JP2015189569A - automatic warehouse system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To protect an operator who performs restoration work in an automatic warehouse from articles falling due to an aftershock and the like.SOLUTION: An automatic warehouse system has an automatic warehouse comprising: a rack having multiple stages of frontages for storing articles along a height direction and multiple strings of the frontages in a longitudinal direction; a traveling space disposed along the longitudinal direction of the rack and having traveling rails; and a stacker crane traveling on the traveling rails. At the time of restoration from an earthquake, a falling article protection barrier which is detachable to the rack and can be disassembled is mounted to the rack so as to cover the traveling space, and a safe passage for an operator is formed therebelow.

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse system, and more particularly to recovery of an automatic warehouse from damage caused by an earthquake.

  Due to the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, many automated warehouses, mainly in the North Kanto and Tohoku regions, stopped functioning. There have been few cases where the hardware of the automatic warehouse itself has been damaged, such as rack damage, derailment of the stacker crane, etc., and there were many cases where the stacker crane could not run due to the luggage falling from the rack.

Because the automatic warehouse function stopped, the Great East Japan Earthquake,
・ Materials necessary for recovery from the earthquake disaster cannot be taken out from the automated warehouse.
・ Since the raw materials, parts, etc. cannot be taken out from the automatic warehouse, the factory operation will be suspended.
・ Because daily necessities cannot be taken out from the automatic warehouse, it was not possible to deliver them to consumers. Therefore, it is necessary to make it possible to restore the automated warehouse at an early stage against such a large-scale earthquake in the future.

  Here is related prior art. Patent document 1 (Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2003-292118) is disclosing that a scaffold is built in the upper part of the traveling space of a stacker crane for the high place work in an automatic warehouse. However, this is not intended for recovery from earthquakes. Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-326349) discloses that a shelter is provided in a room so that a person can be protected even if the ceiling, walls, or the like collapses. However, this is not intended to restore automatic warehouses.

JP2003-292118 JP 08-326349

  In the recovery work from the earthquake disaster, it is necessary to remove the load dropped from the high-rise rack to the stacker crane travel space by hand to make the stacker crane ready for travel. If the luggage falls from the rack during this work, there is a risk of harm to the worker, and in particular, the luggage may fall due to an aftershock. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare an environment in which workers can safely perform recovery work.

  An object of the present invention is to protect a worker who performs a recovery work in an automatic warehouse from a load that falls due to an aftershock or the like.

The present invention provides a rack having a plurality of frontage openings along the height direction and a plurality of continuous openings along the longitudinal direction.
A traveling space disposed along the longitudinal direction of the rack and provided with traveling rails;
An automatic warehouse system comprising a stacker crane that travels on the traveling rail,
It is detachable and dismountable from the rack, and includes a falling object protection barrier that forms a safety passage for an operator below by covering the traveling space when attached to the rack. .

  In the present invention, the falling object protection barrier is fixed to the rack by using, for example, a shelf holder fixed to the rack. Of course, a hook, a plate, or the like for locking the falling object protection barrier may be provided on the rack column. For example, when there are racks on both the left and right sides of the traveling space, the falling object protection barrier is fixed so as to span both the left and right racks. The falling object protection barrier is made up of, for example, a beam that spans between racks and a plate-like or wire mesh-like member supported by the beam, and can be disassembled, assembled, and attached to and detached from the rack. The height of the falling object protection barrier is, for example, higher than the worker's back, and the lower part of the falling object protection barrier is used as a safety passage for the worker so that the restoration work can be performed while being protected from the falling object. When the falling object protection barrier is attached to the shelf holder, for example, a shelf holder at the second level from the bottom is used.

  Preferably, the fallen object protection barrier is freely attachable part by part along the longitudinal direction of the rack, for example, by one frontage. If it does in this way, restoration work can be performed, extending the safety passage protected by the fall object protection barrier.

  Preferably, a shelter is provided in a part of the rack so that an operator can enter and leave the traveling space, is protected from falling objects, and stores the falling object protection barrier in a disassembled state. When an aftershock or the like occurs, the worker can retreat to the shelter. The shelter also serves as a storage place for the falling object protection barrier, can be used for storing other materials for restoration, and can store drinking water for workers. It is convenient to install a lighting fixture that illuminates the shelter and its power supply in the shelter. The shelter is disposed, for example, in the lowermost slot of the rack.

  For example, the falling object protection barrier can be attached to an area other than the stacker crane in the traveling space. That is, even if the stacker crane cannot move due to a fallen object or the like in the middle of the traveling space, the safety path can be extended from the entrance of the automatic warehouse at the end of the traveling space to the stacker crane. To. And if the stacker crane is restored, the automated warehouse can be restored relatively easily.

  In many automatic warehouses, for example, a door is provided at an end portion for restricting the entry and exit of an operator into the automatic warehouse. Here, it is preferable to provide a large door for a work cart such as a manual that can move the floor surface, in addition to a known small door for an operator. Then, the luggage dropped from the rack or the restoration material can be carried on the work carriage. The work cart may be stored in the automatic warehouse or stored outside the automatic warehouse, and may be put into the automatic warehouse through a large door at the time of restoration.

  There is also a risk that luggage will fall from the side of the rack. Therefore, if the falling object protection barrier is provided with a portion that protrudes toward the door, it is possible to protect the worker from luggage falling from the side of the rack.

  The automatic warehouse after an earthquake is often dark. Therefore, if the lighting fixture and its power supply are stored in the shelter, for example, the lighting fixture can be attached to the safety passage. You can also illuminate the rack and the stacker crane.

  A traveling rail is fixed in the traveling space of the stacker crane, and the rail is an obstacle to the movement of a normal manual carriage. Therefore, a manual carriage that moves on the traveling rail is provided, and for example, this carriage is stored in a shelter. If there is a cart that can move on the running rail, it will be easier to transport the restoration material, clear the fallen baggage, carry out the baggage, etc. The work cart that can pass through a large door, such as the end of the traveling space, and this manual cart are basically different, but the guide roller that can be retracted to the work cart so that it can be guided by the side of the traveling rail. If two are provided, two types of carts can be used together.

Top view of the automated warehouse in the example The figure which shows the shelter in a rack in the automatic warehouse of an Example The top view which shows the falling object protection barrier provided in the traveling space of the stacker crane in the automatic warehouse of the embodiment The top view which shows the member of the fall protection barrier of the Example The figure which shows the traveling rail of the stacker crane and the manual carriage in the automatic warehouse of the embodiment

  In the following, an optimum embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be shown. The scope of the present invention should be determined according to the understanding of those skilled in the art based on the description of the scope of the claims, taking into account the description of the specification and well-known techniques in this field.

  1 to 5 show an automatic warehouse system of the embodiment. FIG. 1 shows an automatic warehouse 2 during restoration work, and an automatic warehouse system is a combination of the automatic warehouse 2 and materials for restoration (manual cart 38, etc.). Reference numeral 4 denotes a rack, which is provided with a plurality of frontage openings along the height direction and multiple openings along the longitudinal direction of the rack 4. For example, a traveling space 6 is provided between the pair of left and right racks 4 and 4, a traveling rail 12 is fixed to the traveling space 6, and the stacker crane 8 travels.

  A station 10 is provided at one end of the rack 4 and the traveling space 6, and a safety fence 32 and safety doors 34 and 35 are provided at the other end. The station 10 is provided with a roller conveyor or the like so that the cargo can be delivered between the stacker crane 8 and a tracked carriage (not shown). In FIG. 1, the stacker crane 8 shows two automatic warehouses 2, but a large-scale automatic warehouse having 10 or more stacker cranes 8 or a small-scale automatic warehouse with one stacker crane 8 may be used.

  The stacker crane 8 travels along the traveling rail 12 by moving up and down a lifting platform 14 including a transfer device such as a slide fork 16 along a mast 18. Then, luggage can be delivered between the station 10 and an arbitrary frontage. Reference numeral 20 denotes a support of the rack 4, to which the shelf receiver 24 is fixed, and a space between the pair of shelf receivers 24, 24 is an opening 22.

  A safety fence 32 is provided on the opposite side of the automatic warehouse 2 from the station 10, and the side surface of the automatic warehouse 2 is covered with an outer wall 33. The safety fence 32 may be changed to the outer wall, and the outer wall 33 may be changed to the safety fence 32 on the contrary. The safety fence 32 has two types of locked safety doors. The safety door 34 is large and faces the traveling space 6 so that a manual carriage 38 can pass through. The manual carriage 38 includes caster wheels and the like, and is a manual carriage that can be moved manually by an operator. The safety door 35 is small and is used by an operator, and is known per se. A space between the safety fence 32 and the rack 4 is defined as a worker passage 31. Reference numeral 36 denotes a manual cart that moves on the traveling rail 12.

  When the automatic warehouse 2 experiences a large earthquake, the stacker crane 8 often becomes unable to travel due to the luggage falling from the rack 4 to the traveling space 6. Luggage remaining in an unstable state in the rack 4 may fall due to aftershocks, and the lighting in the automatic warehouse 2 is often turned off. Therefore, it is necessary to perform recovery work safely and efficiently. The first problem in the restoration work is to clear the traveling space 6 and operate the stacker crane 8.

  A falling object protection barrier 26 is installed along the traveling space 6 for each frontage. A falling object protection barrier 26 is installed in the traveling space 6 from the side of the passage 31 inside the safety fence 32, and is extended to the stacker crane 8 side, for example, by one frontage. In addition, overhanging portions 27 and 28 for falling object protection barriers are provided to prepare for luggage falling from the side of the rack 4. Similarly, the falling object protection barrier 26 is installed in the traveling space 6 from the station 10 side, for example, one by one, and extended to the stacker crane 8. In addition, an overhanging portion 29 of a falling object protection barrier is provided on the side of the passage 31 so as to prepare for a load falling from the side surface of the rack 4. Since the material of the falling object protection barrier is stored in, for example, the shelter 30 in the rack 4, the falling object protection barrier 26 is formed by assembling it so that it is taken out and supported by the shelf holder 24. Although not shown in the drawing, it is convenient to use the shelter 30 at the first stage opening at the end of the rack 4.

  The shelter 30 is composed of the structure 40 shown in FIG. 2, wherein 41 is a column, 42 is a beam, 43 is an oblique material, and a steel plate 47 is arranged on the upper part thereof so as to withstand falling loads. The shelter 30 may be provided as long as it is provided at the lowermost opening of the rack 4 and can protect internal workers from falling luggage and the like, and can store recovery materials such as the fall protection barrier 26. Is optional. Moreover, the shelter 30 is provided in the rack 4 at intervals, such as every several entrances to every 10 entrances.

  The shelter 30 is provided with a lighting device 44 and a power source 45 such as a battery and a private generator. Materials 48 such as parts of the falling object protection barrier 26 are stored in a storage frame 46 and the like, and drinking water, tools, safety Materials 50 such as a lighting fixture in the passage and its power source are also stored. Further, 36 is a manual carriage that moves on the traveling rail 12 and is used for transportation in the traveling space 6. W is a load, for example, a cardboard stacked on a pallet.

  FIG. 3 shows the fallen object protection barrier 26. For example, a beam 52 is placed on the shelf holder 24, and is fixed to the shelf holder 24 as necessary. For example, an iron plate 53 is placed on the pair of beams 52 and 52 and is fixed to the beam 52 as necessary. Then, the safety passage is illuminated by a lighting fixture 54 that incorporates a power source such as a battery or is connected to the power source 45 of the shelter 30. The space below the falling object protection barrier 26 is called a safety passage. If the falling object protection barrier 26 is installed for each frontage 22, it can be installed according to the progress of work using a relatively short iron plate 53. Further, the iron plates 53 may be fitted to each other to disperse the impact received from the fallen object or the like, or may be a steel plate having holes or a welded wire mesh instead of the iron plate 53.

  The structures of the beam 52 and the iron plate 53 are arbitrary. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the beam 52 and the iron plate 53 may be composed of square tubes 55 and 56 in which the beam 52 is overlapped and hooks 57 and 57 at the end portions. The hook 57 is fitted to the shelf holder 24 and the double square tubes 55 and 56 are extended so that the pair of racks 4 and 4 can be spanned. Similarly, the steel plate 53 may be constituted by plate materials 58 and 59 which are double stacked, and the inner plate material 59 may be pulled out to have a length corresponding to the width of the frontage 22. The double rectangular tubes 55 and 56 are preferably fixed to each other to increase the strength, and similarly, the plate members 58 and 59 are preferably fixed to each other to increase the strength.

  In the recovery work of the automatic warehouse 2, an operator enters and exits through the safety door 35, and a manual cart 38 enters and exits through the safety door 34 to carry out luggage and materials. The traveling space 6 includes a traveling rail 12 and its sleepers, and the manual carriage 38 is difficult to pass. Therefore, a manual carriage 36 that moves on the traveling rail 12 is used, and is always stored in the shelter 30.

  The structure of the manual carriage 36 is shown in FIG. 5. 60 is a traveling wheel, 62 is a guide roller, and is supported by a mounting portion 63 that can be swung by 90 °. When the mounting portion 63 is swung, it moves to the position of the chain line in FIG. evacuate. 64 is a loading platform, and 66 is a bar for pushing or pulling by hand.

  As described above, the falling object protection barrier 26 is extended one by one from the station 10 side and the passage 31 side to the position of the stacker crane 8 to form a safety passage. During this time, the dropped luggage and the like are unloaded and the restoration material is loaded, and if necessary, the stacker crane 8 is repaired. If there is an aftershock or the like during this period, the shelter 30 is temporarily evacuated. When the stacker crane 8 is restored, the rack 4 can be easily organized, the cargo can be carried out, and the like.

2 Automatic warehouse 4 Rack 6 Traveling space 8 Stacker crane 10 Station 12 Traveling rail 14 Lifting table 16 Slide fork 18 Mast 20 Strut 22 Frontage 24 Shelf support 26 Falling object protection barrier 27-29 Overhanging part (protruding part)
30 shelter 31 passage 32 safety fence 33 outer wall 34 safety door (large door for work cart)
35 Safety door (small door for workers)
36 Manual trolley (manual trolley that moves on the running rail)
38 Manual cart (work cart)
40 Structure 41 Pillar 42 Beam 43 Diagonal material 44 Lighting equipment (lighting for shelter)
45 Power supply 46 Storage frame 47 Steel plate 48, 50 Material 52 Beam
53 Iron plate 54 Lighting equipment (Lighting for safety passages)
55, 56 Square tube 57 Hook 58, 59 Plate material 60 Traveling wheel 62 Guide roller 63 Mounting portion 64 Loading platform 66 Bar

W luggage

Claims (8)

A rack provided with a plurality of openings along the height direction, and a plurality of openings along the longitudinal direction.
A traveling space disposed along the longitudinal direction of the rack and provided with traveling rails;
An automatic warehouse system comprising a stacker crane that travels on the traveling rail,
It is detachable and dismountable from the rack, and includes a falling object protection barrier that forms a safety passage for an operator below by covering the traveling space when attached to the rack. Automatic warehouse system.   2. The automatic warehouse system according to claim 1, wherein the falling object protection barrier is attachable part by part along the longitudinal direction of the rack.   The shelter is provided in a part of the rack so that an operator can enter and leave the traveling space, is protected from falling objects, and stores the falling object protection barrier in a disassembled state. 1 or 2 automatic warehouse system.   The automatic warehouse system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the falling object protection barrier is configured to be freely attached to an area of the traveling space excluding the stacker crane. A door is provided to regulate the entry and exit of workers into the automated warehouse.
The automatic warehouse according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the door is provided with two types of doors: a small door for an operator and a large door for a work carriage capable of moving on a floor surface. system.   6. The automatic warehouse system according to claim 5, wherein the falling object protection barrier includes a portion protruding toward the door.   The automatic warehouse system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a lighting fixture and a power source thereof are housed in the shelter.   The automatic warehouse system according to claim 1, further comprising a manual carriage that can move on the traveling rail.

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