GB1167143A - Vehicle Routing System. - Google Patents

Abstract

1,167,143. Routing of road vehicles. RICHARD COSTAIN (CIVIL ENG.) Ltd. 10 Oct., 1966 [13 Oct., 1965], No. 43514/65. Heading G4Q. In an arrangement for routing coal or rockcarrying dumpers 9, 10, respectively, to coal or rock excavators 2, 3, respectively, in an open cast coal mine 1, the function of each vehicle is determined at entry-exit points 4 and 5 and fed to a control unit which then indicates to the dumper driver the number of the excavation site to which he has to proceed, the site chosen by the control unit being the one at which minimum waiting time will be encountered. At each point 4 or 5 a photo-electric detector unit 12 or 13 including four cells is provided, the two upper cells co-operating with lamps 11b on coal dumpers and the two lower cells cooperating with lower disposed lamps 11a on rock dumpers. If a dumper is used for its designed purpose its upper lamp is lit but if it is used for a different purpose, i.e. a rock dumper allocated to carry coal, its lower lamp is lit. Signals from the detectors pass to a control unit 15 including a number of sub-units 16, each of which is allocated by means of a switch 17 to a particular excavator. The type (rock or coal) of excavator is set by switch 18 and the sub-unit is provided with a timer unit 19 including pairs of switches 20a, 20b or 21a, 21b which can be set to the estimated time for a dumper of a particular type to the loaded- The timer clock in each sub-unit is run down to zero by a pulse received from a synchronous unit every 15 seconds. On receipt of a dumpertype signal the sub-units are scanned to determine the unit with the minimum time stored by its clock, the number of the excavator allocated to the selected sub-unit is then displayed to the dumper driver by display units 26 or 27 and the time set by the switches 20 or 21 is added to the timer clock.