JPH1029702A - Conveying means control method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] A transfer that does not cause interference such as interference to other wireless systems or that a bogie is erroneously recognized, and that the load on a ground controller is light and the transfer efficiency is high. A means control device is provided. SOLUTION: The supply of instruction data from a ground controller 50 to each bogie 5 is divided into instruction data relating to a position having a small data amount and instruction data relating to transfer having a large data amount. The transmission is performed by tightly coupled wireless transmission, and the instruction data relating to the transfer is supplied by remote space transmission. In addition, trolley 5
Is recognized in consideration of the traveling speed of the carriage 5 and the wireless polling time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling a transfer means for controlling a transfer means such as a truck traveling along a laid rail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in factories and warehouses, in order to convey articles, conveyance means such as an unmanned conveyance vehicle traveling on a fixed conveyance route on a floor surface and a bogie traveling along laid rails have been used. It's being used. These transport means are controlled by a ground controller that centrally manages the logistics system.
All instructions such as stop and transfer operations are performed.

[0003] However, these instructions cannot be made unless each of the plurality of bogies returns to a predetermined position, so that simply performing this control increases the load on the ground controller (the program becomes very complicated). Further, since it is impossible to give an instruction unless each carriage returns to a predetermined position, the transport efficiency is not good. To solve this problem, there is, for example, JP-A-4-41322. In this system, the ground controller and all the carts are connected by a wireless LAN so that the ground controller can issue an instruction anywhere. This reduces the burden on the ground controller and improves the efficiency of the transport operation.

[0004]

However, such a conventional transport means control apparatus has the following problems. (B) Since radio waves are used, if another radio system uses the same carrier frequency in the vicinity, interference or other interference is given to the radio system. (B) Since the ground controller obtains the movement position information of each truck by the output of the reflection type photoelectric sensor provided in each station, there is a possibility that the truck is erroneously recognized.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a transportation means which does not interfere with other radio systems such as interference, does not erroneously recognize a bogie, and has a light load on a ground controller and high transportation efficiency. It is an object of the present invention to provide a control method and a transport device control device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a method for controlling a conveying means, comprising: laying a cable covering a member that transmits an electromagnetic field along a rail, and moving the cable along the rail. Each of the transport means is provided with a coupler tightly coupled to the cable, and further, each of the plurality of transport means and each of the plurality of stations arranged along the rail is provided with an optical communication means, the cable and the By tightly coupling the couplers provided in the respective transport means, the transmission and reception of the position information is performed wirelessly between the cable and the coupler of each transport means, and when each transport means arrives at the station based on the positional information, The optical communication means transmits and receives transfer information such as loading and unloading of articles from the station to the transport means.

[0007] Further, the transporting means control device according to the present invention comprises:
What is claimed is: 1. A transport unit control device for controlling movement of a plurality of transport units with respect to a plurality of stations provided along a rail, wherein the cable is provided along the rail and covers a member that transmits an electromagnetic field. Transmitting and receiving means for wirelessly transmitting and receiving position information via the cable;
A coupler which is provided in each of the plurality of transporting means and is tightly coupled to the cable, a transmitting / receiving means for wirelessly transmitting / receiving the position information via the coupler, and an optical communication of transfer information such as loading / unloading of articles. An optical communication means for performing transmission and reception, and an optical communication means provided at each of the plurality of stations, for performing transmission and reception by optical communication of the transfer information with each of the plurality of transport means; and The position information is transmitted to each transport means, and when information indicating that the vehicle has arrived at the station based on the position information is received from each transport means, the optical communication means of the station changes to the optical communication means of the transport means. And control means for transmitting and receiving transfer information such as loading and unloading of articles.

According to the above method and configuration, the cables laid along the rails and the couplers provided in the respective transport means are tightly coupled, and the transmission and reception of the position information between the cables and the respective couplers is performed wirelessly. Done. Further, transmission / reception transmission of transfer information such as loading / unloading of articles is performed by optical communication between each station and each transport means.

Therefore, since the level of the electromagnetic field becomes very small at a certain distance from the cable, even if there is another wireless system using the same carrier frequency in the vicinity, interference such as interference may occur in the wireless system. Nothing. In addition, since the position information can be transmitted / received and transmitted regardless of the position of each transport means on the rail, it is possible to accurately grasp the movement position of the transport means. In addition, since information can be sent and received and transmitted to any position on the rail, the program for controlling the transfer means can be simplified, and the transfer efficiency can be improved.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a transport system to which an embodiment of a transport unit control device according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the transport unit control device. The conveyance means control device of this embodiment divides the supply of instruction data from the ground controller 50 to each carriage 5 into instruction data relating to a position having a small data amount and instruction data relating to transfer having a large data amount. The instruction data relating to the position is supplied by tightly coupled wireless transmission, and the instruction data relating to transfer is supplied by remote space transmission.

In this case, the tightly-coupled wireless transmission means a tightly-coupled cable concealed by an object that transmits an electromagnetic field and a side opposite to the tightly-coupled cable with respect to the object, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-80180. Is tightly coupled to the coupler, and information is wirelessly transmitted and received between the tightly coupled cable and the coupler. By adopting this tightly-coupled wireless transmission system, the level of the electromagnetic field becomes very small at a certain distance from the tightly-coupled cable, so even if there is another wireless system using the same carrier frequency nearby, There is no interference such as interference in the wireless system.
On the other hand, in the remote space transmission, data is converted into an optical signal by a light emitting element and transmitted, and the optical signal is received by a light receiving element. By using bidirectional transmission and large-volume data transmission, transmission and reception can be performed in real time.

(A) Configuration of Transport System 1 In FIG. 1, the transport system 1 includes an automatic warehouse 2, a plurality of stacker cranes 3, a plurality of stations 4, a plurality of trolleys 5, rails 6, a ground controller, 50. The rail 6 has a long elliptical shape as shown in the figure, and a plurality of carts 5 travel. Each station 4 is arranged along the rail 6. These stations 4 include those dedicated to loading and unloading, those dedicated to warehouses, and those used for empty pallet processing. In the drawing, 4a is dedicated to storage, 4b is dedicated to warehouse, 4c is dedicated to warehouse, and 4d is empty pallet processing. It is for. As shown in FIG. 2, the trolley 5 of each station 4 includes a light emitting element (for example, a near-infrared light emitting diode) and a light receiving element (for example, a phototransistor) for remote space transmission. Optical transmission module 10 is provided.

Returning to FIG. 1, the automatic warehouse 2 stores articles carried by the stacker crane 3. The stacker crane 3 conveys the goods transported to the warehouse dedicated station 4c to a designated place within the area covered by the automatic warehouse 2, or takes out the articles stored in the automatic warehouse 2 and discharges them to the station 4c. Things. Below the rail 6, a tightly coupled cable 11 shown in FIG. 2 is laid along the rail 6. One end of the tightly coupled cable 11 is connected to a terminating resistor 12, and the other end is connected to a matching device 13 for connecting to a ground controller 50. In addition, a repeater 14 for amplifying a signal propagating in the cable is inserted in the middle part. In addition,
The repeaters 14 are provided in a number corresponding to the length of the tightly coupled cable 11.

The truck 5 includes a coupler 14, an optical transmission module 15 similar to the optical transmission module 10 provided in each of the stations 4, a transmitting / receiving device 16, and a control device 17. ing. The coupler 14 is a so-called antenna, and is tightly coupled to the tightly coupled cable 11 to take in instruction data on the position transmitted from the ground controller 50. The instruction data captured by the coupler 14 is demodulated by the transmission / reception device 16 and captured by the control device 17.

The control device 17 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), a ROM storing a control program,
The controller 17 has a RAM used in the operation of U, and the control device 17 fetches instruction data on the position demodulated by the transmission / reception device 16 to recognize the station 4 to be moved. Further, the control device 17 fetches instruction data on transfer from the ground controller 50 via the optical transmission module 15 and recognizes start, deceleration, stop, transfer work, and the like. After finishing the operation based on the instruction data, the control device 17 deletes the instruction data and enables the next instruction data to be accepted.

The ground controller 50 is used for transmitting and receiving instruction data relating to the position and receiving a position data confirmation signal from each carriage 5, and for storing each instruction data relating to the position and transfer. Storage device 52
And a control device 53. The control device 53 includes a CPU (not shown), a ROM storing a control program, and a RAM used in the operation of the CPU. Also, the ground controller 50
Are connected to an automatic warehouse remote panel (not shown), an operation panel, a personal computer, and the like.
The ground controller 50 uses the tightly coupled cable 11 to make an inquiry to each truck 5 as to whether or not an instruction is possible by polling. In this case, the polling time by wireless is approximately 2.5 to 3 when the number of the trolleys 5 is five.
8 seconds.

In controlling the trucks 5, the order in which instructions are issued is managed, and the acceptability of the station 4 of the other party is checked to select a processable station 4. After selecting a station 4 that can be processed, an optimum carriage 5 for the station 4 is selected. In this case, as for the bogie 5 which is in an empty state after the work such as loading and unloading of articles, the one closest to the selected station 4 is a candidate. However, in the selection of the carriage 5, a position at which the vehicle can be stopped at the selected station 4 is selected in consideration of the traveling speed of the carriage 5 and the wireless polling time. In this way, the moving position of the carriage 5 is not erroneously recognized.

After selecting an empty cart 5 candidate, a cart 5 closest to the selected station 4 is selected in a working state such as loading / unloading of articles. This is because it is sometimes faster to head to the target station 4 after the work is completed even if the worker is currently working than to point the empty cart 5 to the target station 4.
The trolley 5 in operation is also taken into account. After selecting the empty trolley 5 and the working trolley 5, the most optimal one is selected from these. Then, it inquires of the selected carriage 5 whether or not an instruction is possible, and if possible, supplies instruction data.

An instruction data confirmation signal notifying that the instruction data has been received is output from the cart 5 to which the instruction data has been supplied. The ground controller 50 transmits the instruction confirmation signal within a predetermined time after transmitting the instruction data. If the instruction data cannot be received, the instruction data is transmitted again. When the cart 5 that has supplied the instruction data reaches the target station 4, the ground controller 50 sets the optical transmission module 1.
From 0, instruction data on transfer is supplied. The cart 5
Performs transfer or the like of articles based on the instruction data. The ground controller 50 corrects the moving position of the truck 5 using the optical transmission module 10 when the truck 5 arrives at the station 4. When the bogie 5 travels over a long distance, a slight shift occurs in the moving position.
By correcting the movement position, it is possible to always grasp the accurate movement position.

(B) Operation of Ground Controller 50 FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ground controller 50. First, it is determined whether or not instruction data has been generated in step S10. In this determination, if it is determined that the instruction data has not been generated, this step is repeated,
When it is determined that the instruction data has been generated, the process proceeds to step S12, and the station 4 is selected. Then, in step S14, it is determined whether or not the selected station 4 is acceptable. If it is determined that the selected station 4 is unacceptable, the process returns to step S12 and a new selection is made.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle is acceptable, the process proceeds to step S16, and it is determined whether or not there is an empty state, that is, if there is a bogie 5 that is not being processed. In this determination, when it is determined that there is an empty truck 5, the process proceeds to step S18, and the empty truck 5 that is closest to the acceptable station 4 is selected. in this case,
As described above, in the selection of the cart 5, the one that can be stopped at the selected station 4 is selected in consideration of the traveling speed of the cart 5 and the wireless polling time.

After selecting the nearest one of the stations 4 that can be accepted from the empty carts 5, it is determined in step S20 whether there is any truck 5 being processed. In this determination, when it is determined that there is a trolley 5 being processed, the process proceeds to step S22, and among the stations 4 having the trolley 5 being processed, the trolley 5 of the station closest to the acceptable station 4 is selected. Among the trolleys 5 in the empty state, the closest one to the acceptable station 4 is selected, and among the stations 4 having the trolley 5 being processed, the acceptable station 4 is selected.
After selecting the carriage 5 at the station closest to the station 4, in step S24, one of these carriages 5 that is closest to the station 4 that can be accepted is determined.

After determining the optimum cart 5, step S2
At 6, instruction data relating to the position is transmitted from the tightly coupled cable 11 and supplied to the truck 5 determined. Next, in step S28, it is confirmed whether or not the instruction data has been received.
That is, it is determined whether or not an instruction data confirmation signal is transmitted from the cart 5. If the instruction data confirmation signal is not transmitted within a predetermined time, the instruction data is transmitted again. If the instruction data confirmation signal has been transmitted, the process proceeds to step S30, and it is confirmed that the truck 5 has arrived at the acceptable station 4. Then, when it is confirmed that the cart 5 has arrived at the acceptable station 4, in step S32, the instruction data regarding the transfer is output from the optical transmission module 10 of the station 4,
Supply it to the cart 5.

The truck 5 receives the optical signal output from the optical transmission module 10 by its own optical transmission module 15 and demodulates the instruction data. Then, an instruction data confirmation signal is output from the optical transmission module 15. The operations from step S10 to step S32 are performed every time the instruction data is generated. In addition, in the determination of the above step S16, when there is no trolley 5 which becomes empty,
Proceed directly to step S20. In addition, the above step S
In the determination of 20, if there is no trolley 5 being processed,
Proceed directly to step S24. In addition, since there is no case where there is no empty truck 5 and no empty truck 5 is being processed, the processing is not performed in the order of steps S16, S20, and S24.

As described above, in the embodiment, the supply of the instruction data from the ground controller 50 to each carriage 5 is divided into instruction data relating to a position having a small data amount and instruction data relating to transfer having a large data amount. The instruction data relating to the position is supplied by tightly coupled wireless transmission, and the instruction data relating to transfer is supplied by remote space transmission. Further, the moving position of the carriage 5 is recognized in consideration of the traveling speed of the carriage 5 and the wireless polling time.

Therefore, the level of the electromagnetic field is small at a place distant from the tightly coupled cable 11 to some extent. Therefore, even if there is another wireless system using the same carrier frequency near the wireless system, the wireless system may have interference. Does not interfere.
In addition, since the position data can be transmitted and received regardless of the position of each truck 5 on the rail 6, the moving position of the truck 5 can be accurately recognized. In addition, since information can be transmitted and received to the trolley 5 at any position on the rail 6, the load on the ground controller 50 can be reduced, and the transport efficiency can be improved.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the level of the electromagnetic field becomes very small at a certain distance from the cable, so that there is another radio system using the same carrier frequency nearby. Also, the radio system does not cause interference such as interference. Further, since the position information can be transmitted / received and transmitted at any position on the rails, it is possible to accurately grasp the moving position of the transfer means.
In addition, since information can be sent and received and transmitted to any position on the rail, the program for controlling the transfer means can be simplified, and the transfer efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a transport system to which an embodiment of a transport unit control device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a transport unit control device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the conveyance unit control device according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 4 station 5 carriage (transportation means) 6 rail 10 optical transmission module (optical communication means) 11 tightly coupled cable (cable) 14 coupler 15 optical transmission module (optical communication means) 16 transmitting / receiving device (transmitting / receiving means) 50 ground controller 51 transmission / reception Device (transmission / reception means) 53 Control device (control means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cable (11) covering a member that transmits an electromagnetic field is laid along a rail (6), and each of a plurality of transport means (5) running on the rail (6) is provided. A coupler (14) for tightly coupling with the cable (11) is provided, and furthermore, light is supplied to each of the plurality of transport means (5) and each of the plurality of stations (4) arranged along the rail (6). A communication means (10, 15) is provided, and a coupler (14) provided on the cable (11) and each transport means (5).
Are tightly coupled to each other, wirelessly transmit and receive position information between the cable (11) and the coupler (14) of each transport means, and each transport means (5) is a station (4) based on the positional information. Arrives at the optical communication means (10, 1
5) the transfer means (5) from the station (4)
And transmitting and receiving transfer information such as loading and unloading of articles to and from the transport means. 2. A transport means control device (1) for controlling the movement of a plurality of transport means (5) with respect to a plurality of stations (4) provided along a rail (6), comprising: A cable (11) provided along 6) and coated with a member that transmits an electromagnetic field; and a transmitting / receiving means (51) for transmitting and receiving position information by tightly-coupled wireless via the cable (11); A coupler (14) provided in each of the plurality of transport means and tightly coupled to the cable (11); and a transmitting / receiving means (16) for wirelessly transmitting and receiving position information via the coupler (14). An optical communication means (15) provided in each of the plurality of transport means (5) for transmitting and receiving transfer information by optical communication such as loading and unloading of articles; and an optical communication means (15) provided in each of the plurality of stations (4) Before An optical communication means (10) for transmitting and receiving the transfer information by optical communication with each of the plurality of transport means (5); and transmitting the position information to the respective transport means (5) via the cable (11). When transmission is performed and information is received from each of the transport means (5) indicating that the station has arrived at the station (4) based on the position information, the optical communication means (10) of the station transmits the optical communication means (10) of the transport means. 15) A control means for controlling a transport means, comprising: a control means (53) for transmitting / receiving transmission of transfer information such as loading / unloading of articles.