Conveyor transport device

Abstract

To provide a conveyor conveyance device capable of contributing to efficiency and simplification of conveyance.SOLUTION: A conveyer conveyance device comprises a conveying lane 3 for conveying an object-to-be-conveyed 10 by a conveyor, and a working lane 4 arranged contiguously so as to adjoin at least one side orthogonal to a conveying direction of the conveying lane 3 and have a facing section along the conveying direction of the conveying lane 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveyor transport device for transporting an object to be transported by a conveyor.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when packaging primary articles such as cans and bottles in a predetermined quantity, a technique of simultaneously transporting them in two or more adjacent parallel lanes has been known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] In this way, in the transport process, in order to sort according to the transport destination or the like, there may be a case where a parallel lane temporarily exists with a branch lane or a merging lane for the object to be transported.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, the above-described parallel lanes are configured to improve space efficiency and work efficiency due to space problems in the logistics center, and the object to be transported is forcibly transported in the parallel lanes to increase production capacity.

[0006] Therefore, for example, it is not configured to form a parallel lane between a transport lane and a work lane for the purpose of a sorting operation such as picking up a transported object from a transport lane to a work lane and performing a sorting operation according to the purpose and then returning the transported object to the transport lane, and it cannot contribute to the efficiency of the sorting operation of the object to be transported.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention arranges a work lane parallel to the conveyance lane, enabling manual work independently of the conveyance status of the conveyance lane, performing the conveyance process and the work process simultaneously in parallel, and shortening the lane length and the conveyance time compared to the case where the conveyance lane and the work lane are arranged in series, thereby contributing to the simplification of the conveyance efficiency and the improvement of the sorting work efficiency of the object to be conveyed.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] To solve the above problems, the conveyor device of the present invention includes a conveyance lane for conveying an object to be conveyed by a conveyor, and a work lane that is adjacent to at least one side orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance lane and is arranged in proximity so as to have an opposing section along the conveyance direction of the conveyance lane.

[0009] The conveyance lane sequentially conveys the object to be conveyed along the conveyance direction by the conveyor.

[0010] At this time, the object to be conveyed is electrically conveyed by the power of the driving device or pushed out by manual labor or the conveying force of the object to be conveyed from the upstream side according to its conveyance purpose. Therefore, either the belt conveyor method or the roller conveyor method can be adopted for the conveyance lane.

[0011] The work lane is arranged in proximity so as to have an opposing section along the conveyance direction of the conveyance lane, picks up the object to be conveyed from the conveyance lane as needed, pulls it in so as to slide from the conveyance lane to the work lane, and performs a predetermined manual operation.

[0012] At this time, in the work lane, it is not conveyed in the conveyance direction and can be stopped in front of the operator. After that, when the work is completed, it is pushed back into the conveyance lane or pushed out in the conveyance direction using the roller conveyor of the work lane, and is conveyed to the downstream side of each lane.

[0013] In addition, for the pickup of the object to be conveyed as needed, for example, thinning out for loading adjustment on a truck, picking up for changing the delivery destination, extracting, pushing in, or manual work that cannot be performed by mechanical work such as arranging and inspecting the object to be conveyed or one or more articles stored in the object to be conveyed before the final packing that has become scattered during the conveyance process, as long as it is based on a predetermined sorting rule, it is not particularly limited. Further, the "sorting" here can include operations other than sorting, such as arranging operations and inspection operations.

[0014] Therefore, it is preferable to adopt a roller conveyor for the work lane to enable pulling in the object to be conveyed and manual work at a predetermined position, and also to enable pushing back into the conveyance lane or, if necessary, pushing and conveying the object to be conveyed downstream along the work lane as it is.

[0015] In addition, for the sliding of the object to be conveyed in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction such as the above-mentioned pulling in and pushing back, in addition to the case of manual work, for example, mechanical work using a spring or the like can be utilized except for lifting by a robot hand or the like.

[0016] In this case, it is preferable to slide the object to be conveyed in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance lane, particularly when using a roller conveyor. Note that the "sliding in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction" of the object to be conveyed may not be a strict "orthogonal" in some cases because, even in the case of mechanical work, the object to be conveyed moves along the conveyance direction on the conveyance lane, as is natural in the case of manual work.

[0017] Further, the conveyor conveyance device of the present invention is inclined such that the outside is lower than at least the inside adjacent to the conveyance lane of the work lane.

[0018] Therefore, only the working lane may be inclined with respect to the conveying lane, or both the conveying lane and the working lane may be inclined. At this time, the inclination angles of the conveying lane and the working lane may be the same or different. When the conveying lane is inclined, the inner side adjacent to the conveying lane is at a higher position and the outer side is at a lower position, and the inclination angle may be larger than the inclination angle of the conveying lane.

[0019] Also, when a working lane is provided on one side orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying lane, both the conveying lane and the working lane may be inclined. However, when working lanes are provided on both sides orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying lane, the conveying lane is arranged horizontally.

[0020] Furthermore, when working lanes are provided on both sides orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying lane, the inclination angles of the respective working lanes may be the same or different.

[0021] The inner side of the working lane is at the same position in the horizontal direction as the inner side of the conveying lane, and the outer side of the working lane is inclined to be at a lower position than that.

[0022] Thereby, even when the weight of the object to be conveyed is heavy, it is possible to perform the work more easily when picking up and pulling the object to be conveyed from the conveying lane into the working lane. In addition, the upper surface side of the object to be conveyed stopped in the working lane becomes easy to see, and the visibility can be improved.

[0023] Note that the inner side of the working lane being at the same position in the horizontal direction as the inner side of the conveying lane means being at the same position in terms of lane design, and does not include the case where sinking occurs due to errors in actual lane installation, the weight of the object to be conveyed, etc. Therefore, the same position here includes cases such as substantially the same position, approximately the same position, near the same position, etc.

[0024] In addition, the conveyor transport device of the present invention includes a plate-like member that extends along a predetermined length range along the transport direction, which is necessary for sliding the object to be transported in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, in an opposing section that exists along the transport direction of the transport lane and inside the gap between the inside of the transport lane and the inside of the work lane, and has a width within a predetermined range of the gap.

[0025] Since it is preferable to adopt a roller conveyor for the work lane, there is a frame for rotatably holding the ends of each roller via bearings. However, the upper surface of this frame is lower than the apex of the roller, and there is a slight gap to avoid interference with the transport lane.

[0026] Such a gap makes it easy for the object to be transported to fall when pulling the object to be transported from the transport lane into the work lane or pushing it back from the work lane to the transport lane. The object to be transported may get caught on rollers or the like, causing adverse effects on sliding, or may be a factor in damaging the packaging material (such as a cardboard box).

[0027] Therefore, by closing the gap existing between the transport lane and the work lane with a plate-like member, it becomes possible to suppress the occurrence of the above-mentioned problems.

[0028] Note that for the plate-like member, any of metal, resin, or wood may be used as long as it has sufficient strength according to the size and weight of the object to be transported.

[0029] Also, closing the gap with a plate-like member does not mean that the gap completely disappears. The effect can be achieved if the gap in the width direction becomes smaller.

[0030] In addition, for the conveyor transport device of the present invention, the same effect can be obtained even if the upper surface of the plate-like member is arranged at a lower position within a range not exceeding 1.0 mm from the upper end inside of the roller, or the width of the groove is made narrow enough so that the object to be transported does not fall in.

[0031] The upper surface of the plate-shaped member is arranged to avoid interference with the roller caused by the groove when the object to be conveyed is drawn in. However, if it is at a higher position than the upper end inside the roller, the plate-shaped member will interfere. Therefore, it is naturally necessary to be at a lower position than the upper end inside the roller.

[0032] Therefore, the plate-shaped member is arranged at a lower position within a range where the upper surface does not exceed 1.0 mm from the upper end inside the roller, so as to eliminate these interferences. If it is at a lower position than 1.0 mm, the effect of blocking the groove will be weakened, and there is a possibility that the object to be conveyed will interfere with the upper end of the roller.

[0033] In addition, in the conveyor transport device of the present invention, the transport lane and the work lane can be arbitrarily stopped or operated respectively in the facing section, so that the workability can be stabilized.

[0034] In addition, in the conveyor transport device of the present invention, in the facing section, for a plurality of objects to be conveyed transported from the transport lane, according to a predetermined sorting rule, the object to be conveyed is allowed to move from the transport lane to the work lane by sliding in the pulling direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the transport lane, and the pulled object to be conveyed is allowed to move from the work lane to the transport lane by sliding in the pushing-back direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the transport lane according to a predetermined sorting rule, and the range is set to be above that.

[0035] Therefore, as long as there is a facing space due to the arrangement of the transport lane and the work lane being close to each other, for example, it is not necessary for the transport lane and the work lane to be arranged in parallel over the entire length in the transport direction. The transport direction of the transport lane and the transport direction of the work lane may be orthogonal to each other. In addition, a separate transport lane may be provided between the transport lane and the work lane, and the transport lane may be used as the work lane.

[0036] At this time, at least the opposing space should be longer than the length in the direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the object to be conveyed (which coincides with the conveying direction of the conveying lane), so as not to cause any adverse effects when the object to be conveyed slides.

[0037] In addition, in the conveyor transport device of the present invention, the opposing section sorts the articles in the object to be conveyed that has moved to the work lane according to a predetermined sorting rule, and allows the sorted articles to move from the work lane to the conveying lane according to a predetermined sorting rule within a range that is greater than or equal to a certain value.

[0038] In addition, in the conveyor transport device of the present invention, the opposing section picks up the articles in the object to be conveyed that has moved to the work lane according to a predetermined sorting rule, exchanges the transport order into a predetermined order, and inputs the exchanged articles into the object to be conveyed in the exchanged order, allowing the movement from the work lane to the conveying lane within a range that is greater than or equal to a certain value.

[0039] In addition, in the conveyor transport device of the present invention, the opposing section allows a plurality of objects to be conveyed transported from the conveying lane to move from the conveying lane to the work lane by sliding in the pulling direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying lane according to a predetermined sorting rule, inspects the articles in the pulled object to be conveyed according to a predetermined inspection rule, and allows the articles that do not meet the inspection rule criteria among the articles to move from the work lane to the inspection article waiting section within a range that is greater than or equal to a certain value.

[0040] Therefore, the opposing section can be set as the arrangement section of the plate-shaped member within a necessary range where, for example, the object to be conveyed can perform pulling and pushing back by sliding between the conveying lane and the work lane.

[0041] In addition, in the conveyor transport device of the present invention, a transfer section for transferring the conveyed object to the automated guided vehicle can be provided in the work lane.

[0042] In addition, in the transfer section of the AGV of the conveyor transfer device of the present invention, a facility for parking and charging the AGV can be provided.

Advantages of the Invention

[0043] The conveyor transfer device of the present invention can contribute to the improvement and simplification of transfer efficiency.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0044]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0045] Next, the conveyor transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments shown below are preferred specific examples in the conveyor transfer device of the present invention, and there may be various technically preferable limitations, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these aspects unless there are descriptions specifically limiting the present invention. In addition, the components in the embodiments shown below can be appropriately replaced with existing components, etc., and various variations including combinations with other existing components are possible. Therefore, the description of the embodiments shown below does not limit the content of the invention described in the claims.

[0046] In FIG. 1, the conveyor transport device 1 transports, for example, a cardboard box or a folding container (hereinafter sometimes simply abbreviated as "Oricon") that stores (packages) one or more articles (for example, six bottles of wine) 11 as the object to be transported 10. It includes a storage operation lane 2 that transports the object to be transported 10 after storage, a transport lane 3 that conveys the object to be transported 10 conveyed from the storage operation lane 2 to, for example, a terminal for a transport truck by conveyor, and a work lane 4 composed of roller conveyors arranged side by side adjacent to at least one side perpendicular to the transport direction of the transport lane 3.

[0047] In addition, as the one or more articles 11 stored in the object to be transported 10 such as a cardboard box or Oricon, in the case of the six bottles of wine described above, in addition to the case where the same type of wine is stored in one object to be transported 10, for example, cases where different types of wine for set sales that can be selected by the purchaser are stored can be included.

[0048] The transport lane 3 sequentially conveys one or more objects to be transported 10 storing one or more articles 11 along the transport direction by a roller conveyor method.

[0049] The object to be transported 10 is, for example, electrically transported by the power of the drive device 7 or pushed out by manual power or the transport force of the object to be transported 10 from the upstream side according to its transport purpose. Therefore, either a belt conveyor method or a roller conveyor method can be adopted for the transport lane 3.

[0050] The work lane 4 picks up the object to be transported 10 conveyed from the transport lane 3 as needed, manually pulls it from the transport lane 3 to the work lane 4 by the operator P1, and performs a predetermined manual operation.

[0051] At this time, in the work lane 4, it is not transported in the transport direction and can be stopped in front of the operator P1. After that, when the work is completed, it is pushed back to the transport lane 3 or conveyed downstream to the transport lane 3 or the work lane 4 by pushing it out in the transport direction using the roller conveyor of the work lane 4.

[0052] Operator P1, as necessary, sorts the conveyed object 10 according to a predetermined sorting rule, and performs a sorting operation of pushing back the sorted conveyed object 10 from the work lane 4 to the conveying lane 3 according to the predetermined sorting rule.

[0053] Also, Operator P1, as necessary, rearranges the conveyance order of the conveyed object 10 according to a predetermined sorting rule, and performs an order arranging operation of putting the rearranged conveyed object 10 in the rearrangement order and pushing it back from the work lane 4 to the conveying lane 3.

[0054] Furthermore, Operator P1, as necessary, moves the plurality of conveyed objects 10 conveyed from the conveying lane 3 to the work lane 4 by sliding in the pulling direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying lane 3 according to a predetermined sorting rule, inspects the pulled conveyed object 10 according to a predetermined inspection rule, and moves the conveyed object 10 that does not meet the criteria of the inspection rule among those conveyed objects 10 from the work lane 4 to an inspection article waiting section (not shown). An inspection operation is performed.

[0055] During this inspection operation, for the conveyed object 10 determined as NG, Operator P1 can, for example, utilize the roller conveyor function of the work lane 4 to push out the conveyed object 10 in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the conveying lane 3, thereby reversely transporting the conveyed object 10 to the inspection article waiting section.

[0056] Note that the pick-up of the conveyed object 10 performed by Operator P1 as necessary is not particularly limited as long as it is manual work that cannot be performed by mechanical work, such as culling for loading adjustment on a truck, picking up for changing the delivery destination, extracting, pushing in, or arranging, inspecting the conveyed object 10 before the final packaging that has become scattered during the conveying process or one or more articles 11 stored in the conveyed object 10, etc., based on a predetermined sorting rule. Also, the "sorting" here can include operations other than sorting, such as the above-mentioned order arranging operation and inspection operation.

[0057] Therefore, in the work lane 4, a roller conveyor with generally low frictional resistance is adopted to enable the pulling-in of the object to be conveyed 10 and manual work at a predetermined position, and also to enable pushing the object back to the conveying lane 3 or, if necessary, pushing and conveying the object to be conveyed 10 downstream in the work lane 4 as it is.

[0058] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the work lane 4 and the conveying lane 3 are inclined such that the outer sides adjacent to each other are lower than the inner sides.

[0059] The inner sides of the conveying lane 3 and the work lane 4 are at the same position in the horizontal direction, and the outer sides of the conveying lane 3 and the work lane 4 are inclined to be lower than the inner sides.

[0060] Thus, when picking up and pulling in the object to be conveyed 10 from the conveying lane 3 to the work lane 4, even if the weight of the object to be packed is heavy, the pulling-in operation can be easily performed due to the inclination of the upward inclined conveying lane 3 with respect to the pulling-in direction and the downward inclined work lane 4 with respect to the pulling-in direction. Also, the upper surface side of the object to be conveyed 10 stopped in the work lane 4 becomes easily visible, and the visibility can be improved.

[0061] Note that the fact that the inner side of the work lane 4 is at the same position in the horizontal direction with respect to the inner side of the conveying lane 3 means the same position in terms of lane design, and does not include cases such as errors during actual lane installation or sinking due to the weight of the object to be conveyed 10, etc. Therefore Here, the same position includes cases such as substantially the same position, approximately the same position, near the same position, etc.

[0062] In addition, between the inside of the conveyor transport device 1 and the inside of the work lane 4, there is a gap 5 in the opposing section along the transport direction of the transport lane 3 due to the close arrangement of the respective lanes 3 and 4. In this gap 5, at least the operator P1 is positioned so that the object to be transported 10 can slide in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and a plate-like member 20 is arranged that extends over a predetermined length range along the transport direction and has a width within a predetermined range of the gap 5.

[0063] Since a roller conveyor is adopted in the work lane 4, there is a frame 4b for rotatably holding the ends of the respective rollers 4a via bearings. However, the upper surface of this frame 4b is located at a lower position than the apex of the roller 4a, and there is a slight gap 5 to avoid interference with the roller 3a and the frame 3b of the transport lane 3.

[0064] When the object to be transported 10 picked up from the transport lane 3 to the work lane 4 is pulled in, such a gap 5 makes it easy for the object to be transported 10 to fall in, and the object to be transported 10 may get caught on the roller 4a and cause adverse effects on the pulling-in operation, or may be a factor in damaging the packaging material (such as a cardboard box).

[0065] Therefore, by closing the gap 5 existing between the transport lane 3 and the work lane 4 with the plate-like member 20, it becomes possible to suppress the occurrence of the above-mentioned problems.

[0066] Note that the plate-like member 20 may be made of metal, resin, or wood as long as it has a strength corresponding to the size and weight of the object to be transported 10.

[0067] Also, closing the gap 5 with the plate-like member 20 does not mean that the gap 5 completely disappears. If the gap 5 in the width direction becomes smaller, the effect can be exerted.

[0068] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, a gap W is provided between the plate-like member 20 and the roller 4a to avoid interference with the rotation of the roller. Note that this gap W is the same in relation to the transport lane 3, and it is desirable that the width be the same on both the left and right sides in the width direction of FIG. 3. Therefore, the gap W is set in the range of 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm (or within 10% of the gap 5).

[0069] Further, the upper surface 20a of the plate-like member 20 is arranged at a lower position in the range where the height H is 1.0 to 0.6 mm lower than the upper end portion inside the roller 4a.

[0070] The upper surface 20a of the plate-like member 20 is arranged to avoid interference with the roller caused by the gap 5 when the object to be transported 10 is drawn in. However, if it is at a higher value relative to the upper end inside the roller, then the plate-like member 20 will interfere, so naturally it needs to be at a lower position than the upper end portion inside the roller.

[0071] Therefore, the plate-like member 20 is arranged at a lower position such that the upper surface 20a does not exceed 1.0 mm lower than the upper end portion inside the roller 4a, thereby eliminating these interferences.

[0072] Note that if the lower position exceeds 1.0 mm, the effect of closing the gap 5 will be weakened, and there is a possibility that the object to be transported 10 will interfere with the upper end portion of the roller. Depending on the type, size, weight, etc. of the object to be transported 10, if it is at a value higher than 0.6 mm, there is a possibility that the object to be transported 10 will interfere with the plate-like member 20. Therefore, the above dimensional range can be appropriately selected / changed depending on the type, size, weight, etc. of the object to be transported 10.

[0073] Note that as the opposing section where the plate-like member 20 is arranged, depending on the arrangement of the transport lane 3 and the work lane 4, it may be the entire length of the section where the transport lane 3 and the work lane 4 are in a parallel state, or, considering the size of the object to be transported 10, it can be set to be equal to or greater than the section that allows the execution of the above-mentioned "sorting work", "stacking work", "inspection work", etc.

[0074] In this way, by arranging the work lane 4 in parallel with the transport lane 3, it is possible to perform manual work independently of the transport status of the transport lane 3 while transporting the object to be transported 10 in the transport process, and to perform the transport process and the work process simultaneously in parallel. Compared with the case where the transport lane 3 and the work lane 4 are arranged in series, the lane length and the transport time can be shortened, which can contribute to the simplification of the transport efficiency and the efficiency improvement of the processing work of the transport object.

[0075] In addition, by closing the gap 5 formed by arranging the transport lane 3 and the work lane 4 in parallel with the plate-like member 20, when pulling in the object to be transported 10 picked up from the transport lane 3 to the work lane 4, the object to be transported 10 may fall in, get caught on the roller 4a and cause harm to the pulling-in work, or become a factor in the damage of the packaging material (such as a cardboard box). Such problems can be suppressed.

[0076] FIG. 5 shows an example in which the above-described lanes are arranged in parallel and applied to the entire transport system.

[0077] In this transport system 30, for example, two parallel lanes are arranged in parallel for transport. For example, a plurality of different types (for example, 4 to 8 types) of objects to be transported (the illustration of the articles is omitted, and as an example, 4 types) 10A to 10D are transported from a total of 4 incoming lanes 31 in pairs of 2, and are merged into the merging lane 32 connected to the downstream end so that two rows become one row.

[0078] The objects to be transported 10A to 10D merged in the merging lane 32 are transported in each row, for example, with one as the first transport lane 33 and the other as the second transport lane 34.

[0079] In each of the transport lanes 33 and 34, a number of work lanes 35 (for example, 3 in each row) composed of roller conveyors are provided, which are adjacent to each other with their upstream ends close in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of each of the transport lanes 33 and 34 and have a transport direction perpendicular to the transport direction of each of the transport lanes 33 and 34.

[0080] Also, a merging lane 36 and a standby lane 37 are provided at the downstream ends of the respective conveyance lanes 33, 34.

[0081] On the other hand, plate-like members 20 are arranged in the respective opposing spaces between the first conveyance lane 33 and the second conveyance lane 34, and between each of the conveyance lanes 33, 34 and the work lane 35.

[0082] As a result, a plurality of conveyed objects 10A to 10D conveyed in the respective conveyance lanes 33, 34 are, for example, assigned to workers P11 to P14 and workers P21 to P24 corresponding to the respective work lanes 35, and the conveyed objects 10A to 10D that are work targets based on a predetermined sorting rule for each work lane 35 (for each of the workers P11 to P14 and workers P21 to P24) arrive. In response to the lighting (or flashing) state of a lamp 38 that notifies this, the conveyed objects 10 to 10D are slid. Note that, regardless of the notification by the lamp 38, the slide may be performed by visual judgment of each of the workers P11 to P14 and workers P21 to P24.

[0083] Specifically, the slide targets include the case of pulling from the respective conveyance lanes 33, 34 into the work lane 35 and the case of pushing out between the respective conveyance lanes 33, 34. Therefore, the lamp 38 can be lit (or flashed) in different colors so as to recognize which operation is to be performed.

[0084] Regarding the lamp 38 that notifies the workers P11 to P14 and workers P21 to P24 of the pick-up target, a similar function may be achieved, for example, by arranging a projector (not shown) directly above the conveyance lane 3 and projecting the conveyed objects 10A to 10D (or an image simulating the same) that are the pick-up targets directly by lighting the projector light.

[0085] By doing so, the workers P11 to P14 and workers P21 to P24 can directly visually recognize the conveyed objects 10A to 10D that are the pick-up targets, and thus can accurately perform the pick-up operation without misrecognition.

[0086] When the operators P11 to P14 and the operators P21 to P24 pull the conveyed objects 10A to 10D picked up from the respective transfer lanes 33 and 34 into the work lane 35, after performing predetermined work, they push them out downstream of the work lane 35, stack them in the stacking lane 40, and are transferred / stacked to the stacking section 60 for each type by the transfer robot 50 to become the conveyed item B, and then are transferred to a transfer section (not shown).

[0087] Note that the operators P21 to P24 can execute substantially the same work as the operators P11 to P14 in cooperation. Therefore, although not shown, for the work lane 35 adjacent to one of the first transfer lanes 33, the stacking lane 40, the transfer robot 50, and the stacking section 60 are also arranged.

[0088] Therefore, for example, in the situation where the operators P11 to P14 are working, one of the first transfer lanes 33 functions as a transfer lane, the other second transfer lane 34 functions as a work lane, and at the same time, the other second transfer lane 34 functions as a transfer lane and the work lane 35 functions as a work lane.

[0089] Similarly, for example, in the situation where the operators P21 to P24 are working, the other second transfer lane 34 functions as a transfer lane, one of the first transfer lanes 33 functions as a work lane, and at the same time, one of the first transfer lanes 33 functions as a transfer lane and the work lane 35 functions as a work lane.

[0090] In this way, the work lane 35 can be provided with a stacking lane 40, a transfer robot 50, a stacking section 60, a transfer section, etc.

[0091] Note that the transfer section can be, for example, a section for transferring the conveyed item B in which the conveyed objects 10A to 10D shown in FIG. 5 are stored in the stacking section 60 to an automated guided vehicle (not shown). At this time, in the transfer section of the automated guided vehicle, equipment for parking and charging the automated guided vehicle can be provided.

[0092] Note that the automated guided vehicle can include an automated guided robot, and in practice, it can target an AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle).

[0093] Therefore, when deploying as a specific pickup system, carriers 10A to 10D such as Oricon in which a plurality of articles 11 are stored in each transport lane 33, 34 are transported.

[0094] Next, workers P11 to P14 and workers P21 to P24 pick up in response to the notification of the lamp 38 (or the above projector) for the carriers 10A to 10D and pull them into the work lane 35, pick up the required number there, and wait in the transfer section of the AGV (a transport box such as a shipping cardboard box or a passing box is mounted on this AGV). Then, they are put into the transport box of the AGV.

[0095] At this time, when workers P11 to P14 and workers P21 to P24 press the input completion button (not shown), the AGV departs from there and is inspected / packaged at a shipping station or the like.

[0096] If the pickup is not yet complete, the worker goes to the transfer section of an adjacent worker and performs a similar pickup there, or goes to the transfer section of another opposing section for pickup. After all pickups are completed, they head to the shipping station for inspection / packaging and shipping.

[0097] On the other hand, workers P11 to P14 and workers P21 to P24 push back the carrier 10 for which the pickup is completed from the work lane 35 to the transport lanes 33, 34.

[0098] In this way, a plurality of types of carriers 10A to 10D is are picked up by a plurality of workers P11 to P14 and workers P21 to P24, and operations such as sorting and sequencing corresponding to a predetermined sorting rule can be efficiently performed.

[0099] Note that the lamp 38 can also identify the conveyed objects 10A to 10D by, for example, reading barcodes or RFID.

[0100] In addition, each of the conveyance lanes 3, 33, 34 and each of the work lanes 4, 35 may be configured to be able to stop or operate arbitrarily in the opposing section, and may be configured to contribute to the stabilization of the pickup operation.

[0101] By the way, in the above embodiment, it has been described that both the conveyance lane 3 and the work lane 4 are inclined. In this case, the inclination angles of the conveyance lane 3 and the work lane 4 may be the same or different. Further, only the work lane 4 may be inclined with respect to the conveyance lane 3.

[0102] Note that in the above embodiment, the case where one work lane 4 is arranged on one side orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance lane 3 has been described. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a work lane 6 may also be arranged in parallel on the other side orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance lane 3, and simultaneous work by another worker P2 is also possible.

[0103] This can contribute not only to improving the work efficiency such as simultaneous work of the same work by worker P1 and worker P2 or simultaneous work of different works by worker P1 and worker P2, but also to utilization forms such as worker P2 taking a break while worker P1 is working (or vice versa).

[0104] Further, when the work lane 4 is provided on one side orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance lane 3, both the conveyance lane 3 and the work lane 4 may be inclined. However, when the work lanes 4 and 6 are provided on both sides orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance lane 3, the conveyance lane 3 is arranged horizontally.

[0105] Furthermore, when the work lanes 4 and 6 are provided on both sides orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance lane 3, the inclination angles of the respective work lanes 4 and 6 may be the same or different.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0106] 1…Conveyor transport device 2…Storage work lane 3…Transport lane 3a…Roller 3b…Frame 4…Work lane 4a…Roller 4b…Frame 5…Gap 6…Work lane 7…Drive device 10…Object to be transported 11…Article 20…Plate-like member 20a…Upper surface H…Height W…Gap P1…Operator P2…Operator

Claims

1. A conveying lane for conveying an object to be conveyed by a conveyor, An operation lane that is adjacent to at least one side orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveying lane and is arranged in proximity so as to have an opposing section along the conveying direction of the conveying lane and is composed of a roller conveyor, Among the opposing sections existing along the conveying direction of the conveying lane in the gap between the inside of the conveying lane and the inside of the operation lane, at least a plate-like member that extends over a predetermined length range along the conveying direction necessary for sliding the object to be conveyed in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, and has a width within a predetermined range of the gap Comprising A gap is provided between the end of the roller of the roller conveyor on the side of the plate-like member and the plate-like member, thereby avoiding interference with the rotation of the roller of the roller conveyor. The upper surface of the plate-like member is arranged at a lower position within a range not exceeding 1.0 mm from the upper end of the inside of the operation lane, so that when the object to be conveyed is drawn from the conveying lane to the operation lane, the object to be conveyed does not fall, and / or the plate-like member closes the gap that causes the object to be conveyed to be caught by the roller, while avoiding interference with the roller due to the gap when the object to be conveyed is drawn in A conveyor device characterized by the above.

2. The conveyor device according to claim 1, wherein the conveying lane is a roller conveyor.

3. In the conveying lane and the operation lane of the opposing section, the conveying lane is horizontal in the direction opposite to the conveying direction or inclined such that the inner side adjacent to the operation lane is at a high position and the outer side is at a low position, and the operation lane is arranged horizontally when the conveying lane is horizontal, and when the conveying lane is inclined, the inner side adjacent to the conveying lane is at a high position and the outer side is at a low position and has an inclination angle larger than the inclination angle of the conveying lane. The conveyor device according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. The conveyor device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the conveying lane and the operation lane can be arbitrarily stopped or operated in the opposing section.

5. The opposing section is With respect to a plurality of conveyed objects conveyed from the conveyance lane, the conveyed objects are allowed to move from the conveyance lane to the work lane by sliding in a pulling direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance lane according to a predetermined sorting rule, and the pulled conveyed objects are allowed to move from the work lane to the conveyance lane by sliding in a pushing-back direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance lane according to a predetermined sorting rule within a range that allows such movement, the conveyor transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that.

6. The facing section is picking up the conveyed object that has moved to the work lane according to a predetermined sorting rule and changing the conveyance order to a predetermined order, and allowing the conveyed object after the change to move from the work lane to the conveyance lane within a range that allows such movement, the conveyor transport device according to claim 4, characterized in that.

7. The facing section is With respect to a plurality of conveyed objects conveyed from the conveyance lane, the conveyed objects are allowed to move from the conveyance lane to the work lane by sliding in a pulling direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyance lane according to a predetermined sorting rule, and the pulled conveyed objects are inspected according to a predetermined inspection rule, and when the pulled conveyed objects do not meet the criteria of the inspection rule, the pulled conveyed objects are allowed to move from the work lane to the inspection article waiting section within a range that allows such movement, the conveyor transport device according to claim 4, characterized in that.

8. In the work lane, a transfer section for transferring the conveyed object to an automated guided vehicle is provided, the conveyor transport device according to claim 1, characterized in that.

9. In the transfer section of the automated guided vehicle, a facility for parking and charging the automated guided vehicle is provided, the conveyor transport device according to claim 8, characterized in that.

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