JP2652496B2 - Method and apparatus for discharging articles from conveyor device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for discharging articles from a conveyor apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a conveyor device, there is a conveyor device having a supporting member which can be circulated and moved along an article conveying path, and having buckets provided at a plurality of positions along a conveying direction of the supporting member. In this bucket conveyor, articles to be charged in the middle of the article transport path are collected and discharged so as to discharge the collected articles from the sideways to downward bucket openings at the exit turning point of the circulation path of the conveyor. .

[0003]

However, in the prior art bucket conveyor, the collected goods discharged from the bucket are discharged as if scattered from the bucket opening, and cannot be discharged in an orderly manner.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to be able to discharge a single type or a plurality of types of collected luggage in an orderly manner.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a support member which can be circulated and moved along an article conveying path, and is provided at each of a plurality of positions along the conveying direction of the supporting member. A flexible load receiving member is provided, and each of the load receiving members is supported by supporting members at front and rear points along the transport direction and is suspended in a flexible U-shape, from which a U-shaped load receiving portion can be formed. In the article discharging method, the both sides of each receiving member are opened at least at the discharging position of the article conveying path, and the extruding device provided at the discharging position is moved from one side opening of each receiving member into the U-shaped receiving portion. The article in the U-shaped receiving section is discharged from the opening on the other side of each receiving member by the pushing force of the pushing device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect of the present invention, prior to inserting the extruding device into the U-shaped receiving portion of each receiving member, the U-shaped receiving portion of the U-shaped receiving portion is provided. Branch
The distance between the supported points of the receiving member supported by the holding member
The U-shaped form of the receiving portion is adjusted.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article conveying path.
And a flexible receiving member is provided at each of a number of positions along the carrying direction of the supporting member, and each of the receiving members is supported before and after along the carrying direction. In a device for discharging articles from a conveyor device in which a point is supported by a supporting member and suspended in a flexible U-shape to form a U-shaped receiving portion, each of the receiving members is at least an article discharging position in an article conveying path. Both sides are opened with
An extruding device that is inserted into the U-shaped receiving portion from one side opening of each receiving member at the article discharging position and extrudes and discharges the articles in the U-shaped receiving portion from the other side opening of each receiving member is provided at an article discharging position. Is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, a U-shaped receiving portion of each receiving member is further provided.
Reduce the distance between supported points of the receiving member supported by the support member.
In addition , a U-shaped adjusting device capable of adjusting the U-shaped form of the receiving portion is provided at the article discharging position.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the U-shaped adjusting device further comprises a support portion.
By diverting the material from the straight path to the upper detour path
U-shape of the receiving part by narrowing the distance between the supported points of the receiving member
It is constituted by a supported point interval adjusting device which can adjust a bear .

[0010]

According to the first and third aspects of the present invention, the following operations are provided. Since the load receiving member of the conveyor has flexibility, when the articles are loaded into the load receiving member, the input impact force can be absorbed by the bending deformation of the load receiving member, so that damage to the articles and generation of noise can be reduced. Further, since the receiving member has flexibility, the receiving member can be bent and deformed so as to conform to the shape of the input article and can hold the article in an orderly package. They can be aligned and stably maintained in alignment with each other.

At the article discharge position, the extruder is inserted into the U-shaped receiving section from one side opening of the receiving section, and the articles in the U-shaped receiving section are kept in the above-mentioned orderly packing state while maintaining the above-mentioned orderly packing state. Can be discharged from the opening on the other side.

According to the present invention, the following operations are provided. Prior to discharging the articles at the article discharging position, the U-shaped form of the receiving section of the receiving member of the conveyor device is changed. Therefore, the form of packing in the receiving member is adjusted to conform to the U-shaped form of the receiving section, and as a result, the collected goods are given a form suitable for handling at the destination and discharged. .

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the following operations are provided. The U-shaped form of the receiving part is changed by adjusting the distance between the supported points before and after the receiving member by the supported point distance adjusting device.
Therefore, the U-shaped form of the receiving part can be adjusted with a simple configuration.

[0014]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an entire picking device.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of the picking device, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a pickup process of the picking device, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state where an article is cut out from the article cutting device, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of the article cutting device, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a plan view of the article extracting device, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a plan view of the article cutting device, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which articles are supplied from a chute to a receiving conveyor, FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a supported point interval adjusting device for a receiving member provided on the receiving conveyor, and FIG.
1 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the supported point interval adjusting device, FIG.
Is a schematic diagram showing a load transfer device, FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the load transfer device, FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an article contact detector,
FIG. 15 is a schematic view showing a modification of the picking device, and FIG.
Is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the article cutting device, FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a plan view of the modification of the article cutting device, and FIG.
FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing a modified example of the guide chute, FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing a modified example of the supported point interval adjusting device of the load receiving member provided on the load receiving conveyor, and FIG. 20 is a schematic view showing a modified example of the U-shaped adjusting device. FIG. 21 is a schematic view showing a modification of the load transfer device,
FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the load transfer device.

The picking device 10 is, as shown in FIG.
Fluidized shelf 11, article supply robot 12, article take-out device 13, article cut-out device 14, guide chute 15, fixed chute 16, receiving conveyor 17, load transfer device 18,
It has each device of the container transport line 19. Hereinafter, details of each device will be described.

(A) Flow shelf 11 and article supply robot 12
(See FIG. 1) The fluidizing shelf 11 has a plurality of frontage (for example, 20 frontage to 20th frontage) corresponding to each article of plural kinds (for example, 20 kinds) arranged in parallel, and different kinds for each frontage. Are temporarily stored in a cardboard case 21 in which a plurality of articles are stored.

The article supply robot 12 runs by itself along the front of each frontage of the flow shelf 11 and supplies the corrugated cardboard case 21 of each frontage to the corresponding article cutting device 14. Specifically, the article supply robot 12 receives the cardboard case 21 of the specific frontage on the support table 22 and moves the article take-out device 13 held by the hand 23 to the cardboard case 2 on the support table 22.
1, the article take-out device 13 is engaged with the upper part of the corresponding article cut-out device 14 in a state where the cardboard case 21 sandwiched between the support base 22 and the hand 23 is inverted. The article supply robot 12 reverses the empty cardboard case 21 together with the article take-out device 13 to the front of the fluidized shelf 11 by returning the empty cardboard case 21 on the article cutting device 14, and discharges the empty cardboard case 21 from the lower part of the front surface of the fluidized shelf 11. The conveyor 24 is dropped.

(B) Article take-out device 13 and article cut-out device 14 (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 to 8) The article take-out device 13 and the article cut-out device 14 are combined with each other to form a set. . Then, the picking device 10 sets a plurality of sets (for example, the first frontage to the first
20 frontage) article take-out device 13, article cut-out device 1
4 is provided.

The picking device 10 includes an article take-out device 13 corresponding to an upper portion of each article cut-out device 14.
After the transfer of all the articles in the cardboard case 21 attached to the article take-out device 13 to the lower article cut-out device 14 by opening the shutter device 26 of the article take-out device 13, The shutter device 27 of the article cutting device 14 is opened, and an arbitrary number of the articles are guided from the article cutting device 14 to the guide chute 15.
You can cut out to the side.

At this time, the article take-out device 13 is
As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of article storage sections 31 partitioned in a matrix having the same arrangement (n rows and k columns) as the article arrangement in the cardboard case 21 by a partition 30 provided in a partition frame 29 attached to the machine frame 28. Prepare. Note that the article take-out device 1
The machine frame 28 has a slot 32 for fixing a partition frame in the machine frame 28 so that the mounting member 29A of the partition frame 29 can be freely attached and detached in accordance with a change in the type of product to be handled. In addition, the article take-out device 13 includes a gripped portion 33 that is held by the hand 23 of the article supply robot 12.

In the article take-out device 13, as shown in FIG. 5, the bottom surface of the article storage section 31 formed in the partition frame 29 can be opened and closed by the shutter device 26 described above. The shutter device 26 makes the shutter 35 movable along a guide rail 34 provided on the machine frame 28, and engages an engaging recess 39 of the shutter 35 with an engaging pin 38 on the cylinder 37 supported on the gantry 36 side. It is removable. When the article supply robot 12 engages the article take-out device 13 with the upper part of the article cut-out device 14, the engagement recess 39 is engaged with the engagement pin 38. That is, when the cylinder 37 is driven by the control of the picking control device (not shown), the shutter device 26 causes the shutter 35 to move in the row direction, and controls the opening of all the article storage sections 31 at a stretch. An article cutting device 14 for cutting all the articles in a cardboard case 21 mounted on the apparatus 13 downward.
Transfer to Then, the article supply robot 12 removes the empty cardboard case 21 and the article take-out device 13 from the article cutting device 14 and
Is discharged to the case discharge conveyor 24 as described above, the actual cardboard case 21 is reset in the article take-out device 13, and returned to the article cut-out device 14.

As shown in FIG. 8, the article pick-up device 14 has a plurality of article storage sections partitioned in the same array as the article take-out device 13 by partitions 43 provided in a partition frame 42 attached to the machine frame 41. A part 44 is provided.
In addition, the article cutting device 14 is provided with a slot 45 for fixing the partition frame in the machine frame 41 in order to make the mounting member 42A of the partition frame 42 detachable according to the change of the handling type.
In addition, the article extracting device 14 includes the article extracting device 13.
Is provided with a concave-convex portion 46 for making it detachable.

In the article cutting device 14, as shown in FIG. 6, the bottom surface of the article storage portion 44 formed in the partition frame 42 can be opened and closed by the shutter device 27 described above. The shutter device 27 includes a large opening / closing body 49 and a plurality of small opening / closing bodies 50 in an endless orbiting chain 48 driven by a motor 47. Large open / close body 49
Has a wide plate shape corresponding to all the cutouts in the row direction of the article storage section 44, is moved in the row direction by driving of the motor 47, and simultaneously controls the bottom cutouts of the respective article storage sections 44 in units of one row. I do. Each small opening / closing body 50 is disposed at each end of the large opening / closing body 49 at each one cutout in the column direction of the article storage section 44, and each cylinder 51 cuts a corresponding bottom cutout of the article storage section 44. Each can be opened and closed independently. That is, when each of the cylinders 51 is driven by the control of the picking control device, the shutter device 27 independently controls the article storage section 44 of the foremost row in which the articles are stored by the small opening / closing bodies 50 by the required number of sections. Open control and cut out articles, 1
When the article storage units 44 in all the rows are empty, the motor 47 moves the large opening / closing body 49 to the next row. In this way, when the article storage units 44 in all rows are empty, the shutter devices 27 are all closed and the articles are supplied from the article take-out device 13.

The small opening / closing body 50 has a size corresponding to the minimum interval between the partitions 43 provided in the partition frame 42, and a plurality of small opening / closing bodies 50 of the size are provided in parallel. good. In this case, when the interval between the partitions 43 is wide, the plurality of small opening / closing members 50 are controlled so as to open simultaneously according to the width.

(C) Guide chute 15 and fixed chute 16 (see FIGS. 4 and 9) The fixed chute 16 is provided below each article cutting device 14 as shown in FIGS. Each article cutting device 14 is fixedly arranged at the width of the frontage (total cutting width). That is, the rear end of the fixed chute 16 is disposed immediately below the cutout of the article cutout device 14, and the tip of the fixed chute 16 is disposed so as to project forward from directly below the cutout of the article cutout device 14 and face the load receiving conveyor 17. ing.

Both ends in the width direction of the fixed chute 16 and an intermediate portion thereof function as means for regulating the lower end position of the guide chute 15 and also have a function of regulating the moving posture (direction) and moving direction of the article. A rising wall 16A is also provided. The rising wall 16A is installed continuously or intermittently over the entire length from the back end to the tip of the fixed chute 16 corresponding to the boundary of the adjacent cutout of the article cutting device 14, and separates the adjacent article runways 16B from each other. You do it.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, the guide chute 15 extends from the cutout edge of the article cutting device 14 to the upper surface side of the fixed chute 16 and the article cutting device 1
The article dropped and cut out from the cutout 4 is smoothly introduced into the fixed chute 16.

The guide chute 15 has a partition wall 15A provided in the longitudinal direction of the chute corresponding to the boundary of the adjacent cutout of the article cutting device 14, and the adjacent article runways 15B are separated from each other by the partition wall 15A. Then, the movement posture (direction) and the movement direction of the article are regulated.

As a result, a plurality of articles cut out from the respective cutouts of the article cutting device 14 are
Partition wall 15A, rising wall 16A of fixed chute 16
And is supplied to each receiving member 62 of the receiving conveyor 17 in a state of being aligned in parallel with each other.

However, when the article is a round bottle or the like and flows stably, the partition wall 15A of the guide chute 15 and the rising wall 16A of the fixed chute 16 are not necessarily required.

Here, the upper end of the guide chute 15
The large opening / closing body 49 constituting the shutter device 27 of the cut-out device 14 is fixed to a bracket 15C integrated with the large opening / closing body 49. As a result, the guide chute 15 is
Is automatically set so as to always be located at the cutout edge of the article cutting device 14 from which the article is cut out by the opening operation of the small opening / closing body 50 disposed at the tip of the apparatus.

The lower end of the guide chute 15 is suspended so as to follow the upper surface of the fixed chute 16 in parallel.
The guide chute 15 has a slit 15D that is inserted into the rising wall 16A of the fixed chute 16, and the lower end of the guide chute 15 slides on the upper surface of the fixed chute 16 and follows the upper surface of the fixed chute 16 in parallel. .

At this time, the upper surface of the fixed chute 16 may be fixedly disposed so as to be inclined downward from the side of the article cutting device 14 to the side of the receiving conveyor 17. 27 is fixedly arranged in a horizontal state parallel to the opening / closing direction of 27. As a result, the distance from the fixing point (bracket 15C) to the shutter device 27 where the guide chute 15 extends to the upper surface of the fixed chute 16 is always constant, and the extension height of the guide chute 15 is constant. The guide chute 15 can be formed of a solid member.

The guide chute 15 can be deformed as shown in FIG. The guide chute 171 of FIG. 18 includes a partition wall 171A provided in the chute longitudinal direction corresponding to the boundary of the adjacent cutout of the cutout device 114, and the adjacent article runways 171B are separated from each other by the partition wall 171A. The movement posture (direction) and movement direction of the article are regulated. The partition wall 171A is installed continuously or intermittently over the entire length of the guide chute 171. When the partition wall 171A is intermittently installed and a gap is provided between the adjacent partition walls 171A (see FIG. 18), the guide chute 171 moves on the upper surface of the inclined chute 133 as the large opening / closing body 155 of the shutter device 121 moves. When moving along, the bending shape of the guide chute 171 can be changed.

(D) Receiving Conveyor (See FIGS. 4 and 9 to 12) The receiving conveyor 17 transfers the goods from the front surfaces of the guide chutes 15 and the fixed chutes 16 connected to the respective article cutting devices 14 as described above. It is installed along a collection path (article transport path) set across the loading device 18.

The receiving conveyor 17 is an endless orbital supporting member (a chain or the like) that can be circulated and moved along the collection path.
A flexible load receiving member (belt or the like) 62 is provided at each of a number of positions along the transport direction of the support member 61. Each of the receiving members 62 is supported by slats 64 provided at fixed intervals on the supporting member 61 at front and rear supported points 63A and 63B along the transport direction by a pin joint, and is suspended in a flexible U-shape. , U-shaped load receiving portion 62A can be formed. At this time, in the flexible receiving member 62, the receiving width (opening width) WA of the U-shaped receiving portion 62A on the front surface of the fixed chute 16 becomes the same width as the fixed chute 16 (width of each article cutting device 14). Is set as follows.

Each of the receiving members 62 is continuously formed of one belt material having a length extending over the entire circumference of the supporting member 61, and is defined for each U-shaped receiving portion 62A. The front and rear supported points 63A and 63B may be screwed to the slat 64.

The receiving conveyor 17 is driven by a motor 66 that drives a driving wheel 65 around which the support member 61 is wound. That is, under the control of the picking control device, the support member 61 is intermittently driven in accordance with the article cutout timing from the article cutout device 14, and the load receiving members 62 are pitch-fed by the receiving width of each U-shaped load receiving portion 62A. Part 62A
Are sequentially positioned in front of each fixed chute 16. As a result, the conveyor device 17 circulates while collecting the articles cut out from the respective article cutting devices 14 from the fixed chutes 16 to the respective receiving portions 62A.

At this time, the articles cut from the respective article cutting devices 14 slide down the guide chutes 15 and the fixed chutes 16 in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the load receiving conveyor 17 by the gravitational energy of the position. In the load receiving conveyor 17, the side of the load receiving member 62 on the side opposite to the fixed chute is closed by the closing member 17 </ b> A at the position where the articles are loaded from the fixed chute 16. Closure member 17A
Is provided on the gantry 17B of the conveyor 17 in this embodiment. However, the closing member 17A may be provided on the support member 61 or the load receiving member 62.

Further, the closing member 17A is preferably made of a shock absorbing material such as rubber at a portion where the article collides at least at an article input position from the fixed chute 16.

Thus, the articles cut out from each article cutting device 14 and supplied to the load receiving member 62 by sliding down the guide chute 15 and the fixed chute 16 are closed by the closing member 17A.
Then, the impact is further stopped by the bending deformation of the load receiving member 62, and is stored in the U-shaped load receiving portion 62A. The collected goods stored in the U-shaped load receiving portion 62A are held with the longitudinal direction thereof adjusted to the direction perpendicular to the transport of the load receiving member 62 due to the bending deformation of the load receiving member 62, and aligned in parallel in the load receiving member 62. Maintain the strained collection status.

Further, the picking control device pre-plans the kind and quantity of the collected goods in each of the receiving members 62 of the receiving conveyor 17 according to the storage amount of the U-shaped receiving part 62A, and sequentially moves the conveyors 17 as described above. While being positioned at the front of each fixed chute 16, the collection from the fixed chute 16 to the load receiving member 62 is repeated, and after achieving the collection plan, the user goes to the article discharge position.

Incidentally, the collection plan of each of the receiving members 62 of the receiving conveyor 17 is executed as shown in the following (1) to (3).

(1) In the case where orders from the stores A, B,... Are as shown in Table 1, for example, the varieties to be collected in each of the receiving members ... so that the capacity of the receiving member 62 is 40 L or less. And assign quantity. Here, do not mix orders of two or more stores with one receiving member. In addition, the same product type is assigned without dividing it into two or more receiving members.

(2) Next, in accordance with the pitch feed of the conveyor 17, the cutout quantity data is sent to each article cutout device 14. That is, if the receiving member is the first article cutting device 14
When it reaches the front of the (first frontage) (a type), the cutout quantity data of six pieces is sent to the first article cutout device 14. At this time, if there are other receiving members to be cut out also on the front surface of the other article cutting out device 14, at the same time, the cut out quantity data corresponding to them is sent.

(3) Upon receiving the cutout quantity data, the article cutout device 14 cuts out the specified quantity of articles.

The transfer of the cut-out quantity data is not limited to the above, and may be transferred in advance to indicate cut-out timing.

[0048]

[Table 1]

Further, the receiving conveyor 17 is located at an article discharge position (packing unit) defined on the downstream side of the fixed chutes 16.
A U-shaped adjusting device 67 is provided to enable the U-shaped form of the load receiving portion 62A of the load receiving member 62 to be adjusted. U-shaped adjustment device 67
Has a supported point interval adjusting device 68 for adjusting the distance between the supported points 63A and 63B before and after each load receiving member 62, and a mold fitting device 69 for lifting the U-shaped load receiving portion 62A.

The supported point interval adjusting device 68 includes a first supporting member pulling device 71 and a second supporting member pulling device 72. The first support member lifting device 71 is disposed immediately above the article discharge position, and the front and rear winding wheels 73 which are juxtaposed at a smaller interval than the above-mentioned receiving width of the U-shaped receiving portion 62A.
The support member 61 between A and 73B is pulled up to a pull-up position above the normal transport path (linear path) by a lifting / lowering train 75 that can be raised and lowered by a cylinder 74. As a result,
The support member 61 is detoured from a straight path to an upper detour path.
Thus , the interval between the supported points 63A and 63B before and after the receiving member 62 positioned at the article discharging position is changed to the unloading width WB smaller than the above-described receiving width. At this time, the second support member pulling device 72 is installed on the exit side of the first support member pulling device 71, and
A, front and rear winding wheels 7 juxtaposed at the same interval as 73B
The support member 61 located between 6A and 76B is returned from the lifting position to the normal transport path by a lifting / lowering train 78 that can be raised and lowered by a cylinder 77. As a result, the extra length of the support member 61 held by the second support member pulling device 72 at the pulling position is reduced by the first support member pulling device 71.
To allow the change of the interval between the supported points 63A and 63B before and after the load receiving member 62 without causing slack in the peripheral path length of the support member 61.

That is, in the supported point interval adjusting device 68, the first support member pulling device 71 is moved along the normal transport path (linear
Path) and the second support member pulling device 72 is set to the pulling position (see FIG. 11A).
Then, the receiving member 62 is fed by one pitch, and the U-shaped receiving portion 62A
Is positioned at the article discharge position. Thereafter, in the article discharge mode (see FIG. 11B) in which the first support member pulling device 71 is set to the pulling position and the second support member pulling device 72 is changed to the normal transport path, the support member 61 is set. The straight line
By detouring from the road to the upper detour path, the interval between the supported points 63A and 63B before and after the load receiving member 62 is set to the unloading width WB, and the U-shaped form of the load receiving portion 62A is suitable for handling the discharge destination. The width can be adjusted.

The mold fitting device 69 is provided immediately below the article discharge position, and lifts the lower surface of the load receiving member 62, the spacing of which is adjusted to the above-mentioned unloading width WB, by a mold fitting plate 79A which can be moved up and down by a cylinder 79. , The goods in the receiving part 62A are suitable for the handling of the discharge destination (container 8).
In this case, the packaging style is set to match the opening configuration of FIG. 3 (see FIG. 11B).

The mold fitting device 69 sets the article discharge level in the load receiving member 62 to the same level as the article receiving level of the load receiving table 80.

(E) Load transfer device (see FIGS. 12 to 14) The load transfer device 18 pushes out the articles collected on the conveyer conveyor 17 by the first discharging means 81 at the article discharge position and positions the articles laterally. To the receiving table 80, and the second discharging means 82
And is transferred to the container 83 located on the side.

At this time, both sides of each of the receiving members 62 are opened at least at the article discharging position (the position at which the U-shaped form of the receiving section 62A is adjusted by the U-shaped adjusting device 67) in the article conveying path.

The article discharge position of the receiving conveyor 17 and the transfer position of the articles to the receiving table 80 and the container 83 are arranged in a straight line.

The position for transferring the goods to the container 83 is set on the side of the container transport line 19.
Is installed. The container attitude control device 84 has a container support table 86 which is tilted upward from below the roller conveyor of the container transport line 19 by a cylinder 85 and between the roller conveyors, and the container 83 to be set to the article transfer position. The container 83 is tilted so that the opening 83A of the container 83 faces the receiving table 80.

The first dispensing means 81 has a dispensing plate 88 driven by a cylinder 87.
The first unloading means 81 inserts the unloading plate 88 into the unloading unit 62A from one side opening of each unloading member 62 at the article discharge position, and loads the unloading unit 62A in the unloading unit 62A using the U-shaped adjusting device 67 described above. The articles whose appearance has been adjusted can be pushed out and discharged from the other side opening of each of the receiving members 62.

The second payout means 82 is provided at the receiving table 80.
The dispensing plate 90 hung and supported by the linear guide 89 so as to be reciprocally guided by the linear guide 89 provided in the first embodiment can be driven by a cylinder 91. The cylinder 91 and the dispensing plate 90 are connected by engaging the drive pins 91A of the cylinder 91 with the upper end engaging recesses 90A of the dispensing plate 90.

At this time, the second payout means 82
It has a contact detector 92 for detecting that the tip of the article paid out by the payout means 81 has come into contact with the payout plate 90. As shown in FIG. 14, the contact detector 92 oscillates when the contact plate 93 of the article pin-connected to both surfaces of the payout plate 90 is pressed by the tip of the article, and the article contact plate 93 operates the limit switch 94. When turned on, the above-described article detection signal is output. Then, the second payout unit 82 performs its own transfer operation in synchronization with the first payout unit 81 on condition that the contact detector 92 outputs a tip contact detection signal of the article to the second payout unit 82. To start. As a result, the second dispensing means 82 pushes out the articles on the receiving table 80 toward the opening 83A of the container 83 by the article contact plate 93 on the front surface, and the first dispensing means 81 transfers the articles from the receiving conveyor 17 to the receiving table 80. The articles being paid out can be delivered from the receiving conveyor 17 while being kept within the interval with the first paying means 81 by the synchronous operation with the first paying means 81.

The load receiving table 80 is supported by a ball bearing 96 on a pedestal 95 and can rotate 360 degrees, and is driven to rotate by a rotary actuator 97.

Therefore, the load transfer device 18 operates as follows. (a) The articles collected by the receiving member 62 of the receiving conveyor 17 reach the article discharging position (see FIG. 13A). At this time, the U-shaped adjusting device 67 adjusts the U-shaped form of the receiving portion 62A, and displays the package of the collected goods in the receiving portion 62A in the container 83.
Is set so that it fits the opening 83A of the package.

(B) The first payout means 81 is connected to the receiving member 62
Is inserted into the U-shaped cargo receiving portion 62A from the opening on one side, and the collected goods in the cargo receiving portion 62A are paid out to the side of the cargo receiving table 80 (see FIG. 13B).

(C) When the contact detector 92 provided in the second payout means 82 detects the contact of the tip of the article, the second payout means 82 starts the transfer operation in synchronization with the first payout means 81. , From the conveyor 17 to the receiving table 80
The articles to be paid out are paid out by the first paying-out means 81 while being kept within the space between the payout plate 88 of the first paying-out means 81 and the payout plate 90 of the second paying-out means 82 (see FIG. 13C. The moving speed V1 of the payout plate 88 of the first payout means 81.
And the two cylinders 87, so that the moving speed V2 of the dispensing plate 90 of the second dispensing means 82 satisfies V1≤V2.
The supply amount of the working fluid 91 is set by a throttle valve.

(D) After the articles are delivered to the receiving table 80, the receiving table 80 is turned 180 degrees (FIG. 13).
(D)).

(E) The receiving conveyor 17 is driven to feed the receiving member 62 by a pitch corresponding to the receiving width of the U-shaped receiving part 62A,
The next luggage item is taken into the article discharge position (FIG. 13E).
reference). At this time, the U-shaped adjusting device 67 adjusts the U-shaped form of the load receiving portion 62A in the same manner as in the above (a), and sets the package of the next collected goods to a package suitable for the opening 83A of the container 83. .

(F) The first payout means 81 and the second payout means 82 are driven in the same manner as in (b) and (c), and the goods which have been paid out to the receiving table 80 in (d) are put in the container 83. It is pushed out and transferred, and at the same time, the next article taken into the article discharge position in (e) is paid out from the receiving conveyor 17 to the receiving table 80 (see FIG. 13 (F)).

Thereafter, the above (d) to (f) are repeated.

It is to be noted that the collected luggage item is like a column,
For articles that are not likely to be distorted in the process of being dispensed from the character-shaped receiving section 62A to the receiving table 80, the first dispensing means 81 and the second dispensing means 82 are operated in synchronization with each other, and It is not necessary to keep the article within the interval of 82.

(F) Container transport line 19 (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 12) The container transport line 19 is installed by the side of the transfer position of goods from the receiving table 80 to the container 83,
It consists of a roller conveyor.

The container transport line 19 has a bar code reader 98 and a container attitude control device 84.
The stoppers 99A and 99B provided at two positions before and after are provided.

The picking control device reads the bar code attached to the container 83 and determines whether or not the container 83 is to supply articles. As for the container 83 to which the articles are to be supplied, the container 83 is stopped by the stopper 99A on the downstream side, the following container 83 is also stopped by the stopper 99B on the upstream side, and the container 83 is tilted by the container attitude control device 84, and the container 83 is tilted. The opening 83 </ b> A is laterally arranged so as to face the receiving table 80.

The specific use procedure of the picking device 10 will be described as follows (1) to (4) (see FIG. 3).

(1) Operation of the article cutout apparatus 14 The article cutout apparatus 14 receives the article cutout quantity data output by the picking control apparatus.

In each article cutting device 14, a predetermined number of articles are cut out. The cut-out article passes through a guide chute 15 and a fixed chute 16 to receive a conveyer 17.
Is supplied to a predetermined receiving member 62.

(2) Operation of the Receiving Conveyor 17 The receiving conveyor 17 sequentially positions each of the receiving members 62 on the front surface of the plurality of article cutting devices 14 and, if necessary, the articles cut out from the article cutting apparatus 14 as described in (1) above. Is intermittently moved while being accommodated in each of the load receiving members 62, and heads toward the article discharge position.

The receiving member 62 that has reached the article discharge position
The U-shaped form of the U-shaped receiving portion 62A is adjusted by the supported point interval adjusting device 68 of the U-shaped adjusting device 67 and the mold fitting device 69, and the package in the receiving portion 62A is discharged to the container 83 as the discharge destination. It is put together in a certain shape that fits the opening 83A.

(3) Operation of the load transfer device 18 The articles collected on each of the load receiving members 62 of the load receiving conveyor 17 are pushed out by the first discharging means 81 at the article discharge position, and are discharged to the load receiving table 80 located on the side. , The goods paid out to the receiving table 80, the second payout means 8
2 and is transferred to a container 83 located on the side.

Prior to the transfer of the articles from the receiving table 80 to the container 83 by the second payout means 82, the receiving table 80 is turned and the direction of the articles on the receiving table 80 is changed by 180 degrees. As a result, the article is supplied into the container 83 with the bottom part down, and the article bottom part can be placed on the floor of the container 83.

(4) Operation of Container Transport Line 19 The bar code of the container 83 is read, and the container 83 into which articles are to be loaded is determined.

The container 83 into which the articles are to be put is tilted by the container attitude control device 84, and the opening 83 A of the container 83 is directed to the load receiving table 80.

In the above (3), the articles pushed out by the second payout means 82 are received in the container 83.

The container 83 supplied with the articles is returned to the container transport line 19 by the container attitude control device 84.

The container 83 is transported to the next step.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. (1) Since the load receiving member 62 of the conveyor 17 is flexible, when an article is loaded into the load receiving member 62, the input impact force can be absorbed by the bending deformation of the load receiving member 62, and the damage and noise of the article can be achieved. Can be reduced. In addition, since the receiving member 62 has flexibility, the receiving member 62 bends and deforms so as to conform to the shape of the input article, and the articles are arranged in orderly manner (the articles are placed in parallel in the longitudinal direction). In this manner, the plurality of articles can be aligned and stably held by aligning their longitudinal directions with each other.

(2) At the article discharging position, the first dispensing means 81 moves the U-shaped receiving section 6 from the opening on one side of the receiving section 62.
2A, the articles in the U-shaped receiving section 62A are pushed out from the other side opening of the receiving member 62 while maintaining the above-mentioned orderly packing state, and the receiving table 80 is standing by at the opening. Transfer to.

The collected goods to be discharged from the receiving conveyor 17 to the side receiving table 80 by the first discharging means 81 are kept within the interval between the first discharging means 81 and the second discharging means 82 which are operated synchronously. , Is pushed out sideways by the first payout means 81. Therefore, the conveyor 17 by the first payout means 81
At the time of unloading the goods from the cargo receiving table 80, the collected luggage goods do not have a drop impact which causes damage and noise. In addition, the collected goods are sandwiched between the first and second payout means 81 and 82, and the collected goods are kept in the conveyer 17 in the conveyor 17 while the collected goods are placed on the side of the receiving table 80. Will be transferred to.

(3) The collected goods transferred to the receiving table 80 while maintaining the packing state are pushed out from the receiving table 80 to the side container 83 by the second dispensing means 82 and are transferred. As a result, it is possible to arrange the package in the container 83 as neatly as possible without causing a drop impact which causes damage to the collected luggage and noise.

(4) The synchronous operation of the first payout means 81 and the second payout means 82 is performed by the second payout means 82
Is started under the condition that the contact detector 92 provided in the first detecting means detects the contact of the leading end of the article with the second dispensing means 82, so that the first dispensing means 81 and the second dispensing means 82 are surely connected to the article. Synchronous operation can be performed in a state in which the front and rear sides are sandwiched.

(5) The receiving member 62 of the receiving conveyor 17
Prior to discharging the articles at the article discharging position, the receiving section 62
The U shape of A can be changed. Therefore, the receiving member 6
The shape of the package inside 2 is adjusted so as to follow the U-shaped configuration of the receiving portion 62A, and as a result, the collected goods are given a package suitable for handling at the destination and discharged.

(6) The U-shaped form of the load receiving portion 62A can be changed by changing the distance between the supported points of the load receiving member 62 of the conveyor 17 before and after the support member 61. That is, if the distance between the front and rear supported points is increased, the width becomes a shallow U-shaped load receiving portion 62A. If the distance between the front and rear supported points is reduced, the width becomes a narrow and deep U-shaped load receiving portion 62A. Then, the appearance of the load in the load receiving member 62 is adjusted so as to follow the U-shaped form of the load receiving portion 62A.

(7) By making the receiving table 80 between the receiving conveyor 17 and the container 83 rotatable, it is possible to easily control the top and bottom of the posture in which articles are stored in the container 83. That is, the transfer can be performed such that the bottom of the article is placed on the floor of the container 83.

(8) The guide chute 15 has a curve that smoothly changes the falling direction of the article dropped and cut from the cutting device 14 to the direction of the fixed chute 16. Therefore, the articles dropped and cut from the cutting device 14 are:
It is smoothly introduced from the guide chute 15 to the fixed chute 16 and does not hit the fixed chute 16. Therefore, the article is not damaged, and the orientation on the fixed chute 16 is unlikely to be separated. Further, the falling speed is not deprived by the collision with the fixed chute 16, the momentum is not lost, and there is no stopping in the middle of the fixed chute 16.

At this time, the guide chute 15 is provided with a partition wall 15A provided in the longitudinal direction of the chute so as to correspond to the adjacent cutout boundary portion, and the adjacent article runways 15B are separated from each other by the partition wall 15A. The attitude (orientation) of the article cut out from the cutout
Can be maintained in a constant posture (orientation) during the sliding process on the guide chute 15. Therefore, even a flat article or the like whose posture is easily changed can be introduced into the fixed chute 16 while maintaining a constant posture.

(9) Since the upper end of the guide chute 15 is fixed to the opening / closing body 49 which sequentially opens each cutout of the cutting device 14, the guide chute 15
The articles of the cutting device 14 are sequentially arranged at the cutouts where the articles are to be cut out, and are prepared for cutting out the articles.
Therefore, in the cutting device 14, it is not necessary to arrange the guide chutes 15 individually for all the cutouts, and a single guide chute 15 can cope with all of the cutouts, thereby simplifying the device configuration.

(10) The guide chute 15 has a curve that smoothly changes the falling direction of the article dropped and cut from the cutting device 14 toward the fixed chute 16. Therefore, the articles dropped and cut from the cutting device 14 are:
It is smoothly introduced from the guide chute 15 to the fixed chute 16 and does not hit the fixed chute 16. Therefore, the article is not damaged, and the orientation on the fixed chute 16 is unlikely to be separated. Further, the falling speed is not deprived by the collision with the fixed chute 16, the momentum is not lost, and there is no stopping in the middle of the fixed chute 16.

(11) The upper end of the guide chute 15 is fixed to the opening / closing body 49 which sequentially opens each cutout of the cutout device 14, so that the guide chute 15
Are sequentially arranged at the cutouts of the cutting device 14 where the articles are to be cut out, in preparation for cutting out the articles. Therefore, in the cutting device 14, it is not necessary to arrange the guide chutes 15 individually for all the cutouts, and a single guide chute 15 can cope with all of the cutouts, thereby simplifying the device configuration.

(12) The upper surface of the fixed chute 16 is
Are arranged in parallel with the opening / closing direction of the guide chute 15, the distance from the fixing point to the opening / closing body 49 where the guide chute 15 extends to the upper surface of the fixed chute 16 is always constant, and the extension height of the guide chute 15 is reduced. Can be constant. Therefore, the guide chute 15 can be formed of a solid member, and the manufacture is easy. Further, when the guide chute 15 is formed of a solid member, the runway 15B of the article constituted by the guide chute 15 can have a substantially rigid structure, and the sliding state of the article can be stabilized.

(13) By letting the lower end of the guide chute 15 hang down so as to follow the upper surface of the fixed chute 16 in parallel, articles discharged from the guide chute 15 slide on the fixed chute 16, Introduced very smoothly.

Hereinafter, modified examples of each part of the picking device 10 will be described. (1) Modified example of article cutout device (see FIGS. 15 to 18) Picking device 110 is, as shown in FIGS.
A unit equipped with a plurality of sets (for example, 20 sets) of the reserve devices 113 and the cutout devices 114 corresponding to a plurality of types (for example, 20 types) of articles is configured as one unit with respect to the above-described conveyer 17.

However, the picking device 110 has three stages of a lower stage (foreground), a middle stage (intermediate), and an upper stage (rear) at a position facing the flow shelf 115 in a stepwise manner along a direction orthogonal to the receiving conveyor 17. Eggplant, three sets of reserve device 113,
The cut-out devices 114 are arranged in multiple stages, and each of the upper and middle reserve devices 113 is configured to be able to move above the middle and lower reserve devices 113 to the front, that is, to the flow shelf 115 side. Note that the lower reserve device 113 can also be pulled out. That is, in the picking device 110, the worker can place the goods in the product box 116 stored in each frontage of the fluidized shelf 115 against the reserve device 11.
3, when the empty reserve device 113 was pulled out from the original position to the fluidized shelf 115 side, the article was transferred to the reserved device 113 located on the fluidized shelf 115 side, and then the article was transferred. The reserve device 113 is pushed back to the original position.

The picking device 110 has a transfer request indicator 117 in front of each of the reserve devices 113. When the reserve device 113 becomes empty, the pick-up device 110 flashes the transfer request indicator 117. To the workers. At this time, the transfer article display 118 provided at the corresponding frontage of the flowing shelf 115 also blinks.

Then, as described above, the picking device 110 is provided below the reserve device 113 with the cutting device 114.
And all of the articles transferred to the reserve device 113 are stored in the shutter device 1 of the reserve device 113.
After opening 19 and transferring to the lower cutting device 114, the shutter device 121 of the cutting device 114 is opened to cut out an arbitrary number of the articles from the cutting device 114 to the side of the receiving conveyor 17. it can.

At this time, in the picking device 110, the reserve device 113 and the cut-out device 114 have the reserve tank 122 and the cut-out box 123, respectively.
Are provided with a plurality of article storage sections 126, 127 partitioned by partitions 124, 125 inserted into the respective boxes, and are randomly or predeterminedly arranged in each product box 116 stored in each frontage of the fluidized shelf 115. The stored articles are transferred to the respective article storage sections 126 of the reserve device 113 by the manual operation of the worker, and the articles transferred to the reserve device 113 are controlled by the shutter device 119 to close the cutout device 114. The articles transferred to the respective article storage sections 127, and eventually the articles transferred to the cutout device 114, are cut out in units of the article storage sections 127 by the opening control of the shutter device 121 described above. Note that the shutter device 119 and the shutter device 121 are the picking device 11.
0 is controlled by a picking control device (not shown) provided in the control unit 0.

The picking device 110 includes a plurality of (for example, 20) cutting devices 1 constituting one unit.
The articles cut out from the container 14 as described above are received by the receiving conveyor 1 via the guide chute 171 and the inclined chute 133.
And let it go to 7.

Reserving device 113, cutting device 11
4. The tilt chute 133 and the guide chute 171 will be described in more detail below.

In the reserve device 113, the partition 124 inserted into the reserve tank 122 causes n
It has a plurality of article storage units 126 partitioned in rows and columns, such as k columns. At this time, as in the case of the cutout box 123 shown in FIG. 17, the reserve tank 122 has a large number of partition insertion slits, and when the sizes of articles to be cut out are different, the same reserve tank 1 is used.
By changing the insertion position of the partition 124 in the storage tank 122, the arrangement pattern of the article storage units 126 partitioned in the reserve tank 122 is changed to the cutout box 12 shown in FIG.
3, it is possible to change.

In the reserve device 113, the bottom surface of the article storage section 126 formed in the reserve tank 122 can be opened and closed by the shutter device 119 described above. At this time, as shown in FIG. 16, the shutter device 119 connects a pair of left and right large gears 142 driven by the motor 141 and three pairs of non-driven small gears 143 forming a pair of left and right, respectively, to the left and right sides of the reserve tank 122. A large number of slats are continuously carried on a part of a pair of left and right endless orbital chains 144 arranged on the inner surface of the plate and wound around the gears 142 and 143.
5 is constituted. That is, the shutter device 11
9, when the motor 141 is driven by the control of the picking control device as described above, the opening / closing body 145 is moved in the row direction (see FIG. 17), and all the article storage portions 126 in the reserve tank 122 are opened at a stretch. Control is possible, and as a result, all articles in the reserve tank 122 can be transferred to the lower cutting device 114.

In the cut-out device 114, the partition 125 inserted into the cut-out box 123 corresponds to the article storage section 126 formed in the upper reserve device 113, and has a matrix shape such as n rows and k columns. Are provided. At this time, the cutout box 123
As shown in FIG. 17, when a plurality of partition insertion slits 150 are provided, and when the size of the article to be cut out is different, the insertion position of the partition 125 in the same cutout box 123 is changed to obtain the cutout box. The arrangement pattern of the article storage sections 127 partitioned in the section 123 can be changed.

Further, in the cutout device 114, the bottom cutout of the article storage portion 127 formed in the cutout box 123 can be opened and closed by the above-mentioned shutter device 121. At this time, as shown in FIG. 16, the shutter device 121 moves a pair of left and right large gears 152 driven by the motor 151 and three pairs of left and right non-driven small gears 153 to the left and right sides of the cutout box 123. A large open / close body 155 and a plurality of small open / close bodies 156 are provided on a pair of left and right endless orbital chains 154 arranged on the inner surface of the plate and wound around these gears 152 and 153.

The large opening / closing body 155 is constituted by supporting a large number of slats on a part of the chain 154 continuously. That is, when the motor 151 is driven by the control of the picking control device as described above, the shutter device 121 moves the large opening / closing body 155 in the row direction (see FIG. 17) and cuts the bottom of each article storage portion 127. The outlets can be opened and controlled simultaneously in line units.

Further, each small opening / closing body 156 is formed as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the supporter 157 provided at the distal end of the chain 154 is supported in parallel with each other so as to be disposed at the distal end of the large opening / closing body 155, and is substantially parallel to the bottom surface of each article storage portion 127. The bottom surface can be opened and closed by rotating around a shaft 158. A push rod guide 161 supported by a support 159 provided on the distal end side of the chain 154 supports a push rod 162 corresponding to each of the small opening / closing members 156 and an opening / closing cylinder device 163. 164 is a bracket. The push rod 162 abuts against the lower surface of the small opening / closing body 156 and moves forward and backward with respect to the lower surface while being guided by the push rod guide 161. The opening / closing cylinder device 163 drives the push rod 162, and the push rod 162 causes the small open / close body 1 to move.
By pushing up 56, the bottom surface of the article storage section 127 is closed. When the opening / closing cylinder device 163 pulls back the push rod 162, the small opening / closing body 156 rotates by its own weight to open the bottom surface of the article storage portion 127. This allows
Each of the small opening / closing members 156 can independently open and close the bottom cutout of the corresponding article storage section 127 independently.

Note that the small opening / closing body 156 is
A size corresponding to the minimum interval of the partition 125 inserted into the inside is adopted, and a plurality of small open / close bodies 15 of the size are adopted.
6 are provided in parallel. When the interval between the partitions 125 is wide, the plurality of small opening / closing members 156 are controlled so as to open simultaneously according to the width.

As shown in FIG. 15, the inclined chute 133 is substantially parallel to the downward gradient formed by the respective cutting devices 114 below the upper, middle, and lower cutting devices 114 constituting the multi-stage cutting device group. Are arranged obliquely so as to follow.

That is, the upper end of the inclined chute 133 is arranged immediately below the cutout of the upper cutting device 114, and the lower end of the inclined chute 133 is arranged so as to project from directly below the cutout of the lower cutting device 114 and face the load receiving conveyor 17. I have. And the whole of the upper end to the lower end of the inclined chute 133 is inclinedly arranged as described above.

In the width direction of the inclined chute 133 (in the direction perpendicular to the inclined direction), the outer wall corresponding to the opening width of the cutout device 114 and the center thereof have the rising wall 1.
33A are provided. This rising wall 133A,
In addition to functioning as a guide chute lower end position restricting means for supporting the middle guide chute, it also has a function of restricting the article transfer direction. The rising wall 133A is continuously installed over the entire length from the upper end to the lower end of the inclined chute 133. At this time, the rising wall 133A is connected to the cutting device 11.
4 may be installed continuously or intermittently over the entire length from the back end to the front end of the inclined chute 133 in correspondence with the boundary of the adjacent cutouts 4 so as to divide the adjacent article runways 133B from each other.

The guide chute 171 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in (1), an article extending from the cutout edge of the cutout device 114 to the upper surface side of the inclined chute 133 and dropping and cut out from the cutout of the cutout device 114 is smoothly introduced into the inclined chute 133. The guide chute 171 is formed of a rectangular elastic body.

Here, the upper end of the guide chute 171 is fixed to a bracket 164 integrated with the large opening / closing body 155 constituting the shutter device 121 of the cutout device 114. Thereby, the guide chute 171 is automatically set so as to always be located at the cutout edge of the cutting device 114 from which the article is cut out by the opening operation of the small opening / closing body 156 provided at the tip of the large opening / closing body 155. Will be done.

The lower end of the guide chute 171 is
It is hung so as to follow the upper surface of the inclined chute 133 in parallel. The guide chute 171 corresponding to the upper cutting device 114 is a rising wall 133A of the inclined chute 133.
A slit inserted around the guide chute 171 is provided, and the lower end of the guide chute 171 slides on the upper surface of the inclined chute 133 and follows the upper surface of the inclined chute 133 in parallel. In addition, the lower end of the guide chute 171 corresponding to the middle and lower cutting devices 114 slides in contact with the upper edge of the rising wall 133A of the inclined chute 133 and follows the upper surface of the inclined chute 133 in parallel.

In the picking device 110, the inclined chute 133 can be replaced with a horizontal fixed chute 133C shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

(2) Modified example of U-shaped adjusting device (see FIG. 19) The U-shaped adjusting device 180 is a supported point for adjusting the distance between the supported points 63A and 63B before and after each of the receiving members 62 of the receiving conveyor 17. It has an interval adjusting device 181 and a mold fitting device 182 that lifts the U-shaped load receiving portion 62A.

The supported point interval adjusting device 181 pivotally connects a first pulling wheel 184A and a second pulling wheel 184B to both ends of a swing lever 183 which is pivotally mounted on a frame 17B of the receiving conveyor 17. The swing lever 183 is swingable by a cylinder 185.
The cylinder 185 has two links 186A and 186A.
6B is connected, one link 186A is connected to the swing lever 183, and the other link 186B is
B. The first lifting wheel 184A is set immediately above the article discharging position, and the front and rear winding wheels 7 arranged side by side at a smaller interval than the above-described loading width of the U-shaped loading section 62A.
The support member 61 between 3A and 73B is
Is retracted to the pulling position above the normal transport path by the contraction operation of the conveyer, and as a result, the distance between the supported points 63A and 63B before and after the receiving member 62 positioned at the article discharging position is reduced to the unloading width WB smaller than the above-described receiving width. Let me change it. At this time, the second pulling wheel 184B is set on the exit side of the first pulling wheel 184A, and is between the front and rear winding wheels 76A, 76B juxtaposed at the same interval as the above-described rolling wheels 73A, 73B. The support member 61 is returned from the pulling position to the normal transport path. As a result, the second pulling vehicle 184 at the pulling position is
B, the extra length of the support member 61 held by
The distance is converted into the pulling length by the pulling wheel 184A, and the interval between the supported points 63A and 63B before and after the load receiving member 62 can be changed without causing any slack in the peripheral path length of the supporting member 61.

The mold fitting device 182 is provided immediately below the article discharge position, and is provided with a slide rail 189 fixed to the gantry 17B.
One end of the link 190A is pin-connected to one end of the link 190B, and one end of the link 190B is pin-connected to the lower surface of the mold fitting plate 188, the two links 190A and 190B intersect in an X shape, and the other end of the link 190A is connected to the slide rail 189. The other end of the link 190B is slidable on the lower surface of the mold fitting plate 188, and a cylinder 187 is interposed between the link 190A and the mold fitting plate 188. As a result, in the mold fitting device 182, the lower surface of the load receiving member 62 whose distance is adjusted to the above-described unloading width WB is raised by the mold fitting plate 188 which can be moved up and down by the cylinder 187, and the U-shaped load receiving portion is formed. The packing style of the articles in 62A is set to a packing style suitable for handling of the discharge destination (a packing style that matches the opening form of the container 83).

(3) Modified example of U-shaped adjusting device (see FIG. 20) The U-shaped adjusting device 190 is a supported point for adjusting the distance between the supported points 63A and 63B before and after each receiving member 62 of the receiving conveyor 17. Regarding the distance adjusting device, the device 68 described above (FIG. 1)
0) or an apparatus 181 (see FIG. 19), and the mold fitting apparatus 191 is modified.

The mold fitting device 191 is provided immediately below the article discharge position, and has a movable element 193 that can move on the guide 192 in the transport direction of the receiving conveyor 17.
The front and rear L-shaped arms 194A, 1
94B is pivotally mounted.

The receiving member 6 is adjusted by the supported point interval adjusting device.
The distance between the supported points 63A and 63B before and after 2 is the receiving width WA.
Is adjusted to the unloading width WB (FIG. 20 (A),
(B)), when the moving element 193 is moved to the left in the figure, the front L-shaped arm 194A rises along the guide 192, and the U-shaped load receiving portion 62A is shifted toward the rear. As a result, the width of the U-shaped form of the receiving portion 62A is reduced to, for example, the left half of the unloading width WB, and an appropriate packing form can be formed. If the mover 193 is moved rightward in the figure, the rear L-shaped arm 194B rises along the guide 192, and the U-shaped load receiving portion 62A is shifted toward the front. As a result, the width of the U-shaped form of the receiving portion 62A is reduced to, for example, the right half of the unloading width WB, so that an appropriate packing form can be formed.

In this case, the first payout means 81
May be provided with a payout means 81 for the left half of the article discharge position and a payout means 81 for the right half.

(4) Modified Example of Load Transfer Apparatus (See FIG. 21) The load receiving table 195 is supported by a roll bearing 196A on a guide table 196 provided on a pedestal 95, and is capable of rotating (reciprocating) 180 degrees. Yes, it is turned by the rotary actuator 196B. The loading table 195 has swing plates 19 at opposite ends.
5A and 195B are hinged, and wheels 195C and 195D provided on each of the swing plates 195A and 195B are supported on guide surfaces 197A and 197B of the guide table 196 so as to be able to run freely. The guide surface 197A has a horizontal shape facing the article discharge position,
7B is a downwardly inclined shape facing the position for transferring the goods to the container 83.

The swing plates 195A and 195B are
When supported on the horizontal guide surface 197A facing the article discharge position of the receiving conveyor 17, the goods on the receiving conveyor 17 supported by the same horizontal plane level as the receiving table 195 (such as the mold fitting device 69 of the U-shaped adjusting device 67). Emission level)
Is set to

On the other hand, swing plates 195A, 195
When supported by the inclined guide surface 197B facing the position for transferring the article to the container 83, B is set to be an inclined surface following the inclined inner wall surface 83B connected to the lower edge of the opening 83A of the container 83. As a result, the goods are stored in the receiving table 19.
Swing plate 195 set to be inclined from 5
A, 195B slides into the inner wall surface 83B of the container 83, so that the articles can be smoothly put into the container 83.

In FIG. 21, reference numeral 198 denotes a payout plate constituting a second payout means, 199 denotes a rodless cylinder with a built-in linear guide, and the payout plate 198 is fixedly connected to the moving element 199A of the cylinder 199. I have. Pressure switches 19 constituting an article contact detector are provided on both front and rear surfaces of the payout plate 198.
8A and 198B are provided.

(5) Modified example of removing the receiving table (see FIG. 22) FIG. 22 shows an example in which the receiving table is not provided between the article discharging position of the receiving conveyor 17 and the article transfer position to the container 83. When handling an article that does not need to be turned upside down, the article to be transferred from the receiving member 62 of the conveyor 17 to the container 83 does not need to receive the article on the receiving table and turn it 180 degrees, and as a result, the receiving table can be removed. It is.

[0133]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to discharge a single kind or a plurality of kinds of collected goods in an orderly manner.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an entire picking device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of the picking device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a pickup process of the picking device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a state where an article is cut out from the article cutting apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a main part of the article take-out device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a main part of the article cutting device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a plan view of the article take-out device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a plan view of the article cutting device.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which articles are supplied from a chute to a receiving conveyor.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an apparatus for adjusting a supported point interval of a receiving member provided on a receiving conveyor.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing the operation of the supported point interval adjusting device.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing a load transfer device.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing the operation of the load transfer device.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an article contact detector.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view showing a modification of the picking device.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing a modification of the article cutting device.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a plan view of a modification of the article cutting device.

FIG. 18 is a schematic view showing a modified example of the guide chute.

FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing a modified example of a supported point interval adjusting device for a load receiving member provided on a load receiving conveyor.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the U-shaped adjusting device.

FIG. 21 is a schematic view showing a modification of the load transfer device.

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the load transfer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 17 Load Receiving Conveyor (Conveyor Device) 61 Supporting Member 62 Load Receiving Member 62A U-Shaped Receiving Portion 63A, 63B Supported Point 67 U-Shaped Adjustment Device 68 Supported Point Spacing Adjustment Device 81 First Dispensing Means (Pushing Device)

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] A supporting member circulating along the article conveying path, a flexible receiving member provided at each of a plurality of positions along the conveying direction of the supporting member, and each of the receiving members is arranged in the conveying direction. In the method of discharging articles from a conveyor device in which a supported point before and after along is supported by a supporting member and suspended in a flexible U-shape to form a U-shaped receiving section, both sides of each receiving section are It is opened at least at the article discharging position of the article transport path, and the extruding device provided at the article discharging position is inserted into the U-shaped receiving portion from one side opening opening of each receiving member, and the U-shaped by the pushing force of the extruding device. A method of discharging articles from a conveyor device, wherein the articles in the receiving section are discharged from the other side opening of each receiving member. 2. Prior to inserting said extruding device into a U-shaped receiving portion of each receiving member, a supporting member of said U-shaped receiving portion is supported.
The distance between the supported points of the held
The method for discharging articles from a conveyor device according to claim 1 , wherein the U-shape of the section is adjusted. 3. A support member which can be circulated along a linear path of the article transport path , and flexible load receiving members are provided at a plurality of positions along the transport direction of the support member, and each of the load receiving members is In the article discharging device from the conveyor device which is supported by supporting members at the front and rear supported points along the transport direction and is suspended in a flexible U-shape to form a U-shaped receiving portion, each of the receiving members is Both sides are opened at least at the article discharge position of the article transport path, and inserted into the U-shaped receiving section from one side opening of each receiving member at the article discharging position, and the articles in the U-shaped receiving section are received by the respective receiving members. An extruder for extruding and ejecting from an opening on the other side of the article is provided at an article ejection position. 4. A support member for a U-shaped receiving portion of each receiving member.
Reduce the distance between the supported points of the supported
4. The device for discharging articles from a conveyor device according to claim 3, wherein a U-shaped adjusting device capable of adjusting the U-shape of the receiving portion is provided at the article discharging position. Wherein said U-shaped adjusting device, linear through the support member
By receiving a detour from the road to an upper detour,
5. A supported point interval adjusting device which makes it possible to adjust the U-shaped form of the receiving portion by narrowing the interval between the supported points.
A device for discharging articles from a conveyor device as described.