JP2004149247A - Method and device for dividing rows and stages of stacked box bodies - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for dividing the rows and stages of stacked box bodies for dividing box bodies stacked in multiple stages and multiple rows into a unit of rows and also dividing them into a unit of stages, and a device therefor. <P>SOLUTION: Containers (box bodies) 30 stacked in multiple stages and multiple rows on a pallet 40 are transferred from an end row onto a roller conveyor 33 and divided in rows by a transfer device 32 moving the container in the row direction in the state of the container raised from the pallet 40 by a lowermost stage holding mechanism 38 and an upper holding mechanism 39. The held position on the stacked containers 30 divided in rows on the roller conveyor 33 is moved one by one by stage and the containers are raised. By repeating the operation for unloading the containers 30 in unit of stage remaining on the roller conveyor 33, the containers 30 are divided in stages. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention divides boxes such as containers and carton boxes stacked on a pallet in a plurality of rows and a plurality of rows, into a single row of a plurality of rows, and further from the single row of rows to boxes of a row unit. The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for arranging stacked boxes to be divided.
is there.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In a picking process in a high-mix low-volume distribution, a sorting process for each delivery destination in an individual delivery, and the like, there is an operation of sending out boxes such as containers and carton boxes to a process location one by one. In addition, containers such as containers and transport trays are repeatedly used as pass-through boxes. Especially when used as pass-through boxes related to food, washing is required after collection, and the work of sending out one by one to a washing place is involved. These boxes are transported to required locations in a state of being stacked in a plurality of rows and a plurality of stages on a pallet in order to facilitate loading efficiency and transfer in transportation or storage.
[0003]
In order to disassemble the boxes stacked on the pallet into individual boxes and transport them one by one to a required place, generally, manual work is relied on. Are taken out from the upper stage in order and transferred to a conveyor for transporting individual boxes. However, there is a large labor required to continuously transfer a box body at a high position or a box body at a distant position onto a conveyor, and there is a problem that work efficiency is lacking. Therefore, mechanization has been desired. As a conventional technology for realizing this, there is known a complicated and large-sized device called a depalletizer using an articulated robot, and a stacking container disassembling device of a simple operation type that can cope even with sequence control (Patent) References 1 and 2).
[0004]
The stacking container disassembling apparatus described in Patent Document 1 will be described by way of example. As shown in FIG. 4, containers 3 stacked in a plurality of stages and in a plurality of rows on a pallet 2 are aligned by pressing from all sides by an alignment unit 6. Then, it is transferred to the container supply device 1. The container supply device 1 pushes out the containers 3 in rows by the loading unit 11 and slides them on the pallet 2 to move them to the roller conveyor 17.
[0005]
A separation unit 16 is disposed on the roller conveyor 17, and the second and higher containers 3 of the row-by-row containers 3 lifted by raising the roller conveyor 17 are held from both sides by an air cylinder 24, By lowering 17, the lowermost container 3 not held by the air cylinder 24 is separated, and the lowermost container 3 is sent out from the roller conveyor 17 to the slat conveyor 21.
[0006]
By shifting the holding of the container 3 by the air cylinder 24 to the upper stage in accordance with the elevating operation of the roller conveyor 17, the stacked containers 3 are sent out in units of stages. Since the unloading unit 11 and the separation unit 16 are configured to be movable in the row direction of the containers 3 on the pallet 2, the containers 3 can be extruded by the unloading unit 11 onto the roller conveyor 17 in row units.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Publication No. H8-015944 (pages 2 to 4, FIG. 1)
[0008]
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-6-345271 (paragraph 0010, FIG. 1)
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-mentioned conventional technique, the container 3 on the pallet 2 is slid on the pallet 2 by the loading unit 11 and pushed out to the roller conveyor 17. However, the surface of the pallet 2 is subjected to a non-slip process in order to prevent the collapse of the load, and gives a large resistance to the pushing of the container 3. Pallets 2 are mainly made of resin instead of wooden ones that have been widely used in the past. Holes are formed on the surface of the pallet 2 for weight reduction and non-slip, and a non-slip pad is formed on the surface. It is mounted so as to slightly protrude from it. In order to transfer the container 3 to the roller conveyor 17 by sliding on the pallet 2 as described above, the container 3 cannot be transferred with a constant pushing and pressing. There is a possibility that the stacked containers 3 may be knocked down. In addition, there is a problem that the non-slip pad provided on the pallet 2 is worn or damaged, and the durability of the pallet 2 is significantly reduced. Further, if the container 3 is repeatedly pushed out and transferred while the slip resistance is large, the container 3 which needs to be able to be used repeatedly is damaged, and the durability is reduced.
[0010]
Further, in the separation unit 16, in order to separate the stacked containers 3 one by one, it is necessary to drive a part of the roller conveyor 17 up and down and to rotate the roller conveyor 17 to transport the container 3. The structure of the roller conveyor 17 becomes complicated, and there is a possibility that the durability and the conveyance function of the roller conveyor 17 which is originally applied only for the purpose of conveyance are reduced.
[0011]
An object of the present invention is to divide the boxes stacked and carried in a plurality of stages and a plurality of rows on a pallet into a single row of a plurality of stages without giving sliding friction to the pallet. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for arranging and stacking stacked boxes that divide a single row into a plurality of boxes.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a method for arranging and stacking stacked boxes according to the first invention of the present application is a method for holding boxes stacked in a plurality of rows and a plurality of rows at least at a lowermost row in a row unit, and stacking in a row unit. The box is lifted from the mounting surface and transferred to the transporting means to be separated, and the lowermost stage placed on the transporting means is synchronized with ON / OFF of the transporting operation by the transporting means. Is released, the holding state is moved one step at a time in the upper direction and lifted to divide the boxes of each stage on the transporting means, and this series of operations is repeated for a plurality of rows to remove the stacked boxes. It is characterized by dividing and dividing.
[0013]
According to the stacking / separating method of stacking boxes, the boxes stacked in a plurality of rows and a plurality of rows are held in units of rows, and the boxes are lifted from the mounting surface and transferred onto the transporting means. The boxes can be arranged without slipping on the mounting surface of a pallet or the like on which a plurality of boxes are stacked, without damaging the mounting surface of the pallets or the bottom surface of the box. Nor. Even if the height of the row to be divided changes every time, it is possible to cope with the problem by holding the lowermost row. Further, after transferring the stacked boxes on the transfer means, the operation of releasing the lowermost holding and sequentially moving the holding state to the upper step is synchronized with the on / off of the transfer operation by the transfer means. The lowermost box that has been released from holding is transported by the transport operation of the transport unit, so when the transport operation is off, the lowermost stage that is being held is placed on the transport unit, and the holding is moved to the upper stage. By repeating the operation of turning on the transport operation, the plurality of boxes can be divided on the transport means.
Of course, both the division and the division can be performed in a plurality of units, or the handling unit can be changed each time.
[0014]
Further, the stacking box sorting apparatus according to the second invention of the present application includes a transport unit that transports the transferred boxes, and sequentially holds the boxes stacked in a plurality of rows and a plurality of rows in a row unit, And a transfer unit that lifts from the placement surface and transfers the transfer unit onto the transfer unit.
[0015]
According to the stacking box sorting apparatus, the boxes stacked in a plurality of rows and a plurality of rows are held by the transfer means in units of rows, and are transferred to the transfer means in a state of being lifted from the mounting surface. Therefore, the boxes can be arranged without slipping on the mounting surface of a pallet or the like on which a plurality of boxes are stacked, without damaging the mounting surface of the pallet or the like, and the bottom surface of the box is No damage.
[0016]
The stacking / separating / separating apparatus for stacked boxes according to the third invention of the present application may further include a conveying unit that controls on / off a conveying operation for conveying the transferred boxes at a predetermined timing; Are held in at least the lowermost row in a row unit, lifted from the mounting surface and transferred onto the transporting means to be sorted, and synchronized with on / off of the transporting operation by the transporting means. Transfer means for releasing the holding of the lowermost stage, moving the holding state one by one in the upper direction, and lifting the same, thereby separating the stacked boxes in row units on the transporting means. And
[0017]
According to the stacking box separating / separating apparatus, the boxes stacked in a plurality of rows and in a plurality of rows are held in rows by the transfer means, and are lifted from the mounting surface and transferred to the transport means. The boxes can be arranged without sliding the boxes on the mounting surface of a pallet or the like on which a plurality of boxes are stacked, without damaging the mounting surface of the pallets or the like. There is no damage to the bottom. The stacking boxes in row units transferred on the transporting means release the holding at the lowermost stage and sequentially shift the holding state to the upper stage, synchronizing with the on / off of the transporting operation by the transporting device, the holding is performed. Since the released lowermost box is transported by the transport operation of the transport unit being turned on, the lowest stage held when the transport operation is off is placed on the transport unit, and the holding is moved to the upper stage. By repeating the operation of turning on the transport operation, a plurality of boxes can be divided on the transport means. However, in this apparatus, the operation can be performed without the dividing operation.
[0018]
The transfer means in each of the above structures includes a holding means for holding the stacked boxes in a row unit, an elevating drive means for driving the holding means up and down, and moving the holding means and the elevating drive means in the row direction of the stacked boxes. And the column-wise moving means for moving the stacked boxes in the row unit held by the holding means from the mounting surface by the lifting / lowering driving means, and moved by the row-direction moving means to be transferred onto the transport means. Can be posted. After being transferred onto the transfer means, the on / off of the holding of the box by the holding means and the upward movement of the holding step of the holding means by the lifting / lowering drive means are synchronized with the on / off of the transfer operation by the transfer means. Then, since the box body of the stage in which the sandwiching is released is carried by the carrying means, by repeating this, the stacked box bodies in a row unit can be separated on the carrying means.
[0019]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings to facilitate understanding of the present invention. The embodiment described below is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
[0020]
In this embodiment, after storing and transporting foods such as alcoholic beverages, dairy products, and fruits and vegetables to the supply destination, the recovered containers are used in a washing step in order to again use the recovered containers for food transportation. 1 shows an embodiment configured to be able to carry. Collected containers are handled in a state where they are stacked on a pallet in multiple stages and multiple rows, and must be separated into individual containers to be sent to the washing process. The containers are divided into units, and the stacked containers are further divided into units so that the containers can be conveyed to a washing place. The container used here is configured such that the bottom of the upper container fits into the opening of the lower container, thereby preventing the collapse of the load when the containers are stacked in a plurality of stages.
[0021]
In FIG. 1, collected containers (boxes) 30 are conveyed in a state of being stacked on a pallet 40 in a plurality of stages and a plurality of rows, and are transferred from a pallet carry-in conveyor 41 to a transfer conveyor in a sorting / separating device 31. 42. The containers 30 on the pallets 40 transferred to the transfer conveyor 42 are sequentially transferred on a roller conveyor (conveying means) 33 by the sorting / separating device 31 in units of rows, and the pallets 40 in which the containers 30 are no longer stacked are loaded. Is transferred from the transfer conveyor 42 to the pallet carry-out conveyor 43 and carried out to a required place.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 3, the transfer conveyor 42 drives the chains on both sides from the pallet carry-in conveyor 41 toward the pallet carry-out conveyor 43 by the conveyor drive motor 50, and loads the containers 30 from the pallet carry-in conveyor 41. The pallet 40 is started when the pallet 40 is conveyed, receives the pallet 40 carried in from the pallet carrying conveyor 41 at a predetermined position, and stops. The pallet 40 in which the containers 30 are no longer loaded is carried out onto the pallet carry-out conveyor 43 by the transfer conveyor 42 started in response to the start of the transfer operation of the pallet carry-out conveyor 43.
[0023]
The sorting / separating device 31 moves in the X-axis direction, which is the column direction of the containers 30 stacked in multiple stages and multiple rows on the pallet 40 transferred on the transfer conveyor 42, and A transfer device (transfer means) 32 which divides the stacked containers 30 in units of rows and further divides the stacked containers 30 in units of rows, and a Y-axis direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the transfer device 32 And a roller conveyor 33 that carries out the container 30 transferred from the transfer device 32 toward the cleaning process.
[0024]
The transfer device 32 is mounted on a pair of left and right rails 34 in the X-axis direction and is driven to travel in the X-axis direction. The support base 35 laid across the pair of rails 34 has a chain 44 fixed along a rail 34 between a drive gear 46 and a driven gear 47 at bases on both sides thereof. When the drive gear 46 is driven by the traveling drive motor (row direction drive means) 45, the container 30 moves in the X-axis direction from the standby position A shown in FIG.
[0025]
A holding frame 37 which is moved up and down in the Z-axis direction by an elevating drive mechanism (elevation driving means) 36 is provided on the support base 35, and a pair of vertical frames 37 a provided on the left and right sides of the holding frame 37 in the Z-axis direction. , 37b, a lowermost holding mechanism (holding means) 38 is provided at a lower portion, and an upper holding mechanism 39 is provided at an upper portion. The lowermost holding mechanism 38 moves the lowermost holding plate 38b in the Y-axis direction by the cylinder 38a, and holds the lowermost stage of the stacked containers 30 from both sides by the advancement movement of the lowermost holding plate 38b by the cylinder 38a. Hold. Further, the upper holding mechanism 39 moves the upper holding plate 39a forward and backward in the Y-axis direction by the cylinder 39a, and moves the upper portion of the stacked containers 30 by the forward movement of the upper holding plate 39b by the cylinder 39a by the upper holding plates 39b on both sides. The container 30 is held so as not to collapse when the containers 30 are moved in a state of being stacked and stacked in many stages. The holding frame 37 is provided with a plurality of abutting plates 48 in the stacking direction of the containers 30, and is brought into contact with the side surfaces of the stacked containers 30 to stabilize the movement of the containers 30. . Here, the upper holding mechanism 39 and the backing plate 48 are not essential.
[0026]
The operation of transporting the pallet 40 by the pallet carry-in conveyor 41, the transfer conveyor 42, and the pallet carry-out conveyor 43, the operation of each part of the transfer device 32, and the operation of transporting the roller conveyor 33 in the above configuration are shown based on detection by a sensor (not shown). The containers 30 that are controlled by a control device such as a sequencer and that are stacked in a plurality of rows and a plurality of rows are arranged in units of rows, and further, the containers 30 are separated from the arranged stacked state in units of rows. Of course, it is also possible to omit the division function, or to omit the division operation while having the division function and perform only the division operation.
[0027]
Hereinafter, the operation procedure for dividing and dividing will be described step by step. Note that the arrows shown in FIG. 1 and the numbers (1), (2),... (9) and (9) 'added thereto are movement trajectories of the lowermost holding plate (38b) and the upper holding plate (39b) that move with the control operation. And the movement order, and corresponds to the following operation order numbers. Further, a single-line arrow is a movement trajectory at the time of division, and a double-line arrow is a movement trajectory at the time of division following the division.
[0028]
In FIG. 1, a pallet 40 loaded with containers 30 is transported by a pallet carry-in conveyor 41, and when it reaches a predetermined transport position, a transfer conveyor 42 is activated to transfer a pallet 40 loaded with containers 30 from the pallet carry-in conveyor 41. It is transferred onto the conveyor 42. When the pallet 40 is carried into a predetermined position on the transfer conveyor 42, the transport operation of the pallet carry-in conveyor 41 and the transfer conveyor 42 is stopped. When the pallet 40 is loaded and unloaded, which will be described later, the transfer device 32 moves to the standby position A shown in FIG. 2 so that the loading and unloading of the pallet 40 does not become an obstacle.
[0029]
{Circle around (1)} When the pallet 40 loaded with the containers 30 is transferred onto the transfer conveyor 42 and the transfer conveyor 42 is stopped, the transfer drive 32 drives the transfer device 32 on the rail 34 from the standby position A to X. When the container 30 is moved in the axial direction and the stacked containers 30 are detected by the sensor, that is, at the start of the transfer operation, when the containers 30 in the first row are detected, the lowermost holding plate 38b and the upper The movement of the transfer device 32 is stopped such that the center of the holding plate 39b in the X-axis direction matches the substantially center position of the container 30 in the X-axis direction.
[0030]
(2) The stopped transfer device 32 operates the cylinders 38a, 39a of the lowermost holding mechanism 38 and the upper holding mechanism 39, and the lowermost holding mechanism 38 is stacked by the advancement of the lowermost holding plates 38b on both sides. The lowermost container 30 of the first row is clamped from both sides, and the upper clamping mechanism 39 is configured by a plurality of containers 30 (here 4 to 6) in the upper row of the first row stacked by the advancement of the upper clamping plates 39b on both sides. Stage) from both sides. Here, taking into account the length measurement method using the sensor, even if the row pitch and the dimension of the container 30 for each row are different, the bottom row of the detected row can be centered and held.
[0031]
(3) Next, the transfer device 32 moves the holding frame 37 up and down in the Y-axis direction by the elevating drive mechanism 36, and pallets the first row of containers 30 held by the lowermost holding mechanism 38 and the upper holding mechanism 39. 40. Lift from above. The amount of the upward movement may be such that the container 30 slightly floats from the pallet 40. However, in consideration of the amount of upward movement for performing the dividing operation described later, the container 30 is located at the upper part in the opening of the container 30 located at the lower part. The moving amount is set so that the upper and lower containers 30 are completely separated from the state where the bottoms of the containers 30 are fitted.
[0032]
(4) The transfer device 32 having lifted the containers 30 in the first row moves on the rails 34 by driving of the traveling drive motor 45, and as shown in FIG. It stops at the loading position C. As described above, the transfer device 32 moves the container 30 from the pallet 40 to the roller conveyor 33 with the container 30 lifted from the pallet 40. Therefore, the container 30 does not slide on the pallet 40, and the non-slip No damage to pads. Further, the friction between the pallet 40 and the container 30 prevents the pallet 40 and the container 30 from being damaged.
[0033]
(5) The transfer device 32 that has moved to the transfer position C lowers the holding frame 37 by the lifting drive mechanism 36, so that the containers 30 in the first row are mounted on the roller conveyor 33.
[0034]
{Circle around (6)} The first row of containers 30 is transferred onto the roller conveyor 33 by releasing the holding of the first row of containers 30 by the lowermost holding mechanism 38 and the upper holding mechanism 39. That is, the division is achieved. This division can be performed even if the height of each column is different by holding the bottom row, and the division can be performed in units of a plurality of rows by the number of rows that hold the bottom row at the same time. It is possible to cope with differences in the size.
[0035]
{Circle around (7)} After that, when the transfer device 32 retreats to the standby position A and turns on the transport operation of the roller conveyor 33, the stacked first row of containers 30 is transported toward the cleaning process.
[0036]
Even if the container 30 is transported in a stacked state as described above, if the function of dividing the stacked container 30 into stages is provided on the way to the cleaning process, the containers 30 in the first row are provided. Is transported from the roller conveyor 33 to a transport path that is continuous with the roller conveyor 33, the transport operation of the roller conveyor 33 is turned off, and the transfer device 32 is moved from the standby position A in the X-axis direction. When the second row of stacked containers 30 is detected by the sensor provided in the transfer device 32, the above-described operation can be repeated to transfer the second row of stacked containers 30 onto the roller conveyor 33. . The third row and the fourth row of the stacked containers 30 can be similarly transferred. When all the containers 30 are removed from the pallet 40, the state is detected by the sensor, so that the transfer operation of the transfer conveyor 42 and the pallet unloading conveyor 43 is turned on, and the empty pallet 40 is moved from the pallet unloading conveyor 43 to the predetermined position. The new pallet 40 on which the containers 30 are loaded by the pallet carry-in conveyor 41 by being carried out to the place is carried from the pallet carry-in conveyor 41 onto the transfer conveyor 42.
[0037]
In addition to the operation of sorting the containers 30 stacked in a plurality of rows and a plurality of rows as described above in units of rows and transferring them to the roller conveyor 33, the stacked containers transferred to the roller conveyor 33 30 can be divided into containers 30 in units of stages and sent out for the cleaning process. This division operation will be described below. In the separating operation, the lowermost holding plate 38b and the upper holding plate 39b shift from (6) to (8) at the time when the holding of the stacked containers 30 arranged in rows on the roller conveyor 33 is released. .
[0038]
(8) The first row of stacked containers 30 is transferred onto the roller conveyor 33 by the transfer device 32, and the container 30 is released from the holding state of the container 30 by the lowermost holding mechanism 38 and the upper holding mechanism 39. The holding frame 37 is raised by the mechanism 36 by the height of one container 30.
[0039]
{Circle around (9)} Next, the stacked containers 30 are clamped from both sides by the lowermost clamping mechanism 38 and the upper clamping mechanism 39 in which the clamping position has been raised. Since the lowermost holding mechanism 38 holds the second container 30, the lowermost container 30 in the stacked state is not held by the lowermost holding mechanism 38.
[0040]
(9) 'When the holding frame 37 is moved up by the lifting drive mechanism 36, the lowermost container 30 is left on the roller conveyor 33, and the second and higher containers 30 are raised. This amount of upward movement separates the state in which the bottom of the container 30 located in the upper tier is fitted into the opening of the container 30 located in the lower tier, and prevents the separated upper and lower containers 30 from coming into contact with each other. To When the transport operation of the roller conveyor 33 is turned on with the second or higher containers 30 raised, the lowermost container 30 remaining on the roller conveyor 33 is carried out, and the lowermost container 30 is separated. You.
[0041]
Thereafter, the operation procedure is to sequentially divide the second or more containers 30 in the same procedure. That is, when the lowermost container 30 is unloaded from the roller conveyor 33, the transport operation of the roller conveyor 33 is turned off, the holding frame 37 is lowered by the lifting / lowering drive mechanism 36, and the second stage container 30 is placed on the roller conveyor 33. The container 30 in a stacked state is placed so as to be grounded (the lowermost holding plate 38b and the upper holding plate 39b return to the position (5)).
[0042]
The stacked containers 30 are placed on the roller conveyor 33 in a state where the second-stage containers 30 are in contact with the ground, so that the second-stage containers 30 are (6), the container 30 is lifted up by the height of the container 30 by the lifting / lowering drive mechanism 36 by the height dimension (8), and the third-stage container 30 is held by the lowermost holding mechanism 38 (9). By further ascending (9), the second-stage container 30 is separated, and the second-stage container 30 is left on the roller conveyor 33. After the transport operation of the roller conveyor 33 is turned on and the second-stage container 30 is carried out, the transport operation is turned off, and the third-stage container 30 is lowered on the roller conveyor 33 so as to be in contact with the third stage or more. By repeating the same control for each of the tiered containers 30, the tiering of the first row of stacked containers 30 is completed.
[0043]
After the uppermost (here, sixth) container 30 of the stacked containers 30 is placed on the roller conveyor 33, the lifting / lowering drive mechanism 36 does not raise the holding frame 37, and the transfer is performed. The device 32 is moved to the standby position A by the driving of the traveling drive motor 45, and waits until the operation of unloading the uppermost container 30 by the roller conveyor 33 is completed. Further, since the upper holding mechanism 39 holds the container 30 located at the upper part of the stacked state, in this embodiment, the container 30 of the fourth or higher level to prevent the collapse of the load due to the movement, the upper holding mechanism 39 is separated and stacked. When the number becomes three or less, the holding by the upper holding mechanism 39 is not performed.
[0044]
When the division of the first row of containers 30 is completed, the transfer device 32 is moved in the X-axis direction on the rail 34 from the standby position A by the driving of the traveling drive motor 45, and the second row of containers 30 is detected by the sensor. When it is detected, the operation is stopped and, similarly to the case of the containers 30 in the first row described above, the sorting by transfer onto the roller conveyor 33 and the separating operation are executed. This operation is performed until there is no more container 30 on the pallet 40, and at the standby position A, the empty pallet 40 is unloaded, and the pallet 40 on which the container 30 is newly loaded waits for being loaded onto the transfer conveyor 42, The same operation is repeated again.
[0045]
By setting a plurality of stages including the lowest stage that is not held for the stage division in the stage division operation, the stage division can be performed in units of a plurality of stages. Further, in order to change the state of a subsequent line or to allocate to a subsequent line having a different state, the number of columns to be divided and the number of steps to be divided may be different at each time.
[0046]
In the configuration described above, the embodiment has been described in which the collected empty containers 30 are arranged and divided and sent out toward the washing process of the containers 30, but a returnable bottle filled with alcoholic beverages, milk, or the like is used. The same configuration can be applied to the case where the container is collected together with the container 30 and the returnable bottle and the container 30 are sent out to the cleaning step. In this case, there is provided a step of taking out the returnable bottle contained in the container 30 and sending it to the returnable bottle cleaning step before being transported to the container 30 cleaning step.
[0047]
The objects to be sorted and divided are not limited to the containers 30. For example, the carton boxes stacked on the pallet 40 are sorted and divided and sent out to a sorting step of sorting by delivery destination. The case is also applicable.
[0048]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the boxes stacked in a plurality of rows and in a plurality of rows are held in a row unit by the transfer device, and are transferred onto the roller conveyor in a state of being lifted from the mounting surface. Therefore, the boxes can be lined up without sliding the boxes on the mounting surface of a pallet or the like in which a plurality of boxes are stacked, and the mounting surface of the pallets or the like is not damaged, and the bottom surface of the box is damaged. Nothing to do. In addition, the stacked boxes in a row unit transferred on the transport means can be divided into stages, and the individual boxes can be arranged on the transport path and sent out to a required place.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a dividing / separating apparatus according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing the configuration of the above-described dividing / separating device.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration of the above-described dividing / segmenting apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration of a stacking container disassembling apparatus according to the related art.
[Explanation of symbols]
30 containers (boxes)
31-sequence separation device
32 Transfer equipment (transfer means)
33 roller conveyor (transportation means)
34 rails
35 support
36 Elevation drive mechanism (elevation drive means)
37 Holding frame
38 Lowermost clamping mechanism (holding means)
39 Upper clamping mechanism (holding means)
40 pallets
45 traveling drive motor (row direction drive means)

Claims (4)

The boxes stacked in a plurality of rows and in a plurality of rows are held at least in the lowest row, and the stacked boxes in the row are lifted from the mounting surface and transferred to the transporting means to be sorted. In synchronization with ON / OFF of the transport operation by the transport unit, the lowermost stage mounted on the transport unit is released, and the holding state is moved one stage at a time in the upper stage direction and lifted, thereby lifting the box body at each stage. Are stacked on a transporting means, and the series of operations are repeated for a plurality of rows, thereby sorting and stacking the stacked boxes. Transfer means for transferring the transferred boxes, and transfer means for sequentially holding the boxes stacked in a plurality of rows and rows in units of rows, lifting from a mounting surface and transferring the boxes onto the transfer means; And a stacking box body sorting apparatus, comprising: Transport means for controlling the transport operation for transporting the transferred boxes at a predetermined timing, and a plurality of boxes stacked in a plurality of rows and held at least at the lowest row in a row unit; By lifting from the surface and transferring onto the transporting means, the rows are separated, and the holding state of the lowermost row is released in synchronization with ON / OFF of the transporting operation by the transporting means, and the holding state is moved one step at a time in the upper direction. And a transfer means for separating the stacked box bodies in row units on the transport means by lifting the stacking box bodies. The transfer unit includes a holding unit that holds the stacked boxes in a row unit, an elevating drive unit that drives the holding unit up and down, and a column direction movement that moves the holding unit and the elevating drive unit in the column direction of the stacked boxes. 4. An apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising:

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