JPS61226813A - Operating managing device for trackless trolley - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten waiting time at the confluent point of a trackless trolley by selecting a route map by a ground control device and a route by the shortest course arithmetic processing part, checking the confluent place by the data of each trolley route memory part, determining the route and informing the trackless trolley. CONSTITUTION:The operation of the trackless trolley 10 which travels a travelling path, where the confluent place exists and shifts between stations ST, is controlled by a ground control device 1. The transporting command given by a transporting command decoding processing part 41 of the device 1 is decoded and given to the shortest course arithmetic processing part 42. At the processing part 42, the shortest route is selected based upon the information of the transporting command and a route map 44, the contents of each trolley route memory part 45 and the route information selected by the processing part 42 are compared by a confluent place checking part 46 and the presence and absence of the confluent place are collated. The route which does not have any confluent places and is selected by the processing part 42, is finally determined, stored to the memory part 45 and the route command through a route indicating part 48 to the trolley is transferred from a data transmitting part 49 through a data transmitting device 9 on the trolley to a control device 11 on the trolley.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to operation management of a plurality of trackless vehicles, and particularly to an operation management device suitable for driving a plurality of trackless vehicles on a complicated travel route with many merging points.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Microcomputers have made remarkable progress in recent years, making it possible to construct small, lightweight, and low-cost control devices in a variety of fields, and automation of factories is progressing at a rapid pace. There is also a growing demand for unmanned trackless vehicles to supply parts to production lines, even on complex travel routes that were previously considered difficult.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the configuration of this type of conventional traffic management device.
The configuration is such that signals can be exchanged between the ground control device 1 and the light receiver 4.5 provided at the entrance of the blockage zone 2 on the travel route, the light projectors 6 and 7, and the light receiver 3 provided at the exit. At the same time, when a trackless vehicle enters the rl'l blockade zone 2 from one route, the light from a projector (not shown) installed on the vehicle is captured by the light receiver 4, and an unmanned vehicle enters this blockade zone from another route. In order to prevent entry,
The light emission from the light emitter 7 is stopped. Furthermore, when the light receiver 3 detects that the unmanned vehicle that has entered the blockage zone has escaped, the floodlight 7 is turned on to allow the vehicle to enter from another route again. This method of avoiding collisions between cars is known as the check-in check-out method.

However, when this method is applied to the traveling route 20 shown in FIG. 3, which intersects in a grid pattern,
Since a light receiver must be provided, the structure of the device becomes complicated, and at the same time, the cost of the device increases significantly.

In addition, in the above method, after stopping once at the merging point approach point, the car receives the light from the ground side floodlight 6 or 7 for permission to enter and starts driving, so every merging point on the driving route There is a problem in that the transportation cycle has to be stopped temporarily, which increases the time it takes to travel to the destination station, and as a result, the transportation cycle becomes longer.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and even on a complicated conveyance route with many confluence points, it is possible to significantly shorten the time taken by trackless vehicles at the confluence points, and to reduce the conveyance cycle. An object of the present invention is to provide an operation control device which can significantly shorten the time period and also greatly simplify the configuration of the entire device.

(Summary of the Invention) In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a trackless vehicle operation management system that manages the operation of a plurality of trackless vehicles that travel between stations on a running route where there is a merging point. Ground control equipment and onboard i that can transmit data to
I11wJ device, and the ground control device includes a first detector that detects that the trackless vehicle has arrived at the station, a first route map that stores information about the traveling route, and a given transport command; a vJ calculation processing unit that determines an optimal route based on the output signal of the first detector and the information of the first route map; and a route instruction unit that instructs transmission of the data determined by the calculation processing unit. The on-board control device includes a second detector that detects the arrival of the vehicle at the station, a second route map that stores information about the traveling route, and a second route map that is sent from the ground control device. The vehicle is characterized by comprising a travel control means for causing the vehicle to travel along a designated route to a destination station based on the data, the output signal of the first detector, and information on the second route map.

[Embodiments of the invention]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a ground control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is mainly composed of a microcomputer, and has a route map 4 in which information about traveling routes is stored.
4, a transport command decoding processing unit 41 that decodes the transport command,
A shortest course calculation processing section 42 that selects the shortest route from a departure station (hereinafter also referred to as FROM station) to an arrival station (hereinafter also referred to as TO station) based on the information of this transport command decoding processing section 41 and route map 44; A route determination processing section 43 that ultimately determines the driving route; a vehicle route storage section 45 that stores the routes for each vehicle determined by the route determination processing section 43 in correspondence with information on the route map 44; A merging point checking section 46 detects the presence or absence of a merging point based on the information in the route storage section 45 and the course selected by the shortest course calculation processing section 42 and provides the information to the route determination processing section 43, and the arrival of the trackless vehicle at the station. and a passage detector 47 that detects the passage thereof, a route instruction section 48 for the vehicle that instructs the vehicle about the route information determined by the route determination processing section 43, and a data transmission section that transmits data to the on-board control device. 49.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship of data exchange between the ground control device 1, the trackless vehicle 10, and the station 12. The ground control device 1 is equipped with a data transmission device @8, and the trackless vehicle 10
The on-vehicle control device 11 installed in the is equipped with a data transmission device 9,
The station 12 is provided with a reflective tape 14 that reflects the light from the light emitter and receiver 13.

Note that the on-vehicle control bag a11 also includes a route map and a drive control section, but the details thereof are omitted here.

FIG. 3 shows a running path to which the present invention is applied, and the running path 20 has a grid-like path with six vertically and five horizontally. ~5T
22 is specified. Note that a to 2 in the figure represent corners and intersection points (hereinafter also referred to as merging points) of the travel path, respectively.

Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be explained according to a specific example in which a plurality of transport commands are given.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, the transport commands include transport from station ST1 (hereinafter abbreviated as ST1 without station) to 5T10, transport from 5T19 to 5T11, transport from 5T16 to 5T14, and so on. S
Assume that requests for transport from T3 to 5T15 are each issued in turn.

Here, it is assumed that no other transport command has been issued at the time the transport command is issued from ST1.

In addition, when a transport command is given, the transport route is determined by the computer with which the transport command is given, the operator's key input using the input device of the ground control tIl device, and the vehicle When this occurs due to an operator's key-in using the above input device (step 101), the transport command is assigned to the empty vehicle closest to the FROM station in the transport command by the transport command allocation type determination routine (step 102). A description of this routine will be omitted, but the point is that if there is no empty car at the FROM station, another station or an empty car to which no transport command has been assigned will be allocated. At this time, the transport route instruction is from the place where the assigned car is located to FR.
The travel route to the OM station is also included in the transportation route instruction information.

Next, the assigned transport route for the vehicle is determined by the transport route determination routine (step 103).

Therefore, here, the transport command FROM stations ST1, 5T19.5T16. Assume that there is an empty vehicle in ST3.

Here, if a conveyance command from ST1 to 5T10 is given, the conveyance command decoding processing section 41 of the ground control device decodes it and gives it to the shortest course calculation processing section 42. The shortest course calculation processing section 42 selects the shortest route based on the decoded transport command and the information in the route map 44. Subsequently, the content of each vehicle route storage section 45 and the route information selected by the shortest course calculation processing section are compared in a merging point checking section 46 to check whether there is a merging point. This time, there are no other route assignments, so
There is no merging point, and the route selected by the shortest course performance processing section is finalized by the route decision processing section, and the NO.
The route ST1→a-8TIO of one vehicle is stored in each vehicle route 1 to storage unit 45. And the route instruction part 4 to the car
By transmitting this route command from the data transmission unit 49 to the on-vehicle data transmission device 9 via Route 8, the No. 1 vehicle travels the route from STI to Q and 5TIO.

Next, when a transport command is given from 5T19 to ST11, the No. 2 vehicle existing at 5T19 is determined as the limited transport command assigned vehicle, and the transport command decoding processing unit 41 and the shortest course performance processing unit 42. Route map 4
After the best-known route is selected by step 4, it is checked by the merging point check section 46 and stored in the route storage section 45 for each vehicle, and the route command 5T19→W-+j→5T
11 is given to the NO2 vehicle.

Next, when a transport command is given from 5T16 to 5T14, the NO3 vehicle existing at 5T16 is determined as the transport command allocation type, and the shortest route is determined and the presence or absence of a merging point is checked in the same manner as the NO heavy vehicle. . In this case, assuming that the car only moves forward, the shortest course is ST1.
6→r-+x→U→n→5T14 is selected, but NO
In order to merge with the two vehicles at point W, the route determination processing unit 43 selects a route 5T16→r-+d1→a1→n that does not have a merging point.
→Determine ST14. This travel route is stored in each vehicle route storage section 45, and the transportation and route commands are NO.
Transmitted to 3111 cars.

Next, when a transport command is given from ST3 to 5T15, the No. 4 vehicle existing in ST3 is determined as the transport command allocation type, and determines the shortest route and merges with other vehicles in the same way as the No. 1 vehicle described above. The presence or absence of the location is checked. In this case, the shortest route is ST4→C→p-8T1
5, but merges with the No. 1 vehicle at point i. Therefore, the route determination processing unit 42 selects another route, but since there is still no route that does not intersect, the NO. 1 vehicle is 5T.
Just hold on until you reach 10. However, here, in order to shorten the transport cycle, the No. 4 vehicle is run to ST4, and then the No. 1 vehicle is run until it arrives at 5T10. Therefore, N
The shortest course is selected as the route for the O4 vehicle, and in ST4 an instruction is given to the on-board control device to allow the NO1 vehicle to pass. Therefore, the No. 41 car ran to ST4 and stopped, and the No. 1 car moved to 5T1 in response to a command from the ground control device.
When it receives a signal indicating that it has arrived at station 0, it restarts and travels to destination station 15.

The arrival of each vehicle at the destination station is detected by the reflective tape 14 and the on-vehicle light emitter/receiver 13, and then the on-vehicle data transmission device 9 notifies the ground 11i control device via the data transmission device 8. In addition, the ground control device erases the transport route information corresponding to the arriving vehicle in each vehicle route storage section 45 in preparation for the next transport command.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for determining such a route.

In the above embodiment, the arrival of the trackless vehicle at the target station is detected by data transmission from the on-board control device to the ground t, +1m device. Even if a vehicle is provided at each station, the presence of a vehicle at the station can be detected.

Further, although an optical detector is used in the embodiment described above, other detection means such as a proximity switch may be used instead.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, data is transmitted using a wireless transceiver, but by providing optical data transmission equipment in all stations and vehicles on the ground side, the presence of vehicles and vehicle numbers can be detected. can do. In this case, the stopping accuracy is slightly inferior to using a reflective tape, but when stopping accuracy is not so required, the above-mentioned reflective tape can be removed.

7 and 8 are configuration explanatory diagrams of a vehicle passage detection device according to another embodiment of the present invention. A detection floodlight 21 is provided.

Here, the passage detection floodlight 21 is always turned on while the vehicle is running, and the signal from the passage detection light receiver A1-88 is input in the same manner as the passage detection RA47 shown in FIG. By starting the parked vehicle before the junction without waiting for the vehicle to arrive at the destination station, the transport cycle of the trackless vehicle can be further shortened.

Although the passage detector shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 uses a transmitter and a light receiver, an ultrasonic transmitter, a receiver, a proximity switch, etc. may be used instead.

On the other hand, it goes without saying that if a gyro-guided detector is used instead of the above-mentioned passage detector and the vehicle's location can be known, there is no need to provide the detector on the ground side.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above explanation, the trackless vehicle operation control device of the present invention can control the total number of detectors installed on the ground side and on the vehicle top side, even on a complicated conveyance route with many merging points. can be drastically reduced, thereby greatly simplifying the overall construction of the device.

Furthermore, since the time required to check the stoppage on the way can be shortened, the transportation cycle can be significantly shortened, and a system optimal for unmanned operation can be provided.

Since the above-mentioned ground control device is composed of a microcomputer, even if a route change occurs, it is only necessary to change the software, and the cost associated with the route change is also small.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the main devices of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship of data exchange between the main devices of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the main devices of the embodiment. Fig. 4 is a system diagram showing the driving route,
5 and 6 are 70-diameter diagrams for explaining the operation of the same embodiment, FIGS. 7 and 8 are configuration explanatory diagrams of a vehicle passage detection device according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a conventional device. 1... Ground control tII device, 8.9... Data transmission device, 10... Trackless vehicle, 11... On-vehicle control device, 1
2...Station, 13...Emitter/receiver, 14...
・Reflective tape, 41... Transport command decoding processing section, 42.
. . . Shortest course calculation processing unit, 43 . . Route determination processing unit, 44 . . Route map, 45 . . . Each vehicle route storage unit, 46 . 48...Route instruction section to the car, 49...Data transmission section. Applicant's agent Kiyoshi Inomata Engraving of the drawing (no changes to the content) Figure 1 Child 2 Figure Oni 3 Figure 4 Figure 7 Procedures 111 Official Book May 2, 1985

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a trackless vehicle operation management device that manages the operation of a plurality of trackless vehicles that travel between stations on a running route where there is a merging point, a ground vehicle capable of mutual data transmission is used. The ground control device includes a control device and an on-board control device, and the ground control device includes a first detector that detects that the trackless vehicle has arrived at the station, and a first route map that stores information about the traveling route. an arithmetic processing unit that determines an optimal route based on a given transport command, an output signal of the first detector, and information of the first route map; The on-vehicle control device includes a second detector for detecting the arrival of the vehicle at the station, and a second route map storing information on the traveling route.
Travel control means for causing the vehicle to travel along a designated route to a destination station based on data sent from the ground control device, an output signal from the first detector, and information on the second route map. A trackless vehicle operation control device featuring: 2. The trackless vehicle operation management device according to claim 1, wherein the arithmetic processing unit of the ground control device selects the shortest route without any merging points with other vehicles. 3. When determining a route, when merging with another vehicle occurs, the arithmetic processing unit of the ground control device selects the shortest route, drives the vehicle to a station before the merging with another vehicle, and avoids merging with other vehicles. 2. The trackless vehicle operation control device according to claim 1, wherein the trackless vehicle operation control device causes the trackless vehicle to travel to a destination station when there is no merging.