JP3389426B2 - crane - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a crane for exchanging works with respect to fork-shaped storage shelves, which are arranged in a vertical direction so as to face each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Cranes described above are, for example, round steel or square steel,
Bar-shaped materials (workpieces) such as flat steel are sorted by shape and size, stored in the above storage shelves installed in warehouses, etc., and if necessary, the desired work is taken out from the storage shelves. It is used for unloading the work in the next process, for example, in the work cutting line, and the warehousing and unloading of the work tends to be computer-controlled. there were.

That is, as shown in FIG. 12, in order to increase the efficiency of accommodating the work A in consideration of the space, a large number of fork-shaped work accommodating shelves 56 are provided on the post 63 on both sides and in the vertical direction. A large number of shelves 55 are installed with their storage shelves 56 facing each other, and a pair of legs of a gate-shaped traveling frame that travels across the shelves 55 as a crane 57 for transferring work ( Fork frame 69 is provided so as to be able to move up and down, and the work A can be sent to and received from any of the storage shelves 56, 56 that face each other. The work receiving forks 71, 71 having a length of about the fork of the flat storage shelf 56 are provided.

When the work A is stored in the work storage rack 56 by this crane, the work A is placed on the work receiving fork 71.
In the state of receiving the work, the work receiving fork 71 is lifted, and the work receiving fork 71 is moved to the predetermined shelf group 55, 5
5, the gate type traveling frame is run across the shelf group 55, and the work receiving fork 71 is lowered to align with the storage shelf 56 at a predetermined height position, and the running is performed again. This is performed by moving the frame to move the work A on the fork to the transfer position on the storage shelf 56, and lowering the work receiving fork 71 here.
Goods issue is carried out in the reverse order.

[0005]

However, as described above, the work receiving fork 71, and the work receiving fork 71, so that the work A can be transferred to and from any of the accommodating shelves 56, 56 that face each other.
Since 71 is provided on both sides of the fork frame 69, the width of the entire crane becomes large, and the installation pitch of the shelving group 55 ... needs to be correspondingly increased. There was a problem in that the number of installed ... Is small and the work storage efficiency is low.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention substantially eliminates one work receiving fork and makes it possible to reduce the installation pitch of the shelves. The crane has a unique structure so that the work can be transferred to and from any of the storage shelves that face each other while the overall width is reduced, so that the work can be efficiently stored in a limited space. I did it.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION That is, in the present invention, as a crane for exchanging works with respect to fork-shaped storage shelves, which are installed in the vertical direction so as to face each other, a gate that travels across a group of shelves relative to each other. A fork frame is provided so as to be able to move up and down over a pair of legs of the mold traveling frame, and a plurality of work receiving parts formed on the fork frame that are shorter than the dimension between the shelf tips of the shelves that face each other and that are provided with the work receiving portions centered. The work receiving forks of the plurality of work receiving forks slidably in the traveling direction of the traveling frame at predetermined intervals, and the work receiving forks of the plurality of work receiving forks are provided on one side or the other side of the shelf group. Between the front ends of the shelves of the shelves that are relatively facing each other.
Install a sensor arm that is shorter than
Sliding in the traveling direction of the traveling frame with respect to the frame
And the sensor arm is connected to the drive means.
One side of the shelf group in synchronization with the work receiving fork
Alternatively, it is configured to project to the other side , while
The part that is off the work end surface of the fork frame
Each of the sensor arms has a work receiving fork.
With the slide end protruding from the
Presence / absence of workpieces that detect the presence / absence of workpieces on the shelf at the front position
A detection means is provided, and these work presence / absence detection means
Based on the detection information of the presence or absence of the work,
It is characterized in that the transfer operation of the talk is controlled .

According to the above construction, the work receiving portion of the work receiving fork is caused to synchronously project to one side or the other side of the rack group in correspondence with the storage rack to which the work is to be transferred, so that the storage space is relatively held. Work can be transferred to and from any of the shelves. Therefore, by substantially eliminating one work receiving fork, the width of the crane as a whole is reduced by that amount, and as a result, a shelf group is installed. Since the pitch can be reduced, it is possible to greatly improve the efficiency of accommodating a work in a certain limited space.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the entire storage and cutting / boxing system for a bar-shaped work A such as round steel, square steel, flat steel, etc., and a bar-shaped work (only shown in FIGS. 4 and 8 below).
A conveyor 1 for conveying A in the radial direction, a distribution carriage 3 for feeding the work A from the conveyor 1 to the first stock section 2, and an end surface of the work A during the feeding of the work A to the first stock section 2. A device 4 for measuring the shape and size, and a crane 7 for sorting the works A stocked in the first stocking unit 2 by shape and size and storing them in a predetermined storage shelf 6 of a shelf group 5. ing.

Further, a changer 9 for supplying the work A taken out from the storage rack 6 by the crane 7 to the sending conveyor 8 and an automatic control type and a manual control type for cutting the work A sent from the conveyor 8 to a predetermined length. The band saw devices 10 and 10A and the device 11 for packing the cut works in a box are provided.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the rack group 5 is provided with posts 13 connected by a plurality of horizontal bars 12.
On the other hand, the fork-shaped storage shelves 6 in which the rods are arranged in the left-right direction are provided on both sides of the storage shelves 6 and 6 in a predetermined space so as to face each other. A large number of rails 15 are installed, and the vertical frames 14 are used as pedestals on the left and right sides of the large number of shelving groups 5 along the many shelving groups 5.
Is provided.

The crane 7 for exchanging workpieces has a pair of legs with respect to a gate-shaped traveling frame 17 which travels on the rail 15 using the servomotor 16 as a drive source and straddling the large number of rack groups 5 ... A fork frame 19 is provided so as to be able to move up and down across the bodies 18, 18, and a servomotor 20 for driving and moving the fork frame 19 is mounted on the traveling frame 17, and the fork frame 19 is also mounted.
In addition, a plurality of work receiving forks 21 each of which is shorter than the dimension between the rack tips of the rack groups 5 facing each other and in which the work receiving portions S are centrally distributed are run by the running frame 17 at predetermined intervals. A plurality of work receiving forks 21 are provided slidably in the direction, and drive means 22 are provided for causing the work receiving portions S of the plurality of work receiving forks 21 to project synchronously to one side or the other side of the shelf group 5.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, H-shaped guide rails 23 are provided at positions where the pair of legs 18 and 18 face each other so as to be vertically movable along a four-point roller 24, and A weight 25 for hoisting and urging the guide rail 23 is provided, while a fork frame 19 is provided with a flanged roller 26 that uses the other web of the H-shaped guide rail 23 as a guide so that the guide member 26 serves as a guide rail. The fork frame 19 is moved up and down using the guide rail 23 as a guide until it comes into contact with the lower stopper 27 of 23, and after the guide member 26 comes into contact with the lower stopper 27 (see FIGS. 3 and 5), The fork frame 19 is configured to move up and down integrally with the guide rail 23 using the flanged roller 24 as a guide.

On the other hand, a rack shaft 28 is provided on the lower side of a plurality of work receiving forks 21, and a counter shaft 30 is fixed to the fork frame 19 with a pinion gear 29 meshing with the rack gear 28.
A motor 31 for driving and rotating 0 is provided to constitute a driving means 22 for synchronously projecting the work receiving portion S of the work receiving fork 21 to one side or the other side of the shelf group 5.

In the work receiving portion S of the work receiving fork 21, when the work A is circular, it rolls, but when the work A is square, it does not slip, and the inclination angle is slightly downward (for example, 3.6 degrees). And a stopper 32 for preventing fall is provided at the tip.

The height of the stopper 32 is set so as not to widen the pitch between the upper and lower sides of the storage rack 6 in terms of storage efficiency.
The work A is made as low as possible so that it does not drop from the work receiving fork 21. Therefore, when the work A is a round bar, the larger the diameter, the more part of the work A overhangs. .

As shown in FIG. 4, the changer 9 is
Work A taken out of storage rack 6 by crane 7
Directly, or the crane 7 picks up the work A stored in the second stock section 33 after being taken out from the storage shelf 6 and supplied to the work delivery conveyor 8, which is the same as the traveling frame 16. A guide post 35 is provided upright on a carriage 34 that can travel in any direction, and a work receiving fork 36 is provided along the post 35 so as to be movable up and down.

In the above structure, the work A is stored in the predetermined storage rack 6 and the work A is stored in the storage rack 6 from the storage rack 6 based on a command from the host computer. It is automatically performed by the changer 9.

That is, when the work A stocked in the first stocking unit 2 is stored in the storage rack 6, if the storage rack 6 to be stored is on the conveyor 1 side with respect to the post 13 of the rack group 5, That is, in FIG.
Is on the left side of the post 13, the work receiving portions S of the plurality of work receiving forks 21 are projected to the right side of the fork frame 19 (see FIGS. 4, 9 and 11).

The work A stocked in the first stock portion 2 is scooped into the work receiving portion S protruding to the right side of the fork frame 19 by matching the raising and lowering of the fork frame 19 and the longitudinal movement of the traveling frame 16. The traveling frame 16 is temporarily moved to the conveyor 1 side and the fork frame 19 is raised so that the traveling frame 16 is raised so that the upper storage rack 6 does not interfere with the lifting of the work A, and the traveling frame 16 is stored. Shelf group 5
Run toward.

The fork frame 19 has a predetermined rack group 5, 5
When reaching the interval, the fork frame 19 descends toward the storage shelf 6 to be stored, and the work A picked up on the work receiving portion S is matched by the forward and backward movements of the traveling frame 16 and the elevation of the fork frame 19. Are stored in the storage rack 6, and the storage in the predetermined storage rack 6 is completed.

When the storage rack 6 to be stored is on the right side of the post 13 in FIG.
With the work A taken out from the work receiving part S of the plurality of work receiving forks 21, the work receiving parts S of the plurality of work receiving forks 21 are projected to the left side of the fork frame 19, and the predetermined storage shelves 6 are stored in the same manner as described above. .

On the other hand, when the work A is discharged from the storage rack 6, when the storage rack 6 to be discharged is on the left side of the post 13, the work receiving portions S of the plurality of work receiving forks 21 are on the right side of the fork frame 19. The work A on the storage shelf 6 is scooped up by the work receiving portion S by the matching of the ascending / descending of the fork frame 19 and the forward / backward movement of the traveling frame 16 and the lower storage shelf 6
The traveling frame 16 once moves to the conveyor 1 side so that the lowering of the work A is not disturbed, and the fork frame 19 lowers, so that the work A is deposited on the work receiving fork 36 of the changer 9.

Alternatively, when the storage shelf 6 to be stored is on the right side of the post 13 in FIG. 1, the work receiving portions S of the plurality of work receiving forks 21 have the fork frame 19.
Of the second stock portion 33 by projecting to the left side of the work A and taking out the work A to the second stock portion 33 in the same procedure as described above, and matching the forward / backward movement of the changer carriage 34 and the lifting / lowering of the work receiving fork 36. The work A taken out is the work receiving fork 36 of the changer 9.
Be transferred to.

The work A thus taken out by the work receiving fork 36 of the changer 9 is sent to the work sending conveyor 8 by matching the forward and backward movement of the carriage 34 and the elevation of the work receiving fork 36. Thus, the delivery of the work A from the predetermined storage rack 6 to the work delivery conveyor 8 is completed.

Note that, after the above-mentioned warehousing and unloading are completed, the fork frame 19 is lifted to a predetermined height to prepare for the next warehousing or unloading of the work A.
This position is the home position of the crane 7.

According to the above construction, the work receiving fork 21 is made to correspond to the storage rack 6 to which the work A is transferred.
By synchronously projecting the work receiving portion S of one side or the other side of the shelf group 5, it is possible to transfer the work A to or from any of the accommodation shelves 6 that face each other. Compared to a crane having a conventional structure in which work receiving forks are provided on both sides of a fork frame so that work can be transferred to and from any of them, one work receiving fork 21 is substantially omitted. , That much,
Since the width of the entire crane can be reduced, and the installation pitch of the shelf group 5 can be reduced, the efficiency of accommodating the work A in a limited space can be significantly increased.

In the above-described configuration, when the information on the number of stocks of works by the computer and the actual number of stocks of works are deviated for some reason, for example, when the work A is stored in the storage shelf 6, the work A is stored. If there is no storage space for the work A in the proper storage shelf 6, the work A in the storage shelf 6 and the work receiving fork 21 or the work A in the fork 21 may collide with each other.

In order to avoid such a situation,
In addition to providing fixed and movable in-shelf work detection means (see FIGS. 6 and 10 and 11) 37 and 38 for detecting whether or not the work A is present at a predetermined position of the storage shelf 6 with the fork tip portion, Further, a work detecting means in the fork for detecting whether or not the work A exists on the work receiving fork 21 (see FIG. 9).
39) is provided.

In constructing the fixed in-shelf work detection means 37 shown in FIG. 11, the fork frame 19 is used.
Is set to be longer than the length of the longest storage target work A with respect to the storage shelf 6, and the work receiving forks 21 on one side and the other side of the fork frame 19 are provided on both sides of the fork frame 19 in the longitudinal direction. In any case, the sensor frames 40, 40 are provided such that the tip of the sensor frame 40, 40 projects from the tip of the work receiving fork 21, and the light emitting element a is provided on one tip side of the sensor frame 40, 40. And the sensor frames 40, 4
A plurality of light receiving elements b are provided on the other end side of 0 at upper and lower sides at a predetermined interval.

According to the above construction, the upper and lower elements a,
The work in the storage shelf 6 is detected based on the fact that at least one of the optical paths extending between b (work presence / absence detection means) is shielded. In such a configuration, the work in the shelf is stored when the work is stored. At the time when the detection means 37 detects the work A, if the information on the stock quantity of the work A by the computer and the actual stock quantity of the work A are correct, the work of the automatic warehousing is continued.

However, the information on the number of workpieces in stock by the computer and the actual number of workpieces in stock deviate for some reason, and according to the information from the computer, the workpiece A is stored at the position where the workpiece A should be stored in the storage rack 6 from now on. When the work A is present at that position despite the absence of the work, it is considered that the computer has issued incorrect information based on the work detection means 37 in the shelf detecting the work A.
The fork frame 19 receiving the work A on the work receiving fork 21 is returned to the home position.

On the contrary, according to the information from the computer, the work A should exist at a predetermined position in the storage shelf 6, but under the situation where the work A does not exist at that position, the work detecting means in the shelf should be used. Although the work A is not detected even though 37 detects the work A, it is considered that the computer issued incorrect information based on the detection result, and the fork frame 19 is detected as described above. I try to return to the home position.

Although a detailed description is omitted, even when the work A is unloaded, if the computer takes the form of the control according to the above and the computer issues incorrect information, the fork frame 19 is set. I try to return to the home position.

In the in-shelf work detection means 37 having the above structure,
When the work A to be detected is a thin plate such as flat steel, it is difficult to reliably detect this, and therefore the movable in-shelf work detection means 38 is provided.

The movable in-shelf work detecting means 38 is constructed as follows. That is, as shown in FIG.
Sensor arm 4 that is shorter than the dimension between the ends of the shelves 5 that face each other and is slightly longer than the work receiving fork 21.
1 is slidably penetrated with respect to the fork frame 19 in the traveling direction of the traveling frame 17, and the sensor arm 41 is synchronized with the work receiving fork 21 by the driving means 20 so that one of the shelves 5 One side or the other side is projected.

Then, for example, two light reflection type sensors c and d having different detection ranges from each other are provided at both ends of the sensor arm 41 so as to substantially widen the detection ranges. It is made to polymerize in some parts.

According to such a configuration, light is emitted upward from the two light reflection type sensors (work presence / absence detection means) c and d, and the work A is substantially within the widened detection range.
If there is, the light is reflected by the work A, and the reflected light is caught by the sensors c and d,
The presence of a thin plate such as flat steel in the storage shelf 6 is detected, and like the fixed-type in-shelf work detection means 37 described above, information on the stock number of the work A by the computer and the actual work A If the stock quantity is correct, the automatic loading or unloading work is continued as it is, but if the computer thinks that incorrect information has been issued, the fork frame 19 is returned to the home position.

The fork-in-workpiece detecting means 39, as shown in FIG. 9, includes a beam reflecting mirror 42 and this mirror 42.
And a mirror reflection type beam sensor 43 for detecting the absence of the work A by emitting the beam toward the beam and reflecting the beam reflected by the mirror 42. The beam is emitted toward the mirror 42 while being provided on the upper side 2
The individual beam sensors 43 are provided on both sides of the fork frame 19 so that the beam reflected by the work A does not enter and the beam entrance and exit angles thereof are inclined with respect to the work receiving surface of the work receiving portion S. .

[0040]

The present invention is carried out in the form as described above, and in the work transfer crane described at the beginning, the crane can be moved up and down with respect to the gate type traveling frame that travels across a group of shelves that are relatively facing each other. The fork frame is provided with a plurality of work receiving forks each having a work receiving portion formed in a centrally distributed manner, and the plurality of work receiving forks correspond to the storage shelves to which the work is to be transferred, and one of the shelf groups By synchronously projecting to the side or the other side, it is possible to transfer the work to and from any of the storage shelves that face each other. Therefore, according to the conventional configuration in which the work receiving forks are provided on both sides of the fork frame. Compared with a crane, one work receiving fork can be substantially omitted, so that the width of the entire crane can be reduced, and the shelf group can be extended. Because it can reduce the location pitch, it has become possible to significantly up the limited accommodation efficiency of the work for a certain space.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a bar-shaped work storage and cutting / boxing system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a system for storing and cutting / boxing a rod-shaped work.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a group of shelves shown together with a gate type traveling frame.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a changer.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a gate type traveling frame.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a fork frame including a work receiving fork and the like.

7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a driving unit in which one of the work receiving forks is cut away and shown.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the work receiving fork shown together with the work detecting means in the fork.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a movable in-shelf work detection means.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of a fixed in-shelf work detection means.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a crane with respect to a conventional work storage rack group.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 ... Shelf group, 6 ... Storage shelf, 17 ... Gate type traveling frame, 18
... Legs, 19 ... Fork frame, 20 ... Driving means, 2
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Work receiving fork, 39 ... Work detection means in fork, 41 ... Sensor arm, 42 ... Beam reflection mirror, 43 ... Mirror reflection type beam sensor, S ... Work receiving part, a, b, c, d ... Work presence detection means.

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-8-67308 (JP, A) JP-A-5-170307 (JP, A) JP-A-5-97208 (JP, A) JP-A-61-217494 (JP , A) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 1/04 551 B66C 1/24 B66C 5/04 B66C 13/22

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A crane for exchanging workpieces with respect to a plurality of fork-shaped storage shelves, which are installed in the up-down direction so as to face each other, and a pair of legs of a gate-shaped traveling frame that travels across a group of shelves relatively facing each other. A fork frame is provided so as to be able to move up and down over the body, and a plurality of work receiving forks, each of which is shorter than the dimension between the tip ends of the shelving groups that face each other and whose work receiving portions are centrally distributed, are provided on the fork frame. Drive means that are slidably provided in the traveling direction of the traveling frame with a space between them and project the plurality of work receiving forks synchronously to one side or the other side of the shelf group. Ri formed by providing further relative
A sensor arm that is shorter than the distance between the ends of the shelving groups.
The travel frame against the fork frame.
This sensor is installed so that it can slide in the row direction.
The same as the work receiving fork by the drive means.
So that it projects to one side or the other side of the shelf group
While configuring, from the work end surface of the fork frame
Also the outside of the place and the sensor arm
The work receiving fork to the slide end
In this state, the work in the shelf is located at a position slightly forward of the tip.
Work presence / absence detection means for detecting the presence / absence is provided, and
Based on the work presence / absence detection information from the work presence / absence detection means of
Based on this, the work transfer operation for the storage rack is controlled.
Crane, characterized in that that is in to. 2. A beam reflecting mirror for detecting a work in a fork, and a mirror reflection type beam for emitting a beam toward the mirror and injecting the beam reflected by the mirror to detect the absence of the work. The sensor is composed of two mirrors, one of which is provided on the upper part of both ends of the work receiving fork, and the other of which is a beam sensor which emits a beam toward the mirror. The crane according to claim 1, wherein the crane is provided on both sides of the fork frame while being inclined with respect to the receiving surface.