JP2018008606A - Transport system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep the installation cost of a transport system low.SOLUTION: In a transport system 1, an unmanned transport vehicle 8 towing a dolly 9 with a workpiece W mounted thereon transports the workpiece W while stopping at multiple component delivery positions P1-P5 which are set on a transport path WL for the unmanned transport vehicle 8 sequentially. A communication device 85 for a control signal to the unmanned transport vehicle 8 is provided so as to be movable in a transport direction of the unmanned transport vehicle 8 on a guide rail 6 disposed along the transport path WL. The unmanned transport vehicle 8 has an engagement tool 86 which engages with the communication device 85 and makes the communication instrument 85 move by following the unmanned transport vehicle 8.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport system.

In a production line for an automatic transmission for a vehicle, a work placed on a work base passes through a plurality of work steps set along a work path of the work base in order, and finally the automatic transmission. Can be assembled.
Among the work processes, there is a work process for assembling parts to the work on the work base, and this work process requires periodic replenishment of parts.
For this reason, various transport systems have been proposed in which a cart loaded with replenishing parts is pulled by an automatic guided vehicle and transported to a work process that requires replenishment of parts.

  Here, when the parts for replenishment are mounted on the carriage in a state where they are arranged in series in the conveyance direction of the automatic guided vehicle, the parts for replenishment are connected to the part receiving port (part chute) on the work process side. In order to deliver automatically, it is necessary to control the running / stop of the automatic guided vehicle so that each of the replenishment parts arranged in series is sequentially arranged at a predetermined position corresponding to the part chute.

  Therefore, in this type of transport system, it is necessary to accurately control the running / stop of the automatic guided vehicle after accurately specifying the position of the automatic guided vehicle. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic guided vehicle and a ceiling. It is disclosed that infrared communication is performed with an installed communication unit to control operations including running / stopping of the automatic guided vehicle.

JP-A-6-70342

Here, in order to stop each of the replenishing parts in order at a predetermined stop position corresponding to the part chute, it is necessary to strictly control the running / stop of the automatic guided vehicle towing the carriage.
Therefore, in the automatic guided vehicle system, a communication unit is prepared for each stop position of the automatic guided vehicle so that the automatic guided vehicle can communicate with the communication unit when it reaches a predetermined stop position. There is a need to.

Therefore, in order to deliver each of the replenishment parts arranged in series in the conveyance direction of the automatic guided vehicle to a single part chute, the same number of communication units as the replenishment parts installed are required. The cost of will become high.
Therefore, it is required to supply each of the replenishment parts arranged in series in the conveyance direction of the automatic guided vehicle to the parts chute while suppressing the installation cost of the conveyance system.

The present invention
An unmanned transport system that pulls a carriage on which a work is mounted is an unmanned transport system that transports the work while stopping in turn at a plurality of work delivery positions set on the transport path of the unmanned transport vehicle,
A communication device for the control signal of the automatic guided vehicle is provided so as to be movable in the conveying direction of the automatic guided vehicle, with a guide rail arranged along the conveying path,
The automatic guided vehicle is an automatic guided system configured to include a locking tool that is locked to the communication device and moves the communication device to follow the automatic guided vehicle.

According to the present invention, the communication device can be moved following the movement of the automatic guided vehicle while the automatic guided vehicle is transporting the workpiece while sequentially stopping at a plurality of workpiece delivery positions.
Thereby, since it is not necessary to prepare a communication device for a control signal for each work delivery position in order to control the running / stop of the automatic guided vehicle, the cost of the transport system can be suppressed.

It is a figure explaining a conveyance system. It is a functional block diagram of the components receiving apparatus and automatic guided vehicle of a conveyance system. It is a sequence chart explaining the process in an automatic guided vehicle and a components receiving apparatus. It is a figure explaining the automatic guided vehicle which reached the first parts delivery position. It is a figure explaining return to the initial position of a communication machine when an automatic guided vehicle moves ahead from the last parts delivery position.

  Hereinafter, the self-propelled automatic guided vehicle 8 pulls and supplies a carriage 9 on which a supplementary part (work W) is mounted to a designated work process in a production line. A case where the present invention is applied to the transport system 1 configured as described above will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a transfer system 1. FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating parts reception where a guided vehicle 8 pulls a carriage 9 on which a plurality of workpieces W are placed, and receives workpieces W as a delivery destination. It is the schematic diagram which looked at the state which is moving toward the components delivery position P1 of the apparatus 5 from upper direction, (b) is a side view of (a).
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the parts receiving device 5 and the automatic guided vehicle 8, (a) is a functional block diagram of the parts receiving device 5, and (b) is a functional block diagram of the automatic guided vehicle 8. is there.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transport system 1 includes an unmanned transport vehicle 8 that pulls and transports a carriage 9 on which a work W is mounted, and a work W (supplementary part) transported by the unmanned transport vehicle 8. And a parts receiving device 5 for receiving.
The automatic guided vehicle 8 of the transport system 1 is a self-propelled vehicle that travels by a battery or the like, and has a function of moving along a white line (transport path WL) drawn on the floor in the factory. .

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the automatic guided vehicle 8 communicates between a drive mechanism unit 81 for running / stopping the automatic guided vehicle 8 based on a command from the control unit 80 and a component receiving device 5 described later. A transmission / reception unit 85 that performs optical communication with the machine 55, and a sensor 82 that detects stop positions (part delivery positions P1 to P5) set on the conveyance path WL of the automatic guided vehicle 8. .

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, the parts receiving device 5 is driven by a stopper that operates when receiving a workpiece W (replenishing parts) from the automatic guided vehicle 8 based on an instruction from the control unit 50. It has the mechanism 51 and the communication apparatus 55 which exchanges the control signal of the automatic guided vehicle 8 by optical communication with the transmission / reception part 85. FIG.

  The control unit 80 of the automatic guided vehicle 8 causes the automatic guided vehicle 8 to travel based on the signal received through the transmission / reception unit 85 and stops positions (part delivery positions P1 to P5) set on the transport path WL. When the arrival at is detected by the sensor 82, the automatic guided vehicle 8 is stopped.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the transfer system 1, the carriage 9 on which the workpiece W is mounted is pulled by a single automatic guided vehicle 8, and the workpiece W is placed on the casing 90 of the carriage 9. A plurality of mounting tables 91 (91a to 91e) mounted side by side in the width direction of the carriage 9 are arranged side by side in the moving direction of the carriage 9 (the conveyance direction of the automatic guided vehicle 8).

In the embodiment, a total of five placement tables 91 (91 a to 91 e) are installed on the carriage 9, and a total of five workpieces W are arranged in the width direction of the carriage 9 on each of the placement tables 91. It is placed.
As shown in FIG. 4B, the mounting table 91 a is inclined such that one side 911 in the width direction is positioned below the other side 912 on the opposite side. A stopper 92 for preventing the workpiece W from dropping from the mounting table 91 is provided on the side 911 so as to be movable up and down. The other mounting tables 91b to 91e have the same configuration.

  In the transport system 1, the transport direction of the automatic guided vehicle 8 is set so that the component chute 56 of the component receiving device 5 is positioned on the one side 911 side of the mounting table 91. The workpiece W is delivered to the component chute 56 from each of the mounting tables 91 on the carriage 9.

  Therefore, the automatic guided vehicle 8 needs to travel / stop so that each of the mounting bases 91 (91a to 91e) of the towed truck 9 is sequentially arranged at a position facing the component chute 56. Stop positions (part delivery positions P1 to P5) for delivering the workpiece W are set in the vicinity of the part chute 56 on the conveyance path WL of the automatic guided vehicle 8 according to the embodiment (see FIG. 1). ).

  Here, in the embodiment, the component delivery position P1 is the first component delivery position where the first mounting table 91a located at the head of the carriage 9 is stopped at a position facing the component chute 56, and the component delivery position P5 is the last component delivery position where the fifth mounting table 91e is stopped at a position facing the component chute 56, and the component delivery positions P2 to P4 are between the first component delivery position P1 and the last component delivery position P5. This is a component delivery position where the second mounting table 91b to the fourth mounting table 91d are stopped at positions facing the component chute 56, respectively.

  In the transport system 1, a marker (not shown) for detecting the arrival of the automatic guided vehicle 8 at each component delivery position P (P 1 to P 5) is set on the transport path WL of the automatic guided vehicle 8. When the sensor 82 included in the automatic guided vehicle 8 detects a marker set on the transport path WL of the automatic guided vehicle 8, the control unit 80 operates the drive mechanism unit 81 to stop the automatic guided vehicle 8. It is configured as follows.

  When the automatic guided vehicle 8 stops due to the detection of the marker, the control unit 80 of the automatic guided vehicle 8 sends a signal indicating that the automatic guided vehicle 8 has stopped running via the transmission / reception unit 85 to the communication device 55 on the component receiving device 5 side. The component receiving device 5 that has received the signal indicating the stop of traveling performs the operation of delivering the workpiece W to the component chute 56 and then instructs the unmanned transport vehicle 8 to travel. The signal is transmitted to the automatic guided vehicle 8 side via the communication device 55.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the communicator 55 on the component receiving device 5 side is supported by a guide rail 6 provided along the conveyance path WL of the automatic guided vehicle 8 via a holder 61, and in this state The communication device 55 is provided integrally with the holder 61 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 6 (the conveyance direction of the automatic guided vehicle 8).

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the guide rail 6 is at a height that avoids interference with the workpiece W mounted on the carriage 9, and from the first component delivery position P1 of the automatic guided vehicle 8 to the last component delivery position. It is provided in the range up to P5.

The guide rail 6 is inclined in such a direction that the height h from the floor surface FL increases from the first component delivery position P1 side to the last component delivery position P5, and is movable in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 6 The holder 61 provided in is moved to the first part delivery position P1 side by its own weight.
The guide rail 6 is provided with a stopper 62 for disposing the communication device 55 supported by the holder 61 at a position facing the automatic guided vehicle 8 that has reached the first component delivery position P1.

  The automatic guided vehicle 8 has a rod-shaped locking tool 86 extending upward on the guide rail 6 side. The height H of the locking device 86 from the floor surface FL is such that the guide rail 6 is placed on the side surface of the holder 61 supported by the guide rail 6 when the automatic guided vehicle 8 reaches the first part delivery position P1. Abutting from the longitudinal direction (conveying direction of the automatic guided vehicle 8) and set to a height at which the contact with the holder 61 is eliminated when the automatic guided vehicle 8 moves beyond the last part delivery position P5. Has been.

  Therefore, while the automatic guided vehicle 8 moves from the first component delivery position P1 to the last component delivery position P5, the locking tool 86 is held in contact with the side surface of the holder 61. The holder 61 and the communication device 55 supported by the holder 61 follow the movement of the automatic guided vehicle 8 and move from the first component delivery position P1 to the last component delivery position P5.

Hereinafter, operation control of the automatic guided vehicle 8 in the transfer system 1, specifically, operation control of the automatic guided vehicle 8 at the parts delivery positions P1 to P5 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a sequence chart for explaining processing in the control unit 80 of the automatic guided vehicle 8 and the control unit 50 of the component receiving apparatus 5.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the automatic guided vehicle 8 that has reached the first part delivery position P1, (a) is a side view showing an enlarged main part, and (b) is a diagram in (a). It is AA sectional drawing.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the movement of the communication device 55 toward the parts delivery position P1 after the automatic guided vehicle 8 has moved from the last parts delivery position P5.

When the automatic guided vehicle 8 moves toward the component receiving device 5 along the conveyance path WL while pulling the carriage 9, the sensor 82 detects the arrival at the first component delivery position P1 (step 82). S101), the control unit 80 of the automatic guided vehicle 8 stops the automatic guided vehicle 8 (step S102), and transmits a signal (stop signal) for notifying the stop of the automatic guided vehicle 8 from the transmission / reception unit 85. (Step S103).
When the automatic guided vehicle 8 reaches the first part delivery position P1, the tip 86a side of the locking tool 86 is in contact with the holder 61 that supports the communication device 55 from the conveying direction of the automatic guided vehicle 8. (See (a) of FIG. 4)

  Then, when the component receiving device 5 receives a signal (stop signal) for notifying the stop of the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle 8 via the communication device 55, the control unit 50 of the component receiving device 5 sends the signal to the top mounting table 91a. A receiving process of the mounted workpiece W to the component chute 56 is performed (step S103).

Specifically, the control unit 50 drives the stopper drive mechanism 51 (see FIG. 2A) to release the stopper 92 (see FIG. 4B) provided on the carriage 9. Thus, the movement of the workpiece W placed on the placement table 91a to the component chute 56 is allowed.
Then, since the mounting table 91a is lower on the one side 911 on the component chute 56 side than the other side 912 on the opposite side (see FIG. 4B), the mounting table 91a is mounted on the leading mounting table 91a. The workpiece W moved to the component chute 56 side by its own weight and is delivered to the component receiving device 5.

  Then, when the controller 50 of the component receiving device 5 confirms the completion of the delivery of the workpiece W by a sensor (not shown), a signal (traveling instruction signal) for instructing the automatic guided vehicle 8 to travel is transmitted from the communication device 55. It is output by optical communication toward the automatic guided vehicle 8 (transmission / reception unit 85) located below the communication device 55 (step S105).

  As a result, in the automatic guided vehicle 8 that has received the travel instruction signal via the transmission / reception unit 85, the control unit 80 drives the drive mechanism unit 81 so that the automatic guided vehicle 8 travels toward the next component delivery position P2. Is started (step S106).

Then, the automatic guided vehicle 8 travels toward the next component delivery position P2 in a state in which the distal end 86a side of the locking tool 86 is locked to the holder 61. Therefore, the holder 61 pushed by the locking tool 86 is used. The (communication device 55) follows the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle 8 while moving along the guide rail 6.
As a result, the communication device 55 on the component receiving device 5 side follows the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle 8 while being disposed above the transmission / reception unit 85 of the automatic guided vehicle 8.

  When arrival of the automatic guided vehicle 8 to a new parts delivery position (part delivery position P2) is detected (step S101), the travel stop of the automatic guided vehicle 8 (step S102) and a series associated with the travel stop. In this process (steps S103 and S104), the delivery is performed to the component chute 56 of the workpiece W mounted on the second mounting table 91b.

Then, through a series of processes after completion of delivery (steps S105 and S106), the automatic guided vehicle 8 is directed to the next part delivery position P3 in a state where the tip 86a side of the locking tool 86 is locked to the holder 61. Will start running.
Therefore, the communicator 55 on the component receiving device 5 side also follows the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle 8 while being arranged above the transmission / reception unit 85 of the automatic guided vehicle 8.

As described above, when the automatic guided vehicle 8 reaches the first part delivery position P1, the last part delivery position P5 is repeated while sequentially repeating the stop of traveling, delivery of the workpiece W, and start of traveling to the next part delivery position. Move towards
And since the front-end | tip 86a side of the latching tool 86 is hold | maintained in the state latched by the holder 61 from the 1st component delivery position P1 to the last components delivery position P5, the communication supported by the holder 61 is carried out. The machine 55 follows the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle 8 while being disposed above the transmission / reception unit 85 of the automatic guided vehicle 8 (see FIG. 1B and FIG. 5A). ).
That is, the communication device 55 moves following the movement of the automatic guided vehicle 8 while being held in a positional relationship that allows communication with the transmission / reception unit 85 of the automatic guided vehicle 8.

In the embodiment, the guide rail 6 that movably supports the holder 61 is directed such that the height h from the floor surface FL increases as it goes from the first component delivery position P1 to the last component delivery position P5. Inclined.
Then, when the automatic guided vehicle 8 exceeds the last part delivery position P5, the locking tool 86 is removed from the floor surface FL so that the locking of the locking tool 86 to the holder 61 on the tip 86a side is released. Is set (see (b) in FIG. 1 and (b) in FIG. 5).

  Therefore, when the automatic guided vehicle 8 exceeds the last part delivery position P5 and the locking of the locking tool 86 to the holder 61 is released, the guide rail 6 moves in the longitudinal direction (the conveying direction of the automatic guided vehicle 8). The holder 61 (communication device 55) provided so as to move is moved toward the first component delivery position P1 by its own weight, and finally stops at a position where it abuts against the stopper 62 (FIG. 5 (c)).

In the embodiment, with the holder 61 in contact with the stopper 62, the communication device 55 supported by the holder 61 faces the transmission / reception unit 85 of the new automatic guided vehicle 8 that has arrived at the first component delivery position P1. Placed in position.
Therefore, when the new automatic guided vehicle 8 arrives at the first parts delivery position P1, the communication device 55 is arranged at a position where optical communication with the transmission / reception unit 85 of the new automatic guided vehicle 8 is possible. become.
The communication device 55 follows the new automatic guided vehicle 8 while maintaining communication with the transmission / reception unit 85 of the automatic guided vehicle 8 even with the new automatic guided vehicle 8. Will move.

As described above, in the embodiment,
(1) An automatic guided vehicle 8 that pulls a carriage 9 on which a workpiece W (replenishing parts) is mounted has a plurality of component delivery positions P1 to P5 (workpieces) set on the conveyance path WL of the automatic guided vehicle 8 A transfer system 1 for transferring a plurality of workpieces W arranged in the transfer direction of the automatic guided vehicle 8 to the parts chute 51 on the carriage 9 while stopping in turn at the transfer position),
The communication device 85 for the control signal of the automatic guided vehicle 8 is provided so as to be movable in the transport direction of the automatic guided vehicle 8 by the guide rail 6 disposed along the transport path WL while being held by the holder 61. And
The automatic guided vehicle 8 is configured to include a locking tool 86 that is locked to the communication device 55 and moves the communication device 55 following the automatic guided vehicle 8.

If comprised in this way, while the automatic guided vehicle 8 is passing the stop position (component delivery positions P1-P5) for delivering the component (work W) for replenishment to the components chute 51 in order, it is a communication apparatus. 55 can be moved following the movement of the automatic guided vehicle 8.
Thereby, while the automatic guided vehicle 8 is moving from the first component delivery position P1 to the last component delivery position P5, the communication device 55 is continuously held at a position where it can communicate with the transmission / reception unit 85 of the automatic guided vehicle 8. Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare a dedicated communication device for each of the parts delivery positions P1 to P5 for supplying parts to the parts chute 51.
Therefore, the workpiece W, which is a replenishment component, can be delivered to the component chute 51 at a low cost.

(2) The locking tool 86 is provided to extend from the automatic guided vehicle 8 to the guide rail 6 side by a predetermined length,
The guide rail 6 is provided such that the distance from the automatic guided vehicle 8 increases as it goes from the first component delivery position P1 set on the conveyance path WL to the final component delivery position P5. The configuration is such that the locking of the locking tool 86 to the holder 61 holding the communication device 55 is released when 8 exceeds the final component delivery position P5.

If comprised in this way, since the locking tool 86 is hold | maintained in the state latched by the holder 61 holding the communication apparatus 55 until the automatic guided vehicle 8 arrives at the last component delivery position P5, the communication apparatus 55 is held. Can be moved following the movement of the automatic guided vehicle 8 while being held at a position where it can communicate with the transmission / reception unit 85 of the automatic guided vehicle 8.
Therefore, the control signal of the automatic guided vehicle 8 can be transmitted and received by only one communication device 55, and a control signal communication device is prepared for each work delivery position for controlling the running / stopping of the automatic guided vehicle. Since it is not necessary to carry out, the cost of a conveyance system can be held down.

(3) The guide rail 6 is separated from the automatic guided vehicle 8 (height h from the floor surface FL) as it goes from the first component delivery position P1 to the last component delivery position P5 above the conveyance path WL. Is inclined in such a direction that the last part delivery position P5 side is positioned higher than the first part delivery position P1 side,
The locking tool 86 extends upward from the automatic guided vehicle 8 on the guide rail 6 side, and is provided at a predetermined height H from the floor surface FL.
When the automatic guided vehicle 8 moves from the last part delivery position P5, the height h of the guide rail 6 from the floor surface FL becomes larger than the height H of the locking tool 86 from the floor surface FL. (H> H), the locking of the locking tool 86 to the holder 61 holding the communication device 85 is set to be released,
On the guide rail 6, the holder 61 (communication device 55) moved by its own weight from the last component delivery position P5 side toward the first component delivery position P1 is stopped at a position corresponding to the first component delivery position P1. The stopper 62 is provided.

If comprised in this way, the communication apparatus 85 which moved to the last components delivery position P5 following the automatic guided vehicle 8 can be automatically returned to the first components delivery position P1.
Therefore, the communication device 55 can be repeatedly used for controlling the automatic guided vehicle 8 that arrives at the first component delivery position P1.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the guide rail 6 is provided above the automatic guided vehicle 8 that moves along the transport path WL is illustrated. However, the guide rail 6 is disposed on the side of the automatic guided vehicle 8. And it is good also as a structure which extended the latching tool 86 of the automatic guided vehicle 8 to the side in which the guide rail 6 is located.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyance system 5 Parts receiving apparatus 6 Guide rail 8 Automatic guided vehicle 9 Cart 50 Control part 51 Stopper drive mechanism 55 Communication device 56 Part chute 61 Holder 62 Stopper 80 Control part 81 Drive mechanism part 82 Sensor 85 Transmission / reception part 86 Locking tool 86a Tip 90 Case 91 (91a to 91e) Placement table 92 Stopper FL Floor P (P1 to P5) Parts delivery position W Workpiece (replenishment parts)
WL transport route

Claims (3)

An unmanned transport system that pulls a carriage on which a work is mounted is an unmanned transport system that transports the work while stopping in turn at a plurality of work delivery positions set on the transport path of the unmanned transport vehicle,
A communication device for the control signal of the automatic guided vehicle is provided so as to be movable in the conveying direction of the automatic guided vehicle, with a guide rail arranged along the conveying path,
The automatic guided vehicle includes a locking tool that is locked to the communication device and moves the communication device to follow the automatic guided vehicle. The locking tool is provided to extend from the automatic guided vehicle to the guide rail side by a predetermined length,
The guide rail is provided so that a separation distance from the automatic guided vehicle is increased from the first workpiece delivery position set on the conveyance path toward the final workpiece delivery position, and the automatic guided vehicle is The unmanned conveyance system according to claim 1, wherein when the last workpiece delivery position is exceeded, the locking device is set so that the locking of the locking tool with respect to the communication device is released. The guide rail is provided above the transport path and is inclined in a direction in which the last workpiece delivery position side is positioned higher than the first workpiece delivery position side,
The guide rail is provided with a stopper for stopping the communication device that has moved from the last workpiece delivery position side to the first workpiece delivery position side at a position corresponding to the first workpiece delivery position. The unmanned conveyance system according to claim 2, wherein

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