Transport System

Abstract

To provide a carrier system capable of accurately detecting engagement between a mounting stand and guide rails.SOLUTION: A carrier system 1 according to one embodiment of the disclosure includes: guide rails 113 in which one or more notches 1131 or holes are disposed along a vertical direction and which extend in the vertical direction; a mounting stand 121 provided with grooves 1211 each of which may engage with the guide rail 113; a lifting part 123 which moves up or down the mounting stand 121; two sensors 125a and 125b which are respectively disposed below and above center parts of the grooves 1211 in the vertical direction and may detect the guide rails 113; and a control unit which detects engagement between the mounting stand 121 and the guide rails 113 on the basis of an OR signal, an output signal, from the two sensors 125a and 125b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a transport system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a robot that places an object on a cart and transports it. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6413899 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As a means for storing an article placed on a cart on a shelf, or a means for placing an article stored on a shelf on a cart, it is possible to provide a guide rail on the shelf and raise the platform along the guide rail. The guide rail is provided with a notch (insertion port) for inserting and removing an article, and a hole for measuring the height of the platform. In this case, even if the platform and the guide rail are engaged, there are cases where the engagement between the platform and the guide rail cannot be detected.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of such problems, and provides a transport system that can accurately detect engagement between a mounting table and a guide rail. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A conveying system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: A guide rail extending in a vertical direction, the guide rail having one or more notches or holes arranged along the vertical direction; a mounting table having a groove that can be engaged with the guide rail; A lifting unit that lifts and lowers the mounting table; Two sensors each capable of detecting the guide rail are disposed above and below a center portion of the groove in the vertical direction; a control unit that detects engagement between the mounting table and the guide rail based on an OR signal of output signals from the two sensors; Equipped with. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to realize a transport system that can accurately detect whether the mounting table and the guide rail are engaged. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a transport system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the difference between the configuration of the conventional technology and the configuration of the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating a method for detecting engagement between a mounting table and a guide rail using the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present disclosure is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, the following description and drawings are appropriately simplified for clarity of explanation.

[0010] EMBODIMENT 1 Hereinafter, a transfer system 1 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The transfer system 1 includes a shelf 11 and a transfer robot 12. The transfer robot 12 transfers an item and stores it in the shelf 11. The transfer robot 12 takes out the item from the shelf 11 and transports the taken-out item.

[0011] The shelf 11 is configured to be capable of storing an article 2 (e.g., a mailable box). In FIG. 1, the article 2 is indicated by a dotted line. The article 2 has a protruding portion (e.g., a flange) that protrudes in the width direction. The shelf 11 has a housing 111, a support member 112, a guide rail 113a, and a guide rail 113b. The support member 112 supports the protruding portion of the article 2.

[0012] A pair of guide rails 113a and 113b extend in the vertical direction. When there is no need to distinguish between the guide rails 113a and 113b, they are referred to as guide rails 113. The guide rails 113a and 113b are engageable with grooves 1211a and 1211b provided in a mounting table 121 of the transfer robot 12. The mounting table 121 moves up and down along the guide rails 113a and 113b.

[0013] Each of the guide rails 113a and 113b has one or more notches 1131 (also called insertion slots) arranged along the vertical direction. The notches 1131 are used when inserting or removing the article 2.

[0014] The notches 1131 are also used to measure the height of the mounting table 121. The height of the mounting table 121 can be measured by detecting the notches 1131 with sensors 125a and 125b (described later) and counting the number of the detected notches 1131. Also, instead of the notches 1131, holes may be provided.

[0015] The transfer robot 12 includes a mounting table 121, a moving section 122, a lifting section 123, an expandable arm 124, a sensor 125a, and a sensor 125b.

[0016] The placement table 121 is a table on which the article 2 can be placed. Grooves 1211a and 1211b are provided on the placement table 121. The grooves 1211a and 1211b are provided on the right and left sides in the traveling direction of the transport robot 12. The grooves 1211a and 1211b are engageable with the guide rails 113a and 113b.

[0017] The transport robot 12 moves in the horizontal direction by the moving unit 122. The lifting unit 123 is provided on the moving unit 122. The lifting unit 123 raises and lowers the placement table 121. The extendable arm 124 takes out the article 2 from the shelf 11 and places it on the placement table 121, and stores the article 2 on the placement table 121 in the shelf 11.

[0018] Sensor 125a (also referred to as sensor A) is provided in groove 1211a. Sensor 125b (referred to as sensor B) is provided in groove 1211b. Sensors 125b and 125a are provided above and below the center of grooves 1211a and 1211b in the vertical direction. The vertical relationship between the position of sensor 125a and the position of sensor 125b may be reversed. Sensors 125a and 125b can detect guide rails 113a and 113b. Both sensors 125a and 125b may be provided in groove 1211a or 1211b. When sensors 125a and 125b are not distinguished from each other, they are referred to as sensors 125.

[0019] The sensor 125 is, for example, a photointerrupter or a photoreflector. In this case, the sensor 125 includes a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit. When light from the light-emitting unit is blocked by the guide rail 113, the sensor 125 may detect the guide rail 113. When light from the light-emitting unit is reflected by the guide rail 113, the sensor 125 may detect the guide rail 113. The sensor 125 may be a sensor (e.g., a contact sensor or a magnetic sensor) that detects a force received from the guide rail 113.

[0020] The transfer robot 12 includes a control unit (not shown) that controls the moving unit 122, the lifting unit 123, and the extendable arm .

[0021] The control unit includes a memory, a processor, etc. The control unit acquires the output signal of the sensor 125a and the output signal of the sensor 125b. The control unit detects that the mounting table 121 and the guide rail 113 are engaged with each other based on an OR signal of the output signal of the sensor 125a and the output signal of the sensor 125b. The control unit also controls the height of the mounting table 121 based on the output signal of the sensor 125a and the output signal of the sensor 125b.

[0022] The shelf 11 and the transport robot 12 may be configured as one unit. Moreover, the transport robot 12 does not need to include the extendable arm 124. The extendable arm 124 may be provided on the shelf 11 side, and the article 2 may be transferred by a mechanism other than the extendable arm 124.

[0023] 2 is a diagram for explaining the difference between the configuration of the conventional technology and the configuration of embodiment 1. The diagram on the left is a diagram for explaining the sensor 20 according to the conventional technology. One sensor 20 is disposed in the center in the thickness direction of the mounting table 121. If the position of the sensor 20 is higher than the position of the lower end of the notch 1131 and lower than the position of the upper end of the notch 1131, there is a problem in that it is not possible to detect that the mounting table 121 and the guide rail 113 are engaged with each other.

[0024] The two figures on the right are diagrams for explaining the first embodiment. The upper figure is a diagram for explaining the sensor 125a. The sensor 125a is provided at a position lower than the center. When the mounting table 121 is lowered, the sensor 125a can detect the guide rail 113 at an earlier timing than the sensor 20.

[0025] The lower diagram is a diagram for explaining the sensor 125b. The sensor 125b is provided at a position higher than the center. When the mounting table 121 is raised, the sensor 125b can detect the guide rail 113 at an earlier timing than the sensor 20.

[0026] In the first embodiment, since the output signal of both the sensor 125a and the output signal of the sensor 125b are used, the engagement between the mounting table 121 and the guide rail 113 can be detected with higher accuracy than in the prior art.

[0027] It is preferable that the difference in height between sensor 125b and sensor 125a is larger than the width (or hole diameter) of notch 1131, since engagement between mounting table 121 and guide rail 113 can be detected reliably.

[0028] 3 is a diagram illustrating a method for detecting engagement between the mounting table 121 and the guide rail 113 using the first embodiment. FIG. 3 shows the time change of the output signal of the sensor 20 according to the conventional technology, the time change of the output signal of the sensor A (sensor 125a), the time change of the output signal of the sensor B (sensor 125b), and the time change of the OR signal. When each sensor detects the guide rail 113, the output signal is "1". When the mounting table 121 is rising, the output of sensor B becomes "0" before the output of sensor A.

[0029] In the conventional technology, it is not possible to detect that the mounting table 121 and the guide rail 113 are engaged in the time period T1. In the first embodiment, since an OR signal is used, it is possible to detect that the mounting table 121 and the guide rail 113 are engaged in the time period T1.

[0030] The same effect can be obtained when two sensors 125 are provided in one of the grooves 1211. However, when sensors 125 are provided in both of the grooves 1211, it can be confirmed that both of the grooves 1211 are engaged with the guide rail 113.

[0031] By the way, by using the configuration of the conventional technology, it is possible to make the height of the mounting table 121 coincide with the height at which the notch 1131 is provided. In the conventional technology, the height of the mounting table 121 is controlled so that the output signal of the sensor 20 becomes "0". In the conventional technology, it was only clear that the position of the center of the mounting table 121 was higher than the position of the lower end of the notch 1131 and lower than the position of the upper end of the notch 1131.

[0032] Depending on the tolerance and installation state, the height of the input port (notch 1131) may differ for each shelf. Therefore, the transfer robot according to the conventional technology detects the notch 1131 with the sensor 20, raises the mounting table 121 to the notch 1131, and then raises and lowers the mounting table 121 by a predetermined amount (e.g., several centimeters). If it can be detected that the center part in the thickness direction of the mounting table 121 is located at the center of the notch 1131, the accuracy of controlling the height of the mounting table 121 is improved. With improved accuracy, mistakes when taking the article 2 in and out of the shelf 11 can be prevented, and the processing time can be reduced.

[0033] In the first embodiment, when the notch 1131 is detected by one of the sensors A and B, the speed of the mounting table 121 is reduced. Then, the height of the mounting table 121 is controlled so that the output signal of the sensor A becomes "1" and the output signal of the sensor B becomes "1". The control unit may control the height of the mounting table 121 based on an AND signal of the output signal of the sensor A and the output signal of the sensor B. The time period T2 during which the detection signal A is "1" and the detection signal B is "1" is shorter than the time period T1. Therefore, according to the first embodiment, the height of the mounting table 121 can be adjusted with high precision.

[0034] The above-mentioned programs include instructions (or software codes) that, when loaded into a computer, cause the computer to perform one or more functions. The programs may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable medium or tangible storage medium includes random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray® disk or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device. The programs may be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or a communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, transitory computer-readable medium or a communication medium includes electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals.

[0035] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1. Transport system 11 Shelves 111 Cabinet 112 Support member 113, 113a, 113b guide rails 1131 Notch 12 Transport robot 121 Placement table 1211, 1211a, 1211b Groove 122 Mobile Division 123 Lifting section 124 Telescopic Arm 20, 125, 125a, 125b Sensors 2 Goods

Claims

[Claim 1] A guide rail extending in a vertical direction, the guide rail having one or more notches or holes disposed along the vertical direction; a mounting table having a groove that can be engaged with the guide rail; A lifting unit that lifts and lowers the mounting table; Two sensors each capable of detecting the guide rail are disposed above and below a central portion of the groove in the vertical direction; a control unit that detects engagement between the mounting table and the guide rail based on an OR signal of output signals from the two sensors; Equipped with The guide rail includes a first guide rail and a second guide rail, the grooves include a first groove engageable with the first guide rail and a second groove engageable with the second guide rail; One of the two sensors is disposed in the first groove, and the other of the two sensors is disposed in the second groove. Conveying system.

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