JP2009113907A - Article conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article conveying device capable of conveying an article to even a higher position, while suppressing an increase of weight of a traveling truck. <P>SOLUTION: This article conveying device is provided with a main lifting guide mast 19 provided with a plurality of pillar materials 17 and a plurality of oblique materials 18 for connecting the pillar materials 17 with each other, and a sub lifting guide mast 20 having smaller area in cross section than that of the main lifting guide mast 19. A lifting base 12 is provided with a longitudinal direction guided body 25 guided in an abutting state on the main lifting guide mast 19 to regulate moving of the lifting base 12 in the longitudinal direction of the traveling truck, a main lateral width direction guided body 22 guided in an abutting state on the main lifting guide mast 19 to regulate moving of the lifting base 12 in a lateral width direction of the traveling truck, and a sub lateral width direction guided body 23 guided in an abutting state on the sub lifting guide mast 20 to regulate moving of the lifting base 12 in the lateral width direction of the traveling truck. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a traveling cart that can travel along a traveling rail, and a pair of front and rear lifting guides that are erected on the traveling cart with an interval in the front-rear direction of the traveling cart and whose upper ends are connected by an upper frame. The present invention relates to an article conveying apparatus provided with a mast, an elevator that can be moved up and down guided by a pair of front and rear guide masts, and article transfer means provided on the elevator.

  The article transport apparatus as described above is used in, for example, an automatic warehouse, and stores an article in any of a plurality of storage units in an article storage shelf by moving a traveling carriage and raising and lowering a lifting platform. The article is taken out from the container. Then, the article transporting apparatus performs a warehousing operation for warehousing the article to be carried into one of the plurality of storage units in the article storage shelf, and a warehousing operation for unloading the article stored in any of the plurality of storage units. I am doing so.

  In the conventional article conveying apparatus, a lifting guide mast is erected on each of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the traveling carriage, and each of the pair of front and rear lifting guide masts is a column member (for example, a column having a rectangular cross-sectional shape). A plurality of cords connected to both ends of the lifting platform to support the lifting platform in a suspended manner, and the lifting platform is guided by a pair of front and rear lifting guide masts and is freely movable up and down. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-59190 A

  In the above-described conventional article transport device, not only the traveling carriage travels along the traveling rail, but also the elevator guide is raised and lowered by being guided by the lifting guide mast, whereby the articles are placed in the plurality of storage units arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions. Can be transported. Some article storage shelves have a high height in which a large number of storage units are arranged in the vertical direction due to restrictions on the installation space, etc., and the article transport device is an article even at a higher position (for example, about 40 m). The thing which can convey is required.

In order to convey the article to a higher position, the height of the lifting guide mast must be increased. However, if the height of the lifting guide mast is increased, the lifting platform cannot be properly supported unless the strength of the lifting guide mast is increased.
Therefore, it is conceivable to increase the strength of the lifting guide mast by increasing the thickness of the pillar material in the lifting guide mast or by increasing the thickness of the pillar material. The weight of the guide mast increases. As a result, if the strength is similarly increased for each of the pair of front and rear guide masts, the weight of the traveling carriage increases. When the weight of the traveling carriage increases, there arises a problem that the traveling speed of the traveling carriage decreases or the driving means for traveling the traveling carriage requires a larger capacity.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to this point, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article conveying apparatus capable of conveying an article even at a higher position while suppressing an increase in the weight of a traveling carriage. is there.

In order to achieve this object, a first characteristic configuration of the article transporting apparatus according to the present invention includes a traveling carriage that can travel along a traveling rail and a traveling carriage that stands on the traveling carriage with an interval in the front-rear direction. A pair of front and rear lifting guide masts, the upper end of which is connected by an upper frame, a lifting base guided by the pair of front and rear lifting guide masts and freely movable up and down, and article transfer means provided on the lifting base And an article conveying apparatus provided with
One of the pair of front and rear lifting guide masts is a main lifting guide mast provided with a plurality of column members erected at intervals and a plurality of diagonal members connecting adjacent column members, and the front and rear The other of the pair of elevating guide masts is a sub elevating guide mast having a smaller cross-sectional area than the main elevating guide mast, and the travel is guided by the elevating platform in contact with the main elevating guide mast. A longitudinally guided body for restricting movement of the lifting platform to one side and the other side in the longitudinal direction of the carriage, one side in the lateral direction of the traveling carriage guided in a state in contact with the main lifting guide mast, and A main lateral direction guided body that restricts the movement of the lifting platform to the other side, and a guide that is guided in contact with the sub-lifting guide mast, and the one of the traveling carriage in the lateral direction and the other side Lies in the lateral direction guided body sub for restricting the movement of Fudai is provided.

That is, for each of the pair of front and rear lifting guide masts, the main lifting guide mast is not strengthened in the same way, but the main lifting guide mast has a cross-sectional area larger than that of the sub lifting guide mast. The strength of each of the pair of front and rear lifting guide masts can be enhanced while strengthening the strength of the sub lifting guide mast.
And about the main raising / lowering guide mast, since the several pillar material is standingly arranged at intervals and the adjacent pillar materials are connected with the several diagonal material, the intensity | strength can be strengthened. In addition, among the plurality of pillars erected at intervals, the adjacent pillars are connected by a plurality of diagonal members. For example, the pillars as the lifting guide mast are thickened or thickened. The strength can be strengthened while suppressing an increase in weight as much as possible, compared with the case where the strength is strengthened by increasing the thickness of the material. In addition, for the sub lift guide mast, for example, the column material as the lift mast is made thicker or the wall thickness of the column material is increased within a range in which the cross-sectional area is smaller than the main lift guide mast. The increase in weight can be suppressed as much as possible while strengthening the strength.

  As described above, when the main elevating guide mast is stronger than the sub elevating guide mast, dynamic changes in the longitudinal direction of the traveling carriage, such as the degree of shaking of the elevating guide mast when the traveling carriage is running, are different from the main elevating guidance mast. It differs from the lifting guide mast. Therefore, in restricting the movement of the lifting platform in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage, the guide is provided in contact with the main lifting member and the sub lifting guide mast provided to be guided in contact with the main lifting guide mast. When the sub member provided as described above is provided, the main member is caused by the difference in dynamic change in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage between the main lift guide mast and the sub lift guide mast. Even if it contacts the main lifting guide mast, the sub member may not be in contact with the sub lifting guide mast or vice versa. As a result, there is a possibility that the movement of the lifting platform to the one side and the other side in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage cannot be regulated.

  Therefore, in the present invention, in restricting the movement of the lifting platform in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage, the front-rear guided body is provided so as to be guided in contact with the main lifting guide mast. And the main lifting guide mast restrict the movement of the lifting platform to one side and the other side in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage. Thereby, regardless of the difference in dynamic change in the longitudinal direction of the traveling carriage between the main lifting guide mast and the sub lifting guide mast, the longitudinal guided body can be brought into contact with the main lifting guide mast, The movement of the elevator to the one side and the other side in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage can be restricted. In addition, the main lifting guide mast receives a force for restricting the movement of the lifting platform, but the main lifting guide mast is stronger than the sub lifting guide mast, so it can sufficiently withstand the force, It is possible to reliably regulate the movement of the lifting platform in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage.

  In addition, regarding the regulation of the movement of the lifting platform in the width direction of the traveling carriage, the main width direction guided body is provided so as to be in contact with the main lifting guide mast, and the sub width direction guided body is provided. By providing the guide so as to be in contact with the sub lift guide mast, movement of the lift base in the lateral width direction of the traveling carriage is restricted. As a result, the force for restricting the movement of the lifting platform can be received in a state of being distributed between the main lifting guide mast and the sub lifting guide mast, and it simply regulates the shaking of the lifting platform in the lateral width direction of the traveling carriage. In addition, the rotation of the lifting platform around the vertical axis can be restricted. Therefore, the movement of the lifting platform in the lateral width direction of the traveling carriage can also be reliably restricted.

  From the above, while suppressing an increase in the weight of the traveling carriage, it is an article transporting apparatus that can transport articles even at a higher position, but the movement of the lifting platform in the longitudinal and lateral directions of the traveling carriage is ensured. Can be regulated.

  According to a second characteristic configuration of the article transporting apparatus according to the present invention, the plurality of column members are erected at intervals in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage, and the sub lift guide mast is disposed in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage. The first pillar member on the side where the main sub-lifting guide mast is located is configured to have a larger cross-sectional area than the second pillar member on the side where the main sub lift guide mast is located. , In that the plurality of column members are provided so as to be guided by contact with the first column member.

  That is, the strength of the first pillar material can be made stronger than that of the second pillar material, and the guided body in the front-rear direction is in contact with and guided by the strong first pillar material. Thereby, sufficient intensity | strength can be ensured as a pillar material contact | abutted with the front-back direction guided body, and the movement of the raising / lowering stand in the front-back direction of a traveling trolley can be controlled more reliably.

  According to a third characteristic configuration of the article transporting apparatus according to the present invention, the first column member is formed in a rectangular shape having cross-sectional shapes that face each other in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage, and is guided in the front-rear direction. The body is provided in a state in which the first pillar is sandwiched in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage by contacting the outer surfaces of the surfaces facing each other in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage with respect to the first pillar. It is in the point.

  That is, since the first pillar material has a rectangular shape that is a simple cross-sectional shape, the first pillar material can have a simple shape. The front-rear direction guided body is provided in a state in which the first pillar member is sandwiched in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage. Therefore, even if the lifting platform moves to one side or the other side of the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage, the front-rear direction The guided body abuts one of the surfaces facing each other in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage, and the movement of the lifting platform is restricted. As a result, the lifting platform in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage can be used without using the outer surface of the first column member as it is without newly providing a member for contacting the front-rear guided member on the first column member. Movement can be restricted, and the configuration can be simplified.

  A fourth characteristic configuration of the article transporting apparatus according to the present invention is that the diagonal member is provided so as to connect the first pillar member and the second pillar member.

  That is, the diagonal member connects the first pillar material and the second pillar material adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage, so that the strength can be strengthened against the force applied in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage. Since the lifting guide mast is shaken by acceleration and deceleration of the traveling carriage and a force is applied in the longitudinal direction of the traveling carriage, the strength of the lifting guide mast can be strengthened in a state corresponding to the direction in which the force is applied.

An embodiment in which an article transporting apparatus according to the present invention is applied to an automatic warehouse will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this automatic warehouse is formed between two article storage shelves 1 and two article storage shelves 1 that are installed at an interval so that the article loading and unloading directions face each other. A stacker crane 3 is provided as an article transport device that automatically travels along the moving path 2.

Each of the article storage shelves 1 is provided with a plurality of front and rear support columns 1a spaced apart in the horizontal direction, and each of the pair of front and rear support columns 1a is provided with a horizontally extending placement support portion 1b spaced in the vertical direction. A plurality are provided apart.
And the storage part 4 in the goods storage shelf 1 is comprised so that the goods 9 may be accommodated with the form which mounts and supports the goods 9 in the mounting support part 1b, and there are a plurality of the storage parts 4 in the vertical and horizontal directions. It is provided to line up.

In the moving path 2, a traveling rail 5 is installed on the floor side along the longitudinal direction of the moving path 2, and an upper guide rail 6 is installed on the upper side along the longitudinal direction of the moving path 2.
On one end side of the traveling rail 5, a ground-side controller 7 that manages the operation of the stacker crane 3 and a pair of loading platforms 8 with the traveling rail 5 interposed therebetween are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the stacker crane 3 includes a traveling carriage 10 that can travel along the traveling rail 5, a pair of front and rear elevating guide masts 11 erected on the traveling carriage 10, and a pair of front and rear elevating guides. The elevator 12 is guided by the mast 11 and can be moved up and down, and an article transfer device 13 (for example, a fork-type article transfer device) provided on the elevator 12.

The lifting guide mast 11 is provided upright one by one at the front end portion and the rear end portion of the traveling carriage 10 in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10. The upper and lower ends of the pair of front and rear guide masts 11 are connected by an upper frame 14. The pair of front and rear elevating masts 11 are connected by an intermediate frame 15 at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction.
The upper frame 14 is provided so that the guide roller 16 is guided by the upper guide rail 6 by contacting the upper guide rail 6.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, one of the pair of front and rear elevating guide masts 11 includes a plurality of column members 17 erected at intervals and a plurality of diagonal members 18 that connect adjacent column members 17 to each other. The other of the pair of front and rear guide masts 11 is a sub lift guide mast 20 having a smaller cross-sectional area than the main lift guide mast 19. The sub elevating guide mast 20 is configured by a square pipe having a rectangular cross section.

  The main elevating guide mast 19 is formed in a rectangular shape in cross section by arranging column members 17 at four corners at intervals in the front-rear direction and the lateral width direction of the traveling carriage 10. Each of the plurality of column members 17 is constituted by a square pipe having a square cross section. As the plurality of column members 17, two first column members 17 a erected on the side where the sub elevating guide mast 20 is positioned in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10, and the main elevating guide mast in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10. Two second pillar members 17b erected on the side where 19 is located are provided. In the two first pillar members 17a and the two second pillar members 17b, the distance between the first pillar member 17a and the second pillar member 17b is the same between the first pillar members 17a and the second pillar member 17b. It arrange | positions so that it may become larger than the space | interval of the column materials 17b. The first pillar material 17a is configured such that the area of the cross section is larger than that of the second pillar material 17b.

The plurality of diagonal members 18 are provided so as to connect between the first pillar member 17a and the second pillar member 17b that are erected at intervals in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10. The plurality of diagonal members 18 are arranged so as to be continuously positioned in the vertical direction in a state where the vertically adjacent ones intersect each other. Incidentally, a lower end portion of the main lifting guide mast 19 is provided with a plate-like connecting body that connects the first pillar material 17a and the second pillar material 17b.
Between the first pillar members 17a and the second pillar members 17b that are erected at an interval in the lateral width direction of the traveling carriage 10, are positioned corresponding to the end portions of each of the plurality of diagonal members 18. The horizontal members 21 are connected.
The ends of each of the plurality of diagonal members 18 and the plurality of horizontal members 21 are connected to the column member 17 by welding.

  As described above, the main elevating guide mast 19 has a structure in which the column members 17 spaced apart from each other are connected by the plurality of diagonal members 18, so that the strength can be strengthened while suppressing an increase in weight as much as possible. In addition, the diagonal member 18 connects the first pillar member 17a and the second pillar member 17b spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10, so that the main lifting guide mast is accelerated or decelerated by the traveling carriage 10 or the like. Even if 19 swings in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10, the strength of the main lifting guide mast can be strengthened so that the force due to the swing can be received. The sub elevating guide mast 20 can suppress the increase in weight as much as possible while increasing the strength by making the pillar material thicker within the range where the area of the cross section is smaller than that of the main elevating guide mast 19. Can do. Thus, even if the height of the pair of front and rear lifting guide masts 11 is higher, the article 9 at a higher position can be conveyed while suppressing an increase in the weight of the traveling carriage.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the elevator 12 is guided in contact with the main elevator guide mast 19 to restrict the movement of the elevator 12 to one side and the other side in the lateral direction of the traveling carriage 10. The main horizontal width guided roller 22 as the main horizontal width guided body and the elevator 12 that is guided in contact with the sub elevating guide mast 20 to the one side and the other side of the traveling carriage 10 in the horizontal direction. A sub-width-direction guided roller 23 as a sub-width-direction guided body that restricts the movement of the sub-width is provided.

A total of four main width direction guided rollers 22 are provided, and a pair of main width elevating guide masts 19 sandwiched in the width direction of the traveling carriage 10 is arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. Yes. Each main lateral width guided roller 22 is fixed to a rotation support 24 that is rotatably supported by the lifting platform 12, and abuts against the lateral outer surface of the traveling carriage 10 of the first column member 17 a. It is provided as follows.
A total of four sub-width-direction guided rollers 23 are provided in the same manner as the main-width-direction guided rollers 22, and each of the sub-width-direction guided rollers 23 is also a traveling carriage 10 of the sub elevating guide mast 20. It is provided so that it may contact | abut to the outer side surface of the horizontal width direction.

  Thus, the main lateral direction guided roller 22 is provided so as to be guided in contact with the main lifting guide mast 19, and the sub lateral direction guided roller 23 is guided in contact with the sub lifting guide mast 20. By providing as described above, the movement of the lifting platform 12 in the lateral width direction of the traveling carriage 10 is restricted. As a result, a force for restricting the movement of the lifting platform 12 can be received in a state where the main lifting guide mast 19 and the sub lifting guide mast 20 are dispersed, and simply the lifting platform 12 in the lateral direction of the traveling carriage 10. In addition to restricting the swing of the lift, the rotation of the lifting platform 12 around the vertical axis can also be restricted. Therefore, the elevator 12 can be raised and lowered while the movement of the elevator 12 in the lateral direction of the traveling carriage 10 can be reliably regulated.

  In addition to the main lateral width guided roller 22 and the sub lateral direction guided roller 23 described above, the lifting platform 12 is guided in a state of being in contact with the main lifting guide mast 19 and is one of the traveling carriage 10 in the front-rear direction. A longitudinally guided roller 25 is provided as a longitudinally guided body that restricts the movement of the lifting platform 12 to the side and the other side. Thus, in order to restrict the movement of the lifting platform 12 to one side and the other side of the traveling cart 10 in the front-rear direction, it is only necessary to abut between the front-rear direction guided roller 25 and the main lifting guide mast 19. Therefore, by making the main lifting guide mast 20 stronger than the sub lifting guide mast 19, the main lifting guide mast 19 and the sub lifting guide mast 20, such as the degree of shaking of the lifting guide mast 11 when the traveling carriage 10 travels, Even if there is a difference in the dynamic change in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10 between the two, the one side and the other side in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10 due to the contact between the front-rear guided roller 25 and the main lifting guide mast 19 It is possible to regulate the movement of the lifting platform 12. At this time, the main lifting guide mast 19 receives a force for restricting the movement of the lifting platform 12, but the main lifting guide mast 19 is stronger than the sub lifting guide mast 20. It can endure, and the movement of the lifting platform 12 in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10 can be reliably regulated.

  The front-rear guided roller 25 is provided so as to be in contact with and guided by one of the two first column members 17a. The front / rear guided rollers 25 are in contact with the outer surfaces of the first column member 17a facing each other in the front / rear direction of the traveling carriage 10 so that the first column member 17a is moved in the front / rear direction of the traveling carriage 10. It is provided in a state of being sandwiched between. As a result, the pillar material that comes into contact with the longitudinally guided roller 25 can be the first pillar material 17a that is stronger than the second pillar material 17b, and the pillar material that comes into contact with the longitudinal guided roller 25. As a result, sufficient strength can be secured. In addition, the outer surface of the first pillar member 17a formed in a rectangular shape can be used as it is as the surface with which the front and rear guided rollers 25 abut, and the configuration can be simplified.

  A total of four front-rear guided rollers 25 are provided, and a pair provided in such a manner as to sandwich the first column member 17a in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10 is disposed at an interval in the vertical direction. . In the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10, one of the pair of front-rear guided rollers 25 is rotatably supported at the end of the lift 12 and the other is fixed so as to extend in the horizontal direction from the end of the lift 12. The support 26 is rotatably supported at the tip end portion. Thus, since the lifting platform 12 is disposed between the main lifting guide mast 19 and the sub lifting guide mast 20 in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10, the first column member 17a is more than the second column member 17b. Is also located on the side closer to the platform. Therefore, as a support structure for supporting the front-rear direction guided roller 25 so as to contact the first column member 17a, a support body 26 that is fixed so as to extend in the horizontal direction from the end of the lifting platform 12 is simply provided. It is sufficient and it can be set as a simple structure.

As shown in FIG. 3, an elevating wire 27 for suspending and supporting the elevating platform 12 is provided. The lifting wire 27 has one end connected to the lifting platform 12 and the other end connected to the counterweight 28. Four lifting wires 27 are provided, two lifting wires 27 are connected to one end side of the lifting platform 12 in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10, and the other two lifting wires 27 are connected to the traveling carriage 10. Is connected to the other end of the lifting platform 12 in the front-rear direction. In this way, the four lifting wires 27 are connected to a plurality of locations on the lifting platform 12.
The four elevating wires 27 are wound around a plurality of first guide sheaves 29 provided on the upper frame 14, and are wound around a driving rotator 31 that is rotated by an elevating electric motor 30. It has been. The elevating wire 27 moves the elevating platform 12 up and down by being moved in the longitudinal direction by driving the elevating electric motor 30 to rotate the driving rotary body 31 forward and backward. In this manner, the lifting electric motor 30 is configured to move the lifting platform 12 up and down in a state where the plurality of lifting wires 27 are collectively wound around the drive rotor 31.

  Further, the lifting wire 27 is wound around the second guide sheave 32 provided on the upper frame 14 after being wound around the driving rotary body 31, and the other end side is connected to the lifting platform 12 at the other end side. It is connected to the weight 28. In this way, the counterweight 28 is provided so as to move up and down in the direction opposite to the lifting platform 12.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, the counterweight 28 is disposed so as to be movable up and down in the main lift guide mast 19. Since the main lifting guide mast 19 has a rectangular cross-sectional shape, the counterweight 28 also has a rectangular cross-sectional shape.
The inner surface portion of the main lifting guide mast 19 is configured to contact the plurality of weight guide rollers 33 provided on the counterweight 28 to guide the lifting and lowering of the counterweight 28. There are two types of weight guide rollers 33, one that restricts the movement of the counterweight 28 in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10 and the other that restricts the movement of the counterweight 28 in the lateral width direction of the traveling carriage 10. Yes. Two types of weight guide rollers 33 are provided in a pair of upper and lower portions at each of the four corners of the counterweight 28 in plan view. In this way, the counterweight 28 is lifted and lowered while utilizing the inner surface of the main lifting guide mast 19 having a rectangular cross-sectional shape, and the counterweight is provided even inside the main lifting guide mast 19. 28 can be raised and lowered appropriately.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the traveling carriage 10 is provided with an elevating rangefinder 34 that detects the elevating position of the elevating platform 12 on the elevating path of the elevating platform 12. The elevating rangefinder 34 projects beam light for distance measurement along the elevating direction of the elevating platform 12 toward the elevating reflective plate 34 a installed on the elevating platform 12, and the elevating distance measuring plate 34 a By receiving the reflected light, the distance to the lift 12 is detected and the lift position of the lift 12 is detected.

The traveling carriage 10 is provided with a pair of front and rear traveling wheels 35 that can travel on the traveling rail 5. One of the pair of front and rear traveling wheels 35 (the main lifting guide mast 19 side) is configured as a driving traveling wheel 35a that is rotationally driven by the traveling electric motor 36, and the other of the pair of front and rear traveling wheels 35 (sub-lifting and lowering). The guide mast 20 side) is configured as a freely driven traveling wheel 35b.
The traveling carriage 10 is configured to travel along the traveling rail 5 by rotating the driving traveling wheel 35 a by the operation of the traveling electric motor 36.

  The traveling carriage 10 is provided with a traveling rangefinder 37 that detects the traveling position of the traveling carriage 10 on the traveling rail 5. The travel range finder 37 projects distance measuring beam light along the longitudinal direction of the travel rail 5 toward the travel reflection plate 37 a installed at one end of the travel rail 5. By receiving the light reflected by 37a, the distance to the traveling reflector 37a is detected and the traveling position of the traveling carriage 12 is detected.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the stacker crane 3 is provided with a crane control device 38 that controls the operation of the stacker crane 3 based on a command from the ground-side controller 7. The crane control device 38 controls the traveling operation of the traveling carriage 10 and the lifting operation of the lifting platform 12 in order to move the article transfer device 13 to the article transfer stop position with respect to the storage unit 4 or the loading platform 8, and In order to take out the article 9 supported by the storage unit 4 or the loading table 8 in the state where the article transfer device 13 is stopped at the article transfer stop position, or to wholesale the article 9 to the storage unit 4 or the loading table 8, The transfer operation of the transfer device 13 is controlled.

  Based on the detection information of the travel range finder 37, the crane control device 38 performs the travel operation of the travel carriage 10 to move the article transfer device 13 to the article transfer stop position in the front-rear direction of the travel carriage 10. Based on the detection information of the traveling control unit 38a to be controlled and the lift range finder 34, the lifting / lowering operation of the lifting platform 12 is performed to move the article transfer device 13 to the article transfer stop position in the lifting / lowering direction of the lifting platform 12. The moving operation of the article transfer device 13 is controlled so as to take out the article 9 supported by the elevating control unit 38b, the storage unit 4 or the loading table 8 or to take the article 9 to the storage unit 4 or the loading table 8. It is comprised from the transfer control part 38c.

The traveling control unit 38 a operates the traveling electric motor 36 to operate the traveling carriage 10, and the traveling position of the traveling carriage 10 detected by the traveling rangefinder 37 is the movement of the article in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10. When the loading stop position is reached, the traveling electric motor 36 is deactivated, and the article transfer device 13 is positioned at the article transfer stop position in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10.
The lifting control unit 38b operates the lifting electric motor 30 to move the lifting platform 12 up and down, and the lifting position of the lifting platform 12 detected by the lifting rangefinder 34 is the transfer of articles in the lifting direction of the lifting platform 12. When the loading stop position is reached, the lifting electric motor 30 is deactivated, and the article transfer device 13 is positioned at the article transfer stopping position in the lifting direction of the lifting platform 12.

When the article 9 supported by the storage unit 4 or the loading table 8 is taken out, the transfer control unit 38c causes the fork-type article transfer device 13 to project and then moves up and down by a set distance by the lift control unit 38b. By raising 12, the article 9 supported by the storage unit 4 or the loading table 8 is placed and supported by the article transfer device 13. Thereafter, the transfer control unit 38c causes the fork-type article transfer device 13 to retreat.
Incidentally, when the article 4 is unloaded on the storage unit 4 or the loading table 8, after the fork-type article transfer device 13 is protruded, only the operation of lowering the lifting table 12 by a set distance by the lifting control unit 38 b is performed. Differently, the other operations are the same as those when the article 9 supported by the storage unit 4 or the loading table 8 is taken out.

  In this way, the crane control device 38 controls the operation of the stacker crane 3 on the basis of the command from the ground-side controller 7, thereby taking out the article 9 supported by the loading table 8 and storing the article 9. It is configured so as to carry out a stocking operation for unloading to the section 4, a unloading operation for taking out the article 9 supported by the storage section 4, and unloading the article 9 to the loading table 9.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above embodiment, the first column member 17a has a larger cross-sectional area than the second column member 17b. For example, the first column member 17a and the second column member 17a 17b can have the same cross-sectional area.

(2) In the above embodiment, in the main lifting guide mast 19, a plurality of diagonal members 18 are provided so as to connect the column members 17 adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10. It is possible to appropriately change whether the column members 17 adjacent in the direction are connected to each other. For example, the diagonal members 18 can be provided so as to connect the column members 17 adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage 10 and the column members 17 adjacent to each other in the lateral width direction of the traveling carriage 10.

(3) In the above embodiment, the sub lift guide mast 20 is configured by a rectangular pipe having a rectangular cross section. However, if the cross sectional area is smaller than the main lift guide mast 19, the sub lift guide mast 20 It is possible to appropriately change how to configure. For example, similarly to the main elevating guide mast 19, a plurality of column members erected at intervals and a plurality of diagonal members that connect adjacent column members may be provided.

(4) In the above embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the main lifting guide mast 19 is formed in a rectangular shape in which the column members 17 are arranged at the four corners. However, the cross-sectional shape of the main lifting guide mast 19 is any shape. This can be changed as appropriate. For example, the columnar material 17 can be formed in a triangular shape or a five-stroke shape in which each corner portion is arranged.

(5) In the above embodiment, the traveling position of the traveling carriage 10 is detected by the traveling rangefinder 37, but the detection means for detecting the traveling position of the traveling carriage 10 can be changed as appropriate. For example, a rotary encoder that detects a travel distance from the reference position of the travel rail 5 can be provided in the travel carriage 10, and the travel position of the travel carriage 10 can be detected by the rotary encoder.
Further, the detecting means for detecting the raising / lowering position of the lifting platform 12 is not limited to the raising / lowering rangefinder 34 and can be changed as appropriate.

(6) In the above-described embodiment, the crane control device 38 that controls the operation of the stacker crane 3 is installed in the stacker crane 3 based on the command from the ground controller 7. Without installing in the crane 3, the ground side controller 7, the inverter in the lifting electric motor 30, the inverter in the traveling electric motor 36, and the article transfer device 13 constitute a communication network. By instructing various information such as operation start and operation stop to the inverter in the lifting electric motor 30, the inverter in the traveling electric motor 36, and the article transfer device 13 via the communication network, the stacker crane The operation of 3 can also be controlled.

Floor plan of automated warehouse Vertical section of automated warehouse Side view of stacker crane Perspective view of a pair of left and right lifting guide masts Plan view of a pair of left and right lifting guide mast and lifting platform Side view of a pair of left and right lifting guide masts and lifting platform Enlarged view of the main part of FIG. Automatic warehouse control block diagram

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Traveling rail 10 Traveling carriage 11 Lifting guide mast 12 Lifting table 13 Article transfer means 14 Upper frame 17 Column material 17a First column material 17b Second column material 18 Diagonal material 19 Main lifting guide mast 20 Sub elevation guide mast 22 Main width direction guided body 23 Sub width direction guided body 25 Front and rear direction guided body

Claims (4)

A traveling carriage that can travel along the traveling rail, a pair of front and rear guide masts that are erected on the traveling carriage with an interval in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage, and whose upper ends are connected by an upper frame, and An article conveying apparatus provided with a lifting platform which is guided by a pair of front and rear lifting guide masts and freely movable up and down, and article transfer means provided in the lifting platform,
One of the pair of front and rear lifting guide masts is a main lifting guide mast provided with a plurality of column members erected at intervals and a plurality of diagonal members connecting adjacent column members, and the front and rear The other of the pair of lift guide masts is a sub lift guide mast having a smaller cross-sectional area than the main lift guide mast,
The lifting platform is guided in a state of being in contact with the main lifting guide mast, and a front / rear guided body that restricts the movement of the traveling platform to one side and the other side of the traveling cart, and the main A main width direction guided body that is guided in contact with the lifting guide mast and regulates the movement of the lifting base to one side and the other side in the width direction of the traveling carriage, and contacts the sub lifting guide mast. An article conveying apparatus provided with a sub-width-direction guided body that is guided in a state and restricts movement of the lifting platform to one side and the other side in the width direction of the traveling carriage. The plurality of column members are erected at intervals in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage, and the first pillar member on the side where the sub lift guide mast is located in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage is The cross-sectional area is larger than the second pillar material on the side where the main sub lifting guide mast is located,
The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the front / rear guided body is provided so as to be guided by contact with the first column member among the plurality of column members. The first pillar material is formed in a rectangular shape having cross-sectional shapes having surfaces facing each other in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage,
The front-rear direction guided body abuts on the outer surfaces of the surfaces facing each other in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage with respect to the first pillar member, thereby causing the first pillar member to move in the front-rear direction of the traveling carriage. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the article conveying apparatus is provided in a state of being sandwiched between.   The article conveying apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the diagonal member is provided so as to connect the first pillar member and the second pillar member.

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