JPH0228401A - Article transport arrangement - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To save labor and improve work efficiency in a transport arrangement from a transport conveyor to a flow rack or the like by providing an elevator table of an overhead traveling cart with a floor body having vertical plates and a vertically freely movable roller conveyor body, thereby making the conveyor body capable of freely engaging with a flow rack inlet. CONSTITUTION:When an overhead running cart is moved to a delivery station and an elevator table 34 is lowered, a flared members 57 provided on both ends of a floor body 53 fit over guide poles 28. When the elevator table is further lowered, an engagement member 62 engages with an engagement rod 20 and conveyor body 55 is tilted. When the elevator table is further lowered, a floor body 53 on the side of the engagement member 62 separates from the conveyor body 55 and the condition is such that only one 56a of vertical plates 56 projects out of a roller 60. At this point the lowering stops. A belt 23 is then driven to slide down a cargo W which is stopped with the vertical plate 56a serving as a stopper. Thus labor is saved and work efficiency is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an article conveying system, and more particularly to a system for conveying articles from a conveyor to an article storage section such as a flow rank.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, articles were generally carried into a flow rack by a worker lifting the articles that had been conveyed to the entrance of the flow rack on a conveyor, or by using a stacker crane installed freely between the flow racks installed on both sides. was.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional manual type, a lot of time and labor was expended at the time of transport due to the manual work of lifting and transporting the items being transported at the entrance of the flow rank device, resulting in poor work efficiency. .

In addition, in the case of the type in which goods are carried into the FlowRank equipment using a stanker crane, two drive means are required for transporting and transferring the goods, namely, a transport drive means that travels from the unloading station to the FlowRank equipment entrance and lifts and lowers the goods. For example, a transfer drive means such as a slide fork is required to transfer the transported articles to the flow racking device, making the device bulky and time consuming when loading the articles.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention uses an overhead traveling vehicle to transport articles between a delivery station and a flow rack device, and has a plurality of standing plates for supporting the articles on the lifting platform of the overhead traveling vehicle. A floor body and a conveyor body connected to the floor body so as to be movable up and down and further having rollers fitted between the upright plates are provided, and a member engaging with the conveyor body is provided at the entrance of the flow rack device. Configured.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic plan view of the article conveyance system of this embodiment. An overhead traveling vehicle (2) to be transported, and a flow rack device (3) for storing articles (W) transported by the overhead traveling vehicle (2).
), and each device will be explained in turn below.

The unloading device (1) includes first and second conveyors (5H6) provided in a direction orthogonal to a conveyor (4) that conveys articles (W) from a station not shown, and the conveyor (5H6).
4) It consists of an article transfer device (7) for transferring articles to the first conveyor (5). The article transfer device (7
) is a stopper (8) provided perpendicularly to the conveying direction of the conveyor (4) and perpendicular to the surface of the conveyor (4), and the article (W) stopped by the stopper (8) is placed on the conveyor. (4) Consists of a pusher (9) that pushes from above onto a first conveyor (5) which will be described later.

The stopper (8) is plate-shaped, and is provided with detection means such as a proximity sensor that detects when the article (W) comes into contact with it. Button (9) is cylinder (10)
and its piston rod (11), said piston rod (
11) Consists of a pressing plate (12) provided at the tip,
The stopper (8) detects the article (W) by its detection means.
When the cylinder (10) is detected, the cylinder (10) is started.

The first conveyor (5) is installed so that one guide (I4) is aligned with the surface of the stopper (8).

The first conveyor (5) has a boo IJ- (15) provided at both ends thereof, a bell) (16) wound around the two boos J- (15), and a bell) ( A drive motor (
17). This first conveyor (5)
The item (W) is stored between the above-mentioned conveyor (4) and a second conveyor (6) to be described later, and by adjusting the length of the conveyor surface, the belt can be ) (1
6) The number of articles (W) placed on the surface can be adjusted. Further, the first conveyor (5) is provided at a slightly higher position than the second conveyor (6), and the first conveyor (5)
When transferring the article (W) to the second conveyor (6), the step (18) created between both conveyors (5) and (6) is transferred to the article (W).
) falls. Of course, the step (18) is designed so that the article (W) will not be damaged even if it falls. A photoelectric switch (20) is provided so that the optical axis (19) runs along the step (18) where the article (W) falls from the eleventh conveyor (5) to the second conveyor (6). 2nd conveyor (5) and 2nd conveyor (6)
) is detected, the drive motor (17) of the first conveyor (5) is stopped.

By interlocking the photoelectric switch (20) and the drive motor (17) of the first conveyor (5), one article (W) of various sizes on the first conveyor (5) can be can be transferred to the second conveyor (6).

Similar to the first conveyor (5), the second conveyor (6) has a belt (23) wound between the boos IJ-(21) at both ends, and the belt (23) wound between the boos IJ-(21) ) (23
) for driving the motor (24). One guide (25) of the second conveyor (6) is provided so as to be movable back and forth in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the conveyor (6). That is, although normally the stopper (8) and the guide (25) of the first conveyor (5) are on the same straight line, the article (W) is on the same line as the guide (25) of the second conveyor (6).
When it reaches the position, it is caused to protrude forward (in the direction in the figure) by the action of the cylinder (26). That is, the conveyor (4)
Upper stopper (8) and first conveyor (5) guide (
Although the end surfaces of the articles (W) are aligned to some extent in step 14), even slight deviations can be corrected by the above-mentioned protruding action of the guide (25) of the second conveyor (6).

A delivery station (27) as described below is provided on the extension of the second conveyor (6) in the transport direction. That is, a guide pole (28) for positioning the overhead vehicle (2), which will be described later, and an engagement rod (29) that engages with an engagement member (62) of the overhead vehicle (2) are provided. By tilting the conveyor body (55) to be described later, the article (W
) is being smoothly transferred.

Next, the overhead traveling vehicle (2) will be explained.

The overhead traveling vehicle (2) is an overhead traveling vehicle that is movable along a rail (32) suspended from a ceiling (31), and the overhead traveling vehicle (2) travels along the rail (32). It is composed of a freely movable vehicle body (33) and an elevating platform (34) located below the vehicle body (33) and movable up and down with respect to the vehicle body (33).

The traveling vehicle main body (33) has driving wheels (35) and driven wheels (36) that travel on the rails (32), and further has a traveling motor (37) that drives the driving wheels (35). . In addition, a travel motor (37) is provided on the rail (32) side.
) is provided with a power supply device called a trolley (not shown) for supplying power to the overhead vehicle (2), and a current collector (38) corresponding to the power supply device is provided on the overhead traveling vehicle (2) side. In addition, in order to prevent the overhead traveling vehicle (2) from rolling on the rail (32), a plurality of guide rollers (39) that engage with appropriate positions on the rail (32) are provided. Further, the position information of the overhead traveling vehicle (2) is provided by detecting the number of passing shielding plates (40) with a detector (41).

Next, a mechanism for lifting and lowering the lifting platform (34) will be explained. A drum (45) around which a bell (44) is wound is attached to both ends of the horizontal shirt (43), and the horizontal shirt (43) is rotated in synchronization with a timing bell). (46). One horizontal shirt (43) is rotated by a lifting motor (48) via a belt (47) to wind up and let out a belt (44). At the end of the other horizontal shaft (43) is a bell) (44)
An encoder (
49) is provided. A lifting platform (34), which will be described below, is fixed to the lower end of the bell (44).

The elevating platform (34) includes a horizontal elevating body (51) to which the bell (47) is fixed, and a horizontal elevating body (51) to which the bell (47) is fixed.
A pair of suspension frames (52) are provided on both sides of the frame, a floor body (53) whose both ends are supported by the horizontal portions of the pair of suspension frames (52), and a floor body (53) supported on the floor body (53). The floor body (53) consists of a conveyor body (55) connected by a plurality of rings (54).

As shown in FIG. In B), except for the one in the front row (56a>),
) is inclined in the direction of travel (arrow C). Above vertical installation f
Since f1 (56) is tilted in one direction except for the - piece (56a), the article (W) is placed on the standing board (56).
When many items are loaded, the item (W>) is guided in one direction regardless of the size of the item ('vv).
One of the standing boards (56) that is not inclined (56a)
) serves as a stopper piece when transferring goods at the unloading station (27) or a stopper piece to prevent falling while traveling.

In addition, wrapper members (57) each having a tapered lower surface are provided at the front and rear ends of the floor body (53) in the direction of arrow C, and by fitting the guide pole (28) described above, the exit station (27) is installed. Positioning is being carried out.

Next, the conveyor body (55) will be explained.

At both front and rear ends of the conveyor body (55) in the direction of arrow C, guides 58) which also serve as stoppers during article conveyance are provided, and one end of a link (54) is attached to the outside of the guides (58). The other end is supported by the bracket of the floor body (53)) (
59), and the conveyor body (55) can move toward and away from the upper surface of the floor body (53). Between both guides (58) of the conveyor body (55), there is a space between the upright plates (56) on the floor body (53) at the lowest position of the conveyor body (55), that is, the position where it is in contact with the floor body (53). A rotatable roller (60) is provided so as to fit therein. Further, the conveyor body (55) is moved in the article carrying direction (arrow B
) is slightly longer than the floor body (53) in the front-rear direction, and protrudes from the floor body (53). Further, on the lower surface of the front and rear ends of the conveyor body (55), there are a contact piece (61) that engages with a locking piece (73) provided on the flow rack device (3), which will be described later, and an engagement rod (29). (71)
An engaging member (62) that engages with is provided, respectively.

Two engaging members (62) are provided at the front and rear in the traveling direction (arrow C) of the overhead traveling vehicle (2), and the rear engaging member (62B) is connected to an engaging rod (71), which will be described later. Although it only forms a guiding taper part (63) and an engaging part (64) to fit into it, the front engaging member (62F) also has a shape that allows it to move in the traveling direction of the overhead traveling vehicle (2). A bridge member (72) provided on the engagement rod (71) to be described later.
) has a tapered portion (65) into which it fits, making it possible to correct a slight positional deviation in the direction of travel. The guide (58) of the conveyor body (55) is provided with a plurality of photoelectric switches (not shown) whose front shafts run in the traveling direction (arrow C) of the overhead vehicle (2).

Next, the flow rack device (3) will be explained.

The flow rack device (3) is a well-known flow rack device, and in this example, articles (W) having several types of shapes are used.
), the flow rack device (3) is also provided with several widths of the article entrance (70). A rail (32) is provided on the ceiling (31) so that the above-mentioned overhead vehicle (2) runs in front of the entrance (70) of the flow rack device (3).

In addition, the flow rack device (3) also stores the goods (W).
) are divided into several groups based on variety. That is, in the above-mentioned one group, there are both narrow and wide carry-in ports (70). In front of the loading entrance (70) of the flow rack device (3) of the above-mentioned Group I, the lower surface of the conveyor body (55) of the above-mentioned overhead vehicle (2) is located across the entire area of the 1st group, and parallel to the loading entrance (70). An engagement rod (71) that engages with the engagement member (62) is provided in the horizontal direction. The height of the engagement rod (71) is determined by the conveyor body (
55) is the height at which it completely separates from the floor body (53),
In addition, the height is set to be slightly higher than the entrance (70) of the flow rack device (3). The above engagement rod (71
) has a bridge member (72) fixed in place. The piece member (72) is connected to the entrance (70) of the flow rack device (3).
One is provided corresponding to each, and the fixing position is the engagement member (62) of the conveyor body (55) of the overhead traveling vehicle (2).
F), the conveyor body (55) guide (
58) and one entrance (70) of the flow rack device (3).
) The end faces are positioned in a straight line. Each inlet (70) of the flow rack device (3) is provided with a locking piece (73) that engages with the abutment piece (61) of the conveyor body (55) described above.

With the above configuration, the article conveyance system of this embodiment operates as described below.

First, an article (W) is conveyed from a station (not shown) by a conveyor (4).

The article (W) that has been conveyed comes into contact with a stopper (8) that is erected at right angles to the conveyance direction of the conveyor (4) and perpendicular to the conveyance surface. 8
), the detection means provided on the stopper (8) detects the article (W), and then the article (W) is transferred to the first conveyor (5) by the puncher (9).

After the article (W) abuts against the stopper (8), the article (W) moves through the first guide (14) which is in the same straight line as the stopper (8).
Since the articles (W) are transferred to the conveyor (5), the front end surfaces of all the articles (W) are aligned in the conveyance direction of the conveyor (4) regardless of their size. As it is conveyed on the first conveyor (5), it falls and moves to the second conveyor (6), which has a slight step (18) from the first conveyor (5) as described above. It will be posted. Photoelectric swing (20) provided at the step (18) on which the article (W) falls
When detecting that the article (W) has been transferred onto the second conveyor (6), it immediately stops the drive motor (17) of the first conveyor (5). That is, the first conveyor (
5) to the second conveyor (6), the articles (W) can be cut out piece by piece.

The second conveyor (6) on which the article (W) has been transferred will not be driven unless it is confirmed that the overhead vehicle (2) has arrived at the delivery station (27). When it is confirmed that the overhead vehicle (2) has arrived at the delivery station (27), the drive motor (24) of the second conveyor (6) starts driving. That is, when the article conveyance is started and the article (W) is conveyed a certain distance on the second conveyor (6), the guide (25) of the conveyor (6) moves forward by the action of the cylinder (26). By moving the guide (25) forward, the end surface of the article (W) is aligned with the guide (58) surface of the conveyor body (55) of the overhead vehicle (2), and then the article (W) is transferred to the overhead vehicle (2). Transfer goods (W).

When the overhead traveling vehicle (2) reaches the top of the delivery station (27) that receives the goods (W) from the second conveyor (6), it stops traveling, and the elevator platform (34) is moved by the motor (48),
It begins to lower by the action of the drum (45) and bell (44).

As the lifting platform (34) continues to descend, the lifting platform (34)
4) The wrapper members (57) provided on both ends of the floor body (53)
) is fitted into the guide ball (28). At this time, since the lower surface of the wrapper member (57) is tapered, it is possible to correct a slight positional deviation. Saroni, lifting platform (
34) continues to descend, the engagement member (62) on the lower surface of the conveyor body (55) and the engagement rod (29) engage with each other, and as a result, the conveyor body (55) is in a state where the negative end is supported. and begins to tilt.

Further, when the elevator platform (34) continues to descend, the engaging member (6
The floor body (53) on the 2) side and the conveyor body (55) begin to separate, and eventually only one of the standing plates (56) of the floor body (53) that is not inclined (56a) becomes the conveyor body. (5
5), the lowering stops when it protrudes from the roller (60) (FIG. 7). That is, one of the upright plates (56) that is not inclined (56a) serves as a stopper piece for the article (W) to be transferred.

The overhead vehicle (2), which has become ready to receive the article (W) due to the above action, sends a signal to that effect to the unloading device (1).

The unloading device (1) that received the signal moves to the second conveyor (6).
) to transfer the article (W) to the overhead vehicle (2) waiting at the delivery station (27).

The article (W) supplied to the overhead vehicle (2) moves on the rollers (60) of the inclined conveyor body (55), comes into contact with the innermost stopper piece (56a) and stops, and the article (W)
) The completion of the transfer of the product (W) is detected by a photoelectric switch provided on the conveyor body (55).

The overhead vehicle (2) to which the goods (W) have been transferred is placed on the lifting platform (3).
4) Start the ascent. When the lifting platform (34) starts to rise, the engagement member (62) that tilts the conveyor body (55) and the engagement rod (29) are disengaged, and the conveyor body (55) is tilted. The standing plate (56) of the floor body (53) protrudes from the surface of the roller (60). That is, the article (W)
from the roller (60) of the conveyor body (55),
It changes to the standing board (56) of the floor body (53). Furthermore, since all but one of the standing plates (56) of the floor body (53) are inclined as described above, the article ( W) are all guided in the inclined direction of the upright plate (56) by their own weight, regardless of their size. The enlarged state of the wrapper member (57) and the guide pole (28) is also resolved,
When the lifting platform (34) reaches the top position, the overhead traveling vehicle (2)
starts traveling to the entrance (70) of the flow rack device (3) into which the article (W) is to be introduced.

The overhead traveling vehicle (2), which has stopped above the entrance (70) of the flow rack device (3), begins to lower the lifting platform (34). As it continues to descend, the conveyor body (55) first appears.
The engagement member (62) abuts the engagement rod (71) (
Figure 8a).

At this time, one of the engaging members (62F) is connected to the engaging rod (
By engaging with the bridge member (72) of 71), slight longitudinal and lateral positional deviations are corrected.

Of course, the article (W) is still supported by the upright plate (56).

The elevator platform (34) further descends, and the conveyor body (55) begins to tilt with one end supported by the engagement rod (71) (FIG. 8b).

The article (W) is also still supported on the upright plate (56). The lifting platform (34) further descends, and the contact piece (61) at the remaining end of the conveyor body (55) touches the flow rack device (3).
) comes into contact with the locking piece (73) of the conveyor body (
55) stops tilting (Fig. 8C). A part of the article (W) that supports it has moved from the upright plate (56) to the roller (60).

The lifting platform (34) further descends and the engagement rod (71)
In this direction, the roller (60) and the upright plate (56) are completely separated (FIG. 8d). The article (W) is supported by the rollers (60), but one of the upright plates (56) that is not inclined (56a) acts as a stopper and prevents the article (W) from moving.

The lifting platform (34) further descends, and the roller (60) and the standing plate (56) are separated from each other on their entire surface (Fig. 8e).
. The article (W) is disengaged from the stopper (56a) and is transferred from the roller (60) of the conveyor body (55) to the flow rack device (3).

This completes the article conveyance, but as is clear from the above description, in this embodiment, the article is transported on the first and second conveyors (5), (6), and also on the lifting platform (34) of the overhead traveling vehicle (2). (W)
Since one end surface of the wafer is aligned and the size of the article (W) does not matter, it is possible to cope with high-mix low-volume production.

Further, by using a plurality of overhead traveling vehicles (2), it is possible to transport articles without deteriorating work efficiency even if the number of flow rack devices (3) increases.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above explanation, in the article conveyance system according to the present invention, simply by lowering the lifting platform of the overhead traveling vehicle to the entrance of the flow rack device, it engages with the locking member provided at the entrance. Due to the action of the rod, the conveyor body tilts and transfers the article. That is, since no driving means is required when transferring articles, time and labor can be saved and work efficiency can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of an entire system to which the article conveyance system according to the present invention is applied, Fig. 2.3 is a plan view and a side view of a retrieval device, and Fig. 4.5 is a front view of an overhead vehicle. , a side view, FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) are a side view and a front view of the engaging member, FIG. 7 is a side view of the overhead traveling vehicle at the delivery station, and FIGS. 8(a) to (e) are respectively a side view and a front view of the engaging member. It is a figure which shows the effect|action of the article transfer from an overhead traveling vehicle to a Flora lipping device. 2 Overhead vehicle, 3) Flow rack device, 34 Lifting platform, (53) Floor body, 55
Conveyor body, (56) standing plate, 60) roller,
(62) Engagement member, 70 Article loading port, (71
) Engagement rod, W) Item

Claims (1)

[Claims] An article transport system comprising an article retrieval station, a flow rack device, and an overhead traveling vehicle that transports articles between the retrieval station and the flow rack device,
The lifting platform installed on the overhead traveling vehicle so that it can be raised and lowered freely is
The article of the flow rack apparatus includes a floor body having a plurality of standing plates for supporting articles, and a conveyor body connected to the floor body so as to be vertically movable and further having rollers fitted between the standing plates. An article conveyance system characterized in that a member that engages with a conveyor body is provided at an entrance.