KR100342266B1 - Cargo transport equipment and its guidance equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

1. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to goods transporters used in automatic warehouses and various factories, as well as their guidance facilities.

2. The technical problem to be solved by the invention

Provided is an article transport vehicle or a guide facility thereof, which allows forklifts to approach an article carrying portion and transports the goods without impairing the advantages of the goods transporter guided along the guide rail.

3. Summary of Solution to Invention

In the goods transport vehicle used for an automatic warehouse etc. and its guide apparatus, the guide rail which comprises a guide apparatus is arrange | positioned under the goods conveyance in the area | region of the part which carries goods which a goods conveyance vehicle carries over. For this reason, since the guide rail does not protrude from the portion for carrying the article, it is possible for the forklift or the like to approach and work nearby by the portion for carrying the article. Further, in the embodiment, since the driving wheel of the article transporter is arranged in the center portion in the front-rear direction, smoother movement is possible in the curved portion of the guide rail.

4. Important uses of the invention

Used for transporting goods in automated warehouses and factories.

Description

Goods carrier and its guidance equipment

The present invention relates to an article transporter guided along a guide rail and a guide apparatus thereof.

The goods transporting vehicle and its guidance equipment are used in an automated warehouse, various factories, and the like, and are also used as a transporting vehicle for transporting goods, in addition to being guided along a guide rail as described above. There are various types of vehicles such as food carriers and ordinary forklifts.

However, each of them has advantages and disadvantages, and in the type guided by the guide rail, the driving is more stable than the others, so that various items can be safely transported, and the driving speed is increased to improve work efficiency. It's possible to do it, and it's a big advantage that other types don't have.

On the other hand, however, a guide rail provided on the traveling road surface is required, and the presence of the guide rail provided on the road surface has been one of the reasons for hindering the expansion of the application range of the conveying equipment by this type.

In detail, it is also possible to embed the guide rail on the running road surface, but in this case, since the installation work of the guide rail is quite large, it is generally used to install the guide rail on the running road surface. In this case, however, the guide rail installed on the road surface interferes with other work. In particular, in a place where the goods next to the traveling path side of the goods transporter are carried, the conventional guide rail is moved in the plane view. Since it was installed in the state of protruding in the transverse direction of the loading section, the part carrying the article next to the traveling path side in combination with the transportation of the goods, as well as at the time of the failure of the transportation of the goods guided along the guide rail, The necessity of carrying goods by using a forklift or the like often occurs, but in the conventional case, the guide rail protruding in the horizontal direction of the carrying part of the goods is obstructed, and the forklift approaches the goods carrying part. It was not possible to carry goods by forklift or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to such a conventional problem, and its object is to avoid moving the goods by accessing the forklift or the like where the goods are carried, without impairing the advantages of the goods transporter guided along the guide rail. The present invention provides an article transporting vehicle capable of transporting goods and a guide equipment therefor, thereby providing an article transporting vehicle and a guide equipment for expanding the scope of application of the transport equipment according to this type.

In order to achieve this object, the article transporter and its guidance equipment according to the present invention are provided with a guide portion, and are provided along a traveling route of a self-propelled vehicle traveling along a traveling route, and the traveling route, And a guide rail for guiding the transport vehicle against the guide unit, and a unit for transporting an article having a mounting surface provided along the travel route and for carrying the article of the transport vehicle. Is characterized in that it is located underneath the surface on which the article is to be carried.

With such a structure, it is possible to move an article to a portion carrying the article by moving another article carrier such as a forklift to the vicinity of the carrying surface of the portion for carrying the article without disturbing the guide rail. .

Therefore, the forklift can be opened to other goods carriers, such as Multon, a self-guided goods carrier, and the like by using the guide rails described above. While taking advantage of the guide format, it is also possible to conveniently use other goods carriers as needed and greatly expand the adaptation range of the equipment.

In addition, as in the embodiment of the present invention, when the guide rail is provided with a feed rail for supplying electric power to the transport vehicle, it is possible to supply driving power to the article transport vehicle. Therefore, it is not necessary to mount an electric power source such as a battery in the goods transport vehicle, nor to install equipment for charging the battery, and it is possible to travel for a long time. Moreover, if it is arrange | positioned under the said mounting surface, a feed rail does not interfere with other goods conveyance vehicles, such as a forklift, and carries goods with respect to the part which carries goods using a forklift etc. as mentioned above. Can be done.

Moreover, when the said guide rail is provided with the curved part, compared with the case where only a linear guide rail is comprised, the running route of an article carrier can be set relatively freely. In addition, if the goods carrier is configured to travel outside the curved portion of the guide rail, and the article carrying portion is provided inside the curved portion, the length of the guide rail can be made shorter than the traveling path of the goods carrier. Since the area may also be small, it is economically advantageous.

Also, if the article carrier is configured to run inside the curved portion of the guide rail and the article is placed on the outside of the curved portion, the length and installation area of the guide rail will increase somewhat, but the diameter of the curved portion will increase. It is possible to smoothly travel the article transport vehicle at the curved portion, and to travel along the curved portion at a relatively high speed, thereby improving the overall work efficiency of the article transport.

When the guide rail is provided in a loop shape, it is possible to travel in only one direction without advancing and returning the goods transport vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to simultaneously drive a plurality of goods transport vehicles along the loop guide rail to improve work efficiency. You can also promote

If the article carrier is configured to run inside the loop guide rail, the article carrier can be smoothly driven and can be driven at a high speed, and a part of the loop guide rail can be removed. By removing a part of the guide rail, another goods carrier such as a forklift can be carried into the inside of the loop-shaped guide rail, and it is possible to carry out the goods carrying on the part for carrying the goods by another goods carrier. Can be.

If a conveyor for carrying in / out of the article is provided in the part which carries the said article, this can be used as a part which carries the article which carries in / out an article with respect to the storage shelf of an automatic warehouse, and the said goods carrier is used for an automatic warehouse. Can be. The loading and unloading conveyors, which are conventionally used for transporting goods by guide rails, can be brought in and out of goods by using another goods transporter such as a forklift or a self-guided goods transporter. Significantly improved usage can be used conveniently.

In a preferred embodiment, the transport vehicle is provided with a driving wheel other than a steering wheel and a driven wheel other than the steering wheel, and the guide part is constituted by first and second guides spaced apart in the front and rear directions of the transport vehicle. The driving wheel is driven from the first guide when the driving wheel is positioned on an imaginary line extending in a transverse direction perpendicular to the front and rear direction at approximately the center of the space in the front and rear directions of the first guide and the second guide. The distance to the wheel and the distance from the second guide to the driving wheel become equal, and the rotation moment due to the reaction force generated in the first guide and the rotation moment caused by the reaction force generated in the second guide are balanced. This is caught. As a result, it is difficult to generate the twist between the first guide or the second guide and the guide rail by avoiding the pressing against the first guide due to the reaction force, and at the same time, the rotational force of the driving wheel is effectively used to propel the vehicle body. The vehicle body runs smoothly. In addition, since the driving wheel and the driven wheel are composed of non-steering wheels, a steering structure is not necessary and a simple structure is not required.

When the guide portion protrudes outward from the vehicle body, even when the guide rail is disposed on the wall, the guide portion can act on the guide rail so that the vehicle can be driven along the guide rail, and the driving path on the bottom surface can be used other than the carrier. In this case, the conveying vehicle can be used while the guide rail does not become an obstacle so as to be advantageous.

When the driving wheel is biased and installed in the direction of the guide part at the center of the transverse width of the transport vehicle, the driving wheel approaches the guide part as much as possible, and the vehicle body is guided by the driving force by the driving wheel. Even if there is a twist between the guide part and the guide rail while rotating about the part, the distance between the driving wheel and the guide part is short, so that the twist is relatively small. So move on.

If the driving wheel is provided with one driven wheel and two driven wheels are provided, the driving wheel or any driven wheel can be reliably contacted with the bottom surface even if there are irregularities on the bottom surface. Will run stably and reliably.

When the transport vehicle is located inside the bent portion, if the curvature of the bent portion and the position of the drive wheel are set such that the drive wheel is located between the pivot center and the guide rail, the guide rail is curved and the inside of the bent portion is curved. Even when the driving wheel passes, the driving wheel reliably exerts a propulsion action and the vehicle body runs smoothly and reliably.

Further, each of the first and second guides has one guide roller provided on one side of the guide rail at intervals in the front and rear directions, and a pair of guide rollers provided on the other side of the guide rail at intervals in the front and rear directions. When the guide rail is bent, even if the guide rail is bent, at least one guide roller acts on either of the left and right sides, such that the guide roller does not completely fall off from the left or right side, and the guide rail is not curved or not. Regardless of the above, the direction of the carriage is reliably adjusted to precisely follow the guide rail.

If a roller support body is provided in the conveying vehicle to support each of the guide rollers through a shaft center extending in the up and down direction, even if the guide rails are curved, two guide rollers act on each of the left and right sides of the rollers so that the rollers act by force. Regardless of whether the support is rotated and the guide rail is bent or not, the direction is reliably adjusted so that the vehicle body follows the guide rail more precisely.

Other objects, features and effects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Example)

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Embodiment of the guidance apparatus of the goods conveyance vehicle and the semi-thickness vehicle by this invention is described based on drawing.

This goods transport vehicle is used in the automatic warehouse shown in FIG. 1, and this automatic warehouse is equipped with the storage shelf 1 for accommodating and storing various articles A on the pallet P. As shown in FIG. The storage shelf 1 has a structure in which a plurality of storage portions on which the pallet P is placed and arranged are arranged in a plurality of vertically and horizontally directions. Excreted.

Between the storage shelves 1 in which the pairs face each other, a stacker crane 2 having a platform, a fork, or the like, which is capable of lifting up and down in a vertical direction, is provided to be movable along the rail 3, and the stacker crane ( The article A on the loading lifter 4 provided on the entrance side of the storage shelf 1 by 2) is carried into the storage part of the storage shelf 1 in the state which mounted on the pallet P, or a storage part. It is comprised so that the article A of the container may be carried to the lifter 5 for carrying out.

In front of the carry-in lifter 4, a carry-on lifter 6 for carrying in as a portion on which an article is placed is provided. In addition, in front of the lifter 5 for carrying out, the transfer lifter 7 for carrying out as a part which carries the same article is provided. Between the carry lifter 6 for carrying in and the lifter 4 for carrying in, carrying goods A on the lifter 6 to carry are put on the pallet P, and carrying in to the lifter 4 for carrying in The conveyor 8 is provided. Furthermore, between the lifter 7 for carrying out and the lifter 5 for carrying out, the goods A on the lifter 5 for carrying out are put on the pallet P, and conveyed to the lifter 7 which carries them. The conveyor 9 is provided.

More specifically, the carry-in lifter 4 and the carry-on lifter 6 for carrying in are arranged inside the conveying conveyor 8 of a chain transfer type, and constitute a part of the carry-on conveyor 8, and carry-out The lifter 5 and the lifter 7 for carrying out are arrange | positioned inside the conveyance conveyor 9 of the same chain conveyance type, and comprise a part of the conveyance conveyor 9. As shown in FIG.

Between each lift lifter 6 for carrying in and the lift lifter 7 for carrying out, the self-propelled goods transporter 10 equipped with the flexible fork 10a shown in FIG. 2 on the upper surface runs. It is comprised so that a run on the floor surface as a road surface, and only one guide rail 11 which guides the goods conveyance vehicle 10 along the running route is provided.

This one guide rail 11 is arrange | positioned in a loop shape in the state containing the two curved parts lla, and the several goods carriers 10 run simultaneously inside the loop guide rail 11 at the same time. It is configured to do so.

On the outside of the loop-shaped guide rail 11, an article carrying part 12 and an article carrying part 13 as a part for carrying an article are provided, and each article carrying vehicle 10 has its fork 10a. The goods A on the furnace goods-carrying part 12 are lifted for each pallet P and conveyed on the transport lifter 6 for carrying in, or on the contrary, the goods A on the transport lifter 7 for carrying out ( It is comprised so that A) may be lifted for every pallet P and conveyed to the article carrying part 13.

The part 11b of the loop guide rail 11 can be opened and closed. When the part 11b is opened and removed from the loop guide rail 11, the forklift 14 is removed. It is comprised so that goods conveyance vehicles, such as these, may ride in the inside of the loop guide rail 11, and may enter.

As shown in FIG. 3, the guide rail 11 is bilaterally symmetrical, and on the left and right sides thereof, a V-shaped concave portion 15 of which the width is gradually narrowed toward the inside thereof is formed in the guide rail 11. The length is formed in the shape of a groove along the long direction, and is held so as to be substantially parallel to the bottom surface by the plurality of legs 16.

And in the place of carrying-in lifter 6, 7 for carrying in / out of goods as a part which carries goods, and the goods carrying-in / out part 12, 13 place, it is below the carrying surface B of the goods A. The feed rail 17 which supplies the electric power for driving to the goods conveyer 10 is attached to the leg 16 which is arrange | positioned in the state in which the said guide rail 11 fully enters, and hold | maintains the guide rail 11. The feed rail 17 is also disposed in the state completely entering the lower side of the carrying surface B of the carrying section of the article, such as the carrying lifter 6 for carrying goods. have.

Moreover, in the place of the part 11b of the guide rail 11 which can be opened and closed, the feed rail 17 side is also comprised so that connection and disconnection are possible with various connection ports.

The article transport vehicle 10 includes first guides 19A, 19B, second guides 19C, and 19D constituting the guide portion. The first guides 19A, 19B and the second guides 19C, 19D are provided at intervals in the front-rear direction of the transport vehicle 10. In detail, the first guides 19A and 19B are a pair of guide rollers 19C spaced in the front and rear directions on one side of the guide rail 11 and the front and rear directions on the other side of the guide rail 11. It is comprised by the pair of guide roller 19D spaced apart. These guide rollers 19A and 19B are both rotatably attached to the holding member 18 via an axis extending in the vertical direction. Similarly, the second guides 19C and 19D are spaced in the front-rear direction from a pair of guide rollers 19C having a distance in the front-rear direction on one side of the guide rail 11 and the other side of the guide rail 11. It is comprised by the pair of guide rollers 19D which have the inside.

On one side of the holding member 18 before and after this, a current collector 20 in contact with the power supply rail 17 is provided, and the article transport vehicle 10 through the power supply rail 17 and the current collector 20. While the driving power is supplied to the side, the holding member 18 as a whole includes the current collector 20, the first and second guide rollers 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D, and the like. It is comprised so that it can enter under the loading surface B of the part which carries goods, such as the lifting lifter 6 for carrying goods.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the article transport vehicle 10 includes one drive wheel 25 fixed to the vehicle body and driven by the motor M1, and four sets of driven wheels 26 and 27. Has In FIG. 3, the driven wheel 27 is not shown for convenience.

8, arrangement | positioning of the drive wheel 25 is demonstrated. In FIG. 8, S1 is a 1st guide provided with four guide rollers 19A, 19B, and S2 is a 2nd guide provided with four guide rollers 19C, 19D. As shown in FIG. 8, the driving wheel 25 is virtually continued in the transverse direction perpendicular to the front-back direction at substantially the center of the space | interval in the front-back direction of the said 1st guide S1 and the 2nd guide S2. It is located on the line KL. The distance L1 from the first guide S1 to the drive wheel 25 and the distance L2 from the second guide S2 to the drive wheel 25 are equal to each other. The rotation moment by the reaction force R which generate | occur | produces and the rotation moment by the reaction force R which generate | occur | produce in the 2nd guide S2 are balanced. As a result, it is possible to avoid pressing against the first guide S1 due to the reaction force R and to make it difficult to cause twist between the first guide S1 or the second guide S2 and the guide rail 11. At the same time, the vehicle body travels smoothly by effectively using the rotational force of the drive wheel 25 to propel the vehicle body.

In Fig. 8, F1 and F2 are perpendicular to the tangential component and the tangent of the component 1 / 2F of the first guide S1 and the second guide S2 of the driving force F by the driving wheel 25. Is the component of.

The position of the drive wheel 25 with respect to the transverse direction of the conveyance vehicle 10 is provided shifting toward the guide part from the center of the width | variety of the transverse direction of a vehicle body. Further, the curvature of the curved portion and the position of the driving wheel 25 are set such that the driving wheel is positioned between the pivot center Q and the guide rail 11.

As shown in FIG. 2, among the driven wheels 26 and 27, the pair of driven wheels 26, which are located on the opposite side of the vehicle body from the driven wheels 25 and arranged at a front-rear interval, are placed on the vehicle body. It is fixed so that the direction does not change with respect.

The driven wheel 27 can swing in the circumferential axis leading up and down, not shown, and can change the direction in which the wheel is directed.

(Other embodiment)

Hereinafter, in the present invention disclosed in the above embodiments, a changeable feature will be described below. In the above embodiment and the following embodiment, features can be combined with each other as long as no contradiction occurs, and the scope of the present invention. Belongs to.

In the above embodiment, the guide rails 11 are arranged in a loop shape. However, the guide rails 11 can be variously changed depending on the installation location or the like.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the article carrying-in part 12 and the article carrying-out part 13 are provided in the both sides of the lifting lifters 6 and 7 for carrying in and out, and a linear guide rail is provided between them. Only (11) is excreted, and it can also carry out by carrying out the reciprocation of the goods carrier 10 along the linear guide rail 11. As shown in FIG.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the linear guide rail 11 and the one curved part 11a are comprised, and the goods carrier 10 reciprocates the outer side of the curved part 11a. The article carrying part 12 and the article carrying out part 13 as a part which carries an article in the inside of the curved part 11a can also be implemented.

Similarly, it can also be comprised by combining the linear guide rail 11 and the one curved part 11a, and can arrange | position the inside of the curved part lla so that the goods transport vehicle 10 may reciprocate. In this case, all of the lifting lifters 6 and 7 for carrying in and out of the goods as the carrying part of the article and the article carrying in and out portions 12 and 13 are provided outside the curved portion lla.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the guide rail 11 may be made into a loop shape, and the outer side may be configured so that the goods transport vehicle 10 can run, In this case, the loop guide rail 11 is carried out. The article carrying-in / out part 12 and 13 as a part which carries an article inside is provided.

In the above embodiments, only one guide rail 11 is provided. However, two or more guide rails 11 may be provided.

In addition, in the parts 6, 7, 12, and 13 in which each article is carried, the entire guide rail 11 is shown to have completely entered below the carrying surface B. As long as it does not interfere with the forklift 14 or the like, a part of the guide rail 11 to be transported (B) of the parts (6), (7), (12) and (13) for carrying each article The feeding rails 17 may also be implemented, and the feeding rails 17 do not necessarily have to be completely inserted below the surface B on which the entire feeding rails 17 are carried.

Further, in the above embodiment, the pair of retaining members were fixed with respect to the vehicle body, but as shown in FIG. It can be comprised so that displacement is possible between the state which contacted and the state which is not in contact. When the work is performed, the guide roller is brought into contact with the guide rail 11 'and is fixed to the vehicle body by the bolt 31. In addition, when the transport vehicle 10 is separated from the guide, the bolt 31 is removed and the retaining member 18 is moved around the shaft 30 as shown by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 7 to guide the guide rail. Departure from (11 '). In order to help the guide rollers move away from the guide rail 11 ', the cross section of the guide rail 11' is rectangular as shown in FIG.

1 is a plan view of an automated warehouse using the goods transport vehicle and its guide equipment according to the present invention,

2 is a plan view showing an important part of the goods transport vehicle and its guide equipment according to the present invention,

3 is a front view of the part shown in FIG.

4 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the article transport vehicle and its guide equipment according to the present invention,

5 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the article transport vehicle and its guide equipment according to the present invention,

6 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the article transport vehicle and its guide equipment according to the present invention,

7 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the guide rail and the guide member,

8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the force applied to the guide roller based on the driving force from the driving wheel.

Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1: Storage shelf 2: Stacked crane

3: rail 4: carrying lifter

5: lifter for carrying out 6: transfer lifter for carrying in

7: carrying lifter for carrying out 8: carrying conveyor

9: Carrying Conveyor 10: Goods Carrier

10a: Fork 11,11 ': guide rail

11a: curved portion 11b: loop shape guide rail

12: article carrying section 13: article carrying section

14: forklift 15: recess

16: leg 17: feed rail

18: holding member 19A, 19B: first guide (guide roller)

19C, 19D: 2nd guide (guide roller)

20: current collector 25: driving wheel

26,27: driven wheel 30: shaft

31 bolt A: goods

B: Surface to be transported F1, F2: Component

L1, L2: Distance Q: Swivel Center

P: Pallet R: Reaction

S1: first guide S2: second guide

Claims (14)

A self-propelled carrier vehicle having a guide unit and traveling along a driving route; A guide rail installed along the driving path and in contact with the guide part to guide the transport vehicle; A unit for carrying the article installed along the traveling route and having a carrying surface B for carrying the article of the transport vehicle; The transport vehicle has a driving wheel which is not a steering wheel and a driven wheel which is not a steering wheel, and the guide part has a first guide and a second guide provided at intervals in the front-rear direction of the transport vehicle, The driving wheel is located on an imaginary line extending in a transverse direction perpendicular to the front and rear direction, at substantially the center of the interval in the front and rear directions of the first guide and the second guide, The said guide rail is located under the surface B for carrying in the area | region of the part which carries the said article, The goods carrier and its guidance facilities. The said guide rail is provided with the feed rail which supplies electric power to the said conveyance vehicle, The said feed rail is located below the mounting surface in the area | region of the part which carries a said goods. Cargo carriers and their guidance equipment. The said guide rail is equipped with the curved part, The said goods conveyance vehicle runs in the outer side of the curved part of the said guide rail, The part which carries the said goods in the inside of the said curved part is provided, The said guide rail is provided. Cargo carriers and their guidance equipment. The article carrying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide rail has a bent portion, and an article carrying vehicle runs on an inside of the bent portion of the guide rail, and an article carrying the article is provided on an outside of the bent portion. Cars and their guidance equipment. The article according to claim 1, wherein the guide rail is provided in a loop shape, and the article transport vehicle runs inside the loop guide rail, and a part of the loop guide rail can be removed. Carriers and their guidance equipment. The article transport vehicle and its guidance facility according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a conveyor for carrying in and out of the article. The article transport vehicle and its guidance equipment according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion protrudes horizontally outward from the vehicle body. 8. The article transport vehicle and its guidance facility according to claim 7, wherein the driving wheel is provided to be shifted in the direction of the guide part from the center of the transverse width of the transport vehicle. The article transport vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the transport vehicle includes one drive wheel and at least two driven wheels. The guide rail of claim 1, wherein the guide rail has a curved portion, and when the transport vehicle is located inside the curved portion, the curvature of the curved portion and the position of the driving wheel are positioned so that the driving wheel is positioned between the pivot center and the guide rail. Goods carrier and its guidance equipment characterized in that the set. According to claim 1, wherein the first guide and the second guide, the article carrier and its installation, characterized in that each having a guide roller provided on both sides of the guide rail. A pair of guide rollers provided on one side of the guide rail at intervals in the front and rear directions of each of the first and second guides, and at the other side of the guide rail at intervals in the front and rear directions. A goods transport vehicle and its guidance facility comprising a pair of guide rollers installed. 13. The article transport vehicle and its guidance equipment according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the transport vehicle includes a roller support that rotatably supports each of the guide rollers through an axial center extending in the vertical direction. The said guide part is in any one of 1st, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 between 2nd positions which do not contact with the 1st position which abuts with the said guide rail. An article carrier and a guide system thereof, characterized by being displaceable.

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