JPS63101165A - Freight shifter - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Objective of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention automatically transfers cargo between a transport vehicle such as an automatic guided vehicle that transports cargo in a factory, etc., and a station on the ground side. This invention relates to a baggage transfer device installed in the transport vehicle and a station for delivery, and particularly relates to a baggage transfer device provided with left and right guides to restrict movement in the width direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the baggage. .

(Prior Art) In recent years, automatic transport systems using automatic guided vehicles have been widely adopted in various factories to transport cargo.

In such transportation systems, unmanned guided vehicles (hereinafter simply referred to as transportation vehicles) automatically travel along predetermined travel routes using various guidance methods to reach their destinations, where they automatically communicate with stations on the ground. A cargo transfer device is provided at the top of the transport vehicle and at the top of the station, respectively, in order to transfer the cargo at the same time.

There are various types of cargo transfer devices, the most typical of which is a method in which the cargo is transferred by pushing and pulling an extendable arm, and a method in which several transfer rollers are arranged in parallel like a roller conveyor. There is a method of transferring cargo by rotating and driving it.

In addition, many of these cargo transfer devices have a pair of left and right guides to restrict the movement of the cargo in the width direction perpendicular to the transfer direction when transferring the cargo between the transport vehicle and the station. They are arranged respectively.

Here, the above-mentioned conventional cargo transfer device will be briefly explained in the twelfth drawing. In the figure, 1 is a transport vehicle, 2 is a station, and the cargo transfer devices 3A and 3B are installed on the upper part of each of the transport vehicle 1 and the station 2. is provided. These cargo transfer devices 3
A and 3B are cargo load supporting parts 5 having an area on which a cargo or object 4 can be placed.
Left and right guides 6A, 7A and 6B, 7B are arranged on both sides of A, 5B to face each other at a predetermined interval, and the drive mechanism for moving and transferring the cargo 4 is As mentioned above, there are various types such as arm type and transfer roller type, so they are not shown in this figure.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) By the way, the conventional cargo transfer device 3A mentioned above.

3B, when the conveyance vehicle 1 that has traveled stops at a position adjacent to and opposite to the station 2, unless the system has a special positioning device that mechanically restricts the stopping position, the conveyance vehicle 1 is Since errors inevitably occur due to stopping accuracy, even if there is an error in the stopping position of the conveyance vehicle 1, as long as it is within a certain tolerance range, the delivery of the cargo 4 to and from the station 2 must be completed smoothly. It won't happen.

For this purpose, the left and right guides 6A, 7A and 6B are provided.

7B has inclined guide portions 6a, 7a and 6b, 7b that are tapered to each other formed at the end of the entrance/exit side in the cargo transfer direction, so that it is not only easy to receive the cargo 4 to be transferred. , left and right guides 6A, 7A and 68.78
It was necessary to set the mutual interval X to be larger than the width dimension Y of the cargo 4 plus the stopping error of the transport vehicle 1, with a margin.

In such conventional transfer devices 13A, 3B, the distance X between the left and right guides 6A, 7A and 6B, 7B is greatly influenced by the stopping accuracy of the carrier 1, and the larger the stopping error of the carrier 1, the more The interval X must be set with a margin larger than the width dimension Y of the cargo 4, and the larger the margin value of the interval X, the greater the variation in the receiving position of the cargo 4 due to transfer. On the transport vehicle 1 side, there is a problem in that the cargo 4 moves largely due to the photographing and acceleration/deceleration during traveling and is displaced, or strongly collides with the left and right guides 6A and 7A, resulting in damage and other negative effects. Also, if the baggage 4 is transferred from the station 2 to the transport vehicle 1 or between the transport vehicles 1, it may not be possible, but if the baggage 4 is transferred from the transport vehicle 1 to the station 2, the baggage 4 is placed at the fixed position on the station 2. If the baggage 4 is not accepted and deviates as described above, it will be a big problem if you try to take out the baggage 4 from there and automatically process it with a device that requires positional accuracy, such as a robot. was there.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above circumstances, and even if the permissible range of stopping accuracy of the transport vehicle is relatively large, it is possible to smoothly and accurately transfer cargo between the transport vehicle side and the station side without any hindrance. Moreover, there is not enough space between the left and right guides for the width of the cargo, and conventionally there is ample space between the left and right guides, which causes the cargo to drift during transportation, collide with the guides, and even cause damage to the station. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an extremely high-performance cargo transfer device that can prevent shifts and variations in the receiving position of cargo due to transfer.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the load transfer device of the present invention is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the load at the time of load transfer between the transport vehicle side and the station side. As left and right guides that restrict movement in the width direction, there are inclined guide parts at the end of the entrance/exit side in the cargo transfer direction that are widened from each other to facilitate receiving the cargo, and one of the left and right guides is fixed. Fixedly supported as a guide, the other opposing guide is movable and movable in the width direction, and is elastically supported such that the distance from the one fixed guide is equal to or smaller than the width of the load when no load is applied. It is characterized by being configured as follows.

(Function) With the above configuration, when the transport vehicle stops at a position adjacent to the station and transfers cargo between the two stations, even if there is an error in the stop position of the transport vehicle, the cargo advances slightly diagonally. The elastically supported movable guide of the left and right guides allows the cargo to be transferred while meandering, so that the cargo can be transferred smoothly between the carrier side and the station side without any hindrance. become. Furthermore, since there is no margin in the distance between the left and right guides relative to the width of the cargo, it is possible to reliably prevent the cargo from shifting or colliding with the guides during transportation, and to prevent shifts and variations in the receiving position of the cargo due to transfer. This prevents this from happening and allows the cargo to be transferred to the correct position at all times.

(Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. First, in Fig. 1, transport vehicle 1° station 2
．． Since the baggage 4 is the same as that shown in the 12th factor, it is given the same reference numeral. 13A.

Reference numeral 13B is a cargo transfer device of the present invention provided above the transport vehicle 1 and above the station 2. The luggage transfer devices 13A and 13B have left and right guides 16A facing each other on both sides of the luggage load support parts 15A and 15B, each having an area on which the luggage 4 can be placed.

17A, 16B, and 17B are arranged, and the drive mechanism for moving and transferring the cargo 4 is not shown in this figure as described above.

Here, the baggage load supporting parts 15A and 15B have a baggage 4
In order to move smoothly, a plurality of flexible direction supports 18A, 18B such as pole casters are provided, and the cargo 4 can be slid on these supports.

The left and right guides 16A, 17A, and 168° 178 are inclined guide portions 16a that taper toward each other at the ends on the entrance/exit side in the cargo transfer direction.

17a, 16b, and 17b are formed so that the cargo 4 to be transferred can be easily received. Further, one of the left and right guides (left side in the drawing) 16A and 16B is fixedly supported in a fixed position and serves as a fixed guide. The other guides 17A and 17B facing on the opposite side are not fixed but are movable guides that can be moved in the width direction perpendicular to the load transfer direction, and each has a pair of springs 19A and 19B from the outside. When pressed by, the one fixed guide 16A is in an unloaded state.

16B is elastically supported such that the distance Z from the baggage is equal to or smaller than the width dimension Y of the baggage (2≦Y). Note that a spring 19 elastically supports the movable guides 17A and 17B.
The spring forces of A and 19B move the cargo 4 to the transfer devices 13A and 13.
When moved by the drive mechanism section B, the luggage 4 is moved to the fixed guide 16A.

Although it is lightly pressed against the 16B side, the load 4 is deflected and escaped in the direction where the distance between the left and right guides increases without causing any obstruction to the movement of the load 4, and the load 4 is moved from the middle to the end of the transfer by the flexible directional support tool. The size is such that it can be slid onto the fixed guides 16A, 18B and pressed to a fixed position along the fixed guides 16A, 16B.

To explain the present invention in detail, for example, as shown in FIG. They are sandwiched together without any extra space. In this state, the conveyance vehicle 1 transports the baggage 4, stops at a position adjacent to and opposite to the station 2, and transfers the baggage 4 to the station 2 side by the baggage transfer devices 113A and 13B. The operation will be described below. First, as shown in FIG.
1 stops with no error at all with respect to station 2, the cargo transfer device between the transport vehicle 1 side and station 2 side!
The mutual center lines o1 and 02 of 13A and 13B are aligned on a straight line, and the baggage 4 is elastically supported from the baggage transfer device 13A on the transport vehicle 1 side to the baggage transfer device 13B on the station 2 side. Movable guides 17A, 1 movable in the width direction
While being lightly pressed against the fixed guides 16A, 16B by 7B, the paper is moved straight along the fixed guides 16A, 16B and transferred to the station 2 side.

In addition, if the transport vehicle 1 stops with an error in the width direction perpendicular to the load transfer direction with respect to the station 2, as shown in Fig. 2 (
As shown in a), the mutual centers 1ids and 02 of both cargo transfer devices 113A and 13B are shifted by Δ. In this state, first, the baggage 4 is advanced straight toward the station 2 along the fixed guide 16A of the transport vehicle side baggage transfer device 13A while being lightly pressed by the movable guide 17A, and then the left head of the top end of the baggage 4 is moved straight to the station 2 side. As shown in Figure (1)), when it comes into contact with the inclined guide portion 16b of the fixed guide 16B of the station side baggage transfer device a'13B, the baggage 4 tilts to the right and moves to the movable guide of the carrier side baggage transfer bag @13A. 17A is pushed out a little, and as the cargo 4 advances further, the leading stone head of the cargo 4 comes into contact with the movable guide 17B of the station side cargo transfer device 13B, as shown in FIG. 2(C), and the movable guide 17B is moved. Then, as shown in FIG. 2(d), when the baggage 4 is almost entering the baggage transfer device 13B on the station side, the right rear part of the baggage 4 is pushed forward by the baggage transfer device 13B on the transport vehicle side. Loading device 13A
While escaping at the inclined guide portion 17a of the movable guide 17A, the cargo 4 returns from the right-leaning state to a straight direction and advances, that is, the cargo 4 is advanced in a meandering manner, and the cargo 4 is moved toward the transport vehicle side. Transfer bag @ 13A is no longer subject to regulations, and baggage 4 is transferred to station side baggage transfer device 13B.
The transfer to the station side is completely completed as shown in FIG. 2(e) as the transfer is proceeded straight along the fixed guide 16B while being lightly pushed by the movable guide 17B. The transferred cargo 4 is pressed by the movable guide 17B to a fixed position along the fixed guide 17B of the station side transfer 1i113B, and is accurately stored without error or play.

Also, in Figure 3, the conveyor 1 is at an angle Δ with respect to the station 2.
Although the case is shown in which the cargo is stopped at an angle of θ, even in this case, the cargo 4 can be transferred by substantially the same effect as shown in FIGS. 2(a) to 2(e).

In addition, although the operation of transferring the baggage 4 from the transport vehicle 1 side to the station 2 side has been described above, the reverse is exactly the same.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Here, movable guides 27A and 27 made of leaf springs having self-elastic force on the transport vehicle 1 side and the station 2 side.
B is fixed guide 16A.

A baggage transfer device 113A is provided opposite to 16B.

13B, the movable guides 27A and 27B made of leaf springs are bent into an arc shape and both ends are attached to the support member 2OA.
, 20B, and both end sides thereof serve as inclined guide portions 27a and 27b of the baggage entrance/exit.

Even with this, when transferring cargo 4, the
) to (e), the movable guides 27A and 27B use their own elastic force to guide and advance the cargo 4 while lightly pressing it against the fixed guides 16A and 16B, and when the transfer is completed, the cargo 4 is moved toward the fixed guides. It can be stored in fixed positions along lines 16A and 16B, and the same effect as in the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

FIG. 6 shows the third embodiment of the present invention, and here, as mentioned above, only the play in the transfer direction and the transverse body width direction of the baggage 4 at the end of the transfer is eliminated and the baggage 4 is stored in a fixed position. In addition, so that the stop position of the cargo 4 in the transfer direction can always be regulated to a constant position, there are holes arranged near the ends of the left and right fixed guides 16A, 16B and the movable guides 17A, 17B according to the length of the cargo 4. and a convex stopper portion 16a'.

16b', 17a', and 17b' are provided,
The loaded baggage 4 is received by the elastic support of the movable guides 17A and 17B at the convex stopper portions 16a' at both ends.

It is sandwiched between 16b', 17a', and 17by, and is also positioned in the load transfer direction, so that in addition to the same effects as in the previous embodiment, the position of the load 4 after being transferred can be made more accurate. .

FIG. 7 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which the convex stopper portion 16a' of the third embodiment is shown.

16b', 17a', and 17b' are each provided with a roller 21, which allows for smoother positioning of the cargo 4 in the transfer direction than in the third embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention, in which the movable guide 37, which is elastically supported by a spring 39 as described above, moves only in the width direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the cargo 4. In order to minimize the deformation in the shearing direction within the spring 39, a pair of rod-shaped guide members 30, 31 are protruded from the back side of the movable guide 37 and from the fixed part side to face each other. With this configuration, the movable guide 37 is no longer dragged by the cargo and moves in the transfer direction when transferring the cargo, and the misalignment of the cargo can be more reliably corrected from the middle to the end of the cargo transfer. becomes.

FIG. 9 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention. Here, in order to achieve the same purpose as the fifth embodiment, a cylindrical guide is inserted from the fixed part side into a spring 39 that elastically supports a movable guide 37. The member 32 is provided protrudingly, and a rod-shaped guide member 34 that slides into the guide member 33 is provided protrudingly from the back surface of the movable guide 37, which has an effect equal to or greater than that of the fifth practical example. will be obtained.

FIG. 10 shows a seventh embodiment of the present invention, in which the movable guide is divided into two parts 478 and 47b, and both movable guides 47a.

The movable guides 47a and 47b are pivotally connected to each other by fixed pins 40 and arranged in a row, and the front and rear ends in the transfer direction are provided with hook-shaped stoppers and guides. The members 41 and 42 are used to prevent the movable guides 47a from moving inward beyond a predetermined range.
, 47b are each elastically supported from the back side by springs 43 and 44. Even in this case, the same effects as those of the previous embodiment can be obtained. However, the pin 40 is positioned outside the width through which the cargo to be transferred passes.

Furthermore, FIG. 11 shows an eighth embodiment of the present invention, in which a hook-shaped stopper/guide member 51.5 is attached to the front and rear ends of the movable guide 57 in the load transfer direction, which is elastically supported by springs 59.59.
2, the structure is such that it does not move inward beyond a predetermined range and does not move in the transfer direction, and even with this structure, the same effects as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the present invention is made as described above, when the transport vehicle stops at a station or an adjacent opposing position and transfers cargo between the two, even if there is an igI difference in the stopping position of the transport vehicle,
The elastically supported movable guides on the left and right guides allow the cargo to be transferred while traveling slightly diagonally and meandering, so the cargo can be transferred between the transport vehicle side and the station side without any hindrance. This will allow for smooth transfer.

Furthermore, since there is no margin in the distance between the left and right guides relative to the width of the cargo, it is possible to reliably prevent the cargo from shifting or colliding with the guides during transportation, and to prevent shifts and variations in the receiving position of the cargo due to transfer. A very high-performance cargo transfer device is obtained that can prevent such problems and always accurately transfer cargo to a fixed position.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show the first example of actual drops of the present invention,
Figure 1 is a plan view, Figures 2 (a) to (e) are action explanatory diagrams showing in order the load transfer situation when the conveyance vehicle stops with an error, and Figure 3 is the conveyance vehicle tilted and stopped. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 5(a) to (e) are diagrams illustrating the cargo transfer situation in the second embodiment. 6 is a plan view showing the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a fifth practical example of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a plan view of only the movable guide portion showing the sixth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of only the movable guide portion showing the seventh embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a plan view of only the movable guide portion showing the eighth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a conventional example. 1... Transport vehicle, 2... Station, 4... Luggage, 13A, 13B... Luggage transfer device, 16A, 16B
...Fixed guide, 17A, 178.27A, 27B. 37.47a, 47b, 57... Movable guide (27A
, 27B...Movable guide made of leaf spring), 16a, 16b
, 17a, 17b27a, 27b... inclined guide portion,
16a', 16b', 17a'. 17b'...Convex stopper part, 18A, 18B...
Flexible direction support, 19A, 19B, 39.49°59・
...Spring, 21...Roller, 30, 31.33°34
．． 41.42.51.51...Guide member, Y...Luggage width, 2...Left and right guide spacing. Applicant's representative Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 (a > (b) (C) Figure 2 (a) (b) (C') (d) (e) Figure 5 Figure 7 Yu 12

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) Left and right guides are provided on the transport vehicle that transports the cargo and the station on the ground side, respectively, to restrict movement in the width direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the cargo. In a baggage transfer device that transfers baggage between One of them is fixedly supported as a fixed guide, and the other opposing it is movable and movable in the width direction, and when no load is applied, the distance from the one fixed guide is equal to or larger than the width of the cargo. A cargo transfer device characterized by being configured to be elastically supported in a state where it becomes smaller. (2) The cargo transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the movable guide is elastically supported by a spring. (3) The cargo transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the movable guide is composed of a leaf spring. (4) The cargo transfer device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the left and right guides has a convex stopper portion for positioning the received cargo in the transfer direction. (5) The cargo transfer device according to claim 4, wherein the convex stopper portion is constructed by providing a roller. (6) The item according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the movable guide is limited in movement only in the width direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the item by a guide member. Transfer equipment.