JPH02252005A - Method for controlling intersecting point of unmanned carrier vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To remove useless waiting on an intersecting point by activating an electromagnet based upon the contents of an operation memory for storing operation executed by a detecting signal of mark plates arranged before and behind a lead switch arranged in the vicinity of the intersecting point. CONSTITUTION:When an unmanned carrier vehicle 21 approaches the intersecting point, the mark plate 42 is detected by a mark plate detecting sensor 45 and a detecting signal is inputted to a CPU 32 through a controller 31. When the plate 42 drives the electromagnet 47 on the intersecting point, the CPU 32 holds the electromagnet 47 at its excited state and drives the lead switch 41. An intersecting point control device judges whether the carrier vehicle 1 is to be stopped or not based upon a signal outputted from the switch 41. When the point is not the intersecting point, the electromagnet 47 is turned off and the switch 41 is not activated. Since the switch 41 can be activated only in a required case, useless waiting on the intersecting point can be removed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a method for controlling automatic guided vehicles at intersections, and in particular, to an intersection control method that eliminates unnecessary waiting of automatic guided vehicles at intersections. Ru.

1. Prior Art] Automatic guided vehicles travel while detecting the running road surface (guiding means (guiding lines) laid down), and generally detect marking plates (metal plates) installed along the running route. Based on the detection, the contents of the on-board operation memory are executed and the operation is controlled.By the way, if two automated guided vehicles, each traveling on their own along the guidance means, select an intersection at almost the same time. , both transport vehicles will collide.

Therefore, in this case, one of the automatic guided vehicles must wait at the intersection.

As prior art related to this technology, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54
-22084 publication is known. This bulletin describes a vehicle that automatically travels while detecting the low-frequency current flowing through the guide line using a pick-up coil, and at intersections, the current flowing through the side track and the main track is switched to avoid collisions between the two guided vehicles at the intersection. ing.

FIG. 4 shows a conventional intersection, where guide lines 1 and 2 as guide means intersect at right angles.

Reed switches 3 and 4 are installed at the non-intersecting portions of the guide wire 1, and reed switches 5 and 6 are similarly installed at the intersection portions of the guide wire 2.

There is a standby wire 7 near the reed switch J3 on the guide wire 1 side.
A standby line 8 is provided near the reed switch 5 on the guide line 2 side. Reed switch 3.
5 is an automatic guided vehicle 9a, 9t) (provided permanent magnet 510
a, 10b. Each reed switch 3.5 is connected to a control device (not shown) to detect whether or not the automatic guided vehicle 9a, 9b is approaching.

In such intersection control, each reed switch 3
．． When 5 is activated, this intersection entry signal is activated! This is input to the control device, and as a result of the control device's judgment 1, either of the guide lines 1 or 2 is brought to the stop state F, and one of the automatic guided vehicles is placed on standby at a predetermined position.

FIG. 5 shows another example of a conventional intersection, in which guide lines 11 and 15 extending in parallel are branched at right angles. At the intersection of the guide lines 11, A reed switch 12.13 is provided, and a lead wire 11
A reed switch 14 is provided near (J:l:I) the guide wire fla branched from. A reed switch 116 is installed at the intersection of the guide wire 15, and a reed switch 18 is installed near the guide wire 15a, which is branched from the guide wire 15 and intersects with the guide wire 11.
There is. On the guide line 11.15.15a, the automatic guided vehicle 7a
, 7b are temporarily on standby line 11b, 15b, 1
5C is set.

In the case of this intersection control, the 7'5 automatic guided vehicle (A width) 9a has already traveled along the guide line 11, and the other automatic guided vehicles (B>9b are running along the guide line 15a). Since the guide line 11 and the guide line 15a intersect, the automatic guided vehicle (Δ
Regardless of whether car>9a goes on route a or route b, car B was controlled to wait in the waiting line until car A passed the intersection.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]; However, in the case of intersection control as shown in Figure 5, if car A goes on route a, car B does not need to wait; 7 hours will be wasted and transport recycle time (L1 time) will be generated. In this case, if the Δ medium proceeds to route a, the reed switch 18 on the guide wire 15a side will be activated (). If so, it is possible to continue driving during B, but the B width is
8, the permanent magnet E10b inevitably operates the reed switch 18, and the B width has no choice but to stop EU.

The present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems and provides an unmanned 1
It is an object of the present invention to provide an intersection control lj method for an automatic guided vehicle that can eliminate wasteful waiting of J11 width.

[Means for Solving the Problems] An intersection control method for an automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention in accordance with this object executes the contents of the operation memory by detecting mark grades arranged along the travel route, and Intersection suitable t'! An automatic guided vehicle intersection control method in which an automatic guided vehicle controls an intersection by activating a reed switch located at tK, in which a reed switch is located m behind the reed switch to a Tony mark play-1, and the mark play is The reed switch is operated by the electric current F115 which is activated based on the operation memory contents executed by the detection signal of 1-.

[Function] In this intersection control method, the automatic guided vehicle detects the mark plate placed along the travel route (7).
iii-i, the contents of the operation memory are sequentially executed (), and in the pre-programmed travel order (thus, automatic travel is performed), the mark plate in front of the reed switch indicates the operation near intersections. - part of the memory contents is executed and it is determined whether to turn the electromagnet on or off.'?j That is, by checking the mark grade placed in front of the reed switch, It is determined whether or not this mark plate is a mark plate for an electromagnet, and whether or not it is a route that actually intersects, and based on this,
It is determined whether the stone should be turned on or off.

If there is no risk of collision with another automatic guided vehicle, the electromagnet is turned off and the reed switch is not operated.

Therefore, it is no longer necessary for the automatic guided vehicle to wait at an intersection as in the past, and unnecessary waiting is eliminated.

[Example] Below, a preferred example of the intersection control method for an automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show an apparatus for carrying out the invention. In the figure, 21 indicates an automatic guided vehicle, and automatic guided vehicle 214. Guide wire 2 buried in the running road surface 25
It is designed to automatically travel along 2 lines. The automatic guided vehicle 21 has a steering wheel 23 and a driving wheel 24, and the steering wheel 23 operates based on a signal from a pickup coil that detects a low frequency current from the guide wire 22. (not shown) is automatically steered.

The automatic guided vehicle 21 is provided with a controller 31. The controller 31 includes a CPU (central processing unit) 32
, RAM 33, ROM 34, and input/output port 35. The CPU 32 is a part that performs calculations on signals input through the input/output port 35, and the R
AM33 has a function of temporarily storing processing results from CPU 32. The ROM 34 has an operation memory function that stores predetermined operation procedures for the automatic guided vehicle 21. The input/output capo 35 has a function of exchanging signals with external devices such as a mark plate detection sensor and an electromagnet, which will be described later.

At the intersection of the traveling road surface 25 where the automatic guided vehicle 21 travels,
The old reed switch is buried. reed switch 4
1 is operated by magnetic force, and an output signal from a reed switch 41 is input to an intersection control device 40. Reed switch 4 on the running path
There are mark plates 42.4 made of metal plates before and after 1.
3 is placed. Mark plate detection sensors 45 and 46 for detecting mark plates 42 and 43 are provided at the bottom of the automatic guided vehicle 21. Rain detection sensors 45 and 46 are located on the left and right sides of the guide line 22, respectively. One mark plate detection sensor +J45 is for detecting mark plates 1 and 42, and the mark plate detection sensor 1/46 used is for detecting mark plate 4.
3. The mark plate detection sensors 45 and 46 are comprised of proximity switches that detect metal, and the signals detected thereby are input to input/output capos 1 to 35 of the controller 31. Furthermore, an electric switch 547 for operating the reed switch 41 is provided at the bottom of the automatic guided vehicle 21 . The electromagnet 41 is connected to the input/output port 35 of the controller 31, and is turned on by an output signal from the controller 31.
Attach magnetic force to reed switch 41! :Has the function of i. In this embodiment, the electromagnetic field 1547 is always energized, and is de-energized only when there is no need to wait at an intersection.

Next, a method for controlling an automatic guided vehicle at an intersection will be explained using the flowchart shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, when the automatic guided vehicle 21 approaches an intersection, the mark plate 42 is detected by the mark plate detection sensor #j 45 as shown in step 51 of the flowchart, and this detection signal is sent to the input/output port 35 of the controller 2. via CPU
32. Once this is done, step 52
Then, it is determined whether or not this mark plate 42 should cause the electromagnet 47 to operate. Here, electric 1
If it is determined that the i547 is not to be operated, the process proceeds to step 53, and the corresponding operation memory contents are executed.

In other words, the mark plate detection sensor 45 is designed to detect not only the mark plate at the intersection but also the mark plate at the corner location, so that corresponding processing is performed at locations other than the intersection.

If it is determined in step 52 that the plate is a mark plate that activates the electromagnet 47, the process proceeds to step 54, where it is determined whether or not this traveling route is an intersecting route, that is, an intersection. Here, if it is determined that the paths intersect, the electromagnet remains excited, and the reed switch 41 is operated by the magnetic force of the electromagnet 41. The signal from the reed switch 41 is sent to the intersection control device 4
0, this intersection control device^40 (J determines whether the automatic guided vehicle 21 should be stopped or not.The intersection control device 40 receives signals from other reed switches. The system is also manually operated, and by comparing the input timing of those signals, it is possible to determine the probability of a collision (
], it is determined whether the automatic guided vehicle 21 should be stopped or not.

If it is determined that it is necessary, stop at the guide line 22.
No low frequency current is applied to the automatic guided vehicle 21, and the automatic guided vehicle 21 is in a standby state.

If the suit knob 54 determines that the route is not an intersecting route, the output signal from the 1st part and the 2nd part is stopped.
t- and the electromagnetic circuit 7547 is turned off. Therefore, the reed switch 41 is not activated, and the signal from the reed switch 41 is not manually input to the intersection control device 40. In this state, when the automatic guided vehicle 21 moves forward 4, step 5
5. As shown in 1-5, mark plate detection 1 g46#
Therefore, the detection signal of the mark plate is transmitted to C via the human output boat of
It will be man-powered by P U 32. According to step 57, the content of the operation message is executed, and as shown in step 57, the electromagnetic 6
47 is re-energized.

In this way, the electromagnetic device 647 instructed to the automatic guided vehicle 21 can be turned on or off based on the contents of the operation memory (
This makes it possible to operate the Gt reed switch 41 when necessary, eliminating unnecessary waiting at intersections.

[Effects of the Invention 1] When using the intersection control method for an automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention, the automated guided vehicle is temporarily marked (before and after the reed switch for waiting). Plates are placed 1), and the detection signal of this mark grade (operation method 1) is activated based on the contents of the operation method.The 14 switch is operated by an electromagnetic field, so that automatic guided vehicles at intersections can be easily operated. It is possible to eliminate unnecessary waiting and reduce one cost of transport cycle time.

In addition, this control method can be easily achieved by changing from permanent magnets to electromagnetic magnets, so there is no need to cut and control the guide wires, etc. that cause cross heat sensation, and the 3° control method is cost-effective.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of an automatic guided vehicle used in the present invention 15, Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the procedure of intersection control according to the present invention.
Figure 4 is a plan view showing an example of the vicinity of a conventional intersection where an automatic guided vehicle travels, and Figure 5 is a plan view showing another example of the vicinity of a conventional intersection where an automatic guided vehicle travels. . 21...Automated guided vehicle 31...''N1~Roller 40...Intersection control device 41...Reed switch 42.43...Mark plate 45 .46... Mark plate detection sensor 1) 47...
・・・Electromagnetic right

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An unmanned vehicle that executes the contents of the operation memory by detecting mark plates placed along the travel route, and controls the intersection by operating a reed switch placed near the intersection on the travel route by the automatic guided vehicle. A method for controlling an intersection of a guided vehicle, wherein mark plates are placed before and after the reed switch, and the reed switch is operated by an electromagnet that operates based on the contents of a travel memory executed by a detection signal of the mark plate. Features: Intersection control method for automated guided vehicles.