JPH0250724B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a remotely controllable mobile shelf device.

By selecting the aisle selection switch, the movable shelf to be moved and the direction of movement are determined based on the relationship between the specified aisle position and the current movable shelf position, and the movable shelf is electrically moved according to this determination. A movable shelf device that can be moved by force to form a working path at a specified position is already known, and a movable shelf device that can form a working path at a plurality of specified positions is also known. .

Loading and unloading of articles to and from such movable shelving devices may be performed using a forklift, etc. In that case, it would be convenient if the operator of the forklift could operate the forklift remotely from the top of the forklift. This should be preferable from a safety point of view, since the operator will not be accidentally caught between the shelves and will not be injured even if an item stored on the shelves should fall.

The purpose of the invention is to enable remote operation. For example, it can be operated from a forklift to streamline the work of loading and unloading items, and when remote control is enabled, shelves can be prevented from being moved accidentally. To provide a movable shelf device with even higher safety by making it impossible to issue a release signal for the already formed passage from another transmitting device when one working passage is formed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide for a pre-formed path based on the operation of one transmitting device from another transmitting device.
To provide a movable shelf device capable of avoiding a state where a release signal cannot be emitted by a master transmitter even after making it impossible to emit a release signal for the passage.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to illustrated embodiments.

In Figure 1, numeral 1 indicates a shelf, and 11
Among the shelves, the leftmost shelf is installed on the floor so as not to be movable, while the other shelves are clustered together with the above-mentioned fixed shelves and spaced apart from each other to form a working path between the shelves. They are arranged so that they can be moved. Each shelf 1 has a control circuit board 2 for forming a passageway.
2, and the fixed shelf on the left end has a receiving circuit for signals sent by remote control, a receiving signal discriminating circuit,
and a circuit board 23 including a transmitting circuit.
The side panel of each shelf 1 is provided with an operation panel 2 to which a passage formation command signal can be input by direct manual operation, and the side panel of the fixed shelf at the left end is further provided with a general operation panel 2 having a power switch, etc.
A is provided. A passage width detection member 40 is provided between the top plates of adjacent shelves 1, and swings according to the passage width between both shelves, and emits a signal when the passage reaches a predetermined width. There is. The symbols , , ... in the figure indicate the passage numbers formed between the shelves. As will be described later, the movable shelf of the present invention is a multi-passage type movable shelf capable of forming passages at a plurality of locations, and in the illustrated state, passages are formed at the positions shown.

FIG. 2 shows a transmitting device for remotely controlling the movable shelving device as shown in FIG. A push button switch 25 for selecting and emitting a corresponding signal, an on/off switch 26 for switching between remote control and direct operation, and a switch 27 for releasing an open signal and outputting a stop signal. , a power on switch 28 and a power off switch 2
9 and an emergency stop switch 30, and furthermore, three indicator lamps 31 are provided below each path selection switch 25. Each transmitting device a, b, c has a respective path selection switch 25.
By selecting and operating a switch with a desired number among them, a passage can be formed at the position corresponding to that number, and in the illustrated example, by using three transmitting devices, a passage can be formed at three locations. It is now possible to form a working passage.
Each selection switch 2 in each transmitting device a, b, c
The leftmost lamp among the set of three display lamps 31 below 5 is such that when one selection switch in the transmitting device is selectively operated, the lamp corresponding to that selection switch lights up. In addition, among the set of three display lamps 31, the center and rightmost lamps are designed to light up corresponding to the selection switch 31 corresponding to the passage number selected and formed by another transmitting device. . To further explain this in detail using the examples in Figures 1 and 2,
Assuming that a passage is formed by operating the first transmitting device a and a passage is formed by operating the second transmitting device b, the first transmitting device a The leftmost lamp under the selection switch and the central lamp under the seventh selection switch are lit, and in the first transmitter b, the central lamp under the fourth selection switch and the central lamp under the seventh selection switch are lit. The lower leftmost lamp lights up, and the third transmitter c
The lamps in the center below the fourth and seventh selection switches are lit. Therefore, if we look at the lighting status of the lamps 31 of each transmitter a, b, c,
It is possible to determine whether the passage was formed by operating the transmitting device or by operating another transmitting device,
As a result, it is possible to prevent the release operation of paths formed by other transmitting devices, and as described later, it is possible to prevent passages formed by other transmitting devices from being performed in a circuit. It is also possible to configure it so that it cannot be released. The present invention also includes a master transmitter for arbitrarily avoiding a state in which the path cannot be cleared by other transmitters.

Next, an example of a circuit configuration used in the present invention will be explained. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 22 indicates a circuit board provided on each shelf, and the left board 22 is the board on the leftmost shelf, and the right board 22 is the board on the rightmost shelf that is Nth from the left end. It shows. Each board 2
As for the circuit configuration in 2, the circuit configuration used in already known electric movable shelves, such as the circuit configuration described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 163944/1983, may be selected and adopted as appropriate. Adjacent circuit boards are connected to each other for input/output of right row signals, left row signals, stop signals, etc., and each circuit board has
An AC power source for motive power is introduced, and a DC power source is also supplied from a DC power supply circuit 35. In the figure, symbols a, b, and c indicate the transmitting devices, and each transmitting device a, b, and c is a transmitter 38 that emits various command signals such as a path selection signal and an opening signal using radio waves or the like as a medium. , and a transmitter 39 of a signal for indicating the path formation state. code d
is the master transmitter. Each transmitter a, b, c
Various signals emitted from the transmitter 38 and the transmitter d using radio waves or the like as a medium are received by the transmitter circuit 37 in the circuit board 23 described with reference to FIG. This signal is transmitted and received, for example, after a discrimination counter pulse of a certain width.
1st aisle signal, 2nd aisle signal,...Nth aisle signal, on/off signal for mutually switching between automatic operation mode by remote control or direct operation mode by manual operation, open command or release signal, emergency stop signal, etc. This can be done by repeatedly placing a sequential array of signals on a carrier wave, and receiving and detecting the waves using a receiving circuit. The signal received by the receiving circuit 37 is sent to the signal discrimination circuit 36,
The signal discrimination circuit 36 discriminates the presence or absence of the first to Nth path signals R ₁ , R ₂ , ...Rn, and selects the open command signal input terminals O ₁ , ...On of the circuit board 22 to which each path signal corresponds. It is now possible to input . The signal input to the open command signal input terminal O ₁ ,...On is as follows:
This can be considered to be the same signal as the open command signal manually input directly in conventional mobile shelves. Signal discrimination circuit 3
6 also determines whether automatic operation is performed by remote control or direct manual operation, and in the case of remote control, outputs a lock signal Lo unless a release signal is input after the passage is formed based on the opening command signal; The signal is input to all the circuit boards 22 through the main circuit board 22 at the left end. The lock signal Lo is also output when an emergency stop signal or the like is input. The signal discrimination circuit 36 is configured to receive an in-operation signal Dr from the left-most main circuit board 22, which indicates that the movable shelf is in operation. Code 5 in Figure 3
A, 5B and 6A, 6B are 2 lines passing along the side of the shelf row.
When a person or a forklift enters the passageway between the book shelves, the light beam emitted from one emitter is blocked, and then the light emitted from the other emitter is cut off. When a person or a forklift exits from either path, the light emitted from one light emitting device is blocked, and then the light emitted from one light emitting device is blocked. This is detected and subtracted and displayed, and the number of people or forklifts entering the work passage is then displayed. The device for displaying the number of people, etc. in the passage is the one described in the specification and drawings of Japanese Patent Application No. 172089/1989 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 64403/1983) filed by the present applicant. No problem. The path signal discriminated by the signal discriminating circuit 36 is transmitted from the transmitting circuit 35 on radio waves, and these radio waves are transmitted to the transmitters built in each of the transmitting devices a, b, and c. A path signal is received and detected by 39, which causes the indicator lamp 3 below each selection switch 25 to be activated as described with reference to FIG.
The corresponding lamp of 1 is turned on to display the path formation status.

The detailed configuration of the circuit portion including the transmitting circuit 37, signal discriminating circuit 36, and transmitting circuit 35 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the receiving circuit 37 is
It has receiving circuits 37a, 37b, and 37c that separately receive signals from the transmitting devices a, b, and c, and the receiving circuit 37a is configured to receive signals from the transmitting devices a, b, and c, respectively. When the release is performed, the transmission signal is sent to the first open/release control circuit of the set of three open/release control circuits 108a included in the discrimination circuit 36, and is transmitted by the transmitter a, for example. When the third path is selected or released, the received signal is sent to the third opening/cancelling control circuit of the set of opening/cancelling control circuits 108a. . Similarly, when the receiving circuit 37b transmits the passage signal or its release signal selected by the transmitter b, the receiver circuit 37b selects the selected one of the three open/release control circuits 108b included in the discrimination circuit 36. A signal is input to the opening/cancellation control circuit corresponding to the passage number selected by the transmission device c, and when the transmission circuit 37c receives the passage signal selected by the transmission device c or its cancellation signal, the transmission circuit 37c inputs the signal to the opening/release control circuit corresponding to the passage number selected by the transmission device A signal is input to the opening/cancelling control circuit corresponding to the selected passage number among the three opening/cancelling control circuits 108c included in the opening/cancelling circuit 36. Open/release control circuits 108a, 108b, 108 each form a set.
In the illustrated example, c is a set of three, which means that there are three passages that can be formed.
On the other hand, if 10 paths can be formed as in the example shown in Figure 1, 10 paths will be formed as a set, and therefore, the number of paths that can be formed is 10, and if there are 3 transmitting devices, 3 places can be formed at the same time. In the case of a system that allows passages to be formed, a total of 30 opening/release control circuits would be provided. Each open/release control circuit 10 forming a set
A signal is sent from 8a to the first transmitting circuit 35a, and when the first path is selected by the first transmitting device a, a set of open/release control circuits 1
A signal is sent out from the first opening/release control circuit of 08a via the transmitting circuit 35a, and this signal is received by the receiver 39 in each transmitting device a, b, c. 2nd in b and c
The lighting display of the lamp 31 as described with reference to the figure is performed. A similar operation is performed when an arbitrary path is selected by the second transmitting device b or the third transmitting device c. In addition, after selecting a passage, if you send a cancellation signal from the same transmitter that performed the next passage selection operation, the cancellation signal will be emitted from the transmission circuit corresponding to that transmitter, and all transmitters will be sent a cancellation signal. The lamp display for the corresponding passage will disappear. Open/release control circuit 108a forming the first set
The open signal or release signal from the control circuit corresponding to the first passage and the control circuit corresponding to the first passage among the opening/cancellation control circuits 108b forming the second set is transmitted to the opening/release control circuit 108b forming the third set.・Release control circuit 108c
Of the opening/release control circuits 108a and 108b forming the first and second sets, the opening/release control circuits 108a and 108b are added to the control circuit corresponding to the first passage. The open signal or the release signal from the control circuit is applied to the control circuits corresponding to the second and third paths among the third set of open/release control circuits 108c. Each opening/release control circuit 108c forming the third set
determines the presence or absence of an open signal or its release signal for each passage, and inputs the determined signals to open/release determination circuits 100a, 100b, and 100c, respectively.

Here, each set of open/release control circuits 108
More specific configuration of a, 108b, 108c,
In particular, the configuration of the third set of control circuits 108c will be explained with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, the open signal input from the receiving circuit is applied to the flip-flop
Added to FF reset terminal and OR circuit _O3 ,
Further, the release signal inputted from the receiving circuit is applied to the set terminal of the flip-flop FF and the OR circuit _O4 . Solution signals A and B from control circuits corresponding to the same path among the opening/release control circuits 108a and 108b forming the first set and the second set are also applied to the OR circuit _O3 . These open signals are OR circuits.
The open/release discrimination circuit 100a, 1 via _O3
It is designed to be input to one of 00b and 100c. The output of the flip-flop FF is applied to one of the transmitting circuits 35a. The Q output of the flip-flop FF is applied to an AND circuit _a2 . Also applied to the AND circuit _a2 are the Q output signals C and D of the flip-flops in the control circuits corresponding to the same path in the other set of open/release control circuits. The OR circuit _O4 is also configured to receive release signals E and F from control circuits corresponding to the same path among the other sets of open/release control circuits. The output of the AND circuit a ₂ and the output of the OR circuit O ₄ are both input to the AND circuit a ₃ , and only when the outputs of the AND circuit a ₂ and the OR circuit O ₄ are both "H", is a release signal sent from the AND circuit a ₃ . is output and added to the open/release discrimination circuit via the OR circuit _O5 . The release signal is also generated by a signal from the master transmitter, and is applied to the open/release discrimination circuit via the OR circuit _O5 .

Therefore, the opening/release control circuit 108 shown in FIG.
The operation will be explained assuming that c corresponds to the first path. If the third transmitter c of the three transmitters a, b, and c outputs an open signal for the first passage, the transmitter circuit 37c outputs an open signal for the first passage, At the same time, the flip-flop FF shown in FIG. 5 is reset, and the open _/ release determination circuit 100a shown in FIG.
An open signal is input to. This open/release discrimination circuit 1
The open signal applied to 00a is also output when the open signals A and B of the first path are input to the OR circuit _O3 from the other set of open/release control circuits 108a and 108b. Also, flip-flop
By resetting the FF, its output becomes "H", which is input to one of the transmitting circuits 35a. In this case, the signal input to the transmitting circuit 35a corresponds to "3-1" in FIG. 4, which means that the first path is selected by the third transmitting device, and For example, the central lamp 31 below the first selection switch 25 in the first transmitting device a and the second transmitting device b lights up,
First selection switch 2 in third transmitter c
The lamp 31 at the left end under 5 lights up, and it is understood that the first passage has been selected by the third transmitting device c. Next, when the third transmitting device c outputs a signal to release the path open signal, a release signal is sent to the set terminal of the flip-flop FF and the OR circuit _O4 in FIG. 5 via the receiving circuit 37c. is added, and a release signal is further added to AND circuit _a3 via OR circuit _O4 . The flip-flop FF is inverted by inputting the above set signal and becomes Q.
The output becomes "H" and the output becomes "L". Therefore,
The output to the transmitting circuit becomes "L", the lamps 31 in each of the transmitting devices a, b, and c described above are turned off, and one input signal of the AND circuit _a2 becomes "H". At this time, if the opening signal for the first path is not output from the other transmitting devices a and b, the first path corresponding to the first and second transmitting devices,
Second set of open/release control circuits 108a, 108b
Since the signals C and D from the flip-flop of the control circuit corresponding to the first path are both at the "H" level, the output of the AND circuit _a2 becomes "H" and the release signal is sent through the OR circuit _O5 . The signal is output, and the open signal for the first passage is released. However, if the open signal for the first path continues to be output by one of the other transmitters a and b, one of the signals C and D becomes "L". Therefore, even if the third transmitting device c
Even if the release signal for the th path is sent, the output of the AND circuit _a2 is "L", and the release signal is not output from the AND circuit _a3 . That is, by using an open/release control circuit having a circuit configuration as shown in FIG. The open signal for the passage cannot be canceled by the above-mentioned method, and the release signal cannot be issued unless the transmitter that issued the open signal is used. To provide a highly safe multi-aisle movable shelving device that prevents other operators from transmitting and narrowing the passage by using other transmitting devices when entering the room to perform work. can do. However, if one transmitter fails, the path created by that transmitter cannot be released. In such a case, the master transmitter outputs a release signal.
This release signal is transmitted by the transmitting circuit 37 and then outputted as a release signal from the OR circuit _O5 in FIG. 5, thereby making it possible to release the path that has been formed. In other words, the master release signal system in FIG. 5 constitutes a circuit that avoids a state in which the release signal cannot be transmitted. Providing such a circuit is effective, for example, when all pre-formed passages are released and all the shelves are to be brought together at once.

In FIG. 4, each transmitting circuit 37a, 37b,
37c receives a switching signal for remote operation or manual direct operation, and sends the signal to the remote/manual switching circuit 104, and the remote/manual switching circuit 104
When a signal indicating remote operation is input, the open/release discrimination circuits 100a, 100b, 100c are effectively operated, and on the other hand, when a signal indicating manual operation is input, the above discrimination circuits 100a, 100b, 10 are activated.
After stopping the operation of 0c, each transmitting device a, b, c
remote control has become impossible. Each open/release discrimination circuit 100a, 100b, 1
00c is provided corresponding to the first, second, and third passages, respectively, and when a passage open signal is input, it outputs an open signal of the corresponding passage at "H" level,
When the release signal for that passage is input, the output of the open signal is stopped.

In FIG. 4, the reference numeral 101 denotes the light emitter and light receiver 5A, 5B, 6A, 6 explained with reference to FIG.
103 is a counter that adds and subtracts based on the signal from the photodetector to count people or forklifts in the passage, and 102 is a digital display unit that displays the counted value of the counter. The operation signal outputted by the output of the counter 103 and the input of the command to open any passageway is applied to the AND circuit _a1 , and if even one person or forklift enters any passageway, the operation signal is applied to the AND circuit a1. If it is, even if an operating signal is input, the output of the AND circuit _a1 becomes "H", and a lock signal is outputted via the OR circuit _O2 and the relay circuit 106. Each open/release discrimination circuit 1
The open signals corresponding to the first, second, and third paths output from 00a, 100b, and 100c are applied to the NOR circuit _O1 , and are also applied to the relay circuit 1 separately.
07a, 107b, 107c through the first, second,
It is designed to be output as an open signal for the third passage. The Noah circuit O ₁ is also configured to receive an "L" signal from the remote/manual switching circuit 104 when the remote control mode is selected. If no opening order has been issued by
The output of the NOR circuit O ₁ becomes "H", and the OR circuit O ₂ ,
A lock signal is outputted via the relay circuit 106. The relay circuit 107a,
Each open signal outputted from 107b and 107c is introduced into the circuit board 22 of each shelf, and a passage is formed at a position corresponding to each signal. Discrimination circuits 100a, 100b, 100
c, remote/manual switching circuit 104, light detection circuit 10
1. Counter 103, gate circuit a ₁ , O ₁ , O ₂ ,
Each relay circuit 106, 107a, 107b, 10
The circuit portion including 7c has the same configuration as the circuit as disclosed in FIG. A circuit can be used.

FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the transmitting circuit 35 included in the general circuit board 23 described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, the path open signal determined by the signal discrimination circuit for each transmitting device a, b, c and for each path is transmitted via the input circuit 110 to the signal from each transmitting device a, b, c. Transmitter 11
1a, 111b, 111c, and each transmitter 111a, 111b, 111
From c, which transmitter sent the output?
Then, signals that are differentiated by frequency or pulse width depending on which path signal they are are output on a carrier wave. As described above, this signal is received by the receiver 39 provided in each of the transmitting devices a, b, and c, and the path formation status is displayed by lighting the lamp 31. The specific configuration of each input circuit 110 is as shown in FIG.

As is clear from the above explanation, according to the above embodiment, one path per transmitting device can be formed at an arbitrary position, and a course can be formed at a plurality of positions by using a plurality of transmitting devices. Can be done.
Therefore, for example, by installing one transmitting device on each of a plurality of forklifts, passages can be formed at arbitrary positions on each forklift, and goods can be efficiently loaded and unloaded. can. Each transmitter has a lamp 3.
1 is lit, and depending on the lighting position, it is possible to determine where the passage is formed, and whether the passage is formed by that transmitting device or by another transmitting device. By not outputting a signal to release the passage formed by another transmitting device, it is possible to determine whether the passage formed by another transmitting device is Safety of workers is ensured. Furthermore, in addition to displaying the passage formation status as described above, the passage release signal formed by one transmitter can only be output by that transmitter, and is not transmitted to other transmitters. Therefore, even if one enters the passage formed by one transmitting device, the passage is prevented from being suddenly narrowed by another transmitting device, making it even safer. gender is ensured.

In the embodiments described above, one movable shelf system as a whole can be arbitrarily operated by a plurality of transmitting devices, in other words, any transmitting device can be configured for one passage. However, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, a fixed shelf 1A is provided in the center of a large number of shelf rows to divide the movable shelving system into two blocks, so that the working path between one block and the other block can be separated. Each block may be generated by a dedicated transmitting device. In that case, the transmitter may be provided with selection switches 32, 32 for A block and B block, as shown in FIG. 9, so that either block can be selected for use. Note that the number of blocks to be divided into is arbitrary, and as a means for dividing the block into blocks, a stopper may be provided on the floor or a guide rail instead of providing a fixed shelf.

According to the present invention, it is possible to form a passage at a different position for each transmitting device by using a plurality of transmitting devices, and each transmitting device has information on how the passage is formed. Since it is known whether or not a passage has been formed, the safety of the multi-aisle movable shelf apparatus can be ensured by not releasing passages formed by other transmitting devices. Further, since the passage formed by one transmitting device can only be released by that transmitting device and cannot be released by other transmitting devices, a movable shelf device with even higher safety is provided. be able to. In addition, we have provided a circuit that uses a signal from the master transmitter to avoid a situation in which it is impossible to transmit a release signal, so for example, if a path is formed using one transmitter, then that transmitter breaks down and the path is canceled. If this is not possible, the master transmitter can be used to clear the path. In addition, if you want to release all of the pre-formed aisles and focus all the shelves, you can send a release signal for all the aisles using the signal from the master transmitter. The shelf focusing operation can be performed quickly.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a side view showing an example of the external appearance of the device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an external front view showing an example of a transmitting device used in the device of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is an example of an electric circuit used in the device of the present invention. 4 is a block diagram showing the signal discrimination circuit part in the same electric circuit in more detail, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a specific configuration of the release control circuit, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the transmitting circuit portion in FIG. 4 in more detail, and FIG. 7 is a specific configuration example of the input circuit portion in FIG. FIG. 8 is a side view showing another example of the external appearance of the device of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is an external front view showing another example of the transmitting device used in the device of the present invention. a, b, c...transmission device, d...master transmitter, 23...discrimination circuit, 25...aisle selection switch, 27...cancellation switch, 31...aisle display lamp, 36...signal discrimination circuit, 37... Receiving circuit, 100a, 100b, 100c... Open/release discrimination circuit, 108a, 108b, 108c...
Open/release control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Multiple shelves are arranged in a movable manner so that a working passage can be formed between the shelves by inputting an open signal, and this working passage can be formed in multiple locations. In a movable shelf device, a plurality of transmitting devices capable of emitting an open signal and a release signal of the open signal for forming one passage between arbitrary shelves, and a plurality of transmitting devices provided corresponding to each transmitting device. The system determines whether the signal from each transmitter is an open signal or a release signal, and also determines whether the signal from each transmitter is an open signal or a release signal, and also determines whether the signal from each transmitter is an open signal or a release signal. - A movable shelf device comprising a release discriminating section, and the open/release discriminating section includes a circuit that avoids a state in which a release transmission cannot be transmitted by a signal from a master transmitter.