JPH04266305A - Load transferring system and load transferring method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify a load transferring system by driving a driving means with a current collecting means of a controller to control the driving means for moving a load supporting device and a power transmission of a all direction moving truck brought into contact with each other and giving directions to the moving truck by means of a control device. CONSTITUTION:An all direction moving truck 1 goes into a transferring base on which load are taken custody by the direction from a control device, and loads are received with the fork on the moving truck 1 raised. In the next step, the moving truck 1 is moved, and the fork is inserted into the gaps 30 and 40 of the load supporting equipment 14 of a transferring device 12, and the electromagnet of the power transmission unit of the moving truck 1 is excited, as a result, the current collecting unit 35 of the transferring device 12 and an electrode are brought into contact with each other, and electric energy is supplied to the transferring device 12. Then, the fork is lowered, and loads are placed on the roller conveyer 14 of the transferring device 12. In the next step, the truck 1 and the transferring device 12 are moved simultaneously and are stopped at the storing position of a desired rack 29, and the roller conveyer 41 of a roller conveyer 14 is inclined by cylinders 20A and 20B, and the load is placed on the shelf plate 32 of the rack 29. Therefore, the transferring device 12 and the truck 1 can use power supply in common.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a load transfer system and a load transfer method, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a load transfer system and a load transfer method, and more specifically, a drive source, a power source, and The present invention relates to a system that can extremely simplify the structure of the transfer machine and construct a system at low cost by sharing a control device with the transfer machine that handles cargo.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as a load transfer system, there is a system as shown in FIG. 20.

In the figure, M is a distribution warehouse, for example, and R is a rack arranged in a plurality of rows in the distribution warehouse, each of which has a plurality of storage sections (not shown) in the width direction and height direction.

Reference numeral K denotes a stacker crane of a well-known construction, which travels along the rack R and is capable of performing various cargo handling operations between the racks and the storage sections.

The stacker crane K is equipped with a plurality of electric motors inside the vehicle body as a drive source for cargo handling work and traveling, and is supplied with electric power from the outside via a cable line or the like to rotate the electric motors.

In addition, N is an automatic guided vehicle that, although not shown, detects a guide line buried along a predetermined travel course.
Steering control is performed based on the difference in rotational speed between left and right wheels provided on the vehicle body, and the vehicle body includes a control device and a battery (not shown), and a driving electric motor (not shown) that rotates the wheels by the battery. (omitted) is driven to rotate.

Note that within the distribution warehouse M there is provided a station ST consisting of a conveyor and the like for delivering and receiving cargo.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional system configuration, both the automatic guided vehicle N that transports the load and the stacker crane K that transfers the load require a drive source such as an electric motor, a power source, and a control The disadvantage is that the devices must be installed separately, and the manufacturing cost for configuring the system is extremely high.

The present invention was created in view of these drawbacks, and its purpose is to share the drive source, power supply, and control device provided by the transport vehicle with the transfer machine that performs cargo handling work, thereby improving the efficiency of the transfer machine. The object of the present invention is to provide a load transfer system that can be manufactured at low cost by simplifying the drive source, power supply, and control device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a rack, a load support that is supported so as to be movable in the lateral direction with respect to the loading entrance of the rack and that is movable in the vertical direction, and a load support that is movable in the vertical direction. A transfer machine comprising a drive means for vertical movement, a current collection means for obtaining electric power from the outside, a simple controller for controlling the drive means, a fork that can be moved up and down on the upper surface of the vehicle body, and an external management machine. a communication means for communicating;
A control device and a battery that manage the vertical movement of the transfer machine and control its own autonomous running, and a power transmission means that contacts a current collecting means provided on the transfer machine and supplies electric power to the drive means. Basically, it consists of an omnidirectional mobile trolley that can autonomously run in all directions, and a management machine that gives instructions for traveling, cargo handling, etc. to the omnidirectional mobile trolley, and the rack is a flow rack (flow shelf). ), and in the cargo transfer system, the omnidirectional movable cart is
A current collecting means located opposite to the transfer machine and on the side of the transfer machine is attracted by the power transmission means to supply electric power to the transfer machine and drive the drive means provided on the transfer machine. Then, the cargo is picked up from the fork of the omnidirectional movable trolley by raising the load support, and an output signal from the control device provided on the body of the omnidirectional movable trolley is sent to the transfer machine side via a communication means. The omnidirectional movable trolley is located opposite to the transfer machine, and the omnidirectional movable trolley is connected to the current collecting means on the side of the transfer machine. A cargo transfer characterized by bringing the provided power transmission means into suction contact, causing the omnidirectional moving cart to travel with a control device provided on the omnidirectional moving cart, and moving the transfer machine laterally with respect to the rack. This method has been developed into a new method.

[Example] An example of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 19.

The system configuration of the present invention is configured as shown in FIG. That is, the omnidirectional movable cart 1, the flow rack 29, the transfer machine 12 supported so as to be movable in the lateral direction with respect to the loading entrance of the flow rack 29, the management machine 212 that centrally manages these, and the flow rack 29. and a communication device 209 that gives instructions from the management device 212 to the omnidirectional movable cart 1. Also,
If necessary, a simple elevator EV or the like can be installed to allow cargo to be exchanged between multiple floors.

The flow rack 29 (hereinafter simply referred to as rack) is
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, there is a roller conveyor 33 on the top surface.
In this example, three levels of shelf boards 30, 31, and 32 are provided with slopes that descend toward the rear, and the cargo brought in from the loading side slides down the slope and stops on the opposite side. It uses so-called fluidized shelves, which are stored in a liquid state.

A guide rail 36 is fixed to the upper part of the vertical frames 27, 27 of the rack 29, and a guide groove 25 with the groove facing upward is fixed to the lower part thereof over its entire width. Similarly, to connect the vertical frames 27, 27, a guide plate 73, which will serve as a reference wall surface when the omnidirectional movable cart 1 (described later) runs along the rack 29, is fixed via a fixture 72 (a second (see figure). The guide plate 73 is
A white plate or one coated with white paint is used to diffusely reflect the search light emitted by the distance measuring device 7 (described later) of the omnidirectional movable trolley 1.

The transfer machine 12 is supported by the guide rail 36 and the guide groove 25 so as to be movable laterally.

The transfer machine 12 basically includes a machine frame 13, a cargo handling device 14 that is attached to the machine frame 13 so as to be able to move up and down, and the cargo handling device 1.
4 and an electric motor 15 for vertical movement.

A guide mechanism 19 that slidably engages with the guide rail 36 of the rack 29 is fixed to the upper part of the machine frame 13, and a guide roller 24 that rolls in the guide groove 25 is attached to the lower part of the bracket. It is fixed via 37. or,
A threaded rod 23 is rotatably supported along the machine frame 13 by bearing frames 38A and 38B.

The reduction gear 18 is fixed to the upper end of the threaded rod 23. On the other hand, the reduction gear 18 is connected to a pinion gear 16 fixed to the output shaft of the electric motor 15 via a toothed belt 17, and the torque of the electric motor 15 is transmitted at a reduced speed so that the threaded rod 23 can be rotated. .

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the machine frame 13 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and is provided with a guide rail 44 approximately in the center of its web for guiding an elevating frame 21, which will be described later. ing.

FIG. 4 shows the cargo handling device 14, which includes:
It is composed of an elevating frame 21 and a load support 41 attached to the elevating frame 21.

The elevating frame 21 has a guide portion 45 that slidably engages with a guide rail 44 provided on the machine frame 13, and also engages with the threaded rod 23 at the screw receiving portion 23A. Therefore, by rotating the threaded rod 23 in any direction, the elevating frame 21 can be moved up and down along the machine frame 13.

In addition, a load support 41 is attached to the lifting frame 21 by a support shaft 22.
is pivoted so that it can rotate freely. Furthermore, the elevating frame 21
An electric cylinder 20A is fixed to the electric cylinder 20A, and the cylinder rod of the electric cylinder 20A is connected to the support plate 7 of the load supporter 41.
0 with a pin 68. Therefore, by expanding and contracting the cylinder rod of the electric cylinder 20A, the load support 41 can be tilted about the support shaft 22, and when a load is placed on the roller conveyor 41A, the electric cylinder 20A By extending the cylinder rod, it becomes possible to slide the load toward the rack 29 side.

The load support 41 has roller conveyors 41A, 41B, and 41C, each having a different sliding dimension, fixed to the side surface of the support plate 70 at predetermined intervals. Therefore, gaps 39 and 40 are formed between roller conveyors 41A and 41B, and between 41B and 41C, into which forks 2 and 2 of an omnidirectional movable cart, which will be described later, can enter.

Further, an electric cylinder 20B is fixed to a bracket BL projecting laterally from one end of the support plate 70, and the cylinder rod 20BR is perpendicular to the cylinder rod 20BR and extends toward the roller conveyor 41A. It is fixed integrally with the provided stopper lever 43.

Therefore, the cylinder rod 20BR of the electric cylinder 20B
When the cylinder rod 20BR is retracted, the stopper lever 43 protrudes from the upper surface of the roller of the roller conveyor 41A, while when the cylinder rod 20BR is extended, the stopper lever 43 is arranged to descend from the upper surface of the roller.

Therefore, when a load is present on the roller conveyor 41A, the timing for carrying the load into the rack 29 can be determined by combining the tilting movement of the load support 41 described above and the movement of the stopper lever 43. That is, when transporting a load to the rack 29, after tilting the load support 41, the stopper lever 43 is moved by extending the cylinder rod 20BR of the electric cylinder 20B.
If the load is positioned below the rollers of the roller conveyor 41A, the load will slide on the roller conveyor 41A and the rack 2
9 is transferred to any shelf.

S1 is a sensor for unloading, which is arranged on the roller conveyor 41A, and a sensor S2 for detecting the load is connected to the roller conveyor 41
They are placed in C. The sensors S1 and S2 may be of various types, such as an optical type or a contact type.

Reference numeral 69 denotes a simple controller for the transfer machine, which controls the electric motor 15 using, for example, a sequencer or the like in which a basic pattern of cargo handling work is stored as sequential data.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 42 denotes a stop reference piece that projects horizontally from the machine frame 13, and can serve as a reference surface for making the omnidirectional movable cart 1, which will be described later, recognize the stop position.

Further, 34 is an arm piece that protrudes from the machine frame 13 and has a current collecting unit 35 at its tip.

As shown in FIG. 5, the current collecting unit 35 includes an "L"-shaped support piece 46 bolted to the arm piece 34.
, a horizontally slidable linear guide 47A fixed to the upper surface of the support piece 46, and the linear guide 4
7A, a vertically slidable linear guide mechanism 47B that is fixed via a "T"-shaped coupling piece 48, a flat board 49 that is fixed to the side surface of the linear guide mechanism 47B, and It is composed of a current collector 57 fixed to both ends of the substrate 49, a bracket 55 fixed to the middle part, and a friction plate 56 made of iron or the like fixed to the lower surface of the bracket 55. There are two current collectors 57, a positive electrode and a negative electrode, and since there are no structural differences, only one is numbered in the figure, and the following explanation will be given only for one side of the current collector. However, the other can be considered in the same way.

Reference numeral 50 denotes a support piece which is fixed to the substrate 49 and has a "T" shape, and has an opening formed in one side that projects forward. As is clear from FIG. 6, a sleeve 52 has a flange formed at its upper end, and is located on the lower surface of the support piece 50. A spring 53 is inserted into the cylindrical portion to bias the current collector 57 downward. It is supported elastically in the state of

Further, the shaft portion of the current collector 57 is formed with a threaded portion, and a lock nut 51 is fixed to the upper end. Therefore, the current collector 57 is pushed downward by the action of the spring, but since the lock nut 51 is engaged with the sleeve, it is supported so that it cannot fall below this state.

Further, a flat plate-shaped contact piece 54 made of iron or the like is welded to the lower end of the collector 57, and the contact piece 54 comes into contact with a power transmission side electrode 59 provided on the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 to generate electric power. It is something that receives supply.

58 is a stopper pin, which supports the support piece 50 and the sleeve 52.
It also penetrates the contact piece 54 of the collector to prevent the contact piece 54 from inadvertently rotating.

Although not shown here, the lock nut 51
Lead wires are drawn out and connected to the electric motor 15, etc., respectively.

Next, the mechanism on the power transmission side will be explained.

Power is supplied to the collector 57 through an electrode 59 of a power transmission unit 71 provided on the omnidirectional movable cart 1 and the collector 5.
This is done by touching 7. Power transmission unit 7
1 is attached to the center and upper part of the front side of the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and the details will be explained below based on FIG. 6. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the current collector 57 and the electrode 59 of the power transmission unit 71 are in contact with each other, and the power transmission unit 71 is connected to the electromagnet MG.
and a bracket 66 attached to the body of the omnidirectional movable trolley 1.
B, an L-shaped bracket 66A attached to the bracket 66B and having an opening in its upper surface, a support piece 64 fixed to the vertical side of the L-shaped bracket 66A and having an opening in its lower part; It is composed of a support piece 64 and an electrode 59 supported by the L-shaped bracket 66A.

Incidentally, two electrodes 59 are provided on the left and right at positions corresponding to the current collectors 57.

The electrode 59 has a flange 59A formed in its middle portion, and a spring 63 is inserted between the flange 59A and the support piece 64 so that the electrode 59 is elastically supported while being biased upward.

Further, a lock nut 65 is fixed to the lower part of the electrode 59 in the same manner as the current collector 57, and upward movement is regulated by the support piece 64 being engaged with the lock nut 65. Although not shown here, the electrode 59 is connected to a battery BA2 mounted inside the body of the omnidirectional movable trolley 1.

A rubber plate 60 is attached to the upper surface of the L-shaped bracket 66A as a cushioning material in order to reduce the impact when the electrode 59 of the current collector 57 and the contact piece 54 come into contact with each other.

However, contact between the electrode 59 of the current collector 57 and the contact piece 54 can be achieved by exciting the electromagnet MG of the power transmission unit 71. That is, if the power transmission unit 71 of the omnidirectional movable cart 1 is positioned so as to face the current collection unit 35 of the transfer machine 12 and the electromagnet MG is excited, the friction plate 56 on the current collection unit 35 side is the electromagnet M
This can be done by being attracted to G. At this time, as described above, since the substrate 49 on the current collecting unit 35 side is slidably fixed to the arm 34 in both the lateral and vertical directions, the friction plate 56 The electromagnet MG is contacted and fixed at a position where the energy in the circuit is to be minimized, and the contact piece 54 is brought into contact with the electrode 59 provided at the corresponding position, thereby obtaining electric power from the omnidirectional movable cart 1. be able to.

OP1 and OP2 are omnidirectional moving cart 1 side and transfer machine 12
The power transmission unit 71 and the current collection unit 35 are arranged so that data can be communicated in a state where the power transmission unit 71 and the current collection unit 35 are combined with the optical transmission device provided on each side. It provides a signal for controlling the sequencer 69, and will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the vehicle body structure of the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 used in the present invention includes all wheels 9FR, 9RR,
Steering motors 132 are arranged at 9FL and 9RL, and each is configured to be capable of continuous rotation of 360 degrees.

Also, two wheels arranged diagonally on the vehicle body, for example,
9FR and 9RL are drive wheels each equipped with a travel motor 120, while the remaining two wheels, 9RR and 9FL
is the driven wheel.

The mechanism of the drive wheel will be explained based on FIG. 17. A pinion gear 121 fixed to the output shaft of a travel motor 120
and a first-stage reduction gear 12 that meshes with the pinion gear 121.
2, a pinion gear 123 formed integrally and coaxially with the first-stage reduction gear 122, a second-stage reduction gear 124 meshing with the pinion gear 123, a spur gear 125 formed coaxially and integrally with the second-stage reduction gear 124, and the spur gear. 1
25, a driven gear 126 fitted into the vertical shaft 127, a bevel pinion 128 fitted into the lower end of the vertical shaft 127, a bevel gear 129 meshed with the bevel pinion 128, and fastened to the bevel gear 129 with a key, Drive shaft 13 fixed to wheel 9FR
0.

Further, the steering mechanism includes a pinion gear 133 fixed to the output shaft of the steering motor 132, a reduction gear 134 meshing with the pinion gear 133, and the reduction gear 1.
a spur gear 135 coaxially formed with 34; an internal gear 136 meshing with the spur gear 135;
A configuration is shown in which a swing gear case 137 is fixed to the internal gear 136 and rotatably supported by the upper casing. Therefore, the swing gear case 137 can swing around the swing shaft 139 by rotating the steering motor 132.

Reference numeral 138 denotes an absolute encoder, which can detect in absolute coordinates how many times the swing gear case 137 has turned with respect to an arbitrary origin with respect to the swing axis 139.

Furthermore, each wheel is provided with a mileage measuring wheel 140 for measuring the mileage.

The mileage measuring wheel 140 is attached to the swing gear case 1.
It is rotatably supported via a bearing on a sleeve 142 that is loosely fitted into a protrusion 141 of No. 37, and is rotated by a rotary encoder 203 (not shown in FIG. 17) pressed against the travel distance measuring wheel 140. The number is detected and sent to the control device 8.

Further, the sleeve 142 is supported by the swing gear case 137 so as to be vertically movable (not shown). In this example, the center of the traveling distance measurement wheel 140 is made to coincide with the turning center of the turning gear case 137, so that when the omnidirectional mobile cart 1 turns on the spot, the error in the traveling distance is reduced. This can be prevented from occurring.

The rotary encoder 203, the travel motor 120,
Wiring from the steering motor 132 and absolute encoder 132 is connected to the control device 8 via a rotary connector 143 arranged at the center of rotation of the swing gear case.
Since the wires are connected to the wires, the wires will not be twisted even if the wheels 9 continuously rotate through 360 degrees.

Furthermore, obstacle detection bumpers 4, 5, and 6 (hereinafter simply referred to as bumpers) are fixed to surround the vehicle body and can detect obstacles by coming into direct contact with them, and each side of the vehicle body. Non-contact obstacle detection devices 213A...213 capable of detecting obstacles non-contact, two in total, eight in total.
In order to measure the distance between H and the reference wall surface from the vehicle body, a total of eight distance measuring devices 7A are provided, two on each side of the vehicle body.
7H, the forks 2, 2 provided on the upper surface of the vehicle body, the operating section 10, the antenna 11 of the communication device 200, and the power transmission unit 71 attached to the center and upper part of the front side of the vehicle body.
, a control device 8 that controls travel, cargo handling, and the transfer machine 12, and batteries BA and BA2.

The forks 2, 2 are a pair of left and right, and are provided so as to be movable up and down with respect to the vehicle body, and are equipped with drive conveyors 3, 3 on their surface portions.

The distance measuring devices 7A...7H are provided in total of eight devices, two on each side of the vehicle body, and measure the distance between the vehicle body and reference walls provided at several locations within the system. It is used as reference data when driving autonomously.

9 and 10 show an example of the distance measuring device 7A, which includes an optical distance measuring sensor 100, a slide bracket 101, a linear guide mechanism 113 fixed to the lower surface of the slide bracket 101, and the linear guide mechanism. A guide portion 114 for guiding the reflector 113 and first, second, third, and fourth reflectors 102 to 105 are respectively disposed on a substrate 116, and a translation drive means 106 is provided.

The optical distance measuring sensor 100 uses a well-known distance measuring sensor consisting of a light emitting section 100A of a distance measuring head surface 100C that emits measurement light, and a light receiving section 100B that receives the reflected light of the measurement light reflected from the object to be measured. ing.

The slide bracket 101 has a substantially "L" shape, and a linear guide mechanism 113 equipped with a ball bearing is fixed to the lower surface of the slide bracket 101. It is slidably guided.

Further, a triangular prism reflector bracket 115A having an isosceles triangle base with an apex angle of 90 degrees is fixed to the upper surface of the slide bracket 101, and each of the first reflectors 102 is attached to the reflector bracket 115A.
(hereinafter simply referred to as reflector 102) and a fourth reflector 105 (hereinafter simply referred to as reflector 105)
is fixed.

Further, a second reflector 103 (hereinafter simply referred to as reflector 103) and a third reflector 104 (hereinafter simply referred to as reflector 104) are opposite to the side of the substrate 116 on which the optical distance measurement sensor 100 is disposed. The reflector brackets 115B are each fixed to the inside of a reflector bracket 115B, which has a shape obtained by cutting out the reflector bracket 115A from a square prism with a rectangular base.

As each reflector, for example, a surface reflecting mirror or the like can be adopted.

The parallel movement driving means 106 includes a rotary solenoid 107 whose output shaft, a rotation shaft 108, rotates when a coil 111 is excited, and a rotary solenoid 107 fixed to the rotation shaft 108 of the rotary solenoid 107. piece 109, a link 110 rotatably attached to one end of the rotating piece 109 with a pin, and one end of the link 110 rotatably supported on the upper surface of the slide bracket 101 with a pin. It is composed of Therefore, the rotary solenoid 1
When the coil 111 of No. 07 is excited, the rotating shaft 108 and the rotating piece 109 rotate and act on the link 110, allowing the slide bracket 101 to slide. Note that by changing the direction of the excitation current of the coil 111, the slide bracket 101 can be slid in any direction.

Further, reference numeral 112 denotes a stopper pin fixed to the substrate 116, which limits the rotating piece 108 to a predetermined rotation angle in order to limit the amount of movement of the slide bracket 101 that can be slid by the parallel movement driving means 106. It is something to do.

However, if the reference wall surface for distance measurement is located at a relatively long distance from the omnidirectional movable cart 1, the rotary piece 109 will move the coil 111 of the rotary solenoid 107 toward the rotary shaft 1.
The slide bracket 101 is energized counterclockwise around 08 to slide it to the right in the figure (the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 10). In this state, the measurement light emitted from the light emitting section 100A of the optical distance measurement sensor 100 travels straight and is reflected by the reference wall surface, and the light receiving section 100B receives the reflected light and calculates the distance from the reference wall surface. Can be measured.

On the other hand, when the reference wall surface exists at a close distance to the omnidirectional movable trolley 1, the rotary solenoid 107
The coil 111 is excited so that the rotating piece 109 rotates clockwise around the rotating shaft 108, and the slide bracket 101 is slid to the left in the figure (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 10). . In this state, the light emitted from the light emitting part 100A of the optical ranging sensor 100 is transmitted from the reflector 102 to the reflector 103 to the reflector 104.
→The reflected light is sequentially reflected to the reflector 105 and reaches the distance measurement reference wall surface.The reflected light is sequentially reflected to the reflector 105→reflector 104→reflector 103→reflector 102, and is received by the light receiving unit 100B. The distance between the wall surface and the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 can be measured.

The reason why the distance measuring device 7A is configured as described above is because optical distance measuring sensors are usually used for applications where the measurable range is either long distance or close distance. If it is necessary to measure both near and far distances, two types of optical distance measuring sensors, one for long distances and one for close ranges, must be used separately, but the distance measuring device of the above embodiment This is mainly because it has become possible to measure a wide range of distances, both far and near, with a single long-distance sensor.

Furthermore, a block diagram of the present invention is shown in FIG. Commands from the management machine 212 on the ground side are sent to the management machine 212.
The information is sent from the communication device 209 on the side to the communication device 200 on the omnidirectional movable cart 1 side.

The control device 8 of the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 includes a CPU 201, a storage unit 206 consisting of a ROM in which a travel program for the omnidirectional movable trolley 1, etc. is stored as a read-only memory, and a working memory RAM that can be written at any time. , a transfer machine control device 205 that controls the transfer machine 12, and an interface 202 that exchanges various input signals from the outside. Further, the interface 2
As a signal input to 02, the swing gear case 13
Absolute encoder 138 that detects the turning angle of 7
, a gyro 211 that measures the attitude angle of the vehicle body and the vehicle turning speed, and a distance measuring device 7 that measures the distance between the vehicle body and the reference wall surface.
A...7H, bumpers 4, 5, 6 that detect obstacles by contact, non-contact obstacle detection device 213A...213
H, a detection signal from a rotary encoder 203 or the like that measures the traveling distance of each wheel 9 is input. In addition, distance measuring device 7A
Since the data to be handled differs depending on whether the detection signal is transmitted through a reflector or not as described above, the detection signal is inputted to the interface 202 via the distance measurement control device 215. Further, as the gyro 211, for example, an optical fiber gyro or the like can be suitably employed.

As a result of the calculation performed by the CPU, the interface 2
The steering angle and steering angle of each wheel 9 are controlled by a servo controller 207 via a servo controller 02. Further, when the bumpers 4, 5, 6 and the non-contact obstacle detection device 213 detect an obstacle by contacting the obstacle,
Alternatively, if the emergency stop signal 210 is sent, the CPU
201 can stop the vehicle by operating electromagnetic brakes 214 provided on the wheels 9.

In the above-described system configuration, the omnidirectional movable cart 1 transports the cargo up to rank 29 based on the warehousing instruction from the management machine 212.

At this time, the management machine 212 issues an instruction to, for example, take the load from an arbitrary transfer table where the load is temporarily stored and transfer it to an arbitrary frontage of the rack 29. The instruction is given to the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 between the communication devices 201 and 209.

11 and 12 show an example of a transfer table 80, which projects forward from a longitudinally extending connecting frame 82 and includes a support frame 81 for supporting a load, and is fixed to the lower surface of the support frame 81. horizontal frame 84..., foot part 83... fixed below the horizontal frame 84..., movable plate 86 slidably held between the horizontal frames 84, and slidable with respect to the movable plate 86. It is composed of a push piece 87. 85A,B
, C are stoppers fixed to the upper surface of the support frame 81 in order to prevent the load from shifting in the front-rear direction of the support frame 81. Also, normally, the load is placed in two locations before and after the transfer table 80.
Can be placed in parallel.

Further, each transfer table is given a predetermined frontage number BK1... in advance.

As shown in FIG. 12, the movable plate 86
4 and is fixed to the rear end surface of a bracket 94 that is slidable relative to the rank gear 93 with its tooth surface facing downward.

The rack gear 93 is mounted on the outer surface of the bracket 94.
A pinion gear 92 that meshes with the rack gear 93 and guide rollers 91F and 91R that roll on the upper surface of the rack gear 93 are pivotally supported. Further, one end of a spiral spring SP1 is fixed above the front end surface of the bracket 94.

The other end of the spiral spring SP1 is fixed to a winding drum 89, and the winding drum 89 is fixedly supported by an upright portion 90 of the receiving piece 90L. Note that the receiving piece 90L is fixed to the horizontal frame 84 similarly to the rack gear 93. Therefore, the bracket 94 is normally maintained in a state where it is drawn toward the spiral spring SP1 by the restoring force of the spiral spring SP1.

The pushing piece 87 is inserted into a guide tube 87A fixed to the approximate center of the movable plate 86, and is inserted into the rear end portion 87A.
One end of the spiral spring SP2 is fixed to 7R. or,
The other end of the spiral spring SP2 is fixed to a winding drum 96 fixed to the back surface of the movable plate 86. Therefore, like the bracket 94, the pusher piece 87 is also held in a forwardly biased state. Note that the movable plate 86 and the horizontal frame 84 are each used as a reference wall surface of the omnidirectional movable trolley 1, which will be described later. Furthermore, the spring constant of the spiral spring SP1 is the same as that of the spiral spring S
A spring constant that is extremely small compared to the spring constant of P2 is used.

Hereinafter, based on FIGS. 13 to 15, the operation of the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 to take out the load from the transfer table 80 will be explained. First, as shown in FIG. 13, the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 It is positioned opposite the transfer table 80 based on the travel program stored in the ROM. At this time, the contact piece 117 provided at the front of the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 is precisely positioned so as to abut against the push piece 87 of the movable plate 86, and the distance measuring devices 7C and 7D at the front of the car body are used as reference points. Measure the distance to the movable plate 86 that becomes the wall surface L
Get 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 14, the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 travels straight ahead. At this time, the spiral spring S linked to the movable plate 86
Since the spring constant of P1 is set to be extremely small compared to that of the spiral spring SP2 that is linked to the pusher piece 87, the movable plate 86 stretches the spiral spring SP1, but the spring constant of the pusher piece 87 and The distance between the movable plate 86 and the movable plate 86 does not change, and the two can slide rearward as a unit. Therefore, the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 and the movable plate 8
6 still remains unchanged at L1, and in this state the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 continues to travel straight.

Then, as shown in FIG. 15, when the movable plate 86 reaches a position where sliding is mechanically restricted, the push piece 87
The effect of sliding backward while stretching the spiral spring SP2 can be obtained. Due to this action, the omnidirectional moving trolley 1 and
When the distance to the movable plate 86 becomes small for the first time and the distance reaches LS, the traveling of the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 is stopped.

Next, the forks 2 of the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 are raised, the load is placed on the fork 2, and then the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 is moved backward to carry out the procedure for taking out the load from the transfer platform 80.

Note that the distance LS and the series of processing procedures are stored in the ROM of the storage unit.

The aforementioned transfer machine 12 is always located at a predetermined arbitrary position (hereinafter referred to as
It is assumed that the robot is waiting at the origin (referred to as the origin).

Here, as illustrated in FIG. 18, the load W is
An omnidirectional movable trolley 1 loaded with is positioned opposite to a transfer machine 12. In this state, the fork 2 of the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 is in a raised state. Then, after making the omnidirectional movable cart 1 run and inserting the forks 2, 2 into the gaps 39, 40 of the load support 41 of the transfer machine 12, the electromagnet MG of the power transmission unit 71 is energized to collect the power. The friction plate 56 of the electric unit 35 is attracted to the electrodes 59, 59 and the contact piece 5.
4 and 54 to supply power to the transfer machine 12 and lower the forks 2 and 2.

Due to this action, the load W is transferred to the roller conveyor 1 of the load handling device 14.
4 is transferred above.

However, the omnidirectional movable cart 1 is connected to the transfer device 12 as described above up to the predetermined frontage of the rack 29, and
The distance to the guide plate 73 provided below 9 is measured by the distance measuring device 7A, and while keeping the distance constant,
Run along this line.

Next, when reaching the storage position from the management machine 212,
The omnidirectional movable trolley 1 stops, and based on the warehousing command from the management machine 212, the optical transmission device O provided on the omnidirectional movable trolley 1 side
A sequencer 6 that transmits a predetermined optical signal from P1 to the optical transmission device OP2 on the transfer machine side and controls the electric motor 15 on the transfer machine side.
Sent to 9th.

Then, the sequencer 69 of the transfer machine 12 drives the electric motor 15 by a predetermined amount based on the received signal from the optical transmission device OP2, and the torque of the electric motor 15 is transmitted to the threaded rod 23 via the toothed belt 17, so that the load W The cargo handling device 14 loaded with cargo can be raised to a predetermined shelf height (see FIG. 19).

In the above state, the electric cylinder 20A of the cargo handling device 14
extend the rod of the roller conveyor 41 to the rack 29.
Tilt it in the same direction as the shelf board. Furthermore, electric cylinder 20
By extending the cylinder rod 20BR of B,
The stopper lever 43 descends below the rollers of the roller conveyor 41, and the load W slides off the roller conveyor 41 and is carried into a predetermined shelf board of the rack 29.

When the unloading sensor S1 detects that the load W has been carried into the rack 29 from the roller conveyor 41, the cylinder rod 20BR of the electric cylinder 20B is retracted to move the stopper lever 43 from the roller of the roller conveyor 41. At the same time, the cylinder rod of the electric cylinder 20 is also contracted to keep the roller conveyor 41 horizontal. Thereafter, the electric motor 15 is driven to rotate and the cargo handling device 14 is lowered to its initial state.

When the loading of the load W is completed, the omnidirectional movable cart 1 moves to the guide plate 73 provided below the rack 29 as described above.
The distance to the transfer device 12 is measured by the distance measuring device 7A, and while the distance is kept constant, the transfer device 12 returns to the origin while connected to the transfer device 12.
Demagnetize the electromagnet MG to release the connection with the transfer machine 12,
It waits for the next cargo handling command from the management machine 212.

Incidentally, when the omnidirectional movable cart 1 has two loads loaded on the forks 2, 2, first, the first load is carried into the rack 29 by the above action, and then the first load is loaded on the fork 2. The drive conveyors 3, 3 are rotated to send the load to the transfer machine 12, and the load can be carried into the rack 29 by repeating the same procedure as described above.

[Effects of the Invention] By adopting the above configuration and method, the present invention shares the travel drive means, battery, and control device included in the omnidirectional movable cart with the transfer machine that performs cargo handling. The structure of the transfer machine has been extremely simplified, making it possible to construct the system at low cost. Furthermore, by using an omnidirectional movable trolley, the degree of freedom in transporting cargo can be increased, the space required for traveling can be kept to a minimum, and storage efficiency can be improved. Furthermore, by changing the travel program of the omnidirectional movable cart, the travel pattern can be changed very easily.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall outline of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view showing the transfer machine and rack, Fig. 3 is a front view thereof, Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the cargo handling device, and Fig. 5. 6 is a side view of the current collecting unit 35 and the power transmitting unit 71, FIG. 7 is a side view of the omnidirectional movable cart used in the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a front view of the same. , FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the distance measuring device, FIG. 10 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the distance measuring device, FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the transfer table, and FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the transfer table. FIG. 13, FIG. 14, and FIG. 15 are perspective views showing details of the main parts, and side views for explaining the operation of the transfer table, and FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view for explaining the wheel mechanism, FIGS. 18 and 19 are front views for explaining the operation of the present invention, and FIG. 20 is a plan view showing a conventional system. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Omnidirectional moving trolley, 2... Fork, 3... Roller conveyor, 4, 5, 6... Bumper for obstacle detection, 7... Distance measuring device, 8... Control device 9... Wheels, 12... Transfer machine, 13... Machine frame, 14... Cargo handling device, 15... Electric motor, 21... Lifting frame, 29... Rack, 35... Current collection unit, 41... Load supporter, 54... Contact piece,
57... Current collector, 59... Electrode, 71... Power transmission unit, 80
...transfer table, 212...management machine patent applicant Nippon Yusoki Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A rack, a load support that is supported so as to be movable laterally with respect to the loading entrance of the rack and is movable in the vertical direction, a driving means for vertically moving the load support, and an external a transfer machine comprising a current collecting means for obtaining electric power from the vehicle, a simple controller for controlling the driving means, a fork that can be moved up and down on the upper surface of the vehicle body, and a communication means for communicating with an external management machine; A control device and a battery that manage the vertical movement of the transfer machine and control its own autonomous running, and a power transmission means that contacts a current collecting means provided on the transfer machine and supplies electric power to the drive means. 1. A cargo transfer system comprising: an omnidirectional movable trolley capable of autonomously traveling in all directions; and a management machine that gives instructions for traveling, cargo handling, etc. to the omnidirectional movable trolley. 2. The load transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the rack is a flow rack. 3. In the load transfer system, an omnidirectional moving cart is located opposite to the transfer machine, and transfers electric power by attracting current collecting means on the transfer machine side to the power transmission means. supplying it to the transfer machine and driving the driving means provided on the transfer machine,
The load is picked up from the fork of the omnidirectional moving cart by raising the load support, and an output signal from the control device provided on the body of the omnidirectional moving cart is transmitted to the transfer machine side via a communication means. . A load transfer method comprising controlling the vertical movement of the load support. 4. In the load transfer system, an omnidirectional moving cart is located opposite to a transfer machine, and a power transmission means provided on the omnidirectional moving cart is connected to a current collecting means on the side of the transfer machine. A load transfer method characterized in that the transfer machine is moved in the lateral direction with respect to the rack by bringing the carrier into suction contact with the rack, causing the omnidirectional movable trolley to run by a control device provided on the omnidirectional movable trolley.