JP2002274614A - Automated storage and retrieval system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automated storage and retrieval system equipped with a high storing efficiency by introducing such a configuration that the stop position of its fork is controllable through a simple and convenient control and the fork to perform carry-in and discharge of any object can certainly intrude into the space between the object stored at a certain spacing above and below. SOLUTION: A pair of supporting means 4 to support the two sides of the under-part of any object W are installed in an objects storage part 1 of each rack 2, and a stacker crane 3 to transport the object is equipped with an elevating and sinking member 9 to move up and down along the racks and the fork 10 to advance and retreat to/from under the object stored in the object storage part, and between the fork and the elevating and sinking member, a rock sensor is installed to sense the supporting means when the member makes elevating/ sinking operations, and also a control means 12 is installed to control the operation of the stacker crane.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse and, more particularly, to an automatic warehouse for accurately positioning a fork when carrying articles in and out of a rack.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an automatic warehouse used for storing articles has a structure shown in FIG. The automatic warehouse shown in this figure has an article storage unit 1 in which articles W are stored.
Are provided with a plurality of racks 2 formed in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction, and a stacker crane 3 for putting articles W in and out of these article storage units 1.

The rack 2 is provided with the stacker crane 3
Are provided on both sides in the traveling direction, are assembled in a frame shape using a mold steel or the like, and a pair of support means 4 are mounted on opposing portions of adjacent vertical frames, and the support means 4 The article W is stored by supporting both lower sides. The support means 4 is formed by molding a steel die into a substantially U-shape, and by fixing both ends thereof to a vertical frame, is protruded toward the article storage section 1. A pair of parallel support surfaces along the horizontal direction are formed.

On the other hand, a lower rail 5 is laid on the floor between the two racks 2 along the racks 2,
An upper rail 6 supported by the two racks 2 is provided above the lower rail 5, and the stacker crane 3 is mounted between the lower rail 5 and the upper rail 6 so as to run. ing.

[0005] The stacker crane 3 includes a traveling vehicle 7 movably mounted on the lower rail 5, a pair of parallel masts 8 erected on the traveling vehicle 7, and a A slider 9 having an upper end connected thereto and movably connected to the upper rail 6, an elevating body 9 movably mounted between the masts 8, and an article mounted on the elevating body 9, A fork 1 that is moved forward and backward toward the storage unit 1 and carries in and out the article W.
0, a driving means 11 for performing the elevating operation of the elevating body 9 via a chain (not shown) or the like, a traveling operation of the traveling carriage 7, an elevating operation of the elevating body 9, or an advancing / retracting operation of the fork 10 And control means 12 for performing such control.

As shown in FIG. 12, a bracket 13 which is opposed to the mast 8 is attached to a side portion of the elevating body 9, and the bracket 13 can be rolled on both side surfaces of the mast 8. A plurality of guide rollers 14 are mounted so as to be in contact with the elevating body 9, the fork 10, and the mast 8.
Are orthogonally controlled.

Further, between the mast 8 and the elevating body 9, as shown in FIGS.
There is provided a positioning means 15 for performing positioning between the article storage section 1 and the article storage section 1. The positioning means 15 is provided on the bracket 13 and a plate-shaped dog 16 erected at a position corresponding to each article storage unit 1 along the vertical direction on the side surface of the mast 8, and is provided on the bracket 13. 9. The optical sensor 17 superimposed on the dog 16 by the raising / lowering operation of 9
And is constituted by.

The three optical sensors 17 are provided along the vertical direction of the elevating body 9, and the interval between the detection points of each optical sensor 17 is determined by the length of the dog 16 (the length in the vertical direction). ) Is set slightly shorter.

On the other hand, in FIG. 11, reference numeral 18 denotes an unmanned forklift, and articles W are loaded and unloaded from a loading / unloading section X provided on the side of the rack 2.

In such an automatic warehouse, the articles W transported to the loading / unloading section X by the unmanned forklift 18 are used.
Is received by the stacker crane 3, the stacker crane 3 travels along the lower rail 5 and the upper rail 6, and stops at a horizontal position corresponding to the article storage unit 1 in which the article W is to be stored.

Then, the lifting mechanism 9 is driven by the driving mechanism 11.
Is lifted toward the article storage unit 1, and the lifting body 9 is lifted by the light sensor 17 positioned at the middle and the light sensor 17 positioned at the lower part of the light sensors 17. Is stopped when shielded by the dog 16.

As a result, the fork 10 is extended, the article W on the fork 10 is inserted into the article storage section 1, and both lower sides thereof are opposed to the pair of support means 4. When the fork 10 is extended to a predetermined length, the elevating body 9 is lowered, whereby the article W is placed on the pair of support means 4. The lowering operation of the elevating body 9 is stopped when the optical sensor 17 positioned above and the optical sensor 17 positioned in the middle are shielded by the dog 16, and at this time, The fork 10 moves away from the article W. Thus, the fork 1
0 is stored on the elevating body 9, and the stacker crane 3 is in a standby state. The operation at the time of unloading (exiting) the article W is performed by an operation reverse to the above-described importing (entering) operation.

[0013]

However, the conventional automatic warehouse described above has the following problems to be improved. That is, the positioning between the elevating body 9 (fork 10) and the article storage unit 1 is performed by a dog 16 provided on the mast 8 and a positioning means 15 including three optical sensors 17 provided on the elevating body 9. However, due to factors such as the assembling accuracy of the stacker crane 3, the play of the guide roller 14, the play of the guide portion of the fork 10, or the change in the weight of the article W to be mounted, the above-described method is used. There is a problem that the positional relationship between the tip position of the fork 10 and the mast 8 changes. This problem may also be caused by a variation in the installation position of the support means 4 due to a variation in the assembly accuracy of the rack 2.

When such a problem occurs,
It is assumed that the entry position of the fork 10 with respect to the article storage unit 1 varies up and down, and the tip of the fork 10 hits one of the articles W stored vertically at intervals.

On the other hand, such a problem can be avoided by enlarging the space between the articles W in the stored state in the vertical direction to increase the area where the fork 10 enters. However, the rack 2 is higher for the same number of storage units, and the storage efficiency is reduced.

Further, in order to solve such a problem, by detecting a horizontal member, a preset elevating position is compared with a learned elevating position to set a new elevating position. Support means) and carriage (elevator)
It has been proposed to correct the relative error with respect to.

However, even in such a countermeasure method, it is attempted to set a new vertical position without relative error, and the control becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and it is possible to control a stop position of a fork by a simple control, and to move a fork for carrying in / out an article up and down. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic warehouse capable of reliably entering between articles stored at an interval and improving storage efficiency.

[0019]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic warehouse, comprising: a rack in which a large number of article storage sections are formed along a horizontal direction and a vertical direction; An automatic warehouse provided with a stacker crane for taking articles in and out of these article storage sections, wherein the article storage section of the rack is provided with a pair of support means for supporting both lower side portions of the articles, A traveling carriage on which the stacker crane is horizontally moved along the rack;
An elevating body provided on the traveling trolley and moved up and down along the rack; and a fork provided on the elevating body and advanced and retracted below articles stored in the article storage section, A rack sensor that is provided between the fork and the elevating body and detects a supporting means provided on the rack during the elevating operation of the elevating body, and a control means that controls the operation of the stacker crane. It is characterized by having.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic warehouse, the rack sensor according to the first aspect is attached to the light emitting / receiving element provided on the elevating body and the fork,
The light emitted from the light emitting and receiving element is configured by a reflector that reflects the light toward the light emitting and receiving element, and is activated when the fork is in a protruding state, and the elevating body is moved up and down. When the light is emitted, the light emitted from the light emitting / receiving element is blocked by the support means to detect the support means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic warehouse, wherein the rack sensor according to the first or second aspect is provided on both sides of the fork in the forward and backward directions.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic warehouse, the control means according to any one of the first to third aspects detects the upper end of the support means by the rack sensor when unloading an article. The fork is stored on the elevating body at the time when the fork is moved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic warehouse, the control means according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the elevation position of the elevating body corresponds to the elevation distance of the elevating body. While being monitored by the count value of the generated pulse, when the article is carried out, after the lower end of the support means is detected by the rack sensor, when a predetermined number of pulses are counted, The fork is housed on the elevating body.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic warehouse, the control means according to any one of the first to third aspects detects the lower end of the support means by the rack sensor when an article is loaded. The fork is stored on the elevating body at the time when the fork is moved.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the automatic warehouse, the control means according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the control unit sets the ascending position of the elevating body according to the ascending distance of the elevating body. While being monitored by the count value of the generated pulse, when the article is carried in, after the rack sensor detects the upper end of the support means, when a predetermined number of pulses are counted, The fork is housed on the elevating body.

[0026]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the main constituent members of the automatic warehouse shown in FIG. 11 are common to the present embodiment, and therefore, the common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description is simplified.

The automatic warehouse according to the present embodiment includes a rack 2 in which a large number of article storage units 1 are formed in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction, and a stacker crane 3 for loading and unloading articles W into and from these article storage units 1. The article storage unit 1 of the rack 2 is provided with a pair of support means 4 for supporting both lower side portions of the article W, and the stacker crane 3
A traveling vehicle 7 horizontally moved along the rack 2, an elevating body 9 provided on the traveling vehicle 7 and vertically moved along the rack 2, and provided on the elevating body 9; A fork 10 is provided between the fork 10 and the elevating body 9 for moving forward and backward below the articles W stored in the article storage unit 1.
1 has a schematic configuration including a rack sensor 20 for detecting the support means 4 provided on the rack 2 and a control means 12 for controlling the operation of the stacker crane 3 during the elevating operation.

More specifically, the elevating body 9 is provided with a pair of parallel base beams 21 and at right angles to the base beams 21.
And a pair of parallel connecting beams 22 for connecting the fork 10 to each other. The fork 10 is mounted between the connecting beams 22.

A plurality of guide rollers 23 having a rotation axis parallel to the length direction of the base beam 21 are provided on the opposing surfaces of the two connection beams 22 at intervals in the length direction of the connection beam 22. A plurality of side rollers 24 having a rotation axis orthogonal to the rotation axis of the guide rollers 23 are provided at intervals in the length direction of the connection beam 22.

The fork 10 has a first fork 25 slidably mounted in a horizontal direction between the pair of connecting beams 22, and a first fork 25 on the first fork 25.
Second fork 26 slidably mounted in the horizontal direction
And is constituted by.

The first fork 25 has, on both sides thereof, engagement grooves 25a into which guide rollers 23 and side rollers 24 mounted on the connection beam 22 are rotatably fitted. The first fork 25 is mounted on the connection beam 22 by fitting the guide roller 23 and the side roller 24 with the engagement groove 25a. And these engagement grooves 25a
The guide rollers 23 are brought into contact between the upper and lower surfaces of the first fork 25 so that the parallelism between the first fork 25 and the connecting beam 22 is ensured. Each side roller 2 is provided on the bottom surface of the engagement groove 25a.
4 is brought into contact with the connecting beam 22.
The first fork 25 is positioned around a horizontal plane with respect to the horizontal plane.

Further, guide grooves 25b are formed inside the both sides of the first fork 25 in a back-to-back relationship with the engaging grooves 25a, and the second fork 26 is formed through these guide grooves 25b. Is installed.

More specifically, a guide roller 27 having a rotation axis parallel to the length direction of the base beam 21 is provided at a lower side on both sides of the second fork 26 at intervals in the moving direction of the second fork 26. A plurality of side rollers 28 having a rotation axis orthogonal to the rotation axis of the guide rollers 27 are provided at intervals in the moving direction of the second fork 26.

The second fork 26 is mounted on the first fork 25 by fitting the guide rollers 27 and the side rollers 28 into the guide grooves 25b. Further, the guide rollers 27 are brought into contact between the upper and lower surfaces of the guide grooves 25b, so that the first fork 25
And the second fork 26 is secured in parallel. Further, on the bottom surface of the guide groove 25b,
The second fork 26 is positioned around the horizontal plane with respect to the first fork 25 by bringing the respective side rollers 28 into contact with each other.

Further, the rack sensor 20, which is a characteristic part of the present invention, includes the lifting / lowering body 9 (in this embodiment, the light emitting / receiving element 29 provided on the base beam 21 constituting the lifting / lowering body 9; The light emitted from the light emitting and receiving element 29 is attached to the fork 10 (in this embodiment, the lower end of the second fork 26),
And a reflector 30 that reflects toward the light emitting / receiving element 29. As shown in FIG. 2, the light emitting / receiving element 29 and the reflector 30 are connected to the second fork 26.
It is installed below. In addition, the reflector 30
Is mounted at a size and at a position where it can pass through the groove 25a.

The rack sensor 20 is activated when the first fork 25 is protruded to a predetermined position, and the light (the optical axis shown in FIG. 1) that moves as the lifting body 9 moves up and down. L).
The support means 4 is installed so as to be located. Therefore, the optical axis L of the rack sensor 20 is cut off by the support means 4 when the second fork 26 passes near the support means 4 by the elevating operation of the elevating body 9, and the light emitting and receiving element There is no reflected light on the light source 29, so that the support means 4 can be detected.

On the other hand, a drive mechanism for moving the fork 10 forward and backward from the elevating body 9 is provided between the elevating body 9 and the fork 10. This drive mechanism includes a motor 31 attached to one of the base beams 21.

The middle of a first drive chain 32 stretched between the first fork 25 and the connecting beam 22 is engaged with the motor 31. The first drive chain 32 is engaged with and guided by guide gears 33 and 34 attached to the respective base beams 21, and one end of the first drive chain 32 is connected to the first fork 25 via an anchor member 35. The other end is fixed to one end of the first fork 25 in the moving direction via an anchor member 36. Thus, the forward and reverse rotation of the motor 31 causes the first fork 25 to move between the position where the first fork 25 overlaps with the elevating body 9 and the projecting positions on the left and right sides.
It can be moved between two positions.

Further, the first fork 25
Two guide gears 3 are provided at both ends in the moving direction.
7, 38 are mounted, and these guide gears 37,
38, the second and third drive chains 3
9 and 40 are engaged on the way. One end of the second drive chain 39 is fixed to the one base beam 21 via an anchor member 41, and the other end is connected to an end of the second fork 26 near one end in the moving direction thereof. It is fixed via a member 42. Further, one end of the third drive chain 40 is fixed to the other base beam 21 via an anchor member 43, and the other end is connected to the second fork 26.
Is fixed via an anchor member 44 in the vicinity of the other end in the movement direction.

The second and third panels thus stretched are provided.
For example, when the first fork 25 is sent rightward in FIG. 1 by the drive chains 39 and 40, the guide gear 38 is moved rightward along with the movement of the first fork 25.
Since one end of the third drive chain 40 meshed with the third drive chain 40 is fixed to the other base beam 21, the other end of the third drive chain 40 is connected to the guide gear 38 side. Drawn into As a result, the second fork 26 is relatively moved with respect to the first fork 25, and is also moved forward in the protruding direction of the first fork 25.

When the fork 10 is sent out to the left in FIG. 1, the same operation is performed by the functions of the guide gear 37 and the second drive chain 39.

Next, the operation of the thus-configured automatic warehouse according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the control flow shown in FIG. 3 and the operation step diagrams shown in FIGS. Here, the operation when unloading the article W from the article storage unit 1 will be described.

When the unloading operation is started, the fork 10
Is raised together with the elevating body 9 (step S
1) The ascending distance of the elevating body 9 is calculated based on the integrated value of the pulses detected and detected by a pulse counter, and the amount of rotation of the motor in the driving means 11 for feeding the elevating chain for elevating the elevating body 9 is detected. Thus, at the same time as the start of the ascent / descent of the elevating body 9, the accumulation of the pulses by the pulse counter is started (step S2).

On the other hand, the pulse integrated value (C1) corresponding to the distance to the insertion position of the fork 10 provided below the support means 4 provided in the target article storage unit 1 is:
Since the control value is stored in the control means 12 in advance, the ascent of the fork 10 is stopped (step S4) on condition that the count value of the pulse counter reaches the target pulse integrated value C1 (step S3). ), The protruding operation of the fork 10 is started (step S).
5).

Then, on condition that the fork 10 is protruded by a predetermined length (step S6), the protruding operation of the fork 10 is stopped as shown in FIG. 4 (step S7). Here, the rack sensor 20 is activated. At this time, since the fork 10 is located below the supporting means 4 constituting the article storage unit 1, the light is emitted from the light emitting / receiving element 29. The reflected light is received by the light emitting and receiving element 29 as reflected light from the reflector 30 as indicated by the optical axis L, and as a result, the rack sensor 20 is in the “ON” state.

In this way, the rack sensor 20 is
After "N", the fork 10 is started to rise again (step S8). Then, as the fork 10 is raised again, as shown in FIG.
6 is moved between the support means 4. Since the support means 4 is located on the movement locus of the optical axis L, the optical axis L is located on the lower end surface of the support means 4. At this point, the light emitted from the light emitting / receiving element 29 is blocked by the support means 4 and the rack sensor 20 is turned off (step S5).
9) The process proceeds to the next step S10.

As described above, the “OF” of the rack sensor 20 is
F "is confirmed, the ascent / descent body 9 continues to be lifted, whereby the second fork 26 comes into contact with the lower surface of the article W supported by the support means 4 and the article W Lift from the support means 4. Here, when the lifting amount of the article W by the second fork 26 reaches a predetermined amount, the optical axis L of the rack sensor 20 moves upward from the upper surface of the support means 4 as shown in FIG. The sensor 20 is turned “ON”. When the rack sensor 20 is turned "ON", the article W is lifted from the support means 4 and the article 1 is ready to be carried out of the article storage unit 1 as described above. From the rack sensor 20 "O
Assuming that the condition is "N" (step S10), the lifting of the fork 10, that is, the elevating body 9 is stopped (step S11).

After the fork 10 is lifted and stopped, the motor 31 provided on the elevating body 9 is started, and
The first fork 25 and the second fork 2
6 is moved to the storage position on the elevating body 9 (step S1).
2) Thereby, the article W is stored in the stacker crane 3 from the article storage section 1 of the rack 2.

Next, the stacker crane 3 and the loaded article W are moved together with the starting point, for example, the loading / unloading section X of the automatic warehouse.
Is returned to (Step S13).

The article W thus conveyed to the carry-in / out section X is delivered to the unmanned forklift 18 and carried out.

On the other hand, when the article W is carried into the article storage unit 1, the operation is performed in a reverse manner to the above-described operation. That is, the fork 10 is lowered after the fork 10 has been advanced onto the support means 4 and the lower end of the support means 4 is detected by the rack sensor 20 at the time of the lowering, and the lower end of the support means 4 is detected by further lowering operation. . The detection of the lower end of the support means 4 is performed by confirming that the rack sensor 20 is "ON", "OFF", or "ON". FIG. 7 shows the processing flow.

In this manner, when the rank sensor 20 detects the lower end of the support means 4, the upper surface of the fork 10 is positioned lower than the upper end of the support means 4. Is mounted on the support means 4 and the fork 10 is separated from the lower surface of the article W. Therefore, the fork 10 is securely stored without interfering with the carried article W.

According to the automatic warehouse according to the present embodiment, the article W is moved between the elevating body 9 and the fork 10 provided on the elevating body 9 when the elevating body 9 is moved up and down. Is provided, the lower end and the upper end of the supporting means 4 for supporting the article W can be directly detected. This allows the fork 10 to be promptly stored on the elevating body 9 after the fork 10 is separated from the article W and after lifting the article W from the support means 4 when the article W is loaded and unloaded. Can be. Therefore, the loading / unloading operation can be speeded up.

Further, the rack sensor 20 detects that the tip of the fork 10 is higher or lower than the support means 4, and stops moving up and down when the detection is made. The operation can be controlled by simple control as compared with the conventional technology for correcting the error of the elevation position.

Such correction of the set value relating to the position information is performed at the time of assembling the automatic warehouse or periodically after the operation, and further, every time when the article W is loaded or unloaded.

Therefore, the entry position of the fork 10 at the time of loading and unloading the article W can be controlled with high precision, and as a result, the fork 10 formed between the upper and lower articles W stored therein can be controlled. Can be set to a minimum. Further, the height of the article storage unit 1 with respect to one article W can be reduced, and the storage efficiency of the warehouse can be increased.

The various shapes, dimensions, and the like of the components shown in the above embodiment are merely examples, and can be variously changed based on design requirements and the like. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the rack sensor 20 is provided at one position is shown. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the rack sensor 20 is provided on both sides in the moving direction of the fork 10 so that one of the rack sensors 20 is supported. The upper and lower ends of the support means 4 may be individually detected by detecting the upper end of the support means 4 and detecting the lower end of the support means 4 using the other rack sensor 20.

In the above-described embodiment, the direction in which the fork 10 protrudes from the elevating body 9 is described as one direction. However, it is also possible to protrude in the opposite direction. This is applicable to the case where the rack 2 is provided. In this case, the rack sensors 20 are also provided on both sides in the moving direction of the fork 10, as shown in FIG.

Further, by the rack sensor 20,
An example has been described in which the upper end and the lower end of the support means 4 are detected, and the lift stop position of the elevating body 9 is set based on these detection results. It is also possible to detect only the upper end of the supporting means 4 by the rack sensor 20 when the elevating body 9 is lowered, and to control the amount of movement from the time when these are detected by the pulse count value. .

Then, instead of the pulse count value counted by the above-described pulse counter, for example,
As shown in FIG. 9, the support means 4 is provided with a control plate 45 having slits S at predetermined intervals along the elevating direction of the elevating body 9, so that the rack sensor 20 is moved when the elevating body 9 is elevated. The optical axis L may be intermittently interrupted to generate a pulse signal, and the above-described pulse signal may be used to control the stop position of the elevating body 9 described above.

Further, as shown in FIG.
If the thickness of the article mounting portion 6 is small, the above-described elevating body 9
In such a case, it is difficult to solve the above-mentioned problem by providing a tongue piece 46a having a predetermined length at the tip of the lifting body 9 in the vertical direction. can do. Also, the tongue piece 46
By adjusting the length H of a to the lift stroke, the pulse count can be omitted.

[0062]

As described above, according to the automatic warehouse of the present invention, the article storage section is provided between the elevating body and the fork provided on the elevating body during the elevating operation of the elevating body. By providing the rack sensor for detecting the supporting means provided in the supporting member, the lower end and the upper end of the supporting means for supporting the article can be directly detected. Thereby, the article W
At the time of loading and unloading, after the fork is separated from the article, and after lifting the article from the supporting means,
The fork can be promptly stored on the elevating body, and the loading / unloading operation can be speeded up.

Since the rack sensor detects that the tip of the fork has become higher or lower than the support means 4 and stops the ascending and descending at the time when the detection is performed, the ascending and descending position is determined. The operation can be controlled by simple control as compared with the conventional technique of correcting the error of the above.

In the case where the position of the elevating body is set by a pulse count value of a pulse counter provided in the driving means, the position information preset by the pulse count value and the support means are directly detected. The actual setting information is compared with the actual position information of the article storage unit obtained by the above-described method, and the set value can be adjusted based on the comparison.
Therefore, it is possible to accurately control the entry position of the fork at the time of loading and unloading of the above-described article, and as a result, a portion formed between the stored upper and lower articles,
The entry area of the fork can be set to a minimum. As a result, the height of the article storage section required to store one article can be reduced, and the storage efficiency of the warehouse can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view showing an elevating body and a fork.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the present invention, and is a side view showing an elevating body and a fork.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an unloading operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the operation of a lifting body and a fork according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 4A is a side view, and FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a rack sensor and a support means.

5 (a) and 5 (b) show the operation of the elevating body and the fork according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 5 (a) is a side view and FIG. 5 (b) is a schematic view showing the positional relationship between a rack sensor and a support means.

6 (a) and 6 (b) show the operation of the lifting body and the fork according to the embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 6 (a) is a side view and FIG. 6 (b) is a schematic view showing the positional relationship between a rack sensor and a support means.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a loading operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view showing an elevating body and a fork.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a modification of the support means used in the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing another modification of the support means used in the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of an automatic warehouse, in which a part is omitted.

FIG. 12 is a side view of a main part showing a conventional elevating body elevating and lowering positioning structure.

FIG. 13 is a front view of a main part showing a conventional elevating body elevating and lowering positioning structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article storage part 2 Rack 3 Stacker crane 4 Support means 5 Lower rail 6 Upper rail 7 Traveling trolley 8 Mast 9 Elevator 10 Fork 11 Drive means 12 Control means 13 Bracket 14 Guide roller 15 Positioning means 16 Dog 17 Optical sensor 18 Unmanned forklift Reference Signs List 20 rack sensor 21 base beam 22 connecting beam 23 guide roller 24 side roller 25 first fork 25a engagement groove 25b guide groove 26 second fork 27 guide roller 28 side roller 29 light emitting / receiving element (rack sensor) 30 reflector (rack sensor) 31 Motor 32 First drive chain 33, 34 Guide gear 35, 36 Anchor member 37, 38 Guide gear 39 Second drive chain 40 Third drive chain 41, 42 Anchor unit 43, 44 anchor members 45 control plate 46 supporting means 46a tongues W article X transfer portion

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An automatic warehouse comprising a rack in which a large number of article storage sections are formed along a horizontal direction and a vertical direction, and a stacker crane for taking articles in and out of these article storage sections. The storage unit is provided with a pair of support means for supporting the lower side portions of the article, the stacker crane, a traveling vehicle that is horizontally moved along the rack, provided on the traveling vehicle, An elevating body that is moved up and down along the rack, a fork provided on the elevating body and moved forward and backward below articles stored in the article storage unit, and a fork and the elevating body A rack sensor for detecting support means provided on the rack when the elevating body is moved up and down, and a control means for controlling the operation of the stacker crane. An automatic warehouse comprising a step and a step. And a rack sensor attached to the fork and a light emitting / receiving element provided on the elevating body.
The light emitted from the light emitting and receiving element is configured by a reflector that reflects the light toward the light emitting and receiving element, and is activated when the fork is in a protruding state, and the elevating body is moved up and down. 2. The automatic warehouse according to claim 1, wherein when the light is emitted, the light emitted from the light emitting / receiving element is blocked by the support means to detect the support means. 3. The automatic warehouse according to claim 1, wherein the rack sensors are provided on both sides of the fork in the forward and backward directions. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means stores the fork on the elevating body when the rack sensor detects the upper end of the support means when the article is carried out. Claim 1 to Claim 3
The automatic warehouse according to any one of the above. 5. The control means monitors the ascending position of the elevating body by a count value of a pulse generated in accordance with the ascending distance of the elevating body. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the predetermined number of pulses are counted after the lower end of the supporting means is detected by the rack sensor, the fork is stored on the elevating body. The automatic warehouse according to claim 3. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means stores said fork on said elevating body when said rack sensor detects a lower end of said support means when an article is carried in. Claim 1 to Claim 3
The automatic warehouse according to any one of the above. 7. The control means monitors an ascending position of the elevating body by a count value of a pulse generated corresponding to an ascending distance of the elevating body. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fork is stored on the elevating body when a predetermined number of pulses are counted after the upper end of the support means is detected by the rack sensor. The automatic warehouse according to claim 3.