In-vehicle cargo handling system, stacker, and method of delivering cargo
AssigneeToyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsToshihiko Hiratani, Naoyuki Taguri
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An in-vehicle cargo handling system includes a storage conveyor configured to circularly convey a cargo along a one-stroke conveyance route, and a stacker fixedly installed in a vehicle and configured to rotate the cargo at least around an axis parallel to a vehicle vertical direction, the stacker transferring the cargo between a first transfer position provided in the middle of the conveyance route and a second transfer position separated from the first transfer position in a horizontal direction, in which the stacker allows the cargo to be transferred to and from the storage conveyor at the first transfer position.
Claims7
An in-vehicle cargo handling system comprising:
- a storage conveyor configured to convey a cargo along a looped conveyance route;
- a stacker fixedly installed in a vehicle and configured to rotate the cargo at least around an axis parallel to a vehicle vertical direction, the stacker transferring the cargo between a first transfer position provided in the middle of the looped conveyance route and a second transfer position separated from the first transfer position in a horizontal direction, wherein the stacker allows the cargo to be transferred to and from the storage conveyor at the first transfer position;
- and
- an unmanned ground vehicle configured to receive the cargo from the stacker at the second transfer position,
- wherein the unmanned ground vehicle includes:
- a container configured to accommodate the cargo;
- and
- a ramp provided in the container and inclined horizontally and downward, the ramp allowing the cargo to slide into the container,
- wherein the stacker includes a hand that includes a fork plate on which the cargo is placed, the fork plate moving in the horizontal direction and having one or more notches formed at a tip thereof, and
- wherein, when the cargo is delivered from the stacker to the unmanned ground vehicle, the stacker is configured to cause the one or more notches of the fork plate to be positioned on the ramp in a state where the cargo is placed on the fork plate, then configured to lower the fork plate to bring a top portion of the ramp into contact with a bottom surface of the cargo, and then configured to cause the fork plate to retreat to a retreating side in the horizontal direction, thereby allowing the cargo to slide down along the ramp.
A method of delivering a cargo from a stacker fixedly installed in a vehicle to an unmanned ground vehicle entering the vehicle, comprising
- providing the stacker including a fork plate on which the cargo is placed, the fork plate moving in a horizontal direction and having one or more notches formed at a tip thereof,
- providing the unmanned ground vehicle including:
- a container configured to accommodate the cargo;
- and
- a ramp provided in the container and inclined horizontally and downward, the ramp allowing the cargo to slide into the container, and
- causing the one or more notches of the fork plate to be positioned on the ramp in a state where the cargo is placed on the fork plate, then lowering the fork plate to bring a top portion of the ramp into contact with a bottom surface of the cargo, and then causing the fork plate to retreat to a retreating side in the horizontal direction, thereby allowing the cargo to slide down along the ramp.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.