JP3082763B1 - Communication system using feeder line - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a communication system capable of quickly and accurately controlling the operation of a bogie in a large-scale transport system. Power supply lines (2a, 2b) are laid on a line (A) and a line (B), respectively. The base station 11a
The communication with the carriage 12 located on the line A is performed using the communication channel A established on the power supply line 2a. Base station 11b
Communicates with the carriage 12 located on the line B using the communication channel B established on the power supply line 2b. A communication channel A and a communication channel B are established on the power supply line 2c laid in the transfer section. The cart 12 is on line A
When the dog 4 is detected when moving to the line B from, the communication channel to be used is switched from the communication channel A to the communication channel B.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication system for performing communication between a base station and a mobile using a power supply line provided along a guide rail for guiding the mobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in factories and warehouses, transport systems for transporting cargo and various parts unattended have been introduced.

[0003] As one type of this type of transport system, a system in which a moving body such as a bogie is run along a guide rail while power is supplied to a moving body such as a bogie in a non-contact manner from a power supply line provided along the guide rail. It has been known. In this method, a high-frequency alternating current is usually applied to the power supply line. on the other hand,
Each moving body is provided with a coil for extracting energy from the alternating current applied to the power supply line by electromagnetic induction. Then, each moving body travels using the energy or performs a cargo handling operation.

[0004] The operation of each mobile unit follows an instruction given from a base station. Various methods are conceivable as a method of giving an instruction from a base station to each mobile unit, and the applicant of the present application has proposed a communication system for transmitting a signal using a power supply line for supplying energy to the mobile unit. Has been proposed.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an example of a communication system using a power supply line. In this communication system, the operation of each carriage follows an instruction from the base station. Guide rail 101
Is provided on the route on which each truck 120 travels. The power supply line 102 is laid along the guide rail 101 such that the forward path and the return path are parallel to each other. The power supply device 103 supplies a high-frequency alternating current to the power supply line 102. As a result, the magnetic field near the power supply line 102 always changes in accordance with the high-frequency alternating current.

[0006] The base station 110 includes a computer 111, a modem 112, and a coupler 113, and controls the operation of each truck 120. The computer 111 communicates with a control circuit 125 provided in each of the carts 120 to communicate with each of the carts 1.
20 is controlled. The modem 112 modulates the signal output from the computer 111 and provides the same to the combiner 113, and demodulates the signal picked up by the combiner 113 and provides the same to the computer 111. Coupler 113
Superimposes a signal provided from the modem 112 on the power supply line 102 by capacitive coupling or the like, and picks up a signal superimposed on the power supply line 102 and provides the signal to the modem 112. With this configuration, base station 110 superimposes a signal to be transmitted to each truck 120 on feeder line 102 and picks up a signal output from each truck 120 from feeder line 102.

The truck 120 includes a coil 121, a power supply circuit 1
22, coupler 123, modem 124 and control circuit 12
5 is provided. The coil 121 extracts energy from a magnetic field near the power supply line 102. The power supply circuit 122 generates a predetermined voltage from the energy extracted by the coil 121, and supplies the generated voltage to the traveling motor of the carriage 120 and each circuit of the carriage 120. Combiner 123 and modem 124
Is basically the coupler 1 provided in the base station 110.
13 and the modem 112. Control circuit 125
Follows the instructions given by the base station 110,
0 operation is controlled.

Thus, the communication system shown in FIG.
By superimposing signals to be transmitted and received between the base station and the truck on the feeder line, communication between them is realized, and the operation of each truck is controlled remotely from the base station. The configuration and operation relating to this method are described in
No. 26319.

[0009]

When the above-described transport system is introduced into a large-scale factory or warehouse, not only the guide rails become longer, but also the number of trucks usually increases. However, as the number of trucks running increases,
It becomes difficult for the base station to quickly control all the bogies.

For example, if a polling method is adopted as a communication method between a base station and a plurality of trolleys, the base station accesses each trolley in turn. When there are many, the time from sending an instruction to a certain truck to sending the next instruction to the truck becomes longer. For this reason, it becomes difficult for the base station to control each bogie quickly. This problem can occur not only in the case of employing the polling method but also in the method of controlling a plurality of vehicles in a time-division manner.

One solution for solving the above problem is as follows.
A method of constructing a large-scale system by connecting a plurality of small-scale transport systems to each other can be considered. In this case, a base station is provided for each transport system, and each base station controls the operation of the bogie located in the transport system to which it belongs. Further, the plurality of transport systems are connected so that the cart can move between the transport systems.

With such a configuration, the number of trucks to be controlled by each base station is reduced, so that it is expected that the operation of many trucks can be quickly controlled even in a large-scale transport system. Is done.

[0013] However, the large-scale transport system having the above-described configuration is under development, and up to now, the operation when the bogie moves from one transport system to another transport system has not been sufficiently studied. . For this reason, in the system having the above configuration, when the carriage moves from one transportation system to another transportation system, the operation of the carriage becomes unstable, or the communication device (FIG. In the example shown in (1), there is a possibility that a process of changing the setting of the modem) is required.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication system capable of quickly and accurately controlling the operation of a bogie in a large-scale transport system.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A communication system according to the present invention uses a power supply line provided for supplying energy to a moving body along a guide rail for guiding the moving body. A first power supply line on which a signal of the first communication channel is superimposed, a second power supply line on which a signal of the second communication channel is superimposed, and the first power supply line and the second power supply line. And a transfer unit that can use the first and second communication channels and that moves along a guide rail using energy obtained from a power supply line. When the moving body moves from the area where the first power supply line is provided to the area where the second power supply line is provided after passing through the transfer section, the transfer section moves the moving body. The communication channel to be used by the body is switched from the first communication channel to the second communication channel.

In the area where the first power supply line is provided, the mobile unit communicates using the first communication channel, and in the area where the second power supply line is provided,
Communication is performed using the second communication channel. When the moving body moves from the area where the first power supply line is provided to the area where the second power supply line is provided, a communication channel to be used by the moving body is switched at the transfer unit. Here, the transfer section is an area where both the first and second communication channels can be used. Therefore, when the mobile unit switches the communication channel to be used in the transfer unit from the first communication channel to the second communication channel, the mobile body can immediately perform communication using the second communication channel. .

[0017]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a transport system in which a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention is constructed.
Here, a configuration in which two transport systems (hereinafter, referred to as “line A” and “line B”) are connected to each other will be described.

The guide rails 1a and 1b are respectively provided on the routes on which the truck travels. The power supply lines 2a and 2b
Each is laid along the guide rails 1a and 1b.
The power supply lines 2a and 2b are laid so that their forward path and return path are parallel to each other, and a high-frequency AC is applied by a power supply device (not shown).
These are as described with reference to FIG.

The guide rail 1c is a rail connecting the carriage so that the carriage can move between the line A and the line B in both directions. The power supply line 2c is laid along the guide rail 1c. The power supply line 2c includes a power supply line 2a,
Similarly to 2b, the forward path and the return path are laid so as to be parallel to each other, and a high-frequency AC is applied by a power supply device (not shown). The power supply line 2c
Are electrically insulated from the power supply lines 2a and 2b.

The turntables 3a and 3b switch the route on which the truck travels according to instructions from the base stations 11a and 11b, respectively. The dog 4 is an object to be detected by each bogie, and is installed at a predetermined position near the guide rail 1c.

In the transport system having the above-described structure, the area connecting the line A and the line B (in the example shown in FIG. 1, the area provided with the guide rail 1c and the power supply line 2c) is referred to as a "transfer section". Call.

The base stations 11a and 11b basically correspond to FIG.
Is the same as the base station 110 described with reference to FIG. However, the base station 11a communicates with the bogie located on the line A using the communication channel A, while the base station 11b
Communicates with the truck located on the line B using the communication channel B. Here, different frequencies are assigned to the communication channel A and the communication channel B, for example.

Signals transmitted and received between the base station and the bogie are superimposed on the feeder line. The superposition of the signal on the feeder line and the pickup of the signal from the feeder line are realized by capacitive coupling, for example, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, when a communication device (modem in the embodiment) and a coupler are connected by a coaxial cable, the connection is made to the coupler via a matching circuit.

With the above configuration, the communication channel A is established on the power supply line 2a, and the communication channel B is established on the power supply line 2b. The feeder line 2c is connected to the base stations 11a and 11b via the coupler 13, as shown in FIG. The coupler 13 is composed of a conductor provided on the inner peripheral surface of the power supply line grip portion of the support member 14 for suspending the power supply line 2c on the guide rail 1c. Thereby, the signal transmitted from the base station 11a is superimposed on the power supply line 2a of the line A and also on the power supply line 2c, and the base station 11a
Not only the signal superimposed on the feed line 2a but also the feed line 2a
The signal superimposed on c can also be picked up. Similarly, the signal transmitted from the base station 11b is superimposed on the feed line 2b of the line B and also on the feed line 2c,
Further, the base station 11b can pick up not only signals superimposed on the power supply line 2b but also signals superimposed on the power supply line 2c. That is, the communication channel A and the communication channel B are established on the power supply line 2c.

When the carriage 12 is located on the line A,
It operates according to an instruction given from the base station 11a via the communication channel A established on the power supply line 2a, and when located on the line B, via the communication channel B established on the power supply line 2b from the base station 11b. Operate according to the instructions given. The configuration of the cart 12 is basically the same as that of FIG.
, But differs from the trolley 120 in that it has a function of automatically switching the communication channel to be used by its own communication device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a part related to the communication of the carriage 12. Note that the configuration for extracting energy from the feeder line is the same as that described with reference to FIG. 6, and a description thereof will not be repeated.

The coupler 21 is formed by, for example, capacitive coupling.
A signal is taken out from the power supply line and given to the RF / IF unit 22.
Further, a signal provided from the RF / IF unit 22 is superimposed on the power supply line. The RF / IF unit 22 converts the signal in the radio frequency band supplied from the coupler 21 into a signal in the intermediate frequency band, and supplies the signal to the demodulator 23. The signal is converted into a band signal and supplied to the coupler 21. The radio frequency at which the RF / IF unit 22 transmits and receives a signal follows an instruction from the frequency switching unit 27.

The demodulation section 23 demodulates the signal supplied from the RF / IF section 22 and supplies the signal to the communication control device 26. Further, the modulation unit 24 modulates a signal supplied from the communication control device 26 and supplies the modulated signal to the RF / IF unit 22. Note that the modulation method is not particularly limited.

The dog detecting section 25 detects the dog 4 shown in FIG. Although the dog detection method is not particularly limited, for example, if the dog detection unit 25 is constituted by a set of a light emitting element and a light receiving element and the dog 4 is a reflecting object, the dog 4 is determined by the presence or absence of reflected light. Can be detected.

The communication control unit 26 controls communication with the base station. For example, when a polling signal is received from a base station, a response signal is returned to the base station. When a signal for controlling the operation of the bogie is received from the base station, the signal is passed to the control circuit. Further, when a dog is detected by the dog detection unit 25, an instruction to switch the frequency is given to the frequency switching unit 27. The frequency switching unit 27 includes a communication control unit 26
, The RF / IF unit 22 switches the radio frequency for transmitting and receiving signals. In the communication system of the present embodiment, in order to avoid collision between the signal from the base station to the bogie and the signal from the bogie to the base station, the frequencies of the signals are different from each other in each of the line A and the line B. Is set to

Next, a trolley located on line A (hereinafter referred to as a trolley)
Call it "trolley K". ) Moves to the line B, and the operations of the base stations 11a and 11b and the cart K will be described. It is assumed that the communication device (modem) of the truck K is set to be able to use the communication channel A when the truck K is located on the line A.

The base station 11a sequentially sends out a polling signal to each truck located on the line A. This polling signal is a signal of the frequency f1 assigned to the signal transmitted from the base station 11a to each carriage in the communication channel A, and is superimposed on the feeder lines 2a and 2c.

When the bogie K receives the polling signal transmitted from the base station 11a via the power supply line 2a, it returns a response signal to the base station 11a. This response signal is a signal of the frequency f2 assigned to the signal transmitted from each carriage to the base station 11a in the communication channel A, and is superimposed on the power supply line 2a. Note that the frequency f1 and the frequency f2 are different from each other.

When the base station 11a receives the response signal transmitted from the truck K via the feeder line 2a, it transmits a signal for controlling the operation of the truck K. This control signal is also a signal of the frequency f1 assigned to the communication channel A, and is superimposed on the power supply lines 2a and 2c. Then, the cart K takes out the control signal from the power supply line 2a and operates according to the control signal.

The carriage K moves in accordance with an instruction from the base station 11a, and moves to a transfer section between the line A and the line B. Here, a communication channel A and a communication channel B are established on the power supply line 2c provided in the transfer section. Therefore, the cart K communicates with the base station 11a using the communication channel A in the same manner as when the cart K is located on the line A. That is, the cart K is the base station 1
It operates according to the instruction from 1a.

Thereafter, the carriage K further moves in the direction of the line B, and when the dog 4 is detected, thereafter, the communication channel to be used is changed from the communication channel A in order to communicate with the base station 11b. Automatically switch to communication channel B. Here, the cart K can detect the dog 4 while traveling. Therefore, the communication channel to be used by the truck K is automatically switched while the truck is traveling. At this time, the truck K informs the base stations 11a and 11b that the truck K has moved from the line A to the line B. By doing so, the base station 11a does not recognize that there is a communication abnormality, and can also normally start communication with the base station 11b. Note that a method of detecting a stopped object by a sensor or the like provided on the moving body is a known technique.

As described above, the communication channel A and the communication channel B are established in the power supply line 2c provided in the transfer section. Therefore, the cart K is
When the communication channel to be used is switched from communication channel A to communication channel B, communication with base station 11b via communication channel B is immediately established. That is, the bogie K can always communicate with the base station 11a before detecting the dog 4 at the transfer unit, and can always communicate with the base station 11b after detecting the dog 4. Therefore, the instruction from the base station to the cart is not interrupted, and the operation of the cart does not become unstable.

When switching the communication channel to be used, as described with reference to FIG. 4, when the dog detection unit 25 detects the dog 4, the frequency switching unit 27 sets the RF / IF unit. 22 switches the radio frequency for transmitting and receiving signals.

The base station 11b sequentially sends out a polling signal to each truck located on the line B. This polling signal is a signal of the frequency f3 assigned to the signal transmitted from the base station 11b to each carriage in the communication channel B, and is superimposed on the feeder lines 2b and 2c. Note that the frequency f3 is equal to the frequency f1 and the frequency f
Different from 2.

After detecting the dog 4, the cart K is in a state where the communication channel B can be used as described above. Therefore, in the transfer unit, the polling signal transmitted from the base station 11a and the polling signal transmitted from the base station 11b may exist, but the carriage K
b only receives a polling signal transmitted from the base station 11b and returns a response signal to the base station 11b. This response signal is
The signal of the frequency f4 assigned to the signal transmitted from each carriage to the base station 11b in the communication channel B, and is superimposed on the power supply line 2b. Note that the frequency f4
Is different from the frequencies f1 to f3.

Thereafter, the operation of the cart K is as follows:
Is controlled according to a signal transmitted from the base station 11b via the communication channel B. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a communication channel switching process in each truck. This process is started by detecting the dog 4.

Step S1 is a process for executing the process after step S2 when the dog 4 is detected. In step S2, it is checked whether or not the communication channel currently used by the vehicle is the communication channel A. If the currently used communication channel is the communication channel A, the communication channel to be used is switched from the communication channel A to the communication channel B in step S3. On the other hand, if the currently used communication channel is not the communication channel A, it is assumed that the currently used communication channel is the communication channel B, and the communication channel to be used is changed from the communication channel B to the communication channel in step S4. Switch to A.

The above communication channel switching processing may be realized by executing a program describing the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 5, or may be realized by hardware performing the same operation.

As described above, in the communication system of the present embodiment, the transfer unit that connects the line A where the communication channel A is established and the line B where the communication channel B is established,
Since these two communication channels were established, and each truck was provided with a function of automatically switching the communication channel to be used by the truck when the truck passed through the transfer section, each truck was connected to one of the trucks. When transferring from one line to another, communication with the base station is not interrupted. Therefore, even when the bogie moves from one line to the other line, the operation of the bogie does not become unstable, and it is not necessary to stop the bogie once to change the setting of the communication device.

In the above embodiment, different frequencies are assigned to different communication channels, but the present invention is not limited to this. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the transport system in which two lines for establishing different communication channels are connected to each other is adopted, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the present invention is also applicable to a transport system in which three or more lines in which different communication channels are established are connected in any manner (including serial connection and mesh connection). In this case, it is sufficient that the dog can recognize which line the carriage is going to transfer from which line.

[0046]

As described above, in a large-scale transport system including a plurality of transport systems, when a truck moves from one transport system to another transport system, communication between the truck and the base station is not interrupted. Therefore, the operation of the cart does not become unstable, and it is not necessary to stop the cart once for setting the communication device when the cart moves between the transport systems.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a transport system in which a communication system according to an embodiment is constructed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating capacitive coupling for superimposing a signal on a power supply line.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration for establishing two communication channels on a power supply line.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a part related to the communication of the cart.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication channel switching process.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an example of a communication system using a power supply line.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a to 1c Guide rails 2a to 2c Feeding line 4 Dog 11a, 11b Base station 12 Truck 21 Coupler 22 RF / IF unit 23 Demodulation unit 24 Modulation unit 25 Dog detection unit 26 Communication control unit 27 Frequency switching unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04B 3/54-3/58 B60M 1/00-5/02 B60L 15/40 B61L 1/00 B61L 23 / 00-23/34 H02J 17/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A communication system for performing communication using a power supply line provided for supplying energy to a moving body along a guide rail for guiding the moving body, comprising: a first base station; A first power supply line on which a signal of a first communication channel established for communication with the first base station is superimposed, and a signal of a second communication channel established for communication with the second base station on the first power supply line A second power supply line to be provided, a transfer unit provided between the first power supply line and the second power supply line, and capable of using the first and second communication channels. A moving body that travels along the guide rail using energy, wherein the moving body passes through the transfer section from an area where the first power supply line is provided, and the second power supply line is provided. When you move to the area where A communication system in which a communication channel to be used by a mobile unit is switched from a first communication channel to a second communication channel. 2. A guide rail for guiding a moving body.
To supply energy to the mobile
A communication system for performing communication using a feeder line, wherein a first feeder line on which a signal of a first communication channel is superimposed is provided.
And a second power supply line on which a signal of the second communication channel is superimposed.
When provided between the first power supply line and the second feeder line, the upper
Transfers using first and second communication channels
On the guide rail using the energy obtained from the
A moving body that travels along the vehicle, and the moving body is in an area where the first power supply line is provided.
The second feeder is provided after passing through the transfer section
When moving to the area where
The communication channel to be used by the mobile unit is the first communication channel.
Configuration to switch from the communication channel to the second communication channel.
Ri, above the Noriutsuri portion, the first and second third communication system feeder line that provided for the signals of the communication channels are superimposed each. 3. A guide rail for guiding a moving body.
To supply energy to the mobile
A communication system for performing communication using a feeder line, wherein a first feeder line on which a signal of a first communication channel is superimposed is provided.
And a second power supply line on which a signal of the second communication channel is superimposed.
When provided between the first power supply line and the second feeder line, the upper
Transfers using first and second communication channels
On the guide rail using the energy obtained from the
A moving body that travels along the vehicle, and the moving body is in an area where the first power supply line is provided.
The second feeder is provided after passing through the transfer section
When moving to the area where
The communication channel to be used by the mobile unit is the first communication channel.
Configuration to switch from the communication channel to the second communication channel.
Ri, above the Noriutsuri portion and the detected body is provided, when the moving body detects the object to be detected, the mobile use communication system Ru switched communication channel to be in. 4. A guide rail for guiding a moving body.
To supply energy to the mobile
A communication system for performing communication using a feeder line, wherein a first feeder line on which a signal of a first communication channel is superimposed is provided.
And a second power supply line on which a signal of the second communication channel is superimposed.
When provided between the first power supply line and the second feeder line, the upper
Transfers using first and second communication channels
On the guide rail using the energy obtained from the
A moving body that travels along the vehicle, and the moving body is in an area where the first power supply line is provided.
The second feeder is provided after passing through the transfer section
When the move to have that area which is, in have you on the Noriutsuri part, its
The communication channel to be used by the mobile unit is the first communication channel.
Configuration to switch from the communication channel to the second communication channel.
Ri is allocated to the first and second frequency respectively the first and second communication channels, the mobile body, an extraction means for extracting a signal of a first or second frequency, the Control means for controlling the operation of the moving body based on the signal extracted by the extracting means, and switching means for switching the frequency of the signal to be extracted by the extracting means when the moving body passes through the transfer section. communication systems that have a,.