JP2011081585A - Control apparatus for transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make travelings of a plurality of carrier trucks constituting a carrying device coordinated, and to control traveling. <P>SOLUTION: In as controller for the carrying device, the plurality of carrier trucks, each having a pair of motors respectively driving a pair of wheels are arranged back and forth, and right and left and carry a heavy object. The controller for the carrying device includes a plurality of child controllers each controlling each carrier truck; and a parent controller integrally controlling the respective child controllers. The main controller stores truck coordinates of each carrier truck and origin coordinates of the carrying device; calculates the steering angle of each carrier truck, in response to a control mode instruction of turning traveling, or the like; calculates a steering angle instruction value and a velocity instruction value in the truck coordinates of each carrier truck; and outputs them to the slave controller. The child controller rotates the pair of wheels of itself in a normal direction and a reverse direction, based on the steering angle instruction value to control the steering angle, and controls respective rotation velocities of the pair of wheels of itself, based on the velocity instruction value. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device for a transfer device, and more particularly to a control device for a transfer device that connects a plurality of transfer carriages to transfer a large heavy object.

  Conveying equipment for transporting large heavy objects by connecting a plurality of transport carts is used to transport large heavy objects in buildings, warehouses, factory yards, construction sites, other sites, or general roads. Or it is suitable when conveying. Such a transport device is required to have a height restriction by a building provided in the transport path, or to reduce the height of the center of gravity from the viewpoint of safety. In order to satisfy such a demand, for example, a transport device that connects a plurality of low-floor transport carts described in Patent Document 1 is known.

  The conveyance cart described in Patent Document 1 is a pair of wheels (drive wheels) in which a carriage on which a heavy object to be conveyed is placed is supported by a traveling carriage so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane, and the traveling carriage is arranged coaxially. The pair of wheels are each driven by a separate motor. In particular, the traveling direction of the traveling carriage with respect to the pedestal can be arbitrarily changed on the spot by rotating the pair of wheels in the same direction or in the opposite direction or rotating only one of them. A plurality of transport carts formed in this way are connected side by side in the front and rear, left and right, and large heavy objects are placed and transported so that a load is evenly applied on the pedestal of each transport cart. . According to such a transport apparatus, since the transport path of heavy objects can be freely changed by driving each transport carriage independently and in cooperation, the heavy objects can be changed while freely changing the traveling direction in a narrow area. Can be transported.

  Moreover, since the base of the conveyance trolley described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a jack-up mechanism such as an air jack, the ground height of the pedestal of each conveyance trolley is adjusted to make a large heavy object horizontally. It can be transported.

Japanese Patent No. 3525260

However, Patent Document 1 does not specifically disclose a control device that controls traveling of the transport device. That is, when a single heavy article is transported by a transport device configured by arranging a plurality of transport carts in the front, rear, left, and right directions, the transport carts are not allowed to move apart. For example, when turning the transport device, the transport cart that turns inside and the transport cart that turns outside have different turning radii, so the steering angle and travel speed of the transport cart are coordinated according to different turning radii. However, Patent Document 1 does not specifically take into account the coordinated control of the travel of each transport carriage.
The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a control device for a transport device suitable for controlling the traveling of a plurality of transport carts constituting the transport device in a coordinated manner.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention supports a pedestal on which an object to be transported is supported by a traveling carriage so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane, and the traveling carriage is pivotally supported by a pair of wheels arranged coaxially. A plurality of conveying carts having a pair of motors that individually drive the pair of wheels, arranged side by side in the front-rear and left-right directions, and carrying a heavy article on the pedestal of the plurality of conveying carts This control device is configured as follows.

  That is, the transport carriage includes a driver for driving and controlling the pair of motors, a steering angle detector for detecting the steering angle of the pair of wheels with respect to a reference axis in a plane coordinate system parallel to the pedestal surface, and a child controller for controlling the driver. It comprises and comprises. In addition, a parent controller provided to be able to communicate with the child controller by wire or wireless is provided. The parent controller stores the center of the transport device in the plane coordinate system as the origin coordinate, and stores the center between the pair of wheels of each transport cart as the cart coordinate, and inputs turning travel, forward or reverse travel, left or right In response to at least one control mode command for running and oblique running, the steering angle of each transport carriage is calculated, the steering angle command value and the speed command value at the cart coordinates of each transport carriage are calculated, Is configured to output. On the other hand, the slave controller controls the steering angle by rotating the pair of wheels in the forward and reverse directions through the driver based on the input steering angle command value, and then controls the driver based on the speed command value. The rotational speeds of the pair of wheels are controlled via the wheel.

  As described above, the control device of the transfer device is characterized in that the child controller provided in a distributed manner in each transfer carriage and the plurality of distributed child controllers are collectively controlled by the parent controller. That is, the parent controller controls the steering angle command value or the carriage of each conveyance carriage that constitutes the conveyance apparatus according to at least one control mode command of the turning traveling, forward or backward traveling, left or right traveling, and oblique traveling. The speed command value at the coordinates is determined by calculation or the like. As a result, the control of the steering angle and speed of each transport carriage can be easily coordinated.

  On the other hand, the child controller obtains the rotational speeds of its own pair of wheels, respectively, according to the steering angle command value or the speed command value input from the parent controller. For example, the difference between the current steering angle and the steering angle command value of each carriage relative to the reference axis of the plane coordinate system is obtained, and the pair of wheels are rotated in the forward and reverse directions so that the difference becomes zero. Thereby, the conveyance carriage rotates around the carriage coordinates of the conveyance carriage, and the steering angle of the wheel with respect to the reference axis of the plane coordinate system is controlled to the steering angle command value. That is, the parent controller sets the steering angle of each transport carriage to −90 ° or + 90 ° with respect to the reference axis of the plane coordinate system in the control mode in which the transport device travels left or right, for example. . Further, in a control mode in which the transport device is turned left or right, for example, a steering angle command value θi (θ takes a ± value) is output to each transport carriage i.

  Further, the parent controller determines the speed command value in the cart coordinates as the speed command value of each transport cart and outputs it to each child controller. Each child controller obtains the rotational speed of the pair of wheels based on the speed command value in its own cart coordinates, and controls the rotational speed of each of the pair of wheels via the driver. At this time, the rotational speeds of the pair of wheels are the same during forward or backward traveling, left or right traveling, and oblique traveling, but the inner and outer wheels of the pair of wheels with respect to the turning center of the transport carriage during turning traveling. The rotation speed of each wheel is calculated and controlled by each child controller in accordance with the turning radius.

  As described above, according to the present invention, according to the control of the transport device by the parent controller, the steering angle command value of each transport carriage, the speed command value of the transport truck, the command value such as the turning radius, etc. Is output to each child controller, and each child controller controls the rotation direction and the rotation speed of each wheel of its own transport carriage based on the input command value. Thereby, the load of the control calculation by the parent controller can be reduced, and the rotation direction and the rotation speed of the individual wheels of the transport carriage can be distributed and executed by the child controllers. As a result, it is possible to minimize the time delay of the control of each transport cart and to control each transport cart in a coordinated manner at the same time as compared with the case where the control of each transport cart is performed in a time division manner by the parent controller.

  In the case of the present invention, the parent controller stores the input wheel speed limit value and the distance between the pair of wheels of the transport carriage, and is input when the turning mode control mode command is input. Based on the turning center coordinates of the conveying device and the turning radius of the conveying device, the turning radius at the carriage coordinates of each conveying carriage is calculated, and the maximum turning radius of the turning radius of each conveying carriage is obtained to determine the speed limit value. Output to the child controller, the child controller sets the rotational speed of the wheel of the maximum turning radius that is input to be less than or equal to the speed limit value, and each wheel according to the turning radius with reference to the speed limit value It is preferable to control the driver by calculating the rotation speed of the driver. According to this, since the rotation speed of each wheel of each conveyance carriage can be controlled to be equal to or less than the speed limit value, slip (idling) due to mismatch of the rotation speeds of the wheels can be avoided.

  Further, in the present invention, the child controller includes a child arithmetic processing unit that generates a control command for the driver, a storage unit provided in the child arithmetic processing unit, and a parent or wired connection connected to the child arithmetic processing unit. The parent controller is provided with an input unit for inputting a control command, a parent calculation processing unit connected to the input unit, and the parent calculation processing unit. And a parent communication control unit that is connected to the parent calculation processing unit and communicates with the child controller.

  Further, the child controller can take in a detection signal output from the steering angle detector and periodically output it to the parent controller. Thereby, the parent controller can always recognize the steering direction of each transport carriage.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, driving | running | working of the some conveyance trolley which comprises a conveying apparatus can be coordinated and controlled.

It is a top view which shows the whole structure of the conveying apparatus with which the control apparatus which concerns on this invention is applied, the figure (a) connection 4 units, the figure (b) connection 8 units, the figure (c) 6 units. 2 shows an embodiment of a connected transport device. It is the front view seen from the running direction of the conveyance trolley of one example to which the control device concerning the present invention is applicable. FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the traveling carriage of the transport carriage shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is a side view of the traveling carriage. It is a block block diagram of one Embodiment of the control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the conveyance path of a conveying apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the initial setting of the conveyance trolley by the control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement of the initial setting of a conveyance trolley | bogie. It is a flowchart which shows the turning control of an example of the traveling control by the control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the turning operation | movement of a conveyance trolley | bogie. It is a flowchart which shows control of the turning driving | running | working of an example of the traveling control by the control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement of the turning traveling of a conveyance trolley | bogie.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a control device for a transport device of the present invention will be described.
One embodiment of the control device of the present invention will be described based on an example of a transport device in which four transport carts shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the transport apparatus 100 has four transport carts 1 (ad) arranged in front, rear, left, and right, and these transport carts 1 (ad) are connected by a connecting member 110. Is formed. The transport cart 1 is not limited to the connection configuration of FIG. 1A, but is connected to eight or six units according to the size and weight of the object to be transported, as shown in FIGS. It is possible to adopt a form, or a form in which more units are connected.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each conveyance cart 1 (a to d) has the same configuration. The transport carriage 1 includes a traveling carriage 3 and a pedestal 5. The traveling carriage 3 has two wheels 7 (a, b), and the rotation of each wheel 7 (a, b) is controlled separately, thereby traveling forward or backward, and turning (serpentine) traveling. Each operation of left or right running is possible. The pedestal 5 is supported by the traveling carriage 3 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane, and has a jack function for placing and moving the object to be conveyed. The traveling carriage 3 can be self-propelled by providing two or more wheels 7 and one or a plurality of auxiliary wheels or auxiliary feet that slide on the traveling surface before and after the wheels 7. A description of the legs is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 (a) and 3 (b), the traveling carriage 3 includes a frame 9, two wheels 7a and 7b that are rotatably supported around the same axis, a motor 11 and a reduction gear. A driving device 37 composed of the row 13 is provided. The drive device 37 is provided symmetrically in the figure in correspondence with the two wheels 7a and 7b. The frame 9 has a frame 15 that is rectangular when viewed from directly above, and four extending portions 17 a to 17 d that protrude in the front-rear direction of the frame 15. In addition, two partition walls 19a and 19b are provided in parallel in the front-rear direction inside the frame body 15, whereby the frame body 15 is partitioned into three rooms. Wheels 7a and 7b are accommodated in the rooms outside the partition walls 19a and 19b, respectively. The rotation shafts 21a, b of the wheels 7a, 7b are rotatably supported by the frame 15 and the partition walls 19a, 19b via bearings, respectively.

  The extending portions 17a and 17b are provided with through holes 23 for supporting the motor 11, respectively. The extending portions 17c and 17d extend in parallel to each other on the opposite side of the extending portions 17a and 17b, and are provided with a through hole 25 that supports a cart control device described later. The rotational power of the motor 11 is transmitted to the wheel 7 via the reduction gear train 13. The reduction gear train 13 includes a small gear 27 fixed so as to be coaxial with the rotation shaft of the motor 11, and a plurality of gears 29, 31, 33 that mesh with the small gear 27. Here, the drive device 37 including the motor 11 is provided within the range of the height of the wheel 7 from the ground contact surface of the traveling carriage 3, thereby achieving a lower floor. Further, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the traveling carriage 3 has a frame 9 so that the bottom surface of the frame is inclined upward and forward with respect to the two wheels 7 in the traveling direction. The floor side is inclined.

  On the other hand, through-holes 39 and 41 are provided in the wall surface of the frame 15 in the middle of the frame 15, and the through shaft 43 shown in FIG. 2 is fixed to these through-holes 39 and 41. Therefore, the through shaft 43 extends in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the rotation shaft 21 of the wheel 7. A block-shaped support member 47 having a through hole 49 is supported on the through shaft 43 so as to be swingable around the through shaft 43. A bearing 51 that rotatably supports the pedestal 5 is provided on the upper end surface of the support member 47.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pedestal 5 includes a lower plate 59 supported by a support member 47 via a bearing 51, a bag-like airbag 61 mounted on the lower plate 59 and provided with an air inlet and outlet, An upper plate 63 on which an object to be transported is placed and placed on the airbag 61, and a connecting member 65 that connects the lower plate 59 and the upper plate 63 are provided. The air bag 61 is inflated or contracted by taking air into and out of the air bag 61 so as to raise and lower the upper plate 63. The airbag 61 is connected to a compressed air source via an air hose and an air control valve (not shown). The air control valve is adjusted to be opened and closed by a control device of the transport device.

  A hollow cylindrical portion 67 projects from the lower surface of the central portion of the lower plate 59 of the pedestal 5, and this cylindrical portion 67 is supported by the bearing 51 of the support member 47. Thereby, the base 5 is supported by the traveling carriage 3 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane. An airbag 61 is attached to the upper surface of the lower plate 59 with an adhesive sheet (for example, double-sided tape), and the upper plate 63 is placed on the airbag 61. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the surface of the lower plate 59 on which the airbag 61 is placed and the surface of the upper plate 63 facing the airbag 61 are respectively along outer edges such as the four corners of the airbag 61. A protruding ridge portion 75 is provided, thereby restricting the positional deviation of the airbag 61.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vicinity of the centers of the opposing sides of the lower plate 59 and the upper plate 63 of the base 5 are connected by connecting members 65, respectively. The connecting member 65 has a three-axis hinge structure in which the first to fourth plate-like members 77, 79, 81, 83 are rotatably connected by three rotating shaft portions 85, 87, 89. . Although not shown, the plate-like member 79 and the plate-like member 81 are urged by an elastic member such as a spring in a direction in which the connecting member 65 is folded toward the airbag 61 side. In other words, the upper plate 63 moves up and down in accordance with the expansion and contraction of the airbag 61, but when the upper plate 63 is raised to the highest position, the connecting member 65 is fully extended and becomes linear, and the connecting member is next lowered. Since 65 may not bend in a predetermined direction, the connecting member 65 is bent in a predetermined direction by the urging force of the elastic member. For example, the connecting member 65 is in a completely folded state in a state where the air of the airbag 61 is completely extracted and the upper plate 63 is lowered to the lowest position.

  A characteristic operation of the transport carriage 1 configured as described above will be described. When the transport carriage 1 travels on a flat road surface, the rotating shaft 21 and the base 5 of the two wheels 7 are both parallel to the road surface. At this time, the relative rotation angle of the support member 47 and the frame 9 (the traveling carriage 3) that can rotate with each other via the through shaft 43 is zero. On the other hand, when the transport carriage 1 travels on a road surface with undulations or steps, it is assumed that one of the left and right wheels 7a and 7b rides on the steps. For example, when one wheel 7 b rides on a step, the frame 9 rotates (swings) relative to the support member 47 around the through shaft 43. Thereby, even if one wheel 7b of the traveling carriage 3 rides on the step, the transport carriage 1 rotates the frame 9 around the axis of the through shaft 43, and the horizontal state of the base 5 is maintained. Therefore, even if the traveling carriage 3 is tilted, fluctuations in the load applied to the wheels 7a and 7b can be suppressed. Further, the impact load at this time is absorbed by the airbag 61 contracting. Furthermore, since the uneven load applied to the wheels 7a and 7b can be suppressed, damage to the wheel 7 and the rotating shaft 21 of the wheel 7 or the bearing portion of the rotating shaft 21 can be prevented. Can be improved.

  Next, an embodiment of a control apparatus for a transport apparatus, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described with reference to a transport apparatus 100 connected to four units in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1A, four transport carts 1 (a to d) are arranged in front, rear, left and right, and these transport carts 1 (a to d) are connected by a connecting member 110. . The connecting member 110 includes a flat plate-like joining piece 111 fixed to the outer side of the pedestal 5 positioned on the outer periphery of the conveying device 100 with a bolt or the like, and a joining material such as a square pipe that joins the joining pieces 111 to each other. 112. The joining piece 111 and the joining material 112 are joined by bending side edges of the joining piece 111 along the joining material 112 and fixing them with bolts 113. Thereby, the one conveyance apparatus 100 is comprised by the four conveyance trolley | bogies 1 (ad).

  The configuration of the control device of the transport apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. Motors 11R and 11L that rotate and drive the wheels 7a and b via drive units 37a and 37b each including a gear train are provided on the transport carts 1 (a to d) constituting the transport device 100, respectively. Servo motors are used for the motors 11R and L, and servo drivers 121R and L for driving and controlling the servo motors are connected to the motors 11R and L, respectively. Thus, the motors 11R and 11L are speed controlled and torque controlled. Each transport carriage 1 (a to d) includes a pair of wheels 7a and 7b with respect to a reference axis (X axis or Y axis) of a plane coordinate system (X, Y) parallel to the heavy object loading surface of the base 5. The vehicle includes a steering angle detector 122 that detects the steering angle θ and a slave controller 123 that controls the wheels 7a and 7b via the servo drivers 121R and 121L.

  The child controller 123 of the transport cart 1a is connected to the child arithmetic processing unit CPU that generates control commands for the servo drivers 121R and L, a storage unit built in the child arithmetic processing unit CPU, and a wired operation connected to the child arithmetic processing unit CPU. A child communication control unit COM connected to the LAN cable 124, a digital input / output unit DIO, a digital-analog conversion unit D / A, and pulse counters CNT1 and CNT2 are configured. The digital input / output unit DIO outputs and outputs signals between the child arithmetic processing unit CPU and the servo drivers 121R and L, and a brake command to the motors 11R and L. The digital-analog conversion unit D / A converts a command output from the child calculation processing unit CPU into an analog signal, and outputs a speed command and a torque limit value to the servo drivers 121R and L. The pulse counter CNT1 takes in pulses of the rotational speed of the motors 11R, L from the servo drivers 121R, L. The pulse counter CNT2 captures and counts the steering angle detection pulses output from the steering angle detector 122, and inputs the steering angle to the child calculation processing unit CPU.

  Further, the steering angle detector 122 is formed so as to be able to detect a relative rotation angle with the traveling carriage 3 that supports the pedestal 5 so as to freely rotate, for example. That is, two strips of magnetized bands having different magnetized magnetism with a predetermined pitch are provided over the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 67 of the pedestal 5 so as to be opposed to the two stripped magnetized bands. Thus, two magnetic sensors (A phase and B phase) can be provided on the traveling carriage 3 side. Thus, two rows (A phase and B phase) of detection pulses are detected from the magnetic sensor of the steering angle detector 122 according to the change in the relative rotation angle between the pedestal 5 and the traveling carriage 3 and according to the direction of the relative rotation. Is output. By comparing the two rows of output pulses with the pulse counter CNT2 of the slave controller 123 according to the relative rotation direction, the relative rotation angle (that is, the steering angle) between the pedestal 5 and the traveling carriage 3 can be detected. . The child controllers 123 of the other transport carts 1b to 1d are also configured in the same way.

  The LAN cables 124 connected to the child communication control unit COM of each child controller 123 are separately connected to the parent communication control unit COM1 of the parent controller 126 via the communication HUB 125 so as to communicate with each other. The parent controller 126 includes a parent arithmetic processing unit CPU, a touch panel 127 that is an input unit for commands and the like, and a communication control unit COM2 that controls communication with the touch panel 127. Note that various input devices such as a keyboard can be used instead of the touch panel 127. Further, a wireless LAN can be used instead of the LAN cable 124, and the touch panel 127 can also be formed so as to be communicable with the communication control unit COM2.

  By using the control device of the transport apparatus configured as described above, for example, the transport path 100 as shown in FIG. It can be run. That is, the vehicle travels straight (forward) between points A and B, travels straight (left) between points B and C, travels diagonally (reverses) between points C and D, and turns with a radius of 5 m between points D and E. Between points E and F, the vehicle travels straight (forward), between points F and G, turns with a radius of 6 m, travels between points GH and goes straight (forward), and between points HI and turns with a radius of 4 m.

  When the transport apparatus 100 travels along the transport path 200 as shown in FIG. 5, if the transport carts 1 a to 1 d are not controlled in a coordinated manner, one of the wheels is idled or the wheel is overloaded. Hereinafter, the cooperative control of each child controller 123 and the parent controller 126 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in order for the control device of the transport apparatus to function properly, it is necessary to define a planar coordinate system for the transport apparatus 100 and to match the cart coordinate system of each of the transport carts 1a to 1d with the planar coordinate system. Further, when starting the control, it is necessary to adjust the initial state of the steering angle θ of each of the transport carriages 1a to 1d to a reference steering angle (for example, θ = 0).

  FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the initial setting process. First, the cart coordinates (Xi, Yi, i in the present example, i is a to d) of each transport cart 1a to d are registered (S1). The carriage coordinates (Xi, Yi) define a plane coordinate system (X, Y) in the transport apparatus 100 as shown in FIG. In the plane coordinate system, the center of the rectangular conveyance device 100 is defined as an origin coordinate (0, 0), and the plane coordinate system is defined by two orthogonal axes (X, Y) passing through the origin coordinate and parallel to the opposite sides. On the other hand, the cart coordinates (Xi, Yi) define the center between a pair of wheels of each transport cart 1a to d in a plane coordinate system. Thereby, the positional relationship of the conveying apparatus 100 and each conveying cart 1a-d can be represented by a plane coordinate system. Based on FIG. 7, the cart coordinates (Xi, Yi) of each transport cart are determined by actual measurement or the like, input from the touch panel 127, and registered in the storage unit of the arithmetic processing unit CPU of the parent controller 126. It should be noted that the center of gravity position of the heavy object to be loaded is preferably matched with the origin coordinate position of the transport device 100.

  Next, it is confirmed that the cart coordinates (Xi, Yi) of all the transport carts are registered (S2). When registration of all the cart coordinates (Xi, Yi) is completed, the steering angle θ of each of the transport carts 1a to 1d is initialized to 0 ° (S3). For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the initial setting of the steering angle θ is defined as a steering angle θ = 0 where a line connecting the rotation axes of a pair of wheels is parallel to the X axis or perpendicular to the Y axis. Then, the transport carts 1a to d are connected via the touch panel 127 so that the relative rotation angle of the pedestal 5 and the traveling cart 3 detected by the pulse counter CNT2 of the slave controller 123, that is, the steering angle of the pair of wheels becomes 0 °. To control. That is, the current steering angle θ detected by the steering angle detector 122 is output and displayed on the display screen such as the touch panel 127 from the child controller 123 via the parent controller 126. Based on this, when a command for adjusting the steering angle θ of each transport carriage 1a to d to the initial value of 0 ° is input from the touch panel 127, a command for adjusting the steering angle θ to the initial value of 0 ° from the parent controller 126 to each child controller 123. Is output. As a result, each child controller 123 outputs a turn command for rotating the pair of wheels 7a, b in opposite directions to the servo drivers 121R, L, and detects the detected value of the steering angle θ output from the steering angle detector 122. The pair of wheels 7a and 7b rotate in reverse to each other so as to match the initial value of 0 °. It is confirmed that the process of adjusting the steering angle θ of the wheels to the initial value of 0 ° is performed for all the transport carts 1a to 1d (S4), and the initial setting is completed.

  Next, the procedure of traveling control will be described with reference to FIGS. After the initial setting is completed, a control mode selection command is input from the touch panel 127 (S11). The control mode includes a control mode in which the transport device 100 is turned along the transport path 200 in FIG. 5, travels forward or backward, travels left or right, or travels diagonally. For example, if the turning mode is selected, the process proceeds to step S13 based on the determination in step S12. In other control modes, the process proceeds to another selected control mode (S31).

  When the turning traveling mode is selected, in step S13, the touch panel 127 is operated in accordance with the request of the touch panel 127, and the turning center coordinates (XO, YO) of the transport device 100 are input as shown in FIG. Thereby, the parent calculation processing unit CPU of the parent controller geometrically calculates the turning radius Ri of the carriage coordinates (Xi, Yi) of each of the carriages 1a to 1d in the plane coordinate system (S14). Then, the maximum turning radius Rmax is extracted from the obtained turning radius Ri (S15). For example, in the example of FIG. 9, the turning radii Ra and Rc of the transport carriages 1a and 1c become the maximum turning radius Rmax. Next, in order to ensure safety, it is confirmed whether or not the standby SW is turned on from the touch panel 127 (S16). If the standby SW is not turned on, the process waits until it is turned on.

  If the standby SW is turned on, the parent controller 126 calculates the steering angle θi of each of the transport carts 1a to 1d for turning (S17). That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the turning center (XO, YO) and the cart coordinates (Xi, Yi) of the transport carts 1a to d are connected by a straight line, and the steering angles θa to d in the direction perpendicular to the straight line are calculated. To do. The steering angles θa to d are the same as the angles formed by the X axis and the straight line connecting the turning center and the cart coordinates of the transport carts 1a to d. The obtained steering angles θa to d of the transport carts 1a to d are respectively output from the parent controller 126 to the child controllers 123 via the parent communication control unit COM (S18).

  Each slave controller 123 sends a command to the servo drivers 121R, L based on the steering angles θa-d input via the slave communication control unit COM, and the pair of wheels 7a, 7b are reversed with respect to the motors 11R, L. Drive to rotate (S19). For example, in FIG. 9, the transport cart 1a rotates the wheel 7a forward and reverses the wheel 7b to control the steering angle of the pair of wheels 7a, b to θa. On the other hand, the transport carriage 1c reverses the wheels 7a and forwardly rotates the wheels 7b, thereby controlling the steering angle of the pair of wheels 7a, b to θc. In the example of FIG. 9, the steering angle θ is defined as positive for clockwise and negative for counterclockwise.

  Each child controller 123 controls the steering angle θi after adjusting the steering angle in step 19 and then determines whether or not the detected steering angle value detected by the steering angle detector 122 matches the steering angle command value. This is confirmed by the content of the part CNT2 (S20). This is because, for example, an abnormality in which the wheels 7a and 7b do not rotate as desired due to some abnormality (control system failure, wheel failure such as a step) is monitored. If the detected steering angle value does not coincide with the steering angle command value in step S20, the process returns to side step S19 to retry the steering angle control. If the detected steering angle value does not match the steering angle command value even after retrying for a set number of times (for example, 1 to 2 times), the process proceeds to step S31 and abnormality processing is executed. When the detected steering angle value matches the steering angle command value, the steering angle control is terminated and the servo control by the servo drivers 121R and 121L is temporarily turned off.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10, it waits until a driving | operation command is input with respect to the conveying apparatus 100 from the touch panel 127 (S23). If a travel command has been input, the process proceeds to step 24 to turn on servo control by the servo drivers 121R and 121L. Next, the rotational speeds of the wheels of the transport carts 1a to 1d are calculated (S25). The calculation of the rotational speed of the wheels of each transport carriage 1a to d is divided into two stages. That is, first, the parent controller 126 obtains the speed command value in the cart coordinates of each of the transport carts 1a to 1d. Further, the parent controller 126 stores a wheel speed limit value Vo input and set in advance from the touch panel 127 and a common distance L between the pair of wheels of the transport carts 1a to 1d. Then, the parent controller 126 outputs the speed command value in the carriage coordinates of each of the transport carriages 1a to 1d, the maximum turning radius Rmax obtained in step S15, and the wheel speed limit value Vo to the corresponding child controller 123.

Each child controller 123 stores the wheel interval L stored in advance, the speed command value Vi in the cart coordinates of its own transport cart 1, the turning radius Ri in the cart coordinates, the maximum turning radius Rmax, Based on the speed limit value Vo, the rotational speeds ViR and ViL of each wheel are calculated (S25). In the case of a figure command, this calculation is as follows.
ViR = Vo × (Ri + L / 2) / Rmax
ViL = Vo × (Ri−L / 2) / Rmax
In other words, since it is clear that the wheel speed limit value Vo is received by the wheel having the larger turning radius of the transport carriage having the maximum turning radius Rmax, the rotational speeds ViR and L of the wheel are the wheel speed limits. On the condition that the value Vo is not exceeded, the rotation speeds of the other wheels are determined by the sub-controllers 123 on the basis of Rmax.

  The rotation speeds ViR and ViL of the wheels calculated in step S25 are output to the servo drivers 121R and 121L, and the traveling of the transport carts 1a to 1d is started (S26). Then, during traveling, the steering angle θi of each of the transport carts 1a to d is monitored (S27), and when the steering angle θi exceeds an allowable range (for example, ± 5 °), the process proceeds to an abnormal process (S33). . Steps S27 and 28 are continued until a travel stop command is input from the touch panel 127 (S29). When a travel stop command is input from the touch panel 127, the parent controller 126 outputs a travel stop command to the child controller 123 of each transport carriage 1a to d, stops the servo control by the servo drivers 121R and 121L, and turns. The traveling is finished (S30), the process returns to step S11 and waits for the next control mode selection.

  The control in the other control mode can be dealt with by modification of the turning traveling. For example, in the case of forward or reverse travel, the same positive or negative speed command value may be given to each of the transport carriages 1a to d by controlling the steering angle θ = 0 °. In the case of left or right traveling, the same positive or negative speed command value may be given to each of the transport carts 1a to d by controlling the steering angle θ = 90 ° or −90 °. Further, in the case of oblique traveling, the steering angle θ is controlled to an arbitrary value, and the same positive or negative speed command value may be given to each of the transport carriages 1a to 1d.

  As described above, according to the control device of the transport apparatus of the present embodiment, each child controller 123 and the parent controller 126 are controlled by the parent controller 126 in accordance with the control of the transport apparatus 100. The steering angle command values of the carriages 1a to 1d, the speed command values of the transport carriages 1a to 1d, and the command values such as the turning radius are output to each slave controller 123, and each slave controller 123 is based on the input command values. The rotation direction and the rotation speed of each wheel of the transport carts 1a to 1d are controlled. Thereby, the load of the control calculation by the parent controller 126 can be reduced, and the control of the rotation direction and the rotation speed of each wheel of the transport carts 1a to 1d can be distributed and executed by the child controller 123. As a result, as compared with the case where the parent controller 126 controls the transport carts 1a to d in a time-sharing manner, the time delay of the control of the transport carts 1a to d is minimized, and the transport carts 1a to d are set at the same time. Control can be performed cooperatively.

  Although not described in the above embodiment, the servo drivers 121R and L take in the torque limit value output from the child arithmetic processing unit CPU and limit the output torque of the motors 11R and L according to the torque limit value. It is configured. As a result, for example, it is possible to prevent an overload due to one wheel riding on a step. Further, when the power of the wheel is reduced due to the torque limitation, the torque of the motors 11R, L of the other wheels can be increased and backed up by the servo drivers 121R, L. The servo drivers 121R, L constantly monitor the rotational speeds (forward and reverse) of the motors 11R, L, and output the rotational speeds to the child controller 123 and the parent controller 126 via the pulse counter unit CNT1. It is supposed to be. Thereby, the child controller 123 and the parent controller 126 can quickly monitor the presence or absence of the cooperative control abnormality of the servo drivers 121R and L or the motors 11R and L.

1a to d Carriage truck 7a, b Wheel 11R, L Motor 37a, b Drive device 121R, L Servo driver 122 Steering angle detector 123 Child controller 124 LAN cable 125 HUB
126 Parent controller 127 Touch panel

Claims (4)

A pedestal on which an object to be conveyed is placed is supported by a traveling carriage so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane. The traveling carriage is pivotally supported by a pair of coaxially arranged wheels, and the pair of wheels are driven separately. In a control device for a transport device that arranges a plurality of transport carriages having a pair of motors in front, rear, left, and right, and places and transports heavy objects on the pedestals of the plurality of transport carriages,
The transport carriage controls a driver for driving and controlling the pair of motors, a steering angle detector for detecting a steering angle of the pair of wheels with respect to a reference axis in a plane coordinate system parallel to the pedestal surface, and the driver. A child controller that
A parent controller provided to be able to communicate with the child controller by wire or wirelessly is provided,
The parent controller stores the center of the transport device in the planar coordinate system as an origin coordinate, stores the center between a pair of wheels of each transport cart as a cart coordinate, and is input turning travel, forward or reverse travel, In response to at least one control mode command for left or right running and oblique running, the steering angle of each transport carriage is calculated to calculate the steering angle command value and the speed command value at the cart coordinates of each transport carriage Output to the child controller,
The child controller controls the steering angle by rotating the pair of wheels in the forward and reverse directions via the driver based on the input steering angle command value, and then based on the speed command value. And controlling the rotational speed of each of the pair of wheels through the driver. In the control apparatus of the conveying apparatus according to claim 1,
The parent controller stores an input wheel speed limit value and a distance between a pair of wheels of the transport carriage, and when the turning mode control mode command is input, the turn of the transport device is input. Based on the center coordinates and the turning radius of the transfer device, the turning radius of each transfer carriage at the carriage coordinates is calculated, and the maximum turning radius of the turn radius of each transfer carriage is obtained and output to the child controller together with the speed limit value. And
The child controller controls the driver by calculating a rotation speed of each wheel of the wheel based on the rotation speed of the wheel having the maximum turning radius as the speed limit value and calculating the rotation speed of each wheel on the basis of the speed limit value. A control device for the conveying device. In the control apparatus of the conveyance apparatus of Claim 1 or 2,
The child controller includes a child arithmetic processing unit that generates a control command for the driver, a storage unit provided in the child arithmetic processing unit, and communication control that is connected to the child arithmetic processing unit and communicates with the parent controller by wire or wirelessly. And formed with
The parent controller communicates with the child controller connected to the arithmetic processing unit, an input processing unit connected to the input unit, an arithmetic processing unit connected to the input unit, a storage unit provided in the arithmetic processing unit A control device for a transport device, comprising: a communication control unit that performs the control. In the control apparatus of the conveying apparatus of any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3,
The child controller takes in a detection signal output from the steering angle detector and periodically outputs the detection signal to the parent controller.

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