Cargo Conveying and Sterilizing Apparatus

Abstract

A cargo transport and sterilization device comprises: a body part including a lower part having a plate shape, an upper part having a plate shape corresponding to the lower part, and a lifting unit for raising and lowering the upper part; a sensor part provided in the body part to detect when cargo approaches the body part; a first transport part formed in the shape of a conveyor belt having a cargo transport range less than or equal to the length of the upper part and driven from one end of the upper part toward the other end; a second transport part including a plurality of roller members provided parallel to the first transport part at the other end of the upper part; a sterilization part provided on the bottom surface of the upper part and sterilizing cargo passing through the second transport part by irradiating UV through the gap between the plurality of roller members; and a control part that controls the operation of the lifting unit and controls the operation of the first transport part and the second transport part when cargo is detected by the sensor part.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The following description relates to a cargo transfer and sterilization device. Background Technology

[0003] In 2023, South Korea's annual airport cargo handling volume surpassed approximately 42 tons. While this was partly due to the surge in overseas travel, the prolonged phenomenon of high domestic prices is cited as a more significant cause. As consumer goods in China are relatively cheaper than domestic prices, the use of Chinese e-commerce has increased rapidly, leading to a surge in the volume of cargo that must be handled at airports.

[0004] Cargo arriving at the airport circulates through a carousel connected to the harbor after being ejected from the aircraft. At this time, cargo handling personnel perform the task of loading the cargo onto carts or trucks as it enters the harbor via the carousel; this process is called handling, and a related prior art is Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1735667.

[0005] However, it has been reported that the labor intensity of cargo handling personnel has become extreme due to the surge in cargo volume. Furthermore, since handling operations are conducted only at locations equipped with carousels, the number of workstations and available workspaces are limited, clearly imposing a limit on the maximum workforce that can be deployed. This raises concerns that even if additional handling personnel are hired, the limited workspace means there will be little difference in the number of workers actually capable of performing tasks compared to the existing workforce, leading to the anticipated problem of wasted labor.

[0006] Furthermore, not only the quantity of cargo but also its weight has a significant impact on labor intensity, and the problem of infection caused by residual bacteria within the cargo is substantial, which can lead to industrial accidents such as musculoskeletal injuries, spinal damage, and diseases among handling personnel.

[0007] Therefore, it is necessary to introduce technology that can alleviate the labor intensity of handling personnel and prevent industrial accidents.

[0008] The aforementioned background technology is one that the inventor possessed or acquired in the process of deriving the content of the disclosure of the present application, and it cannot be considered as prior art disclosed to the general public prior to the filing of this application. The problem to be solved

[0010] The objective of the embodiment is to provide a cargo transfer and sterilization device that can alleviate the labor intensity of handling personnel and prevent industrial accidents.

[0011] The problems to be solved in the embodiments are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned problems will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below. means of solving the problem

[0013] A cargo transport and sterilization device according to an embodiment is described. The cargo transport and sterilization device comprises: a body part including a lower part having a plate shape, an upper part having a plate shape corresponding to the lower part, and a lifting unit for raising and lowering the upper part; a sensor part provided in the body part to detect when cargo approaches the body part; a first transport part formed in the shape of a conveyor belt having a cargo transport range less than or equal to the length of the upper part and driven from one end of the upper part toward the other end; a second transport part including a plurality of roller members provided parallel to the first transport part at the other end of the upper part; a sterilization part provided on the bottom surface of the upper part and sterilizing cargo passing through the second transport part by irradiating UV through the gap between the plurality of roller members; and a control part that controls the operation of the lifting unit and controls the operation of the first transport part and the second transport part when cargo is detected by the sensor part.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the device may further include a direction changing unit comprising a plurality of rollers configured to allow cargo passing through the second conveying unit to be placed thereon and to change the conveying direction of the cargo so that the placed cargo deviates from the straight direction.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the direction changing unit can have the plurality of rollers rotate in opposite directions to each other.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the control unit may lower the upper part to an initial position if no cargo is detected by the sensor unit for a predetermined period of time or longer.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the lifting unit may be formed in any one of a hinge type, a bellows type, or a telescopic type, wherein one side is provided on the upper surface of the lower part and the other side is provided on the bottom surface of the upper part, and the distance between the one side and the other side is adjustable.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the plurality of roller members may be arranged parallel to each other. Effects of the invention

[0020] According to the embodiments, the cargo transfer and sterilization device can prevent infection of workers by sterilizing the bottom of the cargo being transferred through a gap formed in the second transfer unit by irradiating UV light from the sterilization unit. In addition, the risk of workers being injured due to excessive workload is minimized by allowing workers to perform cargo handling operations at an appropriate height through the lifting unit.

[0021] The effects of the cargo transfer and sterilization device according to the embodiments are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned effects will be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art from the description below. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0023] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cargo transport and sterilization device according to one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top view of the upper portion according to one embodiment. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the upper portion viewed from below according to one embodiment. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0024] Hereinafter, embodiments are described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, various modifications may be made to the embodiments, and thus the scope of the patent application is not limited or restricted by these embodiments. It should be understood that all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions to the embodiments are included within the scope of the rights.

[0025] The terms used in the embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and should not be interpreted as intended to be limiting. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as "comprising" or "having" are intended to indicate the existence of the features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, and should be understood as not precluding the existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0026] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the embodiments pertain. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in this application.

[0028] In addition, when describing with reference to the attached drawings, identical components are assigned the same reference numeral regardless of drawing symbols, and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted. In describing the embodiments, if it is determined that a detailed description of related prior art could unnecessarily obscure the essence of the embodiments, such detailed description is omitted.

[0029] Additionally, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc., may be used when describing the components of the embodiments. These terms are intended merely to distinguish the components from other components, and the nature, order, or sequence of the components is not limited by these terms. Where it is stated that a component is "connected," "combined," or "joined" to another component, it should be understood that the component may be directly connected or joined to the other component, but that another component may also be "connected," "combined," or "joined" between each component.

[0030] Components included in any one embodiment and components having common functions shall be described using the same names in other embodiments. Unless otherwise stated, the descriptions given in any one embodiment may also apply to other embodiments, and specific descriptions shall be omitted to the extent of overlap.

[0031] The present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. For reference, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cargo transport and sterilization device (10) according to one embodiment, FIG. 2 is a top view of the upper part (101) according to one embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the upper part (101) according to one embodiment.

[0032] The cargo transport and sterilization device (10) includes a body part (100), a sensor part (110), a first transport part (120), a second transport part (130), a sterilization part (140), a control part (150), and a direction change part (160).

[0033] The body portion (100) includes a lower portion (102) having a plate shape, an upper portion (101) having a plate shape, and a lifting unit (1012) for raising and lowering the upper portion (101).

[0034] The body part (100) is intended to facilitate the handling of cargo (11) and is installed between the carousel and the loading space to serve as an intermediate bridge through which the cargo (11) passes. At this time, the upper part (101) on which the cargo (11) is placed may have a surface formed with the maximum cross-sectional area as the bottom surface for easy placement, and the lower part (102) may also have a structure that increases stability by having the maximum cross-sectional area as the bottom surface parallel to the upper part (101). At this time, a plurality of rolling members (1020) are provided on the bottom surface of the lower part (102) to facilitate the movement of the body part (100), and a pressing member (1021) may also be provided to fix the lower part (102) to the floor by pressing the floor while provided on the lower part (102).

[0035] Meanwhile, the lifting unit (1012) is formed in one of the following shapes: a hinge type, a bellows type, or a telescopic type, with one side provided on the upper surface of the lower part (102) and the other side provided on the bottom surface of the upper part (101), so that the distance between the one side and the other side can be adjusted.

[0036] At this time, the lifting unit (1012) can be formed in the shape of an arm connecting the lower part (102) and the upper part (101), so that both ends of the arm can become one side and the other side of the lifting unit (1012), respectively.

[0037] The driving force of the lifting unit (1012) can be a linear actuator, and the arm-shaped body can lower the upper part (101) by applying the driving force of the actuator to the upper part (101) and then returning to the initial position.

[0038] The sensor unit (110) is provided in the body unit (100) to detect cargo (11) approaching the body unit (100). For example, the sensor unit (110) may be provided on the bottom surface of the upper unit (101). The sensor unit (110) may include a plurality of infrared detection sensors, and the plurality of infrared detection sensors may be arranged to partition one end (1010) of the upper unit (101).

[0039] The first conveying unit (120) is formed in the form of a conveyor belt having a cargo conveying range less than or equal to the length of the upper part (101). For example, when the first conveying unit (120) is equipped with a plurality of pulleys and belts, the half length of the belt can be limited to within the length range of the upper part (101) so that the cargo conveying range does not exceed the length of the upper part (101). More specifically, the maximum cargo conveying range can be the value obtained by subtracting the length of the second conveying unit (130) from the length of the upper part (101), so that the front surface of the upper part (101) is evenly divided into the first conveying unit (120) and the second conveying unit (130).

[0040] The first conveying unit (120) is driven from one end (1010) of the upper part (101) toward the other end (1011). For example, the first conveying unit (120) may have a plurality of pulleys that rotate toward the other end (1011). At this time, when the cargo (11) entering the one end (1010) of the first conveying unit (120) comes into contact with the belt, the cargo (11) is conveyed in a straight line toward the other end (1011) by the driving force of the belt.

[0041] The second transfer unit (130) includes a plurality of roller members (131) and a plurality of roller shafts (132).

[0042] A plurality of roller members (131) are provided parallel to the first conveying member (120) at the other end (1011).

[0043] A plurality of roller shafts (132) are provided on each of the plurality of roller members (131) and may be perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the upper part (101). For example, the plurality of roller shafts (132) may be parallel to each other so that the height of the center axis of each roller member (131) is equal to each other, which is to provide a transport path with a constant slope for cargo (11) passing through the first transport section (120) and entering the second transport section (130). In particular, when heavy cargo (11) enters the second transport section (130), there may be a problem where the heavy cargo (11) gets stuck in a section with a high slope, but this can be prevented by the plurality of roller members (131) providing a constant slope.

[0044] Meanwhile, a plurality of roller shafts (132) may be spaced apart from each other by a distance that forms a gap (133) between a plurality of roller members (131). For example, a plurality of roller shafts (132) may be spaced apart such that the distance between them is greater than the sum of the radii of each of the adjacent roller members (131). This is an example in which the plurality of roller shafts (132) form a minimum gap (133), and at the same time, it is also the shortest distance when the adjacent roller members (131) do not come into contact with each other.

[0045] The maximum value of the gap (133) can follow the radiation width of the UV irradiated by the sterilization unit (140). More specifically, the spacing between the multiple roller shafts (132) follows the radiation width of the UV, but this is limited to the radiation width where the UV energy is maintained at more than half. That is, the maximum value of the gap (133) is limited to a range where the UV energy of the sterilization unit (140) does not become less than half, thereby increasing the sterilization efficiency of the sterilization unit (140).

[0046] The sterilization unit (140) is provided on the bottom surface of the upper part (101) and sterilizes the cargo (11) passing through the second conveying unit (130) by irradiating UV light through the gap (133) between the plurality of roller members (131). In this configuration, the sterilization unit (140) can form a sterilization path in which the bottom of the cargo (11) is sequentially sterilized through the plurality of gaps (133) as the cargo (11) passes through the second conveying unit (130).

[0047] The control unit (150) controls the operation of the lifting unit (1012) and the operation of the first transfer unit (120) and the second transfer unit (130) when the sensor unit (110) detects cargo.

[0048] At this time, the point at which the control unit (150) terminates the raising of the lifting unit (1012) may vary depending on the working environment. For example, the control unit (150) must raise the lifting unit (1012) to a height of the upper part (101) such that it is easy for the worker to handle the cargo (11), but this may vary each time depending on the worker's physical condition and the height difference between the carousel and the loading space.

[0049] To satisfy this, the control unit (150) may be configured to receive a command to end the ascent of the lifting unit (1012) from the operator. When the height of the upper part (101) reaches a point desired by the operator, the operator may input a termination command to the control unit (150), and the control unit (150) terminates the ascent of the lifting unit (1012).

[0050] The control unit (150) is configured to receive a command to start the lifting of the lifting unit (1012), thereby enabling the operation of readjusting the height of the upper unit (101) according to the operator's operation even after the lifting of the lifting unit (1012) has ended.

[0051] Additionally, the control unit (150) lowers the upper unit (101) to its initial position if the cargo (11) is not detected by the sensor unit (110) for a predetermined period of time or longer. For example, the control unit (150) considers a situation where the cargo detection signal from the sensor unit (110) is not received for more than 10 minutes as the end of the operation and lowers the upper unit (101) to its initial position.

[0052] The direction changer (160) is provided to allow cargo that has passed through the second conveyor (130) to be placed thereon, and includes a plurality of rollers (161) that change the direction of transport of the cargo so that the placed cargo deviates from the straight direction. For example, the direction changers (160) may be parallel to each other, with each side facing the top (101). In this configuration, when the direction changer (160) rotates, the direction of rotation is perpendicular to the direction of rotation of the second conveyor (130), so that the cargo (11), which had been moving only in a straight line through the second conveyor (130), is transported in the direction corresponding to the direction of rotation of the direction changer (160) after reaching the direction changer (160).

[0053] Additionally, the direction changer (160) has multiple rollers (161) that rotate in opposite directions. For example, when the direction changer (160) is equipped with four rollers (161), the two pairs of rotation directions divided by the body part (100) as the central axis of the four rollers (161) may be different from each other. For instance, if one pair of rollers (161) is rotating clockwise, the two rollers (161) provided on the opposite side may rotate counterclockwise. Through this, when the cargo (11) follows the rotation direction of the multiple rollers (161), the transport direction can be determined as either a left turn or a right turn. This is to prevent the cargo (11) that has passed through the second transporter (130) from being fixedly stacked in only one location when it falls into the loading space. Through this, the direction change unit (160) can use both the final destination point in the left turn direction and the final destination point in the right turn direction as the cargo drop point, which can minimize the loading density of the cargo (11) at one drop point, thereby reducing the burden on the worker handling and organizing the loaded cargo (11).

[0054] In this embodiment, the cargo transport and sterilization device (10) can sterilize the bottom of the transported cargo (11) by irradiating UV light from the sterilization unit (140) into the gap (133) formed in the second transport unit (130), thereby preventing infection of the worker. In addition, the risk of the worker being injured due to an excessive workload is minimized by allowing the worker to perform handling work on the cargo (11) at an appropriate height through the lifting unit (1012).

[0055] Although the embodiments have been described above with reference to the limited drawings, those skilled in the art can apply various technical modifications and variations based on the above. For example, suitable results may be achieved even if the described techniques are performed in a different order than described, and / or if the components of the described system, structure, device, circuit, etc. are combined or assembled in a form different from described, or replaced or substituted by other components or equivalents.

[0056] Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and equivalents to the claims also fall within the scope of the claims set forth below. Explanation of the symbols

[0058] 10: Cargo transfer and sterilization device 11: Cargo 100: Body part 101: Upper 1010: First part 1011: Other end 1012: Elevator Unit 102: Lower 1020: Cloud Absence 1021: Pressure member 110: Sensor section 120: 1st Transfer Unit 130: 2nd Transfer Unit 131: Roller member 132: Roller shaft 133: Gap 140: Sterilization unit 150: Control unit 160: Direction change section 161: Roller

Claims

Claim 1 A cargo transport and sterilization device comprising: a body part including a lower part having a plate shape, an upper part having a plate shape corresponding to the lower part, and a lifting unit for lifting the upper part; a sensor part provided in the body part to detect when cargo approaches the body part; a first transport part formed in the shape of a conveyor belt having a cargo transport range less than or equal to the length of the upper part and driven from one end of the upper part toward the other end; a second transport part including a plurality of roller members provided parallel to the first transport part at the other end of the upper part; a sterilization part provided on the bottom surface of the upper part and sterilizing cargo passing through the second transport part by irradiating UV through the gap between the plurality of roller members; a control part that controls the operation of the lifting unit and controls the operation of the first transport part and the second transport part when cargo is detected by the sensor part; and a direction change part including a plurality of rollers provided to allow cargo passing through the second transport part to be placed and to change the transport direction of the cargo so that the placed cargo deviates from the straight direction. Claim 2 delete Claim 3 In claim 1, the direction changing unit is a cargo conveying and sterilization device in which the plurality of rollers rotate in opposite directions to each other. Claim 4 In claim 1, the control unit is a cargo transfer and sterilization device that lowers the upper part to an initial position if cargo is not detected by the sensor unit for a predetermined time or longer. Claim 5 A cargo transport and sterilization device according to claim 1, wherein the lifting unit is formed in one of the following shapes: a hinge type, a bellows type, or a telescopic type, wherein one side is provided on the upper surface of the lower part and the other side is provided on the bottom surface of the upper part, and the distance between the one side and the other side is adjustable. Claim 6 In claim 1, the plurality of roller members are arranged parallel to each other in a cargo conveying and sterilization device.

Images