Double stroke raising / lowering mechanism, and drone port and mechanical parking device having double stroke raising / lowering mechanism

Abstract

To provide a double stroke raising / lowering mechanism capable of raising / lowering a to-be-carried object with a stroke twice as long as that of a raising / lowering device, and to provide a drone port and a mechanical parking device having the double stroke raising / lowering mechanism.SOLUTION: A double stroke raising / lowering mechanism includes: a lift 2 movable in a vertical direction Z with a to-be-carried object 9 placed thereon; a freely rotatable idler 4; a raising / lowering frame 5 horizontally supporting a rotary shaft 41 of the idler 4; a raising / lowering frame 6 that raises / lowers the raising / lowering frame 5 in the vertical direction Z; and a string member 7 hung on the idler 4 and having both end-parts 71, 72 extending downward. One end-part 71 of the string member 7 is fixed at a position below the idler 4, and the other end-part 72 of the string member 7 is fixed to the lift 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a double-stroke lifting mechanism for vertically moving an object to be conveyed, a drone port including the same, and a mechanical parking device.

Background Art

[0002] Lifting mechanisms for vertically moving an object to be conveyed are used in various devices such as drone ports and mechanical parking devices. For example, in a drone port, a lifting mechanism is used when moving a load between a landing / takeoff surface on the top surface of the drone port and the internal space of the drone port below it. A lifting mechanism used in such a drone port is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. The lifting mechanism of Patent Document 1 is provided directly below an opening / closing type opening provided on the landing / takeoff surface of the drone port. The lifting mechanism of the drone port includes a lifting device having a vertically extending stroke, and a lift on which a traversing device such as a conveyor protruding laterally from the lifting device is placed. By raising and lowering the lift with the lifting device, the load is received on the upper surface of the traversing device. The conventional lifting device of the drone port has raised and lowered the traversing device between a height close to the opening of the landing / takeoff surface and the lower end of the stroke. Note that the stroke is the range within which an object (in this case, the lift) that the lifting device directly raises and lowers can be raised and lowered.

[0003] Also, for example, a mechanical parking device that raises and lowers a pallet on which a vehicle is placed between an upper-floor boarding / lowering room and a lower-floor storage space also uses a lifting mechanism. Such a mechanical parking device is equipped with a facility that arranges mechanical devices in a space formed below the boarding / lowering room and stores a large number of vehicles three-dimensionally. Examples of such mechanical parking devices include underground mechanical parking devices such as a multi-layer circulation system, a horizontal circulation system, and a plane reciprocating system.

[0004] For example, in an underground mechanical parking device, an entrance / exit room is provided on the ground, and a space for storing vehicles is provided underground. The lifting mechanism is provided directly below the entrance / exit room, lifts the pallet, passes it from below through a hole the size of the pallet opened in the floor of the entrance / exit room, and exposes it inside the entrance / exit room. The lifting mechanism used in such an underground mechanical parking device is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 2. In the lifting mechanism of Patent Document 2, a lift is directly suspended from one end of a suspension cable wound around a sheave located near the floor of the entrance / exit room, and the other end of the suspension cable is wound or unwound by a motor to raise and lower the lift on which the pallet is placed. Therefore, the range (stroke) within which the lifting mechanism can raise and lower the lift is only within the range in which the lifting mechanism can move one end of the suspension cable, that is, within the range from the floor height where the lifting mechanism is placed to the height of the sheave.

[0005] Furthermore, in such a mechanical parking device, when taking out the vehicle, the pallet is horizontally rotated in the entrance / exit room in order to direct the front side of the vehicle toward the entrance / exit of the entrance / exit room. The lift of the lifting mechanism provided in the conventional underground mechanical parking device is equipped with a lifting device for raising the pallet at the floor height of the entrance / exit room above the floor during horizontal rotation and a turning device for horizontally rotating the pallet in the lifted state.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] The conventional lifting mechanism could only lift and lower the traversing device by the same length as the stroke of the lifting device. Moreover, in a conventional drone port, the traversing device of the lifting mechanism could only reach a position just below the takeoff and landing surface. To load the drone, the luggage had to be lifted until the bottom surface of the luggage reached the drone above the takeoff and landing surface. To lift the luggage that far with a conventional lifting mechanism, there was no choice but to use a lifting device with a stroke longer than that of the lifting device of the conventional lifting mechanism.

[0008] However, in order to safely take off and land the drone, no extra protrusions can be provided on the takeoff and landing surface. Therefore, a lifting device with a stroke longer than that of the lifting device of the conventional lifting mechanism cannot be adopted in the drone port. Therefore, in order to achieve loading of the drone, a lifting mechanism was required that could lift the object to be transported to a position higher than that of the conventional lifting mechanism even if the length of the stroke was the same as that of the lifting device of the conventional lifting mechanism.

[0009] In addition, the shape of the mechanical parking device that moves up and down between the upper floor boarding and alighting room and the lower floor storage space is limited by the shape of the storage space where the device is installed. Depending on the shape of the storage space, it may be necessary to lower the height of the upper end of the lifting device of the lifting mechanism below that of the example disclosed in Patent Document 2. In such a case, even if the position of the upper end of the lifting device is lower than that of the lifting device of the conventional lifting mechanism, a lifting mechanism that can lift the pallet to the floor height of the boarding and alighting room in the same way as the conventional lifting mechanism is required. That is, even if the stroke is shorter than that of the lifting device of the conventional lifting mechanism, a lifting device that can lift the object to be transported to the same height as the conventional lifting mechanism has been demanded.

[0010] Furthermore, it may not be possible to mount the lifting device for horizontal rotation on the lift of the mechanical parking device. For example, when mounting a lifting device for horizontal rotation on a lift, the height dimension of the lifting mechanism itself increases by the amount of the horizontal rotation lifting device, so it becomes necessary to dig a deeper pit for installing the lifting mechanism. However, if it is impossible to dig a deep pit due to restrictions of the building structure, the horizontal rotation lifting device cannot be mounted on the lift. Also, due to the balance with other devices mounted on the lift, there were cases where the horizontal rotation lifting device could not be mounted on the lift.

[0011] In such cases, it was necessary to adopt an operation that was troublesome for the user, such as placing a turntable outside the parking device and having the user perform the stock-out backward and turn the vehicle direction with the turntable. Therefore, even in a mechanical parking device where a lifting mechanism with a horizontal rotation lifting device mounted on the lift cannot be installed, in order to horizontally rotate the pallet in the boarding and alighting chamber, a lifting mechanism that can lift the pallet above the floor level of the boarding and alighting chamber even without a horizontal rotation lifting device has been demanded. For that purpose, a lifting mechanism that can lift the pallet higher than the conventional lifting mechanism is required.

[0012] Thus, there has been a demand for the development of a lifting mechanism that can lift a conveyance object over a wider range than the stroke of the lifting device itself in various devices such as a drone port and a mechanical parking device.

[0013] The present invention was devised to solve the above-described problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a double-stroke lifting mechanism that can lift a conveyance object with a stroke twice that of a lifting device, and a drone port and a mechanical parking device including the same.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0014] According to the present invention, a lift that can move vertically with a conveyance object placed thereon, an idler that can freely rotate, a lifting frame that horizontally supports the rotation axis of the idler, A lifting device for lifting and lowering the lifting frame in the vertical direction, A string member that is hung on the idler and whose both ends extend downward, One end of the string member is fixed below the idler, The other end of the string member is fixed to the lift, and a double-stroke lifting mechanism is provided.

[0015] Further, according to the present invention, a drone port including the above-described double-stroke lifting mechanism is provided.

[0016] Further, according to the present invention, a mechanical parking device including the above-described double-stroke lifting mechanism is provided.

Advantages of the Invention

[0017] According to the present invention described above, a lifting frame that is lifted and lowered in the vertical direction by a lifting device, an idler supported by the lifting frame so as to be freely rotatable about a horizontal rotation axis, a lift on which a conveyance object is placed and that can move in the vertical direction, and a string member hung on the idler are provided. One end of the string member is fixed below the idler, and the other end is fixed to the lift.

[0018] With this configuration, in the double-stroke lifting mechanism of the present invention, when the lifting device raises the idler by L cm, the idler is pulled by the string member and freely rotates, and L cm of the string member is drawn from the other end side to the one end side of the string member. As a result, the length of the vertically extending portion from one end of the string member to the idler becomes 2×L cm longer than before the ascent. On the other hand, the length of the vertically extending portion from the other end of the string member to the idler becomes shorter by a total of 2×L cm, which is the sum of L cm corresponding to the distance by which the idler has risen and L cm drawn to the one end side of the string member. Therefore, the double-stroke lifting mechanism of the present invention can raise the lift by a length of 2L, which is twice the length L by which the lifting device raises the lifting frame.

[0019] In other words, the double-stroke lifting mechanism can lift the lift by a distance twice the stroke of the lifting device. As a result, the double-stroke lifting mechanism can lift the object to be conveyed to a higher position than the conventional lifting mechanism with a lifting frame having the same stroke length as the lifting device of the conventional lifting mechanism. Therefore, since the double-stroke lifting mechanism can lift the object to be conveyed to a position higher than the takeoff and landing surface where the drone lands, the drone port equipped with the double-stroke lifting mechanism can achieve loading of the drone.

[0020] Also, since the double-stroke lifting mechanism can lift the lift by a distance twice the stroke of the lifting device, even if the position of the upper end of the lifting device is lower than that of the lifting device of the conventional lifting mechanism, the pallet can be lifted to the same height as the floor of the boarding and alighting room of the conventional lifting mechanism. Therefore, even if the storage space has a shape that restricts the height of the upper end of the lifting device, by providing the stroke lifting mechanism, a mechanical parking device can be installed that can lift and lower a pallet with a vehicle between the boarding and alighting room on the upper floor and the storage space on the lower floor.

[0021] Furthermore, since the mechanical parking device is provided with the double-stroke lifting mechanism of the present invention, the pallet can be lifted higher than the conventional lifting mechanism. As a result, the mechanical parking device provided with the double-stroke lifting mechanism of the present invention can lift the pallet above the height of the floor of the boarding and alighting room and horizontally rotate it even if it is not equipped with a horizontal rotation lifting device as long as it is equipped with a turning device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0023] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each figure, the same reference numerals are given to common parts, and duplicate explanations are omitted.

[0024] (Double-stroke lifting mechanism) (Double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment) Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is its front view, and Fig. 3 is its plan view. The double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 is a lifting mechanism that moves the object to be conveyed 9 in the vertical direction Z while keeping it horizontal with a stroke twice that of the lifting device 6.

[0025] The double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment includes a traversing device 1, a lift 2, a pair of guide rails 3, four idlers 4, a lifting frame 5, a lifting device 6, four string members 7, four tensioners 8, and a base frame 10. In the following description, the path along which the object 9 to be conveyed moves up and down is referred to as the "vertical path J", and the horizontal path along which the object 9 is conveyed by the traversing device 1 below the vertical path J is referred to as the "traversing path K". Also, the horizontal left - right direction in the front view of the double - stroke lifting mechanism 100 is referred to as the "side direction Y", and the horizontal direction perpendicular to the side direction Y is referred to as the "front - rear direction X". The traversing path K of the present embodiment extends in the front - rear direction X.

[0026] The base frame 10 illustrated in this figure is an H - shaped steel assembled to a ceiling girder. On the upper flange of the H - shaped steel of the base frame 10, the guide rail 3, the lifting device 6, one end 71 of the string member 7, and the tensioner 8 are fixed via various plate materials 11. In this figure, the guide rail 3 and the lifting device 6 are fixed such that their bottom surfaces are located at the height of the lower flange of the H - shaped steel. One end 71 of the string member 7 is fixed at the height of the upper flange of the H - shaped steel, but it may also be fixed at the height of the lower flange of the H - shaped steel. The tensioner 8 is fixed at a position higher than one end 71 of the string member 7. Also, in the example shown in this figure, the upper ends of the lifting device 6 and the guide rail 3 are provided at the same height.

[0027] The traversing device 1, the lift 2, the guide rail 3, the lifting frame 5, and the lifting device 6 are arranged in a row in the side direction Y as shown in the plan view of FIG. 3. The arrangement of the guide rail 3 and the shape of the lift 2 are provided symmetrically about the traversing path K. The guide rail 3 extends in the vertical direction Z. When a pair of guide rails 3 is provided, the pair of guide rails 3 are arranged at intervals in the side direction Y. The guide rails 3 in this figure are arranged facing each other with the web portion 3a facing the traversing path K and sandwiching the traversing path K therebetween. Also, the guide rail 3 is provided at a position closer to the traversing path K than the lifting device 6.

[0028] Also, the positions of both end faces 51a and 51b of the lifting frame 5 in the front - rear direction X coincide with the respective positions of both end parts 1c and 1d of the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1 in the front - rear direction X in a plan view. Both end faces 51a and 51b of the lifting frame 5 in the front - rear direction X are the front - side end face 51a of the cross beam 51 of the lifting frame 5 on the front - side of the double - stroke lifting mechanism 100 described later, and the rear - side end face 51b of the cross beam 51 on the rear - side.

[0029] The object to be conveyed 9 is an object that is lifted while being placed on the stop position P of the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1 and is conveyed horizontally by the traversing device 1. The stop position P is the position where the object to be conveyed 9 on the traversing device 1 should stop when the lift 2 moves up and down. The traversing device 1 of the present embodiment conveys the object to be conveyed 9 in the front - rear direction X. The object to be conveyed 9 is, for example, a load 9 that can be transported by a drone when the double - stroke lifting mechanism 100 is provided in the drone port 200, or a pallet 9 for loading the vehicle 91 when the mechanical parking device 300 is provided. The traversing device 1 is mounted on the lift 2 and extends upward. Also, the traversing device 1 horizontally traverses the object to be conveyed 9 placed on the upper surface 1a along the traversing path K. The traversing device 1 in this figure allows the object to be conveyed 9 to get on from the conveyor - side edge 1c which is one of both end parts in the front - rear direction X and places it on the upper surface 1a. In the following description, among the horizontal - direction end parts of the traversing device 1, the end part through which the object to be conveyed 9 enters and exits is called the "conveyor - side edge 1c". Also, among the horizontal - direction end parts of the traversing device 1, the end part facing the conveyor - side edge 1c (the end part located on the opposite side of the conveyor - side edge 1c in the front - rear direction X in this figure) is called the "back - side edge 1d". It may be a belt conveyor or a roller conveyor that conveys the object to be conveyed 9 along the traversing path K, or it may be a driving cell 304 that traverses the pallet 9 in a mechanical parking device. In this figure, the case where the object to be conveyed 9 is a box - shaped load 9 and the traversing device 1 is a belt conveyor is illustrated.

[0030] Figure 4 is a front view of the lift 2 and the guide rail 3. Further, Figure 5 is a front view and a view taken along the line A-A of Figure 4. The left side of the dashed-dotted line in Figure 5 is the front view of Figure 4 as seen from the front of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100, and the right side of the dashed-dotted line is the view taken along the line A-A of Figure 4. In Figures 4 and 5, the lift 2 is shaded lightly. The guide rail 3 is a pair of rails extending vertically outside the transverse path K. The pair of guide rails 3 are arranged opposite to each other with the transverse path K in between. Figure 4 illustrates the case where the guide rail 3 is a CT-shaped steel, but the guide rail 3 may be a channel steel, an H-shaped steel, an I-shaped steel, or a CT-shaped steel.

[0031] The lift 2 extends in the side direction Y between the pair of guide rails 3, and both ends are guided in the vertical direction Z by the guide rails 3. The lift 2 in this figure has a pair of horizontal support portions 21, a pair of sliding portions 22, four string other-end fixing portions 23, and four fixing bases 24. One sliding portion 22, two string other-end fixing portions 23, and two fixing bases 24 are connected to move integrally to form an end unit 25. The end units 25 are provided one by one at both ends of the lift 2 in the side direction Y.

[0032] The horizontal support portion 21 is a horizontally extending beam, flat plate, or steel material on which the leg 1b of the traversing device 1 is placed. The leg 1b of the traversing device 1 is fixed to the horizontal support portion 21 so that the horizontality of the object 9 to be conveyed placed on the traversing device 1 is maintained. Further, both ends of the horizontal support portion 21 are fixed to the fixing base 24.

[0033] The sliding portion 22 is a portion that meshes with the guide rail 3 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. Due to this shape, the sliding portion 22 moves up and down along the guide rail 3. In the example of this figure, the sliding portion 22 is a concave-shaped member fixed to the flat plate 26, and the web portion 3a of the CT-shaped steel is fitted into the recessed portion 22a which is the recessed part thereof.

[0034] The other-end fixing part 23 of the string is the part where the other end 72 of the string member 7 is fixed to the lift 2, and is provided at the four corners of the lift 2 in plan view. On the other hand, one end 71 of the string member 7 is fixed to the base frame 10. The base frame 10 is provided with a string one-end fixing part 11a for fixing one end 71 of the string member 7. The sliding part 22, the web part 3a of the guide rail 3 that meshes with the sliding part 22, the idler 4 closest to the sliding part 22, and both ends 71, 72 of the string member 7 closest to the sliding part 22 are preferably located on the same virtual straight line in plan view. In the case of this embodiment, this virtual straight line extends in the front-rear direction X. Thereby, since the positions of both ends 71, 72 of the string member 7 and the sliding part 22 do not shift in the side direction Y, a force for pushing the lift 2 in the side direction Y does not occur, and the lift 2 does not sway during lifting and lowering. Therefore, the lift 2 can be stably lifted and lowered while maintaining horizontal.

[0035] When the object 9 to be conveyed is lightweight, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment may include only one guide rail 3, not limited to the above description. In that case, the sliding part 22 of the lift 2 has a shape that wraps around the four sides extending in the vertical direction of the guide rail 3, like the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the second embodiment. With this shape, even when a tension in the side direction Y is applied, the sliding part 22 can move in the vertical direction Z while being suppressed from coming off the guide rail 3 and suppressing sway in the front-rear direction X and the side direction Y. In this case, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment includes four idlers 4 and four string members 7 even if there is only one guide rail 3. Thereby, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of this embodiment can lift and lower the traversing device 1 more evenly than the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the second embodiment.

[0036] Also, when increasing the number of guide rails 3 based on the load capacity on the guide rails 3 to correspond to the assumed earthquake magnitude, or when planning to handle heavy objects to be conveyed 9, a plurality of guide rails 3 may be arranged in the front-rear direction X, and more than two guide rails 3 in total may be used. Thereby, the lift 2 can be raised and lowered more stably than when there is one or two guide rails 3.

[0037] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the end unit 25 of the lift 2. The end unit 25 in this figure is integrated by fixing one sliding part 22, two string other-end fixing parts 23, and two fixing bases 24 to one flat plate 26 respectively. However, it is not limited to this, and the end unit 25 may be configured by integrally molding the sliding part 22, the string other-end fixing part 23, and the fixing base 24 from the beginning.

[0038] The fixing base 24 is a base for placing both ends of the horizontal support part 21. Two fixing bases 24 are provided on one flat plate 26 at intervals in the front-rear direction X. By placing both ends of the pair of horizontal support parts 21 on a total of four fixing bases 24, two for each end unit 25, and fixing them with a connecting tool such as a bolt, the pair of end units 25 and the pair of horizontal support parts 21 can be integrated and moved up and down.

[0039] The string other-end fixing part 23 is at both ends of the flat plate 26 in the front-rear direction X and is provided at the lower end of the lift 2. In the string other-end fixing part 23 in this figure, the string other-end fixing part 23 is fixed to the flat plate 26 by fixing one of the two orthogonal plate members 23a to the flat plate 26 with a bolt 27. The other end 72 of the string member 7 is fixed to the end unit 25 by being sandwiched between the other of the two plate members 23b of the string other-end fixing part 23 and another plate member 23c and bolt-fixed. The string member 7 is a timing belt or a chain. The string member 7 has unevenness 73 on its surface that meshes with the unevenness 42 provided on the circumferential surface of the idler 4. As shown in this figure, one of the plate members 23b and 23c, which sandwiches the other end portion 72 of the string member 7, is provided with unevenness that meshes with the unevenness 73 of the string member 7, so that the string member 7 cannot fall out between the two plate members 23b and 23c.

[0040] With this structure, the lift 2 can smoothly move up and down along the guide rail 3 by being lifted or lowered by the string member 7.

[0041] FIG. 7 is a (A) front view and (B) partial plan view of the lifting frame 5 and the lifting device 6. The lifting device 6 is fixed on a plate material 11 with both end portions 11b spanned over the base frame 10. In the example of this figure, both end portions 11b of the plate material 11 are fixed to the upper flange of the H-shaped steel constituting the base frame 10, extend downward, and the central portion 11c is located at the height of the lower flange of the H-shaped steel constituting the base frame 10. The bottom surface of the lifting device 6 is fixed to the central portion 11c. Note that the height of the bottom surface of the lifting device 6 is not limited to this.

[0042] The lifting device 6 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 is preferably a ball screw. Thereby, even in a limited space, a vertically extending stroke S can be ensured as long as possible. However, it is not limited thereto, and the lifting device 6 may be one that loops an endless chain around sprockets arranged at the upper end and the lower end of the stroke S and moves up and down together with the endless chain by rotating the sprockets. Alternatively, the lifting device 6 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 may be one that connects the lifting frame 5 to one end of a suspension cable looped around a sheave at the upper end of the stroke S, suspends it with the suspension cable, and raises and lowers the lifting frame 5 by winding or unwinding the other end of the suspension cable with a motor. Alternatively, if a pit can be dug deeper below the stroke S, the lifting device 6 may be a cylinder that vertically expands and contracts a piston. FIG. 7 illustrates an example where the lifting device 6 is a ball screw. In this lifting device 6, when the screw portion 6a of the ball screw is rotated around the vertical axis by the motor 6b, the nut portion 6c screwed onto the screw portion 6a moves up and down within the illustrated stroke S.

[0043] The lifting device 6 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 supports the lifting frame 5 in a cantilever manner and moves the lifting frame 5 up and down in the vertical direction Z. The lifting frame 5 horizontally supports the rotating shaft 41 of the idler 4. The position where the lifting frame 5 horizontally supports the rotating shaft 41 of the idler 4 is preferably above the lift 2. This is because the range within which the lift 2 can move up and down becomes longer.

[0044] The lifting frame 5 has a pair of cross beams 51 that extend from the lifting device 6 in the side direction Y and sandwich the lift 2 in the front-rear direction X in plan view. In the following description, one end of the cross beam 51 that is coupled to the nut portion 6c of the lifting device 6 is referred to as the "proximal end portion 51d", and the other end of the cross beam 51 is referred to as the "distal end portion 51c". The lifting frame 5 also has a support pole 52 that extends upward from the cross beam 51 and a longitudinal beam 53 that bridges the upper ends of the support poles 52 at the distal end portions 51c of the pair of cross beams 51 in the front-rear direction X.

[0045] In this figure, the pair of cross beams 51 have a pair of proximal end portions 51d supported by the nut portion 6c of the lifting device 6 with a gap in the front-rear direction X and extend horizontally in the side direction Y. The front-side end face 51a of the cross beam 51 of the lifting frame 5 on the front side of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 and the rear-side end face 51b of the cross beam 51 on the rear side are, as shown in FIG. 7(B), in the same positions as both edges 1c, 1d in the front-rear direction X of the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1 in plan view. Therefore, regardless of the height of the lifting frame 5, the cross beam 51 is always positioned below the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1.

[0046] Four support poles 52 are provided, two on each of the cross beams 51, for a total of four. A pair of support poles 52 provided on one cross beam 51 are arranged at positions sandwiching the traversing device 1 in the side direction Y in plan view, and extend upward from that position of the cross beam 51. The interval between the pair of support poles 52 provided on one cross beam 51 is set to be the same as the width of the traversing path K or wider than the traversing path K. Also, in the illustrated example, the support pole 52 horizontally cantilever-supports the rotation shaft 41 of the idler 4 at the upper end.

[0047] Four idlers 4 are provided and rotate freely about their respective rotation shafts 41. The four idlers 4 are located at the four corners of the lift 2 in plan view, between the fixed part 11a of one end of the string and the fixed part 23 of the other end of the string. Also, the idlers 4 are provided on the outer sides in the side direction Y of each side surface of the four support poles 52. That is, each support pole 52 is located between the idler 4 having the rotation shaft 41 supported by that support pole 52 and the traversing device 1 in the direction (side direction Y) in which the cross beam 51 extends. Moreover, the diameter of the idler 4 is set to be larger than the width of the cross beam 51 in the front-rear direction X.

[0048] Therefore, the string member 7 hung on the idler 4 extends downward across the cross beam 51 in the front-rear direction X to the fixed part 11a of one end of the string and the fixed part 23 of the other end of the string, so that it is possible to prevent the string member 7 from hitting the cross beam 51 of the lifting frame 5. Also, since the idlers 4 are provided on the outer sides in the side direction Y of each side surface of the four support poles 52, it is possible to prevent the idlers 4 and the string member 7 from hitting the object 9 to be conveyed passing through the traversing path K.

[0049] Note that when the object 9 to be conveyed is lightweight, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment may not include the guide rail 3. This is because if the object 9 to be conveyed is lightweight, the range within which the lift 2 suspended by the string members 7 at the four corners swings during lifting falls within the allowable range.

[0050] Figure 8 is a view taken along the line B-B in Figure 3. On the peripheral surface of the idler 4, irregularities 42 are provided. On the string member 7, irregularities 73 are provided which engage with the irregularities 42 of the idler 4 when the string member 7 is wound around the idler 4. By the engagement of the irregularities 42 of the idler 4 and the irregularities 73 of the string member 7, it is possible to prevent the string member 7 from slipping and the idler 4 from idling. The string member 7 wound around the idler 4 extends downward toward both end portions 71 and 72. One end portion 71 of the string member 7 extending downward from the idler 4 is fixed to the string one-end fixing portion 11a, and the other end portion 72 is fixed to the string other-end fixing portion 23.

[0051] The string other-end fixing portion 23 is located at the lower end portions of the four corners of the lift 2. At this time, the string other-end fixing portion 23 is preferably located directly below the inner end in the front-rear direction X of the idler 4. Thereby, since the string member 7 between the string other-end fixing portion 23 and the idler 4 extends vertically, it is possible to prevent an excessive force acting in the front-rear direction X from being applied to the idler 4 and the lift 2, and the lift 2 can be stably lifted and lowered.

[0052] The string one-end fixing portion 11a is fixed to the base frame 10 below the idler 4. One end portion 71 of the string member 7 is fixed to the string one-end fixing portion 11a, whereby the position is fixed to the base frame 10. Note that one end portion 71 of the string member 7 in this figure is fixed to the string one-end fixing portion 11a fixed to the upper flange of the H-shaped steel, but it may be fixed at the same height as the other end portion 72 of the string member 7 when the lift 2 is at the lowermost end of the lifting path J (that is, the height of the lower flange of the H-shaped steel). Also, the string one-end fixing portion 11a is preferably located directly below the outer end in the front-rear direction X of the idler 4.

[0053] Further, four tensioners 8 are provided on the base frame 10 via the plate material 11 of this figure to press the roller 8a against each string member 7 to eliminate the slack of the string member 7. The tensioner 8 is a device that adjusts by increasing or decreasing the tension applied to the string member 7 so as to keep the lift 2 horizontal by changing the position of the roller 8a. However, if it is a device that adjusts the tension applied to the string member 7 to keep the lift 2 horizontal, the configuration of the tensioner 8 is not limited to this. For example, the tensioner 8 may be a device that adjusts the tension applied to the string member 7 to keep the lift 2 horizontal by adjusting the position of the idler 4 up and down.

[0054] The vertical beam 53 is a beam, plate, or steel material spanned across the upper ends of a pair of support poles 52 erected from the respective distal ends 51c of the pair of cross beams 51. The vertical beam 51 illustrated in this figure extends in the front-rear direction X. The presence of the vertical beam 53 enables the pair of cross beams 51 to be lifted and lowered synchronously. Also, the presence of the vertical beam 53 can prevent the lifting frame 5 from being distorted.

[0055] Each support pole 52 extends upward from each of the pair of cross beams 51. The vertical beam 53 is located between the guide rail 3 and the traversing device 1 in a plan view, and at that position, it spans across the upper ends of the support poles 52. With this configuration, the horizontal support portion 21 of the lift 2 extends in the side surface direction Y under the vertical beam 53. Since the lift 2 moves up and down at a speed twice that of the lifting frame 5, if the lift 2 continues to rise, it will eventually catch up with the lifting frame 5. Therefore, the range in which the lift 2 can move up and down is limited to the range from the lowermost end of the lifting path J to the position where the lift 2 catches up with the ascending and descending lifting frame 5. That is, if the vertical beam 53 is arranged at a position as high as possible above the cross beam 51, the lift 2 can gain the distance it can rise after passing over the cross beam 51.

[0056] Therefore, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present embodiment can ensure a long stroke of the lift 2 by arranging the vertical beam 53 at the upper ends of the support poles 52. With this configuration, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present embodiment can lift the traversing device 1 by a length that is twice the length by which the lifting frame 5 has risen.

[0057] FIGS. 9 and 10 are explanatory diagrams of the mechanism by which the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment lifts the traversing device 1 by a length that is twice the length by which the lifting frame 5 has risen. In these figures, for the sake of easy understanding of the explanation, the case where one end portion 71 of the string member 7 is fixed to the bottom surface height of the lifting device 6 is taken as an example. Also, for the sake of easy understanding of the explanation, the description of the tensioner 8 is omitted.

[0058] FIG. 9(A) is a front view of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 when the lift 2 is at the lowermost end of the lifting path J, and FIG. 9(B) is a view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 9(A). The other end portion 72 of the string member 7 when the lift 2 is at the lowermost end of the lifting path J is located at the bottom surface height of the lifting device 6. Also, FIG. 9(C) is a view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 9(A) assuming that the lifting frame 5 has risen by L cm without either end portion 71, 72 of the string member 7 being fixed anywhere.

[0059] FIG. 10(D) is a front view of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment when both end portions 71, 72 of the string member 7 are fixed to the string one-end fixing portion 11a and the string other-end fixing portion 23 and the lifting frame 5 has risen by L cm, and FIG. 10(E) is a view taken along the line D-D of FIG. 10(D).

[0060] The other end fixing part 23 of the string of the lift 2 in Fig. 9(B) is located directly below the inner end of the idler 4 in the front-rear direction X, and the one end fixing part 11a of the string is located directly below the outer end of the idler 4 in the front-rear direction X. Therefore, the string member 7 in this figure extends vertically downward from the idler 4. Since both the one end 71 and the other end 72 of the string member 7 are at the floor height of the lifting device 6, the vertically extending length from the one end 71 of the string member 7 to the idler 4 and the vertically extending length from the other end 72 of the string member 7 to the idler 4 in Figs. 9(A) and 9(B) are the same. Let the vertically extending length from the one end 71 of the string member 7 to the idler 4 and the vertically extending length from the other end 72 of the string member 7 to the idler 4 at this time be, for example, Q cm.

[0061] Here, for example, as shown in Fig. 9(C), it is assumed that the lifting device 6 raises the lifting frame 5 by L cm. When the lifting frame 5 is raised by L cm, the idler 4 fixed to the lifting frame 5 also rises by L cm. Then, since both ends 71 and 72 of the string member 7 in Fig. 9(C) are not fixed anywhere, the string member 7 of the part looped around the upper half of the idler 4 rises by L cm, and both ends 71 and 72 of the string member 7 also rise by L cm. The vertically extending length from both ends 71 and 72 of the string member 7 to the idler 4 at this time remains Q cm.

[0062] However, in reality, as shown in FIGS. 10(D) and 10(E), one end portion 71 of the string member 7 is fixed to the base frame 10 at the string one - end fixing portion 11a, and the other end portion 72 is fixed to the lift 2 at the string other - end fixing portion 23. As shown in FIG. 10(E), when the lifting frame 5 rises by Lcm, the length of the vertically extending portion from one end portion 71 of the string member 7 to the idler 4 becomes Qcm + Lcm, which is Lcm longer than that in FIG. 9(C). Since one end portion 71 of the string member 7 is fixed, the difference Lcm in the length of the string member 7 from one end portion 71 to the idler 4 between FIGS. 9(C) and 10(E) is caused by the idler 4 being pulled by the string member 7 and freely rotating, and is drawn from the other end portion 72 side to the one end portion 71 side of the string member 7. Since both end portions 71, 72 of the string member 7 extend vertically downward from the idler 4, the string member 7 is always wound around only the upper half of the idler 4.

[0063] Therefore, even if the string member 7 moves between the other end portion 72 side and the one end portion 71 side of the string member 7, the length M of the string member 7 in the range wound around the idler 4 does not change. In other words, even if the string member 7 moves between the other end portion 72 side and the one end portion 71 side of the string member 7, the sum of the length of the string member 7 from the one end portion 71 to the idler 4 and the length of the string member 7 from the other end portion 72 to the idler 4 is always constant. Similarly, even if the string member 7 from the one end portion 71 to the idler 4 does not extend vertically due to the tensoner 8, the sum of the length of the string member 7 from the one end portion 71 to the idler 4 and the length of the string member 7 from the other end portion 72 to the idler 4 is always constant.

[0064] Therefore, the other end portion 72 of the string member 7 rises from the base frame 10 by a length of 2×Lcm, which is the sum of Lcm corresponding to the distance by which the idler 4 rises as shown in FIG. 9(C) and Lcm drawn to the one end portion 71 side of the string member 7. In this way, the double - stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present embodiment can raise the traversing device 1 by a length of 2L, which is twice the length L by which the lifting device 6 raises the lifting frame 5.

[0065] Figure 10(F) is a front view of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment when the lift 2 is at the uppermost end of the lifting path J, and Figure 10(G) is a view taken along the line E-E of Figure 10(F). As shown in Figures 10(F) and 10(G), the traversing device 1 can move up and down within the range until the horizontal support portion 21 of the lift 2 reaches the vertical beam 53 of the lifting frame 5 as much as possible and until the lift 2 reaches the upper end of the guide rail 3. That is, an idler 4 is supported on a support pole 52 extending upward from the cross beam 51, the other end 72 of the string member 7 is fixed to the lower end portion of the lift 2, and the vertical beam 53 is at the upper end portion of the support pole 52. Thereby, as shown in Figure 10(F), the horizontal support portion 21 of the lift 2 can be lifted above the cross beam 51 of the lifting frame 5. Therefore, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 can lift the traversing device 1 until the lower end portion of the traversing device 1 reaches above the upper end of the stroke S of the lifting device 6. At that time, the lift 2 is located at the upper end portion of the guide rail 3.

[0066] As a result, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 can lift the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1 to a position higher than the surrounding lifting device 6, guide rail 3, lifting frame 5, and lift 2. Therefore, the traversing device 1 can be lifted to the height of the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1 in Figure 10(F) without using the space in the portion surrounded by the two-dot chain line in Figure 10(F).

[0067] (Double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the second embodiment) Figure 11 is a (A) front view and a (B) view taken along the line F-F of Figure 11(A) of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the second embodiment of the present invention. For example, when the object to be conveyed 9 is lightweight, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present embodiment can be used. The lift 2 of the second embodiment extends in the side direction Y, similar to the first embodiment. The double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the second embodiment is characterized in that the lift 2 has a sliding portion 22 at one end in the side direction Y and the other end 72 of the string member 7 is provided at the other end in the side direction Y.

[0068] That is, the guide rail 3 of the present embodiment is provided only on one end side in the side surface direction Y of the lift 2, and the string member 7 and the idler 4 are provided only on the other end side in the side surface direction Y of the lift 2. Therefore, in the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the second embodiment, the guide rail 3 is essential. The guide rail 3 included in the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present embodiment may be only one. However, not limited thereto, a plurality of guide rails 3 may be arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction X on one end side in the side surface direction Y of the lift 2.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 11(B), the sliding portion 22 of the lift 2 of the present embodiment may have a shape that wraps around the four sides extending in the vertical direction of the guide rail 3. With this shape, the sliding portion 22 can move in the vertical direction Z while suppressing the displacement in the front-rear direction X and the side surface direction Y without coming off the guide rail 3 even when a tension in the side surface direction Y is applied.

[0070] Further, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present embodiment may include two each of the string member 7, the idler 4, and the support pole 52. In that case, each of the two string members 7, the two idlers 4, and the two support poles 52 sandwiches the lift 2 in the front-rear direction X in a plan view. However, not limited thereto, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present embodiment may include only one each of the string member 7 and the idler 4, and the other end 72 of the string member 7 may be fixed to the other end surface in the side surface direction Y of the lift 2.

[0071] For example, the string other-end fixing portion 23 of the present embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11(A) is provided on the opposite side of the sliding portion 22 in the side surface direction Y of the lift 2 with the lifting path J interposed therebetween. That is, the sliding portion 22 is provided at one end in the side surface direction Y of the lift 2 (the left end in FIG. 11(A)), and the string other-end fixing portion 23 is provided at the other end of the lift 2 (the right end in FIG. 11(A)). The lifting path J is located between the sliding portion 22 and the string other-end fixing portion 23 in the side surface direction Y. With this configuration, when the fixed portion 23 at the other end of the string is lifted, the lift 2 tends to tilt as shown by the white arrow W. As a result, the sliding portion 22 is pressed against the guide rail 3, making the sliding portion 22 a more robust and less breakable configuration.

[0072] By arranging the string member 7, the idler 4, the support pole 52, and the guide rail 3 as described above in the double stroke lifting mechanism 100 of this embodiment, the cross beam 51 of the lifting frame 5 and the lift 2 can be made shorter in the side direction Y than in the first embodiment. Moreover, since the cross beam 51 of this embodiment is short, the shape of the lifting frame 5 can be stabilized even without the vertical beam 51. As a result, since the double stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the second embodiment uses fewer materials and parts, the manufacturing cost can be reduced compared to the first embodiment.

[0073] Also, even when the vertical beam 51 is provided, since the lifting frame 5 and the lift 2 do not overlap in the side direction Y, there is no risk of the vertical beam 51 and the lift 2 colliding regardless of the height at which the vertical beam 51 is provided on the support pole 52. Furthermore, since there are fewer guide rails 3, the installation area of the double stroke lifting mechanism 100 can be made shorter in the side direction Y than in the first embodiment. The other configurations, operations, and effects of this embodiment are the same as those of the double stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment.

[0074] (Double Stroke Lifting Mechanism 100 of the Third Embodiment) FIG. 12 is a front view of the double stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the third embodiment of the present invention. The double stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the third embodiment is characterized by including the guide rail 3 only between the lifting path J in the side direction Y and the lifting device 6. The traversing device 1 of this embodiment can move the object to be conveyed 9 in the front-rear direction and the side direction Y of the double stroke lifting mechanism 100. For example, by fixing the traversing device 1 to the swivel device 305 placed on the lift 2, the movement of the object to be conveyed 9 in the front-rear direction and the side direction Y of the double stroke lifting mechanism 100 can be realized.

[0075] In the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of this embodiment, there is no guide rail 3 on the side where the lifting device 6 is not arranged in the side direction Y (the left side of the horizontal path K in this figure). Therefore, when the object 9 to be conveyed is at a height that avoids the idler 4, the support pole 52, and the vertical beam 53, the traversing device 1 of this embodiment can receive the object 9 to be conveyed from the left side of the figure with respect to the traversing device 1, or can send out the object 9 to be conveyed from the traversing device 1 to the left side of the figure. The configurations, operations, and effects of other embodiments of this invention are the same as those of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the second embodiment.

[0076] (Double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment) FIG. 13 is a plan view of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment, the direction in which the vertical beam 53 of the lifting frame 5 extends (the left-right direction in this figure) is called the front-rear direction, and the direction in which the cross beam 51 of the lifting frame 5 extends (the up-down direction in this figure) is called the side direction Y. The traversing device 1 of the fourth embodiment conveys the pallet 9 in any of two different horizontal directions (the left-right direction and the up-down direction in this figure). That is, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of this embodiment has two horizontal paths K. The two virtual horizontal paths K extending in the two different horizontal directions are the first horizontal path K1 extending in the left-right direction in this figure and the second horizontal path K2 extending in the up-down direction in this figure. The traversing device 1 of this embodiment traverses the object 9 to be conveyed along each of the first horizontal path K1 and the second horizontal path K2.

[0077] The dashed rectangle in FIG. 13 represents the stop position P of the pallet 9 above the traversing device 1. The stop position P of this embodiment is located in the range where the two horizontal paths K (the first horizontal path K1 and the second horizontal path K2) intersect. Also, this figure illustrates the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 provided in the mechanical parking device 300 described later.

[0078] In addition, the traversing device 1 of the present embodiment has support rollers 307a and 307b that rotate about a horizontal roller rotation axis (not shown) and support the object 9 to be conveyed from below. The support rollers 307a and 307b include a movable support roller 307a whose roller rotation axis can rotate 90 degrees about a vertical axis, and a fixed support roller 307b whose roller rotation axis is fixed in a direction extending parallel to the edge of the traversing device 1 closest to it. In FIG. 13, the movable support roller 307a surrounded by a circle represents a support roller whose roller rotation axis can rotate 90 degrees about a vertical axis, and the fixed support roller 307b surrounded by a rectangle represents a support roller whose direction of sending the pallet 9 is fixed.

[0079] The object 9 to be conveyed by the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 provided in the mechanical parking device 300 is a pallet 9. The traversing device 1 provided in the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 included in the mechanical parking device 300 may be, for example, a drive cell 304. The double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment is characterized in that the object 9 to be conveyed can move back and forth between the outside of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 and the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1 through one of its side surfaces, the front surface, and the back surface.

[0080] As shown in the plan view of FIG. 13, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present embodiment includes guide rails 3, one at each of the four corners of the lift 2, a sliding portion 22 of the lift 2, a fixing portion 23 for the other end of the string, a string member 7, and an idler 4. The directions of the guide rail 3 and the sliding portion 22 are the same as those of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment. The string member 7 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 provided in the mechanical parking device 300 is preferably a timing chain. The timing chain 7 is tensioned by a tensioner 8 so that the lift 2 remains horizontal.

[0081] The double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of this embodiment includes a traversing device 1, which is provided with a drive cell 304. The double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of this embodiment is characterized in that the dimension of the drive cell 304 in plan view is larger than the dimension of the pallet 9 in plan view. That is, the horizontal ends of the traversing device 1 are located outside the stop position P. This drive cell 304 is configured to be capable of both "lateral feeding", which moves the pallet 9 with the vehicle 91 mounted thereon in its width direction, and "longitudinal feeding", which moves it in its length direction. Inside the stop position P of the pallet 9 in this drive cell 304, for example, a movable support roller 307a is provided whose roller rotation axis can rotate 90 degrees around a vertical axis.

[0082] This drive cell 304 has fixed support rollers 307b at the edges where the pallet 9 enters and exits, outside the stop position P, with the direction of feeding the pallet 9 being fixed. These fixed support rollers 307b are located outside the stop position P. Also, the roller rotation axes of these fixed support rollers 307b extend parallel to the horizontal end of the drive cell 304 that is closest to the fixed support roller 307b among the horizontal ends. For example, the fixed support rollers 307b arranged at both ends in the length direction of the stop position P have a rotation axis extending in the width direction of the stop position P and are fixed so that the rollers rotate in the front-rear direction of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100. On the other hand, the fixed support roller 307b arranged at one end in the width direction of the stop position P has a rotation axis extending in the length direction of the stop position P and is fixed so that the rollers rotate in the side direction Y of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100. With this configuration, when the movable support roller 307a that supports the bottom surface of the pallet 9 rotates 90 degrees around the vertical axis, the drive cell 304 can be switched between lateral feeding and longitudinal feeding.

[0083] Also, the lifting frame 5 of this embodiment has a cross beam 51, support poles 52, and vertical beams 53. The fact that the lifting frame 5 has a cross beam 51, support poles 52, and vertical beams 53 is the same as in the first embodiment. The support pole 52 of this embodiment is provided outside the stop position P in the side direction Y. That is, the support poles 52 are provided at a wider interval than the width direction of the pallet 9. With this configuration, when the pallet 9 is longitudinally fed in its length direction, it can pass through between the support poles 52.

[0084] Also, the guide rail 3 is provided outside the stop position P in the front-rear direction. That is, the guide rails 3 are provided at a wider interval than the length direction of the pallet 9. With this configuration, when the pallet 9 is laterally fed in its width direction, it can pass through between the guide rails 3.

[0085] FIG. 14 is a front view of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 15 is a side view thereof. In this figure, the traversing device 1 (drive cell 304) is provided on the turning device 305 mounted on the lift 2, but the turning device 305 may or may not be present.

[0086] Not limited to the third embodiment, the lifting device 6 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present invention provided in the mechanical parking device 300 may lift the lifting frame 5 by rotating an endless chain 6d connected to the lifting frame 5. In the example of this figure, a freely rotatable sprocket 6e is provided at the upper end of the lifting device 6, and a sprocket 6f synchronized with the rotation of the motor 6b is provided at the lower end of the lifting device 6. The endless chain 6d is wound around the upper and lower sprockets 6e, 6f. With this configuration, the lifting device 6 lifts the lifting frame 5 between the upper and lower sprockets 6e, 6f by rotating the endless chain 6d with the motor 6b. In this case, the lifting frame 5 may be cantilever-supported so as to be vertically movable on a pair of columns 6g of the lifting device 6 made of H-shaped steel, channel steel, or the like.

[0087] Alternatively, the lifting device 6 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 provided in the mechanical parking device 300 may have the same configuration as the lifting mechanism of Patent Document 2. In this case, the lifting frame 5 may be connected to one end of a suspension cable wound around a sheave at the upper end of the stroke and suspended by the suspension cable, and the other end of the suspension cable may be wound or rewound by a motor to lift and lower the lifting frame 5. However, not limited thereto, the lifting device 6 may be a ball screw, similar to the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment.

[0088] With this configuration, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment supports the lift 2 with four guide rails 3, so that the lift 2 can be lifted and lowered more stably than in the case of one or two guide rails 3. In addition, since the guide rail 3 and the support pole 52 are provided at positions avoiding the lateral movement path K of the pallet 9, the object to be conveyed 9 can be moved not only in the front-rear direction but also in the lateral direction Y.

[0089] Although the above description has been made taking the case where the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 is used in the mechanical parking device 300 as an example, the situation where the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment is used is not limited to this. The double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment may be used for the drone port 200 or other scenarios. In that case, since the range of swing of the lift 2 suspended by the string members 7 at the four corners during lifting and lowering is within the allowable range if the object to be conveyed 9 is lightweight, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment may not be provided with the guide rail 3. The other configurations, operations, and effects of this embodiment are the same as those of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment.

[0090] (Double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fifth embodiment) FIG. 16 is a plan view of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The dashed rectangle in FIG. 16 represents the stop position P of the pallet 9 when the pallet 9 is placed on the traversing device 1. The drive cell 304, which is the lateral movement device 1 of this embodiment, is provided with dimensions such that at least the width is the same as that of the pallet 9. The drive cell 304 may also be provided with the same length dimension as the pallet 9.

[0091] All of the movable support rollers 307a provided on the drive cell 304 are inside the stop position P and are all provided so as to be rotatable 90 degrees about a vertical axis. The pallet 9, which is the object to be conveyed in this embodiment, is assumed to have a flat bottom surface or a beam that supports the upper surface of the pallet 9 is located closer to the edge than the pallet 9 of the fourth embodiment. The guide rail 3 and the support pole 52 of this embodiment are provided at an interval greater than the width and length of the stop position P. Further, outside the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of this embodiment, a fixed support roller 307b for transferring the pallet 9 to and from the lateral movement device 1 may be provided.

[0092] With this configuration, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of this embodiment can move the pallet 9 in both the front-rear direction and the left-right direction only with the movable support rollers 307a inside the stop position P. Further, in the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of this embodiment, since the movable support rollers 307a inside the stop position P are arranged near the edge of the stop position P, the pallet 9 can be transferred between the movable support rollers 307a and the fixed support roller 307b arranged immediately outside the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100. As a result, since the fixed support roller 307b arranged at the widthwise end of the stop position P is not required, the width in the direction in which the cross beam 51 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fifth embodiment extends can be made shorter than that of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment. Other configurations, operations, and effects of this embodiment are the same as those of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment.

[0093] (Drone Port) Next, the drone port 200 equipped with the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 will be described. Hereinafter, taking the case where the drone port 200 is equipped with the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment as an example, this will be described. FIG. 17(A) is a perspective view of the drone port 200 equipped with the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment. The object 9 to be conveyed by the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 provided in the drone port 200 is the luggage 9. As shown in this figure, the drone port 200 has an outer wall 201 surrounding the four sides, and an access port 202 for putting the luggage 9 into the drone port 200 is provided on the outer wall 201.

[0094] Also, on the top surface of the drone port 200, a drone access port 203 through which the drone 210 can pass is provided. The drone access port 203 is rectangular, and is closed by a sliding roof 204 except when the drone 210 takes off and lands. Furthermore, an obstacle detection device 205 is provided on the top surface of the drone port 200.

[0095] FIG. 17(B) is a perspective view of the drone 210 taking off and landing on the drone port 200. A "drone" is a type of small unmanned helicopter. The drone 210 for loading luggage at the drone port 200 of the present embodiment is a drone for unmanned conveyance of small luggage. The drone 210 has a main body 211, propellers 212 for flight, and legs 213. The legs 213 of the drone 210 in the example of this figure are four in number and extend downward and outward from the four corners of the main body 211.

[0096] The drone 210 has a pair of catchers 214 for gripping the luggage 9 between the four legs 213. In this figure, the catchers 214 in the closed state are shown. The pair of catchers 214 support the bottom surface 9b of the loaded luggage 9 when closed to prevent it from falling, and release the bottom surface 9b of the luggage 9 when opened to release the luggage 9 downward. The catcher 214 illustrated in this figure is a right-angled bent plate material rotatably attached to the drone 210. The catcher 214 illustrated in this figure has a vertical plate portion 214a and a claw plate portion 214b. The vertical plate portion 214a is a portion that extends downward from the upper end when the catcher 214 is closed. The claw plate portion 214b is a portion that extends from the lower end of the vertical plate portion 214a toward the inside of the pair of catchers 214 when the catcher 214 is closed.

[0097] FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing the operation of the drone port 200 from the landing of the drone 210 to the storage of the drone 210. Time elapses from FIG. 18(A) to FIG. 18(F). As shown in FIG. 18(A), when the drone port 200 receives a landing request signal from the drone 210, it scans the surroundings with the obstacle detection device 205. For example, the obstacle detection device 205 may irradiate radar or laser to confirm that there are no obstacles around.

[0098] The drone port 200 includes a landing / takeoff surface 220 where the drone 210 lands and a vertical passage port 221 that opens on the landing / takeoff surface 220 and allows the object to be conveyed 9 to pass through in the vertical direction. After confirming that there are no obstacles around, the drone port 200 slides the sliding roof 204 to the right back in FIG. 18(B) to open the drone entrance / exit 203. Next, as shown in FIG. 18(C), the landing / takeoff surface 220 is raised from the inside of the drone port 200 and exposed on the top surface of the drone port 200. Then, as shown in FIG. 18(D), the drone port 200 lands / takes off the drone 210 on the landing / takeoff surface 220.

[0099] The landing / takeoff surface 220 is preferably a flat surface with few steps and unevenness. A vertical passage port 221 for passing the luggage 9 in the vertical direction is provided in a part of the landing / takeoff surface 220. The vertical passage port 221 is larger than the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1 and also larger than the upper surface of the luggage 9 carried by the drone 210, and is closed by the opening / closing door 222 when the drone 210 lands. The drone port 200 is provided with a double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 at a position where the traversing device 1 is directly below the vertical passage 221.

[0100] When the drone 210 lands, the drone port 200 lowers the takeoff / landing surface 220 to the drone movement height H2 where there is a drone movement device 230 as shown in FIG. 18(E). The drone movement height H2 is located between the takeoff / landing height H1 and the load movement height H3. The takeoff / landing height H1 is the height of the takeoff / landing surface 220 when the drone 210 takes off or lands. Also, the load movement height H3 is the height of the takeoff / landing surface 220 when loading the drone 210 or transferring the load 9 from the drone 210 to the drone port 200. The drone movement device 230 moves the drone 210 to a fixed position directly above the vertical passage 221.

[0101] When the drone 210 stops directly above the vertical passage 221, the drone movement device 230 moves away from the takeoff / landing surface 220, and as shown in FIG. 18(F), the takeoff / landing surface 220 further descends to the load movement height H3. As a result, the entire drone 210 is stored inside the drone port 200. Thereafter, the sliding roof 204 slides to the front left in the figure, closing the drone entrance / exit 203 again.

[0102] FIG. 19 is a view taken along the line G-G of FIG. 18(F). The takeoff / landing surface 220 in this figure is located at the load movement height H3. Also, the traversing device 1 in this figure is located at the traversing height. The traversing height is the height of the traversing device 1 when the object to be conveyed 9 gets on the traversing device 1. The drone port 200 is provided with a takeoff / landing surface lifting device 240, a takeoff / landing surface support frame 250, a conveyor 260, an adjustment plate 270, and a control device 280. The double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 is installed inside the drone port 200 so that the traversing device 1 is directly below the vertical passage 221. At this time, the traversing device 1 is set to be smaller than the vertical passage 221 in plan view.

[0103] The raising and lowering with respect to the landing surface 220 is borne by the landing surface raising and lowering device 240. In this figure, a case where the landing surface raising and lowering device 240 is a ball screw is illustrated. The landing surface raising and lowering device 240 is fixed to the base frame 10 so as to face the raising and lowering device 6 of the double stroke raising and lowering mechanism 100. The landing surface 220 is fixed on a support frame 253 in which columns 251 and beams 252 are assembled in a rectangle in plan view. Support columns 254 extend downward from the support frame 253, and the lower ends of the support columns 254 are fixed to the nut portion 240a of the landing surface raising and lowering device 240. The support column 254 is of a length such that the landing surface 220 can reach the takeoff / landing height H1 of the drone 210 when the nut portion 240a is at the upper end of the stroke of the landing surface raising and lowering device 240. Therefore, inevitably, the lowermost height of the landing surface 220 that can be set as the load transfer height H3 is the height of the landing surface 220 when the nut portion 240a is at the lower end of the stroke of the landing surface raising and lowering device 240.

[0104] In the drone port 200, the double stroke raising and lowering mechanism 100 needs to raise the traversing device 1 and pass it through the vertical passage 221 to receive the load 9 released by the drone 210 on the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1. The support frame 253 surrounds a pair of guide rails 3, a lifting frame 5, an idler 4, a lift 2, and the traversing device 1 in plan view, and the raising and lowering device 6 is outside the support frame 253. The beam 252 of the support frame 253 when the landing surface 220 is at the load transfer height H3 extends in the front-rear direction X between the raising and lowering device 6 and the guide rail 3. Therefore, even if the screw portion 6a of the raising and lowering device 6 extends to just below the landing surface 220 at the load transfer height H3, the raising and lowering device 6 can only lift the cross beam 51 of the lifting frame 5 up to the lower surface of the beam 252 when the landing surface 220 is at the load transfer height H3. Therefore, in the double stroke raising and lowering mechanism 100 provided in the drone port 200, the height of the upper end of the stroke S of the raising and lowering device 6 is restricted by the position of the landing surface support frame 250 when the landing surface 220 is at the load transfer height H3.

[0105] In addition, a space for the opening and closing door 222 to open downward must be provided below the upper and lower passage 221 of the takeoff and landing surface 220. Therefore, in order to load the drone 210 at such a drone port 200, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 needs to have a large difference between the lifting range of the traversing device 1 and the stroke S of the lifting device 6.

[0106] Figure 20 is a view taken along the line H-H of Figure 18(F). The drone port 200 includes a conveyor 260 extending in the direction away from the traversing device 1 in the front-rear direction X from a position close to the conveyor side edge 1c of the traversing device 1, a double-stroke lifting mechanism 100, and a control device 280 for controlling the conveyor 260.

[0107] The illustrated conveyor 260 has an upper surface 260a at the same height as the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1 when at the traversing height, and extends in the front-rear direction X between the traversing device 1 and the loading / unloading port 202. The drone port 200 may be provided with a photoelectric tube sensor 263 at the position closest to the loading / unloading port 202 on the upper surface 260a of the conveyor 260. The photoelectric tube sensor 263 irradiates light in the width direction of the conveyor 260, and when the light is blocked, it sends a detection signal to the control device 280 of the drone port 200.

[0108] The drone port 200 preferably has a guide bracket 262 at the traversing device side end 260b closest to the traversing device 1 in the front-rear direction X on the upper surface 260a of the conveyor 260. The guide bracket 262 is a member for bringing the luggage 9 to the center in the width direction of the conveyor 260.

[0109] Note that the drone port 200 may have guides 261 at both ends in the width direction of the upper surface of the conveyor 260 instead of the guide brackets 262. The guides 261 are installed on the upper surface 260a of the conveyor 260 at intervals corresponding to the width of the load 9. The guides 261 may have, for example, a plurality of rotatable rollers 261a, and the surface on which the rollers 261a are arranged may be installed facing the inner side in the width direction of the upper surface 260a of the conveyor 260. By having this guide 261, the conveyor 260 can move the load 9 from the loading / unloading port 202 to the traversing device 1 without tilting the load 9 in the front-rear direction X and while keeping the load 9 arranged at the center in the width direction of the conveyor 260. Therefore, the load 9 can be placed at an optimal position on the traversing device without performing the operation of rotating the conveyor 260 by abutting the load 9 against the adjustment vertical plane 273 described later.

[0110] Also, the drone port 200 preferably includes two adjustment plates 270. The adjustment plates 270 are respectively attached, one by one, onto a pair of cross beams 51 of the lifting frame 5. In the following description, in the front-rear direction X, the direction close to the loading / unloading port 202 is referred to as "front", and the direction far from the loading / unloading port 202 is referred to as "rear". Also, the adjustment plate 270 closer to the loading / unloading port 202 is referred to as the "front-side adjustment plate 271", and the other adjustment plate 270 is referred to as the "rear-side adjustment plate 272". In this example, the front-side adjustment plate 271 is fixed to the front-side cross beam 51.

[0111] FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the drone port 200 until the load 9 received by the conveyor 260 is placed on the traversing device 1. FIG. 21(A) is a partial plan view, and FIGS. 1(B) and 21(C) are partial side views. The lifting frame 5 has an adjustment vertical plane 273 extending in the vertical direction Z along the conveyor-side edge 1c at the same position as the conveyor-side edge 1c of the traversing device 1 in a plan view. For example, the adjustment vertical plane 273 may be the front-side end face 271a of the front-side adjustment plate 271.

[0112] The width of the traversing device 1 in the side direction Y is shorter than the width of the package 9, which is the object to be transported by the drone port 200, in the side direction Y. The traversing device 1 is provided such that both horizontal ends of the object to be transported 9 protrude from the traversing device 1. In other words, the package 9 is provided such that both ends in the side direction Y protrude from both ends of the traversing device 1 in the side direction Y. Also, the width of the traversing device 1 in the side direction Y is shorter than the distance between the claw plate portions 214b in the side direction Y when the pair of catchers 214 of the drone 210 are closed.

[0113] The package 9 to be loaded onto the drone 210 is placed from the loading / unloading port 202 onto the conveyor 260 inside the outer wall 201 of the drone port 200. At this time, the user of the drone port 200 places the package 9 on the conveyor 260 with the package 9 facing the direction in which it will be loaded onto the drone 210. For example, when loading the package 9 onto the drone 210 of this drone port 200, the long side of the bottom surface 9b of the package 9 is loaded so as to face the front and back of the drone 210. Therefore, in this figure, the user places the package 9 on the conveyor 260 such that the long side of the bottom surface of the package 9 faces the front and back in the conveying direction of the conveyor 260, and the short side of the bottom surface of the package 9 extends parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyor 260.

[0114] When the user places the package 9 on the conveyor 260, the photoelectric tube sensor 263 detects it and sends a detection signal to the control device 280 of the drone port 200. When receiving the detection signal, the control device 280 determines that the package 9 is placed on the upper surface 260a of the conveyor 260, raises the lift 2 as shown in Fig. 21(B), and at the same time starts the rotation of the conveyor 260. The package 9 moves in the conveying direction of the conveyor 260 toward the back as shown by the arrow (1) in Fig. 21(A).

[0115] A pair of guide brackets 262 are provided at the lateral movement device side end 260b of the conveyor 260. The pair of guide brackets 262 have tapered surfaces 262a whose intervals gradually decrease as they approach the lateral movement device 1 from the front to the back. The narrowest interval N between the pair of tapered surfaces 262a of the pair of guide brackets 262 is slightly larger than the length h in the side direction Y of the package 9 loaded on the drone 210 (in this figure, the length of the long side of the bottom surface of the package 9).

[0116] Also, the front side adjustment plate 271 is fixed to the front cross beam 51 of the lifting frame 5. The front side adjustment plate 271 is fixed to the cross beam 51 such that the front end face 271a is parallel to the back side face 9a of the package 9 during loading. For example, the front end face 271a of the front side adjustment plate 271 may be provided at the same position as the front end face 51a of the front cross beam 51 of the lifting frame 5 in a plan view (Fig. 21(A)) or the conveyor side edge 1c of the upper surface 1a of the lateral movement device 1. At this time, the front side adjustment plate 271 is provided lower than the upper surface 1a of the lateral movement device 1 at the lateral movement height.

[0117] In this way, the drone port 200 includes the guide brackets 262 and the adjustment vertical plane 273 of the lifting frame 5. Thereby, even if the orientations and positions of the packages 9 at the time of being placed on the conveyor 260 are various, the packages 9 can always be placed in the orientation and the position in the side direction Y when being loaded onto the drone 210, and then transferred from the conveyor 260 to the lateral movement device 1.

[0118] For example, when the package 9 is placed to the right of the center of the conveyor 260 as shown in Fig. 21(A), first, the right rear corner of the package 9 hits the tapered surface 262a of the right guide bracket 262. Since the conveyor 260 continues to rotate, the bottom surface 9b of the package 9 is continuously pushed by friction toward the back. Next, the package 9 gradually rotates about the vertical axis with the right rear corner as the center as shown by the arrow (2) in Fig. 21(A), and the left rear corner of the package 9 hits the front end surface 271a on the front side of the front adjustment plate 271. When the conveyor 260 continues to rotate further, the bottom surface 9b of the package 9 is pushed by friction toward the back, and the right rear corner of the package 9 moves toward the left rear along the tapered surface 262a of the right guide bracket 262. Eventually, when the right rear corner of the package 9 reaches the left side of the narrowest part of the tapered surface 262a of the right guide bracket 262, as shown by the arrow (3), the back side surface 9a of the package 9 fits against the front end surface 271a (adjustment vertical surface 273) on the front side of the front adjustment plate 271. With this configuration, the drone port 200 can always correct the posture of the package 9 in the same position and the same orientation by continuously rotating the conveyor 260 until the package 9 fits against the front adjustment plate 271 with the front adjustment plate 271 protruding upward from the upper surface 260a of the conveyor 260.

[0119] Also, if the back side surface 9a of the package 9 at the time of loading is parallel to the front end surface 51a on the front side of the front cross beam 51 of the lifting frame 5, the adjustment vertical surface 273 may be the front end surface 51a of the front cross beam 51 itself. In that case, similar to the case of using the front adjustment plate 271, the cross beam 51 of the lifting frame 5 is raised to a height at which the front end surface 51a can contact the package 9 above the upper surface 260a of the conveyor 260. With the package 9 applied to the front end surface 51a of the cross beam 51, the conveyor 260 is continuously driven until the back side surface 9a of the package 9 fits against the front end surface 51a of the cross beam 51, and then the conveyor 260 is stopped. By using the front end surface 51a of the front cross beam 51 on the front side as the adjustment vertical surface 273, the front cross beam 51 on the front side can have both the function as the lifting frame 5 and the function as the front adjustment plate 271. Thereby, the installation of the front adjustment plate 271 can be omitted.

[0120] The control device 280 of the drone port 200 once stops the drive of the conveyor 260 in this state, and lowers the lift 2 until the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1 is aligned with the upper surface 260a of the conveyor 260 as shown in FIG. 21(C). As described above, the front end face 51a of the cross beam 51 on the front side and the front end face 271a of the front adjustment plate 271 are in the same position as the conveyor-side edge 1c of the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1 in a plan view. Thereby, the traversing device 1 can be lowered to the traversing height at which the height of the upper surface 1a is aligned with the conveyor 260 without hitting the load 9 against the traversing device 1. When the lift 2 is lowered until the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1 becomes the same height as the upper surface 260a of the conveyor 260, the rear adjustment plate 272 protrudes above the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1. The front side surface 272a of the rear adjustment plate 272 is at a position separated from the traversing device 1 in the front-rear direction X (in this figure, a position behind the rear edge 1d of the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1) from the rear edge 1d of the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1, extends upward, and protrudes above the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1. The rear adjustment plate 272 is fixed to the rear cross beam 51 in the illustrated example, but may be fixed to the base frame 10.

[0121] Next, the control device 280 rotates the conveyor 260 and the traversing device 1 at the same speed, and transfers the load 9 from the conveyor 260 to the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1 as indicated by the arrow (4) in FIG. 21(C). After the load 9 is placed on the traversing device 1, the control device 280 continues to drive the conveyor of the traversing device 1 until the load 9 follows the side surface 272a of the rear adjustment plate 272. Thereby, since the rear side surface 9a of the load 9 follows the side surface 272a of the rear adjustment plate 272, the orientation of the load 9 can be corrected to the orientation at the time of loading.

[0122] At this time, when the luggage 9 is placed on the traversing device 1, both ends of the luggage 9 in the side direction Y are arranged at positions protruding from both ends of the traversing device 1 in the side direction Y. After that, the traversing device 1 may be rotated counterclockwise to move the luggage 9 forward by a predetermined distance and place the luggage 9 at the center of the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1. The stop position P of the luggage 9 in the drone port 200 of the present embodiment is a position where both ends of the luggage 9 in the side direction Y protrude from the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1. The stop position P of the present embodiment may be the center of the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1, or may be a position where the rear side surface 9a of the luggage 9 contacts the side surface 272a of the rear adjustment plate 272. With this configuration, the drone port 200 can automatically face the luggage 9 in the direction of loading the drone 210 and place the luggage 9 on the traversing device 1 in a state where the luggage 9 is arranged at the loading position in the side direction Y.

[0123] FIG. 22 is a view taken along the line G-G of FIG. 18(F) when loading the luggage 9 onto the drone 210. In FIG. 22, a part of the landing surface support frame 250 is omitted so that the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 can be seen. When loading the luggage 9 onto the drone 210, the control device 280 opens the opening / closing door 222 of the vertical passage 221 on the landing surface 220 downward. The drone 210 waits directly above the vertical passage 221 with the catcher 214 opened downward. The state where the catcher 214 is opened refers to a state where the catcher 214 rotates about the upper end until the interval between the claw plates 214b of the pair of catchers 214 becomes wider than the length of the luggage 9 in the side direction Y.

[0124] The catcher 214 is attached to the drone 210 so as to be rotatable about the upper end. The interval between the upper ends of the pair of catchers 214 is provided to be larger than the length of the luggage 9 in the side direction Y. With this configuration, the traversing device 1 can lift the luggage 9 until the luggage 9 passes between the catchers 214 and the bottom surface 9b of the luggage 9 is above the catchers 214.

[0125] FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100, the drone port 200, and the drone 210 when loading the luggage 9 onto the drone 210. First, the drone 210 is positioned directly above the vertical passage 221, and a pair of catchers 214 are opened. During that time, as shown in FIG. 23(A), the control device 280 controls the lifting device 6 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 to lift the traversing device 1 until the bottom surface 9b of the luggage 9 (i.e., the upper surface 1a of the traversing device 1) is above the catcher 214.

[0126] At this time, due to the operation of the drone port 200 described in FIG. 21, the luggage 9 is placed on the traversing device 1 in the orientation for loading, so the luggage 9 can be exactly stored in the storage space of the drone 210 for loading the luggage 9 (for example, the space above the pair of catchers 214). That is, if the orientation of the luggage 9 is misaligned, such as by rotating around the vertical axis with respect to the orientation during loading, the luggage 9 will hit the drone 210 when lifted by the traversing device 1, pushing up the drone 210. However, in the drone port 200 of this embodiment, the cross beam 51 on the front side of the lifting frame 5 and the front side adjustment plate 271 orient the luggage 9 in the orientation for loading onto the drone 210, and the traversing device 1 is lifted with the luggage 9 placed directly below the space of the drone 210 for loading the luggage 9. Thereby, the drone port 200 of this embodiment can prevent the situation where the luggage 9 pushes up the drone 210.

[0127] After the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 lifts the load 9 until the bottom surface 9b of the load 9 is above the catcher 214, the drone 210 closes the catcher 214 as shown in Fig. 23(B). Closing the catcher 214 means an operation of moving the catcher 214 so that the distance between the claw plate portions 214b of the pair of catchers 214 becomes narrower than the length of the load 9 in the side direction Y. By closing the catcher 214 with the bottom surface 9b of the load 9 above the claw plate portion 214b, the claw plate portion 214b of the catcher 214 extends toward the center in the side direction Y below the portion of the bottom surface 9b of the load 9 that protrudes from the traversing device 1 in the side direction Y. Since the width of the traversing device 1 in the side direction Y is shorter than the width of the load 9 in the side direction Y, both ends of the load 9 on the traversing device 1 in the side direction Y will necessarily protrude from the traversing device 1. Moreover, since the width of the traversing device 1 in the side direction Y is provided shorter than the distance between the claw plate portions 214b of the pair of catchers 214 in the side direction Y when closed, the drone 210 can close the catcher 214 without contacting the traversing device 1.

[0128] Next, the control device 280 returns the lifting frame 5 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 to the lowermost end of the stroke S and lowers the traversing device 1 to the traversing height at which the height of the upper surface 1a is aligned with the upper surface 260a of the conveyor 260. Since the width of the traversing device 1 in the side direction Y is provided shorter than the distance between the claw plate portions 214b when closed, the drone port 200 can lower the traversing device 1 without contacting the claw plate portions 214b of the closed catcher 214. By this operation, the drone port 200 places the bottom surface 9b of the load 9 on the claw plate portions 214b of the catcher 214 of the drone 210. Thereby, the drone port 200 can place the load 9 on the claw plate portions 214b of the catcher 214 and complete the loading of the load onto the drone 210.

[0129] After that, the drone port 200 closes the opening and closing door 222 of the vertical passage 221 opened on the landing and takeoff surface 220. Also, when the drone port 200 receives the luggage 9 from the drone 210, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 and the drone 210 are operated in the order of FIGS. 23(D), 23(C), 23(B), and 23(A).

[0130] After that, the drone port 200 exposes the takeoff / landing surface 220 to the top surface of the drone port 200 as shown in FIGS. 18(F) and 18(D), and takes off the drone 210. Next, the takeoff / landing surface 220 is stored inside the drone port 200, and the drone entrance / exit 203 is closed with the sliding roof 204. Thus, the drone port 200 can automatically load the luggage 9 onto the drone 210 and take off the drone 210.

[0131] Note that the above description is given by taking the case where the drone port 200 is provided with the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment as an example, but the drone port 200 may be provided with the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the second embodiment or the third embodiment. In that case, the cross beam 51 of the lifting frame 5 may extend until it crosses the horizontal path K, and the adjustment plate 270 may be fixed to the cross beam 51. The configuration, operation, and effects of the drone port 200 provided with the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the second embodiment or the third embodiment are the same as those of the drone port 200 provided with the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment.

[0132] Furthermore, when loading the luggage 9 onto the drone 210 by a method different from the above-described method, the drone port 200 may be provided with the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment or the fifth embodiment. The configuration, operation, and effects of the drone port 200 provided with the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment or the fifth embodiment are the same as those of the drone port 200 provided with the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment.

[0133] (Mechanical parking device) Next, a mechanical parking device 300 equipped with a double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 will be described. The mechanical parking device 300 of the present embodiment corresponds to a mechanical parking device that raises and lowers a pallet 9 on which a vehicle 91 is placed between an upper floor boarding and alighting room 301 and a lower floor storage space 302. For example, the mechanical parking device 300 of the present embodiment corresponds to mechanical parking devices of a multi-layer circulation type, a horizontal circulation type, and a planar reciprocating type. The mechanical parking device 300 includes a boarding and alighting room 301 having a pallet passage hole 303 through which the conveyance object 9 passes in the vertical direction on the floor 301a, a storage space 302 for storing the vehicle 91 below the boarding and alighting room 301, and a control device 306 for controlling the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100.

[0134] (Mechanical Parking Device 300 of the First Embodiment) The mechanical parking device 300 of the first embodiment includes a double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 provided with dimensions of the traversing device 1 (drive cell 304) when viewed in plan view being the minimum size as long as the function of the traversing device 1 is satisfied, and is characterized in that the traversing device 1 conveys the pallet 9 in its length direction. FIG. 24 is a side view (A) and a plan view (B) showing an example of the mechanical parking device 300 of the first embodiment including the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment. FIG. 25 is a view taken along the line G-G of FIG. 24(B) when the pallet 9 in the boarding and alighting room 301 is horizontally rotated by the rotating device 305. The mechanical parking device 300 illustrated in these figures includes the rotating device 305, but the mechanical parking device 300 of the present embodiment may or may not include the rotating device 305. When the mechanical parking device 300 includes the rotating device 305, the control of the rotating device 305 is performed by the control device 306. FIGS. 24 and 25 illustrate the case where the mechanical parking device 300 of the first embodiment is of the horizontal circulation type and includes the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment. In the following description, the horizontal circulation type mechanical parking device 300 is referred to as the horizontal circulation type parking device 300.

[0135] In the horizontal circulation type parking device 300 illustrated in FIGS. 24 and 25, an entrance / exit room 301 is provided on the ground, and a storage space 302 for storing the vehicle 91 is provided underground. Note that in the mechanical parking device 300 of the present embodiment, both the entrance / exit room 301 and the storage space 302 may be on the ground or underground as long as the storage space 302 is below the entrance / exit room 301. The object 9 to be transported by the double stroke lifting mechanism 100 used in the horizontal circulation type parking device 300 is the pallet 9 on which the vehicle 91 is placed. Further, in the horizontal circulation type parking device 300, the drive cell 304 fixed on the lift 2 of the double stroke lifting mechanism 100 corresponds to the traversing device 1 of the double stroke lifting mechanism 100. The horizontal circulation type parking device 300 includes the double stroke lifting mechanism 100 at a position where the drive cell 304 fixed on the lift 2 is directly below the pallet passage hole 303.

[0136] The horizontal circulation type parking device 300 is a device that arranges a plurality of drive cells 304 that support and move the pallet 9 in the storage space 302 so that the pallets 9 are adjacent to each other like a checkerboard in the horizontal plane, and moves the pallet 9 in the length direction or the width direction at each position to circulate and perform the loading and unloading of the vehicle 91. The vehicle 91 is, for example, a small car, a medium-sized car, a large car, a high-roof car, or the like. In FIGS. 24 and 25, the horizontal circulation type parking device 300 is an underground type and has two storage areas, upper and lower, underground. Further, as a device for vertically lifting and lowering the pallet 9 between the entrance / exit room 301 on the ground and the underground storage area, the double stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment is provided.

[0137] A pallet passage hole 303 having the same size as the pallet 9 is provided in the floor 301a of the entrance / exit room 301 on the ground. The horizontal circulation type parking device 300 lifts and lowers the pallet 9 through this pallet passage hole 303 and exposes the pallet in the entrance / exit room, thereby lifting and lowering the vehicle and the pallet 9 between the entrance / exit room 301 and the storage space 302.

[0138] In this example, each of the upper and lower two-stage storage areas illustrated in FIG. 24 has a vehicle storage space for 14 vehicles respectively in a range other than the position where the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 raises and lowers the pallet 9. In this figure, a drive cell 304 for moving the pallet 9 with the vehicle 91 placed thereon in its width direction and length direction is provided in each vehicle storage space. Also in this example, a drive cell 304 is provided as a traversing device 1 also in the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100. The drive cell 304 mounted on the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 is fixed on a swivel device 305 fixed on the lift 2. The double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 can raise the drive cell 304 until the drive cell 304 rises to a position higher than the floor 301a of the passenger compartment 301. Further, the swivel device 305 is a device for horizontally swiveling the drive cell 304 mounted on the lift 2 around a vertical axis.

[0139] The drive cell 304 is configured to be capable of both "lateral feed" for moving the pallet 9 with the vehicle 91 placed thereon in its width direction and "longitudinal feed" for moving it in its length direction. For example, a movable support roller 307a whose roller rotation axis can rotate 90 degrees around a vertical axis may be provided in the drive cell 304, and by the movable support roller 307a supporting the bottom surface of the pallet 9, the drive cell 304 may be able to switch between lateral feed and longitudinal feed. In each of the upper and lower two stages, the pallet 9 is not placed on at least one drive cell 304, and the pallet 9 is placed on the other drive cells 304. The drive cell 304 on which the pallet 9 is not placed is hereinafter referred to as an "empty cell".

[0140] Due to the configuration of the above-described horizontal circulation type parking device 300, since at least one drive cell 304 is an empty cell in each stage, the pallet 9 on the drive cell 304 adjacent to the empty cell can be horizontally moved (lateral feed or longitudinal feed) onto the empty cell. By this horizontal movement, the position of the empty cell moves to an adjacent position. Therefore, by repeating this, the pallet 9 in each stage can be freely horizontally moved (lateral feed or longitudinal feed).

[0141] In addition, in the mechanical parking device 300 of the first embodiment, since the pair of guide rails 3 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 extend vertically with the pallet 9 sandwiched therebetween in its width direction, the movement of the pallet 9 in its width direction is hindered. Moreover, since the vertical beams 53 of the lifting frame 5 and the idlers 4 are also located at positions higher than the drive cell 304 when the traversing device 1 stops at the height of the lower storage area, the path for the pallet 9 to move in the width direction to the lower storage area is blocked. Therefore, the drive cell 304 on the lift 2 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 moves the pallet 9 only in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 24) of the pallet 9.

[0142] The lifting device 6 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 included in the mechanical parking device 300 may have the same configuration as that described above for the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment. Alternatively, the lifting device 6 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 included in the mechanical parking device 300 may have the same configuration as the lifting mechanism of Patent Document 2. In this case, one end of the suspension cable wound around the sheave at the upper end of the stroke may be connected to the lifting frame 5 and the lifting frame 5 may be suspended by the suspension cable, and the other end of the suspension cable may be wound or unwound by a motor to lift and lower the lifting frame 5. However, not limited thereto, similar to the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment, the lifting device 6 may be a ball screw.

[0143] The lifting frame 5 of the present embodiment has a cross beam 51, support poles 52, and vertical beams 53, similar to the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment, and in plan view, idlers 4 are fixed to the four corners of the drive cell 304 which is the traversing device 1. The string member 7 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 included in the mechanical parking device 300 is preferably a timing chain. With this configuration, by providing the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present embodiment, the mechanical parking device 300 can be installed even in a place where the shape of the storage space 302 is restricted and only a low lifting device 6 can be selected.

[0144] In addition, even when it is not possible to install a lifting device for horizontal rotation of the vehicle 91 above the lift 2, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present embodiment can lift the drive cell 304 above the floor 301a of the passenger compartment 301 by the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100, and rotate the pallet 9 together with the drive cell 304 by the rotating device 305, thereby horizontally rotating the vehicle 91 at the time of shipment. In this case, the control device 306 of the mechanical parking device 300 first controls the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 to raise the lift 2 until the drive cell 304 mounted on the lift 2 rises to a position higher than the floor 301a of the passenger compartment 301.

[0145] Next, the control device 306 controls the turning device 305 so as to horizontally turn the drive cell 304 on the lift around the vertical axis. After that, when the control device 306 discharges the vehicle 91 from the horizontally rotated pallet 9, the control device 306 controls the lifting device 6 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 to lower the pallet 9 mounted on the drive cell 304 on the lift to the height of the floor 301a of the passenger compartment 301 and stop at that height.

[0146] Alternatively, when the control device 306 horizontally rotates the pallet 9 on which the incoming vehicle 91 is placed before storage, the control device 306 controls the lifting device 6 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 to lower the pallet 9 to the storage space 302, and then controls the drive cell 304 on the lift and the drive cell 304 in each storage area of the storage space 302 to move the pallet 9 horizontally. The configuration and effects of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 provided in the mechanical parking device 300 of the other embodiments of the present invention are the same as those of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 provided in the drone port 200 of the first embodiment.

[0147] (Mechanical Parking Device 300 of the Second Embodiment) The mechanical parking device 300 of the second embodiment includes a double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 in which the size of the traversing device 1 (drive cell 304) when viewed in plan is set to the minimum size that can satisfy the function of the traversing device 1, and the traversing device 1 transports the pallet 9 in its width direction. FIG. 26 is a plan view showing an example of a mechanical parking apparatus 300 of a second embodiment including the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment. In FIG. 26, an example is illustrated in which the mechanical parking apparatus 300 of the second embodiment is of a horizontal circulation type and includes the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the first embodiment. In this figure, the movable support roller 307a surrounded by a circle represents a support roller whose roller rotation axis can rotate 90 degrees around a vertical axis, and the fixed support roller 307b surrounded by a rectangle represents a support roller whose traveling direction of the pallet 9 is fixed.

[0148] Each of the upper and lower two storage areas illustrated in FIG. 26 has a vehicle storage space for 16 vehicles in a range other than the position where the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 raises and lowers the pallet 9 in this example. In the mechanical parking apparatus 300 of the second embodiment, since the pair of guide rails 3 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 sandwich the pallet 9 in the longitudinal direction and extend in the vertical direction, the movement of the pallet 9 in its longitudinal direction is hindered. Further, since the vertical beams 53 of the lifting frame 5 and the idlers 4 are also at positions higher than the drive cell 304 when the traversing device 1 stops at the height of the lower storage area, the path for the pallet 9 to move in the longitudinal direction to the lower storage area is blocked. Therefore, the drive cell 304 on the lift 2 of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the second embodiment has only one direction in the width direction of the pallet 9 as the horizontal direction for moving the pallet 9. For example, the drive cell 304 on the lift 2 may include a fixed support roller 307b whose rotation axis (not shown) is fixed in the longitudinal direction of the pallet 9.

[0149] The double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 included in the mechanical parking apparatus 300 of the second embodiment may be such that the lifting device 6 supports the lifting frame 5 in a cantilever manner as in the case of the mechanical parking apparatus 300 of the first embodiment. However, it is more preferable that the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the mechanical parking apparatus 300 of the present embodiment supports both end portions in the length direction of the lifting frame 5 by the lifting device 6.

[0150] For example, in the lifting device 6 of FIG. 26, endless chains 6d are connected to both longitudinal ends of the lifting frame 5, and the lifting frame 5 is lifted and lowered by rotating the endless chains 6d. The endless chains 6d are wound around a freely rotatable sprocket 6e provided at the upper end of the lifting device 6 and a sprocket 6f that synchronizes with the rotation of a motor 6b provided at the lower end of the lifting device 6. As illustrated in FIG. 26, the lifting device 6 may have one motor 6b, and the rotation of the motor 6b may be transmitted to all the sprockets 6f by a drive shaft 6h extending in the longitudinal direction.

[0151] Alternatively, the lifting device 6 may have a motor 6b only at one of the longitudinal ends of the lifting frame 5 to rotate its sprocket 6f, and the rotation of the sprocket 6f and the rotation of the sprocket 6f on the other side of the longitudinal ends of the lifting frame 5 may be synchronized by a drive shaft 6h. The rotational power of the drive shaft 6h may be transmitted to the sprocket 6f by a worm and a worm wheel, or may be transmitted by a bevel gear.

[0152] Alternatively, a counterweight may be suspended as a balancing weight from the endless chain 6d on the other side of the longitudinal ends of the lifting frame 5, so that the endless chains 6d connected to both longitudinal ends of the lifting frame 5 are rotated synchronously. With this configuration, the mechanical parking device 300 of the second embodiment can transport the pallet 9 more stably than when using the cantilever-supported lifting device 6. The configurations, operations, and effects of the mechanical parking device 300 of the other second embodiments are the same as those of the mechanical parking device 300 of the first embodiment.

[0153] (Mechanical Parking Device 300 of the Third Embodiment) The mechanical parking device 300 of the third embodiment is characterized by including the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth or fifth embodiment. Hereinafter, the mechanical parking device 300 of the third embodiment will be described by taking as an example the case of including the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 27 is a plan view showing an example of a mechanical parking apparatus 300 of the third embodiment including the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment. The mechanical parking apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 27 is also of the horizontal circulation type. In this figure, the support rollers surrounded by circles represent movable support rollers 307a whose roller rotation axes are rotatable 90 degrees about the vertical axis, and the support rollers surrounded by rectangles represent fixed support rollers 307b whose directions for conveying the pallet 9 are fixed.

[0154] Around the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present embodiment, drive cells 304 are arranged in the storage space 302 such that the pallets 9 are adjacent to each other like a grid in the horizontal plane. When the interval between adjacent drive cells 304 is too wide to pass the pallet 9, movable support rollers 307a may be arranged between adjacent drive cells 304 as shown in the figure.

[0155] Due to the configuration of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the fourth embodiment and the presence of the fixed support rollers 307b between adjacent drive cells 304, the mechanical parking apparatus 300 of the third embodiment can take the pallet 9 in and out of the traversing device 1 from both the front-rear direction X and the side direction Y of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100. As a result, the pallet 9 can be moved efficiently, so the mechanical parking apparatus 300 of the third embodiment can further shorten the loading / unloading time compared to the mechanical parking apparatuses 300 of the first and second embodiments. The configurations, operations, and effects of the other mechanical parking apparatuses 300 of the third embodiment are the same as those of the mechanical parking apparatus 300 of the first embodiment.

[0156] According to the present invention described above, there are provided a lifting frame 5 that is lifted and lowered in the vertical direction by a lifting device 6, an idler 4 that is supported by the lifting frame 5 so as to be freely rotatable about a horizontal rotation axis 41, a lift 2 that can carry a conveyance object 9 and move in the vertical direction, and a string member 7 that is hung on the idler 4. One end portion 71 of the string member 7 is fixed at a position below the idler 4, and the other end portion 72 is fixed to the lift 2.

[0157] With this configuration, when the lifting device 6 raises the idler 4 by Lcm in the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present invention, the idler 4 is pulled by the string member 7 and rotates freely, and the string member 7 of Lcm is wound from the other end portion 72 side to the one end portion 71 side. As a result, the length of the portion vertically extending from the one end portion 71 of the string member 7 to the idler 4 becomes 2×Lcm longer than before the ascent. On the other hand, the length of the portion vertically extending from the other end portion 72 of the string member 7 to the idler 4 becomes shorter by 2×Lcm, which is the sum of Lcm corresponding to the distance by which the idler 4 has risen and Lcm wound to the one end portion 71 side of the string member 7. Therefore, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present invention can raise the lift 2 by a length of 2L, which is twice the length L by which the lifting device 6 raises the lifting frame 5.

[0158] In other words, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 can raise the lift 2 by a distance twice the stroke S of the lifting device 6. Thereby, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 can lift the object to be conveyed 9 to a higher position than the conventional lifting mechanism with the lifting frame 5 having the same stroke S length as the lifting device of the conventional lifting mechanism. Therefore, since the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 can lift the object to be conveyed 9 to a position higher than the landing and takeoff surface 220 where the drone 210 lands, the drone port 200 provided with the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 can achieve loading of the drone 210.

[0159] Further, since the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 can raise the lift 2 by a distance twice the stroke S of the lifting device 6, even if the position of the upper end portion of the lifting device is lower than that of the lifting device of the conventional lifting mechanism, the pallet 9 can be lifted to the height of the floor 301a of the same boarding and alighting room 301 as the conventional lifting mechanism. Therefore, even if the storage space 302 has a shape that must limit the height of the upper end portion of the lifting device 6, by providing the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100, a mechanical parking device 300 that can lift and lower the pallet 9 with the vehicle 91 thereon between the upper-floor boarding and alighting room 301 and the lower-floor storage space 302 can be installed.

[0160] Furthermore, since the mechanical parking device 300 includes the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present invention, the pallet 9 can be lifted higher than the conventional lifting mechanism. Accordingly, the mechanical parking device 300 including the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present invention can lift the pallet 9 above the height of the floor 301a of the boarding and alighting chamber 301 and horizontally rotate it even without a horizontal rotation lifting device if it is provided with a turning device 305.

[0161] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 of the second embodiment, and the lift 2 may have the string other end fixing portion 23 at a position closer to the sliding portion 22 in the side direction Y than the lifting path J. In that case, as shown in FIG. 11(A), the guide rail 3 may be provided on the opposite side of the lifting device 6 in the side direction Y with the lifting path J interposed therebetween, or may be provided between the lifting device 6 and the lifting path J in the side direction Y.

[0162] In addition, any of the double-stroke lifting mechanisms 100 of the first to fifth embodiments may not include the traversing device 1 in the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 itself. In that case, the conveyance object 9 is directly mounted on the lift 2, and a transfer device provided separately from the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 contacts the conveyance object 9 from outside the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 and transfers the conveyance object 9 from the lift 2.

[0163] For example, in the case of the drone port 200 including the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100, the transfer device included in the drone port 200 may be a robot hand or a robot arm. In this case, the robot hand or the robot arm may grasp the conveyance object 9 on the lift at the load transfer height H3 and move it outside the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100, or may grasp the conveyance object 9 outside the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 and place it on the lift 2 at the load transfer height H3. Alternatively, a person may wait beside the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100, and the object 9 to be conveyed may be moved between the lift 2 at the load transfer height H3 and the outside of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100.

[0164] Also, the transfer device provided in the mechanical parking device 300 including the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 may be a device for pulling out the pallet 9. In that case, the pallet 9 may have wheels provided on its lower surface placed on the rails laid on the lift. Alternatively, a plurality of freely rotatable rollers may be provided on the upper surface of the lift 2, and the pallet 9 may be placed thereon. For example, the transfer device may have a swivel arm that extends horizontally and has rollers protruding upward from its tip. In this case, by horizontally rotating the base end of the swivel arm about a vertical axis, the rollers fit into the fitting grooves provided at the horizontal ends of the pallet 9, causing the pallet 9 to move horizontally and be pulled out from the lift 2. Also, by rotating the swivel arm in the reverse procedure, the pallet 9 is pushed out onto the lift, and then the rollers are disengaged from the fitting grooves.

[0165] Furthermore, the transfer device provided outside the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100 may be a drive device for rotating the wheels provided on the lower surface of the pallet 9. That is, the pallet 9, which is the object 9 to be conveyed, may move by itself between the lift 2 at the load transfer height H3 and the outside of the double-stroke lifting mechanism 100.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0166] 1 Transverse device, 1a Upper surface of the transverse device, 1b Legs of the transverse device, 1c Conveyor side edge (front end) of the upper surface of the transverse device, 1d Rear side edge (rear end) of the upper surface of the transverse device, 2 Lift, 21 Horizontal support portion, 22 Sliding portion, 22a Concave portion of the sliding portion, 23 Other end fixing portion of the string, 23a, 23b, 23c Plate members, 24 Fixed base, 25 End unit, 26 Flat plate, 3 Induction rail, 3a Web part, 4 Idler, 41 Rotation axis, 42 Concavity and convexity, 5 Lifting frame, 51 Cross beam, 51a Front end face of the cross beam of the lifting frame on the front side of the double-stroke lifting mechanism, 51b Rear end face of the cross beam of the lifting frame on the rear side of the double-stroke lifting mechanism, 51c Distal end, 51d Proximal end, 52 Support pole, 53 Vertical beam, 6 Lifting device, 6a Screw part, 6b Motor, 6c Nut part, 6d Endless chain, 6e,6f Sprocket, 6g Column, 7 String member (timing chain), 71 One end of the string member, 72 The other end of the string member, 73 Concavity and convexity, 8 Tensioner, 8a Roller, 9 Object to be conveyed (cargo, pallet), 9a Side face on the back side of the cargo, 9b Bottom face of the cargo, 91 Vehicle, 10 Base frame, 11 Plate material, 11a Fixed part of one end of the string, 11b Both ends, 11c Central part, 100 Double-stroke lifting mechanism, 200 Drone port, 201 Outer wall, 202 Entrance and exit, 203 Drone entrance and exit, 204 Slide roof, 205 Obstacle detection device, 210 Drone, 211 Body, 212 Propeller, 213 Leg, 214 Catcher, 220 Landing and takeoff surface, 221 Up and down passage, 222 Opening and closing door, 230 Drone moving device, 240 Lifting device for landing and takeoff surface, 240a Nut part, 250 Landing and takeoff surface support frame, 251 Column, 252 Beam, 253 Support frame, 254 Support column, 260 Conveyor, 260a Upper surface of the conveyor, 260b Lateral device side end, 261 guide, 261a roller, 262 guide bracket, 263 photoelectric tube sensor, 270 adjustment plate, 271 front adjustment plate, 271a front end face of the front adjustment plate, 272 rear adjustment plate, 272a front side surface of the rear adjustment plate, 273 adjustment vertical plane, 280 control device, 300 mechanical parking device (horizontal circulating parking device), 301 boarding and alighting room, 301a floor of the boarding and alighting room, 302 storage space, 303 pallet passage hole, 304 drive cell, 305 turning device, 306 control device, 307a movable support roller, 307b fixed support roller, H1 takeoff and landing height, H2 drone movement height, H3 load movement height, J lifting path, K traversing path, K1 first traversing path, K2 second traversing path, M length of the string member in the range wound around the idler, N narrowest interval between a pair of tapered surfaces, P stop position, S stroke, W white arrow, X front - rear direction, Y side - face direction, Z vertical direction

Claims

1. a lift that can carry an object to be conveyed and move vertically, a freely rotatable idler, a lifting frame that horizontally supports the rotation axis of the idler, a lifting device that raises and lowers the lifting frame vertically, a string member that is hung on the idler and has both ends extending downward, one end of the string member is fixed below the idler, the other end of the string member is fixed to the lift, a double-stroke lifting mechanism.

2. equipped with a traversing device placed on the lift, the traversing device carries the object to be conveyed and traverses horizontally, the double-stroke lifting mechanism according to Claim 1.

3. equipped with a guide rail extending vertically, the guide rail guides the lift vertically, the double-stroke lifting mechanism according to Claim 2.

4. four idlers and four string members are provided, the four idlers are located at the four corners of the lift in plan view, the other ends of the four string members are fixed to the lower ends of the four corners of the lift, the double-stroke lifting mechanism according to Claim 1.

5. the lift has a sliding portion that meshes with the guide rail and is movable vertically, the idler closest to the sliding portion, both ends of the string member closest to the sliding portion, and the sliding portion are located on a virtual straight line in plan view, the double-stroke lifting mechanism according to Claim 3.

6. the lift has a sliding portion that meshes with the guide rail and is movable vertically at one end of the lift in the horizontal side direction, the other end of the string member is fixed to the other end of the lift in the side direction, the double-stroke lifting mechanism according to Claim 3.

7. the lifting frame has a pair of cross beams that extend horizontally and sandwich the lift in plan view, support poles that extend upward from the cross beams and support the rotation axis, the support poles are located between the idler having the rotation axis supported by the support poles and the traversing device in the direction in which the cross beams extend, the double-stroke lifting mechanism according to Claim 2.

8. the lifting frame has a pair of cross beams that extend horizontally and sandwich the lift in plan view, support poles that extend upward from each of the pair of cross beams, The double-stroke lifting mechanism according to claim 3, having a longitudinal beam that bridges the upper ends of the support poles at a position between the guiding rail and the traversing device in a plan view.

9. Four said guiding rails that guide the four corners of the lift in the vertical direction, A pair of cross beams provided on the lifting frame and extending horizontally, sandwiching the lift therebetween in a plan view, Support poles that extend upward in pairs from each of the cross beams, The traversing device that traverses the object to be conveyed along each of two virtual traversing paths extending in two different horizontal directions, The support poles and the guiding rails are arranged with an interval through which the object to be conveyed can pass, the double-stroke lifting mechanism according to claim 3.

10. The traversing device has a stop position defined as a position where the object to be conveyed stops on the traversing device, A plurality of support rollers that rotate about a horizontal roller rotation axis and support the object to be conveyed from below, The stop position is a range where the two traversing paths intersect, The horizontal end portion of the traversing device is located outside the stop position, Among the plurality of support rollers, the roller rotation axis of the support roller located inside the stop position is rotatable about a vertical axis, Among the plurality of support rollers, the roller rotation axis of the support roller located outside the stop position extends parallel to the edge of the traversing device closest thereto, the double-stroke lifting mechanism according to claim 9.

11. A drone port including the double-stroke lifting mechanism according to claim 1.

12. The double-stroke lifting mechanism according to claim 2, A landing and take-off surface where the drone lands, An up-and-down passage opening in the landing and take-off surface and allowing the object to be conveyed to pass through in the vertical direction, The double-stroke lifting mechanism is located at a position directly below the up-and-down passage where the traversing device is located, a drone port.

13. Comprising a control device for controlling the double-stroke lifting mechanism, The traversing device has a size such that both horizontal ends of the object to be conveyed protrude from the traversing device, The drone has a pair of catchers that support the bottom surface of the object to be conveyed loaded when closed and release the object to be conveyed when opened. By controlling the double-stroke lifting mechanism, the control device lifts the traversing device until the bottom surface is above the catcher while the drone positioned directly above the vertical passage opening has the catcher open. After that, after the catcher extends downward to a position below the portion of the bottom surface protruding from the traversing device and the catcher closes, the traversing device is lowered to place the bottom surface on the catcher. The drone port according to claim 12.

14. A conveyor extending away from the traversing device in a direction away from a position close to the conveyor-side edge of the traversing device through which the object to be conveyed enters and exits the traversing device, A pair of guide brackets provided at the traversing device-side end on the upper surface of the conveyor, A double-stroke lifting mechanism and a control device for controlling the conveyor, The lifting frame has an adjustment vertical plane extending vertically along the conveyor-side edge at the same position as the conveyor-side edge of the traversing device in plan view. The pair of guide brackets has tapered surfaces with a gradually decreasing interval as they approach the traversing device. The narrowest interval between the pair of tapered surfaces is the width of the stop position defined as the position where the object to be conveyed stops on the traversing device in the direction in which the conveyor-side edge extends. The control device controls the double-stroke lifting mechanism and the conveyor, First, the lifting frame is lifted to a height at which the adjustment vertical plane can contact the object to be conveyed placed on the conveyor. Next, the conveyor is continuously driven until the object to be conveyed runs along the adjustment vertical plane, and then the conveyor is stopped. Next, the traversing device is lowered until the height of the upper surface of the traversing device aligns with the conveyor. After that, the conveyor and the traversing device are driven to transfer the object to be conveyed from the conveyor to the traversing device. The drone port according to claim 12.

15. When the traversing device is at the traversing height at which the object to be conveyed enters the traversing device, an inner-side adjustment plate extending upward and protruding above the upper surface of the traversing device at a position farther from the traversing device than the inner-side edge of the traversing device facing the conveyor-side edge of the traversing device through which the object to be conveyed enters and exits the traversing device, A control device for controlling the double-stroke lifting mechanism, The drone port according to claim 12, wherein the control device continues to drive the traversing device until the object to be conveyed abuts against the rear adjustment plate after the object to be conveyed is transferred to the traversing device.

16. A mechanical parking device comprising the double-stroke lifting mechanism according to claim 1.

17. The double-stroke lifting mechanism according to claim 2, A boarding and alighting chamber having a pallet passage hole for passing the object to be conveyed vertically through the floor, A storage space for storing a vehicle below the boarding and alighting chamber, and The object to be conveyed is a pallet for mounting a vehicle, The double-stroke lifting mechanism is located at a position directly below the pallet passage hole by the traversing device, and the pallet is lifted and lowered between the boarding and alighting chamber and the storage space through the pallet passage hole. A mechanical parking device.

18. A turning device mounted on the lift for turning the traversing device around a vertical axis, A control device for controlling the double-stroke lifting mechanism and the turning device, and The control device controls the double-stroke lifting mechanism to raise the lift until the traversing device rises to a position higher than the floor, Next, the turning device is controlled to horizontally turn the traversing device around a vertical axis, Thereafter, the double-stroke lifting mechanism is controlled to lower the pallet on the traversing device to the height of the floor or the storage space. The mechanical parking device according to claim 17.

Images