JPH0441362Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a floor panel for an unmanned transportation line that guides self-propelled vehicles by electromagnetic induction.

2. Description of the Related Art For example, if dust is generated in a manufacturing factory for semiconductor devices such as ICs and enters the manufacturing process, it will interfere with the functionality of the semiconductor devices. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 3, the above-mentioned manufacturing factory usually has a raised floor structure called a raised floor 2, which is covered with rectangular floor panels 7, and clean air is circulated from the ceiling to the bottom of the floor. At the same time, equipment such as piping will also be placed under the floor. However, in the above-mentioned manufacturing factory, when a worker moves, for example, dust adhering to clothes or the like may fall and fly up, invading the semiconductor device manufacturing process. Therefore, efforts are being made to reduce the number of workers in semiconductor device manufacturing factories, and in particular, for the transportation of articles, an unmanned transportation line using self-propelled vehicles 1 is provided, as shown in FIG.

In the above-mentioned unmanned transportation line, it is necessary to guide the self-propelled vehicle 1, and conventional guidance methods include an electromagnetic guidance method, an optical guidance method, and a laser beam guidance method.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the electromagnetic induction method, electric wires 3 are embedded inside a floor 2 to form a running path, and radio waves radiated from the electric wires 3 are sent to a plurality of sensors 4 installed in a self-propelled vehicle 1. By detecting this, the self-propelled vehicle 1 is guided. That is, it is assumed that a plurality of sensors 4 are arranged in parallel at the bottom of the self-propelled vehicle 1, and the radio waves radiated from the electric wire 3 are detected by the sensors 4. At this time, as long as the self-propelled vehicle 1 does not deviate from the road, the balance of the strength of the radio waves detected by the sensors 4 on both sides will not be disrupted. Therefore, if the traveling direction of the self-propelled vehicle 1 is controlled so that this balance is always obtained, the self-propelled vehicle 3 will accurately follow the traveling path. Next, in the optical guidance system, as shown in FIG. The self-propelled vehicle 1 is guided by receiving the reflected light of the light projected onto the reflective tape 5 again by the photocoupler 6. That is,
A plurality of photo couplers 6 are installed in parallel on the bottom of the self-propelled vehicle 1,
It is assumed that the reflected light of the light projected onto the reflective tape 5 from the photocoupler 6 is received again by the photocoupler 6. At this time, as long as the self-propelled vehicle 1 does not go off the road, the intensity of the reflected light received by the photo couplers 6 on both sides will be approximately the same; however, if the self-propelled vehicle 1 goes off the road, the photo couplers 6 on both sides The balance of the intensity of the reflected light received by the camera is disrupted. Therefore, if the traveling direction of the self-propelled vehicle 1 is controlled so that this balance is always obtained, the self-propelled vehicle 1 will accurately follow the traveling path. or,
The laser light guidance method (not shown) detects the traveling path while receiving laser light and guides the self-propelled vehicle 1, but it has safety issues and cannot be used in workplaces where there are people. This is not possible, and the equipment is expensive.

Problems that the invention aims to solve By the way, in the rapidly progressing semiconductor industry,
The layout of equipment in factories is frequently changed and equipment replaced, and therefore, the travel path of the self-propelled vehicle 1 on the automatic transport line must also be changed each time.

However, in the case of the electromagnetic induction method, the electric wires 3 are embedded inside the floor 2, so in order to change the above-mentioned running path, the production line must be stopped and the work to bury the electric wires 3 done again, which is time consuming and time consuming. It's expensive. In addition, in the case of the optical guidance method, in order to change the traveling route, it is sufficient to simply replace the reflective tape 5 compared to the electromagnetic induction method. It is attached with a strong adhesive so that it does not come off easily when walking, so replacing it is labor-intensive and is susceptible to stains.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention is directed to an unmanned transportation line in which goods are transported by self-propelled vehicles that run on a floor with electric wires embedded inside and are guided by detecting radio waves emitted from the wires. , by combining a plurality of floor panels with the same pattern, which have a rectangular shape with predetermined dimensions and are embedded with partial electromagnetic induction patterns whose ends are branch points, to form a floor in which a fixed electromagnetic induction pattern is embedded all over the entire surface. This is how it was done.

Function A fixed electromagnetic induction pattern is formed on the entire surface of the floor by combining a plurality of floor panels with the same pattern, which have a rectangular shape with predetermined dimensions and are embedded with partial electromagnetic induction patterns whose ends are branch points. A computer selects a pattern from among the patterns that will become the driving route for the self-propelled vehicle.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In the figure, reference numeral 8 denotes a square floor panel used in the present invention, in which a partial electromagnetic induction pattern 8a (hereinafter referred to as a partial pattern) as shown by a dotted line is embedded. The drawing shows an example in which a partial pattern 8a consisting of a combination of four patterns 8a' consisting of quadrants and a cross pattern 8a'' is embedded.Then, as shown in FIG. When the panels 8 are combined to form a floor 9 of a predetermined area, a fixed electromagnetic induction pattern 9a (hereinafter simply referred to as a fixed pattern) consisting of a combined pattern of the partial patterns 8a is formed on the entire surface of the floor 9.

Therefore, in a state in which radio waves are radiated from the fixed pattern 9a, for example, the contact point 9 of the partial pattern 8a
A', that is, a signal that outputs a branch signal at the branch point of the fixed pattern 9a is filled in. Then, each time the self-propelled vehicle 1 reaches a branch point 9a', a command is sent from an external computer to issue a branch signal, causing the self-propelled vehicle 1 to select one route from the three routes of the partial pattern 8a. By repeating this operation, it is possible to arbitrarily select a travel route for the self-propelled vehicle 1 from the fixed pattern 9a. Alternatively, as another means of selecting the traveling route, the computer may be made to recognize a fixed pattern 9a covering the entire surface of the floor 9, a specific route may be selected and stored in advance from there, and the computer may be instructed to take the route automatically. A travel command may be sent to the vehicle 1. Alternatively, the self-propelled vehicle 1 is made to select a necessary route based on a command from the computer. for example,
If a command is sent to the self-propelled vehicle 1 to always travel the shortest distance, the self-propelled vehicle 1 selects the necessary route and travels according to the command.

Furthermore, like a self-propelled car, radio waves are emitted from the fixed pattern 9a on the entire surface of the floor 9, and the fixed pattern 9a
In addition to selecting a specific route as the traveling path of the self-propelled vehicle 1 by a computer, radio waves are emitted only from the specific route, and the self-propelled vehicle 1 is caused to travel along that route while detecting the radio waves. Good too.
That is, a specific route is stored in the computer from the fixed pattern 9a, and a switch is provided at the branch point 9a' of the fixed pattern 9a. By controlling the ON/OFF state of this switch using a computer, radio waves can be emitted only from the necessary routes.

Therefore, according to the above embodiment, when changing the traveling route of the self-propelled vehicle 1 in the electromagnetic induction method of the unmanned transport line, it is only necessary to select another route using the computer, which is simple and does not require any construction work. You can change the driving route.

Incidentally, the floor panel 8 is usually a square of 450 mm to 600 mm square, which is sufficiently small relative to the production equipment, so that the fixed pattern 9a is sufficiently dense and can accommodate changes in the layout of the production equipment.

Effects of the invention According to the invention, in an unmanned transportation line that guides self-propelled vehicles using electromagnetic induction, a plurality of floor panels with the same pattern and a certain shape and partial electromagnetic induction pattern are combined to cover the entire surface. By forming a floor embedded with a fixed electromagnetic induction pattern, it becomes possible to create a driving path for a self-propelled vehicle by simply selecting a specific route from the fixed pattern using a computer. Therefore, it is easy to change the running route, and the running route can be changed in a short time and at low cost when changing the layout of production equipment.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the floor panel according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of a raised floor made by combining the floor panels shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of a conventional raised floor. A partial perspective view, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an electromagnetic induction method in an unmanned transportation line, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an optical guidance method in an unmanned transportation line. 1... Self-propelled vehicle, 3... Electric wire, 8... Floor panel, 8a... Partial electromagnetic induction pattern, 9... Floor, 9a... Electromagnetic induction pattern.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] In an unmanned transportation line that transports goods by a self-propelled vehicle that runs on a floor with electric wires embedded inside and is guided by detecting radio waves emitted from the electric wires, It is characterized by having a rectangular shape and embedded with a partial electromagnetic induction pattern whose ends serve as branching points, and by combining multiple floor panels with the same pattern to form a fixed electromagnetic induction pattern on the entire surface. floor panel.