JP3436334B2 - Goods transport equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is provided with a carrying space and a space different from the carrying space which are vertically aligned, and a guide rail and a guide rail are provided in the carrying space. And a moving body that travels while traveling, and the moving body is configured to convey an article between a plurality of stations.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Such article transporting equipment is provided with guide rails installed along a plurality of stations and transports articles between stations by a moving body guided by the guide rails. The transportation space for arranging the guide rails and the moving body for transportation is provided in a space different from the transportation space, that is, in a state of being vertically aligned with a space used for purposes other than the purpose of transporting articles, and is used for transportation of articles. By limiting the space to be provided to a certain area in the vertical direction, the volume of the other space is expanded as much as possible. Such an article transport facility is generally provided with a facility for temporarily holding an article transported to each station or an article transported from each station.
Conventionally, in order to temporarily hold the above-mentioned article, an article storage shelf is erected in a space different from the transportation space, and the article is transferred between the storage shelf and a moving body traveling on the guide rail. It was structured so that it could be posted. Explaining in a specific example, when a guide rail is installed near the ceiling in the workshop of the factory, the ceiling side space is set as the transport space, and the floor side space is set as the other space, The storage shelves were erected on the floor.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, an installation space for a storage rack for articles is required in the separate space, and therefore improvement is desired from the viewpoint of expanding the volume of the separate space. It was The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to reduce the space required for temporarily holding an article in the other space as much as possible.

[0004]

According to the structure described in claim 1, the article holding section for temporarily holding the article is provided in the carrying space, and the article holding section is provided by the moving body.
That since for Stacy <br/> tio emissions through article transport and mobile between stations is in a state that allows the article transfer, nor interfere with the operation of the mobile. Therefore, by arranging the article holding unit in the carrying space, the space required for temporarily holding the article is provided in a space different from the carrying space arranged vertically with respect to the carrying space. The volume of the other space can be expanded as much as possible, and the other space can be used more conveniently.

Further, by providing the structure of claim 2, the space above or below the ceiling or below the floor of the working space divided up and down by the floor and the ceiling is a space for transportation, and the space on the floor is transported. It becomes a space different from the space for use. Therefore, the space on the floor surface necessary for temporarily holding the article can be reduced as much as possible, and for example, it is possible to easily perform various operations and processes in the other space, installation of various devices, and the like. .

Further, by providing the configuration according to claim 3, the moving body moves between the stop positions set for the respective stations to carry the article. The article holding unit provided along the guide rail and the article are transferred in a state where the article is located at an intermediate position between the stop positions with respect to. Thus, the work for carrying the article held in the article holding unit to the station or the work for holding the article carried from the station in the article holding unit is performed. Therefore, the article holders are arranged in a distributed manner by utilizing the space along the guide rails for conveying the articles between the stations, and it is possible to hold a large number of articles and the article holders guide the articles. Since the articles are installed along the rails, the articles can be easily transferred between the article holder and the moving body, and the configuration of the transfer apparatus can be simplified.

Further, by having the structure according to the above-mentioned claim 4, the holding section transfer means for transferring the article between the article holding section and the moving body is provided on the moving body side. In such an article transport facility, in general, the number of article holding units is often larger than the number of moving bodies. Therefore, compared to the case where the transfer means is provided on the article holding unit side. The number of transfer means required is small, and the configuration of the entire facility can be simplified.

Further, by having the structure according to the fifth aspect, the station transfer means for transferring the article between the station and the moving body is provided on the moving body side. In such an article transport facility, generally, the number of stations is larger than the number of moving bodies in many cases. The number of mounting means is small, and the configuration of the entire facility can be simplified. Further, by providing the structure according to claim 6, the single article transfer means provided in the moving body can store the articles between the article holding section and the moving body and between the station and the moving body. Since the transfer is performed and the function as the holding unit transfer unit and the function as the station transfer unit are provided together, the configuration can be further simplified.

Further, by having the structure described in claim 7, the article transferring means moves the article up and down to transfer the article. Therefore, it becomes possible to position the station in a space different from the transportation space such as the floor side, and compared to the case where the station is arranged in the transportation space, the transfer of articles between the station and the other space. The equipment required for is unnecessary, or even if it is necessary, it can be small.
It is possible to simplify the configuration.

Further, by providing the structure according to the eighth aspect, it is assumed that the transfer space is located above the space different from the transfer space, and the moving body moves the article up and down. The means conveys the article while the means holds the article at the elevated position, and the article holding unit holds the article at substantially the same height as the conveyed article in a side view. Therefore, the area occupied by the transport space in the vertical direction can be reduced, and the area occupied by the transport space and the space different from the transport space in the vertical direction is reduced as a whole. Even when the area occupied in the up and down direction is limited by the space and the space, the space in the space can be made as large as possible.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the article holding section is premised on the fact that the carrying space is located above a space different from the carrying space. Since the article is held in the lower position of the article, it is possible to transfer the article between the article holding unit and the moving body only by moving the article up and down by the article transfer means. No auxiliary means is needed, or a simple structure is needed as needed, and the structure can be simplified as a whole. Further, by providing the configuration according to claim 10, the article holding unit holds a plurality of articles in the lateral width direction of the guide rail, and the plurality of articles is moved by the article moving means to the moving body. It is selectively positioned at the mounting position. Therefore, the storage efficiency of the articles in the article holding unit can be improved as much as possible, and the transport space can be effectively used for holding the articles.

Further, since the article transfer means of the movable body moves the article in the lateral width direction of the movable body to transfer the article by providing the structure according to the eleventh aspect, the article storage capacity is increased. For this reason, when the article holding unit is provided at a position in the lateral width direction of the moving body with respect to the guide rail where it is easy to secure a storage space, the articles to be held in the article holding unit can be moved by moving the articles vertically. In some cases, auxiliary means for moving the moving body in the lateral width direction may be required, but such auxiliary means may not be necessary, or a simple structure can be provided even if provided. .

Further, by providing the structure according to claim 12, in the article transport facility, a plurality of guide rails are communicated with each other by a communication guide rail for guiding a communication mobile body for article transportation, The article can be exchanged between the guide rails. As described above, configuring the article transport facility with the guide rails and the communication guide rails requires a large number of stations, as in various manufacturing processes, for example, so that processing by an apparatus corresponding to each station can be performed. Compared to the case where a single guide rail conveys articles in a wide variety of cases, it is possible to simplify the control of a moving body that conveys articles and to convey articles smoothly. Become. Moreover, in the article transport facility including the guide rails and the guide rails for communication, the articles are temporarily moved in order to adjust the difference between the number of articles going out and the number of articles coming in at the article entrance / exit section of each guide rail. A means for holding is indispensable, and in such a case, providing the article holding section having the above configuration can extremely effectively reduce the installation space of the entire equipment.

Further, by providing the structure according to the thirteenth aspect, the communication guide rail for connecting between the plurality of guide rails is formed in a loop shape, and the loop-shaped communication guide rail has a plurality of communication lines. The mobile unit is set to run in a fixed direction. Therefore, even if a plurality of connecting moving bodies are made to travel on the connecting guide rails for increasing the carrying capacity, the operation management of the moving bodies can be easily performed. However, on the other hand, assuming that the connecting mobile unit travels in a certain direction, the connecting mobile unit cannot move backward even if the destination of the connecting mobile unit is located immediately upstream of the moving unit moving direction. If the vehicle makes a detour as it is and is moved to the destination, it becomes a factor of lowering the transportation efficiency of the article.

Therefore, the intermediate transfer section provided on the contact guide rail is used to transfer and convey the articles between the contact moving bodies. The intermediate transfer section is provided at a portion of the communication guide rail where the forward path and the return path are close to each other. For example, by transferring the article from the communication mobile body moving on the forward path to the communication mobile body on the return path, The travel distance from the intermediate transfer section existing position to the intermediate transfer section existing position on the return path can be substantially shortened. Therefore, while the operation of the moving body can be easily managed, it is possible to further improve the transportation efficiency of the article.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an article conveying facility to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] The article transport facility TS is a facility for manufacturing an article B that is processed into a finished product by a plurality of steps.
It is a facility that conveys the article B between the processes. For this transportation, as shown in FIG. 7 which is an overall layout diagram of the equipment, six loop-shaped guide rails 1 and a loop-shaped communication rail for conveying the article B between the guide rails 1 are provided. A guide rail 2 is provided, and a plurality of moving bodies 3 are guided in each guide rail 1 to convey the article B in a certain direction (for example, a counterclockwise direction), and a plurality of communication guide rails 2 are also provided. The contact moving body 4 is guided to convey the article B in a certain direction (for example, clockwise direction).

Each guide rail 1 is attached to the lower side of the ceiling CL in the working space defined by the floor FL and the ceiling CL, as shown in FIG. 1, a moving body 3 and an article storage unit B described later
The space in which S exists forms a transport space TA for transporting the article B, and the space above the floor surface FL located below the transport space TA is different from the transport space TA.
And a plurality of processing devices 5 are installed in the other space OA in a state of being lined up on the floor surface FL along the guide rails 1. Since the moving body 3 delivers the article B to the article receiving section 5a and the article paying section 5b of each processing apparatus 5 shown in FIG. 3, strictly speaking, as shown in FIG. The article transfer position with respect to the moving body 3 in the article receiving section 5a and the article paying-out section 5b is the station ST of the moving body 3 in the guide rail 1. It should be noted that the processing device 5 installed along one guide rail 1 is often a device that performs the same processing on the article B, but there are a plurality of processing devices 5 that perform a plurality of types of processing that are performed in series. Processing equipment 5
May be placed side by side. In addition, a plurality of article holding portions BS for temporarily holding the article B along the guide rail 1 are provided, and the moving section 3 of the guide rail 1 and the guide rail for communication are provided in the entry / exit portion IO of the article with respect to the guide rail 1. An entrance / exit transfer device 6 for transferring the article B to / from the communication body 4 for communication is provided.

The contact guide rails 2 are installed so as to guide the contact moving bodies 4 along the entrance / exit portions IO of the respective guide rails 1, and are formed in a flat shape in plan view, and the outward path 2a is provided.
Return path 2b is approaching. In FIG. 7, the right side of the drawing is the forward path 2a and the left side of the drawing is the return path 2b.
The setting of the forward path and the return path is merely for convenience of description. In the loop of the communication guide rail 2, an intermediate transfer section for transferring the article B between the communication mobile body 4 traveling on the outward path 2a and the communication mobile body 4 traveling on the return path 2b. Two ITs are provided.

The above-mentioned respective parts will be briefly described below. The moving body 3 traveling on the guide rail 1 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, a traveling portion 3a including traveling wheels (not shown) whose positions in the up-down direction and the left-right direction are regulated by the guide rail 1 and a cord-shaped body 3b driven to be wound up in the traveling portion 3a. An elevating part 3c that is supported by being suspended and is capable of elevating and lowering, and a gripping tool 3d that extends downward from a lower end of the elevating part 3c are configured to be provided. It is driven and driven by the provided LDM). Although not shown, electric power for traveling the moving body 3 and moving up and down the elevating unit 3c is supplied from a power supply line installed on the side surface of the guide rail 1 through a current collector or the like.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transfer of the article B between the moving body 3 and the station ST is carried out by the elevating part 3
By the lifting operation of c and the gripping operation of the gripping tool 3d, the article receiving portion 5a of the processing device 5 located immediately below the guide rail 1
The article B is moved up and down between it and the article payout section 5b, and as described later, the article holding section BS also performs the same transfer operation, although the elevation distance of the elevation section 3c is different. Therefore, the article B is exchanged with the article holder BS.
Holding unit transfer means BC for transferring the
The station transfer means SC for transferring the article B to and from the T is constituted by a single article transfer means BM mainly composed of the cord 3b, the elevating part 3c and the gripping tool 3d. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the connecting moving body 4 traveling on the connecting guide rail 2 is not shown in FIG. 4 and is restricted in vertical and horizontal positions by the connecting guide rail 2. A linear motor (for example, an LDM including a drive coil on the side of the connecting moving body 4) is configured by including a traveling unit 4a having traveling wheels and a loading platform 4b fixed to the traveling unit 4a in a suspended state. Is driven to drive.
In the same manner as above, although not shown, electric power for traveling of the communication vehicle 4 is supplied from a power supply line installed on the side surface of the communication guide rail 2 via a current collector or the like. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 7, the article holding section BS is arranged on both sides of the moving path of the moving body near the ceiling CL, and one end side is attached to the ceiling CL so as to be swingable.
And the other end side of the link mechanism 10 which is swingably mounted so as to be horizontally swingable, and the telescopic end 12a.
Is provided with a hydraulic cylinder 12 attached to the link mechanism 10, and by the driving force of the hydraulic cylinder 12,
The article mounting table 11 is switched between a state of advancing to the traveling route of the moving body 3 and a state of retracting to the side of the traveling route. The article mounting table 11 normally maintains a state of being retracted to the side of the travel route, allows the moving body 3 to travel along the guide rail 1, and allows the lifting / lowering portion 3c of the moving body 3 to move up and down. Then, the transfer of the article to the station ST is allowed. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, one article mounting table 11 has four articles B arranged in the moving body moving direction.
Can be held.

In a state in which the article placing table 11 advances into the traveling route of the moving body 3, the article B placed on the article placing table 11 is
It is located at a transfer position just below the elevating part 3c of the moving body 3, and at this position, articles are transferred to and from the moving body 3. That is, when the article B held by the article holding unit BS is transferred to the moving body 3, the elevating table 3c of the moving body 3 is lowered, and the upper end portion of the article B in the moving body front-back direction is held by the gripping tool 3d. After gripping, the elevating part 3c is raised to the rising end. The moving body 1 conveys the article B while holding the article B at its raised position. When the article B held by the moving body 3 is transferred to the article holding section BS, the operation is almost the reverse of the above. Therefore, with the link mechanism 10 and the hydraulic cylinder 12 as the main parts, each of the plurality (specifically two) of the articles B held in the lateral width direction of the guide rail is positioned at the transfer position with the moving body 3. The article moving means MS is configured.

The entry / exit section IO of the guide rail 1 has an article sending-out section BO located upstream of the communication guide rail 2 in the moving direction of the communication guide rail 2 and an article receiving section BI located downstream thereof. And a transfer device 6 for the entrance / exit portion is provided for each of them. Article sending section B
The transfer device 6 for the entrance / exit portion of O and the transfer device 6 for the entrance / exit portion of the article receiving portion BI have basically the same configuration, and for the entrance / exit portion of the article receiving portion BI based on FIGS. 4 and 5. The transfer device 6 will be described. The entrance / exit transfer device 6 includes a rotary transfer unit 16 and a lateral transfer unit 17, and the rotary transfer unit 16 transfers the article B received from the communication moving body 4 to the lateral transfer unit 17. Then, the lateral transfer unit 17 moves the received article directly below the guide rail 1.

The rotary transfer unit 16 includes an arm drive base 16b having a pair of gripping arms 16a which can move toward and away from each other in the left-right width direction, and a slide drive for sliding the arm drive base 16b in the front-rear direction. Stand 16c
And a rotary drive table 16d for rotationally driving the arm drive table 16b and the slide drive section 16c around the vertical axis, and an arm drive table 16b, a slide drive section 16c and a rotary drive table 16d.
d and an elevating and lowering drive base 16e for moving up and down. The lateral transfer unit 17 includes a lateral moving table 17a on which the article B is placed, a ball screw type feeding mechanism 17b for moving the lateral moving table 17a, and a motor 17c for driving the feeding mechanism 17b. Both the rotary transfer unit 16 and the lateral transfer unit 17 are suspended and supported from the ceiling CL.

The operation of the rotary transfer unit 16 and the lateral transfer unit 17 will be briefly described. From the state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the arm driving base 16b is slid to the side of the connecting moving body 4, The loading platform 4 is provided by the pair of gripping arms 16a.
Holds the article B placed on b and lifts / lowers the drive table 16e.
The article B is lifted by driving. After that, the arm driving table 16b is retracted, the slide driving table 16c is rotated, the arm driving table 16b is advanced, the arm driving table 16b is lowered, and the gripping of the article B by the gripping arm 16a is sequentially performed to sequentially move the lateral transfer unit. The article B is placed on the horizontal moving table 17a
To place. When the article B is placed on the lateral movement table 17a,
The article B is guided to the guide rail 1 by driving the motor 17c.
Move it directly below. After that, the article B that has moved directly below the guide rail 1 is picked up by the moving body 3 and conveyed to the target station ST or the article holding section BS.
The operations of the rotary transfer unit 16 and the lateral movement transfer unit 17 in the article sending section BO are the same as those of the article receiving section B described above.
By performing the operation opposite to that in the case of I, the article B conveyed by the moving body 3 is transferred to the communication moving body 4.

In the intermediate transfer section IT, as shown in FIG.
An intermediate transfer machine 18 is provided. The intermediate transfer machine 18
The structure is similar to that of the rotary transfer unit 16 described above, and the arm drive base 18b is provided with a pair of gripping arms 18a that can move toward and away from each other in the left-right width direction, and the arm drive base 18b is slid in the front-back direction thereof. Slide drive base 18c for moving, arm drive base 18b and slide drive unit 1
A rotary drive table 18d for rotationally driving the 8c around the vertical axis,
It is composed of an arm drive base 18b, a slide drive portion 18c, a rotary drive base 18d, and a lift drive base 18e for moving up and down, and is suspended and supported from the ceiling CL like the rotary transfer unit 16.

The operation of the intermediate transfer machine 18 will be briefly described. From the state shown in FIG.
The article B placed on the loading platform 4b is gripped by the pair of gripping arms 18a, and the article B is lifted by driving the elevating drive platform 18e. After that, the arm drive base 18b is retracted, the slide drive base 18c is rotated, the arm drive base 18b is moved forward,
The descending of the arm drive base 18b and the release of the grip of the article B by the gripping arm 18a are sequentially performed, and the article B is placed on the loading platform 4b of the communication moving body 4 which is stopped on the outward path 2a. When the article B is transferred from the communication vehicle 4 on the outward path 2a to the communication vehicle 4 on the return path 2b, the operation reverse to the above is performed.

The control in the article transport facility having the above-mentioned configuration is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of in-process transfer controllers C1 provided corresponding to the respective guide rails 1 and an inter-process transfer controller C2 provided corresponding to the communication guide rails 2 are mutually connected. The conveyance control of the article B is performed while communicating. The in-process transportation controller C1 executes traveling control of the moving body 3 traveling on one guide rail 1, control of the transfer device 6 for the entrance / exit portion, operation control of the hydraulic cylinder 12 of the article holding portion BS, and the like. The inter-process transfer controller C2 executes the traveling control of the communication moving body 4 and the control of the intermediate transfer machine 18. The operation of the article transport facility under the control of the in-process transport controller C1 and the inter-process transport controller C2 will be schematically described below. The communication vehicle 4 that has conveyed the article B that has been processed in another step stops at the article receiving portion BI, and the inter-step transportation controller C2 is provided in the communication vehicle 4 as illustrated. When a stop completion signal is received from the optical communication device via the optical communication device 19, a request to receive the article B conveyed to the in-process conveyance controller C1 is issued.
It is transmitted together with the information about the article B.

When the in-process transfer controller C1 receives the information, it operates the transfer device 6 for the entrance / exit section to transfer the article B to the moving body 3, and the target station ST.
If the (processing device 5) can accept the article B, it conveys the article B to the target station ST as it is, and if it cannot accept the article B, the moving object 3 is placed in the empty article holding section BS. To move. When it is detected that the moving body 3 has stopped at the target position by receiving a stop completion signal from an optical communication device (not shown) provided in the moving body 3 via the optical communication device 15, the hydraulic cylinder 12 Is operated to store the article B in the article holding unit BS. After that, when the target station ST for the article B is ready to receive the article, the target station ST for the article B (in this case, the article receiving section 5 of the processing device 5).
a), and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the elevating part 3c is lowered and placed on the conveyor 5c of the article receiving part 5a of the processing apparatus 5. When the article B is placed on the conveyor 5c, the processing apparatus 5 operates the conveyor 5c to send the article B into the main body of the processing apparatus 5, and starts the processing process.

The article B, which has been processed by the processing apparatus 5, is delivered from the article delivery section 5b, and the in-process transfer controller C1 is processed by the moving body 3 in response to the article receiving request from the processing apparatus 5. When the processed article B is received and further processed by another processing apparatus 5 in the process, it is conveyed to the station ST which is the article receiving section 5a of the processing apparatus 5, or the processing apparatus 5 If the article cannot be accepted yet, the article B is transported to and stored in the empty article holding section BS. When all the processing in a process of a certain article B is completed, the moving body 3 conveys the article B to the article sending-out section BO, and the transfer apparatus 6 for the entering / exiting section transfers the article B to the moving body for communication. Four
Reprinted to.

The inter-process transport controller C2 transports the article B received by the communication vehicle 4 to the next process. For example, the inter-process transport controller C2 receives the article B from the entrance / exit portion IO of the guide rail 1 at the upper left end of the paper surface of FIG. When the article B is conveyed to the entrance / exit section IO of the guide rail 1 on the lower left side of the drawing, the article B
If the sheet is conveyed in the clockwise direction as it is, the conveying distance becomes too long.
(Intermediate transfer section IT on the left side of the drawing), the moving body for communication 4 is stopped, and the article B is transferred to the moving body for communication 4 stopped on the return path 2b side. The guide rail 1 is conveyed to the entrance / exit section IO.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the moving body 4 for communication, and the overall layout such as the arrangement of the guide rails 1 and the guide rails 2 for communication is the same as that of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the communication moving body 4 in the second embodiment has a communication guide rail 2
It is a type of traveling above, and the article B is placed on the loading platform 20a on the upper surface side of the communication moving body 4 to convey the article B. Loading platform 2
0a is attached to the main body of the connecting moving body 4 by the bending arm 20b, and can be extended and retracted to the left and right sides in the moving direction of the connecting moving body 4 by the expansion and contraction operation of the bending arm 20b. By raising and lowering the arm 20b itself,
A motor (not shown) is provided in the joint portion of the bending arm 20b and the main body portion of the connecting moving body 4 so that the article B can be moved up and down slightly.

Corresponding to the structure of the moving body 4 for communication, as described in the first embodiment, the transfer device 6 for the entrance / exit section in the entrance / exit section IO of the guide rail 1 is the same as in the first embodiment. The loading unit 16 and the lateral movement transfer unit 17 are no longer required, and as shown in FIGS.
In addition, the intermediate transfer unit IT is provided with an intermediate transfer machine 18
Is unnecessary. The article relay table 21 is installed immediately below a portion of the guide rail 1 that is parallel to the communication guide rail 2, and is configured by mounting the article placement frame 21b on the base frame 21a. The article placement frame 21b can place three articles B along the moving direction of the moving body, and supports the front and rear ends of the bottom of the article B at the respective placement points. In addition, the moving body 3 and the connecting moving body 4 can be attached to any mounting location.
Both are capable of transferring the article B.

When the article B conveyed on the guide rail 1 by the moving body 3 is transferred onto the connecting moving body 4 on the connecting guide rail 2, first, the moving body 3 is conveyed as shown in FIG. After the article B has been placed on the article relay table 21, the loading platform 20b of the communication vehicle 4 is inserted below the article placement frame 21b of the article relay table 21, and the entire bending arm 20b is raised. The article B is lifted, the loading platform 20b is further retracted toward the communication vehicle 4, and the transfer to the communication vehicle 4 is completed. Further, when the article B of the moving body for communication 4 is transferred to the moving body 3, the operation is reverse to the above. In the intermediate transfer section IT,
Although not shown in the drawings, as described above, instead of the intermediate transfer machine 18 in the first embodiment, a relay stand having the same configuration as the article relay stand 21 is provided, so that the communication moving body moves on the outward path 2a. The article B can be transferred between the communication unit 4 and the communication vehicle 4 that moves on the return path 2b.

[Other Other Embodiments] Other other embodiments will be listed below. In the first and second embodiments described above, the moving body 3 traveling on the guide rail 1 exemplifies a form that holds and conveys the article B in a suspended state, but as shown in FIG. In addition, the configuration of the moving body 3 may be the same as that of the moving body 4 for communication in the second embodiment, and the article B may be moved by moving the article B in the lateral width direction of the moving body. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the article holding unit BS attaches to the station ST the article holding table 30 having the same configuration as that of the article relay table 21 shown in FIG. It may be provided on both sides of the guide rail 1 except the installation location. By thus providing the article holders 30 on both sides of the guide rail 1, the article transfer between the stations by the moving body 3 and the article transfer to the station ST are allowed. Further, in FIG. 13, the processing device 5
Has a configuration in which the article receiving section 5a and the article paying-out section 5b are also used, and the article transfer position of the moving body 3 in the article receiving section 5a (the article paying-out section 5b) is the station ST. The article transfer position in the processing device 5 is configured by the lift table 5d, and the body B of the processing device 5 and the article B are transferred by the lift table 5d.

In the above-described first and second embodiments, the article holding section BS is configured to place the article B on the horizontally swingable article placing table 11 provided on the side of the guide rail 1. However, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the plurality of articles B are placed side by side on the mounting table 2 in the moving body moving direction.
2 (in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, a case where three are arranged side by side in the lateral width direction is illustrated), and a plurality of mounting bases 22 are slidably movable in the lateral width direction of the moving body while being guided by the guide frame 22a. The article B may be selectively positioned directly below the guide rail 1 which is a transfer position for the moving body 3.

As the structure for the sliding movement, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, a pin 24 is attached to a part of a chain 23 wound in the lateral direction of the moving body,
An engaging hole 22 that engages with the pin 24 on the lower surface of the mounting table 22.
By forming a and driving the chain 23 by the motor 25, the mounting table 22 may be slid. or,
Since the article holder BS illustrated in FIG. 14 is located immediately below the guide rail 1, the article holder BS is allowed to move to the moving body 3 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, the article holding section BS is not provided above the station ST in order to hold the article B below the held article B and allow the article transfer to the station ST. In addition, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 15, the processing device 5 is configured to serve as both the article receiving section 5a and the article paying section 5b.

Further, as another embodiment of the article holding section BS, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, along the guide rail 1 in a state of being located below the article B conveyed by the moving body 1. A configuration may be used in which the articles B are held in a line. Also in this case, similarly to the one shown in FIG. 15, the processing device 5 is configured to also serve as the article receiving section 5a and the article paying-out section 5b, and the article holding section BS is shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. In the same manner as described above, the movable body 3 is arranged so as to allow the conveyance of articles between stations and the transfer of articles to the station ST.

In each of the above embodiments, the transfer space TA is formed below the ceiling CL, but as shown in FIG. 18, the transfer space TA is formed below the floor and the transfer space TA is located above the floor surface FL. The space OA different from the transport space TA may be used. That is, the guide rail 1 is laid on the lower side of the floor FL, and the article B is transferred to the moving body 3 by moving the article B to the moving body 3 in the lateral direction of the moving body as in the case of FIG. The means BM may be provided, and the article holding table 40 having the same configuration as the article holding table 30 may be installed on the side of the guide rail 1. In the example shown in FIG. 18, part of the processing device 5 is also installed under the floor in order to transfer the article B to the moving body 3, but the main body of the processing device 5 is the floor surface. The configuration may be such that it is installed on the FL and only the lifting mechanism for the article B is positioned under the floor. Further, the space above the ceiling CL may be the transfer space TA, and the space between the ceiling CL and the floor surface FL may be the other space OA.

In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the case where the article conveying facility of the present invention is applied to the conveyance of the article B in the step of processing the article B by the plurality of processing devices 5 is exemplified. However, the present invention can be applied to various uses such as applying to a goods collecting and delivering facility having a plurality of goods collecting and delivering windows for each destination as stations ST. In the first and second embodiments described above, the article holder BS is installed only along the guide rail 1, but a similar article holder BS may be provided on the communication guide rail 2.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a main part according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a main part according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a main part according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a main part according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a main part according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a main part according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an overall layout diagram according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a control block diagram according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a main part according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a main part according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a main part according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a main part according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a front view of a main part according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a main part according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a front view of a main part according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a main part according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a front view of a main part according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Guide rail 2 Communication guide rails 3 moving bodies 4 Mobile for communication B goods Transferring means for BC holder BS article holder BM article transfer means IO entrance / exit MS article transportation Space by OA Transfer station for SC station ST station TA transport space

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 1/04 B61B 3/02 B61B 13/06

Claims (13)

(57) [Claims] 1. A transporting space and a space different from the transporting space are provided in a vertically aligned state, and a guide rail and a moving body which is guided by the guide rail to travel in the transporting space. Is provided, the moving body is an article conveying facility configured to convey articles between a plurality of stations, in the conveying space, the article conveying between the stations by the moving body and the a state that allows the article transfer with respect to the station by the mobile, the article holding portion for holding a plurality of articles to the article to be transferred between said moving body moves
Article transport equipment installed side by side in the moving direction of moving objects. 2. A space above or below a ceiling or under the floor of a work space divided into upper and lower parts is set as the transfer space, and a space on the floor is set as the different space. 1. The article transport facility according to 1. 3. The article holder is provided along the guide rail, and is capable of transferring an article to and from a moving body located at an intermediate position between stop positions for the station on the guide rail. Claim 1 comprised in
Or the article transportation facility according to 2. 4. The holding unit transfer means for transferring an article between the moving body and the article holding section is provided in the moving body. Goods transportation equipment. 5. The article transfer facility according to claim 1, wherein the moving body is provided with station transfer means for transferring articles to and from the station. . 6. The article transfer facility according to claim 5, wherein the holding section transfer means and the station transfer means are provided in a state in which a single article transfer means is used in common. 7. The article transfer facility according to claim 6, wherein the article transfer means is configured to move the article up and down to transfer the article. 8. The moving body conveys an article in a state where the article transfer means holds the article in a raised position, and in a state in which the article transfer means positions the article in a lowered position,
It is configured to supply an article to the station, the article holder is an article conveyed by the moving body,
The article transporting facility according to claim 7, which is configured to hold the articles at substantially the same height in a side view. 9. The article transport facility according to claim 7, wherein the article holding unit is configured to hold the article at a position below the article held by the moving body. 10. The article holder is configured to hold a plurality of articles in the lateral width direction of the guide rail, and the article holder holds each of the plurality of articles held by the movable body. 10. The article transport facility according to claim 8 or 9, further comprising article moving means for selectively locating the article transfer position at the transfer position. 11. The article transfer facility according to claim 6, wherein the article transfer means is configured to transfer the article by moving the article in a lateral direction of a moving body. 12. The communication guide rail is provided, wherein a plurality of the guide rails are provided, and a contact guide rail for guiding a contact moving body capable of transferring an article at each of the entry / exit portions of the article with respect to the plurality of guide rails. Item 11. The article transport facility according to any one of items 1 to 11. 13. The connecting guide rail is formed in a loop shape having a portion where an outward path and a returning path are close to each other in a plan view, and a plurality of the connecting movable bodies are the loop-shaped connecting guide rail. In a part where the forward path and the return path are close to each other, the article is transferred between the communication vehicle located on the forward path and the communication vehicle located on the return path. The article transfer facility according to claim 12, further comprising an intermediate transfer section for performing the transfer.