[Object] To provide a lifting and conveying method and device that grip bale rubber accommodated in a box-shaped pallet from an upper side, easily lift and unload the bale rubber with high manipulability, and safely transfer the bale rubber to a target position.

[Solution] Rotationally driving a plurality of claws about a support shaft 11 disposed in an horizontal manner inside a claw housing case 9, a claws-entering-and-exiting surface 9a of the claw housing case 9 abutting against an upper surface of a bale rubber 51 that is an object of lifting, the plurality of claws 8 being made acute by gradually reducing the diameter from a base end side to a distal end side and a central axis line L of each of the plurality of claws 8 being bent so as to form an arc shape about an axis line of a rotational drive, and gripping the bale rubber by protruding the plurality of claws and piercing the plurality of claws from the upper surface of the bale rubber while in a state in which the case 9 is abutted against the bale rubber. A contact sensor 15 detecting contact with the bale rubber is provided in the case 9, and with a contact signal thereof, a grip safety mechanism of the drive mechanism that grips the bale rubber is disabled to allow the claws to be driven. Furthermore, a press sensor 16 that detects a pressing load applied to the transfer place of the bale rubber is provided so as to provide a release safety mechanism that allows gripping of the bale rubber to be released with the grip release signal of the press sensor.

In this raising/lowering conveyance device for a container for conveying an article, a container gripping means 2A, 2B has a structure in which multiple container support pins 15 are arranged so as to be capable of freely protruding and retracting, and a spring 20 for biasing the container gripping means 2A, 2B upward is interposed between the container gripping means 2A, 2B and a columnar support member 6a, 6b for supporting the container gripping means 2A, 2B such that said container gripping means 2A, 2B can be freely raised and lowered. As a result of the upward biasing force of the spring 20, the container gripping means 2A, 2B is held at an equilibrium height H3 in equilibrium with the weight thereof and is capable of movement vertically with the equilibrium height H3 serving as the center of said movement. When the container gripping means 2A, 2B lifts a container 1, the container gripping means 2A, 2B receives the weight of the container 1, descends from the equilibrium height H3, and is supported at the fixed height of the columnar support member 6a.

In the controlling method of the present invention, in a flat storage facility which uses a storage/retrieval device 2 and in which the storage/retrieval device 2 includes a Y-direction laterally moving member 3 that has a length corresponding to the width of a storage item placement plane 1 in a lateral X direction and that is freely moved laterally in a forward/backward Y direction of the storage item placement plane 1, a carriage 5 that is supported on the Y-direction laterally moving member 3 so as to be freely moved in the lateral X direction, and a storage item gripping means 6 that is supported on the carriage 5 so as to be freely raised and lowered, the lowering of the storage item gripping means 6 is controlled such that downward flexural deformation distances Dx3, Dx5 between both end portions of the Y-direction laterally moving member 3 in the lateral X direction are determined, lowering distance adjustment values of the storage item gripping means 6 for the respective storage item placement points Cp are set based on the downward flexural deformation distances Dx3, Dx5, and lowering distances of the storage item gripping means 6 are reduced by the lowering distance adjustment values.

A raising/lowering conveyance apparatus according to the present invention is provided with at least two sets of container holding means (20A, 20B), and the container holding means (20A, 20B) are configured so as to be raised/lowered in conjunction with each other, and to be freely movable closer to or away from containers (C) in the back-and-forth horizontal direction. A sensor (47) that detects the upper end height of the transferred containers (C) which have been transferred and raised is attached to a position near the lower end of each container holding means (20A, 20B), and determines abnormality in posture of the transferred containers (C) through a comparison operation between the value of the upper end height of the transferred containers detected by the sensor (47) and the normal value of the upper end height of the transferred containers calculated on the basis of the height of the container (C) being handled.