JP2001089096A - Obstacle detecting device in moving vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the unnecessary traveling stop of a stacker crane, to eliminate the detection delay and the impossible detection of an obstacle in the traveling mode, and to improve the working efficiency and safety by detecting an installed obstacle in advance, and preventing the detection of this installed obstacle in the normal traveling mode for working. SOLUTION: In this obstacle detection device of a moving vehicle which is provided with an obstacle sensor 11 to detect an obstacle on a stacker crane 3 of an automated storage and retrieval system traveling on a specified passage, and stops the traveling of the stacker crane 3 when the obstacle is detected by the obstacle sensor 11, the detection range of the obstacle sensor 11 is set to be variable based on the data on the obstacle during the actual traveling regarding the positional relationship of each obstacle installed in advance which is detected through the actual traveling of the moving vehicle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an obstacle detecting device for detecting an obstacle in a moving vehicle traveling on a predetermined passage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a stacker crane of an automatic warehouse has been known as a moving vehicle traveling on a predetermined passage, and the automatic warehouse and the stacker crane, as shown in FIGS. Two racks 1 capable of being stored in a plurality of places vertically and horizontally are provided in parallel, a rail 2 is provided between the two racks 1, and a stacker crane 3 travels along the rail 2. Is provided with a conveyor station 4 for loading and unloading cargo, and a safety fence 5 is provided at the other running end of the rail 2.

The stacker crane 3 includes a lower frame 7 having wheels 6, a pair of masts 8 standing on the lower frame 7, an upper frame 9 at the upper end of the mast 8, and a pair of masts 8. 8 is provided with a carriage 10 that moves up and down. Although not shown, the carriage 10 is provided with a slide body which can be freely protruded toward the rack 1, and the load is delivered by the slide body. On the other hand, the stacker crane 3 has an obstacle sensor 11 that detects an obstacle, and has an obstacle detection device that stops the traveling of the stacker crane 3 when the obstacle sensor 11 detects an obstacle. Was. As the obstacle sensor 11 in the obstacle detection device, a reflection type optical sensor is used.
A plurality of the obstacle sensors 11 are provided on both sides in the traveling direction of the lower frame 7 and the mast 8, and a plurality of the obstacle sensors 11 are provided so as to stop traveling of the stacker crane 3 when any one of the obstacles is detected. .

[0004]

In such a conventional obstacle detection device for a moving vehicle, it is necessary to adjust the detection range (distance) of the obstacle sensor.
In this case, if the detection range is increased, a conveyor station or a safety fence for carrying in / out the cargo is detected in the vicinity of the traveling end to stop traveling of the stacker crane, and the stacker crane stops just before the traveling end. Such a problem had occurred. In addition, if the detection range is reduced, the problem near the traveling end is resolved, but the detection of obstacles during traveling becomes slow or impossible, and the stacker crane collides with the obstacles. Was. For this reason, when the detection range is increased, it is necessary to perform a sensor mask process for masking the conveyor station and the safety fence, which makes the operation extremely difficult and may be expensive as an obstacle detection device. was there. An object of the present invention is to eliminate these conflicting disadvantages.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a moving vehicle traveling on a predetermined path is provided with an obstacle sensor for detecting an obstacle. In the obstacle detection device in the moving vehicle that comes to a stop, based on the obstacle data at the time of actual traveling that has converted the positional relationship of each of the previously installed obstacles detected by actually traveling the moving vehicle, This is an obstacle detection device in a moving vehicle that changes the detection range of an obstacle sensor.

[0006]

According to the present invention, unnecessary obstacles are detected by detecting obstacles that have been set in advance and not detecting the obstacles that have been set during normal work. The traveling stop of the moving vehicle can be eliminated, and the detection delay and the inability to detect the obstacle during traveling can be eliminated, so that the working efficiency can be improved and the safety can be improved.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an obstacle detecting device for a moving vehicle according to the present invention will be described. In addition,
In this embodiment, a stacker crane of an automatic warehouse is used as a moving vehicle. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the automatic warehouse and the stacker crane are provided with two racks 1 in parallel so as to be able to store luggage at a plurality of locations vertically and horizontally, and a rail 2 is provided between the two racks 1. The conveyor 2 travels along the rail 2 along the stacker crane 3, and has a conveyor station 4 for loading and unloading cargo at one of the traveling ends of the rail 2.
A safety fence 5 is provided at the other end of the running end.

Further, the basic structure of the stacker crane 3 is provided with a lower frame 7 having wheels 6 as in the prior art.
A pair of masts 8 are erected on the lower frame 7, and an upper frame 9 is provided at an upper end of the mast 8, and a carriage 10 that moves up and down along the pair of masts 8 is provided. Although not shown, the carriage 10 is provided with a slide body which can be freely protruded toward the rack 1, and the load is delivered by the slide body.

In the stacker crane 3 having such a configuration, the obstacle detecting device includes first and second obstacle sensors 11 on both sides of the lower frame 7 in the traveling direction. Obstacle sensors 11 are further provided on the left and right and in the upper and lower stages. As shown in FIG. 3, the obstacle sensor 11 changes the distance (range) for detecting an obstacle. For example, the detection light is switched to five stages of a, b, c, d, and e. A variable distance optical sensor is used.

When any one of the obstacle sensors 11 detects an obstacle, the stacker crane 3
Is stopped, the obstacle sensors 1
In 1, the detection range (distance) of the obstacle sensor 11 is changed based on obstacle data during actual traveling in which the positional relationship between the obstacles is converted into data by actually traveling the stacker crane 3 in advance. I do.

This is because the obstacle sensor 11 actually travels on the stacker crane 3 and the obstacle sensor 11
In the state where the detection range (distance) 1 is maximized, obstacles installed in advance, for example, the conveyor station 4 and the safety fence 5 are automatically detected and stored as obstacle data during actual traveling. I do. The stored obstacle data during actual traveling is the positional relationship between the obstacles, that is, the traveling position of the stacker crane 3 and the distance from this traveling position to the obstacle.

Then, based on the stored obstacle data at the time of actual traveling, the obstacle stored in advance is set to a distance equal to or less than the distance from the traveling position of the stacker crane 3 to the obstacle so as not to be detected by each obstacle sensor 11. Obstacle sensor 11
Is always variable. That is, if there is no obstacle stored in advance in the obstacle data during actual traveling, the detection light of the obstacle sensor 11 is set to the maximum e among a, b, c, d, and e. If there is an obstacle stored in the object data in advance, the stacker crane 3
The detection light of the obstacle sensor 11 is switched among a, b, c, d, and e so as to be equal to or less than the distance from the traveling position to the obstacle so that each obstacle sensor 11 does not detect a previously stored obstacle. To

As described above, the actual traveling of the stacker crane 3 once automatically detects the obstacles that have been set in advance, and stores them as obstacle data during actual traveling. On the basis of the obstacle data, the detection range of the obstacle sensor 11 is changed so that the obstacle stored in advance is not detected by each obstacle sensor 11 at the time of normal work traveling. And unnecessary stoppage of the stacker crane 3 that stops the traveling of the stacker crane 3 by detecting the safety fence 5 and the like, and also prevents detection delay or inability to detect an obstacle during traveling, Work efficiency can be improved and safety can be improved. In addition, the sensor mask processing for masking the conveyor station 4 and the safety fence 5 which has been conventionally performed is not required, so that the operation can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

In the setting operation for changing the detection range of the obstacle sensor 11, the actual traveling of the stacker crane 3 automatically detects the previously installed obstacle, and automatically detects the obstacle. By storing the data as obstacle data at the time of traveling and changing the detection range of the obstacle sensor 11 based on the data, a series of operations can be automatically set. Can be made very easy.

The change of the detection range of the obstacle sensor 11 based on the obstacle data is performed in consideration of a response delay (time) at the time of detection by the obstacle sensor 11. This is because the stacker crane 3 travels for the response delay (time) at the time of detection by the obstacle sensor 11, and the travel distance of the stacker crane 3 is added to the variable detection range of the obstacle sensor 11 in advance by the response delay. Do it. Thereby, the obstacle sensor 11
To prevent erroneous detection caused by the response delay of the.

In the above-described embodiment, the variable distance optical sensor is used as the obstacle sensor 11.
The present invention is not limited to this. For example, FIGS.
As shown in (1), a distance output change sensor in which output values (detection values) such as voltage values change to Ya, Yb, and Yc depending on the distances Xa, Xb, and Xc to the obstacle may be used. In this case, by limiting the range of the output value (detection value) of the obstacle sensor 11 based on obstacle data during actual traveling,
The detection range of the obstacle sensor 11 is changed so that the obstacle sensor 11 does not detect a previously stored obstacle.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the stacker crane 3 of the automatic warehouse is used as the moving vehicle has been described. However, the moving vehicle is limited to the stacker crane 3 of the automatic warehouse that runs only linearly. For example, the obstacle detection device may be applied to other moving vehicles such as a track-type carrier and a trackless carrier (guide line type) that travel in a complicated manner in an automatic warehouse or a factory. It is possible.

[0018]

According to the present invention, unnecessary obstacles can be detected by detecting obstacles that have been set in advance and not detecting the obstacles that have been set during normal work. In addition to eliminating stoppage, it is also possible to eliminate delays and inability to detect obstacles during traveling, thereby improving work efficiency and improving safety. In addition, the conventional sensor mask processing for masking an obstacle that has been installed in advance is not required, so that the operation can be simplified and provided at a low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating an automatic warehouse and a stacker crane.

FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating an automatic warehouse and a stacker crane.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an obstacle sensor.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of another obstacle sensor.

FIG. 5 is a table showing output values of other obstacle sensors.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... rack, 2 ... rail, 3 ... stacker crane, 4 ...
Conveyor station, 5 safety fence, 6 wheels, 7 lower frame, 8 mast, 9 upper frame, 10 carriage, 11 obstacle sensor.

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Claims (1)

[Claims] A moving vehicle traveling on a predetermined passage is provided with an obstacle sensor for detecting an obstacle, and when the obstacle sensor detects an obstacle, the moving vehicle stops traveling. In the obstacle detection device, the detection range of the obstacle sensor can be varied based on obstacle data during actual travel obtained by converting the positional relationship of each of the previously installed obstacles detected by actually traveling the moving vehicle into data. An obstacle detection device for a mobile vehicle, comprising: