JP6267539B2 - 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 storage shelves that can store a plurality of articles on the top, bottom, left, and right, and a traveling rail that can access the articles when carrying the specified articles into or out of the storage shelves. 2. Description of the Related Art A transport facility is known that uses a transport cart that can be laid and self-propelled on this travel rail to automate the loading and unloading of luggage with respect to a storage shelf and improve work efficiency.

  For example, a transport facility such as Patent Document 1 travels on a transport cart that can be self-propelled, a mounting table that supports and supports articles, and a mounting table that can be raised and lowered, and a drive wheel of the transport cart. A rail and a shelf that is disposed above the traveling rail and on which an article can be placed. In the box-type vehicle body, the transport carriage includes a plurality of eccentric cams that contact the bottom of the mounting table, an electric motor for raising and lowering that drives the eccentric cams to rotate synchronously, and a pair of front and rear equipped with drive wheels at both left and right ends. A drive shaft and a traveling electric motor that rotates the drive shaft are provided. The transport cart with the mounting table in the lowered state can travel without interfering with the articles on the shelf, so that the designated article bottom can be lifted from the shelf by a predetermined height and transported. It has become.

Japanese Patent No. 3138983 (page 4, FIG. 10)

  In the transport cart of Patent Document 1 described above, when the transport cart is first installed on the travel rail, the transport cart is installed on the travel rail by being lifted by a stacker crane, a unic crane, or the like. However, in the stacker crane and the unic crane, the movable range of the crane is limited, and it takes time and effort to install the transport carriage on the traveling rail. In addition, it is conceivable to use a forklift to install the transport carriage on the traveling rail, but when inserting the fork of the forklift into the lower surface of the transport carriage placed on the floor, the lower surface of the transport carriage and the fork There is a problem that the positional relationship is difficult to visually recognize. Therefore, when the center of gravity of the transport carriage is not supported on the fork, the transport carriage may be displaced from the fork due to vibration or shaking during transportation, and in the worst case, it may fall from the fork. .

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and when transporting the transport carriage with a forklift, the fork position with respect to the transport carriage is maintained in an appropriate positional relationship, and the fork during transportation of the transport carriage is used. An object of the present invention is to provide a transport cart that can prevent the fall of the machine as much as possible.

In order to solve the above problems, the transport carriage of the present invention is
A carriage that includes a platform that can be raised and lowered to place and support articles, and that is capable of self-propelling a traveling path,
The transport cart is operated by detection means for detecting that the fork has been inserted below the transport cart to a predetermined position where the center of gravity of the transport cart is stabilized on a fork of a forklift, and detection by the detection device. And a notification means for performing notification to the outside.
According to this feature, the detection means detects that the fork of the forklift has moved to an appropriate predetermined position with respect to the transport carriage, and the detection means is activated by this detection to notify the operator. When the person carries out the work according to the notification, the transport cart is always stably supported on the fork, and the transport cart is prevented from falling.

The detection means is a contact sensor or a proximity sensor, and the sensor is provided at at least one end in the traveling direction of the transport carriage.
According to this feature, when the sensor detects the standing part of the forklift, it is possible to easily detect an appropriate positional relationship of the fork of the forklift with respect to the transport carriage.

The transport carriage has a bumper that acts as a buffer when colliding with an object at at least one end in the traveling direction of the transport carriage, and the detection means is a standing part of the bumper and forklift of the transport carriage It is characterized by being able to detect the contact with.
According to this feature, an appropriate positional relationship of the fork of the forklift with respect to the transport carriage can be detected when the transport cart contacts the standing part of the forklift, and the transport cart associated with the collision between the forklift standing part and the transport carriage can be detected. Damage can be prevented.

The informing means informs by light and / or sound that the fork has been inserted below the transport carriage to a predetermined position where the center of gravity of the transport carriage is stabilized on the fork of the forklift. It is said.
According to this feature, the operator can confirm visually and / or audibly that the fork of the forklift has moved to an appropriate predetermined position with respect to the transport carriage.

A fork guide portion extending in the traveling direction of the transport carriage is formed by a bottom plate of the transport carriage and a member having a U-shaped cross section provided on the bottom board.
According to this feature, the fork of the forklift moves while being guided at an appropriate angle by the upper, lower, left and right wall surfaces in the fork guide part, so that there is no false detection by the detection means.

It is a side view which shows the state which the conveyance trolley | bogie in an Example 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 state which attached the fork insertion member to the conveyance trolley. It is a bottom view which shows the state which attached the fork insertion member to the conveyance trolley. It is a rear view which shows the state which attached the fork insertion member to the conveyance trolley | bogie. It is a block diagram which shows a one part system in a conveyance trolley. (A) is a side view showing a state in which the fork is opposed to the fork insertion port in the procedure for inserting the fork into the fork insertion member, and (b) is a side view showing a state in which the fork is inserted into the fork insertion port. FIG. 4C is a side view showing a state where the transport carriage is lifted with a fork.

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

  A transport cart according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Hereinafter, the lower left side of the screen in FIG. 2 is the rear side (rear side) of the transport carriage, the right side of FIGS. 3 and 4 is the front side (front side) of the transport carriage, and FIG. The figure seen from the back side is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the transport cart 1 is configured to transfer a designated article 3 to the storage shelf 2 in a large warehouse or the like in which a plurality of storage shelves 2 provided with a plurality of storage portions 2 a on the top, bottom, left and right are arranged. It is used when carrying in or out of the predetermined accommodating part 2a. On the bottom surface 2b of each storage portion 2a of the storage shelf 2, a pair of running rails 4 facing each other in an L-shape and an inverted L-shape in front view are laid. A plurality of pallets 5 on which 3 is placed are supported.

  As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the transport carriage 1 has a vehicle body 6 capable of traveling on the traveling part 4 b of the traveling rail 4, and a mounting table that supports the article 3 and can be moved up and down with respect to the vehicle body 6. 7, a lifting / lowering device 8 (see FIG. 6) for raising and lowering the mounting table 7, and a traveling device 12 that enables the transport carriage 1 to travel on the traveling rail 4. The mounting table 7 is a lower surface of the pallet 5. After traveling on the traveling part 4b of the traveling rail 4 and entering the lower part of the pallet 5 in the lowest lowered state, the article 3 is lifted together with the pallet 5 by raising the mounting table 7, and the pallet 5 and the article 3 are traveled. A predetermined height is lifted from the mounting portion 4a of the rail 4 for transportation.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the vehicle body 6 includes a base member 10 having a bottom plate 10a and front and rear side plate portions 10b and 10c 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 travel device 12 is mainly composed of a drive motor (not shown), a drive wheel 13 and a driven wheel 14, and the drive motor is connected to a control unit 34 (see FIG. 6) such as a sequencer by a cable (not shown). Rotation driving is performed based on information such as a rotation direction and a rotation number transmitted from the control unit 34. The control unit 34, the traveling device 12, and the lifting device 8 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.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a fork insertion member 21 is provided on the bottom plate 10 a of the transport carriage 1. As shown in FIG. 5, the fork insertion member 21 includes an insertion portion bottom plate 22, an insertion portion side plate 24, an insertion portion top plate 25, and an insertion portion flange 26. In addition, the insertion portion 23 is 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. This fork insertion member 21 and the bottom plate 10a of the transport carriage 1 constitute a fork guide portion. As shown in FIG. 7, the insertion portion bottom plate 22, the insertion portion side plates 24 and 24, and the bottom plate 10a of the transport carriage 1, that is, the fork The fork 40 of the forklift moves while being guided at an appropriate angle on the upper, lower, left and right wall surfaces in the guide portion.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the insertion portion side plate 24 constituting the fork insertion port of the fork insertion member 21 is inclined downward toward the center in the front-rear direction of the transport carriage 1 so that the fork 40 can be easily inserted. Is formed. As shown in FIG. 4, the fork insertion member 21 is detachably coupled to the bottom plate 10 a of the transport carriage 1 with an insertion portion top plate 25 and an insertion portion flange 26 by bolts 30. The size of the insertion portion 23 is set to a size that allows a slight allowance with respect to the size of the fork of the forklift, facilitates the insertion work, and prevents the transport carriage from being greatly displaced during transportation. Since the fork insertion member 21 is detachably coupled to the bottom plate 10a of the transport carriage 1, the fork insertion member 21 is attached to the bottom plate 10a of the transport carriage 1 by freely changing the size of the insertion portion 23 according to the size of the fork. be able to.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the insertion portion bottom plate 22 is provided substantially parallel to the mounting table 7 of the transport carriage 1 and protrudes from the lower end of the traveling device 12, so that the transport carriage 1 is placed on the floor surface. In this state, the traveling device 12 does not contact the floor surface. Thus, since the traveling device 12 of the transport carriage 1 is in a state of floating from the floor surface, wheel replacement, trial operation of the traveling device 12, inspection of the traveling device 12, and the like can be easily performed. Further, when the transport carriage 1 is temporarily stored, the transport carriage 1 can be stacked via the fork insertion member 21 on the floor surface or on the mounting base 7 of the other transport carriage 1.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, 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.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the switch 51 is connected to the control unit 34, and when the transport cart 1 collides with an object during traveling, a signal that the switch 51 is turned on is transmitted to the control unit 34. The That is, it is a detection means for causing the control unit 34 to detect that the collision has occurred. Based on this signal, the control unit 34 has a function of braking and stopping the drive motor in the traveling device 12 and setting the transport carriage 1 in a stopped state.

  Furthermore, a light emitting device 52 such as an LED fixed to the side plate portion 10c shown in FIG. 2 and a speaker 53 (see FIG. 5) built in the vehicle body 6 are connected to the control unit 34, and the switch 51 is When a signal that is turned on is received, the light emitting device 52 is turned on and a predetermined sound is output from the speaker 53. That is, the light emitting device 52 and the speaker 53 constitute a notification unit that notifies the outside that the switch 51 is turned on. By utilizing this notification means, it is possible to notify the worker of which conveyance cart 1 collides with an object in the storage shelf 2 and is in a stopped state, so that the restoration work can be smoothly performed. Can be done. The light emitting device 52 is not limited to the one side plate portion 10c but may be provided, for example, on the other side plate portion 10b, or may be provided on both the side plates 11 and 11.

  Next, a method for transporting the transport carriage 1 using a forklift will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, when the transport carriage 1 placed on the floor is transported by a forklift, the fork 40 is made to face the fork insertion port 31 of the fork insertion member 21 of the transport carriage 1 (FIG. )reference). Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the fork 40 is inserted into the fork insertion port 31. As the insertion of the fork 40 proceeds, the standing portion 41 of the forklift comes into contact with the bumper 50 provided on the side plate portions 10b and 10c of the transport carriage 1.

  The standing part 41 in the forklift mentioned above refers to a part standing near the end of the fork 40. For example, in the standing part 41 shown in FIG. 7, the fork 40 is L-shaped in side view. And refers to the L-shaped rising piece. In addition, depending on the shape of the forklift, there may be a fork shape having no rising piece as described above. In such a case, a member that is closest to the end of the fork in the insertion direction and is substantially orthogonal to the fork. For example, a drive unit for raising and lowering a fork corresponds to the standing part.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 7C, when the standing portion 41 of the forklift collides with the bumper 50 of the transport carriage 1, the switch 51 is turned on, and the light emitting device 52 (see FIG. 2) is turned on and incorporated. A predetermined sound is output from the speaker 53 (see FIG. 5). According to this, the driver of the forklift is notified by the light emitting device 52 and the speaker 53, and is in a state where the forklift is inserted below the transport carriage 1 up to the end piece 41 of the forklift, that is, the end of the fork 40, that is, the transport truck 1. Thus, it can be confirmed that the fork 40 of the forklift has moved to an appropriate predetermined position. When the worker performs the work in accordance with the notification from the light emitting device 52 and the speaker 53, the transport cart 1 is always stably supported on the fork 40, and the transport cart 1 being transported can be prevented from falling.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the fork 40 of the forklift is guided at an appropriate angle by the insertion portion bottom plate 22, the insertion portion side plates 24 and 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. Therefore, the standing portion 41 of the forklift and the bumper 50 of the transport carriage 1 come into contact with each other in a substantially parallel state. For this reason, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection in a state where the upright portion 41 and the bumper 50 of the transport carriage 1 are in contact with each other at an oblique angle and have not moved to an accurate predetermined position.

  Next, the fork 40 is lifted while being stably supported, and the transport carriage 1 is lifted away from the floor surface (see FIG. 7C). The lifted transport carriage 1 is transported to the installation position, raised to the height of the traveling rail 4 of the accommodating portion 2a in FIG. 1, lowered onto the traveling rail 4, and finally the fork 40 is pulled from the insertion portion 23. It is pulled out and placed on the traveling rail 4.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the transport carriage is viewed from the bottom, the surface color of the bottom plate 10a of the vehicle body, the insertion portion bottom plate 22, the insertion portion side plate 24, the insertion portion top plate 25, and the insertion portion of the fork insertion member 21 Visibility and discrimination can be enhanced by increasing the color difference from the surface color of the flange 26, for example, the difference in color saturation, brightness, and hue. When a fork is inserted from below the transport carriage placed at a high place, the forklift driver looks up from below the transport carriage placed at a high place and aligns the fork at the position of the fork insertion port. At the time of this alignment, since the color difference between the surface color of the bottom plate 10a of the transport carriage 1 and the surface color of the fork insertion member 21 is increased, the position of the fork insertion port 31 can be easily identified. In this way, the color difference between the surface color of the bottom plate 10 a of the transport carriage 1 and the surface color of the fork insertion member 21 is increased to facilitate the identification of the position of the fork insertion port 31, and the fork 40 is connected to the fork insertion port 31. The safety at the time of insertion can be improved.

  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 40 is moved to a predetermined position where the center of gravity of the transport carriage 1 is stabilized on the fork 40 by using the switch 51 and the notification means that detect a collision with an object when the transport carriage 1 travels. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the center of gravity of the transport carriage 1 is stable on the fork 40 on the bottom plate 10a, the side plate portions 10b and 10c or the fork insertion member 21 of the transport carriage 1. A switch or a sensor for confirming that the fork 40 has moved to an appropriate predetermined position may be provided separately.

  In addition, the switch 51 serving as the detection means is not limited to a contact-sensing sensor, and may be a proximity sensor that detects the distance between the inner surface of the bumper 50 and the switch, or a sensor that detects impact force on the bumper 50. May be.

  Further, the notification means is not limited to the one that configures both the light emitting device 52 and the speaker 53, and may be the one that configures only the light emitting device 52 or only the speaker 53. Further, for example, a display panel or the like is mounted at a position that can be confirmed from the outside, and the display panel displays that the fork 40 has been moved to a predetermined position on the fork 40 where the center of gravity of the transport carriage 1 is stabilized. Good.

  In addition, the operator can confirm that the fork 40 of the forklift has moved to an appropriate predetermined position with respect to the transport carriage 1 by using the switch 51 as the detection means, the light emitting device 52 and the speaker 53 as the notification means. It is not always necessary to attach the fork insertion member 21 to the transport carriage 1.

  In addition, the placement unit 4a on which the article 3 and the pallet 5 can be placed and the traveling unit 4b on which the transport carriage 1 travels are not limited to the configuration provided integrally with the traveling rails 4 and 4, but for example, in the storage rack 2 May be provided separately. Furthermore, the placing part 4a and the traveling part 4b may be formed of circular bars or the like, and may be in point contact with the article 3 and the pallet 5, and the driving wheel 13 and the driven wheel 14 of the transport carriage 1, respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveying cart 2 Storage shelf 3 Article 4 Traveling rail 5 Pallet 6 Car body 7 Mounting base 8 Lifting device 10 Base member 10a Bottom plate 11 Side plate 12 Traveling device 13 Drive wheel 14 Drive wheel 21 Fork insertion member 22 Insert part bottom plate 23 Insertion part 24 Part side plate 25 Insert part top plate 26 Insert part flange 31 Fork insertion port 34 Control part 40 Fork 41 Standing part 50 Bumper 51 Switch (detection means)
52 Light emitting device (notification means)
53 Speaker (notification means)

Claims (5)

A carriage that includes a platform that can be raised and lowered to place and support articles, and that is capable of self-propelling a traveling path,
The transport cart is operated by detection means for detecting that the fork has been inserted below the transport cart to a predetermined position where the center of gravity of the transport cart is stabilized on a fork of a forklift, and detection by the detection device. And a notifying means for notifying the outside.   2. The transport carriage according to claim 1, wherein the detection means is a contact sensor or a proximity sensor, and detects that the sensor is provided at at least one end in a traveling direction of the transport carriage.   The transport carriage has a bumper that acts as a buffer when it collides with an object at at least one end in the traveling direction of the transport carriage, and the detection means is installed on the bumper and the forklift of the transport carriage. The conveyance cart according to claim 1 or 2, wherein contact with a part can be detected. The informing means informs by light or sound that the fork has been inserted below the transport carriage to a predetermined position where the center of gravity of the transport carriage is stabilized on the fork of the forklift. The conveyance cart according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The fork guide part extended in the running direction of the said conveyance trolley is formed by the bottom plate of the said conveyance trolley, and the cross-sectional upward U-shaped member provided in this bottom plate, The any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Crab carrier cart.

Images