JPS5823303B2 - Teiryou Kirida Shiratsuku - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides for the
The present invention relates to a fixed quantity cutting rack that allows a predetermined quantity of products to be delivered from within the rack in accordance with an order from a store or the like by sequentially dropping the products onto a conveyor placed at the lowest stage of the rack.

In particular, the present invention provides drive chains for sequentially dropping products from each tier of the rack to the lower tier, respectively, separately disposed in the upper and lower parts of the rack, and in which the two are kept in a predetermined relationship. This relates to a quantitative cut-out rack that allows the products supported in each stage to fall onto the conveyor at the lower stage without delay by holding and interlocking the products.

Generally, products such as cigarettes, shoes, cosmetics, medicine, confectionery, etc. are manufactured in factories and then stored in aggregation at distribution centers or warehouses, sorted by brand, size, etc. When there is an order request from a retailer, etc., workers at the distribution center manually select the quantity of each type according to the order, and then place the items in cardboard boxes or other returnable boxes. After storing them in bulk, they are sent to each store by delivery vehicle.

However, when all of the work of sorting and sending out the products is done manually, there are disadvantages in that a large number of workers are required and it takes time to handle the products.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention previously applied for Japanese Patent Application No. 50-85362 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 52-9271) to mechanically store products stored in racks according to the order quantity without the need for manpower. We proposed a fixed-quantity cutting rack that allows customers to take items out of the warehouse.
This was intended to save labor in cargo handling and unloading operations within distribution centers and other locations.

- As shown in FIG. 5, this fixed-quantity cutting rack has product support plates 2 disposed in multiple stages in the vertically continuous product storage section of the rack 1, and the product support plates 2 in each stage are By sequentially rotating the products from the lower shelf, the products on each product support plate 2 fall one by one to the lower shelf, and are sent to the outside of the rack by the conveyor 3 disposed at the lowest stage of the product storage section. .

In order to rotate the product support plates 2 of each stage sequentially from the lower stage in this quantitative cutting rack, each product support plate 2 is rotated relative to the frame of the rack as shown in FIG. It is fixed to a freely attached support shaft 6, and a lever 9 and a spring 10 are attached to the ends of this support shaft 6.

Actuation lever 8 that is always inclined to protrude in a horizontal position
Further, an endless chain 4 running over the entire height of the rack is provided near the operating lever 8, and two protruding strikers 11 are provided at three equal positions of the entire length of the chain 4. By flipping up the operating lever 8 from below, the support shaft 6 is rotated and the product on the product support plate 2 fixed thereto is caused to fall to the lower stage.

However, the rack proposed in the previous application is slow in rotating the product support plate 2 of each tier in order to drop the product to the lower tier, and the product of one tier falls onto the conveyor 3. However, a considerable amount of waiting time is required before the next product is dropped onto the conveyor 3, making it difficult to quickly unload a large number of products.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the conventional rack is made up of N stages of stacked product support plates 2 each having a row of storage sections, and one endless chain 4 at the front of the first row of each stage. circulate.

While the first protrusion 11a provided on the chain 4 travels from the lowest stage to the highest stage of the rack, the product support plate 2 of each stage is rotated while flipping up the operating lever 8, and the product supporting plate 2 of each stage is rotated. At the same time that the product n1 is dropped onto the transport conveyor 3, the products in the higher stages are dropped one by one onto the product support plate 2 of the lower stage.
If 1a does not reach the top level, the second protrusion 11b will not be able to rotate the product support plate 2 at the lowest level and drop the product.
The waiting time for the chain 4 to complete a half cycle and start the next cycle is long.

There was an inconvenience.

If we organize and express this phenomenon using a formula, the chain 4
The finishing time for each stage is t, and the number of rack stages is n.
, if the shipping cycle time from when the product on the transport conveyor 3 is shipped to the outside of the rack until there are no products on the conveyor at all is T, then the time it takes for the product to fall one step is nt.
The maximum number of stages n that allows products to be dropped onto the transport conveyor 3 without waiting time is T (shipping cycle time) □ - n (stages) t (paralleling time).

Therefore, if the total number of racks N is smaller than the value of n, it is possible to supply the next product as soon as there is no product on the transport conveyor 3, but the total number of racks is smaller than the value of n. If N is greater than n, chain 4
The time it takes to rise from the n-th stage to the top N-th stage, that is, (
There is a waiting time of N-n until the next product is dropped onto the conveyor 3.

This waiting time is equivalent to half a cycle of the chain 4 (first protrusion 1
1a rises and one stage of goods is taken out), and during one cycle of the chain 4, the waiting time t1 reaches t1 = 2 (N-n) t, and a large amount of This prevents the smooth delivery of products for orders.

This phenomenon becomes more noticeable as the total number of racks increases and as the shipping cycle time T of the transport conveyor 3 becomes shorter, since there is a limit to the settling time t of each stage. This was a problem that could not be ignored in large racks.

Note that even if the running speed of the chain 40 is increased, the settling time t will not reduce the falling time of the product, the rotation of the product support plate 2, and the return time below a certain level.
(predetermined value) or less.

The present invention has been made to improve the above-mentioned points, and when the total number N of racks is larger than the number n of stages that do not require waiting time, the drive chain for the product support plate attached to the rack is are arranged separately below the n-th stage of rack i and above it, and by using both chains to seamlessly clear the rack, products can be dispatched quickly. be.

The present invention will now be described in detail based on illustrated embodiments.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates a fixed quantity cutting rack of the present invention, and a total of N stages of product support plates 2 are disposed inside this rack 1, and this is connected to a quick cycle section Cq below.
(number of stages nq) and the upper slow cycle section Cs (number of stages n
s), and in this case, the number of stages nq of the lower quick cycle section Cq is the maximum number of stages nq that allows products to be dropped onto the transport conveyor 3 provided at the lower stage of the rack 1 without waiting time. shall be equal to or less than.

In other words, n q +n s-N, where n≧n.

Chains 4 and 5 are attached to the quick cycle section Cq and the slow cycle section Cs, respectively, for operating the product support plate 2 of each cycle.

The chains 4 and 5 are provided with two protrusions 4a, 4b and 5c, 5d at positions equally dividing the length of the chain. In other words, when the product on the lowest product support plate 2 of the rack is to be dropped onto the empty transport conveyor 3, the following position is set.

That is, one protrusion 4a provided on the chain 4 of the quick cycle section Cq is located at position A directly below the lowest stage of the quick cycle section Cq (the lowest stage of the entire rack), and the other protrusion 4b of the chain 4 is located on the quick cycle, At the same time, one protrusion 5c provided on the chain 5 of the slow cycle section Cs is set at a position B passing through the top stage of the slow cycle section Cs, and the chain 5
The other protrusion 5d is set at a position passing the top stage of the slow cycle section Cs (the top stage of the rack, □: Nth stage).

The present invention, in the rack configured as described above, operates the two upper and lower chains 4 and 5 in the following manner to quickly take out the products in the rack.
First, it is set to the starting state.

Among the two chains 4 and 5, the quick cycle section C
The chain 4 of q is run upward, and the protrusion 4a provided on the chain 4 rotates the product support plate 2 of the lowermost stage n1 in the same manner as described with reference to FIG.
Drop the product on top.

. As the chain 40 runs, the protrusion 4a of the chain 4 rotates the product support plate 2 at the second tier from the bottom, drops the product thereon onto the empty bottom tier n1, and then further rises. Then, the upper product support plate 2 is sequentially rotated to drop the product onto the now empty lower product support plate.

In this way, when the protrusion 4a passes through the top stage of the quick cycle section Cq and reaches the position B, the first rounding in the quick cycle section Cq is completed, and the quick cycle section Cq reaches its top stage. The other tiers become empty, and the other tiers are filled with the products dropped from the upper tiers, and the other protrusion 4b of the chain 4 reaches position A to drop the second product onto the conveyor 3. Preparation is complete.

On the other hand, during this time, the conveyor 3 takes out the products on the top of the rack outside the rack, and the number of stages in the quick cycle section Cq is set to n≧n, so the conveyor 3 takes all the products out of the rack. As described above, the next product is ready to be dropped onto the transport conveyor 3 until it is delivered (shipping cycle time T).

Therefore, after the goods on the conveyor 3 have been completely unloaded, the chain 4 is immediately run and the protrusion 4 at the position A is
b is raised and the products on the lowest stage N1 are transferred to conveyor 3.
drop it on top.

That is, in the present invention, two stages of products can be dropped onto the transport conveyor 3 for one cycle of the chain 4, but the first half cycle (first cycle) and the next half cycle (second cycle) ) The products can be fed onto the conveyor 3 without any waiting time at all.

Immediately after one protrusion 4a of the chain 4 in the quick cycle section Cq reaches position B, that is, when the other protrusion 4b rises from position A to position B to perform the second set-up. , chain 5 of slow cycle Cs
The protrusion 5c provided at starts to rise from position C to position D, causing the products in the slow cycle section Cs to fall downward one stage at a time.

Then, the product at the bottom of the slow cycle section Cs is dropped to the top of the empty quick cycle section C9, and the first leveling is performed in the slow cycle section Cs, and the protrusion 5c is moved to D. When the position has been reached, the uppermost stage of the slow cycle section Cs becomes empty.

In this way, while the first stage of the slow cycle section Cs is being performed, the protrusion 4b of the quick cycle section Cs continues to rise to the position B, and the quick cycle section Cs continues to rise to the position B.
Perform the second rounding in q, and move to quick cycle section C.
The chain 4 of q is returned to the state at the time of rank start.

Incidentally, during this period, the products dropped onto the conveyor 3 by the projections 4b are also shipped.

As a result of the second stage of quick cycle section Cq, the top stage of quick cycle section Cq becomes empty again. , the protrusion 5d of the slow cycle section Cs (which is at position C after the first sectioning) is raised to perform the second sectioning, and the quick cycle section C
At the same time, the chain 5 of the slow cycle section Cs is also set to the state at the time of starting the rack.

Note that at this time, the products supplied onto the conveyor 3 by the second rounding have already been shipped, and the chain 4 is in a waiting state, so the conveyor 3 is waiting in an empty state. It is something.

After the two chains 4 and 5 have completed one cycle in this manner, the condition is similar to the starting state, so the chains 4 and 5 are run sequentially again to complete the next cycle.

Incidentally, since the top stage of the slow cycle section Cs becomes empty every half cycle of the chain, it is possible to immediately supply a separate product thereto.

As described above, the present invention uses the two chains 4 and 5 to delay the sorting of products, but the waiting time t in the present invention is short.

and the waiting time t1 of the conventional rack, and the number of stages of the quick cycle section Cq and the slow cycle section Cs is nq≧ns.
A comparative explanation will be given separately for cases where n q < n 8e.

First, in the case of nq≧n8, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, when only the chain 4 of the quick cycle section Cq is in the starting state (when the second shipment of the conveyor 30 is completed), the slow Since the protrusion 5d of the slow cycle section C8 has already reached the 0 point, the time required for the protrusion 5d to move from C to D is required for both chains 4 and 5 to return to the starting state, that is, the slow cycle. It takes a time n8t, which is the number of stages n8 of the section multiplied by the finishing time t.

This is the waiting time of the conveyor 3 that occurs for one cycle of the chains 4 and 5 under the condition that n q > n B.

On the other hand, when n q ''= n s, as shown in Figure 4,
Even if the chain 4 of the quick cycle section Cq returns to the starting state and shipping of the conveyor 3 is completed, the protrusion C of the slow cycle section Cs passes through point D and returns to point C, which is the starting state of the chain 5. Until then, the conveyor 3 waits in an empty state.

This time is the time for protrusion C to reach point C (n8-nq)
t and the time to move from point C to point D n8×t (2
n8-n, )t.

In the present invention, the waiting time t of the conveyor 3 per cycle of the chain.

The following table shows a comparison between the conventional type t1 and the conventional type t1.

That is, in the present invention, considering that N=n, +n8, and n≧n, (nq n ) t at a difference of 1 and -1o in waiting time between the two always becomes a positive value, so
It is clear that the waiting time of the conveyor 3 in the rack of the invention can be much reduced compared to the conventional type.

As described above, in the present invention, by attaching two upper and lower chains to a rack, it is possible to smoothly drop products onto a conveyor.

In particular, no waiting time is required between the first half cycle and the next half cycle in one cycle of the chain.
Once the product on the conveyor has been shipped, the next product can be immediately fed onto the conveyor.

As a result, even if there is an order for multiple items stored on one tier of product support plates, it is possible to perform the second arranging process and ship the product in a short time without any waiting time. This has the effect of allowing large quantities of products to be shipped.

Also, in the present invention, after one cycle of the chain is completed, that is, after two stages of products are shipped in succession, the conveyor requires waiting time, which is longer than the conventional method per cycle. This is far less than the waiting time of , and has the advantage of allowing products to be dispatched quickly over one cycle of the chain.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the quantitative cutting rack according to the present invention, Figs. 2 to 4 are explanatory diagrams showing the operating order of the chains 4 and 5 in the present invention, and Figs. A sectional view showing an example of a drive mechanism of a product support plate,
FIG. 7 is a side view of a conventional rack. 1 Nirakku, 2: Product support plate, 3: Conveyor, 4,
5: Chain, 4a, 4b, 5c, 5a: Protrusion, Cq:
Quick cycle section, Cs Nislow cycle section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a rack in which a product support plate 2 is rotatably disposed in multiple stages in a product storage section that is continuous in the vertical direction of the rack, and a transport conveyor 3 is provided in the lowest stage of the rack, the entire rack is The quick cycle section Cq is divided into a lower quick cycle section Cq and an upper slow cycle section Cs, and the number of stages n9 of the quick cycle section Cq is the maximum number of stages n that can drop the product onto the conveyor 3 without waiting time, n≧n, Furthermore, each cycle part Cq tCs is provided with a chain 4゜5 that runs upwards of the rack, and on this chain there are protrusions 4 a y 4 b at three equal positions. 5c and 5d are provided in a protruding manner, and the product support plate 2 is rotated by the protrusions to arrange the products in the rack.