JPH11199011A - Article storage installation - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To further improve the stop position accuracy of an article transfer equipment. SOLUTION: In this installation, an article transfer equipment 5 for transferring articles in an article transfer position to each of a plurality of article holding parts 1 positioned being lined up vertically and laterally is supported in an elevatingly operated state to a support 6 erected on a traveling truck 4. This installation is provided with a position detecting means for detecting the existing position of the traveling truck 4 in a lateral direction, and a truck control means for performing stop control of the traveling truck 5 so as to stop the article transfer equipment 5 in the article transfer position on the basis of detected information of the position detecting means. The truck control means executes stop control of the traveling truck 4 on the basis of stop control information obtained by correcting the detected information of the position detecting means at the time of detecting a detected member 13 on the article holding part 1 side from the traveling truck 4 side in the traveling state of the traveling truck 4, with the inclination information of the support 6 during travel.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article transfer position for each of a plurality of article holders positioned in parallel in the vertical and horizontal directions, and for transferring articles between the article holder and the self. An article transfer device that performs loading, is supported by a column erected on a traveling vehicle that is driven to travel in the lateral direction, so as to be able to move up and down, and a position detection unit that detects the position of the traveling vehicle in the lateral direction. The present invention also relates to an article storage facility provided with trolley control means for performing stop control of the traveling trolley so as to stop the article transfer device at the article transfer position based on the detection information of the position detection means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In such an article storage facility, the article transfer device is moved up and down along a column and a traveling cart supporting the article transfer device is moved to move the article transfer device in a vertical direction. It is possible to store and take out the articles by positioning the articles in the article transfer position with respect to each of the article holders arranged in the lateral direction, and repeating the operation of transferring the articles between the article holders and the self in the article transfer apparatus. It is like that. As described above, in order to position the article transfer device at the article transfer position with respect to each of the article holding units, in the lateral direction in which the article holding units are arranged in parallel, the bogie control unit performs stop control of the traveling bogie. Specifically, for this stop control, there is provided a position detecting means for detecting the position of the traveling vehicle in the lateral direction, and it is necessary to previously associate each article transfer position with the detection information of the position detecting means. Then, the truck control means can stop the article transfer device at the article transfer position based on the position of the traveling cart based on the detection information of the position detection means. As an operation for associating each article transfer position with the detection information of the position detecting means, a member corresponding to the article transfer position, such as a frame of an article holding unit, is moved while the traveling cart is running. This is performed by storing the detection information of the position detecting means when it is detected by an appropriate means from the above. Conventionally, the detection information of the position detecting means associated with each of the article transfer positions thus obtained has been used as it is for the stop control of the traveling vehicle.

[0003]

However, according to an experiment conducted by the inventor of the present invention, during traveling of the traveling vehicle, the column supporting the article transfer device is slightly inclined in the direction opposite to the moving direction, and The detection information of the position detection means when detecting the frame or the like of the article holding unit from the support or the article transfer device side is slightly different between when the traveling vehicle is stopped and when the traveling vehicle is traveling, the above-described conventional configuration When the stop control is executed as described above, it has been found that when the traveling vehicle stops, the stop position of the article transfer device slightly displaces from the regular article transfer position in the traveling direction of the traveling vehicle. Such a displacement may make the transfer operation of the article transfer apparatus unstable, particularly when transfer accuracy is required. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to further improve the accuracy of a stop position of an article transfer device.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the truck control means detects a detected member on the article holding unit side from the traveling truck while the traveling truck is running. The stop control of the traveling vehicle is performed based on the stop control information obtained by correcting the detection information of the position detecting means for detecting the existing position of the traveling vehicle with the inclination information of the column during traveling. Therefore, the stop control of the traveling vehicle is performed in a state where the influence of the inclination of the column during traveling is corrected. When the traveling vehicle stops and the posture of the column supporting the article transfer device is stabilized, the article is transferred. The loading device is located at the proper article transfer position. As a result, the accuracy of the stop position of the article transfer device can be further improved.

[0005] With the above configuration, the position detecting means for detecting the existence position of the traveling vehicle can be used as a reference when the reference position detecting means detects that the traveling vehicle is located at the reference position. The location of the traveling vehicle is specified from the detection information of the rotary encoder. With such a configuration of the position detecting means, it is possible to detect, with a simple configuration, an existing position of the traveling vehicle traveling and traveling in a range of a certain length in general.

In addition, with the configuration according to the third aspect of the present invention, the inclination information of the column supporting the article transfer device can be detected by contacting the column guide rail for guiding the upper end of the column to rotate the column. This is performed based on the detection information of the rotary encoder. That is, the difference between the detection information of the rotary encoder for detecting the inclination when the traveling vehicle passes through the set position and the detection information of the rotary encoder for detecting the inclination when the traveling vehicle stops at the set position is determined during traveling. Therefore, the inclination information of the support can be obtained from the detected information. Therefore, the inclination information of the column can be detected with a simple configuration having only a rotary encoder, and since the detection operation is performed at the upper end of the column, the inclination information can be obtained with high accuracy.
The detection information of the rotary encoder for detecting the inclination when the traveling vehicle stops at the set stop position is obtained by actually stopping the traveling vehicle at the set stop position and detecting the detection information of the rotary encoder for detecting the inclination. In addition, for example, after traveling a predetermined distance from the set stop position, the vehicle is stopped, and the amount of detection of the rotary encoder corresponding to the predetermined distance is subtracted from the detection information of the rotary encoder for detecting the inclination when the vehicle stops, and the like. It can also be obtained indirectly as follows.

Further, by providing the structure according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the column for supporting the article transfer device so as to be able to move up and down can be moved in the lateral direction in which the article holding portions are arranged, that is, in the moving direction of the traveling cart. One end of the device is cantilevered. As a support structure of the article transfer device by the support,
Although it can be configured to support both sides of the article transfer device,
When the cantilever support is used as described above, the configuration can be simplified, but the inclination of the column during traveling of the traveling vehicle becomes relatively large. In such a case, it is extremely effective to perform the stop control of the traveling vehicle by correcting the inclination of the column during traveling as described above.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an article storage device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Article storage device LS
As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of storage shelves 2A and 2B are provided at intervals with an article holding portion 1 holding an article L such as a container arranged in a vertical and horizontal direction. The intermediate portion between the front and rear storage shelves 2A, 2B is a traveling passage of a stacker crane 3 that performs storage and retrieval with respect to each article holding section 1. The stacker crane 3 includes a traveling cart 4
And an article transfer device 5 for transferring an article between each article holding unit 1 and the self, and a column 6 erected on the traveling trolley 4 and supporting the article transfer apparatus 5 so as to be able to move up and down. In order to guide the traveling vehicle 4 and the like in the lateral direction of the storage shelves 2A and 2B, a traveling rail 7 for traveling and guiding the traveling vehicle 4 is laid on the ground side, and the upper end of the column 6 is guided to the ceiling side. A supporting guide rail 8 is installed.

As shown in FIG. 2, a traveling vehicle 4 of the stacker crane 3 has a traveling wheel 4a, a driven wheel 4b, and a traveling wheel 4a.
4c, a rotary encoder 4d that rotates in contact with the upper surface of the traveling rail 7, and a fixed unit that is installed on the ground side in a state where one is provided for the upper and lower row of article holders 1. A photo-interrupter-type fixed position sensor 4e for detecting the position plate 9 is provided.
Although not shown in the figure, there is provided a lifting motor 4f for winding and feeding out the cord connected to the article transfer apparatus 5 to drive the article transfer apparatus 5 up and down. The position plate 9 is disposed at the center position of one article holding unit 1, and by detecting the fixed position plate 9 with the fixed position sensor 4 e (more precisely, detecting the edge of the fixed position plate 9. ), The position of the traveling vehicle 4 with respect to the article holding unit 1 can be specified, and can be used as a reference position for detecting the position of the traveling vehicle 4. Accordingly, reference position detection means SP for detecting whether or not the traveling vehicle 4 is located at the reference position is constituted by the fixed position plate 9 and the fixed position sensor 4e.
Further, the position of the traveling vehicle 4 can be specified by counting the output pulses of the rotary encoder 4d with reference to the reference position detected by the reference position detection means SP.
The reference position detecting means SP and the rotary encoder 4d are provided to constitute a position detecting means CP for detecting the position of the traveling vehicle 4 in the lateral direction of the storage shelves 2A, 2B.

As shown in FIG. 2, the article transfer device 5 of the stacker crane 3 has a slide fork mechanism 5a for mounting and supporting an article L and moving out of the article holding section 1, and a slide fork mechanism 5a to be described later. A pair of beam detection sensors 5b configured as reflection type optical sensors for detecting the vertical beams 13 of the storage shelves 2A and 2B as detected members for learning the stop position are provided. As shown in FIG. 3, a rotary encoder 3a for detecting inclination, which is rotated by contact with the support guide rail 8, is provided at the upper end of the support of the stacker crane 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the detection information of the rotary encoder 4d, the fixed position sensor 4e, the rotary encoder 3a for detecting the inclination and the like is input to a truck controller C1 provided in the traveling truck 4, and The side controller C1 determines the traveling vehicle 4 based on the detection information.
And the elevation control of the article transfer device 5 are performed. The entry and exit management of the entire article L stored in the storage shelves 2A and 2B is performed by the controller C2 on the ground side.
When the operator operates the console 12 while looking at the display on the monitor 11 or receives an instruction to enter or exit from the warehouse according to a command from another controller, the ground-side controller C2 stores the article L in the warehouse. Sends an entry command to the trolley-side controller C1 by designating the article holding unit 1 to be stored, and, when leaving the article L, designates the article holding unit 1 that holds the article L and designates the trolley-side controller C1. Send a shipping order to. When the carriage controller C1 receives the storage instruction, the carriage controller C1 receives the articles L in the pair of loading trays 10 provided beside the storage shelves 2A and 2B, conveys the articles L to the indicated article holding section 1, stores the articles, and unloads the articles. Upon receiving the order,
The article in the designated article holding section 1 is taken out and the receiving tray 1 is taken out.
Transport to 0.

Next, a description will be given of stop control of the traveling vehicle 4 for the carriage controller C1 to position the article transfer device 5 at the article transfer position with respect to each of the article holders 1. The position at which the traveling cart 4 is stopped is before the operation of the equipment,
Alternatively, it is appropriately set by so-called learning during maintenance. This stop position learning can be performed, for example, as follows. That is, as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 5, the carriage 4 is moved from one end of the storage shelves 2A and 2B while the article transfer device 5 is positioned at the set height under the control of the carriage controller C1. While traveling at a constant speed to the end side (steps # 1, #
7), fixed position plate 9 located at the center of the frontage of article holder 1
Based on the time when each of the lateral ends is detected by the fixed position sensor 4e (step # 2), the movement amount of the traveling vehicle 4 until the beam detection sensor 5b detects the vertical beam 13 is determined by the output pulse of the rotary encoder 4d. Count the number (step #
3, # 4, # 5), and stores the count value in the storage unit M (step # 6). The detection of the position of the vertical beam 13 is performed in a plurality of vertical stages of the storage shelves 2A and 2B, and the above operation is repeated until all the stages are completed (steps # 9 and # 10).

When the position detection of the vertical beams 13 has been completed (step # 9), the position of the vertical beams 13 detected as described above and the transfer of the articles to the respective article holders 1 are determined for each of the article holders 1. From the positional relationship with the position, the stop position of the traveling vehicle 4 based on the position of the fixed position plate 9 is obtained and stored according to the moving direction of the traveling vehicle 4 (step # 11). still,
This processing may be performed only in one direction from one end of the storage shelves 2A and 2B to the other end, or may be performed in both directions to further improve accuracy. After the provisional stop position is obtained in this manner, in the stop position learning process, the support position 6 during the travel of the traveling vehicle 4 is tilted backward in the traveling direction, so that the stop position is set more accurately. For this purpose, a process for correcting the inclination of the column 6 is performed.

That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, the traveling vehicle 4 is driven under the same conditions as the above-described learning of the stop position (step # 20), and the fixed position sensor 4e detects the fixed position plate 9 (step #). 21), counting of output pulses of the rotary encoder 4d and the rotary encoder 3a for detecting inclination is started and the stop of the traveling vehicle 4 is controlled (steps # 21, # 22). At the time when the traveling vehicle 4 stops, the rotary encoder 3a for detecting the inclination is used.
By subtracting the pulse count of the rotary encoder 4d from the pulse count of the fixed position sensor 4e
The pulse count number of the rotary encoder 3a for detecting the inclination when is stopped at the position where the fixed position plate 9 is detected. Since the count of the rotary encoder 3a for detecting the inclination has started when the traveling vehicle 4 has passed through the position detected by the fixed position sensor 4e on the fixed position plate 9, the pulse count number and the length of the known support 6 Satokara, prop 6
Is tilted at a constant inclination from the lower end to the upper end thereof, the inclination information of the column 6 when the traveling vehicle 4 is traveling can be obtained (step # 23). The detection error between the rotary encoder 4d and the tilt detection rotary encoder 3a, that is, the difference in the number of output pulses when the vehicle travels the same distance is corrected in advance.

Based on the tilt information thus obtained, the provisional stop positions of the article holders 1 determined by the above-described stop position learning are determined according to the heights of the respective article holders 1. The shift is corrected by the inclination and stored in the storage unit M as stop control information. Note that the above-described tilt correction process may be performed by moving the traveling vehicle 4 in only one direction. However, when the degree of the inclination of the column 6 varies depending on the moving direction of the traveling vehicle 4, the accuracy is further improved. For this purpose, the traveling vehicle 4 may be moved in both directions, and the above-described inclination correction may be performed in each moving direction.

During the operation of the article storage facility LS, the carriage controller C1 operates based on the stop control information obtained in advance and stored in the storage unit M as described above.
The stop control of the traveling vehicle 4 is performed. Specifically, when the article holding unit 1 to be entered or exited from the ground side controller C2 is commanded by the ground-side controller C2, the article transfer device 5 is moved up and down, and the traveling vehicle 4 is moved to the fixed position plate 9 by the detected number. It is moved toward a position corresponding to the target article holding unit 1 by counting or the like. When the vehicle approaches the position corresponding to the target article holding unit 1, the traveling vehicle 4 is decelerated, and when the fixed position plate 9 corresponding to the target article holding unit 1 is detected, the output pulse of the rotary encoder 4 d starts counting. When the counted number matches the counted number stored as the stop control information of the article holding unit 1, the traveling motor 4c is braked to stop the traveling vehicle 4. still,
The lifting height for stopping the article transfer device 5 at the article transfer position is determined by, for example, installing a position detection plate corresponding to each step of the article holding unit 1 on the support column 6 and preparing the article transfer device 5. The position can be set by detecting the position detection plate with the sensor.

Therefore, the carriage controller C1 functions as a carriage control means RC for controlling the stop of the traveling carriage 4 so as to stop the article transfer device 5 at the article transfer position.
That is, as described above, the carriage control means RC detects the detection information of the position detection means CP when the longitudinal beam 13 on the article holding unit 1 side is detected from the traveling carriage 4 while the traveling carriage 4 is traveling. Based on the stop control information obtained by correcting with the inclination information of the column 6 during traveling, the traveling vehicle 4
Control of the stop.

[Other Embodiments] Hereinafter, other embodiments will be listed. In the above embodiment, the position detection means CP for detecting the position of the traveling vehicle 4 includes the reference position detection means SP and the rotary encoder 4d.
The specific configuration of the position detecting means CP can be variously changed, such as detecting the position of the traveling vehicle 4 by measuring the distance of the traveling vehicle 4 to an optical distance measuring device from one end of the traveling range of the traveling vehicle 4. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the fixed position plate 9, which forms a part of the reference position detection SP, is configured such that the upper and lower rows of the article holding units 1 are provided.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the specific configuration thereof can be variously changed, for example, only one is provided at one end of the traveling range of the traveling vehicle 4.

In the above embodiment, in the stop position learning, the storage shelf 2 is used as the detected member on the article holding unit 1 side.
Although the vertical beams 13 of A and 2B are detected, the specific configuration of the member to be detected can be variously changed, such as attaching a light reflection plate to an appropriate position of the article holding unit 1. In addition to the method of detecting the member to be detected, the specific configuration of the method of detecting the member to be detected can be variously changed, such as detection by a magnetic sensor, in addition to the method by the optical sensor as described above.

In the embodiment described above, the rotary encoder 3 a for detecting the tilt is provided at the upper end of the column 6, and the tilt information of the column 6 is obtained from the detection information. However, the column 6 is provided with the tilt sensor. Support 6 when driving directly
May be obtained. In addition, the inclination information of the column 6 during traveling is obtained assuming that the column 6 is inclined at a constant inclination from the lower end to the upper end thereof. The columns 6 may be arranged side by side to detect the inclination of the columns 6 more precisely.

In the above embodiment, the rotary encoder 3a for detecting the tilt is provided at the upper end of the column 6 in order to obtain the tilt information of the column 6, but the rotary encoder 3a for detecting the tilt is provided in the article storage facility. Since it is not always necessary after the start of the operation of the LS, it may be removed after the above-described inclination correction processing is completed. In the above embodiment, in the stop position learning,
Beam detection sensor 5 for detecting longitudinal beam 13 as a detected member
b is provided in the article transfer device 5,
A plurality of upper and lower beam detection sensors may be installed in the vehicle, and the detection operation of the vertical beam 13 may be completed only by moving the traveling vehicle 4 once from one end of the traveling rail 7 to the other end.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an article storage facility according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a main part according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block configuration diagram according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article holding part 3a Rotary encoder for inclination detection 4 Traveling trolley 4d Rotary encoder 5 Article transfer device 6 Column 13 Detected member CP Position detecting means RC trolley control means SP Reference position detecting means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An article transfer apparatus for transferring an article between an article holding section and a self at an article transfer position for each of a plurality of article holding sections located in a state of being vertically and horizontally arranged in parallel. An apparatus, which is supported on a column erected on the traveling vehicle driven to travel in the lateral direction so as to be able to move up and down, and a position detecting means for detecting an existing position of the traveling vehicle in the lateral direction; A carriage control means for performing stop control of the traveling carriage so as to stop the article transfer device at the article transfer position based on the detection information, wherein the carriage control means; Corrects the detection information of the position detecting means when the detected member on the article holding unit side is detected from the traveling carriage while the traveling carriage is traveling, by using the inclination information of the column during traveling. Based on the stop control information calculated Te, the traveling carriage stop control Configured article storage facility to perform. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said position detecting means includes a reference position detecting means for detecting whether or not said traveling vehicle is located at a reference position, and a rotary encoder provided on said traveling vehicle. Item 1. The article storage facility according to Item 1. 3. A guide rail for a pillar for guiding an upper end of the pillar in the lateral direction, and a rotary encoder provided at the upper end of the pillar for detecting inclination and rotated by contact with the guide rail for the pillar. The bogie control means includes: detection information of a rotary encoder for detecting the tilt when the traveling bogie travels through a set position; and detection of the tilt when the traveling bogie stops at the set position. The article storage facility according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inclination information of the column is obtained from detection information of a rotary encoder for use. 4. The article storage facility according to claim 1, wherein the column is configured to cantileverly support one end of the article transfer device in the lateral direction. .