# US 11,999,604 B2 · Cargo conveying device, cargo conveying system, and cargo conveying method

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- Number: US 11,999,604 B2
- Document ID: US11999604B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/523,923
- Filed: 2021-11-11
- Published: 2022-05-26
- Granted: 2024-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2020-11-25
- Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
- Applicants: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
- Inventors: Tetsuya Kanata; Masao Tajima; Takashi Hayashi; Nobuyuki Tomatsu; Hideki Fukudome; Takashi Hayashi; Yoshiumi Kawamura; Kosuke Akatsuka; Manabu Yamamoto; Kosuke Sakakibara
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11999604B2

## CPC

- B66F 9/063: {Automatically guided}
- B65G 1/04: mechanical
- B66F 9/0755: {Position control; Position detectors}
- B65G 47/52: Devices for transferring articles or materials between conveyors i.e. discharging or feeding devices (loading or unloading by means not incorporated in, or not operatively associated with, conveyors B65G65/00; transfer of workpieces during metal rolling B21B41/00)
- B66F: HOISTING, LIFTING, HAULING OR PUSHING, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. DEVICES WHICH APPLY A LIFTING OR PUSHING FORCE DIRECTLY TO THE SURFACE OF A LOAD ({invalid lifting devices A61G7/10; } mounting artificial islands on piles or like supports E02B17/00; scaffolding combined with lifting devices E04G1/22; lifting devices for sliding forms E04G11/24; lifting of buildings E04G23/06; shores or struts E04G25/00; lifts or other hoisting devices on ladders E06C7/12; props for mining E21D15/00)
- B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D)

## Abstract

A cargo conveying device includes: a horizontal direction conveying section that conveys cargo in a horizontal direction, and that includes a transfer section at which cargo is transferred between the transfer section and a cargo handler; a height adjusting section that adjusts a vertical direction height of the transfer section; and a control section that, at a time at a time at which cargo is transferred between the transfer section and a cargo handler, operates the height adjusting section, and adjusts the vertical direction height of the transfer section.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A cargo conveying device, comprising:
a horizontal direction conveying section configured to convey cargo in a horizontal direction, and including a transfer section at which the cargo is transferred between the transfer section and a cargo handler;
a height adjusting section configured to adjust a vertical direction height of the transfer section;
a control section configured to, at a time at which the cargo is transferred between the transfer section and the cargo handler, operate the height adjusting section to adjust the vertical direction height of the transfer section; and
a sensor provided at the transfer section and configured to automatically detect whether the cargo handler is near the cargo conveying device,
wherein
the sensor is configured to, in response to detecting the cargo handler being near the cargo conveying device, automatically detect at least a portion of a body of the cargo handler,
the control section is configured to
estimate at least one of a physique or a posture of the cargo handler based on a signal from the sensor, and
operate the height adjusting section to adjust the vertical direction height of the transfer section based on the at least one of the physique or the posture of the cargo handler that has been estimated,
the sensor includes a camera, and
the control section is configured to estimate the at least one of the physique or the posture of the cargo handler based on a position of eyes of the cargo handler in an image captured by the camera by performing image processing on the image captured by the camera.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The cargo conveying device of claim 1, further comprising a vertical direction conveying section configured to convey cargo in a vertical direction.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The cargo conveying device of claim 1, wherein the control section is configured to operate the height adjusting section to adjust the vertical direction height of the transfer section to a height that is greater than or equal to a height of a waist of the cargo handler and that is at a position that faces the cargo handler in the horizontal direction.

### Claim 4

A cargo conveying system, comprising:
a first cargo conveying device;
wherein
the first cargo conveying device includes
a horizontal direction conveying section configured to convey cargo in a horizontal direction, and including a transfer section at which the cargo is transferred between the transfer section and a cargo handler;
a height adjusting section configured to adjust a vertical direction height of the transfer section;
a control section configured to, at a time at which the cargo is transferred between the transfer section and the cargo handler, operate the height adjusting section to adjust the vertical direction height of the transfer section; and
a sensor provided at the transfer section and configured to automatically detect whether the cargo handler is near the cargo conveying device,
the sensor is configured to, in response to detecting the cargo handler being near the cargo conveying device, automatically detect at least a portion of a body of the cargo handler,
the control section is configured to
estimate at least one of a physique or a posture of the cargo handler based on a signal from the sensor, and
operate the height adjusting section to adjust the vertical direction height of the transfer section based on the at least one of the physique or the posture of the cargo handler that has been estimated; and
a second cargo conveying device which is configured to convey cargo and at which cargo is transferred between the first cargo conveying device and the second cargo conveying device,
wherein
the first cargo conveying device and the second cargo conveying device are configured to convey cargo between a distribution warehouse and the cargo handler,
the sensor includes a camera, and
the control section is configured to estimate the at least one of the physique or the posture of the cargo handler based on a position of eyes of the cargo handler in an image captured by the camera by performing image processing on the image captured by the camera.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

A method of operating the cargo conveying device of claim 1, the method comprising:
conveying, by the horizontal direction conveying section of the cargo conveying device, cargo in the horizontal direction, the cargo being transferred between the transfer section of the horizontal direction conveying section and the cargo handler; and
operating, by the control section of the cargo conveying device at the time at which the cargo is transferred between the transfer section and the cargo handler, the height adjusting section of the cargo conveying device to adjust the vertical direction height of the transfer section,
wherein the method further comprises:
automatically detecting, by the sensor provided at the transfer section of the cargo conveying device, whether the cargo handler is near the cargo conveying device;
in response to detecting the cargo handler being near the cargo conveying device, automatically detecting at least the portion of the body of the cargo handler;
estimating, by the control section, the at least one of the physique or the posture of the cargo handler based on the signal from the sensor; and
operating, by the control section, the height adjusting section to adjust the vertical direction height of the transfer section based on the at least one of the physique information or the posture information of the cargo handler that has been estimated.