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US 12,747,099 B2Granted
Transport vehicle
AssigneeDaifuku Co., Ltd.
InventorsTomotaka Kinugawa, Kiyohide Ichino
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A transport vehicle includes a first sensor that detects a relative distance in a vertical direction between a holder and at least one handle contactlessly. A controller determines, based on a detection result from the first sensor, whether the relative distance is at a first set value as a reference for the holder to hold or release the at least one handle and whether the relative distance is at a second set value corresponding to a descending limit for the holder with respect to the at least one handle.
Claims10
A transport vehicle for traveling along a travel path to transport an article, the transport vehicle comprising:
- a compartment configured to accommodate the article;
- a holder configured to hold at least one handle included in the article;
- a lifter configured to lift and lower the holder between the compartment and a transfer area below the travel path;
- a controller configured to control the holder and the lifter;
- a first sensor configured to detect a relative distance in a vertical direction between the holder and the at least one handle contactlessly;
- and
- a second sensor in addition to the first sensor,
- wherein the controller determines, based on a detection result from the first sensor, whether the relative distance is at a first set value as a reference for the holder to hold or release the at least one handle and whether the relative distance is at a second set value corresponding to a descending limit for the holder with respect to the at least one handle,
- wherein the second sensor is separated from the first sensor in a horizontal direction and is configured to detect the relative distance while coming in contact with the handle, and
- wherein the controller further determines, based on a detection result from the second sensor, whether the relative distance is at the first set value and whether the relative distance is at the second set value.
7 more elements
A transport vehicle for traveling along a travel path to transport an article, the transport vehicle comprising:
- a compartment configured to accommodate the article;
- a holder configured to hold at least one handle included in the article;
- a lifter configured to lift and lower the holder between the compartment and a transfer area below the travel path;
- a controller configured to control the holder and the lifter;
- a first sensor configured to detect a relative distance in a vertical direction between the holder and the at least one handle contactlessly;
- and
- a second sensor in addition to the first sensor,
- wherein the controller determines, based on a detection result from the first sensor, whether the relative distance is at a first set value as a reference for the holder to hold or release the at least one handle and whether the relative distance is at a second set value corresponding to a descending limit for the holder with respect to the at least one handle,
- wherein the at least one handle is a pair of handles protruding upward from an upper surface of a body of the article,
- wherein the first sensor detects the relative distance for at least one handle in the pair of handles,
- wherein the pair of handles comprise a first handle and a second handle,
- wherein the first sensor detects the relative distance for the first handle,
- wherein the second sensor detects the relative distance for the second handle, the second sensor comprises a contactor and a state detector, the contactor changes a state when coming in contact with the second handle, and the state detector detects a change in the state of the contactor, and
- wherein the controller determines, based on a detection result from the second sensor, whether the relative distance for the second handle is at the first set value and whether the relative distance for the second handle is at the second set value.
11 more elements
A transport vehicle for traveling along a travel path to transport an article, the transport vehicle comprising:
- a compartment configured to accommodate the article;
- a holder configured to hold at least one handle included in the article;
- a lifter configured to lift and lower the holder between the compartment and a transfer area below the travel path;
- a controller configured to control the holder and the lifter;
- and
- a first sensor configured to detect a relative distance in a vertical direction between the holder and the at least one handle contactlessly,
- wherein the controller determines, based on a detection result from the first sensor, whether the relative distance is at a first set value as a reference for the holder to hold or release the at least one handle and whether the relative distance is at a second set value corresponding to a descending limit for the holder with respect to the at least one handle,
- wherein a third set value is the relative distance as a reference for the holder to hold or release the at least one handle is set between the first set value and the second set value, and
- wherein to lower the holder toward the article in a transfer area, when the relative distance reaches the first set value, the controller further lowers the holder by a set distance to change the relative distance toward the third set value.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.