JP7238589B2 - Carrier management device and carrier management method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to technology for managing transport vehicles.

Conventionally, as a transport vehicle that automatically travels along a track, there is known a vehicle that has magnetic tapes or magnetic bars laid on the floor and travels while being guided by the magnetism emitted by them. Such a guided vehicle is widely used for unmanned transportation of raw materials, parts, finished products, etc. mainly at production sites.

Patent Literature 1 listed below discloses an example of an automatic guided vehicle. When an emergency circuit is activated in the event of a failure on the track, the automatic guided vehicle is capable of self-propelled driving by directly connecting the power supply battery and the traction motor, and the steering wheel can be operated to change the direction. is configured to be Therefore, when an automatic guided vehicle breaks down, it is possible to easily remove the automatic guided vehicle from the planned route, thereby avoiding an influence on the traveling of subsequent automatic guided vehicles.

JP-A-10-97320

By the way, when managing a plurality of transport vehicles running on the same track, in order to prevent each transport vehicle from stopping carelessly on the track, it is necessary to detect an abnormality in the transport vehicle before it fails. is preferably detectable. However, with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, an abnormality can be detected only after a guided vehicle, which is an unmanned guided vehicle, has failed, so it is difficult for the user to understand the process and signs leading up to the failure of the guided vehicle. .

Therefore, in the design of this type of transport vehicle management technology, there is a demand for a technology capable of grasping the state of the transport vehicle before a failure or the like occurs. Moreover, it is preferable that this technology can suppress an increase in introduction cost even if the number of transport vehicles introduced increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and is intended to realize a technique for grasping the operation states of a plurality of guided vehicles that automatically travel along a track at low cost.

One aspect of the present invention is
A guided vehicle management device for managing a plurality of guided vehicles that automatically travel along a track,
a reading unit provided at a position facing the track so as to be able to read identification information indicated by tags attached to each of the plurality of transport vehicles;
a measuring unit provided at a position facing the track so as to be able to measure an operating state of each of the plurality of transport vehicles during travel;
a tying unit that ties the identification information read by the reading unit and the operating state measured by the measurement unit to each other and outputs as tying information;
with
The reading unit and the measuring unit are shared by the plurality of transport vehicles,
The linking unit associates, as the operating state, the operating state continuously measured by the measuring unit in a time zone during which each of the plurality of carriers passes through the reading unit with the identification information. management device,
It is in.

Another aspect of the invention is
A guided vehicle management method for managing a plurality of guided vehicles that automatically travel along a track,
a reading step of reading identification information indicated by a tag attached to each of the plurality of transport vehicles using a reading unit disposed at a position facing the track;
a measuring step of measuring an operating state of each of the plurality of transport vehicles during travel using a measuring unit arranged at a position facing the track;
an associating step of associating the identification information read in the reading step and the operating state measured in the measuring step with each other and outputting as associating information;
has
The reading unit and the measuring unit are shared by the plurality of transport vehicles,
In the linking step, the operating state continuously measured by the measuring unit during a time period during which each of the plurality of guided vehicles passes the reading unit is linked to the identification information as the operating state. Management method,
It is in.

According to the transport vehicle management apparatus described above, the identification information indicated by the tag attached to each transport vehicle is read by the reading unit provided at a position facing the track. In addition, the operating state of each transport vehicle is measured by a measuring unit provided at a position facing the track. By linking the identification information and the operating state with each other by the linking unit, it is possible to clarify the correspondence relationship indicating which guided vehicle the measured operating state belongs to.

Further, according to the transport vehicle management method described above, in the reading step, the identification information indicated by the tag attached to each transport vehicle is read using the reading unit provided at a position facing the track. Also, in the measuring step, the operating state of each transport vehicle is measured using a measuring unit provided at a position facing the track. Then, in the linking step, by linking the identification information and the operating state with each other, it is possible to clarify the correspondence indicating which guided vehicle the measured operating state belongs to.

As described above, in each of the above modes, both the reading unit as the reader that executes the reading of the identification information and the measurement unit that executes the measurement of the operating state of each conveyance vehicle are provided in the conveyance vehicle. It is characterized in that a tag from which identification information is read is provided for each of the plurality of transport vehicles while the tag is shared for a plurality of transport vehicles. In this case, by attaching an inexpensive tag to each transport vehicle, it is possible to reduce the cost required for ascertaining the operating state of each transport vehicle in association with the identification information. In addition, even if the number of transport vehicles to be introduced increases, it is possible to deal with it simply by increasing the number of inexpensive tags.

As described above, according to each aspect described above, it is possible to realize, at low cost, a technique for grasping the operation states of a plurality of guided vehicles that automatically travel along a track.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a guided vehicle management apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining how identification information stored in a tag in FIG. 1 is read by a reading unit; The figure for demonstrating a time slot|zone operation state. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a guided vehicle management method according to the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of a guided vehicle management apparatus according to the second embodiment;

Preferred embodiments of the above aspects are described below.

The guided vehicle management device preferably includes a determination unit that determines the operation state of each of the plurality of guided vehicles based on the linking information output by the linking unit and outputs a determination result. preferable.

According to this guided vehicle management device, the user can grasp the process and signs leading up to the failure of each guided vehicle based on the determination result of the operation state of each guided vehicle determined by the determination unit. become.

It is preferable that the guided vehicle management apparatus includes a management server capable of communicating with the linking unit via a communication line, and the management server is provided with the determination unit.

According to this transport vehicle management apparatus, by providing the determination unit in the management server, it is possible to collectively manage the determination results of a plurality of transport vehicles in the management server.

In the transport vehicle management device, the linking unit performs the following operation for each of the plurality of transport vehicles, from a pre-passing point before the reference time when the transport vehicle passes the reading unit to a passing point after the reference time. It is preferable that the transit time period operating state continuously measured in the time period up to the later point in time be linked to the identification information as the operating state.

According to this guided vehicle management apparatus, by associating the identification information with the operating state of each guided vehicle, which indicates the change in the operating state of each guided vehicle over time, the reliability of the measurement of the operating state of each guided vehicle can be improved. becomes possible.

In the guided vehicle management device, the tag is a passive RF tag that rewritably stores the identification information, and the reading unit communicates with a tag-side antenna provided in the RF tag. The RF tag is driven by transmitting a signal from the transmission/reception antenna to the tag-side antenna, and the identification information stored in the RF tag is transmitted to the tag-side antenna and the transmission/reception antenna. preferably configured to receive via

According to this transport vehicle management device, by using a passive RF tag that does not contain a battery as a tag attached to each transport vehicle, the cost required for the tag can be kept low and the size of the tag can be reduced. can do.

In the above transport vehicle management apparatus, at least one of the reading unit and the measuring unit is embedded in a running surface that constitutes the track. A tag is preferably provided.

According to this transport vehicle management device, by embedding at least one of the reading unit and the measuring unit in the traveling surface, the number of parts used for installing the reading unit and the measuring unit can be reduced. As a result, the initial cost, operating cost, maintenance cost, etc. of the device can be kept low compared to when the reading unit and the measuring unit are installed indoors.

In the guided vehicle management apparatus, the measurement unit includes a vibration sensor that measures vibration of each of the plurality of guided vehicles as the operating state, and a surface temperature of each of the plurality of guided vehicles that measures the operating state. It is preferable to comprise at least one sensor selected from a temperature sensor and a sound sensor for measuring sound generated from each of the plurality of transport vehicles as the operating state.

According to this guided vehicle management device, by using at least one of a vibration sensor, a temperature sensor, and a sound sensor as a measurement unit, it is effective to grasp the process and signs leading up to the failure of each guided vehicle. vibration, surface temperature and sound can be measured.

The transport vehicle management method has a determination step of determining the operation state of each of the plurality of transport vehicles based on the linking information output in the linking step and outputting a determination result. preferable.

According to this transport vehicle management method, the user can grasp the process and signs leading up to the failure of each transport vehicle based on the determination result of the operation state of each transport vehicle determined in the determination step. become.

In the transport vehicle management method described above, the linking step includes, for each of the plurality of transport vehicles, from a pre-passing point before a reference time when the transport vehicle passes through the reading unit to a passing point after the reference time. It is preferable that the step of linking the operating state of the transit time period continuously measured in the time period up to the later time point with the identification information as the operating state.

According to this guided vehicle management method, the reliability of measurement of the operating state of each guided vehicle can be improved by linking the identification information with the operating state of each guided vehicle over time, which indicates the change in the operating state of each guided vehicle over time. becomes possible.

In the transport vehicle management method described above, the measuring step is a step of measuring the vibration and surface temperature of each of the plurality of transport vehicles as the operating state using a vibration sensor and a temperature sensor as the measuring unit. preferable.

According to this transport vehicle management method, by providing a vibration sensor and a temperature sensor in the measurement unit, it is possible to measure vibration and surface temperature effective for grasping the state and signs of failure of each transport vehicle. be possible.

A guided vehicle management apparatus and a guided vehicle management method according to the present embodiment, which are used to manage a plurality of guided vehicles, will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, a guided vehicle management apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as "management apparatus") 1 of Embodiment 1 includes a plurality of guided vehicles that automatically travel along a track R that is a preset travel route. 10 for managing or monitoring.

The trajectory R typically becomes a travel route determined by at least one of a straight line and a curved line. A guide means (not shown) such as a magnetic tape or a magnetic marker is laid on the running surface 2 that constitutes the track R so as to enable the unmanned automatic running of each transport vehicle 10 . For this reason, each guided vehicle 10 is called an "automatic guided vehicle", an "unmanned guided vehicle", or an "AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle)" that automatically travels on the track R.

In this embodiment, each transport vehicle 10 is a traction-type transport vehicle including a transport unit 11 equipped with a battery 12 as a drive source and a loading platform 14 connected to the transport unit 11 .

The conveying unit 11 is configured to travel on the travel surface 2 via driving wheels 13 driven by a battery 12 . A tag 20 is provided on a bottom portion 11 a of the transport portion 11 of each transport vehicle 10 , which is a portion facing the running surface 2 .

The tag 20 is an RF tag that rewritably stores identification information D1 for identifying each transport vehicle 10 from another transport vehicle 10, details of which will be described later. The tag 20 is also called an IC tag, wireless tag, or RFID (radio frequency identifier) tag, but is hereinafter referred to as an "RF tag" defined by JIS standards.

The loading platform 14 has a part on which parts can be mounted, and is configured to travel on the travel surface 2 via the travel wheels 15 by being pulled by the transport unit 11 . The running surface 2 may be a floor surface in a building such as a factory, or may be a floor surface provided higher than the floor surface.

It should be noted that the transport section 11 may also serve as the loading platform 14 by providing a portion that performs the same function as the loading platform 14 in the upper portion of the transporting section 11 . Further, all of the plurality of transport vehicles 10 may be tow-type transport vehicles, or the plurality of transport vehicles 10 may include transport vehicles other than the tow-type transport vehicles.

The management device 1 has a module 3 and a management server 60 . The module 3 is formed by integrating a reading section 30, a measuring section 40, and a control section 50. As shown in FIG. This module 3 is embedded in the running surface 2 forming the track R. As shown in FIG. One or more modules 3 can be embedded in one track R as required.

The reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40 that constitute the module 3 are both provided at embedded positions on the track R. As shown in FIG. This burying position is a position facing the track R and is a position that is not affected by the running of the transport vehicle 10 . As a result, the reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40 can be prevented from interfering with the travel of the transport vehicle 10, and there is no need to secure a space for installing the reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40 in the indoor space. .

Regarding the embedding of the module 3, the module 3 may be buried in a state exposed from the running surface 2, or the module 3 may be buried below the running surface 2 so that the module 3 cannot be seen from indoors. good too.

The reading unit 30 is configured to be able to read the identification information D1 indicated by the tag 20 attached to each carrier 10 in a non-contact state with respect to the tag 20 . The identification information D1 read by the reading section 30 is output to the control section 50 .

The reading unit 30 is preferably a reader/writer device having a function of writing the identification information D1 in addition to the function of reading the identification information D1. This allows the reader 30 to add or rewrite the identification information D1.

The identification information D1 includes at least one transport vehicle-related data I out of information such as the management number, model, load, load amount, dimensions, manufacturer name, introduction date (or registration date) of the transport vehicle 10. ing.

The measurement unit 40 is configured to be able to measure the operating state D2 of each transport vehicle 10 traveling along the track R. As shown in FIG. This measurement can also be called "sense" or "detection". The operating state D2 is continuously measured by the measurement unit 40 from the start of travel on the track R of each transport vehicle 10 to the end of travel. The operating state D2 measured by the measuring unit 40 is output to the control unit 50. FIG. This measurement unit 40 is composed of a vibration sensor 41 and a temperature sensor 42 .

The vibration sensor 41 functions to measure the vibration of each carrier 10 as the operating state D2. A known non-contact vibration sensor such as an eddy current displacement sensor, a capacitive displacement sensor, an ultrasonic displacement sensor, or a laser sensor can typically be used as the vibration sensor 41 .

The temperature sensor 42 functions to measure the surface temperature of each carrier 10 as the operating state D2. A known non-contact temperature sensor such as an infrared sensor can typically be used as this temperature sensor 42 .

The operating state D2 includes vibration data N including vibration level, displacement, velocity, and acceleration values of the transport vehicle 10 and information related to these values, surface temperature values of the transport vehicle 10, and their values. Temperature data T, which consists of related information, etc., is included.

The control unit 50 has a function of controlling each of the reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40 . To achieve this function, the control unit 50 has an input unit 51 , a data processing unit 52 , a storage unit 53 , an output unit 54 and a linking unit 55 . The control unit 50 is composed of a known computer having a CPU and the like, and executes data processing according to a program pre-stored in the storage unit 53 .

In the control unit 50 , the input unit 51 receives the identification information D<b>1 output from the reading unit 30 and the operating state D<b>2 output from the measurement unit 40 . The data processing unit 52 performs the process of extracting the time period operation state D2′, which is a part of the operation state D2, and then stores the identification information D1 and the time period in each of the storage unit 53 and the linking unit 55. Output the operating state D2'.

The associating unit 55 associates the identification information D1 read by the reading unit 30 with the time period operating state D2′ that is a part of the operating state D2 measured by the measuring unit 40 to generate the associating information D3. , and output to the storage unit 53 . The information stored in the storage unit 53 is transmitted to the management server 60 via the communication line 4 from the output unit 54 which is a communication unit.

The management server 60 is located at a remote location away from the modules 3 and is configured to be able to communicate with the controllers 50 of the plurality of modules 3 via the communication line 4 . At least one of a wireless line and a wired line can be used as the communication line 4 .

The management server 60 is provided with a communication section 61 , a determination section 62 and a storage section 63 . The management server 60 is composed of a known computer having a CPU and the like, and executes data processing according to a program pre-stored in the storage section 63 .

In the management server 60, the determination unit 62 determines the operation state of each guided vehicle 10 based on the linking information D3 received from the output unit 54 of the control unit 50 via the communication unit 61, and determines the determination result D4. to output The determination result D<b>4 of the determination unit 62 is stored in the database of the storage unit 63 .

Various information such as the determination result D4 of the determination unit 62 and the management index of the guided vehicle 10 derived from the determination result D4 are sent from the communication unit 61 of the management server 60 to the user terminal via the communication line 4 as necessary. preferably provided. The management server 60 that cooperates with the user terminal in this way can be called an "IoT server".

As the determination result D4, typically, inspection necessity data E indicating whether or not inspection of the transport vehicle 10 is necessary can be used. For example, the inspection necessity data E indicates that there is a need for inspection when at least one of the vibration information N and the temperature information T is close to the threshold of the information or exceeds the threshold. and the temperature information T do not change from the initial values, it indicates that there is no need for inspection.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tag 20 includes a tag-side antenna 21, a control circuit 22 electrically connected to the tag-side antenna 21, and a memory 23 electrically connected to the control circuit 22. have. The memory 23 stores the identification information D<b>1 of the carrier 10 . On the other hand, the reading unit 30 has a transmitting/receiving antenna 31 capable of communicating with the tag-side antenna 21 and a control circuit 32 electrically connected to this transmitting/receiving antenna 31 .

The tag 20 is an RF (radio frequency) tag that does not contain a battery, and is called a "passive RF tag". The tag side antenna 21 of the tag 20 receives a signal (radio wave or electromagnetic wave) transmitted from the transmitting/receiving antenna 31 by driving the control circuit 32 in the reading section 30 .

At this time, the rectifier circuit of the tag-side antenna 21 converts the signal into a direct current to generate electric power. By driving the control circuit 22 with this electric power, the identification information D1 stored in the memory 23 is returned from the tag-side antenna 21 to the transmitting/receiving antenna 31 of the reading section 30 . As a result, the identification information D1 read by the reading unit 30 is transmitted to the control unit 50 .

As shown in FIG. 3, when the time point at which the transport vehicle 10 passes the reading unit 30 is defined as a reference time tr, the passing time zone operating state D2′ is set from a pre-passing time ta before the reference time tr to a passing reference time ta. It is the operating state continuously measured in the time period tz after the passage of time tr until the time tb.

At this time, the time difference Δt1 between the reference time tr and the pre-passage time ta and the time difference Δt2 between the reference time tr and the post-passage time tb can be set to appropriate values. The time difference Δt1 and the time difference Δt2 may be the same value or different values. For example, either one of the time difference Δt1 and the time difference Δt2 can be set to "0".

By relatively increasing the two time differences .DELTA.t1 and .DELTA.t2 and lengthening the time period tz, the temporal range for measuring the operating state D2 of each transport vehicle 10 can be widened. It becomes possible to improve the reliability of the measurement for determining the sign of.

On the other hand, by relatively reducing the two time differences Δt1 and Δt2 to shorten the time zone tz, the temporal range for measuring the operating state D2 of each carrier 10 can be narrowed, and the information and the data capacity required for transmitting and receiving information between the control unit 50 and the management server 60 can be reduced.

Next, a guided vehicle management method (hereinafter simply referred to as "management method") according to the first embodiment, which is executed using the management apparatus 1 described above, will be described.

This management method is for managing a plurality of vehicles 10 that automatically travel along the track R, and the processes from the first step S101 to the sixth step S106 in FIG. 4 are sequentially executed for each vehicle 10. made possible by doing

One or a plurality of steps may be added to these steps, or a plurality of steps may be integrated as necessary. Also, the order of each step can be changed as needed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first step S101 is a preparatory step in which the controller 50 activates the reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40. As shown in FIG. According to the first step S101, the identification information D1 stored in the tag 20 can be read by the reading unit 30, and the operation state D2 of the guided vehicle 10 can be measured by the measuring unit 40.

A second step S102 is a reading step of reading the identification information D1 stored in the tag 20 . According to the second step S102, when the transport vehicle 10 passes above the reading unit 30, the identification information D1 of the tag 20 attached to the transport vehicle 10 is read using the reading unit 30. FIG.

A third step S<b>103 is a measurement step for measuring the operating state D<b>2 of the transport vehicle 10 . According to the third step S103, the measurement is continuously performed from the time when each guided vehicle 10 starts running on the track R to the time when it finishes running. Then, when the guided vehicle 10 passes above the measurement unit 40 , the substantial operating state D<b>2 of the guided vehicle 10 is measured using the measurement unit 40 . Vibration data N and temperature data T are included in the operating state D2 at this time. Therefore, according to the measurement result of the measurement unit 40, the change over time of the measured vibration data N and the temperature data T can be known.

A fourth step S104 is an extraction step for extracting the time period operation state D2' by the data processing unit 52 (see FIG. 1). According to the fourth step S104, only a portion of the operation state D2 before and after the reference time tr is extracted (see FIG. 3).

In a fifth step S105, the identification information D1 read by the reading unit 30 in the second step S102 and the time period operating state D2' extracted by the data processing unit 52 in the fourth step S104 are linked to each other to generate linked information. This is the linking step that outputs as D3. According to this fifth step S105, the linking information D3 can be obtained.

A sixth step S106 is a determination step for determining the operation state of each transport vehicle 10 and outputting the determination result. According to the sixth step S106, it is possible to obtain the determination result D4 regarding the operation state of each guided vehicle 10 based on the linking information D3 output in the fifth step S105.

According to the first embodiment described above, the following effects are obtained.

According to the management device 1 described above, the identification information D1 indicated by the tag 20 attached to each transport vehicle 10 is read by the reading unit 30 provided at a position facing the track R. FIG. Further, the operating state D2 of each transport vehicle 10 is measured by the measuring unit 40 provided at a position facing the track R. As shown in FIG. By linking the identification information D1 and the operating state D2 by the linking unit 55, it is possible to clarify the correspondence indicating which transport vehicle 10 the operating state D2 belongs to.

Further, according to the transport vehicle management method described above, in the second step S102, the identification information indicated by the tag 20 attached to each transport vehicle 10 is read using the reading unit 30 provided at a position facing the track R. Read D1. Further, in the third step S103, the operating state D2 of each transport vehicle 10 is measured using the measuring unit 40 provided at a position facing the track R. FIG. Then, in the fifth step S105, by linking the identification information D1 and the operation state D2 to each other, it is possible to clarify the correspondence indicating which carrier 10 the operation state D2 belongs to.

As described above, in the above-described first embodiment, the reading unit 30 as a reader that executes the reading of the identification information D1 and the measurement unit 40 that executes the measurement of the operation state D2 of each guided vehicle 10. The tag 20 on the side from which the identification information D1 is read is provided on each of the plurality of transport vehicles 10 while neither is provided on the transport vehicle 10 and is shared by the plurality of transport vehicles 10 . In this case, by attaching an inexpensive tag 20 to each transport vehicle 10, it is possible to reduce the cost required to ascertain the operating state D2 of each transport vehicle 10 in association with the identification information D1. Moreover, even if the number of transport vehicles 10 to be introduced increases, it is possible to deal with this by simply increasing the number of inexpensive tags 20 .

Therefore, according to the first embodiment described above, a technique for grasping the states of the plurality of guided vehicles 10 that automatically travel along the track R can be realized at low cost.

According to the above-described first embodiment, the reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40 are not affected by the operating environment such as vibration and temperature generated in the transport vehicle 10 compared to the case where the reading unit 30 and the measurement unit 40 are provided in the transport vehicle 10. Accurate information can be obtained by exerting the function of

According to the first embodiment described above, the user can determine the process of each transport vehicle 10 leading to failure based on the determination result determined by the determination unit 62 and the sixth step S106 regarding the operation state of each transport vehicle 10. and predictive signs can be detected. Further, by providing the determination unit 62 in the management server 60 , it becomes possible for the management server 60 to collectively manage the determination results of a plurality of transport vehicles 10 .

According to the above-described first embodiment, by associating the time zone operation state D2′ indicating the temporal change of the operation state D2 of each guided vehicle 10 with the identification information D1, the operation state D2 of each guided vehicle 10 can be determined. It becomes possible to improve the reliability of the measurement.

According to the first embodiment described above, by using a passive RF tag that does not contain a battery as the tag 20 attached to each transport vehicle 10, the cost required for the tag 20 can be kept low, and the tag 20 can be miniaturized.

According to the first embodiment described above, by embedding both the reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40 in the running surface 2, the number of parts used for installing the reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40 can be reduced. As a result, the initial cost, operation cost, maintenance cost, etc. of the device can be kept low compared to when the reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40 are installed indoors.

According to the first embodiment described above, by using the vibration sensor 41 and the temperature sensor 42 as the measurement unit 40, the vibration and surface temperature that are effective for grasping the process and signs leading up to failure of each transport vehicle 10 can be detected. measurement becomes possible.

Other embodiments related to the first embodiment described above will be described below with reference to the drawings. In other embodiments, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements as those of the first embodiment, and the description of the same elements will be omitted.

(Embodiment 2)
As shown in FIG. 5, the management device 101 of the second embodiment differs from the management device 1 of the first embodiment in that the management server 60 (see FIG. 1) is not provided.

In the management device 101, the control unit 150 that configures the module 3 has a determination unit 56 in addition to the elements that configure the control unit 50 of the first embodiment. The determination unit 56 determines the state of each guided vehicle 10 based on the tying information D3 obtained by the tying process in the tying unit 55, and stores the determination result D4 (inspection necessity data E) in the storage unit 53. Output for

In addition, in the control unit 150, the output unit 54 outputs data stored in the storage unit 53 to the terminal device 57 as necessary. The terminal device 57 preferably comprises at least one of a printer that outputs data by printing, a monitor or tablet that outputs data by display, and a speaker that outputs data by voice.

Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

According to the second embodiment, the control unit 150 can be used to individually manage each transport vehicle 10 at the installation site.

In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various applications and modifications are conceivable without departing from the object of the present invention. For example, it is also possible to implement the following forms that apply the above-described embodiments.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where both the reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40 are embedded in the running surface 2 was exemplified. Alternatively, at least one of the reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40 may It is also possible to adopt an embodiment in which it is positioned opposite the . In this case, the position facing the track R may be a position outside the upper space of the running surface 2 as long as it faces the running space facing the track R without interposing an obstacle. The position facing the trajectory R can also be called "the position facing the trajectory R".

For example, the reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40 can be arranged on a side wall installed on the side of the track R of the transport vehicle 10 having the tag 20 attached to the side. Further, the reading unit 30 and the measuring unit 40 can be arranged on the upper wall portion installed above the track R for the transport vehicle 10 having the tag 20 attached to the top.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where a passive RF tag is used as the tag 20 has been exemplified. A semi-active RF tag or the like that operates only when an external signal is detected can also be used. Also, optical information media such as bar codes and two-dimensional codes can be used instead of various RF tags.

In the above-described embodiment, an example of linking the overtime period operating state D2′, which is a part of the operating state D2 measured from the start of travel of each guided vehicle 10 to the end of travel, to the identification information D1 is illustrated. However, instead of this, the operating state D2 itself is linked to the identification information D1, or the operating state only at the time ta before the passage of each guided vehicle 10 is extracted from the operating state D2 and linked to the identification information D1. may

In the above-described embodiment, the vibration sensor 41 and the temperature sensor 42 of the measuring unit 40 are used to measure the vibration and surface temperature of each transport vehicle 10. However, instead of or in addition to the vibration sensor 41 and the temperature sensor 42, Other operating conditions of each vehicle 10 may be measured by using other sensors, cameras, or the like. Other operating states include, for example, the sound generated from the transport vehicle 10, the traveling posture and behavior of the transport vehicle 10, and the like.

The sound generated from the transport vehicle 10 can be measured by a sound sensor such as a microphone as an operating state of the transport vehicle 10 while the transport vehicle 10 is running. In this case, typically, an electrodynamic, electrostatic, piezoelectric, or other microphone can be used as the sound sensor.

In the above-described embodiment, the determination unit 62 of the management server 60 and the determination unit 56 of the control unit 150 are used to determine the state of each transport vehicle 10, but for example, only the linking information D3 is output. The determination unit 62 and the determination unit 56 may be omitted when it is sufficient.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where each transport vehicle 10 automatically travels on the track R was exemplified, but each transport vehicle 10 can move along the track R with the help of guide means or the like even if it deviates from the track R to some extent. Any structure that allows automatic travel is sufficient.

1, 101 guided vehicle management device (management device)
2 running surface 4 communication line 10 carrier 11a bottom (opposing part)
20 tags (RF tags)
30 reading unit 40 measuring unit 41 vibration sensor 42 temperature sensor 55 linking unit 56, 62 determining unit 60 management server D1 identification information D2 operating state D3 linking information R track S102 second step (reading step)
S103 Third step (measurement step)
S105 Fifth step (linking step)

Claims (6)

A guided vehicle management device for managing a plurality of guided vehicles that automatically travel along a track,
a reading unit provided at a position facing the track so as to be able to read identification information indicated by tags attached to each of the plurality of transport vehicles;
a measuring unit provided at a position facing the track so as to be able to measure an operating state of each of the plurality of transport vehicles during travel;
a tying unit that ties the identification information read by the reading unit and the operating state measured by the measurement unit to each other and outputs as tying information;
with
The reading unit and the measuring unit are shared by the plurality of transport vehicles,
The linking unit associates, as the operating state, the operating state continuously measured by the measuring unit in a time zone during which each of the plurality of carriers passes through the reading unit with the identification information. management device. 2. The transport vehicle management according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit that determines the operating state of each of the plurality of transport vehicles based on the linking information output by the linking unit and outputs a determination result. Device. 3. The guided vehicle management apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a management server communicable with said linking unit via a communication line, wherein said management server is provided with said determination unit. At least one of the reading unit and the measuring unit is embedded in a running surface that constitutes the track, and the tag is provided on a facing portion of each of the plurality of transport vehicles that faces the running surface. Item 4. The guided vehicle management device according to any one of Items 1 to 3. The measurement unit includes: a vibration sensor for measuring vibration of each of the plurality of transport vehicles as the operating state; a temperature sensor for measuring surface temperature of each of the plurality of transport vehicles as the operating state; The guided vehicle management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising at least one sensor of a sound sensor that measures sound generated from each vehicle as the operating state. A guided vehicle management method for managing a plurality of guided vehicles that automatically travel along a track,
a reading step of reading identification information indicated by a tag attached to each of the plurality of transport vehicles using a reading unit disposed at a position facing the track;
a measuring step of measuring an operating state of each of the plurality of transport vehicles during travel using a measuring unit arranged at a position facing the track;
an associating step of associating the identification information read in the reading step and the operating state measured in the measuring step with each other and outputting as associating information;
has
The reading unit and the measuring unit are shared by the plurality of transport vehicles,
In the linking step, the operating state continuously measured by the measuring unit during a time period during which each of the plurality of guided vehicles passes the reading unit is linked to the identification information as the operating state. Management method.

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