JP2021161703A - Vehicle transport method, and vehicle transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce electric power consumption in a transport system using a self-traveling vehicle transport device.SOLUTION: A vehicle transport method includes: a loading step of loading a vehicle C on a self-traveling vehicle transport device 1 at a factory F; a transport step of making the vehicle transport device 1 on which the vehicle C is mounted travel to a container yard Y; a vehicle unloading step of unloading the vehicle C from the vehicle transport device 1 at the container yard Y; and a return step of making the empty vehicle transport device 1 travel to the factory F. In the return step, a plurality of vehicle transport devices 1A, 1B are connected, one vehicle transport device 1B is driven, and the other vehicle transport device 1A is towed using the vehicle transport device 1B.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for automatically transporting a vehicle.

When the vehicle is completed at the factory, it is transported to the vehicle waiting area where the completed vehicle is stocked. Such transportation of a vehicle is usually carried out by using a trailer capable of mounting a plurality of vehicles, but in this case, a worker who drives the trailer is required, which causes an increase in cost.

Therefore, Patent Document 1 below discloses a self-propelled vehicle transport device that automatically transports a vehicle. If such a vehicle transport device is used, an operator who drives a trailer is not required, so that the cost can be reduced.

JP-A-2019-78099

After transporting the vehicle to the vehicle waiting area by the vehicle transport device as described above, it is necessary to unload the vehicle and return the empty vehicle transport device to the factory. In this case, every time one vehicle is transported, electric power is required to reciprocate the vehicle transport device between the factory and the vehicle waiting area.

An object of the present invention is to reduce power consumption in a transport system using a self-propelled vehicle transport device.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a method for transporting a vehicle by a self-propelled vehicle transport device driven by electric power, and is a mounting process for mounting the vehicle on the vehicle transport device in a mounting area. , A transport process in which the vehicle transport device on which the vehicle is mounted travels to the stock area, a disembarkation process in which the vehicle is unloaded from the vehicle transport device in the stock area, and a return process in which the empty vehicle transport device travels to the loading area. Provided is a vehicle transporting method in which a plurality of vehicle transporting devices are connected in the return step, and one of these vehicle transporting devices pulls another vehicle transporting device.

When the vehicle transport device is traveling as described above, not only the drive means but also the control unit that controls the position and attitude of the vehicle transport device consumes a considerable amount of electric power. Therefore, as described above, in the return process, a plurality of empty vehicle transport devices are connected, and one of the vehicle transport devices pulls the other vehicle transport device to drive the towed vehicle transport device. The power consumption of the means and the control unit can be reduced to zero. In this case, since the load (power consumption) of the drive means of the vehicle transport device on the towing side increases, the total power consumption of the drive means of the plurality of vehicle transport devices does not change. On the other hand, since the power consumption of the control unit of the vehicle transport device on the towing side is the same as that in the case of traveling independently, the total power consumption of the control unit of the plurality of vehicle transport devices is reduced. As a result, the power consumption is reduced as compared with the case where each vehicle transport device is independently traveled.

The vehicle transport method is a self-propelled vehicle transport device having a drive wheel, a drive means for driving the drive wheels with electric power, a control unit for controlling the drive means, a connecting portion, and a connected portion. Therefore, the connecting portion can be connected to the connected portion provided in another vehicle transporting device having the same configuration, and the connected portion is provided in another vehicle transporting device having the same configuration. It can be realized by using a vehicle transport device that can be connected to the connecting portion.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the power consumption in the transport system using the self-propelled 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. (A) is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the training wheels of the vehicle transport device, and (B) is the same plan view. 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 top view of the vehicle arranged in a container yard and the vehicle transport device. (A) and (B) are plan views showing how the connecting portion and the connected portion are connected. It is a top view which shows the state in which three vehicle transporting devices are connected. It is a perspective view which shows typically the drive wheel and the drive means which concerns on other embodiment.

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 transports the vehicle C from the factory F as a mounting area to the container yard Y as a stock 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, and only the front wheels of the vehicle C are mounted on the vehicle transport device 1 for transport.

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

The main body 2 is provided with a wheel chock 5 for preventing the front wheel W1 of the vehicle C from rolling, a control unit 7 for controlling the drive wheel unit 3, and a battery 6 for supplying electric power to the drive wheel unit 3 and the control unit 7. Be done.

Further, the main body 2 is provided with a claw 41 as a connecting portion and a recess 42 as a connected portion. The claw 41 has a structure that can be connected to the recess 42 provided in the main body 2 of the other vehicle transport device 1, and the recess 42 can be connected to the claw 41 provided in the main body 2 of the other vehicle transport device 1. Structure. In the illustrated example, the claw 41 is provided at the front portion of the main body 2, and the recess 42 is provided at the rear portion of the main body 2. By fitting the claw 41 with the recess 42 of the other vehicle transport device 1, the two can be engaged with each other in the width direction. Further, with the claw 41 and the recess 42 engaged in the width direction, both can be engaged in the front-rear direction. In the present embodiment, by fitting the protruding portion 41a protruding in the width direction from the front end of the claw 41 and the small recess 42a provided on the side wall of the recess 42, both can be engaged in the front-rear direction. (See FIG. 11 (B)).

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 a steering shaft 12 extending in the vertical direction. The steering shaft 12 is rotatably attached to the frame 14 fixed to the casing 13 via the bearing 15. The bearing 15 that supports the steering shaft 12 preferably supports loads in the radial direction and the thrust direction, and for example, tapered roller bearings are used. 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. In the present embodiment, the drive wheels 9 can rotate 360 ° around the steering shaft 12.

The receiver 4 is provided at a position where it can receive radio waves from the system control unit S (see FIG. 1). In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the receiver 4 is provided at substantially the same height as the upper surface of the vehicle C to be mounted. In the illustrated example, the receiver 4 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 4 is provided above each drive wheel unit 3, for example. The receiver 4 is connected to the control unit 7 and transmits a command from the system control unit S to the control unit 7.

The vehicle transport device 1 is provided with training wheels 8. The training wheels 8 are provided in front of or behind the axis of the drive wheels 9. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the training wheels 8 are provided in front of the axial center of the drive wheels 9. The training wheels 8 are composed of wheels having an outer diameter smaller than that of the wheels 10 of the drive wheels 9. The number of training wheels 8 is not particularly limited, and in the illustrated example, they are provided at two locations separated in the width direction (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

The training wheels 8 are attached to the main body 2 in a state of being rotatable around the axis of rotation and rotating around the axis of rotation in the vertical direction. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, both ends of the rotating shaft 31 fixed to the axial center of the training wheels 8 are attached to the rotating plate 33 via the radial bearing 32. The rotating plate 33 is attached to the main body 2 via a thrust bearing 34. As a result, the auxiliary wheel 8 is made rotatable around the axis L1 by the radial bearing 32, and is made rotatable around the vertical rotation axis (rotation center O of the thrust bearing 34) by the thrust bearing 34.

In the present embodiment, in the plan view shown in FIG. 6B, the axial center L1 and the axial center line L2 of the training wheels 8 are offset by δ1 and δ2 with respect to the rotation center O of the thrust bearing 34, respectively. ing. As a result, when the vehicle transport device 1 travels, the auxiliary wheel 8 rotates around the vertical rotation axis (rotation center O of the thrust bearing 34) due to friction with the ground, and the traveling direction of the auxiliary wheel 8 is the vehicle. It substantially coincides with the traveling direction of the transport device 1 (that is, the traveling direction of the drive wheels 9).

Hereinafter, a procedure for transporting the vehicle C by the vehicle transport device 1 described above will be described. In the present embodiment, the mounting process of mounting the vehicle C on the vehicle transport device 1 at the factory F, the transport process of traveling the vehicle transport device 1 on which the vehicle C is mounted to the container yard Y, and the vehicle C at the container yard Y. The disembarkation step of unloading from the vehicle transport device 1 and the return step of traveling the empty vehicle transport device 1 to the factory F are performed in order.

[Mounting process]
First, at the factory F (see FIG. 1), the front part of the vehicle C is raised by a lift means (not shown), and in this state, the main body 2 of the vehicle transport device 1 is made to slip below the front part of the vehicle C. Then, the front portion of the vehicle C is lowered by the lifting means, and the left and right front wheels W1 are mounted on the main body 2 of the vehicle transport device 1. At this time, by fitting the front wheel W1 between the wheel chocks 5, the front-rear movement of the front wheel W1 is restricted (see FIG. 2). The lift means may be provided in the factory F or may be mounted in the vehicle transport device 1.

When the front wheel 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 W1 is arranged behind the axis of the drive wheel 9, the main body 2 may be tilted to the rear side. .. Therefore, it is preferable to set the position of the wheel chock 5 so that the axis of the front wheel W1 is arranged in front of the axis of the drive wheel 9 (on the side of the auxiliary wheel 8). On the other hand, if the axis of the front wheel W1 is too close to the auxiliary wheel 8, an excessive load is applied to the small diameter auxiliary wheel 8, so that the axis of the front wheel W1 is preferably provided at a position closer to the axis of the drive wheel 9. Specifically, it is preferable that the axial center of the front wheels W1 is arranged behind the center of the drive wheels 9 and the auxiliary wheels 8 in the front-rear direction, and it is more preferable that the axes are arranged behind the front ends of the drive wheels 9.

[Transport process]
The front wheel W1 (driving wheel) 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 W2 (driven wheel) grounded (arrow P1 in FIG. 1). reference). Specifically, a command from the system control unit S is received by the receiver 4 of the vehicle transport device 1, this command is transmitted to the control unit 7, and the control unit 7 causes the drive means of each drive wheel 9 according to this command. Drives the in-wheel motor 11). At this time, each drive wheel 9 can be steered by making the torque of the in-wheel motor 11 that drives the pair of wheels 10 of each drive wheel 9 different.

[Getting off process]
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 a predetermined position in the container yard Y (see arrow Q1 in FIG. 7). Then, the front portion of the vehicle C is raised by the lifting means, and in this state, the vehicle transport device 1 is moved forward and retracted from below the vehicle C (see arrow Q2 in FIG. 7). After that, the front part of the vehicle C is lowered by the lifting means, and the front wheel W1 is brought into contact with the ground. The lifting means may be provided in the container yard Y or may be mounted on the vehicle transport device 1.

The vehicle transport device 1 thus separated from the vehicle C is arranged between a large number of vehicles C arranged in the container yard Y in the front-rear direction. 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 is equipped with only the front wheels W1 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 vehicle C. It can be 1/2 or less of the wheelbase. 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.

[Return process]
After that, 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, thereby driving each drive wheel 9 to the same torque. Steer 90 ° in the field (see dotted line in Figure 7). 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. 7). When the vehicle transport device 1 starts traveling in the width direction, the training wheels 8 rotate 90 ° around the rotation axis in the vertical direction due to friction with the ground, and the traveling direction becomes the width direction (see the dotted line in FIG. 7). 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 8 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 7).

When the vehicle transport device 1 comes out from between the vehicles C, the vehicle transport device 1 is rotated by 90 ° on the spot as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 8 (this vehicle transport device is referred to as "vehicle transport device 1A"). After that, when the next vehicle transporting device 1 escapes from between the vehicles C, the vehicle transporting device 1 is rotated by 90 ° on the spot as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 9, and behind the previously stopped vehicle transporting device 1A. Arrange (this vehicle transport device is referred to as "vehicle transport device 1B").

Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the vehicle transport device 1B is connected to the vehicle transport device 1A. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11A, the vehicle transport device 1B is moved forward, and the claw 41 provided at the front portion of the main body 2 is provided at the rear portion of the main body 2 of the vehicle transport device 1A. After fitting the vehicle into the recess 42, the vehicle transport device 1B is driven in one width direction (right side in the drawing). As a result, as shown in FIG. 11B, the claw 41 of the vehicle transport device 1B engages with the recess 42 of the vehicle transport device 1A from the other side in the width direction (left side in the drawing), and the vehicle transport device 1B transports the vehicle. The device 1A can be towed. At this time, the protruding portion 41a of the claw 41 and the small recess 42a are fitted so that the claw 41 and the recess 42 can be engaged with each other in the front-rear direction. As a result, even when the vehicle transport device 1B is curved, the vehicle transport device 1A can be towed while following the curve. In this way, the plurality of vehicle transport devices 1 are connected and traveled, and are returned to the factory F (see arrow P3 in FIG. 1).

As described above, the in-wheel motor 11 and the control unit 7 of the vehicle transport device 1A to be towed by connecting the empty vehicle transport devices 1A and 1B and towing the vehicle transport device 1A by the vehicle transport device 1B. Power consumption can be reduced to zero. In this case, since the load (power consumption) of the in-wheel motor 11 of the vehicle transport device 1B on the towing side increases, the total power consumption of the in-wheel motors 11 of the vehicle transport devices 1A and 1B does not change. On the other hand, since the power consumption of the control unit 7 of the vehicle transport device 1B on the towing side is the same as that of traveling alone, the total power consumption of the control units of the vehicle transport devices 1A and 1B is reduced. As a result, the power consumption can be reduced as compared with the case where the vehicle transport devices 1A and 1B are independently traveled. At this time, in the towed vehicle transport device 1A, the rotation of the drive wheels 9 is transmitted to the rotation shaft 11a of the in-wheel motor 11, and the motor rotor including the rotation shaft 11a rotates (idle).

Then, a new vehicle C is mounted on the vehicle transport device 1 that has returned to the factory F, and the vehicle is 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.

For example, the drive wheel unit 3 may be provided with a reverse input prevention clutch that transmits torque from the in-wheel motor 11 to the drive wheels 9 while not transmitting reverse input torque from the drive wheels 9 to the in-wheel motor 11. .. In this case, the drive wheels 9 of the towed vehicle transport device 1B idle, and torque is not transmitted from the drive wheels 9 to the motor rotor of the in-wheel motor 11, so that an increase in torque due to friction of rotation of the motor rotor is avoided. The power consumption of the driving means of the towing vehicle transport device 1B can be further reduced.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the connecting portion (claw 41) and the connected portion (recessed portion 42) are provided in the main body 2 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the connecting portion (claw 41) and the connected portion (recessed portion 42) are provided in the casing 13 of the drive wheel unit 3. May be good. Further, the configuration of the connecting portion and the connected portion is not limited to the above, and for example, a pair of claws may be engaged with each other to form the connecting portion and the connected portion, or the connecting portion and the connected portion may be formed by a hole into which the pin and the pin are fitted. It may form a part. Alternatively, the connecting portion and the connected portion may connect the main bodies 2 to each other by a magnetic force. Further, the towing direction of the vehicle transport device 1 in the return step is not limited to the above, and for example, a vehicle transport device having a connecting portion may pull another vehicle transport device having a connected portion in the front-rear direction.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where one vehicle transport device 1 is towed by one vehicle transport device 1 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, one vehicle transport device 1 is driven by a plurality of vehicles. It may be towed by the transport device 1, or a plurality of vehicle transport devices 1 may be towed by one vehicle transport device 1. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, one vehicle transport device 1C is towing two vehicle transport devices 1A and 1B. In this case, only the vehicle transport device 1C is driven, and the power supplies of the vehicle transport devices 1A and 1B towed by the drive are turned off. In addition, the vehicle transport devices 1A and 1C may be driven and the vehicle transport device 1B between them may be towed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where a plurality of vehicle transport devices 1 are connected at the container yard Y and transported to the factory F is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when an empty vehicle transport device 1 is always driven independently from the container yard Y to the factory F, and one of the vehicle transport devices 1 breaks down in the middle of the route from the container yard Y to the factory F. , The failed vehicle transport device 1 may be connected to another normal vehicle transport device 1 and towed to a predetermined place.

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, as shown in FIG. 13, a drive motor 17 for rotationally driving the drive wheels 9 around the axis and a steering motor 18 for rotationally driving the drive wheels 9 around the vertical steering shaft 12 are provided. By directly driving the steering shaft 12 with the steering motor 18, the drive wheels 9 (wheels) are steered.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where only the front wheels of the front-wheel drive vehicle are mounted on the vehicle transport device 1 and transported is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when transporting a rear-wheel drive vehicle, the vehicle may be transported with only the rear wheels of the vehicle mounted on the vehicle transport device 1 and the front wheels grounded. When transporting a four-wheel drive vehicle, two vehicle transport devices 1 may be used to mount the front wheels on one vehicle transport device 1 and mount the rear wheels on the other vehicle transport device 1. ..

Further, in the above embodiment, the vehicle transport device 1 provided with the two drive wheels 9 and the two auxiliary wheels 8 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, only one training wheel 8 may be provided at the center of the main body 2 in the width direction, or training wheels 8 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 8 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).

1 Vehicle transport device 2 Main body 3 Drive wheel unit 4 Receiver 6 Battery 7 Control unit 8 Training wheels 9 Drive wheels 10 Wheels 11 In-wheel motor (drive means)
12 Steering shaft 41 Claw (connecting part)
42 Recess (connected part)
C Vehicle W1 Front wheel W2 Rear wheel F Factory (mounting area)
Y container yard (stock area)
S system control unit

Claims (2)

It is a method for transporting a vehicle with a self-propelled vehicle transport device driven by electric power.
The loading process of loading the vehicle on the vehicle transport device in the mounting area, the transport process of traveling the vehicle transport device on which the vehicle is mounted to the stock area, and the disembarkation process of unloading the vehicle from the vehicle transport device in the stock area are emptied. It has a return process that allows the vehicle transport device to travel to the mounting area.
A vehicle transport method in which a plurality of vehicle transport devices are connected in the return step, and the other vehicle transport device is towed by any one of these vehicle transport devices. A self-propelled vehicle transport device having a drive wheel, a drive means for driving the drive wheel with electric power, a control unit for controlling the drive means, a connecting part, and a connected part.
The connecting portion can be connected to the connected portion provided in another vehicle transport device having the same configuration.
The connected portion is a vehicle transport device that can be connected to the connecting portion provided in another vehicle transport device having the same configuration.

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