JP2003063607A - Jig of transfer equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a jig of a transfer equipment possible for a worker to handle in a short period of time and to practice precise teaching to in comparison with the case to visually perform them. SOLUTION: A recognition means 10 furnished with sensors 12, 13 arranged with a specified interval between each other is provided on the transfer equipment 4 of an automatic guided vehicle 1, the jig 11 can be detected by the sensors 12, 13 of the recognition means 10 and arranged at a specified position of a station 2, the jig 11 is furnished with a plural number of detected parts 17a, 17b, 17c, each of the detected parts 17a, 17b, 17c is provided to be orthogonal or in parallel with each other and a plural number of the detected parts 17a, 17b, 17c are arranged in step-wise and made of two parallel sides and one side arranged between the two sides and orthogonal with the two sides and are furnished with a detected part 19 in the height direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer device system for transferring between an unmanned guided vehicle that carries a transfer device and travels on a track, and a station on which an article is placed, and more particularly, to a transfer device system. The present invention relates to a jig of a transfer device used for teaching, which detects a position shift of a station and recognizes an optimum transfer work position for an automated guided vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a transfer device system for moving an unmanned guided vehicle on a track and transferring an article between a station provided along the track and the unmanned guided vehicle. . The automatic guided vehicle is equipped with a transfer device for transferring articles. When the transfer device system is configured, that is, when the station is provided along the track, the position of the station may be displaced due to an installation error or the like. Therefore, in order to enable the automatic guided vehicle of such a system to accurately transfer the articles on the target station, the teaching such as detecting the error such as the installation error of each station and teaching as data is performed. There is. More specifically, the article is first placed on each station. Then, the automated guided vehicle is stopped at those stations, and the transfer device is operated to hold the article. At this time, when the article is not held by the transfer device at the predetermined position, the operator visually sets the correction amount and repeats the holding work at the position where the correction is taken into consideration. In this way, the correction amount of the transfer work is determined according to the positional deviation of the station by visually correcting and repeatedly performing the holding work. The correction target of the transfer work includes the stop position of the automatic guided vehicle during the transfer work, the moving direction of the hand (transfer means) of the transfer device, the moving distance, and the like.

[0003]

As described above, when the correction amount in the transfer operation is set visually, the accuracy is insufficient and it takes a very long time. Therefore, the present invention provides a jig for a transfer device that can be executed in a shorter time than when an operator visually performs it and can perform accurate teaching.

[0004]

The problems to be solved by the present invention are as described above. Next, the means for solving the problems will be described. That is, according to claim 1, a jig of a transfer device used in an automatic guided vehicle system including an automatic guided vehicle equipped with a transfer device and traveling on a track, and a station on which an article is placed. Therefore, the transfer device is provided with a recognition means having a sensor arranged at a predetermined interval, and the jig can be detected by the sensor of the recognition means and is arranged at a predetermined position of the station. The jig is provided with a plurality of detected parts, and the detected parts are provided so as to be orthogonal or parallel to each other.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the plurality of detected parts are arranged in a staircase pattern, and are composed of two parallel sides and one side arranged between the two sides and orthogonal to the two sides.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the detected portion in the height direction is provided.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, a guided vehicle guided vehicle system will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an automated guided vehicle 1 and a station 2 that form an automated guided vehicle system. As shown in FIG. 1, an automated guided vehicle system having a track includes an automated guided vehicle 1 and a station 2. The automatic guided vehicle 1 is configured to be able to travel along the track 3, and the transfer device 4, which is a main component of the transfer device system, is mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 1. The transfer device 4 transfers the article between the station 2 provided along the track 3 and the automated guided vehicle 1. The number of automated guided vehicles 1
The number of stations 2 is set to an appropriate value according to the work content of a factory equipped with an automated guided vehicle system.

The transfer device 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the transfer device system.

The automatic guided vehicle 1 is provided with the transfer device 4 as described above, and a transfer device system for transferring articles between the automatic guided vehicle 1 and the station 2 is configured. The automated guided vehicle 1 stops at a side position of the station 2 and transfers an article 5 placed on the station 2 to the automated guided vehicle 1 side, or an article from the automated guided vehicle 1 onto the station 2 5 is transferred.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer device 4 is provided with a revolving base 6 serving as revolving means, arms 7a and 7b, and a transfer hand 8. The swivel base 6 is provided in the main body of the automatic guided vehicle 1, and the swivel base 6 and the transfer hand 8 are connected to the arms 7a and 7a.
connected by b. Arms 7a and 7b and transfer hand 8
And, a scalar arm type robot hand is configured. Further, the transfer hand 8 is configured to make a straight forward motion or a right-back motion with respect to the swivel base 6 by bending and stretching the arms 7a and 7b. In other words, the direction of the transfer hand 8 and the direction of its forward / backward movement are uniquely determined only by the turning angle of the turning base 6.

The station 2 is provided with a plate-shaped mounting table 9 on which the article 5 can be mounted. Further, the mounting table 9 is formed with a recess 9a that substantially follows the contour shape of the transfer hand 8 so that the transfer hand 8 can pass in the vertical direction. A plurality of positioning pins 9b are provided on the upper surface of the mounting table 9 at the edge portion of the recess 9a. Positioning holes are formed in the lower surface of the article 5 corresponding to the positioning pins 9b, and
When placed on top, the positioning pin 9
b is inserted and engaged so that the article mounting position with respect to the station 2 is always fixed. In the following description, this position will be referred to as a "transfer point".

The transfer device 4 is provided with an elevating device (not shown) so that the height of the swivel base 6 can be changed with respect to the main body of the automatic guided vehicle 1. Therefore, the height of the transfer hand 8 can be changed by driving the lifting device. A plurality of positioning pins 8a are provided on the upper surface of the transfer hand 8, and positioning holes are also formed on the lower surface of the article 5. The positioning hole is different from the positioning hole corresponding to the positioning pin 9b of the mounting table 9.
That is, on the lower surface of the article 5, the mounting table 9 of the station 2
There will be two types of positioning holes for positioning and for the transfer hand 8.

With the above structure, the transfer hand 8 approaches the article 5 placed on the station 2 from below by the extension of the arms 7a and 7b, and then the transfer hand 8 is raised by the elevating device. Then, the positioning pin 8a is inserted into the positioning hole on the lower surface of the article 5, the article 5 is held and lifted on the transfer hand 8, and the engagement between the positioning pin 9b on the station 2 side and the article positioning hole is released. .
Then, due to the bending of the arms 7a and 7b, the article 5 is pulled toward the automatic guided vehicle 1 side while the holding position for the transfer hand 8 is fixed. The transfer hand 8 is detachably attached to the arm 7b and can be replaced with a recognition fork 10 described later.

The automated guided vehicle 1 is driven by an electric motor, and receives power supply by non-contact power feeding. A power supply line (not shown) is laid along the track 3, while the automatic guided vehicle 1 is provided with a power receiving device including a core and a coil wound around the core. That is, the power supply from the power supply line to the power receiving device is performed by non-contact power supply using electromagnetic induction. The unmanned guided vehicle 1 drives the motor to run or drives the transfer device 4 by the received electric power.

Next, the teaching of the present invention for detecting the deviation from the reference position of the station 2 and recognizing the optimum transfer work position for the automatic guided vehicle 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the transfer device system during teaching.

That is, when the system is constructed (station 2
(At the time of disposition), the disposition position of the station 2 cannot be completely matched with the design position (reference position). That is, a slight deviation from the reference position is inevitable due to an installation error at the time of installation. Despite the fact that the station 2 is actually displaced, the transfer device 4 is caused to perform the transfer operation assuming that the station 2 is at the completely designed position. It may cause troubles such as not being able to hold.

In view of this situation, the transfer device system detects the actual position of the station 2 by utilizing the function of transferring the article between the automatic guided vehicle 1 and the station 2, and The position deviation of the station 2 from the reference position is detected. Then, the automatic transfer vehicle 1 is made to remember the optimum transfer work position in consideration of the positional deviation at the stage of initial setting before system operation. This is teaching, and by performing this in advance, transfer work can be performed smoothly and appropriately when the system is actually operated.

Here, the reference position is the station 2
It is an ideal arrangement position in the design of. That is, assuming that the station 2 can be placed at a position that completely matches the design placement position (without any deviation), as shown in FIG. When the carrier 1 is stopped and the transfer hand 8 is moved straight in a direction perpendicular to the track 3 by a predetermined distance, the transfer hand 8 is positioned at the position of the positioning hole of the article 5 on the transfer point. The pins 8a will match exactly. The reference position of the station 2 means just such a position.

In practice, the station 2 may be disposed at a position distant from the track 3 with respect to the reference position due to an installation error or the like. In that case, even if the transfer hand 8 is moved straight by the predetermined distance, the transfer hand 8 does not reach the article 5 at the transfer point by the amount of the deviation, and the article 5 cannot be held. It is also conceivable that the station 2 is not parallel to the track 3 and is arranged at an angle. In this case, even if the transfer hand 8 is moved straight for a predetermined distance, the positioning pin 8a and the positioning hole of the article 5 cannot be engaged with each other due to the angular deviation, and the transfer hand 8 cannot hold the article 5. It will be. Therefore, in the present invention, such position deviation / angle deviation is detected in advance in the initial stage,
When the transfer device 4 is caused to perform the transfer operation in the actual system operation stage, troubles at the time of transfer can be prevented by using the drive amount of the swivel base 6 and the arms 7a and 7b in consideration of the above deviation. I am trying to prevent it.

When the teaching of the present invention is performed,
As shown in FIG. 3, instead of the transfer hand 8, a recognition fork 10 as a recognition means is provided in the transfer device 4. In addition,
In this embodiment, the transfer hand 8 for supporting the article 5 is used.
The recognition fork 10 having a built-in teaching sensor is replaced during teaching. However, for example, the transfer device 4 itself may be replaced with a reference transfer device dedicated to teaching. good. Here, the reference transfer device is a device serving as a reference for each transfer device 4. Each transfer device 4 measures in advance a value such as an expansion difference from the reference transfer device. Then, by adding values such as the measured expansion difference to the teaching data obtained by the standard transfer device,
The teaching data of each transfer device 4 is used.

At the time of teaching, as shown in FIG. 3, the station 11 is replaced by the jig 11 instead of the article 5.
Is placed and attached. And the recognition fork 10
Is used to detect the position of the jig 11 (described later), and the deviation from the reference position of the station 2 is detected. The jig 11 is used by being attached to the station 2 only during teaching, and is removed when the system is actually operated after teaching is completed.

The structure of the recognition fork 10 as the recognition means will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows the recognition fork 10
FIG. The recognition fork 10 includes two plate-shaped support members 15 each having a tip end portion in a U-shape in plan view.
16 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction with an interval so that a detected body 17 of the jig 11 to be described later can pass through. In the teaching work described later, the detected body 17 described later is sandwiched between the two support bodies 15 and 16.

The upper support 15 is formed to have a bifurcated projection, and the tip of each projection is transparent (blocked).
The light emitting parts 12a and 13a of the mold optical sensor are provided.
The lower support 16 also has a similar shape having bifurcated protrusions, and the light receiving portions 12b and 13b of the optical sensor are provided at the tip of each protrusion. The light emitting unit 12a and the light receiving unit 12b arranged above and below constitute a first XY axis recognition sensor 12, and the light emitting unit 13a and the light receiving unit 13b arranged above and below also form a second XY axis recognition sensor. 13 are configured.

Between each end of the supports 15 and 16 (light emitting part
The light receiving portions) are separated by an appropriate vertical interval. In addition, an appropriate gap is also provided between the protrusions of the supports 15 and 16 (between the sensors 12 and 13).
Further, a light emitting portion 14a and a light receiving portion 14b are provided on the inner side portions of the respective end portions of the lower support 16 so as to face each other, and the light emitting portion 1 arranged on the left and right with respect to the moving direction.
The Z-axis recognition sensor 14 is composed of 4a and the light receiving portion 14b.

All of the above three sensors are transmission (cutoff) type optical sensors, and when the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are cut off, a detection signal is emitted. By utilizing such an action, the position of the jig 11 is detected as described later.

The structure of the jig 11 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the jig 11 of the transfer device 4. The jig 11 is configured to fix and support the detection target 17 on a plate-shaped support 18. The jig 11 is attached to a position where the article is actually placed (the transfer point). That is, as with the article 5, positioning holes 18a, 18a, 18a (shown in FIG. 9) that engage with the positioning pins 9b, 9b, 9b of the mounting table 9 are formed on the lower surface of the support 18. When the jig 11 is attached to the station 2, the positioning hole 18a and the positioning pin 9b are engaged so that the jig 11 with respect to the station 2 is engaged.
Make sure that the mounting position of is always fixed.

The detected body 17 of the jig 11 is provided with a plurality of detected parts. Each of the detected parts constitutes one side of the outline of the detected body 17 in a plan view and is in a positional relationship of being orthogonal to each other or parallel to each other. Therefore, the first XY-axis recognition sensor 12 and the second XY-axis recognition sensor 13 are arranged in the track direction (X direction described below) and in a direction perpendicular to the track direction (Y direction described below).
By moving to and, the detected part can be detected. This makes it possible to specify the three points required for detecting the position of the detection target (the detection target 17 in this embodiment).

The plurality of detected parts are arranged in a step shape (crank shape). That is, the detected object 17 of the present embodiment
In the above, the detected portions are the detected portions 17a and 17b that are two parallel sides and the detected portion 17c that is one side that connects the two sides while forming a right angle. In this way, by forming the detected portions 17a, 17b, and 17c in a stepwise manner on the detected body 17, the sensor 12.1 on the recognition fork 10 is formed.
When detecting the detected body 17 by 3 (to be described later), the detection error is made minute and the position of the detected body 17 is easily detected even by the mechanical operation of the recognition fork 10.

Each detected part 17a by the recognition fork 10
The detection of 17b and 17c is performed by moving (for example, moving straight) the recognition fork 10 so that the detected body 17 is inserted between the support bodies 15 and 16 which are vertically arranged in parallel. Then, when the optical path of the first XY-axis recognition sensor 12 or the second XY-axis recognition sensor 13 extending between the supports 15 and 16 is blocked by the detected body 17, detection signals are emitted from these sensors. The interruption is started at the moment when any of the detected parts interrupts the optical path. The optical path is formed by the light emitted from the light emitting portion of these sensors 12 and 13 toward the light receiving portion. Then, by detecting each of the detected portions 17a, 17b, and 17c, the deviation from the reference position of the station 2 in the horizontal plane is detected.

On the upper surface of the detected body 17, a detected portion 19 in the height direction is provided upright. The detected part 19 is a detection target of the Z-axis recognition sensor 14 provided on the recognition fork 10, and the detected part 1 detected by the sensor 14 is detected.
As a result of the calculation based on the height of 9, the height of the station 2 is calculated.

Further, in the present embodiment, the sensor for detecting the detected portion in the horizontal direction and the height direction is a transmission type optical sensor, but a reflection type optical sensor may be used. When using a reflective photosensor, the station 2
If it is difficult to distinguish between the jig 11 and the jig 11, it is preferable to attach a reflecting member to the jig 11. Specifically, in the case of the horizontal direction, the step-like detected portion 17a of the jig 11
Attach the reflective tape to the edges of 17b and 17c.
If correction in the height direction is also necessary, the detected portion 1 in the height direction
Attach 9 and attach reflective tape to it.
When a reflection type sensor is used, a stepped (crank-shaped) detected portion may be formed by the reflection member itself as the jig 11, and the detected portion may be accurately attached to a predetermined position on the upper surface of the station 2. As described above, by attaching the reflection member itself, there is no fear that the transfer of the ordinary article 5 will be affected, especially when the reflection member is thin such as a reflection tape, and the jig 11 is always arranged. can do.
Therefore, even if teaching is required again due to maintenance of the automated guided vehicle 1, it is not necessary to set it again, unlike the case of the jig 11. Further, in this case, the vertically standing surface of the station 2 may be used as the detected portion in the height direction. Further, when a reflection type optical sensor is used, it may be built in the transfer device 4 that supports the article 5. By incorporating the transfer device 4 in the transfer device 4, it is possible to save time and labor for exchanging the device, and prevent manufacturing errors and assembly errors between the transfer hand 8 and the recognition fork 10 that occur due to the exchange.

Next, regarding the teaching procedure,
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 17. 6 is a flow chart of teaching, FIG. 7 is a plan view showing how the height of the jig 11 is detected, FIG. 8 is a front view of the same, and FIG. 9 is a view when the station 2 is at the reference position. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a jig, and FIG. 10 is a plan view showing detection points A and B,
11 is a plan view showing the relationship between the detection points A and B and the deviation angle θ of the jig 11, and FIG. 12 is a plan view showing how the recognition fork 10 is moved in the minus X direction.
3 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the detection points A and B, the position D, and the rotation center M, FIG. 14 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the detection point C and the position D, and FIG. 15 is the detection point A. It is a plan view showing the positional relationship between B and C, and FIG. 16 shows detection points A, B, and C.
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a positional relationship between a jig reference point P and a jig reference point P. Figure 1
7 is a plan view showing the state of the teaching work and the state of the work of confirming the value obtained by the work.

In this teaching, the position of the jig 11 arranged at a predetermined position (the transfer point) of the station 2 is detected by the pair of sensors 12 and 13 provided in the recognition fork 10. The pair of sensors is a first X
The Y-axis recognition sensor 12 and the second XY-axis recognition sensor 13, and both sensors 12 and 13 are provided at appropriate intervals in a plan view. By these both sensors, a plurality of positions (detected portions 17a, 17b, 17) of the detected body 17 of the jig 11 are detected.
c) is detected, the position of the jig 11 is detected based on the detected data, and the position of the station 2 (deviation from the reference position) can be detected.

In this embodiment, the position of the jig 11 in the plan view is detected by detecting the position of the detected body 17 at three positions. The reference point in the position detection is the rotation center M of the swivel base 6 (shown in FIGS. 13 to 15). In addition, it is possible to detect the deviation angle θ of the jig 11 with respect to the track 3 in the position detection (during the process). The position where the jig 11 is arranged with respect to the station 2 is always constant as described above. Therefore, detecting and obtaining the position of the jig 11 means indirectly detecting and obtaining the position of the station 2.

In the teaching work, first, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is moved to a recognition point in teaching and stopped at the recognition point (step 10).
1). This recognition point is a position where the automated guided vehicle 1 is to be stopped when the transfer operation is actually performed during system operation. However, the stop position of the automatic guided vehicle 1 when the system is actually operated is a position slightly modified from the position of the recognition point by this teaching work.

Further, the swivel base 6 is preliminarily set so that the direction in which the recognition fork 10 goes straight is at a right angle to the track.
Is driven to determine the orientation of the transfer device 4.

After the automated guided vehicle 1 is stopped at the recognition point, the position of the jig 11 is detected as follows.
The presence / absence of positional deviation of the station 2 is detected.

First, the position of the jig 11 in the Z direction (height direction) is detected. First, with the recognition fork 10 retracted to the side of the automated guided vehicle 1, by the lifting device,
It is moved to a position that is sufficiently above the jig 11. Next, the recognition fork 1 is attached to the station 2 side (jig 11 side).
0 is moved straight by driving the transfer device 4 while maintaining its sufficiently high height (step 102). When the recognition fork 10 is moved straight by an appropriate distance, as shown in FIG. 7, it reaches a position where the detected portion 19 is sandwiched between the light emitting portion 14a and the light receiving portion 14b of the Z-axis recognition sensor 14 in plan view. (In this state, since the recognition fork 10 is at a high position, the detected part 19 is not actually sandwiched between the light emitting part 14a and the light receiving part 14b of the Z-axis recognition sensor 14).
Since the height information to be detected here is the height information, as long as the detected portion 19 enters the detection range of the Z-axis recognition sensor 14,
The accuracy of the position of the recognition fork 10 in plan view does not matter so much. Therefore, in this step 102, the amount by which the recognition fork 10 is moved straight may be an approximate value, and an appropriate amount is set.

The movement of the recognition fork 10 in the straight direction is stopped at the position, and then the lowering of the recognition fork 10 is started by the elevating device. When the recognition fork 10 descends from a sufficiently high position, as shown in FIG.
The optical path PL between the light emitting portion 14a and the light receiving portion 14b is blocked by the detected portion 19, and the detected portion 19 is detected by the Z-axis recognition sensor 14. The displacement of the lifting device at the time of this detection is transmitted as detection data to a control device (not shown), and the height position of the jig 11 is calculated. In this way, the position of the jig 11 in the Z-axis direction is detected (step 103).

According to this, the height of the station 2 is calculated, and this height is compared with the designed height stored in advance in the control device, whereby the deviation amount of the station 2 in the height direction is calculated by the control device. Will be recognized. When the height position detection of the jig 11 in step 103 is completed, the recognition fork 10 is once housed in the automated guided vehicle 1 side.

Next, the jig 11 in the XY directions (in the horizontal plane)
Position detection. This work is divided into two stages.
In the first stage, the recognition fork 10 is moved straight to the station side, and the first XY axis recognition sensor 12 and the second X
The Y-axis recognition sensor 13 detects two positions on the detected body 17 to calculate the deviation angle θ of the jig 11. In the second stage, the recognition fork 10 is moved in the track direction (X direction described later).
Then, the sensor 13 further detects one position of the detected object 17, and the jig 11 is detected by the above three positions.
Position detection.

As shown in FIG. 9, if it is assumed that the station 2 is arranged at a position that exactly coincides with the reference position (that is, the deviation is zero), the detected part 1 is detected.
7a and 17b are parallel to the X direction, and the detected portion 17c is parallel to the Y direction. Here, the X direction is a direction parallel to the track 3, the Y direction is a direction perpendicular to the track 3, and the recognition fork 10 (transfer hand 8) is driven by the transfer device 4. It is the direction to go straight.

Next, at step 104, the elevating device is driven so that the height of the recognition fork 10 becomes an appropriate height. The appropriate height means the height of the recognition fork 10 at which the detected body 17 can be sandwiched between the supports 15 and 16 of the recognition fork 10. For this, the result of the height detection of the jig 11 in step 103 described above is used. That is, from the height of the recognition fork 10 when the Z-axis recognition sensor 14 detects the detected portion 19 in step 103, a predetermined value (in consideration of the vertical dimension of the detected portion 19 and the like is taken into consideration in advance). The recognition fork 10 can be positioned at the appropriate height by subtracting (determined value) and driving the lifting device so that the obtained height is obtained. In addition, while driving this lifting device,
The recognition fork 10 is in a state of being retracted to the side of the automatic guided vehicle 1.

When the recognition fork 10 reaches the appropriate height, the transfer device 4 is driven to move the recognition fork 10 again.
The jig 11 is moved straight while maintaining the height. Here, due to the shape of the detected body 17 described above, the detected portion 17
b is located on the back side with respect to the detected portion 17a. Further, the detected part 17a is formed so as to intersect with the straight-ahead path of the first XY-axis recognition sensor 12 included in the recognition fork 10, and the detected part 17b intersects with the straight-ahead path of the second XY-axis recognition sensor 13. Is formed.

Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the recognition fork 10 is gradually moved straight. Then at some point,
The first XY axis recognition sensor 12 detects the detected portion 17a,
The position of the detection point A in the Y-axis direction can be obtained from the straight movement amount of the recognition fork 10 at this time (step 10).
5). The detection point A has a meaning as a point where the straight traveling path of the first XY axis recognition sensor 12 and the detected portion 17a intersect.

When the recognition fork 10 is further advanced straight,
The second XY-axis recognition sensor 13 detects the detected portion 17b. Similarly, the position of the detection point B in the Y-axis direction can be acquired from the amount of straight movement of the recognition fork 10 at this time (step 106). This detection point B is the second XY axis recognition sensor 1
3 has a meaning as a point where the straight traveling route and the detected portion 17b intersect.

As described above, the detected portion 17b is the detected portion 1
Since it is located on the far side with respect to 7a, the detection point B is detected with a time lag from the detection of the detection point A. However, even if the detected portion 17a and the detected portion 17b are formed in a continuous straight line, the deviation angle θ can be calculated using the relationship between the detection points A and B and the position of the detected body 17 can be detected. Is. However, in this case, the time difference from the detection of the detection point A to the detection of the detection point B becomes minute. If the detection signals are successively transmitted to the control device side within a very short time, the processing load for signal discrimination becomes heavy. To put it the other way around, by constructing the shape of the object to be detected 17 in a stepwise manner so that there is an appropriate time difference between the detection timings of the detection points A and B, an excessive load is imposed on the signal discrimination processing. Care is taken so that it does not affect the control device.

When the above two points A and B are detected, the jig 1
It is possible to calculate the deviation angle θ of 1. A relationship as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B is established between the detection points A and B. In FIG. 11A, the straight travel distance at the time when the recognition fork 10 detects the detection point A is Y1, and the straight travel distance at the time when the recognition fork 10 detects the detection point B is Y2 with the storage state of the recognition fork 10 as the origin. . Further, the distance between the two sensors of the recognition fork 10 is X0, and the length of the detected portion 17c is Y3. As shown in FIG. 11B, the detection point A
When the length between the B points in the Y-axis direction is Y0, the distance between the detection points A and B is T, and the angle between the straight line passing through the detection points A and B and the X axis is α, the above distance (long And between the angles,
The relationships of equations (1), (2), (3), and (4) are established.

[0049]

[Equation 1]

From equations (1), (2), (3), and (4),
As a formula for obtaining the deviation angle θ, the relation of formula (5) is established.

[0051]

[Equation 2]

Using the relation of this equation (5), the detection point A
・ From the B detection position (straight ahead distance Y1, Y2), the jig 11
Deviation angle θ with respect to the X direction is calculated (step 10
7). Distance X0 between both sensors, length Y of the detected portion 17c
Since 3 is already known, the deviation angle θ can be obtained as a calculated value by using the straight travel distances Y1 and Y2 detected in the work of steps 105 and 106. Here, since the attachment position of the jig 11 is fixed at a fixed position with respect to the station 2, the detected jig 11
The deviation angle θ means the deviation angle of the station 2 with respect to the track 3.

Next, the third point of the jig 11 is detected to detect the position of the jig 11 in the horizontal plane (step 10).
8). Here, first, the recognition fork 10 that has proceeded straight to the position where the straight travel distance is Y2 by the work of step 106.
Is pulled toward the automatic guided vehicle 1 side by a predetermined distance Y4. The position of the second XY-axis recognition sensor 13 when it is pulled in is D. Here, the predetermined distance Y4 is about half the length Y3 of the detected portion 17c. Therefore, if the recognition fork 10 is moved substantially along the minus X direction from this state, the second XY-axis recognition sensor 13 will definitely cross the detected portion 17c.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12, the recognition fork 10 is moved in the minus X direction substantially along the track direction. The movement of the recognition fork 10 is performed by rotating the recognition fork 10 by the swivel base 6 provided in the transfer device 4. When the recognition fork 10 is gradually turned, the second XY-axis recognition sensor 13 detects the detected portion 17c at some point. The turning amount (angle φ described later) of the turning base 6 at this time is transmitted to the control device as the position of the detection point C in the X-axis direction (step 108). This detection point C is the turning movement path of the second XY axis recognition sensor 13,
It has a meaning as a point where the detected portion 17c intersects.

13 and 14, the distance from the rotation center M of the swivel base 6 to the detection point A in the Y-axis direction is L0, the distance from the rotation center M to the position D is L1, and the detection point A is the position. The distance in the Y-axis direction to D is Y5. here,
The distance L1 is the recognition fork 10 from the position D to the detection point C.
Also has a meaning as a radius of gyration at the time of turning movement.
When the swivel base 6 is driven, the recognition fork 10 rotates about the rotation center M.
The second XY that was in position D when rotated by angle φ
It is assumed that the axis recognition sensor 13 reaches the detection point C. At this time, the distance X1 from the position D to the detection point C in the X-axis direction,
The distance Y6 in the Y-axis direction from the position D to the detection point C can be calculated from the positional relationship between the points described above.

The position of the detection point C in the X and Y directions is detected as described above. The positions of the detection points A and B in the Y direction are detected in steps 105 and 106. The positions of the detection points A and B in the X direction are positions displaced from the rotation center M of the swivel base 6 by a distance X0 / 2. The positional relationship among the detection points A, B and C is as shown in FIG. In the XY coordinate display with the rotation center M as the origin, the detection point A is (-X0 / 2, L0), the detection point B is (X0 / 2, L0 + Y0), and the detection point C is (X0 / 2-X).
1, L0 + Y7).

Using these results, the position of the jig 11 with respect to the rotation center M is detected as follows (step 109). Here, as shown in FIG. 16A, one of the end portions of the detected body 17 is set as a jig reference point P, and
The position of the jig 11 is detected by obtaining the XY coordinates with respect to the rotation center M of the jig reference point P. In the present embodiment, the ends serving as the jig reference points P are detected parts 17a and 17c.
Although the end points intersect with each other, other end points may be used as the reference points. The XY coordinates of the jig reference point P can be calculated, for example, by calculating the distances from the detection point A in the X and Y directions with the detection point A as a reference. FIG.
The XY coordinates of the detection points A, B, and C shown in (b) may be those shown in FIG.

The distances from the detection point A to the jig reference point P in the X and Y directions have the relationship shown in FIG. 16 (c).
The distance between the detection points A and C is L2, the distance from the detection point A to the jig reference point P is L3, the distance in the X direction from the detection point A to the jig reference point P is x, and also in the y direction. If the distance is y and the angle formed by the straight line passing through the detection points A and C with the X axis is β,
The relationships of (6), (7), (8), (9), and (10) are established. The angle θ formed by the straight line passing through the detection point A and the jig reference point P with the X axis is shown in FIGS. 3 and 11.
The deviation angle θ of the jig 11 with respect to the track 3.

[0059]

[Equation 3]

In equations (9) and (10), L3, which is an unknown number, is derived from equations (6), (7), and (8), and the angle θ is calculated by equation (5). From the formula,
The distance x · y is calculated.

As described above, the XY coordinates of the jig reference point P are calculated, and the position of the jig 11 with respect to the rotation center M can be detected. Since the jig 11 is fixed to the station 2 at the transfer point, if the position of the jig 11 can be detected, the position of the station 2 with respect to the recognition point can be detected.

Station 2 for the recognition point
The position is obtained as a parameter value of the position (X coordinate and Y coordinate) of the jig reference point P in plan view and the deviation angle θ. From the parameter value, the control device
(A) Optimal position where the automated guided vehicle should stop, that is, optimal transfer work position, (b) Angle at which the swivel base 6 should be rotated before the transfer work of the transfer device 4, (c) Unmanned The amount by which the transfer hand 8 should be moved straight to the station 2 side when the transport vehicle stops at the optimum position is calculated and stored in an appropriate storage means such as a memory (teaching).

The optimum position where the automated guided vehicle of (a) should be stopped can be obtained from the position of the jig reference point P in plan view and the deviation angle θ. That is, the transfer hand 8 moves in the direction corresponding to the deviation angle θ of the station 2.
It is necessary to enter the station and to reach the position corresponding to the position shift of the station 2. From this point of view, the position of the automated guided vehicle 1 which is the base point for the transfer hand 8 to enter is determined.

The angle at which the swivel base 6 in (b) should be rotated has a value equal to the deviation angle θ. That is, the direction in which the transfer hand 8 is moved straight must be perpendicular to the station 2. Therefore, if the station 2 is misaligned, the transfer hand 8 is moved straight in a direction displaced by the misaligned angle θ. Therefore, it is necessary to rotate the swivel base 6 so that the transfer device 4 is directed in the shifted direction.

(C) The amount by which the transfer hand 8 should be moved straight toward the station 2 is determined by the stop position of the automatic guided vehicle 1 obtained in (a) and the position of the jig reference point P in plan view. Can be obtained by

If the automatic guided vehicle 1 is stopped at the optimum position in (a) and the turning angle of the swivel base 6 in (b) is appropriate, the transfer hand 8 is moved to the station 2 side (c). If the vehicle is moved straight by the distance obtained in step 3, the position of the transfer hand 8 exactly matches the position of the article 5 on the transfer point on the station 2, and the article can be held smoothly. is there.

When the amounts of (a), (b) and (c) are calculated and stored, the work for confirming the obtained values is started. That is, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is actually moved to the optimum stop position obtained in (a) and stopped (step 110), and in this state, the position detection of the jig 11 on the station 2 is executed again (step 110). Step 111).

In the state of step 111, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the automatic guided vehicle 1 is stopped at the optimum position, and the transfer device 4 is moved by the swivel base 6 from the Y direction perpendicular to the track 3 by the deviation angle θ. Is directed to. The position of the jig 11 on the station 2 is detected by re-executing the operations from step 102 to step 109.

The control device determines from the position of the jig 11 obtained by the re-detection work whether or not the jig 11 is displaced (step 112). If there is a positional deviation, it is presumed that there was a detection error somewhere in the series of steps 101 to 110 in the teaching work. Therefore, the teaching work is restarted from the beginning.

If it is determined that there is no positional deviation, it is confirmed that the obtained stop position of the automated guided vehicle 1 is definitely a position suitable for the transfer work. Thus, the teaching work is completed.

When there are a plurality of stations 2, the jigs 11 having the same shape are manufactured by the number of stations, and the jigs 11 are attached to each station 2 one by one. After the teaching work for one station 2 is completed, the automated guided vehicle 1 moves to another station 2 and performs the same teaching work again. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to sequentially and automatically perform teaching for a plurality of stations.

The information stored on the side of the automatic guided vehicle 1 for each station 2 by the above teaching work is as follows. First, (a) position information regarding an optimum position at which the automatic guided vehicle 1 stops to perform the transfer work. Next, (b) angle information for moving the transfer hand 8 in a straight direction, that is, for driving the swivel base 6.
Further, (c) is distance information relating to the straight-ahead distance required to move the transfer hand 8 straight to the transfer point. By storing the above-mentioned position information regarding the optimum stop position, the angle information regarding the turning angle, the distance information regarding the straight-ahead distance, and the three pieces of information for each station 2 in the automated guided vehicle 1 in, for example, a table format, The transfer work is performed according to the displacement of the arrangement position of 2, and the work can be appropriately performed without trouble. The three pieces of information may be stored in the memory of the control device provided in the automated guided vehicle 1, or may be stored in the memory of the upper control mechanism of the automated guided vehicle 1.

[0073]

As described in claim 1, a transfer device used in an automatic guided vehicle system including an automatic guided vehicle equipped with a transfer device and traveling on a track, and a station on which articles are placed. The jig is a jig, and the transfer device is provided with a recognizing unit including a sensor arranged at a predetermined interval, and the jig can be detected by the sensor of the recognizing unit.
The sensor is placed at a predetermined position of the station, the jig is provided with a plurality of detected parts, and the detected parts are provided so as to be orthogonal to each other or parallel to each other. Therefore, the sensor is moved in the X direction and the Y direction which are perpendicular to each other. By doing so, the detected portion can be detected, and the three points necessary for position detection can be specified.

As described in claim 2, the plurality of parts to be detected are arranged stepwise, and are composed of two parallel sides and one side which is arranged between the two sides and is orthogonal to the two sides. With such a configuration, it is possible to detect the position in the horizontal direction. Further, by forming the detection object in a stepwise manner, a time difference can be provided in the detection time, and it is not necessary to determine a minute time difference on the side of the control device to which the detection signal is transmitted, and the control processing load is reduced. It will be reduced.

As described in the third aspect, since the detected portion in the height direction is provided, the recognition means can be moved in the track direction by turning the recognition means. For this reason, since the movement in the orbital direction is performed by using the turning means of the transfer device, the position in the height direction can be simply structured by only providing the upward extending portion (upward detected portion). It becomes possible to detect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an automated guided vehicle 1 and a station 2 which constitute an automated guided vehicle system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a transfer device system.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a transfer device system during teaching.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a recognition fork 10.

5 is a perspective view showing a jig 11 of the transfer device 4. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of teaching.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing how the height of the jig 11 is detected.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing how the height of the jig 11 is detected.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the jig when the station 2 is at the reference position.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing detection points A and B.

11 is a plan view showing the relationship between detection points A and B and the deviation angle θ of the jig 11. FIG.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing how the recognition fork 10 is moved in the minus X direction.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a positional relationship among detection points A and B, a position D, and a rotation center M.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a positional relationship between a detection point C and a position D.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a positional relationship between detection points A, B, and C.

16 is a plan view showing a positional relationship between detection points A, B, C and a jig reference point P. FIG.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing a state of a teaching work and a state of a work of confirming a value obtained by the work.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Automated guided vehicle 2 stations 3 orbits 4 Transfer device 5 articles 10 Recognition fork (recognition means) 11 jigs 12 First XY axis recognition sensor 13 Second XY axis recognition sensor 14 Z-axis recognition sensor 17 Object to be detected 17a ・ 17b ・ 17c Detected part 19 Detected part

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 3F022 KK20 LL07 NN01 NN13 QQ12                       QQ13                 5F031 FA05 FA07 FA11 GA43 GA47                       GA49 GA58 JA05 JA06 JA28                       JA30 JA36 KA03 KA20 LA07                 5H301 AA01 AA09 BB05 CC03 CC06                       DD02 EE02 EE12 FF16 GG08

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A jig for a transfer device used in an automated guided vehicle system comprising an automatic guided vehicle that carries a transfer device and travels on a track, and a station on which an article is placed, The transfer device is provided with a recognizing means having a sensor arranged at a predetermined interval, and the jig can be detected by the sensor of the recognizing means, and is arranged at a predetermined position of the station. A jig for a transfer device, comprising a plurality of detected parts, wherein each detected part is provided so as to be orthogonal or parallel to each other. 2. The plurality of detected parts are arranged in a stepwise manner, and are composed of two parallel sides and one side arranged between the two sides and orthogonal to the two sides. The jig for the transfer device described in 1. 3. The jig for a transfer device according to claim 1, further comprising a detected portion in a height direction.