JP2536499B2 - Operation control method for automatic guided vehicles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The disclosed technology belongs to the technical field of operation control of an automated guided vehicle used as a transfer means when performing line work in a machine manufacturing factory or the like.

Thus, the present invention relates to an operation control method for an automatic guided vehicle that automatically travels along a plurality of lines for assembly and packaging of parts having different line tacts along a preset factory route. In particular, the speed control device installed in the automatic guided vehicle stores the optimum traveling speeds for all the lines in advance, and an external command is issued when the automatic guided vehicle enters the entrance of each line. The invention relates to an operation control method for an automated guided vehicle, in which the automated guided vehicle is run at a constant speed set and stored in the line and stored, and line operations are sequentially performed in that state.

<Prior Art> Generally, in machine manufacturing factories such as automobile manufacturing factories, line work using a conveyor device is widely performed.
In particular, in a line centered on manual work, the pacemaker property, which allows the continuous flow of the conveyor to be used as a guideline, is emphasized, and a lot of work is performed by the conveyor device.

However, since generally used conveyor devices have many steps in one work line, the line length is inevitably long and the equipment becomes large in size, making it difficult to secure work passages and component supply passages. There is a difficulty that
Furthermore, there is a drawback in that the flexibility in changing the layout in the factory is poor.

Therefore, in order to deal with this, introduction into the parts assembling line and the parts packing line of the automated guided vehicle is being actively studied in place of the conveyor device, and such a technique is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No.
-137476 specification and drawings, "Automation" (1986 Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun Publishing, Volume 31, No. 8, 36-42)
Page), "MATERIAL HANDLING ENGINEERIG" (USA 1985)
PENTONIPC Publication, pages 52-56).

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in any case in the above-described conventional technology for introducing an unmanned guided vehicle, the unmanned guided vehicle itself always has a constant traveling speed, and when the parts are assembled or packed. Since it is designed to stop at each station for a predetermined time and work in that state, it cannot be a sufficient physical pacemaker like a conveyor device.
There is a disadvantage that the line speed is not always kept constant and the production efficiency decreases.

Further, in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 60-137476, and in the aspect disclosed in the drawings, the stop time at each station is controlled according to the time required for each process in the line, In this mode, each station can be further provided with a lamp or the like in order to inform the worker of the working time or the remaining time, but since it is not a sensation like a continuous flow of the conveyor device, There was a problem that it could not be a sufficient pacemaker for performing line work, which could cause uneven work, and the manager and supervisor could not understand the work speed (delay or advance from the standard).

The object of the present invention is a technical problem to be solved when installing an automatic guided vehicle to each line of assembly, packaging, etc. based on the above-mentioned conventional technology, and while utilizing the merit of introducing the automatic guided vehicle, the conveyor With the pacemaker function equivalent to that of the device, it is possible to surely improve the production efficiency, and to provide the excellent operation control method of the automatic guided vehicle which is beneficial to the field of using the line transportation technology in various manufacturing industries. .

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the structure of the present invention, which is based on the above-mentioned object and has the above-mentioned claims as its gist, is an automatic guided vehicle that automatically travels a plurality of lines having different line tacts. In the operation control method, a speed control device is mounted on the automatic guided vehicle, and the optimum traveling speed for all lines is stored in advance in the speed control device, and the automatic guided vehicle is operated at a constant speed up to the entrance of each line. When traveling and entering the entrance of each line, a command is issued from the outside to the speed control device to switch to the set traveling speed of the line, and constant speed traveling is resumed from the exit of each line. The technical means of doing so.

<Operation> Thus, the speed control device of the automatic guided vehicle stores in advance the optimum traveling speeds of all the lines having different line tacts, and the speeds from the outside when the automatic guided vehicle enters each line. A switching command is issued to switch the speed of the automated guided vehicle to an optimum speed that is suitable for the line, the automated guided vehicle is driven at a constant speed in the line to perform line work in a continuous running state, and again when the line running is completed. The automatic guided vehicle is operated at the original traveling speed (traveling speed outside the line).

<Embodiment> Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 2, reference numerals 1, 1 ′, 1 ″, and 1 are work lines for assembling and packing parts in a factory, and each work line 1 (1 ′, 1 ″, 1) has a predetermined work line. Assembling and packing parts, devices and workers are arranged.

A work loading station 3 and a work unloading station 4 are arranged at predetermined positions on the floor 2, and the floor 2 is further equipped with the work loading station 3, the work unloading station 4 and each work line 1.
1 ', 1', 1 is embedded in a running guide wire 5 so as to be connected in an annular shape. The running guide wire 5 is connected to an oscillation amplifier (not shown) and a low-frequency current of a predetermined frequency is passed through it. An electromagnetic field is generated in the outer peripheral portion.

As shown in FIG. 1, each work line 1 (1 ′, 1 ″, 1) has a command transmitting station N _{0 on} both front and rear sides thereof.
N ₀ ′, and between the command transmitting stations N ₀ and N ₀ ′ are work stations N ₁ , N ₂ , N ₃ , N ₄ , N ₅ for each work process, and the command transmitting station N _{0 ′.} And the optical command oscillator 6 are installed at N ₀ ′, and each working station N ₁ (N ₂ , N ₃ , N ₄ , N ₅ ) is for traveling in the working line 1 (1 ′, 1 ″, 1) A start / stop command guide wire 7 is laid so as to intersect with the guide wire 5, and the start / stop command guide wire 7 is connected to an oscillation amplifier (not shown) via a hold switch 8 and has a predetermined length different from that of the running guide wire 5. A high-frequency current having a frequency is applied to generate an electromagnetic field in the outer peripheral portion thereof.

Reference numeral 9 denotes an automated guided vehicle, which is equipped with a traveling motor (not shown) capable of controlling the speed with high accuracy (a rotary encoder for high-resolution speed feedback, a traveling motor connected to the control device, and the like). A microcomputer as a speed control device (not shown) is installed,
The rotation of the traveling motor is adjusted based on the information sent from the microcomputer so that the traveling speed is controlled to the set speed.

A pair of left and right pickup coils 10, 10 for the electromagnetic field of the traveling guide wire 5 and a pickup coil 11 for the electromagnetic field of the start / stop command guide wire 7 are attached to the outer surface of the automated guided vehicle 9. The steering coils 10 and 10 are electrically connected to a steering device (not shown) so that steering can be performed by the difference in induced electromotive force generated in the left and right pickup coils 10 and 10. The pickup coil 11 is connected to the power switch of the traveling motor. It is electrically connected so that the generation and generation of induced electromotive force generated in the pickup coil 11 can be used to switch the power supply of the traveling motor off and on, and also to correspond to the optical command transmitter 6. A light receiving device 12 is attached, and the light receiving device 12 is electrically connected to a microcomputer mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 9.

In the above equipment, the automatic guided vehicle 9 of the present invention
In executing the operation control method of No. 1, the operation control is performed according to the flow shown in FIG.

That is, first, the microcomputer mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 9 is provided with the optimum traveling speeds of all the work lines 1, 1 ', 1'', 1 (the same speed as in the case where the line work is continuously performed by the conveyor device). After inputting, a destination is designated by a controller (not shown) in that state, and a predetermined work is transferred from the line loading station 3 to the automatic guided vehicle 9.
13 is loaded, and the automatic guided vehicle 9 is loaded with a guide wire 5 for running in the factory.
Along with a predetermined speed V ₀ .

At this time, the automated guided vehicle 9 travels while detecting the electromagnetic field of the traveling guide wire 5 by the pickup coils 10, 10 as described above, but the traveling speed thereof is relatively large as in the conventional automated guided vehicle. The value is used as the value, and the operation route is determined by an external control device (not shown).

Thus, the automated guided vehicle 9 is used for each work line 1 (1 ',
1 ", 1) When entering the entrance, each work line 1
Command sending station on the entrance side of (1 ', 1 ", 1)
A speed designation command is issued from an optical command transmitter 6 provided at N ₀ , whereas the automatic guided vehicle 9 receives the command by the light receiving device 12, and the work line 1 (1 ′, 1 ′, 1 ″, 1) optimum running speed V ₁ (V
₂ , V ₃ , V ₄ ) is called, and based on the information, the microcomputer and the rotary encoder adjust the rotational speed of the traveling motor to perform a predetermined low speed traveling.

Then, the traveling speed V ₁ (V ₂ , V ₃ , V of the automatic guided vehicle 9 at this time)
₄ ) is a work line 1 (1 ', 1'', 1 as shown in FIG.
) Is set to a constant low speed equivalent to the operating speed of the conveyor when a conveyor device is installed in), the workers waiting at each work station N _{1 to} N ₅ run at low speed. It is possible to perform a predetermined assembly and packing operation on the incoming automated guided vehicle 9 as a pacemaker.

In this way, the unmanned guided vehicle 9 which has completed the assembling and packing work in the work stations N _{1 to} N ₅ receives a command from the optical command transmitter 6 of the command transmitting station N ₀ ′ on the exit side, The work 13 that has been returned to the original traveling speed V ₀ and finished the assembling and packing work is unloaded at the work unloading station 4 and travels to the work loading station 3 again to perform the same operation as described above. Repeated.

Furthermore, the operator working with each work station N ₁ to N ₅ is optionally, for example, you can also stop the automatic guided vehicle 9 in an emergency or the like, in this case each of the work stations N ₁
By operating the hold switch 8 provided at ~ N ₅ , an electromagnetic field is generated in the start / stop commanding guide wire 5, the traveling motor of the automatic guided vehicle 9 is stopped via the pickup coil 11, and the hold switch is also operated. By turning off 8, the generation of electromagnetic field is stopped and the traveling motor of the automatic guided vehicle 9 is restarted.

Needless to say, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, in each work line, the device for issuing a command to switch the traveling speed to the automatic guided vehicle and the device for receiving the command are Various other modes such as a code and a bar code reader may be used, or a conventional station stop system may be appropriately combined and used.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, basically, the flexibility of the layout change in the factory is increased, and while utilizing the advantages of the introduction of the automatic guided vehicle such as the increased space utilization efficiency,
The pacemaker property equivalent to that of the conveyor device can be maintained, and as a result, the excellent effect that the production efficiency in the line work is surely improved is exhibited.

That is, an automatic guided vehicle is equipped with a speed control device, and the optimum traveling speeds of all lines having different line tacts are stored in advance in the speed control device until the automatic guided vehicle enters the entrance of each line. When the vehicle travels at a constant speed and enters the entrance, a command is issued from the outside to the speed control device to switch to the set traveling speed of the line, and the original constant speed traveling is resumed at the exit. As a result, large equipment such as a conveyor device is not required, and when changing the layout in the factory, it is sufficient to change the operation route of the automatic guided vehicle, and moreover, it is possible to continuously run at a constant speed and low speed in the work line at all times. As a result, the effect that the automated guided vehicle can be used as a reliable physical pacemaker similar to that of the conveyer device in line work is achieved.

Furthermore, in order to specify the speed of the line to the automatic guided vehicle at the entrance of each line, the speed control device is mounted on the automatic guided vehicle, and the optimum traveling speed of each of the plurality of lines of the speed control device is stored. One type of automated guided vehicle can now be used on multiple lines, increasing the degree of freedom in using multiple types of automated guided vehicles, and enabling mass production of automated guided vehicles, resulting in low equipment costs. It has an excellent effect of being suppressed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a layout in a factory, FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic plan view of the same, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the guided vehicle, FIG. 4 is a flow chart of operation control of the guided vehicle, and FIG. 5 is a graph showing the speed of the guided vehicle in each line. 1, 1 ', 1 ", 1 ... Line, 9 ... Automated guided vehicle

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An operation control method for an automated guided vehicle that automatically travels on a plurality of lines having different line tacts, wherein the automated guided vehicle is equipped with a speed control device, and the speed control device is preliminarily optimized for all lines. The speed is stored, and the automatic guided vehicle runs at a constant speed until the entrance of each line,
When entering the entrance of each line, a command is issued from the outside to the speed control device to switch to the set travel speed of the line, and constant speed travel is resumed from the exit of each line. An operation control method for an automated guided vehicle.