JPH0333605B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is directed to an article that can efficiently, quickly and continuously handle articles without overturning them when entering or leaving a storage facility. This relates to handling equipment.

[Conventional technology]

Prior art related to an article handling device capable of loading and unloading articles into and out of a storage facility having multiple storage sections includes Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 12005/1983;
JP 59-118603, JP 59-182104, JP 47-33170, JP 56-4650, JP 50-113178, JP 59-
The one described in Publication No. 37206 is known.

To briefly explain the description in the above publication,
No. 59-12005 describes that case bodies stored on an accumulation conveyor are transferred in lots by a supply conveyor to multiple shelves.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-118603 describes the combination of a lift device and a conveyor for multiple, multi-stage lattice-like shelves.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-182104 describes that a picking warehouse facility is constructed using a vertical circulation conveyor.

Further, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 47-33170 describes that a load sorting device in the vertical direction is constructed using a conveyor whose inclination angle in the vertical direction can be freely changed.

Further, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-4650 describes the combination of a stacker crane that travels and moves up and down, and an extendable frame that expands, contracts, and swings as the stacker crane moves and moves up and down.

Further, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 50-113178 describes that an elevator capable of inching in the vertical direction is tilted.

Further, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-37206 discloses that an elevating conveyor is swung integrally with the lifting and lowering of a cargo delivery device.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, the conventional article handling apparatus as described above has the following problems.

Namely, JP-A-59-12005, JP-A-59-
The article handling devices described in Publication No. 182104 and Publication No. 113178/1978 do not have an elevation conveyor, so the connection between the storage section of each stage of the storage equipment and the conveyor for carrying out or carrying in the storage equipment is not provided. During the transfer of goods, it is necessary to move the goods up and down by some means, and before the next transfer, such means must be moved up and down in an empty state. It is not possible to carry out warehousing or warehousing efficiently, quickly, and continuously.

On the other hand, in the article handling devices described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-118603, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 47-33170, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-4650, and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-37206, an elevation conveyor is used. is provided, so there is no problem as mentioned above. However, in the article handling devices described in these publications, the height at which articles can be stored in the storage section of each tier of the storage equipment is the same, and these publications also state that There is no mention or suggestion of storing items of different sizes. Therefore, when an article with a relatively high center of gravity (tall article) is conveyed by the elevating conveyor in a state where the elevating conveyor is significantly inclined, there is a problem in that the article is likely to fall over during the conveyance.

In addition, when the publications described in the above publications are examined individually, there are also the following problems.

That is, in JP-A-59-12005, the case body can be supplied quickly and efficiently, but an extremely large crane body is required.

Furthermore, in JP-A-59-118603, the conveyor is constructed of a swinging frame and a horizontal fixed frame, and both frames are integrally constructed by winding one belt. In particular, when adapting to high-rise storage facilities, it is necessary to determine the slope of the swing frame within a slope that does not cause the articles to fall, in accordance with the height of the topmost shelf. Therefore, the length of the swinging frame has to be extremely long, and as a result, the installation space for the storage equipment requires the width of the frontage of the storage equipment plus the length of the swinging frame, which is extremely long. A large dead space will be created.

In addition, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-182104, the size of the crane body can be reduced and the dead space can be reduced, but the articles must be transferred one by one to the receiving section of the vertical circulation conveyor in a timely manner. However, despite the need for complex control, there is a limit to conveyance capacity.

Furthermore, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 47-33170, there is no description of automatically loading or unloading articles into or out of an article storage facility.

Moreover, in Utility Model Publication No. 56-4650, in particular,
When adapting to high-rise storage facilities, the slope of the telescoping frame must be determined to match the height of the top shelf and within a slope that will not cause items to fall over, so the length of the telescoping frame must be extremely long. As a result, the dispensing port must be located very far from the end of the storage facility, resulting in an extremely large amount of dead space.

In addition, in Utility Model Application Publication No. 50-113178, articles cannot be handled continuously.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an article handling device that allows articles to be efficiently, rapidly, and continuously loaded into or taken out of a storage facility without overturning the articles during loading or unloading. There is a particular thing.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides an article handling device comprising a storage facility having a plurality of storage sections and a transfer device that can be raised and lowered to transfer articles to the storage section. An elevating conveyor is provided, one end of the elevating conveyor is linked to the lifting and lowering of the transfer device, and articles are stored in the storage section of the stage where the elevating conveyor transfers the article in a substantially horizontal state and the stage adjacent thereto. An article handling device characterized in that the possible height of the article is increased, and the height at which the article can be stored in the storage section of the stage where the elevating conveyor transfers the article in an inclined state and the stage in the vicinity thereof is reduced. By providing this, the above objectives have been achieved.

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the article handling apparatus of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic plan view of the article handling device of the present invention. In the figure, A is a storage facility having a frontage (storage section) with multiple rows and multiple stages, and B is a storage facility with an opening (storage section) of storage facility A. A retrieval device (hereinafter referred to as a loading side stacker crane) that runs from side to side along the side frontage, and C denotes an article transport conveyor (hereinafter referred to as an article loading side) installed on the outside of the running surface of the stacker crane B on the loading side. ), D is storage equipment A
A loading device that runs left and right along the entrance on the warehousing side (hereinafter referred to as the warehousing side stacker crane),
E-1, E-2, and E-3 transport the goods F, E-1, E-2, and E-3 to the goods-carrying conveyor E on the warehousing side (hereinafter referred to as the goods-carrying conveyor), which is installed on the outside of the running surface of the stack car crane D. Goods supply conveyor (hereinafter referred to as storage line (storage conveyor)) that supplies F, ..., J-1, J-2,
J-3 is storage line E-1, E-2, E-
3, a gate device L- for taking in a predetermined number of articles as necessary from the shipping lines K-1, K-2, and K-3;
1, L-2, and L-3 are depalletizers that unpalletize (depalletize) palletized articles and transport them to shipping lines K-1, K-2, and K-3. The handling equipment is
Approximately, each depalletizer L-1, L-2, L-
3 to each shipping line K-1, K-2, K for each product type
-3, the articles F, F, ... are supplied to each storage line E-1, E-2, E-3 via each gate device J-1, J-2, J-3. For the articles F, F, ... stored by type on storage lines E-1, E-2, E-3, the desired order of merging onto the article carry-in conveyor E is determined for each type, and the merging order is determined. Articles F, F,...
... is supplied to the article carry-in conveyor E, and the articles F, F, ... being conveyed by the article carry-in conveyor E are delivered to a predetermined take-in position (warehousing position) via the stacker crane D on the warehousing side. In addition to entering (taking in) the storage facility A into the designated frontage, storage facility A
It is configured such that the articles F, F, .

To explain each part in the example in detail, the above-mentioned article carrying-in conveyor C and the above-mentioned article carrying-in conveyor E
As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 6, respectively, the storage facility It is arranged approximately horizontally at a height near the frontage of the center stage of A. The article carrying conveyor E is connected to storage lines E-1 and E.
-2, E-3 through appropriate gates (not shown) can be transported to appropriate positions.

In addition, the above-mentioned Statzker crane B on the delivery side is
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a crane main body 3 is supported by upper and lower rails 21 and 22 and runs left and right along the exit side of the storage facility A;
Following the crane body 3, the upper and lower rails 2
1, 22 and runs left and right along the exit side frontage of the storage facility A, and an article transfer conveyor (elevating conveyor) 5 that connects the crane body 3 and the trolley 4. The unloading device 32 is installed in the lifting section 31 provided on the crane body 3.
(transfer device that can be lifted and lowered) is placed on the unloading device 3.
2 is made to be able to travel vertically and horizontally along the frontage of the storage facility A by traveling the crane body 3 and moving the lifting section 31 in the vertical direction, and the articles F, F, ... are taken out from the arbitrary frontage of the storage facility A. The article is taken out by the device 32 and can be carried out to the article carry-out conveyor C via the article transfer conveyor 5.

The stacker crane B on the delivery side will be described in more detail based on FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. An elevating section 31 of the crane main body 3 is movable up and down by an elevating section drive device 33.
In addition to the unloading device 32, there is a roller conveyor 34 on the elevating part 31 for transferring the articles F, F, . is listed. The unloading device 32 includes a pair of extendable swinging conveyors 32a, 32a that can enter between the tips of the pair of rail frames 1, 1 of the storage equipment A and take out the articles F, F, . . . from the storage equipment A. A picking device as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-207304 is used. Further, the rollers of the roller conveyor 34 may be disposed at right angles to the conveying direction of the articles, but in this embodiment they are disposed obliquely, thereby allowing The transferred article F is transported as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2, and the article F can be positioned approximately at the center of the roller conveyor 34 at the time the article F is transferred from the roller conveyor 34 to the article transfer conveyor 5. be. In addition, the crane main body 3 is equipped with a travel drive device 35 for self-propelling the crane main body, an elevator drive device 33, a control device 36 for controlling the travel drive device 35, and the like.

Further, the cart 4 of the above-mentioned stack car crane B on the delivery side is provided with a mounting section 41, and this mounting section 4
1, a conveyor 42 for transporting the article F from the article transfer conveyor 5 to the article carry-out conveyor C and a curved conveyor 43 are sequentially provided so as to be located at the same height as the article carry-out conveyor C. The tip of the conveyor 43 is positioned close to the side edge of the upper surface of the article carrying-out conveyor C, and one side of the tip has a tip for smoothly discharging the article F to the article carrying-out conveyor C. A free guide roller 44 is provided upright.

Furthermore, the article transfer conveyor 5 in the stack car crane B on the delivery side has one end connected to the lifting section 31 of the crane main body 3 so as to connect the roller conveyor 34 of the crane main body 3 and the conveyor 42 of the truck 4. It is rotatably supported on a fulcrum 31a, and the other end is located at the same height as the article carrying conveyor C, and rotatably supported on a fulcrum 41a of a loading section 41 of the trolley 4. Therefore, the article transfer conveyor 5 swings around the fulcrum 41a of the trolley 4 as the elevating section 31 of the crane main body 3 moves up and down, and moves the articles F, It has a function of transferring F, . Note that the article transfer conveyor 5 may be short because it can swing as described above.

In addition, the stacker crane D on the warehousing side is
As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, the unloading device in the stacker crane B on the unloading side is replaced with a warehousing device, and some minor changes are made to the details to transfer the goods from the goods carrying conveyor E to the storage facility A. The unloading side is constructed in substantially the same manner as the stacker crane B described above, except that it is suitable for warehousing the following articles.

That is, the stacker crane D on the warehousing side includes a crane main body 3' supported by upper and lower rails 21' and 22' and running left and right along the entrance on the warehousing side of the storage facility A, and an article transfer conveyor ( The main body is a trolley 4' that follows the conveyor 5' via an elevating conveyor 5', and transports the articles F, F, ... of the article carrying conveyor E to the article transfer conveyor 5' and the elevating section 3 of the crane main body 3'.
The storage equipment 32' mounted on the storage facility A can be supplied to any opening of the storage facility A.

To explain in more detail about the stacker crane D on the warehousing side, on the elevating part 31' that can be raised and lowered by a drive device 33' in the crane main body 3', there are a warehousing device 32' (transfer device that can be raised and lowered) as well as a Articles F are transferred from the article transfer conveyor 5' to the warehousing device 32'.
Roller conveyor 34', 3 for transferring F,...
4' and 34' are placed in series. Warehousing device 3
2' is a feeding device consisting of a roller conveyor with a centering guide 32''.
The rollers of the warehousing device 32' are arranged diagonally, and the centering guide 32'' moves the articles F to be supplied to the storage facility A into the warehousing device using a computer-controlled power cylinder according to their size. The warehousing device 3 is centered at the center of the roller conveyor.
Roller conveyors 34', 34', 34' for transferring articles from the article transfer conveyor 2' are provided perpendicularly to the warehousing device 32'. A conveyor 34'' is attached to guide the articles supplied from the transfer conveyor 5'.In addition, the crane body 3' is equipped with a traveling drive device 35' for self-propelling the crane body, and an elevating section. A control device 36' for controlling the drive device 33' and the traveling drive device 35' is provided.

Further, on the loading section 41' of the cart 4' of the stack car crane D on the storage side, there is a conveyor 43' having a curved shape for transferring articles from the article carrying-in conveyor E to the article transfer conveyor 5'; conveyor 4
2' are positioned at the same height as the article carry-in conveyor E, and are sequentially provided. And conveyor 4
3' is located close to the side edge of the upper surface of the article carry-in conveyor E, and on one side of the tip is a guide conveyor 43'' that smoothly introduces articles into the conveyor 43'. is provided to protrude above the article carry-in conveyor E.

Furthermore, the article transfer conveyor 5' in the stack car crane D on the warehousing side has one end connected to the crane body 3 so as to connect the roller conveyor 34' of the crane body 3' and the conveyor 42' of the truck 4'. It is rotatably supported on the fulcrum 31a' of the elevating part 31' of the carriage 4', and its other end is positioned at the same height as the article carrying conveyor E, and is rotatable on the fulcrum 41a' of the loading part 41' of the trolley 4'. It is supported by

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the storage facility A is formed of a fluidized shelf having a frontage (storage section) in multiple rows and multiple stages, and includes a pair of rail frames 1 each having a large number of rollers, Articles F, F, .
It is constructed so that it can be moved from the storage side to the storage side by gravity. The storage height of the storage section of the storage facility A is determined by the article transfer conveyor 5, 5'.
is large at the stage where the articles F, F, ... are transferred in a substantially horizontal state and the stage near it, and when the article transfer conveyors 5, 5' are in an inclined state, the articles F, F, ... are transferred.
... is made smaller at the transfer stage and the stages near it. More specifically, in this embodiment, the article transfer conveyors 5, 5' are as described above.
A transfer device that can be lifted and lowered to transfer articles to and from the storage section, that is, is provided opposite to the unloading device 32 or the warehousing device 32', and one end of the transfer device is used to lift and lower the transfer device 32, 32'. Since the other end, which serves as the center of rotation and rocking, is located at a height near the central storage section of storage facility A, the retractable height of the storage section of storage facility A is The largest in the center stage and nearby stages of equipment A, the top stage and its vicinity,
The size is the smallest at the bottom level and its vicinity, and the size is medium at the level between these levels. In this way, by increasing the height at which the articles can be stored in the storage section of the stage where the articles F, F, . There are tall items F, F,... in the storage section of
It becomes possible to store... Therefore, if tall articles F, F, . . . are stored in a storage section with a large storage height, such tall articles F, F, . 5' so that it is transferred substantially horizontally, so it will not fall over during transfer, even though the center of gravity is generally high. or,
When the article transfer conveyors 5 and 5' are tilted, the article F,
If short articles F, F, ... are stored in the storage section of the stage where F, ... is transferred and the stage near it, such short goods generally have a low center of gravity. Therefore, there is no risk of it falling over even if it is transferred on an incline. Furthermore, the storage section of the storage facility A in the embodiment has a large storage width on the downstream side of the carry-out conveyor C and the upstream side of the article carry-in conveyor E, and by setting the storage width in this way, On the downstream side of the carry-out conveyor C and the upstream side of the carry-in conveyor E, articles F, F,...
... can be stored, large-sized articles F, F,
It is designed to facilitate the handling of...

In addition, the center of swing of the article transfer conveyors 5, 5' is
As mentioned above, if it is not placed at approximately the middle level of the storage facility A but is placed, for example, at the bottom level, the storage capacity of the storage unit is maximized at the bottom level of the storage facility A and the tiers in its vicinity. Needless to say. Further, when the storage equipment A is formed of a fluidized shelf, the rail frame 1 can be provided with wheels instead of rollers. However, the storage facility A does not necessarily have to be a liquid shelf, for example,
It may also be a rotating shelf as described in the above publication. Of course, in this case as well, the retractable height of the stage on which the article is transferred and the stage near the stage where the article is transferred in a substantially horizontal state is increased. However, the retractable width may be equally spaced in the rotating direction of the rotating shelf.

Next, a description will be given of how articles are handled using the article handling apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 7.

The handling of goods by the above-mentioned goods handling equipment is as follows:
Normally, it starts when a request to leave the warehouse is received. That is, the main control device (not shown) sends an unloading command signal to the stacker crane (not shown) of the unit load storage facility (not shown) installed upstream of the depalletizers L-1, L-2, and L-3. ), the goods F, F, ... (not shown) stored in the unit load storage equipment are taken out in pallets by type, and at the same time a deparation command signal is sent from the main control device to each item. Depalletizer L-
The signal is output to the control panels (not shown) of 1, L-2, and L-3, thereby starting the deparation. This deparatory command signal includes an operation command for the stacker crane D on the warehousing side (commands regarding the position of the storage section to be stocked, the type, size, number, etc. of the goods to be stocked).

First, we will explain the mode of storage into storage facility A and the mode of deparing that precedes it. Deparing starts as described above, and the depared items F, F,...
is for each shipping line K-1, K-2, K- for each product type.
It is transported at 3. Depared goods F, F, ...
Of these, a desired number of articles F, F, ... are supplied (storage) to storage lines E-1, E-2, E-3 via respective gate devices J-1, J-2, J-3, respectively. be done. For example, in Figure 1,
Storage line E-1 contains goods of type _F2 .
In addition, storage line E-2 has goods of type _F3 .
In addition, articles of type _F4 are stored in storage line E-3.

Deparation ends (storage line E-1,
After the supply to E-2 and E-3 is completed, the gate device J-
1, J-2, and J-3) and a control panel for controlling the depalletizer and stacker crane on the warehousing side (not shown) from the control panel of each depalletizer L-1, L-2, and L-3. First, an operation command signal is output to the stacker crane D on the warehousing side.

The control panel for controlling the depalletizer and stacker crane on the warehousing side (in charge of merging order and controlling the article carrying conveyor E) is connected to one of the three storage lines E-1, E-2, and E-3. When storage of a line is completed (in Figure 1, storage has been completed for goods of type F ₄ ), and between the storage line where storage has been completed and other storage lines where goods of a different type are being stored. Then, each of these items is placed based on the arrangement order of the predetermined storage section of the storage facility A where these items are to be received, in other words, the arrangement order of the storage position for each product type by the stacker crane D on the warehousing side. After arranging the merging order of the depalletizers L-1, L-2, L-, an operation command is output to the control device 36' of the stacker crane D on the warehousing side using, for example, optical communication. A merging/cutting command signal is output to the control panel No. 3 (also in charge of controlling storage lines E-1, E-2, and E-3). Then, based on this merging/cutting command signal, the gates at the beginning of each storage line E-1, E-2, E-3 are opened, and the articles are carried into the article carrying-in conveyor E according to the above-mentioned merging order.

It is preferable to sequentially perform the above-mentioned merging order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the article carry-in conveyor E to the storage sections that require warehousing, in order to efficiently carry out the warehousing work. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the types of articles that need to be stored in the storage section of storage facility A are _F2 , _F3 ,
In F ₄ , if the storage units that store these items are lined up in this order from the upstream side of the article carry-in conveyor E,
The merging ordering is preferably done in this order, ie, in the order of F ₂ , F ₃ , F ₄ . This ordering is based on whether any one of storage lines E-1, E-2, or E-3
The determination is made when the storage of articles on the line is completed, and in one embodiment, it is not reviewed when the storage of the second and third storage lines is completed. And 3
When the merging of the three storage lines E-1, E-2, and E-3 is completed, and storage is completed for any one of the following storage lines (it may have already been completed), the merging order is determined again. but,
At this time, there is a certain distance or more upstream of the article carrying conveyor E than the current position of the stacker crane D on the warehousing side (for example, more than 6 frontages of the storage facility A).
If it is necessary for the stacker crane D on the warehousing side to run, it is preferable to stop the merging and start merging after the stacker crane D on the warehousing side arrives at the warehousing position for the storage section that requires warehousing. .
In addition, if the above distance is less than 6 widths, the merging is not stopped, and the merged articles being conveyed by the article carry-in conveyor E are transferred to the photo switch 45' of the stacker crane D on the warehousing side (see Fig. 5). (See Fig. 6.It protrudes from the tip of the loading section 41' of the cart 4' in the upstream direction of the article carry-in conveyor E by about 6 widths of the storage facility A), and detects that the article has arrived at the photo switch 45'. It is preferable to stop the article carry-in conveyor E at this point, run the stacker crane D on the warehousing side, and then operate the article carry-in conveyor E again. The operation of the stacker crane D on the warehousing side is performed based on the commands from its control device 36', and as described above, the stacker crane D on the warehousing side moves upstream of the stacker crane D on the warehousing side. If it is necessary to travel six frontages or more, a merging stop command is output from the control device 36' to the control panels of the depalletizers L-1, L-2, and L-3. or,
If the above-mentioned merging order is not performed, even if the main control device outputs the unloading command signal in the order in which the storage units of storage facility A are arranged, troubles and placement of each depalletizer L-1, L-2, and L-3 will occur. Storage lines E-1, E-2, E-3 are not operated synchronously due to the difference in the distance and the number of articles to be depalletized. If the articles supplied to the storage facility A are supplied as they are to the article carry-in conveyor E in the order in which the storage is completed, the articles will not necessarily be stored in the order in which the storage units of the storage facility A are arranged. Therefore, the above-mentioned merging ordering is necessary to change this order. Moreover, as another aspect of the above-mentioned merging ordering,
Each time storage is completed for any one of storage lines E-1, E-2, and E-3,
One example is to review the merging order.

As described above, each storage line E-1, E
-2, E-3, when the articles F, F, ... are stored by type or are being stored, if the articles F, F, ... on any storage line, for example storage line E-1, are stored or are being stored, Storage equipment A
When the gate is opened for storage, the opened items F, F, ... of storage line E-1 are
The goods are transported by the goods carry-in conveyor E to the front side of the entrance of the storage facility A on the warehousing side. On the front side of the entrance on the warehousing side of the storage facility A, there is a warehousing device 3 in which a warehousing side stacker crane D can move vertically and horizontally.
2' is placed on standby at an arbitrary frontage of the storage facility A based on the command from the control device 36', and the article F, which has been transported by the article carrying conveyor E,
F, ... are the guide conveyor 43'' to the conveyor 4 in the stacker crane D on the receiving side that is on standby.
3' and conveyor 42', and transferred to the storage device 32' by the article transfer conveyor 5' via the roller conveyor 34' of the elevating section 31'. The articles F, F, .
2'.

In addition, goods F from storage line E-1,
When the final article F at F, ... is carried into the stacker crane D on the receiving side, the gate of the next storage line E-2 is opened by a detector that confirms this, and the article F on the storage line E-1 is transferred to the storage line E-1. ，
Articles F, F, . . . on the storage line E-2 are supplied to the stacker crane D on the warehousing side in preparation for warehousing into the storage facility A.

When the supply of articles F, F, ... from storage line E-1 to storage facility A is completed, articles F, F, ... from storage line E-2 are transferred to stacker crane D on the receiving side. In the state in which the warehousing device 32' is loaded, the warehousing device 32' moves to the next storage opening in the storage facility A by traveling in the left-right direction of the stacker crane D itself on the warehousing side or raising and lowering its elevating section 31'. , for this frontage, article F from storage line E-2,
F,... is supplied. At the same time, the articles F, F, ... on the storage line E-3 are transported by the article carry-in conveyor E, are packed in front of the guide conveyor 43'' of the stacker crane D on the storage side, and are sent to the storage facility A. In preparation for the arrival of

In addition, in the above-mentioned warehousing mode, the next storage line E-2 is connected to the stacker crane D on the warehousing side.
The warehousing device 32' is run with the articles F, F, .
However, the next storage line E
The articles F, F, ... from -2 are not loaded on the stacker crane D on the warehousing side, but are kept waiting on the article carry-in conveyor E, and after the warehousing device 32' completes running or moving up and down, the next storage line is loaded. Articles F, F, ... from E-2 are transferred to the stacker crane D on the receiving side.
This can also be done by changing the control design.

On the other hand, when taking out the articles F, F, ... from the storage facility A, the stacker crane B on the outgoing side moves in the left and right direction based on the command from its control device 36, and its elevating section 31 moves up and down. After the unloading device 32 is located at an arbitrary frontage of the storage facility A, an arbitrary number of articles F, F, . Items above F, F,...
... are sequentially transferred by the article transfer conveyor 5 to the article unloading conveyor C via the conveyor 42 and conveyor 43 of the trolley 4, and the transferred articles F, F, .
is carried out by the article carrying-out conveyor C.

After completing the removal of the articles F, F, ... from a predetermined opening in the storage facility A, the removed articles F, F, ... are carried out to the article delivery conveyor C via the article transfer conveyor 5. Meanwhile, the unloading device 32 moves to the next frontage, and an arbitrary number of articles F, F, . . . are unloaded from this frontage again.

In the above-mentioned unloading mode, while the unloading device 32 is traveling to the next frontage in the storage facility A, the articles F, F, ..., which have already been taken out from the storage facility A, are transferred to the article unloading conveyor C. However, this transfer can also be stopped until the unloading device 32 arrives at the next frontage. Also, before the unloading device 32 arrives at the next frontage, the stacker crane B on the unloading side is run to a predetermined position (load delivery position),
Articles F, F,... taken out at this predetermined position
It is also possible to transfer the goods to the article carry-out conveyor C, and after the completion of the transfer, move the unloading device 32 to the next frontage to carry out the next unloading.

FIG. 8 shows another example of the stacker crane B on the delivery side, and the illustrated stacker crane B does not support the truck 4 by the upper rail 21, but only by the lower rail 22. In addition, a connecting rod 51 that forms a link mechanism together with the article transfer conveyor 5 is connected between the crane main body 3 and the trolley 4 by rotatably supporting both ends of the connecting rod 51. Therefore, the cart 4 is prevented from falling in the traveling direction, and a guide conveyor 44 is provided on one side of the tip of the conveyor 43 on the cart 4 instead of the free guide roller. It has the same structure as the stacker crane B on the exit side shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

Although not shown, the stacker crane D on the warehousing side can also have a structure similar to that shown in FIG. 8. In addition, in relation to FIG.
3' is also different from those in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, and is composed of a cart with a lift that runs on the lower rail 22, or a hanging crane that runs on the upper rail 21. You can also

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the article handling device of the present invention, in which a stacker crane is configured to be used for both loading and unloading. That is, the stacker crane G, which can be used for both loading and unloading, is able to run between the pair of storage facilities A and A.
A loading and unloading device (a transfer device that can be lifted and lowered) 37 is mounted on the lifting section 31 of the crane main body 3, and the loading and unloading device 37 is connected to the article transport conveyor H via the article transfer conveyor 5. It has been done. The warehouse loading/unloading device 37 is mainly composed of picking devices 37a and 37b facing the storage facilities A and A, and a roller conveyor 38 is disposed between them, and an article transfer conveyor 5 is placed on both sides of the roller conveyor 38. A pusher 39 is disposed at a position opposite to one of the picking devices 37a, and a stopper 38b for the article taken out by the other picking device 37b is placed close to one picking device 37a, and a stopper 38b for an article taken out by the other picking device 37b is placed close to one picking device 37b. Stopper 38 for articles taken out by device 37a
a are provided so as to be retractable between the rollers of the roller conveyor 38. Therefore, according to the stacker crane of FIG. 9 configured in this way, the stored articles can be taken out from either of the storage facilities A, A by the picking devices 37a, 37b, and the taken out articles can be taken out from either of the storage facilities A, A. Stopper 38a
Or after stopping by 38b, pusher 39
The article can be pushed onto the article transfer conveyor 5 and carried out by the article transport conveyor H. Further, when warehousing, the articles on the pusher 39 can function as a centering guide, and the articles transferred from the article transport conveyor H to the roller conveyor 38 by the article transfer conveyor 5 are moved by a pair of picking devices 37a and 37b. By reversing the extendable swinging conveyors 37a', 37b', it is possible to supply to either of the storage facilities A, A. Also, if one of the picking devices 37a is reversely rotated to function as a supply device, and the other picking device 37b is rotated forward to function as a pick-up device, transfers can be made from one storage facility A to the other storage facility A. It is also possible to transfer goods to
Note that the storage facilities A and A in this embodiment are not formed of fluidized shelves but are formed of ordinary fixed shelves.
Furthermore, the article transport conveyor H does not have to reach the ends of the storage facilities A, A as shown in the figure.

FIG. 10 shows yet another embodiment of the article handling device of the present invention. The article handling device of this embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. and a stacker crane B on the exit side are configured to run outside of the article carry-in conveyor E and article carry-out conveyor C, respectively. In the case of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the stage of the storage facility A that corresponds to the height of the article carry-out conveyor C and the article carry-in conveyor E (not shown in FIG. 11) is located at the storage facility 32. It is preferable to use a dead space because it is difficult to take out articles from the warehouse and supply articles using a storage device (not shown in FIGS. 10 and 11). Further, it is preferable that the warehousing device in this embodiment is configured to be expandable and retractable like the picking device that constitutes the warehousing device 32.

FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 show another example of the article transfer section from the article transfer conveyor 5 of the stacker crane B on the exit side to the article carry-out conveyor C.
In the illustrated transfer section, a chute 45 is provided at the tip of the conveyor 42 of the trolley 4 in place of the conveyor 43 in FIGS. 2 and 3 so as to protrude onto the article delivery conveyor C. In addition, this transfer section also includes, for example, the conveyor 42 of the trolley 4 and the article carrying-out conveyor C.
It can also be arranged so as to protrude upward.

14 and 15 show another centering mechanism in the warehousing device 32', and the illustrated centering mechanism is an alternative to the centering guide 32'' that centers the articles from one side as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. A pair of conveyors 6 from both sides,
6 to center the article. That is, the pair of conveyors 6, 6 receives control information commands sent from a computer on the ground, such as the number of articles to be supplied, the article supply address (the frontage of storage facility A to which the articles are to be supplied), and the width dimension of the articles. The control cylinders 7, 7, operating on the basis of the control cylinders 7, 7, are adapted to center the article from both sides by varying their spacing.

The features of the embodiment of the article handling apparatus of the present invention described above are listed below.

●Do not install article transport conveyors such as article carrying-in conveyor E and article carrying-out conveyor C on the running path of stacker cranes such as stacker crane D on the warehousing side and stacker crane B on the exit side. Installed alongside the driving route, and
Since the article transfer conveyor can be installed at the intermediate level of the storage facility, the article transfer conveyor can be used with an upward slope, horizontal slope, downward slope, etc., reducing the overall length of the stacker crane and freeing up dead space. can be made smaller.

●Since the article transfer conveyor and article transport conveyor are separate bodies, each can be started, stopped, or speed controlled separately, allowing control over a wide range of warehousing and unloading of articles.

●After taking out the goods from any opening of the storage facility, the goods are simply sent to the goods transfer conveyor via the goods transfer conveyor, which allows for simple and highly efficient unloading. Further, even when the stacker crane is running, the articles on the article transfer conveyor that have already been taken out from the storage facility can be transferred to the article transfer conveyor, so that the efficiency of unloading is good.

●Items can be loaded into the storage facility by simply receiving the items sent from the article conveyor onto the article transfer conveyor and transferring them to the warehousing device.

●In the past, loading and unloading was carried out by moving the Statzker crane back and forth between the loading station (cargo delivery area) and the frontage of the storage facility, so the Statzker crane was always empty on one trip. Therefore, in addition to being inefficient, the reciprocating distance of the stacker crane is long, further wasting time.However, in the present invention, the article is constantly transported on the side of the running surface of the stacker crane. Since there is a conveyor and the article transport conveyor can be used in place of the loading station, there is no need to move the stacker crane back and forth between the loading station and the frontage of the storage facility.
In other words, in the present invention, the article transport conveyor is used like a loading station to transfer articles, and articles can be delivered to the vicinity of the stacker crane, for example, by type, despite the movement of the stacker crane.

●When storage on any one of the multiple storage lines is completed, the items are merged between these storage lines based on the arrangement order of the receiving position of the stacker crane on the receiving side for each item. Since the articles are arranged in order and are arranged to join the article carrying-in conveyor in accordance with the merging order, the articles can be efficiently, quickly and continuously delivered to the storage facility, and moreover, the articles can be delivered to the storage facility upstream of the storage line. This can be done without being influenced by some depalletizers.

●Since the storage height of the storage section of the storage equipment is changed in relation to the goods transfer conveyor, the goods can be efficiently, quickly and continuously transported into and out of the storage equipment without overturning them. can be handled.

The article handling device of the present invention may be applied to either loading or unloading from a storage facility, and is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the article handling device of the present invention, articles can be efficiently, rapidly, and continuously loaded into or taken out of a storage facility without overturning the articles when they are put in or taken out. A tremendous effect is produced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing an embodiment of the article handling device of the present invention, and FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are a plan view, a front view, and a side view of the device on the exit side, respectively. Figures 5, 6 and 7 are a plan view, a back view and a side view of the equipment on the storage side, respectively;
FIG. 8 is a rear view of another apparatus on the exit side, FIG. 9 is a plan view schematically showing another embodiment of the article handling apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a further view of the article handling apparatus of the present invention. A plan view schematically showing another embodiment, FIG. 11 is a front view of the device on the exit side, FIG.
3 is a plan view and a front view of a transfer section from another transfer conveyor to an article discharge conveyor, respectively, and FIGS. 14 and 15 are a plan view and a front view of a centering mechanism of another warehousing device, respectively. A...Storage equipment, B...Statzker crane on the outgoing side, C...Goods transport conveyor (goods unloading conveyor) on the outgoing side, D...Statsker crane on the warehousing side, E...Goods loading conveyor on the incoming side (Goods loading conveyor), F...Goods, G...Statzker crane for both loading and unloading, H...Goods transport conveyor, 31, 31'...Lifting section, 32... Loading device (liftable device), 32'... Warehousing device (transfer device that can be lifted and lowered), 37... Device for both loading and unloading (transfer device that can be lifted and lowered), 5, 5'... Article transfer conveyor (elevating conveyor).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An article handling device comprising a storage facility having a plurality of storage sections and a transfer device that can be raised and lowered to transfer articles to the storage section, wherein the transfer device An elevating conveyor is provided opposite to the elevating conveyor, one end of the elevating conveyor is interlocked with the lifting and lowering of the transfer device, and the elevating conveyor is installed in the storage section of the stage on which the article is transferred in a substantially horizontal state and the stage in the vicinity thereof. An article characterized in that the height at which the article can be stored is increased, and the height at which the article can be stored in the storage section of the stage on which the article is transferred and loaded while the elevating conveyor is in an inclined state and the stage in the vicinity thereof is reduced. Handling equipment. 2. The article handling device according to claim 1, wherein the other end of the elevating conveyor is disposed at a height near the storage section of the central stage of the storage facility. 3. Claim No. 3, wherein the storage equipment is a fluidized shelf in which a plurality of rail frames equipped with a large number of rollers or wheels are arranged at an angle so that articles installed on the rollers or wheels can be moved by gravity. A device for handling the article described in paragraph 1 or paragraph 2.