JP2935328B2 - Goods carrier - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is capable of moving articles in a horizontal direction with respect to a vehicle body for transferring articles to and from a station.
The present invention relates to an article transport vehicle provided with a sliding frame that can move up and down in a vertical direction and control means for controlling the operation of the sliding frame.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Such an article transport vehicle operates a sliding frame which is movable in and out of the vehicle body in a horizontal direction and is movable in a vertical direction to transfer articles to and from a station. Conventionally, a stop position mark provided on the traveling road surface beside or near the station is detected, and based on the detection result, the carrier is stopped at an appropriate position of the station (side of the station). After a while
The transfer of articles was performed by operating the sliding frame.

[0003]

Such an article transport vehicle,
Since the transfer of articles is performed by moving the sliding frame horizontally with respect to the vehicle body, conventionally, even if the positional deviation amount and the inclination amount of the vehicle body with respect to the station are small, the sliding frame tip side. Is greatly displaced, and even if there is no displacement or inclination of the vehicle body with respect to the station, the leading end side of the sliding frame is displaced every time the projecting operation is performed, and as a result, the transfer of articles is appropriate. There was a problem that can not be done. Other causes of the deviation of the leading end of the sliding frame include the condition of the floor (unevenness, inclination, etc.), mounting error of the sliding frame with respect to the vehicle body, mounting error of the stop position mark, and the like. The causes interact with each other to cause a displacement on the leading end side of the sliding frame. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article carrier having a sliding frame capable of appropriately transferring articles.

[0004]

According to the present invention, there is provided an article carrier comprising:
In order to transfer articles to and from the station, a sliding frame is provided which is capable of moving back and forth in the horizontal direction with respect to the vehicle body and vertically moving up and down, and control means for controlling the operation of the sliding frame. In the state in which the sliding frame is protruded and stopped at the tip end side of the sliding frame, the detection object provided in the station is moved up and down.
By detecting from the direction, the two-dimensional
Non-contact type that detects the position in the direction and detects whether the position of the sliding frame with respect to the station is appropriate.
Provided detection means, said control means based on a detection result of said detecting means is that a protruding operation of the sliding frame is configured to determine whether it is appropriate.

[0005]

According to the characteristic structure of the present invention, in a state in which the sliding frame is protruded and stopped , the non-contact type detecting means provided on the leading end side of the sliding frame detects from above and below , and
Position of the object to be detected provided in the station in two-dimensional direction
By detecting the location, the position of the slide frame relative to the station detects whether a proper. If the position of the sliding frame is appropriate, it is determined that the sliding frame has been properly protruded, and the article is transferred. Cancel transfer.

[0006]

According to the characteristic structure of the present invention, the slide on the vehicle body side is provided.
Move the moving frame horizontally and move it up and down,
When transferring goods to and from the station,
Non-contact type on the sliding frame side with the protruding operation stopped
Is detected from up and down directions that intersect with the direction of protrusion.
Detecting the position of the object to be detected on the side in the two-dimensional direction,
Whether the position of the sliding frame with respect to the station is correct
Based on the detection result, it is determined whether or not the sliding frame has been properly ejected, and the article is transferred.
Move the frame quickly to the projecting position to improve work efficiency.
And the sliding frame is raised and lowered to change the vertical position.
The sliding frame can be properly protruded even when
It is now possible to accurately determine whether or not the article has been transferred, and to transfer the article properly.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 4, the article transport facility of the present invention includes an article transport vehicle A that travels along a travel line G provided on a travel surface, and a plurality of stations S. In the drawing, 1 to 5 are added to the reference symbol S in order to distinguish these stations S from one another.

In this article transport facility, when there is no article in each of the stations S3 to S5 on the article receiving side, an operator operates the console 30 to instruct an article request (including the identification information of the requesting station). )
Is issued, the instruction is transmitted to the central control device 40, and the central control device 40 transmits a transfer work instruction of the article transport vehicle A to the home station HP based on the instruction of the article request.

The transfer work instruction is transmitted to the home station H.
The article transport vehicle A received from P collects the designated article at the station S1 or S2 on the article supply side based on the transfer work instruction, and returns the designated station (S
3 to any one of the stations S5 to S5). Although not shown, the home station HP is provided with a home station side communication device for communicating with the article transport vehicle side communication device 22.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an article transporting vehicle A has a sliding frame 21 as an article transfer device which can move up and down and up and down in a horizontal direction with respect to the vehicle body, and an article transporting vehicle side communication. A device 22, a stop position confirmation optical sensor 23 including a light emitting element and a light receiving element, a control device 24, and a power storage unit 25 are provided. A CCD camera 26 for imaging the detected object 13 is provided. The control device 24 is configured to control the operation of the sliding frame 21, the communication device 22 on the article transport vehicle side, the optical sensor 23, and the CCD camera 26, while controlling the traveling of the article transport vehicle A. I have. Therefore, the control device 24 functions as control means for controlling the operation of the sliding frame 21.

The station S has a supporting portion 11 for supporting the article E and a reflecting plate 1 for reflecting light from the optical sensor 23.
2 and an object to be detected 13 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, a circle 13a having a diameter of 10 mm is drawn on the object 13 to be detected.
In 6, the object 13 is imaged in a state where the sliding frame 21 is protruded and stopped, and it is determined whether or not the center (screen center) e of the captured image is within the circle 13a. It is configured to detect whether or not the position of the sliding frame 21 is appropriate. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the article transport vehicle A is tilted by θ, and the portion of the detected object 13 is enlarged and displayed for explanation. Therefore, the CCD camera 26
Is a state in which the sliding frame 21 is stopped by being protruded.
Detecting the object 13 from above and below.
Detects the position of the detection target 13 in the two-dimensional direction
Then, it functions as a non-contact type detecting means for detecting whether the position of the sliding frame 21 with respect to the station S is appropriate. Then, the control device 24 is configured to determine whether or not the projecting operation of the sliding frame 21 is appropriate based on the detection result of the CCD camera 26, and execute the transfer of the article E. .

The sliding frame 21 includes a leading fork 21a serving as a loading platform, an intermediate fork 21b, and a driving device 21d for driving the sliding frame 21.
a is slidably driven laterally with respect to the intermediate fork 21b,
The intermediate fork 21b is slidably driven laterally with respect to the base 21c, and the base 21c is configured to be driven up and down by a lifting drive device 21d. Therefore, when collecting the article E on the support portion 11 of the station S, the leading end fork 21a and the intermediate fork 21b are protruded below the article E, and then the base 21C is raised by the lifting drive 21d. When the articles E are collected and the articles E are supplied, the reverse operation is performed.

Next, a process in which the article transport vehicle A stops at the station S and recovers the article E on the station S or a step of supplying the article E on the station S will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. explain. First, the article transport vehicle A stops at a predetermined position in front of the station S. Then, after it is confirmed by the optical sensor 23 for confirming the stop position and the reflection plate 15 provided in the station S that it has stopped at a predetermined position, the transfer operation corresponding to the transfer operation command is performed. When it is determined that the article transport vehicle A is not stopped at a predetermined position, the article transport vehicle A is moved back and forth to correct the stop position.

If the content of the transfer operation command is to collect the article E on the station S, the control device 24 causes the sliding frame 21 to project and the CCD camera 26 to image the object 13 to be detected.
Based on the captured image, it is detected whether the position of the sliding frame 21 is appropriate. If the position of the sliding frame 21 is proper, the sliding frame 21 is raised by the lifting drive device 21d to collect the article E. If the position of the sliding frame 21 is improper, the sliding frame 21 is retired and then projected again,
The object 13 is imaged again. Still, if it is determined that the position of the sliding frame 21 is improper, the collection of the article E is stopped, the flow returns to the home station HP, and the fact that the article cannot be collected is transmitted to the home station HP.

If the content of the transfer operation command is to supply the article E to the station S, the control device 24 raises the sliding frame 21 and then projects it to capture an image of the detection target 13 with the CCD camera 26. Then, whether or not the position of the sliding frame 21 is appropriate is detected based on the captured image. If the position of the sliding frame 21 is proper, the sliding frame 21 is lowered to supply the article E. If the position of the sliding frame 21 is improper, the sliding frame 21 is retired and then protruded again to image the detection target 13 again. Still, if it is determined that the position of the sliding frame 21 is inappropriate, the supply of the article E is stopped, the flow returns to the home station HP, and the fact that the article cannot be supplied is transmitted to the home station HP.

In the home station HP which has received the transmission of the article recovery failure and the article supply failure, the signal is transmitted to the central control unit 40, and the central control unit 40 detects the article recovery failure and the article supply failure. Is notified to the operator.

Although omitted, the article transport vehicle A is provided with an optical sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the article E on the station S. Based on the detection result of this optical sensor, the station After detecting the existence of the above article E,
It is configured to execute the collection and supply of the article E described above.

[Other Embodiment] In the above embodiment, it is determined whether or not the center of the image picked up by the CCD camera 26 is within the circle 13a (diameter 10 mm) on the object 13 to be detected. Is detected as to whether or not the position of the sliding frame 21 is appropriate (a circle having a diameter of 10 mm) indicating whether or not the position of the sliding frame 21 is appropriate. The shape, size, and the like of the mark can be variously changed according to the range in which is possible. In the above embodiment, the detection target 1 is detected by the CCD camera 26.
Although the image of the circle 13a on 3 is taken to detect whether or not the position of the sliding frame 21 is appropriate, the detection method can be variously changed. For example, instead of the CCD camera 26, an optical sensor composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is provided on the tip end side of the sliding frame 21, and the detection target 13 may be configured by a reflection plate (for example, 10 mm in diameter). good. That is, when the light emitting element of the optical sensor is operated to irradiate the light toward the reflecting plate and the irradiated light is reflected by the reflecting plate, that is, when the reflected light is received by the light receiving element, the sliding frame 21 is received. May be determined to be appropriate. The article transport vehicle A of the above embodiment is configured to travel along a travel line G provided on the travel surface, but the travel direction detection device such as a gyro and the travel distance of the movable vehicle are provided to the article transport vehicle A. And a moving distance detecting device for detecting
The current position of the moving vehicle may be obtained from the detection information of these detecting devices, and the moving vehicle may be caused to travel along a preset course. In the above embodiment, a mark of stop position information using a light reflecting tape, a magnetic tape, or the like is provided on the traveling road surface,
The article transport vehicle A may be stopped at a predetermined position based on the information of the mark. In the above-described embodiment, the article transfer vehicle A is provided with the sliding frame 21 which is capable of moving up and down and up and down in the horizontal direction with respect to the vehicle body to transfer the articles. Can be changed. For example, a roller conveyor is provided on the article transport vehicle A and the station S, and the support F placed on the roller conveyor of the article transport vehicle A is pushed out in the direction of the station S, and the roller F is placed on the roller conveyor of the station S. It is also possible to provide a push-pull device having a function of pulling the placed support F onto the article transport vehicle, and to provide the CCD camera 26 at the tip side. In the above embodiment, after the sliding frame 21 is projected, C
The CD camera 26 is operated to detect whether or not the position of the sliding frame 21 is appropriate.
The CCD camera 26 is operated during the projecting operation for projecting the slide frame 21 or during the retreating operation for retreating the sliding frame 21, and when the CCD camera 26 detects the detection target 13, the sliding operation of the sliding frame 21 is performed. May be stopped to transfer the article E. In the above embodiment, the sliding frame 21 is projected twice, and if the position of the sliding frame 21 is still determined to be inappropriate, the collection or supply of the article E is stopped. However, the position of the sliding frame 21 may be corrected by moving the article transport vehicle A back and forth and correcting the stop position. The sliding frame 21 of the above embodiment is provided with a detection device for detecting whether the mounting position of the article on the sliding frame 21 is appropriate. The correction device for correction may be operated, or the fact may be communicated to the central control device to correct the article placement position.

In the claims, reference numerals are provided for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the attached drawings.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating the structure of an article transport vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the structure of an article transport vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining displacement of a sliding frame.

FIG. 4 is a layout diagram of an article transport facility.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart.

[Explanation of symbols]

 13 Detected object 21 Sliding frame 24 Control means 26 Detecting means S station

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B65G 1/00-1/20 G05D 1/00-1/12

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An apparatus for transferring articles to and from a station (S) so that the articles can be moved back and forth in a horizontal direction with respect to a vehicle body and up and down.
Frame (21) that can be moved up and down in the direction
An article transporting vehicle provided with control means (24) for controlling the operation of 1), wherein the sliding frame (21) is protrudingly operated at a tip end side of the sliding frame (21) and stopped. In this state, the detection target (13) provided in the station (S) is detected from above and below.
By acting, the two-dimensional object (13) is detected.
A contactless detecting means (26) for detecting whether the position of the sliding frame (21) with respect to the station (S) is appropriate by detecting a position in the direction; (24) An article transport vehicle configured to determine whether or not the projecting operation of the sliding frame (21) is appropriate based on a detection result of the detection means (26).