JPH1119599A - Optical communication device cleaning device for automatic guided vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To frequently carry out cleaning without requiring cleaning by man power by installing brushes in a manner that the brushes can be projected on the opposite to the communication face of an optical communication apparatus mounted on an automatic guided vehicle from the ground side and on the other hand the brushes projected out of the automatic guided vehicle on the opposite to the communication face of a ground side optical communication apparatus can be housed. SOLUTION: Brushes 11 which can be housed in a side face of an automatic guided vehicle 1 are installed and a motor 12 equipped with a limit switch is installed and the brushes are projected out of a side of the automatic guided vehicle 1 and to the contrary the brushes are housed in the side face of the automatic guided vehicle 1 by operation of the motor 12. While being projected out of the side face of the automatic guided vehicle 1, the brushes 11 are positioned on the opposite to the communication face of a ground side optical communication apparatus 10 and the communication face is rushed in normal running state. Consequently, the communication face of an optical communication apparatus 10 can frequency be cleaned without requiring cleaning by man power and a cleaning work is carried out with saved energy and communication error can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning device for an optical communication device for route communication related to an automatic guided vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Automated guided vehicles are used in factories and the like for unmanned transportation of products and parts, etc., and travel on a predetermined route. The optical communication device is provided at each of the predetermined location and the carrier itself. Now, when the automatic guided vehicle is in an environment with a lot of dust and the like, for example, when the transported vehicle transports the core in a foundry, the sand of the core is a signal transmission / reception surface (hereinafter referred to as a communication) of the transported vehicle and the optical communication device on the ground side. Surface), which may hinder signal transfer. In such a case, at present, the communication surface is manually wiped or blown to remove dirt from the communication surface.

[0003]

At present, the communication surface is manually cleaned, but in a place where there is extremely much sand and dust,
This work needs to be performed frequently, and if neglected, a failure such as a route communication error occurs due to dirt on the communication surface.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides an optical communication device cleaning apparatus for an automatic guided vehicle that performs cleaning frequently without manual operation.

[0005]

The present invention that achieves the above-mentioned object has the following matters specifying the invention. The brush protrudes from the ground side facing the communication surface of the optical communication device mounted on the automatic guided vehicle, while the brush protruded from the automatic guided vehicle facing the communication surface of the optical communication device on the ground side can be stored. It is characterized by having.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Here, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Since the optical communication device for route communication is installed opposite to the ground side and the automatic guided vehicle side, it is necessary to clean the optical communication device on the ground side and the optical communication device on the automatic guided vehicle side even when cleaning. There is.

FIG. 1 is a diagram relating to cleaning of an optical communication device mounted on an automatic guided vehicle. The optical communication device 2 is provided on the side of the automatic guided vehicle 1 and has a communication surface on a side surface. A brush 3 protrudes from the ground side opposite to. The brush 3 brushes the communication surface while the automatic guided vehicle 1 travels normally on the route. Therefore, the optical communication device 2 mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 1
Is cleaned each time it passes through this brush position.

FIG. 2 shows an optical communication device 1 placed on the ground side.
0 shows a brush provided on the automatic guided vehicle 1 for cleaning the communication surface of No. 0. In FIG. 2, a retractable brush 11 is provided on a side surface of the automatic guided vehicle 1. The brush 11 is retractable so as not to be obstructed during normal traveling. The brush 11 is provided with a motor 12 with a limit switch. At the side of the automatic guided vehicle 1. In this case, the brush 11
Is driven by a motor so as to rise and fall in the vertical direction of the automatic guided vehicle 1. When the brush 11 is protruded from the side surface of the automatic guided vehicle 1, the brush 11 is provided at a position facing the communication surface of the optical communication device 10 on the ground side, and brushes the communication surface during normal traveling. Has become.

FIG. 3 shows a modified example of FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the unmanned transport vehicle 1 is raised and lowered in the vertical direction.
FIG. 3 shows a configuration in which the brush 11 is raised and lowered in the front-rear direction of the side surface of the automatic guided vehicle 1. That is, when the brush 11 projects, the brush 11 is raised in the traveling direction, and when retracted, the brush 11 is tilted backward.

In the case of FIGS. 2 and 3 described above, the running brush 1
The control circuit (not shown) causes the brush 11 to wake up when an arrival signal is sent from the automatic guided vehicle 1 to the ground side without causing the unmanned carrier 1 to always protrude, and storage is performed by a timer (not shown). Note that the set time X of the timer is determined by the brush mounting device and the traveling speed, and the operation is as shown in a time chart in FIG.

[0011]

As described above, according to the present invention, the automatic guided vehicle is provided with a retractable brush which does not interfere during normal running, and the brush is also provided on the ground side. The communication surface of the optical communication device can be cleaned, and labor for cleaning work can be reduced and occurrence of a communication error can be eliminated. Further, since the brush is a retractable brush, the size of the device is rarely increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a brush installation state on the ground side.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an installation state of an automatic guided vehicle side brush.

FIG. 3 is a state diagram of a modification of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a time chart of brush protrusion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic guided vehicle 2,10 Optical communication device 3,11 Brush 12 Motor

Claims (1)

[Claims] A brush protrudes from the ground side facing the communication surface of the optical communication device mounted on the automatic guided vehicle, and protrudes from the automatic guided vehicle facing the communication surface of the optical communication device on the ground side. An optical communication device cleaning device for an automatic guided vehicle, including a brush capable of being stored.