KR101890847B1 - Apparatus and method for controlling traffic light of vechicle of overhead hoist transfer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a traffic light control apparatus and method for an OHT vehicle, wherein the traffic light control apparatus of an OHT vehicle of the present invention provides a travel path of an OHT vehicle equipped with a pair of vehicle light bars illuminating each vehicle inspection light signal, A first linear rail member arranged in a first direction, a second linear rail member spaced apart from the first linear rail member and arranged in a first direction so as to be parallel to the first linear rail member, A running rail portion including a joining rail member connected to the rail member; A plurality of signal lamp light sensors disposed respectively on one side and the other side in the first direction and the second direction of the first rectilinear rail member, the second rectilinear rail member, and the confluent rail member of the traveling rail part, A signal light sensor unit including the signal light sensor unit; The first linear rail member and the second linear rail member of the traveling rail portion are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the first linear rail member or the second linear rail member on one side and the other side respectively, Pair of traffic light lighting bars; And a traffic light controller for controlling ON / OFF of a pair of signal light illumination bars and determining whether the OHT vehicle is allowed to move or not according to whether the vehicle inspection light signal of the plurality of signal light sensors is detected or not, thereby preventing collision of the OHT vehicle And a control unit.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a traffic light control apparatus and method for an OHT vehicle,

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling a traffic light of an OHT vehicle, and more particularly, it relates to a traffic light control apparatus and method for an OHT vehicle, in which, in a straight rail close to a confluent rail, To an apparatus and method for controlling a traffic light of an OHT vehicle capable of moving an OHT moving along another linear rail and moving to a confluent rail into a confluent rail.

The overhead hoist transfer (OHT) is used to transfer glass substrates used for wafers or flat panel displays while moving along a running rail fixed to the ceiling of a semiconductor device or a flat panel display manufacturing line. The OHT moves along a running rail by a vehicle, and related art is disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1556398 (Patent Document 1).

 Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1556398 discloses a hoist unit comprising a hoist unit consisting of a grip unit for gripping an article and a traveling unit consisting of first and second traveling units each having a pair of front and rear traveling wheels, A straight rail and a curved rail.

The hoist unit of the traveling system includes a direction determining section that is disposed on the upper portion of the first and second traveling sections of the traveling section and changes the angle according to the determined direction, a direction determining section for operating the direction determining traveling section to the left and right, A sensor for detecting the position of the rails and the auxiliary rails and a pair of sensors disposed at a lower portion of the direction determining part and disposed to detect the movement of the direction determining part, do.

The direction determining section of the hoist unit is composed of a guide plate, a guide shaft fitted in the through hole formed in the guide plate, and a direction determining wheel sandwiched between wheel shafts formed on both sides of the guide plate at intervals, A rotary drive rack movably provided on the base plate disposed on the upper portion of the solenoid valve, and a driven pinion member engaged with the rotary drive rack and pitch-shifted with the movement of the rotary drive rack.

The traveling path of the direction determining section is configured to move along a linear rail in a linear rail without a linear auxiliary rail and to move along a linear auxiliary rail in a linear rail provided with a linear auxiliary rail. In the curved rail section, To move along a curved sub-rail installed in the frame.

The OHT equipped with a vehicle such as the driving system disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1556398 is controlled by the control of the vehicle signal lamp control device and moves along the running rail to transfer and load the object to be transported. The conventional traffic light control device of the OHT vehicle controls the vehicle signal and transmits and receives the information to and from the OHT while moving the vehicle of the OHT along the running rail supported by the ceiling or the bottom fixed support so that the OHT transfers the object to be transported , The running rail consists of a straight rail and a confluence.

The traffic light control device of the conventional OHT vehicle controls the OHT to move using the OHT priority order after stopping before entering the confluence rail to confirm the collision with the OHT having the other movement trajectory when the OHT enters the confluence rail. In this way, the traffic light control apparatus of the conventional OHT vehicle arranges the vehicle signal light in the same section as the confluent rail to control the OHT transport in the confluent rail section, and efforts to improve the transport speed of the OHT using the OHT Is required. That is, the OHT is arranged to transfer and load the object to be transported at a position close to the confluence rail as the gap between the manufacturing process equipments is narrowed to improve the transport speed of the goods.

The traffic light control device of the conventional OHT vehicle can control the transfer priority of the OHT passing through the confluence rail to control the transfer of the OHT so that the object to be transferred can be transferred and loaded at a position close to the confluent rail As a result, there is a problem that the interval between the mounting positions of the manufacturing process equipment and the object to be transported is distant, which lowers the conveying speed of the material conveying and deteriorates the productivity of the product manufacturing due to the decrease of the material conveying speed.

: Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1556398

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a straight rail which is close to a confluent rail, The present invention also provides an apparatus and method for controlling traffic lights of an OHT vehicle that can move along a rail and move an OHT that is moved to a confluent rail into a confluent rail.

Another object of the present invention is to control the OHT, which moves along another linear rail and moves to the joining rail, to enter and exit the joining rail, regardless of the passage priority, so that the OHT moves the joining rail And an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for controlling a traffic light of an OHT vehicle capable of carrying out transportation and loading operations.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an OHT capable of entering and traversing an OHT into a confluent rail irrespective of the order of passage of confluent rails during transfer and loading of the object to be transported, The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for controlling traffic lights of an OHT vehicle that can improve the productivity of a product by improving the transport speed of the goods by narrowing the distance between the positions.

The traffic light control apparatus of an OHT vehicle of the present invention provides a movement path of an overhead hoist transfer vechicle (OHT vehicle) equipped with a pair of vehicle illumination bars each illuminating a vechicle inspection light signal, A first linear rail member, a second linear rail member spaced apart from the first linear rail member and disposed in a first direction so as to be parallel to the first linear rail member, and a second linear rail member disposed on the first linear rail member and the second linear rail member, A traveling rail portion including a joining rail member to be connected; And a plurality of optical sensors disposed respectively on one side and the other side of the first linear rail member, the second linear rail member, and the confluent rail member of the traveling rail part in the first direction and the second direction, A signal lamp light sensor unit including signal lamp light sensors; The first linear rail member and the second linear rail member of the traveling rail portion are disposed along one side of the first linear rail member or the second linear rail member on the other side thereof, respectively, to generate a signal light emission signal A pair of traffic light illumination bars to investigate; And controlling ON and OFF of the pair of signal light illumination bars and determining whether the OHT vehicle is allowed or not to move according to whether the vehicle inspection light signal of the plurality of signal light sensors is sensed or not, And a traffic light controller for preventing a vehicle from colliding with the first linear rail member or the second linear rail member, wherein the first direction indicates a longitudinal direction with the first linear rail member or the second linear rail member, and the second direction indicates a direction perpendicular to the first direction .

In the traffic light control method of the OHT vehicle of the present invention, in the traffic light controller, in a state in which a pair of traffic light illumination bars disposed respectively on the first straight rail member and the second straight rail member of the running rail are turned on, Or whether an overhead hoist transfer vechicle has entered the entry point of the second straight rail member; Confirming that a pair of vehicle illumination bars of the OHT vehicle entering the first linear rail member or the second linear rail member at the traffic light controller are all turned on when the OHT vehicle enters the entry point; If both of the pair of OHT vehicle illumination bars are on, keeping the pair of signal light illumination bars disposed on the first linear rail member or the second linear rail member at the signal light controller in an ON state to make the OHT vehicle stand by; Confirming at the traffic light controller whether or not another OHT vehicle has entered the first straight rail member or the second straight rail member entry point where the OHT vehicle is not waiting in the traffic light controller while checking whether the waiting is completed; And returning to the step of confirming that the pair of vehicle illumination bars are all turned on in the traffic light controller when the other OHT vehicle is entered.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a traffic light control apparatus and method for an OHT vehicle in which an OHT moving along a different linear rail regardless of a passage priority is moved to a confluent rail, There is an advantage that the OHT can transfer and load the object to be transported at a position close to the rail, and the OHT can move the OHT regardless of the passing priority of the joining rail while the object to be transported is loaded and loaded. It is possible to narrow the distance between the mounting positions of the manufacturing process equipment and the object to be conveyed, thereby improving the productivity of the product manufacturing by improving the material conveying speed.

1 is a plan view schematically showing a configuration of a traffic light control apparatus of an OHT vehicle of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the traffic light illumination bar shown in FIG. 1,
3 is a plan view showing a configuration of the vehicle illumination bar shown in Fig. 1,
4 is a flowchart showing a traffic light control method of an OHT vehicle according to the present invention,
FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for permitting movement of an OHT vehicle to the branching and joining movement paths shown in FIG. 4;
6 is a flow chart illustrating a method of permitting movement of an OHT vehicle with the linear movement path shown in Fig.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a traffic light control apparatus and method of an OHT vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1, the traffic light control apparatus of the OHT vehicle of the present invention includes a traveling rail 110, a signal light sensor unit 120, a pair of signal lamp illumination bars 131, 131a, 132, 132a, and a traffic light controller 130 .

The travel rail section 110 provides a travel path of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b with a pair of vehicle illumination bars 143, 143a that illuminate a vechicle inspection light signal, A second linear rail member 111 arranged in a first direction X so as to be parallel to the first linear rail member 111 and spaced apart from the first linear rail member 111, And a joining rail member 113 connected to the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112. [ The signal lamp light sensor unit 120 detects the first direction X of each of the first linear rail member 111, the second linear rail member 112 and the confluent rail member 113 of the traveling rail 110, 121a, 122a, 122a, 123, 123a, 124, 124a, 125, 125a, 126, 126a, 127, 128 disposed on one side and the other side of the two directions Y for sensing vehicle inspection light signals, respectively . The pair of signal lamp illumination bars 131 and 131a and 132 and 132a are respectively provided on one side and the other side of the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112 of the traveling rail 110, The signal lamp controller 130 generates and emits a signal light emission signal by being disposed along the longitudinal direction of the rail member 111 or the second rectilinear rail member 112. The signal lamp controller 130 controls the signal light illuminating bars 131, And controls the on and off of the OHT vehicle according to whether the vehicle inspection optical signal is detected by the plurality of signal light sensors 121, 121a, 122, 122a, 123, 123a, 124, 124a, 125, 125a, 126, 126a, 127, (140, 140a, 140b) to prevent collision of the OHT vehicle (140, 140a, 140b). Here, the first direction X represents the longitudinal direction of the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112, and the second direction Y is perpendicular to the first direction X .

Each component of the vehicle traffic light control apparatus of the OHT of the present invention will be described in detail as follows.

1, the running rail part 110 includes a first linear rail member 111, a second linear rail member 112, and a confluent rail member 113. As shown in FIG.

The first linear rail member 111 is disposed in the first direction X and the second linear rail member 112 is spaced apart from the first linear rail member 111 and parallel to the first linear rail member 111 In the first direction (X). The joining rail member 113 is connected to the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112 so that the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b moving along the first linear rail member 111 is in contact with the second linear rail member 111, And is formed so as to be inclined or curved so as to be able to be moved to the linear rail member 112. The first linear rail member 111, the second linear rail member 112 and the confluence rail member 113 are connected to known connecting members 111a, 112a and 113a and disposed on a ceiling (not shown).

The running rail part 110 is also configured so that the entry points P1 and P2, the branch point P3 and the joining point P4 are set and discharged at the setting and discharge points P5 and P6, respectively, Respectively.

The entry points P1 and P2 are connected to one side of the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112 in the first direction X, that is, a pair of first illuminance sensors 121, 121a, 122 and 122a And the second linear rail member 112 through which a virtual straight line drawn in the second direction Y is directed so as to face the center of each of the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112. [ The discharge points P5 and P6 are connected to the other side of the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112 in the first direction X, that is, a pair of third mirror reflection sensors 125, 125a, 126a, 126a, 126a, 126a, 126a, 126a, 126a, 126a, 126a, 126a, 124a, 126a, 126a.

The branch point P3 is set at one side of the joining rail member 113 connected to the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112 in the second direction Y, Is set on the other side of the joining rail member 113 in the second direction Y. [ That is, the branch point P3 is set to a position where the OHT vehicle 140 starts to enter the joining rail member 113 at the first linear rail member 111, and the joining point P4 is set at a position where the joining rail member 113 ) To the second straight rail member 112 at the start position.

1, the signal light sensor unit 120 includes a plurality of signal light sensors 121, 121a, 122, 122a, 123, 123a, 124, 124a, 125, 125a, 126, 126a, 127, 128, 122a, 123, 123a, 124, 124a, 125, 125a, 126, 126a, 127, 128 of the signal lamps are connected to the connecting members 111a, 112a, A pair of second illuminance sensors 123, 123a, 124, and 124a, a first mirror reflection sensor 127, a second mirror reflection sensor 128, and a pair of third mirrors 124a, 122b, Reflective sensors 125, 125a, 126, and 126a.

The pair of first illuminance sensors 121,121a and 122,122a are arranged in the first direction X which is the entry points P1 and P2 of the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112, And detects the vechicle inspection optical signals, respectively, disposed on one side and the other side of the second direction Y, respectively. The pair of first illuminance sensors 121, 121a, 122 and 122a respectively use a known illuminance sensor, and the pair of first illuminance sensors 121 and 121a are arranged in a second direction Y, respectively.

The pair of first illuminance sensors 121 and 121a detects the vehicle inspection optical signal to detect the OHT vehicle 140a to be moved to the entry point P1 of the first linear rail member 111, The vehicle 140a senses that it is requesting a standby state. The waiting position of the OHT vehicle 140a according to the waiting state is set in the first linear rail member 111 positioned between the pair of signal lamp illumination bars 131, 131a, 132 and 132a, so that the OHT vehicle 140a is provided (Not shown) can transfer and load the object to be transported (not shown). The first illuminance sensor 121a of the pair of first illuminance sensors 121 and 121a determines whether the OHT vehicle 140a to be moved to the entry point P1 of the first linear rail member 111 is the first illuminance sensor 121a The OHT vehicle 140a detects that the OHT vehicle 140a moves along the first linear rail member 111 along the linear movement path as indicated by the dashed dotted line. The first illuminance sensor 121 detects the vehicle inspection optical signal when the OHT vehicle 140a to be moved to the entry point P1 of the first linear rail member 111 irradiates the vehicle inspection optical signal to be detected by the first illuminance sensor 121 And detects that the OHT vehicle 140a passes through the branch point P3 and the joining point P4 as shown by the solid line and moves to the branching and joining movement path along the joining rail member 113. [

The pair of first illuminance sensors 122 and 122a are disposed on one side and the other side of the second linear rail member 112 in the second direction Y and are disposed at the entry point P2 of the second rectilinear rail member 112, The OHT vehicle 140 detects that the vehicle inspection optical signal is detected so that the OHT vehicle 140 detects that the OHT vehicle 140 is requesting a standby state. The waiting position of the OHT vehicle 140 according to the waiting state is set in the second linear rail member 112 positioned between the pair of signal lamp illumination bars 131, 131a, 132 and 132a so that the OHT vehicle 140b is provided (Not shown) can transfer and load the object to be transported (not shown). The first illuminance sensor 122 of the pair of first illuminance sensors 122 and 122a detects that the OHT vehicle 140 to be moved to the entry point P2 of the second rectilinear rail member 112 is illuminated by the first illuminance sensor 122 The OHT vehicle 140 senses that the OHT vehicle 140 is moved along the second linear rail member 112 along the linear movement path as indicated by a dotted line.

The pair of second illuminance sensors 123,123a, 124,124a are connected to a pair of first illuminance sensors 121,121a, 122,122a at entry points P1, P2 at intervals in the first direction X, Are arranged on one side and the other side of the second linear direction Y of the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112 so as to be positioned between the rail members 113, do. The pair of second illuminance sensors 123, 123a, 124, and 124a use known illuminance sensors, and a pair of second illuminance sensors 123, 123a, 124a, 124a of the pair of second illuminance sensors 123, Are disposed on one side and the other side of the first linear rail member 111 in the second direction Y and sense the OHT vehicle 140a transported along the first linear rail member 111. [ A pair of second illuminance sensors 124, 124a of the pair of second illuminance sensors 123, 123a, 124, 124a are disposed on one side and the other side of each second direction Y of the second linear rail member 112 And senses the OHT vehicle 140 being transported along the second straight rail member 112.

The first mirror reflection type sensor 127 is disposed on one side of the first direction X as the branch point P3 of the confluence rail member 113 and on the other side of the second direction Y as the first linear rail member 111 Of the OHT vehicle 140a and the vehicle inspection optical signal reflected from the mirror member 141a of the pair of mirror members 141 and 141a of the OHT vehicle 140a after the vehicle inspection optical signal is generated and irradiated, And detects whether the OHT vehicle 140a has been moved to the branch point P3.

The second mirror reflection type sensor 128 is mounted on the second linear rail member 112 so as to be positioned on the other side of the first direction X and the second direction Y which are the confluence point P4 of the joining rail member 113 Of the OHT vehicle 140a and the vehicle inspection optical signal reflected from the mirror member 141 of the pair of mirror members 141 and 141a of the OHT vehicle 140a after the vehicle inspection optical signal is generated and irradiated, And detects whether the OHT vehicle 140a is moved along the confluence rail member 113 and moved to the confluence point P4.

The pair of third mirror reflection sensors 125, 125a, 126, and 126a are spaced apart from each other in the first direction X by a pair of second illuminance sensors, and the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member (Y) of the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112 are positioned on the other side of the first direction X, which is the discharge point P5, And detects a vehicle inspection optical signal reflected and emitted after generating a vehicle inspection optical signal.

A pair of third mirror reflection sensors 125 and 125a of the pair of third mirror reflection sensors 125, 125a, 126 and 126a are respectively disposed in a first direction P5, which is a discharge point P5 of the first linear rail member 111, Are disposed on one side and the other side of the first linear rail member 111 in the second direction Y so as to be respectively positioned on the other side of the first straight line X.

The third mirror reflection type sensor 125 of the pair of third mirror reflection type sensors 125 and 125a generates a vehicle inspection light signal and irradiates the mirror inspection light signal to the mirror of the pair of mirror members 141 and 141a of the OHT vehicle 140a, The third mirror reflection type sensor 125a detects the vehicle inspection optical signal reflected from the member 141 and generates the vehicle inspection optical signal to irradiate the vehicle inspection optical signal to the mirror member 141 and 141a of the OHT vehicle 140a The vehicle inspection light signal reflected from the mirror member 141 is sensed and it is checked whether the OHT vehicle 140a moving along the first linear rail member 111 through the linear transport path is discharged through the discharge point P5 . A pair of third mirror reflection type sensors 125 and 125a and a third mirror reflection type sensor 125a generate a vehicle inspection optical signal and irradiate the mirror inspection optical signal to the mirror member 141 of the pair of mirror members 141 and 141a of the OHT vehicle 140a, The controller 140 detects the vehicle inspection light signal reflected from the first linear rail member 141a and confirms whether the OHT vehicle 140a moving along the first linear rail member 111 is discharged through the discharge point P5.

A pair of third mirror reflection sensors 126, 126a of the pair of third mirror reflection sensors 125, 125a, 126, 126a are respectively disposed in a first direction P6, which is the discharge point P6 of the second linear rail member 111, (Y) of the second linear rail member (112) so as to be respectively positioned on the other side of the first linear guide rail (X). The third mirror reflection type sensor 126 and the third mirror reflection type sensor 126a of the pair of third mirror reflection type sensors 126 and 126a have the same configuration as the third mirror reflection type sensors 125 and 125a, respectively , Each confirms whether the OHT vehicle 140, which is moved in the linear transport path along the second straight rail member 112, has been discharged through the discharge point P6.

The pair of signal lamp illumination bars 131, 131a, 132 and 132a are respectively connected to the pair of first illuminance sensors 121, 121a, 122 and 122a and the joining rail member 113 of the signal lamp light sensor unit 120 in the first direction X along the first direction X so as to overlap with the pair of second illuminance sensors 123,123a, 124,124a in the first direction X and the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear illuminator Two linear rail members 112 are arranged on one side and the other side in the second direction Y to generate and emit a signal light emission signal.

The pair of signal lamp illumination bars 131 and 131a of the pair of signal lamp illumination bars 131 and 131a and 132 and 132a are arranged on one side and the other side of the first linear rail member 111 in the second direction Y, Signal to cause the pair of illuminance sensors 142 and 142a of the OHT vehicle 140a to detect it. The pair of traffic light illumination bars 131 and 131a are always kept turned on so that the entry point P1 of the first linear rail member 111 is moved in a state in which the pair of vehicle illumination bars 143 and 143a are all turned on The OHT vehicle 140a is turned off when the OHT vehicle 140a is turned off and then turned on when the OHT vehicle 140a passes through the pair of signal lamp illumination bars 131 and 131a . The pair of signal lamp illumination bars 132 and 132a of the pair of signal lamp illumination bars 131 and 131a and 132 and 132a are disposed on one side and the other side of the second linear rail member 112 in the second direction Y, Signals are generated and illuminated so as to be sensed by a pair of illuminance sensors 142 and 142a of the OHT vehicle 140. Operation is the same as that of the pair of signal lamp illumination bars 131 and 131a and is omitted.

The pair of signal light illumination bars 131, 131a, 132, and 132a for inducing the atmosphere or movement of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b include a plurality of LEDs as shown in FIG. 2, The first and second LEDs 133 and 133 are arranged at a predetermined interval G1 in the first direction X and are simultaneously turned on to generate and emit a signal light emission signal, 133 are disposed at an interval G between the entry points P1 and P2 where the first illuminance sensor is disposed and the last LED 133 is disposed at the branch point P3 or merge point P3 of the joining rail member 113 P4, respectively. Each of the pair of signal lamp illumination bars 131, 131a, 132, and 132a generates and emits a signal light emission signal using a plurality of LEDs 133, and each of the plurality of LEDs 133 is simultaneously turned on or off, A light emission signal is generated and illuminated by the illumination bars 131, 131a, 132, and 132a to detect a signal light emission signal from the pair of illumination sensors 142 and 142a of the OHT vehicles 140, 140a and 140b, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > reliability. ≪ / RTI > That is, the pair of illuminance sensors 142 and 142a can receive the signal light emission signal by the length of the signal light illumination bars 131, 131a, 132 and 132a in a state where they are located at predetermined positions in the OHT vehicles 140, 140a and 140b, The detection time of the signal light emission signal of the pair of illuminance sensors 142 and 142a of the OHT vehicle 140 and 142a can be increased to provide reliability of the noise of the optical signal to easily control the movement and stop of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a and 140b .

The OHT vehicles 140, 140a and 140b are provided on the traveling rail provided in the traveling rail 110, that is, the first linear rail member 111, the second linear rail member 112 A pair of illuminance sensors 142 and 142a, a pair of vehicle illumination bars 143 and 143a, and a vehicle controller 144 ).

The pair of mirror members 141 and 141a are disposed on one side of the first direction X so as to be spaced apart from each other in the second direction Y to reflect the vehicle inspection light signal and include a pair of illuminance sensors 142 and 142a, Are spaced from each other in the second direction Y on the other side of the first direction X so as to be spaced apart from the pair of mirror members 141 and 141a to sense the signal light emission signal. The pair of vehicle illumination bars 143 and 143a are disposed apart from each other in the second direction Y so as to be respectively positioned between the pair of mirror members 141 and 141a and the pair of illuminance sensors 142 and 142a, An inspection optical signal is generated and irradiated. The pair of vehicle illumination bars 143 and 143a includes a plurality of LEDs 143c as shown in FIG. 3, and the plurality of LEDs 143c are spaced apart from each other in a first direction X G2) and are turned on at the same time to generate or turn off the OHT vehicle emission signal. A known technique is applied in which the plurality of LEDs 143c are arranged and connected to the circuit board 143b.

A pair of vehicle illumination bars 143 and 143a including a plurality of LEDs 143c generates and illuminates a vehicle inspection light signal using a plurality of LEDs 143c and each of the plurality of LEDs 143c is simultaneously turned on 122a, 123, 123a, 124, and 124a by generating and illuminating vehicle inspection light signals corresponding to the length of the vehicle illumination bars 143 and 143a by turning off the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b, the reliability of the noise of the optical signal can be provided. That is, the plurality of signal light sensors 121, 121a, 122, 122a, 123, 123a, 124, and 124a can receive the vehicle inspection optical signal by the length of the vehicle illumination bar 143 and 143a, The sensors 121, 121a, 122, 122a, 123, 123a, 124, and 124a can increase the detection time of the vehicle inspection optical signal, thereby providing reliability of the noise of the optical signal.

The vehicle controller 144 generally controls movement and standby of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b. That is, the vehicle controller 144 receives the signal light emission signal sensed by the pair of illuminance sensors 142 and 142a, and outputs the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b to the vehicle controller 110 And controls to move or wait along the first linear rail member 111, the second linear rail member 112 and the confluent rail member 113 to turn on / off the pair of vehicle lighting bars 143 and 143a, And displays the movement path of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b on the traffic light controller 130 by generating a signal.

A traffic light control method of an OHT vehicle using a traffic light control apparatus of an OHT vehicle according to the present invention will now be described.

First, the traffic light controller 130 is initialized as shown in FIG. 4 (S11). The initialization of the traffic light controller 130 is performed by power on reset of the traffic light controller 130 so that the signal light sensor unit 120 connected to the traffic light controller 130 or the pair of traffic light illumination bars 131, a) are respectively initialized to the initial setting mode, and a detection error that may be generated in the signal light sensor unit 120 or a light emission error that may occur in the pair of signal light illumination bars 131, 131a, 132, and 132a is removed . In the initial setting mode, all of the pair of signal lamp lighting bars 131, 131a, 132, and 132a are turned on and the control program of the traffic light control device of the OHT vehicle stored in advance in the traffic light controller 130 is moved to step S12 .

When the initialization of the signal lamp controller 130 is completed, the signal lamp controller 130 sets a pair of signal lamp illumination bars 112 arranged on the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112 of the traveling rail 110, The OHT vehicles 140, 140a and 140b are moved to the entry points P1 and P2 of the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112 in the state where the first linear rail member 131, 131a, 132, It is confirmed whether or not it has entered (S12).

A method of determining whether or not the OHT vehicles 140, 140a and 140b have entered the entry points P1 and P2 includes a pair of first illuminance sensors (not shown) of the signal light sensor unit 120 disposed at the entry points P1 and P2 When the vehicle inspection light signal is detected and transmitted to the traffic light controller 130 by detecting a vehicle inspection light signal generated and irradiated from a pair of vehicle lighting bars 143 and 143a of the OHT vehicles 140, 140a and 140b at the traffic lights 121, 121a, 122 and 122a, The controller 130 confirms whether or not the vehicle inspection optical signal has been received and confirms whether the OHT vehicle 140, 140a or 140b has entered the entry point P1 or P2. 1 shows a state before the OHT vehicle 140 or 140a of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a or 140b enters the entry point P1 or P2 of the first linear rail member 111 or the second linear rail member 112 , And the OHT vehicle 140b indicates a state passing through the discharge point P6. If the OHT vehicles 140, 140a, 140b do not enter the entry points P1, P2, the traffic light controller 130 continues to check whether the OHT vehicles 140, 140a, 140b have entered the entry points P1, P2 do.

When the OHT vehicles 140, 140a, 140b enter the entry points P1, P2, the OHT vehicle 140, 140a (140a, 140b) enters the first straight rail member 111 or the second straight rail member 112 at the traffic light controller 130 , 140b are all turned on (S13). For example, when the OHT vehicle 140a of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b enters the entry point P1 of the first straight rail member 111, the traffic light controller 130 moves to the entry point P1 The vehicle illuminating bar 143 and the vehicle illuminating bar 143 disposed on the left side in a state in which the pair of vehicle illuminating bars 143 and 143a of the OHT vehicle 140a are all on, that is, in the direction in which the OHT vehicle 140a proceeds, And confirms that the deployed vehicle lighting bar 143a is all 'L (left)' and 'R (right)'.

When the pair of OHT vehicle illumination bars 143 and 143a are all turned on ('L' and 'R'), the signal lamp controller 130 controls the ON / OFF state of the first linear rail member 111 or the second linear rail member 112 All of the pair of the traffic light illumination bars 131, 131a, 132, and 132a are maintained in the ON state so that the OHT vehicles 140, 140a, and 140b wait (S14). When the pair of OHT vehicle illumination bars 143 and 143a are all turned on ('L' and 'R'), the OHT (not shown) provided with the OHT vehicle 140a moves the object to be transported And the signal lamp controller 130 determines this.

The OHT vehicle (not shown) provided with the OHT vehicle 140a performs the transfer and loading operation while the transfer object (not shown) is transferred and loaded, that is, Whether or not the other OHT vehicles 140, 140a, 140b have entered the entry points P1, P2 of the first straight rail member 111 or the second straight rail member 112 that are not waiting for the first straight rail members 140, 140a, The traffic light controller 130 confirms (S15). For example, the traffic light controller 130 determines that the OHT vehicle 140a, which has entered the first straight rail member 111, is in the waiting state and moves to the entry point P2 of the second straight rail member 112 from another OHT vehicle 140) has entered.

When another OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b enters, the traffic light controller 130 returns to step S13 to check whether all of the pair of vehicle illumination bars 143, 143a are turned on (S16). That is, the traffic light controller 130 determines that the OHT vehicle 140a entering the first linear rail member 111 is in the standby state and the OHT vehicle 140 is moved to the entry point P2 of the second linear rail member 112, (Not shown) requests the waiting state to transfer and load the object (not shown) to be transferred. Conversely, in step S15, in which the signal lamp controller 130 confirms whether or not the other OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b has entered the other OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b, that is, the second straight rail member 112 If the other OHT vehicle 140 does not enter the entry point P2, the signal lamp controller 130 confirms whether another OHT vehicle 140 has entered (S15).

Thus, the traffic light controller 130 determines whether or not the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b requires the waiting state, that is, whether or not each OHT (not shown) is waiting for the object First, check whether the status is requested.

A step S13 of confirming whether a pair of vehicle illumination bars of the OHT vehicles 140, 140a, 140b entering the first linear rail member 111 or the second linear rail member 112 in the traffic light controller 130 are all turned on, Only one of the pair of vehicle illumination bars 143 and 143a ('L' or 'R') is turned on as shown in FIG. 5 in the traffic light controller 130. That is, It is confirmed whether the vehicle illumination bars 143 and 143a indicating the confluence movement path are turned on (S17). Here, the vehicle lighting bar 143, 143a indicating the branching and joining movement path of the pair of vehicle lighting bars 143, 143a is connected to the OHT vehicle 140a vehicle lighting bar 143a as shown in FIG. 1 by a pair of vehicles The vehicle lighting bar 143a of the lighting bars 143 and 143a is turned on and the branching and joining movement path is the same as that of the first linear rail member 111 (P4) and the discharge points (P5, P6) of the second linear rail member (112) or the joining rail member (113).

When the vehicle lighting bar 143a indicating the branching and joining movement route is turned on, the traffic light controller 130 determines whether there is no OHT vehicle 140, 140a or 140b first entering the branching and joining movement route (S18). The signal lamp controller 130 checks whether or not the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b is detected by the signal light sensor unit 120 disposed in the branching and joining movement path, do. For example, it is determined whether the OHT vehicle 140b has passed through the discharge point P6, as shown in FIG. 1, among the OHT vehicles 140, 140a, and 140b.

If there is no OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b first entered in the branching and joining movement path, the traffic light controller 130 switches off the pair of signal light illumination bars 131, 131a, 132, The vehicle illumination bar 143a indicating the movement route is allowed to move on the branching and joining movement path (S19). That is, the traffic light controller 130 permits the OHT vehicle 140a, in which the vehicle lighting bar 143a is turned on, to move along the branching and converging movement path in the arrow direction indicated by the solid line in Fig. 1 (S19) . The traffic light controller 130 permits the OHT vehicle 140a to move along the branching and joining movement path, and then returns to step S18 (S20).

If there is an OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b first entered in the branching and joining movement path in the step S18 of confirming whether there is no entered OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b, All of the traffic light illumination bars 131, 131a, 132, and 132a are kept in the ON state, and the OHT vehicles 140, 140a, and 140b to be moved to the branching and joining movement route are made to wait (S21). For example, the traffic light controller 130 allows the OHT vehicle 140a to travel to the branching and converging travel routes to wait when the OHT vehicle 140b is in the branch and convergence travel path, And between the branch point P3 and the confluence point P4.

The traffic light controller 130 confirms whether or not the waiting of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b to be moved to the branching and joining movement path is completed by the signal lamp controller 130 (S22). When the waiting is completed, the traffic light controller 130 returns to step S19 to permit the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b to move along the branching and joining movement path (S23). On the other hand, if the waiting of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b to be moved to the branching and joining movement route is not completed, the traffic light controller 130 checks whether the waiting time has been exceeded (S24). Here, the traffic light controller 130 initializes the traffic light controller 130 when the waiting time is exceeded, and the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b which first enters the branching and joining movement route is the first straight rail member 111 ) And the second linear rail member 112, respectively, through the discharge points P5 and P6.

The vehicle lighting bars 143 and 143a coming from the step S17 of ascertaining whether or not the on-vehicle light illumination bars 143 and 143a are the vehicle lighting bars 143 and 143a indicating the branching and converging movement route, As shown in FIG. 6, in step S25, it is determined whether there are any OHT vehicles 140, 140a, 140b that have first entered the linear movement path in the traffic light controller 130, as shown in FIG. For example, the traffic light controller 130 has only one of the pair of vehicle lighting bars 143 and 143a ('R') of the OHT vehicle 140a, ie, the vehicle lighting bar 143 is turned on or the OHT vehicle 140 The vehicle illuminated bar 143a, the OHT vehicles 140 and 140a are respectively indicated by arrows indicated by a dot-dash line or dotted line in FIG. 1, It is determined that the first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112 are moved along a straight line.

If there is no OHT vehicle 140, 140a, or 140b that first enters the linear movement path, the traffic light controller 130 turns off the pair of traffic light illumination bars 131, 131a, 132, 132a and turns off the pair of vehicle illumination bars 143, To move along the linear movement path indicated by the on-coming vehicle illumination bars 143 and 143a (S26). For example, the traffic light controller 130 only has one ('R') of a pair of vehicle lighting bars 143 and 143a of the OHT vehicle 140a, i.e., the vehicle lighting bar 143 is turned on or the OHT vehicle 140 The vehicle illuminated bar 143a, the OHT vehicles 140 and 140a are respectively indicated by arrows indicated by a dot-dash line or dotted line in FIG. 1, The first linear rail member 111 and the second linear rail member 112 are allowed to move along the linear movement path. Here, the linear movement path is a path connecting the discharge points P5 and P6 of the first linear rail member 111 at the branch point P3 of the first linear rail member 111, or a path connecting the second linear rail member 112, And the discharge point P5, P6 of the second linear rail member 112 at the confluence point P4.

On the other hand, if there is an OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b which first enters the linear movement route in the step S25 of confirming whether there is no OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b which first entered the linear movement route, The OHT vehicles 140, 140a, and 140b to be moved to the linear movement path are kept in an ON state by keeping the pair of the signal light illumination bars 131, 131a, 132, and 132a on standby (S27).

The OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b to be moved to the linear movement route is made to wait and the signal lamp controller 130 confirms whether the waiting of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b to be moved to the linear movement route is completed (S28) . When the waiting of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b to be moved to the straight traveling path is completed, the traffic light controller 130 causes the traffic light controller 130 to turn off the pair of traffic light illumination bars 131, 131a, 132, (S29), allowing the vehicle lighting bar 143 and 143a of the vehicle lighting bar 143 and 143a to move along the linear movement path indicated by the turned vehicle lighting bar 143 and 143a.

If it is determined in step S28 that the traffic light controller 130 confirms whether the waiting of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b to be moved to the straight traveling path is completed, if the waiting time is not completed, whether the waiting time is exceeded in the traffic light controller 130 (S30). If the waiting time is exceeded, the signal lamp controller 130 returns to step S11 to initialize the signal lamp controller 130. The OHT vehicle 140, 140a, 140b which first enters the linear movement path is the first linear rail member 111 ) And the second linear rail member 112, respectively, through the discharge points P5 and P6.

As described above, the traffic light control apparatus and method of the OHT vehicle of the present invention can be applied to other linear rails, that is, the first linear rail member 111 or the second linear rail member 111, regardless of the passing priority of the OHT vehicle 140, 140a, The OHT can move and follow the joining rail to move the OHT to the joining rail so that the OHT can transfer and load the object at a position close to the joining rail, The OHT can be introduced into the confluent rail and transported irrespective of the passing priority of the confluent rail during the transfer and loading operation of the transfer object, thereby narrowing the gap between the mounting positions of the manufacturing equipment and the transfer object So that the productivity of the product manufacturing can be improved.

The traffic light control apparatus and method of the OHT vehicle of the present invention can be applied to a logistics transportation system.

110: Driving lane part
111: first straight rail member
113: joining rail member
120: signal light sensor unit
121, 121a, 122, 122a; The first illuminance sensor
123, 123a, 124, and 124a:
125, 125a, 126, 126a: a third mirror reflection type sensor
127: first mirror reflection sensor
128: Second mirror reflective sensor
131, 131a, 132, 132a: a traffic light lighting bar
140, 140a, 140b: OHT vehicle

Claims (13)

A first linear rail member arranged in a first direction and providing a path of movement of an overhead hoist transfer vechicle (OHT vehicle) having a pair of vehicle illumination bars illuminating a vechicle inspection optical signal, A second linear rail member spaced apart from the rail member and arranged in a first direction so as to be parallel to the first linear rail member and a joining rail member connected to the first linear rail member and the second linear rail member, part;
And a plurality of optical sensors disposed respectively on one side and the other side of the first linear rail member, the second linear rail member, and the confluent rail member of the traveling rail part in the first direction and the second direction, A signal lamp light sensor unit including signal lamp light sensors;
The first linear rail member and the second linear rail member of the traveling rail portion are disposed along one side of the first linear rail member or the second linear rail member on the other side thereof, respectively, to generate a signal light emission signal A pair of traffic light illumination bars to investigate; And
The control unit controls ON and OFF of the pair of signal light illumination bars and determines whether the OHT vehicle is allowed to move or not according to whether the vehicle inspection light signal of the plurality of signal light sensors is sensed or not, And a traffic light controller for preventing collision of the vehicle,
The OHT vehicle moving along the movement path provided by the traveling rail portion moves along the first linear rail member, the second linear rail member, and the joining rail member of the running rail portion, respectively, A pair of mirror members spaced apart from each other in the second direction and reflecting the vehicle inspection optical signal;
A pair of illuminance sensors disposed on the other side of the first direction so as to be spaced apart from each other in the second direction so as to be spaced from the pair of mirror members, And
And a pair of vehicle illuminating bars spaced apart from each other in a second direction so as to be positioned between the pair of mirror members and the pair of illuminance sensors, respectively, for generating and illuminating a vehicle inspection light signal,
The pair of vehicle lighting bars each include a plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). The plurality of LEDs are arranged at a predetermined interval in the first direction and are simultaneously turned on to generate an OHT vehicle emission signal, And,
Wherein the first direction indicates a longitudinal direction of the first linear rail member or the second linear rail member and the second direction indicates a direction orthogonal to the first direction. delete delete The method according to claim 1,
And a plurality of signal light sensors of the signal light sensor unit are respectively disposed on one side and the other side of the second direction so as to be positioned at one side in the first direction which is the entry point of each of the first linear rail member and the second linear rail member A pair of first illuminance sensors arranged to detect a vechicle inspection optical signal, respectively;
A pair of first illuminance sensors, one of the first linear rail member and the second linear rail member in the second direction so as to be positioned between the entry point and the confluent rail member at an interval in the first direction, A pair of second illuminance sensors disposed on the other side for respectively sensing vehicle inspection optical signals;
And a vehicle inspection optical signal generator which is disposed at one side of the first linear rail member in the second direction so as to be located at one side in the first direction and the other side in the second direction which are branch points of the confluent rail member, A first mirror reflection type sensor for sensing an optical signal;
A vehicle inspection optical signal is generated on the other side in the second direction of the second linear rail member so as to be positioned at one side of the first direction and the second direction, which is the merging point of the joining rail members, A second mirror reflection type sensor for sensing an optical signal; And
The first linear rail member and the second linear rail member are spaced apart from each other in the first direction by the pair of second illuminance sensors so as to be positioned respectively on the other side of the first direction as discharge points of the first linear rail member and the second linear rail member, And a pair of third mirror reflection sensors disposed on one side and the other side of the second linear rail member in a second direction for detecting a vehicle inspection optical signal reflected and generated after generating a vehicle inspection optical signal, Of the traffic lights. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the pair of signal light illumination bars are spaced apart from each other in a first direction by a pair of first illuminance sensors and joining rail members of the signal light sensor unit, And the first linear rail member and the second linear rail member are arranged on one side and the other side in the second direction of each of the first linear rail member and the second linear rail member along one direction to generate and emit a signal light emission signal. The method according to claim 1,
Each of the pair of signal lamps includes a plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). The plurality of LEDs are arranged at a predetermined interval in a first direction and are simultaneously turned on, And the first LED of the plurality of LEDs is disposed at an interval from the entry point where the first illuminance sensor is disposed, and the last LED is arranged to be spaced apart from the branch point or the joining point of the joining rail member, Traffic light control device of a vehicle. In the traffic light controller, a pair of signal lamp bars arranged respectively on the first linear rail member and the second linear rail member of the running rail part are turned on to the entry points of the first linear rail member and the second linear rail member Confirming whether an overhead hoist transfer vechicle has entered;
Confirming that a pair of vehicle illumination bars of the OHT vehicle entering the first linear rail member or the second linear rail member at the traffic light controller are all turned on when the OHT vehicle enters the entry point;
If both of the pair of OHT vehicle illumination bars are on, keeping all the pair of signal light illumination bars disposed on the first linear rail member and the second linear rail member in the traffic light controller to be in an ON state to allow the OHT vehicle to wait;
Confirming at the traffic light controller whether or not another OHT vehicle has entered the first straight rail member or the second straight rail member entry point where the OHT vehicle is not waiting in the traffic light controller while checking whether the waiting is completed; And
Returning to the step of verifying that the pair of vehicle illumination bars are all turned on at the traffic light controller when the other OHT vehicle is entered. 8. The method of claim 7,
In the step of confirming that all of the pair of vehicle illumination bars of the OHT vehicle entering the first straight rail member or the second straight rail member in the traffic light controller are ON, if only one of the pair of vehicle light bars is ON, Confirming that a vehicle illumination bar indicating a branching and joining movement path in the vehicle illumination bar has been turned on;
If the vehicle lighting bar indicating the branching and joining movement route is turned on, checking whether the traffic light controller has no OHT vehicle first entered in the branching and joining movement route; And
If there is no OHT vehicle first entered in the branching and joining movement path, the traffic light controller switches the OHT vehicle in which the vehicle lighting bar indicating the branching and joining movement path is turned on in the state in which all the pair of signal light illumination bars are turned off, Allowing the user to move along a path,
Wherein the branching and joining movement path is a branching point of the first linear rail member, a joining point of the second linear rail member and the joining point of the joining rail A method for controlling a traffic light of an OHT vehicle set up including a member. 9. The method of claim 8,
If there is an OHT vehicle first entered in the branching and joining movement path in the step of checking whether there is no first entered OHT vehicle, the traffic light controller maintains the ON state of all the pair of signal light lighting bars, Allowing the vehicle to wait;
Confirming at the traffic light controller whether the waiting of the OHT vehicle to move to the branching and joining moving path is completed; And
Returning to the step of authorizing the traffic light controller to move the OHT vehicle along the branching and converging movement path when the waiting is completed. 10. The method of claim 9,
Checking whether the waiting time has been exceeded in the traffic light controller if waiting is not completed in the step of confirming at the traffic light controller whether or not the waiting of the OHT vehicle to move to the branching and joining moving route is completed,
And the wait time is a time at which the OHT vehicle which first enters the branching and joining movement path passes through the respective discharge points of the first linear rail member and the second linear rail member, Of the traffic lights. 9. The method of claim 8,
If the vehicle lighting bar turned on in the step of ascertaining whether the on vehicle light bar is a vehicle lighting bar indicating the branching and converging travel path is the vehicle lighting bar indicating the straight traveling path, the OHT vehicle which first entered the straight traveling path in the traffic light controller Confirming whether or not there is a defect; And
And allowing the traffic light controller to move along a linear movement path indicated by an on-vehicle light bar of the pair of vehicle illumination bars with the pair of traffic light illumination bars turned off, if there is no OHT vehicle first entering the linear movement path ,
In the step of confirming whether or not there is an OHT vehicle that has first entered the linear movement path, the linear movement path is a path connecting the discharge point of the first linear rail member at the branch point of the first linear rail member, Wherein the second linear rail member is connected to a discharge point of the second linear rail member at a junction point of the second linear rail member. 12. The method of claim 11,
If there is an OHT vehicle that has first entered the straight travel route, checking whether there is an OHT vehicle that has first entered the straight travel route, the traffic light controller maintains all the pair of traffic light bars on the straight travel route and moves to the straight travel route Step to allow the OHT vehicle to wait;
Confirming to the traffic light controller whether or not the waiting of the OHT vehicle to move to the linear movement path is completed; And
And allowing the traffic light controller to move along the linear movement path indicated by the on-vehicle light bars of the pair of vehicle lighting bars in a state where the pair of traffic light illumination bars are turned off when the waiting of the OHT vehicle to be moved on the linear movement path is completed And returning the OHT vehicle. 13. The method of claim 12,
Checking whether the waiting time has been exceeded in the traffic light controller if waiting is not completed in the step of checking at the traffic light controller whether or not waiting of the OHT vehicle to be moved on the straight traveling path is completed,
And the waiting time is a time at which the OHT vehicle that has first entered the linear movement path passed through the discharge point of each of the first linear rail member and the second linear rail member when the waiting time exceeds the waiting time, Control method.

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