JP2000203704A - Control device for conveying vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To do the work of efficiently loading an article on a conveying vehicle in a simple constitution. SOLUTION: In this control device for a conveying vehicle which conveys an article stored in an article storehouse to an article supply part, the conveying vehicle is provided with a receiving means 15 of article information formed by an article information forming means 10 consisting of a host computer or the like, running characteristic setting means 16 setting a running characteristic of the conveying vehicle based on the article information received by this receiving means 15, and a running control means 19 controlling a running condition of the conveying vehicle based on the running characteristic set by this running characteristic setting means 16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control device for a transport vehicle for transporting articles stored in an article storage to an article supply unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-225107, an unmanned guided vehicle traveling along a predetermined route between an automatic warehouse (article storage) and a transfer station is loaded and unloaded. In the automated guided vehicle transport control method that assigns work instruction data specifying the transport route of the load between the automated warehouse and the transport station created according to the request to the automated guided vehicle, it is created in response to the above-mentioned loading / unloading request. If there is a transfer operation that can be started from the operation end position where the automatic guided vehicle ends the transfer operation in the work instruction data, the transfer operation is preferentially assigned.

[0003]

As described above, if there is a transfer operation from the end position of the transfer vehicle including an unmanned transfer vehicle, the transfer operation is preferentially assigned to the transfer operation, so that the stacking of the articles on the transfer vehicle is performed. If it is configured to perform the loading operation efficiently and improve the transport efficiency, in addition to the general computer that controls the loading and transporting operations of the articles in general, the work status of the transport vehicle is determined. Therefore, there is a problem that the structure of the control device becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a control apparatus for a transport vehicle that can efficiently load articles on the transport vehicle with a simple configuration.

[0005]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In a control device of a transport vehicle that transports articles stored in an article storage to an article supply unit, a receiving unit for the article information created by the article information creating unit, and a transport based on the article information received by the receiving unit. A traveling characteristic setting means for setting traveling characteristics of the vehicle, and traveling control means for controlling a traveling state of the transport vehicle based on the traveling characteristics set by the traveling characteristic setting means are provided in the transport vehicle.

[0006] According to the above configuration, the article information created by the article information creating means is received by the receiving means, and based on the article information, the traveling information including the traveling direction and the traveling speed of the transported vehicle is transmitted. The traveling state of the transport vehicle is controlled based on the traveling characteristics by the traveling characteristic setting means provided in the vehicle. It will be done properly.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the control apparatus for a transport vehicle according to the first aspect, the article information creating means includes article information comprising name information of articles loaded on the transport vehicle and information on the number of the articles. And transmits the article information to the article storage and to the transport vehicle.

According to the above configuration, the article information created by the article information creating means is transmitted to the article storage and used for loading the articles, and the traveling direction of the transport vehicle is determined based on the article information. The travel information including the travel speed and the travel speed is set by the travel characteristic setting means provided in the transport vehicle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the transport vehicle control device according to the first or second aspect, further comprising a display unit for displaying the article information created by the article information creating unit.

[0010] According to the above configuration, the worker can easily load the articles on the transport vehicle based on the article information displayed on the display means.

[0011] The invention according to claim 4 is the above-mentioned claims 1-3.
In the control device for a transport vehicle according to any one of the above, the traveling characteristic setting means specifies the loading location of the article based on the number information of the article created by the article information creating means,
The configuration is such that the traveling speed of the transport vehicle at the loading location is set.

According to the above configuration, the number information of the articles created by the article information creating means is received by the receiving means, and based on the number information, the traveling speed of the transport vehicle at the article loading location is reduced by the transport vehicle. The traveling state of the transport vehicle is controlled by the travel characteristic setting means provided in the transport vehicle so that the transport vehicle travels at a speed suitable for loading the articles. Will be

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the first to fourth aspects.
Wherein the traveling characteristic setting means is configured to set a traveling direction of the transport vehicle based on name information of the article created by the article information creating means. is there.

According to the above configuration, the name information of the article created by the article information creating means is received by the receiving means, and based on the name information of the article, the traveling characteristic setting means provided in the transporting vehicle sets the transport vehicle. Is set, and the transport vehicle travels toward the storage position of the articles to be loaded.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the control device for a transporting vehicle according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the running characteristic setting means is based on the number information of articles created by the article information creating means. When it is confirmed that the number of articles loaded on the transport vehicle is equal to or greater than a preset reference value, the traveling characteristics are set so that the transport vehicle stops at the loading location.

According to the above arrangement, when the number of articles loaded on the transport vehicle is equal to or larger than the reference value, the transport vehicle stops at the loading position of the articles, and the articles are loaded on the transport vehicle. The loading work will be performed properly.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a control device for a transport vehicle according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transporting vehicle 1 includes a self-propelled towing vehicle 2 and a pallet truck 3 towed by the towing vehicle 2. Articles that run along the line 4 and are loaded in an article storage 5 in which articles used for assembling an automobile or the like are stored are transported to an article supply unit 7 provided along an assembly line 6 of the automobile. It is configured as follows.

The towing vehicle 2 is composed of a detecting means for detecting a guide line made of a magnetic tape or the like laid on the floor of a factory along the traveling line 4 and a magnetic tape or the like installed at a necessary place on the floor. Reading means for reading data on the address plate 8, a traveling drive mechanism having an electric motor driven by a battery, and a later-described control unit for outputting a control signal to the traveling drive mechanism. By controlling the traveling drive mechanism, the vehicle travels unmanned on the traveling line 4 and the handy terminal 9 operated by an operator is detachably mounted.

The handy terminal 9 includes a microcomputer having a transmitting unit and a receiving unit for wireless communication, an arithmetic processing unit and a storage unit, a keyboard, a liquid crystal display, and a battery. The receiving section of the handy terminal 9 receives the article information created by the article information creating means 10 including the host computer and transmitted from the wireless transmitter 11. And the above handy terminal 9
Is mounted on the towing vehicle 2 so that the article information can be transmitted to the towing vehicle 2 via a connector provided at the mounting portion.
And a lamp controller 12 that is transmitted to the pallet truck 3 and provided in the article storage 5 from the transmitting unit.
Is sent to

The pallet truck 3 is provided with an article loading section of 3 rows and 5 columns in a matrix, and each article loading section has a display lamp 13 and a point when the article loading operation is completed. A push button (not shown) for transmitting a work end signal to the lamp controller 12 of the article storage unit 5 via the handy terminal 9 when the operator performs a push operation is provided.

The lighting state of the display lamp 13 provided on the pallet truck 3 is controlled based on the article information transmitted from the handy terminal 9, so that the article loading position is displayed. By controlling the lighting state of the display lamp 14 provided on each of the article storage shelves of the article storage 5, the storage position of the article is displayed.

As shown in FIG. 3, a receiving unit for receiving the article information transmitted from the article information creating means 10 via the wireless transmitter 11 and the handy terminal 9 is provided on the towing vehicle 2 of the transport vehicle 1. 15, a traveling characteristic setting unit 16 for setting traveling characteristics of the transport vehicle 1 based on the article information received by the receiving unit 15, a reading unit 17 for reading data of the address plate 8, and the traveling characteristic setting unit 16
And a travel control means 19 for controlling the travel state of the transport vehicle by outputting a control signal to the travel drive mechanism 18 in response to the output signal of the control unit 20.

As shown in FIG. 4, the article information creating means 10 includes name information indicating article names (A to K) corresponding to the types of articles to be loaded on the pallet truck 3 of the transport vehicle 1, and loading of the information. It creates article information D1 consisting of a correspondence table between quantity information indicating the number and a shelf number indicating a loading section of parts on the pallet truck 3, and transmits the article information D1 from the information transmitter 11 to the handy terminal 9. It is configured to be. The article information D1 received at the handy terminal 9 is transmitted to the control unit 20 of the towing vehicle 2, the lamp controller of the pallet truck 3 and the lamp controller 12 of the article storage 5, respectively.

The running characteristic setting means 16 provided in the control unit 20 of the transport vehicle 1 transmits the article name and the pallet truck 3 of the transport vehicle 1 based on the article information D1 as shown in FIG. Station number information D2, which is a table corresponding to the number (station number) of the article storage 5 in which articles to be loaded are stored, is set, and as shown in FIG. 6, the number of articles to be loaded and the number of articles to be loaded It is configured to specify the traveling speed information D3 composed of a table corresponding to the traveling speed (AGV speed) of the transport vehicle 1 corresponding to.

The running characteristic setting means 16 stores the station number based on the station number information D2, as shown in FIG. And address number information D4 consisting of a correspondence table of numbers (address numbers) of the address boards 8 installed along the traveling line 4, and based on the address number information D4 and the traveling speed information D3. As shown in FIG. 8, a traveling characteristic D5 including a correspondence table of the address number corresponding to the loading location of the article and the traveling speed of the transport vehicle 1 is set.

Further, in the lamp controller provided on the pallet cart 3, based on the article information D1, as shown in FIG. 9, an article name corresponding to the kind of the article and a shelf number of the pallet cart 3 are displayed. Shelf number information D6 composed of a correspondence table, that is, information indicating the number of the article storage 5 in which the articles to be loaded on the pallet truck 3 of the transport vehicle 1 are stored, is specified based on the shelf number information D6. Thirteen lighting controls are executed.

Next, the control operation of the transport vehicle 1 executed by the control unit 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the control operation is started, it is determined whether or not the transport vehicle 1 has reached the information input position based on the input signal of the reading means 17 (step S1), and the article information D1 is determined when YES is determined. A request signal for requesting transmission is output to the handy terminal 9 (step S2). Next, it is determined whether or not the article information D1 transmitted from the handy terminal 9 has been received (step S3). When YES is determined, the station number information D2 based on the article information D1 and the traveling characteristics are determined. Set D5 (Step S
4).

Then, it is determined whether or not the transport vehicle 1 has reached the end position of the loading operation (step S5). If the determination is NO, the transport vehicle 1 reaches the station position of the loading operation. It is determined whether or not it has been performed (step S6).
If the determination in step S6 is NO, the process returns to step S5. If the determination is YES and it is confirmed that the transport vehicle 1 has reached the loading work station position, the station number is determined. Then, it is determined whether or not it corresponds to the article loading position based on the station number information D2 (step S7).

If the result of the determination in step S7 is YES and it is confirmed that the transport vehicle 1 has reached the article loading position, the transport vehicle 1 is set to the travel speed set in the travel characteristic D5. (Step S8), and outputs a request signal for requesting transmission of the next article information D1 to the handy terminal 9 (step S9).

Next, it is determined whether or not the article information D1 transmitted from the handy terminal 9 has been received (step S10). When YES is determined, the station number information D2 based on the article information D1 is determined. After setting the traveling characteristics D5 (step S11), the process returns to step S5. Then, in this step S5, the determination is YES, and the control operation ends when it is confirmed that the transport vehicle 1 has reached the end position of the loading operation.

Next, a control operation executed in the handy terminal 9 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. When the control operation starts, the article information D transmitted from the control unit 20 of the transport vehicle 1
1 (step S2).
1) When the determination is YES, the information creating means 1
After outputting a request signal for requesting transmission of the article information D1 to the information creating means 10 (step S22).
It is determined whether or not the article information D1 transmitted from is received (step S23).

When YES is determined in step S23, the first article information D1 is output to the control unit 20 of the transport vehicle 1 (step S2).
4) It is determined whether or not transmission of all article information D1 has been completed (step S25).
The process returns to step S21. If NO is determined in step S25, it is determined whether a request signal requesting transmission of the next article information D1 is transmitted from the control unit 20 of the transport vehicle 1 (step S26). ), When it is determined as YES, the next article information D1 is transmitted to the control unit 20 of the transport vehicle 1 (step S27), and thereafter, the step S2 is performed.
Returning to step 5, the above control operation is repeated.

In the control device of the transport vehicle 1 for transporting the articles stored in the article storage 5 to the article supply section 7, the article information D created by the article information creating means 10 is provided.
Handy terminal 9 and receiving unit 15 for receiving 1
, A traveling characteristic setting unit 10 for setting traveling characteristics of the transport vehicle 1 based on the article information D1 received by the receiving unit, and a traveling characteristic D5 set by the traveling characteristic setting unit 10. Traveling control means 19 for controlling the traveling state of the transport vehicle 1 with the transport vehicle 1
Therefore, it is possible to carry out the loading operation of the articles efficiently by appropriately controlling the traveling state of each transport vehicle 1 without providing a general computer for determining and controlling the working state of each transport vehicle 1 respectively. it can.

That is, based on the name information of the articles included in the article information D1, the shelf position of the article storage 7 in which articles to be loaded on the transport vehicle 1 are stored is specified, and the transport vehicle 1 is moved to that position. While setting the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 1 so as to cause the transport vehicle 1 to specify a traveling speed of the transport vehicle 1 to a speed suitable for the loading operation of the articles by the worker based on the number information included in the article information D1, Control such as automatically changing the traveling speed of the transport vehicle at the article loading position can be appropriately executed.

In the above embodiment, the name information of the articles to be loaded on the transporting vehicle 1 and the number information D1 thereof are created by the article information creating means 10 and transmitted to the article storage 5, and the name information of the articles is stored. Based on the article information D1 having the number information and the number information, the display lamp 14 provided on each article storage shelf of the article storage 5 is turned on to execute control for displaying the storage position of the article. In the control device, the article information D1 is received by the receiving means, and the running characteristics including the running direction and the running speed of the transport vehicle 1 are set by the running property setting means 16 based on the article information D1. Accordingly, the article information D1 created by the article information creating means 10 is effectively used to control the lighting of the display lamp 14 and the control of the traveling state of each transport vehicle 1. It is possible to perform both of properly.

In the above embodiment, the display means comprising the display lamp 13 of the pallet truck 3 and the display lamp 14 of the article storage 5 for displaying the article information D1 created by the article information creating means 10 is provided. The operator can easily perform the work of taking out the goods from the goods storage 5 and the work of loading the goods to the pallet truck 3 of the transport vehicle 1 based on the goods information displayed on the display means.

Further, in the above embodiment, the loading location of the article is specified based on the number information of the articles created by the article information creating means 10, and the traveling speed of the transport vehicle 1 at the loading location is determined by the above-mentioned traveling characteristic. Since the setting is made by the setting means 16, the loading is performed when it is confirmed that the transport vehicle 1 has reached the article loading position based on the data of the address plate 8 read by the reading means 17. By automatically controlling the traveling state of the transport vehicle 1 so that the traveling speed corresponds to the number, the loading operation of the articles on the transport vehicle 1 can be efficiently performed.

In the above embodiment, the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 1 is set by the traveling characteristic setting means 17 on the basis of the article name information created by the article information creating means 10. As shown, when a plurality of rows of articles storage 5 are provided, based on the name information of the articles, the transport vehicle 1 is appropriately moved to the storage position of the articles to be loaded. By automatically setting the traveling direction in the traveling characteristic setting means 17, the article can be accurately loaded on the transport vehicle 1 and quickly transported to the article supply unit 7.

The running characteristic setting means 17 confirms that the number of articles to be loaded on the transport vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value based on the number information of the articles created by the article information creating means 10. In such a case, the traveling characteristics may be set such that the transport vehicle 1 is stopped at the article loading location. In this case, when loading the articles of the number equal to or more than the reference value into the transport vehicle 1, after performing the loading operation of the articles while the transport vehicle 1 is stopped at the loading position of the articles, The configuration in which the operator operates the start switch provided on the transport vehicle 1 to restart the traveling of the transport vehicle 1 has an advantage that the loading operation of the articles can be reliably performed with a margin. .

As shown in FIG. 12, a factory where the traveling line 4 of the unmanned traveling vehicle 1 and the traveling line 22 of a manned traveling vehicle 21 driven by an operator are installed in parallel. In the above, the retreat line 24 for temporarily retreating the unmanned traveling transfer vehicle 1 may be provided in the installation section 23 and the component supply section 7 of the article storage. In the case of such a configuration, in a normal state, the plurality of unmanned traveling transport vehicles 1 travel at a high speed in a fixed direction along the traveling line 4 to effectively reduce the component transport time. And the transport vehicle 1
When loading parts and supplying parts to
By retracting the transport vehicle 1 to the evacuation line 24, it is possible to reliably prevent the collision with the manned traveling transport vehicle 21 and appropriately execute the loading operation and the supplying operation of the parts. In addition, the traveling line 4 of the unmanned traveling vehicle 1 and the traveling line 22 of the manned traveling vehicle 21 intersect in a complicated manner, thereby effectively preventing the occurrence of a situation in which work efficiency is deteriorated. There is an advantage that you can.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a control apparatus for a transporting vehicle for transporting articles stored in an article storage to an article supply unit, the receiving means for receiving article information created by the article information creating means. A traveling characteristic setting unit for setting traveling characteristics of the transport vehicle based on the article information received by the receiving unit; and controlling a traveling state of the transport vehicle based on the traveling characteristics set by the traveling characteristic setting unit. Since the traveling control means and the transport vehicle are provided in the transport vehicle, the transport vehicle can be properly controlled in traveling state without adopting a complicated configuration of providing a general computer or the like for determining and controlling the work state of the transport vehicle. There is an advantage that the operation of loading articles into the transport vehicle can be performed efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a traveling line of a transport vehicle.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific configuration of a transport vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a transport vehicle control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is data showing a specific example of article information.

FIG. 5 is data showing a specific example of station number information.

FIG. 6 is data showing a specific example of traveling speed information.

FIG. 7 is data showing a specific example of address number information.

FIG. 8 is data showing a specific example of running characteristics.

FIG. 9 is data showing a specific example of shelf number information.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control operation of the transport vehicle.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control operation executed in the handy terminal.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing another specific example of the traveling line of the transport vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyance vehicle 5 Article storage 7 Article supply part 9 Handy terminal (reception means) 10 Article information creation means 13, 14 Indicator lamp (display means) 15 Reception part (reception means) 16 Running characteristic setting means 19 Travel control means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3F022 EE02 FF01 LL05 LL07 MM08 MM11 MM22 MM35 MM36 MM44 NN21 NN32 NN57 5H301 AA02 AA09 BB05 CC03 CC06 CC10 DD01 DD07 DD17 EE03 EE12 EE18 KK01 KK11 KK01 KK01 KK11 KK12 KK02 QQ01

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A control device for a transporting vehicle for transporting articles stored in an article storage to an article supply unit, a receiving unit for article information created by the article information creating unit, and an article received by the receiving unit. A traveling characteristic setting unit configured to set traveling characteristics of the transport vehicle based on the information; and a traveling control unit configured to control a traveling state of the transport vehicle based on the traveling characteristics set by the traveling characteristic setting unit. A control device for a transport vehicle, characterized in that: 2. The control apparatus for a transport vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said article information creating means creates article information including name information of articles to be loaded on the transport vehicle and information on the number of the articles. A control device for a transport vehicle, wherein the control device transmits the information to the article storage and to the transport vehicle. 3. The transport vehicle control device according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for displaying the article information created by the article information creating unit. 4. The control device for a transporting vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said traveling characteristic setting means includes an article loading location based on information on the number of articles created by said article information creating means. And a control device for controlling the transport speed of the transport vehicle at the loading location. 5. The control device for a transporting vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said traveling characteristic setting means sets the loading location based on the name information of the article created by the article information creating means. A control device for a transport vehicle, wherein the control device is configured to set a traveling direction of the transport vehicle. 6. The control device for a transport vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the traveling characteristic setting means is loaded on the transport vehicle based on the number information of the articles created by the article information creating means. When the number of articles is confirmed to be equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value, a traveling characteristic is set so that the transportation vehicle is stopped at the loading location.