JPS62140115A - Method for controlling distance between self-traveling trucks - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain the automatic control of the driving speed of a self-traveling truck so that the actual distance between trucks is equal to a set distance and to secure the application of a self-traveling truck to an assembling line, by setting the distance between truck in response to the situation and applying this set distance to each truck as an inter-truck distance command signal. CONSTITUTION:A self-traveling truck 1 is driven by the wheels 3 engaging guide rails 2 is driven along a fixed course. A signal line 10 for transmission of speed command signal is set along the truck driving course in a drive control section. The speed command signal is applied via a current collector 11 of the truck 1. While the inter-truck distance command signal 15a set externally according to the situation is received 14 and the set inter-truck distance value 14a is applied to a comparison part 17. Then the output 12a equivalent to a distance L from a preceding truck measured by an optical distance sensor 12 is converted 16 and the present inter-truck distance value 16a is applied to the part 17. Then the speed value 19a set by the speed command signal is corrected by the speed correction value 17a given from the part 17. Thus the driving speed of the truck 1 is automatically controlled.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is a control method for making a self-propelled bogie run on a fixed route while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance from the bogie in front at an arbitrarily set value. It is related to.

(Prior art and its problems) Conventionally, when it comes to controlling the inter-vehicle distance between a track-type self-propelled bogie and the front bogie that travels on a fixed route, it has been difficult to control the distance between the bogies and the bogies, or when workpieces protruding from the bogies collide with each other. In order to prevent this, wllB is used to automatically stop the bogie when it approaches the front bogie within a certain distance. It was not possible to run a trolley.

Therefore, with conventional conveyance means using self-propelled carts, it is important to keep the pitch of the workpieces conveyed by the self-propelled cart to the minimum possible to avoid collisions between the workpieces and perform efficient conveyance work, and to It has not been possible to set the conveyance workpiece pitch to an arbitrary length according to the planned production amount for that day and to perform rational conveyance.

(Means and effects for solving the problems) The present invention proposes a method for controlling the inter-vehicle distance of a self-propelled bogie that can solve the conventional problems as described above. A self-propelled bogie that travels is provided with a receiving means for receiving a following distance command signal from the outside and a means for detecting the following distance between the front bogie, and the present value of the following distance given from the outside via the following distance command signal is determined. A speed correction value is calculated by comparison with the current value of the distance between vehicles detected by the distance between vehicles, and the traveling speed of the self-propelled trolley is determined based on this speed correction value so that the current value of the distance between vehicles is equal to the set value of the distance between vehicles. In the control method of the present invention, which automatically adjusts the distance so that When the actual inter-vehicle distance is different from the set inter-vehicle distance, the actual inter-vehicle distance is given to each self-propelled bogie via the receiving means in the form of an inter-vehicle distance command signal. It is possible to automatically adjust the running speed so that it is equal to , and run the self-propelled trolley while maintaining the set inter-vehicle distance.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below based on the attached illustrative drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a self-propelled trolley, which travels along a fixed route by means of guide rails 2 and wheels 3 that engage with the guide rails. 4 is a rank gear 5 laid along the bogie running route
It is a traveling drive gear that meshes with the motor 6 and is interlocked with the motor 6. 7 is a pulse encoder operatively connected to the rack gear 5. Reference numeral 8 denotes a power supply line laid along the traveling route of the vehicle, which supplies power to the motor 6 via the collector 9 of the self-propelled vehicle 1. Instead of using the traveling drive gear 4 and the rank gear 5, at least one of the wheels 3 may be driven by a motor 6.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a signal line laid along the bogie traveling route in the bogie running control section, and provides a speed command signal to the self-propelled bogie 1 via the collector 11 of the self-propelled bogie 1. 12 is a photoelectric distance sensor attached to the front end of the self-propelled vehicle 1, and 13 is a reflection plate attached to the rear end of the self-propelled vehicle 1. Reference numeral 14 denotes an inter-vehicle distance command signal receiving means attached to the self-propelled bogie 1, and a inter-vehicle distance command signal transmitter installed corresponding to the receiving means 14 at the starting point of the bogie travel control section or a fixed position in front of it. The inter-vehicle distance command signal 15a is received from the means 15, and the inter-vehicle distance set value 14a converted into a binary value is continuously outputted until the next new inter-vehicle distance command signal 15a is received.

The photoelectric distance sensor 12 receives the reflected light beam from the reflection plate 13 of the self-propelled truck 1 in front, and outputs an output 12a corresponding to the distance to the reflection plate 13, that is, the inter-vehicle distance #L with the front truck. The output 12a is converted into a current inter-vehicle distance value 16a converted into a binary value in a converter 16 as shown in FIG. The comparison unit 17 compares the following distance set value 14a outputted from the following distance command signal receiving means 14 with the current following distance (! 16 a
A speed correction value 17a is output.

As shown in FIG. 2, the signal line 10 is supplied with a speed command signal 18a converted into a serial pulse signal by a converter 18, and the speed command signal (serial pulse signal) received by the collector 11 is supplied to the signal line 10. ) 18a is the conversion unit 19
The speed setting value 19a is converted into a binary value. The speed set value correction section 20 corrects the speed set value 19a using the speed correction value 17a from the comparison section 17, and outputs a speed target value 20a.

The output cuff a of the pulse encoder 7 is converted into a current speed value 21a by a conversion section 21, and compared with the speed target value 20a in a comparison section 22. This comparison unit 22 generates a speed control value 22a that corrects the speed target value 20a according to the difference between the speed target value 2Qa and the speed current value 21a.
The rotational speed control device 23 of the motor 6 is controlled by this speed control value 22a,
The rotation speed of the motor 6 is automatically adjusted so that the current speed value 21a becomes equal to the target speed value 2Qa. That is,
According to the above configuration in which so-called feedback control is performed, when each self-propelled bogie 1 traveling on the same traveling route passes the starting point of the bogie running control section or a certain position before it, the inter-vehicle distance command signal receiving means 14 transmits the signal. The inter-vehicle distance command signal 15a from the means 15 is received, and the inter-vehicle distance setting value 14a is sent to the next-stage comparison section 17. When the self-propelled truck 1 enters the truck travel control section, the collector 11 receives the speed command signal 18a supplied to the signal line 10, and the converter 1
9 outputs a speed setting value 19a.

On the other hand, the current value 16a of the inter-vehicle distance is sent to the comparison section 17 by the optical distance sensor 12 of each self-propelled trolley 1 and the conversion section 16 at the next stage, and the comparison section 17 sets the inter-vehicle distance. The value 14a and the current inter-vehicle distance value 16a are compared, and a speed correction value 17a corresponding to the deviation is sent to the speed setting value correction section 20 at the next stage. This speed correction value 17
a is the speed setting value 1 in the speed setting value correction section 20.
9a, and a speed target value 20a is output. This speed target value 20a becomes greater than the speed setting value +9a when the current inter-vehicle distance value 16a is larger than the inter-vehicle distance setting value 14a, and conversely, when the inter-vehicle distance current value 16a is smaller than the inter-vehicle distance setting value 14a, the speed setting value It is corrected to be smaller than 19a. The amount of correction is proportional to the deviation between the current inter-vehicle distance value 16a and the set inter-vehicle distance value 14a.

The traveling speed of the self-propelled trolley 1, that is, the rotation speed of the motor 6, is
As mentioned above, the current speed value 2+a is the speed number! (JI20a
Since the self-propelled bogie 1 is feedback-controlled so that the distance between it and the front bogie is equal to the following distance Jri,
If it is larger than the set following distance given by the speed command signal a, the vehicle will travel at a higher speed than the set speed given by the speed command signal 18a, and as the following distance approaches the set following distance, the speed will be reduced. When the distance becomes equal to the set inter-vehicle distance, the vehicle will travel at the set speed. Further, when the inter-vehicle distance ML with the front bogie is smaller than the set inter-vehicle distance, the vehicle travels at a lower speed than the set speed, and as the inter-vehicle distance ML approaches the set inter-vehicle distance, the speed is increased, and the inter-vehicle distance ML is When the distance between vehicles becomes equal to the set inter-vehicle distance, the vehicle will travel at the set speed. Through such control, each self-propelled bogie 1 on the same bogie travel control section travels while automatically maintaining the set speed and the set inter-vehicle distance.

Among the plurality of self-propelled bogies 1 that travel on the bogie running control section while maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance, the first self-propelled bogie 1 has a current inter-vehicle distance value 168 of infinity or zero, so it cannot be controlled normally. Therefore, at the starting point of the bogie running control section or at an appropriate position before it, a signal indicating that it is the leading bogie is given to the leading self-propelled bogie 1, and a signal indicating the inter-vehicle distance is given to the leading self-propelled bogie 1. If the command signal 15a is not given, the bogie that does not have the set value 14a for the inter-vehicle distance is determined to be the leading bogie, or the inter-vehicle distance detection means does not detect the inter-vehicle distance to the front bogie (the current inter-vehicle distance value 16a is infinite). or zero) to determine that it is the leading bogie, or a separately added sensor detects the presence or absence of a preceding bogie to determine that it is the leading bogie, and the self-propelled bogie 1 that is the leading bogie It is necessary to eliminate the function of the set value correction section 20 and always make the speed target value 20a equal to the speed set value +9a, so that the vehicle always runs at the set speed.

In the above embodiment, the traveling speed of the self-propelled trolley 1 can also be set arbitrarily, but this is not an essential requirement of the present invention. In addition, although the inter-vehicle distance detection means is constituted by the photoelectric distance sensor 12, the reflector 13, and the converter 16, this is not limited thereto either. Furthermore, the inter-vehicle distance command signal is given to the receiving means 14 of the self-propelled bogie 1 by the transmitting means 15 at a certain position at or before the starting point of the inter-vehicle distance system 11FD travel section (in the embodiment, the travel control section). Like the speed command signal in the above embodiment, the command signal may be continuously applied to the self-propelled trolley 1 throughout the entire inter-vehicle distance control travel section.

Further, the control method of the present invention can be implemented by program control (1) using a microcomputer for the self-propelled trolley 1.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the inter-vehicle distance control method of the present invention, it is possible to arbitrarily set the inter-vehicle distance between the front and rear bogies, and the self-propelled bogie automatically travels while maintaining this set inter-vehicle distance. I can do it. Therefore, by using the method of the present invention, a self-propelled cart, which has a greater advantage than other general conveyors, can be used as a transportation means in an assembly line, and workpieces can be transported according to their length and production planned amount. It can be transported in a pinch suitable for such situations.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the self-propelled trolley, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the control system. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Self-propelled trolley, 4... Running drive gear, 5... Rank gear, 6... Motor, 7... Pulse encoder, 8... Power supply line, 9.11... Current collector , 10・
...Signal line for speed command signal transmission, 12...Optical distance sensor, 13...Reflector, 14...Following distance command signal receiving means, 14a...Following distance set value, 15...
- Inter-vehicle distance command signal transmission means, 15a... Inter-vehicle distance command signal, 16+8.19.21... Conversion unit, 16a.
...Current distance between vehicles, +7.22...Comparison section, +7a
...Speed correction value, +8a...Speed command signal, 19a
...Speed set value, 20...Speed set value correction section, 20
a...Speed target value, 21a...Speed current value, 22a
...Speed control value, 23...Motor rotation speed control device. Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] A self-propelled trolley traveling on a fixed route is provided with a receiving means for receiving an external inter-vehicle distance command signal and an inter-vehicle distance detection means between the front vehicle and the inter-vehicle distance given from the outside via the inter-vehicle distance command signal. A speed correction value is calculated by comparing the set value with the current value of the distance between vehicles detected by the distance between vehicles, and the traveling speed of the self-propelled bogie is determined based on this speed correction value, and the current value of the distance between vehicles is set as the distance between vehicles. A method for controlling an inter-vehicle distance of a self-propelled trolley, characterized by automatically adjusting the distance so that the distance is equal to the value.