JP2001261116A - Conveying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveying apparatus capable of conveying articles with high efficiency. SOLUTION: A travelling rail 32 involves multi-stage outward rails 42 on which a travelling carriage 31 travels in only an approach direction from one end side to the other end side, and an inward rail 43 on which the travelling carriage 31 travels in only a return direction from the other end side to the one end side. An article is inputted in the travelling carriage 31 from an article input part, and the travelling carriage 31 having the article thereon is fed on each of the outward rails 42 by an outward elevating part 33. The traveling carriage 31 traveling on the outward rail 42 is stopped on a prescribed delivery position to deliver the article from the travelling carriage 31. The empty travelling carriage 31 reaches the other end of the outward rail 42 is delivered to the inward rail 43 by an inward elevating part 34 and returned to the outward elevating part 33. A plurality of travelling carriages 31 can travel on the outward rail 42 and the inward rail 43 respectively at the same time, and thus it is possible to convey articles with high efficiency.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transport device for transporting an article to a predetermined delivery position and delivering the article.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a plurality of articles of a plurality of types are stored in a plurality of article storage sections which are arranged in a plurality of stages in a vertical direction and are arranged in a plurality of rows in a horizontal direction for each stage. In addition, there is a picking device that automatically ejects a specified type and number of articles from a corresponding article storage unit.

[0003] In such a picking apparatus, each article storage section is replenished with articles manually. However, in the manual operation, labor and time are required, and another type of article is stored in another article storage section. If refilled by mistake, there is a problem that an article different from the specified type is picked.

For example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-324721, a plurality of shelves are vertically arranged side by side, and a plurality of storage sections are horizontally arranged for each shelf. There has been known a configuration of a transfer device for an automatic warehouse that puts articles in and out of each storage section in each of these stages.

[0005] In this transfer device for an automatic warehouse, a plurality of traveling rails are provided corresponding to the height positions of the shelves in each stage, and can be moved to the positions of the storage sections in each stage on each traveling rail. A traveling carriage is arranged one by one, and an article lifting / lowering unit is provided at one end side of the shelf for raising and lowering articles and transferring the article to the traveling carriage on each traveling rail. Then, the article is raised by the article elevating section to the stage where the articles are stored, delivered to the traveling carriage at that level, the traveling carriage is moved to a predetermined storage section position, and the articles are stored in the storage section from the traveling cart. I have.

[0006] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-32 discloses a picking device.
By applying the transfer device described in Japanese Patent No. 4721, it is possible to automatically replenish articles in each article storage unit of the picking device.

[0007]

However, in the transfer device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-324721, the traveling carriage of each stage moves on the traveling rail between the position of the article elevating section and the position of the storage section. In order to reciprocate, when articles are continuously fed into the same storage section, the traveling cart carrying the articles sends the articles to the storage section and then returns to the article lifting / lowering section to return to the next article position. There is a problem that it takes a long time to be able to receive the articles, and the articles cannot be transported efficiently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport apparatus capable of efficiently transporting articles.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transporting apparatus comprising: a traveling carriage on which articles are loaded and traveling and capable of delivering the loaded articles; The carriage travels from one end to the other end and a plurality of forward rails for delivering articles from the traveling carriage at a predetermined delivery position in the middle thereof, and the traveling carriage travels from the other end to one end. A traveling rail portion having at least one return-side rail, and disposed at one end of the traveling rail portion to receive the traveling bogie from the return-side rail and correspond to a delivery position of an article mounted on the traveling bogie. A forward-side elevation unit that feeds the traveling vehicle to the outward-side rail, and is disposed at the other end of the traveling rail unit, receives the traveling vehicle from each outward-side rail, and transfers the traveling vehicle to the return-side rail. And the return-side lifting unit Komu Ri, those that comprise the article loading portion to introduce the article to empty the traveling vehicle and before feeding the traveling carriage at the forward side supporting portion in the forward side rail.

[0010] A plurality of forward rails on which the traveling vehicle travels only in the outward direction from one end to the other end of the traveling rail, and the traveling vehicle is oriented in the returning direction from the other end to the one end. By providing a dedicated return-side rail that travels only on the front side, the traveling cart loaded with the articles to be loaded from the article input section is sent to each forward-side rail by the forward-side elevation section, In the delivery position, the goods are delivered from the traveling cart, and the empty traveling cart that reaches the other end of the forward-side rail is sent back to the return-side rail by the return-side elevating unit, and each forward-side rail and the return-side rail are respectively A plurality of traveling vehicles can travel at the same time, so that articles can be transported efficiently.

[0011] According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the transporting apparatus of the first aspect, a reading section for reading data of the article by the article input section, and the article is sent out based on the data of the article read by the reading section. Designate the sending position, and let the traveling cart carrying the article be sent to the outgoing side rail corresponding to the specified sending position by the outgoing side elevating unit,
And control means for sending the article from the traveling carriage at the sending position.

The control means designates a delivery position for delivering the article based on the article data read by the reading section of the article loading section, and designates the traveling carriage on which the article is mounted by the forward side elevating section. By sending the articles to the outgoing-side rail corresponding to the sending position and sending the articles from the traveling trolley at the sending position, it is possible to automate from the recognition of the articles to the sending.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the transport device of the second aspect, the article input section loads articles of the same type mounted on one traveling vehicle based on data of the articles read by the reading section. An aligning section that aligns in the loading direction and aligns and positions articles in a width direction orthogonal to the loading direction, and a loading conveyor that receives the articles aligned in the aligning section and throws the articles into an empty traveling vehicle. It is what you have.

[0014] Based on the data of the articles read by the reading section by the arranging section of the article input section, articles of the same type mounted on one traveling cart are aligned in the input direction, and the articles are aligned with respect to the input direction. By locating and aligning the articles in the width direction orthogonal to each other, and by inserting the articles aligned by the aligning section from an input conveyor to an empty traveling cart, articles of the same type can be efficiently and reliably mounted on the traveling cart. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the transport device of the third aspect, the article input section measures the width of the article when the aligning section aligns and positions the article in the width direction. The control means continues the processing if the width of the article measured by the measuring unit is within a specified range corresponding to the width of the article based on the data of the article read by the reading unit. If not, the process is stopped.

[0016] The width of the article is measured by the measuring section when the article is aligned in the width direction by the aligning section and positioned, and the width of the article measured by the measuring section is read by the reading section by the control means. If it is within the specified range corresponding to the width of the article based on the data of the article, the processing is continued, and if it is not within the specified range, the processing is stopped, so that it is possible to prevent the processing of abnormal goods beforehand Become.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the transporting device according to the fourth aspect, wherein the traveling vehicle includes a transfer conveyor that receives the articles input from the article input section and sends the articles at the sending position, and a measuring section. And positioning means for positioning the articles mounted on the transfer conveyor in the width direction by an amount corresponding to the measured width of the articles.

[0018] Then, by positioning the articles mounted on the transfer conveyor of the traveling vehicle in the width direction by the positioning means, and positioning the articles on the transfer conveyor of the traveling vehicle to an accurate delivery position. It is possible to adjust the width of the articles mounted on the transfer conveyor in the width direction by the amount corresponding to the width of the articles measured by the measuring unit, so that the articles can be shifted without pressing more than necessary And

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the transporting apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein an article receiving portion for receiving an article delivered from the traveling carriage is provided at each delivery position. A detection unit is provided corresponding to each of the article receiving units, and the traveling vehicle has a sensor for detecting the detection unit, and stops traveling when the detection unit at the designated sending position is detected by the sensor. Is sent to the article receiving section.

An article receiving section for receiving an article sent from the traveling vehicle is provided at each of the sending positions, and a detecting section is arranged corresponding to each article receiving section. When the detection unit is detected, the traveling of the traveling trolley is stopped and the articles are sent to the article receiving unit, whereby the articles of the traveling trolley can be accurately sent to the article receiving unit.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the transportation device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the traveling vehicle has signal output means for outputting a signal corresponding to the travel distance. Based on the output signal, the article stops at the designated sending position and sends the article to the article receiving section.

The traveling vehicle has signal output means for outputting a signal corresponding to the traveling amount, so that the traveling vehicle itself recognizes the traveling position based on the signal output from the signal output means. It is possible to accurately stop at the designated delivery position and deliver the article.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 2, the picking device 11 is shown,
The picking device 11 stores a plurality of types of articles, each of which stores a plurality of articles by type, and which can eject opposing articles one by one based on picking data. Is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the article storage device 12 has an article storage section 21 for storing a plurality of articles a by type in a single row. The article storage section 21 has a storage frame. A roller conveyor 25 is formed between the guide plates 23 on both sides of the storage frame 22 on the storage frame 22, and a plurality of rollers 24 are arranged on the lower surface of the article storage unit 21 in a freely rotatable manner. I have. An opening 26 is formed at an end of the article storage section 21 facing the transport device 13 as an article receiving section for receiving replenishment of the article a.
The articles a on 25 are moved by their own weight in the tip direction and aligned.
The article a is stopped at the tip of the article storage section 21 and 1
A projection unit (not shown) for projecting each piece is provided. A tag 27 as a detection unit is attached to the lower side of each guide plate 23 on the opening 26 side. And the goods storage section
21 are arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction (FIG. 10
2 are shown in FIG. 2), and a plurality of rows are provided side by side in each row (shown in FIG. 2).

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Has a plurality of traveling carts 31 on which articles a are mounted and travels, and a traveling rail section 32 on which the traveling cars 31 travel is disposed over the entire area of the article storage section 21 of the article storage device 12, and a traveling rail At one end of the section 32, a forward path lifting / lowering section 33 for raising / lowering (elevating) the traveling vehicle 31 is provided, and at the other end of the traveling rail section 32, a backward path lifting / lowering section 34 for raising / lowering (down) the traveling vehicle 31 is provided. An article input section 35 for inputting an article a to be replenished is provided on a side of the forward path side elevating section 33.

The traveling rail portion 32 has a rail frame 41, and the rail frame 41 has a plurality of forward rails 42 in the vertical direction corresponding to the height positions of the respective stages of the article storage section 21 in the plurality of stages. Are provided, and a return-side rail 43 is provided at the lowest stage. A traveling bogie on each outbound side rail 42
31 travels from one end to the other end in the traveling direction A, and the traveling vehicle 31 travels from the other end to the one end in the traveling direction B on the return-side rail 43. Note that the positions of the outgoing-side rails 42 corresponding to the article storage units 21 at each stage of the article storage device 12 are configured as delivery positions for delivering the articles a from the traveling cart 31.

The forward rail 42 and the backward rail
Reference numeral 43 denotes a rail 44 mounted on one side of the rail frame 41 and a rail 44 mounted on the other side as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 (FIG. 2 shows the outward rail 42, but the return rail 43 has the same structure). An electrode 46 for supplying power to the traveling carriage 31 is disposed below one of the rails 44,
On the rail 45 on the other side, for example, an uneven detecting piece 47 for detecting the position of the traveling carriage 31 is attached.

Further, the forward-side lifting / lowering portion 33 is provided in the manner shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, a column 51 erected on one end side of the traveling rail portion 32, and a lifting body driven up and down along the column 51
Has 52. The elevating body 52 has transfer rails 53, 54 on both sides that can be connected to one end of each of the rails 44, 45 on both sides of the running rail portion 32.
Elevated with the 31 mounted.

The return-side elevating portion 34 has a column 55 erected on the other end of the traveling rail portion 32, and an elevating body 56 driven up and down along the column 55. The elevating body 56 has transfer rails 57, 58 on both sides that can be connected to the other end of each of the rails 44, 45 on both sides of the traveling rail portion 32.
The traveling carriage 31 is mounted on 7, 58 and is raised and lowered.

As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 6 to FIG. 8, the article input section 35 has a supply conveyor 61 for conveying the article a to be replenished. Injection direction C for feeding into the side elevating unit 33
Feed conveyor 62, aligned conveyor 6 arranged in one row
3, and the input conveyor 64.

The supply conveyor 61 is constituted by a roller conveyor and has a box b or an article a containing a predetermined number of articles a.
It is thrown in itself. On the upper surface of the box b or the article a, for example, a bar code indicating data such as the type and the number of the article a is displayed. Above the supply conveyor 61, a reading unit 65 such as a barcode reader that reads a barcode displayed on the box b, that is, reads data of the article a is provided.

The feed conveyor 62 is constituted by a belt conveyor, and the articles a taken out of the boxes b are transferred in a line along the loading direction C and sent to the alignment conveyor 63.

The alignment conveyor 63 is constituted by a belt conveyor. A reference guide 66 for positioning the article a is provided on one side in the belt width direction, and a reference guide 66 is provided on the other side.
Width adjustment mechanism 67 for narrowing and positioning the article a between
Is provided, and a stopper 68 for stopping the article a is provided between the charging conveyor 64 and the loading conveyor 64 so as to be able to protrude and retract. The alignment conveyor 63, the reference guide 66, the width shifting mechanism 67, and the stopper 68 allow the same type of article a to be mounted on one traveling carriage 31 in the loading direction C based on the data of the article a read by the reading unit 65. An aligning section 69 for aligning and positioning the articles a in the width direction orthogonal to the loading direction C is configured.

The width shifting mechanism 67 has a width shifting plate 70 facing the reference guide 66, and a plurality of guide shafts 71 project from the rear surface of the width shifting plate 70, and these guide shafts 71 are arranged on the alignment conveyor 63. It is slidably supported by the slide receiving portion 73 of the support portion 72 installed on the side, that is, slidably supported in the direction in which the width approach plate 70 comes into contact with and separates from the reference guide 66. A cylinder body 75 of a cylinder 74 is mounted on the support portion 72, and a tip of a rod 76 which is advanced and retracted from the cylinder body 75 is connected to a width approach plate 70,
By the operation of the cylinder 74, the width shifting plate 70 is moved forward and backward toward the reference guide 66. The cylinder 74 has a reference guide
A measuring unit 77 for measuring the distance between the width 66 and the width adjustment plate 70, that is, the width of the article a, is incorporated. This measuring unit 77
The width data of the article a measured in is transmitted to the traveling vehicle 31 on which the article a is mounted.

The input conveyor (standby conveyor) 64 is constituted by a belt conveyor. On one side in the belt width direction, a reference guide continuous to the reference guide 66 of the alignment conveyor 63 is provided.
78, and a stopper 79 in the ejection direction C is provided. The stopper 79 moves up and down by the operation of the cylinder 80 disposed below the charging conveyor 64.

As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the traveling vehicle 31 has a base 81 having a substantially rectangular frame shape. Wheels 82 and 83 that roll on the respective rails 44 and 45 of the outward rail 42 and the return rail 43 are rotatably supported on the respective wheels. The wheels 82 on both sides located on the front side in the traveling direction A are integrally connected by an interlocking shaft 84, and a motor 85
Is transmitted by the transmission belt 86, the wheels 82 rotate and the traveling vehicle 31 travels. On the lower surface of the other side of the base 81, a guide roller 87 that rotatably engages with both sides of the other side rail 45 and guides the traveling direction A (the traveling direction B) of the traveling carriage 31 is rotatably supported. ing.

On the lower surface of the base 81, a slider 88 which is brought into sliding contact with the electrode 46 of one of the rails 44 to take in the power into the traveling carriage 31 is attached. A detection sensor 89 is attached to the front. A pulse signal is generated from the detection sensor 89 as the traveling vehicle 31 travels, and is used for detecting the traveling position of the traveling vehicle 31 and controlling the deceleration or stop of the traveling vehicle 31.

On the base 81, a transfer conveyor 91 for receiving the article a input from the article input section 35 and sending the article a to the article storage section 21 of the article storage apparatus 12 at the delivery position.
Are arranged. The transfer conveyor 91 has a conveyor frame 92 mounted on a base 81. Rollers 93 are rotatably supported at both ends of the conveyor frame 92, and the traveling frame 31 is A transfer belt 94 is stretched in a direction orthogonal to the traveling directions A and B. The transfer belt 94 is rotationally driven in a receiving direction D for receiving the article a input from the article input section 35, and in a sending direction E for sending the article a to the article storage section 21 of the article storage apparatus 12 in a direction opposite to the receiving direction D. You. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 13, two sets of detection sensors 95 for detecting the article a on the transfer belt 94 are provided at both ends of the transfer conveyor 91, respectively. Each detection sensor 95,
It has a light emitter 96 and a light receiver 97 attached to both sides of the conveyor frame 92, respectively, and is arranged so that detection light projected and received between the light emitter 96 and the light receiver 97 passes over the transfer belt 94. ing.

On one side of the transfer conveyor 91 in the belt width direction (opposite to the traveling direction E of the traveling carriage 31), a reference guide 100 for positioning the article a is provided, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11. Above the transfer conveyor 91, a positioning means 101 is arranged between the reference guide 100 and the positioning guide 101 for positioning the article a in the width direction orthogonal to the delivery direction E at the delivery position. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the positioning means 101 has a frame 102 erected on a base 81 across a transfer conveyor 91.
A plurality of guide rails 104 are attached along the belt width direction to the lower surface of the ceiling 103 of
The moving plate 106 is mounted on the moving plate 106 via a slide member 105 slidably engaged with the moving plate 106.
A width shift plate 107 is attached to a lower surface of the transfer conveyor 91 and suspended to a position close to the upper surface of the transfer conveyor 91. Pulleys 108 and 109 are rotatably supported at both ends of the ceiling 103, respectively. A belt 110 is stretched between the pulleys 108 and 109, and a moving plate 106 is connected to one portion of the belt 110 via a connecting portion 111. Motor 112 is connected to one pulley 108.
Are connected. Then, by the forward / reverse drive of the motor 112, the width shifting plate 107 is moved forward and backward so as to approach and separate from the reference guide 100. At this time, since the width data of the article a measured by the measuring unit 77 has been transmitted in advance to the traveling trolley 31, the positioning unit 101 is based on the numerical value.
By appropriately adjusting the width, it is possible to adjust the width of the article a without excessively pressing the article a when adjusting the width of the traveling carriage 31.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a bracket 115 is attached to the lower surface of the end of the transfer frame 91 in the feeding direction E of the conveyor frame 92.
A sensor 15 such as a reflection-type optical sensor for detecting the tag 27 of the article storage unit 21 at one side in the belt width direction of the transfer conveyor 91, that is, at a position opposite to the traveling direction E of the traveling carriage 31
Six are arranged.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Are a main body control unit 121 as control means, and a bogie control unit 122 mounted on each traveling bogie 31 to control the traveling bogie 31.
The main body control section 121 and each carriage control section 122 are configured to communicate with each other wirelessly. The main body control unit 121 transmits the article a based on the data of the article a read by the reading unit 65 (the article storage unit 2).
1), the traveling trolley 31 loaded with the article a is sent to the forward-side rail 42 corresponding to the designated delivery position (article storage section 21) by the forward-side elevation section 33, and the delivery position (article storage section). 21) has a function of sending out the article a from the traveling cart 31.

Next, the operation of transporting the article a by the transport apparatus 13 and replenishing the article storage apparatus 12 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

The reading section 65 of the supply conveyor 61 reads the supplied bar code displayed on the box b or the article a itself, and transfers the bar code onto the feed conveyor 62 of the article input section 35 (step 1). The main body control section 121 sets the destination article storage section 21 and the number thereof based on the read data of the article a (step 2).

The articles a on the feed conveyor 62 are aligned.
63, the articles a are stopped by the stoppers 68 of the alignment conveyor 63, and a predetermined number of articles a
Are aligned in the loading direction C, the article a is shifted in the width direction orthogonal to the loading direction C by the width shifting plate 70 of the width shifting mechanism 67, and positioned with the reference guide 66.
At this time, the measurement unit 77 measures the distance between the reference guide 66 and the width-adjusting plate 70, that is, the width of the article a, and the measured width of the article a is read by the reading unit 65.
(Step 3). For example, if the measured width of the article a is within the specified range corresponding to the width of the article a based on the data, the processing is continued, and if not, the processing is stopped and the abnormality is notified. Further, the width data of the article a measured by the measuring unit 77 is transmitted to the traveling vehicle 31 on which the article a is mounted.

If there is no article a on the input conveyor 64, the articles a aligned by the alignment conveyor 63 are conveyed to the input conveyor 64 and wait until the traveling carriage 31 arrives (step 4).

The elevating unit 33 lowers the elevating body 52 to the height position of the lowermost return rail 43 of the traveling rail unit 32 to receive the traveling vehicle 31 and the height of the first-stage outward rail 42. It is raised to the position. When the elevating body 52 is located at the height position of the first step outward rail 42, the traveling carriage 31 on the elevating body 52 is located at a height position for receiving the article a from the article input unit 35.

The articles a are loaded from the loading conveyor 64 into the traveling carriage 31 on the elevating body 52 located at the height of the first-stage outgoing-side rail 42 (step 5). At this time, the transfer conveyor 91 of the traveling carriage 31 receives the article a input from the input conveyor 64 while rotating in the receiving direction D.

When the receiving of the article a on the transfer conveyor 91 of the traveling carriage 31 is completed, the width shifting plate 1 of the positioning means 101
According to 07, the article a is shifted in the width direction orthogonal to the sending direction E, and is positioned and held with the reference guide 100 (step 6). At this time, since the width data of the article a measured by the measuring unit 77 has been transmitted to the traveling vehicle 31 in advance, the width of the traveling vehicle 31 is adjusted by appropriately positioning the width based on the numerical value by the positioning means 101. At the time of shifting, the article a can be shifted without pressing the article a more than necessary.

The elevating unit 33 raises the elevating body 52 to the level of the outgoing rail 42 where the article storage unit 21 for replenishing the articles a on the traveling carriage 31 is provided (step 7). In addition,
In the case of the first step outward rail 42, the traveling carriage 31 is not raised.

When the elevating body 52 rises to a predetermined height of the outward rail 42, the traveling vehicle 31 starts traveling and travels the outward rail 42 from one end to the traveling direction A on the other end. (Step 8).

Each article storage section 21 is detected by the sensor 116 of the traveling carriage 31.
The traveling cart 31 is stopped when the tag 27 of the predetermined article storage section 21 is detected (step 9).

While the traveling vehicle 31 is traveling, a pulse signal is generated from the detection sensor 89 facing the detecting piece 47 of the rail 45 on the other side, and the traveling position of the traveling vehicle 31 is detected based on the pulse signal. At the same time, the tag 27 of each predetermined article storage section 21
The deceleration and the stop of the traveling vehicle 31 when detecting is detected.

The transfer conveyor 91 of the traveling vehicle 31 stopped at a predetermined position of the article storage section 21 is rotated in the sending direction E, and the article a is sent to the article storage section 21 (step 10).

The traveling trolley 31, which has completed the feeding of the article a, resumes traveling in the traveling direction A, and travels to a standby position at the other end of the outward rail 42 before the return elevator 34 (step 11). . Meanwhile, the width adjusting plate 107 of the positioning means 101 is opened in a direction away from the reference guide 100 to return to the initial origin.

While the traveling vehicle 31 is traveling, a pulse signal is generated from the detection sensor 89 facing the detecting piece 47 of the rail 45 on the other side, and the traveling position of the traveling vehicle 31 is detected based on the pulse signal. At the same time, it controls the deceleration and the stop of the traveling vehicle 31 to the stop position according to the presence or absence of the traveling vehicle that is already waiting at the standby position.

An elevating body 56 of the return-side elevating unit 34 having an empty traveling vehicle
The traveling carriage 31 at the standby position at the other end of the forward-side rail 42 rises to the height position of the forward-side rail 42 that receives the
Accept (step 12).

The elevating body 56 is lowered to the height of the lowermost inbound rail 43 by the inbound / outgoing elevator 34 (step 1).
3).

When the elevating body 56 descends to the height position of the return side rail 43, the traveling carriage 31 starts running, and the return side rail 43
From the other end in the traveling direction B on one end (step 14), and waits for the next conveyance at a standby position on one end of the return rail 43 (step 15).

While the traveling vehicle 31 is traveling, a pulse signal is generated from the detection sensor 89 facing the detecting piece 47 of the rail 45 on the other side, and the traveling position of the traveling vehicle 31 is detected based on the pulse signal. At the same time, it controls the deceleration and the stop of the traveling vehicle 31 to the stop position according to the presence or absence of the traveling vehicle that is already waiting at the standby position.

The elevating body 52 is lowered to the height of the lowermost return-side rail 43 of the traveling rail section 32 by the forward-side elevation section 33,
The traveling carriage 31 is transferred onto the elevating body 52 (step 16). The elevating body 52 is moved to the first-stage outgoing-side rail 42 by the outgoing-side elevating unit 33.
(Step 17).

In this way, the articles a whose data has been read by the reading section 65 are sequentially conveyed by the traveling carriage 31 and
The twelve article storage sections 21 are replenished.

As described above, on the traveling rail portion 32, a plurality of steps of the outward side rails 42 on which the traveling vehicle 31 travels only from one end to the other end, and the traveling vehicle 31 is moved from the other end. Since the exclusive return-side rail 43 that runs only in the return direction at one end side is provided, the traveling carriage 31 loaded with the article a to be inserted from the article input section 35 is moved by the forward-side elevation section 33 to each forward-side rail 42. The article a is delivered from the traveling carriage 31 at a predetermined delivery position in the middle of traveling on the outward rail 42, and the empty traveling carriage 31 reaching the other end of the outward rail 42 is returned by the backward traveling elevating section 34. In addition to being able to be sent back to the side rails 43, a plurality of traveling carts 31 can simultaneously travel on each of the outward path rails 42 and the return path rails 43, and the article a can be efficiently transported.

Further, the article input unit 3 is controlled by the main body control unit 121.
5. A sending position for sending out the article a is specified based on the data of the article a read by the reading unit
Is transported to the forward-side rail 42 corresponding to the designated delivery position by the forward-side lifting / lowering section 33, and the article a is delivered from the traveling carriage 31 at the delivery position, from the recognition of the article a to the delivery. Can be automated.

Further, the same type of articles a to be mounted on one traveling carriage 31 is aligned in the loading direction C based on the data of the articles a read by the reading section 65 by the aligning section 69 of the article input section 35. At the same time, the articles a are aligned in the width direction orthogonal to the loading direction C and positioned, and the articles a aligned by the alignment section 69 are loaded from the loading conveyor 64 into the empty traveling carriage 31. a can be efficiently and reliably mounted on the traveling carriage 31.

The width of the article a is measured by the measuring section 77 when the aligning section 69 moves the article a in the width direction and positioned, and the article a measured by the measuring section 77 is measured by the main body control section 121.
If the width is within the specified range corresponding to the width of the article a based on the data of the article a read by the reading unit 65, the process is continued, and if not, the process is stopped.
It is possible to prevent the abnormal article a from being processed.

The positioning means 101 allows the traveling vehicle 3
Since the articles a mounted on the transfer conveyor 91 are positioned in the width direction orthogonal to the delivery direction E at the delivery position and positioned, the articles a on the transfer conveyor 91 of the traveling vehicle 31 are positioned.
Can be sent to an accurate sending position, and the transfer conveyor 91 can be transferred by an amount corresponding to the width of the article a measured by the measuring unit 77.
By narrowing the article a mounted thereon in the width direction, the article a can be narrowed without being pressed more than necessary.

A tag 27 is provided at each of the delivery positions corresponding to the opening 26 of the article storage section 21 for receiving the article a delivered from the traveling carriage 31, and the delivery position specified by the sensor 116 of the traveling carriage 31. When the tag 27 is detected, the traveling of the traveling trolley 31 is stopped and the article a is sent out to the opening 26 of the article storage unit 21, so that the article a of the traveling trolley 31 is moved to the opening 26 of the article storage 21. Can be sent accurately.

The article input section 35 is disposed at the end of the return-side rail 43, and supplies the article a to the traveling carriage 31 before the traveling carriage 31 moves on to the elevating section 52 of the forward-side elevation section 33. The article a can be efficiently transported.

The traveling vehicle 31 is provided with a pulse encoder as a signal generating means on one of the wheels 82 and 83, the interlocking shaft 84, and the motor 85. The pulse encoder is generated by the pulse encoder as the traveling vehicle 31 moves. The traveling position of the traveling vehicle 31 is recognized based on the pulse to be transmitted, and the traveling vehicle 31 is stopped and controlled at the designated delivery position, so that the article a is moved to the opening 26 of the article storing section 21.
The traveling position of the traveling vehicle 31 itself can be recognized.

[0071]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of forward rails on which the traveling vehicle travels only in the outward direction from one end to the other end, and the traveling vehicle are provided on the traveling rail portion. A dedicated return-side rail that runs only from the other end to the return direction of the one-end side is provided, so the traveling cart loaded with the articles to be loaded from the article input unit is sent to each forward-side rail by the forward-side elevator. An article can be sent from the traveling vehicle at a predetermined delivery position on the way to travel on the outward rail, and the empty traveling vehicle that has reached the other end of the outward rail can be sent back to the backward rail by the return elevator. In addition to this, a plurality of traveling vehicles can simultaneously travel on each of the outward route rail and the return route rail, and the articles can be transported efficiently.

According to the transporting device of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the transporting device of the first aspect, the article is sent out by the control means based on the data of the article read by the reading section of the article input section. Since the traveling cart carrying the article is sent to the forward rail corresponding to the designated dispatching position by the forward-side elevator, the article is sent from the traveling cart at the dispatch position. To transmission can be automated.

According to the transport device of the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the transport device of the second aspect, one unit based on the data of the articles read by the reading unit by the alignment unit of the article input unit. The same type of articles to be mounted on the traveling cart are aligned in the loading direction, the articles are aligned in the width direction perpendicular to the loading direction, positioned, and the articles aligned by the alignment unit are empty from the loading conveyor. Therefore, articles of the same type can be efficiently and reliably mounted on the traveling vehicle.

According to the transporting device of the fourth aspect, in addition to the effect of the transporting device of the third aspect, the width of the article is adjusted when the measuring section aligns the article in the width direction at the aligning section and positions the article. If the width of the article measured by the measuring unit by the control unit is within the specified range corresponding to the width of the article based on the data of the article read by the reading unit, the processing is continued, and if the width is not within the specified range, Since the processing is stopped, it is possible to prevent an abnormal article from being processed.

According to the transfer device of the fifth aspect, in addition to the effect of the transfer device of the fourth aspect, the article mounted on the transfer conveyor of the traveling vehicle is shifted in the width direction by the positioning means. Position, so that the articles on the transfer conveyor of the traveling cart can be sent to the correct sending position,
By narrowing the articles mounted on the transfer conveyor in the width direction by the amount corresponding to the width of the articles measured by the measuring unit,
The width of the article can be adjusted without excessively pressing the article.

According to the transfer device of the sixth aspect, in addition to the effect of the transfer device of any one of the first to fifth aspects, an article receiving section for receiving an article sent from the traveling carriage is provided at each sending position. In addition, a detection unit is arranged corresponding to each article receiving unit, and when the sensor of the traveling vehicle detects the detection unit at the specified sending position, the traveling vehicle stops running and the goods are sent to the item receiving unit. Therefore, the articles on the traveling trolley can be accurately sent to the article receiving section.

According to the transfer device of the seventh aspect, in addition to the effect of the transfer device of any one of the first to fifth aspects, the traveling vehicle has signal output means for outputting a signal corresponding to the traveling amount. On the basis of the signal output from the signal output means, the traveling carriage can recognize the traveling position by itself and accurately stop at the designated transmitting position and transmit the article.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a picking device to which the transport device is applied.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a relationship between a traveling cart of the conveyance device and an article receiving unit.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a relationship between a traveling cart of the conveyance device and an article receiving unit.

FIG. 5 is a rear view showing a relationship between a traveling cart of the conveyance device and an article receiving unit.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an article input section of the conveyance device.

FIG. 7 is a side view of an article input section of the conveyance device.

FIG. 8 is a rear view of an article input section of the conveyance device.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the traveling vehicle in which the traveling rail portion and a part of the transporting device are omitted.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the traveling vehicle in which the traveling rails and a part of the transportation device are omitted.

FIG. 11 is a rear view of the traveling vehicle in which the traveling rail portion and a part of the transporting device are omitted.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a transfer conveyor of the traveling vehicle.

FIG. 13 is a front view of the transfer conveyor in which a part of the traveling cart is omitted.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the positioning means in which a part of the traveling vehicle is omitted.

FIG. 15 is a rear view of the positioning means in which a part of the traveling vehicle is omitted.

FIG. 16 is a configuration diagram of a control system of the conveyance device.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of transporting articles by the transport apparatus and refilling the articles in the article storage device.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart following FIG. 17;

[Explanation of symbols]

 13 Transport device 26 Opening as an article receiving unit 27 Tag as a detecting unit 31 Traveling trolley 32 Traveling rail unit 33 Outgoing side elevating unit 34 Incoming side elevating unit 35 Article input unit 42 Outgoing side rail 43 Returning side rail 64 Input conveyor 65 Reading unit 69 Alignment unit 77 Measuring unit 91 Transfer conveyor 101 Positioning means 116 Sensor 121 Control unit as control means a Article

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kenichi Yamashita 900 Konouchi, Noguchi-cho, Kakogawa City, Hyogo Prefecture Inside Okura Transport Aircraft Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yutaka Saeki 900 Kouchi, Noguchi-cho, Noguchi-cho, Kakogawa City, Hyogo Prefecture F-term in Okura Transport Co., Ltd. (reference) 3F022 EE05 FF12 JJ11 JJ15 JJ19 LL16 LL32 LL33 MM08 MM11 MM13 MM26 MM30 NN02 NN26 PP01 PP04 QQ03 QQ12 QQ13

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A traveling vehicle on which an article is mounted and capable of delivering the loaded article, and a plurality of stages arranged in a vertical direction, wherein the traveling vehicle travels from one end to the other end. A traveling rail section having a plurality of forward-side rails for delivering articles from the traveling carriage at a predetermined delivery position in the middle thereof, and at least one return-side rail on which the traveling carriage travels from the other end to one end. And a forward-going side elevating unit that is disposed at one end of the traveling rail portion, receives the traveling vehicle from the return-side rail, and sends the traveling vehicle to the outward-side rail corresponding to the delivery position of the article mounted on the traveling vehicle. A return-side elevation unit that is disposed at the other end of the traveling rail unit, receives a traveling vehicle from each of the outward-side rails, and feeds the traveling vehicle to the return-side rail; In conveying apparatus characterized in that it comprises a product loading portion to introduce an article the traveling vehicle to an empty traveling vehicle and before feeding the forward side rails. 2. A reading section for reading data of an article by an article input section, and a sending position for sending an article based on the data of the article read by the reading section is designated. 2. The transport device according to claim 1, further comprising control means for causing the lifting unit to feed the article to a forward-side rail corresponding to the designated delivery position, and for delivering the articles from the traveling cart at the delivery position. 3. An article loading section aligns articles of the same type mounted on one traveling vehicle in the loading direction on the basis of data of the articles read by the reading section, and widths the articles at right angles to the loading direction. 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: an aligning section for positioning the sheet by shifting the width in the direction, and a loading conveyor for receiving the articles aligned by the aligning section and throwing the articles into an empty traveling cart. . 4. The article input section has a measurement section for measuring the width of the article when positioning the article in the width direction by the aligning section, and the control means controls the article measured by the measurement section. The width of
4. The transport apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processing is continued if the distance is within a specified range corresponding to the width of the article based on the data of the article read by the reading unit, and the processing is stopped if the distance is not within the specified range. . 5. A traveling vehicle, comprising: a transfer conveyor for receiving an article input from an article input section and sending the article at a delivery position; and a transfer conveyor corresponding to the width of the article measured by the measurement section. 5. The transport device according to claim 4, further comprising a positioning means for positioning the mounted article by shifting the width thereof in the width direction. 6. An article receiving section for receiving an article sent from the traveling trolley is provided at each delivery position, and a detection section is arranged corresponding to each article receiving section. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor for detecting the detecting unit, wherein when the detecting unit detects the detecting unit at the designated sending position, the traveling is stopped and the article is sent to the article receiving unit. Transport device. 7. The traveling vehicle has signal output means for outputting a signal corresponding to the traveling amount, and stops at a designated sending position based on a signal output from the signal output means to receive the article. 6. The signal is transmitted to
The transfer device according to any one of the above.