Cargo position confirmation device

Abstract

To prevent an actual unloading position from deviating from a target position in the direction of travel of a forklift truck without the need to install protrusions on a road surface.SOLUTION: A cargo position confirmation device according to the present invention is provided with: a sensor for detecting that an advancing forklift approaches a target position for unloading a load; a light source that emits light upward, and when the load carried by the forklift crosses the light and reaches above the target position, thereby the light leaks upward from the edge of the load, makes the leaked light visible to an operator of the forklift; and a control unit that emits light from the light source when the sensor detects the forklift.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a luggage position confirmation device.

Background Art

[0002] In the luggage loading and unloading device using a forklift described in Patent Document 1, there are a carriage, a butting stopper, a centering start detection sensor, a centering sensor, and control means for driving the motor of the carriage to move the carriage to an accurate position when the centering start detection sensor detects that the pallet is accurately in contact with the butting stopper and the centering sensor detects that the position of the receiving tray of the carriage and the pallet does not accurately match in the carriage traveling direction.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] There are cases where luggage is carried using a forklift and the luggage is unloaded at a target position. In such a case, if the height of the luggage is high, it becomes difficult for the operator driving the forklift to check the front, and in the traveling direction of the forklift, the position where the luggage is actually unloaded may deviate from the target position.

[0005] As a countermeasure against this, there are cases where protrusions for restricting the position in the traveling direction of the forklift are installed on the road surface. However, if such protrusions are installed, it is conceivable that, for example, the path of an automated guided vehicle will be obstructed.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to suppress the deviation of the actual luggage unloading position from the target position in the traveling direction of the forklift without installing protrusions on the road surface.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] The luggage position confirmation device according to the first aspect includes a sensor that detects that the traveling forklift is approaching the target position where the luggage is to be unloaded, a light source that emits light upward, and when the luggage carried by the forklift crosses the light and reaches above the target position, the light leaks upward from the edge of the luggage and the leaked light can be visually recognized by the operator of the forklift, and a control unit that causes the light source to emit the light when the sensor detects the forklift. It is characterized by comprising.

[0008] According to the above aspect, the position of the luggage with respect to the target position is confirmed by the operator by visually recognizing the light leaking upward from the edge of the luggage by the operator of the forklift. Thereby, without installing a protrusion on the road surface, it is possible to suppress the actual unloading position of the luggage from being displaced with respect to the target position in the traveling direction of the forklift.

[0009] The luggage position confirmation device according to the second aspect is the luggage position confirmation device according to the first aspect, wherein the control unit stops the emission of the light from the light source when the sensor does not detect the forklift. It is characterized by that.

[0010] According to the above aspect, the light can be emitted from the light source only when necessary.

[0011] The luggage position confirmation device according to the third aspect is the luggage position confirmation device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the target position is the upper surface of the conveyor that conveys the luggage, and the control unit prohibits the operation of the conveyor when the sensor detects the forklift, and permits the operation of the conveyor when the sensor does not detect the forklift. It is characterized by that.

[0012] According to the above aspect, it is possible to prevent the luggage from being placed on the upper surface of the conveyor, which is the target position, during the operation of the conveyor.

Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present disclosure, without installing protrusions on the road surface, it is possible to suppress the deviation of the actual position where the load is unloaded from the target position in the traveling direction of the forklift.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] An example of the package position confirmation device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12. The arrow H shown in each figure indicates the vertical direction, which is the up-down direction of the package position confirmation device. The arrow W shown in each figure represents the width direction of the package position confirmation device, which is orthogonal to the arrow H and indicates the horizontal direction. The arrow D shown in each figure represents the depth direction of the package position confirmation device, which is orthogonal to the arrows H and W and indicates the horizontal direction. First, the situation of using the package position confirmation device 10 will be described.

[0016] (Situation of using the package position confirmation device 10) As shown in FIG. 1, the package position confirmation device 10 is used to place the package 110 carried by the forklift 100 on the upper surface of the conveyor 20, which is the target position. The package 110 is composed of a pallet 110a and a package body 110b placed on the pallet 110a.

[0017] The forklift 100 is operated by an operator P riding on the forklift 100, and includes a main body 100a, tires 100b, a lattice-shaped mast 100c attached to the front of the main body 100a, a lattice-shaped backrest 100d that moves up and down along the mast 100c, and a pair of forks 100e. Then, the pair of forks 100e are respectively inserted into the pallet 110a, and by moving the backrest 100d and the pair of forks 100e up and down, the package 110 can be lifted or lowered.

[0018] (Configuration of the package position confirmation device 10) As shown in Fig. 1, the luggage position confirmation device 10 includes a sensor 30, a light source 40 that emits a laser beam L, and a control unit 50 (see Fig. 4) provided in a server (not shown) that controls each part. The sensor 30 is an example of a sensor, and the laser beam L is an example of light.

[0019] 〔Conveyor 20〕 As shown in Fig. 1, the conveyor 20 includes a pair of endless belts 22 that are separated in the width direction and extend in the depth direction, a plurality of rollers 24 provided inside the endless endless belts 22, a support portion 26 that supports the endless belts 22, and a drive source 28 (see Fig. 4(A)) that drives the endless belts 22. And the pair of endless belts 22 are arranged outside the pair of forks 100e in the width direction (see Fig. 3). In each figure, only the support portion 26 on the front side in the depth direction of the support portion that supports the endless belt 22 is shown, and other support portions are omitted.

[0020] As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the support portion 26 includes a pair of columns 26a that are separated in the width direction and are arranged below the endless belt 22 and extend in the vertical direction, and a reinforcing member 26b that extends in the width direction and is spanned between the pair of columns 26a. Further, the support portion 26 includes a pair of brackets 26c that are attached to the upper portions of the respective columns 26a.

[0021] The bracket 26c is plate-shaped with the plate thickness direction being the vertical direction, is arranged inside the endless belt 22 in a plan view, and has a rectangular shape extending in the depth direction. Further, in the vertical direction, the upper surface of the bracket 26c is arranged below the endless belt 22.

[0022] In this configuration, the endless belt 22 that receives the driving force from the drive source 28 circulates, and the conveyor 20 conveys the luggage 110 placed on the upper surface of the conveyor 20 (the upper surface of the endless belt 22) from the front side to the back side in the depth direction.

[0023] 〔Sensor 30〕 The sensor 30 is a so-called ultrasonic sensor. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, it is attached to the reinforcing member 26b and is directed toward the front side in the depth direction. Thereby, when the forklift 100 advances and approaches the conveyor 20 from the front side in the depth direction, the sensor 30 is adapted to detect the approaching forklift 100. The depth direction is an example of the traveling direction.

[0024] 〔Light source 40〕 As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the light source 40 is respectively attached to a pair of brackets 26c so as to emit the laser beam L upward. Specifically, the light source 40 is disposed below the endless belt 22 in the vertical direction and on the rear side in the depth direction with respect to the front side end portion of the endless belt 22 in the depth direction. Further, the pair of light sources 40 are disposed outside the pair of forks 100e in the width direction.

[0025] 〔Control unit 50〕 The control unit 50 is adapted to control each part based on the detection result of the sensor 30 and the like. - Hardware configuration of the control unit 50 - As shown in FIG. 4(A), the control unit 50 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 52, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 53, a storage 54, and a communication interface (I / F) 55. And each component is connected to be communicable with each other via a bus 50a.

[0026] The CPU 51 is a central arithmetic processing unit that executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 51 reads a program from the ROM 52 or the storage 54 and executes the program using the RAM 53 as a work area. The CPU 51 performs control of each component and various arithmetic processes according to the program stored in the ROM 52 or the storage 54.

[0027] In this embodiment, for example, the ROM 52 or the storage 54 stores a control program for controlling the light source 40 and the drive source 28 based on the detection result of the sensor 30.

[0028] The RAM 53 temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. The storage 54 is composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various programs including an operating system and various data.

[0029] The communication interface 55 is an interface for the control unit 50 to communicate with the sensor 30, the light source 40, the drive source 28, etc. For example, standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) are used.

[0030] When executing the above operation program, the control unit 50 realizes various functions by using the above hardware resources. The functional configuration of the control unit 50 for realizing various functions will be described.

[0031] -Functional Configuration of Control Unit 50- As shown in FIG. 4(B), the control unit 50 includes a detection unit 56, a prohibition unit 57, an operation unit 58, and a permission unit 59. Each functional configuration is realized by the CPU 51 reading and executing a drive program stored in the ROM 52 or the storage 54. The details of the control unit 50 will be described together with the subsequent operations.

[0032] (Operation of the Luggage Position Confirmation Device 10) Next, the process of transporting the load 110 carried by the forklift 100 to the target position will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. 5. In the initial state before the load position confirmation device 10 operates, the laser beam L is not emitted from the light source 40, and the sensor 30 does not detect the forklift 100. Further, the conveyor 20 is operating. Note that the target position for lowering the load 110 is the upper surface of the conveyor 20. Specifically, the target position for lowering the load 110 is the upper surface of the conveyor 20 at the front side in the depth direction of the conveyor 20.

[0033] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the operator P advances the forklift 100 carrying the load 110 from the front side in the depth direction toward the conveyor 20 to bring it close to the conveyor 20. Then, the detection unit 56 of the control unit 50 receives, at step S100 shown in FIG. 5, detection information from the sensor 30 as to whether the forklift 100 has been detected by the sensor 30. If the sensor 30 does not detect the forklift 100, the detection unit 56 receives the detection information again at step S100. On the other hand, when the detection unit 56 receives the detection information that the forklift 100 has been detected by the sensor 30, it proceeds to step S200 shown in FIG. 5.

[0034] Then, at step S200 shown in FIG. 5, the prohibition unit 57 of the control unit 50 prohibits the operation of the conveyor 20. As a result, the operating conveyor 20 stops operating. In other words, the prohibition unit 57 of the control unit 50 activates the interlock for the conveyor 20.

[0035] Also, at step S300 shown in FIG. 5, the operation unit 58 of the control unit 50 causes the light source 40 to emit the laser beam L. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the laser beams L are respectively emitted upward from the pair of light sources 40.

[0036] Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the forklift 100 carrying the luggage 110 approaches the conveyor 20 further from the front side in the depth direction. As shown in FIGS. 9(A) and 9(B), when the luggage 110 carried by the forklift 100 crosses the light source 40 and reaches above the target position, the laser light L emitted from the light source 40 leaks above the edge 110c of the luggage 110 (see FIG. 8).

[0037] Then, in step S400 shown in FIG. 5, when the operator P operating the sensor 30 visually recognizes the laser light L leaking above the edge 110c of the luggage 110, the forklift 100 is stopped. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the operator P moves the backrest 100d and the pair of forks 100e downward to lower the luggage 110 onto the upper surface of the conveyor 20. As shown in FIG. 11, the forklift 100 is retracted to the front side in the depth direction to be separated from the conveyor 20.

[0038] When the forklift 100 is moved to the front side in the depth direction to be separated from the conveyor 20, the detection unit 56 of the control unit 50 receives detection information in step S500 shown in FIG. 5 as to whether the detection state of the forklift 100 by the sensor 30 has become non-detection.

[0039] When the sensor 30 maintains the detection state of the forklift 100, in step S500 again, the detection unit 56 receives the detection information. On the other hand, when the detection unit 56 receives the detection information that the detection state of the forklift 100 by the sensor 30 has become non-detection, the process proceeds to step S600 shown in FIG. 5.

[0040] Then, in step S600 shown in FIG. 5, the permission unit 59 of the control unit 50 permits the operation of the conveyor 20. In other words, the permission unit 59 of the control unit 50 releases the interlock for the conveyor 20. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, the conveyor 20 operates and the luggage 110 is conveyed by the conveyor 20.

[0041] Furthermore, in step S700 shown in FIG. 5, the operating unit 58 of the control unit 50 stops the emission of the laser beam L from the light source 40. In this way, the confirmation operation of the luggage 110 by the luggage position confirmation device 10 is completed.

[0042] (Summary) As described above, in the luggage position confirmation device 10, the operator P of the forklift 100 visually recognizes the laser beam L leaking upward from the edge 110c of the luggage 110, and thus the position of the luggage 110 relative to the upper surface of the conveyor 20, which is the target position, is confirmed by the operator P. As a result, without installing protrusions on the road surface, it is possible to suppress the position where the luggage 110 is actually unloaded from being displaced with respect to the target position in the traveling direction of the forklift 100.

[0043] Also, in the luggage position confirmation device 10, when the operating unit 58 of the control unit 50 receives detection information indicating that the detection state of the forklift 100 by the sensor 30 is non-detection, the operating unit 58 stops the emission of the laser beam L from the light source 40. In other words, when the sensor 30 does not detect the forklift 100, the operating unit 58 of the control unit 50 stops the emission of the laser beam L from the light source 40. As a result, the laser beam L can be emitted from the light source 40 only when necessary.

[0044] Also, in the luggage position confirmation device 10, the prohibition unit 57 of the control unit 50 prohibits the operation of the conveyor 20 when the sensor 30 detects the forklift 100. Furthermore, the permission unit 59 of the control unit 50 permits the operation of the conveyor 20 when the sensor 30 does not detect the forklift 100. As a result, it is possible to prevent the luggage 110 from being placed on the upper surface of the endless belt 22, which is the target position, during the operation of the conveyor 20.

[0045] Also, in the luggage position confirmation device 10, a pair of light sources 40 are provided at intervals in the width direction. Therefore, due to the difference in the timing at which the laser light L emitted from one light source 40 leaks above the edge 110c of the luggage 110 and the timing at which the laser light L emitted from the other light source 40 leaks above the edge 110c of the luggage 110, the operator P can confirm that the luggage 110 is tilted in the width direction.

[0046] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to such embodiments and that various other embodiments can be adopted within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, in the above embodiment, the conveyor 20 includes an endless belt 22 for conveying the luggage 110, but a conveyor using rollers or chains etc. may convey the luggage 110.

[0047] Also, in the above embodiment, although the laser light L is emitted from the light source 40, other light may be used as long as it is directional light.

[0048] Also, in the above embodiment, although not particularly described, the luggage position confirmation device may include a detection unit that detects the laser light L leaking upward from the edge 110c of the luggage 110, and a warning unit that warns the operator P by sound, light, etc. when the detection unit detects the laser light L, indicating that the laser light L has leaked. Thereby, the operator P can easily confirm that the laser light L has leaked upward from the edge 110c.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0049] 10 Luggage position confirmation device 20 Conveyor 30 Sensor (an example of a sensor) 40 Light source 50 Control unit 100 Forklift 110 Luggage 110c Edge L Laser light (an example of light) P Operator

Claims

1. A sensor for detecting that a forklift to be operated has approached a target position where a load is to be unloaded; A light source that emits light upward, and when the load carried by the forklift crosses the light and reaches above the target position, the light leaks upward from the edge of the load and the leaked light can be visually recognized by the operator of the forklift; A control unit that causes the light source to emit the light when the sensor detects the forklift; A load position confirmation device comprising the above.

2. The control unit stops the emission of the light from the light source when the sensor does not detect the forklift, The load position confirmation device according to Claim 1.

3. The target position is the upper surface of a conveyor for conveying the load, and The control unit prohibits the operation of the conveyor when the sensor detects the forklift, and allows the operation of the conveyor when the sensor does not detect the forklift, The load position confirmation device according to Claim 1.

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