JPH11124028A - Carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carrier where it is difficult to damage the guiding objects and less likely to wear on the coupled driving wheels and a floor. SOLUTION: This carrier has in its body an engaging guided portion that moves along a guiding object, and automatically moves along the guiding object on a floor with driving wheels and coupled driving wheels, which have a caster wheel function. A wheel support frame 60, which supports the freely moving coupled driving wheels, is supported by the main body, rotating freely once around longitudinal axial core X and moving freely in the lateral direction of the body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle body provided with an engagement type guided portion that moves along a guide body, such as a transport vehicle for carrying articles in and out of an automatic warehouse, and drives wheels on the floor. And a driven vehicle having a caster wheel function and self-propelled along the guide body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-mentioned carrier is provided with a driven wheel having a caster wheel function so that the vehicle can travel smoothly even when a traveling path along a guide body is curved. Conventionally, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-45541, a wheel support frame for supporting a driven wheel in a freely rotatable manner is rotated around a longitudinal axis fixed at a fixed position with respect to a vehicle body. It is freely supported.

[0003]

Therefore, when the traveling direction of the vehicle body is changed back and forth in a state where the guided portion is engaged with the guide body, the vehicle body tries to move in the vehicle width direction.
There is a disadvantage that the guide body is damaged at an early stage, or the driven wheel tries to slide on the floor surface, and the driven wheel or the floor surface is worn out early. In other words, when changing the running direction back and forth, it is necessary to relatively rotate the vehicle body and the driven wheel around the vertical axis, but if the driven wheel is difficult to move in the vehicle width direction, As the vehicle moves in the vehicle width direction, the vehicle body and the driven wheel rotate relative to each other, so that an external force in the vehicle width direction acts on the guide body by the guided portion provided on the vehicle body, and the vehicle body moves in the vehicle width direction. If it is difficult to do so, the driven wheel moves in the lateral direction of the vehicle body, so that the vehicle body and the driven wheel rotate relative to each other, so that the driven wheel slides on the floor surface. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport vehicle in which a guide body is hardly damaged and a driven wheel and a floor surface are hardly worn.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transportation vehicle, wherein when the traveling direction along the guide is changed back and forth, the driven wheel tries to rotate around the longitudinal axis with respect to the vehicle body. The wheel support frame of the driven wheel moves in the vehicle width direction with respect to the vehicle body. Therefore, when the traveling direction is changed back and forth, the longitudinal axis moves in the vehicle body width direction with respect to the vehicle body, and the vehicle body is difficult to move in the vehicle body width direction. External force is small, and the guide body is not easily damaged. Further, the driven wheels supported by the wheel support frame are also less likely to move in the vehicle width direction, so that the driven wheels are less likely to skid with respect to the floor, and the driven wheels and the floor are less likely to be worn.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, after the vehicle body and the driven wheel rotate relative to each other about the longitudinal axis as the traveling direction is changed back and forth, the support member of the wheel support frame is moved to the vehicle body. Since it returns to a constant position in the lateral width direction, the vehicle support position in the vehicle lateral width direction by the driven wheels is maintained substantially constant,
The vehicle body can run stably.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the guided vehicle is provided with a pair of front and rear portions along the guide body, the drive wheels are configured as non-steering wheels, and the axle of the drive wheels is a pair of guided portions. Since the drive wheel and the guided portion are arranged so as to be located on a virtual straight line in the lateral direction of the vehicle body passing through the center in the front-rear direction, even if the guide body is curved, the guided portion is attached to the curved portion. If the drive wheel is positioned between the center of turning of the vehicle body and the guide body when the drive wheel is positioned inside the turn, the vehicle body can be propelled by the drive wheel. Then, since the pair of guided parts is guided by the guide body to steer the vehicle body along the guide body, the vehicle body travels along the guide body while eliminating the need for a steering mechanism for steering control of the drive wheels. This makes it possible to obtain a simple and lightweight structure, facilitate inspection and maintenance, and reduce the height of the vehicle body as much as possible so that the vehicle can run advantageously on a stable surface.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a pair of front and rear guided portions is provided so that the vehicle body 11 travels along the curved portion of the guide body 8 without performing steering control of the drive wheels 12. In the case where the steering is performed by the driving forces 30, 30, the same operating force F acts in the same direction as the propulsive force F by the drive wheel 12, and a first tangential direction of the operating force F is applied to any guided portion 30. The component force F1 acts to move the guided portion 30 along the guide body 8, and the second force in the normal direction of the operation force F
A reaction force R from the guide body 8 is generated due to the component force F2. Then, the reaction force R acts to rotate the vehicle body around the contact point of the drive wheel 12. However, as shown in FIG. 15, when the axle center of the drive wheel 12 is deviated toward one guided portion 30 from the center line of the guided portions 30 in the vehicle longitudinal direction (for example, In Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-45541, the distance L1 from one guided portion 30 to the driving wheel 12 is larger than the distance L2 from the other guided portion 30 to the driving wheel 12, and one guided portion The rotation moment due to the reaction force R generated at the other guided portion 30 is larger than the rotation moment due to the reaction force R generated at the other guided portion 30.
As a result, the guided portion 30 is strongly pressed against the guide body 8, so that the guided portion 30 and the guide body 8 tend to be twisted, and the driving efficiency of the vehicle body by the drive wheels 12 is likely to be deteriorated. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, the axle center of the drive wheels 12 is disposed so as to be located on a virtual straight line KL in the vehicle lateral direction passing through the centers of the guided portions 30 in the vehicle longitudinal direction. , From one guided portion 30 to driving wheel 1
2 from the other guided portion 30 to the drive wheel 1
2 is equal to the distance L2 to one of the guided portions 30
And the rotational moment due to the reaction force R generated in the other guided portion 30 are balanced. As a result, the guided portion 30 caused by the reaction force R
Of the guide member 8 is prevented from being pressed against the guide member 8 to prevent the occurrence of a twist between the guided portion 30 and the guide member 8.
The turning power of the drive wheels 12 is efficiently used for propulsion of the vehicle body, so that the vehicle body can run smoothly.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since one driving wheel and two driven wheels are provided, even if the floor surface has irregularities, both the driving wheels and the driven wheels are surely provided. It can be brought into contact with the floor surface, and the vehicle body can run stably and reliably regardless of the unevenness of the floor surface.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, each of the pair of guided portions is provided with two guide rollers which contact the left side of the guide and are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and the right side of the guide is Contact and line up in the vehicle longitudinal direction 2
Since the guide rollers are provided, even if the guide body is curved, at least one guide roller acts on any of the left and right sides, such that the guide roller is completely separated from the left side or the right side. Is less likely to occur, and the vehicle body is reliably steered so as to accurately follow the guide regardless of whether the guide is curved.

According to the invention described in claim 6, each of the pair of guided parts is supported by the vehicle body so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis of the vehicle body located above the guide body. Since the roller support for supporting the four guide rollers is provided, even if the guide is curved, the roller support rotates so that two guide rollers act on each of the right and left sides as much as possible. The vehicle body is steered more reliably along the guide body regardless of whether the guide body is curved or not.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[First Embodiment] As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of storage shelves 1 are provided in which a storage section 1a for storing and storing various articles A in a state of being placed on a pallet P is arranged vertically and horizontally. A stacker crane 2 having a lift, a fork, and the like is provided between the rails 3 so as to be movable along the rails 3.
Lift-in lifter 4a, conveyor 4 at the entrance side of some storage shelves 1
b, a carry-in device 4 having a transfer lifter 4c is provided, and a carry-out device 5 having a carry-out lifter 5a, a conveyor 5b, and a transfer lifter 5c is provided at the entrance side of some storage shelves 1. An article carrying-in section 6 and an article carrying-out section 7 for the carrying-out apparatus 5 and the carrying-in apparatus 4 are provided. The transport vehicle T is configured to travel by itself so as to reciprocate along the guide rails 8 arranged in the vehicle, thereby forming an automatic warehouse.

That is, when storing the article A, the article A is supplied to the article carry-in section 6 by the storage conveyor 9 while being placed on the pallet P. Then, the article A is transferred from the article carry-in section 6 to the carrier T while being placed on the pallet P, and is conveyed to one of the carry-in devices 4 and is transferred together with the pallet P to the transfer lifter 4c. The carry-in device 4 conveys the article A together with the pallet P from the transfer lifter 4c to the carry-in lifter 4a by the conveyor 4b, and transfers the article A to the stacker crane 2 from the carry-in lifter 4a. The stacker crane 2 transports the articles A from the loading device 4a to a predetermined storage section 1a of the storage shelves 1 where the articles A are to be stored, and transfers the articles A together with the pallets P. Then, when taking out the article A, the command is input to the control device. Then
The stacker crane 2 moves to the storage section 1a of the storage shelf 1 in which the article A is stored based on information from the control device, takes out the article A together with the pallet P, conveys the article A to the unloading device 5, and unloads the unloader. Transfer to 5a. Unloading device 5
Transports the article A together with the pallet P from the carry-out lifter 5a to the transfer lifter 5c by the conveyor 5b, and transfers the article A to the transfer vehicle T while being placed on the pallet P from the transfer lifter 5c. The transport vehicle T conveys the article A to the article unloading section 7 and transfers the article A together with the pallet P, and the unloading conveyor 10 conveys the article A from the article unloading section 7 to the unloading location while the article A is placed on the pallet P.

The carrier T is constructed as shown in FIGS. That is, a pair of left and right main frames 11a and 11b that are long in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, a front connection frame 11c that connects the front ends of the two main frames 11a and 11b, and a rear end of the two main frames 11a and 11b are connected. A vehicle body 11 is formed by the rear connecting frame 11d, and a driving wheel 12 for traveling is mounted below the middle part of the left main frame 11a in the front-rear direction so that the driving wheel 12 can be driven forward and reverse by the electric motor M1. A driven wheel 13 is freely rotatably mounted on the lower side of the front end side and the rear end side of the main frame 11b, and the lower side of the left main frame 11a on the vehicle body front side and the lower side on the vehicle body rear side with respect to the drive wheels 12. Auxiliary wheels 14 are mounted on the left and right sides of the main frame 11a, and four guide rollers 31, 3 are provided on the left lateral outside on the front end side and the left lateral outside on the rear end side of the left main frame 11a. It includes a guided portion 30 of Kakarigoshiki with these front and rear pair of guided portions 3
A guide cover 15 that covers the upper side and the lateral side of 0, 30 extends from the left main frame 11a to the lateral outer side of the vehicle body 11, and the front receiving tray device extends between the upper surfaces of the front ends of both main frames 11a, 11b. 40, the rear receiving device 40 is attached to the upper surfaces of the rear ends of the main frames 11a and 11b, respectively, and the electric motor M1 and the electric motor M of the two receiving devices 40 are mounted.
Power supply unit 1 that supplies power to power supply 2 and controls these
6 and a power supply unit cover 17 covering the upper and lower sides and the lateral side of the power supply unit 16 are supported by the right main frame 11b,
A front bumper 18 made of resin is attached to the front side of the front connection frame 11c, and a rear bumper 19 made of resin is attached to the rear side of the rear connection frame 11d.

As clearly shown in FIG.
The axle case 20 fixed to the lower surface side of the main frame 11a supports only the rotation about the axis Y2 in the lateral direction of the vehicle body and is rotatable integrally with the axle 21 driven by the electric motor M1. It is supported.
As a result, the drive wheels 12 are non-steered wheels that are driven and controlled to propel the vehicle body 11 but are not subjected to steering control to change the running direction of the vehicle body 11. To the side where the guided portion 30 is located with respect to the center CL in the left-right direction of the vehicle body 11 so as to approach as close as possible.

As clearly shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, each of the pair of front and rear driven wheels 13, 13 is supported on a wheel supporting frame 60 by an axle 61 so as to be relatively rotatable around a horizontal axis Y1. The wheel support frame 60 is supported by the vehicle body 11 by being slidably movable in a vehicle width direction with respect to a fixed base 64 fixed to the main frame 11b. The fixed base 64 includes a base plate 62 bolted to the main frame 11b.
And side plates 63 fixed to the front and rear on both sides in the vehicle width direction. The wheel support frame 60 has a longitudinal axis portion 75, and is rotatably supported around a longitudinal axis X1 via a bearing 67 fixed to a slide base 65 as a support member by a bearing support 66. Shaft core X1
At a position displaced from the horizontal axis Y1 by a distance Δ in a plan view along a line segment passing through the center between the pair of idler wheels 13a and 13a and orthogonal to the horizontal axis Y1. In addition, as the traveling direction of the vehicle body 11 is changed, the driven wheel 13 is provided with a caster wheel function that rotates around the longitudinal axis X1 so as to roll in the traveling direction.
Then, a pair of guide blocks 69 having a downwardly U-shaped groove-shaped guide surface 68 are screwed into front and rear positions on the lower surface of the base plate 62, and the slide block 70 fitted into the groove-shaped guide surface 68 is placed on the upper surface of the slide base 65. To the slide block 7 against the groove-shaped guide surface 68.
The slide base 65 is provided so as to be slidable in the lateral width direction of the vehicle body by a sliding movement of 0. A slide base-side spring receiving shaft 71 projecting toward both sides in the vehicle body width direction is screwed to the center of the slide base 65 on both sides in the vehicle front-rear direction in the vehicle body width direction. The fixed base side spring receiving shaft 72 facing the core is screwed to the side plate 63, and the compression coil spring 73 is mounted over the spring receiving shafts 71, 72 facing each other.
An urging means S for elastically urging the fixed base 64 to return to the central position in the vehicle width direction with respect to the fixed base 64 is configured.

As shown in FIG. 9, each of the pair of front and rear auxiliary wheels 14, 14 supports a wheel-side support member 26 for supporting the auxiliary wheel 14 in a freely rotatable manner. By pivotally connecting to a vehicle body-side support member 27 which is rotatably supported around the axis X2 by a connecting pin 28 which is parallel to the axle axis of the auxiliary wheel 14 and is deviated from the axle axis. A compression spring 74 is attached to the vehicle body 11 and urges the wheel-side support 26 to swing downward. The compression spring 74 is mounted between the wheel-side support 26 and the vehicle-body support 27. As the auxiliary wheel 14 swings up and down about the axis of the connecting pin 28 with respect to the vehicle body-side support 27, the contact portion 2 protruding toward the upper surface on the base end side of the wheel-side support 26
The auxiliary wheel 14 is configured to come into contact with a stopper bolt 29 provided on the vehicle body-side support member 27 so that the auxiliary wheel 14 is at the upper limit. As a result, when the vehicle body 11 is inclined forward and backward, both the front auxiliary wheel 14 and the rear auxiliary wheel 14 rise relative to the vehicle body 11 around the axis of the connecting pin 28 due to the load applied thereby. When it reaches the limit, the vehicle body-side support 2 via the wheel-side support 26 and the stopper bolt 29
7 to receive and support the vehicle body 11 so as not to tilt any further. In addition, when the traveling direction of the vehicle body 11 changes, the caster wheels are turned so as to naturally turn around the axis X2 with respect to the vehicle body 11 to be mounted in the vehicle traveling direction.

As clearly shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, both of the pair of front and rear guided portions 30, 30 extend from the guide bracket 33 fixed to the lower surface side of the main frame 11a to the lateral outside of the vehicle body 11. A roller support 3 rotatably mounted around an axis P1 in the vertical direction of the vehicle body by an extending guide arm 34 and a rotation support shaft 35 rotatably penetrating the extension end side of the guide arm 34 through this portion.
6, and a total of four guide rollers 31 and 32 rotatably attached to four roller support shafts 37 extending downward from the roller support 36, respectively. Elongated hole 34 provided on the base end side of guide arm 34
a and an arm connecting pin 38 configured to penetrate the elongated hole 34a and attached to the guide bracket 33 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, to connect the guide arm 34 and the guide bracket 33, and to connect the guide arm 34 to the arm connecting pin. 3
By pivoting the guide bracket 33 up and down with the fulcrum 8 as the fulcrum, the four guided rollers 31 and 32 project the guided portion 30 laterally outward from the vehicle body 11 as shown by solid lines in FIG. A lower use state in which the guide rollers 8 are mounted from above and in contact with each other, and a lower use state in which the four guide rollers 31 and 32 come out of the guide rails 8 upward as shown by two-dot chain lines in FIG. Can also be switched to an ascending retracted state closer to the vehicle body. When causing the guided portion 30 to act on the guide rail 8, the guide arm 34 is attached to the base end side of the guide arm 34 from the upper surface side, and the guide arm 34 is attached to the guide bracket 33.
A plurality of lock bolts 39 configured to be tightened and fixed are acted on to fix the device in the down use state. When the guided portion 30 is set in the descending use state, the shaft center P1 is located immediately above the guide rail 8, and is located outside the vehicle body with respect to the shaft center P1 among the four guide rollers 31 and 32. The two guide rollers 31, 31 located in contact with the left side surface of the guide rail 8 side by side in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the two guide rollers 32, 32 located inside the vehicle body with respect to the shaft center P1 are the guide rails. The right side surface 8 is arranged so as to be in contact with the vehicle body in the front-rear direction. Thereby, a pair of front and rear guided parts 3
When 0, 30 is fixed in the lowered use state, the guided portions 30, 30 move along the guide rail 8 for the propulsion action of the drive wheel 12 and the guide action of the four guide rollers 31, 32. To control the steering so that the vehicle body 11 travels along the guide rail 8.

When the pair of guided parts 30, 30 are put into the descending use state, the driving wheel 1 and the driven parts 30, 30 are brought into a positional relationship shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
2 and both guided parts 30, 30 are arranged. That is, when a straight line KL in the vehicle body lateral direction passing through the center of the pair of guided portions 30 in the vehicle longitudinal direction is assumed, the axle center Y2 of the drive wheel 12 is positioned on the virtual straight line KL. In addition, when there is a curved portion on the guide rail 8 where the drive wheel 12 is positioned inside the turning center, and the vehicle body 11 turns around the turning center Q along this curved portion, the driving wheel 12 And the guide rail 8. Thereby, the guide rail 8
Is curved, the propulsion of the vehicle body 11 by the drive wheels 12 becomes possible. In addition, an operating force F having the same strength acts in the same direction as the propulsive force F by the drive wheel 12 on each of the pair of front and rear guided portions 30, 30, and a first component force in the tangential direction of the operating force F is applied. F1 acts to move the guided portion 30 along the guide rail 8, and a reaction force R from the guide rail 8 is generated due to the second component F2 in the normal direction of the operation force F. Due to the reaction force R, the driving wheel 1
A moment to rotate around the second contact point acts.
However, the distance L1 from one guided portion 30 to the driving wheel 12 is equal to the distance L2 from the other guided portion 30 to the driving wheel 12, and the distance L1 from the other guided portion 30 depends on the reaction force R generated. The rotational moment and the rotational moment due to the reaction force R generated in the other guided portion 30 are balanced.

Next, the transport vehicle T traveling in the direction of arrow D shown in FIG. 2 arrives at the carry-in device 4, the carry-out device 5, the article carry-in section 6, and the article carry-out section 7 along the guide rail 8 of the carrier T. The movement of the driven wheel 13 when the traveling direction is changed in the direction of the arrow E shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. Arrow D
When the vehicle body 11 traveling in the direction of
As shown in (a), the horizontal axis Y1 of the driven wheel 13 is located along the vehicle width direction and on the rear side in the running direction of the vertical axis X1. It is located at the center in the width direction. As the traveling direction is changed from this state to the direction of arrow E, FIG.
As shown in (b) to (d), when the position of the ground contact center G with respect to the floor surface F of the driven wheel 13 in the vehicle width direction does not move, the wheel support frame 60 moves around the longitudinal axis X1 with respect to the slide base 65. , The slide base 65 slides in the lateral direction of the vehicle body against the biasing force of the compression coil spring 73. And the horizontal axis Y of the driven wheel 13
When the wheel support frame 60 rotates until 1 is located along the vehicle width direction and behind the longitudinal direction X1 in the traveling direction E,
As shown in FIG. 13 (e), the slide base 65 returns to the center position in the vehicle width direction with respect to the fixed base 64 by the urging force of the compression coil spring 73.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 12, each of the front and rear load receiving devices 40, 40 has a conveyor case 41 mounted over the main frames 11a and 11b, and the electric motor M2 attached to the conveyor case 41.
Chain conveyor 42, which is an endless chain mounted so as to be able to be driven to rotate in the forward rotation direction and the reverse rotation direction by
And a transport guide 43 supported by the conveyor case 41.
It is constituted by and. That is, both the front and rear load receiving devices 40 are transported above the conveyor case 41 along the transport guide 43 by the endless chain 42 that rotates one end side of the pallet P in the forward rotation direction, so that the article for transport is provided. A is loaded onto the vehicle body 11 from the transfer lifter 5c or the article carry-in section 6. And conveyor case 4
An article A for transport is removed from the vehicle body 11 by carrying out one end of the pallet P located above the vehicle body 11 to the lateral outside of the vehicle body 11 along the transport guide 43 by an endless chain 42 rotating in the reverse rotation direction. It is lowered to the transfer lifter 4c or the article discharge section 7.

As shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of current collectors 51 arranged vertically in the vehicle body are supported by a current collecting arm 50 extending from one of the pair of front and rear guide brackets 33, 33. At the same time, these current collectors 51 come into contact with a power supply rail 53 supported by a support 52 of the guide rail 8, take in driving power from the power supply rail 53, and supply the electric power to the electric motors M 1 and M 2 via the power supply unit 16. It is configured as follows.

In other words, the carrier T is controlled by a pair of front and rear guided parts 30, 30 so as to follow the guide rail 8. While supplying the motor M1, the load is supported by one drive wheel 12 and two driven wheels 13, 13, and these three wheels 12, 13,.
13 makes it self-propelled on the floor. Even if the guide rail 8 is curved, the roller support 36 rotates around the axis P1 with respect to the vehicle body 11, and all the guide rollers 31, 3
2 reliably contacts the guide rail 8 so that the guided portion 30 accurately follows the guide rail 8, and the rotational moment acting on the vehicle body 11 by the reaction force R acting on the front guided portion 30. Since the rotational force acting on the vehicle body 11 is balanced by the reaction force R acting on the rear guided portion 30, twisting between the guided portions 30, 30 and the guide rail 8 is hardly generated. The driving force of the drive wheel 12 is less likely to be lost, and the vehicle runs smoothly along the curved portion of the guide rail 8. Also,
Even if the vehicle body 11 leans back and forth due to running vibration and uneven floor surface, when the auxiliary wheel 14 reaches the ascending limit, it is supported by the auxiliary wheel 14 so as not to tilt any further and runs stably. To go. At the time of carrying in the goods, it stops at the side of the goods carrying-in section 6 and stops at the pair of front and rear chain conveyors 4.
The goods A are loaded by carrying the pallet P over the front-side load receiving device 40 and the rear-side load receiving device 40 with the use of the pair 2, 42, and stopped at the side of the transfer lift 4 c of one of the loading devices 4, and the front and rear pair is stopped. Chain conveyor 4
2 and 42, the pallet P is transferred to the two receiving devices 40 and 40.
The article A is lowered to the transfer lift 4c by carrying it out of the storage area. Also, when unloading the goods, any of the unloading devices 5
Is stopped on the side of the transfer lifter 5c, and the pallet P is loaded by the pair of front and rear chain conveyors 42 over the front-side load receiving device 40 and the rear-side load receiving device 40, so that the articles A are loaded. Then, the article A is lowered to the article unloading section 7 by stopping on the side of the article 7 and unloading the pallet P from the load receiving devices 40, 40 by the pair of front and rear chain conveyors 42, 42.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 16 shows a carrier T according to another embodiment, which is provided with a pair of front and rear guided portions 30 projecting laterally outward from the vehicle body 11, and
A pair of drive wheels 12, 12 separately located on both lateral sides of a center line CL in the left-right direction of the vehicle body 11, and both drive wheels 12, 12;
A total of four wheels, that is, a line on the center line CL on the vehicle body front side and a driven wheel 13 on the line on the center line CL on the vehicle body rear side of the two drive wheels 12, 12, on the floor surface. It is configured to run by itself. The axles of the pair of left and right drive wheels 12, 12 are respectively aligned with the front and rear guided portions 3.
The two driving wheels 1 are positioned so as to be located on a virtual straight line KL in the lateral direction of the vehicle body passing through the center in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.
2, 12 are arranged. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

Third Embodiment FIG. 17 shows a transport vehicle T according to another embodiment, which comprises a pair of front and rear guided portions 30 projecting laterally outward from the vehicle body 11, and
1 located on the center line CL in the left-right direction of the vehicle body 11
Drive wheels 12, driven wheels 13 located on both sides of the center line CL on the vehicle front side of the drive wheels 12, and on both sides of the center line CL on the vehicle body rear side of the drive wheels 12. The vehicle is configured to run on the floor by a total of five wheels. The axle center of the drive wheel 12 is located at the front and rear guided portions 3.
The driving wheels 12 are positioned so as to be located on a virtual straight line KL in the lateral direction of the vehicle body passing through the centers of the vehicle bodies 0, 30 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.
Is arranged.

[Other Embodiments] The carrier according to the present invention may be configured to reciprocate on the floor surface along a guide connected in a loop. 2. The wheel support frame that supports the driven wheel in a freely rotatable manner is rotatable around the longitudinal axis, and in the entire range of the radial direction centered on the longitudinal axis, in the vehicle width direction along the radial direction. It may be movably supported by the vehicle body. 3. As shown in the first embodiment, in addition to providing the guided portion 30 so as to protrude laterally outward from the vehicle body 11, a portion located on the center line of the vehicle body 11 in the left-right direction or a position laterally from the center line is provided. The present invention can also be applied to a transport vehicle that is provided within the lateral width of the vehicle body such as a displaced portion. 4. In the first embodiment, the transport vehicle provided with the auxiliary wheels 14 has been described, but a transport vehicle having no auxiliary wheels may be used. 5. Instead of the guide rails 8 shown in the first embodiment, the present invention is also applicable to a transport vehicle T that employs a guide groove formed on the floor along the transport path of the transport vehicle T. Therefore, these guide rails 8 and guide grooves are collectively called a guide.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an automatic warehouse.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the entire transport vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the entire transport vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of a driving wheel mounting portion.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a driven wheel mounting portion.

FIG. 6 is a sectional front view of a driven wheel mounting portion.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of a driven wheel mounting portion.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a main part of a driven wheel mounting portion.

FIG. 9 is a side view of an auxiliary wheel mounting portion.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a guided portion.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a mounting portion of a guided portion.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the receiving device.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a driving direction changing operation of a driven wheel.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the propulsion action by the drive wheels of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory view of a propulsion action by a conventional drive wheel.

FIG. 16 is a schematic plan view of a carrier according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a schematic plan view of a carrier according to a third embodiment.

[Description of Signs] 8 Guide 11 Body 12 Drive wheel 13 Follower wheel 30 Guided portion 31 Guide roller 32 Guide roller 36 Roller support 60 Wheel support frame 65 Support member F Floor surface KL Virtual straight line S Energizing means X1 Core Y2 Axle core

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An engaging type guided portion that moves along a guide body is provided on a vehicle body, and self-propelled along the guide body on a floor by a driving wheel and a driven wheel having a caster wheel function. A carrier vehicle, wherein a wheel supporting frame that supports the driven wheel in a freely rotatable manner is supported on the vehicle body so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis and movably in a vehicle width direction. 2. A support member for rotatably supporting the wheel support frame about the longitudinal axis is provided movably in a vehicle width direction, and the support member returns to a fixed position in the vehicle width direction. 2. The transport vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising an urging means for elastically urging the vehicle. 3. A pair of the guided parts are provided in front and rear along the guide body, and the drive wheels are configured as non-steered wheels.
The drive wheel and the guided portion are arranged such that the axle center of the drive wheel is located on an imaginary straight line in the vehicle lateral direction passing through the center of the pair of guided portions in the vehicle longitudinal direction. The carrier according to claim 1. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising one drive wheel and two driven wheels.
The carrier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the carrier is provided. 5. A pair of guide rollers that contact the left side of the guide body and are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body with each of the pair of guided portions, and two guide rollers that contact the right side of the guide body and are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. 5. The transport vehicle according to claim 3, further comprising: a plurality of guide rollers. 6. The pair of guided parts are supported by the vehicle body so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis of the vehicle body located above the guide body, and also support the four guide rollers. The carrier according to claim 5, further comprising a roller support.