Daifuku Co., Ltd.

Masashige Iwata

Yuichi Ueda

Kazunari Kimura

Akira Emoto

Hiroyoshi Murata

Hiroaki Nakamura

Masaya Miyamoto

Noriyuki Wada

Hirotaka Osako

Wataru Kiyokawa

Hiroyuki Koide

Takashi Nishihara

Tsutomu Okazaki

Fumiaki Tatemi

Hiromichi Ikeuchi

Kazunori Makimura

Kazuhiko Kodera

A rail unit includes an upper plate segment extending in a width direction, a lower plate segment extending in the width direction and at a position in a downward direction from the upper plate segment, and an intermediate plate segment extending in a vertical direction and joining an edge of the upper plate segment in a first width direction and an edge of the lower plate segment in a first width direction. A power feeder is located in a space defined by the upper plate segment, the intermediate plate segment, and the lower plate segment in the rail unit. The upper plate segment includes a traveling surface facing in an upward direction. The lower plate segment includes a lower flat portion extending in a traveling path direction and the width direction, and a groove protruding in the downward direction from the lower flat portion and extending continuously in the traveling path direction.

Traveling rail and article transport facility

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 control unit controls a transfer machine to execute: a first article delivery operation to store a target article in a first placement region as a first article; and a second article position adjustment operation of moving a second locking member disposed between the first article and a second article in a depth direction toward a depth-direction far side to a position corresponding to a position of a front surface portion of the second article located at a second article proper position, and the control unit is configured to, after the target article has been stored in the first placement region as the first article, cause the transfer machine to execute the second article position adjustment operation, and, upon end of the second article position adjustment operation, cause a first locking member be restored to a position corresponding to a holding region to end the first article delivery operation.

Article storage facility

A control unit causes a transfer machine to execute a first article take-out operation by moving a locking part to a depth-direction near side with the locking part locked to a rear surface portion of a first article; and a second article position adjustment operation of moving the locking part disposed between the first article and a second article in the depth direction toward a far side to a position corresponding to a front surface portion of the second article located at a second article proper position, and the control unit is configured to, after the locking part has been disposed between the first article and the second article during execution of the first article take-out operation using the transfer machine, cause the transfer machine to execute the second article position adjustment operation, and to complete the first article take-out operation upon completion of the second article position adjustment operation.

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 transfer apparatus () includes a first protruding/retracting unit (), a second protruding/retracting unit (), and a control unit. The first protruding/retracting unit () includes a first arm (A) that protrudes and retracts in a transfer direction, and a first hook () that swings around a first axis (P). The second protruding/retracting unit () includes a second arm (B) that protrudes and retracts in the transfer direction, and a second hook () that swings around a second axis (P). A spacing changing unit is configured to change a spacing between the first arm (A) and the second arm (B) to a first spacing (D) that is narrower than the sum of a first intermediate-state protrusion amount and a second intermediate-state protrusion amount and is wider than the sum of a first transferring-state protrusion amount and a second transferring-state protrusion amount.

Article transport apparatus

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 ().

A transport vehicle () that travels along a container shelf () provided with a plurality of levels of shelf portions () arranged in a vertical direction (Z) and configured to support containers (W), thereby transporting the containers (W). The transport vehicle () is provided with a support region where a container (W) is supported, a first transfer apparatus () that inserts/takes the container (W) into/out of the container shelf (), and a second transfer apparatus () that loads/unloads the container (W) on/from the support region. The second transfer apparatus () is configured such that a container (W) can be moved to the support region so as to allow a plurality of the containers (W) to be supported in a stacked state in the support region.

Transport vehicle and transport facility

Rail for conveyor machine

A transport vehicle () that travels along a container shelf () is provided with a plurality of levels of shelf portions () arranged in a vertical direction (Z) and configured to support containers (W), thereby transporting the containers (W). The transport vehicle () is provided with a support region where a container (W) is supported, a first transfer apparatus () that inserts/takes the container (W) into/out of the container shelf (), and a second transfer apparatus () that loads/unloads the container (W) on/from the support region. The second transfer apparatus () is configured such that a container (W) can be moved to the support region so as to allow a plurality of the containers (W) to be supported in a stacked state in the support region.

Growing community of inventors

Hinocho, Japan

Masashige Iwata