Article loading facility

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10947057-B2
Application number	US-202016777462-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2020
Priority date	Sep 7, 2016
Publication date	Mar 16, 2021
Grant date	Mar 16, 2021

Abstract

A control unit performs first loading control that is to be performed when a target article that has been determined by a determination unit as being an article that is in an appropriate orientation is to be loaded onto a first supporting member in the appropriate orientation, and second loading control that is to be performed when a target article that has been determined by the determination unit as being an article that is in an inappropriate orientation is to be loaded onto the first supporting member in the appropriate orientation. The first loading control is performed to control a loading operation unit to suck and support a first sucking-target surface of a target article that is supported by the second supporting member, from above, then move a sucking portion, and thereafter release the target article from the state of being sucked by the sucking portion, and the second loading control is performed to control the loading operation unit to perform an orientation changing operation, and thereafter release the target article from the state of being sucked by the sucking portion when the target article is located immediately above the first supporting member and the first sucking-target surface faces upward.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An article loading facility comprising:
a loading operation unit that loads a plurality of target articles onto one first supporting member; and
a control unit that controls the loading operation unit,
wherein:
the control unit controls the loading operation unit so that the plurality of target articles are loaded onto the first supporting member according to arrangement information that indicates the orientation and the position of each of the plurality of target articles relative to the first supporting member,
a surface of a target article that faces downward when the target article is in the orientation indicated by the arrangement information is defined as a support-target surface, a surface of a target article that faces upward when the target article is in the orientation indicated by the arrangement information is defined as a first sucking-target surface, and an article that is in an orientation in which the support-target surface faces downward is defined as an article that is in an appropriate orientation,
the loading operation unit includes: a sucking portion that sucks and supports a surface of a target article that is supported by a second supporting member that is located at a transfer position; and an operation portion that moves the sucking portion,
the article loading facility further comprises: a storage unit that stores therein the second supporting member that supports a target article; a transport unit that transports the second supporting member from the storage unit to the transfer position; a detection unit that detects the orientation of a target article that is supported by the second supporting member that is located at the transfer position; and a determination unit that determines whether an article that is supported by the second supporting member is an article that is in the appropriate orientation or an article that is in an inappropriate orientation that is not the appropriate orientation, based on detection information obtained by the detection unit,
the control unit performs first loading control that is to be performed when a target article that has been determined by the determination unit as being an article that is in the appropriate orientation is to be loaded onto the first supporting member in the appropriate orientation, and second loading control that is to be performed when a target article that has been determined by the determination unit as being an article that is in the inappropriate orientation is to be loaded onto the first supporting member in the appropriate orientation,
the first loading control is performed to control the loading operation unit to suck and support the first sucking-target surface of a target article that is supported by the second supporting member, from above, then move the sucking portion, and thereafter release the target article from the state of being sucked by the sucking portion when the target article is located immediately above the first supporting member and the first sucking-target surface faces upward, and
the second loading control is performed to control the loading operation unit to suck and support a second sucking-target surface, which faces upward, of a target article that is supported by the second supporting member, from above, then move the sucking portion so that the sucking portion performs an orientation changing operation to change the orientation of the target article from the inappropriate orientation to the appropriate orientation and change a surface that is to be sucked by the sucking portion from the second sucking-target surface to the first sucking-target surface, and thereafter release the target article from the state of being sucked by the sucking portion when the target article is located immediately above the first supporting member and the first sucking-target surface faces upward.

2. The article loading facility according to claim 1 , wherein:
an external shape of each article is rectangular parallelepiped shape,
the operation unit is configured to change the orientation of the sucking portion to a first orientation in which the sucking portion sucks a surface of a target article that faces upward from above, and a second orientation in which the sucking portion has swung from the first orientation, about an axis that extends along a horizontal direction, and
the orientation changing operation is an operation that is performed to change the orientation of the sucking portion from the first orientation, in which the sucking portion sucks the second sucking-target surface of a target article from above, to the second orientation, then release the target article from the state of being sucked by the sucking portion to change the orientation of the target article to the appropriate orientation while keeping the orientation of the sucking portion in the second orientation, and thereafter suck the first sucking-target surface of the target article that faces upward, using the sucking portion in the first orientation.

3. The article loading facility according to claim 1 , wherein, if articles of the same type that are supported by the second supporting member include an article that is in the appropriate orientation and an article that is in the inappropriate orientation, the control unit preferentially selects the article in the appropriate orientation as the target article.

4. The article loading facility according to claim 1 , wherein the second supporting member is formed so as to have a box shape with an open upper face, and in the second loading control, the orientation of the target article is changed from the inappropriate orientation to the appropriate orientation inside the second supporting member.

5. The article loading facility according to claim 1 , wherein an external shape of the target article is rectangular parallelepiped shape, and
wherein the orientation indicated by the arrangement information is an orientation with which one of outer surfaces other than the largest outer surface of the target article faces downward.

6. An article loading facility comprising:
a loading operation unit that loads a plurality of target articles onto one first supporting member; and
a control unit that controls the loading operation unit,
wherein:
the control unit controls the loading operation unit so that the plurality of target articles are loaded onto the first supporting member according to arrangement information that indicates the orientation and the position of each of the plurality of target articles relative to the first supporting member,
a surface of a target article that faces downward when the target article is in the orientation indicated by the arrangement information is defined as a support-target surface, a surface of a target article that faces upward when the target article is in the orientation indicated by the arrangement information is defined as a first sucking-target surface, and an article that is in an orientation in which the support-target surface faces downward is defined as an article that is in an appropriate orientation,
the loading operation unit includes: a sucking portion that sucks and supports a surface of a target article that is supported by a second supporting member; and an operation portion that moves the sucking portion,
the article loading facility further comprises: a detection unit that detects the orientation of a target article that is supported by the second supporting member; and a determination unit that determines whether an article that is supported by the second supporting member is an article that is in the appropriate orientation or an article that is in an inappropriate orientation that is not the appropriate orientation, based on detection information obtained by the detection unit,
the control unit p

Assignees

• Daifuku Kk

Inventors

• Gondoh Takuya
• Sugano Shigeru
• Kurayama Atsushi
• Iwai Masami
• Minoo Atsushi

Classifications

• B65G2814/0305

  Adding to the top · CPC title

• B65G57/22

  in layers each of predetermined arrangement · CPC title

• B65G57/04 Primary

  by suction or magnetic devices · CPC title

• B65G43/08

  Control devices operated by article or material being fed, conveyed or discharged {(and controlling the discharging devices B65G47/42)} · CPC title

• B65G60/00 Primary

  Simultaneously or alternatively stacking and de-stacking of articles · CPC title