Article transport facility

1. An article transport facility comprising:

an article transport vehicle configured to travel along a travel path which extends through an opening formed in a wall;

a guide rail for guiding the article transport vehicle along the travel path;

a fire door for closing the opening through movement along a wall surface of the wall;

wherein the guide rail includes a movable guide portion capable of being located at a door installation location which is a location along a path longitudinal direction at which the fire door is installed and a fixed guide portion including two portions, one of which is located on one side of the door installation location and the other of which is located on the other side of the door installation location, along the path longitudinal direction,

wherein the movable guide portion is configured to be moved to a guiding position in which the movable guide portion is located at the door installation location, is adjacent to, and lined up with, the fixed guide portion, and to an out-of-the-way position in which the movable guide portion has been moved out of the door installation location for allowing passage of the fire door, wherein the movable guide portion is moved from the guiding position to the out-of-the-way position under a weight of the movable guide portion;

an engaging member capable of being moved to an engaging position at which the engaging member is in engagement with the movable guide portion in the guiding position and with the fixed guide portion to hold the movable guide portion in the guiding position, and to a releasing position at which the engaging member is not in engagement with at least one of the movable guide portion and the fixed guide portion, along a direction that intersects a direction in which the movable guide portion is moved from the guiding position under the weight of the movable guide portion wherein the engaging member supports the movable guide portion from below when in the engaging position;

an urging member for urging the engaging member from the engaging position toward the releasing position;

a holding device for generating an operating force with electric power supplied from an electric power supply to hold the engaging member in the engaging position against an urging force of the urging member;

a power-supply controller for controlling operation of the electric power supply; and

a fire detector for detecting a fire;

wherein the power-supply controller controls the operation of the electric power supply to:

maintain an electric power supplying state in which electric power is supplied from the electric power supply to the holding device while fire information which indicates a presence of a fire is not outputted from the fire detector; and

switch to an electric power non-supplying state in which electric power is not supplied from the electric power supply to the holding device if the fire information is outputted from the fire detector; and

wherein the guide rail has a travel surface on which a travel wheel of the article transport vehicle rolls,

wherein the engaging member is configured, when the operating force of the holding device is not acting on the engaging member:

to be movable from the engaging position to the releasing position under the urging force of the urging member when the travel wheel of the article transport vehicle is not on the movable guide portion; and

not to move from the engaging position to the releasing position under the urging force of the urging member when the travel wheel of the article transport vehicle is on the movable guide portion.

2. The article transport facility as defined in claim 1 , wherein the engaging member is movable to the engaging position and to the releasing position by sliding along a slide path formed in, and extending at least partially through, the fixed guide portion and the movable guide portion, and

wherein the urging force of the urging member is set to be greater than a frictional force between the engaging member and the slide path when the travel wheel of the article transport vehicle is not on the movable guide portion, and to be less than the frictional force between the engaging member and the slide path when the travel wheel of the article transport vehicle is on the movable guide portion.

3. The article transport facility as defined in claim 1 , wherein the engaging member includes an inserted portion for being inserted to an engaging recess portion of the fixed guide portion, and

wherein the inserted portion is formed in a tapered shape in which a distal end side has a smaller transverse dimension than a proximal end side in an inserting direction.

4. An article transport facility comprising:

an article transport vehicle configured to travel along a travel path which extends through an opening formed in a wall;

a guide rail for guiding the article transport vehicle along the travel path;

a fire door for closing the opening through movement along a wall surface of the wall;

wherein the guide rail includes a movable guide portion capable of being located at a door installation location which is a location along a path longitudinal direction at which the fire door is installed and a fixed guide portion including two portions, one of which is located on one side of the door installation location and the other of which is located on the other side of the door installation location, along the path longitudinal direction,

wherein the movable guide portion is configured to be moved to a guiding position in which the movable guide portion is located at the door installation location, is adjacent to, and lined up with, the fixed guide portion, and to an out-of-the-way position in which the movable guide portion has been moved out of the door installation location for allowing passage of the fire door, wherein the movable guide portion is moved from the guiding position to the out-of-the-way position under a weight of the movable guide portion;

an engaging member capable of being moved to an engaging position at which the engaging member is in engagement with the movable guide portion in the guiding position and with the fixed guide portion to hold the movable guide portion in the guiding position, and to a releasing position at which the engaging member is not in engagement with at least one of the movable guide portion and the fixed guide portion, along a direction that intersects a direction in which the movable guide portion is moved from the guiding position under the weight of the movable guide portion wherein the engaging member supports the movable guide portion from below when in the engaging position;

an urging member for urging the engaging member from the engaging position toward the releasing position;

a holding device for generating an operating force with electric power supplied from an electric power supply to hold the engaging member in the engaging position against an urging force of the urging member;

a power-supply controller for controlling operation of the electric power supply; and

a fire detector for detecting a fire;

wherein the power-supply controller controls the operation of the electric power supply to:

maintain an electric power supplying state in which electric power is supplied from the electric power supply to the holding device while fire information which indicates a presence of a fire is not outputted from the fire detector; and

switch to an electric power non-supplying state in which electric power is not supplied from the electric power supply to the holding device if the fire information is outputted from the fire detector;

wherein the electric power supply includes a main power source, an electricity storage, and a main power supply abnormal condition detector for detecting an abnormal condition of the main power source, and

wherein the electric power supply is configured:

to cause electric power to be supplied from the main power source or the electricity storage to the holding device when in the electric power supplying state;

to cause electric power to be supplied from the electricity storage to the holding device when an abnormal condition of the main power source is detected by the main power supply abnormal condition detector, when in the electric power supplying state; and

to cause electric power to be not supplied either from the main power source or from the electricity storage to the holding device when in the electric power non-supplying state.

5. An article transport facility comprising:

an article transport vehicle configured to travel along a travel path which extends through an opening formed in a wall;

a guide rail for guiding the article transport vehicle along the travel path;

a fire door for closing the opening through movement along a wall surface of the wall;

wherein the guide rail includes a movable guide portion capable of being located at a door installation location which is a location along a path longitudinal direction at which the fire door is installed and a fixed guide portion including two portions, one of which is located on one side of the door installation location and the other of which is located on the other side of the door installation location, along the path longitudinal direction,

wherein the movable guide portion is configured to be moved to a guiding position in which the movable guide portion is located at the door installation location, is adjacent to, and lined up with, the fixed guide portion, and to an out-of-the-way position in which the movable guide portion has been moved out of the door installation location for allowing passage of the fire door, wherein the movable guide portion is moved from the guiding position to the out-of-the-way position under a weight of the movable guide portion;

an engaging member capable of being moved to an engaging position at which the engaging member is in engagement with the movable guide portion in the guiding position and with the fixed guide portion to hold the movable guide portion in the guiding position, and to a releasing position at which the engaging member is not in engagement with at least one of the movable guide portion and the fixed guide portion, along a direction that intersects a direction in which the movable guide portion is moved from the guiding position under the weight of the movable guide portion wherein the engaging member supports the movable guide portion from below when in the engaging position;

an urging member for urging the engaging member from the engaging position toward the releasing position;

a holding device for generating an operating force with electric power supplied from an electric power supply to hold the engaging member in the engaging position against an urging force of the urging member;

a power-supply controller for controlling operation of the electric power supply; and

a fire detector for detecting a fire;

wherein the power-supply controller controls the operation of the electric power supply to:

maintain an electric power supplying state in which electric power is supplied from the electric power supply to the holding device while fire information which indicates a presence of a fire is not outputted from the fire detector; and

switch to an electric power non-supplying state in which electric power is not supplied from the electric power supply to the holding device if the fire information is outputted from the fire detector;

wherein with one direction along the path longitudinal direction being defined to be a first direction, a direction along the path longitudinal direction that is opposite from the first direction being defined to be a second direction, and a direction that is perpendicular to the path longitudinal direction in plan view being defined to be a right and left direction,

wherein the guide rail is one of guide rails that include a first rail member and a second rail member which are spaced apart from each other along the right and left direction,

wherein each of the first rail member and the second rail member has a travel surface on which a travel wheel of the article transport vehicle rolls, and an electricity supply line installed along the path longitudinal direction for supplying operating electric power to the article transport vehicle,

wherein the movable guide portion is one of movable guide portions that include a first movable guide portion of the first rail member and a second movable guide portion of the second rail member,

wherein the fixed guide portion is one of fixed guide portions that include a first fixed guide portion of the first rail member, and a second fixed guide portion of the second rail member,

wherein the first movable guide portion is pivotable about an axis that extends along the right and left direction and that is located in an end portion of the first movable guide portion that is on the first direction side,

wherein the electricity supply line provided to the first movable guide portion is connected with an electricity supply line provided to a portion of the first fixed guide portion that is adjacent to, lined up with, and extends away in the first direction from, the first movable guide portion in the guiding position and is disconnected from an electricity supply line provided to a portion of the first fixed guide portion that is adjacent to, lined up with, and extends away in the second direction from, the first movable guide portion in the guiding position,

wherein the second movable guide portion is pivotable about an axis that extends along the right and left direction and that is located in an end portion of the second movable guide portion that is on the second direction side, and

wherein the electricity supply line provided to the second movable guide portion is connected with an electricity supply line provided to a portion of the second fixed guide portion that is adjacent to, lined up with, and extends away in the second direction from, the second movable guide portion in the guiding position and is disconnected from an electricity supply line provided to a portion of the second fixed guide portion that is adjacent to, lined up with, and extends away in the first direction from, the second movable guide portion in the guiding position.