JPS5945542B2 - Traveling vehicle branching guidance device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a traveling vehicle branching guidance device in a transportation system comprising a track having a guide portion such as a guide wall or a guide groove, and a running wheel vehicle traveling guided by the track. It is.

Configuring the tracks into a network to create a one-person transportation system,
Various methods have been proposed in the past for using a computer to cause a plurality of moving vehicles to travel from any location on the network to any other location in accordance with individual requests.

When trajectories are configured into a network, branching points and merging points inevitably occur.

Various methods have been proposed and implemented to allow the traveling transport vehicle to select the direction of travel by various means at the branching and merging points and to smoothly branch and merge.

On the other hand, in the branch guidance system for traveling vehicles guided by dedicated tracks, a switching device called a point is installed on the track on the ground side, as in railways or mole rails, and the direction of travel of the traveling vehicle is determined on the ground side. There are two types of branch guidance methods: a forcibly determined branching guidance method, and a branching guidance method in which a steering device is provided on the moving vehicle, such as in a car, and the traveling direction is selected by the traveling vehicle.

The latter has been proposed, for example, as a branching guidance system for a new transportation system called a new transportation system (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 48-33506 and 1973-
(See Publication No. 67904).

Generally, in the case of a branch guidance system using a point device on the ground, when vehicles traveling in different directions approach a branch point one after another, the density of traveling vehicles is limited by the time required for the switch. There is a problem that

Further, in the case of a branch guidance system in which the traveling direction is selected on the traveling transport side, there is a problem in that the distance between one branch point and the next branch point is limited by the time required to select the traveling direction.

Furthermore, in the case of the above-mentioned conventional branch guidance method, it is required that all branch points and all traveling vehicles in the transportation system to be adopted be of the same method, and both can be adopted in the same system. Therefore, there was a problem in that it was not possible to bring out only the features of both.

The object of this invention is to provide a traveling vehicle branching guidance device that advantageously solves the above-mentioned problems.

Next, the present invention will be explained in detail using illustrated examples.

1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which main guide walls 14 and 15 are shown on both the left and right sides of the raceway surface 13.
Rear fixed auxiliary guide walls 16, 1 extend parallel to the vertical main guide surfaces 1, 2 of the main guide walls 14, 15 on the left and right sides of the branching part of the track 3 equipped with
7 and front fixed auxiliary guide walls 18, 19 are fixed at intervals in the front-rear direction, rear fixed auxiliary guide walls 16, 17 and front fixed auxiliary guide walls 18, 19.
Rear movable auxiliary guide walls 9 and 10 and front movable auxiliary guide walls 11 and 12 are arranged between the rear movable auxiliary guide walls 9 and 10.
, 10 are disposed close to the front ends of the rear fixed auxiliary guide walls 16, 17 and are pivotally connected to the track bottom 8 by the rear longitudinal axis 20, and the front movable auxiliary guide walls 11.1.
The front end of 2 is arranged close to the rear end of the front fixed auxiliary guide wall 18, 19 and is pivoted to the track bottom 8 by a front longitudinal axis 21.

The rear end of the elastic tension member 23 is pivoted by a pin 24 to the front end of the switching link 22 that extends between the left and right rear movable auxiliary guide walls 9 and 1θ and between the left and right front movable auxiliary guide walls 11 and 12. The front end of the elastic tension member 23 is pivotally connected to the track bottom 8 by a pin 25, and the track bottom 8 has an arc-shaped elongated hole 26 centered on the pin 25.
is provided on the lower surface of the track bottom 8.
A drive shaft of a switching drive device 28 consisting of a reduction gear and an electric motor with an electromagnetic brake fixed to the rear end of the switching link 22 is fixed to an arcuate rack 27 centered on the switching link 22. The pinion 29 inserted therethrough and fixed to the drive shaft is meshed with the rack 27, and the switching drive device 28 is operated to rotate the pinion 29 forward or backward, thereby rotating the rear end of the switching link 22. It is possible to switch and move from one end of the arcuate long hole 26 to the other end.

The outer ends of the rear links 30, 31 are pivotally attached to the front end portions of the rear movable auxiliary guide walls 9, 10 by pins 32, and the elongated holes 33 provided at the inner ends of the rear links 30, 31 are , an intermediate pin 34 attached to the switching link 22 is inserted, and the outer end of the front link 35, 36 is pivotally connected to the rear end side portion of each front movable auxiliary guide wall 11, 12 by a pin 37. The pin 2 at the front end of the switching link 22 is inserted into the elongated hole 38 provided at the inner end of each front link 35, 36.
4 is inserted.

The proximal ends of arms 39.40 are pivotally attached to the left and right sides of the track bottom, and the upper tip of the arms 39.40 has a suppressor that engages with the outer surface of the rear end of the front movable auxiliary guide wall 11.12. The members 41, 42 are fixed, and the intermediate part of the arm 39, 40 and the bottom of the track are connected via tension springs 43, 44, and the tension of the springs 43, 44 supports the front movement via the pressing member 4L42. The guide walls 11.12 are pressed inward.

A temporary insertion member 45, 46 is fixed to the front end side of each rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9, 10, and the rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9, 10 reaches a predetermined inner position on the track bottom 8. At this time, elastic locking members 47 and 48 are fixed that fit into the insertion members 45 and 46 to temporarily hold the rear movable auxiliary guide walls 9 and 10 at predetermined inner positions.

1 and 2 show a state in which the branch guidance device is switched to the left guidance state, in which the rear end of the switching link 22 is fixed at the left end position (point P) of the movement stroke, and each front The movable auxiliary guide walls ii, 12 and the rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10 on the right side are arranged in inner positions, that is, parallel to the main guide surfaces 1, 2, and the rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 on the left side
is placed in the outer position.

3 and 4 show a state in which the branch guidance device is switched to the right-side guidance state, in which the rear end of the switching link 22 is fixed at the right end position (point P) of the movement stroke, and each front The rear movable auxiliary guide wall 11.12 and the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 are arranged in the outer position, and the right rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10 is arranged in the outer position.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, a type of traveling transport vehicle in which the left and right auxiliary guide wheels 6°7 are fixed at all times, that is, a traveling transport vehicle 49 with fixed auxiliary guide wheels, in which the direction of travel cannot be selected on the traveling transport body side, is installed at the branching point. We will explain the case where it passes through.

First, as shown by the solid line in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the branch guidance device is in the left-hand guidance state, the left auxiliary guidance wheel 6 of the traveling vehicle 49 traveling in the direction of arrow A is used to move the left rear part. The auxiliary guide wall 9 is pressed and rotated to the inner position shown by the chain line, and the left pushing member 45 and the elastic locking member 47 are fitted together, and the rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 allows the rear movable guide wall 9 to move through the left rear link 30. The switching link 22 is pressed to the right, and the switching link 22 is rotated to the right about point P against the elastic force of the elastic tension member 23. Furthermore, the switching link 22 causes the right front link 36 to be rotated. Through this, the right front movable auxiliary guide wall 12 is pressed against the elasticity of the spring 44 and rotated to the outer position shown by the chain line.

In this case, there is a clearance between the right end of the long hole in the left front link 35 and the pin 24 and between the left end of the long hole in the right rear link 31 and the intermediate pin 34, so switching is not possible. Even if the link 22 rotates to the right, the front movable auxiliary guide wall 11 on the left side and the rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10 on the right side are held at the position indicated by the solid line without rotating.

Therefore, the left auxiliary guide wheel 6 passes between the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 and the left front movable auxiliary guide wall 11 and the left main guide surface 1, and then passes through the left front fixed auxiliary guide The right auxiliary guide wheel 7 moves freely between the wall 18 and the left main guide surface 1, and the right auxiliary guide wheel 7 passes through the right rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10 and moves freely.
9 is branched and guided to the left by the left auxiliary guide wheel 6.

When the left auxiliary guide wheel 6 passes the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9, the switching link 22 is rotated to the left by the elastic shortening force of the elastic tension member 23, and the left rear link 3 is rotated to the left.
0, the rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 on the left side is pushed back to the outer position indicated by the solid line, and the front movable auxiliary guide wall 12 on the right side is again pulled back to the inner position indicated by the solid line by the force of the spring 44. Complete preparations for subsequent traveling vehicles.

Further, as shown by solid lines in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the branch guidance device is in the right-hand guidance state, the right rear movable As the auxiliary guide wall 10 is rotated to the inner position shown by the chain line, the insertion member 46 on the right side and the elastic locking member 48 are fitted together, and the movable rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10 allows the right side rear link 31 to be rotated. The switching link 22 is pressed to the right, and the switching link 22 is rotated to the left about point P' against the elastic force of the elastic tension member 23. The left front movable auxiliary guide wall 11 is pressed against the elasticity of the spring 43 and rotated to the outer 1 position shown by the chain line.

In this case, there is a clearance between the right end of the long hole in the right front link 36 and the pin 24 and between the right end of the long hole in the left rear link 30 and the intermediate pin 34, so switching is not possible. Even if the link 22 rotates to the left, the front movable auxiliary guide wall 12 on the right side and the rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 on the left side do not rotate and are held at the position indicated by the solid line.

Therefore, the right auxiliary guide wheel 7 passes between the right rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10 and the right front movable auxiliary guide wheel 12 and the right main guide surface 2, and then passes through the right front fixed auxiliary guide The left auxiliary guide wheel 6 passes through the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 and moves freely between the wall 19 and the right main guide surface 2, and the traveling vehicle 4
9 is branched and guided in the right direction R by the right auxiliary guide wheel 7.

When the right auxiliary guide wheel 7 passes the right rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10, the switching link 22 is rotated to the right by the elastic shortening force of the elastic tension member 23, and the right side is rotated through the right rear link 31. The rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10 is pushed back again to the outer position shown by the solid line, and the left front movable auxiliary guide wall 11 is again pulled back to the inner position shown by the solid line by the force of the spring 43, and the subsequent traveling transport Finish preparing your body.

Next, a case will be described in which a traveling transport body 50 of a type in which the auxiliary guide wheels can be selectively set on the left or right and set in the guiding position, that is, the auxiliary guide wheel movable traveling transport body 50 passes through a branching portion.

As shown in FIG. 7, the traveling transport vehicle 50 with the left auxiliary guide wheel 6 set in the guiding position is shown in FIGS.
When passing through the branch guidance device shown by the solid line in , the left auxiliary guide wheel 6 passes through the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 while pressing and rotating to the inner position shown by the chain line. Guided by the front movable auxiliary guide wall 11 on the left side, the traveling transport body 50 branches to the left side.

The operation of each part of the branch guidance device when the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 is pressed and rotated and when the left auxiliary guide wheel 6 passes through the rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 is as described above. be.

When the traveling transport vehicle 50 with the left auxiliary guide wheel 6 set in the guiding position passes through the branching guidance device shown in the solid line in FIGS. 3 and 4, the branching guidance device is The traveling transport body 50 branches to the left side while the left auxiliary guide wheel 6 is guided by the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 and the left front movable auxiliary guide wall 11 without each part rotating or moving. I'm going to run.

As shown in FIG. 8, the traveling transport vehicle 50 with the right-hand auxiliary guide wheel 7 set in the guiding position passes through the branch guiding device placed in the state shown in solid lines in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this case, the right side auxiliary guide wheel 7 presses and rotates past the right rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10 to the inner position shown by the chain line, and is then guided by the right front movable auxiliary guide wall 12, and the traveling transport vehicle 50 branches off to the right.

Note that when the right rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10 is pressed and rotated, and the right auxiliary guide wheel 7 is rotated, the rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10
The operation of each part of the branch guidance device when passing through the part is as described above.

When the traveling transport vehicle 50 with the right auxiliary guide wheel 7 set in the guiding position passes through the branch guiding device shown in the solid line in FIGS. 3 and 4, the branch guiding device is The traveling transport body 50 branches to the right side while the right side auxiliary guide wheel 7 is guided by the right rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10 and the right front movable auxiliary guide wall 12 without each part rotating or moving. I'm going to run.

Therefore, when the auxiliary guide wheel fixed traveling transport body 49 passes through a branch, the branching direction is selected by switching the switching link 22, and the auxiliary guide wheel movable traveling transport body 50
When passing through a branch, the branching direction is selected by the left and right settings of the auxiliary guide wheels in the auxiliary guide wheel movable traveling transport body 50, regardless of the branch direction setting of the branch guidance device.

As a means for moving the rear end portion of the switching link 22 in the left-right direction, a switching 1 drive device using pneumatic force, hydraulic pressure, or electromagnetic force may be used.

Further, in the figure, 51 is a lid that covers the link mechanism housing recess 52 in the track.

FIG. 9 shows another example of a link type interlocking mechanism between the rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 on the left side and the front movable auxiliary guide wall 10 on the right side, in which the guide pin 5 is fixed at the center of the bottom of the track.
3, the long hole 55 of the intermediate link 54 is fitted, and the left end of the left link 56 is pivotally connected to the front end side of the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 by a pin 57, and the right end of the left link 56 and the intermediate The left end of the link 54 and one end of the air cylinder 58 are pivotally connected by a pin 59, the other end of the air cylinder 58 is pivotally connected to the bottom of the track by a pin 60, and the right end of the intermediate link 54 and the right side link are pivotally connected to each other by a pin 60. The left end of the right link 61 is pivotally connected with a pin 62, and the right end of the right link 61 and the rear end side of the right front movable auxiliary guide wall 12 are pivotally connected with a pin 63.

Further, a pressing member 65 that is engaged with the inside of the front end side portion of the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 is fixed to one end of the arm 64 whose intermediate portion is pivotally connected to the bottom of the track. The end portion and the track bottom are connected via a tension spring 66, and the elasticity of the spring 66 presses and holds the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 at the outer position via the pressing member 65.

In the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 9, when the left side rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 is rotated toward the inner position shown by the chain line by the left side auxiliary guide wheel of the traveling vehicle, the rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 moves to the left side. The intermediate link 54 is pressed through the link 56, the intermediate link 54 is moved to the right side while being guided by the guide pin 53, and the intermediate link 54 moves the right front movable auxiliary guide wall through the right link 61. 12 is rotated to the inner position shown by the chain line.

In this case, the air cylinder 58 remains in the extended state and the pin 6
Swings around 0.

When the left auxiliary guide wheel passes the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9, each part is returned to the state shown by the solid line by the elasticity of the spring 66.

Next, when the air cylinder 58 is shortened, the left link 56 and the intermediate link 54 are bent significantly as shown by the chain line, so that only the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 is rotated to the inner position shown by the chain line. Ru.

The front movable auxiliary guide wall 11 on the left side and the rear movable auxiliary guide wall 10 on the right side have the same structure as the one shown in FIG. Ru.

When carrying out this invention, the interlocking mechanism that transmits the inward rotation of one rear movable auxiliary guide wall in the left-right direction as the outward rotation of the other front movable auxiliary guide wall in the left-right direction is as follows:
Any interlocking mechanism other than those shown may be employed.

Further, it is preferable that the opposing ends of the front and rear movable auxiliary guide walls be comb-shaped so as to mesh with each other.

As the elastic tension member 23, it is possible to use a telescoping tube with a built-in helical spring or any other type.

According to this invention, when the auxiliary guide wheel fixed traveling transport body 49 passes through a branching part, the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall 9 or the right rear movable auxiliary guide wall 1 provided on the track side
By switching 0 to the outside position, the branching direction can be selected on the track side, and when the auxiliary guide wheel movable traveling transport vehicle 50 passes through a branching section, the branching guidance device will guide the left side or the right side. In any state of guidance, by setting the left auxiliary guide wheel 6 or the right auxiliary guide wheel 7 of the traveling vehicle 50 to the guiding position, the branching direction can be selected on the traveling vehicle side. ,
Two different types of traveling transport bodies, the auxiliary guide wheel fixed type traveling transport body 49 and the auxiliary guide wheel movable type traveling transport body 50, can be used together without any problem, and therefore some branching methods in the transportation network can be used on the track side. In addition to using the switching system, it is possible to use other branching methods as a selection method on the moving transport vehicle side, and it is possible to obtain effects such as being able to configure a transportation network that takes advantage of the features of each branching method. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows the state of each part when the left rear movable auxiliary guide wall of the branch guide device is placed at the outer position. A schematic plan view showing the principle, Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a part thereof, and Fig. 3 shows the state of each part when the right rear movable auxiliary guide wall of the branch guidance device is placed in the outer position. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged plan view, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the branch guidance device. Figure 6 is a front view showing the relationship between the auxiliary guide wheel fixed type traveling transport body, the main guide wall and the auxiliary guide wall, and Figures 7 and 8 are the auxiliary guide wheel movable type traveling transport body, the main guide wall and the auxiliary guide wall. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the relationship with the guide wall. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing another example of the link type interlocking mechanism. In the figure, 1 and 2 are the main guide surfaces, 3 is the track, 4 and 5 are the main guide wheels, 6 is the left auxiliary guide wheel, 7 is the right auxiliary guide wheel, 8 is the bottom of the track, 9 and 10 are the rear movable auxiliary guides. Walls, 11 and 12 are front movable auxiliary guide walls, 16 and 17 are rear fixed auxiliary guide walls, 18 and 19 are front fixed auxiliary guide walls, 20 is rear vertical axis, 21 is front vertical axis, 22 is switching links, 23 is an elastic tension member, 27 is an arcuate rack, 28 is a switching drive device, 29 is a pinion, 30 and 31 are rear links, 35 and 36 are front links, 49
50 is a running transport body, and 50 is a running transport body.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A track 3 equipped with main guide surfaces 1 and 2 on both left and right sides,
In a transportation facility consisting of a plurality of traveling vehicles equipped with main guide wheels 4 and 5 facing the main guide surface, a left auxiliary guide wheel 6, and a right auxiliary guide wheel 7, each main guide at a branching part of the track 3 Rear movable auxiliary guide walls 9, 10 whose rear ends are pivotally connected to the track bottom 8 and front movable auxiliary guide walls 1L12 whose front ends are pivoted to the track bottom 8 are provided inside the surfaces 1, 2. , is configured such that one of the left and right rear movable auxiliary guide walls 9, 10 can be selected and held at the outer position, and one rear movable auxiliary guide wall in the left and right direction placed at the outer position is moved by the auxiliary guide wheel. 1. A traveling transport body branching guidance device, characterized in that the other front movable auxiliary guidance wall in the left and right direction is connected via an interlocking mechanism so that it is routed to the outside when pressed and rotated inward.