JP7312559B2 - Automatic transport system - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic transport system, and for example, to a system capable of automatically transporting materials and equipment using elevators (construction elevators and construction lifts) at construction sites.

Various materials and equipment are brought to the construction site. The materials and equipment that have been brought in must be transported to the intended transportation position, and the current situation is that workers place the materials and equipment on a trolley or the like or lift them using a crane to transport them to the intended transportation position. In addition, construction structures in recent years generally span multiple floors, and materials and equipment brought in by means of a transport vehicle or the like must be unloaded to the target floor.

However, at construction sites of construction structures, construction elevators (hereinafter also referred to as construction lifts) are sometimes used for unloading work. Since this construction elevator is temporary, there are restrictions, and if an elevator pit is not constructed, there will be a step (stage) of about 1 to 1.5 m from the ground level (ground level) on the first floor.

In other words, it is not possible to overcome the step with an automatic transport device at once, and if an attempt is made to eliminate the step with a slope, etc., a long slope must be provided, and at present, a large space is required for carrying in directly from the truck bed or using a forklift. It is possible to install a slope at a construction site where the site has enough space, but especially at a construction site where the site has no space, such as in an urban area, it is practically impossible to install a slope.

In addition, construction elevators have an outer door provided on each floor and an inner door provided on the elevator body (basket), but at present, these doors are often opened and closed manually by workers. Further, if the materials and equipment are not loaded in the elevator in an orderly manner, it may not be possible to unload the materials and equipment from the construction elevator on the target floor by the automatic transport device. Various techniques for efficiently transporting materials and equipment that have been brought in have been proposed to deal with such inconveniences (see, for example, Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2).

The technique described in Patent Literature 1 arranges a marker that can be moved at a turning point, a loading point, an unloading point, etc. on the route of the work floor. An imaging device on the self-propelled truck picks up an image of the marker and recognizes an operation instruction by image processing, thereby autonomously setting a route and controlling the self-propelled truck.

This automatic transport device includes an elevator that vertically transports a pallet loaded with objects to be transported from a ground floor to a transport work floor, and a marker indicating a loading operation is provided in the elevator. It also has an elevator that vertically transports the pallet loaded with the object to be transported from the ground floor to the transport work floor, and a transfer device that transfers the pallet loaded with the object to be transported from the elevator to the vicinity of the marker indicating the unloading operation.

The technology described in Patent Literature 2 relates to a system for integrally managing a plurality of transport robots for transporting materials and construction robots for constructing materials. This comprehensive management system for transport robots and construction robots comprises transport robot management means for controlling and managing the transport operations of a plurality of transport robots via a public network, and construction robot management means for controlling and managing the construction operations of the construction robots via the public network.

JP-A-2000-53395 JP 2017-228101 A

However, the conventional techniques, including the techniques described in the above patent documents, still have unresolved problems. That is, in order to automate pick-up and put-down operations at a construction site, it is necessary to grasp the surrounding environment, estimate the self-position of the automatic transport device, and accurately grasp the pick-up and put-down positions. Furthermore, when transporting materials and equipment using an elevator, it is necessary to control the elevator.

As a technology for grasping the surrounding environment, there is a method of detecting surrounding obstacles using a laser sensor and creating map information (for example, SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping)). In the case of methods using GPS, magnetic tape, and embedded markers, there is no need to create an environment map, but with SLAM technology, it is necessary to create map information before estimating the self-position, and the environment changes daily. There was a problem that it was not possible to respond flexibly to

Methods of estimating the self-position include a method of estimating by communicating with some kind of sensor such as GPS or a marker, and a method of estimating by comparing the initial position with map information. GPS cannot be used indoors or in tunnels where signals from satellites cannot be received.

In addition, since it is necessary to determine the running route of the magnetic tape in advance and install the magnetic tape over the entire running route, not only is the installation work complicated, but it is not possible to flexibly cope with changing the running route at the construction site where the situation changes from day to day and obstacles placed on the magnetic tape. Furthermore, it cannot be used in places such as elevators that require edge cutting.

In addition, embedded markers are not suitable for construction sites because they require work on the running path. The accuracy of SLAM technology is greatly reduced in environments where features are likely to change significantly in a short period of time, such as large spaces with few walls or obstacles, environments with few feature points such as monotonous corridors, and inside buildings under construction (construction of walls and doors, change of section with road cones, daily delivery of construction materials). Also, the equipment used for SLAM technology is expensive.

In the technique described in Patent Document 1, materials and equipment vertically transported to the work floor by the construction elevator are unloaded by workers onto the loading platform of the self-propelled trolley in front of the construction elevator. That is, the technique described in Patent Document 1 requires manual work by workers when unloading materials and equipment from the elevator, and in this respect, it is difficult to say that the materials and equipment can be transported efficiently.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic transport system capable of easily and accurately transporting objects (materials and equipment) when transporting objects (materials and equipment) using construction elevators and construction lifts.

The automatic transport system according to the present invention has the following features in order to achieve the above objects. That is, the automatic transport system according to the present invention is characterized by comprising: transport object information storage means for storing identification information for identifying the transport object and transport destination information indicating the transport destination; transport control information storage means installed at least at the holding start position of the transport object and the transport destination and storing transport control information for controlling transport of the transport object; automatic transport means (AGV) for automatically transporting the transport object; and

The automatic transport means includes identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information and transport destination information stored in the transport object information storage means, and transport control information acquisition means for acquiring transport control information stored in the transport control information storage means .

The elevating means includes accommodation means (elevator body (e.g., cage)) that accommodates the object to be conveyed or the automatic conveying means holding the object to be conveyed, elevation drive means that drives the accommodation means to ascend and descend, and elevation drive control means that controls the elevation drive means to raise and lower the accommodation means to the loading floor and the destination floor of the object to be transported.

The elevating means in the present invention is a device capable of elevating an object to be transported or a storage means containing an automatic transport means holding the object to be transported, such as an elevator for construction work or a lift for construction work. When the lifting means is a construction elevator, the lifting drive means is constituted by a driving device such as a rack and pinion and a motor for moving the housing means up and down along the guide rails. When the lifting means is a construction lift, the lifting means is constituted by wires and a winding device.

Further, the lifting means includes destination floor indicating means for designating the destination floor based on the identification information and destination information of the object to be transferred, and door opening/closing means for opening and closing the door corresponding to the entrance of the lifting means when the lifting means reaches the loading floor and the destination floor. The destination floor instruction means recognizes the destination floor of the object to be transported based on the identification information and the destination information of the object to be transported, and outputs a destination floor instruction signal for ascending and descending the accommodation means to the destination floor, or receives the instruction signal for the destination floor input from the input means by the operation of the operator and outputs the destination instruction signal for ascending and descending the accommodation means to the destination floor.

Further, the door opening/closing means is provided with a changeover switch for switching whether to perform the door opening/closing operation based on which opening/closing instruction signal of the door opening/closing instruction signal input from the input means by the operation of the operator or the door opening/closing instruction signal transmitted from the destination floor instruction means. The change-over switch invalidates the opening/closing instruction signal input from the input means by the operation of the operator during the automatic operation of the lifting means, and validates the opening/closing instruction signal input from the input means by the operation of the operator only when the lifting means is to be brought to an emergency stop.

In the automatic transport system configured as described above, the elevating means comprises a construction elevator or a construction lift attached to the outer wall or inside of the construction structure. In the case of a construction elevator or construction lift whose loading floor is positioned higher than the ground surface (ground level) of the construction structure, it is possible to provide an auxiliary lifting means (lift) between the ground surface (ground level) and the loading floor for placing and lifting the object to be conveyed or the automatic conveying means holding the object to be conveyed. By providing a pit on the ground surface, the loading floor becomes the ground surface when a construction elevator or a construction lift lands on the ground surface.

In the automatic transport system configured as described above, the auxiliary lifting means can be configured to include auxiliary housing means (frame) for housing the object to be transported or the automatic transport means holding the object to be transported, auxiliary lifting drive means (hydraulic cylinder, hydraulic pump, link mechanism, etc.) for driving the auxiliary lifting means to move up and down, and auxiliary lifting drive control means for controlling the auxiliary lifting drive means to lift and lower the auxiliary holding means.

According to the automatic transport system according to the present invention, the identification information of the object to be transported and the destination information of the transport object are stored, and based on the identification information and the destination information of the object to be transported held by the automatic transport means, the object to be transported is transported to the target floor by stopping the construction elevator or the lift for construction at the transport target floor and opening and closing the door.

Therefore, when transporting objects (materials/equipment) using a construction elevator or a construction lift, the transporting objects (materials/equipment) can be transported easily, accurately, and safely.

In addition, even if a construction elevator or construction lift with a step between the ground surface (ground level) and the loading floor is installed, an auxiliary lifting means (lift) is provided to eliminate the step, so the object (materials and equipment) can be easily transported. Furthermore, even at a construction site where the site area is limited, the objects to be transported (materials and equipment) can be transported efficiently.

1 is a functional block diagram of an automatic transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of transporting an object to be transported (transportation in the vertical direction) by the automatic transport system according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of transporting an object to be transported (horizontal transport) by the automatic transport system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

An automatic transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 explain an automatic transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a transport method (vertical transport) of a transport object, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a transport method (horizontal transport) of a transport object.

<Summary of automatic transport system>
The automatic transport system according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, has a transport object information storage means 10, a transport control information storage means 20, an automatic transport means 30, and an elevating means 50 (construction elevator or construction lift) as basic constituent elements. The object-to-be-conveyed information storage means 10 is means for storing identification information and destination information of the object-to-be-conveyed 40 (for example, materials and equipment). By attaching it to the object-to-be-conveyed 40 or placing it at the pickup position of the object-to-be-conveyed 40, it is possible to acquire identification information and destination information for identifying individual information (type, etc.) of the object-to-be-conveyed 40 at the time of pickup.

The identification information of the objects to be transported 40 may at least be information for identifying the type of materials and equipment, but preferably includes information that can uniquely identify each object to be transported 40. This makes it possible to comprehensively manage the information from the carrying in of each object to be transported 40 to the storage and installation thereof.

The automatic transport means 30 is means for automatically transporting the object to be transported 40, and is composed of, for example, an automatic guided vehicle (AGV). Although the detailed configuration will be described later, the automatic transport means 30 includes means for acquiring information from various information storage means and means for allowing the automatic transport means 30 to travel autonomously.

Each means constituting the automatic transport system according to the embodiment of the present invention is composed of devices that perform their respective functions, computers, and programs installed therein. Computers and programs installed therein are a broad concept including devices having arithmetic functions such as personal computers, microcomputers, and PLCs, and programs installed therein.

Also, although not shown, each means is provided with communication means (including communication control means) so that mutual data communication is possible. Data communication is basically performed by wireless communication, but wired communication may be used, or wired communication and wireless communication may be combined. Also, any communication method may be used. Generally, data communication within the same device is performed by wired communication using a communication cable, and data communication between distant devices is performed by wireless communication such as Wi-Fi.

<Automatic Conveying Means>
The automatic conveying means 30 is a means for running the object 40 to be conveyed from the pick-up place to the goods storage place. The automatic transport means 30 includes identification information acquisition means 31, transport control information acquisition means 32, holding means 33 for holding the object to be transported 40, moving means 36, driving means 35 for driving the moving means 36, and autonomous travel control means 34.

<Conveyed Object Information Storage Means/Identification Information Acquisition Means>
The object-to-be-conveyed information storage means 10 stores the identification information and destination information of the object-to-be-conveyed 40 , and is attached to the object-to-be-conveyed 40 or installed at the position where the object-to-be-conveyed 40 is picked up. The identification information acquisition means 31 is a means for acquiring the identification information and the destination information of the object to be conveyed 40 stored in the object information storage means 10, and can take various forms according to the mode of the object information storage means 10.

<Conveyance Control Information Storage Means/Conveyance Control Information Acquisition Means>
The transport control information storage means 20 is a means for storing transport control information for controlling the transport of the object to be transported, and is installed at the holding start position (pickup place) and the transport destination (load place) of the object to be transported. Also, the transport control information storage means 20 may be installed at an appropriate position on the transport route. The transport control information acquisition unit 32 is a unit for acquiring the transport control information stored in the transport control information storage unit 20, and can take various forms according to the mode of the transport control information storage unit 20.

<Driving Means>
The driving means 35 is composed of a motor or the like for driving the moving means 36 . For example, when the moving means 36 is wheels, the driving means 35 consists of a motor for driving the wheels. In this case, in addition to the wheels functioning as the moving means 36, wheels to which driving force is not transmitted may be provided. Further, although the number of the moving means 36 is not limited, all the wheels may be used as the moving means 36, or some of the wheels may be used as the moving means 36.

<Holding Means>
The holding means 33 is a means for holding the object to be conveyed 40 , and can be of various forms according to the form of the automatic conveying means 30 . For example, the holding means 33 may be a device for placing the object to be conveyed 40 , a device for suspending the object to be conveyed 40 , or a device for pulling the object to be conveyed 40 . Alternatively, the transport object 40 may be placed on a pallet or housed in a wheeled basket to hold the pallet or basket for transportation.

<Autonomous driving control means>
The autonomous travel control means 34 is means for causing the automatic transport means 30 to travel autonomously in accordance with the acquired identification information of the object 40 to be transported and the transport destination information.

<Lifting Means>
The lifting means 50 is a means for transporting the object to be transported 40 or the automatic transport means 30 holding the object to be transported 40 to the target floor, and is configured by a construction elevator or a construction lift (hereinafter collectively referred to as an elevator). In particular, the present embodiment can be suitably applied to temporary construction elevators and construction lifts. Construction elevators and construction lifts are attached to the outer wall or inside of a construction structure, and there are cases where a position higher than the ground surface (ground level) of the construction structure is set as the loading floor. In this case, the auxiliary elevating means 60 is required.

<Accommodation means>
The housing means 51 is a means for housing the automatic transport means 30 and is an elevator main body. Although not shown, a general construction elevator is driven up and down by a driving device such as a rack and pinion and a motor that moves the housing means 51 up and down along guide rails. In addition, a general construction lift is suspended by a wire, and the winding device winds up or unwinds the wire to drive it up and down.

<Up-and-down driving means>
The elevation drive means 52 is means for driving the accommodation means 51 up and down, and is composed of, for example, a rack and pinion and a motor for raising and lowering the accommodation means 51, and a wire and an electric winding device for suspending the accommodation means 51. That is, the housing means 51 can be raised and lowered by driving the rack and pinion with a motor or by driving the winding device to wind up or let out the wire. Although not shown, a brake is provided between the lifting drive means 52 or the housing means 51 and the column to stop the lifting and lowering of the housing means 51 .

<Up-and-down drive control means>
The lift drive control means 53 is a means for controlling the lift drive means 52 to move the storage means 51 to the loading floor and the transport target floor of the object to be transported 40, and is composed of, for example, a microcomputer. The elevation drive control means 53 controls the drive of the elevation drive means 52 so that the accommodation means 51 reaches the destination floor in accordance with the destination floor instruction signal for instructing the destination floor.

<Destination floor indication means>
The destination floor designating means 54 is means for designating a transport destination floor based on the identification information of the transport object 40 held by the automatic transport means 30, and is composed of, for example, a microcomputer. That is, the identification information and the destination information of the object to be conveyed 40 are obtained by the identification information obtaining means 31, and the identification information includes information on the destination floor of the object to be conveyed 40, respectively.

Therefore, the destination floor indication means 54 recognizes the destination floor of the object to be transported 40 based on the identification information and the destination information of the object to be transported 40, and outputs a destination floor indication signal for raising and lowering the accommodation means 51 to the destination floor. In this embodiment, the destination floor instruction means 54 is composed of a computer system that controls the automatic transport means 30, and the destination floor instruction signal is transmitted from the computer system.

The destination floor instruction means 54 may receive a destination floor instruction signal input by a worker or the like using an operation button or an input means such as a tablet terminal, and transmit a destination floor instruction signal for raising and lowering the storage means 51 to the transportation destination floor. In other words, when information about the destination floor of the transport object 40 cannot be obtained due to some inconvenience, or when the destination floor is to be changed in a hurry, a worker or the like can flexibly and appropriately respond to the situation.

<Door opening/closing means>
The door opening/closing means 55 is means for opening/closing the door corresponding to the entrance/exit of the lifting/lowering means 50 when the lifting/lowering means 50 arrives at the loading floor and the transport destination floor, and is composed of, for example, a microcomputer and a door opening/closing device controlled by this. A typical elevator has an outer door installed on each floor and an inner door installed on the elevator body. The door opening/closing means 55 controls the opening/closing of the outer door of the elevator, and the opening/closing of the inner door of the elevator is controlled by the opening/closing control signal of the computer system that controls the elevator.

The door opening/closing means 55 can open/close the door based on at least one of the door opening/closing instruction signal input by the operator and the door opening/closing instruction signal transmitted from the destination floor instruction means 54 . In this way, the door opening/closing means 55 not only opens/closes the door based on the instruction signal for the destination floor, but may also open/close the door upon receiving an opening/closing instruction signal input by a worker or the like using an operation button or an input means such as a tablet terminal.

In this manner, the door opening/closing means 55 performs the door opening/closing operation based on the opening/closing instruction signal input by the operator or the opening/closing instruction signal transmitted from the automatic transport means 30, and which opening/closing instruction signal the door opening/closing operation is performed based on is switched by the changeover switch. It is preferable that the opening/closing instruction signal input by the operator is ignored during automatic operation of the elevator, and the opening/closing instruction signal input by the operator is valid only in the case of an emergency stop.

<Auxiliary lifting means>
The auxiliary lifting means 60 is a means used for a construction elevator or a construction lift whose loading floor is located higher than the ground surface (ground level) of the construction structure, and is installed between the ground surface (ground level) or the first floor slab surface and the loading floor. The auxiliary lifting means 60 moves the automatic conveying means 30 (including the case where the object 40 to be conveyed) is held between the loading floor and the ground surface (ground level) or the first floor slab surface. Auxiliary storage means 61, auxiliary elevation drive means 62, auxiliary elevation drive control means 63, and auxiliary door opening/closing means 64, which will be described later, are also means used in construction elevators and construction lifts in which the loading floor is positioned higher than the ground level of the construction structure.

<Auxiliary Containment Means>
The auxiliary accommodation means 61 is means for accommodating the automatic conveying means 30 . Unlike the housing means 51 used in the lifting means 50 consisting of an elevator for construction and a lift for construction, the auxiliary housing means 61 lifts and lowers the height of about one floor, so that the structure can be simpler than that of the lifting means 50. - 特許庁For example, it may be a lift-like device used to load the bed of a truck.

<Auxiliary lift drive means>
The auxiliary elevation driving means 62 is means for driving the auxiliary housing means 61 up and down, and can be an appropriate device according to the configuration of the auxiliary housing means 61 . For example, when a device such as a lift used in a truck is used, the auxiliary elevation drive means 62 can be configured with devices such as hydraulic cylinders, hydraulic pumps, and link mechanisms.

<Auxiliary lifting drive control means>
The auxiliary elevation driving control means 63 is a means for controlling the auxiliary elevation driving means 62 to raise and lower the auxiliary housing means 61, and is composed of, for example, a microcomputer. The auxiliary elevation drive control means 63 controls elevation of the automatic transport means 30 between the ground surface (ground level) of the construction structure and the loading floor of the construction elevator or construction lift.

<Auxiliary Door Opening/Closing Means>
Further, an auxiliary door may be provided in the auxiliary storage means 61 in order to prevent the automatic transfer means 30 from falling off. When the auxiliary door is provided, an auxiliary door opening/closing means 64 for opening and closing the auxiliary door corresponding to the entrance/exit of the auxiliary lifting means 60 when the auxiliary lifting means 60 reaches the ground level (ground level) and the loading floor can be provided. The auxiliary door opening/closing means 64 can be configured to perform the opening/closing operation of the auxiliary door based on at least one of the auxiliary door opening/closing instruction signal input by the operator and the auxiliary door opening/closing instruction signal transmitted from the destination floor instruction means 54.

The auxiliary door opening/closing means 64 also performs the opening/closing operation of the auxiliary door based on the auxiliary door opening/closing instruction signal input by the operator or the auxiliary door opening/closing instruction signal transmitted from the destination floor instruction means 54. On which opening/closing instruction signal the auxiliary door opening/closing operation is performed is switched by a changeover switch.

<Lateral transport of the object to be transported on the destination floor>
A means for conveying the automatic conveying means 30 (object to be conveyed 40) that has arrived at the destination floor to the loading area will be described below. In this embodiment, the automatic transport means 30 picks up the goods at the pick-up area and stores the goods at the goods storage area based on the identification information and destination information of the objects to be conveyed 40 stored in the object-to-be-conveyed storage means 10 and the conveyance control information stored in the conveyance control information storage means 20.

In the automatic transport system according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the object-to-be-conveyed object information storage means 10 storing identification information and destination information for identifying the object-to-be-conveyed 40 is installed in advance at the object-to-be-conveyed object 40 itself or at the pick-up point of the object-to-be-conveyed object 40. Further, a transfer control information storage means 20 storing information indicating that it is a pickup place for each object to be conveyed 40 is installed in the pickup place for each object 40 to be transferred, and a transfer control information storage means 20 storing information indicating that it is a place for storing the object 40 is installed in each storage place for each object to be transferred 40. - 特許庁Further, a transport control information storage unit 20 storing information relating to passage of each transport object 40 may be installed at an appropriate position on the transport route of each transport object 40 .

<Automatic transfer method>
Next, a method of transporting the transport object 40 using the automatic transport system described above will be described. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a series of steps in which the automatic transport means 30 uses an automatic transport system to pick up work at the carry-in position (ground level or the first floor of a construction elevator or lift for construction work) and unload work at the destination (load storage area), and FIG. Also, the automatic transport system will be described as having the above functional means, but other functional means may be added in actual operation.

Hereinafter, transportation of materials and equipment (conveyance object 40) at a construction site where a lifting means 50 (hereinafter, a construction elevator will be described as a representative example) having a loading floor positioned higher than the ground surface (ground level) of the construction structure will be described. It should be noted that if the site area is not sufficient, it is necessary to install the auxiliary lifting means 60, and the following description assumes a construction site where the auxiliary lifting means 60 is installed.

Various equipment and materials are brought into the loading area. Each material and equipment is placed on a trolley or stored in a basket so that it can be held by the automatic transport means 30 . In addition, at an appropriate location in each material/equipment itself or at a pick-up area, an object-to-be-conveyed object information storage means 10 for recognizing the identification information of the object-to-be-conveyed 40 is installed. Specifically, materials A1, A2, and A3 are brought into the pick-up area, and transport object information storage means 10 indicating identification information A1, A2, and A3 is installed for each of the materials and equipment.

In the following description, the target floor for transportation of identification information A1, A2, and A3 is all assumed to be the third floor, but the target floor for transporting materials and equipment can be set as appropriate. For example, the identification information A4 sets the 4th floor, the identification information A5 sets the 5th floor, and so on. In addition, the case where the automatic transport means 30 holding the object to be transported 40 is loaded on the auxiliary lifting means 60 and the lifting means 50 will be described, but only the object to be transported 40 may be loaded on the auxiliary lifting means 60 and the lifting means 50, and after the object to be transported 40 arrives at the destination floor, the automatic transport means 30 may carry out the pick-up work.

When the automatic transport means 30 recognizes that it is a pick-up area by the function of the transport control information acquisition means 32 , the function of the identification information acquisition means 31 acquires the identification information and the transport destination information of the object to be transported 40 . That is, it is possible to recognize which of A1, A2, and A3 the material/equipment to be picked up is, and to recognize where the transport destination floor and cargo storage area of the material/equipment A1, A2, and A3 are.

In this embodiment, since there is a step of about 1 to 1.5 m between the ground level of the construction structure and the loading floor of the construction elevator, materials and equipment brought to the construction site are first lifted to the loading floor of the construction elevator using the auxiliary lifting means 60. At this time, the automatic transport means 30 that has arrived at the loading position of the auxiliary lift means 60 acquires the identification information and transport destination information of the materials and equipment by the identification information acquisition means 31 .

When materials and equipment are held by the automatic transport means 30, the identification information and transport destination information (identification information and transport destination information of the transport object 40) stored in the transport object information storage means 10 are read to recognize the transport destination floor. Then, the automatic conveying means 30 holding the materials and equipment is loaded on the auxiliary storage means 61, and the loaded automatic conveying means 30 (materials and equipment) is lifted to the loading floor of the lifting means 50 (elevator for construction) by the function of the auxiliary lifting drive means 62.

When the auxiliary elevating means 60 reaches the loading floor of the elevating means 50 (elevator for construction work), the automatic conveying means 30 is lowered from the auxiliary storage means 61 and directed to the elevating means 50 (elevator for construction work). When the auxiliary housing means 61 is provided with an auxiliary door, the auxiliary door is opened and closed.

When the automatic transport means 30 reaches the position of the lifting means 50 (elevator for construction work), the door of the lifting means 50 (elevator for construction work) is opened. At this time, the opening/closing door is opened by the function of the door opening/closing means 55, and when the predetermined number of the automatic conveying means 30 are accommodated in the accommodation means 51, the opening/closing door is closed by the function of the door opening/closing means 55. FIG. As described above, at the carrying-in position of the object to be conveyed 40 and the loading floor of the object to be conveyed 40, there are cases where the automatic conveying means 30 holding the object to be conveyed 40 is accommodated in the accommodating means 51, and there are cases where only the object to be conveyed 40 is accommodated in the accommodating means 51.

When the object to be conveyed 40 or the automatic conveying means 30 holding the object to be conveyed 40 is accommodated in the accommodation means 51, the function of the destination floor instruction means 54 outputs an instruction signal to raise the accommodation means 51 to the destination floor, and the elevation drive control means 53 controls the elevation drive means 52 to move the accommodation means 51 to the destination floor of the object 40 to be conveyed. In this embodiment, since the automatic transport means 30 holds materials and equipment with the identification information A1, A2, and A3, the storage means 51 goes up to the third floor. When the storage means 51 reaches the third floor, the opening/closing door (outer door) is opened by the function of the door opening/closing means 55 , and the automatic transfer means 30 is lowered from the storage means 51 . The inner door is opened and closed under the control of a computer system that controls the lifting means 50 .

Hereinafter, the transport control information storage means 20 will be described as indicators X0 to X3 and Y1 to Y3. It should be noted that the installation of the identification marks X0 to X3 is essential, and the installation of the identification marks Y1 to Y3 is optional. A sign X1 to that effect is installed in the cargo storage space (1) for the materials and equipment A1, a sign X2 to that effect is installed in the cargo storage space (2) for the materials and equipment A2, and a sign X3 to that effect is installed in the cargo storage space (3) for the material and equipment A3.

In addition, signs Y1, Y2, and Y3 indicating the order of passage points of the materials and equipment are installed on the transportation route of the materials and equipment. The label Y1 is the transport control information storage means 20 indicating information for passing the materials and equipment A1, A2 and A3, the label Y2 is the transfer control information storage means 20 indicating information for passing the materials and equipment A1 and A2, and the label Y3 is the transportation control information storage means 20 indicating information for passing the materials and equipment A1.

When the automatic transport means B1 holding the material A1 travels within the work area and recognizes the signs Y1, Y2, and Y3, it passes through the installation positions of the signs Y1, Y2, and Y3. Further, when the automatic transport means B1 holding the materials and equipment A1 travels in the working area and recognizes the signs X2 and X3, since the information about the materials and equipment A1 is not included, the travel is continued until other signs can be recognized. Then, when the automatic transport means B1 holding the materials and equipment A1 travels within the work area and recognizes the sign X1, it is the cargo storage area for the materials and equipment A1.

When the automatic transport means B2 holding the material A2 travels within the work area and recognizes the signs Y1 and Y2, it passes through the installation positions of the signs Y1 and Y2. Further, when the automatic transport means B2 holding the materials and equipment A2 travels in the work area and recognizes the signs X1, X3 and Y3, since the information regarding the materials and equipment A2 is not included, the travel is continued until other signs can be recognized. Then, when the automatic conveying means B2 holding the materials and equipment A2 travels within the work area and recognizes the sign X2, since this is the cargo storage area for the materials and equipment A2, the cargo is placed at an appropriate position within the cargo storage area.

When the automatic transport means B3 holding the material A3 travels within the work area and recognizes the marker Y1, it passes the installation position of the marker Y1. Further, when the automatic transport means B3 holding the materials and equipment A3 travels in the working area and recognizes the signs X1, X2, Y2 and Y3, since the information about the materials and equipment A3 is not included, the travel is continued until other signs can be recognized. Then, when the automatic conveying means B3 holding the materials and equipment A3 travels within the work area and recognizes the sign X3, since this is the cargo storage area for the materials and equipment A3, the cargo is placed at an appropriate position within the cargo storage area.

After completing the loading work, the automatic transport means 30 travels within the work area and returns to the loading area where the sign X0 is installed, and repeats the automatic transport work described above. It should be noted that the autonomous travel of the automatic transport means 30 is controlled by the method described above also on the return trip. Also, on the return trip, cargo pick-up and cargo storage operations may be performed via other cargo pick-up and cargo storage locations.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Conveyed object information storage means 20 Conveyance control information storage means 30 Automatic conveyance means 31 Identification information acquisition means 32 Conveyance control information acquisition means 33 Holding means 34 Autonomous traveling control means 35 Driving means 36 Moving means 40 Object to be conveyed 50 Lifting means 51 Storage means 52 Lifting drive means 53 Lifting drive control means 54 Destination floor instruction means 55 Door opening/closing means 60 Auxiliary Lifting Means 61 Auxiliary Storage Means 62 Auxiliary Lifting Drive Means 63 Auxiliary Lifting Drive Control Means 64 Auxiliary Door Opening/Closing Means

Claims (3)

Conveying object information storage means for storing identification information for identifying the conveying object and conveying destination information indicating the conveying destination;
a transport control information storage means installed at least at the holding start position and the transport destination of the object to be transported and storing transport control information for controlling the transport of the object to be transported;
an automatic conveying means for automatically conveying an object to be conveyed;
Elevator means for transporting an object to be transported or an automatic transport means holding the object to be transported to a target floor;
with
The automatic conveying means is
identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information and transportation destination information stored in the transportation object information storage means;
a transport control information acquiring means for acquiring the transport control information stored in the transport control information storage means;
with
The elevating means is
an accommodation means for accommodating the object to be conveyed or the automatic conveying means holding the object to be conveyed;
a lifting drive means for lifting and lowering the storage means;
Elevation drive control means for controlling the elevation drive means to raise and lower the storage means to the loading floor and the destination floor of the object to be transported;
Destination floor designating means for designating a transport destination floor based on the transport object identification information and transport destination information;
a door opening/closing means for opening and closing a door corresponding to the entrance/exit of the lifting means when the lifting means reaches the loading floor and the transport destination floor;
with
The destination floor instruction means recognizes the destination floor of the object to be transported based on the identification information and the destination information of the object to be transported, and outputs a destination floor instruction signal for ascending and descending the accommodation means to the destination floor, or receives the instruction signal for the destination floor input from the input means by the operator's operation, and outputs a destination instruction signal for ascending and descending the accommodation means to the destination floor .
The door opening/closing means is
a changeover switch for switching between a door opening/closing instruction signal input from the input means by an operator's operation and a door opening/closing instruction signal transmitted from the destination floor instruction means,
The changeover switch disables the opening/closing instruction signal input from the input means by the operation of the operator during automatic operation of the lifting means, and validates the opening/closing instruction signal input from the input means by the operation of the operator only when the lifting means is to be brought to an emergency stop.
An automatic transport system characterized by: The elevating means is a construction elevator or a construction lift attached to the outer wall or inside of the construction structure and having a loading floor at a position higher than the ground surface of the construction structure,
2. The automatic transport system according to claim 1 , further comprising an auxiliary elevating means for placing and lifting the object to be transported or the automatic transport means holding the object to be transported between the ground surface and the loading floor. The auxiliary lifting means is
Auxiliary accommodation means for accommodating the object to be conveyed or the automatic conveying means holding the object to be conveyed;
Auxiliary elevation driving means for driving the auxiliary housing means to ascend and descend;
Auxiliary elevation drive control means for controlling the auxiliary elevation drive means to raise and lower the auxiliary storage means;
3. The automatic transport system according to claim 2 , comprising:

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