JP5590422B2 - Goods transport equipment - Google Patents

Description

  According to the present invention, an article transporter that can travel along a travel route travels on a pair of travel rails disposed along the travel route above the floor surface, and a lower end of the travel rail. An article holding part disposed below the traveling part in a form protruding downward and capable of holding an article, and configured such that an intermediate part in the vertical direction is positioned between the pair of traveling rails, Article transportation provided with a configuration in which a traveling unit forms a pair of traveling wheels that roll on an upward traveling surface of a pair of traveling rails while being separated in the lateral direction of the vehicle body and arranged in pairs in the traveling direction. Regarding equipment.

  As a conventional example of the article transporting equipment as described above, a ceiling in which a traveling route is set so as to pass through a plurality of stations for loading and unloading articles, and articles are carried into and out of the plurality of stations along the traveling route. Some have a transport vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the traveling route and the intersecting route that is another traveling route intersect at the intersection, and the intersection-side traveling rail that is the side where the intersecting route is located among the pair of traveling rails in the traveling route is the rail It is divided in the running direction so as to form a non-existing section. In the rail-free section, when the overhead transport vehicle as an article transport vehicle traveling on the travel route travels on the intersection route via the intersection, the intermediate portion of the ceiling transport vehicle passes through the intersection-side traveling rail. It is necessary to do.

  The intersection is provided with a guide unit that abuts on a guided body provided in the traveling unit of the ceiling transport vehicle and guides the traveling of the traveling unit so that the ceiling transport vehicle travels along the selected travel route. . As a result, when the overhead traveling vehicle passes through the intersection, the guide unit guides and supports the guided body, so that the traveling unit is the side where the intersection route is not located among the pair of traveling rails in the traveling route. The vehicle can travel while being prevented from falling off from the crossing side travel rail. In addition, the overhead conveyance vehicle has a configuration in which the article holding unit is positioned below the intermediate position of the pair of traveling wheels that are separated in the vehicle lateral width direction of the traveling unit in the traveling direction of the traveling unit. It is configured so as not to have an unbalanced load in the direction.

  When the overhead traveling vehicle configured as described above passes through the intersection, one traveling wheel of a pair of traveling wheels in the traveling unit is placed and supported on the traveling surface of the traveling rail, and the other of the paired traveling wheels When the traveling wheel is located in the rail-existing section of the traveling rail, a moment is generated centering on the location where the one traveling wheel contacts the traveling rail. For this reason, the article transport vehicle tends to incline toward the side where the other traveling wheel exists.

  Therefore, by bringing the guided body into contact with the guide portion from the side on which the one traveling wheel exists, the force that tends to incline toward the side on which the other traveling wheel exists as described above. It is configured to accept. As a result, the overhead traveling vehicle keeps its crossing at the same position as when a pair of traveling wheels provided in the separation direction of the traveling rail is mounted and supported on the traveling rail in the traveling direction view. Can pass through.

JP 2002-87250 A

  However, in such a configuration, since the guided body presses the guide portion when the article transport vehicle passes through the intersection, it is necessary for the guide portion to support the load generated with the weight of the article transport vehicle. Since it is necessary to strengthen the strength of the guide portion and its support structure, the installation cost of the equipment may be increased. In addition, when the article transported by the article transporting vehicle is heavy, the moment centering on the portion that contacts the traveling rail of the one-side traveling wheel described above increases, so the article transporting vehicle passes through the intersection. Sometimes, the force that the guided wheel presses against the guide rail increases, and the load that the guide portion should support increases, so the above-described problem becomes significant.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, The objective is to provide the articles | goods conveyance installation which can reduce the load concerning a guide part or a to-be-guided body.

The first characteristic configuration of the article transport facility according to the present invention for solving the above-described problem is that a pair of article transport vehicles that can travel along the travel path is disposed along the travel path above the floor surface. A traveling section that travels on the traveling rail; and an article holding section that is disposed below the traveling section and protrudes downward from the lower end of the traveling rail and that can hold an article, The intermediate portion is configured to be positioned between the pair of traveling rails, and the traveling portion separates the traveling wheels that roll on the upward traveling surface of the pair of traveling rails in the lateral direction of the vehicle body. And a plurality of pairs arranged at intervals in the traveling direction, and an intersection that intersects an intersection route that is another traveling route is set as the traveling route, and the intersection route of the pair of traveling rails is Crossing side running The rail is divided in the traveling direction so that when the article transport vehicle travels along the intersection route via the intersection, the intermediate portion forms a rail-free section that passes through the intersection-side traveling rail. The intersection is provided with a guide unit for contacting the guided body of the traveling body to guide the traveling of the traveling body so that the article transport vehicle travels along the selected traveling route. When the article transport vehicle passes through the intersecting portion, the guide portion guides and supports the guided body, so that the traveling portion of the pair of traveling rails is located on the side where the intersecting path is not located. It is an article transport facility configured to travel in a form that suppresses falling off from the non-intersecting traveling rail,
The article transport vehicle includes a lateral movement mechanism that operates to move the article holding unit with respect to the traveling unit in a vehicle lateral width direction, and a control unit that controls the operation of the article transport vehicle crosses the article transport vehicle. When traveling other than the part, the article holding part is in a normal traveling state located below the intermediate position of the pair of traveling rails, and when the article transporter is traveling at the intersection, the article holding part is It is configured to control the operation of the lateral movement mechanism so as to be in an intersecting portion traveling state that is located on the side away from the intersecting traveling rail in the vehicle body width direction from below the intermediate position of the pair of traveling rails. It is in.

  That is, when the article transport vehicle that travels along the travel route travels at the intersection, the traveling wheels that roll on the intersection-side traveling rail must pass through the rail-free section. At this time, since the article holding part is in the intersection running state in which the article holding unit is positioned on the side away from the intersection side running rail in the vehicle body width direction from the intermediate position of the pair of running rails, Move away from the running rail. As a result, the moment in the traveling direction view centered on the place where the traveling wheel that rolls on the non-intersecting traveling rail and the traveling rail out of the pair of traveling wheels separated in the lateral direction of the vehicle body is reduced, The force with which the guided body in the traveling unit presses the guide unit can be reduced.

In addition, when the article transport vehicle passes through the intersection, one traveling wheel of a pair of traveling wheels separated from each other in the lateral direction of the vehicle body is placed and supported on the traveling surface of the non-intersecting traveling rail, The other traveling wheel of the pair of traveling wheels is in a state where it is located in the rail-existing section in the crossing-side traveling rail. In the rail absence section, the other traveling wheel of the pair of traveling wheels does not receive and support the load of the article transport vehicle. A moment is generated in a direction in which the article transport vehicle swings downward around the point where the non-intersecting travel rail comes into contact. Try to tilt in the direction of displacement.
By bringing the guided body of the article transport vehicle into contact with the guide section, the guide section receives a force that tends to incline toward the existence side of the traveling wheel located in the rail non-existing section. It is possible to pass through the intersection while maintaining the same posture as in the case where both of the traveling wheels provided in the manner are mounted and supported on the traveling rail.

  In the present invention, when the article transport vehicle passes through the intersection, the article holding portion is positioned on the side away from the intersection traveling rail in the vehicle body width direction from the intermediate position of the pair of traveling rails, thereby making a pair of traveling. Reduce the moment in the direction of travel around the location where one of the wheels is in contact with the non-intersecting travel rail, and the force to be received by the guide, that is, the guided body will guide The force which presses a part can be made small.

  Therefore, it is possible to provide an article transport facility that can reduce the load on the guide unit and the guided body.

  A second characteristic configuration of the article transporting facility according to the present invention is provided with a connecting portion that connects the traveling portion and the article holding portion in a form that passes between the pair of traveling rails, and the vertical direction of the connecting portion. A part or all of this corresponds to the intermediate part, and the lateral movement mechanism is configured to move the article holding part in the lateral width direction of the vehicle body with respect to the connection part.

  That is, the lateral movement mechanism moves the article holding part in the lateral direction of the vehicle body with respect to the connecting part provided in a form that passes between the pair of running rails to connect the traveling part and the article holding part. The moving mechanism can move the article holding portion in the lateral direction of the vehicle body without being limited by the distance between the pair of travel rails.

  For example, it is conceivable that the connection part and the article holding part are integrally formed, the lateral movement mechanism is provided in the traveling part, and the lateral movement mechanism moves the article holding part together with the connection part in the lateral width direction of the vehicle body. If comprised in this way, the distance which can be moved in the vehicle body width direction of an article | item holding | maintenance part will be restrict | limited by the space | interval of a pair of traveling rail, and the width | variety of the article | item holding | maintenance part in the separation direction of the said pair of traveling rails. Therefore, even if the article holding part cannot be displaced so much in the lateral direction of the vehicle body from the intermediate position between the pair of traveling rails and the center of gravity of the article transporting vehicle is moved away from the intersecting traveling rail, the amount of movement is It becomes small and the moment which goes to the guide part in the guided body attachment position in a traveling part cannot be made small.

On the other hand, according to the second feature configuration, the lateral movement mechanism is configured to move the article holding portion in the vehicle lateral width direction with respect to the connection portion. It can be displaced relatively large in the direction, and it is easy to reduce the moment toward the guide portion at the guided body mounting position in the traveling portion.
Therefore, it is possible to provide an article transport facility capable of appropriately reducing the load on the guide unit or the guided body.

The front view of the conveyance direction view of the article conveyance vehicle of 1st Embodiment Diagram explaining the pattern of the intersection The figure explaining the crossing part traveling state in a 1st embodiment. The figure explaining the crossing part traveling state in a 1st embodiment. Illustration explaining the force applied to the guide rail Comparison diagram explaining the force applied to the guide rail The front view of the conveyance direction view of the article conveyance vehicle of 2nd Embodiment Diagram explaining the force applied to the guide surface Comparison diagram explaining the force applied to the guide surface The figure explaining another form of the pattern of an intersection

[First Embodiment]
A first embodiment of a ceiling conveyance facility to which an article conveyance facility according to the present invention is applied will be described based on the drawings. The ceiling conveyance facility of the present embodiment is provided in a glass substrate manufacturing facility, a semiconductor component manufacturing facility, or the like. In such a manufacturing facility, since an article processing device and an article storage device are installed on the floor surface, in order to secure the installation space, the traveling rail is suspended from the ceiling, and the article transport vehicle is It is comprised with the ceiling conveyance vehicle 1 which carries out traveling movement guided by the traveling rail. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a ceiling transport vehicle 1 and a pair of travel rails 2a and 2b as travel rails 2 for guiding the travel of the ceiling transport vehicle 1 as viewed in the travel direction. The traveling rails 2a and 2b are U-shaped in cross-sectional view and are supported on the opening side end and the inner wall side of the yoke 30 opened at the lower side, and are provided in a pair spaced apart in the horizontal direction along the traveling path.

The overhead conveyance vehicle 1 is disposed below the traveling unit 5 and travels on the traveling rails 2a and 2b, and below the traveling unit 5 in a form protruding below the lower ends of the traveling rails 2a and 2b. And a freely-holdable article holding portion 8.
Although not shown, the article holding unit 8 includes a holding unit that holds the article B, a placement unit that places the article, and the like so that the article B can be held by the article holding unit 8. It has become.
The traveling unit 5 forms a pair by separating a pair of traveling wheels 3 (traveling wheels 3a, 3b) rolling on the upward traveling surface 2u in the pair of traveling rails 2a, 2b in the lateral direction of the vehicle body, In addition, a plurality of pairs are arranged in the running direction at intervals. Each of the traveling wheels 3a and 3b is rotationally driven by a traveling drive motor M1 provided in the traveling unit 5.

  A connecting member 6 is provided between the traveling unit 5 and the article holding unit 8 as a connecting unit that connects the traveling unit 5 and the article holding unit 8 in a form that passes between the pair of traveling rails 2a and 2b. At the lower end of the connection member 6, a support portion 7 with a lateral movement mechanism is provided.

  The support portion 7 with a lateral movement mechanism is slidably engaged with a rack and pinion M2 as a lateral movement mechanism that can move and move the article holding portion 8 with respect to the traveling portion 5 in the lateral direction of the vehicle body. It is comprised from the load support member (illustration omitted) which supports the load of the article | item holding | maintenance part 8. FIG. The rack gear in the rack and pinion M2 is attached to the upper end of the article holding portion 8, and the pinion gear is provided on the connecting member 6 side with its horizontal position fixed to the traveling portion 5, and the pinion gear is rotated by the pinion motor. By moving the rack gear in the horizontal direction, the position of the article holding portion 8 in the lateral width direction of the article holding portion 8 with respect to the running portion 5 is lowered below the intermediate position between the pair of running rails 2a and 2b as shown in FIG. 4 and a position where the article holding portion 8 is displaced to either one side or the other side in the lateral direction of the vehicle body from below the intermediate position between the pair of running rails 2a and 2b as shown in FIG. It is possible to switch to the intersection traveling state.

  A guided wheel 9 as a guided body is provided at the upper end portion of the traveling unit 5 and in the central portion in the lateral direction of the vehicle body so as to contact a guide rail 31 described later and guide the traveling of the ceiling transport vehicle 1. Two guided wheels 9 are provided corresponding to the arrangement positions of the traveling wheels 3 in the traveling direction of the traveling unit 5, and the two guided wheels 9 are slidably movable in the lateral direction of the vehicle body. It is attached to 9S so as to be movable integrally and freely rotatable along the vertical axis. The traveling unit 5 is provided with a slide body driving motor M3 that slides the slide body.

  The overhead conveyance vehicle 1 is provided with a control unit H that controls the operation thereof. The control unit H is configured by, for example, a microcomputer and is mounted on the traveling unit 5, receives a conveyance command from a host management device that controls the operation of the entire ceiling conveyance facility, and travels by a traveling drive motor M1 and a rack and pinion M2. The operation of the rack gear and the slide body driving motor M3 is controlled.

  In the present embodiment, the traveling route is such that the ceiling transport vehicle 1 travels in one direction, and the traveling route passes through the installation location of the article processing apparatus or the article storage apparatus in which a plurality of ceiling transport vehicles 1 exist. And it is set in the state which has the branch location and the merge location which are mentioned later as intersection C.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the branching point as the form of intersection at the intersection C is the route (i) and route (ii) 2 in front of the route (o) in which the overhead transport vehicle 1 travels. There are two paths. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the joining point as a form of intersection at the intersection C is a route (i) and a route (ii) on which the overhead transport vehicle 1 travels, and the front of the overhead transport vehicle 1 in the traveling direction. So that it joins one route (o).

  In an intersection C that intersects an intersection route that is another traveling route, the intersection-side traveling rail that is the side where the intersection route is located is connected when the overhead traveling vehicle travels the intersection route via the intersection C. The member 6 is divided in the direction of travel in order to pass through the crossing side travel rail. Specifically, the traveling rails 2a and 2d in FIG. 3 and the traveling rails 2b and 2c in FIG. 4 correspond to crossing traveling rails, and the traveling rail 2b in FIG. 3 and the traveling rail 2a in FIG. It corresponds to the non-crossing side traveling rail which is the side where the intersection route is not located. That is, at the intersection C, a rail-existing section is formed on the intersection-side traveling rail.

  Further, at the intersection C, the overhead traveling vehicle 1 travels along the selected travel route at a position between the pair of travel rails 2 and spaced above the travel surface 2u of the travel rail 2. Accordingly, a guide rail 31 is provided as a guide unit that abuts on the guided wheel 9 included in the traveling unit 5 and guides the traveling of the traveling unit 5. Here, the selected travel route is a travel route determined to transport the article B from the transport source location to the transport destination location according to the transport command from the upper management device. Other travel routes that are not travel routes determined as described above are crossing routes. That is, when route (i) to route (i) is selected as the travel route in FIG. 2 (a), route (ii) becomes the intersection route, and route (ii) to route (ii) becomes the travel route. When selected, the route (i) becomes a crossing route. In addition, when route (i) to route (o) is selected as a travel route in FIG. 2 (b), route (ii) becomes an intersection route, and route (ii) to route (o) becomes a travel route. When selected, the route (i) becomes a crossing route.

  The guide rail 31 has a T-shaped cross section when viewed from the traveling direction of the overhead conveyance vehicle 1. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the guide rail 31 is a first portion that is a horizontal portion that is attached to a ceiling surface or a support surface, and a vertical surface that abuts the guided wheel 9 and guides the guided wheel 9. It is comprised from the perpendicular | vertical part provided with the surface 31a and the 2nd guide surface 31b. The vertical portion is arranged in a state along each traveling route at the intersection C.

  At the intersection C, when the travel route branches or merges into the main route and the branch route, the control unit H that controls the operation of the overhead traveling vehicle 1 operates the slide body driving motor M3 to guide the guided wheels. 9 is moved in the vehicle body width direction as shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the control by the control unit H in the case where the overhead conveyance vehicle 1 travels at a location that is not the intersection C and a branch location as an example of the intersection C will be described.
When the control unit H causes the overhead traveling vehicle 1 to travel in a state in which both of the pair of traveling wheels 3 are placed and supported on the traveling rail 2 in the lateral direction of the vehicle body, the control unit H should be in the normal traveling state illustrated in FIG. The rack gear in the rack and pinion M2 is controlled.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 3A, when passing the intersection C so that the overhead traveling vehicle 1 travels along the route (ii), the control unit H moves the guided wheel 9 to the guide rail 31. Is moved so as to be positioned on the right side (second guide surface 31b side) of the vertical portion. Thus, the traveling unit 5 is guided toward the route (ii) in a state where the second guide surface 31b of the guide rail 31 and the guided wheel 9 are in contact with each other, and the guide rail 31 is interposed via the guided wheel 9. By receiving the load and guiding and supporting the vehicle, it is possible to travel in a form that suppresses the traveling unit 5 from falling off the non-crossing traveling rail 2b.

At this time, the control unit H operates the rack gear in the rack and pinion M2 to move the article holding unit 8 from the intermediate position (referred to as a normal traveling position) between the pair of traveling rails 2 in the vehicle lateral width direction. The rack gear in the rack and pinion M2 is controlled so that the crossing traveling state is located on the side away from 2a or 2d (see FIG. 3B).
Moreover, the control part H starts the operation | movement to the displacement amount increase direction of the rack and pinion M2 at the time of detecting the state by which one of the to-be-guided wheels 9 is guided to the guide rail 31, and ceiling conveyance is carried out. The rack and pinion M2 is controlled so that the amount of displacement in the vehicle body lateral width direction from the normal travel position of the article holding portion 8 is maximized when the vehicle 1 travels in a rail-free section. Further, the control unit H detects the state in which all of the plurality of guided wheels 9 are not guided by the guide rail 31, and starts the operation of the rack and pinion M2 in the direction of decreasing the displacement amount. Control M2.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 4A, when passing the crossing portion C so that the overhead conveyance vehicle 1 travels along the route (i), the control unit H moves the guided wheel 9 to the guide rail 31. Is moved so as to be positioned on the left side (the first guide surface 31a side) of the vertical portion. Thus, the traveling unit 5 is guided toward the route (i) in a state where the first guide surface 31 a of the guide rail 31 and the guided wheel 9 are in contact with each other, and the guide rail 31 is interposed via the guided wheel 9. By receiving the load and guiding and supporting the vehicle, it is possible to travel in a form that suppresses the traveling unit 5 from falling off the non-intersecting traveling rail 2a.

  At this time, the control unit H operates the rack gear in the rack and pinion M2, and moves the article holding unit 8 away from the intermediate position between the pair of travel rails 2 from the non-crossing travel rails 2b or 2c in the vehicle body width direction. The rack gear in the rack and pinion M2 is controlled so that the crossed portion traveling state is positioned (see FIG. 4B).

As shown in FIG. 5, when the article holding unit 8 is in the intersection traveling state at the intersection C, the center of gravity W of the ceiling transport vehicle 1 is located directly below the traveling wheel 3a. At this time, the force with which the guided wheel 9 presses the guide rail 31 is indicated by F1.
FIG. 6 shows a case where the article holding portion 8 is not brought into the intersection traveling state at the intersection C as a comparative example, although it does not appear in the present embodiment. In this case, the center of gravity W of the ceiling transport vehicle 1 is located closer to the center in the vehicle body width direction as viewed in the traveling direction. At this time, the force with which the guided wheel 9 presses the guide rail 31 is indicated by F2.

As can be seen from FIGS. 5 and 6, the force F <b> 1 that the guided wheel 9 presses the guide rail 31 when the article holding unit 8 is in the intersection running state at the intersection C is the article holding unit 8 at the intersection C. Is less than the force F <b> 2 that the guided wheel 9 presses the guide rail 31.
In other words, at the intersection C, the article holding unit 8 is set to the intersection traveling state to reduce the moment centered on the position where the traveling wheel 3a contacts the traveling rail 2a in the traveling direction, and the guided wheel 9 However, the force which presses the 1st guide surface 31a in the guide rail 31 can be made small.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of a ceiling transport facility to which the article transport facility according to the present invention is applied will be described. The second embodiment is a guide unit and a guided body in a ceiling transport facility similar to the first embodiment. Since only the configuration is different, the difference will be described, and the description of overlapping parts will be omitted.

  FIG. 7 shows a ceiling transport vehicle 1 as an article transport vehicle according to the second embodiment and a pair of travel rails 2a and 2b as travel rails 2 that guide the travel in a traveling direction view of the ceiling transport vehicle 1. It is a figure. A pair of the traveling rails 2a and 2b are provided in the form of being U-shaped in cross-section and supported by the opening side end portion of the yoke 40 opened at the lower side, and are separated in the horizontal direction along the traveling path. In addition, guide surfaces 40a and 40b as guide portions that are in contact with a pair of guided wheels 9a and 9b as guide bodies to be described later are formed on the outer surfaces of the traveling rails 2a and 2b.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, both ends of the support member 7 with a lateral movement mechanism provided at the lower end of the connection member 6 in the traveling direction of the overhead traveling vehicle 1 are traveled by the traveling wheels 3 a and 3 b. It is formed so as to be positioned on the outer side of the guide surfaces 40a and 40b in a state where it is placed and supported on the rails 2a and 2b. Solenoid mechanisms M4 that can freely operate the guided wheels 9a and 9b to the raised position and the lowered position are provided at both ends in the vehicle body width direction of the support portion 7 with the lateral movement mechanism. When the guided wheel 9a or 9b is operated to the raised position by the solenoid mechanism M4, the guided wheel 9a or 9b comes into contact with the guide surface 40a or 40b, and the guided wheel 9a or 9b is operated to the lowered position. Then, the guided wheel 9a or 9b is separated from the guide surface 40a or 40b and is positioned below the lower ends of the traveling rails 2a and 2b and the yoke 40.

  Moreover, in 2nd Embodiment, the control part H receives the command information from the high-order management apparatus which controls the action | operation of the whole ceiling conveyance installation, the rack gear in the traveling drive motor M1, the rack and pinion M2, and the solenoid mechanism The operation of M4 is controlled.

Hereinafter, the control by the control unit H in the case where the overhead conveyance vehicle 1 travels at a location that is not the intersection C and a branch location as an example of the intersection C will be described.
As shown in FIG. 7, the controller H guides the overhead guided vehicle 1 in a state where both of the pair of traveling wheels 3 are mounted and supported on the traveling rails 2a and 2b in the lateral direction of the vehicle body. The solenoid mechanism M4 is operated so that both the wheels 9a or 9b are in the raised position, and the rack gear in the rack and pinion M2 is controlled so that the article holding portion 8 is in the normal traveling state.

  Further, in the case where the overhead transport vehicle 1 travels through the intersection C (described as an example when traveling on the route (i) as in FIG. 4 in the first embodiment), it is shown in FIG. As described above, the control unit H operates the solenoid mechanism M4 so that the guided wheel 9a is in the raised position and the guided wheel 9b is in the lowered position. Thereby, the overhead conveyance vehicle 1 travels along the non-crossing travel rail 2a among the pair of travel rails. Moreover, since the guided wheel 9b is located below the traveling rail 2b, the traveling wheel 3b can be separated from the crossing traveling rail 2b. As described above, only the traveling wheel 3a is placed and supported on the non-intersecting traveling rail 2a, and the traveling wheel 3b is not placed and supported on the traveling rail 2. Therefore, the overhead traveling vehicle 1 has a traveling wheel as viewed in the traveling direction. A moment is generated around the place where 3a and the traveling rail 2a abut. The generated moment is supported by the force by which the guided wheel 9a presses the guide surface 40a. That is, when the overhead traveling vehicle 1 passes through the intersection C, the guide surface 40a guides and supports the guided wheel 9a to prevent the traveling unit 5 from dropping off from the non-intersecting traveling rail 2a. It is configured to run.

  At this time, the control unit H operates the rack gear in the rack and pinion M2 to position the article holding unit 8 on the side away from the crossing side traveling rail 2b or 2c in the vehicle body lateral direction from the intermediate position of the pair of traveling rails 2. The rack gear in the rack and pinion M2 is controlled so as to achieve the crossed portion traveling state.

  Although illustration is omitted, when traveling on the route (ii) as shown in FIG. 3 in the first embodiment, the control unit H sets the guided wheel 9b to the raised position and sets the guided wheel 9a to the lowered position. The solenoid mechanism M4 is operated as much as possible. Thereby, the overhead conveyance vehicle 1 travels along the non-crossing travel rail 2b among the pair of travel rails. Moreover, since the guided wheel 9a is located below the traveling rail 2a, the traveling wheel 3a can be separated from the traveling rail 2a. In this way, only the traveling wheel 3b is placed and supported on the non-intersecting traveling rail 2b, and the traveling wheel 3a is not placed and supported on the traveling rail 2. Therefore, the overhead traveling vehicle 1 has a traveling wheel as viewed in the traveling direction. A moment centering on the place where 3b and the running rail 2b come into contact with each other is generated. The generated moment is supported by the force by which the guided wheel 9b presses the guide surface 40b. That is, when the overhead traveling vehicle 1 passes through the intersection C, the guide surface 40b guides and supports the guided wheels 9b, thereby preventing the traveling unit 5 from falling off the non-intersecting traveling rail 2b. It is configured to run on.

  At this time, the control unit H operates the rack gear in the rack and pinion M2 to position the article holding unit 8 on the side away from the cross-side travel rail 2a or 2d in the vehicle body lateral direction from the intermediate position of the pair of travel rails 2. The rack gear in the rack and pinion M2 is controlled so as to achieve the crossed portion traveling state.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the article holding unit 8 is in the intersection traveling state at the intersection C, the center of gravity W of the ceiling transport vehicle 1 is located directly below the traveling wheel 3a. At this time, the force by which the guided wheel 9a presses the guide surface 40a is indicated by F1.
FIG. 9 shows a state in which the article holding portion 8 is not brought into the intersection traveling state at the intersection C as a comparative example, although it does not appear in the present embodiment. In this case, the center of gravity W of the ceiling transport vehicle 1 is located closer to the center in the vehicle body width direction as viewed in the traveling direction. At this time, the force by which the guided wheel 9a presses the guide surface 40a is indicated by F2.

As can be seen from FIGS. 8 and 9, the force F <b> 1 that the guided wheel 9 a presses the guide surface 40 a when the article holding portion 8 is in the intersection running state at the intersection C is the article holding portion 8 at the intersection C. Is less than the force F2 that the guided wheel 9a presses on the guide surface 40a.
In other words, at the intersection C, the article holding unit 8 is set to the intersection traveling state to reduce the moment centered on the location where the traveling wheel 3a contacts the traveling rail 2a, and the guided wheel 9a is guided to the guide surface 40a. The force which presses can be made small.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the said 1st and 2nd embodiment, the structure which applied the article conveyance equipment of this invention to the ceiling conveyance equipment provided with the ceiling conveyance vehicle which drive | works on the traveling rail arrange | positioned in the suspended state from the ceiling. Although described as an example, the traveling rail may be supported by a support standing on the floor or supported by a support protruding from the wall surface. Moreover, although the said 1st and 2nd embodiment demonstrated the example which uses the article conveyance equipment of this invention in a glass substrate manufacturing equipment or a semiconductor component manufacturing equipment, the goods conveyance equipment of this invention is manufacture other than the above illustrated. You may use for an installation, storage facilities, etc.

(2) In the first and second embodiments, when the article holding unit 8 is set to the intersection traveling state at the intersection C, the center of gravity W of the ceiling transport vehicle 1 is located directly below the traveling wheel 3a. As described above, the configuration in which the rack and pinion M2 is moved and operated is illustrated. However, the center of gravity W of the overhead traveling vehicle 1 only needs to be closer to the non-intersecting traveling rail than the center in the vehicle width direction in the traveling direction. . In the first and second embodiments, the support 7 with a lateral movement mechanism provided at the lower end of the connection member 6 includes the rack and pinion M2 as a lateral movement mechanism, and the connection member 6 of the article holding unit 8 is However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the configuration is such that the position of the connecting member 6 in the vehicle body width direction is moved with respect to the traveling unit 5. It is good.

  In the first and second embodiments, the rack and pinion M2 is provided as the lateral movement mechanism. However, for example, a transfer mechanism for transferring the article B to the article holding unit 8 in the lateral direction of the vehicle body is provided. In such a case, the transfer mechanism may be used to displace the position of the article B in the vehicle body width direction.

Furthermore, the control unit H detects and manages the weight of the ceiling transport vehicle 1 or the article holding unit 8, and the movement operation amount of the rack and pinion M <b> 2 (the moving distance of the article holding unit 8) is The moving operation amount is small when the weight or the weight of the article B held by the article holding unit 8 is small, and the large moving operation is performed when the weight of the overhead conveyance vehicle 1 or the weight of the article B held by the article holding unit 8 is large. It is good also as a structure controlled so that it may become quantity.
Further, the control unit H detects the traveling speed of the ceiling transport vehicle 1 and performs control so that the moving operation amount of the rack and pinion M2 (the moving distance of the article holding unit 8) varies depending on the traveling speed of the ceiling transport vehicle 1. It is good.

(3) In the first or second embodiment, the configuration in which the control unit H is installed in the traveling unit 5 and the command information from the upper management device is received to control the operation of the overhead carriage 1 has been described. The configuration is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the control unit H is provided outside the traveling unit 5 (for example, the ground side), and the traveling unit 5 includes only a receiving unit that receives command information from the control unit H. Thus, the travel drive motor M1, the rack gear in the rack and pinion M2, and the slide body drive motor M3 or the solenoid mechanism M4 may be driven in accordance with the received command information. Further, the driving drive motor M1, the rack gear in the rack and pinion M2, and the slide body driving motor M3 or the solenoid mechanism M4 may be driven by the autonomous determination of the control unit H provided in the traveling unit 5.

(4) In the first embodiment, the configuration has been described in which the guided wheel 9 is supported by the slide body 9S, and the slide body 9S is slid to change the position of the guided wheel 9 in the lateral width direction of the vehicle body. The structure is not limited to such a configuration. For example, instead of the guided wheel 9, a contact body having a small frictional resistance is attached to the slide body 9S, and the guide rail 31 and the contact body are brought into contact with each other. Also good. Further, the guided wheel 9 may be mounted on an arm swingable in a horizontal plane so that the guided wheel 9 can be rotated by a vertical axis, and the position of the guided wheel 9 in the lateral direction of the vehicle body is changed by swinging the arm. Good.

  In the first or second embodiment, two guided wheels 9 are provided corresponding to the pair of traveling wheels 3 in the lateral direction of the vehicle body. However, one guided wheel 9 is provided corresponding to the pair of traveling wheels 3. Alternatively, three or more guided wheels 9 may be provided, and the guided wheels 9 are not provided corresponding to the pair of traveling wheels 3 in the lateral width direction of the vehicle body, but 1 corresponding to the traveling unit 5. An arbitrary number of guided wheels 9 or more may be provided.

(5) In the first or second embodiment, the traveling unit 5 of the ceiling transport vehicle 1 is configured as a single casing, and all the traveling wheels 3 provided in a plurality of pairs in the traveling direction of the ceiling transport vehicle 1 are Although the configuration provided in the single casing portion has been exemplified, the configuration is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the pair of traveling wheels 3 are provided in the vehicle body width direction and are rotated around the vertical axis. A plurality of movable housing parts may be provided in the traveling direction of the ceiling transport vehicle 1 and connected to each other. In this case, the plurality of housing parts serve as the traveling part 5.

(6) In the first or second embodiment, the branching path or the merging path in which the ceiling transport vehicle 1 can transfer between a plurality of paths is exemplified as the intersection C. Also included is a cross road (not limited to one that intersects at a right angle in plan view) in which the car 1 cannot transfer between a plurality of routes. This case is shown in FIG. When the ceiling transport vehicle 1 travels using the route (o) and the route (i) as travel routes, the ceiling transport vehicle 1 cannot transfer to the route (x) or the route (ii). In this case, between the route (o) and the route (i), there is a rail-existing section where the traveling rail 2 does not exist in both the pair of left and right traveling rails 2, so that a pair is formed in the lateral width direction of the traveling portion. A state occurs in which both the traveling wheels 3 are not placed and supported on the traveling rail 2. Therefore, the crossing portion traveling rail 2r appears on one of the pair of left and right traveling rails 2 between the route (o) and the route (i), which are the traveling routes of the ceiling transport vehicle 1. Further, the intersection guide rail 31r is made to appear so as to be parallel to the intersection traveling rail 2r in plan view. Thereby, the overhead conveyance vehicle 1 keeps the same attitude | position as the case where both the traveling wheels 3 provided in a pair also on the crossing road are mounted and supported by the traveling rail 2, and pass an intersection. Can do.

(7) In the first or second embodiment, the rack and pinion M2 is used as the lateral movement mechanism. However, the configuration is not limited to such a configuration, and the traveling unit 5 such as a ball screw or a SCARA arm is used. On the other hand, various mechanisms capable of moving the article holding portion 8 in the lateral width direction of the vehicle body can be used.

(8) In the first or second embodiment, the configuration in which the pair of traveling rails 2 are arranged in a state of being separated from each other in the horizontal direction and supported by the yoke 30 or the yoke 40 is illustrated. For example, a pair of rail portions corresponding to the traveling rails 2 are integrally formed at the lower end and formed by an appropriate forming method such as extrusion forming. It is good also as a structure using the rail material formed in a scale shape.
Moreover, in the said 1st or 2nd embodiment, it was set as the structure which supports each of a pair of rail 2 to the lower end part of the yoke 30 or 40 as a support form of a pair of rail 2, However, The space | interval of a pair of rail 2 is set. As long as the structure can be supported in a properly maintained state, not only the form supported by the yoke as described above, but also various support forms can be applied.

(9) In the second embodiment, the configuration in which the solenoid mechanism M4 is used to raise or lower the guided wheels 9a and 9b is exemplified. However, instead of such a configuration, for example, a rack and pinion or a ball screw is used. Various linear movement operation mechanisms such as these can be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article conveyance vehicle 2 Traveling rail 2u Traveling surface 3 Traveling wheel 5 Traveling part 6 Connection part 8 Article holding part 9 Guided body 31 Guide part B Article M2 Lateral movement mechanism H Control part

Claims (2)

An article transport vehicle that can travel along a travel path projects above a pair of travel rails disposed along the travel path above the floor and below the lower end of the travel rail. An article holding portion disposed below the traveling portion and capable of holding an article in a form, and configured in a form in which an intermediate portion in the vertical direction is positioned between the pair of traveling rails,
The traveling unit includes a pair of traveling wheels that roll on an upward traveling surface of the pair of traveling rails, separated in the lateral direction of the vehicle body, and arranged in pairs with an interval in the traveling direction.
An intersection that intersects an intersection route that is another route is set as the route,
Of the pair of travel rails, the crossing travel rail that is the side on which the crossing route is located is such that the intermediate portion travels on the crossing side when the article transport vehicle travels on the crossing route via the intersection. It is divided in the running direction so as to form a rail-free section that passes through the rail,
The crossing portion is provided with a guide portion that contacts the guided body provided in the traveling portion and guides the traveling of the traveling portion in order to cause the article transport vehicle to travel along the selected traveling route.
When the article transport vehicle passes through the intersecting portion, the guide portion guides and supports the guided body so that the traveling portion is on the side where the intersecting route is not located in the pair of traveling rails. It is an article transport facility configured to travel in a form that suppresses falling off from the non-crossing traveling rail,
The article transport vehicle includes a lateral movement mechanism that operates the article holding unit to move in the vehicle lateral width direction with respect to the traveling unit.
When the control unit that controls the operation of the article transporting vehicle causes the article transporting vehicle to travel at a position other than the intersection, the article holding unit is in a normal traveling state located below an intermediate position of the pair of traveling rails, and In the case where the article transport vehicle is caused to travel at the intersection, the article holding portion is located on the side away from the intersection traveling rail in the lateral direction of the vehicle body from below the intermediate position of the pair of traveling rails. Therefore, an article conveyance facility configured to control the operation of the lateral movement mechanism. A connecting portion for connecting the traveling portion and the article holding portion in a form passing between the pair of traveling rails is provided, and a part or all of the connecting portion in the vertical direction corresponds to the intermediate portion;
The article transporting facility according to claim 1, wherein the lateral movement mechanism is configured to move the article holding section in a vehicle lateral width direction with respect to the connection section.

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