JP4905306B2 - Operation control method and apparatus for stacker crane in automatic warehouse - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation control method and apparatus for a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse.

As a conventional technique related to an operation control method and apparatus for a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse, for example, a travel distance data guarantee method and apparatus for a tracked carriage disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.
In this type of technology, a carriage moving on a track is operated between a plurality of stations provided along a predetermined traveling path, and the carriage is equipped with storage means and traveling distance detection means.
The position of each station is stored in the storage means as reference position data based on the origin of the travel path, and the stop control of the carriage is performed based on the data and the detection data of the travel distance detection means.

In this technique, the position of each station is stored in a non-volatile memory provided in the carriage as reference position data based on the origin of the travel path.
A controller that controls each part of the carriage controls the running motor to stop the carriage at a predetermined position based on the output signal of the running encoder and the reference position data.
The dolly is equipped with a power supply with a battery.
When a power failure occurs, power is supplied from the battery to the controller and the encoder for driving, and the mileage data during inertial driving is stored in the non-volatile memory. After inertial driving, the timer relay times out and power supply from the battery stops Is done.

Specifically, when a power failure occurs, power is not supplied to the AC / DC converter connected to the controller, and output is lost.
On the other hand, when a power failure occurs, the contact of the timer relay is closed and 24V direct current is supplied from the battery to the DC / DC converter, converted into the operating voltage of the CPU and interface by the DC / DC converter, and supplied to the controller and interface, respectively.
Therefore, the controller, both encoders, and each sensor can be operated while the contacts are closed even if a power failure occurs, and a pulse signal corresponding to the amount of movement of the carriage is output from each encoder when the carriage is coasting. At the same time, it is counted by a counter.
Based on the count value of the counter, the travel distance data and the lift position data are stored in a storage area provided in the nonvolatile memory in a state where the data is sequentially overwritten by the action of the CPU.
After the inertia traveling of the carriage is finished, the timer relay is timed up and the contact is opened, and the power supply from the battery is stopped.

When the power failure is restored and power is supplied to the power supply, the carriage starts operation again.
Even in the inertial running state at the time of a power failure, the traveling distance from the origin of the carriage is detected by the traveling encoder, and the value at the time of inertial traveling stop is stored in the nonvolatile memory.
Therefore, the CPU can confirm the exact position (travel distance from the origin) of the transport device and the like when the operation is resumed, and there is no problem even if the transport work is started immediately without performing the correction work as in the prior art.

As another conventional technique, there is a control method for an article processing machine disclosed in Patent Document 2.
In this technique, a position detector is provided in a stacker crane that travels along a three-dimensional shelf, and an absolute address dog indicating an absolute address and a fixed position dog for stopping the stacker crane are installed on the floor surface.
A passing signal is transmitted when the fixed position detector detects a fixed position dog by traveling of the stacker crane.
When the stacker crane is stopped at a fixed position and the fixed position detector is accurately opposed to the fixed position dog, an absolute address detection signal is transmitted from the absolute address detector provided in the stacker crane.
The absolute address of the destination stop position is stored in the second storage unit included in the module, and the absolute address of the current stop position is stored in the third storage unit.

When the stacker crane stops at the destination, the absolute address of the current stop position detected by the absolute address detector included in the stacker crane is stored in the third storage unit, and the value of the current stop position stored in the third storage unit, The absolute address value of the destination stop position stored in the second storage unit is compared.
If the two values match, the stacker crane performs the following different operations. If the two values are different, an error is displayed, and the absolute address of the destination stop position stored in the second storage unit is displayed. Erasing and moving the stacker crane to the loading site.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-1111716 (page 1-6, FIGS. 1 and 4) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-11409 (page 1-8, FIG. 3, FIG. 9)

However, in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, the traveling distance from the origin of the carriage is detected by the traveling encoder even in the inertial traveling state at the time of power failure, and the value at the time of inertial traveling stop is stored in the nonvolatile memory. However, it is not possible to determine the coincidence / disagreement between the stored current position of the cart at the time of inertial traveling stop and the current position when the power is turned on again.
For example, when a power-off trolley is intentionally moved from the stop position when the power is turned off for maintenance, the current power-off specified by the travel distance from the trolley origin detected by the travel encoder Since the current position at the time of power-on, which is the position of the carriage when the power is turned on, is different from the position, the value at the time of inertial traveling stop stored in the memory cannot be used.
In addition, this type of technology has power storage performance that is unrelated to the state of the power supply so that the mileage data at the time of coasting of the cart can be stored even if the power is turned off at the time of a power failure. It is necessary to provide a battery, and a blocking mechanism such as a contact for blocking power supply from the battery after using the battery is required.

  In the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 2, in the state where the stacker crane is operating normally, the stored destination stop position is merely compared with the detected current fixed position. The position of the stacker crane corresponding to this state cannot be verified.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to determine whether or not the current position of the stacker crane when the power is turned off and the current position when the power is turned on from this power off state. The present invention provides an operation control method and apparatus for a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a shelf having a plurality of storage shelves, a stacker crane that runs on a track laid along the shelf, and loads and unloads the storage shelves, A control means for controlling the operation of the stacker crane; and a distance measuring sensor for measuring an absolute distance from the predetermined position to the stacker crane, wherein the control means is based on the absolute distance measured by the distance sensor. An operation control method for a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse that obtains a current position of the stacker crane and controls the operation of the stacker crane based on the obtained current position of the stacker crane when the power of the stacker crane is on. Controls a battery that stores charge and gradually reduces the stored charge within a specified time when the power supply is switched from on to off. When the voltage of the control unit drops to a predetermined value along with the gradual decrease in the charge of the capacitor due to switching from the on state to the off state of the power source, the control unit recognizes the off state of the power source, The current position of the stacker crane is determined as the current position when the power is turned off from the time when the power-off state is recognized to the time when the control means stops functioning due to a voltage drop. The control means stores the current position of the stacker crane when the power supply in the off state is switched to the on state as the power on current position, and calls the stored power off current position from the control means. The current position at power-on and the current position at power-off are collated, and the current position at power-off and the current position at power-on are inconsistent. The stacker crane is moved to the origin position set on the track, and when the power-off current position coincides with the power-on current position, the stacker crane is not moved to the origin position of the stacker crane. .

  In the present invention, the present invention also includes a shelf having a plurality of storage shelves, a stacker crane that travels on a track laid along the shelves, and loads and unloads the storage shelves, and the stacker Control means for controlling the operation of the crane, and a distance measuring sensor for measuring an absolute distance from the predetermined position to the stacker crane, wherein the control means is based on the absolute distance measured by the distance measuring sensor. A stacker crane operation control device in an automatic warehouse that controls the operation of the stacker crane based on the obtained current position of the stacker crane, wherein the control means is in a state in which the power of the stacker crane is on The electric charge is stored at the time, and when the power source is switched from the on state to the off state, the stored charge gradually decreases within a predetermined time A control unit having a storage unit connected to the control unit, and the control unit is configured to reduce a voltage of the control unit in accordance with a gradual charge reduction of the capacitor due to switching of the power source from an on state to an off state. When it drops to a predetermined value, it recognizes the power-off state, and the current position of the stacker crane between the time when the power-off state is recognized and the time when the function of the control means is stopped due to the voltage drop is turned off. The current position of the stacker crane when the power source in the off state is switched to the on state is obtained as the current position at the time of power on, and the storage unit stores the obtained current position at the time of power off. When the power source in the off state is switched to the on state, the control unit recalls the stored current position at the time of power off and obtains the current position at the time of power on. The current position when the power is turned off and the current position when the power is turned off and the current position when the power is turned on, the stacker crane is moved to the origin position set on the track, The stacker crane is not moved to the origin position when the current position at power-off and the current position at power-on match.

According to this invention, when the power source of the stacker crane is in the on state, the battery stores the electric charge.
When the power source is switched from the on state to the off state, the electric charge stored in the capacitor gradually decreases within a predetermined time, and the voltage of the control means becomes predetermined as the charge of the capacitor is gradually decreased by switching the power source from the on state to the off state. When the value drops to the value, the control means recognizes the power off state.
From the moment when the power-off state is recognized to the time when the control means stops functioning due to a voltage drop, the current position of the stacker crane that is gradually decreasing in charge is based on the absolute distance measured by the distance sensor at this time. It is required as the current position.
The absolute distance refers to the absolute distance between the distance measuring sensor and the measurement target that is measured by the distance measuring sensor.
The obtained current position at the time of power-off is stored in the storage unit.
Thereafter, the current position of the stacker crane when the power supply in the off state is switched to the on state is obtained as the current position at the time of power on based on the absolute distance measured by the distance measuring sensor at this time.
Then, the stored current position at power-off is called up, and the obtained current position at power-on is compared with the called current position at power-off.
When the current position at power-off and the detected current position at power-on do not match, the control means moves the stacker crane toward the origin position set on the track.
When the current position when the power is turned off and the current position when the power is turned on, the control means does not move the stacker crane to the origin position and performs the next scheduled operation.
According to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not the current position of the stacker crane at the time of power-off and the current position at the time of power-on when the power in the off state is on are matched by collation.
It is possible to appropriately control the operation of the stacker crane according to the matching result of coincidence / mismatch between the current positions.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not the current position of the stacker crane when the power is turned off matches the current position when the power is turned on when the power is turned off.

Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a side view showing an outline of an automatic warehouse according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main part of a control system of the automatic warehouse, and FIG. FIG. 3B is a flowchart showing a voltage change in the control unit when switched to the OFF state, FIG. 3B is a flowchart for obtaining a current position when the stacker crane is turned off, and FIG. 4 is a current state when the control unit is turned on. It is a flowchart which shows the collation with a position and the present position at the time of power-off, and the instruction | command to a stacker crane based on a collation result.

As shown in FIG. 1, an automatic warehouse 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a shelf 11 having a plurality of storage shelves 12, a stacker crane 15 that reciprocates on a track, a conveyor 21 for loading and unloading, It has a ground control panel 22 that instructs the stacker crane 15 and a distance measuring mechanism that measures the distance of the stacker crane 15 on the track.
The shelf 11 has a row of storage shelves 12 in the vertical direction and the traveling direction of the stacker crane 15, and the storage shelf 12 has a space for accommodating the load W and a receiving portion (not shown) for receiving the load W. )).

The traveling rail 13 constitutes the track of the stacker crane 15 and is laid in a straight line along the opening of the storage shelf 12.
The travel rail 13 includes a stop position corresponding to each storage shelf 12, a loading / unloading position facing the conveyor 21, and an origin position for specifying the stop position of the stacker crane 15 corresponding to each storage shelf 12. A standby position (usually referred to as “home position”, not shown) in which the stacker crane 15 waits when there is no work such as loading and unloading is set.
The traveling rail 13 is provided with a dog 14 for recognizing the origin position of the stacker crane 15.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the loading / unloading position at which the load W can be delivered to the conveyor 21 and the origin position are made coincident with each other, but the origin position is a position that can be moved by the travel of the stacker crane 15. If so, it can be set freely.
For example, the stop position corresponding to the storage shelf 12 or the home position and the origin position may be matched.

The stacker crane 15 includes a traveling carriage 16 on which a mast 17 is erected, and a carriage 18 on which a load can be loaded is provided on the mast 17 so as to be movable up and down.
The traveling carriage 16 is provided with a carriage control panel 19 for controlling each part of the stacker crane 15 and a drive motor for traveling the carriage and raising and lowering the carriage.
The carriage 18 is provided with a fork (not shown) that advances and retreats with respect to the storage shelf 12, and enables delivery of the load W to the storage shelf 12.
The traveling carriage 16 is provided with a dog sensor 20 for detecting the dog 14 provided on the traveling rail 13.
When the dog sensor 20 detects the dog 14 of the traveling rail 13, it is recognized that the stacker crane 15 is located at the origin position.

The conveyor 21 of this embodiment is installed at a position next to the shelf 11 and facing the traveling rail 13.
The conveyor 21 is a conveyor for transporting the load W to be stored to the stacker crane 15 side and also transporting the load W to be unloaded to the exit port.
In this embodiment, the conveyor 21 for loading / unloading is used, but a conveyor for loading and unloading may be provided.

The distance measuring mechanism mainly includes a distance measuring sensor 31 provided on the traveling carriage of the stacker crane 15 and a reflector 32 provided at a predetermined position on the ground side.
The distance measuring sensor 31 is an optical distance measuring sensor, and has an input unit for inputting the laser beam reflected by the reflector 32 in addition to an output unit for outputting the laser beam.
The distance measuring sensor 31 has a function of measuring the absolute distance between the distance measuring sensor 31 and the reflector 32.
The absolute distance refers to the absolute distance between the distance measuring sensor 32 and the reflector 32 to be measured by the distance measuring sensor 32. The absolute distance is, for example, a stacker using an encoder or the like. It is distinguished from the relative distance (referred to as “relative distance”) obtained by measuring the difference between the planned stop position of the crane and the current position during movement.
The reflector 32 is installed in front of the stacker crane 15 (on the right side in FIG. 1) so as to maintain a relationship facing the light source of the distance measuring sensor.

The distance measuring mechanism always measures the distance between the distance measuring sensor 31 and the reflector 32 while the automatic warehouse 10 is in operation.
The absolute distance data measured by the distance measuring mechanism is data for obtaining the current position of the stacker crane 15, and this data can be transferred to the ground control panel 22 via the cart control panel 19.
In this embodiment, the distance measuring sensor 31 measures the absolute distance from the reflector 32 when the power source is switched from the on state to the off state, and also the reflector 32 when the power source is switched from the off state to the on state. Measure the absolute distance from.

  When the absolute distance between the distance measuring sensor 31 and the reflector 32 when the stacker crane 15 is located at the origin position is defined as a reference distance, the origin position stored in the ground control panel 22 and the stop position corresponding to each storage shelf 12 are reached. The distance measuring mechanism in the traveling stacker crane 15 measures the distance between the distance measuring sensor 31 and the reflector 32, and the stacker crane 15 to the stop position corresponding to the target storage shelf 12 is referred to. Is stopped.

The ground control panel 22 as a control means is installed on the ground separately from the stacker crane 15 and the rack body 11.
As shown in FIG. 2, the ground control panel 22 processes an input unit 23 such as a keyboard, a display unit 24 such as a display that displays various information, a storage unit 25 that stores programs and data, and data. A control unit 26 is included.
In this embodiment, the ground control panel 22 has functions of holding position information of each storage shelf 12, managing the inventory of the load W, and instructing loading / unloading work to / from the stacker crane 15, and a stacker by operating a distance measuring mechanism. A function of controlling the distance measuring mechanism for correcting the origin position of the crane 15 is provided.
A power-on switch (not shown) provided in the ground control panel 22 enables the entire automatic warehouse 10 to operate.
The ground control panel 22 and the cart control panel 19 of the stacker crane 15 are connected to each other via wireless communication means (not shown).

The storage unit 25 has a function of storing and holding the current position of the stacker crane 15 at the time of measurement specified by the measurement of the distance measuring sensor 31.
The electric circuit in the control unit 26 includes a capacitor (also referred to as a “capacitor”) 26 a that is a capacitor.
The capacitor 26a accumulates electric charge when the power of the stacker crane 15 is on, and gradually reduces the accumulated electric charge within a predetermined time (for example, about 0.2 seconds) when the power is switched from on to off. It has a function to make it.
The voltage (for example, 24V) in the control unit 26 is set such that the voltage drops corresponding to the gradual decrease in the charge of the capacitor 26a and finally becomes 0V.
That is, although the capacitor 26a has a function of storing electricity, the storage state changes according to the power supply state of the stacker crane 15, and the function is different from a battery (storage battery) that can maintain the storage state regardless of the power supply state. ing.

Using the capacitor 26a to drop the voltage within a predetermined time makes it easier for the control unit 26 to recognize that the power supply is in the off state, and the stacker crane 15 at the time when the off state is recognized. This is convenient for obtaining the current position based on the absolute distance measured as the current position when the power is turned off.
The graph shown in FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a change in voltage in the control unit 26 when the state is switched to the OFF state.

In this embodiment, when the power-on switch is changed from the on state to the off state, and the voltage in the control unit 26 drops corresponding to the gradual decrease in the electric charge and drops to a predetermined value, the distance measuring sensor 31 is connected to the reflector 32. Measure absolute distance.
The current position of the stacker crane 15 at the time of measurement is obtained as the current position when the power is turned off based on the measured absolute distance, and the obtained current position when the power is turned off is stored in the storage unit 25 as the current position data of the stacker crane 15. Is done.
That is, the current position of the stacker crane 15 where the charge is gradually decreasing is detected as the current position when the power is off by the distance measuring sensor 31 while the charge of the capacitor 26a is gradually decreasing due to switching from the power-on state to the off-state. It can also be said that the current position is stored in the storage unit 25.
In FIG. 3A, the distance measuring sensor 31 measures the absolute distance from the reflector 32 within a predetermined time t as a predetermined range after the power-off state is confirmed.
The predetermined time t is a range (time) in which the current position can be obtained and stored when the power is off.
More specifically, the predetermined time t is the absolute distance to the reflector 32 measured by the distance measuring sensor 31, the current position at power-off based on the measured absolute distance is obtained, and the power source obtained from the storage unit 25. It is a time that can memorize the current position when off

By the way, in addition to the function described above, the control unit 26 switches the power source of the stacker crane 15 from the off state to the on state, and the current position of the stacker crane 15 at the time of power on is measured by the distance measuring sensor 31. It is obtained as the current position when the power is turned on based on the distance.
The current position when the power is turned on is handled in the ground control panel 22 as current position data of the stacker crane 15.
When the power-on current position is obtained, the stored power-off current position is recalled, and the obtained power-on current position is compared with the called power-off current position.
Further, the control unit 26 moves the stacker crane 15 to the origin position when the current position at power-off and the current position at power-on determined do not match, and conversely, the current position at power-off and the current position at power-on. Has a function of giving the stacker crane 15 a command not to move the stacker crane 15 to the origin position.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the collation between the current position when the power is turned on and the current position when the power is turned off by the control unit 26 and the command to the stacker crane based on the collation result.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, as an operation control device (hereinafter simply referred to as “operation control device”) of a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse, a shelf body 11 having a plurality of storage shelves 12, and along the shelf body 11. A stacker crane 15 that travels on the laid track, loads and unloads the load W with respect to the storage shelf 12, and a distance measuring sensor 31 that measures an absolute distance from the reflector 32 that defines a predetermined position to the stacker crane 15. The ground control panel 22 as a control means for controlling the operation of the stacker crane 15. The ground control panel 22 includes a control unit 26 having a capacitor 26 a and a storage unit 25 connected to the control unit 26.

Next, the operation of the operation control device will be described.
When the stacker crane 15 in the operation state is stopped at the position at the end of the work, the case where the power of the stacker crane 15 is switched from the on state to the off state because maintenance is necessary and the power is switched on again after the maintenance inspection will be described. .

When the power of the stacker crane 15 stopped at the position at the end of work is switched to the off state, the charge of the capacitor 26a in the control unit 26 is gradually reduced.
When the voltage of the control unit 26 decreases corresponding to the gradual decrease of the charge of the capacitor 26a and reaches a voltage equal to or lower than a predetermined value, the control unit 26 recognizes the power-off state.
When the control unit 26 recognizes the power-off state, the control unit 26 transmits a command for measuring the absolute distance to the reflector 32 by the distance measuring sensor 31 to the cart control panel 19.
The cart control panel 19 receives an instruction from the ground control panel 22 and measures the absolute distance to the reflector 32 by the distance measuring sensor 31.
Based on the measured absolute distance, the current position of the stacker crane 15 is obtained as the current position when the power is turned off, and the current position when the power is turned off is stored in the storage unit 25 in the ground control panel 22.
Thereafter, the voltage of the control unit 26 becomes 0V, and the automatic warehouse 10 becomes in a state where it cannot be operated completely.

As the maintenance inspection work, the brake is released for inspection of the stacker crane 15 and the operator pushes the stacker crane 15 by hand to move it from the position at the end of the work, or the stacker crane 15 is moved to the end of the work. There is a case where an operation of exchanging the distance measuring sensor 31 or the reflector 32 without moving from the position is performed.
Here, the case where the stacker crane 15 is moved from the position at the end of the work for inspection will be described.
When the stacker crane 15 whose power is turned off is moved from the position at the end of the work by the operator's hand, the current position at the time of the power off held in the storage unit 25 and the current position of the stacker crane 15 after the hand movement is moved. Is different.

After the maintenance inspection, when the power is turned on with the stacker crane 15 in the position after the manual movement, the distance measuring sensor 31 measures the absolute distance to the reflector 32, and the control unit 26 measures the distance. Based on the absolute distance, the current position of the stacker crane 15 when the power is turned on is obtained as the current position when the power is turned on.
The stored power-off current position is called, and the obtained power-on current position is compared with the called power-off current position.
In this case, the control unit 26 recognizes that the current position at power-off and the current position at power-on are inconsistent.
When the current positions do not match, the ground control panel 22 transmits a command to move the stacker crane 15 to the origin position set in the dog 14 to the cart control panel 19.
The cart control panel 19 that has received the command causes the stacker crane 15 to travel toward the origin position, and when the dog sensor 20 recognizes the dog 14, the ground control panel 22 recognizes that the stacker crane 15 is located at the origin position. The
The origin position of the stacker crane 15 is corrected by the distance measuring mechanism at the origin position.

On the other hand, when the stacker crane 15 is not moved from the position at the end of the work at the time of maintenance inspection, the ground control panel 22 is turned off and turned on when the power is turned off. Recognize that the positions match.
If the two current positions match, the ground control panel 22 does not issue a command to move the stacker crane 15 to the origin position, and issues a command for the next operation of the stacker crane 15 (for example, travel related to loading / unloading). This is transmitted to the cart control panel 19.
The cart control panel 19 operates the stacker crane 15 based on this command.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the capacitor is included in the electric circuit of the control unit 26, when the power source of the stacker crane 15 is switched from the on state to the off state, the electric charge stored in the capacitor 26a gradually decreases within a predetermined time. For this reason, using the capacitor 26a to drop the voltage within a predetermined time makes it easier for the ground control panel 22 to recognize that the power supply is in the off state. In particular, in the process in which the voltage of the control unit 26 drops corresponding to the gradual decrease in the charge of the capacitor 26a, the current position when the power is turned off can be obtained based on the absolute distance measured by the distance measuring sensor 31, so the power on switch is turned off. No special operation is required for the operation from the detection of the current position when the power is turned off to the storage in the storage unit 25 just by turning the power on.

(2) After the detected current position at power-off is stored in the storage unit 25 provided in the ground control panel 22, the power is turned on by the distance measuring sensor 31 when the power of the stacker crane 15 is switched from the off state to the on state. The current position of the stacker crane 15 at the time is detected as the current position when the power is turned on. The stored power-off current position is called up, and the detected power-on current position can be compared with the called power-off current position.

(3) The operation of the stacker crane 15 can be made different between the detected current position at power-on and the called current position at power-off according to the collation result. When the current position at power-off and the detected current position at power-on do not match, the stacker crane 15 travels toward the origin position. When the current position at power-off matches the current position at power-on, the stacker crane 15 Does not travel to the origin position, but performs the next scheduled operation.

In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, A various change is possible within the range of the meaning of invention, For example, you may change as follows.
In the above embodiment, the origin position is one, but this does not prevent the setting of a plurality of origin positions, and a plurality of dogs may be provided on the traveling rail to provide a plurality of origin positions. In this case, the absolute distance between the distance measuring sensor and the reflector at each origin position needs to be stored in advance on the ground control panel or the like.

In the above embodiment, a capacitor is used as a capacitor. However, when the power source is switched from an on state to an off state, the capacitor has a property that the charge accumulated in a predetermined time gradually decreases, and the predetermined time is a second. Refers to a relatively short time of less than a unit. Accordingly, a storage battery (battery) whose voltage gradually decreases due to a long-time discharge compared to the charge gradually decreasing time of the capacitor regardless of the state of the power supply is excluded from the capacitor.
In the above embodiment, an example in which the control means is a ground control panel has been described, but the control means is not necessarily limited to the ground control panel. For example, when a control panel corresponding to the ground control panel is mounted on the stacker crane together with the cart control panel, this control panel may be used as a control means, or when the function of the ground control panel is included in the cart control panel. May use a cart control panel as a control means.

In the above embodiment, the case where the current position at power-off and the current position at power-on is different because the stacker crane is moved from the stop position at the end of work when the power is off for maintenance inspection has been described. Needless to say, the present invention is applied to the case where the current position at the time of power-off and the current position at the time of power-on are different due to the replacement of the distance measuring sensor or the reflector, or the case of a power failure.
In the above embodiment, the distance measuring mechanism is configured by the distance measuring sensor mounted on the stacker crane and the reflector installed at a predetermined position on the ground side. For example, the distance measuring sensor is provided at a predetermined position on the ground. It may be installed and a reflector may be mounted on the stacker crane.

It is a side view which shows the outline | summary of the automatic warehouse which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part of the control system of the automatic warehouse which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) is a graph which shows the voltage change in a control part when the power supply of a stacker crane is switched to an OFF state, (b) is a flowchart which calculates | requires the present position at the time of the power-off of a stacker crane. It is a flowchart which shows the instruction | indication to the stacker crane based on collation with the current position at the time of power-on and the current position at the time of power-off by a control part, and a collation result.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Automatic warehouse system 11 Shelf body 12 Storage shelf 13 Travel rail 14 Dog 15 Stacker crane 16 Travel cart 17 Mast 18 Carriage 19 Cart control panel 20 Dog sensor 21 Conveyor 22 Ground control panel (as control means)
25 Storage Unit 26 Control Unit 26a Capacitor (as a battery)
31 Distance sensor 32 Reflector t Range where current position can be obtained and stored when power is off

Claims (2)

A shelf having a plurality of storage shelves, a stacker crane that runs on a track laid along the shelf, loads and unloads the storage shelves, control means for controlling the operation of the stacker crane, and a predetermined unit A distance measuring sensor that measures an absolute distance from the position to the stacker crane, and the control means obtains the current position of the stacker crane based on the absolute distance measured by the distance sensor. An operation control method for a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse that controls the operation of the stacker crane based on the current position of the stacker crane,
Charge is stored when the power of the stacker crane is in an on state, and when the power source is switched from an on state to an off state, a capacitor is provided in the control means in which the stored charge gradually decreases within a predetermined time,
When the voltage of the control unit drops to a predetermined value along with the gradual decrease in the charge of the battery due to switching from the on state to the off state of the power source, the control unit recognizes the off state of the power source,
The current position of the stacker crane is determined as the current position when the power is turned off from the time when the power-off state is recognized to the time when the control means stops functioning due to a voltage drop. Memorize it in the control means,
Obtain the current position of the stacker crane when the power supply in the off state is switched to the on state as the current position when the power is on,
The stored power-off current position is called from the control means, and the power-on current position and the power-off current position are collated.
When the power-off current position and the power-on current position do not match, move the stacker crane to the origin position set on the track,
The operation control method of the stacker crane in an automatic warehouse, wherein the stacker crane is not moved to the origin position when the current position at power-off and the current position at power-on match. A shelf having a plurality of storage shelves, a stacker crane that runs on a track laid along the shelf, loads and unloads the storage shelves, control means for controlling the operation of the stacker crane, and a predetermined unit A distance measuring sensor for measuring an absolute distance from the position to the stacker crane, and the control means obtains the current position of the stacker crane based on the absolute distance measured by the distance measuring sensor, An operation control device for a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse that controls the operation of the stacker crane based on the current position of the stacker crane,
The control means stores a charge when the power supply of the stacker crane is in an on state, and has a capacitor that gradually reduces the stored charge within a predetermined time when the power source is switched from an on state to an off state; And a storage unit connected to the control unit,
The control unit recognizes the off state of the power supply when the voltage of the control unit drops to a predetermined value along with the gradual decrease of the charge of the capacitor due to the switching from the on state to the off state of the power source,
In addition to obtaining the current position of the stacker crane between the time when the power-off state is recognized and the time when the control means stops functioning due to a voltage drop, the power position in the off state is turned on. Obtain the current position of the stacker crane at the time of switching as the current position when the power is turned on,
The storage unit stores the obtained current position when the power is turned off,
When the power source in the off state is switched to the on state, the control unit calls the stored current position at the time of power off, and compares the obtained current position at the time of power on with the current position at the time of power off. ,
When the current position at power-off and the current position at power-on determined do not match, the stacker crane is moved to the origin position set on the track, and the current position at power-off and the current position at power-on are An operation control device for a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse, wherein the stacker crane is not moved to the origin position when they coincide.

Images