Article transport vehicle with linkage mechanism

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9312158-B2
Application number	US-201514676123-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 1, 2015
Priority date	Apr 7, 2014
Publication date	Apr 12, 2016
Grant date	Apr 12, 2016

Abstract

An article transport vehicle is provided which can prevent a lid from falling from the container gripped by grip portions and which can prevent increase in the size of the device. A lid fall prevention member is provided which can be moved between a near position in which the lid fall prevention member is close to the lid on the side the outer surface of the lid is located, to prevent the lid from falling, and an away position in which the lid fall prevention member is farther away from the lid to allow the lid to be detached and attached. An operatively connecting mechanism is also provided which moves the lid fall prevention member from the near position to the away position as a pair of the grip portions are moved from gripping positions to grip release positions by grip actuator portion, and which moves the lid fall prevention member from the away position to the near position as the pair of the grip portions are moved from the grip release positions to the gripping positions by the grip actuator portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An article transport vehicle for transporting an article which is a container having a removable lid for opening and closing an opening formed in a side face of the container, the article transport vehicle comprising:
a travel member configured to travel along a travel rail;
a pair of grip portions, connected to the travel member, for gripping an upper end portion of a transported article;
a grip actuator portion for actuating the pair of grip portions;
a moving operation portion for moving the pair of grip portions and the grip actuator portion between a transfer purpose position and a travel purpose position;
wherein the transfer purpose position is a position which is spaced apart from the travel member, and the travel purpose position is a position which is close to the travel member, wherein the travel member travels with the pair of grip portions located in the travel purpose position,
wherein the grip actuator portion is configured, in the transfer purpose position, to move the pair of grip portions between gripping positions in which the pair of grip portions are located close to each other to grip an upper end portion of the container and grip release positions in which the pair of grip portions are located farther away from each other,
wherein the article transport vehicle further comprises:
a lid fall prevention member for preventing the lid from falling; and
an operatively connecting mechanism for changing a position of the lid fall prevention member;
wherein the lid fall prevention member is configured to be moved between a near position in which the lid fall prevention member is close to the lid on a side in which an outer surface of the lid is located, and an away position in which the lid fall prevention member is farther away from the lid to allow the lid to be attached and detached,
wherein the operatively connecting mechanism: moves the lid fall prevention member from the near position to the away position as the pair of grip portions are moved from the gripping positions to the grip release positions by the grip actuator portion; and moves the lid fall prevention member from the away position to the near position as the pair of grip portions are moved from the grip release positions to the gripping positions by the grip actuator portion,
wherein the operatively connecting mechanism includes a linkage mechanism which converts sliding movement of at least one of the pair of grip portions into rotational movement of the lid fall prevention member.

2. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 1 , further comprising:
a vertically movable member which can be raised and lowered with respect to the travel member,
wherein the vertically movable member is provided with the pair of grip portions, the grip actuator portion, the operatively connecting mechanism, and the lid fall prevention member.

3. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 2 , wherein
the lid fall prevention member is configured such that, in the near position, at least a part of the lid fall prevention member is close to an upper end portion of the lid when the opening of the container is closed by the lid.

4. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 3 , wherein
the pair of grip portions are configured to grip an upper end portion of the container with the lid of the container located on one side with respect to a direction that perpendicularly intersects a travel direction of the travel member in plan view, and
wherein the lid fall prevention member: includes a plate-shaped member which is thin in the direction that perpendicularly intersects the travel direction of the travel member; and is configured to be moved along the travel direction of the travel member between the near position and the away position.

5. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 4 , wherein
the pair of grip portions are configured such that positions the pair of grip portions are changed between the gripping positions and the grip release positions through sliding movements, and
wherein the lid fall prevention member is configured such that an attitude of the lid fall prevention member is changed between the near position and the away position as the lid fall prevention member is rotated about a horizontal axis.

6. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 3 , wherein
the pair of grip portions are configured such that positions the pair of grip portions are changed between the gripping positions and the grip release positions through sliding movements, and
wherein the lid fall prevention member is configured such that an attitude of the lid fall prevention member is changed between the near position and the away position as the lid fall prevention member is rotated about a horizontal axis.

7. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 2 , wherein
the pair of grip portions are configured to grip an upper end portion of the container with the lid of the container located on one side with respect to a direction that perpendicularly intersects a travel direction of the travel member in plan view, and
wherein the lid fall prevention member: includes a plate-shaped member which is thin in the direction that perpendicularly intersects the travel direction of the travel member; and is configured to be moved along the travel direction of the travel member between the near position and the away position.

8. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 7 , wherein
the pair of grip portions are configured such that positions the pair of grip portions are changed between the gripping positions and the grip release positions through sliding movements, and
wherein the lid fall prevention member is configured such that an attitude of the lid fall prevention member is changed between the near position and the away position as the lid fall prevention member is rotated about a horizontal axis.

9. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 2 , wherein
the pair of grip portions are configured such that positions the pair of grip portions are changed between the gripping positions and the grip release positions through sliding movements, and
wherein the lid fall prevention member is configured such that an attitude of the lid fall prevention member is changed between the near position and the away position as the lid fall prevention member is rotated about a horizontal axis.

10. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 1 , wherein
the pair of grip portions are configured to grip an upper end portion of the container with the lid of the container located on one side with respect to a direction that perpendicularly intersects a travel direction of the travel member in plan view, and
wherein the lid fall prevention member: includes a plate-shaped member which is thin in the direction that perpendicularly intersects the travel direction of the travel member; and is configured to be moved along the travel direction of the travel member between the near position and the away position.

11. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 10 , wherein
the pair of grip portions are configured such that positions the pair of grip portions are changed between the gripping positions and the grip release positions through sliding movements, and
wherein the lid fall prevention member is configured such that an attitude of the lid fall prevention member is changed between the near position and the away position as the lid fall prevention member is rotated about a horizontal axis.

12. The article transport vehicle as defined in claim 1 , wherein
the pair of grip portions are configured such that positions the pair of grip portion

Assignees

• Daifuku Kk

Inventors

• Wada Yoshinari

Classifications

• H10P72/7602

  the wafers being placed on a robot blade or gripped by a gripper for conveyance · CPC title

• H10P72/3221

  Overhead conveying · CPC title

• H10P72/1918 Primary

  characterised by coupling elements, kinematic members, handles or elements to be externally gripped · CPC title

• B66C1/425

  motor actuated (B66C1/44, B66C1/58 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01L21/68707

  Electricity · mapped topic