JP2637088B2 - Transport device control device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention mainly relates to a transport device for transporting small articles, and in particular, a transport device for operating a plurality of transport vehicles on the same guide rail. The present invention relates to a device control device.

(Prior art) In recent years, as part of office automation (OA), factory automation (FA), etc., a transfer device for slips, documents, cash, materials, workpieces or parts, etc. between multiple points in a building. Often used and transported.

Such a transport device is required to be capable of quickly transporting a transported object.

For this reason, in this type of transfer device, a method of supporting a transfer vehicle on a guide rail in a non-contact manner is often used.

In general, air or magnetism is used to support the carrier in a non-contact manner. Among these, the method of magnetically supporting the transport vehicle is excellent in followability to the guide rail and noise reduction effect, and can be said to be the most promising support method.

By the way, in order to run a carrier that is magnetically supported and floats, the secondary conductor plate of the linear induction motor is attached to the carrier and the stator of the motor is installed on the track side, and acceleration and deceleration are performed. The method of providing a required propulsion force to a carrier is most widely used because of its simple structure.

In this case, if the stator of the linear induction motor is continuously installed on the track side, the cost increases, and the weight of the track itself increases. Is being done.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a transport device of this type, partially cut away, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view thereof. In each of these drawings, the floating type transport device 1 is configured such that at least the lower surface portion is made of a ferromagnetic material, is supported by a supporting tool (not shown) in a building or on supporting steel, and is fixed to an inverted U-shaped frame 2. A guide rail 3, a movable transport vehicle 5 magnetically supported by a magnetic support device 4 provided to face the guide rail 3, and a downwardly disposed predetermined interval at the center of the frame 2. And a secondary conductor plate 8 attached to the carrier 5 so as to face the stator 7 with a gap therebetween.

The carrier 5 has a control device 9 for controlling the magnetic support device 4 and a power supply device for supplying power to the magnetic support device 4.
10 is installed. Further, an emergency guide rail 11 having a U-shape is attached to the frame 2, and a wheel 12a that engages in the vertical direction and a wheel 12b that engages in the horizontal direction with the emergency guide rail 11 when an abnormality occurs are respectively provided. It is provided on the transport vehicle 5. Further, the stator 7 is fixed to the top plate 6 lining the same. After the stator 7 is inserted into the opening provided at the center of the frame 2, the top plate 6 is fixed to the frame 2. Mounted by

Here, when the secondary conductor plate 8 crosses the magnetic field generated by the stator 7, an eddy current is generated in the secondary conductor plate 8, and the interaction between the eddy current and the magnetic field causes the secondary conductor plate 8 to be moved by Lorentz force.
Is accelerated and decelerated in a non-contact manner.

However, if the stator is sequentially energized by a command from an external control device that controls the entire traveling, it is possible to control the traveling and stopping of the carrier according to a predetermined schedule. It is also possible to travel between them, and it is possible to transport the conveyed article to a predetermined point by traveling or stopping these. The change of the running direction and the braking can be performed by changing the energized state of the stator coil.

As described above, when operating a plurality of transport vehicles on key points on a track or on guide rails installed at key points as described above, it is necessary to use railway vehicles, etc. to prevent collision and interference between the transport vehicles. It is necessary to perform control by zoning along the guide rail so that it can be performed.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the zoning and the control device of the carrier applied to the zoning.

Here, the stators 7a to 7d are arranged at important points along the guide rail 2, and one control zone (hereinafter referred to as one zone) extends from one end of one stator to one end of the next arranged stator. as simply referred to as a zone), zone Z _{n + 1} containing the stator 7a, zone Z _n comprising a stator 7b, the zone Z _n-1 including stator 7c, the zone Z _n-2, including a stator 7d Each is divided. Sensors 14a to 14h are provided at the end of each control zone to confirm the passage and presence of the transport vehicle 5, and signals from these sensors 14a to 14h are transmitted to the transport control
Has been added to The transport control section 13 includes a sensor 14a.
Receiving the signal of ~ 14h, the traveling state of the transport vehicle 5 on the guide rail is grasped, and a command is given to the induction motor driving devices 15a to 15d so that the transport vehicles do not collide or interfere with each other. The induction motor driving devices 15a to 15d receive electric power from a power supply device (not shown) when receiving a command from the transport control supervising unit 13, and rotate the stators 7a to 7d of the one-side linear induction motor in the normal phase. Excitation or reverse phase excitation is performed to apply a propulsion force or a reverse propulsion force to the carrier 5 in a non-contact manner.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the above-described conventional transport vehicle control device, the transport control supervising unit 13 constantly grasps the state of the zone along the guide rail, and furthermore, the starting point of the transport vehicle. The movement from the vehicle to the destination was constantly monitored, and the stators 7a to 7d were directly controlled so that the vehicles did not collide or interfere.

For this reason, a large number of state signals are input from the respective sensors to the transport control control unit 13, and the processing for the state signals may be concentrated and the processing limit may be reached.

In this case, the problem is small if the number of zones and the number of transport vehicles are small, but if the number of zones and the number of transport vehicles are large, and further if the speed of the transport vehicle is high, the processing of the transport control However, there was a problem that the speed of the carrier had to be reduced and used. In addition, since there is a limit in processing, grasping of the state of the zone is limited, and during that time, there is a risk that the carrier will collide and interfere.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and can reduce the load on a control unit such as a transfer control unit, and can prevent collisions and interference between transfer vehicles and make the vehicle run smoothly. It is an object of the present invention to provide a control device for a transfer device that can perform the control.

[Configuration of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) According to a first aspect of the present invention, a linear motor stator is disposed at predetermined intervals along a guide rail on which a transport vehicle travels, and the linear motor is mounted on the transport vehicle. A secondary conductor is mounted, and the stator is excited by a motor driving device to generate a propulsive force or a braking force on the transport vehicle. In the transport device, at least one stator is included along the guide rail. Provided for each of the control zones divided, and a sensor for confirming the passage of the carrier, the presence thereof, a higher-level control unit that manages the entirety of the carrier, and generates a command related to the traveling of the carrier, Even if the transport vehicle that arrives at the own control zone based on the output of the same type of device and the sensor of another control zone is provided for each control zone, Determining whether or not it is safe, and when the safety is confirmed, transmits the command of the upper control unit to the motor drive device as it is, and when the safety is not confirmed, a lower control unit that gives a stop command to the motor control device. Things.

According to a second invention of this application, a linear motor stator is disposed at predetermined intervals along a guide rail on which a transport vehicle travels, and a movable side of the linear motor is mounted on the transport vehicle. In a transport device that excites the stator to generate a propulsion force or a braking force on the transport vehicle, the transport device is provided for each control zone divided along the guide rail so as to include at least one stator, The first to confirm the passage and existence of the carrier respectively
Sensors and a second sensor for identifying each of the transport vehicles, a higher-level control unit that manages the entirety of the transport device and generates a command related to the travel of the transport vehicle, and is provided for each of the control zones. It is determined whether or not the transport vehicle reaching the own control zone is a designated one based on the same type of devices in the control zone and the outputs of the first and second sensors, and advance to the control zone ahead. It is also determined whether or not it is safe, and only when the safety is confirmed and the specified transport vehicle is used, the command of the upper control unit is transmitted to the motor drive device as it is, and at other times, a stop command is issued to the motor control device. And a lower-level control unit that provides the following.

(Operation) In the first invention of this application, the transport control generalization unit that manages the entire transport device and generates a command related to the traveling of the transport vehicle is referred to as a so-called upper-level control unit. A lower-level control unit is provided between each drive unit,
By inputting a signal of a sensor for confirming the passage and presence of the carrier and a signal of a similar device in another control zone to the lower controller, the lower controllers respectively reach the own control zone. It is determined whether it is safe to proceed to the control zone ahead.If safety is confirmed, the command of the upper control unit is transmitted to the motor drive device as it is, and if safety is not confirmed, a stop command is given to the motor control device. Like that.

Further, in the second invention of the application, a transport control supervising unit that manages the entire transport device and generates a command related to traveling of the transport vehicle is a so-called upper control unit, and the higher control unit and the motor driving device And a lower-level control unit between them, and a signal of a first sensor for confirming passage and presence of a carrier, a signal of a second sensor for identifying each carrier, and the same type of other control zones. By inputting the signal of the device to this lower-level control unit, the lower-level control unit determines whether or not each of the transport vehicles arriving at the own control zone is designated, and advances the vehicle to the control zone ahead. It is also determined whether or not it is safe, and only when the safety is confirmed and the specified transport vehicle is used, the command of the higher-level control unit is directly transmitted to the motor drive device, and at other times, a stop command is sent to the motor control device. Giving It has to so that.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment corresponding to the first invention of the present application, in which the same reference numerals as in FIG. Is shown. In addition to providing the control units 16a to 16d as the lower control unit between the transfer control unit 13 as the upper control unit and the induction motor driving devices 15a to 15d, the sensors 14a to 14h signal is added to each of the control units 16a to 16d of the own control zone, and these control units take in the state signal of the control zone from the control unit in front of the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 5. Is different from the conventional device. Here, the control units 16a to 16d receive the signals of the sensors 14a to 14h, confirm the position of the carrier 5 in the own control zone,
Furthermore, the state of the front control zone is grasped and the induction motor driving devices 15a to 15d are controlled.

The operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

Control zones Z _n-1 of the transport vehicle 5 which is accelerated by the stator 7c travels from the control zone Z _n-1 to the control zones Z _n.

At this time, after passing through the installation point of the stator 7c, there is nothing to give the propulsion force or the reverse propulsion force to the carrier 5 until the next stator 7b, so that the carrier 5 travels by inertia. Become.

Now, if when the stop command from the direction of travel of the control zones Z _{n + 1} is despite busy conveyance control Div 13 of transport vehicle 5 is not out, the control section 16d of the control zones Z _n forward The state of the control zone ahead in the traveling direction is grasped by the signal from the control unit 16a of the control zone Z _{n + 1} of the control zone, and the carrier 5 is stopped in the self-control zone to prevent collision and interference between the carriers. I do. In this case, the carrier 5 is the stator 7b
, The reverse propulsion force is generated in the stator 7b, and the carrier 5 is stopped.

On the other hand, when the control zones Z _{n + 1} of the forward reverse is assumed to be empty and this, in this case to generate a propulsion force in the stator 7b when the transport vehicle 5 has reached the control zone Z _n, transporting Accelerate car 5.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure of the control unit 16b.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the control unit 16 receives a control signal from the transport control unit 13, it checks in step 101 whether the signal is a stop command. If stop instruction stator 7b of the control zone Z _n in step 102 and negative-phase excitation, to stop the transport vehicle 5 by its own control zones Z _n, to wait.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 101 that the signal from the transport control unit 13 is not a stop command, it is checked in step 103 whether the control zone Zn _{+ 1} ahead in the traveling direction is empty. Wakashi stops the transport vehicle 5 by its own control zones Z _n by the processing of step 102 in the case forward of the control zones Z _{n + 1} is not empty, to wait. As described above, also in the case of stopping and waiting, in the next step 104, it is checked whether or not the front control zone Zn _{+ 1} is empty.

Next, when the front control zone Zn _{+ 1} is confirmed to be empty by the check in step 103 or step 104,
At step 105 by positive phase excitation of the stator 7b of the own control zones Z _n, it advances the transport vehicle 5 to the control zone Z _{n + 1.}

Thus, according to this embodiment, the control units 16a to 16d monitor the state of the front control zone, and when the path of the transport vehicle is blocked, regardless of the command of the transport control Since the vehicle is stopped and put on standby, the load on the transport control unit 13 can be reduced, and the collision between the transport vehicles,
Interference can be reliably prevented.

Next, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment corresponding to the second invention of the present application, and the components denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same elements. Then, another sensor 14i for performing identification of the transport vehicle 5 to the control zone Z _n is provided, in that the signal of the sensor 14i and to add to the control unit 16b of the self control zones are different. Here, the sensor 14i is not provided in all the control zones, but is installed only in a necessary control zone such as a so-called station portion for branching the guide rail, shipping and arriving of the conveyed product, and performing self-control. The function of grasping the position of the transport vehicle 5 and the transport vehicle number (hereinafter abbreviated as the transport vehicle number) in the zone, the function of transmitting this transport vehicle number to the transport control unit 13, the direction of travel of the transport vehicle 5 It has a function of grasping the state of the front control zone by a signal from the front control unit, and a function of controlling the induction motor driving device 15b.

Figure 4 shows the layout of the control zone of the entire transfer device for application of the control device, linear trajectory is divided into control zones Z ₁ to Z _19, a branch track from these control zones Z ₃ It is divided into three control zones Z ₂₀ to Z _22. The control zone bypass track between Z ₆ and the control zone Z ₁₁ is divided into 11 control zones Z ₂₃ to Z _33, control zones Z control zones Z ₃₄ branching trajectory of four from ₁₃ to Z
_37, and is divided to the control zone Z ₃₈ to Z ₄₂ branching trajectory of five from the control zone Z _15. Also, # A ~
#I indicates a transportation vehicle station, and the transportation vehicle 5a of the transportation vehicle No. # 1 is moved from the current station #A to the current station #I, and the transportation vehicle 5b of the transportation vehicle No. # 2 is moved to the current station. The operation of the present embodiment will be described by taking as an example the case of operating from #D to #G.

The transfer control section 13 determines where (the starting point), which route, and how far (the end point) each of the transport vehicles is to be operated on the guide rails due to the occurrence of the transported object, and starts traveling of the transport vehicles. Before starting, a command for designating a carrier and setting the operation of the carrier is sent to the control unit 16 of each control zone corresponding to the starting point, the route, and the end point of the carrier and provided with a sensor for identifying the carrier. .

In this case, the command of "guided vehicle # 1, start" to start falls control zones Z ₁ of the transport vehicle 5a is, the control zone _{Z 3, Z 6, Z 11} , Z 13, Z 15 corresponding to the path " command guided vehicle # 1-pass "is a command" guided vehicle # 1 and stop "is set in the storage device as in the fifth view respectively control zones Z ₁₉ corresponding to the end point.

Further, the command of "guided vehicle # 2, start" to start falls control zones Z ₂₈ of transport vehicle 5b is the command for "transport car # 2-pass" to control zones Z _32, Z ₁₃ corresponding to the path ,
For the control zones Z ₁₁ and Z _{15 at the} junction,
The instruction of "2. branch" is set in the storage device as shown in FIG. 5, and the instruction of "carrier # 2 and stop" is set for the control zone Z _{39 at the} end point.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure of the control unit of the control zone having the sensor 14i, for example, the control unit 16b. When the vehicles of the vehicles # 1 and # 2 start from the current station, the sensor Each time the vehicle enters the control zone provided with 14i, a signal from the sensor 14i is received, and in step 201, the zone entry carrier vehicle No. is read. next,
In step 202, the operation of the corresponding carrier is checked based on the preset internal information as shown in FIG.

If it is a stop command, in step 203, the stator in the zone is excited in reverse phase to stop the carrier.

If the instruction is a branch command, in step 204, the carrier is decelerated in the zone and the traveling direction of the carrier is changed.

If it is a passage command, in step 205, the stator in the zone is excited in the normal phase to accelerate the transport vehicle and proceed to the next zone.

It should be noted that the internal information is cleared at step 206 when the operation for the corresponding carrier is completed.

Thus, the transport vehicle 5a is starting from the control zone Z _1, and stops at the control zone _{Z 3, Z 6, Z 11} , Z 13, Z 15 control zones Z ₁₉ to pass through the. In addition, the transport vehicle 5b is starting from the control zone Z _28,
Branches at the control zone Z _32, Z _15, passes through the control zone Z _13, branches again in the control zone Z _15, will be stopped by the control zones Z _39.

In this way, each transport vehicle travels in accordance with the data set in advance by the transport control supervision unit 13 in the control unit, but the control unit installed in a necessary control zone such as a station unit transmits the transport vehicle in its own control zone. A function to grasp the position and carrier No.
A function of transmitting the transport vehicle number to the transport control unit 13 and a function of grasping the state of the control zone ahead in the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 5 by a signal from the forward control unit are provided. Not only is the load on the unit reduced, but also more reliable transport control is possible in that only the previously specified transport vehicle travels.

In the above embodiment, the control of the floating carrier has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this.
The present invention is also applicable to other similar transport devices, for example, a wheeled transport vehicle.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the control of the carrier using the linear induction motor has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a carrier that is driven and controlled by an electric motor generally called a linear motor.

〔The invention's effect〕

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the load on the transport control unit as the higher-level control unit, and to prevent collisions and interference between the transport vehicles and make the vehicle run smoothly. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment corresponding to the first invention of this application, FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is the second invention of this application. FIG. 4 is a layout diagram of a transport apparatus to which the embodiment is applied, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining states of main elements of the embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the embodiment, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a general transport device partially cut away, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the transport device, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional carrier control device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Conveying device, 3 ... Guide rail, 5, 5a, 5b ... Conveying vehicle, 7, 7a-7d ... Stator, 8 ... Secondary conductor plate, 13 ...
Transfer control section, 14a to 14i: sensor, 15a to 15d: induction motor driving device, 16a to 16d: control section.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A linear motor stator is disposed at predetermined intervals along a guide rail on which a transport vehicle travels, and
A movable device of a linear motor is mounted on the transport vehicle, and the transport device that excites the stator by a motor driving device to generate a propulsive force or a braking force on the transport vehicle includes at least one of the stators. A sensor is provided for each control zone divided along the guide rail, and a sensor for confirming the passage and existence of the carrier, and a higher-level controller for managing the entirety of the carrier and generating a command relating to traveling of the carrier. A control unit, provided for each control zone,
It is determined whether or not it is safe to advance the transport vehicle reaching the self-control zone based on the output of the same type of device and the sensor of the other control zone to the control zone ahead, and when the safety is confirmed, A control device for a transfer device, comprising: a lower control unit that transmits a command from a higher-level control unit to the motor drive device as it is and that issues a stop command to the motor control device when safety is not confirmed. 2. A linear motor stator is disposed at predetermined intervals along a guide rail on which a transport vehicle travels.
A movable device of a linear motor is mounted on the transport vehicle, and the transport device that excites the stator by a motor driving device to generate a propulsive force or a braking force on the transport vehicle includes at least one of the stators. A first sensor that is provided for each control zone sectioned along the guide rail and that checks the passage and presence of the carrier, and a second sensor that identifies the individual carrier, respectively; A higher-level control unit that manages the entirety and generates a command regarding the traveling of the carrier, and is provided for each control zone,
It is determined whether or not the transport vehicle that reaches the own control zone is the designated one based on the same type of devices in other control zones and the outputs of the first and second sensors, and proceeds to the control zone ahead. It is determined whether or not it is safe to do so, and only when the safety is confirmed and the specified transport vehicle is used, the command of the higher-level control unit is transmitted to the motor drive device as it is, otherwise, the motor control device stops. A control device for a transport device, comprising: a lower control unit for giving a command.