JPH0761514A - Multi-storied automated warehouse - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the operation and control of a functional section in a multi-stored automated warehouse from being adversely affected by the temperature atmosphere within the warehouse regardless of whether it is high or low. CONSTITUTION:In equipment wherein entry and delivery of an article into and from a rack of the warehouse are automated by combination of travel of a stacker crane and rise/fall of a carriage 4 elevatably disposed thereon, the stacker crane 2, carriage 4, and a driving mechanism for driving telescopic forks 5a, 5b provided with respect to the carriage 4 are disposed so that they can be protected from the effect of the temperature of in-warehouse articles. The driving mechanism, stacker crane, and carriage 4 are connected to one another by a wire. A sensor means is provided which senses a moving distance of the wire. By this sensor means, the positioning of the stacker crane and the carriage 4 relative to the rack is conducted. Further, by disposing this sensor means at a position free from the thermal effect, control is maintained so as not to become an obstacle to the operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a three-dimensional automatic warehouse in which a stacker crane can be used to store and retrieve stored items, and particularly to store articles in a high temperature or low temperature atmosphere that adversely affects various electrical equipment. Related to optimal equipment configuration.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a three-dimensional automatic warehouse, a traveling stacker crane equipped with a carriage that moves up and down is arranged in a warehouse as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-92107. A stacker crane is used, which is capable of setting a position with respect to a rack by combining the traveling of the stacker crane and the raising / lowering motion of the carriage.

[0003]

This type of automatic multi-storey warehouse has a simple structure and high space utilization efficiency, and the carriage can be moved easily and its moving distance is short. It has the advantage of good efficiency.

However, when this three-dimensional warehouse is to be applied to the storage of relatively hot slabs, for example, hot rolling slabs, the drive motor for operating the stacker crane and the carriage and the control mechanism for positioning are high-temperature storage items. Susceptible to heat. In other words, various electrical components such as drive motors, stacker cranes, and sensors for detecting the position of the carriage are exposed to high temperatures, so there is a high possibility that problems such as malfunction of each function will occur. Become.

Further, not only the high temperature atmosphere but also the low temperature atmosphere has the same problem.

The problem to be solved in the present invention is to provide a three-dimensional automatic warehouse capable of always performing stable operation without affecting the operation or control of the functional section regardless of whether the temperature atmosphere in the warehouse is high or low. To provide the structure.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a stacker crane in which racks on which stored items are placed have a plurality of stages, and the stages of these racks have a planar layout with intervals, and which can travel between adjacent racks. A three-dimensional automated warehouse equipped with a telescopic fork that can be moved up and down to the stacker crane and can transfer stored items to the rack, and has a traveling drive source outside the warehouse and a closed loop. The stacker crane is connected to the traveling drive source by a chain member that forms a lifting drive source that lifts the lift carriage at the upper end of the stacker crane, and the lift drive source and the carriage are connected by the chain member. , A drive source for feeding and retracting the fork is provided at the upper end of the stacker crane, and Connecting the fork to the drive source, the elevating drive source and the drive source for feeding / retracting movement of the fork are housed inside a housing having a heat insulating structure, and further connected to the stacker crane and the carriage. It is characterized in that detection means for detecting the amount of movement are located outside the warehouse and inside the housing, respectively.

Further, the drive shaft may be connected to a gear that is provided on the carriage and meshes with a gear mechanism connected to the fork side so as to be free to move in the axial direction and capable of transmitting rotation.

[0009]

Since the traveling drive source of the stacker crane and the ascending / descending drive source of the carriage are in an atmosphere that is not affected by heat from the high-temperature storage items in the warehouse, malfunctions thereof are prevented. The drive source of the telescopic fork is also not exposed to high heat, so that its proper operation is maintained.

Further, since the traveling of the stacker crane and the carriage are connected to the respective drive sources by the chain members, the positions of the stacker crane and the carriage can be specified by knowing the moving distance of the chain members, and the positioning is performed by this. Is possible. Further, the detecting means for detecting the moving amount of the chain member is not affected by heat by being placed outside the running or in the housing of the heat insulating structure.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a front view of a three-dimensional automatic warehouse of the present invention as viewed in the traveling direction of its stacker crane. It should be noted that in the embodiment, a storage warehouse for high-temperature slabs of steel plates will be described.

In the figure, racks 1a for mounting the slabs S are arranged in a multi-stage manner on each of the pillars 1 that have been erected on the work floor, and a stacker crane 2 that travels between a pair of adjacent pillars 1 is arranged. The columns 1 are arranged in a plurality of rows in the traveling direction of the stacker crane 2, and each column is provided with a rack 1a, so that a large number of slabs S can be stored in a plane layout.

The work floor is provided with a lower guide rail 3a for guiding the lower surface of the stacker crane 2, and the beam 1b connected to the upper end of the column 1 is provided with an upper guide rail 3b for guiding the upper surface.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the stacker crane 2 as viewed in a direction orthogonal to its traveling direction, FIG. 3 is a front view of the stacker crane 2 equipped with the carriage, and FIG. It is a top view showing deployment of a fork provided.

The stacker crane 2 has a base 2a provided with a wheel 2b for rolling a lower guide rail 3a, two posts 2c standing upright from the base 2a, and between the upper ends of these posts 2c. It has an outer shell structure including an upper frame 2d that is bridged.

The stacker crane 2 is provided with a carriage 4 which can be raised and lowered according to the height of the rack 1a. As shown in FIG. 4, this carriage 4 is mounted on the post 2c by 4
By associating both ends with the individual wheels 4a, it is possible to move up and down while maintaining a horizontal posture. Then, for this elevating operation, two sets of two pulleys 4b and 4c for hanging wires (described later) are provided. In addition, a first telescopic fork 5a and a second fork 5b are provided to transfer the slab S to and from the rack 1a.

The first fork 5a is supported by a guide 4d provided on the carriage 4 and can be extended in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the stacker crane 2. The second fork 5b is supported at both ends by the guide 5a-1 of the first fork 5a, and is connected so that it can be extended in the same direction as the first fork 5a. And
The operation of these first and second forks 5a and 5b is the first
The chain transmission mechanism 5c is interposed between the fork 5a and the carriage 4 and between the second fork 5b and the first fork 5a.

A drive mechanism for raising and lowering the carriage 4 and extending the first and second forks 5a and 5b is mounted on the upper frame 2d. FIG. 5 shows a detailed front view of this drive mechanism, and FIG. 6 shows a cutaway plan view thereof.

As a drive mechanism for raising and lowering the carriage 4, a drum-shaped winch 6 around which two wires 7a and 7b are wound is provided. These wires 7a, 7b
Is wound around pulleys 4c and 4b provided on the carriage 4 via pulleys 8a and 8b provided on the upper frame 2d. And, these pulleys 4c, 4b
From the top to the frame 1 with one end of the wires 7a, 7b
It is fixed to b. As a result, when the wires 7a and 7b are wound by the winch 6, since the respective winding amounts are constant, the carriage 4 rises, and the wires 7a and 7b are raised.
When the winch 6 rotates in the direction to release the carriage, the carriage 4
Can be lowered.

As a mechanism for telescopically operating the first and second forks 5a and 5b, a drive motor 9 is mounted on the upper frame 2d, and a drive shaft 9a capable of transmitting the rotation of its output shaft is connected to the base 2b and the upper frame 2d. Bridge between. The drive shaft 9a has upper and lower ends rotatably connected to the base 2b and the upper frame 2d by bearings. The drive shaft 9a has a connecting structure that is loosely fitted into the carriage 4 so that the carriage 4 can freely move in the vertical direction and function as a guide.

A drive bevel gear 9b is mounted on the lower surface of the carriage 4, and a rotational force can be transmitted to the drive bevel gear 9b through a drive shaft and is loosely fitted in the drive bevel gear 9b so as to be freely movable in the axial direction. The drive bevel gear 9b is the first fork 5a.
To the driven bevel gear 4f of the intermediate shaft 4e provided between the chain transmission mechanism mechanism 5c and the chain transmission mechanism mechanism 5c.

A drive mechanism for raising and lowering the carriage 4 and for feeding and retracting the first and second forks 5a and 5b is housed in a housing 2e integrated with the upper frame 2d as shown in FIG. The housing 2e has a heat-insulating structure that shields heat from the high temperature slab S to protect the drive mechanism. For example, the housing 2e has a double-wall structure or a cooling jacket that circulates cooling water for heat insulation. A structure can be adopted.

The drive source for running the stacker crane 2 is arranged outside the warehouse so as not to be affected by the heat from the stored slab S, and the drive source is connected by a wire. .

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the outline of the drive system of the stacker crane 2, in which the electric motor 10 is installed outside the storage area of the slab S indicated by the chain double-dashed line. A drive pulley 10a that is rotated by the electric motor 10 is arranged on both end sides of the stacker crane 2 when viewed in the traveling direction, and a driven pulley 10b is provided. Then, these drive and driven pulleys 1
A wire 11 is wound between 0a and 10b, and the wire 11 is connected to the base 2 of the stacker crane 2 at one point.
Connect to a.

Further, in order to detect the position of the stacker crane 2, the measuring wire 12 is connected to the base 2a. This measuring wire 12 includes pulleys 12a, 1
The position of the base 2a can be detected by a tachometer 12c that is wound around 2b and detects the rotation of one pulley 12a.

Here, by using such a wire 11 as a connecting material, only the wire 11 passing through the inside of the warehouse is affected by heat, and the electric motor 10 and the tachometer 12c.
There is no need to expose such equipment to high temperatures. Further, when the wire 11 moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 7 by the operation of the electric motor 10, the base 2a is connected to this wire 11, so the stacker crane 2 travels in the direction of the arrow indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in the figure. Then, the measuring wire 12 connected to the base 2a travels and the tachometer 12c detects the movement amount thereof, so that the position of the stacker crane 2 can be known by knowing the movement amount. Therefore, if the operation of the electric motor 10 is controlled by inputting this position detection to the control system, the stacker crane 2 can be moved to the required position and stopped and positioned.

In addition to controlling the traveling of the stacker crane 2, the raising / lowering operation of the carriage 4 is also controlled by detecting the movement amount of the wires 7a and 7b. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a mechanism for such control, and in this figure, the movement amount of the wire 7a will be described.

One end of the wire 7a is fixed and wound around the winch 6, and the other end is connected to the upper frame 2d via pulleys 8a and 4c. Therefore, when the winch 6 rotates in the clockwise direction of the arrow in the figure, the wire 7a is wound around the peripheral surface of the winch 6, and the pulley 4c in a loop shape is pulled up, which causes the carriage 4 to move. Rises. When the winch 6 rotates counterclockwise, the wire 7a
The carriage 4 is released and the carriage 4 descends due to its own weight.

For the lifting / lowering operation of the carriage 4, a system for detecting the amount of movement of the wire 7a by the sensor 13 is provided as in the case of detecting the position of the stacker crane 2. Then, by inputting the detection of the movement amount into the control system and setting the rotation direction and the rotation amount of the winch 6,
The height of the carriage 4 can be set to match the level of the rack 1a. The wire 7b on the other side can also be used as a system for detecting the amount of movement of the wire 7b by a similar sensor.

In the above structure, the stacker crane 2
The storage operation of the slab S in the predetermined rack 1a is performed by controlling the traveling of the stacker crane 2 and the elevation of the carriage 4 so as to correspond to the designated rack 1a. That is, the electric motor 10 and the wire 11
When the stacker crane 2 is moved by, the sensor 12 detects the amount of movement of the wire 11 to move the stacker crane 2 to a position corresponding to the designated rack 1a and stop it.

Then, the winch 6 is operated so as to correspond to the designated level of the rack 1a, and the operation of the winch 6 is carried out so that the wire 7a (or 7b) moves corresponding to the information regarding the height of the rack 1a. Control. As a result, the first and second forks 5a and 5b provided on the carriage 4 can be set at a level directly below the target rack 1a, as shown by the solid line or the one-dot chain line in FIG.

After the positioning with respect to the designated rack 1a, the drive motor 9 is operated to drive the carriage 4 and the first fork 5a, the first fork 5a and the second fork 5b through the drive shaft 9a and the intermediate shaft 4e. As shown in FIG. 4, the first and second forks 5a and 5b are expanded to the lower surface side of the slab S by the respective pinion rack mechanisms between the and. Then, the carriage 4 is moved upward, the second fork 5b receives the slab S, and the slab S is stopped at the gap between the slab S and the upper rack 1a. After this,
The stacker crane 2 is moved by operating the electric motor 10 in a direction to go out of the warehouse, and the slab S is collected.

The storage work of the slab S in the warehouse can be performed in the reverse order of the receiving work from the rack 1a described above, and the backward movement of the first and second forks 5a, 5b is performed by the drive shaft. 9a is performed by the reverse rotation at the time of feeding.

Here, since the high temperature slab S is stored inside the warehouse, the internal temperature is quite high and reaches about 600 ° C. On the other hand, the lifting drive mechanism of the carriage 4 and the sensor 13 for detecting the movement amount of the wire 7a are all housed in the housing 2e and insulated from the outside.
On the other hand, the electric motor 10 and the tachometer 12c that drive the stacker crane 2 are outside the warehouse and are not exposed to the high temperature atmosphere inside.

As described above, since the precision equipment such as the tachometer 12c and the sensor 13 and the electrical components such as the winch 6 and the electric motor 10 are protected from the heat generated by the slab S, there is no malfunction.

Further, since the traveling position of the stacker crane 2 and the setting of the level of the carriage 4 can be positioned by the measuring wire 12 and the tachometer 12c, for example, a position detecting sensor or other equipment can be installed in a high temperature atmosphere. It becomes unnecessary to prepare. Therefore, even when a high-temperature object such as the slab S after rolling is stored, it can be handled without complicating the equipment.

In the embodiment, a warehouse in a high temperature atmosphere for storing slabs has been described, but the present invention can be applied to a warehouse in a low temperature atmosphere such as storage of frozen food.

[0038]

According to the present invention, the respective drive sources of the stacker crane and the carriage are not exposed to the temperature atmosphere in the warehouse, and the sensors for knowing the positions of these stacker crane and carriage are also exposed to the high temperature or low temperature atmosphere. It is protected, and the drive source of the telescopic fork is not exposed to high temperature or low temperature atmosphere, so storage and removal work of high and low temperature stored items can always be performed stably.
It can be used as equipment that does not depend on the temperature atmosphere.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a warehouse of the present invention for storing slabs.

FIG. 2 is a view of the stacker crane seen in a direction orthogonal to its traveling direction.

[FIG. 3] First and second parts provided on the carriage of the stacker crane
It is a figure which shows a 2nd fork with its drive system.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an essential part when a first fork and a second fork are extended from a carriage.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a drive mechanism portion which is an upper part of the stacker crane and is shown by removing a housing.

FIG. 6 is a cutaway plan view showing a main part of an upper end portion of the stacker crane.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a system for traveling and position detection by a measuring wire of a stacker crane.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a system for raising and lowering and position detection by a wire of a carriage.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 post 6 winch 1a rack 7a wire 2 stacker crane 7b wire 2a base 8a pulley 2b wheel 8b pulley 2c post 9 drive motor 2d upper frame 9a drive shaft 2e housing 10 electric motor 4 carriage 11 wire 5a fork 12 measuring wire 13b 5b

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A rack on which a stored item is placed has a plurality of stages,
These racks have a flat layout with a space between them, and are equipped with a stacker crane that can travel between adjacent racks, and can move up and down on the stacker crane and can transfer stored items to the rack. In a three-dimensional automatic warehouse equipped with a fork of type, the stacker crane is connected to the traveling drive source by a chain member that has a traveling drive source outside the warehouse and forms a closed loop to elevate the elevating carriage. An elevating drive source is provided at the upper end of the stacker crane, the elevating drive source and the carriage are connected by a chain member, and a drive source for feeding and retracting the fork is provided at the upper end of the stacker crane and the drive shaft is used. Connecting the fork to the drive source and feeding out the lifting drive source and the fork -A driving means for retracting movement is housed inside a housing having a heat insulating structure, and detection means for detecting the movement amount of the chain material connected to the stacker crane and the carriage are provided outside the warehouse and inside the housing, respectively. A three-dimensional automated warehouse that is located. 2. The three-dimensional body according to claim 1, wherein the drive shaft is connected to a gear meshed with a gear mechanism provided on the carriage and connected to the fork side so as to be free to move in the axial direction and capable of transmitting rotation. Automatic warehouse.