a process to correct the misalignment, when the misalignment in the X direction of item 13 relative to item 11 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. Item 13 is positioned by the operation of transport mechanism 110 and positioning mechanism 120, similar to the case of item 12 shown in Figures 9 to 11.

14 and 15, in this embodiment, the holding member 122 of the positioning mechanism 120F contacts the end 13a of the article 13 (third article) in the X direction, thereby restricting the movement of the article 13 in the X direction on the support portion 110a, and thereby positioning the article 13 at the position Ps. This configuration has the advantages of being able to configure the article transport device 100A more compactly and reducing the effort and cost of manufacturing and maintenance, compared to a case in which a positioning mechanism for the article 13 is provided separately from the positioning mechanism 120. The second member does not need to be the entire holding member 122, and may be a part of the holding member 122. In other words, it is sufficient that at least a part of the holding member 122 restricts the movement of the article 13. Although not shown, the holding member 122 of the positioning mechanism 120R can restrict the movement of the article 13 in the opposite direction to the X direction. The holding member 122 is an example of a second member.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the item transport device 100A (100) includes a contact member 121 (first member) that restricts the movement of the item 12 (first item) on the support portion 110a of the transport mechanism 110, and the contact member 121 is flexible and configured to be elastically bendable upon contact with the support portion 110a or the items 11, 12. Therefore, even if the contact member 121 comes into contact with the support portion 110a or the item 11 while restricting the movement of the item 12, it can be configured not to interfere with the operation of the support portion 110a and not to restrict the movement of the support portion 110a or the item 11. In addition, by allowing a certain degree of (relatively light) contact between the contact member 121 and the support portion 110a and the article 11, it is not necessary to strictly manage the distance between the contact member 121 and the support portion 110a and the article 11, which has the advantage of reducing the effort and cost involved in manufacturing and maintaining the article transport device 100A.

The item transport device 100A equipped with such a contact member 121 is effective in cases where it is difficult for the contact member 121 to approach the item 12 from below, such as when, as in this embodiment, the item 12 is placed on top of the item 11 (second item) in the transported goods, or when the item 11 is wider than the item 12 in a plan view.

In addition, in this embodiment, the contact member 121 has a brush-like structure. With this configuration, it is relatively easy to realize a contact member 121 that can achieve the above-mentioned functions and effects by adjusting the specifications of the bristles or wires that make up the brush, and the brush specifications such as the length and number of the bristles or wires.

[Second embodiment]
FIG. 16 is a side view of a part of the item transport apparatus 100B (100) of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, in this embodiment, a contact member 123 that contacts the item 13 to limit the movement of the item 13 on the support portion 110a is attached to the holding member 122 and fixed to the holding member 122. According to this configuration, the contact member 123 can be provided using the holding member 122, so that the configuration of the item transport apparatus 100B can be simplified more than when a positioning mechanism having the contact member 123 is provided separately from the positioning mechanism 120F, for example, and thus the effort and cost of manufacturing and maintaining the item transport apparatus 100B can be reduced. In addition, according to this configuration, the contact member 121 and the contact member 123 can be set at any position in the X direction, so that the items 12 and 13 can be positioned at different positions Ps depending on their size, arrangement, etc. The contact member 123 is an example of a second member. Furthermore, in this case, the positions of the holding member 122 and the contact member 123 may be made changeable by providing an expansion mechanism having, for example, a male thread and a female thread that meshes with the male thread between the holding member 122 and the contact member 123. The expansion mechanism may also be referred to as a position variable mechanism.

[Third embodiment]
FIG. 17 is a side view of a part of the article transport apparatus 100C (100) of the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, the article transport apparatus 100C in this embodiment also includes a positioning mechanism 120F having a contact member 121 and a holding member 122 similar to those in the above embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the positioning mechanism 120F is configured to be movable in the vertical direction (Z direction and the opposite direction to the Z direction) and also in the horizontal direction (horizontal direction, X direction and the opposite direction to the X direction). The positioning mechanism 120F moves from position Pi to position Pa, which is separated from position Pp in the opposite direction to the X direction, via position Pp below position Pi, thereby moving the article 12 from a position that is more greatly shifted to the intended position Ps in the opposite direction to the X direction. When moving from position Pp to position Pa, the contact member 121 moves the article 12 relative to the support portion 110a and the article 11. In this embodiment, too, the article 12 can be positioned at the desired position Ps. In this case, too, the X direction is an example of the first direction. After the article 11 is positioned at the position Ps, the support portion 110a of the transport mechanism 110 may move in the X direction or may stop. Although not shown, the positioning mechanism 120R (see FIG. 5) also operates in the same manner as the positioning mechanism 120F of this embodiment, and moves the article 12 in the X direction by moving from a position Pp below the position Pi to a position Pa spaced apart in the X direction, thereby correcting the deviation of the article 12 in the opposite direction to the X direction relative to the article 11.

[Fourth embodiment]
FIG. 18 is a side view of a portion of the item transport apparatus 100D (100) of the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 18, in this embodiment, the item transport apparatus 100D includes, as the positioning mechanism 120, positioning mechanisms 120S1 and 120S2 that position the item 12 in the Y direction. The positioning mechanisms 120S1 and 120S2 are movable in the vertical direction and also in the horizontal direction, as in the third embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the positioning mechanisms 120S1 and 120S2 are movable in the Y direction and in the opposite direction to the Y direction. The contact member 121 of the positioning mechanism 120S1 contacts the end 12d of the item 12 in the opposite direction to the Y direction and presses the end 12d in the Y direction, thereby moving the item 12 in the Y direction on the support portion 110a and the item 11 to the position Ps. On the other hand, the contact member 121 of the positioning mechanism 120S2 comes into contact with the Y-direction end 12c of the article 12 and presses the end 12c in the opposite direction in the Y direction, thereby moving the article 12 in the opposite direction in the Y direction to a position Ps on the support portion 110a and the article 11. According to this embodiment, the article 12 can be positioned in the width direction relative to the support portion 110a and the article 11. Note that the article transport device 100D may include the positioning mechanisms 120F, 120R of the above embodiments that position the article 12 in the longitudinal direction, in addition to the positioning mechanisms 120S1, 120S2.

[Fifth embodiment]
FIG. 19 is a side view of a portion of the article transport device 100E (100) of the fifth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 19, in this embodiment, the contact member 121E of the positioning mechanism 120F (120) has a sheet-like structure, not a brush-like structure. The contact member 121E is, for example, a sheet or film of a predetermined thickness made of a flexible synthetic resin material. By adjusting the specifications such as thickness and length, the contact member 121E of this embodiment can also achieve the same action and effect as the contact member 121 having the brush-like structure of the above embodiment. The contact member 121E may include a plurality of sheet-like members. Also, in this embodiment, the contact member 121E extends in a direction inclined downward in the X direction (first direction). Therefore, in this embodiment, the lower end 121a is less likely to resist the movement of the article 11 or the support part 110a.

Although the above is an example of an embodiment of the present invention, the above embodiment is merely an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The above embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, combinations, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the specifications of each configuration, shape, etc. (structure, type, direction, model, size, length, width, thickness, height, number, arrangement, position, material, etc.) can be modified as appropriate.

10...Article 11...Article (second article)
11a, 11b...End portion 11c...Upper surface 11d...Lower surface 12...Article (first article)
12a, 12b, 12c, 12d...End portion 12e...Upper surface 12f...Lower surface 13...Article (third article)
13a... End portion 100, 100A to 100E... Item transport device 110... Transport mechanism (item position adjustment device)
110a...Support part (article position adjustment device)
120, 120F, 120R, 120S1, 120S2... Positioning mechanism (article position adjustment device)
121, 121E...contact member (first member)
121a...lower end (tip)
122...holding member (second member)
123: Contact member (second member)
130, 130F, 130R... Positioning mechanism 140... Driving mechanism 200... Control device 201... Sensor B... Direction g... Gap h2... Height Pi, Pp, Pa, Ps... Position Pn... Support surface X... Direction (first direction)
Y...direction Z...direction

Claims (12)

a conveying mechanism having a support portion for supporting an article and conveying the article in a lateral direction intersecting with a vertical direction;
a flexible first member that contacts a first article as the article and limits movement of the first article in the lateral direction on the support or moves the first article in the lateral direction relative to the support;
a holding member that holds the first member above the support portion;
Equipped with
the first member extends from the holding member toward the support portion and restricts movement of the first article in a first direction as the lateral direction or moves the first article relative to the support portion in a direction opposite to the first direction as the lateral direction;
An article transport apparatus, wherein at least a lower portion of the first member extends in a direction inclined downwardly toward the first direction . a conveying mechanism having a support portion for supporting an article and conveying the article in a lateral direction intersecting with a vertical direction;
a flexible first member that contacts a first article as the article and limits movement of the first article in the lateral direction on the support or moves the first article in the lateral direction relative to the support;
a holding member that holds the first member above the support portion;
a second member that contacts a third article, the third article being an article whose height from a support surface of the support portion is higher than that of the first article, and restricts the movement of the third article in the lateral direction on the support portion or moves the third article in the lateral direction relative to the support portion;
Equipped with
The first member extends from the holding member toward the support portion ,
An article transport apparatus , wherein the second member is at least a part of the holding member or is fixed to the holding member . The article transport apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the first member is elastically bendable upon contact with the article or the support portion. The article transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a lower end of the first member extends to a position where it reaches a support surface of the article by the support portion, or a gap is provided between the lower end and the support surface that is lower than the height of the first article from the support surface. An article transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first member has a brush-like structure. The article transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first member has a sheet-like structure. The item transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first member is configured to allow a second item, which is an item whose height from the support surface of the support portion is lower than that of the first item, to move in the lateral direction relative to the first member. The article transport device according to claim 7, wherein the first article is placed on the second article. The article transport device according to claim 8, wherein the second article is wider than the first article in a plan view. The article transport device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the lower end of the first member extends to a position where it contacts the second article, or a gap is provided between the lower end and the second article. a first flexible member that comes into contact with a first object on a support portion that supports the object in a conveying mechanism for conveying the object , and restricts movement of the first object in a lateral direction intersecting with a vertical direction, or moves the first object in the lateral direction relative to the support portion;
A holding member for holding the first member;
Equipped with
the first member extends from the retaining member and restricts movement of the first article in a first lateral direction or moves the first article relative to the support in a direction opposite the first lateral direction;
An article position adjustment device , wherein at least a lower portion of the first member extends in a direction inclined downwardly toward the first direction . a first flexible member that comes into contact with a first object on a support portion that supports the object in a conveying mechanism for conveying the object , and restricts movement of the first object in a lateral direction intersecting with a vertical direction, or moves the first object in the lateral direction relative to the support portion;
A holding member for holding the first member;
a second member that contacts a third article, the third article being an article whose height from a support surface of the support portion is higher than that of the first article, and restricts the movement of the third article in the lateral direction on the support portion or moves the third article in the lateral direction relative to the support portion;
Equipped with
The first member extends from the retaining member ,
The second member is at least a part of the holding member or is fixed to the holding member .

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