Article carrying trolley

Abstract

The invention provides an article conveying trolley which enables lifting gears and traveling wheels to rotate respectively with a simple structure and enables left and right lifting gears to be synchronized easily. Specifically, the article transport trolley (100) is provided with: a main body part (110); traveling wheels (111) capable of moving on the horizontal movement path (Fr) and the ground (G); a lifting gear (115) that can be lifted by engaging with the lifting rack (Vg) of the lifting movement path (Vr); a direction changing mechanism capable of changing the direction of the main body part (110) on the ground (G); a drive unit (120, 121); and a workpiece holding part (116) for holding a conveyance object (C), the main body part (110) having: a first rotation holding part for rotatably holding a travel connection shaft (117) (travel shaft Mc) of the travel wheel (111), and a second rotation holding part for rotatably holding the travel connection shaft (117) (travel shaft Mc) of the travel wheel (111); and a second rotation holding unit that rotatably holds a lifting connection shaft (118) (lifting shaft (Sc)) of the lifting gear (115), the travel shaft (Mc) and the lifting shaft (Sc) being disposed on mutually different axes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an article transporting trolley capable of moving on a horizontal moving path on a shelf arranged in an automatic warehouse. Background Art

[0002] In the past, as an article transporting trolley for transporting articles in an automatic warehouse, there is a known article transporting trolley (climbing robot 10) in patent document 1, which has: a driving wheel 12 and a support wheel 14, which travels on a transport path, etc.; a guide roller 16; a pinion 18, which engages with a rack and can be raised and lowered; and intermediate wheels 19 and 20.

[0003] The article transporting cart (climbing robot 10 ) disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be moved up and down on the lifting rack (rack) by engaging a pair of left and right lifting gears (pinions) with the lifting rack (rack).

[0004] In addition, since the left and right pairs of lifting gears (pinions) are configured to rotate on the same rotation center axis as the left and right pairs of traveling wheels (drive wheels), the movement of the article transport trolley (climbing robot 10) by the traveling wheels (drive wheels) and the lifting and lowering of the article transport trolley (climbing robot 10) by the lifting gears (pinions) are implemented by the rotation of the same rotation axis, and the movement and lifting of the article transport trolley (climbing robot 10) are performed by a common motor or other driving part (driving direction mechanism).

[0005] Patent Literature

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 6896034 Summary of the Invention

[0007] However, the article transporting cart disclosed in Patent Document 1 still has room for improvement.

[0008] That is, since the article transport trolley known in Patent Document 1 uses a common drive unit to move and lift the article transport trolley, the moving wheels and the lifting gear rotate at the same time. Therefore, when the phase of the lifting gear is consistent with the lifting rack, the moving wheels will also rotate, which may cause the position of the article transport trolley to shift, causing the lifting rack to engage with the lifting gear, resulting in time being spent before the lifting begins.

[0009] In addition, since a pair of left and right traveling wheels and lifting gears are provided, for example, when there is a left-side driving unit that rotates the left traveling wheel and lifting gear and a right-side driving unit that rotates the right traveling wheel and lifting gear, it is necessary to implement control for synchronizing the phases of the left and right lifting gears, which may result in increased costs and increased maintenance frequency related to the control of the left and right driving units.

[0010] The present invention is an invention for solving these problems. The technical problem to be solved is to provide an article transporting trolley which can rotate the lifting gear and the traveling wheels separately with a simple structure and can easily implement synchronization of the left and right lifting gears.

[0011] A kind of article transporting trolley comprises: a main body; traveling wheels, which can move on a horizontal moving path and the ground set on a shelf in an automatic warehouse; a lifting gear, which can engage with the lifting rack of the lifting moving path set on the shelf in the automatic warehouse to be lifted and lowered; a driving part; and a workpiece holding part, which holds the transported object, namely the workpiece. The problem can be solved by the following contents, that is, the main body comprises: a first rotating holding part, which can rotatably hold the rotating axis of the traveling wheel, namely the traveling axis; and a second rotating holding part, which can rotatably hold the rotating axis of the lifting gear, namely the lifting axis, the driving part comprises a traveling driving part for driving the traveling wheels and a lifting driving part for driving the lifting gear, and the traveling axis and the lifting axis are arranged on different axes.

[0012] According to the article transport cart according to claim 1, since the traveling axis and the lifting axis are arranged on different axis lines, the traveling axis and the lifting axis can be operated separately at arbitrary timings.

[0013] Therefore, for example, when the phase of the lifting gear is aligned with the phase of the lifting rack, the traveling wheels do not rotate in conjunction with each other, and the article transport cart does not move.

[0014] Furthermore, the phase of the lifting gear can be adjusted in advance to a position that coincides with the lifting rack during travel, thereby shortening the operation time.

[0015] According to the structure described in Technical Solution 2, since the traveling axis and the lifting axis are arranged parallel to each other, the forward and backward movement direction of the article transport trolley is consistent with the engagement and disengagement direction of the lifting gear and the lifting rack. By operating the forward and backward movement of the article transport trolley, the engagement and disengagement of the lifting gear and the lifting rack can be simply implemented.

[0016] According to the structure described in Technical Solution 3, since the traveling axis and the lifting axis are arranged at different heights, if the traveling axis is arranged at a lower position than the lifting axis, for example, the interference of the lifting gear with the horizontal moving path and the ground can be avoided. When the lifting gear is rotated, the article transport trolley can be effectively prevented from accidentally moving along the ground or the horizontal moving path.

[0017] According to the structure described in Technical Solution 4, since the traveling axis and the lifting axis are arranged vertically, heavy objects such as the traveling drive unit and the lifting drive unit, the traveling wheels and the lifting gears can be concentrated near the lifting axis. Compared with the case where the heavy objects are arranged at a position away from the lifting axis, the torque generated on the article transport trolley during lifting is reduced.

[0018] This reduces the strength required for the article transport vehicle, simplifies the structure of the article transport vehicle, and suppresses cost increases.

[0019] According to the structure described in Technical Solution 5, since the main body has a direction conversion mechanism that can convert the direction of the main body, for example, when traveling on the ground, the forward direction side of the main body can be simply moved toward the delivery place of the items, even without using a guide rail, etc.

[0020] According to the structure described in Technical Solution 6, since the traveling wheels are composed of a left wheel and a right wheel that are arranged on the left and right sides of the main body to be able to rotate on the same rotation axis, the traveling drive unit has a left traveling drive unit that drives the left wheel and a right traveling drive unit that drives the right wheel, and the direction conversion mechanism is constructed so that the direction of the main body can be converted by adjusting the rotation of the left wheel and the right wheel using the left traveling drive unit and the right traveling drive unit. Therefore, the article transport trolley can adjust the rotation direction or rotation speed of the left wheel and the right wheel to convert the direction without moving significantly back and forth. Even in the narrow space within the automatic warehouse, the direction of the article transport trolley can be easily changed.

[0021] According to the structure described in Technical Solution 7, since the lifting gear is composed of a left gear and a right gear connected by the same lifting shaft on the left and right sides of the main body, the phases of the left gear and the right gear will not be misaligned, so the lifting gear can be simply controlled when engaged with the rack. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a perspective view of an article transport cart 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 It is a schematic side view of an article transport cart 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic front view of an article transport vehicle 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 4 This is a side view showing a storage rack T in an automated warehouse H on which an article transport vehicle 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention travels and is raised and lowered.

[0026] Figure 5 1 is a side schematic diagram showing a method of moving the article transport vehicle 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention within the automated warehouse H using the lifting and lowering movement path Vr.

[0027] Figure 6 1 is a schematic front view showing the positional relationship between the article transport vehicle 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention and the vertical movement path Vr and the horizontal movement path Fr.

[0028] Explanation of symbols

[0029] 100-article transport trolley; 111-travel wheels; 111a-right wheel; 111b-left wheel; 112-travel auxiliary wheels; 113-lifting wheels; 114-lifting auxiliary wheels; 115-lifting gear; 116-article holding part; 117-travel connecting shaft; 117a-right travel connecting shaft; 117b-left travel connecting shaft; 118-lifting connecting shaft; 119-auxiliary connecting shaft; 120-travel drive part; 120a-right travel drive part; 120b-left travel drive part; 121-lifting drive part; Mc-travel shaft; Sc-lifting shaft; Rc-lifting auxiliary shaft; G-ground; Fr-horizontal moving path; Vr-lifting moving path; Vg-lifting rack; C-turnover box (article). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Next, use Figures 1 to 6 An article transport cart 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0031] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, an article transport trolley 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a main body 110; traveling wheels 111 and traveling auxiliary wheels 112, which can move on a horizontal moving path Fr of a floor G or a storage rack T in an automatic warehouse H described later; a lifting gear 115, which engages with a lifting rack Vg and an advance and retreat rack Bg described later, and can lift and lower the lifting moving path Vr; lifting wheels 113 and lifting auxiliary wheels 114; an article holding portion 116, which holds the transported article, i.e., a turnover box C; and a control portion (not shown).

[0032] The traveling wheels 111 are composed of a pair of right wheels 111a and left wheels 111b, and are rotatably connected to the main body 110 through the traveling connecting shaft 117 (right traveling connecting shaft 117a, left traveling connecting shaft 117b) with the traveling axis Mc as the rotation axis. The traveling drive unit 120 (right traveling drive unit 120a, left traveling drive unit 120b) is connected to the traveling connecting shaft 117 (right traveling connecting shaft 117a, left traveling connecting shaft 117b) to transmit driving force.

[0033] A pair of left and right lifting gears 115 are provided. The lifting gears 115 are rotatably connected to the main body 110 via a lifting connection shaft 118 about the lifting axis Sc. The lifting driving unit 121 is connected to the lifting connection shaft 118 to transmit driving force.

[0034] The lifting wheels 113 are rotatably connected to the lifting connection shaft 118 with the lifting shaft Sc as a rotation axis.

[0035] The lift assist wheel 114 is rotatably connected to the main body 110 via an assist connecting shaft 119 about the lift assist shaft Rc.

[0036] The lifting gear 115 (lifting wheel 113 ), the lifting auxiliary wheel 114 , and the traveling wheel 111 are configured to be movable forward and backward in the lifting axis Sc, the lifting auxiliary axis Rc, and the traveling axis Mc directions, respectively, from the main body 110 side.

[0037] Furthermore, the auxiliary travel wheels 112 are configured to be movable forward and backward from the main body 110 in conjunction with the travel wheels 111 .

[0038] The article holding portion 116 is configured to receive and deliver the turnover box C from the left and right directions of the main body 110 .

[0039] The control unit (not shown) is configured to control the travel drive unit 120 and the lifting drive unit 121, and can move the article transport trolley 100 while operating the direction conversion mechanism (not shown) that is responsible for changing the direction of the article transport trolley 100, and control the loading and unloading of the turnover box C into and out of the article holding unit 116.

[0040] Next, use Figures 4 to 6 The traveling movement and the lifting movement of the article transport vehicle 100 in the automated warehouse H according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0041] For the sake of explanation, the storage racks T, the horizontal movement path Fr, and the vertical movement path Vr in the automated warehouse H are shown in part only.

[0042] like Figure 4 As shown, the automatic warehouse H has: a ground G; a storage rack T, which is set on the ground G; a horizontal moving path Fr, which enables the article transport trolley 100 to approach multiple turnover boxes C stored on the storage rack T; and a lifting moving path Vr, which enables the article transport trolley 100 to enter the horizontal moving path Fr at different heights.

[0043] The horizontal movement path Fr only needs to allow the traveling wheels 111 and the auxiliary traveling wheels 112 of the article transport vehicle 100 to contact and travel on the horizontal movement path Fr, and may be formed in a guide rail shape or a flat ramp shape.

[0044] The lifting path Vr is formed by extending a lifting rack Vg in the vertical direction, which is engageable with the lifting gear 115 of the article transport cart 100 .

[0045] First, if Figure 5 As shown, the travel drive unit 120 is driven to move the article transport cart 100 on the ground surface G toward the lifting path Vr.

[0046] At this moment, since the travel axis Mc and the lifting axis Sc are arranged parallel to each other, as long as the lifting gear 115 and the lifting rack Vg are in relative directions, the right travel drive unit 120a and the left travel drive unit 120b of the article transport trolley 100 can be controlled to rotate synchronously by using the control unit (not shown), so that they can approach the lifting movement path side Vr without deviation.

[0047] Furthermore, if the direction of the article transport cart 100 deviates, the direction can be changed on the spot by adjusting the rotation of the right travel drive unit 120a and the left travel drive unit 120b using a direction conversion mechanism (not shown) without causing the article transport cart 100 to move significantly back and forth. Therefore, even in a narrow aisle between multiple storage racks T, the direction of the article transport cart 100 and the lifting path Vr can be easily adjusted.

[0048] In addition, since the lifting axis Sc and the travel axis Mc can respectively apply different driving forces through the lifting drive unit 121 and the travel drive unit 120 (right travel drive unit 120a, left travel drive unit 120b), when the article transport trolley 100 is moved to the lifting movement path Vr side, the phases of the lifting rack Vg and the lifting gear 115 can be aligned in advance, so that the lifting gear 115 can be quickly engaged with the lifting rack Vg and switch to the lifting movement of the article transport trolley 100.

[0049] After the article transport trolley 100 is moved toward the lifting path Vr, the lifting gear 115 is moved toward the lifting axis Sc, and the lifting rack Vg is engaged with the lifting gear 115, when a driving force is applied from the lifting drive unit 121 to the lifting connecting shaft 118, the lifting gear 115 rotates and successively engages with the lifting rack Vg, enabling the article transport trolley 100 to rise upward.

[0050] At this moment, by moving the lifting wheels 113 and the lifting auxiliary wheels 114 toward the lifting axis Sc and the lifting auxiliary axis Rc respectively and lifting and lowering them while in contact with the lifting surface of the lifting movement path Vr, they can become guide rollers when the article transport trolley 100 is lifted and lowered, and the article transport trolley 100 can be lifted and lowered more stably.

[0051] like Figure 6 As shown, the article transporting trolley 100 is engaged with the lifting gear 115 and the lifting rack Vg to arrive near the horizontal moving path Fr. After the traveling wheels 111 are moved in the direction of the traveling axis Mc and located on the horizontal moving path Fr, the lifting gear 115 (lifting wheel 113) and the lifting auxiliary wheel 114 are disengaged from the lifting moving path Vr by moving them in the direction of the lifting axis Sc and the lifting auxiliary axis Rc respectively, and the load can be transferred from the lifting moving path Vr to the horizontal moving path Fr.

[0052] The article transporting cart 100 transferred to the horizontal movement path Fr can move to a predetermined position in the storage rack T and receive and store the turnover box C by driving the travel drive unit 120 to rotate the travel wheels 111 .

[0053] After the loading and unloading operation is completed, the article transport cart 100 can be moved toward the lifting path Vr by driving the travel drive unit 120 to rotate the travel wheels 111 .

[0054] After moving toward the lifting path Vr, the article transport cart 100 moves the lifting gear 115 toward the lifting axis Sc to engage with the lifting rack Vg, and then moves the traveling wheels 111 toward the main body 110 to disengage from the horizontal path Fr.

[0055] Next, the lifting drive unit 121 is driven to rotate the lifting gear 115 and lower the vehicle toward the ground G side.

[0056] After the traveling wheels 111 reach the ground G, the article transport trolley 100 moves the lifting gear 115 (lifting wheels 113) and the lifting auxiliary wheels 114 to disengage from the lifting rack Vg and the lifting movement path Vr, and then drives the traveling drive unit 120 to rotate the traveling wheels 111 and move to the position of receiving the turnover box C of the next transport object.

[0057] When the turnover box C is moved out from the storage rack T, the order is the same as that of moving the turnover box C in as mentioned above. The article transport trolley 100 with the article holding part 116 in an empty state is moved to the storage position of the turnover box C of the transport object via the lifting movement path Vr and the horizontal movement path Fr, and the turnover box C is transferred from the storage rack T to the article holding part 116, and then moved to the ground G again via the horizontal movement path Fr and the lifting movement path Vr.

[0058] In addition, when the storage position of the turnover box C in the storage rack T is changed, the turnover box C to be moved can be moved to other storage positions of the storage rack T via the horizontal moving path Fr and the lifting moving path Vr without passing through the ground G while being transferred to the item holding part 116.

[0059] As described above, by setting the travel axis Mc and the lifting axis Sc at different positions, and using the separate travel drive unit 120 and the lifting drive unit 121 to drive the travel wheels 111 and the lifting gear 115 respectively, the article transport trolley 100 can be moved closer to the lifting movement path Vr while the phase of the lifting gear 115 and the lifting rack Vg are aligned, so that the article transport trolley 100 can be quickly raised and lowered.

[0060] In addition, compared with the case where the traveling wheel 111 and the lifting gear 115 always rotate in conjunction with each other, since the phases of the lifting gear 115 and the lifting rack Vg can be precisely aligned, the wear caused by the phase misalignment of the lifting gear 115 and the lifting rack Vg can be suppressed, and the maintenance frequency and replacement frequency of the lifting gear 115 and the lifting rack Vg can be suppressed.

[0061] In addition, in the structure of the article transport trolley 100, by arranging the traveling wheels 111 and the traveling drive unit 120 serving as heavy objects near the lifting gear 115, the torque applied to the article transport trolley 100 will be reduced, which can reduce the strength required for the article transport trolley 100, simplify the device structure, and suppress cost increases.

[0062] In addition, since the left and right pairs of lifting gears 115 are connected by the same lifting connecting shaft 118 and driven by the same lifting drive unit 121, the phases of the left and right lifting gears 115 will not be misaligned, and there is no need to control the phase adjustment of the left and right lifting gears 115, thereby simplifying the control of when the lifting rack Vg is engaged with the lifting gear 115.

[0063] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention described in the claims.

[0064] In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment describes a case in which the traveling wheels and the lifting gears are arranged in parallel in the up and down directions with the traveling axis and the lifting axis, the positional relationship between the traveling wheels and the lifting gears is not limited to this. For example, the traveling wheels and the lifting gears can also be arranged so that the traveling axis and the lifting axis are arranged in parallel in the front-to-back direction or at different heights.

[0065] In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment describes a situation in which the right wheel and the left wheel are respectively driven by the right travel drive unit and the left travel drive unit, the structure of the travel wheel and the travel drive unit is not limited to this. For example, it can also be configured to use one travel drive unit to drive the left and right travel wheels in a manner that always rotates in conjunction with each other.

[0066] In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment describes a case where the lifting wheels and the lifting auxiliary wheels function as guide rollers when moving on the lifting path, the structure of the article transport trolley is not limited to this. As long as the direction of the article transport trolley can be maintained horizontal during the lifting movement, for example, the lifting wheels and the lifting auxiliary wheels can be omitted, and a plate-shaped sliding component that contacts the lifting path and can slide can be provided.

[0067] In addition, although in the above-mentioned embodiment, the situation is described in which the traveling wheels, the traveling auxiliary wheels, the lifting gears, the lifting wheels, and the lifting auxiliary wheels are configured to be able to move forward and backward in the axial direction and to connect / disconnect with the lifting movement path and the horizontal movement path, the method of connecting / disconnecting with the lifting movement path and the horizontal movement path is not limited to this. For example, it can also be configured so that the traveling wheels, the traveling auxiliary wheels, the lifting gears, the lifting wheels, and the lifting auxiliary wheels are respectively fixed in a prescribed axial position relationship, so that the lifting movement path and the horizontal movement path move forward and backward toward the lifting gears and the traveling wheels and connect / disconnect.

Claims

1. An article transport trolley comprising: a main body; traveling wheels capable of moving on a horizontal moving path provided on a shelf in an automated warehouse and on the ground; a lifting gear capable of engaging with a lifting rack provided on a lifting moving path provided on a shelf in the automated warehouse for lifting and lowering; a driving unit; and a workpiece holding unit for holding a workpiece to be transported, characterized in that: The main body has: a first rotation holding portion rotatably holding the rotation axis of the traveling wheel, that is, the traveling axis; and a second rotation holding portion rotatably holding the rotation axis of the lifting gear, that is, the lifting axis. The driving unit includes a travel driving unit for driving the travel wheels and a lifting driving unit for driving the lifting gears. The travel axis and the lift axis are arranged on different axes.

2. The article transport trolley according to claim 1, characterized in that: The travel axis and the lifting axis are arranged parallel to each other.

3. The article transporting trolley according to claim 2, characterized in that: The traveling axis and the lifting axis are arranged at different heights.

4. The article transporting trolley according to claim 3, characterized in that: The traveling axis and the lifting axis are arranged vertically.

5. The article transporting trolley according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main body portion includes a direction changing mechanism capable of changing the direction of the main body portion.

6. The article transporting trolley according to claim 5, characterized in that: The traveling wheels are composed of a left wheel and a right wheel provided on the left and right sides of the main body so as to be rotatable on the same rotation axis. The travel drive unit includes a left travel drive unit for driving the left wheel and a right travel drive unit for driving the right wheel. The direction changing mechanism is configured to change the direction of the main body by adjusting the rotation of the left wheel and the right wheel using the left travel drive unit and the right travel drive unit.

7. The article transporting trolley according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting gear is composed of a left gear and a right gear connected to each other by the same lifting shaft on the left and right sides of the main body.

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