JPH04333404A - Cargo handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To extremely simplify structure of a deposit machine and a delivery machine and cheaply carry out first-in and first-out deposit and delivery work by using a drive source, a power source and a control device furnished on an unmanned carrier car in common for the deposit machine and the delivery machine which carry out cargo handling work between a flow rack and the unmanned carrier car. CONSTITUTION:A deposit machine 11 and a delivery machine 12 respectively supported free to move in the cross direction are provided on an unmanned carrier car 1 and a cargo carry-in port IN and a cargo carry-out port OUT of a flow rack 29 installed in a warehouse. Additionally, a control machine 71 to govern and control these deposit and delivery machines 11, 12 and a communication device 72 to give instructions from the control machine 71 to the unmanned carrier car 1 are provided. A control device of the unmanned carrier car 1 is constituted of a CPU, a memory part consisting of an ROM to memorize a travel program of the unmanned carrier car 1 and programs to control the deposit machine 11 and the delivery machine 12 and a work memory RAM capable of writing in occasionally and an interface to correspond with various input signals from outside.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a cargo handling device, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a loading and unloading machine that performs loading and unloading operations with a flow rack using a drive source, a power source, and a control device included in an automatic guided vehicle. The present invention relates to a cargo handling device that greatly simplifies the structures of a warehousing machine and a warehousing machine by driving the machine, and enables first-in and first-out warehousing and unloading operations at low cost.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a system shown in FIG. 28 for storing and transferring cargo. In the figure, M indicates an automated warehouse, and R indicates racks arranged in a plurality of rows in the automated warehouse, each of which has a plurality of storage openings in its width direction and height direction. K is a stacker crane of a well-known configuration, which travels along the rack R and can carry out loading and unloading operations between each storage opening. 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. be.

[0003]Also, N is an automatic guided vehicle, which, although not shown, detects the magnetic field of a guide wire buried along a predetermined running course, and detects the difference in rotational speed between left and right wheels installed on the vehicle body. The vehicle is equipped with a control device and a battery (not shown) inside the vehicle body, and the battery rotationally drives a driving electric motor (not shown) that rotates the wheels. Note that within the automated warehouse M there is provided a station ST consisting of a conveyor and the like for delivering and receiving cargo.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional system configuration, each of the automatic guided vehicle N that transports the load and the stacker crane K that transfers the load has a drive source such as an electric motor, a power source, and a control system. The disadvantage is that the devices must be installed separately, making the system large-scale and extremely expensive. The present invention was created in view of such problems, and its purpose is to share the drive source, power supply, and control device provided by an automatic guided vehicle with a warehousing machine and a warehousing machine that carry out cargo handling work, thereby improving the ability of warehousing and unloading. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cargo handling device that can simplify the driving source, power source, and control device on the machine side and can be manufactured at low cost.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a flow rack and a load that is supported so as to be movable in the lateral direction and movable in the vertical direction with respect to opposite loading inlets and unloading outlets of the flow rack. A warehousing machine and a warehousing machine comprising a support, a drive means for moving the load support up and down, and a current collection means for obtaining electric power from the outside, and a fork that can be moved up and down on the upper surface of the vehicle body.
A communication means for communicating with an external management machine, a control device for controlling the vertical movement of the storage machine and the storage machine and controlling its own running, a battery, and a current collecting means provided in the storage machine and the storage machine for the storage machine. It is basically composed of an automatic guided vehicle equipped with a power transmission means that contacts and supplies power to the driving means, and a management machine that gives instructions to the automatic guided vehicle for traveling, cargo handling, etc. .

[0006]

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 27. As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention includes an automatic guided vehicle 1, a flow rack 29 installed in a warehouse, etc., and a load-carrying inlet (IN) and a load-out outlet (OUT) of the flow rack 29, respectively. It is composed of a warehousing machine 11 and a warehousing machine 12 supported so as to be movable in directions, a management machine 71 that centrally manages these, and a communication device 72 that gives instructions from the management machine 71 to the automatic guided vehicle 1. There is.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the flow rack 29 is provided with rollers 31 on its upper surface, and has a load exit (
In this example, three levels of shelf boards 30 are arranged with an inclination that descends toward the OUT (OUT) side, and the load carried in from the loading entrance (IN) side slides on the slope of the shelf board 30 and reaches the loading exit. It is stopped and stored on the (OUT) side. Note that the shelf board 30 can accommodate a plurality of items in its width direction.

[0008] The flow rack 29 has vertical frames 27, 2
A guide rail 36 is fixed to the upper part of the guide rail 7, and a guide groove 25 with the groove facing upward is fixed to the lower part thereof over its entire width. The warehousing machine 11 and the warehousing machine 12 are supported by these guide rails 36 and guide grooves 25 so as to be movable laterally. In addition, each shelf board 30 of the flow rack 29 is provided with a locking device 32 for holding the load on its unloading port (OUT) side, and a pusher arm 33 of the unloading machine 12, which will be described later, is used to hold the load. Setting the lock for,
The cancellation will take place.

As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the locking device 32 is constructed by swingably supporting an arm piece 87 that pivotally supports a roller 89 at its tip at the outlet (OUT) of the shelf board 30. be done. That is, a spindle 82 is fitted and fixed to a mount member 81 fixed to the frame 80A of the shelf board 30, a boss 84 is rotatably supported on the spindle 82, and a shaft 94 is supported on the boss 84. At the same time, the shaft 94 is connected to the arm piece 87 via a spherical bushing 93.

The arm piece 87 has its intermediate portion attached to the frame 8.
A bolt 91 and a collar 9 are attached to a support piece 90 protruding from 0A.
2, and the arm piece 8
The end portion of the frame member 7 on the side of the frame body 80A is configured to be constantly urged downward by a spring 95, as shown in FIG. Further, a downwardly hanging bracket 85 is fixed to the boss 84, and a roller 86 is supported at the lower end thereof, with which the pusher arm 33 of the unloading machine 12 comes into contact. 13 is a view taken along line A-A in FIG. 11, and in this figure, when the roller 86 is pressed in the horizontal direction, the support shaft 82
The boss 84 rotates around the center, and the shaft 94 welded to the boss 84 swings upward. As the shaft 94 swings upward, the arm piece 87 moves around the bolt 91 in FIG.
The load is swung in the direction of the arrow, lowered below the upper surface of the roller 31, and the load is released. Note that a claw piece 109 having a substantially "L" shape is fixed to one end of the arm piece 87 so as to extend toward the shelf board 30 side, and the claw piece 109 operates a feeding device 110 to be described later. .

[0011] The locking device 32 is constructed so as to be linked to a delivery device 110 that slides and stops the load via a movable piece 107. That is, as shown in FIGS. 24 to 27, a swing arm 102 is swingably supported on a pivot shaft 101 in parallel to the sliding direction of the load on the lower surface of the shelf board 30, and each end of the swing arm 102 has a In this example, a roller 103 is used as a stopper that can stop the load from sliding.
104 are supported via brackets 105 and 106, respectively. Furthermore, a movable piece 107 is rotatably fixed to the right end of the swing arm 102 in FIG. The movable piece 107 has a crank shape and extends to the lower surface of the claw piece 109 so as to straddle the horizontal frame 80B of the shelf board 30. Further, the movable piece 107 is urged upward by a spring 108 to the horizontal frame 80B. In this state, the swing arm 102 is biased so that the roller 103 formed on the load carrying-out side (OUT) always protrudes above the upper surface of the shelf board 30, while the roller 104 on the other end side is biased. , shelf board 3
0 (Fig. 2).
(see 5).

From the state shown in FIG. 25, the flow rack 29
When the load W is stored from the carry-out side (IN), the load W slides on the upper surface of the shelf board 30, pushes down the roller 103 with its own weight, comes into contact with the roller 89, and stops (see FIG. 26). Further, the swing arm 102 swings as shown by the arrow in the figure, and the roller 104 on the other end side of the swing arm 102 swings as shown by the arrow in the figure.
protrudes from the upper surface of the shelf board 30. Therefore, the next load W2
Even if the cargo is stored, the rollers 104 will stop the cargo from sliding.

After that, the pusher arm 33 of the unloading machine 12 pushes down the roller 86 due to the above-mentioned unloading operation. The arm piece 87 descends together with the roller 89, and the load W slides due to the inclination of the shelf board 30 and is carried out from the flow rack 29. In this state, since the claw piece 109 descends as the arm piece 87 descends, the movable piece 107 is fixed at the lower position, and even when the load W is carried out from the flow rack 29, the swing arm 102 is That state will be maintained. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the next load W2 from being carried out at the same time.

As described above, when the pusher arm 33 is released from the roller 86 of the locking device 32 after the load W is carried out of the flow rack 29, the arm piece 87 and the claw piece 109 rise, and The movable piece 107 is also pulled upward by the spring 108, and the swing arm returns to the state shown in FIG. 25. As a result, the next load W2 is sent out to a position where it comes into contact with the roller 89 of the locking device 32. As described above, in a flow rack that can load a plurality of loads in the sliding direction on the shelf board 30, by providing the delivery device 110, it is possible to prevent two or more loads from being carried out of the flow rack at the same time. This can be suitably prevented.

[0015] Next, the warehousing machine 11 and the warehousing machine 12 will be explained. Since both basically have substantially the same structure, the common parts will be compared to the warehousing machine 1 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
The explanation will be based on 1. The warehousing machine 11 is the machine frame 1
3, and a load support 1 that is attached to the machine frame 13 so as to be movable up and down.
4, and an electric motor 1 that moves the load support 14 up and down.
It consists of 5. A guide mechanism 19 that slidably engages with the guide rail 36 is fixedly installed on the upper part of the machine frame 13, and a guide roller 24 that rolls in the guide groove 25 is installed below via a bracket 37. It is fixed. Further, the screw shaft 23 is attached to the bearing portion 38A in the machine frame 13.
, 38B.

A reduction gear 18 is fixed to the upper end of the screw shaft 23. On the other hand, the reduction gear 18 is connected to the toothed belt 1
Pinion 1 fixed to the output shaft of electric motor 15 via 7
6, the torque of the electric motor 15 is geared down, and the screw shaft 23 can be rotated. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the machine frame 13 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and a guide rail 43 is provided approximately at the center of the web.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the load support 14.
The load support 14 includes an elevating frame 21 and a conveyor section 41 tiltably supported by the elevating frame 21. The elevating frame 21 has a guide mechanism 44 that slidably engages with a guide rail 43 provided on the machine frame 13, and a nut 69 that connects the threaded shaft 23.
The ball screw is in mesh with the ball screw and constitutes a well-known ball screw. Therefore, by rotating the screw shaft 23 in any direction, the elevating frame 21 can be moved up and down along the machine frame 13. Further, a conveyor section 41 is rotatably attached to the elevating frame 21 via a support shaft 22. moreover,
A power cylinder 20A is fixed to the elevating frame 21 as an actuator, and a cylinder rod AR of the power cylinder 20A is connected to the side surface of the support plate 67 of the conveyor section 41 with a pin. Therefore, by expanding and contracting the cylinder rod AR, the conveyor section 41
can be tilted (hereinafter simply referred to as tilt) about the support shaft 22, and due to this action, the conveyor section 41
If a load is placed on the flow rack 29,
It is possible to slide to the side. Note that the actuator is not limited to the power cylinder shown in this example.

The conveyor section 41 has a side surface of the support plate 67.
Roller conveyors 41A, 41 each having different sliding dimensions
An example is shown in which B and 41C are fixed at a predetermined interval. Therefore, each roller conveyor 41A, 41B, 41
Gaps 39 and 40 are formed between C and into which forks 2 and 2 of an automatic guided vehicle (to be described later) can enter. Further, a power cylinder 20B is fixed to a bracket 70 that protrudes laterally from one end side of the support plate 67, and its cylinder rod BR
is perpendicular to the cylinder rod BR and is integrally fixed to a stopper lever 42 extending toward the roller conveyor 41A side.

When the cylinder rod BR of the power cylinder 20B is retracted, the stopper lever 42 protrudes from the upper surface of the roller of the roller conveyor 41A, while when the cylinder rod BR is extended, the stopper lever 42 is lowered from the upper surface of the roller. It is arranged so that Therefore, when a load is present on the conveyor section 41, the timing for carrying the load into the flow rack 29 can be determined by combining the above-described tilt of the conveyor section 41 and the movement of the stopper lever 42. That is, when transporting a load to the flow rack 29, the power cylinder 20
After extending the cylinder rod BR of B, by tilting the conveyor section 41, the load is transferred to the conveyor section 4.
1 and is transferred to an arbitrary shelf of the flow rack 29.

[0020] S1 and S2 are sensors for detecting loads, and are arranged on roller conveyors 41A and 41C, respectively. The sensors S1 and S2 may be of various types, such as an optical type or a contact type.

A sequencer 99 is attached to the upper surface of the guide mechanism 19, and the above-mentioned power cylinder 20A,
A processing procedure for driving 20B and electric motor 15 is stored. Further, the signals from the sensors S1 and S2 are input to the sequencer 99. Although not shown in this example, a limit switch or encoder for detecting the lifting height of the load support 14 may be installed. According to this, the operation of raising and lowering the load support 14 to the frontage of an arbitrary flow rack can be performed more reliably.

As shown in FIG. 2, a unique configuration of the unloading machine 12 is that a pusher arm 33 is provided at one end of the conveyor section 41 to protrude toward the flow rack side. The pusher arm 33 extends until just before it comes into contact with the roller 86 of the above-mentioned locking device 32, and is configured to press the roller 86 in the horizontal direction when the conveyor section 41 is tilted.

Next, the current collector 35 will be explained. Figure 3
, 34 is an arm piece that protrudes from the machine frame 13 and has a current collector 35 at its tip. As shown in FIG. 6, the current collector 35 includes an "L"-shaped support piece 46 bolted to the arm piece 34, and a horizontally slidable linear guide fixed to the upper surface of the support piece 46. 47A, a vertically slidable linear guide mechanism 47B fixed to the linear guide 47A via a "T"-shaped coupling piece 48, and the linear guide mechanism 4.
7B, a flat board 49 fixed to the side surface of the board 49, current collectors 57, 57 fixed to both ends of the board 49, a bracket 55 fixed to approximately the middle part, and the bracket 5.
A friction plate 56 made of iron or the like is fixed to the lower surface of the friction plate 5. 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 supporting piece, which is fixed to the substrate 49 and has a "T" shape, and has an open circular portion 50A formed on one side that projects forward. As is clear from the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 7 and 10, 52 is a sleeve having a flange 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 collect the current. 57
is elastically supported in a downwardly biased state. 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 engages with the sleeve 52, it is supported so that it cannot fall below this state.

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 contacts the electrode 59 of the power transmission device 6 provided on the automatic guided vehicle 1 to generate electric power. It is supplied by This will be discussed later.

Reference numeral 58 denotes a stopper pin, which is connected to the support piece 50,
It penetrates through the sleeve 52 and the contact piece 54 of the current collector 57, and prevents the contact piece 54 from inadvertently rotating. still,
Although not shown here, lead wires are drawn out from each of the lock nuts 51 and connected to the electric motor 15, power cylinders 20A, 20B, etc. via a sequencer 99. Next, the mechanism on the power transmission side will be explained.

Power is supplied to the collector 57 by bringing the contact piece 54 into contact with the electrode 59 of the power transmission device 6 provided on the automatic guided vehicle 1. The power transmission device 6 is attached to the center and upper part of the front side of the automatic guided vehicle 1 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and will be described below.
Details will be explained based on FIGS. 7 and 10. Figure 7 and Figure 1
0 shows a side view and a front view of a state in which the contact piece 54 and the electrode 59 of the power transmission device 6 are in contact, and the power transmission device 6 includes an electromagnet SOL and a bracket 66 attached to the body of the automatic guided vehicle 1. and fixed to the bracket 66,
A bracket 65 having an opening formed in its upper surface, a support piece 63 fixed to a vertical side of the bracket 65 and having an opening formed in its lower part, and an electrode supported by the support piece 63 and the bracket 65. It consists of 59. Note that the electrode 59 is also located at a position corresponding to the current collector 57.
There are two on the left and right.

The electrode 59 has a flange 59A formed in its middle portion, and a spring 62 is inserted between the flange 59A and the support piece 63 so that the electrode 59 is elastically supported while being biased upward. There is. Further, a lock nut 64 is fixed to the lower part of the electrode 59 in the same manner as the current collector 57, and the lock nut 64 is engaged with the support piece 63 to restrict upward movement. Although not shown here, the electrode 59 is connected to a battery BA mounted inside the vehicle body of the automatic guided vehicle 1. Also,
A rubber plate 60 is attached to the upper surface of the bracket 65 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.

The contact between the electrode 59 and the contact piece 54 can be achieved by exciting the electromagnet SOL of the power transmission device 6. That is, when the automatic guided vehicle 1 is moved and positioned so that the power transmission device 6 faces the current collector 35 and is stopped, and the electromagnet SOL is excited, the friction plate 56 of the current collector 35 is moved to the electromagnet SOL. This can be done by being attracted to the upper surface U of. At this time, as described above, since the substrate 49 on the current collector 35 side is slidably fixed to the arm 34 in both the lateral and vertical directions, the friction plate 56 The electromagnet SOL at a position that seeks to minimize energy in the circuit
The electrodes 59 provided at corresponding positions are in contact with the contact pieces 54, and electric power can be obtained from the automatic guided vehicle 1.

In FIG. 7, OP2 is a photoelectric transmission device that converts a predetermined electrical signal into an optical signal (infrared rays, etc.) and can perform contactless communication. Half-duplex or full-duplex communication is possible with the sending device OP1. In addition, the power transmission device 6 and the current collector 35
In the state in which the optical transmission devices OP1 and OP2 are combined,
are configured so that they face each other, and communication is possible in this coupled state. The signal sent from the optical transmission device OP1 to the optical transmission device OP2 is a height signal of the warehousing frontage or the warehousing frontage, and this signal is sent to the sequencer 99.

Next, the automatic guided vehicle 1 used in the present invention uses an electromagnetic induction method in which a guide wire is buried in the travel route and can run while detecting the magnetic field generated by the guide wire, Various well-known guidance methods can be employed, such as a magnetic guidance method in which the vehicle travels while detecting a magnetic guidance band attached to the surface of the vehicle, or an optical guidance method using reflective tape or the like. Alternatively, an autonomous navigation method based on a combination of the vehicle's own travel distance and a gyro or the like may be used. In this example, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, all wheels 9FR, 9RR, 9FL, 9R
A steering motor (not shown) is disposed at L, and a conveyance vehicle that is configured to be able to continuously rotate 360 degrees and move in all directions is exemplified.

Around the body of the automatic guided vehicle 1, there are obstacle detection bumpers 4A, 4B, and 4C (hereinafter simply referred to as bumpers) that can detect obstacles by coming into direct contact with them; Non-contact obstacle detection devices 5A...5 that can detect obstacles in a non-contact manner, with a total of eight devices installed on each side, two on each side.
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 antenna 10 of the communication device 73, the power transmission device 6 attached to the center and upper part of the front side of the vehicle body, the driving, cargo handling control and warehousing machine 11, and a control device 8 that controls the delivery machine 12;
and a battery BA, and the forks 2, 2
are a pair of left and right conveyors that are 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 8 pieces, 2 on each side of the vehicle body. This is used as reference data when the automatic guided vehicle 1 travels autonomously, and for example, an optical distance measurement sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or the like can be used.

Next, a block diagram of the present invention is shown in FIG. A command from the management machine 71 on the ground side is sent from the communication device 72 on the management machine 71 side to the communication device 73 on the automatic guided vehicle 1 side. The control device of the automatic guided vehicle 1 is a CPU
and a storage section 75 consisting of a ROM in which a travel program for the automatic guided vehicle 1, a program for controlling the warehousing machine 11 and the warehousing machine 12, etc. are stored as a read-only memory, and a working memory RAM that can be written at any time. and an interface 76 for exchanging various input signals from the outside. Further, the interface 7
The signals input to 6 include a gyro 77 that measures the turning speed of the vehicle body, a distance measuring device 7A that measures the distance between the vehicle body and a reference wall surface, a bumper 4A that detects obstacles by contact, and an obstacle sensor. 5A..., a detection signal from a rotary encoder 78 or the like that measures the traveling distance of each wheel 9... is input.

As a result of the calculation performed by the CPU, the steering angle and the steering angle of each wheel 9FR are determined via the interface 76 and the steering angle is determined via the servo controller 79 to the controlled object 10.
0 (for example, a steering motor, a travel motor, etc.) is driven. Further, when the bumper 4A... and the obstacle sensor 5A... which detect the obstacle by contact with the obstacle detect the obstacle, the CPU 74 activates an electromagnetic brake (not shown) provided on the wheel 9... The vehicle can then be stopped. In addition to this, a height signal is transmitted to the optical transmission device OP1 in order to command the height of the rack frontage to the warehousing machine 11 and the like. Furthermore, the warehousing machine 11 and the warehousing machine 12 include a photoelectric transmission device O.
In addition to the signal from P2 being input to the sequencer 99, detection signals from the aforementioned load detection sensors S1 and S2 are also sent. Based on these signals, sequencer 99 can drive electric motor 15 and power cylinders 20A, 20B in a predetermined sequence.

In the above-mentioned system configuration, the procedures for warehousing and warehousing will be explained. FIG. 20 shows a flowchart of the warehousing mode. First, when an input is made to the management machine 71 to warehove cargo into a predetermined frontage (#1), this warehousing data is sent to the automatic guided vehicle 1 through the communication device 72, 73 (#2). In addition, the above-mentioned warehousing machine 11 and warehousing machine 1
2 is always on standby at a predetermined origin P1 on the warehousing side and an origin P2 on the outgoing side, as shown in FIG. Here, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the automatic guided vehicle 1 carrying the load W is driven to a position facing the warehousing machine 11 (#
). In this state, the fork 2 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 is raised (#4).

After inserting the forks 2 and 2 into the gaps 39 and 40 of the conveyor section 41 of the warehousing machine 11, the automatic guided vehicle 1 stops (#5) and excites the electromagnet SOL of the power transmission device 71. Then, the friction plate 56 of the current collector 35 is attracted, the electrodes 59, 59 and the contact pieces 54, 54 are brought into contact with each other, and connected to the warehousing machine 11 (#6), and power is supplied. Also,
At this point, lower the forks 2, 2 (#7). Due to this action, the load W is transferred onto the conveyor section 41 of the load supporter 14.

[0038] However, the automatic guided vehicle 1 has a flow rack 2
The warehousing machine 12 reaches the warehousing frontage supported by the management machine 71 of 9.
The vehicle travels along the flow rack 29 in the coupled state as described above (#8), but may be stopped based on its own traveling distance until it reaches the warehouse entrance. Next, when the automatic guided vehicle 1 reaches the warehousing frontage instructed by the management machine 71, it stops and moves to the predetermined height specified by the warehousing command from the management machine 71.
The sequencer 99 via the optical transmission devices OP1 and OP2
(#9), and the sequencer 99 drives the electric motor 15 by a predetermined amount based on the signal, and the torque of the electric motor 15 is transmitted to the screw shaft 23 via the toothed belt 17 to load the load W. It is possible to raise the load support 14 that is present to a predetermined shelf height (#10, see FIG. 15).

In the above state, by extending the cylinder rod BR of the power cylinder 20B of the load support 14, the stopper lever 43 is lowered below the roller of the conveyor section 41, and the stopper function is released (#11, Fig. 1
6), and further extends the rod AR of the power cylinder 20A to tilt the conveyor section 41 in the same direction as the shelf board of the flow rack 29 (see #12, FIG. 17). Due to this action, the load W slides from the conveyor section 41 and is transferred onto a predetermined shelf board 30 of the flow rack 29.

The unloading sensor S1 detects that the load W has been carried into the flow rack 29 from the roller conveyor 41.
, S2 (#13), the cylinder rod AR of the power cylinder 20A is retracted to return the tilt of the conveyor section 41 to the horizontal position (#14, see FIG. 18), and the cylinder rod BR of the power cylinder 20B is Retract and position the stopper lever 43 above the roller of the conveyor section 41 to set the stopper function (#15, see Figure 18)
. Thereafter, the electric motor 15 is driven to rotate and the load support 14 is lowered to the initial state (#16). Incidentally, when the processing steps #10 to #16 stored in the sequencer 99 are completed, the sequencer 99 transmits the optical transmission devices OP2 and OP.
A warehousing work completion signal is sent to the CPU via 1 (#
17).

Next, the automatic guided vehicle 1 travels along the flow rack 29 to the warehousing side origin P1 while coupled to the warehousing machine 12 (#18), demagnetizes the electromagnet SOL, and enters the warehousing side in the same manner as described above. It releases the connection with the machine 12 (#19) and waits for the next cargo handling command from the management machine 71. Furthermore, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is
When two loads are loaded on the forks 2, 2, first, the first load is carried into the flow rack 29 by the above action, and then the drive conveyor 3 provided on the forks 2,
3 is rotated to send the cargo to the warehousing machine 12 side,
The same procedure as described above can be repeated to carry it into the flow rack 29. When a series of these warehousing operations is completed, the address of the warehousing cargo W is stored in the management machine 71.

Next, the delivery mode shown in FIG. 21 will be explained. First, when an input is made to the management machine 71 to unload the cargo from a predetermined frontage ($1), this unloading data is sent to the automatic guided vehicle 1 as described above ($2). Here, Figure 2
2. As illustrated in FIG. 23, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is driven to a position opposite to the unloading machine 12 located at the unloading side origin P2 ($3). In this state, the fork 2 of the automatic guided vehicle 1 is raised ($4).

[0043] The automatic guided vehicle 1 is equipped with a load support 4 of the unloading machine 11.
After inserting the forks 2 and 2 into the gaps 39 and 40 of No. 1, respectively, the forks 2 and 2 are stopped ($5), and as in the above-mentioned warehousing procedure, they are connected to the unloading machine 12 at the origin P2 on the unloading side ($6), and the management machine 71
The automatic guided vehicle 1 travels along the flow rack 29 in a state connected to the delivery machine 12 until the delivery frontage of the flow rack 29 supported by the delivery machine ($7), and when it reaches the delivery frontage, the automatic guided vehicle 1 stops and the management machine 71 is sent to the sequencer 99 via the optical transmission devices OP1 and OP2 ($
8). When the sequencer 99 receives the optical signal, it extends the cylinder rod BR of the power cylinder 20B of the load support 14 and releases the stopper function ($9).

Based on the signal, the sequencer 99 drives the electric motor 15 by a predetermined amount to raise the load support 14 to a predetermined shelf height ($10). Next, by extending the cylinder rod AR of the power cylinder 20A, the load support 14 is tilted to approximately the same inclination as the shelf board 30 (
$11) Unlock the locking device 32 of the flow rack 29. That is, the roller 86 of the locking device 32 is pushed down by the pusher arm 33 protruding from one end of the conveyor section 41, and the arm bias 87 is lowered below the roller 31 due to the above-mentioned action, and the load W is moved over the shelf board. It slides and is transferred onto the conveyor section 41 of the unloading machine 12 ($12)

[
[0045] Due to the above action, the load W is transferred to the flow rack 29.
When the load detection sensors S1 and S2 detect that the load has been received onto the conveyor section 41 ($13), the conveyor section 41 is returned to its original tilt ($14) and the stopper lever 42 is raised. At least set the stopper function ($15). Thereafter, the electric motor 15 is driven to rotate and the load support 14 is lowered to its initial state. As a result, the load W is transferred from the conveyor section 41 to the forks 2 and 2 of the automatic guided vehicle 1.
It will be reprinted above ($16).

Next, the automatic guided vehicle 1 travels along the flow rack 29 in the same manner as described above to the origin P2 on the delivery side while coupled to the delivery machine 12 ($18), demagnetizes the electromagnet SOL, and connects the delivery machine to the delivery machine. Release the connection with 12 ($19) and control machine 7
Wait for the next cargo handling command from 1. In addition, the automatic guided vehicle 1 is
When instructed to take out a load, first, the first load is placed on the fork 2, 2 by the above action, and then the drive conveyor 3, 3 provided on the fork 2 is driven to rotate. At least, the cargo can be placed on the rear end side and removed from the flow rack 29 by repeating the same procedure as described above.

As described above in detail, a guide plate (not shown) is installed along the flow rack 29, and the automatic guided vehicle 1
It is also possible to increase the traveling accuracy by detecting the guide plate with the distance measuring sensor 7A provided in the vehicle. Further, in the case of using an electromagnetic induction type automatic guided vehicle, a guide wire may be buried along the flow rack 29. In addition, in the above-mentioned example, although the warehousing work and the warehousing work were explained individually, by using two automatic guided vehicles for warehousing and warehousing, the warehousing and unloading work can be performed simultaneously.

[0048]

[Effects of the Invention] In the first invention, by adopting the above configuration, the traveling drive means, battery, and control device included in the automatic guided vehicle are shared with the warehousing machine and the warehousing machine that perform cargo handling. By doing so, the structure of the warehousing machine and the warehousing machine side,
We have built a system that can extremely simplify control and completely automate the loading and unloading operations at an extremely low cost compared to conventional automated warehouses. In addition, by using an automated guided vehicle, the degree of freedom in transporting cargo is increased and it is possible to directly transfer cargo between the automated guided vehicle and the loading/unloading machine, so it is possible to This eliminates the need for intermediate equipment such as, etc., and enables effective use of storage space. Furthermore, by using two automatic guided vehicles, one for warehousing and one for warehousing, the warehousing and unloading operations can be performed simultaneously, thereby reducing the time required for warehousing and unloading operations. Moreover, in the second and third inventions, when carrying out the loads from the flow rack, it is possible to suitably prevent two or more loads from being carried out at the same time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall outline of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a warehousing machine, a warehousing machine, and a flow rack used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a warehousing machine and a flow rack used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a warehousing machine and a flow rack used in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the load support.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a current collector.

FIG. 7 is a side view (partially sectional view) showing a coupled state of a current collector and a power transmission device.

FIG. 8 is a side view of an automatic guided vehicle used in the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a front view of an automatic guided vehicle used in the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view (partially sectional view) showing a coupled state of a current collector and a power transmitting device.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the locking device.

FIG. 12 is a front view of the locking device.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a view taken along line AA in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a front view for explaining the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a front view for explaining the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a side view for explaining the function of the load support.

FIG. 17 is a side view for explaining the function of the load support.

FIG. 18 is a side view for explaining the function of the load support.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the warehousing procedure of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the shipping procedure of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a plan view for explaining an origin on the warehousing side and an origin on the exit side.

FIG. 23 is a front view for explaining the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a plan view for explaining a feeding device and a locking device.

FIG. 25 is a side view for explaining the feeding device.

FIG. 26 is a side view for explaining the feeding device.

FIG. 27 is a side view for explaining the sending device.

FIG. 28 is a plan view showing a conventional system. 1 Automatic guided vehicle 2 Fork 3 Drive conveyor 6 Power transmission equipment 8 Control device 9FR wheels 9FL Wheels 9RR wheels 9RL wheels 11　Receiving machine 12 Unloading machine 13 Machine frame 14 Load support equipment 15 Electric motor 21 Lifting frame 29 Flow rack 32 Locking device 33 Pusher arm 35 Current collector 41 Conveyor section 54 Contact piece 57 Electronic collection 59 Electrode 71 Management machine 72 Communication equipment 102 Swing arm 103 Roller 104 Roller 110　Feeding device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A flow rack, a load support that is supported to be movable in the lateral direction and vertically movable with respect to opposite loading inlets and unloading outlets of the flow rack, the load support being A warehousing machine and a warehousing machine each having a driving means for vertical movement and a current collecting means for obtaining electric power from the outside, a fork that can be moved up and down on the upper surface of the vehicle body, a communication means for communicating with an external management machine, the warehousing machine and A control device that controls the vertical movement of the unloading machine and also controls its own running, a battery, and a power transmission means that supplies power to the driving means by contacting current collecting means provided in the unloading machine and the unloading machine. 1. A cargo handling device comprising: an automated guided vehicle; and a management machine that gives instructions for traveling, cargo handling, etc. to the automated guided vehicle. 2. The cargo handling device according to claim 1, wherein the load carrying-out side of the flow rack is provided with a stopper that is always biased to be located above the upper surface of the shelf board of the flow rack. A locking device is provided, and a load support of the unloading machine is tiltably supported, and a pusher arm that protrudes toward the rack is fixed to the load support of the unloading machine. A cargo handling device characterized in that the pusher arm is brought into contact with a locking device by tilting the tool, and the stopper of the locking device is positioned below the upper surface of the shelf board of the flow rack. 3. An arm piece is swingably supported on the lower surface of the shelf board of the flow rack in parallel with the sliding direction of the load, and stoppers capable of stopping the sliding of the load are formed at both ends of the arm piece, respectively. At the same time, the arm piece is biased so that a stopper formed on the load carrying side always protrudes above the upper surface of the shelf board, and when either one of the stoppers protrudes from the shelf board, 3. The cargo handling device according to claim 1, wherein the cargo handling device is a flow rack having a cargo delivery device in which the other stopper is located below the upper surface of the shelf board.