Vertical Conveyor

Abstract

To mainly simplify a facility configuration of a vertical conveyance device as a whole.SOLUTION: A vertical conveyance device 1 includes an unmanned carrier 11 traveling on a floor surface 4 while loading a conveying object, a carriage 12 storing and raising / lowering the conveying object, and a guide frame 13 guiding the raising / lowering of the carriage 12. The carriage 12 is directly grounded with respect to an installation floor surface 14 on which the guide frame 13 is installed. Getting-on / off assisting means 15 for assisting the getting-on / off of the unmanned carrier 11 onto the carriage 12, which is directly grounded, is provided on the installation floor surface 14. The getting-on / off assisting means 15 is at least one of a recessed part 17 formed in at least a portion grounded with the carriage 12 in the guide frame 13 and having the depth D corresponding to the thickness t of a bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 and a slope installed in an inlet part of the guide frame 13 and inclined upward to the height of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 on the installation floor surface 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1B

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vertical conveying device. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, in warehouses such as factories and distribution warehouses, vertical conveying devices are used to move and convey articles in the vertical direction. Such vertical conveying devices include a box-shaped carriage that stores articles and moves them up and down, and a guide frame that guides the carriage as it moves up and down (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-290804 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The vertical conveying device described in Patent Document 1 is configured to move (horizontally) articles from each floor to the carriage using a conveyor. Therefore, each floor needs a conveyor extending toward the guide frame, and the vertical conveying device needs to be equipped with a transfer device that transfers articles between the conveyor and the carriage. As a result, the vertical conveying device and its peripheral equipment are large in size as a whole.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In response to the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an automated guided vehicle that travels on a floor surface loaded with transported goods, a carriage that stores the transported goods and moves up and down, and a guide frame that guides the carriage as it moves up and down, wherein the carriage is directly grounded to an installation floor surface on which the guide frame is installed, and the installation floor surface is provided with boarding / alighting assistance means that assists the automated guided vehicle in getting on and off the directly grounded carriage, the boarding / alighting assistance means being at least one or both of a recess that is formed in at least a portion of the installation floor surface within the guide frame where the carriage is grounded, and that has a depth equivalent to the thickness of the bottom surface of the carriage, and an inclined slope that is installed at the entrance of the guide frame and rises to the height of the bottom surface of the carriage, An automatic door that is electrically raised and lowered to open and close is installed at the entrance of each floor of the guide frame, an area sensor that detects the automatic guided vehicle is provided at each entrance, and a carriage detection sensor that detects the position of the carriage is provided on the guide frame, and an interlock mechanism that allows the automatic door to be opened and closed only at the entrance of the floor where the automatic guided vehicle is present and the carriage is located, based on a detection signal from the area sensor and a detection signal from the carriage detection sensor. The vertical conveying device is characterized by comprising: [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the above-described configuration can simplify the overall equipment configuration of the vertical conveying device. Furthermore, by having the automated guided vehicles that move freely between floors board and disembark on the carriages of the vertical transport system, lateral movement devices such as conveyors are no longer necessary, thereby reducing the installation space required for the entire vertical transport system. Furthermore, by using automatic doors that lift and open electrically, the doors do not protrude in front of the entrance when opening and closing, so almost no space is used in front of the entrance. Furthermore, the automatic doors that open and close automatically allow the entrance of the guide frame to be opened and closed without any hassle. Furthermore, an interlock mechanism ensures that the automated guided vehicles and carriages are always present when the automatic doors are opened, ensuring safety at the entrance. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1A] 1 is an overall side view of a vertical conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 1B] 1B is a partially enlarged side view showing a recess provided in the lower part of the vertical conveying device of FIG. 1A. FIG. [Figure 1C] 1B is a partially enlarged side view showing a slope provided at the bottom of the vertical conveying device of FIG. 1A. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an overall front view of the vertical conveying device of FIG. [Figure 3A] FIG. [Figure 3B] FIG. 3B is a front view of the carriage of FIG. 3A. [Figure 3C] FIG. 3B is a plan view of the carriage of FIG. 3A. [Figure 4] (a) is a plan view of the slope, and (b) is a side view of the slope. [Figure 5A] 1B is a partially enlarged view of the upper periphery of the guide frame of FIG. 1A, showing the lifting drive mechanism, lifting ropes, and counterweights. [Figure 5B] 3D is a partially enlarged plan view of FIG. 3C showing the installation state of the counterweight and the overrun detection sensor relative to the guide frame. FIG. [Figure 5C] 1A and 1B are enlarged side views of the upper portion of the guide frame showing the operating state of the overrun detection sensor, with (a) being before operation and (b) being after operation. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a control system diagram of the vertical conveying device. [Figure 7] 1A is a plan view of the lifting drive mechanism and the position sensor, and FIG. [Figure 8A] FIG. 10 is a side view showing the state before the automated guided vehicle enters the carriage from the floor surface. [Figure 8B] 10 is a side view showing the state of downward displacement of the carriage that occurs while the automated guided vehicle is loading from the floor surface onto the carriage. FIG. [Figure 8C] FIG. 10 is a side view showing the state before the automated guided vehicle descends from the carriage to the floor surface. [Figure 8D] 10 is a side view showing the upward displacement of the carriage that occurs while the automated guided vehicle is descending from the carriage to the floor surface. FIG. [Figure 9] These are side views of the lower part of the automated guided vehicle, in which (a) shows the relative positions of the drive wheels and the front and rear swivel wheels, (b) shows the horizontal position, and (c) shows the front-up position. [Figure 10] FIG. [Figure 11] This is an explanatory diagram of how to create a depression on a slope. Of these, (a) shows how to find the shortest end position of the depression, and (b) shows how to find the depth of the depression. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 11 are used to explain this embodiment. [Example]

[0010] <Configuration> The configuration of this embodiment will now be described.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1A (FIG. 2), a vertical conveying device 1 is installed in a building such as a factory or warehouse. The vertical conveying device 1 is a device that moves or conveys an article (conveyed object 2) in a vertical direction 3. The vertical direction 3 is a direction perpendicular to a nearly horizontal floor surface 4 of a factory, warehouse, etc. The vertical conveying device 1 is installed vertically so as to extend between the floor surfaces 4 of each floor. However, facilities in which the vertical conveying device 1 can be installed are not limited to factories, warehouses, etc. Furthermore, the building may have any number of floors, as long as it is two or more floors.

[0012] (1) The vertical conveying device 1 of this embodiment includes an automated guided vehicle 11 that carries an object 2 to be conveyed and travels (self-propels) on a floor surface 4, a carriage 12 that houses the object 2 to be conveyed and moves up and down (up and down), and a guide frame 13 that guides the carriage 12 as it moves up and down. The carriage 12 is designed to be directly grounded (landed) on an installation floor surface 14 on which the guide frame 13 is installed. As shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, a boarding / disembarking assistance means 15 is provided on the installation floor surface 14 to assist the automated guided vehicle 11 in getting on and off the carriage 12 that is directly grounded. The boarding / disembarking assistance means 15 is a recess 17 having a depth D equivalent to the thickness t of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12, and formed in at least the portion of the installation floor surface 14 within the guide frame 13 where the carriage 12 touches the ground (FIG. 1B). Alternatively, the boarding / exiting assistance means 15 may be an inclined ramp 19 installed at the entrance 18 of the guide frame 13 and rising to the height of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 (FIG. 1C). At least one of the recess 17 and the ramp 19 may be provided.

[0013] Here, the vertical conveying device 1 has an elevator device that moves an article (an article 2 to be conveyed) in a vertical direction 3, and a transfer device that transfers the article between the elevator device and each floor.

[0014] The transported object 2 may be any item that can be transported by the automatic guided vehicle 11 and placed on the carriage 12. For example, the transported object 2 is placed on a rack 2a and transported by the automatic guided vehicle 11 together with the rack 2a.

[0015] The floor surface 4 is a substantially horizontal surface provided on each floor of a factory or warehouse. It is preferable that at least the portion of the floor surface 4 on which the automated guided vehicle 11 travels (travel range) be as flat as possible.

[0016] The automated guided vehicle 11 is, for example, an AGV that autonomously travels along a specified route on a floor surface 4 while avoiding obstacles. The automated guided vehicle 11, for example, moves under a rack 2a carrying an object 2 to move the object 2 together with the rack 2a. The automated guided vehicle 11 is used as a horizontal movement device that travels on the floor surface 4 of each floor, and also functions as a transfer device to an elevator device.

[0017] The automated guided vehicle 11 may move up and down in the carriage 12 together with the article 2 to move to another floor. Alternatively, the automated guided vehicle 11 may move only to that floor by loading only the article 2 onto the carriage 12, dismounting from the carriage 12, and then going into the carriage 12 to pick up the article 2 that has been delivered to that floor.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, the carriage 12 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped cargo compartment that accommodates the automated guided vehicle 11 and the transported object 2 inside and moves in the vertical direction 3. The carriage 12 is a box-shaped body or box frame that is large enough to accommodate the automated guided vehicle 11 and the transported object 2. The carriage 12, together with the guide frame 13, constitutes a lifting device for the vertical conveying device 1.

[0019] The carriage 12 has at least four pillars 12a installed at the corner positions of a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, upper cross beams 12b connecting the four pillars 12a from front to back between the upper ends thereof, and left and right cross beams having lower cross beams 12b, 12c connecting the four pillars 12a from front to back between the lower ends thereof. The left and right cross beams form the left and right side surfaces of the carriage 12. Note that, when facing the entrance 18 of the guide frame 13, the front and back sides are defined as the front and back, and the sides on either side of these are defined as the left and right.

[0020] The left and right horizontal frames are joined together at the top by a fixed frame that is roughly gate-shaped when viewed from the front, as shown below. The left and right horizontal frames are joined together at the bottom by a bottom surface 16.

[0021] The gate-shaped fixed frame includes side frames 12d, which are attached to the left and right horizontal frames and have a substantially rectangular shape in side view, and a connecting frame 12f, which is substantially rectangular in plan view and connects the upper ends of the left and right side frames 12d. The left and right side frames 12d are each made up of four sides, top, bottom, front, and back, with their lower sides shared with the lower cross beam 12c. They are narrower and longer than the left and right horizontal frames, and their upper sides protrude above the left and right horizontal frames. The connecting frame 12f is made up of four sides, top, bottom, front, back, left, and right, with their left and right sides shared with the upper sides of the side frames 12d. However, the configuration of the carriage 12 is not limited to the above.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 1A (Fig. 2, Fig. 3C), the guide frame 13 is a vertically long, steel tower-like fixed structure installed on the installation floor 14 inside the building. The guide frame 13 has a substantially uniform cross-sectional shape and extends in the vertical direction 3, penetrating the floor surface 4 of each floor above the installation floor 14, thereby accommodating the carriage 12 inside and forming an elevator space 13a in which the carriage 12 can rise and fall. As a result, the guide frame 13 becomes the fixed part of the elevator device, and the carriage 12 becomes the movable part of the elevator device.

[0023] The guide frame 13 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped frame portion made up of at least four pillars 13b installed at the corner positions of a substantially rectangular shape in plan view that is about one size larger than the carriage 12, and front and rear and left and right cross beams 13c that connect the four pillars 13b horizontally. A plurality of cross beams 13c are installed at appropriate intervals in the vertical direction.

[0024] The guide frame 13 is provided with guide rails 13e that extend in the vertical direction 3 and guide the carriage 12 as it moves up and down, and the carriage 12 is provided with guide rollers 12e that move along the guide rails 13e. A pair of guide rails 13e are provided on both sides of the guide frame 13, facing the side frames 12d of the carriage 12. Each guide rail 13e is installed at approximately the center of the width of the guide frame 13.

[0025] The guide rail 13e has a U-shaped portion in a plan view so that three surfaces, on the front side and both sides facing the carriage 12, serve as guide surfaces. At least one pair of guide rollers 12e is provided on each of the upper and lower edges of the side frame 12d so as to sandwich the guide rail 13e from both sides. Furthermore, additional guide rollers 12e that roll along the opposing surfaces of the guide rail 13e may be provided on the upper and lower edges of the side frame 12d so as to guide the carriage from three sides.

[0026] The installation floor surface 14 is a base surface of the floor surface 4 in a building such as a factory or warehouse, on which the guide frame 13 of the vertical conveying device 1 is installed. The installation floor surface 14 is, for example, the floor surface 4 of the lowest floor.

[0027] Direct contact means that the carriage 12 stops with the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 in direct contact with the installation floor surface 14. When the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 comes into contact with the installation floor surface 14, the stopping precision of the carriage 12 becomes strict.

[0028] The boarding / alighting assistance means 15 is an auxiliary means for enabling the automated guided vehicle 11 to move independently between the installation floor surface 14 and the carriage 12 and for passengers to board and alight as they are. The boarding / alighting assistance means 15 is installed on the installation floor surface 14, inside the guide frame 13, or around the entrance 18 (such as on the installation floor surface 14 on the front side of the entrance 18).

[0029] The bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 is a surface that closes the bottom of the carriage 12 and is a flat surface on which the automatic guided vehicle 11 stands. The bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 is attached so as to connect the lower ends of the left and right cross beams 12c that form the lower part of the box frame of the carriage 12.

[0030] The thickness t of the bottom surface 16 is the dimension in the vertical direction 3 between the lower surface and the upper surface of the bottom surface 16. The lower surface of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 is the surface (ground surface) that is placed almost directly on the installation floor surface 14 or the recess 17, and the upper surface is the surface (riding surface) on which the automatic guided vehicle 11 rides.

[0031] The depth D, which is equivalent to the thickness t of the bottom surface 16, means that the dimension of the recess 17 in the vertical direction 3 is approximately equal to the thickness t of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 (thickness t = depth D) or is slightly larger (deeper) than that (thickness t + α = depth D).

[0032] The recess 17 is a depression provided in the installation floor surface 14 that accommodates the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12, and when the bottom surface 16 touches down within the recess 17, the upper surface (riding surface) of the bottom surface 16 is at approximately the same height as the installation floor surface 14. Because the recess 17 is shallow as will be described later, it is at approximately the same height as the installation floor surface 14. Therefore, directly touching the carriage 12 to the recess 17 is also essentially included in directly touching the installation floor surface 14.

[0033] The bottom of the recess 17 may be made substantially flat over the entire surface so that the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 directly abuts against the entire bottom of the recess 17. Alternatively, the recess 17 may have one or more receiving members 17a provided at appropriate positions on the bottom so that the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 partially abuts against the receiving members 17a. The receiving members 17a may be provided on the side of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12, or on both the recess 17 and the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12.

[0034] In this embodiment, four receiving members 17a are installed on the bottom of the recess 17 (or on the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12) in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. The four receiving members 17a are positioned at the front and rear edges of the bottom surface 16, substantially directly below the positions of both sides of the automatic guided vehicle 11 when it is placed on the carriage 12. Furthermore, one additional receiving member 17a may be provided at the center of the rectangle, making a total of five receiving members.

[0035] When the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 is in direct surface contact with the recess 17, the depth D of the recess 17 is set to be approximately equal to the thickness t of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 (thickness t = depth D). When the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 is brought into contact via a receiving member 17a, the depth D of the recess 17 is set to be larger than the thickness t of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 by approximately the thickness of the receiving member 17a (thickness t + α = depth D). By providing the receiving member 17a, the flatness of the bottom of the recess 17 is reduced, which facilitates the processing and formation of the recess 17, and allows the receiving member 17a to receive the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 with high precision. Note that grounding with the receiving member 17a is also considered to be included in direct grounding with the recess 17.

[0036] The recess 17 is formed to a size that includes at least the entire ground contact portion of the bottom surface 16 (ground contact surface) of the carriage 12 on the installation floor surface 14. The recess 17 may be provided at the very least in the ground contact portion inside the guide frame 13, with approximately the same shape and size as the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12, but may also be formed over an area wider than the bottom surface 16 (ground contact surface) of the carriage 12. In this case, the recess 17 may be formed within a range that fits inside the guide frame 13, or may be formed to protrude outside the guide frame 13.

[0037] In this embodiment, the recess 17 is formed across the inside and outside of the guide frame 13 so as to be approximately one size larger than the guide frame 13. If the recess 17 is made larger than the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12, a transfer member (not shown) is appropriately installed at least in the portion through which the automatic guided vehicle 11 passes, to partially fill the recess 17 and make it flush with the installation floor surface 14. Similar transfer members are also installed as necessary between the floor surface 4 and the carriage 12 at the entrance portion 18 of each floor. The transfer member becomes part of the floor surface 4.

[0038] The entrance sections 18 of the guide frame 13 are open sections through which the automated guided vehicles 11 and the transported objects 2 enter and exit, and are formed on the sides of the guide frame 13 at positions facing the installation floor surface 14 and the floor surface 4 of each floor. The entrance sections 18 of the guide frame 13 are provided on (one or both of) the front and rear sides that do not have the above-mentioned guide rails 13e or guide rollers 12e.

[0039] The entrance 18 must be large and shaped to allow at least the unmanned transport vehicle 11 and the transported object 2 to enter and exit, but generally it is made to be approximately the same size and shape as or larger than the side of the carriage 12.

[0040] As shown in Figure 4, the ramp 19 is an inclined surface that is wider than the automated guided vehicle 11 and extends upward from the installation floor surface 14 toward the height of the bottom surface 16 (upper surface) of the carriage 12, and is installed on the installation floor surface 14 facing the entrance section 18.

[0041] It is preferable that the slope 19 is basically a linear inclined surface. When the slope 19 is installed on the installation floor surface 14 having the recess 17, the slope 19 is installed on top of the transfer member, or the slope 19 alone is installed as a member that also functions as a transfer member.

[0042] The slope 19 has one or more surface members 19a that form the upper surface, one or more vertical and horizontal tilt support members 19b that are installed below the surface member 19a and tilt the surface member 19a at the required angle, and floor fixing parts 19c for stably fixing the tilt support members 19b to the installation floor surface 14. Each part of the slope 19 is fixed to the installation floor surface 14 by fixing members 19d. For example, adjustable anchors are used as the fixing members 19d.

[0043] It is possible to provide either the recess 17 or the slope 19, or both at the same time. When both the recess 17 and the slope 19 are provided, the sum of the depth D of the recess 17 and the height of the slope 19 is set to the same value as the thickness t of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12. This allows the depth D of the recess 17 and the height of the slope 19 to be smaller than when only one is provided.

[0044] (2) In the vertical conveying device 1, as shown in Figures 1A and 2, a lifting drive mechanism 21 that raises and lowers the carriage 12 is provided on the guide frame 13. The lifting drive mechanism 21 moves a lifting rope 23 (Figure 5A) having the carriage 12 and the counterweight 22 attached to both ends thereof in opposite directions. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5C, an overrun detection sensor 24 that detects when the counterweight 22 reaches its upper limit position, and an overwinding prevention device 26 (Figure 6) that stops the carriage 12 when the height of the counterweight 22 detected by the overrun detection sensor 24 exceeds the upper limit position may be provided.

[0045] As shown in Figure 7, the lifting drive mechanism 21 has a drive motor 21a, a speed reduction mechanism 21b, and a sprocket 21c, and is attached to a suspension frame 13f provided at the top of the guide frame 13. In the lifting drive mechanism 21, the drive motor 21a is operated to rotate the sprocket 21c via the speed reduction mechanism 21b, thereby moving both ends of the lifting rope 23 in opposite directions. As a result, when the carriage 12 is raised, the counterweight 22 is lowered, and when the carriage 12 is lowered, the counterweight 22 is raised. When the carriage 12 touches the installation floor surface 14, the counterweight 22 reaches its highest position, reaching its upper operational limit.

[0046] Counterweight 22 is a weight for balancing the weight with carriage 12. As shown in Fig. 5B, in lifting space 13a inside guide frame 13, a partition beam 13g is provided between the portion through which carriage 12 passes and the portion through which counterweight 22 passes. On the side through which counterweight 22 passes, the above-mentioned guide rail 13e is attached to partition beam 13g.

[0047] A guide rail 13h extending in the vertical direction 3 and guiding the counterweight 22 as it moves up and down is provided in the portion of the guide frame 13 through which the counterweight 22 passes, and the counterweight 22 is provided with a guide roller 22a that moves along the guide rail 13h. A pair of guide rails 13h are provided on the guide frame 13 at positions of the pillars 13b that face both sides of the counterweight 22.

[0048] The guide rail 13h has a U-shaped portion in a plan view so that three surfaces, on the front side and both sides, serving as guide surfaces toward the side of the counterweight 22. At least one pair of guide rollers 22a is provided above and below the counterweight 22 so as to sandwich the guide rail 13h from both sides. Furthermore, other guide rollers 22a that roll along opposing surfaces of the guide rail 13h may be provided above and below the counterweight 22 so as to guide the counterweight from three sides.

[0049] The lifting cable 23 is a long metallic cable, such as a chain or wire. The lifting cable 23 has its middle portion wound around a sprocket 21c provided on the top of the guide frame 13 from above, and is routed so as to pass over the top of the guide frame 13 and then bend back and forth up and down. The carriage 12 (its side frame 12d) and the counterweight 22 are suspended from both downward ends of the lifting cable 23. The lifting cable 23 is tensioned by the carriage 12 and the counterweight 22, and is slightly elongated due to elastic deformation when the weights of the automatic guided vehicle 11 and the transported object 2 are applied to it. Conversely, when the weights of the automatic guided vehicle 11 and the transported object 2 are no longer applied to it, it is slightly shortened due to elastic deformation. The sprocket 21c and the lifting cable 23 are provided on both sides of the carriage 12 corresponding to the pair of side frames 12d, and are interlocked with each other.

[0050] As shown in Figure 7(c), a position sensor 27 is attached to the rotation shaft of sprocket 21c to detect the position of carriage 12 in the vertical direction 3 based on the rotation speed and rotation angle of sprocket 21c. For example, a non-contact rotary encoder is used as position sensor 27. The position data detected by position sensor 27 is sent to a carriage position control device 29 (or carriage lift control device) provided in a control device 28 of vertical conveyance device 1, as shown in Figure 6, and is used by carriage position control device 29 to control lift drive mechanism 21 to stop carriage 12 at each floor and to control the speed during ascent and descent.

[0051] Overrun occurs when the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 comes into direct contact (lands) on the installation floor surface 14 or the bottom of the recess 17 and stops, but the counterweight 22 continues to rise without stopping and exceeds the upper limit position. If such an overrun occurs, there is a risk that the counterweight 22 will collide with the upper part of the guide frame 13, which is undesirable.

[0052] The overrun detection sensor 24 (Fig. 5C) is a sensor that directly detects whether the counterweight 22 has exceeded its upper limit position. The overrun detection sensor 24 is attached to the upper part of the guide frame 13, near the upper limit position of the counterweight 22. A limit switch or the like that detects contact of the counterweight 22 is used as the overrun detection sensor 24. The overrun detection sensor 24 has, for example, a detection arm 24a that detects overrun when the upper guide roller 22a comes into contact with it. The detection arm 24a is approximately L-shaped when viewed from the side, and is attached so that it can rotate freely around a central bent part.

[0053] The detection arm 24a is rotated (counterclockwise) from state (a) to state (b) in the figure as the guide roller 22a passes from below to above, and is rotated (clockwise) in reverse from state (b) to state (a) as the guide roller 22a passes from above to below, returning to its original state. (a) indicates a state in which overrun is not detected, and (b) indicates a state in which overrun is detected. Information about the height of the counterweight 22 detected by the overrun detection sensor 24 is sent to the overwinding prevention device 26.

[0054] The overwinding prevention device 26 is a safety device (emergency stop device) that brings the carriage 12 to an emergency stop, and is provided as an internal function of the control device 28 of the vertical conveying device 1. When the overwinding prevention device 26 detects an overrun, it sends a control signal to a power supply device (not shown) to stop the supply of current to the drive motor 21a, thereby bringing the carriage 12 to an emergency stop. Alternatively, the overwinding prevention device 26 may send a control signal to a brake device (not shown) to activate the brake device.

[0055] Furthermore, an overrun detection sensor similar to that described above that detects when the counterweight 22 reaches the lower limit position may be provided below the guide frame 13. In this case, the overwinding prevention device 26 stops the carriage 12 when the height of the counterweight 22 detected by the overrun detection sensor exceeds the lower limit position.

[0056] (3) In the vertical conveying device 1, the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 may be formed of a single plate 31 having sufficient rigidity to not bend under the weight of the automatic guided vehicle 11 carrying the object 2 to be conveyed (FIG. 3C).

[0057] Here, the bending of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 means that the flatness of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 decreases due to downward distortion caused by the weight of the bottom surface 16 itself, the weight of the automated guided vehicle 11, the transported object 2, etc., and the height of each part becomes uneven. The bending of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 adversely affects the loading and unloading of the automated guided vehicle 11 onto and from the carriage 12.

[0058] The solid board 31 is a single piece of surface material having a flat surface of the same shape and size as the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 and a certain thickness, and is made of wood, metal, resin, ceramic, or an appropriate combination of these. The solid board 31 may be a single board (solid board), a multi-layer material made by bonding thin veneers together, or an aggregate material made by gathering and bonding multiple material pieces together to form essentially a single board.

[0059] Normally, the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 is in the form of a panel consisting of a reinforcing frame and one or more thin plates attached on top of the reinforcing frame, but those having multiple such structures (such as thin plates and reinforcing frames), those having a reinforcing frame underneath, and those having multiple thin plates attached side by side are not included in the single plate 31 (made of only one surface material) in this embodiment.

[0060] The thickness of the plate 31 is determined by the material, area, maximum weight of the automatic guided vehicle 11 and the transported object 2, and the like. In this embodiment, the plate 31 is, for example, a single steel plate with a thickness t of 16 mm. The recess 17 has a depth D that is greater than the thickness t of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 by the thickness of the receiving member 17a, and is shallow, for example, about 25 mm. However, the thickness t of the plate 31 and the depth D of the recess 17 are not limited to these.

[0061] (4) The vertical conveying device 1 may be provided with at least a stop position adjustment device 42 (Figure 6) that adjusts the stop position 41 of the carriage 12 depending on the empty or loaded state of the automatic guided vehicle 11 when the carriage 12 stops at a floor other than the floor of the installation floor surface 14.

[0062] Here, the floor of the installation floor surface 14 is the floor (lower floor) on which the guide frame 13 is installed. On the floor of the installation floor surface 14, the carriage 12 is in direct contact with the installation floor surface 14 or the recess 17, and is therefore unable to displace further downward. However, structurally, it is also possible to form a pit in the installation floor surface 14 that is sufficiently deeper than the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 so that the carriage 12 stops in a suspended state. In this case, the stop position 41 on the floor of the installation floor surface 14 may also be adjusted by the stop position adjustment device 42.

[0063] The other floors are floors (upper floors) above the floor of the installation floor surface 14. On the other floors, the carriage 12 is always stopped in a floating state.

[0064] The unladen state is the lightest state in which the automatic guided vehicle 11 is not loaded with the transported object 2. The loaded state is the state in which the automatic guided vehicle 11 is loaded with the transported object 2 and is therefore heavier.

[0065] The stop position 41 is the position where the carriage 12 actually stops at the entrance 18 of each floor. If the stop position adjustment device 42 is not provided, the stop position 41 is uniformly set to the height where the bottom surface 16 (upper surface) of the carriage 12 is aligned with the floor surface 4. Hereinafter, the height of the floor surface 4 will be referred to as the reference position.

[0066] For example, as shown in Fig. 8A, when an empty carriage 12 stopped at a reference position is loaded with an automated guided vehicle 11 (only the lower part is shown) that has become heavy due to the load 2, the weight of the automated guided vehicle 11 causes the lifting rope 23 to elastically deform and stretch, causing the carriage 12 to drop below the reference position (stop position 41 is displaced downward) as shown in Fig. 8B. If the carriage 12 drops below the reference position by more than a required amount, a large (downward) step 44 will be created between the floor surface 4 and the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12, and the automated guided vehicle 11 may become stuck in this step 44, which must be prevented. The required amount is the height at which the automated guided vehicle 11 can no longer transmit its driving force to the bottom surface 16, etc.

[0067] Conversely, as shown in Fig. 8C, when the carriage 12 stops at the reference position with the automated guided vehicle 11 loaded with the load 2 being carried, the weight of the automated guided vehicle 11 decreases as the automated guided vehicle 11 descends, causing the lifting rope 23 to contract through elastic deformation, and the carriage 12 rises above the reference position (stop position 41 is displaced upward) as shown in Fig. 8D. If the carriage 12 rises higher than the required amount relative to the reference position at this time, a large (downward) step 44 is created between the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 and the floor surface 4, and there is a possibility that the automated guided vehicle 11 will get stuck in this step 44 and become stuck, so this must be prevented.

[0068] The stop position adjustment device 42 is a mechanism that finely adjusts the stop position 41 of the carriage 12. The stop position adjustment device 42 controls the lift drive mechanism 21 to slightly adjust (by a few millimeters) the stop position 41 of the carriage 12 on each floor according to the weight of the automatic guided vehicle 11. The stop position 41 of the carriage 12 is finely adjusted within a range in which the automatic guided vehicle 11 can get on and off the carriage 12. The stop position adjustment device 42 is provided as an internal function of the control device 28 of the vertical conveying device 1.

[0069] The stop position adjustment device 42 may be configured to finely adjust the stop position 41 of the carriage 12 in real time, for example, when a loaded unmanned guided vehicle 11 enters an empty carriage 12, as the load of the unmanned guided vehicle 11 acts on the carriage 12, making it heavier.

[0070] In addition, the stop position adjustment device 42 may be configured to fine-tune the stop position 41 of the carriage 12 in real time, for example, as the load of the unmanned guided vehicle 11 acting on the carriage 12 decreases and becomes lighter when the unmanned guided vehicle 11 descends from the carriage 12 carrying the loaded unmanned guided vehicle 11 to the floor surface 4.

[0071] In this embodiment, the stop position adjustment device 42 adjusts the stop position 41 of the carriage 12 to be higher than the reference position by a predetermined amount of displacement (amount of lowering) so that, before a loaded automatic guided vehicle 11 gets on to an empty carriage 12, the carriage 12 is positioned higher by the amount of lowering that will occur when the loaded automatic guided vehicle 11 gets on. At this time, the stop position 41 of the carriage 12 is set to a position high enough that the automatic guided vehicle 11 (at least the front wheels of the automatic guided vehicle 11) can get over. Moreover, the stop position 41 is set so that the carriage 12, which has become heavy due to the automatic guided vehicle 11 (at least the front wheels of the automatic guided vehicle 11) getting on, will only go down to the reference position or a position where the step 44 is small enough that the carriage 12 will not get stuck.

[0072] That is, when the automatic guided vehicle 11 is loaded, the stop position adjustment device 42 sets the stop position 41 of the carriage 12 higher than the reference position in advance, within a range that allows the automatic guided vehicle 11 to overcome the height difference both before and after boarding. When the automatic guided vehicle 11 is unloaded, the above-mentioned fine adjustment of the stop position is not performed.

[0073] Furthermore, for example, before the loaded automatic guided vehicle 11 descends from the carriage 12 onto the floor surface 4, the stop position adjustment device 42 adjusts the stop position 41 of the carriage 12 to be lower than the reference position by a predetermined amount of displacement (amount of rise) so that the carriage 12 is positioned lower by the amount of rise that will occur when the loaded automatic guided vehicle 11 descends. In this case, the stop position 41 of the carriage 12 is set to a position low enough that the automatic guided vehicle 11 (at least the front wheels of the automatic guided vehicle 11) can climb over. Moreover, the stop position 41 is set so that the carriage 12, which has become lighter due to the dismounting of the automatic guided vehicle 11 (at least the front wheels of the automatic guided vehicle 11), can only rise to the reference position or a position where the step 44 is small enough not to cause the carriage 12 to get stuck.

[0074] That is, when the automatic guided vehicle 11 is loaded, the stop position adjustment device 42 preliminarily sets the stop position 41 of the carriage 12 lower than the reference position within a range that allows the automatic guided vehicle 11 to overcome the height difference both before and after dismounting. When the automatic guided vehicle 11 is unloaded, the above-mentioned fine adjustment of the stop position is not performed.

[0075] The stop position adjustment when getting on and the stop position adjustment when getting off may be performed both at the same time, or only one of them may be performed, as necessary. The adjustment amount of the stop position 41 by the stop position adjustment device 42 is set in advance depending on the specific conditions of the vertical conveying device 1, the conveyed object 2, etc.

[0076] 6, the stop position adjustment device 42 can acquire (or determine) whether the automatic guided vehicle 11 is in an empty or loaded state by inputting operation information and article transport information from an operation control device 46 that monitors and controls the operation status of the automatic guided vehicle 11 and the operating state of the rack 2a on which the transported article 2 is placed. The operation control device 46 is configured separately from the control device 28 of the vertical conveying device 1. The operation control device 46 is wirelessly connected to the automatic guided vehicle 11 and the rack 2a so that it can send and receive various information. In addition, the control device 28 is connected to the operation control device 46 by wire or wirelessly, so that various information can be sent and received.

[0077] Alternatively, the stop position adjustment device 42 may input weight information, object detection information, etc. from various sensors 47 provided on the vertical conveying device 1 to acquire (or determine) the weight of the automatic guided vehicle 11 or whether the automatic guided vehicle 11 is in an empty or loaded state. The sensor 47 may be, for example, attached to the automatic guided vehicle 11 itself, or provided on the lifting device (carriage 12, guide frame 13, entrance 18, etc.), building, etc., as appropriate.

[0078] The stop position adjustment device 42 can use, for example, a sensor 47 of the carriage 12, as shown in FIG. 3B . Such a sensor 47 may detect, for example, the position and inclination of the transported object 2 inside the carriage 12. The sensor 47 may be, for example, an optical sensor having a light-emitting unit 47a and a light-receiving unit 47b. Many such optical sensors are installed in pairs, for example, between the top and bottom of the left and right positions on the front and back sides of the carriage 12, between the left and right positions on the front and back top, middle, and bottom sides, or between diagonal corners on the front and back sides. However, the sensors 47 that can detect the weight of the automated guided vehicle 11 and whether it is loaded or unloaded are not limited to those described above.

[0079] (5) As shown in Fig. 2, the vertical conveying device 1 may be provided with automatic doors 51 that are electrically raised and lowered to open and close at the entrances 18 of the guide frame 13 on each floor. Each entrance 18 may be provided with an area sensor 52 that detects the automated guided vehicle 11, and the guide frame 13 may be provided with a carriage detection sensor 53 (Fig. 3C) that detects the position of the carriage 12. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 6, an interlock mechanism 54 may be provided that, based on a detection signal 52a from the area sensor 52 and a detection signal 53a from the carriage detection sensor 53, allows the automatic doors 51 to open and close only at the entrances 18 of the floors where the automated guided vehicle 11 is present and the carriage 12 is located.

[0080] Here, the automatic doors 51 are provided at the entrances 18 on each floor of the guide frame 13, respectively, to open and close the entrances 18 on each floor. Note that safety fences or the like may be installed on both sides of the entrances 18 on the near side, if necessary.

[0081] The automatic door 51 is a lifting / opening device that automatically opens and closes the entrance 18 and includes one or more doors 51a-51c that can move in the vertical direction 3. Each door 51a-51c is raised and lowered by an opening / closing drive device (not shown), and the upper doors 51a, 51b raise and lower the lower doors 51b, 51c together with the opening / closing drive device. When the automatic door 51 opens and closes by lifting / opening, the doors 51a-51c (FIG. 2) do not protrude to the front side of the entrance 18, so it can be opened and closed in a small space and does not interfere with the automatic guided vehicle 11. The automatic door 51 may be opened and closed automatically by a control command from the operation control device 46, manually by an operation switch provided at the entrance 18, or by a combination of these. The number of doors 51a to 51c that are raised and lowered to open and close the automatic door 51 may be adjusted so that the door 51 opens to the required height depending on whether the automatic guided vehicle 11 is empty or loaded. This prevents the entrance 18 from opening wider than necessary, ensuring safety and improving the efficiency of facility operation.

[0082] The area sensor 52 is a sensor that monitors the situation around the entrance 18 over a predetermined range and notifies the presence or absence of an automated guided vehicle 11 or a worker. The area sensor 52 is installed, for example, above the entrance 18. The area sensor 52 may be, for example, a LIDAR that uses light to perform detection and distance measurement, an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or a surveillance camera. A detection signal 52a from the area sensor 52 is sent to an interlock mechanism 54. The detection signal 52a from the area sensor 52 can detect the entry of an automated guided vehicle 11 or a worker into the vicinity of the entrance 18. If the entry of a worker is detected, for example, an alarm may be sounded to warn the worker to leave the vicinity of the entrance 18.

[0083] The carriage detection sensor 53 is a sensor (floor detection sensor) that detects the current position (or stopping floor) of the carriage 12 within the guide frame 13. The carriage detection sensor 53 is installed at a position approximately within the height range of the carriage 12 stopped at each floor. For example, the carriage detection sensor 53 can be installed at a position approximately the same height as the floor surface 4 of each floor within the guide frame 13. The carriage detection sensor 53 has, for example, a bifurcated detection portion 53b (FIG. 3C). Light, magnetic lines, etc. are passed between the bifurcated detection portion 53b. In response to this, a shielding plate 53c that can pass vertically between the bifurcated detection portions 53b is attached to the carriage 12 at a position corresponding to the detection portion 53b, for example, at the lower part (lower cross beam 12c).

[0084] When the carriage 12 stops at each floor, the shielding plate 53c enters between the forked detection parts 53b, blocking the light, and the strength of the magnetic field changes, thereby detecting the floor at which the carriage 12 has stopped (floor presence detection). A detection signal 53a from the carriage detection sensor 53 is sent to an interlock mechanism 54.

[0085] The carriage detection sensor 53 is not limited to the detection unit 53b, and may be, for example, the position sensor 27 such as the rotary encoder described above, or another sensor 47, or a combination of these.

[0086] The interlock mechanism 54 is a safety mechanism that allows the lock to be released when multiple conditions (detection signals 52a, 53a) are met simultaneously. The interlock mechanism 54 receives the detection signal 52a from the area sensor 52 on each floor and the detection signal 53a from the carriage detection sensor 53, and outputs an open / close prohibition signal or an open / close permission signal to the automatic door 51 on each floor. The interlock mechanism 54 is provided as an internal function of the control device 28 of the vertical conveying device 1.

[0087] (6) In the vertical conveying device 1, as shown in Fig. 9, the automated guided vehicle 11 may have, when viewed from the side, swivel wheels 61, 62 at the front and rear in the direction of travel, and may also have a drive wheel 63 between the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62. The drive wheel 63 may be fixed in position so as not to be displaced up and down relative to the automated guided vehicle 11, in a state in which it protrudes below a line 64 connecting the lower ends 61a, 62a of the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62. As a result, when the automated guided vehicle 11 is traveling, one of the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62 is raised.

[0088] Here, the traveling direction is the forward direction F of the vehicle body fore-and-aft direction 65 of the automatic guided vehicle 11. The vehicle width direction 66 (FIG. 10) of the automatic guided vehicle 11 is the direction perpendicular to the vehicle body fore-and-aft direction 65, running left and right as the automatic guided vehicle 11 moves forward F.

[0089] The swivel wheels 61, 62 are driven wheels (casters) configured to rotate freely horizontally through 360°. As shown in Fig. 10, four swivel wheels 61, 62 are installed in a rectangular shape spaced apart from each other on the front, back, left and right sides (vehicle body fore-and-aft direction 65 and vehicle width direction 66) of the automated guided vehicle 11.

[0090] The drive wheels 63 are wheels that transmit the driving force for traveling to the floor surface 4. A pair of drive wheels 63 are installed on the left and right so that they roll in the traveling direction. The drive wheels 63 are installed at a position in the middle (almost the center) of the automatic guided vehicle 11 in the fore-and-aft direction 65 of the vehicle body. The drive wheels 63 have a larger diameter than the swivel wheels 61, 62.

[0091] The lower ends 61a, 62a of the free wheels 61, 62 are the lowest points of the front and rear free wheels 61, 62, and are the points that come into contact with the floor surface 4 or the like (grounding points).

[0092] A line 64 connecting the lower ends 61a, 62a of the swivel wheels 61, 62 is slightly inclined with respect to the floor surface 4. Protruding below this line 64 means that the lower end 63a of the drive wheel 63 is not higher in level than the lower ends 61a, 62a of the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62. The amount of downward protrusion of the drive wheel 63 from the line 64 can be slight.

[0093] As a result, the automated guided vehicle 11 is supported at two points on the floor surface 4 when viewed from the side by the drive wheel 63 and one of the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62 (FIGS. 9(b)(c)), so the drive wheel 63 is almost always in contact with the floor surface 4, making it easier to transmit the driving force to the floor surface 4. In addition, because the drive wheel 63 protrudes below the line 64, the automated guided vehicle 11 is less likely to get stuck on steps 44 that occur when getting on and off the carriage 12.

[0094] The automated guided vehicle 11 (or its body) may have any planar shape, but is preferably an approximately rectangular shape or a modified shape based on a rectangle (for example, a polygonal shape). In this embodiment, both front and rear sides of the rectangle are cut into arcs with a large radius of curvature, giving the automated guided vehicle 11 an approximately oval (or racetrack) planar shape (FIG. 10). At least the underside 11a of the automated guided vehicle 11 is an approximately flat surface. In order to lower the body of the automated guided vehicle 11, the underside 11a is set to a height approximately equal to the radius of the swivel wheels 61, 62. By lowering the body, the automated guided vehicle 11 is relatively vulnerable to bumps.

[0095] The up and down direction may be the up and down direction 3, but is a direction perpendicular to the underside 11a of the automated guided vehicle 11. The up and down displacement of the drive wheels 63 means, for example, that the drive wheels 63 are attached to the automated guided vehicle 11 (the body thereof) via a damper device, so that they can move up and down relative to the automated guided vehicle 11. The automated guided vehicle 11 may have a damper device attached to the drive wheels 63, but in this embodiment, the drive wheels 63 are attached without a damper device, so that the drive wheels 63 cannot move up and down relative to the automated guided vehicle 11. As a result, the drive wheels 63 of the automated guided vehicle 11 cannot move above the line 64 described above, and are always kept in a state where they protrude below the line 64. The front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62 are also attached so that they cannot move up and down relative to the automated guided vehicle 11.

[0096] The state in which one of the front and rear free wheels 61, 62 is floating means that the unmanned transport vehicle 11 is supported at two points by the drive wheel 63 and the other of the front and rear free wheels 61, 62, and one of them is lifted off the floor surface 4.

[0097] In this embodiment, the drive wheel 63 is installed in a position slightly forward of the exact center position between the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62 with respect to the automated guided vehicle 11. That is, the distance L1 between the bottom ends of the rear swivel wheel 62 (rear wheel) and the drive wheel 63 is greater than the distance L2 between the bottom ends of the drive wheel 63 and the front swivel wheel 61 (front wheel) (L1 > L2). Therefore, the floating allowance a1 of the rear swivel wheel 62 is greater than the floating allowance a2 of the front swivel wheel 61 (a1 > a2). The floating allowance a1 of the rear swivel wheel 62 is the amount by which the rear swivel wheel 62 floats above the floor surface 4 when the front swivel wheel 61 and the drive wheel 63 are in contact with the floor surface 4 in a two-point support state. In addition, the floating allowance a2 of the front swivel 61 is the amount by which the front swivel 61 floats above the floor surface 4 when the rear swivel 62 and the drive wheel 63 are in two-point support contact with the floor surface 4.

[0098] As a result, the weight balance of the automated guided vehicle 11 shifts slightly rearward, increasing the probability that the front swivel 61 will float. With the front swivel 61 floating, the automated guided vehicle 11 can more easily overcome steps in front of it while traveling forward (or can relatively easily overcome steps of about a few millimeters that are less than the floating allowance a2 of the front swivel 61). The swivels 61 and 62 that float in the air are switched as appropriate depending on the traveling situation.

[0099] Furthermore, the posture of the automated guided vehicle 11 when viewed from the side changes depending on which of the swivel wheels 61, 62 is suspended in the air. In this embodiment, the rear swivel wheel 62 of the automated guided vehicle 11 is installed at a higher position than the front swivel wheel 61, or has a smaller diameter, or both, so that the lower end 63a of the drive wheel 63, which is at approximately the same height as the lower end 61a of the front swivel wheel 61, protrudes below the line 64. The inclination of the vehicle body is set so that the automated guided vehicle 11 assumes a horizontal posture when the front swivel wheel 61 touches the floor surface 4 (FIG. 9(b)), and assumes a posture with the front raised when the rear swivel wheel 62 touches the floor surface 4 (FIG. 9(c)).

[0100] Although the configuration of the automated guided vehicle 11 is preferably as described above, structurally, the drive wheel 63 can be located in the middle of the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62 or slightly rearward of the middle. Also, the automated guided vehicle 11 can be configured to assume a horizontal position when the rear swivel wheel 62 touches the floor surface 4, and a rear-up position when the front swivel wheel 61 touches the floor surface 4.

[0101] (7) In the vertical conveying device 1, as shown in Fig. 10, the drive wheel 63 and the swivel wheels 61, 62 may be attached to the automated guided vehicle 11 at different positions in the vehicle width direction 66. The slope 19 may be provided with a recess 71 in the portion through which the swivel wheels 61, 62 pass, which lowers the height of the front swivel wheel 61 to keep the drive wheel 63 in contact with the ground when the drive wheel 63 moves from the installation floor surface 14 onto the slope 19.

[0102] Here, different positions in the vehicle width direction 66 refer to positions where the positions of the drive wheel 63 and the swivel wheels 61, 62 in the vehicle width direction 66 do not overlap in the vehicle body fore-and-aft direction 65. The drive wheel 63 and the swivel wheels 61, 62 are installed in positions where they do not overlap even slightly in the vehicle width direction 66. For example, the drive wheel 63 is attached at a position outside the swivel wheels 61, 62 in the vehicle width direction 66. This prevents the drive wheel 63 and the swivel wheels 61, 62 from passing through the same path when traveling straight ahead. Note that the drive wheel 63 may also be attached at a position inside the swivel wheels 61, 62 in the vehicle width direction 66.

[0103] Specifically, in this embodiment, the drive wheel 63 is attached at a position at the widthwise end of the automatic guided vehicle 11. The front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62 are attached spaced apart on the left and right sides at or near both sides of the uncut central portion of the front and rear arc-shaped edges of the automatic guided vehicle 11. The front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62 are attached at the same positions on both the left and right sides.

[0104] The time when the drive wheels 63 transfer from the installation floor surface 14 to the slope 19 refers to the time from when the drive wheels 63 reach the periphery of the near side of the slope 19 until they start to climb the slope 19, that is, before and after transferring onto the slope 19.

[0105] At this time, if the slope angle of the slope 19 is steep, the automated guided vehicle 11 will be in a two-point support state by the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62, and there is a risk that the drive wheels 63 will become suspended in the air. If the drive wheels 63 become suspended in the air, the drive force of the drive wheels 63 will no longer be transmitted to the floor surface 4 or the slope 19 (the vehicle will become stuck), and the automated guided vehicle 11 will be unable to move and will become stranded. Furthermore, even if the automated guided vehicle 11 is in a three-point support state by the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62 and the drive wheels 63, if the contact pressure of the drive wheels 63 with the floor surface 4 is low, there is a risk that the drive wheels 63 will spin freely (slip) and become stranded.

[0106] Therefore, if the two-point support state by the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62 is prevented at least, the drive wheels 63 will not float in the air or spin freely, and the drive wheels 63 will always be in contact with the ground, allowing sufficient driving force to be transmitted to the floor surface 4 and the slope 19, making it possible to travel stably around the slope 19.

[0107] The recess 71 is a downward recess, and when the slope 19 is steep, it is locally formed in a position within the passageway through which the swivel wheels 61, 62 of the slope 19 pass. Note that when the slope 19 has a gentle inclination angle that does not create a two-point support state between the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62, there is no need to provide the recess 71.

[0108] Two recesses 71 may be provided, one on each side, in the portion through which the left and right swivel wheels 61, 62 pass, or one recess 71 may be provided together within the width range of the left and right swivel wheels 61, 62. This recess 71 is formed in the lower portion of the slope 19.

[0109] The recess 71 is preferably deep enough to allow the front swivel wheel 61 to pass through without contacting it, but may be deep enough to make light contact. If the front swivel wheel 61 makes light contact, the recess 71 is preferably shaped smoothly so that it can pass through smoothly. Also, it is preferable to form a transition shape below the start position of the recess 71 and above the end position of the recess 71 that smoothly connects the general surface of the slope 19 (the inclined surface that makes up the entire slope) with the recess 71.

[0110] Furthermore, the unmanned transport vehicle 11 can travel normally on the floor 4 and slope 19 even when the front swivel wheel 61 is floating at the height of the floating allowance a2, so the starting position of the depression 71 can be set between the beginning (bottom end) of the slope 19 and a position at a height approximately equal to the floating allowance a2 of the front swivel wheel 61.

[0111] Furthermore, once the automated guided vehicle 11 is parallel to the slope 19, it can travel on the slope 19 in the same way as on the floor 4, so the end position of the recess 71 can be set at the position where the automated guided vehicle 11 is parallel to the slope 19, or further back (up to the top end of the slope 19). Since it is desirable to make the recess 71 as short as possible, it is preferable to set the end position of the recess 71 at a position above the position where the automated guided vehicle 11 is parallel to the slope 19 plus the length of the transition shape.

[0112] That is, the recess 71 is provided in the range between when the automatic guided vehicle 11 changes from being parallel to the floor surface 4 to being parallel to the slope 19, or in the range around that range.

[0113] The position at which the automated guided vehicle 11 becomes parallel to the slope 19 can be calculated as the horizontal distance s = x + L2 from the start of the slope 19 to the position of the front swivel wheel 61 when the automated guided vehicle 11 becomes parallel to the slope 19, as shown in Figure 11(a) (x is the position of the drive wheel 63 at that time).

[0114] Specifically, the height h of the drive wheels 63 when the automatic guided vehicle 11 is parallel to the slope 19 is expressed as follows: h=(L1×tanθ)-a1-b (Equation 1), θ: (slope angle of slope 19) b: (height of the start of slope 19) At this height h, the horizontal distance x from the start of the slope 19 to the current position of the drive wheel 63 (on the slope 19) is x=h / tanθ (Equation 2), so The shortest end position of the recess 71 is s=x+L2···(Equation 3).

[0115] Furthermore, the maximum height w of each part of the recess 71 from the floor surface 4 can be calculated by calculating the current angle φ of the unmanned guided vehicle 11 from the height h1 of the slope 19 at the position of the drive wheel 63 when the drive wheel 63 of the unmanned guided vehicle 11 is placed at any position on the slope 19, with the drive wheel 63 supported at two points by the rear swivel wheel 62 and the drive wheel 63, as shown in Figure 11(b), and then adding the floating allowance a2 of the front swivel wheel 61 to the height h2 of the position of the front swivel wheel 61 of the unmanned guided vehicle 11 at this angle φ.

[0116] in particular, h1=x1×tanθ+b (Formula 4) φ=tan -1 (h1 / L2)...(Formula 5) h2=tanφ×(L1+L2)...(Formula 6) The height is w = h2 + a2 (Equation 7). h1: (height of slope 19 at drive wheel 63) x1: (Horizontal distance to the drive wheel 63 position) φ: (Angle of AGV 11)

[0117] The shape of the recess 71 viewed from the side can be obtained by determining this height w for each portion of the recess 71. Note that there is no significant problem with making the recess 71 lower (deeper) than the height w.

[0118] Since the drive wheel 63 does not pass through the same passage as the swivel wheels 61 and 62, the recess 71 does not affect the drive wheel 63. Furthermore, the rear swivel wheel 62 will enter the recess 71, but as long as the drive wheel 63 is in contact with the ground, it can pass through the recess 71 without any hindrance, so there is no particular effect.

[0119] The above describes the case where the automated guided vehicle 11 ascends the slope 19. However, the depression 71 does not have any particular effect when the automated guided vehicle 11 descends the slope 19. Structurally, instead of the depression 71, it is also possible to form an upward protrusion in the path of the drive wheels 63 that is approximately upside down compared to the depression 71. In this case, the entire path of the swivel wheels 61, 62 is made to have the same inclined surface as the general surface. Alternatively, it is structurally possible to combine the depression 71 for the swivel wheels 61, 62 with an upward protrusion for the drive wheels 63. In this case, the combined depth and height of the depression 71 and the upward protrusion should be approximately the same as those described above. However, to allow the automated guided vehicle 11 to pass more smoothly, it is preferable to provide only the depression 71 in the path of the swivel wheels 61, 62.

[0120] <Operation> The operation of this embodiment will now be described.

[0121] The automated guided vehicle 11 travels freely on the floor surface 4 of each floor along a set route. This allows the automated guided vehicle 11 to load the transported object 2 on each floor and transport the loaded transported object 2 on each floor. Therefore, the automated guided vehicle 11 functions as a lateral movement device on each floor, eliminating the need to provide a large-scale lateral movement device such as a conveyor on each floor.

[0122] The automated guided vehicle 11 can load and unload the article 2 onto and from the carriage 12, and can also move to a different floor by riding on the carriage 12. This allows the automated guided vehicle 11 to go to another floor to pick up the article 2, or transport the loaded article 2 to another floor.

[0123] Therefore, the automated guided vehicle 11 also functions as a transfer device for the carriage 12, and can constitute part of the vertical conveying device 1 together with an elevator device such as the carriage 12. By using the automated guided vehicle 11, a lateral movement device such as a conveyor or a dedicated transfer device for transferring the transported object 2 to and from this lateral movement device becomes unnecessary, and the overall equipment configuration of the vertical conveying device 1 can be simplified.

[0124] The vertical conveying device 1 comprises an automated guided vehicle 11, a carriage 12 that houses the article 2 to be conveyed and moves up and down (up and down), and a guide frame 13 that guides the carriage 12 in moving up and down (between floors). As described above, the automated guided vehicle 11 is an automatic conveying device that is loaded with the article 2 to be conveyed and travels (self-propelled) freely on the floor surface 4, and in the vertical conveying device 1, it can function as a lateral movement device and a transfer device.

[0125] However, automated guided vehicles 11 are limited in the motors and reducers they can use, and are structurally weak against unevenness. Therefore, while they can overcome small steps of a few millimeters or less without a running start, they are likely to slip or get stuck and become unable to travel if there is a larger step. Therefore, when using automated guided vehicles 11 to transport the object 2, the portion of the floor surface 4 or the like on which the automated guided vehicle 11 travels (travel range) must be made as flat as possible with as few steps as possible (high flatness). Therefore, the requirements for flatness are strict, and it is particularly necessary to prevent large steps from occurring between the floor surface 4 of each floor and the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12.

[0126] <Effects> According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0127] (Effect 1) In this embodiment, the carriage 12 is configured to be directly grounded (landed) on the installation floor surface 14 on which the guide frame 13 is installed. This allows the vertical conveyance device 1 (the guide frame 13) to be installed on the installation floor surface 14 in its current state, without having to excavate the existing floor surface 4. In addition, the installation space required for the vertical conveyance device 1 as a whole can be reduced.

[0128] When the guide frame 13 is installed on the installation floor surface 14 in this manner, a step equivalent to the thickness t of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 occurs between the installation floor surface 14 and the carriage 12, but by having the carriage 12 directly touch (land) the installation floor surface 14, the step can be minimized.

[0129] Furthermore, by providing boarding / exiting assistance means 15 between the installation floor surface 14 and the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12, the above-mentioned step difference can be eliminated or the effect of the step can be reduced, allowing the automated guided vehicle 11 to smoothly board and disembark from the carriage 12 that is directly grounded on the installation floor surface 14. Since the step difference can be minimized by the carriage 12 directly grounding on the installation floor surface 14, the boarding / exiting assistance means 15 can also be configured with a minimum structure.

[0130] A specific example of the boarding / exiting assistance means 15 can be a recess 17 formed locally on the installation floor surface 14 at least in a portion where the carriage 12 in the guide frame 13 touches the ground. As a result, when the carriage 12 enters the recess 17, the position of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12, which is directly in contact with the recess 17, is lowered by the amount of the carriage 12 entering the recess 17, thereby eliminating the effect of the step.

[0131] By making this recess 17 have a depth D approximately equivalent to the thickness t of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12, the floor surface 4 and (the upper surface of) the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 can be made approximately flush. Furthermore, the recess 17 can be kept to a minimum size if it is made approximately the same size as the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12, for example. Therefore, the recess 17 can be formed in a relatively narrow and shallow area, so it is possible to minimize the recess 17 and reduce the amount of excavation work required. Furthermore, because the recess 17 can be formed relatively shallow, it can easily be formed over a wider area depending on the situation.

[0132] In the case of an existing vertical conveyance device 1 that had a conveyor installed on each floor, it was necessary to dig a substantial pit that was considerably deeper (than the thickness t of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12) into the installation floor surface 14 in order to transfer the transported object 2 from the conveyor to the carriage 12. For this reason, it was difficult to eliminate or shallow the pit, and it was not easy to install the vertical conveyance device 1 on the installation floor surface 14.

[0133] In contrast, by configuring the vertical conveying device 1 of this embodiment, in which the automated guided vehicles 11 get on and off the carriages 12 that are directly grounded on the installation floor surface 14, a deep pit is not required as described above, and it is possible to eliminate the slight step between the carriage 12 and the bottom surface 16 by, for example, forming a shallow recess 17 (a step-preventing recess). Furthermore, since the shallow recess 17 for eliminating the step only needs to have a depth D equivalent to the thickness t of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12, extensive excavation work is not required, and the vertical conveying device 1 can be easily installed with only simple processing of the installation floor surface 14. Furthermore, because the shallow recess 17 is easy to construct, even if it is formed in an area that is roughly the same as or slightly larger than the guide frame 13, the construction work does not increase significantly, resulting in low costs and a short construction period.

[0134] Furthermore, for example, the boarding / exiting assistance means 15 can be an inclined ramp 19 that is installed at the entrance 18 of the guide frame 13 and rises to the height of the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12. This makes it possible to easily eliminate the effect of the step simply by placing a low ramp 19 at the entrance 18 of the guide frame 13, and therefore to more easily install the vertical conveying device 1 without having to excavate the installation floor surface 14 at all.

[0135] (Effect 2) In the vertical conveying device 1, the carriage 12 may be raised and lowered by moving the lifting rope 23 up and down using the lifting drive mechanism 21 to move the carriage 12 and the counterweight 22 in opposite directions. Since the carriage 12 is connected to the lifting rope 23 with its weight offset by the counterweight 22, the lifting rope 23 can be moved with little force, allowing the carriage 12 to be easily raised and lowered.

[0136] The lifting and lowering of the carriage 12 is controlled by a carriage position control device 29. The carriage position control device 29 lifts and lowers the carriage 12, stops it at each floor, and controls the speed during ascent and descent. To detect the position of the carriage 12, a position sensor 27 such as a rotary encoder (attached to the rotation axis of the sprocket 21c of the lift drive mechanism 21) is used.

[0137] Furthermore, the vertical conveying device 1 may be provided with an overwinding prevention device 26 in addition to the above-described carriage position control device 29. The overwinding prevention device 26 brings the carriage 12 to an emergency stop (by stopping the lifting drive mechanism 21, for example) when the overrun detection sensor 24 detects that the counterweight 22 has risen (overrun) beyond the upper limit position without stopping when the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 directly touches the installation floor surface 14.

[0138] This prevents overrun from occurring, and prevents problems such as the counterweight 22 continuing to rise even when the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 is placed on the installation floor surface 14, causing it to collide with the upper part of the guide frame 13, damaging the lifting drive mechanism 21, or causing the counterweight 22 to fall due to the breakage of the lifting rope 23, and also allows the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 to land accurately and reliably on the installation floor surface 14.

[0139] Furthermore, by installing the overrun detection sensor 24 at the upper limit position of the counterweight 22, it is possible to solve the problem that it is physically impossible to install the overrun detection sensor 24 in the narrow space between the installation floor surface 14 and the carriage 12. Moreover, the overrun detection sensor 24 can be installed with ample space in the relatively large space above the guide frame 13, and overrun can be detected directly and reliably.

[0140] (Effect 3) In the vertical conveying device 1, the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 may be formed from a single plate 31 member having sufficient rigidity to not bend under the weight of the automated guided vehicle 11 loaded with the transported object 2. This prevents the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 from bending even when the automated guided vehicle 11 loaded with the transported object 2 is placed on the carriage 12, thereby preventing a problem in which the automated guided vehicle 11 is unable to travel between the inside and outside of the carriage 12 due to deformation of the bottom surface 16. Furthermore, by forming the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 from a single plate 31, the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 can be made as thin as possible, thereby further reducing the step between the installation floor surface 14 and the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 when they come into contact with the ground. This allows the recesses 17 and slopes 19 serving as the boarding and alighting assistance means 15 to be made smaller, and also reduces the burden on the automated guided vehicle 11 when getting on and off the carriage 12.

[0141] (Effect 4) If the AGV 11 is loaded and heavy, while the AGV 11 is getting on and off from the floor 4 of each floor to the empty carriage 12, the weight of the AGV 11 and the transported object 2 (the lifting rope 23 stretches due to elastic deformation) causes the stopping position 41 of the carriage 12 to drop. This causes a step 44 due to the boarding and disembarking between the floor 4 and the (upper surface of) the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12, and if this step 44 is large, there is a risk that the AGV 11 will slip or get stuck, making it unable to travel.

[0142] Conversely, when the loaded and heavy automated guided vehicle 11 descends from the carriage 12 to the floor 4 of each floor, the weight of the automated guided vehicle 11 and the transported object 2 acting on the carriage 12 decreases (the lifting rope 23 contracts due to elastic deformation), causing the stopping position 41 of the carriage 12 to rise. This causes a step 44 due to boarding and disembarking to occur between (the upper surface of) the bottom surface 16 of the carriage 12 and the floor 4, and if this step 44 is large, there is a risk that the automated guided vehicle 11 will slip or get stuck, becoming unable to travel.

[0143] Furthermore, on the floor of the installation floor 14, the carriage 12 is in direct contact with the installation floor 14 and is supported from below by the installation floor 14, so it cannot go lower than that position. Therefore, when entering the carriage 12, the weight of the unmanned transport vehicle 11 and the transported object 2 does not cause the carriage 12 to go lower.

[0144] Therefore, the vertical conveying device 1 may be provided with a stop position adjustment device 42 that adjusts the stop position 41 of the carriage 12 according to the weight state (empty state, loaded state) of the unmanned transport vehicle 11, at least when the carriage 12 stops at a floor other than the floor of the installation floor surface 14.

[0145] The stop position adjustment device 42 may adjust the stop position 41 in real time, in small steps or continuously, depending on the weight of the automatic guided vehicle 11. In this embodiment, the stop position adjustment device 42 adjusts the stop position 41 of the carriage 12 in advance in two or multiple steps depending on whether the automatic guided vehicle 11 is in an empty state or a loaded state.

[0146] For example, when the unloaded automatic guided vehicle 11 is light, the carriage 12 is assumed to hardly drop during loading and unloading of the automatic guided vehicle 11 (from the floor surface 4 to the carriage 12), and is stopped at a height exactly equal to (or slightly higher than) the reference position. Conversely, when the loaded automatic guided vehicle 11 is heavy, the carriage 12 is assumed to drop during loading and unloading of the automatic guided vehicle 11 (from the floor surface 4 to the carriage 12), and is stopped at a position higher than the reference position by that amount.

[0147] Similarly, when the unladen automatic guided vehicle 11 is light, it is assumed that the carriage 12 will hardly rise during loading and unloading of the automatic guided vehicle 11 (from the carriage 12 to the floor surface 4), and the carriage 12 is stopped at a height exactly equal to (or slightly lower than) the reference position. Conversely, when the loaded automatic guided vehicle 11 is heavy, it is assumed that the carriage 12 will rise during loading and unloading of the automatic guided vehicle 11 (from the carriage 12 to the floor surface 4), and the carriage 12 is stopped at a position that is lower than the reference position by that amount.

[0148] By performing at least one of these operations, the carriage 12 can be stopped in advance at the optimum position according to the weight of the automatic guided vehicle 11 (i.e., a position higher by the amount that the carriage 12 will descend, or a position lower by the amount that the carriage 12 will ascend).

[0149] Therefore, for example, even if the position of the carriage 12 drops due to the weight of the heavy automatic guided vehicle 11 while it is getting on and off from the floor surface 4 to the carriage 12, the carriage 12 will eventually be lowered to a height where there is no step 44 or the step 44 is small, so the automatic guided vehicle 11 can get on the carriage 12 without any trouble.

[0150] Conversely, for example, even if the weight of the automatic guided vehicle 11 decreases and the position of the carriage 12 rises while a heavy automatic guided vehicle 11 is getting on and off from the carriage 12 to the floor surface 4, the carriage 12 will eventually rise to a height where there is no step 44 or the step 44 is small, so the automatic guided vehicle 11 can descend to the floor surface 4 without any hindrance.

[0151] (Effect 5) In the vertical conveying device 1, automatic doors 51 that lift up and down electrically may be installed at the entrances 18 on each floor of the guide frame 13. This allows the entrances 18 of the guide frame 13 to be opened and closed without much effort, using almost no space in front of the entrances 18, thanks to the automatic doors 51 that lift up and down automatically.

[0152] An interlock mechanism 54 may be provided that restricts the opening and closing of the automatic door 51 based on the detection signal 52a from the area sensor 52 and the detection signal 53a from the carriage detection sensor 53. As a result, the interlock mechanism 54 allows the automatic door 51 to open and close only at the entrance 18 on the floor where the automatic guided vehicle 11 is present and the carriage 12 is located, and prohibits the automatic door 51 from opening and closing at the entrances 18 on other floors. Therefore, when the automatic door 51 opens, the carriage 12 is always present, ensuring the safety of the entrance 18.

[0153] (Effect 6) In the vertical conveying device 1, the unmanned guided vehicle 11 may be fixed in position so that the drive wheels 63 protrude below a line 64 connecting the lower ends 61a, 62a of the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62, preventing vertical displacement relative to the unmanned guided vehicle 11.

[0154] As a result, in the automated guided vehicle 11, the drive wheels 63 are fixed in position and remain lower than the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62, making it easier to keep the drive wheels 63 in contact with the ground. Therefore, even if there is a slight step, the drive force of the drive wheels 63 can be transmitted to the floor surface 4, effectively preventing the automated guided vehicle 11 from slipping or getting stuck.

[0155] Furthermore, by fixing the drive wheel 63 in a position that prevents it from moving up and down relative to the unmanned transport vehicle 11, the weight of the unmanned transport vehicle 11 and the transported object 2 is always applied directly to the drive wheel 63 (or there is no escape of the load due to a damper device, etc.), so the driving force of the drive wheel 63 is more reliably transmitted to the floor surface 4, preventing the drive wheel 63 from spinning freely.

[0156] When the unmanned transport vehicle 11 is traveling on the floor surface 4, one of the front and rear swivel wheels 61, 62 is lifted up, and the other swivel wheel 61, 62 and the drive wheel 63 are in contact with the ground, so that the unmanned transport vehicle 11 can easily overcome even a step of a few millimeters that is less than the floating allowance a1, a2 of the lifted swivel wheels 61, 62.

[0157] (Effect 7) In the vertical conveying device 1, the automatic guided vehicle 11 may have the drive wheels 63 and the swivel wheels 61, 62 attached at different positions in the vehicle width direction 66. This allows the drive wheels 63 and the swivel wheels 61, 62 to travel along separate paths when traveling, so that the drive wheels 63 and the swivel wheels 61, 62 can travel along separate paths. Therefore, the drive wheels 63 and the swivel wheels 61, 62 each travel along their own paths.

[0158] The slope 19 may be provided with a recess 71 that lowers the height of the front swivel 61 only in the portion through which the swivels 61 and 62 pass. As a result, when the drive wheel 63 approaches the slope 19, the front swivel 61, which has entered the slope 19 first, passes through the recess 71, lowering the height of the front swivel 61 by the amount of the recess 71. This reduces the angle of the automated guided vehicle 11 and lowers the position of the drive wheel 63. This prevents the drive wheel 63 from lifting, which is likely to occur when approaching the slope 19, and keeps the drive wheel 63 in a grounded state. Therefore, when transferring between the floor 4 and the slope 19, the driving force of the drive wheel 63 is reliably transmitted to the floor 4 and the slope 19, effectively preventing the automated guided vehicle 11 from slipping or getting stuck. This allows the slope 19 to be made steeper and shorter within the range that the automated guided vehicle 11 can climb.

[0159] The embodiments and examples of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configurations are not limited to these embodiments or examples, and design changes that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are included in the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0160] 1 Vertical conveying device 2. Transported items 3 Up and down direction 4 Floor 11 Automated Guided Vehicle 12 Carriage 13 Guide frame 14 Installation floor surface 15. Boarding and alighting aids 16 Bottom 17 Recess 18 Entrance 19 Slope 21 Lifting drive mechanism 22 Counterweight 23 Lifting rope 24 Overrun detection sensor 26 Overwinding prevention device 31 Single board 41 Stop position 42 Stop position adjustment device 51 Automatic Door 52 Area Sensor 52a Detection signal 53 Carriage detection sensor 53a Detection signal 54 Interlock mechanism 61 Free wheel 62 Free wheel 63 Drive wheels 64 lines 66 Vehicle width direction 71 hollow t Thickness of the base D Depth of recess

Claims

1. The vehicle comprises an automated guided vehicle that travels on a floor surface loaded with an object to be transported, a carriage that accommodates the object to be transported and moves up and down, and a guide frame that guides the carriage as it moves up and down, the carriage being directly grounded to the installation floor surface on which the guide frame is installed, and the installation floor surface is provided with boarding / alighting assistance means that assists the automated guided vehicle in getting on and off the directly grounded carriage, the boarding / alighting assistance means being at least one or both of a recess that is formed in at least the portion of the installation floor surface where the carriage touches the ground within the guide frame and has a depth equivalent to the thickness of the bottom surface of the carriage, and an inclined slope that is installed at the entrance of the guide frame and rises to the height of the bottom surface of the carriage, A vertical conveying device characterized in that an automatic door that is raised and lowered electrically to open and close is installed at the entrance of each floor of the guide frame, an area sensor that detects the automatic guided vehicle is provided at each entrance, a carriage detection sensor that detects the position of the carriage is provided on the guide frame, and an interlock mechanism that, based on detection signals from the area sensor and the carriage detection sensor, allows the automatic door to be opened and closed only at the entrance of the floor where the automatic guided vehicle is present and the carriage is located.

2. The vehicle comprises an automated guided vehicle that travels on a floor surface loaded with an object to be transported, a carriage that accommodates the object to be transported and moves up and down, and a guide frame that guides the carriage as it moves up and down, the carriage being directly grounded to the installation floor surface on which the guide frame is installed, and the installation floor surface is provided with boarding / alighting assistance means that assists the automated guided vehicle in getting on and off the directly grounded carriage, the boarding / alighting assistance means being at least one or both of a recess that is formed in at least the portion of the installation floor surface where the carriage touches the ground within the guide frame and has a depth equivalent to the thickness of the bottom surface of the carriage, and an inclined slope that is installed at the entrance of the guide frame and rises to the height of the bottom surface of the carriage, A vertical conveying device characterized in that, when viewed from the side, the unmanned guided vehicle has swivel wheels at the front and rear in the direction of travel, and has drive wheels between the front and rear swivel wheels, the drive wheels are fixed in position so as to protrude below a line connecting the lower ends of the front and rear swivel wheels and not to displace up and down relative to the unmanned guided vehicle, and when the unmanned guided vehicle is traveling, one of the front and rear swivel wheels is in a floating state.

3. 3. The vertical conveying device according to claim 2, the drive wheels and the swivel wheels are attached to the automated guided vehicle at different positions in a vehicle width direction, A vertical conveying device characterized in that the slope has a recess in the part through which the swivel wheel passes, which keeps the drive wheel in contact with the ground by lowering the height of the slope at the part where the swivel wheel touches the ground when the drive wheel transfers from the installation floor surface to the slope.

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