JP7580314B2 - Transport System - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a transport system.

In recent years, technologies have been proposed for automatically transporting items stored on shelves in factories or warehouses. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a lift mechanism that automatically moves a robot drive unit that can be used to transport items across floors.

Special table 2019-529284 publication

In a real environment, goods can be transported not only vertically but also horizontally. However, the lift mechanism described in Patent Document 1 had the problem that it could not transport goods horizontally.

The present disclosure aims to solve the above problem and provide a transport system that can transport objects in both vertical and horizontal directions.

The transport system according to the present disclosure includes a self-propelled cart capable of moving with an object to be transported on it, a support bar inserted into a hole provided in the self-propelled cart to support the self-propelled cart, a number of shelves arranged side by side vertically and horizontally, each of which stores an object to be transported, a number of vertical grooves provided in the wall between adjacent shelves to the left and right and holding the support bar so that it can be moved up and down, a number of horizontal grooves provided in the wall between the upper and lower shelves and holding the support bar so that it can be moved left and right, a number of belt conveyors provided in the wall between the shelves and moving the support bar protruding from the vertical grooves and horizontal grooves along the vertical grooves and horizontal grooves, and a control unit that controls the multiple belt conveyors to move the self-propelled cart supported by the support bar along the vertical grooves and horizontal grooves.

According to the present disclosure, there are provided a plurality of shelves on which the transported objects are stored, a plurality of vertical grooves provided in the wall between adjacent shelves to the left and right and which hold the support rods so that they can move up and down, a plurality of horizontal grooves provided in the wall between the upper and lower shelves and which hold the support rods so that they can move left and right, a plurality of belt conveyors provided in the wall between the shelves and which move the support rods protruding from the vertical and horizontal grooves along the vertical and horizontal grooves, and by controlling the movement of the support rods by the plurality of belt conveyors, a self-propelled cart that is supported by the support rods and can move with the transported objects on it is moved along the vertical and horizontal grooves. As a result, the transport system according to the present disclosure can transport the objects in the vertical and horizontal directions.

1 is a perspective view showing a transport system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a self-propelled carriage in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the transport system according to the first embodiment. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a process for mounting a self-propelled cart on a support bar; FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of a driving process of a support bar by a slide tire and a belt conveyor. FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overview of a transport process of the transport system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing the internal configuration of a portion indicated by the reference symbol E in FIG. 6 . FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of a transport process using two connected self-propelled carriages;

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a transport system 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a self-propelled cart 2. In FIG. 1, the transport system 1 is a system that transports an object 100 stored on shelves 3A to 3H using a self-propelled cart 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the self-propelled cart 2 is, for example, an autonomous mobile transport robot (AMR) having a plate-like appearance. The self-propelled cart 2 has a loading platform 2B on which the object 100 is placed, wheels 2C for moving on a floor surface, and a coupling section 2D for coupling two self-propelled carts 2. A plurality of self-propelled carts 2 can be connected via the coupling section 2D.

As shown in FIG. 1, the shelves 3A-3H are arranged vertically and horizontally, and the transported object 100 to be placed on the self-propelled cart 2 is arranged on the shelves. Walls 4A-4C are provided between adjacent shelves, and a wall 5 is provided between the upper and lower shelves. Two vertical grooves 6 are provided adjacent to each other on the walls 4A-4C. Furthermore, a horizontal groove 7 is provided on the wall 5. The vertical grooves 6 hold the support rod 8 so that it can move up and down. The horizontal grooves 7 hold the support rod 8 so that it can move left and right. The support rod 8 is a rod-shaped member that is inserted into a hole 2A provided on the self-propelled cart 2 shown in FIG. 2 and supports the self-propelled cart 2. The belt conveyor 9 is provided on the shelves 3A-3H, and moves the transported object 100 to the outside of the shelves.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the conveying system 1. As shown in Figure 3, the conveying system 1 includes a control unit 10, a support rod drive unit 11, a first belt conveyor drive unit 12A, a second belt conveyor drive unit 12B, a third belt conveyor drive unit 13, and a trolley control unit 14.

The control unit 10 controls the support rod drive unit 11, the first belt conveyor drive unit 12A, the second belt conveyor drive unit 12B, the third belt conveyor drive unit 13, and the carriage control unit 14. For example, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of the process of attaching the self-propelled carriage 2 to the support rod 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 10 controls the carriage control unit 14 to move the self-propelled carriage 2 toward the vertical groove portion 6, thereby inserting the support rod 8 into the hole portion 2A of the self-propelled carriage 2.

The cart control unit 14 transmits a control signal to the self-propelled cart 2, for example, wirelessly. The self-propelled cart 2 drives the wheels 2C to move in accordance with the control signal from the cart control unit 14. The self-propelled cart 2 is equipped with a sensor that detects obstacles in the vicinity, and performs autonomous driving by automatically changing the travel path to avoid obstacles detected by the sensor. In addition, the loading platform 2B of the self-propelled cart 2 can carry an object 100 to be transported, and the self-propelled cart 2 can move with the object 100 loaded on the loading platform 2B.

In FIG. 4, inside the wall portion indicated by the reference symbol 15, slide tires 11A, 11B, and a belt conveyor 16 are provided. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of the drive process of the support rod 8 by the slide tires 11A, 11B, and the belt conveyor 16. As shown in FIG. 5, the support rod 8 has teeth on the portion that comes into contact with the belt conveyor 16.

The support rod drive unit 11 rotates and drives the sliding tires 11A and 11B, which are provided in opposing positions. When the sliding tires 11A and 11B rotate in the directions indicated by the arrows A and B while sandwiching the end of the support rod 8 from above and below, as shown in FIG. 5, the frictional force at the contact point between the sliding tires and the support rod 8 drives the support rod 8 in the direction protruding from the vertical groove portion 6.

In addition, when the sliding tires 11A and 11B rotate in the opposite direction to the direction indicated by the arrows A and B while clamping the end of the support bar 8 from above and below, the frictional force at the contact point between the sliding tires and the support bar 8 drives the support bar 8 in the direction to be accommodated in the vertical groove portion 6. The support bar drive unit 11 rotates the sliding tires 11A and 11B according to the control of the control unit 10.

For example, the sliding tires 11A and 11B driven by the support rod drive unit 11 are provided at a position close to the floor surface inside the walls 4A to 4C, that is, at the mounting position where the self-propelled carriage 2 is mounted to the support rod 8, as shown in FIG. 4. The sliding tires 11A and 11B may also be provided at the intersection position where the vertical groove portion 6 and the horizontal groove portion 7 intersect.

The control unit 10 controls the support rod drive unit 11 to drive the support rod 8 in a direction in which it is accommodated in the vertical groove portion 6 when the self-propelled cart 2 is not attached to the support rod 8, and to drive the support rod 8 in a direction in which it protrudes from the vertical groove portion 6 when the self-propelled cart 2 is attached to the support rod 8. When the control unit 10 controls the support rod drive unit 11 to accommodate the support rod 8 in the vertical groove portion 6 when the self-propelled cart 2 is not attached to the support rod 8, the support rod 8 does not protrude toward the floor side on which the self-propelled cart 2 travels, making it possible to effectively use the space on the floor side.

As shown in FIG. 5, the belt conveyor 16 has a belt with teeth that engage with the teeth on the support bar 8. Two belt conveyors 16 are provided for each vertical groove section 6, and are arranged facing each other inside the walls 4A to 4C. Where the support bar 8 comes into contact with the two opposing belt conveyors 16, the teeth of the support bar 8 and the belt conveyor 16 engage with each other. As a result, when the belt conveyor 16 moves in the direction indicated by arrow C in FIG. 5, the support bar 8 moves in the direction indicated by arrow C, i.e. upward, while rotating in the direction indicated by arrow D.

In addition, as the belt conveyor 16 moves in the opposite direction to the direction indicated by the arrow C in FIG. 5, the support bar 8 moves in the opposite direction to the direction indicated by the arrow C, i.e., downward, while rotating in the opposite direction to the direction indicated by the arrow D. The first belt conveyor driving unit 12A drives the two belt conveyors 16 arranged opposite each other in one vertical groove 6 in the same direction under the control of the control unit 10. This makes it possible to move the support bar 8 up and down in the vertical groove 6. If a self-propelled cart 2 is attached to the support bar 8, the self-propelled cart 2 moves up and down along the vertical groove 6.

Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of the conveying process of the conveying system 1. Figure 7 is an enlarged view showing the internal configuration of the location E in Figure 6. The location E in Figure 6 is the location where the vertical groove portion 6 and the horizontal groove portion 7 intersect. As shown in Figure 7, two belt conveyors 17 are arranged facing each other inside the wall portion 5 between the upper and lower shelf portions. The belt conveyors 17 have a belt with teeth that engage with teeth provided on the support bar 8.

At the portion where the support bar 8 comes into contact with the two opposing belt conveyors 17, the teeth of the support bar 8 and the belt conveyors 17 engage with each other. As the two opposing belt conveyors 17 move in the same direction on the side where the support bar 8 comes into contact, the support bar 8 moves in the direction in which the belt conveyors 17 move. The second belt conveyor drive unit 12B drives the two belt conveyors 17 arranged opposite each other in one horizontal groove section 7 in the same direction according to the control of the control unit 10. This makes it possible to move the support bar 8 left and right in the horizontal groove section 7.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when moving the support bar 8 from the vertical groove 6 to the horizontal groove 7, the first belt conveyor drive unit 12A drives the two belt conveyors 16 facing each other in the vertical groove 6 in the same direction as indicated by the arrows. Furthermore, the second belt conveyor drive unit 12B drives the two belt conveyors 17 facing each other in the horizontal groove 7 in the same direction as indicated by the arrows. This moves the support bar 8 from the vertical groove 6 to the horizontal groove 7. If a self-propelled cart 2 is attached to the support bar 8, the self-propelled cart 2 moves from the vertical groove 6 to the horizontal groove 7.

The control unit 10 may control the support rod drive unit 11, the first belt conveyor drive unit 12A, and the second belt conveyor drive unit 12B to move the support rod 8, which does not protrude from the vertical groove portion 6 and the horizontal groove portion 7, along the vertical groove portion 6 and the horizontal groove portion 7, and to protrude the support rod 8 at the mounting position of the self-propelled cart 2. This makes it possible to prevent the support rod 8 from protruding while it is being moved without the self-propelled cart 2 being mounted, and to protrude only at the mounting position of the self-propelled cart 2.

The third belt conveyor driving unit 13 drives the belt conveyors 9 provided inside each of the shelves 3A to 3H shown in FIG. 1 under the control of the control unit 10. For example, a sensor that detects that the transported object 100 has been placed inside the shelves 3A to 3H is provided, and the detection information of the transported object 100 detected by the sensor is output to the control unit 10. The detection information of the transported object 100 includes the size and quantity of the transported object 100 and identification information that identifies the shelf on which it is placed.

The control unit 10 uses the identification information included in the detection information of the transported object 100 to determine which shelf unit among the shelf units 3A-3H the transported object 100 is placed on. The control unit 10 controls the first belt conveyor drive unit 12A and the second belt conveyor drive unit 12B to move the self-propelled cart 2 attached to the support bar 8 along the vertical groove unit 6 and the horizontal groove unit 7 to the outlet opening of the determined shelf unit. The control unit 10 then controls the third belt conveyor drive unit 13 to drive the belt conveyor 9 to move the transported object 100 to the loading platform unit 2B of the self-propelled cart 2.

Thereafter, the control unit 10 controls the first belt conveyor driving unit 12A and the second belt conveyor driving unit 12B to move the self-propelled cart 2 with the transported object 100 placed on the loading platform 2B to a position where the wheels 2C come into contact with the floor surface. Next, the control unit 10 controls the cart control unit 14 to move the self-propelled cart 2 in a direction in which the support rod 8 comes out of the hole 2A, thereby releasing the attachment of the self-propelled cart 2 to the support rod 8. As a result, the self-propelled cart 2 travels on the floor surface with the transported object 100 placed on the loading platform 2B, and moves to a work position for the transported object 100.
In addition, the self-propelled cart 2 can process the transported object 100 using the loading platform portion 2B as a workbench.

As shown in FIG. 4, two adjacent vertical grooves 6 are provided on the walls 4A to 4C, and two belt conveyors 16 are provided facing each other in each vertical groove 6. Since the two vertical grooves 6 are adjacent to each other, the conveying system 1 can move two adjacent self-propelled carriages 2 up and down simultaneously or by passing each other. This allows the size of the structure made up of multiple shelves to be reduced by the amount that the two vertical grooves 6 are adjacent to each other.

Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of the transport process using two connected self-propelled carts 2. As shown in Figure 8, two self-propelled carts 2 connected by a coupling part 2D can be moved up and down and left and right at the same time. As a result, even if one self-propelled cart 2 cannot transport two transported objects 100, multiple transported objects 100 can be transported at once by using multiple self-propelled carts 2 connected together.

The control unit 10, support rod drive unit 11, first belt conveyor drive unit 12A, second belt conveyor drive unit 12B, third belt conveyor drive unit 13, and cart control unit 14 of the conveying system 1 are realized by processing circuits. In other words, the conveying system 1 is equipped with a processing circuit for executing the processing by each of the components described above. The processing circuit may be dedicated hardware, or may be a CPU that executes a program stored in memory.

As described above, the conveying system 1 according to the first embodiment includes shelves 3A-3H on which the transported object 100 is stored, vertical grooves 6 provided in the walls between adjacent shelves to the left and right and holding the support rod 8 so that it can move up and down, horizontal grooves 7 provided in the walls between the upper and lower shelves and holding the support rod 8 so that it can move left and right, belt conveyors 16 and 17 provided in the walls between the shelves and moving the support rod 8 protruding from the vertical grooves 6 and horizontal grooves 7 along the vertical grooves 6 and horizontal grooves 7, and by controlling the movement of the support rod 8 by the belt conveyors 16 and 17, the self-propelled cart 2 supported by the support rod 8 and capable of moving with the transported object 100 on it is moved along the vertical grooves 6 and horizontal grooves 7. As a result, the conveying system 1 can transport the transported object 100 in the vertical and horizontal directions.

The conveying system 1 according to the first embodiment includes a support rod drive unit 11 that moves the support rod 8 in a direction in which it protrudes from the vertical groove portion 6 and the horizontal groove portion 7, and in a direction in which it is stored in the vertical groove portion 6 and the horizontal groove portion 7. The control unit 10 controls the support rod drive unit 11, the belt conveyor 16, and the belt conveyor 17 to move the support rod 8, which is not protruding from the vertical groove portion 6 and the horizontal groove portion 7, along the vertical groove portion 6 and the horizontal groove portion 7, and to protrude the support rod 8 at the mounting position of the self-propelled cart 2. In this way, the conveying system 1 does not protrude the support rod 8 while the conveying system 1 is moving in a state in which the self-propelled cart 2 is not mounted, and can protrude only at the mounting position of the self-propelled cart 2.

In the transport system 1 according to the first embodiment, two vertical grooves 6 are provided adjacent to each other on each side wall of the shelf. This allows the transport system 1 to simultaneously move adjacent self-propelled carriages 2 up and down, and also allows them to move past each other up and down. In addition, the size of the structure made up of multiple shelves can be reduced by the amount that two vertical grooves 6 are adjacent to each other.

In the conveying system 1 according to the first embodiment, the control unit 10 controls the movement of the support rods 8 by the belt conveyors 16 and 17, thereby moving the self-propelled carts 2, which are supported by the support rods 8 and are connected together, along the vertical grooves 6 and horizontal grooves 7. This allows the conveying system 1 to increase the amount of goods that can be conveyed at one time, enabling efficient conveying.

In addition, any of the components of the embodiments may be modified or omitted.

1 conveying system, 2 self-propelled cart, 2A hole, 2B loading platform, 2C wheels, 2D joint, 3A-3H shelf, 4A-4C, 5 wall, 6 vertical groove, 7 horizontal groove, 8 support rod, 9 belt conveyor, 10 control unit, 11 support rod drive unit, 11A slide tire, 11B slide tire, 12A first belt conveyor drive unit, 12B second belt conveyor drive unit, 13 third belt conveyor drive unit, 14 cart control unit, 16 belt conveyor, 17 belt conveyor, 100 conveyed object.

Claims (4)

A self-propelled cart that can carry the transported object,
A support rod that is inserted into a hole provided in the self-propelled carriage to support the self-propelled carriage;
A plurality of shelves arranged vertically and horizontally on which the transported objects to be placed on the self-propelled carriage are placed;
A plurality of vertical grooves are provided on the wall between the shelf portions adjacent to each other in the left and right direction, and hold the support rod so that the support rod can move up and down;
A plurality of lateral grooves are provided on a wall between the upper and lower shelves to hold the support rod movably in the left and right directions;
a plurality of belt conveyors provided on wall portions between the shelf portions and configured to move the support rods protruding from the vertical grooves and the horizontal grooves along the vertical grooves and the horizontal grooves;
a control unit that controls the plurality of belt conveyors to move the self-propelled carriage supported by the support rods along the vertical grooves and the horizontal grooves;
A transport system comprising: a support rod driving unit that moves the support rod in a direction in which the support rod protrudes from the vertical groove portion and the horizontal groove portion and in a direction in which the support rod is accommodated in the vertical groove portion and the horizontal groove portion,
The conveying system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the support rod drive unit and the belt conveyor to move the support rod, which is not protruding from the vertical groove portion and the horizontal groove portion, along the vertical groove portion and the horizontal groove portion, and to protrude the support rod at the mounting position of the self-propelled cart. 3. The transport system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein two of the vertical grooves are provided adjacent to each other on each side wall of the shelf portion. The conveying system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the control unit controls the movement of the support rods by the multiple belt conveyors, thereby moving the self-propelled carts, which are supported by the support rods and are connected in multiple units, along the vertical grooves and the horizontal grooves.

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