JPH08289415A - Collision controller for magnetic levitation conveyance vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a collision controller which can surely prevent a collision between magnetic levitation conveyance vehicles. CONSTITUTION: A light transmitter 8-2A and a light receiver 8-1B for detecting an inter-vehicle distance are provided in the front of a vehicle 1, and further a light receiver 8-2B for receiving light from the light transmitter 8-2A of a succeeding vehicle and a light transmitter 8-1A for transmitting light to the light receiver 8-1B of a preceding vehicle are provided in the rear of the vehicle 1. When a succeeding vehicle unusually comes nearer to a preceding vehicle, it is detected by the light receiver 8-1B to make a rail attract the succeeding vehicle, thereby stopping the succeeding vehicle, and on the other hand, when the preceding vehicle comes backward and unusually comes nearer to the succeeding vehicle, it is detected by the light receiver 8-2B to make the rail attract the preceding vehicle, thereby stopping the preceding vehicle. Therefore, a collision owing to the coming-backward of a preceding vehicle which was concerned in a prior art device can be avoided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for preventing a collision between vehicles when the magnetically levitated vehicles approach each other beyond a lower limit of an appropriate inter-vehicle distance by stopping the vehicles that are too close to each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A magnetic levitation transfer system magnetically lifts a transfer vehicle onto a rail when a very high level of cleanliness is required, for example, to prevent dust generation due to friction, and to prevent contact. The object to be transported is carried by being supported by.

In this system, the power of the carrier vehicle is turned on by remote control from the ground, and then a levitation signal and a traveling control signal are sent to control the levitation and traveling. The levitation control detects the gap between the car body and the rail with a gap sensor,
Based on the detection signal, the levitation control circuit feedback-controls the exciting current of the levitation coil to maintain the gap between the carriage and the rail at a predetermined interval.

The traveling control is performed by energizing the primary coil of a linear motor provided on the traveling rail on the ground side at a predetermined interval to cause a reaction plate (secondary conductor) provided on the transport vehicle to generate a propulsive force and a reverse propulsive force. (Braking force) is applied to quickly decelerate, and after that, the levitation control is further stopped, and the transport vehicle is attracted to the rail to complete stop.

By the way, this type of transfer system is provided with a control circuit for controlling the traveling / floating of a transfer vehicle. However, if an earthquake or power failure accident suddenly occurs and the primary coil drive system on the ground side fails, the transfer system is transferred. Braking using the car's secondary conductor is disabled.

Therefore, in such a case, an emergency stop signal is given to the levitation control circuit in the transport vehicle so that the transport vehicle is attracted to the rail and the traveling is stopped. However, the carrier continues to run to some extent due to its inertia.

The amount of inertial running from the start to the stop of the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle does not always match. In such a case, if the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle are too close to each other, a collision accident or the like may occur. It is a danger. There are extremely expensive parts in the package, and collision accidents must be completely prevented in order to prevent such drop damage of the package.

[0008] As a conventional technique for preventing the collision,
For example, JP-A-4-105502 and JP-A-6-4
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 6509. When the following vehicle is too close to the preceding vehicle, these are detected by a sensor, and the following vehicle is attracted to the rail to avoid the collision of the following vehicle with the preceding vehicle.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the above prior art,
When the preceding vehicle runs in the reverse direction, its movement cannot be restricted, and the collision due to the reverse running of the preceding vehicle cannot be prevented.
When the preceding vehicle runs in reverse and the inter-vehicle distance between it and the following vehicle falls below a specified value, the following vehicle will stick to the rails and stop. The adverse effect is increased and the possibility of collision increases. Moreover, in this case, the impact of the collision is accelerated due to the fact that the following vehicle is adsorbed, so that the risk of baggage damage is high.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a highly reliable collision prevention device which exhibits the effect of avoiding a collision even when the preceding vehicle runs in reverse.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, a first transmitter that sends a signal to each succeeding vehicle and a first receiver that receives a signal from a preceding vehicle are provided. When the inter-vehicle distance becomes less than or equal to a predetermined value, a signal is sent from the first receiver that detects it to the levitation control circuit of the following vehicle having the receiver so that the following vehicle is attracted to the rail. In a collision prevention device for a carrier vehicle for a floating carrier system, a second transmitter that sends a signal to a preceding vehicle to each carrier, and a preceding signal when the vehicle-to-vehicle distance falls below a predetermined value when a signal is received from a following vehicle. A second receiver that outputs a command signal to attract the vehicle body to the rail is added to the levitation control circuit of the vehicle.

The first transmitter / receiver and the second transmitter / receiver of this apparatus may be the same kind of transmitter / receiver or different kinds of transmitter / receiver. When the same type of transmitter / receiver is used, the first transmitter / receiver and the second transmitter / receiver are the same type of transmitter / receiver, and the first transmitter / receiver and the first transmitter / receiver provided in the front part of the vehicle are used. 2 The receiver and the second transmitter provided at the rear of the carrier and the transmitter / receiver of the first receiver are arranged at a position where a predetermined distance is maintained between them.

[0013]

When the following vehicle approaches the preceding vehicle by exceeding the set lower limit of the inter-vehicle distance (such a situation occurs when the preceding vehicle stops or decelerates due to some trouble), the first
The receiver detects it, and the detection signal causes the levitation control circuit to increase the exciting current of the levitation magnet, which causes the following vehicle to stick to the rail and stop.

When the preceding vehicle runs backward due to a trouble in the traveling control system and approaches the following vehicle by exceeding the set lower limit of the inter-vehicle distance, the first receiver which receives the signal from the first transmitter, and the second receiver.
The second receiver, which received the signal from the transmitter, detects it and both the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle receive an adsorption signal to the levitation control circuit and both transport vehicles adsorb to the rails and stop. Will not shrink any further.

The lower limit vehicle distances detected by the first receiver and the second receiver may be set to be the same or may be slightly different. In order to enhance the effect of non-contact transportation, it is desirable to reduce as much as possible except when emergency suction is unavoidable,
When there is a difference in the detection lower limit inter-vehicle distance of the first and second receivers, there are cases where a collision can be avoided by adsorbing only one of the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle.

Next, if the first and second transmitters / receivers are of the same type, it is advantageous in terms of cost and circuit design. Also, when the signal from the first transmitter hits a front object and is reflected and received by the second receiver, or when the signal from the second transmitter hits a rear object and is reflected and hits the first receiver. If it is received, self-adsorption may occur due to misidentification, but if the transmitting and receiving parts of different distance detection systems are separated by a predetermined distance in the vertical or horizontal direction, the reflected signals from other systems will not enter and No adsorption problems occur.

If the first and second transmitters / receivers are of different types, even if a reflected signal from another system enters, it will not be received as a formal signal, so it is possible to prevent self-adsorption due to misidentification of the reflected signal. become.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 are schematic configuration diagrams of a magnetic levitation transfer system provided with a collision prevention device according to the present invention.

The transport vehicle is of a type in which the carrier 3 is cantilevered above the traveling rail by an arm 2 fixed to the vehicle body 1 as shown in the figure. A package X to be transported is placed on the platform 3.

On the vehicle body 1, levitation magnets 4 are provided at four positions in front of and behind it, a horizontal reaction plate 5 is provided above the center, and four gap sensors 6 are provided in the vicinity of the levitation magnet 4. Has been.

A track 1 on which a carrier is magnetically supported for traveling.
No. 0 has a box-shaped frame with an open lower side, the primary coils 11 of the linear motor are provided at an appropriate pitch along the rail longitudinal direction at the center of the cross section of the frame, and the magnetic attraction force of the magnets at the lower parts of both sides. A ferromagnetic rail 12 is provided to act.

The track 10 is cantilevered by a support girder 14 fixed to the ground side via a support arm 13 of a required length.

The carrier vehicle controls the coil current of the levitation magnet 4 by an electric control circuit (described later) provided in the frame body 7 at the center of the vehicle body to maintain a predetermined gap with the rail 12. While being levitationally supported, the primary coil 11 of the linear motor is excited in this state to generate a propulsive force on the reaction plate 5 to drive the reaction plate 5.

Optical transmitters 8-1A and 8-2A for detecting an inter-vehicle distance are provided in front of and behind the vehicle body of this transport vehicle (only the transmitting portion is shown in the drawing) with their polarization planes horizontally shifted.
Optical receivers 8-1B and 8-2B (only the receiving unit is shown in the figure) are provided at positions facing the optical transmitters 8-1A and 8-2A of the front and rear transport vehicles. The optical receivers 8-1B and 8-2B adopted here detect whether or not the intensity of the received light exceeds a threshold value to detect an abnormal approach, that is, whether or not the vehicle body distance has become a predetermined value or less, When the value becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, a suction command signal is output to the levitation control circuit of the carrier vehicle having the receiver.

For detecting the vehicle-to-vehicle distance, if one of the systems uses a detector including an optical transmitter / receiver and the other system uses a detector composed of transmitters / receivers such as ultrasonic waves, There is no problem even if the transmitted signal of the system is reflected and enters the receiver of the other system.Therefore, in this case, the polarization plane or polarization plane of the different system should be positioned to prevent reflected light intrusion. It is not necessary to shift it.

Reference numeral 24 is a receiver for remote control and emergency stop control (the light receiving portion thereof is shown in the figure).

The carrier constructed as described above has a levitation control circuit shown in the block diagram of FIG. 3, and levitation control is performed by this circuit. When the levitation control circuit receives an abnormal approach detection signal from the optical receivers 8-1B and 8-2B, the levitation control circuit stops the levitation control and intensifies the exciting current of the levitation magnet 4 to attract the carrier vehicle to the rail 12.

The details of this control will be described below.

The levitation control circuit 20 shown in FIG. 3 is provided in four sets corresponding to the four sets of levitation magnets 4 and gap sensors 6. Each levitation control circuit sends a signal from the gap sensor 6 to the arithmetic circuit 22 via the gap sensor circuit 21, and feedback-controls the current supplied from the magnet drive circuit 23 to the coil of the levitation magnet 4 based on the signal. The carriage is controlled to maintain a predetermined distance with respect to the rail 12 of FIG.

In such levitation control, an external optical signal is received by the remote control receiver 24, and the power circuit 25 is turned ON / OF.
It is executed after the F operation is performed. When the levitation signal is sent while the power is on, a signal is given to the levitation control circuit 20, the magnet drive circuit 23 operates, and a control signal is sent to the levitation magnet 4 for levitation.

When stopped, an adsorption signal is sent to the remote control receiver 24, the soft landing circuit is activated by this signal, and the arithmetic circuit is operated by the levitation magnet 4
The coil current is controlled so that is attracted to the rail 12.

Furthermore, if an emergency stop is required due to some accident, a stop signal is sent to the remote control receiver 24 as described above.

Further, when a failure occurs in the carrier vehicle and a current larger than the normal set current flows for a certain period of time or when a current close to the rated current instantaneously flows, the adsorption signal to the rail is output by the arithmetic circuit 22. Sent to.

Further, the optical receivers 8-1B and 8-2 are further provided.
B is an abnormal approach between the transport vehicles (for example, the distance between vehicles is 50c).
m) or less) is detected, the operation circuit 22 performs soft landing based on the detection signal.
The coil current of the levitation magnet 4 is intensified by the command from the control unit, and control is performed to attract the levitation magnet 4 to the rail 12.

Therefore, the attraction of the levitation magnet 4 is performed not only when the following vehicle abnormally approaches the preceding vehicle, but also when the preceding vehicle reversely moves or approaches the following vehicle abnormally. In any case, the inter-vehicle distance is kept at zero or more by the stop of the carrier vehicle due to the collision, and the collision is avoided.

[0037]

As described above, according to the collision prevention device of the present invention, since the suction control is performed by detecting both the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle and the inter-vehicle distance to the following vehicle, the preceding vehicle of the following vehicle is detected. Not only the abnormal approach to the vehicle but also the abnormal approach of the preceding vehicle to the following vehicle is eliminated, and the reliability of the collision prevention is enhanced.
That is, in the event of an unexpected situation, such as an earthquake, power failure, or trouble in the travel control system, which leads to a stuck vehicle,
Even when the preceding vehicle runs in the reverse direction, the collision between the transport vehicles is prevented, and the possibility of the damage of the luggage due to the collision becomes zero.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a track of a magnetic levitation transfer system and a transfer vehicle.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a carrier vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a levitation control circuit including a levitation prevention device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle body 4 Levitating magnet 5 Reaction plate 6 Gap sensor 8-1A, 8-2A Optical transmitter 8-1B, 8-2B Optical receiver 10 Orbit 11 Primary coil 12 Ferromagnetic rail 20 Levitation control circuit 21 Gap Sensor circuit 22 Arithmetic circuit 23 Magnet drive circuit 24 Remote control receiver 25 Power supply circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic control system for controlling the exciting current of a levitation coil by a feedback control based on a signal from a gap sensor to maintain a floating amount of a vehicle body from a rail within a predetermined range, and applying a thrust force to a vehicle for traveling in this state. A device provided in a levitation transport system, wherein each transport vehicle includes a first transmitter that sends a signal to a succeeding vehicle and a first receiver that receives a signal from a preceding vehicle, and when the inter-vehicle distance becomes a predetermined value or less. In a collision preventing device for a carrier vehicle, which detects a signal from the first receiver to a levitation control circuit of the following vehicle having the receiver to attract the following vehicle to a rail, A second transmitter that sends a signal to the preceding vehicle,
A magnetically levitated vehicle characterized in that a second receiver that outputs a command signal for adsorbing a vehicle body to the rail is added to the levitation control circuit of the preceding vehicle when the inter-vehicle distance falls below a predetermined value in response to a signal from the following vehicle. Anti-collision device. 2. The first transmitter / receiver and the second transmitter / receiver are the same type of transmitter / receiver, and the first transmitter / second receiver and the rear part of the carrier are provided at the front of the carrier. 2. The collision prevention device for a magnetic levitation vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the second transmitter and the first receiver, which are provided, are arranged at positions where a predetermined distance is maintained between them. 3. The collision prevention device for a magnetic levitation vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the first sending / receiving device and the second sending / receiving device are different kinds of sending / receiving devices.