JPS6138058B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a transport vehicle with caster wheels and storage equipment for storing the same on a shelf using a stacker crane.

When storing a transport vehicle equipped with caster wheels on a shelf, conventionally, the bottom of the transport vehicle between the front and rear wheels is supported by a pair of left and right shelf side support members.
Either a system in which the wheels are left floating or a system in which the wheels are directly supported on the shelf-side supports are adopted, but in the former system, the suspension of the stacker crane between the pair of left and right shelf-side support members is adopted. The fork operating space becomes cramped, the fork width is limited, the support state of the carrier becomes unstable, and it is not suitable as a storage method for a small carrier. Furthermore, the lifting height of the carrier during forking increases due to the presence of the shelf-side support members, and therefore the pitch of the shelves increases, reducing storage efficiency. On the other hand, the latter method requires a shelf-side support base large enough to support the caster wheels in any orientation, so extra space must be secured in the frontage and depth directions of the shelf. , the shelf becomes larger. Furthermore, since the transport vehicle in the stored state can move within a certain range, it is unstable and poses a safety problem.

The present invention provides a transport vehicle with caster wheels and its storage facility which can eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks.One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached illustrative drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is a stacker crane that runs while being guided by a floor rail 4 in a passage 3 formed between two rows of shelves 2,
It includes an elevating loading platform 5 and a fork 6 provided on the elevating loading platform 5 and capable of moving in and out in left and right lateral directions. Reference numeral 7 denotes a leveler for warehousing installed adjacent to one end of the shelf 2, and numeral 8 denotes a leveler for retrieval installed adjacent to the other end of the shelf 2. Reference numeral 9 denotes a transport vehicle storage compartment in the shelf 2, which is provided with support stands 10 for supporting a pair of left and right transport vehicle wheels, respectively. Reference numeral 11 denotes a transport vehicle for storage.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the transport vehicle 11 is equipped with wheels 12 fixed in a straight direction at two locations on the left and right of the front end, and is rotatable around a vertical axis 13 at two locations on the left and right of the rear end. A wheel 15 is attached to the rotating member 14.
The caster wheel 15 is locked in the straight direction by a locking means 17 and can be unlocked by a lock release lever 18. The lock means 17 includes a lock lever 21 which is fixed to both ends of a horizontal shaft 19 supported on the bottom of the truck and which can be fitted into and removed from a lock hole 20 provided in the rotating member 14.
and a tension coil spring 22 for selectively stabilizing the lock lever 21 in the lower lock position and the upper lock release position, and the lock release lever 18
is connected to the free end of a lever 23 fixed to the center of the horizontal shaft 19 via an elongated hole 24 and a pin 25, and the intermediate portion is supported on the bottom of the truck by a shaft 26. A foot plate 27 is provided at the free end portion that projects. 28 is a vertically movable piece that is integral with the lever 23 and extends in the opposite direction to the lever 23. A roller 29 is pivotally supported at the tip, and when the lock lever 21 is in the upward lock release position, the roller 29 is in the position of the carriage. It protrudes downward from the bottom surface 30. 31 and 32 are stoppers for the lever 23.

As shown in FIG. 3, the warehouse leveler 7 consists of a lifting platform 34 equipped with a guide rail 33 that supports and guides the wheels 12 and 15 in a straight-ahead direction. The guide rail 35 and the guide rail 33 are connected.
One end of the floor guide rail 35 is inclined so that the wheels 12, 15 of the truck 11 can be transferred from the floor. Reference numeral 36 denotes a resistor for positioning the wheel 12 with respect to the guide rail 33 on the platform. By moving the wheel 12 over the resistor 36, the trolley 11 is held in a fixed position. 37 is a drive means for raising and lowering the lifting table 34.

The unloading leveler 8 has substantially the same configuration as the warehousing leveler 7, so a description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pair of left and right wheel support stands 10 in each transport vehicle storage section 9 of the shelf 2 are placed on the side that supports the fixed wheels 12 so as to prevent the transport vehicle 11 from moving in the straight direction. As a means for preventing this, a V-shaped support member 39 is attached that supports the wheel 12 in self-alignment with respect to the front-rear direction 38 of the truck.
On the side that supports the caster wheels 15, there is a wheel 1
5 is attached with a flat support member 40 that supports the truck in a state that allows it to roll in the front-rear direction 38 of the truck. 4
1 and 42 are side plates for regulating the wheel support range.

Next, a working method and operation when storing the transport vehicle 11 on the shelf 2 will be explained.

Normally, the locking means 17 of the truck 11 is in the unlocked state, as shown on the right side of FIG. 3, and the caster wheels 15 are free to pivot around the vertical axis 13. The wheels 12 and 15 of this trolley 11 are guided in the forward direction from the floor surface onto the guide rail 35, and the elevator platform 3 in which the leveler 7 for warehousing is in a descending state is in contact with the ground.
4 onto the guide rail 33, and push the trolley 11 to a position where the wheels 12 can overcome the resistor 36. Next, Stutzker Crane 1
The lifting platform 7 is raised to the cart receiving height. As a result, the truck 11 has reached the predetermined position with the caster wheels 15 being regulated by the guide rails 33 in the same straight direction as the wheels 12.

In this state, the fork 6 of the stacker crane 1 located at a predetermined position adjacent to the warehousing leveler 7 is moved between the vertically movable piece 28 and the guide which protrudes downward from the bottom surface 30 of the truck, as shown by the imaginary line 6a in FIG. Between the rail 33 and the front and rear wheels 12,
15, and the fork 6 is raised together with the lifting platform 5 to a predetermined height shown by the imaginary line 6b.
is scooped up by the fork 6, and in the process of raising the fork 6, the vertically movable piece 28 is pushed up by the fork 6, and the upward movement of the vertically movable piece 28 is transmitted to the two lock levers 21 via the horizontal shaft 19. The direction of the tension of the tension coil spring 22 is such that the lock lever 21 is
is rotated downward to a position beyond the neutral position. After that, the fork 6 lifts the bottom surface 30 of the truck, so before the caster wheel 15 rises from the guide rail 33, the lock lever 21, which rotates to the lowering limit position by the action of the tension coil spring 22, fits into the lock hole 20. This results in the caster wheels 15 being locked in the straight-ahead direction. The lock release lever 18 is rotated in conjunction with the lever 23 so that the foot plate 27 reaches the upper limit position.

Once the truck 11 is lifted by the fork 6, the fork 6 is returned to its original position and the truck 11 is supported on the lifting platform 5, and the supporting truck 11 is lifted onto the shelf 2 by the movement of the stacker crane 1 and the rise of the elevator platform 5. is transported to a position opposite to the predetermined storage section 9 of. During the transportation of the transport vehicle 11 by the stacker crane 1, the transport vehicle 11 is supported by the forks 6 on its bottom surface 30, so the wheels 12, 1
5, there is no risk that the transport vehicle 11 will move on the stacker crane 1. Next, the fork 6 is advanced into the storage compartment 9 at the height shown by the imaginary line 6c in FIG. 5, and the fork 6 is lowered together with the lifting platform 5 to the position shown by the solid line. As a result, the wheels 12 of the truck 11 are transferred onto the V-shaped support member 39 on the shelf-side support stand 10, and the caster wheels 15 of the lock are transferred onto the flat support member 40. Even if the stop position of the stack car crane 1 is slightly shifted in the front-rear direction 38 of the truck, the wheels 12 are automatically aligned to the deepest part of the V-shaped support member 39, so the truck 11 can be moved as shown in FIG. It is supported and stored accurately in a predetermined position.

To carry out the unloading operation, carry out the cart 11 onto the unloading leveler 8 in the reverse order to the above, and after guiding the cart 11 from above the leveler 8 onto the floor via the guide rail, press the lock release lever 18 with your foot. Treadboard 2
7, the lock levers 21 are rotated through the lever 23 and the horizontal shaft 19 to move both lock levers 21 upwardly against the tension coil spring 22 to a position exceeding the neutral position. As a result, the lock lever 21 escapes from the lock hole 20 and is held in the upward lock release position by the tension coil spring 22, and the caster wheel 15 becomes free to turn around the vertical shaft 13.

The present invention can be carried out as described above, and its feature is that the bottom surface of the cart between the front and rear wheels is scooped up by a fork of a stacker crane, and the caster wheels of this transfer cart are moved straight. A locking means that is alternatively stable in a locked state and an unlocked state in which the device is fixed so as not to be able to swing depending on the orientation;
A lock release lever for switching the locking means from a locked state to an unlocked state, and a vertically movable piece that is pushed up by the fork when the bottom surface of the cart is scooped up by the fork are provided. When the locking means is in the unlocked state, the locking means protrudes downward from the bottom surface of the bogie, and when pushed up by the fork, the locking means is interlocked with the locking means so as to switch the locking means to the locked state. A guide rail is installed at the transport vehicle receiving place to guide the transport vehicle to a predetermined position while regulating the caster wheels in a straight direction, and a shelf is equipped with a support that supports the wheels while preventing the transport vehicle from moving in a straight direction. The point is that a table has been set up.

According to the configuration of the present invention, the caster wheels of the trolley are automatically locked in the straight-ahead direction and stored on the shelf, so the wheels are directly supported by the support stand, but unlike the conventional The support condition does not become unstable due to the rotation of the caster wheels,
In addition, since the shelf does not require extra space to allow the caster wheels to turn, as in the case of storing a cart with fixed-direction wheels, it can be made smaller and the storage efficiency can be increased. Of course, the problems that arose in the system of supporting the wheels in a floating manner are also solved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of the entire storage facility in one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of the same,
Fig. 3 is a partially vertical side view showing the storage leveler and the transport vehicle, Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view showing the main parts of the transport vehicle, and Fig. 5 is a partially vertical side view showing the state in which the transport vehicle is stored on a shelf. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the shelf support. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Stud car crane, 2... Shelf, 5... Elevating loading platform, 6... Fork, 7... Leveler for warehousing, 8... Leveler for unloading, 10... Support stand, 11... Transfer trolley,
12... Fixed direction wheel, 15... Caster wheel, 1
7... Locking means, 18... Lock release lever, 20
...Lock hole, 21...Lock lever, 22...Tension coil spring for lock lever positioning, 28...Vertical movable piece, 33, 35... Guide rail, 34... Lifting platform.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The bottom surface of the trolley between the front and rear wheels is scooped up by the fork of the stacker crane, and the caster wheels of this transport vehicle are fixed in a locking state in which they are fixed in a straight direction and cannot be swung, or in an unlocked state. A locking means that is stable in terms of stability, a lock release lever that switches the locking means from a locked state to an unlocked state, and a vertically movable piece that is pushed up by the fork when the bottom surface of the cart is scooped up by the fork. The vertically movable piece projects downward from the bottom surface of the cart when the locking means is in the unlocked state, and is connected to the locking means so as to switch the locking means to the locked state when pushed up by the fork. Interlockingly connected, guide rails are provided at the loading area of the Statz Car Crane to guide the carriage to a predetermined position while regulating the caster wheels in a straight direction, and a shelf is provided to prevent the carriage from moving in the straight direction. A transport vehicle with caster wheels that is equipped with a support stand to support the vehicle during transport, and its storage facility.