JP2000153906A - Conveying system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To back up in case of failing to transfer a conveyance command between control devices by transferring the conveyance command from a host computer to the transfer receiving side control device. SOLUTION: When a conveyor controller fails to receive a conveyance command, the conveyor controller informs a host computer of the address of a troubled conveyance point and requests the transfer of the concerned conveyance command through a network line. The host computer retrieves the concerned conveyance command from the address of the conveyance point where the problem arose, and transfers the conveyance command to control equipment, that is, to the conveyor controller in this case, through the network line. The conveyor controller continues conveyance on the basis of the conveyance command transferred from the host computer, and articles are conveyed in the same way as the case of the conveyance command being normally transferred.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a transport system, and more particularly to a backup when transmission / reception of a transport command fails.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a transport system, there are a tracked truck system, an unmanned traveling vehicle system that travels on a floor without a track, an automatic warehouse system equipped with a crane, shelves and a conveyor, and the like, alone or in combination. Used. The transport of goods from the starting point to the final destination in the system is often performed using a plurality of transport devices. In addition, a host computer that controls the whole of these systems, and a control device that controls a tracked truck system, a conveyor system, or a crane are provided.

[0003] There is a case in which an upper-level computer issues an article transport instruction, which disassembles the job into jobs for individual transport devices and transfers the job to the control device, and a case in which a transport instruction over the entire transport path is transferred. When disassembling and supplying a transport command for each control device, when transport by one transport device is completed and an article is transferred to the next transport device, it is necessary to transfer the transport command again from the host computer. This places a heavy burden on the host computer. On the other hand, when a transfer command is supplied over the entire transfer path, the transfer is performed by transferring the transfer command between the control devices, so that the burden on the host computer can be reduced.

Here, the inventor has found that a transfer failure frequently occurs in a method of transferring a transfer command between control devices. This is because a signal processing device having a lower processing capability than a host computer is often used as a control device.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to reduce the load on a host computer and to prepare a backup when transfer of a transfer command between control devices fails. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily perform communication between control devices and a higher-level computer, thereby facilitating transfer of a transfer command. An additional object of the third aspect of the present invention is to further reduce the burden on a host computer.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system in which a control device of a transport device is controlled by a host computer, an article is transferred between the transport devices, and a transport command is transferred between the control devices. When the transfer of the transfer command fails, the transfer command is transferred from the host computer to the control device on the transfer receiving side.

Preferably, the host computer and each control device are connected to a network, and a transfer command is transferred between the control devices via the network until the transfer fails. Preferably, the host computer issues a transfer command and transfers it to the first control device, and thereafter transfers the transfer command between the control devices together with the transfer of the article. That is, as long as troubles such as transfer failure do not occur, the task of the host computer is limited to issuing the transfer command, and thereafter, the transfer between the control devices autonomously transfers the articles via a plurality of transfer devices.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the control device is controlled by the host computer, and the control device controls each transport device to transport the article. The transfer command is issued by, for example, a host computer and transferred to the control device. The transfer command is transferred between the control devices together with the transfer of the article. If the transfer fails, the transfer command is transferred from the host computer to the control device on the side that could not receive the transfer command, and the transfer of the article is continued. Therefore, by transferring the transfer command between the control devices, the burden on the host computer can be reduced,
If the transfer of the transfer command between the control devices fails, the host computer can back up the data. The host computer records the transfer command to manage the transfer of the article. For example, the transfer command may be retrieved and transferred from the number of the transfer device, and the load on the host computer does not increase.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a host computer and a control device are connected to a network. Therefore, the transfer of the transfer command between the control devices and the transfer from the host computer can be performed on the network. Since the transfer command is transferred between the control devices until the transfer fails, the burden on the host computer can be reduced, and the transfer command can be received from the host computer on the same network even when a trouble occurs.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the transfer command is issued by the host computer, and thereafter, the article can be transferred by autonomous control by transferring the transfer command between the control devices until a trouble occurs. Therefore, the burden on the host computer can be further reduced.

[0011]

1 to 3 show an embodiment. In FIG.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a host computer, which, when the host computer is further divided into an external communication computer and a transport system control computer, indicates a transport computer control computer. The transfer system includes transfer devices such as a tracked truck, a conveyor, and a crane for an automatic warehouse. Control devices such as a truck controller 4, a conveyor controller 6, and a crane controller 8 are provided in accordance with these devices. The number of transfer devices controlled by each control device is various. For example, the truck controller 4 and the conveyor controller 6 control a plurality of trucks and conveyors, and the crane controller 8 controls one crane each. 10
Is a network line connecting them, and all communication is performed on this line.

The transport system includes a number of carts 12-1, 1
2-2 and the like are provided, and orbit around the track 13. Also, a number of conveyors 14-1, 14-2, 1 are in contact with the track 13.
4-3 and the like are provided.
6 is conveyed to another conveyor, and the articles are conveyed by the conveyor 14-1 or the like, and the articles are transferred to a forklift, a crane, or the like.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the transfer of a transfer command and the backup when transfer fails in the embodiment. The host computer 2 creates a transfer command according to a transfer request input from a control terminal or the like (not shown). The transfer command includes a command number, ID data of the article to be transferred, the quantity, a transfer route from the starting point in the system to the final destination, and the like. If a position such as a starting point or a destination in the system is called a transfer point, the transfer command includes all the transfer points included in the transfer path.

Instead of specifying all transport points,
A start point and a final destination (final point) are designated, and other transfer points may be omitted if the route is unique and there is no branch in the middle. That is, the transfer route may be specified implicitly, in which case, each control device has a reference table or the like for obtaining the transfer point of the transfer destination to be taken by itself from the final point and the current position. And

The host computer 2 transfers the transfer command via the network line 10 to the control device of the transfer device in charge of the transfer first, here, the carriage controller 4, without disassembling the transfer command. Note that, for some transport devices, for example, cranes, the host computer 2
The transfer command may be disassembled into a transfer point for loading the crane and a transfer point for unloading the crane, and only this portion may be given to the crane. Whether the transfer command is transferred without disassembly or transferred after disassembly depends on the balance between the processing capability of the host computer 2 and the processing capability of the control device. It is appropriate to give a transfer instruction in accordance with the above. However, in the case where the transfer command is given only after being separated into the transfer range of the control device, the present invention is applied to another control device.

When the carriage controller 4 receives the transfer of the transport command, the truck controller 4 selects an appropriate truck, assigns the transport command, and executes the transport of the article according to the command. For example, when the trolley loads articles on the designated conveyor, travels on the track 13 and stops in contact with the conveyor that will be the next transport route, transmits a transfer request signal to the conveyor, and receives a transfer confirmation signal. Transfer goods. At the same time, the transfer was done,
It reports to the bogie controller 4 by a local line. Similarly, the conveyed conveyor reports to that effect to the conveyor controller 6 via a local line.

When the carriage controller 4 receives a report that the transfer has been completed or is being transferred, it transfers a transfer command to the conveyor controller 6. At this time, the executed part in the transfer instruction, that is, the transfer to the conveyor by the cart may be deleted and transferred. This transfer is performed on the network line 10,
If the transfer is successful, the conveyor controller 6 specifies the next transfer destination to the conveyor, and thereafter, similarly, repeats the transfer of the articles and the transfer of the transfer command to transfer the articles to the final transfer point. Here, the transfer of the transfer command may fail for some reason. For example, when an excessive communication load is generated in each control device, or a failure of the control device, data failure, or the like, the transfer of the transfer command fails.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the conveyor controller 6 fails to receive the transfer command, the conveyor controller 6 sends the address of the transfer point having a problem (in the case of FIG. -1), and requests the transfer of the transfer command through the network line 10. The host computer searches for a corresponding transfer command from the address of the transfer point where the problem has occurred. That is, the host computer records a list of transfer commands, and if a transfer point is found, the corresponding transfer command is often found. When the same transfer point is used repeatedly, the progress status is inquired to each control device with respect to a transfer command via the transfer point from the host computer. Then most of the time,
The transfer command is determined. Then, the host computer 2 transfers the transfer command to the control device, here, the conveyor controller 6, through the network line 10.
The conveyor controller 6 continues to carry on the basis of the carry command transferred from the host computer 2, and thereafter, the articles are carried in the same manner as in the case where the carry command was successfully transferred.

As apparent from the above example, the job of the host computer 2 is limited to creating a transfer command and transferring it to the first transfer device when no trouble occurs. Therefore, the burden on the host computer 2 is reduced.
Next, if the transfer of the transfer command between the control devices fails,
The transfer can be continued by re-transfer of the transfer command from the host computer 2. For this reason, a failure in communication between control devices can be backed up. The data necessary for the backup is a list of transfer commands originally held by the host computer 2, and the backup does not complicate the processing of the host computer 2.

Communication between the host computer 2 and the control device is performed via the network line 10, and the communication specifications are unified and the data format of the transport command is unified. As described above, in the embodiment, the burden on the host computer 2 can be reduced, the autonomous transport by communication between the control devices, and the backup in the event of an abnormality can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a connection between controllers and a connection between transfer devices in a transfer system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a signal flow and an operation of a transport device in the transport system of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control algorithm according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Upper computer 4 Bogie controller 6 Conveyor controller 8 Crane controller 10 Network line 12-1 -2 Bogie 13 Track 14-1-3 Conveyor

Claims (3)

[Claims] In a system in which a control device of a transport device is controlled by a host computer to transfer articles between transport devices and transfer a transport command between the control devices, the transfer of the transport command fails. A transfer system configured to transfer a transfer command from a host computer to a control device that receives the transfer. 2. The transport system according to claim 1, wherein the host computer and each control device are connected to a network, and a transport command is transferred between the control devices via the network until the transfer fails. . 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the host computer issues a transfer command and transfers the transfer command to the first control device, and thereafter transfers the transfer command between the control devices together with the transfer of the article. Or 2 transport systems.