JP7609756B2 - Transport System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a transport system.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes an empty core recovery system that recovers the winding core (empty core) of an empty web roll by pulling out the web from the web roll.

The air core recovery system includes a transport vehicle that carries the air cores, and a transfer device that transfers the air cores from the transport vehicle to a dolly. The transport vehicle is an autonomous transport robot whose wheels are driven by computer-controlled motors.

Then, the transport car carrying the hollow cores is made to travel along the travel path and is stopped alongside the transport destination (next to the leading end of the roller conveyor) located midway along the travel path with a predetermined relative distance between them, and the hollow cores on the transport car are pushed out by a first extruder to be moved onto the roller conveyor, and the hollow cores transported by the roller conveyor are pushed out by a second extruder to be placed on the cart.

By repeating this process, when a predetermined number of empty cores are loaded onto the trolley, the trolley is moved to the empty core stacking section and removed.

JP 2005-41630 A

In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, due to the road surface conditions of the travel path, wear conditions of the wheels of the transport vehicle, etc., it becomes difficult to accurately park the transport vehicle next to the introduction end of the roller conveyor, which is the transport destination, with a specified clearance.

In light of these circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a transport system that can quickly and accurately bring a platform alongside a transport destination using a relatively simple configuration.

The present invention is a transport system including a platform on which a load is mounted, an automated guided vehicle that transports the platform, and a conveyor for transporting the load on the platform from a transport destination of the platform on which the load is mounted to a transport destination of the load, the transport destination being set in an area where the platform is parked alongside an introduction end of the conveyor with a predetermined clearance, and in an area from the transport destination to a temporary transport destination before the transport destination in the transport direction, a pair of parallel adjacent rails are provided along a direction perpendicular to the introduction end of the conveyor, the automated guided vehicle is provided with a lifting table for lifting and lowering the platform, a towing hook for towing the platform, and a control device that executes the following processes, and the platform has a roll-over mechanism that rolls over the platform while placed on the rails on its underside. the control device executes the following processes: loading the platform with the cargo on a lifting table of the automated guided vehicle; running the automated guided vehicle with the platform on it and stopping it at the temporary transport destination; lowering the lifting table at the stopped position to place the inner wheels of the platform on the rails and move the lifting table away from the platform; advancing the automated guided vehicle toward the downstream side of the rails to cause the automated guided vehicle to protrude a predetermined amount from under the platform while hooking the towing hook of the automated guided vehicle into the towing hole of the platform; and moving the automated guided vehicle further forward to tow the platform and transport it to the transport destination.

According to this configuration, the automated guided vehicle is first moved to the temporary transport destination of the frame (the entry area of the rail), and then the automated guided vehicle is moved further forward, causing the automated guided vehicle to jump out from under the frame and pull the frame along the rail to transport it to the transport destination and stop it. This makes it possible to quickly and accurately pull the frame alongside the transport destination with a relatively simple configuration, regardless of the road surface conditions of the travel path of the automated guided vehicle or the wear condition of the drive wheels of the automated guided vehicle.

The present invention provides a transport system that can quickly and accurately bring a platform alongside a transport destination with a relatively simple configuration.

1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a transport system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration and shape of an automated guided vehicle. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a simplified view of a stand. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which the towing hole of the frame and the towing hook of the automatic guided vehicle are caught. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a fitting state between the rail and the inner wheel. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing an initial process of a cargo transport procedure. FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a process subsequent to FIG. 7; FIG. 10 is a side view of FIG. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing processing following FIG. 9 . FIG. 12 is a side view of FIG. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a process subsequent to that shown in FIG. 11 . FIG. 14 is a side view of FIG. 13 .

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

One embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 1 to 14. In the figures, 1 is a moving path, 2 is a conveyor, 3 is an unmanned guided vehicle, 4 is a load, 5 is a platform, 6 is a rail, and 7 is a worker.

The travel path 1 is a track for running the automated guided vehicle 3, and may be, for example, a floor within a factory or an outdoor road on private land.

Although not shown, guide markers (QR codes, etc.) are installed in a grid pattern on this travel path 1 to guide the travel path of the automated guided vehicle 3.

The conveyor 2 transports the cargo 4 on the platform 5 from a transport destination 10 (see FIG. 1) of the platform 5 on which the cargo 4 is mounted to a transfer destination of the cargo 4 (a waiting location for a worker 7).

The transport destination 10 is set to an area where the platform 5 is parked alongside the introduction end of the conveyor 2 with a specified clearance.

This conveyor 2 is a roller conveyor. In this roller conveyor, the multiple rollers 21 are arranged so that the central axes of rotation of each roller are parallel to each other. This allows the cargo 4 to be transported smoothly to the waiting area for the worker 7.

The automated guided vehicle 3 is a vehicle that can travel automatically within a certain area and transport cargo 4, and is, for example, an autonomous transport robot (AMR: an abbreviation for Autonomous Mobile Robot).

As is well known, the autonomous transport robot is one that moves autonomously according to a predetermined program run by a computer without the need for tracks, guides, or human control.

Specifically, the automated guided vehicle 3 is equipped with a platform 5 and moves autonomously along a moving path 1. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the automated guided vehicle 3 includes a vehicle body 31, a lift table 32, front driven wheels 33, rear driven wheels 34, a left driving wheel 35, and a right driving wheel 36.

The vehicle body 31 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view. As shown in FIG. 3, the lift table 32 is formed in a ring shape in a plan view, and is provided on the vehicle body 31 so that it can rise and fall. The platform 5 is mounted on this lift table 32.

The front driven wheels 33 and rear driven wheels 34 each consist of a pair of wheels, one on the left and one on the right, and are supported in a state that allows them to rotate freely (forward and reverse).

The front driven wheels 33 are located at the front of the vehicle body 31, and the rear driven wheels 34 are located at the rear of the vehicle body 31.

The left drive wheel 35 and the right drive wheel 36 are each a single wheel, and are of a differential drive type that are independently driven by separate motors (not shown).

The left drive wheel 35 is located on the left side of the vehicle body 31 in the middle in the fore-aft direction, and the right drive wheel 36 is located on the right side of the vehicle body 31 in the middle in the fore-aft direction.

LiDAR sensors 37a and 37b are provided midway between the front and rear of the vehicle body 31 in the left-right direction.

As is well known, the LiDAR sensors 37a and 37b use laser light to measure the shape and distance of objects at a distance, and the detection output is used for the autonomous driving of the automated guided vehicle 3.

A towing hook 38 is provided on the rear side of the vehicle body 31. This towing hook 38 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is supported so that it can be raised or lowered by a lifting mechanism (not shown).

Specifically, the towing hook 38 can be raised and lowered between a lowered position where it is stored flush with the vehicle body 31 and a raised position where it protrudes above the vehicle body 31.

Furthermore, a lower camera (not shown) is installed at a predetermined position on the underside of the vehicle body 31 to recognize the guide markers on the travel path 1.

The cargo 4 includes a cargo body (items other than people) 41 and a pallet 42 for storing the cargo body 41.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cargo body 41 is a rectangular parallelepiped that is square in plan view and horizontally elongated rectangular in side view. However, the shape of the cargo body 41 can be any shape.

The pallet 42 is configured to store two cargo bodies 41 stacked one on top of the other without them falling out.

As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the stand 5 has legs 52 extending downward from the four corners of a plate-like body 51 that is rectangular in plan view, and four inner wheels 53 are attached to the left and right sides of the underside of the body 51, two on each side.

Although not shown in detail, a roller conveyor consisting of multiple rollers arranged side by side in a row is installed in the body 51.

Specifically, each roller of the roller conveyor is installed side by side so that their central rotation axes are parallel to each other, similar to each roller 21 of the roller conveyor as conveyor 2.

Moreover, each roller installed on the body 51 is installed so that it slopes diagonally downward from the right side to the left side of the body 51.

The left-right direction (width direction) of the body 51 is the direction Y that is perpendicular to the movement direction X of the automated guided vehicle 3 (also called the conveying direction of the platform 5). This makes it possible for the load 4 on the platform 5 to be smoothly transferred onto the conveyor 2.

Furthermore, although not shown, the platform 5 is provided with a stopper to prevent the load 4 from falling off the platform 5 while the automated guided vehicle 3 is traveling.

This stopper is configured to be raised or lowered to a position where it protrudes above the platform 5 and a position where it is hidden under the platform 5, and is lowered after the platform 5 reaches the transport destination 10.

The inner wheels 53 are supported so that they can rotate freely (forward and reverse).

A towing hole 54 is provided on the underside of the body 51 of the stand 5 at the front side (upstream side in the transport direction X) and in the middle in the left-right direction (direction Y perpendicular to the transport direction X).

This towing hole 54 is for hooking the towing hook 38 provided on the automated guided vehicle 3, and in order to make it easier to hook the towing hook 38, it is made an elongated hole that is long in the left-right direction of the body 51 of the platform 5 (direction Y perpendicular to the transport direction X), as shown in FIG. 5, for example.

However, when the towing hole 54 is formed as a long hole in this manner, if the hooking position of the towing hook 38 relative to the towing hole 54 deviates from the center position in the longitudinal direction of the towing hole 54 (the left-right direction of the frame 5) or if the orientation of the transport direction X of the automatic guided vehicle 3 deviates by a predetermined angle θ (for example, see FIG. 9 ), a couple of forces may occur.

In consideration of this, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the front edge 54a of the elongated hole serving as the towing hole 54 is formed in a straight line along the left-right direction of the stand 5 (direction Y perpendicular to the transport direction X), and the towing hook 38 is formed in a cylindrical shape and supported so as to be freely rotatable (forward and reverse) around its central axis as a fulcrum.

By adopting such a configuration, even if the hooking position of the towing hook 38 relative to the towing hole 54 shifts from the center position in the longitudinal direction of the towing hole 54 or the orientation of the transport direction X of the automated guided vehicle 3 shifts by a predetermined angle θ, it becomes possible to suppress the occurrence of a couple of forces.

The rails 6 are arranged in pairs, adjacent to each other in parallel, and are installed on the path 1 near the entrance end of the conveyor 2, floating a specified distance above the path 1.

The inner wheels 53 of the stand 5 are placed on this rail 6 and allowed to roll.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the rails 6 are arranged along the travel path 1 in the area from the transport destination 10 to the temporary transport destination 20, along the travel direction X of the automated guided vehicle 3.

The temporary transport destination 20 is set at a predetermined position before the transport destination 10 in the transport direction X. This temporary transport destination 20 is installed in the entry side area of the rail 6 (the left half area in FIG. 1).

This rail 6 is positioned to face the introduction end of the conveyor 2 with a specified clearance between them.

This clearance is appropriately designed to the dimension required to accurately transfer the load 4 on the platform 5 onto the conveyor 2. It is preferable to design this clearance taking into consideration the widthwise deviation of the inner wheels 53 when they are positioned on the rails 6.

To prevent the inner wheels 53 from coming off the rail 6 on either side of the rail 6 in the width direction and to prevent them from shifting in the width direction, the top surface of the rail 6 is formed in a convex or concave shape, and the outer periphery of the inner wheels 53 is formed in a concave or convex shape.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the cross section along the width direction of the upper surface of the rail 6 is formed into an inverted U-shape (or an inverted V-shape), and the cross section along the axial direction of the outer periphery of the inner wheel 53 is formed into a V-shaped groove 53a.

As a result, when the inner wheel 53 is placed on the rail 6, it does not come off to either outside in the width direction, and the inner wheel 53 is positioned and arranged in the center of the rail 6 in the width direction (centering effect), suppressing or preventing the inner wheel 53 from shifting in the width direction.

Although not shown, a positioning means is provided on the downstream side (front side) of the rail 6 for stopping the platform 5 at the transport destination 10 and maintaining the stopped state. Although not shown, this positioning means can be, for example, a recess into which the inner wheel 53 fits.

The height of the rail 6 is set so that when the inner wheels 53 of the platform 5 are placed on the rail 6, the top surface of the platform 5 is flush with or slightly higher than the top surface of the introduction end of the conveyor 2 (the top of the roller 21 arranged at the introduction end). This makes it possible to smoothly transfer the load 4 from the platform 5 to the conveyor 2.

The automated guided vehicle 3 is equipped with a control device 39 for controlling its running and towing operations.

This control device 39 performs various processes to transport the cargo 4 to the waiting location (transport destination) for the worker 7.

Although not shown, a lower marker for mounting the platform 5 onto the lift table 32 of the automated guided vehicle 3 is affixed to the center of the underside of the body 51 of the platform 5. On the other hand, although not shown, an upper camera for recognizing the lower marker is provided at the center of the upper surface of the body 31 of the automated guided vehicle 3.

When the platform 5 is mounted on the automated guided vehicle 3, the control device 39 mounted on the automated guided vehicle 3 stops the automated guided vehicle 3 at a position where the upper camera (not shown) recognizes the lower marker (not shown) and raises the lifting table 32. This allows the platform 5 to be mounted on the lifting table 32 in a well-balanced manner, that is, without tilting or shaking.

Next, the procedure for transporting cargo 4 will be described with reference to Figures 7 to 14. Note that Figures 7 to 14 show simplified descriptions of the configuration and shape of each part.

In this embodiment, although not shown, a platform 5 carrying cargo 4 is placed at a predetermined position on the travel path 1.

The automated guided vehicle 3 is placed under the platform 5, and then the lift table 32 of the automated guided vehicle 3 is raised to lift the platform 5 and place it on the vehicle body 31 (see Figure 2).

Then, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the automated guided vehicle 3 is moved to the temporary transport destination 20 of the platform 5.

This movement is performed autonomously by the automated guided vehicle 3 according to an autonomous driving program controlled by the control device 39.

During this autonomous driving, the control device 39 recognizes multiple guide markers (not shown) installed on the travel path 1 one by one using a lower camera (not shown) installed on the automated guided vehicle 3, and based on the recognition results, checks whether the actual travel path of the automated guided vehicle 3 deviates from the programmed travel path.

In this way, the control device 39 accurately controls the travel of the automated guided vehicle 3 by using both the autonomous travel program of the automated guided vehicle 3 and the route guidance of the travel path 1.

In this way, when the automated guided vehicle 3 stops at the temporary transport destination 20, the lift table 32 of the automated guided vehicle 3 is lowered to place the inner wheels 53 of the platform 5 on the entry side (rear side) area of the rail 6. This causes the lift table 32 to move away from the platform 5.

Thereafter, the unmanned transport vehicle 3 is advanced so as to jump out beyond the front end of the base 5, and at a predetermined timing, the towing hook 38 of the unmanned transport vehicle 3 is raised and inserted into the towing hole 54 of the base 5, and the towing hook 38 is brought into contact with the front edge 54a of the towing hole 54 and hooked thereto.

After this is done, the automated guided vehicle 3 is moved further forward to pull the platform 5 along the rails 6.

In this towing process, the automated guided vehicle 3 advances a predetermined towing travel distance and then stops, so that the platform 5 stops at the transport destination 10, as shown in Figures 9 and 10. Note that the towing travel distance is preset in the autonomous driving program of the control device 39 of the automated guided vehicle 3.

Furthermore, when the platform 5 stops at the transport destination 10, the inner wheels 53 of the platform 5 fit into positioning recesses (not shown) on the downstream (front) side of the rail 6, thereby holding the platform 5 in the position where it stopped at the transport destination 10.

In this way, the platform 5 can be quickly and accurately parked next to the transport destination 10, i.e., the introduction end of the conveyor 2, and the cycle time required to transport the platform 5 to the transport destination 10 can be reduced or prevented from being extended.

In addition, during the process of towing the platform 5 by the automated guided vehicle 3, the platform 5 is guided along the rails 6, so when the automated guided vehicle 3 stops, the actual clearance from the platform 5 to the leading end of the conveyor 2 falls within the previously set design clearance. This means that the platform 5 can be accurately parked alongside the transport destination 10.

When the platform 5 is parked next to the transport destination 10, a stopper (not shown) of the platform 5 is lowered, and only the cargo 4 loaded on the platform 5 is automatically moved toward the conveyor 2 by a roller conveyor (not shown) installed at an angle on the platform 5, and is transferred onto the conveyor 2.

The cargo 4 transferred onto the conveyor 2 flows along the conveyor 2 due to the inertial force of the cargo 4 moving at the time of the transfer and is transported to the waiting area of the worker 7 (see Figure 11).

After this, the automated guided vehicle 3 is moved backwards to slip under the platform 5 (see FIG. 12). At this time, when the upper camera (not shown) of the automated guided vehicle 3 recognizes the lower marker (not shown) of the platform 5, the automated guided vehicle 3 is stopped.

After this is done, the lift table 32 is raised to lift the platform 5 on which the cargo 4 has been lowered onto the automated guided vehicle 3, and away from the rails 6 (see Figure 12).

Then, as shown in Figures 13 and 14, the automated guided vehicle 3 carrying the platform 5 is moved forward to move it out of the rails 6 and into a predetermined position.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to quickly and accurately park the platform 5 at the transport destination 10 with a relatively simple configuration, regardless of the road surface conditions of the travel path 1 or the wear conditions of the left drive wheel 35 and right drive wheel 36 of the automated guided vehicle 3.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above embodiment, but may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims and equivalents thereto.

(1) In the above embodiment, an example is given in which a roller conveyor (not shown) and a stopper (not shown) are provided on the body 51 of the stand 5, but the present invention is not limited to this.

It is possible to eliminate the roller conveyor and the stopper and instead install a transfer mechanism (not shown) for transferring the cargo 4 on the platform 5 to the conveyor 2 at the transport destination of the platform 5.

(2) In the above embodiment, there are no particular limitations on the configuration of the automated guided vehicle 3 or the external shape of the vehicle body 31.

The present invention can be suitably used in a transport system.

1. Moving path 2. Conveyor
21 Roller 3 Automated guided vehicle
31 Body
32 Lifting table
33 Front driven wheel
34 Rear driven wheel
35 Left drive wheel
36 Right drive wheel
37a, 37b LiDAR sensor
38 Towing hook
39 Control device 4 Load
41 Cargo body
42 Pallet 5 Stand
51 Torso
52 Legs
53 Inner wheel
53a Groove
54 Towing hole
54a Front side 6 Rail 7 Worker 10 Transport destination 20 Temporary transport destination

Claims (1)

A transport system including a platform on which a load is mounted, an unmanned transport vehicle that transports the platform, and a conveyor for transporting the load on the platform from a transport destination of the platform on which the load is mounted to a transport destination of the load,
the transport destination is set in an area where the platform is parked next to the introduction end of the conveyor with a predetermined clearance therebetween;
a pair of parallel adjacent rails is provided along a direction perpendicular to the conveyor with respect to an introduction end of the conveyor in a region from the conveying destination to a temporary conveying destination located before the conveying destination in the conveying direction;
The automated guided vehicle is provided with a lifting table for lifting and lowering the platform, a towing hook for towing the platform, and a control device that executes the following processes:
The platform is provided on its underside with inner wheels that roll while placed on the rails, and a towing hole into which a towing hook of the automated guided vehicle is hooked,
The control device performs a process of loading the platform with the load on a lift table of the automatic guided vehicle;
A process of running an automated guided vehicle equipped with the platform and stopping the vehicle at the temporary transport destination;
a process of lowering the lift table at the stopped position to place the inner wheels of the frame on the rail and to separate the lift table from the frame;
a process of advancing the automated guided vehicle toward the downstream side of the rail, causing the automated guided vehicle to project a predetermined amount from under the platform while hooking a towing hook of the automated guided vehicle into a towing hole of the platform;
and towing the platform by further moving the automated guided vehicle forward to transport the platform to the destination.

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