JP3403442B2 - Storage container separation and removal device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for separating and taking out storage containers, which is installed, for example, in a mushroom cultivation farmer and completes a sterilization process in a state of being stacked on a cart. The used wide-mouth bottles are used to separate and take out the storage containers accommodating the plurality of wide-mouth bottles from each other. [0002] A mushroom farmer grows mushrooms such as enoki mushrooms and shimeji mushrooms in the following manner. First, a jar made of synthetic resin such as polypropylene is filled with a culture medium in which sawdust is mixed with nutrients such as a culture solution, and the jar filled with the culture medium is sterilized. After the sterilization treatment, an inoculation operation for inoculating the fungi in the culture medium is performed. After the inoculation, the jar is put into a humid cultivation room, and mushrooms are grown from the culture medium. [0003] The above sterilization treatment is carried out by a steam sterilizer. In this sterilization operation, a large number of wide-mouthed bottles (for example, 16) each filled with a culture medium inside, each having an open top and a planar shape. Stored in a square storage container,
Further, the storage container is placed on the upper surface of the cart, and the cart is sent to the steam sterilizer. Wheels (casters) are provided at the four corners of the lower surface of the cart so that the cart can be pressed with a light force. The storage containers are arranged in a plurality of rows (for example, three rows) in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the cart, and are stacked in multiple rows (for example, eight rows) in the vertical direction. [0004] The wide-mouth bottles housed in the storage containers are all the same in shape and shape, and the upper half thereof protrudes above the upper end opening of each storage container. Then, the plurality of storage containers are stacked vertically in a state where the upper storage container is placed on the upper surface of the wide-mouth bottle stored in each storage container. Further, a flange portion is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the upper end opening of each storage container over the entire periphery, and this flange portion serves as a clue when carrying the storage container. The apparatus for separating and taking out a storage container according to the present invention is intended to facilitate the work of transferring a wide-mouth bottle at the time of inoculation after sterilizing a culture medium. ,
The aim is to reduce the burden on mushroom farmers. As described above, a plurality of storage containers are stacked on a trolley during the sterilization operation. However, during the inoculation operation, the storage containers must be sent one by one to the inoculation device. No. For this reason, in the related art, the operator has to hold the storage containers stacked on the upper surface of the cart one by one. However, the work of manually dropping a large number of storage containers of various weights at different heights is cumbersome and burdensome on the lower back, which is a painful operation that causes back pain and the like. . [0008] The device for separating and taking out a container according to the present invention comprises:
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. A storage container separation and removal device according to the present invention is arranged in a plurality of rows in the front-rear direction on an upper surface of a truck, and is stacked in multiple stages in a vertical direction. A plurality of storage containers having a flange at the peripheral edge of the storage container are used to separate and take out each article stored in each storage container in a state of protruding above the flange, and each storage container. . [0010] The storage container separation and removal apparatus of the present invention comprises a front frame capable of feeding the carriage with a plurality of storage containers stacked on the upper surface thereof, and a carriage upper surface on one side of the front frame. A pair of front and rear first lifting / lowering chains arranged vertically in opposition to one side surface of the plurality of storage containers, and facing the other side surface of the plurality of storage containers on the upper surface of the bogie on the other side of the front frame. Then, a pair of front and rear second lifting / lowering chains arranged in the vertical direction and a middle portion between the pair of first lifting / lowering chains are spaced horizontally and vertically. A plurality of first lifting beams that are bridged, and a plurality of bridges that are bridged in the middle of the pair of second lifting / lowering chains in the horizontal direction and at intervals in the vertical direction. On the second lifting beam and above the front frame A horizontal feeder for moving the uppermost storage container rearward, a rear frame provided behind the front frame, and a third pair of front and rear arranged vertically on one side of the rear frame. A lifting chain, a pair of front and rear fourth lifting chains arranged vertically on the other side of the rear frame, and a middle part of the pair of third lifting chains extending horizontally and vertically. A plurality of first suspension beams and a middle portion of the pair of fourth lifting / lowering chains, which are extended at intervals, are horizontally and vertically spaced. And a plurality of second suspension beams suspended in a state. The first and second lifting chains circulate in the opposite direction at the same speed in synchronization with each other, so that the first and second lifting beams are in phase with each other while facing the plurality of storage containers. The third and fourth lifting / lowering chains circulate at the same speed in the opposite direction in synchronization with each other, thereby causing the first and second suspension beams to face the plurality of storage containers. And the distance between the leading edges of the first and second lifting beams facing each other with the circulation of the first and second lifting chains, and the third and fourth lifting chains. The distance between the leading edges of the first and second hanging beams facing each other along with the circulation is slightly smaller than the width of the flange of each of the storage containers, and the pitch of the first and second lifting beams, In addition, the pitch of the first and second suspension beams above the bogie It is slightly larger than the pitch of the flange portion of the plurality of storage containers raised seen. The operation of the storage container separating / removing device of the present invention configured as described above when removing a plurality of storage containers stacked on the upper surface of the carriage one by one is as follows. First, the first and second lifting chains are circulated,
With the first and second lifting beams opposed to each other, a carriage on which a plurality of storage containers are placed is fed into the inside of the front frame. In the state where the feeding is completed, one first and second lifting beams are present below the flanges of the respective storage containers. Next, the first and second lifting chains are slightly circulated to slightly raise the first and second lifting beams.
As a result, first, the lower surface of the flange portion of the uppermost storage container and the upper surfaces of the uppermost first and second lifting beams come into contact with each other, and the uppermost storage container is pulled up. Since the pitch of the first and second lifting beams is slightly larger than the pitch of the flanges of the plurality of storage containers stacked on the trolley, at the moment the uppermost storage container is lifted, it is still on the lower side. The lower surface of the flange of the storage container does not contact the upper surfaces of the first and second lifting beams. Therefore, the lower storage container is not lifted, and the lower surface of the uppermost storage container is separated from the upper surface of the article stored in the lower storage container. As described above, the uppermost container is raised to a predetermined position while the lower surface of the uppermost container is separated from the upper surface of the articles stored in the lower container. Then, the uppermost container is sent backward by the horizontal feeder. The storage containers sent rearward by the horizontal feeder are sent one by one between the first and second suspension beams. The third and fourth lifting chains are configured such that each time one storage container is fed between the first and second suspension beams,
It descends by one pitch of the second suspension beam. The storage containers supported by the first and second suspension beams and lowered one by one are received by an operator below the third and fourth elevating chains or by a separately provided conveyor. And sent to the inoculation device. [0017] The horizontal feeder moves the uppermost storage container,
When all the materials are sent between the first and second suspension beams, the first and second elevating chains are circulated again to raise the next stage storage container to the predetermined position, and the horizontal feeding is performed. The storage container at this stage is fed by the device between the first and second suspension beams. Hereinafter, by repeatedly performing the same work, all of the plurality of storage containers placed on the upper surface of the trolley,
Feed between the first and second suspension beams. 1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention. The cart 1 has casters 3, 3 at the four lower corners of a horizontal base plate 2,
Gate-shaped support frames 4 are provided at both front and rear ends of the upper surface. A plurality of storage containers 5, 5 each containing a plurality of wide-mouthed bottles (not shown) inside thereof, are provided in a plurality of rows in the front-rear direction between the support frames 4 on the upper surface of the base plate 2. (3 rows in the illustrated example), and are stacked in multiple stages (8 levels in the illustrated example) in the vertical direction. The front frame 6 is formed in a gate shape with an opening at the front (left side in FIGS. 1 to 3), and the carriage 1 is fed while a plurality of storage containers 5, 5 are stacked on the upper surface thereof. It is free. Outer flange-shaped flanges 21 are formed on the outer peripheral edges of the upper ends of the storage containers 5, 5, respectively, to serve as clues for lifting the storage containers 5, 5. On one side (lower side in FIG. 2, right side in FIG. 5) of the front frame 6, a first drive shaft is provided in the front-rear direction (FIGS. 1-3).
(The left-right direction of the first drive shaft), and first drive sprockets 7 are fixed to both front and rear ends of the first drive shaft. A first driven shaft is rotatably supported in the front-rear direction at a lower portion on one side of the front frame 6, and first driven sprockets 8, 8 are fixed to both front and rear ends of the first driven shaft. ing. And each first drive sprocket 7, 7
A first elevating chain 9, 9 is bridged between the first driven sprocket 8 and the first driven sprocket 8, 8. Accordingly, the first elevating chains 9, 9 are respectively arranged in the vertical direction so as to face one side surface of the plurality of storage containers 5, 5 on the upper surface of the carriage 1. On the other hand, a second drive shaft is rotatably supported in the front-rear direction on the other side of the front frame 6 (upper side in FIG. 2, left side in FIG. 5). Second drive sprockets 10, 10 are fixed to the front and rear ends.
A second driven shaft is rotatably supported in the front-rear direction at the lower portion on the other side of the front frame 6, and the second driven sprocket 11 is fixed to both front and rear ends of the second driven shaft. I have. A second lifting chain 12 is bridged between each second driving sprocket 10 and the second driven sprocket 11. Therefore, this second lifting chain 12
Each of the plurality of storage containers 5, 5 on the upper surface of the carriage 1 is arranged in the vertical direction so as to face the other side surface. Further, driven sprockets 14, 14 fixed to the front ends (left ends in FIGS. 1 to 3) of the first drive shaft and the second drive shaft, respectively, are provided on the upper surface of the front frame 6. The drive chains 16, 16 are bridged between the drive sprockets 15, 15. Each drive sprocket 1
Gears 18, 18 fixed to shafts 17, 17 together with 5, 15
Are engaged with each other. The one shaft 17 is rotatably driven by the motor 13. Therefore, the first and second lifting chains 9 and 12 circulate in the opposite direction at the same speed in synchronization with each other. In the middle part of the first and second elevating chains 9 and 12, the first and second stages (eight in the illustrated example) are the same as the number of storage containers 5 stacked on the upper surface of the base plate 2. The two lifting beams 19 and 20 are respectively extended horizontally.
In addition, they are bridged in the same phase with each other at intervals in the vertical direction. That is, the first and second lifting beams 19,
Along with the circulation of the first and second elevating chains 9 and 12, the ascending member 20 rises while being opposed to the plurality of storage containers 5 and 5 in a state where the phases in the vertical direction are matched. When the first and second lifting beams 19 and 20 face the storage containers 5 and 5, the distance D ₁ between the leading edges of the beams 19 and 20 is equal to a plurality of storage containers stacked on the carriage 1. The width dimension W of the flange portions 21 and 21 is slightly smaller (W> D ₁ ). Also, the pitch P of each beam 19, 20
₁ is a plurality of storage containers 5, 5 stacked on a trolley 1.
Is slightly larger than the pitch p (P ₁ > p). On the other hand, a horizontal feed chain 22 constituting a horizontal feeder for moving the uppermost storage containers 5 and 5 rearward (to the right in FIGS. 1 to 3) is provided above the front frame 6.
They are arranged in the front-back direction. Next frame 2 described below
3 and the drive sprocket 24 supported by the front frame 6
The horizontal feed chain 22 bridged between the driven sprocket 25 and the driven sprocket 25 is driven by a motor 26 provided on the upper surface of the rear frame 23 so that the lower piece moves from the front to the rear (FIGS. 1, 3, and 4). From left to right). The horizontal feed chain 22 is engaged with the storage containers 5 and 5 itself, or with the wide-mouth bottles stored in the storage containers 5 and 5, respectively. One of the engagement rods 27, 27 or the pressing piece 28 for feeding the bottle backward is provided. A rear frame 23 is provided behind the front frame 6, and a third drive shaft is provided on one side (lower side in FIG. 2, left side in FIG. 6) of the rear frame 23, and extends in the front-rear direction. The third drive sprockets 29, 29 are fixed to the front and rear ends of the third drive shaft.
Also, a third driven shaft is provided at a lower portion on one side of the rear frame 23,
The third driven shaft is rotatably supported in the front-rear direction, and the third driven sprockets 30, 30 are fixed to both front and rear ends of the third driven shaft. And each third drive sprocket 29, 29
A third lifting chain 31, 31 is bridged between the third driven sprocket 30 and the third driven sprocket 30, 30. Accordingly, the third elevating chains 31, 31 are arranged vertically in opposition to one side surface of the storage container 5 which is fed one by one to the upper portion of the rear frame 23 by the horizontal feeding device. On the other hand, a fourth drive shaft is rotatably supported in the front-rear direction on the other side of the rear frame 23 (upper side in FIG. 2, right side in FIG. 6). Fourth drive sprockets 32 are fixed to both front and rear ends.
In addition, a fourth driven shaft is provided at the lower portion on the other side of the rear frame 23,
The fourth driven shaft is rotatably supported in the front-rear direction, and the fourth driven sprocket 33 is fixed to both front and rear ends of the fourth driven shaft. A fourth lifting chain 34 extends between each fourth driving sprocket 32, 32 and the fourth driven sprocket 33. Therefore, this fourth lifting chain 34
The storage containers 5 which are fed one by one into the upper part of the rear frame 23 by the above-mentioned horizontal feeding device are arranged vertically so as to face the other side surface. The third and fourth drive shafts are also connected to the rear frame 23.
By means of a motor 35 provided on the upper surface of the motor, the same mechanism as that of the first and second drive shafts allows the motor 35 to be rotatable at the same speed in the opposite direction in synchronization with each other. Therefore, the third and fourth lifting chains 31, 34 circulate in the opposite direction at the same speed in synchronization with each other. A plurality of first and second suspension beams 36 and 37 are provided at an intermediate portion of the third and fourth lifting chains 31 and 34.
In a state of being spaced apart in the horizontal direction and in the up-down direction, they are crossed at the same phase and at equal intervals. That is, the first and second suspension beams 36 and 37 are stored in the storage container 5 sent into the rear frame 23 by the horizontal feeder with the circulation of the third and fourth lifting chains 31 and 34. While facing each other, it descends with the phase in the vertical direction being matched. When the first and second suspension beams 36 and 37 face the storage containers 5 and 5, the distance D ₂ between the leading edges of the beams 36 and 37 is equal to the width W of the flanges 21 and 21. (W> D ₂ ). Further, the pitch P ₂ of each beam 36 and 37, slightly larger than the pitch p of the plurality of container 5,5 stacked on carriage 1 (P _2> p)
are doing. Further, a roller conveyor 38 is arranged in the front-rear direction at an intermediate portion of the rear frame 23 in the vertical direction. The rear end of the roller conveyor 38 slightly protrudes from the rear end of the rear frame 23, and the storage containers 5, 5 lowered with the circulation of the third and fourth elevating chains 31, 34, One by one is lowered on the upper surface of the roller conveyor 38 and sent out behind the rear frame 23. The operation of taking out the plurality of storage containers 5 stacked on the upper surface of the carriage 1 one by one by the storage container separation / extraction device of the present invention configured as described above is as follows.
It is as follows. First, the first and second elevating chains 9 and 12 are circulated, and as shown in FIG.
The carriage 1 on which the plurality of storage containers 5 are placed is fed into the front frame 6 in a state where the containers 20 are opposed to each other. When the feeding is completed, the first and second lifting beams 19, 2 are provided below the flanges 21, 21 of the storage containers 5, 5, respectively.
0 exists one each. However, each beam 19, 2
Pitch P ₁ 0 is as much slightly greater than the pitch p of the container 5,5, the lower surface and the beams 1 of the flange portion 21, 21 of each stage
The distance between the upper surfaces 9 and 20 is different. In other words, the distance becomes shorter as the position becomes higher. Next, by energizing the motor 13, the first and second lifting chains 9, 12 are slightly circulated to slightly raise the first and second lifting beams 19, 20. As a result, first, the flange portion 2 of the uppermost storage container 5, 5
Lower surfaces of 1, 21 and first and second lifting beams 1 at the top
The upper surfaces of the upper and lower storage containers 5 and 9 are in contact with each other.
5 is raised. At the moment when the uppermost storage containers 5, 5 are lifted, the lower surfaces of the flanges 21, 21 of the lower storage containers 5, 5 and the first and second lifting beams 19, 20 are still present.
Is not in contact with the upper surface of. Therefore, the lower storage containers 5, 5 are not lifted, and the lower surface of the uppermost storage container 5, 5 is separated from the upper surface of the wide-mouth bottle stored in the lower storage container 5, 5. I do. As described above, with the lower surfaces of the uppermost storage containers 5 and 5 separated from the upper surfaces of the wide-mouth bottles stored in the lower storage containers 5 and 5, the uppermost storage containers 5 and 5 are separated from each other. 5 is raised to a predetermined position, the motor 26 constituting the horizontal feeder is energized, and the horizontal feed chain 22 is circulated.
By pushing the storage containers 5 and 5 with the engagement rods 27 and the wide-mouthed bottle with the pressing piece 28, the uppermost storage containers 5 and 5 are sent backward. The storage containers 5 and 5 sent rearward by the horizontal feeder are each one of the first and second suspension beams 36,
It is sent during 37. Third and fourth lifting chains 31,
Each time one storage container 5 is fed between the first and second suspension beams 36 and 37, the first and second suspension beams 36 and 37 And 1
Lower by pitch. The storage containers 5, 5 supported by the first and second suspension beams 36, 37 and lowered one by one in this manner are received by the roller conveyor 38 and sent to the inoculation device. In order to surely carry out the work of feeding the storage containers 5 and 5 one by one between the first and second suspension beams 36 and 37, a portion between the front frame 6 and the rear frame 23,
That is, a feed roller that is driven to rotate by a motor is provided in part A of FIG. 1, and the storage container 5 placed on the feed roller is provided.
Can be sent backward at a speed higher than the feed speed of the horizontal feeder. By providing such a feed roller,
The storage containers 5, 5 in the same stage can be sent backward with an interval in the front-rear direction. When the horizontal feeder is the uppermost storage container 5,
5 has been sent between the first and second suspension beams 36 and 37, the first and second elevating chains 9 and 12
Is circulated, the storage containers 5 and 5 of the next stage are raised to the predetermined position, and the storage containers 5 and 5 of this stage are moved by the horizontal feeder to the first and second suspension beams 36 and 37. In between. Hereinafter, by repeatedly performing the same operation, the plurality of storage containers 5, 5 placed on the upper surface of the carriage 1 are all sent between the first and second suspension beams 36, 37,
It is lowered on the roller conveyor 38. In the above-described operation, the controller automatically controls energization to the motors 13, 26, and 35 by a signal from a micro switch (not shown) or a photoelectric switch (not shown) that detects the presence of the storage containers 5, 5. Do by things. The storage container separation / removal device of the present invention is constructed and operates as described above. Therefore, after the culture medium is sterilized, the operation of transferring the wide-mouth bottle at the time of transferring to the inoculation operation is performed. Can reduce the burden on mushroom farmers.

[Brief description of the drawings] FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same. FIG. 3 is a side view showing only a front frame portion. FIG. 4 is a side view showing only a rear frame portion. FIG. 5 is a view seen from the left side of FIG. 3; FIG. 6 is a view seen from the right side of FIG. 4; [Explanation of symbols] 1 truck 2 board 3 casters 4 Support frame 5 storage containers 6 previous frame 7 First drive sprocket 8 First driven sprocket 9 First lift chain 10 Second drive sprocket 11 Second driven sprocket 12 Second lift chain 13 Motor 14 driven sprocket 15 Drive sprocket 16 Drive chain 17 axes 18 gears 19 First Lift Beam 20 Second lifting beam 21 Tsubabe 22 Horizontal feed chain 23 Rear frame 24 drive sprocket 25 driven sprocket 26 motor 27 Engagement rod 28 Pressing piece 29 Third drive sprocket 30 Third driven sprocket 31 Third lifting chain 32 4th drive sprocket 33 4th driven sprocket 34 4th lifting chain 35 motor 36 First suspension beam 37 Second hanging beam 38 Roller Conveyor

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 59/00-59/12 B65G 47/56-47/62 B65G 17/26

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims 1] A plurality of rows arranged on the upper surface of a bogie in a plurality of rows in the front-rear direction, stacked in multiple stages in the up-down direction, and having a flange at each peripheral edge. A storage container separation and take-out device for separating and taking out the storage containers of each of the storage containers in the respective storage containers in a state of protruding above the flange portion, separately for each of the storage containers. A front frame that can be fed in a state in which a plurality of storage containers are stacked on the upper surface thereof, and is arranged vertically on one side of the front frame so as to face one side surface of the plurality of storage containers on the upper surface of the carriage. A pair of front / rear first lifting / lowering chains, and a pair of front / rear second lifting / lowering chains arranged vertically in the other side of the front frame so as to face the other side surfaces of the plurality of storage containers on the bogie upper surface. In the middle of the pair of first lifting chains A plurality of the first lifting beams and a middle portion of the pair of the second lifting / lowering chains, which are bridged in the horizontal direction and at intervals in the vertical direction, are arranged horizontally in the horizontal direction. A plurality of second pull-up beams which are stretched at an interval in the up-down direction, a horizontal feeder disposed on the upper part of the front frame and for moving the uppermost storage container backward, A rear frame provided behind the frame, a pair of front and rear third elevating chains disposed vertically on one side of the rear frame, and front and rear 1 vertically disposed on the other side of the rear frame; A plurality of first suspension beams, which are suspended in the middle of the pair of fourth lifting chains and the pair of third lifting chains in a horizontal direction and at intervals in the vertical direction. Horizontally across the middle of the pair of fourth lifting chains. And a plurality of second suspension beams suspended at an interval in the vertical direction. The first and second lifting chains circulate in the opposite direction at the same speed in synchronization with each other. By doing so, the first and second lifting beams are raised in the same phase while facing the plurality of storage containers, and the third and fourth lifting / lowering chains are synchronized with each other in the same direction in opposite directions. By circulating, the first and second suspension beams are lowered in the same phase while facing the plurality of storage containers, and face each other with the circulation of the first and second lifting chains. The spacing between the leading edges of the first and second lifting beams, and the spacing between the leading edges of the first and second hanging beams facing each other with the circulation of the third and fourth lifting chains are as described above. Slightly smaller than the width of the flange of each storage container, the first and second pull-up The storage container separation and removal device, wherein the pitch of the beam and the pitch of the first and second suspension beams are slightly larger than the pitch of the flanges of the plurality of storage containers stacked on the trolley.