Article transport facility

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12005935-B2
Application number	US-202117236472-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 21, 2021
Priority date	Apr 22, 2020
Publication date	Jun 11, 2024
Grant date	Jun 11, 2024

Abstract

An overhead transport vehicle performs a first transfer operation of holding an article placed on a loading pedestal of a transport origin, and a second transfer operation of placing the article onto a loading pedestal of a transport destination. A control device causes a shooting device to obtain a first shot image of the upper face of the article placed on the loading pedestal of the transport origin, and adjusts the relative positional relationship between the holding portion and the article placed on the loading pedestal of the transport origin based on the first shot image and first reference image data, and causes the shooting device to obtain a second shot image of the upper face of the loading pedestal of the transport destination, and adjusts the relative positional relationship between the holding portion and the loading pedestal of the transport destination based on the second shot image and second reference image data.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An article transport facility comprising:
a travel rail attached to a ceiling;
a plurality of loading pedestals arranged along the travel rail;
an overhead transport vehicle configured to travel along the travel rail and transport an article from, among the plurality of loading pedestals, the loading pedestal of a transport origin to the loading pedestal of a transport destination;
a shooting device that is mounted on the overhead transport vehicle and is configured to shoot a shooting subject located below the overhead transport vehicle to obtain a shot image; and
a control device configured to control the overhead transport vehicle and the shooting device;
wherein the overhead transport vehicle includes a holding portion for holding the article, the overhead transport vehicle configured to perform a first transfer operation of holding, using the holding portion, the article placed on the loading pedestal of the transport origin, and a second transfer operation of placing the article held by the holding portion onto the loading pedestal of the transport destination, and
wherein image data based on the shot image in which an upper face of the article serves as the shooting subject, and that is obtained when a positional relationship between the overhead transport vehicle and the upper face of the article is in a reference state is first reference image data, and wherein image data based on the shot image in which an upper face of the loading pedestal serves as the shooting subject, and that is obtained when a positional relationship between the overhead transport vehicle and the upper face of the loading pedestal is in a reference state is second reference image data,
wherein when the overhead transport vehicle performs the first transfer operation, the control device executes, before the first transfer operation, first adjustment control of causing the shooting device to obtain a first shot image, which is the shot image in which the upper face of the article placed on the loading pedestal of the transport origin serves as the shooting subject, and adjusting a relative positional relationship between the holding portion and the article placed on the loading pedestal of the transport origin, based on the first shot image and the first reference image data; and
wherein when the overhead transport vehicle performs the second transfer operation, the control device executes, before the second transfer operation, second adjustment control of causing the shooting device to obtain a second shot image, which is the shot image in which the upper face of the loading pedestal of the transport destination serves as the shooting subject, and adjusting a relative positional relationship between the holding portion and the loading pedestal of the transport destination, based on the second shot image and the second reference image data.

2. The article transport facility according to claim 1 ,
wherein in the first adjustment control, if an amount of displacement of the upper face of the article in the first shot image with the first reference image data as a reference exceeds a prescribed first threshold, the control device outputs warning information without causing the overhead transport vehicle to execute the first transfer operation, and
wherein in the second adjustment control, if an amount of displacement of the upper face of the loading pedestal in the second shot image with second reference image data as a reference exceeds a prescribed second threshold, the control device outputs the warning information without causing the overhead transport vehicle to execute the second transfer operation.

3. The article transport facility according to claim 1 ,
wherein a direction along the travel rail is a travel direction, and a direction orthogonal to the travel direction when viewed in a plan view is a width direction,
wherein the overhead transport vehicle comprises:
the holding portion;
a travel unit configured to travel in the travel direction;
a lifting/lowering drive unit configured to move the holding portion up and down with respect to the travel unit;
a slide drive unit configured to cause the holding portion to slide with respect to the travel unit in the width direction; and
a rotation drive unit configured to rotate the holding portion with respect to the travel unit around a rotation axis extending in an up-down direction, and

wherein in each of the first adjustment control and the second adjustment control, the control device controls:
the travel unit to adjust the position of the holding portion in the travel direction;
the slide drive unit to adjust the position of the holding portion in the width direction; and
the rotation drive unit to adjust the rotational position of the holding portion around the rotation axis.

4. The article transport facility according to claim 3 ,
wherein the shooting device is a stereo camera, and
wherein the control device determines a distance in the up-down direction between the overhead transport vehicle and the shooting subject based on the shot image, and controls the lifting/lowering drive unit to adjust the position of the holding portion in the up-down direction in each of the first adjustment control and the second adjustment control.

5. The article transport facility according to claim 1 ,
wherein a plurality of the overhead transport vehicles is arranged along the travel rail, and
wherein each of the plurality of overhead transport vehicles includes a storage unit for storing the first reference image data and the second reference image data.

6. The article transport facility according to claim 1 ,
wherein, if one of the plurality of loading pedestals is a specific loading pedestal, the first adjustment control for adjusting the relative positional relationship between the holding portion and the article placed on the specific loading pedestal is first specific adjustment control, and the second adjustment control for adjusting the relative positional relationship between the holding portion and the specific loading pedestal is second specific adjustment control,
wherein after the first specific adjustment control, the control device updates, based on the first shot image used in this first specific adjustment control, the first reference image data to be used in the next first specific adjustment control, and
wherein after the second specific adjustment control, the control device updates, based on the second shot image used in this second specific adjustment control, the second reference image data to be used in the next second specific adjustment control.

7. The article transport facility according to claim 1 , wherein:
the article is a container provided with, in an upper portion of the article, a flange portion configured to be held by the holding portion,
the loading pedestal includes a plurality of projections that are formed protruding from the upper face of the loading pedestal, and are configured to respectively engage with a plurality of recesses formed in a bottom surface of the article,
the upper face of the article serving as the shooting subject includes an upper face of the flange portion, and
the upper face of the loading pedestal serving as the shooting subject includes the plurality of projections.

Assignees

• Daifuku Kk

Inventors

• Wada Yoshinari

Classifications

• H04N13/204

  using stereoscopic image cameras (stereoscopic photography G03B35/00) · CPC title

• G06T2207/30252

  Vehicle exterior; Vicinity of vehicle · CPC title

• H04N7/188

  Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position (signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253) · CPC title

• G06T2207/10012

  Stereo images · CPC title

• G06T7/593

  from stereo images · CPC title