Shelf deployment assistance mechanism

Abstract

To provide a shelf board expansion auxiliary mechanism capable of preventing a failure when automatically expanding a shelf board.SOLUTION: There is provided a shelf board expansion auxiliary mechanism used for expanding a shelf board 10 of a roll inner 7, including: a foldable shelf board 10 that has a hinge 17, a rear shelf board 18, and a front shelf board 19 and is folded in two; a rear latch 12 that locks a rear end portion 20 of the rear shelf board 18; a holding unit 2; a drive unit 3; and a control unit 4. The control unit 4 controls the drive unit 3 to cause the holding unit 2 to hold and pull the rear end portion 20 toward the rear side, thereby tilting the rear shelf board 18 toward the front side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a shelf deployment assist mechanism that assists in the deployment of shelves in a mobile rack for egg cartons. [Background technology]

[0002] After eggs are packed at the GP center, they are placed on a special mobile rack called a roll inner. The roll inner has multiple shelves and can be folded when not in use, but when in use, it is unfolded and egg cartons are stacked on each shelf.

[0003] Conventionally, when using a roll inner, the work of unfolding the rack has been done manually. However, due to the size of the roll inner, unfolding the rack requires a considerable amount of labor. Therefore, in recent years, attempts have been made to unfold the roll inner automatically using machines.

[0004] One example of a device that automatically unfolds a roll inner is the device described in Patent Document 1. The roll inner unfolding device described in Patent Document 1 includes a device that unfolds a foldable shelf board that the roll inner has. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-147241 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the shelf unfolding device described in Prior Art Document 1 often fails to automatically unfold the folding shelf for the following reasons.

[0007] When the shelf is folded, the rear end of the shelf is locked with a latch on the frame of the roll inner, so when unfolding the folding shelf, the rear end of the shelf must be released from the latch.

[0008] However, depending on how the roll inner is used, the folding shelf board or the entire roll inner board is prone to distortion or bending. When distortion or bending occurs in the folding shelf board or the entire roll inner board, the rear end of the shelf board and the latch become fixed to each other, which makes it impossible to release the rear end of the shelf board from the latch, and the shelf board fails to automatically unfold.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a shelf unfolding assistance mechanism that can release the rear ends of shelves that have become fixed to each other from the latch, thereby preventing failure when automatically unfolding the shelves. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The shelf unfolding assistance mechanism of the present invention is a shelf unfolding assistance mechanism used to unfold the shelves of a mobile rack having a foldable shelf that is folded in half around the hinge, a rear shelf that is further back than the hinge, and a front shelf that is further forward than the hinge, and a latch that engages the rear end of the rear shelf, and is equipped with a holding part that holds the rear end, a drive part that drives the holding part, and a control part that controls the drive of the drive part, and the control part controls the drive of the drive part, causing the holding part to hold the rear end and pull it toward the rear, thereby tilting the rear shelf towards the front. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, even if the frame of the shelf and the latch are fixed to each other, failure to automatically unfold the shelf can be suppressed.

[0012] The above and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic side view showing a shelf board deployment assist mechanism according to a first embodiment of the present invention in use. FIG. [Figure 2] 10 is a schematic side view showing the shelf board deployment assist mechanism according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 3] 10 is a schematic side view for explaining a problem to be solved by the shelf board unfolding assistance mechanism according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4] 10 is a schematic side view showing the operation of the shelf board deployment assistance mechanism according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 5] 10 is a schematic side view showing the operation of the shelf board deployment assistance mechanism according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a schematic side view showing the operation of the shelf board deployment assistance mechanism according to the embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The following description will be given with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic side view showing a shelf board unfolding assistance mechanism 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention in use. The shelf board unfolding assistance mechanism 1 according to this embodiment includes a holding unit 2, a drive unit 3, and a control unit 4.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shelf board deployment assist mechanism 1 is housed in a storage frame 5, and the storage frame 5 is installed on a support column 6 that supports the shelf board deployment assist mechanism 1 as a whole.

[0016] The roll inner 7 deployed by the shelf board deployment assist mechanism 1 includes a rear frame 8, a pair of side frames 9, and a plurality of shelf boards 10.

[0017] The rear frame 8 is made up of multiple vertical members connected by horizontal members. The rear frame 8 is equipped with a rear latch 12 that hooks onto the rear shaft 11 of the shelf 10 when the shelf 10 is folded, and a front latch 14 that hooks onto the front shaft 13 of the shelf 10. In this specification, the terms "rear side" and "front side" refer to the side that is closest to the egg packs P when the roll inner 7 is displayed in a store.

[0018] The side frames 9 are rotatably connected to the rear frame 8 and are provided on the left and right sides of the rear frame 8. The side frames 9 are provided with shelf holders 15 and an unfolding latch 16 on the inside. The unfolding latch 16 is provided at the front end of the shelf holder 15, and by hooking the front-side shaft 13 onto this unfolding latch 16, the shelf 10 is kept unfolded flat.

[0019] Each shelf board 10 is foldable and consists of two boards, a front and a back. The two boards are attached via hinges 17 having an axis extending in the left-right direction of the inner roll 7, and are folded into a mountain shape by relative movement of the two boards. After unfolding the shelf board 10 from its folded state, egg cartons P are placed on the shelf board 10 for use.

[0020] The shelf 10 has a hinge 17, a rear shelf 18 located further back than the hinge 17, and a front shelf 19 located closer to the front. The rear shelf 18 has a rear shaft 11 that is selectively engaged with the rear latch 12 and the unfolding latch 16 at a rear end 20 of the rear shelf 18. The front shelf 19 has a front shaft 13 at the tip of the front shelf 19 that is selectively engaged with the unfolding latch 16 and the front latch 14.

[0021] In addition, in the stored state, each shelf 10 is folded in half around hinge 17 and moved toward the rear. In the stored state, rear shaft 11 and front shaft 13 are engaged with rear latch 12 and front latch 14, respectively. On the other hand, in the used state, shelf 10 is in a flat state on which egg cartons P can be placed. In the folded state, rear shaft 11 is engaged with rear latch 12, and front shaft 13 is engaged with front latch 14. In the used state, front shaft 13 is engaged with unfolding latch 16.

[0022] Each shelf 10 is provided at its front end 21 with a front frame 22 that prevents egg cartons P in the first layer of shelf 10 from falling forward, and at its rear end 20 with a rear frame 23 that prevents egg cartons P in the first layer of shelf 10 from falling backward. Front frame 22 and rear frame 23 are integrally formed with or welded to front shaft 13 and rear shaft 11, respectively.

[0023] The holding portion 2 holds the rear end portion 20 of the shelf board 10. The holding portion 2 has two hooks 25 on one surface of a rectangular plate portion 24. The two hooks 25 are provided near one end of the long side of the plate portion 24 and parallel to the short side, and each is formed in a hook shape suitable for hooking the rear frame 23 of the rear shelf board 18 from above.

[0024] A drive shaft 26 is provided parallel to the short side of the plate portion 24 near the short side farther from the hook 25, and the drive shaft 26 is connected to the drive unit 3. In addition, a rotation shaft 27 is provided parallel to the drive shaft 26 near the drive shaft 26, and the plate portion 24 is rotatably connected to the storage frame 5 via the rotation shaft 27.

[0025] When plate portion 24 rotates around rotation shaft 27, one end rests on rear frame 23 provided at rear end 20 of shelf 10. After the hook-shaped portion of hook 25 is positioned on the opposite side of rear frame 23 of shelf 10 from shelf unfolding assistance mechanism 1, the entire hook 25 is pulled toward shelf unfolding assistance mechanism 1. As the hook-shaped portion of hook 25 hooks onto rear frame 23 of rear end 20, holding portion 2 holds rear end 20.

[0026] The hook-shaped portion of the hook 25 may be adapted to approach the rear frame 23 of the shelf board 10 from below and hook the rear frame 23 (not shown).

[0027] Further, the holding portion 2 may be provided with an adsorption means (not shown) having sufficient adsorption force to remove the firmly fixed rear shaft 11 from the rear latch 12 .

[0028] The firmly fixed rear shaft 11 can be removed from the rear latch 12 by sucking and pulling the rear end 20 of the rear shelf board 18 with a suction means having sufficient force.

[0029] The drive unit 3 drives the holding unit 2. The drive unit 3 has a rotation cylinder 28 and a tension cylinder 29. Air cylinders are used for the rotation cylinder 28 and the tension cylinder 29. The drive unit 3 drives the holding unit 2 to rotate by a crank mechanism using a rotation shaft 27 and a drive shaft 26.

[0030] The rotation cylinder 28 has a rotation rod 30 and a rotation cylinder tube 31 , the rotation cylinder tube 31 is connected to the storage frame 5 , and the rotation rod 30 is connected to the drive shaft 26 of the holder 2 .

[0031] The pulling cylinder 29 has a pulling rod 32 and a pulling cylinder tube 33, the pulling cylinder tube 33 is fixed to the support column 6, and the pulling rod 32 is connected to the storage frame 5. A guided cylinder tube is used for the pulling cylinder tube 33 in order to improve resistance to the lateral load applied to the pulling rod 32 when the firmly fixed rear shaft 11 is removed from the rear latch 12.

[0032] Since the strength of an air cylinder increases in proportion to its diameter, large-diameter cylinder tubes are used for the rotating cylinder 28 and the pulling cylinder 29 so that they can generate enough force to remove the firmly fixed rear shaft 11 from the rear latch 12.

[0033] The control unit 4 controls the driving of the drive unit 3. The control unit 4 controls the operation of the rotation cylinder 28 and the pulling cylinder 29 so that, when the device that unfolds the roll inner 7 unfolds the shelf board 10, the hook-shaped part of the holding unit 2 hooks onto the rear frame 23 of the shelf board 10 and moves the holding unit 2 linearly toward the shelf board unfolding assistance mechanism 1.

[0034] The shelf unfolding assistance mechanism 1 operates as follows to assist in unfolding the shelf 10: The drive unit 3 is driven to move the holding unit 2 forward. The holding unit 2 is rotated to lower the hook 25. The holding unit 2 is pulled to hook the rear frame 23, causing the holding unit 2 to hold the rear end 20. The holding unit 2 is pulled firmly to release the rear shaft 11 from the rear latch 12. The holding unit 2 is pulled in this state until the rear frame 23 is pressed against the vertical member of the rear frame 8. The holding unit 2 is moved forward to release the hook 25 from the rear frame 23. The holding unit 2 is rotated to raise the hook 25. The holding unit 2 is pulled back.

[0035] The storage frame 5 is fixed to the support column 6 so that it is inclined relative to the ground on which the roll inner 7 is placed. It is designed to match the shape of the rear latch 12. Therefore, the holding part 2 is pulled by the tension cylinder 29 in a direction that matches the shape of the rear latch 12.

[0036] The shelf board unfolding assistance mechanism 1 is moved up and down by a lifting mechanism (not shown) on the support column 6, and sequentially assists the unfolding operation of each of the multiple shelves 10 provided above and below the roll inner 7. When the shelf board unfolding assistance mechanism 1 assists the unfolding operation of the shelves 10, the roll inner 7 is fixed so as not to move.

[0037] The shelf board unfolding assistance mechanism 1 having the above configuration provides the following effects.

[0038] The inner roll 7 is prone to distortion or bending in the rear shaft 11, rear frame 8, and side frame 9, depending on the state of use or due to fastening with a lashing belt when not in use. In this case, a strong frictional force is generated between the rear latch 12 and the rear shaft 11, making it impossible to remove the rear shaft 11 from the rear latch 12, and the shelf board 10 cannot be unfolded.

[0039] This is because unless the rear shaft 11 is removed from the rear latch 12, the front shaft 13 cannot be removed from the front latch 14, as will be explained below.

[0040] As shown in Figure 3, if the rear axis 11 cannot be removed from the rear latch 12, even if you try to forcibly tilt the shelf board 10 toward the rear, the rear frame 23 will collide with the rear frame 8 at the rear frame collision point 34 indicated by the black circle.

[0041] Therefore, when the rear shaft 11 cannot be disengaged from the rear latch 12, the rear shelf board 18 cannot be tilted as shown by the fine two-dot chain line. When the rear shelf board 18 cannot be tilted, even if an attempt is made to disengage the front shaft 13 from the front latch 14, the front shaft 13 collides with the front latch 14 at the front shaft collision point 35 shown by the black circle, and the front shaft 13 cannot be disengaged from the front latch 14.

[0042] For the above reasons, if the rear shaft 11 cannot be removed from the rear latch 12, the shelf board 10 cannot be unfolded. For this reason, in conventional devices such as the device described in Patent Document 1, the shelf board 10 sometimes fails to unfold automatically.

[0043] Therefore, as shown in Figure 4, the shelf unfolding assistance mechanism 1 of the present invention removes the rear shaft 11 fixed to the rear latch 12 by pulling the rear end 20 of the rear shelf 18 with a force strong enough to remove the rear shaft 11 fixed to the rear latch 12.

[0044] In this case, as shown in Figure 5, the rear shelf board 18 can be tilted toward the front side of the roll inner 7. This allows the rear shelf board 18 to rotate around the rear shaft 11, which, together with the movement of the positions of the front shaft 13 and the hinge 17, makes it possible to easily disengage the front shaft 13 from the front latch 14.

[0045] As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the front shaft 13 can be disengaged from the front latch 14, preventing failure when the shelf board 10 is automatically unfolded.

[0046] The embodiments presented herein are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. The present invention is defined not by the scope of the above description but by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. [Industrial Applicability]

[0047] The present invention can be used in an apparatus for deploying a mobile rack for egg cartons. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1 Shelf deployment assistance mechanism 2 Holding part 3 Drive unit 4. Control section 5 Storage Frame 6 Support pillar 7 Roll inner 8 Rear frame 9 Side frame 10 shelves 11 Rear shaft 12 Rear latch 13 Front shaft 14 Front latch 15 Shelf support 16 Deployment latch 17 Hinge 18 Rear shelf 19 Front shelf 20 Back end 21 Front end 22 Front frame 23 Rear frame 24 Board part 25 Hook 26 Drive shaft 27 Rotation axis 28 Rotating cylinder 29 Tension cylinder 30 Rotation Rod 31 Rotating cylinder tube 32 Pulling rod 33 Tension cylinder tube 34 Rear frame collision point 35 Front axle collision point P egg carton

Claims

[Claim 1] A shelf unfolding assist mechanism used to unfold shelves of a mobile rack having a hinge, a rear shelf further back than the hinge, and a front shelf further forward than the hinge, a folding shelf folded in two around the hinge, and a latch portion that engages the rear end of the rear shelf, a holding portion that holds the deep end portion; a drive unit that drives the holding unit; a control unit that controls the driving of the drive unit, The control unit controls the drive unit, causing the holding unit to hold the rear end and pull it toward the rear, thereby tilting the rear shelf toward the front, a shelf unfolding assistance mechanism.

Images