JP2000264216A - Automatic guided vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic guided vehicle of simple structure requiring a short time for transferring. SOLUTION: An automatic guided vehicle 13 is furnished with a transfer device 14 to transfer any object 7 to/from an object placing table 2, wherein the transfer device 14 is made possible to emerge and retract in the object transporting direction, and when abutted to the outer surface 20 extending in the object transporting direction, the object 7 is moved in the transport direction with rotation made by a rotational driving mechanism 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic guided vehicle for transferring an object to and from a fixed object table.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an automatic guided vehicle that automatically transports and transports an object, the automatic guided vehicle is provided on the automatic guided vehicle side in order to transfer the object to and from a fixed object table. Transfer equipment is used. As this type of transfer equipment,
2. Description of the Related Art There is known an apparatus in which an object to be conveyed is extruded from an automatic guided vehicle so as to be able to slide in and out of the automatic object carrier and retracted.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show an example of an automatic guided vehicle equipped with a transfer device according to the prior art. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes an automatic guided vehicle, and reference numeral 2 denotes a transport table.
A plurality of free rollers 4... 4 are arranged in a row on the upper part of the conveyer table 2 so as to be rotatable in the same direction at regular intervals with a concave portion 3 formed at the center and opened in one direction.

A recess 5 is formed in the unmanned guided vehicle 1 so as to face the recess 3 of the load table 2.
At the upper part of the automatic guided vehicle 1, a plurality of free rollers 6... 6 are arranged in a row at predetermined intervals with the recess 5 interposed therebetween so as to be rotatable in the same direction as the free rollers 4. In the recess 5, a transfer device 8 for transferring the transferred object 7 to and from the transfer table 2 is provided.

[0005] As shown in FIG.
The slide unit 9 is configured to mainly slide along a slide portion 9 that slides up and down and can move up and down toward the article table 2, and an engagement portion 10 connected to the tip of the slide portion 9. At both ends of the engaging portion 10 in the one direction, the claws 1
1, 12 are protruded.

In the above configuration, when the transferred object 7 placed on the transfer table 2 is transferred to the automatic guided vehicle 1, first, the claws 11 of the engaging portions 10 interfere with the transferred object 7. After the sliding portion 9 is lowered so as not to be moved, the sliding portion 9 is made to protrude so that the engaging portion 10 enters into the concave portion 3 of the conveyance table 2.

When the claw 11 passes through the object 7, the slide unit 9 is raised, and when the claw 11 reaches a position where the claw 11 engages with the object 7, the slide unit 9 is moved to the object table 2.
Move in the direction to separate from. Thereby, the nail 11
Is transferred to the automatic guided vehicle 1 from the conveyer table 2 while sliding on the free rollers 4 and 6.

[0008]

However, the conventional automatic guided vehicle as described above has the following problems. Since the claw 11 is engaged with the transferred object 7, the engaging portion 10 has to be moved to the deepest side of the concave portion 3, and the time required for transfer has increased. Also, the nail 11
It is necessary to move the slide part 9 up and down when engaging and disengaging the object 7 with the transported object 7, so that the time required for transfer is further increased, and in addition, the apparatus for up and down movement is used. Is required, and the structure becomes complicated.

Further, as described above, the engaging portion 10 is
In addition to the fact that the slide portion 9 has a slide structure extending in three steps, for example, and the structure becomes complicated, the concave portion 3 is required to secure a space for the slide portion 9 to enter. Must be increased, which is one of the causes of an increase in the size of the apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a small-sized automatic guided vehicle with a short transfer time and a simple structure.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following constitution. 2. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: a transfer device configured to transfer the transferred object to and from a transfer table, wherein the transfer device is arranged along a transfer direction of the transferred object. And a rotary drive mechanism that moves the object in the conveyance direction by rotational driving when the object comes into and out of contact with the outer surface of the object along the conveyance direction. .

Therefore, in the automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention, when the rotary drive mechanism comes into contact with the outer surface of the transported object, the transported object is moved with the frictional force therebetween by the rotational drive, so that the transported table is moved from the transportable table. When transferring the transferred object, it is not necessary to move the rotary drive mechanism to the far side of the transferred object table.
Further, since the outer surface of the transported object is along the transport direction, there is no need to move the rotary drive mechanism up and down.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic guided vehicle according to the first aspect, the automatic guided vehicle includes a plurality of rotating rollers rotatable around an axis. It is characterized by being mounted on the rotating roller.

Therefore, in the automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention, when the object to be conveyed is pulled in from the object table and pushed out toward the object table, the rotation roller rotates around the axis, whereby the rotation drive mechanism is rotated. To reduce the burden on the user.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the automatic guided vehicle according to the first or second aspect, wherein the rotation driving mechanism includes an urging member for urging the rotation driving mechanism toward the object. Is provided.

Therefore, in the automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention, the frictional force between the transferred object and the rotary drive mechanism can be increased. Further, when the relative position between the rotary drive mechanism and the transferred object is shifted, the relative position can be corrected by deforming the urging member.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In these figures, the same components as those in FIGS. 4 and 5 shown as conventional examples are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 13 denotes an unmanned guided vehicle that can travel freely. A concave portion 5 is formed in the automatic guided vehicle 13 so as to face the concave portion 3 of the transportable table 2, and a transfer device for transferring the transported object 7 between the automatic transporter 13 and the transportable table 2. 14 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer device 14 includes a drive roller conveyor 15 and a slide device 16. Driving rollers (rotary driving mechanisms) 17... 17 having a circular cross section are reversible around their respective axes and are aligned with the free rollers 4. Are lined up.

The slide device 16 causes the drive roller conveyor 15 to protrude and retract along the horizontal direction, which is the direction in which the object 7 is conveyed, and includes a coil spring (biasing member).
It is supported by the automatic guided vehicle 13 with the intervening members 18. The coil springs 18 urge the drive roller 17 upward, that is, toward the object 7 via the slide device 16 and the drive roller conveyor 15.

On the other hand, the upper part of the automatic guided vehicle 13 has a recess 5
A plurality of free rollers (rotating rollers) 19... 19 rotatable around the axis are arranged with the driving rollers 17. These free rollers 4 ... 4, 19 ... 19 and drive rollers 17 ... 17
The ridge lines located above are arranged so as to form substantially the same plane.

The procedure for transferring an article 7 placed on the free rollers 4... 4 of the article carrier 2 with both sides supported by the automatic guided vehicle having the above structure will be described. First, the slide device 16 is operated to cause the drive roller conveyor 15 to protrude in the horizontal direction and to enter the concave portion 3 of the transport table 2 as shown in FIG.

Here, the drive roller 17 of the drive roller conveyor 15 contacts the center of the lower surface (outer surface) 20 of the transferred object 7. At this time, as shown in FIG.
7, several of the near sides contact the lower surface 20 of the transferred object 7.

When the driving roller 17 is rotated around the axis (clockwise in FIG. 1), the transferred object 7 is drawn in the horizontal direction (rightward in FIG. 1) by the frictional force between the driving roller 17 and the driving roller 17. Move. At this time, the transferred object 7 moves so as to slide on the free rollers 4.

Since the driving roller 17 is urged toward the object 7 by the coil springs 18 via the slide device 16 and the driving roller conveyor 15, the vertical force of the object 7 is reduced. The frictional force increases with the increase, and the transferred object 7 moves without any trouble.

Then, when the movement proceeds and the transferred object 7 is drawn to the center of the driving roller conveyor 15, the driving of the driving roller 7 is stopped. Next, the slide device 16 is operated to drive the drive roller conveyor 15 to the automatic guided vehicle 13.
Is immersed in the concave portion 5. Thereby, the free roller 4
... The transported object 7 that was on 4 is driven by a drive roller conveyor 15.
Is moved onto the free rollers 19, 19 with the movement of.
That is, the article 7 is transferred from the article table 2 to the automatic guided vehicle 13. When transferring the transferred object 7 from the automatic guided vehicle 13 to the transferred object table 2, the transfer of the transferred object 7 toward the transferred object table 2 is performed in the reverse procedure.

In the automatic guided vehicle according to the present embodiment, the driving roller 17 abuts on the lower surface 20 of the object 7 and draws the object 7 by rotating the same. It is not necessary to move it to the farthest side when entering the concave portion 3. Therefore, the moving stroke of the drive roller conveyor 15 is shortened from L to L 'as shown in FIG. 1 as shown in FIG. 1, and the transfer time can be shortened accordingly.

By shortening the moving stroke, the conventional slide structure of three-stage extension can be reduced to one stage and the structure is simplified. In addition, in the case of transfer on both the left and right sides, what was conventionally a two-stage rail type can be replaced with a one-stage rail type. As a result, the size of the automatic guided vehicle 13 that accommodates them is not increased more than necessary, and the size of the automatic guided vehicle 13 can be reduced.

In the automatic guided vehicle according to the present embodiment, the driving roller 17 is provided on the outer surface 20 along the conveying direction of the article 7 to be conveyed.
Since it is retracted in contact with the device, a stroke for engaging the pawl and a vertical drive device as in the conventional method are not required, which leads to a further reduction in work time and simplification of the device.
The transported object 7 drawn into the automatic guided vehicle 13 is
Since it is placed on the free rollers 19, 19, the resistance at the time of transfer is reduced, and the driving roller 17 and the slide device 16
Can be reduced.

Further, since the coil springs 18, 18 for urging the drive roller 17 toward the object 7 are provided, the frictional force between the drive roller 17 and the object 7 is increased, and the driving force is increased. The transferred object 7 is driven by the rotation of the roller 17.
Can be reliably transferred. In addition, since the coil springs 18 are easily elastically deformed, for example, when the drive roller conveyor 15 enters the concave portion 3 of the load table 2, the height of the drive roller 17 and the load 7 in the height direction is increased. Even when the positional relationship is deviated, the coil springs 18 and 18 can bend to absorb this positional deviation, so that the time for precisely adjusting the height of the drive roller 17 can be reduced. it can.

In the above-described embodiment, the rotation driving mechanism is configured to use the driving rollers that are each driven to rotate. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an endless belt may be mounted on a plurality of rollers. It may be configured to use a drive conveyor that has been used. Further, although the coil spring is used as the urging member, a configuration using, for example, a plate spring, a disc spring, urethane rubber, or the like may be used. Further, when the height accuracy of the transfer table 2 cannot be secured,
A configuration in which a simple lift mechanism for raising and lowering the slide device 16 may be provided.

[0031]

As described above, the automatic guided vehicle according to the first aspect of the present invention can move in and out along the transport direction of the transported object and can contact the outer surface along the transport direction of the transported object. The apparatus is provided with a rotary drive mechanism for moving the transported object in the transport direction by rotary drive. Thereby, in the automatic guided vehicle, the moving stroke of the rotary drive mechanism is shortened, so that the transfer time can be shortened, and the excellent effects of realizing the miniaturization and simplification of the transfer device can be obtained. .

In the automatic guided vehicle according to the second aspect, the transferred object is placed on the rotating roller at the time of transfer by the rotary drive mechanism. As a result, in the automatic guided vehicle, an effect is obtained that the resistance at the time of transfer is reduced and the load applied to the rotary drive mechanism and the slide device can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic guided vehicle provided with an urging member for urging the rotary drive mechanism toward an object to be conveyed. Thus, in the automatic guided vehicle, the transferred object can be reliably transferred by increasing the frictional force between the rotary drive mechanism and the transferred object. In addition, even when the positional relationship between the rotary drive mechanism and the transported object in the height direction is deviated, the biasing member can bend and absorb this positional shift, so that the height of the rotary drive mechanism The time required to strictly adjust the time can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic guided vehicle provided with a rotation drive mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a left side view of the conveyer table into which the rotation drive mechanism has entered.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of an automatic guided vehicle according to the related art.

FIG. 5 is a front view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Conveyance table 7 Conveyed object 13 Automatic guided vehicle 14 Transfer device 17 Drive roller (rotation drive mechanism) 18 Coil spring (biasing member) 19 Free roller (rotation roller) 20 Lower surface (outer surface)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An automatic guided vehicle provided with a transfer device for transferring a transferred object to and from a transferred object mounting table, wherein the transferring device is capable of moving in and out along a transfer direction of the transferred object, and An automatic guided vehicle, comprising: a rotation drive mechanism that, when brought into contact with an outer surface of the transported object in the transport direction, rotates and moves the transported object in the transport direction. 2. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of rotating rollers rotatable around an axis, wherein the transferred object is placed on the rotating roller when the object is transferred by the rotation drive mechanism. An automatic guided vehicle characterized by that. 3. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the rotation drive mechanism is provided with an urging member for urging the rotation drive mechanism toward the conveyed object. Unmanned carrier.