Daifuku Co., Ltd.

Shigeru Sugano

Atsushi Minoo

Masami Iwai

Takuya Gondoh

Atsushi Kurayama

Natsuo Takagawa

Yoshikazu Tai

Fumiaki Tatemi

Mitsuo Morikubo

Keita Onoue

A control unit executes first loading control if it is determined that a loaded article is not present above a loading surface region based on captured image information, and second loading control if it is determined that it is uncertain whether the loaded article is not present above the loading surface region based on the captured image information. The first loading control causing a holding unit to release a target article when the target article is directly above the loading surface region and the lower surface of the target article is higher than the upper surface of the loading surface region by a first specified distance, and the second loading control causing the holding unit to release the target article when the target article is directly above the loading surface region and the lower surface of the target article is higher, by a second specified distance, than a specified height.

Article loading facility

A control unit performs first loading control that is to be performed when a target article that has been determined by a determination unit as being an article that is in an appropriate orientation is to be loaded onto a first supporting member in the appropriate orientation, and second loading control that is to be performed when a target article that has been determined by the determination unit as being an article that is in an inappropriate orientation is to be loaded onto the first supporting member in the appropriate orientation. The first loading control is performed to control a loading operation unit to suck and support a first sucking-target surface of a target article that is supported by the second supporting member, from above, then move a sucking portion, and thereafter release the target article from the state of being sucked by the sucking portion, and the second loading control is performed to control the loading operation unit to perform an orientation changing operation, and thereafter release the target article from the state of being sucked by the sucking portion when the target article is located immediately above the first supporting member and the first sucking-target surface faces upward.

An article loading facility includes: a transport unit; a loading unit; a setting unit; a first control unit; and a second control unit. The transport unit transports second supporting members from storage units to a transfer position. The loading unit loads target articles that are supported by the second supporting members, onto the first supporting member. The setting unit performs an arrangement setting process to set arrangement information for each of the plurality of target articles that are to be loaded onto the first supporting member, the arrangement information indicating the orientation and the position of the corresponding target article relative to the first supporting member, and performs an arrangement order setting process to set a type arrangement order that, when target articles of a plurality of types are to be loaded according to the arrangement information, indicates the order in which the plurality of types are to be arranged. The second control unit controls the transport unit to transport the second supporting members to the transfer position according to the type arrangement order. The first control unit controls the loading unit to load the target articles onto the first supporting member according to the arrangement information that has been set in the arrangement setting process.

A control unit performs a first loading control and a second loading control. The first loading control is performed to control a loading operation unit to load a plurality of target articles onto a first supporting member according to arrangement information. The second loading control is performed to execute a second determination process based on at least one of: the arrangement information; detection information obtained by the detection unit; and information regarding a loading area, to determine whether or not the remaining articles are loadable onto the first supporting member, and to control the loading operation unit to load the remaining articles onto the first supporting member if the remaining articles are determined as being loadable in the second determination process. While performing the first loading control, if the control unit does not determine in the first determination process that the target articles are in a different state, the control unit continues performing the first loading control, and while performing the first loading control, if the control unit determines in the first determination process that the target articles are in the different state, the control unit performs the second loading control instead of the first loading control.

In order to provide an automated roll transport vehicle with which the work required to install the vehicle in a production facility is simplified, a transport carriage includes a transport vehicle side support element that supports a roll upwardly of the transport carriage such that the roll can be transferred to a receiving device, moving operation means for moving a core a of the roll supported by the transport vehicle side support element with respect to the transport carriage, control means for controlling operation of the moving operation means to locate the core a in a proper position at which both ends of the core a can be supported by a pair of device side support elements with the transport carriage stopped at a transfer location. One or more imaging device or devices for capturing an image of the device side support element is provided.

Automated roll transport facility

An article transport apparatus has a path that has a first end and a second end and that extends along a plurality of article transferring locations, a plurality of article transporting vehicles that run on the path, and control means for controlling the plurality of article transporting vehicles. When the transport request data currently processed and the transport request data previously processed specify a same article transferring location for collecting, and the article transporting vehicle that was selected based on the transport request data previously processed is currently performing a transport operation, then the control means selects an article transporting vehicle that is not currently performing a transport operation as the article transporting vehicle for a transport operation.

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Hinocho, Japan

Shigeru Sugano