JPH09323830A - Depalletizing device and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To conduct depalletizing work without any manpower, and automate depalletizing work for improvement of depalletizing work efficiency. SOLUTION: A pallet 11 where cardboard boxes 10 are stacked is transferred onto a station 120. The pallet 11 is transferred to a station 11 by means of conveyor drive. A taking-out device is driven, and the cardboard boxes at the top stage are held by sucking the sides by an suction pad two by two. The suction pad is retreated in its horizontal direction, and the cardboard box 10 is transferred on a driving roller. Pushers are driven alternately, and a pair of two cardboard boxes 10 are transferred onto a carrying conveyor or the like. The cardboard boxes 10 are fed into a lifting device 144. The cardboard boxes 10 are separated by a separating device 145, and transferred and discharged to a conveyor at prescribed intervals. If four cardboard boxes 10 are discharged from a partition plate, the pallet 11 is rotated by 180 deg. and the next four cardboard boxes are discharged in the same way. When the cardboard boxes from the top to bottom stage have been conveyed, the empty pallet 11 is transferred onto a station 130. The above operation is repeated at the respective stations.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a depalletizing device (depalletizer) and a depalletizing method using the same, and more particularly to a depalletizing device and a depalletizing device for transferring a corrugated box from a pallet loaded with corrugated boxes to a belt conveyor or the like. Regarding the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The loading and unloading (depalletizing) work of corrugated cardboard boxes stacked on a pallet has been conventionally performed as follows. That is, a balancer with a single suction pad (sucker) attached to the lower end is used, and the operator sucks the top surface of the cardboard box loaded on the pallet with the suction pad of the balancer to place the cardboard box on a conveyor, for example. It was reprinted.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional depalletizing operation, since the top surface of the cardboard box was sucked by the suction pad, there were the following problems. That is, since the top surface of the cardboard box is opened and closed by the flap, a step is likely to occur on that surface. Therefore, the suction pad of the balancer has to be made large in order to surely suck it. This is because if the suction pad is made smaller, air leak will occur at the step. Also, if the suction pad is brought into contact with an eccentric position, it is likely to fall off due to an eccentric load. However, if the suction pad is made too large, even if the attachment position of the suction pad shifts even a little, air leak easily occurs. That is, the depalletizing work with the balancer requires skill and it is difficult to improve the work efficiency. In addition, since it is necessary to perform the work manually, the work load on the worker is considerably heavy, which causes back pain and the like.

[0004]

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to perform depalletizing work without human intervention. In other words, the object of the invention is to automate the depalletizing operation. Further, another object of the present invention is to
It is to speed up the depalletizing work.

[0005]

The invention according to claim 1 is provided so as to be movable relative to a pallet, and holds the box by adsorbing the side surface of the box loaded on the pallet. It is a depalletizing device equipped with a pressure type suction means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a lifter for vertically moving a pallet on which a plurality of cardboard boxes are loaded, and a negative pressure type suction pad provided on the side of the lifter so as to be capable of advancing and retracting in the horizontal direction, And a side surface of the cardboard box is sucked and held by the suction pad to transfer the cardboard box to another position.

A third aspect of the present invention is a depalletizing method in which a box loaded on a pallet is transferred to another position, and the box is held by adsorbing the side surface of the box and is moved in a substantially horizontal direction. This is a depalletizing method in which the box is transferred from the pallet to another position by moving the box.

[0008]

According to the invention described in claim 1, the side surface of the box loaded on the pallet is sucked by the suction means, and the box is held by the suction means. Then, the box is moved to another place by relatively moving the suction means / pallet. Then, by releasing the suction by the suction means, the box can be transferred from the pallet to another position.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the pallet, that is, the cardboard box is positioned at the predetermined height position by the lifter. Then, the side surface of the cardboard boxes loaded on the pallet is sucked by the negative pressure type suction pad to hold the cardboard boxes.
In this state, the suction pad is moved horizontally to transfer the cardboard box from the pallet to another place.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a depalletizing method in which a box loaded on a pallet is transferred to another position. The side surface of the box is sucked by a suction pad and the box is moved in a substantially horizontal direction. By moving, the box is transferred from the pallet to another position.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are views showing a depalletizing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in these drawings, the depalletizing apparatus 100 includes a take-out station 110 for taking out the cardboard box 10 and a stock station for transferring the pallet 11 having the cardboard boxes 10 loaded on the take-out station 110. 120,
Empty pallet 11 at take-out station 110
And an empty pallet station 130 for carrying out the partition plate 12. The stock station 120 and the empty pallet station 130 are arranged on the floor at a distance of about 90 ° in the circumferential direction around the take-out station 110. Further, a carry-out belt conveyor device 140 is disposed adjacent to the side of the take-out station 110.

Therefore, this depalletizing apparatus 1
In 00, first, the pallet 11 in which the corrugated cardboard boxes 10 are stacked is used for a stock station 12 by a forklift or the like.
Carried to zero. The pallet 11 has three partition plates 1
A plurality of corrugated cardboard boxes 10 are stacked in three layers with the two in between. Eight cardboard boxes 10 are arranged in a rectangular frame shape in each step, and a space 14 for one cardboard box is provided in the center thereof.
Are formed. The corrugated cardboard boxes 10 are arranged with a specific side surface (same side surface) facing outward.

The stock station 120 is provided with a conveyor device 121 for loading the pallet 11 and transferring the pallet 11 to the take-out station 110. The conveyor device 121 includes a pair of driving chain conveyors 122 and 123 arranged in parallel and extending toward the take-out station 110. In addition, the pair of driving chain conveyors 122, 1 arranged side by side.
A motor 23, not shown, is synchronously driven to travel. A plurality of auxiliary rollers 124 are arranged between the stock station 110 and the take-out station 120.

In the take-out station 110, a horizontal pedestal 111, a conveyor device 112 mounted on the pedestal 111 for mounting the pallet 11, and a lifter 123 for raising and lowering the pedestal 111 including the conveyor device 112.
And a slewing device (turntable) 114 for integrally rotating the gantry 111, the conveyor device 112, and the lifter 113 in a horizontal plane.
That is, the lifter 113 is installed on the turntable 114, and the lifter 113 supports the gantry 111 so as to be vertically movable.

The conveyor device 112 on the pedestal 111 is constructed similarly to the above-mentioned conveyor device 121, and has a pair of driving chain conveyors 115 and 116 for driving the loaded pallet 11 to travel. In addition,
The pair of driving chain conveyors 115 and 116 arranged side by side on the frame 111 are synchronously driven by a motor (not shown).

The lifter 113 is driven by a motor and is capable of lifting up to a predetermined height position while keeping the frame 111 of the conveyor device 112 in a horizontal state. The turning device 114 can turn the base frame 117 of the lifter 113 in a horizontal plane by 360 degrees. For example, the turning device 114 can be configured to rotate the base frame 117 by driving the chain with a motor.

As described above, the stock station 120 and the empty pallet station 130 are arranged around the take-out station 110 at positions separated by 90 ° from the take-out station 110. Further, corrugated cardboard box take-out devices 151 and 152 are arranged at positions on the opposite side of the take-out station 110 and these stations 120 and 130, respectively. When the lifter 113 is located at the bottom dead center position, the roller surface of each of the corrugated cardboard box take-out devices 151 and 152 is a partition for mounting and supporting the corrugated box 10 on the third stage (top stage) on the pallet 11. It is provided at a height such that it can form the same horizontal plane as the plate 12. That is, each of the corrugated cardboard box take-out devices 151 and 152 is approximately 90 degrees in the circumferential direction with respect to the center point of the take-out station 110.
They are arranged at positions separated by °.

These cardboard box take-out devices 151,
The guide 152 is provided above the take-out station 110 so as to extend toward the center point thereof, and is hung vertically along the guide rails 153 and 154 so as to be movable back and forth. Negative pressure type suction pads 155, 156 and the suction pad 15
The cardboard box 10 picked up by 5 and 156 is mounted, and the cardboard box 10 is carried out by a conveyor device 140.
A plurality of drive rollers 157 and 158 for transfer to
It is provided with. The carry-out conveyor device 140 is provided at the same height as the drive rollers 157 and 158.

Further, the rotatable drive roller 15
Pushers 159 and 160 composed of cylinders are arranged on the sides of 7, 158, respectively. These pushers 159 and 160 are used for carrying out the conveyor device 14
The cardboard box 10 mounted on the drive roller 141 of No. 0 can be pushed out toward the downstream side. The plurality of drive rollers 157 and 158 are unitized by a support frame, and the cylinder 1 fixed below the drive roller 157 and 158 as a whole.
It is configured to be vertically rotatable at 61 and foldable. Further, the drive roller unit may be configured to be movable back and forth with respect to the center point of the take-out station 110 in a horizontal plane.

A rail 131 extending toward the empty pallet station 130 is provided above the center point of the take-out station 110. This rail 131
A plate pressing device 132 that presses the partition plate 12 is hanged on the carriage so that it can travel. Plate pressing device 132
Is composed of a plurality of suction pads 133 facing downward,
The suction pad 133 moves up and down by the cylinder drive to press and fix the central portion of the partition plate 12 and suck and lift the partition plate 12 to empty the pallet station 130.
Can be transferred to. The rail 131 can be configured to be movable in the XY directions on the horizontal plane.

The carry-out conveyor device 140 has a carry-out conveyor 142 and an R (curve) -conveyor 143 which are arranged adjacent to the sides of the cardboard box take-out devices 151 and 152, respectively. These conveyors 142,1
The corrugated cardboard box 43 is laid so that the corrugated cardboard box 10 can be transferred to the adjoining lifting device 144. The lifting device 144 is further connected to a disconnecting device 145. Pallet 11
The corrugated cardboard boxes 10 stacked in the above are taken out in pairs by the corrugated cardboard box take-out devices 151 and 152, and are conveyed to the elevating device 144 in pairs through the carry-out conveyors 142 and 143. These cardboard boxes 10 are supplied to the separating device 145 by the elevating device 144. The disconnecting device 145 is arranged on the floor and is connected to an existing belt conveyor also laid on the floor. Therefore, the corrugated cardboard boxes 10 are separately separated by the separating device 145 and transferred and conveyed to the belt conveyor.

It is to be noted that the presence or absence of the sensor is controlled by the sensor so that the driving of the pair of corrugated cardboard boxes 10 is controlled by the sensor so that the corrugated box 10 is supplied from the transport conveyor 142 and the R-conveyor 143 to the lifting device 144 alternately. In addition, the conveyor 1
A 180 ° rotating drive roller conveyor may be arranged in the middle of 42. By rotating in this drive roller conveyor, two corrugated cardboard box extractors 15
It is possible to evenly arrange the side surfaces of the corrugated cardboard boxes 10 taken out at 1,152.

The empty pallet station 130 is
A square mount 135 on which the empty pallet 11 is transferred,
A post 136 erected in the vicinity of four corners of the pedestal 135, a quadrangular support frame 137 constituting a horizontal plane fixedly installed at a predetermined height position of the post 136, and a pedestal 135 disposed on the pedestal 135. Drive chain 138 and support frame 1
37 includes a partition plate holding claw-shaped movable stopper 139, a pallet supporting movable claw stopper 171 disposed above the pedestal 135, and a lifter 172 capable of raising and lowering the pedestal 135. ing.

Drive chain 1 via auxiliary roller 173
The empty pallet 11 transferred onto the No. 38 has a lifter 172.
And is supported by the movable claw stopper 171.
A plurality of empty pallets 11 are vertically stacked and supported by the movable claw stopper 171. The partition plate 12 is also stacked and supported by the movable stopper 139 in the same manner just above the empty pallet 11. When a predetermined number and number of empty pallets 11 and partition plates 12 are reached, they are unloaded by a forklift. At this time, a partition plate (thin plywood) 12 is placed on the plurality of empty pallets 11.
May be mounted and these may be discharged at the same time.

The depalletizing device 1 having the above structure
In 00, first, the pallet 11 having the cardboard boxes 10 loaded on the stock station 120 is transferred by a forklift or the like. Then, by driving the driving chain conveyors 122 and 123, the pallet 11 is transferred to the take-out station 110. In this take-out station 110, each cardboard take-out device 1
51 and 152 are driven to adsorb and hold a plurality (for example, two) of the uppermost corrugated cardboard boxes 10. At this time,
The plate pressing device 132 presses the central portion of the partition plate 12 with the suction pads 133 that have descended. At the time of this suction, the suction pads 155, 156 are pushed in a horizontal direction by a predetermined distance even after once abutting on the side surface of the corrugated board box 10, and the side surface of the corrugated board box 10 is securely sucked and held.
Even if the cardboard boxes 10 are not aligned, it is possible to surely adsorb.

The suction pads 155 and 156 are
Contrary to the above, the cardboard box 10 is transferred onto the drive rollers 157 and 158 by retracting it in the horizontal direction by a predetermined distance, and the suction is released. Adsorption pads 155, 15 at this time
In the suction of 6, the side of the cardboard box 10 is sucked,
It can be surely sucked and held, and when it is retracted, only the frictional force between the bottom surface of the corrugated cardboard box 10 and the partition plate 12 acts, so there is little risk of falling off.

Therefore, the pushers 159 and 160 and the drive roller 141 are alternately driven after a predetermined time,
The corrugated cardboard boxes 10 are transferred in pairs to the transport conveyors 142, 143.R-conveyors located on the downstream side. Furthermore, these transport conveyors 142 and R-conveyors 1
43 are alternately driven to feed the cardboard boxes 10 in pairs to the lifting device 144. Then, the elevating device 144 is driven and the corrugated cardboard boxes 10 are separated into a pair of separating devices 14
5 reprinted. The elevating device 144 also has a drive roller on the mounting surface, and at the lower position, the corrugated board box 10 is carried out and delivered to the separating device 145. Disconnecting device 14
In 5, the corrugated cardboard boxes 10 are separated and then transferred and discharged on the carry-out belt conveyor at predetermined intervals.

When the four cardboard boxes 10 are ejected from the pallet 11 by the above procedure, the pallet 11 becomes 18
It is rotated 0 ° and the next four are ejected in the same procedure. Eight cardboard boxes at the top are cardboard box extractors 151,
When the partition plate 12 is discharged by the two operations of 152, the partition plate 12 is discharged to the empty pallet station 130 by the plate pressing device 132. Then, the eight cardboard boxes in the second stage are discharged in the same procedure. Furthermore, when the eight lowermost corrugated boxes are similarly carried out from the pallet 11, the pallet 1
1 will be transferred onto the frame 135 of the empty pallet station 130. And a new loading pallet 11
Are transferred to the take-out station 110, and the cardboard box 10 is carried out by the above procedure. This operation is repeated at each station, and the empty pallet 11 and partition plate 12
For example, when 5 or 10 sheets are stacked, they are discharged from the empty pallet station 130 by a forklift.

In the above embodiment, the pushers 159,
Although 160 is used, the cardboard box can be carried out only by the drive roller except the pusher. Further, a plurality of suction pads 155 and 156 may be arranged side by side in the vertical direction. Also, not only cardboard boxes, but other paper boxes,
It goes without saying that the present depalletizing device can also be applied to other boxes.

[0031]

According to the present invention, the depalletizing work of the box can be surely automated. Therefore,
The efficiency of the depalletizing work can be improved. Further, it is possible to eliminate manpower in the depalletizing work. Moreover, the cycle time can be shortened by taking out a plurality of pieces at the same time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a depalletizing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a depalletizing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 pallets, 10 cardboard boxes, 100 depalletizing device, 113 lifters, 155 suction pads (negative pressure suction means), 156 suction pads (negative pressure suction means).

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A depalletizing device provided with a negative pressure type suction means which is provided so as to be movable relative to a pallet and which holds the box by suctioning the side surface of the box loaded on the pallet. 2. A lifter for moving a pallet loaded with a plurality of cardboard boxes up and down, and a negative pressure type suction pad provided on the side of the lifter so as to be movable back and forth in a horizontal direction. A depalletizing device that adsorbs and holds the sides of the cardboard box and transfers the cardboard box to another position. 3. A depalletizing method for transferring a box loaded on a pallet to another position, wherein a side surface of the box is adsorbed to hold the box and the box is moved in a substantially horizontal direction. , Depalletizing method to transfer boxes from pallet to another position.