Transport vehicle

Abstract

To provide an automated guided vehicle capable of properly transporting trolleys. [Solution] The automated guided vehicle 1 is composed of a plurality of parts 10a, 10b connected by a movable member 11, and includes a surrounding body 12 that surrounds the cage trolley, drive wheels 14 provided on each part 10a, 10b of the surrounding body 12, and a control unit that controls the steering and driving of the drive wheels 14 so as to switch between a closed state in which the surrounding body surrounds the cage trolley and an open state in which the transported object is released by changing the relative position of each part.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a carrier vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in the logistics sites such as warehouses, unmanned carrier vehicles that automatically transport works such as cage trucks are used. There are two types of unmanned carrier vehicles: those that lift and transport the work, and those that tow and transport it.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an example of an unmanned carrier vehicle of the type that tow a trolley. The towing device described in this patent document proposes a highly versatile towing vehicle that does not assume the connection between the trolley and the towing vehicle. Specifically, the towing vehicle described in the prior document 1 includes a towing device disposed at the rear of the towing vehicle. The towing device has a trolley surrounding bar that extends rearward from its rear part. By surrounding the trolley with the trolley surrounding bar, the trolley is restrained to the towing vehicle and maintained in the surrounded state to be towed by the towing vehicle.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The towing vehicle described in the above prior document 1 has a configuration in which a towing device is provided instead of a clamp at the rear of the towing vehicle. Specifically, the towing device has a rotatable guide bar with a feed screw cut and a nut screwed around the screw, and is a mechanism in which the side bar moves away or approaches by the rotation of the guide bar.

[0006] The towing vehicle described in prior art 1 may have difficulty stably transporting the trolley under certain conditions. For example, under conditions such as when the load on the trolley is heavy or the floor surface is not sufficiently smooth, it may be difficult to properly tow the trolley.

[0007] In view of the above background, the present invention aims to provide a transport vehicle capable of appropriately transporting trolleys. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The transport vehicle of the present invention is composed of a plurality of parts connected by movable members and comprises a surrounding body that surrounds an object to be transported, drive wheels provided on each part of the surrounding body, and a control unit that controls the steering and driving of the drive wheels so as to switch between a closed state in which the surrounding body surrounds the object to be transported and an open state in which the object to be transported is released by changing the relative position of each part.

[0009] In the transport vehicle of the present invention, the control unit may drive the drive wheels in the direction of transporting the object to be transported when the transport vehicle is transporting the object to be transported, and may also apply driving force in the direction of closing the enclosure.

[0010] In the transport vehicle of the present invention, the movable member may be a linear motion element. Alternatively, the movable member may be a rotational element. Furthermore, the movable member may include both a linear motion element and a rotational element.

[0011] In the transport vehicle of the present invention, each of the aforementioned parts may be equipped with a lifting mechanism for lifting the object to be transported. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, the drive wheels are positioned to surround the object to be transported, ensuring that the object is securely surrounded and that it can be transported appropriately even when the object is heavy. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1]Perspective view of the driverless transport vehicle in the closed state of the first embodiment. [Figure 2] Perspective view of the driverless transport vehicle in the open state of the first embodiment. [Figure 3] (a) View of the driverless transport vehicle in the closed state from above. (b) View of the driverless transport vehicle in the closed state from the side. [Figure 4] (a) Diagram showing the driverless transport vehicle with the enclosure open. (b) Diagram showing the driverless transport vehicle with the enclosure closed. [Figure 5] Diagram showing the configuration of the movable member. [Figure 6] Diagram showing the configuration of the drive wheel. [Figure 7] Block diagram showing the functional configuration of the driverless transport vehicle. [Figure 8] Diagram showing the driverless transport vehicle while transporting the cage cart. [Figure 9] (a) Diagram showing the driverless transport vehicle of the second embodiment. (b) Diagram showing the driverless transport vehicle with the cage cart surrounded. [Figure 10] (a) Diagram showing the driverless transport vehicle of the third embodiment. (b) Diagram showing the driverless transport vehicle with the cage cart surrounded. [Figure 11] (a) Diagram showing the driverless transport vehicle of the fourth embodiment. (b) Diagram showing the driverless transport vehicle with the cage cart surrounded. [Figure 12] (a) Diagram showing the driverless transport vehicle of the fifth embodiment. (b) Diagram showing the driverless transport vehicle according to a modification of the fifth embodiment. [Figure 13] (a) Diagram showing a modification of the driverless transport vehicle of the first embodiment. (b) Diagram showing the state with the enclosure closed. [Figure 14] Diagram showing the driverless transport vehicle while transporting the cage cart. [Figure 15] (a) Diagram showing a modification of the driverless transport vehicle of the third embodiment. (b) Diagram showing the state with the enclosure closed.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, the carrier vehicle of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description shows only an example of a preferred embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention described in the claims. In the present embodiment, an automated guided vehicle that transports a cage cart W as a workpiece will be described as an example. Although an automated guided vehicle is described as an example in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to an automated guided vehicle, and a manned carrier vehicle operated by a person may be used.

[0015] (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are perspective views of an automated guided vehicle 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a closed state surrounding the object to be transported, and FIG. 2 shows an open state. FIG. 3(a) is a view of the automated guided vehicle 1 in the closed state as seen from above, and FIG. 3(b) is a view of the same automated guided vehicle 1 in the closed state as seen from the side. For convenience of explanation, the direction from the movable member 11 toward the opening 13 is defined as the x direction, the direction perpendicular to the x direction is defined as the y direction, and the height direction is defined as the z direction.

[0016] The automated guided vehicle 1 includes an enclosure 12 that surrounds a cage cart W, which is an object to be transported, inside. The enclosure 12 has parts 10a and parts 10b (both are collectively referred to as "parts 10") and a movable member 11 that connects these two parts 10a and 10b. The parts 10a and 10b are connected via the movable member 11, and as shown in FIG. 2, the distance between the parts 10a and 10b can be increased by the movable member 11. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, by narrowing the distance between the parts 10a and 10b, the parts 10a, 10b and the movable member 11 form a substantially rectangular area that surrounds the cage cart W. The parts 10a and 10b have a height sufficient to surround and transport the cage cart W. For example, they have a height of about 15 cm from the ground to the upper surfaces of the parts 10a and 10b.

[0017] Figure 4(a) shows the state before the automated guided vehicle 1 holds the cage trolley W, and Figure 4(b) shows the state after the automated guided vehicle 1 has surrounded and is holding the cage trolley W. In this state, the distance between parts 10a and 10b in the y direction is determined by the cage trolley W. Figure 3(a) shows the state where the distance between parts 10a and 10b is smallest, but as can be seen by comparing it with Figure 3(a), in the state where the cage trolley W is surrounded, the distance between parts 10a and 10b is such that they can sandwich the cage trolley W.

[0018] In the embodiment of the automated guided vehicle 1, the enclosure 12 does not completely enclose the cage trolley W, but has an opening 13 in part. However, the opening 13 is smaller than the cage trolley W, and in the state shown in Figure 4(b), the cage trolley W cannot go outside the enclosure 12. The state in which the cage trolley 12 (the object to be transported) is enclosed is a state in which the cage trolley 12 cannot go outside the enclosure.

[0019] Figure 5 shows the configuration of the movable member 11. As shown in Figure 5, the movable member 11 in this embodiment is a slide rail and comprises an outer rail 21 and an inner rail 22. The inner rail 22 slides smoothly on the outer rail 21 by a mechanism such as bearings. By attaching the outer rail 21 and the inner rail 22 to parts 10a and 10b, parts 10a and 10b are slidably connected. Although a slide rail is used as an example here, the movable member 11 is not limited to a slide rail and other configurations can be adopted.

[0020] Furthermore, the automated guided vehicle 1 is equipped with drive wheels 14 attached to the underside of the enclosure 12. Each of parts 10a and 10b has two drive wheels 14. In this embodiment, an example with four drive wheels 14 is shown, but the number of drive wheels is not limited to four; it may of course be three or five or more.

[0021] Figure 6 shows the configuration of the drive wheel 14. The drive wheel 14 comprises a wheel 31 integrated with a drive motor, a pivot shaft 33 of the wheel 31, a steering motor 36 that rotates the pivot shaft 33, and a slip ring 34 that transmits power and electrical signals to the drive motor of the wheel 31. The wheel 31 is connected to the pivot shaft 33 via a mounting member 32. The slip ring 34 is attached to the top plate 37 by a slip ring stopper 35. The drive wheel 14 is attached to the enclosure 12 by fixing the top plate 37 to the lower surface of the part 10. As shown in Figure 3, since the drive wheel 14 is equipped with a steering motor 36, it can rotate indefinitely, and the wheel 31 can be oriented in any direction.

[0022] Figure 7 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the automated guided vehicle (AGV) 1. The AGV 1 comprises a control unit 40, a camera 41 for capturing images of the area around the AGV 1, a control unit 40 for controlling the AGV 1 based on the images captured by the camera 41, and drive wheels 14. The control unit 40 recognizes the cage trolley W based on the images acquired by the camera 41 and controls the drive wheels 14 to surround the cage trolley W. The control unit 40 also controls the drive wheels 14 to move the cage trolley W. Here, an example is given using a camera 41 as a means of acquiring the surrounding situation, but other sensors such as LiDAR may be used as a means of acquiring the surrounding situation. The AGV 1 may also be equipped with a communication unit for communicating with other devices, an input unit for inputting instructions, etc.

[0023] As shown by the arrows in Figure 4(a), the control unit 40 drives the drive wheels 14 to move in the x direction, causing the automated guided vehicle 1 to move towards the cage trolley W. Also, as shown by the arrows in Figure 4(b), the control unit 40 causes the automated guided vehicle 1 to place the cage trolley W between parts 10a and 10b, and then reduces the distance in the y direction between parts 10a and 10b, thereby placing the cage trolley W inside the enclosure 12. At this time, the control unit 40 drives the drive wheels 14a to move in the -y direction and the drive wheels 14b to move in the +y direction.

[0024] Figure 8 shows the automated guided vehicle 1 in a state of transporting a cage trolley W. The control unit 40 provides power D1 to the drive wheels 14 to drive in the x direction, which is the transport direction. At the same time, in order to close the enclosure 12, the control unit 40 provides power D2a and D2b to the drive wheels 14a and 14b to drive in the ±y directions. That is, the control unit 40 provides power D3, which is a combination of power D1 and power D2. This moves parts 10a and 10b closer to each other, narrowing the opening of the enclosure and preventing the cage trolley W from going outside the enclosure. Alternatively, the power D2 of the drive wheels 14 may be increased so that parts 10a and 10b grip the cage trolley W. In addition, the system may be equipped with means to measure the distance between parts 10a and 10b with a sensor or the like and calculate appropriate power D2a and D2b based on that. This prevents the cage trolley W from rattling inside the enclosure. When the cage trolley W is being transported in the transport direction, the cage trolley W is completely surrounded by the automated guided vehicle 1, and is therefore transported together with the automated guided vehicle 1 by freely translating or rotating in the direction of the combined force generated by each drive wheel.

[0025] The automated guided vehicle 1 of this embodiment is equipped with infinitely rotatable drive wheels 14. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the enclosure 12 can be opened and closed and the automated guided vehicle 1 can be driven by driving the drive wheels 14 in a desired direction. Since the opening and closing operation of the enclosure 12 is performed by the drive wheels 14, an opening and closing actuator such as a feed mechanism is unnecessary.

[0026] Furthermore, since the automated guided vehicle 1 itself is a self-contained structure, it can be easily implemented using wired means such as power sharing and communication for control, compared to cases where the automated guided vehicle is composed of multiple structures.

[0027] As mentioned above, the enclosure 12 can be kept closed by the drive of the drive wheels 14 even when the automated guided vehicle 1 is in motion. However, a lock may be provided to ensure that the cage trolley W is securely enclosed.

[0028] (Second Embodiment) Figures 9(a) and 9(b) show the configuration of the automated guided vehicle 2 of the second embodiment. Figure 9(a) shows the state before the automated guided vehicle 2 surrounds the cage trolley W, and Figure 9(b) shows the state after the cage trolley W has been surrounded. The automated guided vehicle 2 of the second embodiment differs in that the movable member 11 is a hinge rather than a slide. Note that the movable member 11 is not limited to a hinge, but can be any rotating element. The surrounding body 12 of the automated guided vehicle 2 of the second embodiment consists of two parts 10a and 10b connected by a hinge 11.

[0029] (Third embodiment) Figures 10(a) and 10(b) show the configuration of the automated guided vehicle 3 of the third embodiment. Figure 10(a) shows the state before the automated guided vehicle 3 surrounds the cage trolley W, and Figure 10(b) shows the state after the cage trolley W has been surrounded. The automated guided vehicle 3 of the third embodiment is similar to the automated guided vehicle 2 of the second embodiment in that it uses a hinge as a movable member 11, but the shape of the parts 10 that make up the surrounding body 12 is different. The surrounding body 12 of the automated guided vehicle 3 of the third embodiment consists of two parts 10a and 10b which are rectangles divided into two parts.

[0030] (Fourth embodiment) Figures 11(a) and 11(b) show the configuration of the automated guided vehicle 4 according to the fourth embodiment. Figure 11(a) shows the state before the automated guided vehicle 4 surrounds the cage trolley W, and Figure 11(b) shows the state after the cage trolley W has been surrounded. In the automated guided vehicle 4 according to the fourth embodiment, the surrounding body 12 is composed of three parts 10a to 10c. That is, parts 10a and 10b are connected to the U-shaped part 10c via sliding movable members 11a and 11b. As parts 10a and 10b move toward or away from each other in the y direction, the opening 13 of the surrounding body 12 is narrowed, and the cage trolley W is held inside the surrounding body 12.

[0031] (Fifth embodiment) Figure 12(a) shows the configuration of the automated guided vehicle 5 according to the fifth embodiment. In the automated guided vehicle of the fifth embodiment, the enclosure 12 is composed of three parts 10a to 10c. Specifically, parts 10a and 10b are connected to the U-shaped part 10c via rotatable movable members 11a and 11b. By rotating parts 10a and 10b so that they face the y-direction, the opening 13 of the enclosure 12 is narrowed, and the cage trolley W is held inside the enclosure 12.

[0032] Figure 12(b) shows the configuration of an automated guided vehicle (AGV) 5a according to a modified version of the fifth embodiment. The AGV 6 according to the modified version has a different orientation of its pivot axis than the AGV 5 of the fifth embodiment. That is, the pivot axis of the AGV 6 according to the modified version extends in the x direction. Parts 10a and 10b rotate around the pivot axis, and when the enclosure 12 is open, parts 10a and 10b are positioned upright.

[0033] Although the automated guided vehicle of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible.

[0034] Figures 13(a) and 13(b) show modified examples of the automated guided vehicle 1 of the first embodiment shown in Figure 1. Figure 13(a) shows the automated guided vehicle 1a with the enclosure 12 open, and Figure 13(b) shows the automated guided vehicle 1a with the enclosure 12 closed. The enclosure 12 of the automated guided vehicle 1a has the same shape as the enclosure 12 of the automated guided vehicle 1 of the first embodiment, but four parts 10a to 10d are connected via movable members 11a to 11c. This configuration allows the vehicle to appropriately hold cage trolleys W of various sizes.

[0035] Figure 14 shows an automated guided vehicle (AGV) transporting a cage trolley W. For the drive wheels 14 of parts 10a and 10b, a driving force D3 is applied, which is a combination of power D1 in the x-direction (the transport direction) and power D2 in the ±y-directions, similar to the example shown in Figure 8. For the drive wheels 14 of parts 10c and 10d, a driving force D3 is applied, which is a combination of power D1 in the x-direction (the transport direction) and power D2 in the opposite direction to the transport direction. That is, the driving force of parts 10c and 10d in the transport direction is smaller than the driving force of parts 10a and 10b. When parts 10c and 10d are in front of the direction of travel, the driving force in the transport direction is weaker than that of parts 10a and 10b, which are behind the direction of travel, so that the enclosure closes. When the transport direction is opposite, conversely, the driving force of parts 10c and 10d is increased.

[0036] Figures 15(a) and 15(b) show modified examples of the automated guided vehicle 3 of the third embodiment shown in Figure 10. Figure 15(a) shows the automated guided vehicle 3a with the enclosure 12 open, and Figure 15(b) shows the automated guided vehicle 3a with the enclosure 12 closed. The automated guided vehicle 3a has a configuration in which part 10a of the automated guided vehicle 3 of the third embodiment is divided into two parts 10a and part 10c and connected by a sliding movable member 11a, and part 10b of the automated guided vehicle 3 is divided into two parts 10b and part 10d and connected by a sliding movable member 11b. When closing the enclosure 12, the automated guided vehicle 3 rotates part 10a and part 10b so that the angle is approximately right angle, and slides part 10c and part 10d to close the enclosure 12. This configuration reduces the space required by the automated guided vehicle 3a when it is carrying the cage trolley W.

[0037] In the above-described embodiment, an example of transporting a cage trolley W by surrounding it was explained, but the automated guided vehicle of the present invention may also be equipped with a lift mechanism to lift and transport part or all of the workpiece. For example, a rack and pinion or a linear cylinder can be used for the lift mechanism. By lifting and transporting the workpiece, it is possible to transport workpieces that do not have wheels. In addition, the load on the drive wheels can be increased, and slippage between the drive wheels and the ground can be reduced. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0038] 1-5 Automated Guided Vehicles 10 parts 11 Movable member 12 Encircling bodies 13 Aperture 14 drive wheels 21 Outer Rail 22 Interrail 31 wheels 32 Mounting components 33. Swivel axis 34 slip rings 35 Slip Ring Stopper 36 Steering motor 37 Top plate 40 Control Unit 41 Cameras W Cage Trolley

Claims

1. It consists of multiple parts connected by movable members, forming an enclosure that surrounds the object to be transported, Each part of the aforementioned enclosure is provided with a drive wheel, A control unit controls the steering and driving of the drive wheels so as to switch between a closed state in which the enclosing body encloses the object to be transported and an open state in which the object to be transported is released by changing the relative position of each of the aforementioned parts, A transport vehicle equipped with the following features.

2. The transport vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit drives the drive wheels in the direction of transporting the object to be transported when the transport vehicle transports the object to be transported, and also operates a driving force in the direction of closing the enclosure.

3. The transport vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the movable member is a linear motion element.

4. The transport vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the movable member is a rotating element.

5. The transport vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the movable member includes both a linear motion element and a rotational element.

6. The transport vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the aforementioned parts is equipped with a lifting mechanism for lifting the object to be transported.

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