JP4900063B2 - Evacuation device for automated guided vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a retractor for an automatic guided vehicle, and in particular, when an automatic guided vehicle traveling on a traveling path stops due to an abnormality occurring under a plurality of carriages arranged in a line in a predetermined section of the traveling path. The present invention relates to an apparatus for retracting an automatic guided vehicle out of a traveling path.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a transport system that transports luggage or the like using a plurality of automatic guided vehicles that travel on a travel path while detecting a guide wire such as a magnetic tape disposed on the travel path is known. In such a conveyance system, when an automatic guided vehicle stops due to an abnormality such as a failure during traveling, the automatic guided vehicle that has stopped abnormally does not immediately interfere with the traveling of other automatic guided vehicles. It is desirable to evacuate outside the travel path.
However, the automatic guided vehicle often has a motor with a brake as its driving unit, and when the automatic guided vehicle stops abnormally, the motor becomes unable to rotate due to the action of the brake, and the automatic guided vehicle is pushed by hand. Therefore, it is difficult to evacuate the road.

  Therefore, for example, in the automatic guided vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1, a plurality of emergency legs are respectively attached to the vehicle body so as to be able to be lifted and lowered. The idle wheel attached to the tip of the vehicle is grounded to lift the vehicle body, and the idle vehicle wheel can be used to push and move the vehicle body manually.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-65616

  By the way, apart from the automatic guided vehicle as disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is an automatic guided vehicle that can be moved under the cart to convey the cart. In such a transport system using an automatic guided vehicle, a plurality of carts are arranged in a line in a predetermined section of a traveling path on which the automatic guided vehicle travels, and each cart is used as a work table for assembling equipment and the like. In some cases, an assembly line in a factory or the like is configured by conveying a carriage with an automatic guided vehicle.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the automatic guided vehicle 1 travels on the travel path 2 in the direction of the arrow while detecting the guide line 3 disposed on the travel path 2. The carriage C is conveyed by raising the connecting pin 5 from the upper part of the vehicle body 4 and connecting it to the carriage C. In addition, a plurality of carriages C are arranged in a line in the predetermined section S of the traveling path 2, and the automatic guided vehicle 1 conveys a new carriage C to the tail of the plurality of carriages C along the traveling direction, Therefore, the connecting pin 5 is lowered and the carriage C is separated. Thereafter, the automatic guided vehicle 1 travels on the traveling path 2 and passes under the plurality of carriages C and stops when it reaches the leading carriage C. Here, the connecting pin 5 is raised to the carriage C. In this state, the vehicle travels again and transports the carriage C to a desired location. The plurality of carriages C in the predetermined section S are configured to be moved in the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1 by a transport device (not shown).

However, in the assembly line as described above, when the automatic guided vehicle 1 passes under the plurality of carriages C and stops due to an abnormality such as a failure, the emergency use as disclosed in Patent Document 1 Even if the automatic guided vehicle 1 is made movable by using the legs, in order to retract the automatic guided vehicle 1 out of the traveling path 2, the cart C on the automatic guided vehicle 1 and the carts C before and after that It is necessary to move the plurality of carriages C, which may require a lot of labor and time.
The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a retractor for an automatic guided vehicle that can retract the automatic guided vehicle out of the traveling path easily and in a short time. And

The automatic guided vehicle evacuation device according to the present invention is configured such that when the automatic guided vehicle traveling on the traveling path stops due to an abnormality occurring under a plurality of carriages arranged in a line in a predetermined section of the traveling path, In a device for retracting a vehicle out of a traveling path, the apparatus has a groove formed in the traveling path so as to extend under a plurality of carriages arranged in a predetermined section of the traveling path, and a long shape. A traction member housed in the groove and having a number of locking portions arranged along the length thereof, and a traction member attached to the vehicle body of the automatic guided vehicle so as to be movable up and down and housed in the groove A locking means for locking to any one of the multiple locking portions, and a release mechanism for releasing the drive unit of the automated guided vehicle that has stopped abnormally , Formed from chains each having chain elements as the locking portions , Locking means is inserted into any of a number of chain elements in the chain is formed from the insertion pin to be engaged, when the AGV is abnormally stopped under multiple carriages, the insertion of the AGV It lowers the pin releases the driving portion of the AGV by a release mechanism with engaged to one of the chain elements of a number of chain elements in the chain which is housed in the groove, it pulls the chain in this state Thus, the automatic guided vehicle is moved along the groove via the insertion pin and pulled out from one end in the arrangement direction of the plurality of carriages.

  According to the present invention, when an automated guided vehicle has an abnormality under a plurality of carriages, the automated guided vehicle can be easily and quickly retreated from the traveling path without moving the plurality of carriages. it can.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 (a) and 1 (b) show a retractor for an automated guided vehicle according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. This retracting device is for retracting the automatic guided vehicle 11 out of the traveling path 2 when the automatic guided vehicle 11 stops due to an abnormality such as a failure. The travel path 2 is partitioned on the floor of a factory or the like so as to define the travel route of the automatic guided vehicle 11, and a guide wire 3 made of magnetic tape or the like is disposed along the travel path 2. . The automatic guided vehicle 11 travels on the travel path 2 in the direction of the arrow while detecting the guide line 3.

  A plurality of carriages C are arranged in a line in the predetermined section S set in the traveling path 2, and the traveling path 2 extends linearly below the plurality of carriages C in the predetermined section S. A groove 12 is formed. A long chain 13 is accommodated in the groove 12 as a pulling member of the present invention. The groove 12 is arranged in parallel to the guide line 3 of the traveling path 2 and at a position that does not hinder the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle 11.

  Each carriage C has wheels 14 and is movable. In addition, the automatic guided vehicle 11 is formed at a height that allows the automatic guided vehicle 11 to move below the carriage C. The automatic guided vehicle 11 is raised and lowered by an unillustrated driving device on the upper portion of the vehicle body 15 of the automatic guided vehicle 11. A connecting pin 16 is provided for connecting to the connector.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the automatic guided vehicle 11 is configured such that the vehicle body 15 moves above the groove 12, and the lower portion of the vehicle body 15 corresponds to the groove 12. In the position, an insertion pin 17 as a locking means of the present invention is disposed so as to be able to move up and down. An operation portion 18 mechanically coupled to the insertion pin 17 is disposed on the side of the vehicle body 15, and the insertion pin 17 can be moved up and down by operating the operation portion 18. ing. Further, the chain 13 accommodated in the groove 12 has a large number of chain elements 19, and these large number of chain elements 19 are connected to each other and formed in a chain shape. It extends in a straight line. Each chain element 19 is used as a locking portion that can insert and lock the insertion pin 17.

  The automatic guided vehicle 11 has a release mechanism (not shown) for releasing the drive unit of the automatic guided vehicle 11 that has stopped abnormally inside the automatic guided vehicle 11. The release mechanism is inserted into the insertion pin 17 via the operation unit 18. When the vehicle is lowered, the drive unit of the automatic guided vehicle 11 is automatically released. Here, releasing the drive unit of the automatic guided vehicle 11 means, for example, releasing a brake that operates on the drive wheel 11a of the automatic guided vehicle 11 or a brake that operates on a motor (not shown) for driving the drive wheel 11a by a release device. In other words, the automatic guided vehicle 11 can be moved by towing or pushing.

  Next, the operation of the retractor for the automatic guided vehicle 11 having the above-described configuration will be described. First, at the normal time when the automatic guided vehicle 11 is not abnormal, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the insertion pin 17 is raised by the operation unit 18 of the automatic guided vehicle 11. The lower end portion of the insertion pin 17 is positioned above the road surface of the traveling path 2. In this state, the automatic guided vehicle 11 raises the connecting pin 16 to be connected to the carriage C, and conveys the carriage C by traveling on the traveling path 2 in the direction of the arrow while detecting the guide wire 3. .

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the automatic guided vehicle 11 transports a new carriage C toward the tail end of the plurality of carriages C in the predetermined section S, and stops when reaching the tail end of the plurality of carriages C. Then, the carriage C is separated by lowering the connecting pin 16. Thereafter, the automatic guided vehicle 11 travels on the traveling path 2 and passes under the plurality of carriages C as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle stops when it reaches the top carriage C among the plurality of carriages C in the predetermined section S, and the connection pin 16 is raised to connect to the carriage C. As shown in FIG. 6, the automatic guided vehicle 11 transports the cart C to a desired place by traveling again on the traveling path 2 while being connected to the cart C. The plurality of carriages C in the predetermined section S can be moved in the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1 by a not-shown transfer device.
Each carriage C can be used as a work table for assembling equipment and the like, and the predetermined section S of the traveling path 2 can be used as an assembly line or the like.

Here, when the automated guided vehicle 11 passes under a plurality of carriages C in a predetermined section S and stops due to an abnormality such as a failure, it is shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b). When the operator operates the operation portion 18 of the automatic guided vehicle 11 to lower the insertion pin 17 and inserts the lower end portion of the insertion pin 17 into the groove 12, the lower end portion of the insertion pin 17 is moved to the groove 12. It is inserted into one chain element 19 located immediately below the insertion pin 17 among the many chain elements 19 constituting the chain 13 accommodated therein and locked.
Further, when the operation unit 18 is operated in this way and the insertion pin 17 is lowered, the drive unit of the automatic guided vehicle 11 is automatically released by a release mechanism (not shown), and the automatic guided vehicle 11 is freely moved. It becomes possible.

In this state, the operator holds the one end portion of the chain 13 located in the vicinity of the leading carriage C among the plurality of carriages C in the predetermined section S and pulls the chain 13 through the insertion pin 17. The automatic guided vehicle 11 is moved in the traveling direction along the groove 12 and pulled out from below the plurality of carriages C. Thus, the automatic guided vehicle 11 pulled out from under the plurality of carriages C is moved out of the traveling path 2 by being pulled by the chain 13 or pushed by hand.
It is preferable that the chain 13 is accommodated in the groove 12 again after the automatic guided vehicle 11 is pulled out from below the plurality of carriages C.

  As described above, since the automatic guided vehicle 11 is moved by engaging the insertion pin 17 of the automatic guided vehicle 11 with the corresponding chain element 19 of the chain 13 and pulling the chain 13, the plurality of carriages C are moved. The automatic guided vehicle 11 can be pulled out from the bottom of the plurality of carriages C without making it. Therefore, the automated guided vehicle 11 that has stopped abnormally can be easily retreated from the traveling path 2 in a short time, and this assembly line can be quickly restored.

  Further, since the insertion pin 17 of the automatic guided vehicle 11 is locked to the chain 13 accommodated in the groove 12, when the chain 13 is pulled, the chain 13 moves along the groove 12, whereby the automatic guided vehicle 11. Is also moved linearly in the traveling direction along the groove 12, and therefore the automatic guided vehicle 11 can be easily pulled out from below the plurality of carriages C via the chain 13.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, a retracting device for automatic guided vehicle 21 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the second embodiment, in the retracting device of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a long belt 22 having a number of locking grooves 23 formed on the upper surface thereof is housed instead of the chain 13. is there. A number of locking grooves 23 are arranged along the length direction of the belt 22. Further, a meshing member 24 as a locking means of the present invention is disposed at the lower part of the vehicle body 15 of the automatic guided vehicle 21 so as to be movable up and down, and a lower end portion 25 of the meshing member 24 is formed on the upper surface of the belt 22. It is formed in a shape that can mesh with any four locking grooves 23 adjacent to each other among the many locking grooves 23. In other words, any four of the locking grooves 23 adjacent to each other among the multiple locking grooves 23 of the belt 22 are used as locking portions for meshing and locking the meshing member 24.

  In this automatic guided vehicle 21 as well, the operation unit 18 disposed on the side of the vehicle body 15 is mechanically connected to the meshing member 24, and the meshing member 24 is moved up and down by operating the operation unit 18. It is configured to be able to. Further, the automatic guided vehicle 21 also has a release mechanism (not shown) for releasing the drive unit of the automatic guided vehicle 21 that has stopped abnormally, and the engagement member 24 is lowered via the operation unit 18 as well. Then, the drive unit of the automatic guided vehicle 21 is automatically released.

In the retracting device having such a configuration, the engagement member 24 is raised by the operation unit 18 of the automatic guided vehicle 21 in a normal state, and the lower end portion 25 of the engagement member 24 is more than the road surface of the traveling path 2. Located above.
Here, when the automated guided vehicle 21 passes under the plurality of carriages C in the predetermined section S and stops due to an abnormality such as a failure, the operator operates the operation unit 18 of the automated guided vehicle 21. Is operated to lower the engagement member 24 and the lower end 25 thereof is inserted into the groove 12, the lower end 25 of the engagement member 24 is out of the many locking grooves 23 of the belt 22 accommodated in the groove 12. The four engaging grooves 23 positioned immediately below the lower end 25 are engaged and locked.
Further, when the meshing member 24 is lowered through the operation unit 18 in this way, the drive unit of the automatic guided vehicle 21 is automatically released by a release mechanism (not shown).

In this state, the operator pulls the belt 22 to move the automatic guided vehicle 21 in the traveling direction along the groove 12 via the meshing member 24 and pulls it out from below the plurality of carriages C. Thus, the automatic guided vehicle 21 pulled out from under the plurality of carriages C is moved out of the traveling path 2 by being pulled by the belt 22 or pushed by hand.
In addition, it is preferable that the belt 22 is accommodated in the groove 12 again after the automatic guided vehicle 21 is pulled out from below the plurality of carriages C.

As described above, since the automatic guided vehicle 21 is moved by engaging the engaging member 24 of the automatic guided vehicle 21 with the corresponding locking groove 23 of the belt 22 and pulling the belt 22, the plurality of carriages C can be moved. The automatic guided vehicle 21 can be pulled out from below the plurality of carriages C without being moved. Further, since the meshing member 24 of the automatic guided vehicle 21 is locked to the belt 22 accommodated in the groove 12, the automatic guided vehicle 21 is linearly moved along the groove 12 together with the belt 22, Thus, the automatic guided vehicle 21 can be easily pulled out from under the plurality of carriages C.
Therefore, the same effect as in the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

  Note that the lower end portion 25 of the meshing member 24 can be formed in a shape that can mesh with three or less locking grooves 23 or five or more locking grooves 23 adjacent to each other.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
In the first embodiment described above, instead of using the line-shaped chain 13 whose both ends are separated from each other, as shown in FIG. 9, an endless chain 31 connected in a ring shape can be used. Here, the chain 31 is rotatably supported by a pair of rotation supports 32 at both ends in the length direction, and is accommodated in a groove 33 formed to have a predetermined depth in the travel path 2. ing. Further, a rotating device (not shown) is connected to one rotating support 32, and the rotating device 32 is manually operated to rotate the rotating support 32 to rotate the chain 31 in one direction. The upper half is configured to be moved in the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 11 along the vicinity of the opening of the groove 33.

  Similar to the groove 12 in the first embodiment, the groove 33 is also formed to extend linearly under the plurality of carriages C in the predetermined section S. Further, the vehicle body 15 of the automatic guided vehicle 11 is configured to move above the groove 33, and an insertion pin 17 is disposed at a position corresponding to the groove 33 at the lower part of the vehicle body 15. Furthermore, the chain 31 is also a chain formed by connecting a large number of chain elements 19 to each other.

  When the automated guided vehicle 11 passes under the plurality of carriages C in the predetermined section S and stops due to an abnormality such as a failure, the operator operates the operation unit 18 of the automated guided vehicle 11. By lowering the insertion pin 17, the lower end portion of the insertion pin 17 is positioned immediately below the insertion pin 17 among the many chain elements 19 located in the upper half of the chain 31 accommodated in the groove 33. Inserted into one chain element 19 and locked. Further, when the insertion pin 17 is lowered through the operation unit 18 in this way, the drive unit of the automatic guided vehicle 11 is automatically released by a release mechanism (not shown).

  In this state, when the operator manually operates a rotating device (not shown) to rotate the rotation support body 32 and rotate the chain 31 in one direction, the upper half of the chain 31 is the traveling direction of the automatic guided vehicle 11. The automatic guided vehicle 11 is moved in the traveling direction along the groove 33 via the insertion pin 17 and pulled out from below the plurality of carriages C. Thus, the automatic guided vehicle 11 pulled out from under the plurality of carriages C is moved out of the traveling path 2 by being pushed by hand.

As described above, since the automatic guided vehicle 11 is moved by engaging the insertion pin 17 with the corresponding chain element 19 of the chain 31 and rotating the chain 31, the unmanned transport vehicle 11 is moved without moving the plurality of carriages C. The transport vehicle 11 can be pulled out from below the plurality of carriages C. Since the insertion pin 17 of the automatic guided vehicle 11 is locked to the chain 31 accommodated in the groove 33, the automatic guided vehicle 11 is linearly moved along the groove 33 together with the upper half of the chain 31, The automatic guided vehicle 11 can be easily pulled out from below the plurality of carriages C via the chain 31.
Therefore, the same effect as in the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

  In addition, in the third embodiment, since the chain 31 is rotated in the groove 33 without being taken out of the groove 33, the automatic guided vehicle 11 is pulled out from below the plurality of carriages C by the rotation of the chain 31. Even later, there is no need to house the chain 31 in the groove 33 again, and the work of retracting the automatic guided vehicle 11 out of the traveling path 2 can be performed more easily.

  In addition, although it was comprised so that the rotation support body 32 might be rotated by operating manually the rotation apparatus which is not shown in figure, instead, a drive source is connected to the rotation apparatus which is not shown in figure, and a rotation apparatus is used by this drive source. The rotary support 32 can also be configured to be driven to rotate.

  In addition, the belt 22 in the above-described second embodiment can also be configured to be formed in an annular shape and rotatably supported by a pair of rotation support bodies 32, similarly to the chain 31 shown in FIG. Also in this case, in a state where the meshing member 24 of the automatic guided vehicle 21 is meshed with the corresponding locking groove 23 of the belt 22, the rotation support body 32 is rotated via a rotation device (not shown) to move the belt 22 in one direction. By rotating, the automatic guided vehicle 21 can be moved along the groove 33 via the meshing member 24 and pulled out from under the plurality of carriages C.

In the first to third embodiments described above, the automatic guided vehicles 11 and 21 are moved in the traveling direction via the chains 13 and 31 and the belt 22 so as to be pulled out from the head side of the plurality of carriages C in the predetermined section S. Instead, the automatic guided vehicles 11 and 21 are moved in the direction opposite to the traveling direction via the chains 13 and 31 and the belt 22 and pulled out from the rearmost side of the plurality of carts C in the predetermined section S. It can also be configured as follows.
In addition, when the insertion pin 17 and the engagement member 24 of the automatic guided vehicles 11 and 21 are lowered via the operation unit 18, the driving unit of the automatic guided vehicles 11 and 21 is automatically released by a release mechanism (not shown). Instead, manual operation means (not shown) is provided in the automatic guided vehicles 11 and 21, and the manual operation means is operated by an operator so that the drive unit of the automatic guided vehicles 11 and 21 is released. You can also.

  Moreover, in the above-described first to third embodiments, the operation unit 18, the insertion pin 17, and the engagement member 24 of the automatic guided vehicles 11 and 21 are mechanically connected, but the present invention is not limited to this. An elevating device for elevating and lowering the insertion pin 17 and the engagement member 24 is provided, and a switch electrically connected to the elevating device is disposed on the side of the vehicle body 15 of the automatic guided vehicles 11 and 21, and this switch is operated. Thus, the insertion device 17 and the engagement member 24 may be moved up and down by electrically driving the lifting device.

The predetermined section S of the travel path 2 is not limited to the assembly line described above, and can be used as various work lines for performing predetermined work.
Further, the retracting device of the present invention is not limited to the automatic guided vehicles 11 and 21 that travel while detecting the guide wire 3, but can also be applied to an automatic guided vehicle that travels on a track.

The retractor of the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is a side view. The structure of the automatic guided vehicle and chain in Embodiment 1 is shown, (a) is a side view, (c) is a front view. It is a side view which shows a mode that the automatic guided vehicle in Embodiment 1 conveys a trolley | bogie. It is a side view which shows a mode that the automatic guided vehicle in Embodiment 1 passes under the some trolley | bogie. It is a side view which shows a mode that the automatic guided vehicle in Embodiment 1 is connected with a trolley | bogie. It is a side view which shows a mode that the automatic guided vehicle in Embodiment 1 conveys a trolley | bogie. The mode which the insertion pin in Embodiment 1 was latched by the chain is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is a side view. It is a side view which shows a mode that the meshing member in Embodiment 2 of this invention was latched by the belt. The retractor of the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is a side view. The assembly line using the conventional automatic guided vehicle is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is a side view.

Explanation of symbols

  2 traveling roads, 3 guide lines, 11 and 21 automatic guided vehicles, 11a drive wheels, 12, 33 grooves, 13, 31 chains, 14 wheels, 15 vehicle bodies, 16 connection pins, 17 insertion pins, 18 operation sections, 19 chain elements , 22 belt, 23 locking groove, 24 meshing member, 25 lower end, 32 rotating support, C bogie, S predetermined section.

Claims (1)

When the automatic guided vehicle traveling on the traveling path is stopped due to an abnormality under a plurality of carriages arranged in a line in the predetermined section of the traveling path, the automatic guided vehicle is retracted out of the traveling path. In the equipment of
A groove formed in the travel path so as to extend under a plurality of carriages arranged in a predetermined section of the travel path;
A traction member having a long shape and housed in the groove and having a number of locking portions arranged along the length direction thereof;
A locking means that is attached to the vehicle body of the automatic guided vehicle so as to be movable up and down and locks to any one of the multiple locking portions of the pulling member housed in the groove,
A release mechanism for releasing the drive unit of the automatic guided vehicle that has stopped abnormally, and the traction member includes a chain having a plurality of chain elements as the locking portions, and the locking means includes the chain Consisting of an insertion pin that is inserted and locked into any of a number of chain elements of
When the AGV is abnormally stopped under the plurality of carriages, one of the chain elements of a number of chain elements of the said chain housed in said insertion pin AGV is moved downward within the groove by inserting release the driving portion of the AGV by the release mechanism with engaged, movement along the groove the AGV through the insertion pin by pulling the chain in this state And a withdrawal device for the automatic guided vehicle, wherein the withdrawal device is pulled out from one end of the plurality of carriages in the arrangement direction.

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