Compression device for items loaded on a basket cart and method for transporting items

Abstract

To provide an article compressing device and an article transporting method for efficiently stacking articles loaded on a basket cart. [Solution] The basket trolley-loaded item compression device 1 comprises a housing 11 having an internal storage space for accommodating a basket trolley CF loaded with items, a bottom guide 116 attached to the rear end of the storage space and extending from the rear end towards the front side, which is the direction of the door section 30 of the housing 11 through which the basket trolley CF is inserted, and positioned so as to be located directly above the bottom surface of the basket trolley CF, a compression device 50 that compresses and reduces the volume of the items loaded on the basket trolley CF towards the bottom surface of the basket trolley CF while they remain loaded on the basket trolley CF, and a discharge device 40 that discharges the basket trolley CF from the housing 11 to the outside of the housing 11.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for compressing articles loaded on a basket cart. [Background technology]

[0002] Cardboard boxes are often used as packaging materials for transporting goods. In retail stores such as supermarkets, products are removed from the boxes and displayed for sale, resulting in a large amount of discarded cardboard boxes being generated every day.

[0003] Conventionally, these cardboard boxes are first placed in small box carts and transported to a collection site. Next, the box carts are stacked onto basket carts about 180 cm high. Cardboard collectors then move these basket carts to collection vehicles called packer cars or dust cars, and manually load only the cardboard onto the dust carts, which are then transported to the reprocessing plant.

[0004] The load capacity of these waste trucks is about 2 tons. Therefore, in large stores and other locations, it is sometimes impossible to load all the waste cardboard into one truck. This means that waste trucks have to make multiple trips between the store and the reprocessing plant, which not only takes time and effort but also contributes to traffic congestion. In addition, the operation of the waste truck's engine while loading the waste into the truck and the running of the truck for transportation result in the emission of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

[0005] In this regard, a technique has been proposed in which articles are compressed in a carrier and transported (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0006] However, this technology does not provide a fundamental solution, as it is not possible to transport the transport equipment to the reprocessing plant. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7437052 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an article compression device and article transport method for efficiently stacking articles on a basket cart.

[0009] The contents of the above "Background Art" and "Problem to be Solved by the Invention" indicate the opportunity (trigger) that led to the invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the invention, nor do they permit a limited interpretation of the technical scope of the invention (see 2005 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10042 and the Patent Office Examination Guidelines, Part II, Chapter 2, Section 2, 3.2.1 as of the filing date). [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present invention relates to a housing having an internal storage space for storing a basket cart loaded with articles, and a bottom guide attached to a rear end of the storage space, extending from the rear end toward the front side, and positioned so as to be located directly above the bottom surface of the basket cart. ,before The present invention provides a compression device for compressing items loaded on a basket cart, the compression device comprising: a compression device that compresses and reduces the volume of the items loaded on the bottom guide toward the bottom of the basket cart while the items remain loaded on the basket cart. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a device for compressing articles loaded on a basket cart and an article transporting method that efficiently accumulate articles. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the basket cart-loaded article compression device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates the position and operation of a compression device and an ejection device. [Figure 3]10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the positional relationship between a bottom guide and a rear guide. [Figure 4] 10 is a diagram showing the storage position of the basket cart in the basket cart-loaded article compression device. FIG. [Figure 5] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating how the basket cart loaded article compression device compresses and reduces the volume of the loaded articles on the basket cart. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an article compression device for compressing articles loaded on a basket cart (hereinafter also referred to as an article compression device 1) and an article transporting method according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0014] Fig. 1 is an external perspective view of an article compressing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the article compressing apparatus 1 includes a housing 11 having a space (hereinafter also referred to as a storage space) for storing basket carts CF therein, a side reinforcing guide 113, a side inner guide 114, a bottom guide 116 (see Fig. 4(B)), and a rear guide 117 (see Fig. 2(C)) arranged inside the housing, a door section 30 provided at the basket cart CF insertion portion which is the front surface of the housing 11, a compression device 50 which compresses loaded articles L vertically downward from above the loaded articles, and a discharge device 40 which pushes the basket carts CF from the inside of the housing 11 to the outside.

[0015] The housing 11 is made of a rigid material such as metal. Most commonly used types of carts CF are vertically long rectangular parallelepipeds with mesh-like side walls made of metal pipes. Therefore, the housing 11 is usually formed into a vertically long rectangular parallelepiped shape to match the shape and size of the cart CF used by the user, but the shape of the housing 11 can be set to any desired shape.

[0016] The side wall 111 of the housing 11 has through holes 112 (see FIG. 2(B)) through which the pressing member 20 is inserted. The through holes 112 are arranged such that the heights of the opposing through holes 112 in the side wall 111 match each other.

[0017] The side reinforcing guide 113 and the side inner guide 114 are arranged inside the housing 11 along the side wall 111 so as not to interfere with the insertion of the pressing member 20 into the through hole 112. The side reinforcing guide 113 and the side inner guide 114 are formed from a material such as metal, and have sufficient rigidity to withstand the extruding pressure from the inside to the outside of the housing 11 that occurs when the loaded item L is compressed.

[0018] The side reinforcement guide 113 and the side inner guide 114 are arranged facing each other with a gap 115 (see Figure 2 (C)) sufficient to fit a support member such as a pipe material that forms the side wall of the basket cart CF.

[0019] The door section 30 is made of a material such as metal, and has sufficient rigidity to withstand the pushing pressure from the inside to the outside of the housing 11 that occurs when the loaded goods L are compressed. The door section 30 also has an opening restriction member 32 such as a latch on the outer wall 31. Setting the height of the upper end of the door section 30 to a position lower than the chest of the worker is convenient because it allows goods to be loaded onto the cart CF housed in the housing 11 with the door section 30 closed.

[0020] The ejection device 40 is equipped with a drive device, such as a hydraulic cylinder, that exerts sufficient force to eject a heavy object. The ejection device 40 is connected to a push-out member 41 that is arranged on the rear side in the storage direction of the basket cart CF stored in the housing 11, and when the drive device is driven, the push-out member 41 is displaced from the rear side in the storage direction of the basket cart CF toward the door section 30, which is the outer side of the storage space, and the basket cart CF stored in the housing 11 is ejected outside the storage space, i.e., to the outside of the housing 11.

[0021] The compression device 50 is equipped with a drive device, such as a hydraulic cylinder, that exerts sufficient force to compress and reduce the volume of hard materials such as cardboard. The compression device 50 is equipped with a pressure unit 52 at its lower end, and a plurality of posture control units 51 that maintain the pressing surface of the pressure unit 52 as nearly parallel as possible to the bottom surface of the cart CF when the pressure unit 52 is displaced up and down.

[0022] Figure 2 is a diagram showing the positions and operations of the compression device 50 and the discharge device 40. Figure 2(A) is an external perspective view of the article compression device 1, Figure 2(B) is a view taken along the arrow X1 in Figure 2(A), Figure 2(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in Figure 2(B), and Figure 2(D) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Figure 2(B).

[0023] 2(A) to 2(C), when the compression start switch of the compression device 50 is turned on, the drive device increases the hydraulic pressure and displaces the pressure unit 52 toward a downward position 52A, which is the direction indicated by the arrow Y1. As the pressure unit 52 displaces downward, the load L is compressed in the vertical direction and reduced in volume. The compression device 50 also has a separate pressure sensor, and if the pressure detected by this pressure sensor exceeds a threshold value, a safety device is activated and the drive device stops applying pressure.

[0024] As shown in Figure 2 (D), when the cart CF becomes full, that is, when the upper end of the compressed and reduced volume loaded goods L is near the upper end of the cart CF, or when it becomes necessary to discharge goods even if the cart is not full, the pressure unit lift start switch is turned ON, and the drive device reduces the hydraulic pressure and lifts the pressure unit 52 to the home position.

[0025] Thereafter, when a discharge start switch that discharges the basket cart CF from the housing 11 is turned on, the drive unit of the discharge device 40 increases the hydraulic pressure to displace the push-out member 41 toward the front, which is the direction indicated by arrow Y2. As the push-out member 41 is displaced toward the front to position 41A, the front portion of the basket cart CF is discharged outside the housing 11. Therefore, the worker can easily move the basket cart CF.

[0026] Figure 3 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the bottom guide 116 and the rear guide 117. Figure 3(A) is an external perspective view of the article compressing device 1, Figure 3(B) is a view taken along the X2 arrow in Figure 3(A), and Figure 3(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along the CC line in Figure 3(B).

[0027] 3(A) and 3(B), the article compression device 1 is provided with a rear guide 117 at a position at the rear end of the internal space that accommodates the basket carts CF in the housing 11, where the rear guide 117 is not physically interfered with by the pressure unit 52 that displaces up and down. The rear guide 117 is made of a material such as metal, and has sufficient rigidity to withstand the extruding pressure from the inside of the housing 11 toward the rear side that is generated when the loaded articles L are compressed.

[0028] 3(A) and (C), the article compression device 1 is attached to the rear end of the internal space of the housing 11 that accommodates the basket cart CF, and includes a bottom guide 116 that extends from the rear end toward the door section 30 substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the basket cart CF and is positioned so as to be directly above the bottom surface of the basket cart CF when the basket cart CF is accommodated inside the housing 11. Also, as shown in FIG. 3(C), the pressure unit 52 has a groove 52B into which the pressing member 20 is inserted.

[0029] The bottom guide 116 has a base that extends vertically, like the forks of a forklift, with the lower end of the base bent at a nearly right angle and extending toward the door section 30, forming a nearly L-shape in side view. Furthermore, the door section 30 has a receiving groove 33 that fits into the tip of the bottom guide 116. When the door section 30 is closed, the tip of the bottom guide 116 fits into the receiving groove 33, which not only prevents the pipe material on the bottom of the basket cart CF from bending even when the pressure section 52 is displaced downward to pressurize the loaded goods L, but also prevents damage to the caster rollers arranged on the underside of the bottom of the basket cart CF.

[0030] Figure 4 is a diagram showing the storage position of the basket cart CF in the article compression device 1. Figure 4(A) is an external perspective view of the article compression device 1 (however, the door section 30 is omitted from the illustration), and Figure 4(B) is a view taken along the arrow X3 in Figure 4(A). As shown in Figure 4(A), the basket cart CF is stored from the front side to the back side as indicated by the arrow X3, with the opening of the basket cart CF at the front side.

[0031] As shown in Figure 4(A), the basket cart CF is stored so that the pipe material on the side of the basket cart CF fits into the gap 115 between the side reinforcement guide 113 and the side inner guide 114, and the pipe material and bottom plate placed on the bottom of the basket cart CF are directly below the bottom guide 116.

[0032] Figure 5 is a diagram showing how the article compression device 1 compresses and reduces the volume of the loaded articles L on the basket cart CF. Figure 5(A) is a cross-sectional view of the article compression device 1 along line BB in Figure 2(B) that accommodates the basket cart CF loaded with the loaded articles L. Figure 5(B) is a diagram showing a state in which a pressing member 20 is inserted into the upper end surface of the compressed and reduced volume loaded articles L.

[0033] 5(A), the pressure applying portion 52 is displaced downward in the direction indicated by the arrow X4 to compress and reduce the volume of the loaded goods L. At this time, the side inner guide 114 and the rear guide 117 prevent the pipe material of the basket cart CF from being deformed.

[0034] As shown in Figure 5(B), after the load L is compressed and reduced in volume, a pressure member 20 that regulates the elastic recovery of the compressed load L is inserted through the groove portion 52B in the direction indicated by the arrow X5 to prevent the load L from collapsing or from elastically deforming and increasing in volume.

[0035] Even if the articles are once loaded up to near the upper end of the cart CF, the compression device 50 compresses and reduces the volume of the loaded articles L in the vertical direction. Therefore, it becomes possible to load more articles on top of the compressed and reduced volume loaded articles L.

[0036] By repeating this process of loading and compressing, it becomes possible to load the basket cart CF with items that are three to five times heavier than the load capacity without compressing. The recovery company loads the basket cart CF, which is now full of compressed and compressed items, directly onto a truck or other transport vehicle. In this case, if the truck is a 10-ton truck, it can be loaded with items up to nearly 10 tons, which is the load capacity limit. In this state, the recovery company transports the items to the destination reprocessing plant.

[0037] Dust trucks are often designed to carry 4 tons, but in reality they can only carry around 2 tons. This is because the items are loaded in random directions and compressed, so the degree of volume reduction is small.

[0038] However, by using the article compression device 1 of this embodiment, not only can articles be compressed efficiently, but it can also be loaded to the maximum load capacity onto a large truck, such as a 10-ton truck, and transported to a reprocessing plant. Therefore, not only can the operation of the engine of the garbage truck be reduced while the articles are being loaded into the garbage truck, but traffic congestion can also be alleviated by significantly reducing the number of round trips that the transport truck makes to the reprocessing plant, which reduces emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and further improves the working conditions of truck drivers.

[0039] When the basket cart CF loaded with the load L is transported to the reprocessing plant, workers sequentially lower the basket cart CF from the truck, remove the holding member 20, and then load and unload the load. If the holding member 20 is attached to the basket cart CF by a chain, wire, or the like, the holding member 20 can be prevented from being lost.

[0040] As described above, the article compression device 1 of this embodiment is configured to compress the basket cart CF loaded with articles. a housing 11 having an internal storage space for storing the electronic device; The door 30 of the housing 11 extends from the door 30 toward the front side, into which the basket cart CF is inserted. Stretch the bottom of the basket cart CF Directly above a bottom guide 116 arranged to be positioned at the basket; The items loaded on the cart CF are moved in the direction of the bottom of the basket cart CF while still being loaded on the basket cart CF. and a compression device 50 that compresses and reduces the volume of the material toward the target.

[0041] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an apparatus for compressing articles loaded on a basket cart that efficiently stacks articles. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1. Compression device 11. Housing 20 Pressing member 30 Door section 31 Exterior Wall 32 Opening restriction member 33 Receiving groove 40 Ejector 41 Extrusion member 41A position 50 Compression Device 51 Posture control unit 52 Pressure section 52A position 52B Groove CF basket cart 111 Side wall 112 Through hole 113 Side reinforcement guide 114 Side inner guide 115 Gap 116 Bottom guide 117 Back guide

Claims

1. a housing having an internal storage space for storing a basket cart loaded with articles; A bottom guide attached to a rear end of the storage space, extending from the rear end toward the front side, and positioned directly above the bottom surface of the cart; a compression device that compresses and reduces the volume of the articles loaded on the bottom guide toward the bottom surface of the basket cart while the articles remain loaded on the basket cart; A device for compressing items loaded on a basket cart.

2. A push-out member arranged on the rear side of the cart housed in the housing in the housing direction; a discharge device connected to the push-out member, displacing the push-out member from the rear side of the basket cart in the storage direction toward the outside of the storage space, and discharging the articles loaded on the basket cart that has been stored in the housing and is on the bottom guide to the outside of the storage space while still loaded on the basket cart; The apparatus for compressing articles loaded on a basket cart according to claim 1, further comprising:

3. The housing includes: The basket cart loaded item compression device according to claim 1, further comprising a side reinforcement guide and a side inner guide arranged on the side wall of the storage space and facing each other with a gap into which the support member of the basket cart is fitted.

4. The housing includes: The basket trolley-loaded item compression device according to claim 1, which has multiple vertically arranged through holes for removably inserting pressure members that regulate the elastic recovery of compressed loaded items, and which are arranged to face the side walls on both sides of the storage space.

5. The cart loaded with articles is accommodated in a housing in the accommodation space of the cart-loaded article compression device according to claim 1, The articles loaded on the bottom guide are compressed and reduced in volume toward the bottom surface of the basket cart while still loaded on the basket cart, The article transport method involves loading the compressed and reduced volume article together with the basket cart onto a transport vehicle while restricting its elastic recovery with the pressing member, and transporting the article to a destination.

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