JPH0464962B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention automatically delivers trays carrying a large number of products, parts, etc. to a work area of a product work area according to the work content, and The present invention relates to a tray delivery device for sending and receiving parts, parts, etc.

<Conventional technology> In automated factories, in order to smoothly supply products, parts, etc. to manufacturing and processing lines, products of the same type are stored in a large number of flat trays and transported, and any number of these trays are used to collect products. We are trying to supply it to the work department.

For this reason, many tray delivery devices have been proposed in the past, including devices that combine an automatic conveyor system and a work robot, and devices that circulate trays in a horizontal plane. There are also known examples in which a stacker crane is combined with a storage shed equipped with a large number of shelves for trays.

<Problems to be solved> However, with the above conventional technology, the occupied area, especially the installation floor area, becomes large.
In small factories, equipment is densely arranged, and it is often difficult to employ such automation equipment due to problems such as the inability to secure space.

<Method for solving problems> The tray delivery device according to the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems. (b) having a leg portion forming a space between the tray storage portion and the installation surface; (c) a transfer device for loading and unloading the tray into the support portion of the tray storage portion; and a tray loading/unloading section in which an elevating body consisting of a holding section on which a tray pulled out from the supporting section is placed is arranged so as to be movable in a vertical direction from the tray storage section to the leg section via a drive device. , and (d) a control unit that controls starting and stopping of the elevating body and can freely move and position the tray in accordance with the tray loading/unloading position and the height position of the working unit, It is installed in the product work area where the machine is placed at any vertical height, and is suitable for sending and receiving products and parts to and from the work area via a tray on which a large number of products and parts are placed. The purpose of this invention is to provide a tray delivery device that provides a convenient tray delivery system.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

The illustrated device is merely one example, and the present invention is not limited to the device having the illustrated shape, structure, dimensions, etc.

In the figure, 1 is the tray delivery device, and the robot arm 2
It is installed in the product workshop 3, which is equipped with a As shown in the figure, the work section 4 of the product work station 3 is located vertically above the floor by a predetermined height h, and the robot arm 2
A large number of products, parts, etc. 6 (hereinafter referred to as products 6) stored in a tray 5 supplied from the tray delivery device 1 are sequentially picked up and supplied to the working section 4. The tray 5 is a flat container body made of, for example, plastic and has a number of recesses 7 formed in its internal portion.
A large number of products 6 to be provided to the working section 4 are stored in the recess 7.

The tray delivery device 1 mainly includes a tray storage section 8, a tray loading/unloading section 9, and a control section 10.

The tray storage section 8 includes a frame 12 which is shaped like a rectangular parallelepiped and whose horizontal cross section is somewhat larger than the tray 5 and has a predetermined height along the vertical direction (arrow Y direction in the figure). The supporting portion 13 is formed in multiple stages. In FIG. 1, the support portion 13 is installed horizontally (in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure) with the shelf-like member 13a separated by a predetermined distance d. However,
As shown in FIG. 3, the support portion 13 may be a rail-shaped narrow plate member 13b, and the flange 5a of the tray 5 may be hooked thereon to support the support portion 13. In this case, friction with the tray 5 can be reduced. Further, the distance d between the supporting parts 13, 13 may be determined in accordance with the maximum dimension of the tray 5 with the product 6 accommodated therein.

The tray loading/unloading section 9 mainly includes an elevating body 14 and a drive device 15. The drive device 15 is a chain transmission using a pair of chains 16, 16, and a pair of sprockets 17, 17 are disposed vertically within a frame member 12a on the working section 4 side of the tray storage section 8. A chain 16 is looped between each chain 17. A power section 18 is provided between the upper sprockets 17 and 17 to operate these chains 16 simultaneously.

Frame member 12 on the working section 4 side of the frame body 12 described above
a, 12a extend downward and also serve as legs (hereinafter referred to as legs 12a), and the tray storage section 8,
There is a predetermined height between the product work area 3 and the installation floor.
It forms space E of H1. The height of this space E
H1 may be determined depending on the height of people passing by and traveling equipment, such as a work vehicle 30 loaded with trays 5 and the like as shown. This leg portion 12a has
Opening holes 19 are provided over the entire surface in the vertical direction Y, and the elevating body 14 is fixed to the chain 16 by inserting its end portion into the opening holes 19. Therefore, the elevating body 14 moves in the vertical direction Y while being guided by the opening gear 19 as the chain 16 operates. Note that the frame body 12 and the leg portions 12a may be formed separately, or the tray entry/exit portion 9 may be provided only in the portion where the tray supply portion 8 is located. It is also desirable to attach a counterweight to the chain 16 to facilitate lifting and positioning.

The elevating body 14 includes a transfer device 20 that takes out the tray 5 from the support section 13 of the tray storage section 8, and a chain transmission in the illustrated example, and a holding section 21 on which the taken out tray 5 is placed. The transfer machine 20 is composed of a pair of hook bodies 22, 22 for hooking and holding the side wall of the tray 5 and extracting it to the working section 4 side, and a chain 24 for operating the hook 22. The hook body 22 is attached to a chain 24, and is moved back and forth in the direction of arrow Z in the figure by the operation of a motor 25.

The holding part 21 consists of a side wall part 26 to which the chain transmission 23 is attached, and bottom plate parts 27, which are divided into two parts. The bottom plate part 27 is rotatably supported on the lower end of the side wall part 26, and is opened and closed by an opening/closing device (not shown) provided at a portion on the side of the tray storage part 8, and is opened and closed at the discharge port 28 as shown in FIG. is formed, and the tray 5 is ejected. As the opening/closing device, for example, a rod is connected to the motor 25 via a suitable clutch, and the rod and a shaft supporting the bottom plate portion 27 are screwed together.

The control section 10 controls the operations of the above-mentioned sections using a microcomputer or the like. In the illustrated example,
Although it is provided on the tray storage section 8, it may be placed separately, for example.

Furthermore, although a chain transmission is used as the drive device in view of high-speed operation, other means such as belt transmission or gear transmission may be used. Furthermore, the frame body 12 and leg portions 12a of the tray supply section 8 are made separate,
By appropriate means, the tray supply section 8 is connected to the leg section 12a.
If the tray 5 is movable in the vertical direction Y along the tray 5, the tray 5 can be easily supplied.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, an elevating body 31 similar to that provided on the leg portion 12a is provided on the frame members 12b, 12b on the opposite side of the working portion 4 of the tray supply portion 8,
The tray 5 on the work vehicle 30 may be directly loaded into the support section 13. This elevating body 31 includes, for example, a plurality of retractable cylinders 32 that lift the tray 5 in the vertical direction Y, and a transfer cylinder (not shown) that moves forward and backward in the horizontal direction to insert the tray 5 into the support part 13. ) and the claw body 33 interlocked with this
It can be made to have the following.

Next, the operation in this embodiment will be explained.

When each part is turned on and becomes ready for operation, the control part 10 determines the position to which the elevating body 14 should be moved in accordance with the contents of the program. In response to this, the power unit 18 rotates, rotates the sprocket 17 at high speed, and moves the chain 16 by a predetermined amount. When the elevating body 14 is guided by the opening groove 19 in the vertical direction Y, it moves to the predetermined position of the support part 13. Stop at.

Then, the motor 25 of the tray loading/unloading section 9 operates to move the chain 24 and move the hook body 22 toward the support section 13 along the Z direction. When the hook body 22 is located on the tray 5 in the support part 13,
(Use appropriate means such as a limit switch to confirm the position.) The power unit 18 is reactivated and the elevating body 14
moves slightly downward, and the hook body 22 is caught on the tray 5. Then, the motor 25 rotates in the opposite direction, and the hook body 22 moves toward the working part 4 as indicated by the arrow Z.
At the same time, the tray 5 is also pulled out from the tray storage section 8 while sliding on the shelf-like member 13a of the support section 13.

Then, the power unit 18 operates again to move the elevating body 14.
is moved to a height position corresponding to the working part 4 and stopped under the control of the control part 10. The robot arm 2 of the working section 4 performs work such as loading (or loading in some cases) the products 6 onto the tray 5 on the stopped elevator 14.

When the work of the robot arm 2 is completed and there is no product 6 in the tray 5, the power unit 18 is activated under the control of the control unit 10, the chain 16 runs, and the elevating body 14 is moved to the top of the tray storage unit 8. Move to the lower position. Then, an opening/closing device (not shown) operates, and the holding part 21 of the elevating body 14 operates, and the empty tray 5
discharge. That is, the two bottom plate parts 2 of the holding part 21
7 and 27 are opened and rotated to open the discharge port 28 as shown in FIG. 4, and the tray 5 is dropped onto the bottom side.
The discharged trays 5 are stacked as shown in the figure,
It will be carried out. However, the empty tray 5 may be controlled to be returned to the support part 13 from which it was taken out.

When the above one cycle is completed, the control unit 10 instructs a new position of the elevating body 14, and the same operation as described above is repeated.

During such an operation, the space E below the tray supply section 8 is not affected by the operation at all, so that workers, the work vehicle 30, etc. can freely come and go. Incidentally, the tray 5 may be fed by the reverse operation to the above.

FIG. 6 shows another practical example, in which the frame 12 is mounted and fixed on a beam material 35 to form a leg portion 36. This is suitable when the machine tool 37 is located in the space E because the space E can be made wider.

FIG. 7 shows yet another embodiment, in which one pillar member 40
Since there is almost no support space on the installation floor, it is suitable when the space E is full of machine tools 37 and the like. It should be noted that various structures of the leg portions can be adopted in addition to the above-mentioned embodiments.

<Effects of the Invention> Since the tray delivery device according to the present invention is as described above, it can not only occupy a much smaller installation floor area than conventional devices, but also be able to achieve a desired height. It makes it possible to create a space and almost eliminate the occupied area, and it can be used as an automation device in small factories, but also has the effect of increasing the efficiency of equipment arrangement in large factories.

Furthermore, even if the work area of the product work area is located at various vertical height positions, the work position can be easily changed by changing the position control of the elevating body, providing a highly versatile device. can.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a side view, Figure 3 is a perspective view showing another example of the support part, Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the outlet provided in the holding part of the elevating body of the tray entry/exit part, and Figure 5 is a perspective view of the tray. A perspective view showing a lifting body for loading, and FIG. 6,
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing other embodiments. 1... Tray delivery device, 2... Robot arm, 3... Product work area, 4... Working section, 5... Tray, 6... Products, parts, etc., 8... Tray storage section, 9... Tray Entrance/exit section, 10...Control section, 13
...Supporting part, 14...Elevating body, 16...Chain, 20...Transfer machine, 21...Holding part, 22...
Hook, 24...Chain, 28...Exhaust port.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A work unit is installed in a product work area located at an arbitrary vertical height position, and products and parts are transferred between the work unit and the work unit via a tray on which a large number of products and parts are placed. A tray delivery device characterized by having the following requirements for sending and receiving etc. (a) It has a tray storage section that has a plurality of vertically tiered support sections that can freely take in and out the trays and support them. (b) It has legs that form a space between the tray storage section and the installation surface. (c) An elevating body consisting of a transfer device for loading and unloading trays into and out of the support section of the tray storage section and a holding section for placing the tray extracted from the support section is installed vertically from the tray storage section to the leg section. It has a tray entry/exit section arranged via a drive device so as to be movable in the direction. (d) It has a control section that controls starting and stopping of the elevating body and can freely move and position the tray in accordance with the tray loading/unloading position and the height position of the working section. 2. The tray delivery device according to claim 1, wherein the holding section of the elevating body of the tray entrance/exit section includes an outlet that can be opened and closed for discharging the placed tray. 3. The transfer device for the elevating body of the tray entrance/exit section comprises a hook body for hooking and holding the tray, and a chain transmission for making the hook body horizontally movable. any tray delivery device. 4. Claim 1, wherein the drive device for moving the elevating body of the tray entrance/exit section is a chain transmission.
The tray delivery device according to any one of Items 1 to 3.