WO2023042693A1

WO2023042693A1 - Automatic conveyor apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2023042693A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/033163
Authority: WO
Inventors: 智也市川; 裕介浜地; 陸大田原
Original assignee: 株式会社アマダ
Priority date: 2021-09-15
Filing date: 2022-09-02
Publication date: 2023-03-23
Also published as: JP2023042914A

Abstract

Provided is an automatic conveyor apparatus (1) which loads, in a facility, an object to be conveyed, runs on electric power of a charged battery (7), and comprises an actuator (19) driven by compressed air, and air supply devices (9-17) which supply compressed air to the actuator (19).

Description

Automatic transport device

The present disclosure relates to an automatic transport device.

Conventionally, Patent Document 1 has been disclosed as an automatic guided vehicle that runs on electric power from a battery. In the automatic guided vehicle disclosed in Patent Literature 1, an electric actuator is rotated to expand and contract the bumper.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-37776

　In conventional automatic guided vehicles, since the vehicle is electric, an electric actuator was used for the actuator mounted on the vehicle. However, in order to drive the electric actuator, it is necessary to install gears and controllers, so there is a problem that the number of components increases and expensive parts become necessary, increasing the cost of the entire device. there were.

An automatic transport device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an automatic transport device that loads an object to be transported in a facility and runs on electric power from a charged battery, and includes an actuator driven by compressed air, and the actuator and an air supply device for supplying compressed air.

Since the automatic transport device with the above configuration drives the actuators with the compressed air supplied from the air supply device, there is no need to use electric actuators, and it is possible to eliminate the need to install gears and controllers.

According to the automatic transport device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, since it is not necessary to install a gear or a controller for driving the electric actuator, the number of component parts can be reduced and expensive parts can be eliminated, making the entire device Cost can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of the automatic transport device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which conveyed articles are loaded on the automatic conveying device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air supply device provided in the automatic transport device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the automatic transport device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of a modified example of the automatic transport device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the structure of a modified example of the automatic transport device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of a modification of the automatic transport device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air supply device provided in the automatic transport device according to the second embodiment.

[First embodiment]
A first embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

[Structure of automatic carrier]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of an automatic transport device according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1 , the automatic carrier 1 is an autonomously traveling automatic guided vehicle (AGV: Automated Guided Vehicle) having drive wheels 3 . Specifically, the automatic transport device 1 is an unmanned transport vehicle that carries objects to be transported in a facility such as a factory or a warehouse and runs on electric power from a battery 7 charged by a charger 5 .

The charger 5 is a power receiver for wirelessly charging the battery 7, and receives power from a power supply installed on the factory side via a power feeder. However, the battery 7 may be charged by connecting terminals directly instead of wireless charging.

The battery 7 supplies the power required to drive the automatic transport device 1. The automatic transport device 1 moves to a charging station installed in the facility and charges the battery 7 .

Although not shown, the automatic carrier device 1 is equipped with various controllers, sensors, and the like that are installed in ordinary automatic carrier vehicles. For example, it is equipped with a controller for traveling, a controller for raising and lowering the transported object, sensors for detecting surrounding objects such as cameras and lasers, a charging unit, an elevating mechanism for raising and lowering the transported object, a wireless unit, and the like.

The automatic transport device 1 also includes an actuator driven by compressed air and an air supply device that supplies compressed air to the actuator. In FIG. 1, the actuator and the air supply device among the components mounted on the automatic transport device 1 are shown.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air supply device includes a coupler 9, a residual pressure release valve 11, a pressure tank 13, a regulator 15, and a directional control valve 17. An actuator driven by compressed air is the pneumatic cylinder 19 . In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the pneumatic cylinder 19 is driven by compressed air from an air supply device to operate the anti-slip guard 21 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the anti-slip guard 21 is an L-shaped metal fitting that prevents the transported object 23 from slipping when the transported object 23 such as a product or a work is loaded on the automatic transport device 1. It is a device that holds down corners. When the automatic transport device 1 moves, the L-shaped fitting rises and holds the corner of the transported object 23 so that the transported object 23 does not shift. On the other hand, when the automatic carrier device 1 arrives at the intended destination, the L-shaped fitting descends and the upper surface of the automatic carrier device 1 becomes flat, so that the article 23 can be moved freely.

Next, a specific configuration of the air supply device will be described with reference to FIG. The coupler 9 is a filling port that is connected to a supply port 31 to which compressed air is supplied from a compressor installed in a facility such as a factory, and that fills the pressure tank 13 with compressed air.

Here, the positions of the charger 5 and the coupler 9 are arranged corresponding to the positions of the feeder connected to the power supply of the facility and the position of the compressed air supply port 31 installed in the facility. Therefore, the charger 5 and the coupler 9 can be simultaneously connected to the facility-side feeder and the compressed air supply port 31, respectively. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the charger 5 and the coupler 9 are arranged on the same side of the automatic transport device 1, and the power supply and the compressed air supply port 31 are arranged side by side on the factory side, and the charger 5 and the coupler are arranged side by side. Install at the same interval as 9. Thus, by stopping the automatic transport device 1 at a predetermined position of the charging station, charging of the battery 7 and filling of the pressure tank 13 can be performed at the same time.

The residual pressure discharge valve 11 is a valve for manually releasing the pressure in the pressure tank 13 before maintenance in order to prevent the automatic transport device 1 from moving unexpectedly when performing maintenance.

The pressure tank 13 is a container that stores compressed air, and has the capacity of compressed air required for one process for conveying the article 23 to be conveyed. For example, when transporting a work in a factory, the automatic transport device 1 moves from the standby charging station to the processing machine, loads the work on the processing machine, and transfers the work to the processing machine for the next process. It is one process to transport and return to the charging station. The capacity of the pressure tank 13 is set so as to accommodate the compressed air required to move the anti-slip guard 21 up and down in this process. As a result, the capacity of the pressure tank 13 can be minimized, so the size of the pressure tank 13 can be reduced.

Also, the capacity of the pressure tank 13 may be a capacity that can accommodate the compressed air required between charging the battery 7 . For example, when the automatic transport device 1 is charged at intervals of 30 minutes, the capacity of the pressure tank 13 is set so as to accommodate the compressed air required to move the anti-slip guard 21 up and down in 30 minutes. may As a result, the time for charging the battery 7 can be used to fill the pressure tank 13, thus saving time.

Furthermore, the capacity of the pressure tank 13 may be larger than the capacity of the compressed air required for one process. In this case, a pressure sensor may be installed in the pressure tank 13, and compressed air may be replenished at the timing when the detected value of the pressure sensor drops below a predetermined value.

The regulator 15 reduces the pressure of the compressed air discharged from the pressure tank 13 to the pressure used by the pneumatic cylinder 19.

The direction control valve 17 is a valve that switches the direction of the compressed air sent to the pneumatic cylinder 19 . The directional control valve 17 switches the direction of the compressed air to be sent to the pneumatic cylinder 19 depending on whether the anti-slip guard 21 is raised or lowered. When it is time to operate the anti-slip guard 21, the direction control valve 17 is switched by the controller mounted on the automatic transport device 1, and the anti-slip guard 21 is raised or lowered.

The pneumatic cylinder 19 is an actuator driven by compressed air, is connected to the anti-slip guard 21, and moves the anti-slip guard 21 up and down by moving the rod in and out. A speed controller is provided in the pneumatic cylinder 19 to adjust the operating speed of the rod.

[Operation of automatic transport device]
Next, the operation of the automatic transport device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the automatic transport device 1 stands by in a state of being stopped at the charging station, and moves when the transport process starts. For example, in the transport process, the automatic transport device 1 moves from the charging station to the processing machine installed in the factory, loads the work with the processing machine, transports it to the processing machine that performs the next process, and transports it there. Unloading completes the transport process. During the transfer process, compressed air is sent from the pressure tank 13 as necessary to move the anti-slip guard 21 up and down. Further, since the automatic transport device 1 is of an autonomous traveling type, it automatically travels along a preset route at a predetermined speed while estimating its own position during the transport process.

When the transportation process is completed, the automatic transportation device 1 moves to the charging station, and when it stops at the charging station, it replenishes compressed air and charges the battery 7. If the capacity of the pressure tank 13 is the capacity for one transfer process, the compressed air is replenished each time it returns to the charging station. It is not necessary to charge the battery 7 after each transfer process, and the battery 7 may be charged at the timing when the charge amount drops below a predetermined value.

In addition, if the capacity of the pressure tank 13 is larger than the capacity for one transfer process, the compressed air can be replenished at the timing when the remaining amount of compressed air decreases. For example, if the capacity of the pressure tank 13 is the capacity of the compressed air required between charging the battery 7, the compressed air can be replenished at the same time the battery 7 is charged. Further, when a pressure sensor is installed in the pressure tank 13, compressed air can be replenished when the detected value of the pressure sensor drops below a predetermined value.

[Modification]
In this embodiment, the pneumatic cylinder 19 operates the anti-slip guard 21 , but it is also possible to operate something other than the anti-slip guard 21 with the pneumatic cylinder 19 . For example, as shown in FIG. 5, it is also possible to operate the connection metal fittings 53 that are used when the automatic transport device 1 pulls a cage-type carriage 51 . In this case, the connection fittings 53 are raised by the pneumatic cylinders 19 when the carriage 51 is connected, and the connection fittings 53 are lowered by the pneumatic cylinders 19 when the carriage 51 is disconnected.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6, when a roller conveyor 61 is mounted on the automatic transport device 1, the pneumatic cylinder 19 may be installed as a stopper. In this case, if the rod of the pneumatic cylinder 19 is lifted, it can be used as a stopper for the roller conveyor 61 .

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the pneumatic cylinder 19 may be used as an air jack. This air jack jacks up the vehicle body of the automatic carrier 1 by extending the rod of the pneumatic cylinder 19 downward when the automatic carrier 1 is to be maintained.

[Effect of the first embodiment]
As described in detail above, the automatic transport device 1 according to the present embodiment includes actuators driven by compressed air and an air supply device that supplies compressed air to the actuators. This eliminates the need to install gears and controllers by using pneumatically driven actuators instead of electric actuators, reducing the number of components and eliminating the need for expensive parts, reducing the overall cost of the equipment. can be reduced.

In particular, when an electric actuator is installed for simple reciprocating motion such as the anti-slip guard 21, the electric actuator needs to be provided with a gear and a controller for controlling the operation of the actuator. be. As a result, the number of components increases and expensive parts are also required, resulting in an increase in the cost of the entire device. However, if the actuator is driven by compressed air, there is no need to install gears or controllers, and it is possible to reduce the number of components and eliminate the need for expensive parts, thereby reducing the cost of the entire device.

Also, in the automatic transport device 1 according to this embodiment, the air supply device includes the pressure tank 13 . As a result, since the actuator can be driven by the compressed air filled in the pressure tank 13, the number of components can be reduced with a simple configuration, and expensive parts can be eliminated, thereby reducing the cost of the entire device.

Furthermore, in the automatic transport device 1 according to this embodiment, the capacity of the pressure tank 13 is the volume of compressed air required in one process for transporting the transported object. As a result, the capacity of the pressure tank 13 can be minimized, so the size of the pressure tank 13 can be reduced.

Also, in the automatic transport device 1 according to this embodiment, the capacity of the pressure tank 13 is the capacity of the compressed air required between charging the battery 7 . As a result, the pressure tank 13 can be filled while the battery 7 is being charged.

Furthermore, in the automatic transport device 1 according to the present embodiment, the positions of the charger 5 and the coupler 9 are arranged corresponding to the position of the power supply connected to the power source of the facility and the position of the compressed air supply port of the facility, respectively. are doing. Thereby, charging of the battery 7 and replenishment of the pressure tank 13 can be performed at the same place at the same time.

Further, in the automatic transport device 1 according to this embodiment, pneumatic cylinders are used as actuators driven by compressed air. As a result, the actuator can be realized with an inexpensive configuration, so that the cost of the entire device can be reduced.
[Second embodiment]
A second embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

[Structure of automatic carrier]
Although the pressure tank 13 was included in the air supply device in the first embodiment, the pressure tank 13 is replaced by a compressor in the present embodiment. A specific configuration of the air supply device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. However, since the configuration other than the air supply device is the same as that of the first embodiment, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 8, the air supply device includes a compressor 81, a regulator 15, and a directional control valve 17. The compressor 81 discharges compressed air having a preset pressure when the automatic transport device 1 is started. Compressed air discharged from the compressor 81 is decompressed by the regulator 15 and the direction control valve 17 is switched to drive the pneumatic cylinder 19 and operate the anti-slip guard 21 as in the first embodiment.

[Effect of Second Embodiment]
As described above in detail, in the automatic transport device 1 according to this embodiment, the air supply device includes the compressor 81 . As a result, the actuator can be driven by the compressed air discharged from the compressor 81, so that the number of components can be reduced with a simple configuration, and expensive parts can be eliminated, thereby reducing the cost of the entire device.

It should be noted that the above-described embodiment is an example of the present invention. For this reason, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and even if it is a form other than this embodiment, as long as it does not deviate from the technical idea according to the present invention, according to design etc. Of course, various modifications are possible.

The disclosure of this application relates to the subject matter described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-150336 filed on September 15, 2021, and the entire disclosure content thereof is incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

An automatic transport device that loads objects to be transported in a facility and runs on electric power from a charged battery,
an actuator driven by compressed air;
and an air supply device that supplies compressed air to the actuator.
The automatic transport device according to claim 1, wherein the air supply device includes a pressure tank.
The automatic conveying device according to claim 2, wherein the capacity of the pressure tank is the capacity of the compressed air required in one process for conveying the conveyed object.
The automatic transport device according to claim 2, wherein the capacity of the pressure tank is the capacity of the compressed air required between charging the batteries.
The positions of the charger for charging the battery and the filling port for filling the pressure tank with the compressed air are the positions of the feeder connected to the power source of the facility and the position of the compressed air supply port of the facility, respectively. An automatic transport device according to any one of claims 2 to 4 arranged correspondingly.
The automatic transport device according to claim 1, wherein the air supply device includes a compressor.
The automatic transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the actuator is a pneumatic cylinder.