JPH0535534U - Automated guided vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To move an automated guided vehicle in a desired direction regardless of the direction of the steered wheels. A drive wheel frame 31 rotatably supporting a drive wheel 30 is rotatably supported by a base plate 33 in a horizontal direction. The lower end of the screw shaft 51 is inserted into the lower block 52 connected to the upper surface of the base plate 33. The upper end of the screw shaft 51 penetrates through the through hole 54 of the upper block 53 connected to the vehicle body 20 in a slidable manner, and is screwed into the jack-up nut 55. By rotating the nut 55, the screw shaft 51 rises, and the drive wheel 30 floats from the floor surface 10.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an automated guided vehicle for carrying loads in a warehouse, for example.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an unmanned guided vehicle, there is a vehicle in which driving wheels provided on a vehicle body are rotationally driven by a traveling motor to travel on the floor of a warehouse while the driven wheels rotate. The drive wheel also functions as a steering wheel, and is rotated horizontally by a steering motor to change its direction and determine the traveling direction of the automated guided vehicle. In such an automated guided vehicle, the steering motor changes the direction of the driving wheels to determine the traveling direction, and the traveling motor rotates the driving wheels to travel on the floor of the warehouse.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In the above-mentioned conventional automated guided vehicle, if the drive wheels cannot rotate in the horizontal direction due to a failure of the steering motor or the like, even if the drive wheels are moved for repair, only in the direction in which the drive wheels are facing. There is a problem that it cannot be moved. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic guided vehicle that can move the steered wheels in a desired direction regardless of the direction of the steered wheels even when the steered wheels cannot be changed in direction.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The automated guided vehicle according to the present invention travels on the traveling surface by the rotation of the steered wheels and the driven wheels provided on the vehicle body, and the steered wheel can be lifted without contacting the traveling surface. It has a feature.

[0005]

【Example】

 The present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated embodiments. 3 and 4 show an automated guided vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The automated guided vehicle travels along the guideline 11 laid on the floor of the warehouse by rotating the drive wheel 30 and changing its direction. The vehicle body 20 of this automated guided vehicle is provided with two drive wheels 30, one on each of the front and rear sides, and four driven wheels 21, one on each of the inner sides of the four corners. Each driven wheel 21 is composed of a free wheel such as a well-known caster, and is allowed to rotate in the traveling direction and the horizontal direction of the automatic guided vehicle. These driven wheels 21 turn in the same direction as the drive wheels 30 so as to be pulled by the drive wheels 30 when the drive wheels 30 rotate, and rotate at the same speed as the drive wheels 30.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the drive wheel 30 of the automatic guided vehicle is rotatably supported by the drive wheel frame 31 and has its rotation shaft connected to the rotation shaft of the traveling motor 32. It is driven to rotate. The drive wheel frame 31 is rotatably supported by a base plate 33 in a horizontal direction, and is rotationally driven by a steering motor 36 via a chain 35 wound around a driven sprocket 34. A pair of sensors 37 capable of detecting the guideline 11 laid on the floor surface 10 of the warehouse is provided below the traveling motor 32 in the drive wheel frame 31.

The traveling motor 32 is fixed to a side portion of the drive wheel frame 31. The driven sprocket 34 is integrally provided on the upper end portion of the drive wheel frame 31. The chain 35 is wound between the driven sprocket 34 and the drive sprocket 38 fixed to the rotating shaft of the steering motor 36. The steering motor 36 is fixed to the lower surface of the base plate 33 via a bracket 39 with the rotating shaft facing upward. The steering motor 36 is operated based on a signal from the sensor 37, and changes the direction of the drive wheel 30 to the direction along the guideline 11. That is, the rotation of the steering motor 36 is transmitted to the drive wheel frame 31 via the drive sprocket 38, the chain 35, and the driven sprocket 34, and the drive wheel frame 31 is horizontally rotated to drive the drive wheels. The direction of 30 can be changed.

The base plate 33 supporting the drive wheel frame 31 is supported at the left end in FIG. 2 so as to be swingable in the direction of arrow C around the pin 40 on the vehicle body 20 of the automatic guided vehicle. 2. The right end of the middle part is supported by a jack-up mechanism 50, which will be described later, on the upper part of the vehicle body 20 so as to be vertically movable. The upper end of the suspension device 41 is swingably connected to the lower end of the lower surface of the base plate 33 in FIG. 2 about the pin 42. The lower end of the suspension device 41 is swingably connected to the lower end of the vehicle body 20 of the automatic guided vehicle about the pin 43. The suspension device 41 regulates the movement of the base plate 33 that swings in the direction of arrow C as the drive wheel 30 moves up and down while providing a cushioning action.

In the jack-up mechanism 50 that supports the base plate 33, the lower end of the screw shaft 51 is fitted into the lower block 52, and the upper end of the screw shaft 51 provided with a male screw is connected to the upper block 53. The through hole 54 formed is slidably penetrated and screwed into the jack-up nut 55. The lower block 52 is supported by a bracket 56 fixed to the upper surface of the base plate 33 via a pin 57 so as to be swingable in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. The upper block 53 is supported by a bracket 58 projecting downward from the vehicle body 20 through a pin 59 so as to be swingable in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. The screw shaft 51 can arbitrarily change its relative position to the upper block 53, that is, the relative position to the vehicle body 20 by changing the degree of tightening of the jack-up nut 55. That is, when the jack-up nut 55 is fully tightened, the screw shaft 51 is moved to the upper limit position A by the screw action generated between the screw shaft 51 and the jack-up nut 55, whereby the base plate 33 moves the drive wheel 30. Is swung upward around the pin 40 (FIG. 2) to a position where it does not touch the floor surface 10. When the jack-up nut 55 is loosened, the screw shaft 51 is moved to the lower limit position B by the screw action, so that the base plate 33 centers the pin 40 to the position where the drive wheel 30 is in contact with the floor surface 10. Is swung downwards.

A towing shackle mounting seat 22 is fixed to the upper portion of the vehicle body 20.

The operation of this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the automatic guided vehicle is configured such that the two driving wheels 30 are always directed along the guide line 11 by the steering motor 36 that operates based on the signal from the sensor 37. While controlling so that the driving motor 32 rotates each drive wheel 30 in the same direction, the vehicle moves forward and backward and turns. In the same way, spin turn, skew, and traverse are performed.

When it becomes impossible to change the direction of the drive wheels 30 due to a failure of the steering motor 36, the operator fully tightens the jack-up nut 55. Then, the screw shaft 51 is moved to the upper limit position A due to the screwing operation that is performed between the screw shaft 51 and the jackup nut 55, whereby the base plate 33 is swung upward around the pin 40 and the drive wheel 30 is moved. The floor 10 is not grounded. In this state, the operator connects the towing shackle to the towing shackle mounting seat 22 and pulls the automatic guided vehicle to a position outside the guideline 11 for repair.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, even when it becomes impossible to change the direction of the drive wheel 30 due to a failure or the like, by fully tightening the jack-up nut 55, the drive wheel 30 can be tightened. Can be brought into a state in which the floor surface 10 is not grounded, whereby the automatic guided vehicle can be moved in a desired direction regardless of the direction of the drive wheels 30.

Although the drive wheels 30 are configured as steered wheels in the above embodiment, the drive wheels and the steered wheels may be provided separately.

[0015]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, even if the direction of the steered wheels cannot be changed due to a failure or the like, the unmanned vehicle can be moved in a desired direction regardless of the direction of the steered wheels.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing driving wheels of an automated guided vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of drive wheels of the automated guided vehicle of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state of the automated guided vehicle of FIG. 1 when moving forward and backward.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state when the automatic guided vehicle of FIG. 1 is turning.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 floor surface (running surface) 20 vehicle body 21 driven wheel 30 driving wheel (steering wheel)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An automatic guided vehicle that travels on a traveling surface by turning a steering wheel and a driven wheel provided on a vehicle body,
An automated guided vehicle, characterized in that the steered wheels can be raised so as not to contact the traveling surface.