JP3563282B2 - Self-propelled trolley - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a self-propelled carriage used for transporting pallets to an automatic warehouse.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an automatic warehouse consisting of a receiving rack having a number of shelves for storing pallets, and a stacker crane running along the receiving rack and transporting the pallets to the respective shelves of the receiving rack, a stacker crane on a rack of the receiving rack is usually used. The dimension in the moving direction is a value that allows for a pallet conveyance error in order to prevent the pallet from contacting the shelf frame when the pallet is transferred from the stacker crane to the shelf. Therefore, by suppressing the transport error, the occupied area of the shelf is reduced, and as a result, the number of shelves in the automatic warehouse can be increased.
[0003]
The stacker crane is configured so that the center in the traveling direction exactly matches a predetermined position for performing the pallet delivery operation or the center of the shelf of the cargo receiving shelf, and stops in order to suppress a transport error.
In addition, there is a demand for a self-propelled truck used for pallet transport to an automatic warehouse to be accurately stopped at a predetermined position. A conventional self-propelled trolley is directly attached to a trolley body, and a sensor for detecting a detection plate provided at a predetermined position on the automatic warehouse side, and a traveling drive device receiving a detection signal of the detection plate by the sensor. A traveling control device for controlling the speed, and stopping the vehicle with the center in the traveling direction coincided with a predetermined position on the automatic warehouse side.
[0004]
Therefore, the conventional pallet delivery operation between the self-propelled trolley and the stacker crane is performed in a state where the centers of both the stacker crane and the self-propelled trolley in the traveling direction coincide at a predetermined position on the automatic warehouse side.
However, if the center of the pallet loaded on the self-propelled trolley is shifted from the center of the self-propelled trolley, the pallet is delivered with the stacker crane and the center of the self-propelled trolley aligned. The displacement with respect to the traveling carriage is directly the displacement with respect to the stacker crane, and there has been a defect that the displacement amount becomes a transport error.
[0005]
Therefore, in the conventional self-propelled truck, for a given position of the stacker crane and the automatic warehouse side, the center in the direction of travel accurately to conform be configured to stop, for the stacker crane and self run dolly It was not possible to suppress the transport error caused by the shift of the center of the pallet.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the present invention, a stop position sensor of a self-propelled truck is operated so as to coincide with a position corresponding to the center of the pallet in the traveling direction when the pallet is loaded, and a predetermined position on an automatic warehouse side for performing pallet delivery work with a stacker crane. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled carriage that stops when the center of the pallet matches the position of the pallet.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In a self-propelled bogie that transports pallets to an automatic warehouse, a pair of centering arms are arranged so that the pallets are sandwiched from both sides in the traveling direction of the bogie, and a pair of centering arms that mesh with and interlock with a pinion on each formed rack. a sensor which moves following the movement of the rotation axis of the pinion, and a car detection plate stops provided on the warehouse side position, a travel drive device for moving the self-propelled carriage, said sensor of the stop detection plate It is provided with a travel control device that controls the travel drive device in response to a detection signal generated by detecting a position .
[0008]
Each of the pair of centering arms is provided with a cylinder that applies a biasing force so as to sandwich the pallet from both sides in the traveling direction of the bogie. Further, the piston rod is connected to one centering arm, and the cylinder tube is connected to the other centering arm. A biasing force is applied to the pair of centering arms so that one cylinder holds the pallet from both sides in the traveling direction of the bogie. Must be granted. Further, a pinion meshed with a rack formed on each of the pair of centering arms is rotated by a driving device, and an urging force is applied to each of the pair of centering arms so as to sandwich the pallet from both sides in the traveling direction of the bogie. It is in.
[0009]
[Action]
After the pallet is placed on the roller conveyor in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction on the self-propelled trolley, the stopper is provided at one end of the roller conveyor and the pallet is positioned in the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the pallet with respect to the self-propelled trolley. .
Next, the pallet is sandwiched between a pair of centering arms from both sides in the traveling direction. Thereby, the sensor which is a component of the centering device moves to a position corresponding to the center of the pallet via the respective racks formed at the opposite end portions of the pair of centering arms and the pinions meshing with the racks. .
[0010]
Then, the self-propelled trolley is moved to a predetermined position on the automatic warehouse side while the sensor is at a position corresponding to the center of the pallet. At a predetermined position on the automatic warehouse side, a detection plate is installed, and when the self-propelled trolley moves, the sensor detects the detection plate and emits a signal, and the traveling control device receiving this signal drives the traveling drive device. Is stopped, and the self-propelled vehicle stops when the sensor matches the detection plate.
Therefore, the self-propelled carriage stops when the sensor is positioned corresponding to the center of the pallet and the center of the sensor and the center of the detection plate match, so that the center of the pallet matches the center of the detection plate. .
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cargo receiving shelf comprising a number of shelves, which are provided in two rows in parallel. Then, a stacker crane 3 travels on a travel path 2 provided between the load receiving shelves 1.
The self-propelled trolley 4 travels on an L-shaped travel path 5 composed of a travel path 5a provided parallel to the travel path 2 and a travel path 5b orthogonal to the travel path 5a. Note that a turntable 6 for changing the direction of the self-propelled vehicle 4 is provided at the intersection of the running path 5 a and the running path 5 b of the L-shaped running path 5.
[0012]
The stop detection plate 7 is a detection plate for stopping the self-propelled trolley, and is provided so as to coincide with a front ground position (hereinafter, referred to as a warehouse position) of a load receiving shelf along the L-shaped travel path 5. ing.
In this embodiment, in addition to the above, the stop detection plate 7 is provided so as to match the factory side position of the traveling path 5b and the home position at the intersection of the traveling paths 5a and 5b.
[0013]
The deceleration detection plate 8 is a detection plate provided at a position where the self-propelled carriage 4 starts decelerating, and is provided at a position corresponding to the home position, the factory side position, and the warehouse side position. It is provided with a certain interval.
The loading / unloading position of the traveling path 2 is a position where the stacker crane 3 performs pallet delivery work with the self-propelled carriage 4, and the stacker crane 3 is stopped with the center aligned with the loading / unloading position. I do.
[0014]
Next, an embodiment of the self-propelled carriage 4 will be described with reference to the drawings.
2, 3 and 4, wheels 10 are rotatably mounted on the four corners of the bogie frame 9 in plan view. One of the wheels 10a in the lateral direction B is mounted on an output shaft of a traveling drive device 11 mounted on the bogie frame 9, and the other wheel 10b is mounted on a shaft 12. The shaft 12 and the output shaft of the traveling drive device 11 are connected by a connecting shaft 13 and a coupling 14. The self-propelled carriage 4 includes a pair of roller conveyors 16 on which pallets 15 are placed at both ends in the traveling direction, and a stopper 20 formed at a transfer end of the roller conveyor 16. The roller conveyor 16 is driven by a conveyor driving device (not shown).
[0015]
The self-propelled carriage 4 is provided with a centering device 18 for detecting the center of the pallet 15 by sandwiching the pallet 15 loaded on the roller conveyor 16 from both sides in the traveling direction of the self-propelled carriage 4. The centering device 18 includes a pair of centering arms 17 having rack gears 24a, 24b formed on the opposite side of the inner end and projections 23a, 23b at the outer end abutting on the side surface of the pallet 15, and both rack gears 24a. , 24b meshed at two locations in the diameter direction, a block 26 that moves together with the rotation shaft 27 of the pinion 19, and a block 26 that is attached to the block 26 and has the same space on both sides in the bogie traveling direction with the rotation shaft 27 as a boundary. It is composed of a pair of sensors 30a and 30b that are spaced apart.
[0016]
The centering arm 17 includes frames 21a and 21b supported on the outer surface of the bogie frame 9 by a linear motion bearing 22 so as to be movable in the bogie traveling direction, and an L-shape extending from the outer ends of the frames 21a and 21b. Arm bodies 21a 'and 21b', projections 23a and 23b attached inward to the distal ends of the arm bodies 21a 'and 21b', and rack gears 24a and 24b attached to the inner ends of the frames 21a and 21b. And the electric cylinders 25a and 25b connected to the arm bodies 21a 'and 21b'. The electric cylinders 25a and 25b move by a given distance by being given a biasing force. The urging force of the electric cylinders 25a and 25b is set so that the centering arm 17 can move, but not enough to move to the pallet 15.
[0017]
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the block 26 supporting the rotation shaft 27 of the pinion 19 is formed by a roller 28b abutting on an upper surface of a portion where the rack gear 24b of the frame 21b is formed and a rack gear 24a of the frame 21a. The roller 28a contacting the lower surface of the part and the contact plates 29a and 29b contacting both side surfaces of the frames 21a and 21b are contacted to eliminate the axial movement (play) of the rotating shaft 27 so that the frame 21a When the frame 21a, 21b moves relative to each other and the pinion 19 rotates to move the rotation shaft 27, the block 26 and the sensors 30a, 30b follow the rotation shaft 27. It is designed to move.
[0018]
The pair of centering arms 17 are normally in a closed state, and are opened during pallet receiving and transferring operations. In addition, the centering device 18 uses the center of the self-propelled carriage 4 as the origin of movement, and when deviated from the origin, the pair of centering arms completely open symmetrically to return to the origin.
Although the pair of rack gears 24a and 24b and the pinion 19 are used as constituent members of the centering device 18 in this embodiment, a pin rack may be used instead of the rack gear, and a sprocket may be used instead of the pinion. .
[0019]
FIG. 7 is a block diagram for controlling the traveling of the self-propelled trolley 4, and includes sensors 30a and 30b, a traveling driving device 11, and a traveling control device 31.
The sensors 30a and 30b detect the stop detection plate 7 or the deceleration detection plate 8 and emit a signal, and the travel control device 31 controls the speed of the travel drive device 11 according to the signal. I do.
[0020]
Next, a process of transporting the pallet 15 by the stacker crane 3 and the self-propelled carriage 4 will be described.
The stacker crane 3 takes out the pallets 15 stored in the respective shelves of the load receiving shelf 1, moves to the loading / unloading position on the traveling path 2, and stands by at the loading / unloading position. Next, the self-propelled trolley 4 waiting at the home position moves to the warehouse side position of the L-shaped travel path 5 and receives the pallet 15 from the stacker crane 3 at the warehouse side position.
[0021]
The self-propelled trolley 4 having received the pallet 15 moves to the factory side position via the home position, and the load is loaded on the pallet 15 by the automatic hoist at the factory side position.
The self-propelled trolley 4 moves to the warehouse side position again, and transfers the pallet 15 on which the goods are loaded at the warehouse side position to the stacker crane 3 waiting at the storage side position. Then, the stacker crane 3 moves to a predetermined shelf of the cargo receiving shelf 1 and stores the pallet 15 on which the load is placed on the shelf.
The pallet 15 is conveyed as described above.
[0022]
Next, in the pallet transport process described above, the self-propelled trolley 4 performs the centering operation of the pallet 15 when the pallet 15 is received from the stacker crane 3 at the warehouse side position.
First, the electric cylinders 25a and 25b are operated to open the pair of centering arms 17. The pallet 15 is placed on the roller conveyor 16 by the stacker crane 3, moved by the roller conveyor 16, and stopped by the stopper 20. Thereby, the position of the pallet 15 on the self-propelled carriage 4 in the lateral direction B is determined.
[0023]
Next, the electric cylinders 25a and 25b are operated to close the pair of centering arms 17 until the projections 23a and 23b contact both end surfaces of the pallet 15. That is, the pallet 15 is sandwiched between the pair of centering arms 17. When the pair of centering arms 17 having the rack gears 24a and 24b move, the pinion 19 meshing with the rack gears 24a and 24b is rotated, and the block 26 operates following the movement of the rotation shaft 27.
[0024]
Here, the operation of the centering device 18 by sandwiching the pallet 15 between the pair of centering arms 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.
8, a line X in the figure is a line passing through the center of the pinion 19. Now, let K be the distance from the end faces of the projections 23a and 23b to the end face of the pallet 15 when the center line Y of the pallet matches the center line X and the pair of centering arms 17 are not moving. Assume that the center line Y of 15 is shifted leftward from the center line X by a distance L.
[0025]
When the two electric cylinders 25a and 25b are contracted to move the pair of centering arms 17 so as to sandwich the pallet 15, the left protrusion 23a is positioned at the position of the distance K 'shorter than the distance K by the distance L'. The centering arm on the left side stops when it comes into contact with the left end face of No. 15. On the other hand, only the right centering arm moves in the direction approaching the pallet 15 because the right projection 23b is located at a distance 2L twice the distance L from the right end face of the pallet 15. I do. In the case of a tuning mechanism of a pair of rack gears and a pinion, when the pinion is rotated, both rack gears are simultaneously moved by the same distance, and conversely, when both rack gears are simultaneously moved by the same distance, the pinion is rotated at a fixed position.
[0026]
Therefore, the pinion 19 rotates on the center line X while the rack gear 24a and the rack gear 24b are both moving the distance K '.
Next, as shown in FIG. 9, when the left rack gear 24a stops and only the right rack gear 24b moves, the pinion 19 moves to the left by a distance L that is half the moving distance 2L of the rack gear 24b. At this time, the engagement length between the pinion 19 and the rack gear 24a and the engagement length between the pinion 19 and the rack gear 24b are L. Since the pinion 19 moves to the left by the distance L as described above, the pinion 19 moves in the same direction and the same distance as the shift of the pallet 15.
[0027]
A pair of sensors 30a and 30b are attached to the block 26 at the same interval on both sides in the traveling direction of the self-propelled bogie with respect to the center line X, that is, the rotation axis 27, and the center line X of the pinion 19 and the pallet When the center line Y of the pair 15 coincides, the center line Z between the pair of left and right sensors 30a and 30b also coincides with the center line Y of the pallet 15.
On the other hand, when the center line Y of the pallet is shifted to the right with respect to the center line X, the above-described operation is performed in reverse, and the pallet 15, the pinion 19 and the pair of left and right sensors The center lines X, Y, and Z of the respective 30a, 30b will coincide. As described above, the centering operation of the pallet 15 is performed.
[0028]
In this embodiment, a pair of centering arms 17 having a pair of rack gears 24a and 24b are moved by respective electric cylinders 25a and 25b, and a block 26 and sensors 30a and 30b are moved following a rotation shaft 27 of a pinion 19. However, as another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the piston rod of the electric cylinder 32 is connected to one centering arm, and the cylinder tube of the electric cylinder 32 is connected to the other centering arm. Even when the pair of centering arms 17 are moved, the synchronizing mechanism between the pair of rack gears 24a and 24b and the pinion 19 is the same, so that the above-described centering operation of the pallet 15 can be performed similarly.
[0029]
In addition, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, instead of the electric cylinder, a rotation driving device 34 is attached to the block 26, a pinion 19 is mounted on the output shaft of the rotation driving device 34, and the pinion 19 is rotated. Even when the pair of centering arms 17 are moved, the centering operation of the pallet 15 can be performed.
Reference numeral 33 in the drawing denotes a stopper for limiting the moving distance of the pair of centering arms 17 and returning the pinion 19 to the origin, and is mounted on the bogie frame 9 symmetrically.
[0030]
After the centering operation of the pallet 15, the self-propelled carriage 4 reciprocates on the L-shaped running path 5 with the pallet 15 sandwiched between the pair of centering arms 17, and moves again to the warehouse side position.
During this movement, when the pair of sensors 30a and 30b detect the deceleration detection plate 8 provided on the near side of the warehouse side position, a signal is issued to the travel control device 31. When receiving signals from both of the pair of sensors 30a and 30b, the traveling control device 31 reduces the speed of the traveling driving device 11 and decelerates the self-propelled carriage 4.
[0031]
Thereafter, the self-propelled trolley 4 moves further while decelerating, and the pair of sensors 30a and 30b detect the stop detection plate 7 provided at the warehouse side position in the same manner as the detection plate 8 and the travel control device. A signal is issued to 31. When receiving signals from both the pair of sensors 30a and 30b, the travel control device 31 stops the travel drive device 11. Thereby, the self-propelled carriage 4 stops when the center line X between the pair of sensors 30a and 30b matches the center line Z of the stop detection plate 7.
[0032]
As described above, the self-propelled trolley 4 is in the warehouse side position in a state where the center line X between the pair of sensors 30a and 30b coincides with the center line Y of the pallet 15 and the detection plate 7 provided in the warehouse side position. Stop after matching the center line Z.
Therefore, the self-propelled carriage 4 stops when the center of the pallet 15 is aligned with the warehouse side position.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
The self-propelled carriage according to the present invention can stop the vehicle by aligning the center of the loaded pallets with a predetermined position at which the pallet is transferred to and from the stacker crane.
Thereby, it is possible to transfer the pallet to the stacker crane without any displacement, and it is possible to eliminate a transport error caused by the displacement that has been added to the length dimension of the shelf of the load receiving shelf, The capacity of the automatic warehouse can be increased.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a transport path between an automatic warehouse and a factory.
FIG. 2 is a front view of a self-propelled carriage according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway plan view of the self-propelled bogie of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line CC of FIG. 3;
5 is an enlarged front view of the periphery of a block constituting the centering device; FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway view of a block constituting the centering device, and is a side view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram for controlling traveling of the self-propelled carriage.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the alignment device.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the alignment device.
FIG. 10 is a front view of a self-propelled carriage according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a front view of a self-propelled carriage according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is an enlarged side view in which a block constituting the centering device in FIG. 11 is partially cut away.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Receiving rack 3 Stacker crane 4 Self-propelled trolley 5 L-shaped running path 7 Stop detection plate 8 Deceleration detection plate 9 Truck frame 11 Travel drive device 15 Pallet 16 Roller conveyor 17 A pair of centering arms 18 Alignment device 19 Pinion 20 Stoppers 21a, 21b Frames 23a, 23b Projections 24a, 24b Rack gears 25a, 25b Electric cylinder 26 Blocks 30a, 30b Sensor 31 Travel control device 32 Electric cylinder 34 Rotation drive device

Claims (4)

In a self-propelled bogie that transports pallets to an automatic warehouse, a pair of centering arms are arranged so that the pallets are sandwiched from both sides in the traveling direction of the bogie, and a pair of centering arms that mesh with and interlock with a pinion on each formed rack. a sensor which moves following the movement of the rotation axis of the pinion, and a car detection plate stops provided on the warehouse side position, a travel drive device for moving the self-propelled carriage, said sensor of the stop detection plate A self-propelled bogie comprising: a travel control device that controls the travel drive device in response to a detection signal generated by detecting a position . 2. The self-propelled truck according to claim 1, wherein each of the pair of centering arms includes a cylinder that applies a biasing force so as to sandwich the pallet from both sides in the traveling direction of the truck. The piston rod is connected to one centering arm, and the cylinder tube is connected to the other centering arm. A biasing force is applied to the pair of centering arms so that one cylinder sandwiches the pallet from both sides in the traveling direction of the bogie. The self-propelled trolley according to claim 1, wherein: A pinion meshed with a rack formed on each of the pair of centering arms is rotated by a driving device, and an urging force is applied to each of the pair of centering arms so as to sandwich the pallet from both sides in the traveling direction of the bogie. The self-propelled trolley according to claim 1, characterized in that:

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