JPH0449629B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to a multi-story parking system, particularly a car storage rack for storing cars on a pallet, and a car storage rack for transporting the cars. The present invention relates to a method for loading and unloading automobiles in a multilevel parking system equipped with a movable stacker crane, and a device therefor.

Prior Art The applicant previously provided a car storage rack with a plurality of car storage spaces arranged in layers, and a stacker crane that was movable along the car storage rack. The pallets loaded on top are transported by a stacker crane to a predetermined car storage space, and within each car storage space, the pallets are placed on shelves protruding from the pillars or side walls that constitute the car storage rack. The present invention has proposed a multi-story parking system that enables the storage of cars, and also disclosed a method for loading and unloading cars in such a multi-story parking system. In other words, an empty pallet pool is set up outside the car storage rack, and the empty pallets are pooled there after the cars have been taken out.One of the pooled pallets is always kept in a separate pallet mounting area, and the pallet is stored at that location. The purpose was to attach pallets to a crane.

However, although this method has the advantage of reducing waiting time because there is no unnecessary movement of the stacker crane when carrying a car into or out of the car storage rack, it also has the advantage of reducing waiting time. Each empty pallet weighs 500 to 600 kg, and the number of empty pallets required is the same as the number of cars that can be accommodated, so a very large pool is required, and a crane is placed on standby to carry the empty pallets. There were practical difficulties such as the need for separate transport equipment for transporting the device from the location to the pool location and the mounting location.

Purpose of the Invention Therefore, the purpose of the invention of this application is to always have empty pallets mounted on the stacker crane in the standby position, while storing other empty pallets in each car storage space, and to By ensuring that the empty space corresponding to the empty pallet on the stacker crane is always located closest to the standby position, wasted movement of the stacker crane when loading and unloading cars is minimized, reducing waiting time. To provide a method for loading and unloading automobiles in a multi-story parking system that does not require a large-scale pool area or transportation equipment for empty pallets, even though the volume of pallets does not become excessive, and a device for carrying out the method. There is a particular thing.

Structure of the Invention The structure of the first invention according to this application to achieve the above object includes a car storage rack for storing cars loaded on a pallet, and a car storage rack that runs along the rack and moves to any car storage space. In a multilevel parking system equipped with an accessible stacker crane, an empty pallet is always mounted on the stacker crane in the waiting area, and
All car storage spaces, except for one empty space, are made into pallet spaces that store empty pallets.When transporting a car, after loading the car into the empty space, empty pallets are stored from the pallet space closest to the waiting position. The pallet is carried out and placed on the stacker crane and returned to the standby position in preparation for the next car loading.When carrying out the car, the empty pallet on the stacker crane is loaded into the empty space, and then the car to be unloaded is placed on the stacker crane. By controlling the stacker crane so that the car is taken out of the storage space and returned to the standby position, an empty space can always be secured at the location closest to the standby position after each loading process is completed. Therefore, the main point is to minimize the unnecessary movement of the stacker crane.

Furthermore, the structure of the second invention according to this application is such that the multi-level parking apparatus includes an empty space location specifying means that operates in response to both a carry-in command and a carry-out command; A first control means for carrying a car into the space, a pallet space location specifying means for specifying the pallet space closest to the standby position, and an empty pallet is carried out from the specified pallet space and returned to the standby position. a second control means for carrying an empty pallet into an empty space, which operates in response to an unloading command; and a car storage space location specifying means for specifying a storage location for a car to be taken out. The gist of the invention is that the method of the first invention can be carried out by providing a fourth control means for carrying out the car from the specified car storage space and returning it to the standby position.

Example Examples will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The system is a microcomputer device including an empty space location identifying means 11, a pallet space location identifying means 12, a car storage space location identifying means 13, and a control means 14 that receives signals from these and generates a predetermined control signal. 10, and a stacker crane 20 with a control device 21 controlled by this microcomputer device 10 (FIG. 1).

On the other hand, the multi-story parking system is composed of a car storage rack 30 formed by arranging a plurality of car storage spaces 31, 31, etc. in a layered manner, and the stacker crane 20 that can run and move horizontally along the car storage rack 30 (fifth
figure). Each car storage space 31 is provided with shelf boards 32, 32 protruding from the pillars or side walls of the car storage rack 30, on which a pallet P loaded with cars C can be placed. . The car storage space 31 is in a state where the car C is loaded and stored on a pallet P (Fig. 7A),
A state in which only the pallet P is stored (B in the same figure, the car storage space in this state is hereinafter referred to as pallet space), a state in which neither the pallet P nor the car C is stored (C in the same figure, this is called an empty space). ) can take on each state.

The stacker crane 20 is equipped with a fork device 23 that can be raised and lowered on a pillar 22 whose upper and lower ends are guided by guide rails 24, 24.
), this fork device 23 allows the entire stacker crane 20 to run horizontally, and the fork device 23
By vertically raising and lowering and horizontally expanding and contracting, the vehicle can access any vehicle storage space 31 in the vehicle storage rack 30, regardless of whether or not a vehicle C is loaded.
It is assumed that the pallet P can be carried in and out. These stacker cranes 20 are operated by driving a traveling motor m ₁ , a lifting motor m ₂ , and a telescopic motor m ₃ , and these motors m ₁ , m ₂ , and m ₃ are controlled. In order to do this, the control device 21 is provided (FIG. 1).

Each vehicle storage space 31 in the vehicle storage rack 30 is numbered starting from 0 in the row direction (arrow x direction in FIG. 6) and column direction (arrow y direction in the same figure). The fourth position in the direction and the third position in the column direction are labeled (3, 2), and will now be referred to as the position (3, 2) of the car storage space 31. On the other hand, the stacker crane 20 has a standby position HP outside the car storage rack 30 on the side near the position (0, 0). ) If the fork device 23 equipped with
The vehicle C can be easily loaded onto the pallet P by getting onto the empty pallet P and parking the vehicle.

The microcomputer device 10 consists of an arithmetic control unit (CPU) 15, an input/output control device (I/O) 16, and a storage device (memory) 17 (second
The inside of the memory 17 is divided into a program storage section (not shown), an empty space memory 17a, a pallet space table 17b, and a car accommodation space table 17c.

Here, the empty space memory 17a stores the position number of the above-mentioned empty space (C in FIG. 7) in which neither the pallet P nor the car C is stored in the car storage space 31, and the position number of the above-mentioned row direction and column direction. This is a memory area that stores coordinates (M, N) that indicate . In addition, the pallet space table 17b is
This is a memory area that stores the position of the aforementioned pallet space (Fig. 7B) using the aforementioned coordinates in a table format. This is a memory area in which the location of A) and the identification code of the vehicle C stored there are stored in pairs in a table format.

Now, the number of car storage spaces 31, 31... provided in the car storage rack 30 is m rows x n.
When the number of columns is m×n, the number of palettes P is also m×
One of them is mounted on the stacker crane 20 at the standby position HP, and the car storage rack 30 has (m x n-1) pallet spaces and one empty space. Space shall be prepared. The initial position of this empty space is preferably (0, 0).

When considering the case of carrying in the car C, first, the car C to be carried in is parked on an empty pallet P attached to the stacker crane 20 at the standby position HP. Thereafter, when the driver of the vehicle C or the system operator issues a carry-in command E by operating an operation switch (not shown), this signal is transmitted to the microcomputer device 10.
(Figure 2), and the third
The import program shown in the figure is started. At this time, manual operation by the driver or operator, or
It is assumed that the system determines an identification code unique to the vehicle C to be imported via a vehicle number reading device (not shown) or the like.

When the loading program is started (step ES1 in the flowchart of Fig. 3, hereinafter simply referred to as (ES1)), the contents of the empty space memory 17a are read out, and the result (M, N) is set to the current empty space. Identify where a space exists (ES2). If the initial position of the empty space is (0, 0), the contents of the empty space memory 17a are also (0, 0).
0), and the first read result (M, N) here is also (0, 0). In this way, step ES2 serves as empty space location specifying means 11 that operates in response to carry-in command E (FIG. 1).

Next, the stacker crane 20 horizontally travels along the automatic person storage rack 30 and is positioned and stopped at the position of row M, while the fork device 23 is vertically raised and positioned and stopped at the position of column N (ES3, hereinafter referred to as ES3). , this operation can be easily performed using the Statzka Crane 20.
is moved to (M, N)). Since (M, N) is an empty space, if the fork device 23 is extended horizontally and the pallet P is placed on the shelf boards 32, 32, the car C on the pallet P can be moved to the empty space (M, N). (ES4) That is, steps ES3 and ES4 are empty space location identification means 1.
Move the stacker crane 20 to the empty space (M, N) specified by 1 and move the car C there.
(FIG. 1).

This first control means sends a signal to the control device 21 of the stacker crane 20 via the I/O 16 of the microcomputer device 10 to control the travel motor.
The above functions are realized by driving and controlling the motor m ₁ , the lifting motor m ₂ , and the telescoping motor m ₃ (FIGS. 1 and 2). Here, when the initial empty space position is (0, 0), the first car C brought in will be stored at (0, 0).

With the above, the empty space (M, N) is the palette P
Since the car C loaded on the table is now stored, the contents of the empty space memory 17a are erased, and the car storage space table 17 is erased.
The identification code and position (M, N) of the brought-in automobile C are stored as a pair in C, and the memory is updated (ES5).

If the unloading command ) (ES7). Here, "closest" does not mean closest in terms of distance, but rather
Rather, it means closest in time, and considering the horizontal traveling speed of the stacker crane 20 and the vertical lifting speed of the fork device 23, the stacker crane 20 will be able to match the location (P, Q) and the standby position HP. The time required to move between the two is determined to be the shortest. When a plurality of locations (P, Q) are found, other factors such as the location closest to the ground surface and the location with the shortest horizontal distance from the standby position HP shall be added to determine the locations (P, Q). Step ES7 corresponds to the pallet space location specifying means 12 (FIG. 1).

If (P, Q) can be identified (ES8), pallet P can be taken out from there to create an empty space, so there is room to store more car C, so it is called an "empty car".
is not displayed (ES9), the stacker crane 20 is moved to (P, Q) (ES10), the pallet P is carried out from there (ES11), and the pallet space table 17b and empty space memory 17a are updated ( ES12) and returns the stacker crane 20 to the standby position HP (ES13). On top of the Stadka crane 20, which has returned to the standby position HP,
The empty pallet P carried out in step ES11 is attached. Thus, steps ES10, ES11,
The ES13 moves the stacker crane 20 to the pallet space (P, Q) specified by the pallet space location specifying means 12, carries out the empty pallet P from there, and then returns it to the standby position. It corresponds to the second control means 14b (first
figure). When the above operations are repeated and m x n cars C are brought in, there is no more pallet space to create a new empty space, and finally (P, Q) cannot be specified at step ES8. . At this time, there is no room for any more cars C to be brought in, so a "full" display is displayed (ES14) and the stacker crane 20 is returned to the standby position HP without loading any pallets P (ES13). .

One or more cars C in the car storage rack 30
is stored, when an unloading command X to unload a specific item is issued, the unloading program starts (XS1 in Fig. 4). Normally, the stacker crane 20 is loaded with empty pallets P and is at the standby position HP (XS2), so first, the empty space memory 17a is read and the current empty space position (M, N) is specified. (XS3). This step XS3 shares the above-mentioned empty space location identifying means 11 (FIG. 1).

Next, the stacker crane 20 is moved to (M, N) (XS4), and the empty pallet P on the stacker crane 20 is carried there (XS5).

The empty space memory 17a and the pallet space table 17b are updated (XS6), the car storage space table 17c is searched, and the position (P, Q) Find and identify (XS7). Move the stacker crane 20 to this (P, Q) (XS8), take out the target car C stored with the pallet P from there (XS9), and remove the car storage space table 17c and empty space memory 17a. Update (XS10). This is because the car storage space 31 at (P, Q) after the car C is taken out becomes an empty space.

Since there is an empty space, do not display the "empty vehicle" (XS11), return the stacker crane 20 to the standby position HP (XS12), and then start the car C from above the stacker crane 20 to remove the car C. is completed. It should be noted that the display of "empty vehicle" does not cause any change in status even if it is displayed overlapping an already displayed state, and there is no problem.

In this carry-out program, as described above, step XS3 corresponds to the empty space location specifying means 11 (FIG. 1), and steps XS4 and , N), and the third control means 14c moves the stacker crane 20 to transport the empty pallet P thereto. Steps XS8, XS9,
XS12 is a vehicle accommodation space location identification means 13
The fourth control means 14 moves the stacker crane 20 to the position (P, Q) specified by
d, respectively.

On the other hand, in the loading program (Figure 3), when the car C to be loaded is stored in the empty space (M, N) (ES4) and each memory is updated (ES5), the loading command X is issued. (ES6), without performing a series of operations (ES7 to ES13) to return the stacker crane 20 to the standby position HP.
Start the export program (ES14). The export program started in response to this (see Figure 14).
XS13) immediately move the stacker crane 20 to the location (P,
Q) and carry out the operation to carry out the target car C (XS7 to XS12).

In the above operation, the carry-in command E and the carry-out command X are
Regardless of the order in which they are issued, it can basically be dealt with by repeating exactly the same actions.

Empty space location specifying means 11, pallet space location specifying means 12, car storage space location specifying means 13, and first to fourth control means 14
As explained above, the control means 14 (FIG. 1) that collectively includes the components a, 14b, 14c, and 14d is realized by a program in the microcomputer device 10, and the control means 14 (FIG. It is not stored in the program storage section and the CPU
It is read out and executed at any time in accordance with the instructions No. 15 (FIG. 2).

Furthermore, it is extremely easy to add to the present invention, for example, a function of storing the loading and unloading times of each vehicle that has been loaded and stored, and calculating and printing out parking fees based on these.

In this embodiment, the orientation of the automobile C stored in the automobile storage rack 30 is perpendicular to the horizontal traveling direction of the stacker crane 20 (FIG. 1), but it may be oriented parallel to the traveling direction. It shall also be possible to do so.

In addition to this embodiment in which one building is provided only on one side of the first stage stacker crane 20, the automobile storage rack 30 is also provided with two buildings, one building on each side. Modifications such as installing two buildings on each side, two buildings in total, along the travel path of the stacker crane 20, or two buildings on only one side, are allowed. When such multiple buildings are provided, the numbering of the car storage spaces 31, 31, . . . in the car storage rack 30 in FIG. A completely similar system can be constructed by In addition, if two buildings are provided on at least one side of the stacker crane 20, the standby position
By setting the HP between the two buildings, the operating distance of the stacker crane 20 during loading and unloading of automobiles can be shortened, which is more advantageous than setting the HP at the ends of the two buildings.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the first invention of this application, an empty pallet is always mounted on the stacker crane in the standby area, and all other empty pallets are stored in the pallet space. When transporting the car, after loading the car into the one empty space left, we carried out the empty pallet from the pallet space closest to the waiting area and mounted it on the stacker crane. On the other hand, when unloading a car, the empty pallet on the stacker crane is carried into the empty space, and then the specified car is unloaded and transported to the standby position, at least once. As a result of the loading process, the empty space can be secured at the location closest to the standby position, so there is no need for a large-scale empty pallet pool or empty pallet transport equipment, and the unnecessary movement of the stacker crane is minimized. This has an extremely excellent practical effect in that the waiting time for loading and unloading does not become excessive due to the limited time limit.

Furthermore, according to the second invention of this application, there is an effect that the first invention can be effectively implemented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 7 show an embodiment, FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the overall system, FIG. 2 is an overall system diagram, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the loading program, FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the loading program, Figure 5 is a side view of the multi-story parking system, Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of the car storage rack, and Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram of the state of the car storage space, where A is in the car storage state and Figure B is in the empty pallet storage state. Condition C in the figure shows an empty condition. 11...Empty space location specifying means, 12...Pallet space location specifying means, 13...Car storage space location specifying means, 14a...First control means, 14b...Second control means, 14c... Third control means, 14d...Fourth control means, 20
...Statska crane, 23...Fork device,
30... Car storage rack, 31... Car storage space, 32... Shelf board, C... Car, P...
Pallet, HP...Standby position, E...Carry-in command,
X...Export command.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A vehicle storage rack comprising a plurality of vehicle storage spaces arranged in layers, and a stacker crane that is movable along the vehicle storage rack,
A pallet for loading automobiles is removably attached to a fork device mounted on the stacker crane that can be raised and lowered, and the stacker crane can move to any of the automobile storage spaces regardless of whether or not there are automobiles loaded on the pallet. accessing and carrying the pallet onto a shelf protruding into the vehicle storage space;
Alternatively, in a multi-story parking device in which a car can be carried in and out by carrying out the pallet on the shelf board, an empty pallet is mounted on the stacker crane in a standby position, and Empty pallets are stored in advance in all of the car storage spaces except for the one empty space closest to the standby position to serve as pallet spaces, and when a car is brought in, it is carried onto the empty pallet on the stacker crane. After loading the vehicle to be loaded, move to the empty space and carry the vehicle into the empty space, and then,
The pallet is moved to the pallet space closest to the standby position, the empty pallet is carried out from the pallet space, and the empty pallet is returned to the standby position.On the other hand, when carrying out the automobile, the car is moved to the empty space and the empty pallet is loaded into the empty space. The stacker crane carries in an empty pallet, then moves to a car storage space in which a car to be unloaded is stored, carries out the car from the car storage space, and returns it to the standby position. A method for loading and unloading automobiles in a multilevel parking system characterized by controlling a crane. 2. In the car loading process, if an unloading command is given at the time the car is loaded into an empty space, the car immediately moves to the car unloading process, in which the car is moved to a car storage space where the car to be unloaded is stored. A method for loading and unloading automobiles in a multi-story parking system according to claim 1, characterized in that the vehicle loading and unloading method is as follows. 3. Equipped with a car storage rack formed by arranging a plurality of car storage spaces in layers, and a stacker crane that can run and move along the car storage rack,
A pallet for loading automobiles is removably attached to a fork device mounted on the stacker crane that can be raised and lowered, and the stacker crane can move to any of the automobile storage spaces regardless of whether or not there are automobiles loaded on the pallet. accessing and carrying the pallet onto a shelf protruding into the vehicle storage space;
Alternatively, a car loading/unloading control device for a multi-story parking system is configured such that a car can be loaded/unloaded by carrying out the pallet on the shelf board,
Empty space location specifying means that operates in response to both the carry-in command and the carry-out command, and the stacker crane moving to the empty space specified by the empty space location specifying means that operates in response to the carry-in command. a first control means for moving a car to the vacant space; a pallet space location specifying means for finding the position of the pallet space closest to the standby position; a second control means for moving the stacker crane to the loaded pallet space to unload the empty pallet from the pallet space, and then returning to the standby position; A third step of moving the stacker crane to the empty space specified by the empty space location specifying means and transporting the empty pallet into the empty space.
a vehicle storage space location specifying device for determining the location of the vehicle storage space in which the vehicle to be transported is stored; a fourth control means for moving the vehicle to carry out the vehicle to be carried out from the vehicle storage space, and then returning to the standby position; 1. A vehicle loading/unloading control device for a multilevel parking system, characterized in that it is capable of controlling.