JP2013184522A - Self-propelled carrier and transport system with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an article and an operator from falling from a gap between self-propelled carriers.SOLUTION: A self-propelled carrier 1 can travel in a transport direction Y while the rear self-propelled carrier 1 and a front self-propelled carrier 2 hold a specific inter-vehicle distance between the plurality of self-propelled carriers 1, 2 arranged front and rear along the transport direction Y. The self-propelled carrier 1 includes: a bumper body 3 provided movably in the front-rear direction on a front surface 15 of a vehicle body 10; a spring member 4 biasing the bumper body 3 forward; and a cover member 7 provided at an upper edge of the bumper body 3 and covering an inter-vehicle gap to the front self-propelled carrier 2. When the rear self-propelled carrier 1 approaches the front self-propelled carrier 2, a front edge of the cover member 7 comes into contact with the front self-propelled carrier 2 to move upward and runs on an upper surface 21 of the front self-propelled carrier 2, and the inter-vehicle gap is covered by the cover member 7 from above.

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-propelled trolley that travels ahead and a self-propelled trolley that can travel while maintaining a certain inter-vehicle distance, and a transport system including the self-propelled trolley.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a conventionally known transport system includes a loop-shaped guide rail (not shown) laid on the floor surface FL along the transport direction Y, and the transport direction Y guided by the guide rail. And a plurality of self-propelled carts 8 that travel on the vehicle, and carry and convey the articles on the self-propelled cart 8 (for example, Patent Document 1).

  Such a conveyance system may be applied to an assembly line for assembling a predetermined article by a plurality of assembly processes. In this case, an operator rides on the self-propelled carriage 8 and performs assembly work on the carriage (for example, Patent Document 2).

  Each self-propelled carriage 8 includes a non-contact distance sensor 80 that detects a distance between the front self-propelled carriage 8 and a contact bumper sensor 81 that detects an obstacle and a rear-end collision with the front self-propelled carriage 8. Prepare.

  The self-propelled carriage 8 measures the inter-vehicle distance from the front self-propelled carriage 8 by the distance sensor 80, and travels in the transport direction Y while maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance from the front self-propelled carriage 8. In other words, the conveyance system includes the distance sensor 80 in each self-propelled carriage 8 so that the self-propelled carriage 8 can be controlled so that the inter-vehicle distance between the carriages is constant.

  When each self-propelled carriage 8 is traveling with a constant inter-vehicle distance, it is inevitable that a predetermined gap is generated between the carriages. Therefore, in the past, small articles such as transported articles, bolts and screws used in assembly work, and workers who are assembling work on the carriage may fall from the gap to the floor surface FL, which is extremely dangerous. Met.

JP-A-01-296319 JP 2005-343195 A

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a self-propelled cart that can prevent articles and workers from dropping from the gaps between the self-propelled carts and a transport system including the self-propelled cart.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the self-propelled carriage according to the present invention has a constant self-propelled carriage in the back and a self-propelled carriage in the front between the plurality of self-propelled carriages arranged forward and backward along the transport direction. A self-propelled carriage capable of traveling in the transport direction while maintaining a distance between the vehicles,
A bumper body provided on the front surface of the vehicle body so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, an urging means for urging the bumper body forward, and provided at an upper end of the bumper body, covering a gap between the front self-propelled carriage and the vehicle. A cover member,
When approaching the front self-propelled carriage, the tip of the cover member contacts the front self-propelled carriage and moves upward to ride on the upper surface of the front self-propelled carriage, and the gap between the vehicles is raised by the cover member. Covered from.

  Preferably, the cover member is attached to the upper end of the bumper body so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction.

  Preferably, the bumper body is attached to the lower end of the vehicle body so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction.

  Preferably, a height adjusting means for adjusting the height of the tip of the cover member with respect to the upper surface of the front self-propelled carriage is provided.

  Preferably, a columnar columnar member extending in the width direction of the vehicle body is provided at the tip of the cover member, and a lower portion of the columnar member is in contact with a corner formed by the upper surface and the rear surface of the front self-propelled carriage, and the cover member The top of the board rides on the top of the front self-propelled carriage.

  Preferably, a non-contact type inter-vehicle distance detecting means for detecting an inter-vehicle distance from the front self-propelled carriage is provided in front of the vehicle body so that the bumper main body is located in front, and the inter-vehicle distance detecting means of the bumper main body is opposed. The part to be cut is cut out.

  The transport system according to the present invention includes a guide rail laid on the floor along the transport direction and a plurality of the above-mentioned self-propelled carts, and loads the transport articles on the self-propelled cart, A conveyance article is conveyed by running in the conveyance direction along the guide rail.

  The self-propelled carriage and the transport system according to the present invention have the above-described configuration, so that when the rear self-propelled carriage approaches the front self-propelled carriage, the front end of the cover member of the rear self-propelled carriage is the front self-propelled carriage. It comes in contact with the trolley and rides on the upper surface of the front self-propelled trolley. As a result, the gap between the carriages is completely covered from above by the cover member, so that an operator working on the article and the carriage can be prevented from falling from the gap between the carriages to the floor surface, and safety is ensured. .

It is a side view of the conveyance system concerning the present invention. It is a front view of the self-propelled cart concerning the present invention. It is a partial side view of the self-propelled cart concerning the present invention. It is a partial side view of the self-propelled cart concerning the present invention, and shows the state where the cover member got on the front self-propelled cart. It is a figure which shows the structure of the height adjustment means which adjusts the height of the front-end | tip of a cover member. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of the self-propelled carriage which concerns on this invention, FIG. 6A shows the state before a cover member rides, and FIG. 6B shows the state after a cover member rides. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of the self-propelled trolley | bogie which concerns on this invention, and shows the state after a cover member rides on the front self-propelled trolley | bogie. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of the self-propelled cart which concerns on this invention, and shows the self-propelled cart where the bumper sensor was comprised with the tape switch. It is a side view of the conventional conveyance system.

  Hereinafter, a self-propelled carriage (hereinafter simply referred to as a self-propelled carriage) according to the present invention and a transport system including the same (hereinafter simply referred to as a transport system) will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transport system includes a plurality of self-propelled carriages 1, 2, 2 ′ that travel in the transport direction Y. The plurality of self-propelled carriages 1, 2, 2 ′ are arranged back and forth along the transport direction Y. Loop-shaped guide rails 18 (FIG. 2) are laid along the transport direction Y on the floor surface FL in order to guide the self-propelled carriages 1, 2, 2 'in the transport direction Y. The transport system loads transport articles on the self-propelled carriages 1, 2, 2 ', and transports the transport articles by running the self-propelled carriages 1, 2, 2' in the transport direction Y.

  The transport system can also be applied to an assembly line that manufactures articles through a plurality of assembly processes, for example. In this case, an operator gets on the self-propelled carts 1, 2, 2 'traveling in the transport direction Y, and performs assembly work on the cart.

  The self-propelled carriage 1 includes a vehicle body 10, and a drive wheel 11, and front wheels 12 and rear wheels 13 as followers are attached to the vehicle body 10 so as to roll on the floor surface FL. The self-propelled carriage 1 includes a guide roller (not shown) that engages with the guide rail 18 in order to travel along the guide rail 18. Further, the self-propelled carriage 1 includes a control unit 14 for performing traveling control such as driving of the drive wheels 11.

  The self-propelled carriage 1 includes a bumper structure on the front surface 15 of the vehicle body 10 that can absorb and mitigate an impact caused by a collision with the front self-propelled carriage 2 and an obstacle and detect the collision. The bumper structure includes a bumper body 3, a spring member (biasing means) 4 for biasing the bumper body 3, and a bumper sensor 5 for detecting a collision such as an obstacle on the bumper body 3. . Hereinafter, the bumper structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

  The self-propelled carriage 1 includes a plate-shaped bumper body 3 on the front surface 15 thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, the bumper body 3 has the same width as the vehicle body 10 and covers the front surface 15 of the vehicle body 10 from the front. As shown in FIG. 3, the bumper main body 3 includes a vertical portion 30 that forms a lower portion of the bumper main body 3, an inclined portion 31 that inclines forward from the upper end of the vertical portion 30, and a rearward from the upper end of the inclined portion 31. And an upper end 32 extending horizontally. The vertical part 30, the inclined part 31, and the upper end part 32 are integrally formed continuously.

  The bumper body 3 is attached to the lower end of the front surface 15 so as to be rotatable (movable) in the front-rear direction by a hinge 33. A spring member 4 is provided on the vehicle body 10 and biases the bumper body 3 forward. The bumper body 3 is urged to rotate forward, but the locking portion 34 provided on the upper end portion 32 is locked to the restriction portion 17 provided on the upper surface 16 of the vehicle body 10. The rotation is restricted so as not to rotate forward. Thus, the bumper body 3 is kept in a predetermined posture in the forward biased state by the spring member 4.

  The bumper sensor 5 is, for example, a lever-type limit switch, and includes a sensor main body portion 50 and a lever portion 51 that is rotatably attached to the sensor main body portion 50. The sensor main body 50 is connected to the control unit 14. The tip of the lever portion 50 is tilted forward by its own weight or spring force and is in contact with the inclined portion 31 of the bumper body 3.

  When an object such as a front self-propelled carriage 2 collides with the bumper body 3, the bumper body 3 rotates backward against the urging force of the spring member 4. Since the lever part 51 is inclined to the inclined part 31, it rotates backward together with the bumper body 3. When a force of a predetermined value or more is applied to the bumper body 3 and the lever member 51 is rotated to the detection position indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 3, the sensor body 50 is turned on. Thus, the bumper sensor 5 detects that an object has collided with the bumper body 3 from the front with a predetermined force or more. When the control unit 14 receives the detection signal from the bumper sensor 5, the control unit 14 stops driving the driving wheels 11 and stops the traveling cart 1.

  Furthermore, the self-propelled carriage 1 includes a distance sensor (inter-vehicle distance detection means) 6 that detects an inter-vehicle distance from the front self-propelled carriage 2 traveling in the transport direction Y on the front surface 15. The distance sensor 6 is a non-contact type sensor such as an optical sensor including a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit. As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 35 is formed in the center of the bumper main body 3, and a portion of the bumper main body 3 facing the distance sensor 6 is cut out. Thereby, the distance sensor 6 can detect the inter-vehicle distance with the front self-propelled carriage 2 without being interfered with the bumper body 3 located in front.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the distance sensor 6 is connected to the control unit 14, and the control unit 14 drives the drive wheels 11 based on a detection signal from the distance sensor 6. As a result, the rear self-propelled carriage 1 can travel while freely adjusting the distance between the front self-propelled carriage 2 and the distance between the front self-propelled carriage 2 and the front self-propelled carriage 2 is kept constant. You can travel to.

  The self-propelled carriage 1 includes a cover member 7 for covering a gap between the front self-propelled carriage 2 and the vehicle. The cover member 7 has the same width as the width of the vehicle body 10. The cover member 7 is composed of one side portion 70 extending forward and the other side portion 71 extending downward, and is substantially L-shaped in a side view. A columnar cylindrical member 72 extending in the width direction of the vehicle body 10 is welded to the tip of the one side portion 70.

  The cover member 7 is attached to the upper end of the bumper body 3 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction by a hinge 73. Although the cover member 7 tends to rotate downward due to its own weight, the downward rotation is restricted by the other side portion 71 coming into contact with the push bolt 36 penetrating the inclined portion 31 of the bumper body 3. That is, the push bolt 36 functions as a stopper, and holds the cover member 7 at a predetermined position.

  The position of the cover member 7 is set according to the front self-propelled carriage 2. In the present embodiment, the position of the cover member 7 is set so that the height h of the lower end of the columnar member 72 constituting the tip of the cover member 7 is slightly lower than the upper surface 21 of the vehicle body 20 of the self-propelled carriage 2. ing.

  Next, the operation of the cover member 7 will be described. By setting the position of the cover member 7 as described above, when the rear self-propelled carriage 1 comes close to the front self-propelled carriage 2, the lower part of the cylindrical member 72 at the front end is the upper surface 21 and the rear surface 22 of the self-propelled carriage 2. It comes to contact the corner | angular part 23 formed by.

  When the cylindrical member 72 comes into contact with the corner portion 23 of the self-propelled carriage 2, the impact caused by the contact is rotatable in the front-rear direction and is absorbed by the bumper body 3 biased forward. At the same time, the cylindrical member 72 rotates around the hinge 73 by contact with the corner 23 and moves upward, and rides on the upper surface 21 of the self-propelled carriage 2 as shown in FIG.

  Thus, the tip of the cover member 7 of the rear self-propelled carriage 1 rides on the upper surface 21 of the front self-propelled carriage 2, and the cover member 7 is provided from the rear self-propelled carriage 1 to the front self-propelled carriage 2. The gap between the two self-propelled carriages 1 and 2 is covered from above. The rear self-propelled carriage 1 travels while keeping the distance between the front self-propelled carriage 2 constant by the distance sensor 6 while the cover member 7 covers the gap between the vehicles from above. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, when the self-propelled carriage 2 'comes close to the self-propelled carriage 1, the cover member 7 of the self-propelled carriage 2' covers the gap between the self-propelled carriages 1 and 2 'from above as described above. . Then, the self-propelled carriage 2 ′ travels with the distance between the front self-propelled carriage 1 kept constant with the cover member 7 covering the gap between the vehicles from above.

  That is, the transport system is in a state in which the gaps between all the carriages are covered from above by the cover member 7 when the plurality of self-propelled carriages 1, 2, 2 ′ are traveling controlled while maintaining a certain inter-vehicle distance. Can be. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent small articles such as screws, transported articles, and operators working on the carriage from falling between the carriages.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the cylindrical member 72 at the tip of the cover member 7 is in contact with the upper surface 21 without a gap by its own weight after riding on the upper surface 21 of the self-propelled carriage 2. It does not fall on the floor surface FL from between the cover member 7 and the upper surface 21 of the self-propelled carriage 2. Further, in a state where the cover member 7 rides on the front self-propelled carriage 2, even if the operator steps on the cover member 7, the load is supported by the bumper body 3 and the vehicle body 20 of the self-propelled carriage 2. be able to. Therefore, the worker on the carriage does not lose his posture even if he puts his / her foot on the cover member 7, and can work safely on the carriage.

  As described above, it is possible to reliably prevent the article and the operator from dropping from the gap between the carriages, thereby ensuring sufficient safety.

  If the front self-propelled carriage 2 is separated from the rear self-propelled carriage 1, the cylindrical member 72 is separated from the upper surface 21, and the cover member 7 is rotated downward by its own weight until the other side portion 71 contacts the push bolt 36. Returning to the original position shown in FIG. When the rear self-propelled carriage 1 again approaches the front self-propelled carriage 2, the cover member 7 rides on the front self-propelled carriage 2 as described above.

  It is necessary to prevent the bumper sensor 5 from reacting when the cover member 7 contacts the front self-propelled carriage 2. That is, the force that should be applied to the bumper body 3 in order for the bumper sensor 5 to operate must be set larger than the force required for the cover member 7 to ride on the front self-propelled carriage 2. Furthermore, it is preferable that the cover member 7 rides on the front self-propelled carriage 2 with as little force as possible. In the present embodiment, the lower part of the peripheral side surface of the cylindrical member 72 at the tip is brought into contact with the corner portion 23 of the front self-propelled carriage 2 so that the cover member 7 can smoothly ride with a small force. For this purpose, the height h of the tip (column member 72) of the cover member 7 is set to a desired height with respect to the upper surface 21 of the front self-propelled carriage 2 as shown in FIG. It is necessary to design the self-propelled carriage 1.

  However, the transport system includes dozens of a plurality of self-propelled carts 1, 2, 2 ′, and when these are mass-produced, a production error occurs, and the front end of the cover member 7 is front-running. It may not be at a desired height with respect to the carriage 2. Moreover, the front-end | tip of the cover member 7 may shift | deviate from desired height by the aged deterioration of the self-propelled cart 1. Furthermore, the floor surface FL on which the self-propelled carriage 1 travels is not necessarily flat. If there is a slight inclination, the tip of the cover member 7 may not be at a desired height. For this reason, for example, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, the height h of the columnar member 72 at the tip of the cover member 7 is greatly lowered from the upper surface 21 of the front self-propelled carriage 2 in FIG. It may not be at the desired height as shown.

  In order to solve such a problem, the self-propelled carriage 1 includes a height adjusting means for adjusting the height h of the tip of the cover member 7 with respect to the upper surface 21 of the front self-propelled carriage 2. In the present embodiment, the height adjusting means is configured by the push bolt 36 that penetrates the inclined portion 31 of the bumper body 3. The push bolt 36 can be moved in the penetrating direction. If the push bolt 36 is pushed forward, the other side portion 71 of the cover member 7 in contact with the push bolt 36 is pushed, so that the columnar member 72 at the tip can be rotated upward. On the other hand, if the push bolt 36 is pulled backward, the cylindrical member 72 can be rotated downward.

  That is, the height h of the front end (columnar member 72) of the cover member 7 can be freely set by the amount of pressing of the push bolt 36. Therefore, even when the tip of the cover member 7 is at an undesired height as shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, the push bolt 36 is desired for the front self-propelled carriage 2 as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 5. The height can be adjusted. Thereby, said problem can be solved.

  Although the tip of the cover member 7 is composed of the cylindrical member 72, the structure shown in FIG. As shown to FIG. 6A, the front end side of the cover member 7 is formed in V shape by side view. In this configuration, when the rear self-propelled carriage 1 approaches the front self-propelled carriage 2, the front inclined portion 74 at the tip of the cover member 7 comes into contact with the corner portion 23 of the self-propelled carriage 2. Yes. Then, the tip of the cover member 7 is rotated upward by this contact, and rides on the upper surface 21 of the self-propelled carriage 2 as shown in FIG. 6B. As a result, the gap between the carriages is completely covered by the cover member 7 from above, and the article and the operator are prevented from dropping from the gap. In the state where the cover member 7 is ridden, the lower end 75 of the V-shaped portion and the upper surface 21 are in contact with each other without a gap due to its own weight. The article will not fall.

  Further, another embodiment of the self-propelled carriage 1 is shown in FIG. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the cover member 7 of the rear self-propelled carriage 1 has already ridden on the front self-propelled carriage 2. In FIG. 7, the same components as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted as much as possible.

  The bumper body 3 includes a second vertical part 37 extending vertically from the upper end of the inclined part 31 and a protruding part 38 protruding forward from the upper end of the second vertical part 37. A support member 39 that supports the push bolt 36 is attached to the second vertical portion 37.

  A rod-shaped holding member 40 is provided so as to pass through the spring member 4 that biases the bumper body 3 forward. The front end of the holding member 40 is fixed to the bumper body 3, and the rear end side penetrates into the vehicle body 10. The bumper body 3 tries to rotate forward by the biasing force of the spring member 4, but the locking portion 34 provided on the rear end side of the holding member 40 is locked to the restriction portion 17 provided on the front surface 15. The rotation is restricted so as not to rotate further forward. The pump body 3 is thus held in a forward biased state.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the locking portion 34 and the restricting portion 17 are provided in the vehicle body 10 and are not provided on the front end side of the upper surface 16 of the vehicle body 10 as in the embodiment of FIG. Thereby, a flat part is achieved without generating a convex part on the front end side of the upper surface 16 of the vehicle body 10.

  The cover member 7 includes a horizontal portion 76 and a columnar member 72 welded to the lower surface tip of the horizontal portion 76. The horizontal portion 76 is formed by integrating the horizontal portion 70 of the cover portion 7 and the upper end portion 32 of the bumper body 3 in the embodiment of FIG. 3, thereby reducing the number of parts.

  The cover member 7 is attached to the upper end of the bumper main body 3 so as to be movable in the vertical direction via two hinges 77 and 78 that are stacked one above the other. The lower hinge 77 is arranged so that the two brackets extend rearward from the rotation shaft. On the other hand, the upper hinge 78 is disposed so that the two brackets extend forward from the rotation shaft.

  One bracket of the lower hinge 77 is attached to the protruding portion 38 of the bumper body 3, and the other bracket is attached to one bracket of the upper hinge 78. The other bracket of the upper hinge 78 is attached to the horizontal portion 76 of the cover member 7. With this configuration, the cover member 7 can move upward when the two hinges 77 and 78 are opened, and can move downward when the two hinges 77 and 78 are closed.

  One end of a leaf spring 79 is attached to the rear end of the cover member 7, and the other end of the leaf spring 79 is fixed to a fixing member 19 provided on the upper surface 16. The tip (column member 72) of the cover member 7 is urged downward by the urging force of the leaf spring 79. When the cover member 7 is moved against the urging force of the leaf spring 79, the cover member 7 moves as indicated by a one-dot chain line. In a state where the cover member 7 is not riding on the front self-propelled carriage 2, the tip of the cover member 7 tries to move downward by the urging force, but the horizontal portion 76 abuts against the push bolt 36 and is further below Do not move to.

  A step portion is formed at the rear end of the upper surface 21 of the front self-propelled carriage 2. In this embodiment, before the cover member 7 rides on the front self-propelled carriage 2, the height of the columnar member 72 is set with respect to the upper surface 24 of the step portion. Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 3, the push bolt 36 functions not only as a stopper but also as a height adjusting means. The height of the columnar member 72 relative to the upper surface 24 can be adjusted by moving the push bolt 36 up and down to change the amount of protrusion from the support member 39.

  On the rear surface 22 of the front self-propelled carriage 2, a receiving recess (not shown) that is sufficiently larger than the support member 39 for the support member 39 of the rear self-propelled carriage 1 to enter is formed. When the rear self-propelled carriage 1 is close to the front self-propelled carriage 2, the support member 39 enters the receiving recess so as not to contact the self-propelled carriage 2, and does not interfere with the climbing of the cover member 7. .

  When the rear self-propelled carriage 1 comes close to the front self-propelled carriage 2, the cylindrical member 72 comes into contact with the corner 25 formed by the rear surface 22 and the upper surface 24 of the automatic cart 2, so that the cylindrical member 72 is a plate. It moves upward against the biasing force of the spring 79 and rides on the upper surface 24 of the self-propelled carriage 2. The cover member 7 covers the space between the self-propelled carriages 1 and 2 from above, and can prevent articles and the like from falling as in the embodiment of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the cover member 7 rides on the upper surface 24 of the step portion and does not climb on the upper surface 21. When the columnar member 72 is positioned on the upper surface 24 of the stepped portion, the horizontal portion 76 of the cover member 7 and the upper surface 21 of the self-propelled carriage 2 are flush with each other and are flat without generating a convex portion. In this embodiment, the leaf spring 79 urges the tip of the cover member 7 downward, and when the columnar member 72 contacts the corner portion 25 and rides on the upper surface 24, it moves more than necessary. It is supposed not to.

  Further, there is a configuration shown in FIG. In the self-propelled carriage 1 in FIG. 8, the bumper sensor 5 is configured by a tape switch 52. The tape switch 52 is attached to the cylindrical member 72. As a matter of course, the tape switch 52 is attached at a position where the cover member 7 does not come into contact with the front self-propelled carriage 2 when riding on the front self-propelled carriage 2. When an obstacle or the like touches the tape switch 52 with a predetermined force or more, the control unit 14 stops the driving wheel 11 (FIG. 1) and stops the self-propelled carriage 2.

  When the bumper sensor 5 is configured with a lever-type limit switch as shown in FIG. 3, as described above, the force for operating the bumper sensor 5 must be set larger than the force for the cover member 7 to ride. On the other hand, when the bumper sensor 5 is composed of the tape switch 52 attached to the cylindrical member 72 as shown in FIG. 8, the force at which the bumper sensor 5 operates can be freely set regardless of the force with which the cover member 7 rides. There is no problem even if 7 is set to be smaller than the climbing force.

As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described, the structure of this invention is not limited to this embodiment.
In the present embodiment, the self-propelled carriages 1, 2, 2 ′ provided with the cover member 7 are loop carriages that travel along the loop-shaped guide rails 18 laid on the floor surface FL, but are not limited thereto. It is not a thing. The self-propelled carriages 1, 2, 2 ′ are automatic guided carriages (AGV) that automatically run by imaging lines (ID codes, barcodes, etc.) laid on the floor surface FL with an imaging means (camera, etc.). Also good.

  In the present embodiment, the bumper body 3 is pivotally attached by a hinge 33 at the lower end of the front surface 15 of the vehicle body 10 and is movable in the front-rear direction. However, the configuration of the present embodiment is not limited as long as the bumper body 3 is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction. For example, the bumper body 3 may be attached to the front surface 15 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction by a linear guide and biased forward by the spring member 4.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the cover member 7 is attached to the bumper main body 3 so as to be pivotable in the vertical direction by the hinge 73 so that the tip of the cover member 7 rides on the upper surface 21 of the front self-propelled carriage 2. It has become. Instead, for example, by attaching the cover member 7 to the bumper main body 3 so as to be movable in the vertical direction by the linear guide, the tip of the cover member 7 may ride on the upper surface 21 of the front self-propelled carriage 2. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Self-propelled cart 10 Vehicle body 15 Front 18 Guide rail 2 Self-propelled cart
21 Upper surface 22 Rear surface 23 Corner 3 Bumper body 36 Push bolt (height adjusting means)
4 Spring member (biasing means)
5 Bumper sensor 6 Distance sensor (Vehicle distance detection means)
7 Cover member 72 Cylindrical member (tip of cover member)
Y Transport direction FL Floor

Claims (7)

Between a plurality of self-propelled carts arranged in the front and back along the transport direction, the rear self-propelled cart and the front self-propelled cart are capable of traveling in the transport direction while maintaining a certain inter-vehicle distance. And
A bumper body provided on the front surface of the vehicle body so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, an urging means for urging the bumper body forward, and provided at an upper end of the bumper body, between the front self-propelled carriage A cover member covering the gap,
When approaching the front self-propelled carriage, the tip of the cover member contacts the front self-propelled carriage and moves upward to ride on the upper surface of the front self-propelled carriage, so that a gap between the vehicles is formed. A self-propelled carriage covered with the cover member from above.   The self-propelled carriage according to claim 1, wherein the cover member is attached to the upper end of the bumper body so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction.   The self-propelled carriage according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bumper body is attached to the lower end of the vehicle body so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction.   The self-propelled according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising height adjusting means for adjusting a height of a tip of the cover member with respect to an upper surface of the front self-propelled carriage. Trolley.   A columnar columnar member extending in the width direction of the vehicle body is provided at the tip of the cover member, and a lower portion of the columnar member is in contact with a corner formed by an upper surface and a rear surface of the front self-propelled carriage, The self-propelled carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a front end of the cover member rides on an upper surface of the front self-propelled carriage.   Non-contact type inter-vehicle distance detection means for detecting the inter-vehicle distance with the front self-propelled carriage is provided on the front surface of the vehicle body so that the bumper main body is located in front, and the inter-vehicle distance detection means of the bumper main body The self-propelled carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a portion facing each other is cut out.   A guide rail laid on the floor surface along the transport direction and the plurality of self-propelled carts according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a transport article is loaded on the self-propelled cart, The conveyance system which conveys the said conveyance article by making the said self-propelled carriage run in the said conveyance direction along the said guide rail.

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