Article transport facility

Abstract

In an article transport facility (1): a transport vehicle (3) is provided with a restricting portion (11); a supporting portion (10) is provided with a pair of supporting bodies (13); a guiding device (4) is provided with a first inclined portion (41) and a second inclined portion (42); the first inclined portion (41) is formed on an upstream side (X1) in a transport direction with respect to the second inclined portion (42); the dimension of the first inclined portion (41) in a width direction is smaller than a gap between the pair of supporting bodies (13) in the width direction; the dimensions of the second inclined portion (42) and a conveyor (2) in the width direction are greater than the gap between the pair of supporting bodies (13) in the width direction; an end portion of the first inclined portion (41) on the upstream side (X1) in the transport direction is disposed below contact surfaces (13a) of the pair of supporting bodies (13) that contact a bottom surface of an article (W); and an end portion of the second inclined portion (42) on the upstream side (X1) in the transport direction is disposed above the contact surfaces (13a) of the pair of supporting bodies (13).

Description

Article Transport Facility

[0001] The present invention relates to an article transport facility.

[0002] For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-31815 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique related to an article transport facility. Hereinafter, the reference numerals shown in parentheses in the description of the background art are those of Patent Document 1.

[0003] The article transport facility of Patent Document 1 includes a conveyor (transport device 1), a transport vehicle (driverless guided cart 4) that delivers an article to the conveyor, and a guiding device (mounting table 3). The guiding device is provided adjacent to the upstream end in the article transport direction of the conveyor. The guiding device includes a pair of arms 3b arranged separately in the width direction (a direction perpendicular to the transport direction when viewed in the vertical direction). A plurality of free rollers 3d are arranged along the transport direction on each of the pair of arms 3b. The transport vehicle includes a loading platform 4c on which an article is placed and a peg 4d that protrudes upward from the loading platform 4c. The dimension of the transport vehicle in the width direction is formed smaller than the dimension of the pair of arms 3d in the width direction. The pair of arms 3d are inclined downward as they go upstream in the transport direction. Also, the upstream end of the pair of arms 3d in the transport direction is arranged below the loading platform 4c of the transport vehicle.

[0004] When delivering an article from the transport vehicle to the conveyor, the transport vehicle with the peg 4d protruding is made to enter below the pair of arms 3d. Thereby, the article on the loading platform 4c of the transport vehicle rides onto the free rollers 3d of the pair of arms 3b. Then, by moving the transport vehicle straight ahead in the transport direction as it is, the article on the free rollers 3d is pushed in by the peg 4d. Thereby, the article is configured to be delivered from the transport vehicle to the conveyor.

[0005] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-31815

[0006] In the above-described material handling system, the width of a pair of arms is greater than the width of the transport vehicle. Furthermore, each arm is equipped with multiple free rollers to guide the material in the transport direction. Thus, a problem with the above-described material handling system is that the guide mechanism tends to be large and complex.

[0007] Therefore, there is a need for an item handling system that can appropriately transfer items from a transport vehicle to a conveyor using a simple guide device.

[0008] The article transport equipment according to this disclosure comprises: a conveyor for transporting articles along a transport direction; a transport vehicle equipped with a support portion for supporting the articles from below; and a guide device positioned upstream of the conveyor in the transport direction, with the upstream side of the transport direction being the upstream side of the transport direction, the opposite side being the downstream side of the transport direction, and the direction perpendicular to the transport direction in a vertical view along the vertical direction being the width direction, and guiding the movement of the articles from the support portion of the transport vehicle to the conveyor, wherein, in order to transfer the articles supported by the support portion to the conveyor, the state of the transport vehicle traveling toward the conveyor from the upstream side of the transport direction relative to the conveyor is defined as the transfer travel state, the transport vehicle further comprises a restricting portion that restricts the movement of the articles supported by the support portion toward the upstream side of the transport direction in the transfer travel state, and the support portion comprises a pair of supports positioned spaced apart in the width direction and in contact with the bottom surface of the articles in the transfer travel state. The guide device comprises a first inclined portion and a second inclined portion, which are arranged to be inclined downward as they move upstream in the conveying direction. The first inclined portion is formed continuously with the second inclined portion on the upstream side in the conveying direction relative to the second inclined portion. The width dimension of the first inclined portion is smaller than the gap in the width direction between the pair of supports in the handover travel state. The width dimension of the second inclined portion and the conveyor is larger than the gap in the width direction between the pair of supports in the handover travel state. The upstream end of the first inclined portion in the conveying direction is positioned below the contact surface that contacts the bottom surface of the article on the pair of supports. The second inclined portion is positioned adjacent to the upstream end of the conveyor in the conveying direction relative to the upstream end of the conveyor in the conveying direction. The upstream end of the second inclined portion in the conveying direction is positioned above the contact surface of the pair of supports.

[0009] In this configuration, when a transport vehicle, with the bottom surface of an article supported by a pair of supports, travels toward the conveyor from the upstream side in the transport direction, the guide device guides the article toward the conveyor, and the article is properly delivered to the conveyor. At this time, even if the guide device does not apply a driving force to the article for transport, the transport vehicle pushes the article toward the transport direction with the regulating part, and the guide device scoops up the article from the support part of the transport vehicle and guides it toward the conveyor. Then, when the bottom surface of the article comes into contact with the conveyor, the article is transported by the driving force of the conveyor. Furthermore, in this configuration, by making the widthwise dimension of the first inclined section smaller than the widthwise gap between the pair of supports, it is possible to scoop up the article from the support part of the transport vehicle, while the widthwise dimension of the second inclined section and the conveyor is larger than the widthwise gap between the pair of supports, so that the article can be transported while being stably supported in the second inclined section and the conveyor. Thus, with this configuration, it is possible to properly transfer goods from the transport vehicle to the conveyor using a simple guide device.

[0010] Further features and advantages of the material handling equipment will become clear from the following description of exemplary and non-limiting embodiments, which will be illustrated with reference to the drawings.

[0011] Side view schematically illustrating the transfer of goods from a transport vehicle to a conveyor Plan view of the support unit, guide device, and conveyor Side view of the guide device Side view schematically illustrating the transfer of goods from the conveyor to a transport vehicle Plan view of the guide device in another embodiment Side view of the guide device in another embodiment

[0012] The following describes an embodiment of the goods transport equipment based on the drawings.

[0013] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the article transport equipment 1 includes a conveyor 2 that transports articles W along the transport direction X, a transport vehicle 3 equipped with a support part 10 that supports the articles W from below, and a guide device 4. In this embodiment, the articles W supported by the support part 10 of the transport vehicle 3 are transferred to the conveyor 2 via the guide device 4. In the following description, the upstream side of the transport direction X will be referred to as the upstream side X1, the opposite side as the downstream side X2, and the direction perpendicular to the transport direction X in a vertical view along the vertical direction will be referred to as the width direction Y. The guide device 4 is positioned on the upstream side X1 of the transport direction relative to the conveyor 2. The guide device 4 is also configured to guide the movement of articles W from the support part 10 of the transport vehicle 3 to the conveyor 2. The guide device 4 is positioned adjacent to the upstream side X1 of the transport direction relative to the end of the upstream side X1 of the conveyor 2. In the example in Figure 1, the transport vehicle 3 is traveling from the upstream side X1 to the downstream side X2.

[0014] The conveyor 2 transports the articles W received from the transport vehicle 3 via the guide device 4 from the upstream side X1 in the transport direction to the downstream side X2 in the transport direction. In this embodiment, the conveyor 2 is equipped with an inclined transport surface 21 that is inclined downwards as it approaches the upstream side X1 in the transport direction. The inclined transport surface 21 is formed starting from the end of the upstream side X1 in the transport direction of the conveyor 2. The inclined transport surface 21 may be formed on a part of the entire transport surface of the articles W on the conveyor 2, or it may be formed on the entire transport surface. For example, the conveyor 2 may transport the articles W received from the transport vehicle 3 to an article station provided in the warehouse. At the article station, work is performed on the transported articles W (for example, picking work by workers). The conveyor 2 can also be configured to transport the articles W received from the transport vehicle 3 towards storage shelves (shelves that store articles W) in the travel area, or towards a transport device different from the conveyor 2 (for example, an automated guided vehicle or a stacker crane). As described above, the configuration of the conveyor 2 in this embodiment can be modified as needed. In this example, the conveyor 2 is a belt conveyor, but it is not limited to this. The conveyor 2 may be a roller conveyor, a chain conveyor, or the like.

[0015] The transport vehicle 3 comprises a trolley 15 that travels on the floor and a support section 10 that supports the article W. The trolley 15 is equipped with a plurality of wheels 15a that roll on the floor and a drive device (not shown) that drives one or more of the wheels 15a. The trolley 15 supports the support section 10 from below. In this example, the transport vehicle 3 is an autonomous transport vehicle (here, a trackless trolley) that travels on the floor. The trolley 15 travels in order to deliver the article W to the conveyor 2 in response to commands from a higher-level controller that controls the entire article transport equipment 1. The transport vehicle 3 may also be a tracked trolley that travels guided by rails laid on the floor. In the following description, the state of the transport vehicle 3 traveling toward the conveyor 2 from the upstream side X1 in the transport direction relative to the conveyor 2 in order to deliver the article W supported by the support section 10 to the conveyor 2 will be described as the delivery travel state.

[0016] As shown in Figure 2, the support section 10 includes a pair of support members 13 that are spaced apart in the width direction Y during the handover journey and contact the bottom surface of the article W. Each of the pair of support members 13 is a member that aligns with the transport direction X. The article W is supported from below by the pair of support members 13 that are spaced apart in the width direction Y. In the illustrated example, the pair of support members 13 are spaced apart in the vertical direction relative to the trolley 15. Here, the pair of support members 13 are each supported from below by different support members 16. These support members 16 are erected from the upper surface of the trolley 15. In the illustrated example, the multiple support members 16 are spaced apart in the transport direction and the width direction. With this configuration, a space is formed between the pair of support members 13 and the multiple support members 16 in the width direction Y, allowing the first inclined section 41 of the guide device 4 to pass relatively through during the handover journey. Furthermore, in the example shown in Figure 2, fence members 14 are erected at one end and the other end of the pair of support members 13 in the width direction Y to prevent the items W being transported from falling.

[0017] The transport vehicle 3 further includes a restricting section 11 that restricts the movement of the article W supported by the support section 10 toward the upstream side X1 in the transport direction during the handover travel state. In this embodiment, the restricting section 11 includes a pair of restricting members 12. The pair of restricting members 12 are spaced apart in the width direction. Specifically, the pair of restricting members 12 are provided at the rear ends of the pair of support bodies 13 (the ends of the upstream side X1 in the transport direction during the handover travel state). One restricting member 12 is provided on each of the pair of support bodies 13. The restricting members 12 are provided to stand upright at the rear ends of the support bodies 13. The upper end of the restricting member 12 is positioned lower than the downstream side X2 in the transport direction of the width-expanding region 44 of the second inclined section 42, which will be described later. This makes it possible to avoid the restricting member 12 interfering with the guide device 4 during the handover travel state. The restricting member 12 restricts the article W placed on the pair of support bodies 13 from falling from the rear ends of the support bodies 13. Furthermore, the regulating member 12 is configured to push the article W, which has moved from the pair of support bodies 13 to the guide device 4, from behind. In this example, the regulating member 12 is fixed to the support bodies 13, but it may be configured to be able to move up and down so as to protrude above the support bodies 13 as needed.

[0018] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, the gap P in the width direction Y of the pair of support members 13 is set to be shorter than the width dimension of the article W. Also, the width dimension Q of the pair of support members 13 in the width direction Y (the dimension from one end to the other in the width direction of the pair of support members 13) is set to be larger than the width dimension of the article W.

[0019] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the guide device 4 includes a first inclined section 41 and a second inclined section 42, which are arranged to be inclined downwards as they move toward the upstream side X1 in the conveying direction. The first inclined section 41 is formed continuously with the second inclined section 42 toward the upstream side X1 in the conveying direction relative to the second inclined section 42. In this embodiment, the first inclined section 41 and the second inclined section 42 together have an inclined surface that is inclined downwards as they move toward the upstream side X1 in the conveying direction. The article W placed on the first inclined section 41 from the transport vehicle 3 in the handover travel state is pushed from behind by the regulating section 11 and moves along the inclined surfaces of the first inclined section 41 and the second inclined section 42 to be transported to the conveyor 2.

[0020] As shown in Figure 2, the width Y dimension R of the first inclined section 41 is smaller than the gap P in the width Y direction between the pair of support members 13 in the delivery travel state. Also, the upstream X1 end of the first inclined section 41 in the transport direction is positioned below the contact surface 13a of the pair of support members 13 that contacts the bottom surface of the article W. In this embodiment, the first inclined section 41 and the second inclined section 42 are fixed ramps supported on the floor surface by support members or the like. Here, the first inclined section 41 is a plate-shaped member arranged to incline downwards as it approaches the upstream X1 in the transport direction. The downstream X2 end of the first inclined section 41 in the transport direction is positioned above the contact surface 13a (in this case, the top surface) of the pair of support members 13. In the illustrated example, the first inclined section 41 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed in the vertical direction, but is not limited to this.

[0021] As shown in Figure 2, the width Y dimension of the second inclined section 42 and the conveyor 2 is larger than the gap P in the width Y direction of the pair of support members 13 in the handover running state. Also, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, the second inclined section 42 is positioned adjacent to the upstream X1 in the conveying direction of the end of the conveyor 2, and the end of the second inclined section 42 on the upstream X1 in the conveying direction is positioned above the contact surface 13a of the pair of support members 13. In this embodiment, the second inclined section 42 is a plate-shaped member that is arranged to incline downwards as it approaches the upstream X1 in the conveying direction. The width Y dimension S of the second inclined section 42 (here, the largest dimension in the width Y direction) is larger than the gap P in the width Y direction of the pair of support members 13 in the handover running state (here, further, the width Y dimension Q of the pair of support members 13). The same applies to the width Y dimension T of the conveyor 2 (here, the width Y dimension of the end on the upstream X1 in the conveying direction).

[0022] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, the inclined surface in the second inclined section 42 that contacts the bottom surface of the article W is defined as the inclined guide surface 43, and the inclination angle θ1 of the inclined guide surface 43 is formed to be equivalent to the inclination angle θ2 of the inclined conveying surface 21. In this example, the inclination angle θ1 of the inclined guide surface 43 is the same as the inclination angle of the first inclined surface 40, which is the inclined surface in the first inclined section 41 that contacts the bottom surface of the article W (Figure 3). Therefore, both the inclined guide surface 43 and the first inclined surface 40 are formed to have an inclination angle θ1 equivalent to the inclination angle θ2 of the inclined conveying surface 21 of the conveyor 2. In this embodiment, "equivalent" includes angles that are off by an error margin (for example, about 3%).

[0023] In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the second inclined section 42 is provided with a width-expanding region 44 in at least a portion thereof, where the width Y dimension gradually increases as it moves from the upstream side X1 in the transport direction to the downstream side X2 in the transport direction. In this example, the width-expanding region 44 is formed from the central region of the inclined guide surface 43 in the transport direction X (more specifically, the area X1 upstream of the central region in the transport direction) to the end of the upstream side X1 in the transport direction. In addition, in the region other than the width-expanding region 44 (the region X2 downstream of the width-expanding region 44 in the transport direction), the width Y dimension remains constant.

[0024] In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, a pair of guide members 6 are provided to guide the position of the article W in the width direction Y. The pair of guide members 6 are arranged separately in the width direction Y within the area in the transport direction X where the second inclined portion 42 is located, and are arranged such that the distance between them in the width direction Y gradually narrows as they move toward the downstream side X2 in the transport direction. In this example, the pair of guide members 6 are erected at both ends in the width direction Y in the area (constant width area 45) downstream X2 in the transport direction from the width-expanding area 44 of the second inclined portion 42. The pair of guide members 6 are also arranged to correspond to the entire area of ​​the inclined guide surface 43 in the transport direction X. Each of the pair of guide members 6 is formed such that the distance between them in the width direction Y gradually narrows as they move toward the downstream side X2 in the transport direction in the portion corresponding to the width-expanding area 44. On the other hand, each of the pair of guide members 6 is positioned along both ends of the width direction Y of the inclined guide surface 43 in the region X2 downstream in the transport direction from the width-expanding region 44 of the second inclined section 42 (the region with a constant width 45), in other words, in the region where the pair of guide members 6 are fixed.

[0025] In the illustrated example, the portion of the pair of guide members 6 corresponding to the width-expanding region 44 is positioned so as not to overlap with the inclined guide surface 43 when viewed from above. That is, the width Y dimension of the portion of the pair of guide members 6 where the distance between them in the width Y direction gradually narrows as they move toward the downstream side X2 in the conveying direction is larger than the width Y dimension of the width-expanding region 44. With this configuration, it is easier to prevent the article W, which is being pushed from behind by the regulating section 11 as it moves along the first inclined surface 40 and the width-expanding region 44, from falling from the outside of the width Y direction of the first inclined surface 40 and the width-expanding region 44. In addition, the article W moving toward the downstream side X2 in the conveying direction along the constant-width region 45 of the second inclined section 42 can be moved to the inclined conveying surface 21 of the conveyor 2 in an appropriate posture.

[0026] As shown in Figure 1, when an item W is transferred from the transport vehicle 3 to the conveyor 2, the transport vehicle 3, in the transfer travel state, travels from the upstream side X1 in the transport direction to the downstream side X2 in the transport direction, transferring the item W to the first inclined section 41 and the second inclined section 42. At this time, the first inclined section 41 moves relative to the pair of support members 13 from the outside of the downstream side X2 in the transport direction, between the width direction Y of the pair of support members 13. Then, as the transport vehicle 3 travels, the item W on the pair of support members 13 is pushed from behind by the regulating section 11 and moves to the upper surface (first inclined surface 40) of the first inclined section 41. After that, the item W, which is being pushed from behind by the regulating section 11, moves along the upper surface (inclined guide surface 43) of the second inclined section 42 and comes into contact with the inclined transport surface 21 of the conveyor 2. After that, the item W is moved from the inclined transport surface 21 onto the transport surface of the conveyor 2 by the drive of the conveyor 2. After delivering the goods W, the transport vehicle 3 may continue driving under the conveyor 2 toward the downstream side X2 in the transport direction, or it may temporarily stop and then drive toward the upstream side X1 in the transport direction to turn back.

[0027] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, the configuration can also be such that the article W is handed over from the conveyor 2 to the transport vehicle 3. The state in which the transport vehicle 3 travels from the downstream side X2 in the transport direction to the upstream side X1 in the transport direction in order to receive the article W from the conveyor 2 is called the receiving travel state. When the transport vehicle 3 in the receiving travel state travels from the second inclined section 42 to the upstream side X1 in the transport direction, the first inclined section 41 moves relative to the pair of support members 13 from the outside of the upstream side X1 in the transport direction to the width direction Y of the pair of support members 13. At the timing when the pair of support members 13 and the first inclined section 41 are in this arrangement, the conveyor 2 moves the article W from the inclined transport surface 21 to the second inclined section 42 by the driving force of the conveyor 2 so that the article W can move from the first inclined section 41 onto the pair of support members 13. The article W that has moved onto the inclined guide surface 43 and the first inclined surface 40 is pushed from behind by the regulating section 11 that moves with the travel vehicle 3, and moves onto the pair of support members 13. The transport vehicle 3 may travel under the conveyor 2 to receive the goods W, or it may start traveling from below the second inclined section 42 to receive the goods W.

[0028] [Other Embodiments] (1) In the above embodiment, a configuration in which an article W is supported by a pair of support members 13 arranged separately in the width direction Y was described as an example, but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the article W can be supported by three or more support members 13 arranged separately in the width direction Y from one another. In this case, it is preferable that the guide device 4 is provided with a plurality of first inclined portions 41 corresponding to the gap in the width direction Y between two adjacent support members 13 in the width direction Y of the plurality of support members 13.

[0029] (2) In the above embodiment, the inclination angle θ1 of the inclined guide surface 43 was described as being formed to be the same as the inclination angle θ2 of the inclined conveying surface 21, but the system is not limited to this. The inclination angle θ1 of the inclined guide surface 43 may be greater than the inclination angle θ2 of the inclined conveying surface 21, or it may be less than the inclination angle θ2 of the inclined conveying surface 21. In this way, the respective inclination angles of the inclined guide surface 43 and the inclined conveying surface 21 can be changed as appropriate.

[0030] (3) In the above embodiment, the second inclined section 42 was described as having a width-expanding region 44 in part, where the width Y dimension gradually increases as you move from the upstream side X1 in the conveying direction to the downstream side X2 in the conveying direction, but it is not limited to this. The second inclined section 42 can also be configured to have a width-expanding region 44 throughout. Such an example is shown in Figure 5. In Figure 5, the entire inclined guide surface 43 of the second inclined section 42 is formed such that the width Y dimension gradually increases as you move from the upstream side X1 in the conveying direction to the downstream side X2 in the conveying direction. A pair of guide members 6 are fixed to the downstream side X2 in the conveying direction of the inclined guide surface 43. Here, the spacing between the pair of guide members 6 is set so that the width dimension increases as you move from the downstream side X2 in the conveying direction to the upstream side X1 in the conveying direction over the entire area of ​​the conveying direction X.

[0031] (4) In the above embodiment, the pair of guide members 6 were described as being arranged separately in the width direction Y within the area in the transport direction X where the second inclined portion 42 is located, and the spacing in the width direction Y gradually narrows as we move toward the downstream side X2 in the transport direction, but the invention is not limited to this configuration. The pair of guide members 6 may be arranged such that the spacing in the width direction Y is constant along the transport direction X.

[0032] (5) The configurations disclosed in each of the embodiments described above can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments (including combinations of embodiments described as other embodiments), as long as no inconsistencies arise. With regard to other configurations, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely illustrative in all respects. Therefore, various modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of this disclosure.

[0033] [Summary of the above embodiment] The following is a summary of the article conveying equipment described above.

[0034] The article transport equipment according to this disclosure comprises: a conveyor for transporting articles along a transport direction; a transport vehicle equipped with a support portion for supporting the articles from below; and a guide device positioned upstream of the conveyor in the transport direction, with the upstream side of the transport direction being the upstream side of the transport direction, the opposite side being the downstream side of the transport direction, and the direction perpendicular to the transport direction in a vertical view along the vertical direction being the width direction, and guiding the movement of the articles from the support portion of the transport vehicle to the conveyor, wherein, in order to transfer the articles supported by the support portion to the conveyor, the state of the transport vehicle traveling toward the conveyor from the upstream side of the transport direction relative to the conveyor is defined as the transfer travel state, the transport vehicle further comprises a restricting portion that restricts the movement of the articles supported by the support portion toward the upstream side of the transport direction in the transfer travel state, and the support portion comprises a pair of supports positioned spaced apart in the width direction and in contact with the bottom surface of the articles in the transfer travel state. The guide device comprises a first inclined portion and a second inclined portion, which are arranged to be inclined downward as they move upstream in the conveying direction. The first inclined portion is formed continuously with the second inclined portion on the upstream side in the conveying direction relative to the second inclined portion. The width dimension of the first inclined portion is smaller than the gap in the width direction between the pair of supports in the handover travel state. The width dimension of the second inclined portion and the conveyor is larger than the gap in the width direction between the pair of supports in the handover travel state. The upstream end of the first inclined portion in the conveying direction is positioned below the contact surface that contacts the bottom surface of the article on the pair of supports. The second inclined portion is positioned adjacent to the upstream end of the conveyor in the conveying direction relative to the upstream end of the conveyor in the conveying direction. The upstream end of the second inclined portion in the conveying direction is positioned above the contact surface of the pair of supports.

[0035] In this configuration, when a transport vehicle, with the bottom surface of an article supported by a pair of supports, travels toward the conveyor from the upstream side in the transport direction, the guide device guides the article toward the conveyor, and the article is properly delivered to the conveyor. At this time, even if the guide device does not apply a driving force to the article for transport, the transport vehicle pushes the article toward the transport direction with the regulating part, and the guide device scoops up the article from the support part of the transport vehicle and guides it toward the conveyor. Then, when the bottom surface of the article comes into contact with the conveyor, the article is transported by the driving force of the conveyor. Furthermore, in this configuration, by making the widthwise dimension of the first inclined section smaller than the widthwise gap between the pair of supports, it is possible to scoop up the article from the support part of the transport vehicle, while the widthwise dimension of the second inclined section and the conveyor is larger than the widthwise gap between the pair of supports, so that the article can be transported while being stably supported in the second inclined section and the conveyor. Thus, with this configuration, it is possible to properly transfer goods from the transport vehicle to the conveyor using a simple guide device.

[0036] Here, the inclined surface in the second inclined section that contacts the bottom surface of the article is defined as the inclined guide surface, and the conveyor is provided with an inclined conveying surface that is inclined downward as it moves upstream in the conveying direction, and it is preferable that the inclination angle of the inclined guide surface is formed to be the same as the inclination angle of the inclined conveying surface.

[0037] With this configuration, by setting the inclination angle of the inclined conveying surface to be approximately the same as the inclination angle of the inclined surface (inclined guide surface) in the second inclined section, it becomes easier to secure a large contact area between the bottom surface of the item transferred onto the inclined conveying surface and the inclined conveying surface of the conveyor. Therefore, the transfer of items from the second inclined section to the conveyor can be smoothly guided.

[0038] Furthermore, it is preferable that the second inclined portion includes, at least a portion, a width-expanding region in which the width dimension gradually increases as it moves from the upstream side in the conveying direction to the downstream side in the conveying direction.

[0039] This configuration reduces the possibility of an item getting caught when moving it from the first inclined section to the second inclined section.

[0040] Furthermore, the device is preferably equipped with a pair of guide members for guiding the position of the article in the width direction, wherein the pair of guide members are arranged separately in the width direction within the area in the transport direction where the second inclined portion is located, and the spacing between them in the width direction gradually narrows as they move downstream in the transport direction.

[0041] This configuration makes it possible to avoid situations such as articles falling from the second inclined section. Therefore, articles can be properly transported from the second inclined section to the conveyor.

[0042] The goods transport equipment relating to this disclosure only needs to be able to achieve at least one of the effects described above.

[0043] 1: Material transport equipment 2: Conveyor 3: Transport vehicle 4: Guide device 6: Guide member 10: Support part 11: Regulating part 13: Support body 13a: Contact surface 21: Inclined transport surface 41: First inclined part 42: Second inclined part 43: Inclined guide surface 44: Width expansion area P: Gap in the width direction between a pair of support bodies Q: Width direction dimension between a pair of support bodies R: Width direction dimension of the first inclined part X: Transport direction X1: Upstream side in the transport direction X2: Downstream side in the transport direction Y: Width direction θ1: Incline angle of the inclined guide surface θ2: Incline angle of the inclined transport surface

Claims

1. An article transporting system comprising: a conveyor for transporting articles along a transport direction; a transport vehicle equipped with a support portion for supporting the articles from below; and a guide device positioned upstream of the conveyor in the transport direction, with the upstream side of the transport direction being the upstream side of the transport direction, the opposite side being the downstream side of the transport direction, and the direction perpendicular to the transport direction in a vertical view along the vertical direction being the width direction, which guides the movement of the articles from the support portion of the transport vehicle to the conveyor, wherein, in order to transfer the articles supported by the support portion to the conveyor, the state of the transport vehicle traveling toward the conveyor from the upstream side of the transport direction relative to the conveyor is defined as the transfer travel state, the transport vehicle further comprises a restricting portion that restricts the movement of the articles supported by the support portion toward the upstream side of the transport direction in the transfer travel state, and the support portion comprises a pair of supports positioned spaced apart in the width direction and in contact with the bottom surface of the articles in the transfer travel state. The guide device comprises a first inclined portion and a second inclined portion, which are arranged to be inclined downward as they proceed upstream in the conveying direction, the first inclined portion is formed continuously with the second inclined portion on the upstream side in the conveying direction relative to the second inclined portion, the widthwise dimension of the first inclined portion is smaller than the widthwise gap between the pair of supports in the handover travel state, the widthwise dimensions of the second inclined portion and the conveyor are larger than the widthwise gap between the pair of supports in the handover travel state, the upstream end of the first inclined portion in the conveying direction is positioned below the contact surface that contacts the bottom surface of the article on the pair of supports, the second inclined portion is positioned adjacent to the upstream end of the conveyor in the conveying direction on the upstream side in the conveying direction, and the upstream end of the second inclined portion in the conveying direction is positioned above the contact surface of the pair of supports, an article conveying device.

2. The article conveying equipment according to claim 1, wherein the inclined surface in the second inclined section that contacts the bottom surface of the article is an inclined guide surface, the conveyor is provided with an inclined conveying surface that is inclined downward as it moves upstream in the conveying direction, and the inclination angle of the inclined guide surface is formed to be the same as the inclination angle of the inclined conveying surface.

3. The article conveying equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second inclined portion includes, at least in part, a width-expanding region in which the width dimension gradually increases as it moves from the upstream side in the conveying direction to the downstream side in the conveying direction.

4. The article conveying equipment according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a pair of guide members for guiding the position of the article in the width direction, wherein the pair of guide members are arranged separately in the width direction within the area in the conveying direction where the second inclined portion is located, and the spacing between them in the width direction gradually narrows as they move downstream in the conveying direction.

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