JPH08147035A - Method and device for controlling unmanned carriage - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent a collision accident between unmanned carriages by setting priority levels for the unmanned carriages and controlling the passing order of an unmanned carriage which reaches the entrance to a monitor area. CONSTITUTION: When the unmanned carriage reaches the entrance to the monitor area X, an entry sensor 12 detects it. When there is no other unmanned carriage in the monitor area X and at the entrance, the arrival unmanned carriage is guided into the monitor area X to pass. If another unmanned carriage is already present in the monitor area X, the unmanned carriage arriving the entrance is made to stand by until the precedent carriage finishes passing through the area. When >=2 unmanned carriages reach the entrance to the monitor area X, they are selected in preferential order with priority level signals sent from the unmanned carriages and guided in the monitor area X to travel. Thus, an unmanned carriage to be given priority among an optional number of unmanned carriages is selected and a means which performs centralized control over plural unmanned carriages, the laying of a cable for connections, etc., can be omitted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic guided vehicle control method and apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a plurality of unmanned guided vehicles are run on the same plane by a magnetically guided taxiway installed under the floor, if an intersection or a confluence part is present in the midway of the taxiway, the unmanned guided vehicles will be mutually connected. There is a possibility of a collision accident between them, so it is necessary to take sufficient measures against the accident.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a traveling route of an automated guided vehicle. There are taxiways 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D for traveling while guiding a plurality of unmanned guided vehicles A, B, C, D, and these taxiways 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D are respectively intersections 2bc, When crossing at 2bd and merging at the merging portions 2ac, 2ad, in order to prevent collisions between the automatic guided vehicles A, B, C, D, the guideways 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and At the junctions 2ac and 2ad,
In addition to sending only one automated guided vehicle,
The automated guided vehicle has intersections 2bc and 2bd and a confluence 2a.
It is necessary to prevent the next automatic guided vehicle from being fed in until the vehicle completely exits from c and 2ad.

Therefore, an approach sensor is located in each of the taxiways 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D in the traveling route of FIG. 3 and an exit sensor 4 for detecting exit, and information of the entry sensor 3 and the exit sensor 4 for detecting exit is centrally monitored by the unmanned guided vehicle control panel 5, and, for example, each unmanned guided vehicle A , B, C, D are given priority in the order of A, B, C, D, and when a plurality of approach sensors 3 are simultaneously operated, an unmanned guided vehicle having a high priority is run and A control method in which an unmanned guided vehicle having a low priority is stopped at that position until the corresponding exit sensor 4 operates can be considered.

[0005]

However, when an unspecified number of unmanned guided vehicles are controlled by the guided vehicle control panel 5, the intersections 2bc and 2bd and the merging portions 2ac and 2ad are controlled.
Before and after, the approach sensor 3 and the exit sensor 4 are installed, and the signal cable 6 that connects the approach sensor 3 and the exit sensor 4 and the transport vehicle control panel 5 is laid under the floor. It is necessary to install the transport vehicle control panel 5 and to install a control program inside the transport vehicle control panel 5, and when the traveling route or the priority order is changed, the approach sensor 3 and the exit sensor are exited each time. The work of installing the sensor 4 and the work of changing the control program are required, and the cost and labor for the work become great.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and makes it possible to omit the laying work of signal cables and the installation of a vehicle control panel for a collision accident prevention vehicle. Increase flexibility in changing the priority of automated guided vehicles. Reduce costs and effort to prevent collisions. The purpose is.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] As a control method for driving a plurality of unmanned guided vehicles by a taxiway having either one or both of an intersection and a confluence, an unmanned guided vehicle reaches an entrance of a monitoring area. At this time, it is determined whether or not there is another automated guided vehicle traveling in the range of the monitoring area, and when another automated guided vehicle is running, the automated guided vehicle is made to stand by at the entrance of the monitored area, If there is no automated guided vehicle traveling within the surveillance area, it is determined whether another automated guided vehicle has arrived at the entrance of the monitored area, and if there is no other automated guided vehicle that has arrived. If the unmanned guided vehicle is traveling through the surveillance area and there are other unmanned guided vehicles that have arrived, the unmanned guided vehicles are run one by one in descending order of priority at the entrance of the surveillance area. And let it pass the surveillance area Moni, employing a technique to wait another AGV at the inlet of the monitor area. With the above technology,
A technology has been added to set the priority order of entrances to the monitoring area by sending priority signals from each automated guided vehicle and causing each automated guided vehicle to receive the priority signal and set the signal transmission duration from the longest one in order. To be done. As a control device for running a plurality of unmanned guided vehicles by a taxiway having either one or both of an intersection and a confluence, a monitoring area having one or both of the intersection and the confluence within the monitoring range is provided. An entrance sensor and a passage sensor for detecting the arrival and exit of the surveillance area by an automated guided vehicle, a signal transmitting / receiving unit mounted on each automated guided vehicle for transmitting and receiving a priority signal, and an automated guided vehicle The traveling control means for controlling the traveling of the vehicle, the signal transmission / reception means, and the traveling control means are connected to the traveling control means, and the traveling of the automatic guided vehicle in the monitoring area is controlled by the priority signal.
A vehicle equipped with a traveling determination means for controlling only the platform is adopted. The traveling discrimination means discriminates the presence or absence of an unmanned guided vehicle traveling in the range of the monitoring area according to a command from the traveling control means, and compares it with the priority signals of other unmanned guided vehicles to determine its own priority. Has a function of determining whether or not is higher. The signal transmission / reception means includes information for determining the priority order, and the transmission duration of the priority order signal is set to be longer in order from the higher priority order. The running determination means determines the priority order according to the received priority order signal. Have. The priority signal in the signal transmitting / receiving means is a radio signal, and the radio frequency or wavelength is set to the same frequency or different frequency in each automated guided vehicle to the same wavelength or different wavelength. The sensor for detecting entry into and exit from the surveillance area may be, for example, an operating member arranged on the side of the taxiway and one that outputs a closing or opening signal in contact with or in close proximity to the operating member, or unmanned. A rotary encoder or the like that detects the traveling amount of the transport vehicle is applied.

[0008]

[Operation] When an arbitrary number of unmanned guided vehicles travel on each taxiway, priority is set for each entrance of the surveillance area, and if there is one that reaches the surveillance area entrance, the unmanned guided vehicles arrive And other unmanned guided vehicles are controlled. At this time, if there is no automated guided vehicle traveling inside the surveillance area and no other automated guided vehicle has reached the entrance of the monitored area, guide the arrived automated guided vehicle to the inside of the monitored area. To pass. If there is an automated guided vehicle traveling inside the surveillance area,
Until the passage is completed, the automated guided vehicle that has reached the entrance of the surveillance area is put on standby. If there are other unmanned guided vehicles that have reached the entrance of the monitoring area, the higher priority vehicles are selected by the priority signal from the signal transmission / reception means of each unmanned guided vehicle and the higher priority vehicles are monitored. Guide the vehicle to the inside of the area to drive it, and after finishing passing the higher priority vehicle, select and drive the next higher priority vehicle. When each unmanned guided vehicle is equipped with a transmitter / receiver and the vehicles with higher priority are sorted out, the unmanned guided vehicles are sorted according to priority, and multiple unmanned guided vehicles are centrally controlled. Means for doing so, and laying a signal cable for connecting to it are omitted.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an automatic guided vehicle control method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In each figure, X is a monitoring area, 11 is a traveling determination means (CPU unit), 12 is an entrance sensor,
13 is a passage sensor, 14 is a signal transmitting / receiving means (wireless transceiver), 15 is a traveling control means (traveling controller), 16
Is a drive unit.

The monitoring area X is, as shown in FIG.
Each automated guided vehicle A, B, C, D has a respective taxiway 1A, 1B, 1
Intersections 2bc, 2 when guided by C, 1D
bd and merging portions 2ac and 2ad, in order to monitor the end of entry and passage, intersections 2bc and 2bd and merging portion 2
It is set to include a part of the outside of ac, 2ad.

The traveling discrimination means (CPU unit) 11
Is, for example, a microcomputer that constitutes a central part for performing control described later, and is arranged in a connected state with respect to the entry sensor 12, the passage sensor 13, the signal transmission / reception means 14, and the travel control means (travel controller) 15, and will be described later Discrimination and commands such as [S1] to [S10] are performed.

The approach sensor 12 is provided for each automatic guided vehicle A,
B, C, and D detect entry into the monitoring area X, and are, for example, the side portions of the taxiways 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D, the intersections 2bc and 2bd, and the merging portions 2ac and 2
Unmanned guided vehicles A, B, C, D slightly upstream of the ad entrance
Actuating piece 1 made of a ferromagnetic material arranged in a protruding state with respect to
2a, an operated part 12b mounted on each of the automatic guided vehicles A, B, C, D and operated (moved in position) by contact or proximity to the operating piece 12a, and the operated part 1
2b having a changeover switch 12c having a contact opened and closed by the displacement of 2b, or an automatic guided vehicle A, B,
A rotary encoder or the like that detects entry into the monitoring area X depending on the traveling amounts of C and D is applied.

The passage sensor 13 is provided for each automatic guided vehicle A,
B, C, and D detect exiting from the monitoring area X, and have an operating piece 13a configured similarly to the entry sensor 12, an operated portion 13b, and a changeover switch 13c, or an automated guided vehicle. A rotary encoder or the like that detects passage of the monitoring area X depending on the traveling amounts of A, B, C, and D is applied.

The signal transmitting / receiving means (radio transceiver) 14
Is mounted on each automated guided vehicle A, B, C, D,
While outputting (transmitting) a radio signal that is a priority signal and receiving a priority signal from another same type,
Antenna 14a for transmitting and receiving radio signals
(Or a transmission / reception sensor) and a timer for setting the output (transmission) duration of the priority signal.

The traveling control means (traveling controller) 1
Reference numeral 5 denotes the traveling drive unit 1 according to a command from the traveling determination unit 11.
The desired stop and travel of the automatic guided vehicles A, B, C and D are performed via the control unit 6.

The control of each automated guided vehicle A, B, C, D will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, taxiways 1A, 1B, 1
When a plurality of automatic guided vehicles A, B, C, D are simultaneously driven by C, 1D, priority is set for each automatic guided vehicle A, B, C, D. In the following description, it is assumed that the automatic guided vehicles A, B, C, D have the priority order of A, B, C, D.

[S1]: When one or more of the automated guided vehicles A, B, C, D reach the entrance of the monitoring area X, at a position upstream of the intersections 2bc, 2bd or the merging portions 2ac, 2ad, For example, when the operating piece 12a arranged on the side of each of the guideways 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D comes into contact with or comes close to the operated portion 12b, the contact of the changeover switch 12c is opened / closed (for example, turned "ON"). Then, the approach sensor 12 is activated, and the automatic guided vehicles A, B, C, and D detect that they have reached the position of the approach sensor 12 (the entrance of the monitoring area X). The approach sensor 12 is in a non-operating state, that is, "NO
In the case of (N) ”, the determination as to whether or not the entrance of the monitoring area X has been reached is repeated until the entry sensor 12 operates.

[S2]: When the automatic guided vehicle arrives at the entrance of the monitoring area X, the priority order signal is transmitted from the signal transmitting / receiving means 14 in the automatic guided vehicle.

[S3]: In S1, "Yes"
(Y) ”: When the arrival detection signal is output from the approach sensor 12 of the automatic guided vehicle, the signal transmission / reception means 14 determines whether or not there is an automatic guided vehicle traveling in the monitoring area X.
The priority signal received by
(Y) ”, the process proceeds to S4 and“ NO (N) ”
If it is, the process proceeds to S5.

[S4]: The automated guided vehicle that has reached the entrance of the surveillance area X is made to wait at the entrance of the surveillance area X in order to avoid collision with the automated guided vehicle traveling in the surveillance area X.

[S5]: In S3, "NO
(N) ”, that is, if there is no automated guided vehicle traveling in the monitoring area X or if the automated guided vehicle has exited, it is determined whether or not there is another automated guided vehicle that has reached the entrance of the monitored area X. Is done. If there is no other vehicle that arrives, move to S6,
If there are other items, the process proceeds to S8.

[S6]: If there is no automated guided vehicle traveling inside the surveillance area X and there is no other vehicle arriving at the entrance of the surveillance area X, guide the arrival vehicle to the inside of the surveillance area X and pass through it. Let

[S7]: Whether or not the automatic guided vehicle has passed through the monitoring area X is detected by the passage sensor 13.
In response to the passage detection signal, the operating piece 13a actuates the changeover switch 13c via the operated portion 13b to cause the traveling control means 1 to operate.
It is transmitted to the traveling determination means 11 via 5. "Yes (Y)": When a passage signal is output from the passage sensor 13 of the automatic guided vehicle, the process proceeds to S1 to determine whether the automatic guided vehicle has reached the entrance of the monitoring area X from the beginning. Repeatedly, "NO (N)", that is, when the automatic guided vehicle does not pass through the monitoring area X, the transmission / reception of the priority order signal is repeated from the signal transmitting / receiving means 14 until the passage is completed.

[S8]: The wireless transmitter / receiver in each signal transmitter / receiver 14 transmits a priority order signal (wireless signal) based on the priority order corresponding to the entrance of the monitoring area X,
On the other hand, in each automated guided vehicle, each radio signal is received by the antenna 14a (or the transmission and reception sensor) and is received from the other signal transmission / reception means 14 rather than the priority signal transmitted from each signal transmission / reception means 14. The comparison of whether or not the priority signal is to be prioritized is performed by the priority signal of the wireless signal, and the higher priority vehicle is selected among an arbitrary number of unmanned guided vehicles. In the traveling discriminating means 11, the prioritized vehicle control panel for centrally controlling a plurality of unmanned guided vehicles by discriminating the priority order having the highest priority from the priority signals based on the priority signal. 5 etc. are omitted or simplified.

[S9]: The selected higher-ranking vehicles pass through the inside of the monitoring area X while continuing to output the priority-order signal and waiting the lower-order unmanned guided vehicles. To do.

[S10]: Whether or not the higher priority vehicle has passed the monitoring area X is detected by the passage sensor 13. If "NO (N)", the process returns to S9 and "Yes".
If it is "s (Y)", the output of the priority order signal is stopped and the process proceeds to S5, and the presence / absence of a plurality of arriving vehicles, the selection of the next higher priority vehicle, etc. are performed.

Next, a case where four unmanned guided vehicles A, B, C and D arrive at the entrance of the monitoring area X at the same time will be described with reference to FIG. [T ₀₀ ]: The four unmanned guided vehicles A, B, C, and D are stopped at the entrance of the monitoring area X by the operation signal of the approach sensor 12, and the unmanned guided vehicles traveling within the monitoring area X are also stopped. If there is not, the transmission / reception of the priority signal from the signal transmitting / receiving means (wireless transceiver) 14 is performed.

[Selected Driving of the Automated Guided Vehicle of the 1st Priority] [t ₀₁ ]: The priority signal of the automated guided vehicle of the 4th priority is stopped. [T ₀₂ ]: The priority signal of the automatic guided vehicle having the third highest priority stops. [T ₀₃ ]: The priority signal of the automatic guided vehicle having the second highest priority is stopped. [T ₀₄ ]: In the automatic guided vehicle having the first priority, the priority signal is stopped as shown by the broken line, but since it has the highest priority, the monitoring area X The traveling is restarted by a traveling command for passing, and during that traveling, a priority signal is transmitted to keep other unmanned guided vehicles on standby. [T ₀₅ ]: In the unmanned guided vehicle which has passed the surveillance area X and has the first highest priority, the desired traveling is continued and the priority signal is stopped.

[Selected Driving of the Automated Guided Vehicle with the Second Priority] [t ₀₆ ]: For each of the three automated guided vehicles that have been waiting at the entrance of the monitoring area X at a slight time interval, Transmission and reception of priority signals from the signal transmitting / receiving means (wireless transceiver) 14 are restarted. [T ₀₇ ]: The priority signal of the automatic guided vehicle having the fourth highest priority stops. [T ₀₈ ]: The priority signal of the automatic guided vehicle having the third highest priority stops. [T ₀₉ ]: In the automatic guided vehicle with the second highest priority, the priority signal stops here as indicated by the broken line, but the highest priority among the three automated guided vehicles Therefore, the traveling is restarted by the traveling command of passing through the monitoring area X, and the priority signal is transmitted during the traveling to keep the other guided vehicles on standby. [T ₁₀ ]: After passing through the monitoring area X, the unmanned guided vehicle having the second highest priority continues the desired traveling and stops the priority signal.

[Selected Driving of the Automated Guided Vehicle with the Third Priority] [t ₁₁ ]: Priority is given to the two automated guided vehicles that have been waiting at the entrance of the monitoring area X with a slight time interval. The transmission and reception of the order signal are restarted. [T ₁₂ ]: The priority signal of the automatic guided vehicle having the fourth highest priority stops. [T ₁₃ ]: In the automatic guided vehicle having the third highest priority, the priority signal stops here as indicated by the broken line. However, the highest priority of the two automated guided vehicles. As a result, the traveling of the monitoring area X is restarted and the priority signal is transmitted to keep the other automated guided vehicles on standby. [T ₁₄ ]: After passing through the monitoring area X, the automatic guided vehicle with the third highest priority continues to travel as desired and the priority signal is stopped.

[Selected Driving of Unmanned Transport Vehicles with Fourth Priority] [t ₁₅ ]: Regarding the remaining automated guided vehicles that have been waiting at the entrance of the monitoring area X at a slight time interval, The traveling of the passage of X is restarted.

In addition, in the selective traveling of the second to fourth priority automatic guided vehicles, when the automatic guided vehicles other than the automatic guided vehicles B, C and D arrive at the entrance of the monitoring area X. In accordance with S1 in FIG. 3 and t ₀₁ in FIG. 4, priority order selection and running are executed.

[Other Embodiments] In the present invention, the following technique can be adopted instead of the above-described embodiment. a) The transmission frequency of each signal transmitting / receiving means (wireless transceiver) 14 should be set differently. b) In that case, each unmanned guided vehicle must be equipped with a receiver corresponding to the transmission frequency.

[0035]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION The method and apparatus for controlling an automated guided vehicle according to the present invention have the following effects. (1) Set a monitoring area when either one or both of the intersection and the junction are present in the taxiway,
When an automated guided vehicle arrives at the entrance, it sends and receives a priority signal to determine whether there are other automated guided vehicles traveling within the surveillance area, and then Regarding the arriving vehicle, while traveling within the range of the surveillance area, if there are multiple arriving vehicles, only the unmanned guided vehicles with higher priority in each unmanned guided vehicle are run, and It is possible to reliably prevent a collision accident. (2) Each unmanned guided vehicle is equipped with a signal transmission / reception means to perform mutual transmission / reception, thereby omitting the laying work of signal cables for signal transmission, and separately providing a collision accident prevention guided vehicle control panel. There is no need to install it, and equipment costs for preventing collisions can be reduced. (3) By using a wireless transmitter / receiver as the signal transmitter / receiver, it is possible to improve flexibility with respect to addition and change of the monitoring area, and reduce labor at that time. (4) The practicability can be improved by making it possible to determine the priority order even when a plurality of signal transmitting / receiving means are transmitting due to the length of the transmission duration of the priority order signal.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of a control device for an automated guided vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a connection diagram of a travel route showing an embodiment of the control device for the automatic guided vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an implementation state of an automatic guided vehicle control method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a time chart showing another implementation state of the method for controlling an automated guided vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a wiring diagram of a travel route showing an example of equipment used for controlling an automated guided vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A, B, C, D Automated guided vehicle 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D Taxiway 2bc, 2bd Intersection 2ac, 2ad Confluence part X Monitoring area 11 Travel determination means (CPU unit) 12 Ingress sensor 12a Operating piece 12b Operated part 12c changeover switch 13 passage sensor 13a operating piece 13b operated part 13c changeover switch 14 signal transmitting / receiving means (wireless transceiver) 14a antenna 15 traveling control means (traveling controller) 16 traveling drive section

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of automated guided vehicles (A, B, 1D) are provided by a taxiway (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) having either one or both of an intersection (2bc, 2bd) and a junction (2ac, 2ad). C, D) is a control method in the case where the automatic guided vehicle arrives at the entrance of the monitoring area (X), and whether there is another automatic guided vehicle traveling in the range of the monitored area. If it is determined that another unmanned guided vehicle is traveling, it waits at the entrance of the surveillance area, and if there is no traveling unmanned guided vehicle within the surveillance area, another unmanned guided vehicle is at the entrance of the surveillance area. If there is no other unmanned guided vehicle that has arrived, then the unmanned guided vehicle is run to pass through the monitoring area, and another unmanned guided vehicle that has arrived is If there is also a high priority for the entrance to the surveillance area A method for controlling an unmanned guided vehicle, which comprises sequentially driving the unmanned guided vehicles one by one to pass through the monitored area and allowing other unmanned guided vehicles to stand by at the entrance of the monitored area. 2. The priority order of entrances to the surveillance area (X),
A feature is that the priority signals are transmitted from each automated guided vehicle (A, B, C, D) and the priority signals are received by each automated guided vehicle, and the priority is set from the one with the longest signal transmission duration. The method for controlling an automated guided vehicle according to claim 1. 3. A plurality of unmanned guided vehicles (A, B, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) by means of taxiways (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) having either one or both of an intersection (2bc, 2bd) and a confluence (2ac, 2ad). C, D) is a control device for traveling, and a monitoring area (X) having either one or both of an intersection and a junction within a monitoring range,
The approach sensor (12) and the passage sensor (1) that the automated guided vehicle detects when reaching the entrance and exit of the monitoring area.
3), signal transmission / reception means (14) mounted on each automated guided vehicle for transmitting and receiving priority signals, traveling control means (15) for controlling traveling of the automated guided vehicle, signal transmission / reception means and traveling control. An unmanned guided vehicle control device, comprising: a traveling determination means (11) connected to the means and controlling the traveling of the unmanned guided vehicle in the monitoring area to only one vehicle according to a priority signal from the traveling control means. 4. The presence / absence of an automatic guided vehicle (A, B, C, D) traveling in the range of the monitoring area (X) according to a command from the traveling control means (15). 4. The unmanned vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the unmanned vehicle has a function of determining whether or not the own priority is higher than the other, by comparing with the priority signal of another automated guided vehicle. Control device for carrier vehicles. 5. The signal transmission / reception means (14) is set such that the transmission duration of the priority order signal is set longer from the higher priority order, and the running determination means (11) determines the priority order according to the received priority order signal. The control device for an automated guided vehicle according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: