JP2019151428A - Conveyance auxiliary apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve a responsiveness of conveyance assistance.SOLUTION: A conveyance auxiliary apparatus comprises a load detection means 18 provided in an operation part 16 operated when a conveyance object is conveyed and to detect a load of the conveyance object held by a holding part 14, and an operation detection means 20 provided in the operation part 16 and to detect magnitude of a vertical force applied to the operation part 16 by operating the operation part 16. The conveyance auxiliary apparatus drives and controls a lifting means so as to move up and down the conveyance good based on the detection of the operation detection means 20 according to the operation of the operation unit 16, as well as the conveyance auxiliary apparatus drives and controls the lifting means so as to cancel the load of the conveyed product based on the detection of the load detection means 18 by the control means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveyance assist device that assists the conveyance of a conveyed product by a user.

  When transporting heavy transported objects in factories and the like, transport auxiliary devices called balanced cargo handling devices and balancers that can be positioned with higher precision than cranes and hoists are used (for example, patent documents) 1). Such a conveyance auxiliary device can perform a cargo handling operation to raise and lower the conveyed object by operating the conveyed object stationary in an equilibrium state (balanced state) by the actuator so that the user applies a light force. . In the device of Patent Document 1, a force sensor is provided on a hoist frame disposed above the head, and a load applied to a wire rope suspended from the hoist frame via the force sensor is detected by the force sensor. And the raising / lowering of a conveyed product is assisted by drive-controlling an actuator based on the user's operating force detected with the force sensor.

JP-A-5-310396

  In the above-mentioned device, the force sensor is arranged at a position far from the object to be transported, so even if a force is applied by a user's operation, the force is not detected with high sensitivity by the force sensor, and the auxiliary response to the transportation. Is bad.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed to solve these problems in view of the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a transport assisting device that has excellent transport assist responsiveness to operations.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended object, the conveyance auxiliary device according to claim 1 of the present application provides:
Lifting and lowering means that operates to suspend and hold the transported object held by the holding unit, raise and lower the transported object, and stop the transported object at a predetermined height;
An operation unit provided between the holding unit and the elevating means in proximity to the holding unit and operated when moving the transported object;
A load detecting means provided in the operation unit for detecting a load of a conveyed product held by the holding unit;
An operation detection means provided in the operation unit for detecting a force in the vertical direction applied to the operation unit by operation of the operation unit;
Based on the detection of the load detection means, the lift means is driven and controlled so as to cancel the load of the transported object, and the transported object is controlled based on the detection of the operation detection means according to the operation of the operation unit. And a control means for driving and controlling the elevating means so as to move up and down.
According to the first aspect of the invention, since the operation detection unit is provided in the operation unit, the operation of the operation unit by the user can be detected with high sensitivity by the operation detection unit, and according to the operation of the user. The conveyance assistance can be performed with good reaction.

In the invention according to claim 2, the load detection means and the operation detection means are provided side by side above a handle portion gripped by a user in the operation portion,
The gist of the invention is that the operation detecting means is disposed in the vicinity of the handle portion.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the operation detecting means is provided near the handle portion that is grasped and operated by the user in the operation portion, the operation detecting means detects the operation of the operation portion by the user with high sensitivity. It is possible to carry out the conveyance assistance according to the user's operation with good reaction.

The gist of the invention according to claim 3 is that load cells are used as the load detection means and the operation detection means, respectively.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 3, the reliability of a detection means can be improved.

  According to the conveyance auxiliary device according to the present invention, responsiveness to an operation can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a conveyance auxiliary device which concerns on the suitable Example of this invention, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view. It is a front view which shows the principal part of the conveyance assistance apparatus of an Example. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the conveyance assistance apparatus of an Example. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the conveyance assistance apparatus of an Example. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the conveyance assistance apparatus of an Example.

  Next, the conveyance assisting apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of preferred embodiments.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyance assisting apparatus 10 according to the embodiment is provided between an elevating unit 12 configured to be able to move up and down a holding unit 14 that holds a conveyed product W, and between the elevating unit 12 and the holding unit 14. And an operation unit 16. Further, the conveyance assisting device 10 includes a load detection unit 18 that detects the load of the conveyed product W held by the holding unit 14 and an operation detection unit 20 that detects a force applied to the operation unit 16 by a user operation. Yes. Furthermore, the conveyance assisting device 10 includes a control unit 22 (see FIG. 5) that drives and controls the elevating unit 12 based on the detection by the load detecting unit 18 or the operation detecting unit 20.

(Elevating means)
As shown in FIG. 1, the lifting / lowering means 12 is supported by a running means 26 made of rollers or the like with respect to a rail 24 installed on the ceiling or the like of a building. The conveyance assisting device 10 can also reciprocate the conveyed product W in the extending direction of the rail 24 by the traveling means 26 that can travel along the rail 24. The elevating means 12 uses a so-called hoist capable of pulling up or feeding the cord-like body 28 such as a chain or a wire by a hoisting device (not shown), and suspends the conveyed product W via the holding portion 14 by the cord-like body 28. As the winding device for the elevating / lowering means 12, a fluid pressure actuated actuator such as air pressure or hydraulic pressure, or an electric actuator such as an electric motor can be used. An electric type that is driven to rotate is preferable. The lifting / lowering means 12 lifts the transported object W held by the holding portion 14 installed at the end of the cord-like body 28 by pulling up the cord-like body 28 by rotation of a drum (not shown) by the servo motor 30. The lifting / lowering means 12 operates so as to lower the conveyed product W held by the holding unit 14 by drawing out the cord-like body 28 by the rotation of the drum by the servo motor 30. The lifting / lowering means 12 is operable to stop the conveyed product W held by the holding unit 14 at a predetermined height. The holding unit 14 is appropriately selected according to the transported object W, such as a general-purpose product such as a hook or a shackle (Example), or a dedicated product adapted to the shape or transport format of the transported object W.

(Operation section)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the operation unit 16 is provided in the vicinity of the holding unit 14 between the elevating means 12 and the holding unit 14. The operation unit 16 is supported by being suspended from the cord-like body 28. The operation unit 16 is disposed on the upper side of the holding unit 14 and connected to the holding unit 14. The operation unit 16 includes a handle unit 32 that is gripped when the user operates the conveyed product W, and an operation control unit 34 provided on the upper side of the handle unit 32. The handle portion 32 of the embodiment is a round bar-like grip extending up and down, and is provided continuously to the upper side of the holding portion 14. The operation control unit 34 is provided with mode switching means 36, 38, and 40 for switching the state of the conveyance assisting device 10. The mode switching means of the embodiment includes a lift button 36 that switches to the lift mode, an assist button 38 that switches to the assist mode, and an assist lever 40 that switches to the assist mode. The assist lever 40 extends downward from the operation control unit 34 and is disposed on the lateral side of the handle unit 32 so that a user operating the handle unit 32 can easily switch the assist lever 40. . A reference numeral 42 provided in the operation control unit 34 is an emergency stop button for stopping the lifting / lowering of the conveyed product W by the lifting / lowering means 12.

(Detection means)
As shown in FIG. 4, the load detection unit 18 and the operation detection unit 20 are provided in the operation unit 16. The load detection means 18 and the operation detection means 20 are disposed in the operation control section 34 in the operation section 16 in a vertical relationship. In the operation control unit 34, the operation detection unit 20 is disposed on the lower side near the handle unit 32, and the load detection unit 18 is disposed on the upper side of the operation detection unit 20. As the load detection means 18 and the operation detection means 20, known sensors such as a load cell capable of measuring a load and an acceleration sensor can be adopted, but it is preferable to use a highly reliable load cell.

(Control means)
As shown in FIG. 5, the control means 22 is electrically connected to the lifting / lowering means 12, the load detection means 18, and the operation detection means 20. The control means 22 receives detection signals from the load detection means 18 and the operation detection means 20, and drives and controls the servo motor 30 of the elevating means 12 via the driver 44 based on the detection signals. Further, an encoder 46 of the servo motor 30 is connected to the control means 22, and a pulse signal output from the encoder 46 based on the rotation amount of the servo motor 30 is input to the control means 22. The control unit 22 can perform feedback control for correcting the control signal by calculating the current position, the conveyance speed, and the like of the conveyed product W from the pulse and performing comparison operation with information input to the control unit 22.

  For example, the conveyance assisting device 10 drives and controls the lifting / lowering unit 12 so as to cancel the load of the conveyed product W based on the detection of the load detecting unit 18, thereby creating a balanced state in which the conveyed product W is held at a predetermined height. . Further, the transport assisting device 10 controls the lifting / lowering means 12 to drive the lifting / lowering means 12 up and down by the control means 22 based on the detection of the operation detecting means 20 according to the operation of the operation unit 16. Creates an assist state that can move W up and down with a light operating force. In addition, the conveyance auxiliary | assistant apparatus 10 can also raise / lower the conveyed product W like a normal hoist by driving-controlling the raising / lowering means 12 by the control means 22 based on the raising / lowering operation of the raising / lowering operation means which is not shown in figure.

(Lift mode)
When the conveyance assisting device 10 operates the lift button 36 to enter the lift mode, the detection signal from the load detecting means 18 becomes effective or the like, and the control means 22 detects the load detecting means 18. Control based on signals. At this time, even if the user operates the operation unit 16 by switching controlly or mechanically, for example, the detection signal from the operation detection unit 20 becomes invalid, the operation is not reflected on the raising / lowering of the transported object W. The control unit 22 receives a detection signal (load information) output from the load detection unit 18 in accordance with the load of the conveyed product W held by the holding unit 14, and sends a control signal to the driver 44 based on the detection signal. The servomotor 30 is driven and controlled so as to suspend and hold the conveyed product W that is output and suspended by the elevating means 12. Thereby, the conveyed product W is hold | maintained in the balance state by the conveyance auxiliary | assistance apparatus 10 in predetermined height. The conveyance assisting device 10 stores the target conveyance position by the control means 22 and compares the stored target conveyance position and the current position of the conveyed product W to automatically stop at the target conveyance position. You may make it control the raising / lowering means 12. FIG.

(Assist mode)
When the conveyance assisting device 10 operates the assist button 38 or the assist lever 40 to enter the assist mode, the detection signal from the operation detecting means 20 becomes effective or the like, and the control means 22 detects the operation. Control based on the detection signal of the means 20 is performed. At this time, the detection signal from the load detection means 18 is switched in a controllable or mechanical manner such that the detection signal becomes invalid. The control means 22 receives a detection signal (operation information) output from the operation detection means 20 in response to the user operating the handle portion 32 up or down. The control signal corresponding to the transport direction, the transport speed, and the like is generated, and the control signal is output to the driver 44. As a result, the servo motor 30 of the elevating means 12 is driven and controlled so as to raise and lower the conveyed product W at a direction and speed according to the operation of the handle portion 32, and raises and lowers the conveyed product W with a light force. Now, it will be in an assist state where positioning can be stopped accurately.

  According to the conveyance assisting device 10 described above, since the operation detection unit 20 is provided in the operation unit 16, the operation of the operation unit 16 by the user can be detected with high sensitivity and without time lag by the operation detection unit 20. . Thereby, the conveyance assistance apparatus 10 can perform conveyance assistance of the conveyed product W according to a user's operation in a timely manner with good response, and does not cause the user to feel stress. In particular, since the operation detection means 20 is provided near the handle portion 32 that is grasped and operated by the user in the operation portion 16, the operation detection means 20 can detect the operation of the handle portion 32 by the user with high sensitivity. It is possible to improve the responsiveness of the conveyance assistance of the conveyed product W according to the user's operation.

(Example of change)
Not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, for example, the following modifications are possible.
(1) Although the structure which assists conveyance of a conveyed product to the up-down direction (Z-axis) was shown as a conveyance auxiliary device of an Example, For example, the traveling means which drive | works driving in a horizontal direction (X axis and / or Y axis) May be controlled based on the detection of the operation detection means.
(2) The assist lever may be omitted.

12 lifting means, 14 holding part, 16 operation part, 18 load detection means,
20 operation detection means, 22 control means, 32 handle part

Claims (3)

Lifting and lowering means that operates to suspend and hold the transported object held by the holding unit, raise and lower the transported object, and stop the transported object at a predetermined height;
An operation unit provided between the holding unit and the elevating means in proximity to the holding unit and operated when moving the transported object;
A load detecting means provided in the operation unit for detecting a load of a conveyed product held by the holding unit;
An operation detection means provided in the operation unit for detecting a force in the vertical direction applied to the operation unit by operation of the operation unit;
Based on the detection of the load detection means, the lift means is driven and controlled so as to cancel the load of the transported object, and the transported object is controlled based on the detection of the operation detection means according to the operation of the operation unit. And a control means for driving and controlling the elevating means so as to move up and down. The load detection means and the operation detection means are provided side by side above a handle portion gripped by a user in the operation portion,
The conveyance assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the operation detecting means is disposed in the vicinity of the handle portion.   The conveyance auxiliary device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a load cell is used as each of the load detection means and the operation detection means.

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