JP2021160491A - Vehicle transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent interference between an end part of a slope plate and a floor surface of a vehicle transport device when the vehicle transport device travels.SOLUTION: A vehicle transport device 1 includes: a body 2 into which front wheel tires W1 of a vehicle C are loaded; and slope plates 20 each of which is attached to the body 2 in a state that the slope plate 20 can rotate around a rotation shaft 20a set in a width direction. The slope plate 20 includes: a slope body 21 which extends rearward from the rotation shaft 20a and may be grounded at its rear end; and a rising drive part 22 which extends forward from the rotation shaft 20a and is stepped by the front wheel tire W1 of the vehicle C to rise the rear end of the slope body 21 from a floor surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle transport device.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a self-propelled vehicle transport device that automatically transports a vehicle. In this vehicle transport device, the vehicle is lifted and mounted by a pair of arm portions inserted below the tires of the vehicle. In this case, since a mechanism for raising and lowering the arm portion and a drive portion are required, the structure of the vehicle transport device becomes complicated.

The following Patent Document 2 discloses a vehicle transport device having a slope plate rotatably attached to a main body. In this vehicle transport device, the slope plate is arranged away from the floor surface, and the end of the slope plate is pushed down by the weight of the vehicle to bring it into contact with the floor surface, so that the front wheels or the rear wheels of the vehicle are brought from the floor surface to the trolley body. It forms a slope that guides you to.

JP-A-2019-78099 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-215679

In the vehicle transport device shown in Patent Document 2, if the position of the slope plate is too high, the front wheels or the rear wheels of the vehicle cannot ride on the vehicle, so it is necessary to arrange the end portion of the slope plate at a low position. .. If the vehicle transport device is run in this state, the end portion of the slope plate may interfere with the floor surface.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent interference between the end portion of the slope plate and the floor surface when the vehicle is transported by the vehicle transport device.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention comprises a main body on which vehicle tires are mounted and a slope plate attached to the main body so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to the vehicle width direction of the vehicle. The slope plate extends from the rotating shaft in one of the front-rear directions of the vehicle, and one end in the front-rear direction can be grounded, and the other of the front-rear direction of the vehicle from the rotating shaft. Provided is a vehicle transport device including an ascending drive unit that extends to and steps on the tires of the vehicle to raise one end of the slope body in the front-rear direction from the floor surface.

According to this vehicle transport device, a slope is formed by grounding the end of the slope main body of the slope plate, and the vehicle can be placed on the main body from the floor surface or lowered from the main body to the floor surface through the slope. can. Then, by stepping on the ascending drive portion of the slope plate with the tire of the vehicle mounted on the main body, the slope plate can be rotated around the rotation axis and the end portion of the slope main body can be raised from the floor surface. In this case, the height of the end of the slope body from the floor can be freely set by appropriately designing the shape of the slope plate (for example, the angle between the slope body and the ascending drive unit). Therefore, it is possible to avoid interference between the end portion of the slope plate and the floor surface when the vehicle is mounted on the vehicle transport device and travels.

In the vehicle transport device described above, it is preferable that the ascending drive unit regulates the movement of the tire in one of the front-rear directions. As a result, it is possible to omit a separate wheel chock, so that the structure of the vehicle transport device can be simplified.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the end portion of the slope plate and the floor surface interfere with each other when the vehicle is transported by the vehicle transport device.

It is a top view which shows the automatic transport system which automatically transports a vehicle from a factory to a container yard. It is a side view of the vehicle transport device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the said vehicle transport device. It is a top view of the vehicle transport device. It is sectional drawing of the drive wheel unit of the said vehicle transporting apparatus. It is a side view which shows the state which the end part of the slope part of a rotating member is grounded. It is a side view which shows the state which raised the end portion of the slope plate of a rotating member from a floor surface. It is a top view of the vehicle arranged in a container yard and the vehicle transport device. It is a top view of the vehicle arranged in a container yard and the vehicle transport device. It is a top view of the vehicle arranged in a container yard and the vehicle transport device. It is a side view which shows another example of a rotating member. It is a side view which shows still another example of a rotating member.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle transport device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention automatically transports the vehicle C completed at the factory F to the container yard Y, which is a vehicle waiting area. The vehicle transport device 1 reciprocates between the factory F and the container yard Y in accordance with a radio command (dotted line arrow) from the system control unit S. In the present embodiment, the vehicle C is a front-wheel drive vehicle, only the front wheels (driving wheels) of the vehicle C are mounted on the vehicle transport device 1, and the vehicle C is transported with the rear wheels (driven wheels) of the vehicle grounded. do.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the vehicle transport device 1 is provided on the main body 2 on which the left and right front wheel tires W1 of the vehicle C are mounted, the drive wheel units 3 provided on both sides of the main body 2 in the width direction, and the main body 2. It has training wheels 4 provided and a receiver 8 for receiving a radio command from the system control unit S. In the following description of each part of the vehicle transport device 1, the vehicle width direction (horizontal direction of FIGS. 3 and 4) of the vehicle C is set to the "width direction" with the vehicle C mounted on the vehicle transport device 1. The front (left side of FIG. 2, lower side of FIG. 4) and rear (right side of FIG. 2, upper side of FIG. 4) of the vehicle C are referred to as "front" and "rear", respectively.

As shown in FIG. 4, the main body 2 is equipped with a battery 6 that supplies electric power to the drive wheel unit 3 and a control unit 7 that controls the drive wheel unit 3. A wheel chock 5 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 2 to prevent the front wheel tire W1 of the vehicle C from rolling forward.

A slope plate 20 is attached to the main body 2. The slope plate 20 is rotatable about the rotation shaft 20a in the width direction with respect to the main body 2. The slope plate 20 has a slope main body 21 extending rearward from the rotating shaft 20a, and an ascending driving unit 22 extending forward from the rotating shaft 20a. The slope main body 21 and the ascending drive unit 22 both form a flat plate, and these are integrally provided. The slope plate 20 is rotationally driven around the rotation shaft 20a by a drive means (for example, a motor) (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 5, the drive wheel unit 3 includes a drive wheel 9, a drive means for rotationally driving the drive wheel 9 around an axis, and a casing 13 fixed to the main body 2 and accommodating the drive wheel 9 and the drive means. And.

The drive wheels 9 are composed of a pair of wheels 10 arranged coaxially. The outer diameters of the pair of wheels 10 are the same, and in the illustrated example, the same wheels 10 are used facing each other in the axial direction.

The drive means is composed of, for example, a motor provided for each wheel 10, and in the present embodiment, is composed of an in-wheel motor 11 arranged on the inner circumference of each wheel 10. The rotation shaft 11a of the in-wheel motor 11 is fixed to the axis of the wheel 10. Each in-wheel motor 11 is connected to a battery 6 and a control unit 7 (see FIG. 4), and is rotationally driven based on a command from the control unit 7. The main body 11b of each in-wheel motor 11 is fixed to the steering shaft 12. The steering shaft 12 is attached to the frame 14 fixed to the casing 13 in a state in which it can freely rotate via the bearing 15 (that is, 360 ° steering is possible). As described above, the drive wheel 9 composed of the pair of wheels 10 can rotate integrally with the main body 2 about the steering shaft 12.

The training wheels 4 are provided in front of, behind, or both of the axes of the drive wheels 9, and in the present embodiment, are provided in front of the axes of the drive wheels 9. The number of training wheels 4 is not particularly limited, and is provided at two locations separated in the width direction, for example. Each auxiliary wheel 4 is composed of wheels having an outer diameter smaller than that of the wheels 10 of the drive wheels 9. Each training wheel 4 is attached to the main body 2 in a state where it can rotate around its own axis and around a vertical rotation axis.

The receiver 8 is provided at a position where it can receive radio waves from the system control unit S (see FIG. 1), and is connected to the control unit 7. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the receiver 8 is provided at substantially the same height as the upper surface of the vehicle C to be mounted. In the illustrated example, the receiver 8 is attached to the upper end of the support column 16 extending upward from the casing 13 of the drive wheel unit 3. One receiver 8 is provided above each drive wheel unit 3, for example.

Hereinafter, a procedure for transporting the vehicle C by the vehicle transport device 1 described above will be described.

First, in the factory F (see FIG. 1), the vehicle transport device 1 is arranged in front of the vehicle C. Then, the slope plate 20 is rotationally driven around the rotation shaft 20a by a driving means (not shown) to lower the rear end of the slope main body 21, and the rear end of the slope main body 21 is grounded as shown in FIG. In this way, the slope main body 21 forms a continuous slope between the floor surface and the main body 2. After that, by advancing the vehicle C, the front tire W1 climbs the slope formed by the slope main body 21 (see the chain line). In FIGS. 6 and 7, some parts of the vehicle transport device 1 are omitted so that the rotating member 20 and the front wheel tire W1 can be easily seen. The slope main body 21 may be rotationally driven by a driving means, or may be manually rotated, for example.

When the front wheel tire W1 climbs to the upper end of the slope main body 21 and gets over the rotation shaft 20a, the front wheel tire W1 steps on the ascending drive unit 22 of the slope plate 20 as shown in FIG. As a result, the slope plate 20 rotates around the rotation shaft 20a, and the rear end of the slope main body 21 rises from the floor surface. The front wheel tire W1 is restricted from moving forward by coming into contact with the wheel chock 5. At this time, the ascending drive unit 22 is restricted from further rotation by coming into contact with a stopper (not shown) provided on the main body 2. In this state, the ascending drive unit 22 functions as a wheel chock that regulates the rearward movement of the front wheel tire W1 by contacting the front wheel tire W1 from the rear.

At this time, the height H from the floor surface at the rear end of the slope main body 21 is the shape of the slope main body 21 (for example, the angle θ between the slope main body 21 and the ascending drive unit 22 and the length of the ascending drive unit 22). Etc.). Therefore, by appropriately designing the shape of the slope main body 21, the rear end of the slope portion 21 can be arranged at a height sufficiently separated from the floor surface. As a result, it is possible to avoid interference between the rear end of the slope plate 20 and the floor surface when the vehicle C is transported by the vehicle transport device 1.

Further, in the state where the front wheel tire W1 is mounted on the main body 2, the rear end of the slope main body 21 is arranged below the vehicle body of the vehicle C mounted on the main body 2, and in the illustrated example, the entire slope main body 21 is the vehicle body. It extends substantially parallel to the lower end (see FIG. 2). As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the rear end of the slope main body 21 interferes with the lower part of the vehicle body of the vehicle C mounted on the main body 2.

By the way, when the front wheel tire W1 of the vehicle C is mounted on the main body 2 of the vehicle transport device 1, if the axis of the front wheel tire W1 is arranged behind the axis of the drive wheel 9, the main body 2 is moved to the rear side. There is a risk of tilting. Therefore, it is preferable that the axis of the front tire W1 on the main body 2 is arranged in front of the axis of the drive wheels 9 (on the side of the training wheels 4). On the other hand, if the axis of the front tire W1 is too close to the auxiliary wheel 4, an excessive load is applied to the small diameter auxiliary wheel 4, so that the axis of the front tire W1 on the main body 2 is closer to the axis of the drive wheel 9. It is preferable to provide it at a position. Specifically, it is preferable that the axial center of the front wheel tire W1 is arranged behind the center of the drive wheels 9 and the auxiliary wheels 4 in the front-rear direction, and more preferably after the front ends of the drive wheels 9.

In this way, the front wheel tire W1 of the vehicle C is mounted on the vehicle transport device 1, and the vehicle transport device 1 is driven to transport the vehicle C with the rear wheel tires W2 in contact with the ground (see arrow P1 in FIG. 1). Specifically, the receiver 8 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) of the vehicle transport device 1 receives a command from the system control unit S, the command is transmitted to the control unit 7, and the control unit 7 responds to this command. It drives the driving means (in-wheel motor 11) of each driving wheel 9. At this time, by making the torques of the in-wheel motors 11 that drive the pair of wheels 10 of each drive wheel 9 different, each drive wheel 9 can be steered and the vehicle transport device 1 can be curved.

In this way, the vehicle transport device 1 travels on a predetermined route according to a command from the system control unit S, and transports the vehicle C to the container yard Y (see arrow Q1 in FIG. 8). Then, by retracting the vehicle C with the vehicle transport device 1 stopped in place, the front wheel tire W1 rides on the ascending drive unit 22 of the slope plate 20 as shown by the chain line in FIG. 7. Then, when the front wheel tire W1 gets over the rotating shaft 20a, the front wheel tire W1 steps on the slope main body 21, whereby the slope plate 20 rotates around the rotating shaft 20a and the rear end of the slope main body 21 touches the ground (FIG. 6). reference). Then, the front wheel tire W1 is brought into contact with the floor surface down the slope formed by the slope main body 21, and the vehicle C is arranged at a predetermined position in the container yard Y (see arrow Q2 in FIG. 9).

The vehicle transport device 1 that has been emptied by lowering the vehicle C is arranged between a large number of vehicles C arranged in the container yard Y. In the container yard Y, the vehicles C are preferably arranged as closely as possible, but since the front-rear distance D2 of the vehicle C depends on the front-rear dimension D1 of the vehicle transport device 1, the front-rear dimension of the vehicle transport device 1 It is preferable that D1 is as small as possible. In the present embodiment, since the vehicle transport device 1 mounts only the front wheels of the vehicle C, the front-rear dimension D1 of the vehicle transport device 1 can be shorter than the wheelbase of the vehicle C, for example, the wheel of the vehicle C. It can be 1/2 or less of the base. Therefore, the distance D2 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle C can be reduced, and the vehicle C can be densely arranged in the container yard Y.

After that, the slope plate 20 is rotated around the rotation shaft 20a by a driving means (not shown) to raise the rear end of the slope main body 21 from the floor surface. At the same time, with the vehicle transport device 1 stopped in place, the in-wheel motor 11 rotationally drives the pair of wheels 10 of each drive wheel 9 in opposite directions with the same torque to drive each drive wheel 9. Steer 90 ° on the spot (see FIG. 10). After that, by rotating each wheel 10 of each drive wheel 9 in the same direction with the same torque, the vehicle transport device 1 is driven in the width direction (left-right direction in FIG. 10). When the vehicle transport device 1 starts traveling in the width direction, the training wheels 4 rotate 90 ° around the rotation axis in the vertical direction due to friction with the ground, and the traveling direction becomes the width direction. At this time, the battery 6 and the control unit 7 and the like are arranged so that the center of gravity of the vehicle transport device 1 not equipped with the vehicle C is arranged between the axis of the drive wheel 9 and the axis of the auxiliary wheel 4 in the front-rear direction. By arranging the vehicle transport device 1, the traveling of the vehicle transport device 1 can be stabilized. As a result, the vehicle transport device 1 is retracted from the front-rear direction of the vehicle C (see arrows P2 in FIGS. 1 and 10).

When the vehicle transport device 1 comes out from between the vehicles C, the vehicle transport device 1 is stopped, the left and right drive wheels 9 are steered by 90 °, and then the vehicle transport devices 1 are rotationally driven in opposite directions to drive the vehicle transport device 1. Rotate 90 ° in the field (see dotted line in FIG. 1). Then, after the left and right drive wheels 9 are steered by 90 ° again, both drive wheels 9 are rotationally driven to drive the vehicle transport device 1 in the width direction (see arrow P3 in FIG. 1). Then, when the empty vehicle transport device 1 is transported to the factory F, a new vehicle C is mounted on the vehicle transport device 1 and transported to the container yard Y. By repeating the above, the vehicle C can be automatically transported from the factory F to the container yard Y.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Hereinafter, other embodiments of the present invention will be described, but duplicate description will be omitted with respect to the same points as those of the above embodiments.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the slope main body 21 is rotatably attached to the first slope main body 21a formed integrally with the ascending drive unit 22 and the first slope main body 21a via the rotation shaft 21c. It has a second slope main body 21b. When the front wheel tire W1 is mounted on the vehicle transport device 1, the rear end of the second slope main body 21b is grounded as shown by the solid line to form a continuous slope between the floor surface and the main body 2. At this time, since both slope main bodies 21a and 21b try to bend by rotating relative to each other about the rotation shaft 21c due to the weight of the vehicle, the bending of the slope main body 21 is regulated by the bending regulating means (not shown). On the other hand, when the vehicle transport device 1 is driven without the front wheel tire W1, the regulation by the bending regulating means is released, and the second slope main body 21b is rotated as shown by the dotted line to make the second slope main body 21b a second. 1 By retracting above the slope main body 21a, interference between the slope main body 21 and the floor surface can be avoided.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the slope main body 21 extends in the slope inclination direction (extension of the first slope main body 21d) with respect to the first slope main body 21d integrally formed with the ascending drive unit 22 and the first slope main body 21d. It has a second slope main body 21e that can slide in a direction (direction orthogonal to the rotation axis 20a). When the front wheel tire W1 is mounted on the vehicle transport device 1, the rear end of the second slope main body 21b is grounded as shown by the solid line to form a continuous slope between the floor surface and the main body 2. On the other hand, when the vehicle transport device 1 is driven without the front wheel tire W1, the second slope main body 21b is slid toward the rotation shaft 20a and retracted upward as shown by the dotted line, so that the second slope main body 21b and the slope main body 21 are moved upward. Interference with the floor can be avoided.

In the above embodiment, the vehicle transport device 1 that carries only the front wheels of the vehicle is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is applied to the vehicle transport device 1 that carries only the rear wheels of the vehicle. You may. For example, the vehicle transport device 1 can be arranged behind the vehicle C in a state of being inverted from the above-described embodiment, and the vehicle C can be retracted to mount the rear wheel tires W2 on the vehicle transport device 1. Specifically, by grounding the front end of the slope main body 21, a continuous slope between the floor surface and the main body 2 is formed. Then, when the vehicle C is retracted and the rear wheel tire W2 climbs the slope formed by the slope body 21 and gets over the rotation shaft 20a, the rear wheel tire W2 steps on the ascending drive unit 22 and the front end of the slope body 21 is reached. Rise from the floor. In addition, the present invention may be applied to a vehicle transport device that mounts and transports all four wheels of the vehicle.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the ascending drive unit 22 of the slope plate 20 functions as a wheel chock is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the upper surface of the main body 2 is separated from the ascending drive unit 22 of the slope plate 20. May be provided with a wheel chock that regulates the rearward movement of the front wheel tire W1. Further, the shape of the ascending drive unit 22 is not limited to the above, and may be, for example, a plate shape narrower than the slope main body 21 or a rod shape.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where each drive wheel 9 is composed of a pair of wheels 10 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and each drive wheel 9 may be composed of one wheel. In this case, a separate steering means (for example, a steering motor) for rotationally driving the steering shaft 12 to which the drive wheels 9 are attached is provided.

Further, in the above embodiment, the vehicle transport device 1 provided with the two drive wheels 9 and the two auxiliary wheels 4 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, only one training wheel 4 may be provided at the center of the main body 2 in the width direction, or training wheels 4 may be provided at the front and rear of the drive wheel 9. Alternatively, two drive wheels 9 and further drive wheels 9 may be provided in front of or behind the two drive wheels 9 for three-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. Alternatively, the number of drive wheels 9 may be one. For example, one drive wheel 9 may be provided at the center of the main body 2 in the width direction, and a pair of auxiliary wheels may be provided near both ends in the width direction behind the drive wheels 9.

Further, the vehicle transported by the vehicle transport device is not limited to the completed vehicle, but includes, for example, a truck or the like before mounting the loading platform (so-called vehicle before mounting). Further, the present invention is not limited to the self-propelled vehicle transport device, and can be applied to, for example, a vehicle transport device (transport vehicle) driven by a driver.

1 Vehicle transport device 2 Main body 3 Drive wheel unit 4 Auxiliary wheel 6 Battery 7 Control unit 8 Receiver 9 Drive wheel 10 Wheel 11 In-wheel motor (drive means)
12 Steering shaft 20 Slope plate 20a Rotating shaft 21 Slope body 22 Ascending drive unit C Vehicle W1 Front tire W2 Rear wheel tire F Factory S System control unit Y Container yard

Claims (2)

In a vehicle transport device including a main body on which vehicle tires are mounted and a slope plate attached to the main body so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to the vehicle width direction of the vehicle.
The slope plate extends from the rotating shaft in one of the front-rear directions of the vehicle, and one end in the front-rear direction can be grounded. A vehicle transport device including a rising drive unit that raises one end of the slope body in the front-rear direction from the floor surface by stepping on it. The vehicle transport device according to claim 1, wherein the ascending drive unit regulates the movement of the tire in one direction in the front-rear direction.

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