JP6254976B2 - Transport cart - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport carriage for transporting articles.

  A large warehouse or the like has a plurality of multi-row / multi-stage storage shelves equipped with a plurality of storage units capable of storing a plurality of articles, and a traveling rail is installed in each storage unit. 2. Description of the Related Art A transport facility that automates the loading and unloading of specified articles and makes work more efficient by using a self-propelled transport cart is known.

  For example, a transport facility such as Patent Document 1 is a self-propelled transport cart, a travel rail on which a drive wheel of the transport cart travels, a shelf that is arranged above the travel rail and on which articles can be placed, It has. The transporting carriage includes a mounting table that supports and supports the article and the mounting surface thereof can be moved up and down, and the transporting carriage that is in the lowered state can travel so as not to interfere with the article on the shelf. The bottom of the article designated by the ascent of the mounting table is lifted from the shelf by a predetermined height and can be transported.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-87020 (page 3, FIG. 4)

  In the transport cart of Patent Document 1 described above, the transport cart is transferred using a stacker crane when the transport cart is transferred onto the traveling rails of different housing units. However, in the stacker crane, since the movable range of the crane is limited, the transferable range of the transport cart is narrowed. Therefore, in order to increase the degree of freedom of transfer of the transport cart, the forklift is used to transfer the transport cart to the desired travel rail, but it is located at a position lower than the forklift operator's line of sight. When transferring a transporting carriage, there is a problem that when the fork of the forklift is inserted into the lower surface of the transporting carriage, the positional relationship between the lower surface of the transporting carriage and the fork is difficult to visually recognize. Therefore, when transferring such a transport cart, the operator must get off the forklift and insert the fork of the forklift into the lower surface of the transport cart while checking the positional relationship between the lower surface of the transport cart and the fork as needed. However, this work requires a lot of time, and the work of inserting the fork into the transport carriage is complicated.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a problem, and provides a transport cart that can easily perform the operation of inserting a fork into a transport cart positioned lower than the line of sight of a forklift operator. For the purpose.

In order to solve the above problems, the transport carriage of the present invention is
A carriage that includes a placement unit on which an article can be placed and a traveling device that travels along a traveling route,
A fork insertion member is provided below the transport carriage,
The transport carriage is provided with position display means for indicating an appropriate insertion position of a fork of a forklift with respect to the fork insertion member on an upper surface or a side surface of the transport carriage, and the position display means protrudes from an end portion of the transport carriage. A forklift operator provided on a provided bumper is visible from above the transport carriage.
According to this feature, the fork is inserted into the lower surface of the transport carriage while confirming the position indication means provided on the bumper protruding from the upper side of the transport carriage to the end of the transport carriage. Therefore, it is easy to insert the fork into the transport carriage located at a position lower than the line of sight of the forklift operator.

The position display means has a strip shape extending from the front surface to the upper surface of the bumper.
According to this feature, the insertion position can be visually recognized from the front side of the transport carriage.

The fork comprises a pair of claw members, and a pair of the position display means are provided so as to indicate the insertion positions of the pair of claw members, respectively.
According to this feature, the pair of claw members can be easily aligned with the pair of position display means.

The position display means is provided at both end portions in the traveling direction of the transport carriage.
According to this characteristic, the insertion position of the fork can be visually recognized by the position display means from any direction of the traveling direction of the transport carriage.

It is a side view which shows the state which the conveyance trolley | bogie in Example 1 drive | works the traveling rail of a storage shelf. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a conveyance trolley | bogie. It is a side view which shows the structure of a conveyance trolley. It is a bottom view which shows the structure of a conveyance trolley | bogie. It is the figure which looked at the state at the time of inserting a fork in a conveyance trolley from the upper part. It is the figure which looked at the state of the conveyance trolley in the dark place at the time of transfer work from the upper part. (A) is the figure which looked at the position display means in a modification from the upper part, (b) is also a front view. It is a perspective view of the position display means in a modification. It is a side view of the position display means in a modification. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a transport carriage in Example 2. It is a side view which shows the conveyance trolley | bogie in Example 2. FIG.

  EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The form for implementing the conveyance trolley | bogie which concerns on this invention is demonstrated below based on an Example.

  The transport cart according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the lower side of the screen (the side where the fork is inserted) in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the transport carriage 1 is used to store designated articles 3 in a large warehouse or the like in which a plurality of storage shelves 2 having a plurality of storage portions 2 a, 2 a,. It is used when carrying in or out of a predetermined storage portion 2a of the storage shelf 2. On the bottom surfaces 2b, 2b,... Of the storage portions 2a, 2a,... Of the storage shelf 2, running rails 4, 4,. A plurality of pallets 5, 5,... On which the article 3 is placed are supported on the placement portions 4 a, 4 a,.

  As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the transport cart 1 can move up and down with respect to the vehicle body 6 that supports the vehicle body 6 that can travel on the traveling unit 4 b provided at the lower end of the traveling rail 4 and the article 3. The mounting table 7, a lifting device (not shown) for moving the mounting table 7 up and down, and a traveling device 12 that enables the transport carriage 1 to travel on the traveling rail 4 are provided. After traveling on the traveling portion 4b of the traveling rail 4 in the lowest lowered state separated from the lower surface of the pallet 5 and entering below the pallet 5, the article 3 is lifted together with the pallet 5 by lifting the placing table 7, and the pallet 5 In addition, the article 3 is transported with a predetermined height floating from the placement portion 4a of the traveling rail 4.

  Note that a plurality of the transport carts 1 are operated for each of the storage shelves 2, 2,..., And transfer to different storage units 2a in the storage shelf 2 is performed by a forklift. . Furthermore, since the transfer carriage 1 is transferred by a forklift, it is also possible to transfer between the storage shelves 2 and 2 that are separated.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the vehicle body 6 includes a base member 10 having a bottom plate 10 a and front and rear side plate portions 10 b and 10 c formed by bending the front and rear of a metal plate to have a U-shaped cross section, and a base member. The side plates 11 and 11 are attached to the left and right sides of the base member 10, and are detachably fixed to the base member 10 by bolts, nuts and the like (not shown).

  The traveling device 12 is mainly configured by a drive motor (not shown), a drive wheel 13 and a driven wheel 14, and the drive motor is connected to a control unit (not shown) such as a sequencer by a cable (not shown). Rotation driving is performed based on information such as the rotation direction and the number of rotations transmitted from the unit. The control unit, the traveling device 12 and the lifting device can be operated by electric power supplied from a battery (not shown) built in the vehicle body 6.

  Further, the front and rear side plate portions 10b and 10c of the base member 10 are provided with horizontal rollers 28, 28,... Projecting outward from the respective left and right end portions. Further, the left and right side plates 11 and 11 are respectively provided with horizontal rollers 29 and 29 in the vicinity of the center in the front-rear direction. The horizontal rollers 28, 28,... And the horizontal rollers 29, 29 come into contact with the side surfaces of the traveling rail 4, so that the vehicle body 6 travels along the traveling rail 4.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, light emitting devices 52 and 52 and a liquid crystal panel portion 53 are provided on the side plate portions 10 b and 10 c on the front and rear sides of the base member 10, respectively. The light-emitting devices 52 and 52 emit light when bumpers 50 and 50, which will be described later, collide with an obstacle, and notify the collision with the obstacle. Further, the liquid crystal panel unit 53 is a touch panel, and by operating the liquid crystal panel unit 53, it is possible to issue a traveling instruction and various operation instructions to the transport carriage 1. The transport carriage 1 can be operated from the outside even with a tablet terminal (not shown).

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a fork insertion member 21 is provided on the bottom plate 10 a of the transport carriage 1. The fork insertion member 21 includes insertion portion bottom plates 22, 22, insertion portion side plates 24, 24,. In addition, the insertion portions 23 and 23 are formed in a substantially U-shape in which insertion portion side plates 24 and 24 are erected on both ends of the insertion portion bottom plate 22 and open upward as viewed from the front. The insertion portions 23 and 23 are disposed at a position (insertion position) where the bottom plate 10a and the pair of left and right claw members 40a and 40a (see FIG. 5) of the fork 40 of the forklift are in an appropriate positional relationship. The claw members 40a, 40a move while being properly guided on the insertion portion bottom plate 22, the insertion portion side plates 24, 24, and the bottom plate 10a of the transport carriage 1, that is, the upper, lower, left, and right wall surfaces in the fork guide portion. become. The various members constituting the fork insertion member 21 and the bottom plate 10a of the transport carriage 1 are color-coded so that the position of the fork insertion member 21 can be easily identified when viewed from below.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the insertion portion side plates 24, 24 have inclined surfaces 24a, 24a formed to be inclined downward toward the center in the front-rear direction of the transport carriage 1, respectively. When the claw members 40a, 40a abut against the inclined surfaces 24a, 24a,... During the insertion operation of the 40, the fork insertion member 21 is prevented from being loaded by sliding on the inclined surfaces 24a, 24a,. The sizes of the insertion portions 23 and 23 are slightly larger than the dimensions of the claw members 40a and 40a of the fork 40, so that the insertion work is easy and the transport carriage 1 is greatly shifted during transportation. The dimensions are set to prevent this. Further, the fork insertion member 21 is detachably coupled to the bottom plate 10a of the transport carriage 1 with bolts or the like, thereby freely changing the dimensions of the insertion portions 23 and 23 in accordance with the dimensions of the respective claw members of the fork. Thus, it can be attached to the bottom plate 10 a of the transport carriage 1.

  As shown in FIG. 5, since the front-rear width of the fork insertion member 21 is shorter than the front-rear width of the vehicle body 6, the fork insertion member 21 is inserted when the transport carriage 1 is viewed from above. The parts 23 and 23 are hidden by the vehicle body 6, the mounting table 7, and the bumpers 50 and 50, so that the position of the transport carriage 1 cannot be seen from above.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, bumpers 50 and 50 formed of a cushioning material such as rubber are attached to the side plate portions 10 b and 10 c in both the front and rear traveling directions of the transport carriage 1. It has a buffering action when the transport cart 1 collides with an object during traveling. Each bumper 50 has a hollow tube shape, and a switch 51 that is a contact-sensitive sensor is provided therein. The bumper 50 is elastically deformed when the transport carriage 1 collides with an object during traveling, and the inner surface of the bumper 50 comes into contact with the switch 51 by this elastic deformation, and the switch 51 is turned on.

  The switch 51 is connected to the control unit, and when the transport carriage 1 collides with an object during traveling, a signal indicating that the switch 51 is turned on is transmitted to the control unit. That is, it is a detection means for causing the control unit to detect the collision. Based on this signal, the control unit has a function of braking and stopping the drive motor in the traveling device 12 to put the transport carriage 1 in a stopped state.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, on the upper surfaces of the bumpers 50, 50 are provided position display means 9, 9 indicating the left and right positions (insertion positions) of the insertion portions 23, 23 of the fork insertion member 21, respectively. ing. The position display means 9, 9,... Are triangular seals that are attached to the upper surfaces of the bumpers 50, 50. The insertion reference lines α and α ′ are pointed out. Moreover, the seal | sticker which comprises the position display means 9 and 9 is formed with the reflecting material.

  As described above, the position display means 9 and 9 are provided on the upper surface of the bumper 50, and the forklift operator can visually recognize the position display means 9 and 9 from above the transport carriage 1, so that the transport carriage 1 can be Even when the operator is positioned at a position lower than the driver's line of sight, the operator can check the left and right positions of the insertion portions 23 and 23 based on the position display means 9 and 9 while riding the forklift. .

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, when the transport carriage 1 positioned at a position lower than the line of sight of the forklift operator is transferred by the forklift, the fork 40 is opposed to the front of the transport carriage 1, and the transport carriage 1 The center portions in the width direction of the claw members 40a and 40a of the fork 40 are arranged on the insertion reference lines α and α ′, respectively, while lowering to the height position of the lower surface of the fork 40 and confirming the position display means 9 and 9. Thus, the claw members 40a, 40a are inserted into the insertion portions 23, 23 by moving the claw members 40a, 40a to the transport carriage 1 side. Therefore, the operation of inserting the claw members 40a and 40a into the transport carriage 1 located at a position lower than the line of sight of the forklift operator is simplified.

  Thus, since the position display means 9 and 9 are provided so as to indicate the left and right positions of the insertion portions 23 and 23, respectively, the alignment between the insertion portions 23 and 23 and the claw members 40a and 40a can be easily performed. It has become.

  Further, since the position display means 9, 9 formed of a seal is attached to the upper surface of the bumper 50, the position display means 9, 9 can be easily seen from above the transport carriage 1 and the position display means. 9, 9 can be manufactured at low cost.

  Further, since the position display means 9 and 9 are provided on the bumper 50 that is provided so as to protrude from the front side of the vehicle body 6, the fork insertion member 21 is shorter than the front-rear width of the vehicle body 6, and the bumper 50 is provided on the vehicle body 6. Even in the state of overhanging, the position display means 9, 9 can be viewed from above, and the claw members 40a, 40a can be reliably guided to the insertion portions 23, 23 based on the position display means 9, 9. . Further, even if the claw members 40a and 40a collide with the bumper 50 during the insertion operation, the bumper 50 is buffered, so that the vehicle body 6 is prevented from being damaged.

  Moreover, since the position display means 9 and 9 are provided in the front and rear bumpers 50 and 50, respectively, the left and right positions of the insertion portions 23 and 23 can be visually recognized from both directions of the traveling direction of the transport carriage 1, The operation of inserting the claw members 40a, 40a into the transport carriage 1 is simplified.

  Further, when the claw members 40a, 40a are inserted, even if the insertion angle of the claw members 40a, 40a with respect to the insertion portions 23, 23 is deviated from the insertion reference lines α, α ′, the insertion portion side plates 24, 24 Since the claw members 40a and 40a move while being guided at an appropriate angle, they are securely inserted into the insertion portions 23 and 23.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the light emitting devices 52 and 52 and the liquid crystal panel 53 described above are disposed in the vicinity of the position display means 9 and 9, and the position display means 9 and 9 are made of a reflector. It is formed by. Therefore, when the transport carriage 1 is transferred, by operating the tablet terminal and causing the backlights of the light emitting devices 52 and 52 and the liquid crystal panel unit 53 to emit light, as shown in FIG. Even when the work is performed in a dark place, the position display units 9 and 9 are reflected by the light from the backlights of the light emitting devices 52 and 52 and the liquid crystal panel 53, so that the position display units 9 and 9 can be visually recognized.

  Thus, since the position display means 9 and 9 are formed of the reflecting material, the position display means 9 and 9 can be visually recognized even when working in a dark place by reflecting light. The position display means 9 and 9 are not limited to reflecting materials, but may be fluorescent members that absorb ultraviolet rays or the like, absorb natural light during the day, and fluorescent at night.

  Further, since the light emitting devices 52 and 52 and the liquid crystal panel 53 are disposed in the vicinity of the position display means 9 and 9, the position display means 9 and 9 are easily reflected.

  Further, since the light emitting devices 52 and 52 and the liquid crystal panel 53 are caused to emit light when the transport cart 1 is set to the transfer mode by the tablet terminal, the position display is performed when the transport cart 1 is transferred. The means 9 and 9 are reflected and can be visually recognized with certainty.

  As described above, when the operation of inserting the fork 40 into the transport cart 1 is completed, the transport cart 1 is lifted and transferred to a desired storage shelf 2.

  In the present embodiment, a triangular seal is provided as the position display means, but the embodiment of the position display means is not limited to this. For example, the paint may be colored with bumpers 50 and 50. Further, the shape of the position display means is not limited to a triangular shape, and may be, for example, a band shape or a line shape, or a dot shape.

  Further, the position display means 9, 9 are not limited to being provided on the bumpers 50, 50, and may be provided on both front and rear edges of the mounting table 7, for example. Further, the position display means may be a slit provided on the mounting table 7 or a protrusion protruding forward.

  Further, by arranging the mounting positions of the light emitting devices 52 and 52 and the liquid crystal panel portion 53 on the insertion reference lines α and α ′, the light emitted from the light emitting devices 52 and 52 and the liquid crystal panel portion 53 is used as position display means. May be used. In this case, a light emitting member different from the light emitting devices 52 and 52 and the liquid crystal panel unit 53 may be newly attached.

  One bumper 50 is provided with two position display means 9, but only one of them may be provided. Moreover, the position display means formed in the bumper 50 so that it may extend between the nail | claw members 40a and 40a so that the space | interval of the insertion parts 23 and 23 on either side may be shown may be sufficient.

  There are the following modified examples of the position display means. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the bumpers 50 ′ and 50 ′ are made of two-color molded rubber, and are substantially the same as the insertion portions 23 and 23 at positions overlapping the insertion portions 23 and 23 in the vertical direction. .. Are formed with color-coded portions 91, 91,. These color classification sections 91, 91,... Function as position display means. Hereinafter, only the front bumper 50 'side will be described, and description of the rear bumper 50' side will be omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 7B and 8, the color coding portions 91 and 91 are formed in a band shape from the upper end to the lower end of the bumper 50 ′. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, the color-coded portions 91 and 91 can be visually recognized from any position on the upper side, front side, and lower side of the bumper 50 '. That is, the left and right positions of the insertion portions 23 and 23 can be recognized by the color classification portions 91, 91,.

  Therefore, for example, since the fork insertion member 21 is disposed below the vehicle body 6, the insertion portions 23, 23 may not be visible from the front side or the lower side due to the shadow of the vehicle body 6, or it may be difficult to see. Even in such a case, it is possible to visually recognize the color-coded portions 91 and 91 provided on the bumper 50 ′ protruding from the front side of the vehicle body 6 and perform the insertion work from the front side or the lower side. Further, since the bumpers 50 ′ and 50 ′ are two-color molded rubber, even if the fork 40 collides with the bumpers 50 ′ and 50 ′, the color-coded portions 91, 91,. There is nothing to do.

  The color-coded portions 91 and 91 are not limited to being formed from the upper end to the lower end of the bumper 50 ′. The insertion work may be performed by visually recognizing the insertion member 21, and when viewed from the front side and the upper side, the insertion work may be performed by visually recognizing the color-coded portion. Furthermore, the position display means as in this modification is not limited to two-color molded rubber, and may be formed by sealing or painting.

  Next, a transport cart according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The description of the same configuration as that of the above embodiment is omitted. In FIG. 11, the configuration of the horizontal roller 28 is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the transport carriage 100 includes laser light indicators 92, 92 that irradiate side plates 10 b, 10 c of the vehicle body 6 with highly directional light 93, 93 (position display means). Each is provided. Hereinafter, only the laser light indicating tools 92 and 92 on the side plate portion 10b side will be described.

  The laser light indicators 92 and 92 are configured to irradiate light 93 and 93 on the floor surface obliquely below the front side. The lights 93 and 93 are irradiated on the insertion reference lines α and α ′ described above. Since the lights 93 and 93 are applied to the floor surface, the operator can visually recognize the light from above the forklift. Based on the lights 93 and 93 applied to the floor surface, Align the left and right positions. And if it aligns appropriately, the light 93 and 93 will be projected on the nail | claw members 40a and 40a. In other words, when the left and right positions of the fork 40 are not properly aligned, the lights 93 and 93 are not projected on the claw members 40a and 40a. Therefore, if this light 93,93 is used, the left-right position of the fork 40 can be aligned with respect to the insertion parts 23,23, and the insertion operation of the fork 40 becomes very simple.

  Further, when the claw members 40a and 40a are inserted into the insertion portions 23 and 23, the claw members 40a and 40a are directed toward the insertion portions 23 and 23 while keeping the claw members 40a and 40a irradiated with light 93 and 93. By moving the claw members 40a and 40a, the insertion members 23 and 23 can be properly inserted.

  The laser light indicating devices 92 and 92 may be provided at any position as long as the light 93 and 93 can be irradiated obliquely downward on the front side. For example, the laser beam indicating tools 92 and 92 may be accommodated in the vehicle body 6 and provided so as to be able to irradiate light 93 and 93 obliquely downward through a hole provided in the bottom plate 10a. It may be provided on the side surface.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and modifications and additions within the scope of the present invention are included in the present invention. It is.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the fork insertion member 21 is provided, and the insertion portions 23 and 23 have been described as being in an appropriate insertion position of the fork 40 in the transport carriage 1. The configuration of 21 may be omitted. In this case, since it is difficult to visually recognize the insertion position from the front and the lower side, the insertion position is also indicated from the front and the lower side by using position display means formed from the upper end to the lower end of the bumper 50 ′ as in the above-described modification. Is preferably visible.

  In the above embodiment, since the position display means 9 and 9 are made of a reflective material, the position display means 9 and 9 are reflected by the light of the backlights of the light emitting devices 52 and 52 and the liquid crystal panel 53, and the position is displayed even in the dark. Although the aspect which can visually recognize means 9 and 9 was demonstrated, it is not restricted to the light of the light-emitting devices 52 and 52 and the backlight of the liquid crystal panel part 53, The same effect is exhibited also with the light of a forklift.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyance trolley 2 Storage shelf 2a Storage part 3 Goods 4 Travel rail 5 Pallet 6 Car body 7 Mounting base 9 Position display means 10a Bottom plate 12 Traveling device 21 Fork insertion member 23 Insertion part (insertion position)
40 Fork 40a Claw member 50, 50 'Bumper 52 Light-emitting device 53 Liquid crystal panel 91 Color coding part (position display means)
92 Laser light indicator 93, 93 light (position display means)
100 Carriage cart α, α insertion reference line

Claims (4)

A carriage that includes a placement unit on which an article can be placed and a traveling device that travels along a traveling route,
A fork insertion member is provided below the transport carriage,
The transport carriage is provided with position display means for indicating an appropriate insertion position of a fork of a forklift with respect to the fork insertion member on an upper surface or a side surface of the transport carriage, and the position display means projects to an end of the transport carriage A transport carriage provided on a provided bumper and visible to a forklift operator from above the transport carriage. The conveyance carriage according to claim 1 , wherein the position display means has a belt shape extending from the front surface of the bumper to the upper surface. The fork comprises a pair of pawl members, the position display unit, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that provided a pair as shown respectively the insertion position of the pair of pawl members Transport cart. The conveyance carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the position display means is provided at both end portions in the traveling direction of the conveyance carriage.

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