JP4358171B2 - Automated guided vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention, for example, a rare-earth alloy magnetic powder that rapidly undergoes oxidation in the atmosphere or an article such as a compression molded product of the powder in a specific gas or a specific gas in which the partial pressure of oxygen is maintained below a predetermined value. The present invention relates to an unmanned transport vehicle that holds and transports these articles, and an unmanned transport system that suitably uses the unmanned transport vehicle.

  For example, when a magnet is formed using a fine and active rare earth alloy powder, it is necessary to prevent rapid oxidation of the powder, and the steps of supplying, weighing, molding and sintering the powder have a low oxygen partial pressure. For example, it must be performed in a nitrogen atmosphere maintained (see Patent Document 1 or 2). In each of these processes, a processing unit that performs various types of processing inside each dedicated device or actually performs various processes is surrounded by a housing, etc., and the oxygen partial pressure of the gas inside the housing is managed, and more simply nitrogen replacement. It is considered possible to satisfy these needs.

  In general, these processing apparatuses are individually installed in a state along the processing steps. Here, for example, it seems that it is relatively easy to form a line from supply to weighing and molding. However, the molding apparatus and the sintering apparatus have various difficulties (upsizing, reduction in maintenance, etc.) due to the characteristics of the apparatus, and it seems that most cases are installed independently. Therefore, it is necessary to hold materials such as powder to be conveyed in a low oxygen atmosphere between these apparatuses. Note that various articles are normally conveyed between such processing apparatuses by a hand cart or an automatic guided vehicle system called AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle System).

JP 2001-323301 A JP 2002-088403 A JP 2003-309162 A JP 2003-095433 A

  A generally used automatic guided vehicle is used only to convey an article along a predetermined route. The article is held between a mechanism or a processing device that holds the article in a specific space during conveyance. There is no mechanism for sending and receiving. However, an automatic guided vehicle used for transporting a glass substrate or the like exceptionally in a so-called clean room is provided with these mechanisms from the viewpoint of always maintaining the substrate in a highly clean environment (Patent Document 3 and 4). In particular, in Patent Document 3, when an article is transferred, the automatic guided vehicle is pulled to the processing device by a traction means, and an article unloading portion of the automatic guided vehicle and an article unloading portion of the processing device maintain a predetermined distance (substantially close contact state). The structure which makes it the state to perform is disclosed. In this configuration, the automatic guided vehicle side door portion that is in close contact with the processing device is released from the inside of the processing device together with the processing device door, and the space inside the automatic guided vehicle and the space inside the processing device are directly communicated. This prevents the outside atmosphere from flowing into the apparatus.

  In the case of the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 3 that pulls the automatic guided vehicle itself, it is necessary to move the transported vehicle in a direction orthogonal to the moving path of the automatic guided vehicle. In this case, it is necessary to return the transport vehicle to the movement path after the exchange of the article with the processing apparatus is completed. In performing these series of operations, in order to move the automatic guided vehicle in a direction orthogonal to the movement route, it is necessary that the wheels or the like be directed in the direction. The addition of such a configuration may make it difficult to smoothly move the normal movement route of the automatic guided vehicle. Therefore, these configurations are considered to have many problems to be improved in view of the operation environment of the automatic guided vehicle.

  Furthermore, in order to arrange the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 3, a sufficient space for accommodating a device for opening and closing the automatic guided vehicle side door is secured in the processing device, and the transfer device is arm-and-operated. -Having a chuck-type robot is a prerequisite. If it is a manufacturing process for high value-added liquid crystal panels and semiconductor wafers, it is considered possible to make a large capital investment. However, in the magnet forming process described above, it is necessary to reduce the overall cost by measures such as minimizing the footprint (plane occupation area) of the entire process as much as possible and transporting the magnet after compression molding by a conveyor. Accordingly, in such a process, it is considered difficult to apply the automatic guided vehicle and the processing apparatus assuming the operation in the clean room as they are, considering the cost, the utility of the operating environment, and the like. In addition, for example, in an operating environment of an automatic guided vehicle as the subject of the present invention using an alloy powder, the powder can easily exist around the apparatus.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation. For example, rare earth alloy magnetic powder that rapidly undergoes oxidation in the atmosphere or an article such as a compression-molded product of the powder, a specific gas or partial pressure of oxygen. An object of the present invention is to provide an unmanned transport vehicle that holds the gas in a specific gas maintained at a predetermined value or less and transports these or a transport system that efficiently drives the transport vehicle.

  In order to solve the above problems, an automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention is an automatic guided vehicle that delivers an article to an article processing apparatus or receives an article from the article processing apparatus and conveys the article along a predetermined route. With respect to the direction in which the conveyance vehicle drive unit which takes a movement operation along a predetermined route in the automatic guided vehicle, the article storage box for holding the article, and the direction supported by the conveyance vehicle drive unit and orthogonal to the predetermined route And a box driving unit for holding the article storage box movably.

  In the above-described automatic guided vehicle, the article storage box preferably includes a closed space for storing the article and an opening provided in the closed space and capable of transferring the article to the article processing apparatus. Alternatively, the article storage box preferably has an article drive unit that exchanges articles with the article processing apparatus. Further, the above-described automatic guided vehicle further includes an article storage box gate unit at the above-described opening, and the article storage box gate unit is jointly provided with the article processing apparatus gate unit provided in the article processing apparatus. It is preferable that a space that passes when an article is transferred between the article storage box and the article processing apparatus is a closed space. Alternatively, it is preferable that the box drive unit described above can move the article storage box in a direction parallel to the predetermined path.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the automatic guided system according to the present invention is configured to move an automatic guided vehicle that delivers an article to the article processing apparatus or receives an article from the article processing apparatus along a predetermined route. An unmanned transport system for transporting a vehicle having an unmanned transport vehicle and a gate unit for an article processing device provided in the article processing device, the unmanned transport vehicle along a predetermined route in the unmanned transport vehicle An article storage box having an article storage box gate unit for carrying a moving operation, an article storage box holding an article, and an article supported in the carriage drive unit and orthogonal to a predetermined path A box drive unit that holds the storage box movably, and the article storage box gate unit is provided in the article processing apparatus. In conjunction with physical device gate unit, it is characterized in that the closed space a space through which the article is exchanged between the article storage box and the article processing apparatus.

  According to the automatic guided vehicle of the present invention, the present invention can be applied by using a known automatic guided vehicle and a transport route as they are without applying a design or management burden to the main body or the transport route. It is possible to transport a specific article and exchange the article with the article processing apparatus. In this case, even when it is difficult to reduce the distance between the article processing apparatus and the conveyance path due to the structure of the article processing apparatus, etc., it is possible to easily exchange articles with the processing apparatus. It becomes. Further, unlike the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 3, since there is no movement of the transport vehicle drive unit in a direction perpendicular to the normal traveling direction, the conventional drive system is used as it is as the drive system of the automatic guided vehicle. It is possible to reduce the cost when constructing the apparatus. For the same reason, it is not necessary to increase the strength of the transport system, and the weight can be reduced. In a clean room, air is supplied from the entire ceiling of the room through a filter, and the entire floor surface is covered with mesh-like so-called grating, so that air can be exhausted from the entire floor surface. The automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention is considered to be suitable for use in a clean room having a floor composed of so-called grating having a limitation in weight.

  In addition, the automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention can connect an opening of a region (box) that accommodates an article to a processing device opening, and can isolate the connection region from an external atmosphere. Therefore, even a highly reactive material such as the magnetic powder described above can be exchanged while suppressing the reaction in a specific atmosphere such as nitrogen. Even when the distance between the door portion and the door portion of the processing apparatus is not constant, it is possible to always give and receive articles while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship between them. Therefore, the transport vehicle drive unit in the transport vehicle is not required to have such a strict stop accuracy, and from this point of view, there are many configurations that can be used as the drive system of the automatic guided vehicle, Benefits such as cost reduction can be expected.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partial view of an automatic guided vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front and an article processing apparatus that exchanges articles with the automated guided vehicle. A schematic configuration is schematically shown. In addition, the article processing apparatus described here is used as a generic name for apparatuses that perform predetermined processing on articles such as magnetic powder. The automatic guided vehicle 1 shown in the figure has a transport vehicle drive unit 3, an article storage box 5, a support table 11, a box drive unit 15, and a stopper sensor 29. The transport vehicle drive unit 3 is, for example, a travel wheel that actually supports the drive unit 3 so as to be movable, a travel motor that applies driving force to the travel wheel, and a guide that determines the traveling direction of the drive unit 3. It is comprised by the drive unit for well-known automatic guided vehicles which has a sensor. Therefore, the description here is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the object storage box 5 has a substantially closed space 5a having an opening 5b that contributes to insertion / removal of articles because the object to be conveyed is held in a specific atmosphere such as nitrogen. is doing. A conveyor 7 is arranged inside the substantially closed space 5a so that articles can be easily inserted and removed through the opening 5b. The conveyor 7 has a pair of rollers arranged inside an annular belt belt that has a predetermined width and is continuous, and pulls the belt. The belt moves as the rollers rotate. It has a configuration. The conveyor may be a chain type conveyor using a sprocket instead of a roller and a chain instead of a belt, or a roller conveyor in which a large number of rollers are arranged. The conveyor 7 can be driven in a direction perpendicular to the opening 5b so that articles held on the conveyor 7 can approach or separate from the opening 5b. Accordingly, a conveyor driving device 7a is connected to the conveyor 7, and the transfer of the driving force from the conveyor driving device 7a is received by a roller to perform an actual article moving operation. The conveyor 7 and the conveyor driving device 7a together form an article driving unit.

  The opening 5b is normally closed by the gate door 9. Here, the opening 5b is set in advance so as to be positioned substantially opposite to the processing device opening 30b that allows insertion and removal of articles in the processing device 30. In addition, a processing device conveyor 31 for conveying articles is disposed inside the processing device. The conveyance level of the conveyor 7 possessed by the automatic guided vehicle 3 is set to be substantially the same as the conveyance level of the processing apparatus conveyor 31. In the present embodiment, the article is held inside the tray 13. Further, the processing apparatus 30 in the present embodiment transfers the tray 13 from the processing apparatus opening 30b.

  For this reason, the processing apparatus conveyor 31 is arranged in two series, and when one side of the tray 13 that does not hold an article is conveyed from the processing apparatus opening 30b to an article receiving position (not shown, right direction in the drawing). Is configured to convey the tray 13 holding the article from the other to the processing device opening 30b from the article receiving position. Each of these conveyors can move independently. When the tray 13 is transferred, when the tray 13 is received, one of the processing device conveyors 31 moves so as to coincide with the transport level of the conveyor 7, and the tray 13 13 is transferred, the other processing device conveyor 31 moves so as to match the transport level of the conveyor 7. Although the movement operation of these processing apparatus conveyors is performed by a conveyor support apparatus (not shown), since these configurations are not directly related to the present invention, the description thereof is omitted here.

  The transport vehicle drive unit 3 supports the box drive unit 15 via the support table 11, and further supports the article storage box 5 via the box drive unit 15. The box drive unit 15 includes a motor (and pinion gear) 17, a rack gear 19, a connecting member 21, a slider rail 23, and a slider bed 25. The motor 17 is fixed to the support table 11 and drives the pinion gear. The rack gear 19 extends in the driving direction of the article storage box 5 and is engaged with the pinion gear. The rack gear 19 is fixed to the article storage box 5 via the connecting member 21. The slider rail 23 extends in parallel with the rack gear 19 and supports the slider bed 25 in a slidable manner. The slider bed 25 is connected to the article storage box 5.

  The motor, pinion gear, rack gear, connecting member, slider rail, and slider bed function as a box drive unit 15 as a unit. Specifically, the pinion gear is rotated by the motor 17, and the rack gear 19 is driven accordingly. At this time, the rack gear 19 is driven only in the extending direction of the slider rail 23 by the action of the slider rail 23 and the slider bed 25. Driving the rack gear 19 is accompanied by driving the article storage box 5 via the connecting member 21. By arranging the box driving unit 15 described above, the article storage box 5 is arranged in a direction toward the processing device opening 30b of the processing device 30, more preferably in a bidirectional direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1. It becomes possible to move.

  A stopper sensor 29 is further fixed to the article storage box 5. The stopper sensor 29 is a so-called contact type position detection sensor. The stopper sensor 29 is connected to a control device (not shown) for the motor 17 in the box drive unit 15. When the detection portion of the sensor comes into contact with the reference point 33 formed in the processing device 30, the stopper sensor 29 has a predetermined distance between the gate door 9 in the article storage box 5 and the processing device gate door 35 in the processing device 30. It is detected that they are facing each other. In response to this detection operation, a signal is output from the stopper sensor 29, and in response to the output, the motor 17 is stopped (the movement of the article storage box 5 is stopped). In the present embodiment, the gate doors of the article storage box 5 and the processing apparatus 30 are illustrated as being substantially in contact with each other, but the predetermined interval described here does not mean only a substantially tight contact state. It is possible to maintain an interval that prevents the flow of outside air into the article storage box 5 and the processing apparatus 30 and allows the openings to communicate with each other, or an interval at which a mechanism that forms the state can be arranged. If so, the predetermined interval in the present invention is satisfied.

  In the present embodiment, a configuration including a conveyor as an article conveyance unit that accommodates articles in the tray 13 and conveys the tray 13 is illustrated. As described above, when an alloy magnetic powder or the like after compression molding is used as an article to be conveyed, it is possible to easily cope with the size of the molded product by using a tray, and at the same time, accompanying the conveyance. It is possible to prevent an unnecessary load from being applied to the molded product due to gripping or the like. In addition, by using the conveyor as a component conveying unit, the types of articles to be targeted become even wider. In addition, combined use with a tray eliminates unnecessary impact on molded products such as small magnets in the transported state (such as collapsed molded products such as magnets), making a favorable contribution to manufacturing efficiency. It is thought to do.

  However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the form of the article transport unit described here. For example, as a form in which a single article is conveyed by a conveyor, a combination of a so-called robot hand and a tray, which is expensive, a combination of a robot hand and a conveyor, etc., which is expensive, is constructed by combining various known conveyance devices. Also good. Furthermore, it is good also as a form which accesses the articles | goods in this box from the processing apparatus side, without arrange | positioning the mechanism which contributes to conveyance inside the articles | goods accommodation box 5. FIG. In addition, when the article is transferred, the conveyor on the processing apparatus side may move (extend) to the article storage box side.

  In the present embodiment, the box drive unit 15 is configured by a motor, an ack and pinion gear, a slider race, a slider head, and the like. This configuration is suitable for the automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention from the viewpoints of stability in the drive direction of the article storage box, controllability of the drive position, responsiveness when responding to the detection signal, and cost and reliability. It is preferably used for this. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the box drive unit. Any known so-called linear drive mechanism can be used as a box drive unit in the automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention as long as a certain degree of stopping accuracy can be ensured.

  Next, an example in which the automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention is used for conveying molded magnetic powder will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows a top view of the magnetic powder molding apparatus using the automatic guided vehicle and the automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention. The magnetic powder molding apparatus 100 includes a material supply unit 110, a weighing unit 120, a filling / magnetic field press molding unit 130, an alignment unit 140, and a transport zone 150. Each of these parts is configured by arranging a predetermined device in a casing isolated from the external atmosphere. The material powder mainly composed of rare earth alloy powder is brought into the material supply unit 110 by the capsule 102 that can hold the material powder in a nitrogen atmosphere. The capsules 102 set in the supply elevator 112 of the material supply unit 110 are transported by the elevator and taken out by a predetermined amount at a predetermined position. The material powder taken out by approximately a predetermined amount is made a predetermined amount by a stricter weighing in the weighing unit 120 and then filled in a molding die or the like.

  The material powder is further conveyed to the magnetic field press molding unit 130 and compression molded with a magnetic field applied in an arbitrary direction in the molding unit 130 to obtain a molded body before sintering treatment having a predetermined shape and strength. The molded body is taken out from the filling / magnetic field press molding unit 130 by the take-out robot 142 and placed on the tray 13 arranged in the alignment unit 140. When a predetermined number of molded bodies are placed on the tray 13, the tray 13 is transported toward the processing device opening 30 b in the transport zone 150 by the processing device conveyor 31 disposed in the transport zone 150. .

  The automatic guided vehicle 1 according to the present invention moves along the transport line 50 while the molded body is manufactured inside the magnetic powder molding apparatus 100. At that time, the vehicle is temporarily stopped at the reference position 50a. Depending on the transport state of the tray 13 in the transport zone 150, the automatic guided vehicle 1 further moves to the transfer position 50b. The transfer position 50b is set so that the opening 5b in the automatic guided vehicle 1 and the processing device opening 30b in the transfer zone 150 face each other. After stopping at the position, the article storage box 5 is driven by the box drive unit 15 in the direction of the processing device opening 30b (direction substantially perpendicular to the transfer line 50), and the opening 5b and the processing device opening 30b are predetermined. The positional relationship of The operation details of the automatic guided vehicle 1 and the transfer operation of the tray 13 between the automatic guided vehicle 1 and the magnetic powder molding apparatus 100 serving as the processing device 30 have already been described in the previous embodiment, and therefore the description here is omitted. Omitted.

  In the present embodiment, it is necessary to transfer the molded body (molded magnetic powder) before the sintering process from the processing apparatus 30 to the automatic guided vehicle 1 in a state of being held in a nitrogen atmosphere. In the present embodiment, when the automatic guided vehicle opening 5b and the processing apparatus opening 30b are connected, a unique gate mechanism is provided that isolates the connecting portion from the external atmosphere. The gate mechanism will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 schematically shows a schematic configuration of the gate mechanism at the connecting portion of the automatic guided vehicle opening 5b and the processing device opening 30b as viewed from the side. The gate mechanism 60 includes a processing apparatus gate unit 61 and an article storage box gate unit 71 having substantially the same configuration as the unit 61. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation state of the processing device gate unit 61 in time series, and the gate unit 61 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C showing the state of the unit viewed from the side as in FIG. 3. The processing apparatus gate unit 61 corresponds to the processing apparatus gate door 35 shown in a simplified manner in FIG. 1, and the article storage box gate unit 71 corresponds to the gate door 9.

  The processing apparatus gate unit 61 includes a collar portion 62, a drive cylinder 63, a drive shaft 64, a valve member support 65, a link mechanism 66, a valve member 67, a purge mechanism 68 (consisting of 68a and 68b), and a stopper. A mechanism 69 is provided. The valve member 67 has substantially the same shape as the opening shape of the processing device opening 30b, and has a flat plate shape that is slightly larger than the opening. An annular valve seal member 67b is arranged on the processing device side surface 67a of the valve member 67 so as to cover the periphery of the opening 30b when the processing device opening 30b and the valve member 67 are opposed to each other. Is fixed. The valve member 67 and the peripheral wall of the opening 30b come into contact with each other via the valve seal member 67b and come into close contact with each other, whereby the inside of the processing apparatus 30 can be isolated from the external atmosphere.

  The valve member 67 is supported by the valve member support 65 via the link mechanism 66. The link mechanism 66 is a parallel link mechanism, one end of which is pivotally supported by the valve member support 65 by the first pin 66a, the second pin 66b, and the first pin 66a, and the second pin 66b. Thus, the other end has a link 66c pivotally supported by the valve member 67. The first pin 66a, the second pin 66b, and the link 66c are arranged at two locations on the valve member 67 so as to be spaced in parallel in the driving direction of the driving shaft 64 described later. . When the pair of links 66c in the link mechanism 66 rotate while maintaining a substantially parallel state, the distance between the valve member 67 and the valve member support 65 can be changed. Therefore, the distance between the valve member 67 and the opening 30b can be changed by keeping the distance between the valve member support 65 and the processing device opening 30b constant and driving the link mechanism 66.

  A collar 62 is disposed around the processing apparatus opening 30b and on the outer wall of the processing apparatus where the valve member 67 and the like are disposed. The collar portion 62 has an internal width and height that can accommodate the valve member 67 and the valve member support body 65 that supports the valve member 67 in a state where the valve member 67 completely opens the processing device opening 30b. It consists of members. One end of the member is connected to the outer wall of the processing apparatus, and a collar portion seal member 62a covering the annular end surface is fixed on the other end surface. A purge mechanism 68 having a gas introduction system 68a that introduces a specific gas into the annular interior and a gas exhaust system 68b that allows the gas inside the annular interior to be discharged to the outside is connected to the collar portion 62. The gas introduction system 68a is connected to a gas supply facility (not shown), and the gas exhaust system 68b is connected to a gas exhaust facility (not shown), so that the gas inside the ring can be replaced.

  The valve member support 65 is connected to one end of a substantially rod-shaped drive shaft 64 so that the valve member support 65 can move substantially in parallel to the outer wall of the processing apparatus inside the collar portion 62. The other end of the drive shaft 64 is connected to a cylinder shaft of a drive cylinder 63 disposed outside the collar portion 62. The drive shaft 64 extends through the collar portion 62, and a seal member (not shown) is disposed in the penetrating portion to prevent the annular inner portion and the outer portion of the collar portion 62 from communicating with each other. The drive shaft 64 is driven in the extending direction by the drive cylinder 63, and the valve member support 65 is moved by driving in the extending direction of the drive shaft 64 (extension / contraction operation).

  On the moving shaft of the valve member support 65 or in the vicinity thereof and inside the annular portion of the collar portion 62, the end of the valve member support 65 and the valve member 67 that is opposite to the side where the drive shaft 64 is disposed. A stopper mechanism 69 is provided that abuts against and defines these stop positions. The stopper mechanism has a valve member roller stopper 69a and a support stopper 69b. These stoppers differ in the rising height from the inner peripheral part of the collar part. That is, the contact surface of the valve member roller stopper 69a with the valve member 67 is arranged at a position where the valve member 67 stops its movement at a position facing the opening 30a. Further, the contact surface of the support member stopper 69b with the valve member support 65 is different from the valve member stopper 69a so that the valve member stopper 69a and the valve member 67 can move after contact. Placed in position. More specifically, when the valve member support 65 further moves in a state where the movement of the valve member 67 is stopped, the link 66c in the link mechanism 66 starts to rotate. The support stopper 69b is disposed at a position where the rotation is stopped immediately before the pair of parallel links 66c are positioned in the direction perpendicular to the opening 30a. The valve member roller stopper 69a has a roller disposed in a contact portion with the valve member 67 so that the valve member 67 in the contact state can slide in the direction toward the opening 30a. Has been.

  When the drive shaft 64 extends inside the collar portion 62 and drives the valve member support 65 and the valve member 67 to the closed position of the opening 30b, the valve member 67 first comes into contact with the valve member roller stopper 69a to drive. Stop axial movement. In this state, the valve sealing member 67b included in the valve member 67 faces the processing apparatus outer wall that forms the periphery of the processing apparatus opening 30b. Here, when the valve member support 65 is further moved, the link 66c to which the first pin 66a is fixed rotates around the pin 66a. Since the valve member support 67 is restricted from moving in the axial direction by the valve member roller stopper 69a, the rotation center of the link 66c on the valve member support side does not move in the axial direction. For this reason, with the rotation of the link 66c, an urging force is generated that presses the rotation center on the valve member side toward the processing device opening 30b. The movement of the valve member support 65 is stopped by the support member stopper 69b when the urging force that presses the valve member 67 generated by the link mechanism 66 toward the processing device opening 30b becomes substantially maximum. In other words, in this embodiment, the opening operation of the opening 30b of the valve member 67 is moved to each of the open / closed positions only by driving the drive shaft 64, and the opening 30b is sealed by applying a biasing force to the valve sealing member 67b. Done.

  FIG. 4A shows a state where the opening 30b is sealed by the valve member 67 by the above operation. 4B and 4C show each state when the valve member 67 opens the opening 30b. 4B, as the drive shaft 64 moves backward, the valve member support 65 is first separated from the support stopper 69b. As a result, the link 66c starts to rotate about the pin 66a, the urging force applied to the valve member 67 by the link 66c is lost, and the valve seal member 67a is separated from the processing apparatus outer wall (seal surface). Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4C, the valve member 67 is moved together with the valve member support 65, and the opening 30b is opened.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the article storage box gate unit 71 has the same configuration as the processing apparatus gate unit 61 except for the purge mechanism 68 and the collar portion seal member 62a. That is, each configuration of the processing device gate unit 61 in the gate unit 71 is similar to the configuration in which the opening 5b of the article storage box 5 and the processing device opening 30b face each other and have substantially the same shape and size. The corresponding configuration has substantially the same shape and size. Accordingly, the end face of the collar member 72 of the gate unit 71 has a size and shape corresponding to the end face of the collar portion 62 in the processing apparatus gate unit 61. Both collar members form a closed space by sandwiching the collar portion sealing member 62a between the end faces of the collar members.

  Next, the actual opening communication operation will be described with reference to FIGS. When the automatic guided vehicle 1 stops at the transfer position 50b on the transport line, the box storage unit 15 moves the article storage box 5 toward the opening 30b. At this stage, the processing device gate unit 61 closes the processing device opening 30b, and the article storage box gate unit 71 closes the opening 5b. The article storage box 5 is driven toward the processing device 30 and the end portion of the collar portion 72 approaches the collar portion seal member 62 a in the collar portion 62. The article storage box 5 is moved until the stopper sensor 29 issues a detection signal indicating that the article storage box 5 and the processing device 30 are at a predetermined distance. The movement of the article storage box 5 is stopped by the detection signal, and the box and the device face each other with a predetermined interval.

  At this stage, the seal member 62a is sandwiched between the end faces of both collar portions with a predetermined urging force. Thereby, the space surrounded by both the collar members becomes a closed space. Next, the purge mechanism 68 is used to replace the gas inside the closed space formed by both collar portions with a specific gas such as nitrogen. After completion of the replacement, the processing apparatus gate unit 61 opens the processing apparatus opening 30b according to a series of operations shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C. The article storage box gate unit 71 also drives the article storage box valve member 77 and the article storage box valve member support 75 in the same procedure as the processing apparatus gate unit 61 to open the opening 5b. To do. In a state where both openings are opened, the conveyor 7 and the processing apparatus conveyor 31 are driven, and the transfer operation of the tray 13 between the article storage box 5 and the processing apparatus 30 is performed.

  In the gate mechanism 60 described here, it is necessary that the end surfaces of both the collar portions abut against each other. In the case of this embodiment, since a conveyor is used for the article transport unit, the positional accuracy in the vertical direction is relatively high, and it is considered easy to satisfy the condition of the collar portion contact. However, it is difficult to increase the condition of contact of the collar portion in the moving direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1, that is, the stop position accuracy in the moving direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1, and to increase the tolerance of the position shift of the collar 72 and the seal member 62a. This is also the case. In this case, for example, a sliding mechanism including a slide rail and a slide head is provided so that the article storage box 5 can be slightly slid in the moving direction of the transport vehicle, and a guide mechanism is disposed on the processing apparatus side. It is preferable. By disposing the configuration, it is possible to reliably form a substantially closed space even with a relatively simple configuration.

  As described above, by carrying out the present invention, the article storage box 5 is moved so as to maintain a predetermined distance from the processing apparatus 30, and the two openings communicate with each other through the closed space by the gate mechanism. It becomes possible to make it. Therefore, it is possible to perform an operation for exchanging articles between the article storage box 5 and the processing apparatus 30 in a predetermined atmosphere. In this embodiment, the gate mechanism 60 has a configuration in which a valve member is disposed outside the opening. By setting it as the said structure, it becomes possible to bring the effective conveyance area | region of a conveyor as close as possible to the vicinity of an opening part. Therefore, it seems most suitable for the configuration using a conveyor and a tray as in this example. However, the gate mechanism to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to this example. For example, the valve member may be used in the apparatus. That is, various gate mechanisms can be used as long as these openings can be held in a closed space when both openings are communicated.

  Specifically, the gate door that closes the opening of the article storage box has substantially the same structure as the door that closes the opening of the box such as FOUP, and the collar for the processing device side instead of the collar of the article storage box. Only the sealing surface that comes into contact with the member may be formed. In this case, the inside of the processing apparatus and the closed space are communicated with each other in such a manner that the processing apparatus door and the gate door for the article storage box are simultaneously stored on the processing apparatus side. By disposing the configuration for opening these doors and the like on the processing apparatus side, it is possible to form the closed space only by the collar portion on the processing apparatus side. By adopting this configuration, the structure of the article storage box can be simplified.

  The present invention is a process for molding a rare earth alloy magnetic powder, and is described for an automatic guided vehicle mainly used in a transfer process from a molding apparatus to a sintering apparatus. However, the application range of the automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention is not limited to the magnet manufacturing process. The automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention can be used for various manufacturing processes using a highly reactive material typified by rare earth alloy magnetic powder. In addition, depending on conditions, the automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention can be used for manufacturing various articles that are desired to be held and transferred in a predetermined atmosphere, such as various articles manufactured in a so-called clean room. Is usable. That is, the present invention can be used as an automatic guided vehicle that can easily exchange an article between a device that stores the article or a device that discharges the article and an automatic guided vehicle that transports the article.

It is a figure showing the schematic structure of the automatic guided vehicle concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the magnet molding line as an example using the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the gate mechanism used suitably as an automatic guided system when using the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an opening part opening procedure sequentially in time series about one gate unit in the gate mechanism shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an opening part opening procedure sequentially in time series about one gate unit in the gate mechanism shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an opening part opening procedure sequentially in time series about one gate unit in the gate mechanism shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Automatic guided vehicle 3: Transport vehicle drive unit 5: Goods storage box 7: Conveyor 9: Gate door 11: Support table 13: Tray 15: Box drive unit 17: Motor 19: Rack gear 21: Connecting member, 23: Slider rail, 25: Slider head, 29: Stopper sensor, 30: Processing device, 31: Processing device conveyor, 33: Reference point, 35: Gate door for processing device, 50: Transfer line, 60: Gate mechanism, 61: Gate unit for processing apparatus, 62: Collar section, 63: Drive cylinder, 64: Drive shaft, 65: Valve member support, 66: Link mechanism, 67: Valve member, 68: Purge mechanism, 69: Stopper mechanism, 71: Gate mechanism for article storage box, 72: Article storage box collar section, 75: Article storage box 77: Valve member support for goods, 77: Valve member for article storage box, 100: Magnetic powder molding device, 102: Capsule, 110: Material supply unit, 112: Elevator, 120: Weighing filling unit, 130: Magnetic field press molding unit, 140: alignment unit, 142: take-out robot, 150: transfer zone

Claims (5)

An automatic guided vehicle that delivers an article to the article processing apparatus or receives the article from the article processing apparatus and conveys the article along a predetermined route;
A transport vehicle drive unit responsible for a movement operation along the predetermined route in the automatic guided vehicle;
An article housing that can contain the article, and has an opening for delivering or receiving the contained article to the article processing apparatus, and an article carrying unit that carries the article for delivery and receipt. Box and
A box drive unit supported by the transport vehicle drive unit and slidably supporting the product storage box so that the product storage box and the transport vehicle drive unit are relatively movable. ,
The box drive unit holds the article storage box movably relative to the transport vehicle drive unit in both directions orthogonal to the predetermined path, and the unattended when stopped at a predetermined position. A support position of the article storage box in the transport vehicle and a position for delivering and receiving the article between the article processing apparatus and an opening of the article processing apparatus and an opening of the article storage box An automatic guided vehicle , wherein the article storage box is slid between a position facing a part with a predetermined interval therebetween . The article storage box further includes a stopper sensor,
The stopper sensor detects that the opening of the article processing apparatus and the opening of the article storage box are opposed to each other with the predetermined distance therebetween, and stops the operation of the box driving unit. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1. The article storage box gate unit is further disposed in the opening, and the article storage box gate unit cooperates with the article processing apparatus gate unit provided in the article processing apparatus. the article processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 AGV according to, characterized in that the closed space a space through which the article is exchanged between the. The article storage box gate unit is further disposed in the opening, and the article storage box gate unit cooperates with the article processing apparatus gate unit provided in the article processing apparatus. A space that passes when the article is exchanged with the article processing apparatus is a closed space ,
The stopper sensor is configured such that an interval at which a sealing member disposed in at least one of the article storage box gate unit and the article processing apparatus gate unit exhibits a sealing action to form the closed space is the predetermined interval. The automatic guided vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the automatic guided vehicle is detected . The box drive unit, AGV according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that to enable moving the article storage box in a direction parallel to said predetermined path

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