JP2011219266A - Article carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article carrying device allowing simplification of a control condition such that even a low-cost and simple control means perform control.SOLUTION: In this article carrying device 1, a plurality of traversers 4a, 4b, 4c are traveled along the same rail 5, containers 2 are transferred to the respective traversers 4a, 4b, 4c by conveyors 14-18 provided in a plurality of parts of the rail 5, and the control means performing control to move the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c to the conveyors 14-18 based on a prescribed control condition is provided. The respective conveyors 14-18 are previously grouped associatively to arrangement of the respective traversers 4a, 4b, 4c according to the control condition. The control means performs control such that the respective traversers 4a, 4b, 4c synchronize motion of heading for the conveyors 14-18 of corresponding groups S1-S3.

Description

  According to the present invention, a plurality of article transport carts travel along the same track, and articles are transferred to the respective article transport carts at article transfer locations provided at a plurality of locations on the track. The present invention relates to an article transport apparatus provided with a control means for performing control to move the article transport carriage to the article transfer location based on a predetermined control condition.

  A conventional article transport apparatus is configured such that a plurality of article transport carts travel on the same track, and each article transport cart is used to transfer an article from each article transfer location of the transport source to the transport destination. When transporting to the mounting location, the control means selects an optimal article transporting cart according to a predetermined condition such as a standby one or a nearby one among a plurality of article transporting carts. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 to 5).

Japanese Patent No. 4232112 Japanese Patent No. 4329035 Japanese Patent No. 4329034 Japanese Patent No. 4089154 Japanese Patent No. 2857836

  However, in the article conveying apparatus described in Patent Documents 1 to 5, the control means constantly monitors the interference range of the traveling range of each article conveying carriage, sets the entry prohibition range, or sets a speed limit. By performing the retreat operation control or the like, the collision of the plurality of article transport carts is prevented, and the control means controls each article transport cart based on such complicated control conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a control means having a processing capability capable of dealing with such complicated control, and there is a problem that the installation cost of the control means increases.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a problem, and provides an article conveying apparatus capable of simplifying the control conditions so that even a low-cost simple control means can be controlled. Objective.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an article transporting apparatus of the present invention includes:
A plurality of article transport carts travel along the same track, and articles are transferred to the respective article transport carts at article transfer locations provided at a plurality of locations on the track. An article conveying apparatus provided with a control means for performing control to move the article conveying carriage to the article transfer location based on a predetermined control condition,
According to the control condition, the respective article transfer locations are grouped in advance in correspondence with the arrangement of each of the article transport carts, and the control means sets the article transfer locations of the groups corresponding to the respective article transport carts. It is characterized by performing control to synchronize the movements toward each other.
According to this feature, by the simple control condition of grouping each article transfer location and synchronizing the operation of the article transport cart, the traveling direction when the adjacent article transport carts go to the article transfer location is the same. Thus, it is possible to simplify the control conditions so that adjacent article transport carts do not interfere with each other and can be controlled even by a low-cost simple control means.

The article conveying apparatus of the present invention is
The control means controls to synchronize the operation start times of the article transport carts of each group.
According to this feature, when each article transport cart is started to operate, the respective article transport carts are in a running state, and when each article transport cart is in a running state, there is no standby article transport cart in the track, and The state of the article transport carriage is not interfered with the standby article transport carriage, and the movable efficiency of the article transport carriage can be improved.

The article conveying apparatus of the present invention is
The control means performs control for running another article conveyance carriage when at least one article conveyance carriage is made to run with the article placed thereon among the plurality of article conveyance carriages. It is said.
According to this feature, when a predetermined article transport cart is traveled, other article transport carts can travel regardless of whether or not an article is placed. When the vehicle is in the traveling state, there is no standby item transport carriage on the track, and the traveling article transport cart is not interfered with the standby state article transport cart, so that the moving efficiency of the article transport cart can be improved.

The article conveying apparatus of the present invention is
The said control means respond | corresponds to another goods conveyance trolley when driving the goods conveyance trolley of a corresponding group toward the goods transfer location in which the goods to be transferred exist among the said several goods transfer locations. It is characterized by carrying out control for traveling toward the article transfer location of the group.
According to this feature, when a predetermined article transport cart is traveled, the other article transport cart travels regardless of whether or not there is an article to be transferred at the article transfer location of the corresponding group. When the predetermined article transport cart is in the running state, there is no standby article transport carriage in the track, and the article transport carriage in the running state is not interfered with the standby article transport carriage. The moving efficiency of the transport carriage can be improved.

The article conveying apparatus of the present invention is
An article storage warehouse is arranged along one side of the track, and a loading / unloading unit for loading / unloading is arranged along the other side of the track, and the control means is configured such that each of the article transport carts is The operation toward the article transfer location for loading / unloading corresponding to the article storage warehouse and the operation for each article transport cart toward the article transfer location for loading / unloading corresponding to the carry-in / out section are alternately performed. It is characterized by performing control to synchronize with.
According to this feature, the article loading / unloading operation or the loading / unloading operation of the articles performed by each article transporting carriage is alternately synchronized so that adjacent article transporting carriages do not interfere with each other, which is a low-cost simple control means. However, the control conditions can be simplified so that control is possible.

The article conveying apparatus of the present invention is
Each of the article transport carts has a position detection sensor for detecting an absolute position, and the control means grasps the current position of each of the article transport carts using the position detection sensor.
According to this feature, the reliability of detection of the current position of each article transport carriage is improved, the control means can accurately grasp the current position of each article transport carriage, and each time the article transport apparatus is started. Thus, it is not necessary to perform operations such as the origin adjustment with respect to the track of each article transport carriage.

The article conveying apparatus of the present invention is
The control means is constituted by a carriage control means provided in each article transporting carriage, and an overall control means provided on the ground portion for overall control of each carriage control means. A wireless communication device that performs communication between a control unit and the overall control unit is provided in each of the article transport carts and the ground unit, and a network constructed by each of the wireless communication devices has a loop shape. It is said.
According to this feature, it becomes possible to perform wireless communication using the wireless communication device to the carriage control means of the article transport carriage remote from the overall control means, and it is necessary to connect the overall control means to the carriage control means with a wired cable or the like In addition, the installation work and maintenance of each control means can be easily performed, and the wireless communication device of a predetermined article transport cart breaks down due to the loop of the constructed network, and one place Even when communication is cut off, information can be transmitted and received bypassing the article transport cart having the failed wireless communication device.

It is a top view which shows the article conveyance apparatus in an Example. It is a top view which shows a traverser. It is a front view which shows a traverser. It is a perspective view which shows a barcode sheet | seat and a position detection sensor. It is a system block diagram which shows the structure of an article conveyance apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the transmission / reception condition of each information at the time of conveying a container. It is a top view which shows the state in which a traverser is located in front of a carrying-out conveyor. It is a top view which shows the article conveyance apparatus at the time of transferring a container from a carrying-in conveyor to a traverser. It is a top view which shows the article conveyance apparatus at the time of transferring a container from a traverser to a warehousing conveyor. It is a top view which shows the article conveyance apparatus at the time of transferring a container from a delivery conveyor to a traverser. It is a figure which shows the code | cord board and reading head in a modification. It is a front view which shows the traverser in a modification.

  EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The form for implementing the goods conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention is demonstrated below based on an Example.

  An article conveying apparatus according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 will be described as the front side (front side) of the article conveying apparatus, and the left side of FIG. 2 will be described as the front side (front side) of the traverser.

  Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 is an article conveying apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The article transport apparatus 1 includes a plurality of traversers 4 (provided between a production line (not shown) such as a factory and a storage warehouse 3 that temporarily stores containers 2 (articles) carried out from the production line. The container 2 is conveyed by these traversers 4.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an end-like rail 5 (track) having an arbitrary length is laid, and three traversers 4 are arranged on the rail 5. The traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c will be described in order from the rear side (the right side of the drawing) of the article conveying apparatus 1. Further, the plurality of traversers 4a, 4b, 4c run on the same rail 5, and the container 2 placed on the upper surface of the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c is transported to a target position.

  In this embodiment, the plurality of traversers 4a, 4b, 4c have the same configuration, and therefore the predetermined traverser 4a will be described with reference to FIGS. The traverser 4a has a rectangular shape in a plan view, and can place the container 2 on the upper surface, and is provided with a traveling motor 6 for traveling in the front-rear direction.

  The traverser 4a is provided with a transfer motor 7 for transferring the container 2 and an endless roller chain 8. When the transfer motor 7 is driven and the roller chain 8 rotates, the container 2 placed on the upper surface of the traverser 4a can be moved in the left-right direction, and the container 2 is automatically transferred. It has become so.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the vicinity of the rail 5, a barcode sheet 9 on which a plurality of barcodes are continuously printed is provided along the rail 5, and the current position is located on the lower surface side of the traverser 4a. A position detection sensor 10 for detecting information is attached. This position detection sensor 10 has an absolute encoder, and is an absolute position detection sensor 10 that detects the absolute position of the traverser 4a.

  In the present embodiment, when the traverser 4 a travels above the barcode sheet 9, the position detection sensor 10 reads at least three consecutive barcodes among the barcodes printed on the barcode sheet 9. Based on the barcode sheet 9, the current position of the traverser 4a is grasped (see FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, optical wireless communication devices 11a and 11b capable of performing optical wireless communication using infrared rays or the like are attached to the front and rear portions of the traverser 4a. Via the optical wireless communication devices 11a and 11b, the current position information is transmitted to the ground board 12 (ground part) that controls the traverser 4, and the movement instruction information from the ground board 12 is received. (See FIG. 5).

  The other traversers 4b and 4c are also provided with optical wireless communication devices 11c, 11d, 11e and 11f, and optical wireless communication devices 11g and 11h are attached to both ends of the rail 5, respectively. The optical wireless communication device 11h at one end of the rail 5 and the optical wireless communication device 11a of the traverser 4a are attached so as to face each other and can communicate (see FIG. 5).

  Further, the optical wireless communication devices 11b and 11c between the traversers 4a and 4b can communicate with each other as a pair, and the optical wireless communication devices 11d and 11e between the traversers 4b and 4c can communicate with each other as a pair. It has become. Further, the optical wireless communication device 11g at the other end of the rail 5 and the optical wireless communication device 11f of the traverser 4c can communicate with each other in pairs.

  Thus, the loop-like network is constructed using the optical wireless communication devices 11a to 11h of the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c and the rail 5, and by this networking, the laying of the wired cable for communication can be omitted. The installation cost of the conveying apparatus 1 can be reduced.

  Further, since the connection between the ground board 12 and the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c is formed in a loop shape, the information transmission between the traverser 4a and the traverser 4b is cut off, for example, when the disconnection occurs at one place. Even if it is a case, the traverser 4b can receive information also from the traverser 4c side, and can continue the driving | operation of the article conveyance apparatus 1. FIG.

  Further, anti-collision sensors 13a and 13b are attached to the front and rear portions of the traverser 4a. The collision prevention sensors 13a and 13b detect other traversers 4b, the ends of the rails 5 and the like, and the collision can be prevented by limiting or stopping the traveling speed. Similar collision prevention sensors 13c to 13f are also attached to the other traversers 4b and 4c (see FIG. 5).

  As shown in FIG. 1, on the left side (upper side of the paper surface) of the rail 5, unloading conveyors 14a, 15a, and 16a (loading / unloading units, articles) on which containers 2 unloaded from a production line (not shown) are temporarily stocked Transfer locations) and carry-in conveyors 14b, 15b, 16b (load-in / out sections, article transfer locations) for carrying the container 2 into the production line (not shown) are provided. The traverser 4 receives the container 2 from the carry-out conveyors 14a, 15a, and 16a, and can deliver the container 2 to the carry-in conveyors 14b, 15b, and 16b.

  On the right side (the lower side of the paper) of the rail 5, a storage warehouse 3, a plurality of storage conveyors 17 (article transfer locations) and a delivery conveyor 18 (article transfer locations) that store and receive the containers 2 with respect to the storage warehouse 3. ) And are provided. The traverser 4 can receive the container 2 from the delivery conveyor 18 and can deliver the container 2 to the entry conveyor 17.

  A plurality of racks 19 for storing the containers 2 are arranged in the storage warehouse 3, and rails 20 are laid along the longitudinal direction of the racks 19 between the racks 19, 19. A crane 21 (article storage warehouse) travels, and the container 2 is loaded and unloaded between the stacker crane 21 and the rack 19.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the carry-out conveyor and the carry-in conveyor are alternately arranged, and the carry-out conveyors 14a, 15a, and 16a and the carry-in conveyors 14b, 15b, and 16b form a pair of carry-in and carry-out conveyors, respectively.

  Similarly, the warehousing conveyor 17 and the warehousing conveyor 18 are alternately arranged, and the warehousing conveyor 17 and the warehousing conveyor 18 transfer the container 2 between the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c and the stacker crane 21. ing. For example, on the rear side (the rightmost side of the paper surface) of the article transporting apparatus 1, the warehousing conveyor 17, the warehousing conveyor 18, and the stacker crane 21 constitute a set of warehousing / unloading units S1-1.

  In the present embodiment, a group S1 is configured by the carry-out conveyor 14a and the carry-in conveyor 14b provided on the left side (upper side of the paper) of the rail 5, and the loading / unloading units S1-1 to S1-3. Similarly, the unloading conveyor 15a and the loading / unloading conveyor 15b and the loading / unloading units S2-1 to S2-4 constitute a group S2, and the unloading conveyor 16a and the loading / unloading conveyor 16b, and the loading / unloading units S3-1 to S3-3. Thus, a group S3 is configured.

  The traverser 4a is assigned to the group S1, the traverser 4b is assigned to the group S2, and the traverser 4c is assigned to the group S3. For example, when the container 2 is transported from the unloading conveyor 14a of the group S1 to the warehousing conveyor 17 of the warehousing / unloading unit S1-1, the traverser 4a performs the transportation.

  Here, an area on the rail 5 corresponding to the carry-out conveyor 14a to the carry-in conveyor 14b in the group S1 is an interference area X in which both the traverser 4a and the traverser 4b travel. The area on the rail 5 in the vicinity of the carry-out conveyor 16a is an interference area Y in which both the traverser 4b and the traverser 4c travel (see FIG. 1).

  The article conveying device 1 according to the present invention is controlled so that the collision of the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c in the interference areas X and Y does not occur. The ground board 12 controls the travel of the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the optical wireless communication devices 11a to 11f, the switching hub 22, the travel motor 6 that travels the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c, and the container 2 are transferred to the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c. A transfer motor 7, an operation PLC 23 (control means, cart control means) for controlling the travel motor 6 and the transfer motor 7, collision prevention sensors 13a to 13f, and a position detection sensor 10 are provided. As described above, each of the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c has the same configuration.

  The ground board 12 is provided with a carriage PLC 24 (control means, overall control means) that controls the traversers 4 a, 4 b, 4 c in an integrated manner, and a switching hub 25. The switching hub 25 is connected to a carry-in / out conveyor PLC 26 that controls the carry-out conveyors 14 a, 15 a, 16 a and the carry-in conveyor 14 b, and a loading / unloading conveyor PLC 27 that controls the loading conveyor 17 and the loading conveyor 18. .

  Next, the operation and control of the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c when carrying in / out the container 2 and loading / unloading will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 7, the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c are positioned on the rails 5 corresponding to the carry-in conveyors 14b, 15b, 16b, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the container 2 arrives at any of the carry-out conveyors 14a, 15a, 16a, the conveyance request information is transmitted to the cart PLC 24 in the ground board 12 by the carry-in / out conveyor PLC 26 via the switching hub 25. The In the present embodiment, a case will be described as an example where there is a container 2 to be transported on the carry-out conveyors 15a and 16a, and there is no container 2 that needs to be carried on the carry-out conveyor 14a.

  When the carriage PLC 24 receives the transport request information, the carriage PLC 24 transmits movement instruction information to the operation PLCs 23 in the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c. Then, the travel motor 6 is simultaneously driven by the operation PLCs 23, and the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c are moved to positions corresponding to the carry-out conveyors 14a, 15a, 16a belonging to the respective groups in charge (see FIGS. 7 and 8). ).

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c are moved to positions corresponding to the carry-out conveyors 14a, 15a, and 16a, the operation PLCs 23 in the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c are moved with respect to the cart PLC 24, respectively. Send completion information.

  The movement instruction information is also transmitted to the traverser 4a in charge of the group S1 to which the carry-out conveyor 14a to which the container 2 to be transported does not belong, and the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c are simultaneously placed at positions corresponding to the carry-out conveyors 14a, 15a, 16a. By moving, the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c do not interfere with each other, and collision can be prevented.

  The cart PLC 24 transmits the carry-out operation start instruction information of the carry-out conveyors 15a and 16a to the carry-in / out conveyor PLC 26, and the pull-in instruction information of the container 2 is given to the operation PLC 23 in the traverser 4b and the operation PLC 23 in the traverser 4c. Sent.

  While the operation of the carry-out conveyor 15a is started, the transfer motor 7 is driven by the operation PLC 23 to rotate the roller chain 8, and the container 2 is drawn into the upper surface of the traverser 4b, so that the container 2 is brought into the traverser 4b. At the same time, the carry-out conveyor 16a and the traverser 4c operate in the same manner, and the container 2 is transferred to the traverser 4c.

  Next, when the transfer of the container 2 to the traversers 4b and 4c is completed, transfer completion information is transmitted from the operation PLC 23 of the traverser 4b and the operation PLC 23 of the traverser 4c to the carriage PLC 24.

  Further, the cart PLC 24 selects the warehousing conveyor 17 to which the container 2 is transferred based on the information from the warehousing conveyor PLC 27 and transmits movement instruction information to each traverser 4. In the present embodiment, the warehousing conveyor 17 in the storage / unloading unit S2-1 is selected as the transport destination of the container 2 transported by the traverser 4b, and the transporting destination of the container 2 transported by the traverser 4c is in the storage / unloading unit S3-1. The case where the warehousing conveyor 17 is selected will be described as an example.

  When the transfer of the container 2 to the traverser 4b is completed, movement instruction information to the warehousing conveyor 17 in the loading / unloading unit S2-1 is transmitted to the traverser 4b by the carriage PLC 24, and the loading / unloading unit S3− to the traverser 4c. 1 is transmitted to the warehousing conveyor 17.

  The carriage PLC 24 receives the current position information detected by the position detection sensors 10 in the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c from the operation PLCs 23. Since the traverser 4a is located in the interference region X, if the traverser 4b is moved as it is, the traverser 4a may collide with the traverser 4a.

  Therefore, in the article conveying apparatus 1 according to the present invention, the movement instruction information is also transmitted to the operation PLC 23 in the traverser 4a having no container 2 to be conveyed, and the traverser 4a is moved away from the traverser 4b in synchronization with the traversers 4b and 4c. The collision can be avoided by moving it.

  The travel PLC 7 is driven by the operation PLC 23, the traverser 4b moves to a position corresponding to the warehousing conveyor 17 in the loading / unloading unit S2-1, and the traverser 4c is moved to a position corresponding to the warehousing conveyor 17 in the loading / unloading unit S3-1. The traverser 4a moves and escapes from the interference area X (see FIG. 9).

  When the movement completion information is transmitted to the cart PLC 24 by each operation PLC 23 in the traverser 4a, 4b, 4c, the delivery instruction information of the container 2 is transmitted to the operation PLC 23 of the traverser 4b, 4c by the cart PLC 24. The warehousing operation start instruction information of the warehousing conveyor 17 in the warehousing / unloading unit S2-1 and the warehousing conveyor 17 in the warehousing / unloading unit S3-1 is transmitted to the warehousing conveyor PLC27.

  The transfer motor 7 is driven by the operation PLC 23 in the traverser 4b, the container 2 is discharged from the traverser 4b to the warehousing conveyor 17 in the warehousing / unloading unit S2-1, and the warehousing conveyor 17 is driven to rack the container 2 It is moved in the 19 direction. The traverser 4c operates similarly, and the container 2 is transferred from the traverser 4c to the warehousing conveyor 17 in the warehousing / unloading unit S3-1.

  The container 2 transferred to the warehousing conveyor 17 is transferred to the corresponding stacker crane 21 and then transferred to the rack 19 for storage. The stacker crane 21 in the storage warehouse 3 is controlled by another control device (not shown).

  When the payout completion information is transmitted to the cart PLC 24 by the operation PLCs 23 in the traversers 4b and 4c, the movement instructions to the delivery conveyor 18 where the containers 2 to be delivered are located to the operation PLCs 23 in the traversers 4a, 4b and 4c. Information is sent.

  Based on the information from the loading / unloading conveyor PLC 27, the carriage PLC 24 transmits movement instruction information to the unloading conveyor 18 for unloading the container 2 to the operation PLC 23 in the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c. In this embodiment, the case where the traverser 4b conveys the container 2 of the delivery conveyor 18 in the entry / exit unit S2-1 and the traverser 4c carries the container 2 of the delivery conveyor 18 in the entry / exit unit S3-2 is described as an example. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 10, when the traverser 4b is moved to a position corresponding to the delivery conveyor 18 in the entry / exit unit S2-1, and the traverser 4c is moved to a position corresponding to the delivery conveyor 18 in the entry / exit unit S3-2. The operation PLCs 23 and 23 in the traversers 4b and 4c transmit movement completion information to the cart PLC 24, respectively.

  Then, the carriage PLC 24 transmits the delivery operation start instruction information of the delivery conveyor 18 in the delivery unit S2-1 and the delivery conveyor 18 in the delivery unit S3-2 to the entry / exit conveyor PLC27, and the operation in the traverser 4b. The pull-in instruction information of the container 2 is transmitted to the PLC 23 and the operation PLC 23 in the traverser 4c.

  The operation of the delivery conveyor 18 is started, the transfer motor 7 is driven by the operation PLC 23, the roller chain 8 rotates, the container 2 is drawn from the upper surface of the traversers 4b and 4c, and the container 2 is delivered to the delivery conveyor 18. To the traverser 4b. The traverser 4c and the delivery conveyor 18 operate in the same manner, and the container 2 is transferred from the delivery conveyor 18 to the traverser 4c.

  When the transfer of the container 2 to the traverser 4b, 4c is completed, transfer completion information is transmitted from the operation PLC 23 of the traverser 4b and the operation PLC 23 of the traverser 4c to the cart PLC 24, and the cart PLC 24 uses the traverser 4a, 4b, 4c Movement instruction information to the carry-in conveyors 14b, 15b, and 16b in charge of each operation PLC 23 is transmitted.

  Each travel motor 6 is driven by each operation PLC 23 in the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c, the traverser 4a is moved to the carry-in conveyor 14b, the traverser 4b is moved to the carry-in conveyor 14b, and the traverser 4c is moved to the carry-in conveyor 15b. (See FIG. 7).

  Thus, the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c are simultaneously moved to positions corresponding to the carry-in conveyors 14b, 15b, 16b, so that the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c do not interfere with each other and can prevent collisions. It has become.

  When the movement completion information is transmitted to the cart PLC 24 by the operation PLCs 23 in the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c, the payout instruction information is transmitted to the operation PLCs 23 and 23 of the traversers 4b and 4c by the cart PLC 24.

  The transfer motor 7 is driven by the operation PLC 23 in the traverser 4b, and the container 2 is discharged from the traverser 4b to the carry-in conveyor 14b. The traverser 4c operates in the same manner, and the container 2 is transferred from the traverser 4c to the carry-in conveyor 15b.

  As described above, in the article transport apparatus 1, after the container 2 is transferred from the carry-out conveyors 14a, 15a, and 16a to the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c, and transferred to the storage warehouse 3, the traversers 4a and 4b are transferred from the storage warehouse 3. , 4c, the container 2 is unloaded and transported and transferred to the carry-in conveyors 14b, 15b, 16b, and a series of operations are repeated as one set. Thus, the loading / unloading operation or the loading / unloading operation of the container 2 performed by the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c is alternately synchronized.

  Traversers 4a, 4b are grouped as groups S1 to S3 and the movement start times of movement to carry-out conveyors 14a, 15a, 16a and carry-in conveyors 14b, which are handled by traversers 4a, 4b, 4c, are synchronized. , 4c are not simultaneously located in the interference region X or Y, and the article conveying apparatuses can be prevented from colliding with each other.

  Next, another modification for grasping the current position will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a cord plate 29 in which a large number of through holes 28 having different shapes are formed between the two rails 5 is provided in the longitudinal direction of the rails 5. A U-shaped read head 30 is attached to the lower surface side so as to sandwich the code plate 29.

  The carriage PLC 24 can grasp the current position information of each traverser 4 by reading a code pattern composed of a plurality of through holes 28 in the code board 29 with the reading head 30 and transmitting the operation PLC to the carriage PLC 24 of the ground board 12. . As a means for grasping the current position, any of the barcode sheet 9 or the code plate 29 described above may be used.

  As described above, in the article transporting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a plurality of traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c travel along the same rail 5, and at the conveyors 14 to 18 provided at a plurality of locations on the rail 5, The container 2 is transferred to each of the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c, and a carriage PLC 24 that performs control to move the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c to the conveyors 14 to 18 based on predetermined control conditions is provided. According to the control conditions, the conveyors 14 to 18 are grouped in advance according to the arrangement of the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c, and the cart PLC 24 includes the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c. By performing control to synchronize operations toward the conveyors 14 to 18 of the corresponding groups S1 to S3, the conveyors 14 to 18 are synchronized. Due to the simple control condition of grouping and synchronization of the operations of the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c, the adjacent traversers 4a, 4b, 4c have the same traveling direction when heading toward the conveyors 14 to 18, and the adjacent traversers 4a , 4b, 4c can be prevented from interfering with each other, and control conditions can be simplified so that even a simple cart PLC 24 with low cost can be controlled.

  Further, the carriage PLC 24 performs control to synchronize the operation start times of the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c of the groups S1 to S3, so that when the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c start to operate, the traversers 4a , 4b, 4c are in a running state, and when the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c are in a running state, the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c in the standby state are eliminated in the rail 5, and the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c in the running state are in a standby state. Thus, the movable efficiency of the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c can be improved without being interfered by the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c.

  Further, when the cart PLC 24 travels at least one of the plurality of traversers 4a, 4b, 4c with the container 2 mounted thereon, the other traversers 4a, 4b, 4c, By performing the control of running 4c, when the predetermined traversers 4a, 4b, 4c are run, the other traversers 4a, 4b, 4c are run regardless of whether the container 2 is placed or not. When the predetermined traversers 4a, 4b, 4c are in the traveling state, the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c in the standby state are eliminated in the rail 5, and the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c in the traveling state are in the standby state. The movable efficiency of the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c can be improved without being interfered by 4b, 4c.

  Further, when the carriage PLC 24 travels the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c of the corresponding groups S1 to S3 toward the conveyors 14 to 18 where the container 2 to be transferred is present among the plurality of conveyors 14 to 18, By controlling the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c of the corresponding traversers 4-18 to the conveyors 14-18 of the corresponding groups S1-S3, when the predetermined traversers 4a, 4b, 4c are traveled, the other traversers 4a, 4b, 4c, 4b and 4c are driven regardless of whether or not the containers 2 to be transferred are present on the conveyors 14 to 18 of the corresponding groups S1 to S3, and the predetermined traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c are driven. In the state, the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c in the standby state are eliminated in the rail 5, and the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c in the traveling state are in the standby state. Traverser 4a, 4b, Without being interference to 4c, it is possible to improve the traverser 4a, 4b, 4c movable efficiency.

  In addition, the article storage warehouse 3 is arranged along one side of the rail 5, and a carry-in / out unit (production line) for loading / unloading is arranged along the other side of the rail 5. The traversers 4a, 4b, 4c move to the loading / unloading conveyors 17-18 corresponding to the article storage warehouse 3, and the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c move to the loading / unloading conveyors 14-16 corresponding to the loading / unloading section. By performing the control to synchronize so that the moving operation is alternately performed, the loading / unloading operation or the loading / unloading operation of the container 2 performed by each traverser 4a, 4b, 4c is alternately synchronized, and adjacent traversers 4a, 4b, 4c does not interfere with each other, and the control conditions can be simplified so that even a simple cart PLC 24 at a low cost can be controlled.

  Each traverser 4a, 4b, 4c has a position detection sensor 10 for detecting an absolute position, and the operation PLC 23 and the carriage PLC 24 grasp the current position of each traverser 4a, 4b, 4c using the position detection sensor 10. Thus, the reliability of detection of the current position of each traverser 4a, 4b, 4c is improved, and the operation PLC 23 and the carriage PLC 24 can accurately grasp the current position of each traverser 4a, 4b, 4c, and the article. Each time the transport device 1 is started, it is not necessary to perform operations such as origin adjustment for the rails 5 of the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c.

  Also, optical wireless communication devices 11a to 11h that perform communication between the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c and the ground board 12 are provided in the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c, and the ground board 12, and the optical wireless communication apparatuses 11a. Since the network constructed by ˜11h forms a loop shape, wireless communication can be performed to the traversers 4a, 4b, 4c away from the ground 12 using the optical wireless communication devices 11a to 11h. It is not necessary to connect the traversers 4a, 4b, and 4c with a wired cable or the like, and the installation work and maintenance of the operation PLC 23 and the cart PLC 24 can be easily performed. This is a case where the optical wireless communication devices 11a to 11h of 4a, 4b, and 4c break down and the communication is disconnected at one place. Also, it is possible to perform traverser 4a having failed optical wireless communication device 11a to 11h, 4b, the transmission and reception of information by bypassing 4c.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and modifications and additions within the scope of the present invention are included in the present invention. It is.

  For example, in the embodiment, three traversers 4a, 4b, 4c are provided, but two or four or more may be combined.

  In the above embodiment, one traverser 4a, 4b, 4c is assigned to each group S1 to S3 for operation, but a plurality of traversers are assigned to each group S1 to S3 for operation. May be.

1 article transport device 2 container (article)
3 Storage warehouse 4a, 4b, 4c Traverser (goods transport cart)
5 rail (track)
10 Position detection sensor 12 Ground (ground part)
14a Unloading conveyor (loading / unloading section, article transfer location)
14b Carry-in conveyor (loading / unloading part, article transfer location)
15a Unloading conveyor (loading / unloading part, article transfer point)
15b Carry-in conveyor (loading / unloading part, article transfer location)
16a Unloading conveyor (loading / unloading section, article transfer location)
16b Carry-in conveyor (loading / unloading part, article transfer point)
17 Warehousing conveyor (item transfer location)
18 Unloading conveyor (item transfer location)
21 Stacker crane (goods storage warehouse)
23 Operation PLC (control means, cart control means)
24 cart PLC (control means, general control means)
26 Carry-in / out conveyor PLC
27 Loading / unloading conveyor PLC

Claims (7)

A plurality of article transport carts travel along the same track, and articles are transferred to the respective article transport carts at article transfer locations provided at a plurality of locations on the track. An article conveying apparatus provided with a control means for performing control to move the article conveying carriage to the article transfer location based on a predetermined control condition,
According to the control condition, the article transfer locations are grouped in advance in correspondence with the arrangement of the article transport carts, and the control means is configured to set the article transfer locations of the groups to which the article transport carts correspond. An article transporting apparatus that performs control to synchronize movements toward each other.   The article transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control to synchronize operation start times of the article transport carts of each group.   The control means performs control for running another article conveyance carriage when at least one article conveyance carriage is made to run with the article placed thereon among the plurality of article conveyance carriages. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   The said control means respond | corresponds to another goods conveyance trolley when driving the goods conveyance trolley of a corresponding group toward the goods transfer location in which the goods to be transferred exist among the said several goods transfer locations. 4. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article carrying device is controlled to travel toward an article transfer position of the group.   An article storage warehouse is arranged along one side of the track, and a loading / unloading unit for loading / unloading is arranged along the other side of the track, and the control means is configured such that each of the article transport carts is The operation toward the article transfer location for loading / unloading corresponding to the article storage warehouse and the operation for each article transport cart toward the article transfer location for loading / unloading corresponding to the carry-in / out section are alternately performed. The article conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein control is performed to synchronize with the article.   The each article transporting carriage has a position detection sensor for detecting an absolute position, and the control means grasps the current position of each article transporting carriage using the position detection sensor. 6. The article conveying device according to any one of 5 to 5.   The control means is constituted by a carriage control means provided in each article transporting carriage, and an overall control means provided on the ground portion for overall control of each carriage control means. A wireless communication device that performs communication between a control unit and the overall control unit is provided in each of the article transport carts and the ground unit, and a network constructed by each of the wireless communication devices has a loop shape. The article conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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