Article transport facility

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11376453-B2
Application number	US-201916427487-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 31, 2019
Priority date	Jun 13, 2018
Publication date	Jul 5, 2022
Grant date	Jul 5, 2022

Abstract

An area is set as an interference area, in which a transport vehicle is located in a state in which a portion of the transport vehicle overlaps a door trajectory which is a movement trajectory of a fire protection door. A control portion that controls a subject vehicle, which is a transport vehicle to be controlled, prohibits the whole subject vehicle from entering the interference area if it is determined, based on another-vehicle information, which is information of a traveling state of another vehicle that is different from the subject vehicle, and information regarding the interference area, that the interference area is present between the another vehicle located forward of the subject vehicle and the subject vehicle, and that a stoppable area is not secured between a rear end position of the another vehicle and the fire protection door.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An article transport facility that transports an article using a transport vehicle that travels along a travel path, comprising:
a fire detection device that detects occurrence of a fire;
a fire protection door that can move from an open position at which the transport vehicle can travel along the travel path to a closed position at which the travel path is blocked, when occurrence of a fire has been detected; and
a control portion that controls the transport vehicle,
wherein the control portion includes:
a subject-vehicle position information acquisition portion that acquires subject-vehicle position information which is information regarding a position of a subject vehicle on the travel path, the subject vehicle being a transport vehicle to be controlled;
an interference area storage portion that stores, as an interference area, an area in which the transport vehicle is located in a state in which a portion of the transport vehicle overlaps a door trajectory which is a movement trajectory of the fire protection door, on the travel path; and
an another-vehicle information acquisition portion that acquires another-vehicle information which is a traveling state of another vehicle, the another vehicle being a transport vehicle that is different from the subject vehicle and that travels along the travel path,
wherein the control portion prohibits the whole subject vehicle from entering the interference area if it is determined, based on the another-vehicle information and information regarding the interference area, that the interference area is present between the another vehicle located forward of the subject vehicle and the subject vehicle, and that a stoppable area corresponding to a length of the transport vehicle along the travel path is not secured between a rear end position of the another vehicle and the fire protection door, and
wherein, in a case where the control portion is unable to stop the subject vehicle in front of the interference area, the control portion stops the subject vehicle such that a portion of the interference area which portion is in front of the fire protection door overlaps a portion of the subject vehicle.

2. The article transport facility according to claim 1 , wherein, when occurrence of a fire has been detected, the control portion determines whether or not the stoppable area is secured.

3. The article transport facility according to claim 1 , wherein the another-vehicle information includes another-vehicle position information which is information regarding a position of the another vehicle on the travel path, and another-vehicle speed information which is a traveling speed of the another vehicle, and
wherein the control portion estimates a stop position of the another vehicle based on the another-vehicle position information and the another-vehicle speed information, and determines whether or not the stoppable area is secured based on the rear end position of the another vehicle at the estimated stop position.

4. The article transport facility according to claim 1 , further comprising an uninterruptible power supply that in response to ceasing of supply power to a power feeding line extending along the travel path, supplies power to the transport vehicle-in an area corresponding to the interference area.

Assignees

• Daifuku Kk

Inventors

• Takagawa Natsuo
• Kato Toshikazu

Classifications

• A62C2/18

  Sliding dampers · CPC title

• B65G43/00 Primary

  Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting · CPC title

• A62C2/22

  Fire-dampers with provision for the removal of an obstacle, e.g. rails, conveyors, before closing the opening · CPC title

• A62C3/002 Primary

  for warehouses, storage areas or other installations for storing goods · CPC title

• B65G2207/22

  Heat or fire protection · CPC title