JP2006062870A - Upper guide structure of crane - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an upper guide structure capable of avoiding an enlargement of an upper side dead space of a rack, by preventing dust-dirt generated from a guide part for restraining swinging of a stacker crane in the orthogonal direction to the traveling direction, from falling outside a guide rail. <P>SOLUTION: The stacker crane 12 is restrained from swinging in the orthogonal direction to its traveling direction, by moving by guiding a member 21 to be guided arranged in its upper part by the guide rail 20. The member 21 to be guided is stored in the guide rail 20, and a slit 20a for allowing a part of a support part 23 for integrally moving the member 21 to be guided with the stacker crane 12 to project to an external part of the guide rail 20, is formed above a contact part between the member 21 to be guided and the guide rail 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an upper guide structure of a crane, and more particularly, to a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction while being guided by a rail installed along the traveling path of the crane, such as a stacker crane of an automatic warehouse. The present invention relates to an upper guide structure of a crane that moves in a state where swinging is suppressed.

  A stacker crane used in an automatic warehouse generally travels in the front-rear direction along a traveling rail laid on the floor surface between a pair of left and right storage shelves. The stacker crane includes a pair of rollers that engage with guide rails disposed on the ceiling, and the stacker crane swings in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction when the rollers engage with the guide rails. It is designed to suppress this.

  In manufacturing plants for semiconductor devices, liquid crystal panels, etc., storage facilities (automatic warehouses) are required to temporarily store semi-finished products and the like in the manufacturing process while maintaining a clean environment. In general, to maintain a clean environment, clean air is blown down from above, and the descending air is sucked under the floor or supplied to the product storage location immediately after filtering with a filter, and then sucked with a fan and circulated. It has come to let you. Therefore, there is a problem that dust generated in the roller portion that suppresses the swing of the stacker crane or the friction portion between the roller and the guide rail falls downward and adheres to the stored load.

  As a load storage facility in a clean room that solves this problem, a configuration in which an upper rail that guides the upper part of a loading / unloading device that moves along a shelf and a pair of rollers that are guided by the upper rail are accommodated in a suction duct. It has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). As shown in FIG. 8, this guide structure has a suction duct 52 extending above the post 51 of the carry-in / out device (crane) so as to extend along the traveling direction of the carry-in / out device (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 8). It is arranged. An upper rail 53 is fixed in the suction duct 52. A slit 54 is formed in the lower part of the suction duct 52 so as to extend over the entire length of the suction duct 52. A support body 55 is fixed to the upper part of the post 51, and a plurality of pairs of rollers 56 arranged so as to sandwich the upper rail 53 are supported on the support body 55.

  Further, as a configuration for preventing dust generated from the roller that guides so as to suppress the swing of the stacker crane from falling downward, it is conceivable to provide a cover member that covers the roller so as to be movable integrally with the roller. For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the guide rail 59 is fixed to the beam 58 constituting the rack 57. On the other hand, on the upper part of the stacker crane 60, a pair of rollers 63 supported by a bracket 62 extending from the support portion 61 is provided, and a cover 64 for preventing dust generated from the rollers 63 and the like from falling is provided. The cover 64 covers a part of the roller 63 and the bracket 62, and a gap Δ is provided between the cover 64 and the guide rail 59 to avoid interference.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, in addition to the configuration of FIG. 9A, a configuration in which a fan filter unit 65 is provided on the lower side of the cover 64 and the dust generated from the roller 63 is sucked can be considered.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-92609 (Fig. 4)

  However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, since the slit 54 is provided on the bottom wall of the suction duct 52 along the upper rail 53, if the suction action of the suction duct 52 is weak, dust generation from the roller 56 is slit. There is a problem of dropping from 54 to the outside of the suction duct 52. In order to prevent this, if the suction action is increased, there is a problem that power consumption increases.

  9A, the lower side of the roller 63 is covered with the cover 64. However, since there is a gap Δ between the guide rail 59 and the cover 64, dust generation from the roller 63 is caused by the gap Δ. There is a problem that the cover 64 jumps out of the cover 64 and falls. In the configuration of FIG. 9B, due to the configuration in which external air flows into the cover 64 from the gap Δ due to the action of the fan filter unit 65, the dust generation from the roller 63 flows from the gap Δ to the outside of the cover 64. Jumping out is prevented. However, since the fan filter unit 65 exists below the cover 64, when the stacker crane 60 performs the load loading / unloading operation, it is necessary to perform the operation so as not to interfere with the fan filter unit 65. As a result, the portion corresponding to the range through which the fan filter unit 65 passes in the load accommodating portion of the rack 57 cannot be used for accommodating the load, and there is a problem that the dead space on the upper side of the rack 57 becomes large. is there.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and its purpose is to allow dust generated from a guide portion that suppresses a crane to swing in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction to fall outside the guide rail. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an upper guide structure for a crane that can prevent the above-described problem and avoid an increase in dead space on the upper side of the rack.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a guide rail provided along the travel route above the travel route of the crane, an upper portion of the crane, the guide rail, It is an upper guide structure of a crane provided with a guided member that regulates swinging in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the crane by being engaged. The guide rail includes a guide surface that can accommodate the guided member in the guide rail and restricts the guided member from moving in the width direction of the guide rail. The guide rail has a slit in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail that allows a part of the support portion that supports the guided member to protrude outside the guide rail above the contact portion with the guided member. Are formed along. The guided member is configured to be movable integrally with the crane in a state where the support portion is supported by a support bracket fixed to an upper portion of the crane.

  In the present invention, the crane is restrained from swinging in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction when the guided member provided on the crane is guided and moved by the guide rail. A guide rail and a to-be-guided member comprise the guide part which suppresses that a crane shakes in the direction orthogonal to a running direction. The guided member engages with the guide rail and moves to generate dust. However, the guided member is accommodated in the guide rail, and the slit that allows a part of the support part that moves the guided member integrally with the crane to protrude outside the guide rail is formed with the guided member. It is formed above the contact portion with the guide rail. Accordingly, the portion below the slit of the guide rail serves as a tray for the dust generated from the guided member, and the dust generated from the guided member is prevented from falling from the guide rail. Also, unlike the prior art, the guided member is not configured to sandwich the guide rail, and therefore the number of guided members can be reduced.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the guide rail has the slit formed on the upper side. In the present invention, the supporting structure of the guided member is simplified as compared with the configuration in which the slit is formed in the side wall of the guide rail. Moreover, the volume which a guide rail occupies can be made small.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the guided member is a roller. Therefore, in the present invention, dust is less likely to be generated compared to a configuration in which the guided member slides and engages with the guide rail.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention is the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein one guided member is arranged in the width direction of the guide rail. Therefore, in the present invention, the number of guided members can be reduced as compared with the prior art in which the rail is held between rollers.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The guide rail is provided at a position lower than the uppermost part of the crane, and the guided member is supported by the support bracket fixed to the crane in a state of extending to the side of the crane. According to the present invention, the support structure of the guided member is simplified as compared with the configuration in which the guide rail is provided above the crane, and the dead space can be reduced when applied to an automatic warehouse.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can prevent that the dust which generate | occur | produced from the guide part which suppresses a crane swinging in the direction orthogonal to a traveling direction can fall out of a guide rail, and the dead space of the upper side of a rack is large. Can be avoided.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an automatic warehouse will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1A is an upper schematic sectional view of an automatic warehouse, and FIG. 1B is a partially enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 2 is a partial schematic side view of the stacker crane.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the automatic warehouse 11 includes a pair of left and right racks (framed shelves) 14L and 14R on both sides of a travel path 13 of a stacker crane 12 as cranes, and each rack 14L and 14R has a load ( A plurality of storage portions 15 for storing (not shown) are provided. A traveling rail (not shown) extending linearly is laid on the floor surface between the racks 14L and 14R, and the stacker crane 12 extends along the traveling rail in the front-rear direction (the paper surface in FIG. 1A). And run vertically). The stacker crane 12 transfers and conveys loads between the storage units 15.

  Each of the racks 14L and 14R is formed by connecting a plurality of identical storage units, each having a plurality of upper and lower storage units 15 (three in this embodiment) along the traveling path 13 in the vertical direction. Each storage unit is provided with a fan filter unit (not shown) on the back side of each storage unit 15. When the fan of each fan filter unit is driven, a negative pressure is generated in a communication path formed by communicating the back side of each fan filter unit up and down, and this negative pressure causes a communication path provided at the lower part of each storage unit. The air on the stacker crane 12 side (air of the travel path 13) is introduced into the air introduction path communicating with the. The air introduced into each fan filter unit from the back side is filtered with fine dust and supplied into the storage unit 15. The air supplied to each storage unit 15 is discharged to the stacker crane 12 side, and is again introduced into the fan filter unit from the air introduction path. Accordingly, each storage unit 15 is always supplied with high-purity air filtered by a filter, and the air cleanliness of the entire interior of the automatic warehouse 11 is maintained at or above a reference value.

  As shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 2, the stacker crane 12 includes a traveling carriage (not shown), a mast 16, a carriage 17, an upper support 18 and the like. The mast 16 is erected on the traveling carriage, and the carriage 17 can be moved up and down along the mast 16. The carriage 17 is equipped with a transfer device 19. The transfer device is configured by a fork or the like that can extend in the width direction of the travel path 13 (the left-right direction in FIG. 1A). A mechanism for raising and lowering the carriage 17 is incorporated in the mast 16 and a cover that covers the mast 16 prevents a dust generated from the raising and lowering mechanism from being discharged out of the cover (for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-44012). Configuration) is adopted.

  An upper guide structure that guides the travel of the stacker crane 12 while suppressing the swing in the direction orthogonal to the travel direction of the stacker crane 12 is provided above the travel path 13. The upper guide structure is provided above the travel route 13 so as to extend along the travel route 13 and the stacker crane 12. The upper guide structure engages with the guide rail 20 to engage the stacker crane 12. And a guided member 21 that regulates swinging in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of

  The guided member 21 is composed of a roller. In this embodiment, the roller is formed of resin (for example, MC nylon (monomer cast nylon)). The guided member 21 (roller) is supported by a support portion 23 supported by a support bracket 22 fixed so as to extend laterally from the upper support portion 18 so that its axis extends in the vertical direction. The upper portion of the support portion 23 is fixed to the support bracket 22, and the guided member 21 is supported at the lower portion. That is, the guided member 21 is configured to be movable integrally with the stacker crane 12 in a state where the support portion 23 is supported by the support bracket 22 fixed to the upper portion of the stacker crane 12.

  The guide rail 20 has a substantially square cylindrical cross section, and a slit 20a is formed in the upper center over the entire length in the longitudinal direction. The guide rail 20 is fixed on one side surface to a bracket 24 fixed to the ceiling of the automatic warehouse 11. The guide rail 20 includes a guide surface 20 b that can accommodate the guided member 21 in the guide rail 20 and restricts the guided member 21 from moving in the width direction of the guide rail 20. The inner surfaces of both side walls of the guide rail 20 constitute a guide surface 20b. In this embodiment, the guide rail 20 is made of stainless steel or aluminum.

  The guided member 21 is accommodated in the guide rail 20 so as to be in contact with one of the guide surfaces 20b, and a part (upper part) of the support portion 23 protrudes from the slit 20a to the outside of the guide rail 20 and is supported. It is supported by the bracket 22. That is, the guided member 21 is formed to have a smaller diameter (outer diameter) than the distance between the two guide surfaces 20b. In the guide rail 20, the guide surface 20 b constitutes a contact portion with the guided member 21, and a part of the support portion 23 that supports the guided member 21 is guided above the contact portion with the guided member 21. A slit 20 a that allows the projection to protrude outside the rail 20 is formed along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 20.

Next, the operation of the automatic warehouse 11 configured as described above will be described.
The stacker crane 12 performs traveling and load transfer operations based on command signals from a control device (not shown). The stacker crane 12 moves as a whole when the traveling carriage moves along the traveling rail. When the stacker crane 12 moves, the guided member 21 provided on the upper portion of the stacker crane 12 moves integrally with the stacker crane 12 while rotating in contact with any one of the guide surfaces 20b of the guide rails 20. The guided member 21 can move integrally with the stacker crane 12 in the traveling direction of the stacker crane 12, but the movement is restricted by engaging with the guide surface 20 b in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the stacker crane 12. Is done. Therefore, the stacker crane 12 travels (moves) stably in a state where the swinging in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction is suppressed by the action of the guided member 21 and the guide rail 20.

  The stacker crane 12 stops at a position corresponding to the storage unit 15 that needs to transfer the load, and the transfer device 19 on the carriage 17 is driven in a state corresponding to the storage unit 15 to perform the load transfer operation. Done. In the load transfer operation, the center of gravity of the stacker crane 12 is biased toward the side where the storage unit 15 requiring the transfer operation is present, and the mast 16 tends to tilt toward the center of gravity, but the guided member 21 is connected to the guide surface 20b. By engaging. Tilt is suppressed.

  When the stacker crane 12 travels, the guided member 21 moves in the guide rail 20 in a state of being engaged (contacted) with the guide surface 20b, so that dust is generated at the contact portion between the guided member 21 and the guide surface 20b. To do. The generated dust moves downward by gravity. Since the guided member 21 is accommodated in the guide rail 20, the guide rail 20 functions as a tray for dust generated from the guided member 21. A slit 20 a is formed in the guide rail 20 on the upper side (upper wall) over the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 20. However, since the slit 20a is formed above the contact portion between the guided member 21 and the guide rail 20, there is a possibility that dust generated from the guided member 21 is discharged from the slit 20a to the outside of the guide rail 20. Very low.

This embodiment has the following effects.
(1) The guide rail 20 includes a guide surface 20 b that can accommodate the guided member 21 in the guide rail 20 and restricts the guided member 21 from moving in the width direction of the guide rail 20. A slit 20 a that allows a part of the support portion 23 that supports the guided member 21 to protrude outside the guide rail 20 is formed above the contact portion. The guided member 21 is configured to be movable integrally with the stacker crane 12 in a state where the support portion 23 is supported by a support bracket 22 fixed to the upper portion of the stacker crane 12.

  Therefore, the part below the slit 20a of the guide rail 20 serves as a tray for the dust generated from the guided member 21, and the dust generated from the guided member 21 is prevented from falling from the guide rail 20. .

  (2) The guide rail 20 is formed so that the slit 20a is positioned on the upper side. Therefore, the support structure of the guided member 21 is simplified as compared with the configuration in which the slit 20a is formed on the side wall of the guide rail 20. Moreover, the volume which the guide rail 20 occupies can be made small in the same width.

(3) The guided member 21 is composed of a roller. Therefore, it is difficult for dust to be generated as compared with the configuration in which the guided member 21 is engaged with the guide rail 20 by sliding.
(4) One guided member 21 is arranged in the width direction of the guide rail 20. Therefore, the number of guided members 21 can be reduced as compared with the prior art in which the rail is held between rollers.

  (5) The guide rail 20 is provided at a position lower than the uppermost part of the stacker crane 12, and the guided member 21 is supported by a support bracket 22 fixed to the stacker crane 12 in a state of extending to the side of the stacker crane 12. . Therefore, as compared with the configuration in which the guide rail 20 is provided above the stacker crane 12, the support structure of the guided member 21 is simplified and the dead space can be reduced when applied to the automatic warehouse 11.

(6) Since the guided member 21 is made of resin and the guide rail 20 is made of metal, dust is less likely to be generated than when both the guided member 21 and the guide rail 20 are made of metal.
(7) By remodeling the upper guide structure, it can be suitably applied to a crane (stacker crane) for loading and unloading with respect to a shelf in an existing clean room.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that external air is introduced from the slit 20a of the guide rail 20. Parts substantially the same as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the upper guide structure.

  The guide rail 20 is formed longer than the position corresponding to the racks 14L and 14R, and below the portion of the guide rail 20 formed longer than the position corresponding to the racks 14L and 14R, as shown in FIG. A fan filter unit 25 is provided. The fan filter unit 25 includes a filter 26 and a motor fan 27. The guide rail 20 has openings at both ends closed with covers, and a hole (not shown) is formed in the bottom wall near one end of the guide rail 20. The fan filter unit 25 is arranged with the suction port communicating with the hole.

  In this embodiment, the fan filter unit 25 is driven when the stacker crane 12 is operated. When the fan filter unit 25 is driven, a negative pressure is applied to the guide rail 20 through the hole by the rotation of the motor fan 27. And the pressure in the guide rail 20 will become lower than an external pressure, and it will be in the state which the suction airflow which goes to the slit 20a from the outside arises.

Therefore, the second embodiment has the following effects in addition to the same effects as the effects (1) to (7) of the first embodiment.
(8) The guide rail 20 is connected to a suction source (fan filter unit 25), and is configured such that a suction airflow from the slit 20a toward the guide rail 20 acts. Therefore, there is no possibility that minute dust generated from the guide portion (guided member 21) jumps out of the guide rail 20 from the slit 20a.

  (9) The fan filter unit 25 is provided as a suction source at a position below the end of the guide rail 20 and not corresponding to the storage unit 15. Therefore, the structure of the suction source is simple, and even if the suction source is provided, it is possible to avoid an increase in the dead space above the racks 14L and 14R.

The embodiment is not limited to the above, and may be configured as follows, for example.
A cover member that covers the slit 20a of the guide rail 20 may be provided. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the guide rail 20 is provided with cover members 29 on both sides of the slit 20a. The cover member 29 is movably provided at a position that covers the slit 20a and a retreat position that does not hinder the movement of the support portion 23 that constitutes the support shaft of the guided member 21. The cover member 29 has at least one of elasticity and flexibility, and is deformed so as to bend upward in the vicinity of the portion in contact with the support portion 23 and in the vicinity thereof, and is disposed at a retracted position that does not hinder the movement of the support portion 23. Is done. For example, the cover member 29 may be formed entirely of resin or synthetic rubber, or may be formed of a resin in a portion in contact with the support portion 23 and may be formed of a synthetic rubber in other portions. Thus, in the configuration in which the cover member 29 is provided, the dust generated from the guided member 21 is more difficult to be discharged from the slit 20a. Further, in the configuration in which the guide rail 20 is connected to the suction source, the suction airflow acts reliably from the opening portion of the slit 20a even if the suction action of the suction source is weak.

The cover member 29 is not limited to the structure provided on both sides of the slit 20a, and may be provided only on one side.
The cover member 29 does not need to be formed of a long plate material extending along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 20, and a plurality of cover members 29 are arranged adjacent to each other along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 20. Also good.

  The shape of the guide rail 20 is such that a slit 20 a that allows a part of the support portion 23 to protrude outside the guide rail 20 above the contact portion with the guided member 21 extends along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 20. The slit 20a is not limited to the shape formed on the upper side. For example, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a structure in which a slit 20 a is formed on the side wall of the guide rail 20 may be used.

  The guide rail 20 is not limited to the structure that supports the bracket 24 fixed to the ceiling of the automatic warehouse 11, but, for example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the bracket 30 having one end fixed to the upper portion of the rack 14R. On the other hand, it is good also as a structure fixed and supported in the other end.

  The guide rail 20 is not limited to the configuration provided on the upper side of the stacker crane 12 and may be provided above the stacker crane 12. For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, the guide rail 20 in which the slit 20 a is formed on the side wall is supported above the traveling range of the mast 16 via the bracket 24. A support bracket 22 that supports the support portion 23 is bent in a U shape. In this case, a necessary space between the stacker crane 12 and the ceiling becomes larger than when the guide rail 20 is provided on the side of the stacker crane 12.

The guided member 21 is not limited to a roller, but may be a slider that slides along the guide surface 20b.
The guided member 21 is not limited to the configuration in which one guided member 21 is arranged in the width direction of the guide rail 20. For example, the guided members 21 formed of rollers may be arranged in a staggered manner as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b). FIG. 7B is a reduced cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. In this case, the stacker crane 12 travels in a state where the half guided member 21 contacts the guide surface 20b on one side and the remaining half guided member 21 contacts the guide surface 20b on the other side. The stacker crane 12 is prevented from swinging.

  The upper guide structure configured as described above may be applied not only to the stacker crane 12 but also to a crane that moves in and out of a clean room and loads and unloads a shelf storage unit arranged at a predetermined position.

The following technical idea (invention) can be understood from the embodiment.
(1) In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the guide rail is connected to a suction source, and is configured such that a suction airflow directed from the slit into the guide rail acts. Yes.

(2) In the technical idea (1), the suction source is a fan filter unit disposed below the end of the guide rail.
(3) In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and the technical ideas (1) and (2), the guide rail includes a position covering the slit, and the guided member. A cover member is provided that is movable to a retracted position that does not hinder the movement of the support portion.

(A) is an upper schematic cross section of the automatic warehouse of the first embodiment, and (b) is a partially enlarged view of (a). The partial model side view of a stacker crane. The schematic cross section of the upper guide structure of 2nd Embodiment. The schematic cross section of the upper guide structure of another embodiment, (b) is a schematic top view. (A), (b) is a schematic cross section of the upper guide structure of another embodiment. (A), (b) is a schematic cross section of the upper guide structure of another embodiment. (A) is a schematic cross section of the upper guide structure of another embodiment, (b) is a reduced cross-sectional view taken along line BB of (a). The schematic cross section of the upper guide structure of a prior art. (A), (b) is a schematic cross section of another upper guide structure.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Stacker crane as a crane, 13 ... Traveling path, 20 ... Guide rail, 20a ... Slit, 20b ... Guide surface, 21 ... Guide member, 22 ... Support bracket, 23 ... Support part.

Claims (5)

A guide rail provided along the traveling route above the traveling route of the crane, and a swing provided in an upper portion of the crane and in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the crane by engaging with the guide rail. In an upper guide structure of a crane provided with a guided member guided by the guide rail and
The guide rail includes a guide surface that can accommodate the guided member in the guide rail and restricts the guided member from moving in the width direction of the guide rail, and from a contact portion with the guided member. A slit is formed along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail to allow a part of the support portion supporting the guided member to protrude to the outside of the guide rail. The upper guide structure of the crane comprised so that a movement was possible with the said crane in the state supported by the support bracket fixed to the upper part of the said crane.   The crane upper guide structure according to claim 1, wherein the slit is formed on the guide rail.   The upper guide structure for a crane according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the guided member is a roller.   4. The upper guide structure for a crane according to claim 1, wherein one guided member is arranged in a width direction of the guide rail. 5.   The said guide rail is provided in the position lower than the uppermost part of the said crane, and the said to-be-guided member is supported by the said support bracket fixed to the crane in the state extended to the side of the said crane. The upper guide structure of the crane as described in any one of.

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