JP7827032B2 - Goods storage equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an item storage facility equipped with a storage conveyor that stores multiple items in a line along a predetermined conveying direction, and a loading device that loads the items onto the storage conveyor.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-175708 (Patent Document 1) discloses technology related to item storage facilities. Below, in the description of the background art, the reference numerals in parentheses refer to those in Patent Document 1.

The item transport facility (logistics center) in Patent Document 1 includes a loading device (loading mechanism 1) and a storage conveyor (storage mechanism 3) that stores multiple items (packages a) in a line. The storage conveyor is positioned at an angle that slopes downward from the upstream end connected to the loading device toward the downstream end. The storage conveyor is also configured so that multiple items move downstream in the transport direction due to their own weight, allowing the multiple items to be transported off the storage conveyor.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-175708

In the above-mentioned item storage facility, when items are removed from the storage conveyor, relatively light items can sometimes get stuck on the inclined surface of the storage conveyor, making it impossible to properly remove all of the items from the storage conveyor. For this reason, the item storage facility of Patent Document 1 places a push bucket (30) at the end of multiple items lined up on the storage conveyor, and uses the force of the push bucket (30) to push against items downstream, allowing all of the items to be removed from the storage conveyor without getting stuck. However, the item storage facility of Patent Document 1 requires the placement of push buckets (30) on each of the multiple storage conveyors, even though they are not originally intended for storage, leaving room for improvement in terms of item storage efficiency and transport efficiency.

Therefore, what is needed is an item storage facility that can properly remove all items stored in rows on a storage conveyor and that can easily improve the efficiency of storing and transporting items.

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.

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 placed as specific items, which makes it easier to improve the storage efficiency and transportation efficiency of the items compared to, for example, placing 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.

Further features and advantages of the item storage facility will become apparent from the following description of exemplary, non-limiting embodiments, which are illustrated with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a loading device; FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a storage conveyor, a loading device, and a unloading device; FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a carrying-out device; FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a storage conveyor having multiple tiers and items stored on the storage conveyor; FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the downstream end of the storage conveyor; Control Block Diagram Control Flow Diagram

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 multiple 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 multiple storage conveyors 1. Various products produced in a factory, for example, are transported to the item storage facility 100 by truck. The transported products are then stored within the item storage facility 100, and the products are sorted for 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, but examples include household goods, food, and machine parts. In this example, the items W are rectangular parallelepipeds and come in a variety of sizes. As shown in Figure 4, the multiple items W lined up on the storage conveyor 1 include relatively small and large items.

In this example, the loading device 2 loads multiple items W transported from outside the item storage facility 100 onto each of the multiple storage conveyors 1. The storage conveyors 1 store the loaded items W. The unloading device 4 receives the items W unloaded from each of the multiple storage conveyors 1. In this manner, the loading device 2 and the unloading device 4 are connected to the storage conveyor 1. Note that, below, 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 above is referred to as the width direction Y.

As shown in Figures 2, 4, and 5, the storage conveyor 1 is arranged at an incline downward from the upstream end 11 connected to the carry-in device 2 toward the downstream end 12, and is equipped with a stopper 13 at the downstream end 12 that restricts the movement of items W. When the stopper 13 is released, multiple items W move downstream in the conveying direction X due to their own weight. Also, as shown in Figure 2, a carry-out device 4 is connected to the downstream end 12 of the storage conveyor 1.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the item 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 item storage facility 100 is assumed to be between several tens and several hundred, but is not limited to this. The number of storage conveyors 1 installed can be changed as appropriate depending on the number of items W that can be stored in the item storage facility 100. In the illustrated example, only a few of the multiple storage conveyors 1 are shown to clearly explain the configuration of the item storage facility 100.

In this example, as shown in Figure 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 to rotate each roller. Because the storage conveyor 1 is inclined as described above, when an item W is placed on the upstream end 11, the item W moves downstream in the conveying direction X along the conveying surface (inclined surface) of the roller conveyor due to its own weight. 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 Figure 4, multiple inclined storage conveyors 1 (here, three) are provided, arranged parallel to each other. For ease of understanding, Figure 4 omits the midstream portion of the storage conveyor 1 and instead shows the upstream portion including the upstream end 11 and the downstream portion including the downstream end 12. In Figure 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 the two ends of the omitted midstream portion.

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 positioned between two rollers aligned in the conveying direction X. In the restricting state, the stopper 13 is positioned above the conveying surface of the storage conveyor 1, and in the releasing state, the stopper 13 is positioned 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 position change of the stopper 13 is controlled by the control device 10.

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 in 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 second floor F2. The carrying-in device 2 and storage conveyors 1 are provided across the second floor F2 and third floor F3. In the example of the item storage facility 100 shown in the figure, 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.

As shown in Figures 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 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.

2 and 3, the unloading and conveying section 41 is provided across the first floor F1 and the second floor F2. In the example of FIGS. 2 and 3, the upstream portion of the unloading and 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 12 of each of the multiple storage conveyors 1 via a transfer device 51. In the example of FIG. 2, the transfer device 51 is a conveyor arranged continuously from the downstream end 12 of the storage conveyor 1. In the example of FIG. 4, multiple transfer devices 51 are arranged vertically in line 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 along the width direction Y between the unloading and conveying section 41 and each storage conveyor 1. In this way, the configuration of the transfer device 51 can be changed as needed depending on the arrangement of multiple storage conveyors 1.

In the examples shown in Figures 2 and 3, the downstream portion of the unloading conveying section 41 is arranged on the first floor F1, along the width direction Y. Multiple 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 shown in Figure 3, the multiple sorter conveyors 43 are arranged along the conveying direction X and aligned in the width direction Y. Shipping trucks can stop at positions corresponding to each of the multiple sorter conveyors 43 (here, positions adjacent to the downstream ends of the sorter conveyors 43).

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the carry-in device 2 includes a conveying mechanism 20 that conveys items 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 Figure 6, the determination unit 25 and control unit H are provided in the control device 10. That is, in this embodiment, the determination unit 25 and 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.

In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 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 the determination section 25 is set, and a second conveying section 22 and a third conveying section 23 that branch off from the first conveying section 21 downstream of the determination point 28. In this example, each of the first conveying section 21, second conveying section 22, and third conveying section 23 is a conveyor that conveys items W.

In this example, multiple conveyors are provided in the upstream portion of the first conveying section 21. A judgment point 28 is set on each conveyor. The downstream portion of the first conveying section 21 forms a conveying path where these multiple conveyors converge. The second conveying section 22 and the third conveying section 23 are connected to branch off from the downstream end of the first conveying section 21. Therefore, an item W traveling along the first conveying section 21 branches off and moves to either the second conveying section 22 or the third conveying section 23. Each of the multiple conveyors can also be a first conveying section 21. In this case, the second conveying section 22 and the third conveying section 23 branch off from the point where the multiple first conveying sections 21 converge downstream. In the example of Figure 1, the multiple conveyors that make up the upstream portion of the first conveying section 21 are arranged along the conveying direction X and aligned in the width direction Y. A judgment point 28 is set at the upstream end of each conveying path. The determination location 28 is where the measuring device 24 is installed. The downstream portion of the first transport section 21 is arranged along the width direction Y. In the illustrated example, the first transport section 21 is located 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.

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. In the example shown in Figure 4, the branched downstream portions of the second conveying section 22 are arranged in a vertical line to correspond to the multiple tiers of storage conveyors 1. In this way, the configuration of the downstream portion of the second conveying section 22 can be changed as appropriate depending on the arrangement of the multiple storage conveyors 1.

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

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 branches off from the downstream side of the first conveying section 21 and is arranged so as to merge with the midstream portion of the second conveying section 22 on the downstream side. In the example of Figure 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.

In this embodiment, the third conveying section 23 functions as a buffer section 26. That is, the third conveying section 23 can temporarily store multiple items W that branch off from the second conveying section 22. Specifically, the buffer section 26 is provided midway along the conveying path of the items W in the third conveying section 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 transporting items W 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 conveying section 22. That is, in this example, the downstream end of the third conveying section 23 is the outgoing conveyor 26a. The outgoing conveyor 26a is connected to the second conveying section 22. The buffer unit 26 stores specific items Wt, described below, from among the multiple items W.

The configuration of the buffer unit 26 can be modified as appropriate. For example, the buffer unit 26 can be a storage shelf that stores multiple items W. In that case, a transport vehicle (e.g., a stacker crane, etc.) can be installed to move the items W between the storage shelf and the buffer unit 26.

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

As shown in FIG. 1 , the reading device 27 is disposed adjacent to the determination location 28 set on 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 it is placed on the first conveying section 21. The measurement results measured by the measuring device 24 are transmitted to the control device 10. The determination unit 25 then determines whether the item W corresponds to the specific item Wt based on the measurement results.

In this embodiment, the judgment threshold Q is predetermined for each of the weight and size of the item W. The judgment unit 25 then judges an item W whose weight and size are determined to be equal to or greater than the judgment threshold Q as a specific item Wt. Here, the judgment threshold Q for the size of the item W includes a width dimension threshold Q1 that defines the width direction Y dimension of the item W. The width dimension threshold Q1 is set to a value smaller than the width direction Y dimension m of the item W's transport path 3 on the storage conveyor 1 and greater than the width direction Y dimension m of the transport path 3 minus the width direction Y dimension n of the item W with the smallest width direction Y dimension among all items W stored on the storage conveyor 1 (Q1 > m - n). Here, the width direction Y dimension m of the item W's transport path 3 is set to the width direction Y dimension of the transport surface of the storage conveyor 1 (see Figure 5). In this example, thresholds defining the dimensions of the item W in the transport direction X and the height direction 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 also be included in the judgment threshold Q. In this example, the weight threshold that defines the weight of the item W is also 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 a single storage conveyor 1, items W whose dimension P in the width direction Y (see FIG. 1) is equal to or greater than the width dimension threshold Q1 and whose weight is equal to or greater than the weight threshold can be designated as specific items Wt. In this way, the determination unit 25 can determine one or more items W as specific items Wt.

The determination unit 25 can also be configured to use a determination threshold that combines weight and size. In this case, for example, multiple combinations of these two thresholds can 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 can be determined to be a specific item Wt. The determination unit 25 can 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 can also set only either weight or size as the determination threshold Q. The determination unit 25 can 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 can be changed as appropriate.

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 transport mechanism 20, as well as the stopper 13 of the storage conveyor 1, the reading device 27, measuring device 24, and buffer unit 26 of the loading device 2, and the unloading transport unit 41 and sorter conveyor 43 of the unloading device 4. The control device 10 includes a processing unit such as a CPU and peripheral circuits such as memory, and each function is realized through cooperation between this hardware and programs executed on the processing unit or other hardware. The control unit H may be provided in the loading device 2, in which case a separate control unit for controlling devices other than the loading device 2 may also be provided in the control device 10.

As shown in Figure 7, the control unit H controls the transport mechanism 20 to perform buffer transport processing, general transport processing, and specific transport processing.

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

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). The determination unit 25 provided in the control device 10 then determines whether the weight and size of the item W are equal to or greater than the determination threshold value Q (S02). Specifically, when the first conveying 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 memory unit 18 associates the acquired product information with the measurement results (weight and size) and stores them. 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 item W is determined to be a specific item Wt, the control unit H executes a buffer transport process (S03). As a result, multiple items W determined to be specific items Wt by the determination unit 25 are transported to the buffer unit 26 provided in the third transport unit 23 and temporarily stored there. 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 item W is determined to be a general item Ws other than a specific item Wt, the control unit H executes a general transport process (S06), which will be described later.

In this example, as described above, the determination unit 25 determines whether 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. However, 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 can 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.

Note that 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 a measuring device 24 does not necessarily need to be installed at the determination location 28. Furthermore, information about each item W arriving at the first conveying unit 21 (product information, weight and size information, etc.) may be updated, for example, at a specified time in the morning of each day. This allows information about 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 specific items Wt on each storage conveyor 1.

The general conveying process is a process for conveying general items Ws, which are items W other than specific items Wt, to a 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.

In this example, the shipping destination (e.g., the destination store) of each item W arriving at the item storage facility 100 is pre-stored in the memory unit 18. A storage conveyor 1 on which each item W is stored 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 delivered together on a single truck (see Figure 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 performs the same 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 transports, for example, 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 a specific storage conveyor 1. For example, all items W transported to stores 001 to 004 can be arranged in store order on a single storage conveyor 1.

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.

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 to 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 is designated as a specific item Wt every predetermined set distance R or every predetermined set number. In the example of FIG. 4, the topmost storage conveyor 1 stores specific items Wt every set distance R. Furthermore, on the topmost storage conveyor 1, the items W lined up downstream from the rear and the one 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 every set distance R, and only the items W lined up downstream from the rear and the one 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 execute specific transport processing so that the item W located most upstream and the item W arranged just before that downstream are specific items Wt.

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

In this embodiment, the control unit H keeps the stopper 13 in the restricting state until all items W to be stored on one storage conveyor 1 are arranged. Then, once all items W are arranged, 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 section 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 arranged in a row can be transported from the storage conveyor 1 to the unloading conveying section 41 without remaining on the conveying surface (inclined surface) of the storage conveyor 1. The control unit H then transports all of the items W arranged on one storage conveyor 1 to the sorter conveyor 43 where a shipping truck previously assigned as the destination is stopped. The multiple items W transported to the sorter conveyor 43 are transferred onto a truck by a worker or other person.

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 units 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 units 21 may be arranged side by side in the transport direction X. Similarly, the multiple sorter conveyors 43 of the unloading device 4 may be arranged not only side by side in the width direction Y, but also 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.

(2) In the above embodiment, the control unit H performs 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 becomes a specific item Wt for every predetermined set distance R. However, this is not limited to this. The control unit H may also perform 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 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 transport 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.

(3) In the above embodiment, the width dimension threshold Q1 is set to a value smaller than the width dimension m of the transport path 3 of the item W on the storage conveyor 1 in the width direction Y, and greater than the dimension obtained by subtracting the width dimension n of the item W with the smallest width dimension in the width direction Y among all the items W stored on the storage conveyor 1 from the width dimension m of the transport path 3 (Q1 > m - n). 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).

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

(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, each having a determination location 28, as an example. However, this is not limited to this. 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 a buffer unit 26 separately in the first transport unit 21 or the second transport unit 22.

(6) In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the discharge device 4 is connected to the downstream end 12 of the storage conveyor 1, but this is not limited to this. The item storage facility 100 may also be configured not to include a discharge device 4 at all. In this case, the items W to be discharged 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.

(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 spirit of this disclosure.

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

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.

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 placed as specific items, which makes it easier to improve the storage efficiency and transportation efficiency of the items compared to, for example, placing 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.

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

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

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.

With 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. Therefore, when the stopper is released, the specific item can push all items downstream of the specific item toward the conveying device.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the control unit executes the specific transport process so that at least one item adjacent to the specific item located most upstream on the storage conveyor on the downstream side becomes the specific item.

With this configuration, multiple specific items can push items downstream, allowing all items to be moved more reliably toward the conveying device.

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,
It is preferable that the storage conveyor is connected downstream of the third transport section.

With this configuration, general items that are not determined to be specific items by the determination unit can be properly transported to the storage conveyor. Furthermore, items that are determined to be specific items by the determination unit can be properly transported to the buffer unit and stored, and specific items stored in the buffer unit can be properly transported from the buffer unit to the storage conveyor.

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.

With this configuration, the transport order of multiple items removed from multiple storage conveyors can be rearranged and shipped using the unloading transport unit and multiple sorter conveyors. This makes it easy to ship multiple items in the order desired by the shipping destination.

The item storage facility disclosed herein is required to achieve at least one of the above-mentioned effects.

1: Storage conveyor 2: Carry-in device 3: Conveying path 4: Carry-out device 11: Upstream end of storage conveyor 12: Downstream end of storage conveyor 13: Stopper 20: Conveying mechanism 21: First conveying section 22: Second conveying section 23: Third conveying section 25: Determination section 26: Buffer section 28: Determination point 41: Carry-out conveying section 43: Sorter conveyor 100: Item storage equipment H: Control section Q: Determination threshold Q1: Width direction dimension threshold W: Item Ws: General item Wt: Specific item X: Conveying direction Y: Width direction

Claims (6)

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. The item storage facility described in claim 1, wherein the control unit executes the specific transport process so that at least one of the items lined up along the transport direction on the storage conveyor every predetermined set distance or every predetermined set number becomes the specific item. 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. 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 downstream side of at least the specific item located most upstream on the storage conveyor becomes the specific item. the transport mechanism includes a first transport section in which a determination location where the determination section makes a 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. 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.