JP6238052B2 - Tow truck - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a towing cart that is used for transporting luggage, parts, and the like and towed in a single state or in a state where a plurality of units are connected.

  Conventionally, at production sites such as luggage collection / delivery centers and factories, parts and luggage are carried on one or more towing carts connected to the leading towing vehicle (towing powered vehicle). The vehicle is towed along the traveling track of the leading vehicle. In a typical tow truck wheel configuration, casters are provided at the four corners. The front casters are capable of swiveling in any direction on the front left and right, and the rear wheels are fixed on the front and rear wheels. Fixed casters are provided.

  On the other hand, a four-wheel steering cart that steers wheels at four corners by a mechanical link mechanism is known as a towing cart used in a yard trailer or the like (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). Since this four-wheel steering cart can pass almost the same trajectory as the towing head vehicle, it is used in a state where a plurality of vehicles are connected when a large amount of luggage is transported at a time in a factory, an airport, or the like. However, although this four-wheel steering carriage has the performance of passing the same trajectory as the preceding vehicle, the same trajectory is drawn only during forward movement.

  On the other hand, there is known an automatic conveyance carriage having an automatic steering mechanism that automatically conveys luggage and the like by traveling unattended along a guide path such as a magnetic tape laid on the floor (for example, a patent) References 1 and 2).

"On-site trailer information / 4WS type trolleys that are ideal for large-volume and heavy-weight transportation, etc. | Chubu Sangyo", [online], [searched on August 19, 2013], Internet <URL: http: //www.chubu-sangyo. co.jp/toreraor/toreraor.htm>

JP-A-10-39925 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-78663

  As described above, the above-described conventional four-wheel steering carriage has the performance of passing the same trajectory as that of the preceding vehicle, but the same trajectory is drawn only during forward movement. Therefore, when this four-wheel steering carriage is used, since it is necessary to plan the conveyance path in a loop shape on the assumption of forward movement, there is a problem in that useless space is required.

  For this reason, a tow truck that can pass the same trajectory as that of the preceding vehicle during forward movement, and can pass the same trajectory as that of the rear vehicle during reverse movement, in other words, the traction power vehicle. There has been a demand for the development of a towing cart capable of traveling on a predetermined route regardless of forward movement or backward movement.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tow truck that can travel on a predetermined route regardless of forward movement and backward movement of the traction powered vehicle.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a towing cart according to the present invention is a towing cart that does not have traveling power to be pulled by a towing power vehicle having traveling power, Wheels attached to the front side and the rear side, guide line sensors attached to the vicinity of the wheels and detecting the guide lines provided on the floor, and driving means for steering the wheels, respectively And an automatic steering mechanism that drives the driving means based on detection of the guide wire sensor to control the steering of the wheels.

  In addition, in the above-described invention, the other traction cart according to the present invention is configured such that the traction power vehicle travels along the guide line so that the traction power vehicle can be moved forward or backward. The vehicle is configured to be able to pass the same trajectory as the traction power vehicle.

  According to the towing cart according to the present invention, the towing cart does not have the driving power to be pulled by the towing power vehicle having the driving power, and the wheels are respectively attached to the front side and the rear side of the vehicle body, A guide line sensor that is mounted near each wheel and detects a guide line provided on the floor, a drive means for steering each wheel, and the drive based on the detection of the guide line sensor And an automatic steering mechanism that controls the wheels by driving the means, so that the towing cart can pass along a predetermined route while detecting the guide line during both forward and backward movements. Play. For this reason, the traction cart can travel on a predetermined route regardless of the forward movement and backward movement of the traction power vehicle. In particular, even in a backward movement that has conventionally been difficult to follow the vehicle behind, the tow truck can travel on the same trajectory as the vehicle behind.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to make the travel route in a loop shape, it is possible to reciprocate a single route, so that the shortest route can be planned, and a situation in which space is not occupied as in the conventional case does not occur. Furthermore, regardless of whether the traction power vehicle is moving forward or backward, the traction vehicle can travel on a predetermined route. For example, like a railway freight base, an unused traction vehicle is guided to a waiting area by a traction power vehicle. It is possible.

FIG. 1 is a schematic bottom view showing an embodiment of a tow truck according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. FIG. 3 is a front sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing an example in which a plurality of tow trolleys according to the present invention are connected and the forward operation and the reverse operation are performed with the power of the leading traction vehicle.

  Embodiments of a tow truck according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, a towing cart 10 according to the present invention is a cart that does not have traveling power that is pulled by a towing power vehicle that has traveling power. The tow truck 10 steers the left and right steering wheels 14 (wheels) respectively attached to the front side 12f and the rear side 12r of the vehicle body 12 in the left-right direction center, and the front and rear steering wheels 14 respectively. And a steering motor 16 (driving means). The motor 16 is fixed to a base 18 attached to the lower surface of the vehicle body 12 in a suspended state.

  Further, the traction cart 10 is attached to the front side and the rear side in the vicinity of the front and rear steering wheels 14, respectively, and a magnetic sensor 20 that detects the generated magnetism from the magnetic tape 2 (guide wire) provided on the floor surface 1. (Guide wire sensor) and an automatic steering mechanism 22 for steering and controlling the front and rear steering wheels 14 respectively. The magnetic sensor 20 is attached downward at the front end and the rear end of a support member 26 extending forward and backward from the wheel support portion 24 of each steered wheel 14.

  The automatic steering mechanism 22 controls the steering wheel 14 by driving the motor 16 based on the detection of the magnetic sensor 20, and has an inverted U shape in front view connecting and supporting the rotation shafts of the left and right steering wheels 14. A steering shaft 28 that rises vertically upward from the center of the upper surface of the wheel support portion 24 and is rotatably fixed to the lower surface of the vehicle body. The axis of the steering shaft 28 is located at the center in the left-right direction between the left and right steering wheels 14.

  The steering shaft 28 and the output shaft of the motor 16 are connected via pulleys, timing belts, gears, etc. (not shown), and the steering wheel 14 turns in the direction of the wheel through the rotation of the steering shaft 28 by the motor 16. And is automatically steered. In this way, the automatic steering mechanism 22 can perform steering control of the traveling direction of the traction carriage 10. A control device for the automatic steering mechanism 22 (not shown) and a power supply battery for the motor 16 are fixed in the vicinity of the motor 16 on the lower surface of the vehicle body.

  The traction cart 10 further includes casters 30 provided at the four corners of the lower surface of the vehicle body, that is, the front left and right and the rear left and right of the vehicle body. The caster 30 is configured as a free caster capable of turning the direction of the wheel in an arbitrary direction, and includes a wheel 32, a wheel support part 34, a sliding part 36, and a base 38.

  The operation and action of the above configuration will be described. However, in the following description, the tow cart 10 is started by an operator's start button input operation (not shown), and thereafter, the automatic steering control operation by the automatic steering mechanism 22 is performed until the stop button is input. It is assumed that the control device software is assembled in advance.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the tow cart 10 has a magnetic sensor (not shown) as in the present invention and is driven along the magnetic tape 2 in a state where four are connected in series via a connector 40. The vehicle is towed by a towing head vehicle V (traction power vehicle) configured as described above. Each of the magnetic sensors 10 in the two automatic steering mechanisms 22 at the front and rear of each traction cart 10 individually detects the magnetic tape 2 and steers the steering wheel 14.

(For forward movement)
First, the case of the forward movement in which the towing head vehicle V travels in the forward direction F will be described.
The two automatic steering mechanisms 22 at the front and rear of each traction cart 10 detect the strength and direction of the magnetic lines generated by the magnetic tape 2 by the magnetic sensor 20 located on the front side (front side in the traveling direction) of each steering wheel 14, and the magnetic tape 2 The two front and rear motors 16 are automatically controlled so that the left end (or right end) of the motor is at a fixed position of the magnetic sensor 20, and the two front and rear sets of steering wheels 14 are steered. In this case, for example, the steering wheel 14 may be steered so that the magnetic tape 2 is positioned at the center between the left and right steering wheels 14. The detection signals of the magnetic sensor 20 are respectively input to a control device (not shown) of the automatic steering mechanism 22 and processed. The control device performs drive control of the motor 16 based on a detection signal from the magnetic sensor 20. In this way, each towing cart 10 towed by the leading towing vehicle V automatically performs steering along the magnetic tape 2.

  When the two front and rear automatic steering mechanisms 22 are synchronously controlled by a control device (not shown) of the automatic steering mechanism 22, the two front and rear sets of steering wheels 14 travel by automatic steering along the magnetic tape 2. The four turnable casters 30 are forcibly steered. For this reason, the traction cart 10 can travel along the magnetic tape 2 not only in a straight line but also in a curved line such as a corner portion.

(For backward movement)
Next, the case of the reverse operation in which the towing head vehicle V travels in the reverse direction R will be described.
The two automatic steering mechanisms 22 at the front and rear of each traction carriage 10 detect the strength and direction of the magnetic lines generated by the magnetic tape 2 by the magnetic sensor 20 located on the rear side (front side in the traveling direction) of each steering wheel 14. As in the case of the forward movement described above, the two front and rear motors 16 are automatically controlled so that the position of the left end (or right end) of the magnetic tape 2 becomes a fixed position of the magnetic sensor 20, and two sets of front and rear steering wheels are controlled. Drive 14 while steering. Note that the operations and actions of the magnetic sensor 20, the control device (not shown) of the automatic steering mechanism 22, and the motor 16 are the same as in the case of the forward movement described above.

  As described above, the towing cart 10 of the present invention can pass the same trajectory as the towing head vehicle V while detecting the magnetic tape 2 in both the forward operation and the backward operation of the towing head vehicle V. In particular, even in the backward movement of the leading traction vehicle V, which has conventionally been difficult to follow the rear vehicle, the traction cart 10 of the present invention can travel on the same locus as the rear vehicle.

  In addition, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to make the travel route in a loop shape, and it is possible to reciprocate a single route, so that the shortest route can be planned, and a situation in which space is occupied wastefully as in the past. Does not occur. Furthermore, regardless of the forward movement or backward movement of the towing head vehicle V, the tow truck 10 can travel on a predetermined route, so that the unused towing truck 10 is on standby at the towing head car V, such as a railway freight base. It is possible to guide to the area.

  As described above, according to the towing cart according to the present invention, the towing cart has no running power towed by the towing powered vehicle having the running power, and is provided on the front side and the rear side of the vehicle body, respectively. An attached wheel, a guide line sensor that is attached to each wheel in the vicinity of the wheel and detects a guide line provided on the floor, driving means for steering each wheel, and a guide line sensor. An automatic steering mechanism that drives the drive means based on the detection to control the wheels is provided, so that the traction carriage passes along a predetermined route while detecting the guide line during both forward and backward movements. can do. For this reason, the traction cart can travel on a predetermined route regardless of the forward movement and backward movement of the traction power vehicle. In particular, even in a backward movement that has conventionally been difficult to follow the vehicle behind, the tow truck can travel on the same trajectory as the vehicle behind.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to make the travel route in a loop shape, it is possible to reciprocate a single route, so that the shortest route can be planned, and a situation in which space is not occupied as in the conventional case does not occur. Furthermore, regardless of whether the traction power vehicle is moving forward or backward, the traction vehicle can travel on a predetermined route. For example, like a railway freight base, an unused traction vehicle is guided to a waiting area by a traction power vehicle. It is possible.

  As described above, the towing cart according to the present invention is useful for a towing cart that is used for transporting luggage, parts, etc., and is towed in a single state or in a state in which a plurality of units are connected. It is suitable for traveling on a predetermined route regardless of whether the vehicle is moving forward or backward.

1 Floor 2 Magnetic tape (guide wire)
10 Tow truck 12 Car body 12f Front side 12r Rear side 14 Steering wheel (wheel)
16 Motor (drive means)
18 base 20 magnetic sensor (guide wire sensor)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 22 Automatic steering mechanism 24 Wheel support part 26 Support member 28 Steering shaft 30 Caster 32 Wheel 34 Wheel support part 36 Sliding part 38 Base 40 Connecting tool V Traction top vehicle (traction power vehicle)
F Forward direction R Reverse direction

Claims (2)

A towing cart that does not have driving power towed by a towing power vehicle having driving power,
Steering wheels respectively attached to the front side and the rear side in the center in the left-right direction of the vehicle body, the free casters attached to the front left and right sides and the rear left and right sides of the vehicle body and capable of turning the direction of the wheels in any direction, A guide line sensor that is attached to the vicinity of the steered wheels and detects a guide line provided on the floor, a drive means for steering each steered wheel, and the drive based on the detection of the guide line sensor And an automatic steering mechanism that controls the steering wheels by driving means. The traction power vehicle is configured to travel along the guide line,
2. The traction cart according to claim 1, wherein the traction trolley is configured to be able to pass through the same locus as the traction motive vehicle in both cases of the forward operation and the reverse operation of the traction power vehicle.

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