JP2011046478A - Unmanned conveying vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reliably receive/deliver a roll-like cargo from/to a fixed side station while an unmanned conveying vehicle itself has a usual stopping accuracy by allowing holding arms to be positioned at the position for supporting the cargo without using any positioning member in an unmanned conveying vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: An unmanned conveying vehicle 1 has a pair of holding arms 51 to support both sides of a roll-like cargo 3, a driving mechanism 53 for moving each holding arm 51 in the longitudinal direction and in the right and left direction, a position detection sensor 6 for detecting the relative position between a station 2 and the vehicle 1 with a fixed side station 2 as a reference, and a control unit 8 for controlling the driving mechanism 53. The control unit 8 calculates the deviations in the longitudinal direction and in the right and left direction with respect to the position for supporting the cargo in the holding arms 51 based on position information by the position detection sensor 6 when the vehicle 1 moves to the cargo receiving/delivering position of the fixed side station 2, operates the driving mechanism 53 according to the deviation, and corrects the positional deviation of each holding arm 51. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic guided vehicle that loads and unloads a roll-shaped baggage with respect to a stationary station.

  Conventionally, when this type of automated guided vehicle travels to the baggage delivery position of the fixed station, the baggage holder mounted on the vehicle body is moved up and down to deliver the baggage to the fixed station. Things are known. Here, the load holding unit is configured by a pair of holding arms that support both sides of a roll-shaped load from below.

  By the way, when delivering a package to the stationary station, it is required to accurately position the holding arm so as not to be displaced in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction with respect to the position where the load is to be supported. Accordingly, a cone-shaped positioning member is arranged on the traveling surface of the automatic guided vehicle with reference to the stationary station, and the grounding portion of the outrigger mechanism provided in the automatic guided vehicle is fitted to the positioning member, thereby There is a configuration for improving stop accuracy (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2000-344478 A JP 2003-201050 A

  However, in the conventional configuration as described above, when the installation position of the stationary station deviates from the initial state, the relative positional relationship between the stationary station and the positioning member changes. Even if it is positioned, the holding arm may not be located at a position where the load should be held, and it may not be possible to deliver the load.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problem. The automatic guided vehicle itself has a normal stopping accuracy so that the holding arm can be positioned at a position to support the load without using a positioning member. However, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic guided vehicle capable of reliably delivering a roll-shaped baggage to a stationary station.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is an automatic guided vehicle for carrying in and out a roll-shaped baggage to and from a stationary station, and a vehicle body having a traveling means for traveling, A pair of holding arms that support both sides of the roll-shaped load from below, a drive mechanism that moves each of the holding arms in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and the station on the basis of the stationary station A position detecting means for detecting a relative position with respect to the automatic guided vehicle; and a control means for controlling the traveling means and the drive mechanism, wherein the control means travels with the stationary station as a destination. And when the automatic guided vehicle moves to the baggage delivery position of the stationary station, based on the position information detected by the position detection means, It calculates a shift amount of the front-rear direction and the left-right direction relative to the position to be supported baggage in beam, and corrects the positional deviation of the holding arm by operating the drive mechanism in response to the deviation amount.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, on the basis of the relative positional relationship with the stationary station when the automatic guided vehicle is at the baggage delivery position, the holding arms are moved to positions where the baggage should be supported and shifted. Since the correction is performed, the holding arm can be accurately positioned with respect to the stationary station without using a positioning member for correcting the stop position of the automatic guided vehicle, and the stop accuracy of the automatic guided vehicle remains normal. Can be securely delivered to the stationary station.

The top view of the automatic guided vehicle concerning one embodiment of the present invention. The front view of the said automatic guided vehicle. The side view of the said automatic guided vehicle. (A) is a top view when the said automatic guided vehicle exists in the initial position before drive | working along a guidance line, (b) is a side view of the same state corresponding to (a). The top view when the said automatic guided vehicle arrives at the bending point on a guidance line and stops traversing. (A) is a top view when the said automatic guided vehicle reaches | attains the package delivery position of a printing machine, (b) is a side view of the same state corresponding to (a).

  An automatic guided vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a configuration of the automatic guided vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment. This automatic guided vehicle 1 carries in and out a roll-shaped baggage 3 with respect to a stationary station 2 and is configured to travel along a guide line L laid on a travel surface. Here, the roll-shaped luggage 3 is obtained by winding a sheet material 3b made of paper or vinyl around a cylindrical core 3a, and a part of the core 3a protrudes from both ends of the wound sheet material 3b. It has become a state. The automatic guided vehicle 1 includes a traveling vehicle body 4, a load transfer device 5 that is mounted as a loading platform for the vehicle body 4 and delivers a fixed baggage 3 and a roll-shaped baggage 3, and the vehicle 1 and the fixed side. A position detection sensor 6 (position detection means) that detects a relative position to the station 2 and a control unit 7 that controls each part of the main vehicle 1 are provided.

  The vehicle body 4 has a pair of left and right drive diverting wheels 41 (traveling means) at the front portion and a pair of left and right driven wheels 42 at the rear portion. The drive diverting wheel 41 is rotationally driven by a traveling motor mounted on the vehicle body 4, and is reciprocated in the forward / backward direction and the transverse direction by the diverting motor mounted on the vehicle body 4. The driven wheel 42 is configured by a caster having a free rotation function and the direction of which can be changed with respect to the traveling direction. Here, a detection unit 8 for detecting the guide line L is provided in the lower portion of the vehicle body 4.

  The load transfer device 5 includes a pair of left and right holding arms 51 that can move up and down with respect to the vehicle body 4 and supports both sides of the roll-shaped load 3 from below, a lifting mechanism 52 that moves the holding arms 51 up and down, And a drive mechanism 53 that moves the holding arm 51 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. Each holding arm 51 is provided so as to extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 4, and has a semicircular groove 51 a into which the core 3 a of the roll-shaped load 3 is engaged at the front end side thereof.

  The elevating mechanism 52 includes a support member 52a that pivotally supports a middle portion of the holding arm 51 and a cylinder 52b connected to the rear end side of the holding arm 51, and the cylinder 52b contracts or extends. Thus, the holding arm 51 is rotated about the shaft 52c of the support member 52a, and the tip end side of the holding arm 51 is raised or lowered. The support member 52 a and the cylinder 52 b are arranged for each holding arm 51 and are attached to a pair of left and right brackets 53 a provided in the drive mechanism 53. The mounting positions of the support member 52a and the cylinder 52b with respect to the bracket 53a can be changed in the left-right direction so that the holding arm 51 can hold the roll-shaped loads 3 of various sizes.

  The drive mechanism 53 includes a pair of left and right bases 53b provided on the upper portion of the vehicle body 4, a pair of tables 53d that move along rails 53c extending forward and backward on each base 53b, and left and right on each table 53d. The above-described pair of brackets 53a move along the extended rail 53e. Each table 53d is provided with a servo motor that is rotationally controlled by the control unit 7, a rack and pinion mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the servo motor into a linear motion, and the like as a configuration for moving back and forth with respect to the base 53b. Each bracket 53a also has the same configuration as described above as a configuration for moving left and right with respect to each table 53d.

  The position detection sensor 6 is provided at the front portion of the vehicle body 4 and detects the relative position of the main vehicle 1 with respect to the station 2 with reference to the station 2 when the package is transferred to and from the station 2. Examples of the position detection sensor 6 include a non-contact type linear image sensor. In this case, the front and rear of the fixed side station 2 are scanned by scanning the edge and end surface of the fixed side station 2 facing the sensor. Measure direction and left / right distance.

  The control unit 7 detects the guide line L by the detection unit 8 so that the automatic guided vehicle 1 travels with the stationary station 2 as the destination without changing the posture, and rotates and converts the drive turning wheel 41. Control the direction. The control unit 7 stores the positional relationship of each holding arm 51 in the automatic guided vehicle 1, the stop position of each servo motor in the drive mechanism 53, and the like as holding arm 51 control data in a memory built in the unit. When the automatic guided vehicle 1 moves to the baggage delivery position of the stationary station 2, the control unit 7 loads the baggage in the holding arm 51 based on the data stored in the memory and the position information detected by the position detection sensor 6. The amount of deviation in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction with respect to the position where the lens should be supported is calculated. The control unit 7 operates the drive mechanism 53 according to the calculated deviation amount to correct the positional deviation of each holding arm 51.

  A flow of control performed by the control unit 7 when unloading a load from the stationary station 2 in the automatic guided vehicle 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. Here, the fixed-side station 2 is a printing machine that holds the roll-shaped load 3 and prints the wound sheet material. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the automatic guided vehicle 1 is in an initial position before traveling along the guide line L. Here, the printing machine 2 includes a pair of left and right arms 22 that extend substantially horizontally from the casing 21, and a core 3 a of the roll-shaped luggage 3 by a chucking portion 23 that is provided in each arm 22 so as to be freely retractable. Holds both sides. The chucking portion 23 protrudes from the inner surface of the arm 22 when the roll-shaped luggage 3 is held, and is stored in the arm 22 when the roll-shaped luggage 3 is released. . The guide line L extends from a predetermined position on the running surface in a direction (X direction in the drawing) parallel to the axis 23a passing through the center of the chucking portion of each arm 22 of the printing press 2, and is further orthogonal to the axis 23a. It is bent in the direction (Y direction in the figure) and reaches the package delivery position of the printing press 2. First, the control unit 7 rotates the drive turning wheel 41 in the X direction so that the automatic guided vehicle 1 travels on the guide line L toward the printing machine 2. At this time, the control unit 7 moves the cylinder 52b to a state where each holding arm 51 is lowered.

  FIG. 5 shows a state in which the automatic guided vehicle 1 reaches a bending point on the guide line L and stops traversing. At this time, the control unit 7 moves the brackets 53a to the left and right outwards so that the holding arms 51 do not interfere with the arms 22 of the printing press 2 when receiving the parcel, so that the holding arms 51 are opened outward. Thereafter, the control unit 7 rotates the drive turning wheel 41 in the Y direction so that the automatic guided vehicle 1 travels forward on the guide line L toward the printing press 2.

  FIG. 6 shows the case where the automatic guided vehicle 1 reaches the luggage delivery position of the printing machine 2 and stops traveling forward. At this time, the position detection sensor 6 detects the relative position between the printing press 2 and the automatic guided vehicle 1, and the control unit 7 should support the load on the holding arm 51 based on the position information from the position detection sensor 6. A deviation amount in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction with respect to the position is calculated. Here, the amount of deviation in the front-rear direction is calculated as an angle θ formed by the axis 51b passing through the center of the groove 51a of each holding arm 51 and the axis 23a passing through the center of the chucking part of each arm 22 of the printing press 2, and the horizontal direction Is calculated as an X-direction distance E between the center of each holding arm 51 in the arrangement direction and the center of the printing machine 2 in the arm arrangement direction. The control unit 7 moves each table 53d according to the calculated angle θ, and aligns each holding arm 51 in the Y direction. Further, each bracket 53a is moved according to the calculated distance E, and the holding arms 51 are aligned in the X direction. In the alignment of the holding arms 51 in the X direction, the holding arms 51 are set to have a predetermined dimension from the roll end 3c of the roll-shaped load 3.

  Next, the control unit 7 controls the cylinder 52b to contract and raises each holding arm 51, whereby both ends of the core 3a of the roll-shaped load 3 are engaged in the groove 51a of the holding arm 51. The At this time, the holding state of the chucking portion 23 is released, and the roll-shaped load 3 is transferred to the holding arm 51 of the automatic guided vehicle 1. Here, when the roll-shaped luggage 3 is carried into the printing machine 2, the same procedure as that described above may be performed while the luggage is held by the holding arm 51.

  As described above, according to the automatic guided vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment, each holding arm 51 is attached to the load based on the relative positional relationship with the stationary station 2 when the automatic guided vehicle 1 is in the package delivery position. The position of the automatic guided vehicle 1 can be corrected by moving it to a position to be supported without using a positioning member for correcting the stop position of the automatic guided vehicle 1 and even if the stopping accuracy of the automatic guided vehicle 1 is normal. The holding arm 51 can be accurately positioned with respect to the stationary station 2, and the roll-shaped load 3 can be reliably delivered to the stationary station 2.

  In addition, this invention is not restricted to the structure of the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible in the range which does not change the meaning of invention. For example, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is not limited to traveling along the guide line L, and may travel along a traveling route set in advance in the control unit 7 or the like based on a predetermined traveling program. Further, the position detection sensor 6 is not limited to the one that detects the relative position of the main vehicle 1 with the fixed station 2 as a reference. I do not care.

1 Automated guided vehicle 2 Station on fixed side (printing machine)
3 Rolled luggage 4 Car body 41 Drive turning wheel (traveling means)
51 holding arm 53 drive mechanism 6 position detection sensor (position detection means)
7 Control unit (control means)

Claims (1)

An automated guided vehicle that loads and unloads a roll of cargo to and from a fixed station,
A vehicle body having traveling means for traveling;
A pair of holding arms that are movable up and down with respect to the vehicle body and that support both sides of a roll-shaped load from below;
A drive mechanism for moving each of the holding arms in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction;
Position detecting means for detecting a relative position between the station and the automatic guided vehicle with reference to the stationary station;
Control means for controlling the travel means and the drive mechanism,
The control means includes
The traveling means is controlled to travel with the stationary station as the destination, and the holding is performed based on the position information detected by the position detecting means when the automatic guided vehicle moves to the package delivery position of the stationary station. The unmanned transfer characterized in that the amount of deviation in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction relative to the position at which the load should be supported on the arm is calculated, and the drive mechanism is operated in accordance with the amount of deviation to correct the displacement of each holding arm. car.

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