JP3438810B2 - Article transfer equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to a tip end side of a turning arm which is turned by a turning motor in a horizontal plane and is driven to move up and down by a lifting motor, and is turned around a vertical axis by a turning motor. An article holding unit that is dynamically driven is provided, and the article holding unit is configured to perform a turning operation and a lifting operation of the turning arm, and a turning operation of the article holding unit to transfer the articles held in the article holding unit. Regarding mounting device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Such an article transfer apparatus holds an article by an article holding section by a turning operation and a lifting operation of a turning arm, and a turning operation of an article holding section with respect to the turning arm.
The article is transferred by sequentially performing the turning movement of the article in the held state and further the operation of releasing the article at the transfer target location. In order to perform such an operation, a turning motor for turning and driving the turning arm, a lifting motor for lifting and lowering the turning arm, and a turning motor for driving and rotating the article holder about the vertical axis are provided. Conventionally, as the arrangement of these motors, a swinging motor that drives the swinging arm to swing and a lifting motor that drives the swinging arm to move up and down are arranged at the base end side of the swinging arm to rotate the article holder. The motor has generally been arranged on the tip side of the revolving arm near the mounting position of the article holder.

[0003]

Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, a relatively heavy turning motor is arranged on the tip side of the turning arm in order to turn and drive the article holding portion holding the article. , And that the structure of the swivel arm becomes large and the weight increases in order to withstand those loads, the swivel motor and the lifting motor are also strong depending on the load. Therefore, there is a problem that the article transfer device becomes large in size and high in cost. Further, since the weight of the tip end side of the turning operation becomes large, there is a disadvantage that the supporting structure of the article transfer device also becomes large in size in order to stably perform the turning operation of the turning arm. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to reduce the size and cost of the article transfer device, including its support structure.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a swivel motor for swiveling the swivel arm, a lift motor for vertically moving the swivel arm, and a swivel for rotationally driving the article holder are provided. The drive motor is arranged on the base end side of the revolving arm, and the drive force of the revolving motor on the base end side of the revolving arm is transmitted to the article holding unit provided on the tip side of the revolving arm by the transmission mechanism. Therefore, since the turning motor does not exist on the tip side of the turning arm, the structure of the turning arm can be reduced in weight, and the turning motor and the lifting motor can be reduced in size and weight. Not only the motor but also the rotation motor are arranged on the base end side of the swing arm, and the weight is concentrated on the base end side of the swing arm to facilitate stable operation of the swing arm, thus supporting the article transfer device. It has become possible to reduce the size and cost, including the structure. Moreover, the drive shaft is
When driven to rotate, the rotating body that is fitted onto the drive shaft is driven.
It rotates around the axis of the shaft, and the rotation of the rotating body is the winding transmission machine.
It is transmitted to the article holder by the structure. On the other hand, the swing arm
The elevator motor is operated to raise and lower.
At the time of
Move in the axial direction. Therefore, the drive of the rotation motor
Transmission of power to the article holding unit and lifting and lowering operation of the swing arm
It can be performed smoothly and a swing arm is attached to the drive shaft.
It is also possible to add the function of a lifting guide for the frame.

Further, by providing the structure according to the above-mentioned claim 2, since the lifting motor and the turning motor are attached to the frame which is arranged on the upper side of the turning arm and is driven to turn together with the turning arm, The lifting motor and the turning motor are located above the turning arm. On the other hand, the article holder arranged on the tip side of the turning arm is also arranged on the upper side of the turning arm. That is, by arranging and effectively utilizing the space formed above the base end side of the turning arm by arranging the article holding unit above the turning arm, the lifting motor and the turning motor can be effectively used. Compared with the configuration in which the motor is arranged on the lower side of the swing arm, the size of the article transfer device in the vertical direction can be reduced, and the article transfer device can be further downsized.

[0006]

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] In the first embodiment, in a warehouse facility provided with storage shelves at a plurality of locations, a case where a moving body for loading and unloading storage shelves is provided with the article transfer device of the present invention is described. To illustrate. As shown in the schematic layout of the equipment of FIG. 4, the warehouse facility SS is provided with a guide rail B of the moving body A in a suspended state on the ceiling side, and a plurality of storage shelves SL are provided along the guide rail B. Further provided are a carry-in conveyor C1 for carrying in the articles L to be stored in the respective storage shelves SL and a carry-out conveyor C2 for carrying out the articles L taken out from the respective storage shelves SL. In this warehouse facility SS, the moving body A is guided by the guide rail B, and each storage shelf S
L, the carry-in conveyor C1, and the carry-out conveyor C2, respectively, to move between the moving body A, each storage shelf SL, and the carry-in conveyor C1.
The article L is transferred by the article transfer device TR provided in the moving body A to and from each of the carry-out conveyors C2, so that the article L carried in from the carry-in conveyor C1 is stored in one of the storage shelves SL. The articles L stored in one of the storage shelves SL are unloaded from the unloading conveyor C2.

The moving body A is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
The traveling wheels 2a and the guide wheels 2b are provided, and the traveling portions 2 rotatable about the longitudinal axis are attached to the body portion 1 of the vehicle body in a front-rear pair, and the body portion 1 of the vehicle body is provided with the article transfer device TR. Has been. The moving body A is driven to travel by a driving unit (not shown) such as a linear motor. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the article transfer device TR includes a turning motor 3
A swivel arm 4 swivel-driven in a horizontal plane, and an article holder 5 rotatably supported on the tip end side of the swivel arm 4 about a longitudinal axis and arranged above the swivel arm 4. Rotation motor 6 for rotationally driving the article holding unit 5
And a transmission mechanism 7 for transmitting the driving force of the rotation motor 6 to the article holding unit 5, and an elevating motor 8 for vertically moving the swing arm 4 and the article holding unit 5.

A base portion of the turning motor 3 is fixed to the main body 1 of the vehicle body, and a frame 9a for attaching the turning motor 6 and the lifting motor 8 to the turntable 3a of the turning motor 3, It is fixed while being supported by the vertical frame 9b. The rotation motor 6 and the lifting motor 8 are arranged such that their rotation shafts face downward, and the rotation motor 6 has a spline shaft 6a on its rotation shaft and the lifting motor 8 has a ball screw mechanism 10 on its rotation shaft. Screw shaft 10
a is attached in a vertical position. That is, the turning motor 3, the lifting motor 8, and the turning motor 6 are arranged on the base end side of the turning arm 4 and also on the upper side of the turning arm 4, and the turning motor 3 causes the turning arm 4 to move.
The lifting motor 8 is attached to the frame 9a that is driven to rotate together with the frame 9a.
And a rotation motor 6 is attached.

The nut portion 10b which engages with the screw shaft 10a of the ball screw mechanism 10 is fixed to the upper part of the swivel arm 4, and the swivel arm 4 is rotated as the lifting motor 6 rotationally drives the screw shaft 10a. In addition, the article holding unit 5 moves up and down. Further, the spline shaft 6a is engaged with the spline shaft 6a and is movable in the axial direction thereof.
The spline hub 6b is rotatably supported by the revolving arm 4 about the axis of the spline shaft 6a. Therefore, the spline hub 6b is guided by the spline shaft 6a and moves up and down integrally with the swivel arm 4, but is rotatable about the longitudinal axis with respect to the swivel arm 4.

The pulley 1 is provided on the outer surface of the spline hub 6b.
1 is fixed, and a timing belt 13 is wound around this pulley 11 and a pulley 12 which is attached to the tip end of the revolving arm 4 so as to be rotatable around the axis of the vertical axis. It is fixed to the article holder 5. As a result, when the rotation motor 6 rotationally drives the spline shaft 6a, the article holding unit 5 rotates about the vertical axis. Therefore, the spline shaft 6a as a drive shaft that is rotationally driven by the rotation motor 6 and the spline hub 6b as a rotating body that is externally fitted so as to rotate integrally with the spline shaft 6a.
And a winding transmission mechanism RT including pulleys 11 and 12 and a timing belt 13, and a transmission mechanism 7 that transmits the driving force of the rotation motor 6 to the article holding unit 5 is configured.

When transferring the articles L to and from the storage shelves SL by the article transfer device TR having the above-mentioned configuration, as shown in FIG. In this state, the turntable 3a of the turning motor 3 is driven to rotate about the axis of the vertical axis to drive the turning arm 4 to the storage shelf SL side, and the turning motor 6 is driven to rotate the article holding unit 5. The product L is transferred by moving the chuck 5a of the product holding unit 5 to a predetermined position for holding the product L.

[Second Embodiment] The second embodiment exemplifies an article storage facility equipped with an article transfer device for loading and unloading articles L into and from a storage shelf having a plurality of article storage units. To do. The article storage facility SU, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8,
A pair of storage shelves S provided with article storage units LS in the vertical and horizontal directions are arranged side by side with their article loading / unloading front faces facing each other, and the article transfer device TR is provided between the pair of storage shelves S.
Has been deployed. The article transfer device TR is moved up and down and reciprocally moved in the lateral direction of the shelf by the article transfer device transporting means TT, which will be described later, and the article storage units LS of the storage shelves S on both sides are moved.
The article L is transferred to.

In the article transfer device TR, as shown in FIG. 5, a revolving arm 24 which is revolvingly driven in a horizontal plane by a revolving motor 23 on a base frame 21, and a tip end side of the revolving arm 24. An article holding unit 25 rotatably supported around a vertical axis, a rotation motor 26 that rotationally drives the article holding unit 25, and a transmission mechanism that transmits the driving force of the rotation motor 26 to the article holding unit 25. 27 and swivel arm 2
4 for raising and lowering the article 4 and the article holder 25.
And are provided.

A base portion of the turning motor 23 is fixed to the base frame 21, and a turntable 23a of the turning motor 23 is provided with a turning motor 26 and a lifting motor 28, and a turning arm 24 and the like. A ball screw type up-and-down drive unit 20 that is moved up and down is fixed. The rotation motor 26 has a turntable 2 at the base thereof.
The turntable 2 of the rotating motor 26 is fixed to 3a.
The spline hub 26b is fixed to 6a, and the rotation of the turntable 26a causes the spline hub 26b and the spline shaft 26c that engages with the spline hub 26b in an internally fitted state to rotate about the vertical axis.

The upper end of the spline shaft 26c is connected to a pulley 31 which is arranged at the base end of the revolving arm 24 so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the revolving arm 24,
A timing belt 33 is wound around the pulley 31 and a pulley 32 that is attached to the tip end of the revolving arm 24 so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis, and the rotation shaft of the pulley 32 is attached to the article holding unit 25. It is fixed. As a result, when the rotating motor 26 rotates its turntable 26a to rotationally drive the spline hub 26b, the article holding unit 25 rotates about the vertical axis. Therefore, the spline hub 26b, the spline shaft 26c, the pulley 3
1, 32 and the timing belt 33 are provided, and a transmission mechanism 27 that transmits the driving force of the rotation motor 26 to the article holding unit 25 is configured.

The elevating and lowering drive unit 20 equipped with the ball screw mechanism 20b is for elevating and lowering the elevating and lowering operation arm 20a by the rotational drive of the elevating and lowering motor 28. It is attached to the elevating cylinder 34 attached to the. As a result, when the lifting motor 28 is driven to rotate, the swing arm 24 and the article holding unit 25 move up and down. The swing arm 2
As the spline shaft 26c moves up and down as it moves up and down, a through hole (not shown) is formed in the elevating cylinder 34 and the rotation motor 26 so as to allow this up and down.

Next, the article transfer device transporting means T for vertically moving and reciprocating the article transfer device TR in the lateral width direction of the shelf.
T will be described. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the article transfer device transporting means TT is configured to laterally drive the article transfer device TR, and is provided with a guide surface for a guide roller 21 a provided on the base frame 21 to transfer the article. Mounting device T
An elevating rail 41 for guiding R, lateral sprockets 42a, 42b provided at both ends of the elevating rail 41, a lateral movement timing belt wound around the lateral sprockets 42a, 42b and locked at both ends of the base frame 21. 43 and two lateral sprocket wheels 42a, 42a
A lateral movement motor 44 for rotationally driving one lateral movement sprocket 42a of the 2b is provided.

In addition, as a structure for raising and lowering the article transfer device TR, an elevating guide 45 for elevating and lowering the elevating rail 41, and two cords 46 locked at both ends of the elevating rail 41 are wound up. An elevating motor 48 for winding the drum 47, and two elongate rails 46 are attached to the elevating rail 41.
A pulley 49 is provided for guiding the take-up drum 47 to the take-up drum 47. Article transfer device transporting means T having the above configuration
Under the control of a control device (not shown), T operates the lateral movement motor 44 and the lifting motor 48 to position the article transfer device TR at the proper transfer position with respect to the article storage section LS of the storage rack S. After the article transfer device LT is positioned at the proper transfer position, as shown in FIG. 6, the turntable 23a of the turning motor 23 is moved vertically with the turning arm 24 slightly raised by the lifting motor 28. The swivel arm 44 is swiveled around the core to swivel the swivel arm 44 toward the article storage section LS, and the swivel motor 26 is driven to swivel the article holding section 25 to move the chuck 25a of the article holding section 25 to the article L.
The article L is transferred at a predetermined position for holding the article L. In this case, if necessary, the swing arm 24
The base frame 21 of the article transfer device TR is moved back and forth in conjunction with the turning operation of.

[Other Embodiments] Other embodiments of the present invention will be listed below. In the first and second embodiments described above, the article holding units 5 and 25 are
Chuck 5a, but illustrates the configuration for holding the article L at 25a, etc. comprising a fork for supporting a lower portion of the article L, the holding structure of the article L by the article holder can be variously modified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an article transfer device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the article transfer device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the article transfer device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of equipment according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the article transfer device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an article transfer device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the article storage facility according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the article storage facility according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a main part according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

3,23 Turning motor 4,24 swivel arm 6,26 Rotation motor 6a drive shaft 6b rotating body 5,25 article holder 7,27 Conduction mechanism 8,28 Lifting motor 9a frame RT winding conduction mechanism

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B25J 9/06 B25J 17/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An article holding device that is pivotally driven by a pivoting motor about a vertical axis on the tip side of a pivot arm that is pivotally driven by a pivoting motor in a horizontal plane and is vertically moved by an elevator motor. A part is provided, and the swivel arm is swung and vertically moved,
An article transfer device for rotationally operating the article holding section to transfer an article held by the article holding section, wherein the turning motor, the lifting motor, and the turning motor are: is disposed at the base end of the pivot arm, the rotational driving force of the rotating motor is transferred to the article holding portion conduction mechanism is provided, the conductive mechanism is rotated driven by the rotating motor且
Drive shaft arranged in a vertical posture and
The drive shaft is rotatably supported around the axis of the drive shaft.
So as to rotate integrally so that it can move in its axial direction
The rotating body to be externally fitted and the rotating body and the article holder are interlocked with each other.
An article transfer device provided with a winding transmission mechanism . 2. The elevating motor and the rotating motor are attached to a frame which is arranged above the rotating arm and is driven to rotate together with the rotating arm by the rotating motor. The article transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article transfer apparatus is arranged above the revolving arm.