JPH08301452A - Method and device for conveying vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To take out a workpiece from a vessel in a period of short time by removing a cover plate from the next vessel main unit in a cover removing position, and lifting an empty vessel main unit, provided in a vessel piling up position, to a workpiece take out position, so as to place a cover, during the time the workpiece is taken out from the vessel main unit in the workpiece take out position. CONSTITUTION: By holding a vessel main unit 3 in the lowermost step according to lowering down the first lift table in a standby position by the second vessel main unit receiver 37 on the other hand by holding a cover plate 2 of a vessel in the lowermost step in a cover plate removing position by the first cover plate receiving part 39, the cover plate 2 of the vessel in the lowermost steep is removed from the vessel main unit 3. During this time, the third vessel main unit receiver 42 is respectively left as pulled each other, and the vessel main unit 3 held to the second vessel main unit receiver 37 is transfer loaded by a shifter 45 to the third vessel main unit receiver 42 provided in a workpiece take out position. In this workpiece take out position, workpiece W in the vessel main unit 3 is taken out, also with the shifter 45 left as returned to the original position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention conveys a container for taking out a work from a container having a container main body for accommodating a work and a lid plate superposed on the container main body so as to cover the container main body. Method and apparatus therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the case of automatically assembling various devices incorporating optical parts which are not susceptible to dirt and damage, the optical parts are transported in a container with a lid and the lid is opened at a predetermined position to operate the manipulator. It is common to take it out of the container with a handling device such as and supply it to the assembly device side.

As shown in FIG. 17 showing an example of such a container transport device, the containers 1 in which works such as optical parts are stored are stacked one by one by a predetermined number of stages (one end side of the carry-in conveyor 101). By the stacking elevator 102 that is carried in at a predetermined interval from the left end side in the figure and moves up and down at the other end side (the right end side in the figure) of the carry-in conveyor 101 that is intermittently driven.
Only the lowermost container 1 on the carry-in conveyor 101 is sent out by the drive claw 105 of the first shifter 104 onto the container receiver 103 arranged in front of it. The container 1 moved to the container receiver 103 is detached from the container body 3 by the cover plate attaching / detaching device 107 having the vacuum pad 106, and in this state, is housed in the container body 3 by a handling device (not shown). A work (not shown) is taken out.

When the container body 3 is emptied in this way, the lid plate attaching / detaching device 107 is actuated to cover the emptied container body 3 again with the lid plate 2, and the container receiver 103 is placed laterally. The container 1 is evacuated to and is moved to a position below the container body receiver 103 on the stand-up / lower table 108. Then, the elevating table 108 descends to the descending end together with the container 1, and the driving claw 105 of the first shifter 104 returns to the other end of the carry-in conveyor 101. The empty container 1 on the elevating table 108 located at the descending end is driven by the drive claw 110 of the second shifter 109 to one end side of the carry-out conveyor 111 (in the figure,
It is loaded to the right end side) and stacked up to a predetermined number by the stacking lifter 102. Then, the carrying-out conveyor 111, which is intermittently driven, is sequentially collected from the other end side (the left end side in the drawing).

Further, when the drive claw 105 of the first shifter 104 returns to the other end of the carry-in conveyor 101, the stacking elevator 102 descends and the container 1 at the lowermost stage is carried in the carry-in conveyor 1.
01 and driving claw 1 of the second shifter 109
10 returns to the position shown in the figure, during which the lifting table 1
08 rises to its rising end again, and the container receiver 10
3 advances from the retracted position to the original position for holding the container 1. Then, the carry-in conveyor 1 by the first shifter 104.
The bottommost container 1 on 01 moves to the container receiver 103,
The lid plate attaching / detaching device 107 again removes the lid plate 2 from the container body 3, and the handling device (not shown) takes out the workpiece (not shown) housed in the container body 3, and the above-described operation is repeated.

[0006]

In the conventional container transfer device and container transfer method shown in FIG. 17, the container receiver 10 is used.
Take out the work stored in 3 and use the next new container 1
Until the work is taken out from, the cover plate 2 is covered on the empty container body 3 supported by the container receiver 103, and after this is sent out to the carry-out conveyor 111 side by the lifting table 108,
It is necessary to move the new container 1 again from the carry-in conveyor 101 to the container receiver 103 by the first shifter 104, and further remove the cover plate 2 from the container body 3.

In particular, since it is not possible to perform the work of attaching and detaching the cover plate 2 which takes a longer time than other work during the work taking out work, the play time other than the work taking out work takes a very long time. I was not able to work efficiently.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a container carrying method capable of taking out a work from a container in a short period and a container carrying device capable of realizing the method.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container having a container main body for accommodating a work, and a lid plate superposed on the container main body so as to cover the container main body. A method of transporting the container for taking out a work, comprising: moving the container body of the container at a lid plate removal position to a standby position set below the lid plate removal position; A first step of holding the plate at the plate removing position; a second step of moving the cover plate at the cover plate removing position to the standby position and loading a new container into the cover plate removing position; A third step of moving the container body at the position and the cover plate directly below the container body to a work take-out position set to the side of the standby position; While the work is taken out from the main body, the empty container body in the container stacking position set below the work take-out position is covered with the lid plate in the work take-out position, and is carried out from the container stacking position. And a fifth step of moving the empty container body at the work take-out position to the container stacking position, and performing the first and second steps during the fourth step. A container transport method characterized by the above.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a container main body having a flange portion formed along an opening facing a work storage space in which a work is stored, and the container body are superposed on the flange portion so as to close the opening. Is a device for transporting the container to take out the work from a container having a cover plate, the flange part of the container main body being spaced apart from each other and being driven in the facing direction. And a first container body receiver capable of holding at a standby position, facing each other above the first container body receiver at a distance from each other, and driven in the facing direction to form a flange portion of the container body. A second container body receiver that can be held at the lid plate removal position located above the standby position, and is integrally provided on the second container body receiver and held by the first container body receiver In the container body A first lid plate receiving portion capable of holding the corresponding lid plate and a side portion of the first container body receiving portion facing each other with a space between them, and a flange portion of the container body of the standby position. A third container body receiver that can be held at a side-side workpiece take-out position, a shifter that sends the container body held by the first container body receiver to the third container body receiver, and this shifter A second lid plate receiving portion that is integrally formed with and can hold both edge portions of the lid plate,
A first lift table that is vertically movable so as to pass through the standby position and can hold the stacked containers in which the works are stored; and a first lift table that is vertically movable below the work take-out position. And a second lifting table on which the empty containers can be stacked.

Here, the flange portion of the container body has a notch portion that allows passage of the first lid plate receiving portion as the container body moves from the lid plate removal position to the standby position. It is desirable to have the above, the vertical distance between the first container body receiver or the third container body receiver and the second lid plate receiving portion of the shifter, and the second container body receiver and the It is effective that the vertical distance from the first lid plate receiving portion is equal to or more than the stacking distance of the containers. Further, the interval of the first container body receiver in the state of receiving the flange portion of the container body is set to be wider than the interval of the third container body receiver in the state of receiving the flange portion of the container body. May be.

[0012]

According to the present invention, the first container main body receiver and the second container main body receiver are separated from each other, and the first elevating table is driven to move the lowermost container to the lid plate removal position and the standby position. Between the first container body receiver and the second container body receiver in this state, and then the first lifting table is lowered to move the second container from the bottom to the first container. It is locked to the second container body receiver and the lid plate of the lowermost container is locked to the first lid plate receiving part,
The container body of the lowermost container is locked to the first container body receiver. That is, as the first lifting table descends, the container body of the lowermost container is held at the standby position by the second container body receiver, while the lid plate of the lowermost container is placed at the lid plate removal position. By holding the lid plate in one lid plate receiving portion, the lid plate of the lowermost container is removed from the container body.

In the meantime, the third container body receivers are attracted to each other, and then the shifter is driven to move the container body held by the first container body receiver to the third container body at the work take-out position. It is transferred to the receiver. And
At this work take-out position, the work in the container body is taken out and the shifter is returned to the original position.

During the work of taking out the work, the first elevating table is raised again to push up the cover plate held by the first cover plate receiving portion, and further held by the second container body receiver. After lifting the existing container by a predetermined amount, the first container body receiver and the second container body receiver are separated from each other, and the first elevating table is lowered to the container located at the bottom and the lid below it. The plate is held between the lid plate removal position and the standby position, and in this state, the first container body receiver and the second container body receiver are pulled toward each other, and then the first lifting table is lowered. From the bottom, the second container is locked to the second container main body receiver, the lowermost container lid plate is locked to the first lid plate receiving portion, and the lowermost container container body is set to the first container plate. Lock it on the container body holder, and The cover plate on the table engaged with the second cover plate receiving portion provided in the shifter.

On the other hand, the container body that has become empty at the work take-out position is lifted by a predetermined amount as the second elevating table is raised, and then the third container body receiver is pulled away from each other, The elevating table moves down to move the empty container body to the container stacking position.

Thereafter, the shifter is driven again to transfer the container main body held by the first container main body receiver to the third container main body receiver located at the work take-out position and the second container main body receiver at the standby position. The lid plate on the lid plate receiving portion is also fed immediately below the container body. Then, the work in the container body is taken out again at this work taking-out position, and during this time, the second lifting table is driven to raise the container body at the container stacking position by a predetermined amount, and the second lid plate of the shifter is moved. By lifting the lid plate held by the receiving portion, the container body is covered with the lid plate, and in this state, the shifter is returned to the original position. Further, the second lifting table is driven to lower the uppermost container to the container stacking position.

In this way, the work is taken out from the bottom of the stacked containers in order and stacked on the second lifting table.

In the case where the flange portion of the container body is formed with a notch portion that allows passage of the first lid plate receiving portion as the container body moves from the lid plate removal position to the standby position, The second lid body receiving portion and the first raising / lowering table raising / lowering operation ensure that the first lid plate receiving portion does not engage with the flange portion of the container body, but engages only with the lid plate. Become.

Also, the vertical distance between the first container body receiver or the third container body receiver and the second lid plate receiver of the shifter,
In addition, when the vertical distance between the second container body receiver and the first lid plate receiving part is set to be equal to or more than the container stacking interval, the container at the bottom stage from the container in the stacking state at the lid plate removing position. It is in a state of being largely separated, and the lid plate is also largely removed from the container body.

Further, when the distance between the first container body receivers in the state of receiving the flange portion of the container body is set wider than the distance between the third container body receivers in the state of receiving the flange portion of the container body, When moving the container body from the first container body receiver to the third container body receiver by the shifter, even if the attitude of the container body held by the first container body receiver is slightly shifted, the third container body receiver When it is moved to, the correct posture is corrected, and the containers are accurately stacked on the second lifting table.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a container carrying device which can realize the container carrying method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 2 showing the schematic structure of the container transporting apparatus in this embodiment, the upper end of the frame 11 is
There is provided a carry-in conveyor 12 that carries in containers 1 in which works W (see FIG. 1) such as optical parts are stacked in a predetermined number of stages from one end side (the left end side in the figure) at predetermined intervals. At the lower part of the frame 11, there is provided a carry-out conveyor 13 which carries out empty containers 1 from a first end side at a predetermined interval in a state of stacking the empty containers 1 by a predetermined number. The structures of the carry-in conveyor 12 and the carry-out conveyor 13 are basically the same, but the carry-out conveyor 13 is provided over almost the entire length of the frame 11 in the left-right direction in FIG. The carry-in conveyor 12 has almost half the length of the carry-out conveyor 13, and is arranged at one end of the frame 11.

As shown in FIG. 3 which shows the schematic structure of the portion of the carry-in conveyor 12 and FIG. 4 which shows the front shape thereof, the carry-in conveyor 12 in this embodiment is fixed to a guide base 14 which is integral with the frame 11 and has a step. The pair of left and right receiving rails 15 on which the stacked containers 1 are placed and the guide base 14 so that the side wall portions of the containers 1 at the lowermost stage can contact each other.
To the pair of left and right guide side plates 16 for guiding the movement of the stacked containers 1 along the receiving rails 15, and the guide groove portion 17 formed in the guide base 14 in parallel with the receiving rails 15. A shuttle table 19 having a copying roller 18 that is rotatably engaged along
The shuttle table 19 is rotatably attached to both front and rear ends via rotary solenoids 20F and 20R,
Locking hooks 21F, 21R capable of abutting on the front wall and the rear wall of the container 1 located at the lowest stage on the receiving rail 15.
And a drive chain 24 which is wound around a pair of front and rear chain sprockets 22 and whose both ends are connected to chain connecting portions 23 projecting from the front and rear of the shuttle table 19, respectively. A slack preventing spring 25 that is interposed between the chain connecting portion 23 and appropriately holds the tension of the drive chain 24.
And a drive motor 26 for loading and rotatably rotating the front and rear chain sprockets 22.

That is, when a container 1 having a predetermined number of stacked stages is carried into one end of the carry-in conveyor 12 by an unmanned guided vehicle or by hand (not shown), the carry-in drive motor 26 is operated to move the shuttle table 19 to this position. After moving directly below the container 1, the rear rotary solenoid 20R is driven to raise the rear locking hook 21R in the collapsed state (the state indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 3), and the carry-in drive motor 26 is again driven. The rear conveyer hook 21R is driven to come into contact with the rear wall portion of the container 1 located at the lowermost stage on the rail 15 so that the stacked containers 1 slide on the receiving rail 15 while being carried in. The other end side of 12 (the right end side in FIG. 1)
It moves to a predetermined position in sequence. Further, the empty container 1 stacked in a predetermined number of stages on the other end side of the carry-out conveyor 13 by the method described later is similarly carried out.
By intermittent forward / reverse operation, it is sequentially moved to one end side of the carry-out conveyor 13 via the drive chain 28 and the shuttle table 29, and is collected from this container transporting device by an unmanned transport vehicle or manpower not shown in the stacked state. .

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 1 showing the external appearance of the main part of this embodiment, a first guide base 30 extending vertically vertically is fixed to the center of the frame 11. A first elevating table 32 is attached integrally to the first elevating slider 31 that is vertically movable along the first guide base 30 so as to come into contact with the bottom wall of the stacked containers 1 and lift the container. Has been. In addition, a pair of upper and lower idle sprockets 33 rotatably attached to the upper and lower end portions of the frame 11 so as to be close to the upper and lower end portions of the first guide base 30, and the frame 1
1. A drive sprocket 3 that is driven and rotated by a first slider drive motor 34 that is installed in the center of the lower end of 1
A drive chain 36 is wound around 5 and the first elevating slider 31 is connected to the drive chain 36.

That is, by driving the first slider drive motor 34, the first elevating table 32 moves up and down along with the first elevating slider 31 along the first guide base 30 via the drive chain 36.

Above the first elevating table 32 and in front of the carry-in conveyor 12, there are a pair of left and right second container body receivers 37 for receiving the stacked containers 1 at the other end of the carry-in conveyor 12. Second air cylinder 38
Are held by the second container main body receiver 37 in a protruding state by the second air cylinder 38, and the shuttle table 18 is carried in the carrying-in conveyor 12 A state in which the container 1 is moved to a position directly below the stacked container 1 adjacent to the stacked container 1 located on the other end side of the stack, and the rotary solenoid 19F is driven to fall (state indicated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 3). ), The driving motor 25 for carrying in is driven again to bring the locking hook 20F into contact with the rear wall portion of the container 1 located at the lowermost stage on the rail 14 and thereby stack the stack. The container 1 in the state of being pushed out from the rail 14 to the side of the second container body receiving 37, and the left and right flange portions 4 of the container body 3 positioned at the bottom of the stacked containers 1 are first Is adapted to transfer to the container body received 37.

In the present embodiment, the space between the pair of left and right second container body receivers 37 is the cover plate removal position P.
_It is set as ₁ , and these second container body receivers 37
First lid plate receiving portions 39 that project downward and can hold the left and right side end portions of the lid plate 2 are integrally provided on the front and rear sides, respectively. The vertical distance between the first lid plate receiving portion 39 and the second container body receiving portion 37 is set to be longer than the vertical distance between the containers 1 that are stacked one above the other.

In the left and right flange portions 4 of the container body 3 of the container 1 in this embodiment, the first lifting table 32, which will be described later, moves downward with respect to the first lid plate receiving portion 39.
The notch portions 5 that allow the passage of the first lid plate receiving portions 39 are formed on the front and rear sides, respectively.

Immediately below the first cover plate receiving portion 39, a pair of left and right first container body receivers 40, which are basically the same as the second container body receiver 37 described above, are mutually provided by a first air cylinder 41. It is held so as to project and retract in the opposite direction. In this embodiment, the space portion sandwiched by the pair of left and right second container body receivers 37 is the standby position P ₂
As described above, the above-described first elevating table 32 can pass through the standby position P ₂ between the first container body receivers 40 and ascend to the lid plate removal position P ₁ or more.

On the upper end of the other end of the frame 11, that is, on the frame 11 on the side of the first container body receiver 40 opposite to the carry-in conveyor 12, the first and second container body receivers 40,
A pair of left and right third container body receivers 42 that are basically the same as 37
Are held by the third air cylinder 43 so as to be capable of projecting and retracting in the opposite direction. In the present embodiment, the space portion sandwiched between the pair of left and right third container body receivers 42 is set as the work take-out position P ₃ , and the container body 3 held in the third container body receiver 42 by a handling device (not shown). From within
The works W are sequentially taken out.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, which show the planar structures of the first and third container body receivers 40 and 42, the container body 3 on the first container body receiver 40 is replaced by the third container. In order to move the container body 42 to the body receiver 42, at the center of the upper portion of the frame 11 located immediately below these, the container body 3
1 is provided with a shifter cylinder 45 that can reciprocate in the left-right direction in the pressing block 44 that presses against the rear wall of the. In addition, on the frame 11 in front of the third container body receiver 42 (on the right side in FIG. 1) so as to face the shifter cylinder 45, the position of the container body 3 fed onto the third container body receiver 42 is accurately set. Therefore, the positioning stopper 46 that can contact the front wall of the container body 3 is fixed.

In the present embodiment, the distance between the protruding third container body receivers 42 corresponds approximately to the width of the container body 3, while the distance between the protruding first container body receivers 40. Is set to be larger than this, and even if the container body held by the first container body receiver 40 is slightly inclined as shown in FIG. 5, when it is pushed into the third container body receiver 42 side by the shifter cylinder 45. The positioning stopper 4
In combination with the action of 6, the inclination is automatically corrected and accurately positioned on the third container body receiver 42.

Pressing block 4 of the shifter cylinder 45
4, a groove-shaped lid plate support arm 47 is integrally formed, and a pair of left and right second end portions of the lid plate 2 are provided at a pair of left and right end portions of the lid plate support arm 47. A cover plate receiving portion 48 is provided so as to project, and the cover plate 2 held by the first cover plate receiving portion 39 is carried in by the above-described first elevating table 32.

At the other end of the frame 11, a second guide base 4 extending vertically in parallel with the first guide base 30 is provided.
9 is provided on the second elevating slider 50 which is attached so as to be able to ascend and descend along the second guide base 49.
A second elevating table 51, which is capable of coming into contact with the bottom wall of the container 1 and elevating it, is integrally mounted. In addition, the frame 1 should be placed close to the upper and lower ends of the second guide base 49.
A drive chain 53 connected to the second lifting slider 50 is wound around a pair of upper and lower chain sprockets 52 rotatably attached to both upper and lower end portions of 1, respectively. Second slider drive motor 5 for driving and rotating
4 are connected.

That is, by driving the second slider drive motor 54, the second elevating table 51 moves along with the second elevating slider 50 via the drive chain 53 along the second guide base 49 along with the above-mentioned carry-out conveyor 13. A container that can be moved up and down between the end portion and the work take-out position P ₃ is provided. In this embodiment, a container that allows the uppermost container 1 on the second elevating table 51 to stand by immediately below the work take-out position P _3. Although the stacking position P ₄ is set, the vertical interval between the work take-out position P ₃ and the container stacking position P ₄ is set to be longer than the vertical interval between the containers 1 that are stacked on top of each other. There is.

The carry-in drive motor 26, the carry-out drive motor 27, the first slider drive motor 34, the second air cylinder 38, the first air cylinder 41, the third air cylinder 43, the shifter cylinder 45, and the second slider drive described above. The motor 54, etc. is operated by an operator operating a switch, a button or the like on an operation panel 55 provided at the center of the lower end of the frame 11, so that a position sensor, an encoder or a stroke sensor (not shown) and the work W are transferred to the container body 3.
It operates according to a preset program based on information from a handling device or the like (not shown).

The operation procedure of such a container transporting device is shown in FIG.
Referring to FIG. 16, first, the first slider drive motor 34 is operated to raise the first elevating table 32, and the step held by the second container body receiver 37 at the lid plate removal position P ₁ . After lightly lifting the stacked containers 1, the first and second air cylinders 41 and 38 are actuated to move the first and second container body receivers 40 and 37 so that their facing intervals are widened, respectively. It is retracted together with the receiving portion 39 (see FIG. 7).

Next, the first slider drive motor 34 is rotated in the reverse direction to lower the first elevating table 32, and the flange portion 4 and the lid plate 2 of the container 1 located at the lowermost stage of the second container body receiver 37. When passing the side, the first and second air cylinders 41 and 38 are actuated again to move the first and second container body receivers 40 and 37 so that their facing intervals become narrower. It is projected together with 39 (see FIG. 8).

From this state, the first lifting table 32 is further added.
When the container is lowered, the flange portion 4 of the second container 1 from the bottom is engaged with the second container body receiver 37 in the middle thereof, and the containers 1 stacked above the second container body receiver 37 are
It will be held in the state. Further, at the same time, the lid plate 2 of the lowermost container 1 is locked to the first lid plate receiving portion 39, and the lid plate 2 is removed from the container body 3 of the lowermost container 1. When the table 32 is further lowered, the flange portion 4 of the lowermost container main body 3 held by the first cover plate receiving portion 39 of the cover plate 2 is locked to the first container main body receiver 40,
The container body 3 is held by the first container body receiver 40 (see FIG. 9).

Next, the shifter cylinder 45 operates to push the container body 3 at the standby position P ₂ toward the workpiece take-out position P ₃ side by the pressing block 44 and abut against the positioning stopper 46, so that the container body 3 is brought close to each other. After positioning the flange portion 4 on the third container body receiver 42 in the state, the work for taking out the work W stored in the container body 3 is started by a handling device (not shown) (see FIG. 10). ).

Then, the shifter cylinder 45 is operated in the opposite direction to return the pressing block 44 to the standby position P ₂ side, and then the first slider drive motor 34 is operated again to raise the first elevating table 32 and the cover plate. The lid plate 2 held by the first lid plate receiving portion 39 at the removal position P ₁ and the stacked containers 1 held by the second container body receiving portion 37 thereon.
After lifting lightly, first, second air cylinder 41, 3
8 to actuate the first and second container body receivers 40 and 37 so that the facing distance between them will increase.
It is moved with 9 (see FIG. 11). During this time, the work W for taking out the work W stored in the container body 3 is continued at the work taking-out position P ₃ .

Thereafter, the first slider drive motor 34 is rotated in reverse to lower the first elevating table 32, and the lid plate 2 below the stacked containers 1 passes by the side of the first lid plate receiving portion 39. At that time, the first and second air cylinders 41 and 38 are actuated again to move the first and second container body receivers 40 and 37 so that their facing intervals are narrowed, respectively.
And make it protrude. Since the first elevating table 32 is further lowered from this state, the flange portion 4 of the second container 1 from the bottom is engaged with the second container body receiver 37 in the middle thereof, and the containers 1 stacked above it are stacked. Is held in the second container body receiver 37. At the same time, the lid plate 2 of the lowermost container 1 is locked to the first lid plate receiving portion 39 (see FIG. 12). During this time, the work W for taking out the work W stored in the container body 3 is continued at the work taking-out position P ₃ .

Further, by the lowering operation of the first elevating table 32, the lid plate 2 is removed from the container body 3 of the lowermost container 1, and the lid plate 2 on the first elevating table 32 becomes the pressing block 44. The second lid plate receiving portion 48 is placed on the second lid plate receiving portion 48 of the integral lid plate supporting arm 47.
The lid plate 2 is held in the state. On the other hand, when the work of taking out the work W stored in the container body 3 is completed, the third air cylinder 43 operates to retract and move the third container body receiver 42 so that the facing interval is widened. As a result, the empty container body 3 is dropped from the work take-out position P ₃ onto the second lifting table 51 waiting at the container stacking position P ₄ (see FIG. 13).

Immediately after this, the second slider drive motor 54
Is operated to lower the second lifting table 51, and the empty container body 3 dropped on the second lifting table 51 is retracted downward, while the third air cylinder 43 is operated again.
The third container body receiver 42 is projected so that the facing interval is narrowed (see FIG. 14).

Next, the shifter cylinder 45 operates to take out the work from the container main body 3 at the standby position P ₂ and the cover plate 2 immediately thereunder by the pressing block 44 and the second cover plate receiving portion 48 of the cover plate supporting arm 47. Push to the position P ₃ side,
After the container body 3 is abutted against the positioning stopper 46 and positioned, the work of taking out the work W stored in the container body 3 is restarted by a handling device (not shown) (see FIG. 15). In this case, the upper end of the empty container body 3 located on the second elevating table 51 being retracted is located below the second lid plate receiving portion 48 of the lid plate supporting arm 47,
The retreat position of the second elevating table 51 is set so as not to interfere with the empty container body 3 which is being retreated downward when the cover plate 2 is moved by the shifter cylinder 45.

[0047] Thereafter, in operation the second slider drive motor 54 to raise the second lifting table 51 which empty the container body 3 is placed to the container stacking position P _4, the second at the work take-out position P ₃ The lid plate 2 held by the lid plate receiving portion 48 is lightly lifted to cover the empty container body 3 with the lid plate 2 (see FIG. 16), and then the shifter cylinder 45 is operated in reverse. The pressing block 44 is returned to the standby position P ₂ side. The second lifting table 51 waits for the next drop of the empty container body 3 at the container stacking position P ₄ .

After that, the operations shown in FIG. 11 and subsequent figures are repeated, and empty containers 1 are sequentially stacked on the second elevating table 51, and when these are stacked by a predetermined number of stages,
The transfer is carried on the shuttle table 29 waiting at the other end of the carry-out conveyor 13. That is, the second lifting table 51 is lowered to the lowermost end thereof, and the unloading drive motor 27 is driven to drive the empty containers 1 in the stacked state by the shuttle table 29 to the unloading conveyor 13.
After moving to a predetermined position on one end side (the left end side in FIG. 1) of
The second elevating table 51 is again raised to the container stacking position P ₄ and waits for the empty container body 3 to drop from the work take-out position P ₃ .

[0049]

According to the container transporting method and the apparatus thereof of the present invention, the container stacking position is set immediately below the work take-out position, the standby position is set to the side of the work take-out position, and the lid plate is removed above the stand-by position. Since the position has been set, the lid plate is removed from the next container body at the lid plate removal position while the workpieces are being taken out from the container body at the workpiece take-out position, and the empty container body at the container stacking position is taken out. Since it is possible to raise it to the position and cover it with a lid plate, it is possible to significantly shorten the play time from taking out a work from a container main body to taking out a work from the next container main body as compared with the conventional one.
It has become possible to greatly improve the operating rate of the handling equipment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a schematic structure of a main part of a container transport device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic structure of the entire apparatus in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a mechanism in which a portion of the carry-in conveyor shown in FIG. 2 is extracted and enlarged.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the carry-in conveyor shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the procedure of transporting the container body from the standby position to the work unloading position together with FIG. 6, showing a state in which the container body is in the standby position.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing, together with FIG. 5, a procedure for transporting the container body from the standby position to the workpiece unloading position, showing the state in which the container body is in the workpiece unloading position.

FIG. 7 is a work process diagram showing the procedure for transporting the containers together with FIGS. 8 to 16, showing a state where the stacked containers are lifted from the lid plate removal position by the first lifting table.

FIG. 8 is a work process diagram showing a procedure for transporting the container, with FIGS. 7 and 9 to 16 showing a state in which the first and second container body receivers are projected.

FIG. 9 is a work process diagram showing a container transporting procedure together with FIGS. 7, 8 and 10 to 16, in which the container body is held at the standby position, and the cover plate and the container thereon are removed. Shows the state held in the position.

FIG. 10 is a work process diagram showing a procedure for transporting a container, with FIGS. 7 to 9 and FIGS. 11 to 16, showing a state in which the container body has been moved to the work take-out position.

FIG. 11 is a work process diagram showing a container transport procedure with FIGS. 7 to 10 and FIGS. 12 to 16, in which stacked containers are moved from the lid plate removal position to the first lifting table together with the lid plates below. Shows the state of being lifted up.

FIG. 12 is a work process diagram showing a procedure for transporting a container, with FIGS. 7 to 11 and 13 to 16 showing a state in which first and second container body receivers are projected.

FIG. 13 is a work process diagram showing the procedure for transporting the container together with FIGS. 7 to 12 and FIGS. 14 to 16. While holding the container body together with the lid plate immediately below it in the standby position, The state which hold | maintained in the lid plate removal position with the container located is shown.

FIG. 14 is a work process diagram showing a procedure for transporting a container, with FIGS. 7 to 13 and FIGS. 15 and 16 showing a state in which an empty container body dropped on the second lifting table is held at the container stacking position. .

FIG. 15 is a work process diagram showing the procedure of transporting the container, with FIGS. 7 to 14 and FIG.

FIG. 16 is a work process diagram showing the procedure of transporting the container together with FIGS. 7 to 15, and shows a state in which the container main body at the container stacking position is lifted by the second lifting table to cover the cover plate.

FIG. 17 is a side view showing an example of a conventional container transport device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Container 2 Lid Plate 3 Container Main Body 4 Flange Part 5 Notch Part 11 Frame 12 Carry-in Conveyor 13 Carry-out Conveyor 14 Guide Base 15 Support Rail 16 Guide Side Plate 17 Guide Groove 18 Copy Roller 19 Shuttle Table 20F, 20R Rotary Solenoid 21F, 21R Stop hook 22 Chain sprocket 23 Chain connection part 24 Drive chain 25 Slack prevention spring 26 Carry-in drive motor 27 Carry-out drive motor 28 Drive chain 29 Shuttle table 30 First guide base 31 First lift slider 32 First lift table 33 Idle Sprocket 34 First slider drive motor 35 Drive sprocket 36 Drive chain 37 Second container body receiver 38 Second air cylinder 39 First lid plate receiver 40 First container body receiver 41 First air Linda 42 Third container body receiving 43 Third air cylinder 44 Pressing block 45 Shifter cylinder 46 Positioning stopper 47 Cover plate supporting arm 48 Second cover plate receiving portion 49 Second guide base 50 Second lifting slider 51 Second lifting table 52 Chain Sprocket 53 Drive chain 54 Second slider drive motor 55 Operation panel P ₁ Lid plate removal position P ₂ Standby position P ₃ Workpiece takeout position P ₄ Container stacking position W Workpiece

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A method of transporting a container for taking out the work from a container having a container body for accommodating a work and a cover plate which is superposed on the container body so as to close the container body. A first step of moving the container body of the container at the lid plate removal position to a standby position set below the lid plate removal position and holding the lid plate at the lid plate removal position; A second step of moving the lid plate in the lid plate removal position to the standby position and loading a new container into the lid plate removal position, the container body in the standby position and the lid plate immediately below the container body And a third step of moving the work to a work taking-out position set to the side of the standby position, and while taking out the work from the container body at the work taking-out position, A fourth step of covering the empty container body at the container stacking position set below the workpiece stacking position with the lid plate at the workpiece stacking position and unloading from the container stacking position, and at the workpiece stacking position. A fifth step of moving the empty container body to the container stacking position,
A container transportation method, wherein the first and second steps are performed during the fourth step. 2. A container having a container body having a flange portion formed along an opening facing a work storage space in which a work is stored, and a lid plate superposed on the flange so as to close the opening. A device for transporting the container to take out the work, the device being opposed to each other at a distance from each other, and being capable of being driven in the facing direction to hold the flange portion of the container body at a standby position. A lid that faces the one container body receiver and is spaced apart from each other above the first container body receiver, and is driven in the facing direction so that the flange portion of the container body is located above the standby position. A second container body receiver that can be held at the plate removal position, and the lid plate that is provided integrally with the second container body receiver and that corresponds to the container body that is held by the first container body receiver Can hold the One cover plate receiving portion, at a side of the first container body receiving mutually facing and spaced apart from each other, and a flange portion of the container body at a workpiece take-out position located to the side of the standby position. A third container body receiver that can be held; a shifter that sends the container body held by the first container body receiver to the third container body receiver; and the lid plate that is integrally formed with the shifter. A second lid plate receiving portion capable of holding both edge portions of the first lid, and a first lid member provided so as to be vertically movable so as to pass through the standby position and capable of holding the stacked containers each containing the work. A container transporting device comprising: an elevating table; and a second elevating table which is provided below the work take-out position and is capable of elevating and lowering and stacking empty containers. 3. The flange portion of the container body has a cutout portion that allows passage of the first lid plate receiving portion as the container body moves from the lid plate removal position to the standby position. The container transport device according to claim 2, wherein the container transport device is a device. 4. A vertical gap between the first container body receiver or the third container body receiver and the second cover plate receiver of the shifter, and the second container body receiver and the first container body. The container transporting device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a vertical interval with respect to the lid plate receiving portion is equal to or more than a stacking interval of the containers. 5. The distance between the first container body receivers in a state of receiving the flange portion of the container body is set to be wider than the distance between the third container body receivers in a state of receiving the flange portion of the container body. The container transporting device according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein