JPH0622641Y2 - Equipment for handling goods - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of use] The present invention relates to an article handling device for taking out articles stored in a housing having a plurality of article storage parts, and particularly for picking articles in a distribution center. The present invention relates to an article handling device that can be used.

[Conventional technology]

As a conventional technique relating to a device for handling articles, a product cutting device and the like described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. Sho 63-175622 are known. Explaining the conventional technique described in the publication, the product cutting device described in the publication is a feed plate for supplying products arranged in a plurality of rows, and a product cutting device provided on the feed plate. Cutout port, gate plate that opens and closes the cutout port,
An operation device for opening and closing the gate plate is provided, and the opening and closing control operation of the gate plate is performed in order to open a cutout opening having a size corresponding to a required number of products. According to the device,
It is possible to cut out a required number of products by opening the cutouts of the products supplied in a plurality of rows arranged in the cutout opening according to the cutout instruction.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

However, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-175622 discloses that
There is no description and no suggestion of forming a plurality of article storage units by partitions and making the partitions insertable into and removable from the housing. In addition, the product cutting device described in the above publication can cut the products supplied in a plurality of rows aligned in a required quantity, but the cutouts of the feed plate and the size of the gate plate are the size of the product. The size and shape of the product to be cut out depend on the size of the feed plate cutout and the gate plate, as it is formed in a certain size according to the shape and the like. It cannot be used for different types of products, and in order to support different types of products, a feed plate with cutouts that match the size and shape of each product, and this cutout There is a problem that it is necessary to prepare a plurality of gate plates corresponding to the above and replace the feed plate and the gate plate each time the size of the product changes.

Further, due to the relationship between the cutout port of the feed plate and the gate plate, there is a problem that it is not possible to cut out a required number of products supplied in an inverted state.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to store the article storage unit in the size of the article,
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for handling articles, which is formed according to the shape and the like, can efficiently store various kinds of articles, and can reliably take out the articles.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The present invention relates to an article handling apparatus including a housing in which a plurality of article storage portions are formed by partitions, and an opening / closing device that opens an opening of the article storage portion and takes out the articles stored in the article storage portion. , The partition is configured to be inserted into and removed from the housing, and a plurality of engaging portions that engage with an edge of the partition are provided on the housing, and the partition is inserted by selecting the engaging portion. Thus, the above object is achieved by providing an article handling device characterized in that the size of the article storage section can be changed.

[Action]

According to the present invention, by simply re-inserting the partition into the engaging portion selected according to the size, shape, etc. of the article, the article can be stored efficiently and various types of articles can be reliably taken out. it can.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described below based on the embodiment shown in FIGS. In each of the drawings, FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an entire embodiment of a picking apparatus using the article handling apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partial view of the article handling apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an article replenishing device of an article take-out device constituting the article handling device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an article cutting device of an article take-out device which constitutes the article handling device shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a picking device of another embodiment using the article handling device of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the picking apparatus using the article handling apparatus of the present embodiment has an elliptical planar shape,
The container 2 carried in from the carry-in conveyor 1 is temporarily stored, and the carousel 10 is provided with a plurality of stages of carousel 11 for transporting to a predetermined position, and the carousel 10 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the carousel 10. A plurality of articles B arranged in parallel are taken out from the rotary shelf 10 to the receiving shelf 13, and the article B in the container 2 conveyed from the receiving shelf 13 via the worker M is supplied to the desired article B. And an article take-out device 20 for taking out the articles B by dropping the articles B by the number of, and the articles B taken out from the article take-out apparatus 20 are conveyed to the downstream end. The carry-out conveyors 30 to be carried out and the carry-out conveyors 30 are arranged in the vertical direction with respect to the carry-out conveyors 30 so that the downstream ends of the carry-out conveyors 30 are connected to each other. Collection conveyor 40 for conveying the collection container 3 so that has been coming articles B to collection at each downstream end position
And is configured.

Next, the rotary shelf 10, the article removing device 20 and the like will be described in more detail.

As shown in FIG. 2, the carousel 10 has a take-out port 12 formed on one side surface in the longitudinal direction corresponding to the plurality of article take-out devices 20, and a single carousel having a plurality of stages at the take-out port 12. 11 and a plurality of receiving shelves 13 arranged in correspondence with each other, the container 2 transported by the rotary shelf simple substance 11 is transferred from the rotary shelf simple substance 11 to the article removing device 20 by the pusher (not shown). It is configured to be sequentially taken out to the receiving rack 13 in accordance with the supply order. Further, the containers 2 are provided on both sides of each of the receiving shelves 13.
A detector 14 including a pair of photoelectric tubes for detecting the presence / absence of the above is provided. In addition, on the upper part of the outlet 12,
A transfer indicator 15 for notifying that the article B stored in the container 2 taken out to the receiving rack 13 should be transferred to the article removing device 20 is provided, and the transfer indicator 15 indicates which receipt In order to inform whether or not the article B taken out on the shelf 13 should be transferred, “upper”, “middle”,
It is provided with a "lower" character display means (not shown).

When the container 2 is taken out of the receiving rack 13 in the carousel 10 and the transfer indicator 15 is turned on, the worker M carries the container 2 to the vicinity of the article take-out device 20 and puts the article B stored therein into the article. It is adapted to supply to the take-out device 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the article take-out device 20 is arranged at a position corresponding to each take-out port 12 of the rotary shelf 10, and is arranged so that it can be taken in and out to store a replenishing article B. Article replenishing device 21 and the article replenishing device 21
The article replenishing device 21 which is arranged in pairs on the lower side of the article replenishing device 21
And an article slicing device 22 for slicing the desired number of the articles B replenished from the article slicing device 22. A plurality of pairs are stored parallel to each other. A pair of guide rails (not shown) for guiding the article replenishing device 21 in and out of the article retrieving device 20.
Is arranged, and the article replenishing device 21 is configured so as to be able to be taken in and out via a roller (not shown) on the guide rail, and the article replenishing device 20 is provided on a side surface in the longitudinal direction of the article taking out device 20. 21 are provided with the supply indicators 23 respectively, and when all the articles B in the article replenishing device 21 are dropped into the article cutting device 22 below by the opening / closing device 214 and become empty, the transfer is performed. The indicator 15 and the above-mentioned supply indicator 23 are turned on and the worker M
It is configured to notify that the article B should be transferred and supplied.

As shown in FIG. 3, the article replenishing apparatus 21 as an example of the article handling apparatus of the present invention has a housing 21 whose inside is divided into two by a partition wall 211A.
1 and a plurality of insertable / detachable plate-like partitions 213 for partitioning each of the divided spaces of the housing 211 in the lateral direction to form an article storage section 212 for storing the article B, and the partition 21.
3 and the partition wall 211A, the opening and closing device 214 for opening and closing the openings located below the plurality of article storage portions 212 formed in a matrix.

In addition, on the inner side surface of the housing 211 and the partition wall 211A,
Engagement portion (engagement groove) that engages with both end edges of the partition 213
A plurality of partitions 215 are formed at predetermined intervals at positions facing each other, and the partition 213 is formed in accordance with the size and shape of the article B.
By appropriately changing the inserting position of the article storage section 212 and appropriately changing the size of the article storage section 212, one or a plurality of desired quantity of articles B can be stored in each article storage section 212. .

Further, the opening / closing device 214 is provided with a pair of guide rails 214A, 214A arranged to face each other at lower ends of both side surfaces in the longitudinal direction of the housing 211, and reciprocating along the guide rails 214A, 214A. The shutter plate 214B provided and the shutter plate 214B
The shutter plate 214 through a rack 214C formed on one side edge and a pinion 214D that meshes with the rack 214C.
And a motor 214E that opens and closes the opening of the article storage unit 212 by reciprocating B. When all the articles B in the article cutting device 22 arranged below are cut out, the motor 214E Receives the signal to that effect and drives it to fully open the shutter plate 214B and drop all the articles B stored in each article storage section 212 into the article cutting device 22 in one operation to replenish them. Is configured. In addition, 216 is the article take-out device 2 when the article B is supplied to the empty article replenishing device 21.
It is a handle for pulling out the article replenishing device 21 from 0.

The article cutting-out device 22 as another embodiment of the article handling device of the present invention arranged corresponding to the article replenishing device 21 has an opening / closing device 224 as shown in FIG. Except for the difference, the above-mentioned article replenishing device 21
It is configured according to. That is, the article slicing device 22 is, like the article replenishing device 21, a casing 221 having a partition wall 211A, and a plurality of insertable / detachable plate-like partitions that partition the inside of the casing 221 to form an article storage portion 222. 223 and an engaging portion (engaging groove) 225 that engages with the partition 223. And
The article cutting out device 22 has a partition wall 221A in the longitudinal direction.
A space of the housing 221 divided into two is provided with a pair of opening / closing devices 224 and 224 that independently open and close the openings of the respective article storage portions 222 on the lower surface thereof, and each opening / closing device 224, 224 includes the housing 221 and a partition wall. 221A, a pair of guide rails (not shown) disposed to face each other at the lower ends thereof, shutter plates 224B and 224B capable of reciprocating along the pair of guide rails, and lengths of the shutter plates 224B and 224B. Racks 224C and 224C formed on outer edges in the direction, and motors 224E and 224E that open and close the shutter plates 224B and 224B through pinions 224D and 224D that mesh with the racks based on computer commands. The motors 224E, 224E are the fingers of the computer. The shutter plate 22 in accordance with
4B and 224B are moved to open the openings of the article storage unit 222 by a desired number, and the articles B stored in the article storage unit 222 are cut out.

The article storage units 212 and 222 of the article replenishing device 21 and the article cutting device 22 are formed to have the same size, and the article B is smoothly transferred between them. That is, if the size of the article B to be supplied is small, the number of the partitions 213 and 223 is increased, and conversely, if the size is large, the number of the partitions 213 and 223 is decreased to cope with the sizes and shapes of the plurality of types of the articles B. It is done like this.

Further, the respective articles B taken out from the respective article cutting-out apparatuses 22 of the article taking-out apparatus 20 according to the instruction of the computer are carried out by the carrying-out conveyor 30 in the opposite direction of the rotary shelf 10, and the collection conveyor 40.
It is configured to be collected in the collection container 3 conveyed by.

While the collection conveyor 40 conveys the collection container 3, as shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of types of articles B taken out from the respective article taking-out devices 20 are transferred to the collection vessel 3 via the carry-out conveyor 30. After collecting the articles, the articles B taken out from the other article taking-out device 20 are also taken up if necessary and are conveyed to the next step by the pickup conveyor 40.

Next, the operation of the picking apparatus using the article handling apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

As described below, the desired article B based on the picking data
However, when the articles are sequentially picked from the article take-out device 20, a predetermined article B is displayed in the article replenishing device 21 in association with the picking.
Therefore, the articles B to be supplied to the article replenishing device 21 are calculated in advance in batch units on the basis of the picking data, and are collectively conveyed to the articles conveyer 1
Thus, the container 2 is carried into the carousel 10 while being housed in the container 2. The containers 2 are conveyed in units of the containers 2 to the position of the outlet 12 of the rotary shelf 10 in accordance with the order in which it is necessary to supply the containers 2 calculated in advance, and are taken out to the respective receiving shelves 13 by the pushers. At this time, when there are a plurality of empty receiving shelves 13 in the same rotating shelf single unit 11,
The containers 2 are taken out to the receiving shelves 13 in the order in which it becomes necessary to supply the articles B to the article replenishing device 21.
When it becomes necessary to supply the article B to the article replenishing device 21,
The transfer indicator 15 and the supply indicator 23 light up, and the worker M is informed of the transfer and supply of the article B. Therefore, the worker M indicates the receiving shelf 13 instructed by the transfer indicator 15.
To the vicinity of the article replenishing device 21 indicated by the supply indicator 23, the container 2 is placed on the upper surface of the article retrieving device 20, the article replenishing device 21 is pulled out from the article retrieving device 20, and the article storage unit 212 After the articles B in the container 2 are supplied and all the articles B in the container 2 are stored, the article replenishing device 21 is stored in the article removing device 20. When there is enough time before transferring and supplying the article B, that is, when the container 2 is taken out to the receiving rack 13 and is on standby, the worker M cuts the top surface of the container 2 and cuts the article. B can be easily taken out, or the articles B can be cut out and grouped with rubber bands for each unit, and the preparation work for efficiently performing the supply work can be performed. Thus, the article slicing device 22 forming a pair with the article replenishing device 21 drives the motor 224E based on the picking instruction of the computer while the article B is being supplied to the article replenishing device 21 to obtain a desired number of articles. In order to cut out B, the shutter plate 224B is opened to cut out a desired number of articles B to the carry-out conveyor 30. At this time, the same or different kinds of articles B are concurrently cut out from the other article cutting-out apparatus 22 in the article taking-out apparatus 20 and the same kind or different kinds of articles B are collected into the collection container 3 by the carry-out conveyor 30. (See Figure 2). Further, while the collection conveyor 40 conveys the collection container 3 to the next process, the articles B are similarly collected and conveyed from the article take-out devices 20 of other series located on the downstream side thereof. In this way, since a plurality of types of articles B can be received at one place, the number of times the container is stopped for collecting the goods can be reduced, and furthermore, the article slicing devices 22 are arranged in the direction intersecting the collection conveyor 40. By arranging the take-out devices 20 so as to be packed in the conveying direction of the collecting conveyor 40, the conveying distance of the collecting conveyor 40 can be shortened.

When all the articles B in the article cutting device 22 are cut out, a signal to that effect is received and the shutter plate 214B of the article replenishing device 21 which is paired with this is driven to open the article storage section 212. Corresponding to the article storage unit 222 of the article cutting-out device 22
To prepare for the next picking command.

As another embodiment of the article handling apparatus 20 of the present invention, the article retrieving apparatus 20 may be fixedly arranged inside the article retrieving apparatus 20 as shown in FIG. That is, in this embodiment, the article replenishing device 21 is fixedly installed inside the article retrieving device 20, and the article retrieving device 2 corresponding to the storage position of the article replenishing device 21.
A lid 24 is provided on the top surface portion of 0. In this embodiment, each article replenishing device 21 is not provided with its own motor 214E, one motor (not shown) is provided for each of the six article replenishing devices 21, and each article replenishing device 21 is provided. Via a clutch and brake mechanism (not shown) provided for each shutter plate 2
14B may be opened and closed. Also, the lid 24
Is configured to be foldable via a hinge 24A.

The device for handling articles according to the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and for example, the engaging portion of the article removing device may have a structure that engages with the edge of the partition. The groove structure described is not limited in any way.
Further, the article storage unit is not limited to the one formed in a matrix and may be one row or one column. Further, two or more partition walls may be provided, and the partition wall is configured as a partition that can be inserted and removed freely, and an engaging portion (engagement groove) that engages with both end edges of the partition is provided in the housing. It may be provided in plurality.

[Effect of device]

Since the article handling apparatus of the present invention can change the size of the article storage section by appropriately selecting the engaging position of the partition, the article storage section is formed according to the size, shape, etc. of the article. Therefore, various types of articles can be efficiently stored and can be reliably taken out.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an entire embodiment of a picking device using an article handling apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing the article handling apparatus shown in FIG. 3 and 4 are perspective views showing the article replenishing device of the article removing device which constitutes the article handling device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and FIG. 4 is the article handling shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an article cutting-out device of an article taking-out device constituting the device, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a picking device of another embodiment using the article handling device of the present invention. 20; article take-out device 21; article handling device (article replenishing device) 22; article handling device (article cutting out device) 212, 222; article storage section 214, 224; opening / closing apparatus 215, 225; engagement section (engagement groove)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An apparatus for handling an article, comprising: a housing having a plurality of article storage sections formed by partitions; and an opening / closing device for opening an opening of the article storage section to take out an article stored in the article storage section. In the above, the partition is configured to be insertable into and removable from the housing, and a plurality of engaging portions that engage with the edge of the partition are provided in the housing, and the engaging portion is selected to insert the partition. The article handling apparatus is characterized in that the size of the article storage section can be changed by doing so.