JP3920628B2 - Operation control method and operation control device for stacker crane in automatic warehouse - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an operation control method and an operation control device for a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse, and in particular, when an abnormality in the load shape of a load stored in a lifting carriage of the stacker crane is detected, an operation for correcting the load shape of the load is performed. The present invention relates to an operation control method and an operation control device for a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse that is suitable for performing work safely without any trouble.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a plan configuration of a main part of an automatic warehouse in which a conventional stacker crane of this type is used. As shown in the figure, an automatic warehouse 1 is disposed on both sides of a traveling area of a stacker crane 20 for loading and unloading a load W, a stacker crane 20 for loading and unloading a load W, and a plurality of storage units. The storage shelves 30 and 30 having 31 are formed.
[0003]
The station 10 includes a storage unit 12 for receiving the load W and a discharge unit 13 for discharging the load W, and is installed at, for example, end portions of the storage shelves 30 and 30. Between the warehousing part 12 and the leaving part 13 is an intrusion area of the stacker crane 20, and a safety fence 11 is provided so as to surround the intrusion area. As shown in FIG. 2, the safety fence 11 is U-shaped when viewed from above, and side fences 11a and 11b are provided on both sides, and a front fence 11c is provided on the front side. Further, a safety fence door 14 is provided on the front fence 11c.
[0004]
The front fence 11c is provided with a ground control device 40 that automatically outputs various operation control signals to the station 10 and the stacker crane 20 and allows the operator to output various operation control signals manually. Incidentally, 41 is a safety fence door opening-closing sensor for detecting opening and closing of the safety Sakutobira 14.
[0005]
The stacker crane 20 includes two masts 21, 21 erected on a carriage (not shown) that can travel on a traveling rail 23, and a lifting carriage 27 that moves up and down between the masts 21, 21. The elevating carriage 27 is provided with a slide fork 22 that slides in the horizontal direction, and the load fork W is delivered by the slide fork 22 at a position facing the loading / unloading units 12 and 13 of the station 10 and the storage unit 31 of the storage shelf 30. It has become. Further, a stacker crane control device 50 is provided in front of one mast 21 (left side of the figure) for automatically driving the stacker crane 20 or manually operating it by an operator. Reference numeral 24 denotes a travel motor for the stacker crane 20, 25 denotes a lift motor for the lift carriage 27, and 26 denotes a slide fork motor for the slide fork 22.
[0006]
In the automatic warehouse 1, the load W delivered to the loading position 12b of the warehousing unit 12 of the station 10 by a transport device (not shown) such as a forklift or a conveyor moves in the warehousing unit 12 to a predetermined position 12a. . The load W is received in the elevating carriage 27 by the slide fork 22 of the elevating carriage 27 of the stacker crane 20 that is stopped facing the predetermined position 12a. Thereafter, the stacker crane 20 and the lift carriage 27 move to the designated storage portion 31 of the storage shelf 30, and the load W in the lift carriage 27 is stored (entered) in the storage portion 31 by the slide fork 22. In the case of unloading, the load W is received in the lifting carriage 27 from the designated storage unit 31 by the reverse operation, and the stacker crane 20 and the lifting carriage 27 are opposed to the predetermined position 13 a of the unloading unit 13 of the station 10. The load W is transferred to the position, and the load W is delivered by the slide fork 22, and the unloading unit 13 moves the load W to a transfer position 13b to a transfer device such as a forklift or a conveyor.
[0007]
In the automatic warehouse 1 described above, during the operation of receiving the load W from the storage unit 12 by the slide fork 22 into the elevating carriage 27, it is checked whether there is any abnormality in the load form of the load W. Conventionally, when an abnormality is detected, the operation is stopped on the spot or the load W is returned to the warehousing unit 12 and then an abnormality alarm is issued to stop the automatic operation. After switching the ground control device 40 to the manual mode, the worker opens the safety fence door 14 of the safety fence 11 and enters the safety fence 11, confirms the state of the load W, and sets the stacker crane control device 50. After manually moving the load W to the warehousing unit 12 or retracting the stacker crane in the direction of arrow A, the work of correcting the load form of the load W had to be performed.
[0008]
Manual operation of the stacker crane control device 50 is troublesome for workers.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and eliminates the troublesome manual operation of the worker when the load of the load accommodated in the lifting carriage of the stacker crane from the station is abnormal, and the safety of the worker. It is an object of the present invention to provide an operation control method and an operation control device for a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse that can ensure the safety.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, the invention according to claim 1 includes a station, a storage shelf, and a stacker crane, and the stacker crane carries the load from the station to the storage shelf and unloads the load from the storage shelf to the station. in the operation control method of the stacker crane in an automated warehouse, when detecting the packing abnormality of the load upon receiving the load placed on the station lifting carriage of the stacker crane, return the該荷to the station, Thereafter the stacker crane without trouble of packing correction operation or the like of the load in the station by the operator, and is moved automatically to a safe position, the automatic operation of the stacker crane stops, is then provided to the station and the door of the safety fence is opened to cut off the power supply to the stacker crane And butterflies.
[0011]
When a load appearance abnormality is detected as described above, the load is returned to the station, and then the stacker crane is not interfered with the work of correcting the load state of the load at the station by the worker, and is safe. automatically moved to the position, the automatic operation of the stacker crane is stopped, the by then initially prevents the door of the safety fence provided in the station is opened the power supply to the stacker crane, worker manually operated Thus, the troublesomeness of operating the stacker crane can be eliminated, and the safety of workers can be ensured.
[0012]
According to a second aspect of the invention, station, comprising a storage shelf and the stacker crane, the load by the stacker crane from the loading and the storage shelf from the station to the storage shelves of the stacker crane in an automated warehouse for unloading to the station operation control device, the operation control device comprises a ground train control unit and the stacker crane controller, the stacker crane control device packing style when accommodating a load which is placed on the station to the lifting carriage of the stacker crane If the sensor detects the packing abnormality of the load, return the load to the station, no hindrance to the packing correction work such as the load on the relevant station by the operator to thereafter stacker crane, and a safe location a control function of moving automatically, ground controller stacker clay Stopping the automatic operation function of the safety fence door sensor that the door is opened the safety fence provided in subsequent stations, characterized in that it has a function to cut off the power supply to the stacker crane when detecting .
[0013]
When a load appearance abnormality is detected as described above, the load is returned to the station, and then the stacker crane is placed in a safe position without any trouble in the work of correcting the load form at the station by the worker. automatically has moved to control functions, the ground controller, the automatic operation function of the stacker crane is stopped, after which the safety fence door sensor that the door of the safety fence provided in the station is opened When detected, the power supply to the stacker crane is interrupted, so that the troublesomeness of the operator to operate the stacker crane as described above can be eliminated and the safety of the worker can be ensured.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of an operation control device for a stacker crane according to the present invention. The basic configuration of the automatic warehouse in which the stacker crane according to the present invention is used is substantially the same as that of the conventional automatic warehouse shown in FIG.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 3, the operation control device for a stacker crane according to the present invention includes a ground control device 40 and a stacker crane control device 50. The ground control device 40 sends various command signals to the stacker crane control device 50, and the stacker crane control device 50 controls the traveling motor 24, the lifting motor 25 and the fork drive motor 26 based on the command signals, and the stacker crane control device 50 Operation control of the traveling of the crane 20, the lifting / lowering of the lifting / lowering carriage 27, and the sliding movement of the slide fork 22 is performed.
[0018]
The ground control device 40 includes a safety fence door opening / closing sensor 41 provided on the safety fence 11, a station load sensor 42 provided on the station 10, and a restart button provided on the safety fence 11 or the ground control device 40. 43 and preferably each signal from a safety plug switch (not shown) provided in the safety fence door 14 is input.
[0019]
The stacker crane control device 50 is inputted with a detection signal from a load state detection sensor 51 for detecting a load state abnormality of the load W when the load W is taken into the elevating carriage 27 by the slide fork 22. When a detection signal for a load state abnormality is input from the load state detection sensor 51, the stacker crane control device 50 sends a signal to an abnormality signal output means 52 such as an alarm device to notify the outside of the abnormality. . In addition, the stacker crane control device 50 transmits the current position of the stacker crane 20, various detection signals, the above-described load state abnormality signal, and the like to the ground control device 40.
[0020]
Next, operation control of the stacker crane will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a control flow of the operation control device of the stacker crane according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the stacker crane according to the present invention. First, the warehousing operation is started with the stacker crane 20 during automatic operation. When the load W at the predetermined position 12a of the storage unit 12 of the station 10 is received by the slide fork 22 in the lift carriage 27 of the stacker crane 20, the load shape detection sensor 51 determines whether or not the load shape of the load W is abnormal. (Step ST1). If an abnormality in the load appearance of the load W is detected when the load is stored, the load W is immediately returned to the predetermined position 12a of the storage unit 12 (step ST2).
[0021]
Whether or not the load W has been returned to the station 10 is detected by the station load presence sensor 42 (step ST3). If there is a load W in the storage unit 12 of the station 10, the stacker crane 20 is moved as shown in FIG. There is no hindrance to the work of correcting the load appearance of the load W of the worker, and it is automatically moved to a safe retreat place (step ST4). In step ST3, if the station load sensor 42 cannot detect the load W, the load W is moved from the lift carriage 27 of the stacker crane 20 to the storage unit 12 of the station 10 due to a failure of the slide fork 22, for example. If not, an abnormal signal is output from the stacker crane control device 50 to the abnormal signal output means 52, and an alarm is issued (step ST5).
[0022]
After the stacker crane 20 has moved to the evacuation place, the stacker crane control device 50 outputs an abnormal signal to the abnormal signal output means 52. The abnormal signal output means issues an alarm and the automatic operation of the stacker crane 20 is interrupted. (Stop) (step ST6). Whether or not the worker has opened the safety fence door 14 is detected by the safety fence door opening / closing sensor 41 (step ST7), and when the worker opens the safety fence door 14, the power supply to the stacker crane 20 is cut off. (Step ST8). At this time, it is preferable that the safety fence door 14 is not opened unless an operator removes a safety plug (not shown) of a safety plug switch provided on the safety fence door 14.
[0023]
After the worker corrects the load appearance of the load W in the area B shown in FIG. 5, the safety fence door opening / closing sensor 41 detects whether or not the worker has closed the safety fence door 14 (step ST9). . When the worker closes the safety fence door 14, it is determined whether or not the worker has turned on the restart button 43 (step ST10). When the worker turns on the restart button 43, the power supply to the stacker crane 20 is resumed, and the automatic operation of the stacker crane 20 is resumed (step ST11). At this time, it is preferable that the power supply to the stacker crane 20 is configured not to be resumed unless the removed safety plug is inserted into the safety plug switch provided in the safety fence door 14.
[0024]
As described above, when an abnormality in the load form of the load W is detected by the load form detection sensor 51, the load W is returned to the storage unit 12, the stacker crane 20 is moved to the evacuation place, and at least the stacker crane 20 Since the automatic operation is stopped, it is possible to eliminate the troublesome operation of the stacker crane 20 by the manual operation of the worker and to ensure the safety of the worker.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the invention described in each claim, the following excellent effects can be obtained.
[0026]
According to the invention described in claim 1, when a load appearance abnormality is detected when a load placed on the station is accommodated in the lifting carriage of the stacker crane , the load is returned to the station, Thereafter the stacker crane is no trouble of packing correction operation or the like of the load in the station by the operator, and is moved automatically to a safe position, the automatic operation of the stacker crane is stopped, is then provided to the station When the safety fence door is opened, the power supply to the stacker crane is cut off, so that the troublesome work of operating the stacker crane by the manual operation as described above is eliminated and the safety of the worker is ensured. be able to.
[0027]
According to the invention described in claim 2, if the packing style detection sensor upon receiving a load that is placed on the station to the lifting carriage of the stacker crane has detected the packing abnormality of the load, load After that, there is a control function that automatically moves the stacker crane to a safe position without any trouble in the work of correcting the load of the load at the station by the worker. the automatic operation function of the stacker crane is stopped, because the safety fence door sensor that the door of the safety fence provided in subsequent stations are opened to cut off power supply to the stacker crane when it detects a manual worker The troublesomeness of operating the stacker crane as described above can be eliminated by the operation, and the safety of the worker can be ensured.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a plan configuration of a main part of an automatic warehouse in which a conventional stacker crane is used.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a safety fence.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of an operation control device for a stacker crane according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a control flow of an operation control device for a stacker crane according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram of the stacker crane according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
12 Warehousing part 13 Unloading part 30 Storage shelf 31 Storage part

Claims (2)

In the operation control method of a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse comprising a station, a storage shelf, and a stacker crane, and loading the load from the station to the storage shelf and unloading the load from the storage shelf to the station by the stacker crane,
When detecting the packing abnormality of the load upon receiving a load that is placed on the station to the lifting carriage of the stacker crane returns the該荷to the station, the by worker to thereafter stacker crane There is no hindrance to the load correction work of the load at the station and it is automatically moved to a safe position.
Wherein the automatic operation of the stacker crane is stopped, then the door of the safety fence provided in the station is opened operation control method of the stacker crane in an automated warehouse, characterized in that cutting off the power supply to the stacker crane. Station, comprising a storage shelf and the stacker crane, the operation control device for a stacker crane in an automated warehouse for unloading from the loading and the storage shelf from the station to the storage shelf to the station a load by the stacker crane,
The operation control device comprises a ground control device and a stacker crane control device,
The stacker crane control device, when the packing style detection sensor upon receiving a load that is placed on the station to the lifting carriage of the stacker crane has detected the packing abnormality of the load, the said load There is a control function to return to the station, and then automatically move the stacker crane to a safe position without any trouble in the work of correcting the load on the station at the station .
The ground controller, the automatic operation function of the stacker crane is stopped, the power supply to the subsequent the safety fence door sensor that the door of the safety fence provided in the station has been opened is detected stacker crane An operation control device for a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse characterized by having a function of blocking .

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