JPH05282038A - Unmanned conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the unmanned conveying device which can be increased in conveying ability without increasing electric charging stations nor carriages. CONSTITUTION:Storage battery replacement stations 2 are provided on a conveyance path 10 instead of conventional electric charging stations. At the storage battery replacement stations 2, box bodies 50 are installed and provided with storage parts 51 which contain and charge storage batteries 3 electrically. Elevation parts 54 and holding parts 52 for loading and unloading the batteries 3 on and from the carriages 1 are provided at the rear parts of the box bodies 50.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an unmanned transporting apparatus for transporting an article by a plurality of unmanned transporting vehicles equipped with storage batteries.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, in office-automated buildings and factory-automated factories, slips, documents, cash, samples, and workpieces are placed between buildings or between stations. And unmanned conveying devices (hereinafter referred to as conveying devices) are used to convey parts and components (hereinafter referred to as conveyed items). In order to quickly and quietly convey a conveyed object, this conveying apparatus adopts a method of supporting and traveling a conveying vehicle in a non-contact manner with a guide rail. For this reason, air pressure and magnetic force are used. Among them, the method of supporting by magnetic force is excellent in trackability with respect to the guide rail and noise reduction, and is widely used.

In such a transporting apparatus, a plurality of transport vehicles, a plurality of stations for loading and unloading a transport object, a transport path provided between the stations and on which the transport vehicles travel, and a transport request from each station. On the other hand, it is provided with a transport control device that assigns transport vehicles and controls the travel of each transport vehicle. This carrier control device receives signals sent from each station, sequentially assigns waiting carrier vehicles,
Conveyance processing of conveyed goods between a plurality of stations is automatically performed (JP-A-63-148803, JP-A-63-15).
7602 gazette).

In such a transfer device, a storage battery for driving or levitating may be mounted on a transfer vehicle.
Charging of the storage battery is performed while waiting at each station or at a charging station attached to the transport path.

[0005]

However, in the transporting apparatus constructed as described above, when the number of registered transporting vehicles being charged increases, the vehicle actually travels on the transporting path. Since the number of transport vehicles decreases, it becomes impossible to immediately respond to the transport request, and the transport capability of the transport device decreases. That is, due to the charging, the operating rate of the transport device is reduced. Therefore, a method of increasing the number of charging stations and vehicles can be considered, but then not only the layout of the transportation apparatus is restricted, but also the redundancy of the equipment is increased and the initial cost of the entire transportation apparatus is increased.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the first and second inventions is to obtain an unmanned conveying device capable of increasing the conveying capacity without increasing the charging stations and the conveying vehicles.

[0007]

A first aspect of the present invention is an unmanned conveying apparatus for conveying a conveyed article by a plurality of conveying vehicles traveling on a conveying path with electric power supplied from a mounted storage battery,
A storage battery exchange station for storing and charging a plurality of storage batteries and supplying the storage batteries to a transport vehicle is provided on the transport path.

A second aspect of the present invention is an unmanned conveying device that conveys a conveyed article by a plurality of conveying vehicles that travel on a conveying path with electric power supplied from a mounted storage battery. And means for setting a charging cycle composed of charging zones, and means for setting a shift time for constantly shifting the starting point of the traveling zone of each carrier.

[0009]

In the first aspect of the present invention, the storage battery of the automatic guided vehicle at the storage battery exchange station is replaced with the charged storage battery in a short time, and the stagnant vehicle at the storage battery exchange station and the reduction of the transport vehicles on the transfer path are eliminated. It

According to the second aspect of the invention, the storage batteries of the unmanned guided vehicles are sequentially charged in different charging zones depending on the shift time, so that the stagnant vehicles at the charging station and the reduction of the guided vehicles on the carrying path are eliminated. It

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the conveying device of the first invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an arrangement of a carrier device of the first invention. In FIG. 1, the transport device includes a transport path 10, which will be described in detail later, a plurality of stations 20,
Storage battery exchange station 2, loading / unloading station 22, maintenance station 23, local control device 24, control device 25
Etc. Of these, the conveyance path 10 is an elliptical main line portion composed of two parallel sides consisting of a plurality of linear track units 11 and a rotary branching unit 15 and curved branching units 13 connected to both ends of these two sides. , A branch line portion described later branched from the main line portion through a plurality of rotary branch units 15, and two parallel sides of the main line portion are a plurality of linear track units 11 connected through the rotary branch unit 15. It is configured.

A linear track unit 11 is connected to one side of the main line portion (on the left rear side in FIG. 1) via two sets of rotary branch units 15. Of these, the linear track unit 11 on one side is connected to the linear track unit 11. The unit 11 is directly connected, and the short linear track unit 11 is connected to the other side linear track unit 11 via a T-shaped right-angled branch unit 14 to form branch lines. On the other side of the main line portion (on the right front side in FIG. 1), a branch line portion constituted by a linear track unit 11 and two curved track units 12 in a U shape is connected via two sets of rotary branch units 15, Further to the right rear, two linear track units 11 are provided via a pair of rotary branch units 15.
The branch lines formed by the series connection are connected.

At the left end in FIG. 1 of the main line portion, a right-angle branch unit 14 is connected in series via a curved branch unit 13 and a short straight track unit 11, and this right-angle branch unit 14 is connected in series.
A pair of storage battery exchange stations 2 to be described later are connected to the above, and a loading / unloading station 22 is connected to the other end of the right-angle branch unit 14 on the other side. These linear track units
11, the curved track unit 12, and the curved branch unit 13 include a plurality of passage detectors that detect passage of the carrier 1 traveling on the conveyor path 10 and a detector that detects passage speed (hereinafter collectively referred to as passage / passage). A speed detector) and a vehicle identification code detector are installed. At the right rear end of the main line portion, a maintenance station 23 is installed via a curved branching unit 13, and a control device 25 is adjacent to the maintenance station 23.
A local control device 24 is installed on the branch line on the left side of the main line, and the right-angle branch unit 14 is installed at the tip of these branch lines.
The station 20 is arranged at the tip of the station, and the station 20 is also arranged at the tip of the intermediate right-angle branch unit 14.

A local control device 24 and a station 20 are provided at two locations on the U-shaped branch line on the right side of the main line.
A local control device 24 and a station 20 are provided in the right-angled branch unit 14 at the tip of the branch line on the rear side of the maintenance station 23. In addition, power supply facilities and transport routes
The members that support 10 are omitted.

In the transport apparatus thus constructed, the combination of the linear track unit 11, the curved track unit 12, the curved branching unit 13, the right-angled branching unit 14 and the rotary branching unit 15 is changed to install the factory or It is assembled with standardized units so that it can respond to changes in the layout of buildings. On the other hand, the control device 25 accommodates a main line controller that controls the operation of the carrier vehicle 1 in the main line part, and a transfer control controller that will be described later that controls the operation of the entire transfer device and the flow of the transferred object and the charge of the transfer vehicle 1. Has been done. Further, the storage battery exchange station 2 charges the storage battery of the transport vehicle 1, the loading / unloading station 22 loads and unloads a transport object between a warehouse (not shown) and the transport vehicle 1, and the local control device 24 controls each branch line. It controls the operation of the local transport vehicle 1 and manages the transported items. Further, each station 20 and the storage battery exchange station 2 are provided with an interface to be described later, and each station 20 is instructed by each local control device 24 to load and unload a conveyed product and charge a carrier vehicle. Also do.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the carrying device shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the transport controller 31 that is housed in the control device 25 of FIG. 1 and manages the entire transport device receives a transport request from a higher-level physical distribution management system 30 such as a production management system in a manufacturing factory. The local controller 32 housed in the local control device 24 or the like shown in FIG.
Instruct to load, start and unload. Then, the local controller 32 controls the transfer machine 34 via the station controller 33 housed in the corresponding station 20 to transfer the transferred article to the transfer vehicle 1 or transfer from the transfer vehicle 1. In addition, the linear motor 39 is driven by the inverter 38 via the linear motor controller 37.
Drive the carriage 1 to start and run. The transport vehicle 1 on which the transport object is mounted and the empty transport vehicle 1 are accelerated or decelerated by a linear motor 39 according to a predetermined traveling pattern via a linear motor controller 37 and an inverter 38 in response to a signal from a passage / passage speed detector 36. It The traveling position and speed of the transport vehicle 1 are determined by the above-mentioned passage / passage speed detector 36 which is arranged on the transport path.
Is monitored by the vehicle identification code detector 40, and the local controller 32 issues an acceleration / deceleration command or a stop command for the vehicle 1 to the corresponding linear motor controller 37. Information of the carrier identification code detector 40 and the vehicle detector 41 is transmitted to the carrier general controller 31 as the location information of the carrier 1.
On the other hand, a terminal 42 is installed in each station 20 and may be operated by an operator to issue a transportation request. next,
A method of charging the carrier 1 will be described. The transport control controller 31 receives information about the vehicle number of the transport vehicle 1 and a signal indicating that the storage battery mounted therein is required from the transport vehicle interface 44 provided in each station 20, and manages the charge of the transport vehicle 1 ( (See Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-295604). When the carrier 1 needs to be charged, the carrier general controller 31
To the storage battery exchange station 2 described below, and the storage battery exchange station controller 45 causes the storage battery exchange 46
Is controlled to transfer the storage battery to the transport vehicle 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing details of essential parts of the storage battery exchange station 2. In FIG. 3, a box body 50 is installed in the storage battery exchange station 2, and a storage unit 49 is stored on the side of the box body 50 at the right-angle branch unit 14. A storage battery storage portion 51 for storing the battery mounted on the transport vehicle 1 is provided at the upper portion of the storage unit 49, and information such as the charging state of the storage battery stored is provided at the lower portion of the storage battery storage portion 51. An operation unit 55 is provided for providing the operator of the carrier device with the operation of registering and deleting the storage battery. A pair of storage battery take-out portions 53 for loading a new storage battery and taking out an old storage battery are provided at the lower portion of the operation portion 55, and a storage battery storage portion 51 is provided at a lower portion of the storage battery taking-out portion 53.
A control unit 56 for storing the charging power source of the storage battery stored in is stored.

Two parallel rails 57 are provided at the rear of the box 50.
And a ball screw installed in parallel between these rails 57
An elevating part 54 composed of 58 and an electric motor 59 connected to the lower end of the ball screw 58 is provided upright. The rear ends of the holding portions 52 are fitted to the two rails 57 of the elevating portion 54, and these holding portions 52 are fixed to each other by a connection frame 52a.
A nut portion (not shown) at the rear end is fitted to the ball screw 58.

Next, the operation of the transporting device thus constructed will be described with reference to the flow charts of FIGS.
The transport controller 31 constantly manages the charge of the transport vehicle, and when a transport vehicle that needs charging occurs, transports the transport vehicle 1 to the storage battery exchange station 2.

Then, in this storage battery exchange station 2, in step 61, the relevant vehicle 1 is moved to a predetermined position for storage battery exchange inside the storage battery exchange station 2 and then the levitation is stopped. In step 62,
By driving 54, the holder 52 is moved to the position of the carrier 1, and the holder 52 removes the storage battery 3 mounted on the carrier 1. In step 63, the elevating part 54 is driven, and the storage battery 3 extracted by the holding part 52 is stored in the empty space of the storage battery storage part 51. In step 64, a storage battery to be transferred to the transport vehicle 1 is selected from the storage batteries 3 stored in the storage battery storage portion 51. In step 65, the elevating unit 54 is driven, and the holding unit 52 removes the selected storage battery 3 from the storage battery storage unit 51. Step
In 66, the elevating unit 54 is driven to drive the holding unit 52 to the position of the transport vehicle 1 where the storage battery 3 is replaced, and the storage battery 3 selected in step 67 is mounted on the transport vehicle 1 by the holding unit 52.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing details of the processing contents of step 64. The index i (0, 1, 2, ..., Max-1) related to the storage battery storage unit 51 is stored in a storage unit (not shown) built in the storage battery exchange station controller 45. The content of the index i is the identification symbol, the number of times of charging, the state of charge, etc. of the storage battery 3 stored in the storage battery storage unit 51.
A specific index i is assigned to each.

At step 71, the index i of the storage battery storage portion 51 is cleared to 0. At step 72, the temporary variables V and j are cleared to 0. In step 73, the index i
For, regarding whether or not the storage battery 3 is stored in the corresponding storage battery storage portion 51. If the storage battery 3 is not stored, the process proceeds from step 73 to step 78.
In step 74, for the index i, it is determined whether the storage battery 3 of the corresponding storage battery storage unit 51 is being charged or has already been charged. When the storage battery 3 has already been charged, the storage battery 3 in the corresponding storage battery storage portion 51 of the index i is selected as a replacement target. If the storage battery 3 is being charged, the process proceeds from step 74 to step 75. In step 75, the charging progress of the storage battery 3 in the corresponding storage battery storage 51 is checked for the index i. As a method of checking the charging progress, the storage battery 3
The terminal voltage value Vi of is used. Step 76 to Step 79
Then, among the storage batteries 60 stored in the storage battery storage portion 51, the storage battery 3 having the maximum terminal voltage value Vi is checked.
That is, the storage battery 3 that has been charged in the storage battery storage portion 51
If there is not, the storage battery j that is most charged is selected from all the storage batteries 3 that are being charged. The storage battery 3 selected in the above process is transferred to the carrier vehicle 1 in step 64 shown in FIG.
The storage battery 3 can be replaced.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the case where all the functions of the charging station that has been used conventionally are replaced with the storage battery exchange station has been described.
You may use both together. Also, a plurality of storage battery exchange stations may be used.

As explained above, in the unmanned carrier device of the first invention, instead of directly charging the storage battery mounted on the carrier vehicle at the charging station, it is necessary to prepare the charged storage battery in advance and charge it. For a guided vehicle,
Storage batteries can be automatically replaced at the storage battery exchange station. Therefore, the time required for conventional charging is shortened, the guided vehicle can be efficiently utilized, the capacity of the unmanned carrier device is reduced due to the concentration of the guided vehicle during charging, and the congestion of the carrying request itself is not caused. Moreover, since it is not necessary to provide charging stations in accordance with the number of vehicles, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in the layout of the unmanned transportation apparatus and prevent the unmanned transportation apparatus from becoming large and complicated.

Next, an embodiment of the carrier device of the second invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the carrier device of the second invention. In FIG. 6, the transfer control controller 31, which is housed in a control device (not shown) and manages the entire transfer device, receives a transfer request from a higher-level physical distribution management system 30, such as a production management system in a manufacturing plant, and transfers the transfer device. A load instruction, a start instruction, and a load / unload instruction are issued to the local controller 32 housed in a local control device (not shown) corresponding to the request. Then,
The local controller 32 controls the transfer machine 34 via the station controller 33 housed in the corresponding station to transfer the transferred articles to and from the transfer vehicle 1. , Linear motor controller
Via the inverter 37, the linear motor 39 is driven by the inverter 38 to start and run the carrier 1. The passing vehicle / carriage 1 equipped with the conveyed goods and the empty traveling carriage 1 have a passage / passage speed detector 36.
Signal causes the linear motor 39 to accelerate and decelerate in accordance with a predetermined traveling pattern via the linear motor controller 37 and the inverter 38. The traveling position and speed of the carrier 1 are monitored by the passage / passage speed detector 36 and the carrier identifying code detector 40 which are arranged on the carrier path, and the local controller 32 sends the linear motor controller 37 to the corresponding linear motor controller 37.
Issuing acceleration / deceleration commands and stop commands. Information of the carrier identification code detector 40 and the vehicle detector 41 is transmitted to the carrier general controller 31 as the location information of the carrier 1. on the other hand,
A terminal 42 is installed in each station and may be operated by an operator to issue a transportation request. Next, carrier 1
The charging method will be described. Transfer control controller 31
The charging device 48 provided in each station charges the storage battery of each vehicle by the method described below.

That is, in the second aspect of the invention, a fixed charging cycle is assigned to each carrier as a charging cycle, and the time required for charging the carrier is managed within that time zone. Here, the charging cycle is a combination of a time zone during which the carrier vehicle can normally operate (operating zone) and a time zone during which the carrier vehicle cannot be normally operated because it requires charging (charging zone). Is the total of the running time to the charging station, the charging time, and the waiting time until the next operation zone after charging is completed. The charging cycle is shown in FIG.
Indicates the operating band, and the blank portion 5 indicates the charging band.

Further, in the second aspect of the invention, the local controller 32 manages the start time of the charging cycle of each transport vehicle so as to keep a constant interval so that the number of transport vehicles in the operating zone does not always deviate. This interval is called a shift time, and this shift time is obtained by dividing the charging cycle into equal parts by the number of transport vehicles registered in the transport device.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a case in which 10 guided vehicles are registered in the unmanned carrier, and the carrier is applied when the operating time is 235 minutes and the charging time is 45 minutes. Figure 8
The charging cycle 6 described above is 280 minutes, and the shift time 7 is 28 minutes.

In order to manage the charging cycle, each transport vehicle is controlled by the transport general controller 32, and when the transport device starts operating, the initial value of the holding time is 280 for the first car.
Minutes 2nd car is 252 minutes, 3rd car is 224 minutes, ... 9th car is 56
The value of 28 minutes is set for the 10th car. When the holding time of each guided vehicle managed by the integrated control controller 31 carries during the operating zone (280 to 46 minutes) and the holding time reaches the charging zone (45 to 0 minutes), The transportation of the vehicle is stopped and the vehicle travels to the charging station and starts charging. Further, even if charging is completed during the charging zone, the carrier vehicle 1 is kept waiting at the charging station until the start of the next operating zone.

When the charging zone is finished and the next charging cycle 6 is started, a value obtained by adding the shift time 7 to the maximum holding time of the transport vehicles registered as the holding time is used (however, Maximum charge cycle time).

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the control of the charging time of the above-mentioned transport vehicle 1 by the transport overall controller 31. In FIG. 9, first, in step 91, the search index of the carrier is cleared, and in step 92, i
Decrement the time of car. In step 93,
It is determined whether the i-th car is a charged vehicle. If it is in the charging band, the process proceeds to the next step 94, and if it is not in the charging band, the process proceeds to step 98 described later.

In step 94, it is judged whether or not the i-th car is not being charged, and if it is not being charged, the routine proceeds to the next step 95, and if it is being charged, the routine proceeds to step 96 described later. In step 95, charging starts when car i enters the charging station, and if it has not entered the charging station, it continues to travel to the charging station and charges after entering.

In the next step 96, it is judged whether or not the holding time of the car i has run out, and if the holding time runs out, the process proceeds to the next step 97, and if there is the holding time, the process proceeds to step 98 described later. In step 97, the next holding time is set for the i-th car (280 minutes in this embodiment), and the car travels to an empty station on the transport path. In the next step 98, it is determined whether or not the number of car i is car 10, and if it is not car 10, the process returns to step 92 and the above steps are repeated.

In the above embodiment, the charging cycle of 280 minutes at the beginning of the operation of the carrier device is the terminal voltage after charging when the capacity of the entire storage battery falls below the rated value after the lapse of the month after the operation. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-2956
No. 04), the charging cycle may be shortened to a time commensurate with it. As described above, according to the second aspect of the invention, for each transport device, the time during which the transport vehicle traveling on the transport path of the transport device can travel with the storage battery mounted on the transport vehicle is set as shown in FIG. Also, the time required to charge the storage battery that has dropped to a predetermined voltage is shown in FIG.
If the total of these operating band 4 and charging band 5 is used as a charging cycle, even if there is a transport vehicle with a short traveling distance due to variations in traveling time, the vehicle will be charged after the operating band 4 and the next transport start will be constant. Start in order with staggered time. As a result,
The maximum number of transportable vehicles can be maintained, the number of vehicles in the operating zone can be prevented from fluctuating extremely, and the transport capability of the transport device is stabilized.

[0035]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in an unmanned conveying device for conveying a conveyed object by a plurality of conveying vehicles traveling on the conveying path with electric power supplied from a mounted storage battery, a plurality of conveying vehicles are provided on the conveying path. By installing a storage battery exchange station that stores and charges the storage battery and supplies this storage battery to the transport vehicle, the storage battery of the automated guided vehicle can be replaced with the charged storage battery in a short time at the storage battery exchange station. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an unmanned conveyance device capable of preventing the deterioration of the conveyance ability due to the backlog of vehicles and the reduction of the conveyance vehicles on the conveyance path.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in an unmanned carrier device for carrying an object by a plurality of carrier vehicles traveling on a carrier path with electric power supplied from a mounted storage battery, during the operating hours of the carrier vehicles, By providing a means to set a charging cycle consisting of a traveling zone and a charging zone and a means to set a shift time to shift the start point of the traveling zone of each carrier constantly, the storage battery of each automated guided vehicle varies depending on the shift time. Since the batteries are sequentially charged in the charging zone, it is possible to obtain an unmanned carrier device capable of preventing a stagnant vehicle for charging and a decrease in the carrying capacity due to a decrease in the number of carriers on the carrying path.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an unmanned conveyance device of a first invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of the unmanned conveyance apparatus of the first invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of the unmanned conveyance device of the first invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the unmanned conveying apparatus of the first invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the unmanned conveying apparatus of the first invention, which is different from that in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the unmanned conveying device of the second invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a charging cycle of the unmanned conveyance device according to the second invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a charging cycle of each carrier of the unmanned carrier device of the second invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the operation of the unmanned conveying apparatus of the second invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Automated guided vehicle, 2 ... Storage battery exchange station, 3 ... Storage battery, 4 ... Operating zone, 5 ... Charging zone, 6 ... Charging cycle, 7
… Sliding time, 10… Transport path.

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location H01M 2/10 S 7356-4K

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An unmanned carrier device for carrying an object by a plurality of carrier vehicles traveling on a carrier path with electric power supplied from an installed storage battery, wherein the carrier path accommodates and charges a plurality of the storage batteries. An unmanned carrier device comprising a storage battery exchange station for supplying the storage battery to the carrier vehicle. 2. An unmanned carrier device for carrying an object by a plurality of carrier vehicles traveling on a carrier path with electric power supplied from an installed storage battery, wherein the operating time zone of the carrier vehicle comprises a traveling zone and a charging zone. An unmanned carrier device comprising means for setting a charging cycle and means for setting a shift time for constantly shifting the starting point of the traveling zone of each carrier vehicle.