Article transport vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11066284-B2
Application number	US-201816031231-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 10, 2018
Priority date	Jul 11, 2017
Publication date	Jul 20, 2021
Grant date	Jul 20, 2021

Abstract

An object is to provide an article transport vehicle which includes one or more fall preventing members while reducing any increase in complexity of the arrangement. An article transport vehicle includes a travel portion, a support portion, and a moving mechanism. The moving mechanism is configured to move the support portion to a projected position and to a retracted position. The support portion includes a support member configured to support a container, a movable member configured to be moved along a lateral width direction by the moving mechanism, and a vertically moving mechanism configured to move the support member along the vertical direction with respect to the movable member. The article transport vehicle further includes one or more fall preventing members configured to prevent a lid of a supported container from falling, and a movement coupling mechanism configured to move the one or more fall preventing members when the support member is moved.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An article transport vehicle comprising:
a travel portion configured to travel along a travel path;
a support portion configured to support a container; and
a moving mechanism configured to move the support portion along a lateral width direction which crosses the travel path as seen along a vertical direction,
wherein the moving mechanism is configured to move the support portion to a projected position at which the support portion is projected along the lateral width direction with respect to the travel portion, and to a retracted position at which the support portion is closer to the travel portion than at the projected position,
wherein the support portion includes a support member configured to support a bottom surface of a container from below, a movable member configured to be moved along the lateral width direction by the moving mechanism, and a vertically moving mechanism configured to move the support member along the vertical direction with respect to the movable member,
wherein the container includes a main body portion which has an opening which faces a direction along the lateral width direction when the container is supported by the support portion, and a lid for closing the opening,
wherein the article transport vehicle further comprises one or more fall preventing members configured to prevent a lid of a supported container which is the container that is supported by the support member from falling, and a movement coupling mechanism configured to move the one or more fall preventing members when the support member is moved,
wherein each of the one or more fall preventing members is located on the opposite side of the lid of the supported container from the main body portion, and is configured to be movable to a preventing position in which the fall preventing member protrudes upward with respect to a lower end of the lid, and to a retracted position in which the fall preventing member is retracted so as to be located lower than the lower end of the lid,
wherein the movement coupling mechanism is configured to move the one or more fall preventing members from respective retracted positions to respective preventing positions when the support member is raised, and to move the one or more fall preventing members from respective preventing positions to respective retracted positions when the support member is lowered,
wherein each of the one or more fall preventing members comprises a preventing portion extending along a first direction perpendicular to the lateral width direction and a pivot arm portion extending along a second direction which is perpendicular to the lateral width direction and different from the first direction,
wherein the preventing portion of each of the one or more fall preventing members has a portion that overlaps the lid of the supported container when the fall preventing member is in the preventing position, and does not overlap the lid of the supported container when the fall preventing member is in the retracted position, and
wherein the pivot arm portion of each of the one or more fall preventing members is located lower than the corresponding preventing portion when the fall preventing member is in the restricting position and when the fall preventing member is in the retracted position.

2. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more fall preventing members is connected to the support member so as to be pivotable about an axis extending along the lateral width direction, and is pivotable to the preventing position and to the retracted position, and
wherein the movement coupling mechanism includes a linkage mechanism pivotably connected to the movable member and the one or more fall preventing members.

3. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 2 , wherein each of the one or more fall preventing members further comprises a connected portion connected to the support member,
wherein the preventing portion extends along the first direction from the connected portion, and the pivot arm portion extends from the connected portion along the second direction which crosses the first direction,
wherein the preventing portion of each of the one or more fall preventing members has a portion that is located higher than the lower end of the lid of the supported container when the fall preventing member is in the preventing position, and that is located lower than the lower end of the lid of the supported container when the fall preventing member is in the retracted position,
and
wherein the linkage mechanism includes one or more links each of which is pivotably connected to both the movable member and the pivot arm portion of corresponding one of the one or more fall preventing members.

4. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 3 , wherein with a projecting side being a side along the lateral width direction on which the projected position exists with respect to the retracted position, the support member supports the supported container in an orientation in which the opening faces the projecting side, and
wherein the one or more fall preventing members are connected to an end portion of the support member that is on the projecting side.

5. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 4 , wherein with the one or more fall preventing members being one or more first preventing members, and with a height of the support member at which the one or more first preventing members are in respective restricting positions being a raised height, the article transport vehicle further comprises a second preventing member configured to prevent the lid of the supported container from falling, an actuator configured to move the second preventing member, and an intermediate portion which is supported by the travel portion and supports the moving mechanism,
wherein the second preventing member is supported by the intermediate portion such that the second preventing member is located on the opposite side of the lid of the supported container from the main body portion when the support portion is in the retracted position, and
wherein the actuator moves the second preventing member to a restricting position at which at least a portion of the second preventing member protrudes downward with respect to an upper end of the lid when the support member is at the raised height, and to a retracted position at which the second preventing member is retracted upward with respect to the upper end of the supported container when the support member is at the raised height.

6. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 3 , wherein with the one or more fall preventing members being one or more first preventing members, and with a height of the support member at which the one or more first preventing members are in respective restricting positions being a raised height, the article transport vehicle further comprises a second preventing member configured to prevent the lid of the supported container from falling, an actuator configured to move the second preventing member, and an intermediate portion which is supported by the travel portion and supports the moving mechanism,
wherein the second preventing member is supported by the intermediate portion such that the second preventing member is located on the opposite side of the lid of the supported container from the main body portion when the support portion is in the retracted position, and
wherein the actuator moves the second preventing member to a restricting position at which at least a portion of the second preventing member protrudes downward with respect to an upper end of the lid when the support member is at the raised height, and to a retracted position at which the second preventing member is retracted upward with respect to the upper

Assignees

• Daifuku Kk

Inventors

• TOMIDA Daichi

Classifications

• H10P72/3222

  Loading to or unloading from a conveyor · CPC title

• H10P72/3221 Primary

  Overhead conveying · CPC title

• H10P72/3218 Primary

  Conveying cassettes, containers or carriers · CPC title

• B65G1/0457

  with suspended load carriers · CPC title

• B65G35/00 Primary

  Mechanical conveyors not otherwise provided for · CPC title