Goods storage equipment

Abstract

To provide an article storage facility from which all articles stored in a storage conveyor side by side are appropriately carried out and in which storage efficiency and conveyance efficiency of the articles are easily enhanced.SOLUTION: An article storage facility comprises a storage conveyor and a carrying-in device. The storage conveyor is placed to be inclined, and is constituted such that an article moves to a downstream side in a conveying direction by dead-weight in a state where a stopper is released. The carrying-in device comprises: a conveying mechanism; a determination unit for determining that an article having a determination threshold Q or greater is a specified article; a buffer unit for storing the specified article; and a control unit. The control unit executes: buffer conveyance processing for conveying the specified article to the buffer unit; general conveyance processing for conveying a general article being an article other than the specified article to the storage conveyor; and specific conveyance processing for conveying the specified article from the buffer unit to the storage conveyor so that the article positioned at least at a most upstream side among a plurality of articles stored in the storage conveyor is the specified article.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an article storage facility that includes a storage conveyor that stores a plurality of articles in a line along a predetermined conveying direction, and a loading device that loads the articles onto the storage conveyor. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-175708 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technology relating to an article storage facility. In the following description of the background art, the reference numerals in parentheses refer to those in Patent Document 1.

[0003] The article transport facility (logistics center) of Patent Document 1 includes a carry-in device (carry-in mechanism 1) and a storage conveyor (storage mechanism 3) that stores a plurality of articles (baggage a) in a line. The storage conveyor is arranged at an angle that slopes downward from the upstream end connected to the carry-in device toward the downstream end. The storage conveyor is also configured so that the plurality of articles move downstream in the transport direction due to their own weight, allowing the plurality of articles to be carried out from the storage conveyor. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-175708 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the above-described article storage facility, when articles are removed from the storage conveyor, relatively light articles may become stuck on the inclined surface of the storage conveyor, making it impossible to properly remove all of the articles from the storage conveyor. For this reason, the article storage facility of Patent Document 1 places a push bucket (30) at the end of multiple articles lined up on the storage conveyor, and uses the force of the push bucket (30) to push against articles downstream, allowing all of the articles to be removed from the storage conveyor without becoming stuck. Meanwhile, the article storage facility of Patent Document 1 requires the placement of a push bucket (30) on each of the multiple storage conveyors, even though the push bucket (30) is not intended for storage, leaving room for improvement in terms of article storage efficiency and transport efficiency.

[0006] Therefore, there is a need for an article storage facility that can properly remove all articles stored in a row on a storage conveyor and that can easily increase the efficiency of storing and transporting the articles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present disclosure provides an item storage facility including a storage conveyor that stores a plurality of items in a line along a predetermined conveying direction, and a loading device that loads the items onto the storage conveyor, The storage conveyor is disposed so as to incline downward from the upstream end connected to the carry-in device toward the downstream end, and is provided with a stopper at the downstream end for restricting movement of the articles, and is configured so that when the stopper is released, the articles move downstream in the conveying direction due to their own weight, the carry-in device includes a transport mechanism for transporting the item, a determination unit for determining that the item is a specific item when at least one of its weight and size is equal to or greater than a predetermined determination threshold, a buffer unit for temporarily storing the specific item, and a control unit; The control unit controls the transport mechanism, a buffer conveyance process of conveying the specific item to the buffer unit based on the determination result by the determination unit; a general transport process for transporting general items, which are the items other than the specific items, to the storage conveyor; With the stopper restricting the movement of the item on the storage conveyor, a specific transport process is executed to transport the specific item from the buffer section to the storage conveyor so that at least the item located most upstream among the multiple items stored on the storage conveyor becomes the specific item.

[0008] According to this configuration, a specific item whose weight or size is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value is positioned at least furthest upstream among the multiple items stored on the storage conveyor. Therefore, when the stopper is released and an item moves, the specific item pushes the items downstream from it. Therefore, when the stopper is released, all items stored on the storage conveyor can be appropriately moved downstream. Furthermore, the need for a separate drive mechanism or the like to forcibly move items is reduced, which facilitates cost reduction of the item storage facility. Furthermore, according to this configuration, multiple items determined to be specific items can be temporarily stored in the buffer section using the buffer transport process and the specific transport process, and the specific items can then be transported from the buffer section to the storage conveyor at the required timing, so the transport of specific items is less likely to interfere with the transport of general items using the general transport process. Furthermore, with this configuration, a portion of the multiple items stored on the storage conveyor are arranged as specific items, which makes it easier to improve the storage efficiency and transportation efficiency of the items compared to, for example, arranging a push-out bucket or the like that is not originally intended for storage. In this way, with this configuration, all of the items stored in a line on the storage conveyor can be properly transported out, and the efficiency of storing and transporting the items can be easily improved.

[0009] Further features and advantages of the storage facility will become apparent from the following description of exemplary, non-limiting embodiments which are set forth with reference to the drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a loading device; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a storage conveyor, a loading device, and a unloading device; [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a carrying-out device; [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a storage conveyor having multiple tiers and items stored on the storage conveyor; [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the downstream end of the storage conveyor; [Figure 6] Control Block Diagram [Figure 7] Control Flow Diagram DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An embodiment of an item storage facility will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the item storage facility 100 includes a storage conveyor 1 that stores a plurality of items W arranged along a predetermined conveying direction X, and a carry-in device 2 that carries the items W onto the storage conveyor 1. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the item storage facility 100 further includes a carry-out device 4 and a control device 10. The item storage facility 100 also includes a plurality of storage conveyors 1. For example, various products produced in a factory or the like are transported by truck to the item storage facility 100. The transported products are then stored within the item storage facility 100, and the products are sorted to their respective shipping destinations. The sorted products are then delivered from the item storage facility 100 to their respective shipping destinations by truck. In this example, the products are contained in items W. Therefore, the items W are containers such as cartons. The types of products contained in the items W are not limited, and examples include daily necessities, food products, machine parts, etc. In this example, the articles W are rectangular parallelepipeds and come in a variety of sizes. As shown in Fig. 4, the multiple articles W arranged on the storage conveyor 1 include relatively small and large articles.

[0012] In this example, the carrying-in device 2 carries multiple items W transported from outside the item storage facility 100 into each of the multiple storage conveyors 1. The storage conveyors 1 store the carried-in items W. The carrying-out device 4 receives the items W carried out from each of the multiple storage conveyors 1. In this manner, the carrying-in device 2 and the carrying-out device 4 are connected to the storage conveyor 1. Note that, hereinafter, the direction in which the items W move on the storage conveyor 1 (the direction along the conveying surface of the storage conveyor 1) is referred to as the conveying direction X. Furthermore, the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction X when viewed from the top-down direction is referred to as the width direction Y.

[0013] 2, 4, and 5, the storage conveyor 1 is disposed so as to incline downward from the upstream end 11 connected to the carry-in device 2 toward the downstream end 12, and is provided with a stopper 13 at the downstream end 12 to restrict the movement of the articles W, and is configured so that when the stopper 13 is released, the articles W move downstream in the conveying direction X due to their own weight. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, a carry-out device 4 is connected to the downstream end 12 of the storage conveyor 1.

[0014] As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the article storage facility 100 has multiple storage conveyors 1 arranged side by side in the width direction Y and the vertical direction. Each of the multiple storage conveyors 1 is inclined downward from the upstream end 11 to the downstream end 12. In this example, the number of storage conveyors 1 installed in the article storage facility 100 is assumed to be several tens to several hundreds, but is not limited to this. The number of storage conveyors 1 installed can be changed as appropriate depending on the number of articles W that can be stored in the article storage facility 100. In the illustrated example, only a few of the multiple storage conveyors 1 are illustrated to clearly explain the configuration of the article storage facility 100.

[0015] In this example, as shown in FIG. 5, the storage conveyor 1 is a roller conveyor. This roller conveyor is a so-called free roller conveyor, and does not have a drive source for rotating each roller. Since the storage conveyor 1 is inclined as described above, when an article W is placed on the upstream end 11, the article W moves downstream in the conveying direction X on the conveying surface (inclined surface) of the roller conveyor due to its own weight. Note that the storage conveyor 1 may also be a ball roller conveyor (a conveyor with spherical rollers), and may be provided with slide plates instead of rollers. In the example of FIG. 4, multiple inclined storage conveyors 1 (here, three inclined) are provided and arranged parallel to each other. Note that, for ease of explanation, FIG. 4 omits the midstream portion of the storage conveyor 1 and shows only the upstream portion including the upstream end 11 and the downstream portion including the downstream end 12. In FIG. 4, the downstream portion is shown at a position where the upstream portion is extended downstream, assuming that there is no difference in elevation between both ends of the omitted midstream portion.

[0016] As shown in Figures 2 and 5, the stopper 13 is provided at the downstream end 12 of the storage conveyor 1. The stopper 13 is configured to be able to freely change its position between a restricting state in which it restricts the movement of the items W and a releasing state in which it releases the restriction on the movement of the items W. In the example of Figure 5, the stopper 13 is disposed between two rollers aligned in the conveying direction X. In the restricting state, the stopper 13 is disposed above the conveying surface of the storage conveyor 1, and in the releasing state, the stopper 13 is disposed below the conveying surface. In the example of Figure 2, the stopper 13 in the restricting state restricts the movement of multiple items W lined up on the storage conveyor 1 in the conveying direction X. The change in position of the stopper 13 is controlled by the control device 10.

[0017] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, a carrying-in device 2 is connected to the upstream end 11 of each of the multiple storage conveyors 1. Furthermore, a carrying-out device 4 is connected to the downstream end 12 of each of the multiple storage conveyors 1. Here, the item storage facility 100 of this example has three floors (first floor F1, second floor F2, and third floor F3). The carrying-out device 4 is provided across the first floor F1 and the second floor F2. The carrying-in device 2 and the storage conveyors 1 are provided across the second floor F2 and the third floor F3. In the example of the item storage facility 100 shown in the figures, the first floor is the first floor F1, the second floor is the second floor F2, and the third floor is the third floor F3.

[0018] 2 and 3, the discharge device 4 includes an output conveying section 41 connected to the downstream end 12 of each of the multiple storage conveyors 1, and multiple sorter conveyors 43 branching off from the output conveying section 41. In this example, the output conveying section 41 is a conveyor that conveys multiple items W in a line. The output conveying section 41 receives the items W from the multiple storage conveyors 1 and transports them to one of the multiple sorter conveyors 43. The items W transported to the multiple sorter conveyors 43 are loaded onto, for example, a shipping truck.

[0019] In this example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the unloading conveying section 41 is provided across the first floor F1 and the second floor F2. In the examples of FIGS. 2 and 3, the upstream portion of the unloading conveying section 41 (here, a conveyor) is arranged on the second floor F2 along the width direction Y and is connected to the downstream end portions 12 of the multiple storage conveyors 1 via transfer devices 51. In the example of FIG. 2, the transfer device 51 is a conveyor arranged continuously from the downstream end portion 12 of the storage conveyor 1. In the example of FIG. 4, a plurality of transfer devices 51 are arranged lined up in the vertical direction corresponding to the multiple storage conveyors 1. Each transfer device 51 (here, a conveyor) is arranged continuously from each of the multiple storage conveyors 1. Note that the transfer device 51 may also be a transport vehicle that moves between the unloading conveying section 41 and each storage conveyor 1 along the width direction Y. In this way, the configuration of the transfer device 51 can be changed appropriately depending on the arrangement of the multiple storage conveyors 1.

[0020] 2 and 3, the downstream portion of the unloading conveying section 41 is disposed on the first floor F1 along the width direction Y. A plurality of sorter conveyors 43 branch off from the downstream portion of the unloading conveying section 41. A midstream portion connecting the upstream and downstream portions of the unloading conveying section 41 is provided across the first floor F1 and the second floor F2. In the example of FIG. 3, the plurality of sorter conveyors 43 are disposed along the conveying direction X and aligned in the width direction Y. A shipping truck can stop at a position corresponding to each of the plurality of sorter conveyors 43 (here, a position adjacent to the downstream end of the sorter conveyor 43).

[0021] 1 and 2, the carry-in device 2 includes a conveying mechanism 20 that conveys an item W, a determination unit 25 that determines that an item W having at least one of its weight and size equal to or greater than a predetermined determination threshold Q is a specific item Wt, a buffer unit 26 that temporarily stores the specific item Wt, and a control unit H. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the determination unit 25 and the control unit H are provided in the control device 10. That is, in this embodiment, the determination unit 25 and the control unit H provided in the carry-in device 2 are realized by the functions of the control device 10. The carry-in device 2 also includes a measuring device 24 and a reading device 27.

[0022] 1 and 2, the conveying mechanism 20 includes a first conveying section 21 in which a determination point 28 where a determination is made by a determination section 25 is set, and a second conveying section 22 and a third conveying section 23 branching off from the first conveying section 21 downstream of the determination point 28. In this example, each of the first conveying section 21, the second conveying section 22, and the third conveying section 23 is a conveyor that conveys an item W.

[0023] In this example, multiple conveyors are provided in the upstream portion of the first conveyor 21. A determination point 28 is set on each conveyor. The downstream portion of the first conveyor 21 forms a conveyance path where these multiple conveyors converge. The second conveyor 22 and the third conveyor 23 are connected to branch off from the downstream end of the first conveyor 21. Accordingly, an article W traveling along the first conveyor 21 branches off and moves to either the second conveyor 22 or the third conveyor 23. Each of the multiple conveyors can also be referred to as a first conveyor 21. In this case, the second conveyor 22 and the third conveyor 23 branch off from the downstream convergence of the multiple first conveyors 21. In the example of FIG. 1, the multiple conveyors constituting the upstream portion of the first conveyor 21 are arranged along the conveyance direction X and in the width direction Y. A determination point 28 is set at the upstream end of each conveyance path. The determination point 28 is where a measuring device 24 is provided. The downstream portion of the first transport section 21 is disposed along the width direction Y. In the illustrated example, the first transport section 21 is provided on the second floor F2. In addition, the multiple conveyors that make up the upstream portion of the first transport section 21 are designed to allow incoming trucks to stop there.

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the second conveying section 22 (here, a conveyor) connects the downstream end of the first conveying section 21 to the upstream end 11 of each of the multiple storage conveyors 1. The upstream portion of the second conveying section 22 is arranged along the width direction Y. Therefore, an item W that has moved along the first conveying section 21 is directly transported to the upstream portion of the second conveying section 22. The downstream portion of the second conveying section 22 is arranged along the width direction Y and is connected to the upstream end 11 of each of the multiple storage conveyors 1. Therefore, an item W that has moved along the second conveying section 22 is transported to one of the multiple storage conveyors 1. In the example of FIG. 2, the downstream portion of the second conveying section 22 branches off to correspond to the upstream end 11 of each of the multiple storage conveyors 1. In this example, each of the branched downstream portions of the second conveying section 22 is connected to the corresponding upstream end 11. 4, the branched downstream portions of the second transport section 22 are arranged in a vertical line to correspond to the multiple stages of the storage conveyors 1. In this way, the configuration of the downstream portion of the second transport section 22 can be changed as appropriate depending on the arrangement of the multiple storage conveyors 1.

[0025] The downstream end of the third conveyor 23 is connected to the midstream portion connecting the upstream and downstream portions of the second conveyor 22. In this embodiment, as described below, the third conveyor 23 functions as a buffer 26. Therefore, it can be said that the buffer 26 is connected to the midstream portion of the second conveyor 22. In this example, the second conveyor 22 is arranged along the conveying direction X and the width direction Y. The downstream portions of the second conveyor 22 and the first conveyor 21 have longer conveying paths than the upstream portion of the first conveyor 21. This allows multiple items W conveyed from the upstream portion of the first conveyor 21 to be transported to the storage conveyor 1 without being retained in the downstream portion of the first conveyor 21 or the second conveyor 22. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upstream portion of the second conveyor 22 is located on the second floor F2. The downstream portion of the second conveyor 22 is located on the third floor F3. The midstream portion of the second conveying section 22 is provided across the second floor F2 and the third floor F3.

[0026] The third conveying section 23 is connected to the first conveying section 21. Specifically, the upstream portion of the third conveying section 23 is connected downstream of the first conveying section 21. Furthermore, the storage conveyor 1 is connected downstream of the third conveying section 23. In this example, the third conveying section 23 is connected to the storage conveyor 1 via the second conveying section 22. The third conveying section 23, which branches off from the downstream side of the first conveying section 21, is arranged so as to merge with the midstream portion of the second conveying section 22 on the downstream side. In the example of FIG. 1, the third conveying section 23 is provided on the second floor F2. Note that the third conveying section 23 may also be arranged so as to branch off from the second conveying section 22.

[0027] In this embodiment, the third conveyor 23 functions as a buffer section 26. That is, the third conveyor 23 can temporarily store multiple items W that branch off from the second conveyor 22. Specifically, the buffer section 26 is provided midway along the conveyance path of the items W in the third conveyor 23 (see FIG. 1). In this example, the buffer section 26 is configured as a circular conveyor around which multiple items W can circulate. Therefore, in the buffer section 26, the items W are stored while circling the circular conveyor. When the items W are transported from the buffer section 26 to the storage conveyor 1, the outgoing conveyor 26a connected to the circular conveyor is used to merge the circulating items W with the second conveyor 22. That is, in this example, the downstream end of the third conveyor 23 is the outgoing conveyor 26a. The outgoing conveyor 26a is connected to the second conveyor 22. In the buffer section 26, a specific item Wt, which will be described later, out of the multiple items W is stored.

[0028] The configuration of the buffer unit 26 can be changed as appropriate. For example, the buffer unit 26 can be a storage shelf that stores a plurality of items W. In this case, a transport vehicle (e.g., a stacker crane) that moves the items W between the buffer unit 26 and the storage shelf can be arranged.

[0029] In addition, in this embodiment, the conveying mechanism 20 (first conveying section 21, second conveying section 22, third conveying section 23) is a conveyor, but is not limited to this and may be, for example, an unmanned guided vehicle, a stacker crane, or a robot arm.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 1 , the reading device 27 is disposed adjacent to the determination location 28 set in the first conveying section 21. As described above, the measuring device 24 is provided at the determination location 28. Therefore, the reading device 27 is disposed adjacent to the measuring device 24. Here, the reading device 27 is a barcode reader that reads a barcode printed on the outer surface of the item W. The measuring device 24 is a device that measures at least one of the weight and size of the item W (in this embodiment, both). Here, the measuring device 24 is disposed so as to overlap the conveyor of the first conveying section 21 (here, the conveyor that constitutes the upstream portion of the first conveying section 21) in a vertical view, and is configured to be able to measure the weight and size of the item W while the item W is placed on the first conveying section 21. The measurement results measured by the measuring device 24 are transmitted to the control device 10. Then, the determination unit 25 determines whether the item W corresponds to the specific item Wt based on the measurement results.

[0031] In this embodiment, the determination threshold Q is set in advance for each of the weight and size of the item W. The determination unit 25 then determines that an item W determined to be equal to or greater than the determination threshold Q in terms of both weight and size is a specific item Wt. Here, the determination threshold Q for the size of the item W includes a width dimension threshold Q1 that defines the dimension in the width direction Y of the item W. The width dimension threshold Q1 is set to a value that is smaller than the dimension m in the width direction Y of the conveying path 3 of the item W on the storage conveyor 1 and greater than the dimension m in the width direction Y of the conveying path 3 minus the dimension n in the width direction Y of the item W with the smallest dimension in the width direction Y of all the items W stored on the storage conveyor 1 (Q1>mn). Here, the dimension m in the width direction Y of the conveying path 3 of the item W is set to the dimension in the width direction Y of the conveying surface of the storage conveyor 1 (see FIG. 5). Note that in this example, thresholds that define the dimension in the conveying direction X and the height direction of the item W are not set. However, at least one of the dimension of the item W in the conveying direction X and the dimension in the height direction may be included in the judgment threshold Q. In this example, the weight threshold that defines the weight of the item W is included in the judgment threshold Q. By setting the weight threshold to a fixed weight (e.g., 10 kg), for example, among all the items W stored on one storage conveyor 1, an item W whose dimension P in the width direction Y (see FIG. 1) of the item W is equal to or greater than the width direction dimension threshold Q1 and whose weight is equal to or greater than the weight threshold can be determined to be a specific item Wt. In this way, the determination unit 25 can determine one or more items W as a specific item Wt.

[0032] The determination unit 25 may also be configured to use a determination threshold that combines weight and size. In this case, for example, multiple combinations of these two thresholds may be set as determination thresholds, such that the size threshold decreases as the weight threshold increases, and if the weight and size of the item W measured by the measuring device 24 are equal to or greater than any of the weight and size thresholds, the item W may be determined to be a specific item Wt. The determination unit 25 may also determine that an item W that satisfies either the width dimension threshold Q1 or the weight threshold is a specific item Wt. The determination unit 25 may also set only either the weight or the size as the determination threshold Q. The determination unit 25 may also make a determination taking into account, for example, characteristics of the item W, such as its slipperiness. In this way, the conditions for determining whether an item is a specific item Wt may be changed as appropriate.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 5 , in this embodiment, the control device 10 includes a memory unit 18 and an acquisition unit 19. The control device 10 also includes the aforementioned control unit H and determination unit 25. In this example, the control unit H is configured to control the stopper 13 of the storage conveyor 1, the reading device 27, the measuring device 24, and the buffer unit 26 of the loading device 2, as well as the unloading conveying unit 41 and the sorter conveyor 43 of the unloading device 4, in addition to the transport mechanism 20. The control device 10 includes a processing unit such as a CPU and peripheral circuits such as memory, and each function is realized by cooperation between these hardware components and programs executed on the processing unit or other hardware. The control unit H may be provided in the loading device 2. In this case, a separate control unit for controlling devices other than the loading device 2 may be provided in the control device 10.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit H controls the transport mechanism 20 to perform a buffer transport process, a general transport process, and a specific transport process.

[0035] The buffer transport process is a process of transporting the specific item Wt to ​​the buffer section 26 based on the determination result by the determination section 25. The control section H controls the first transport section 21, the second transport section 22, and the third transport section 23 to transport the specific item Wt to ​​the buffer section 26.

[0036] In this embodiment, when a new item W arrives, the acquisition unit 19 of the control device 10 acquires arrival information (product information) for the item W (S01). Then, the determination unit 25 provided in the control device 10 determines whether the weight and size of the item W are equal to or greater than a determination threshold Q (S02). Specifically, when the first conveyance unit 21 receives the item W from an external source (e.g., a receiving truck), the reading device 27 reads the barcode attached to the item W. The acquisition unit 19 acquires product information (product code, etc.) for the item W from the barcode information. Furthermore, when the weight and size of the item W are measured by the measuring device 24, the acquisition unit 19 acquires the measurement results. The storage unit 18 stores the acquired product information and the measurement results (weight and size) in association with each other. Furthermore, the determination unit 25 determines whether the received item W is a specific item Wt based on the acquired measurement results. If the determination unit 25 determines that the weight and size of the item W are equal to or greater than the determination threshold Q (S02: Yes), i.e., if the determination unit 25 determines that the item W is a specific item Wt, the control unit H executes a buffer conveyance process (S03). As a result, multiple items W determined by the determination unit 25 to be specific items Wt are conveyed to the buffer unit 26 provided in the third conveyance unit 23 and temporarily stored therein. Also, if the determination unit 25 determines that the weight and size of the item W are smaller than the determination threshold Q (S02: No), i.e., if the determination unit 25 determines that the item W is a general item Ws other than a specific item Wt, the control unit H executes a general conveyance process (S06) which will be described later.

[0037] In this example, as described above, the determination unit 25 determines whether or not each item W whose barcode has been read by the reading device 27 and whose measurement has been performed by the measuring device 24 corresponds to a specific item Wt, but for example, if it is determined that a certain number or more of the items W stored on one storage conveyor 1 are specific items Wt, the control unit H can also select several specific items Wt that are particularly large in weight and size from the certain number or more of specific items Wt. The control unit H may transport only the selected several specific items Wt to ​​the buffer unit 26, and send the remaining specific items Wt directly to the storage conveyor 1 as general items Ws.

[0038] If the memory unit 18 previously stores the weights and sizes of all items W stored on each storage conveyor 1 in association with product information, the determination unit 25 can make a determination based on the weight and size information of the items W stored in the memory unit 18, and therefore the measuring device 24 does not necessarily need to be provided at the determination location 28. Also, information on each item W arriving at the first transport unit 21 (item information, weight and size information, etc.) may be updated, for example, at a specified time in the morning of each day. This allows information on all items W scheduled to arrive at the item storage facility 100 in a day to be updated at a specified time, making it easier to select a specific item Wt on each storage conveyor 1.

[0039] The general conveying process is a process of conveying general items Ws, which are items W other than specific items Wt, to the storage conveyor 1. The control unit H controls the first conveying unit 21 and the second conveying unit 22 to convey the item W to one of the multiple storage conveyors 1. In the general conveying process, the control unit H controls the second conveying unit 22 so that the item W is not conveyed to the third conveying unit 23.

[0040] In this example, the shipping destination (e.g., the store to which each item W is to be delivered) of each item W arriving at the item storage facility 100 is pre-stored in the memory unit 18. A storage conveyor 1 for storing each item W is pre-assigned to each shipping destination. For example, if multiple items W to be shipped to four stores ("Store 001, Store 002, Store 003, and Store 004") are to be delivered together on one truck (see FIG. 3), each of the four stores can be assigned to one of four adjacent storage conveyors 1. The control unit H transports all items W scheduled for delivery to "Store 001" to the storage conveyor 1 assigned to "Store 001." Similarly, the control unit H transports all items W scheduled for delivery to "Store 002" to the storage conveyor 1 assigned to "Store 002." The control unit H also performs similar transport for items W scheduled for delivery to "Store 003 and Store 004." Furthermore, when multiple items W to be shipped to four stores ("Store 005, Store 006, Store 007, Store 008") are transported together on one truck, for example, each of these stores can be assigned to a storage conveyor 1 assigned to "Stores 001 to 004." In this case, the control unit H, for example, transports all items W scheduled to be delivered to "Store 005" to the storage conveyor 1 on which all items W scheduled to be delivered to "Store 001" are stored. The control unit H also transports all items W scheduled to be delivered to "Store 006" to the storage conveyor 1 on which all items W scheduled to be delivered to "Store 002" are stored. The control unit H performs a similar transport for items W scheduled to be delivered to "Stores 007 and 008." Furthermore, all items W accommodated in one truck may be stored on one specific storage conveyor 1. For example, all the articles W transported to "Stores 001 to 004" can be arranged on one storage conveyor 1 in the order of the stores.

[0041] The specific transport process is a process of transporting a specific item Wt from the buffer unit 26 to the storage conveyor 1 while the movement of the item W on the storage conveyor 1 is restricted by the stopper 13, so that at least the item W located most upstream among the multiple items W stored on the storage conveyor 1 becomes the specific item Wt. In this embodiment, when the control device 10 issues a transport instruction for the specific item Wt (S04: Yes), the control unit H executes the specific transport process (S05). Specifically, the control unit H controls the third transport unit 23 and the second transport unit 22 to transport the specific item Wt stored in the buffer unit 26 to the storage conveyor 1 at the timing of the transport instruction. Note that the determination of the transport instruction for the item W may be made by the control unit H of the control device 10 or by the determination unit 25.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the control unit H executes a specific transport process so that at least one item W adjacent downstream of at least the most upstream specific item Wt on the storage conveyor 1 is designated as a specific item Wt. Furthermore, the control unit H executes a specific transport process so that, among the multiple items W lined up along the transport direction X on the storage conveyor 1, at least one item W at every predetermined set distance R or every predetermined set number is designated as a specific item Wt. In the example of FIG. 4, the topmost storage conveyor 1 stores specific items Wt at every set distance R. Furthermore, on the topmost storage conveyor 1, the items W lined up downstream at the rear and just before the rear are also designated as specific items Wt. Furthermore, on the middle storage conveyor 1, specific items Wt are not lined up at every set distance R, and only the items W lined downstream at the rear and just before the rear are designated as specific items Wt. In this way, the control unit H can arrange specific items Wt at predetermined set distances R on one storage conveyor 1, and perform specific transport processing so that the item W located most upstream and the item W arranged one step downstream from that are specific items Wt.

[0043] Here, the set distance R can be, for example, the distance in the conveying direction X of all the items W delivered to one store. In this case, the set distance R may be set to a different distance for each item. Alternatively, the set distance R can be set so that the specific items Wt are placed at a fixed distance, for example, every 10 meters.

[0044] In this embodiment, the control unit H keeps the stopper 13 in the restricting state until all the items W to be stored on one storage conveyor 1 are lined up. Then, when all the items W are lined up, the control unit H changes the position of the stopper 13 from the restricting state to the released state. As a result, multiple items W, from the item W stored at the front of the storage conveyor 1 to the specific item Wt at the end, are transported to the unloading conveying unit 41 in order from the downstream side. In this example, as described above, multiple specific items Wt are placed on one storage conveyor 1. Then, by utilizing the force of each specific item Wt pushing against the items W downstream, all of the items W lined up in a row can be transported from the storage conveyor 1 to the unloading conveying unit 41 without remaining on the conveying surface (inclined surface) of the storage conveyor 1. Then, the control unit H transports all of the items W lined up on one storage conveyor 1 to the sorter conveyor 43 where a shipping truck previously assigned as a transport destination is stopped. The plurality of articles W transported to the sorter conveyor 43 are transferred onto a truck by a worker or the like.

[0045] Other Embodiments (1) In the above embodiment, the first floor F1 is the first floor, the second floor F2 is the second floor, and the third floor F3 is the third floor. The loading device 2 and storage conveyor 1 are arranged from the second floor to the third floor, and the unloading device 4 is arranged from the first floor to the second floor. However, this is not limited to this configuration. The first floor F1, the second floor F2, and the third floor F3 may be on the same floor, or the first floor F1 and the second floor F2 may be on the same floor, and the third floor F3 may be on the floor above. In this way, the layout of the first floor F1, the second floor F2, and the third floor F3 can be changed as needed depending on the size of the item storage facility 100. The layout of the loading device 2, the storage conveyor 1, and the unloading device 4 can also be changed as needed. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the multiple first transport sections 21 (conveyors in this case) of the loading device 2 are arranged side by side in the width direction Y, but in addition to this configuration, for example, the multiple first transport sections 21 may be arranged side by side in the transport direction X. Similarly, the multiple sorter conveyors 43 of the unloading device 4 may not only be arranged side by side in the width direction Y, but also side by side in the transport direction X. In this way, the arrangement of the components of the loading device 2 and the unloading device 4 can also be changed as appropriate depending on the scale of the item storage facility 100, etc.

[0046] (2) In the above embodiment, the control unit H performs the specific transport process so that, among the multiple items W lined up along the conveying direction X on the storage conveyor 1, at least one item W becomes a specific item Wt for every predetermined set distance R. However, this is not limited to this. The control unit H may perform the specific transport process so that, among the multiple items W lined up along the conveying direction X on the storage conveyor 1, at least one item W becomes a specific item Wt for every predetermined set number. The set number can be set as the number of items W lined up along the conveying direction X on the storage conveyor 1. For example, if the set number is set to "5," one specific item Wt can be placed for every five general items Ws lined up.

[0047] (3) In the above embodiment, the width dimension threshold Q1 is set to a value smaller than the dimension m in the width direction Y of the transport path 3 of the item W on the storage conveyor 1 and larger than the dimension m in the width direction Y of the transport path 3 minus the dimension n in the width direction Y of the item W with the smallest dimension in the width direction Y among all the items W stored on the storage conveyor 1 (Q1>mn). However, this is not limited to this. The minimum value of the width dimension threshold Q1 may be set to a fixed value. For example, the minimum value of the width dimension threshold Q1 can be set to 500 mm (millimeters).

[0048] (4) In the above embodiment, the control unit H is configured to execute the specific transport process so that at least one item W adjacent downstream of at least the most upstream specific item Wt on the storage conveyor 1 becomes the specific item Wt, but this is not limited to this. The control unit H may execute the specific transport process so that only the most upstream item W on the storage conveyor 1 becomes the specific item Wt.

[0049] (5) In the above embodiment, the transport mechanism 20 is described as including the first transport unit 21, the second transport unit 22, and the third transport unit 23, in which the determination location 28 is set. However, this is not limiting. The transport mechanism 20 may be configured to include some of the first transport unit 21, the second transport unit 22, and the third transport unit 23. For example, the transport mechanism 20 may be configured to include the first transport unit 21 and the second transport unit 22, but not the third transport unit 23. In this case, it is preferable to provide the buffer unit 26 separately in the first transport unit 21 or the second transport unit 22.

[0050] (6) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the carrying-out device 4 is connected to the downstream end 12 of the storage conveyor 1, but this is not limiting. The item storage facility 100 may also be configured not to include a carrying-out device 4. In this case, the items W to be carried out from the storage conveyor 1 may be loaded into a cart by, for example, a worker, and then moved to the stopping position of the shipping truck.

[0051] (7) Note that the configurations disclosed in the above-described embodiments can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments (including combinations of embodiments described as other embodiments) as long as no contradictions arise. Regarding other configurations, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples in all respects. Therefore, various modifications can be made as appropriate within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0052] [Summary of the above embodiment] An overview of the above-described item storage facility will now be described.

[0053] The present disclosure provides an item storage facility including a storage conveyor that stores a plurality of items in a line along a predetermined conveying direction, and a loading device that loads the items onto the storage conveyor, The storage conveyor is disposed so as to incline downward from the upstream end connected to the carry-in device toward the downstream end, and is provided with a stopper at the downstream end for restricting movement of the articles, and is configured so that when the stopper is released, the articles move downstream in the conveying direction due to their own weight, the carry-in device includes a transport mechanism for transporting the item, a determination unit for determining that the item is a specific item when at least one of its weight and size is equal to or greater than a predetermined determination threshold, a buffer unit for temporarily storing the specific item, and a control unit; The control unit controls the transport mechanism, a buffer conveyance process of conveying the specific item to the buffer unit based on the determination result by the determination unit; a general transport process for transporting general items, which are the items other than the specific items, to the storage conveyor; With the stopper restricting the movement of the item on the storage conveyor, a specific transport process is executed to transport the specific item from the buffer section to the storage conveyor so that at least the item located most upstream among the multiple items stored on the storage conveyor becomes the specific item.

[0054] According to this configuration, a specific item whose weight or size is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value is positioned at least furthest upstream among the multiple items stored on the storage conveyor. Therefore, when the stopper is released and an item moves, the specific item pushes the items downstream from it. Therefore, when the stopper is released, all items stored on the storage conveyor can be appropriately moved downstream. Furthermore, the need for a separate drive mechanism or the like to forcibly move items is reduced, which facilitates cost reduction of the item storage facility. Furthermore, according to this configuration, multiple items determined to be specific items can be temporarily stored in the buffer section using the buffer transport process and the specific transport process, and the specific items can then be transported from the buffer section to the storage conveyor at the required timing, so the transport of specific items is less likely to interfere with the transport of general items using the general transport process. Furthermore, with this configuration, a portion of the multiple items stored on the storage conveyor are arranged as specific items, which makes it easier to improve the storage efficiency and transportation efficiency of the items compared to, for example, arranging a push-out bucket or the like that is not originally intended for storage. In this way, with this configuration, all of the items stored in a line on the storage conveyor can be properly transported out, and the efficiency of storing and transporting the items can be easily improved.

[0055] Here, it is preferable that the control unit executes the specific conveying process so that at least one of the multiple items lined up along the conveying direction on the storage conveyor becomes the specific item every predetermined set distance or every predetermined set number.

[0056] According to this configuration, among the multiple items lined up along the conveying direction on the storage conveyor, at least one item is designated as a specific item for each set distance or set number, which reduces the number of downstream items pushed by each specific item. Therefore, when the stopper is released, all of the items can be moved more reliably toward the conveying device.

[0057] Further, the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction when viewed from above is defined as the width direction, the judgment threshold value for the size of the article includes a width direction dimension threshold value that defines the dimension of the article in the width direction, It is preferable that the width dimension threshold be set to a value that is smaller than the width dimension of the transport path of the item on the storage conveyor and greater than the width dimension of the transport path minus the width dimension of the item with the smallest width dimension among all the items stored on the storage conveyor.

[0058] According to this configuration, the width dimension of the specific item is set so that other items cannot pass between the width side of the specific item and the width edge of the storage conveyor, so that when the stopper is released, the specific item can push all items downstream of the specific item toward the conveyor.

[0059] It is also preferable that the control unit executes the specific transport process so that at least one item adjacent to the specific item located downstream of at least the specific item located most upstream on the storage conveyor becomes the specific item.

[0060] According to this configuration, multiple specific articles can push articles further downstream, so that all articles can be moved more reliably toward the conveying device.

[0061] The transport mechanism includes a first transport section in which a determination location where the determination unit performs determination is set, and a second transport section and a third transport section branching off from the first transport section downstream of the determination location, the second conveying section connects the first conveying section and the storage conveyor; the third transport unit functions as the buffer unit, It is preferable that the storage conveyor is connected downstream of the third transport section.

[0062] According to this configuration, general items that are not determined to be specific items by the determination unit can be properly transported to the storage conveyor. Also, items that are determined to be specific items by the determination unit can be properly transported to the buffer unit for storage, and specific items stored in the buffer unit can be properly transported from the buffer unit to the storage conveyor.

[0063] Also, a plurality of the storage conveyors are provided, a discharge device connected to the downstream end of the storage conveyor; The unloading device preferably includes an unloading conveying section connected to the downstream end of each of the plurality of storage conveyors, and a plurality of sorter conveyors branching off from the unloading conveying section.

[0064] According to this configuration, the order in which the multiple items are transported from the multiple storage conveyors can be rearranged by the unloading conveyor and the multiple sorter conveyors before shipping, making it easy to ship the multiple items in the order desired by the shipping destination.

[0065] It is sufficient for the item storage facility according to the present disclosure to achieve at least one of the above-described effects. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 1: Storage conveyor 2: Loading device 3: Transport route 4: Unloading device 11: Upstream end of storage conveyor 12: Downstream end of storage conveyor 13: Stopper 20:Transport mechanism 21: First conveying section 22: Second conveying section 23: Third conveyor section 25: Judgment section 26: Buffer section 28: Judgment point 41: Unloading and transporting section 43: Sorter conveyor 100: Goods storage equipment H:Control unit Q: Judgment threshold Q1: Width dimension threshold W:Goods Ws: General goods Wt: Specified goods X: Transport direction Y: Width direction

Claims

1. An article storage facility comprising: a storage conveyor that stores a plurality of articles arranged along a predetermined conveying direction; and a carrying-in device that carries the articles onto the storage conveyor, The storage conveyor is disposed so as to incline downward from the upstream end connected to the carry-in device toward the downstream end, and is provided with a stopper at the downstream end for restricting movement of the articles, and is configured so that when the stopper is released, the articles move downstream in the conveying direction due to their own weight, the carry-in device includes a transport mechanism for transporting the item, a determination unit for determining that the item is a specific item when at least one of its weight and size is equal to or greater than a predetermined determination threshold, a buffer unit for temporarily storing the specific item, and a control unit; The control unit controls the transport mechanism, a buffer conveyance process of conveying the specific item to the buffer unit based on the determination result by the determination unit; a general transport process for transporting general items, which are the items other than the specific items, to the storage conveyor; and a specific transport process for transporting the specific item from the buffer section to the storage conveyor, with the stopper restricting the movement of the item on the storage conveyor, so that at least the item located most upstream of the multiple items stored on the storage conveyor becomes the specific item.

2. The item storage facility described in claim 1, wherein the control unit executes the specific conveying process so that at least one of the items lined up along the conveying direction on the storage conveyor becomes the specific item every predetermined set distance or every predetermined set number.

3. The direction perpendicular to the conveying direction when viewed from above is defined as the width direction, the judgment threshold value for the size of the article includes a width direction dimension threshold value that defines the dimension of the article in the width direction, 2. The item storage facility of claim 1, wherein the width dimension threshold is set to a value that is smaller than the width dimension of the item's transport path on the storage conveyor and greater than the width dimension of the transport path minus the width dimension of the item with the smallest width dimension among all the items stored on the storage conveyor.

4. The item storage facility described in claim 1, wherein the control unit executes the specific transport process so that at least one item adjacent to the specific item located downstream of at least the most upstream item on the storage conveyor becomes the specific item.

5. the transport mechanism includes a first transport section in which a determination location where the determination unit performs determination is set, and a second transport section and a third transport section branching off from the first transport section downstream of the determination location, the second transport unit connects the first transport unit and the storage conveyor; the third transport unit functions as the buffer unit, The article storage facility according to claim 1 , wherein the storage conveyor is connected downstream of the third transport section.

6. A plurality of the storage conveyors are provided, a discharge device connected to the downstream end of the storage conveyor; 6. An item storage facility as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the discharge device comprises an output conveying section connected to the downstream end of each of the plurality of storage conveyors, and a plurality of sorter conveyors branching off from the output conveying section.

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