JP7650195B2 - Stowage equipment and stowage method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a loading device and a loading method for loading items.

Conventionally, a device for loading items onto an item loading section in which multiple items can be loaded is known, as described in, for example, Patent Document 1 below.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-59590

In the above-mentioned device, if the goods are not loaded in the appropriate loading position relative to the goods loading section, the loading condition of the goods will vary, and this variation in the loading condition of the goods may cause problems.

The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a stowage device and a stowage method that can stow goods in appropriate stowage positions in the goods stowage section.

The stowage device of the present invention is a stowage device that stows items on an item stowage section having a support part that supports from below a first end part located around the item on the lower side of the item stowage section on which multiple items are stowed, and a positioning guide that positions the first end part of the item within the item stowage section, and includes a hand device having a first support part that supports from below the first end part of the item and a second support part that supports from below a second end part that is located on a side different from the first end part of the item, a moving mechanism that moves the position of the hand device, and a moving mechanism that moves the hand device and the moving mechanism. and a control unit that controls the operation of the control unit, and when loading the goods on the goods stacking section, the control unit operates the moving mechanism to position the hand device so that the first end of the goods is located above the support part, and while maintaining the position of the second support part, moves the first support part toward the outside of the goods stacking section through the side of the positioning guide so that the first end of the goods falls from the first support part to the support part, and moves the second support part toward the outside of the goods stacking section so that the second end falls from the second support part to the goods stacking section.

According to the present invention, goods can be loaded at appropriate loading positions in the goods loading section.

1 is a plan view of a stowage device showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a hand device, an article supply section, and an article delivery device of the stacking device. FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the stowage device and the article delivery device. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a hand device of the stowage apparatus. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a stowage operation of the stowage device. 4A to 4C are side views showing the removal operation of goods from the goods supply section by the stacking device. 8A to 8C are side views showing the removal operation of goods from the goods supply section by the stowage device following FIG. 7. 5A and 5B are side views showing the stowage operation of the stowage device on the article stowage section. 10A and 10B are side views showing the stowage operation of the stowage device on the goods stowage section, continued from FIG. 9 . 11A and 11B are side views showing the stowage operation of the stowage device on the goods stowage section, continued from FIG. 10 . 12A and 12B are side views showing the stowage operation of the stowage device on the goods stowage section, following FIG. 11 . 13A and 13B are side views showing the operation of stowing the next goods to the goods stowage section after goods have been stowed by the stowage device, following FIG. 12 . 5A to 5F are explanatory diagrams showing the article pick-up operation by the hand device of the stowage device.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The stowage device 10 is shown in Figures 1 to 3. The stowage device 10 removes items 11 from an item supply section 12 and stows the removed items 11 onto an item delivery device 13.

The goods 11 are, for example, semi-finished bags whose bottoms have not yet been closed, and are folded flat into a rectangular sheet. The goods 11 are arranged in untied bundles of a predetermined number of goods stacked on top of each other in the goods supply section 12, and are removed in this bundle state by the stowage device 10 from the goods supply section 12 and stowed on the goods delivery device 13. The stowage device 10 operates by acquiring information such as the dimensions of the goods 11 to be stowed.

The item supply section 12 also places the bundle of items 11 at a predetermined supply position, making it possible for the stacking device 10 to take it out. The item supply section 12 is equipped with a conveyor body 17 having a plurality of rollers 16 for transporting the bundle of items 11, and a lifting device 19 in which a plurality of push-up plates 18 move up and down between the rollers 16. The bundle of items 11 is transferred to the item supply section 12 by a separate transfer device, or is brought in by a separate transport device. The item supply section 12 then transports the bundle of items 11 below the supply position by the conveyor body 17, and pushes up and places the bundle of items 11 on the rollers 16 at the supply position by the lifting of the plurality of push-up plates 18. Note that the item supply section 12 may be in a state in which multiple bundles of items 11 are loaded on each bundle.

The item delivery device 13 is a rotary feeder device used, for example, in a bottomer that makes bags, and delivers items 11, which are semi-finished bags, one by one into the bottomer. The item delivery device 13 includes a housing 22, a rotary feeder 23 rotatably provided within the housing 22, and an item stacking section 24 provided on the rotary feeder 23.

The rotary feeder 23 rotates to sequentially remove stacked items 11 located in the item stacking section 24 one by one from the bottom side and send them to the bottomer.

The goods stacking section 24 is open in the vertical direction, and the peripheral surface of the rotary feeder 23 is disposed on the bottom side. The goods stacking section 24 is provided to correspond to the range of the peripheral surface of the rotary feeder 23, which extends from near the top to near the top in the counter-rotation direction, which is a position lower than the near top.

The upstream side of the goods stacking section 24 in the rotation direction of the rotary feeder 23 (the side opposite the rotation direction) is set as the reference side for positioning the goods 11, and a positioning guide 25 is provided diagonally toward the rotary feeder 23 on the reference side within this goods stacking section 24. The positioning guide 25 has multiple guide pieces 25b arranged at predetermined intervals in the width direction along the rotation axis of the rotary feeder 23, and is provided in a comb-like shape. Support portions 25a protrude from the lower side of the multiple positioning guides 25, on which the edges of the goods 11 moving downward along the multiple positioning guides 25 rest.

On the opposite side of the reference side where the positioning guide 25 of the goods stacking section 24 is arranged, a pair of width guides 26 are supported by rods 27 attached to the housing 22 so as to be movable in the width direction. The pair of width guides 26 are used to position the goods 11 in the width direction when stacking them on the goods stacking section 24. The position of the pair of width guides 26 can be changed manually, and the spacing can be adjusted to match the shape of the goods 11. It is also possible not to use the pair of width guides 26 when using the stacking device 10, so they may be retracted to a position moved outward in the width direction. The goods 11 are stacked on the goods stacking section 24 with their longitudinal direction aligned with the axial direction along the rotation axis of the rotary feeder 23. In other words, one long side of the goods 11 is stacked along the positioning guide 25.

The stowage device 10 also includes a hand device 30 that grasps the item 11 and a movement mechanism 31 that moves the position of the hand device 30.

As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the hand device 30 includes a base 33 attached to a moving mechanism 31, a pair of moving bodies, a first arm 34a and a second arm 34b, which move open and closed relative to each other, a first pressing portion 35a and a second pressing portion 35b that press the item 11 between the arms 34a and 34b, and a sensor portion 36 that measures the distance to a measured object such as the item 11.

The base 33 is formed in a rectangular frame shape, with the first arm 34a and the first pressing portion 35a arranged on one side in the longitudinal direction, and the second arm 34b and the second pressing portion 35b arranged on the other side in the longitudinal direction.

The first arm 34a and the second arm 34b are supported by a first opening/closing cylinder 37a and a second opening/closing cylinder 37b attached to the underside of the base 33, respectively, so that they can move independently in the direction of opening and closing in the direction along the underside of the base 33. A plurality of first palm portions 38a and a plurality of second palm portions 38b are formed in a comb-like shape on the lower side of the first arm 34a and the second arm 34b, respectively. The lower ends of the first palm portion 38a and the second palm portion 38b are provided with a first hook portion 39a and a second hook portion 39b, which are protruding toward the opposing surfaces of the first arm 34a and the second arm 34b, and which are the first support portion that supports the underside of the article 11. The spacing between the comb-tooth-shaped palms 38a, 38b of the arms 34a, 34b is set so that they can be positioned so as not to interfere with the comb-tooth-shaped positioning guide 25 when goods 11 are stowed in the goods stowage section 24. Note that, as long as at least the first arm 34a on one side, which is positioned on the positioning guide 25 side when goods are stowed, is set in a comb-tooth shape, the second arm 34b on the other side does not have to be comb-tooth-shaped.

The first and second pressing parts 35a and 35b are supported by a first pressing cylinder 40a and a second pressing cylinder 40b, respectively, attached to the underside of the base 33, so that they can move up and down, which is a direction perpendicular to the underside of the base 33. When lowered, each pressing part 35a, 35b presses down the upper side of the article 11 positioned between each hook part 39a, 39b of each arm 34a, 34b, and grips the article 11 between each hook part 39a, 39b.

Therefore, the hook portions 39a, 39b and the pressing portions 35a, 35b of the arms 34a, 34b are configured as a holding portion that holds the article 11. The hand device 30 has a first holding portion 41a including the first hook portion 39a and the first pressing portion 35a of the first arm 34a on one side, which holds the first end 11a located around the article 11, and a second holding portion 41b including the second hook portion 39b and the second pressing portion 35b of the second arm 34b on the other side, which holds the second end 11b located on a side different from the first end 11a of the article 11. The first end 11a and the second end 11b of the article 11 are the long sides facing each other of the rectangular article 11. In the embodiment of the present invention, a configuration has been described in which the hand device 30 holds the first end 11a and the second end 11b of the article 11 by gripping them. However, since the holding state includes both a gripping and a supporting state, a structure in which only one end of the article 11 is gripped may be adopted depending on the type of the article 11, the operating speed of the moving mechanism 31, etc.

The sensor unit 36 is attached to one side of the base 33 in the short direction that intersects with the direction in which the arms 34a, 34b on both sides face each other. The sensor unit 36 is attached at a position that allows confirmation of the grip of the item 11 gripped between the arms 34a, 34b on both sides. The sensor unit 36 projects sensor light downward, which is perpendicular to the bottom surface of the base 33, and receives the reflected light to measure the distance to the measured object, such as the item 11. Note that the sensor unit 36 may be any type capable of measuring the distance to the measured object, and may be, for example, a laser-type or TOF-type sensor.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the moving mechanism 31 is an articulated robot, and includes a base 43 and a robot arm 44 rotatably mounted on the base 43. The robot arm 44 has multiple rotatable axes, allowing the tip to be moved to any position. A rotation axis 45 is disposed at the tip of the robot arm 44, and the base 33 of the hand device 30 is attached to the lower end of this rotation axis 45. Note that the moving mechanism 31 is not limited to an articulated robot, and may be, for example, an orthogonal moving mechanism configured with three orthogonal slide axes.

Next, FIG. 5 shows the control unit 50 that controls the stowage device 10.

The control unit 50 acquires the measurement information measured by the sensor unit 36 and controls the stacking operation of the bundle of items 11 (hereinafter simply referred to as items 11) by the hand device 30 and the robot arm 44.

The control unit 50 includes a stacking height calculation unit 51, a stacking operation plan generation unit 52, and a robot controller 53.

The stacking height determination unit 51 determines the stacking height of the hand device 30 that will next stack the item 11, based on the top surface height of the stacked item 11, which changes as the hand device 30 moves from the item stacking section 24 to the item supply section 12 to grasp the item 11 and move the grasped item 11 to the item stacking section 24, as the item 11 is sequentially sent out one by one from the item stacking section 24.

In other words, the stacking height determination unit 51 determines the stacking height of the hand device 30 that will stack the next item 11 based on the top surface height of the stacked items 11 measured by the sensor unit 36, the stacking interval time from when the hand device 30 moves from the item stacking section 24 to the item supply section 12 and grips the item 11 while moving to the item stacking section 24, the sending operation capacity of the item sending device 13 that sends out the items 11 one by one from the item stacking section 24, and the height dimension of one item 11 in the stacking position.

The stacking height indexing unit 51 indexes the stacking height of the hand device 30 for stacking the next item 11 by moving the hand device 30 to a predetermined measurement position shown in FIG. 2, for example, and measuring with the sensor unit 36 before starting the stacking operation of the first item 11 or the next item 11. At this time, if no items 11 have been stacked in the item stacking section 24 because the stacking operation of the items 11 is about to start, the distance measured by the sensor unit 36 will be longer than when the items 11 have been stacked in the item stacking section 24, so it is determined that no items 11 have been stacked in the item stacking section 24, and the stacking height for directly stacking the items 11 on the rotary feeder 23 on the bottom surface of the item stacking section 24 is indexed. In this case, a specified value for the stacking height when no items 11 are present may be stored in advance in the memory unit of the control unit 50, and the stacking height may be indexed by reading out the specified value.

For example, the measurement position of the hand device 30 shown in FIG. 2 may be set as the initial position of the measurement operation, and the stacking height may be calculated as described above from the height position of the hand device 30 when the hand device 30 descends from this initial position and the distance measured by the sensor unit 36 reaches a predetermined distance. At this time, if no goods 11 are loaded on the goods loading section 24 to start the loading operation of the goods 11, even if the hand device 30 descends to a predetermined height position lower than when the goods 11 are loaded on the goods loading section 24, if the distance measured by the sensor unit 36 does not reach the predetermined distance, it is determined that no goods 11 have been loaded on the goods loading section 24, and the stacking height for directly stacking the goods 11 on the rotary feeder 23 at the bottom of the goods loading section 24 is calculated.

The stowage operation plan generating unit 52 generates a stowage operation plan for operating the hand device 30 and the moving mechanism 31 so that the hand device 30 stows the goods 11 taken out from the goods supplying unit 12 in the goods stowage unit 24 based on the stowage height determined by the stowage height determining unit 51. Note that a default cargo picking operation is set for the removal of the goods 11 from the goods supplying unit 12.

The robot controller 53 controls the operation of the hand device 30 and the robot arm 44 according to the stowage operation plan generated by the stowage operation plan generation unit 52.

Next, the stowage operation of the stowage device 10 will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 6 and the operation diagrams in Figures 7 to 14.

First, we will explain the case where no goods 11 have been loaded onto the goods loading section 24 of the goods delivery device 13, as we are about to start the loading operation of goods 11.

It is determined whether item 11 has been supplied to item supply unit 12 (step S1).

If there are articles 11 in the article supply section 12 (YES in step S1), the sensor unit 36 of the hand device 30, which has been moved to a predetermined measurement position shown in FIG. 2, measures the height of the articles 11 stacked in the article stacking section 24 on the rotary feeder 23 (step S2).

The stacking height of the hand device 30 for stacking the next item 11 is calculated from the height information measured by the sensor unit 36 (step S3). When no items 11 have been stacked in the item stacking section 24 in order to start the stacking operation of the items 11, a measurement value is acquired in which the distance measured by the sensor unit 36 is longer than when items 11 have been stacked in the item stacking section 24, and it is determined that the item stacking section 24 is empty and no items 11 have been stacked, and the stacking height for directly stacking the items 11 on the rotary feeder 23 at the bottom of the item stacking section 24 is calculated. In this case, the stacking height may be calculated by reading out a specified value stored in the memory unit of the control unit 50, as described above.

Once the loading height is determined, a loading operation plan is created based on that loading height (step S4).

Then, a loading operation is performed in which the item 11 is removed from a specified item supply section 12 (step S5). In the loading operation, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the hand device 30 moves to above the supply position of the item supply section 12. At this time, the hand device 30 is in a state in which the arms 34a, 34b on both sides are moved so as to open from each other, and the holding sections 35a, 35b are moved upward. In addition, the sensor section 36 confirms the presence of the item 11 placed at the supply position of the item supply section 12.

As shown in FIG. 7(b), the hand device 30 is lowered, and the arms 34a, 34b on both sides are positioned on either side of the article 11, and the hook portions 39a, 39b of the arms 34a, 34b on both sides are positioned slightly below the article 11.

As shown in FIG. 7(c), the arms 34a, 34b on both sides of the hand device 30 move toward each other to sandwich the article 11 from both sides, and the hook portions 39a, 39b of the arms 34a, 34b on both sides are positioned below the article 11. Furthermore, the hand device 30 is slightly raised, and the hook portions 39a, 39b of the arms 34a, 34b on both sides come into contact with the underside of the article 11.

As shown in FIG. 8(a), the holding portions 35a, 35b on both sides of the hand device 30 are lowered to hold both sides of the article 11 between the holding portions 35a, 35b on both sides and the hook portions 39a, 39b of the arms 34a, 34b on both sides. That is, the hand device 30 holds the first end portion 11a of the article 11 with the first holding portion 41a formed by the first hook portion 39a and the first holding portion 35a of the first arm 34a on one side, and holds the second end portion 11b of the article 11 with the second holding portion 41b formed by the second hook portion 39b and the second holding portion 35b of the second arm 34b on the other side.

As shown in FIG. 8(b), the hand device 30 is moved upward, and the item 11 is taken out from the item supply unit 12. The sensor unit 36 may confirm the item 11 grasped by the hand device 30.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 8(c), when the first arm 34a and the first holding portion 35a on at least one side are configured to be movable integrally with the base 33 of the hand device 30 in a direction toward and away from the second arm 34b and the second holding portion 35b on the other side, the distance between the arms 34a, 34b on both sides may be narrower than the width of the article 11, and the article 11 may be forcibly curved to increase the rigidity of the article 11 when it is being grasped, and prevent the article 11 from shifting position or falling off during the movement of the hand device 30.

After the cargo-picking operation is performed, a loading operation plan is executed to load the item 11 held by the hand device 30 to the desired height in the item loading section 24 (step S6).

As shown in FIG. 9(a), the hand device 30 is moved onto the item delivery device 13.

As shown in FIG. 9(b), the hand device 30 is tilted at a predetermined angle corresponding to the loading posture on the cargo loading section 24.

As shown in FIG. 10(a), the hand device 30 is lowered obliquely into the goods stacking section 24 and moved to the determined target stacking height so that the first end 11a of the goods 11 is positioned inside the positioning guide 25 of the goods stacking section 24 and above the support section 25a. Note that when the goods 11 are stacked directly on the rotary feeder 23, the rotary feeder 23 is stopped.

The tilting movement of the hand device 30 in FIG. 9(b) and the downward movement in FIG. 10(a) can be performed simultaneously, improving operational efficiency and shortening stowage time.

As shown in FIG. 10(b), the first pressing portion 35a corresponding to the positioning guide 25 side is raised, and the grip of the first end portion 11a of the article 11 by the first holding portion 41a is released.

As shown in FIG. 11(a), when the first arm 34a corresponding to the positioning guide 25 moves to open while maintaining the gripping state and position of the second holding portion 41b, the comb-tooth-shaped first palm portion 38a of the first arm 34a passes by the side of the comb-tooth-shaped positioning guide 25 so as to pass by it, and moves to the outside of the goods stacking section 24, and the first hook portion 39a of the first arm 34a is released from the first end 11a of the goods 11. The first end 11a of the goods 11 that has been released from the first hook portion 39a falls and is supported on the support portion 25a of the positioning guide 25. In this state, the first hook portion 39a of the first arm 34a retreats from above the support portion 25a and is positioned to the side or outside of the positioning guide 25.

The lifting of the first holding portion 35a in FIG. 10(b) and the movement of the first arm 34a in FIG. 11(a) can be performed simultaneously, improving operational efficiency and shortening stowage time.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11(a), while maintaining the gripping state of the second holding portion 41b, the hand device 30 is moved slightly along the inclination of the hand device 30 in the inclined leftward direction, which is the direction of the positioning guide 25; in other words, the second holding portion 41b is moved in a direction approaching the positioning guide 25, and the first end portion 11a of the article 11 is pressed against the positioning guide 25 to be positioned.

As shown in FIG. 11(b), the second pressing portion 35b rises and the second holding portion 41b releases its grip on the item 11.

Note that, before the operation in FIG. 11(a), the second pressing portion 35b may be raised to release the grip of the article 11 by the second holding portion 41b, in which case the operation in FIG. 11(b) is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 12(a), the hand device 30 is moved slightly along the inclination of the hand device 30 in the inclined state to the right, which is the opposite direction to the positioning guide 25, and the second hook portion 39b of the second arm 34b is disengaged from the second end portion 11b of the item 11. The second end portion 11b of the item 11 that has disengaged from the second hook portion 39b falls and is placed on the rotary feeder 23. In this manner, the item 11 is stacked on the item stacking section 24.

In addition, instead of moving the entire hand device 30, the item 11 may be removed from the second hook portion 39b of the second arm 34b by moving the second arm 34b away from the item stacking section 24 by moving the second arm 34b in a direction away from the positioning guide 25.

As shown in FIG. 12(b), the hand device 30 is moved upward at an angle so as to retreat from the item stacking section 24. Furthermore, the first arm 34a, which is open, is closed.

Then, as the rotary feeder 23 rotates, the items 11 located at the bottom of the item stacking section 24 are fed out one by one.

As shown in FIG. 13(a), the hand device 30 is returned from the inclined state to the horizontal state, and if the next item 11 is to be loaded (YES in step S7), the process returns to step 1 and the hand device 30 is moved to the measurement position.

When the next item 11 is supplied to the item supply section 12 in step 1, height measurement is performed by the sensor unit 36 of the hand device 30 in step 2. In the height measurement by the sensor unit 36 at this time, the top surface height of the item 11 already loaded in the item loading section 24 is measured. Therefore, in step 3, the loading height of the hand device 30 that will load the next item 11 is calculated based on the top surface height of the item 11 already loaded.

Then, through the same operational steps as those in Figures 7 to 9, as shown in Figure 13(b), the hand device 30 holding the next item 11 to be loaded next moves into the item loading section 24 and is moved to the determined target loading height, i.e., the loading height corresponding to the top surface height of the items 11 already loaded, as shown in Figure 13(b). Thereafter, the loading operation of the next item 11 is performed through the same operational steps as those in Figures 10(b) to 12. At this time, the operation of feeding the item 11 by the rotation of the rotary feeder 23 continues.

When the loading of goods 11 into the goods loading section 24 by the loading device 10 progresses and it is confirmed from the top surface height of the loaded goods 11 measured by the sensor unit 36 that the amount of loaded goods 11 in the goods loading section 24 has increased, the loading operation by the loading device 10 may be temporarily stopped or the loading speed may be temporarily slowed down to maintain the amount of loaded goods 11 in the goods loading section 24 at an appropriate level, and when it is determined from the top surface height of the loaded goods 11 measured by the sensor unit 36 that the amount of loaded goods 11 in the goods loading section 24 has decreased, the loading operation by the loading device 10 may be resumed or the loading speed may be returned to normal.

In addition, during the unloading operation in which the hand device 30 removes the item 11 from the item supply section 12, the hand device 30 may be controlled so that the longitudinal center C1 of the item 11 coincides with the center C2 of the hand device 30. Since the stowage device 10 has acquired information on the longitudinal dimension L (see FIG. 14(a)) of the item 11 to be stowed, the stowage device 10 calculates the distance a (L/2) from the longitudinal end of the item 11 to the center C1 based on the longitudinal dimension L of the item 11.

As shown in Figures 14(a) and 14(b), when picking up an item 11 supplied to the item supply section 12 by the hand device 30, the hand device 30 descends to the picking height with the measurement position of the sensor section 36 at a position outside the longitudinal direction of the item 11, and then the hand device 30 moves horizontally in a direction such that the center C2 of the hand device 30 coincides with the center C1 of the item 11.

As shown in Figures 14(c) and (d), when the hand device 30 is moving horizontally, the sensor light of the sensor unit 36 reaches the longitudinal end of the article 11, and the sensor unit 36 detects the longitudinal end of the article 11.

As shown in Figures 14(e) and (f), after the sensor unit 36 detects the longitudinal end of the article 11, the hand device 30 moves a distance c, which is the distance a (L/2) minus the predetermined offset distance b between the sensor unit 36 and the center C2 of the hand device 30, and stops at that position, so that the longitudinal center C1 of the article 11 and the center C2 of the hand device 30 coincide.

In this way, when the item 11 grasped by the hand device 30 is loaded onto the item loading section 24, the longitudinal position of the item 11 can be loaded at a fixed position on the item loading section 24, and the posture of the item 11 sent out from the item loading section 24 by the item delivery device 13 can be kept constant.

In the stowage device 10 of this embodiment, when loading the goods 11 onto the goods loading section 24, the hand device 30 is positioned so that the first end 11a of the goods 11 is positioned above the support portion 25a, and while maintaining the position of the second holding portion 41b, the first hook portion 39a is moved toward the outside of the goods loading section 24 through the side of the positioning guide 25 so that the first end 11a of the goods 11 falls from the first hook portion 39a onto the support portion 25a, and the second hook portion 39b is moved toward the outside of the goods loading section 24 so that the second end 11b falls from the second hook portion 39b onto the goods loading section 24. This allows the goods 11 to be loaded into an appropriate stowage position relative to the goods loading section 24.

In addition, when loading the goods 11 onto the goods loading section 24, the hand device 30 is moved to a position where the first end 11a of the goods 11 faces the positioning guide 25, and then, while maintaining the position of the second holding section 41b, the first hook section 39a is moved toward the outside of the goods loading section 24 through the side of the positioning guide 25 so that the first end 11a of the goods 11 falls from the first hook section 39a. Furthermore, the second holding section 41b is moved in a direction approaching the positioning guide 25 so that the first end 11a of the goods 11 is pressed against the positioning guide 25, and then the second hook section 39b is moved toward the outside of the goods loading section 24 so that the second end 11b falls onto the goods loading section 24. This allows the goods 11 to be loaded into an appropriate loading position relative to the goods loading section 24.

In addition, by releasing the second pressing portion 35b from pressing the item 11 before the first end 11a of the item 11 is pressed against the positioning guide 25, or after the first end 11a of the item 11 is pressed against the positioning guide 25 and before the second end 11b is dropped from the second hook portion 39b onto the item stowage section 24, the item 11 can be loaded in an appropriate loading position relative to the item stowage section 24.

In this way, the goods 11 can be loaded at an appropriate loading position in the goods loading section 24, so that the delivery posture of the goods 11 sent out from the goods loading section 24 by the goods delivery device 13 can be kept constant.

Furthermore, when the first end 11a of the article 11 is dropped from the first hook portion 39a, the first hook portion 39a moves toward the outside of the article stacking section 24 through the gap between the guide pieces 25b of the positioning guide 25, so that the first end 11a of the article 11 can be dropped from the first hook portion 39a.

In addition, the stacking height of the hand device 30 that will stack the next item 11 is calculated based on the top surface height of the loaded items 11 measured by the sensor unit 36, which changes as the top surface height of the loaded items 11 changes as the items 11 are sequentially sent out one by one from the item stacking section 24 while the hand device 30 moves from the item stacking section 24 to the item supply section 12 and grasps the items 11 and moves to the item stacking section 24. Therefore, even if the top surface height of the loaded items 11 changes, the relationship between the top surface height of the loaded items 11 and the stacking height at which the next item 11 is stacked remains constant, and the next item 11 can be stacked at an appropriate stacking position in the item stacking section 24. In this respect, it is possible to keep the sending posture of the items 11 sent out from the item stacking section 24 by the item sending device 13 constant.

Furthermore, the stacking height of the hand device 30 that will stack the next item 11 can be accurately calculated based on the top surface height of the loaded items 11 measured by the sensor unit 36, the stacking interval time from when the hand device 30 moves from the item stacking section 24 to the item supply section 12 and grasps the item 11 while moving to the item stacking section 24, the sending operation capacity of the item sending device 13 that sends out the items 11 one by one from the item stacking section 24, and the height dimension of the item 11, according to the top surface height of the loaded items 11 that changes so as to descend as the items 11 are sent out one by one from the item stacking section 24.

In addition, since the sensor unit 36 is provided on the hand device 30, one sensor unit 36 can be used both to confirm the grip of the item 11 gripped by the hand device 30 and to measure the top surface height of the item 11 that has been loaded in the item loading section 24, simplifying the configuration.

The sensor unit 36 that measures the top surface height of the loaded goods 11 in the goods loading section 24 may be disposed above the goods delivery device 13 instead of the hand device 30. Even in this case, the loading height of the hand device 30 can be calculated from the top surface height of the loaded goods 11 measured by the sensor unit 36, and the next goods 11 can be loaded.

The above describes the embodiment of the present invention and its modified examples, but various combinations of configurations, partial omissions, substitutions, and modifications are also possible.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Stacking device 11 Article 11a First end 11b Second end 12 Article supply section 13 Article delivery device 24 Article stacking section 25 Positioning guide 25a Support section 25b Guide piece 30 Hand device 31 Moving mechanism 35b Second holding section 36 Sensor section 39a First hook section as first support section 39b Second hook section as second support section 41a First holding section 41b Second holding section 50 Control section 51 Stacking height indexing section

Claims (9)

A stowage device for stowage of a plurality of articles in an article stowage section, the stowage section having a support section for supporting from below a first end portion located around the article on a lower side of the article stowage section, and a positioning guide for positioning the first end portion of the article within the article stowage section, comprising:
a hand device including a first support portion that supports the first end portion of the article from below, and a second support portion that supports a second end portion of the article located on a side different from the first end portion, from below;
a moving mechanism for moving the position of the hand device;
a control unit for controlling operations of the hand device and the moving mechanism,
The control unit is
When loading the goods into the goods loading section,
by operating the moving mechanism, the hand device is positioned so that the first end of the article is located above the support portion;
While maintaining the position of the second support portion, the first support portion is moved toward the outside of the article stacking portion through a side of the positioning guide so that the first end of the article falls from the first support portion to the support portion;
the second support portion is moved toward an outside of the goods stowage section so that the second end portion falls from the second support portion onto the goods stowage section. 1. A stowage device for stowing a plurality of articles in an article stowage section, the article stowage section having a positioning guide for positioning a first end portion located around the article in the article stowage section,
a hand device including a first support portion that supports the first end portion of the article from below, and a second support portion that supports a second end portion of the article located on a side different from the first end portion, from below;
a moving mechanism for moving the position of the hand device;
a control unit for controlling operations of the hand device and the moving mechanism,
The control unit is
When loading the goods into the goods loading section,
by operating the moving mechanism, the hand device is moved to a position where the first end of the article faces the positioning guide;
While maintaining the position of the second support portion, the first support portion is moved toward the outside of the article stacking section through a side of the positioning guide so that the first end of the article falls from the first support portion;
moving the second support portion in a direction approaching the positioning guide so as to press the first end of the article against the positioning guide;
the second support portion is moved toward an outside of the goods stowage section so that the second end portion falls from the second support portion onto the goods stowage section. the hand device further includes a second pressing portion that presses an upper surface side of the article and grips the article between the second support portion and the second pressing portion,
The stowage device according to claim 2, characterized in that the control unit releases the second holding unit from pressing the item against the positioning guide before the first end of the item is pressed against the positioning guide, or after the first end of the item is pressed against the positioning guide and before the second end is dropped from the second support unit onto the item stowage unit. The positioning guide has a plurality of guide pieces arranged at intervals,
4. The stowage device according to claim 1, wherein when the first end of the item is dropped from the first support portion, the first support portion moves toward the outside of the item stowage section through the gap between the guide pieces. A loading device that loads the items located in an item supply section onto the item loading section of an item delivery device that performs a delivery operation of sequentially delivering the items from the item loading section,
a sensor unit for measuring a top surface height of the article that has been loaded on the article loading section by the hand device,
The control unit is
a stowage height indexing unit that indexes a stowage height of the hand device that stows the articles in accordance with a change in the upper surface height of the stowed articles as the articles are sequentially sent out from the article stowage section during a period from when the hand device moves from the article stowage section to the article supply section and when the hand device moves to the article stowage section while supporting the articles, based on the upper surface height of the stowed articles measured by the sensor unit,
The stowage device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the hand device, which supports the item and moves to the item stowage section, is moved to a stowage height determined by the stowage height determination section, and the hand device and the moving mechanism are operated so that the item supported by the hand device is stowed on top of the item already stowed in the item stowage section. The stacking height indexing unit is
The height of the top surface of the loaded goods measured by the sensor unit; and
a stowage interval time until the hand device moves from the article stowage section to the article supply section and supports the article while moving to the article stowage section;
a sending operation capacity of the article sending device for sequentially sending out the articles from the article stacking section;
From the height dimension of the article,
The stowage device according to claim 5, characterized in that the stacking height of the hand device that stacks the articles is calculated according to the upper surface height of the stacked articles that changes as the articles are sequentially sent out from the article stacking section . A stowage method for stowage of a plurality of articles using a hand device having a first holding part for holding the first end of the article and a second holding part for holding a second end of the article located on a side different from the first end, and a movement mechanism for moving a position of the hand device, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a support part for supporting from below a first end part of the article located around the article on a lower side of the article stowage section on which the articles are stowed, the support part having a positioning guide for positioning the first end part of the article within the article stowage section;
When loading the goods into the goods loading section,
operating the moving mechanism to position the hand device so that the first end of the article is located above the support portion;
a step of moving at least a portion of the first holding portion toward an outside of the article stacking section through a side of the positioning guide so that the first end of the article falls from the first holding portion to the support portion while maintaining a position of the second holding portion;
moving the second holding portion toward an outside of the cargo stacking portion so that the second end portion falls from the second holding portion to the cargo stacking portion;
A stowage method comprising: A stowage method for stowage of a plurality of articles using a hand device having a first holding part for holding the first end of the article and a second holding part for holding a second end of the article located on a side different from the first end, and a movement mechanism for moving a position of the hand device, the method comprising:
When loading the goods into the goods loading section,
operating the moving mechanism to move the hand device to a position where the first end of the article faces the positioning guide;
a step of moving at least a portion of the first holding portion toward an outside of the article stacking section, passing through a side of the positioning guide, while maintaining a position of the second holding portion, so that the first end of the article falls from the first holding portion;
moving the second holding portion in a direction approaching the positioning guide so as to press the first end of the article against the positioning guide;
moving the second holding portion toward an outside of the cargo stacking portion so that the second end portion falls from the second holding portion onto the cargo stacking portion;
A stowage method comprising: The second holding portion includes a second support portion that supports the article from below, and a second pressing portion that presses an upper surface side of the article and grips the article between the second support portion and the second pressing portion,
The stowage method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of releasing the holding state of the article by the second holding portion before the first end of the article is pressed against the positioning guide, or a step of releasing the holding state of the article by the second holding portion after the first end of the article is pressed against the positioning guide and before the second end is dropped from the second support portion to the article stowage portion .

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