JPS63240607A - Unmanned carrier system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure the highly efficient operations of both an elevator and an unmanned carrier by decreasing the time needed for the carrier to reach the elevator platform from its present position compared with the estimated time needed for the selected elevator to reach a floor called by the carrier. CONSTITUTION:When the destination is indicated to an unmanned carrier central control board CPUA (A1 or A2) from a host computer 3, an elevator control board 6 receives said indication and reads out the present position of an unmanned carrier 2 to read the indicated destination. Then the board 6 selects the shortest course for the carrier 2 to reach an elevator platform and calculates the traveling distance of the carrier 2 along said course to obtain the time needed for the carrier 2 to reach the elevator platform. Then the optimum arriving time T2 of an elevator is calculated when the elevator is allocated to a called floor. The selected elevator is sent to the desired floor when T1<T2 is satisfied. However the elevator is kept waiting in case of T1>T2 and another elevator is allocated with T1<T2.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Objective of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is a system for moving an automatic guided vehicle between floors by using a plurality of elevators whose operation is managed by an elevator group management control device. related to unmanned transportation systems operated by

(Prior Art) With recent remarkable advances in technology, unmanned transportation systems are becoming increasingly important as a part of factory automation in offices, factories, etc. In addition, when an unmanned guided vehicle system is adopted in an office or factory, etc., the range of movement of the unmanned guided vehicle is between multiple floors, so it is necessary to use a three-dimensional Unmanned transportation systems will become important.

By the way, conventionally, a three-dimensional unmanned transportation system combining an elevator and an unmanned guided vehicle has been carried out according to the procedure shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the automatic guided vehicle central control panel A gives a destination floor command So to the automatic guided vehicle, the automatic guided vehicle moves to the elevator hall in response to this command. When the automatic guided vehicle arrives at the elevator landing, the S engineer sends a call floor and destination floor signal to the elevator. In response to this, when the elevator reaches the called floor and opens the door, it issues a boarding ready signal S2 to the automatic guided vehicle.

When the automated guided vehicle receives this boarding ready signal S2 and starts boarding the elevator and completes boarding, it issues a boarding completion signal S3 to the elevator. When the elevator receives this signal, it closes its doors and travels to the destination floor. Further, when the elevator reaches the destination floor, the door is opened and a disembarkation enable signal S4 is issued to the automatic guided vehicle. Then, the guided vehicle receives this signal and starts disembarking, and upon completion, sends an alighting completion signal S5 to the elevator. In accordance with this, the elevator starts and completes door closing.

However, in a system in which an automated guided vehicle is moved to another floor using an elevator using such procedures, the automated guided vehicle sends a call and destination floor signal to the elevator after arriving at the elevator landing, so the elevator In response to this, the waiting time until the train arrives at the called floor becomes considerably long.

Therefore, it may be possible to send a call command to the elevator at the same time as giving a destination floor command to the automatic guided vehicle from the automatic guided vehicle central control panel, but this would cause the elevator to arrive at the called floor quickly. In many cases, the waiting time for the door to open becomes too long.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In this way, in the conventional automated guided vehicle system using elevators, even if a destination floor signal is issued to the automated guided vehicle from the automated guided vehicle central control panel, the automated guided vehicle does not reach the elevator boarding point. The waiting time from when the automated guided vehicle arrives at the elevator landing until the elevator lands on the called floor and the door opening is completed. It was quite long. For this reason,
The amount of cargo that an automated guided vehicle can carry per unit time is decreasing.
There was a problem with poor transportation efficiency.

In addition, if the automatic guided vehicle central control panel issues a destination floor signal to the automatic guided vehicle and also issues a call signal to the elevator at the same time, there will be many cases where the waiting time for the elevator door to open is too long. There was a problem. Especially in modern factories and office buildings, where multiple elevators are installed within a building and the operation of these elevators is controlled by an elevator group management control panel, a large number of automated guided vehicles can be moved between different floors. When moving vehicles, waiting time for automatic guided vehicles and elevators becomes a major problem.

Therefore, the present invention can reduce the waiting time of automatic guided vehicles and elevators while efficiently managing the operation of a plurality of elevators whose operation is controlled by an elevator group management control device. The purpose is to provide an unmanned transportation system that can be operated efficiently.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention operates an automated guided vehicle controlled by an automated guided vehicle control device across different floors using an elevator. In an unmanned transportation system configured to do so, an elevator group management control device that centrally controls a plurality of elevators receives instruction information on destination floors of other floors sent to the automatic guided vehicle from the unmanned transportation control device. a first calculating means for calculating a predicted arrival time T1 from the current position of the automatic guided vehicle to the elevator landing; and an elevator selected in consideration of operation management of the entire elevator, landing on the call floor of the automatic guided vehicle; a second calculation means for calculating the predicted time T2 required for
1. T2 is compared, and when TI <72, the elevator is made to respond to the call floor of the automatic guided vehicle, and when TI >72, the first calculation means and the second calculation means calculate again until TI <72. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a means for executing the above, so that unnecessary waiting time of the elevator and the automatic guided vehicle is minimized.

(Function) Therefore, in an automated guided vehicle system with such a configuration, when a destination floor command is issued from the automated guided vehicle control device to the automated guided vehicle, this destination floor command is controlled by the elevator group management!
! The estimated time T1 required for the automated guided vehicle to reach the elevator landing from the current position of the automated guided vehicle and the estimated time T2 required for the abandoned elevator to land at the called floor, taking into consideration the operation management of the entire elevator. is required. and,
These two predicted times T1 and T2 are compared, and T1 minus T2
When , an elevator is assigned to the called floor.

As a result, a call command is issued to the elevator before the automatic guided vehicle arrives at the elevator hall, giving priority to elevator operation management, so that the elevator will arrive at the summoned floor at the predicted arrival time of the automatic guided vehicle. , the door can be opened, the waiting time of the automatic guided vehicle and the elevator can be shortened, and the operating efficiency of the automatic guided vehicle can be improved. I will explain.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of an unmanned transportation system according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, A1 and A2 are automatic guided vehicle central control panels installed, for example, on the first and second floors of the factory building, and these automatic guided vehicle central control panels A1. A2 is 1
Automated guided vehicle 2 (Nn1~N(13
), (m4 to No., 6) are given instructions such as the destination l1, etc., and the operation management of these automatic guided vehicles 2 is performed without waste. 3 is a host computer such as a minicomputer, and this host computer 3 includes an automatic guided vehicle central control panel A1 installed on each floor. A2 is connected via a serial network via an information transmission path such as an optical fiber cable. This host computer 3 is connected to each automatic guided vehicle 2.
The automatic guided vehicle central control panel A1 requests the current position information of A1. A
2 to the automatic guided vehicle 2. on the other hand,
4A and 48.4G are three elevator cars installed in the building, and these cars 4A and 48.40 are controlled by elevator control panels 5A and 58.5C installed for each elevator in the elevator machine room. Hoisting machine 7A for each machine.

78.7G, and is used to transport the above-mentioned automatic guided vehicle 2 to another floor. In addition, each basket 4A, 4B
, 4C is equipped with a detector such as an optical coupler that detects boarding and alighting of the automatic guided vehicle 2, and the boarding and alighting signals detected by this detector are transmitted to each machine via the elevator traveling cable 8. It is designed to be input to elevator control panels 5A, 5B, and 5C. Reference numeral 6 denotes an elevator group control panel consisting of a microcomputer, etc., which manages the operations of these three elevators and controls calling and destination floors.
are connected by a serial transmission line 9 using an optical fiber cable or the like, and information such as the operating direction of each elevator, car position, load, stop floor, and entry/exit signals for automatic guided vehicles can be input at high speed. Furthermore, this elevator group control panel 6 is connected to the host computer 3 by a serial transmission line 9 using an optical fiber cable similar to that described above, thereby integrating an automatic guided vehicle control system and an elevator control system.

Next, the operation of the unmanned transportation system having such a configuration will be explained with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In FIG. 2, when a destination instruction S9 is now issued from the host computer 3 to the automatic guided vehicle central control panel A (Al or A2), the elevator group control panel 6 takes in this destination instruction S9, as shown in FIG. Execute processing like this. First, in step I, when a destination instruction is input from the host computer 3, the current position of the automated guided vehicle 2 is read from the automated guided vehicle information table prepared in advance, and further, the destination given to the automated guided vehicle 2 in step Load instructions. If it is determined in step ■ that the destination is on another floor, the automatic guided vehicle 2
Since it is predicted that the automatic guided vehicle 2 will use the elevator, the automatic guided vehicle 2 selects the optimal course to take to the elevator platform according to the predetermined rules in step (2), calculates the travel distance along that course, and then calculates the distance traveled along this course. Predict the arrival time to the elevator hall based on the distance. In this case, the rated speed of the automatic guided vehicle 2 is usually about 60 m/1n and it moves at a nearly constant speed, so the predicted value T
1 can be obtained by dividing the predicted travel distance by the rated speed. Next, in step V, an optimal elevator is selected in consideration of the overall operation management of the elevator when it is temporarily assigned to the called floor. Furthermore, if this optimal elevator is temporarily assigned to the called floor, the predicted time T2 for this elevator to land on the called floor is determined. Then, in step (2), the predicted arrival time TI of the automatic guided vehicle to the elevator landing obtained in step V is compared with the predicted time T2 until the elevator attached to the board side lands on the called floor, and TI> If it is T2, the allocation of the elevator attached to the board side in step (2) to the call floor is postponed, and the process returns to step (2). And conversely, TI <T
If it is 2, the elevator attached to the board side is permanently assigned to respond to the call floor in step (2). Through such processing, the elevator number for the called floor is determined.

Next, we return to FIG. 2 again to continue the explanation. The elevator responds to the call floor in response to the call command, and when the elevator reaches the floor and opens the door, it issues a boarding ready signal @S2 to the automatic guided vehicle 2. The automatic guided vehicle 2 receives this signal, starts getting on the elevator, and sends a ride completion signal $3 to the elevator when the ride is completed. When the Nirebeta receives this signal, it closes its door, receives a destination floor command from the elevator group control panel 6, and travels to the destination floor. When the elevator reaches the destination floor and the door is completely opened, it issues an exit enable signal S4 to the automatic guided vehicle 2.

Then, when the automatic guided vehicle starts and completes disembarkation, it sends a disembarkation completion signal to the elevator. Accordingly, the elevator starts closing its doors and completes the journey to the destination floor.

In this way, in this embodiment, the destination floor instruction of the automatic guided vehicle 2 issued from the host computer 3 to the automatic guided vehicle central control panel A1 or A2 is imported into the elevator group control panel 6, and the destination floor instruction of the automatic guided vehicle 2 is sent to the automatic guided vehicle central control panel A1 or A2. Calculation of optimal course, calculation of travel distance when traveling on that course, predicted arrival time T
1, select the most suitable elevator considering the operation management of the entire elevator when assigned to the called floor, and when this elevator responds to the called floor, it will arrive at the called floor. The predicted flooring time T2 is calculated, TI and T2 are compared, and if TI<T2, the elevator attached to the board side is permanently assigned to respond to the called floor. Therefore, when the destination floor command is issued and the automatic guided vehicle arrives at the elevator platform, the elevator will land on that floor, so there will be no waiting time for the automatic guided vehicle or the elevator, and the operation management of the elevator will be eliminated. can be carried out efficiently, and the operating efficiency of the automatic guided vehicle can be improved. Particularly in a system in which a large number of automated guided vehicles are moved to other floors using a plurality of elevators under group control, the operational efficiency of the elevators and automated guided vehicles as a whole can be improved.

In addition, in the above example, a case was shown in which six automatic guided vehicles were moved between different floors using three elevators.
This can be implemented in the same way as described above regardless of the number of automatic guided vehicles and the number of elevators. In addition, although Figure 1 shows the first and second floors, it goes without saying that the same method can be used to move an automatic guided vehicle on each floor to another floor in a building with multiple floors above the third floor. be.

Furthermore, although this embodiment has been described with respect to a combination of an automatic guided vehicle and an elevator in a factory, the present invention can be similarly applied to a combination of a transport robot and an elevator in an office building.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the elevator group management control device can control unmanned transportation [l] Calculate the predicted arrival time T1 from the current position of the car to the elevator landing, and also calculate the predicted time T2 required for the selected elevator to land on the call floor of the automatic guided vehicle, taking into consideration the operation management of the entire elevator. Both prediction times Tl
.

T2 is compared, and when Tl<T2, the elevator is made to respond to the call floor of the automatic guided vehicle, and when Tr>72, the predicted time T1. Calculations are executed until T2 becomes Tl < T2 to minimize the unnecessary waiting time of elevators and automated guided vehicles. It is possible to provide an unmanned transportation system that can efficiently operate a vehicle across different floors.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an automated guided vehicle system according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the procedures on the elevator side and automated guided vehicle side to explain the operation of the embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the procedure on the elevator side and automated guided vehicle side. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the calculation contents executed by the elevator group control panel in the same embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the procedures on the elevator side and the automatic guided vehicle side to explain the conventional transportation system. A1. A2...Automated guided vehicle central control panel, 2 (
NQI~Nα6)...Automated guided vehicle, 3...
...Upper computer, 4A, 4B, 4G...
Elevator car, 5A, 58.50...Elevator system m+ board, 6...Elevator group control board. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] An elevator group management control device that centrally controls multiple elevators in an unmanned transportation system in which an unmanned guided vehicle controlled by an unmanned transportation control device is operated across different floors using elevators. a first calculating means for calculating a predicted arrival time T_1 from the current position of the automatic guided vehicle to the elevator landing by taking instruction information of the destination floor of another floor issued to the automatic guided vehicle from the automatic guided vehicle control device; , a second calculating means for calculating the predicted time T_2 required for the elevator selected in consideration of the operation management of the entire elevator to land on the floor where the automatic guided vehicle is called, and comparing both predicted times T_1 and T_2.し T_1<
At T_2, the elevator responds to the call floor of the automatic guided vehicle, and when T_1>T_2, the first calculation means and the second calculation means perform calculations again until T_1<T_2. An unmanned conveyance system characterized in that unnecessary waiting time of the elevator and the automatic guided vehicle is minimized.