JP7327442B2 - running car - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a traveling vehicle, and more particularly to a traveling vehicle used in a traveling vehicle system in which a plurality of traveling vehicles travel on the same track.

A track-guided vehicle system has a track having straight lines, curves, branches, and confluences, and a plurality of traveling cars that run on the track.
A traveling vehicle system has various collision prevention means in order to prevent collisions between traveling vehicles. As an example of collision prevention means, a vehicle-to-vehicle distance sensor is provided on the front side of the traveling vehicle to detect the distance to the preceding vehicle. In this case, when the inter-vehicle distance becomes less than the threshold, the following vehicle decelerates or stops (see Patent Document 1).

WO2013/179802

The inter-vehicle distance sensor described in Patent Document 1 has two types of distance sensors (straight inter-vehicle sensor and curved inter-vehicle sensor).
The inter-vehicle distance sensor may fail due to aged deterioration or the like. For example, when a traveling vehicle travels on a curve with a curve inter-vehicle sensor malfunctioning, the preceding traveling vehicle cannot be detected, and as a result, the following traveling vehicle collides with the preceding traveling vehicle. Therefore, it is necessary for a coordinator to periodically check the state of the inter-vehicle distance sensor one by one. However, in a traveling vehicle system in which many traveling vehicles are traveling, it takes time for a coordinator to check the state of the inter-vehicle distance sensor one by one.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to automatically detect a failure of a vehicle distance sensor in a vehicle used in a vehicle system.

A plurality of aspects will be described below as means for solving the problem. These aspects can be arbitrarily combined as needed.

A traveling vehicle according to one aspect of the present invention is used in a traveling vehicle system having a plurality of traveling vehicles traveling on the same track.
The traveling vehicle includes a main body, a traveling section, a straight line distance sensor, a curve distance sensor, a driving control section, and an abnormality detection section.
The traveling part is provided on the main body.
The straight inter-vehicle sensor is provided in the main body and detects the distance to another preceding traveling vehicle when the traveling vehicle travels in a straight section.
The curve inter-vehicle sensor is provided in the main body, and detects the distance to another preceding traveling vehicle when the traveling vehicle travels in a curved section and a straight section.
The travel control unit controls the travel unit based on the distance detected by the straight inter-vehicle sensor and/or the detected distance by the curve inter-vehicle sensor.
The abnormality detection unit determines whether there is an abnormality in one of the straight line distance sensor and the curve line distance sensor based on the detected distance of the straight line distance sensor and the curve line distance sensor when the main body travels in a straight section.

In this running vehicle, failure of the inter-vehicle sensor is automatically detected based on the distances detected by the two types of inter-vehicle sensors.

The abnormality detection unit may determine that one of the straight line distance sensor and the curve line distance sensor has an abnormality when the difference between the detected distance of the straight line distance sensor and the curve line distance sensor is equal to or greater than a threshold value.
In this running vehicle, failure of the inter-vehicle sensor is automatically detected based on the distances detected by the two types of inter-vehicle sensors.

The traveling vehicle may further include a threshold setting unit capable of changing the threshold.
In this running vehicle, the threshold can be changed in consideration of various conditions.

If one of the straight line distance sensor and the curve line distance sensor detects a preceding vehicle and the other does not detect a preceding line, the abnormality detection unit determines that one of the straight line distance sensor and the curve line distance sensor has an abnormality. may
In this running vehicle, failure of the inter-vehicle sensor is automatically detected based on the distances detected by the two types of inter-vehicle sensors.

The traveling vehicle may further include an abnormality processing section that, when the abnormality detection section detects an abnormality, performs abnormality processing to prompt a response to the abnormality.
In this running vehicle, when there is an abnormality in either the straight line distance sensor or the curved line distance sensor, an abnormality process is immediately executed to prompt a response to the abnormality.

The track may have, as part of the section in which the traveling vehicle normally travels, a linear abnormality determination section in which the abnormality detection unit determines whether there is an abnormality.
In this running vehicle, since the abnormality detection unit determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the linear abnormality determination section, the abnormality detection can be performed during normal operation of the vehicle. There is no

In the vehicle according to the present invention, failure of the inter-vehicle distance sensor is automatically detected.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the layout of the guided vehicle system to which the first embodiment is applied; FIG. 2 is a control block diagram showing the control configuration of the transport vehicle system; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a transport vehicle that travels in a straight section of a rail; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a transport vehicle that travels in a curved section of a rail; 4 is a flow chart showing a control operation for detecting an abnormality in the inter-vehicle distance sensor by the controller;

1. First Embodiment (1) Transport Vehicle System A transport vehicle system 1 (an example of a traveling vehicle system) will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the layout of a carrier system to which the first embodiment is applied.
In the transport vehicle system 1, a transport vehicle 3 (an example of a traveling vehicle) according to the first embodiment is a track-guided vehicle that travels on the ceiling or on the ground.

The transport vehicle system 1 has rails 5 as tracks. The rail 5 has, for example, an interbay route 5A, an intrabayroute 5B, a shortcut 5C, and a shortcut 5D of a semiconductor factory.
A large number of transport vehicles 3 are provided, and run on the inter-beyroute 5A and the intra-beyroute 5B, and more specifically, run around in one direction. The inter-beirut 5A and the intra-beirut 5B are provided with straight sections, curved sections, branching sections, and merging sections.

(2) Configuration of Transport Vehicle The transport vehicle 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. FIG. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram showing the control configuration of the carrier system. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a transport vehicle traveling in a straight section of a rail. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a transport vehicle traveling in a curved section of a rail.
The transport vehicle 3 has a main body 15 (FIG. 3) and a running section 17 (FIG. 2). The running portion 17 is provided on the main body 15 . The traveling unit 17 is a known technology including a motor, a reduction gear, wheels, and the like. Further, a transfer section 19 (FIG. 2) is mounted on the main body 15 . The transfer section 19 is a known device that transfers articles to, for example, a load port of a semiconductor processing apparatus or a temporary storage section.

(3) Inter-Vehicle Sensor The guided vehicle 3 has a straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 and a curved inter-vehicle sensor 23, as shown in FIGS. The straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 and the curved inter-vehicle sensor 23 are sensors for forward monitoring, and monitor obstacles such as the transport vehicle 3 leading ahead.
The straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 is provided in the front portion of the main body 15 . The curve inter-vehicle sensor 23 is provided in the front portion of the main body 15 . In this embodiment, the curved vehicle distance sensor 23 is provided on the right side of the front portion of the main body 15, but may be provided at any position.

Specifically, the straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 and the curved inter-vehicle sensor 23 are laser distance sensors and have a light-emitting element that emits laser light and a light-receiving element that receives reflected laser light.
The straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 has one set of a light emitting element and a light receiving element. The straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 irradiates the laser light in parallel with the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 3 .

The curve-vehicle distance sensor 23 has a plurality of sets of light emitting elements and light receiving elements, and is adapted to radially irradiate laser light. Note that one of the plurality of laser beams is irradiated in parallel with the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 3 . The curve inter-vehicle sensor 23 outputs the shortest of the plurality of detected distances as the final detected distance.
The straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 and the curved inter-vehicle sensor 23 output the detected distance to the obstacle to the distance determination unit 55 (described later).

(4) Control Configuration of Traveling Vehicle The control configuration of the transport vehicle system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
The carrier system 1 has a carrier controller 7 . The transport vehicle controller 7 controls the traveling of a large number of transport vehicles 3 (only one is shown in FIG. 2), for example, by wireless communication. Specifically, the transport vehicle controller 7 assigns a transport command to the transport vehicle 3 and causes the transport vehicle 3 to travel along the rails 5 .

The carrier 3 has a controller 51 .
The controller 51 is a computer having a processor (eg, CPU), a storage device (eg, ROM, RAM, HDD, SSD, etc.), and various interfaces (eg, A/D converter, D/A converter, communication interface, etc.). System. The controller 51 performs various control operations by executing programs stored in a storage unit (corresponding to part or all of the storage area of the storage device).

The controller 51 may be composed of a single processor, or may be composed of a plurality of independent processors for each control.
A part or all of the function of each element of the controller 51 may be realized as a program executable by a computer system that constitutes the controller. In addition, part of the function of each element of the controller 51 may be configured by a custom IC.

The controller 51 has a traveling control section 53, a distance determination section 55, an abnormality detection section 57, and an abnormality processing section 59 as the functions described above.
The travel control unit 53 controls the travel unit 17 to start, stop, accelerate, and decelerate the main body 15 .

A distance (interference) determination unit 55 determines the inter-vehicle distance based on the distances detected by the straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 and the curved inter-vehicle sensor 23 . Specifically, when traveling in a straight section as shown in FIG. Adopted as inter-vehicle distance. Although a plurality of laser beams are emitted radially from the curve inter-vehicle sensor 23, only one beam is shown in FIG.
Further, the distance determination unit 55 determines the inter-vehicle distance using the distance detected by the curve inter-vehicle sensor 23 when the vehicle is traveling in a curved section as shown in FIG.

The travel control unit 53 controls the travel unit 17 so as to avoid interference with the preceding transport vehicle 3 based on the determination result. As a result, when an obstacle such as the preceding transport vehicle 3 is detected by the sensor 21 between vehicles in a straight line and the sensor 23 between vehicles in a curved line, the transport vehicle 3 regulates its speed according to the distance from the obstacle, and stops within the stopping distance, for example. , slow down within the speed limit. In addition, between the creeping distance and the safe distance, a speed limit is imposed according to the distance to the obstacle.

The abnormality detection unit 57 detects the distance detected by the straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 and the curve inter-vehicle sensor 23 when the main body 15 travels in a linear abnormality determination section 45 (an example of a linear abnormality determination section, see FIG. 1). Based on the detected distance, it is determined whether or not one of the straight line distance sensor 21 and the curved line distance sensor 23 is abnormal. The abnormality determination section 45 is part of a straight section, as shown in FIG. One or a plurality of abnormality determination sections 45 can be set in the normal transportation area on the rail 5 .

Based on the detected distances of the straight line distance sensor 21 and the curved line distance sensor 23 as described above, the failure of one of them is automatically detected. Specifically, when the difference between the distance detected by the sensor 21 on the straight line and the distance detected by the sensor 23 on the curve is greater than or equal to a threshold value, the abnormality detection unit 57 determines that one of the sensor 21 on the curve and the sensor 23 on the curve is abnormal. to decide. The threshold is stored in the storage section of the controller 51 .
As described above, the abnormality detection section 45 is set in the normal running area of the rail 5 as a section for the abnormality detection section 57 to determine whether or not there is an abnormality in the straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 and the curved inter-vehicle sensor 23. Therefore, the abnormality detection is conveyed. This can be done during normal operation of the vehicle 3, so there is no need to stop the transport vehicle 3 for fault detection.

The abnormality processing unit 59 performs abnormality processing when the abnormality detection unit 57 detects an abnormality. Specifically, when the abnormal state continues for 0.3 seconds, the abnormality processing unit 59 causes the notification device 67 to issue an alarm. Alarms are sounds, lights, or other signals. When the alarm is issued and the abnormal state continues for one second, the abnormality processing unit 59 causes the travel control unit 53 to stop the main body 15 . After that, the worker manually transports the carrier 3 to the maintenance area.
As a modification of the error handling, the transport vehicle 3 may be automatically withdrawn to the maintenance area.

A map 63 is stored in the storage unit of the controller 51 . The map 63 includes information such as the layout of the rail 5, the arrangement of branching and merging sections, and the speed limit at each section. The controller 51 refers to the map 63 to determine whether the current position of the transport vehicle 3 is a straight section (including the abnormality determination section 45), a curved section, a branch section, a section including curves such as a junction section. demand. Note that the controller 51 monitors the number of rotations of the wheels and the like by an encoder (not shown) to recognize the current position.

An input device 65 (an example of a threshold setting unit) is connected to the controller 51 . The operator can use the input device 65 to change the threshold used by the abnormality detection section 57 . Therefore, the threshold can be changed in consideration of various conditions. The threshold is, for example, 300-700 mm.

(5) Abnormality Detection Control Operation A control operation for detecting an abnormality in the inter-vehicle distance sensor by the controller 51 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5. FIG. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a control operation for detecting an abnormality in the inter-vehicle distance sensor by the controller.
The control flow chart described below is an example, and each step can be omitted or replaced as needed. Also, a plurality of steps may be executed simultaneously, or some or all of them may overlap.
Furthermore, each block in the control flow chart is not limited to a single control operation, and can be replaced with a plurality of control operations represented by a plurality of blocks.
The operation of each device is the result of commands from the controller 51 to each device, and these are expressed by each step of the software application.

In step S<b>1 , the controller 51 refers to the map 63 and, for example, the rotation speed of the encoder to determine whether the main body 15 is traveling in the abnormality determination section 45 . As shown in FIG. 3, when the main body 15 is traveling in the abnormality determination section 45, the process proceeds to step S2.
In step S<b>2 , the distance determining unit 55 determines the inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the preceding transport vehicle 3 based on the distances detected by the straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 and the curved inter-vehicle sensor 23 .

In step S3, the abnormality detection unit 57 determines whether or not the difference between the distance detected by the straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 and the detected distance by the curved inter-vehicle sensor 23 is equal to or greater than a threshold value. If it is equal to or greater than the threshold, it is determined that one of the straight line distance sensor 21 and curve distance sensor 23 has an abnormality, and the process proceeds to step S4. If less than the threshold, the process returns to step S2. The threshold is, for example, 400 mm. It should be noted that the above determination is made when the distance from the preceding transport vehicle 3 is in the range of 500 to 4000 mm.
For example, if the measured distance of the curved vehicle-to-vehicle sensor 23 is 10 m and the straight vehicle-to-vehicle sensor 21 measures a distance of 2 m, it is determined that one of them is abnormal. Further, for example, when the measured distance of the curved vehicle-to-vehicle sensor 23 is 2 m and the measured distance of the straight vehicle-to-vehicle sensor 21 is 2 m, both are determined to be normal.

In step S4, the abnormality processing unit 59 performs the above-described abnormality processing.
As a result, the operator can detect the failure of the straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 and the curved inter-vehicle sensor 23 without checking the transport vehicles 3 one by one.
Further, the failure of the straight line distance sensor 21 and the curved line distance sensor 23 can be detected without using the self-diagnostic function of the distance sensor.

2. Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, it is determined that one of the two inter-vehicle sensors has an abnormality when the difference between the distances detected by the two inter-vehicle sensors is equal to or greater than the threshold. However, other criteria for abnormality determination may be used.
Such an example will be described below as a second embodiment. The basic structure and basic operation of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

2nd Embodiment is described using FIG. 5 of 1st Embodiment. In the second embodiment, in step S3, when one of the detection distance of the straight line distance sensor 21 and the curve distance sensor 23 detects the preceding transport vehicle 3 and the other does not detect the preceding transport vehicle 3, the abnormality detection unit 57 determines that one of the straight inter-vehicle sensor 21 and the curve inter-vehicle sensor 23 has an abnormality.
For example, if the measured distance of the curved vehicle-to-vehicle sensor 23 is 2 m and the measured distance of the straight vehicle-to-vehicle sensor 21 is "no forward transport vehicle", it is determined that the straight vehicle-to-vehicle sensor 21 is abnormal. Further, for example, when the measured distance of the curved vehicle-to-vehicle sensor 23 is "no vehicle ahead" and the straight vehicle-to-vehicle sensor 21 measures a distance of 2 m, it is determined that the curved vehicle-to-vehicle sensor 23 is abnormal.
This embodiment also provides the same effects as the first embodiment.

3. Common Matters of Embodiments The first and second embodiments have the following configurations and functions in common.
A traveling vehicle (eg, carrier vehicle 3) is used in a traveling vehicle system (eg, carrier vehicle system 1) having a plurality of traveling vehicles traveling on the same track (eg, rail 5).
The traveling vehicle includes a main body, a traveling section, a straight line distance sensor, a curve distance sensor, a driving control section, and an abnormality detection section.
A running portion (for example, the running portion 17) is provided on the main body (for example, the main body 15).
A straight inter-vehicle sensor (for example, a straight inter-vehicle sensor 21) is provided in the main body, and detects the distance to another preceding traveling vehicle when the traveling vehicle travels in a straight section.
A curved vehicle-to-vehicle sensor (for example, a curve vehicle-to-vehicle sensor 23) is provided in the main body, and detects the distance from a preceding vehicle when the vehicle travels on a curved section and a straight section.
The travel control unit (for example, the travel control unit 53) controls the travel unit based on the distance detected by the straight inter-vehicle sensor and/or the detected distance by the curved inter-vehicle sensor.
The abnormality detection unit (e.g., abnormality detection unit 57) detects a straight line based on the distance detected by the straight inter-vehicle sensor and the detected distance by the curved inter-vehicle sensor when the vehicle travels in a straight section (e.g., an abnormality determination section 45). It is determined whether or not there is an abnormality in one of the inter-vehicle distance sensor and the curved inter-vehicle distance sensor.

In this transport vehicle system 1, failure of the inter-vehicle sensor is automatically detected based on the detected distances of the two types of inter-vehicle sensors.

4. Other Embodiments Although a plurality of embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the invention. In particular, multiple embodiments and modifications described herein can be arbitrarily combined as needed.
The straight inter-vehicle sensor and the curved inter-vehicle sensor may be ultrasonic distance sensors or microwave distance sensors.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be widely applied to a traveling vehicle system in which a plurality of traveling vehicles travel on the same track.

1: Transport vehicle system 3: Transport vehicle 5: Rail 5A: Inter-beyroute 5B: Intra-beyroute 5C: Shortcut 5D: Shortcut 7: Transport vehicle controller 15: Main body 17: Travel unit 19: Transfer unit 21: Linear inter-vehicle sensor 23: Curved vehicle distance sensor 45 : Abnormality determination section 51 : Controller 53 : Driving control unit 55 : Distance determination unit 57 : Abnormality detection unit 59 : Abnormality processing unit 63 : Map 65 : Input device

Claims (6)

A traveling vehicle used in a traveling vehicle system comprising a plurality of traveling vehicles traveling on the same track,
the main body;
a running portion provided on the main body;
a straight inter-vehicle sensor provided on the main body for detecting a distance from another preceding traveling vehicle when the traveling vehicle travels on a straight section of the track;
a curved vehicle-to-vehicle sensor provided on the main body for detecting a distance from another preceding traveling vehicle when the traveling vehicle travels in a curved section and a straight section of the track;
a travel control unit that controls the travel unit based on the detected distance of the straight inter-vehicle sensor and/or the detected distance of the curved inter-vehicle sensor;
When the vehicle travels in a straight section, it is determined whether or not there is an abnormality in one of the straight line distance sensor and the curved line distance sensor based on the detected distance of the straight line distance sensor and the curve distance sensor. an anomaly detection unit;
A running car. The abnormality detection unit determines that one of the straight line distance sensor and the curved line distance sensor has an abnormality when a difference between the distance detected by the line distance sensor and the curve distance sensor is equal to or greater than a threshold value. 1. The traveling vehicle according to 1. 3. The traveling vehicle according to claim 2, further comprising a threshold setting unit capable of changing said threshold. The abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality in one of the straight line distance sensor and the curved line distance sensor when one of the straight line distance sensor and the curved line distance sensor detects a preceding traveling vehicle and the other does not detect a preceding traveling vehicle. The traveling vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein it is determined that there is 5. The traveling vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an abnormality processing section that, when said abnormality detection section detects an abnormality, performs abnormality processing for prompting countermeasures against the abnormality. 6. The track according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the track has, as part of a section in which the traveling vehicle normally travels, a linear abnormality determination section in which the abnormality detection unit determines whether there is an abnormality. running car.