Storage container

Abstract

In the present invention, a storage container comprises: a tray capable of holding an electronic component; a box in which the tray can be stored; and a movement mechanism capable of moving the tray along a first direction parallel to the obverse surface of the tray, the movement mechanism moving the tray between a storage position inside the box and a retrieval position outside the box. The tray is provided with a tray side surface extending in the first direction, and the box is provided with a box side surface facing the tray side surface of the tray when the tray is positioned at the storage position. A recess is formed in one of the tray side surface and the box side surface, and a claw part positioned inside the recess when the tray is positioned at the storage position is provided to the other of the tray side surface and the box side surface. The movement mechanism is provided with a guide that, when at least the tray moves from the storage position to the retrieval position, guides the claw part to the outside of the recess from the inside of the recess by coming into contact with the claw part from one side.

Description

Containment

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a container that houses trays capable of holding electronic components in a box.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a tray-type component supply device that supports trays for holding circuit components. In the tray-type component supply device, the tray is held by a pallet, which is supported in a horizontal position on a pair of rails by a pallet gripping device. The pallet gripping device has rotatable gripping claws. In the pallet gripping device, the gripping claws engage with engaging recesses provided on the pair of rails to secure the pallet holding the tray to the pair of rails, and the gripping claws can be removed by disengaging from the engaging recesses. The gripping claws are rotated by a piston rod of an air cylinder. When the pallet is ready for removal, it is removed by a transport conveyor separate from the air cylinder that drives the gripping claws.

[0003] International Publication No. 2004 / 091272

[0004] This specification discloses a technique that allows trays to be removed with a simpler configuration than the conventional technique of removing pallets using air cylinders.

[0005] The storage facility disclosed in this specification includes a tray capable of holding electronic components, a box capable of storing the tray, and a moving mechanism capable of moving the tray along a first direction parallel to the surface of the tray, the moving mechanism moving the tray between a storage position within the box and a removal position outside the box. The tray has a tray side extending in the first direction, and the box has a box side facing the tray side of the tray when the tray is located at the storage position. A recess is formed in one of the tray side or the box side, and a claw portion is provided on the other of the tray side or the box side that is located in the recess when the tray is located at the storage position. The moving mechanism includes a guide that contacts the claw portion from one side and guides the claw portion from within the recess to outside the recess when the tray moves from the storage position to the removal position.

[0006] In the storage container described above, when the tray is located in the storage position, the tabs are located within the recesses. This ensures that the tray is securely stored in the storage position. Furthermore, the tabs are guided from within the recesses to outside the recesses by contacting the guides of the movement mechanism at least when the tray moves from the storage position to the removal position. This allows the tray to be easily moved from the storage position to the removal position. As described above, with the storage container disclosed in this specification, the tabs are guided from within the recesses to outside the recesses by the movement mechanism, eliminating the need for a separate mechanism for guiding the tabs from within the recesses to outside the recesses, as in conventional technology. This allows for tray removal with a simpler configuration than conventional technology.

[0007] Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a storage facility according to an embodiment; Fig. 5 is a side view of a storage facility according to an embodiment; Fig. 6 is a plan view of a storage facility according to an embodiment; Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of an area surrounded by a dashed line IV in Fig. 3; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a leaf spring provided in the storage facility according to the embodiment;

[0008] The main features of the embodiments described below are listed below. Note that the technical elements described below are independent technical elements that exhibit technical utility alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing.

[0009] (Feature 1) In the above-described storage container, the claw portion may be elastically deformed by contacting the guide, and may be guided from inside the recess to outside the recess.

[0010] With this configuration, when the guide is released from the claw portion, the claw portion returns to its original shape, making it possible to return the claw portion from outside the recess to inside the recess with a relatively simple configuration.

[0011] (Feature 2) The storage warehouse may further include an automatic transport device that automatically transports the electronic components between the outside and inside of the storage warehouse. In this case, the automatic transport device may include the movement mechanism.

[0012] According to this configuration, the guide of the movement mechanism of the automatic transport device can guide the claw portion from inside the recess to outside the recess, so that the control configuration of the automatic transport device can be simplified.

[0013] (Feature 3) In the above-described storage, the electronic components may include a reel that stores a plurality of components.

[0014] If a tray holding a reel containing multiple components were to fall from its storage position, the components would fly off the reel, making it difficult to manage the components. The storage container disclosed in this specification is particularly useful when storing trays that hold such reels, because the claws securely store the tray in the storage position. However, in another embodiment, the electronic components may be, for example, printed circuit boards instead of reels.

[0015] (Feature 4) In the storage container described above, the claw portion may be provided on a side surface of the box.

[0016] However, in another embodiment, the tabs may be provided on the side surfaces of the tray.

[0017] (Feature 5) In the storage, the box may be capable of storing the plurality of trays arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the surface. The plurality of claws corresponding to the plurality of trays may be integrally formed.

[0018] With this configuration, it is possible to improve the production efficiency of the claws corresponding to a plurality of trays.

[0019] (Feature 6) In the storage facility described above, the moving mechanism may include a first moving mechanism that moves the tray along the first direction between the storage position and the removal position, and a second moving mechanism that moves the guide along the first direction to bring the guide into contact with the claw portion from one side.

[0020] With this configuration, when the tray is moved from the storage position to the removal position by the first movement mechanism, the second movement mechanism can reliably bring the guide into contact with the claw portion.

[0021] (Feature 7) In the storage unit, a groove extending in the first direction may be provided on a side surface of the tray. In this case, a portion of the guide of the movement mechanism may be located within the groove. The guide may move along the groove in the first direction.

[0022] With this configuration, the guide can reliably move in the first direction along the groove.

[0023] (Example) As shown in FIG. 1 , a storage facility 10 in this example includes multiple trays 2, three boxes 11, an automatic transport device 20, and a control device 100. The storage facility 10 is a warehouse that stores multiple reels 4 held on the surfaces 3u of the multiple trays 2. Although not shown, the reels 4 house multiple electronic components. The electronic components are, for example, IC chips mounted on circuit boards. Note that in FIG. 1 , of the multiple trays 2 housed in a box 11, only the tray 2 located furthest in the +Z direction of the box 11 located furthest in the +Y direction is labeled, and only the surface 3u of that tray 2 and the reel 4 held on that surface 3u are labeled. Note that in this specification, the +Z direction may simply be referred to as "up" and the opposite direction may simply be referred to as "down." Similarly, the +Y direction may simply be referred to as "left" and the opposite direction may simply be referred to as "right." The -X direction may simply be referred to as "front" and the opposite direction may simply be referred to as "rear."

[0024] The box 11 has a box shape with an open front, and accommodates the reels 4 held on the tray 2. In the box 11 of this embodiment, the top, sides, and back of the box 11 are covered, but in modified examples of the box 11, at least one of the top, sides, and back of the box 11 may be open.

[0025] The automatic conveying device 20 includes a pair of rails 22 and a conveyor 23. The pair of rails 22 are arranged spaced apart in the front-to-rear direction. The pair of rails 22 also extend in the left-to-right direction. The pair of rails 22 extend toward a component mounter (not shown) that mounts electronic components housed on the reel 4. The conveyor 23 includes four pillars 24, a pair of lower beams 26, and a pair of upper beams 28. The four pillars 24 each extend upward from the pair of rails 22. Wheels (not shown) that abut against the rails 22 are disposed at the lower ends of the four pillars 24, and the conveyor 23 can move left-to-right along the pair of rails 22 by driving the wheels.

[0026] The pair of lower beams 26 each extend parallel to the pair of rails 22 (i.e., in the left-right direction). The pair of lower beams 26 are each located between the pair of pillars 24. The pair of upper beams 28 are each located above the pair of lower beams 26 and extend in a direction perpendicular to the pair of rails 22 (i.e., in the front-to-rear direction). Each beam 26, 28 can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction along the pillars 24. The conveyor 23 automatically conveys the reel 4 held in the tray 2 removed from the box 11 to the component mounter. This supplies the reel 4 to the component mounter. In a modified example, the conveyor 23 may move in the horizontal direction by belts attached to the pair of rails 22 instead of by wheels arranged at the lower ends of the four pillars.

[0027] The control device 100 is a computer including a CPU. The control device 100 can communicate with the automatic transport device 20. The control device 100 controls the automatic transport device 20. For example, the control device 100 transmits information indicating the position of a box 11 to the automatic transport device 20. The automatic transport device 20 moves the transport device 23 based on the information received from the control device 100. Specifically, the automatic transport device 20 first moves the transport device 23 to a position in front of a specific box 11 among the three boxes 11 included in the received information. Then, the automatic transport device raises and lowers the beams 26 and 28 of the transport device 23 to the height of a specific tray 2 included in the received information among the multiple trays 2 accommodated in the specific box 11. In this way, the automatic transport device 20 moves the transport device 23 to the position included in the information received from the control device 100. Then, when accommodating a tray 2, the transport device 23 accommodates the tray 2 at a specific height in the specific box 11. When removing the tray 2, the conveyor 23 removes the tray 2 from a specific box 11. Details of the technique by which the conveyor 23 stores the tray 2 in the box 11 and the technique by which the conveyor 23 removes the tray 2 from the box 11 will be described later with reference to FIGS.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 2 , a pair of racks 12 are provided on the side surface 11s of the box 11. The pair of racks 12 extend in the front-rear direction along the side surface 11s of the box 11. The pair of racks 12 hold both left and right ends of the tray 2 within the box 11. This allows the surface 3u of the tray 2 to be held horizontally within the box 11. Therefore, the reel 4 is held on the surface 3u of the tray 2. Note that in FIG. 2 , only the uppermost tray 2, surface 3u, reel 4, and pair of racks 12 are labeled with reference numerals, and reference numerals are omitted for the other components. Also, in FIG. 2 , the components of the automatic transport device 20 are indicated by dots to facilitate understanding.

[0029] As described above, both ends of the tray 2 are positioned above the pair of racks 12. The pair of racks 12 are positioned at a distance from each other in the left-right direction. That is, the central portion of the tray 2 in the left-right direction is not supported by the pair of racks 12. If the position of the tray 2 shifts due to vibrations applied to the storage 10, the tray 2 will fall from the pair of racks 12. In this case, the electronic components stored on the reels 4 held on the surface 3u of the tray 2 may be scattered by the impact of the fall. The control device 100 stores the number, product numbers, etc. of the electronic components stored in the storage 10. However, if the electronic components are scattered, the actual number of electronic components stored in the storage 10 may differ from the number of electronic components stored by the control device 100. To prevent the tray 2 from falling, the storage 10 includes a leaf spring 14.

[0030] The structure of the leaf spring 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. The leaf spring 14 is a metal sheet metal part. FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the leaf spring 14 positioned between two adjacent boxes 11. As shown in FIG. 5, the leaf spring 14 includes a main body 16 extending in the vertical direction and multiple claws 15 extending from the main body 16 on both the left and right sides. The main body 16 connects the multiple claws 15. The multiple claws 15 are arranged in the vertical direction. Each of the multiple claws 15 is positioned corresponding to a tray 2. By integrally forming the leaf spring 14 including multiple claws 15 corresponding to multiple trays 2 in this manner, production efficiency of the claws 15 can be improved compared to a configuration in which the claws 15 are individually formed. Furthermore, the attachment of the claws 15 to the box 11 can be easily performed. Each of the multiple claws 15 extends at an angle so that it approaches the tray 2 toward the rear. As shown in Fig. 3, the leaf springs 14 disposed at the left and right ends of the box 11 have a plurality of claws 15 formed on only one side in the left-right direction. The leaf springs 14 are located at the left and right ends of the tray 2. As shown in Fig. 4, the leaf springs 14 are fixed to the front ends of the box side surfaces 11s of the box 11 with bolts.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4 , a recess 7 is formed in the tray side surface 3s of the tray 2. The recess 7 is a notch provided in the tray side surface 3s. When the tray 2 is located in the storage position P1, the tip of the claw portion 15 (see the dashed line in FIG. 4 ), which is located in the normal position P3, is located within the recess 7. As a result, the tip of the claw portion 15 is located inside (to the right in the example of FIG. 4 ) the position of the tray side surface 3s in the left-right direction. As a result, even if the tray 2 moves forward (i.e., in the direction of arrow F1), the rear end of the recess 7 of the tray 2 comes into contact with the tip of the claw portion 15. This stops further forward movement of the tray 2. In this way, the claw portion 15 can prevent the tray 2 from unintentionally moving and falling from the rack 12. However, if the claw portion 15 is located within the recess 7, the tray 2 cannot be moved from the storage position P1 to the removal position P2.

[0032] Next, the detailed structure of the conveyor 23 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 3, the tray 2 positioned at the storage position P1 inside the box 11 is indicated by a dashed line, and the tray 2 positioned at the removal position P2 outside the box 11 is indicated by a solid line. As shown in FIG. 3, the conveyor 23 includes a lower beam 26 and an upper beam 28, as well as a holding plate 40, a chain 42, and a pair of guides 30. The holding plate 40 is a rectangular flat plate member that holds the tray 2 from below. The holding plate 40 is connected via the chain 42 to a slider 43 provided on the right upper beam 28. The slider 43 moves in the front-rear direction along the upper beam 28. As a result, the holding plate 40 moves in the front-rear direction. As the holding plate 40 moves, the tray 2 held above the holding plate 40 moves between the storage position P1 and the removal position P2. That is, the slider 43 is a mechanism for moving the tray 2 in the front-rear direction between the storage position P1 and the removal position P2.

[0033] The pair of guides 30 are located outside the pair of lower beams 26. Each of the pair of guides 30 includes a rear portion 35, a tip portion 36 located at the rear end of the rear portion 35, and a gear 34. The upper surface of the rear portion 35 is located lower than the front portion of the guide 30. The width of the tip portion 36 in the left-right direction is smaller than the width of the main body of the guide 30. At the front end portions of the pair of guides 30, the outer surfaces are inclined so that they approach the tray 2 as they approach the front.

[0034] The gear 34 of the guide 30 meshes with the belt 29 exposed on the outer surface of the lower beam 26. As the gear 34 of the guide 30 rotates, the guide 30 moves along the outer surface of the lower beam 26, i.e., in the front-to-rear direction. The gear 34 is a mechanism that moves the guide 30 in the front-to-rear direction.

[0035] As shown in the enlarged view at the bottom of FIG. 2 , the guide 30 further includes a flange 32 extending toward the tray 2. The flange 32 is provided at the upper end of the guide 30 and extends in the front-to-rear direction. The flange 32 engages with a groove 5 provided in the tray side surface 3s of the tray 2. That is, the flange 32 of the guide 30 is positioned within the groove 5 of the tray 2. This allows the groove 5 of the tray 2 to restrict the movement of the guide 30 in the up-and-down direction. As a result, the guide 30 can move stably in the front-to-rear direction.

[0036] As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 2 , the rear portion 35 and the tip portion 36 of the guide 30 are located below the lower end of the tray 2. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4 , when the guide 30 moves rearward, the tip portion 36 of the guide 30 passes below the tray 2 and contacts the lower end of the claw portion 15 of the leaf spring 14 from the inside. The tip portion 36 of the guide 30 guides the claw portion 15 of the leaf spring 14 from the normal position P3 to the biased position P4. As a result, as shown by arrow F2 in FIG. 4 , the tip of the claw portion 15 moves out of the recess 7. In this way, the tip portion 36 of the guide 30 guides the claw portion 15 of the leaf spring 14 from the normal position P3 to the biased position P4, so that the conveyor 23 can easily move the tray 2 from the storage position P1 to the removal position P2.

[0037] Furthermore, in the conveyor 23, when the tray 2 is moved from the storage position P1 to the removal position P2, the slider 43 moves the tray 2 forward. Meanwhile, the guide 30 moves rearward and comes into contact with the claw portion 15 of the leaf spring 14. That is, in this embodiment, when the tray 2 is moved from the storage position P1 to the removal position P2, the tray 2 and the guide 30 must move in opposite directions. The conveyor 23 includes the slider 43, which is a mechanism for moving the tray 2 in the front-rear direction, and the gear 34, which is a mechanism for moving the guide 30 in the front-rear direction. Therefore, when the tray 2 moves forward from the storage position P1 to the removal position P2, the gear 34 can move the guide 30 rearward. This ensures that the tip portion 36 of the guide 30 and the claw portion 15 of the leaf spring 14 come into contact with each other when the tray 2 moves forward from the storage position P1 to the removal position P2.

[0038] Furthermore, because the leaf spring 14 is made of metal, the claw portion 15 of the leaf spring 14 elastically deforms upon contact with the tip 36 of the guide 30. Therefore, when the guide 30 moves forward and the tip 36 separates from the claw portion 15, the claw portion 15 easily returns to the normal position P3 from the biased position P4. In the storage 10 of this embodiment, when the tray 2 is again moved from the removal position P2 to the storage position P1, the tip 36 of the guide 30 contacts the claw portion 15 of the leaf spring 14 to deform the claw portion 15 to the biased position P4 prior to the tray 2 moving. The holding plate 40 is then moved rearward to move the tray 2 to the storage position P1. This prevents interference between the claw portion 15, which is located at the normal position P3, and the tray side surface 3s of the tray 2. As a result, the tray 2 can be smoothly moved to the storage position P1. In a modified example, the guide 30 does not need to move rearward when the tray 2 is again moved from the removal position P2 to the storage position P1. In this modification, the tray 2 may move from the removal position P2 to the storage position P1 while the claw portions 15 are deformed outward by the tray side surface 3s of the tray 2.

[0039] (Correspondence) The front-to-rear direction is an example of a "first direction," and the up-to-down direction is an example of a "second direction." The slider 43 is an example of a "first moving mechanism," and the gear 34 is an example of a "second moving mechanism." The flange 32 is an example of a "part of a guide."

[0040] Here are some points to note regarding the storage cabinet 10 described in the embodiment. In the storage cabinet 10 of the embodiment described above, the claws 15 are arranged on both the left and right sides of the tray 2. However, in a modified example, the claws 15 may be arranged only on the right side of the tray 2, for example.

[0041] The leaf spring 14 does not have to be made of metal. The claw portion 15 does not have to be elastically deformed by contact with the guide 30.

[0042] The storage facility 10 does not need to be equipped with the automatic transport device 20. In the storage facility 10, for example, the tray 2 may be moved from the storage position P1 to the removal position P2 by an operator. In this case, the operator may move the guide 30 rearward to move the claw portion 15 to the biasing position P4.

[0043] The electronic components held on the surface 3u of the tray 2 are not limited to the reels 4. The electronic components may be, for example, printed circuit boards or cartridges for printing circuits on the printed circuit boards.

[0044] The tabs 15 may be provided on the tray side surface 3s. In this case, the recesses 7 may be provided on the box side surface 11s.

[0045] The box 11 may be capable of accommodating only one tray 2. In this case, the leaf spring 14 may be provided with one claw portion 15.

[0046] The conveyor 23 may not include, for example, the gear 34. In this case, the guide 30 may be moved in the front-rear direction by the slider 43. In other words, the movement mechanism may not include the second movement mechanism.

[0047] The tray side surface 3s does not necessarily have to be provided with the groove 5. In that case, for example, a groove may be provided on the guide 30 side, and the flange on the tray 2 side may engage with the groove on the guide 30 side.

[0048] The technical elements described in this specification or drawings exhibit technical utility either alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. Furthermore, the technologies illustrated in this specification or drawings simultaneously achieve multiple objectives, and achieving one of those objectives is itself technically useful.

[0049] For example, this specification also discloses the technical idea of ​​changing "the storage facility according to claim 1" to "the storage facility according to claim 1 or 2" in claim 3. Similarly, the technical idea of ​​changing "the storage facility according to claim 1" to "the storage facility according to any one of claims 1 to 3" in claim 4, the technical idea of ​​changing "the storage facility according to claim 1" to "the storage facility according to any one of claims 1 to 4" in claim 5, and the technical idea of ​​changing "the storage facility according to claim 1" to "the storage facility according to any one of claims 1 to 6" in claim 7 are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A storage facility comprising: a tray capable of holding electronic components; a box capable of accommodating the tray; and a moving mechanism capable of moving the tray along a first direction parallel to a surface of the tray, the moving mechanism moving the tray between a storage position within the box and a removal position outside the box, wherein the tray has a tray side extending in the first direction, the box has a box side that faces the tray side of the tray when the tray is located at the storage position, a recess is formed in one of the tray side and the box side, and a claw portion is provided on the other of the tray side and the box side that is located in the recess when the tray is located at the storage position, and the moving mechanism comprises a guide that contacts the claw portion from the one side and guides the claw portion from within the recess to outside the recess when at least the tray moves from the storage position to the removal position.

2. A storage facility as described in claim 1, wherein the claw portion is elastically deformed by contact with the guide and is guided from within the recess to outside the recess.

3. The storage facility according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic transport device that automatically transports the electronic components between the outside of the storage facility and the inside of the storage facility, the automatic transport device comprising the moving mechanism.

4. The repository of claim 1, wherein the electronic components include a reel that contains a plurality of components.

5. A storage facility as described in claim 1, wherein the claw portion is provided on a side surface of the box.

6. The storage facility according to claim 5, wherein the box is capable of storing a plurality of the trays arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the surface, and the plurality of claw portions corresponding to the plurality of the trays are integrally formed.

7. A storage facility as described in claim 1, wherein the moving mechanism comprises: a first moving mechanism that moves the tray along the first direction between the storage position and the removal position; and a second moving mechanism that moves the guide along the first direction, thereby bringing the guide into contact with the claw portion from the one side.

8. A storage container as described in claim 7, wherein a groove extending in the first direction is provided on a side surface of the tray, a portion of the guide of the moving mechanism is positioned within the groove, and the guide moves in the first direction along the groove.

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