JPH0327445B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a fluid shelf that automatically transports articles stored at one end to the other end and leaves the warehouse, and in particular, The system detects that there is no article at the position where it is intended to be stored and performs an article storage operation, or detects that the article has reached an exit position where it can be correctly retrieved and performs an article retrieval operation. related to what was done.

(Prior Art) As is well known, for example, in a pallet truck system in which goods (cargos) loaded on pallets are temporarily stored in pallet units and then taken out again, the goods (cargos) that have been stored are A so-called fluidized shelf system, in which products are conveyed by gravity to an exit, has come into use. As shown in FIG. 15, this fluidized shelf system has rails 11 as article conveyance paths that are generally stacked in multiple stages (five stages in the case shown) with an inclination.
When goods 13 are stored in pallets 14 from the storage entrance 12 side, the pallets 14 are automatically conveyed along the slope of the rail 11 to the storage exit 15 side and can be taken out. It has various advantages such as being able to be used effectively and effectively implementing a first-in, first-out system.

When the pallet 14 is conveyed along the rail 11, in a system that uses compressed air to prevent the pallet 14 from accelerating too much, it is generally necessary to convey the pallet intermittently while applying braking. Therefore, conveyance means as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 have been considered. First, what is shown in FIG. 16 includes a roller unit 19 formed by rotatably supporting a plurality of rollers 17 on a substantially U-shaped support 18 in a groove 16 formed in a rail 11, and an air hose 20. When the air hose 20 is installed and compressed air is sent into the air hose 20, the air hose 20 expands and pushes up the roller unit 19, and the roller 17
comes into contact with the pallet 14, and the pallet 14 is further moved away from the upper surface of the rail 11 and transported by gravity along the slope of the rail 11. on the other hand,
When the supply of compressed air into the air hose 20 is stopped and discharged, the roller unit 19 is lowered into the groove 16, the pallet 14 is placed on the rail 11, and braking is applied.

Furthermore, in the case shown in FIGS. 17a and 17b, as shown in FIG. 17a, leg portions 21 are formed on the pallet 14,
This leg portion 21 is placed on the rail 11.
This rail 11 is hollow as shown in FIG. 17b, and has two through holes in its center lower surface and upper surface.
2 and 23 are formed, respectively. In other words, when compressed air is sent into the rail 11 through the through holes 22, it is blown out through the through holes 23, and a thin film of air is formed between the legs 21 and the rail 11, reducing friction. is transported along the slope of the rail 11 by gravity. On the other hand, when the supply of compressed air is stopped and the compressed air is discharged, the leg portions 21 are brought into close contact with the rails 11 and braking is applied.

Therefore, if the conveying means shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 are used, compressed air can be controlled to be intermittently supplied and not supplied (discharged) (hereinafter this operation is referred to as pulsing). This is advantageous in terms of structure and efficiency, and the pallet 14 is placed on the rail 11 and stopped when compressed air is not supplied (discharged), which improves safety. But it will be good.

However, the fluidized shelf system using the conventional conveying means as described above is still in the development stage, and although it has various advantages as mentioned above, it is difficult to fully utilize its advantages. There is no such control. In other words, since the loading and unloading of 14 pallets is generally carried out using a forklift, there is a problem that the forklift and its driver are tied up for a long period of time, especially in the case of loading and unloading operations. ing.

In addition, since the entrance 12 and exit 15 both have narrow openings, accurate driving skills are required of the forklift operator, and it is difficult to set the number of stacked rails 11 higher than the maximum lifting height of the forklift. There is also the problem that space is not used effectively.

Therefore, recently, stacker cranes are placed on the storage entrance 12 side and the storage exit 15 side of the rail 11, and the user can remotely control the stacker cranes to load pallets onto any rail 11. A system has been developed that allows pallets 14 to be stocked and pallets 14 to be delivered from any rail 11 (Japanese Patent Application No. 59-157171).
issue). In this way, there is no need to use a forklift, and the number of stacked rails 11 can be freely set, allowing effective use of space.

However, in a system that uses a stacker crane to carry out loading and unloading work in units of 14 pallets as described above, the condition on the rail 11 when the pallet 14 is to be received and the condition on the rail 11 when the pallet 14 is to be unloaded is This is often unknown to the user, such as trying to put a pallet 14 in on a rail 11 that is already full of pallets 14, or trying to take a pallet 14 out from a rail 11 that has no pallets 14 on it. This poses major problems in terms of work efficiency and safety.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the conventional floating shelving system using stacker cranes, the user does not know the condition of the article conveyance path (rail) to be loaded or unloaded. However, this poses major problems in terms of work efficiency and safety.

Therefore, the present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an extremely good fluidization shelf control device that has a simple configuration and can reliably improve work efficiency and safety. shall be.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) That is, a control device for a fluidized shelf according to the present invention includes a rail on which articles are placed and installed with an inclination, and a compressed air supply to the rail. The articles are transported intermittently by alternating between a first state in which the articles are transported by gravity along the rails and a second state in which the conveyance of the articles is stopped when compressed air is discharged from the rails or the article is not supplied. A transport means is provided on the entry side and the exit side of the rail, and has a stopping position corresponding to each position of the rail, and it is capable of moving goods into and out of the rail in response to external operations. The target is a fluid shelf equipped with an incoming and outgoing article processing machine for outgoing goods.

The warehousing article processing machine is provided with a space for warehousing articles on the warehousing side of the rail when the warehousing article processing machine is stopped at a position corresponding to the warehousing entrance of the rail where the articles are to be warehousing. a warehousing-side detection means for detecting whether or not there is space for warehousing the article; and a warehousing-side detection means that causes the warehousing article processing machine to perform the warehousing operation of the article in a state where it is determined by the warehousing-side detection means that there is space for warehousing the article; a first control means that drives the conveyance means for a certain period of time in a state where the storage has been completed, and transports the stored goods toward the exit exit; , a second control means for driving the conveying means for a certain period of time and generating an alarm instruction when it is determined that there is no space; an exit side detection means for detecting whether or not there is an article to be taken out on the exit side of the rail when the goods are stopped at a position corresponding to the exit exit of the rail; When it is determined that there are articles to be stored, the unloading article processing machine is operated to unload the articles, and when the unloading operation is completed, the conveyance means is driven for a certain period of time to transport the articles on the rails toward the exit exit. and a third control means for driving the conveying means for a certain period of time in a state in which it is determined by the exit side detection means that there are no articles to be delivered, and a third control means for generating an alarm instruction in a state in which it is still determined that there are no articles. 4 control means.

(Function) According to the above configuration, subsequent operations are organically controlled based on the detection results by the warehousing side detection means and the warehousing side detection means, so that work efficiency is surely improved and Safety can be improved. Further, the first to fourth control means can be easily realized by using a centralized management system using a computer, for example, and can promote simplification of the configuration.

(Description of Fluid Shelf System) Before explaining one embodiment of the present invention, the basic configuration of a fluid shelving system to which this invention is applied will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 11 to 14. I'll decide. FIG. 11 shows the external appearance of the fluidized shelving system described here. Hereinafter, one block in the vertical direction in the figure will be referred to as a bay, and each stage of each bay (that is, the conveyance of pallets 14) will be referred to as a bay. direction) will be referred to as a lane.

That is, the system shown in FIG. 11 is composed of eight bays 24a to 24h, and each bay 2
Lanes 4a to 24h are composed of four lanes 25a to 25d, and the entire system is composed of 32 lanes. For each of these bays 24a to 24h, the goods 13 loaded on the pallet 14 are received from one end of the lanes 25a to 25d, and the goods 13 are taken out from the other end of the lanes 25a to 25d. It will be done. In addition, article 1
The transport operation of No. 3 can be independently controlled for each bay 24a to 24h.

Here, from each of the bays 24a to 24h,
As shown in FIG. 12, one bay 24a will be taken out and its transport operation will be explained. In addition, the conveyance operation of the other bays 24b to 24h is carried out by the above-mentioned bay 24.
Since it is the same as a, its explanation will be omitted.

That is, each lane 25a~ of this bay 24a
25d, each rail 11 is provided with an inclination as described above, and this rail 11
is supported by a plurality of columns 26. This rail 11 is equipped with a roller unit 19 and an air hose 20 as shown in FIG. It is designed so that it can be transported intermittently. In this case, an air pipe (not shown) for feeding compressed air into the air hose 20 is also arranged along the pillar 26, and a solenoid valve (not shown) provided at the base of the air pipe is controlled to open and close freely. This allows compressed air to be supplied to and discharged from the air hose 20.

Each pillar 26 adjacent to the front of the bay 24a on the storage entrance 12 side and the storage exit 15 side, respectively.
Optical sensors 27 and 28 are installed on unillustrated crosspieces installed in the bay direction (the back side of the drawing is not shown). These sensors 27 and 28 normally output L (low) level signals, and when a forklift or the like approaches, for example, they output H (high) level signals. It is used to determine whether The output signals of the sensors 27 and 28 are respectively supplied to both input ends of an OR circuit 29, as shown in FIG. The output terminal of this OR circuit 29 is connected to a set-reset type flip-flop circuit (hereinafter referred to as an S-RFF circuit) after passing through a timer circuit 30.
31, and is also connected to one input terminal of an AND circuit 33 via a not circuit 32. Further, the output terminal Q of this S-RFF circuit 31 is connected to the other input terminal of the AND circuit 33. The output terminal of the AND circuit 33 is connected via a switch 34 to a terminal 35 to which an H level signal is applied, and is also connected to one input terminal of each of two AND circuits 36 and 37. S- via circuit 38
It is connected to the reset input terminal R of the RFF circuit 31.

Here, the output terminal of the AND circuit 36 is connected to a first input terminal of an AND circuit 40 and one input terminal of an AND circuit 41 after passing through a timer circuit 39 . Further, the output terminal of the AND circuit 37 is connected to the second input terminal of the AND circuit 40 via the timer circuit 42, and the other input terminal of the AND circuit 41 via the NOT circuit 43. It is connected to the.

The output terminal of the AND circuit 40 is first connected to a relay circuit 45 via an amplifier circuit 44. This relay circuit 45 turns on a switch 46 when an H-level amplified signal is supplied, and applies the output voltage of the AC power source 47 to the electromagnetic coil 48 of the electromagnetic valve. Then,
The electromagnetic coil 48 operates to open the electromagnetic valve, and compressed air is sent into the air hose 20 via the air pipe, so that the article 13 is conveyed.

Further, the output terminal of the AND circuit 40 is connected to the other input terminal of the AND circuits 36 and 37 via a timer circuit 49 and a NOT circuit 50, and is connected to the other input terminal of the AND circuit 36 and 37 via a timer circuit 51. It is connected to the output terminal of 41. The connection point between the output terminal of the timer circuit 51 and the output terminal of the AND circuit 41 is connected to the set input terminal S of the S-RFF circuit 52.

The output terminal Q of this S-RFF circuit 52 is connected to the third input terminal of the AND circuit 40 via a knot circuit 53 and to a display section 55 via an amplifier circuit 54. In addition, the above S-
The reset input terminal R of the RFF circuit 52 is connected to the terminal 5 to which an H level signal is applied via the switch 56.
7 is connected.

Here, each of the above timer circuits 30, 38, 39,
42, 49, and 51 are input signals from L level to H level.
The timer operation starts when the level rises,
It operates to generate an H level output signal after a predetermined time period determined for each timer has passed.
If the input signal goes to L level before the predetermined time has elapsed, the timer is reset at that point, and when the input signal rises to H level again, the timer operation starts from the beginning. .

In other words, each timer circuit 30, 38, 39,
42, 49, and 51 are input signals from L level to H level.
It can be said that the H level signal is output by detecting that the H level state continues for a predetermined time after the level rises. Furthermore, when the input signal is inverted to L level while outputting an H level signal, the timer circuits 30, 38, 39, 42, 49, and 51 do not perform the timer operation.
This immediately sets the output to L level in real time.

In this case, each of the timer circuits 30, 3
The predetermined times of 8, 39, 42, 49, and 51 are 4 seconds for timer circuit 30, 30 seconds for timer circuit 38, 4 seconds for timer circuit 39, 3.9 seconds for timer circuit 42, and 3.9 seconds for timer circuit 39.
The following description will be made assuming that the timer circuit 49 is set to 0.7 seconds and the timer circuit 51 is set to 0.8 seconds, but these times are adjustable.

The operation of the above configuration will be explained below with reference to the time chart shown in FIG. In this case, Fig. 14 a to n are
.about.n signals are respectively represented.

First, for example, if a forklift approaches the exit 15 at an arbitrary time T1 and performs the exit operation, the output of the sensor 28 becomes H level, and the output of the OR circuit 29 also goes to H level as shown in FIG. 14a. becomes. Then, if the unloading operation continues for 4 seconds or more, time T2 is reached when 4 seconds have elapsed from time T1.
Then, as shown in FIG. 14b, the output of the timer circuit 30 becomes H level, the S-RFF circuit 31 is set, and its output becomes H level, as shown in FIG. 14c. At this time, since an L level signal obtained by inverting the H level output of the timer circuit 30 by the NOT circuit 32 is supplied to the AND circuit 33, the output of the AND circuit 33 becomes an L level as shown in FIG. 14d. ing.

In this state, if the unloading operation ends at time T3 and the forklift moves away from the unloading port 15, the output of the sensor 28 becomes L level and the output of the OR circuit 29 is also shown in FIG. 14a. It becomes L level. Then, the output of the timer circuit 30 becomes L level in real time as shown in FIG. 14b, but the output of the S-RFF circuit 31 becomes the first level.
As shown in Figure 4c, it is held at H level. Then, an H level signal obtained by inverting the L level output of the timer circuit 30 by the NOT circuit 32 is sent to the AND circuit 33.
Since the output of the AND circuit 33 is input to the first
As shown in FIG. 4 d, it becomes H level. At this time,
The timer circuit 38 starts its timer operation, and its output is kept at the L level as shown in FIG. 14e.

Then, at time T3 when the output of the AND circuit 33 becomes H level, the output of the NOT circuit 50 is at the H level, as will be clear from the explanation given later, so the outputs of the AND circuits 36 and 37 are at the H level. As shown in FIG. 14 f and j, both become H level. Then, at time T4, which is 3.9 seconds after time T3, the output of the timer circuit 42 becomes H level as shown in FIG. 14k, and then at time T3.
At time T5, 4 seconds have elapsed since then, the output of the timer circuit 39 becomes H level as shown in FIG. 14g.

Here, considering the case where the S-RFF circuit 52 is not set, its output terminal Q is the 14th
Since the signal is at L level as shown in FIG.

Therefore, in synchronization with the output of the timer circuit 39 going high, the output of the AND circuit 40 goes high as shown in FIG. 14h. Then, this H level output signal is amplified by the amplifier circuit 44 and then supplied to the relay circuit 45, and as described above, the electromagnetic coil 48 is energized, the electromagnetic valve is opened, and compressed air is supplied to the air hose 20. The article 13 is conveyed by feeding the articles 13.

Here, the period during which compressed air is supplied to the air hose 20 and the article 13 is transported is referred to as on-time, and this on-time is defined by the timer circuit 49. That is,
Time T when the output of the AND circuit 40 becomes H level
At 5, the timer circuit 49 starts timer operation, and at 0.7
At time T6, when seconds have elapsed, the output becomes H level as shown in FIG. 14i. Then, knot circuit 5
The output of 0 becomes L level, and the AND circuits 36, 3
The outputs of the timer circuits 39 and 42 go to the L level as shown in FIG. 14f and j, and the outputs of the timer circuits 39 and 42 also go to the L level in real time as shown in FIG. 14g and k.

Therefore, the output of the AND circuit 40 is
As shown in the figure, the level becomes L, and the air hose 2
The supply of compressed air to 0 is stopped, and the conveyance of the article 13 is stopped. In other words, the on-time is designed to continue for 0.7 seconds as defined by the timer circuit 49.

Furthermore, when the output of the AND circuit 40 becomes L level, the output of the timer circuit 49 becomes L level in real time, and this L level is inverted to H level by the NOT circuit 50, so that the AND circuits 36, 37 is H again as shown in Figure 14 f, j.
level and made. Here, at time T6, the output of the timer circuit 49 becomes H level, and the AND circuit 3
The operation in which the outputs of 6 and 37 once go to L level and then go back to H level is performed in real time of the circuit element in an extremely short time, and in FIG. 14, it is shown to be performed approximately at time T6. ing.

Then, the outputs of the AND circuits 36 and 37 go high again.
In the state where the level has been reached, there is no correction, and the state is the same as that shown at time T3. Therefore, at time T7, 4 seconds after time T6, the output of the AND circuit 40 becomes H level (on time), and at time T8, 0.7 seconds after time T7, the output of the AND circuit 40 becomes L level. This operation is repeated thereafter.

That is, if the period during which the conveyance of the article 13 is stopped with respect to the above-mentioned on-time is referred to as off-time, then the off-time of 4 seconds defined by the timer circuit 39 and the timer circuit 49 are defined. On-time periods of 0.7 seconds are alternately repeated to convey the article 13.

Here, in a state where the off-time and on-time are stably repeated as described above, the output of the timer circuit 39 becomes H, as is clear from FIG.
Since there is no period during which the output of the timer circuit 42 is at the L level, the output of the AND circuit 41 is at the L level as shown in FIG. Further, for example, when the output of the AND circuit 40 becomes H level at time T5, the timer circuit 51 as well as the timer circuit 49 starts the timer operation.
At time T6, when 0.7 seconds shorter than the timer time (0.8 seconds) of this timer circuit 51 has passed, the timer circuit 4
9 inverts the output of the AND circuit 40 to the L level, so the output of the timer circuit 51 is also maintained at the L level as shown in FIG. 14n.

Therefore, in a state where off-time and on-time are stably repeated, the S-RFF circuit 52
is never set, and its output is held at the L level as shown in FIG. 14m.

Then, at time T9, 30 seconds have passed since the output of the AND circuit 33 became H level at time T3.
Then, the output of the timer circuit 38 becomes H level as shown in FIG. 14e. Then, S-RFF circuit 3
1 is reset, its output terminal Q becomes L level as shown in FIG. 14c, and the output of the AND circuit 33 also becomes L level as shown in FIG. 14d,
At this point, the pulsing operation corresponding to one loading or unloading operation, that is, the conveying operation is completed.

During the series of conveyance operations from time T3 to time T9, the output of the AND circuit 40 becomes H level (that is, on time) at time Tn in FIG. Assume that the on-time continues for 0.7 seconds or more. Then, at time Tn+1, 0.8 seconds have passed since time Tn,
The output of the timer circuit 51 becomes H level as shown in FIG. 14n, the S-RFF circuit 52 is set, and its output becomes H level as shown in FIG. 14m. When this happens, the output of the NOT circuit 53 is inverted to the L level, and the output of the AND circuit 40 becomes the L level as shown in FIG.
The H level output of the circuit 52 is supplied to the display section 55 via the amplifier circuit 54 to display that an abnormality has occurred.

On the other hand, during the series of conveyance operations from time T3 to T9, the output of the AND circuit 36 becomes H level as shown in FIG. 14 f at time Tm in FIG. At time Tm+1, when 3.9 seconds have not elapsed due to etc., timer circuit 3
Suppose that the output of 9 becomes H level as shown in FIG. 14g. In other words, assume that the off time was less than 3.9 seconds. At this time, since the output of the timer circuit 42 remains at the L level as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 14, the output of the AND circuit 41 becomes H level as shown in FIG.
-RFF circuit 52 is set and its output is the first
It becomes H level as shown in Fig. 4 m. For this reason,
As described above, the output of the NOT circuit 53 is inverted to the L level, the output of the AND circuit 40 is thereafter held at the L level, and the display section 55 indicates that an abnormality has occurred. .

For example, when the switch 56 is turned on after the repair of the abnormal part is completed, the S-RFF circuit 5
2 is reset, the output of the NOT circuit 53 becomes H level, and the display section 55 stops displaying, returning to a state in which the transport operation is possible.

Here, in the above explanation, when a forklift or the like approaches the unloading port 15, the unloading operation is completed, and the forklift moves away, that is, when the output of the sensor 28 is reversed from the H level to the L level, the transport is automatically carried out. As described above, this operation occurs in the case of warehousing work, that is, when the forklift approaches the warehousing entrance 12, the warehousing work is completed, and the forklift moves away from the warehousing entrance 12 (the output of the sensor 27 It can be easily seen from the above description that the conveyance operation is similarly automatically started when the signal is reversed from the H level to the L level.

Further, when the forklift approaches the storage entrance 12 or the storage exit 15 while the above-mentioned conveyance operation is being performed, that is, while pulsing the compressed air, the output of the sensor 27 or 28 is reversed from the L level to the H level, If this state continues for 4 seconds or more, the output of the timer circuit 30 goes high and the output of the note circuit 32 goes low. Therefore, the output of the AND circuit 33 becomes L level, and the above-mentioned transport operation is automatically stopped.

Here, the timer circuit 30 determines whether, for example, a forklift or the like has simply passed near the entrance 12 or the exit 15, or whether a warehousing or unloading operation is being performed at the entrance 12 or the exit 15. It has the function of determining whether or not it is true based on time. In other words, the forklift is at the entrance 12 or exit 1.
5 for more than 4 seconds, it is assumed that work is in progress and the S-RFF circuit 31 is set to the set state.
The conveyance operation is performed after the work is completed, and if the time is less than 4 seconds, it is assumed that the object has simply passed, and the S-RFF circuit 31 is not set.

Furthermore, when the user turns on the switch 34, the output of the AND circuit 33 becomes high.
It is possible to realize the same state as when the level is reached, and also to manually start the conveyance operation, that is, pulsing. in this case,
The start of pulsing can be manually set using the switch 34, but the on-time is automatically set using each timer circuit 39,49.

Here, as described above, each timer circuit 30,
38, 39, 42, 49, and 51 have adjustable setting times. Therefore, the on-time and off-time can be adjusted as appropriate depending on the weight, quantity, etc. of the article 13.

The control device for the fluidized shelf system shown in FIG. 13 is installed in each of the bays 24a to 24h, and can perform pulsing control independently for each bay 24a to 24h. Further, depending on the scale of the bays 24a to 24h, for example, about two bays may be controlled by pulsing using the same control device.

That is, in the control device for the fluid shelf system as described above, pulsing is stopped during the loading or unloading operation, that is, when the outputs of the sensors 27 and 28 are at the H level, so that the pulsing is stopped, especially when the goods to be unloaded are on the side of the unloading port 15. There is no line pressure caused by the subsequent article 13 being pushed on the article 13, and
It is possible to prevent damage to the articles 13 and pallets 14, and to improve the safety of loading and unloading operations.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 and 2 show a fluid shelving system with 10 bays and 9 lanes, respectively; Figure 1 is a view from the side, and Figure 2 is from the storage entrance 12 side. This is a diagram viewed from above.
That is, this liquid shelf system has a stacker crane (hereinafter referred to as stacker) 60a, which is located close to the storage entrance 12 and the storage exit 15, although the details will be described later.
60b is provided, and this stacker 60
Article storage areas 64 and 65 are provided at predetermined positions across travel paths 62 and 63 of a and 60b. All the lanes provided in the first to ninth stages of the first to tenth bays 24a to 24j are arbitrarily divided into the first to eighteenth blocks 1 to 9, as shown in FIG.
18 is formed, and each block 1 to 18 is provided with a pulsing control circuit and a solenoid valve for performing pulsing, respectively, and each block 1 to 18 is provided with a pulsing control circuit and a solenoid valve for performing pulsing.
The three transport operations are independently controlled.

Here, the storage entrance stacker 60a is the third
As shown in the figure, it is provided so that it can run freely between guide rails 66, 66 installed on the ground and ceiling parallel to the arrangement direction of the bays 24a to 24j. A traveling frame 602 is engaged with a guide rail 66 via wheels 601, and a traveling motor 6 causes the traveling frame 602 to travel along the guide rail 66.
03, a lifting platform 604 attached to the mast of the traveling frame 602 so as to be able to rise and fall freely, and this lifting platform 60.
4, a fork 606 supported so as to be able to move in and out in the direction of loading and unloading the article 13 from the lifting platform 604, and the fork 60
6 and a fork drive motor 607 that drives the fork drive motor 607.

The stacker 60a has a stop position corresponding to each position on the lane, and repeatedly moves and stops at an arbitrarily designated stop position to take in and take out the required articles 13.
The articles 13 placed in the article storage area 64 of No. 2 are automatically loaded onto the lifting platform 604, and after moving the elevator platform 604 to the storage entrance 12 of the designated lane, the articles 13 are automatically warehoused. It is an article processing machine.

Further, the exit stacker 60b has a similar configuration to the storage entrance stacker 60a, and automatically takes out the articles 13 in a designated lane and loads them onto the lifting platform 604.
13 to the position of the article storage area 65 on the exit exit 15 side, and place the article 13 on this article storage area 65. Although not shown in the drawings, the entrance and exit stackers 60a and 60b include
Each vehicle is equipped with the necessary sensors to control travel, elevation, and fork movements.

Here, as shown in FIG.
A detector 67 is provided at 8. This detector 6
7 is a type that irradiates light and receives the reflected light, as shown in FIG. Light is directed toward a mirror 68 installed at the bottom of the rail 11.

In this case, the positional relationship between the detector 67 and the mirror 68 is such that the irradiation path of the light corresponds to one pallet 14 placed on the rail 11 on the storage entrance 12 side, as shown by the arrow in FIG. is set to correspond to Therefore, when the light emitted from the detector 67 is reflected by the mirror 68 and the reflected light is received by the detector 67, at least one pallet 14 can be placed on the rail 11. The presence of a space will be detected. Furthermore, if the light irradiated from the detector 67 (hitting the article 13) is not reflected by the mirror 68 and the reflected light is not received by the detector 67, the pallet 14 is placed on the rail 11. This is what will be detected as a lack of space.

In addition, the elevating platform 6 of the exit stacker 60b is
04 is provided with a detector 69 as shown in FIG. This detector 69 is of a limited distance type photoelectric switch type, and is turned on when the irradiated light is blocked within a certain distance, and turned off when it is not blocked. This detector 69 is connected to the elevator platform 60 as shown in FIG.
4 is accurately stopped at the exit 15 of a given lane, and the pallet 14 (stopped by the stopper 11a) that has been transported to the tip of the rail 11 of that lane is irradiated with light. It is something.

In this case, the detector 69 is set to be on when the pallet 14 is in contact with the stopper 11a, and is in the off state when the pallet 14 is not in a position to contact the stopper 11a. There is.

Here, FIG. 6 shows the stacker 60a, 6
This figure shows the configuration of a control device for controlling the drive of the stacker 0b and the pulsing operation of the fluidizing shelf. In the figure, 70 is an operation panel for specifying the stop position of the stackers 60a and 60b. This control panel 7
0 is installed near the system, and when an operator specifies entry and exit, bay number, stage number, etc., it generates the specified information signal a.
It is output to the control device 71.

This control device 71 controls the above-mentioned liquid shelf system in general. First, to explain the warehousing operation, the information signal a from the operation panel 70 is
The signal is supplied to the main control section 712 via the input/output circuit section 711. The main control section 712 compares the input information signal a with the information signal b such as stacker number, bay number, stage number, etc. stored in advance in the storage section 713.

Then, the main control section 712 outputs a designation signal c including information on the bay number and stage number and a start signal d to the storage entrance stacker control section 714a. The storage entrance stacker control section 714a generates a drive signal e based on the designation signal c and the start signal d, and sends this drive signal e to the drive circuit section 714a.
15a to the storage entrance stacker 60a to operate the stacker 60a.

In this case, the storage entrance stacker control unit 714a
controls the operation of the entrance stacker 60a based on the signal from the sensor inputted via the input/output circuit section 716a, and after positioning the elevator platform 604 in the designated lane, sends the arrival signal f as the main controller. It is output to the control section 712. At this time, when a detection signal indicating that there is space for one pallet on the rail 11 of the designated lane is generated from the detector 67 of the warehouse entrance stacker 60a, the warehouse entry stacker control unit 714a determines that the warehouse entry is OK. The detection signal g is output to the main control section 712.

When the main control section 712 receives the arrival signal f and the detection signal g, it determines the block including the arrived lane, generates a block activation command signal h specifying the block number, and outputs the block activation command signal h to the output circuit section 717. Output to. This output circuit section 717
When the block activation command signal h is supplied, blocks 1 to 18 specified by the command signal h are activated.
For the pulsing control circuits 72a to 72r,
It provides pulsing drive signals K1 to K18, and when a block start command signal h is input, the pulsing operation of that block is stopped, and when the command signal h is no longer input, the pulsing operation is started again. It is something.

Therefore, with the pulsing stopped, the warehousing operation is performed on the lane arriving from the warehousing stacker 60a. When the warehousing operation is completed, a work completion signal i is output from the warehousing stacker control section 714a to the main control section 712, which causes the main control section 712 to stop generating the block start command signal h and start the pulsing operation. The goods 13 that have been stocked here will be transported.

Further, when the storage entrance stacker control unit 714a outputs the arrival signal f to the main control unit 712, the detector 67 of the storage entrance stacker 60a indicates that there is no space for one pallet on the rail 11 of the designated lane. When a detection signal indicating that
A NO detection signal g is output to the main control section 712.

Then, the main control section 712 determines the block including the arrived lane, generates a block start command signal h specifying the block number, selects the pulsing control circuits 72a to 72r, and then outputs the block start command signal h. By stopping the generation of h, the designated lane is caused to perform a pulsing operation for a certain period of time.

Even in this case, the rail 11 of the designated lane is detected from the detector 67 of the storage entrance stacker 60a.
When a detection signal indicating that there is no space for one pallet above is generated and a detection signal g indicating warehousing NO is supplied, the main control section 712 sends a double delivery alarm signal j via the input/output circuit section 711. The information is outputted to the operation panel 70 and displayed on the operation panel 70.

Next, to explain the unloading operation, the information signal a from the operation panel 70 is transmitted to the input/output circuit section 711.
The signal is supplied to the main control unit 712 via. The main control section 712 compares the input information signal a with the information signal b such as stacker number, bay number, stage number, etc. stored in advance in the storage section 713.

Then, the main control section 712 outputs a designation signal c including information on the bay number and stage number and a start signal d to the exit stacker control section 714b. The exit stacker control section 714b generates a drive signal e based on the designation signal c and the start signal d, and sends this drive signal e to the drive circuit section 714b.
15b to the exit stacker 60b to operate the stacker 60b.

In this case, the exit stacker control unit 714b
controls the operation of the exit stacker 60b based on the signal from the sensor inputted through the input/output circuit section 716b, and after positioning the elevator platform 604 in the designated lane, sends the arrival signal f as the main controller. It is output to the control section 712. At this time, when the detector 69 of the exit stacker 60b generates a detection signal indicating that there is a pallet at the tip of the rail 11 in the designated lane, the exit stacker control unit 714b outputs a detection signal indicating that exit is OK. g is output to the main control section 712.

When the main control section 712 receives the arrival signal f and the detection signal g, it determines the block including the arrived lane, generates a block activation command signal h specifying the block number, and outputs the block activation command signal h to the output circuit section 717. Output to. Therefore, with the pulsing stopped, the vehicle is unloaded from the arriving lane to the exit stacker 60b. and,
When the unloading work is completed, the unloading stacker control unit 714b outputs a work completion signal i to the main control unit 712, which causes the main control unit 712 to stop generating the block activation command signal h and start the pulsing operation. , at which point the subsequent article 13 is conveyed to the leading end of the lane.

Further, when the exit stacker control unit 714b outputs the arrival signal f to the main control unit 712, the detector 69 of the exit stacker 60b detects that there is no pallet at the tip of the rail 11 in the designated lane. When the signal is generated, a detection signal g indicating the exit NO is output to the main control unit 712.

Then, the main control section 712 determines the block including the arrived lane, generates a block start command signal h specifying the block number, selects the pulsing control circuits 72a to 72r, and then outputs the block start command signal h. By stopping the generation of h, the designated lane is caused to perform a pulsing operation for a certain period of time.

Even in this case, the detector 69 of the exit stacker 60b detects the rail 11 of the designated lane.
When a detection signal to the effect that there is no pallet at the tip of the shelf is generated and a detection signal g indicating delivery NO is supplied, the main control unit 712 transmits the empty shelf alarm signal k to the input/output circuit unit 7.
11 to the operation panel 70 and displayed on the operation panel 70.

Here, the pulsing control circuits 72a to 72
r are the pulsing drive signals K1 to K, respectively.
18, the compressed air supply and non-supply (discharge) pulsing operations of the electromagnetic valves 73a to 73r are controlled for a set period of time, and its configuration is shown in FIG. Note that FIG. 7 shows the pulsing control circuit 72a of the first block 1.
The pulsing drive signal K1 is supplied to the set input terminal S of the S-RFF circuit 31 and the not circuit 32, and the other configuration is as shown in FIG. Since the same parts are the same, the same symbols are attached to the same parts and the explanation thereof will be omitted. Also, the second to
18 blocks 2 to 18 pulsing control circuit 72
The same applies to b to 72r, so the explanation thereof will be omitted.

Next, FIGS. 8 and 9 are flowcharts summarizing the above-mentioned warehousing operation and warehousing operation, respectively. First, as shown in FIG. 8, when the warehousing operation is started (step S1),
In step S2, the stacker 60a is moved to the designated lane, and in step S3 it is determined whether or not it has arrived at the designated lane. And when you arrive (YES),
In step S4, it is determined whether or not there is an article 13 near the storage entrance 12 of that lane (hereinafter referred to as advance cargo). If there is no advance cargo (NO), the block number that includes the designated lane is specified in step S5. A block activation command signal h is generated.

Therefore, in step S6, the stacker 60a
The warehousing operation is executed from the designated lane to the designated lane, and in step S7, it is determined whether the warehousing operation is completed. If it has not been completed (NO), the process returns to step S6 and the warehousing operation is continued; if it has been completed (YES), the generation of the block activation command signal h is stopped in step S8. Then, in step S9, a pulsing operation is performed for a certain period of time on the block including the designated lane, and then the process is terminated (step S10).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S4 that there is a preload (YES), a block start command signal h is generated in step S11 to specify the block number that includes the specified lane, and in step S12, a certain amount of time required to specify the block number is generated. When the time has elapsed (YES), generation of the block activation command signal h is stopped in step S13. Then, in step S14, a pulsing operation is performed on the block including the designated lane, and in step S15,
It is determined whether the pulsing operation has been continued for a certain period of time.

If the predetermined time has not elapsed (NO), it is determined in step S16 whether or not there is a preload, and if there is a preload (YES), the process returns to step S14 and the pulsing operation is continued. . If there is no advance cargo (NO), the process returns to step S5 and the warehousing operation is executed.

On the other hand, if the pulsing operation has elapsed for a certain period of time in step S15 (YES), the process proceeds to step S15.
A double delivery alarm signal j is generated in step S17, and is displayed on the operation panel 70 in step S18.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, when the unloading operation is started (step S19), the stacker 60b is moved to a designated lane in step S20, and it is determined in step S21 whether or not it has arrived at the designated lane. It is determined. And when you arrive (YES),
In step S22, it is determined whether or not there is an article 13 near the exit 15 of the lane (hereinafter referred to as a cargo seat), and if there is a cargo seat (YES), the process proceeds to step S22.
At step 23, a block start command signal h is generated which designates the block number including the designated lane.

Therefore, in step S24, the unloading operation from the designated lane to the stacker 60b is executed, and in step S25, it is determined whether the warehousing operation has been completed. If it has not been completed (NO), the process returns to step S24 and the unloading operation is continued; if it has been completed (YES), the generation of the block activation command signal h is stopped in step S26. Then, in step S27, a pulsing operation is performed for a certain period of time on the block including the designated lane, and then the process is terminated (step S28).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S22 that there is no cargo seat (NO), a block activation command signal h that designates the block number including the designated lane is generated in step S29, and in step S30, the block activation command signal h that designates the block number including the designated lane is generated. When a certain period of time has elapsed (YES), generation of the block activation command signal h is stopped in step S31. Then, in step S32, a pulsing operation is performed on the block including the designated lane, and in step S33,
It is determined whether the pulsing operation has been continued for a certain period of time.

If the certain period of time has not elapsed (NO), it is determined in step S34 whether or not there is a cargo seat, and if there is no cargo seat (NO), the process returns to step S32 and the pulsing operation continues. be done. If there is inventory available (YES), the process returns to step S23, and the unloading operation is executed.

On the other hand, if the pulsing operation has elapsed for a certain period of time in step S33 (YES), step S33
An empty shelf alarm signal k is generated in step S35, and the process proceeds to step S3.
6, the screen is displayed on the operation panel 70.

In the above embodiment, the detector 67 and the mirror 68 are arranged in a vertical relationship as shown in FIG. However, sufficient detection can also be achieved by arranging the detector 67 and the mirror 68 in a plane, as shown in FIG. 10, for example. .

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the gist thereof.

[Effects of the Invention] Therefore, as described in detail above, according to the present invention, an extremely good control device for a fluidized shelf that has a simple configuration and can reliably improve work efficiency and safety is provided. can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 to 10 each show an embodiment of a control device for a fluidized shelf according to the present invention.
The figure is a side view of the flow shelf, Figure 2 is a front view as seen from the storage entrance side, Figure 3 is an external view of the stacker, and Figures 4 and 5 are advance cargo detection means on the storage entrance side and the storage exit side, respectively. 6 is a block diagram showing the flow shelf control means, FIG. 7 is a block circuit diagram showing the pulsing control circuit of the control means, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are The figures are flowcharts for explaining the warehousing operation and the warehousing operation, FIG. 10 is a top view showing a modified example of the advance cargo detection means, and FIGS. 11 to 17 each show a fluid shelf system. , Fig. 11 is an external view showing the whole system, Fig. 12 is a side view showing one bay taken out from the same fluidic shelf system, and Fig. 1
3 is a circuit configuration diagram showing the control means of the fluidized shelf system, FIG. 14 is a timing diagram for explaining the operation of the same control means, and FIG. 15 is a side view for explaining the outline of the fluidized shelf system. Figure 16 and 1
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing the conveyance means used in the fluidized shelf system. 11...Rail, 12...Warehouse entrance, 13...Goods, 14...Pallet, 15...Warehouse exit, 16...
...Groove, 17...Roller, 18...Support, 19...
...Roller unit, 20...Air hose, 21...
...Legs, 22, 23...Through holes, 24a to 24h...
...Bay, 25a-25d...Lane, 26...
Pillar, 27, 28...sensor, 29...OR circuit,
30...Timer circuit, 31...S-RFF circuit,
32...Not circuit, 33...And circuit, 34
...Switch, 35...Terminal, 36,37...AND circuit, 38,39...Timer circuit, 40,4
1...AND circuit, 42...Timer circuit, 43...
... Note circuit, 44 ... Amplifier circuit, 45 ... Relay circuit, 46 ... Switch, 47 ... AC power supply,
48... Electromagnetic coil, 49... Timer circuit, 50
...Knot circuit, 51...Timer circuit, 52...
S-RFF circuit, 53...Knot circuit, 54...
Amplifier circuit, 55...display section, 56...switch,
57...terminal, 60a, 60b...stacker,
62, 63... Travel path, 64, 65... Goods storage area, 66... Guide rail, 67... Detector, 6
8...Mirror, 69...Detector, 70...Operation panel, 71...Control device, 72a-72r...Pulsing control circuit, 73a-73r...Solenoid valve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1: a rail on which an article is placed and installed with an inclination; a first state in which the article is transported by gravity along the rail while compressed air is supplied to the rail; a conveying means that intermittently conveys the article by alternately repeating a second state in which the conveyance of the article is stopped in a state where compressed air is discharged from the rail or in a non-supply state; warehousing and unloading article processing, each of which has a stop position corresponding to each position of the rail, and stores the article into the rail and takes the article out from the rail in response to an external operation. In the fluidizing shelf equipped with a machine, the storage machine is installed in the warehousing article processing machine, and when the warehousing article processing machine is stopped at a position corresponding to the warehousing entrance of the rail into which the article is to be warehousing, a warehousing side detection means for detecting whether there is a space for warehousing the article on the side; and a warehousing side detection means for detecting whether there is space for warehousing the article; a first control means for warehousing the article, and driving the transporting means for a certain period of time in a state where the warehousing operation is completed to transport the warehousing article toward the exit exit; a second control means for driving the conveying means for a certain period of time in a state where it is determined that there is no space for entering the goods, and generating an alarm instruction when it is determined that there is still no space; and detects whether or not there is the article to be delivered on the exit side of the rail when the product processing machine for delivery is stopped at a position corresponding to the exit port of the rail where the product is to be delivered. When the outgoing side detection means determines that there are articles to be outsourced, the outgoing article processing machine is caused to take out the articles, and when the outgoing operation is completed, the a third control means for driving the conveying means for a certain period of time to transport the articles on the rails toward the exit exit; 1. A control device for a fluidized shelf, comprising: a fourth control means for driving the flow shelf for a certain period of time and generating an alarm instruction when it is determined that there is no article.