JP2002341940A - Unmanned transport vehicle system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To relieve the load of lower order controllers in an unmanned transport vehicle system in which unique truck numbers are imparted to all unmanned transport vehicles by a higher order controller and individual unmanned vehicles are controlled by lower order controllers. SOLUTION: Individual unmanned transport vehicles 10 are controlled by imparting control numbers required for control of the unmanned transport vehicles to the unmanned transport vehicles 10 existing in systems 1A, 1B, 1C, etc., to be managed by the lower order controllers (hub controllers) 3A, 3B, 3C, etc., respectively. The lower order controllers 3A, 3B, 3C cope with a higher order controller (host controller) 2 by using the truck numbers and cope with the unmanned transport vehicles 10 of the systems 1A, 1B, 1C to manage them by using the control numbers.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control system for an automatic guided vehicle that automatically travels on a traveling route.
The present invention relates to a control system between an upper-level controller, a lower-level controller, and an automatic guided vehicle managed by the lower-level controller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a clean room such as a semiconductor manufacturing plant where the generation of dust is a problem, an automatic guided vehicle system for automatically traveling an automatic guided vehicle along a traveling route to transport articles has been known. ing. This automatic guided vehicle is controlled by a higher-level controller installed on the ground, and the higher-level controller assigns a unique bogie number to all the automatic guided vehicles, and based on the bogie number, each automatic guided vehicle. Is managing. The upper-level controller transmits a transport command or the like to a lower-level controller that directly controls and manages the automatic guided vehicle, and the lower-level controller converts the format of the transmitted transport command and assigns a bogie number to the lower-level controller. Sending to an automated guided vehicle.

There is also an automatic guided vehicle system having a plurality of transport systems. In this system, a single higher-level controller that supervises and manages all automatic guided vehicles existing in the entire system is provided for each system. Connected to the lower controller
The lower-level controller controls and controls the automatic guided vehicle of the system.

[0004]

However, when a transfer command transmitted from a higher-level controller is transmitted to a target automatic guided vehicle by the former lower-level controller of the prior art, the unmanned guided vehicle transmits the transfer instruction. There is also a lot of data that is unnecessary for executing, which puts a burden on people. In addition, in the latter case of the prior art including a plurality of systems, in order to transport express goods and the like, an automatic guided vehicle is moved between these systems, but in this case, in each lower-level controller, Since the truck number of the target automatic guided vehicle is called in order to the automatic guided vehicles currently existing in the system to be managed, the position and the like of the target automatic guided vehicle are always grasped by any lower-level controller. Although,
It is necessary for the lower-level controller of each system to control the data of the automatic guided vehicles of the entire system, which puts a great load on the system. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reduce the load.

[0005]

The present invention uses the following means in order to solve the above problems.
That is, as described in claim 1, in an automatic guided vehicle system in which a higher-level controller assigns a unique bogie number to all the automatic guided vehicles and controls each automatic guided vehicle through its lower-level controller, A control number necessary for the control is assigned to each of the automatic guided vehicles existing in the system managed by the lower-level controller, and the lower-level controller responds to the higher-level controller by the bogie number, and In response to the control number, each of the automatic guided vehicles is controlled.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the automatic guided vehicle is provided with storage means for storing its truck number and control number.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, rewriting means is provided between the systems managed by the lower controller, and the control numbers stored in the storage means are automatically rewritten.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an automatic guided vehicle system 1 according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic guided vehicle system 1, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the automatic guided vehicle system 1, and FIG. 3 is an automatic guided vehicle 1 provided with a bogie number 101.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing movement of the automatic guided vehicle 10 between the systems 1A, 1B, and 1C, and FIG.
FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the automatic guided vehicle 10 in the middle of movement, and FIG. 2C is a diagram showing the automatic guided vehicle 10 after the movement.

The automatic guided vehicle system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of transport systems 1A, 1B, 1C,.
Tracks 11, 11... Serving as a movement route of the automatic guided vehicle 10 are laid in a loop on B, 1 C,.
Are arranged along the line. At the stations 13, 13,..., Loads are transferred to the automatic guided vehicle 10, and the stations 14, 14,.
In.., Unloading from the automatic guided vehicle 10 is performed.

Adjacent tracks 11 are connected by tracks 12, respectively, and a switching means is provided at a branch from the track 11 to the track 12, or guide wheels are protruded and retracted from the automatic guided vehicle 10. To the groove along the track 11 or the track 12, and to provide a means for selecting a course in the automatic guided vehicle 10 itself, and to provide each system 1A, 1B, 1C,.
The movement of the automatic guided vehicle 10 is enabled even during the period.

Along the tracks 11, 12,..., There are a power supply line in which a conductive wire such as a copper wire is covered with an insulating material;
Communication lines 9, 9,... Using feeder lines are provided. The power supply line extends over each of the systems 1A, 1B, 1C,..., And a power supply device is provided at one end thereof, and a high-frequency current flows. An induced current is generated by a magnetic field generated around the power supply line. The induced current is extracted by a pickup coil fixed to the automatic guided vehicle 10,
Amplify, convert the current to a predetermined voltage, rectify and smooth,
Power is supplied to a control device, a traveling motor, and the like mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 10.

On the other hand, the communication lines 9, 9...
The area is divided into B, 1C,.
1B, 1C... And a lower controller (host controller) 2 that supervises and manages the entire automatic guided vehicles 10. Hub controller) 3A ・ 3B ・
3C... Are connected by control lines 8, 8, 8,.
The hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,... Are connected to communication lines 9, 9, 9,. And
The receiver 42 and the transmitter 43 are mounted on the automatic guided vehicle 10 traveling on the tracks 11 and 12 so as to approach and face the communication line 9.

With such a configuration, the host controller 2
, Through the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,..., The automatic guided vehicles 10 of the entire system 1A, 1B, 1C,.
... Are controlled and managed.

In the host controller 2, a modem 2
1 for each of the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,.
.. Managed by A.3B.3C... 1A.1B.1
C. Input the address signal of the current position of the unmanned guided vehicles 10, 10... A control signal indicating whether or not to perform loading is output to the modem 21 via the interface of the host controller 2.

The modem 21 is connected to the host controller 2
.. Are input to the hub controller 3A, 3B, 3C,... Using the control line 8 as an antenna. The control signals received by the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,... Are input to the modems 31, 31, 31,.

The modem 31 is connected to the host controller 2.
Except that the local oscillation frequency of the function of the transceiver 21 and that of the modem 21 are replaced. The input signal is demodulated and converted into a digital signal, and the hub controller 3 (3A, 3B, 3C, etc.) Is output to

In the hub controller 3, the modem 3
.., For example, an address signal of the current position and a signal such as presence / absence of a load are input and output to the modem 31 via the interface. Of the automatic guided vehicles 10, 10... Are input, and details of the control signals will be described later. Picks up only the control signals for the unmanned guided vehicles 10, 10.

The modem 32 FM-modulates the digital signal of each of the AGVs 10,... Inputted from the hub controller 3, and transmits the modulated signal via the impedance matching box 33 using the communication line 9 as an antenna.

The control signal received by the receiver 42 of the automatic guided vehicle 10 is input to the modem 41. The modem 41 has the same configuration as the modem 32 of the hub controller 3 except that the local oscillation frequency of the transceiver function is changed. The signal input from the receiver 42 is demodulated and converted into a digital signal. Are output to the vehicle controller 4 which is a control means of the automatic guided vehicle 10.

The carrier controller 4 serves as a luggage detector including a photoelectric switch for detecting the presence / absence of a load on the carrier of the automatic guided vehicle 10 and a fixed position of the load.
The origin, which is the base point of the address of the current position set along 1.1, the zone of stations 13, 14, ...,
And a travel control detector comprising a photoelectric switch for detecting a curve, a photodetector for detecting approach to the preceding automatic guided vehicle 10, a bumper switch for detecting a rear-end collision, and detecting a travel distance by the number of revolutions of a travel motor of a drive wheel. For example, an encoder and the like are connected, and a signal from each sensor and a modem 41 are connected.
The automatic traveling of the automatic guided vehicle 10 is controlled by controlling the traveling motor and the like via an inverter by making a determination based on a control signal from the hub controller 3 inputted from the hub controller 3.

The carrier controller 4 uses a projector to project light for detecting the approach of the following unmanned carrier 10. The feedback signal from the carrier controller 4 to the hub controller 3 is output as a digital signal to the modem 41, and the modem 41 FM-modulates this feedback signal and transmits it to the transmitter 43. The feedback signal from the carrier controller 4 transmitted from the transmitter 43 is received by the communication line 9, demodulated by the modem 32 through the impedance matching box 33, and output to the hub controller 3. The hub controller 3 grasps the status of the automatic guided vehicle 10 based on a feedback signal from the vehicle controller 4 input from the modem 32.

As described above, the modem 21 and the modem 31 are used as transmission / reception devices, and the host controller 2 is connected via the control line 8.
Exchange of signals with the hub controller 3 is performed.
The modem 32 and the modem 41 are used as transmitting / receiving devices, and the receiver 4
2. By using the transmitter 43 and the communication line 9 as antennas, the hub controller 3 and the carrier controller 4
The transmission of the signal with is performed. Note that signals may be transmitted and received between the modem 21 and the modem 31 by using the control line 8 as an antenna.

As described above, in the hub controller 3,
Among the control signals from the host controller 2, only the control signals for the automatic guided vehicles 10, 10... Managed by the hub controller 3 are picked up and output. Next, this control system will be described. .

As shown in FIG. 2, a storage device 45 is provided in the automatic guided vehicle 10, and a bogie number is set and input in a storage unit 45 a of the storage device 45 in order to identify the automatic guided vehicle 10 from another. A control number required for controlling the automatic guided vehicle 10 is stored in one storage unit 45b.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 (a), in the preparation stage for starting the system, the automatic guided vehicles 10 ・ 10 ・ 10 belonging to the system 1A are provided with the bogie numbers 101 ・ 102 ・ 1.
03, the automatic guided vehicles 10.10.10 belonging to the system 1B are provided with the bogie numbers 104, 105, 106, and the system 1C
The automatic guided vehicle 10.10.10 belonging to
It is assumed that 7, 108 and 109 are added. Here, for the sake of simplicity, the bogie numbers 101, 102,... Of the automatic guided vehicles 10, 10,... Are systematically assigned in numerical order, but each of the automatic guided vehicles 10, 10,. If a bogie number is assigned, it may be randomly assigned.

Then, the host controller 2 uses the assigned truck numbers 101, 102,.
The automatic guided vehicle 10 existing in the whole system 1A, 1B, 1C,.
・ Overall management of 10 ...

One control number corresponds to each system 1A, 1B, 1C.
.., And in the system start preparation stage, for example, the bogie numbers 101, 102, 103 belonging to the system 1A
The control numbers 2 are assigned to the automatic guided vehicles 10
01, 202, and 203 are assigned to the bogie number 10 belonging to the system 1B.
Automated guided vehicle 10 ・ 10 ・ with 4 ・ 105 ・ 106
10 has control numbers 301, 302 and 303, and
The automatic guided vehicles 10, 10, and 10 with the truck numbers 107, 108, and 109 belonging to the system 1C have control numbers 401 and
402 and 403 are added.

The hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,... Of the respective systems 1A, 1B, 1C,.
1, 202, 301, 302, 401.4
.. Are controlled and managed on the basis of the automatic guided vehicles 10, 10,... Existing in the systems 1A, 1B, 1C,.

Also, in each of the systems 1A, 1B, 1C,..., An eraser 37 is disposed near the branch from the track 11 to the track 12, and a read writer 38 is disposed near the junction from the track 12 to the track 11. The system 1A.
Deletes the control number written in the storage unit 45b of the automatic guided vehicle 10 leaving the automatic guided vehicle 10 from one of the automatic guided vehicles 10 entering the system 1A, 1B, 1C. , The new control number is written in the storage unit 45b.

The erasers 37, 37, and the lead writer 38, 38,...
Hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C of 1B, 1C ...
Are connected, and when the AGV 10 is moved between the systems 1A, 1B, 1C,..., The eraser that erases the control number in the storage device 45 of the AGV 10 37, and the system 1A, 1B, 1C,.
The control signal is output to the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,... Of the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,.
..In the automatic guided vehicle 10 using the latest control number
... Are grasped and managed.

The hub controller 3A includes the erasers 37, 37,.
The control management in 3B, 3C,... Will be illustrated with reference to FIG. For example, the automatic guided vehicle 10 to which the bogie number 101 and the control number 201 which are presently present in the system 1A shown in FIG.
Suppose you moved to

First, when the automatic guided vehicle 10 leaves the system 1A, the control number 201 is deleted by the eraser 37 of the system 1A. This signal is output to the hub controller 3A, and it is recognized that the automatic guided vehicle 10 with the control number 201 is no longer present in the system 1A. Thus, the hub controller 3A also recognizes that the automatic guided vehicle 10 with the bogie number 101 corresponding to the control number 201 is no longer present in the system 1A.

As shown in FIG. 3B, when the automatic guided vehicle 10 enters the system 1B, the data is written into the storage unit 45a of the automatic guided vehicle 10 by the lead writer 38 of the system 1B. The carriage number 101 is read, and a new control number 304 is written in the storage unit 45b. This signal is output to the hub controller 3B, and the hub controller 3B recognizes that the automatic guided vehicle 10 to which the bogie number 101 and the control number 304 are added newly exists in the system 1B.

The automatic guided vehicle 10 merely passes through the system 1B, and the automatic guided vehicle 10 that leaves the system 1B is
The control number 304 is erased by the eraser 37 of B. This signal is output to the hub controller 3B, and it is recognized that the automatic guided vehicle 10 with the control number 304 is no longer present in the system 1B. Accordingly, the hub controller 3B recognizes that the automatic guided vehicle 10 with the truck number 101 corresponding to the control number 304 is no longer present in the system 1B.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3C, when the automatic guided vehicle 10 enters the system 1C, the data is written into the storage section 45a of the automatic guided vehicle 10 by the lead writer 38 of the system 1C. The carriage number 101 is read, and a new control number 404 is written in the storage unit 45b. This signal is output to the hub controller 3C, and the hub controller 3C recognizes that the automatic guided vehicle 10 to which the bogie number 101 and the control number 404 are assigned is newly present in the system 1C.

As described above, in the host controller 2,
By the assigned truck numbers 101, 102, ...
It is assumed that each of the automatic guided vehicles 10, 10,... Is controlled and managed, and a transfer command is output to the automatic guided vehicle 10 with the cart number 101. First, the current position of the automatic guided vehicle 10 and the presence / absence of a load are checked. The host controller 2 sends the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3
A control signal associated with the truck number 101 is output to C.

With this control signal, the transport information of the automatic guided vehicle 10 with the truck number 101 is requested.
Each of the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C... Manages an automatic guided vehicle 10.1 of the system 1A, 1B, 1C.
0 ... were called in order. This interrogation is performed by the bogie number 101. The bogie number 101 is transmitted from the hub controller 3 (3A, 3B, 3C, etc.) to the transport vehicle controller 4 of the automatic guided vehicle 10, and the bogie described in the storage unit 45a thereof. The carrier number was compared with the truck number 101, and a signal indicating a match or a mismatch was returned from the carrier controller 4 to the hub controller 3. This collation is sequentially performed on the automatic guided vehicles 10, 10,... Of the systems 1A, 1B, 1C,.

However, when this method is used, the whole system 1
A, 1B, 1C, hub controllers 3A, 3B,
3C..., The call with the bogie number 101 is performed, and after all, the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C.
Among them, only one target automatic guided vehicle 10 is found out, and other hub controllers result in only the interrogation of all the automatic guided vehicles 10, 10,...

Actually, the host controller 2 sequentially outputs a transfer command to a plurality of automatic guided vehicles 10, 10,..., And the hub controllers 3A, 3B,.
.. Will be controlled for each 3C..., And there will be a lot of unnecessary data in finding the target unmanned guided vehicles 10. The automatic guided vehicles 10, 10 of the systems 1A, 1B, 1C,... By the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,.
The call to ... was a huge burden.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the automatic guided vehicles 10.1 managed by the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,.
.. Are assigned to the above-mentioned control numbers, and the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C...
, 1B, 1C,... Are controlled by control numbers, and the respective automated guided vehicles 10, 10,.
... is controlled.

Referring again to FIG. 3C as an example, the truck number 10 output from the host controller 2 will be described.
1 is transmitted to each hub controller 3A, 3B,
3C... Are processed as follows. As described above, in each of the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,..., The automatic guided vehicle 1 having entered and exited the systems 1A, 1B, 1C,.
.. Are rewritten, and a control number corresponding to one of the bogie numbers is assigned to all the automatic guided vehicles 10.

Each hub controller 3A, 3B, 3C,.
Then, the control number corresponding to the bogie number 101 is checked from the control numbers currently assigned. In this way, any one of the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,... Finds the control number 404 corresponding to the truck number 101, and thereafter, the host controller 2 has the truck number 101. As for the control of the automatic guided vehicle 10, communication is performed only with the hub controller 3C.

Then, the hub controller 3C calls upon the control signal based on the control number 404, and
Communicates with the automatic guided vehicle 10 having an address, and inputs a signal such as an address signal of the current position of the automatic guided vehicle 10 or the presence or absence of a load, and outputs the signal to the host controller 2 in association with the bogie number 101. .

The host controller 2 judges the control signal from the hub controller 3C, and
A transport command such as a destination of 0 or whether to perform transfer is returned to the hub controller 3C. Then, the hub controller 3C converts the format of the transport command attached to the bogie number 101, places it on the control number 404, outputs the transport command attached to the control number 404, and outputs the transport command attached to the bogie number 1
The control of the automatic guided vehicle 10 to which 01 is given is performed.

The hub controller 3C converts the control signal from the host controller 2 as it is and rewrites the control number 404. Among the control signals, information (From,
To information, i.e., information indicating that a load is to be transported from which station to which station), and converts the information into a format that can be recognized by the AGV 10, and based on the position information of each AGV 10, creates a target From. A transfer command may be created with the control number 404 of the nearest automatic guided vehicle 10 attached. By creating a transport command for only necessary information in this way, the communication time can be reduced and the load on the hub controller 3C can be reduced.

Further, in this embodiment, in order to transport express goods, etc., the tracks 11A, 1B, 1C,.
It is described that the automatic guided vehicle 10 traveling on the track 12 travels along the track 12 and moves to another system 1A, 1B, 1C..., But connects the systems 1A, 1B, 1C. Orbit 12
Without the need for maintenance
0 may be moved to another system 1A, 1B, 1C, etc.

As described above, a specific example has been described, but this control is performed for all the automatic guided vehicles 10 belonging to the entire system 1A, 1B, 1C,. Each of the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,... Communicates with the host controller 2 by the bogie number, and the automatic guided vehicles 10, 10,.
. Is communicated by the control number, so that each of the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C... Has its own system 1A, 1B, 1C.
In contrast to the control in which the hub controller 3A, 3B, 3C,.
In で は, there is no need to store all the bogie numbers and their associated data. As a result, the load on each of the hub controllers 3A, 3B, 3C,... Is reduced, and the processing capacity is improved.

[0048]

As described above, the present invention has the following advantages. That is, as in claim 1, in an automatic guided vehicle system in which a higher-level controller assigns a unique bogie number to all the automatic guided vehicles and controls each automatic guided vehicle via its lower-level controller, Each unmanned guided vehicle existing in the system managed by the lower controller is assigned a control number necessary for the control, and the lower controller responds to the upper controller by the bogie number, and By responding to the unmanned guided vehicle by the control number and controlling each unmanned guided vehicle, the lower-level controller does not need to store all the bogie numbers and the data associated therewith as in the related art. The load on the lower controller is reduced, and the processing capacity is improved.

Further, the automatic guided vehicle is provided with a storage means for storing the truck number and the control number of the automatic guided vehicle. For example, the upper controller integrally controls the automatic guided vehicle based on the truck number, If the lower-level controller controls and controls the automatic guided vehicle based on the control number, even if the automatic guided vehicle moves between systems managed by the lower-level controller for transporting express goods, the control can be performed. By simply rewriting the number, the unmanned guided vehicle after moving can be easily managed, and workability is improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a rewriting means is provided between the systems managed by the lower-level controller, and the control number stored in the storage means is automatically rewritten, so that the transportation of express goods or the like is performed. Therefore, when the automatic guided vehicle moves between the systems, the control number is automatically rewritten, and the worker does not need to manage the movement of the automatic guided vehicle, thereby improving workability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic guided vehicle system 1.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the automatic guided vehicle system 1.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the movement of the automatic guided vehicle with a carriage number 101 between systems 1A, 1B, and 1C. (A) is a figure showing before the automatic guided vehicle 10 moves. (B) is a figure which shows the middle of the movement of the automatic guided vehicle 10. (C) is the automatic guided vehicle 1
The figure which shows the movement after 0.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 automatic guided vehicle system 2 host controller 3 hub controller 4 guided vehicle controller 10 automatic guided vehicle 37 eraser 38 lead writer 45 storage device 45 a storage unit 45 b storage unit 101 vehicle number 201 control number 304 control number 404 control number

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3F022 AA08 BB09 LL07 LL12 MM08 MM44 NN38 QQ11 5H301 AA02 BB05 CC02 CC10 DD07 DD11 EE05 EE07 EE09 EE12 EE17 EE22 EE26 FF03 FF05 FF09 FF11 KK16 KK23 KK16 KK23 KK23 KK KK09 KK12 KK13 KK19 LL03 LL11 LL14

Claims (3)

[Claims] In an automatic guided vehicle system in which a higher-level controller assigns a unique bogie number to all the automatic guided vehicles and controls each automatic guided vehicle via a lower-level controller, the lower-level controller has A control number necessary for the control is given to each of the automatic guided vehicles existing in the system to be managed, and the lower-level controller responds to the higher-level controller by a bogie number, and the automatic guided vehicle to the managed system is assigned to the lower-level controller. An automatic guided vehicle system characterized by controlling each automatic guided vehicle in response to a control number. 2. The automatic guided vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein said automatic guided vehicle is provided with a storage means for storing its truck number and control number. 3. The automatic guided vehicle system according to claim 2, wherein rewriting means is provided between systems managed by the lower-level controller, and the control numbers stored in the storage means are automatically rewritten.