JPH0898326A - Conveyance controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To detect and treat a failure properly when a mark sensor or a conveying vehicle sensor is failed and limit the damage of a conveying system to the minimum. CONSTITUTION: A sensor failure is detected by an operational control unit 2 in accordance with the setting positions of mark sensors 5a and 5b and conveying vehicle sensors 6a and 6b and the latch signals of a position counter 3 which are generated in accordance with the inputs of the mark sensors 5a and 5b.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention mainly relates to control of a carrier device for carrying small articles, and more particularly, to a carrier control device for controlling traveling of a plurality of guided vehicles which are driven by inertia by a propulsive force applied by a linear motor. It relates to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, office automation (O
A), as part of factory automation (FA), etc., slips, documents,
It is widely practiced to carry cash, materials, workpieces, parts and the like using a carrying device.

The transport device used for such transport is
It is required to be able to quickly and quietly convey a conveyed object. For this reason, in this type of transfer device, a method of supporting the transfer vehicle on a guide rail in a non-contact manner and traveling is often adopted. Air and magnetism are generally used to support the carrier without contact. Among them, the method of magnetically supporting the carrier is excellent in followability to the guide rail and noise reduction effect, and can be said to be the most promising supporting method.

Further, in such a conventional transport apparatus, a plurality of transport vehicles for transporting the transport objects and a plurality of stations having a function for loading and unloading the transport objects transported by the transport vehicles. And a carrier path that is laid between the plurality of stations and through which the carrier vehicles travel, and a control device that controls the travel of each carrier vehicle and the allocation control of the carrier vehicles to the carrier request from each station. ing. Therefore, when a transport request is sent from each station, the control device monitors this and sequentially assigns the waiting transport vehicles, so that the transport processing between the multiple stations is automatically performed. I am trying.

FIG. 7 is a bird's-eye view for explaining the structure of the whole of such a conveying device. This device is of a magnetic levitation type, and a transport vehicle travels on a transport path in a floating state.

As shown in FIG. 7, a transport path 10 is laid along a predetermined transport path. The transport path 10 includes a linear track unit 11, a curved track unit 12, a curved branch unit 13, a right-angle branch unit 14, and a rotary branch unit 1.
It is configured by a combination of 5 or the like, and can be adapted to various layouts of the transport path. These transport paths 1
A single or a plurality of carrier vehicles 16 can travel along 0,
Article transportation between the plurality of stations 20 and charging of the transportation vehicle 16 at the charging station 21 are performed. Each station 20 and each charging station 21 is integrated with each branching unit, and the transport vehicle 16 moves from the transport path 10 to the transport vehicle 1
Items to be conveyed are unloaded / unloaded or charged at a point separated by a vehicle width or more in the width direction of 6, while another carrier 16 can pass in front of the station. Further, a station 22 for loading and unloading articles from a warehouse or the like (not shown) and a maintenance station 23 for performing maintenance and inspection of the transport vehicle 16 are also installed.

The transport path 10 of the configuration example shown in FIG. 7 includes a racetrack-shaped main line portion, the main line and the rotary branch unit 1.
And a branch line portion connected via 5. The operation control of the transport vehicle 16 in each branch line and the management of the transported object are controlled by the local controller 24 arranged for each branch line. In addition, the control device 25 controls the operation of the transport vehicle on the main line, and the transport control that controls the operation of the transport vehicle 16 of the overall system, manages the flow of the transported object, and manages the charge of the transport vehicle 16. It consists of a controller.

Note that, in FIG. 7, some of the members necessary for constructing the transfer device, such as power supply equipment and supporting members for supporting the transfer track, are omitted in order to avoid complexity.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the carrying device 25 in FIG. A transfer control controller 31 that manages the entire transfer device receives a transfer request from a physical distribution management system 30 such as a production management system in a manufacturing factory, and loads a load instruction, a start instruction, and unloads a load on a local controller 32 related to the transfer request. Give instructions etc. In response to these instructions, the local controller 32 controls the transfer machine 34 via the corresponding station controller 33 to transfer the transferred object to the transfer vehicle 16 or transfer it from the transfer vehicle 16. Further, the inverter 38 is driven via the linear motor controller 37 to excite the linear motor 39 to start the transport vehicle 16. Both the transport vehicle 16 on which the transported object is mounted and the empty transport vehicle 16 are accelerated / decelerated by a linear motor 39 via the linear motor controller 37 and the inverter 38 in accordance with a predetermined traveling pattern according to the output signal of the passing / passing speed detector 36. It Here, in the linear motor 39, the stators are distributed and arranged along the guide rails on which the transport vehicle 16 travels,
It is configured by attaching a mover to the side of the transport vehicle 16. The movement of the transport vehicle 16 is determined by passing the
Passing speed detector 36 or carrier identification code detector 4
Monitored by 0. Carrier identification code detector 4
The information of 0 and the vehicle detector 41 is transmitted to the transport controller 31 as the location information of the transport vehicle. A terminal 42 and a bar code reader 45 are installed in each station 20 shown in FIG. Further, each charging station 21 and each station 20 shown in FIG. 7 is provided with a charging device 43 and a carrier vehicle interface 44, and provides information such as the vehicle number from the carrier vehicle 16 and a signal for charging the installed storage battery. In response to this, the local controller 32 and the station controller 33 can control the charging device 43 to charge the transport vehicle 16 according to an instruction from the transport overall controller 31.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the structure of the position sensor and the carrier vehicle sensor arranged near the stator of the linear motor 39 shown in FIG. The sensor connected to the controller 1 is
Mark sensor 5a, guided vehicle sensor 6a, guided vehicle sensor 6
b and the mark sensor 5b are installed in this order. The distance between the transport vehicle sensors 6a and 6b is approximately one vehicle body length, and the mark sensors 5a and 5b are the transport vehicle sensors 6a and 6b.
Mounted adjacent to. Mark sensor 5a, 5
b detects a mark attached to the transport vehicle 16 by optical or magnetic means and converts it into a pulse. The position information is obtained by the arithmetic control unit 2 by discriminating the pulse by the up / down pulse discriminating unit 4 and counting by the counter 3. The velocity information is obtained from the amount of change in the position information for each sampling time in the control loop.
The carrier vehicle sensors 6a and 6b are used to finally position the carrier vehicle 16.

FIG. 10 shows a control sequence for stopping processing of the transport vehicle 16 on the premise of the overall configuration shown in FIG. 7, the block configuration of the control device shown in FIG. 8 and the configuration of the sensor shown in FIG. The control sequence for the passage processing is shown in FIG. Here, in the stop processing, first, the switching speed designated in advance is set as the target speed, and the transport vehicle 16
The speed control 101 for feeding back the speed of is performed. When the speed of the transport vehicle 16 is reduced to the switching speed by the speed control 101, the control is switched to the position control 103.
In position control 103, the position and speed are fed back to stop within a predetermined target stop position range. In the case of this transportation system, the position of
Since the detected amount of speed includes some error, after the carriage 16 is stopped, the inching control 105 is used to perform final positioning using the carriage sensors 6a and 6b.

In the passage process, the speed is controlled by feeding back the speed so that the speed of the transport vehicle 16 coincides with a predetermined target speed when the vehicle exits the self-control zone.
I do. This passage is performed until the transport vehicle 16 exits the control zone.

[0013]

In the above-mentioned transfer device, when the transfer vehicle 16 equipped with the mover approaches the stator of the guide rail, its position and speed are detected.
As a result, the linear motor is excited to perform control such as acceleration, deceleration, and stop.

In the control sequence described above, it is assumed that the mark sensors 5a and 5b and the vehicle sensor 6a and 6b are always normal. However, the sensor may fail, in which case the following problems occur.

(1) If the pulses of the mark sensors 5a and 5b are abnormally undersized, the position and speed information is abnormally undersized as compared with the original values, so the stop control shown in FIG. In the sequence of, the speed control 101 is ended assuming that the speed becomes equal to or lower than the switching speed, and the control shifts to the position control 103 without actually decelerating. If the position control 103 is performed as it is, the linear motor 39 is excited to match the target position and speed,
In the stop process, there is a possibility that the target position will be overrun. Similarly, in the start / pass processing, the speed at the time of exit from the zone increases abnormally, which may hinder the processing in the next zone.

(2) If the pulse of the mark sensors 5a and 5b is abnormally excessively broken, the position and speed information becomes abnormally excessive as compared with the original value. There is a risk that it will stop in the foreground and it will take too long to stop in the normal position. Further, in the passage processing, the speed at the time of exiting the zone is abnormally low, and there is a possibility that the vehicle may stop in the middle of the transport path before reaching the next zone.

(3) When the guided vehicle sensors 6a and 6b are out of order, the inching control 105 cannot perform the final positioning, and there is a risk of time over or overrun to an uncontrollable range. is there.

(4) It may take time to specify the cause when the stop / pass / start processing fails due to a sensor abnormality and the transport system goes down, and the system may not be quickly restored.

The object of the present invention is to minimize the damage to the transport system by immediately detecting the fault even if the mark sensor or the transport vehicle sensor fails, and performing the process at the time of the fault accurately. An object of the present invention is to provide a transfer control device that can be limited.

[0020]

According to the present invention, which achieves the above-mentioned object, stators of linear motors are arranged in a distributed manner along a guide rail for traveling a carrier, and the stators are grouped so as to include one stator. A plurality of mark sensors provided for each of the control zones for detecting marks provided on the side of the transport vehicle, two transport vehicle sensors for finally positioning the transport vehicle, and provided for each of the control zones Position counter for counting the pulses from the mark sensor and the signals of the carrier vehicle sensor and the position counter are input to perform self-control based on commands from the same-type control unit and upper control unit in a plurality of control zones in the traveling direction of the carrier vehicle. A transport device which is provided with a control unit for controlling the traveling of the transport vehicle in the zone so that the transport vehicle can be continuously accelerated and decelerated in a plurality of control zones. And a plurality of latch units for latching the position counter by a signal from the vehicle sensor, and the control unit based on the position counter information from the latch unit and the mark sensor installation position information in the own control zone. And a means for detecting a failure of the mark sensor.

Further, according to the present invention, the stators of the linear motors are arranged in a distributed manner along the guide rails on which the carrier travels, and the carrier is provided for each control zone divided so as to include one stator. A plurality of mark sensors for detecting the marks provided on the side, two carrier vehicle sensors for finally positioning the position of the carrier vehicle, and provided for each of the control zones and counting the pulses from the mark sensor The position counter and the signals of the carrier vehicle sensor and the position counter are input to control the traveling of the guided vehicle in its own control zone based on the commands of the same-type control unit and the upper control unit of a plurality of control zones in the traveling direction of the guided vehicle. A transport device that is provided with a subordinate control unit so that a transport vehicle can be continuously accelerated and decelerated in a plurality of control zones. A plurality of latch units for latching the position counter by means of the control unit and the control unit, based on the information of the position counter from the latch unit and the information of the installation position of the vehicle sensor in the own control zone, to detect the failure of the vehicle sensor. And a means for detecting.

Further, according to the present invention, the stators of the linear motors are dispersedly arranged along the guide rails on which the carrier travels, and the carrier is provided for each control zone divided so as to include one stator. A plurality of mark sensors for detecting the marks provided on the side, two carrier vehicle sensors for finally positioning the position of the carrier vehicle, and provided for each of the control zones and counting the pulses from the mark sensor The position counter and the signals of the carrier vehicle sensor and the position counter are input to control the traveling of the guided vehicle in its own control zone based on the commands of the same-type control unit and the upper control unit of a plurality of control zones in the traveling direction of the guided vehicle. A transport device that is provided with a subordinate control unit so that the transport vehicle can be continuously accelerated and decelerated in a plurality of control zones. A plurality of latch units for latching position counters by a signal, and the control unit, based on the information of the position counters from the latch units and the information of the setting positions of the respective sensors in the self-control zone, the mark sensor and the carrier vehicle. And a linear motor control means for a sensor failure.

[0023]

As described above, from the information of the position counter, the information of the vehicle sensor, and the information of the installation position of each sensor in the self-control zone, the mark sensor and the vehicle sensor malfunction in the self-control zone. Can be detected, and the linear motor is controlled according to the failure state, so that damage to the transport system when a failure occurs can be minimized and the system can be quickly restored.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the drawing, the same reference numerals denote the same parts.

FIG. 1 shows a linear motor controller 1 corresponding to FIG. 9, an arithmetic control unit 2, a counter 3, and up / dow.
It is a block diagram which shows the relationship of the n pulse discrimination part 4, mark sensor 5a, 5b, conveyance vehicle sensor 6a, 6b, the latch part 7a, 7b, 7c, the inverter 38, and the linear motor 39.
Here, the latch units 7 a, 7 b and 7 c are provided between the counter 3 and the arithmetic control unit 2.

The linear motor controller 1 sends a command such as presence / absence of the carrier vehicle 16 in the control zone, information about normality / abnormality of the controller, stop / passage in the own control zone, etc. from a linear motor controller of the same type in front of the own control zone. The control amount to the inverter 38 is calculated on the basis of the information received from the mark sensors 5a and 5b and the positions and speeds of the mark sensors 5a and 5b, and the information from the carrier vehicle sensors 6a and 6b. , The transport vehicle 16 is accelerated and decelerated.

When the mark sensor 5a is normal, the transport vehicle 1
Position counting is started at the same time when the front end of 6 passes the mark sensor 5a, and when the rear end of the transport vehicle 16 passes therethrough, the position counting by the mark sensor 5a ends.
Normally, at this time, since the leading end of the transport vehicle 16 has entered the mark sensor 5b, the position counting is performed until the rear end of the transport vehicle 16 finishes passing the mark sensor 5b.
It is performed by adding to the count by a. The values of the position counts when the transport vehicle sensors 6a and 6b and the mark sensor 5b pass are almost equal to the set distances l ₁ , l ₂ and l ₃ shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and Table 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the function of this embodiment. The rising of the various sensor inputs is detected by the rising detection unit 50, and the guided vehicle sensor 6a, the guided vehicle sensor 6b,
The count value at the time of rising of the mark sensor 5b is latched in the latch units 7a, 7b, 7c by a latch command. This value is compared with the failure reference value 51 obtained from the sensor set value 55 and the allowable error 52, and the failure of the sensor to be detected is determined.

[0029]

[Table 1] Table 1 is a table showing a sensor in which a failure has occurred, a sensor for detecting the failure, and a failure detection method. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a positional relationship among the mark sensor, the carrier vehicle sensor, and the carrier vehicle. It is assumed that the transport vehicles enter the control zone from the mark sensor 5a side in FIG. 3, and the longitudinal direction in Table 1 is arranged in the order in which the failure occurrence location is present, and the horizontal direction is arranged in the order in which the transport vehicles 16 pass from the left side. The columns in the table show the failure detection methods and processes,
The shaded area indicates that the failure location cannot be detected.

First, a detection method when the mark sensor 5a fails will be described.

As described above, the transport vehicle 16 uses the mark sensor 5
When entering from the a side, the value of the position count when passing through the mark sensor 5b becomes substantially equal to the set distance shown in FIG. 3 although it includes a measurement error.

Therefore, the latch value 7a latched when the leading end of the transport vehicle 16 passes through the transport vehicle sensor 6a,
The linear motor controller 1 can detect the failure of the mark sensor 5a by comparing the failure reference value _11-min and the failure reference value _11-max calculated from the sensor set value 55 and the allowable error 52 shown in FIG. .

That is, when the following expression (1) is established, it is determined that the operation is normal, and the other cases are determined to be a sensor failure.

[0034]

[Equation 1] Failure reference value _11-min <Latch value 7a <Failure reference value _11-max (1) where:

[Equation 2] Failure reference value _11-min : Carrier vehicle sensor 6a set value l
₁ x (1-tolerance) Failure reference value _11-max : Set value l ₁ x (1 for guided vehicle sensor 6a)
+ Tolerance) 0 ≦ tolerance ≦ 1.

Similarly, the transport vehicle 16 has a transport vehicle sensor 6b,
Latch values 7b and 7c when passing through the mark sensor 5b
And the failure reference value obtained from the respective sensor setting values l ₂ and l ₃ can be compared to detect the failure of the mark sensor 5a.

By the above method, the failure of the mark sensor 5a can be detected.

Next, a method for detecting a failure of the guided vehicle sensors 6a and 6b will be described. FIG. 4 shows a flowchart for detecting a failure of the guided vehicle sensor, and this processing is performed in the control loop of the stop processing or the passage processing.

Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to FIG. First, it is determined whether the transport vehicle 16 has passed the mark sensor 5a. After passing, when the input of the carrier vehicle sensor 6b rises, it is checked whether or not the input of the carrier vehicle sensor 6a is already present. If there is no input from the guided vehicle sensor 6a, the linear motor controller determines that the guided vehicle sensor 6a is defective.

Further, when the input of the guided vehicle sensor 6b rises, the state of the guided vehicle sensor 6a is judged by checking whether or not the input of the guided vehicle sensor 6a has already been made.

Similarly, it is possible to detect a failure of the guided vehicle sensor 6b. That is, when the input of the mark sensor 5b rises, it is checked whether or not the input of the transport vehicle sensor 6b has already been made, and if there is no input, it is determined that the transport vehicle sensor 6b is out of order. Thus, it is possible to detect the failure of the guided vehicle sensors 6a and 6b.

Further, the processing when the sensor failure is detected by the above method during the stop processing will be described.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the processing method when the sensor fails. The contents will be described below. First, when a failure of the mark sensor 5a is detected by the guided vehicle sensor 6a or the guided vehicle sensor 6b, (1) the current control is stopped and the linear motor 39
Is not performed, and the uncontrolled state 125 is set until the transport vehicle 16 enters the mark sensor 5b. (2) When the transport vehicle 16 enters the mark sensor 5b, the speed control 101 in FIG. 10 is started. (3) When the speed becomes zero, the stop process is terminated because the mark sensor 5a has a failure.

When the failure of the guided vehicle sensors 6a and 6b is detected, (1) If the speed control 101 and the position control 103 are currently being performed, the control is continued until the end condition is satisfied. When the inching control 105 is being performed, the stop processing is immediately ended. (2) When the end condition is satisfied, the stop process is ended because the guided vehicle sensor 6a has a failure.

FIG. 6 shows the processing when the mark sensor 5a fails during the passing processing. When a failure is detected by the carrier vehicle sensors 6a and 6b, (1) the current control is stopped and the linear motor 39
Is not performed, and the uncontrolled state 125 is set until the transport vehicle 16 enters the mark sensor 5b. (2) After entering the mark sensor 5b, the speed control 107 is performed so that the target exit speed is reached until the transport vehicle 16 exits the control zone.

As described above, the mark sensors 5a, 5
The stop process and the passing process are performed when the vehicle b and the vehicle sensor 6a, 6b have a failure.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to the failure detection of the levitation transport vehicle and the processing at the time of detection, it can be applied to other similar transport devices, such as a wheel-traveling linear motor.

[0047]

According to the present invention, the stators of the linear motors are arranged in a distributed manner along the guide rails on which the carrier travels, and the carrier side surface is divided into control zones including one stator. Mark sensors for detecting the marks of the vehicle, two vehicle vehicle sensors for final positioning of the vehicle, a position counter provided for each control zone and counting the pulses from the mark sensor, Multiple latches that latch position counters based on signals from sensors and vehicle sensors, and traveling of the vehicle in its own control zone based on commands from the same-type control unit and higher-level control unit in multiple control zones in the vehicle traveling direction In the transport apparatus, which is provided with a lower-level control unit for controlling the transport vehicle so that the transport vehicle can be continuously accelerated and decelerated in a plurality of control zones, Since the means for detecting the failure of the mark sensor and the guided vehicle sensor based on the information of the counter and the information of the installation position of each sensor in the self control zone and the linear motor control means for detecting the failure are provided. The failure of various sensors can be detected during stop, passage control,
Even if a failure occurs, it is possible to prevent overrun and overspeed of the carrier.

Furthermore, since the cause of failure can be easily identified, the system can be quickly restored.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a relationship among a linear motor controller, a calculation control unit, a counter, an up / down pulse discriminating unit, a mark sensor, a carrier vehicle sensor, a latch unit, an inverter, and a linear motor in one embodiment of the present invention. .

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a failure detection function performed in the linear motor controller of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship among a mark sensor, a carrier vehicle sensor, and a carrier vehicle in a carrier device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

4 is a flowchart of a failure detection function performed in the linear motor controller of FIG.

5 is a flow chart showing a stop process performed when various sensors fail in the linear motor controller of FIG.

6 is a flow chart showing a passage process performed when various sensors fail in the linear motor controller of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a bird's-eye view showing the overall configuration of the transport device.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system in the entire transport device of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing a relationship between a conventional linear motor controller, a calculation control unit, a counter, an up / down pulse discriminating unit, a mark sensor, a guided vehicle sensor, an inverter, and a linear motor.

10 is a flowchart showing a stop process performed in the linear motor controller of FIG.

11 is a flow chart showing a passage process performed in the linear motor controller of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 arithmetic control unit 3 counter 5a, 5b mark sensor 6a, 6b carrier vehicle sensor 7a, 7b, 7c latch unit 16 carrier vehicle

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Stator of linear motors are dispersedly arranged along a guide rail for traveling a carrier, and the stators are provided on the side of the carrier provided for each control zone divided so as to include one stator. A plurality of mark sensors for detecting marks, two carrier vehicle sensors for finally positioning the position of the carrier vehicle, and a position counter provided for each of the control zones to count pulses from the mark sensor, A control unit for inputting each signal of the carrier vehicle sensor and a position counter, and controlling the travel of the carrier vehicle in the own control zone based on commands from the same-type control unit and a higher-order control unit of a plurality of control zones in the traveling direction of the carrier vehicle. By providing a transporting apparatus capable of continuously accelerating and decelerating the transporting vehicle in a plurality of control zones, a position counter is provided by signals from the mark sensor and the transporting vehicle sensor. A plurality of latch units for latching, and the control unit, means for detecting a failure of the mark sensor based on the information of the position counter from the latch unit and the information of the installation position of the mark sensor in the self-control zone, A transport control device comprising: 2. The stators of linear motors are arranged in a distributed manner along guide rails on which the carrier travels, and are provided on the carrier side provided for each control zone divided so as to include one stator. A plurality of mark sensors for detecting marks, two carrier vehicle sensors for finally positioning the position of the carrier vehicle, a position counter provided for each of the control zones, and counting the pulses from the mark sensor, A lower control unit for inputting the signals of the carrier vehicle sensor and the position counter, and controlling the traveling of the carrier vehicle within the own control zone based on commands from the same-type control unit and a higher-order control unit in a plurality of control zones in the traveling direction of the carrier vehicle. In the transport apparatus in which the carriage is capable of continuously accelerating and decelerating in a plurality of control zones, the position control is performed by signals from the mark sensor and the carriage sensor. A plurality of latches for latching the vehicle, and the controller detects a failure of the vehicle sensor based on the information of the position counter from the latch and the information of the installation position of the vehicle sensor in the own control zone. A transport control device comprising: 3. The stators of linear motors are arranged in a distributed manner along a guide rail that travels the transport vehicle, and are provided on the transport vehicle side provided for each control zone divided so as to include one stator. A plurality of mark sensors for detecting marks, two carrier vehicle sensors for finally positioning the position of the carrier vehicle, a position counter provided for each of the control zones, and counting the pulses from the mark sensor, A lower control unit for inputting the signals of the carrier vehicle sensor and the position counter, and controlling the traveling of the carrier vehicle within the own control zone based on commands from the same-type control unit and a higher-order control unit in a plurality of control zones in the traveling direction of the carrier vehicle. In the transport apparatus in which the carriage is capable of continuously accelerating and decelerating in a plurality of control zones, the position control is performed by signals from the mark sensor and the carriage sensor. Failure of the mark sensor and the vehicle sensor based on the information of the position counter from the latch section and the information of the setting position of each sensor in the own control zone. A transport control device comprising: a time linear motor control means;