Robot system

Abstract

This robot system (100) is provided with: a plurality of pile-up conveyors (10) for piling up and transporting articles (120) to be loaded on a cart (110); and a pile-up robot (20) that moves and sorts the articles (120) transported by a transport device (130) to the plurality of pile-up conveyors (10).

Description

Robot System

[0001] This disclosure relates to a robotic system for sorting items.

[0002] Conventionally, systems for sorting items have been known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2023-94792 discloses a system for case sorting and loading into basket carts at a logistics center. This system includes a transport conveyor that transports cases from an automated pallet warehouse, a right-angle sorting conveyor that sorts the cases transported by the transport conveyor, and a storage conveyor that transports the cases sorted by the right-angle sorting conveyor to a worker. In this system, the cases sorted by the right-angle sorting conveyor are transported to the storage conveyor.

[0003] JP 2023-94792 A

[0004] However, in the system described in JP 2023-94792 A, cases sorted by a right-angle sorting conveyor are transported to a storage conveyor, and the specifications of the right-angle sorting conveyor limit the flexibility of the storage conveyor's placement, which poses a problem of limited flexibility in the placement of the storage conveyor as a storage conveyor for accumulating cases.

[0005] This disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and one object of this disclosure is to provide a robot system that can improve the degree of freedom in the arrangement of multiple accumulation conveyors.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, a robot system according to one aspect of this disclosure includes a plurality of accumulation conveyors that accumulate and transport items to be loaded onto a cart, and an accumulation robot that moves the items transported by the transport device to the plurality of accumulation conveyors and sorts them.

[0007] As described above, a robot system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a storage robot that moves articles transported by a transport device to multiple storage conveyors for sorting. This allows the storage robot to have greater freedom in moving articles than a conveyor, and therefore allows the multiple storage conveyors to be positioned more freely than when articles are sorted by moving them to multiple storage conveyors using a conveyor. As a result, the freedom in positioning the multiple storage conveyors can be improved.

[0008] According to the present disclosure, as described above, it is possible to provide a robot system that allows for improved freedom in the arrangement of multiple accumulation conveyors.

[0009] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a robot system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 2 is a plan view showing a robot system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 3 is a side view showing a partition section of an accumulation conveyor according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of an accumulation robot, an accumulation conveyor, and a cart robot according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a robot system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] 1 to 4, the configuration of a robot system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the drawings, arrow Z represents the vertical direction, and arrows Z1 and Z2 represent upward and downward, respectively. Arrow Y represents the conveying direction of the accumulation conveyor 10, and arrows Y1 and Y2 represent downstream and upstream of the conveying direction, respectively. Arrow X represents the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction.

[0012] (Configuration of robot system) As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the robot system 100 includes a plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 that accumulate and transport items 120 to be loaded onto carts 110, and an accumulation robot 20 that moves the items 120 transported by a transport device 130 to the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 and sorts them.

[0013] The cart 110 is a platform vehicle that can move while carrying an article 120. One cart 110 carries one article 120 destined for one destination.

[0014] The articles 120 are, for example, cases in which the sizes vary depending on the item.

[0015] The transport device 130 is a conveyor that transports the articles 120. The transport device 130 transports the depalletized articles 120 sequentially toward the storage robot 20.

[0016] The storage robot 20 moves and sorts the articles 120 onto a plurality of storage conveyors 10 according to their destinations. The storage robot 20 is a vertical articulated robot. The storage robot 20 includes a vertical articulated arm 21, a hand 22 disposed at the tip of the arm 21 for holding and moving the articles 120, and a control unit 23 for controlling the operation of the arm 21 and the hand 22.

[0017] The robot system 100 includes a cart robot 30 that moves articles 120 from a plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 to a cart 110 and loads the articles 120 onto the cart 110. The cart robot 30 repeatedly moves between a specific accumulation conveyor 10 among the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 and the cart 110, thereby loading articles 120 corresponding to a specific destination onto the cart 110.

[0018] The cart robot 30 is a vertical articulated robot and includes a vertical articulated arm 31, a hand 32 disposed at the tip of the arm 31 for holding and moving the item 120, and a control unit 33 for controlling the operation of the arm 31 and the hand 32.

[0019] In the robot system 100, the cart 110 is automatically supplied to the cart robot 30. For example, the cart 110 moves automatically, and the cart 110 is automatically supplied to the cart robot 30. Alternatively, for example, the cart 110 is moved by an automatic supply device arranged outside the cart 110, and the cart 110 is automatically supplied to the cart robot 30. A plurality of carts 110 are kept waiting near the cart robot 30. Note that the cart 110 may also be manually supplied to the cart robot 30 by an operator.

[0020] Each of the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 transports the articles 120 in a horizontal transport direction. Each of the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 includes a plurality of rollers 10a for transporting the articles 120 and a drive unit serving as a motor for driving the plurality of rollers 10a to transport the articles 120.

[0021] The plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction and in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. In the example shown in Fig. 1, two accumulation conveyor groups are provided, each consisting of ten accumulation conveyors 10, with five accumulation conveyors 10 arranged side by side in the vertical direction and two accumulation conveyors 10 arranged in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. The two accumulation conveyor groups are arranged spaced apart in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 3 , each of the multiple accumulation conveyors 10 includes partitions 13 and 14 that separate a first item 121, which is the most downstream item in the conveying direction among the multiple accumulated items 120, from a second item 122, which is upstream of the first item 121 in the conveying direction. The partition 13 is a stopper that abuts against the second item 122 closest to the first item 121 to stop the second item 122 from being conveyed downstream of the partition 13. The partition 14 is disposed downstream of the partition 13 and is a stopper that abuts against the first item 121 to stop the first item 121 from being conveyed downstream of the partition 14. The partitions 13 and 14 are plate-shaped. The partitions 13 and 14 are movable vertically between a stop position where they are moved upward to stop the item 120 and a retracted position where they are moved downward so as not to obstruct the conveyance of the item 120. The partition 14 does not have to be configured to be movable in the vertical direction.

[0023] 1 and 2, the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 include a first accumulation conveyor group G1 made up of a plurality of first accumulation conveyors 11 and a second accumulation conveyor group G2 made up of a plurality of second accumulation conveyors 12. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the first accumulation conveyor group G1 is made up of ten first accumulation conveyors 11, and the second accumulation conveyor group G2 is made up of ten second accumulation conveyors 12. As shown in Fig. 4, the accumulation robot 20 moves and sorts articles 120 to one of the first accumulation conveyor group G1 and the second accumulation conveyor group G2, and while the articles 120 in one of the first accumulation conveyor group G1 and the second accumulation conveyor group G2 are loaded onto the cart 110, moves and sorts the articles 120 to the other of the first accumulation conveyor group G1 and the second accumulation conveyor group G2.

[0024] 1 and 2, the robot system 100 includes an imaging unit 40, which is a camera that captures images of the items 120 moved by the storage robot 20, and an imaging unit 50, which is a camera that captures images of the items 120 loaded on the cart 110. Based on the images captured by the imaging unit 40, it is possible to determine the position where the storage robot 20 will hold the items 120. Based on the images captured by the imaging unit 50, it is possible to determine the state of the items 120 loaded on the cart 110.

[0025] (Operation of Robot System) The operation of the robot system 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 4, the conveying device 130 sequentially conveys the articles 120 toward the storage robot 20. The storage robot 20 sequentially moves the articles 120 sequentially conveyed by the conveying device 130 to a plurality of storage conveyors 10. Specifically, the storage robot 20 sorts the articles 120 by destination by moving them to a plurality of storage conveyors 10. At this time, the storage robot 20 sorts the articles 120 by destination by moving articles 120 corresponding to a specific destination to a specific storage conveyor 10 based on a command from a higher-level system.

[0027] The accumulation conveyor 10 sequentially transports the items 120 moved by the accumulation robot 20 downstream in the transport direction, i.e., toward the cart robot 30. The cart robot 30 moves and loads the items 120 accumulated on the multiple accumulation conveyors 10 onto the cart 110. At this time, the cart robot 30 sequentially moves the item 120 furthest downstream in the transport direction, serving as the first item 121, onto the cart 110. The accumulation conveyor 10 also sequentially transports the items 120 to the position of the first item 121 while separating them using the partitions 13 and 14. The cart robot 30 also repeatedly moves between a specific accumulation conveyor 10 and the cart 110, thereby loading items 120 corresponding to a specific destination onto the cart 110. When loading of the items 120 onto the cart 110 is complete, the loaded cart 110 is automatically or manually moved away from the cart robot 30. Then, a new empty cart 110 is automatically or manually moved close to the cart robot 30 and supplied.

[0028] In sorting the items 120, the storage robot 20 repeatedly sorts the items 120 into one of the first storage conveyor group G1 and the second storage conveyor group G2, and then sorts the items 120 into the other of the first storage conveyor group G1 and the second storage conveyor group G2 while the cart robot 30 loads the items 120 from one of the first storage conveyor group G1 and the second storage conveyor group G2 onto the cart 110.

[0029] For example, the storage robot 20 moves the articles 120 to the first storage conveyor group G1 for sorting. When the storage robot 20 has completed storing the articles 120 in the first storage conveyor group G1, the cart robot 30 starts loading the articles 120 from the first storage conveyor group G1 onto the cart 110. While the cart robot 30 is loading the articles 120 from the first storage conveyor group G1 onto the cart 110, the storage robot 20 moves the articles 120 to the second storage conveyor group G2 for sorting. When the storage robot 20 has completed storing the articles 120 in the second storage conveyor group G2, the cart robot 30 starts loading the articles 120 from the second storage conveyor group G2 onto the cart 110. The storage robot 20 moves and sorts the articles 120 to the first storage conveyor group G1 while the cart robot 30 loads the articles 120 from the second storage conveyor group G2 onto the carts 110. By repeating this operation, the articles 120 are loaded sequentially onto the multiple carts 110.

[0030] [Effects of the First Embodiment] In the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0031] In the first embodiment, the robot system 100 includes a storage robot 20 that moves articles 120 transported by a transport device 130 to multiple storage conveyors 10 for sorting. This allows the storage robot 20 greater freedom in moving the articles 120 than a conveyor, allowing for more flexible placement of the multiple storage conveyors 10 compared to a case where articles 120 are moved to multiple storage conveyors 10 by a conveyor for sorting. As a result, the flexibility in placement of the multiple storage conveyors 10 can be improved. This allows for a multi-tiered structure, like the multiple storage conveyors 10 in the first embodiment. In this case, the installation area can be reduced for the same number of articles 120.

[0032] In the first embodiment, the storage robot 20 sorts the articles 120 by moving them to the multiple storage conveyors 10. As a result, the articles 120 are sorted by destination, and the articles 120 can be easily moved from the multiple storage conveyors 10 to the carts 110 by destination.

[0033] Furthermore, the first embodiment includes a cart robot 30 that moves the articles 120 from the multiple accumulation conveyors 10 to the cart 110 and loads the articles 120 onto the cart 110. As a result, the cart robot 30 can move the articles 120 from the multiple accumulation conveyors 10 to the cart 110, eliminating the need for a worker to manually move the articles 120 from the multiple accumulation conveyors 10 to the cart 110. As a result, the burden on the worker can be reduced.

[0034] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the storage robot 20 moves the articles 120 to a plurality of storage conveyors 10 to sort them by destination, and the cart robot 30 repeatedly moves between a specific storage conveyor 10 among the multiple storage conveyors 10 and the cart 110, thereby loading the articles 120 corresponding to a specific destination onto the cart 110. This makes it possible to load the articles 120 corresponding to a specific destination onto the cart 110 with a simpler operation and more efficiently than when the articles 120 corresponding to a specific destination are distributed among several storage conveyors 10 and the cart robot 30 repeatedly moves between several storage conveyors 10 and the cart 110.

[0035] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, each of the multiple accumulation conveyors 10 conveys the articles 120 in a horizontal conveying direction. This prevents the multiple accumulation conveyors 10 from becoming too large in the vertical direction, so the robot system 100 can be installed even in a location with a low ceiling. Furthermore, workers can easily perform maintenance on the multiple accumulation conveyors 10.

[0036] In the first embodiment, the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction and also in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. As a result, by arranging the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 side by side in the vertical direction, it is possible to prevent the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 from becoming large in the horizontal direction. Furthermore, by arranging the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 side by side in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, it is possible to prevent the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 from becoming large in the conveying direction.

[0037] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, each of the multiple accumulation conveyors 10 includes partitions 13 and 14 that separate a first item 121, which is the most downstream item in the conveying direction among the multiple accumulated items 120, from a second item 122 which is upstream of the first item 121 in the conveying direction. As a result, the partitions 13 and 14 can separate the first item 121, which is the most downstream item in the conveying direction, from the second item 122 which is upstream of the first item 121 in the conveying direction, thereby preventing the second item 122 from interfering with the first item 121 when the first item 121 is moved to the cart 110. As a result, the first item 121 can be easily moved to the cart 110.

[0038] In the first embodiment, the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 includes a first accumulation conveyor group G1 made up of a plurality of first accumulation conveyors 11 and a second accumulation conveyor group G2 made up of a plurality of second accumulation conveyors 12, and the accumulation robot 20 moves and sorts the articles 120 to one of the first accumulation conveyor group G1 and the second accumulation conveyor group G2, and while the articles 120 in one of the first accumulation conveyor group G1 and the second accumulation conveyor group G2 are loaded onto the cart 110, moves and sorts the articles 120 to the other of the first accumulation conveyor group G1 and the second accumulation conveyor group G2. This allows the accumulation robot 20 to operate efficiently, thereby improving the operating rate of the accumulation robot 20.

[0039] Second Embodiment The configuration of a robot system 200 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 5. In the figure, parts that are the same as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0040] As shown in Figure 5, the robot system 200 includes a plurality of accumulation conveyors 210 that accumulate and transport items 120 to be loaded onto the cart 110, and an accumulation robot 20 that moves the items 120 transported by the transport device 130 to the plurality of accumulation conveyors 210 and sorts them.

[0041] As described above, the robot system 200 according to the second embodiment includes a storage robot 20 that moves the articles 120 conveyed by the conveying device 130 to a plurality of storage conveyors 210 and sorts them.

[0042] The robot system 200 includes a cart robot 30, an imaging unit 40, and an imaging unit 50.

[0043] Each of the multiple accumulation conveyors 210 transports the articles 120 in a vertically looping manner. Each of the multiple accumulation conveyors 210 includes multiple placement sections 210a on which the articles 120 are placed, and a drive unit as a motor that drives the multiple placement sections 210a so as to loop the multiple placement sections 210a in a vertically looping manner. Each of the multiple accumulation conveyors 210 transports the articles 120 in a vertically looping manner by moving the multiple placement sections 210a in the loop direction RO using the drive unit.

[0044] The plurality of accumulation conveyors 210 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. In the example shown in Fig. 5, six accumulation conveyors 210 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. The six accumulation conveyors 210 are arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction.

[0045] The plurality of accumulation conveyors 210 includes a first accumulation conveyor group G201 made up of a plurality of first accumulation conveyors 211 and a second accumulation conveyor group G202 made up of a plurality of second accumulation conveyors 212. In the example shown in Fig. 5, the first accumulation conveyor group G201 is made up of three first accumulation conveyors 211, and the second accumulation conveyor group G202 is made up of three second accumulation conveyors 212. As in the first embodiment, the accumulation robot 20 moves and sorts articles 120 to one of the first accumulation conveyor group G201 and the second accumulation conveyor group G202, and while the articles 120 in one of the first accumulation conveyor group G201 and the second accumulation conveyor group G202 are loaded onto the cart 110, moves and sorts the articles 120 to the other of the first accumulation conveyor group G201 and the second accumulation conveyor group G202.

[0046] The operation of the robot system 200 is basically the same as that of the first embodiment, except that the accumulation conveyor 210 moves the placement unit 210a, which is the destination of the item 120 to be moved by the storage robot 20, to a specific first position. With the placement unit 210a, which is the destination, moved to the specific first position, the storage robot 20 moves the item 120 to the placement unit 210a at the specific first position. By repeating this operation, an item 120 is placed on each of the multiple placement units 210a. Furthermore, the accumulation conveyor 210 moves the placement unit 210a, which is the source of the item 120 to be moved by the cart robot 30, to a specific second position. With the placement unit 210a, which is the source of the item 120, moved to the specific second position, the cart robot 30 moves the item 120 from the placement unit 210a at the specific second position to the cart 110. The storage robot 20 may move the article 120 to any placement section 210a within the reach of the hand 22, rather than to a specific first position. The cart robot 30 may move the article 120 to the cart 110 from any placement section 210a within the reach of the hand 32, rather than to a specific second position.

[0047] The other configurations of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0048] [Effects of the Second Embodiment] In the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0049] In the second embodiment, the robot system 200 includes a storage robot 20 that moves and sorts the articles 120 transported by the transport device 130 onto the multiple storage conveyors 210, as described above. This allows for greater flexibility in the arrangement of the multiple storage conveyors 210, as in the first embodiment. This allows for a vertical structure extending in the vertical direction, as with the multiple storage conveyors 210 of the second embodiment. In this case, the installation area can be reduced for the same number of articles 120.

[0050] Furthermore, in the second embodiment, each of the multiple accumulation conveyors 210 transports the articles 120 in a vertical loop. This prevents the multiple accumulation conveyors 210 from becoming too large in the horizontal direction, so the robot system 200 can be installed even when the installation space is narrow in the horizontal direction.

[0051] In the second embodiment, the plurality of accumulation conveyors 210 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction, which makes it possible to prevent the plurality of accumulation conveyors 210 from becoming large in the vertical direction.

[0052] The other effects of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0053] [Modifications] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims, not by the description of the above-mentioned embodiments, and further includes all modifications (modifications) within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0054] For example, in the first and second embodiments described above, the transport device 130 is a conveyor, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the transport device may be an unmanned transport vehicle such as an AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle).

[0055] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, an example was shown in which the accumulation conveyor 10 was a driven type including a drive unit, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the accumulation conveyor may be a non-driven type that does not include a drive unit. For example, the accumulation conveyor may be a type that conveys items by having items upstream in the conveying direction push items downstream. Furthermore, for example, the accumulation conveyor may be a type that slopes downward from upstream to downstream in the conveying direction and conveys items by the weight of the items themselves.

[0056] In addition, although the first embodiment has shown an example in which the number of accumulation conveyors 10 is 20 and the second embodiment has shown an example in which the number of accumulation conveyors 210 is 6, the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the number of accumulation conveyors is not particularly limited as long as it is two or more.

[0057] In the first embodiment, the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 are arranged both vertically and horizontally, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the plurality of accumulation conveyors may be arranged only vertically or horizontally. Furthermore, the number of accumulation conveyors arranged vertically and the number of accumulation conveyors arranged horizontally are not particularly limited.

[0058] In the first embodiment, each of the plurality of accumulation conveyors 10 includes the partitions 13 and 14. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, each of the plurality of accumulation conveyors does not necessarily have to include a partition.

[0059] In the first and second embodiments, the multiple accumulation conveyors 10, 210 include two conveyor groups, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the multiple accumulation conveyors may include three or more conveyor groups, or may include only one conveyor group.

[0060] In the first and second embodiments, the storage robot 20 and the cart robot 30 are vertical articulated robots, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the storage robot and the cart robot may be industrial robots other than vertical articulated robots, such as horizontal articulated robots, Cartesian coordinate robots, or parallel link robots.

[0061] In the first and second embodiments, an example is shown in which the storage robot 20 moves and sorts the articles 120 onto multiple storage conveyors 10, 210 according to destination, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the storage robot may move and sort the articles onto multiple storage conveyors according to item type. In this case, the cart robot may select items and load articles corresponding to a specific destination onto a cart.

[0062] In the first and second embodiments, examples have been described in which the robot systems 100 and 200 include the cart robot 30, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, the robot system does not necessarily have to include the cart robot. In this case, a worker may move articles from multiple accumulation conveyors to a cart and load the articles onto the cart.

[0063] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, an example was shown in which articles 120 for one destination are accumulated on one accumulation conveyor 10, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, a partition may be provided midway along the accumulation conveyor, allowing articles for multiple destinations to be accumulated on one accumulation conveyor. The same applies to a case in which an accumulation robot moves articles to multiple accumulation conveyors and sorts them by item. In other words, a partition may be provided midway along the accumulation conveyor, allowing multiple items to be accumulated on one accumulation conveyor. In this way, one accumulation conveyor may correspond to multiple destinations or multiple items.

[0064] In the second embodiment, an example is shown in which one accumulation conveyor 210 accumulates articles 120 for one destination, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present disclosure, even in the configuration of the second embodiment, one accumulation conveyor may correspond to multiple destinations or multiple items.

[0065] The functions of the elements disclosed herein can be performed using circuits or processing circuits, including general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), conventional circuits, and / or combinations thereof, configured or programmed to perform the disclosed functions. A processor is considered a processing circuit or circuit because it includes transistors and other circuitry. In this disclosure, a circuit, unit, or means is hardware that performs the recited functions or hardware that is programmed to perform the recited functions. The hardware may be hardware disclosed herein or other known hardware that is programmed or configured to perform the recited functions. Where the hardware is a processor, which is considered a type of circuit, the circuit, means, or unit is a combination of hardware and software, and the software is used to configure the hardware and / or processor.

[0066] [Aspects] The above-described embodiments are specific examples of the following aspects.

[0067] (Aspect 1) A robot system comprising: a plurality of accumulation conveyors that accumulate and transport items to be loaded onto a cart; and an accumulation robot that moves the items transported by a transport device to the plurality of accumulation conveyors and sorts them.

[0068] (Aspect 2) The robot system according to aspect 1, wherein the storage robot moves and sorts the articles onto the plurality of storage conveyors according to item type or destination.

[0069] (Aspect 3) The robot system according to aspect 1 or 2, further comprising a cart robot that moves the articles from the plurality of accumulation conveyors to the cart and loads the articles onto the cart.

[0070] (Aspect 4) The robot system according to Aspect 3, wherein the storage robot moves the items to the plurality of storage conveyors and sorts them according to their destination, and the cart robot repeatedly moves between a specific storage conveyor among the plurality of storage conveyors and the cart, thereby loading the items corresponding to a specific destination onto the cart.

[0071] (Aspect 5) The robot system according to aspect 3 or 4, wherein the cart is automatically supplied to the cart robot.

[0072] (Aspect 6) The robot system according to any one of Aspects 1 to 5, wherein each of the plurality of accumulation conveyors transports the articles in a horizontal transport direction.

[0073] (Aspect 7) The robot system according to aspect 6, wherein the plurality of accumulation conveyors are arranged side by side in a vertical direction and also side by side in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the transport direction.

[0074] (Aspect 8) The robot system according to Aspect 6 or 7, wherein each of the plurality of accumulation conveyors includes a partition that separates a first item, which is the most downstream in the conveying direction among the plurality of accumulated articles, from a second item, which is the most upstream in the conveying direction of the first item.

[0075] (Aspect 9) The robot system according to any one of Aspects 1 to 5, wherein each of the plurality of accumulation conveyors transports the articles in a vertical loop.

[0076] (Aspect 10) The robot system according to aspect 9, wherein the plurality of accumulation conveyors are arranged side by side in a horizontal direction.

[0077] (Aspect 11) The robot system according to any one of Aspects 1 to 10, wherein the plurality of accumulation conveyors include a first accumulation conveyor group made up of a plurality of first accumulation conveyors and a second accumulation conveyor group made up of a plurality of second accumulation conveyors, and the accumulation robot moves the articles to one of the first and second accumulation conveyor groups for sorting, and while the articles on one of the first and second accumulation conveyor groups are loaded onto the cart, moves the articles to the other of the first and second accumulation conveyor groups for sorting.

Claims

1. A robot system comprising: a plurality of accumulation conveyors for accumulating and conveying articles to be loaded on a cart; and an accumulation robot for moving the articles conveyed by a conveying device to the plurality of accumulation conveyors for sorting.

2. The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the accumulation robot sorts the articles by item or destination by moving the articles to the plurality of accumulation conveyors.

3. The robot system according to claim 1, further comprising a cart robot for moving the articles from the plurality of accumulation conveyors to the cart and loading the articles on the cart.

4. The accumulation robot sorts the articles by destination by moving the articles to the plurality of accumulation conveyors. The cart robot repeatedly moves between a specific accumulation conveyor among the plurality of accumulation conveyors and the cart to load the articles corresponding to a specific destination on the cart. The robot system according to claim 3.

5. The robot system according to claim 3, wherein the cart is automatically supplied to the cart robot.

6. In the robot system according to claim 1, each of the plurality of accumulation conveyors conveys the articles in a horizontal conveyance direction.

7. The robot system according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of accumulation conveyors are arranged side by side in the vertical direction and in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction.

8. In the robot system according to claim 6, each of the plurality of accumulation conveyors includes a partition portion for separating a first article, which is the most downstream article in the conveyance direction among the plurality of accumulated articles, from a second article, which is upstream of the first article in the conveyance direction.

9. In the robot system according to claim 1, each of the plurality of accumulation conveyors conveys the articles so as to loop in the vertical direction.

10. The robot system according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of accumulation conveyors are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction.

11. The plurality of accumulation conveyors include a first accumulation conveyor group composed of a plurality of first accumulation conveyors and a second accumulation conveyor group composed of a plurality of second accumulation conveyors. The accumulation robot moves the article to one of the first and second accumulation conveyor groups for sorting, and while the article on one of the first and second accumulation conveyor groups is being loaded onto the cart, moves the article to the other of the first and second accumulation conveyor groups for sorting. The robot system according to claim 1.

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