JP2006206295A - Transport cart - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transport cart capable of suppressing vibrations to be transmitted to objects as generated when it is running and maintaining the height of a transport conveyor to a constant height when objects are transported by transport conveyor. <P>SOLUTION: The transport conveyor 7 to transport objects placed thereon in the horizontal direction or approximately in the horizontal direction is installed on the cart body 5, and a conveyor supporting means 6 to support the conveyor 7 on the cart body 5 in such a way as able to elevate and sink is arranged capable of being changed over between the resiliently supporting condition in which the transport conveyor is supported resiliently in such a way as capable of elevating and sinking and a restricted condition in which the transport conveyor 7 is supported in such a manner that the sinking motion is restricted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport vehicle in which a vehicle body is provided with a transport conveyor for placing and transporting articles in a horizontal direction or a substantially horizontal direction.

  Such a transport vehicle receives articles from a station on a transport conveyor, travels to another station with the articles placed on the transport conveyor, and delivers the articles from the transport conveyor to the other station. , Used to carry articles between stations. And in such a conveyance vehicle, it comprised so that a conveyance conveyor might be supported by the conveyor support means in the state which does not move up / down with respect to a vehicle body (for example, refer patent document 1).

JP-A-6-31824

However, since the transport vehicle is supported by the conveyor support means in a state where the transport conveyor does not move up and down with respect to the vehicle body, when the vehicle body vibrates up and down during traveling, the vibration is transmitted through the conveyor support means. Since the transfer conveyor vibrates in the same manner as the vehicle body, the article placed and supported on the transfer conveyor is easily damaged.
Therefore, the conveyor support means is configured to elastically support the transport conveyor so that it can move up and down relative to the vehicle body, and vibrations transmitted from the vehicle body to the transport conveyor are absorbed by the conveyor support means to suppress the vibration of the transport conveyor. However, if the conveyor is supported elastically so that it can be moved up and down in this way, the amount of flexure of the conveyor support means varies depending on the weight of the article that is placed and supported, so the height of the conveyor is constant. Can't keep up. In other words, by setting the height of the transport surface of the transport conveyor and the height of the transport surface of the station, it is possible to smoothly deliver and receive articles to and from the station. Since the transfer surface of the conveyor may be displaced in the vertical direction and the transfer surface of the transfer conveyor may be displaced up and down with respect to the transfer surface of the station, the transfer of articles may not be performed smoothly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport vehicle capable of suppressing breakage of an article during traveling and smoothly transferring the article. It is in.

In order to achieve this object, the first characteristic configuration of the transport vehicle according to the present invention is a transport vehicle in which a vehicle body is provided with a transport conveyor for placing and transporting articles in a horizontal direction or a substantially horizontal direction.
The conveyor support means for supporting the transport conveyor so as to be movable up and down relative to the vehicle body is elastically supported to elastically support the transport conveyor so as to be movable up and down, and the regulation for supporting the transport conveyor so as to regulate the downward movement The point is that it can be switched to a state.

  That is, by switching the conveyor support means to the elastic support state, the conveyor conveyor is elastically supported so that it can be moved up and down by the conveyor support means. Therefore, even if the vehicle body vibrates up and down, the vibration is supported by the conveyor support means. Vibration that is absorbed and transmitted to the conveyor can be suppressed, and by switching the conveyor support means to the restricted state, the conveyor conveyor is received and supported so as to restrict the downward movement. Therefore, the height of the conveyor can be received and maintained at the set height supported by the support member regardless of the weight of the article that is placed and supported.

  Therefore, when the vehicle is traveling, the vibration transmitted to the conveyor can be suppressed by switching the conveyor support means to the elastic support state, so that the article placed and supported on the conveyor by the vibration of the vehicle body can be reduced. The height of the conveyor can be reduced by switching the conveyor support means to the restricted state when transferring articles to and from the article transfer location such as a station. Since it can be maintained at the set height supported by the receiving and supporting member, it is possible to smoothly transfer the article to and from the article transfer location, and thus break the article when traveling In addition, it has become possible to provide a transport vehicle that can suppress the load and smoothly transfer articles.

  According to a second characteristic configuration of the transport vehicle according to the present invention, in the first characteristic configuration, the conveyor support means places and supports the transport conveyor in an elastic state so as to be movable up and down with respect to the vehicle body, and A receiving support member for placing and supporting the transport conveyor so as to restrict downward movement, and the elastic support state and the transport for placing and supporting the transport conveyor by the elastic support member in a state of rising from the receiving support member. Elevating operation means for moving the receiving support member up and down relative to the elastic support member so as to switch the conveyor from the elastic support member to the restricted state where the conveyor is placed and supported by the receiving support member; It is in that it is configured.

That is, when the receiving support member is moved upward from the elastic support state, the conveying conveyor that is placed and supported by the elastic support member is placed and supported by the receiving support member in the middle of the rise, and becomes a restricted state. By moving the receiving support member downward, the conveying conveyor is placed and supported by the elastic support member in the middle of the downward movement, and is in an elastic support state.
And, by adjusting the height of the receiving support member in the regulated state, the height of the conveying surface of the conveying conveyor in the regulated state can be adjusted, even when the heights of the conveying surfaces of the plurality of stations are different, The height of the conveyance surface of the conveyance conveyor can be adjusted to the height of each conveyance surface of the station, and articles can be smoothly transferred between a plurality of stations having different heights.

  According to a third characteristic configuration of the transport vehicle according to the present invention, in the second characteristic configuration, the receiving support member is configured by a cam member that is rotatable around an eccentric horizontal axis, and the elevating operation unit includes the cam The member is configured to rotate up and down with respect to the elastic support member by rotating the member around the horizontal axis.

  That is, the conveyor support means is configured to switch between the elastic support state and the restricted state only by rotating the cam member around the horizontal axis by the lifting operation means, and the configuration of the conveyor support means is simple. Can be.

  According to a fourth characteristic configuration of the transport vehicle according to the present invention, in any one of the first to third characteristic configurations, the article can store a plate-like body in a stacked state, and the plate-like body is placed on a lateral side portion. The container is provided with an opening for taking in and out.

  That is, since the plate-shaped bodies are stored in the container in a stacked state, the plate-shaped bodies stored in the container in a stacked state are also vibrated and the adjacent plate-shaped bodies are in contact with each other. However, since the vibration of the conveyor is suppressed by the conveyor support means, it is possible to suppress the breakage of the plate-like body.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the transport vehicle V is configured to travel independently along the travel route 1 and transport the container Y as an article in a warehouse or factory having a high cleanliness like a clean room. .
As shown in FIG. 2, the container Y is a container that can store the liquid crystal glass 28 as a plate-like body in a laminated state and is provided with an opening 29 for taking in and out the liquid crystal glass 28 on the lateral side. . The liquid crystal glass 28 is placed and supported by a support member 30 provided on the inner surface of the lateral side wall of the container Y, so that a plurality of glass substrates 28 are accommodated in a stacked state at intervals in the vertical direction. .

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the transport vehicle V includes a vehicle body 5 including a drive wheel 3 that can be steered and driven by a traveling motor 2 and a free-wheeling driven wheel 4, and a container Y horizontally. , A conveyor conveyer 7 that is placed and conveyed in a horizontal direction or a substantially horizontal direction, a conveyor support means 6 that supports the conveyor 7 so as to be movable up and down with respect to the vehicle body 5, the vehicle body 5, the conveyor support means 6, the conveyor conveyer 7, and the conveyor A cover body 8 that covers the containers Y placed and supported on the conveyor 7 is provided. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the internal configuration of the transport vehicle V.
As shown in FIG. 1, the side surface of the cover body 8 is provided with a loading / unloading port 9 that can be opened and closed by the shutter 10, and as shown in FIG. 9 is opened, and the container Y is received and delivered to and from the station S through the inlet / outlet 9.
As shown in FIG. 3, the transport conveyor 7 is configured as a roller-type conveyor in which a plurality of rollers are arranged in parallel in the transport direction, and is opposite to the side where the loading / unloading port 9 is present in the transport direction of the transport conveyor 7. A stopper member 11 for receiving horizontal movement of the container Y placed and supported to the opposite side is provided at the end of the container. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the container Y is placed and supported on the conveyor 7 so that the opening 29 faces the entrance / exit 9.

Next, the conveyor support means 6 will be described. For convenience, in the state shown in FIG. 3, the direction along the traveling direction of the transport vehicle V is referred to as the front-rear direction, and the direction along the transport direction of the transport conveyor 7 orthogonal to the traveling direction is referred to as the lateral width direction.
The conveyor support means 6 is configured to be switchable between an elastic support state in which the transport conveyor 7 is elastically supported so as to be movable up and down, and a regulation state in which the transport conveyor 7 is supported so as to restrict the downward movement. Then, the conveyor support means 6 mounts the transport conveyor 7 so as to restrict the downward movement, and an elastic support member 16 which supports the transport conveyor 7 in an elastic state so as to be movable up and down with respect to the vehicle body 5. A cam member 17 as a receiving support member to be placed and supported, and the elastic support state in which the conveyance conveyor 7 is placed and supported by the elastic support member 16 in a state of floating from the cam member 17, and the conveyance conveyor 7 is elastic. An elevating motor as elevating operation means for moving the cam member 17 up and down relative to the elastic support member 16 so as to switch to the restricted state where the cam member 17 is placed and supported by the cam member 17 in a state of rising from the support member 16. 18 is provided.

The conveyor support means 6 will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, guide members 22 are provided at the front and rear end portions of the support frame 21 connected and supported by the vehicle body 5. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each of the guide members 22 is formed with a recessed portion that is recessed toward the outside along the vertical direction. And the guided member 23 is provided in each of the front-and-rear both-ends part in the right-and-left intermediate part of the conveyance conveyor 7, and this guided member 23 is engaged with the recessed formation part of the guide member 23. FIG. That is, the movement of the guided member 23 in the vertical direction with respect to the guide member 22 is allowed, and the transport conveyor 7 can be moved up and down with respect to the vehicle body 5. The movement of the guided member 23 in the front-rear direction and the lateral width direction with respect to the guide member 22 is restricted by the guide member 22, and the movement of the transport conveyor 7 in the front-rear direction and the lateral direction is restricted.
Further, the guided member 23 is provided on the conveyor 7 so as to be rotatable around a horizontal swing axis, and the transport conveyor 7 is configured to be swingable around a horizontal swing axis.

  An elastic body 24 composed of a plurality of ring-shaped members is connected and supported on the upper portion of the support frame 21, and a support plate 25 for mounting and supporting the lower surface of the transport conveyor 7 is connected to the upper portion of the elastic body 24. ing. A plurality of elastic bodies 24 are provided so as to be arranged in the lateral width direction at each of the longitudinal ends of the support frame 21, and a support plate 25 is connected to each of the plurality of elastic bodies 24 arranged in the lateral width direction. The plurality of elastic bodies 24 and the support plate 25 constitute an elastic support member 16.

The support frame 21 is provided with cam members 17 that are rotatable around an eccentric horizontal axis. Four cam members 17 are provided, and the cam members 17 place and support the four corners of the transport conveyor 7. It is configured as follows.
The elevating motor 18 is configured to move the cam member 17 up and down relative to the elastic support member 16 by rotating the cam member 17 around the horizontal axis. And four cam members 17 are individually rotated.
Then, the cam member 17 is rotated by the elevating motor 18, so that the upper end of the cam member 17 is positioned above the upper end of the elastic support member 16 and the upper end of the cam member 17 is the elastic support member 16. The cam member 17 is configured to be movable up and down over a lower position located below the upper end. When the transport conveyor 7 is moved up and down, the four cam members 17 are driven by driving the four lifting motors. By moving up and down in synchronization, the transfer conveyor 7 is moved up and down so that the transfer surface maintains a horizontal or substantially horizontal posture.

That is, from the restricted state in which the cam member 17 is located at the raised position as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, the cam member 17 is rotated and moved down to the lowered position as shown in FIG. Then, the conveyer 7 placed and supported by the cam member 17 also moves downward, and the conveyer 7 is placed and supported by the elastic support member 16 in the middle of the descent, as shown in FIG. Such an elastic support state is obtained. Further, from the elastic support state in which the cam member 17 is located at the lowered position as shown in FIG. 8 (d), the cam member 17 is rotated and moved up to the raised position as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) to (c). When moved, the conveying conveyor 7 placed and supported by the elastic support member 16 is placed and supported by the cam member 17 in the middle of the ascent, and then the conveying conveyor 7 is also moved upward together with the cam member 17, The restricted state is as shown in FIGS.
Then, by adjusting the rotational operation amount of the cam member 17 from the lowered position, the position of the transport surface of the transport conveyor 7 in the restricted state is set to a high position as shown in FIG. The height can be adjusted to a low position as shown in FIG. 8 and an intermediate position as shown in FIG. Therefore, even when the heights of the transfer surfaces of the plurality of stations S are different, the height of the transfer surface of the transfer conveyor 7 can be adjusted to the height of the transfer surface of each station, and the container between the stations S can be adjusted. Y can be smoothly conveyed. The height information of the transfer surface of the station S is configured to input the height information of the station S through communication with the station S.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in addition to the position information of the travel route 1, the control device H also stores in advance the arrangement position information for a plurality of reflectors outside the figure as a layout map. The laser beam is projected and the laser beam reflected by the reflecting plate is received, and the position of the transport vehicle V is determined based on the scanning angle information when the light is received and the arrangement position information about the plurality of reflecting plates. Is configured to detect. The control device H is configured to control the steering direction of the traveling motor 11 and the drive wheels 3 so that the transport vehicle V travels along the traveling route 1 based on the detected position information.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the transport surface of the transport conveyor 7 is configured to maintain a horizontal posture in which the transport surface is horizontal or substantially horizontal. It is configured to be switchable between a horizontal state that is a substantially horizontal posture and an inclined state that is a tilted posture, and the container Y is placed and supported on the transport conveyor 7 so that the opening 29 side faces upward in the tilted state. Also good.
That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the elastic support member 16 is configured so that the mounting surface on the support 25 on which the transport conveyor 7 is placed is inclined, and the conveyor support means 6 is switched to the elastic support state. In the state where the transport conveyor 7 is placed and supported by the elastic support member 16 so that the transport surface of the transport conveyor 7 is inclined, the transport of the transport conveyor 7 is performed when the conveyor support means 7 is switched to the restricted state. You may comprise so that the conveyance conveyor 7 may be mounted and supported by the cam member 17 so that a surface may become a horizontal attitude | position. Further, the cam members 17 arranged in the front-rear direction or the lateral width direction are set as a set, the cam members 17 constituting the set are synchronized with each other, and the cam members 17 that are not set are rotated so as not to synchronize with each other. 7 You may comprise so that the attitude | position of a conveyance surface can be switched to a horizontal state and an inclination state.

(2) In the above embodiment, the transport conveyor 7 is placed and supported by the receiving support member 17 in a state of being lifted from the elastic support member 16 in the restricted state, but the elastic support member 16 is mounted on the transport conveyor 7. It is also possible to configure such that the transport conveyor 7 is placed and supported by the receiving support member 17 in a state where it is not lifted from the elastic support member 16 even in the restricted state.

(3) In the above embodiment, the receiving support member 17 is moved up and down with respect to the vehicle body 5 to switch between the elastic support state and the restricted state, but the elastic support member 16 is moved up and down with respect to the vehicle body 5. It may be configured to switch between the elastic support state and the restriction state.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the elastic support member 16 and the receiving support member 17 were provided in the vehicle body 5, the one or both of these may be provided in the conveyance conveyor 7 side.

(4) In the above embodiment, the receiving support member 17 is constituted by the cam member 17 rotatable around the eccentric horizontal axis, and the elevating operation means 18 is operated to rotate the cam member 17 around the horizontal axis. In this case, the elastic support member 16 is moved up and down. However, the receiving support member 17 is formed of a member that can be slid up and down, and the elevating operation means 18 is a member that can be slid. The elastic support member 16 may be moved up and down by sliding and moving up and down.

(5) In the above embodiment, the stopper member 11 is provided on one end side in the transport direction of the transport conveyor 7, and the article Y is transferred to and from the station S on one side of the travel path 2. The stopper member 11 may be configured so as to be freely retractable, and the article Y may be configured to be transferred between the stations S on both sides of the travel route 2.

(6) In the above embodiment, the article Y is a container that can store the plate-like body 28 in a laminated state and is provided with an opening 29 for taking in and out the plate-like body 28 on the lateral side. However, the container is not limited to such a container, and may be a container having a different shape or a pallet that can place and support a conveyed product.

Perspective view showing a transport vehicle Perspective view showing container Front view showing the internal configuration of the transport vehicle Side view showing conveyor support means Plan view showing the guide structure of the conveyor Control block diagram Action diagram showing transfer with station Action diagram showing up and down movement of conveyor The figure which shows the elastic support state in another embodiment

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Car body 6 Conveyor support means 7 Conveyor 16 Elastic support member 17 Cam member 18 Elevating operation means 28 Plate-shaped body 29 Opening part V Conveyor vehicle Y Container

Claims (4)

A transport vehicle equipped with a transport conveyor for mounting and transporting articles in a horizontal direction or a substantially horizontal direction,
The conveyor support means for supporting the transport conveyor so as to be movable up and down relative to the vehicle body is elastically supported to elastically support the transport conveyor so as to be movable up and down, and the regulation for supporting the transport conveyor so as to regulate the downward movement A transport vehicle that can be switched to a state.   An elastic support member for placing and supporting the conveyor in an elastic state so that the conveyor can be moved up and down with respect to the vehicle body; and a receiving support member for placing and supporting the conveyor to restrict the downward movement. The elastic support member is placed and supported by the elastic support member in a state where the transfer conveyor is levitated from the receiving support member, and the transfer conveyor is placed by the receiving support member in a state where the conveyer is levitated from the elastic support member. The transport vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a lifting operation means for moving the receiving support member up and down relative to the elastic support member so as to switch to the restricted state to be supported. The receiving support member is composed of a cam member rotatable around an eccentric horizontal axis;
The transport vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the elevating operation means is configured to rotate the cam member around the horizontal axis to move up and down relative to the elastic support member.   The transport vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the article is a container that can store a plate-like body in a stacked state, and is provided with an opening for taking in and out the plate-like body on a lateral side portion. .

Images