JP2006031343A - Conveying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveying apparatus that is miniaturized and enables a conveyor vehicle to travel smoothly toward a stopping position, while simplifying the configuration of the apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The conveying apparatus is provided with a drive means 9 for driving the driving wheels 7 of the article truck 2 and a steering means 10 capable of varying the direction of the driving wheels 7 about a vertical axis. A travel control means is configured to control the operation of the drive means and the steering means so that the article truck travels along a planned path 4 of travel toward the stopping position. The conveying apparatus is provided with a guide 17 that makes contact with and works on a guided body 16 provided at the article truck 2 to guide the article truck 2 in traveling along the planned path 4b of travel, and a torque detection means for detecting the drive torque of the driving wheels 7. The travel control means is configured to control the operation of the steering means according to the information detected by the torque detection means, so that the article truck 2 travels along the planned path 4b of travel. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention provides a driving means for driving a driving wheel of an article transport vehicle, a steering means capable of changing the direction of the driving traveling wheel around a longitudinal axis, and the operation of the driving means and the steering means. And a travel control means for controlling the operation of the drive means and the steering means so that the travel control means travels along a planned travel path toward a stop position with respect to the article transfer location. The present invention relates to a conveyance device configured to do this.

  In the transport apparatus as described above, the travel control means controls the operation of the drive means and the steering means, so that the article transport vehicle travels toward the stop position along the planned travel route, and then the article is brought to the stop position. The conveyance vehicle is stopped and the article is transferred to and from the article transfer location.

  As such a transport device, the planned travel route passes through a relay point that is distant from the stop position in the lateral width direction of the article transport vehicle, and a sub-route along the lateral width direction of the article transport vehicle from the relay point toward the stop position. The travel control means travels to the relay point along the main route, and then travels along the sub route toward the stop position to stop the article transport vehicle at the stop position. Some control the operation of the steering means (for example, see Patent Document 1).

And when the article transport vehicle stops with respect to the stop position, there may be a position shift such as a position or posture shift with respect to the stop position, so conventionally, in order to prevent the position shift from occurring, A configuration for stopping the article transport vehicle at the stop position is provided, and there are the following two configurations.
By the way, as a factor causing the position shift, for example, when the article transport vehicle stops at the relay point, the stop position is shifted, or when traveling along the sub route, the vehicle deviates from the sub route. It is possible that

  As a first configuration, when the article transport vehicle stops with respect to the stop position, a misalignment detection means that detects how much the position of the article transport vehicle is displaced in which direction with respect to the stop position. Provided in the article transport vehicle, the travel control means determines whether or not a position shift has occurred based on the detection information of the position shift detection means in a state where the article transport vehicle is stopped with respect to the stop position. In the case where a positional deviation has occurred, based on the detection information of the positional deviation detecting means, the article conveying vehicle is moved forward or backward to stop the article conveying vehicle at the stop position, and the driving means and the steering means Is controlled to stop the article transport vehicle at the stop position.

  As a second configuration, the article transport vehicle is caused to travel along the planned travel route by contacting the guided body provided in the article transport vehicle between the position before the stop position and the stop position. The guide body is provided with a guide body, and by the contact action of the guide body with respect to the guided body, the traveling direction of the article transport vehicle is forcibly changed to travel along the planned travel route, and the article transport vehicle is stopped. It stops at the position.

JP-A-6-298343

As described above, the conventional transport device has two configurations for stopping the article transport vehicle at the stop position. However, there are the following problems.
That is, in the first configuration, after stopping the article transport vehicle with respect to the stop position, the article transport vehicle is stopped by correcting the position of the article transport vehicle by moving the article transport vehicle forward or backward. Since the vehicle is stopped at the position, a space for correcting the position of the article transport vehicle has to be provided around the stop position, and the size of the transport device is increased accordingly.
In the second configuration, since the traveling direction of the article transport vehicle is forcibly changed by the contact action of the guide body on the guided body, the article transport between the position before the stop position and the stop position is performed. There is a possibility that the traveling of the vehicle becomes unstable and the traveling of the article transport vehicle toward the stop position cannot be performed smoothly.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above-described problems, for example, in the above-described second configuration, when the guide body is brought into contact with the guided body, the pressure applied to the guided body or the like is around the vertical axis. And a travel control means for controlling the operation of the steering means so that the article transport vehicle travels along the planned travel path based on the detection information of the pressure sensor. It is conceivable to configure.

In other words, when the guide body makes contact with the guided body, pressure is applied to the guided body so that the article transport vehicle follows the planned travel route, and the pressure is detected by the pressure sensor. Will be able to.
Then, the traveling control means controls the operation of the steering means based on the detection information of the pressure sensor, for example, so that the direction of the pressure applied to the guided body and the direction of the driving traveling wheel coincide. Then, by controlling the operation of the steering means so that the article transport vehicle travels along the planned travel route, in the travel from the position before the stop position to the stop position, the guided body by the guide body Even if the contact action occurs, the article transport vehicle can be made to travel along the planned travel route while changing the direction of the driving wheels so as to suppress the contact action from being continued.

Therefore, by adjusting the position of the article transport vehicle so that the article transport vehicle travels along the planned travel route during the travel from the position before the stop position to the stop position, the article is placed around the stop position. It is not necessary to provide a space for correcting the position of the transport vehicle, and the transport device can be downsized.
And, while preventing the travel direction of the article transport vehicle around the longitudinal axis from being forcibly changed by the contact action of the guide body on the guided body, the position from the front side of the stop position to the stop position is minimized. By traveling between them, the article transport vehicle can be made to travel stably, and the article transport vehicle can smoothly travel to the stop position.

  However, in the above-described transfer device, in order to obtain information for changing the direction of the driving traveling wheel, a new pressure-sensitive sensor is not provided, and complicated adjustment work such as the installation position of the pressure-sensitive sensor is performed. Since this is necessary, the configuration becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a point, and the object thereof is to reduce the size of the apparatus and smoothly run the article transport vehicle with respect to the stop position while simplifying the configuration. It is in providing a transfer device that can be used.

In order to achieve this object, the first characteristic configuration of the conveying device according to the present invention is a driving means for driving the driving wheels of the article transport vehicle, and the direction of the driving wheels is changed around the vertical axis. There is provided a free steering means, and a driving control means for controlling the operation of the driving means and the steering means, and the traveling control means follows a planned travel route toward a stop position with respect to the article transfer location. In the transport apparatus configured to control the operation of the drive means and the steering means to travel
Guidance is made so that the article transport vehicle travels along the planned travel path by contacting the guided body provided in the article transport vehicle between the position before the stop position and the stop position. And a torque detection means for detecting the driving torque of the driving wheels, and the travel control means moves the article transport vehicle along the planned travel route based on detection information of the torque detection means. In other words, the operation of the steering means is controlled so as to travel along the road.

That is, the guide body makes contact with the guided body, the travel direction of the article transport vehicle is forcibly changed, and the driving torque of the driving traveling wheels is increased. Based on the detection information, it can be detected that the driving torque of the driving traveling wheel has increased.
In the article transport vehicle provided with one driving traveling wheel, the traveling control means sets the direction of the driving traveling wheel so that the driving torque detected by the torque detecting means does not increase. By changing around the axis, the operation of the steering means can be controlled so that the article transport vehicle travels along the planned travel route based on the detection information of the torque detecting means.
Further, in the article transport vehicle provided with a plurality of driving traveling wheels, the traveling control means is configured such that, for example, among the plurality of driving traveling wheels, one having a high driving torque is lowered. By changing the direction around the vertical axis, the operation of the steering means can be controlled so that the article transport vehicle travels along the planned travel route based on the detection information of the torque detection means.

  In this way, the travel control means controls the operation of the steering means to cause the article transport vehicle to travel along the planned travel route based on the detection information of the torque detection means, so that the guided body is guided. Even if a contact action occurs on the body, the article transport vehicle can be made to travel along the planned travel route while changing the direction of the driving wheels so as to suppress the contact action from being continued. .

Therefore, by adjusting the position of the article transport vehicle so that the article transport vehicle travels along the planned travel route during the travel from the position before the stop position to the stop position, the article is placed around the stop position. It is not necessary to provide a space for correcting the position of the transport vehicle, and the transport device can be downsized.
And, while preventing the travel direction of the article transport vehicle around the longitudinal axis from being forcibly changed by the contact action of the guide body on the guided body, the position from the front side of the stop position to the stop position is minimized. By traveling between them, the article transport vehicle can be made to travel stably, and the article transport vehicle can smoothly travel to the stop position.
In addition, in order to change the direction of the driving traveling wheel so as to suppress the contact action of the guiding body against the guided body, the torque detecting means detects the driving torque of the existing driving traveling wheel. Therefore, the configuration can be simplified.

  From the above, it has become possible to provide a transport device that can reduce the size of the device and smoothly travel the article transport vehicle with respect to the stop position while simplifying the configuration.

According to a second characteristic configuration of the transport device according to the present invention, the driving traveling wheels are disposed on both right and left sides of the right and left sides of the article transport vehicle in a traveling state toward the stop position.
As the torque detection means, right-side torque detection means for detecting the drive torque of the driving traveling wheel disposed on the right side of the article transport vehicle in the traveling state toward the stop position, and in the traveling state toward the stop position. Left-side torque detecting means for detecting a driving torque of the driving traveling wheel disposed on the left side of the article transport vehicle;
Based on the detection information of the right torque detection means and the detection information of the left torque detection means, the travel control means activates the steering means to cause the article transport vehicle to travel along the planned travel route. In that it is configured to control.

That is, the traveling control means is arranged on either the right side or the left side of the article transport vehicle in the traveling state toward the stop position by comparing the detection information of the right torque detection means and the detection information of the left torque detection means. It is possible to detect whether the driving torque of the driving traveling wheels is high.
When the driving torque of the driving traveling wheel disposed on the right side of the article transport vehicle in the traveling state toward the stop position is high, the traveling control means sets the direction of the driving traveling wheel around the vertical axis. If the driving torque of the driving wheel disposed on the left side of the article transport vehicle is changed to the right side and conversely toward the stop position, the direction of the driving wheel is set around the vertical axis. By changing to the left side, the operation of the steering means can be controlled so that the article transport vehicle travels along the planned travel route.

  Therefore, in order to travel the article transport vehicle along the planned travel route only by comparing the detection information of the right torque detection means and the detection information of the left torque detection means, the direction of the driving wheels for driving is set around the vertical axis. Thus, the direction to be changed can be determined, and the configuration for controlling the operation of the steering means can be simplified.

According to a third characteristic configuration of the transport device according to the present invention, the planned travel route passes through a relay point that is separated from the stop position in the lateral width direction of the article transport vehicle, and from the relay point to the stop position. It is composed of a sub route along the lateral width direction of the article transporting vehicle,
The travel control means controls the operation of the drive means and the steering means to travel to the stop position along the sub route after traveling to the relay point along the main route. It is in the point comprised as follows.

That is, when the travel control means travels along the main route to the relay point, the travel control means only controls the operation of the steering means so as to change the direction of the driving traveling wheel along the lateral width direction of the article transport vehicle. The article transport vehicle can be made to travel along the sub route toward the stop position.
Therefore, the structure for controlling the operation of the steering means can be simplified when the article transport vehicle travels along the travel route.

An embodiment of a transfer device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the conveyance device is provided in an article conveyance vehicle 2 that travels between a plurality of stations 1 serving as article transfer locations, the article conveyance vehicle 2, and the article conveyance vehicle 2. A control unit 3 is provided as a travel control means for controlling the travel of the product, and the article transport vehicle 2 autonomously travels along the planned travel route 4 in a warehouse, a factory, etc. It is comprised so that B may be conveyed.
Incidentally, FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall outline of the transport apparatus, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the article transport vehicle 2, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the article transport vehicle 2.

The planned travel route 4 includes a main route 4a passing through a relay point 6 away from the stop position 5 with respect to the station 1 in the width direction of the article transport vehicle 2, and a width of the article transport vehicle 2 from the relay point 6 toward the stop position 5. It is comprised from the subroute 4b along a direction.
And the stop position 5 with respect to the station 1 is a state in which the periphery of the front side and the rear side of the article transport vehicle 2 is surrounded so as to allow the approach of the article transport vehicle 2 only in the direction along the width direction of the article transport vehicle 2. It consists of

A guide line for guiding the article transport vehicle 2 is provided on the main route 4a, and a relay point mark indicating the relay point 6 is provided at the relay point 6.
Further, on the sub route 4b, a guide line or the like for guiding the article transport vehicle 2 is not provided, and the sub route 4b is configured by a straight virtual route from the relay point 6 to the stop position 5.

As shown in FIG. 4, the article transport vehicle 2 is provided with driving traveling wheels 7 on one end side in the lateral width direction, driven driving wheels 8 on the other end side, and the driving traveling wheels 7 and the driven wheels. The traveling wheel 8 is supported so as to be rotatable around the longitudinal axis.
The driving traveling wheels 7 are disposed on both the front side and the rear side of the article transport vehicle 2, and each of the front driving traveling wheels 7a and the rear driving traveling wheels 7b serves as driving means. The drive motor 9 is rotationally driven, and the steering motor 10 as the steering means is configured to change the direction of the drive motor 9 around the vertical axis.
The driven traveling wheels 8 are disposed on both the front side and the rear side of the article transport vehicle 2, and the distance between the front and rear driven traveling wheels 8 is smaller than the distance between the front and rear driving traveling wheels 7. It is comprised so that it may become.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the article transport vehicle 2 is provided with a transfer device 11 such as a roller conveyor for transferring the article B in the lateral width direction. The article B is transferred between the article transport vehicle 2 and the station 1 by operating the transfer device 11 in a state stopped at 5.
Incidentally, in this embodiment, as the article B, a roll-shaped article B having a length over the entire length of the front and rear width of the article transport vehicle 2 is illustrated.

The article transport vehicle 2 is provided with a guide sensor 12 for detecting a guide line provided on the main path 4a, and a mark detection sensor 13 for detecting a relay point mark provided at the relay point 6, The guide sensors 12 are provided at the front end portion and the rear end portion in the front-rear direction of the article transport vehicle 2.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the article transport vehicle 2 includes a front torque detector 14 that detects the driving torque of the driving wheels 7a on the front side, and the driving torque of the driving wheels 7b on the rear side. The rear side torque detection part 15 which detects this is provided.

The article transport vehicle 2 travels transversely toward the stop position 5 along the sub route 4b with the front side positioned on the left side of the article transport vehicle 2 and the rear side positioned on the right side of the article transport vehicle 2. In the traveling state toward the stop position 5, the driving traveling wheel disposed on the right side of the article transporting vehicle 2 is the rear driving traveling wheel 7 b and the left side of the article transporting vehicle 2. The driving traveling wheel disposed on the front side is the driving traveling wheel 7a on the front side.
Therefore, the front side torque detection part 14 is comprised as a left side torque detection means, and the back side torque detection part 15 is comprised as a right side torque detection means.

Although not shown in the figure, a management unit that manages the operation of the article transport vehicle 2 is provided. It is comprised so that operation information including the station 1 may be commanded.
Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 3 operates the article transport vehicle 2 to transport the article B from the transport source station 1 to the transport destination station 1 based on the operation information from the management unit. Configured to control.

When the description is added, the control unit 3 first travels the article transport vehicle 2 along the main route 4a and the sub route 4b to travel to the stop position 5 with respect to the station 1 as the transport source, and then moves the article transport vehicle to the stop position 5. The transfer apparatus 11 is operated in a state in which 2 is stopped, and the article B is received from the transfer source station 1.
Thereafter, the control unit 3 causes the article transport vehicle 2 to travel along the main route 4a and the sub route 4b to travel to the stop position 5 with respect to the destination station 1, and stops the article transport vehicle 2 at the stop position 5. In this state, the transfer device 11 is operated, and the article B is wholesaled to the transfer destination station 1.

Hereinafter, the control of the traveling of the article transport vehicle 2 by the control unit 3 will be described.
The control unit 3 controls the operation of the drive motor 9 and the steering motor 10 to travel to the stop position 5 along the sub route 4b after traveling to the relay point 6 along the main route 4a. It is configured as follows.

In other words, when the article transport vehicle 2 travels along the main route 4a, the control unit 3 causes the article transport vehicle 2 to travel along the main route 4a based on the detection information of the guide sensor 12. Accordingly, the operation of the drive motor 9 and the steering motor 10 is controlled.
And the control part 3 stops the operation | movement of the drive motor 9, and stops the goods conveyance vehicle 2 to the relay point 6, if the mark detection sensor 13 detects a relay point mark in the driving | running state along the main path | route 4a. It is configured.
Thereafter, the control unit 3 operates the steering motor 10 to change the direction of the driving traveling wheel 7 so as to be along the lateral width direction of the article transporting vehicle 2, and then operates the driving motor 9 to The article transport vehicle 2 is configured to travel transversely toward the stop position 5 along 4b.

  In order to stop the article transport vehicle 2 without being displaced with respect to the stop position 5, the article transport vehicle 2 is provided with a guide roller 16 as a guided body as shown in FIG. On the traveling road surface of the transport vehicle 2, guidance is provided so that the article transport vehicle 2 travels along the sub route 4 b by contacting the guide roller 16 between the position before the stop position 5 and the stop position 5. A body 17 is provided.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the guide roller 16 rotates around the vertical axis by a support 18 that extends downward from the vehicle body at a position where a part of the side bumper of the article transport vehicle 2 is cut away. It is supported freely, and is configured to allow the guide body 15 to enter the inward side of the vehicle body from the notched portion of the side bumper when the article transport vehicle 2 approaches the stop position 5. .
And the guide roller 16 comprised in this way is provided in the both sides of the front side of the goods conveyance vehicle 2, and a back side.

As shown in FIG. 4, the guide body 17 stops the travel of the article transport vehicle 2 by engaging the guide roller 16 with a narrow and wide inclined guide surface 17 a on which the guide roller 16 contacts and rotates. The guide body 17 is configured in a L shape in plan view including a stopper surface 17b to be operated, and corresponds to the guide rollers 16 provided on both the front side and the rear side of the article transport vehicle 2. And it is provided in two places before and after.
Even if the article transport vehicle 2 approaches the stop position 5 in a state where it is off the sub route 4b, the guide body 17 is brought into contact with the guide roller 16 to guide the guide roller 16 along the guide surface 17a. By doing so, the traveling direction of the article transport vehicle 2 is forcibly changed around the axis of the vertical axis, and the article transport vehicle 2 is configured to travel along the sub route 4b.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a stop position detection limit switch 19 is provided for each of the support bodies 18 that support the guide roller 16, and each of the guide bodies 17 is stopped at the end portion of the guide surface 17a. A stop position detection dog 20 that is in contact with the position detection limit switch 19 is provided.
When the article transport vehicle 2 reaches the stop position 5, each of the stop position detection dogs 20 comes into contact with each of the stop position detection limit switches 19, and each of the stop position detection limit switches 19 is operated. It is configured to be turned on.
Incidentally, in FIG. 6, only one set is illustrated among the two sets of the front and rear guide rollers 16 and the guide body 17, and the other configuration is the same, and thus the illustration is omitted.

  In the traveling state toward the stop position 5, the control unit 3 travels the article transport vehicle 2 along the sub route 4 b based on the detection information of the front side torque detection unit 14 and the detection information of the rear side torque detection unit 15. Therefore, the operation of the steering motor 10 is controlled.

  In other words, when the guide body 17 is brought into contact with the guide roller 16, the front drive torque T 1 detected by the front torque detector 14 and the rear drive detected by the rear torque detector 15. Since one or both of the torque T2 and the torque T2 increase, the control unit 3 drives based on the front drive torque T1 and the rear drive torque T2 so as not to continue the contact action on the guide roller 16 by the guide body 17. The operation of the steering motor 10 is controlled so as to change the direction of the traveling wheel 7 around the longitudinal axis.

More specifically, in the control unit 3, the front side drive torque T1 detected by the front side torque detection unit 14 and the rear side drive torque T2 detected by the rear side torque detection unit 15 are below the reference value K. In such a case, the article transport vehicle 2 continues to travel in the transverse direction without operating the steering motor 10 so as not to change the directions of the front driving traveling wheel 7a and the rear driving traveling wheel 7b. Is configured to do.
The control unit 3 compares the front drive torque T1 and the rear drive torque T2 when either the front drive torque T1 or the rear drive torque T2 is greater than the reference value K. The steering motor 10 is operated so as to change the direction of the driving wheel 7a for driving on the front side and the driving wheel 7b for driving on the rear side around the longitudinal axis so that the contact action of the guide body 17 on the guide roller 16 is not continued. It is configured to let you.

  That is, when the front drive torque T1 is greater than the rear drive torque T2, the control unit 3 determines the direction of the front drive running wheel 7a and the rear drive running wheel 7b around the vertical axis. In order to change the setting angle to the left side, a left turning operation is performed to operate the steering motor 10, and if the rear driving torque T2 is larger than the front driving torque T1, the front driving traveling wheel 7a and the rear In order to change the direction of the driving wheel 7b on the side to the right side by a set angle around the axis of the vertical axis, a right turn operation is performed to operate the steering motor 10.

In this way, even if the article transport vehicle 2 departs from the sub route 4b and approaches the stop position 5, it is guided by the guide body during the travel from the position before the stop position 5 to the stop position 5. Due to the contact action on the body, the traveling direction of the article transport vehicle 2 is forcibly changed around the longitudinal axis, and the direction of the driving wheels is changed so as to suppress the contact action from being continued. However, the article transport vehicle 2 is configured to travel along the sub route 4b.
Then, when each of the two front and rear stop position detection limit switches 19 is turned ON, the control unit 3 stops the operation of the drive motor 9 and causes the article transport vehicle 2 to be displaced from the stop position 5. It is configured to stop in a state that is not.

The operation of the control unit 3 in the traveling state toward the stop position 5 of the article transport vehicle 2 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.
First, the control unit 3 stops the article transport vehicle 2 at the relay point 6 and operates the steering motor 10 to change the direction of the driving traveling wheel 7 along the lateral width direction of the article transport vehicle 2. After that, the drive motor 9 is operated to start traversing (step 1).
Then, the control unit 3 continues the traverse traveling when the front side driving torque T1 and the rear side driving torque T2 are equal to or less than the reference value K (steps 2 and 3).

Further, the controller 3 determines that the front drive torque T1 is greater than the rear drive torque T2 when either the front drive torque T1 or the rear drive torque T2 is greater than the reference value K. A left turn operation is performed (steps 4 and 5), and if the rear drive torque T2 is greater than the front drive torque T1, a right turn operation is performed (steps 6 and 7).
When the left turn operation or the right turn operation is performed, the direction of the driving traveling wheel 7 is maintained in the state after the left turn operation or the right turn operation, and the transverse running is continued ( Step 3).

  The control unit 3 repeats the above-described operation until each of the two front and rear stop position detection limit switches 19 is turned on, and when each of the two front and rear stop position detection limit switches 19 is turned on, the drive motor 9 is stopped and the article transport vehicle 2 is stopped at the stop position 5 (steps 8 and 9).

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above embodiment, the driving traveling wheels 7 are provided on both the front side and the rear side of the article transporting vehicle 2, and the driving traveling wheels 7 are disposed in the traveling state toward the stop position 5. However, the number of the driving traveling wheels 7 may be one or three or more, and the arrangement position can be changed as appropriate. .

For example, when one driving traveling wheel 7 is provided, the control unit 3 in the traveling state toward the stop position 5, based on the detection information of the torque detection unit that detects the driving torque of the driving traveling wheel 7, A description will be given of a configuration for controlling the operation of the steering motor 10 so that the article transport vehicle 2 travels along the sub route 4b.
When the driving torque of the driving traveling wheel 7 becomes higher than the reference value, the control unit 3 changes the direction of the driving traveling wheel 7 to the right side around the vertical axis and sets it to the right side or sets it to the left side. When the driving torque of the driving wheel 7 becomes higher than the reference value even after the right turning operation or the left turning operation, the right turning operation or the left turning operation is performed again. Configured to do.
In this way, the control unit 3 repeatedly performs the operation of changing the direction of the driving traveling wheel 7 around the vertical axis based on the detection information of the torque detecting unit, and the driving torque of the driving traveling wheel 7 is the reference. The operation of the steering motor 10 is controlled to be smaller than the value.

(2) In the above embodiment, an example in which the planned travel route 4 is configured by the main route 4a and the sub route 4b has been described. However, the configuration of the planned travel route 4 can be appropriately changed. Even when the planned travel route 4 is composed of a main route and a sub route, the shapes of the main route and the sub route at that time can be appropriately changed.

(3) In the above embodiment, in the right turn operation and the left turn operation, the direction of the driving traveling wheel 7 is changed by the set angle around the vertical axis, but the set angle at this time is constant. It is possible to change the setting angle as appropriate, such as setting the angle or configuring the setting angle to be changeable.
When the set angle is configured to be changeable, for example, the set angle is set to be smaller as the number of times of the right turn operation or the left turn operation is increased, or the driving wheels 7 are driven. It is possible to set so that the set angle increases as the torque increases.

(4) In the above embodiment, one article transport vehicle 2 is shown in FIG. 1, but a plurality of article transport vehicles 2 can be provided and implemented. Changes can be made as appropriate.

Schematic plan view of the transport device Top view of goods transport vehicle Side view of goods transport vehicle The top view which shows the driving | running | working state which goes to the stop position of an article conveyance vehicle Block diagram of goods transport vehicle A perspective view showing a guide roller and a guide body Flowchart showing the operation of the control unit in the traveling state toward the stop position

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Goods transfer location 2 Goods conveyance vehicle 3 Travel control means 4a Main path as a planned travel path 4b Sub route as a planned travel path 7 Driving wheel 9 Drive means 10 Steering means 14 Left-side torque detection as torque detection means Means 15 Right-side torque detection means 16 as torque detection means 16 Guided body 17 Guide body

Claims (3)

Driving means for driving the driving wheels for driving the article transport vehicle, steering means for changing the direction of the driving traveling wheels around a longitudinal axis, and driving for controlling the operation of the driving means and the steering means Control means,
The travel control means is a transport device configured to control the operation of the drive means and the steering means to travel along a planned travel path toward a stop position with respect to the article transfer location. And
Guidance is made so that the article transport vehicle travels along the planned travel path by contacting the guided body provided in the article transport vehicle between the position before the stop position and the stop position. And a torque detection means for detecting a driving torque of the driving traveling wheel,
The travel control means is configured to control the operation of the steering means so that the article transport vehicle travels along the planned travel route based on detection information of the torque detection means. . The driving wheels are disposed on both the right and left sides of the article transport vehicle in a traveling state toward the stop position;
As the torque detection means, right-side torque detection means for detecting the drive torque of the driving traveling wheel disposed on the right side of the article transport vehicle in the traveling state toward the stop position, and in the traveling state toward the stop position. Left-side torque detecting means for detecting a driving torque of the driving traveling wheel disposed on the left side of the article transport vehicle;
Based on the detection information of the right torque detection means and the detection information of the left torque detection means, the travel control means activates the steering means to cause the article transport vehicle to travel along the planned travel route. The transport apparatus of claim 1, configured to control. The planned travel route passes through a relay point that is distant from the stop position in the lateral width direction of the article transport vehicle, and a sub route along the lateral width direction of the article transport vehicle from the relay point toward the stop position; Consisting of
The travel control means controls the operation of the drive means and the steering means to travel to the stop position along the sub route after traveling to the relay point along the main route. The transport apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, configured as described above.

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