JP5610230B2 - Goods transport equipment - Google Patents

Description

  In the present invention, a moving body that is moved along a moving path along a horizontal direction is provided with a fork mechanism that places and supports an article so that the article can be moved out and up and down, and is positioned along the moving path. The moving object is controlled so that the moving body is moved to the article transfer target location and stopped, and the moving object is stopped at the article transfer target location. The present invention relates to an article conveyance facility provided with operation control means for controlling the withdrawal and raising / lowering operation of the fork mechanism so as to lift, support, and transfer articles located at a target location.

Such an article conveyance facility is applied to, for example, an automatic warehouse having a stacker crane, and picks up and lifts an article located at an article transfer target location by a fork mechanism provided on a lifting platform of the stacker crane. The article is transferred to the lifting platform.
In such an article transport facility, conventionally, whether the weight of the article is equal to or less than a set weight by detecting the bending of the fork mechanism in a state where the fork mechanism is protruded and the article located at the article transfer target position is lifted and supported. There is known one configured to determine whether or not (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-274610 A

In the prior art described in Patent Document 1, although it is possible to determine whether or not an article to be lifted by the fork mechanism is excessive, it is determined whether or not the weight of the article to be lifted is an uneven load biased to one side. I can't do it.
That is, when the weight of the article to be lifted is biased to either the left or right in the fork mechanism view, when trying to transfer the article by the fork mechanism, due to the uneven load of the article, There is a risk of the article falling from the fork mechanism.
As a matter of course, in the conventional technique described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, it is not possible to prevent the article from falling due to the uneven load of such an article, and conventionally, the uneven load of this kind of article is not possible. No special measures were taken against the situation, and the actual situation was left to the operator's precautions.

  The present invention pays attention to such a situation, and its purpose is that when the fork mechanism is used to transfer an article, the weight of the article is biased to either the left or right in the view of the fork mechanism. However, an object of the present invention is to provide an article transport facility that can reliably prevent an article from dropping from the fork mechanism.

In the article transporting facility according to the present invention, a fork mechanism for placing and supporting an article on a moving body that is moved along a moving path along a horizontal direction is provided so as to be movable out and up and down, and the movement In a state where the moving body is controlled to move to the article transfer target location located along the path and stopped so that the movable body is moved and stopped, and the movable body is stopped at the article transfer target location. , An article transport facility provided with operation control means for controlling the exit and retreat and lifting operation of the fork mechanism so as to lift and support the article located at the article transfer target location,
In the first characteristic configuration, the fork mechanism protrudes and the article positioned at the article transfer target portion is lifted and supported, and the fork mechanism in the left-right lateral direction of the article to be lifted when viewed from the withdrawing direction. An inclination state detection means for detecting inclination is provided, and the operation control means transfers the article when the article to be lifted is not inclined based on the detection information of the inclination state detection means. In that it is configured to run.

  According to the first characteristic configuration of the present invention, the tilt state detection means outputs detection information about the tilt in the left and right lateral direction of the article to be lifted when the fork mechanism is viewed in the retracted direction, based on the detection information. The operation control means performs the transfer of the article when the article to be lifted is not tilted.In other words, the weight of the article is biased to either the left or right when viewed from the withdrawing / retracting direction of the fork mechanism. When there is a possibility that the article to be lifted is inclined and falls, the article is not transferred, so that there is no drop from the fork mechanism due to the uneven load of the article when the article is transferred.

  According to a second characteristic configuration of the present invention, in the first characteristic configuration of the present invention, the operation control means may be configured such that, even if the article to be lifted is tilted based on the detection information of the tilt state detection means, If the amount of inclination is within an allowable range, the article is transferred.

  According to the second characteristic configuration of the present invention, even if the operation control means is based on the detection information of the inclination state detection means and the article to be lifted is inclined, if the inclination amount is within the allowable range, In other words, if the article is within the range where there is no risk of dropping from the fork mechanism, the article is transferred even if the article is inclined, so the transfer is performed only when the article is not inclined. Compared to performing the above, it is possible to efficiently transfer the article, and to reliably prevent the article from falling from the fork mechanism during the article transfer.

  According to a third characteristic configuration of the present invention, in the second characteristic configuration of the present invention, the operation control means has an inclination amount of the article to be lifted out of an allowable range based on detection information of the inclination state detection means. In this case, the operation of the fork mechanism is controlled to return the article to the article transfer target location.

According to the third characteristic configuration of the present invention, the operation control means controls the operation of the fork mechanism when the inclination amount of the article to be lifted is outside the allowable range based on the detection information of the inclination state detection means. Therefore, the article can be supported more stably than when the fork mechanism is stopped while the article is lifted and supported by the fork mechanism.
In other words, if the amount of inclination of the article is out of the allowable range, a warning or the like is given and measures such as correcting the uneven load of the article are taken, but until then, the article is supported stably. It is possible to prevent the article from unexpectedly falling.

  According to a fourth characteristic configuration of the present invention, in any one of the first to third characteristic configurations of the present invention, the tilt state detection means is lifted and supported by the fork mechanism when the fork mechanism is viewed in the retracted direction. This is in that it is composed of a pair of left and right distance measuring sensors that measure the height to the bottom surface of the article.

  According to the fourth characteristic configuration of the present invention, the inclination state of the article is detected by measuring the left and right heights to the bottom surface of the article by a pair of left and right distance measuring sensors, so that the inclination state of the article is reliably detected. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the article from dropping from the fork mechanism.

  According to a fifth characteristic configuration of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth characteristic configurations of the present invention, the fork mechanism has a substantially central portion in the lateral direction of the article when the fork mechanism is viewed in the retracted direction. It is in the point comprised by the single fork mechanism which supports.

According to the fifth characteristic configuration of the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent the article from dropping from the fork mechanism despite the single fork mechanism that can be simplified structurally.
That is, as the fork mechanism, for example, a pair of fork mechanisms arranged in the horizontal direction of the article can be configured. In that case, if the pair of fork mechanisms are relatively close to the center in the lateral direction of the article, the article may still fall, but the structure is simple compared to such a pair of fork mechanisms. It is possible to surely prevent the article from falling while achieving the improvement.

Partial cutaway perspective view of automated warehouse Side view of stacker crane Side view of fork mechanism Block diagram of operation control means Perspective view of mounting table Operational diagram showing the lifted state of the article on the mounting table by the fork mechanism

An embodiment of an article conveying facility according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The article transporting equipment of the present invention is applied in an automatic warehouse or the like, and the automatic warehouse is spaced apart so that the loading and unloading directions of containers C as articles are opposed to each other, for example, as shown in FIG. The moving path 2 along the horizontal direction set between the pair of article storage shelves 1, in other words, the horizontal set on the front side of each article storage shelf 1. The stacker crane 3 is configured to automatically travel along the movement path 2 along the direction.
Each article storage shelf 1 is provided with a plurality of front and rear support columns 1a extending in the vertical direction at intervals in the horizontal direction, and the pair of front and rear support columns 1a are provided with a horizontal supporting support portion 1b. Are arranged at intervals. And the storage part 4 in each article | item storage shelf 1 is comprised so that it may store in the form which mounts and supports the container C in the mounting support part 1b, The storage part 4 is provided in a row many in length and breadth, For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a large number of roll-shaped products R are stored in the container C side by side.

The travel route 2 is provided with a traveling rail 5 on the floor side and a guide rail 6 on the ceiling side along the travel route 2, and an automatic warehouse including a stacker crane 3 on one end side of the traveling rail 5. A ground-side controller 7 that constitutes an operation control means H that controls the overall operation is provided, and a pair of mounting tables 8 as article transfer target locations for transferring containers C that are articles are sandwiched between the traveling rails 5. Is provided.
As shown in FIG. 2, the stacker crane 3 includes a moving carriage 9 as a moving body that is moved on the traveling rail 5 along the moving path 2, and a pair of lifting masts erected on the moving carriage 9. A fork mechanism 12 that includes a lifting platform 11 that is moved up and down along the line 10 and that supports and transfers the container C is provided on the lifting platform 11 so as to be freely retractable. In other words, the fork mechanism 12 is provided so that it can be moved out and up and down with respect to the movable carriage 9 by an operation of moving up and down the lift table 11 and a lifting operation of the lift table 11.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper ends of the pair of lifting masts 10 are connected to each other by an upper frame 13 and are guided along guide rails 6 by guide rollers 14 provided on the upper frame 13. The lifting platform 11 is configured to be vertically movable along the pair of lifting masts 10 and is supported by being suspended by the lifting chain 15.
The raising / lowering chain 15 is wound around a guide sprocket 16 provided on the upper frame 13 and a guide sprocket 17 provided on one raising / lowering mast 10, and is connected to a take-up drum 18 mounted on the movable carriage 9. Has been. The take-up drum 18 is driven to rotate in the forward and reverse directions by an inverter-type elevating electric motor 19, and the elevating platform 11 is moved up and down by unwinding and winding operation of the elevating chain 15.
The elevator 11 is provided with a lift rotary encoder 20, and although not shown, a rotary shaft of the lift rotary encoder 20 is provided with a sprocket that meshes with a chain provided along the lift mast 10. Yes. Then, the lift rotary encoder 20 outputs a pulse by rotating the sprocket by the lift of the lift 11 with reference to the lift reference position set at the lower end of the lift path, and the lift 11 from the lift reference position is output. The raising / lowering position of the raising / lowering stand 11 in the up-down direction is detected from the raising / lowering distance.

The moving carriage 9 is provided with two front and rear wheels 21 a and 21 b that roll on the traveling rail 5, and one wheel 21 a is driven as a drive wheel that is rotated by an inverter-type traveling electric motor 22. The wheel 21 b is configured as a freely driven driven wheel, and the moving carriage 9 is configured to be moved along the movement path 2 by the rotational drive of the driving wheel 21 a by the operation of the traveling electric motor 22.
The traveling carriage 9 is provided with a traveling rotary encoder 23, and although not shown, a rotating shaft of the traveling rotary encoder 23 is provided with a sprocket that meshes with a chain provided along the traveling rail 5. Yes. Then, the traveling rotary encoder 23 outputs a pulse by rotating the sprocket by the traveling of the movable carriage 9 with reference to the horizontal reference position set at one end of the movement path 2, and the moving carriage from the horizontal reference position. The moving position of the moving carriage 9 in the horizontal direction is detected from the moving distance of 9.

As shown in FIG. 3, the fork mechanism 12 includes a fixed fork 12a fixed to the lifting / lowering base 11, a secondary fork 12b that can be moved back and forth with respect to the fixed fork 12a, and a door withdrawn from the secondary fork 12b. It is composed of a three-stage fork composed of a free primary fork 12c, and is configured to place and support the container C on the primary fork 12c as shown by the phantom line in the figure.
The three-stage fork mechanism 12 includes a rack gear 24 provided on the secondary fork 12b, a pair of pinion gears 25 meshing with the rack gear 24, and an inverter type exit / retreat driving the pair of pinion gears 25 with a gear 26. The elevating table 11 is operated to be moved in and out by an electric motor 27 and an egress / retreat drive mechanism constituted by two wires 28 that connect one end of the fixed fork 12a and one end of the primary fork 12c. The

The pair of pinion gears 25 and the electric motor 27 for exit / retreat are provided on the fixed fork 12a, and the two wires 28 are wound around an idler pulley 29 provided at the end of the secondary fork 12b. When the pinion gear 25 is rotationally driven in the forward and reverse directions by the electric motor 27, the secondary fork 12b moves forward and backward with respect to the fixed fork 12a by the meshing of the pinion gear 25 and the rack gear 24. The movement of the rolling pulley 29 causes the wire 28 to move the primary fork 12c out of and out of the secondary fork 12b.
As shown in FIG. 6, the three-stage fork mechanism 12 is composed of a single fork mechanism that supports a substantially central portion in the left and right lateral direction of the container C when viewed in the retracted direction. 3 is rotated in the forward and reverse directions, and the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the movable carriage 9 is set as the article transfer direction, and the retraction position shown in FIG. 3A and the protrusion shown in FIG. It is configured to move in and out of the position.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the mounting table 8 as the article transfer target location includes four mounting columns 8a and mounting units 8b provided on the upper portions of the mounting columns 8a. The fall prevention member 8c is connected to each placement part 8b, and the container C is configured to be placed with its four corners supported by the placement part 8b.
Each mounting column 8a is connected by a reinforcing member 8d, and a supporting member 30 is connected to each of the reinforcing members 8d positioned on the left and right in the view of the fork mechanism 12, and a laser beam is connected to each supporting member 30. A distance measuring sensor 31 of the type is attached in a state where it is located at the same height. As shown in FIG. 6, the pair of left and right distance measuring sensors 31 are lifted when the fork mechanism 12 protrudes and the container C on the mounting table 8 is lifted and supported. Is measured to the left and right bottom surfaces of the container C, and the measured height information is output to the crane control device 33 (see FIG. 4). Then, as will be described later, the crane control device 33 detects the inclination of the container C in the horizontal direction based on the distance measurement information from the distance measurement sensor 31. As described above, the distance measuring sensor 31 is for detecting the tilt information in the horizontal direction of the container C, and functions as the tilt state detecting means 32.

As shown in FIG. 4, the stacker crane 3 is provided with a crane control device 33 that constitutes the operation control means H together with the ground-side controller 7, and the traveling electric motor 22 is based on a command from the ground-side controller 7. The operation of the lifting and lowering electric motor 19 and the moving electric motor 27 is controlled.
Therefore, the crane control device 33 controls the operation of the traveling control unit 33 a that controls the operation of the traveling electric motor 22, the lifting control unit 33 b that controls the operation of the lifting electric motor 19, and the operation of the exit / exit electric motor 27. Detection information from a traveling state rotary encoder 23, a lifting rotary encoder 20, and an inclination state detecting means 32 including a pair of distance measuring sensors 31 is input.
The crane control device 33 controls the operation of the traveling electric motor 22 and the lifting electric motor 19 based on the detection information of the traveling rotary encoder 23 and the lifting rotary encoder 20, and moves the lifting platform 11 to the article transfer. In the state where the fork mechanism 12 is positioned at the target position, the fork mechanism 12 is configured to project and retract by controlling the operation of the electric motor 27 for exit and withdrawal.

For example, the ground-side controller 7 instructs the crane control device 33 to issue a delivery command for delivering the container C stored in any of the plurality of storage units 4 to the mounting table 8, and then the mounting table 8. A warehousing command for warehousing the upper container C into any of the storage units 4 is instructed.
Specifically, if a roll-shaped product R is required, the ground controller 7 is operated to instruct the crane control device 33 to leave the container C that stores the roll-shaped product R. .
Then, the traveling control unit 33a of the crane control device 33 moves the stacker crane 3 along the movement path 2 to stop it at a predetermined position of the article storage shelf 1, and the lifting control unit 33b is moved to the lifting platform 11 of the stacker crane 3. The fork mechanism 12 moves the fork mechanism 12 up and down, picks up the container C to be unloaded from the storage unit 4 by the fork mechanism 12, and transfers it to the lifting platform 11. Thereafter, the traveling control unit 33a moves the stacker crane 3 along the movement path 2 and stops it at a predetermined position corresponding to the mounting table 8, and the lifting control unit 33b performs the lifting / lowering operation and the exit / retreat control unit. The container C is mounted on the mounting table 8 as shown in FIG.

In this state, the necessary roll-shaped product R is taken out from the container C, and then the ground controller 7 is operated to instruct the crane control device 33 to store the container C.
Then, the exit / exit control unit 33c causes the fork mechanism 12 to protrude downward from the container C, and as shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C, the elevating control unit 33b raises the elevating platform 11. The fork mechanism 12 scoops up the container C, and the lift of the elevator 11 is stopped in a state where the container C is lifted and supported to a predetermined height. In the stop state, the pair of distance measuring sensors 31 constituting the inclination state detecting means 32 measure the height to the left and right bottom surfaces of the container C to be lifted, and the detection information relating to the height is used as the operation control means H. Output to the crane control device 33.
Based on the detection information from the distance measuring sensor 31, the crane control device 33 determines whether or not the container C to be lifted is inclined in the left-right direction. judge.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the container C is not tilted, the container C is picked up by the fork mechanism 12 and transferred to the lifting platform 11. Although not shown, even if the container C is inclined, if the amount of inclination is within an allowable range, in other words, even if the container C is picked up by the fork mechanism 12 and transferred, the fork If it is within a range where the container C is not likely to fall from the mechanism 12, the transfer to the lifting platform 11 is executed as it is.
As shown in FIG. 6C, if the amount of inclination of the container C is outside the allowable range, in other words, if the transfer is performed as it is, the container C may fall from the fork mechanism 12. Without moving to the lifting platform 11, the fork mechanism 12 is moved down as it is to return the container C onto the mounting table 8, and an appropriate means notifies that the container C is tilted due to the unbalanced load. .
The height measurement by the distance measuring sensor 31 is performed simultaneously with the start of scooping of the container C by the fork mechanism 12, and the inclination amount of the container C is outside the allowable range before the container C is lifted to a predetermined stop height. If that happens, the fork mechanism 12 stops rising at that time, the fork mechanism 12 is lowered, and the container C is returned to the mounting table 8. It is surely prevented.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the previous embodiment, the pair of distance measuring sensors 31 constitute the tilt state detecting means 32, and the detection information relating to the height measured by the pair of distance measuring sensors 31 is input to the operation control means H, Although the control means H showed the example comprised so that the inclination state of the container C might be detected based on the detection information, the inclination state detection means 32 showed the container C based on the detection information by a pair of distance measuring sensors 31. It is also possible to determine whether the container C is tilted, that is, whether or not the container C is tilted, and if the container C is tilted, the tilt amount is determined and the result is input to the operation control means H. .
In addition, although a laser type distance measuring sensor using laser light has been shown as an example of the distance measuring sensor 31, for example, various types of distance measuring sensors using infrared light, ultrasonic waves, or the like are used. be able to.
Furthermore, referring to FIG. 6, various load measuring means such as load cells are installed on the left and right mounting portions 8 b and the container C is lifted and supported by the fork mechanism 12. If there is no load (see (b) of FIG. 6), it is determined that the container C is not inclined, and if only one of the load measuring means is measuring the load ((c) of FIG. 6). It is also possible to determine that the container C is inclined. In this case, a load measuring means such as a load cell constitutes the inclined state detecting means 32.

(2) In the previous embodiment, when the container C is not inclined, or even when the container C is inclined, the amount of inclination is within an allowable range, the container C is transferred by the fork mechanism 12. However, it is also possible to perform the transfer only when the container C is not inclined.
Further, in the case where the transfer is not executed, the example in which the container C is returned to the mounting table 8 is shown. However, the container C is tilted as it is without returning the container C to the mounting table 8. It can also be configured to notify that there is.
Furthermore, although the single fork mechanism is shown as the fork mechanism 12, for example, even if it is a pair of fork mechanisms arranged in the left and right lateral direction of the container C, the pair of fork mechanisms is the left and right lateral of the container C. The container C is not limited to a single fork mechanism because the container C may fall if it is closer to the center of the direction.
In addition, the container C that stores the roll-shaped product R is shown as an example of the product. However, the product can be applied to any product as long as the product may cause an uneven load. The equipment is not limited to the automatic warehouse having the stacker crane 3 in particular, and can be applied to various article transport equipment other than the automatic warehouse.

2 moving path 8 article transfer target location 9 moving body 12 fork mechanism 31 distance measuring sensor 32 tilt state detection means C article H operation control means

Claims (5)

A moving body that is moved along a moving path along the horizontal direction is provided with a fork mechanism that places and supports an article so that the article can be moved out and up and down freely.
The movement of the moving body is controlled so as to move and stop the moving body to the article transfer target location located along the movement path, and the moving body stops at the article transfer target location. In the state, the article transfer equipment provided with operation control means for controlling the withdrawal and lifting operation of the fork mechanism so as to lift and support the article located at the article transfer target location,
Inclined state for detecting the inclination of the article to be lifted in the left-right lateral direction when the fork mechanism protrudes and supports the article positioned at the article transfer target position when the fork mechanism is lifted and supported Detection means are provided,
An article transporting facility configured to transfer the article when the article to be lifted is not tilted based on the detection information of the tilt state detecting means.   Even if the article to be lifted is tilted based on the detection information of the tilt state detecting means, the operation control means performs transfer of the article if the tilt amount is within an allowable range. The article conveying facility according to claim 1 configured.   The operation control means controls the operation of the fork mechanism to move the article when the inclination amount of the article to be lifted is outside an allowable range based on the detection information of the inclination state detection means. The article conveyance facility according to claim 2, wherein the article conveyance facility is configured to return to a placement target portion.   The said inclination state detection means is comprised by the left-right paired distance measuring sensor which measures the height to the bottom face of the articles | goods lifted and supported by the fork mechanism in the view direction of the said fork mechanism. The article conveyance equipment according to any one of the above.   The said fork mechanism is comprised by the single fork mechanism which supports the substantially center part in the left-right horizontal direction of the said article | item in the exit / retreat direction view of the fork mechanism. Goods conveying equipment.

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