JP4701744B2 - Auxiliary controller for automatic guided vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  In the present invention, when a trouble occurs in the automatic guided vehicle traveling on the track laid on the ceiling, and when the protective brake is activated and the vehicle is in an inoperable state, it is connected from the outside, the protective brake is released, and the automatic guided vehicle is The present invention relates to an auxiliary controller for moving to a maintenance inspection place on a track.

In semiconductor manufacturing factories, liquid crystal manufacturing factories, and general FA (Factory Automation) manufacturing factories, OHS (Over Head Shuttle) that runs on tracks laid on the ceiling is used to transport workpieces (intermediate products in the manufacturing process of semiconductors and liquid crystal display devices). ) And OHT (Over head Hoist Transport). The track laid on the ceiling is formed of a closed loop including a branch track, and the unmanned transport cart transports workpieces between manufacturing devices arranged adjacent to the track according to a manufacturing process such as semiconductor manufacturing.
The travel route to the transport target device of the automatic guided vehicle is given as a transport command from the transport system control device, but the branching operation at the track branch point operates the guide switching mechanism and the guide roller built in the controller of the automatic guided vehicle. Perform trajectory selection.

Although it is rare, there is a case where the power supply of the automatic guided vehicle is cut off due to a system power supply trouble or a trouble of the transportation cart itself. In such a case, in order to avoid the unmanned transport cart from falling into a free-run state, safety is ensured by operating a safety device for a non-excited operation brake and urgently stopping the uncontrolled transport cart. However, after the emergency stop, if the state where the braking brake is operated and left on the track continues, it becomes an obstacle to other unmanned conveyance cart traveling, causing traffic jams and the entire conveyance system to be in a numb state.
Therefore, when a broken conveyance carriage comes out, it is important to quickly remove the broken conveyance carriage from the track. Regarding the movement of a faulty carriage, conventionally, a power switch is connected to the faulty carriage from the outside, a power source of another system is connected to the faulty carriage, the non-excitation brake is released, and the fault unmanned carriage is in the maintenance inspection area. The method of moving to human power is adopted.

Details of the release of the non-excitation brake of the broken carriage and the operation of moving the automated carriage to the maintenance / inspection area according to the prior art will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory block diagram showing a combination of a block diagram of the automated guided vehicle 15 and an external device 16 that is temporarily connected when the automated guided vehicle is broken and connected to a power source of another system.

First, the block portion of the transport carriage 15 will be described.
When the automatic guided vehicle is in a normal operation state, a traveling path corresponding to the destination is selected based on the transportation command at the branching portion, and travels to the destination. The guide switching mechanism 10 is constituted by a track switching mechanism at a branch point, the guide switching mechanism control circuit 8 directly controls and drives the guide switching mechanism 10, and the guide switching mechanism control circuit 8 is controlled by the carriage control circuit 7.

When troubles occur in the power supply circuit 6 of the automatic guided vehicle and the supply of power is cut off, the traveling cart that has been running falls into a free-run state due to inertia, and an accident such as a collision with another transport cart occurs. It is extremely dangerous. In order to avoid this danger, an unexcited operation brake 9 is mounted on the automatic guided vehicle as a safety device for forcibly stopping the vehicle when it enters a free-run state.
The non-excitation operating brake 9 operates under the control of the brake control circuit 5 while the automatic guided vehicle is operating normally, that is, while the power supply circuit 6 functions normally and is supplied with power. Absent. The non-excitation operating brake 9 operates as a safety device only when the power supply from the power supply circuit 6 to the brake control circuit 5 is cut off.

Next, a method for connecting the external device 16 and releasing the brake of the non-excitation actuating brake 9 and moving the broken carriage to the maintenance inspection area will be described.
First, the external brake release box 2 is connected to the brake control circuit 5 in order to release the brake of the non-excitation brake 9. The external brake release box 2 is connected to the commercial power source 1, and in this connection work, electric power is supplied to the non-excited operation brake 9, and the brake is released. As a result, the transport carriage can be easily moved by a manual push operation or the like.
The commercial power source 1 usually uses an outlet or the like wired to a factory building column.

Next, the external switching box 3 is connected to the guide switching mechanism control circuit 8.
The external switching box 3 is also connected to the commercial power source 1, and power is supplied to the external switching box 3 by this connection work, and the track selection operation by the guide roller of the guide switching mechanism 10 can be performed by manual operation.
There are several branch points between the stop position of the broken carriage and the maintenance inspection area. At the branch point, the transport carriage needs to move the guide roller to the trajectory to be selected to determine the traveling trajectory. While moving the fault transportation carriage to the maintenance inspection area, manually operate the external switching box 3 at the branch point to select a necessary trajectory and guide the fault transportation carriage to the maintenance inspection area by a manual operation.

Special table 2001-510082

In the prior art described with reference to FIG. 1, since an outlet wired to a factory building column or the like is used as the commercial power source 1, the external brake release box 2 and the external switching box 3 can cover from the failure point to the maintenance inspection area. A length of cable is required. However, a cable with a length of several tens of meters or more is not easy to work, and when the faulty carriage is moved long, move the outlet to the outlet provided on another column while moving the faulty carriage. As a result, it is necessary to change the use, and the operation of pushing and moving the broken carriage cart at a high place, a narrow place, and a ceiling where danger and adverse conditions overlap is made more difficult and severe.

  The present invention has been made for the purpose of making the moving operation of the broken transport cart safe and easy. The auxiliary controller according to the present invention is temporarily attached to the unmanned unmanned transport cart, the brake of the unexcited operation brake is released, and the traveling The wheel drive motor drive, guide switching mechanism operation at the branching part, etc. are all performed by remote control from the ground, and a specific method for moving the faulty carriage from the stop position to the maintenance inspection area is provided. In situations where it is difficult to drive the traveling wheel drive motor, a method for moving the broken carriage to the maintenance / inspection area while towing it from the ground with a stick or string is also provided.

Means and effects for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention proposes the following means. That is, the invention described in claim 1 includes a plurality of traveling wheels for traveling on a track, at least one traveling motor, and at least a pair of branch guide rollers and a guide switching mechanism for selectively guiding a traveling direction in the track branching section. It is used in an automated guided vehicle that travels on a track laid on the ceiling and transports luggage, and restrains rotation of the traveling wheels to prevent the automated guided vehicle from falling into a free-run state due to a trouble. When the brake to be operated is in an activated state, the brake that restricts the rotation of the traveling wheel is released, and the automatic guided vehicle is moved temporarily and temporarily to move the automatic guided vehicle to a maintenance inspection place arranged on a track. A portable auxiliary controller used by being attached to a carriage, which can be connected to the carriage control circuit of the automatic guided carriage, a battery, and a wireless or optical Or a remote operation signal receiving circuit using a combination of radio and optical signals, and the auxiliary control from a place remote from the automatic guided vehicle by a remote operation using radio or optical signals or a combination of radio and optical signals The vehicle control circuit of the automatic guided vehicle can be controlled via a container, and at least brake release of the brake of the automatic guided vehicle and selection of a traveling track at a branch portion by the branch guide roller of the automatic guided vehicle can be performed. Like that.
When the unmanned transport cart encounters a failure in the power supply system or unmanned transport cart power supply during travel, the unmanned transport cart activates a brake that restricts the rotation of the traveling wheels to prevent collisions due to free run. Let me. Thereby, the runaway of the failed transport carriage is prevented and safety is ensured. However, the failed transport carriage is left in the stop position, which interferes with other normal transport carriage runs. Therefore, it is necessary to quickly move the faulty carriage to a maintenance / inspection area provided on the track.

In order to move the unmanned unmanned carriage, first connect the connection terminal of the portable auxiliary controller that is temporarily attached to the unmanned carriage to the carriage control circuit connection provided on the side of the unmanned carriage. It is necessary to release the brake that restricts the rotation of the motor.
The portable auxiliary controller has a battery, and has a built-in remote control signal receiving circuit by radio or optical signal or a combination of radio and optical signal, and by radio or optical signal or by combination of radio and optical signal. The control circuit unit of the automatic guided vehicle is controlled by remote control such as the ground from a place separated from the automatic guided vehicle via the auxiliary controller for the automatic guided vehicle. The brake release of the brake of at least the unmanned transport vehicle remotely, it is possible to implement the selection of the running track by the operation of at the branch guide rollers at the bifurcation.

According to the present invention, the brake is operated due to failure or the like, even if fallen on the state of the unmovable unmanned transport vehicle stops in orbit, placing the auxiliary controller to the fault unmanned transport vehicle, by connecting the The brake in the brake can be released by the battery in the auxiliary controller and the operation of the guide switching mechanism can be performed remotely from the ground. It is possible to move to a maintenance inspection place while pulling with a push rod or string.
The invention according to claim 2 is the auxiliary controller for the automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the charger is for charging the battery, and the external connection is for connecting the charger to an external power supply for charging. And a terminal. By adopting such a configuration, it is not necessary to receive power supply from an outlet wired to the factory building column, etc., so a power cable is not required and it is provided on the factory building column, etc. at the destination location accompanying the movement of the carriage. This also eliminates the need for replacement to a new outlet, greatly improving workability.

The invention according to claim 3 is the auxiliary controller for the automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connection terminal couples the mounted battery to the travel motor to supply electric power, The driving motor of the automatic guided vehicle can be driven and stopped by remote control.
By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to control the operation and stop of the traveling motor by remote operation, and to the maintenance inspection site, the self-propelled function of the transport cart itself without relying on human-powered push rods or traction by strings etc. It can be moved with.
The safety and workability can be significantly improved by guiding the unmanned automated guided vehicle to the maintenance and inspection site only by remote control such as a remote control from the ground.

Invention of claim 4, a unmanned conveyance auxiliary controller trolley according to claim 1, wherein the connection terminal, the carriage control circuit of the automatic guided trolley the battery mounted As a power source for the above , or as a power source for the guide switching mechanism, it can be connected independently or simultaneously .
By adopting such a configuration, even if one of the power supplies is cut off at the time of the transportation cart failure, or even when both power supplies are cut off at the same time, only the cut off power supply is selected. It can be connected to the auxiliary controller to supply power. Accordingly, all power supply configurations can be handled without depending on the power supply configuration of the auxiliary controller, and the auxiliary controller can be generalized and the workability of the unmanned unmanned transport cart moving work can be improved.

The best embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram for explaining a combination form of devices and devices when the auxiliary controller according to the present invention is coupled to a faulty automatic guided vehicle and the faulty automatic guided cart is moved by remote control. 3 is an external perspective view of the auxiliary controller, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of operation switches, display lamps, and the like on the front panel of the auxiliary controller, and FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram for explaining functions of the auxiliary controller.

FIG. 3 shows the appearance of the auxiliary controller. The auxiliary controller 20 is connected to the carriage controller from the casing of the auxiliary controller 20, a signal cable 46 for controlling the carriage is pulled out, a cable connector 47 is provided at the tip, and the side of the carriage is provided. By inserting the cable connector 48 provided, the auxiliary controller 20 is connected to the controller in the transport carriage.
The commercial power cable 45 is a cable provided to receive charging power from the commercial power supply outlet installed on a column or wall of a factory building to the charger 21, and a wall outlet plug 49 is provided at the tip.
In the explanation of the embodiment, the automatic guided vehicle traveling on the track laid on the ceiling causes a power failure, and the unexcited actuating electromagnetic brake, which is a safety device, is operated on the track and stopped on another track. Assuming a situation in which it is necessary to remove the vehicle from the traveling track immediately.

In order to move the unmanned unmanned transport cart from the track, the worker must first hold the auxiliary controller in his hand, approach the broken transport cart stopped on the track laid on the ceiling using a ladder, etc. Install the controller at an appropriate position on the broken carriage. Subsequently, the connector 47 of the signal connection cable of the auxiliary controller is inserted into the cable connector 48 provided on the side wall of the automatic guided vehicle and connected to the controller in the automatic guided vehicle. As a result, the preparation work for equipment installation necessary for moving the unattended broken carriage is completed, and the worker travels down the ladder to the ground.

The next operation is the movement of the unmanned unmanned transport cart by operating the remote controller. Before explaining this operation, the functions of the auxiliary controller will be described first with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the connected state of each device when an auxiliary controller is connected to the broken carriage and the moving operation of the broken unmanned carriage is carried out by remote control from the ground.
The transport cart 15 is composed of a transport cart controller 4, a brake 9, a guide switching mechanism 10, and a travel motor 17. The transport cart controller 4 further includes a power supply circuit 6, a cart control circuit 7, a brake control circuit 5, and a guide switching mechanism control. The circuit 8 is configured.
Here, since the conveyance carriage is assumed to be out of order, the power supply circuit 6 of the conveyance carriage 15 is out of order, and power supply to the carriage control circuit 7, the brake control circuit 5, and the guide switching mechanism control circuit 8 is stopped. It is in.
Accordingly, the cart control circuit 7, the brake control circuit 5, and the guide switching mechanism control circuit 8 are all inoperable, and the non-excitation brake 9 is in an operating state with the power supply cut off. Further, the guide switching mechanism 10 of the transport carriage 15 is also inoperable.

The internal configuration of the auxiliary controller 20 is shown in FIG. The center of the auxiliary controller 20 is an auxiliary control circuit 23, to which a battery 22 for supplying power and a remote control circuit 24 are connected.
The battery 22 is integrally provided with a charger 21, a commercial power cable 45 for connecting it to a commercial power source, and an outlet plug 49. In addition, a signal cable 46 and a cable connector 47 are integrally provided in the auxiliary control circuit 23, and the cable connector 47 is connected to the cable connector 48 of the transport carriage 15. In addition, the remote control circuit 24 is provided with a remote control receiving unit 28 for transmitting and receiving remote operation signals without contact with the remote controller 18.
The auxiliary controller 20 is provided with switches and display lamps shown in the front panel of FIG. The explanation of the functions of the auxiliary controller 20 will be further continued to serve as explanation of the meaning of these switches and the indicator lamp.

The power switch 31 is a power source for the auxiliary controller 20. When the power switch 31 is turned on, the auxiliary controller 20 is activated and the power display lamp 32 is lit.
The guide changeover switch 33 is an operation switch that operates on the conveyance carriage controller in place of the carriage control circuit 7 that has become inoperable and operates the guide changeover mechanism 10 by manual operation. When the right guide is selected, the guide changeover switch 33 is selected. Tilt to the right, and to the left to select the left guide. When trajectory selection is not performed, the center position is maintained. Further, the right guide selection lamp 34 and the left guide selection lamp 35 are lit corresponding to the respective tracks selected by the guide changeover switch 33.

The travel drive motor switch 36 is a switch for driving the travel motor of the transport carriage 15, and when the switch is turned on, the travel drive motor display 37 is lit and the transport carriage 15 is self-propelled. This eliminates the need to push the transport carriage from the ground or tow it with a tow rope.
The brake release switch 38 acts on the brake control circuit 5 instead of the cart control circuit 7 which has become inoperable, releases the excitation of the non-excitation brake 9 by manual operation, and releases the brake. Thereby, the transport carriage 15 becomes free to travel.

When the control circuit power supply 6 of the transport carriage 15 cannot be recovered after the transport carriage failure, the control circuit power switch 40 replaces the control circuit power supply 6 to operate the travel motor, the non-excitation brake, and the guide switching mechanism. 20 is a switch for supplying power from a battery 22 built in. When the power supply source is switched from the control circuit power supply 6 to the battery 22 of the auxiliary controller 20 by the control circuit power switch 40, the control circuit power lamp 41 is turned on.
The function description of the auxiliary controller 20 has been described based on the switch operation and the display lamp on the front panel of FIG. 4. However, the remote controller 18 has the same functions as those of the switch operation and the display lamp. The remote controller 18 can be used for remote operation from the ground without depending on the switch operation.

Next, a description will be given of the movement of the faulty automatic guided vehicle by the remote control operation from the ground using the remote controller. Note that the remote control operation has the same meaning as the operation switch and the display lamp in FIG.

When the auxiliary controller 20 is installed on the broken carriage, the connection of the cable connector 47 is completed, and the worker who gets off the ground turns on the power switch 31 and the control circuit power switch 40 of the auxiliary controller 20.
Then, it is confirmed that the power display lamp 32 and the control circuit power lamp 41 are lit. Next, the non-excitation brake 9 is released by operating the brake release switch 38, and the release operation is confirmed by the brake release display lamp 39.
Following the release of the brake, the travel drive motor switch 36 is operated to activate the travel motor 17 of the failed transport carriage and start the failed transport carriage toward the maintenance and inspection area. The starting operation is confirmed by both the lighting of the traveling drive motor display lamp 37 and the visual observation of the movement of the broken carriage.

Usually, several branch points exist before reaching the maintenance inspection area. At these branch points, the trajectory connected to the maintenance inspection area is selected by tilting the guide changeover switch 33 of the remote controller 18 to the right or left. The fact that the target track has been selected is confirmed by the broken carriage operation, the right track selection lamp 34, and the left track selection lamp 35. After the broken carriage arrives at the maintenance inspection area, the travel drive motor switch 36 is turned off, and the control circuit power switch 40 and the power switch 31 are also turned off.
As a result, the unmanned automated guided vehicle was guided to the maintenance inspection area. Next, the worker climbs to a maintenance / inspection area where a ladder or the like is provided in order to perform a termination process. First, the connector 47 of the signal connection cable of the auxiliary controller is pulled out from the cable connector 48 on the side wall of the automatic guided vehicle, and then the auxiliary controller 20 is taken out of the broken conveying cart and lowered to the ground, thereby completing the moving operation of the broken conveying cart. .
In addition, the auxiliary controller is prepared for the next use, and the battery plug is charged by inserting the outlet plug 49 provided at the tip of the commercial power cable 45 drawn from the main body into the outlet provided on the factory building column or the like. .

In the above description, the traveling motor 17 of the unattended unloading carriage can be driven and can be driven by remote control operation. However, depending on the failure mode of the unmanned conveying carriage, the traveling motor 17 may not be able to be driven. In this case, the faultless automated guided vehicle is moved from the ground to a maintenance / inspection site by pulling manually using a push rod, a string, or the like. Even in this case, the trajectory branching section selects the trajectory that leads to the maintenance inspection area by tilting the guide changeover switch 33 of the remote controller 18 to the right or left.

An unmanned transport cart transport system that runs on a track laid on the ceiling, used as a work transport means in semiconductor manufacturing, liquid crystal manufacturing and general FA factories, etc. Applicable when an excitation brake is installed.
In particular, when the unmanned transport cart is running on the track, the unexcited operation brake is activated due to a failure of the power system, etc., and the track is stopped on the track. It can be used to move on orbit.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the control circuit structure of the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on the background art of this invention, and the mode of the auxiliary apparatus for a movement. It is a functional block diagram which shows the control circuit structure of the automatic guided vehicle which concerns on the Example of this invention, and the apparatus structure for a movement. It is a bird's-eye view which shows the external appearance of the auxiliary controller which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is an external view of the operation switch and the display lamp of the auxiliary controller front panel. It is a functional block diagram of the auxiliary controller concerning the Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

5 Brake control circuit
7 Dolly control circuit
6 Power supply circuit 8 Guide switching mechanism control circuit 9 Non-excitation actuated electromagnetic brake (brake)
10 Guide switching mechanism 15 Transport cart (automatic transport cart)
17 Traveling motor 18 Remote controller 20 Auxiliary controller
21 Charger
22 Battery 24 Remote control circuit (Remote operation signal receiving circuit)
28 Remote control receiver 30 Display 33 Guide switch 34 Right orbit selection lamp
35 Left-side track selection lamp 36 Travel drive motor switch 38 Brake release switch 39 Brake release display lamp 46 Signal cable 47 Auxiliary controller side cable connector (connection terminal)
48 Carriage side cable connector
49 Outlet plug (external connection terminal)

Claims (4)

A plurality of traveling wheels for traveling on a track, at least one traveling motor, and at least one pair of branch guide rollers and a guide switching mechanism for selectively guiding a traveling direction at a track branching section, on a track laid on a ceiling Used in an unmanned transport cart that transports luggage and when the brake that restricts the rotation of the traveling wheels is in an activated state in order to prevent the unmanned transport cart from falling into a free-run state due to a trouble , releasing the brake for restraining the rotation of the running wheel, auxiliary and for moving the unmanned conveyance carriage until placed maintenance location on the track, the auxiliary portable for use attached temporarily the unmanned transport vehicle A controller,
A connection terminal that can be connected to a cart control circuit of the automatic guided cart;
Battery ,
A radio or optical signal, or a remote control signal receiving circuit using a combination of radio and optical signal;
Have
By controlling the carriage control circuit of the automatic guided vehicle via the auxiliary controller from a location separated from the automatic guided carriage by remote operation by radio or optical signal or a combination of radio and optical signal,
And brake release of at least the brake of the automatic guided carriage,
The branch guide auxiliary controller for automated guided carriage selection can be carried out of the running track at the branch portion of each roller of the unmanned conveyance carriage. The auxiliary controller for the automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1,
A charger for charging the battery;
An external connection terminal for connecting the charger to an external power supply for charging;
Auxiliary controller for unmanned transport cart. An auxiliary controller for an automatic guided vehicle according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The connecting pin, the power supply is coupled to the battery mounted on the traveling motor,
Auxiliary controller for automated guided carriage which can be implemented driving and stopping of the traveling motor of the unmanned conveyance carriage by remote control. An auxiliary controller for an automatic guided vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The connection terminal, said battery mounted as a power source of the carriage control circuit of the automatic guided carriage, or the as a power source for the guide-switching mechanism, independently or simultaneously the auxiliary controller for automated guided cart that can be connected.

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