Unmanned conveyance system

Abstract

To provide an unmanned conveyance system capable of appropriately providing operation instructions even when an unloading or loading place is not on a route of a luggage carrier (for example, a shelf located above the floor is the unloading or loading place) while simplifying system configuration.SOLUTION: One embodiment of the present disclosure relates to an unmanned conveyance system 1 including: an AMR 11 that is conveyed according to a set route and loaded with an obstacle sensor 21 for detecting an obstacle located in front of a route; a finished product chute 12A and / or an empty box chute 12B that are set in front of the route of the AMR 11 and include a sensing bar 31 presented ahead of the route of the AMR 11 depending on the presence or absence of a luggage; and a controller 13 that provides operation instructions to the AMR 11 based on results of the detection performed by the obstacle sensor 21 by use of the sensing bar 31.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to automated guided vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses that in an unmanned transport system equipped with a luggage transport vehicle equipped with an obstacle sensor, when luggage is already placed at an unloading location, the obstacle sensor detects the luggage already placed there and gives driving instructions to the luggage transport vehicle based on the detection results. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-180696 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the unmanned transport system of Patent Document 1, if the unloading location is not on the route of the luggage transport vehicle (for example, if the unloading location is a shelf installed above the floor), the obstacle sensor of the luggage transport vehicle cannot detect the presence or absence of luggage, and therefore appropriate driving instructions cannot be given to the luggage transport vehicle.

[0005] Therefore, the present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an unmanned transport system that can give appropriate driving instructions to a luggage transport vehicle even when the loading or unloading location is not on the route of the luggage transport vehicle (for example, when a shelf installed above the floor is the unloading or loading location), while simplifying the system configuration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One form of the present disclosure made to solve the above-mentioned problems is characterized by comprising, in an unmanned transport system, a luggage transport vehicle that is transported along a set route and is equipped with an obstacle sensor that detects obstacles ahead of the route; an unloading location and / or a loading location that is installed ahead of the route of the luggage transport vehicle and has a three-dimensional display that is displayed ahead of the route of the luggage transport vehicle in conjunction with the presence or absence of luggage; and a control device that issues driving instructions to the luggage transport vehicle based on the detection results of the display by the obstacle sensor.

[0007] According to this aspect, when the unloading or loading location is located at a position ahead of the route of the luggage transport vehicle, the luggage transport vehicle can be instructed to unload or load using the obstacle sensor that is originally equipped on the luggage transport vehicle, thereby simplifying the system configuration and reducing costs.

[0008] Furthermore, even if the unloading or loading location is not on the route of the transport vehicle (for example, if the unloading or loading location is a shelf installed above the floor), the presence or absence of luggage can be detected using the obstacle sensor of the luggage transport vehicle, and appropriate driving instructions can be given to the luggage transport vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the unmanned transport system disclosed herein, the system configuration can be simplified while providing appropriate driving instructions to the luggage transport vehicle even when the unloading or loading location is not on the route of the luggage transport vehicle (for example, when the unloading or loading location is a shelf installed above the floor). [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of an automated guided transport system (having a finished product chute) according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a configuration diagram of an automated transport system (having an empty box chute) according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the unloading operation. [Figure 4]FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a loading operation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An embodiment of an automated guided vehicle system according to the present disclosure will be described.

[0012] (Configuration of an automated guided vehicle system) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the automated guided transport system 1 of this embodiment includes an AMR 11, a finished product chute 12A and / or an empty box chute 12B, and a control device 13.

[0013] The AMR 11 is an autonomous mobile robot and an example of a "baggage transport vehicle" of the present disclosure. The AMR 11 is transported along a set route and is equipped with an obstacle sensor 21 that detects obstacles ahead on the route.

[0014] The finished product chute 12A and the empty box chute 12B are installed at a position ahead of the path of the AMR 11 (e.g., at a position above the floor) and are equipped with a sensor sensing rod 31. This sensor sensing rod 31 is a three-dimensional display unit that is displayed ahead of the path of the AMR 11 in conjunction with the presence or absence of cargo (i.e., finished products or empty boxes). The finished product chute 12A is an example of an "unloading location" in the present disclosure. The empty box chute 12B is an example of a "loading location" in the present disclosure.

[0015] The control device 13 issues driving instructions (for example, instructions to perform unloading or loading work, or instructions to wait) to the AMR 11 based on the detection results of the sensor sensing rod 31 by the obstacle sensor 21.

[0016] (Action of the automated guided vehicle system) The unmanned transport system 1 configured as above performs unloading and loading operations as follows.

[0017] [Unloading work] First, as an unloading operation, the automated guided transport system 1 carries out the operation of placing the finished product (hereinafter simply referred to as the "finished product") from the AMR 11 to the finished product chute 12A, as shown in the flowchart of Figure 3.

[0018] As shown in Figure 3, when the sensor sensing rod 31 is in the retracted state because there are no finished products in the finished product chute 12A (step S1: YES) (as in Figure 1(b)), the sensor sensing rod 31 is not detected by the obstacle sensor 21 of the AMR 11 (step S2). Therefore, the control device 13 determines that there are no finished products in the finished product chute 12A, and causes the AMR 11 to enter the location where the finished product chute 12A is provided (step S3), and causes the AMR 11 to load finished products onto the finished product chute 12A (step S4).

[0019] On the other hand, if the sensor sensing rod 31 is not retracted (step S1: NO), that is, if the sensor sensing rod 31 is protruding because there is a finished product in the finished product chute 12A (as in FIG. 1(a)), the obstacle sensor 21 of the AMR 11 detects the sensor sensing rod 31 (step S5). Then, the control device 13 determines that there is a finished product in the finished product chute 12A and puts the AMR 11 on standby (step S6).

[0020] [Loading work] Next, the automated guided vehicle system 1 performs a loading operation in which the AMR 11 goes to the empty box chute 12B to retrieve an empty box, as shown in the flowchart of FIG.

[0021] As shown in Figure 4, when the sensor sensing rod 31 is in the retracted state because there is an empty box in the finished product chute 12A (step S11: YES) (as in Figure 2(b)), the sensor sensing rod 31 is not detected by the obstacle sensor 21 of the AMR 11 (step S12). Therefore, the control device 13 determines that there is an empty box in the empty box chute 12B, and causes the AMR 11 to enter the location where the empty box chute 12B is provided (step S13), and the empty box is unloaded from the empty box chute 12B onto the AMR 11 (step S14).

[0022] On the other hand, if the sensor sensing rod 31 is not retracted (step S11: NO), that is, if there are no empty boxes in the finished product chute 12A and the sensor sensing rod 31 is in a protruding state (as in FIG. 2(a)), the obstacle sensor 21 of the AMR 11 detects the sensor sensing rod 31 (step S15). Then, the control device 13 determines that there are no empty boxes in the empty box chute 12B and puts the AMR 11 on standby (step S16).

[0023] (Effects of this embodiment) As described above, according to this embodiment, the unmanned transport system 1 includes an AMR 11 that is transported along a set route and is equipped with an obstacle sensor 21 that detects obstacles ahead of the route, a finished product chute 12A and / or an empty box chute 12B that is installed ahead of the route of the AMR 11 and is equipped with a sensor sensing rod 31 that is displayed ahead of the route of the AMR 11 in conjunction with the presence or absence of cargo, and a control device 13 that issues operating instructions to the AMR 11 based on the detection results of the sensor sensing rod 31 by the obstacle sensor 21.

[0024] In this way, when the finished product chute 12A or the empty box chute 12B is installed at a position ahead of the path of the AMR 11, the obstacle sensor 21 originally provided on the AMR 11 can be used to give the AMR 11 instructions on how to perform unloading or loading operations, thereby simplifying the system configuration and reducing costs.

[0025] In addition, a sensor sensing rod 31 is provided, which is a three-dimensional display unit that is linked to the presence or absence of finished products or empty boxes.Therefore, even if the finished product chute 12A or empty box chute 12B is not on the path of the AMR 11 (for example, if the finished product chute 12A or empty box chute 12B is a shelf installed above the floor), the presence or absence of finished products or empty boxes can be detected using the obstacle sensor 21 of the AMR 11, and appropriate operating instructions can be given to the AMR 11.

[0026] It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the present disclosure in any way. It goes without saying that various improvements and modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 1. Automated guided vehicle system 11 AMR 12A Finished Product Chute 12B Empty Box Shoot 13 Control device 21 Obstacle Sensor 31 Sensor rod

Claims

[Claim 1] a luggage transport vehicle that is transported along a set route and is equipped with an obstacle sensor that detects obstacles ahead along the route; an unloading location and / or a loading location that is installed ahead of the route of the luggage transport vehicle and has a three-dimensional display unit that is displayed ahead of the route of the luggage transport vehicle in conjunction with the presence or absence of luggage; a control device that issues driving instructions to the luggage transport vehicle based on the detection result of the display unit by the obstacle sensor; An unmanned transport system characterized by the above.

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