JPH1039925A - Magnetic guide type carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an unmanned magnetic guide type carrier capable of carrying various kinds of articles while being traveled along the guide line by a magnetic tape laid on the floor inside a factory or a warehouse. SOLUTION: In this magnetic guide type carrier 21 to be traveled while being guided by the magnetic tape laid along a traveling course on the floor by attaching a steering driving unit 4 to the lower surface part of a chassis 24 of a truck 23 equipped with wheels 5 and 5' at four corner positions at least, all the wheels 5 and 5' of the truck 23 are free casters, two magnetic guide type steering driving units 4 are freely attachably and detachably fitted to the front and rear parts of the lower surface part of the chassis 24 of the truck 23, and two magnetic guide type steering driving units 4 are respectively provided with sensors 10a for detecting the magnetic tape at their front and rear parts.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an unmanned magnetically guided vehicle that travels along a guide path using a magnetic tape laid on a floor surface in a factory, a warehouse, or the like, and transports various articles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of unmanned magnetic guided vehicles have been developed and put into practical use in factories, warehouses, golf courses, and the like, in which various types of unmanned guided vehicles are transported along predetermined guideways to transport various articles. The present applicant has also developed a magnetic guided vehicle of registered utility model No. 3013716.

[0003] The magnetic guided vehicle of the registered utility model is:
As shown in FIG. 6, a magnetic sensor 10 for detecting magnetism (lines of magnetic force) generated by a magnetic tape on the guide path is provided at the front part, and one driving wheel 2 and a motor 3 for driving the driving wheel 2 are provided. A magnetic induction type steering drive unit (hereinafter, referred to as a steering drive unit) 4 comprising two automatic steering devices,
The truck 7 is attached to a position near the front wheel 5 near the front wheel 5 on the underside of the chassis. The bogie 7 has wheels at four corner positions on the lower surface of the chassis. The front wheels 5 are free casters with good steering characteristics, and the rear wheels 6 are fixed casters.

The drive wheels 2 of the steering drive unit 4 are attached to a switching mechanism 16 that moves up and down with a stroke that can be switched between a contact state with a contact pressure necessary for traveling and a floating state completely separated from the floor surface. A switching handle 20 for manually operating the up and down movement of the drive wheel 2 is provided at a rear position of the bogie. Therefore, when it is desired to run the magnetic guided carrier 1 out of the position on the magnetic tape 17 for maintenance, inspection, or the like, the switching wheel 20 can be used to easily drive the drive wheel 2 in a floating state and easily operate manually. .

The structure of the steering drive unit 4 will be described in further detail. A magnetic tape sensor 10 is attached to a front portion of a holder 8 of the drive wheel 2 via a support 9. A bearing block 11 of a steering shaft that rises vertically upward from the holder 8 of the drive wheel 2 is attached to a movable plate 12 via a switching mechanism 16, and the movable plate 12 is attached to and detached from a frame of the undercarriage of the bogie 7 by a coupling tool or the like. Mounted freely. A steering motor 13 is attached to the rear of the lower surface of the movable plate 12 in a suspended state, a pulley of the steering shaft and a driving pulley of the steering motor 13 are connected by a timing belt, and the driving wheels 2 The motor 13 is automatically steered. Trolley 7
The control device 14 is installed on the lower rear surface of the vehicle 7, and the power supply battery 15 is mounted on the upper rear surface of the carriage 7.

[0006] The above-mentioned magnetic guided vehicle is operated as follows. The magnetic guided vehicle 1 is started by the operation of a start button by an attendant, and thereafter, software of the control device 14 is assembled so that unmanned operation as described below is repeated until the attendant presses a stop button. Have been.
In this magnetic guided vehicle 1, the magnetic tape sensor 10 detects the strength and direction of the magnetic field lines generated by the magnetic tape 17 on the taxiway, and the position of the left end (or right end) of the magnetic tape 17 is the position of the magnetic tape sensor 10. Magnetic guidance for steering and driving the driving wheels 2 by automatically controlling the steering motor 13 so as to be at a fixed position is performed, and the magnetic induction-type carrier is operated unmanned. When a load handling position (stop position) during traveling is detected by a sensor or the like, the traveling speed is rapidly reduced and stopped. The detection signals of the magnetic sensors 10 are respectively input to the control device 14 and subjected to arithmetic processing. The control device 14 controls the driving of the steering motor 13 and the drive motor 3 based on an output (control signal) obtained by arithmetically processing the detection signal. In this way, the magnetic guided vehicle is automatically driven and stopped along the magnetic tape 17, and is operated unmanned.

In the above-described magnetic guided vehicle 1, the steering drive unit 4, which is a component of the guided vehicle 1, and the bogie 7 can be separated, and the bogie 7 can be used for the original purpose of the bogie. Also,
The drive wheel 2 of the steering drive unit 4 is a switching handle 20
It is possible to switch between the grounding state and the floating state by using the magnetic tape, even if the resistance of the drive unit (especially the magnetic resistance of the motor) is large, for maintenance or inspection of the magnetic induction type carrier, and change or modification of the guide route Can be easily dealt with by hand-operated steering when traveling in a place where is not laid, traveling in a place of a charging facility without a taxiway for charging the battery, and the like.

[0008]

When actually carrying out work using the above-described conventional magnetic guided vehicle 1,
There is no particular problem in straight running. However, there is a problem in curve running at a corner or the like as shown in FIG. That is, since the drive wheels 2 of the steering drive unit 4 are attached to the front wheels (free casters) 5, 5 of the bogie 7 near the front, the front wheels can be forcibly steered, but the rear wheels (fixed casters) 6, Numeral 6 merely follows the direction of the steering drive unit 4 and follows it, and tends to pass the shortest distance when traveling on a curve. For this reason, the front part of the bogie advances along the magnetic tape 17, but the rear part attempts to travel the shortest distance inside the corner part, approaching a building or the like located inside the corner part, and causing a collision. Is big. Therefore, in order to avoid a collision, the space between the building or the like and the magnetic tape 17 must be made sufficiently large, and a guideway having an unnecessarily large width must be formed. Occurred. This problem is particularly pronounced in large magnetically guided vehicles.

[0009] Even after the corner portion has completed the curved running, it is necessary to make the vehicle run straight for a certain length of time until the vehicle is in a straight running state substantially parallel to the nearest cargo handling position (stop position). Since it is difficult to provide a cargo handling place in the immediate vicinity of the part, there is a problem that the degree of freedom in designing the entire transporting operation including the arrangement of the conveyor is lacking. As a measure for solving the above-mentioned problem, there is a method in which the guide tape is largely detoured outward in anticipation of a so-called inner wheel difference of the magnetic guided vehicle as shown in FIG. According to this method, it is possible to avoid a collision with a building or the like inside the corner part, but it is technically difficult to design and paste the guide tape in anticipation of the inner ring difference, and the width of the guide path is substantially widened. It does not solve the problem. In addition, it is not possible to satisfy the requirement to provide a cargo handling position immediately near the corner.

Next, the above-mentioned magnetic guided vehicle 1 is generally used for driving around a loop-shaped taxiway in only one direction. Reciprocating operation for backward traveling is also required. However, in the conventional magnetic guided vehicle 1, the drive wheels 2 of the steering drive unit 4 are located closer to the front than the center of gravity (or the center of gravity) of the bogie 7 in a plan view.
It is virtually impossible to steer the rear wheels of the same bogie 7 under the same or opposite conditions as those for steering the front wheels 5 of the vehicle, and forward and backward reciprocating operation cannot be performed simply by reversing the switch. There was a problem that the range of application was narrow.
Further, there is a problem of securing a space based on the fact that the taxiway must always form a loop shape.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic guided vehicle that facilitates curved running at a corner and enables reciprocating operation of forward and backward.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic guided vehicle according to the present invention, which is provided on a lower surface of a bogie having wheels at least at four corner positions. In a magnetic guided vehicle in which a steering drive unit is mounted and guided by magnetic tape laid along a traveling path on a floor surface, all wheels of the bogie are free casters, and a lower surface portion of the bogie. The two magnetically guided steering drive units are detachably attached to the front and rear portions of the vehicle, and the two magnetically guided steering drive units are provided with sensors for detecting a magnetic tape at each of the front and rear portions. , Respectively.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic induction type transport vehicle, wherein the two magnetic induction type steering drive units according to the first aspect detect the magnetic tape individually, and the running and the stop are synchronized. It is characterized by being performed. Claim 3
The magnetic guided vehicle according to the invention of claim 1 or 2,
The two magnetically guided steering drive units described in (1) and (2) are operated synchronously at least during curve running.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The magnetic guided vehicle 21 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has adjustable casters 5, 5 'with good steering at all four corners on the lower surface of a chassis 24 of a truck 23.
The two steering drive units 4 and 4 are arranged such that one is at a position near the front wheels 5 and 5, one is at a position near the rear wheels 5 'and 5', It is detachably attached to the lower surface of the chassis 24 so as to be symmetrically arranged before and after the center of gravity (center of gravity). The configuration and function of the steering drive unit 4 are the same as those described in the registered utility model No. 3013716 described in detail in [Prior Art] above. That is, the steering drive unit 4 includes the drive wheels 2, the motor 3 for driving the drive wheels 2, and the automatic steering device for the drive wheels 2. However, each of the steering drive units 4 detects magnetism (lines of magnetic force) generated by the magnetic tape 17 on the guideway at front and rear positions in the traveling direction of the drive wheels 2.
Magnetic sensors 10a, 10b
Of the holder 18 of the drive wheel 2 and the support 9 of the holder 8 of the driving wheel 2. The drive motor 3 is a DC motor that can rotate forward and backward. The drive wheels 2 of the steering drive unit 4 are attached to a switching mechanism 16 that moves up and down with a stroke that can be switched between a contact state of contact pressure required for traveling and a floating state completely separated from the floor surface, The switching mechanism 16 is connected with a switching handle 20 for manually operating the up and down movement of the drive wheel 2. It should be noted that the switching handle 20 may be replaced with a remote control by a remote controller or the like. Also, if necessary, the magnetic induction type transport vehicle 2
A bumper 22 is provided at the front and rear of the vehicle 1 to reduce the impact when the carrier 21 collides with a building or the like.
By the way, the size of the chassis 24 of the cart 23 is 8
The height from the ground to the undercarriage 24 is about 230 mm.

FIG. 3 shows that each of the two front and rear steering drive units 4 and 4 of the magnetic guided vehicle 21 individually detects the magnetic tape 17 and performs a traveling operation and a synchronous operation of stopping and moving forward (straight forward). (Including running and curved running). This magnetic guided vehicle 21 is also started by the start button of the attendant, and after that, until the attendant presses the stop button, the software of the control device 14 is assembled so that the unmanned operation described below is repeated. ing. The two front and rear steering drive units 4 and 4
The magnetic tape sensors 10a, 10a located on the front side in the traveling direction of the drive wheels 2 individually detect the intensity and direction of the magnetic lines of force generated by the magnetic tape 17 on the taxiway, and the left end (or right end) of the magnetic tape 17 is detected. The magnetic tape sensor 10
a, 10a so that the steering motors 13, 1
3 is automatically steered, and magnetic guidance for driving the drive wheels 2 and 2 in a synchronized manner is performed, and the magnetic guided vehicle 21 is operated unmanned.

When the two front and rear steering drive units 4 and 4 are driven synchronously, the magnetic guided vehicle 21 drives the drive wheels 2 and 4.
2 run automatically along the magnetic tape 17, so that not only the front wheels 5 and 5 but also the rear wheels 5 'and 5' of the carrier 21 can be forcibly steered. The vehicle travels along the magnetic tape 17 not only in traveling but also in curved traveling at a corner or the like. Therefore, there is no possibility that the rear portion (the rear wheels 5 ', 5') of the transport vehicle 21 approaches a building or the like located inside the corner portion and collide.
Therefore, even in a curved running portion, since the harmful effect of the so-called inner wheel difference of the transport vehicle 21 is not so much affected, the magnetic tape 17 is attached at a curvature in consideration of the turning radius of the transport vehicle 21 to form a guideway, and It is sufficient to secure a width corresponding to the width of the transport vehicle 21 along the tape 17.

In the curved traveling of the magnetic guided vehicle 21, the driving wheel 2 on the rear side in the traveling direction passes through the end point of the curved line of the magnetic tape 17 and at the same time has a straight traveling posture substantially parallel to the magnetic tape 17. In addition, a place for unloading can be provided at a position immediately adjacent to the corner portion, and the degree of freedom in designing the entire transporting operation including the arrangement of the conveyor is increased. The above-described magnetic guided carrier 21 drives the drive wheels 2, 2 of the two front and rear steering drive units 4, 4 synchronously during not only the curved traveling but also the straight traveling, and thus the two steering driving units 4, 4, a large cargo carrying capacity can be exhibited. Paradoxically, it is possible to reduce the running power of one steering drive unit 4 to make it lightweight and compact,
This enables smooth and stable driving without the risk of so-called swinging during running. However, during straight running as well as during curved running where the adverse effect of the inner wheel difference is extremely small, it is also possible to perform sole operation of only the driving wheels 2 of the steering drive unit 4 on the front side in the traveling direction. In that case, the drive wheel 2 of the rear steering drive unit 4 is brought into a floating state by the switching handle 20.

Further, the magnetic guided vehicle 21 is similar to that shown in FIG.
In addition, forward and backward reciprocating operation as shown in FIG. 5 can be easily performed. That is, the wheels 5, 5 'of the bogie 23 are all casters with good steering characteristics, and the steering drive units 4, 4 are located near the front wheels or the rear wheels, more specifically, the chassis 2
4 is mounted in a symmetrical arrangement before and after the center of gravity (center of gravity) when viewed in a plan view (see FIG. 2), and two magnetic sensors 10a and 10b are provided before and after the guide path. The reciprocating operation is realized only by reversing the switches of the driving motors 3 at the load handling positions A ₁ and A ₂ at the forward limit or the reverse limit. In this case, the operation is performed by the magnetic tape sensors 10a, 10a, and 1 that are always located on the front side in the traveling direction.
Reference numerals 0b and 10b denote systems for detecting the intensity and direction of the lines of magnetic force generated by the magnetic tape 17. In this reciprocating operation, the drive wheels 2, 2 of the two front and rear steering drive units 4, 4 are synchronously operated. Is operated solely by the driving wheels 2 of the steering drive unit 4.

[0019]

[Effects of the present invention] The magnetic guided vehicle according to the present invention travels along the magnetic tape with the two front and rear steering drive units individually, and travels in a synchronous operation of traveling and stopping. The vehicle can travel along curved lines such as a section along a magnetic tape. Therefore, it is not necessary to allow for a difference in the inner wheel between the front and rear wheels, which may occur particularly in the case of a large vehicle. In addition to being able to easily perform not only forward traveling but also reverse traveling, it can be applied not only to driving in one direction but also to reciprocating operation in which forward and backward are repeated, so it is necessary to form a taxiway in a closed loop shape Therefore, it is possible to realize a cargo handling work which is widely used and excellent in flexibility.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a magnetic guided vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a magnetic guided vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the forward running of the magnetic guided vehicle according to the present invention over time.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a different embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a different embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a conventional magnetic guided vehicle.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a forward running of a conventional magnetic induction type carrier vehicle over time.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the forward traveling of a conventional magnetic induction-type carrier over time.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Magnetic guidance type | formula transportation vehicle 5 Wheel (universal caster) 5 'Wheel (universal caster) 23 cart 24 chassis 4 Magnetic induction type steering drive unit 17 Magnetic tape 10a Magnetic tape sensor 10b Magnetic tape sensor

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Chiji Maruyama 2- 24-1, Oka, Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside Yazaki Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Yazaki Corporation

Claims (3)

[Claims] A magnetic guided steering drive unit is mounted on a lower surface of a bogie having wheels at least at four corner positions, and is guided and traveled by a magnetic tape laid along a running path on a floor surface. In the vehicle, all wheels of the bogie are free casters, and two magnetically guided steering drive units are detachably mounted on front and rear portions of a lower surface portion of the bogie.
A magnetic guided vehicle, wherein each of the magnetically guided steering drive units includes a sensor for detecting a magnetic tape at each of the front and rear portions. 2. The two magnetically guided steering drive units according to claim 1 respectively detect a magnetic tape individually.
A magnetically guided vehicle, wherein running and stopping are performed synchronously. 3. A magnetically guided vehicle, wherein the two magnetically guided steering drive units according to claim 1 and 2 are operated synchronously at least when traveling on a curve.