Daifuku Co., Ltd.

Kazunari Kimura

Masashige Iwata

Hiroyoshi Murata

Yuichi Ueda

Masaya Miyamoto

Wataru Kiyokawa

Fumiaki Tatemi

Hiroaki Nakamura

A turning device includes a rattling restriction mechanism configured to restrict a rattling in a turning direction of a turner caused by backlashes in a transmission mechanism. The rattling restriction mechanism includes a pushed portion and a restriction section. The pushed portion includes a pushed face facing the turning direction. The restriction section includes: a contact member configured to come into contact with the pushed face while the pushed face is positioned in a specific range in the turning direction, the contact member is arranged in a movement path of the pushed face configured to move in conjunction with a turning of the turner; and a biasing mechanism configured to bias the contact member in contact with the pushed face, toward the pushed face in the turning direction.

Transport apparatus

A picking system includes a multi-tier sorting device having ports in a plurality of tiers at different levels in a top-bottom direction, and sorts and discharges each of articles to one of the ports in the plurality of tiers; a plurality of first transport devices respectively corresponding to the ports in the plurality of tiers; and a second transport device configured to receive the articles from the first transport device and transport the articles. The second transport device has a second transport surface movable upward and downward, and, in a state where the second transport surface is located at a height corresponding to a terminal end portion of the first transport surface of one of the plurality of first transport devices, the second transport device receives the articles discharged from the terminal end portion of the first transport surface and transports the articles, with use of the second transport surface.

Picking system

A transfer device includes a first hook and a second hook. The first hook has a first side-edge section, which is an end edge on a second side in the width direction in a first retreat position. A partial region of the first side-edge section that includes at least a first leading-end section has a shape that is curved or bent to gradually extend toward the first side in the width direction while extending toward the first leading-end section. The second hook has a second side-edge section, which is an end edge on the first side in the width direction in a second retreat position. A partial region of the second side-edge section that includes at least a second leading-end section has a shape that is curved or bent to gradually extend toward the second side in the width direction while extending toward the second leading-end section.

Transfer device

A travel body includes a wheel drive source for driving a drive wheel, a support arm swingable relative to a travel body section and supporting the drive wheel and the wheel drive source, a swing support attached to the travel body section and supporting the swing fulcrum of the support arm, and an elastic unit. The swing support is detachably attached to the travel body section. The elastic unit includes an abutting section that abuts, from a second side in the swing direction, a target spot located away from the swing fulcrum of the support arm, and an elastic section that biases the abutting section abutting the support arm toward a first side in the swing direction.

Transport vehicle

A transfer driver includes a transfer drive transmission mechanism drivingly coupled to a contact section, and a transfer drive source configured to drive the transfer drive transmission mechanism. A guide driver includes a guide drive transmission mechanism drivingly coupled to a pair of guide sections, and a guide drive source configured to drive the guide drive transmission mechanism. The transfer drive source and the guide drive source are disposed on a transfer-direction scooping side relative to a holder, and the transfer drive transmission mechanism and the guide drive transmission mechanism intersect each other in a vertical view at an intersection portion, and are adjacent to each other in a vertical direction at the intersection portion.

A transfer device includes: a pusher configured to push a container during a delivery operation; a lockable portion lockable to the container during a pick-up operation; a transfer drive unit configured to cause the pusher and the lockable portion to reciprocate in the transfer direction; and a lock drive unit configured to drive the lockable portion separately from the pusher and causes the lockable portion to change in orientation. The transfer device performs a delivery operation by moving, toward a delivery side in the transfer direction, the pusher in contact with a container rear face portion with use of the transfer drive unit, and performs a pick-up operation by moving the lockable portion in the locking orientation toward a pick-up side in the transfer direction with use of the transfer drive unit.

A pair of drive wheels are disposed in a middle region of a travel body section in a body length direction and are separated from each other in a body width direction. A first drive source is disposed on a first side in the body length direction relative to a width direction reference line and a first side in a body width direction relative to a length direction reference line in top-down view. A second drive source is disposed on a second side in the body length direction relative to the width direction reference line and a second side in the body width direction relative to the length direction reference line in top-down view.

A picking system is realized that can efficiently perform operations from collection to delivery of articles in a limited space. A picking system () includes: a multi-row sorting device () configured to sort the article into one of the plurality of rows of exits () and discharge the sorted article; a container supporting device () capable of supporting an accommodating container (B) on a plurality of rows of container supporting portions () until an article group that is a set of articles for the order is collected; and a transport device () configured to unload the accommodating container (B) in which the article is accommodated from the container supporting portion (), and load an empty accommodating container (B) to the container supporting portion ().

An article transport vehicle includes: a transfer device () that transfers an article (W) to a housing rack () by moving, along a protruding/retracting direction (A), a contact portion () that comes into contact with an article (W); a pair of first guide portions () that are located on opposite sides in a width direction (B) relative to an article (W) being transferred by the transfer device () and guide the article (W) in the protruding/retracting direction (A); a guide driving device () that changes a distance (D) between the two first guide portions () in the width direction (B); and a control unit (H) that controls the guide driving device ().

Growing community of inventors

Hinocho, Japan

Kazunari Kimura