JP2813785B2 - Coupling device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coupling device capable of precisely coupling an unmanned carrier and a moving frame provided in a transfer device, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 2-98835, drawings and drawings show that the present applicant carries out loading and unloading between an unmanned transport vehicle 2 and a flow rack 3. A cargo handling device C is proposed.

In the cargo handling device C, the flow rack 3 is installed in a warehouse or the like, and the transport vehicle 2 is equipped with a drive source such as a battery and a control device.
A receiver 6 is provided for receiving information of a management device for managing the system via a communication device (both not shown).

[0004] The flow rack 3 traverses a carry-in entrance I and a carry-out exit O formed by the front and rear surfaces thereof, and stores the load W on a shelf 7 having a predetermined height.
A moving frame 4A, which is a loading machine, and a moving frame 4B, which is a unloading machine for unloading the luggage W from the shelf 7, are provided. The transport vehicle 2 receives the flow rack 3 via the moving frames 4A, 4B.
The luggage W in and out.

At this time, the moving frames 4A and 4B are coupled to the carrier 2 by the coupling device 1, so that the moving frames 4A and 4B are supplied with power and information for moving up and down the luggage from the carrier 2. Deliver the luggage W. The moving frames 4A, 4
B moves to a predetermined position along the flow rack 3 by the movement of the transport vehicle 2 by being connected, and the load support 9
The shelf 7 with a predetermined height is delivered.

For this reason, the cargo handling device C according to the above proposal is
Compared to a conventional unmanned cargo handling device, in which each of an unmanned transport vehicle for transporting loads and a stacker crane for transferring loads was provided with an electric motor for movement, a power supply, a control device, etc. Since the moving frame is moved and controlled by an automatic guided vehicle, the system configuration can be simplified and versatility is enhanced.

However, in the cargo handling device C proposed above, the moving frames 4A and 4B are moved by the transport vehicle 2,
In addition, since power and information are transmitted and received between the transport vehicle 2 and the moving frames 4A and 4B, the coupling strength is large, and there is no relative movement or displacement during the movement, and Positioning also needs to be highly accurate.

[0008]

For the connection, it is conceivable to use a locking piece such as a pin which can be retracted and retracted. However, in the above-mentioned proposal, a displacement, a play or the like after the connection by pin fitting is considered. In order to prevent this, a coupling device including an adsorption tool having a solenoid and a device to be adsorbed made of a magnetic piece such as a soft iron piece which is directly adsorbed to the solenoid is used.

However, when there is a displacement in the initial stop of the transport vehicle in the moving frame, the transport vehicle is coupled in that state, and a coupling device that can automatically correct the alignment and increase the coupling strength is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a coupling device capable of automatically correcting the alignment, improving the alignment accuracy, and increasing the coupling strength.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a coupling device for moving a moving frame by a moving vehicle by connecting the moving vehicle and a moving frame, wherein the moving frame is connected to one of the moving vehicle and the moving frame. It comprises a suction tool attached and having a solenoid, and a suction tool mounted on the other side and using a magnetic material, and at least one of the suction tool and the suction tool is orthogonal to the traveling direction of the carrier. The suction tool is attached to the solenoid, the magnetic pole face side of the solenoid, and is attached to the periphery around the center magnetic pole of the solenoid. A centering plate having a slope inclined toward the center, and a center of rotation supported in a groove provided on the centering plate and radially about the central magnetic pole, in a direction perpendicular to the groove. The projecting portion is formed of a clutch roller that partially protrudes from the slope and rotates only in one direction with respect to the central magnetic pole, and the suction target has a suction surface having a shape along the slope. It is a coupling device characterized by the above-mentioned.

[0012]

The coupling device 1 includes a suction device using a solenoid,
Since it is composed of a suctioned device using a magnetic material, the coupling can be disengaged by turning on and off the energization of the solenoid, thereby improving operability.

The bonding strength is improved by providing the suction tool with a slope and the suction tool with a suction face having a shape matching the slope. In addition, a clutch roller is provided on the slope, the protrusion of which rotates only in one direction with respect to the central magnetic pole of the solenoid,
Moreover, the moving direction of the suction tool and the suction target tool by the adjustment tool,
Since it is relatively movable vertically and vertically, it can be easily centered, self-aligned, prevented from being displaced after coupling, and the clutch roller can also increase the resistance to disengagement. Further, since the coupling force is increased, it is possible to reduce the size of the solenoid and to reduce the attraction power.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, taking as an example the case where the coupling device 1 of the present invention is used for the above-mentioned proposed cargo handling device C.

The coupling device 1 of the present invention couples the transport vehicle 2 with a moving frame 4A for entry and a moving frame 4B for exit provided at the entrance I and exit O of the flow rack 3.

The moving frames 4A and 4B can traverse horizontal guides 10 and 11 above and below the framework of the flow rack 3 with the upper end inclined forward at the entrance I side. Note that the flow rack 3 is provided with a shelf 7 using a roller conveyor that tilts the carry-in entrance I side upward so that the luggage can slide and the luggage W carried in from the movable frame 4A by the appearance of the locking claw 12 can be moved to the movable frame 4B. And automatically carry out sequentially.

Since the moving frames 4A and 4B basically have the same configuration, the moving frame 4A will be described as the moving frame 4.

The moving frame 4 is mounted on a vertically long machine frame 13 running on the guides 10 and 11, the load supporting member 9, a guide (not shown) for guiding the load supporting member 9 and preventing run-out, and a load supporting member. And a drive unit 17 having a motor 15 for rotating the screw shaft 14. Note that the load support 9 is a roller conveyor having two gaps G, G and capable of transferring the load W in the direction of the carry-in port I and the carry-out port O. The load W is rotated by the screw shaft 14 in a horizontal state. The baggage W can be transferred to and from the shelf 7 by being able to move up and down and tilt.

The machine casing 13 is further provided with a coupling power receiving device 21 having a device to be attracted 20 of the coupling device 1 according to the present invention.
Is provided via

The coupled power receiving device 21 is
However, it is coupled to the suction device 25 of the coupling power supply device 23 provided on the transport vehicle 2, and the suction device 25 constitutes the coupling device 1 according to the present invention together with the suction target device 20.

The carrier 2 embeds a guide line in the traveling route, detects the magnetic field generated by the guide line, and detects the magnetic field generated by the guide line. Various well-known guiding methods, such as a magnetic guiding method for causing the light or an optical guiding method using a reflective tape or the like, can be adopted. Further, an autonomous navigation system using a combination of the own traveling distance and a gyro may be used. In this example, a steering motor (not shown) is provided for all the wheels 26..., And can move in all directions configured to be able to continuously rotate 360 degrees.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, an obstacle detecting bumper 27 is provided around the vehicle body of the transporting vehicle 2, and a total of eight bumpers 27 are provided on each surface of the vehicle body. A non-contact type obstacle detecting device 29 capable of detecting a distance, a distance measuring device 30 provided on each side surface of the vehicle body for measuring a distance from the vehicle body to a reference wall surface, and a distance measuring device 30 provided on each side surface of the vehicle body; Fork 31 which is provided on the floor and which can be raised and lowered and whose upper surface is a conveyor surface
And the receiver 6.

The coupling power supply 23 is provided at the center and upper part on the front side of the vehicle body, and a control device CT for controlling the traveling of the battery B, cargo handling and the moving frame 4 is provided. The fork 31 is provided at the gap G provided on the load support 9.
, The load W can be transferred to and from the load support 9.

In this embodiment, a total of eight distance measuring devices 30 are provided, two on each side surface of the vehicle body, and a plurality of reference wall surfaces (not shown) provided in advance in the traveling route of the carrier 2. )
The distance between the vehicle and the vehicle body can be measured to measure reference data when the carrier 2 automatically travels, for example, an optical distance measuring sensor,
An ultrasonic sensor or the like is used.

As shown in the lower part of FIG. 1, the coupling power supply 23 includes a bottom piece 40, a standing piece 41 rising at a rear edge thereof,
A mounting bracket 4 having an upper piece 42 projecting forward at its upper end.
On both sides of 3, the power supply fittings 46 of the power transmission device 34 are mounted, and the suction tool 25 of the coupling device 1 is arranged on a mounting plate 49 at the upper end of the standing piece 41, which is notched in the center together with the upper piece 42. The transmitter OP1 of the signal transmission / reception device 36 is provided in the protruding portion protruding from the upper piece 42 of the bottom piece 40.

The suction tool 25 has a central magnetic pole 53 raised at the center and a side magnetic pole 54 lower than the central magnetic pole 53 around the central magnetic pole 53.
A solenoid S in which a coil 55 is wound inside a cylinder of a rectangular bowl-shaped magnetic container having: a core alignment plate 56 arranged on the magnetic pole side thereof and made of a non-magnetic material; and a clutch arranged on the core alignment plate 56 And a roller 57.

The centering plate 56 has a rectangular shape, a base portion screwed to the solenoid S, a hole through which the central magnetic pole 53 is inserted with a gap, and a circular shape having the same height as the central magnetic pole 53. Is formed around the center surface 58 of the ridge 60 in the present embodiment.

In the raised portion 60, for example, four grooves 61 are provided radially from the center of the central magnetic pole 53 in the front-rear direction, that is, in the traveling direction of the carrier 2 and the direction perpendicular thereto.
The groove 61 is fitted with the clutch roller 57 having a rotation center line perpendicular to the groove 61.

The clutch roller 57 is partially formed on the slope 5
Protrude upward beyond 9. This clutch roller 5
7, a well-known configuration in which cams and rollers are arranged between an inner ring and an outer ring can be used, and in this example, only in one direction, in this example, the projecting portion 57A is oriented in the opposite direction to the central magnetic pole 53, that is, in the center. It rotates smoothly only in the direction away from the magnetic pole. It should be noted that a combination of a rotating body and a ratchet can be used as the clutch roller 57.

As shown in the upper part of FIG. 1, the coupling power receiving member 21 is provided at the center of a horizontal and horizontally long vertical mounting plate 33 of an adjusting tool 32 provided at the tip of the arm 22. Tool 20 and the current collector 3 of the power transmitting device 34 on both sides
5 and 35, and a receiver OP2 of the transmitting / receiving device 36 is provided on a protruding piece protruding from the mounting plate 35.

On the other hand, the to-be-attached device 20 is made of a magnetic piece M such as soft iron, and has a lower surface which is shaped to fit the slope 59 so as to be in close contact with the raised portion 60. It has a surface 63.

The concave surface 63 is formed with four concave portions 63A, into which the projecting portions 57A of the clutch roller 57 can be properly fitted in a state where the surface 63 to be correctly abutted against the inclined surface 59. I have.

The adjusting tool 32 of the combined power receiving tool 21
Is a linear bearing 65 for horizontal movement attached to a horizontal piece of an L-shaped plate fixed to the arm 22 for adjusting the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the carrier 2, and the linear bearing 65 fixed to the slide piece. A linear bearing 66 that adjusts in the direction of movement,
It has a linear bearing 67 for vertical movement provided on a vertical piece of a T-shaped plate fixed to the slide piece, and the mounting plate 33 is fixed to the slide piece of the linear bearing 67. The linear bearings 65 and 66 are provided with a biasing means (not shown) for maintaining a neutral position, such as a crossed spring, which keeps each slide piece in an initial state which is an intermediate position as a reference. The mounting plate 33 is in a standby state in an initial state where the mounting plate 33 is separated from the suction tool 25 by a spring 69.

It is to be noted that the transport vehicle 2 is moved from the moving frame 4 at the reference position.
When the operation is stopped for coupling, the suction device 25 and the device to be sucked 20 are separated from each other by a gap capable of sucking the device to be suctioned 20 by energizing the solenoid S.

Therefore, after the transport vehicle 2 is stopped, by energizing the solenoid S of the suction tool 25 of the coupling device 1 based on information stored in advance, the suction tool 20 is suctioned. It descends in opposition.

When the suction device 25 and the suction device 20 are not concentric, the suction surface 63 abuts on the protrusion 57A of one clutch roller 57 as shown in FIG.

After the contact, when the device to be sucked 20 further descends, the surface 63 to be sucked of the device to be sucked 20 is inclined.
9 and the clutch roller 57 smoothly rotates only on the side where the protruding portion 57A faces away from the central magnetic pole 53. In addition, it is possible to smoothly descend while shifting the position along the slope 59 and the direction of the slope 59.

The displacement is performed by the linear bearings 65 and 66 of the adjusting tool 32.

As a result, the to-be-adsorbed device 20 is lowered to the lowermost end, and the to-be-adsorbed device 25 and the to-be-adsorbed device 20 are automatically aligned and connected.

The projecting portion 57A of the clutch roller 57 is fitted into the recess 63A in contact with the peripheral surface thereof.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the attracted surface 63 can be in close contact with the raised portion 60 of the centering plate 56 without any gap, and waste of power is eliminated. The carrier 2 can move the moving frame 4 by being aligned and connected in this manner.

The recess 63A can be omitted. At this time, the inclined surface 59 and the attracted surface 63 are connected via a small gap of the projecting portion 57A.

The power transmitting device 34 can supply power to the current collecting device 35 from the power feeding device 46, and can drive the driving unit 17 of the moving frame 4 to move the load supporting device 19 up and down. Further, the transmitter OP1 of the signal transmitting / receiving device 36 can correctly transmit the signal to the receiver OP2, and controls the operation of each part such as the tilting operation of the load support 9 as well as the lifting and lowering thereof, and transfers the package W to and from the predetermined shelf 7. it can.

As shown in FIG. 1, the power supply tool 46 is loosely inserted into a hole provided in the upper piece 42 of the mounting bracket 43 and protrudes from the support 71 on the lower surface of the upper piece 42 and the standing piece 41. A pin-shaped electrode 73 insulated and supported by the support piece 72 is provided. The upper flange 74 of the electrode 73 and the support piece 7
2 and is urged upward by a spring 75 between the upper piece 42 and the upper piece 42.

Each electrode 7 of the two power supply tools 46, 46
The positive electrode and the negative electrode of the battery of the transport vehicle 2 are appropriately connected to 3 and 73, and the insulating plate 7 is provided around the electrode 73 on the upper surface of the upper piece 42.
6 are provided.

On the other hand, the current collector 35 has a flange fixed around the hole on the lower surface of the horizontal overhanging piece 77 projecting from the mounting plate 33, and has a small cylindrical portion at the lower part, and is made of an insulating material. It has a support 79 used and an electrode 91 provided with a flat pressing portion 90 at the lower end of a pin portion inserted into the support 79. The pin portion is provided with a lock nut at the upper end and is urged downward by a spring 92 externally inserted into the small cylinder portion of the support 79.

Therefore, together with the coupling of the coupling device 1,
As shown in FIG. 4, the electrodes 73 and 91 can be pressed and contacted to transmit power.

The signal transmitting / receiving device 36 is, in this example,
A photoelectric transmission device is used. A light emitting device is used as the transmitter OP1 and a light receiving device is used as the receiver OP2. A predetermined electric signal is converted into an optical signal (infrared light or the like), and is contactlessly half-duplex or full-duplex. It is possible to perform heavy communication.

As described above, the coupling device 1 of the present invention can securely couple the transport vehicle 2 and the moving frame 4 without self-alignment while self-aligning.

The carrier 2 and the moving frame 4 are not limited to those of the above-described embodiment.
Further, the movable frame 4 may be a pallet for loading which can be freely moved.

Further, the slope 59 of the suction tool is not a raised portion 60 but a concave shape.
A can be rotated only toward the central magnetic pole 53, and the surface 63 to be attracted can be made convex.
The device to be sucked 20 can be mounted upside down.

Further, when a permanent magnet surface is used as the to-be-attached device 20 and it is necessary to adsorb it by the magnetic force of the permanent magnet (which can also energize the solenoid S in a direction to increase the magnetic force) at the time of coupling and to keep it separated. The coupling device of the present invention can be variously modified, for example, by supplying power only in the reverse direction to reduce the power supply time and reduce power consumption.

[0053]

As described above, since the coupling device of the present invention is composed of a suction device using a solenoid and a device to be suctioned using a magnetic material, the coupling is disengaged by turning on and off the power supply to the solenoid. It can improve operability.

Also, the suction tool has a slope, and the tool to be sucked has a suction face having a shape matching the slope, thereby improving the coupling strength. The slope has a protruding portion with respect to the central magnetic pole of the solenoid. A clutch roller that rotates only in one direction is provided, and the adjusting tool allows the suction tool and the suction tool to move relative to each other in the moving direction, a direction perpendicular to the moving direction, and up and down. In addition to preventing the displacement after the coupling, the clutch roller can also increase the separation resistance. In addition, since the coupling force is increased, the size of the solenoid can be reduced, and the suction power can be reduced. Furthermore, since the rolling resistance of the clutch roller is small, even if the inclination angle of the inclined surface and the surface to be attracted is small, the center can be smoothly aligned by the rotation of the clutch roller. Motion stroke can be reduced. As a result, it is useful to reduce the power consumption of the solenoid at the start of suction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a suction device.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the operation.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a combined state.

FIG. 5 is a front view illustrating a cargo handling device in which the coupling device of the present invention is employed.

FIG. 6 is a front view illustrating a transport vehicle.

FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating a transport vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Carrier 4, 4A, 4B Moving frame 20 Device to be sucked 21 Coupling receiving device 23 Coupling power feeding device 25 Device to be sucked 32 Adjusting tool 53 Center magnetic pole 56 Core alignment plate 57 Clutch roller 57A Projection 59 Slope 63 Surface to be attracted M Magnetic Piece S Solenoid

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A coupling device for moving a movable frame by a transport vehicle by coupling the transport vehicle and a movable frame, the suction device being attached to one of the transport vehicle and the movable frame and having a solenoid. And a suction target attached to the other side and using a magnetic material. At least one of the suction target and the suction target relatively moves in the traveling direction of the transport vehicle and in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction. The suction tool is attached to an adjusting tool that is capable of being freely moved up and down, and the suction tool is mounted on the magnetic pole surface side of the solenoid, and has a slope inclined toward a peripheral edge around a center magnetic pole of the solenoid. Plate, and a center of rotation is supported in a groove radially provided on the centering plate and about the central magnetic pole in a direction perpendicular to the groove and partially protrudes from the slope. A coupling device, wherein the protrusion comprises a clutch roller which rotates only in one direction with respect to the central magnetic pole, and the suction target has a suction surface along the slope. . 2. The slope according to claim 1, wherein the slope forms a mid-high ridge.
The coupling device according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion of the clutch roller rotates only in a direction opposite to a center magnetic pole.