JPH0786016B2 - Article handling method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an article handling method and apparatus for removing articles from a container such as a cardboard box or a plastic container in which a plurality of articles are stored, In particular, the present invention relates to an article handling method and apparatus for transferring articles stored in a container to an article cutting tool and then taking out the articles in desired quantities.

[Conventional technology]

As a conventional technique relating to an article handling method and an apparatus therefor, there is known one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-21842.

Thus, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-21842 discloses a single-row supply type caser for multi-row storage articles which takes out articles stored in multiple rows into a transport box and supplies the articles in a single row.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, the above conventional technique has the following problems.

That is, since the single-row feed type caser disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-21842 is designed to take out the articles contained in multiple rows in a container one by one, it is possible to take out a desired quantity of articles. Can not. Further, there is no description and no suggestion of storing the article taken out from the container in the article transferring tool, transferring the article to the article dropping and taking out tool, and then taking out the article.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to remove a plurality of articles contained in the container from a container such as a cardboard box or a plastic container via an article transfer tool and an article drop take-out tool.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of handling articles and a device therefor in which desired quantities can be taken out.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The present invention relates to a step of storing a container 10 in which a plurality of articles B are stored, and an article transfer tool that takes out the articles B stored in the container 10 from the vessel 10 and divides them one by one.
20, a step of storing the article B in the article transfer tool 20, and a step of transferring the article B stored in the article transfer tool 20 to the article drop take-out tool 80.
The above object is achieved by providing a method for handling articles, which comprises a step of taking out the desired number of the articles B transferred to the article drop take-out tool 80.

Further, the present invention is an apparatus for suitably carrying out the above-mentioned article handling method, which includes a fluidized shelf 70 for storing the containers 10 in which a plurality of articles B are stored by product type, and According to the arrangement of the articles B, each article B is partitioned one by one and the shutter 22, and the article transfer tool 20 arranged facing the fluidized shelf 70, the partition 82, and a plurality of shutters 83. And an article drop and take-out tool 80 disposed below the article transfer tool 20.

[Action]

According to the article handling method of the present invention used in the article handling apparatus of the present invention, from a container such as a cardboard box or a plastic container, a plurality of articles stored in the container are
A desired quantity can be taken out through the article transfer tool and the article drop take-out tool (hereinafter, "the article cut-out tool" means the "article drop take-out tool").

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, first, an embodiment of the article handling apparatus of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment is suitable for taking out bottle-shaped articles such as kitchen detergent, laundry detergent, shampoo, and rinse from a container having an opening.

FIG. 1 (a) is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an article handling apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 1 (b) is a container and article transfer tool (article take-out tool) by an inversion device of the article transfer apparatus. 2) is a perspective view showing a state in which (1) and (2) are inverted to the side of the article cutting tool, and FIG. 2 is a side view in FIG.

The article handling apparatus of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, it is provided with a container 10 in which a plurality of articles B are stored, a storage facility C (fluid shelf 70) for storing by type, a partition 21 and a shutter 22, and is arranged so as to face the fluid shelf 70. The article transfer tool (article removal tool) 20, the partition 82, and the plurality of shutters 83, 83, ...
An article cutout tool 80 disposed below 20 is provided, and the article B stored in the container 10 is taken out from the container 10 and stored in the article takeout tool 20 in a state of being partitioned by the partition 21. After the shutter 22 of 20 is opened and the article B stored in the article take-out tool 20 is transferred to the article cut-out tool 80 while being partitioned by the partition 82, the shutter 83 of the article cut-out tool 80 is opened to open the article cut-out tool. The articles B transferred to 80 are taken out into the article supply device D in desired quantities.

The article handling apparatus of this embodiment includes a fluidized shelf 70, an article take-out tool 20, an article cutting tool 80, and an article transfer apparatus A that connects these items. The article transfer device A includes an article take-out device 20, a container take-out device 30 for taking out the container 10 from the fluidized shelf 70, and a reversing device 40 having a superposing device 41 for superposing the article take-out device 20 and the container 10. And a carriage 50 on which the container take-out device 30 and the reversing device 40 are mounted, and a stacker crane 60 that supports the carriage 50 so that the carriage 50 can move up and down.

Next, each of the above components will be described in more detail.

First, the fluidized shelf 70, the article take-out tool 20, the article cut-out tool 80, and the article transfer apparatus A that connects these, which constitute the article handling apparatus, will be described.

The fluidized shelf 70 constituting the storage facility C is composed of a plurality of rows and a plurality of stages of inclined roller conveyors, a take-out frontage 71 is formed at the inclined front end thereof, and a stopper 72 is provided at the front end portion of the inclined roller conveyor. The container 10 supplied is configured to slide down the inclined roller conveyor by its own weight and to be locked by the stopper 72.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the article take-out tool 20 disposed so as to face the fluidized shelf 70 corresponds to the arrangement of the plurality of articles B stored in the container 10, and one article B is provided. It is configured as a portable housing 23 provided with a partition 21 formed so as to be partitioned into parts, a shutter 22 for taking out the article B, and the like, and a tip end portion of the partition 21 is along an opening end of the portable case 23 of the article take-out tool 20. base
It is formed so as to project outward from 24. Then, the protruding tip portion of the partition 21 is reversed to the opening 11 side of the container 10 as shown in FIGS.
When 20 is piled up on the container 10, the partition 21
The tip of the article B is formed to reach below the shoulder. As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the partition 21 is an article storage unit that stores the articles B one by one in accordance with the arrangement (4 rows × 3 columns) of the articles B stored in the container 10 in the stacked state. It is configured so as to be partitioned as 26, and a chamfer 21a is formed at the outer side end portion thereof, and the article take-out tool 20 is provided with the container 1
It is designed to be easily introduced into the opening 11 of 0. Also,
The shutter 22 is made of one plate, and all the articles B can be transferred to the article slicing tool 80 of the article supply device D, which will be described later, substantially at the same time, so that the shutter 21 has a base end side of the partition 21 of the article unloading tool 20. The article B, which is attached so as to be openable and closable, is moved from the article take-out tool 20 to the article cut-out tool 80 so that the article B is cut out to the spiral chute 90 via the chute 91 according to the picking command so that the articles are aligned. Is configured.

A fluidized shelf for stacking the container 10 on the article picker 20.
The container take-out device 30 for taking out the container 10 from the 70 includes a pantograph type lifting device (not shown) provided on the carriage 50 of the stacker crane 60, a fixed conveyor 31 placed on the lifting device, and a pivot point. In 32, the container take-out side is slidable up and down, and is further provided with a traveling conveyor 33 that travels so as to advance to the fluidized shelf 70.

Further, the article take-out tool 20 in which the container 10 taken out by the container take-out tool 30 is superposed as shown in FIG. 2 is reversed together with the container 10 via the reversing device 40. The reversing device 40
Fluidized shelves 70 on the carriage 50 of the stacker crane 60
A traveling platform 42 that travels along the flow direction of the container 10 stored in
A frame 43 erected on 42, a rotating shaft 44 supported near the upper end of the frame 43, and an axial direction of the rotating shaft 44 (hereinafter,
A first gripping hand 45 that opens and closes in the left-right direction) to grip the article take-out tool 20, a guide member 46 that hangs near the rotation shaft 44 side of the first gripping hand 45, and a guide member 46.
A second gripping hand 47 or the like is provided which moves up and down along the container 10 while gripping the container 10, and superimposes the container 10 on the article take-out tool 20 gripped by the first gripping hand 45. Of these, the first and second gripping hands 45, 47 and the guide member 46
The superposing device 41 is constituted by the
The superposition device 41 is configured to rotate integrally with the rotary shaft 44 as a fulcrum. The first gripping hand 45 is
The screw shaft 48 supported by the frame 43 in parallel with the rotating shaft 44, that is, the right screw is formed on one side from the center of the shaft, and the left screw is formed on the other side is configured to be opened and closed by driving the screw shaft 48. There is. Further, inside the first gripping hand 45, there are provided engaging protrusions (not shown) that engage with engaging recesses 25 formed near the bases 24 on both sides of the opening end of the article take-out tool 20. The first gripping hand 45 is configured to surely grip the article take-out tool 20, and is configured so that the article take-out tool 20 does not drop during reversing. Further, the second gripping hand 47 is configured by a parallelogram type link mechanism (not shown) having a gripping hand base 47a that moves up and down along the guide member 46 as one side, and moves in the left-right direction to a desired gripping interval. Then, the container 10 is configured to be gripped. Further, a screw shaft (not shown) is provided inside the guide member 46, and the second gripping hand is driven by driving the screw shaft.
I am trying to raise and lower 47.

Further, the stacker crane 60 is configured to travel along the traveling rail 61 shown in FIG. 1 (a) arranged along the takeout opening 71 of each fluidized shelf 70, and the container takeout device mounted on the carriage 50. 30 and a reversing device 40 are provided so as to be able to move up and down.

Further, the article slicing tool 80 disposed below the inverted article unloading tool 20 stores the articles B transferred from the article unloading tool 20 and is configured to be cut out one by one. Then, the article supply device D fixedly installed on the upper portion of the chute 91 for guiding the article B to the spiral chute 90.
Is configured as. A partition 82 for partitioning the articles B one by one corresponding to the partition 21 of the article take-out tool 20.
And a plurality of shutters 83 (see FIG. 4) for cutting the stored articles B one by one and dropping them on the chute 91. Further, a guide plate 84 for guiding the article take-out tool 20 so that the article take-out tool 20 is smoothly superposed on the article cut-out tool 80 is provided at the upper end of the article cut-out tool 80.

Further, the spiral chute 90, which is the main body of the article supply device D, conveys and supplies the articles B cut out from the respective article cutting tools 80 to a desired container or the like (not shown) via a plurality of chutes 91. Is configured to.

Further, in the space formed between the spiral chute 90 and the article slicing tool 80, the reversing device of the article transferring device A is provided.
An empty container discharge conveyor 100 aligned at substantially the same height as the container 10 under the state in which the article take-out tool 20 is stacked on the article cutting-out tool 80 by being inverted by 40 is provided, and the empty container is provided. The 10 is transferred to the empty container discharging conveyor 100 by the second gripping hand 47 and discharged to the outside of the system.

Further, the article B shown in FIGS. 3 (b) to (d) is a commodity stored in a flat plastic bottle, and is 4
Twelve articles B arranged in rows × 3 columns are stored in the container 10. In addition, the plurality of articles B stored in the container 10 have a certain amount of clearance in the upper part thereof, and when the container 10 is overturned or the like, the arrangement is apt to be disturbed, which is why the partition 21 of the article take-out tool 20 is , So as to project from the base 24.

Further, when the container 10 is a cardboard box, a plastic container or the like having an opening 11 on the top surface as shown in FIG. 3 (b), it may be supplied to the fluidized shelf 70 as it is.
When the container 10 is packed in a cardboard box or the like, the top surface may be cut in advance to form the opening 11, and then the container 10 may be supplied to the fluidized shelf 70.

Next, one embodiment of the article handling method of the present invention will be described based on an embodiment in which the above-mentioned article handling apparatus is used.

In each extraction frontage 71 of the fluidized shelf 70 in the storage facility C,
A plurality of containers 10 each containing one type of article B are stored.

On the other hand, when the article B stored in the article take-out tool 20 is transferred to the article cut-out tool 80, the reversing device 40 becomes empty due to the traveling of the stacker crane 60 and the raising and lowering of the carriage 50. The empty container 10 is projected to the empty container discharge conveyor 100 by the tip of the second gripping hand 47. That is, with the distance between the second gripping hands 47 being slightly smaller than the width of the container 10, the traveling table 42 is advanced toward the empty container discharge conveyor 100, that is, when the fluidized shelf 70 is used as a reference, it is moved backward. The finished container 10 is transferred to the empty container discharge conveyor 100. When the empty container 10 is transferred, the first gripping hand 45 is located outside the engagement recess 25 of the article take-out tool 20, so the first gripping hand 45 is closed and the article take-out tool 20 is removed. Hold it. When the first gripping hand 45 grips the article take-out tool 20, the first shame hand 45 rotates approximately 10 ° clockwise in the side view shown in FIG. In the same figure, it moves forward to the position shown by the solid line, the first gripping hand 45 further rotates clockwise by about 170 ° in that state, and the first gripping hand 45 becomes the state shown by the solid line in FIG.

Further, as the stacker crane 60 travels and the carriage 50 moves up and down, the reversing device 40 moves to a desired position, and the container take-out device 30 takes out the container 10 stored in the desired take-out opening 71, that is, the stacker. When the carriage 50 of the crane 60 stops at a desired position, the traveling conveyor 33 advances toward the take-out opening 71, and the container take-out side is swung upward around its pivot point 32, whereby one container 10 is taken out. When taken out, the traveling conveyor 33 moves backward and carries the container 10 into a predetermined position on the fixed conveyor 31.

After that, when the fixed conveyor 31 and the traveling conveyor 33 are raised to the centering position via a pantograph-type lifting device (not shown), the second gripping hand 47 supports the bottom surface of the taken-out container 10 while supporting it. Grip the sides and center. After centering, the second gripping hand 47
Rises along the guide member 46 to lift the grasped container 10 to the vicinity of the base 24 of the article take-out tool 20 and project downward from the base 24 as shown in FIGS. 3 (c) and (d). The partition 21 is inserted into the container 10 and stopped. In addition, even if the arrangement of the articles B is disturbed due to the gap in the upper portion of the container 10, the partition 21 is inserted into the gap to ensure the original arrangement state of the articles and separate the articles. Further, when the article take-out tool 20 and the container 10 are superposed, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), if a gap δ of about 5 mm is opened, the article B is smoothly transferred from the container 10 to the article take-out tool 20. be able to.

As described above, when the base portion 24 of the article take-out tool 20 and the opening 11 of the container 10 are overlapped with each other, the reversing device 40 is driven to move the article take-out tool 20 and the container 10 to each other as shown in FIG. Reverse as shown in. That is, with the rotating shaft 44 as a fulcrum,
The second gripping hands 45, 47 and the guide member 46 are reversed in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. This reversing operation will be described in more detail. After the first gripping hand 45 rotates counterclockwise by about 170 °, the traveling table 42 moves backward and the article take-out tool 20 in the reversing process is placed substantially above the article cutting tool 80. Then, the first gripping hand 45 further rotates counterclockwise by about 10 °, and the article take-out tool 20 and the container 10 are superposed on the article cutting tool 80. By this reversing operation, the articles B stored in the container 10 are partitioned one by one by the partition 21,
It is stored in the article take-out tool 20.

When the article take-out tool 20 and the container 10 overlap each other on the article take-out tool 80, the first gripping hand 45 opens to open the article take-out tool.
20 is released and the second gripping hand 47 is opened to open the container 10
After releasing, the traveling table 42 moves forward and stands by in preparation for the transfer of the next article B.

The articles B stored in the article slicing device 80 shoot the articles B by sequentially opening the shutters 83 corresponding to the article rows.
When all of the articles B are cut out from the article slicing tool 80 and taken out, the article scavenging tool is continued.
The shutter 22 of 20 is opened in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
Automatically transfer to.

As described above, the articles B transferred to the article slicing tool 80 are taken out in accordance with the desired number of picking commands, for example, by opening the shutter 83 and sequentially taking out the articles B as shown in FIG. The discharged article B is passed through the chute 91 and the spiral chute 90 to a desired container or the like (not shown).
Is transported to. Since a plurality of chutes 91 are connected to one spiral chute 90 at different heights, a plurality of article slicing tools 80 from which a plurality of articles B of different types are provided at substantially the same time in one container. Etc. can be automatically sorted.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a second embodiment of the article take-out tool 20, and the article take-out tool 20 and the article for taking out the article B having a different shape from the article B shown in FIG. Cutting tool 80
It is a perspective view showing the outline of the state where and were piled up, and the state when cutting out article B is shown. In this example, the articles B are arranged in 4 rows × 2 columns and stored in the container 10.

As described above, one embodiment of the article handling apparatus of the present invention and one embodiment of the article handling method of the present invention have been described, but the present invention is not limited to these examples and embodiments. Even the article take-out tool 20 shown in FIG. 5 (a) and FIGS. 6 to 7 has the same effects as the above-described embodiment.

That is, FIG. 5 (a) is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the article take-out tool 20, and a perspective view showing the article take-out tool 20 for taking out the cylindrical article B shown in FIG. 5 (b). Is. The article B shown in FIG. 5 (b) is different from the article B shown in FIG. 3 or 4 in the case where the article B has a cylindrical shape. Is an article that makes line contact over the entire area. Therefore, there is no gap between adjacent articles B, B to allow the insertion of the partition 21, and the tip shape of the partition 21 shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the article take-out tool 20 of the present embodiment is formed by forming the partition 21 into a sawtooth shape, and the other points are shown in FIG. It has the same structure as the article take-out tool 20 shown in FIG. That is, the article take-out tool 20 shown in FIG. 5 (a) has a partition 21 in a plan view with respect to the gap 12 in the container 10 formed between the articles B.
Is formed so as to project from the opening of the portable housing 23 so that the tip of the article B can be inserted, and the partition for the position where the articles B contact each other.
21 is formed so as to avoid the position so as to match the opening end of the portable housing 23, and is formed in a sawtooth shape with a convex portion 21b and a concave portion 21c, respectively, and as a whole, the partition 21 protrudes from the base portion 24. ing.

Further, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the article take-out tool 20, and the article take-out tool 20 of the present embodiment shows a fifth example.
It is applied to the same article B as the article B shown in FIG. 7B, and is configured in the same manner except that the tip shape of the partition 21 is different from that of each of the above-mentioned embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a fifth embodiment of the article take-out tool 20, which is applied to the bolt-shaped article B shown in the figure and has a large saw-tooth projection and a small saw-tooth projection at the tip. It has a partition 21 having alternately.

In the present invention, the opening 11 of the container 10 may be provided on the side surface of the container 10, and the articles B may be stored in the container 10 in multiple stages.

Further, the article take-out tool 20 is fixedly installed above the article cut-out tool 80, and the article B stored in the container 10 is transferred by the worker to the container 10
The article transfer device A can be omitted by removing the article from the article take-out tool 20 and storing it in the article take-out tool 20.

Further, the tip of the partition 21 is the base 24 of the article take-out tool 20.
Does not have to project outward from.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, the article handling method and apparatus according to the present invention allow articles stored in a container in a certain arrangement to correspond to the arrangement of the stored state of the articles without disturbing the arrangement.
The items are stored in the article transfer tool in the state of being partitioned one by one, and after the articles stored in the article transfer tool are transferred to the article cutting tool, the articles are taken out, so that a cardboard box, a plastic container, etc. It is possible to take out a plurality of articles contained in the container from the container in a desired quantity through the article transfer tool and the article drop take-out tool.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 (a) is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an article handling apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 1 (b) is a container and article transfer tool (article take-out tool) by an inversion device of the article transfer apparatus. 2) is a perspective view showing a state in which (1) and (2) are reversed to the side of the article cutting tool, FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1 (a), and FIG. 3 (a) is an article take-out device which constitutes the article handling apparatus of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the tool, FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing a container accommodating an article, and FIG. 1C is an article removing tool shown in FIG. The front view showing a state in which the container shown in FIG. 1 and the container shown in FIG. 1 are stacked by the stacking device, FIG. 4D is a side view of FIG. 4C, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a view showing an article take-out tool according to the embodiment of FIG. 3, in which a container storing an article having a shape different from that of the article shown in FIG. FIG. 5 (a) is a perspective view showing the article take-out tool according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 5 (b) is the article take-out tool shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a container accommodating articles to be
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an article take-out tool according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a view showing an article take-out tool according to the fifth embodiment, showing a state in which an article suitable for the article take-out tool is superposed on a container. It is a side view shown. B; article, 10; container 20; article take-out tool (article transfer tool) 21; partition, 22; shutter 70; fluid shelf, 80; article drop take-out tool (article cutting tool) 82; partition, 83; shutter

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A step of storing a container 10 in which a plurality of articles B are stored, and an article transfer tool that takes out the articles B stored in the container 10 from the vessel 10 and divides them one by one. 20, a step of transferring the articles B stored in the article transfer tool 20 to the article drop take-out tool 80, and a step of taking out the desired quantity of the articles B transferred to the article drop take-out tool 80 A method of handling an article, comprising: 2. A fluidized shelf 70 for storing a container 10 in which a plurality of articles B are stored for each product type, a partition 21 for partitioning the articles B one by one according to the arrangement of the articles B in the container 10, and a shutter. And an article transfer tool 20 disposed opposite to the fluidized shelf 70, a partition 82 and a plurality of shutters 83, and an article disposed below the article transfer tool 20. An apparatus for handling an article, comprising: a drop take-out tool 80.