JP5066976B2 - Transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport device capable of transporting and traveling a load mounted at a predetermined position.

  Conventionally, a stacker crane, an automatic guided vehicle, or the like has been used as an apparatus for loading and unloading luggage into a rack installed in an automatic warehouse. Since such a transporting device travels and transports the loaded cargo by itself, for example, during sudden braking such as an emergency stop or during high-speed transport, so-called load collapse occurs where the position of the loaded cargo deviates from a predetermined position. There was a fear. In particular, when transporting a stack of paper or other items, the upper part of the stacked items may move with respect to the lower part. It is necessary to take measures to prevent cargo collapse at times.

Conventionally, many techniques relating to measures for preventing cargo collapse on the rack side of an automatic warehouse have been proposed. For example, there is a technology (see Patent Document 1) that takes measures to prevent collapse of a load during an earthquake or the like by connecting a rack column and a shelf holder that supports a load via a damping member that uses a viscoelastic body. It is disclosed. In addition, a technique (see Patent Document 2) that suppresses vibration of the mast by providing a vibration reducing member between the guide rail or the guide rail and the mast that guides the raising and lowering of the lifting platform along the mast is disclosed.
JP 2003-118818 A JP 2003-12114 A

  However, the present situation is that there is no effective method for preventing load collapse on the conveying device side. For this reason, in order to efficiently perform the work of transporting the cargo to the rack by the transport device, there is an urgent need to take measures against the collapse of the load on the transport device side as described above.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to effectively suppress the collapse of the load during the transfer and transfer operations in the transfer device for transferring the load.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a transport device that transports and travels a load mounted at a predetermined position, and transfers the load between a predetermined position and a position different from the predetermined position. The transfer means is provided with a load collapse prevention mechanism for preventing a load collapse of the load mounted at a predetermined position.
In addition, the conveyance apparatus of this invention contains what can drive | work by the drive mechanism (for example, motor) with which it is self-propelled, and what can drive | work by external force (for example, another mechanism, human power, etc.).

  In the present invention, the load collapse prevention mechanism includes a mounting portion for mounting the load, a support portion for supporting the mounting portion, and a connection portion for connecting the mounting portion and the support portion. Thus, a configuration is adopted in which the mounting portion is swingably connected to the support portion via the connection portion.

  In the present invention, the connection portion includes a fixing portion that is fixed to one of the mounting portion and the support portion, and an engagement portion that engages with the other of the mounting portion and the support portion. A configuration is adopted in which a buffer member is provided between the connection portion, the mounting portion, and the support portion.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the load from collapsing during sudden braking or high-speed conveyance by providing the transfer means with a load collapse preventing mechanism. In the load collapse prevention mechanism, since the mounting portion on which the load is mounted is in a state that can swing with respect to the support portion, the mounting portion swings due to vibration generated during sudden braking. This oscillation can absorb vibration energy and suppress vibration applied to the load.
In this way, the vibration of the support part can be canceled by the swinging of the mounting part with respect to the support part, and the load accompanying deceleration is prevented from being transmitted to the load. Such an effect is exhibited in any of the running, raising / lowering, and forking operations of the transport device, and the collapse of the load during the transport of the load is surely prevented.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a transport device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the scale of each member is appropriately changed in order to make each member a recognizable size.

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a schematic configuration of an automatic warehouse S including a stacker crane 1 which is a transport device of the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic warehouse S can travel on two racks R1 and R2 arranged opposite to each other, a traveling rail Ra laid between these racks R1 and R2, and the traveling rail Ra. A stacker crane 1, loading / unloading stations St 1 and St 2 installed on one end side of each of the racks R 1 and R 2, and an automatic warehouse control device (not shown) that controls the operation of the entire automatic warehouse S are provided.
In the following description, the extending direction of the traveling rail Ra is described as the X direction, the direction orthogonal to the X direction in the horizontal plane is defined as the Y direction, and the direction orthogonal to the X direction and the Y direction is described as the Z direction.

The racks R1 and R2 are configured by a plurality of storage spaces arranged in the X direction and the Z direction. Each storage space can store a transported object X delivered from the stacker crane 1.
The rack R1 and the rack R2 are arranged symmetrically about the traveling rail Ra laid in a straight line.

  The traveling rail Ra defines the traveling direction of the stacker crane 1 and extends in the X direction. The traveling rail Ra is laid on the floor surface and the top surface of the automatic warehouse S. In FIG. 1, illustration of the traveling rail Ra laid on the top surface is omitted.

  The stacker crane 1 travels on the travel rail Ra and transports the transported object X by delivering the transported object X between the storage spaces of the racks R1 and R2 and the loading / unloading stations St1 and St2. is there.

  The loading / unloading stations St1 and St2 are places for delivering the conveyed product X between the outside of the automatic warehouse S and the stacker crane 1. Note that the loading / unloading station St1 is disposed on one end side in the X direction of the rack R1, and the loading / unloading station St2 is disposed on one end side in the X direction of the rack R2.

In the present embodiment, the conveyed product (package) X is a stack of a plurality of sheets of paper (package) in the Z direction. That is, the stacker crane 1 according to the present embodiment can stack and load a plurality of loads.
Alternatively, the conveyed product X may have a form in which a resin sheet, cardboard, or the like is laminated.

Subsequently, the stacker crane 1 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the stacker crane 1. 3 is a front view of the load collapse prevention mechanism 8 as viewed from the Y direction, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the load collapse prevention mechanism 8 as viewed from the X direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the stacker crane 1 includes a pair of masts 2 (21, 22) spaced apart in the X direction, a lower frame 3 that connects the mast 21 and the mast 22 at the lower part, and a mast 21. And the upper frame 4 that connects the mast 22 at the upper part, the loading platform 5 that is disposed between the mast 21 and the mast 22 and that is guided by the mast 2 and is moved up and down (Z direction), and a wire (not shown) A lifting device 6 that lifts and lowers the loading platform 5 via a fork device 7 installed on the loading platform 5, and a control device 9 that is electrically connected to the automatic warehouse control device described above and controls the operation of the entire stacker crane 1. It has. The fork device 7 of the present embodiment has a load collapse prevention mechanism 8 that suppresses the load collapse of the conveyed product X on the loading platform 5.

The mast 2 is composed of two masts 21 and 22 having a substantially prismatic shape, and extends from the vicinity of the floor surface of the automatic warehouse S to the vicinity of the top surface.
The lower frame 3 and the upper frame 4 are provided with wheels that are in contact with the traveling rail Ra. Wheels installed on the lower frame 3 are in contact with a traveling rail Ra laid on the floor of the automatic warehouse S, and wheels installed on the upper frame 4 are laid on the top surface of the automatic warehouse S. It is in contact. These wheels are connected to a motor (not shown), and the stacker crane 1 can travel in the X direction by driving the wheels.

  The loading platform 5 has two side frames that constitute the end portion side of the loading platform 5, and a main frame that constitutes the center portion of the loading platform 5 and whose ends are fixed to the side frames. And the wire of the raising / lowering apparatus 6 is connected to each side frame. In addition, since the wire connected to each side frame is wound up by the raising / lowering device 6 at the same speed, the loading platform 5 is raised / lowered with the level of the main frame maintained.

  The lifting device 6 includes a wire connected to the loading platform 5 described above, a drum around which the wire is wound, a motor that rotates the drum under the control of the control device 9, and the like. A drum, a motor, and the like are installed on the lower frame 3. The motor is connected to the drum via a transmission as necessary.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the fork device 7 is for transferring the transported object X placed on the mounting portion P, and has a plurality of arms 71 that can slide and move in the Y direction. And an arm driving device (not shown) for driving these arms 71 under the control device 9. In the fork device 7, the mounting portion P is supported by the arm 711 (supporting portion) at the tip among the plurality of arms 71, and the transported object X is moved in the Y direction by driving each arm 71. The arm 71 of the fork device 7 can slide in any direction in the Y direction (+ Y direction and −Y direction). For this reason, the transported object X can be moved in any direction of the Y direction, and the transported object X is received between the storage spaces of the racks R1 and R2 and between the loading / unloading stations St1 and St2 and the loading platform. It is possible to pass.

  Then, when the stacker crane 1 travels with the transported object X mounted, the fork device 7 supports the transported object X at a substantially central position (hereinafter referred to as a mounting position) on the loading platform 5. This state is a state in which the conveyed product X is mounted on the loading platform 5. That is, the conveyed product X is mounted on the loading platform 5 via the fork device 7.

Next, the load collapse prevention mechanism 8 of this embodiment will be described in detail.
The load collapse prevention mechanism 8 is provided in the fork device 7 described above, and connects the arm 711 (support portion) of the fork device 7, the mounting portion P supported by the arm 711, and the arm 71 and the mounting portion P. Part 10. The mounting part P, the arm 711, and the connection part 10 are each made of steel or the like.

  The mounting portion P has a plurality of partition walls 100 for connecting the connecting portions 10 on both sides in the width direction (x direction) of the main body 111. The partition wall portions 100 are arranged on the main body portion 111 with one pair on one side and spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction (y direction), and a hanging portion 12 that hangs to the side of the arm 711 and the hanging portion 12 toward the arm 711. And a first through hole H penetrating in the thickness direction is formed in the distal end portion 11. A slight gap is provided between the tip 11 and the arm 711.

  The arm 711 of the fork device 7 has a plurality of projecting portions 72 projecting vertically from the side surfaces on both sides in the width direction (x direction) of the main body portion 710 and is provided at a position corresponding to the partition wall portion 100. Yes. Each protrusion 72 is formed with a second through-hole I that penetrates in the thickness direction, and the center position of the first through-hole H on the mounting portion P side coincides in the xy direction. Yes. That is, the first through hole H and the second through hole I are different from each other only in the z coordinate.

  The connecting portion 10 is formed to have a columnar main body portion 101 extending in the z direction and a pair of disk-like connecting end portions 102 a and 102 b provided at both ends of the main body portion 101. Here, the first through hole H described above is set to a hole diameter that is at least larger than the shaft diameter of the main body portion 101 of the connection portion 10 and that the connection end portion 102b cannot be inserted.

  In the connection portion 10, the main body portion 101 is held in the first through hole H of the mounting portion P and the second through hole I of the arm 711, and the connection end portion 102 a (fixed portion) is on the lower surface side of the tip end portion 11. The mounting end P is fixed to the mounting portion P, and the connection end 102b (engaging portion) is attached to the mounting portion P and the arm 711 in a state where the connecting end portion 102b is engaged with the upper surface side of the protruding portion 72 of the arm 711. In this way, the mounting portion P is supported by the arm 711 via each connection portion 10. The attachment of the connecting portion 10 to the mounting portion P and the arm 711 is realized, for example, by configuring any one of the connection end portions 102a and 102b of the connecting portion 10 to be detachable from the main body portion 101. .

As described above, the connection end portion 102 a side of the connection portion 10 is fixed to the mounting portion P on the lower surface side of the distal end portion 11. On the other hand, the connection end portion 102b side of the connection portion 10 is merely engaged with the protruding portion 72 of the arm 711, and the movement is allowed by the second through hole I described above. Therefore, the mounting portion P is swingably connected to the arm 711 via the connection portion 10, and the mounting portion P swings with respect to the arm 711 using the connection end portion 102 b of the connection portion 10 as a fulcrum during sudden braking. Will do.
In addition, the shape of the connection part 10 will not be ask | required especially if the said conditions are satisfy | filled.

A spring spring 74 is provided as a buffer member between the connection end 102b and the protrusion 72. As described above, in the present configuration in which the mounting portion P is swingably connected to the arm 711 by the connection portion 10, the weight of the mounting portion P and the weight of the conveyed object X are the connection portion 10, particularly the connection end thereof. It will be applied to the part 102b. Assuming that the mounting portion P swings without the spring 74 between the connection end 102b and the protrusion 72, the contact of the connection end 102b against the protrusion 72 occurs and the connection 10 is damaged. There is a risk of doing. Therefore, as shown in the present embodiment, by connecting a spring 74 between the connecting end portion 102b and the protruding portion 72, the contact of the connecting end portion 102b due to the swinging of the mounting portion P can be prevented. It is preferable to avoid breakage of the portion 10.
In addition, you may use not only a spring but rubber | gum, a coil spring, etc. as a buffer member.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the control device 9 is installed on the lower frame 3. As described above, the control device 9 controls the wheel motor, the lifting device 6, and the arm driving device, thereby controlling the stacker crane 1. Control overall operation.

  Next, operation | movement of the stacker crane 1 of this embodiment comprised in this way is demonstrated. The main body of the operation of the stacker crane 1 described below is the control device 9. In the description of this operation, a case will be described in which the transported object X is transported from the loading / unloading station St1 to a predetermined storage space of the rack R1.

  When the control device 9 receives the command signal from the automatic warehouse control device, the control device 9 drives the motor installed on the wheel to move the stacker crane 1 to a position facing the loading / unloading station St1 of the automatic warehouse S.

Subsequently, the control device 9 moves the loading platform 5 in the Z direction by the lifting device 6 so that the fork device 7 faces the conveyed product X placed on the loading / unloading station St1.
Subsequently, the control device 9 moves the arm in the direction of the loading / unloading station St1 (+ Y direction) by the arm driving device of the fork device 7, and inserts the tip arm under the mounting portion P on which the conveyed product X is placed. . And the control apparatus 9 raises the loading platform 5 slightly by the raising / lowering apparatus 6, makes the mounting part P contact | abut on a front-end | arm, and lifts it, thereby supporting the conveyed product X in the fork apparatus 7. FIG.
Thereafter, the control device 9 moves the arm in the direction of the loading platform 5 (−Y direction) by the arm driving device, and moves the conveyed product X to the mounting position on the loading platform 5. Thereby, the conveyed product X is mounted on the loading platform 5.

  Subsequently, the control device 9 drives a motor installed on the wheel to move the stacker crane 1 to a position facing the storage space of the rack R1. The control device 9 moves the loading platform 5 in the Z direction by the lifting device 6 until the fork device 7 faces a predetermined storage space.

  Subsequently, the control device 9 drives the arm driving device of the fork device 7 to move the conveyed product X on the tip arm together with the mounting portion P in the direction of the rack R1 (+ Y direction). When the conveyed product X is moved into the storage pace, the control device 9 slightly lowers the loading platform 5 by the lifting device 6 to separate the tip arm from the mounting portion P and store the conveyed product X. Store in space. Thereafter, the control device 9 accommodates the arm by the arm driving device of the fork device 7.

With the above operation, the conveyed product X is transferred from the loading / unloading station St1 to the storage space of the rack R1.
Here, in the stacker crane 1 of the present embodiment, when the stacker crane 1 operates in a state where the transported object X is mounted on the loading platform 5, the loading collapse prevention mechanism 8 described above performs the loading platform on the mounting portion P. 5 is prevented from collapsing. That is, when the stacker crane 1 travels at a high speed or when vibration associated with an emergency operation is transmitted from the arm 711 to the mounting portion P via the connection portion 10, the mounting portion P is used with the connection end portion 102b of the connection portion 10 as a fulcrum. Swings with respect to the arm 711. The swinging of the mounting portion P becomes a load against the generated vibration and absorbs vibration energy.

  In this way, by swinging the mounting portion P with respect to the arm 711, it is possible to attenuate the vibration applied to the transported object X and cancel the vibration of the fork device 7, and the load accompanying the deceleration is reduced. Transmission to X is suppressed. Therefore, even when traveling at high speed or during an emergency operation, it is possible to prevent the cargo X on the mounting portion P from collapsing. Moreover, since the load collapse prevention mechanism 8 of this embodiment does not have motive power, it can act also at the time of sudden braking which cannot perform electrical control, and can prevent load collapse from occurring.

  In addition, since the 2nd through-hole I is a hole which makes a larger diameter than the main-body part 101 of the connection part 10, rocking | fluctuation (displacement of the connection part 10) of the mounting part P can fully be accept | permitted.

  Further, according to the load collapse prevention mechanism 8 of the present embodiment, when the transported object X is transferred from the storage / retrieval station St2 to the storage space of the rack R1 or the rack R2, the storage / loading station is stored from the storage space of the rack R1 or the rack R2. When transferring the transported object X to St1 or the loading / unloading station St2, when moving the transported object X from the storage space of the rack R1 or the rack R2 to a different storage space of the rack R1 or the rack R2, etc. At this time, the load collapse prevention effect is exhibited, thereby improving the conveyance efficiency.

  According to the stacker crane 1 of this embodiment as described above, the vibration at the time of transportation can be suppressed as described above, so that the collapse of the transported object X mounted on the mounting portion P can be effectively prevented. Can be deterred. Therefore, the conveyance speed can be improved and the tact time can be shortened, so that the conveyance work can be performed efficiently.

[Modification]
In the above embodiment, the connecting portion 10 is fixed to the mounting portion P side. However, as shown in FIG. 6, it may be fixed to the arm 711 side. In this case, a third through hole J having a diameter larger than the shaft diameter of the main body portion 101 of the connection portion 10 is formed in the distal end portion 11, and a spring spring 74 is provided between the distal end portion 11 and the connection end portion 102a. Intervene. The mounting portion P swings around the connection end portion 102b as a fulcrum, and absorbs the vibration of the arm 711 during sudden braking. Therefore, similarly to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to prevent the load X on the mounting portion P from collapsing.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a bolt 51 and a nut 52 screwed to the bolt 51 are used as the connection portion 20 of the load collapse prevention mechanism 8. Here, instead of the first through hole H, a screw hole K may be provided at the tip 11 of the mounting portion P, and a bolt 51 may be screwed into the screw hole K and fixed. In this case, the bolt 51 is inserted into the second through hole I from the upper surface side so that the head 511 abuts against the upper surface of the projecting portion 72 of the arm 711, and then into the screw hole K of the distal end portion 11. After the screwing, the connecting portion 20 is attached to the mounting portion P and the fork device 7 by screwing the nut 52 into the screw portion 512 of the bolt 51 protruding from the lower surface side of the tip portion 11.

  If such a connection part 20 is used, it can be attached simply by tightening the nut 52 to the bolt 51 arranged at a predetermined position, so that the attachment work of the connection part 20 to the mounting part P and the fork device 7 becomes easy. . Moreover, since it is not necessary to newly manufacture the connection part 20 by using an existing one, cost reduction can be achieved.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the connection part 10 was comprised from steel materials, it is not restricted to this, For example, you may make it form the main-body part 101 of the connection part 10 with an elastic material. In this case, by fixing both ends of the connection part 10 to the mounting part P and the arm 711, the main body part 101 is elastically deformed with vibration, and the above-described load collapse prevention effect can be obtained. Furthermore, you may change a shape dimension according to the material which comprises the connection part 10. FIG.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of the conveying apparatus which concerns on this invention was described referring drawings, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. Various shapes, combinations, and the like of the constituent members shown in the above-described embodiments are examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, a stacker crane has been described as an example of the transport device of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to all transport devices that transport the transport object X mounted at a predetermined position. For example, the present invention can be applied to an automatic guided vehicle including a fork device, an automatic guided vehicle including a conveyor device, and the like.
It can also be applied to manned transport vehicles such as forklifts and handcarts.

It is the top view which showed typically schematic structure of the automatic warehouse provided with the stacker crane which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the stacker crane which is one embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the pallet with which the stacker crane which is one embodiment of the present invention is provided. It is a side view of the pallet with which the stacker crane which is one embodiment of the present invention is provided. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of a load collapse prevention mechanism. It is a front view which shows other embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Stacker crane (conveyance apparatus), 5 ... Loading platform, 7 ... Fork apparatus (transfer means), 8 ... Load collapse prevention apparatus, 10 ... Connection part, 74 ... Bleed spring (buffer member), P ... Mounting part , 102a: Connection end (fixed part), 102b: Connection end (engagement part), 711 ... Arm (support part)

Claims (1)

A transport device capable of transporting and traveling a load mounted at a predetermined position,
The transfer means for transferring the load between a predetermined position and a position different from the predetermined position includes a load collapse prevention mechanism for preventing the load loaded on the load from being collapsed ,
The load collapse prevention mechanism has a mounting portion for mounting the load, a support portion for supporting the mounting portion, and a connection portion for connecting the mounting portion and the support portion, via the connection portion. The mounting portion is swingably connected to the support portion;
The connection portion includes a fixing portion that is fixed to one of the mounting portion and the support portion, and an engagement portion that engages with the other of the mounting portion and the support portion, and the connection portion. A buffering member is provided between the engagement portion and the mounting portion or the support portion .

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