JPS6341801B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for transferring objects between a shelf and a cargo handling device, and particularly to a device for transferring objects using a push/pull device.

When storing cargo in a warehouse, shelves are installed three-dimensionally within the warehouse, and cargo is taken in and out of the shelves using a stacker crane. When loading and unloading cargo using a stacker crane, a fork is extended below the load, and the fork is moved up and down to scoop up or lower the load to load or unload the load.
For this reason, a space is required below the load to extend the forks, resulting in poor storage space efficiency for the load. In addition, since the load is transferred by raising and lowering the scoop and extending and contracting the fork, there is a drawback that the load handling cycle time is lengthened.

Therefore, recently, a method has been realized in which a load is transferred between a shelf and a stacker crane by pushing and pulling the load without requiring a scooping and lowering process. According to this method, since the load is transferred by pushing and pulling, there is no need to set a wider space under the load compared to the scooping up and lowering method, and the efficiency of the storage space for the load can be increased. Furthermore, the cargo handling cycle time can be set short because the cargo is immediately transferred to the destination without the process of scooping up the cargo from the shelf and removing the cargo from the shelf.

The present invention is a load transfer method using this kind of push/pull method, and the known example closest to the present invention is a stack car crane with a conveyor installed on the lifting platform and a hydraulic cylinder that moves up and down the load receiving surface of the conveyor. The hydraulic cylinder is provided with a claw for hooking a load onto the cylinder rod of the hydraulic cylinder. In this known example, with the hydraulic cylinder in the lower position, the claw is positioned below the tip of the load by the extension action of the hydraulic cylinder, and then the hydraulic cylinder is raised to the upper position to hook the claw to the load. Thereafter, this claw pulls the load to the tip of the conveyor by the contraction of the hydraulic cylinder, and then the hydraulic cylinder is lowered to a lower position so as not to hit the load. In this state, the lower end of the load rests on the conveyor, and the conveyor carries the load to the center of the platform. When storing a load on a shelf, this procedure is reversed, but in the end, the claw is applied to the load and the extension force of the hydraulic cylinder is used to push the load onto the shelf and store it.

According to this method, the movement of the pawl requires control of two movements in the vertical direction, rising and falling, and two movements in the horizontal direction, right and left, for a total of four movements in two directions. Furthermore, a total of two drive devices are required, one in each direction. For this reason, conventional push/pull means have the disadvantage that they tend to be complicated and large in size, and the cargo handling cycle cannot be set much shorter because the vertical and horizontal movements applied to the claws are not continuous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a push/pull means for transferring goods that can take advantage of the cargo storage space efficiency obtained by the push/pull means and shorten the cargo handling cycle time with a simple configuration.

The present invention provides a handling device for handling items, which comprises a conveyor for transferring items to and from a shelf and a device for pushing and pulling the items, which are installed on the lifting platform of a stacker crane, in which the device for pushing and pulling is provided on the lifting platform of a stacker crane. A hanging link 26 in which one piece of a shaped member is oriented vertically and its end is oriented upward, and the other piece is installed horizontally inside the lifting platform, and the center part and the end of the other piece are installed. first and second links 27 and 28 that are rotatably coupled to the respective parts and have the same length;
, a pin 29 that rotatably supports the first link 27 within the lifting platform, and a drive shaft 31 that fixes the second link 28 at the same height as the installation height of the pin 29 and rotates the second link. and a motor that rotates the drive shaft 31 in forward and reverse directions, and the hook link 2
The upper end of the upwardly facing piece of 6 is located at a position protruding toward the shelf side from the shelf side end face of the conveyor, at each position within the range of the conveyor and the conveyor, and at a position protruding upward from the top surface of the conveyor. Hook links 26 are installed so that a trajectory can be drawn sequentially connecting positions below the top surface of the conveyor within the range.
Also, the lengths of the first and second links 27 and 28 are set.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13.

This embodiment will be explained using a bucket type stacker crane as an example. The bucket type static car crane system is as shown in Figure 1.
It consists of a stacker crane 1 for handling bucket carts 7 as cargo, a shelf rack 6 for the bucket carts, and a bucket cart 7 slidably stored in the rack. In this system, when loading and unloading the bucket 7, the lifting and lowering operations of the elevating body 2 of the stacker crane 1 and the traveling motion of the traveling body 4 on the rails 5 move the target bucket 7 to the sliding section, which is the loading platform of the stacker crane. 3, and then push and pull the bucket 7 from the shelf rack 6 to the slide section 3 or from the slide section 3 into the shelf rack.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shelf rack 6 consists of pillars 8 erected in the warehouse and horizontal pillars 9 attached to the pillars.
and a shelf board 10 provided between the horizontal columns 9.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bucket 7 consists of a bucket main body 11 and a handle 12 provided on the side of the main body 11 for the stacker crane. It is placed so that it does not occur.

The sliding part 3 of the stacker crane 1 is
As shown in FIG. 5, a chain conveyor 14 is provided on the slide body frame 13 with the feeding direction facing the shelf rack 6 side. This slide body frame 13 is the 11th
As shown in FIG. 13, the pillar 15 of the stacker crane 1 can be lifted up and down by a hoisting rope 23 from a hoisting device. Furthermore, the chain conveyor 14 on the slide body frame 13 is
As shown in FIG. 2, a chain 16 is provided in an endless manner via chain sprockets 17, 18, 19, and 20. This chain sprocket 18 is driven via a motor 21 and a speed reducer 22, and can drive the chain 16 to the right or left by switching the rotation direction of the motor 21.

As shown in FIG. 11, the slide body frame 13 is provided with transport link mechanisms 24 and 25 at the center between the chains 16 and at each of the left and right ends of the slide body frame 13. The left and right transport link mechanisms 24 and 25 are the same link mechanism, except that the left and right directions are different. This transport link mechanism 24, 2
5, as shown by diagonal lines in FIG. 4, an L-shaped hooking link 26, a support link 27 having one end pin-coupled to a midway position of the L-shaped horizontal portion of the hooking link 26, and a horizontal portion of the hooking link 26. a drive link 28 pin-coupled at one end to an end position of the drive link 28; The other end of the support link 27 is connected with a pin 29 to a stand provided on the slide body frame 13 so as not to protrude upward from the top of the chain 16, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the other end of the drive link 28 is fixed to a link drive shaft 31 which is freely rotatably provided with a pin 30 to a stand erected at the same height as the pin 29. The positions of the pins 29 and 30 are such that they can support the hook link 26 so that it does not protrude from the slide body frame 13 in the state shown in FIG. 4 when not in operation.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 11, and 12, both transport link mechanisms 24, 25 connect one motor 32 provided in the slide body frame 13 to clutches 33, 34 via reducers 35, 36. The transport link mechanisms 24 and 25 are connected to the link drive shafts using a shaft 37 or the like. This operation can be done manually, but it has little practical value.

In this embodiment, in order to automatically operate the bucket delivery work by the stacker crane 1, the computer is set with a program that executes the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The information sent to the computer to execute this flowchart is shown in Figure 8.
This can be obtained by various position sensors shown in FIGS. 11 and 13.

In FIG. 8, position sensors 37, 38, 3
9, 40, and 41 are fixed to the slide body frame 13, and their sensor contacts protrude slightly above the chain 16. These position sensors 37,
38 and 39 are arranged corresponding to the left, center, and right positions of the bucket 7 on the chain 16 in this order. Position sensors 40 and 41 are arranged at the left end and right end of the chain 16. position sensor 42,
43 is the maximum rotation position of the hook link 26 when the bucket bag 7 is pushed in, and is arranged so as to be in contact with this link. Position sensor 44, 45
is arranged so as to be in contact with the hooking link 26 at its bottom dead center position. Each position sensor is of the type that turns on when it comes into contact with it. Each position sensor may be a contact type sensor such as a limit switch, but it may also be an optical type sensor or a non-contact type sensor such as a proximity switch.

In the present embodiment described above, the case where the bucket 7 is transferred from the shelf rack 6 to the stacker crane 1 is as follows.

That is, the stacker crane 1 is moved in front of the location of the bucket cart 7 for cargo handling purposes, and then the slide portion 3 is raised and lowered. As shown in FIG.
Position the slide part 3 so that the top surface is at the same height as the bottom surface of the target bucket 7. After the alignment, the bucket cart 7 is pulled out based on the flowchart shown in FIG. In addition, when aligning the slide part 3, if the upper surface of the chain 16 is placed in a position slightly higher than the lower surface of the bucket 7, the load of the bucket 7 can be easily transferred to the chain conveyor 14, and the pushing and pulling movement of the bucket can be carried out smoothly. .

The work of pulling out the bucket will be explained when the bucket 7 is on the left shelf rack. In this case, the clutch 33 is connected at the stage of the bucket drawer start block 101 in FIG.
The clutch 34 is disengaged and the motor 32 is rotated in the normal direction. In this way, the forward rotation driving force of the motor 32 is transmitted from the clutch 33 to the shaft 37, reducer 35, and link drive shaft 31, and at block 102 in FIG. 9, the drive link 28 is moved in the direction of arrow 47 in FIG. Rotate to When this happens, the hook link 26 supported by the support link 27 and the drive link 8 maintains the same posture and protrudes to the left side of the chain conveyor 14 from state A to state B in FIG. It gets caught on the handle 12 of 7. As the rotation in the direction of the arrow 47 continues, the bucket bag 7 hooked by the hooking link 26 changes from B to C and from C to D in FIG.
The end of the bucket 7 is finally placed on the left end of the chain conveyor 14. The rotation further progresses in the direction of arrow 47 and after one rotation, the state shown in E in FIG.
The transport link mechanism 24 is disengaged from the slide portion 3 and comes into contact with the position sensor 44 . Therefore, the process proceeds from block 103 to block 104 as shown in FIG.
ON information stops link operation, that is, motor 32
is stopped. When block 104 is completed, in step 105, the chain 16 is driven to rotate clockwise by the motor 21 (in the direction of arrow 50), and the bucket belt 7 changes from E to F and from F to G in FIG. 16 and is pulled out. During this time, the bottom surface of the bucket 7 is in contact with each position sensor 37, 38, but when the bucket 7 is placed on the center of the chain conveyor 14 as shown in FIG.
8 is turned on. The combination of ON/OFF information of these position sensors 37, 38, 39 is determined in block 106 of FIG. 9, and the chain conveyor 14 is stopped by stopping the motor 21. This completes the work of transferring the bucket cart 7 to the center of the slide section 3, and the stacker crane 1 transports the bucket cart 7 to another target position. When pulling out and transferring the bucket on the right shelf rack to the stacker crane 1 side, the procedure is the same as described above, except that the link operation is stopped based on information from the position sensor 45, and the transport link mechanism 24 is replaced by a transport link mechanism. The point of using the port link mechanism 25,
The only difference is that the rotation directions of the chain 16 and links are reversed. Of course, when handling buckets on the rack on the right side, use the clutch 33 on the left side.
Needless to say, the right clutch 34 is connected.

Next, the operation of storing the bucket 7 from the stacker crane 1 into the shelf rack 6 will be explained.

Place bucket 7 on chain conveyor 1 as shown in Figure 8.
Place the sliding part 3 on the center of the rack and position it at the desired rack position. In this alignment,
Align the top surface of the chain 16 with the same height as the shelf board 10. If possible, the top surface of the chain 16 should be the same as the shelf board 10.
The bucket pushing operation will be smoother if the position is slightly higher than the above. After the alignment is completed, bucket extrusion work is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. The work of storing the bucket 7 in the left shelf rack 6 will be explained. First, the left clutch 33 is engaged and the right clutch 34 is disengaged. Here, when the work is started at step 201 in FIG. 10, at step 202 the motor 21 is reversed as opposed to retracted, and the chain 16 is driven in the counterclockwise direction (direction of arrow 51). In this way, A in Figure 7
From to state B, bucket 7 moves to chain conveyor 1.
It is pushed onto the shelf board 10 by the feeding action of step 4.
Then, as shown in state C in Fig. 7, the chain conveyor 1
When bucket 7 comes off from 4, it turns on once on the way.
The position sensor 40 sent again the OFF information, so this information is judged and the process goes to block 20 in FIG.
At step 4, the chain conveyor 14 is stopped by stopping the motor 21. After the stop is completed, the process advances to block 205 in FIG.
8 is rotated in the direction of arrow 49 in FIG. As this rotation progresses, the hook link 26 protrudes above the chain conveyor 14 from B to C in FIG. 7, and finally the hook link 26 and the handle 1
2 is correct. As the link further rotates, the hook link 26 pushes the bucket 7 with its handle 12, pushing the bucket 7 further into the back of the shelf rack 6 from C to D in FIG. As this pushing progresses, the bucket bag 7 moves from state D to state E in FIG. 7 and is located on the storage position line 48 in the shelf. When the pushing operation reaches this position, the link position sensor 42 is hit. Therefore, the position sensor 42 issues ON information, this information is judged in block 206 of FIG. 10, and the motor 32 is stopped in block 207 to stop the link operation. This stopping action prevents it from being pushed in too much. next,
Proceeding to block 208 in FIG. 10, at this stage the motor 32 is switched and driven in the forward rotation direction, and the transport link mechanism 24 is rotated in the reverse direction (direction of arrow 47).
Rotate. This reverse drive causes the transport link mechanism 24 to return to its original state within the slide portion 3 from state E to state F in FIG. When this return is completed, the hooking link 26 comes to the bottom dead center,
Turn on the position sensor 44. At the stage of block 209 in FIG. 10, this position sensor 44 is turned ON.
After determining the information, the motor 32 is stopped, and the work of storing the bucket 7 in the shelf rack 6 is completed. The work of storing the bucket to the right shelf rack is done in the same way, but position sensor 40 is placed in position 41, and position sensor 4 is placed in position 41.
The difference is that 4 is changed to 45, the transport link mechanism 24 used is changed to 25, and each rotation drive direction is reversed. In this case, the left clutch 3
Needless to say, clutch 34 on the right side is connected and used for work.

As described above, according to the present invention, in a device that transfers an object between a cargo handling device and a shelf by pushing and pulling the object, the object can be hung on the cargo handling device by a link motion of a simple link mechanism. Since a series of operations to pull the product into the conveyor can be performed, it is possible to achieve the effect of shortening the cycle time of handling work with a simple device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a three-dimensional perspective view of a sliding bucket crane system, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the relationship with a bucket shelf to be handled in an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a sliding bucket crane system. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional elevational view of the main parts showing the relationship between the stacker crane and the bucket in the shelf, FIG. Elevation view showing the link locus of the transport link mechanism shown in Figure 4, No. 6
The figure is a schematic diagram that continuously displays the bucket retracting work status from A to G in an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram continuously displaying the bucket pushing operation status from A to F in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a layout relationship between the transport link mechanism and various position sensors in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the bucket cart pulling-in operation in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the bucket-pushing operation in an embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 1 is a plan view of a sliding part of a stacker crane according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 12 is a schematic elevational view of the sliding part shown in Fig. 11, and Fig. 13 is a schematic side view of Fig. 12. It is a diagram. 1... Stacker crane, 3... Slide section, 6... Shelf rack, 7... Bucket, 10...
Shelf board, 11...bucket body, 12...handle, 1
3... Slide body frame, 14... Chain conveyor, 16... Chain, 21, 32... Motor, 2
4, 25... Transport link mechanism, 26...
...Hook link, 27...Support link, 28...
...Drive link, 31...Link drive shaft, 33,3
4...Clutch, 37, 38, 39, 40, 4
1, 42, 43, 44, 45...Position sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a handling material delivery device in which a conveyor for transferring the handling material to and from the shelf and a device for pushing and pulling the handling material are installed on the lifting platform of the stacker crane,
The push-pull device includes a hook link 26 in which one piece of an L-shaped member is oriented vertically and its end is oriented upward, and the other piece is installed horizontally inside the lifting platform; First and second links 27 and 28 are rotatably connected to the center and end portions of the other piece and have the same length, and the first link 27 is rotatably supported within the lifting platform. A drive shaft 31 that fixes the second link 28 at the same height as the installation height of the pin 29 and rotates the second link, and a motor that rotates the drive shaft 31 in forward and reverse directions. The upper end of the upwardly facing piece of the hanging link 26 is located at a position protruding toward the shelf side from the end face of the conveyor on the shelf side, and at each position within the range of the conveyor and the above position and protruding above the top surface of the conveyor; The hook link 26 and the first,
An article delivery device characterized in that the lengths of the second links 27 and 28 are set.