Transport vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9908699-B2
Application number	US-201715475208-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 31, 2017
Priority date	Apr 27, 2016
Publication date	Mar 6, 2018
Grant date	Mar 6, 2018

Abstract

A transport vehicle includes a pair of top arms that extend and retract, a pair of guides disposed below the pair of top arms, an adjuster that changes a spacing between the pair of guides, a cargo placement surface disposed below the pair of guides, a clamping detector that detects whether or not the cargo is being held between the pair of guides, and a controller. The controller pulls the cargo onto the cargo placement surface, then causes the adjuster to start a positioning operation as an operation to reduce a spacing between the pair of guides, and stops the positioning operation when the clamping detector detects that the cargo is being held between the pair of guides.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A transport vehicle comprising:
a pair of laterally arranged, extendable and retractable arms, which pull or push a cargo by use of openable and closable hooks disposed at both ends in a longitudinal direction of each of the pair of arms;
a pair of guides that are disposed below the pair of arms and arranged laterally;
an adjuster that changes a spacing between the pair of guides;
a cargo placement surface that is disposed below the pair of guides and defines a placement surface for the cargo;
a clamping detector that detects whether or not the cargo is being held between the pair of guides; and
a controller that controls operations of the pair of arms and the adjuster; wherein
the controller:
(a) extends and retracts the pair of arms to pull the cargo onto the cargo placement surface;
(b) then causes the adjuster to start a positioning operation to reduce the spacing between the pair of guides; and
(c) stops the positioning operation when the clamping detector detects that the cargo is being held between the pair of guides.

2. The transport vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising a contact detector that detects that one of the pair of arms has come into contact with the cargo; wherein
the adjuster changes a spacing between the pair of arms and the spacing between the pair of guides, while maintaining a state where inner surfaces of the pair of guides are located between the pair of arms in a plan view, and
the controller:
(a1) extends the pair of arms;
(a2) then causes the adjuster to reduce the spacing between the pair of arms; and
(a3) retracts the pair of arms after the contact detector has detected that the one of the pair of arms has come into contact with the cargo, to pull the cargo onto the cargo placement surface.

3. The transport vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein
the adjuster biases the one of the pair of arms by use of a first spring to reduce the spacing between the pair of arms; and
the contact detector detects a change in length of the first spring to detect that the one of the pair of arms has come into contact with the cargo.

4. The transport vehicle according to claim 3 , wherein the adjuster biases one of the pair of guides by use of a second spring with a spring constant larger than a spring constant of the first spring, to perform the positioning operation.

5. The transport vehicle according to claim 4 , wherein
one of the pair of guides is mounted to a first base that is movably disposed in the cargo placement surface;
the other of the pair of guides is mounted to a second base whose position with respect to the cargo placement surface is fixed;
the adjuster moves the first base to perform the positioning operation; and
the clamping detector detects that the one of the pair of guides is displaced with respect to the first base and that the other of the pair of guides is displaced with respect to the second base, to detect that the cargo is being held between the pair of guides.

6. The transport vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
one of the pair of guides is mounted to a first base that is movably disposed in the cargo placement surface;
the other of the pair of guides is mounted to a second base whose position with respect to the cargo placement surface is fixed;
the adjuster moves the first base to perform the positioning operation; and
the clamping detector detects that the one of the pair of guides is displaced with respect to the first base and that the other of the pair of guides is displaced with respect to the second base, to detect that the cargo is being held between the pair of guides.

Assignees

• Murata Machinery Ltd

Inventors

• Miyagawa Akinori

Classifications

• B65G1/0492 Primary

  with cars adapted to travel in storage aisles · CPC title

• B65G1/06

  with means for presenting articles for removal at predetermined position or level (B65G1/12 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B65G47/905

  Control arrangements · CPC title

• B65G1/065

  with self propelled cars · CPC title