JPH0418962Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial application field The present invention relates to transportation equipment, and in particular, the invention relates to transportation equipment, in particular, for transporting information recording carriers recording various information such as various files such as medical records, X-ray films, magnetic disks, optical disks, etc. from storage. Concerning transport equipment that can be automatically loaded and unloaded and transported between stations.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various information recording carriers as described above have been transported to a desired station using a transport vehicle, and it is also well known to store various information recording carriers in a storage.

However, in the past, the storage and the transport equipment were not organically linked, and various information recording carriers were generally transported between them manually. In addition, as an improvement on the conventional method, a conveyance cart integrally provided with a container capable of storing a plurality of information recording carriers is run on a conveyance path having a plurality of stations, and information is recorded at a predetermined station. A storage that can store carriers and a transfer mechanism that can transport information recording carriers between the storage bodies of the transport vehicle in the storage are provided, and a plurality of information recording carriers are transferred one by one from the storage to the transport vehicle. There is one in which the information recording carrier is automatically transferred to the body, and the information recording carrier is transported between the respective stations.

Problems that the invention aims to solve Therefore, in the case of conventional general equipment, the above-mentioned manual transport work is cumbersome and inefficient, so it is difficult to carry out the work of transporting various information record carriers into and out of storage. This was causing a problem in improving the efficiency of a series of operations, including transportation using trolleys. In addition, in the case of the latter, which is an improved version of the conventional example, it takes time to transfer the multiple information recording carriers one by one from the storage to the container of the transport vehicle, or vice versa, so it is difficult to transport them. The utilization rate of the trolley was low, making it difficult to use the conveyance equipment efficiently.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an information recording carrier transporting facility that eliminates such drawbacks.

Means for Solving the Problem A container such as a case having an opening that can be opened and closed is mounted on a transport path having a plurality of stations, which can store a plurality of information recording carriers such as various files and magnetic disks. a carrier storage section for storing a large number of the information recording carriers; and a carrier storage section for storing the storage bodies. a storage having an information recording carrier transfer mechanism for loading and unloading the information recording carrier into and out of the containers stored in the storage body storing section; and a storage provided near the storage. a station, a storage section for storing the container, a storage section between the storage station and the container storage section of the storage, a space between the storage station and the storage section, and a space between the storage section and the container storage. and a container transfer mechanism for transferring the containers between the container and the container.

Function: Transfer of information recording carrier between the storage body and the carrier storage unit, transfer of the storage unit between the storage unit and the storage station, and storage between the storage station and the storage unit where the storage unit stores the storage unit. The transportation of the body and the transportation of the container body between the storage section and the storage warehouse are performed depending on the transportation situation. In particular, when the container storage section of the storage is full, the containers are stored in this storage section. Then, when the information recording carrier is returned from another station to the storage station, the work of extracting the information recording carrier from the storage body is postponed, and various transportation requests can be flexibly responded to. Furthermore, the storage and the transport means are not restricted by each other's usage status, and are organically linked via the container transport mechanism, and the transport vehicle and the information recording carrier transport mechanism are separated. Therefore, when the information record carrier transfer mechanism is moving the information record carrier in and out of the container, there is no need to stop the carrier at the storage station. The time required for stopping at the storage station is only the time required for loading or unloading the containers onto the transport vehicle. In addition, the transport vehicle is not a special vehicle with a special structure for transporting information recording carriers, and it is sufficient to have a space for mounting the container, so objects other than the container can be placed in this space. It is also possible to carry it on board.

Embodiments Hereinafter, preferred embodiments in which the present invention is applied to medical record management in a general hospital will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in Fig. 1, a pair of front and rear guide plates 2
a is set upright, and a known transport vehicle 2 carrying a case 1 serving as a container runs between these guide plates 2a, and a station (not shown) for carrying in and out of medical records is provided for each clinical department. In the vicinity of the known conveyance path 3, there is a storage 6 in which two file storage sections 5, which are carrier storage sections, are arranged to face each other and store a large number of files 4, which are information recording carriers, in which medical records are bound. is set up. The file storage section 5
As shown in FIG. 4, it is formed into a four-level shelf shape, and on the ceiling surface of each level, a large number of engagement rails 7 each having a substantially C-shaped cross section are arranged parallel to each other so as to extend in the depth direction. Fixed. The file 4 is held in engagement with these engagement rails 7 in an engagement portion 4a provided at its back so that it can be inserted and removed. These files 4 are assigned serial numbers that correspond one-to-one, and these serial numbers serve as the serial numbers indicated at the storage positions. Furthermore, adjacent to the transport path 3 side of each of the file storage sections 5, there is provided a case storage section 8, which is a storage body storage section that stores cases 1 for storing files 4 in two stages in an open state. . Further, within the storage 6, an information recording carrier transfer mechanism is provided between each file storage section 5. Note that a code number is also provided for each clinical department's station on a one-to-one basis.

Next, the information recording carrier transport mechanism will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, rails 9 are provided on the floor between each file storage section 5 so as to extend parallel to each of the file storage sections 5. As shown in FIGS. A bogie 1 that runs guided by this rail 9
0 is equipped with a drive source 11 for running, and is provided with a drive mechanism including the drive source 11, including a drive force transmission mechanism and running wheels (not shown), and a column 12 is erected. ing. An elevating table 13 is provided on the column 12 so as to be able to rise and fall freely, and the elevating table 13 is guided by the column 12 and moved up and down by a drive mechanism (not shown).
This elevating table 13 has a file 4 attached to an engagement rail 7.
An operating member 14, which is inserted into and removed from the file storage section one by one, is attached to the base 15 so as to be movable in the direction of each file storage section 5. The base portion 15 is provided with a drive mechanism (not shown) for moving the actuating member 14 . Also not shown,
The elevating table 13 is provided with a detector for detecting which shelf of the file storage section 5 the actuating member 14 corresponds to, and the engaging rail 7
(Including the engagement rail 34 inside case 1, which will be described later)
A detector is provided to detect whether the file 4 is stored in the case storage section 8 and whether the case 1 is stored in the case storage section 8. Although not shown in the drawings as well, the trolley 10 is provided with a control device that is connected to a computer (not shown) and controls the drive sources of the respective drive mechanisms described above using output signals thereof. Therefore, the actuating member 14 is X,
The actuating member 1 is movable in three axis directions of Y and Z, and is controlled by the output signal from the computer.
4 is moved to correspond to the desired file storage position, and the desired file 4 is disengaged from the engagement rail 7, and the desired file 4 is removed from the engagement rail 7 of the case 1 stored in the case storage section 8 in an open state. While the file 4 is engaged and inserted into the engagement rail 34 of the same configuration, conversely, the file 4 is inserted from the engagement rail 34 of the case 1 stored in the case storage part 8 in an open state.
, and can be engaged and inserted into the engagement rail 7 at a predetermined storage position in the file storage section 5.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a storage shelf 16 serving as a storage section for storing empty cases 1 is provided in the vicinity of the storage 6. This storage shelf 16 has an open front and is partitioned vertically and horizontally so that the cases 1 can be stored one by one.When the case 1 is stored in the case storage section 8 and there is no space left, the case 1 can be stored there. This is for temporarily waiting.

Next, the storage station will be explained based on FIGS. 1 and 2. Conveyance path 3 storage 6
A conversion path 3a, which is movable in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction and has a preliminary path 3a' arranged in parallel, is provided nearby, and when this conversion path 3a is moved to the right in the figure and brought into a conversion state, The conveyance vehicle 2 located here is removed from the conveyance path 3, while the reserve path 3a' is located corresponding to the conveyance path 3, allowing other conveyance vehicles 2 to pass. Whether or not this conversion path 3a is located corresponding to the transport path 3 is detected by a detector (not shown). When the conversion path 3a is in the conversion state, the feed plate 17 is positioned directly above it.
A feed conveyor 17 is provided on a support member (not shown). This feeding conveyor 17
The case 1 mounted on the carrier 2 on the conversion path 3a is sent toward the clamping belts 18 and 19, which will be described later. It is something that can be put in and rotated in a reversible manner. A direction changer is provided on a support member (not shown) corresponding to the terminal end of the feed conveyor 17, and this direction changer is connected to a pair of upper and lower holding belts that are reversibly reversibly cyclically movable for holding the case 1. 18,19
and a rotating shaft 21 fixed to a support plate 20 that supports these clamping belts 18, 19 and connected to a drive motor (not shown).By rotating the rotating shaft 21 by 90 degrees, the clamping belts 18, 19 are The orientation of case 1 supported by belts 18 and 19 is 90
It is a degree converted. Immediately below the direction changer, an elevating conveyor 23 that is provided with a support stand 22 and that circulates in a reversible manner is provided on a support member (not shown). An opening/closing member 24 is provided on a support member, also not shown. This lid opening/closing member 24 has a plunger 24a that can be freely protruded and inserted. Note that this storage station is also provided with a code number that corresponds one-to-one.
In addition, the configuration of each clinical department station (not shown) is located corresponding to the lower end of the elevating conveyor 23,
The configuration is the same as that of the storage station described above except that a loading/unloading section for manually loading and unloading the case 1 is provided, so a description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the case 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and has an opening 1a on one of its short sides. A lid body 32 is slidably supported by a pair of left and right guide rails 31.
This allows the opening 1a to be releasably closed. An engaging protrusion 33 is provided at one end of the lid 32, and this engaging protrusion 33 engages with the plunger 24a of the lid opening/closing member 24 while the case 1 is going up and down, thereby opening the lid. 32 is something that can be opened and closed. Furthermore, inside the case 1, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a plurality of engagement rails 34 having the same structure as the engagement rail 7 are provided in parallel with each other.

Next, based on Figures 1, 2 and 3,
The container transport mechanism will be explained. A rail 25 located between the storage 6 and the transport path 3 and extending parallel to the transport path 3 has a base provided with a drive mechanism (not shown) that runs while being guided by the rail 25. 26 have been installed. An elevating guide 27 is provided vertically on the base 26, and the rail 25 is moved up and down along the elevating guide 27 by a drive mechanism (not shown) including, for example, a rack and pinion.
The horizontal guide 28, which extends at right angles to
It is mounted for horizontal movement by a horizontal drive mechanism, also not shown. A gripping member 30 for gripping the case 1 is provided on the rotation portion 29 so as to be horizontally rotatable in conjunction with a rotation drive mechanism. Therefore, the gripping member 30 is movable in the three axial directions of X, Y, and Z, and can be rotated horizontally. Note that, like the information recording carrier transport mechanism, this container transport mechanism is driven and controlled by a control signal from a control device (not shown) linked to a computer (not shown), and the control device is connected to a base. It is built in 26.

Next, the operation of transferring the file 4 between the storage 6 and the conveyance path 3 in this embodiment will be explained.

Enter the serial number of file 4 of the desired medical record into an input device connected to a computer (not shown),
When the code number of the storage station which will be the carry-out station and the code number of the station of the medical department to be transported which will be the carry-in station are respectively input, the information record carrier transfer mechanism is activated.
The actuating member 14 takes out the file 4 corresponding to the input serial number from a predetermined storage position, that is, a predetermined engagement rail 7. Subsequently, the operating member 14 engages and inserts the removed file 4 into the engagement rail 34 of the case 1 stored in the case storage section 8 in an open state. At this time, if the loading station is the same, a plurality of files 4 up to the same number as the engagement rails 34 can be accommodated in the case 1. In principle, the file 4 is stored in the case 1 on the upper stage of the case storage section 8, and if there is no case 1 on the upper stage, the file 4 is stored in the upper stage of the case storage section 8.
is controlled so that it is stored in the case 1 at the lower stage of the case storage section 8.

When all the desired files 4 are accommodated in a predetermined case 1 of the case storage section 8, the container transfer mechanism is activated, the case 1 is grasped by the gripping member 30, and the case 1 is gripped by the gripping member 30. The rotation turns the front and back sides of the case, and the case is transferred from the case storage section 8 onto the support stand 22. By this reversal, the case 1 is placed on the support stand 22 so that the opening part 1a is located on the side where the lid opening/closing member 24 is installed, and the holding belt 1 is placed above the support stand 22.
8 and 19 are in a vertical state. When the lifting belt 23 is driven, the plunger 24a of the lid opening/closing member 24 is projected almost simultaneously, and the case 1 is raised, and as shown in FIG. By engaging with the plunger 24a, the lid 32 is pulled down and the opening 1a is closed. Then, while the plunger 24a is plunged again, case 1
After the clamping belts 18 and 19 are clamped by the rotation of the clamping belts 18 and 19 in the drawing direction, the clamping belts 18 and 19 are rotated by the rotation of the rotating shaft 21.
By being displaced 90 degrees, it is similarly displaced and placed horizontally. Next, the transport vehicle 2 moves to the conversion path 3.
a, and a detector (not shown) detects that this conversion path 3a is in a conversion state away from the conveyance path 3 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
While the clamping belts 18 and 19 are driven to circulate in the sending direction, the feed belt 17 is driven to circulate in the clockwise direction in FIG. will be installed on.

Next, when the conversion path 3a is converted into a travelable state corresponding to the transport path 3, the transport vehicle 2 is driven toward the target clinical department station, and the case 1 is transferred from the transport vehicle 2 that has arrived at this clinical department station.
was extracted, and file 4 was removed from case 1.
is extracted. The operation of taking out the case 1 at this clinical department station is similar to the operation of taking out the case 1 at the storage station, which will be described later. The operation of loading the case 1 onto the transport vehicle 2 is the same as the operation of loading the case 1 in the storage station described above, so a description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation of transferring the case 1 from the clinical department station to the storage shelf 16 and to the case storage section 8 of the storage 6 will be explained.

Case 1 from which file 4 has been taken out and becomes empty at the clinical department station, or case 1 which contains file 4 to be returned, is file 4.
serial number (unnecessary if case 1 is empty),
When the code number of the clinical department station, which will be the carry-out station, and the code number of the storage station, which will be the carry-in station, are input into the input device, it will be loaded onto the transport cart 2 at the clinical department station and sent back to the storage station. come. When the transport vehicle 2 arrives at the conversion path 3a which is in a travelable state, the conversion path a is converted to the conversion state, and the reserve path 3a' is positioned corresponding to the transport path 3. At this time, the clamping belts 18 and 19 are in the horizontal state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Here, the feed belt 17 is driven to circulate in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2, and the case 1 is fed to and held by the holding belts 18 and 19 by the feed plate 17a. Subsequently, the clamping belts 18 and 19 are displaced by 90 degrees by the rotation of the rotary shaft 21, and the case 1 is placed in a vertical position.The clamping belts 18 and 19 circulate in the feeding direction, so that the case 1 is rotated. It is placed vertically on the support stand 22. At this time, the opening 1a of the case 1 is connected to the lid opening/closing member 24.
The two sides are facing each other. Lifting belt 23
When the support base 22 is lowered, the protruding plunger 24a and the engaging member 33
is engaged, and the lid body 32 is pulled up to open the opening 1a.
is in an open state.

When the support stand 22 descends to a predetermined position after the plunger 24a plunges in again, the container transfer mechanism is activated, and if the case 1 is empty, the support stand 22 is lowered to a predetermined position.
The upper case 1 is gripped by the gripping member 30, transferred to an appropriate position on the storage shelf 16, and stored with the opening 1a facing to the side. On the other hand, when the file 4 is housed in the case 1, the support stand 2
The case 1 on top 2 is held by the gripping member 30 and stored in the case storage section 8 of the storage 6. and,
The empty case 1 stored in the storage shelf 16 is moved to the gripping member 3 by operating the case transfer mechanism again when either the upper or lower part of the case storage section 8 becomes empty.
0 and stored in the case storage section 8 with the opening 1a facing the information recording carrier transport mechanism.

Further, the file 4 in the case 1 stored in the case storage section 8 is engaged and inserted into the engagement rail 7 at a predetermined position by the operating member 14 of the information recording carrier transfer mechanism.

By repeating the above operations, storage 6
A case 1 containing files 4 or an empty case 1 can be transported between the case storage section 8 and the clinical department station.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and for example, the information recording carrier accommodated in the case 1 can be variously modified, such as a medical chart file 4, an X-ray film, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc. In addition, the structure of case 1 is not limited to the above-mentioned structure, and furthermore, the structure of the container transfer mechanism can be changed according to the structure of various containers including case 1, and the storage section can also be used as a shelf. Not limited to the situation. In addition, the storage, the storage station, and the storage section may not only correspond to each other on a one-to-one basis, but may also have a plurality of suitable ones or all of them. Furthermore, the container transfer mechanism can also be configured with a plurality of transfer mechanisms.

Effects As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, not only the information recording carrier can be transferred between the carrier storage section and the container, but also the container can be transferred between the storage and the storage station, and the container can be stored. It is possible to transfer containers between a storage station and a storage section where the containers are stored, and between the storage section and the storage, and to take information storage carriers in and out of the storage. Since the transport work is carried out in units of containers, it is possible to improve the operating efficiency of the container transfer mechanism and the transport means. In particular, since containers can be stored in the storage section when the storage section of the storage is occupied, storage objects containing information recording carriers can be returned from other stations to the storage station. In this case, by temporarily storing the container in the storage section, the work of extracting the information recording carrier from the container can be postponed, and it is possible to flexibly respond to various transportation requests. Furthermore, the information recording carrier transport mechanism is capable of transporting and storing the container containing the information recording carrier in the storage section even when the transport vehicle has not arrived at the storage station. The operating rate of the system can be significantly improved. Furthermore, the storage and the transport means are not restricted by each other's usage status, and moreover, the storage station and the storage are organically linked via the storage object transfer mechanism, and the transport vehicle and the storage are organically linked. Since it can be operated separately from the information record carrier transport mechanism, the information record carrier transport mechanism operates to take the information record carrier in and out of the container housed in the container storage section. Since there is no need to stop the transport vehicle at the storage station, the operating rate of the transport vehicle can be increased. Transport means can be used efficiently, as only the time required for loading and unloading the body is required. In addition, the transport vehicle is not a special vehicle with a special structure for transporting information recording carriers;
Since it is sufficient to have a space for mounting the container, objects other than the container can also be loaded and transported in this space, which has many advantages such as a wide range of use as transport equipment. There is.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures show preferred embodiments of the present invention, with Fig. 1 being a schematic plan view of the main parts showing the inside of the storage cabinet, and Fig. 2
The figure is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the container transfer mechanism, Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in Figure 1, and Figure 5 is a case and lid opening/closing. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship with the mechanism, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the case. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Case, 2... Transport vehicle, 3... Transport path, 4... File, 5... File storage section, 6
... Storage, 7, 34 ... Engagement rail, 8 ... Case storage section, 14 ... Operating member, 16 ... Storage shelf, 17 ... Feeding belt, 18, 19 ... Clamping belt, 22 ... Support stand, 24... Lid opening/closing member, 3
0...Gripping member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a conveying means for transporting the information recording carrier between the respective stations by driving a conveying cart on which a container capable of accommodating a plurality of information recording carriers is mounted on a conveying path having a plurality of stations; An information recording carrier that has a carrier storage part that stores a large number of carriers, and has a container storage part that stores the storage body, and that allows the information recording carrier to be taken in and out of the storage body stored in the storage body storage part. a storage having a transfer mechanism; a storage station located near the storage;
a storage section for storing the containers; between the storage station and the container storage section of the storage; between the storage station and the storage section; and between the storage section and the container storage. An information recording carrier transporting facility comprising: a container transport mechanism for transporting each of the containers.