JP7145725B2 - Pallet storage system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pallet storage system.

Conventionally, a heavy object such as a large steel material is transported by placing the heavy object on a pallet and transporting the pallet by a transport vehicle. As described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the pallet is formed in a portal shape having a base and legs provided on both sides of the base. After entering between the legs of the gate-shaped pallet, the transport vehicle lifts the pallet and transports it to the intended destination. When the transport vehicle reaches the destination, it lowers the lifted pallet, grounds the legs of the pallet, and makes the pallet stand on its own. The transport vehicle then exits from between the legs to complete transport of the heavy object.

JP 2012-46079 A JP 2013-71843 A

However, when a plurality of pallets are to be collectively stored in a predetermined storage area, since the portal pallet has legs, a large storage area is required for the legs. That is, since it is necessary to provide a gap between the legs of each pallet when storing the pallets, a wide storage area is required for the width of the legs and the gap between them. Moreover, the approach direction and exit direction of the transport vehicle are also limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems. It aims to provide a storage system.

In order to achieve this object, the pallet storage system of the present invention has a storage area for storing pallets on which workpieces can be loaded, and a transport vehicle capable of transporting the pallet with the pallet placed thereon. A pallet is stored in and taken out of the storage area by entering or exiting the storage area. In the storage area, a plurality of pillars of the same height are erected vertically and horizontally. The vertical interval is longer than the length of the transport vehicle and shorter than the pallet length, and the horizontal interval is longer than the width of the transport vehicle and shorter than the width of the pallet. The transport vehicle includes a rectangular body when viewed from above, a traveling device for running the transport vehicle, and a pallet placed thereon that is lifted to a position higher than the pillar and supported, or the lifted pallet is supported by the pillar. an elevating device having lifters that can be lowered to a lower position; the traveling device has wheels provided at lower portions at four corners of the vehicle body; A pallet placed between a corner portion of the vehicle body and a wheel of the traveling device positioned near the lower portion of the corner portion in a top view of the vehicle body, and placed on the transport vehicle. is supported at a position higher than the pillars, the pallet placed on the pallet is lowered by moving the carriage into between the pillars in the storage area, and then lowering the lifting device of the carriage. The pallet is stored in the storage area by placing it on the pillars and then withdrawing the transport vehicle from between the pillars.

Further, in the pallet storage system of the present invention, the lifting device is lowered to a position lower than the pillars, and after the carrier enters between the pillars in the storage area, the lifting device of the carrier is raised. The pallets are carried out from the storage area by moving the pallets placed on the pillars to lift them from the pillars, and with the pallets being lifted, the carriage is withdrawn from between the pillars.

According to the pallet storage system of the present invention, a plurality of columns of the same height are vertically and horizontally installed in the pallet storage area. They are arranged at equal intervals shorter than the height, and the transverse intervals are arranged at equal intervals longer than the width of the carrier and shorter than the width of the pallet. Therefore, it is possible to vertically and horizontally move the transport vehicle into or out of the space between the vertically and horizontally erected pillars. In addition, since the pallet is placed on the pillars of the storage area and stored, the pallet legs are not required. Therefore, by omitting the legs, the storage space can be reduced (narrowed) accordingly. In addition, the lifters of the lifting device are provided in the upper part of the four corners of the vehicle body of the transport vehicle, and are provided between the corners of the vehicle body and the wheels of the traveling device located in the vicinity of the lower corners of the vehicle body when viewed from the top of the vehicle body. be done. Accordingly, when the pallet is placed on the lifter, the stress due to the load from the lifter is transmitted to the wheels provided near the lower portion of the lifter, so that the deformation of the vehicle body due to the stress can be suppressed.

(a) is a side view of an automatic guided vehicle, and (b) is a top view thereof. (a) is a bottom view of the pallet, (b) and (c) are cross-sectional views along the IIb-IIb cross-sectional line showing the case where the pallet is placed on the lifter, and (d) is the top of the lifter. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a case where the lifter is lifted in a state in which the recesses of the pallet are misaligned with each other; (a) is a top view of a pallet storage place, and (b) is a side view thereof. (a) is a top view of a pillar in a modified example, (b) is a side view thereof, (c) is a bottom view of a pallet in a modified example, and (d) is a pallet in a modified example. is placed on a pillar, and (e) is a top view of the pillar in another modified example.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The pallet storage system S of this embodiment includes a pallet storage location 10 (see FIG. 3) for storing pallets P on which works W can be loaded, and an automatic guided vehicle 1 (see FIG. ), and the unmanned guided vehicle 1 is moved into or out of the pallet storage place 10, and the pallet P is stored in the pallet storage place 10 and carried out. First, the automatic guided vehicle 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

FIG. 1(a) is a side view of the automatic guided vehicle 1, and FIG. 1(b) is a top view thereof. An unmanned guided vehicle 1 is a vehicle for transporting a plate-shaped pallet P loaded with a work W, and includes a vehicle body 2, a traveling device 3, a lifter 4, and a guideway 12 (see FIG. 3) installed on the road surface. ) is provided.

The traveling device 3 is a device for causing the automatic guided vehicle 1 to travel, and is disposed under the vehicle body 2 at four corners of the vehicle body 2 when viewed from above. Each travel device 3 is provided with a pair of left and right wheels (two wheels) rotatable around an axle (not shown), and the steering angle of the wheels 3a is also changeable.

The lifter 4 is an elevating device for placing the pallet P on the automatic guided vehicle 1 and elevating it. The lifters 4 are vertically expandable and retractable, and the pallet P can be placed on the automatic guided vehicle 1 by lifting the four corners of the pallet P and supporting it.

Both the lifter 4 and the travel device 3 are arranged at the four corners of the vehicle body 2 when viewed from above. That is, when the pallet P is placed on the automatic guided vehicle 1, the lifter 4 for supporting the pallet P is placed near the traveling device 3 so that the traveling device 3 and the lifter 4 are close to each other. They are arranged so as to be between the corners of the pallet P, respectively. Therefore, when the pallet P is placed on the lifter 4, the stress due to the load from the lifter 4 is transmitted to the nearby wheels 3a, so that the stress is transmitted in the vehicle width direction or the vehicle length direction of the vehicle body 2. to a minimum. Thereby, it is possible to suppress deformation of the vehicle body 2 due to the stress.

As described above, the automatic guided vehicle 1 carries the pallet P placed on the lifter 4, and the bottom surfaces of the lifter 4 and the pallet P are formed so that the pallet P can be easily placed on the lifter 4. . The shapes of the lifter 4 and the pallet P will be described with reference to FIG.

2(a) is a bottom view of the pallet P, and FIGS. 2(b) and 2(c) are cross-sectional views taken along the IIb-IIb cross-sectional line showing the case where the pallet P is placed on the lifter 4. 2(d) is a cross-sectional view showing a case where the lifter 4 is lifted with the top 4a of the lifter 4 misaligned with the recess Ph of the pallet. As shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), at the four corners of the bottom surface of the pallet P where the top portion 4a of the lifter 4 abuts when the pallet P is placed on the lifter 4, conical A trapezoidal recess Ph is formed. As shown in FIG. 2(b), the recess Ph is formed wide from the upper surface of the recess Ph toward the bottom surface of the pallet P. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, the top portion 4a of the lifter 4 is also formed in a truncated cone shape, and is formed so that the top portion 4a of the lifter 4 can be fitted into the recess Ph.

2(b) and 2(c), when the pallet P is placed on the lifter 4, the top portion 4a of the lifter 4 fits into the recess Ph of the pallet P. As shown in FIG. At this time, since the recessed portion Ph of the pallet P and the top portion 4a of the lifter 4 are each formed in the shape of a truncated cone, not only the top surface of the top portion 4a of the lifter 4 and the top surface of the recessed portion Ph of the pallet P abut, The side surface of the top portion 4a of the lifter 4 and the side surface of the concave portion Ph of the pallet P are also in contact with each other. As a result, the position of the pallet P placed on the lifter 4 can be finely adjusted.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 2(d), even when the lifter 4 is lifted with the top 4a of the lifter 4 misaligned with the recessed portion Ph of the pallet P, the top 4a of the lifter 4 may be displaced by the weight of the pallet P itself. The side surface and the side surface of the recess Ph slide, and eventually the upper surface of the lifter 4 and the upper surface of the recess Ph come into contact as shown in FIG. 2(c). That is, when the pallet P is placed on the lifter 4 , the position of the pallet P can be finely adjusted according to the weight of the pallet P and the shape of the recess Ph and the top portion 4 a of the lifter 4 . Therefore, when the automatic guided vehicle 1 is moved with respect to the pallet P, precise travel control is not required, so the operational efficiency of the automatic guided vehicle 1 can be improved.

Return to FIG. The guide sensor 5 is a sensor for detecting a guide path 12 indicated by a magnetic tape installed on a travel path of a pallet storage place 10 (see FIG. 3), which will be described later. They are arranged at the center portions of both ends and at the center portions of both ends on the vehicle length side. In this embodiment, since the travel path of the automatic guided vehicle 1 is provided between the adjacent struts 11 (see FIG. 3), the guide path 12 is arranged in a grid pattern along the center of the travel path of the automatic guided vehicle 1. be done.

Therefore, when the automatic guided vehicle 1 is moving forward or backward, that is, in the vehicle length direction, the guide sensor 5 arranged on the vehicle length side detects the guideway 12, and the automatic guided vehicle 1 is traveling sideways, that is, the vehicle. When traveling in the width direction, the guideway 12 is detected by the guide sensor 5 arranged on the width side of the vehicle. By driving the travel device 3 according to the detected position of the guideway 12 detected by the guide sensor 5 , the automatic guided vehicle 1 can travel along the guideway 12 . Since the rest of the structure of the automatic guided vehicle 1 is known, the description thereof will be omitted.

In the pallet storage system S of the present embodiment, the pallets P are stored in and carried out of the pallet storage location 10 by causing the automated guided vehicle 1 configured as described above to enter or leave the pallet storage location 10 . Next, the pallet storage place 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.

FIG. 3(a) is a top view of the pallet storage area 10, and FIG. 3(b) is a side view thereof. The pallet storage area 10 is a storage area in a factory or the like for loading and unloading the workpieces W on the pallets P and for temporarily storing the workpieces W placed on the pallets P. A guideway 12 is provided. The pillar 11 is a quadrangular prism-shaped member for placing the pallet P thereon. The pillars 11 arranged in the pallet storage place 10 are formed at substantially the same height, and when the pallet P is placed on the pillars 11, the bottom surface of the pallet P becomes higher than the vehicle height of the automatic guided vehicle 1. is formed as

The columns 11 are erected at equal intervals in a grid pattern of three or more rows in each of the vertical and horizontal directions when the pallet storage area 10 is viewed from above. Specifically, the interval Da in the vertical direction (that is, the vertical direction) between the two adjacent columns 11 when viewed from the top is longer than the vehicle width of the automatic guided vehicle 1, and the length of the pallet P in the short side direction when viewed from the top ( That is, the width of the pallet P) is set to be shorter than the width of the pallet P), and on the other hand, the interval Db in the left-right direction (i.e., the lateral direction) of the top view of the two adjacent struts 11 is set to be shorter than the vehicle length of the automatic guided vehicle 1. It is set to be long and shorter than the length of the pallet P in the longitudinal direction when viewed from above (that is, the length of the pallet P). The shape of the post 11 is not limited to the square prism shape, and may be formed in other prism shapes such as a triangular prism or a pentagonal prism, or may be formed in a cylindrical shape.

As described above, by traveling along the guideway 12, the automatic guided vehicle 1 can enter or exit from the length side of the automatic guided vehicle 1 into or out of the space between two adjacent columns 11 in the vertical direction when viewed from the top. It is possible to enter or exit from the vehicle width side of the automatic guided vehicle 1 between the two matching supports 11 in the left-right direction when viewed from above. That is, the automatic guided vehicle 1 can enter or leave from either direction of the two adjacent columns 11 . Therefore, in order to place the pallet P at the desired position in the pallet storage area 10, the unmanned guided vehicle 1 can be made to turn around or change its direction to the minimum necessary. Efficiency can be improved.

1 and 2, the pallet P is placed on the lifter 4 by fitting the top portion 4a of the lifter 4 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 into the concave portions Ph formed at the four corners of the bottom surface of the pallet P. placed. That is, the pallet P is supported by the lifter 4 or the support 11 in the vicinity of its four corners regardless of whether the pallet P is placed on the support 11 or the lifter 4 . Therefore, the balance of the pallet P and the work W loaded on the pallet P is maintained regardless of whether the pallet P is transferred from the support 11 to the lifter 4 or the pallet P is transferred from the lifter 4 to the support 11. can. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the works W on the pallet P from collapsing when the pallet P is reloaded onto the lifter 4 or the strut 11 .

Next, the shape of the upper surface of the pillar 11 on which the pallet P is placed will be described. Concave portions 11a, which are recesses for fitting with the corners of the pallet P, are formed at the four corners of the upper surface of the support 11, respectively. The shape of the concave portion 11a when viewed from above is formed in a rectangular shape. Therefore, when the pallet P is placed on the pillars 11, not only the bottom surface of the pallet P and the upper surface of the recess 11a but also the corners of the pallet P and the side surfaces of the recess 11a abut. 11 can be stably placed. The recesses 11a are not limited to those formed at the four corners of the upper surface of the support column 11, and the recesses formed on the upper surface of the support column 11 according to the number of corners of the pallet P placed on the support column 11, etc. The number of 11a may be 3 or less.

In addition, four recesses 11a are provided adjacently to the upper surface of one post 11, and the corners of the pallet P are fitted into the recesses 11a. That is, the interval between the concave portions 11a formed on one support 11 becomes the interval between the pallets P placed on the support 11 as it is. Therefore, the smaller the interval between the recessed portions 11a formed on the pillars 11, the smaller the interval between the adjacent pallets P, so that the space of the pallet storage area 10 can be saved.

The operation and effects of the pallet storage system S configured in this way will be described. When the pallet P stored in the pallet storage place 10 is to be carried out by the automatic guided vehicle 1, first, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is moved along the guideway 12 with the top portion 4a of the lifter 4 being lower than the bottom surface of the pallet P. let it run. After the automatic guided vehicle 1 has completely entered under the desired pallet P, it is stopped. The lifter 4 is lifted so that the top 4a of the lifter 4 fits into the recess Ph of the pallet P, and the lifter 4 is lifted (lifted) until the bottom surface of the pallet P is higher than the top surface of the column 11. Thereby, the pallet P is placed on the automatic guided vehicle 1 . The pallet P can be unloaded by causing the automatic guided vehicle 1 on which the pallet P is placed to travel along the guideway 12 and withdrawing from between the pillars 11 on which the pallet P was placed.

On the other hand, when the pallet P placed on the automatic guided vehicle 1 is stored in the pallet storage place 10, the lifter 4 is first raised until the bottom surface of the pallet P on the lifter 4 is higher than the top surface of the column 11. Then, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is caused to travel along the guideway 12. - 特許庁After the automatic guided vehicle 1 has completely entered between desired columns 11, it is stopped. By lowering the lifter 4 and fitting the four corners of the pallet P into the recesses 11 a of the support 11 , the pallet P is placed on the support 11 . Thus, the pallet P placed on the automatic guided vehicle 1 can be stored in the pallet storage place 10. - 特許庁

As described above, since the pallet P is stored in the pallet storage place 10 by being placed on the pillars 11, the pallet P does not need legs for supporting the pallet P from below. Therefore, by omitting the legs from the pallet P, the corresponding storage space can be reduced (narrowed). Therefore, many pallets P can be stored in a small (narrow) pallet storage area 10. - 特許庁In addition, by omitting the legs from the pallet P, the manufacturing cost and mass of the pallet P can be reduced. Energy costs can also be reduced.

The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is easy to make various improvements and modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention. can be inferred.

In the above embodiment, the automated guided vehicle 1 is used as an example of a guided vehicle, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and may be applied to a unit carrier or the like.

In the above-described embodiment, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is configured such that the traveling device 3 and the lifter 4 are arranged at the four corners of the vehicle body 2 . However, the configuration is not necessarily limited to this, and five or more travel devices 3 and five or more lifters 4 may be arranged according to the mass of the pallets P and workpieces W to be placed on the automatic guided vehicle 1 . In this case, the travel device 3 and the lifter 4 may be arranged adjacent to each other when viewed from the top of the vehicle body 2, and the recess Ph of the pallet P may be formed according to the arrangement position of the lifter 4 of the automatic guided vehicle 1.

In the above embodiment, the top portion 4a of the lifter 4 is formed in a truncated cone shape, and the shape of the recess Ph is also formed in a truncated cone shape so as to be substantially the same as the shape of the top portion 4a of the lifter 4. However, the shape of the top portion 4a of the lifter 4 is not necessarily limited to this. may be formed so as to be substantially the same as .

Further, when a truncated cone-shaped concave portion is formed on the top portion 4a of the lifter 4, and a truncated cone-shaped convex portion is formed on the bottom surface of the pallet P instead of the concave portion Ph, and the pallet P is placed on the lifter 4, The convex portion of the pallet P may be fitted into the concave portion of the top portion 4 a of the lifter 4 .

In the above embodiment, the pillars 11 arranged in the pallet storage place 10 are formed at substantially the same height. However, the height is not necessarily limited to this, and the height of some of the columns 11 may be increased or decreased according to the environment such as the factory where the pallet storage place 10 is provided. At this time, it is preferable to form recesses 11a for each of the columns 11 so that the pallet P placed on the columns 11 at its four corners can be kept horizontal.

In the above-described embodiment, the corners of the pallet P are placed in the recesses 11 a formed at the four corners of the upper surface of the support 11 . However, it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, as shown in FIGS. On the other hand, at the ends of the four corners on the bottom surface of the pallet P' and outside the recess Ph, as shown in FIG. A concave portion Pi may be formed so that the convex portion 21a and the concave portion Pi fit together when the pallet P' is placed on the pillar 21 as shown in FIG. 4(d).

As a result, when the pallet P' is placed on the pillar 21, even if the concave portion Pi of the pallet P' and the convex portion 21a of the pillar 21 are partially misaligned, the upper surface of the lifter 4 and the concave portion described in FIG. Similarly to Ph, the dead weight of the pallet P' placed on the pillar 21 allows the protrusion 21a to fit into the recess Pi. Therefore, the pallet P' can be placed on the pillars 21 without causing the automatic guided vehicle 1 to perform precise travel control. The shape of the convex portion 21a and the concave portion Pi is not limited to a truncated cone shape, and may be formed in an arbitrary three-dimensional shape such as a cone shape, a pyramid shape, a cylindrical shape, or a prismatic shape.

Further, as with a post 31 shown in FIG. 4(e), after forming the concave portion 11a, the convex portion 21a may be formed on the upper surface of the concave portion 11a. By configuring in this way, when the pallet P′ is placed on the pillar 31, the fitting between the recess Pi and the protrusion 21a, the side and bottom surfaces of the recess 11a, and the side and bottom surfaces at the corners of the pallet P′ The contact with the bottom surface allows the pallet P' to be stably placed on the pillars 31 . In addition, since the concave portion Pi and the convex portion 21a are easily fitted by the weight of the pallet P', the pallet P' can be placed on the pillars 31 without causing the automatic guided vehicle 1 to perform precise travel control.

In the above-described embodiment, the support columns 11 are arranged in a grid pattern with three or more rows in each of the vertical and horizontal directions when the pallet storage area 10 is viewed from above. However, the columns 11 are not necessarily limited to this, and the columns 11 may be erected in two or more rows in each of the vertical and horizontal directions when the pallet storage area 10 is viewed from above.

In the above-described embodiment, the guideway 12 is arranged in a grid pattern along the center of the travel path of the automatic guided vehicle 1 . However, the guideway 12 is not necessarily limited to this, and the guideway 12 may be arranged at a position shifted from the center of the traveling route according to the arrangement position of the guide sensor 5 in the automatic guided vehicle 1 .

S Pallet storage system 1 Automatic guided vehicle (transport vehicle)
3 traveling device 4 lifting device, lifter 4a top 10 pallet storage place (storage area)
Reference Signs List 11, 21, 31 Strut 12 Guideway 21a Convex portion P, P' Pallet Ph Concave portion Pi Concave portion

Claims (6)

A storage area for storing a pallet on which a work can be loaded and a transport vehicle capable of transporting the pallet with the pallet placed thereon are provided, and the transport vehicle is moved into or out of the storage area to transfer the pallet to the storage area. In a pallet storage system that stores and carries out
In the storage area, a plurality of pillars of the same height are erected vertically and horizontally, and the vertical interval between them is equal to the length of the transport vehicle and shorter than the length of the pallet, The horizontal intervals are equal intervals longer than the width of the carrier and shorter than the width of the pallet,
The transport vehicle includes a rectangular body when viewed from above, a traveling device for running the transport vehicle, and a pallet placed on the pallet which is lifted and supported at a position higher than the pillar, or the lifted pallet is placed at a position lower than the pillar. a lifting device having a lifter that can be lowered to
The traveling device has wheels provided at the bottom at the four corners of the vehicle body,
The lifters of the lifting device are provided in the upper part of the four corners of the vehicle body, and are provided between the corners of the vehicle body and the wheels of the traveling device positioned near the lower corners of the vehicle body when viewed from the top of the vehicle body. and
With the pallet placed on the transport vehicle supported at a position higher than the pillars, the transport vehicle enters between the pillars in the storage area, and then the lifting device of the transport vehicle is lowered to A pallet storage system, wherein a pallet placed on a transport vehicle is placed on the pillars, and then the pallet is stored in the storage area by withdrawing the transport vehicle from between the pillars. The tops of the lifters are each formed in a truncated cone shape,
2. The pallet storage system according to claim 1, wherein a truncated cone-shaped recess is formed in each bottom surface of said pallet supported on said truncated cone-shaped top. A truncated cone-shaped protrusion is formed at each corner of the top of the support,
3. The pallet storage system according to claim 1, wherein truncated cone-shaped recesses are formed at the ends of the four corners of the pallet, into which the truncated cone-shaped protrusions are fitted. With the lifting device lowered to a position lower than the pillars, the transport vehicle enters between the pillars in the storage area, and then the lifting device of the transport vehicle is lifted and placed on the pillars. 4. The pallet is unloaded from the storage area by lifting the pallet from the pillar and withdrawing the pallet from between the pillars while the pallet is lifted . A pallet storage system as described in . 5. The pallet according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the plurality of posts erected in the storage area are arranged vertically or horizontally in two or more rows in a grid pattern. storage system. 6. The pallet storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein a guideway for guiding travel of the transport vehicle is provided between the plurality of pillars.

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