JP7223432B2 - Article collection device, article loading device and article storage device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article assembling apparatus for arranging articles so as not to waste space and flat surfaces as much as possible when storing a plurality of articles in a box or placing them on a pallet or the like.
The present invention also relates to an article loading device and an article storage device for loading articles into boxes, pallets, and the like.

In recent years, commodity transactions by mail order are popular.
In mail-order sales, a consumer places an order for merchandise with a sales source via the Internet or the like. It is not uncommon for a large number of products to be ordered at one time.
The seller may pack and ship miscellaneous items in a box. In such a case, the worker at the sales source devise ways to pack more articles into one box.
In addition, miscellaneous items or many items may be placed on a pallet and moved.

JP 2017-171430 A

The work of packing miscellaneous goods into boxes and placing them on pallets has been done manually by workers. In addition, the work required a great deal of labor and time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention proposes an article assembling device, an article loading device, and an article storage device that can assist boxing work and the like and reduce the labor of workers.

A mode for solving the above-described problems is an article assembling device that uses an article carrying-in member as a storage container or a placing table, and assembles a plurality of articles when storing a plurality of articles in the article carrying-in member, wherein the shape of the article carrying-in member carrying-in destination information storage means for storing information related to the item, item information acquisition means for acquiring information related to the shape of each item, item selection means, and sorting means for sorting the items, wherein the sorting The means has an article placement surface that spreads in a planar shape, and can move the articles on the article placement surface. Then, from the shape of each article obtained based on the information obtained by the article information obtaining means, articles are selected so that more articles can be packed into the article carrying-in member, and the articles selected by the sorting means. It is an article assembling device characterized in that it is possible to collect .

The storage container includes, for example, a cardboard box, a case, and the like. The mounting table includes a pallet.
According to this aspect, it is possible to reduce the wasted space of boxes and pallets by putting the collected articles into boxes or the like. Also, smaller boxes can be used, reducing shipping costs.

In the above aspect, it is desirable that the rearrangement means arranges the plurality of articles in a layout that matches the article carrying-in member.

According to this aspect, it is possible to store them in a box or the like while maintaining the arranged layout.

Another aspect for solving a similar problem is an article assembling device that uses an article carrying-in member as a storage container or a placing table, and assembles a plurality of articles when accommodating a plurality of articles in the article carrying-in member, wherein: It has delivery destination information storage means for storing information relating to the shape, article information acquisition means for acquiring information relating to the shape of each article, and rearrangement means for rearranging the articles, wherein the rearrangement means It has an article placement surface that expands into a shape, and can move articles on the article placement surface. According to the shape of each article obtained based on the information obtained, the article arranging device arranges a plurality of articles in a layout suitable for the article carrying-in member.

In each of the above-described modes, it is desirable that the sorting means arranges the articles in the order to be put into the article carrying-in member.

In each of the above-described modes, a plurality of transport cells are arranged on the article placement surface, and the transport cells have a moving function of moving the transported object and a transport direction changing function of changing the transport direction. should be included.

In each of the above-described aspects, it is preferable that a space calculation function is provided, and that the combination and/or layout of the articles that reduce the gap when the plurality of articles are accommodated in the article carrying-in member is calculated by the space calculation function.

In each of the above-described modes, it is desirable to have article carrying member selection means for selecting an article carrying member.

In each of the above-described modes, in order to stack and store articles in a plurality of tiers in the article carrying-in member, the articles may be collected together in each tier and the collectively collected articles may be discharged in order from the lower tier side. desirable.

Another aspect for solving a similar problem has a carrying-in member arranging section for arranging an article carrying-in member, and the article handling device according to any one of the above aspects, and directly from the article handling device or other and a plurality of articles can be automatically accommodated in the article carrying-in member through the transportation means.

In the above aspect, it is desirable that the lifting member is provided inside the article carrying-in member.

In the above-described mode, when an article is to be stored in the article carrying-in member, the elevating member is raised to place the elevating member near the upper end of the article carrying-in member, the article is moved onto the elevating member, and then the elevating member is lowered. It is desirable to

In the above-described mode, when articles are stacked in multiple stages and stored in the article carrying-in member, the height of the elevating member is adjusted so that the upper part of the accommodated articles is positioned near the upper end of the article carrying-in member. and, thereafter, the articles forming the next stage are preferably received by the article-carrying member.

In the above aspect, it is desirable to have a shutter covering the upper part of the article carrying-in member, move the article to the shutter, and then open the shutter to store the article in the article carrying-in member.

In the above-described aspect, the article carrying-in member is a storage box, the carrying-in member arrangement portion has an article storage device, the article storage device has a storage box and an elevating device, and the storage box has a side wall and an elevating member. , and the lifting device is installed below the roller conveyor device. An article storage device for taking in and out articles from a roller conveyor, wherein the elevating member is a plate member and has receiving portions at a plurality of locations on the lower surface side, and the elevating device is adjacent in the conveying direction of the roller conveyor device. It is desirable to have a lifting member that moves up and down between the rollers, said lifting member engaging a receiving portion of the lifting member.

In the above aspect, it is preferable that one of the receiving portion and the push-up member has a concave portion and the other has a convex portion so that they are engaged with each other in an uneven manner.

In each aspect described above, it is preferable that at least one of the receiving portion and the boosting member is provided with a magnet, and the receiving portion and the boosting member are attracted by the magnet.

In each of the above-described aspects, the roller conveyor device is inclined because the heights of the one side end and the other side end of each roller of the roller conveyor device are different, and the roller conveyor device is inclined. should be placed.

In each of the above-described modes, the article assembling apparatus has an upstream conveying apparatus, and the upstream conveying apparatus conveys the articles to be thrown into the article assembling apparatus in a storage box, and intersects the conveying direction. It is possible to support the storage box in a direction inclined to the direction, and has a bottom lifting means for lifting and lowering the bottom of the storage box. is gradually and/or slowly raised so that the articles piled up in the storage box can be discharged sequentially from the upper side.

Another aspect for solving a similar problem has a storage box and a lifting device, the storage box has a side wall and a lifting member, and is conveyed by a roller conveyor device, and the lifting device is installed below the roller conveyor device, and is an article storage device for raising and lowering an elevating member of the storage box along the side wall by an elevating device and taking in and out articles from the upper part of the storage box, wherein the elevating member is a plate member, and has a plurality of receiving portions on the lower surface side, and the lifting device has a lifting member that moves up and down through between rollers adjacent in the conveying direction of the roller conveyor device. and wherein the push-up member engages with a receiving portion of an elevating member.

According to the article assembling device, the article loading device, and the article storage device of the present invention, it is possible to automate the sorting work and the like at the time of boxing and the like, and to reduce the labor of the operator.

1 is a perspective view of an article loading device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a connecting conveyor and a box that constitute the article loading device of FIG. 1; 1A and 1B are a plan view of an article sorting device and a configuration diagram of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the article organizing device of Fig. 3; 3 is a perspective view of a transport cell unit; FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the surface plate of the transport cell unit is removed from the article sorting device of FIG. 4; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a transport cell that constitutes the article handling device and the transport cell unit of FIG. 4 ; FIG. 8 is a skeleton diagram showing the power system of the transport cell of FIG. 7; (a) and (b) are plan views showing movement of articles on the article sorting device. (a) is an imaginary view showing a state in which articles are virtually packed in a box by calculation of a host controller, (b) is a group of articles in the first stage in the box, and (c) is a box. (d) is the third row of goods in the box. It is a modification of the article loading device, and is a perspective view showing the vicinity of the joint conveyor and the box transport conveyor, and (a) to (f) show the state in which the articles move from the joint conveyor side to the box side. 11(a) to 11(e) are perspective views showing the vicinity of a connecting conveyor and a box transport conveyor, and (a) to (e) show a state in which subsequent articles move from the connecting conveyor side to the box side, (f ) shows a state in which a storage box containing all articles to be stored is conveyed along a box conveyor. It is a modification of the article loading device, and is a perspective view showing an upstream conveyor and an introduction conveyor. It shows a state in which the sheets are discharged to the introduction conveyor in order from the upper stage. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the article storage device, showing a state in which the elevating member is lowered; It is a perspective view of an article|item accommodation apparatus, and shows the state which the raising/lowering member is raising. It is an exploded perspective view of an article storage device concerning this embodiment. (a) is an enlarged perspective view of the lifting device of FIG. 16, (b) is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the upper end of the boost member, and (c) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the upper end of the boost member. is. FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a part of the storage box of FIG. 16 cut away; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the upstream article storage device showing a state in which the upstream storage box is being moved onto the lifting device by the upstream conveyor device; FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the upstream article storage device showing a state in which the upstream storage box of FIG. 19 is stopped on the lifting device at the article ejection position; FIG. 21 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the upstream article storage device, continued from FIG. 20 , showing a state in which the push-up member of the lifting device is lifted and engaged with the receiving portion of the lifting member in the upstream storage box; Continuing from FIG. 21, the up-and-down member is lifted inside the upstream storage box by the push-up member, and the articles are exposed from the upper opening of the upstream storage box and can be discharged from the upstream storage box. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the device; FIG. FIG. 23 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the upstream article storage device, continued from FIG. 22, showing a state in which the articles on the lifting member are discharged; FIG. 24 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the upstream article storage device, continued from FIG. 23 , showing a state in which the lift member descends in the upstream storage box and the push-up member and the receiving portion of the lift member are disengaged. FIG. 24 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the upstream article storage device showing a state in which the upstream storage box is moved from the lifting device, continued from FIG. 24; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the downstream article storage device showing a state in which the downstream storage box is stopped on the lifting device at the article loading position; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the downstream article storage device in a state where the downstream storage box is stopped on the lifting device at the article carrying-in position and the lifting member is lifted to the vicinity of the shutter member; FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of the downstream article storage device showing a state in which articles are placed on the shutter member in the state of FIG. 27; FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view of the downstream article storage device showing a state in which the shutter member is opened from the state of FIG. 28 and articles are placed on the lifting member; FIG. 30 is a cross-sectional view of the downstream article storage device showing a state in which the lifting member is in the middle of being lowered from the state of FIG. 29; FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view of the downstream article storage device showing a state in which the elevating member descends to reach the bottom wall of the downstream storage box and articles are stored in the downstream storage box following the state of FIG. 30 ; FIG. 32 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the downstream article storage device showing a state in which the push-up member is further lowered and separated from the receiving portion following the state of FIG. 31;

Embodiments of the present invention will be further described below. The article loading device 100 of this embodiment is composed of an upstream conveyor 60, an introduction conveyor 50, an article assembling device 51, a connecting conveyor 52, and a box transport conveyor (carrying-in member arrangement portion) 53 as shown in FIG. there is For the convenience of drawing, the article assembling device 51 is drawn smaller than it actually is.

The article loading device 100 is a device for collecting articles to be boxed, arranging them in a shape (layout) that is easy to put in a storage box 39 (storage container, article carrying-in member), and automatically boxing them.
That is, the article loading device 100 puts the articles M (conveyed articles) into the article assembling device 51 by the introduction conveyor 50, collects the articles M to be boxed by the article assembling device 51, and aligns them in a layout that can be accommodated in the storage box 39. Then, in the state of being put together in the shape of the layout, the joint conveyor 52 is moved and stored in the storage box 39 as it is.

In this embodiment, a container box 39 (container) such as a cardboard box is used as an article carrying-in member, but a pallet (mounting table) can be used instead.

The most characteristic device in the article loading device 100 is the article collection device 51 .
As shown in FIG. 3, the article arranging device 51 is composed of the sorting device 2 (sorting means), the article information acquisition means 56 and the host controller 57 .

The rearrangement device 2 of this embodiment is implemented by a device having the structure shown in FIG. 4 and 6 show a part of the sorting device 2 for convenience of drawing, and the actual sorting device 2 has more transport cells 1 than those of FIGS. 4 and 6. FIG. The actual number of transport cells 1 is close to that of FIG.
The sorting device 2 has an article placement surface 32 on which the articles M are placed. As shown in FIG. 4, the article placement surface 32 is formed by arranging a large number of transport cells 1 in a plane. That is, the rearrangement device 2 having an article placement surface 32 is constructed by laying out a large number of transport cells 1 in a plane.

As will be described later, the transport cell 1 has a transport roller 3 and a swivel base 6 (FIGS. 5 and 6) for rotating the transport roller 3. As shown in FIG. The transport cell 1 functions as an urging means for urging the article M. As shown in FIG. The conveying cell 1 as biasing means has conveying rollers 3 that contact the bottom of the article M to move the article M. Further, the orientation of the conveying roller 3 is changed by a swivel base 6 to change the direction of biasing the article M. can do. That is, by changing the biasing direction of the article M, the conveying direction of the article M can be changed. By urging the article M with the conveying rollers 3 of the plurality of conveying cells 1, the conveying direction of the article M and the orientation of the article M can be changed, and the article M can be rotated. Specifically, by changing the biasing direction of each conveying roller 3, it is possible to change the conveying direction while changing the orientation of the article, or to rotate the article (rotating on the spot or rotating in a circular orbit). can be done.
The conveying cell 1 exerts a moving function in which the conveying roller 3 urges and moves the article M, and the swivel base 6 exerts an urging direction changing function. That is, each of the transport rollers 3 can exhibit the function of changing the direction of urging to change the direction of transport of the article M, thereby changing the direction of transport.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, four transport cells 1 are combined with one surface plate 33 to form a unit. The sorting device 2 is constructed by laying out the transport cell units 28 in a plane.
In the transport cell unit 28 , the front end portion of the swivel base 6 and part of the transport rollers 3 of each transport cell 1 are exposed from the surface plate 33 . The bottom of the article M contacts the conveying roller 3, and the article M receives an urging force from the conveying roller 3 as the conveying roller 3 rotates. Further, the conveying cell 1 can change the urging direction of the article M by rotating the swivel base 6 by the swivel motor 8 (FIGS. 6 to 8).

The appearance of the transport cell 1 is as shown in FIG.
The transport cell 1 has a moving function of moving the article M by urging it with the transport rollers 3 . The transport cell 1 is equipped with biasing direction changing means for changing the biasing direction of the article M. As shown in FIG. Specifically, the transport cell 1 has transport rollers 3 , and the article M is placed on the transport rollers 3 . The conveying roller 3 is rotated by a driving motor 9, and the rotation of the conveying roller 3 urges the bottom of the article M on the conveying roller 3 to move the article M. As shown in FIG.
Further, the transport cell 1 has a swivel base 6 so that the direction of the transport rollers 3 can be changed, and the urging direction of the article M can be changed.

As shown in FIG. 7, the transport cell 1 has, in order from the top, a travel section 5, a swivel base 6, a housing 7, a swivel motor 8, a travel motor 9, and the like.
The housing 7 is fixed to a fixing structure (not shown) of the sorting device 2 .
A turning motor 8 is fixed to the housing 7 . Further, a running motor 9 is fixed under the turning motor 8 .
The traveling part 5 is mounted on the swivel base 6 . The swivel base 6 is rotatably mounted on a swivel motor 8 .

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the traveling section 5 has two conveying rollers 3 (rotating bodies). The two transport rollers 3 are rotatably supported by a swivel base 6 . Further, the transport roller 3 is engaged with the drive roller 4 .
The drive roller 4 is rotated by power transmission from the drive shaft 14 of the running motor 9 via the bevel gear portion 15 and the bevel gear portion 23 , and the transport roller 3 is rotated by the rotation of the drive roller 4 .
That is, the conveying rollers 3 of the traveling section 5 are rotated by power transmission from the traveling motor 9 .

The swivel base 6 is a tubular member, and an internal gear 18 is provided inside. Rotational force is transmitted to the swivel base 6 from the swivel motor 8 via the gear 12 , the gear 13 and the internal gear 18 . Therefore, the swivel base 6 is rotated by the swivel motor 8 .
As described above, the traveling portion 5 is mounted on the swivel base 6 . Therefore, when the swivel base 6 rotates, the orientation of the traveling portion 5 changes, and the biasing direction for biasing the article M changes.
In this manner, the conveying cell 1 transmits the rotational force of the traveling motor 9 to the conveying roller 3, and the conveying roller 3 rotates, thereby urging the article M on the conveying roller 3 and moving the article M. can be done.

Further, by driving the turning motor 8, the turning base 6 is rotated, and the direction of the conveying roller 3 is changed, so that the biasing direction of the article M can be arbitrarily changed.
Thus, the transport cell 1 has a moving function of moving the article M and a biasing direction changing function of changing the biasing direction.
The sorting device 2 also has an article placement surface 32 formed by the surface plate 33 of the transport cell unit 28 and the tip of the swivel base 6 of the transport cell 1 , and the transport cell 1 is transported on the article placement surface 32 . Roller 3 is exposed. Therefore, by rotating the conveying roller 3, the article M on the article placement surface 32 can be moved, and by rotating the swivel base 6, the biasing direction can be arbitrarily changed.

The transport cell 1 is also provided with a load sensor 16 . The presence sensor 16 has the function of detecting the presence or passage of the article M. Further, the transport cell 1 has mutual communication means (not shown), and signals from the load sensor 16 and driving conditions of the traveling motors are transmitted to adjacent transport cells 1 .

In this embodiment, the transport cells 1 constituting the sorting device 2 can be operated in an intermittent operation mode. In the intermittent operation mode, the conveying rollers 3 of the own conveying cell 1 are started and stopped according to the placement state of the article M and the driving state of the surrounding conveying cells 1 .
In the intermittent operation mode, when there is an article M on the self-conveying cell 1 and there is no article M on the conveying cell 1 in front of the traveling direction, the traveling motor 9 of the self-conveying cell 1 is driven to move the self-conveying cell. Move the article M on 1. When the transport cell 1 forward in the direction of travel is in a state of transporting the article M and the transport cell 1 forward in the direction of travel does not move, the own transport cell 1 stops and the transport cell 1 forward in the direction of travel is stopped. When 1 moves, its own transport cell 1 is driven to move the article M on its own transport cell 1 .
Further, in this embodiment, the transport cells 1 constituting the sorting device 2 can be operated in a continuous operation mode. In the continuous operation mode, the transport rollers 3 are driven regardless of the placement state of the articles M and the like.

The sorting device 2 of this embodiment is constructed by laying a large number of the above-described transport cells 1 together.
The rearranging device 2 of this embodiment is rectangular in plan view.

An article information acquisition means 56 is provided near the sorting device 2 . The article information acquisition means 56 is a device for reading information without contact, such as a bar code reader or an RFID reader. In this embodiment, a barcode reader is employed as the article information acquisition means 56 .
The article handling device 51 also has a host controller 57 .
The host controller 57 incorporates a computer having a CPU and memory. Information related to the shape of the storage box 39 is stored in the memory of the host controller 57 . Specifically, the numerical values of the length, width, and height of the storage box 39 are stored as information.
In reality, there are a plurality of boxes such as large, medium, small, tall, tall, and low boxes, and shape information is stored for all the boxes used.

The memory also stores information about the shape of each article M in association with information attached to the article M such as a barcode. In this embodiment, the barcode of the article M identifies the article, and the shape of the article is read out from the memory. In this embodiment, the shape of the article M can be indirectly known from the barcode attached to the article, and the barcode records information related to the shape of the article.
The information on the shape of the article stores information on the external shape such as a rectangular parallelepiped, a cube, a columnar shape, a conical shape, and a plate shape, and numerical values of length, width, and height. Special information such as horizontal stacking prohibition and stacking prohibition is also stored.
In this manner, the memory of the host controller 57 functions as carrying-in destination information storage means and article shape storage means.

The host controller 57 also has a space calculation function for calculating how a plurality of ordered articles M should be combined and packed in the storage box 39 to reduce wasted space. It also has an article selection function for selecting articles necessary for combination. That is, the host controller 57 functions as article selection means.
Further, the host controller 57 receives the signal from the load sensor 16 of the transport cell 1 and the drive status of the traveling motor, and grasps the position of each article M on the article placement surface 32 .

The introduction conveyor 50 is a known conveyor device, and supplies the sorting device 2 with the articles M to be packed in the storage boxes 39 .
The connecting conveyor 52 is a conveyor that connects between the sorting device 2 and the storage box 39 .
A box transport conveyor (carrying-in member arranging part) 53 is connected to a box storage place (not shown), connects empty boxes, moves to the lower end of the conveyor 52, and delivers boxes containing articles M to a delivery place (not shown).

Next, functions of the article loading device 100 will be described.
For example, assume a case where 12 items M from items a to l are shipped to a mail-order purchaser. Each item M is attached with a bar code that identifies the item.
Twelve items a to l are picked up from a warehouse (not shown) and introduced into the sorting device 2 by the introduction conveyor 50 as shown in FIG. 9(a). Here, prior to introduction into the sorting device 2 , the bar code of each article M is read by the article information acquisition means 56 and the information is sent to the host controller 57 . In addition, the host controller 57 is notified of which transport cell 1 in the rearrangement device 2 the article M is placed first.
Also, the host controller 57 grasps the shape of each article M based on the acquired barcode. Therefore, the host controller 57 monitors which shape of the article M is at which position in the sorting device 2 .

Each article M moves on the article placement surface 32 of the rearranging device 2 in the X and Y directions and diagonal directions. Each article M is transferred between the transport cells 1, and the position of each article M is tracked based on the signal from the load sensor 16 of the transport cell 1 and the drive status of the traveling motor, and the upper control It is picked up by the device 57 .

When it is confirmed that all the articles M to be shipped have been introduced into the sorting device 2, the host controller 57 selects the storage box 39 most suitable for accommodating all the articles. Then, according to a command from the host controller 57 , the selected storage box 39 is moved to the end of the connecting conveyor 52 by the box transport conveyor 53 .
In parallel with this, the host controller 57 uses the space calculation function to virtually pack the articles M into the storage box 39 and calculate the combination that minimizes the gap. For example, it is determined that the gap is the smallest when the articles M are stacked in three layers. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, four elements c, f, h, and l are combined into a square in the first stage, a, d, g, and i are combined into a square in the second stage, and b, When j, e, and k are placed, all articles M are accommodated in the storage box 39 .

The host controller selects the articles c, f, h, and l constituting the first stage, and moves the articles c, f, h, and l on the article placement surface 32, as shown in FIG. 9(b). , arranged in the assumed rectangular layout. Specifically, the conveying rollers 3 of the conveying cell 1 on which the articles c, f, h, and l are placed are driven, and the swivel base 6 is rotated in a predetermined direction to convey the articles c, f, h, and l. The articles c, f, h, and l are transferred to the adjacent conveying cells 1, and this is repeated to bring the articles c, f, h, and l together on the conveyor 52 side. Further fine-tune the position and arrange the layout so that it composes the assumed square.
Next, the articles a, d, g, and i constituting the second stage are selected, and the articles a, d, g, and i on the article placement surface 32 are moved to obtain the assumed position as shown in FIG. 9(b). arranged in a square.
Next, b, e, j, and k to be placed on the top stage are selected, and b, e, j, and k are collected at predetermined positions as shown in FIG. 9(b).
Note that the order of selection of items and the order of rearrangement corresponding to each row are not the same, and all items may be moved at once, or may be moved in order of items placed in front or in order of items placed sideways. .

The group of articles formed into a lump in accordance with the shape of the storage box 39 is sequentially discharged to the connecting conveyor 52 and loaded into the storage box 39 as shown in FIGS. In addition, in FIGS. 1, 11, and 12, the group of articles is shown smaller than it actually is for the purpose of drawing. A group of articles is ideally grouped into a size as shown in FIG.
When articles are stacked in multiple stages in the storage box 39, the storage box 39 and the bottom plate of the storage box 39 are raised and lowered so that the storage box 39 can be smoothly moved from the connection conveyor 52 to the storage box 39. It is recommended to match the height of the bottom of the box 39 and the top of the previously loaded item.

In the embodiment described above, the articles M are packed in the storage box 39 in a state of being stacked in multiple stages, but they may be put in the storage box 39 in a flat state.
In this embodiment, a connecting conveyor 52 (another conveying means) is interposed between the article assembling device 51 and the storage box 39 (article carrying-in member). A plurality of articles may be automatically accommodated directly in the storage box 39 (article carrying-in member).

Alternatively, the connecting conveyor 52 may be omitted, and the article M may be put into the storage box 39 by the operator's hand.
In the embodiment described above, the articles M are arranged so as to match the shape of the storage box 39, but when the articles M are put into the box manually by the operator, the articles M are simply arranged in the order in which they are put into the storage box 39. It's okay.
As a method for grasping the position of each article M, in addition to the above measures, for example, a camera that covers the entire surface of the article placement surface 32 in the photographing area is installed, a moving image is photographed by the camera, and the photographed image is analyzed. can be realized.
Alternatively, the control device of each transport cell 1 is provided with a temporary storage means to teach which item M is on its own transport cell 1 . The position of the article M can also be grasped by transferring the information of the article M to the transport cell 1 of the movement destination each time the article M is moved. Movement of the article M is detected by the presence sensor 16 .

In the embodiment described above, a large number of conveying cells 1 are arranged in a plane to form the article placement surface 32. Each conveying cell 1 has a moving function of moving the article M and a biasing direction. Although it has an urging direction changing function to change, not all cells necessarily have this function, and cells that have only a moving function and cells that have only an urging direction changing function are included. good too.

Next, in the article loading apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1, a modified example of moving the articles M from the connecting conveyor 52 side to the box transport conveyor 53 side will be described.

The connecting conveyor 52 shown in FIG. 11(a) is similar to that shown in FIG. The accommodation guide member 70 is a substantially U-shaped frame-shaped member, and has inclined surfaces 70a, 70b, and 70c that slope downward from the outside to the inside.

The accommodation guide member 70 is arranged at a height position slightly higher than a storage box 39 of an article storage device 40 (to be described later) that moves on the box transport conveyor 53 and downstream of the connecting conveyor 52 . The upper end of the inclined surface 70 a of the accommodation guide member 70 is close to the joint conveyor 52 and is located at a height slightly lower than the conveying surface of the joint conveyor 52 . Further, the lower end of the inclined surface 70a is
It is located above the upward opening 44 (FIGS. 11(c) to 11(e)) of the container 39 moving on the box transport conveyor 53 and slightly higher than the opening 44. As shown in FIG. That is, the inclined surface 70 a slopes downward from the connecting conveyor 52 to the opening 44 of the storage box 39 .

The storage box (article carrying-in member) 39 of the article storage device 40 is placed on the rollers 53a of the box transport conveyor 53, and is transported along the box transport conveyor 53 when the rollers 53a rotate. The height position of the opening 44 of the storage box 39 is slightly lower than the storage guide member 70 . A shutter 71 that is a horizontally movable plate can be interposed between the opening 44 of the storage box 39 and the storage guide member 70 .

As shown in FIG. 11( c ), a shutter 71 is provided below the accommodation guide member 70 and at a height position slightly higher than the opening of the accommodation box 39 . The shutter 71 is a plate-shaped member that moves horizontally, and has a function of opening and closing the opening 44 of the storage box 39 . When opening the opening 44 of the storage box 39 , the shutter 71 retreats (moves) below the connecting conveyor 52 .

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the article storage device 40 has a storage box 39 and an elevating device 41 . That is, the article storage device 40 is composed of a storage box 39 and an elevating device 41 .

The storage box 39 is a housing having a rectangular prism shape in appearance, and has four side walls 42 a to 42 d and a bottom wall 80 . The upper part of the storage box 39 is open, and the upper part of the storage box 39 forms an opening 44 . Through holes are provided near the four corners of the bottom wall 80 .

A lifting member 45 is arranged inside the storage box 39 .
The lifting member 45 is a rectangular plate-shaped member, and is made of a material that is rigid and resistant to deformation. Also, the friction coefficient of the upper surface of the lifting member 45 is small. That is, the upper surface of the lifting member 45 is processed (polished, coated with an oil component, etc.) so as to reduce the coefficient of friction. Furthermore, the lifting member 45 has a size that can be accommodated in the storage box 39, and can smoothly move up and down inside the storage box 39 along the inner surfaces of the side walls 42a to 42d of the storage box 39. can.
The elevating member 45 may be made of a ferromagnetic metal material to attract an approaching magnet.

Conically recessed receiving members 18 a to 18 d are fixed to the four corners of the lower surface of the lifting member 45 . Each of the receiving members 18a to 18d is attached at a position corresponding to the through hole of the bottom wall 80 of the storage box 39. As shown in FIG. That is, when the elevating member 45 is housed in the housing box 39, the receiving members 18a to 18d are aligned with the through holes 16a to 16d of the housing box 39, respectively. Therefore, when viewed from below, the receiving member of the lifting member 45 can be seen through the through holes 16a to 16d of the bottom wall 80 of the storage box 39. As shown in FIG.

Next, the lifting device 41 of the article storage device 40 will be briefly described.
The lifting device 41 has four push-up members 46a to 46d and a driving portion 47, as shown in FIGS.

The push-up members 46a to 46d are straight shaft members in a vertical posture. The upper end portions (upper end portions 23a to 23d) of the push-up members 46a to 46d are conically pointed to form convex portions. When the upper ends 23a-23d (convex portions) and the receiving members 18a-18d (concave portions) are aligned with each other, they come into surface contact with each other, and support of the lift member 45 by the push-up members 46a-46d is stabilized.

Rack portions 48a to 48d are provided below the upper ends of the push-up members 46a to 46d. The rack portions 48a-48d are formed on the surfaces of the push-up members 46a-46d along the direction parallel to the axes of the push-up members 46a-46d.

The drive unit 47 has a drive motor 65, pinions (gears) 67a to 67d, and the like.
The drive motor 65 is a geared motor and has an output shaft 65a.
The output shaft 65a and the pinions 67a to 67d are connected via a power transmission belt, pulleys, intermediate gears, etc. so that power can be transmitted. The power of the driving motor 65 is similarly transmitted to the pinions 67a to 67d, and when the driving motor 65 is driven, the pinions 67a to 67d rotate synchronously.

The pinions 67a-67d are engaged with the rack portions 48a-48d of the push-up members 46a-46d, respectively. Therefore, when the drive motor 65 is driven, the push-up members 46a-46d engaged with the pinions 67a-67d move up and down synchronously.

The lifting device 41 of the article storage device 40 is arranged downstream of the connecting conveyor 52 in the conveying direction and below the rollers 53 a of the box conveying conveyor 53 . The push-up members 46a to 46d can protrude above the rollers 53a from between the adjacent rollers 53a, or retract below the rollers 53a.

As shown in FIG. 14, the push-up members 46a-46d are positioned at the four corners of a square. Further, the storage box 39 is stopped above the lifting device 41, and when viewed from above, the push-up members 46a to 46d are aligned with the through holes 16a to 16d and the receiving members 18a to 18d of the storage box 39 shown in FIG. I am doing it.

When the push-up members 46a-46d rise, the push-up members 46a-46d pass between the adjacent rollers 53a of the box transport conveyor 53 to reach the bottom of the container 39, and as shown in FIG. pushes up the lifting member 45. Further, when the lifting members 46a to 46d pushing up the lifting member 45 descend, the lifting member 45 in the storage box 39 descends as shown in FIG. The height position of the elevating member 45 within the storage box 39 can be controlled by a control device (not shown). That is, the control device (not shown) can drive the drive section 47 so that the height position of the lifting member 45 within the storage box 39 is at a desired height position. Further, when the push-up members 46 a to 46 d descend and move to a height position lower than the bottom wall 80 of the storage box 39 , the storage box 39 becomes movable along the box transport conveyor 53 .

Next, referring to FIGS. 11(a) to 11(f) and FIGS. 12(a) to 12(e), how to store articles in the storage box 39 of the article storage device 40 will be described.

The opening 44 (FIG. 11(c)) of the storage box 39 of the article storage device 40 is closed by the shutter 71 as shown in FIG. 11(a). Also, at this time, the elevating member 45 (FIG. 11(c)) is raised to a height position close to the shutter 71 .

In this state, the article group P1 (a plurality of articles) on the joint conveyor 52 slides down on the inclined surface 70a of the accommodation guide member 70 and is placed on the shutter 71 as shown in FIG. 11(b). That is, the article group P1 moves from the connecting conveyor 52 to the shutter 71 along the inclined surface 70a. Since the group of articles P1 moves from the joint conveyor 52 onto the shutter 71 via the inclined surface 70a, the group of articles P1 receives little impact, or hardly receives any impact.

Next, as shown in FIG. 11(c), the shutter 71 moves toward the connecting conveyor 52 to open the opening 44. Next, as shown in FIG. When the shutter 71 opens, the article group P1 on the shutter 71 contacts the inclined surface 70a on the connecting conveyor 52 side, and only the shutter 71 retreats below the connecting conveyor 52. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the article group P1 is left above the opening 44, and when the shutter 71 is opened, the article group P1 falls onto the lifting member 45 as shown in FIG. 11(d). Here, since the lifting member 45 is raised to a height position close to the shutter 71, even if the article group P1 falls from the shutter 71 onto the lifting member 45, the impact received by the article group P1 is extremely small.

When the article group P1 is placed on the lifting member 45, the control device (not shown) drives the drive unit 47 to lower the lifting member 45. As shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 11E, the lifting member 45 descends so that the article group P1 on the lifting member 45 is at a height slightly lower than the shutter 71. As shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 11(f), the shutter 71 closes the opening 44 without colliding or contacting the article group P1.

Then, the succeeding article group P2 on the connecting conveyor 52 slides down onto the shutter 71 along the inclined surface 70a of the storage guide member 70 and is placed on the shutter 71 (FIG. 12(a)). After that, the shutter 71 opens the opening 44, and the article group P2 on the shutter 71 falls onto the lifting member 45 (above the article group P1) as shown in FIG. 12(b). The drop height of the article group P2 at that time is also set to be as low as possible. Therefore, the impact received by the falling article group P2 and the article group P1 colliding with the dropped article group P2 is small. As shown in FIG. 12(b), on the lifting member 45, the first dropped article group P1 and the later dropped article group P2 are overlapped.

When the article group P2 falls from the shutter 71 onto the elevating member 45, the control device (not shown) lowers the elevating member 45 and closes the opening 44 with the shutter 71 (FIG. 12(c)).

Further, the article group P3 on the connecting conveyor 52 is placed on the shutter 71 (FIG. 12(d)). It falls upward (above the article groups P1 and P2) (FIG. 12(e)). At that time, the drop height of the article group P3 is adjusted to be as low as possible, and the impact received by the article groups P1 and P2 that fell first and the article group P3 that fell later is small.

That is, a control device (not shown) adjusts the height position of the lifting member 45 so that the drop distances of the article groups P1, P2, and P3 when moving from the shutter 71 side to the lifting member 45 side are minimized. In other words, after the articles (the articles forming the article groups P1 and P2) are received on the elevating member 45, the elevating member 45 is lowered based on the height information of the articles.

Specifically, a control device (not shown) acquires height information of each article constituting each article group P1, P2, P3 detected by a sensor (not shown). Alternatively, the control device (not shown) acquires the height position of the highest part of the group of articles P1 and/or P2 previously placed on the lifting member 45 detected by a sensor (not shown). A control device (not shown) adjusts the height position of the lifting member 45 so that the height position does not come into contact with or collide with the opening/closing shutter 71 . That is, after the article groups P1 and/or P2 are placed on the raising/lowering member 45, the controller (not shown) controls the elevation member 45 based on the height information of each article constituting the article group P1 and/or P2. to descend. Therefore, the falling distances of the articles forming the article groups P1, P2, and P3 from the shutter 71 side to the lifting member 45 side are substantially uniform.

When all the articles (groups of articles P1, P2, P3) to be stored in the storage box 39 are stored in the storage box 39, a control device (not shown) pushes the push-up members 46a to 46d from the bottom wall 80 of the storage box 39. lower to a lower height position, and the box transport conveyor 53 is driven. That is, the push-up members 46 a to 46 d are separated from the containing box 39 , and the containing box 39 becomes ready to be transported by the box transport conveyor 53 . Then, the storage box 39 containing a plurality of articles (article groups P1, P2, P3) is transported to the transport destination by the rotating rollers 53a.

Further, another storage box 39 is transported from the upstream side of the box transport conveyor 53 and stopped on the lifting device 41 . The shutter 71 then closes the opening 44 of this further bin 39 to accommodate subsequent items on the tether conveyor 52 within the bin 39 as described above.

Next, in the article loading device 100 shown in FIG. A case where a plurality of articles are stacked in multiple stages will be described.
In this embodiment, the upstream conveyor 60 is also provided with an article storage device (also referred to as an upstream article storage device) 40a.
The upstream article storage device 40 a has the same structure as the article storage device 40 a installed on the box transport conveyor 53 . That is, the structure of the upstream storage box 61 and the lifting device 62 (sometimes referred to as the upstream lifting device) installed at the bottom thereof are basically the same as the storage box 39 and the lifting device 41 on the box transport conveyor 53 described above. is the same as

The storage box 61 on the upstream side has a structure similar to that of the storage box 39 described above, and redundant description is omitted here. Further, an upstream lifting device 62 is provided at a connecting portion of the upstream conveyor 60 with the introduction conveyor 50 . The upstream conveyor 60 is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, and the upstream lifting device 62 is also installed in an inclined posture according to this inclination.

An elevating member (also referred to as an upstream elevating member) 45 a that is lifted and lowered by an elevating device 62 is arranged in the upstream storage box 61 . A plurality of articles are stacked on the lifting member 63 . In the example shown in FIGS. 13(a) to 13(f), three articles T1, T2, and T3 are stacked vertically and stored in the upstream storage box 61 and placed on the upstream lifting member 63. there is That is, articles T1, T2, and T3 are placed on the lifting member 63 in this order from the top (FIG. 13(a)).

Since the upstream storage box 61 moves on the upstream conveyor 60 , it is inclined at the same inclination as the upstream conveyor 60 . That is, the upstream storage box 61 is inclined so that the side wall 61a on the side of the introduction conveyor 50 is lowered. Therefore, the articles T1, T2, and T3 in the upstream storage box 61 are biased toward the side wall 61a and are in contact with the inner surface of the side wall 61a.

When the control device (not shown) drives the lifting device 62 and the lifting member 63 rises, first only the article T1 moves to a position higher than the edge of the side wall 61a (FIG. 13(b)). The article T1, which has lost the support of the side wall 61a, falls onto the introduction conveyor 50 and is conveyed downstream by the introduction conveyor 50, as shown in FIG. 13(c).

When the elevating member 63 is further raised, the article T2 moves to a position higher than the edge of the side wall 61a (FIG. 13(d)), and the article T2, which has lost the support of the side wall 61a, falls onto the introduction conveyor 50, whereupon the introduction conveyor 50 (FIG. 13(e)).
Similarly, when the article T3 moves to a position higher than the edge of the side wall 61a, it loses the support of the side wall 61a and falls onto the introduction conveyor 50 and is conveyed by the introduction conveyor 50 (FIG. 13(f)). At this time, the lifting member 63 is raised to the opening of the upstream storage box 61 .

In this manner, the articles T1 to T3 stacked in the upstream storage box 61 are individually discharged to the introduction conveyor 50 in order. Furthermore, since the introduction conveyor 50 is driven, the articles T2 that have subsequently dropped onto the introduction conveyor 50 and the articles T1 that have previously dropped onto the introduction conveyor 50 do not overlap. That is, the articles that have been vertically stacked in the upstream storage box 61 are no longer stacked on the introduction conveyor 50 . Therefore, in the article assembling device 51 (FIG. 1) on the downstream side of the introduction conveyor 50, it is easy to sort the individual articles T1 to T3.

Next, a supplementary description will be given of the structure of the article storage device 40, 40a according to the present invention. In the example shown below, a double-opening shutter member 11 is provided.
The article storage device 40 (40a) is composed of the storage box 39 (61) and the lifting device 41 (62) as described above. As described above, the structures of the upstream storage box 61 and the lifting device 62 of the article storage device 40a of the upstream conveyor 60 are the same as those of the storage box 39 and the lifting device 41, so the article storage device 40 will be described as a representative.
As shown in FIG. 16, receiving members 18 a to 18 d (receiving portions) made of a ferromagnetic metal material are fixed to the lower surface of the lifting member 45 . The receiving members 18a to 18d form conical (mortar-shaped) recesses (concave curved surfaces) 22a to 22d that are recessed deeper toward the center. Further, holes 19a to 19d are provided in central portions of the receiving members 18a to 18d.

These receiving members 18 a - 18 d are attached at positions corresponding to the through holes 16 a - 16 d of the storage box 39 . That is, when the elevating member 45 is housed in the housing box 39, the receiving members 18a to 18d are aligned with the through holes 16a to 16d of the housing box 39, respectively. Therefore, when the storage box 39 housing the lifting member 45 is viewed from below, the receiving members 18a to 18d of the lifting member 45 can be seen through the through holes 16a to 16d. In this embodiment, since the diameters of the receiving members 18a to 18d are smaller than those of the through holes 16a to 16d, the receiving members 18a to 18d are fitted into the through holes 16a to 16d, and the lower surface of the elevating member 45 is positioned above the housing box 39. It rests on the bottom wall 80 .

The receiving members 18a to 18d are provided at positions corresponding to the through holes 16a to 16d of the bottom wall 80 of the storage box 39, and in this embodiment, are provided at four positions so as to form a rectangular positional relationship. That is, through holes (16a to 16d) are provided at a plurality of locations on the bottom wall 80 of the storage box 39, and receiving members (18a to 18d) are provided at a plurality of locations on the lower surface of the lifting member 45. FIG.

Next, the lifting device 41 of the article storage device 40 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 17(a), the lifting device 41 has four push-up members 46a to 46d and a drive section 47. As shown in FIG.

The push-up members 46a to 46d are straight shaft members in a vertical posture. The upper ends 23a-23d of the push-up members 46a-46d are conically sharp. The conical inclined curved surfaces of the upper end portions of the push-up members 46a to 46d are convex curved surfaces that match the inclinations of the recesses 22a to 22d, which are concave (conical) curved surfaces of the receiving members 18a to 18d of the lifting member 45. That is, the upper ends (projections) of the boost members 46a to 46d and the receiving members 18a to 18d (recesses) come into surface contact when their axial centers are aligned, and support of the lifting member 45 by the boost members 46a to 46d is stabilized.

As shown in FIGS. 17(b) and 17(c), iron cores 36a to 36d are provided at the central portions of the upper end portions 23a to 23d, and the iron cores 36a to 36d extend in the longitudinal direction of the boost members 46a to 46d. It extends along (axial direction). Coils 38a-38d are arranged around the iron cores 36a-36d. Lead wires 75a-75d and 49a-49d are connected to both ends of the coils 38a-38d. Annular members 76a to 76d made of a magnetic metal such as iron are arranged outside (outer peripheries) of the coils 38a to 38d. When current (alternating current) is applied to the coils 38a-38d through the lead wires 75a-75d and 49a-49d, the iron cores 36a-36d and the annular members 76a-76d function as electromagnets.

Nonmagnetic members 37a to 37d are provided on the conical surfaces of the upper end portions 23a to 23d. That is, the non-magnetic members 37a-37d are provided at the exposed portions of the upper ends 23a-23d around the iron cores 36a-36d. The iron cores 36a to 36d and the non-magnetic members 37a to 37d are on the same conical curved surface, the iron cores 36a to 36d are on the inner circumference side, and the nonmagnetic members 37a to 37d are on the outer circumference side, and both are smooth without steps. Contiguous. The nonmagnetic members 37a to 37d are made of resin, for example. As shown in FIG. 17(c), non-magnetic members 37a-37d and coils 38a-38d are arranged in order from the inner peripheral side around the iron cores 36a-36d of the push-up members 46a-46d.

Rack portions 48a to 48d are provided below the upper end portions 23a to 23d of the push-up members 46a to 46d. The rack portions 48a-48d are formed along the axial direction of the push-up members 46a-46d.

As described above, the drive section 47 has the drive motor 65, the power transmission shafts 26a and 26b, the pinions (gears) 67a to 67d, the intermediate shaft 25, and the like.

The drive motor 65 is a geared motor and has an output shaft 65a. Pulleys 30 and 31 are attached to the output shaft 65a.

Pinions 67a and 67b are fixed to both ends of the power transmission shaft 26a. Pinions 67c and 67d are fixed to both ends of the power transmission shaft 26b. The power transmission shafts 26a, 26b are arranged in parallel. The pinions 67a-67d are engaged with the rack portions 48a-48d of the push-up members 46a-46d, respectively. A pulley 72 is fixed near one end of the power transmission shaft 26a (near the end where the pinion 67b is fixed).

The pulley 30 of the output shaft 65a of the drive motor 65 and the pulley 72 of the power transmission shaft 26a are connected by a belt 34 so that power can be transmitted. That is, the output shaft 65a of the drive motor 65 is connected to the pinion 67b so as to be able to transmit power. Here, the pinion 67b and the pinion 67a are integrated by the power transmission shaft 26a, and the power of the drive motor 65 is transmitted to the pinions 67a and 67b.

An intermediate shaft 25 is provided between the drive motor 65 and the power transmission shaft 26b. The intermediate shaft 25 has a pulley 29 and a gear 35 . That is, the pulley 29 and gear 35 are integrated with the intermediate shaft 25 . The pulley 31 of the output shaft 65a of the drive motor 65 and the pulley 29 of the intermediate shaft 25 are connected by a belt 73 so as to be able to transmit power. Also, the gear 35 of the intermediate shaft 25 is engaged with the pinion 67c. That is, the output shaft 65a of the drive motor 65 is connected to the pinion 67c through the intermediate shaft 25 so as to be able to transmit power. The pinion 67c and the pinion 67d are integrated by the power transmission shaft 26b, and the power of the drive motor 65 is transmitted to the pinions 67c and 67d.

Next, the operation of the article storage device 40 (upstream article storage device 40a) will be described.

The storage box 39 and the lifting device 41 of the article storage device 40 shown in FIGS. 14 to 16 are separate members. Therefore, in the article storage device 40 , the storage box 39 moves on the box transport conveyor 53 which is a roller conveyor, and the lifting device 41 is installed below the box transport conveyor 53 .
The structure of the upstream article storage device 40a provided on the upstream conveyor 60 is the same. installed at the bottom.

The upstream article storage device 40a and the article storage device 40 have the same structure. The storage device 40 is used for introducing articles into the storage box 39 .

In the upstream conveyor 60, the upstream lifting device 62 is installed below the upstream conveyor device 60 in an inclined posture. That is, the axial direction (moving direction) of the lifting members 46a to 46d of the lifting device 62 is perpendicular to the inclined conveying surface S1 (FIG. 1). Further, naturally, the elevating member 63 of the elevating device 62 is similarly inclined with respect to the horizontal plane.

As shown in FIG. 19, the upstream storage box 61 contains articles P1 to P4. (Fig. 20). When the upstream storage box 61 is being conveyed by the upstream conveyor 60, the boost members 46a to 46d of the lifting device 62 are positioned lower than the conveying surface S1 of the upstream conveyor 60, as shown in FIGS. are evacuated to

When the upstream storage box 61 stops above the lifting device 62, the drive motor 65 of the lifting device 62 is driven, and the push-up members 46a to 46d rise and pass through the through holes 16a to 16d of the bottom wall 80 of the storage box 61. Further, the upper ends 23a-23d of the push-up members 46a-46d are engaged with the receiving members 18a-18d of the lifting member 45 (FIG. 21). Then, as shown in FIG. 22, the drive motor 65 of the drive unit 47 is driven to push up the lifting member 63 with the push-up members 46a to 46d. That is, the lifting member 63 is lifted along the side walls 13a-13d. In FIG. 22 , the lifting member 63 is lifted up to the opening 44 at the top of the storage box 61 .

Current (alternating current) is applied to the coils 38a to 38d (FIG. 17(c)) of the upper end portions 23a to 23d of the boost members 46a to 46d, and the iron cores 36a to 36d and the annular members 76a to 76d are electromagnets. and has a magnetic force. Therefore, the iron cores 36a-36d are attracted to the receiving members 18a-18d, which are magnetic bodies. The conical surfaces (convex shapes) of the non-magnetic members 37a-37d of the upper end portions 23a-23d abut on the concave portions 22a-22d of the receiving members 18a-18d. The attractive force between the conical curved surfaces is small due to the presence of the nonmagnetic members 37a to 37d in the upper end portions 23a to 23d.

When the push-up members 46a to 46d are lifted while the conical curved surfaces are in contact with each other, the position of the lifting member 63 is corrected so that the axes (centers) of the two conical curved surfaces are aligned. That is, the weight of the elevating member 63 itself and the weight of the articles P1 to P2 placed on the elevating member 63 are transferred from the upper ends 23a to 23a of the push-up members 46a to 46d through the concave portions 22a to 22d of the receiving members 18a to 18d. 23d and slides until the axes of the biconical curved surfaces are aligned. By aligning the axes of the two conical curved surfaces, the iron cores 36a-36d (centers of the upper end portions 23a-23d) are fitted into the holes 19a-19d of the receiving members 18a-18d. At this time, the electromagnetized annular members 76a to 76d also come into annular contact (close contact) with the ferromagnetic receiving members 18a to 18d (recesses 22a to 22d).

That is, when the axial centers of the upper end portions 23a to 23d of the push-up members 46a to 46d and the concave portions 22a to 22d (concave conical curved surfaces) of the receiving members 18a to 18d are misaligned, they are properly aligned. Axes match. The receiving members 18a to 18d of the lifting member 63 and the upper end portions 23a to 23d of the boosting members 46a to 46d of the lifting device 41a are engaged with each other in an uneven shape. and the iron cores 36a to 36d (electromagnets) at the center of the push-up members 46a to 46d and the annular members 76a to 76d are attracted. There is no concern that the push-up members 46a-46d will come off. That is, the lifting member 63 is stably supported by the pushing members 46a to 46d.

At this time, among the push-up members 46a to 46d, the push-up members 46a and 46b move vertically through between the rollers 53c and 53d adjacent in the conveying direction, and the push-up members 46c and 46d move between the rollers adjacent in the conveying direction. It moves up and down through between 53a and 53b. The elevating member 63 is raised to a height position near the shutter member 11 by the pushing-up members 46a to 46d that pass between the rollers adjacent in the conveying direction (FIG. 22).

As shown in FIG. 22, when the elevating member 63 rises to the opening 44 of the upstream storage box 61, the articles P1 to P4 on the elevating member 63 can be discharged. As shown in FIG. 1, the upstream conveyor 60 is inclined so that the side wall 61a side is lowered, so the articles P1 to P4 on the lifting member 63 are discharged to the introduction conveyor 50. As shown in FIG. Here, the coefficient of friction of the upper surface of the elevating member 63 is small, and the articles P1 to P4 slide down onto the introduction conveyor 50 from the upper surface of the elevating member 63, which is an inclined surface, by its own weight.

As a result, the articles P1 to P4 disappear from the lifting member 63, resulting in the state shown in FIG.
Then, a control device (not shown) retracts the push-up members 46a to 46d below the conveying surface S1 (FIG. 24). In the state shown in FIG. 24, the engagement between the upstream storage box 61 (receiving members 18a to 18d) and the push-up members 46a to 46d (upper end portions 23a to 23d) of the lifting device 62 is disengaged, and the upstream storage box 61 is , can move on the upstream conveyor 60 (FIG. 25).

Then, a control device (not shown) retracts the push-up members 46a to 46d below the conveying surface S1 (FIG. 24). In the state shown in FIG. 24, the housing box 61 (receiving members 18a to 18d) and the push-up members 46a to 46d (upper end portions 23a to 23d) of the lifting device 62 are disengaged, and the housing box 61 is placed on the upstream side conveyor. 60 can be moved (FIG. 25).

Next, a procedure for storing the article P on the conveyor 52 in the storage box 39 on the box transport conveyor 53 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 26 , the storage box 39 is stopped below the shutter member 11 on the box transport conveyor 53 . Also, the shutter member 11 is closed.

A control device (not shown) drives the drive motor 65 to raise the push-up members 46a to 46d of the lifting device 41. As shown in FIG. As a result, the upper ends 23a-23d (iron cores 36a-36d) of the push-up members 46a-46d are fitted into the holes 19a-19d of the receiving members 18a-18d of the lifting member 45, and the iron cores 36a-36d abut. At this time, the iron cores 36a to 36d are electromagnets, and the iron cores 36a to 36d are attracted to the inner peripheral surfaces of the holes 19a to 19d of the receiving members 18a to 18d on the lifting member 45 side. The elevating member 45 is supported, and push-up members 46a to 46d push the elevating member 45 up to a height position near the shutter member 11 (FIG. 27).

When the article P on the connecting conveyor 52 is placed on the shutter member 11 (FIG. 28), the shutter member 11 opens and the article P is placed on the lifting member 45 (FIG. 29). Although only one article P is depicted in FIG. 1, a state in which four articles P1 to P4 are placed on the lifting member 45 is shown in FIG.

When a control device (not shown) drives the drive motor 65, the elevating member 45 descends along the side walls 13a to 13d (FIG. 30) and reaches the bottom wall 80 of the storage box 39 (FIG. 31). ). That is, the articles P1 to P4 are stored in the storage box 39. FIG. The push-up members 46a-46d are further lowered, and the upper end portions 23a-23d are retracted to a height position lower than the conveying surface S2 (FIG. 32). FIG. 32 depicts a state in which the shutter member 11 is closed in preparation for the loading operation of the next article.

Then, the storage box 39 moves on the box transport conveyor 53 and is transported to the transport destination.

Here, a convex portion may be provided on the side of the receiving members 18a to 18d, and a concave portion may be provided on the side of the boosting members 46a to 46d so that they are engaged with each other.

Further, instead of providing conical (tapered) concave portions 22a to 22d in the receiving members 18a to 18d and forming the upper end portions 23a to 23d of the push-up members 46a to 46d in a conical (tapered) shape, The upper ends 23a-23d of the push-up members 46a-46d are projections formed by two slanted surfaces (two slanted surfaces whose normals are obliquely upward), and the receiving members 18a-18d are the push-up members 46a-46d. The concave portion may be a concave portion that forms an inclined surface (an inclined surface whose normal is diagonally downward) that accommodates the convex portion.

The article storage devices 40 and 40a are configured as described above, and each article is taken in and out of the storage boxes 39 and 61 of both the storage devices 40 and 40a without being impacted, and is transported along the transport path. smoothly transported.

In the above-described embodiment, the number of receiving members 18a to 18d and boosting members 46a to 46d of the lifting members 45, 63 is four. Three sets are sufficient, and five sets or more are acceptable. At that time, each push-up member is arranged (layed out) so that the lifting member and the article can be supported in a well-balanced manner.

In the upstream article storage device 40a and the downstream article storage device 40 according to the present embodiment, the shaft-shaped push-up members 46a to 46d are moved vertically by passing between adjacent rollers in the conveying direction of the roller conveyor device. , can be installed at any position with respect to the existing conveyor. That is, there is a high degree of freedom in constructing the transport path.

In the above-described embodiment, the bottom wall 80 is provided at the bottom of the storage boxes 39 and 61, and the bottom wall 80 is provided with the through holes 16a to 16d. 63 can also be substituted for bottom wall 80 . That is, portions (for example, protrusions, inward flanges, etc.) for locking the lifting members 45 and 63 are provided near the lower ends of the side walls 13a to 13d of the storage boxes 39 and 61, and the lifting members 45 and 63 are attached to the storage boxes 39 and 61. , and supports near the lower ends of the storage boxes 39, 61, and can be substituted for the bottom wall 80.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the shutter member 11 is provided above the box transport conveyor 53 is shown, but the shutter member 11 may be omitted. That is, the article can be directly discharged from the connecting conveyor 52 onto the lifting member 45 in the storage box 39 .

In the above-described embodiment, the iron cores 36a-36d functioning as electromagnets are provided at the upper ends 23a-23d of the push-up members 46a-46d, but permanent magnets may be used instead. However, if electromagnets are used, when the push-up members 46a-46d (upper end portions 23a-23d) are engaged with the receiving members 18a-18d, the coils 38a-38d are energized to function as electromagnets, and the push-up members 46a-46d are activated. and the receiving members 18a to 18d are easily engaged with each other. In addition, when the attractive force (adsorption force) by the electromagnet acts between them, even if an external force acts on the lifting member 45 (63) or the article P on the lifting member 45 (63), the push-up members 46a to 46d and the receiving members The engagement of 18a-18d is difficult to disengage. Conversely, when the engagement between the receiving members 18a-18d and the push-up members 46a-46d is disengaged, the energization of the coils 38a-38d is interrupted (stopped) to disable the electromagnets. adsorption force) can be eliminated, making it easier to disengage the two.

In the above-described embodiment, magnets (electromagnets) are used only for the push-up members 46a to 46d, but magnets may also be provided for the receiving members 18a to 18d. Alternatively, the push-up members 46a to 46d may be simply made of a ferromagnetic metal material, and magnets may be provided on the receiving members 18a to 18d.

Moreover, neither the upper ends 23a-23d of the push-up members 46a-46d nor the concave portions 22a-22d of the receiving members 18a-18d are provided with magnets (including electromagnets), and the mutual contact portions are simply conical surfaces or inclined surfaces. You can just do it.

The article storage apparatus described above has a storage box and an elevating device, the storage box has a side wall and an elevating member, and is conveyed by a roller conveyor device, and the elevating device is the same as that of the roller conveyor device. An article storage device which is installed below and moves an elevating member of a storage box up and down along a side wall by an elevating device, and an article is taken in and out from the upper part of the storage box, wherein the elevating member is a plate member, It has a plurality of receiving portions on the lower surface side, and the lifting device has a boost member that moves up and down through between rollers adjacent in the conveying direction of the roller conveyor device, and the boost member moves up and down. An article receiving device characterized by engaging a receiving portion of a member.

In the above aspect, the storage box is provided with a plate member functioning as a lifting member, the lifting member has a plurality of receiving portions on the lower surface side, and the lifting device moves in the conveying direction of the roller conveyor device. It has an uplift member that moves up and down between adjacent rollers, the uplift member engaging a receptacle on the lift member.
Therefore, the push-up member engages with the receiving portion of the lifting member and pushes up the receiving portion. As a result, the lifting member moves up and down while being supported by the push-up member.
Since the push-up member moves up and down through the rollers adjacent to each other in the conveying direction of the roller conveyor device, the article storage device of the present invention can be installed in existing roller conveyor devices.

It is desirable that one of the receiving portion and the push-up member has a concave portion and the other has a convex portion so that they are engaged with each other in an uneven manner.

In this aspect, one of the receiving portion and the push-up member has the concave portion, and the other has the convex portion, so that they are engaged with each other in an uneven manner. In other words, for example, the receiving portion is a concave portion, and the push-up member is a convex portion that fits into the receiving portion. Therefore, the receiving portion of the lifting member and the boosting member are easily engaged with each other. That is, it is easy to align the push-up member with respect to the lifting member. Further, even if an external force acts on the lifting member, the engagement between the lifting member and the push-up member is less likely to be released.

At least one of the receiving portion and the boosting member is provided with a magnet, and the receiving portion and the boosting member are preferably attracted by the magnet.

In this aspect, at least one of the receiving portion and the boosting member is provided with a magnet, and the receiving portion and the boosting member are attracted by the magnet, so the receiving portion of the lifting member and the boosting member are easily engaged. That is, it is easy to align the push-up member with respect to the lifting member. Further, even if an external force acts on the lifting member, the engagement between the lifting member and the push-up member is less likely to be released. Here, the magnet is preferably an electromagnet. That is, when the receiving portion and the boosting member are engaged with each other, energization is performed to exhibit the function as an electromagnet to facilitate the engagement of the two, and when the receiving portion and the boosting member are disengaged, the energization is stopped. preferably disengaging the two by disabling the electromagnet.

The article storage device is arranged below the inclined roller conveyor device, in which the roller conveyor device is inclined because the heights of the one side end and the other side end of each roller of the roller conveyor device are different. You can also

1 transport cell 2 sorting device (sorting means)
32 Article Placement Surface 50 Introductory Conveyor 51 Article Collection Device 52, Connection Conveyor 53 Box Transport Conveyor (Incoming Member Placement Section)
55 boxes (goods carry-in parts)
56 article information acquisition means 57 upper control device (article selection means)
100 article loading device

Claims (18)

An article assembling device for arranging a plurality of articles when a container or a placing table is used as an article carrying-in member, and a plurality of articles are accommodated in the article carrying-in member,
It has destination information storage means for storing information relating to the shape of the article carrying-in member, article information acquisition means for acquiring information relating to the shape of each article, article selection means, and sorting means for sorting the articles. death,
The rearranging means has an article placement surface that spreads in a plane, and is capable of moving the articles on the article placement surface,
The article selecting means selects more articles by the article carrying-in member based on the shape of the article carrying-in member stored in the carrying-in destination information storage means and the shape of each article obtained based on the information acquired by the article information acquiring means. Select items so that they can be packed,
1. An article assembling device capable of gathering articles selected by a sorting means. 2. An article handling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said sorting means arranges the plurality of articles in a layout suitable for said article carrying-in member. An article assembling device for arranging a plurality of articles when a container or a placing table is used as an article carrying-in member, and a plurality of articles are accommodated in the article carrying-in member,
a carrying-in destination information storage means for storing information relating to the shape of an article carrying-in member; an article information acquiring means for acquiring information relating to the shape of each article; and a rearranging means for rearranging the articles,
The rearranging means has an article placement surface that spreads in a plane, and is capable of moving the articles on the article placement surface,
A plurality of articles are arranged in a layout suitable for the article carrying-in member based on the shape of the article carrying-in member stored in the carrying-in destination information storage means and the shape of each article obtained based on the information acquired by the article information acquiring means. An article handling device, characterized by: 4. The article assembling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sorting means arranges the articles in the order in which they are put into the article carrying-in member. A plurality of transport cells are arranged on the article placement surface, and the transport cells include those having a moving function of moving the transported object and a transport direction changing function of changing the transport direction. 5. The article handling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by: 6. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a space calculation function, wherein the space calculation function calculates a combination and/or layout of the articles that reduces the gap when the plurality of articles are accommodated in the article carrying-in member. Item assembling device according to 1. 7. The article assembling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising article carrying member selection means for selecting an article carrying member. In order to stack and store articles in a plurality of tiers in the article carrying-in member, the articles are collectively collected in each tier and the collectively collected articles are discharged in order from the lower tier side. 8. An article handling device according to any one of 1 to 7. A carrying-in member arranging section for arranging an article carrying-in member, and an article assembling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein articles are carried in directly from the article assembling apparatus or through another conveying means. An article loading device characterized in that it is possible to automatically store a plurality of articles in a member. 10. The article loading device according to claim 9, wherein an elevating member is provided inside the article carrying-in member. When an article is stored in the article carrying-in member, the raising and lowering member is raised, the raising and lowering member is placed near the upper end of the article carrying-in member, the article is moved onto the raising and lowering member, and then the raising and lowering member is lowered. 11. The article loading device according to claim 10. When stacking articles in multiple stages and storing them in the article carrying-in member, the height of the lifting member is adjusted so that the upper part of the accommodated articles is positioned near the upper end of the article carrying-in member, and then: 12. The article loading device according to claim 11, wherein the articles constituting the stage are accommodated in the article carrying-in member. 13. The apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 12, further comprising a shutter covering the upper part of the article carrying-in member, wherein the article is moved to the shutter, and then the shutter is opened to accommodate the article in the article carrying-in member. Goods loading device. The article carrying-in member is a storage box,
There is an article storage device in the carrying-in member arrangement part,
The article storage device is
It has a storage box and a lifting device,
The storage box has a side wall and a lifting member, and is conveyed by a roller conveyor device,
The lifting device is installed below the roller conveyor device,
An article storage device that lifts and lowers an elevating member of a storage box along a side wall by an elevating device and inserts and removes an article from the top of the storage box,
The elevating member is a plate member and has receiving portions at a plurality of locations on the lower surface side,
The lifting device has a lifting member that moves up and down through between rollers adjacent in the conveying direction of the roller conveyor device,
14. An article loading device according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein said push-up member engages with a receiving portion of a lifting member. 15. The article loading device according to claim 14, wherein one of the receiving portion and the push-up member has a concave portion, and the other has a convex portion, and engages with each other in a concave-convex manner. 16. The article loading device according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the receiving portion and the boosting member is provided with a magnet, and the receiving portion and the boosting member are attracted by the magnet. The roller conveyor device is inclined because the heights of the one side end and the other side end of each roller of the roller conveyor device are different, and the roller conveyor device is arranged below the inclined roller conveyor device. 17. The article loading device according to any one of claims 14 to 16. Having an upstream conveying device in the article handling device,
The upstream conveying device is for conveying the articles to be put into the article assembling device in a storage box,
It is possible to support the storage box in a direction that is inclined in a direction that intersects with the transport direction, and has a bottom lifting means that moves the bottom of the storage box up and down,
While holding the storage box in an inclined posture, the bottom part elevating means raises the bottom of the storage box step by step and/or slowly, so that the articles piled up in the storage box can be discharged sequentially from the upper side. 18. The article loading device according to any one of claims 9 to 17. .

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