Patent ID: 9221606
Filing Date: 2015-12-29
Classification: A62C,B65G

Abstract:
1. An article transporting facility comprising: a movable body for conveying articles, the movable body can freely travel along a traveling path and can freely transfer articles among a plurality of article holding sections provided along the traveling path; an optical range sensor for detecting a distance between a reference position and the movable body on the traveling path by projecting a measurement light along the traveling path; a movable body controller for controlling the travel of the movable body whereby the position of the movable body, by setting a target travel position corresponding to an article holding section on the traveling path in accordance with a distance measured by the optical range sensor and for controlling the transfer of articles between article holding sections while keeping the movable body stopped at the target travel position of an article holding section, in order to transport articles between a plurality of article holding sections; a fire detector for detecting fire in the article holding sections; a fire extinguisher for freely spraying a fire extinguishing agent; a fire extinguisher controller to activate the fire extinguisher when an article fire is detected by the fire detector; and an object detector provided at a side of the movable body for detecting the presence of an object associated within an article holding section; wherein the movable body controller can be freely switched between a first control state, under which the travelling of the movable body is controlled in accordance with the distance measured by the optical range sensor, and a second control state, under which the travelling of the movable body is controlled such that the movable body travels to a target travel position set to correspond to an article holding section where the object detector detects the object to be detected pertaining to the article holding section which holds the article to be transferred; wherein the first control state is maintained during a time when no fire is detected by the fire detector, wherein the first control state is switched to the second control state after a fire is detected; wherein at least one of the plurality of article holding sections is designated as a burning article extinguishing section that is provided with a fire extinguishing device; wherein the fire detector detects both the occurrence of fire and identifies the holding section where the burning article is located; wherein a travelling speed of the movable body under the second control state is set to be slower than the travelling speed of the movable body under the first control state; wherein the movable body controller is constructed such that when an occurrence of fire is detected by the fire detector under the first control state, it controls the movable body to travel to the burning article holding section under the first control state then the first control state is switched to the second control state, and under the second control state it performs the travelling and transferring operation of the movable body to convey the burning article from the burning article holding section to the burning article extinguishing section; and wherein when the travel of movable body to the burning article holding section under the first control state has been completed the fire extinguisher controller operates the fire extinguisher to perform the fire extinguishing.