JP2009265907A - Apparatus for simulating carriage control unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for simulating a carriage control unit that can examine an operating status of inter-carriage control by a carriage control unit without using an actual carriage. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus for simulating is configured by connecting a personal computer (PC) to a carriage control unit, and can operate on the PC. In order to simulate the carriage control unit, the apparatus displays an arrangement layout of an own carriage, a preceding carriage and a subsequent carriage on a display screen of the PC, and virtually causes the own carriage, preceding carriage and subsequent carriage to travel on the screen according to a keyboard operation of the PC. The apparatus obtains a virtual output value of a laser distance sensor corresponding to a positional relationship (distance) between the own carriage and the preceding carriage on the display, outputs the virtual output value data of the laser distance sensor to the carriage control unit, and diagnoses whether the carriage control unit is normal or not on the basis of a response transmitted from the carriage control unit in response to the virtual output value data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a simulation apparatus for a cart control unit mounted on a transport cart.

  A transport system installed in a factory or the like includes a transport carriage that travels along a predetermined track. A carriage control unit for controlling a traveling operation, a cargo unloading operation, and the like is mounted on the transport cart.

As an apparatus for simulating such a trolley control unit, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, simulation data according to a predetermined sequence for trolley operation is given to the trolley control unit. There is something that performs the operation control according to.
JP-A-62-74108

  By the way, in the said prior art, it does not consider at all about the conveyance system by which the several conveyance trolley was thrown into one line. In recent years, it is desired to connect a cart control unit to a personal computer (PC) and perform a pseudo verification of the operation state of the inter-cart control in a plurality of transport carts.

  However, since one cart control unit can control only one transport cart, a plurality of transport carts cannot be controlled simultaneously. Even if a plurality of truck control units are prepared, these truck control units cannot be physically connected to one PC. Even if a system that can connect multiple truck control units to a single PC is built, trying to simulate multiple truck control units at the same time will exceed the capabilities of the PC and perform correct operation verification. I can't.

  Therefore, in the past, in order to verify the operation state of the inter-trolley control by the bogie control unit, there is no choice but to prepare a plurality of actual machines (actual conveyance carts) and perform an operation test using these actual machines.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a simulation apparatus for a trolley control unit that can verify an operation state of inter-trolley control by a trolley control unit without using an actual machine.

  The present invention is a simulation apparatus for a carriage control unit mounted on a plurality of conveyance carriages that travel along a predetermined track, and displays an arrangement layout of a plurality of virtual carriages corresponding to the plurality of conveyance carriages on a screen. Display means for displaying on the screen, operating means for operating each virtual carriage on the screen to virtually run along the virtual trajectory corresponding to the trajectory, and virtually running each virtual carriage on the screen by the operating means A data output means for obtaining a distance between transport carts corresponding to a positional relationship between two consecutive virtual carts among a plurality of virtual carts, and outputting data on the distance between the transport carts to the cart control unit, and a transport cart And a diagnostic means for diagnosing the operation of the cart control unit based on the response of the cart control unit to the distance data.

  In a transport system including a plurality of transport carts that travel along a predetermined track, the distance between the two transport carts in succession is less than or equal to a predetermined value by a cart control unit mounted on each transport cart. Such inter-trolley control is performed. Therefore, in order to simulate such a cart control unit, the operation unit is operated in a state where the layout layout of the plurality of virtual carts corresponding to the plurality of transport carts is displayed on the screen of the display unit. Thus, each virtual carriage is virtually traveled along a virtual track corresponding to the track on the screen. Then, the distance between the transporting carts corresponding to the positional relationship between the two preceding and succeeding virtual carts among the plurality of virtual carts is obtained, and data on the distance between the transporting carts is output to the cart control unit. Then, the operation of the cart control unit is diagnosed based on the response of the cart control unit to the distance between the transport carts. For example, when the distance between the transporting carts corresponding to the positional relationship between the two virtual carts is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a response signal for continuing the traveling operation of the transporting cart is sent from the cart control unit, If the response signal that decelerates or stops the transport cart is sent from the cart control unit when the distance between the transport carts corresponding to the positional relationship of the virtual cart is less than the predetermined value, the cart control unit is normal. It is determined that there is. As a result, the operation status of inter-cart control by the cart control unit can be verified by connecting one cart control unit to a personal computer (PC) without using an actual transport cart equipped with the cart control unit. It can be carried out.

  Preferably, the cart control unit is configured to send a deceleration command signal or a stop command signal when the distance between the transport carts is a predetermined value or less, and the data output means corresponds to the positional relationship between the two virtual carts. When the distance between the transporting carriages is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the data of the distance between the transporting carriages is output to the carriage control unit. The operation of the cart control unit is diagnosed by determining whether or not a signal has been sent.

  In this case, when the distance between the carriages corresponding to the positional relationship between the two virtual carriages is equal to or less than the predetermined value, a deceleration command signal or a stop command signal is sent from the carriage control unit to the data of the distance between the carriages. In this case, it is determined that the cart control unit is normal. Thus, by using the abnormal state in which the distance between the carriages is equal to or less than the predetermined value for the operation diagnosis of the carriage control unit, the operation state of the carriage control unit by the carriage control unit can be verified more accurately.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to verify the operation state of inter-cart control by the cart control unit without using an actual machine. Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare a plurality of transport carts simply for evaluation of the cart control unit, so that the cost can be reduced.

  Preferred embodiments of a simulation apparatus for a truck control unit according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a transport system to which an embodiment of a simulation apparatus for a cart control unit according to the present invention is applied. In the figure, a transport system 1 is a system for transporting loads such as various parts using a tracked unmanned transport cart (hereinafter simply referred to as a transport cart) 2 in an assembly factory, for example.

  The transport system 1 includes a plurality of transport carts 2. These transport carts 2 run unattended on a predetermined loop-shaped running rail (track) 3 in one direction (in the direction of the arrow in the drawing). The travel rail 3 is provided with a home position H that serves as a reference for travel of the transport carriage 2.

  Moreover, the conveyance system 1 is provided along the traveling rail 3 and includes a plurality of stations 4 for delivering and receiving a load. The transport carriage 2 stops at the station 4 and performs a delivery operation of the load to be transported.

  A ground control panel 5 is disposed at a position adjacent to one station 4. The ground control panel 5 includes a ground-side controller 6 that controls each conveyance carriage 2 and a display 7 that monitors the traveling state of each conveyance carriage 2. Power supply and communication between the transport carriage 2 and the ground control panel 5 are performed via a trolley line (not shown) disposed on the traveling rail 3.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the transport carriage 2. In the drawing, the transport carriage 2 has a travel motor 8, an encoder 9, two laser distance sensors 10, and a carriage control unit 11.

  The travel motor 8 is a motor that rotationally drives drive wheels (not shown) of the transport carriage 2. When the drive wheel of the transport carriage 2 is rotated by the travel motor 8, the transport wheel 2 travels along the travel rail 3 by rolling the drive wheel on the travel rail 3.

  The encoder 9 detects the rotation angle of the drive wheel of the transport carriage 2 and outputs a pulse signal for each predetermined rotation angle. The laser distance sensor 10 irradiates a laser to the conveyance carriage 2 that travels ahead of its own conveyance carriage 2 to measure the distance between these conveyance carriages 2, and to the conveyance carriage 2. Subsequently, a laser is applied to the transporting carriage 2 that travels subsequently, and the distance between these carriages 2 is measured.

  The cart control unit 11 has a cart controller 12 that can communicate with the ground controller 6. The cart-side controller 12 sends a travel command signal to the travel motor 8 in response to an instruction from the ground-side controller 6 and causes the transport cart 2 to travel to the designated station 4.

  Further, the cart side controller 12 calculates the current position of the transport cart 2 based on the output signal (pulse signal) of the encoder 9, and sends the current position data to the ground side controller 6. At this time, the carriage-side controller 12 sequentially counts the number of pulses output from the encoder 9 with the home position H as a reference, obtains the travel amount of the conveyance carriage 2 from the number of pulses, and obtains the current position of the conveyance carriage 2.

  Furthermore, the trolley controller 12 performs inter-trolley control based on the measurement value of the laser distance sensor 10. Specifically, the trolley side controller 12 sends a deceleration command signal to the travel motor 8 when the distance between the trolleys of the transport trolley 2 and the transport trolley 2 that precedes the trolley is equal to or less than the first threshold value. When the own carriage 2 is decelerated and the distance between the carriage 2 between the own carriage 2 and the preceding carriage 2 is equal to or smaller than a second threshold value that is smaller than the first threshold value, a stop command signal is sent to the travel motor 8. Is sent, and its own transport cart 2 is stopped.

  The simulation apparatus of this embodiment is a simulator that diagnoses whether inter-trolley control by the cart-side controller 12 of the cart control unit 11 is normally performed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the simulation apparatus is configured by connecting a personal computer (PC) 13 to one cart control unit 11 and can operate on the PC 13. The PC 13 constituting such a simulation apparatus includes a controller 14, a display 15, a keyboard 16, a memory (not shown), and the like.

  Here, the PC 13 can perform the drive control of the traveling motor 8 in response to the input / output from the cart control unit 11 and can visually check the operation on the screen of the display 15. It has become. Moreover, since the object simulated by the PC 13 is the software of the cart-side controller 12, it is necessary to evaluate with the architecture that actually operates. Therefore, the cart control unit 11 used in the actual transport cart 2 is prepared, and the evaluation target software is downloaded and verified and debugged.

  On the screen of the display 15 of the PC 13, as shown in FIG. 4, the layout layout of a plurality of (in this case, three) virtual carriages corresponding to the plurality of transport carriages 2 corresponds to the track 3 and each station 4, respectively. Displayed along with a virtual trajectory and a plurality of virtual stations. Here, any of the three virtual carts is assumed to be a self cart (P in the figure) corresponding to the transport cart 2 that can be controlled by a single cart control unit 11. A virtual carriage preceding the own truck is designated as a preceding carriage (Q in the figure), and a virtual carriage following the own truck is designated as a succeeding carriage (R in the figure).

  On the screen of the display 15, in addition to the layout display of each virtual carriage, setting data for the preceding carriage (corresponding to the virtual carriage 1) and the subsequent carriage (corresponding to the virtual carriage 2) is displayed. The setting data includes the current positions of the preceding carriage and the succeeding carriage, the speed increase of the preceding carriage and the succeeding carriage, and the laser abnormal values of the preceding carriage and the succeeding carriage.

  The current positions of the preceding carriage and the succeeding carriage are represented as a virtual distance from the own carriage along the traveling direction of the virtual carriage, for example, when the current position of the own carriage is 0. The laser abnormal values of the preceding carriage and the succeeding carriage are obtained from virtual output values (described later) of the laser distance sensor 10 corresponding to the positional relationship (distance) between the own carriage, the preceding carriage, and the succeeding carriage, and the laser distance. The laser abnormal value increases as the virtual output value of the sensor 10 decreases from a preset reference value. The laser abnormal value can be adjusted intentionally by a key operation or the like.

  Further, although not shown in FIG. 4, the diagnosis result of the cart control unit 11 is also displayed on the screen of the display 15.

  The keyboard 16 is an operation means for operating the own vehicle, the preceding vehicle, and the subsequent vehicle on the screen of the display 15 so as to virtually run along the virtual track. Specifically, the operation of the keyboard 16 instructs the start and end of the diagnosis of the cart control unit 11, and sets the traveling speed of the own cart on the screen.

  Further, the movements of the preceding carriage and the succeeding carriage are assigned to the keyboard 16 so that the traveling speed of the preceding carriage and the succeeding carriage on the screen can be changed by operating the keyboard 16. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, for the preceding vehicle, the speed increment is increased by the “A” key, and the speed increment is decreased by the “S” key. For the subsequent vehicle, the speed increment is performed by the “K” key. And increase the speed with the “L” key.

  As a result, the own vehicle, the preceding vehicle, and the subsequent vehicle can be virtually traveled while changing the traveling speeds of the preceding vehicle and the subsequent vehicle on the screen. Further, since the movement of the virtual carriage is operated with the keyboard 16, good operability can be realized.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the diagnosis process of the cart control unit 11 executed by the controller 14. Hereinafter, the procedure for simulating the cart control unit 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In the figure, first, it is determined whether or not the start of diagnosis of the cart control unit 11 is instructed by operating the keyboard 16 (step S51). When the start of diagnosis of the cart control unit 11 is instructed, the cart on the screen of the display 15 according to the traveling speed of each virtual cart (own cart, preceding cart and succeeding cart) set by operating the keyboard 16, The preceding carriage and the subsequent carriage are virtually run (step S52).

  At this time, the operator deliberately lowers the traveling speed of the preceding carriage by operating the “S” key as necessary. Then, the distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle gradually decreases on the screen of the display 15.

  Next, the distance between the two carriages 2 (the distance between the carriage 2 between the own carriage 2 and the preceding carriage 2) corresponding to the positional relationship between the own carriage and the preceding carriage on the screen is calculated. This is obtained as a virtual output value of the laser distance sensor 10 (step S53). Then, the virtual output value data of the laser distance sensor 10 is output to the cart side controller 12 of the cart control unit 11 (step S54).

  As described above, when the distance between the carriages measured by the actual laser distance sensor 10 is equal to or less than the first threshold value, the carriage-side controller 12 determines that the carriage-side controller 2 has its own carriage 2 to decelerate or stop. A deceleration command signal or a stop command signal is sent to the traveling motor 8. Accordingly, when the trolley controller 12 operates normally and the virtual output value of the laser distance sensor 10 is greater than the first threshold, the trolley controller 12 sends a deceleration command to the virtual output value data of the laser distance sensor 10. No signal or stop command signal is sent, and when the virtual output value of the laser distance sensor 10 is less than or equal to the first threshold value, a deceleration command signal is sent from the cart controller 12 to the virtual output value data of the laser distance sensor 10. Or a stop command signal should be sent.

  Accordingly, it is determined whether or not the virtual output value of the laser distance sensor 10 for the preceding carriage is larger than a preset reference value (corresponding to the first threshold value) (step S55). When the virtual output value of the laser distance sensor 10 for the preceding carriage is larger than the reference value, it is determined whether a deceleration command signal or a stop command signal is sent from the carriage-side controller 12 (step S56).

  When the deceleration command signal or the stop command signal is not sent from the cart side controller 12, it is determined that the operation of the software of the cart control unit 11 is normal, and the fact is displayed on the display 15 (step S57). When a deceleration command signal or a stop command signal is sent from the cart-side controller 12, it is determined that the operation of the software of the cart control unit 11 is not normal, and that effect is displayed on the display 15 (step S58).

  On the other hand, when the virtual output value of the laser distance sensor 10 for the preceding carriage is equal to or less than the reference value, a deceleration command signal or a stop command signal is sent from the carriage-side controller 12 within a predetermined time after the execution of the above step S54. It is determined whether it has been performed (step S59).

  When a deceleration command signal or a stop command signal is sent from the cart controller 12 within a predetermined time, it is determined that the operation of the software of the cart control unit 11 is normal, and a message to that effect is displayed (step S57). ). When a deceleration command signal or a stop command signal is not sent from the cart side controller 12 within a predetermined time, it is determined that the operation of the software of the cart control unit 11 is not normal, and that effect is displayed on the display 15 (step S58).

  After executing steps S57 and S58, it is determined whether or not the end of diagnosis of the cart control unit 11 is instructed by operating the keyboard 16 (step S60). When the end of the diagnosis of the cart control unit 11 is not instructed, the process returns to the above step S53, and the subsequent processing is repeatedly executed. When the end of the diagnosis of the cart control unit 11 is instructed, End the simulation.

  In the above, steps S51 to S54 are performed between the transport carts corresponding to the positional relationship between two virtual carts that are continuous among the plurality of virtual carts when each virtual cart is virtually run on the screen by the operation means 6. Data output means for obtaining the distance and outputting the data on the distance between the carriages to the carriage control unit 11 is configured. Steps S55 to S59 constitute diagnostic means for diagnosing the operation of the carriage control unit 11 based on the response of the carriage control unit 11 to the data of the distance between the carriage trucks.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, one carriage control unit 11 is connected to the PC 13, and in this state, the layout of the arrangement state of the own carriage, the preceding carriage, and the following carriage is displayed on the screen of the display 15 of the PC 13, and the PC 13 By operating the keyboard 16, the own cart, the preceding cart, and the following cart are virtually run on the screen. Then, the virtual output value of the laser distance sensor 10 corresponding to the positional relationship (distance) between the own cart and the preceding cart on the screen is obtained, and the virtual output value data of the laser distance sensor 10 is output to the cart control unit 11. Whether or not the cart control unit 11 is defective is diagnosed based on the response status sent from the cart control unit 11 to the virtual output value data.

  Thus, it is possible to verify and debug the inter-cart control operation by the cart control unit 11 without mounting the cart control unit 11 on each of the plural carts 2 and actually running the cart 2. . Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare a plurality of transport carts 2 for simple evaluation of the cart control unit 11, so that the cost can be greatly reduced.

  Moreover, since the actual conveyance cart 2 is not used, the cart control unit 11 can be evaluated without depending on the hardware. Moreover, since the evaluation of the cart control unit 11 is performed by software, quality can be built in the upstream process. Further, since the GUI (graphical user interface) of the PC 13 is used, the visual control and the operability are excellent, and the cart control unit 11 can be easily evaluated.

  Furthermore, even if an operation that is not expected in the operation test using the actual transport cart 2 is performed, if the operation of the software of the cart control unit 11 can be confirmed in advance, the cause of the bug is likely to be hardware. It is done. That is, the hardware and software can be easily separated. For this reason, it is not necessary to reverse the process for failure analysis, and the man-hour and cost of failure analysis can be reduced.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the transport system 1 in which the travel rail 3 on which the transport carriage 2 travels is a loop type has been described. It can also be applied to possible transport systems. In this case, a virtual output value of the laser distance sensor 10 for the subsequent carriage is obtained, and the virtual output value data is output to the carriage control unit 11, whereby the inter-carriage control by the carriage control unit 11 when the transport carriage moves backward. The operation can be verified and debugged.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the preceding carriage and the following carriage are virtually run separately on the screen of the display 15 of the PC 13, but in order to improve operability, the preceding carriage and the following carriage are linked. You may make it run virtually.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the distance between the two carriages 2 is measured by the laser distance sensor 10, but the distance between the carriages is obtained from the measurement value of the encoder 9 provided on each carriage 2. It is also possible to do. Therefore, instead of calculating the virtual output value of the laser distance sensor 10, the current positions of the own vehicle, the preceding vehicle, and the subsequent vehicle on the screen of the display 15 are calculated as the virtual output values of the encoders 9. The distance between the two carriages 2 may be obtained from the virtual output value, and the distance between the carriages may be output to the carriage control unit 11.

  In addition, the measured values of both the laser distance sensor 10 and the encoder 9 may be used in order to accurately acquire the distance between the two carriages 2. In this case, if there is a difference between the distance between the carriages obtained from the measurement value of the laser distance sensor 10 and the distance between the carriages obtained from the measurement value of the encoder 9, an alarm is given from the carriage control unit 11 as an abnormal state. A signal is output, and in some cases, the own transport carriage 2 is stopped. Therefore, in order to verify such a function, an abnormal state is created by intentionally making a difference between the virtual output value of the laser distance sensor 10 and the inter-vehicle distance obtained from the virtual output value of the encoder 9 on the screen of the display 15. It is possible to make a diagnosis as to whether an abnormal signal (alarm signal) is normally transmitted from the cart control unit 11 at that time. As the method, since the deviation amount between the virtual output value of the laser distance sensor 10 and the normal inter-cart distance is generated by arbitrarily increasing or decreasing the laser abnormal value displayed on the screen of the display 15, the laser distance A difference can be made between the virtual output value of the sensor 10 and the inter-cart distance obtained from the virtual output value of the encoder 9.

  Further, the virtual carriage displayed on the screen of the display 15 may be color-coded (for example, blue when normal, red when abnormal), and in this case, the inter-trolley control operation of the carriage control unit 11 is performed. Verification and debugging can be performed more visually.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the conveyance system with which one Embodiment of the simulation apparatus of the trolley | bogie control unit concerning this invention is applied. It is a schematic block diagram of the conveyance trolley shown in FIG. It is a schematic block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the simulation apparatus of the trolley | bogie control unit concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the screen of the display shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the diagnostic process of the trolley | bogie control unit performed by the controller shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Conveying cart, 3 ... Running rail (track), 11 ... Dolly control unit, 12 ... Dolly side controller, 13 ... Personal computer (simulation device), 14 ... Controller (data output means, diagnostic means), 15 ... Display ( Display means), 16... Keyboard (operation means).

Claims (2)

A trolley control unit simulation device mounted on a plurality of transport trolleys traveling along a predetermined track,
Display means for displaying an arrangement layout of a plurality of virtual carriages corresponding to the plurality of transport carriages on a screen;
Operating means for operating the virtual carriages on the screen so as to virtually run along virtual trajectories corresponding to the trajectories;
When each virtual carriage is virtually run on the screen by the operation means, a distance between the carriages corresponding to a positional relationship between two consecutive virtual carriages among the plurality of virtual carriages is obtained, and the conveyance Data output means for outputting data of distance between trucks to the carriage control unit;
A simulating apparatus for a trolley control unit, comprising: diagnostic means for diagnosing the operation of the trolley control unit based on a response of the trolley control unit to data on the distance between the transport trolleys. The cart control unit is configured to send a deceleration command signal or a stop command signal when the distance between the transport carts is a predetermined value or less.
The data output means, when the distance between the transporting carts corresponding to the positional relationship between the two virtual carts is equal to or less than the predetermined value, outputs the data of the distance between the transporting carts to the cart control unit,
The diagnostic means determines whether the deceleration command signal or the stop command signal is sent from the cart control unit with respect to the distance between the transport carts, and diagnoses the operation of the cart control unit. The trolley control unit simulation apparatus according to claim 1.

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