JP2009073235A - Unmanned conveying vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To travel an unmanned conveying vehicle in a stable state during either of advancement or retreating, and to accurately and quickly perform switching between advancement and retreating. <P>SOLUTION: The unmanned conveying vehicle 1 traveling along an induction body provided on a traveling passage is provided with a vehicle body 2; a driving wheel 7 travelably supported on the vehicle body 2 along a traveling direction of the vehicle body; driven wheels 7 arranged on a lower part of the vehicle body 2 at left and right sides in parallel; a drive unit 6 for driving the driving wheel 7 to travel the vehicle body; a guide part (guide rail 5) mounted to the vehicle body 2 and movably guiding the drive unit 6 in its longitudinal direction relative to the vehicle body 2; a fixing means (lock pin 16 or the like) for fixing the drive unit 6 to a predetermined position becoming a front side in an advancement direction of the vehicle body 2; and a wheel braking means (braking fitting 10 or the like) for braking rotation of the driven wheel 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic guided vehicle that travels unmanned along a derivative provided on a traveling path in an assembly line or the like and transports components and the like to appropriate positions.

  In an assembly line of a vehicle, an automated guided vehicle may be used in order to improve the efficiency of conveying parts and the like, and this automated guided vehicle is introduced in various industries for automation of the conveying work. . The automatic guided vehicle enables unattended movement along the traveling path by detecting a derivative such as a magnetic tape provided on the traveling path with a sensor, and pulls the carriage with the automatic guided vehicle. Etc. can be carried out automatically.

  In this automatic guided vehicle, the detaching operation of the tow truck is automated by installing a check device on the main body of the transport vehicle. In such a case, forward / reverse control may be necessary. However, in the transport cart, since the curve movement is made possible by a combination of the drive wheel and the driven wheel, etc., if the drive wheel is simply reversed and the reverse drive is performed, the straight traveling performance is deteriorated and the running stability is deteriorated. There is a problem that it is easy to come off. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), free driven wheels 21... 21 are provided at the lower four corners of the vehicle body 20, and the forward / reverse drive units 22 and 23 are arranged in the longitudinal direction near the center of the vehicle body 20. It is possible to ensure driving stability by switching the drive units 22 and 23 that are driven when moving forward and backward. However, this transport vehicle has a problem that the cost of the apparatus increases and the industriality is inferior.

To solve this problem, the drive wheel can be moved in the traveling direction of the automated guided vehicle, and the position of the driven wheel is always positioned in front of the automated guided vehicle by adjusting the position in the longitudinal direction according to the forward and backward movement. Thus, a method has been proposed in which traveling stability in forward and backward traveling is ensured by driving the front wheels (for example, Patent Document 1).
In addition, as shown in FIG. 5B, the drive wheels 31 are not moved in the traveling direction, and the universal driven wheels 32, 32, 33, 33 provided at the four corners of the vehicle body 30 are moved forward and backward. Proposal is made to achieve driving stability by controlling the direction of the front and rear sides according to the situation (see Patent Document 2), or by combining the movement of the drive wheel and the control of the universal driven wheel. (See Patent Document 3).
JP 2004-206440 A JP 2004-249896 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-73223

However, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, the vehicle body moves with the adjustment movement of the drive wheel depending on the mass of the towed truck, etc., so the drive wheel moves smoothly with respect to the vehicle body. It is difficult to do this, and there is a problem that it takes time to move the driving wheel to a predetermined position such as the front wheel driving position, and the required time varies.
Further, as shown in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, the method of controlling the universal driven wheel has a problem in the reliability of the direction rotation regulation timing and the durability of the mechanism.

  The present invention has been made against the background of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic guided vehicle that can obtain stable traveling performance in forward and backward traveling and has high reliability in operation when switching between forward and backward traveling. .

  That is, among the automatic guided vehicles of the present invention, the first aspect of the present invention is an automatic guided vehicle that travels along a derivative provided on a traveling path, and includes a vehicle body, and the vehicle body. A driving wheel supported so as to be able to travel along a traveling direction; a driven wheel disposed in a left-right parallel manner at a lower portion of the body body; a driving unit that drives the driving wheel to travel the body body; and the body body And a guide unit that guides the drive unit to be movable in the front-rear direction relative to the vehicle body, fixing means for fixing the drive unit at a predetermined position on the front side in the traveling direction of the vehicle body, and the slave Wheel braking means for braking the rotation of the driving wheel.

  According to the present invention, when switching between forward and backward travel, the drive unit can be moved along the traveling direction together with the drive wheel via the guide portion, and at that time, the driven wheel is braked by the wheel braking means, thereby driving. The unit moves quickly and is fixed at a predetermined position by the fixing means. When the drive unit is fixed at a predetermined position and the braking of the driven wheel is released, the automatic guided vehicle can be stably driven in the direction in which the drive wheel is switched. When the direction of movement of the automatic guided vehicle is reversed, the drive unit is moved in the reverse direction while being guided by the guide unit, and the driven wheel is braked, the drive unit is fixed by the fixing means, and the driven wheel is driven as described above. By releasing the braking, it is possible to quickly switch the automatic guided vehicle forward and backward.

  The automatic guided vehicle according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect of the present invention, the fixing means includes a pair of first lock mechanisms provided on the vehicle body side and the drive unit side. To do.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the drive unit is fixed, the drive unit can be fixed in cooperation between the vehicle body side and the drive unit side. The first lock mechanism can be configured to be fixed on the rear end side in the traveling direction of the drive unit.

  In the automatic guided vehicle according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the wheel braking means is the first locking mechanism when the drive unit moves in the front-rear direction along the guide portion. And a second lock mechanism that brakes the rotation of the driven wheel.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the wheel braking means can be operated in conjunction with the operation of the first lock mechanism, and the drive unit can be moved and fixed and the driven wheel can be braked and released by a simple configuration. The operation can be performed with high accuracy, and the forward / reverse switching can be performed more smoothly.

  The automatic guided vehicle according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the first to third aspects of the present invention, the drive unit has a turning function when the forward / reverse switching is performed.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by turning at the time of forward / reverse switching, it is possible to move forward and backward by controlling the rotation of a motor or the like for driving the drive wheels in one direction, and to move forward and backward with a simple configuration. It can be performed.

  As described above, according to the automatic guided vehicle of the present invention, the automatic guided vehicle travels along the derivative provided on the travel path, and includes a vehicle body, and the vehicle body in the traveling direction of the vehicle body. A driving wheel supported so as to be able to travel along the vehicle body, a driven wheel arranged in a left-right parallel to the lower portion of the vehicle body, a drive unit for driving the vehicle wheel to drive the vehicle body, and an attachment to the vehicle body And a guide portion that guides the drive unit to be movable in the front-rear direction with respect to the vehicle body, a fixing unit that fixes the drive unit at a predetermined position on the front side in the traveling direction of the vehicle body, And wheel braking means for braking rotation, so that when the drive unit is moved relative to the vehicle body, the movement of the vehicle body is restricted and the drive unit is moved quickly to switch between forward and backward travel. Burned, and there is an effect that can be performed accurately.

Below, one Embodiment of this invention is described based on FIGS. 1-3.
The automatic guided vehicle 1 is provided with driven wheels 3 and 3 on the left and right ends of the bottom center of the vehicle body 2, and a brake fitting that brakes the driven wheel 3 so as to sandwich the driven wheel 3 from the outer peripheral side in the front-rear direction. 10 and 10 are arranged, respectively. Further, auxiliary wheels 4... 4 are provided at the bottom four corners of the vehicle body 2. The auxiliary wheels 4... 4 support the vehicle body 2 in order to prevent the vehicle body body 2 from falling when the vehicle body body 2 is tilted. The auxiliary wheels 4... It is in. The auxiliary wheels may always be in contact with the traveling road.

  Further, guide rails 5, 5 are arranged on the vehicle body 2 along the traveling direction of the vehicle body 2 with a gap between the guide rails 5, 5. It corresponds to the part. A drive unit 6 that is guided by the guide rails 5, 5 and is movable along the guide rails 5, 5 is arranged between the guide rails 5, 5. Drive wheels 7 and 7 are provided for driving the vehicle main body 2 via the swivel stage 60 that is made possible. The drive wheels 7 and 7 can be turned together with the turning stage 60 by a turning drive means (not shown). A sensor 8 that detects a derivative (not shown) is provided on one end side in the front-rear direction of the turning stage 60 so that the derivative can be detected when the automatic guided vehicle 1 moves forward and backward.

  In addition, the guide method of the drive unit 6 with respect to the guide rail 5 is not specifically limited as this invention, In short, the drive unit 6 is supported by guide parts, such as a guide rail, and can move along a guide part. Any suitable method may be employed, such as combining a rail with a cam follower or a wheel.

  The drive unit 6 includes a motor (not shown) for driving the drive wheels 7, a control unit (not shown) for controlling the entire automatic guided vehicle 1 in response to the detection result of the sensor 8. Further, the drive unit 6 has stoppers 6 a and 6 a for fixing the drive unit 6 to the vehicle body 1 side at the front-rear direction end of the drive unit 6.

  Further, the vehicle body 1 has a first lock portion 15 that moves in the left-right direction in accordance with the movement of the drive unit 6, and the first lock portion 15 has a lock pin 16 that extends outward in the left-right direction. When the lock pin 16 moves together with the first lock portion 15 in the left-right direction, the lock pin 16 penetrates the lock hole 17 provided in the guide rail 5 and the lock mechanism functions. At this time, the drive unit 6 is positioned outside the lock pin 16 in the front-rear direction, and the drive unit 6 is fixed by the movement of the stopper 6 a provided on the drive unit 6 being restricted by the lock pin 16. The movement of the first lock unit 15 can be performed by a motor (not shown) or the like, and the driving method is not particularly limited in the present invention.

  Although only one lock pin 16 and lock hole 17 are shown in FIG. 2, when the drive unit 6 moves in the forward / rearward movement direction, the stopper is located inside the drive unit 6 in the front / rear direction. In any case, the lock pin 16 and the lock hole 17 are provided at least on both sides in the forward / rearward direction so that the drive unit 6 is fixed on the outer side of the lock pin 16 in any case. The first lock portion 15, the lock pin 16, the lock hole 17, and the stopper 6 a described above constitute a first lock mechanism, that is, a fixing means of the present invention.

  Further, the first lock portion 15 is provided with an interlocking rod 18 that extends outward in the left-right direction and moves in the left-right direction together with the first lock portion 15. An operating roller 18a having a slightly larger diameter is attached.

  A pair of braking rods 11 and 11 are arranged along the vertical direction so as to sandwich the operating roller 18a from the outside in the front-rear direction. The brake rod 11 is pivotally supported by a shaft stopper portion 11 a having a rotation axis along the left-right direction in the middle of the vertical direction, and the brake fitting 10 is attached to the lower end of the brake rod 11. . The braking rods 11, 11 that are balanced by their own weight by the shaft stopping portion 11 a are positioned such that the brake fittings 10, 10 are separated from the outer peripheral side of the drive wheel 7.

The pair of braking rods 11 and 11 are arranged in a plane C shape so that the inner space in the left-right direction is narrower and the outer space in the left-right direction is wider, and the operating roller 18a is positioned on the outer side in the left-right direction. In this state, the operating roller 18a and the brake rods 11 and 11 are not in contact with each other, and the operating rods 11 and 11 are balanced by their own weight.
On the other hand, when the first lock portion 15 moves inward and the operating roller 18a is positioned inward in the left-right direction, the outer peripheral surface of the operating roller 18a hits the braking rod 11, and the braking rods 11, 11 are expanded. As described above, the brake rods 11 and 11 that are fixed in the middle are pushed and spread on the upper side, so that the lower side approaches each other by rotating around the shaft locking parts 11a and 11a, and thereby the lower end. The provided brake fittings 10 and 10 are configured to be pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the driven wheel 3 so that the driven wheel 3 is braked.
The brake rod 11 and the brake fitting 10 constitute a second lock mechanism of the present invention, that is, a wheel braking means.

Next, the operation of the automatic guided vehicle 1 will be described.
When the automatic guided vehicle 1 is moved forward (for example, leftward movement shown in FIG. 1), the drive unit 6 is positioned forward (traveling side) in the traveling direction, and the derivative is positioned forward of the turning stage 60 in a traveling path (not shown). It moves in the front-wheel drive state while being detected by the sensor 8 being operated. At this time, the first lock portion 15 is located on the outer side in the left-right direction, whereby the forward-side lock pin 16 is located immediately behind the stopper 6 a located at the rear end of the drive unit 6 and is thus locked into the lock hole. The drive unit 6 is fixed by penetrating through 17. At this time, the front end of the drive unit 6 is fixed to the front side by abutting against the vehicle body 2 or the like, but the drive unit may be fixed only by the first lock mechanism.
Further, at the position of the first lock portion 15, the interlocking rod 18 is also located on the outer side in the left-right direction, and the operating roller 18a at the tip thereof is positioned on the side where the distance between the braking rods 11 and 11 is wide. , 11 are not in contact with each other. As a result, the brake fittings 10, 10 on the lower end side of the operating rods 11, 11 are positioned away from the outer peripheral surface of the driven wheel 3, and the driven wheel 3 is allowed to rotate. In this state, when the driving wheel 7 of the driving unit 6 is rotationally driven, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is driven by the driving wheel 7 and the driven wheels 3 and 3 are rotated so that the four-wheel traveling is stable. Advance.

  When the instruction information (traveling direction sensor) in the derivative is detected by the sensor 8 or when the automatic guided vehicle in which the driving unit 6 is positioned in the forward direction is moved backward by manual operation or the like, the driving wheel 7 is moved when moving. After stopping, the first lock portion 15 is moved inward in the left-right direction. Then, the lock pin 16 on the forward side is removed from the lock hole 17 and retracted inward from the position immediately after the stopper 6a. At the same time, the interlocking rod 18 moves inward, whereby the operating roller 18a moves inward in the left-right direction and moves to the narrow side of the braking rods 11, 11. Along with this movement, the outer peripheral surface of the operating roller 18a hits the inner surface side of the operating rods 11, 11, and gradually pushes the operating rods 11, 11 outward in the front-rear direction. Since the operating rods 11 and 11 are axially fixed by the axial stopping portions 11a and 11a, when the upper side is pushed and spread, the lower side is rotated so that the lower side approaches, and the brake fitting 10 attached to the lower ends of the braking rods 11 and 10 hits the outer peripheral surface of the driven wheel 3 to stop the rotation of the driven wheel 3 and apply a braking force.

  In the above state, the drive wheels 7 and 7 are turned 180 degrees by rotating the turning stage 60 by 180 degrees by a turning drive means (not shown). Next, when the drive wheel 7 is rotated, the drive unit 6 that is unfixed from the vehicle body 2 moves to the reverse side while being guided by the guide rail 5. At this time, the vehicle main body 2 does not move with the drive unit 6 because the driven wheel 3 is braked, and preferably remains stopped. When the drive unit 6 moves backward and reaches a predetermined position, the drive of the drive wheel 7 is stopped and the first lock portion 15 is moved outward in the left-right direction. As a result, the lock pin 16 on the reverse side moves outward in the left-right direction, and is positioned in front of the stopper 6 a on the forward side of the drive unit 6 and inserted into the lock hole 17 on the reverse side. As a result, the drive unit 6 is fixed on the reverse side. The drive unit 6 is also fixed on the rear side by contacting the vehicle body 2 at the rear end.

Along with the fixing, the interlocking rod 18 moves outward in the left-right direction, and the operating roller 18a moves outward along with this. When the operating roller 18a moves outward, the braking rods 11, 11 that have been spread by the operating roller 18a move so as to approach each other due to their own weight, and finally contact with the operating roller 18 is released. In the movement of the braking rods 11 and 11, rotation about the shaft stopping portions 11 a and 11 a is performed. Therefore, the lower sides of the braking rods 11 and 11 gradually move away from each other and the braking pressed against the driven wheel 3 is performed. The metal fittings 10 and 10 are separated from the driven wheel 3, the braking of the driven wheel 3 is released, and rotation is possible.
When drive control is performed by the drive unit 6 in the above-described state, the drive wheel 7 rotates, and the automatic guided vehicle 1 is moved forward by the drive wheel 7 together with the vehicle body 2 and the drive unit 6 fixed thereto. While being driven, the driven wheels 3 and 3 are rotated to move backward in a stable traveling state of four-wheel traveling. At this time, information of the derivative (not shown) is read by the sensor 8 rotated 180 degrees and positioned on the reverse side. Thus, by turning the sensor together with the drive wheels, the sensor may be provided on one side of the forward / rearward movement, and cost reduction is achieved.

  As described above, the automatic guided vehicle 1 can obtain a stable traveling state in both forward and backward traveling, and can perform switching work accurately and promptly when switching between forward and backward traveling. The mechanism for carrying out is also excellent in durability.

  In the above embodiment, the drive unit has been described as having a turning function, and the drive unit turns when the automatic guided vehicle 1 moves forward and backward. However, as the present invention, the drive unit does not have a turning function. Can also be configured. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the driving wheels 7 and 7 can be rotated in the front-rear direction in that the driving wheels 7 and 7 do not turn without having a turning stage. It differs in that it is equipped with a motor (not shown) and the sensors 8 and 8 are provided on the forward and backward sides of the drive unit 6, respectively, and other configurations are common. The description will be omitted, and the operation will be briefly described below.

  The drive unit 6 is positioned forward (forward side) in the traveling direction, and the derivative is moved in the front wheel drive state while being detected by the sensor 8 on the forward side. When the instruction information of the derivative (traveling direction changing direction) is detected by the sensor 8 during the movement, the driving unit 6 is released from being fixed to the vehicle body and the driven wheel 3 is attached to the brake fitting 10 in the same manner as in the above embodiment. Brake with.

  Next, when the drive wheel 7 is rotated in the direction opposite to the forward direction, the drive unit 6 that has been unfixed with the vehicle body 2 moves backward while being guided by the guide rail 5, and reaches a predetermined position. Reach. At this time, the vehicle main body 2 does not move with the drive unit 6 because the driven wheel 3 is braked, and preferably remains stopped.

When the drive unit 6 moves backward and reaches a predetermined position, driving of the drive wheel 7 is stopped, the drive unit 6 is fixed to the vehicle body by the fixing means, and the driven wheel 3 is braked by the brake fitting 10. To release.
Next, when reverse drive control is performed by the drive unit 6 in the above state, the drive wheel 7 rotates backward, and the automatic guided vehicle 1 is driven together with the vehicle body 2 and the drive unit 6 fixed to the drive wheel 7. Accordingly, the front wheels are driven toward the reverse side, and the driven wheels 3 and 3 are rotated to move backward in a stable traveling state of four-wheel traveling. At this time, information on the derivative (not shown) is read by the sensor 8 located on the reverse side.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above description, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the present invention.

It is a schematic plan view which shows the automatic guided vehicle of one Embodiment of this invention. Similarly, it is a partially enlarged view showing a fixing means. Similarly, it is a partially enlarged view showing the wheel braking means. It is a schematic plan view which shows the automatic guided vehicle of other embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic plan view which shows the conventional automatic guided vehicle.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic guided vehicle 2 Vehicle main body 3 Drive wheel 5 Guide rail 6 Drive unit 6a Stopper 7 Drive wheel 10 Brake metal fitting 11 Brake rod 15 First lock part 16 Lock pin 17 Lock hole 18 Interlocking rod 18a Actuating roller 60 Turning stage

Claims (4)

An automatic guided vehicle that travels along a derivative provided on a travel path,
Body body,
Drive wheels supported on the vehicle body so as to be able to travel along the traveling direction of the vehicle body,
A driven wheel arranged in parallel in the left and right at the bottom of the vehicle body,
A drive unit for driving the drive wheel to drive the vehicle body,
A guide unit that is attached to the vehicle body and guides the drive unit to the vehicle body so as to be movable in the front-rear direction;
Fixing means for fixing the drive unit at a predetermined position on the front side in the traveling direction of the vehicle body;
Wheel braking means for braking rotation of the driven wheel;
An automatic guided vehicle comprising: The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the fixing means includes a pair of first lock mechanisms provided on the vehicle body side and the drive unit side. The wheel braking means is a second lock mechanism that interlocks with the first lock mechanism when the drive unit moves in the front-rear direction along the guide portion, and brakes the rotation of the driven wheel.
The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1 or 2. The drive unit has a turning function when the forward / reverse switching is performed;
The automatic guided vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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