JPH09152913A - Method and system for controlling moving body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the time required for the moving body to reach a movement destination by moving the moving body to an area wherein the issue frequency of a moving body request is high when the moving body stays in an area where the issue frequency is low. SOLUTION: A central processor 32 refers to a stop state time measuring timer when an unmanned carrier is in a stand-by state and expects a conveyance request to be received again within a specific time after switching to the stand-by state, but performs a movement stand-by destination determining process the specific time later. Then the central processor 32 acquires the issue frequency of a conveyance request from a message repeating station, and switches the operation state to a movement stand-by state when there is partiality in issue distribution among small areas in the conveyance area and the unmanned carrier stands by in an area wherein the issue frequency is small. Namely, the central processor 32 drives an autonomous moving means 34 to start moving to the small area wherein the issue frequency is large and expects a conveyance request to be received in this movement stand-by state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention controls a plurality of movable moving bodies arranged within a predetermined movement range by a control station, and responds to an allocation request issued by a request issuing source.
A moving body control method and a moving body control system for moving any moving body to a predetermined moving destination, and further moving the moving body to the moving destination or the final moving destination designated by the request issuing source, for example, It can be applied to a luggage transport system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a system for moving a specific moving body from a plurality of moving bodies to a designated moving destination in response to an allocation request, an unmanned guided vehicle in a factory, a building, a distribution terminal or the like has been conventionally used. Known luggage transport systems are known.

This system is formed by a central management center, a plurality of unmanned guided vehicles, a carrier of luggage, and the like, and the central control center centrally controls a plurality of unmanned guided vehicles.

[0004] If the carrier of the parcel wants to carry the parcel, it issues an allocation request to the central control center through the built-in communication means, and requests the central control center to allocate an unmanned guided vehicle. Further, the destination of the parcel is instructed to the automatic guided vehicle that arrives in response to the allocation request.

The central control center is formed so as to be able to confirm the present positions of all the automatic guided vehicles in the transportation area and whether they are in a cargo handling state or a standby state. Here, the cargo handling state is a state from when the automatic guided vehicle starts moving to the transportation source in response to a movement instruction to when the luggage is unloaded at the transportation destination of the luggage, and the standby state is
The automated guided vehicle is waiting for a movement instruction from the central control center.

When an allocation request is issued by the carrier, the central control center selects from the unmanned guided vehicles in the standby state,
The unmanned carrier closest to the carrier that issued the allocation request is recognized, and a movement instruction is issued to this unmanned carrier.

The automated guided vehicle is formed so as to be able to move autonomously, that is, to move to a designated destination by selecting an appropriate route. When the central control center issues a movement instruction, It moves to the transport source specified by this move instruction. In addition, the unmanned guided vehicle loads the parcel at this transport source, transports this parcel to the transport destination specified by this transport source, and when the parcel is unloaded at the transport destination, switches to the standby state at this transport destination. , The central control center is notified of the standby status and awaits the next instruction.

[0008]

By the way, in this type of baggage transport system, there is a place in the transport area where an automated guided vehicle is likely to be concentrated, such as a transport source in an automated warehouse, and in the transport area. There may be a bias in the issuance distribution of allocation requests.

[0009] When such a bias is present, the distance from the carrier in the area where the allocation request is frequently issued is far,
This may also occur when an unmanned guided vehicle waiting in an area where the allocation request issuance frequency is low is allocated. In this case, the waiting time from the issuance of the allocation request by the carrier to the arrival of the automatic guided vehicle at the carrier becomes considerably long.

[0010]

In order to solve such a problem, the first aspect of the present invention is to provide a mobile unit request issued from a request issuing source via a plurality of communication relay stations arranged in a movable range. Is notified to a plurality of movable bodies arranged within the movable range, and in response to the request for the moving body, the moving body is selected and moved to a predetermined moving destination, and then the moving destination or the moving body is moved. The moving body control method of further moving to the final destination specified by the request issuing source is characterized by the following.

That is, each communication relay station manages the issue frequency information of the mobile body request for each area obtained by dividing the movable range into a plurality of areas, and even if a predetermined time has elapsed from the time of moving to the final destination, the movement is continued. A feature of the present invention is to move a mobile body that has stopped in a region where the body request issuance frequency is low to a region where the issue frequency is high.

In the second aspect of the present invention, a mobile unit request issued from a request issuer is movable within a movable range via a plurality of communication relay stations arranged within the movable range. In response to the mobile unit request, the mobile unit is selected and moved to a predetermined destination, and then the destination or the final destination designated by the mobile unit request issuer is selected. In the moving body control system to move further,
In addition to the configuration of the moving body to move to a predetermined destination,
The following means are provided.

That is, each communication relay station is provided with storage means for storing the issue frequency information of the mobile body request for each area obtained by dividing the movable range into a plurality of areas, and a movement instruction to an area having a high issue frequency is issued. Sometimes, each moving body is provided with a standby position changing moving means for moving to a designated position,
According to the contents of the storage means, if the mobile unit that has moved to the final destination remains in the region where the request frequency of the mobile unit is low for a predetermined time or longer, A standby position change instruction means for issuing a movement instruction is provided in each communication relay station or each mobile body.

In the first and second aspects of the present invention, when the moving body remains in the area where the frequency of issuing the moving body request is low even after a predetermined time has elapsed after moving to the final destination. In addition, since the moving body is moved to a region where the issuing frequency is high, the moving body can be moved in advance to a region where the utilization rate of the moving body is higher than that where the utilization rate of the moving body is low. It becomes possible to quickly move the moving body to the moving destination in response to an allocation request in which the moving destination is in the area where the utilization rate is high.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment in which a moving body control method and a moving body control system according to the present invention are applied to a luggage carrying system will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of system components at a specific time of the luggage transport system according to this embodiment.

In FIG. 2, the luggage carrying system is
A plurality of message relay stations 1-1, 1-2, ..., 1-L arranged in a transportation area AR such as a factory premises, and a plurality of package transportation sources 2-1, 2-2 ,. , N are formed by a plurality of automatic guided vehicles 3-1, 3-2, ..., 3-N.
In this luggage transport system, the transport sources 2-1 and 2-
In response to a transfer request issued asynchronously from 2, ..., 2-M, one of the plurality of automatic guided vehicles 3-1, 3-2 ,. Unattended transportation of the requester 2 package.

The transport area AR of this luggage transport system
Is divided into a plurality of small areas B-1, B-2, ..., BL, and each of the small areas B-1, B-2 ,. 1-2, ..., 1-L
Is installed.

Each message relay station 1-1, 1-2, ...
1-L are small areas B-1 and B to which self belongs respectively
-2, ..., BL is in charge. Each of the message relay stations 1-1, 1-2, ... When the carrier 2 or the unmanned guided vehicle 3 in the small area to which the other message relay station 1 belongs is the source or the destination, it communicates with the other message relay station 1. Also, the message relay station 1-
, 1-2, ..., 1-L total the issuance frequency of transport requests described later for each of the small areas B-1, B-2, ..., BL,
The automatic guided vehicle 3 is notified in response to a request from the automatic guided vehicle 3.

When it is necessary to carry a package, the carrier 2 sends a message via the message relay station 1 to the carrier area AR.
Then, the transfer request is announced, and the automatic guided vehicle 3 is selected based on the allocation request obtained in response to the transfer request.
Further, a movement instruction is issued to the selected automated guided vehicle 3 and the arrival of the automated guided vehicle 3 is waited. When the automated guided vehicle 3 arrives, luggage is loaded and the destination to be the final destination is designated.

When the unmanned guided vehicle 3 receives a carrying request via the message relay station 1 in a waiting state and a moving waiting state, which will be described later, the unmanned guided vehicle 3 issues an allocating request for allocating to the carrier. Here, as the operation state of the automatic guided vehicle 3, after the movement to the transportation source 2 is started by the movement instruction, the cargo is transported, and the cargo is loaded and unloaded at the final transportation destination until the loading and unloading work is completed, After starting the movement from the final destination to the designated waiting destination, the “moving waiting state” until reaching this waiting destination, and the message from the transportation source 2 after the loading and unloading work of the package at the transportation destination is completed. Waiting for you, or arriving at the designated waiting destination
There is a "standby state" in which the mobile phone is waiting for a message from. The automated guided vehicle 3 can respond to the message from the transport source 2 even in the movement standby state, as in the standby state.

When an instruction to dispatch a vehicle is obtained from the carrier 2 in response to an allocation request issued by itself, the automated guided vehicle 3 moves to the carrier 2 to load a package, and then the carrier 2
The parcel is transported to the destination, which is the final destination designated by, and the parcel is loaded and unloaded to switch to the standby state.
Further, if the standby state at the final destination continues for a predetermined time or more, that is, if the transportation request issuance frequency is biased among the small areas and the transportation request issuance frequency is small, the transportation is stopped. It switches to the standby state, moves to an area where the transfer request issuance frequency is high, and switches to the standby state.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of each message relay station 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the message relay station 1 includes a central processing unit 11, a communication means 12, and a transport request. It is composed of the issue distribution storage means 13.

Here, the central processing unit 11 is formed of a control unit of a microcomputer configuration, executes processing according to a processing procedure described later to control the operation of the entire message relay station 1, and directly or Other message relay station 1
Is responsible for relaying communication between the carrier 2 and the automated guided vehicle 3 via. Further, the central processing unit 11 is
The number of issuance of transport requests is set to the small areas B-1, B-2, ...
The transfer request issuance distribution storage unit 13 stores the distribution of the issuance frequency of the transfer requests in accordance with each BL. In the case of this embodiment, the small areas B-1 and B- to which the destination (conveyor 2) to which the unmanned guided vehicle 3 moves is instructed by the movement instruction to the unmanned guided vehicle 3 in the standby state and the movement waiting state.
, ..., B-L are taken as a unit, and the issuance frequency of the transport request is totaled.

The communication means 12 is formed by a wireless communication device which operates under the control of the central processing unit 11, and is provided between the message source 1 and the automated guided vehicle 3 or another message relay station 1 and the message relay station 1. Used for communication. For example,
The communication unit 12 announces the transport request message transmitted by the transport source 2 together with the communication units 12 of the other message relay stations 1 to the respective small areas in charge thereof. Also, the communication means 12 responds to the transport request via another message relay station 1 or directly, and the automated guided vehicle 3 responds to the transport request.
The allocation request is notified to the transfer request issuing source 2, and the transfer request corresponding to the allocation request is notified to the automatic guided vehicle 3. Further, the communication unit 12 notifies the issuance frequency of the transportation request in response to the request from the automatic guided vehicle 3.

The transfer request issuance distribution storage means 13 is formed by a hard disk device or the like that is controlled and operated by the central processing unit 11, and stores the transfer request issuance frequency of all small areas (transfer request issuance frequency distribution). doing.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram functionally showing the structure of the carrier 2. The transport source 2 is, for example, a transport area AR.
In the case of a factory, it corresponds to various processing machines, warehouses, and raw material loading ports in the product processing process, and in the case of a logistics terminal where the transportation area AR is a place for transshipment of cargo, a trunk route truck or a temporary storage warehouse Is equivalent to

Each carrier 2 has a message relay station 1 or an unmanned carrier 3, communication means 21 for exchanging messages with the carrier 2, and a microcomputer for executing a process according to a process procedure described later. Configuration of central processing unit 32
And formed. Each transport source 2 transmits a transport request to the message relay station 1 when it becomes necessary to transport a package, and receives an allocation request corresponding to this transport request. Further, each of the transport sources 2 issues a transport request to the unmanned transport vehicle 3 instructing the movement, loads the unmanned transport vehicle 3 that arrives in response to the transport request, and notifies the transport destination. Is.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram functionally showing the structure of the automatic guided vehicle 3. As shown in FIG. 5, each automatic guided vehicle 3 mainly includes a communication means 31, a central processing unit 32, and a central processing unit 32. It is formed by the current position acquisition means 33 and the autonomous movement means 34. In addition to these components, the automatic guided vehicle 3 has a loading / unloading mechanism for autonomously loading / unloading cargo at the transport source and the transport destination.

The communication means 31 is formed by a wireless communication device and is used for message exchange between the message relay station 1 and the carrier 2 and the unmanned carrier 3. The communication unit 31 receives the message of the transport request or the movement instruction via the message relay station 1 and outputs the message to the central processing unit 32, and also transmits the allocation request output from the central processing unit 32 to the message relay station 1. To do. Further, the communication means 31 requests the message relay station 1 to send the issuance frequency of the transportation request, and notifies the central processing unit 32 of the issuance frequency of the transportation request obtained in response to this. Further, the communication means 31 uses the automatic guided vehicle 3 concerned.
Is present at the transport source 2, the package transport destination is received from the transport source 2 and notified to the central processing unit 32.

The central processing unit 32 is formed by a control device having a microcomputer configuration. Central processing unit 32
Is for exchanging messages with the message relay station 1 and the carrier 2 via the communication means 31, and issuing allocation requests and the like. Further, the central processing unit 32 executes processing in accordance with a processing procedure described later and controls the overall operation of the automatic guided vehicle 3 in response to a message issued by the carrier 2.

The present position acquisition means 33 is the central processing unit 3
Controlled by 2, the present position of the automatic guided vehicle 3 is measured at regular intervals and the measurement result is output to the central processing unit 32. The current position is measured, for example, by a navigation method based on a beacon installed in this transportation area AR. Note that, as the current position acquisition means 33, for example, a GPS (Global Pos) that detects the current position on the basis of radio waves arriving from artificial satellites outdoors, for example.
itioning System) can be applied.

Upon receiving an instruction from the central processing unit 32, the autonomous moving unit 34 uses the current position measured by the current position acquisition unit 33 as a reference to carry out the unmanned transfer to the moving destination designated by the central processing unit 32. The vehicle 3 is moved autonomously. As the autonomous moving means 34, the environment is recognized by various sensors such as a guide system, an ultrasonic sensor, and an optical sensor that move the automatic guided vehicle 3 by being guided by an electromagnetic induction wire, a magnetic tape, or the like installed in advance on the moving route. A wide variety of moving methods, such as moving methods, can be widely applied.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the central processing unit 32 in the message relay station 1.

The message relay station 1 receives a message from another message relay station 1, a carrier 2 in the small area in charge, or an automated guided vehicle 3 in the small area in charge, and in response to the received message, The received message is announced or notified to the other message relay station 1, the carrier 2 in the small area in charge, and the automatic guided vehicle 3 in the small area in charge (step 101 to step 102).

When the received message is a transport request, the transport request is broadcast without exception in the transport area AR together with other message relay stations 1.

The central processing unit 11 judges whether or not this message is received from another message relay station 1 (step 111). Transporter 2 in the own small area
If it is received, a negative result is obtained, and at this time, this transport request message is sent to another message relay station 1
(Step 112), and subsequently broadcast to the assigned small area (step 113). As a result, the received message is transmitted to the carrier area AR together with the other message relay stations 1.
To announce. On the other hand, when the message is received from another message relay station 1, the message is issued from the carrier 2 in the small area in charge of the other message relay station 1. (Step 111 to step 113). In step 113 of this broadcast processing, the small area is recognized based on the transport source included in the transport request, and the issuance frequency of the transport request is updated.

When the received message is an allocation request or a transport request, and the destination is the transport source 2 or the automatic guided vehicle 3 that belongs to the small area in charge, the message is directly transmitted to this small area in charge (step 121). ). If the received message is an allocation request or a transport request and the destination of these messages is the carrier 2 or the automated guided vehicle 3 that belongs to a small area other than the assigned small area, the corresponding small area is selected. These messages are notified to the message relay station 1 in charge (step 131).

In the case of this embodiment, the message relay station 1 can grasp the message relay station 1 to which the carrier 2 or the unmanned guided vehicle 3 belongs, based on the position information, the identification number, etc. included in these messages. ing.

FIG. 7 shows the central processing unit 2 at the transport source 2.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of No. 2; When the central processing unit 22 needs to carry a package, the central processing unit 22 shown in FIG.
The processing procedure shown in is executed.

The central processing unit 22 first adds its own position information and identification number and sends a transport request to the message relay station 1 in the small area in charge (step 211), and transports via this message relay station 1. Announce the request.
In response to the transport request, the central processing unit 22 receives all allocation requests within a predetermined time, which are transmitted from one or more automatic guided vehicles 3 (steps 212 to 21).
3). If no allocation request can be received even after the lapse of a predetermined time, the central processing unit 22 issues a transportation request again (step 214 to step 211).

Upon receiving the allocation request, the central processing unit 22 selects the automatic guided vehicle 3 to be used for transportation from the automatic guided vehicles 3 that have issued the allocation request (steps 214 to 215). Here, as the automatic guided vehicle 3 to be used for transportation, based on the positional information of the automatic guided vehicle 3 included in the allocation request, the unmanned guided vehicle 3 that is the destination of the transportation request is most likely to move to the transport source 2. The nearest automatic guided vehicle 3 is selected.
The central processing unit 22 issues a transportation request to the selected automated guided vehicle 3 via the message relay station 1 and moves it to the transportation source 2 (step 215).

Then, the central processing unit 22 waits for the unmanned guided vehicle 3 to arrive (step 216), and when the unmanned guided vehicle 3 arrives and the loading of the luggage is completed, it designates the carrying destination (step 217). , Complete this procedure.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the central processing unit 32 in the automatic guided vehicle 3. The central processing unit 32 executes this processing procedure to switch the operating state or to load the cargo of the transport source 2. It can be transported unmanned.

When the unmanned guided vehicle 3 starts its operation, the central processing unit 32 starts a stop state time measuring timer for measuring the time of the stand-by state (step 301), and conveys the message broadcast from the message relay station 1. Wait for the reception of the request (step 302).

When the transport request is received, the central processing unit 32
Executes an allocation request issuing process (step 303).
That is, the central processing unit 32 issues an allocation request to the carrier 2 via the message relay station 1, and when a transfer instruction is obtained from the carrier 2 in response to the allocation request, the carrier 2 Carry your luggage. On the contrary, when the movement instruction corresponding to the allocation request is not obtained from the transport source 2, the process returns to the state of waiting for the transport request (step 303).
To step 301). In the allocation request issuing process of step 303, a sub-loop shown in FIG. 8 described later is executed.

When a negative result is obtained in the step of confirming the receipt of the transport request, the central processing unit 32 determines that the automatic guided vehicle 3
The operating state of is confirmed (step 304).

When the automatic guided vehicle 3 is in the standby state, the central processing unit 32 refers to the stop state time measuring timer and determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed from the time when the operation was switched to the standby state. (Step 305). If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the central processing unit 32 waits for the reception of the transport request again (step 305 to step 302), while if the predetermined time has elapsed, the movement standby destination determination process. Is executed (step 306).

In this movement waiting destination determination processing, the central processing unit 32 executes the processing of the sub-loop shown in FIG. 9 which will be described later, acquires the issuance frequency of the transport request from the message relay station 1, and issues it in the transport area AR. When the distribution is biased among the small areas and the automatic guided vehicle 3 is waiting in the small area where the issuing frequency is low, the operation state is switched to the movement waiting state. That is, the central processing unit 32 drives the autonomous moving means 34 to start moving to a small area where issuance frequency is high, and waits for reception of a transport request in this movement standby state (step 306 to step 302).

When the operation state is switched to the movement standby state in this way, the central processing unit 32 moves from step 304 to step 307 and determines whether or not the movement to the movement destination is completed. If the transfer is not completed, the transfer request is waited to be received. On the other hand, when the movement is completed, the stop state time measuring timer is cleared (step 308), the operation mode is switched to the standby state, and the conveyance request is waited for (step 309).

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a detailed processing procedure of the allocation request issuing processing shown in step 303 of FIG.

The central processing unit 32 forms the carrier information based on the position information and the identification number of the carrier 2 included in the carrier request message and stores it in the built-in storage means (step 311), and then the carrier request. The reception waiting timer is started (step 312). As will be described later, the unmanned guided vehicle 3 is configured to issue an allocation request to the nearest carrying request issuing source among a plurality of carrying requests received within a predetermined time. The waiting timer counts this predetermined time.

When the central processing unit 32 receives another transport request during this predetermined time, it also stores the transport source information relating to this transport request in the storage means (steps 313 to 3).
14, 315, 313), when a predetermined time has elapsed, an allocation request is issued to the carrier 2 closest to the unmanned guided vehicle 3 based on the carrier information corresponding to the received one or more carrier requests (steps). 315 to step 316). At this time, the central processing unit 32 issues an allocation request including the position information of the own vehicle obtained by the current position acquisition means 33.

Subsequently, the central processing unit 32 starts the transfer request reception waiting timer (step 317) and waits for the transfer request to be received (step 318). In a situation where the transfer request cannot be received, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the allocation request was issued, based on the time count of the transfer request reception waiting timer (step 321). Continue waiting for receipt of transport request. Central processing unit 3
When the transfer request cannot be received even if the transfer request corresponding to the allocation request is waited for for a predetermined time, the allocation request issuing process 2 ends.

On the other hand, when the transportation request can be received within the predetermined time, the central processing unit 32 starts the transportation processing (step 319). That is, the central processing unit 32
After switching the operating state to the cargo handling state, the autonomous driving means 34 is driven based on the position information of the transport source 2 added to the transport request which is the basis of the transport request, and the automatic guided vehicle 3 is driven. While moving to the transfer request destination (transfer source 2), the stop standby state time timer is cleared (step 320),
This allocation request issuing process ends.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the movement standby destination determination processing shown in step 306 in FIG.

The central processing unit 32 acquires the issuance frequency distribution of the transportation request from the message relay station 1 which is in charge of the unmanned guided vehicle 3 (step 321), and judges whether to move according to this issuance frequency distribution. (Step 322).

The central processing unit 32 judges that it is necessary to move when the distribution of the issuing frequency is uneven among the small areas and the current position (standby position) is the small area where the issuing frequency is low. , The destination is determined (step 323).
The movement destination is selected and executed in the small area having the highest allocation request issuance frequency, and the central processing unit 32 starts the movement by driving the autonomous moving means 34 based on the position information of the small area (step 324). ), And ends this processing procedure.
The destination may be an arbitrary position in the small area, but can be selected at the position of the message relay station 1, for example.

On the other hand, when waiting in a small area where allocation requests are frequently issued, the central processing unit 32
Determines in step 322 that there is no need for movement, and ends this processing procedure.

Hereinafter, how the unmanned guided vehicle 3 is assigned by the luggage carrying system according to this embodiment will be described.

In this luggage transport system, the transport source 2
When it becomes necessary to carry the parcel, the carrying source 2 issues a carrying request to the message relay station 1 in charge, and the carrying request is made in the carrying area AR via this message relay station 1 and another message relay station 1. To be announced. At this time,
Each message relay station 1 updates the information of the distribution frequency of the issuance of the transport request stored therein. In response to this, one or more unmanned guided vehicles 3 issue an allocation request to the nearest carrying request source among the carried requests received within a predetermined time, and via the message relay station 1. This allocation request reaches the transport request issuer 2. The transport request issuing source 2 selects the nearest unmanned transport vehicle 3 and issues a transport request to the selected unmanned transport vehicle 3. Upon receiving the transportation request, the automatic guided vehicle 3 switches the operation state to the cargo handling state and moves to the transportation source 2. Further, the automatic guided vehicle 3 loads the parcels at the carrier 2 and then moves to the destination designated by the carrier 2 which is the final destination, where the parcels are unloaded and switched to the standby state.

After switching to the standby state in this way, when the automated guided vehicle 3 receives a transport request, the assignment request is issued again and the corresponding processing is executed.

On the other hand, when waiting for a predetermined time or longer after switching to the standby state, the automatic guided vehicle 3 inquires of the message relay station 1 about the issuance frequency distribution of the allocation request, and the waiting time is obtained in accordance with this issuance frequency distribution. When the issuance frequency at the position is detected, and when waiting in a small area where the issuance frequency is low, the automatic guided vehicle 3 switches the operation state to the movement standby state and starts moving to the area where the issuance frequency is high. The unmanned guided vehicle 3 waits to receive the carrying request in the waiting state for the movement and in the waiting state that is switched at the moving destination.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, in the area where the issuance frequency of the transfer request is low, for the automatic guided vehicles 3 which are in the standby state for the predetermined time or more, the area where the automatic guided vehicles 3 are insufficient. Since the unmanned guided vehicle 3 is efficiently moved to the transfer request issuing source, the waiting time after the transfer request issuing source issues the request can be shortened.

In addition, even when moving to a new standby destination,
Since the automatic guided vehicle 3 is held in a dispatchable state, it is possible to increase the chances of selecting the automatic guided vehicle 3 that can be moved to the transport source in a short time, and improve the operating rate of the automatic guided vehicle 3.

Furthermore, the issuance frequency of the transport request is totaled, and the unmanned guided vehicle 3 in the standby state moves to the area where the unmanned guided vehicle 3 is in shortage according to this total. , Even if it changes with time,
This change can be dealt with, and the system can be flexibly operated accordingly.

In the above embodiment, the case where the transport request is announced in the transport area AR without omission has been described, but the announcement range may be limited to the area near the source of the transport request, if necessary. . By doing so, the amount of communication can be reduced, and the system configuration can be simplified accordingly.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the automatic guided vehicle is moved with the destination as the final destination has been described, but, for example, after carrying the luggage to the destination, the regulation specified by the destination. It can also be applied to the case where the automated guided vehicle is made to stand by at the waiting place. In this case, the final destination is the waiting place, and the message relay station 1 totals the issuance frequency of the transport request for the area to which the waiting place belongs.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the frequency of issuing allocation requests is totaled and the automatic guided vehicle 3 in the standby state is moved to the standby destination in accordance with this total has been described, but this type of distribution is seasonal. If there is no change due to the above, the moving condition may be set based on the result of aggregation (fixed information) in advance, and the automatic guided vehicle 3 may be moved in accordance with this condition.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment,
The case has been described where the allocation request issuance frequency is aggregated in units of the small areas to which the transport source belongs, but these issuance frequencies are aggregated for each transport source, and as a result, the issue frequency is calculated for each area centered on the transport source. May be aggregated. In addition, when a package is transported from the transfer destination to the transfer request issuing source in response to a transfer request from the transfer destination, the issue frequency of the transfer request should be aggregated in units of the area to which the transfer destination belongs. As a result, the waiting time can be shortened. In addition,
In the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the issuance frequency of the transport request is aggregated in units of the area to which the transport source belongs has been described. However, by summarizing these aggregations for each destination, the area to which the destination belongs can be determined. The issuance frequency of transport requests may be aggregated in units.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the presence or absence of the change of the standby position is judged based on the individual aggregate value for each small area. However, the individual aggregate value is determined by the number of issuances in the entire transport area. Whether or not the standby position is changed may be determined based on the normalized value obtained by the division.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the unmanned guided vehicle 3 which has been in the standby state for a predetermined time or more moves to the area where the transportation request issuance frequency is low, moves to the area where the transportation request issuance frequency is high. However, the determination time of whether or not to move may be varied depending on the allocation request issuance frequency of each area.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the automatic guided vehicle 3 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after switching to the standby state at the transport destination, but this determination is made by the message relay station 1. May be run on the side.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the automatic guided vehicle 3 is set so that the vehicle can be dispatched even in the waiting state for movement has been described. You may stop receiving messages.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case has been described in which the unmanned guided vehicle 3 closest to the carrying source is selected and dispatched. However, this selection condition may be variously changed according to the system to which it is applied. You can That is, contrary to the above-described embodiment, in a system in which a transportation request is received from the transportation destination and the parcel is transported from the transportation source designated by the transportation destination to the transportation destination, the distance to the allocation request issuer is used instead. The moving body may be selected based on the distance to the transport source. Further, in the case of moving to a standby destination or a movement destination via a prescribed route, the moving body may be selected according to the distance along this route.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the automatic guided vehicle is moved by the vehicle allocation instruction from the transportation source has been described, but the invention can also be applied to the case where the transportation destination or the like gives an instruction.

[0077]

As described above, according to the present invention, each communication relay station manages the issue frequency information of the mobile body request for each area obtained by dividing the movable range into a plurality of areas, and each mobile body Even if a predetermined time has passed from the time of moving to the final destination, if the frequency of issuing mobile unit requests remains low,
Since the moving body is moved to an area where the issuing frequency is high, even if the moving body request occurs unevenly within the movable range, the moving body can be efficiently deployed. The time required for the moving body to reach the destination can be shortened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation flowchart of an automated guided vehicle according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a luggage transport system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a message relay station according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a transport source according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an automated guided vehicle according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of the message relay station according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart of a transport source.

8 is a flowchart showing details of an allocation request issuing process in FIG. 1. FIG.

9 is a flowchart showing details of a movement waiting destination determination process in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Message relay station, 2 ... Carrier, 3 ... Automated guided vehicle,
11, 22, 32 ... Central processing unit, 12, 21, 31 ...
Communication means, 13 ... Transport request issue distribution storage means, 33 ... Current position acquisition means, 34 ... Autonomous movement means.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A mobile unit request issued from a request issuer via a plurality of communication relay stations arranged in the movable range to a plurality of movable movable units arranged in the movable range. In response to the notification of the moving body, the moving body is selected and moved to a predetermined moving destination, and then further moved to the moving destination or the final moving destination designated by the moving body request issuing source. In the mobile body control method, each communication relay station manages the issue frequency information of the mobile body request for each area obtained by dividing the movable range into a plurality of areas, and the mobile body moves to the final destination. A moving body control method characterized by moving the moving body to an area where the issuance frequency of the moving body request is low even if a predetermined time has elapsed from the time point. . 2. The moving body control method according to claim 1, wherein the issuance frequency information of the moving body request is an issuance frequency within a predetermined time in the immediately preceding past. 3. The mobile object control method according to claim 1, wherein each area in which the issuance frequency information is managed is an area in which the communication relay station is in charge of communication with the mobile object. . 4. A mobile unit request issued from a request issuer via a plurality of communication relay stations arranged in the movable range to a plurality of movable movable units arranged in the movable range. In response to the notification of the moving body, the moving body is selected and moved to a predetermined moving destination, and then further moved to the moving destination or the final moving destination designated by the moving body request issuing source. In the mobile unit control system, each of the communication relay stations includes storage means for storing the frequency of issuing the mobile unit request for each area obtained by dividing the movable range into a plurality of areas, and each of the mobile units issues the issue When a movement instruction to a frequently-used area is issued, a standby position changing movement means for moving to a designated position is provided, and the moving body that has moved to the final movement destination has a predetermined position according to the contents of the storage means. More than an hour , If the mobile unit is in a region where the request frequency is low,
A mobile body control system, characterized in that standby position change instruction means for issuing a movement instruction to an area with a high issuance frequency is provided in each of the communication relay stations or each of the mobile bodies. 5. The issuance frequency information of the mobile unit request stored in the storage means of the communication relay station is an issuance frequency within a predetermined time in the immediately preceding past. Mobile control system. 6. The mobile body control system according to claim 4, wherein each area in which the issuance frequency information is managed is an area in which the communication relay station is in charge of communication with the mobile body. . 7. Even when each of the moving bodies is moving to the area where the issuance frequency is high, the processing for determining the moving body to be moved to the destination according to the request of the moving body is executed. The moving body control system according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: